A great idea for a great man’s birthday
November 22, 2009
Tim Challies has come up with a great way for many people to bless and encourage Jerry Bridges on his upcoming 80th birthday.
Jerry Bridges has long been a great gift to the church and his ministry, through the work of The Navigators and through his books such as The Pursuit of Holiness and The Discipline of Grace, has been a great blessing to many people. He is due to speak at the next New Word Alive conference in April next year.
Nepal 2009 Episode 6
November 22, 2009
The one where we try our hand at local dancing in the dark after a pleasant walk through the forest.
See all the Nepal videos here.
doneAn excellent opening number
November 19, 2009
Just returned from rehearsing with the music team at church. Part of our time was spent learning this new song which I commend to you – “Come People of the Risen King” by Stuart Townend and Keith and Kristyn Getty.
Sheet music available here from Kingsway
To cut to the chase – this song is one of the best I have heard from the Townend/Getty combo. Recently it appears that these great hymn/songwriters have been focussing on particular aspects or areas of corporate worship and giving a vehicle to these particular expressions of praise in some quality songs, such as “Speak O Lord” in anticipation of receiving the word of God” and “Behold the Lamb (Communion Hymn)” for the time of communion.
And now they’ve come up with a corker to begin times of corporate worship; a song that is a great call to worship, that invites God’s people to come and praise him, to acknowledge his greatness, to rejoice together as church – whatever kind of week they have had.
For a window into the songwriting process, let me direct you to the seminar the Gettys led at the Worship God 09 event back in August. I think this song pops up in their discussion – can’t remember. If not – it’s still a good listen.
Anyway – some thoughts on musical arrangement. Do we go for the Townend flavour – the English folk/melodion/rhythmically-driving/very occasional piano/close your eyes and imagine Billy Connolly driving through the north of England on his oversized tricycle – type version.
Or – the Getty’s “fill the stage” version with tight rhythms/bit more up-tempo/less weird instruments/full-time piano/church choir ‘robed-up-and-lovin’-it’ thrown in for good measure – type version.
It doesn’t matter at the end of the day. You do what’s best for your church and we’ll do what’s best for ours. Also worth noting that one is a recording session and one is a live congregational arrangement. Here they both are – just for a listen…
Nepal 2009 Episode 5
November 19, 2009
Videos coming thick and fast now as I try and get through them all before Christmas! This is the one where we go down 500m and up 1000m (ish!)…and the tent gets a bit wet…and we start Philippians.
doneNepal 2009 Episode 4
November 18, 2009
Events do not occur in real time! The one with the nice views and the buffalo and what you get if you put a duck too close to a radiator (…think about it..!). See all of the episodes here.
doneThe Institute for Christian Worship
November 12, 2009
Just discovered the Institute for Christian Worship, part of 
the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They have got some great free resources (mostly lectures etc) available on many different topics to do with worship. I highly recommend it. I’ve listened to all of the stuff by Bob Kauflin so far, and look forward to getting time to hear some of the other material.
They have even taken the trouble to provide a topical index to no less than 42 hymns by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, categorizing them according to standard hymn book themes.
I should resurrect the “website of the week” post. This one wins hands down this week. Check it out.
Help – I think I just started a website…!
November 9, 2009
So I was having a coffee break earlier this evening and catching up on what’s going down in the blogosphere. And everyone’s digging those videos from the Passion for Life initiative (Sammy Davies, Dave Bish, Martin Downes, Justin Taylor to name but a few). Lots of good stuff coming out that will be useful in answering people’s questions about Christianity, and in equipping Christians to answer those questions in person.
And so, I started bookmarking some stuff, filing it away with some other videos I’d collected…and then I realised that I had collected quite a few that are in the form of questions that are commonly asked of God/The Bible/Jesus/Christianity – being answered very clearly by godly and winsome, evangelical people. And then Vodpod flashed up a thingy saying – why not put these all on a nice bit of web page somewhere… so I did! A man with a box on his head and an appropriate font (luck, not judgment) later and…
allow me to introduce…
Seriously though, it’s only a collection of videos at the moment. I would love a site like this to exist for people who do not yet believe in Jesus and who have questions/doubts about Christianity.
That’s where you come in. Please, please, if you read this blog – have a look and tell me if you think it’s got legs. And – if you happen to be one of those “slightly more technically minded than the rest of us” people (you know who you are!) – then I’d love to hear from you if you think you could tech-ify a (largely video-based) site like that. The current vodpod package is incredibly functional but very inflexible.
I have ideas like this every other Monday (it seems like). I tend not to do anything about them tho…!
Nepal 2009 Episode 3
November 8, 2009
Episode 3 now online. “The one where the trek actually starts and I swallow a mosquito live on camera…”
done
Nepal 2009 Episode 2
October 30, 2009
Here is the second episode from the Nepal videos. Join me on another day around Kathmandu as we observe some more of the Nepali culture and prepare to go off on the trek.
doneNepal Photos
October 30, 2009
Click on the link below to see all of the photos from Nepal
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