God is calling the Worship Warriors
It all started when I was invited to go to Europe to teach at a worship school back in 1997. I spent time searching for the right material to take with me, but at that time I couldn't find anything I was satisfied with. I wanted to do a really good job because I was passionate about music and worship, and having been a musician all my life, I suspected there was a lack of understanding in the Body of Christ about what that was really like. As I began to pour over the material that was currently available, it dawned on me that personal preference was being taught as doctrine, and I found that some of the teachings were just plain wrong. Sincere no doubt, but wrong nevertheless. There was a massive gulf between the theological and the practical - the theory of worship did not match the experience of being a creative person, and neither the theologians nor the musicians seemed to understand each other.
In my frustration, I went to the scriptures and started to write my own material, incorporating what I had learnt, both as a musician and the pastor of a growing church. In the process, I discovered a wonderful truth - in the Kingdom of God there is an amazing amount of room for diversity or expression in ministry. Unfortunately this didn't always manifest itself, but the possibilities were tremendously exciting all the same. I wondered, could a way be found to release this creativity? Further, as I looked at the way the Lord called churches to account in Revelation, He also set out clearly their individual destiny and purpose in Him. They were all different. I thought if this is true for churches, it must be the same for individuals also.
Rick Joyner, in his foreword to "The Lost Glory", writes: "One of my greatest sorrows is feeling that our God who so loves diversity and creativity that He made every snowflake different is represented on earth by a church that tends to be so boringly uniform. For this reason, I believe the gift of art basically expresses one of the most important ways that we are made in the image of God, which is to be creative. Creativity should be the special domain of the church and it must be released again! Who should be more creative that those who know the Creator and are called to represent Him?"
That is why it is so vital that each of us discovers and forms what we call an Individual Purpose Plan. Once someone has discovered their destiny and calling, they can then set about training themselves to be the best for Christ in that field. Someone once said, "Whatever you be, be the best." In discovering who you are and what you are supposed to do for Christ, and then disciplining yourself and putting it into practice, individuals and churches can become a real threat to the kingdom of darkness, and the nations can only benefit as a result.
Right now, God wants to raise up an army of Worship Warriors who will have the same heart and spirit as King David. They will want to go behind enemy lines and persist until they get back everything that was stolen - music, the arts, leadership, entertainment, the media - all the things that have slipped out of the grasp of the church and been counterfeited by the enemy. However, Worship Warriors cannot always find full release and expression for their ministries in regular training settings. They can leave trained, but still hurting, or healed and still not given the tools to stand with the best in their field.
Over the years at Folly's End, we have had the immense privilege to hold hands with both the Father Heart and the Prophetic, and although we had been running successful Schools of Ministry since 1999 based on the Father Heart, God challenged us to start a new sort of Ministry School for those called to serve in Leadership and the Arts, and pass on what we have learnt from our experiences.
Today students coming to our school not only receive ministry on healing the heart, but are also set on the path of being trained to a very high professional standard. In imparting the vision of The Lost Glory, we equip and train young people so as to release an army of Worship Warriors; future leaders and musicians who have discovered their identity and purpose in God. Our teaching staff are all professional musicians, and our head of music, Simon James, is a respected guitarist, teacher and composer and a graduate of Trinity college of Music having studied in Spain under Paco Pena. He brings a wealth of experience to the course.
The curriculum not only includes training in all aspects of music and the arts, but also includes training in the business side of the music industry as well as practical tuition in our own studio by seasoned professionals.
Because we believe that our students will be called to be forerunners and leaders in the world, we have a research department, the purpose of which is to investigate and discover new thought in the realm of musicology. Dr Ray Hughes of Selah Ministries, Nashville, leads this department. Ray is a well-respected prophet, musicologist and historian who has been closely associated with MorningStar Ministries and is a gifted musician and songwriter in his own right.
If you are one of those called by God to make a real difference, our school may be the one you are looking for - we are very excited about it and would love to help you to get real serious about your call.
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