John Winber Quote
From Cutting Edge
- vol.9 no.1 Spring 2006
This is an excerpt of an interview done by Stuart Townsend with John Wimber several years ago in Worship Together magazine. It was written during the height of a wave of renewal activity in churches around the world.
John, what’s your perspective on how works of God relate to the worshiping life of the church?
Historically, every move of God produces new music. Often the new songs were simple style and used contemporary settings – the popular music of the day, if you will. God raises up teachers and leaders who have emphasized the importance of praise and worship, and this produces the dividend of hearts ready and receptive to the work of God in the lives of God’s people. Just as back in California we dig waterways and ditches to prepare water to flow through them, so the teaching and leadership can develop a readiness and hunger for works of God.
How should writers, musicians and worship leaders prepare for what God wants to do?
The difficulty will not be so much in the writing of new and great music; the test will be the godliness of those that perform and deliver it. In that sense some of our worship community is not well prepared. Many have been allowed into worship leading because there is a need for their worship and musical skills. But little has been said to them about the need for godliness, spirituality and depth of maturity in their individual and family lives. Quite frankly, many of our musicians are just not steeped in a daily spirituality.
We learned a lot from our own experience of God’s initial revival in the Vineyard in 1979 and the years that followed. In that period we had both blessing and destruction. We had people who were just not ready to be used of God in a highly public way, although you would have thought they were from their gifts of teaching, ministry or music. They were very gifted, but they just weren’t very godly.
We need to be aware that in times of great blessing, there is also the potential for great testing and trial. With the blessing goes great pressure.
- vol.9 no.1 Spring 2006
This is an excerpt of an interview done by Stuart Townsend with John Wimber several years ago in Worship Together magazine. It was written during the height of a wave of renewal activity in churches around the world.
John, what’s your perspective on how works of God relate to the worshiping life of the church?
Historically, every move of God produces new music. Often the new songs were simple style and used contemporary settings – the popular music of the day, if you will. God raises up teachers and leaders who have emphasized the importance of praise and worship, and this produces the dividend of hearts ready and receptive to the work of God in the lives of God’s people. Just as back in California we dig waterways and ditches to prepare water to flow through them, so the teaching and leadership can develop a readiness and hunger for works of God.
How should writers, musicians and worship leaders prepare for what God wants to do?
The difficulty will not be so much in the writing of new and great music; the test will be the godliness of those that perform and deliver it. In that sense some of our worship community is not well prepared. Many have been allowed into worship leading because there is a need for their worship and musical skills. But little has been said to them about the need for godliness, spirituality and depth of maturity in their individual and family lives. Quite frankly, many of our musicians are just not steeped in a daily spirituality.
We learned a lot from our own experience of God’s initial revival in the Vineyard in 1979 and the years that followed. In that period we had both blessing and destruction. We had people who were just not ready to be used of God in a highly public way, although you would have thought they were from their gifts of teaching, ministry or music. They were very gifted, but they just weren’t very godly.
We need to be aware that in times of great blessing, there is also the potential for great testing and trial. With the blessing goes great pressure.
Comments