Dear Friends:

As a pastor, I have a front row seat at the great drama of human relationships.  Among other things, I have observed that a first human reaction to disappointment or frustration is to secure personal happiness at any cost. Even if it means focusing on ourselves at the expense of other people.

That is why an episode in the great Exodus story hit me with such force.

When God’s stiff-necked people made an idol, their leader Moses was so very distressed. He was still reeling from shock when God makes Moses a spectacular offer: “Let Me destroy them,” God said, “And I will make you into a great nation.”

What? Did God really say that? Yes, He did. He vowed to annihilate the source of Moses’ distress – those rebellious people! Furthermore, God promised to make Moses great – to birth a whole new nation through him that would eventually provide redemption for the entire planet. Incredible!

Was God playing games with Moses, merely testing his humility? I think God meant business. On the line was His plan to redeem the planet. God needed people who would bear His name no matter what. With this proposal, God was saying to Moses, “I see in you what I need to further my purposes.”

Incredible as it sounds, God seems to be saying to a human, “You’ve got what it takes!” In the face of severe disappointment, who among us wouldn’t take comfort in a vote of confidence from the Creator Himself?

Have you noticed that when we are hurt by other people, we close ourselves off from any further exposure to pain? We refocus our attention on the one thing, one person, we can be sure of – ourselves.

Rather than focusing on the rebuilding of relationships and our alignment with great purposes, we often look to our own interest. It is easy – in the midst of relational pain – to take Polonius’s advice in Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.”

Moses could have done that. Instead his response was almost higher and purer than the human mind can imagine.

He asked God, “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It is with evil intent that God brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?” (Exodus 32:12). In other words Moses was asking the Lord, “What will the nations say about You if You do this thing?” Moses was more concerned with making sure God was glorified rather than finding vindication or reaching his personal potential.

And, here is what I heard the Lord say to me through that story:

If I focus on myself, then I must accept responsibility for the outcome. However, if I keep my focus on the Lord and release it all to Him, I can rest in His majestic strength and responsibility! It’s all in Him.

Think of it; by releasing personal interests, we find the place of abandonment, where every consideration on earth falls away in the grand march of God’s glory.

That is a great moment. So, today, I want to encourage you (and myself!)…

Let us survey all our potential, all our goals and dreams, and gather them up and hand them over to God and say, “Lord whatever gives you the most glory, is my highest satisfaction.”

May God bless all of you and give you grace for your journey.

Two Events!

I think all of you know that we are not convening an International Worship Institute in 2009 (for more detail and perspective, read the January letter below).  However, we are working with local churches on two worship events.

1. NORTHEAST WORSHIP INSTITUTE: April 23-25, 2009, Philadelphia area

Our dear friends - Pastors David Farina Sr and David Farina Jr - will be hosting the 5th annual NORTHEAST WORSHIP INSTITUTE in April of 2009. We encourage EVERYONE (whether you live anywhere near Philadelphia/Trenton or not) to try to meet us there.

I will be joining Bob Sorge, Morris Chapman, Jose Dugand, the WorshipInstitute leadership team, and other IWI leaders to help blaze trails into the Presence.

For more information on this event, click here.

2. UNVEILED WORSHIP INSTITUTE: July 8–10, 2009, Dallas

Pastor Lawrence Kennedy and Worship Pastor Brian Ming will convene the UNVEILED WORSHIP INSTITUTE at North Church in Dallas. I will be co-hosting the institute with Brian. Bob Sorge, Jason Upton, Rita Springer, Lindell Cooley, David Baroni, and numerous old friends from the IWI will be joining us there.

Just check this website for updates. We will get information posted as quickly as possible. 

On behalf of Howard Rachinski, Glen Roachelle, and Ed Chinn, I want to say that we earnestly hope to see you at one or both of these worship institutes. We do believe the Lord is revealing a better format for future worship institutes.  Please make plans to join us in these great gatherings around His Presence.

We are so deeply grateful for your continued prayers, friendship, and financial support during this time.  As we try to remain still and quiet in His Presence, the strong and very tangible encouragement from our friends has been so important.  We do believe that your gifts are a good investment in a very different future for WorshipInstitute.com.  To make an online donation, please click the “Donation” tab above.

God bless you.

Steve Fry, President – WorshipInstitute.com