It’s been a very unique year for heather and I at MSNY. there was a time when we were not sure if we would be the worship leaders or not and even a week where we thought moving to nashville could be an option. i’m so glad we didn’t. God has bigger plans than ours. we submitted to that and have since seen an incredible momentum of worship in our church.
i’ve learned so much from great worship leaders over the past years…starting very early on with my father and moving to people like Kevin Singleton, Jon Owens, and then anything else I could get my hands on (tomlin, hillsong, israel).
even after all that, God opened my eyes to realize i don’t have to be those people. God made them to lead worship and they do an incredible job. but my identity soon became based on what i looked like or sounded like compared to them. but God does not compare me…he loves me and says i’m fearfully and wonderfully made. when i started leading worship from that identity, from a place of security that i am his and he is mine, i also started to see a new wave of his presence pouring into our services. and wow what a thing to boast in…that God is moving on our behalf… we’ve given up our lives to him and said have your way.
what started as a rebuilding phase at MSNY of our worship team could easily have been discouraging and heartbreaking. we saw many friends come and go as happens quite often in this city, and felt that God was telling us to plant roots. to plant deep. stay here. so we did…we have tried our best to be faithful in all that he has given us and he has never failed us. we had a guitar and some singers, and some drum loops on a computer…and God was moving.
So, we prayed for a band…we would even set up the instruments on stage in faith that God would fill them with his people. and he did. somehow, and slower than we wanted it, he began to bring us the team of singers and players that not only have a heart to serve, but love to see God move in worship. over a period of about 6 months we went from having little to no team to having multiple band members and an overflow of singers. each unique in their gifts and talents, and each who bring something so special to our church.
after about 6 months of being faithful with what God has been giving us, we’ve seen his power and presence…literally a tangible experience with our creator in the small amounts of time that we have to sing praises to him. he’s So faithful and loves us so much.
which brings us to our first MSNY worship night this past sunday. a night where we could take our time. where we were not limited by time or any other agenda. it was a really fun night where our band was able to play out and flow where we felt things were going…our singers could sing out and just worship our king and tell him how much we love him. where our congregation could relax and sit still and be at peace in the presence of God. it’s so necessary in this city to have these times of refreshing and overflow as this city tends to drain us. i’m so thankful to God for brining us to this place and so look forward to what is next…
which is PureLife, our women’s conference! no, i’m not speaking, but it will be an incredible weekend of extended worship and breakthrough for women from all over the nation.
God’s really been speaking to me through Revelation lately…but that’s another post.
much love from NYC.
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