Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Why Is That Old Man Crying?

and historical roots of this phenomenon?” Then suddenly, I became aware of the singer portraying Belle, as she verbalized the feelings that were welling up in me: her disappointment in the quiet monotony of her village, her painful longing for her neighbors to experience adventure outside their mundane existence, and her cry to escape her provincial life. As I listened to her words about “This Provincial Life,” I sheepishly wiped the tears from my eyes, wondering if the little girl next to me was whispering to her mother, “Mommy, why is that old man crying?” At that moment, I asked the Lord to help me articulate a way out of the provincial life I was seeing in the American church.

It was not long before God answered that prayer, and it all started coming together. I began to see two foundational patterns that gave shape to “this provincial life.”

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