Where are you?

We live in a world where creation is still happening. Stars are being born, the universe is expanding and we are surrounded by new arrangements of Gods creation every day.

New Arrangements. That sums up what we as a species do, we re-arrange creation. We in our mortal selves are unable to create, although we may use the words, ‘invent’ ‘make’ but what we are really doing is discovering and re-arranging the things that God had already put around us, usually to suite our own human needs and desires.

What makes things really difficult is that we are surrounded by death and pain. The moment you are reading this there are wars, disease, a mother is holding her starving, dying child right now.

Over the last five months or so, I have grown to live with this understanding that the world we live in isn’t perfect. That the things we do, and the things we do not do, have a huge effect on each other’s lives and yet so much of what happens in the world is completely out of our control.

Someone very close to me has been dealing with berievement. The circumstances of which make it very hard to come to terms with. A husband and wife who wanted nothing more than to have a family, they had been trying for many years and prayer fervently that God would grant them this blessing.

Just over a year ago, God saw fit to bless them and they conceived a child. Many celebrations we enjoyed by all who knew them.

On a wonderful day in October last year, they gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. a gift to this world from a creator who know she would be loved. Both new parents were, as you can imagine, beside themselves with joy.

Unfortunately, the delivery was not straight forward and due to complications, the mother became very ill, so much so that our modern medicine and extensive exploration of the biology of the human body was unable to assist.

Flora (mother) died.

The impact of this was earth shattering, a moment of such overwhelming joy all but extinguished in exquisite pain. The news of Floras passing away made the clock stand still. A Father facing a mountain of decisions, a family torn between celebrating a new member and mourning the lost of a part of them. Friends (including myself) were in shock, with the limitations of distance and communications making it almost impossible to offer the support, the shoulders to carry the tears of pain.

Where are you God? You would be forgiven for thinking, praying, no. Screaming at such a time. In this darkness, how can there be light. How can you look upon this helpless, innocent baby and not see the face of a mother who will not see her take a first step, say her first words, touch the world for the first time?

In the Darkness there IS light.

It takes time to come to terms with bereavement. God blessed this world with a new creation in this child. and its the responsibility of its family, her christian brothers and sisters to help share the good news. The news that means we know, WE KNOW, she will meet her mother again. That her mother loved and loves her beyond words, beyond thoughts and ultimately, beyond life itself.

Our responsibility is to share the stories of Flora, the great things she did for this world, the people she touched and lives she changed through Gods will for them. Baby Flora should grow up knowing that it was the her mothers life long prayer that Baby Flora should grow up knowing her creator, knowing Gods will for her life. the sacrifice of a beautiful soul was part of that will, a difficult thing for us to understand but something that brought the extended family of God closer and play part in her life.

As for the person I mentioned at the start of this post, she is only now (5 moths later) coming to terms with this will. It takes time to see the light and now she is able to remember Flora for the great moments they shared. The days that wouldn’t have happened without her. That pain of loss will always be there but its only part of the story that unfolds. Flora did so much in this life and is waiting in the next. Over joy to see her child come into the world and over joy to be able to enter heaven to be with the creator that gave her this blessing. Jesus is preparing the fathers house and Flora will be there with her family when the time comes.

They will be together in the best possible way, surrounded by grace, glory, praise, love, peace, patience, kindness…

Where are you God? you are in the creation around us, you are in the small things, you are in the big things, you are in the celebrations, you are there for us in the pain, you give us life in chaos, you make beautiful things out of the dust, out of the pain. All around us things are springing up out of the ground and we may struggle to see that some times but in the darkness there is light and we are drawn to the light. In the light, all things are made new and you are making us new in every breath.

Where are you God?

You are here.

Worship is Atomic

It takes a massive amount of work to put on even one worship service. That’s right, the dull and sleepy Sunday morning service you attend every week takes a large number of people and planning to achieve. Think about. (Appendix A)

What is amazing is that all these things are nothing to do with worshiping.

They help us draw a picture of worship, gain an understanding, but none of these are what worship is about.

A long time ago someone drew a diagram of the Atom. At the time this was the smallest the world knew of. You have probably seen it. Depicting a nucleus of positive and neutral protons surrounded by a dizzying arrangement of orbiting electrons, this is the picture that has been used to build sciences understanding of the amazing world we have been been gifted,

Here’s the hitch…that is not what an Atom looks like!

Now that some of you have stopped reading and thrown your ipad or phone at the wall in disgust, I’ll explain.

The Atom diagram or model is the best way we have found to explain a building block that everything we know is built from. Scientists tell us that the Atom uses electrical forces to glue together. Electrons as we know them, are weightless, massless and indeed do not exist in a touchable sense. They are a definition of a negative charge. The nucleus is where it’s at. This is where mass and structure can be defined. The nucleus is at the center of everything.

There is a danger that I am about to fall into a full thesis on the existence of atomic energy but rather than sending you to sleep, I think I should move on.

The use of this picture to help explain something that we can not see but can only experience and indeed have our very existence rely on in every moment and is not only limited to professors in white coats.

This same diagram can be applied to worship. We can not design and model worship. It is not something that we can see or touch, it comes from a direct connection between you and God. An experience. A life line that we must rely on.

Not the action of lifting hands or falling on knees (although that may be a reaction to worship in the same way atoms can have different numbers of electrons).

The music, prayers, sermons, flowers, welcomers, tea makers, crosses, organs, congregational statements, and just about everything you see on a Sunday morning are like the electrons that spin around the nucleus that is worship. Without some of them we would struggle to grasp the meaning of worship.

But electrons can change in number. They are shared between neighbouring atoms in much the same way that churches will share new ideas for their worship services. (See Appendix B)

With so many electrons buzzing around it can be hard to see the nucleus of worship so it is our responsibility as Christians to ensure these electrons we use to describe worship are not distractions and continue to focus us on the heart of worship…God.

We are not able to diagram the exact image of an atom but perhaps that is so that we can continue to strive to learn more about the amazing world God crested for us. Perhaps not being able to diagram worship is God giving us the excitement to keep digging, to keep learning how amazing he is and ultimately, how far beyond our understanding he truly is.

As science is the exploration of how amazing Gods creation is, worship is the exploration of how amazing and infinite God is. A chance to gain greater appreciation of God and his grace that let’s us have a relationship with him.

Appendix A
There’s the ministers sermon, the running order, the band rehearsal, the sound guy, projection controllers, coffee and tea makers, welcomers, Sunday school workers, church officers, congregation members, readers, prayer-ers, small group leaders, parking attendants,

Appendix B
When electrons trickle through a chain of atoms, we call this electricity. What if sharing our electrons of worship with other churches created the high voltage electricity, a tactile representation of the power that exists in the Atom?

Humbling Words

“Before you speak to me about your religion,

first show it to me in how you treat other people;

Before you tell me how much you love your God;

Show me in how much you love all his children;

Before you preach to me of your passion for your faith,

teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbours.

In the end, I’m not as interested in what you have to tell or sell

as in how you choose to live and give.”

Cory Brooker

He Is…

Something I think i should read every once in a while. Enjoy and please remember I’m not much of a poet.

He is here
He is right here
In this room
In your heart

He is near
Nearer than breath,
Heart beat,
Nearer than you are to you.

Closer than second chance
Or next Opportunity.
Closer than tonight or yesterday

He is real,
More real than touch,
See, hear, smell or taste.
More real than reality.

He is our reality.
More real than joy, pain, sorrow
Or the love of being in love

He is present.
Like space, wind, time, silent, night.
He is waiting and creating,
Like words on the tip of tongue,
Like song that are yet to be sung.

He is beauty
in oranges, Blues,
every hue, every shade.
Sunset and sunrise
Whisper his name

He is holy.
Can not be touched
Explained
Like sweet seconds of prayer
Like grand mother on knees
Wood floor bare

He is old hymns
The extending of limbs
Stretch across trees
Strives to heal disease

He is sun
Distinctly three distinctly one
The only one
The only wise
The only redirect or of lives

He is king

And no earthly throne can house him
No amount of element words vs spouse him

He is moment
And voice
Power of choice
In word and deed
In fruit of seed
Nailed hands availed feet
Inocent wounds that bleed

He is believe
He is all
He is call and purpose
Everything we can sactifice he is worth it and more
much more

Our good deeds are ear pities
will never even the score
He is behold and wow

He is who what when why how
He is the one who puts on the show
He is the one we come to see
He is souls cry and sinners plea

He is the spits my that no one can light a candle to
Or cover with the

He is a bum
He is a fatherless mum
Maker of waves, of earth and wind
Ancient of days

Has no fear
Have no fear
Have no fear our god is here!

It’s Just a Storm in a Snow Dome

As a young Christian I was tested with the opportunity to help a fellow Young Christian through a very difficult time. She was having difficulties at home as here family was being torn apart. At the same time her boyfriend was breaking up with her, which is difficult for any young woman.

In her pain she called on me to help her gain perspective on the situation and talk her through this dark time.

It was after several very long phone calls and a few late nights praying for gods words to pass on to her that I was struck by two stories that appeared to perfectly fit her situation. As this was the first time I had been so aware of god talking into my life, I was understandably hesitant of sharing these words with her until it became so apparent that this was what she needed to hear. 

Indeed to this day it is rare that I feel so strongly God talking to me this way.

The first message that I shared with her was of a picture. The image of a child’s snow globe, just like the kind you buy in airports to give as gifts. In the middle of this glass bubble stood my friend, she was surrounded by snow as it spun around her, completely lost in the haze of millions of fragments of white fluff. The snow represented all the difficulties that surrounded her. All the parental arguments, bullies at school, sibling rivalry and painful boyfriend confrontations. From the confused girl in the middle of this storm there appears to be no end to the swirling vortex. She is trying to track each and every snow flack and doesn’t know when or even if the weather will get better. 

From the outside however, there is God with the perfect view of the storm, he sees each snow flack while he keeps his eyes firmly of the scared little girl in the center of it all. From gods point of view, he can see the weather clearing, he knows that sooner or later the flacks will settle and the view will be clear once more.

Sure the bubble could get knocked again in the future but when we know the pain is only temporary we can rest in the comfort that sooner than we think we will have nothing spinning around is making us drizzly and scared. Our job in these moments is to fix our gaze with Gods, he is staring straight at us and if we can get eyes to see his we will know the comfort that only comes from him knowing it will all be fine, the storm is dying out and the weather will be clear once more.

The second story was the one that gave me the confidence to share both with my friend. The story of Noah’s Ark is often ignored after Sunday School as one that simply depicts one mans commitment to do Gods will.

It was not this take that I was being pushed to share but rather that Noah would have had bad days. The image I was given to share was that of Noah on the boat 20 days in, every animal and member of his family on the boat have been sea sick in the swells and the smell of a rather large zoo has filled every pour of those on board. It can’t of been a very happy place to be. Indeed, I’m sure someone would have pointed out that following the initial flood, the primary purpose had been fulfilled, why would another 39 days make a difference?!? 

 The point was that Noah took the time to send out a bird, a scout, to search for land, a sign of this enormous discomfort was soon to end. Each time he sent a bird, it came back with nothing. A sign that the arguments, the tears and the stench was not to be behind them any time soon. Noah could have easily given up after the first bird returned with nothing, fallen into depression and joined in with the questioning of his family on the boat but instead he held onto his firm belief that God hadn’t saved them only to let the bob around on a stormy sea until they died from natural causes. No he knew God had a purpose for his children and sent out another three birds.
No indication of land
No sign of a future
Then finally, he sends out a dove, a last ditch attempt in the desperate will that it will bring back an indication of sanctuary, a life out of the boat. 

And guess what? It does, it returns with a twig. Not a map to safe haven, not even a berry to show a fruitful future. Just a twig. But that was all that was required to boot the spirits of everyone on that boat. I imagine the celebrations that went on that day and in to the night were huge, stormy seas, sticking of poop and probably running to the side to be sick but that wouldn’t dampen the joy of knowing God had been looking out for them. Using that time on the boat to ensure each and every one of them knew the value of the gift they had been given. The opportunity to be stronger people, stronger believers and better sharers. 

 The story of Noah and his family suffering with no idea how long they would have to hang on to the distant memories of dry land tells us so much about Gods position when we are going threw hardships and I’m pleased to say that my friend was able to use her time in the snow storm, lost at sea, to grow stronger as a Christian and share her faith with almost everyone she meets.

We just have to lock our eyes with Gods and know that there is purpose what we are going threw.

How can you learn from the storm?

The Bible is a Book – Right?

Back when I was a teenager, I recall being pulled up for using my mobile phone in church. The adult that cornered me had been quite upset that I would show such disrespect during a sermon. It took several minutes for me to find the opportunity, amongst his barrage of disapline, to defend myself.

“I was reading along” was my shy response.

Taken aback the gentleman displayed a quizical look, unsure as to how my defense was going to effect his case.

I had been following the passage and references as the minister had been exploring them. The recent arrival of my dad’s hand me down PDA had resulted in me finding every cause to use it and a new bible app had served up a great opportunity.

This was a simple case of miss understanding as I saw it. But the man was alimentary that I had been playing on my toy and that if I was really reading the bible I should have reached for the selection of pew bibles and turned the pages to better understand the message.

“That is not a Bible” he exclaimed, pointing at the silver metal casing in my hand.
He proceeded to wave his own tattered leather bound book insisting that a real bible has pages and hand written notes.

Obviously, in today’s culture it is more acceptable to use digital forms of the written word (this blog being case and point) and I hold no grudge for the gentleman who did not appreciate this point of view. It was very early days of PDA’s and mobile phones could hammer nails. It was a simple case of being ahead of the times.

There are many people who stand by their reasons to use a paper form bible and I respect those. I too feel that the bible should remain in printed form so that we can pass the message on to our children as a physical embodiment of our understanding of gods word. But for day to day use, I find a tablet easier to carry around the city.

What is most interesting is how, even today, I can visit a church and get frowns, hear mutters and cause unrest when I pull out a telephone or tablet to take notes I a sermon. I have sat through sermons on how a good Christian needs a trusty bible with curled page corners and green highlighter marks.

I have fallen into the trend on this point in the past and I still have my bible fro when I was a student. Held together with duck tape and stuffed full of extra pages and postit notes. It felt cool to have this outward display of ‘how holy am I?’. The notes within are still useful to this day and I don’t regret having it. 

Now I realise that no-one cares (or should care) about the state of your bible. I have more notes in my bible than ever and It’s not about displaying how heavey used your bible is. It’s about how much you take in. How you apply the learning to your life. For that I can read from a screen just as easily as from a book.

Worship Leader – A Full Time Job

Worship leading is one of the hardest roles in a church. Not the best, the most important, just one of the hardest.

That may be an extreme statement to make. I can hear people murmurs “you can’t say that, we are all equal” and you are indeed correct. We are all equal and it is that fact that makes the task so difficult.

What right does one of a congregation have to lead the path to meet with god in worship?

The role of a worship leader is to lead the congregation to a readiness to worship. Not to show you how to worship or to make you worship in the way they choose to.

A readiness to worship. That means when you walk in from your busy week, your stresses and strains of the day, the irritation of running late, whatever you are dealing with, the worship leaders role is to help you see the place of peace, the feeling of the Holy Spirit.

That means the worship leader needs to have found that place in order to show it to others.

Worship leaders have stress too, they have to prepare set lists, chord sheets, find musicians if there is a band, check the sound system is set up, plan arrangements and, In the case of some churches, they are expected to know every new song on the scene and discern what is good and what is not so good. Add to the the same working stress and strains as every other person in the congregation.

So the job of a worship leader is not to be perfect, holy and confident if anything they do. It is to be open to be led. To “not know” what will come next. To always be asking what God wants of them and ask where the Holy Spirit is and how to shine their little light on that place.

Anyone can be a worship leader, everyone is a worship leader, every day of their life. On a Sunday morning we just get the chance to share the responsibility.

Together as a congregation we can shine our light on the place where we are ready to meet with God.

And I’m sure the offer is always there if you want to prepare the setlist next week.

The Holy Spirit – A State of Being

Throughout the bible we are told that the Holy Spirit came down on people or someone was overcome with the Holy Spirit. This goes hand in hand with verses that tell is the Holy Spirit is part of the trinity and that we can communicate with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

It stuck me recently that with all the sermons I have heard discussing how we are to trust in the spirit and that God will speak to us through the spirit, at no point has my interpretation of the big HS been voiced.

In the spirit of this series, I may be about to state to blindingly obvious and if that is the case as you read this then I encourage you to stop reading and use this time more productively.

The way I see this topic is that the Holy Spirit is that magic balance of emotion and thought that locks us in the state of timelessness. You may have experienced this in prayer or during a musical worship set. For me it is a place I find in playing music. The moment that every vibrating air molecule around a guitar string, every heart pounding beat of a kick drum and every silable from a singers lips just rings through my body.

If you have experienced this you may describe it as a drunkeness, a feeling that you can except anything that is about to happen. Rightly or wrongly, I feel that this is the Holy Spirit. 

In the same way that you may describe people at a party as being in a jovial spirit, that feeling of connection with god and appreciation of everything he has done is, in my opinion, being in the Holy Spirit.

That is not to say that the Holy Spirit is not an equil part of the trinity and that we should see it only as a vice to talk with the father and the son. I believe that the bible teaches that without the complete trinity, we can never have that true relationship with our creator. God the judge, Jesus the saviour and the Holy Spirit the place we need to be (this is an over generalisation but I’m trying to keep the word count down).

So the next time you get that feelings that you don’t want to take another breath In case you break that electric moment. Where everything is exposed, where your inhibitions are lowers until they are non existent. 
The challenge is learning how to trust the Holy Spirit and to take that next breathe and inhaling gods amazing presence. To know that that dizzying moment can last forever. Don’t get drunk on wine, get drunk on the Holy Spirit. The bar is open and there’s more than enough for everyone.