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June 2003 Table of Contents
Just A Little Talk With...
Annette Oden
Annette Oden is Integrity Music's Instructor for the Seminars4Worship (Kids Track) and creator/writer of Integrity's "Shout to the Lord Kids! 2," "Shout Praises Kids! 3," and "Shout Praises Kids! Gospel" Resource Kits. She is also the Kids Worship Ministries Coordinator at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, AL.
TC: Annette, tell us about the creation of Noelle, The First!, your new Kids Praise & Worship Musical for Christmas.
AO: "Noelle" was born in my quiet time in a hotel room in Chicago, Illinois. On that day, the Lord had called me to spend extended devoted time with Him. I thought it was probably just preparation for the seminar I'd be teaching the next day and had no idea of the blessing He was about to pour out...
TC: And how does Pam Andrews fit into the equation?
AO: Pam Andrews is a dear friend who has encouraged and mentored me to fulfill my call in kids worship music for the past 5+ years. For months she'd been saying, "Annette, you're going to write Integrity's Christmas musical for 2003!," to which I'd always reply "Pam, I love you soooo much, I appreciate the confidence you have in me...it'd probably be great fun, but I have no story to tell, it's just not there...and I'm not going to write just to write...it'd have to be a God-thing." Now, if you know Pam, you know that she has a heart as big as the world and the tenacity of a bulldog! When she knows that she knows, she doesn't give up. Every single time I saw her or talked to her, she'd always say the same thing "You are going to write Christmas 2003."
Finally in October (2002) when we were in Jacksonville, FL together for a seminar, she said "Not only are you going to write it, but I'm going to pray that God will do for you what He does for me...I'm going to pray that He will sing in your ear while you're asleep. All you have to do is write it down; be God's secretary." I thought how cool it must be to hear God sing to you, songs already written in heaven and delivered through willing servants to kids on the earth...and I was willing...just not convinced He would do that through me. I have to tell you-God is incredible and faithful. He is love; He pursues us with abandon; He never gives up. His love for us cannot be measured or understood, but it can be felt and it is overwhelming.
In November as I moved into God's presence in my quiet time, the Lord began to tell me the story of "Noelle" and her angel friends...I began to weep as I realized He was speaking this with purpose, grabbed the little pad of hotel note paper beside my bed and began to scribble down all that He was saying.
TC: That's a good practice for everyone to do! Obviously, He had specific words for you.
AO: This was a story of a little angel named Noelle who knew that her created purpose was to praise and worship the Lord Jesus. She was part of the angel choir in Heaven and now she would be one who would sing out His birth to the world. Noelle is different from her friends, she's a little quirky (and a lot of fun!) she KNOWS her purpose, she is intensely, passionately in love with Jesus, she has been in His presence, has been transformed by His love and now she will never be the same...and though her friends sometimes try to dissuade her or give her "practical" reasons why she can't do what she has been created for, she always comes back to the deep knowing of who she is and of who Jesus is. She longs to be all she's been created to be...it's the story of little angels who understand that "the Father is looking for worshippers" and that worship is simply giving back to Him all the gifts and talents He's given us. It's the story of the very first Christmas, which began in Heaven. I was amazed as I realized what God had just given me...
Later that night and on various nights after that, I would turn off the light as I lay down to go to sleep, close my eyes, and begin to hear God singing to me...I can't accurately describe what that was like...humbling, precious, amazing...I later told Bob Rist (Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Integrity Direct), "If this work is never published it will always be enough just to have experienced the blessing of hearing God in that way." And now I get the double blessing of hearing children sing it for the first time, of sharing it with my friend Sam Noerr and seeing Noelle and her friends on the cover (Sam has this wonderful way of "seeing" into my heart and interpreting it through his incredible talent for drawing.), of writing with Dave Noel, of working through the creative process with Jay Rouse and Randy Vader. That's worship! See? It's about God; it's all about Him, an obedient offering back to the Lord Jesus all that He gifts us with; we bring our gifts, He brings His presence. What an awesome exchange!
TC: So tell us about your vision for children, which seems to go beyond kids' choir.
AO: The passionate cry of my heart is that children in all nations will rise up and take their place in the Kingdom of God; That they will understand that worship is more than just singing; it is playing instruments, creative writing, and dance, art, offering back to the Lord whatever gifts and talents He's given; That children worldwide will experience the manifest presence of God as they praise and worship Him, that they will be transformed as they do, that they will lead adults there as well.
Cute musicals and fun programs will come and go, but a moment in His presence will cause real transformation that will last a lifetime. Once they've experienced it, they will never settle for less. I would not be at all surprised to see the next wave of real revival come through children (of whatever age). We must do more than just entertain them; we must offer them real worship experiences. Spectacular moments in the presence of Jesus Christ who alone can change their lives. Can you imagine with me for one moment what The Church would look like if She were energized through real worship led by children? It is already beginning to happen in churches all around the country...
TC: Do you have any direction for another project that you can share at this point?
AO: I don't know if God will give me more music to write, or more stories to tell...I just know that whatever He calls me to do, I will do it with abandon. This life is about Him. I love Him more than I can ever say.
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