The Lubbock Civic Center was packed to the point of standing room only as churches joined together on a beautiful Sunday evening. When the singing began, I was reminded of and transported to similar moments of unity, worship and harmony enjoyed in places like the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, Pepperdine's Firestone Fieldhouse, Lipscomb's Allen Arena, Oklahoma Christian's Hardeman Auditorium, Gatlinburg's Convention Center and Abilene's Moody Coliseum. Participating in these moments from the vantage point of the "best seat in the house" is an overwhelming experience!
Lubbock Civic Center - Photo by John Moore III
My favorite times when leading singing in these settings are when I drop the amplification of my hand-held microphone to hear only the combined voices of everyone in pure praise. The sound is indeed spine tingling.
Lubbock Civic Center - Photo by John Moore III
I only wish that more regions would make the effort to bring churches together on common ground to experience unity and worship. We celebrated our bond in Christ through a "season of prayer," teaching, singing and worship. Dr. Ken Jones presented the message and the Children's Home of Lubbock was highlighted.
Lubbock Civic Center - Photo by John Moore III
Through the years, my life has been richly blessed by Christians from the Lubbock area. What a treat to be invited to lead worship for this unity event tied to the theme, "God Is On Our Side." Here is a video of one of the theme songs, "Had It Not Been The Lord," which I originally learned from the Zoe Group.
One of my dreams is to see large gatherings like this select songs ahead of time, encouraging everyone to learn the arrangements of newer songs ahead of time. This requires extra coordination, but the results can be heavenly. After all, isn't heaven going to be a combined assembly?