Review

“Missions exist because worship doesn’t” – John Piper.

This challenging statement points to the fact that all over the world are entire people groups that not only do not worship God, but have never even heard the name of Jesus! “Enjoying God”, a project from Metro Christian Fellowship in Kansas City, Missouri. takes worship to a point that is all too often missed in American churches today. They go beyond the blessing of God and speak to the heart of the responsibility that God has given all of us: that He will be worshipped by EVERY tongue, tribe and nation. The album is a worship service, recorded over two days in Kansas City. Metro has been blessed over the years with some powerfully anointed worship leaders, and three of them get together here.

Chris DuPre opens up with two songs from the Vineyard: “Over All the Earth” and “May the Words.' You may know these songs by the titles: “Lord Reign in Me” from Brenton Brown in the UK, and “Psalm 19”, by Terry Butler. Both are done very upbeat and, well, they’re sweet. Towards the end of “May the Words” the band kicks in to a spontaneous exhortation to “open up the gates, let the King of Glory come in”. Following that is “Glory to God in the Highest”, a cry to God to be exalted in all of creation.

Daniel Brymer does three songs that again call out to God, exalting His glory and asking for more of His Spirit. On “My Heart is Steadfast” he sings “only for You, among the nations I'll sing You my song.”

“Fire of Your Love” calls out to the Bridegroom in a yearning way, asking for the passion of Jesus for His bride to burn within us. This is the heart cry of the group’s ministry “Friends of the Bridegroom”. Just as John the Baptist was a forerunner of the First Coming of the Lord, “Friends of the Bridegroom” wants to equip some to be forerunners of His Second Coming. After asking the Lord for more, the question is begged, “What next?” Give us more so that we can be better Christians? So that we can withstand temptation and live lives more pure? So that we can be more like Jesus?

This is where the album takes us to the next level. The follow through. David Ruis sings a magnificent song in a native tongue: “Megwich-Kchi Manitou”. It means “Thank you, Creator God”. As David has done over the past few years, his music right away takes us out of our living rooms, out of our towns and comfortableness and transports us to a place that is somewhere else. It doesn’t matter so much where, just that we are not in our little box anymore.

And though the music is captivating and appeals to our third world music affections, it does far more. It shows us that God has been about the business of revealing Himself to His creation for all of creation. He has given general revelation of Himself to the world from the beginning. While He gave “specific” revelation to Abraham and, by extension, to us (Gal 3:6-9), He has been preparing creation for Him all the while.

“Wash Over Me” is another of David’s poetic masterpieces. “… I cry a silent prayer that comes out of me, it’s a mystery, come wash over me, wash over me till I can’t take anymore”. Ethereal, rhythmic, enchanting with ethnic instruments, the album ends at the throne of God, crying “more of You and less of me” echoing the sentiments of John the Baptist.

But it doesn’t end there!!! As you just sit there, melted into your couch, contemplating God and wondering what He would have you do next, mellow in His Spirit upon you, the silence deafening…out of nowhere comes something else. When I first heard it I was lying in another room, sure that the album was over. And I wondered if maybe I had somehow hit repeat on the stereo. I went into the living room and realized this was the “hidden song”. And, oh my! I had already enjoyed the glory of God. But now, there was a cry for God to reach the nations, every tongue and tribe.

Bubbling up was a groove from deep within--a primal groove. A call went out for a spirit of intercession. A voice cried “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain”. This was a very spontaneous song, I’m sure, during the recording session. It seems as if God, while appreciating all that they had done, had His own agenda, and gave them this song. It was prophetic, it was intercessory, and frankly, it rocked! And with this song, the album did what is done so rarely. It gave legs to that which had come over us.

To enjoy God, actually to enjoy God’s glory, means to bring His glory where it isn’t. We are not called just to bask, but to proclaim. And not just to proclaim in our hometowns, but in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not the hometown of the disciples, it was the strategic town that the Lord had them stay in. Remember, they were from Galilee, not Jerusalem. But it was in Jerusalem that the church was born and from there it moved out to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

Our call is not just to enjoy the blessings of God and remain at the foot of His throne, but to get up and go… or send, or pray, or give. God didn’t ask for those “who were called” to proclaim his message in all the nations, He called everyone. To the “Friends of the Bridegroom”, thank you so much for this wonderful album of worship, and even more so for it’s mobilizing effect on the Body of Christ, the Bride.

Reviewed by John Ausmus