Learning to fly…

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Posted by Gareth Matthews | Posted on 11-01-2006

Category : Uncategorized

As some of you may be aware I am a songwriter and worship leader and have just finished recording a second album of worship songs. In an age of celebrity Christian’s and a desire to be big why would I want to record an album? Isn’t the Christian music scene crowded enough without me adding my two pence worth?

In short – yes. The Christian music scene is packed – pretty much any style you care to name, from most places in the UK. There is a market for Christian music – in the words of the Simpsons ‘Sorry, but there’s profit to be had‘. Worship leaders are also bustling to be heard in this cattle market – desperate to follow in the hallowed footsteps of Martin Smith, Matt Redman or Tim Hughes. So why would I try and follow suit and join the crowd?

I guess for me it comes back to the point of writing songs. I think songs are a way to express a feeling that cannot simply be conveyed by saying it out loud. When considering Christian songs I think these provide us with an opportunity to convey to God something that means something personal to the person writing it – and this often has the effect of meaning something to other people who listen to it. For me, at it’s very basic, this album contains songs that mean something to me and say something about my relationship with God and where it has been heading over the last few months and years.

I see Christian life as a journey which can be played really safe with our feet on the ground. However, I think I am starting to understand that God doesn’t want us to live our lives with our feet always on the ground – indeed He wants to teach us how to fly. This for me means actually putting into practise my faith by living that way God wants me to live, regardless of how stupid the world may tell me that is and striving to be someone who is more concerned with living a life that pleases God rather than a life that pleases man. That for me is the theme of where I am as a Christian and as such the theme of this album.

So what is the point of it? Why make it and sell it? Well for me the answer is two-fold:

Our church resides in an area of Portsmouth called Somers Town. This is a deprived area of the city made up of council owned property and large towerblocks and the area has many problems. However, one thing I have found is that the majority of people who live there are really quality people who are finding life hard and we as a church are really keen to show them something about Jesus, who He is and how much He loves them. I believe that music is a great way to convey this and so I would love to be able to get them to listen to the CD – music that is available for ‘free’ (i.e. radio) can contain such negativity and in my opinion it is a great thing to offer people the opportunity to listen to something that can change their lives for the better. The only problem is that they cannot afford to buy it – so the plan is to give the CD away to people we come into contact with as a church. We are not out to make big bucks out of the CD – but see it as much more worthwhile to get the words of Jesus into their lives. I have strived to make the CD the best that I can make it – not because I want it to be recognised amongst the other worship CD’s out there but because I want people to actually listen to it! Some Christians may give it a sympathy listen because ‘I tried my best’ but I am sure others will not be so forgiving.

My tongue in cheek start to this post may make it sound like either I am jealous of people like Matt Redman and Tim Hughes or I disagree with them producing worship albums for commercial use. This is not the case in the slightest – I have the greatest admiration for them as they have encouraged and facilitated me with their songs and their humbleness has shown me how I would like to be as a person and a worship leader. I have the greatest respect for them and think that God is really blessing them in the extremely difficult job that they have. I do not set out to try and be the next Matt Redman with this album however. I feel that God really needs people who are committed to their local area and committed to using music to reach people in that area. Why should you have to go to Soul Survivor or buy from Wesley Own to hear people gifted in leading worship? I don’t believe you should and so am excited to use whatever God given abilities I have in a local way and see that as something more important that setting my sights on being an international worship star.

So I release this CD with a lot of unknown about what will happen to it, who will hear it and what God will do with it. In my mind though, if one person hears it and it helps them to understand Jesus a bit better or draws them closer to Him in some way then it has been worth it.

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The root of all evil?

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Posted by Gareth Matthews | Posted on 11-01-2006

Category : Religion, Society

If you were watching Channel 4 last night you may have watched a program called ‘The root of all evil‘. The documentary was presented by Richard Dawkins, an Oxford professor who set out to ask the question ‘why is the world deluded by religion in the face of opposing scientific evidence that suggests it is all myth and fiction‘. I thought it would be good to discuss some of his ideas and maybe approach them in a less extremist way.

Dawkins has two main arguments as far as I can see:

  1. Firstly there is the issues that Christian’s still can’t agree on such as the issues of creation and evolution where he suggests that the overwhelming scientific evidence should cause us to back down and admit we are wrong.
  2. Then there is the issue that while all the major faiths preach morality, peace and hope in fact they bring violence, intolerance and destruction.

Dawkins is a self-professed atheist and the documentary was very much from that point of view – in fact any mention of Christianity sparked cheesy music and overall even I was left with a tarnished view of my own faith!

So how do we address the issues put forward by this program? I think the issues he raises are ones that need to be talked about and debated – maybe the reason why he has a documentary to do is because they have been swept under the carpet for so long.

One of his main points was on the lines of scientific proof. He recalled a university professor who had passionately believed in a particular theory for many years and had dedicated his life to researching that theory and promoting it. One day, another professor proved to him that what he had in fact believed was completely wrong. Apparently the professor shook him by the hand and thanked him for opening his eyes to this – and apparently that is the attitude which scientists have that us religious people don’t. Whilst I agree with him that if something is proved to be completely false it just looks foolish to continue saying that it is in fact true I think it is ultimately impossible to disprove religious belief using this argument – which may seem arrogant and blinded to someone like Dawkins but really is the essence of faith.

All of scientific knowledge about events such as the big bang are theories – they are theories because there is evidence that suggests they are true, evidence to suggest they are false but no evidence to say conclusively that they cannot be false. I also, as mad as it seems to Dawkins, feel this way about my faith and about events such as creation. There is evidence in the scriptures that God created the world in six days, there is evidence from scientists to say this is madness but no way for this to be conclusively disproved.

In mathematics, complex problems are often solved by assuming a factor holds true and then continuing calculations until the calculations fail in such a way that mean your assuming factor could not have possibly been true. I view issues such as creation in the same way – Dawkins starts by assuming that there could not have possibly been a God and finds evidence that supports his view while I assume that God was instrumental in creation and I find evidence that supports my view. The bad news is for Dawkins is that we are never going to be able to prove in this life one way or the other conclusively. The other frustrating thing that Dawkins may find is that when I assume that God is not only instrumental in creation but in other events throughout history and in my everyday life then, well anything is possible. Scientists such as Dawkins may think this is complete madness – but then we knew he would say that didn’t we?

On the issue of faith preaching faith and hope that it ultimately results in violence and intolerance I feel he used some good examples in his report. I think society has huge problems today and the root of it seems to be intolerance – and to be honest when I think about this issue I have more questions than answers. I completely understand why Jesus set us straight on what is important in life and I think that His message of love is one that if lived out can affect society in un-imaginable ways. I guess what I don’t understand is why there are acts of intolerance in the Old Testament – often perpetrated by God Himself and if Jesus was always the plan why those things had to happen in the first place.

A friend of mine used to have a sticker in their car window that said “If you are living like there is no God then you had better be right!” I believe that my Christian faith is something that gains me everything and looses me nothing. I believe the teaching of Jesus Christ is the most profound teaching ever to echo the ears of the inhabitants of this earth. I believe this through testimony shown in the bible and through testimony and experience in my own life. I believe this not because I was told to, but because I choose to. This, in my humble opinion is what is so amazing about the God we have faith in.

So there we go – a few thoughts but probably raising more questions than they answer!
Any thoughts?

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Looking at the things that matter

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Posted by Gareth Matthews | Posted on 08-11-2005

Category : Society

I was watching an american TV programme the other day called ‘Wife-swap’. In this programme they take two couples from completely different backgrounds and swap the mums over for a period of two weeks. During the first week the families continue as normal with the swapped mum having to fit into the routine of the family they have swapped in to. In the second week, the new mum gets to make up rules and the family has to do things the new way. All makes very interesting watching, as I am sure you can imagine…

This week, the two families involved were a Christian family from the bible belt in Oklahoma and a gay couple from Washington DC. The gay family consisted of two men and they had two daughters and so one of the men swapped with the wife of the family from Oklahoma. As soon as I saw the families involved my heart started to sink a little. I don’t think that TV does Christianity many favours at the best of times – and from the outset I started to wonder how these people would be portrayed.

The program was very interesting, but at the same time pretty shocking. The first thing that shocked me was the reaction of the husband of the family in Oklahoma and the people in his town – a very ‘traditional Christian’ man who seemed really uncomfortable even talking to a homosexual man in his house. The husband told the camera that “…there would be a lot of hatred towards the gay man…” and when he sought counsel from his church friends they advised him to “treat him like a leper”.

I may not be a bible expert, but there are two things that come to mind when I think more about this situation. Firstly, Jesus came and preached that the most important things to do while living on the earth was to love God and love other people as you love yourself. I don’t know anyone who treats themselves like a ‘leper’ and so therefore it pains me when another Christian can say such things about another human being.

I guess, if we asked the Christian friend about his advice he would answer that his response is firmly grounded in scripture – namely the passage in Matthew 18 where it instructs us about what to do with someone who refuses to stop sinning:

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ââ?¬Ë?by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.ââ?¬â?¢ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

At a first glance of this you can understand his viewpoint entirely – the bible clearly says we should treat people who continue to sin like an outcast. But this all gets put into perspective when we remember how Jesus treated such people when He walked the earth. Why he ate with them and stayed in their house, he spoke into their lives – moreover, He loved them and while I am sure He wanted them to stop sinning, His priority was loving them.

The programme ended with the Christian lady starting to understand this – and the gay husband was pleased that “…a little seed had been planted in her heart…”. While I think this is a good thing for her, that she was able to love these people for who they were rather than focussing on what they were doing wrong, it seems a real shame that the purpose of her trip was to realise that fact! I mean wouldn’t it have been amazing for the seed to have been planted the other way – for the family that she stayed with understand a little bit more how much God loves them??

It seems to me that while it may be difficult not to stereo-type people and put them into boxes and treating them accordingly, it is totally not what Jesus did! He accepted everyone, no matter where they came from and what they did (check this out). This is a great challenge to me as the people who I often put into boxes like this are simply in the box because they are different. This doesn’t have to refer to people who lead a lifestyle which I completely dis-agree with but can also refer to people who do things I don’t like, say things I wouldn’t say and act in ways I would not. It’s time I stopped looking at people through human eyes, but through the eyes of Jesus – who was in my opinion a complete genius at focussing on the needs of people and the things that mattered, rather than the things I think are oh so important.

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