It's tomorrow that Brisbane will once again be graced by my presence. Pah, who am I kidding, Brisbane couldn't care if I was there or not :) However, I shall be back in the capital of Queensland tomorrow night, ready to do some good. By that I mean homework; I have a couple of assignments due this week.
A big thanks must go out to Mark Myers - he's a member of the newly named band Sleeping in Trains - the next big thing methinks. However that's not what the thanks is for, Mark was kind enough to lend me over 7 GB of recorded audio of the band, so that I can practice mastering. For a person who doesn't have a band of his own to record and precious little studio time remaining at QUT, this is a Godsend. Plus it's all recorded in a format understandable only by a program called Logic, so I'll get a chance to learn about that program too.
Mmmm... 7 GB...
This holiday has really done me good, I've got some ideas for compositions again, and I'm all set to come back to Bris and spruce up the apartment. Should be good. Aaron, get set for cleaning this Saturday arvo.
The main melody line from Teardrop by Massive Attack:
C- -C-G-C-F-C-F-G
C- -C-G-C-F-C-F-C
Did you know that some turtles breathe through their bottoms?
Also visited the church that Mark Myers goes to - it's called Lifegate, and has been in the transition between an attractional (relatively traditional) church into a missional church. A missional church takes a different form to what people are used to - the best thing is to read about it at
http://www.emergingchurch.info/ and click on "Beginners Guide" over on the right.
It's really interesting and ...challenging, and quite possibly might be where God is calling quite a few people that I know in the next few years. Who would have ever thought that the shape of an evolving church would take the power of church growth out of the hands of those controlling the programmes and put it in the hands of misfits, sinners and trouble-prone humans? Wait a sec... that formula sounds familiar...
I guess the main thought on church I can offer is that a church that grows is one whose congregation owns their faith - they don't just do things because they're told to; They've examined all the things 0f faith critically and determined that Christianity is the way to go. The reason that this church will grow is because these people not only know the grace of God deeply but also realise that this love is made complete in reciprocation. These people hear that small voice whispering to them what God wants them to do. They hear this voice, they listen, do, and are swept up in the grand adventure that is serving God and thus one another.
I guess I write this because at Lifegate one of the questions asked was, 'You have a dream where you meet Jesus face to face. Where does this meeting take place? What does Jesus say?'
To me a picture came of me beaten, bleeding on the ground. Jesus comes down to me, and says, "You know what to do". I'm not sure if I know what that means yet, written down it seems quite harsh but in my mind I didn't notice it, Jesus' voice was so full of compassion.
So over to you: You have that dream. Where is it? What does He say to you?
-Fin-
