World-famous praise and worship leader Don Moen sang at my home church, Fallowfield United Methodist, on February 22. How cool is that? About 200 people attended.
I love watching musicians perform. The best of the best are the ones who don’t just sing or play – they feel the music. Do you know what I mean? They process every note through their hearts. This is how Don Moen plays.
He calls himself a praise and worship leader, a precise title. He sings, yes. He also plays the piano and the fiddle beautifully. But he quotes scripture and prays spontaneously as he plays. Worshipping God is the focus of Don’s performance. He’s not the star of the show – God is.
Don opened his concert with “Give Thanks.” The audience sang along so exuberantly that I could barely hear Don’s voice. But he beamed at us. He wanted us to sing with him -- every lyric was on PowerPoint.
After quoting Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise,” Don encouraged us to sing “Thank You Lord” with him.
Personal stories about inspiration for his songs peppered the concert.
“I Believe There Is More” is a song birthed from Don’s decision to leave Integrity Music after 20 years. He was full of faith for about two weeks, but when the paychecks stopped coming he doubted everything.
Nothing in the natural world gave him hope, but he felt hopeful. Then it hit him: someone was praying for him. Don encouraged us to thank those who pray for us. He said several thousand people pray for him and his ministry.
Prayer is a huge part of Don’s life. Some nights he’s playing at a church. Other nights he’s playing in a stadium that hosted a hockey game the night before. So before every concert he and his team pray, “This is your house Lord. This is your home.”
When Don went to Ghana to perform there for the first time he said he never experienced such spiritual darkness before. Many people practice black magic there. Black magic is an invitation to the devil, plain and simple.
Don realized he needed prayer warriors to intercede for him and his band. He told his band to pray and to call everyone they knew and ask them to pray, too. He sang “Somebody’s Praying for Me,” a song that sends chills up my spine and makes me cry or smile, depending on my mood. This is my absolute favorite Don Moen song.
“He Never Sleeps” came from a struggle in his prayer life. Praying the same prayer list over and over started to feel academic. He asked God if he got tired of hearing the same prayers from Don Moen. He felt God say that he never gets tired of hearing him pray. God said, “I never slumber, I never sleep and I never get tired of hearing from you” (Psalm 121:3-4, paraphrased).
What an encouragement to keep on praying! Don reminded us, “He [God] is working in a way you cannot see,” and that “Cast all your cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV) is a command, not a suggestion.
Some of Don’s lyrics derive from thoughts and prayers he’s written down. “I Will Sing” came from a thought he wrote on a scrap of paper: “Lord you seem so far away, a million miles or more it feels today.” He then read Habakkuk 3:17-18 aloud and sang “I Will Sing” in a way that hit me not only in the heart but in the gut. Do you know what I mean? This is a raw, honest song that screams the truth of the Christian relationship with God. Life hurts. But God is always here and he wants us to praise Him no matter what.
After singing a couple more songs, Don invited anyone who hadn’t given his or her heart to God to do so then and there.
He led us in a sinner’s prayer, reminding us that it’s not about religion; it’s about relationship with Jesus, the Son of God. He reminded us that - See Atlantic page 15
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“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NKJV).
He encouraged those who had just given their hearts to God not to be an island, but to fellowship in a community. Now that’s what I’m talking about! What a gift it would be if every Christian attended church and fellowshipped with fellow believers.
After singing 12 of the 15 songs in the concert, Don said that worship has to be more than music. It has to be reaching out. Worship can take the form of giving money, encouraging someone, or simply smiling. Worship is bringing God’s presence to people in a practical way: “As you’ve done unto the least of these you’ve done unto me” (Matthew 25:40, paraphrased). He visited Ghana five years ago and drove to Royal Seed Home, which provides nutritious food, clean water, and housing to more than 190 children.
The children touched his heart and prompted him to support this ministry to the tune of $5,000 per month. This feeds the children three meals a day for one month. His ministry is called Worship In Action.
Don then sang “When It’s All Been Said And Done.” Afterward we had the opportunity to donate to Worship In Action.
The concert ended in a crescendo as Don sang “God Is Good All the Time.” Whoo-hoo! Talk about a toe-tapper. I thought someone in his band played the hoedown melody at the end of the song. Nope. It’s Don.
He reminded us that the song doesn’t say, “Life is good all the time;” it says “God is good all the time.” Can I hear an Amen?
For more information on Don Moen, visit his website, HYPERLINK "http://www.donmoen.com" donmoen.com and his Facebook page, Don Moen (Praise & Worship Leader). There are lots of Don Moen pages, but this is his official page. For more information on Worship In Action, visit worshipinaction.org.
Before I forget: We made 250 chicken pies on Saturday, February 21. That’s a total of 520 pies in two weeks. To God be the glory. Blessings!