Hillsong Conference

I've had several people ask me how the conference was, so I thought a blog update might be in order. Alan and I along with 7 other fabulous members of the worship team traveled to Houston this past weekend to be at the Hillsong United Conference. The conference was so great. This was actually my second to attend a conference. Alan and I and three others went to Orlando last November. At first, I thought the Orlando conference was better, but after thinking about it I realized it's because everything we heard there was new information. There was so much stuff shared it was like I couldn't absorb it fast enough! I realized that in Houston, some of the same things were shared, so initially I didn't feel like I was getting as much out of it. The last night (Saturday) was amazing though. The service was like this drama/monologue with video and it was so incredibly powerful. The most amazing thing about it was how simple the message was. It was all about relationships and how God had created us for intimacy. It talked about how we stereotyped people and missed out opportunities to show them God's love just because we assume things about them. In the end, it all came back to just realizing how much God loves us. If somehow we can wrap our tiny brains around that, then loving others is just a reflection of His love for us. What a simple concept! Why is this such a hard thing to do? The service ended with the song "How He Loves Us" by John Mark McMillian. It is such a powerful song. I love it and just meditating on the simplicity of the words touched me in such a powerful way.

The other thing that I really loved about this year's conference was the focus on Hillsong's I Heart Revolution. I've known for a long time that they are big on worship and justice and how the two go hand in hand. Lately I've been studying that on my own and trying to get a better grasp on it all. I think it all boils down to just understanding the heart of God. His heart for people, His heart for the world, His heart for the lost and broken and suffering. I've been catching little glimpses of it through stories from my sister. If you don't know my sister Paige, she is amazing. That's not really an adequate word to describe her, but it's all I can come up with at the moment. She oversees the Missions ministry at our church and she travels all over the world. Sometimes I'm jealous of her and all the places she gets to go and the things she gets to do, but I know that there is no one else in this world who could do it the way she does. I also know that God has me in a season of life to stay home and raise my kids and love people here where I am at. Anyways, Paige has most recently been to Thailand and India and has shared some incredible stories of God's power at work in those countries, especially in the women. I just love hearing stories about God's work in other nations. And I am beginning to realize that we have not even tapped into all that God is calling us to do for these people who are less fortunate. I think it goes so far beyond food, clothes, and shelter. Sometimes just loving people can make a bigger impact than thousands of orphanages or missions organizations ever could. It all comes back to love. That is God's heart. He created us to love and to be loved. Anyways, back to I Heart...they just talked about how if we ignore those hurting around us, then our worship is pretty much useless and worthless. I don't think they actually said it in those words, but that's my interpretation. So all in all, it was a powerful conference. God is at work in Hillsong church, but greater than that, He is at work all over the world. The thing I love about Hillsong is their humility and understanding that it's all about Him. I have never once felt a sense of performance or hunger for fame at any of their "concerts" or conferences. They just genuinely seem to love God with everything and they are so honored to worship with people and bring glory to the King whether at home in their church or across the world.

I will leave you with one final verse, because I can't get away from it, or it won't get away from me. It was shared at the conference and as a worship leader, it definitely has me thinking.
Amos 5:21-24 (The Message)
"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image-making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice- oceans of it. I want fairness- rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want."