WHY DON’T WE ENTER INTO THE POTENTIAL OF GOD’S PRESENCE? A DISCOURSE… Comments Welcomed – Day 30 of 47 Days

I want to start by telling you the short story of an incident that occurred just recently while I was attending a dance convention that my wife teaches at. This convention and ministry is awesome and I’m so glad that my wife has the chance to be such a part of it… I was attending the final part of the weekend where the staff and students release their final group dances and solos. They always end with a massive group dance, which is what I want to share about here…

The dance was incredible, great choreography etc… But that’s not what struck me in the moment when I was viewing this dance. In the midst of the dance, I was seeing how “into it” the dancers were, how they were even worshipping God off-stage when they weren’t even on stage doing their “parts.” I myself was drawn to worship… my soul was drawn to the awareness of the presence of God that was manifesting upon those dancers movements of praise. It got to where I wanted to rip the suit-coat and tie off that I was wearing and jump up on the stage with them, ESPECIALLY THE END, after the music had stopped, when they were all just jumping and shouting around the stage. I even recall one of the dancers coming to the front of the stage and encouraged the crowd to enter into worship as well… But it never happened, and the lights came up and it was over…

You could talk to those dancers on stage and ask them what they felt in that moment… You could also ask someone in the audience what they felt and get a totally different answer…

What I want to do now is make a statement about God: He is ALWAYS AVAILABLE & IN OUR MIDST, IN HIS FULLNESS…

Now, I made a statement on my FB wall the other day which read, “The manifest presence of God is simply the omnipresence of God that people have chosen to embrace.”

What do I mean by that? It’s another way of saying that God is always with us and that His omnipresence becomes manifest once WE decide to embrace it, dance in it, sing in it… THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE WILL OCCUR WHEN YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WANT IT TO… It’s not based on WHEN OR IF God decides to OUTPOUR. Why? Because HE ALREADY DECIDED…

How is it possible friends for a large number of people to be in the same room, yet only some enter into God’s powerful, glorious, manifest presence while others do not…???

It’s time to quit putting the focus back on God, AS IF IT’S UP TO HIM HOW MUCH OF HIM WE GET. It’s UP TO YOU. YOU CAN HAVE AS MUCH OF HIM AS YOU ARE WILLING TO OPEN UP TO.

God is saying in this hour to His people all across the earth… “I am pouring out the fullness of my Kingdom. I am pouring out even now, so come and engage in what IS EVEN NOW BEING POURED FORTH…”

SIMPLY: What happened in this convention room with these dancers is that these dancers DECIDED TO seek and find God and they found HIM because they opened themselves up through worship to become aware of His presence… People that stayed seated and watched and consumed and postured to be entertained received EXACTLY what they had purposed to receive.

I’m not angry here friends, but I am tired of the mentality in the church today that talks about MOVES OF GOD, as if God MOVES MORE AT SOME THINGS THAN OTHERS FOR CERTAIN DENOMINATIONS MORE THAN OTHERS IN CERTAIN GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS MORE THAN OTHERS.

It’s time to put the focus back on US as human beings, to admit that WE HAVE FEARS, WE HAVE ANXIETIES, WE HAVE INTIMIDATION ISSUES, WE HAVE FATHER COMPLEXES…

God wants to get rid of all of these for us in His ACCEPTING PRESENCE… THE FEAR of man, intimidation issues, etc. will be washed away in the acceptance of the Father…

When a generation realizes that God is ALREADY HERE, they won’t have to TRY TO GET HIM TO COME, they will start from the realization that HE NOW IS and REJOICE IN WHAT NOW IS… NO STRIVING, NO WONDERING, NO “CUTTING THEMSELVES UNTO BAAL…”

Why wasn’t that room FILLED WITH ABANDONED, JOYOUS DANCERS WORSHIPPING THEIR FATHER??? I don’t have all the answers to that question, and there are many of them…

But one major answer to this is that people SIMPLY NEED TO LEARN how to engage into the presence of God that even now IS IN OUR MIDST. This group of dancers led in worship, led in showing others potentially where they could go through the art of dance as a form of expression to worship the Lord. It doesn’t mean that anyone had to “take their dance (word)” for it… They made believers out of me!

So why didn’t I join in? Well, I was in a suit, bad shoes for dancing, didn’t want to get on stage because I wasn’t sure it was allowed, didn’t want to be the only one, figured if I did, it would end in a few minutes anyways so why start… the list could go on, and those were MY reasons… What were the other reasons out there… I’m talking about myself here so that those of you who may consider that I am judging others will realize that I’m willing to put myself in the scenario here…

TRUTH: That dance and that moment had the potential to lead into an extended time of spontaneous, moving worship and praise that could have lasted for who knows how long… Reality: God would have loved every second of it…

So I am still left pondering this: Why don’t we enter into the Potential of God’s Presence more often and with more consistency and with more abandoned… I think every one reading this post has their own list of answers…

My desire is that we will begin to answer these questions honestly so that we can move into new levels of expression, new levels of understanding, new levels of JOY in just being IN ACCEPTANCE with the FATHER…

And I leave you with an exhortation and a request for prayer… I encourage you to get my new book, pray it gets out there and to pass it on to others… One of the reasons I wrote The Potential of God’s Presence was because of the countless times I’ve experienced what I just described to you… A room full of people who need to learn WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, without the need for the latest, greatest, flashiest worship cheerleading entertainer…

Let’s hear your thoughts friends… Peaceable comments encouraged…

I’ve just released a new pre-order campaign on a fund-raising site called Kickstarter with the goal of 100 backers before December 17. From November 1 onward I will be sharing one quote a day from the book to bring potential “pre-orderers” some more context to what this book is all about… Know that these quotes are not necessarily made to stand alone, but they represent the greater part of what the book is all about… I hope that these quotes will inspire and persuade you to take the plunge on getting your copy of The Potential of God’s Presence… Thanks

Pre-Order Your Copy of The Potential of God’s Presence today…

Fighting For The Frequency: Fighting for God’s true word over your life

This past Saturday I was seeking the Lord during our Rejuvenation DFW prophetic music & worship gathering. I always share a brief word during the evening sessions, but I had not yet received a word from the Lord for the evening and it was a few hours away from when I would share. The Lord began to draw me to Ephesians 2:1-2 which reads… “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

What stuck out to me when I read this was something I had never really noticed in all of my previous readings and hearing of this verse… THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE AIR…

Do you realize that the enemy still wants us to think that he controls the air… the air that is THE MEDIUM BY WHICH ALL SOUND TRAVELS TO US. Realize that the enemy is using music and media to convey negative and false words to all of us, IF WE ALLOW IT. He wants to rule the literal air, but we have the choice and decision to FIGHT FOR THE FREQUENCY, to fight to remove negative words and influence from our lives in order to maintain the sound, the frequency of the word of GOD over and in our lives… JESUS has redeemed our air! We must choose it and let others know that they can choose it as well…

I wanted to write briefly in this post a summary of the message that I spoke this past Saturday… There is much more revelation in the 30 minute exhortation that I released, so please avail yourself to this message by either listening or downloading the message.

I encourage you to FIGHT FOR THE FREQUENCY. Fight for the word of God that is constantly being released over you. Get out of the noise of this world to hear His still, small voice today…

Listen to this message now via web stream

Download this and other messages at iTunes

Why Do We Keep Asking God To Open What Is Already Open?

The following is an excerpt from a written piece on Jason Upton… or whom I commonly refer to as “The Other Jason”

Often during concerts Upton invites worshippers to place their hands over both ears and close their eyes. “There is no closed heaven; I’m speaking that over you,” he insists. “It is open to you. God is always speaking.” Many people pray for God to “open up the heavens,” Upton commented, “but the heavens are already open.” He encourages people to instead pray for God to “open up the earth,” which represents their own hearts.

I wanted to share that with you so that if I’m crazy at least I’m crazy with my friend J Upton…

This Saturday we are going to host Rejuvenation DFW. It’s a time to tune into what the voice of the Lord is SAYING. My point of this post is WHY DO WE spend so much time asking God to open the Heavens when Jesus said the KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU.

THE HOLDER OF THE KEY OF DAVID, THE KEY THAT OPENS WHAT NO MAN CAN OPEN AND SHUTS WHAT NO MAN CAN SHUT, LIVES INSIDE OF US AND WE ARE CO-HEIRS WITH HIM.

When I read Isaiah 64:1 it speaks of rending the heavens. The word for “heavens” means the literal sky. He is not talking about a figurative, spiritual heavens. He is talking about the actual BLUE SKY. The prophet was essentially calling our for a LITERAL rendering of the sky. One translation says, “OH that you would RIP OPEN THE SKY.”

This verse is the main resource for countless songs that have been written, and I am at the place where I can’t sing these songs anymore due to false advertising.

Quit using Isaiah 64:1 as a means for calling out to God for Him TO SEND SOMETHING DOWN GREATER THAN WHAT WE ALREADY POSSESS. How about write a song called WAKE US ALL UP TO THE POTENTIAL OF WHAT YOU GAVE US 1,977 YEARS AGO SO THAT WE CAN KNOW IT AND WALK IN IT…. or something like that.

Hey… comments, concerns bring them on… Stir it up Lord

Talk to you soon… Jason

Upload vs. Download – What’s the difference between a House of Prayer Session & Rejuvenation Session

First things first… None of what I about to share contains an intended exclusivity, meaning that uploads can happen during rejuvenation sets and downloads during house of prayer set… MY POINT is to write this based on a general FOCUS and PURPOSE for these different types of experiences in God.

Generally, the Tabernacle of David/House of Prayer is a place to Vertically Release our Worship and/or Prayer unto the Lord. Primarily the focus is on the Lord and issues relating to the church at large, the kingdom of God and many times specific issues relating to Government of the issues of our day. With a decade in and around the House of Prayer “movement”, these are the things that I have personally come to perceive.

The reason I released what I did above in the FIRST paragraph was so that none of my readers would think that I thought that only CERTAIN things happen at certain venues. What I am pointing out is that the more you FOCUS on something the more it seems to occur.

My desire with REJUVENATION is to FOCUS on tuning in and waiting for the downloads of the Lord. We want to hear his voice speak and sing and we want to see in the spirit to perceive his dance… His JOY and PEACE over us. Worship and Prayer will inevitably take place, but the focus of Rejuvenation is to HEAR and thus become DOERS of His WORD.

I felt led to distinguish between what I have come to see the focus of Houses of Prayer become versus what I feel the Lord is calling me to focus on with Rejuvenation. If I felt it was the same thing, I would not be holding these meetings or trying to build a network of Rejuvenation Download Centers. These Download Centers will not be buildings, but simply whenever and wherever people decide to gather with the intention of waiting on and hearing the voice of the Lord. Sometimes this will be in churches, sometimes in Houses of Prayer, sometimes living rooms and sometimes outside!

I believe that Rejuvenation is a FORMAT, if you want to call it that, that can fit in to the current House of Prayer model as another expression that can be released in the midst of Apostolic Prayers, Prophetic Intercession, Devotional Worship etc… What’s the difference between a devotional set and Rejuvenation?

Previous in the Blog Archive, I taught on the difference between a Minstrel and Psalmist. When you come to MY DEVOTIONAL SET, you are in essence attending my vertical expression to the Lord. I am putting my intimacy on display and others are sharing in on and even engaging in on what I am experiencing. This is great, but what makes the Minstrel different from the Psalmist and what makes a Devotional Set different from a Rejuvenation Set is that Rejuvenation creates A NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE in which EACH PERSON IN THE ROOM IS ENCOURAGED TO CREATE THEIR OWN PERSONAL PLACE OF INTIMACY WITH THE LORD. Please know that I believe all of these expressions are valid, necessary and good. I am simply called to focus on Rejuvenation, On Atmosphere Creation and the Release of the Prophetic.

THREE THINGS-

There are three things that I always believe will happen in a Rejuvenation Meeting.
1- I will function as a Minstrel and create an atmosphere conducive to hearing the Lord
2- I will function in the prophetic, and release what I hear the Lord saying as He directs.
3- Those gathering will hear what the Spirit of the Lord is SAYING

As a Minstrel, I create atmosphere and sometimes I get “prophetic” in the midst of the atmosphere I myself create. The goal is not to simply create a place for myself to hear and release, but to create a place for others to HEAR and to be RELEASED into becoming doers of the WORD THAT THEY WILL HEAR.

My rule for this blog is not to write BOOKS, BUT BLOG POSTS SO I AM DONE… If you want more, comment and ask questions and I hope to see you at a Rejuvenation Gathering in the future.

Talk to you soon… Jason

A Vision For Regional “Download Centers” + Michigan Report

Folks, I want to report on my latest adventure which took place in the Marysville/Port Huron Michigan area. For those of you that know that Michigan looks like a giant mitten, I was in the “Upper Thumb” area of the state. This was a ground breaking experience for me because I felt that this trip was truly a break through in the calling that I have to be a regional voice in various regions of the nation and The Nations…

I set up two nights at Marysville AOG with Pastor Jeff Turner. The meetings were not highly attended, but that was not my focus. I knew it was to be a ground breaking trip. I know that I will be going up again soon and consistently after that.

Last year my ministry friend Shawn Bolz, who some of you may know, gave me a word that God was preparing pockets of the USA and Canada for the “sound” that God has given me to release. I know that this region of Michigan is surely one of those areas as well as some doors that I believe are about to open across the border from this region into Canada. Of course I also know that the DFW metroplex is another, and this Saturday I am hosting the first of a monthly series of Regional Rejuvenation Gatherings.

The vision is becoming reality, and the fruit of what happened this past weekend in Michigan is confirmation of what I believe is about to take off. The vision for REGIONAL DOWNLOAD REJUVENATION CENTERS is what the Lord is laying on my heart. Here in Dallas I will host a gathering monthly. In some places it may occur quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly. But I believe that these “pockets” that Shawn B. prophesied to me about are about to one by one be revealed. I believe many have already been revealed and now I am in the beginning of the process of setting up venues for the release of the prophetic atmospheres that the Lord is desiring.

The vision is this, to establish REGIONAL Rejuvenation Download Centers, places that people can come and hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying to the Church. The vision became reality this past weekend, and this is what we did… quite simple yet very fruitful.

We set up two evenings and invited the region to come and engage into the presence of the Lord. I am not going to teach all about why what we do is effective, that you can find in other posts, podcasts and more. But people were getting downloads left and right, encouragement, direction and more. As a minstrel, I simply created an atmosphere in which people could encounter the Lord and then served the people who came by facilitating them towards seeking and finding the Lord in the midst of his enthronement in the place.

Let me just tell you that I was in my element. This is really what I am created to do in the kingdom. I am looking forward to what the Lord has. I believe that REJUVENATION CENTERS will continue to spring up in the nation and nations, place where people can come to get a clear channel to heaven, hear His voice, and walk in the way and revelation of the Lord.

I could say more, but I look forward to posting future podcasts with messages that I shared while in Michigan. I look forward to what God will build here in DFW, Michigan, Northern Illinois, New England, Tampa, The Pac NW, Canada and more… Please pray that God will open the hearts of leaders to open venues for the release of this ministry.

Talk to you soon… Jason

The Differences between Worship Leader, Psalmist, & Minstrel Part 3

Pre-Note – Please Read: This three-part series has easily been the most popular post on my blog getting upwards to 50 search hits WEEKLY… If you’ve found this post through a search or any other way, I want to encourage you to watch the following 4 minute video and consider ordering my new book The Potential of God’s Presence. There is 100x more info in this book than I could ever share in a blog post… Bless you on your journey to discover more about worship leading, the minstrel, psalmist and more… (added November 1, 2011)

The Minstrel

2 Kings 3:15 “But now bring me minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him (Elisha) and he prophesied…”

This scripture is foundational in understanding the anointing and role of the Minstrel as well as the relationship between the minstrel and the prophetic ministry.

Though the scripture does not elude to Elisha calling for a Minstrel at any other time in recorded scripture, it is apparent that he had done so before. The relationship between Elisha and the Minstrel was one of a partnership, joint for the purpose of hearing the thoughts and intents of the Lord. Elisha knew that when he called the Minstrel forth, the anointing upon the musician would create an atmosphere conducive to hearing the the Lord. The prophetic word that Elisha went on to speak was brought forth in the atmosphere created by the Ministrel. Of course, there will be times when the prophetic comes forth without the service of a Minstrel. But it is apparent here that the Minstrel is called to create atmospheres conducive to hearing the Lord and releasing the word of the Lord. In other words, when the Minstrel creates, people start hearing God!

David: The Psalmist and Minstrel

David is the best example in recorded scripture of one who both flowed in the ministry of both a Psalmist and a Minstrel.

An example of David ministering as a Psalmist is seen in the entirety of Psalm 43, “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men. You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

It is not at all out of the realm of possibility that David sang this Psalm as he played his harp. David grew up tending his Father’s sheep in the fields. He had a lot of time to spend with the Lord. It is during these years that David’s heart grew as a worshipper and psalmist. It is apparent through many of the Psalms that David composed that he had a close and personal relationship with God. It was out of this place of intimacy with the Lord that he was anointed to minister to others. David flowed in such an anointing upon the harp that he actually began to gain a reputation in the land. How do we know this? Let’s look at 1 Samuel 17:17-18, “So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” The servant in this scripture had actually seen David play the harp before. I believe that David had already built up a reputation as a Minstrel in the land. How else would this servant have known about him? Now, David was about to go from the sheep field to the palace. God was taking one of His Psalmists and releasing David to minister to man through the skill and the anointing that he had developed in the presence of the Lord.

1 Samuel 16:19-23, “Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”

We see that David had the anointing, as a Minstrel, to play the harp and create peaceful atmospheres in which King Saul was able to be at rest. It never says that David sang during these times, but only mentions that he played upon the harp. This is a prime example of a Minstrel creating an atmosphere simply with instrumental music. David did not need to sing, “Be at peace.” David’s music exuded peace and all Saul had to do was enter in to the atmosphere that David was anointed to create.

Since my goal is to really share more on the Minstrel… I ‘ve releases a new book that you can find at www.thepotentialofgodspresence.com - Please check it out

Talk to you soon… Jason

The Differences between a Worship Leader, Psalmist & Minstrel Part 2

Pre-Note – Please Read: This three-part series has easily been the most popular post on my blog getting upwards to 50 search hits WEEKLY… If you’ve found this post through a search or any other way, I want to encourage you to watch the following 4 minute video and consider ordering my new book The Potential of God’s Presence. There is 100x more info in this book than I could ever share in a blog post… Bless you on your journey to discover more about worship leading, the minstrel, psalmist and more… (added November 1, 2011)

It’s been a few weeks since part one, sorry that I’ve been caught up in other things. I was excited that someone commented today on Part 1, asking for Part 2… so here we go.

I started with Psalmist because I believe that all of us are called, in one way or another, to be Psalmists unto the Lord. ALL OF US have a sound and a song to release back to the Lord as praise. Not all of us are going to be called by the Lord, however, to lead others in expressions of worship in a public setting. This is what I want to talk about in this segment… The Worship Leader. By no means are these blog posts meant to be all-inclusive. I have much more on my heart concerning all of this than I will share in this post.

Let me first say that it’s important that you know from which perspective I am approaching this dialogue on The Worship Leader. Your definition may be different than mine, so let me define the context of my definition before I proceed. I am talking about The Worship Leader that most church folk would define as Worship Leader, the person that leads the songs before the sermon on Sunday Morning, Wednesday night or even at small groups. I also call them Song Leaders, because essentially that is what they are doing, leading others in the singing of pre-written songs with lyrics displayed on a screen or in a book.

You need to know that I’m not here to speak anything negative about The Worship Leader, but in the context the modern westernized church culture, I believe the the Worship Leader, for the most part, is only operating in PART of what God really desires them to operate. I want to share this as an encouragement, but some may not see it that way. To tell someone that they are only operating in part of what their potential is can either be received by the recipient as a put down or encouragement to embrace a fuller operation of their gifts and calling. That said, I believe that most any person that functions as a Worship Leader can also learn to function as a Minstrel. In many churches today they are not.

For the most part, The Worship Leader puts together a list of songs to be sung for a worship service. Most of the time, the Worship Leader is singing songs that others have written, due to the fact that it’s easier to lead people in what they have already known and become familiar with.

Here is why I think a Worship Leader, as most define one, is different from the Psalmist and the Minstrel. Most of what the Worship Leader does is lead others in singing revelations that other people had. Songs are essentially revelations that God gave someone that they put to music. Now it’s even become an industry in our nation, and that is part of why I believe that people are losing their personal expression.

I don’t want you to think that I think it is wrong to lead songs in this way and have people repeat them. I do think it is wrong when people lean solely on the Worship Leader and the pre-written songs to define for them who God is and how they will encounter His nature and character. If we lose our personal discovery because we rely on others to discover for us, we are missing something that God was us to discover in a personal way.

I even had one person comment on Part 1 of this post, and mentioned that Worship Leaders sometimes even function as entertainers! I really thought about what she said, and I understand where she is coming from. I really, really don’t think that any worship leader gets up on stage and really intends to try to entertain people. If they are, then we can all agree that they are missing the whole point of what worship is. But what I think happens is that people are so used to having other people generate excitement and revelation for them when it comes to God, that the Worship Leader has to encourage people to the point where it may look as if they are cheer leading the people. Of course, the goal is to get people to the point where they forget that a leader is even there because they get so caught up in who God is.

The function of the Worship Leader in the church leading others in third-hand musical revelations is a valid form of worship, but it is not THE WAY TO DO IT. When any style or format becomes THE WAY, then we begin to miss out on the fullness of what God has and desire for us and from us.

I could go on and on, but to sum this up: As most define it, a Worship Leader is the person who leads songs other people wrote. Sometimes he/she might have even written one of the songs they sang. They encourage people to sing word written on a screen or from a book. This is a valid function in a church. It does lead people to God, God does enjoy this worship, and people do come into greater depths of understanding of God in this environment.

So why do I point out what everyone already knows as I define what a Worship Leader is? So that I can point out what it is NOT! And what the Worship Leader is not doing is they are not creating what I call neutral atmosphere. They are not creating time for the Selah. They are not flowing into the function of the Minstrel or atmosphere creator. The Selah is the pause in the midst of the song in which we actually silence ourselves for a period of time long enough to actually let the revelation of what we have been singing actually sink in and become part of us…

I will continue in Part 3… Hey, what we have is good. I just believe that there is a listening side to worship that we, as the church, are not tapping into. We need to release the anointing and function of the Minstrel in our churches once again…

Talk to you soon… Jason

 

New Series: The Differences between a Worship Leader, Psalmist & Minstrel Part 1

Pre-Note – Please Read: This three-part series has easily been the most popular post on my blog getting upwards to 50 search hits WEEKLY… If you’ve found this post through a search or any other way, I want to encourage you to watch the following 4 minute video and consider ordering my new book The Potential of God’s Presence. There is 100x more info in this book than I could ever share in a blog post… Bless you on your journey to discover more about worship leading, the minstrel, psalmist and more… (added November 1, 2011)

I was recently listening to an interview with Prophetic Minstrel Alberto Rivera (www.rainingpresence.com) Alberto and his wife Kimberly are my favorite minstrels and move together in a special way as a husband and wife team. One thing that I liked that Alberto said in his interview was that in the midst of a gathering of believers, there is more than one type of “flow” possible. The three that he mentioned were from God to Man – Man to God – Man to Man. You will hear me say this all the time, but I believe that music is a neutral tool that can be used for the purpose of encountering God. In a musical atmosphere, all of the “flows” that Alberto described are possible. It is important for us, especially leaders, to know which flow is being directed in the moment by the Holy Spirit.

The understanding of these “flows” is important as we talk about the differences between the Psalmist, Minstrel, and what is commonly referred to as Worship Leader. I want to deal today with the Psalmist.

A Psalmist is one who engages in a Vertical Communication with God. This is where the Man-God flow really begins. It the release of our song and sound to God. It is the choice that we have to release the breath that He breathed into us back unto Him as worship. The truest form of worship comes when our first-hand inspiration is given back to God in a form of communication that praises the Lord.

With all this in mind, it’s my belief that every person is a Psalmist. You may not be called to do this from a platform, but you are called to do this with your life. The greatest example of a Psalmist was the young David. Picture David in the sheep field singing songs to the Lord from his heart, strumming on his harp. That is the Psalmist. That is who you are. Each of us, from no other inspiration than who He is, is called to release our song and our sound unto the Lord.

The Psalmist is each of us… The Psalmist is from Man to God… The Psalmist is inspired by God alone and releases inspiration of who God is back as praise… The Psalmist sings new songs…

Next time, we share on the Worship Leader… One of my thoughts as I conclude the Psalmist… If all of us lived as Psalmists, no Worship Leaders would be necessary… Find out why in Part 2

Talk to you soon – Jason