YWAM

Resisting Squishy Pot Syndrome

9 Feb ’12 By Christopher Hopper 14 Comments

[PHOTOS BY: JENNIFER HOPPER]

No, I’m not about to reveal the secrets of curing soggy marijuana leaves. (Hippies).

This week I had the joy of speaking for a YWAM School of Worship in Yverdon. Pictured here with my dear friend and translator Sylvain Freymond (also one of Switzerland’s most beloved worship leaders and songwriters), I shared on accessing God’s heart of creativity and principles of group leadership. Teaching in this format – a pair of two-hour classes each day – is something I look forward to, and something I’ve become good at.

But I wasn’t always good at it.

Ten years ago I was asked to teach eight-hours a day for five days straight in northern France. I was scared. Mortified would be a better word. I compiled the notes of every sermon I’d ever preached and scribbled countless reminders of sermons I’d heard preached growing up. I thought for sure that I’d share everything I’d ever learned in first two-hour block.

Back then I was a nervous wreck. Today I’m thrilled for the opportunity.

That’s because some of the greatest joys in my life have only recently been discovered.

That may not seem like a very meaningful statement, but given the fact that our culture largely broadcasts what you should be enjoying right now, waiting for things is hardly status quo, nor is the process of building long-term expectation.

Have sex now. Make lots of money now. Be popular now. Get what you want now. Don’t wait. And if you do wait, you’re missing out on everything.

But acting prematurely has some serious side-affects.

A pot that decides it should be filled with water before it’s fired in a kiln becomes a pile of watery clay by the end of the day. No matter how ready it thinks it is, the potter knows the vessel is simply incapable of fulfilling its purpose without engaging in the process of development.

Sure, I should have been happy with the opportunity to preach for a week ten years ago – and to a certain extent I was – but it wasn’t enjoyable. I needed time, coaching, and experience before I was truly ready to look at the invitation and discover the joy of doing it.

Becoming a husband and father has been much the same process. Oh, how I argued with God countless times, telling him I was ready for marriage, pleading (and pushing) for my spouse to be revealed. But he knew the vessel needed to be fired. And to a certain extent, I’m still being fired.

God is never late and he’s rarely early. He knows what he’s doing, and he will not be held hostage by pop culture or our adolescent demands.

Just remember that some of the greatest, most enjoyable moments in your life have yet to arrive. Recognizing the process is just as much a part of the arrival helps steady our impatience and temper the steel of our expectations.

Plus, being a squishy heap of soggy clay is downright embarrassing. Get fired and be useful long-term. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: creativity, development, jennifer hopper, maturity, pottery, school of worship, switzerland, Syvain Freymond, teaching, the process, yverdon, YWAM

Releasing the Lion

12 Oct ’11 By Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS

Unplanned, uncoordinated times of prolonged worship are like un-caging a lion: you’re not sure if it’s going to run free, or if it’s going to eat you alive.

Which is why we do our best as leaders to plan.

And that’s not a bad thing. We prepare because people are fickle, emotions are lethal, and often times those that think they are sensitive to the Holy Spirit aren’t. The last thing we want to do is abuse anyone’s time, including God’s with us.

But the risk can be worth it.

When a soaking session is done right, well, you never forget it. Because you get transformed.

Last night, it was clear from the beginning we were in for something awesome. The host church ended up double booking our first room. So we moved.

Ten minutes in to our second location, we were informed it was also double booked. So we moved again.

But it was a great object lesson on Watchman Nee’s predication that Christians are not changed by their environments; Christians change their environments. (Latent Power of the Soul).

From hymns to spiritual songs to lead prayer to words of knowledge, it was a remarkably rich time in the presence of our Father.

Toward the end I felt lead to sing Song of Songs 2:10-14 over the students, as it’s evident the Lord has been wooing them nearer and nearer. As soon as I was done, the Holy Spirit gave me a very simple song for them:

Take me away
Take me away
Take me away
I want to be where you are

I will go anywhere you ask me
I will go anywhere you ask me
I will go anywhere you ask me
If you’re by my side

Teary eyed and full, we emerged from the old choir room they stuck us in, knowing we had been with God. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, music, speaking, travel, worship Tagged With: A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS, Charlotte, NC, prophetic, songs, Watchman Née, worship, YWAM

The Father’s Love

11 Oct ’11 By Christopher Hopper 6 Comments

A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS

For anyone in the Christian communication world, if you ever get asked to present to the Discipleship Training School at the YWAM Base in Charlotte, NC, then you’ve arrived. Their hospitality is over the top, their staff is some of the best trained anywhere in the world, and their vision – social justice with an emphasis on orphans and the fallout of sex trafficking - is awe-inspiring.

Which means the brand of person they attract is equally impressionable.

I’m truly honored to have a voice among them, and I hope my words serve their futures in God effectively.

While most of what I shared today centered around my life’s story, as well as that of my wife’s, contained within it was the theme of divine love, namely, that of our Father.

As I was meditating on the Word last night, I made the following notes in my journal:

“The greatest source of comfort in this life comes from the sound and accepted determination and resolution that God the Father is always good, only good, and knows nothing else but good. While such a position may not appear to answer the impetuses of world happenings – whether of natural disaster or human depravity – it does rectify what God’s motives are not.

“If He and His goodness are the standard, then everything else must fall in line with His unshifting value, not challenge it. God is not the unknown integer being forced to equal a logical sum, held hostage by the unmoving assertions of human opinion; rather, He is the immovable power who makes all other questions subject to the gravity of his unbending goodness.

“If He alone is the embodiment of goodness, the working of evil is not, nor ever could be, His own, but is the fruit of human choice, allowed because He refused to control and manipulate the decisions and consequences of one person simply to protect the welfare of another.”

Tonight I will play over them (hopefully with a big piano) for a few hours in a “soaking” session the staff have scheduled, and look forward to seeing God add to what He started this morning. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership, speaking, travel Tagged With: A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS, Charlotte, DTS, ministry, Monroe, NC, schools, the Father's heart, theology, training, YWAM

Swiss Wednesday Update

23 Feb ’11 By Christopher Hopper 6 Comments

It’s been a very full 48 hours here in Yverdon. And nothing could feel better than being “used” for the Kingdom, especially when you’re away from the ones you love. “Down time” is often your biggest enemy while abroad, and I’ve had none of it this trip!

Yesterday’s 3 hour morning class focused on allowing our spirit’s heavenly position (Ephesians 2) to provide us with not only a divine perspective on life, but with Biblical goals. The workshop in the afternoon then centered on collaborative songwriting, a discipline which I know stretched them linguistically and musically as there are 5 different nations represented among them. They’ll be presenting their songs Thursday night in a large church gathering (so they’re all a little freaked out).

Today I taught on “being glorious,” one of my very favorite life-messages, based largely on some of Bill Johnson’s teachings. The presence of the Lord was very strong as I encouraged them to live passionately for God and pursue his purposes for their lives. Those familiar with the regimes of Communism and Socialism–two movements that have had a spiritual grip in the Church as well–felt the freedom to step up and out of a system which has largely kept them bound to “the common,” and resists the individual call.

Then finally this afternoon the students and I held a watch of prayer and worship at Yverdon’s House of Worship, located high on a hill overlooking the city. I love this house and have a special fondness for the meetings with God that I’ve had there. Today was as unexpected as the previous times, this one filled with spontaneous songs of celebration. Having Africans in the mix always helps, as drumming and dancing broke out for more than an hour!

As I wrote Sunday, I am continually reminded on this trip that God hides pieces of himself among the nations, and I find myself on a hunt to appreciate more and more of him through the people I have fellowship with.

ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership, pictures, travel Tagged With: coffee, flowers, house of prayer, nations, school of worship, songwriting, yverdon, YWAM

Switzerland: Day 8-9

25 Sep ’10 By Christopher Hopper 3 Comments

The morning was filled with lots of laughter, recounting memories, and fond goodbyes as Gabi & Andy left for the airport (Gabi to Madagascar, then Reunion Island for meetings; Andy, back to Yorkshire, England), and Marie-Elise “Momma” drove back to northern France.

The afternoon was restful, including a powerful time of life-changing prayer with Sylvain & Line over Jennifer and I. The late afternoon included a splendid coffee with Mélanie and her incredible family (“Excuse me, I ordered the large cappuccino, hello?”), and then a trip to visit the YWAM Publishing offices in Yvderon with Sylvain. Pretty extraordinary to stand in a places that Lauren Cunnginham helped pioneer 40 years ago, and that have touched the world. In the evening I preached at Interjeunes in Yverdon and challenged them to win 300 souls in one year (1% of their city’s population).

Today (day 9) Jennifer and I are doing nothing but lounging around and enjoying the Freymond family company. It’s an overcast and damp day, perfect for reading, watching videos on the laptops, and drinking tea (or coffee!). We leave for Geneva at 6am and are looking forward to reuniting with our children.

This has truly been an unforgettable, life-changeing week; I count it a gift and privilege from the Lord to undertake such a project. The fact that I live like a king is brought to my attention daily, and I only pray I’m faithful enough to steward the responsibilities it carries. Thanks for your love and prayers. We make the music for the people, we take the stage for the King. ch: