Open Mic music events - what an opportunity
Sunday morning... The band is great, the songs are amazing - all that creativity and talent on the stage for 30 minutes, helping us focus on God. Is that it though? If God has given you such a talent and his command is to go, what is God calling you to do the remainder of the week?
Alan Scott, then Causeway Coast Vineyard Church in Coleraine, North Ireland, preaching on Romans 12, put it this way, "Do you want to change culture? Do you want to change cities? It doesn't happen in gathered environments? It's usually in places like our workplaces that often we feel are places of absence. You don't take God to work in the morning. God is waiting at your work saying, 'Let's get started.' Right? He's already there. You're not bringing the kingdom to your workplace, you're just showing up where the kingdom is already at work. It's already at work. God isn't limited to the church. He's already doing that. He says, 'Take your everyday, your ordinary life, present it before God as an offering.'"
"If God has called you to be an artist, for God's sake, be an artist, but don't hide it in church. Take it to the city. Do an art exhibition in your city. Release it in your city. I have a girl in my church, she said, 'God has called me to dance.' I said, 'We don't do that here.' She said, 'You don't?... But God has called me.' She had this look in her face like, 'are you going to squash God's calling in my life?'. 'Are you going to be a controlling leader?'. I said, 'Are you telling me God has called you to dance?' She said, 'God has called me to dance.' I said, 'Well, if God has called you to dance, why would you settle for a like six foot stage on a Sunday? If the living God has really called you to dance, why don't you go into the community and set up dance schools for kids?' She was so mad at me. Today she has a dance school for kids and the waiting list is as long as your arm."
One day, as I was walking through Waterloo station in London, on the busker's space, a young man was playing Christian songs. There was a crowd listening. Christians in the crowd encouraged him before moving on. Why don't we see this more often?
Then, in most towns, we have open mic music events in pubs and cafes. According to Open Mic Finder, there are 2204 open mic events running in 884 towns. They happen every night with 62% happening on a Thursday, Wednesday or a Sunday. The town with the most events is Manchester with 41 events, followed by Brighton with 38 and then Sheffield with 35. The county with the most events is Greater London with 371 events, followed by Greater Manchester with 179 and then West Midlands with 108.
Feels like a lost opportunity for talented musicians (and it would be great to be supported by a homegroup prior to and at the event).
Find an event venue near you here.
See also the blog on Top hits playlist.
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Geoff Knott, 21/08/2019