They spoke transparent phrases to looking glass women
And they took the detours that scattered the way
They departed from summer like two ragged soldiers
Dragging their heels through their fantasies
There were meals in the missions for two frozen statues
And long draughty sermons devouring their knees
Sometimes passions in winter turn to cold soundless moments
That teared in the eyes of their fantasies
There were nights on park benches, stale bread for the pigeons
Good mornings to faces who just turned away
And on one road confusion, the other desire
So they took to the road of their fantasies
One would speak of a lake where he used to go swimming
The other had no memories left for his mind
With their arms round each other the two ragged soldiers
Laughed through a war that they couldn't see
Laughed for a world filled with fantasy
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Braveheart - the most stupid film ever
I have said, for many years, that Braveheart is an awful film. Truly an embarrassment. I was reminded of this by an article on its historical inaccuracies.....and as for its crowning notion that Wallace dies for "freedom". What freedom is that exactly? They were peasants ruled over by greedy kings, both Scottish and English. For example, if you were in prison and the prison governor changed from a Englishman to Scotsman you would not be shouting "freedom". Horrid, horrid, stupid film.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
The Transfiguration
When he took the three disciples
to the mountainside to pray,
his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame.
Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came;
they were at his side.
The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.
Then there came a word
of what he should accomplish on the day.
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place.
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade.
They fell on the ground.
A voice arrived, the voice of God,
the face of God, covered in a cloud.
What he said to them,
the voice of God: the most beloved son.
Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come.
The prophecy was put to death,
was put to death, and so will the Son.
And keep your word, disguise the vision till the time has come.
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Have no fear! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Turn your ear!
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Lamb of God! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Son of God!
to the mountainside to pray,
his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame.
Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came;
they were at his side.
The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.
Then there came a word
of what he should accomplish on the day.
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place.
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade.
They fell on the ground.
A voice arrived, the voice of God,
the face of God, covered in a cloud.
What he said to them,
the voice of God: the most beloved son.
Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come.
The prophecy was put to death,
was put to death, and so will the Son.
And keep your word, disguise the vision till the time has come.
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Have no fear! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Turn your ear!
Lost in the cloud, a voice: Lamb of God! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Son of God!
Friday, 25 July 2008
The Fat and Bloated Kings of TIny Little Kingdoms
I have spoken on my blog many times about the positive reasons why I want to base all my ministry in the local church - and only be accountable to its leadership. I believe it to be a healthier and more obedient path. The local church is the best qualified steward to ensure the worship of God is handled in a way that honours Him.
For 10 years I published my songs and released records with some great people. Many men and women who love God and whose greatest desire is to resource the church. In 2001 when Kingsway and Survivor formalised their ties with EMICMG and the Sparrow Group, I can remember sitting in an “artists” meeting with many of our new American partners. I’d been to a handful of artist meetings before, they tended to be a good chance to meet up with all those who worked for Kingsway and who were working hard for your ministry. It was also a great opportunity to meet the other songwriters and musicians who also were connected to the label.
From 2001 onwards these meetings took a different tone. Our first encounter with our American partners greatly troubled me. We spent an hour looking at sales figures, streams of revenue and market strategies. We listened to a few speeches on how important we all were to EMICMG and they would reassure us that they were “all about the songs”. Which in the Christian Publishing world translates in to “songs make money”.
I can remember sitting there and inside I was screaming “IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BLOODY SONGS!”. I was desperate for someone to talk about the church in terms that didn’t make it the market, or the consumers, of our products. I longed for someone to talk about building the Kingdom or about the Glory of God. It never came. Then towards the end of the day I was astounded when they started to pull out gold, silver and platinum discs to hand out to those writers whose songs had appeared on the biggest selling albums.
Every year after that the same patterned followed. We would meet up in a country mansion conference centre. Meet and greet all the American partners, who grew fatter and fatter year on year. A few tedious speeches about how important all the song writers were - though some are clearly more important than others. A look at the previous years sales figures and a review of how many Dove Awards the group had been nominated for and had won. This was then followed by the now customary handing out of Gold Discs for contributions to compilation albums. Once again the people entrusted with God’s worship were forming objects out of gold and silver - the Old Testament irony seemed to be lost on everyone else.
At some point I’d get to meet a few of the senior executives and they’d tell me what great talent I had and how important I was to them (ie. I needed to write better songs) and they would say how they were watching my progress keenly (ie. I seriously had to write some money making songs soon). The whole thing left me feeling sick and confused. From the first class travel and the five star accommodation to the ever bulging waist lines it left a sour taste and an unwanted impression.
Were these the people whom I trusted with owning and managing my songs? Were these people really the stewards of God’s worship that they should be? I never experienced any deep sense of spiritual integrity or humble obedience. Not that it wasn’t there - but I didn’t see it.
The modern worship movement/industry/kingdom (whatever you want to call it) is sick and its fat and its lazy and its greedy. It is full to the brim of good and gifted people who absolutely love God - yet many of whom are totally blind to its shortcomings and misdirection. They see no incongruence with businesses that deal in God’s worship. They are self seeking because they have to be. That is the nature of business. There are bills to pay and salaries to provide. Projects can’t break even they have to make profit. Markets have to be explored. Revenue streams created and absorbed. They have no choice because their livelihoods, families and mortgages depend on it.
Yet that doesn’t seem quite right, does it?
Jeshurun put on weight and bucked;
you got fat, became obese, a tub of lard.
He abandoned the God who made him,
he mocked the Rock of his salvation.
They made him jealous with their foreign newfangled gods,
and with obscenities they vexed him no end.
They sacrificed to no-god demons,
gods they knew nothing about,
The latest in gods, fresh from the market,
gods your ancestors would never call "gods."
You walked out on the Rock who gave you your life,
forgot the birth-God who brought you into the world.
Deut 32:15-18
For 10 years I published my songs and released records with some great people. Many men and women who love God and whose greatest desire is to resource the church. In 2001 when Kingsway and Survivor formalised their ties with EMICMG and the Sparrow Group, I can remember sitting in an “artists” meeting with many of our new American partners. I’d been to a handful of artist meetings before, they tended to be a good chance to meet up with all those who worked for Kingsway and who were working hard for your ministry. It was also a great opportunity to meet the other songwriters and musicians who also were connected to the label.
From 2001 onwards these meetings took a different tone. Our first encounter with our American partners greatly troubled me. We spent an hour looking at sales figures, streams of revenue and market strategies. We listened to a few speeches on how important we all were to EMICMG and they would reassure us that they were “all about the songs”. Which in the Christian Publishing world translates in to “songs make money”.
I can remember sitting there and inside I was screaming “IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BLOODY SONGS!”. I was desperate for someone to talk about the church in terms that didn’t make it the market, or the consumers, of our products. I longed for someone to talk about building the Kingdom or about the Glory of God. It never came. Then towards the end of the day I was astounded when they started to pull out gold, silver and platinum discs to hand out to those writers whose songs had appeared on the biggest selling albums.
Every year after that the same patterned followed. We would meet up in a country mansion conference centre. Meet and greet all the American partners, who grew fatter and fatter year on year. A few tedious speeches about how important all the song writers were - though some are clearly more important than others. A look at the previous years sales figures and a review of how many Dove Awards the group had been nominated for and had won. This was then followed by the now customary handing out of Gold Discs for contributions to compilation albums. Once again the people entrusted with God’s worship were forming objects out of gold and silver - the Old Testament irony seemed to be lost on everyone else.
At some point I’d get to meet a few of the senior executives and they’d tell me what great talent I had and how important I was to them (ie. I needed to write better songs) and they would say how they were watching my progress keenly (ie. I seriously had to write some money making songs soon). The whole thing left me feeling sick and confused. From the first class travel and the five star accommodation to the ever bulging waist lines it left a sour taste and an unwanted impression.
Were these the people whom I trusted with owning and managing my songs? Were these people really the stewards of God’s worship that they should be? I never experienced any deep sense of spiritual integrity or humble obedience. Not that it wasn’t there - but I didn’t see it.
The modern worship movement/industry/kingdom (whatever you want to call it) is sick and its fat and its lazy and its greedy. It is full to the brim of good and gifted people who absolutely love God - yet many of whom are totally blind to its shortcomings and misdirection. They see no incongruence with businesses that deal in God’s worship. They are self seeking because they have to be. That is the nature of business. There are bills to pay and salaries to provide. Projects can’t break even they have to make profit. Markets have to be explored. Revenue streams created and absorbed. They have no choice because their livelihoods, families and mortgages depend on it.
Yet that doesn’t seem quite right, does it?
Jeshurun put on weight and bucked;
you got fat, became obese, a tub of lard.
He abandoned the God who made him,
he mocked the Rock of his salvation.
They made him jealous with their foreign newfangled gods,
and with obscenities they vexed him no end.
They sacrificed to no-god demons,
gods they knew nothing about,
The latest in gods, fresh from the market,
gods your ancestors would never call "gods."
You walked out on the Rock who gave you your life,
forgot the birth-God who brought you into the world.
Deut 32:15-18
Friday, 18 July 2008
Ready for the Inevitable
From that first time I flicked on to God TV and saw the pictures from Lakeland and tangibly felt God's presence I have been Pro-Todd Bentley. Certainly not everything he says or does or how he says and does them. But absolutely convinced that God was at work through him and that there were things I needed to learn from his ministry.
There are many blog posts out there devoted to criticising Bentley and the Lakeland meetings. Many of the criticisms are right and well founded but equally many are from those who would have had a problem with Jesus and the disciples methods of ministry if they had been blogging 2000 years ago. But I'm certainly on the 'Pro' side of the debate.
Yet over the last few weeks I have been preparing myself for the inevitable and the unavoidable.
I am going to get let down.
Not by God - of course not, He still is unimaginably good and gracious - but by Todd Bentley. He will get things wrong. He will make mistakes. He will disappoint me.
30 people raised from the dead - yet there remains, over 100 days into these meetings, little evidence. Not that I don't think they happened - but they are not coming good with the evidence I'd like to see. Equally for many of the incredible miracles that are happening, there is surprisingly little evidence to back up most claims. I still think God healed these people - but some undeniable medical evidence would be helpful for us all!
The thing to remember about this (and I've been saying this from when I first saw it) is that it was never about Todd Bentley or Roy Fields or David 'Ben Affleck' Tomberlin or Fresh Fire Ministries. It is about the power AND the grace of our God to heal, restore and radically change lives.
I never even thought it was about Lakeland. When a window of opportunity came and went to go to Florida, I was gutted about what I was missing out on. But now I wouldn't go, because I don't want to miss what God is doing Cheltenham for anything.
He has reminded us suddenly and forcefully of who we are as His Church and what we are called to do. He has awoken us to the important things we had forgotten and is making us strong and sharp for the battle ahead.
Storms are coming. There coming within the environment, economics and social fabric of our globalised society. I'm not a doom and gloom merchant - but you don't have to be Isaiah to work out that things are getting more than a little bit shaky.
God has woken His Church. He is filling us up. He sorting us out.
dg
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Nothing to Fear
Well here it is:
Glory!
dg
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