The sound system for the mic and musical instruments died on the third song but that didn’t dampen the Spirit at the Don Moen concert last night at the CCF Main Center.  Unfazed, Don spontaneously walked in front of his keyboard. His accompanying vocalists, Lenny LeBlanc and Rachel Wilson Robinson (Thank you, Joel for giving me her name) joined him and they continued to sing in the expanse of the three-level hall  without a mic.  After a few songs, a small backup amplifier with a single mic was brought onstage while the audience, by this time up on their feet in unison, continued to sing along.

When the sound system came back to life (we are Resurrection People after all), Don said that if the sound system doesn’t work again, they still have a hundred other songs that they can sing. “Remember, before all this technology, we used to sing with just a guitar!” he quipped.

This man of God who is a recipient of a Ray DeVries Church Ministry Award and Dove Award is  a songwriter, worship leader, businessman, producer whose self-confessed God-given purpose is “To be an architect who designs products and events that help people experience God’s presence in a new and fresh way.” [from his website, donmoen.org]

In between songs, he gave messages of encouragement.  He spoke of the times when he gave up a secure job to do what he felt called out to do [what he’s doing now], when the checks stopped coming in, when he and his wife of forty-one years, Laura, were waiting on the Lord to give them their first child [before the Lord gave them five children in seven years!].  He spoke of storms, prayers that take long to be answered.  He prayed for the people present… those who were wanting to have a child, for those who wanted healing, for those who wanted to give their lives to the Lord.  This is no ordinary concert that you bob your head up and down to and then forget once you get past the last song syndrome.  Don Moen succeeded in making this an event where the audience experiences God’s presence in a new and fresh way.  With God’s Word as the basis for the messages and song lyrics, they are seeds planted in hearts that will accomplish the purposes for which God sends them and continue to work in hearts even after the music has stopped.

Isaiah 55:11  (MSG) So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

He sang one of his most popular songs, God Will Make a Way.  Here is a previous post about the time he wrote that song when his nephew died while their family was driving home from a ski trip.  He said that it was a song to give “hope in a hopeless situation. But it is not a song of desperation but a song of declaration that God will make a way.”

I’m glad I stashed my face towel in my purse as I dashed out of the house last night;  it was handy to do a quick cleanup to avoid switching to a racoon look on the way home from this moving worship concert.  Don Moen’s medley of “How Great Is Our God”, “There Is None Like You”, “Still”, and other favourites was a reminder of the times God ministered me out of discouragement through music like this, based on Scriptural Truths of who God is, of how real and alive He is, how He speaks His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, redemption, and freedom.  Add to that the fact that praise and worship are victorious weapons of spiritual warfare, it was time well spent!

Praise God for people like Don Moen who use their gifts to edify the church. Beloved, I invite you to listen to the Scriptural messages in the music. After that, here is a good reflection question to ponder: what spiritual gift do I have and am I using it to edify God’s people?