American Idol Season 9 Auditions--Up-close and Personal

A few of us got up before dawn on Friday morning (some of us pulled all nighters) and invaded the throngs of hopefuls gathering at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, TX to spread news BETTER THAN "You're the next American Idol!"

As with all special and public events, there are certain rules and courtesies to be observed when a team gathers to hand out tracts and share the Gospel. The American Idol security measures, the added police force and the organization of the whole event made it a challenge to get in...but we did and we were able to pass out tracts for just under an hour to those that were waiting in line. Photo from left to right: John Speed, Tim Crawford, Jeff Pittman, me, Brad Snow.

It didn't take long for security to ask us to leave. One member of the security team got downright angry at the message. I was disappointed that we had to leave but I knew that God was in control and that He would provide a way for the Gospel to be heard...but I had no idea just how many would hear the gospel at one time. We only had to go as far as the public street, where we were still able to hand out tracts and share the Good News with people as they arrived.

Jon Speed and Tim Crawford from TLC Ministries had brought along small amplifiers and when standing on the perimeter streets and preaching Gospel through those little amps, the message was BOUNCING OFF the sides of the Cowboy stadium and amplifying to levels that could be heard all around! The Gospel went out loud and clear...thank you, Jerry Jones for building this stadium! Just look at how many people were lined up to enter the stadium (below). The funny thing is that everyone in line couldn't see where the preaching was coming from. If you look closely you can see that Brad Snow is hidden by bushes. Everyone in line must have thought it was a voice coming from heaven or something...if only I could have seen the look on their faces. Photo: Zoomed out. Thousands are lined up to be the next idol. Special thanks to Dennis and Teri for the photos on this post and for composing much of this entry. You can read more about this event on their blog.

In addition to preaching, we continued to hand out Gospel tracts to hundreds as they arrived. We asked them, "Are you the next American Idol?" - of course they all were! - and then we asked them to sing. (Even Brad Snow belted out a hearty rendition of the theme song from the old TV show "Land of the Lost" - pun intended!)


After each performance, we handed them a Celebrity Million Dollar Bill tract, encouraged them to read the message on the back, and said, "You win! Here's your first million toward a record contract!" Everyone gladly took the tracts and smiled. Photo: Idol "wanna be" (left) Tim Crawford (right). This young man sang his lungs out...he sang very well.


I told everyone that I hadn't had "this much fun since I went to 13 countries in 13 days to film 13 episodes for The Way of the Master Season 4". Photo: Jon Speed in the back being silly and Brad and Tim are singing a duet, hilarious--these guys are great brothers!


So now it can be said that I've been to the American Idol auditions. I never thought I'd ever say that. Reflecting on the day, it amazes me how much people chase after fame but in the end all of the fame in the world won't matter on the Day of Judgment when we stand before the Maker of the Universe and have to give an account of all the things done in our bodies while we've lived on Earth. It reminds me of how short Michael Jackson's life was. Only 50 years. He's been called the "King of Pop" but none of that mattered on Thursday when he left this earth and left behind all of his worldly possessions and had to give an account to the King of Kings. While you're alive and still breathing please hear these words "the most important thing is this...NOTHING MATTERS more than where you will spend eternity". Where will you be? If you're not sure, read this!