Years ago my wife and I started going to a church called CFC in Belfast. We had previously been at City Church where the worship was very prophetic and creative. Our bar was set pretty high.
At the new church the music was varied and led mainly by a guy who ran a business and was raising three kids.
Every time he led worship it seemed like he had written a new song. On a beat up out of tune Takemine acoustic with sometimes only 5 strings he’d lead with a band of amateur musicians. Mainly they were there out of relationship more than skill set.
For years he led and if one of his songs was liked by other worship leaders they’d pick it up and play it on their time to lead.
No it wasn’t “excellent” it wasn’t polished and it wasn’t professional but it was anointed. And that was because the leader was seeking God and His presence before everything else
The thing was each worship leader who picked up his songs did it in their own style. They changed the key, the groove and the feel if it suited them. In other words they interpreted the song their own way and made it theirs. And you know what. It was also anointed. Over time the good songs stayed and the others faded away.
Back then there was no “worship industry” and no possibility of making money from it. Everyone was themselves and for good or for bad they were 100% authentic to who they were and what they liked. As Andy Summers (Police guitarist) said, “They weren’t chasing a sound. They were making their own sound.”
Greatness only comes from authenticity because God only anoints what He creates and cannot and will not anoint the duplicates of “successful” worship no matter how polished and gleaming it looks. Your incredible, loving, generous, kind and 100 percent authentic heavenly father dreamed you before the foundation of the earth. Before He spoke light and sound and made the world round, before oceans crashed and sea birds swooped and trees and insects and life as we know it emerged, He dreamed you. The unique you. the complex, inspired, crazy, outrageous, careful, perfect child you are, He dreamed. AND He sent His Son to buy you with His precious beautiful blood. If He did all this to create, redeem and love you why would He wish you to be just like someone else or hear you slavishly copy what they do? He wants your song!!!
If we keep reproducing what we think will succeed because it’s already successful we are chasing the wrong goal. Success in worship is spirit and truth. There’s nothing truthful about mimicking Bethel, or Hillsongs or anything else. And if it’s not truthful it’s a fake and if it’s a fake with no truth then is there any spirit in it?
Worship doesn’t sell like it once did and maybe that’s the best thing to ever happen to Christian music. Because maybe we’ll go back to being authentic because we are focused on His gold rather than the gold.
If you want anointing get into the presence and commune with your incredibly loving authentic father. He’s not asking you to be something you’re not, nor wear Sauls armour nor the emperors new clothes. Love, serve, surrender, die to yourself and submit to authority for out of such beautiful building blocks anointing grows.
He made you, Loves you and wants your song not a karaoke version of your favorite hit or facsimile production.
Listen child.
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