FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2008,7:16 a.m.
PASSION
I managed to make it to the Passion worship concert at GM Place last night - so cool. Passion is a ministry to college/university-aged young adults (I know, I know - I'm slightly beyond 18-25 years old, but true passion knows no age limits - that's my line and I'm sticking to it!). Louie Giglio spoke, and Chris Tomlin and the David Crowder Band led worship.
I was struck last night by two things most notably. Louie talked about grace, and I got thinking about whether we, as we begin to "mature" in the faith, start to lose a deep understanding of grace. "Oh yes, I get the cross, but I'm going deeper now in my walk with Christ." What? How can one go deeper than the grave? Deeper than the foundation of our ability to talk to God? Deeper than the grace that cost Jesus his life and blood to ensure our salvation? Yes, we are to mature in our depth of intimacy with God, yes, we are to pursue a deeper understanding of God and the character in us that brings Him pleasure, but moving beyond the cross? I hope not. If so, we have created some kind of religion that does not have the saving work of the cross at its centre.
As a worship leader, I know that a bunch of years ago a tonne of worship songwriters were focused on the cross - I don't think that is any mistake. The Lord was taking us through a season of remembering the foundation that is His sacrifice and calling us back to the passion for Him through the grace that He offers us. But we aren't called to leave that, or to move on. Anyone truly passionate is passionate about everything to do with their loved one - the things that first caused them to fall in love and the things they learned later. I don't ever want to fall down in my passion for Christ that is due to His grace - it saved me. Rescued me where I was utterly unable to rescue myself. Sometimes, I must admit, I fall into the category of one whose passion about grace has slipped. May it not be so - help me Lord.
.......
The second thing that struck me last night was less profound. Chris Tomlin's band still needs a fiddle player. [Ahem.] (Though I noticed that Crowder's band has one.) AND those guys all need at least one token female on stage - probably most preferably a worshipping freak, out of her mind with a passion for her lover, Jesus.
Hmmm.....I wonder where they could find someone like that? :)
I was struck last night by two things most notably. Louie talked about grace, and I got thinking about whether we, as we begin to "mature" in the faith, start to lose a deep understanding of grace. "Oh yes, I get the cross, but I'm going deeper now in my walk with Christ." What? How can one go deeper than the grave? Deeper than the foundation of our ability to talk to God? Deeper than the grace that cost Jesus his life and blood to ensure our salvation? Yes, we are to mature in our depth of intimacy with God, yes, we are to pursue a deeper understanding of God and the character in us that brings Him pleasure, but moving beyond the cross? I hope not. If so, we have created some kind of religion that does not have the saving work of the cross at its centre.
As a worship leader, I know that a bunch of years ago a tonne of worship songwriters were focused on the cross - I don't think that is any mistake. The Lord was taking us through a season of remembering the foundation that is His sacrifice and calling us back to the passion for Him through the grace that He offers us. But we aren't called to leave that, or to move on. Anyone truly passionate is passionate about everything to do with their loved one - the things that first caused them to fall in love and the things they learned later. I don't ever want to fall down in my passion for Christ that is due to His grace - it saved me. Rescued me where I was utterly unable to rescue myself. Sometimes, I must admit, I fall into the category of one whose passion about grace has slipped. May it not be so - help me Lord.
.......
The second thing that struck me last night was less profound. Chris Tomlin's band still needs a fiddle player. [Ahem.] (Though I noticed that Crowder's band has one.) AND those guys all need at least one token female on stage - probably most preferably a worshipping freak, out of her mind with a passion for her lover, Jesus.
Hmmm.....I wonder where they could find someone like that? :)
