Oh! Gravity

Weekly Hoedown!!!

03 February 2006

Don't forget the Joe and Carly Amalgamation Survey!



Alright there folks!! Grabs your torch and pitchfork, it's an ogre!!
Hangon, that's not what I meant to say....
I meant to say, grab your flanno, straw hat, and your 'I heart Tamworth' shirt, cos it's time for the biggest hoedown this side of the Country Music Festival. Yes, that's right, it's Martyman's weekly hoedown[1]!!!!


Friday

A rockin day at work with the new project team. Man~ they're a nice bunch of people!! Had lunch with sister at funky salad place. Who would've thought that salad could taste so good (yes, all you guys reading, I was as shocked as you are right now!).

After work I headed up to this year's Katoomba Youth Convention with a nice bunch from Unichurch: D, A and S. We arrived just to hear the end of the first talk. I hit the sack with zeal and passion.


Saturday / Sunday

Saturday and Sunday was a blur of joy. I love the part of ushering that involves smiling and yelling at people simultaneously =). This year was by far the best KYC I've ever been to, out of 5 or so. I was really moved by every talk, to tears sometimes. It was such a great topic and such great speakers.

The speakers were Ray Galea and Sam Chan.

I immediately warmed to Ray from the first time I heard him speak, at KYC 2000 (on Romans 1-8, with 8 speakers!). He has such a down to earth manner, and expresses some high and lofty ideas and thoughts in a very real way, that is grounded in human experience. He always comes across as really meaning what he's saying, from the heart. Surely, this makes for great preaching[2].

Sam Chan is a much more recent discovery for me! He spoke at Men's Convention[3] last year, where he excelled above all other speakers I've ever heard in the humour stakes. He wasn't quite as funny this time around - I think, perhaps, due to the presence of females in the audience. At Men's Convention he made countless jokes that appealed to male sensibilities: a formula that cannot possibly fail!! =) But he's more than just a funny speaker - all of his stories and analogies always tie back in to where he is going with the message. He's certainly a very clear and gifted speaker. I look forward to hearing him more in the future.

The topic for the weekend was 'Encountering God'. The phrase 'Encountering God' is, in itself, very charismatic language. And some of the application that came out of the talks was very non-hardline-sydney-evangelical. Both Ray and Sam articulated things that I have been feeling and experiencing and saying for some time now, but suspected that I may be only one of few: that God is personal; that knowing God has an experiential and emotional component of which we should not be afraid; that we need to read the Bible to know Jesus, not make knowledge of the Bible an end in itself. I can tell you right now, it was so refreshing to my soul to hear these things spoken in the pulpit by two Godly Christian leaders.
Thankyou God, thankyou!!!!

I've spent the rest of the week rocking along to the tune of the talk mp3s on the way to and from work, or at lunchtime: on the bus, walking along, whatever!!



Sunday Night

Upon arrival back in Sydney, I hit Unichurch for the evening. The speaker was a blast from the past. He actually stood in line with me while I enrolled before first year: something my sister had teed up. He's now back with a vengeance to look after the campus junket.

Post-church was an all-male jaunt to Dong-Dong with some old friends and new MTSers. A great night of chillin' with muchos foodos. We highly recommend the honey pork with peppery bits (I can't remember the actual name of the dish).



Monday

Day off!! Wise move, Martyman. Took it easy, went to the gym, watched a b-grade movie on TV with Joe. Slept.


Tuesday - Friday

Tuesday night was dinner with an awesome Christian mate at some Indian place on Anzac Pde. My spice tolerance factor increased that night[4]. Wednesday was a grads bbq - spent hours chatting about music to one of the long term pastors. What a gift music is!!

OK, that's it for the play-by-play account. It was quite exhausting. I think next time I shall go for a higher-level overview.


Until next time, stay classy,
Martyman

P.S. If MYC = Meet Your Companion; Melodious Yellow Chickens; etc.
What does KYC = ? Post a comment and let me know your thoughts...






[1] In related news, did you know that when Third Day were in one of their first incarnations, they were called 'Nuclear Hoedown'? Just goes to show that the Sovereignty of God and the evil of men do coexist!! Thankfully, what their naming skills meant for evil, God meant for good, and they eventually traded that tag in for the much beefier Third Day.

[2] Some literature that I have read on 'how to be a persuasive presenter' asserts that the manner and body language of a speaker can, humanly speaking, be more important in persuading than the content of what the author is speaking. Perhaps the effects of the stirring oratory of people such as Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King, Jr. affirms this, to some level - both were able to persuade people who may not normally have listened to them. Just a thought.

[3] Men's convention = boo-yah!! Hangin' out for this years =)

[4] When it comes to food, Anglo is my skin, and Anglo are my tastes!! Give me meat and three veg any day, but curry...oh dear!

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