by Jason Joyner | Jul 25, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I’ve spent a couple of days meditating on what I felt happened at Calling All Nations on 15 July. There is a lot to ponder, and there is likely more that will come to me over time.
On one level, CAN had some very ambitious goals. They wanted 70-100,000 worshipers initially, overflowing the stadium. The last numbers I’ve heard have been from 22-25,000. From a worldly viewpoint that may be seen as a disappointment. However, that doesn’t account for the heart of the people that were there and what was accomplished in the spiritual realm. God is pleased by our hearts of praise, not necessarily big numbers. I’m not disappointed at all regarding the turnout.
I went to CAN without very strong expectations. It was hard to know what would happen with that many people coming to seek the Lord together. I mentioned before that I did have a picture of it being very easy to worship where we were all coming with a heart of worship, but that there was warfare in seeing us break through.
I did hope for 2 things, 1 corporate and 1 personal. I wanted to see a move of God manifest right there in the stadium. Personally, I wanted revelation for where God is taking me, especially in the light of losing my job in 6 more weeks!
As far as the “move of God”, I think that there was something started there, but it may not be as dramatic as one could see. I didn’t really expect people coming out with tongues of fire above all our heads (even though that would be WAY cool). I think people left there with a determination to see Jesus exalted both through worship and in bringing people to Him. As a speaker said during the event:
Worship without missions is self-indulgent. Missions without worship is self-defeating.
That message was repeated several times, especially toward the end of the day as people were ready to go out from there. There wasn’t a specific manifestation of His presence, but do we need to have some other confirmation that God is going out with us? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I don’t think it was wrong to look for something incredible, but God did speak to me and tell me to focus on Him, not on what I could only see physically. Why not always expect God to move when we come together?
For me, I didn’t get a map with waypoints on what to do next (wouldn’t that be so nice!). I left with healing in me though. I was healed from self-doubt, wounds in the past that kept me from really worshiping Him with my whole heart, and from the attacks I’ve been under recently. I left with a greater determination than ever to see His glory spread into all the earth, because He is worthy. He is such a great God, and He deserves all people praising Him. This has been my heart for a very long time, but it was burned even deeper into me. I don’t know exactly the steps I will take next, but I know that the One who goes with me is ever faithful, and I have no reason to doubt or fear.
Calling All Nations was a special event. It wasn’t necessarily “the” event of the year. God is delighted in a few believers worshiping Him quietly by candlelight, trying to avoid persecution, probably even more than a bunch of spoiled Westerners (for the most part) jumping up and down in a stadium. But Germany needs a move of God, and seems thirsty. I believe this event was a long-awaited drink to refresh the believers, to touch the land, and that from this there will be fruit that is harvested over a long period of time. I’m sure more will come out from the event as we get further away.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for the event or for our group, because your prayers made SUCH a difference. Blessings!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 25, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I’ve spent a couple of days meditating on what I felt happened at Calling All Nations on 15 July. There is a lot to ponder, and there is likely more that will come to me over time.
On one level, CAN had some very ambitious goals. They wanted 70-100,000 worshipers initially, overflowing the stadium. The last numbers I’ve heard have been from 22-25,000. From a worldly viewpoint that may be seen as a disappointment. However, that doesn’t account for the heart of the people that were there and what was accomplished in the spiritual realm. God is pleased by our hearts of praise, not necessarily big numbers. I’m not disappointed at all regarding the turnout.
I went to CAN without very strong expectations. It was hard to know what would happen with that many people coming to seek the Lord together. I mentioned before that I did have a picture of it being very easy to worship where we were all coming with a heart of worship, but that there was warfare in seeing us break through.
I did hope for 2 things, 1 corporate and 1 personal. I wanted to see a move of God manifest right there in the stadium. Personally, I wanted revelation for where God is taking me, especially in the light of losing my job in 6 more weeks!
As far as the “move of God”, I think that there was something started there, but it may not be as dramatic as one could see. I didn’t really expect people coming out with tongues of fire above all our heads (even though that would be WAY cool). I think people left there with a determination to see Jesus exalted both through worship and in bringing people to Him. As a speaker said during the event:
Worship without missions is self-indulgent. Missions without worship is self-defeating.
That message was repeated several times, especially toward the end of the day as people were ready to go out from there. There wasn’t a specific manifestation of His presence, but do we need to have some other confirmation that God is going out with us? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I don’t think it was wrong to look for something incredible, but God did speak to me and tell me to focus on Him, not on what I could only see physically. Why not always expect God to move when we come together?
For me, I didn’t get a map with waypoints on what to do next (wouldn’t that be so nice!). I left with healing in me though. I was healed from self-doubt, wounds in the past that kept me from really worshiping Him with my whole heart, and from the attacks I’ve been under recently. I left with a greater determination than ever to see His glory spread into all the earth, because He is worthy. He is such a great God, and He deserves all people praising Him. This has been my heart for a very long time, but it was burned even deeper into me. I don’t know exactly the steps I will take next, but I know that the One who goes with me is ever faithful, and I have no reason to doubt or fear.
Calling All Nations was a special event. It wasn’t necessarily “the” event of the year. God is delighted in a few believers worshiping Him quietly by candlelight, trying to avoid persecution, probably even more than a bunch of spoiled Westerners (for the most part) jumping up and down in a stadium. But Germany needs a move of God, and seems thirsty. I believe this event was a long-awaited drink to refresh the believers, to touch the land, and that from this there will be fruit that is harvested over a long period of time. I’m sure more will come out from the event as we get further away.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for the event or for our group, because your prayers made SUCH a difference. Blessings!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 22, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
First of all, check out the pictures from http://www.himmelszeuge.de/ and clicking on “Fotos”.
Last post I talked about the early part of the Global Gathering. The day was split into 3 parts, and after we sang in the international choir, we had the first short break. I met a worship leader from Toronto (Allen Fros?) while in line to get a brat! It was cool to hear the stories of people who had come to this event.
The second set was meant to have a focus of intercession and prayer. This section was the hardest for me, as sometimes it felt like we were trying to build up some momentum from the initial buzz. Some prophetic people came out at one point and gave words about Germany rising up. I appreciated the word about Germany having a heritage of church music, and that God would call them back to joy and song again. This meshed with some of what my wife and I had felt during our time traveling in Germany.
At this point my three young boys, who had been troopers our whole trip, needed a little time outside the stadium. We went outside for an ice cream and run-the-boys-around break. There were always a lot of people on the outside of the stadium, checking out the booths or kicking back on the grass. I wonder how much some of these folks missed out on. I guess we missed Kings Kids performance, which was disappointing since I wanted the boys to see them. It was interesting that this group, and another leader worshipping with kids, all had technical problems where their microphones weren’t working. Out of all of the performers, only the two that focused on kids had the difficulty. Definitely sounds like warfare to me!
David Ruis brought the second section to a close. He’s recently moved in more “experimental” worship, I guess you could call it (see his album The Mystery). He played some of his classic songs with a different touch than the original arrangement, but his heart for the “mystery of God” really led us into touching heaven. In fact, I wish he could’ve kept going, because it felt that we were close to a “breakthrough” when he stopped, but it was time for another break.
We moved into the evening, and the praise really seemed to raise at this point. Through the day it felt like we were plowing ground, and it took more of a choice to worship. I think when we come to such an event, the expectation can be that we just have to show up and the worship will be there to lift us to the heavens. But it was a choice – tuning out the people around us, tuning out my boys playing and fighting at my feet :), and not worrying about my expectations and just focusing on Jesus alone.
Tim Hughes came on in the evening. He is a younger worship leader, but he does have insight and anointing. His song “Here I Am to Worship” has been a powerful song in the church, but this night it meant a lot more to me. I feel like I laid myself bare before the Lord and worshipped Him with everything I had. It was my personal highlight, as I felt His gentle touch on me as I poured my heart out to Him.
The evening seemed to have the other “big names”, if you will: Reuben Morgan, Delerious?, Matt Redman. (Other notables from the day were Judy Bailey, Kees Kraayenoord, I Themba, Broken Walls, and of course Noel Richards). The evening led us up in praise, and the excitement in the stadium increased. There was one point where I think it was Reuben had led us in some exciting, upbeat worship. Then a German worship group followed and immediately switched to a more intercessory type of worship – which could’ve been very powerful, but the switch was kind of jarring. Of course, it didn’t help that the crowd started doing the Wave, which happened many times through the night. Having someone reverently call out to the Holy Spirit while the crowd is going, “Wooooo” and watching for their turn to stand doesn’t flow.
The evening also had a call to missions, which I will talk about more next time. The evening ended simply, with Noel Richards closing us on a new worship song that spoke of the nations worshipping Jesus. We left the stadium with our bodies exhausted, but our spirits exultant in spending the day with the fellowship of the saints in worship.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 22, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
First of all, check out the pictures from http://www.himmelszeuge.de/ and clicking on “Fotos”.
Last post I talked about the early part of the Global Gathering. The day was split into 3 parts, and after we sang in the international choir, we had the first short break. I met a worship leader from Toronto (Allen Fros?) while in line to get a brat! It was cool to hear the stories of people who had come to this event.
The second set was meant to have a focus of intercession and prayer. This section was the hardest for me, as sometimes it felt like we were trying to build up some momentum from the initial buzz. Some prophetic people came out at one point and gave words about Germany rising up. I appreciated the word about Germany having a heritage of church music, and that God would call them back to joy and song again. This meshed with some of what my wife and I had felt during our time traveling in Germany.
At this point my three young boys, who had been troopers our whole trip, needed a little time outside the stadium. We went outside for an ice cream and run-the-boys-around break. There were always a lot of people on the outside of the stadium, checking out the booths or kicking back on the grass. I wonder how much some of these folks missed out on. I guess we missed Kings Kids performance, which was disappointing since I wanted the boys to see them. It was interesting that this group, and another leader worshipping with kids, all had technical problems where their microphones weren’t working. Out of all of the performers, only the two that focused on kids had the difficulty. Definitely sounds like warfare to me!
David Ruis brought the second section to a close. He’s recently moved in more “experimental” worship, I guess you could call it (see his album The Mystery). He played some of his classic songs with a different touch than the original arrangement, but his heart for the “mystery of God” really led us into touching heaven. In fact, I wish he could’ve kept going, because it felt that we were close to a “breakthrough” when he stopped, but it was time for another break.
We moved into the evening, and the praise really seemed to raise at this point. Through the day it felt like we were plowing ground, and it took more of a choice to worship. I think when we come to such an event, the expectation can be that we just have to show up and the worship will be there to lift us to the heavens. But it was a choice – tuning out the people around us, tuning out my boys playing and fighting at my feet :), and not worrying about my expectations and just focusing on Jesus alone.
Tim Hughes came on in the evening. He is a younger worship leader, but he does have insight and anointing. His song “Here I Am to Worship” has been a powerful song in the church, but this night it meant a lot more to me. I feel like I laid myself bare before the Lord and worshipped Him with everything I had. It was my personal highlight, as I felt His gentle touch on me as I poured my heart out to Him.
The evening seemed to have the other “big names”, if you will: Reuben Morgan, Delerious?, Matt Redman. (Other notables from the day were Judy Bailey, Kees Kraayenoord, I Themba, Broken Walls, and of course Noel Richards). The evening led us up in praise, and the excitement in the stadium increased. There was one point where I think it was Reuben had led us in some exciting, upbeat worship. Then a German worship group followed and immediately switched to a more intercessory type of worship – which could’ve been very powerful, but the switch was kind of jarring. Of course, it didn’t help that the crowd started doing the Wave, which happened many times through the night. Having someone reverently call out to the Holy Spirit while the crowd is going, “Wooooo” and watching for their turn to stand doesn’t flow.
The evening also had a call to missions, which I will talk about more next time. The evening ended simply, with Noel Richards closing us on a new worship song that spoke of the nations worshipping Jesus. We left the stadium with our bodies exhausted, but our spirits exultant in spending the day with the fellowship of the saints in worship.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 21, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
*Blink*
Ok, I think I’m awake now. Nothing like jet lag and running straight to work from a trip from Germany to keep one away from his blog. Oh, and soccer night with the boys. And worship practice…
Anyway, I am happy to report about Calling All Nations from July 15th:
Wow.
I think it is hard to fully express what it is like to be part of 25,000 people praising Jesus Christ as Lord. It definitely is a miniature picture of what heaven will be like, considering that 30+ nations were together in worship.
There was warfare involved. Prior to the event I had to deal with some sin, and it was not pleasant. However, I would rather have the Lord expose me than to go into something like this without being as clean as I can be. It was a hard confrontation, but the Lord disciplines those He loves.
My only complaint was the punctual, nay…EARLY Germans! We didn’t account for how long we’d have to spend going through the entrance line, and were searching for our seats lost outside the huge stadium when we started hearing the Psalm Drummers lead off. That was my only disappointment is that it started a few minutes early and we weren’t RIGHT THERE. But the drum group pounded away while a flag corp performed, followed by another group carrying many of the flags of the world.
The day was split into 3 sessions, as we were there from 11 am-9 pm. The initial session focused on praise and God’s love. The second session had more of an intecessory/prophetic bent. The third session directed us to the call of missions as a natural outworking of worship.
There was a main stage at one end of the stadium, then a small set-up opposite this. Acts would alternate between the main stage and the fore stage, in order to stagger acts without big delays. It actually worked quite well, since the stadium is large enough that we had to look at the large monitors to see anything anyway.
We alternated between English and German worship songs throughout the day, even though English was dominate. It worked well, as it seemed most Germans were quite familiar with the “big” English worship songs.
Five of our group, including my wife and I, were part of an international choir that performed with Brian Doerksen (two of our team were gracious enough to tackle our boys in the stands!). We only had a couple hours of practice the day before, and none of our team realized we’d be singing in German as well as English. The spirit of worship carried us through, and it was just a time to lift Him up, no matter what language (although I’m glad I didn’t have to sing a solo!). It was a powerful time to join together with these brothers and sisters and be a small part of the whole event.
I think I’ll share about the 2nd and 3rd sessions next time, then talk about my impressions of the event – what I’ve taken away from it, and maybe encouraging all of you in some of it as well. Until then, “Holy is the Lord!” (the translation of the title of this post). Also, check out this blog report from CAN. As I can find other posts on this, I’ll link to them here.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 21, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
*Blink*
Ok, I think I’m awake now. Nothing like jet lag and running straight to work from a trip from Germany to keep one away from his blog. Oh, and soccer night with the boys. And worship practice…
Anyway, I am happy to report about Calling All Nations from July 15th:
Wow.
I think it is hard to fully express what it is like to be part of 25,000 people praising Jesus Christ as Lord. It definitely is a miniature picture of what heaven will be like, considering that 30+ nations were together in worship.
There was warfare involved. Prior to the event I had to deal with some sin, and it was not pleasant. However, I would rather have the Lord expose me than to go into something like this without being as clean as I can be. It was a hard confrontation, but the Lord disciplines those He loves.
My only complaint was the punctual, nay…EARLY Germans! We didn’t account for how long we’d have to spend going through the entrance line, and were searching for our seats lost outside the huge stadium when we started hearing the Psalm Drummers lead off. That was my only disappointment is that it started a few minutes early and we weren’t RIGHT THERE. But the drum group pounded away while a flag corp performed, followed by another group carrying many of the flags of the world.
The day was split into 3 sessions, as we were there from 11 am-9 pm. The initial session focused on praise and God’s love. The second session had more of an intecessory/prophetic bent. The third session directed us to the call of missions as a natural outworking of worship.
There was a main stage at one end of the stadium, then a small set-up opposite this. Acts would alternate between the main stage and the fore stage, in order to stagger acts without big delays. It actually worked quite well, since the stadium is large enough that we had to look at the large monitors to see anything anyway.
We alternated between English and German worship songs throughout the day, even though English was dominate. It worked well, as it seemed most Germans were quite familiar with the “big” English worship songs.
Five of our group, including my wife and I, were part of an international choir that performed with Brian Doerksen (two of our team were gracious enough to tackle our boys in the stands!). We only had a couple hours of practice the day before, and none of our team realized we’d be singing in German as well as English. The spirit of worship carried us through, and it was just a time to lift Him up, no matter what language (although I’m glad I didn’t have to sing a solo!). It was a powerful time to join together with these brothers and sisters and be a small part of the whole event.
I think I’ll share about the 2nd and 3rd sessions next time, then talk about my impressions of the event – what I’ve taken away from it, and maybe encouraging all of you in some of it as well. Until then, “Holy is the Lord!” (the translation of the title of this post). Also, check out this blog report from CAN. As I can find other posts on this, I’ll link to them here.
