Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Warp Speed...
Ok, so when the Lord told me back in April of this year that he would launch this work by September 2009 with everything it needed to be successful, I have to admit, I was like "Did I really hear you on that, Father?" But it seems I did.
Everywhere we turn these past few weeks, the Lord is BUSTING down the doors, opening wide the gates of provision for us in every area. Churches are excited about partnering with us, artists are beginning to see the vision and we've even been offered the opportunity to take over an existing art gallery with access to an 800 seat theatre and art center. It's just incredible what the Lord is doing!
Our first events will be late summer and then this fall - Glory Encounter Weekends, where we will worship, teach, engage in creative expression and minister to the hearts of artisans. Stay tuned here to find out the latest and register for these events!
Everywhere we turn these past few weeks, the Lord is BUSTING down the doors, opening wide the gates of provision for us in every area. Churches are excited about partnering with us, artists are beginning to see the vision and we've even been offered the opportunity to take over an existing art gallery with access to an 800 seat theatre and art center. It's just incredible what the Lord is doing!
Our first events will be late summer and then this fall - Glory Encounter Weekends, where we will worship, teach, engage in creative expression and minister to the hearts of artisans. Stay tuned here to find out the latest and register for these events!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Evangelicals Neglect of Art
This was a great article I wanted to share! Really speaks to our calling as The Worship Studio...
http://scottwkay.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/evangelicals-neglect-of-art/
http://scottwkay.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/evangelicals-neglect-of-art/
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
God on the Mountain - A Weekend In Kentucky
This past weekend, I spent time with friends in Kentucky at a conference... it was totally unexpected how it all worked out, in that I never planned to go until I got a 'be there' email on Tuesday of last week. Through a friend of a friend, I had an opportunity to meet with Ray Hughes and share the vision of The Worship Studio and also some other cool stuff the Lord is doing with Kudzu... I'll tell you later :)
The best part was this: i get there 2 hours late, enduring a rainstorm and 7 hours of driving on Friday night only to realize that 1) the place I'm supposed to stay is 'unavailable' now and 2) Ray Hughes is not going to be there. WHAT!? At this point in the journey I'm so used to this I just laughed and said "ok Lord, what are you up to?" Turns out the friend of a friend had arranged for me to meet Ray for a private meeting in southern Kentucky on Sunday after church. So I spent Saturday at the conference - hung out with Ron Block (the baddest banjo picker in Nashville and plays with Allison Kraus), lead worship at the conference and eat some INCREDIBLE Kentucky barbecue that they smoked in the ground on Saturday. Pretty awesome!
So I got up at 530am to drive 3.5 hours to meet Ray Hughes Sunday morning - got to the church (Faith Temple in Middlesboro, KY) and found out that he AND Ramy & Brian were leading worship that morning! It was awesome! I introduced myself to Ray and he said "ahh, the king of kudzu"! He asked me where I wanted to eat and said I had 2 choices: mexican or sonic - but we'd have to sit in the car if we went to Sonic. LOL! Typical Ray :)
That afternoon, I had an incredible time getting to know Ray and his wonderful wife Denise. We were both able to share about our journey and then I got to share about The Worship Studio. I went through the whole journey and all the prophetic confirmations we've had over these last few months about this work. There was an incredible connection made in the Spirit with Ray Hughes and I thank God for such a Father in ministry to walk with us on this journey.
So, you never know what God's got for you when you walk into a situation but it's always good and it's always better than what you could have made happen on your own!
The best part was this: i get there 2 hours late, enduring a rainstorm and 7 hours of driving on Friday night only to realize that 1) the place I'm supposed to stay is 'unavailable' now and 2) Ray Hughes is not going to be there. WHAT!? At this point in the journey I'm so used to this I just laughed and said "ok Lord, what are you up to?" Turns out the friend of a friend had arranged for me to meet Ray for a private meeting in southern Kentucky on Sunday after church. So I spent Saturday at the conference - hung out with Ron Block (the baddest banjo picker in Nashville and plays with Allison Kraus), lead worship at the conference and eat some INCREDIBLE Kentucky barbecue that they smoked in the ground on Saturday. Pretty awesome!
So I got up at 530am to drive 3.5 hours to meet Ray Hughes Sunday morning - got to the church (Faith Temple in Middlesboro, KY) and found out that he AND Ramy & Brian were leading worship that morning! It was awesome! I introduced myself to Ray and he said "ahh, the king of kudzu"! He asked me where I wanted to eat and said I had 2 choices: mexican or sonic - but we'd have to sit in the car if we went to Sonic. LOL! Typical Ray :)
That afternoon, I had an incredible time getting to know Ray and his wonderful wife Denise. We were both able to share about our journey and then I got to share about The Worship Studio. I went through the whole journey and all the prophetic confirmations we've had over these last few months about this work. There was an incredible connection made in the Spirit with Ray Hughes and I thank God for such a Father in ministry to walk with us on this journey.
So, you never know what God's got for you when you walk into a situation but it's always good and it's always better than what you could have made happen on your own!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Artist Testimony from Scotland
John Lowrie Morrison interview: Love, faith and clarity
ScotlandonSunday.scotsman.com
May 10, 2009
It bursts through a break in the brooding sky above Argyll, floods through his Knapdale studio and refreshes what has been the view from his easel these last ten years, writes Paul Forsyth. "Light," says John Lowrie Morrison when asked what it is about the west coast of Scotland that makes it unique. "I love the way the light affects the landscape. You don’t get the same bright colours, the same intensity anywhere else in the world."
He should know. Scotland’s leading contemporary expressionist has fairly trotted about the globe, taking to its every corner the landscape from which he has made a living.
People rarely feature in Morrison’s painting. He doesn’t want them to detract from the landscape. Only the mark of man is included, an open gate or a ladder against a wall. He is often told by admirers that his work reminds them of their childhood. "There is a spiritual quality to the west coast, and not just because of the Christian influence on Iona and the islands. It has a connection with nature. A lot of people tell me they are not religious, but that my paintings give them a spiritual feeling. That’s because they are expressing God’s creation."
He attended Sunday school from the age of four, but it wasn’t until he was 21 that religion changed his life. The catalyst was a visit to the Tron Church in Glasgow, where Cliff Richard appeared in a dramatisation of the crucifixion. "Suddenly, your eyes are opened and you realise, gosh, this is the way I should live for the rest of my life," says Morrison, who has also painted religious figurative scenes based on biblical text. In Mull this summer, where he has another studio, he plans to do more.
His decision to leave Glasgow 36 years ago was the making of him, personally and professionally. "The city is man-made and can be quite aggressive, too edgy for me. The country can be edgy as well, but it’s a different edginess. I like the weather, the transience of the whole thing, the way nature changes all the time. You don’t really feel much of that in the city. I feel closer to God here, closer to creation. I love the way you can see the mark of God on the landscape, and also the mark of man. I play with that."
He also communicates the word of God. In the early 1980s, when his local minister was taken unwell, Morrison was asked to deputise. Later, when he was preparing to take a service at Bellanoch, a "lovely wee Highland church" down by Crinan Canal, he says he felt a call to the ministry. He registered for part-time leadership in the Church of Scotland, training for five years. He now provides pulpit supply around Argyll, taking services about twice a month.
He says there is more enthusiasm for religion on the west coast, especially in the remote areas, where churches have healthier congregations and a lick of fresh paint, but he still worries about its future. Morrison is one of the youngest members in his parish. "We don’t have the young people coming any more, and that’s our future. I love organ music, singing hymns, but a lot of young folk can’t take to it. People move away and, although they still have beliefs and feelings, they are not drawn back. My son, Pete, goes to Destiny Church in Glasgow, which has thousands of young people in it. It’s a huge church, quite evangelical and charismatic. More young people are going to these kind of churches than mainstream. They are springing up all over, and that’s where they will go unless the Church of Scotland changes.
"The whole way of doing it, what is preached, the way it is preached, needs to change. You have to draw people in, which a lot of ministers are not doing. The training of ministers needs to change so that they have a 21st-century view of the world and spirituality. The older people don’t want change, and you can understand that, but it needs to happen. Unless there is a spiritual revival as they had in Lewis many years ago, unless young people are brought back in, I don’t know where the Church of Scotland is going to be 50 years, even 25 years, from now."
ScotlandonSunday.scotsman.com
May 10, 2009
It bursts through a break in the brooding sky above Argyll, floods through his Knapdale studio and refreshes what has been the view from his easel these last ten years, writes Paul Forsyth. "Light," says John Lowrie Morrison when asked what it is about the west coast of Scotland that makes it unique. "I love the way the light affects the landscape. You don’t get the same bright colours, the same intensity anywhere else in the world."
He should know. Scotland’s leading contemporary expressionist has fairly trotted about the globe, taking to its every corner the landscape from which he has made a living.
People rarely feature in Morrison’s painting. He doesn’t want them to detract from the landscape. Only the mark of man is included, an open gate or a ladder against a wall. He is often told by admirers that his work reminds them of their childhood. "There is a spiritual quality to the west coast, and not just because of the Christian influence on Iona and the islands. It has a connection with nature. A lot of people tell me they are not religious, but that my paintings give them a spiritual feeling. That’s because they are expressing God’s creation."
He attended Sunday school from the age of four, but it wasn’t until he was 21 that religion changed his life. The catalyst was a visit to the Tron Church in Glasgow, where Cliff Richard appeared in a dramatisation of the crucifixion. "Suddenly, your eyes are opened and you realise, gosh, this is the way I should live for the rest of my life," says Morrison, who has also painted religious figurative scenes based on biblical text. In Mull this summer, where he has another studio, he plans to do more.
His decision to leave Glasgow 36 years ago was the making of him, personally and professionally. "The city is man-made and can be quite aggressive, too edgy for me. The country can be edgy as well, but it’s a different edginess. I like the weather, the transience of the whole thing, the way nature changes all the time. You don’t really feel much of that in the city. I feel closer to God here, closer to creation. I love the way you can see the mark of God on the landscape, and also the mark of man. I play with that."
He also communicates the word of God. In the early 1980s, when his local minister was taken unwell, Morrison was asked to deputise. Later, when he was preparing to take a service at Bellanoch, a "lovely wee Highland church" down by Crinan Canal, he says he felt a call to the ministry. He registered for part-time leadership in the Church of Scotland, training for five years. He now provides pulpit supply around Argyll, taking services about twice a month.
He says there is more enthusiasm for religion on the west coast, especially in the remote areas, where churches have healthier congregations and a lick of fresh paint, but he still worries about its future. Morrison is one of the youngest members in his parish. "We don’t have the young people coming any more, and that’s our future. I love organ music, singing hymns, but a lot of young folk can’t take to it. People move away and, although they still have beliefs and feelings, they are not drawn back. My son, Pete, goes to Destiny Church in Glasgow, which has thousands of young people in it. It’s a huge church, quite evangelical and charismatic. More young people are going to these kind of churches than mainstream. They are springing up all over, and that’s where they will go unless the Church of Scotland changes.
"The whole way of doing it, what is preached, the way it is preached, needs to change. You have to draw people in, which a lot of ministers are not doing. The training of ministers needs to change so that they have a 21st-century view of the world and spirituality. The older people don’t want change, and you can understand that, but it needs to happen. Unless there is a spiritual revival as they had in Lewis many years ago, unless young people are brought back in, I don’t know where the Church of Scotland is going to be 50 years, even 25 years, from now."
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