One man, two acoustic guitars and some lighting provided an inspirational concert to a young audience last Wednesday night.

Youth groups, UTM students, young couples and Young Life groups from all over West Tennessee gathered in the Student Life Center to listen to a contemporary style of Christian music by Derek Webb.

When you first hear the lyrics to some of his songs, you might not associate him with Christian music. However, Webb’s lyrics provide a relationship between him and the listener. A person can relate to what he is singing; it’s almost as if he is telling your story, instead of his. Even with his blue jeans, white t-shirt and tattoos, he gives off a rough, but human-like appearance that many young people look up to.

Between songs, Webb would talk to the audience about how he came to write each song. He talked about how easy it was to spot Christian people. “Unfortunately, it’s for all the completely wrong reasons. So many Christians now don’t love people. Christians are supposed to be selfless folks,” Webb said. “Who did Jesus stay with and love the most? He didn’t stay with the Christians. He loved the people who didn’t love him. That’s what being a Christian is all about.”

Tosh Newman, a Young Life leader in Jackson, Tenn., drove himself and several young life kids an hour to see Webb in concert. “The concert was tight. We drove all this way because Webb is a big supporter of Young Life. He gives concerts at our camps during the summer,” he said.

“It was different from what I expected. This was the first time I heard Derek Webb, but I really liked his style of music,” said Bradley Davidson, a Civil Engineering major.

Webb ended the concert with some of his songs from his latest album that was released in Nov. An upcoming DVD of a concert he gave in Nashville will be released in June.