Generation Church Charlotte, NC

Wednesday November 9th I spent the better part of 2 hours in a prayer and worship service with a group from Generation Church in Matthews - Charlotte, NC. The setting was an old gym with a small stage. There was nothing fancy about the place but there was something very inviting. The dated lighting and curtain on the stage is something you see trying to be replicated by urban area artistic prayer houses and churches which I find very appealing.

Prior to the service I met the pastor of Generation Church. He was very welcoming and not overly talkative. In our conversation he asked me if I would be uncomfortable if people pray in tongues during the service. I smiled and said I think I am in the right place.

The service started with a CD being played that was a mix of worship leaders from Misty Edward of IHOP-KC to Jason Upton. Typically CD style worship is less inviting to me but last night it was incredible. After 30-45mins of worship and barley audible praying in the Spirit around the room the pastor started praying over the microphone. From time to time he would walk around the room and hand the microphone to others and they would pray, some in English, some in Spanish and some mixed in praying in the Spirit. You could sense the Lord's presence in a tangible way and an increase in the way we view Him.

I was personally reminded of how GOOD God is and how He is faithful to fulfill His promises in our lives. Also the thoughts of why were are here began to churn and I was reminded of how many times I have heard people say upon the death of another "It was his or her time to go". This lead me to ask myself "Why am I still here?". If there is a time for most of us to die prior to the return of Jesus, the time we have here must have a purpose. To know that God can allow us to be or remove us from this life at anytime, leads me to believe even more so that His dream for us is not complete if we are still here. Now there is a response required to this revelation, what then should we / I do? Interestingly enough I had started working the exercises in the book Dream Culture By Andy Mason from Bethel in Redding, California. Rediscovering dreams in our heart is one of the keys to living the plan that God has for our lives. Ridding ourselves from fear and never believing that anything is impossible is often where we get off track.

I will leave you with this. 2 hours in His presences increased my faith and re-established who He is and how His dream is wrapped in flesh. He had a dream before your were born and wrapped that dream in flesh. It is time we allow His perfect love to cast out all fear and go after the dreams He placed inside of us.

Blessings on the journey.