Church in Byron Bay. There is a huge part of me that wishes I could fly everyone over to Byron Bay just to experience a worship service at The New Earth Tribe. The first week we went there, I had no clue what to expect, and I felt God show up in big ways and once again alter my perspectives of what “church” should look like.
The service normally lasts around 4 hours and involves a lot of dancing, singing, praying and feeling the Holy Spirit move in that room. There were times when I would sit back and watch others dance, and watching them brought me so much joy. It is an awesome sight to see people so free dancing solely for Jesus and no one else. One guy named Tom was amazing to watch dance. You could tell from the second you met him or watched him that God has done and is still doing amazing things in his life.
One thing that threw me off at first was the language they used. Some of their phrases were 100% hippie, like being in God’s “mystical cloud” or the “love trance” used to describe the community of love we all should live in. But the more I thought about it and the more we got to know some of the people, the more I realized that it doesn’t always matter what words we use. What really matters is where our heart stands and understanding the truth of God’s word.
And every Sunday, before the service, they tell stories of what God has done the past week. Stories of healing, of blessings, of encouragement. Every little or big thing that glorifies God is told and it is awesome to hear. It puts you in the right place to worship God.
Yesterday was our last Sunday at New Earth Tribe. It definitely made me a little sad knowing that we were probably not going to experience another church quite like this one along our 11-month journey. I was singing one of the songs and felt God telling me that I needed to go to the bathroom. I only kind of had to go, but I was thinking, “ok, God, I’ll go in there if you want me to.” I walked in and one of the members of the church was retying the straps on her dress and asked if I could help. I said, “sure” and she started asking me about the other countries on our trip and how we enjoyed the church for the few weeks that we’d been here in Byron Bay. I was explaining to her how I really appreciated being able to watch others worship God and be a part of such a unique and great style of worship and how God had kind of challenged me to step in and appreciate the many styles of worship that people have around the world that we will get to experience. So when I was done tying her straps, she asked if she could pray a blessing over me. “Of course” I responded. So right there, in the middle of the bathroom, this girl prayed for me as I continue to travel around the world. She prayed that God would continue to open the eyes of my heart to see Him in new and different ways.
Amen sister.
Thanks so much for the amazing time at New Earth Tribe, and letting me worship with you.
God, may my heart be open to praise and worship you in crazy new ways this year.
You are good.
