Dave Bilbrough's Blog

The Worship Leader's Prayer

2012-02-02T16:52:00.007Z

Though there is a melody to go with it, I thought I'd share with you these lyrics as a simple prayer:

God of mercy
cause the songs I sing today
and the music that I play
to bring release

God of mercy
keep my thoughts from wealth and fame
lead me humbly in your ways
of righteousness

For yours is the Kingdom
the power and the glory

for ever and evermore

God of mercy
Let the words of Christ ring clear,
that nothing blocks or interferes
from seeing You.

Dave Bilbrough
© 2012 Dave Bilbrough Songs

Light of the World

2012-01-05T14:21:00.001Z

It happened to me while I was away on a tour of the USA. I was staying with the leader and his family of the church I was ministering at, which was fun.

It’s quite common to have a spare bedroom in the basement in the States and it was there that I settled in for some well-earned rest after a hectic day of meetings and wall-to-wall people. But around 2:00am I was awakened. There was some movement in the room.

Startled, I looked up and the rocking chair on the other side of the room was starting to . . . well, rock! As I peered into the darkness, straining my eyes in an effort to see clearly, I noticed some material, a bed sheet or something, moving across the room. To squash the feeling of fear which was quickly rising up in me, I began speaking in tongues out loud. Perhaps this was a poltergeist?!! Maybe this was a deliverance situation?! In the middle of the night, in unfamiliar surroundings, I tried my best to summon up strong and positive feelings in order to be God’s man of faith and power for the hour!

As the activity around me grew and my intensity level rose to fever pitch, I heard the sound of a lamp stand falling over. Making a quick dash across the room I somehow managed to locate and switch on the light in one movement, ready to confront what I now thought was a legion of demons. Now that the lights were on, however, I could see, much to my relief, the family’s two pet cats scurrying across the room and quickly disappearing up the stairwell to the main house above. Things look very different when the light is on!

“The Lord is my light and my salvation. . . in Your light, we see light.’ As the Psalmist said.

As we enter this New Year together may we focus on seeing the light that dispels all darkness.

2011-12-08T14:30:00.001Z

NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR 2012!
If you would like to host your own special "Precious Grace" concert, click here.

2011-12-08T11:50:00.011Z

Precious Grace

Have you heard the one about the doctor who greets one of his patients on the street
"Hi Ken I haven't seen you lately." "No," replies Ken "I've been ill!"

Sometimes in our relationship with our Creator we can carry forward that same mentality - you know - afraid only to come to Him when we've really got ourselves together.

Forsaking an encounter with the only one who really can bring healing to us, Jesus, the wounded healer from Galilee, We try to pull ourselves up by our own boot straps, every method, technique available an in so doing suffocate the essence of grace.

"Come to me," says Jesus. "And let me take your burdens” Come to me even when you feel there is more life in an old Duracell battery then in yourself. "Come to me and learn the unforced rhythms of my grace" (the Message)... Yet we still try to find another way .

At the cross Jesus faced the greatest injustice the world had ever seen and overcame. It was a complete work, my sin was paid for, and now He actively welcomes me into his presence. That's profound!

For many this involves a complete paradigm shift in our thinking and conditioning, but by embracing this truth and applying it to our lives, transformation begins…

No more striving, but receiving!

Wow! This grace is precious!

2011-12-01T15:03:00.004Z

Just had this review of Precious Grace posted on the Cross Rhythms site:

STYLE: MOR / Soft Pop
RATING 8 /10
"Recognised as one of the fathers of the British worship movement Dave has written many songs we all know and love such as "I Am A New Creation" and "Abba Father". He has also written a series of books about worship. Dave's sound draws on folk roots and blends this well with the modern worship sound. As expected the songs on 'Precious Grace' are congregationally accessible and could be easily adapted and used by local church congregations in a variety of settings. The album starts off with more up-beat tracks such as "God Is On The Throne" and "Sing It Out" but then slows down to a more mellow and gentle feel which I think works extremely well with Dave's musicality and songwriting. "Son Of God" is a precious song that contains a depth of feeling that is beautifully expressed. "Show Me" has a great rhythm with smooth jazz undertones and turns your heart and mind to God." Reviewed by Matt McChlery

Scroll down for photos of the Album launch, or to purchase the album click on the "shop" tab above.

2011-11-11T21:37:00.005Z

For those of you that couldn't make it, or for those who did to re-live the fantastic evening we shared at Holborn City Temple for the launch of my album "Precious Grace", here are a few photos. If you missed out, you can get a copy of the album from the "shop" section of this website! Thanks to Malachi Kelly and Jon Bilbrough for the excellent photos.

2011-09-03T15:48:00.006+01:00

I'm delighted to announce the release of my brand new CD Precious Grace available now as CD and digital download. To co-incide with its release a special London Launch has been arranged on Friday November 4th. Click here for details.

Many of the songs have been intentionally written for congregational use in Christian gatherings both large and small across the world and to that end chord charts for all the songs can be downloaded from the resources section of this website.

Featuring legendary bass player Dave Markee, who has worked with such musical luminaries as Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading and Henry Mancini alongside Dave Cooke of Cliff Richard fame on keyboards as well as the excellent Simon Nelson (Joss Stone & others), on guitars with Drums and percussion supplied by none other than Dan and Pat Bilbrough, this album embraces melodic band and acoustic arrangements.

The scope of God's grace is amazing! To help people discover something of that which I've found in my own life is such an exciting thing for me. I believe there is a momentum growing in the church right now calling us to take a fresh look at the nature of God and what he has done for us through Christ. The songs I have recorded for this album reflect that and, I hope, help us to verbalise our response.

Order your copy today from this website. Go to the music page for digital download or shop for physical CD. Chord charts for all the songs can be downloaded free from the resources section of this website.

You are Special

2011-08-11T13:55:00.000+01:00

"Where are you from?” asked the Turkish sales assistant. "If I get asked that question one more time I'll knock that persons block off." I thought, smiling, but never said. "How about a leather jacket, a watch, a shave?" This bombardment was beginning to get to me; my emotional thermostat was beginning to rise. Here I was in the middle of the Turkish Bazaar trying to find some souvenir of our family vacation to take home that wasn't just a fake brand name - Armani, Gucci or a Rolex watch - but a product of the real Turkey. Then we found it! Opposite the Turkish baths, across the road from the white stained mosque on the corner of the small-town square stood a small cluster of shops. Away from all the noise and clamour of bartering and hassle we at last found a reason for being here. Like finding an oasis in the desert, we walked into the first shop and drank in the tranquil atmosphere. Our eyes were met by a dazzling array of Turkish kilim art. All manner of bags, shoes and men's waistcoats were on display. Pat fell in love with t a multicoloured shoulder bag. It was beautiful and rich in colour, practical in design, just what she was looking for. The sale was made.

In conversation with a courteous salesman we discovered the bags on sale were made in different areas and mountain regions of Turkey. Each bag or item was an original not a clone. No two were identical; each was woven with a pattern or symbol that bore a meaning that represented our personal dreams and goals - no two were alike.

In the same way God has created each of us to shine in a way that only we can, our lives are a song that only we can sing with a purpose and a destiny that is distinct and tailor made for each one of us.

Everybody is an original. Everybody is important. The secret of our life in Christ is to be true and honest to that person God has made us to be. In these days where God wants us to raise the watermark of our giftings and effectiveness let’s be sure we allow God to fulfil his perfect plan and purpose for our lives and not just opt for the safe option of conformity. As my friend Gerald Coates says “most people start their lives as originals and end up as copies.” God’s anointing most surely comes to those who are true to themselves and to their calling.

2 Minutes with... Paul Anderson-Walsh

2011-06-23T17:09:00.000+01:00

This latest offering in the "2 Minutes with..." series features Paul Anderson-Walsh who heads up a ministry called The Grace Project (http://www.thegraceproject.com/).

He will be leading a conference called 'Radical Joy' in Burnt Oak, London on 16th & 17th July 2011. Be good to see you there if you are around!

A classic tale!

2011-06-09T16:07:00.000+01:00

It was in the days when Bible Weeks were all the trend. There we were with 100 people from our church, self catering and camping! This in itself was a sacrifice for me to make, enjoying, as I do, the luxury of instant hot water and food, but that week I was to learn a lesson about how we so often take things for granted.

Towards the end of the week all the guys decided it would be really good for all the wives to get together on the last night and cook a big meal for everyone in the group to share. We thought this was a great idea – until we shared it with our wives and girlfriends. They weren’t quite so convinced! The plan was hastily re-adjusted and it was decided that on the last night we would put a big order in at the local takeaway. I don’t know quite how, but I found myself given the job of going down to the only place that did any takeaway at all, which was the local fish and chip shop (a particular favourite in the UK), on a Friday night, with this massive order.

By the time I reached the shop quite a queue had already formed so I entered the warmth and stood in line to await my turn. When I finally reached the counter I got out my piece of paper and started to give out the order… 15 plaice and chips, 17 rock eel and chips, 9 cod and chips… and so on. The chap serving me was the original ‘jolly friar’. His face just lit up! Unfortunately I can’t say the same was quite true for those in the queue behind me! They became rather impatient as he started to get all this together.

Eventually the order was ready and as I didn’t have any cash to pay the bill, I asked if it was OK to write out a cheque (no debit/credit card facilities back then!). I got out my chequebook and put it on the silvery top – you know the ones… in the winter it’s quite nice to rest your hands on it. With that, of course I put my cheque guarantee card on the top ready to verify the cheque. I don’t quite know what happened but somebody must have nudged me from behind, because as I let go of the card it somehow flew over the counter into the boiling vat of fat.

Not only did this poor guy have the stress of now dealing with an increasingly restless queue of people behind me (although this episode had released the tension somewhat!), and getting together this massive order, but now he had the added task of trying to fish my bank card out of his fat. Now, if you’ve ever put a bank card into a vat of boiling fat you will know that it comes out somewhat differently from the way it went in. Actually about ¾” wide, about 19½” (I exaggerate!) long; crinkle cut! Literally! I took it to my local bank and said, “Is this still valid?” All the staff gathered round to look and asked “can we give it to our bank manger”. Evidently they’d never seen a deep fried bank card before! To my knowledge the bank manager has still got it on his wall!

Our culture now is one in which we want everything instantly. That is the spirit of things in this age. Fast food, instant credit, instant gratification! The way God does things is completely different. But he doesn’t do that as he takes us through changes and processes, moulds us and shapes us into what he wants us to become.

I’ve told this one all over the world and it still raises a chuckle when I relate it!

Stay in your true calling

2011-05-05T12:23:00.000+01:00

‘Let’s do something special for Burns Night’ it’s coming up on 25^th January’, came a suggestion from one of our good friends at the beginning of this year. ‘The four of us could go together to the Baker’s Arms, the Local Restaurant/Bar who are putting on a special night.’

For Pat, my wife, who is truly Scottish, the idea was greeted with great enthusiasm. With the exception of herself, we’d never been to one before, so she was excited at the possibility of introducing us “Sassenachs” to the subtleties of a traditional Scottish event celebrating Robbie Burns the famous Caledonian poet and activist. On booking the tickets, Pauline did notice that comedy was mentioned, along with the traditional fayre on offer. Maybe this should have served as a warning light. Little, however, could fully prepare us for the evening ahead.

It started well enough: a table for four, a nicely carpeted, comfortable dining room seating about 70 people. Things, though, were about to take a turn for the worse. Clutching a microphone our host, dressed in a dark suit and tie, toured the tables as our resident comic. Unfortunately, his choice of gags was full of embarrassing innuendo and his attempts at interactive banter with us obviously fell a little flat. Next, the very same man metamorphosised into the Master of Ceremony, changing into a traditional kilt to present the Haggis accompanied by recorded bagpipes.

Having finished our meal, any hint of Scotland was immediately lost as our very same host, now in tight jeans and an open-necked shirt, became a DJ, pumping out dance floor fillers from Abba, Stevie Wonder and James Brown. All hopes of a tranquil traditional evening of culture were now aborted. However, nothing quite prepared us for the sight of the very same MC, hair swept back and leather clad, now taking to the dance floor as an Elvis Presley impersonator. I’m afraid that was enough for us… we beat a hasty retreat.

These things are always funnier afterwards, and it certainly gave us plenty to smile about, but how sad to try and be a ‘Jack of all Trades’ and a master of none. I wonder if, sometimes, we spread ourselves so thinly in our battle through life that we never really find what is really our true God given calling and gifting.

2 Minutes with...

2011-04-14T15:23:00.000+01:00

The second in the '2 Minutes with...' series features Ishmael, a long-standing and trusted friend who for over 3 decades has pioneered children's ministry here in the UK. Here he talks about the last couple of years where he has faced particular challenges and difficulties.

I am so glad to be able to commend to you Ishmael's new album, "Ishmael's Songs and Hymns" available from his website www.ishmaeldirect.com. I'm even singing on a couple of the tracks!

Set it free

2011-03-31T20:28:00.000+01:00

Here in the UK the Arts Channel is running an excellent series called ‘Songbook’. Each programme comprises of an interview and an informal performance from a leading songwriter about their craft.

Now, in Series Three, it was the turn of Bob Harris (remember him from the ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’?) to interview a real legend among songwriters – Diane Warren. With 38 Number One hits and 100 of her songs featured in Hollywood films, she has written more hits than Elton John, The Beatles and George Michael put together. Vocalists who have covered her work include Eritha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Toni Braxton (who sang the beautifully haunting ‘Unbreak my Heart’), Aerosmith, Whitley Houston and Roy Orbison… she knows a thing or two about songwriting!

I found the interview fascinating, how she eavesdrops on conversations and sometimes mishears phrases to give her lyrical ideas. Describing her cluttered workspace (not unlike my own, I might add!) and the process of what she calls “cracking the code” – that is, identifying the distinct quality of each individual song, I found her surprisingly vulnerable, yet incredibly driven in her work.

A feature of the series is that during the interview the writer will share examples of their compositions by playing live. This is not Diane’s prime forte, preferring writing to performing. Suffering with laryngitis certainly didn’t help. Armed with several ‘hot toddies’ to consume she soldiered on, but when asked to play her composition for the film “Love Actually” she conceded defeat by asking the English studio audience to sing along. Over in the far corner she identified a strong voice. It was someone who clearly was familiar with her material.

Out of generosity and desperation Diane there and then invited the studio guest to join with her and take up the vocal. I love these unvarnished spontaneous moments when the rough edges show, for what we saw next was another ‘Susan Boyle’ moment. As an unknown, plump, London girl, looking very ‘street’ burst onto our screens with an amazing soulful voice. Diane Warren was visibly moved. Promising to write for the young unknown in the future, the unknown was clearly shocked by the attention. In addition to being impressed by Diane’s warm, generous mentoring spirit I was struck with a thought that so many people carry latent ability but are never given the opportunity to show that talent, the opportunity to shine.

Today, I leave you with the thought that if we could see it, there lies much more within each individual than sometimes we give credit for. Our job, surely, is to help coax it out.

To quote one of my own songs:

“Set free this song you’ve put within me
And let the music play, for the glory of your name”

Connections

2011-03-17T12:04:00.000Z

For a fleeting moment, I was moved to tears this morning. It started with a tightness in my throat causing me to cough and swallow and then a slow trickle of salty liquid running down my cheeks. I was watching Japanese concert violinist, Taro Hakase, being interviewed on our BBC breakfast show along with his wife. Taro was giving his response to the tragic events that have unfolded in his homeland.

Hearing the news last week he immediately set about arranging a series of impromptu benefit concerts around London at venues such as Fortnum and Mason. In addition he went busking on the streets to raise money and awareness for the people of Japan.

The tearjerker for me was when he played, live in the studio, a piece that had become the theme-tune for the counterpart breakfast show in Japan. Owing to the recent situation the show has been cancelled indefinitely and obviously the music no longer played, but here was Taro presenting the daily sound track for the ordinary people of Japan in a very stirring way. It was haunting and beautiful. I was choked, but for a Japanese citizen who would have instantly recognised the melody… my goodness!

I guess no words can explain away the sorrow and bewilderment we have all felt over the last few days as we have watched our TV screens and viewed the poignant and graphic images before us. There is an element of mystery that faith calls us to embrace as creation seeks to work out the consequences of ‘the fall’ and ‘groans, as in the pains of childbirth’ towards the culmination of all things. As the philosopher Kierkegaard said, ‘life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved’.

This morning Taro, through his musicianship, transcended the necessary showbiz and newsgathering element of the TV breakfast format and took me to a place of connection with my fellow human beings, all made in the image of God, in Japan.

Woody's Legacy

2011-02-24T14:52:00.000Z

Yesterday Pat & I attended a very enjoyable theatre performance in the West End of London called “Woody Sez”. It was a superb production based on the life and music of Woody Guthrie. With a stage set of vintage guitars, double bass, fiddles, auto-harp and resonator it really was right up our street!

I’m sure the show glossed over many parts of Woody Guthrie’s personality in order to compress a lifetime into 2 hours, but we found it to be an absorbing and entertaining evening out.

Woody Guthrie was an American folk singer producing an amazing outpouring of songs based on local and world events. He represented the powerless; standing against the powerful; an authentic voice of the common people.

Hospitalised for 15 years with Huntington’s Chorea he eventually died in 1967 leaving behind a rich legacy of folk songs, including ‘Pastures of Plenty’, ‘House of the Rising Sun’, ‘Tom Joad’, ‘Worried Man Blues’, and, of course, ‘This Land is Your Land’. A young Bob Dylan was hugely influenced by him, regularly visiting him in hospital. Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg and many others have been inspired by his material.

It begs the question, however, where are the Christian writers using their music to provoke, connect, question and to be a voice to the voiceless to today’s generation? In an era where worship music proliferates and a homogenised ‘radio friendly’ sound seems all important, can it be that we have, at times, anaesthetised the church from the spirit of protest that many of the roots of church music were formed from.

Identifying with the poor and a vision for something better were very much part of Woody’s and his predecessors’ material. Woody didn’t fit the system; often his attempts to compromise in the media world had a disastrous response. Instead he chose to make his music heard in some of the most humble surroundings. Yet his music still lives on, still inspiring, still speaking and still crossing borders. Surely food for thought for us, the Christian songwriters of today?

2 Minutes With...

2011-02-10T13:57:00.000Z

This is the first of a series of interviews that I shall be posting up where I have taken the opportunity on my travels to talk with with various people around the world who are doing some pretty interesting things!

This initial posting features Wayne Jacobsen, author of a number of books, who writes and speaks in a practical way about grace and living in the Father's love.

For more information on Wayne's ministry visit www.lifestream.org

Shining through the cracks

2011-02-03T10:09:00.000Z

Been listening to a ‘heavy’ preacher on the internet today. Making vows to God, continual self-examination and having a 'default setting' of serious disposition seemed to be the entrance points for him with life in the Spirit. As the listener, it sounded pretty strong stuff to me. For most of us, getting up in the morning is a triumph, let alone us becoming overcomers in God’s end-time army. Whilst I can’t contest his sincerity, there didn’t seem much grace around in the talk. Obviously 'holiness' and obedience is God's intended desire that's a given but how we get there, well that's another thing.

The application of old testament laws became the justification for obtaining even higher achievements before God could possibly use us. Spirituality, therefore, becoming the possession of an elite few who have attained through their self-effort and willpower ; or at least that’s what I heard. I don’t deny that holiness is God’s way, but let’s not lose sight of grace in our zeal to be used. Leonard Cohen got is right in his song ‘Anthem’:

Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering;

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

Even the apostle Paul, a colossal giant of the Christian faith, talked about being perplexed at times. He wrote about containing treasure in earthen vessels. (yoghurt pots or tin cans in today’s language), and though he stated clearly that God always causes us to triumph he was willing to be lowered over a wall in a basket to escape in Damascus. Paul's boast was about Gods strength being made perfect out of weakness.

So don’t discount yourself. It’s out of our frailty, or the cracks, that the light can shine and God wants to use us right now to touch others. Our seeming failures are the opportunities for grace to come.

Finding the way!

2011-01-13T15:32:00.000Z

I was in the USA to record an album for Integrity Music. The spin-off for the family being that they were able to take a relatively short hop on the plane from Alabama and spend several days at the famous and ever popular theme parks of Florida.

Greeted with huge excitement by Pat and my 2 young (at the time!) sons, rides such as Space Mountain, King Kong, Back to the Future etc. proved a huge hit with us all, and did not disappoint. At the end of each day, however, we found ourselves knowing that our biggest challenge still awaited us.

This was back in prehistoric times before we all owned satellite navigation systems for guidance on our roads. Each evening, having taken the tram to the car park, we would alight into our hire car and negotiate the freeway ahead. With its conspicuous lack of British-style roundabouts and with confusing road signs that seemed to dangle above our heads at traffic junctions, each night became an ordeal as we would take numerous wrong turnings. Inevitably we would be sent off in a direction far from the Quality Inn hotel that we increasingly longed for. South East, North of Florida and all points in between became the backdrop for this unfolding drama.

Eventually, amidst all our confusion we began to recognise that the common thread in all this was the Burger King restaurant. We discovered that once we found that building stationed by the side of the road we knew we would eventually find our way home. Unconventional though it may seem, finding Burger King became our aim and the key to us successfully arriving back before dawn!

Sometimes, locating where you are on a journey is hard enough, but it’s even harder to see who you really are. The dance of life pretty soon leads to a march to conformity when we compare ourselves with and erroneously adopt the standards of others to live by.

I wonder if Jesus was alluding to this that night in conversation with Nicodemus, who had all the trappings of success but still was seeking:

“No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again” was Jesus’ response to this devoutly religious man’s question. Could it be that being born again involves learning to think differently from our established values as part of the package of new life?

Substitute miles for years, and maybe the Burger King episode points us towards more than just finding a comfortable hotel for the night.

Can you hear?

2010-12-09T15:16:00.000Z

“Goldberg sang many songs for them, songs that began merrily in the hills and fell softly down into silence; and in the silences they saw in their minds pools and waters wider than they had known, and looking into them they saw the sky below them, and the stars like jewels in the depths.”

Taken from Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings

To be able to hear is a precious thing. A new born baby, long before experiencing the miracle of seeing in this material world will first hear from deep within their mother’s womb. What we hear shapes our inner narrative, informing our elemental drive and passion of what is to come. What we hear is a precursor to seeing.

Whilst spoken lamguage is important, music, with its added dimension of harmony, melody and rhythm can move us to cry, be happy and dance in a unique and amazing way. It can help us recover our personal feelings or even exorcise them as a group or community in situations of despair, war or violence.

Back in the medieval days, society readily understood this, elevating the troubadours almost to the rank of nobility. Centuries earlier the Celts regarded the bards as having almost mystical powers. They were renowned for their storytelling and musical skills.

Stretching back into Biblical times Miriam, who is credited with spontaneously writing the very first hymn intuitively, took up this important role as she stood on the banks of the Red Sea celebrating in song and music the defeat of the oppressor, the Egyptian army. By singing, dancing and stridently playing her tambourine she embodied the emotion of a nation. Spilling out in praise to God.

One of the best ways of communicating to and about that God is through the medium of music. Music touches the human spirit. The musician prophet can awaken people from all walks of life to behold a God who is already present. He or she can create a hunger to begin to see in a new way.

In our inner world things can at times seem murky and unclear. Isolation, fear and our pain can make so many of us feel as Dorothy Rowe, the internationally respected psychologist, puts it, ‘we feel that we are falling through the universe with no floor at our feet.’ Music can bring solace and comfort, and by hearing become the forerunner to help us turn to face a journey of beginning to see differently.

I long to see God’s minstrels sing of a new land and a new hope and with using a variety of cadences sing of His sonnet... a song of freedom pitched in the key of grace.

Holy Land Musings - a Star, a Stable and a Cross

2010-10-23T16:01:00.000+01:00

I'm writing this blog on scraps of paper at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, surrounded by Rob Cotton and the team who are returning from a recce tour of the Holy Land in preparation of our two Biblefresh tours due to take place in 2011. The Holy Land, embracing both Israel and Palestine, produces a varying mix of emotions from the calm and tranquility of the Tiberius region, which takes in the shores of Galilee, through to the melting pot of Jerusalem, where the three great monotheistic religions are all vying for supremacy and territory. though a wonderful place I find myself, at times, bewildered and baffled by our need to occupy and possess.

A star

One of the sights we visited was a place called Shepherd's Field, located on the West Bank, near Bethlehem. It would have been where the shepherds tended their sheep and on that historic night encountered the angels preparing them for Jesus' birth. The Wise Men, of course, saw the star and it got me thinking about how the star, as a sign of the coming of Christ, could not, like this land, be contained within barricades and walls, for it was outside of all that. The coming of Christ transcends all our dividing barriers and following in his footsteps means that we too are not bound by geography or possession of a land.

A stable

What is it about a baby that makes us feel more human? Is it the innocence? Is it the empathy with a child-like spirit? As I reflected on the nativity scene during this trip I was reminded again of a Mary who said 'yes', a God fearing carpenter who boldly co-operated, and the coming of a baby that helps us shed the hard cell of cynicism that we so often surround ourselves with. The coming of Jesus heralded a new stage in God's unfolding facet of himself to mankind. No longer was he just a God of power, lightning and majesty; he now showed us his identification with mankind and not only helps us reconcile ourselves to God but also to ourselves for the child-like spirit is rekindled in each one of us as we take time to gaze on the wonder of the birth.

A cross

On a previous trip I was struck by the significance of us as a group of Christians gathering on a hill overlooking Jerusalem, though it was peaceful and quiet, below us was the hubbub of the city sounds and behind me and the worship band stood a simple wooden cross. As we worshipped that day, together we began to take in the view from a different standpoint, a higher place, if you like, where all of the hustle and bustle of this magnificent city below is seen through the focus and the lens of the eternal symbol of God's love for mankind, the cross.

A star that can't be subjugated to time or place, a stable, the birthplace of the arrival of a child, and a cross that shapes our view and perspective. Surely God is still speaking through these time honoured symbols.

Click here for more details of the Biblefresh tour

Brochure and booking form available here

The language of heaven

2010-06-17T13:00:00.000+01:00

After much speculation, the long-awaited publication of the Savile enquiry finally arrived. The full apology by the British government for those dramatic events of 38 years ago in Londonderry, Northern Ireland where 13 people were innocently killed by a parachute regiment of the British Army was both right and appropriate. As I pondered over the breaking news my mind began to think of my own trips to the infamous Shankhill area of Belfast, a different area of Northern Ireland but extremely volatile at that time, in the years following on. I was inspired by the many friends I found there, who, in the midst of the troubles became a beacon of hope to both Catholics and Protestants alike, touching and inviting ordinary people to seek the light.

For those with eyes to see, God’s love, care and compassion can be found in the most unlikely places. The people who have inspired me most are often the ones who shun the limelight preferring to live out their lives unpretentiously and unselfconsciously; Christ for others…

Switching continents, I recall travelling across another city, ‘suitcase and guitar in hand’, where I was on my way to visit a homeless project in Jakarta, Indonesia. I had a concert in another place in the evening and my hosts didn’t speak English too well. They had been saying something about a few people gathering together in the afternoon. I expected 35; when I arrived there were 3,500 homeless people waiting to hear me! Unprepared, to my horror I discovered there was no vocal microphone available - just a guitar amp to play through - and no-one seemed to speak fluent English. It was a long 45 minutes, I can tell you, but I saw first hand self-giving love. God’s love in action. These people had nothing – street people with no homes – no state system to rely on. But the Christian churches – they chose to serve where the state chose to ignore.

I think of my friends Jenny & Karen working in parts of the world where there is danger, fear and deprivation. They are humble, unassuming people who are working in war-torn Sri Lanka with children's’ homes in Jaffna. Talk to them about human suffering – they have seen it on a regular basis, and not just on a TV screen.

These people, faithfully show up day after day with a quiet confidence that God is never merely limited to being an abstract doctrine but one who, through the person of Christ, to quote the Good Book, “was touched with our feelings and infirmities’. So much so that he came and did something about it!

Now how amazing is this? That through the lives of normal, regular people God chooses to make himself known when we are motivated by love.

A Facebook friend, recently posted up this quote from Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham: ‘Love is the language of heaven that we get to use here’.

You know, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Switched on?

2010-05-27T17:25:00.000+01:00

As a young fledgling worship leader I took my first tentative steps into the world of broadcasting by accepting the invitation to lead, along with others from my youth group, the evening service for transmission at my local hospital. The chapel where the service was broadcast was a small prefabricated building with a tin roof in the grounds of the brick-built Victorian hospital where the patients were convalescing.

Weeks of preparation went into this event where we practised our worship songs (can you do that?) and weaved together a seamless 30 minute programme designed to uplift and encourage the listening patients. Nervously, we entered the small, deserted chapel on the day of the broadcast and unpacked our instruments.

Just before we were about to start a staff member came through and handed me a note. I duly folded it, put it in my back pocket and commenced with the job in hand. 30 minutes later we had finished. We'd played and sung well; all our expectations were achieved. The chapel was still deserted and we began to vacate the building.

As I was about to switch the main lights off I reached for the folded note in my back pocket. It contained this message:

IMPORTANT!! Please switch on the microphones before the start of the transmission,

We'd gone through the whole thing and been oblivious to the fact that no-one could hear us. It sounded great to us, but of course it wasn't for us that we were playing.

I wonder, I just wonder, how much our creative endeavours within the modern Christian church are produced, metaphorically, with the microphone switched off, resulting in us inadvertently missing the audience for which it was intended.

A higher way

2010-05-13T14:10:00.000+01:00

Wallace Stevens describes in his seminal poem, “The Man with The Blue Guitar” the image of a man with a musical instrument in his hands and the listeners response.

"They said,‘you have a blue guitar, you do not play things as they are
The man replied, 'things as they are are changed upon the blue guitar'"

Although probably not intended, for me these lines perfectly describe the role of the minstrel sharing with sensitivity the true reality of, as Wallace puts it ‘a tune beyond us and yet ourselves’. Music, like no other media we have, can comfort, challenge and motivate us towards a higher vision. It is more than simply a 'product' or a soundtrack for a commercial pitch. In the hands of a skilled practitioner it has the potential to become a portal into the eternal, sharpening our perceptions of how we see our daily lives in the light of the 'bigger picture'. It can move our hearts inspiring us to live freer - less self consciously - acting as a vital lubricant to us when we are 'stuck'. Yes, the Holy Spirit can certainly use it in powerful and profound ways.

Like all things in life the value and significance of any gifts truly come when they are shared with others. The invitation for us all is to clearly communicate the eternal truths of God which as the poet reminds us are ‘beyond us and yet ourselves’.

Catch the Wind

2010-04-25T14:52:00.000+01:00

It was back in 1974. We were in the Ship Inn in the snug, planning and strategising. Tuesday night was always Guinness training, though the Irish drink was always too heavy for me so I settled for a Mackeson. About my height and with longer hair, and much more round, Hoss was known for 2 things: He always wore the same leather waistcoat and he snored loudly. Lampy, on the other hand, had just one claim to fame. He was very tall!

We were planning a trip to Mersea Island at the same time as the festival which featured the Incredible String Band and T-Rex who were on the bill. Our parents wouldn’t let us go, so someone suggested doing the next best thing… sailing! Lampy’s parents had a dingy moored down on the island. He’d done a bit over the years, so 'let’s give it a try', he suggested. We travelled down. Next morning we’re on the quayside donning orange sailing jackets we’re running across a pebbly beach pushing a small sailing dinghy towards the water and looking ridiculous, waves are splashing all around us. We bob up and down in the water. Before we’d left the shores, Lampy had told us about an important discipline in sailing called ‘tacking’. In fact, he’d even shown us, in the sailing handbook for beginners, that ‘if you’re afraid of capsizing, your tacking will be at best mediocre’.

Once we were acclimatised, Lampy told us it was time to tack. He shouted something, I can’t remember what it was, but it made a guttural sound. Then we had to lean out. It was scary but the boom swung violently across our heads. Somehow the act of leaning had a correlation with us catching the wind. Lampy was leaning right out, he’d done it before. I never did catch the bug for sailing; I got a bit scared, but I could see our speed and trajectory was dependent on trusting the wind. The more we leaned, the faster we would go. As the handbook said, if you are afraid of capsizing, your tacking will be mediocre. It came natural to Lampy; I was far too cautious. With an evident smile across his face he was abandoned to the moment. From the distance I could hear some music from the festival wafting over across the bay. Someone was singing. It was an old Bill Withers song; something about ‘Lean on Me’.

We all have a tendency to get stuck in our ways, preferring to rely on predictable patterns of self-reliance. Songwriter, Billy Bragg, put it succinctly when he wrote of a character that was “trapped in a haircut that he no longer believed in”. The process of breaking free often involves times of confusion, disorientation and disillusionment, but these things, when embraced fully, can have the power to become the catalyst to propel us beyond ourselves.

Some believe that God will come at the last minute; the 11:59 God, one minute before we turn into Cinderella. I’m not so sure I believe that. Sometimes it’s one minute past 12 that he comes, because when we reach the end of out tether we begin to learn the secret of trust.

150 years ago, the artist Degas famously wrote “only when the artist no longer knows what he’s doing does he do good things”. I have found that the most creative people I know are the ones who face the most self-doubt before embarking on a new creative venture. The accumulated knowledge through past work or achievements does not satisfy; they prefer to dig deeper risking reputation or criticism in the exploration of something new. Surely any true act or worship requires a letting go of the tried and tested formulas from our natural resources and mind and to step into another dimension entirely. To use an analogy, past data on how to cope stored on the hard drives of our lives pales into insignificance compared with the possibilities of plugging into the super information highway.

Part of my journey has been to identify with the apostle Paul who wrote “of myself, I can do nothing” but gradually another light is dawning, that everything is possible when our weakness is infused with divine strength.

Perhaps we could all do well to heed the call of Lampy to abandon our mediocrity and to lean out fully to catch the wind.

Hello

2009-12-31T12:20:00.000Z

This is Dave Bilbrough's new blog