I’ve lived in Laguna Niguel my whole life, which is right in between Dana Point and Laguna Beach, (other than 5 years in LA in my early 20s). It was a great place to grow up. My three boys were all in the same kindergarten classroom I was in.
I became a Christian when I was 16 yrs old. My mom had just gotten saved and she asked me to go to this little church in Dana Point, CA, where she said they pray for the sick. I was born with one leg considerably longer than the other and I was just about to have an operation to stunt the growth of my long leg by putting pins (or clips?) on my nerves before my growth spurt. This would have been a year-long process and very painful, supposedly. Anyhow, she took me to this little church and the pastor sat me in a chair, held my feet with my legs straight out, and began to pray. As he prayed I felt the bones in my short leg stretch (I can't even explain that feeling other than a kind of creaking.) My mom was crying, and my Aunt Kaye who led my mom to the Lord a few weeks earlier was crying. Then the pastor asked me if I knew Jesus. I said," I don't know?" He asked if I wanted to. After what had just happened who would say no?
I started going to the Vineyard in Anaheim, CA when I was a teenager. It was at Canyon High School, in the gymnasium, sometime around 1980. The worship team was Eddie Espinosa, Carl Tuttle, and John Wimber, and Barefoot Jerry and Dick Heying on bass and drums. John used to play the Fender Rhodes with his Bible sitting on it. He would preach sometimes sitting at the Rhodes and then just break into a song whenever. He was the coolest! I don't remember so much what he talked about as much as what he would do. I loved how he would wait on the Lord. How he would watch what the Holy Spirit was doing and also teach us how to watch as well.
Later, in my early 20's I moved to LA and started a band, trying to get famous (my ignorant rockstar faze!). The band was called Labor of Love. We were an alternative band at the worst possible time in LA. Hair bands were the rage. Bands like Guns ‘n’ Roses and Poison were getting deals. I remember we had a demo deal with A&M. They gave us some money to record some songs and set up a showcase for us to perform for them at a club in Hollywood. They had this band from Seattle open for us called Soundgarden. After Soundgarden played I saw the head of A&R helping carry out the drummer’s kit. That was the last time we saw anyone from A&M. The next week we read in the trade papers that Soundgarden signed with A&M. Mmmm, good times.
During this time Chris Wimber would drive up from Anaheim to support us. I think he was praying for us to get over ourselves at the same time! Right around that time one of my best friends had died of cancer and it left me questioning my whole life and what I was doing in LA. Soon after I moved back to Orange County and started going back to the Anaheim Vineyard, and ended up doing a couple records for Chris' sub-label.
At that time Kevin Prosch had moved out to Anaheim and recorded his album, “Even So Come.” He started playing B3 with me, and helped me make my second record for Vineyard, called “Soul Motion.” We played a bunch of churches and prisons and whatever, for close to a year. I remember thinking, why would someone who is so far beyond me in his songwriting and worship leading be content to just play keyboards for me? So I asked him. He told me that God told him to lay his guitar down for a year and to teach me about worship. I'll never forget that.
I had never really considered myself a worship leader yet. Even the records I was making were more artist records. Then one day a professor named Louie Weber from Kentucky Christian College rang me up and asked if I would come lead worship for a youth conference they do every year. He had bought the CD that Kevin helped me with (which was a blues record, not a worship record). This was a Church of Christ conference—kind of like leading worship on Mars, from my perspective. But we all felt God's presence. That invitation from Louie changed the direction of my life.
Years later, married with three kids, I and the family had moved back to Laguna Niguel where I grew up. My wife, Kristy, and I were going through a real dry time in our walks with God when a friend of ours invited us to a Vineyard which I did not even know existed, right there in my hometown. The first time we were there we cried through the whole service. I think we even cried through the announcements. It reminded us of John Wimber’s Vineyard— very free and spontaneous. We feel so blessed to be a part of this church.
Recently God has been seriously reminding me of how we had this great personal relationship when I first got saved. I know I never lost that, but for a long time I've felt like I've neglected the me-and-God-alone time. It's so easy to think we've filled that need with church and/or ministry. I thank God that He's been wooing my heart back to Him and reminding me of what we once had. I need Him! Everything about the church and ministry is good, but without Him it means nothing!
Chris Lizotte is Worship Pastor at Vineyard Community Church in Laguna Niguel, CA. He and his wife, Kristy, have three boys: Dana (15), Lee (13), and Shane (11).
www.myspace.com/chrislizotte
www.vineyardcommunitychurch.org
www.vineyardmusic.com
Join the Community!
Login
