Discipling a Nation – What’s That About?
January 30, 2009
It just dawned on me why the last fews days have felt like I’ve been wading through treacle!
Earlier in the week I had the privilege of leading worship at a very significant, but largely under-the-radar, event in the Senate Room of Stormont (our parliament here in Northern Ireland).
It was a gathering of intercessors and prophetic folks who are journeying the process of ‘Discipling a Nation’
In the words of my good mate Davy Kidd it’s “the idea that ‘we’ Christians representing all denominations can ‘Disciple a Nation’
So far the experiment seems to be working, this approach was formed out of our prophetic initiative for the 2006/2008 Global day of Prayer events. We basically follow this simple process;
1. Listen to God for prophetic insight as to the issues he wants to deal with in our Government
2. Bind any negative ideas, mindsets, or spirits to use another word, here on earth so that they may be bound in Heaven.
3. Loose and release positive thoughts, mindsets and Holy Spirit empowered bible based replacements, to the political establishment
and people.
4. Pray into these directions adding a ‘shaft to the prophetic arrowhead’ so that Gods will may be carried through in our Nation.
5. Try to communicate with other believers the issues that God has raised and we have begun to deal with.
6. Then Watch the news or through our inside connections listen for testimony about changes.
7. Finally give thanks and praise to God for allowing us to be a part of his will bringing his Kingdom here on earth.”
So that’s the process. Here are a couple of the things that came out of our time on Tuesday.
1. There was a sense that we have moved into a whole new fresh ‘season’ after a prolonged period of transition.
2. However, In the coming weeks it will seem like the opposite of that. The analogy that was given was a picture of what happens just before a tsunami hits, there is a sudden outflow of tide and what once looked like a sandy golden beach suddenly becomes a rocky weed covered seabed.
It’s like the real nature of what’s going on in our land ‘below the surface’ get revealed – then comes the wave, in this case we’re praying for a wave of grace; mercy that triumphs over judgment.
Interestingly, one of the poignant worship moments on the night was from the old Welsh Hymn ‘Here is Love’. It was the last line turned into a prayer – ‘Let Heaven’s peace and perfect justice kiss this guilty world in love’.
Anyway, back to the treacle thing.
Anytime I find myself involved in these type of events where history can hinge on what we do it seems there can be a backlash sometimes!
Any spare prayers greatly appreciated!
Recession: Don’t worry – sing this song…
January 29, 2009
I’ve decided to give another song away from Mercy Tracks Me Down. In fact it’s the song that kind of began the journey for me into doing this stuff full time.
Here’s the story.
Back in June 2006 whilst on a day retreat, and in the middle of some serious financial challenges in my business life at the time, it dawned on me that I had drifted away from my call as a songwriter.
I hadn’t written a song in 2 years at this point, I had gotten overwhelmed in the day-to-day challenge of keeping my career afloat and allowed the songwriting creativity to dry up.
So, simply as a discipline to kick start the process again I decided I would write a song that day. It didn’t matter whether it was going to be good or bad, it was more important to just get the juices going again.
Anyway, I was sitting on the beach at Downhill (see my office) and noticed the birds catching insects as they flew and other sea birds diving for fish. So I started singing out what I saw.
The end result was that this song was pretty much done and dusted with in the hour. Whether anyone else thinks it’s any good or not is kinda secondary for me because it really brought my focus back to the true source of my provision. We do attract what we think about – hence all the commands to not worry (Mt6:26-34) and for me this simple song helped correct some of my vision.
Long story short. In less than a year I was out of debt and doing full-time what I’m called to do.
I don’t want to sound trite here but there genuinely is a realm of provision that supersedes the economic systems in which we live.
Anyhow, if you’re suffering the effects of recession this may be a helpful antidote.
Click here to play the mp3 – Thank You For Your Faithfulness (from Mercy Tracks Me Down)
or
Right click here and choose save as to download the mp3, chord chart and power point file.
Cheers – Andy
P.S. – If you end up using this song in a public worship context, let me know how it goes.
P.P.S – Feel free to share this with anyone who you think might benefit.
Worship Leading: Have You Noticed These Trends?
January 19, 2009
I’d love to know what your experience has been and hear your comments.
Let me know what you think below.
Let’s Get Social
'I've known Andy for 18 years - both as a worship leader in the church I attended as a teenager, and then as a friend and co-leader as we grew a little older together.
