Switch off the Iphone and relax

The introduction of the IPhone and the Blackberry means we are never far from an email, facebook or Twitter.

There is a sense in which our minds can always be thinking about what comes through that little machine.
It may be that we get a nice email from a friend or relative other than work but there is still this pull towards connecting in cyber land.
The Internet has brought us amazing advances in being able to access mountains of information, provide bountiful music, and endless programs from TV to catch up on. How is the IPhone and other such phones helping our face to face communication?
How do we learn to switch off?
Where is the space in our head in our minds to dream? Where is the space for creativity?
Are our ears so full of music that we can't create our own tune? Can we know longer hear a new melody?
Are our thoughts so full of what others are saying in cyberspace that we are missing what others are saying in front of us?

I am learning the principle of sabbath rest. That we lay down our tools and rely on grace rather than performance.
That we can leave work in the office or turn off the email, twitter and facebook for at least a day a week - shock horror!
How could we?
Do we need to be in constant contact? So what if I find out a football score 5 hours later as opposed to 5 secs after the goal has been scored?
What if we find out the x factor loser is out a day later, rather than 10 mins later? Does it really make a difference?

I suspect that artists may become less creative if we are constantly bombarded with information. I don't think there is an "APP" for creativity.
We need to get time to reflect, to smell the roses, taste the coffee, savour the landscapes, and hear the noise of the city without the headphones on all the time.

Maybe we could turn off the IPhone from 8pm until the morning?
Maybe the off button could be pressed on Saturday night and be turned back on Monday morning?
So don't be offended if I don't reply to your facebook message in 5 seconds or your text message in 1 hour, It just may be that I am trying to read one of my kids a story, or I am chatting with my wife, or playing some football.

This is not about being religious and a strict rule observer - it is about creating space. It is carving out time to remember that to be human is to rest, is to engage in face to face conversations, to play and enjoy life.

Worship music - How can we be creative?

I Recently put the post below on the worship Central website and I was encouraged that a great discussion followed with 40 posts.

Feel free to comment below.

I enjoyed going to the Worship Central event in Dunfermline recently and loved all the visuals and the way in which the event displayed creativity and left space for God to move.

A few questions/thoughts arose that I challenge myself with.

1) Does contemporary worship all sound a bit too similar?

A couple of friends who are are Christians often find contemporary Worship music difficult musically.
They often listen to music that is not mainstream an example of which Is"The welcome wagon".
Their complaint is that often the music at worship events all sounds like U2, Coldplay and the Killers.

I think they probably have a fair point - to get an anthemic sound you need to get the sounds those bands tend to produce.
Tim and Al were talking about being creative - how can we encourage the church to have different sounds? How can we cut new paths?

2) How does contemporary music reflect the surrounding culture?
To what extent should worship music reflect styles of music in the specific culture?
In Acts 17 Paul engages with the art of the day and uses it as an apologetic.
Could it be that if we engage with our surrounding culture but not always assimilating it we produce a new way of thinking for people who are not even Christians as well as those who are.
I good example of this is Jon foreman - in his work in switchfoot he looks at what it is to be human, to think about hope, and other areas. in his solo work he takes elements from todays culture and the psalms.
Maybe are songs should reflect a less dualistic life and one that looks at the material and physical.
What about worship songs to do with work?
Songs about relationships?
I know we are writing songs to praise God but the content of our songs could reflect us not just offering up our lives as a general phrase but being specific.

3) Where is the place for songs that are not congregational?
It seems to me that many worship leaders produce albums that appear to be for the use in the church but are not always singable?
This is not always a bad thing but is this what is suggested on the tin as it were.
For many years i have written singer/songwriter songs that are worshipful but would not be sung by a church.
Making a transition to writing songs for congregations is a different art. Should the two however be mutually exclusive?

4) To what extent do our songs present a reduced theology of worship?
One of the good things about the recent Worship Central event was the start with Ben Cantelon singing "you alone are God" with lots of visuals.
It made me think about the place of people worshiping by listening and watching and not singing or be encouraged to sing.
If it was ok in church or at events to have space where we did not sing but listened to a song being sung, a video being played maybe we could sing songs that cover a wider subject matter?
It maybe would allow our theology of worship to be wider to involve more space for refection?

looking for more creativity under God
Clive

Being Human - being physical

I have been doing some prep for some seminars on "living full lives". The seminars are for a training day for students from all over Scotland happening in Dundee this Saturday.

The emphasis on the seminars is not to "live full lives" by being busy Christians - 2 prayer meetings a week, 3 Sunday services, an Alpha course, and another outreach event.
Living full lives means living lives that are full of the goodness and glory of God. God is not just interested in our Church/CU activities he wants us to give him the glory in all we do. In our work, rest, and play.
It is spiritual to ride your bike, to eat food, to have a laugh with friends, to play football and to do a bible study.

Why is it that we reduce spirituality to church activity?
Why do churches seem focused on growing bigger and bigger?
Why is it that many of our churches seem too focused on outreach as being the be all and end all?

Ellis potter who often works with L'abri once said "evangelism is not the most important thing the glorification of God is".

I suspect most of our driven behaviour has more to do with us than God's glory - Will people applaud my ministry? Will people think that our church is great?
Platonic thinking also has an impact on our actions too - Plato tried to convince us that the most important thing was our souls, the physical does not matter much. Plato suggests that when we die we will float off as dis-embodied souls into some unknown heaven.
As Christians we have taken on board a lot of this Greek thinking and have created a dualism in our lives the Sacred/Secular.
We must realize that we have been made to give glory in the physical things of our lives.

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”

“Chief aim of man is to glorify God and enjoy him for forever”. Catechism.

Too often our focus on being super spiritual means we forget to look after our body, not getting exercise, eating the wrong foods, drinking too much wine and neglecting our bodies.

We can cut corners at work, develop lazy patterns because after all it's just work!

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” John Piper

Giving God the glory, living a full life is not trying to be morally superior it is about being satisfied in God. There should be an overflow in the whole of our lives.

Our view of future hope affects the way we live now. If we don't believe that there will one day be a new Heaven and a new earth we are likely to trash our bodies and the earth.
Who cares! we may say, it is all going to end anyway!
The bible clearly teaches that we will be resurrected people living in his kingdom on the new earth. That means rather than being a blob floating around the stars we will be eating, working (yes work was God given before the fall) and being physical.

This new creation gives us a fresh perspective on how being physical and being human is important now. We are not simply getting though, putting up with this nasty physical things, but we are to enjoy full lives now and into the glorious future.

We will then put value on playing football, sleep, eating, caring for people, conversing with people, holidays, watching movies because God has made us to be human not machines.

If you would like to hear some other thoughts on this subject check out this
Jerram Barrs talk

You are with me CD review

Hi
I have posted a review found in Evangelicals Now paper - I never thought I was so kendrick! shine Jesus Shine - I guess he is a legend of a songwriter so should be a compliment.
If you would like to submit a review of the CD then please send it to me - always useful to have some reviews
Thanks
Clive


Here is the Review -

You are with me
Beating Time

TITLE: YOU ARE WITH ME
ARTIST: Clive Parnell
WEBSITE: http://www.cliveparnell.blogspot.com/
PRICE: £6.00
FORMAT: CD (7 tracks, 23 mins.)
STYLE: contemporary worship

I managed to blag a review copy of Clive’s CD when I bumped into him on a soggy field in the Welsh borders. Clive is a Creative Evangelism Trainer for UCCF, and the occasion was a Phatfish gig at Forum 09, an under-canvas conference for CU leaders.

Over the past decade Clive has fronted bands such as IndigoEcho and The Mystery Tent at the Edinburgh Festival and Greenbelt (three albums are still available via the iTunes store). You are with me is his debut solo album and represents a recent, yet initially reluctant move into leading worship.

His voice and guitar are not unlike Kendrick’s, but the writing style more akin to Redman’s (by which I mean: simple lyrics, an emphasis on rhythm, and a fair amount of repetition). The songs have the integrity of coming from the heart, reflecting Clive’s recent walk with God. The focus is on who God is, what he has done in Jesus, and what our response should be. In a word: useful.


PGDH,
http://www.colossiansthreesixteen.org

© Evangelicals Now - October 2009
Please consider supporting this ministry by subscribing. http://www.e-n.org.uk/

you are with who?

Ok

New webpage set up for the CD - click here

Mr weir has made this up thanks to him for that.

I have been amazed to hear of people as young as 3 and as old as 90 singing the songs, now that is a broad appeal.
It is encouraging that the CD is appealing to lots of people - Christians, those on the fringes looking in and those who don't believe at all.
Music is said to be a universal language and I hope these songs continue to speak.

thanks
Clive

Did dave crowder band copy me?

So I know many of you have been wondering about what all the meetings I have been having with Passion in the USA are about?
I have been wondering about them myself too - I went to Washington DC a year and a half ago went to the Passion regional, met Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall and Mr Redman, but no Dave crowder.

I went to a meeting in London this year, no Dave crowder?
So I was surprised to find that Dave crowder was recording at the same time as me??
I was more surprised that ITUNES was releasing "Churchmusic" on the same day as My CD.

So basically my theory is Dave crowder has been spying on me - yes he said he was not in Washington DC but I reckon he was under cover as a student.
He was not in London but he was probably hiding as one of the Queens Guards with the big hat on.
He was in Edinburgh when I went to frenzy I was supposed to meet him for an interview did he show up? - NO

If you wanted to copy me dave you should have just asked - and those rockumentary things, i wondered where they went off my laptop those amazing scripts.
So if you are wondering why my ad campaign is so boring ask Dave crowder - ok so your CD is better than mine, but listen I am just a rookie on the worship CD front - Look forward to meeting up next May.

thanks
Clive

"you are with me" out on ITUNES

you are with me" out on ITUNES

Just to let you know the CD is now available on ITUNES around the world.

Just follow this link Clive parnell CD on ITUNES
and you will be taken to the ITUNES store and you can hear some tracks and buy the CD.

look forward to it getting to number 15,683!

thanks
Clive