November 9, 2022, I found myself holding a single ticket to a sold-out show at the Ryman Auditorium. The room buzzed with an almost sacred anticipation. To my left sat Charlie Lowell from Jars of Clay. A few rows up, Michael W. Smith found his seat. CCM royalty had descended upon the Mother Church\u2014not for an awards show or a big label event, but to pay their respects to the man who paved the way\u2014a rock star who\u2019s always worn his faith on his sleeve\u2014while, as he says, being born with his \u201cfists up.\u201d Bono, the legendary frontman of U2, was taking the stage for\u00a0Surrender<\/i>, a one-man show disguised as a book tour but delivered like a theatrical confession.<\/p>\n
No massive set pieces. Just Bono, a few chairs, a table, and a small, stripped-down band. And for the next 90 minutes, what unfolded was something far more powerful than a rock concert. It was raw. It was theatrical. It was spiritual. Phones were banned, and distractions disappeared. We weren\u2019t there to document the moment. We were there to live it.<\/p>\n
I walked out stunned, with Bono\u2019s memoir\u00a0Surrender<\/i>\u00a0in hand, the words and presence still washing over me. I had heard Bono talk about his faith before, often shrouded in metaphors or universalist language. But this was different. This was direct. It wasn\u2019t just the faith of a seeker\u2014it was the testimony of a man who had been radically changed by Jesus Christ. You could hear it in how he talked about his marriage to Ali, his band, his calling. And you could feel it in the stories that danced between laughter and grief.<\/p>\n
Christianity weaves through all great Irish storytelling, and Bono\u2019s journey is no exception. Raised by a Catholic father \u201cwho loved Protestant things,\u201d including his Protestant mother.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s in the rhythm of his storytelling, the ache in his voice, and the ever-present biblical metaphors.<\/p>\n
Now, thanks to Apple TV+, you can experience a version of this performance in\u00a0Songs of Surrender<\/i>, a be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
November 9, 2022, I found myself holding a single ticket<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[79,78,53,23],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-jesus-christ","tag-mark-lowry","tag-paul-david-hewson","tag-u2-news"],"yoast_head":"\n