#EN2010 Notes: A Matter of Age

July 29, 2010 by · 1 Comment

One of the many things I noticed during the EN2010 World Conference was the age group of the people who preached. I was especially struck with Jackie, the guy from the restricted country that I mentioned in my previous post. He was 19 when he met Jesus. When he came up the stage and the camera zoomed into a close up, I quipped to my victory group leader who was sitting next to me, “looks like he’s just in his early thirties!”

Jackie is indeed in his early thirties. And when I think about it, I can’t help but think of my own age and how many of my years were spent for personal pursuits in relation to the number of years I spent pursuing the things of God for my life. I also thought of the general idea among Filipino youth about not getting too serious about God in this age bracket. For many people, college years and the first few years at work are the time to get wild and be irresponsible. It’s the time to explore the world, experiment with lots of stuff and get crazy.

Last Sunday, Pastor Jojo Henson from Malaysia mentioned in passing how he was saved at the age of 20 and went into full time ministry at 22. He told us how the enemy has been telling him while he was in his twenties that he was too young to serve God. Now that he’s past forty, the enemy is trying to tell him that he is too old to make a difference. Of course the lies of the enemy sounds very ridiculous but it gets really intimidating if you start listening to it. The Lord reminded me of 1Timothy 4: 12: Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

While the world thinks it’s okay to be irresponsible when you’re young, the truth says otherwise. Young people need to make a choice on who to listen to. Some people sleepwalk through their younger years until the hard truths of adulthood jolt them to their senses. Others make wise decisions even when they’re too young to be right. But when you are on your thirties and you look back and try to make sense of what you’ve done so far, it is never fun to realize that others have already done so much while you were busy trying to look cool.

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#EN2010: Notes from Darlene Zschech’s Message

July 26, 2010 by · 3 Comments

Darlene Zschech, the Australian worship leader who brought us the ever famous Shout to the Lord, spoke at the Every Nation World Conference in Manila on Friday night. I must admit I attended the conference partly because she was going to be there. I really wanted to hear her speak. Not sing, mind you, but preach and teach from the word of God. I wanted to hear some snippets of her worship philosophy and somehow get a glimpse of how Hillsong became what it is today.

Darlene’s teaching was simple but powerful. The first thing she said that made me grab my notes was her definition of worship as a distinct response to a revelation of who Jesus is. I love the way she emphasized that worship is primarily about your relationship with Jesus, not the quality of the music nor the loudness of the singing. When you strip away the guitar, the keyboards, the screaming crowds, or even the entire band, worship could still go on because it has always been your heart responding to God.

Darlene also mentioned that the sounds will change but the intention and agenda remains the same. I’ve seen this happen in the Hillsong albums since the release of The Power of You Love (1992) and The Stone’s Been Rolled Away (1993). Hillsong music has changed down through the years. From the calm, soothing sounds of the 90s to Marty Sampson’s screaming in their newer albums, I’ve heard a definite change of sound that I didn’t like. The United Live series featured loud music that really turned me off for a few years. But when I think of the heart behind the music and how the music helped people around the world express their love for God in a new, fresh way, I quit complaining and joined in the noise.

Something about speaking the language of God was also mentioned in Darlene’s teaching. I think that was the highlight of her entire message that night. She recounted how the European settlement in Australia almost phased out the native speech of the Aboriginal Australians when the new foreign settlers forced the natives to speak English. There’s complicated history behind all these but the point Darlene made was if the enemy can silence your language, he can definitely silence your tribe. Christians ought to speak out the language of God or run the risk of getting silenced by the enemy.

Lastly, Darlene mentioned that in church, we seek to raise disciples, not celebrities. I love this part of her teaching simply because I’ve seen how the music team of some churches that I’ve been to are acting like celebrities in the local congregations. They don’t get into discipleship because they’re busy with their music. Some of them don’t even listen to the preaching of the word of God because they feel too important to be bothered with all that talks. In one particular church, the musicians were not even Christians. They’re rock stars who didn’t get signed up with a record label.

Hearing all these talks about the importance of our relationship with Jesus are a breath of fresh air for most and a gentle rebuke for some. God looks at the conditions of our hearts when we come to Him. Our inner lives matter. Let the music change. I no longer care if it’s Mexican chacha or RnB or Korean pop. If the sound points a person to a deeper understanding of God’s love and a stronger faith in Jesus, then let’s go ahead and rock!

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#EN2010 Afterglow: How to Land Safely

July 26, 2010 by · 1 Comment

Pastor Jojo Henson of Malaysia said something that got stuck in my head yesterday in Victory Caloocan. He mentioned in passing how Peter asked Jesus if they could make tents in the Mount of Transfiguration so they could stay there with Moses and Elijah. You’ve probably heard this a dozen times already but in light of the excitement and afterglow of the EN2010, I think this message never gets old. The idea is that Peter was so overwhelmed with the presence of two prominent Old Testament figures that he wondered aloud if they could just stay there and bask in the glory of the moment.

There was nothing wrong with the request. Peter probably did it in good faith, I mean, who wouldn’t want to just sit back and enjoy the glory of God’s presence? If it were me, I would probably feel the same way as Peter. The fact is that whenever we experience something glorious, our natural tendency is to hold on to it and never let it go.

But as much as we want to make the moment last, a time always comes when we have to step down from our high moments and get assimilated back to our daily realities. EN2010 concluded with a loud bang for most of us. Yesterday, Metro Manila churches enjoyed an extended time with some international delegates as they spent their Sunday with us. The mountain ends there though. Today, a day after all the flurry of activities, we’re back to our offices, to our work stations, to the normalcy of the daily grind. It’s time to roll up our sleeves again and deal with our backlogs.

As I think about these things, I am reminded of Acts 1: 8 and Matthew 28: 19: Jesus said that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses… therefore go and make disciples…”

Powerful encounters with God are meant to fuel us to love God more. They’re meant to drive us to action, to go and carry out His mandate with fresh fire and fresh revelation, not so we could sit back and just enjoy the glow. No, there’s a heaven for that kind of stuff. The sooner we understand that, the lesser the frustration we’ll feel. I’ve seen countless young men and women attend conferences and come home feeling like they are ready to take on the world. Some of them were even so fired up with the euphoria that they vowed to go into full time ministry. When they attend church the first Sunday after the conference, the sing the loudest and cry the hardest. Reality sets in after two or three weeks though. They come down from the mountain and face the gritty realities of the daily grind. Life’s back to normal again.

How are we to land safely then? I mean, after the exhilarating flight of our spirits, after the so-called foretaste of heaven, how do we touch down gracefully? I couldn’t find much clue in the story except the fact that Jesus walked with them on their way down the mountain. Jesus never rebuked Peter’s ignorant prayer to make three shelters. He perfectly understood why Peter longed for that permanence in a glorious place. But He had to take them to the real world again so they could get on with their jobs and their ministries and their callings.

It is such a comfort that the God who shows us His great power and glory is the same God who will walk with us as we go down to the normal, ordinary details of our days. He is alongside us the moment we got back to our work today. He is not just a God of the mountains or the valleys. He is God everywhere.

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