I was working the sound board for the Alpha Weekend. There are so many dials, switches, and lights that it can be very intimidating. I have learned enough to turn a microphone up and down. That is about it. I try not to mess anything up when I am in charge. It's a low bar.
In the middle of the board is a TV-like multi-colored screen. I have not spent much time looking at it, but when we were worshiping on Saturday it caught my attention. I had asked Wade to teach the group a new song. It is called “Come Holy Spirit.” I heard it this summer at the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Norway. At each of the worship sessions, leaders from around the world shared songs from their region. It was one of my favorite parts of the event. I know that it is not most people’s favorite thing, but I love learning new songs. I love singing them in new languages. I love worship that stretches me.
The song I asked Wade to lead was from Nigeria. The text was Wa Wa Wa Emimimo (Come, Come, Come Holy Spirit), Wa Wa Wa A- Lag- Ba- Ra (Come, Come, Come Almighty Spirit), Wa-o, Wa-o, Wa-o (Come! Come! Come!). It is a simple chorus and the group picked up on it quickly. The tune is worming through my ears as I write this. Then we sang it in English, then in Spanish. I thought that it was a beautiful experience.
One of the things I am looking forward to in heaven is that we will all worship together and understand each other. I love our church because we are attempting to create opportunities for people to worship in their heart language and encourage people to appreciate other people’s worship style.
I loved looking at the graph. I have no idea what each of the colors means. Nor what the yellow wave means, but as the bars shot up and down along with the voices I knew God was pleased that his people were worshiping him. It was joyful. I love worship.