43

My introduction to George W. Bush came from the British media who painted a picture of the Texas governor who'd just swindled his way to winning the 2000 Presidential election as a hapless buffoon with a fondness for drink, and who, without his "family connections" would never have found himself in the position of US President #43.


Of course, much of the fault lies with me for rather naively believing and soaking up everything I read and/or was told, forgetting that many people were distinctly reluctant to forgive President Bush Senior (#41) ten years or so previously, for much of what transpired then, and I have grown to become greatly ashamed at my jumping onto the bandwagon of lampooning "W" as a stupid fool. His book "Decision Points" clearly shows anyone who bothers to read it that George W. Bush was anything but.


Bush himself talks about the way the book is constructed, revealing that he started work on it the day after he left office. The narrative is purposely built around a series of far-reaching decision points faced over the course of his 2 terms, as a demonstration that - to Bush - making decisions is THE number one job of a President. Some decisions were of national significance, some of world significance, and some, such as the response to 9/11 (barely 8 months, remember, since Bush took office) were the kind of decisions you only get one shot at, and which seem all but impossible to make.

Aside from 9/11, some of the other decisions covered in the book are the controversial stem cells issue, and how the US Government should react to that; the financial meltdown that dogged the end of his Presidency, including the crises with Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and GM; the Hurricane Katrina disaster; and also a host of foreign policy decisions including those concerning Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East in general.


What comes across loud and clear from this book is that - for anyone who might be wondering - the job of US President is not in any way an easy one. Probably the hardest job in the world. Yet for every decision made (and remember, he HAD to make some sort of a decision, whatever the political fall out might be) Bush never made or makes any excuses. He always acted out of what he calls "the best interests of our country". Bush cared. Still does. A former playboy type with a fondness for alcohol, Bush had an encounter with God which was very much accelerated by Billy Graham, to the point where he came to power teetotal for a number of years, and with an unshakable faith in God, an irrefutable love for his country, and an undeniable love for the people of America (and much further afield too). To deny any of the above would be fatuous, since it is self evident.


Nobody - least of all George W. Bush himself - will deny that he got decisions wrong, and he is the first to admit, with clearly profound regret,  his many failings during his two terms in office. But while you can disagree with his decisions and his policies, no rational person can disagree with the motives of George W. Bush.


This book is eminently readable, and in fact quite often gripping. It is brutally honest and suffused with faith and love...and hope for the future. Since arriving in the US I have met a number of people who are personally acquainted with George W. Bush. They speak of a highly principled, loving, human, and Christian man. I hope one day I might get to meet him myself and to be able to apologize for getting him all wrong, those years ago.

Filling In The Blanks - The YFC Years 2

February, 1994, and TVB (along with then-YFC National Director Lowell Sheppard and then-Chief Evangelist Roy Crowne) arrived in the former Yugoslav country of Croatia which was just one week out of a damaging, bitter and bloody civil war, which pitched Serbs against Croats and Bosnians, with Muslims thrown in for good measure. In short, it had been a mess.

We were in the country at the invitation of aid agencies and Spring Harvest, the UK's largest annual worship conference, to help with the effort to rebuild the country, and to raise awareness of the situation at the upcoming Spring Harvest Conference in April, at which we would be leading worship for the teens section of those who attend.

 

Specifically we were the guests of an amazing couple -- who are still doing great work in the country -- Nikola & Sandra Skrinjaric. We arrived by road after a drive from Denmark, down through Germany and Slovenia (where we first encountered the dreaded Eastern European border "issues" which mainly consisted of lengthy delays and the threat of having to pay a hefty bribe to cross over; the border term "Spedition" still brings me out in a cold sweat!) and based ourselves initially in the coastal city of Rijeka, which was, and still is, an absolutely beautiful place. Of course, with the war just coming to an end, the place was deserted -- not a tourist in sight -- although I am glad to say things are now very different.

Next we moved inland to the Catholic tourist town of  Medugorje, staying in a fabulous -- and again deserted -- hotel overlooking the city. From there we were taken by bus across from Croatia into Bosnia, to Mostar, a very symbolic city where the violence had been great, and where a beautiful and historic bridge - the Stari Most (which gives the city its name) had been very publicly destroyed by gunfire. The bridge has since been lovingly and beautifully rebuilt.

To give us an idea of just how recently the war had finished, our guide informed us as he led us through the winding streets, that if we had been walking in this area just one week ago we would already have been shot dead by snipers. We were taken to Nikola and Sandra's church, where we took part in one of the most emotional services I have ever had the privilege to attend, and we were also able to meet some of the locals -- all the time filming segments to show back at the upcoming Spring Harvest conference.

 

One of the final elements of our visit was to play a special concert for hundreds of Mostar schoolkids -- who had to be bussed out of the city to Medugorje for security reasons. Once again, a very emotional night.

While back in England, TVB had recorded segments for a Spring Harvest youth CD which was also tied in to raising awareness for the situation in former Yugoslavia, and on our return to the UK, we were in a unique position to be able to share with the kids what was going on, and their response was amazing in terms of money raised.

TVB continued that year through June/July, but the rest of that year paled by comparison, although I do recall a week spent ministering at an exclusive girls' boarding school in the southern England town of Basingstoke, where one of the girls who reportedly made a commitment to Jesus that week was the daughter of Genesis star Mike Rutherford.

I committed to a second year with TVB, which would commence in September 1994. More about that next time.

Postscript: If you would like to read more about the Balkans war, the best author to check out is Misha Glenny. You could do a lot worse than try this book, which was written not long after the war ended. Glenny is a highly respected and experienced writer.

2011 and some loose ends

It's been a while since I was on here last. To be honest, I've been suffering from lack of motivation, as well as time, on the blog front, but I did want to assure you that I will be posting part 2 of the "YFC Years" piece soon. Haven't forgotten, but whereas some people love to write and do so very well, it is always a tremendous effort for me. (I was going to say it's like giving birth, but with so many mothers as my friends, including one very expectant one, I know they would beat me to a pulp for saying that!!).

I won't pretend that I am upset that 2010 is over. It was a year of waiting, and waiting, and frustration...and waiting, and I finished the year much as I started -- with my future in limbo -- but considerably more frustrated with myself at the way I handled what was certainly the toughest year spiritually I have ever had to face up to.

Clearly I want to do a better job dealing with the enemy's attacks in 2011, and to do that I need to deepen my relationship with God, first and foremost. I have had enough of people at my church saying what an amazing time with God/worship time/service they just had, while all I could do was stand there and say "I just felt like it was work".

Obviously it would be nice for a positive and speedy outcome to my visa status too, but I have learned over the years that what might seem to be sensible and clear to me isn't necessarily the way that God views things, so although I hope that this isn't another year of waiting and hiatus, I'm prepared for the fact that it could very well be that way, even if it is the last thing I would want.

So pray for me as I try and deal with circumstances that pretty much got on top of me last year. Pray that God will help turn things around, and that I won't be constantly frustrated with myself.

Thank you, and do be looking out for the rest of the YFC Years story...if I can remember to write it!!

And one more thing. Happy New Year.

Filling In The Blanks - The YFC Years 1

There are some days when there really is nothing to say, and there are other days when all you can think to do is blog about a visit to the dentist. I mean, how lame is THAT? Yeah, quite...

This morning it occurred to me that there might, just might be some people who would be interested in a little background of my brief musical career.

My parents were ardent classical music fans and heavily involved in music at my childhood church, which even they would probably agree was a pretty straight laced Anglican church. They tried to start my musical life on the piano but I was hopelessly unable to make both hands work independently -- those who know me can still attest to my inability to multi task -- so next they started me on the cello, which I kept at for 5 or 6 years. 

Only problem with the cello that it was very hard to carry around due to it's being so fragile (the bridge once snapped in half during a rehearsal), and frankly speaking, it was a terrible chick magnet, so as soon as I could, I picked up the electric bass.

I played for around 12 years in various worship bands, and had just returned from an 8-month spell as a youth worker in Mumbai, India when the opportunity to join Youth For Christ's itinerant schools' band TVB, arose.

I can't actually remember at this stage how it came about -- it may have been through a contact, the most likely reason -- but I remember feeling a little daunted at having to raise the $3000 personal support for the year, but it all came together.

TVB (The Vocal Band) was a band that spent maybe 8 months of the year on tour in schools and youth clubs, playing concerts, taking lessons, leading worship in churches etc. The band was -- I guess managed -- by Colin, a veteran of the Continentals singing group. Colin is now a U.S. based actor, and still a FB friend of mine whose most common phrase was "Know right now, there's no money". You get the picture. Zero budget! Anyway, Colin worked with us to get us sorted out that first year. learning the songs, figuring out just how we were going to do all this.

The music was cover versions. Christian songs with a message. The first of my 2 TVB years, the songs included hits by Michael W. Smith, Out Of The Grey, Kim Hill, Simply Red and even a Sister Act medley, I kid you not. We had about six weeks to learn the set by heart, along with how to teach school lessons, how to give your testimony, and stuff like that.

We were then pretty much unleashed on an unsuspecting nation, with a minibus for the team of ten and an equipment van -- a small poky red thing which we had to learn how to pack properly to avoid equipment damage. yes, we were our own roadies. How glamorous!

Of course, most of the learning process occurred on the road, but if I say so myself, this was a talented band, and we really sounded pretty good, especially when you bear in mind that school kids can spot a fake from a mile away. We had to be good at what we did.

During each of the two years I served, the band would spend several months at a time on the road, staying with host families, with the odd home break here and there to recharge. We also had a European tour as part of the year. year one we went to Denmark, and then later to Croatia (former Yugoslavia). 

My main memories of Denmark in January were that is was very expensive to buy anything, and absolutely FREEZING COLD (although I was taught how to drive on pack snow by a host in Copenhagen, which was pretty cool). All the school kids, and quite a lot of church priests seemed to smoke there, and we went to a pre-confirmation retreat where we were sad to discover that the kids were pretty much forced into it, and we were -- sad to say -- some of the coolest people they'd ever met: hard to believe, I know. We also stayed  in some quite horrible places (in one boarding school the kids smoked drugs and rioted while we stayed locked in what seemed to be cells in the cold). Happy days.

Croatia was just recovering from the effects of the Balkan War, and we arrived, thankfully in the spring, at quite a historic moment. More of that in the next installment!

The Valium Effect

Even after 3 years here in the States some cultural things take me a little by surprise. faced with the prospect of my second crown of the year, I was joking to my hygienist during my cleaning the week before, that it would be great if I could just be knocked out for the drill-fest. To my surprise, she said that I could always have a valium.

You should understand that in the UK, that kind of thing was not -- in my time anyway -- an option. Of course you got the anaesthetic (although you had to endure the injection without the numbing gel first), but nothing else was ever offered to me.

I was actually told that at one dentist office, they show movies on dvd for people, which would have been nice, but I was told that in addition to the valium, I could bring my iPod in and they wouldn't be insulted in the slightest if I listened to that as loud as I wanted to, while they butchered my mouth.

I suppose I should explain why I opted for the valium in the first place. I am not a coward, but I do have a problem with a gag reflex, while my tongue seems to have a mind of its own and wanders all over the place, generally getting in the way! The valium would at least make this less of a problem.

Anyway, the dentist prescribed one tablet - at a cost of $1.06 - to my pharmacy, and I took the tablet one hour before my date with destiny. Needless to say I had to be driven there and back (thanks Angie & Sue) and although beforehand as I sat in my living room I felt pleasantly relaxed, I can't say that I noticed a massive difference.

Overall I am definitely glad I went for it, and "pleasantly relaxed" would be a good summary of my state throughout the whole procedure - which was just as long as the previous one, but certainly not nearly as unpleasant. I was also grateful to Keith Urban, whose latest offering kept me happily distracted while the 2 girl tag drillers did their job.

All in all, while I wouldn't exactly say I could happily go through that every day, it was for sure a lot less strenuous than the last time!!

So there you go. A mundane posting maybe, but that's my life -- or as much of my life as I'm going to talk about right now!!!

I Will Carry You

Having recently discovered Angie Smith's wonderful "Bring The Rain" blog (see earlier postings on this blog to find out more) I have been reading her book which tells the story of Audrey in full, using excerpts from the blog at times.


It is a harrowing read.


But it is also a life affirming read. I never fail to be amazed at how Angie is able to maintain her humor through periods of extraordinary pain. At the same time, her honesty in expressing her feelings of doubt and abandonment that we all go through at some time, but because of our perceived need to appear superhuman "super-Christians" we tend to hide.


I am sure that people will experience peace and healing through Angie's words, and her frank acknowledgment that she is a work in progress. These days we need permission to struggle, to be vulnerable, to be anything less than on top of life.


How often do we look aside to people who are falling apart in front of us and thank our lucky stars that we are not as weak as they are. Truth is, we are all probably experiencing some level of turmoil, and maybe wishing we weren't going through it alone.


Anyway, back to the book. I won't sugar coat it and pretend it isn't heart wrenching, because it is. I won't promise you won't cry, because you probably will, but this is a book that NEEDED to be written both for Angie Smith's sake, and for the sake of countless unnamed others who need to be told it's okay to doubt, okay to weep and wail, okay to have a go at God.


Perhaps the most powerful thing that emerges from this story, is that a child can touch numerous lives, even if it only lives for a matter of hours. Audrey has reached and inspired more people in her 2 hours of life than maybe I have in my 46 years on this earth.


Now there's a challenge!

A New Take

We've been doing the beautiful song "Hosanna" by Brooke Fraser for some time now, but a friend of mine recently came across this version by the Lakewood, Houston guys, and I absolutely love it, especially the delicious guitar solo at the start. So...enjoy!