Taking It Wherever It Goes

I was watching the DVD of Delirious? last concert the other night. The concert was in London back in November 2009 and was at times, not surprisingly, a pretty emotional affair. After 17 years of ministry, the British worship band were calling it a day and moving on to various other projects.

They leave behind a legacy of powerful, heartfelt songs that are being sung - and will continue to be sung for many years to come - around the globe. Watching the DVD I was struck at just how much the music of Delirious? has become associated with various stages of my life.

My first contact with them came back in around 1994 when I was asked by a musician friend, Simon Jones, to play bass on an album he was recording down on the South Coast of England. The producer was a guy called Tim Jupp, and over the course of the weekend he was telling us about this band he was a part of called "Cutting Edge" (yes, this was pre-Delirious? times) and how they were playing local youth events and had released these mini-album cassettes. At that time they had already released two cassettes, each of which contained 6 or 7 songs, the style of which was unlike most worship songs I'd ever heard.

Over the course of the sessions, one of our songs was too challenging for the drummer we had, so Tim made a phone call upstairs to an office where a graphic designer called Stewart Smith worked. Turns out he was also the drummer for this Cutting Edge band, and he came down to play on the song, and the two of us nailed it in maybe 2 takes. That was a huge blast, and even though I really didn't know who he was back then, I can tell you that I remember he played LOUD.

On those early Cutting Edge tapes were songs such as "Thankyou For Saving Me", "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever", "Lord You Have My Heart" and "The Crucible For Silver". Tim told me that they were just about to release a third tape, which I bought (mainly to be supportive to our producer!) along with the first two. On this tape was the fearless declaration of "I'm Not Ashamed", the beautiful (and still, as this blog has attested, relevant) "Find Me In The River" and the joyful "I've Found Jesus".

The tape began however with an extraordinary 9 and some minutes of something completely new and quite stunning - "Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?". From that point onwards, if there had been any doubt before, I was hooked. Cutting Edge "Fore" followed, with the pop sass of "Louder Than The Radio" and the still stirring "Obsession".

I decided I had to go down to see this band play on their home turf in Littlehampton, so one Sunday in either 1994 or 1995 when I knew they were doing an open-air event in their home town, I went down by myself to check it out. I actually encountered Martin Smith walking along the sea front before the event, which was everything I could have imagined; powerful, joyful, heartfelt and soul stirring.

Not long after, the band became Delirious?, went full-time and the rest is history. As a part of United Christian Broadcasters in the UK, I had the opportunity to work with Delirious? on a number of occasions in the years that followed, whether it was through radio interviews or the several times that UCB broadcast their concerts live.

It was quite a challenge to be responsible for mixing their show for radio broadcast and I vividly remember one particular show at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland that we broadcast live. The Show had just finished and UCB UK's Robbie Frawley and I were into our post-show broadcast in our Outside Broadcast truck, parked backstage just outside the hall when Martin Smith came straight to the truck, gave both of us a big bear-hug and gave us an impromptu interview.

The future looks varied for all the band, although I'd particularly advise keeping a very close eye on Stu G's and Jon's new band (together with Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury) One Sonic Society. They are already sounding really promising, and their song "Forever Reign" is yet another one of those songs I can easily see being sung for some years.

We will always have the songs of Delirious? with us, and of course God will continue to use them as powerful rallying tools for all generations to "Take It To The Streets".

On the Delirious? farewell tour last December, Martin was (and still is) fond of quoting the Latin phrase "Fabula est vestri" - The story is yours. An apt way to close one chapter, and an exciting starting point for a  new one.

You will most definitely find me in the river!

Regular readers will know that I am not able to talk about certain events going on in my life, but I can talk about the way that God is using circumstances to speak into my heart.

With God it's always true to say that everything happens for a reason, and more often than not, what does happen is the least expected outcome, but I can say with confidence that although things took an unexpected turn for me (and if you have no idea what I'm talking about, please email and ask and I'll be happy to tell you), God has really been using the last month or so to grab a hold of me.

I have no doubt that through all this I am closer to God, and have in fact felt the need to be for some time now. I have more determination to get to know Him better, and am consequently facing up to more efforts by the enemy to thwart this. Most importantly I have been placed in a position where I simply cannot do anything in my own power to change my own situation. It is entirely 100% up to God and my job is just to get on with life and trust that if He wants me here, then He can and will make it happen. Some days that is an easy thing for me to do, and some days it is not so easy, but either way it is all I can do.

One other consequence of all this is that I have realized afresh that I have the best friends anyone could ask for. This select group of people - who I hope will know who they are - adopted me when I first came over, and have become family to me. Their love, support, friendship and prayers have blessed me more than they will ever know, and I love them all deeply. Sometimes you take for granted those who are right in front of you, so I want to publicly acknowledge these special people, with whom I have laughed, rejoiced, cried and lived life.

The Delirious? song "Find Me In The River" is one I've always loved but not one I really ever imagined I'd be able to apply directly to my situation, but to quote the song:

"We didn't count on suffering
We didn't count on pain
But if the blessing's in the valley
Then in the river I will wait."

Why I now hate Argos

Today I saw Clash of the Titans, and now I hate Argos! Here is a perfect example of cultural differences, because any British person who's seen the movie is already likely to know EXACTLY what I am talking about, and will probably need to read no more; so the rest of this blog will be mainly for my American friends.
Before I go any further, I should point out that the movie is a lot of fun, and worth checking out, however, it was RUINED for me by the aforesaid cultural differences.
Let me explain. In the movie, a lot of the action is set in the mythical city of Argos. In the UK, Argos is the largest general-goods retailer, with some 750 stores, using  in-store catalogues to browse and select purchases. In other words, a household name.

So every time I heard the word used - such as "We've got to save Argos" "Argos is under attack" etc. etc. try as I might, I could not stop myself sniggering.
Think of it this way, American peeps; it's like instead of Argos, you hear Walmart or Best Buy, or maybe Costco. Same thing. I bet you'd laugh too!
Anyway, aside from that rather large problem, it was an enjoyable enough movie, but with rather more comedy for me than the makers had maybe intended.

A Prayer that speaks into my situation

A new friend posted this prayer on her blog some time back. I was struck by how much it mirrors where I am in my journey right now. I hope it brings you encouragement or perhaps challenge....

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.  Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

-From Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton

Going Underground

Much to my disappointment, but for entirely understandable reasons, I've been advised to be very careful what I say online at this present time.
Those who know me well will know why this is, but to those who don't, let's just say that I am in the midst of a big fight right now.
I find it sad that you really cannot be sure just who is reading postings these days and what their motives might be for doing so. Maybe I am being naive and it has always been like this, but whatever, I have been advised to keep pretty quiet and so that is what I am going to do.
Another reason for my disappointment is that I really enjoy blogging, but I think I'm on fairly safe ground if I talk for the time being about probably my favourite TV show.
I don't know what it is you look for in the ideal TV show, but I have always seen good TV as that which entertains and informs. Sadly these days those kind of programmes are few and far between, since the lowest common denominator that pleases the masses now consists mainly of sex, scandal, the supernatural and endless reality shows.
"Who Do You Think You Are?" is reality TV alright, but reality TV of an utterly compelling nature.
You get to follow a variety of celebrities as they take a journey back in time to investigate long forgotten or simply unknown branches of their family tree. In the process their journeys often take the most unexpected of turns.
The show started life in the UK some 6-7 years ago and has been brought to the US by a team that includes actress Lisa Kudrow, who was the subject of one of the shows. Season one follows Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker (and later in the series, husband Matthew Broderick) movie director Spike Lee, actresses Brooke Shields and Susan Sarandon, and Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith.
All are fascinating in their own way, and as such, well worth seeing, but apart from the lack of unsavoury elements you see in so much TV nowadays, WDYTYA inspires viewers to get involved themselves in delving into their past. I and several other people I know have already been doing this, and I can trace my family line back to the 1600s in England. My friend Jenna -- clearly descended from Viking stock -- can trace hers back to the 11th century, while my friend Krystle has made exciting discoveries about her forbears here in the US. It's a lot of fun on ancestry.com
Check out Who Do You Think You Are (a second season has been commissioned), and then have a look at your own family history. You may just get a few surprises, and learn a little more about what makes you the way you are.

Pear Blossomation

For those who are unaware of the significance of Pear Blossom, it really marks the start of Spring in the Rogue Valley.
The day starts with early morning runs/walks and then at 11am, the main parade through Medford's downtown.
For the last 2 years I've been a part of theDove's float, but this year we had started talking at the Naz about whether we could get the band on a float for Pear Blossom. After batting it around, we found that the personnel were available, and thanks to the genius of Joe Bettis and a crew of technical marvels, we found ourselves at a local lock-up on Friday  night, soundchecking for the parade, which would serve as the first real advertising we have done for Saturday nights at Naz.
As you can see from the pictures, the technical marvels had also rigged up a really neat gazebo thing which was chiefly designed to protect from any rain, but which also came in useful as a sun shield, as it turned out. Final touches were added to the float at 7.30am Saturday, just as Pastor Trevor was coming 4th in in the run for his age bracket - and first among Central Point runners in that bracket, so in my book, he's a winner. His sister-in-law came 20th out of around 400 girls, which is probably not a huge surprise to those of us who know her!
By 8.30am, the float was parked up in place in the holding area with a band consisting of keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums and bass, along with 5 vocalists, complete with our own on-board sound engineer. It wasn't as cold as forecast, but still very brisk, especially for guitar strings etc. so plenty of retuning was needed. We ran through a few songs as we waited for the off, which would be well after 11am as we were right at the back of the parade. By the time we pulled away at around noon, we'd played quite a bit and the conditions were warmer, with some sporadic sun.
As we got under way and started to encounter the people lining the route, the reaction seemed very positive. As far as we were aware, we were possibly the only live band apart from the various marching bands, and people seemed really into the music,  and not just those we saw from our church. A surprising number of people we saw seemed to know the words of the songs we were doing.
The setlist was kept upbeat, with what outside of worship would be called "crowd pleasers". Lincoln Brewster's "Everybody Praise The Lord", "All To You" and "Give Him Praise", New Life Church's "Mighty King Of Love", Chris Tomlin's "Sing Sing Sing", Jesus Culture Redding's "Your Love Never Fails" and Tim Hughes' "Happy Day". I think we probably played some of those songs six or seven times by the time we had finished, so we had the arrangements pretty much down.
Judging by the reactions, I think it was a very successful thing to do, and well worth all the effort. At our 6pm service later, Pastor Grinder reported that 8 or 9 people had come after seeing the band playing in the Pear Blossom.

One final story to report. A guy who was marshaling floats in the holding area came up to us after we'd been running through some songs. He was interested in where the church was and talked about maybe coming to check out a service. His comment was "We're gonna have to pull you out of the parade......cuz you're too AWESOME!!".

Reflections on Prayer Day

As expected, yesterday's Dove Day of Prayer was hectic from start to finish with well over 300 emails and phone calls taken between 6am and 6pm.

It is strange how draining something as seemingly simple as prayer can be, but the truth is that you are making an emotional and spiritual connection with God every time, and especially when praying on the air, we have to be so careful not to give out any names, or to give away too much about a particular situation that someone is able to guess who it involves.

That said, I was moved by how - after having prayed with people over the phone - it really sounded in their voices as if a huge weight had been lifted. Maybe I ought to pray more for those I know and love, since it costs me nothing but can be such a massive encouragement, just to know someone cares and is trying to understand.

It was encouraging to be joined in the studio yesterday by two great men of prayer, Pastor David Grinder from First Church of the Nazarene here in Medford - my home church - and Pastor Ron Timen from Rivergate in Ashland (who, as it turns out, is a huge fan of the Motown backing band, the Funk Brothers, and like me, a big fan of the legendary James Jamerson, so we had plenty to talk about in down moments).

Now comes the excitement of awaiting news of how God has been answering all those prayers, because he is and he will, in his own time.  I look forward to sharing encouraging news of answered prayer. In the meantime, don't forget the National Day of Prayer on May 6th.