Hello 2010...

SO, here it is...the first post of this new decade! Worship First...had an amazing couple of gigs with the band at the end of January in St. Patrick's. The most worrying bit was that Ross the super guitarist ended up in hospital, leaving us a player down and me in a bit of a panic. Needn't have worried though...an ex-Blue Tree Axe-man stepped in (having just played a set with his current crew) and lit up the sound. Opened with Sweet Home Alabama (Cowboy hat and all), a bit of Chasing Cars, and then lots of worship, including The Splendour of the King...which has a nice break into a gentle version of U2's ONE. Great night - followed the night after with a super dinner, and more playing...

Big thanks to Bekah for singing with us as well. We all had a blast. Bishop Ken spoke, and we played a bit more. (The volume was a bit lower on Saturday night than it was on Friday on account of the major increase in the average age.) Thankyou St. Patrick's for having us...thankyou Colin for the invite.

And what about the wild life...well, not too wild, but I did see two amazing films inside the last couple of months. First up was Sherlock Holmes WHAT A MOVIE...if there had been another showing after the one me and Mrs McC went to, i think we'd have gone in for another watch...it was that good! The second was last saturday night, when the lovely (driving) Sarah offered her babysitting services! "Invictus" opened my eyes to the statesman that Nelson Mandela was and is...what a brilliant movie - you could feel the tension in the film. I think my favourite bit is where 4 white guys arrive to join Mandela's protection team...and the black guys are a bit put out (which you can understand given the white guys had probably been responsible for keeping them down in the very near past). When the head of the protection team sees that Mandela himself has signed the papers, he goes to complain...coming away again with Mandela's words ringing round the cinema..."if reconciliation is going to work in this country, it has to start here, with us" (or words to that effect!). Morgan Freeman really deserves an Oscar for that one!

And on the outdoor front...my boys have new bikes! And we spent a super weekend back in Bryansford, with lots of cycling, lots of walking, and some more night nav over Luke's Mountain, and back through Tollymore. The stars were amazing. You can't help but think of Indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky, and You know them by name...

My colleagues in work have now decided that I'll organise a walk up Donard in aid of Action Cancer, in May..so when you see a big crowd of not-very-fit-looking people heading upwards beside the Glen River, you'll know who it is. (And no girls, high-heels are not classed as suitable footwear!)

The start of February also saw a return to the blackbox for a second sampling of Ikon. (We did try to join the online event in January, but it didn't all go according to plan. February's LexIkon was a great wee thought provoking night. (You do need to be able to get past the widely varied range of people types who not only come to, but play a role in Ikon). If you think you can do that - come sometime...I particularly like the bit where you can order another beer from the bar! Traditional Church it ain't, but God is in the house!

And Snow - we've had more snow in the past few months than I remember in the last 5 years. It is lovely at first, but it's just FREEZING now - roll on spring, and sunshine, and BBQs.

So what's next? Dunamis on 6th March - I really must organise a practice, eh guys? Our friends Ali and Mark go back to Nepal soon, so it's farwell to them on Sunday night. (Did somebody say something about there being big mountains in Nepal? - What a fortunate series of events - perhaps!) I have a backlog of assignments for the Local Preachers Course (I am working on them, honest) and I got to speak (and sing, and play, and lead) in my mum and dad's church last Sunday night..not sure that they all got the Blacke Eyed Peas "Where is the love?", but nobody shouted "heretic" or anything like it, so I must have done something right.

June 5th will find me in Ward Park, with my lovely wife (and a few other people) listening to Snow Patrol - looking forward to that!

So lent is upon us - a time in my view, not to give up, but to take up...and wether you give up or take up, do it so that it brings you back to that heart of worship, and let the music and the clutter and the distractions fade, so that you can be what He wants you to be. Worship last Sunday was inspiring. As I choose songs on Saturday, Icouldn't get the words of "Draw me close to you" out of my head...partcularly in thinking about lent. "You're all I want, you're all I've ever needed" I think this wil be my soundtrack for lent - along with the Invictus 9000 days!

We are going to rock at Easter!

Wilder Worship

So here we are in the last month, of the first decade of the third millenium anno Domini. It seems no time at all since I was standing with my lovely wife at the big fish in Belfast, with a couple of close friends and a bottle of bubbly - watching the fireworks explode in the sky above the waterfront hall. Now, 10 years, 2 children, another church, several guitars, a couple of cars and many other things later, here we are ready to enter a new decade. I wonder what this one has in store for us all? But what of November? I had a wild night (quite literally) in the Mournes, navigating through the darkness (and rain and wind - and when I say rain, I mean rain...100s of pounds worth of outdoor gear and I was still absolutely soaking by the end of it) of Tollymore and Luke's mountain. Hopefully there'll be lots more adventures like this in the new decade. Speaking of adventures as well, I managed to get to Ikon in the Blackbox last night. Talk about alternative church! It was alternative alright, but not in any sense that you can fit it into a particular "box". It was different certainly, but challenging, thought provoking, relaxed (I mean what other "church" could you go to that has a break at half time so you can get more drinks in!), exiting, liberal and conservative - all in the same hour and something that it slips by in. The theme was ADVENTure (it's nearly Christmas don't you know) - an adventure that begins...and ends...with worship. The folks at Ikon pointed me towards The Advent Conspiracy - check out the website, and then:

WORSHIP FULLY

SPEND LESS

GIVE MORE

LOVE ALL

Happy Christmas. Come...with the shepherds...and the wise men...and the angels...and worship...the baby...the Christ...the King!

October was a bit wilder...

SO what can I say of last month? For September not having been too wild, October has been pretty good in terms of a wild life. There was the gig at Dunamis early on in the month, which was a blast - thanks to all the guys who played. Worship for the rest of the month has been harder...one of God's saints on earth was taken to be with Him...and we miss her and will go on missing her. Carole was, to say the least, amazing - and the number of lives that she touched, the smiles she brought to the people who encountered her, in her all-too-short 26 years on this earth - are testimony to that.


So worship in church since that dreadful night at the start of the month has been a bit like wading through mud. We don't really have a lot of songs that allow us to cry out and lament to God; that allow us to express our worship when things are bad. "Blessed be your name" is great in it's sentiment, but it's too hard for me to sing in the midst of this time. John Bell's translation of a traditional Mexican lament "We belong to God" has been gently meaningful. And so we keep on going, "weeping with those who weep, and mourning with those who mourn" for we love them all dearly. And it was a privilege and an honour to lead worship at Carole's funeral.


I haven't wanted to put any of this into words until now, I suppose maybe because putting it in words makes it real and absolute. But I can't not mention it ,for the impact on me, on everyone who knows Carole and her family, has been enormous.


So we go on, taking small steps forward, as we get to "carry each other" as Bono so beautifully phrased it...


One small step for us was a weekend in Bryansford - right at the foot of the beloved Mournes, and we even got to walk in them - three times!

A long wander through Tollymore (made all the longer because the stepping stones were under the rain that fell the night previous) was a great start to a Sunday. And a great finish to the same Sunday was Mrs McC dropping me off at Trassey track - in the pitch darkness, from where I made my way, into and through the darkness, across the hills at the back of Tollymore, and then through the forest and back to the cosyness of the holiday house. I should say, the open ground was great, mainly because my mind was fully occupied with navigation. Once on the familiar tracks of the forest however, the old mind had more free capacity for playing tricks, as the trees made strange noises in the wind, and set the heart beating, it felt, almost out of my chest! Glad to see the lights of Bryansford. Monday, and daylight, saw our intrepid explorers leading mum and dad up Hen mountain, with lots of climbing of rocks to be had. A great weekend all in all. And the night time walking has other people interested - so we'll go again this month and try to scare a bigger group out of their wits!

September ain't so wild...

So here we are, heading towards the middle of September, and it all feels a bit wick...and that's not just me! However, last Saturday was good - a trip to the folk museum, which for once was really good, and not bunged with people (even if PWC did have their family day on). Even got a ride on a horse and cart (or horses and cart to be precise - a wild life eh?). After that we saw the biggest aeroplane in the world as it flew over the city airport. Mrs McC tried to be excited for me, but it really was impressive as far as I was concerned.

SUnday worship was great...first evening service in a while, so that was good...despite a little bit of lethargy before leaving the house...amazing freedom in worship in CoGS. This Saturday night is small-worship chez nous. A chance to chill out with a glass of the fruit of the vine, and the mellow tones of an acoustic guitar and hopefully an acoustic bass!

The end of the month will let me into the beloved Mournes, which I feel like I haven't seen never mind been in, in a very long time. Meelmore crying out to be climbed, but we'll see how my unconditioned legs hold out...great coffee in Meelmore lodge. So roll on the end of the month, til we get through the blues of children going back to school, homeworks, dark mornings, dark evenings...even this will pass.

So I hold on to something Alan shared with us on Sunday evening..."Bidden or not bidden, God is present." Which is a good job really, 'cause even when we don't realise it, what would we do without Him holding us, and making us holy in His sight.

A bit wilder this week...

So, from a relatively calm summer, the past week has been a busy one. Started last Sunday with a visit to the "big house"...which was very different to my expectations. Anyone out for a stroll at Antrim loughshore on Wednesday would have seen 3 canoes making their way down the river and then back up again. We did try to paddle upstream, but as is the way in Northern Ireland, we encountered a large group of muppets who started hurling abuse...and I was worried that our non-reaction to that would tempt them to hurl something more physical. And yet you know that really - they'd love to have go! It was a fantastic night for a little paddle, and we even managed to rescue two footballs, 3 life rings, and a teenage boy after he tumbled out of his canoe...brilliant night. Yesterday however, was the ultimate wild...a group from the firm took a trip to Shane's Castle, and spent the day trying to hit each other with little balls of paint - fired at about 210 mph from what are called "markers" but look remarkably like "guns". Brilliant day's craic...if you're looking for something wild, check out Escarmouche. The picture of me below says it all!

Yeah, I know - guns and all that...but it was great - the adrenalin was pumping. And on the worship side, today was the first of me playing and Alan L. preaching since his sabatical... church is good. Worship this morning was great. Sermon was nail on the head stuff.

Ah well - back to work tomorrow for another fun filled week...and we'll all compare bruises - those paintballs hurt a bit!

Has anybody seen the sun?

So it has been a few months since the last typings... but my lovely wife has found a creative passion for blogs, and has inspired me to write a little bit more! As I type, said wife has just shouted "I see the sun", because the past few days have seemed more like December than the end of July. Holiday time means I haven't been leading worship for a few weeks - although that's a bit of a welcome break. The guy who shares this role with me had a little debate with a circular saw several montsh ago...and the saw won. It's hard to play guitar when your finger tip is healing. But I've had my fair share of sermons as well...and another this Sunday - and it's in a different church.
So what's been on my mind this while is "community". Been reading John Ortberg's book - "everybody's normal until you get to know them" which has been a challenging read. Felt obliged to share a little of his thoughts with the congregation last week - and I think it'll be the same tomorrow...big reflections on the story of the paralysed man - whose friends cared for, carried, and lowered him...without the friends, the story doesn't happen. The man never gets to be in front of Jesus, never gets forgive, never gets healed. So have friends and be a friend!

So sermoning this week, leading worship next week, and an interesting experience awaits tomorrow afternoon, for me and my guitar will be leading somewhere a bit different.

And what else on the horizon - who knows - great ideas for days out don't seem as appealing when it's chucking it down outside. But the north coast calls, as do those sweeping down to the sea mournes. And a bit more kayaking called for as well...spent a pleasant evening at shaw's bridge for the first in a very long time...and I didn't get wet! So the confidence is up now - let's get paddling.

Let it snow...

So the snow came at last...the weather forecasters have been promising it all week, so they had to be right sometime! Not that it met all the expectations of my children, who were very disappointed that there was only enough snow in the garden for the tiniest of snowmen.

And what else of the news this week? Well the education minister has thrown the baby out with the bath water in regards to the selection process for primary school children heading to secondary school. Whilst her idea of removing academic selection is honourable, the chaos that ensues will be to the disadvantage of many children, ending up with either a multitude of tests set up independently by the Grammar schools, or it becoming a case of those people who can afford to live in areas where the "good" schools are, turning it from academic selection to "selection by mortgage". So the spiral continues in a downward fashion.

As I write this, I really should be preparing a sermon for Sunday evening, havng realised just last week, that the 8th February was much closer than it seemed in the middle of January, when some Sunday night in February was ages away...but as the saying goes..."anyone can do any amount of work, provided it's not the work they're supposed to be doing at that particular time!"

I was hoping to get some ideas from Gap's meditiation on this week's verse, but with a shortage of leaders on Tuesday that didn't happen...Oh well back to the drawing board.

Church, despite my blank mind when it came to choosing songs, was absolutely great on Sunday evening. The songs that had come to mind fitted perfectly with the whole service, and it even led me to sing "When my heart runs dry" on my own...the words rang round my head when I couldn't think of other songs...

"When my heart runs dry, and there's no song to sing...I'll remember you, I will turn back and do the things I used to do."

So maybe that will feature in the sermon...along with "I know the plans I have for you says the Lord" and a but of "I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full" We'll se how it comes out on Sunday night.

One think that has been striking us in church recently is that songs of celebration are in absolute abundance, but when we don't feel like celebrating, there's a very small number of songs to turn to, that allow us to express our feelings of sadness, doubt, despair, and the rest, to God. As we get closer to Lent, we'd like to introduce a song of lament to the congregation...just looking forward to Easter when we can cast off the cold, and the sadness and fed-up-ness, and Easter Sunday morning will ROCK! In the meantime, I'm working on a lament, so we'll get it up here when it's done (hopefully it'll come easier than the sermon that this isn't!)

And on the Obama front...well done that man for being human! I think this is the first time I've seen a world leader admit, without coaxing, or a need to do it, that they've made a mistake..."Change" has indeed come...not just to the Whitehouse, but to world politics...excellent!