Salt and Light

We went to the Harvest Picnic near Hamilton, Ontario on Saturday. It was simply amazing.

The day featured some stellar musical talent: Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Feist, and more. But the strongest crowd reaction that I witnessed was for someone who has no website, no recordings, no PR. It was his first time out of the continental United States, and because of Hurricane Isaac, he arrived too late for rehearsals.

I’m talking about Pastor Brady L. Blade, Sr. and the Hallelujah Train. He’s 73, has pastored the same Baptist church for over 50 years. On Saturday he wore a suit, and he delivered the goods. I don’t know the man, and I don’t know much about his ministry, but I know I liked what I heard on Saturday.

Daniel Lanois, an artist in his own right, and a renowned producer, asked him to sing his favorite song, Give Me Jesus. Pastor Blade said, “I used to sing this song just because it was a song. I’m old enough now to mean every word.” Backed by Lanois, Brian Blade Jr., and Emmylou Harris, Pastor Blade sang:

You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

He led us in songs like this for an hour.

I enjoyed the quality and variety of music on Saturday. Live music doesn’t get much better than what we heard. The highlight of the day, though, was a 73-year-old pastor in a suit who showed up to sing about his Savior. I love it.