Back from Auckland - today was a good day. 5 great conversations, 4 coffees and a dodgy wendys burger later... For the record, Bruce is genuine, Tash is incredible (never forget that), Frank rules my world, Andrew Robinson is incredibly generous and Im excited about the future of Youth Alpha (cant say much more than that).

Bit of drama getting to and from dorkland; I was meant to fly out at 8:30 am on monday, and due to fog finally left at 4:30 pm.
And on the way home; I turned up to catch the shuttle (which turns up every 20 minutes in theory) at 6:30 for my 8pm flight, by 7:20 I was getting worried. I rung air nz and found out that 8pm was the last flight to wellington, and so grabbed a taxi, and egged him on to get to the airport as quick as he could. I arrived at 7:55, and $60 later got on the flight... just.

Here is a quote from NT Wrights commentary on Ephesians 5:11 - 20 that I have being wanting to post for a while - I would love to write a whole lot more on the topic of sung worship on this blog but (insert excuse here) I haven't.

"One of the main places that music was regularly employed in the ancient world was in worship. Pagan worship, Jewish worship, and of course early Christian worship all used music extensively. This passage and similar ones in the New Testament indicate that singing was then, as it has remained ever since, an important part of Christian worship and of building up the church in celebration and instruction".
And later
"Paul doesn't see these hymns and songs as simply decorative, a pleasant aural embroidery around the Christian faith and practice. Singing, whether aloud or in your heart was, he thought, an excellent way of practising the faith. If you don't want your garden to grow weeds, one of the best ways is to keep it well stocked with strong, sturdy flowers and shrubs. If you don't want your mind wandering off into the realms of darkness, one of the best ways is to keep them well stoked with wise and thankful themes, so that the words of comfort, guidance, and good judgement come bubbling up unbidden from the memory and the subconscious.
Hymns and psalms today can provide exactly this kind of Christian nurture. They are not merely entertainment; they are instruction, consolation, warning and hope. After some rather feeble attempts at new Christian hymns and songs in the late twentieth century, it would be good to think that the twenty-first century might see a creative talent in this area."

This entry was posted by Sam, on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. You can leave your response.