walk da plank has been here!
If you are from Crossway Church in Lancaster, you know right away who "walk da plank" is... There could be no other, the dearly loved Doug Plank. Pastor, songwriter, and friend to us, Doug was a blessing to us the last few days as he stayed with us during the Sovereign Grace Songrwriter's Conference. 6 and 1/2 years ago, when we set foot in Crossway Church, Doug was leading worship. His passion for God, exuberance about life and his obvious musical gifting stood out to us almost from the start. Over our 6+ years at Crossway, we got to "rub shoulders" with him and his dear wife, Brenda, many times. First through the worship venue at church, then in Young Adult ministry as Doug invited us to lead a SOLA care group. Though Doug is a good 3-5 years younger than us, (can you believe it?), his wisdom and knowledge of God's Word and Work have served to inform us and spur us on to love God.
One thing that stands out to us the most is the amount of humility that Doug possesses. I don't know how many people truly appreciate the level of musical excellence and diversity that Doug brings to the church. We have been (literally) to hundreds of churches in our lives, and we note that the level of musical excellence at Crossway Church is among the best we've ever experienced. Even here in G-burg, as we attend "the mother church" of over 3,000 people, we miss the musical gifting and diversity of Doug's leading. The first time we ever used the song "Only Jesus" in corporate worship at Crossway, I thought, "I don't know who wrote this song, but it's one of the best worship songs I've ever heard." It was a pleasant, but not shocking, surprise when we saw Doug's name in tiny print at the bottom of the screen, bearing authorship to this excellent song. To be honest, we had to brag a bit this week to our fellow PC families. We told them Doug was coming and we'd say, "You know the song 'Only Jesus' or 'Blessed is the One' or 'Praise the Lord' or 'The Son of God Came Down?' Yep, those songs are Doug's...he's our friend."
Doug, you are a treasure to Crossway Church and to Sovereign Grace Music. We don't know what you'll come up with in the years to come, but no doubt it will be Spirit-given and Christ-exalting. May you, sweet Brenda, and your beautiful children know the pleasure of God as He watches your lives, lived in ways that sacrificially show that all of life is always and forever about "Only Jesus."
One thing that stands out to us the most is the amount of humility that Doug possesses. I don't know how many people truly appreciate the level of musical excellence and diversity that Doug brings to the church. We have been (literally) to hundreds of churches in our lives, and we note that the level of musical excellence at Crossway Church is among the best we've ever experienced. Even here in G-burg, as we attend "the mother church" of over 3,000 people, we miss the musical gifting and diversity of Doug's leading. The first time we ever used the song "Only Jesus" in corporate worship at Crossway, I thought, "I don't know who wrote this song, but it's one of the best worship songs I've ever heard." It was a pleasant, but not shocking, surprise when we saw Doug's name in tiny print at the bottom of the screen, bearing authorship to this excellent song. To be honest, we had to brag a bit this week to our fellow PC families. We told them Doug was coming and we'd say, "You know the song 'Only Jesus' or 'Blessed is the One' or 'Praise the Lord' or 'The Son of God Came Down?' Yep, those songs are Doug's...he's our friend."
Comments
Post a Comment