Update for August 16th 2009
Hi everyone!
It has been an interesting couple of weeks.
We have been in Nashville since the beginning of August, for the purpose of doing some writing and pre-production for the new record, and just to have some relaxation and refreshment from the road.
Writing and pre-production has being going great! The songs are coming together really nicely, and the band seems to be clicking really well. We believe that the Holy Spirit is all over the preparation of this record, so it is going really well.
We will be recording with an amazing producer called Ed Cash. He loves God and genuinely wants to record what the Holy Spirit touches so we feel very confident that the product will be a record that bring glory to Jesus, and that is the only thing we care about. We should be able to make it into the studio around October or November, and we will provide all of you with studio updates when that time comes.
Our time in Nashville has been such a blessing. Not only are we able to relax a little bit, but we are so lucky to be hanging out with amazing people who have supported us since day one. The Anchor church has allowed us to rehearse at the church for nothing, which is such a big help. We definitely feel right at home here.
We have done some weekend touring since arriving. Last week we headed up to Indiana, and played at a benefit for the family of our friend Nate, whose father had cancer. Sadly, the day before the benefit, Nate’s father passed away. The concert went ahead though, and we were so honored to have a beautiful night of worship with Nate, his Mum, and many people who came to support the family. The Father’s heart was freakin heavy on the place, and His presence was amazing. We worshiped and prayed and just had a really special night that we felt so privileged to be a part of.
The next morning we lead worship at a church service in Fort Wayne Indiana, and were treated to a nice cookout afterwards!!
The other bit of touring we have done since arriving was this weekend. We played a festival called Livestock (which we are currently driving home from).
This festival was 3 days of music, primarily hardcore.
We were so blessed to play with bands like Sleeping Giant, A Plea for Purging, Advent, The Chariot, My Epic and The Glorious Unseen.
The Friday night was tough. We led worship and Chad Johnson followed that with a word from the Lord, but we felt a lot of opposition and bitterness. We believed that the door for God to move was cracked open on the Friday.
However the Saturday night went crazy. The Glorious Unseen led worship and the Holy Spirit broke through and nailed the place during their version of How He Loves.
After the Glorious Unseen, a band called Sleeping Giant stepped up. These guys are the real deal. Absolutely all glory to Jesus, the whole time, and they expressed the love of Christ more than any worship band I have ever experienced, at any worship conference or church service. Sounds weird right? Well that is what God is doing. They are awesome guys too and we were so blessed to be able to minister with them.
After the worship music stopped, ministry started going crazy! Chad Johnson led around forty kids in prayer for healing, and freedom from addictions to porn and nicotine. One guy who needed crutches was completely healed and doesn’t need them anymore. He was quite surprised about that haha. People were freed from addictions to nicotine and Pornography, and 5 kids received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and 2 kids were water baptized with water bottles!
Also, a friend of ours was delivered of demonic oppression. Jesus used a bunch of rough, broken guys and delivered our friend from spirits of failure, torment, suicide, lies, confusion and condemnation. Seeing the freedom in him after Jesus nailed him was so amazing. Our friend is delivered and free from the stupid demons that were trying to destroy him so praise Jesus. He is the victor always.
One final thing from this powerful weekend.
During the Glorious Unseen set, myself (Matt) and Jase were praying with Tommy from Sleeping Giant for New Zealand to receive Jesus. While we were praying (and during Sleepy G’s set) God dropped a bomb of desperation on us to see New Zealand be totally smashed in the presence of God and the love of Jesus.
We have a fresh desire to see the Christian bands of New Zealand wake up, and share the love of God with boldness, to no longer buy into the “We’re not a Christian band, just Christians-in-a-band” lie. That is a joke, and its not right, and its not the way God expects us to be if He has given us influence over kids that come to shows. Stop wasting time, and start being bold about Christ! Playing music “just for fun” is a waste of time! Play it for Jesus!!! Tell kids how much He loves them and wants them! Its more important than dancing and playing chords!! There is NO ETERNAL VALUE IN A CIRCLE PIT!!! Without Jesus it is just noise. Its time to get real! If you do not speak about Christ to hundreds of kids that God has brought to your show, it is the same as denying Him, because you are denying Him the opportunity to speak His love into them, and YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR EVERY IDLE WORD!
It is time for Christian musicians in NZ to stop being ashamed of their God and savior, and to be passionate and desperate in their pursuit of Him, and others knowing Him.
We need to make disciples of individuals, regions, cities and nations for the glory of God.
This has been a weekend of revelation for many of us. And we are more desperate than ever to see God move powerfully. Please join us in this pursuit.
We head back tonight to lead worship at The Anchor, and continue writing for the record.
Please pray for us, and we will be in touch again in a couple of weeks!
Finally, we would love to be able to come back home and minister the love of Jesus in NZ, but at this point it may not e financially viable due to the lack of booking in NZ and Australia. Sleeping Giant would love to join us on this tour as well! So please, if you feel led to, we need money for plane tickets. Anything helps, and please only give if you feel led by the Lord to do so.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers, we value and appreciate them.
If you would like to support us financially, you can visit our myspace for details at www.myspace.com/theemberdays
Love
The Ember Days