I'll never be the same after getting to experience a bit of the Asbury Outpouring firsthand. The college ministry I work for is one of the partner ministries in the Collegiate Day of Prayer. The team had already planned months in advance to be at Asbury University to host the annual simulcast prayer event on February 23, 2023 before everything broke out at Asbury just a few weeks prior, and I got to join the ministry trip. God's timing is amazing.

As someone who's been discipling the next generation, praying for revival and awakeing on college campuses for years, and teaching students to do the same, it was surreal to witness a glimpse of God's answer to our prayers with my own eyes. But I was also marked by the culture of how the Asbury students and leadership stewarded this move of God. During my time there, I was most impacted by the simplicity, humility, reverence for God, emphasis on holiness, and the gentle yet potent presence of God amongst His people.

Worship Is About Ministry To Jesus

There were many characteristics that marked this move of God: confession of sin and repentance, testimonies, exhortation from Scripture, prayer ministry at the altar, preaching the gospel and people giving their lives to Jesus. But I think it's interesting that when God started moving at Asbury, what resulted was day-and-night worship. Student-led worship teams led the gathering times. And student-led worship teams kept worship going for two weeks, even when the auditorium was empty and there was no public service happening. It reminds me of the worship around God's throne in Heaven in Revelation 4-5 and the system of Israel's worship at the Tabernacle of David described in 1 and 2 Chronicles.

This really stood out to me for several reasons. I'm a fan of music and I write about music. I'm a worship leader and songwriter myself, and I attend a church that's sustained an expression of day-and-night worship and prayer for decades. Worship is a value close to my heart. So often we approach worship with the mentality of "how will this minister to me," "what did I get out of worship," "I enjoyed/didn't enjoy worship today." 

Just like Matt Redman sings in the famous worship song, "Heart of Worship," I believe the Lord is calling us back to the heart of worship through what He did at Asbury University. I heard the leaders at Asbury say it several times: "we're here to minister to the Lord." Worship is firstly about ministering to the Lord. It's about meditating on who He is, honoring and praising His name, expressing our love to Him, bringing Him an offering that pleases His heart.

Then as an overflow of that, when we spend time in God's presence, He responds by ministering to our hearts and lives as well, and He loves to do that. The Bible teaches that. It's not wrong to desire that or ask for it or be grateful for it. It happened every day at the Asbury Outpouring gatherings and we see it happen every week in our church gatherings, and Christian concerts and conferences we attend. But it's important we keep our priorioties in worship in order. Worshipping Jesus is an end in and of itself. Do you worship Jesus, first and foremost, for the sake of beholding His beauty (His attributes and character) and responding to Him with songs of praise and love because He's worthy, like we see modeled by David in Psalm 27? And secondarily for the life-changing encounters you have in His presence?

Purity of Heart and Simplicity

There weren't big name speakers and worship leaders on stage at Asbury, and you often didn't know the names of the students leading worship or the Asbury leadership speaking. They carried a culture of being "nameless and faceless" and everything being about Jesus and His work in people. The services were simple with no big production. Yet, I've never experienced passion to worship and hunger for God in peolpe like I did those nights in Hughes Auditorium, and God moved and changed people's lives in such a powerful way in the midst of such humility and simplicity. It got me thinking about a lot.

For one–especially for those of us who are worship singers and musicians or Christian artists–it's helpful to remember that we don't sing and play just to put on a show for people. We do it to adore Jesus and lead others in doing the same, and so He can minister to people through us the way He wants to.

I'm not suggesting God never wants people to know our names or never wants us to compliment each other ever again. Showing honor, appreciation, gratitude to other believers and encouraging them is biblical, and when we steward well the compliments we receive it doesn't at all challenge His glory. In fact, it honors Him when we value His work in and through one another and when we use our gifts to build others up in the faith, the way Scripture says we should. (Ephesians 4; 1 Corinthians 12)

Rather I think God wants us to remember that our ultimate goal with the gifts, leadership, and platform He's entursted to us is to point peolpe to Him so they are captivated by Him and not just captivated by us. I believe He's teaching us to be humble and reverent as we minister, to be confident in who He's called us to be and what He's called us to do, and to boldy celebrate the work He does in others through us, and that those things don't have to be in tension if we'll let His Spirit lead us in walking them out. (Romans 15:15-19)

Secondly, as an artist and Christian music fan, I value production, stage design, musical creativity, stage presence, connecting with people as you minister, being fun and entertaining. You probably do too. Those things aren't bad. I believe those are skills, tools, and gifts that come from God and are used by God for His glory and to minister to people. I mean, if we're singing about Jesus and the truth of His Word and how He's changed our lives, that should be the most fun, entertaining experience in the world! 

But what I took away from visiting Asbury was the reminder that God can move through both simplicity and production. His Spirit is there and at work when a few students gather for acoustic worship in a chapel, or when you meet for house worship at small group, or at a Christian concert on an arena stage with all the fancy staging and lights. Whatever the package, humility and hunger for God are key. When those are present, God draws near and His presence changes everything.