Here is how my selfishness started the day - the first music artist was like a mix between Needtobreathe and Chris Tomlin; he brought the foot tappin' spirit into kickstarting us into the worship mode, and had invested his talents through the years. He was also the only artist of the day that brought his own cd's to distribute. Basically, he could have very well been a headliner.
After him was the Logan Street Baptist Church Worship Team. Their lead singer is Brian Fuller; a singer who has a history in the industry, and has had a few albums in the professional market. His major influence has been Brian Duncan and gleans a few vocal elements from groups like Petra. They have 'production' down to a science; they brought a real sense of worship, but you could tell they were very polished. They could have definitely been an opener for a headliner in the festival.
I was next and have been blessed to build a great network with many people. God has brought a lot of opportunities into my path that I've never dreamed of having. I am by no means in the professional market yet - however much I would like to be - but my thought was storming through my brain that if we were the first in the line-up, the rest of the evening had to be good for sure!
The next band was a local worship team that consisted of five middle aged adults that could have very well just stepped up from the crowd to sing karaoke to a soundtrack. They had decent voices, but if faced by Simon Cowell as a judge would have been chopped up like fresh beef. My first reaction was to question what they were doing on the stage, but then God asked me to look around. The Church was in worship! This moment was not about the professionalism of the artists that were chosen, but that this body of believers were all worshipping together!
From then on, the line-up consisted on more people that just couldn't help but sing about their love for God and guide others to join. It really changed my view about what we are trying to do here. David Crowder and Josh Wilson are amazingly talented worship leaders, but I think it was Mac Powell who put it in such a great light at the beginning of a Third Day show, and I am just now REALLY beginning to understand what he said:
"If you came here to see a concert you might as well go home, because we are here to worship God. He is the reason why we are here."
See, Third Day, Casting Crown, The David Crowder Band, and Logan Street Baptist Church's Worship Team put on talented concerts, but that is all they are if they were only on stage to show off a performance and if the crowd only came to head bang or fist pump. Church looks so much different when we come together for worship. It is a blessing to have a professional kickstart the moment by stirring up the atmosphere for everyone to soften their hearts and let the Spirit lead, but there comes a time when the performer has to step back and let the Church sing out. That is music to the ears of our Creator.
The last to have the stage was the EOCC, a gospel church that brought a youth drama team, worship band, and a special testimonial speaker. They started out by having their drama team do an interpretive movement off of the stage, which forced everyone to gather closer to the stage and climb out of their camping chairs to see what was going on. If anyone had not opened their heart for the move of the Spirit, they were touched by this display of worship! When the music began for us to join and sing, the Church was to their feet and humbled by the presence of our Mighty Savior, and once the speaker gave his testimony, my knees weakened and I could not help but humbly bow before my Lord in prayer. It was not until me and a brother in Christ that had been praying next to me reached out to each other that we could help each other stand again. That is a blessed moment when God shows you that life is dependent on the His strength and the support of a fellow believer.
The JC Challenge ended with a closing prayer, and then continued with prayer circles where people were praying for each other to receive Christ, believe in His healing for illnesses, diseases, peace, and understanding. We witnessed a little boy that was deaf in one ear be able to hear, a woman in a wheelchair be able to stand, and a couple who was emotionally wore out from financial strain be able to laugh again.
A teenager named Maye came up to me and asked for prayer. She has been following Christ for a while, but has been living in fear of how to live it out around her unsaved family and friends. She shared with me her natural shyness and how that effects sharing her faith. We prayed for God to touch her with His hand of protection and give her a sense of confidence and strength for standing strong in her relationship with our Creator. Maye told me about how she did not know if she did the right thing by sharing with her class that Jesus was her hero a week ago for the "Who is Your Hero" assignment at school, but know she feels like she did the right thing. Maye left the festival on Saturday hoping to share what God has done in her life with her family, because God is glorified when we allow Him to use His strength through our weaknesses. Maye is an inspiring leader.
God is still moving.
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