So, Ray Coster, the incoming moderator (he's like a Pope that we can exchange after two years) has chosen for his theme, 'Reviving the flame: Living in the power of His presence, and the presence of His power.'Ray's hope is that Christians can move beyond thinking of themselves as 'sinners' and start to understand that in Christ, we are 'saints' - God's children, God's beloved - whichever way you spin it, it's Good News!So I...
Read MoreRead MoreBenji Carey-Smith, based in the Hawkes Bay, but hailing from the hill suburbs of Dunedin is in the process of recording an album of worship songs. Benji has an incredible enthusiasm in his writing and worship leading, and having teamed up with Tom Mepham (another friend of the One Voice Project) the two have created a sound that is rich, full and carries heaps of momentum.Here's a snippet of a song called, 'Mighty Father'. Keep...
Read MoreRead MoreToday I went to the final lecture in a series by Rev Prof William Willimon, an American Methodist Bishop. I was made to read one of his books during my training to be a minister. I went back and read it again when I got out into the parish once I realised he knew what he was talking about.His final lecture was entitled 'The end of the world'. I hadn't paid much attention to the...
Read MoreRead MoreSome of you may have heard tell of changes afoot - most of you wont have, because there hasn't seemed a good time to announce it.For much of this year, we have struggled with our place in parish ministry and the calling and gifting we sense to some sort of music ministry. It really put us in a tale spin for a long time while we grappled with the ramifications of leaving a settled life,...
Read MoreRead MoreMatt Chapman, formerly of Detour180 and Seasons Pass, has signed on the produce the new record with Malcolm Gordon.Matt brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the project, as well as well-tuned songwriter nous. Malcs already has a list of 'fixes' to various songs to make them really fly.Re-writes are happening right now, with preproduction scheduled for late August and the main recording session for mid September.Sophie Macaulay has signed on to play cello,...
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I have been asked to lead worship at this year's General Assembly of the PCANZ (look it up) and the theme is 'Reviving the Flame'. Specifically we want to look at what it means to live in the light of Jesus' resurrection, to be people who are defined by God's redemptive work, rather than confined by our own limitations and frailties.Here's a song I hope to use at GA12 that was written by Natalie Yule...
Read MoreRead MoreFriend of the One Voice Project, Hannah van Dorp has written a stellar new song, 'Paper Balloons'.It's a song of hope. Hannah's voice sounds as ethereal as ever, with that gorgeous 'singing quietly so I don't wake my flatmate' quality. Beautiful work. ...
Read MoreRead More'Everyone' - that great worship song about the extravagant welcome of God's kingdom is currently sitting on top of the charts at Songsthatunite.com.au - a new site promoting homegrown music to the churches of Australasia. I'm super excited about this, and feel really encouraged that such a bold declaration of God's love and grace is resonating so clearly with people.As if that weren't enough, 'Break the bread' is #5 and 'Christ before me' is #6.And...
Read MoreRead MoreLast Sunday the lectionary gospel reading was Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4.I was reading a book by Mark Chapman, a minister up the road in Clevedon - writing on Jesus' call to the disciples, 'Come and I will make you fishers of men.'Mark reinterpreted that to speak about 'fishing in deep waters' for those 'out of their depths.' He wrote about our eagerness to stay in the shallows, and Jesus' eagerness to take...
Read MoreRead MoreHere's my sermon from a week or two after Easter Sunday...
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