Revival in a Bar on Bourbon Street – w/ Chris Burns (Episode 45‪)‬ Presence Pioneers with Matthew Lilley

In this episode, Matthew catches up with Chris Burns - author, worship leader, and most definitely a presence pioneer.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE
Chris' Site • http://burnsministries.com
Pioneers of His Presence • https://amzn.to/37qk8FX


The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Chris got radically saved at 19 while touring with his band, and had no background in the church. He jumped right into leading worship and found himself enjoying extended, prophetic times of worship right away. He loved finding others who felt that, and it's taken him all over the country - from Ohio, to San Francisco, to New Orleans, and many places in between.

Fast forward to now, leading a worship movement out of a bar on Bourbon Street - right in the middle of the French Quarter! While serving in San Francisco, he got a call that a bar owner in New Orleans had gotten saved and wanted to bring someone in to host worship in his bar. Chris agreed, and began an adventure he wasn't expecting.

Instead of just being another worship event he traveled to lead, it quickly became clear that this was a God-ordained moment in time. All he did was show up to worship, and as he puts it, God showed up. Not only were these worship nights filling the bar and wrecking the people who were there to worship, but from the street, it looks like such a great party that drunk people are wandering in and immediately getting touched by God and saved on the spot. It's been so impactful that Chris and his family have now moved to New Orleans to plug in more permanently. And Chris doesn't believe it's a move that's only for Bourbon Street. He believes they're seeing a part of what God wants everywhere! As Matthew points out, we are seeing more and more of this "public space" worship happening with groups like the Burn and Awaken the Dawn. Covid restrictions even seem to be fueling this movement rather than hindering it, as more and more churches and organizations move services outdoors to allow for spacing out.

Chris says he gets asked a lot if they'll turn the bar into a church as things grow and evolve, and his answer is that it IS a church - it's just one that sinners come to. They are more along the lines of Jesus as the One who hung out with the sinners where they were. They just open the doors and worship, and "church" happens. For now, at least, he feels like that's the format they're called to.

For his last point, Chris looks back to the revivals of history. He submits that when God introduces a new way to worship, He does it outside the four walls of the church. Songs used for worship were actually well-known bar and pub songs that people re-wrote the words to, so that everyone could sing along. This was God stepping outside of the church and reaching people where they were. That's what Chris believes is happening in the church now with these new expressions of worship!

As a closing encouragement, Chris says this : We must be a priest in secret first, and that when we do step out, these things don't look amazing at first. There's something to being faithful in the small things that gives you strength to sustain as it grows. And finally, he says simply - don't miss it!