Christine's 2nd example : players in an orchestra

LSO Rehearsal - Timpani in the foreground

Many people were blessed by Christine's first example here : the hanging Basket

However the other day she was describing how in an orchestra , it is not given to the players to enjoy a balanced sound. The full balanced sound of an orchestra as imagined by a composer is only enjoyed by the audience.

The players are there to play.
To be a part of the whole.
To concentrate on THEIR sections.
To get their bits right.

It is the conductor's job to check the overall balance.
All the woodwind section may hear are full volume blasts of the brass section breathing down their necks. This may not necessarily be much fun. But this is what they are called to.

They cannot change position.
They cannot wander down to the front near the conductor to get that overall balance of sound.
They are not responsible either to do anything other than their bit.
The woodwind are not responsible for the double basses. The conductor is.

We may have no idea why God is positioning us where He is positioning us. We are called to do what we are called to do....someone else is responsible for their call. We may never hear or see the whole picture.....but both heaven's witnesses, and others differently positioned on the earth may see the whole picture....be touched....and absolutely amazed at the multifaceted riches manifest through the Body that is the Christ in the Earth.

My Performance-Based Acceptance Story

It is staggering what we are crawling out from.
Here am I 37 years as a Christian and I'm about to go into a conference with Peter Stott and Peter Jackson...and I know...like peeling off onion layers...I'm probably going to "see" something more. Some other way that a realm of activity is founded not on grace...but on the inward feeling of incompleteness...so trying extra hard to make up for the deficiency.

Every single year more layers have been coming off.
I came to Christ one year after getting A grades in everything in school apart from woodwork....and yet realising all my effort and struggle achieved nothing really of any significance. I divebombed in depression. I left church. Then hearing Billy Graham in a couple of his films showed me yes an understanding of the mechanics of the gospel, which 12 years of churchgoing had denied me...but more than that...it was the Presence...the welcoming Presence of God that caught hold of me. I did not need to do anything. Jesus had done it!!


I was baptised in the Spirit 2 months later. But even after this I was still thinking along these lines:

I will perform classical guitar in the Dr Challoner's Grammar School Concert to the best of my ability to show that Christians are some good.

Guess what! My fingers failed. Awesomely. Nasty pauses in front of hundreds of people.
God!! You weren't there! And I was trying so hard for You. You have let Your Name down!!!
Do you know He loves us so much He's prepared to let His Name down?

That night I went to my friend's house. And I cried and I cried and I cried.
A prophet was there and so in the mess. In the brokenness. He prophesied in. I was rebuilt that night. I knew a Father that was totally unimpressed with my efforts. Because He loves me anyway. There is nothing to prove to Him. And like a Father that night it was like He covered Me in grace, in love,in acceptance. None of which was based on me.

And that night by the way...I died to performance musically. I have never suffered from nerves since. The truth is, that night my nerves were shredded into a pulp...I have none left...I am numb to looking stupid. People in the church here say I am bold. No I'm not bold. My anti-boldness mechanisms have been shredded. Ask John Stevens when I attempted to play at his 50th birthday...and it went equally wrong. But now it doesn't matter. God just laughs. And I just laugh too. Not that I wanted to upset John.

But those are just 2 stories. I could give yearly updates. The truth is the Fall has left us all so decimated, but it's all covered over with figleaf behaviour. And it's all so unnecessary, because the Father is not fooled.He just wants to love us free. It's good to be in a Body that is equipped to be just that- a vehicle for God's penetrating grace. And it's great that I have a person like Christine who loves me enough not to let me get away with anything. It's great to live naked with someone. I don't have to impress her. She loves me.

Actually, a defining moment for her, it turns out was me playing a classical guitar piece called Romance or Romanza... at a friend's 18th birthday party at the University of Exeter.(1977)This is one of the best I could find on You Tube.
This is all Joel's crazy idea,blame him

Christine gave up a lot for me......

This is one of a handful of people who were in the first ever meeting held in a lounge in a house, of what became East Midlands Christian Fellowship. This church, just 30 years on, is now scattered for miles around Derby, whose centre is located right next door to Egg Bank HQ on Pride Park in Derby and under the leadership of Mark Mumford, whose God -given vision was to move beyond the lounge and small backwoods meeting halls around Eastwood, to being a hub church for the East Midlands area.

The person pictured is not Mark Mumford, but Christine my wife!
At the time we were married in 1998,I was not in a church. I'd been thrown out of the 2nd Level. Forcibly. And had spent about 10 years exploring the 3rd Level.
So she gave up a massive growing network for a crazy lone visionary who still has to be proved right!!

Amazingly, another church took us in....After 9 months we learned who was leading it. We've been there 10 years, and a year ago we chatted with the leadership!!!!! And even after that they let us stay. Perhaps we're there under provisional contract!! Every so often Jesus gives me a key prophetic Word...which I'm rather glad about....because it makes it harder for them to chuck me out. It's by no means sure though....because I'd given tons of key Words of prophecies and Key prophetic songs in the last setup.....so you can never be quite sure. Still it keeps you on your toes and trusting in Jesus, rather than the setup.

All this to say - Christine found a set of key leadership messages which are free to download from her former Salt and Light network. I've started listening to them. I'd hesitate to foist them on anyone....cos Jesus knows what everyone needs and Sheila and Tim do leadership stuff themselves for example.....so I'll do a St Paul and say I recommend, that is me and not the Lord, but maybe I have the Spirit of the Lord in this.....particularly the Mark Stibbe and Mark Mumford messages(down the page)