"Ever since I was a little boy, it was obvious that God had downloaded in my heart the desire to bring the Lord my song. My parents often retell the story of how as a little boy , no more than 3 or 4 years old, I would bring my big, red toy microphone to church and sing as loud as I could during worship from atop my chair in the back. Thankfully, my parents did not discourage me from his whole-hearted worship. In fact, there was something beautifully simple about my innocent singing. On one Sunday morning in particular, the worship leader had asked my parents to bring me up on stage because he wanted to show the church what worship really looked like.
You know, he was right. Worship in its purest and simplest form can be seen in a child singing their heart out to their Father in heaven, but just like myself as I grew, we can lose that innocent trust and simple adoration. In our post-â€enlightened†and post-modern world, we’re taught that all of the unseen is a fairy tale and that we should swiftly pursue what is tangible. We’re are even given the perfect life of the “American Dream†as our end all in this race of life.
BUT THIS CANNOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
The reality is that we have EMMANUEL ,“God with usâ€, who is always present at every moment...even in our weakness when we’ve closed our eyes to Him! In His omnipresence, He is never far.
While in college, I began leading worship at churches and songwriting. I earned my bachelor of science in history at the University of Michigan (Dearborn). It was also during this time that I began pastoral training as a ministry intern. On my first month on the job, I had to be a part in making funeral arrangements for one of my mentors who just died of cancer. It was in the middle of this growing and wrestling that God began “unplugging me from the matrix†and restoring the song of my childhood.
When I got married to the love of my life Keri in 2006 and moved from my hometown of Detroit, Michigan to Minneapolis, Minnesota, God began taking us through a time of preparation like Jesus in the wilderness. It was in this time that we both entered into the deepest realizations of the Kingdom of God that we had ever experienced in our lives.
Seven months into our marriage, we became involved with Burn 24-7 ( a ministry which seeks to restore vertical worship to the Father so that all of world will see the Lord). I became the director of Burn Twin Cities in March of 2007. Since that time we have had regular city-wide gatherings of extended worship and prayer in which people of all different denominations and ethnic backgrounds have returned to the place of bringing Emmanuel the pure and unashamed song of their heart.
In the last year, I also have had the privilege of traveling all over the U.S., carrying with friends (like Sean Feucht and Adam Cates) the simple message that God longs for us to copy heaven here on earth (Matt. 6:10). For this to happen we must begin at the throne, copying the eternal worship service of heaven (Is. 6, Rev. 4).
The Lord has designed me to be a teacher and a messenger. For the last 3 years I have taught Bible/Theology and History at the secondary level in Michigan and Minnesota full-time. I believe that we are on the verge of a “Great Awakening†to our first love and creator unlike anything we have ever seen in history. Whether its through my song, my words, or my relationship with my wife, I have been designed to be a living message to be carried to those that have been blinded to it by the world. I have also been called to teach and instruct a generation of worshippers to seek the heart of God over the approval of man, and to reclaim that innocent child-like song that they once had.
In July of this year, my wife and I will be traveling to Virginia Beach to record my first full length album with some dear friends including Adam Cates (Nights at the Big House) and William Clark (played bass on album’s with Jason Upton, Ray Hughes, Sean Feucht, Mae, and many others!)
-paul anleitner
(for more info email [email protected])
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read isaiah 58 and then watch this.
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