S4W.com: How do you explain the powerful connection between music
and worship expression?
Jernigan: Music is so powerful as a means of worship because it incorporates
our entire being. I sing to God in the midst of trials, and it gets my mind
and thoughts off of me and my circumstances. When I worship through the gift
of music, it takes every emotion, thought, and even my physical body to a
place of peace found nowhere else.
S4W.com: Describe one of the most compelling,
most powerful worship experiences you've had and tell how that affected you
as a worshiper and as a leader
since that time.
Jernigan: One of those times came several years ago during a New Year's
Eve Night of Praise in Edmond, Oklahoma. I sensed that the Holy Spirit
was leading
me, in the midst of corporate worship, to ask if there were any who had
come to the gathering as a last resort. I asked if there were any who were
planning
on taking their own lives if God did not meet with them on that very night.
I then asked them to stand and allow me to sing God's heart over them,
and over 50 people stood. Talk about God's power and tears flowing down
together!
We celebrated life that night, and I will never forget that moment.
S4W.com:
What compels you to write new songs for worship?
Jernigan: What compels me to write or receive new songs for worship is
relationship with people-meeting the needs of those I am in relationship
with. I am not
a songwriter, but a receiver. I have no established time to sit down
and write. My focus is on my relationship with the Father and with His children.
When
I sense a need, I take it to Him in song as it simply flows out of my
heart
as a result of relationships I am in. In this way, the songs take on
a very personal and relevant nature.
S4W.com: What person has influenced
your ministry/your music the most and how?
Jernigan: In 1977, I was introduced to the music of Annie Herring (Second
Chapter of Acts) and Keith Green. Someone gave me a Second Chapter
album, and I was
floored by the intimacy I felt with God as I listened. Keith Green
came to my university when I was a freshman. Again, I was impacted by the
passion and intimacy I felt when he sang. Having heard their stories
of God's redeeming
love in their lives as He redeemed them from all they had to go through,
I
was encouraged and given hope that just maybe, God could do the same
for me.
Debra Akins is a freelance writer and media
consultant who lives in Franklin, TN.
