Evening all.
I'm going to try to squeeze something coherent out, though the alarm is optimistically set for 9am, for starting the revision early in order to picnic on the Vale with some of the best people around tomorrow lunchtime.
Things are grand and groovy, revision happening, sometimes sporadically, but have a lot of peace about the exams and extremely pleased to be back in Brum for, amongst other things:
-Catching up with some very lovely people whom I love....(Flowers remain optional).
-Getting stuck in with the youth group and settling back into Oasis
-Jamming in the house with some top movers, Messers Taylor, Miller and (in spirit) Dickens busting some moves that are seldom seen there, especially on Latin night.
-Seeing United progress to the final in style
-Seeing Chelsea fail to progress to the final in style, and seeing the reaction friends' reactions.(read:friend singular, ie Mr. Strain)
-Shocking my body into (and swiftly out of) a football tournament.
-Worms, Fifa and Pro Evo battles
-Far too much bacon.
All in all; life is grand, balanced, and thankfully being increasingly focussed on the one who matters in everything that goes on.
It's been a while...apologies...I finally found the catalyst to sort this post out and bind it together though.
It begins with some fresh-faced young chaps from Sheffield, that cheeky bunch, The Gentlemen. Their first outing, 'Smile back at me' was the was (and indeed remains) my favourite indie/breakbeat album full stop- a rare achievement to lure me away from straight up rock.
It has a diversity across genres that new bands rarely exhibit, and an honesty in the lyrics that weaves faith, relationships and personal reflection together under a funky, well produced album. Top marks for being unique, relateable, and evidently committed to getting truth into the tunes.
Their sophomore album came out a few days ago, ambitiously titled 'A Candid History of Faith, Hope, Love'.
I have been looking forward to this album for a good few years and have to say that my expectations have been met and exceeded. The above recipe has been largely unchanged, but there's nothing wrong with that, and the boldness of the title and cover art are warranted.
Upon the first few listens, a few tracks stand out from an excellent bunch;
'Unique', which is musically compelling- guitars are layered and a synth adds atmosphere, building to a rousing, rocky outro. It talks of our uniqueness as individuals, and then, for the most part, lifts its gaze higher and acknowledges God's ultimate uniqueness, wherein one can have trust in Him to the point of saying: "break me and make me everything you want me to be".
The second that stands out is 'Protest Music'.
These guys don't shy away from bold and emotive titles, and yet again, this doesn't disappoint.
Musically, it's definitely a song that I'm prone to head-bop and stomp to during the verse and allow it to progress into jumping and wild head swinging and air-drumming in the chorus.
But it's some of the lyrics of the song that grab hold of me:
"Wanna know a loving nation, wanna see a people free,
Wanna be a new creation, want to hear a symphony,
Now I don't want pornography all over MTV,
I don't need a magazine to tell me who to be.
This is my protest music, this is my protest song
I don't have all the answers, but I see some things are wrong
Wanna hang out with my parents,
I've still got so much to learn,
What a privilege to raise children,
I can't wait 'til it's my turn
So I don't need your teenage angst or rage against the air,
Because I care about my g-g-g-generation, but also value theirs.
What's the point in acting sexy when you say you're after love?
I couldn't care less if you're flexy, set your eyes on things above,
I don't want your underwear, no, please don't come backstage,
All I want's a wife that cares who loves me through old age."
It addresses some of the things that I struggle with and see wrong with the world, and a catchy, poppy song is a seemingly innocuous place where truth and peaceful rebellion against worldly ways can wriggle into consciousness.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers suggest that 'music is the great communicator'.
They certainly have a point...music is incredibly effective to get a message across, and it is about the things in the song, amongst others, that we should be protesting about in our own ways.
However, in a more general sense, the rebellious U-turn against the world comes in the way that we live every day, once we spend time with God and realise why we're trying to do things differently.
I've been reading the letters to Timothy lately, and this verse (2Tim 1:7, TM) hits me:
'God doesn't want us to be shy with His gifts, but bold and loving and sensible'
This is a fantasitc marrying of three essentials in all ministry.
The blueprint seems to be uncompromising conviction and faith in His sufficiency, speaking out with confidence because of His (and therefore our) love for others, communicating in a relevant, sensitive way that isn't small minded, judgemental or alienating*, which, tragically and somewhat bizarrely, is the way that a Gospel of immeasurable grace, forgiveness and love sometimes comes across as.
Oh...my heartfelt prayer is that I become a man that shares God and his gifts in that bold, loving and sensible way.
But I have to ask myself;
How infrequently do I achieve all three of these at the same time?
In an attempt to be helpful and do things from a place of love, I'm frequently not sensible, I'm insensitive and tactless.
Or I do things out of duty without love.
Or in a chronic bout of cowardice, I use 'sensibleness' as an excuse as I fail to be bold and speak out about how amazing He is.
I really want to do the things He's told us to do and bless others with the gifts He gives, but sometimes I can't seem to connect all the dots at the same time by myself...
The big lesson I'm beginning to learn is that Jesus is as sufficient to help me do this as He is to forgive me and save me.
He brings the balance between these things (boldness, love and sensibleness) along with the gifts themselves in order for them to be effective and helpful.
Like pretty much everything that Jesus taught, (preaching the gospel, loving the Father and our neighbours, having faith, even being perfect) we don't just get an instruction to 'do' or 'be' them ourselves, we don't even just get the gifts, but we get the capacity from Him to be able to 'do' and 'be' them and use the gifts properly for Him.
He doesn't leave us stranded. He doesn't abandon us with just an instruction manual.
He comes along side and teaches us on the job, like an apprentice being shown how to use the tools of a master-craftsman by the main man himself.
It's tough to reach that place and stay there though- I've found that selfishness and pride make even ministry about us; it becomes our work, our responsibility, our little Gospel projects, and often our failure, frustration and guilt when our own driven endeavours come to nothing...."why isn't my friend saved yet?"..."why doesn't that work?"..."why is living as a Christian such a slog sometimes?"....
All these are questions that have come into my head, and stepping back to observe what I'm doing and why I'm doing them allow me to reach the following crossroad:
The paradigm shift we have to make is from 'we should do good things because that's just what Christians do, and evangelism is a tiresome and frustrating activity' to 'it is a mindbending privilege to be working within God's plan, He's the reason and source of all our efforts of evangelism, encouragement and edification. Out of gratefulness and love for Him, because of what He's done and who He is, I'll allow Him to teach me and help me, knowing that as I step out, His grace is unending, so as an 'apprentice' who will inevitably make mistakes, there is no guilt or condemnation. He is the author of the salvation plan, His timing is perfect, and I will trust in that.'
So, I urge myself to live boldly, lovingly and sensibly, trusting Him for all that I need, and for all sorts of gifts to be given to be used in the ways He wants.
*A word on the aforementioned lack of tact and overly judgemental attitudes.
It worries me that some Christians subconsciously (and even consciously) expect others that haven't been saved to adhere to a way of living we seldom attain (and when we do, only managing because of God's grace). If unbelievers feel like we are looking down on them from a moral high horse, rather than feeling loved and welcomed, then we are scarcely being Christ-like.
For example, if I criticise drunkenness in my non-Christian friends, (them knowing that I don't drink much) they quite understandably would feel affronted, and are far less likely to be open to anything I have to say, even if it is about love and grace and freedom.
It takes a lot of wisdom and trust to know how to approach each person and each situation so that the Gospel can be explained effectively.
But the encouragement is again that it's His Gospel, not ours, His work, not ours, grace is SO BIG, and He helps us to be bold, loving and sensible in our conversations, so let's be on the lookout to remain open, welcoming and loving rather than introvert, cliquey and legalistic.
I shall probably take a break for a few weeks now that exams are nearly on top of me.
Loving some truth in 1 and 2 Peter right now, we'll see where that leads another time.
Until then, let's keep living deeply and simply.
Take care amigos.
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