Switch

This may seem abrupt, but it isn't. Not to us anyway.

Some will have read the last 5 months of posts and status updates and listened to comments and will not be surprised at what follows. Some will be like the guy I followed out of the cinema after the 'Six Sense' who was telling his girlfriend that he had totally got the twist from the beginning...of course you did.

Hol and I recently spent an evening recounting what we've been through in the last few years and, quite frankly, I was shocked! Yet we're still here, and God wants to make sense of it all. He's great like that.

It's a truth that, when you give your life to God and ask Him to lead you, He has the uncanny ability of taking you up on the offer.

So, one Sunday morning in September, God stirred both of us. That moment has, eventually, led us to the decision to leave Oak Grove Chapel, after nine years, and head over to Gateway Vineyard. It's time to switch.

This is about who we are in Christ; as individuals, as a married couple, as parents and as a family. I really don't know where we're going and what the rest of the year will be like, but I'm looking forward to it!

We've learnt a lot about community and community engagement at OG and it feels good to be leaving OG for good reasons, even if it does mean leaving some very good people. I like to think that God has that covered.

This Sunday, 21st February 2010 is our last 'official' Sunday at OG and I'll be playing. So, if you want to see me drum for that last time at OG then....don't come. Find a better reason to go to church!

Prophesy

Prophesy is scary, prophesy is challenging, prophesy can be misused, it is often mis-trusted and avoided. It is biblical and a gift from God.

I've just spent a bit of time with some of the other ministry leaders at OG and Keith Hazel, a prophet from Calgary, Alberta Canada.

It's amazing how we single out prophesy and intersession as 'scary gifts' but seem happy with hospitality and helps (comfort zone anyone?) We simply rate these things wrong and we miss out when we do.

Keith talked about being accountable to the bible and how prophesy must be in line with what the Word says. Good stuff. He also referred to Jacob in Genesis as a good example of biblical prophesy. In Gen 49, Jacob blesses his sons. The same sons that became the twelve tribes of Israel. A brief look at Benjamin shows how prophesy can, and should be tracked.

Gen 49:27

27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder."

When you think of the famous Benjamites the name Saul has to be the one; both King Saul and apparently Saul of Tarsus (Paul.) Prophesy and response/result. Prophesy has most power on the back of a successful prophesy. So we need to be regularly practicing this gift if it is to have the most effect.

Tonight this modern day prophet prophesied. The detail and the accuracy means he is either genuine or an exceptional trickster (and I know what I think.)

He gave about seven prophesies and though we will have to wait to see the impact of them, I believe they will have an effect.

As one of them was about me, I'm looking forward to seeing it for myself!

Re-evaluate Church

So, I wouldn't be the first to suggest that we should re-evaluate church.

How we see church and what we think church should be, should be in line with what we believe, but how many of us have really thought about it?

Especially those of us who believe we should be living for God beyond the end of the Sunday morning church service.

I struggle with leading Worship. Initially it was because I was exploring the whole 'Worship is a lifestyle' thing (yes, back to that again) and I needed to break out of the 'Worship = Music = Worship' trap. Beyond that there will (and should) be issues of worthiness and rightness before God. I'd flip around and keep coming back to the priviledge and responsibility that being a Lead Worshipper is. I knew I was missing something but I was caught in a thought process that was never going to change until I actually [i]thought[/i] about it. I am reminded of something Marcus Buckingham talked about at the GLS; the importance of asking the right question (that's a real learing point; if you are struggling with a question and you just can't seem to get an answer, make sure that you are asking the right quetion.)

Today it hit me.

I need to re-evaluate where church fits in to my theology and I haven't yet. Not that I want to discard church; not in the least. The implication though, is that if Worship, or as I'd prefer to phrase it 'following Jesus' is more than just church, then I can't move on fully to everything else God has for me until I downgrade or move my 'Sunday Service' to where it should be.

I don't think I have very far to go. I don't think it has anything to do with the church I go to either. Just, in the same way that my understanding of prayer has changed radically in the last week, that my thinking needs to shift. I couldn't even tell you what I need to change, just that I need to let God expand my thinking.

I'm getting very 'Big Picture' these days. I don't know where that's leading.

I Need A Bigger Brain

I have too much in it and I have listened to so much high quality teaching that I think will make a difference to me, that I don't want to forget anything.

Steve Chalk:

Your Christology should define your Misology (sp) which should then shape and define your Ecclesiology. That is, what you know about Christ should define how you will deal with Mission. How you deal with Mission will shape what your expression of church looks like.

If you want that explained properly, please buy Steve Chalks book 'Intelligent Church' publish by Zondervan, I believe.

For me tonight's meeting was an endorsement of what we are doing at OG.
Not that I think we are perfect, but I believe that God is moving and that we want to follow.

Steve went on to say that too often we run the process backward which leads to a potential to be very damaging. Imagine, you decide that at church, you cannot drink, be scruffy or have noisy children, you must only read the authorised bible and certainly not question the churches interpretation. Some of you have been to that church (I jest.)

Now what would that churches mission look like? Would it really serve the poor? or would it serve that church? What kind of Jesus would that show?

Perhaps that's a little simplistic, but it does show how dangerous getting things in the wrong order could be.

As a couple of throwaways, knowing that Steve does not like to be controversial....

Jesus never said "Worship Me".



He actually said "Follow Me". An interesting difference I think.

Oak Grove Opens...

...well, officially anyway.

I don't really want to write much, as it's not an end in itself, but our symbolic move from the chapel building to the school meeting hall was completed today.

People from all ages of of OG came to join the march up the road. We stopped the traffic (not traffik!) and were joined by a jazz band, some PCSO's and the police!

See the forthcoming Network Norwich news story for more of the 'what happened' stuff (when it's written.)

Steve Chalk helped us celebrate at the school and then we had....food! True to type then.

A big thank you goes to God for teaching us about community, giving us opportunities and relationships to explore and invest in and choosing to use us, when he could very well do better on his own.

WCA GLS - WOW!

The 8 sessions of the 2007 Global Leadership Summit have come and gone (well the Norwich ones have. More UK summits are happening in a couple of weeks time.)

I feel like I am over-flowing with thoughts, quotes and ideas. All of the either very challenging or just very good. That's on top of the great holiday we had and then not seeing my girls for 2 days!

I am again convinced that there is no better Leadership training of this kind. I have lots of things to go back over and process and if I don't, I will be missing out.

Some quotes/thoughts:

"People don't always have to have their way, they just need to have it considered" Bill Hybels

"Passion can blind you to the truth" Carly Fiorina

"Build on your strengths and work around your weaknesses" Marcus Buckingham

"People are not our greatest assets" Marcus Buckingham
"People's strengths are our greatest assets" Marcus Buckingham
"Your purpose in life is not to grow in to someone else, but to become more of who you already are" Marcus Buckingham

"Leadership is...dissapointing people at a rate they can handle!" John Ortberg

'Good causes and valued people deserve inspired leadership' Bill Hybels (paraphrase)

Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit

IT's here!

The prep is done (well most of it.)
The chairs are set.
The table is laid.

I'm really looking forward to tommorrow morning (even if I do have a really early start) Not least because the day starts with bacon sandwiches for the team (I hope the veggies will have something provided for them.)

In particular I think I'm looking forward to hearing what Richard Curtis and Colin Powell have to say and especially Jon Ortberg. That said, I'm there to serve, so who knows what I'll be able to take in.

More later (I suspect)

Network Norwich Coverage of Oak Grove

Follow this link, which includes a photo (if you look carefully, you can see me!)

The Big Move - Part 5

The final part!

No more waiting, no more wondering!

Today was the first time that OG has met in the new hall. All of the elements that make us us were there, including a coffee machine in the hall to keep the setup team going!

We crammed in a large amount things though! Notices, annointing and blessing of the Savorys (not on the running order, oh dear...) music, preach, response/music, dedication and commissioning of our new youth worker!

The sound settled a lot with 218 people (!) in the room, but it's still nowhere near being good enough for me.

The kit really is good and the volume coverage is very even. I got the chance to push a bit of volume and the whole thing held out OK, but the acoustics really are bad. On that, NPS have taken responsibility for the poor acoustics and will be adding acoustic treatment to the hall. Hooray!! and Hallelujah!

No idea when or to what extent, but it should be quite noticable.

Lots of things happened that I have no idea about. Creche, junior church (CHIMPS) and ETC all met (somewhere,) catering did it's job, the 'admin desk' was running with the new info boards (which I need to look at) and the stewards did a great job stewarding.

All that said, I'm not really thinking about the sound and the rest of it. I think I will as the feedback from the rest of the church dribbles in, but for now I'm thinking more about the situation we are now in.

We had more people in that hall than we ever have had, or could fit, at the old chapel. We have taken a stand in the heart of the school for God. I feel integrated in to the surroundings, rather that just a visitor. God has delivered. 'We' did it. So, what's next?

(No photos, no camera!)

The Big Move - Part 4

This morning is the first time Oak Grove has met at the new hall. In fact it was about 5m from it! If it helps, the power supply was in the hall...

Meeting outside worked really well. The sun shone and the Son shone.

I really wish I knew how many people were there. From where I was mixing, all I could see was people, all seated 'in the round'. In preparation for the new school's new term, I think it was good to praise God and ask Him to bless all that happens on the site. There is a sense of community and shared ownership, that I really like.

The PA worked really, as I've come to expect it to, and it sounded exceptionally clear. The whole meeting was so not about the PA though, even for me. This does also mean that the pics are not very imaginative, but it does give some idea of what we got up to.

The Big Move - Part 3 - Stop Press!

Though hand over dates are often quite flexible where builders and contractors are concerned, no matter what size or type, sometimes they really do end up a bit problematic. Not that the guys on the ground are usually the problem; it's often design changes and supply issues.

Why am I telling you this? Simply because the hall has not been officially handed over. This means that we will not be able to meet in the hall.

We will still meet at the school, but it will be outside. Seriously.

The Big Move - Part 2

Having loaded the gear in and set up (and had a few snacks! well, it wouldn't be OG without some food at some point) we got to make some noise. SO, would the kit work for me straight away?

What do you think?

YES! Even thought we'd had to make up a 32A cable to run the FOH position when we got there and that the multicore had only arrived that morning, it all worked.

I did have a bit of a shock when I saw the finished floor surface. It's an odd and fairly hard surface. I was hoping for something less reflective but never mind.

When empty, the hall has an incredibly long RT. We have a lot of work to do to get the sound right and it feels like a bit of a battle. That said, I did manage to get a reasonable vocal and a great kick drum sound.

I have plans for some remedial acoustic treatment and some FOH EQ to see what difference can be made, but the real difference will be seen (or heard) when the hall is full of people.

Ironically, even before we get the whole band on to IEM's, the stage seemed quite quiet. There was good separation between the instruments and the overall level was reduced compared to Oak Grove Chapel.

To do the whole round trip of collecting gear, transporting it, unloading it, setting up, eating snacks, playing lots of songs and tearing down in just three hours gives me great hope for the success of the sound design. One of the big features I have tried to include was a short setup and tear-down time and this system really seems to have that. I also think that the Logic CA10's controlled directivity will help to point the sound at the only absorbent things in the hall; the congregation!

The Big Move team:

Here's how cavernous the hall is and how big the stage is!

The Big Move - Part 1

It's finally time. We've made a start moving gear to the new hall; the first bit's of OG are already there!

I thought I'd see if I can make a diary of the move from my POV.

We met last night to load up and get moving. Using what cars we had (& a trailer) we managed to safely load up all of the new PA, the instruments and the band!

Oddly, it wasn't emotional leaving. I think the excitement carried us all along.

I so proud of the team, they worked so hard, and so well together. A clear experssion of church.

When we got there, it started to dawn on me just how mad what we were doing was...