Thursday, March 29, 2007

Meanwhile, here's a nice cartoon.

Sorry for not blogging for a while. Been busy, and life just gets in the way, and sometimes I'm much more interested in reading blogs than writing my own.

Meanwhile, here's a nice cartoon...

Test Post from Ecto

I'm using this blogging software called Ecto, and thought I'd try out a test post.

However, I don't think I'm going to use it for the moment as it doesn't allow you to upload images to a blogger account. This is a problem as I like pictures. They're nice. Here's what Ecto's author says.

"Although Blogger support image upload via the control panel, it's not supported in their Atom API. It is forthcoming, though, so when Blogger adds image upload in their Atom API, I'll be supporting it in ecto as well."
So, Either we wait until the nice Google people pull their fingers out, or we change to Wordpress or something. What do you think?

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Lost!

Just finished watching season 1 on DVD. Aaaaaaaagh!!!!!! How can they end it like that????

I hate cliff hangers.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Friday, March 09, 2007

Shine Jesus, Shine

What a great night!!!

We had a sell-out crowd, with 700 tickets gone a week in advance. We even used extra special narrower chairs to make sure we got everyone in, because our tent normally seats about 600.

The band were amazing! Every musical style from latin to reggae to rock to funk was on the menu tonight, and Graham took us on a journey with God using many familiar Kendrick songs, and a handful of new ones. One of Graham's greatest strengths as a songwriter is his lyrical depth, and his ability to take a familiar idea and express it with words and phrases that allow you to look at it from an unfamiliar angle. When those songs are combined in a certain order, you get to go on a journey like ours tonight.

Even our police security guards were dancing in the street!

So thanks again Graham, Gabriel, Andrea, Andy, Raul, Jean Pierre and Steve. It was such a great night. Special thanks also to the sound team (Dave, Mark and George), Brianna, Nick, all the property staff, Chelsie, Hardin, Gary & Aline, Revo and everyone else who worked behind the scenes to pull of an amazing event.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Graham Kendrick


Well, our annual Kendrickfest has begun. This is the third year running that Graham, the "father of British Contemporary Worship Music" has come to MCC, and it's great. Every year the worship life of our church goes up a notch. He leads our three western services and performs a concert on Friday night and then he and the band put on worship workshops on the Saturday morning.

I've just got back from a meal out at Meditteraneo restaurant with them and some of the people who are helping organise the event, and it's so nice just to hang out with them all and catch up with what's been going on since last year.

The Thursday night service went really well. Graham and the band led the whole service, and there was up-tempo praise and plenty of thoughtful, reflective parts. A section of spontaneous call & response phrases from the psalms, and a thoughtful intercession time while the band played some gentle jazz with flute and flugelhorn solos. Pretty cool.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Death by fasting

I have a very good friend here from Sudan. Last night his Aunt died.

So how did she die?

She was fasting.

She lasted five and a half days.

Of a total fast.

No food.

No water.

No nothing.

No life.

I really don't know what to think. My feelings are all mixed up. Did she not realise that the body can only survive a few days without water? Was this down to ignorance? Did she misread the Bible and think that the examples of fasting described included fasting from water? Was this down to a misguided sense of spirituality, that God would sustain her through this despite the laws of nature?

I don't know.

But I do know that her friends and family have lost a loved one and we have lost a witness to the love of God in this world.