Big churches and little churches

When I was growing up, I used to go to a small church. The church meets in a school and its made up of around 20 people, maybe more if they're at absolute capacity. Every couple of months they'd do a special event and people used to get excited when more than the average 20 would turn up for the service. "We had 50 show up" was a typical comment reflecting the feeling that the event had been a success because it had been well attended. At the time I used to really wonder whether there was any point in them continuing with such a small number of people - they may as well pack up and join a church of a decent size, with decent music, and more young people.

But on recent reflection, I think I was wrong to have considered smallness a bad thing. And I think the church leaders were wrong to be measuring the "success" of their church by the numbers of seats filled on Sundays or at special events. Because looking at the Christian communities in the New Testament, I think my old church's small "togetherness" which has been nurtured over years of a small group of people meeting together to worship God and support each other is pretty close to the types of things the Bible teaches about a church community.

I was listening to a talk on small group togetherness - so many things came out of it which made me think..and some of the things I really don't want to forget so I'm going to write them down. One of them was that church is so much more than a Sunday worship service and a mid week meeting. There are some churches which attract thousands of people - Hillsong in London, Assemblies of God in Bradford, Renewal Christian Centre in Solihull, Hope City in Sheffield...they literally have thousands of people streaming through the doors every Sunday. Young people, people who you normally wouldn't expect to see in church. At these churches you can expect a service which has the same level of production as a well produced West End show -they have all the components...a theatre like venue with a large stage at the front, a highly professional band with amazingly talented and inspiring singers and musicians playing songs which are easy to pick up and sing along to and have lyrics which move you, a Pastor or group of Pastors who are famous for their teaching or for their inspirational example or presence, a large congregation. But the thing is - a church can have all these things and still be in terrible shape. Because Church is more than having a brilliant and uplifting experience once a week.

I'm not saying that all large churches are little more than the producers of great shows - it is a great thing to have a gifted worship team who can really lead people into the presence of God, a Pastor who can teach what God is saying in the Bible clearly and in a way that hits home...and to be honest that kind of service can be an incredible boost once in a while...but these aren't the sole marks of a healthy, thriving church. If you dig a bit deeper into the lives of these large churches, the real mark of their health and their pursuing God's heart can be seen in the way they equip their members to live out their Christian lives 24/7, in their neighbourhoods, families and communities and how much people meet together in smaller groups to encourage each other, to allow the Holy Spirit to work through them and learn more from each other. Hebrews 3 talks about encouraging each other daily, Ephesians 4 talks about bearing with one another in love, about being joined and held together by every supporting ligament and the way Pastors and teachers prepare us for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up (so its the body of Christ which builds itself up - with some equipping from the pastors.) And this is the just the start...there's loads of stuff about how churches which live out community that comes from Christ look in practical, real life.

In a church of 20, the church is a small group in itself! Everybody knows everyone - it's pretty hard to sneak out of the back of the church when you make up 5 or 10% of the congregation! Anonymity isn't really an option! The thing is, if you see the same small group of people in your church often enough, if you pray together and wait on the Holy Spirit together, if you put yourself in a setting where you end up talking to them about life, about God, about the world, your experiences, problems...that kind of bearing with each other in love and supporting each other like ligaments starts to become a feature of your relationships with those people - and therefore of your church.

It's pretty impossible to nurture relationships like this with loads of people - there isn't the time nor the energy for it...but is it better to have lots of superficial "hi hi" relationships with loads of people who you see on a Sunday morning, or to spend some time working on a few deep ones where "hi" won't really cut it, where you check in with that person if you don't hear from them in a week, where you can enquire after the health of their soul and not feel like you're being intrusive, where you can be a support and allow yourself to be supported. To be honest, the idea of having vulnerable "talk", conversations of depth with a small group of people from my church on a regular basis has a lot of things which would put me off - I'd need to invest time and energy and commitment, I'd need to give up some Facebook time to make time for the people, I'd have to open up about my weaknesses and the things that make me angry, my faith would start to take on a corporate as well as an individual characteristic, people might tell me to my face when I do bad things or criticise some of my decisions or behaviour!...and I'd have to get over my judgemental, proud self and deal with people who are different to me. Who I perhaps would not normally choose to spend time with.

But then I think this kind of talk, this kind of support network is needed. We actually pay people (professional counsellors) to listen to us and talk to us. With a counsellor its great as you know you have their undivided attention for at least an hour, that they are totally focussed on you, that they won't answer their phone half way through the conversation and ditch you, that they won't just wait for their turn to speak, that they won't judge you for telling them the truth about what you are thinking or what you've done. There are some problems which most definately need counsellors...need therapy specific techniques...some deep rooted, long lasting hurts and issues which need a specialised "talker" to have some quality conversation to bring them out and help healing. But maybe also, us as small groups of Christians in our churches, could improve the nature of our talk - so that we don't have to turn to a stranger for support.

I guess the founding principle of all this would be the love and acceptance and strength we have in Christ. With him as a foundation, making us whole...it enables us then to seek him out in the context of a group of Christian friends...and to allow them to speak into our lives...and into our faith. In Ephesians 4 it says that "from him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

I guess there's a place for Big Churches and Little churches. But I think if the big churches want to be more than an impressive worship service and a mid week prayer meeting or bible study, there needs to be lots of little churches amongst them, building each other up and growing in love.

Female, single and Christian

I'm single.  I'm 25 years old and I do not have a boyfriend...let alone a husband! It's nearing the end of May which means that wedding season is beginning to loom. This is becoming a season which holds more and more significance for me each year...as more and more of my friends seem to be getting married.

In practical terms it means I'm desperately trying to buy the most affordable thing on wedding lists and becoming more familiar than I had ever intended on being with the home living sections at John Lewis and Debenhams. It means I'm going to have to hit the charity shops to buy a wedding outfit as I've worn the dresses I reserve for weddings and special occasions a number of times during last year's wedding season. As there are a number of people whom I only ever see at weddings they may begin to think I only ever wear the same item of clothing all year round...so I may be forced to find an alternative (with the charity shop offering an option where I might not completely bankrupt myself in the process). It means that at the weddings I attend I have to remind myself to keep focussing on the happy couple declaring their everlasting love for each other and to celebrate with them, NOT to allow my eyes to wander across the congregation of family and friends, wondering which of the men might be single...! Yes I said it... and if you're a single woman and you've been to any weddings recently, yes you've thought the same thing! 


But going to all of these weddings does remind me of my present state of singleness and makes me think about it more than I normally would. I have actually been thinking quite philosophically about my singleness these past few months. Being single was never something that really bothered me until last year...then I realised that somehow it had to started to bother me too much. A few years earlier my aunt had ever so kindly told me that statistically speaking, with there being 4 girls in our family, one of us would probably end up alone. At the time I just laughed and marvelled at how on earth she could think this was an appropriate thing to say to me, but after my younger sister got married and popped out a kid and my elder sister had twins, the words started to come back and haunt me! In this world there's already more women than men, but as a Christian and therefore, being part of a community which is dominated by females, the odds of getting married become even more stacked against me. Added on to this, circumstances mean I haven't and don't meet that many men (working for a charity which has mostly female employees, before that studying on a course which was 80% women and before that teaching in an all girls school).

So where does that leave me?  How do I put the future to rest and accept the very real possibility that I might not get married eventually? That I may end up without a husband. This is no easy thing to do. First of all, we're bombarded by messages that marriage and relationships are the best thing and that that is the only way I'll be truely happy/fulfilled. Adverts for deodrant, cheese, banks and cars tell me that if I buy their product I'll attract a great man, or have a family, or have a fulfilled relationship i.e this is what I should be aspiring to obtain and the way I can obtain it is through buying these products. Political parties tell me that marriage is better by offering to give tax breaks to married couples, or by promising to promote traditional family values (because if you're not married your values are evidently not up to scratch and don't merit being given a tax break...) The best selling books and films are based on romantic relationships (which either work out well or with one partner dying knowing the other one loved them more than anything;). Seems if I don't follow the story of the book, the film or the advert...then I've failed. I don't have a chance at having a happy life. I'm going to be alone and miserable..and to follow the stereotype get cats and start talking to them. It doesn't help that within the Christian community, I'll often in the course of conversation with a young person who I've just met, hear them refer to their wife and then look at them in bewilderment as they barely look old enough to go to university, let alone be married! 

I was listening to a talk on a long car journey recently. The speaker made a couple of points which made me think. First of all he was talking about how this life is only a temporary state. We're only here for a couple of decades and then we'll spend forever after with God. All marriages end at death...there won't be any married people in heaven. So we can help ourselves deal with our singleness by not focusing on the crust of dry bread that is this life and all human relationships when there is a never ending banquet to feast on with God in heaven. This is hard to accept completely when I see seemingly very happy married people and when I play with my gorgeous nieces and wonder if I will have my own mini Beckys in the future...but I guess I can't compare my Maker and Saviour with human beings and if I do, I risk replacing him as the only one that I worship. 


The speaker also made the point that in the Old Testament, the survival of the Jewish nation depended on Jews marrying and procreating. The Jews grew by giving birth to more Jews! They grew by growing their own families - in a biological way. The thing is, in the New Testament things changed. The Christian family does not grow by us getting married to other Christians and giving birth to Christian babies. The family of Christ grows by people from all walks of life being born all over again into that family, by them being adopted by Christ and welcomed into his family by existing members. So we are all husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters, sons, fathers....to each other. Even Jesus said it himself when asked about his family, saying, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Somehow I think that if this was how we, the church, operated, I wouldn't be half as scared of singleness as I am. If I were all of these things to my spiritual family, and they were these things to me, marriage would seem like just another option in the book, rather than the best and most superior option available. Right now, albeit admittedly unwillingly, I'm walking the walk that Jesus chose to walk, the walk that Paul praised to the skies, the walk that affords the most opportunity to dedicate my life to Christ - the walk of an unmarried person. It's a tough and often lonely walk but I think I could make so much more of it if it were recognised as a good thing, as an opporunity for great good. We congratulate people when they start a relationship and we celebrate their marriages - and rightly so - I'd be bouncing off the roof if I were to be getting married. But on the otherhand, there have been times when I've witnessed the end of what have been quite frankly unhealthy and co-dependant relationships which have sucked the life and personalities out of the two partners, and I've felt like congratulating them on becoming single! I would love it if my leaders, my spiritual family, my biological family, would also get excited about single people and all the amazing stuff they can and do, do...with all that spare time, money and energy! To get excited, to recognise it as a good thing, to encourage people in whatever situation they're in.


I don't think I've put the future to rest. I'm not sure I ever will. I struggle with loneliness and the doubts about God that it brings. I struggle with that sense of failure from not finding a partner, I get annoyed by that feeling that some married friends and family are feeling sorry for me and assuming I'm lacking something in my life...I'd be lying if I said that I had it all sorted as I sincerely don't. But I think it makes sense to focus on building the family of God, strengthening my spiritual family and opening myself up to being strengthened and supported by them...by allowing God to love and change me...and by being a sister, a mother, a daughter to others. This way I'm better equipped to being not sorted. Better equipped for the single life...

The "Christian Party"....Not in my name...!

I got my postal vote through the post the other day. Over the past few weeks I’ve been following the three main party's election campaigns and trying to figure out who to vote for, which has proved quite a difficult decision given that I don’t completely agree with any of their manifestos, that I trust some of the party leaders more than others, and that my local MP doesn’t seem to want to align herself with the party whose ticket she is standing on!

On the ballot paper there are the usual suspects…Tory, Labour and Lib Dems plus the parties which don’t stand a chance of winning (Greens and UKIP) and the party which would push me to immigration if they should get into power – the BNP. However, this year they’re joined by a new party who’ve never had the opportunity for vote for before – the Christian Party.

Intrigued as to who the Christian Party were and what kind of Christianity they were representing, I checked out their website.

Oh dear.

ohhhhhhhhhh deeeeeeeaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!

I'm now blogging and I only blog when I feel strongly about something so you can see where this is heading...

I’m a Christian – a loud and proud Christian. I’m all about Jesus and believe he can transform lives. I’m not a closet Christian – or at least I don’t want to be. I believe if we really applied Jesus’ teaching to our lives and the way we relate to the world and our communities, the Church could be the most powerful agent of change on this earth. I know how that may sound to many people – in this society where truth is fluid and where believing in Christ and wanting to orientate your life around serving God seems like a weird form of extremism. But what I found in the manifesto of the Christian Party and on their website actually made me feel like RUNNING into the closet - or better still, wishing there was another name to describe the faith that defines me as these people have hijacked Christ's name for an agenda which seems foreign to teachings of Jesus.

The Christian Party's website says...

"The time has come for Christians of all denominations to stand up for their beliefs and resist the tide of secularism destroying our country. The Christian Party exists to fulfill this vital role. The voice of the once mighty church may have been reduced to a mere whisper, but the Christian Party will not be – it will speak out and not be silent. Whatever your denomination or churchmanship, the time has come to unite and stand together for the Christian faith and all it represents. The more who join the Christian Party the louder our Christian voice will become. If you agree that this is so, it may be that God is calling on you to join together with other like-minded Christians throughout the country who are equally concerned about the state of the church and nation.

The primary purpose of the Christian Party is to proclaim the Lordship of Christ. The party also exists to empower those who confess “Jesus Christ as Lord!” to serve him in the political sphere."

There are so many issues with this.

Personally I'm quite glad that the voice of the mighty Church of the past is now a whisper. It's not that I think Christians' should be silent on political issues far from it - but the "mighty" Church of the past was a Church that was responsible for supporting travesties like the Crusades, the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and colonisation! I personally would not use the word "mighty" to describe that the institutionalised religion which brought about misery to millions across the world, tarring the name of Christ for generations to come. We shouldn't bemoan the end of that Church - rather celebrate it and look to building a new Church characterised by love, not judgement, by humility and service not the dictation of "Christian" values.

It is worrying that the party wants to use the political arena, to use parliamentary seats, seats in government to "proclaim the Lordship of Christ." Are our memories that short? Christianity has a long chequered history of trying to uphold “Christian” values in the world through government action. The Crusades and colonisation left a trail of death and destruction across Europe and the Middle East for the former and numerous countries now dealing with untold internal conflict and political strife for the latter. Lots of countries are now “culturally” Christian in that they have lots of churches with lots of people who sit in them for an hour or two on a Sunday and even more who go at Easter or Christmas. They have cultures which outwardly frown on “sin” and condemn and judge people for their failings…but where in private everyone is caught up in the same types of wrong doing. Yes we upheld "Christian" moral values so much and proclaimed the message with such vigour that it was more a case of ramming the values down their throats good and proper so they couldn’t fail to have that kind of culture…but are they full of people who love Jesus, love others sacrificially and live lives set apart for God? Are they really?

Party politicising Christianity in the long term could actually impede the good news about Jesus getting out there and transforming people’s lives…not help it! Especially when the Christianity which is being proclaimed is more reflective of traditional values than Christian ones. It gets confusing because Jesus was very political in the way that he challenged the corruption and hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders, the way that he taught about caring for and accepting the most vulnerable and marginalised in society - his political agenda was one that could be summed up in one verse "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbour as yourself." The Bible has a lot to say about speaking up for the rights of those who can't speak for themselves, exploitation of the poor, debt, lending, good and bad governance practices, the way to relate to other nations...

The thing is, hardly any of these things are reflected in the Christian Party's manifesto. Rather its the usual moralistic focus in terms of issues related to sexuality and abortion, with virtually no attention paid to the immorality of poverty and marginalisation. My impression is that they are confusing Christian values with traditional "moral" values. Here's some of the things from their manifesto which stood out to me...

On Taxation - Increase VAT to 20 per cent whilst maintaining the current exemptions.

- abolish inheritance tax.

On Health - Sell off state owned hospitals and healthcare facilities to private sector healthcare providers.

- Make private health insurance a visa requirement for migrants.

On the Environment - Call for the restoration of Sunday as a day of rest, to allow reflection by individuals and communities on the role they have to play. A re-ordering of values is needed.

On government and democracy - Call for withdrawal from the European Union in the event that the United Kingdom electorate votes against the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum.

On Education - Re-instate the teaching of ‘Classical’ subjects in every school.

- Introduce an Education Voucher Scheme

- Re-instate mandatory Christian religious education in schools

- Seek sanctions for schools that refused to comply with their obligation to assemble pupils for an act of daily worship. Such acts of worship should be Christian.

- Ensure that the United Kingdom’s Christian heritage is properly reflected in the National Curriculum.

- Call a halt to plans to give sex education lessons in Primary Schools.

- Call for sex education classes to be given only to teenagers on a parental opt-in basis

I just don't get it. We can't impose our values on people - that's counter productive whatever the values might be. This Party may think that it's helping the cause of Christ but actually if they got elected they would be detracting from it as they wouldn't be proclaiming Christ's Lordship, they would be imposing it by proclaiming a kind of dictatorship which people might outwardly submit to because it would be the law, but in their hearts and minds its unlikely there would be any personal commitment to Jesus. Because is forced religious observance really a sign of the Lordship of Christ in a person's life? People need to turn to Christ of their own accord, because they want to experience his grace, love and forgiveness...it won't come through co-ercion.

Living lives full of the fruits of the Spirit – love, kindness, peace, joy, self control, goodness…that’s a sign of the Lordship of Christ. Living sacrificially, caring for the poor, living a life where the ambition it to serve God and others, living a life of purity and self control – that’s the sign of the Lordship of Christ. Standing with the down trodden, speaking out for those without a voice through lobbying and campaigning - whether it be an unborn child or a group in a developing country which is being hurt by the British government's policies...that's a sign of the Lordship of Christ. Exercising our rights to free speech and telling others about our faith and Jesus in way which has no coercive agenda - that's a sign of the Lordship of Christ! Making governance decisions to benefit others, not just ourselves - that's a sign of the Lordship of Christ! But if we turn to a political party which is isolating Christians and the Church out from the world even more than we already are - we'll never be in the world, we'll never be able to reach it and we'll stand as an obstacle to the good news of Jesus.

I will use my vote on Thursday. I don’t think the women who threw themselves under horses and chained themselves to public buildings at the beginning of the 20^th century would appreciate me not exercising my civic duty! But although there's a party which has taken the name of one whom I hold dear...I will not be voting for them. As that's all they seem to have taken - a name.

The story of an Unwasted Life

Recently life has become very comfortable. Too comfortable. I wake up. I shower and get ready for work. I go to work. I come home. I eat supper. I watch a bit of TV, possibly go out and do something like meet a friend or go to a gig. Then I sleep. Is this really living?! I sense that this is more existence than life and I think to myself - when did I get so comfortable? When did I expect so little of myself?? I want to LIVE not exist!

So I read a book recently about a guy who is writing a film screenplay for a book that he wrote a few years ago -the book is based on his own life story. And as he writes the screenplay, his co-screen writers tell him that his life is too boring to put on film! Nobody will watch it because he doesn't really do anything of import- so he has to rewrite his life for the screenplay and add scenarios and plot developments which will make it more interesting to an audience! The author of the book said that life is like a story - that like all good stories it will have conflict and pain and growth for its characters - and that we can choose just how interesting our story is, and how it progresses. To some extent I agreed with him. In my head I think that I want to break out of my comfort zone...do something more meaningful with my time than update my Facebook status or watch trailers for movies that I'm never going to see; to meet and get to know people who will challenge and inspire me - or demand something of me...I know that it will be good for me. But the fact is it's much easier to put my feet up and watch back to back Scrubs when I get in from work rather than push the boundaries. And also the fact I'm scared shitless at times...of the thought of trying something new and failing, or trying to make a new friend and not succeeding...that isn't a great motivator! But I don't want to live a dull story and go through my days without adding something to someones life. I've never been a person who chose the easy life over the meaningful life and I don't want to become that person.

At the same time though I don't think this author took into account that often we don't have control over some aspects of our story. It's for the same reason that I really dislike self help books as I think our ability to help ourselves is often limited by things we have no control of. My health has been patchy to say the least over recent years - and in recent weeks I've had to deal with deterioration which has been a bit worrying and at times very frustrating. I think losing the sense of control and not knowing what the future holds is the hardest part - and it's that which makes me think that assuming we are the sole authors of our own story is a flawed assumption. I think I've got to surrender my story to God and accept that he's playing a part in writing my story as well. I'm not saying that he's giving me crappy health - but I think that having health issues has reminded me about how important God's role is in my story. I don't have the ability to decide that "OK I'm going to start training and become super fit and run marathons...or that I'm going to work really hard and power up the career ladder..." I know that with my health and the medication I take and what it does to my concentration - that these decisions are just not options for me. But I don't think that the situation means I should have no story at all. Full surrender to God of every aspect of my life - of my health, my relationships, my work, my free time...I think that gives me the opportunity to have a great life story because I think God will make a much better author than me! Maybe I won't be doing amazingly exciting things - but I'm sure God's in charge of the writing, then he'll write in opportunities for me to have impact, for me to love and be loved, for me to bring change, and to show that Jesus and his story bring hope.

There's a guy who preached some sermons on the Unwasted Life...it was all about how not to waste your youth, your money, your love...the list went on. It challenged me - to do what I can to manage my health so that at least I can have a shot at not wasting these things. What he was basically talking about was radical, Jesus style living - totally counter cultural and a lifestyle which impacted anyone who came into contact with it. It's a lifestyle fueled by God's grace as he described it as the grace God shows us through giving us Jesus, spilling out in our lives and into the lives of others in the form of love. And I thought that would be a good story to live. A life where I feel loved so much by Jesus that that love just spills out - and I become a person who is a marked person. Marked out by that love. I may not be able to do loads of remarkable things or change loads of things - unfortunately it's impossible for me to order a new body, or to dispose of my scattiness and tendency for verbal diarrhoea, or to suddenly become supremely confident...but I guess I can let God take the reigns, take the pen and write the story and see where he takes it - and be open to being taken in that direction. Which I'm assuming will mean stepping out of the circle of comfort. I don't want to waste my life.

I'd rather live a life that counts - a life that counts for others not just me - and I want to want that more than I want the easy life.

Sleep

I've come to think sleep is one of the most evasive, frustrating things in life.

Last night I spent yet another night lying awake for hours before slipping into a dream filled state that I personally don't think merits the title "sleep" as it didn't feel like my brain switched off at all. Sleep for me these days means going to another bizarre world for a few hours before coming back to this one in the morning, worn out and more than a little confused.

Because the dreams are like being part of a David Lynch or Charlie Kaufmann movie. A while ago they were wierd but not in an upsetting way as I usually ended up with something nice at the end - I had 3 baby dreams in quick succession...the births themselves were rather unorthadox but I recall enjoying being a mother whilst being in dreamland. But recently I have dreamt of my sister being kidnapped by a gang whilst in Tanzania, my best friends getting together and giving a speech where they said how horrific I was and another friend trying to eat me! Needless to say after such dreams one doesn't feel that refreshed.

I've looked at all the sleeping tips - having a routine before going to bed, using my bed only for sleeping, doing something else if I can't sleep after 30 minutes...but what are the tips for having dreamless sleep?!

Endurance Challenge post poned :(

I remembered this week that I had forgotten to post here that I had to postpone the Endurance Challenge I had been planning to do last week...living on around £5 a day to gain some awareness of the difficulties facing those who flee persecution and seek sanctuary in the UK. I've been a bit ill of late and it is probably going to take a few weeks for things to even out so I've decided to do it during Refugee Week in June instead.

"Christian" music

I was thinking about Christian music today. A friend of mine has said a number of times that she doesn't like a lot of Christian music because she finds it dull and boring. I have to say I can relate to that view as to be honest there's a lot of contemporary Christian songs, which if they were to have secular lyrics and I were to hear them on the radio, I'd probably change stations. Don't get me wrong, some of it I love and there are a number of songs, bands and worship leaders who I wish could actually get onto the radio as they're better than a lot of the bilge that gets onto playlists, but I have to say that for a significant amount of the "Christian" music that I'v heard, tt can be quite 'samey' musically with the melodies and chord patterns being fairly predictable.

The thing is...I have to say that what is known as "Christian" music often doesn't light a fire in me. I find music powerful - some songs (Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World, Killing in the Name by Rage, Immigrant Song by Led Zep) help me to release tension, others (Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk, pretty much any Stevie Wonder groove) make me want to moooove; some songs (Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits, Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine) make me feel really emotional and reflective...music sways me. It pushes buttons I didn't even know were there.

One thing I know about God is that he's good...which means all the good stuff comes from him. So the music which touches a chord inside me...whether it has a "Christian" label or not...it's got to be from God. I don't think God restricts himself to one genre - he'll use whatever floats my boat...or what mood I'm in to get through to me.

And he'll use songs which have been written by people who perhaps aren't Christians to get through to me, to move me. I recently saw the lyrics to the Candi Staton classic "You've got the Love" and they really spoke to me - I think I was surprised as I've heard Florence and the Machine belting that song for weeks now on Radio 1 and never really considered the significance of the lyrics. I thought to myself - if those lyrics had been sung in a typical "church" style of music - would they have had the impact on me that they have done? I'm not sure they would have done because the love I have for the stylle of music I hear in church is not the same as the love I have for the work of Florence and the Machine! So I started to listen a bit more carefully to other songs...to start off with, The Cave by Mumford and Sons, There's a Place by Siobhan Donaghy (ex Sugababe but don't let that put you off - she's actually really good!)...and I started to apply what they were singing about to my faith...and some of it was quite hard hitting.

Some lines from "The Cave":

So tie me to a post and block my ears

I can see widows and orphans through my tears

I know my call despite my faults

And despite my growing fears....

So come out of your cave walking on your hands

And see the world hanging upside down

You can understand dependence

When you know the maker's hand

And from "There's a Place":

Take your time

Be it mine

'Cause I will be

All the strength you need

And I will show you a way

I don't mind

If you cry

I want to be

Holding your hand

And you can feel

You can lean

Don't turn away

All is lost

But if you try

You can see

There's a place for you

Where I will know

Your pain

Don't turn away

I loved these songs anyway before I started thinking more about the lyrics. But I guess thinking about it a bit more has re-enforced the fact that God will speak through anything and anyone...we can find him wherever we find beauty and goodness - and he can use the things which speak into our soul to get his message - and his love - through. I don't need to restrict myself to what I hear if I listen to a Hillsong or Kirk Franklin album, or when I go to a Christian festival, or when I shop at Wesley Owen...or when I go to church. My God is a whole lot bigger than that! I don't expect to be playing Mumford and Sons songs in church any time soon...and that's ok because quite frankly that style of music is a lot more niche full stop..but it's good to have my eyes opened to other ways of connecting with God...and to know that God can't be restricted to human labels - or in the case of music - genres!

So I'll finish with the Florence Song...a l praise song speaking from an honest heart to Jesus!

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air

I know I can count on you

Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"

But you've got the love I need To see me through

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough

And things go wrong no matter what I do

Now and then it seems that life is just too much

But you've got the love I need to see me through

When food is gone you are my daily meal

When friends are gone I know my savior's love is real

Your love is real

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

Time after time I think "Oh Lord what's the use?"

Time after time I think it's just no good

Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose

But you got the love I need to see me through

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air

I know I can count on you

Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"

But you've got the love I need to see me through

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love

You got the love