An Amazing Weekend

I had the most amazing weekend (Thu-Sun) of worship that I can remember in a while. It has been a long time since I have worshiped so extensively that I was physically exhausted. My body was wornout, my voice was gone, my fingers were sore, but my Spirit was soaring. It was a weekend that I will never forget. There is so much to talk about and I really don't want to bore you with a ton of details. I mean, after all, if you are taking time to read this I certainly don't want to make you feel like I was trying to describe an experience that you just "had to be there" to appreciate.

Thursday night my wife and I were treated by a family in our worship ministry with tickets to see David Crowder Band. Those of you who know me know that I am a HUGE DCB fan. We decided to take Jackson (our four (almost five) year old) with us. (can you do a parenthases in a parenthases?) I can honestly tell you that there are moments of worship that I remember and will remember for the rest of my life. This was definitely top two (Hillsong United being the other) worship experiences in my life. It was so wonderful to be there with my wife and son, surrounded by friends and believers, and worshiping the Creator. Jackson's current favorite song is DCB's version of "How He Loves". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJyW55AXJAk To look over and see him singing at the top of his lungs with all of us was truly a moment that I will never forget. Not too long after that, he fell asleep. But that was fine, he'd already touched my heart.

Friday the family loaded up in our van and headed to Country Lake Retreat Center for our student ministry fall reatreat. I knew that satan was really uneasy about what was going to happen over the weekend because attack after attack was bombarding us beginning Thursday night and running all the way through Sunday. I brought along some amazing guys who are not only extremely talented, but have a heart for worship. They were so effective in leading the students into the presence of God that on Saturday night the kids asked if they could give up their free time and just worship more. By the end of that night I could barely talk. The kids could barely talk. I could hear them singing "Rise And Sing" (by Fee) all over the camp. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ps2z63jis&feature=related It was so amazing to see them completely in love with singing to the God who is risen and reinging. I can't tell you how impressed I was with them. I wish their parents could have seen them. I wish their parents would worship like them.

Adults will make fools of themselves at sporting events. Have you ever seen grown men in Washington D.C. dressed in pig noses and dresses? How about in dog masks gnawing on a bone in Cleveland? Ever seen a Raiders game? Or a bunch of shirtless men in below freezing weather with wedges of cheese on their heads in Green Bay? Ever been to a NASCAR race? Why is it that we feel totally comfortable making fools of ourselves in worshiping people, but must remain "dignified" when it comes to church and worshiping the only One truly worthy of our praise?

My prayer is that we would be more like children when we worship. To see my four-year-old sing at the top of his lungs made me so proud. How much more proud is his Father in heaven? To see teenagers stand, jump, sing, dance, and scream for an hour must have made God smile. They worshiped Him openly and from a heart that had no other outlet but praise. They were so full of the Spirit that it had to come out. It seems like we adults remain in the flesh during opportunities of worship. We complain about things like our feet hurting and it being too loud and we don't know/like the songs. Then worship ends and we haven't experienced God at all. We only remained in our own selfish flesh. It's heart breaking to me as a worship leader, but how much more heart breaking must it be to the object of our worship? How must He feel when He's there waiting for us to experience Him and we ingore Him and the tugs of His Spirit?

Here's my challenge....The next time you are in worship, make a conscious decision that you are going to worship God regardless of the environment around you. Pay no attention to the people around you, the song selection, the volume, the lights, how long you've been standing, the temperature, or anything. Concentrate on one thing...HIM. Make a decision that you are going to worship Him with your whole spirit. Give Him the attention that He deserves. I promise you that you'll not regret it. The funny thing is, when we come to Him empty of ourselves, He has room to fill us with Himself. You'll leave feeling like you were the one blessed. It's amazing how that happens.