supersimbo has moved.........

Change your links............

new supersimbo is HERE

Just Do Something...............

"God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love Him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like." At least that's what the back of this book says! A couple of days ago Gary (who i still haven't met) suggested here that it would be good for some folks to read this book & discuss as we go along via his blog. I had flicked through the foreword last week and straight away knew i would like to get a copy so to share thoughts & opinions as we go along with some other folks appealed to me instantly. Some thoughts before we begin that discussion; the first words printed in the book are "It is God's will for you to read this book." After a short paragraph filled with the kind of manipulation that is common in 'churches' Josh Harris, who wrote the foreword, admits he is talking 'total baloney' and in fact reading the book may help to 'set you straight' on some of these issues. That leapt off the page at me because frankly i have heard the 'God's will for your life' trump card being twisted into a sinister and manipulating thing far too often. Somehow we have lost the ability to 'love Him with our whole hearts' and 'obey His Word' in favor of loving Him with a bit of our hearts in a kind of buddy/best friend way and occasionally considering what HIs word says but always adding our own feelings to the mix! And we are wrong, at least in a lot of cases we are!
Once Gary gets an announcement about when we will start discussions i will blog it but in the meantime, please, if this could be helpful, get a book, join in the conversation and lets pray that we will all understand God's will better at the end of this.....

Buy it here

Cussing Pastors?

I was NOT going to blog about this, goodness knows i do not need a debate about appropriate language for Christians right now. However, i have been thinking about it & i simply have to say something! Watch the clip first.......



This post sums it up perfectly when they ask "Is it necessary to curse in an admonition to other pastors not to curse? Did he not do that to grab our attention? Is that not EXACTLY the SAME THING that he accuses pastors who curse of doing?"

Ironic perhaps? or just plain dumb? He is from Texas............


H/T Matthew Paul Turner

Buy this CD..............

In 1993 i had just spent the last 3 years listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica & Red Hot Chili Peppers albums way too much! None of this was helpful to an already moody 16 year old! Just before summer that year Paul Weller released his 2nd record Wild Wood and despite his status as a grumpy old so & so, his fantastic solo return to form was, well, like a summer breeze to me! If it is possible you need to get this record & enjoy it in the sun, preferably your garden or a park, with some friends! If you listen closely some of this is not cheery, Weller was questioning his motivation and ability to still perform while writing the songs, but it has this unmistakable vibe of summer, a real feel good vibe! Song titles like 'sunflower,' 'shadow of the sun,' and 'country' help with that i guess! Weller single handedly paved the way for brit-pop, influencing the likes of Oasis & picking up the title of 'the Modfather' with his early 90's return to brilliance, this album cemented that status firmly. One of my absolute favorite albums without a doubt & you need to get it! Oh & if you get a chance, go see him live, we caught him in belfast a few years ago. Front row, sweating like a mentalist in amongst a load of yobs with mod haircuts & silk scarfs but it was awesome & i got one of his 2x4 thick guitar picks!! Good times!

Goodbye May.........

I am not sorry this is the last day or May but i do hope that June is a little bit less difficult, here is something to indicate how my month has been and perhaps make you smile as well..............

Thou Shalt not Twitter in Church?

My first exposure to the idea of using twitter during Church happened here. By the time this article appeared at the beginning of May and gave it huge exposure, i had witnessed lots of conversation about twitter in Church. So, good or bad? Useful or not?
John Piper has entered the discussion here as a result of an earlier post by Josh Harris, which can be found here. As a response to those thoughts John Voelz has responded here. There is even an eBook called 'The Reason your Church must twitter,' check that out here if you have $5 to spare!! If not, at least, join the conversation........
I am not sure what to make of it all as yet, there are a few folks in and around our Church who use twitter but i am not sure we have a large enough grasp of the whole thing to use it in the way some others are. I know some folks who have not got past having powerpoint on screens or using drums in Church yet so thats where we are locally! I do know that i can be very easily distracted in some of the ways that John Piper points out in his post so i need to be careful about distractions in general during services. This is an issue that will differ for each of us, a matter that needs to be discerned by the individual. Some take notes, some do not as it distracts from the sermon......................lots to consider! Any thoughts?

Hillsong UNITED: Tear Down the Walls

Hold on to your hat folks, this album has just earned the #2 spot on the iTunes Top Album Charts selling only less digital music copies than Eminem's new CD Relapse. Lets take Eminem out in Jesus name, buy it, download it! You all know that i tend to be harsh on CCM but for a while now i have quietly been thinking differently of these guys. "People of all ages, especially students, are connecting with United's message of compassion and social justice and their genuine passion for a real connection with God and each other," says Chris Estes, Director of Digital Marketing for Integrity Music, the label that distributes United in the U.S. "They're identifying with the band's passion to live out their faith and make a difference in the lives of those next door and around the world." "For a band that is virtually unknown outside the Christian culture to be selling more than Green Day and Lady Gaga and almost as many as Eminem on iTunes, it says something about United's amazing trajectory as an impact artist beyond just the Christian music scene," continued Estes. "And, they did all this without traditional industry drivers like heavy radio play and mainstream TV. Not only do they sell out major venues, churches around the world are singing their songs every Sunday."



How you going to argue with sales like this? amazing.............

Philippians 3

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

no more Christian Books part 8

I have had questions for a long time about how serious the USA takes the UK when it comes to 'Christian' retail, 'Christian music' etc etc. I guess something to also ask is, actually, how big is the industry on this side of the Atlantic? If we stripped away all the worldwide imports of 'christian' product what would be left? Are we producing good & worthwhile stock for the Church in the UK?
On friday i sat in on a meeting with Michael from Authentic and then had lunch at madeinBelfast combined with discussions about a whole lot of stuff! I admit that for the first time i got a sense of excitement about the product being created & promoted by these guys as opposed to the imported stuff they sell. Fair play to Michael for taking time to meet us, inform us and encourage us. But are the efforts of UK based companies & organizations like this being thwarted by our yank brothers & sisters? Or are they even brothers & sisters? Sadly a lot of my issues and difficulties with CCM and such 'movements' are found in the fact that at the head of a lot of the leading companies & publishing houses there is no emphasis on 'christian' thinking or ethics, it usually about money. In fact a lot of the publishers we know and love are imprints of publishing companies that are in no way, Christian. A lot of consumers do not know that the reason some of the books you buy are on the shelf is JUST about the money, not about the impact it may have on your life or faith! Decisions like this one by Zondervan are often fueled by money. Perhaps the UK market is not doing so well and..............you know what, i needn't make that excuse because from where i sit, the UK market for Zondervan looks pretty sweet! They have top authors, big titles & nice marketing, and Rob Bell who is a marketers dream, but what has changed in the UK? Forgive me for being skeptical but much like in politics i can't help but feel like we are the smaller cousin who gets shafted (in Christian love of course) when the numbers do not add up! Its tough to put this point across though because more and more i see that 'christian' business is NOT 'christian' AT ALL. Some people just do not understand that in business you cannot turn off your Christianity! I suppose though, you cannot turn off something that is not there!

p.s i have decided to carry on the 'No More Christian Books' series as a look at the industry & products in general even though i am reading again!

Empty

A few days ago i 'tweeted' about my fascination and slight obsession with the Ray LaMontagne song 'Empty.' Since we saw him live in February i have listened to this countless times, bounced the words around in my head and i guess, felt a connection with some of what he says. For example, when Ray sings "I never learned to count my blessings. I choose instead to dwell in my disasters" part of me says 'yep' thats me! Anyway, i love the song, have a listen



p.s i couldn't find a really good live clip so sorry this is visually boring!

No More Christian Music?

If you have come within 10 ft of me for more than 5 minutes in the last year or so you may know the frustrations i have with 'Christian Music' and you may have heard rumors that i was going to follow on from 'No more Christian Books' with a similarly themed music equivalent! I was, i still might, but today i had a 'moment' that has forced me to write this blog post. I was scrolling through my iTunes and decided to reminisce with some Fernando Ortega. Some of you may know that Fernando was the first artist that atiG brought to Northern Ireland, back in 2004, he returned the following year. As i listened to 'The Shadow of your Wings" today i suddenly realized that i may have been harsh toward 'Christian Music.' The beautiful God honoring songs on that album and much of Fernando's work are truly fantastic. The thing about this record is that much of what is sung is lifted directly from scripture, unlike a lot of other CCM stuff. So, i listened and felt something i thought was dead within me flutter a little. My opinions and conclusions about CCM had, i thought, killed something in me, i might have been wrong though. I felt it move today! "Whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is worth, think on these things" As i heard those words i wondered if we have replaced 'truth, purity, loveliness and worth" with hip, cool & relevant?
So, i found this video which is also a tribute to Billy Graham's late wife, beautifully created BUT the thing i am highlighting is the song, the voice, the words..................



Thanks to Fernando for his music, he is a real artist in a mirky water of 'hip, cool & relevant" types who, for the most part are very un-important! NIce to see Rich playing the guitar in this clip, a wonderful guitar player!

Facebook/Blog Break statement........

While i am off facebook & blogging i thought i would leave a brief statement here which is part of my reasoning for this break.

"It is with regret that i have to announce i am now no longer involved with the organization known as FUEL Events or their 2009 event FUEL09. The official FUEL logo and all of the printed artwork & publicity produced up until April09 was created by me but as of now i am not responsible for any graphical work for FUEL or for any promotion of the event. atiG events, with whom i am intricately involved is also no longer a part of FUEL in any capacity"