Occasionally I’ll read about the life of another person or at least the aspect they are sharing in the interview or book and think “Man, I wish I had that life”.

Usually the story will involve a private jet, holiday resort or some seemingly unattainable icon of insane wealth, which may have something to do with the mild fit of jealousy.

Then I remember what I get to do.

But not in a ‘fairy dust with unicorns’ kind of way, more like a I REALLY believe that I am living in the plan and purpose of God kind of way!

Knowing the infatuation that our culture has with celebrity, I have asked kids before if they would rather be famous and divorced or… have a wonderful marriage and be completely unknown in Hollywood…

Okay – I’ll admit, that question doesn’t really work. The ‘complete lack of romantic interest in the opposite sex until hormones kick in’ may have something to do with it.

But the truth is that God’s will trumps everything and I believe God is more concerned with WHO we are becoming rather than WHAT we are doing.

The grass is greener — right here!

Rob Bradbury asked me to speak in the Kidshaper electives this year about a topic near and dear to my heart. I firmly believe that everyone has a creative spark in them, especially when it has to do with your calling in life!  And I’m not just just talking about creativity that immediately springs to mind like songwriting or script writing, but everything from problem solving to preaching to leading volunteers.

This is a brief few thoughts from what I presented at the conference.

Learning how to use your imagination

 1. We have an imperative to create
God tells us to sing a new song. God is the only one who can create from nothing. We simply re-imagine.  BUT stronger can be our desire to hold on to our previous creations – don’t ride any dead horses… dismount.

2. Unblock the Hose
I wrote about this a while ago here. But sometimes you need to figure out HOW before you figure out WHAT. Perhaps you want to create a video for your weekend services but your grand ideas supersede your technical ability. Find someone with the know-how!

3. Give Yourself Space
In my role at Church I have to create a space so I can devote my entire brain area cavity to an idea or issue – and I am confident that I have God given ability to come up with solutions not because I am especially gifted but simply because I am called!

4. Don’t Accept the First Draft
Do not expect platinum without a rewrite. Sit with your ideas for a while before acting on them.

5. Don’t Mix Meetings and Ideas
NEVER. If you are brainstorming with team, stay away from agenda and ‘to do lists’. Focus on the dreams not the doing!

6. Be Mr/Mrs Implementation
Don’t just be known as Mr. Idea.

The bottom line is all this: Effort places value on our children… so take the time and develop your imagination!

On our Hillsong Collected Blog Julia A’Bell posted this Behind the Scenes video, here’s what she said:

What makes Hillsong, ‘Hillsong’ is all the Jesus-loving, people-focused individuals that call Hillsong HOME. To only see crowds, buildings, albums & large church services, is to completely miss the beauty of each individual & family who has their own unique story of encountering Christ & His plan for their lives. The crowds, buildings, albums & large church services are simply the fruit of a healthy family environment.

One of the legends featured is Kieran Short a part of our Hills Campus team!

Love your work Kieran!

The Hillsong Conference has now officially spread all over the world to our Churches everywhere.

I have loved watching from afar the journey that Hillsong Kids has taken in London. I have been there twice over the years and seen the programs in action and they never fail to impress with their creativity!

Here are the highlight videos from the Kidsong just finished.

Kidsong Hightlights Part 1 from Hillsong Church London on Vimeo.

Kidsong 2011 Highlights Part 2 from Hillsong Church London on Vimeo.

I hope that my boys get this pumped about learning a new skill.

What was the last new thing you learned?

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

HT to TSK on this one.

Seth Godin & Tom Peters on blogging

I have tried to put into words the impact and point of blogging to many people over the years. These two influential business leaders put it brilliantly!

If you are leading anything like a ministry or team I want you to understand that you have a voice and a platform. You are called to steward that responsibility and privilege! If you don’t record and share what God is doing with and through you in this age of information I believe you are missing something quite profound.

Paul recorded his life and it turned into the New Testament.

That opportunity is not really open to us today, but who knows what could happen if you took steps to present your voice to the world? At least have enough respect for your calling to treat it as precious and important.

A book is simply a container for an idea (what makes a book a book?).

After you are gone, where will your ideas be contained? If you don’t do something about it… nowhere.

At the very least give your future generations the inspiration of discovering your story, your journey with God!

Your gut knows best.

Much of the book Blink  by Malcolm Gladwell is about trusting intuition. He proposes that your first impression is probably the right one.

He makes a compelling case and I firmly believe that as a follower of Christ we have access to the wisdom of God (Colossians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 1:9). So over the years I have learned to trust that wisdom and followed my gut, what I believe is a God given sense.

I was asked to contribute to a book by a great friend in ministry last year(ish). It was a great opportunity and would have been fun to be involved but something didn’t sit well in that ‘gastro intestinal’ area. The topic was one I could have written on but had limited experience with.

It came down to this; would my senior pastor agree philosophically with what I wrote? I decided no. He may do in the future - and I am in the process of starting in our ministry what I would written about – but timing is everything

So I passed it up.

I’m sure he was disappointed and I hate to let people down, but I just can’t go against the gut!

A video testimony from Church last weekend.

I love the people of our Church!

YouTube: Jesus Is LOVE

3 year old Jonathan conducting to the 4th movement of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony… Jonathan’s passion for classical music became apparent when he was only eight months old. Shortly after that he began conducting on his own.

This video might just be better than Grover doing old Spice guy!

In fact I declare it my favourite video of all time I love it so much. If you work with flomax 0.2 mg kids you should watch this especially the last few seconds, there is a lot to be learned about joy for you and me.

3 Year Old Conducting

A great video from Hillsong London on someones first Sunday in Church.

I famvir online don’t think you will be able to play it embedded in the blog, but click through to it on youtube!

The Sunday Experience – Hillsong London