I have not yet been able to meet him physically or attended gatherings were he is ministering, but listening to his music has taught me a lot of things about worship. Todd Dulaney is one anointed worship leader I have come to appreciate and thank God for.
I got to know about his music when Miracle Centre Cathedral’s 77 Days of Glory were started.
I vividly recall the first day I listened to his song, ‘Victory Belongs To Jesus’, it had something different to it that I will later try to put to words in this article. I quickly rushed to Youtube so as to have it played again. I listened to other songs that were uploaded on his channel, and it is all exceptional music.
Over time, repeatedly playing ‘Victory belongs to Jesus’ and more songs off the Worshipper’s Heart album, the Holy Spirit has revealed a number of things and taught me several words of wisdom about worship that I’m excited to share with you.
First, a worship leader must be broken before the Lord and remain broken. Who we are and what we do behind closed curtains reflects so much in the results we achieve in life. Unless worship is a lifestyle – unless your heart is of a worshiper – you cannot usher in an atmosphere that can have stone-hearts submit to the warm embrace of our King.
For all the time Todd was in Uganda, every time he stood at the altar to worship, you would sense nothing about him, his role was to strictly point people to Jesus; yet, the way he did it was incredibly personal and without a doubt worked to perfect.
His worship is effortless. I have learnt from Todd, seeing genuine tangible results during worship is not something one can fake or stage. A lot of what we do ends up mired in imitation and fleshly effort.
Does it really matter what words we sing? Yes it matters. And how best do we find words that relate so well with Christians – words like; who can stand against the Lord.
The attitudes of the heart, the relationship we have with God, the concepts of the priority of worship, the principles and directives, and the confidence in being anointing and having the hand of God transforms an ordinary song into a worship song.
From Todd, I have learnt to be sensitive to the move of the Holy Spirit – Let God minister to his people. Many times we stand in the way, make it our show. We often have our agenda, but this is all rubbish (for lack of a better word) we should lay down – let the Lord lead the way. We must be sensitive to the direction of the song.
If God thought music was the most important aspect of a worship song, we’d have miracle healing even before the preachers come to take on the floor.
What Worshipers do is more than warm up people for the sermon, fill time, or get people emotionally excited. Worshipers worship. Worship alone is enough to bring the walls of Jericho down. This is the atmosphere I experience with “Victory belongs to Jesus.”
Did you see the team (vocalists and instrumentalists) Todd came with in Uganda? Or let me just refer you to the ones in his videos.
My lesson: Agreement. When you encourage and pay attention to the band members, you build their trust. Your team, just like everyone else, thrive in an atmosphere of encouragement and acknowledgement.
For if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. This agreement quickens the move of the Holy Spirit, the power of God to flow in our worship.
This is the only way man can transform a song service into a worship service. This is the only way the natural can turn supernatural. This is the only way through the outer courts to having powerful times in the Holy of Holies. Someone in the congregation always need a miracle – and it is possible to have one during worship.
Of course, you might have heard why Pr Kayanja chose ‘Victory Belongs to Jesus’ as the theme for the 77 Days of Glory. His statement was, “every time they sing this song, miracles begin to happen.”
If you do notice further, what is amazing about Todd’s music isn’t his voice first and foremost – although it is a factor in one way or the other . Why most people love his music is because of the power that comes along with listening/worshiping along to it.
Congregational singing requires that the congregation be able to sing the song – They can best sing to a song if they relate to it. Let me borrow a line from Tash Cobbs, ” 95% of what you do on the stage is about your life style and not about your gifting.” I hope this makes sense!
Well, I cannot pen down all my lessons because a lot more is actually coming through even as I write now.
My final word is that, what we need is anointed music. It can have impact. It can changes the atmosphere. Hope you can learn from what I learnt. Victory belongs to Jesus!
Contribution By Samuel Balagadde. (He is an Evangelist and Worshiper.)
