Remember this post? Well, after being reminded by a friend, I wanted to give an update about the progress of writing the song that I mentioned in the other post. In short, the song that I have been working on for the last month is all but finished. (Which is pretty much saying that it’s finished without actually saying that it’s finished.)
I was able to write this song in a couple hours of writing spread out over a monthlong period. I feel that this song almost wrote itself; I think that this is because of God’s hand in the start of the process and this being a song that needed to be written. In the last week, the finishing touches were put on it as I met with Jesse to show it to him. We tweaked a couple things, changed a few words, and came up with an order that we like for it to flow and sound and feel the way that it’s intended to. I’m very pleased with how this process has worked out and with the finished product. I’ve written really bad songs before, and this isn’t like anything I’ve written before. It’s real. It’s raw.
The official debut of the song will be at the Heart of Worship event: More than Conquerers on January 18 at Community Covenant. It’ll be one piece of what is going to be an amazing night of worship and encountering God. I can’t wait to see what God does with this song, the worship night, and with this whole songwriting thing.
Thanks, Mindy, for reminding me to post this update. I hope the news was to your liking .
It’s no secret that my favorite band is Hillsong United. They also have a feature length documentary coming out soon talking about justice and worship. I found a trailer for it and the words spoken in it cut right to my heart. Have a look.
Real worship goes way beyond the music, it goes beyond the lights, it goes beyond the jump and dancing and lifting our hands in praise. These things are all well and good, but if our actions aren’t in line with our words, if what goes on in our churches does not affect what goes on in our world – then what’s the point of it all? The answer is simple, yet not easy. It’s to care for the widows and orphans. To speak out on behalf of those who have no voice. It’s to desire and seek out justice in a world that is full of injustice.
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
- James 2:14-18
It’s so cold here that when you take a mug of steaming water and throw it into the air, it instantly evaporates. I had heard about this and seen a couple videos but wanted to do it myself so I did.
Here’s also a video of the whole thing so you can see it in motion.
This brings some amusement to the bitter cold that it has been here for the last week. Although supposedly it’s supposed to get up to 0 by Tuesday.
Aren’t you proud of me? It’s Friday and here’s the post I promised. Same as usual, this is part IV of my paper on inner healing. For parts I-III click here. This part continues where part III left off.
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Unfortunately for The Church, the common practice of healing would not last long. In some areas in the middle ages, it was even believed that God not only wasn’t healing people, but that He was directly afflicting people because of the common belief that all people were evil. Gabriele de Mussis, a lawyer in northern Italy wrote in 1348 that, “After the mortals had thus been warned, the quivering spear of the Almighty, in the form of the plague [bubonic plague or black death], was sent down to infect the whole human race, aiming its cruel darts everywhere” (Aberth 2005, p.99). Those words show how, even though this man was a Christian, he believed that God was actually the one punishing the human race through the terrible disease that swept across medieval Europe. Another popular belief among Christians since the time of the early church is that illness and sickness of all sorts, spiritual, mental, and physical, are all crosses to bear from God and that it was actually God’s will for them to be afflicted like that. MacNutt (2006) says, “If we believe that, then to ask for healing is to oppose God’s will and to refuse the cross he offers. In such a view it may be permissible to ask for relief, but it is far better for the sick people to accept and bear their suffering” (p. 33). In other words, if it was believed that the afflictions someone was suffering from was from God, they should, instead of seeking relief, bear with it and continue on. This was a popular belief among Christians even thought it goes against when Jesus himself said “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). However, this worldview of believing that God is the one who afflicts people with terrible illnesses, like the plague, took hold in this time and has carried all the way into the modern day church.
Today, we are able to identify terrible happenings like wars, oppression, and genocide; all of which are effects from the Fall (MacNutt, 2006). It’s not uncommon in today’s society to watch television and see a story about something horrible that’s happening to someone or a group of people in your own neighborhood, city, state, or nation. There is a general consensus among people of all beliefs that the world is messed up and in need of some serious work to restore it to the way it should be. However, the idea of healing isn’t a very well received topic, even in the church where is should be a central value. The idea of a demonic oppression or infestation is not an acceptable concept in many mainline Christian churches (MacNutt, 1995). In some places, even suggesting or bringing up the topic of inner healing and deliverance, or casting out demons, could have negative consequences for the one who brings it up. However, despite the common views against inner healing, there is a revival and a movement going on in the area of healing ministry. “The climate is changing. People are hungering and thirsting to know God in a direct, experiential way. And the sick need healing, just as much as they did in Christ’s day” (MacNutt, 2006, p.18). And healing goes beyond illness and oppression from spirits; if healing the way it has been described were to flood over the earth, wars could end, hatred and prejudice would be a thing of the past, and injustice would just be a word, not something that is actively happening in the world. Francis MacNutt even wrote in his own book, Healing, that his own experiences convinced him that these divine and inner healings happen regularly.
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I think that next week will be the last part of this series and will wrap it all up with talk about prayer ministry and what that looks like. Thanks for reading, and please share and comment if you agree/disagree or if you think I’m just totally whacked out.
Thanks for reading and joining in on this series of looking at the often forgotten aspect and desire of God.
My favorite things have nothing to do with raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens. But I was on Facebook tonight and came across a note I wrote back in June about my favorite things and I thought that it should be on here as well.
It reads:
Would you like to know what one of the things I like most about being a worship leader is? I will take the fact that you are still reading as a, “Yes, Dustin, please tell me.”
I love being able to look out and see people encounter and interact with Jesus. I love looking back seeing my band totally caught up in the moment playing and singing like it’s just them worshiping alone and giving it everything they have, holding back nothing of themselves. That is what I love.
It’s one of the best things I get to experience as a worship leader. To see God coming down and touching people and people responding with all-out abandon.
Earlier tonight at the second Heart of Worship night at our church I got to see this and it moves me deeply every time. So my words to everyone who attended tonight is this: Thank you for loving God like you do. Thank you for allowing me to lead you in worship. Thank you for jumping and dancing at the start and moving into arms raised adoration and praise. And thank you for being vulnerable in stepping out in worship like you never have.
And to my band: Thank you all for allowing me to be your band leader. For allowing me the opportunity to work along side you guys (and girl) and play music that touches the very heart of God and the very heart of us. You guys are amazing.
I love what I do.
I wrote this six months ago, and when I read this, I think of all the big moments that I’ve had as a worship leader so far and how those have impacted me as a leader, worshiper, and Christian. From Unite, where hundreds of youth from the Eagle River were gathered together and singing with one voice and one heart. From the Heart of Worship series and seeing people use the time there to really break free and worship like they’ve never worshiped before. From the opportunity to lead worship at all three of our church’s services one Sunday in October. From our Jr High retreat this spring where a lot of those young people had their first real encounter with God through worship. Looking back, those worship times were some of the best I had as a worship leader. Because it was broken people encountering a holy God and being washed clean.
And one of the best parts of leading worship and being on stage in times like this is that I get to see people’s faces as they encounter Jesus. I get to see the vulnerability they show as they let go of something they’ve been holding onto for years. I get to see the joy on their face as they experience God in a powerful and real way. I get to see the tears roll down the face as the Holy Spirit just loves on them. It’s one of the best parts of the job.
Today is a new year. 2008 is gone. I want to take this moment and say Happy New Year to any and everyone who reads this and I pray that 2009 will be a year filled with God working in your life. I know He’s worked big things in my life in 2008, and I imagine 2009 will be just as fun/educational/growing/stressful/hard/painful/wonderful as 2008 was.
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