Ripples Conference

Europe is known for movements. Some of the worlds sizable shifts, within the church, happened and began on the stage that Europe has set. Today Europe still holds the memories and is still producing a lasting fruit of what God did even centuries ago.

Masters Commission Europe celebrated their ten year anniversary this past week. It was revered within the annual conference, held in Brussels Belgium, the heart of the European Union. Testimony after testimony could be heard as it echoed the theme of this years gathering, Ripples. So many lives have been transformed by the endeavors and intentional pursuit of God’s calling. It is apparent that God still uses small encounters, like we read in the scriptures, for a global impact. Most of us don’t even see or feel the magnitude of the impact.

Masters Commission Europe has seen 700 students go through 22 programs in 17 different nations. That is what this gathering was about...recognizing the profound impact that one life can make by taking the chance to be different.

It is truly an honor for me to direct The Summons in the midst of this network. I believe what separates these programs from many other training schools is the focus and attention that is paid for the long-term impact by living life together in community; facing “life” as a group of people committed to one another. This is astounding, this is transforming, this is the church that the Holy Spirit intended to see release God’s Kingdom on the earth.

Please watch this video.

the impact

in acts chapter 16 we can read about the account of a "robust" worship service taking place in a prison. consequently, the circumstance changed for those two within that jail cell. it wasn't the fact that it was paul and silas, two giants of the early church, who were singing that made the difference. rather, it was the fact that god was receiving praise and honor. glory was attributed to god simply because of who he was...awesome.

worship has a profound impact on our lives. most of us who are church members, know it even though we may not be able to admit said impact. believe it or not, praise and worship impacts the worshipping individual, body, soul, and mind. filling your mind with god's awesome character in praise and worship guides our understanding of truth and gives us knowledge of these said benefits.

in the presence of god, worship unto him impacts one in such a way that a holy zeal for his name is found. singing about him reminds us of who he is. have you ever been in the presence of god and clinched your fist so tight and pumped it in the air like rocky balboa at the top of the philadelphia museum of art? maybe you are a dancer, maybe you are a shouter, or maybe you love to kneel quietly before him in adoration. a holy zeal will most definitely change your life; i am not talking about energy, but zeal, passion, sheer desire, for his glorification.

in the presence of god, worship unto him impacts one in such a way that a boldness for the proclamation of his standards rises up inside. some could refer to it as zeal, but what really takes place is what you would find in acts 5. the apostles are in the temple praising and worshipping god then began preaching in the name of jesus. the pharisees pull them out and again command them to not preach in jesus' name, their response, "it's necessary for us to obey god rather than men." the impact of worshipping and glorifying god is a boldness for his name and proclamation of his word.

in the presence of god, worship unto him impacts one in such a way that a contentment in him resides. it's an assurance of the relationship, the covenant, the faithfulness of him to his people; he cannot deny himself. shadrach, meshach, and abednego demonstrated this when they refused to worship the gods the king had commanded them to worship. they only worship god, and would rather be thrown in the fire than worship those gods. they go as far to say, in daniel 3, that even if god didn't save them, they still wouldn't worship nebuchadnezzars gods.

in the presence of god, worship unto him impacts one in such a way that perspective of god's design is understood. in the midst of worship our mind becomes transformed, we are beholding from one glory to the next his awesome majesty. the holy spirit moves amongst our hearts shaping our walk with him, gaining a discernment for seeing things the way god sees them and even appreciating why he does things the way he does them. it is easy for followers of jesus to be overwhelmed by the condition of sin in the world, and the toll it has taken on our fellow man. worship transforms our minds and hearts and leads us even if we are not completely sure what is taking place around us.

in the presence of god, worship unto him impacts one in such a way of refreshment. we were, in the end, never meant to carry the angst and worry that we choose to carry so frequently. because of the fracture of sin we can find in many parts of the world the door to despair is wide open. we never really can escape the clutches of this fracture, this side of the grave. thankfully jesus paid the price so that we don't have to live under it. jesus is our joy and satisfaction. in 1 samuel 16 we see clearly the power of worship over a lost and despaired individual. david played as to ease the tormenting spirits that frustrated king saul. the anointing found in worship unto him is the most refreshing our souls can find while we live in these earthen vessels. like i always told my mom when i wanted to sleep in church, "there is no better place to sleep, than the presence of the lord."

if worship is not impacting our lives, it is not because god is doing something wrong, it is because our hearts are not engaged. we could easily sing songs in bars, at home in the shower, or let the musicians do it on the radio; worship has meaning, it has purpose and god's design is for it to impact our lives.

discipling your band

the greatest key for a lasting desire in a group of individuals who play together is the bond running deeper than the music or instrumentation.

i've played with several worship teams and with several different worship leaders. the greatest of groups to play with are those that have a preference for unity that overshadows their preference for music. music is such a powerful weapon/tool and has been such a hot topic when it comes to church membership. you don't have to go far before you hear a rant on style, technique, volume, era, etc.

the worship leader who reaches his team and desires a bond outside the music will find musicians running to play/perform right along side of him. i have had some great mentorship in my day. over the course of my musical career i have grown to love the back-up position (mainly because of the pedals). i can tell if a leader on the stage is reaching and discipling his teams. it shows when they play together and it directly influences the congregation.

the privilege that is amongst those on stage in the united states should never be taken for granted. many musicians playing just twice a month are receiving the equivalency of a pastors salary in some european nations. getting paid to play is a wonderful benefit, cherish it, lord knows i would love to get paid playing music. however, even in my experiences of paid musicianship i found myself longing to be along side my heroes of praise and worship, all of whom were not paid to play on the stage.

oh hello

today has been pretty unproductive for me. i woke up this morning feeling like a few bags of sand were resting in my head. i really hate feeling this way because it keeps me from things i love doing like waking up.

the beauty of my marriage is i am married to the most selfless woman on the planet. i know this because  she got up much earlier than i did to attend to the latest lowrie addition and the first words out of her mouth, after i woke up and told her how i was feeling, were, "you should go lay back down for a bit." i love that woman. sadly, the pressure in my head kept me from being able to relax.

around 9 everyday we leave for the student base where i prepare to lead worship and teach in our discipleship school. today, of course, the last thing i wanted to do was sing and teach. i love that god's presence and praise is more important to me than how i feel.

is experiencing communion with your heavenly father more important than what you feel like doing? unless of course you feel like experiencing communion with him right now then i would say that there is no better feeling.

i will now leave you with a few of my brilliant wife's photos...

hey europe, watch out

this last week masters commission europe held their annual conference. it was especially exciting because it took place right here in brussels, belgium. i can recall the amazing presence of the lord last year, in rome, moving my spirit as i witnessed 200 young people opening their hearts and giving the lord everything they had during worship and intercession. this year it didn’t skip a beat!

young people all across europe and even beyond are recognizing that god is moving in this continent and they are overwhelmingly longing to be a part of it. i have such an opportunity to witness this unfolding right before me.

the students of the summons, were in participation. the great thing about their situation is they have the ability to make a vast impression upon leaders and their peers. many, if not all of the other programs have been functioning for well over 6 months already. the summons has been operating for nearly 3 months and yet the engagement, interaction, and response was a solid reflection of a seasoned individual. this was such an encouragement for me as their director.

there were a few times i witnessed them behave in such a way that only could have been prompted by the holy spirit. i remember sitting in the back observing their responses to the message and just weeping with joy as i knew god was touching them in a deep way.

many times i am excited to impart to young people and hold a special place of attention, it is important for them to lean on a leaders words. there are also moments when i must challenge them to let go of my attention and put into practice what they have been taught, this is biblical. the small request from one student to another for prayer was an awesome example of what god is doing in the student’s hearts. i witnessed them beginning to open up and tearing down the walls that have been built for security and comfort from the rest of the world. the fear of man is breaking!

there wasn’t anyone who got out of a wheel chair, or blind eyes opening, but i did get a glimpse of the potential of Europe and all that these young people are capable of when they completely abandon themselves to their maker.

calling all single guys

i remember working in the nursery when i was a teen. it changed my life and brought deeper awareness to my desire to be involved with kids as a counselor now. i love children. when my mother was a kindergarten teacher i had a wonderful time going in there periodically and hanging out with them. usually it involved laughing at their jokes and making noises with them that we all would laugh at.

when i was a teenager my mom was in charge of the nursery's on sunday mornings which meant i was able to go into the nursery and be involved with kids that were really young (3 or 4). i remember what great times i had. here is a blog post by mark driscoll who shares his experience with kids.

As a new Christian and college freshman, my first ministry was taking care of a bunch of young kids during a daytime women’s Bible study. It was the best. The kids were super fun, and on any given week I had anywhere from maybe 10 to 20 kids under the age of five for a few hours without any help. Those hours included crackers, juice, Bible stories, wrestling for the boys, and tea parties for the girls. The moms were surprised that a 19-year-old single guy would volunteer for the nursery, but I’m glad I did. And I’d encourage the same for other single men. In fact, I have nine reasons why single men should work in the church nursery.

you can read the 9 reasons here.

none of the cream and all of the blueberries

many times in my fathering life i encounter the uninhibited 3 year old's true feelings. at least it is only for one year ; ). it reminds me of the word of god.

this school year dutch, titus, and myself usually trek out of the house about 10 minutes til 8am. the season is now upon us where the days are short and the weather is colder (however, i am not about to start making weather complaints seeing as my main audience resides in the volcanic belly that is dallas texas). if there is one thing dutch does not care about when he is faced with a "must do" from his mother or me it is the amount of sugar coating we put on to play it up as "not that bad." it is getting much harder to get dutch out of the house to go to school. we have nearly a 1.75 mile walk each way to his school. in the mornings when the temperature is in the low 50's and the wind is blowing one of the worst things you could do is convince dutch that he should go outside. he will not shy away from telling you that it is too cold and that this was a bad idea. his celerity is not brimming with a confident swagger that my blood runs thick with upon a walk. this, in turn, transforms what should be a meager 20 minute walk (one-way) into a 30 minute campaign. my wife is a pro at cheering him on and convincing him of getting things done despite his desire to do otherwise. my attempt however, could be compared to an average 5 year olds attempt at beating bowser on level 8 of super mario bros. it just won't happen. so like dutch, i give up as well. so what do ya do?

so the revelation hit me at how i have been accustomed to making god's word into something that it is not intended to be. like my wife with dutch i can excel at putting lipstick on a pig and thinking, "mmmm, thats not so bad." the moment i try and make something say what i want it to say is the moment reality (the holy spirit) back hands me into coherency and i praise god for that. to be like my son?!?!? not being side tracked with the whistles and bells of not only a pure and righteous pursuit of god but to represent him in the same mode. to see through the "feel good" persuasion of a prosperity driven money getting gospel. don't sugar coat it for me, give it to me straight, this is going to be hard, this is going to cost me, this is going to take my whole life but, BUT, this will all be worth it! that is how i like to hear the word. i need to teach it that way.

dutch will not back down if he does not want to do it. he will let you know too. i cannot play it up and trick him into belief that this will be enjoyable and all his wildest dreams will come true (which for him would be to get hiro from the thomas the tank engine movies). dutch's 1st birthday cake was blueberries piled high covered in a home made whipped cream and he wore his disdain for that topping on his face loud and clear...he was having none of the cream and all of the blueberries.