Um, actually, there’s nothing in here at all about hills.

Except to point out, if you didn’t know, that Hillsong is so named because it’s in the Hills District of Sydney.  It used to be called Hills Christian Life Centre.  The Hills district is also a little bit hilly.

Anyway, back on track…

A number of weeks ago I mentioned in a post that at some point I may talk about why we do so much Hillsong music at Harbourside.  I have also alluded to some of the reasons in the past as well, but today I’m going to lay them out for you…just to clear up any possible confusion…

5 Reasons why Harbourside Christian Life Centre use of a LOT of Hillsong music.

1. First and foremost, our Pastor loves them.  So do our people, though I’m generalising of course.  I love them too, though I can be even more specific and say that in general (?!), I love Reuben Morgan’s and Brooke Fraser’s songs the most.

2. We are part of the Australian Christian Churches, which is the ‘new’ name for the Assemblies of God in Australia.  Hillsong is the largest church in our denomination, and produces the most music (though Planetshakers aren’t far behind).

3. While we are not Hillsong, or part of the Hillsong Network, we are (or have been*) open in ‘marketing’ our church as ‘like Hillsong’ when talking to people about what they can expect.  It therefore makes sense to include music by the only worship team to regularly have Top 5 albums in this country.  Come to think of it, unlike the US, they are just about the only Christian artist to have Top 100 albums period.  Excluding bands such as The Fray, of course.

4. Despite a lot of things I read about their music being difficult for congregations, our congregation love the weird timings and the lack of predictability (though being unpredictable can become predictable).  For instance, I am a fan of Chris Tomlin, but often I find his stuff quite safe (read: commercial).  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I am Mr Commercial Pop.  But I’m also a little bit twisted and have very diverse tastes.  I prefer what a lot of other people do – like Jesus Culture, but even more than that, I prefer Kim Walker. Period.**

5. Finally, and probably most importantly, we are encouraged to bring our own music.  Music borne from the encounters we have with Christ on a daily basis.  That’s why we’re recording a worship album this year.  I’m producing it.  Our first studio session is this Saturday.  Yay!

Who is your favourite worship artist?  Do you find it resonates with others too?

* The reason I qualified that statement : we are moving away from where we have been, and becoming less programmed.  Hillsong may well be doing this too – the reasons given for some changes to the July conference are to allow more freedom for the Holy Spirit to move.  This excites me, so I’m even more keen than usual to be there.

** You may not be aware that the expression “period” doesn’t get used in Australia.  We call that dot at the end of sentences a full stop.  It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

This post is part of the weekly Sunday Setlists blog carnival over at FredMckinnon.com. Make sure you check out the other setlists too!

As you can see below, I’ve done a vlog for this week…so have a looksee and then read the rest of my blurb.

You know you want to…

*update* In the last cheeky ticker-tape comment I inserted on the video, I missed out a fairly important word…”stop”. D’oh! Blush. Haha. Etc.

Music

AM
1. Your Name High (Houston/Hillsong)
2. Evermore (Sampson/Hillsong)
3. Desert Song (Fraser/Hillsong)
4. Worthy Is The Lamb (Murgida/Harbourside)

I was off the stage this week for my monthly off the stage break (?!) So I spent most of it up the back with the tech guys (who I also oversee) which I enjoyed a lot, not least ’cause Diane is one of them these days too Margaret did a great job of leading, and her new song was the highlight of the set.

PM
1. Take It All (Houston, etc/Hillsong)
2. Worthy Is The Lamb (Murgida/Harbourside)
3. Shout You Praise (Araullo, Reddy, Orlos/Harbourside)

Worship+
1. Stronger (Morgan, Fielding/Hillsong)
2. With Everything (Houston/Hillsong)
3. Shout You Praise (Araullo, Reddy, Orlos/Harbourside)

Troy led tonight, and for Worship+ it was fun to have a 5-vocalist boyband (plus the 4 other boy musicians too), especially for the new song Shout Your Praise which is great, great fun…including one of Troy’s raps. The congregation love it. We’ll be recording it very very soon.

Given I did a not-short video, I think that will do for this week.

‘Til next time, seeya!

Regular readers would be aware that Diane isn’t Australian by birth.

She became a citizen in July 2008 having lived here for nearly 6 years.  She’s also still a citizen of the United Kingdom, which is the country that Northern Ireland is part of.

In order to become a citizen of Australia, she had to undergo a rigorous examination as well as fulfill various criteria regarding length of stay and other thrilling subjects.  So rigorous was the exam that she finished it in less than 10% of the allotted time and earned full marks.  I’d barely got out of the parking lot when she called to let me know it was done.

After that, she just had to wait a few months until the next ceremony was going to take place, then she got to do this…

(as always, remember just how “rude” Australians really are

You’ll remember a few weeks ago I posted my first “write-a-song-for-a-friend” song.  Well, here’s number two.

This time though, I have intentionally made it double up as my monthly song for Our Creative Community.

There’s stacks of ideas packed into the four minutes (including some crazy imagery in the lyric), but I’m especially excited about Diane’s vocal and arrangement contributions.  Oh, and the fact Crystal likes it, of course.

No cover art yet, but I’m sure that won’t be too far away.

Asian Cowboy

Picture a girl, with once pink hair
Making her way through life with vicarious fascination

She shuts the door, the freakin’ front door
Enters the world wide web where she can stalk Asians

And avoid strawberries

She’s riding gazelles, and watching Carrie Bradshaw
Though she’s seen them all before, it keeps her mind off

Diet Coke and bottled water…

Crying girls as the Backstreet Boys
Fall through the roof of the honky tonk bar
Wrapped in snuggies, meeting Leo
Lazy typing left Tinky Tiny

She shuts the door, the freaking front door
Enters the world wide web so she can stalk Asians

She rides gazelles, and watches Carrie
Sex and the City

Picture a girl, a pink haired girl
Making her way through life with
Elvis and cowboys
(Velvet Elvis, Asian Cowboy)

This post is part of the spring challenge over at Our Creative Community to share our various creative processes.  So after you’ve read this, head on over there and check out everyone else.

I’ll be honest, when OurCC left us this challenge, the very first thing I thought was “well, that’s one post for the week I won’t need to think much about then”

Except…that would be wrong.

Defining my creative process proved more difficult than I had imagined.  I also wimped out on being truly creative with my blog response; I should have done a vlog, but didn’t want it to be just a little talky, unedited one…and…and…and… :/

Anyway, here’s what I came up with.  All things considered, this took ages to write :

What ignites that flame inside you to create?

Quite apart from the fact I feel like being creative nearly all the time, I get inspired by others’ creativity.  A play, a song, a sculpture, a book, a solution…a tweet, a blog post.  Etc. I think it’s at the root of my being, which makes sense since God is there, and He’s the Master Creator.

What sparks that passion inside you?

I kinda answered this already above didn’t I.  Actually, is this really the same question presented in a different way?

How do you channel your creativity into a finished product?

With great difficulty.  I often get into the middle of something and divert over to something else.  Being part of this community and having some clear goals has helped me be more focussed and target oriented.  Learning Garageband and therefore having more flexibility in how I present what I do has been great.  I can’t believe I had a Mac for over a year without touching it!

Still, not knowing how to play any instruments well is annoying.  As is my concern for my neighbours, which therefore restricts how much I’ll let myself go with my vocals.  I know I can do a lot more with my voice – I do it at church on Sundays, and have done in choirs for years…so I might need to find a place to let rip that’s soundproof.

And, importantly for me, the creative process of songwriting includes the recording and production.  It’s not just a song, it’s how it sounds, what synth is used, what bass sound, how many different drum tracks.  It’s all part of the process.  At the same time, I love how someone else could pick up the raw ingredients (music, lyrics) and create something entirely different in their interpretation.

What do you do when you struggle to create?

Usually this means I’m over-tired and need to step back and recouperate.  At one time, I’d push through.  This never yielded results, so I’ve learnt from that.

How do you celebrate your wins?

I’m not sure I really know what wins I’ve had.  Putting something out there that is enjoyed is a win I guess.  But a bigger win in my book is being satisfied with something I’ve created.  Coming back to it later and not wanting to change anything.  I’ve done that a couple of times.  Not many times, but it’s been done

Do you enjoy your creative process?

Yes.  If I wasn’t enjoying this, there’d be little point in doing it.  I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have my creative process and my income stream intersecting; some fatigue would be bound to set in at times.  However, it’s less likely to be an issue than when you feel your income earning is pulling you away from your creativity.

At the moment, I am blessed with a better crossover than some people I know…but I’d still rather be able to create all day than have to work.  So come on benefactor, I’m waiting

How do you share your creative elements with others?

For my congregation friendly songs – in church.

For my electronica & other noodlings – on my blog.  And it’s pretty diverse.  I gotta say, I’m really enjoying the self-imposed challenge of writing songs for/about other people.

Hopefully combining the two at some point by doing some video-clips which can be played at church of the songs I’ve created which are currently only on the blog.  Though probably not the ones I’ve done for/about other people.  Or my “25 Things” song.

The ones I do for church are going to be recorded for our first ever worship album over the course of the year too.  V.excited about this

At church last night I tweeted from the service for the very first time.  I’m not sure if I’ll do it again.

On the one hand, it is a really good way of sharing a key point (and it got re-tweeted a few times, so I’m thinking others tweeps thought it worthwhile too).

On the other hand, it’s hard to make sure I only tweet the point and don’t get caught up in a cool twittersation.  That’s me lacking discipline though, so I should probably stick with it and just learn the art of anti-distraction

So, the thing I tweeted that my Pastor said in last night’s service, now presented in more than 140 characters, was:

God is the source of our supply.  People (or the world) are channels.  If a channel closes, you need to remember that the source is still open.  Don’t get distracted by the channels opening and closing, focus on the source.

That’s fairly paraphrased but if I waited and listened back to the service (like Diane does many times a day as she edits it for TV), then it would never make it on here.

It’s really REALLY easy to lose focus of what’s important, particularly at the moment as the world slips into the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.  But, and using another pastorism from Harbourside, we have a financial Christ : so focus on Him for your supply, not where you’ve become accustomed to getting it from.

Really easy to type a few words about that…it’s a lot harder to actually do it.

So tell me – how do you feel about twittering during church?
or how do you feel about the source/channel analogy?
Go on then, comment on both if you must…

This post is part of the weekly Sunday Setlists blog carnival over at FredMckinnon.com. Make sure you check out the other setlists too!

Another amazing week in our church…sktchk…another amazing week in our church…sktchk…another amazing week in our church…

So I decided I’m not going to even try to pretend I don’t sound like a broken record each week. If you’re not there, it’s never easy to explain what the experience and encounter with God was like. So I’m just gonna get into it and do the best I can…

Music

AM
I was leading again this week, and some of our best harmony singers were on backup. At times, we had 4 part harmony among the 5 singers; very sweet.

You Deserve (Hillsong, 2008) – I don’t have a rock voice, but for whatever reason, everyone thinks this song only sounds right when I sing it. It’s so not me that it must be God.
Can I Have More Of You? (Byrnes, 2008) – our arrangement is based on the amazing Kim Walker version (though she didn’t write it, it is her song really). Rachael led and I’m blown away by how much talent this 17 yo has in her little finger, let alone her voice and her commitment and love for Jesus. Our first time doing this song since last November, and it was very well received.
To Meet You Here (Goodwin/Scarpato/Harbourside, 2009) – even sweeter than last week I think, with more people asking where they can get it…though now they’re getting impatient for it to be on our to-be-released-by-Christmas worship CD.
Redeemer (Murgida/Harbourside, 2005) – for the first time ever, both our intimate worship songs were written by members of our church. And the congregation loved it. I reckon God was pretty happy about it too.
Run (Hillsong, 2008) – this was just right for the end of the service given the message, and so the fact it’s PsG’s favourite song was OK too.
Now Is The Time (Delirious?, 2005) – just did the verse and chorus to close, with people pumped up by the message, prophecy and prayer – “a people daring to believe we can change tomorrow”.

PM
Merv & Troy shared the worship leading this week. Merv was a bit fluey, but did a good job in the circumstances.

The Freedom We Know (Hillsong, 2005) – Merv and Troy had fun sharing lead vocals.
Show Me Your Glory (Murgida/Harbourside, 2007) – Julie did a good job of leading this, as usual.
For Your Glory (C3, 2008) – Julie sang it this week, and it was great to hear it being done in a female voice; the people are really taking to this powerful song.

Worship+
I helped out vocally, and I loved coming under the leadership of Troy for this meeting. Several people were really impacted by the free-worship tonight. One person in particular was in tears, and just hugged all of us. No words.

Fire Fall Down (Hillsong, 2005)
You Deserve The Glory (Richards, ?)
In Jesus’ Name (no idea who wrote this, or what year – anyone know?)

Messages
The AM message was “The Ministry of Giving”, and continued in this new vein of ‘I-feel-God-is-talking-right-to-me’ preaching that PsG has been walking in the past few weeks. The ministry time was amazing, and he wanted to pray for all who want to walk in the giving ministry (Diane & I first in line) and then he wanted to pray for the church government. By this time I was back on stage leading the free-worship, but PsG came up and prayed for me there. Apparently I went down like a ton of bricks and started rippling…every muscle, my skin, my eyes twitching. I was freaking people out a bit, but I was totally unaware. When I ‘came back’, I was totally at peace, with my forearms buzzing – completely unaware of what had happened until talking with people after the service. I believe I know what this is all about, but here isn’t the place to explain it.

The PM message was yet another unplanned one which flowed out of the ministry time this morning, based on the Gospel of God about being blessed (as He spoke over Abraham). Amazing, of course, and still we wait in anticipation for whether he “Training for Reigning” series will ever be able to happen!

The Practical Stuff
The only reason I knew the AM service ran over by an hour this week was that I happened to catch a glimpse of the clock. Again, no-one was leaving. Everyone is hungry to hear more, receive more, soak more…ready to go out into the world and be salt and light.

The PM service and Worship+ ran were spot on time-wise, which is a good thing given how big the morning services have been getting. The attendance showed further growth this week too.

The sound maintained the clarity from last week. I’m almost happier about this than the fact it now seems to be right. Next step is setting up recording equipment, levels etc so we can record the music live as well.

Favourite Moments
For church news this week, we decided to do the announcement for the youth meeting (for which Jenni did the voiceover last week) in a German-style. Lots of fun, and of course, I got to do the German (ish) accent. When Diane’s blog is up and running (yada yada…sorry…), she’ll be archiving a lot of the little creative elements she done on a page of that.

And again no pastorisms this week…not that I noticed anyway…

As noted last week (I think), our church raised money through an offering that day to purchase urgent equipment for the local children’s hospital, and also sow a gift into other churches in our local area. We were all very excited to see those cheques signed and mailed today.

Annoying Moments
I think I’m right in saying that there was nothing even vaguely annoying about today, though if I wanted to, I could note that the new procedures required by the sound & lighting guys to cope with the Mac and ProPresenter were a bit out of sync. That would be really nit-picky though, and I’m not going to be nit-picky, because it wasn’t annoying

Comedy, particularly sketch comedy, often doesn’t translate from country to country, let alone culture to culture.

With that in mind, here’s something from my favourite show during my uni days (uni=university=college). Like all sketch comedy it was pretty hit-and-miss, but The Late Show had a particularly Australian flavour and the best-bits DVD was great for indoctrinating Diane into the essentials of Australian life when she moved out here.

One of the most popular segments was the Toilet Break. The show was on the ABC which doesn’t have any advertisements, so they inserted a break segment and used footage of an old “talent” show. The ratings soared for that 4 minutes, so they continued to mine the depths of Pot Luck for a cheap laugh.

This was the first Toilet Break I ever saw and it has never left my mind. It makes me laugh cry and cringe. All at the same time. It gets particularly interesting at around the 2.55 mark, followed by the stellar judging.

Remember, this was taken from a real talent show.  You’ll never complain about American Idol auditions ever again.

Most of you would be aware that I spend a lot of time on Twitter. Or rather, it spends a lot of time with me whenever I’m at my desk at work (which seems to be a sweet spot in the tweeting habits of the inhabitants of the American content). It’s especially good company when running huge CRM reports, blah blah blah, cough, zzzzzzzzzzz.

Anyway, recently there has been an increase in the use of a few hashtagged words to enable quick searching of the essentials like prorably and numpty which have entered the vocabulary of the masses. (I like to speak prophetically, so work with me here…)  I also, um, enjoy reading the bromance page from “time to time”.  Don’t crucify me.

I’m excited to announce that in preparation for her imminent entry to the blogging world, Diane has purchased the exceptionally brilliant…

Quite how she’s going to use this as the title for her food blog is yet to be determined, but I’ve given her a stellar suggestion that I hope she uses.

In the meantime, she’ll need lots more sensible suggestions from the marvellous readers and stalkers who stop by here…so give ‘em to me and I’ll pass them on.  She’ll be eternally grateful.

Twitter is abuzz with the word of God.

And I love it.

In amongst all the frivolity and great conversation, God’s word is being spread.

For example, in just one day, we have the exciting new daily #Twiblestudy from Ragamuffin Soul and #28dayCP from WithoutWax.  Thanks to both Los & Pete (times infinity) for hearing God’s voice in using the interwebs for His purposes yet again.

This reminded me of something I’ve been doing, unknown to pretty much everyone.  I don’t think I’ve even told Diane !  Not intentionally, it just hasn’t happened (I don’t think)…Diane will surely tell me if I’m lying here.

Since January, I’ve been using YouVersion to read the Bible online in a year, using the cool tools on their site for journalling, note taking, etc

So if you don’t know about it, do yourself a favour and give it a gander.

(You can stop laughing Diane…I am not Molly)

Reading the whole Bible is something I’ve done before, and many people have done it before. This is just a new and fresh way to do it.  On the other hand, a blogger friend of mine is doing something which just blows my mind.  He’s reading the entire Bible in 90 days !  This is awesome in and of itself, but on top of that, he has one of the most challenging jobs I can imagine.

In the past, this kind of challenge would probably make me try to go one-up.  These days, with a more transformed mind, I’m just so happy for him and pray that God blesses him beyond belief through the encounter.

I’m learning. Slowly.

So tell me…

Do you read the Bible as much as you’d like?
What tools do you use?
Do you remember how to use a pen?

That last question is actually more serious than you might think…

I use handwriting about twice a week, and only because in church I’ve not taken out the phone to use.  I might have to start though.

Another pastor has started phonotaking (oh yes, let the word-coining continue) for the last couple of weeks, and he is front & centre in the church so I no longer have an excuse… Considering I hardly ever read a paper-printed Bible these days either (remember, YouVersion, but also this), it’s about time I guess.