We need to pray for Governor Sarah Palin and her family. God has elevated her to an extraordinary place of influence through her selection by Senator John McCain as his running mate for Vice President. (My article in this week’s edition of Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, titledThe Law of Divine Elevation, sure seems to apply to Governor Palin!)
This video was taken from the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska. The church’s website has been taken down due to heavy traffic after Governor Palin was selected by Senator John McCain as his running mate.
We believe this is an important video for Christians to watch and it is presented here courtesy of Wasilla Assembly of God Church. The church website states:
“Governor Palin did attended Wasilla Assembly of God since the time she was a teenager. She and her family were a part of the church up until 2002. Since that time she has maintained a friendship with Wasilla Assembly of God and has attended various conferences and special meetings here. This video is the message she spoke in June in Wasilla , Alaska.”
This is the Part 2 of a 3-part series called, “The Law of Divine Elevation.” This article is excerpted from my worship study, Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship (Group Publishing, 2009). To pre-order Pure Praise, go here. Thanks! - Dwayne
Three Clues That Verify True Success
Though I’m not a professional investigator, I’ve always heard that a good starting point is to ask probing questions. So to get to the bottom of why God’s success is true success, let’s start by asking, “Why would God elevate us?” To find the answer, we need to carefully examine the word exalt. How did God respond to Jesus’ humbling of himself? Because Jesus willingly lowered himself and became a servant, “God exalted him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:9a).
The same Greek root word that is used for the word exalted in this verse in Philippians is also used in 1 Peter 5:6, where God says he will exalt us! The word includes the idea of elevating above others. In other words, those who humble themselves before him will receive the same kind of lifting up that Jesus experienced! The only difference is that he has, of course, been lifted up the highest, above all of us. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book to be released in December titled Pure Praise. It will be featured in Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox later this week. But I wanted you, our faithful readers, to get a sneak peak at it!
This article takes a compelling look at who and how God promotes within His Kingdom. Far too many ministers — and believers in general — try to manipulate their circumstances and other people in an effort to get ahead. This article shows clear scriptural mandates for humility and trust, rather than self-promotion and scheming. The rise of Casting Crowns to prominence is a poignant illustration given in the article of how and why God may choose to elevate us. Enjoy! –Dwayne
Do you love a good puzzle? Well, I’ve got one for you: What is the meaning of real success? There are countless books on library shelves that attempt to answer that age-old question. But even crime scene investigators, with their state-of-the-art techniques, would be hard-pressed to solve this one! Conventional investigation tools can’t unravel the clues that will lead us to the truth. That’s because true success does not come from following a clever method or by manipulating people and circumstances.
When I first surrendered to travel fulltime as a speaker and worship leader, one of the first things I did was buy a CD telling me how to get started in Christian music. In it, several leading artists shared their insights into how to “get discovered.” (One suggestion that stands out in my memory was to go to Nashville and camp out on the doorsteps of recording companies!) Read the rest of this entry »
Mark Hall with friends, Miley Cyrus and Kirk Franklin
”Pure Praise reflects Dwayne Moore’s heart for worship. He has a desire to see the Body of Christ truly understand what it means to honor God with our worship and let our lifesongs sing to Him in spirit and in truth.”
Kent Shaffer has highlighted a provocative list of things people hate to see worship leaders do. WARNING: This list is not for the easily offended or closed-minded or convinced-they’ve-got-it-all-figured-out people. I don’t necessarily agree with everything on the list. But I must admit I have been (still am) guilty of some of the “gripes” mentioned here.
I challenge us to read through these, carefully asking ourselves if we ever do these things in services. The point is not to change our ways just to please this one guy. The point is to evaluate why we do what we do. Are we willing to change something if it is unnecessary or if it might hinder our effectiveness to lead others?
Just a quick note to let you know where we are this week. We are at the InnovateChurch Conference in Lynchburg, VA with a thousand pastors! It’s been a fabulous week of encouragement and challenge thus far. Rick Warren, Chuck Colson, Jim Cymbala and Jonathan Falwell are among the featured speakers. My dear friend, Charles Billingsley, is leading the praise times and teaching some workshops on worship.
The conference graciously featured a sample of our book, Pure Praise, in every conference folder! So we’ve been able to share about the study with a lot of the folks up here. Charles has also recommended it to the worship leaders here at the conference, which I greatly appreciate!
Hope you are doing well! Please drop us a note to catch us up with what God is doing in your ministry and life. We’d love to hear from you! We are blessed with so many wonderful friends, and hearing from people in the family of faith is always encouraging!
“Pure Praise is a refreshing and greatly needed tool in the Body of Christ for both worshippers and worship teams. The goal of this study is NOT to help us fall more in love with worship; rather these daily, intimate encounters with God can help us fall more in love with our Father–which is the very essence of Biblical worship. One of the most compelling aspects is Dwayne’s emphasis on musicians being ministers through music. This study has the potential to transform entire worship teams to see themselves first of all, not as musicians and performers, but more importantly, as servants to other people and to the Most High.” — Darlene Zschech, Hillsong Church, Australia
This is Part 1 of the audio teaching from Dwayne’s workshop at the 2008National Worship Leader Conference. This 30-minute session explains the 4 levels of effectiveness among worship leaders and musicians. Dwayne shows us that they are: 1. Song Leader, 2. Music Director, 3. Minister of Music, and 4. Minister through Music.
Dwayne repeated this workshop three different times during the conference, and the room was full every time! This demonstrates the great need for teaching on spiritual growth among worship teams. Enjoy!
Dwayne and our team will be in Austin, TX this coming week for the National Worship Leader Conference.Next Level Worship is the sponsor of the Spiritual Growth track, which includes 3 workshops taught by Dwayne.
If you are going to the conference, be sure to attend Dwayne’s workshop, Developing Your Team to Be Ministers through Music. (BTW, we’ll be posting audio files from Dwayne’s workshop in the next few days!)
Also, be sure to stop by our booth and preorder your copy or copies of Dwayne’s forthcoming book, Pure Praise! The conference special is %50 off or only $7.49 per book! What a deal!
This amazing conference includes personalities like Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, Ron Kenoly, Gordon McDonald, Tommy Walker, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Matt Redman,Laura Story, John Tesh, Joseph Garlington, Don Moen, Rush of Fools, Leeland, Ross Parsley, Fernando Ortega, and many, many more!
Imagine your church leaders saying you don’t need a traditional series of meetings because your church is already IN revival! That’s exactly what happened this past Sunday to a pastor friend of mine. Listen to what he wrote me:
Revival Already Happening!
We had a great service with many responding to the altar this morning and one profession of faith! I asked the deacons this morning in deacon’s meeting about their thoughts on a fall revival and all of them agreed that they felt the church was already in revival and that we did not need a series of meetings!
Still Feeling the Effects of 30 Days!
Some exciting things are beginning to happen and I feel that we are on the verge of a breakthrough. I still think that we are seeing some things taking place that are a result of our journey through 30 Days of Praise back in the spring! We are starting the class “Share Jesus Without Fear” this afternoon and I had almost 20 to sign-up for it!
Thanks!
John
Please let us know if you have any questions about 30 Days of Praise, our church-wide teaching emphasis on worship. You can call our toll-free number at 1-877-261-4303. You can also go to www.30DaysofPraise.com for more information on how your church can experience this amazing, revitalizing ministry resource!
Enjoy! –Dwayne
responding to the altar this morning and one profession of faith! I asked the deacons this morning in deacon’s meeting about their thoughts on a fall revival and all of them agreed that they felt the church was already in revival and that we did not need a series of meetings!
