What an incredible weekend of worship and song for our first ever Worship Seminar with our friends at Columbia Heights Assembly in Longview, WA! Maryl and I joined them last week, December 1-3 for a wonderful time of revelation, teaching and release in worship. It was a fascinating time to watch Jesus work among us especially since I had been sick with a bad cold all the week prior to the seminar, my laptop had crashed and both of us came in weak and tired. Amazingly, our strength was renewed minute by minute as we sensed people’s prayers for us and God’s anointing on the seminar.
Pastor Kent and Pam Doehne welcomed us to Columbia Heights and introduced us to the worship team led by Pastor Steve Myall. We started out with our Friday night ‘Worship Audition’ when I have the local team lead a set of worship so I can make an quick analysis of where I can help. It was a great time led by Jill (Pastor Kent’s daughter) and Celina. Afterwards I ministered about God’s vision for the weekend and for Columbia Heights, sharing a Psalm the Lord had given me for them specifically during the week.
I saw God’s vision for the church with Him establishing the worship as God-initiated, God-ordained, God-revealing and God-completed. A new level of faith in worship where God is actively involved with His people! I also saw:
Every song vital and every word alive
Every person changed in His presence
Every relationship healthy and revitalized
Every barrier broken down, revealing Jesus’ work of love among us
We ended with Evan Earwicker’s great song: You Will Remain (which all of you need to learn immediately of course, it is on our new CD: Come Be With Me)
Saturday was a great day filled with variety and depth that thrilled my heart. We started the day with a great time of prayer and then worship together that didn’t seem to need stopping. I invited their team to join me as I lead in songs they knew and some they didn’t know. Then we just expressed our love to him in song for awhile. It was wonderful. My General session was on The Breath of Worship discussing the part of the Holy Spirit in worship, helping every aspect of worship to come alive. Breathing God in and breathing Him out in creative and unique ways. Then after a short break, we went into the practical application of the Holy Spirit singing among us with the New Song.
We discussed Psalm 40:3 at length and gave them some creative tools for releasing the song in our lives. Then with some instruction we all released our songs, first to God and then to each other. It was wonderful to watch the sweetness, sincerity and strength of the song impacting each person as they turned and sang it to one another. Tears flowed freely as God sang to His people.
In the afternoon, I was starting to flag a little, but then we started the Choir Workshop and I must say, I was invigorated by them and God as we started singing back and forth, sharing simple principles of singing, worship and ministering together. I could literally feel them growing closer to one another as tuned their ears and their hearts to the song. Charleen, their choir director, has done an excellent job of preparing and honing this group for worship – they obviously deeply love and respect her. It was delightful to work once again with a choir (it’s been a while since I have had this pleasure) and watch them grow. By the end of this time I was feeling great, enervated and ready for more. I was amazed at how much energy I had at this time, and totally recognized God’s healing that accompanies His anointing on our lives.
We ended the day with a great workshop with the worship leaders and worship team, sharing principles of leading, preparation, communication, implementation and releasing the worship of the house. This team was really getting it! We restructured the setup on the platform for a better look, better communication and stronger presentation.
Sunday morning, their team lead worship along with the choir. And wow! What a look, what a sound and what a great spirit of worship on the place. They flowed beautifully between songs, they had a couple of good prophetic songs, the choir was full of energy and enthusiasm. The whole sanctuary seemed electrified!
I sang my new children’s song ‘And That’s Okay’ (I hope to get a video of this song on the website soon – great song) from Jeremiah 29:11! Had everybody standing and declaring ‘For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans for peace and not disaster, to give you a future and give you a hope’. And when we went into the ‘raise a hundred puppies’ part, everybody joined in, laughing and clapping. Great time of faith and joy.
I then shared briefly with the congregation concerning God’s song among us, the reason for singing, the place of faith in worship and God’s great love for each of us expressed in song. God really wants to restore His voice, His song, His joy among us in new dimensions from generation to generation. Ending with the Song of the Barren in Isaiah 54, I told them of the vision I had of the church lining the altars at the end, hands raised and singing their own songs, releasing the barrenness, the dryness, the pains of our lives and releasing faith through song. When I invited them to join me, they came and did just that! What a great picture I have in my heart of scores of people worshiping and being freed in His presence.
Maryl and I are humbled to be a part of what God is doing and singing throughout the earth! This was our first, significant step into all that He has for us and His church. Thanks, Columbia Heights. Thanks Pastor Kent and Pam. Thanks Steve and Connie.
Thanks, Jill and Celina and Linda. Thanks Allen, Sharron, Rick, Gary and Ches. Thanks Charleen. Thanks Josh. Thanks Tamra. Thanks Jim. Thanks Jessica and Savannah. Thank you all for your faithfulness to what God is calling you. May His song explode among you and captivate every heart for generations to come.
Tim and Maryl