2. Stepping into Community
The past few months here in Austin has been a hard but fruitful season! My time has been filled with worship nights, producing Sunday services, worship intensive conferences, worship resident retreat, discipleship, theology class, and so much more. I cannot explain how thankful I am for this time.
One of the biggest highlights so far was the Worship Resident Retreat. Last week, all the worship residents (which I am considered to be, as production is a part of worship) went to a ranch south of Austin. It was the first time I have ever been on a "ranch" haha! I was expecting horses and a barn and going through a series of trials that would make me a real Texan. It turns out that they call a house on a piece of land a "ranch" here.
Anyways, those 3 days were filled with some of the best times I have had with a group of brothers. This was the first time I had ever been thrown into a co-writing environment, and it was incredible. The main approach was to read through scripture and put melodies to Psalms. The Lord truly spoke through His word and created some really solid songs. Each session began with a set of guidelines to help encourage the creative process. During these creative times, there was a lot of vulnerability and compromise shown between all of us. Though I am not going to be directly involved in songwriting at the Stone, it further encouraged the process of diving in with the new community of musicians that I will be working alongside and supporting over the next two years.
We not only got to work together songwriting, but also got to play games, eat steaks, and share each of our stories with the group. Already, I see how valuable these retreats are to the overall culture within the staff.
This next season we are walking into is typically one of the busiest in the life of a church. In the next couple weeks I have three retreats, worship collective, the album release, and the continuation of Men's & Women's Development Program. Meanwhile, I am to continuing to seek financial support, which has had its challenges for Brenna and I. We are still in need of monthly partners to come alongside us over the next 2 years. If you feel called to join us in this journey, go to www.reliant.org/mitchell.phillips or contact me directly for more information!
As we near the end of the year, we are hoping to finally feel settled and see the Lord move in some amazing ways. We would greatly appreciate prayers in this process as we ourselves pray, work, and enjoy our time here in Austin!
