accidental academic

updated song...

2011-06-08T13:01:00.002+08:00

I have added some stuff to the song Beach Psalm. A ambient pad from karl (guitarforworship.com) and some verb to the original lapel mic recorded take. I think i like it lo-fi... http://www.box.net/shared/pkztnbzlz7

song 316

2011-05-18T10:38:00.002+08:00

The more I listen to this and I come across it, the more i think this is a quality song... even if i do say so myself

316 http://www.box.net/shared/sk1k1583jc

Break Away...

2011-05-18T08:06:00.002+08:00

So I had a break away down south (read here further) and had some time to write a couple of demo songs... I recorded them very roughly just to remember the feel and listen to them so i can learn more about them ie: harmonies, arrangments...

Where I want you

Beach Psalm

Vocal tone

2011-05-06T14:52:00.003+08:00

I have recently discivered Audry Assad... such good vocal tone. Just good natural tone and a great falsetto!

Dreaming with a Broken Heart

2010-05-21T12:11:00.001+08:00

Such good use of space in music. Listen for the Piano chords ring in the opening minute:

Small valve amp

2009-12-05T13:51:00.002+08:00

I am in the market - when i sell my AVT50 - for a small valve amp. I am thinking Vox AC4TV, but since i have had my eye on this some more small valve amps have come onto the market! Blackstar HT-5 and the Marshall 5 - both 5 watt class a amps.

if anyone stumbles across this site and has any advice - please share!

Moving

2009-07-22T08:01:00.002+08:00

an instrumental recorded in 2007. I had forgotten about it until i rediscovered it yesterday! recorded straight to laptop. I quite like it! especially the repetive overdubs....

http://apps.facebook.com/files/shared/tal8g0243k

In Over My Head

2009-06-29T12:10:00.001+08:00

here is a song that i wrote and recorded in 2007...

thought i would relink to it as true-tunes.com is no longer up.

Words and Music: Cam Beeck

http://www.box.net/shared/x96231seuc

316

2009-06-25T13:14:00.002+08:00

For those interested here is a song that myself and a good mate Dave Carr worked on a couple of weeks ago. I am pretty happy with it considering it is only a laptop recording.

Song: 316
Lyrics: Dave Carr
Music: Dave Carr and Cam Beeck

http://apps.facebook.com/files/shared/sk1k1583jc

starting again...

2009-06-25T10:49:00.001+08:00

Think I may crank this up again… make it more of a worship confessional…

Crowdies to reform!

2007-01-26T05:54:00.000+09:00

This is big news for Me. Just after I have received the Farewell to the World DVD from 10 years ago I hear on the radio and read this press release about the great band reforming. What a big turnaround. I always though that a reformation was something that Neil Finn would not do, but I’m happy to be wrong. It seems they will release a new album later in the year with a world tour to follow. Of course, the late Paul Hester, won’t be behind the drums but someone else will be found to fill the void.

Up to this point in life one of my disapointments was never seeing Crowded House live – Hopefully now I can reverse this sad fact.

Long live the Crowdies…

signposts...

2007-01-19T15:01:00.000+09:00

Haven’t been here a while – mainly due to work. Home and the end/start of year. It doesn’t leave much time for blogging. I still have just as many random thoughts dribbling through my head.

Things that have happened since I last blogged…. Hmmm… probably one of the most significant things was seeing U2 in Sydney in Nov. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It is really something else to be “part” of something so big. We were quite close, and it really was quite a spiritual exercise. I think even if you were a ignorant to all things religious you would have still tingled from the sincere moments of worship, both from the crowd and the band, that occurred during the concert.

I have also been reading a bit of the website signposts.org.au. It is really a website that finds it most interest in its comments rather than posts! Most of the comments are regarding “penty churchs” such as Hillsong, CCC and Riverview and the way they conduct church/business. It has made me think a little further about how churches operate. I was always prepared to give churches the benefit of the doubt, that others do things differently and if people find that a different worship style, preaching style, is what they want , well then that’s fine. I am now aware from reading signposts that some churches do have leaders that operate contrary to the gospel, and many people end up used and hurt from attending these churches. I don’t think they are evil, and in actual fact I think they actually do a lot of good but there’s a number of things that seem dodgy to a little Baptist boy like me. The ones at the top of the list would probably be: inherited leadership positions through family lines; business style church governance; the prosperity doctrine; emphasis on being successful; church celebrity culture; the Pentecostal speaking circuit; unknown financials; the teaching of tithing and the lit goes on… It makes me quite thankful of the church I am in, as many failings as a diverse group of people meeting together for a common cause can have, we really are quite functional. There is know offering sermon; the leaders are approachable; there is many generations, families and backgrounds – not just attractive middle class 17-30 year olds; we have pretty good music but there is still a spot for someone who is learning to play or wanting to get better; and we are growing!

I try not to leave posting for so long…

98.5 review - a quick one

2006-08-08T14:17:00.000+08:00

We have recently got rid of out TV – at least put it on castors and moved it out of the lounge room. It means we only bring it in to watch a movie or some other worthwhile show. This has meant that we are now listening to a lot more radio and most often this is 98.5. Its pretty good all up, but like any radio station it tends to have things that quickly become gripes – I don’t think there would be any radio stations that any one would be completely happy with.

I really only have two gripes. The first is that their high rotation song list has a VERY high rotation. Of late it seems that some songs have been getting an absolute hiding. There are particular songs by Craig David, Coldplay (hardest part), U2 with MJ Blithe (one), Nick Lachey etc that have been played excessively. They could do well to just back them off a bit in my humble opinion.

My other gripe is the motto “no greed, no ridicule, no hurt”, while good intentioned and probably necessary for a Christian radio station supported largely by Christians, tends to result in radio announcers coming across a bit sickly sweet. I guess they have to please the most conservative listener to try and reduce complaints… I would like to see just a bit of triple j injected into 98.5 if you know what I mean. A little more Australian music and a little more edge. I think it could be done and yet still be a station that glorifies God.

But all in all I don’t want to be seen as a 98.5 basher – its still better than watching TV.

alcoholic zeal

2006-08-01T08:25:00.000+08:00

Great post on Zeal and how it can misguide us. Refers specifically to the example of alcohol. Read it.

My Coldplay Perth Review

2006-07-14T11:07:00.000+08:00

Coldplay, Perth 7^th July

1. square one

2. politik

3. yellow

4. speed of sound

5. god put a smile on your face

6. what if

7. how you see the world

8. white shadows

9. the scientist

10. til kingdom come

11. ring of fire

12. trouble

13. clocks

14. talk

ENCORE

15. swallowed in the sea

16. in my place

17. fix you

It seemed to take and eternity for the day to actually arrive. I bought the tickets late last year and a flurry of activity to make sure we actually got some and went with some good “music mates”. It has to be said that the Burswood Dome isn’t a very good venue – its cavernous size means that even when it has 16,500 people in it, it still feels empty. It therefore took a while for the crowd and band to warm to each other. The support act, Youth Group, struggled to overcome this although found a bit of favour when they trotted out “Forever Young”.

Coldplay started strong with a big countdown into to Square One timing in beautifully with the point that the drums came in. Chris Martin is a very fluid performer – mainly in his physicality with jumping and bumbling around stage, not really looking like he is in full control of his motions.

Coldplay certainly come across as a much more intense band live – their sound is heavier, with much drums and more edge to the guitars. Chris Matins voice stands up in the live scene – I was fearing that all the falsettos would come across weak live but his voice was strong all night. The same can’t be said for the general sounds mix though – possibly the venue threw up too many challenges for the sound team. The BD really is just a big concrete box not designed to treat sound well. It took about three songs for the mix to settle and by the end I feel it had actually been quietened too much, especially as the last song was fix you.

Highlights were pretty much from the scientist onwards with swallowed in the sea probably rising above them all. Much has been said about the lack of spontaneity in the Coldplay set list but I guess the style of song means that a lot of backing tracks have to line up therefore things are pretty much set in stone. That being said I think there was a bit of spur of the moment when they went into trouble with Chris still on guitar and Will on Piano – it wasn’t until they got to the piano fill that Chris realised that Will didn’t know how to play it! It made for a rather crowed stage when the next fill came and he knelt down and played it in the high register.

Would have been nice to hear Amsterdam, Hardest Part and Green Eyes, but hey I’m not winging.

The venue impacted on my general enjoyment – not the bets gig I’ve been to but well up there. It has been improving in my mind over the last few days as I have remembered it! Will take a bit for something to top Neil Finn at Metros a few years back!

In over my head

2006-07-03T11:30:00.000+08:00

Sometimes things happen that you don’t expect.

A while ago at the start of this year I wrote a song (see here). I thought it was just a song about me being stressed about life in general and how God uses these times to show us that he is the one on control when we are not. I recieved further insight to the song through email last night. Some in the family viewed it as a song about my brother and how God is in control. It floored me. The song suddenly made more sense to me then than it did when I wrote it. Its funny how even your own words can make more sense in the light of the interpretation of others. Its probably even what it was meant to be about at the time – I just didn’t know it.

Psalm of the day

2006-06-29T11:25:00.000+08:00

Its been on my mind for a while and thought I would include it. Rather fitting that it ends Psalms: its so simple, yet sums up what its all about. From how I read it, it shows us the correct form of worship. Firstly, praise God for just being God, then for what he has done, and this should all be done in the amount according to his greatness!! Then we are pretty much to do it with and by whatever means we have available! A good reminder to keep things simple – I see a song in here somewhere…

Psalm 150

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary;

Praise him in his mighty firmament!

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Oh the pain!

2006-06-27T12:54:00.000+08:00

There go the Socceroos – that’s the way soccer goes. As much as I liked watching Australia in it, the whole sense of injustice that can occur in soccer is a bit much. So few goals mean one decision affects the whole game. Maybe its all too European for me: Lots of drama, controversy, feigning being hurt, referees having “bad” or “good” games – all too emotional. I think the fact that you can win or lose even when you don’t deserve it appeals to the dramatic side of Europe. Oh well, back to AFL next week. Carn the eagles.

feedback please

2006-06-12T12:55:00.000+08:00

Just wanting some feedback from anyone who has visited true-tunes.com and downloaded tracks? Whats you impression? Nice site? Did you like the music? All feedback would be appreciated…

Church and the Da Vinci Code

2006-06-09T09:58:00.000+08:00

Well… its come time for Rivo to hop on the bandwagon and have a service looking into the Da Vinci Code book/movie. This is quite unusual actually as our church is not normally a “lets preach pop culture sermons” but I think this could be interesting. I’m leading for the night so I’ve downloaded the obligatory movie trailers to slot into the service. To put it into the words of Col M. (the bloke preaching on Sunday PM):

“The topic for June 11 in the PM service will be 'The Da Vinci Code - Just who is Jesus?'. I will outline the huge influence and impact of movies in our culture but that we need to separate what is fact from fiction. This is especially so with the Da Vinci film. I wish to focus on who Christ is - fully human yet fully divine. We can have complete confidence in the Bible's unveiling of the Son of God.”

I tend to think that the “church” has had a bit of an overreaction to this movie and, while this is something to be wary about, we have forgotten that it is a fictional work. Rather than protesting for outright bans lets use this sort of thing as an opportunity to talk about the Truth, about a work of Non-Fiction – the Bible.

long time no blog

2006-06-07T14:09:00.000+08:00

Well its been a very long time since a blog. A lot has happened and could probably be a good reason to use as an excuse.

The major things that have been going on are:

Handed final version of thesis in with corrections – I will now only answer to my name prefixed with Dr…

Jack has been growing steadily (7 months now)

Growing accustomed to my new job

Travelling to NZ for conference (april)

Writing and recording song (go to True-tunes.com). Incidently go to this website and check out a whole bunch of songs, and keep a look out as they are original songs from local Perth people.

Anyway – must endeavour not to leave it so long, this only took 5 mins…

bono - at the national prayer breakfast

2006-02-08T08:07:00.000+08:00

On Feb 2 this year - very inspiring...

Thank you.

Mr. President, First Lady, King Abdullah, Other heads of State, Members of Congress, distinguished guests... Please join me in praying that I don't say something we'll all regret. That was for the FCC. If you're wondering what I'm doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I'm certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It's certainly not because I'm a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I'm here because I've got a messianic complex. Yes, it's true. And for anyone who knows me, it's hardly a revelation. Well, I'm the first to admit that there's something unnatural... something unseemly... about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the South of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert... but this is really weird, isn't it? You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind. . Mr. President, are you sure about this? It's very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned-I'm Irish. I'd like to talk about the laws of man, here in this city where those laws are written. And I'd like to talk about higher laws. It would be great to assume that the one serves the other; that the laws of man serve these higher laws... but of course, they don't always. And I presume that, in a sense, is why you're here. I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here-Muslims, Jews, Christians-all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God. I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too. Yes, it's odd, having a rock star here-but maybe it's odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was... well, a little blurry, and hard to see. I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays... and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God. For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land... and in this country, seeing God's second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash... in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment...

I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.

Even though I was a believer.

Perhaps because I was a believer.

I was cynical... not about God, but about God's politics. (There you are,Jim.)

Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick-my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the Millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord's call-and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty. 'Jubilee'-why 'Jubilee'? What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lords favor? I'd always read the Scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)... 'If your brother becomes poor,' the Scriptures say, 'and cannot maintain himself... you shall maintain him... You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.'

It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he's met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he's a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn't done much... yet. He hasn't spoken in public before... When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' he says, 'because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.' And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favour, the year of Jubilee. (Luke 4:18) What he was really talking about was an era of grace-and we're still in it. So fast-forward 2,000 years. That same thought, grace, was made incarnate-in a movement of all kinds of people. It wasn't a bless-me club... it wasn't a holy huddle. These religious guys were willing to get out in the streets, get their boots dirty, wave the placards, follow their convictions with actions... making it really hard for people like me to keep their distance. It was amazing. I almost started to like these church people.

But then my cynicism got another helping hand.

It was what Colin Powell, a five-star general, called the greatest W.M.D. of them all: a tiny little virus called A.I.D.S. And the religious community, in large part, missed it. The one's that didn't miss it could only see it as divine retribution for bad behaviour. Even on children... Even fastest growing group of HIV infections were married, faithful women.

Aha, there they go again! I thought to myself Judgmentalism is back! But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.

Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move.

Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet... Conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS... Soccer moms and quarterbacks... hip-hop stars and country stars... This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens! Popes were seen wearing sunglasses! Jesse Helms was seen with a ghetto blaster! Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit. It was breathtaking. Literally. It stopped the world in its tracks. When churches started demonstrating on debt, governments listened-and acted. When churches starting organising, petitioning, and even-that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying... on AIDS and global health, governments listened-and acted.

I'm here today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world. Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives. Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill... I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff... maybe, maybe not... But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house... God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives... God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war... God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. "If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places" It's not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not an accident. That's a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject

of the poor.] 'As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren,

you have done it unto me.' (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the

poor.

Here's some good news for the President. After 9-11 we were told America would have no time for the World's poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it's true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked the doors.

In fact, you have double aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health. Mr. President, your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the Global Fund-you and Congress-have put 700,000 people onto life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria. Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud.

But here's the bad news. From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There's is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.

And finally, it's not about charity after all, is it? It's about justice.

Let me repeat that: It's not about charity, it's about justice. And that's too bad.

Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it.

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.

6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality. Because there's no way we can look at what's happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn't accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, "mother nature". In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe.

It's annoying but justice and equality are mates. Aren't they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain. You know, think of those Jewish sheep-herders going to meet the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh says, "Equal?" A preposterous idea: rich and poor are equal? And they say, "Yeah, 'equal,' that's what it says here in this book. We're all made in the image of God." And eventually the Pharaoh says, "OK, I can accept that. I can accept the Jews-but not the blacks." "Not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way, man."

So on we go with our journey of equality.

On we go in the pursuit of justice.

We hear that call in the ONE Campaign, a growing movement of more than two million Americans... left and right together... united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live. We hear that call even more powerfully today, as we mourn the loss of Coretta Scott King-mother of a movement for equality, one that changed the world but is only just getting started. These issues are as alive as they ever were; they just change shape and cross the seas. Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market... that's a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents... That's a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents... that's a justice issue.

And while the law is what we say it is, God is not silent on the subject. That's why I say there's the law of the land... and then there is a higher standard. There's the law of the land, and we can hire experts to write them so they benefit us, so the laws say it's OK to protect our agriculture but it's not OK for African farmers to do the same, to earn a living? As the laws of man are written, that's what they say. God will not accept that. Mine won't, at least. Will yours? [pause] I close this morning on ... very... thin... ice. This is a dangerous idea I've put on the table: my God vs. your God, their God vs. our God... vs. no God. It is very easy, in these times, to see religion as a force for division rather than unity. And this is a town-Washington-that knows something of division. But the reason I am here, and the reason I keep coming back to Washington, is because this is a town that is proving it can come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call the least of these. This is not a Republican idea. It is not a Democratic idea. It is not even, with all due respect, an American idea. Nor it is unique to any one faith.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.' (Luke 6:30) Jesus says that. 'Righteousness is this: that one should... give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.' The Koran says that.(2.177)

Thus sayeth the Lord: 'Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring fourth, then your Lord will be your rear guard.' The jewish scripture says that. Isaiah 58 again.

That is a powerful incentive: 'The Lord will watch your back.' Sounds like a good deal to me, right now.

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it... I have a family, please look after them... I have this crazy idea... And this wise man said: stop. He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Get involved in what God is doing-because it's already blessed. Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.

And that is what He's calling us to do.

I was amazed when I first got to this country and I learned how much some churchgoers tithe. Up to ten percent of the family budget. Well, how does that compare the federal budget, the budget for the entire American family? How much of that goes to the poorest people in the world? Less than one percent.

Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America:

I want to suggest to you today that you see the flow of effective foreign assistance as tithing.... Which, to be truly meaningful, will mean an additional one percent of the federal budget tithed to the poor.

What is one percent?

One percent is not merely a number on a balance sheet.

One percent is the girl in Africa who gets to go to school, thanks to you. One percent is the AIDS patient who gets her medicine, thanks to you. One percent is the African entrepreneur who can start a small family business thanks to you. One percent is not redecorating presidential palaces or money flowing down a rat hole. This one percent is digging waterholes to provide clean water.

One percent is a new partnership with Africa, not paternalism towards Africa, where increased assistance flows toward improved governance and initiatives with proven track records and away from boondoggles and white elephants of every description. America gives less than one percent now. Were asking for an extra one percent to change the world. to transform millions of lives-but not just that and I say this to the military men now - to transform the way that they see us.

One percent is national security, enlightened economic self interest, and a better safer world rolled into one. Sounds to me that in this town of deals and compromises, one percent is the best bargain around. These goals-clean water for all; school for every child; medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty-these are not just any goals; they are the Millennium Development goals, which this country supports. And they are more than that. They are the Beatitudes for a Globalised World.

Now, I'm very lucky. I don't have to sit on any budget committees. And I certainly don't have to sit where you do, Mr. President. I don't have to make the tough choices.

But I can tell you this:

To give one percent more is right. It's smart. And it's blessed. There is a continent-Africa-being consumed by flames. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did-or did not to-to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do.

Thank you. Thank you, America, and God bless you all.

a long time between blogs

2006-02-08T08:04:00.000+08:00

Hi all – no blogging recently. Been busy. New job, new baby, 3 weddings in 4 weeks (2 at which I had to play). Exciting things for the year coming up include: tickets to see U2 in Sydney on March 31^st, tickets to see coldplay in Perth in July, a trip to NZ in April for a conference and possibly a trip to Mexico in May for a workshop… all very busy.

See article below for a very upfront speech by bono.

The thesis

2005-11-14T21:12:00.000+08:00

Well this week is meant to be the last week of uni I have. Ever. Even if I wanted to I probably couldn’t do any more time as a student. Bit weird really. I have spent 8 years as a student – I know what to do, I do student pretty good now! I know the uni system quite well, know most people worth knowing and can get stuff done quickly and efficiently. I even have influence in some cases. So after Friday I won’t have any of that hard earned comfort as I will hand in the PhD and after a week of holidays, back out into the workforce of gainful employment. Bit scary really. I’ll have to work in a team, communicate, all those sort of things. I’m looking forward to it, it might just take some time to settle into a new role.

No chance of switching the brain off though. The unfortunate by-product of being a scientist is you always have to secure your next job – so while I have 6 months of work lined up everything is a bit grey after that. The plant breeding job I will be in may continue, or not. The other option is to apply for funds to continue on my current research as a post doc. Either way I will apply and if successful either do that or become a CI (supervisor) to the project. Big year ahead!

2005-11-09T10:24:00.000+08:00

true-tunes... go have a look

true-tunes

2005-11-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

Here is a new venture from a good mate of mine. We have been playing music together ever since I learned guitar and have spent many hours jamming, busking and even a few performing. He is a gifted songwriter and has always dreamt about getting his music “out there”. So, thanks to the magic of the internet he has set up a nice little site where people can download songs, for free, to have a listen. He has some songs produced in a studio and others that are just demos (note one by a Cam Beeck!). In time there will be many more demos added and hopefully some more moved into the production section! Go to true-tunes.com. Rodney, if you’re reading this with your radio mind, feel free to have a listen ;-)

2005-11-03T10:56:00.000+08:00

Me and Jack enjoying some afternoon cuddles before the onslaught of visitors!!

2005-11-03T10:51:00.000+08:00

Jack Nathan Beeck. Came into the world on the 1-11-2005. Praise God!!

yeah... boy brain

2005-10-31T13:42:00.000+08:00

Your Brain is 40.00% Female, 60.00% Male

You have a total boy brain

Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts

And while your emotions do sway you sometimes...

You never like to get feelings too involved

What Gender Is Your Brain?

The role of the Holy Spirit

2005-10-31T12:40:00.000+08:00

Here is a good resource for wanting to know more about the Holy Spirit and how he impacts our lives – this resource is lifted from here and contains links to more information about the Holy Spirit and looks to be good stuff.

Question: "What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives today?"

Answer: The Holy Spirit has (in the past and presently) many functions and roles. Below is a brief list of His major roles, functions, and activities. This is not a comprehensive list.

1. Revelation of the Word of God (2 Peter 1:20-21; Acts 1:16; 2 Samuel 23:2-3; John 14:26; 16:14). This indicates the Holy Spirit was the one who carried along the Old Testament prophets, safeguarding their words from error.

2. In the Old Testament, it is indicated that the Holy Spirit regenerated believers (Psalm 51:10; compare to Jesus telling Nicodemus he should have known about this in John 3:1-10).

3. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit indwelt certain select people (Numbers 27:18; Judges 3:10; 1 Samuel 16:12-13).

4. In the Old Testament, it indicates that the Holy Spirit restrained sin (the Spirit's striving, Genesis 6:3).

5. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit gave people ability for service (Exodus 31:2-5; Numbers 27:16-18; Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 10:10; 16:13).

6. Today, the Holy Spirit baptizes believers. This baptism occurs at the moment of belief, it is experienced by all, and the baptism places the believer in the Body of Christ, the universal church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:27-28; Romans 6:3-5; Acts 1:5).

7. Today, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer (Romans 8:9; John 7:37-39; Ephesians 1:13; John 14:16).

8. Today, the Holy Spirit seals every believer (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). The seal is a mark of ownership showing that believers are the Lord's.

9. Today the Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers for the edification or building up of the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11-16).

10. Today, the Holy Spirit fills or controls the submissive believer (Ephesians 5:18).

11. He was sent to the church to be the Comforter (John 14:16, 26).

12. He always points a person toward Christ (John 16:13-15).

God of the OT

2005-10-26T14:42:00.000+08:00

Another Quote from the book “bono on bono” – and its in relation to a subjuct on my friends LJ

“There’s nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the OT as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that’s why they’re so relatable. But the way we see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the OT is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you’re a child you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the OT, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.”

Be Still

2005-10-26T14:35:00.000+08:00

Quote from the book “Bono on Bono”

“Be silent, and know that I am God”. That’s a favourite line from the Scriptures. “Shut up and let me love you” would be the pop song. It’s really what it means. If ever I needed to hear a comment, it might be that.

I have borrowed this book from my local library – I encourage people to read it if you want to hear the message of Christianity without the jargon. Very inspiring.

Church together

2005-10-24T09:05:00.000+08:00

It was a very good night. About 15-18000 people there. Always good to see so many christians together with the same purpose and attitude. Having P.Colman to finish was a good option. It made the night a bit more for those staying on and also made dispursing easier as not everyone was trying to leave at once.
I know a number of people were a bit anoyed at the whole "you cant park on langley park" thing (me being one of them). There were no visible signs plus that is a normal parking venue for these sort of events. Then just being told from stage a very "you cant park there, dont blame us" was a bit off putting Having to go relocate the car 5 mins before the start of church was not the ideal preparation!
But that aside, nice night, nice concept. Maybe a music team including members from a few different churches may be a good touch in the future. May be very difficult but may go further to displaying that "we are doing this together"...

The baby's coming

2005-10-18T09:08:00.000+08:00

Not long now – well actually it could be, it just doesn’t feel like it should be that long. We’re only at 38.5 weeks so there could be a while yet but we are very happy if it decides to come now – I know one of us would be very happy if it came now!!

blogging words to avoid

2005-10-14T11:56:00.000+08:00

If at all possible, try to avoid the word debt in your blog. All it does is encourage automatic comment generators to go and put crap comments on all you posts. Very frustrating.

spoof website

2005-10-12T09:31:00.000+08:00

Here is a spoof Christian website – there are some chuckles but after a while gives the feeling “I can’t believe someone would put so much time into this!”

Debt deal done, focus on trade

2005-09-28T08:18:00.000+08:00

Some really positive decisions for the poorest nations in the world…

Debt deal done, focus on trade: Wolfowitz

Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:23 PM ET

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - All 184 member countries of the World Bank and IMF have now agreed on debt relief for the world's poorest nations, but need to push for a free-trade pact at a Hong Kong meeting in December to accelerate the fight against poverty, development leaders said on Sunday.

International Monetary Fund and World Bank chiefs said they would move quickly to finalize the agreement to wipe out the debts of 18 countries, most of them African, following a breakthrough in talks at the weekend.

"The path to complete debt relief has now been cleared," said World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz. "We will move swiftly to give the bank's board of directors a paper outlining a compensation schedule and a monitoring system -- a process that can be completed within weeks."

The debt agreement, sealed by the Group of Eight industrial powers in July, was given the nod on Saturday by the rest of the international community after they bridged differences over the financing of the deal.

Faced with the possible collapse of the agreement, the world's industrial powers promised additional money to cover the costs.

Wolfowitz urged global trade ministers to follow this example and complete the Doha trade round in Hong Kong, which has been stalled mainly over differences on farm and services issues.

"The momentum we now have must be maintained heading into the WTO negotiations in Hong Kong," Wolfowitz told a news conference at the end of the semi-annual World Bank and IMF meetings.

"We have agreement on more aid, we have consensus on debt relief -- now let's complete the picture and deliver a true development round on trade."

TRADE BOOST

He said the debt deal and a World Bank action plan for Africa were important steps to reducing poverty on the continent, but that a trade agreement would help.

"A trade agreement in Hong Kong would provide the spur for investment and economic growth that promises a lasting exit from poverty for millions, even billions, of people in developing countries," Wolfowitz said.

South African finance minister Trevor Manuel, who chairs the World Bank's policy-setting development committee, said a briefing by WTO chairman Pascal Lamy on Sunday was "a confirmation of the imperatives of the moment."

"Without going into detail, I think he was asking us to return to our capitals and ensure that we can convince our trade minsters that failure to deliver a deal is simply not acceptable," said Manuel.

There was no place for failure now, he added.

"There is no room for error ... we have to ensure the next few weeks are in fact about the intensification of (the trade) agenda," Manuel said.

Debt campaigners hailed the agreement on debt forgiveness, but said it should be extended to cover more than just the initial 18 countries.

"It's been a long road and it doesn't end here, but it's worth stopping to acknowledge what this means," said Irish rock star and U2 lead singer Bono, who campaigned for the deal.

"This means that the greatest protest movement since anti-apartheid in the 80s and civil rights in the 60s has prevailed with a combination of common sense and relentlessness."

Bernice Romero, director for development group Oxfam, said Wolfowitz must pressure wealthy nations to deliver on their promises to fund the debt deal.

slow blog

2005-09-26T18:41:00.000+08:00

Its been a slow blog over the last few weeks. A lot has happened, a lot of thesis writing, a lot of cricket watching and a lot of footy watching. Two heart breaking events occurred in the eagles losing and the Ashes going over to the old country – very sad.

Also the cat got hit by a car but 1 week on is just about back to normal – pretty amazing really that he could get clocked by a car and recover in 1 week. He had one night in Vet hospital and spend most of the week sleeping off the head injury.

Only 5 weeks to go until I submit the these AND the baby comes… hmmmm…

The Ashes

2005-08-29T09:29:00.000+08:00

Nooooooooooo… It looks like Australia will lose. I think it is unlikely that we will win the last test to retain the ashes. England will probably play well enough to at least draw. How very sad. I think I am starting to develop sport pessimism, something my dad is famous for and I though I would neve get. I just hope the boys will prove me wrong. If Mcgrath gets up and the top order can maybe make some runs we will be in with a chance… not holding my breath though…

sad news

2005-08-11T13:49:00.000+08:00

I haven’t blogged for a while as life took an unexpected turn on Friday the 29^th. At about 6:30 one of my brothers was involved in a fatal car crash on Albany Hwy. He was a sensible driver but it seems that a momentary lapse in concentration or consciousness resulted in a collision which took his life but only resulted in minor injuries to the other driver (praise God).

As tough as this time is we know (our family) that he loved God and believed that Jesus made him right with God, therefore we are really confident that he is safe in the best possible place in eternity with God. We also know that soon we will see him again. The thing which has become more real is that this knowledge is more than a belief which makes us able to accept these sort of things but there is a tangible peace which comes from something more than a belief system, it comes from God. Faith in God is not just a human construct to enable us to order our way of thinking but a real relationship with the God of the universe and his son. Support through relationships have helped us in this time, but it is the relationship with Jesus that has even enabled this time to be joyful.

It has made me look at my relationships with people who don’t know God in this way – Life isn’t guaranteed for a period of time, it is a privilege granted to us for an appointed timeframe, therefore I must make the effort to let them know about my relationship with God. I have too many friends who I want to see in heaven who, if they went now, wouldn’t be there.

Bono and Christ

2005-07-12T10:47:00.000+08:00

This is all from the new interview book “Bono on Bono” courtesy of andy and shonas blog…

Bono comments: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honour... those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross... It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma. I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace. You see, at the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma... what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth... And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "As you reap, so will you sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions... I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge... It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity... Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death... It should keep us humbled... This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: "OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it.

Bono and his dad

2005-07-12T10:42:00.000+08:00

Bono writes of his dad:

The spiritual journey was interesting to him. Because he wasn't a believer; he didn't believe in God towards the end. He was a Catholic, but he lost his faith along the way... I think the Church wore him down, all the scandals, and all that stuff. I would give him a Bible, or I would offer up, if he was interested, any kind of insights I might have had to some of the Gospels, or the way they were written, or the context of a particular passage. But finally he didn't buy into it. Yet he seemed to think this was the most important thing I had to offer. In fact, it was what he liked best about U2: our faith.

Occasionally, he would ask about my belief in God: "There's one thing I envy of you. I don't envy anything else," he said to me one time... "You do seem to have a relationship with God." And I said: "Didn't you ever have one?" He said: "No." And I said: "But you have been a Catholic for most of your life." - "Yeah, lots of people are Catholic. It was a one-way conversation... You seem to hear something back from the silence!" I said: "That's true, I do." And he said: "How do you feel it?" I said: "I hear it in some sort of instinctive way, I feel a response to a prayer, or I feel led in a direction. Or if I'm studying the Scriptures, they become alive in an odd way, and they make sense to the moment I'm in, they're no longer a historical document." He was mind-blown by this.

Bono adds:

I wish I could live the life of someone you could describe as pious. I couldn't preach because I couldn't practice. It's plain to see I'm not a good advertisement for God. Artists are selfish people.

stupid western economists

2005-07-08T11:43:00.000+08:00

One of the most frustrating interviews I’ve seen

On SBS dateline show post Live8. The interview was between a Global Justice activist and a “know it all” western economist. Probably the below excerpt best typifies his attitude of “the west knows everything and the only way Africa is going to improve is if they doe everything like we do”. Forget the idea that it is actually the west who is part of the problem for them being in the position they are currently in…

GEORGE NEGUS: Let me bring Alan in there. Short of regime change, ala Saddam Hussein, how do we deal with corrupt dictators where the current system is concerned? ALAN OXLEY: What should we do with the money, all this aid money? I think what we should do is set up the world's biggest scholarship fund and bring every young African who's interested on a scholarship to train in countries that work, let them see how it's done, let them go back to their own countries and build a new moral leadership for their countries.

Raaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The open letter from Live8 to G8

2005-07-05T10:17:00.000+08:00

It was always going to be a complicated feeling after Live8. A big noisy day, followed by the inevitable sense of "what was that all about?"

We just thought it was worth writing a reminder of what it was all about.

The very simple fact is that thousands upon thousands of people are still dying each day, in one damn way or another, as a result of extreme poverty.

No one, absolutely not one person in the world, thinks this is a good state of affairs. And yesterday millions and billions of people took part in an event that was meant to say that. They don't know how to stop the dying. But they are desperate and passionate that something should be done right now.

And so in their millions they sent a message to the G8 leaders that you must treat the situation as what it is -- a desperate crisis, a rolling tragedy totally unacceptable at the start of the 21st century. A child dies every three seconds. Millions are dying of preventable and curable diseases every year. There are countries in Africa where life expectancy is now below 40.

The hugeness of Live8 was the best that we normal citizens can do to send our leaders a message.

For God's sake, take this seriously. Don't behave normally. Don't look for compromises. Be great. Do more than expected, not the least you can get away with. You know what will really make a difference, what will turn extreme poverty around. What will actually begin to save the lives of millions of men, women and children.

Do it. Please, do it. The world is watching.

Bob Geldof, Bono, Richard Curtis and everyone at Live8

Bono's Live8 quote

2005-07-04T10:21:00.000+08:00

So, this is our moment. This is our time. This is our chance to stand up for what's right. We're not looking for charity. We're looking for justice. We can't fix every problem, but the ones we can, we must.
3,000 Africans, mostly children, die every day of a mosquito bite. We can fix that. We can fix that. 9,000, 9,000 people dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease like AIDS. We've got the drugs. We can help them. We've got the drugs. Dirty water, death by dirty water. Well, we can dig wells.
If you want to join us, go down on the streets of Edinburgh, or anywhere else. Text us. Call us. There's phones, they're dangerous little devices.
Eight of the most powerful men on earth are meeting on a golf course in Scotland. There's a lot a stake. We have a message for them: This is your moment, too. Make history, by making poverty history.

Americas Aid

2005-07-01T09:35:00.000+08:00

Here is a great article from Jeffery Sachs about Americas Aid and what it actually does. It effectively outlines that we need to stop looking at the gross figures countries give and look at proportionally how much is it costing them (per capita) and are they using it effectively. It also show how important it is to actually give the money – promising it is one thing, getting it to the people is another

Gone white

2005-06-16T15:24:00.000+08:00

I’ve gone white – in support of makepovertyhistory.org

We are coming up to white band day soon and it’s a worthwhile to have look at the thing on the side….

slow blog

2005-06-16T09:02:00.000+08:00

Gee – I haven’t added a post for a while, things are quite busy all round. This thesis thing is really getting down to the wire with a definite due date on the 18^th of October, I may finish before but it MUST be in by then.

News that I probably should have posted about was the decision by member of the G8 to forgive debts to African countries. This is the most significant aid announcement probably since the Marshall plan from America to Europe back in the day. I certainly hope that the G8 summit will ratify and go further with increased aid (0.7% GDP) as well. We can only hope – and pray.

Research

2005-06-01T14:47:00.000+08:00

If you’re interested in what I research…

Research homepage

Bad U2 puns

2005-06-01T14:46:00.000+08:00

I read a bit of U2 related material on the web – mostly through atU2.com – but a lot of it just contains really bad puns here they try to include at many song titles into the text as possible. One particularly bad example can be found published in the Boston Herald

Schapelle has gone down

2005-05-27T14:05:00.000+08:00

Well, the verdict has been handed down and they have decided that she is guilty and will receive 20 years in a bali jail for something there is more than reasonable doubt she didn’t do. What a difference in justice systems – here proof has to be made that you did it, over there you have to prove you didn’t do it – makes a big difference to if you get a sentence or not. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens from this point on – will the Australian government do any more or will the Indonesian govt pardon her when they realise the impact this will have towards tourism?

I really do think she is innocent or at least enough reasonable doubt exists to set her free. What an awful thing to be sentenced to – to be in jail for having you bag used to smuggle drugs.

Church growth

2005-05-26T09:50:00.000+08:00

Great post is to be found at lowercase. It discusses all sorts of issues to do with church growth and operating effective large churches. They are very important issues for the church I go to, rivo, as we aim to grow into out soon to be new building…

2005-05-25T10:28:00.000+08:00

Here is my new gig - come down if you can

Leading

2005-05-23T11:55:00.000+08:00

Had the opportunity to lead the service last night at church. Often it is a real task to find a key song to fit a theme or set of ideas that the sermon is going to cover. In the middle of last week I was sent a few of the ideas that would be built upon and I chose a song which hasn’t yet been used at rivo – a song called Home from last years Hillsong CD. The song covers the idea that as Christians our home is in heaven but in the mean time we are on earth and should make the most of it by worshipping here and now. We played it before the sermon and then after it. It was quite amazing how closely the sermon and song went together – a great example of how God brings ideas together from two people to have something work really well.

AFL

2005-05-22T09:06:00.000+08:00

The Eagles (top) lost to last placed collingwood - how embarrasing!! I can't believe they lost - just didn't attack with the same intensity. Still doing alright though at one game clear on top of the ladder. Lets hope they dont do what St Kilda did last year and start dropping alot of games after a long winning streak.

Perth rainfall

2005-05-22T09:02:00.000+08:00

For once we are actually above the average rainfall to this point in the year – I can’t remember the last time it happened! Hopefully some will go in the dams.

Rainfall so far this month 178.0 mm on 14 days
Average for May 119.0 mm on 12 days
Rainfall so far this year 263.0 mm on 33 days
Average 1st January to end of this month 205.0 mm on 27 days
Average annual rainfall 859.0 mm on 111 days

Church

2005-05-20T14:32:00.000+08:00

In addition to my post earlier today about definitions of church (service), I was wondering what some other views/definitions are that maybe out there. Please comment….

Email posting II

2005-05-20T10:30:00.000+08:00

There was a question as to how email blogging works – very simple in blogger anyway. Just go to your settings and there is a tab for email and nominate a email-post email address and check the box so that it publishes immediately. If you don’t check the box all emailed posts will remain as drafts until you log on and publish them – which could be handy if that’s what you wanted.

Doing Church

2005-05-20T10:01:00.000+08:00

We had our church worship meeting last night – to nail down the roster for leading but also to look at where we are going with our services. One part that I thought was particularly interesting was defining what a service is.

Some I liked were

A family of God’s children meeting together to worship
A family meeting together to be inspired and get a reality check on Christian living

And things that we value in our services

§ Creating friendships and reconnecting with friends

§ Variety: leaders, music, structure

§ Great music

§ Worship that “cuts through”

§ Being accepted

§ Small church feel (in a large church)

§ Involvement of a cross section of congregation

§ Interactivity

It was a good time to reflect on how we “do church”

Email posting

2005-05-19T12:23:00.000+08:00

Just testing this method of sending blog posts – will make it much quicker than logging on to blogger to do it.

Evolution v Creationism Part.....

2005-05-19T10:14:00.000+08:00

Why have evolutionists run their science as a faith? Go here and find out

Roy's song

2005-05-18T09:42:00.000+08:00

Heres an except from a new interview book with bono...

Michka: You said, "Intimacy needs to be whispered." What about the whispering in "She's a Mystery to Me", the song you wrote for Roy Orbison? What's the inspiration there? Are you whispering, or was someone whispering to you? To me, that song is some form of incarnation of God -- one of the few I would believe in anyway. To me, it's a religious song, a mystical song. The melody is like the one you hear in your head when you're in a cathedral. You can't say that of many other U2 songs.

Bono: There's probably some mechanical reasons for this,you know. Like, we're very attracted to suspended chords to the fifth. Edge has that in his guitar playing. You hear it a lot in religious music: Bach. That happy-sad feeling. Agony and ecstasy. It's that duality that makes my favorite pop songs.

One of the reasons I'm sitting here today is because you and Edge wrote that song. It's the song I throw in the face of people who say they don't "get" U2. And their jaws drop when they listen to it. For me, it's way up there with the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" in the pantheon of great songs. So I won't leave this place until you tell me how that song happened.
That's a funny one, that. Edge's wife, Aislinn, was the most extraordinary girl, who could surprise you with kindness when you least expected it. She gave me a copy of a soundtrack for David Lynch's film Blue Velvet. We were in London playing a concert. I left the record on "repeat" and fell asleep. When I woke up, I had a melody and words in my head. I presumed I was singing something from the soundtrack, but then realized I wasn't. I wrote it down. At sound check that day, I played the song to everybody and started going on and on about Roy Orbison, what a genius he was, et cetera. I told them that this could be a song for Roy Orbison, we should finish it for him. After sound check, I continued working on it. After the show, I was banging on and on about Roy Orbison in this song when a very strange thing happened. There was a knock at the door. John, our security man, was announcing the guests for that evening: Roy Orbison, he told me, is outside. He'd love to say a few words.

What? You mean you had no idea he would be coming over?

I had no idea he was there, I had no idea he was coming over, and neither had the band. They all looked at me like I had two heads. In fact, I was just getting a very large one, (laughs) feeling that somehow, God had agreed with me about Roy Orbison! He walked in, this beautiful humble man. He said: "I really, really loved the show. I couldn't tell you now why exactly, but I was very moved by the show. I'm wondering: would you fellows have a song for me?"

That story's even better than the one I would have made up myself.

Later, I got to finish the song with him, got to know his wife, Barbara, his family, and the song became the title of his last album. It was an extraordinary thing to record with him. I was out standing beside him at the microphone, bringing him through the song. I couldn't hear him singing, because he hardly opened his mouth. We went back into the control room, and it was all there. He not only had an angelic voice, but a kind of way about him too.

Mary finds her place

2005-05-17T09:48:00.000+08:00

"After decades of bickering, an international ecumenical body devoted to bridging the gulf between the Anglican and Catholic churches has reached a historic agreement about the role of Mary, Mother of Jesus: she is the Lord's handmaiden and sinless, but not the source of eternal salvation."

An interesting article from the sydney morning herald... So they have decided that mary's not the saviour but she is sinless - correct me if I'm wrong but I though jesus was the only one who was sinless. For the rest of the yarn....

Perth Traffic!!

2005-05-13T17:54:00.000+08:00

Usually it is not to bad...

BUT TONIGHT... gee... apparently its the worst in the city ever.

There was a burst water main on the freeway, just after the narrows bridge, heading south mid-afternoon, and anyone who has been to Perth would know that the narrows is the main artery over the river. Its absolute chaos - people cant go south and are therefore trying to access any other smaller route to go south. It is standstill everywhere, through the city, and all the other arterial routes.

The guys on the radio are recomending that people just go watch a movie or go to the pub and pass the time doing something other than sit in traffic!! I turned around and came back to work... don't know how long I will be stuck here!!

oh well...

leading worship

2005-05-13T14:01:00.000+08:00

I have been leading worship and serives at my local church in Perth for probably about 5 - 6 years quite regularly (sometime too regularly). I usually enjoy the creative process of putting a service together and molding a service aroun themes and idea that I know the sermon will be on.
It has got to the stage that I am so conscience about having new and creative things and ways of doing things that I am always analysing services, even when I'm not involved which can have the effect of removing me from the experience. I also find it hard to listen to a worship CD without analysing how they're arranging songs and maybe what I could use in my services... I'm still to figure out if it is an entirely bad thing...

great song...

2005-05-11T12:34:00.000+08:00

when its all said and done
by jim cowan

when its all been said and done, there is just one thing that matters
did i do my best to live for truth, did i live my life for You.
when its all been said and done, all my treasures will mean nothing
only what i've done for Love's Reward will stand the test of time

Lord your mercy is so great, that You look beyond our weakness
and find purer gold in miry clay, making sinners into saints

i will always sing Your praise, here on earth and everafter
for You've shown me Heaven's my true home
when its all been said and done, You're my life when life is gone.
Lord i'll live my life for you.

Supernanny and parenting...

2005-05-05T09:13:00.000+08:00

From the sydney morning herald

How to find the cherub in every brat
April 28, 2005
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Contemporary parents are dazed and confused, and their children are suffering, writes Miranda Devine.
It is clear from the extraordinary success of Channel Nine's Monday-night program Supernanny that Australian parents are suffering a crisis of confidence in their child-rearing skills.
And judging by a study released this week by the Australian Childhood Foundation, insecure mums and dads are crying out for guidance on how to control the brats who rule their lives. The study revealed that 38 per cent of parents surveyed say parenting does not come naturally and 63 per cent are "concerned about their level of confidence as parents".
Perhaps the trend of permissive parenting, launched by Dr Benjamin Spock in the 1950s and '60s as a reaction against the authoritarian child-rearing practices of the past, has gone too far, leaving a generation of laxly parented parents clueless about how to manage their own children and desperate for advice.
If you take the pathetic American families on Supernanny as an example, it seems modern parents are afraid to set any kind of rules for their children for fear of damaging their self-esteem and losing their love. So you have situations in which a 10-year-old flips the finger to his mother and tells her to "f--- off" , a four-year-old spits in his mother's face, children refuse to go to bed, eat their dinner or stop screaming and swearing at their parents, as happens every week on Supernanny, and the parents do nothing more than say, "That wasn't very nice".
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"Oh honey," says one mother when she finds her wild three-year-old son wandering around outside with a pair of lethal-looking secateurs.
In steps British "supernanny" Jo Frost, 34, whose seemingly magical ability to control the brats in these desperate families is really just old-fashioned discipline and common sense. She makes judgements about right and wrong. She uses such politically incorrect words as "naughty" and "discipline" and "tames" and "authority". Bad behaviour she deems "unasseptable", a mispronunciation that has become her trademark.
Her methods have been criticised by child psychologists who regard them as anti-child, brutalising, unnatural, psychologically destructive and eroding the dignity and autonomy of children. The Sydney University anthropologist of human development Stephen Juan has gone so far as to describe Frost as a "devil Mary Poppins". But then, you would expect the experts to disapprove. After all, they have replaced the mothers, grandmothers and neighbours of old as dispensers of child-rearing advice, and their theories are the reason a generation of parents don't trust their instincts.
But as most real-world parents will attest, children crave boundaries. The transformations worked by Frost in each show after a "healthy dose of discipline" are all the more remarkable when you see how happy and calm the children are after their autonomy and dignity have supposedly been stripped from them. Angry, out-of-control brats become adorable, smiling cherubs.
The Orm family's "trio of wild boys", Chandler, 8, Caden, 6, and Declan, 3, for instance, started out in a recent episode as aggressive, rude, angry and disrespectful. Chandler treated his mother with contempt, talking back and hissing at her under his breath. Her response was to plead, "Chandler, honey, don't yell at me, sweetheart", which made him more contemptuous.
"Please, please, please," she begged her children, watching helplessly as they smashed their toys and ran wild though the house.
"These children are ruling the roost," Frost tells the TV audience. "They do nothing but constantly snack through the day." Frost pointed out to the mother that all that snacking made the kids hyperactive and said that was why they wouldn't eat dinner. "Mum has to assert herself," Frost tells us. "She doesn't hold authority with her children … They don't look at her with any respect."
To the tearful mother she says: "You feel guilty if you have to discipline your children. You [fear] you won't be close if you put your foot down."
The poor exhausted mother cries: "I want to be supermum."
Another mother with a plumber husband who is rarely at home, a two-year-old who won't go to sleep at night and a tantrum-throwing six-year-old who thinks his parents are a joke is near breakdown. "I haven't a clue," she weeps. "It's a horrible feeling because I love my boys so much and I don't want to screw it up."
The nanny sets a routine for each family, with a timetable mapped out from morning to night. She sets up an area called a "naughty mat" or a "naughty room" where children are sent for time out if they misbehave, and she trains parents to nip bad behaviour calmly and firmly in the bud. Lo and behold, the children respond by controlling themselves. The two-year-old learns that screaming and getting out of bed will not be rewarded with cuddles on the couch at midnight. The six-year-old treats his parents with new respect.
It's a lesson the parents in this week's Australian Childhood Foundation survey may want to heed. Asked what strategies they used to teach children the difference between right and wrong, 98 per cent or more think it is about making children feel loved, spending time with them and setting a good example; 82 per cent favour rewarding good behaviour and 78 per cent reason with their children. All are admirable qualities, but pointless unless backed by firm discipline, something just half the parents employed.
Only 53 per cent of parents surveyed used Supernanny's favourite "time out" strategy, 46 per cent created a diversion if the child was misbehaving, 38 per cent grounded the child and just 4 per cent used a smack.
But the self-confessed insecurity of parents and their hunger for guidance indicate that several decades of permissive parenting aren't working. The chaos in schools as hapless teachers try to discipline children whose parents can't control them, and the pressure on doctors to prescribe drugs to regulate these children's wild behaviour, are symptoms of the problem.
Supernanny may not have all the answers, but at least parents are beginning to ask the question

New e-book on church music

2005-04-28T10:08:00.000+08:00

A nice little e-book I downloaded from Mathias media (here) the other day. It cover all sorts of issues from leading teams and services to practical technique in setting up a good mix. Well worth a look if your involved in church music and want to do it better.

more U2

2005-04-28T10:05:00.000+08:00

great review of a U2 show from a theological point of view. here.

The new U2 show

2005-04-27T09:14:00.000+08:00

I simply have to go when they come to Australia...

God in the House: U2 Live in Los Angeles
Relevant magazine, April 22, 2005
By Stephen Simpson

Evangelicals have long had ambivalent feelings about U2. Bono has done more to raise awareness and support for the crisis of poverty and AIDS in Africa than almost any other Christian figure. But some conservative Christians busy themselves looking at the speck in his eye. Bono and the rest of the band drink, smoke and swear, causing some to ask questions about the sincerity of their Christian faith. On April 5, nobody, including the band’s most vocal detractors, would have been asking questions. That night, U2's Vertigo tour hit Los Angeles and turned the Staples Center into a cathedral, or a revival tent, if that's your thing. Either way, God was in the house.First there was the message, highlighted from the beginning with the roaring opener, "Love and Peace or Else." In the '90s, the band used irony to soften the blow of its passion for peace, human rights and an end to poverty. Nothing was soft or ironic about the delivery. From posting the U.N.'s Declaration of Human rights on the video screens to Bono's proclamation that "all people are equal in the eyes of God," U2 didn't hide their zeal for changing the world. But they didn't just shove the message down the audience's throat; they invited us to participate. Bono asked everyone to take out their cell phones and send a text message in support of the One Campaign, an effort to provide funds for American medical professionals to work in African communities. The visual effect of thousands of cell phones, tiny blue screens glowing throughout the dark arena, was dazzling. Thanks to U2, the cell phone has officially replaced the lighter as the luminous icon of choice at rock concerts (Fire marshalls around the world are now sleeping better and buying U2 records). This is a prime example of what U2 does at their best: get people socially involved and make them feel cool at the same time. Given the emergency in Africa that's often ignored by the media, thank God someone is making noise about it.The band also made noise about God. Sometimes Bono belied his faith with a subtle gesture that only those "in the family" would catch, like raising his hands and looking upward while singing "All Because of You." But Bono was mostly loud about his Christianity. He threw in a chorus of "hallelujahs" at the end of "Running to Stand Still," showed off the crucifix that the pope gave him and quoted Scripture. The band closed with "40," which takes its lyrics from the 40th Psalm. But if anyone harbored doubts about U2 being a Christian band, "Yahweh" laid them to rest. It's a praise song. Both its lyrics and melody sound like something straight out of a Vineyard church: "Take this city/A city should be shining on a hill/Take this city, if it be Your will/ What no man can own, no man can take/Take this heart and make it break." Bono and thousands in the audience stuck their hands in the air, but it didn't look like typical rock arena exuberance. It looked like a Charismatic Christian convention. Then there was the music. I have been to eight U2 concerts over the course of 18 years, and I have never heard them play with more precision and fervor. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen were tight, Bono hit all the high notes and the Edge was...well, he was the Edge. The guy can play the blues, rough and metallic, or make his guitar sound like an orchestra, soaring and shimmering. I attended the show with an accomplished guitar player, and he said that mortals shouldn't be able to make a guitar sound like that. The band favored the audience with old favorites, playing three "deep cuts" from their first album, but they weren't shy with their new material. A testament to U2's staying power is that fans are as eager to hear new material live as they are the old stand-bys. And they played with all the zeal of a punk band in their 20s. They tore through "Zoo Station" with such intensity that I thought someone might get hurt. After almost 30 years of playing together, U2 makes many bands half their age seem docile and safe. But their musicianship, passion and faith aren't the only things that make U2 different. They connect with their audience in a way that's rare. Even the stage lent itself to the communal experience. Some ticket holders were selected at random to stand in "the ellipse," a catwalk-enclosed area in front of the stage. Each band member entered the arena shining a spotlight up into the cheap seats, making those farthest from the stage part of the show. During "Into the Heart," Bono pulled a small boy from the audience and had him sit on stage for part of the show. The move symbolized the effect U2 has on its audience. The band reaches out, making everyone feel connected to what's happening onstage.U2 has turned almost every rock 'n' roll stereotype on its head. Rock music is supposed to be the province of the young, but these guys are in the their mid-40s. Most pop stars are aloof, but U2 goes out of their way to relate to their audience. At other concerts, the crowd cheers when the lead singer mentions smoking weed or having sex. At this concert, the audience went berserk when Bono mentioned God, human rights and helping the poor. U2 has returned rock 'n' roll to its gospel roots, making a big, shining noise that inspires and uplifts. While in line for the show, I met a girl who had never been to a U2 show. I saw her during the concert, and she had tears in her eyes. The cynics might think that's a bit melodramatic -- not believing a rock show can move someone. But when U2 hit their stride, like they did that night in Los Angeles, people leaving glowing, thoroughly entertained yet wanting to change the world. It's how Church, at its best, makes us feel. As long as U2 keeps doing that, I don't care if the guys have a beer and drop the F-bomb once in a while.

Church programs

2005-04-15T08:33:00.000+08:00

THE PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH "PROGRAMS"
by John O'Keefe

Ever since “The Passion of the Christ,” I have been wondering why am I so “anti-program?” I know I tend to be a bit of a rebel, but I still wonder why things “programmed” drive me crazy. When I say “crazy” I mean, they drive me crazy and I just can’t seem to get a grip on why. It seems that modern churches and modern church “leaders” gravitate to the “latest and greatest” in the church program area – flashy books, great titles, cool pics and all the eye candy one can muster. I can remember sitting at a meeting of the local Pastors and hearing them talk about how “The Passion” (the newest “latest and greatest” program) was going to flood our churches with non-believers seeking to know more about Christ. What they could not grasp in reality was when I tried to explain that most non-believers do not see the church as “the place” where those questions are asked, and honestly answered. Most non-believers are going to have that conversation in the local bar, their living room or their kitchen and many be on Thursday night at the bowling ally; places where most “good christians” would never get caught walking out of (notice I did not say they would not go in, just that they would never get caught coming out).Let’s be honest. Christian books stores are filled with “programs” and each one is touted as the “latest and greatest” – The Passion, Purpose Driven “You Name it”, Pray of “Whoever,” Video Bible, you name it, it over flows the shelves – for youth, for children, for teens, for “tweens,” for couples, for singles, for divorced, for separated, for adults, for older adults, for younger adults, for older single adults, for older widowed adults, for an endless supply of what ever box you want to place a person in there is a program designed just for them. It is not my desire to pick on one program over another, because they are all equally silly in my eyes, let me select one that I believe is one of the “founding fathers” of church programs – the “purpose driven” programs. I know, for many I am about to become more of a heretic then I already am; for some I am stepping on the “holy of holies” the “foundation of the modern church” – but I have to do, what I have to do.The Main Problem:Here is the main problem I think I am having with this whole “purpose driven” thing (and in reality you can put any of the many programs in those quotes) - when I read statements that claim, “this program changed my life” or “if not for this program our church would have closed” or “I love this program because it made me see my life clearer” I get freaked, because many modern “leaders” hear those types of statements and think, "the purpose driven program will change the lives of my people and the culture of my church. We will start to grow and become a bigger church, I need that program." The problem is the program does nothing – nothing – it changes nothing as I see it. I believe the gospel message changed the people, but we give credit to the program and the author of the program, but it is the message of Christ that changes lives and church cultures. We see the program as the “change agent” and therefore we need the program to “package the gospel message. Because for some reason, we think the “program” will clean the message up and make it easier to believe. I have a feeling that the original intent of the book, “The Purpose Driven Church” was not to be a program, but was to open the hearts and minds of church “leaders” and get them stirred into action; to call their attention back to the word of God and into the lives of the church – but publishers, marketers and business minds got involved and realized they could “can a program” and sell it to church “leaders” looking for a quick fix for their churches ills. The “program” became the perfume that hid the smell of a rotting corpse, because in reality, nothing truly changed.Over time the modern church place such a heavy load on programs, the author, and a great value on when the program was started - in this case, the purpose driven, Rick and modern times. The problem becomes, the "program" has no value at all, the author is just a man and times change – but because many of the modern church “leaders” place such energy on the program, the author and times change is virtually impossible.Consumer Driven is more like itThe "PD" is driven by "quality" and in terms of church “quality” is a very modern, very consumer centered idea. When we think in terms of “quality” we think in terms of “getting the most for our buck” – “the biggest bang for our dollar” – but that is so not what church should be about. In a postmodern/emerging church that is not an issue. The central drive of the "PD” church is to be bigger, better, more building, more land, more money, more “shine” then the church down the road. This is not, or should not be, the heart of a postmodern/emerging church, so to try to fit a “PD” program into a postmodern/emerging church is like trying to fit a square peg into a sunspot – it will get fried.What still fits?I think that "the five" – fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism (I would add "relational" - which I believe is far deeper then "fellowship" and “missional” which is so much deeper then “evangelism”) are still important; just not as linier as "PD" makes them out to be - they are so very connected, so very non-linier in nature and scripture. Let me take just one as an example - evangelismEvangelism should be a natural component in all the other areas - it should be "inter-twined" because every single person who is a follower of Christ should evangelize. This is not an option, but in the “PD” modern church we have created “groups” that do this, or we write a check to fund others to do it – but we are all called to share our faith - fellowship should have an "evangelism" connection (not the purpose, and totally not the reason - but an element) - discipleship should also, jesus called his disciples - they were not "believers" when he called them, they became believers. The modern church tends to see discipleship as something that happens after you become a believer, but just as Jesus modeled, discipleship starts before one believes. Evangelism in worship, very cool and missing in many modern churches; they see worship as a “show” and not as a tool to show how believers worship the living God. Evangelism as a component in ministry, showing that what we do we do for Christ - while this may seem natural, many modern "PD" churches I have talked with, interviewed with and visited compartmentalize all the five into separate "programs" - heck, some have gone as far as hiring staff based on the five.The connective nature of “the five” (and i still believe there are more) is important. While a “modern mind” may not be able to grasp the idea of “multi-tasking” and seeing the connections of all, the postmodern/emerging mind sees it as clear as day. Multi-tasking is a norm for us, and as such we see the connections – the networking of “the five.” I think a healthy postmodern/emerging church does not "box" the five as modern “PD” churches do. A postmodern/emerging outreach allows the five to flow and develop as the spirit leads – allowing the center to be the needs of the people and not the needs of the program. This can be and often is too “messy" for many in the modern church, and even seen as "chaos" to many - but I think it works.ClosingI think the problem I have with modern programs is that they place importance on the wrong things - sure, a church "leader" will say "the bible is important" but then he (or she) will turn to a canned program and say, "this will help our church grow" - never once coming to the realization that what is needed is a deeper walk with Christ, in his word and in his way. Programs make church life easier. It places less responsibility of the Pastor, and more on the program. If the church does not grow after “40 days of purpose” it’s the programs fault. The purpose driven may be calling for us to have a deeper walk; the call is not loud enough, long enough and with enough conviction to let an emerging conversation believe it. What happens is that most modern church do the program and then wait for the next program to make their next move. I think the modern church likes programs because they have something to blame, or someone to blame, for the failures of the church.Soon after The Passion hit the theaters and the group of ministers spent a ton of cash on helping Mel advertise his movie, we sat around and the funny thing is, no one spoke of how they were dealing with the massive growth in their church. No one spoke of all the non-believers who were filling their buildings asking questions that would change their lives. Funny, but wait – a new and better program is just around the corner.

How good is God

2005-04-15T06:42:00.000+08:00

I was lucky (kind of) to be up early enough this morning to see the sunrise. Sometime we don't let our mind be taken by the wonder but this morning it was taken. The sheer beauty of Gods creation as the sun slowly and progressivly shed light on curtins of clouds was mind stretching. The collection of reds, oranges and pink was breath taking - fantastic!

The reason I was up so early is that I had to drop off my wife to the airport as she is having a final holiday pre-kids (we're having a baby near the end of the year!!) with her best friend in the Gold Coast. I have enough work to keep me quiet writting this thesis plus I seem to have heaps of other things planned as I will will be tethered only by the dog! Mind you, I do like being tethered by my beautiful wife.

The Bible: just another Text?

2005-04-11T14:11:00.000+08:00

There is alot of good disscussion going on over at PhilBaker.net about Sin/Creation Science/evolution. Alot of it comes down to the ways we interpret and view the Bible. There are many smart people contributing to the debate but sometimes I feel that we treat the bible like any other peice of literature, especially when we refer to it as a text. As a christian I feel it is different to every other text as it was inspired by God, every part of it. Therefore I think it is a book that can communicate to many cultures, ages, eras, and even commnicate valuable information for those wanting to know about the origins of the earth. If God inspired it do we really think he would have been so small minded to aim it only at one culture (the jews) for the particular time in which it was written? God is big, lets broaden our view of his word to match the author.

new music

2005-04-08T10:17:00.000+08:00

Two new CD's a got the other day - great new Australian music...

Lior - Autum flow. We saw him support Missy Higgins a few weeks ago and is brilliant live by himself. A really solid album.

Sarah Blasco - The Overture and Underscore. Another solid album. Slightly alternative pop but great atmospheric arangments with strong melodies and poetic lyrics.

Pro-bono

2005-04-08T10:15:00.000+08:00

maybe I over U2 things sometimes but here is a great quote from the fella...

I'm not sure if it's Catholic guilt or what, but I genuinely believe that second only to personal redemption, the most important thing in the Scriptures -- 2,103 passages in all -- refers to taking care of the world's poor," Bono

How old is the earth? Young or Old

2005-04-01T12:45:00.000+08:00

Good discussion going on here

Heres my 2 cents worth in the debate

This is all a very interesting subject - one that I used to be very hung up about and studying alot. As a scientist I think that it is very important to understand what I believe as christian/scientist. First and foremost I believe in the Word of God and in no way can it be wrong - you cannot pick and choose the bits you like. It should also be read literally unless there is no other possible explaination that for a different interpretation. Second, you can't apply assumptions from here and now to interpret what might of happened in the past as it might not always work - which is a fair bit of doubt.

The most impotant issue of the bible is that death entered the world through sin and this separated us from God - God offered us a way back to him by sacrificing his son who had no sin to pay the cost of sin (wages of sin is death). Therefore anything that gets in the way of this truth cannot be accepted. A theory where death is present before sin also has to be rejected (in my view) as is negates the gospel message and calls into question everything in the christian message.Therefore when we interpret things we see in the natural world we must "read" it in the context of a created world. Most scientist interpret data with assumptions of firstly no Creator and infinite time (almost). I dont know exactly how pre-fall looked or even how life worked (as cell death is an intergral part of life in higher organisms)but I know what the bible tells me.
1. God created it
2. It was good.
3. There was no death

These truths are intergral to the gospel message. Which is why I don't really think about the issue much anymore, as I will never be able to work out the detail as I wasn't there. And time spent fussing over this issue is wasted iin comparison to the bigger issue. That Jesus Christ conquored death and offers us this victory so that we need not experience eternal separation from a Father.

So after my ramblings - I am young earth (i think) non-evolutionist (non-macro-evolutionist anyway). But I'm comfortable in the fact that God knows what happened and when he calls me home one day he might even tell me how it really was.

The friendship of U2

2005-04-01T10:09:00.000+08:00

Here is an except from Bonnos speech when they got inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame earlier this month. These are three standout memories of his mates from the past 25 or so years. Note Kodak moment number 3...

I'm going to go on and list three Kodak moments over twenty-five years I'd like to share with you.
One -- it's 1976 -- Larry Mullen's kitchen. About the size of the drum riser he uses now. It's a bright red -- scarlet, really -- Japanese kit and he's sitting behind it in his kitchen. And he's playing and the ground shakes and the sky opens up -- and it still does, but now I know why. Cause Larry Mullen can't tell a lie. His brutal honesty is something that we need in this band.

Second Kodak moment. It is 1982. New Haven, I believe. Things are not going very well. There's a punk band onstage trying to play Bach. A fight breaks out. It's between the band. It's very very messy. Now you look at this guitar genius, you look at this Zen-like master that is the Edge, and you hear those brittle icy notes and you might be forgiven for forgetting that you cannot play like that unless you have a rage inside you. In fact, I had forgotten that on that particular night, and he tried to break my nose. And I learned a great, great lesson that night. You do not pick a fight with someone who for a living lives off hand-eye coordination. Dangerous, dangerous man, the Edge.

Third Kodak moment. 1987. Somewhere in the south. We'd been campaigning for Dr. King, for his birthday to become a national holiday. In Arizona, they are saying no. We're campaigning very hard for Dr. King. Some people don't like it. Some people get very annoyed. Some people want to kill us. Some people are taken very seriously by the FBI. They tell the singer that he shouldn't play the gig because tonight his life is at risk, and he must not go on stage. And the singer laughs. Of course we're playing the gig. Of course we go onstage, and I'm singing "Pride (In the Name of Love)" -- the third verse -- and I close my eyes. And you know, I'm excited about meeting my maker, but maybe not tonight. I don't really want to meet my maker tonight. I close my eyes and when I look up I see Adam Clayton standing in front of me, holding his bass as only Adam Clayton can hold his bass. There are people in this room who'd tell you they'd take a bullet for you, but Adam Clayton would have taken a bullet for me. I guess that's what its like to be in a truly great rock and roll band.

Content vs. Engagement

2005-03-31T13:49:00.000+08:00

Author: Matt Redman

“Content” and “Engagement”. These are two phrases that often come to mind when I’m thinking about congregational worship songs.Some songs very much take the “content” route – perhaps like many of the old hymns, which are packed full of biblical phrases and “meaty” theology. Other songs you come across seem to take a different approach – they are simple, uncomplicated love songs, with a big emphasis being placed on engaging with God.Personally I think there’s definitely a place for both types of songs, and yet, as with so many things, there’s a danger when either of the two approaches are taken to extremes. On one end of the spectrum you can write a song which is so wordy, crammed full of intricate theology and deep truth, that singing it unfortunately becomes simply an intellectual exercise rather than an outpouring of the heart. At the other extreme, it is also possible to write a worship song that’s so raw and “touchy-feely” in it’s approach, but captures no real sense of who God really is, and therefore seems a little shallow.Over the last few years my aim when songwriting has been to somehow find a good balance between these “content” and “engagement” factors.I once heard someone comment on the well known passage (John 4) that our worship needs to be conducted “in spirit and in truth”. They relected that our worship songs need to have a sense of being a “spiritual” event, and yet also need to be clothed richly in the truths of who God is and what He has done. I thoroughly agree with this, and personally I think that some of the most valuable worship songs illuminate lyrically the beautiful truth of God, and yet also give us space to reflect, respond and engage with him.I came across a scripture recently that I thought really suited this ideal. Over the last few months I’ve had my heart set on writing some shorter, simpler songs, and for me this portion of the bible said it all. Strangely enough it was from Ecclessiastes (chapter 5) – a book of the bible I never thought I’d end up writing a song from! The phrase that hit me was “God is in heaven, and you are on the earth, so let your words be few.” The section ends by urging, “Therefore, stand in awe of God.” There, in just over 20 words, was a fantastic piece of truth. Of course there’s a time to excitedly express everything that’s on our hearts to God. But there’s also a time to let our words be few, and simply stand in awe of Him with the simplest of love songs.As you read this perhaps you are thinking you have a tendency to take one of these “content” or “engagement” approaches to it’s extreme. I guess none of us will ever find the perfect balance! I would offer two little opinions on how we can pursue a healthy balance though:

1) “Make sure the song starts off as worship.”Seems obvious to say, but if a song is written to end up in worship (ie a congregation), then it needs to start in worship. (ie you pouring out your heart to God). Maybe it’s a theme that the Holy Spirit has been highlighting in your church , and has begun to burn in your heart. Find space to respond to God around that theme and worship Him –and sometimes, as you worship, a new song, or at least a part of it will be birthed. A song which starts off as little more than a cerebral exercise will probably end up being no more than that in the congregation. But a song which begins it’s life as a passionate time of engaging with God will hopefully bring that same dynamic to a congregation when it’s sung.

2) “Next comes the perspiration!”There are some songs (especially simpler ones) which you sing out spontaneously and they feel complete. However, most songs, once the initial inspiration has been poured out, need to be crafted and worked on before they are suitable for congregational use. Spend time being ruthless with both the tune and the lyrics. Is it singable, even by a “non-musician”? In terms of the lyrics there’s always a lot more options available to us than we at first may realise. Take the theme of the song and begin studying it. There’s many ways to do this. One easy one is to find a concordance and simply look up the song’s key words to see if there’s any other scriptures that may be suitable for your lyrics. There’s a great tool on the Links page of this web-site – “On line bible study tools.” Here you’ll find commentaries, concordances and all sorts all at the touch of a button! Maybe also refer to some old hymns and see if they inspire you with fresh ideas as you pursue the theme of your song. A great website, which is also a link from this one, is www.cyberhymnal.com. Here you’ll find thousands of hymns on every theme imagineable. Even if you don’t end up using everything you discover in your finished song, you’ll have had a great bible study!Let us aim to write songs that reveal something of the wonderful mysteries of God, and at the same give the worshipper space to respond Him simply and wholeheartedly.

Hester no more

2005-03-30T08:39:00.000+08:00

I was sad to hear a few days ago that Paul Hester, among other things drummer for crowded house, took his own life. Crowded House was one of the main reasons music got a hold of me and I've spend many hours listening to the music that Paul was a part of. He had a real presence and was a real character.
What a waste, someone so talented and full of life to come to the decision that it needs to end so soon.
As westerners we like to say things like, "well he is in a better place now", but as a christian I know that this isn't always the case - this is what makes it a sad story.

big puppy

2005-03-22T15:03:00.000+08:00

We got dozer weighed again the other day. For a dog who is still a puppy - just over a year old - we reckon that 41 kilos is a fair bit. Imagine if you had a child (human) who put on over 40 kilos in its first year.
He really is a big wuss but you could be forgiven for thinking he is a monster as his size and bark say other wise. One little kid commented the other day that "he looks like a horse".

Mangos

2005-03-22T14:49:00.000+08:00

Well it seems it is mango season in our backyard. Our two little trees are dropping fruit all over the place. This morning I had 9 in the fridge and there are only so many you can eat and still enjoy them so people at work are getting little presents. There is someting about home grown fruit - these mango taste 10 time better than anything you can buy in the shops - fantastic.

bike to breakfast

2005-03-16T09:24:00.000+08:00

Well you can never pass up a free breakfast so I thought I should ride and claim free food. Now my ride to work is normally a decent ride - about 50 mins of solid riding. About 1/4 of the way there I get a phone call from my wife - "the dog's not in the backyard!". He must have tried to follow me so I had to turn around and go and look for him while my wife went to the park (where we normally walk him). It turns out he just went down the park looking for some play action and was running up and down the cycle way looking for someone to play with him. So we got him home safely and the long and the short of it is that my ride ended up 30mins longer!!

Not all bad though - the brekky was very good and they had too much food so a good deal of hording was done for later snacks!

korn follow up

2005-03-09T12:25:00.000+08:00

here (http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-03-06-korn-guitarist-baptism_x.htm)

Reborn Korn

2005-02-28T12:45:00.000+08:00

What an inspiring post. here. Its a guy who was in a mega band and decided that money and the trappings of materialism didn't stack up - he wanted to redirect he life to God in a radicle way - talk about sending out the challenge.

from phils blog

(Like my title for this blog?!! :-) )

lack of blogs...

2005-02-25T08:39:00.000+08:00

haven't blogged for ages - there really isn't much happening. Appart from trying to get some good writting done for this thesis thing.

Old Rivo is going good - starting a church wide equiping course and the building process for a new auditorium has started the first few stages...

Really looking forward to this Sunday night - I'm up for leading again and I haven't played in ages! Should be good - got some great songs lined up...

The Kimberly Canal

2005-02-11T09:01:00.000+08:00

The WA election campaign is hotting up. The main idea in debate is the Kimberly Canal. What a ridiculous idea. The idea of building a canal 3,700km to supply a Perth with water is so filled with holes i don't know where to start.
The first i guess is to look at the history of fiddling with hydrological cycles in this country. Not many have been successful - history tells us, if you dont need to play with river/groundwater, dont. To illustrate this point, have a look at the murray-darling system and the huge effects that salinity is having on the farming systems nation wide.
Second is the huge environmental and social effects removing water from a fragile environment and through a fragile environment. To think that you can remove such large amounts of water from the fitzroy and have no negative effects is a ridiculous concept.
The last main point is as western humans we are intent on manipulating our environment to suit our lifestyle rather than accepting that we live in a harsh, water limiting environment - we should not manipulate and degrade our environment to suit of selfish way of life. A responsible government should be giving 100% rebate to grey water systems and 100% rebates to personal rainwater tanks. We haven't even given thought to ways to use the huge amounts of storm water that flows off our roads and buildings. To spend $2b on a crazy project when we haven't even tried the cheaper more responsible projects is utter stupidity.

Australian Open

2005-01-25T09:04:00.000+08:00

Well two aussies are through to the quarter finals in the Australian open. What a great time of year for sport - plenty of tenis and cricket on the TV!! Leyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik both played very well, leyton fighting back from the brink of defeat and alicia just outplaying venus williams. This is all good and well, although I think they could both take a leaf from the Pat Rafter book of interviews and dealing with the media - he always came across humble and always gave credit to his opponent first, and thats why he was such, and still is, a popular player.

And then God said...

2005-01-20T14:38:00.000+08:00

You hear christian saying these sort of statements - about God speaking personally to them. Its never something that I have experienced noticbly (audibly?) in my walk. I was trying it yesterday in my quiet time, to listen quietly for God to speak, and for me it raises the question of how do I know what is God talking and whats just my own generationthoughts in my mind? Does God "talk to people or is it just they're mind generating stuff they know is consistent with Gods word, which I guess is God speaking anyway - does it actually matter?

Getting Older...

2005-01-12T08:37:00.000+08:00

Well another Birthday is here and will be gone again - although this time the number starts to sounds like I'm getting older. This year hopfully will bring some new things - the finish of the PhD and maybe a job because of it. So this could be the first year where I have a real job and not just study or casual labour...
can't be all bad though - i do get to go to Pizza Bellaroma tonite in Freo for dinner!! yay!

The New Year and Big Waves

2005-01-04T09:20:00.000+08:00

Well I had a great break around Chritmas/New Year, especially around New Year, spending it with friends and a relaxing atmosphere.
As a time though it has been dominated by the events ober in asia and the bay of bengal. Such a devestating complete disaster, and just plain hard to comprehend. As a christian it makes you think, and also non-christians by looking at the letters in the paper, about where is God in these sort of events. It seems to cold to say that something good will come out of these circumstances. Maybe the wisdom of Homer Simpson is more fitting where he says "its just a bunch of stuff that happened".
But we know God isn't random and whether he activly made it happen or allowed it to happen we know that he is in control. After discussing allo this with a good mate and having a read through Job I think the conclusion we must reach is that we connot hope to comprehend with our minds the one who made our minds. We have a notion of what a loving God should behave like yet we can't even begin to comprehend that realm in which he lives and operates. Who are we as humans to decide what God can and connot do with his rebelous sinful creations - and besides, he does love us because he inflicted a disaster on his own son for our sake.
So in conclusion we cannot understand God or his purposes but I bet he is interested in our response to these circumstances.

christmas time - come and gone...

2004-12-27T19:18:00.000+08:00

Well its come and gone again - The whole process of it arriving and going seems to happen much quicker than I used to remember it, I guess it means I'm getting a bit older!
We had a country christmas this year with my side of the family which was pretty good and pretty full on! It was good to see the little kids in the family recieve presents and run around getting excited.
Hope anyone who stumbles across this blog had a great day and paused to reflect on the birth that triggered the whole event a couple of thousand years ago. Speaking of which there seems to be a fair bit interest in Australia about people talking about and exploring the real meaning of christmas. I have heard alot of references on radio especially about christmas and people rediscovering faith and what christams means to them. I have a thoery that everyone has wittnessed people of the Islamic faith being so devout and fanatical and it has inspired them to explore there own faith and culture - it can only be a good thing.

The light at the end of the tunnel...

2004-12-23T09:58:00.000+08:00

Well I've finished my field trials for my PhD!! Quite a significant point - it means I now focus wholey and soley on writting - which is a bit scarry as its not my recognised strong point!

It means I have about 4 months to wrap everything up and make a story out of what I've been doing for the last 3 and a bit years. Easier said than done I think.

The land of christmas parties..

2004-12-17T08:52:00.000+08:00

Well if you want to go to lots of christmas parties you should get a job at uni... If I wanted to I could have attended about 5 - as it is I might go to 2...or 3. I'll see. You could get out of alot of work between now and christmas if you wanted to!
This time though, and all the christmas parties, do bring out the best in people. Often its just a time when people stop and express how much they have appreciated the hard work of colleges and enjoyed working with them - and people generally spend more time wishing each other well. Its almost like we wait for christmas as an excuse to do away with the aussie ribbing of each other. Maybe we should just do away with it all together...

Nice post from Thinx

2004-12-17T08:50:00.000+08:00

Beautiful post on worship from a guy I know. here. I think lionfish would enjoy it...its similar to the things he often writes on his site...

Carols on the foreshore

2004-12-13T09:20:00.000+08:00

Well the 'ol carols down on the shelley foreshore went really well last night - it ended up being beatiful weather and the music was really good. Its the first time in years I havn't been up on stage having orgainsed and put together the music - It was quite relaxing just being able to sit down and enjoy it but it also felt kind of weired! I think it is probably the reason christmas has crept up on me this year - I've normally being singing and practicing carols since the start of november and this year last night was my first crack at singing them!
But yeah - they went well, I reackon about 1500-2000 people were there, which is a pretty good showing, considering there were a couple of really big carols events around the area. I think the local community really waits for and supports our one on the river - its always a nice night!

I still haven't found...

2004-12-03T09:02:00.000+08:00

Last sunday night at church it was my turn to lead (again - three times out of the last four weeks!!), and we tried some nice ideas - mainly kaths ideas but i get to implement them and therefore get most of the credit. We sang "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" at the start of the service as a why of "shocking" people into thinking about song lyrics and what they're singing. I think it worked really well and people responded well to it, and there has been alot of positive feedback to it, even from the oldies!!
The other idea we used was to place a tea light on each person chair and have them light it at the right time and place it up the front for something they are thankful for. At the end there was about 130 candles all burning as symbols of Gods goodness, it worked really well and was just a nice tangible way for people to interact.

Blogger is working again...

2004-12-03T08:59:00.000+08:00

If anyone had been coming here to read fairly mundane posts about me and haven't noticed any for the past week it is because blogger has been malfunctioning! Everytime I try and login it takes me to someone elses dashboard! But it seems to have fixed itself now so thats alright!

a post from the journey

2004-11-24T08:59:00.000+08:00

a nice little post about life. here.

A really good review of HTDAAB

2004-11-23T14:22:00.000+08:00

here

HTDMAAB

2004-11-23T08:42:00.000+08:00

Got the new U2 album yesterday!!!!!!! woo hoooooo. So far its pretty good - u2 album always take time to grow into bhut i can see this one has plently musically and lyrically to think about. Standout music so far is miracle drug and lyrically, yahweh. Good few weeks of having this on high rotation.
There seems to be heaps of meatly spiritual thoughts in there - already used one leading at church!!