24-7prayer I.L.G. (1 of 4)

CRAZY WEEKEND

Just arrived home last night around 1a.m. after being downtown all weekend. We were taking part in 24-7’s annual INTERNATIONAL LEADER’S GATHERING. As I’ve been quick to learn, just like everything else with 24-7, you go into it having no clue what to expect. But, as the weekend went by, I was blown away as I gained an even deeper sense of the heart of this movement. While I was uncertain about giving 24-7 the label ‘movement’ before coming, I realize now that it is indeed the best word for it.

This post will give you a brief overview of the weekend and I’ll highlight some more specifics in the other 3 posts if you’d like to read on.

First off, the weekend was filled with worship led by David Ruis. Some of you may be familiar with him, as he wrote songs like ‘Every Move I Make’ and ‘Mercy is Falling.’ But, I suppose those are a bit ‘old-school’ and his style has completely changed. This man is an incredibly gifted musician in that he is an artist in his leading style. Imagine being drawn into worship through music in creative ways. I could talk much more about him. What struck me, though, was that nearly every church you go into, you sing the same songs with the same sound and it’s all just typical. Where’s the creativity? We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that music is at the top of the worship hierarchy and yet the ones leading us in that have chosen to just copy one another. Some thoughts to chew on. This weekend I saw Spirit-led worship that was freeing.

Friday night, Pete Greig spoke. And, he somehow got away with giving the same talk he gave to us Transiteers last week. Incredible words. It was all centered around the topic of passionate prayer…coming back to the character of Mary. Go back with me to the time when she anointed Christ with oil. Now, we’ve all heard talks about how much the oil must have cost, and it’s mind-blowing. Maybe that’s not the point, though. Possibly more costly than the oil were the tears that were shed from her eyes. It can be easy to give money away…to be generous. But, how easy is it to kneel in front of Jesus and shed tears onto his feet. Truly weep. With all that you are. Mary was always positioning herself there at the feet of Christ. Maybe this is why she was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection and be the first-ever apostolic voice as she spread the news to the disciples.

I wish each and every one of you could have experienced this weekend. To be in a room with over 200 people from probably 25(ish) nations is incredible. Even more so, was the fact that the Spirit was thick. This is a group of visionaries seeking after God. This is a group of dreamers not limited by the world.