As I watch some of the events on God recently from Florida, it is hard not to laugh quite alot. Let’s face it, the worship is all out of tune The leaders come over as lunies. We see people sitting around in the chairs looking bored (sorry, taking everything in). The musicians all look confused and keep making mistakes. And as for the Bam Bam….
Having been involved in recording a few live worship albums over the years, I know the pain of hearing your extravagances (which seemed entirely right in the moment) and knowing that they will be played over and over again on the CD in people’s homes and churches for ever and ever. And then you become known for them. ‘Oh Yes, I know Neil Bennetts. He is the one who sang that weird note on How Great is Our God on the New Wine Album from 2006’.
The thing is, none of this stuff really does translate very well, and to be honest, if it got to the stage where we watched the events with the same critical appreciation as we watch an episode of 24, it will probably have been fabricated beyond recognition and have lost all it's credibility. Rather like 24 actually. But that's another story.
I was at a gathering in our church last week. We had some more baptisms and as ever I took some photos for the people getting baptised. Then as we went back to worship, I decided to keep snapping. I almost got this amazing picture of hundreds of hands in the air. I say almost because there was this guy in the foreground of the picture with a bald head which really wrecked it. I have about 20 pictures, and from which ever angle I took it from, there is baldy right in the middle, messing up the photo.
The thing I am finding at the moment, is that the questions I have over style and model with Florida is forcing me to look all the harder for what God is doing beyond the tattoos, beyond the BAMs beyond the chicken head movements. And this is a good thing for me, for us, to do.
And I have to say, that now I am far far more interested in what God is doing here in Cheltenham than anywhere else in the world. I have to have that approach. Any other will lead me to become like Alan Hansan. A great pundit, but now never kicking a ball, unable to influence the outcome of any single football match.
And how often did Jesus do the same - forcing those around him to look for God behind the strange things: spitting in a blind man’s eyes, a prostitute pouring out all her perfume, a load of pigs running off a cliff, a man dying on a cross beside thieves, a few rags left in an empty tomb.
So I say, keep getting in the way My Baldy.
2 comments:
I was watching the Lakeland Revival last night on GodTV and the worship was being led by yet another baldy, David Fitzgerald (!). Hitchmo
Florida! It makes me think ... Who will God use for His purposes to reveal His Kingdom, His message of Love, Grace, Mercy and Healing for us all? Hey! He'll use a messed up full-on sinner every time! Because there's no one else is there? No seriously. Whoever among you who is without sin ... let him throw the first stone.
So, Todd Bentley. What a mess of tattoos this man has. They're not even stylish tattoos either, just a really badly inked body on display. Come on let's spell it out, he's overweight, got a baldy head, rubbish beard, badly fitting jeans (you can only buy these in the US can't you?), shouts too much for my liking and ... he looked directly into the camera on God channel ... points his finger ... right at me (well, no one else was watching at the time were they?) ... and ... I want what this man has. I want God to use me like this man too. Because God knows I'm no better than Todd Bentley. It seems to me he just cried out to God at some point, then got off his backside and did something about what God was telling him to do.
And you know what? I'm no better musician than some of those seriously whiny, out of tune singers, guitarists and bassists in Florida either. But who cares? I believe God doesn't care about our technical ability, He just cares about where our hearts are and how we respond to His calling.
Yeah! Carry on Mr Baldy. I'm with you all the way in praising and worshipping our almighty God. Keep leading. I'll keep singing. Cos He's using you!
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