Two top tips for becoming a better drummer and yes, they really do work AND I'll tell you them for free...
The better the drums sound, the better you'll play
I was reminded of this one while talking to one of the Gateway Vineyard drummers about the newly tuned snare on the church kit. She had been energised by the fact that when she hit the snare, it had good sound. There were no distracting overtones, or disappointing noises, just a good sound that freed her up to be more musical and dynamic in her playing.
Good sounding drums help make good sounding drummers.
The better the musicians you work with, the better you'll play
I have previously outlined that one of the things we do in the kind of music I play in church, is to copy other peoples arrangements. It's all very well working on new patterns and parts but if those around you aren't able to play theirs, it's just not going to work as well. But, get together with a group of players who are better than you and they will stretch you, ask things of you musically, and you'll get better. When you're creating your own arrangements, that sort of interaction is vital to make new, interesting music that sounds like you!
Don't forget though that sometimes you'll be the better player helping others step up and sometimes they'll be helping you.
I can think of two bass players that I have worked with in particular, who have made me get better. They have had such good rhythm & tone that I've stepped up my game to match theirs.
Good sounding musicians help make good sounding drummers.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
DiW: The hardest drum lesson?
I think I was 16. I was surrounded by the gleam of cymbals and stands and that specific smell that music shops used to have that comes from the particular carpet they used.
In front of me stood pretty much the only 'drum guy' in Norwich at the time (not that long before he went to work for Premier). I'd taken one of my vintage Premier toms (White Marine Pearl, late 50's/early 60's) with a Remo pinstripe batter, Remo ambassador clear for the resonant and...and masking tape and paper towel dampening pad!!!
He was very generous and understanding and, that day, he told me the hardest drum lesson. It's a shame it took me a further 12 years to actually learn it.
He took a drum from one of the kits in the drum room (I don't actually remember what it was) but it had a single ply coated head and he held it in his hand and hit it. I remember it sounded strange, ringing and, to me, pretty awful. Then he reminded me that he was a busy drummer and that the drum he had just played was the kind of sound he used live. He told me to take off the dampening and try it without. He told me one more thing too.
So, I promptly went home and used o-rings on my snare and toms for the next 4 years.....
I'm not sure what it took to finally help me learn the lesson. Maybe I'd just got less and less happy with my drum sound and I suppose eventually I couldn't ignore the approach the drummers all over the world were taking. Maybe it was getting to play mic'd up more and more and getting used to IEM's and a more processed sounds. Now? I hear the mistake all over the place; made by drummers who haven't learnt the hardest drum lesson yet.
You see what he told me that day, and what forms the basis of my setup and tuning ideas today, is that wherever, and whatever I'm playing, my drums should sound the best for those who are listening to them.
Given the nature of acoustic drums, especially un-mic'd ones, this means that you have to allow a brighter and more resonant sound to come from the drums so that by the time the sounds leaves the stage and hits the audience it is more balanced. It also means playing drums that don't sound as 'nice' to me which is hard; that's why it's the hardest lesson.
But you know what? Nowadays that brighter, more resonant sound, sounds just beautiful!
In front of me stood pretty much the only 'drum guy' in Norwich at the time (not that long before he went to work for Premier). I'd taken one of my vintage Premier toms (White Marine Pearl, late 50's/early 60's) with a Remo pinstripe batter, Remo ambassador clear for the resonant and...and masking tape and paper towel dampening pad!!!
He was very generous and understanding and, that day, he told me the hardest drum lesson. It's a shame it took me a further 12 years to actually learn it.
He took a drum from one of the kits in the drum room (I don't actually remember what it was) but it had a single ply coated head and he held it in his hand and hit it. I remember it sounded strange, ringing and, to me, pretty awful. Then he reminded me that he was a busy drummer and that the drum he had just played was the kind of sound he used live. He told me to take off the dampening and try it without. He told me one more thing too.
So, I promptly went home and used o-rings on my snare and toms for the next 4 years.....
I'm not sure what it took to finally help me learn the lesson. Maybe I'd just got less and less happy with my drum sound and I suppose eventually I couldn't ignore the approach the drummers all over the world were taking. Maybe it was getting to play mic'd up more and more and getting used to IEM's and a more processed sounds. Now? I hear the mistake all over the place; made by drummers who haven't learnt the hardest drum lesson yet.
You see what he told me that day, and what forms the basis of my setup and tuning ideas today, is that wherever, and whatever I'm playing, my drums should sound the best for those who are listening to them.
Given the nature of acoustic drums, especially un-mic'd ones, this means that you have to allow a brighter and more resonant sound to come from the drums so that by the time the sounds leaves the stage and hits the audience it is more balanced. It also means playing drums that don't sound as 'nice' to me which is hard; that's why it's the hardest lesson.
But you know what? Nowadays that brighter, more resonant sound, sounds just beautiful!
Monday, September 26, 2011
DiW: THE sound
The kick will have punch but with controlled energy.
The snare will be bright, cracking and short.
The Toms will be round, warm and will project.
The cymbals....well, they'll sound ok but they'll have to wait.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the vision for Gateways drums. We will be playing un-mic'd for the time being but that'll be the vision when we're mic'd too.
We'll be using Evans G2's on the toms and a Power Centre Reverse Dot on the snare; porting the kickdrum and generally giving our Premier Artist Birch a jolly good clean!
The snare will be bright, cracking and short.
The Toms will be round, warm and will project.
The cymbals....well, they'll sound ok but they'll have to wait.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the vision for Gateways drums. We will be playing un-mic'd for the time being but that'll be the vision when we're mic'd too.
We'll be using Evans G2's on the toms and a Power Centre Reverse Dot on the snare; porting the kickdrum and generally giving our Premier Artist Birch a jolly good clean!
Monday, September 19, 2011
DiW: What to play?
Having had a look at why we use drums in worship, here's some thoughts on how to approach playing drums in worship:
As drummers, if we are aiming to play our part (pun intended) in leading people in worshipping God, then I think it's important to be deliberate about what we play, when we play it and what it achieves.
When I'm learning a new song, or writing a part for a new song or new arrangement, I have a few things to consider. They are not so much hard and fast rules, especially the first, but here we go anyway.
Original Arrangement?
With just about any kind of church based drumming this is a key question. Most church music I play (and have heard) requires you to learn someone elses drum part. Be it the classic (and somewhat predictable) Hillsong 16th note highhat/8th note kick drum/ cool tom pattern stuff, or the smoothed out, well produced (and somewhat uninteresting) Soul Survivour offerings or the almost chaotic, unstructured Jesus Culture coolness.
I should probably add that although I may describe these styles in less than flattering ways, they are all good and valid in their own context, especially those that are designed to be copied. Yes, believe it or not, some parts are written in such a way as to make them more easy for other drummers to play!
(Please bear in mind that I'm talking about the kinds of churches I would play in, which is just a small fragment of what's going in in the UK, let alone the World.)
If I'm learning someone else's part, I have to listen to it, or watch it (Youtube, yey!). Dissect it, decide what I can play given the other points, practice it and job done.
Writing new parts, or new arrangement probably needs it's own post.
What energy level?
Fast? Slow? Powerful? Majestic? Cool? Haunting? Emotional? Shouty? Minimal?
Someone is in charge. Someone can tell you what energy level the song it meant to be. Your playing, and that of all the other musicians involved, should match that. Bringing me to my next thought....
Other instruments?
Who else is playing? What do they contribute? Playing in your own space, whilst creating space for others to play, is a key musical skill in any genre. So make space!
As a key part of the rhythm section, you have a responsibility to bring rhythm, dynamics and energy to a piece of music. If you're playing with a bass player, you need to work with them to create the rhythm section part. Sometimes you'll play the same rhythm, sometimes you'll each play different things to create something together and sometimes one of you will create the bedrock for the other to play on top of.
Just work out in advance who's doing what!
Ostinato gone mad?
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice.
This is a personal obsession of mine.
Most songs I end up playing have a repeating structure. Verse, Chorus, Bridge plus maybe some other made up bits like 'tag', 'pre-chorus'. My approach to these is to decide what each piece should be like and to STICK TO IT!
By doing this you're creating an accessible structure that those who you are leading can get to grips with much more easily and to be honest it's less distracting. I'm pretty sure you don't want to be distracting, right?
And finally.......Dynamics
I could say a lot about dynamics, again it probably requires a post of it's own. So for now I'll just add this:
Once you've figured out what pattern, feel and fills you want to play, be aware that you can play them all at differing volumes and with heavy or light feels.
And don't forget the why!
As drummers, if we are aiming to play our part (pun intended) in leading people in worshipping God, then I think it's important to be deliberate about what we play, when we play it and what it achieves.
When I'm learning a new song, or writing a part for a new song or new arrangement, I have a few things to consider. They are not so much hard and fast rules, especially the first, but here we go anyway.
Original Arrangement?
With just about any kind of church based drumming this is a key question. Most church music I play (and have heard) requires you to learn someone elses drum part. Be it the classic (and somewhat predictable) Hillsong 16th note highhat/8th note kick drum/ cool tom pattern stuff, or the smoothed out, well produced (and somewhat uninteresting) Soul Survivour offerings or the almost chaotic, unstructured Jesus Culture coolness.
I should probably add that although I may describe these styles in less than flattering ways, they are all good and valid in their own context, especially those that are designed to be copied. Yes, believe it or not, some parts are written in such a way as to make them more easy for other drummers to play!
(Please bear in mind that I'm talking about the kinds of churches I would play in, which is just a small fragment of what's going in in the UK, let alone the World.)
If I'm learning someone else's part, I have to listen to it, or watch it (Youtube, yey!). Dissect it, decide what I can play given the other points, practice it and job done.
Writing new parts, or new arrangement probably needs it's own post.
What energy level?
Fast? Slow? Powerful? Majestic? Cool? Haunting? Emotional? Shouty? Minimal?
Someone is in charge. Someone can tell you what energy level the song it meant to be. Your playing, and that of all the other musicians involved, should match that. Bringing me to my next thought....
Other instruments?
Who else is playing? What do they contribute? Playing in your own space, whilst creating space for others to play, is a key musical skill in any genre. So make space!
As a key part of the rhythm section, you have a responsibility to bring rhythm, dynamics and energy to a piece of music. If you're playing with a bass player, you need to work with them to create the rhythm section part. Sometimes you'll play the same rhythm, sometimes you'll each play different things to create something together and sometimes one of you will create the bedrock for the other to play on top of.
Just work out in advance who's doing what!
Ostinato gone mad?
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice.
This is a personal obsession of mine.
Most songs I end up playing have a repeating structure. Verse, Chorus, Bridge plus maybe some other made up bits like 'tag', 'pre-chorus'. My approach to these is to decide what each piece should be like and to STICK TO IT!
By doing this you're creating an accessible structure that those who you are leading can get to grips with much more easily and to be honest it's less distracting. I'm pretty sure you don't want to be distracting, right?
And finally.......Dynamics
I could say a lot about dynamics, again it probably requires a post of it's own. So for now I'll just add this:
Once you've figured out what pattern, feel and fills you want to play, be aware that you can play them all at differing volumes and with heavy or light feels.
And don't forget the why!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What job do you do?
Christians seem to spend a lot of time thinking
about what job they should do. What's God's plan for my life ? Where does He want me to be
?
To try to answer these questions, we pray (fine)
we talk to other, trusted people (also fine) we read our bible (yes, still
fine) and then we make our best guess.
Yet we seem slow to grasp that we are
already commissioned; we already have a job to do.
So, what we do to earn money, even the
vocational stuff, is really just a second job. We must be able to do the first
while doing the second.
Guess which job God will bless the most?*
What ever work you do, however hard you work,
the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
DiW: Why?
Why do we use drums in Worship music? What's the point?Is there a biblical precedent that we're following? Well, yes and no. Yes in as much as gongs and cymbals are mentioned in the bible but no in as much as they are also used as a simile for us without Love.....
Yet there are countless drummers all over the world, playing all kinds of styles, in churches and meetings week in, week out. There must be a good reason for it right? There is and it's important to know it.
DC Talk once described God as a 'Creative Artist'. I've always liked that image, and I think it is the central reason to use drums, or indeed any gift/talent we have, in our Worship of YHWH; because everything we have is His and should be offered to him in praise and Worship. For me it is included in the 'Living Sacrifices' described in Romans 12 and that passage describes the relationship between physical worship and spiritual worship.
If, through playing music (no drummer jokes!), I can express my praise and worship of God and I can help lead others to do the same, then I have a very good reason to play!
Note that the reason isn't "to keep time" or "set a good groove" or "show how many chops you've got" or "annoy those who hate loud music!" or "because it's cool". What you play affects all of that stuff but it's no good making them the why. It would be a poor substitute for the real reason and frankly, I'd give up rather than play for any of those reasons!
Be clear about why you play. It will affect how you go about handling yourself and I think God is interested!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A Dark Time Indeed:
It's hard to believe what's been happening in England in the last few days. Riots, looting, damage and fear all spreading.
I don't know what you think about it or whether you've signed one of the online petitions to have benefits removed from convicted looters etc.
As someone not directly affected by the actual damage, I think the worst point was a conversation I had with someone who just couldn't see any hope that things would get better, especially with the rest of the world feeling so uncertain; US debt rating falling, Stock Markets all over the place, entire countries on the brink of bankruptcy.
Just for a moment I joined them in feeling the despair of not having any hope. A few short seconds of swirling helplessness.
Then it struck me that I am not that stuck. I am not alone because I AM is I AM, and the King always has One More Move.
To quote some Delirious? lyrics: "Only God can save us now"
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Unfathomable God?
Is God really unfathomable? or How fathomable is God? How much of God can you unravel?
I don't know. But I do know that you cannot unravel Him completely.
What you can do is ask God to unravel you by revealing Himself.
It's dangerous though. Change will come.
I don't know. But I do know that you cannot unravel Him completely.
What you can do is ask God to unravel you by revealing Himself.
It's dangerous though. Change will come.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
If you want to break the mould, you have to....
...find the cracks first.
There are lots of situations when you realise that it's time to change things. If you want to know where to start you have to look and see where the first signs of readiness are. If you do that, you'll find it much easier to explode the mould and reduce it to dust OR open it cleanly on the break line. Breaking moulds always seems wasteful, and, if it involves peoples lives then that kind of change can be too violent.
To switch analogies, Kurt Lewin likened the process of change to the process of freezing water:
You start as ice, thaw to water and reshape and then re-freeze to hold the new shape.
I love this picture of change and how to go about it. To take it one step further, think of all the conversations you've ever had where people are just not quite satisfied with the status quo; those are the first droplets of water forming on the surface of the ice.
Remember, the first people to see that a change may be necessary are NOT usually the ones in the middle of it.
I can think of times when situations were 'un-freezing' all around me; absolute chaos!
Then there are dreams and 'Holy Discontent', great forces for change.
If you find those cracks, or droplets and harness their power, you will find that change starts to shape itself. You'll soon find that early adopters will be able to buy-in to what your doing and you should also see that shared sense of ownership, that makes change stick.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Worship Confessional - 29/05/11
Set List:
- What to say Lord (Everyday) - Hillsong
- Strength Will Rise - Chris Tomlin
- You Alone Can Rescue - Matt Redman
- This is Our God - Hillsong
- Hold On (ch only) - Nigel Briggs (Trent Vineyard)
This was our first time out as our new band (although we were missing one member) and to be honest, it was a bit of a mare.
One un-muted guitar and one that really should have been muted (major noise from the socket) gave us a poor start with too many distractions.
BUT.
Good is good and it looked like once we got going, people were able to respond. It has to be said that @gatewayvineyard don't sing unless they mean it! For the first time in a long time, I played some hand-percussion using my snare in a quieter section. I love playing kit creatively :)
We looked at the big question of why does God allow Suffering and clearly this was something people had some God-business to do over.
(new Gateway website is www.gatewayvineyardnorwich.org.uk)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Drums in Worship
I'll be adding some of my thoughts about drumming within church music teams, but I thought it might be good to summarise some of my experiences:
- I have been drumming for about 16 years
- I learnt to drum by copying drummers I liked, including the drummers who played for Garth Brooks, Louis Armstrong, Beautiful South, Cheryl Crow and Matt Redman.
- I have never had a drum lesson!
- I have played in small Saxon churches, Cathedrals, sports centres, marquees, cowsheds, outdoors at Pleasurewood Hills, schools, trailers, and just about anywhere I could
- I have drummed at Christian Conferences/Festivals including Spring Harvest & Living Water
- I'm looking forward to drumming on Cromer Pier this year (well, in front of it)
- Tambourines are the most important percussive item in gospel music (save for pianos, but that's another Conversation)
- I have had to play in so many different styles including having to impersonate a train
and.....
- I would really, really like to own a Dave Weckl 13" signature snare
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mike Vance on Vision (Walt Disney)
The legendary Walt Disney died before Disney World in Florida was completed. On opening day 1971, almost five years after Disney's death, someone commented to Mike Vance, Creative Director of Walt Disney Studios, "Isn't it too bad Walt Disney didn't live to see this?'"
"He did see it," Vance replied simply. "That's why it's here."
(Quoted from 'IT' by Craig Groeschel)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Worship Confessional - sort of
A friend, who is currently some distance away, reminded me of how it used to be. He reminded me of a time when posting up thoughts and ideas on here was a bit like breathing in and out. He also reminded me that I miss him.I used to need a place to bring my thoughts to reflect on and I used to think of this blog, and my private "My Eyes Only" blog, as a pensieve.
I don' t really know what changed. I'm aware that I don't think like that any more. I know that life is so very different now. And yet, I still feel as challenged and stretched as I did then. I guess the stretching has made some difference then ;)
So, apart from a bit of house-keeping that I need to do around here, I think I'm back. I have some thoughts and ideas that I would like to share and refine.
Just to update the background, I am back to drumming in church and we are just entering a new phase; we have formed 3 bands and are going to focus on how we can get better, together.
We'll also be looking at each discipline in it's own right, and I'm really looking forward to sharing with my fellow drummers, learning from their experience and planning how we approach bringing music to our home at gatewayvineyardnorwich.co.uk
You never know, you may see them on here.
I'm even going back to writing, so you may get some more of that too!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
NYFC Gospel Choir support LCGC!
NYFC Gospel choir are supporting London Community Gospel Choir ! How Cool is that!
Well, the whole gig is in support of the International Justice Mission, who do some of the most amazing work. Ever.
To buy tickets and for more info check out the Kings Church website. See you there?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Awakening
I've been captured by a word, compelled by ten letters. Four Syllables that have my brain engaged and is seriously threatening to do the same to my heart.
Awakening,
What is now a long time ago three words shaped my future: Young-people, Depression and Restoration. Yes, I know, technically that's four words, but this is my blog.
There is plenty of change around, change everywhere. As I see it there are two types of change; the change you choose and the change that happens anyway. I've learnt to choose as much change as you can but it can be like sailing a boat in a fair wind, with the engine on, someone else in control of the tiller and a storm brewing.
And yet, in all of that, God is saying...Awakening.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Our Giving Affects Eternity
Why is it so easy to connect some parts of our lives to eternity but not others?
Whether we accept Jesus as saviour in our lives, clearly connects to eternal life. Or rather it does if we add in some biblical knowledge.
So why not money? Surely if we spend our money on 'kingdom building' then the anticipated outcome is more people in Heaven, right?
Why do we let ourselves reduce money to an earthly, temporary life time issue?
Threechordwonder answer? because we want to.
Giving is so much easier, so much more natural if we let God show us how it should fit in with our lives. toit can become a spiritual discpline
and a key to spiritual growth.
Whether we accept Jesus as saviour in our lives, clearly connects to eternal life. Or rather it does if we add in some biblical knowledge.
So why not money? Surely if we spend our money on 'kingdom building' then the anticipated outcome is more people in Heaven, right?
Why do we let ourselves reduce money to an earthly, temporary life time issue?
Threechordwonder answer? because we want to.
Giving is so much easier, so much more natural if we let God show us how it should fit in with our lives. toit can become a spiritual discpline
and a key to spiritual growth.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
You can be who you choose to be
This morning at Gateway Vineyard, Alex brought a message about the offer God makes; we can give up our lives in exchange for external life.
As often happens with me, this triggered a song in my head.
I've had Stacy Orico's album for ages now, but I often go back to it. When you listen beyond the very cool music and hear what she's actually singing about, there are some very clear lyrics there.
In 'I Won't Look Back' she sums up a problem I have faced and which if we all paid more attention to, we could make more of a difference to our world:
The decisions we make are based on a complex set of 'rules'. These rules are made up of things like our values, moral code, life experience, things we've seen on TV...the problem with this is often there are 'rules' in action that we aren't aware of.
The more of these we identify, the more we can offer up to God to be 'refined in the fire'.
Imagine a time when your reactions and snap-backs were actually based on God refined 'rules'. Would they help build up people? or knock them down?
What do you think? Worth spending some time thinking about priorities, I would say.
As often happens with me, this triggered a song in my head.
I've had Stacy Orico's album for ages now, but I often go back to it. When you listen beyond the very cool music and hear what she's actually singing about, there are some very clear lyrics there.
In 'I Won't Look Back' she sums up a problem I have faced and which if we all paid more attention to, we could make more of a difference to our world:
The decisions we make are based on a complex set of 'rules'. These rules are made up of things like our values, moral code, life experience, things we've seen on TV...the problem with this is often there are 'rules' in action that we aren't aware of.
The more of these we identify, the more we can offer up to God to be 'refined in the fire'.
Imagine a time when your reactions and snap-backs were actually based on God refined 'rules'. Would they help build up people? or knock them down?
What do you think? Worth spending some time thinking about priorities, I would say.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The New Home
I'm just back from church. Lunch is in the oven, the kids are in the garden (which is in full summer mode, even the BBQ is up and running!) and I'm feeling reflective.
We've been going to Gateway Vineyard for a little while now and the Switch has led to the start of what we were looking for.
Lots of getting to know people, catching names learning about what's going on etc. I'm really looking forward to getting some more roots down via a small group and am resisting the temptation to get involved in music stuff straightaway.
But this morning summed up the change for me; sitting down, full of breakfast, cuddling Elle during the musical worship time, it struck me that this is what family should look like in church. I'm not sure I can translate it in to words, but the aspects of being together in a place where we can all share in the same things and music and God all came together. I'm looking forward to building on that.
If you use the Jesus Analysis, then I'd have to answer with a resounding YES!
We've been going to Gateway Vineyard for a little while now and the Switch has led to the start of what we were looking for.
Lots of getting to know people, catching names learning about what's going on etc. I'm really looking forward to getting some more roots down via a small group and am resisting the temptation to get involved in music stuff straightaway.
But this morning summed up the change for me; sitting down, full of breakfast, cuddling Elle during the musical worship time, it struck me that this is what family should look like in church. I'm not sure I can translate it in to words, but the aspects of being together in a place where we can all share in the same things and music and God all came together. I'm looking forward to building on that.
If you use the Jesus Analysis, then I'd have to answer with a resounding YES!
Friday, February 19, 2010
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!
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!
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