Smitty on TBN

Last night was a pivotal night for me.
I was crashing on my parents couch and I decided to see what was on the Television at nearly 1AM. My goal was to scan the major networks up to about channel 20 (the Korean network) in one swift move to see what sort of programs play on a Sunday night and get an idea at what sort of audience Television is marketing to at that hour (that's actually how my brain works & I realize I am a nerd for it).

At about channel 18 I heard very familiar music from an 80's genre- though the images were unfamiliar. Clearly the song was in an instrumental power ballad segment- I immediately thought of Def Leppard and the like.. but no, this was more familiar than those sorts of songs and felt closer to my heart.
The images flashed between the Christ being beaten and a man wearing distinct 80's clothing. The man wore tight blue jeans, a white T-Shirt, and a vest over the shirt. He had a mullet and his face looked like it had a few days without a razor. When the chorus kicked in- it hit me... Smitty.
That's right, Michael W. Smith.

My first instinct was to laugh.
My second instinct was to turn the channel.
Instead, my thumb froze and I won the staring contest between me and the Television set.

The station was TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) and the song was "Secret Ambition."
In all, I watched four Michael W. Smith videos back-to-back. I would have watched more too- only the program took a turn and showed Michael Sweet (of Stryper) and Sinbad (of terrible comedy) sharing their favorite verses from Scripture (Isaiah 53:5 and Romans 8:33, respectively).

Smitty was in fine form. He flailed his arms, eyed the camara, and shook his fist. Such passion. I was able to look past the gestures and clothing which seem so funny today (so much so that I wonder why they weren't funny 20 years ago?!) and listen to the lyrics. What a good message.
"Secret Ambition" was followed by "Place in this World" and I remembered how me & every other kid in America was sure he was looking for his "face" in this world. Still, I was able to look past the mishap and was sobered by the message.

The MWS montage ended with "Give It Away"- which was not a musical video as much as live footage from an indoor concert in the early 90's. I looked at the awkward looking youth in the crowd starring at a slightly more mature Michael Smith who had lost his mullet. There's a very good chance that I was one of those awkward kids in that audience. You see, the first concert I ever went to was Michael W. Smith/DC Talk in 1993.
Having older siblings, I was already dialed into Michael's music. I endured DC Talk as the opener... but I was there to see Smitty. As I grew older and my musical taste progressed, I quickly grew ashamed of my 1st concert experience- so much so that I often negate this information when others speak of the subject. If I do mention that I willingly and eagerly went to a Michael W. Smith concert, most people laugh.

I don't know what happened to me last night... but I am Once Again a True Believer in Michael W. Smith. I'm out of the closet and I am not ashamed to say that I really like Michael W. Smith. For what was happening at the time, the music that was available, and the things he did- Michael W. Smith really impresses me and I am proud to say that his was the first concert I ever went to (thank you Nathan Gapper).

As I sat on my parents couch I was sad to see his last video play. Sinbad stopped speaking, the picture moved to a Station ID, I powered down the remote and went to bed with a smile.
I love Smitty.