Three wayfinders for the Christian this Matariki

It dawned on me, as the tohunga whakairo (Maori carver) led a group of excited schoolchildren and parents in a karakia (prayer), that this was not an ordinary school holiday activity. Before we got to design and make our model waka, we were asked to listen in as he gave thanks to each of the …

So no one told you life was gonna be this way

What does the Friends theme song sound like in a minor key? That’s what Youtuber Chase Holfelder tried to find out when he covered The Rembrandts’s 90’s classic, “I’ll Be There For You”: It’s telling how a few musical tweaks can shift a song’s mood entirely. After all, your job’s a joke; you’re broke; your …

Thoughts on producing Badminton Road’s first EP

It was nearly a year ago when I had the privilege of leading the band for our College Graduation service. Most of us had sung and played before with each other during chapels and conferences. Apart from serving together at college, we’d have not much in common! But when we ran through this arrangement of …

Five new songs to cultivate a mission-minded church

Recently a friend asked me if there were any good congregational songs that specifically focus on global missions. In God’s timing, the music team at SMBC have just finished serving at our biennial Missions Conference. (The theme was “A Heart for the Lost”, we were challenged with six talks by Tim Chester from the book …

Greater Than We Can Imagine – Praise & Prayer 2018 – Set List

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of organising a praise and prayer evening for our bible college community. It all started with a fireside conversation: “Wouldn’t it be great to come together for singing and prayer?” We’re incredibly blessed at college to spend hours and hours drinking from a firehose of theology, …