We are the perfect picture of heaven and earth. We were made from the dust of the earth and we came alive when the kiss of God touched our lips and filled us with the breath of heaven. The primary definition of worship in Greek and Hebrew is to bow down and touch the ground with reverence. Worship is the great returning to our origin; dust on the lips of God. Worship is the place were heaven and earth become one.
Here is a new song tutorial on how to play "You're Never Giving Up." Although this song is simple be careful playing it, I have been wrecked by the affections of God on numerous occasions while playing. Its crazy how God can hide His gigantic love in such small and simple things.
I have always loved how alternate tunings can inspire new songs. When I discovered that a partial capo can give you the sound of an alternate tuning, without the hassle of retuning your guitar, I was in love. In the next few months we are going to release a few videos on how to play some of the songs I have written, using partial capos. Most of the songs are very simple, but I hope they will inspire you to write your own songs and discover new sounds.
This blog post is from David Burbach, a multi talented member of our staff. He is the brains and creativity behind all our videos, podcasts, websites and media. He has helped us pioneer and led the 18 inch journey. He is an incredible assistant to us and most importantly one of the most loyal friends I have ever known. This beautiful blog is about a sailing adventure I skippered with the men of "A place for the heart" a few weeks ago. These beautiful photos are also the work of David's hands.
“If a man would learn to pray, let him go to sea” - unknown
While I by no means claim to know the depths of prayer to which a man may delve to in the midst of the sea, I did get to experience a small taste of her potency. Last weekend the men of A Place for the Heart took our annual sailing adventure. There’s certainly something addictive and wonderful about riding up and down on the swells. Something lovely about the creak of the ropes and the cries of the gulls. Something spellbinding in the gray clouds and green sea. Somewhere in the long line of my father’s must’ve been a sailor. - David Burbach
Imagine the sound of God laughing. Its almost like trying to envision a color your eyes have never seen. David slipped into a place of knowing God in such a real way that he heard "the One who sits enthroned in Heaven laughing" at the schemes of the enemy. (Psalm 2:4) I love how I can recognize the sound of a close friend's laughter in a crowd. David had ears to hear God in the middle of crowd.
There are a lot of DVD's I am looking forward to watching in heaven. One replay I want to see is the day the Philistine blacksmiths wielded the sword for their giant Goliath. When we watch this replay, I think the sound of the Lords laughter will drowned out the sound of the blacksmiths hammer forging the massive sword. I can almost see the Lord gathering the angels and saying, "Look, the sword they think will defeat their enemies, will be the sword that will defeat them." David took the sword that the giant pointed at him, and removed the head of the giant. God laughs at His enemies, because His goodness is so good, it can always turn what His enemies meant for evil into victory. Even the cross the enemy sought to destroy the dream of God with, become the doorway to usher the fulness of God's dream into all mankind. Graham Cooke said it this way, "If the enemy would have known what the death of Jesus would accomplish, he would have tried to kill every one that was trying to kill Jesus." I want to live a life that causes the enemy to regret ever pointing His sword in the direction of one of God's beloved.
Last fall, Melissa and I gathered together our band, a few extra musicians and our favorite producer, engineer and master mind Elijah Mosely. These guys not only make great music, but they happen to be some of our best friends in the world. We moved all the furniture out of our living room, and gathered together for a week, to arrange, rehearse and get 12 new songs ready to record in the studio. In that week we played lots of music, drank many pots of coffee, came up with some great ideas, and a few bad ones, laughed a lot and got wrecked by the presence of the Lord. By the end of the week, we were ready to go into the studio and record this new set of songs. The major problem we encountered, is that we releaized we could not fit all this music onto one album. If you have heard our music, you know we love the extended moments of worship and getting lost in the presence of the Lord. What we have decided to do for this new set of songs is create three albums. The first album we are going to release is a collection of the 12 songs in beautiful song length version. The remaining two albums to be released later in 2012 will be a collection of the songs in their extended length, prophetic moments of worship and a handful of spontaneous songs. We will be posting all the details with release dates soon. We are busy right now mixing these three albums of music. Its kinda like going to the hospital to have a baby and then finding out your gonna have triplets. So please have mercy upon us, it takes a while to mix so much music.
"Any fool can count the seeds in a apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed" -Robert H. Schuller
This summer we hosted our fourth 18 inch Journey with 38 students and staff from all over the world. They came from South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and over half a dozen states. I could fill a book describing each moment we experienced this summer, but really, that would be like counting the seeds in the apple. This school was truly a time where lives opened like seeds and unfolded into the fullness of what God made them to be. The fruit of this summer can only be measured in eternity. I wish I could describe with words the way the kingdom of heaven invades this school, but I come to the same dilemma as Jesus. Over a dozen times Jesus says the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." Mere human words can not explain heaven. Words can just point to what is is like and your heart must open its eyes to see its indescribable wonder. I asked some of our students to share what there 18 inch journey was like, I hope you can taste fruit of heaven in their words.
"The best way I can think to describe the 18 inch journey is that it's like everything was taken and stripped down to the basic colors; primary yellow, red, and blue. And then those were taken and re-exploded into a myriad of colors, including countless new ones I had never known existed I feel like I have always instinctively known that worship like this existed; that community like this existed; that being loved by God like this existed…but now I have seen and experienced it, and I am forever changed."
-Ella Roselt, South Africa
"The 18 inch Journey has truly been a trip from my head to my heart. It has been a place where I found and discovered who God Is and has always been, and who I am and what I was always meant to be. My relationship with the Trinity has become more real than words on a page. I've walked out of keeping a "safe" distance and walked into close and honest intimacy with the Lord. The 18 inch Journey has opened my eyes to see that my heart matters and that I have a voice. I've come to know and be lead by the nature of God, depending on him moment to moment. I've come to truly see with the eyes of my heart and to encounter God in the ordinary and simple things. Words can't describe the freedom, weightlessness and rest I have experienced. I've come to know what God's family looks like and what it means to fight for each other."
-Jordan Wilson, Florida
"My favorite moment at the 18 inch Journey was the morning I learned to hear the voice of God. It started with a simple task that Melissa asked us to do during our quiet time. She asked us to go sit and simply ask God, "Father, what are your thoughts about me?" In my mind I thought of some things, but God had a different plan. As soon as my pen touched my paper I started writing things that I knew weren't my voice. Through that simple question he ended up answering so many more questions. This was my first time journaling and being confident that it was God's voice I heard and not mine. I now love quiet time with Papa because it is an actual conversation instead of just me speaking."
I was riding in the back of an old astro van cruising westward on I-40 to Nashville in the spring of 2005. Faster than the cars passing our old van, a story of revival was racing through my heart. It was the story of the first two Moravian missionaries. In 1732 a Dutch ship left the Copenhagen harbor bound for the Danish West Indies. On board were these two young missionaries ready to sell their lives into slavery to reach the slaves of the West Indies with the gospel. As the ship slipped away from the harbor they stood on the bow of the boat and cried out "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering." Their voices rang in the ears of their families and loved ones gathered at the harbor to say good bye. Soon this cry become the rallying call for all Moravian missionaries.
As this story ripped through me and this cry rang in my heart, a melody begin to grow wings inside me. I grabbed my guitar and before the van reached Nashville this song was written.
In a garden we fell, but in a garden he prayed,
Not my will but yours be done.
My sins he became so I could be like him
To go beyond the veil and see his face
The cross has made a way so we can enter in
To go back to the garden once again
The cross has made a way, forever I will say
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
Worthy, Worthy,
Worthy is Lamb that was slain
To receive the reward of his suffering
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
The two most important things that I want to teach my children are to: To know God's love and to know God's voice. I am grateful beyond words to have had a mother and father who have taught me how to know God's love and hear God's voice. I am so excited to announce that my father Ken Helser will be teaching a workshop at the "Cageless Birds Worship Gathering" called "God Time." This workshop will be a time to know more of God's love and hear more of God's voice. He describes the workshop like this-
"Do you ever secretly struggle with HOW to spend time with the Lord? As Disciples of Christ, we know we are called to draw close to Him, but at times we don’t know “HOW”....so our times with Him can feel dry and even burdensome. At times this leaves us approaching Him out of guilt and obligation. But HE came to give us ABUNDANT LIFE in every way, and wants a satisfying relationship with YOU! But the question remains: “How do you have GOD Time? And how do you have a GOD Time that you enjoy?"
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas were chained to prison walls, but they lifted their voices and sang. The freedom they sang about was more real then the chains that held them. The walls of the prison had to bow to the reality of the freedom in their song. Not only did their song set them free, but it set all the prisoners free. Like birds released from their cage Paul and Silas flew out of their prison on the melodies they sang. On June 17-18 we will be hosting a two day worship gathering to inspire a generation to fly out of the cages of fear into the heart of God. Go to www.aplacefortheheart.org for more info.
In the fall of 2007 Melissa and I went into the studio with the plan of tracking a new worship album, but the Lord hijacked our plans with his dream. When we thought the songs were coming to an end, Jesus walked through the walls of the studio and we realized the songs were just beginning. The songs that we thought would only last a few minutes turned into ten and fifteen minute experiences. At the end of those days in the studio we had collected two albums full of spontaneous and unplanned moments where heaven collided with our hearts. We released the albums later that year as "The Reward" and "Walk through the Walls." Within those two albums of extended worship are eleven songs that were forged and crafted in the eight years leading up to the moment the record light clicked on. The songs were fashioned in a wilderness and found in the middle
of storms. They are the songs of a journey. This year we decided to go back and collect the eleven songs from the extended moments of worship. We remixed and remastered them into beautiful and simple song length versions. I love the way a song can squeeze the beauty of eternity into a few minutes. This collection of songs tells the story of our journey. This is our long story short.
Next month my band and I are flying over the Atlantic Ocean to the beautiful nation of South Africa. We are meeting up with two of my favorite people in whole world, Suzy and Kamran Yaraei, to host a school of worship in the city of Johannesburg. Suzy and I have been dreaming about going to the nations together for years. This trip is the fulfillment of lots of prayers and prophetic words. I can hardly wait to see what PaPa is going to do. You can find out more info about the school at the link below.
The evenings of April 14-15th are nights where we will waste the evenings worshiping the Lord and anyone is welcome. If you live in South Africa you need to be there, if you don't live in South Africa book some tickets.....
(in the New Testament) an intimate term for God as father.
ORIGIN via Greek from Aramaic ‛abbā ‘daddy.’
I wrote this song from a prayer of Brennan Manning in his book "The Furious Longing of God." The prayer is just five simple words: Abba, I belong to you. He tells you to take this prayer into a quiet place and with the rhythm of the your breathing inhale Abba and exhale I belong to you. As I began to pray this prayer the love of God began to wreck my heart. I realized that Jesus began a revolution with one word. When he said the word Father he changed everything. Now he has invited us into this reality, into this place of belonging. To call God our Daddy, our Papa, our Abba.
This limited edition single is a eleven and half minute version of "Abba" The album opens with a beautiful piano intro and flows into an extended experience of worship. This album also includes a message on worship called "Worship Echo's"
I have never had great success writing music, by trying really hard to write music. Most of the music I have written is what accidentally falls out of my lips when I find myself helpless in His Presence. The times when I try to whip up some great lyrics or melodies, it doesn't happen. It is in the moments when I get lost in the great love He has for me that songs beyond my reach flow out effortlessly.
I have discovered that I often stumble into singing the breakthrough I am going to need for the journey ahead. Many times I have looked back at the songs I wrote years before and realized that they contain the keys I need for my current season. When I wrote "I Will Not Be Silent" I was just running after the heart of God and shouting at the giants who were trying to silence my voice. At the time it seemed like a very simple song. Almost six years later I am just starting to unpack the revelation that God crammed into that song for me. The first and second verse go something like this:
I will not be silent
I was born to worship
I will not be quiet
the voice of fear will hold me back no more
I will not give up
what is my inheritance
I was born to do great things
God is alive, He is inside of me.
I used to be afraid to speak in public. You know why I wrestled with that fear? Because the enemy fears the voice God has given me. Fear comes against us because the enemy is afraid of us. The exact places where we are created to do great things are the same places the enemy targets us with fear.
A few weeks ago I had the honor to share this message at an amazing school called "Fire and Fragrance" in Kona, Hawaii. The school is apart of the incredible mission movement called Y.W.A.M. that has been carrying the heart of God to the nations for over fifty years.
Mr. Webster defines the word "catalyst" as: an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. If I could use one word to describe my friend John Mark McMillan's music; It would be the word catalyst. The sound that flows out of John Mark's heart and guitar is significantly changing what we thought worship was or could be. John Mark is launching something new this spring called "A Mighty Raucous Evening" Its more than just a tour, its about creating an expectation for something new. To find out more click here- www.johnmarkmcmillan.wordpress.com
Don't be afraid of the silence. God may be doing more when you can not hear him, than when he is speaking. Redemption comes like the silent snow that falls while we sleep. You wake up and the entire landscape has changed. The dark and barren colors of winter are transformed into a bright white glory that almost blinds you. When you look out the window you see a brand new world. The snowflakes echo the silent redemption plan of a King who came as a baby. A baby who became the Savior and who stood silent as a lamb before the shearer. His silent sacrifice covered the whole earth in redemption that turned the crimson stains as white as snow.
My wife and I bought our son Cadence a ukulele for Christmas. A few nights before Christmas, when we were supposed to be wrapping his present, we started writing a song on his ukulele. The song was about the snowflakes falling and winters silent song. The next morning after breakfast we slipped into the bedroom to finish the song. As we were finishing the last verse of the song, we were interrupted by the joyful squeals of my two children playing outside. We looked out our window and were astonished to see them playing in a surprise snow storm. None of the weather reports had even mentioned the slightest chance of snow. We could hardly believe that the snow started falling as we finished the last verse of the song. This little video was filmed from our back porch just a few minutes later.
Sing Winter
Hear the snowflakes falling, winter's calling my name.
The silent song she's singing, what's she trying to say
Can I fall like glory, to wash your year away
All that remains was, really meant to stay
Come and clothe me winter, I really need a change
With silent redemption, cover me in grace
Hear the song of beauty, melodies and sounds
Cover you in white love, a joy you lost but now you found
Last month we gathered at Grace Church in High Point, NC for a night of worship. It was one of those nights when the Lord hijacked every moment with His love. Come and join us on January 28th. Our agenda is His Presence and our desire is to waste this night pouring our love out upon Him.
