Dancing and Applause

*I just re-posted this because I didn't like the inconsistent font between this post and my others... so.. yeah..*

I think God taught me a little more about worship these past few weeks and I want to get my thoughts down on paper (or pixilated screens) before it gets lost in the small mundane thoughts of my life.

We lead worship last Sunday morning for the youth at Northstar Church in Atlanta, GA (Lauren Boyd’s church) and for the next couple of days we were able to be a part of their youth outreach program called “Leap” where they go out into the community and serve in the name of Jesus Christ. The place we went on Monday was a youth center in an apartment complex. It was kind of like a Christian daycare almost. At this youth center, the kids are broken up into 4 or 5 groups and in each they did a different activity. I chose to go to the “Human Video” class, which was pretty much interpretive dance for 2 hours. It was one of the most memorable things I’ve done all summer. Not only for the fact that I, Jesse Phillips, did interpretive dance for 2 hours, but also for the fact that the children that were in that class left a huge impact on me. One kid named CJ loved the fact that a “big kid” would come hang out and dance with them and he taught me all the dance moves to “Shackles” by Mary, Mary. Another girl who was too shy to tell me her name taught me the dance for “Potters Hand.” It wasn’t a super spiritual “I can see Jesus in all of their faces” moment, but it was a time where God used the kids to let down my guard in a sense, and just worship in a way that I don’t think I would normally have even thought of.

That night we attended a service at First Baptist Woodstock that was called “Prime.” It happens once a month and is geared towards college aged kids. Something that the worship leader said at the very beginning of the service that was very thought-provoking for me was something to the effect of “let us lay down our own agenda of what we want to sing to God and rather focus on what God wants us to sing to Him.” I wish I could remember the exact quote, but that’s the general gist of it. At that moment, I felt conviction that I have always focused on what I want to sing to God rather than what He wants me to sing. Whenever a worship song that I’m not too fond of comes up in the set-list it seems as though I give God my half-hearted worship, but when a song that I enjoy comes up I feel more inclined to raise my hands. What a hypocritical way to worship! That’s me saying that the worship is about me rather than about Jesus.
A few days ago we were in Summerton, SC playing for Hickory Grove Baptist Church’s youth camp. It was a great experience and I think God really used this one particular night to encourage me to worship Him in a deeper sense. I don’t remember which night it was, but on the 2nd or 3rd night the rain just started coming down in torrents. The room that we were gathered in to worship and hear from the speaker started to take in water. The ceiling was leaking in a few spots and water was coming in through the backdoors on both sides of the room. The adult leaders were cleaning up the mess during our worship set and for some reason I had one of those moments where it felt like time just stopped. The rain clapped onto the tin rooftop and it sounded like thunderous applause. God was receiving a standing ovation from the rain falling down on that roof. I felt at that moment the Holy Spirit teaching me to let God reign down in my life so that He could get a standing ovation from what was going on in my heart.

I think it’s about time I lay myself at the altar and give God my undivided worship. Worship that is not based on how I’m feeling, a song that’s being played, or an atmosphere, but rather worship that is as unstoppable as a rain storm, clapping with fervency at the amazing work that God has done.