jonnybaker

linkage and worship trick 31 - sunday

a few news/link type things...

mike morris has started blogging.

beyond church has had it's first worship gathering that looks like it was a lot of fun. and their next event should be hilarious with the brilliant comedian milton jones...

ian adams is branching out into other creative areas and projects offering spiritual direction amongst other things

moby gratis is free music from moby for non commercial ventures. it's film score type stuff - ideal for worship background?

20 questions to use in a small group to get to know people

and darren wright has a whole worship experience called sunday that is free and downloadable. it was originally used at the australian black stump festival. i am making that worship trick 31

holy ground::holy city

holy ground::holy city looks wonderful. i love the scale of it.

i am looking forward to going to melbourne later this year to do some stuff around alt worship with cheryl.

this prayer of cheryl's is brilliant (and gets added to the worship tricks as no 30)

glimpses of redemption
already unfolding.

acts of justice;
of pre-meditated
unprovoked,
love.

surges of liberation
pre-emptive strikes of hope.

do not wait to see the flames
in a burning bush.
the flames are everywhere:
held in every piece of gravel
as pervasive as the grime that gathers on the walls of buildings

do not be stopped simply by the absence of a voice telling you to go:
it’s there, waiting to be heard
within the relentless beeping of a pedestrian crossing
in the squeal of tram tracks
the background hum of airconditioning units

liberation is waiting to unfold
on every streetcorner
in every city square.

we choose, in our everyday
- just like moses did:

will we place ourselves on the side of life

or not?

apology

wow - this is quite something

living room transition

i have been inspired by the journey of darren rowse and friends in living room so was interested to see they are handing on the leadership and moving on... hope the transition works out well for everyone.

worship trick 96 - you'd never end the story

as ever cheryl has been inspiring me with her easter postcards for prison, and various written pieces. i am making this reflection on the prodigal son, you'd never end the story , worship trick 96.

You’d never end the story by turning us away
so why do we live as if we could do something that will stop you loving us?

You’d never end the story giving up waiting for us
so why do we live in fear of wearing out your patience?

You’d never end the story with a litany of our sins
so why do we live as though you see us only with eyes of judgement?

You’d never end the story giving us one last warning
so why do we live in fear that your goodwill will run out?

You’d never end the story not recognising us
so why do we live thinking you don’t know the shape of our souls?

You’d never end the story with outpourings of anger
so why do we live in fear of incurring your wrath?

You’d never end the story by taking us back as servants
so why do we live as though there are limits on your grace?

You’d never end the story slamming a door in our face
so why do we live in fear of your rejection?

You’d never end the story with anything but love
so why do we live as though our story might end with anything but love?

i also loved this rumour

worship trick 82: until god's realm comes

hope steve is having fun at nosh downunder... cheryl has written this beautiful prayer for it, perfect for an ending to a worship service/gathering.

maybe in this there has been a glimpse of the kingdom
a foretaste
a hint
a promise
let it hold you and let it send you
so you will never be at peace
until all are fed
until all know home
until all are free
until justice is done
until peace is the way
until grace is the law
until love is the rule
until God’s realm comes
until God’s realm comes
until God’s realm comes…

Amen.

more TOLLS music

darren has uploaded another set of tracks from the days of TOLLS - the concrete sea

whilst on the subject of music ben has highlighted his favourite downloads from 3hive - a neat site for finding new music

Technorati Tags: TOLLS, 3hive, music, alternative worship

elijah and breathe - worship tricks 41 and 42

cheryl lawrie is blogging. if you are interested in alt worship ideas than bookmark her blog. she has already shared some great ideas that come out of the alternative worship project which is...

The alternative worship project is exploring how the church can offer worship for those of us whose faith is made real by encountering the ancient stories and rituals tangling with the images and stories of life today.

and will tell stories of communities creating worship.

One of the intentions of this alternative worship project is to map the journey of some new worshipping communities, so we can begin to build a picture of how the church can create a space where alternative worshipping communities might be given the best kind of support, and lots of air to breathe…

there is a whole service based on elijah in 1 kings 19 - stations 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
[worship trick 41]

and i liked this prayer invoking the disturbing presenece of the spirit [worship trick 42]

spirit:

    maker of chaos

    resister of order

     she who takes on the world -

                        breathe.

            wreak havoc in complacency

            upturn smugness and self satisfaction

            defy authorities that deflate

         challenge all powers that squeeze

         the hope out of your people

            and your church

                   and breathe life back in

                 to a world gasping.

                              breathe, spirit.

                          breathe.

Technorati Tags: prayer, worship tricks, alternative worship

how to be spiritual when life is hectic

stephen said makes a great point about spirituality - that a lot of the writing on spiritual disciplnes comes from people who have had the luxury of withdrawing to pray. and yet that is not an option available to many of us. so how do we maintain a spiritual life when we are busy, work long hours, have kids etc... as he puts it

the disciplines are imagined by us through this prism of an extractionist type mould. Even the Brother Lawrence stuff which is written in the context of engaging God in mundane work type vibe, was written by a fellow who worked within the confines of a monastery.

As I wrestle with trying to lead an emergent community into rediscovering what it means to be the missionary people of God, I find it is not just trying to re imagine what gathering, engaging in our local community and being the people of God looks like, but it also requires a re imagining of what the disciplines look like.

he concludes by asking:

What would it look like were the people doing the bulk of the communication around the practice of the disciplines look like if they were full time executives, full time stay at home mums, builders labourers, corporate workers etc ad infinitum? What are the alternatives to the Desert Father’s archetype in terms of the practice of the disciplines?

unearthed tresures from TOLLS - worship trick 37 [series 2]

darren wright began posting archives from TOLLS (the other late late service) on his blog on sept 2. since then he has posted pieces of liturgy, TOLLS book of proverbs and bits of music with more to come. this is more than a single worship trick but i am recording it as one. sounds like an amazing alt worship community that pioneered the way down under...

so far see the cash cows liturgy - a cry against consumerism
lament for a post christian generation
and keep an eye out for an album's worth of music gradually being uploaded we will refund the difference - so far strings and piano | chanting | motion

Technorati Tags: worship tricks, alternative worship