It is January of 2010. That means several things. It is a new month, it is a new year, and it is a new decade. There are new years resolutions, there are new plans to be made, there are new friendships to be had. Among these things there are many more that I will let you ponder about on your own. For me though, it’s not just a new year, and it’s not just a time when we can start over and try to “do better” this year than we did last year. Instead I rang in the new year on the side of an interstate in Nebraska, in below freezing weather with some sparklers, apple-peach sparkling cider (which I would not recommend) and nine people who would grow to be closer friends within the following few days than they were the year before. You may be thinking, “How is this relevant to radio or anything music?” Well, I’m getting there, you just need to be a little patient.
First of all, Kristian Stanfill was out here last month for Skull Church. I would really encourage you to check out his stuff and listen to the interview I got to do with him while he was out here.
Kristian was one of the worship leaders at Passion2010 and I had the awesome opportunity to interview him for a few minutes while I was out there. You can listen by checking out the link at the bottom of the page. We talked about what Passion was, what it was like to be leading worship for thousands of students, and things that have been going on in his life. We aired it on the radio, but if you missed it, you can check it out, like I said, at the bottom of this blog.
Why were we on the side of the road drinking cider and lighting sparklers? We were on our way to Passion2010. You may be wondering what that is. According to their vision, Passion says, “At the heart of it all, Passion exists to see a generation stake their lives on what matters most. For us, that is the fame of the One who rescues and restores, and our opportunity to amplify His name in everything we do.” So ten of us drove across the country, forty hours, non-stop, to go to a four day conference in Atlanta, Georgia, with the hopes of having our lives radically changed and impassioned for the glory and renown of Christ. It happened. We made it. 21,000 students had their lives changed by God through some of the greatest teachers, thinkers of this generation, and talented worship leaders in the world. Such teachers included Frances Chan, Louie Giglio and John Piper, to name a few. Bands that played included Charlie Hall, the David Crowder Band, Hillsong, Kristian Stanfill, Chris Tomlin and many more. And though the conference as a whole was amazing and utterly indescribable, I am not here to tell you about the great teachings or even how talented the bands were, but instead, I just wanted to let you know a little something that I learned from experience.
Many students may tell you that their focus in life was shifted from the selfish and worldly to the glory of Christ. Some may tell you they had never felt so small in comparison the the hugeness of God. Others may tell you that the calling of their hearts and vocation became more clear than ever. Even more still would say they were awakened to grace, healing, glory or justice, and to all of those I say, “Praise the Lord!”, for he has truly done amazing things and will continue. My experience was more focused on the side of worship. I gained so much insight and was challenged in so many ways be each of the teachers, but if I had to give you one thing that rocked my world more than any other I would say it happened during worship.
On a couple of nights, after the main sessions and after breaking out into smaller groups to discuss, we had the opportunity to go to a late night concert. The first night was the David Crowder* Band. (It was great, if you were wondering) The second night was a concert from Hillsong United. If you ever have the chance to see Hillsong live, I would like to advise you to not even hesitate, but to go in a heartbeat. I know it seems almost superficial to say that my favorite part of the conference was going to a concert by an amazing band, but I would argue that the experience was one of the most visceral and internally powerful moments I have ever experienced. You see, going to the concert was great. We had some of the best seats in the arena and got to listen to some of the best worship leaders in the world. It doesn’t get much better than that, but that also seems so superficial. While many were impacted by teachings on the glory of God and who we are as opposed to what we do or who we know, I was impacted by a concert. That seems almost shallow, but I will explain.
Worship is good. Worship is great. But what is worship? Looking back at the Old English etymology of the word, it means “worth-ship” or to give worth to something. It is to reverently love and devote yourself to something.
So why was a concert may favorite part of a life changing gathering of college aged students? Well, it wasn’t a concert for me, and I’d even say it wasn’t a concert of most, if not all, of the students that were a part of it. For me, during that time, I felt I had a renewed meaning of what worship was, what worship looks like and what worship was meant to be. We are always told, “It’s not just singing to God,” and “it’s not just going through the motions.” So, as I stood in a room filled with thousands of other people my age, all praising a God of just and might and power and healing and grace and redemption and love … well, nothing else in the world seemed to matter other than joining in on the greatness of what it meant to exalt the One who made us to worship Him. I wasn’t just singing a song to a God who loves us. I was praising a Lord who sacrificed everything to show us a love that none of us deserved. I was blessed to see the pureness and humbleness of the group of people leading us to worship the same God that they held with reverence, honor and the highest adoration. It wasn’t just a group of people lifting their voices and hands to a God who they know loves us, but it was a group of individuals, who have made up one body and one heartbeat, all crying out to proclaim the majesty and greatness of our God. If I could describe it in more imagery and metaphor, I would say it was an arena of thousands who sang out as one heart, with one purpose and desire. It wasn’t just people singing. It was the sons and daughters of the Most High proclaiming that what they lived for was greater than the things, people and status of this earth. It was one people proclaiming that what they lived for was the only thing worthy of their praise, it was the only thing worth living for.
It wasn’t a concert. It was God’s people magnifying His name for His glory. At one point the band was led to just play while people sang the song of their hearts. The room was filled with thousands of voices singing out the cries of their hearts, singing out the greatness of God, singing out the unimaginable importance of a love that is so powerful it has raised us from the dead and into a life of undeserved favor.
So what is worship? It’s not just singing out to God, but it’s a pouring out of everything that you have within you to say, “Hey, this is what I am living for. This is what I am dying for. This is what my life is going to proclaim.” That is a powerful thing.
So, maybe I didn’t leave with my life radically changed by a speaker, and maybe I didn’t leave with new life changing friendships, but I did leave with my life challenged by speakers, and friendships that have grown more than they would have before. Most significantly though, I left with a renewed spirit of worship. I’ve come back to Montana with a heart that says, “You know what, worship isn’t just living for something, but it actually living out for something, it’s actually magnifying something through who you are and what you do. It’s so much greater than just living for something. It’s living to glorify something. It’s living with the sole (or soul) purpose of magnifying and making renown something or someone.” So, let that be an encouragement for you. Don’t just live your life for Christ, but live your life to make Him famous. Make your life count for something more. So live your life for the glory of someone greater than you or I. Live your life for the glory of His name.
Click Here For Kristian Stanfill Interview
A Blog By Elisha Guido