The Dennis Life

Tuesday. Day 2.

OK, so I completely forgot about this part yesterday, but my luggage hadn’t arrived, and luckily from a bad flying experience a couple of years ago when I landed in Washington D.C. and my luggage ended up in Missouri for two days, I purposely packed a change of clothes (very casual) and some shoes in my carry on bag, so I at least had a change of clothes for Monday, but remember, no toiletries at all, no curling iron and no makeup. Um, not good. No time to shop because they don’t have Wal-Marts and Targets and malls, etc. They have small boutique stores for everything and street vendors, that’s it. And, we had no time to stop anywhere yesterday. So I began and ended that day and went on the platform with the only clothes I had on my back, bad hair, bad makeup and smelling good only because the hotel gave me a couple of items and my roomies were kind enough to let me use a little eye makeup and hairspray. Now you all know me and I’m very particular. Talking about having to “die” to yourself, or let go of vanity and my own will to “look good.” No one was saying, “You look maaaahvelous!” (Said with the famous Billy Crystal accent.) I was mortified…for about three seconds…and then realized where I was and what I was doing and that we come into this world naked and leave that way, without makeup or toiletries or perfumes, or clothes, and I realized it didn’t really matter in the big scheme of things, so worshipped I did, and with all my heart!!!!

So I’m downstairs before our 8AM breakfast meeting (LaMar is very focused and the team meeting time is one of the most important times of the day together, and don’t be late, it’s not acceptable - I love it!! Yes! Intentional, purposeful leadership!!!). I’m at the concierge’s desk (more hotel pictures) asking if my luggage arrived from British Airways, nothing yet. They ask me for the form I was given by the airlines and get my room number and a local cell phone number from one of our hosts and tell me they’ll stay on top of it and take care of it. The hope is that my luggage came in on the Midnight flight and would be delivered to the hotel some time later this morning. With vanity aside, OK, it’s hard, but I’m managing, I wear the pants I traveled in, not exactly platform garb (and very crumpled from 30 hours of travel), and I borrow Alison’s dark green tea shirt, with a big, bold Veggie Tales cartoon character looming as large as life on the front. Not a shirt I’d usually wear on the platform, humbled, definitely humbled. It’s OK though, I’m calm and really, it doesn’t matter, so putting that aside, it’s time to start the day and I know either way I’m good, my luggage will either arrive, or I’ll get to go shopping some time today and buy some new clothes - oh darn!!

At the breakfast meeting, we set our game plan for the day, admin, sound, song list, line up of teaching (of course we have a schedule, but that’s all subject to change and the move of God’s Spirit in the room and in the hearts of the leaders). We’re a team man, a real team, and as LaMar calls it, a POWER team. Some of you know how much that phrase means to me. Confirmation, confirmation and more confirmation. I’m definitely in the right place. I’ve been begging God for three years now, begging, to put me with a worship team of musicians who are seasoned in modern worship, sold out for Christ, humbled to work together and honor each other’s walk without complaint or resistance, and somewhere I can learn and grow and be stretched. This is it, this is the beginning and I want more of that…

LaMar asks Shannon if there is something we might do differently or if there is a need in the house and he humbly suggests that because the Hindis are not familiar with the American worship songs yet, that perhaps a couple more Hindi songs can be used so we don’t “lose” them. LaMar thanks him and decides to end each set with a couple of Hindi worship songs, and let me tell you, the crowd goes wild at the downbeat of each song. They love their songs, just like we love our songs, and they’re engaged and fully participating.

So we leave the hotel at 8:30AM and our day begins at 9AM with a sound check and off we go to the races. Sound check complete, the journey continues. We worship, we minister to the people, they minister to us, we’re ministered to by the teachings. The Indian people are kind and loving and grateful, oh so grateful, and they are hungry…so hungry and desperate for God. Desperation brings the need for hope, and He represents that hope. The momentum continues, the Power is building, you can see it and feel it.

On the platform Tuesday night right in the middle of our worship time, God spoke in my heart and He reminded me that He had promised me an acceleration and an answer to my prayers to be with a worship team of like mind and in that moment He said, this is it, this is what I was promising, and this is only the beginning. I have more and more for you, this is just the beginning. I broke down and wept, right there on the platform in front of God and 2,000 people. I didn’t care. I threw my hands into the air and praised the Living God!! You need to understand something here. Some of you aren’t familiar with the Christian worship “world.” LaMar and the Worship Institute would be akin to someone like Steven Spielberg and his production company. That’s the caliber of this event. This is where God has catapulted me. This is what He has blessed me with.

Speechless once again…

OK, I’m going to preach here for a minute. We are spoiled. Americans are spoiled rotten. We live in palaces compared to these lovely people. We have running water and too much food and too many shopping centers and too many conveniences. It has dulled us and walled us off from the need for a relationship with God. We don’t need God; we’re self-sufficient; we can do it on our own; we don’t need anything; we can do it all; we can have it all; we’re selfish; we’re isolated in our materialistic pursuits and numbed by our abundance and affluence. We have no need to look outside ourselves because we have it all and it has made us dead inside spiritually!

People live in desperation; they are desperate for better living conditions and better food and more conveniences, and water!! They have no flowing water. Water is the most precious resource in India. A man and his family will travel four to five miles every day with big, five or ten gallon iron pots on their heads or huge plastic jugs. Four or five miles! Every day!!

So where there is desperation, there is a need for hope, and that hope is God, or at least a hope that He is real and there for them; a supernatural power that will deliver them and give them reason and a place they can look for help. And they are getting that here in the Christian community. Some Westerners believe God is a crutch and an excuse for not doing it yourself or “Gittin her done!” God is, and that’s the long and short of it. And, I know He loves me and He showed me that night that He loves everyone; He showed me that He’s there and present with all nations and all tribes and all people. We can’t see Him, we can’t see the Spirit, but we can feel Him and He’s real. I’ve witnessed it and felt it and heard it and seen evidence of The Power, in my own life for sure, but now as witness with these people and what they are doing here.

We spent the entire day in the hall, with lunch breaks and tea breaks, well taken care of by our hosts. Oh, and checks back with the hotel brought the news of no luggage, not yet — argh!! So, I’m whisked away by Michelle (in the bottom, right-hand corner of the picture), an American girl who lives in India and knows their ways, to a nice shopping boutique where I can buy a few outfits and some shoes, but no time for toiletries; have to get back. As it was I missed the afternoon worship and that was a personal sacrifice, believe me. I don’t want to miss one moment of this event. So I bought a few items, just in case, rushed back, changed, primped a little. But, none of it mattered.

What mattered was being part of the venue, getting back out there and leading the people to worship through our own earnest search after personal relationship with God, the Almighty. Another powerful evening, more joy, more jumping (one day I’ll have a video clip here), more sound, the sound is deafening, but WHO CARES!!! I’ll still be able to hear in the morning.

We drove home in silence. Silenced by the experience, trying to take it all in, being filled to overflowing with God’s Presence.Stillness, I need stillness now, and time to think. I can’t think. I need to sleep.