Several days ago,  I saw Los’ suggestion to check out this song, “Healer”. So I went to the link and heard the song, and watched the video about the story behind it.

And then I watched the performance of it.

…over and over and over again.

At the beginning of the song, the artist reads the first half of Isaiah 53 from The Message, and made more sense to me than it ever has.

Check it out:

1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.

7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.

10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

As luck (or providence) would have it, the mic battery went out half way through, so the sound guys or going to see if they can get me one mp3 file so I can share it with all you wonderful people.

But in the meantime, Flowerdust and Ragamuffin Soul have some fantastic dialog going on about the topic of worship.

In particular, Carlos is asking:

Question One: What do you see the purpose of a church weekend gathering is? (I emailed him and asked him to ask this question on the blog MONTHS ago :0)
Question Two: Do you believe God can engage a persons heart in a weekend service where there is a goal to help manifest this through musical worship, production, creative video elements??

This should be interesting and could be very beneficial!

Someday, when I grow up — if I ever grow up — I would like to work at a church much like North Point… although, preferably, I would like it to be in a very dark country… say, Uzbekistan.

Carlos Whitaker over at RagamuffinSoul reflects on this past year as he stepped down from a position as lead worshiper to be a different kind of spot:

This is why North Point Ministries is what it is.
Churches…Take Notes…

1. I have been empowered to work within my sweet spot. That is motivating the masses to thrive in who they are. Not who I think they should be….

2. I am blown away by this healthy work environment. The reason why there are like 20,000 or so people a weekend is because everyone on staff leaves it all on the court on Sundays. This place is saturated in health. Even the unhealthy things I see are healthier than most environments.
3. They take hiring here VERY seriously. I think only the FBI has more interviews before you are hired. This ensures that the right person is hired.
4. This is a mega-church that CRUSHES every mega-church myth out there. This is the most relational, least corporate group of people you have ever seen. Within the 400 plus full time staff, there is a family feel that only can come from true family. Not “staff culture”.
5. Excellence is seen as a friend and not a foe. Authenticity does not mean fly by the seat of your pants. It means going where your heart leads ON PURPOSE.
6. Everyone of my team members at Buckhead Church can quit tomorrow and make TRIPLE what they are making here. But they choose to give their talents to the church. I am constantly overwhelmed by this. Not one person here has to be here.
7. When much of popular Christendom has decided to focus on the unhealthy aspects of church and create a place that is “healthier”, North Point Ministries is focusing on leading people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Not on what is wrong with all else around them. Therefore, guess what? You have lots of people growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Go figure.