Many of you  have probably seen these videos before, but I want to challenge you to take the time to watch them again. This is the opener of the 2007 Hillsong Conference. (Sorry it's split in half. I can't find an uncut version on YouTube any longer.)

Watching this still brings a tear to my eye. Why?

Grace is amazing!

Included too is what I think of in my head as the sound of heaven. Listen to how diverse the musical presentation has been made. Everything from a mainstream melody nearly everybody has heard (Bittersweet Symphony)—even if they can't name it—to multiple versions of one of the most beloved songs in Christendom.

There's a little something here for nearly everyone—styles that would fit into some of the most conservative of churches to flat out rock your face off sonic assaults of sound. This is what I imagine the music of heaven to be like in some part. I think it's going to be both loud and soft, new and old, raucous and reverent when we sing around the throne.

Another thing that grabs me is this. Look at what Christians can pull off when they set their minds to accomplish something.

Together.

No one person pulled this off. It took the time, talent, and treasure of a multitude. Sure, Hillsong has the resources to throw at it, but that's just something the rest of us use as an excuse to not take the risk to do something incredible ourselves.

How do I know? I'm guilty too.

What happens when even a small group, say a church of 100 or less throws everything they've got  into risking something for the Kingdom?

I'd dare to say it would be just as impressive in eternal value—if not more—than the presentation above.

Jeff M. Miller \\ Consuming Worship
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