Let love explode

The Overview

So I just got back from Shanghai China. It was one of the most amazing trips that I have ever been on. 

The first thing I want to say is how ridiculous the city of Shanghai is, it had such intense energy. Every building is an architectural piece of art.

Think of it like this, a bunch of chinese people came to New York city, took a picture, than went home and built a better version of it times 10.

I was so impressed with China as a whole. First, the very grand ridiculous Olympic display of new stadiums in Beijing, and now in Shanghai they are building the world's tallest skyscraper. However, they are not revealing the actual height, and are leaving room to add additional height just in case someone else tries to trump them. Very smart.  They are also preparing for a massive 2010 EXPO in Shanghai where they are basically building a new city within the city, unlike anything on the earth. It's pretty insane. All this to say I love this city! I would definitely say Shanghai will be one the most important cities to watch in the coming future.

The Mission

There is an incredible family in Shanghai doing some extraordinary things.  A great friend of mine, Jason Morant, and I were so humbled to be a small part of the heart of their mission. The Weidner family is really shaking the ground in Shanghai, check out www.jamesweidner.com.  Jamie Weidner was a missionary in the Philippines, he then moved to New Orleans to pastor a church when hurricane Katrina hit. He was able to help orchestrate relief with other local churches in the area to make a huge impact on the community. He then accepted a job at the Shanghai Community Center right when the earthquake shook the land.  Because of his previous experience, Jamie moved right into action. The Community Center is a huge hub for all the international families that live in Shanghai and it's purpose is to help families get adjusted to living in another Chinese culture.  They offer classes to help make a smooth transition, ranging from language, cooking shopping, art, etc.  Since Jamie been the director, he has added worship nights into the mix, which is an awesome thing.

Jamie has also started a Non-Profit called Shelter for Hope, which has been a powerful arm helping helping the earthquake relief.

The Project

Jason and I really wanted to help raise awareness for everything Jamie was pioneering, and be a part of what God was doing in Shanghai. We grabbed our guitars, laptops, and cameras and hopped on a 15 hour flight. Our Mission was to capture as much footage as we could and to also see worship erupt in a fresh way. Well the second day we were there my hard drive crashed on my computer, and the video camera I brought stopped working due to the humidity- not the best way to start the trip. We didn't let that stop us!  Over the next 2 weeks I saw God move in amazing supernatural ways. I will never forget Shanghai! 

One of the first nights we led worship together kind of freaked me out. We were set up on the second floor of a sports bar both thinking this would be just a nice, acoustic, chilled out show.  Well I was wrong. The night turned into a full on worship night right in the middle of Shanghai! We were singing songs at the top of our lungs joined by hundreds of other Internationals. It was truly earth moving! This was a completely new side to China I had never seen. As this was my sixth trip to China, all the previous trips were very strategic, underground, and camouflaged working more directly with the nationals. This trip was completely wide open, nice and bold, working directly with Internationals. It was crazy to see how God was using the business world to crack open the Gospel and to let the sound of worship flood the streets. 

We were also able to be a part of an earthquake relief mission in Chengdu. We went high up into the mountains, right on the border of Tibet. We helped give away winter packs to different families, which had boots,socks, blankets, and other essentials to keep them warm for the coming cold days. It was incredibly touching to see these families receive their packs and all of a sudden see joy, their smiles saying thank you for not forgetting about us, and know that hope was on the way. I'll always remember the smiles on some of the little kids faces. 

The next sunday we were honored to be apart of leading worship at 3 international services at 2 different fellowships. Now again these gatherings were just for foreign passport holders, meaning no Chinese. The 2nd church had over 60 nations represented in the 2 services. It was unbelievable. The Spirit of God moved in an intense way. The only way I can really describe the feeling I had is this. Here were some hungry desperate people wanting a touch from God and in the middle of this communist nation and a touch came indeed. It blew me away.  How Brilliant it was.

So here are my "take-aways" from this beautiful Shanghai trip.

1. God's heart has and always will be for the nations. For God so loved the WORLD!

Here's what I believe about missions. Back in the day, to be a missionary meant you sold everything you owned, and lived like a early 90's home schooler. Today the word missions is something really simple- you envelope yourself in a culture and live life in the most real way. Let your life reveal your message . Let your life shine love, let the world see our imperfections, that we screw up on a daily occurrence.  Then we can prove the infinite, merciful, love of an unwavering Savior. What the world needs is not another church, not another evangelist, and not another worship CD. The world needs to experience love exploding out of us, breathing life into the dead places. Then we will see a resurrection of true faith that can never be crucified.

2. We left on November 4^th, election day, and on the 14^th hour of our flight the pilot announced our new president. It hit me that yes, change needs to come!

Change- both as a nation, but more importantly as Christ followers. Change in what we believe, change in how the world respects us, and change in the staleness that sometime we call our walk with God. I find myself getting caught up with timing, asking "when am I really going to really make it?" or "which record label is going to ask me to join their corporation?", and "when will I never have to worry about finances?". I have no ideas what the answers to those questions really are, but here is what I do know. Never forget the power. I think sometimes in our trendy relevant seeking, we try to too hard to be free and open, and forget that there is a supernatural power out there that is not trendy or relevant, but firey and controversial.

 It's the power of God that crashes down kingdoms and the power of God that comes down to love us in our filth. May we never forget the Power of one God that will never become uncharged no matter how chaotic things get.

3. I love different cultures, whether it's the kind that may offend some people in the church, or international cultures that open your eyes to see how crazy creative God is. Culture is what makes up who we are. So here is my mission. I want to mess the whole system up, instead of culture telling me who I am supposed to be and what I should do. I want to take control of these false agendas, and see an explosion of roars that produce an earthquake of worship. I want to see an eruption of worshippers that destroy the cultural walls that we have fashioned, and out of the ruins we see healing and the singing of a new song that can never be quenched or silenced. Awake Awake all you dreamers!

A pocketless Heart

My sister just graduated, I was very proud of her. While I was at her graduation, there was a speaker and I can't remember his name at all, but I remember what he said.
The last 8 months have been so life changing for me and my wife that we have gone through so many different stages of brokenness. This guy started talking about our hearts and the pockets that we don't want to empty, but if we could possess these things God will show up in a spontaneous and mighty way.
1. a dislocated heart
2. a broken sprirt
3. a radical faith
4. a strategic plan
5. a personal commitment
6. a courageous soul

In my personal life I have been going though each of these, they are not always the easiest or the most practical or popular, but I think when we fully surrender our lives and give up our rights, and empty the secret pockets of our hearts that we fill with all kinds of chaos. Once we go through all these different types of brokenness and discovery. I think God wants us to stumble upon one more chapter
7. a miraculous song- which is a song of triumph

So I want to live my life with a pocketless heart and to keep discovering the brokenness so I can sing away at my triumph.
Sing Sing oh my soul
_d

Like a Lion

There's this new chorus we have been working on.
My God's not dead
He's surely alive
He's living on the inside
Roaring like a lion

then the bridge goes
Let heaven roar
and fire Fall
Come shake the ground
With the sounds of revival

I believe God is looking for a lion generation. A army that is ready to roar in this culture and provoke change. There's alot of revival like meetings springing up all over, and it's great thing to see thousands and thousands of desperate people in need of a touch from God, but I'm not sure this is a revival. The incredible thing about God is that He shows up when desperate hearts summon Him. He is is that faithful, that if we come together and expect signs and wonders, and have undeniable faith that He will produce creative miracles and bring His healing. It has nothing to do with a man or a place or a stage, it has everything to do with us being tenacious after the presence of God. Here's what I believe is a mark of revival.
first reckless hearts after His presence thats where we fall into the beauty of His holiness
then where there is God's Holiness there comes repentance. (I know I need this is my life.)
after that there comes an a expectancy for the miraculous. This is not a pentecostal or charismatic experience that you must shake and scream in some strange language. Although you may, but I think when God shows himself in revival type way, it will be such a movement that it will touch the most normal person and the most eccentric. It will be such a movement that every disbelief will bow down to worship the Lion and there will be a Roar so loud that in our worship miracles will just happen in an instance, that hearts that are searching for truth will find the only answer through the love we display in our lives and that Peace will come when in our worship the darkness will flee from this planet as we sing one song together of the Holiness of God. I love the visual of Aslan. A warrior but still so relate able and authentic and loving but dangerous. A new favorite book of mine that I just finished is called the SHACK. It was so refreshing to read and visualize the different faces of who God is. I think we will all be surprised one day to find out what we thought was God was completely not. So here's my thought's, may we experience a personal revival in our lives that provokes repentance and produces a resurrection power for all the world to see. Like a lion.
_d

Worship at Workplay

So here was the mission
Let your love be loud
Let your light shine
May we shake the ground
On May 19th this prophetic word echoed and erupted the streets of bham.
We were so humbled to see so many of ya'll show up to worship and to unite us together with a voice so loud that we believe this is what God is looking for. A generation that will spread hope and birth an awakening. To the hundreds of worshipers that joined together and came to worship untamed. May that same intensity burn so fierce in us that the presence of the living God surround us like a shadow and wherever we go, may that shadow bring freedom, healing and life.
Be Bold and expect the miraculous. May the world see our love for each other and see our compassion for the broken and wounded. That we become a spark for the flame that is waiting to ignite. I am ready for the movement. Roar Away.
_d

Would the Real Jesus please stand up

Well I'm on a bit of a soap box right now. Let me explain. I like to reserach other churches and what they are doing. There's alot of really cool trendy churches out there. So here's the trend I see. Church websight 1, we are currently in this series, church websight 2, we are currently in this series, church websight 3, we are currently in this series, Great right, well most of the time they are all the same series, or one church will come up with an idea and do a series about it, a few month later another church does that same series, but just repackages it. Now I'm all for learning and growing from other people and using their materials, but this is how I feel. If God wanted a million Rob Bell's or a million Ed Youngs or Craig Groeschel. He would have made all of us them. If God just wanted to hear Chris Tomlin or Matt Redman write beautiful songs and sing them to Him, He would have made all of us them. It's just that sometimes in these cultures we seem to say well if it's working for them hell it will work for us, and there is a great deal of wisdom in that because yes, God gives us all different strengths and we need to gleam off of each other, but here's the deal if all we do is copy what someone else is doing, then why even try to be something different, let's just all be one church and all be one worship leader, there it is right there all the problems solved, no no we are missing the mark. God has placed in each of us a unique piece of Him. There is a piece of Jesus living in me that is only in me. I want that Jesus to stand up and ooze out creativity that only He can bring through me. Please hear me out because I really do love what God is doing through these guys, but I believe that God wants to do the same thing through you wherever you spere of influence is.

Here's another thing it seems alot of people are confusing this concept
OUTPUT vs. OUTCOME
Here i'll use myself as an example.
Let say I record and produce a CD and after we package it all pretty like, 10,000 people come to get a copy of it, Well 10,000 people is not the outcome of the CD, 10,000 peole is the OUTPUT of what we just created. The OUTCOME of 10,000 people getting a copy of the CD, would be their worshp is put into motion, they become better husbands, better workers, better students, and they begin to change the enviorment and society around them, This is the OUTCOME of seeing God move.

I heard a story once about a town in another country, This town was really known for it's violence and crime and poverty, well this missionary moves into this town and begins praying and begins reaching out to these people. A revival happens and people start getting saved like crazy so all of a sudden he has this huge congregation, but he did not let the OUTPUT of these thousands of people become the church. The OUTCOME of what happened whas this, The jail was turned into a meeting place for the church, because the crime level had stopped, they built this huge facility to feed, clothe, wash, and to reach out to the number of poor people that lived on the streets ,dailey. This was the response of the pastor because so many people were coming to see what was going on, He said the church is not the number of people coming on sunday mornings, meaning this is only the output of what happenes when thousands started getting saved. He said the Church is this, When we begin to change the injustice around us, and we beging to see the community change, and we see a real societal change, That is the church, meaning that is the outcome of what it's all about.

Here's all i'm getting out. I'm including myself in all of this too, I need to do what God has for me. Whatever that is, wether it's working for a church, or leading worshp somewhere, or going to be a missionary in another country or being a loving husband. I have to let the power of God flow out of me and whatever the output produces, very cool. I love hearing about things that start off with just a dream, and see how God explodes out of that, but here's my prayer, however God wants to use me and use you, may the outcome be so great that Heaven ROARS when your name is heard.
I hope the outcome of my life is this, I was part of an awakening that brought change to this plantet.

Woud the Real Jesus please stand up and when people see Him, may they see you and me. A reflection of who He is. Don't short yourself in what Almighty God wants to do through you. Let the Creator breathe creativity into you that only you can bring. Miralces are coming.
_d

The Release

On Sunday January 13. 2008. A group of untamed worshippers gathered together for a night of shaking the ground. I was so humbled and electrified. This night was without a doubt one of the most powerful and intence times of ecountering God that I have ever experienced. Here's what I learned.
There is a a roaring generation out there, that is in such desperate pursuit of God, that want more than just a pretty worship service. I believe this generation is so tenatious, that when the presence of God falls, they can't help but cling on to it, and out of that clinging there comes a bringing, and in bringing I believe this is the message of the gospel. To one find God, and then two, become His vessels and bring His power out to first our commuinities, and then explode to the world. Christ in me and Christ in you the HOPE.
The second thing that I saw, was abosolute Freedom. Here's what I know about freedom, when you can let this thing shake your bones, that every chain becomes undone, every wall comes crumbling down, every wound is evaporated. You become so reckless is your responce to God's mercy that demons tremble at the sight of you.

So here's my challenge for everyone that came on sunday. Take this Fire of God and let it burn so extreme that all the darkness around you is incinerated. Walk with power in this athority.
Please do not let it end with the last song, but Be Light, Be Life ,and Be Hope. We live in extreme times, be extreme in your worship to this world.
I will never forget this night. The Release is alive.
_daniel