Music makes the people get together

Just a short one for last thing at night... I'm quite tired out but I feel it is important to blog some thoughts from the past little while:

Firstly, today I came up with a great idea at work. For those of you who don't know I actually work in a prison when I'm not barking and squarking rock at the world. I came up with a really good method of recording our madatory training records using Excel (which is a Microsoft product - dunno if they're good or bad anymore...? There's a question for another day)

Secondly, think I'm gonna buy a laptop. Haven't quite gone into taking the plunge just yet but...should do in the next couple of days

Thirdly, been thinking about worshipping God. I mean, it's a big subject to think about (if you believe in Him or not even) but I'm thinking that music might just be quite important in helping us to commune with Him. Think about it - it seems that most of the Psalms of praise talk about music being an aid to the festivals of praise that the people joined in with. Obviously David wrote most of them and, being a musician, was quite biased...but it's not just the bible...

There was some programme on TV the other day about the 'Congo' - about a tribe that live there and have done for ages. It struck me - as they played away on their instruments - that rhythm and music was a massive part of life for them - and 10,000 other 'tribes' around the globe. It is the same for us - be it in our stuffy concert halls or grubby clubs. God gave us music as an advanced form of communication. One that can be used for good or evil - but certainly we can use it to worship Him. It's a unique art form. Why? Because it is the only art form that doesn't make sense without the added dimension of time. Music lives and moves and allows us to do so too. It is emotive and provocative and inspirational...don't all those words easily fit our common understanding of who God is too? Wierd huh?

I think as a musician and a worship leader I often genuinely feel like an extra on he movie set. Like one of the guys on the deck of the titanic who play as it goes down but are nonetheless just a part of the scenery. The musicians of the church are really important. I believe that some of the problems we're facing are not that the musicians have been elevated to too high a position but that when they are there they start to suffer from vertigo. We need to train musicians and worship leaders who can handle a lot of exposure - both in God's eyes and man's eyes. I believe musicians hold a vital security code to picking up on God's presence in our lives. Don't turn your nose up at it...have a think...