Sunday 29 November 2009

set foot ta walk the still darkened streets

One Night, 6 transit mans dem, One God, 6 pieces of paper, endless lives, lost searching, waiting.........



Set foot ta walk the still darkened streets

The cold and dark of night immediately consume me

Yet we walk, faithfully. Excited but nervously, but about all expectantly

Te recount the events that have just happened

You can’t even imagine, ya see

There’s gold in them there streets. You have to look hard but trust me,

If you listen hard enough you’ll see,

Believe me

Walk with me

And simply

Begin to let go

Of all the thing you think you know

The way you assume it should go

The same old same old standard way you roll

Let him take control

This is the new way ta roll

Don’t worry bout the dark

Don’t worry about the cold

Don’t worry bout the time of night or any type of dress code

Just prepare yourself for your mind to be blow,

We meet this boy out on road

And this is how his story gets told

“You were on that bench, Your wearing white and blue, You’ve got a baseball cap on, Son, Gods been looking for you”

“You were on that bench, Your wearing white and blue, You’ve got a baseball cap on, Son, Gods been looking for you”

Pause and consider,

Let these words linger

See what it does to your head as you begin to try and figure

“NA BRUV I’m GONE, NA THATS TOO MUCH IM GONE” “Let me see that again” “NA BRUV IM GONE”

He runs off into the night, griped by amazement at the incite,

And he thinks hard with all of his might

That this night

Maybe there just might

Be someone out there,

Someone who actually cares

Then 5 minutes later he re-appears

5 more boys on tow to witness

The utter mystery of this

“Boys come see this, come here and see this”

“Gods stalking me, come see, God, is stalking me”

Ah youngster if only you knew

If only you could understand the passion and intensity in which the living God is actively this moment, pursuing you.

The night advances,

To many odd glances at the introductions of “this might seem a bit weird...”

But in amazement we stand back and witness the way in which the path is clear

By the watering hole, the brave new face of prayer is met head on by the harsh realties of life

The hands it deals the wrongs that don’t seem in line with the rights

And in the midst of what could have been the darkest of nights

In the face of oppression and so close to a fight

A peace flows and the knowledge is evident of some kind of safety in the light

And then, right there

In amongst the brokenness and stares

Is the opening of hearts, the sharing of burdens often too big to share

And right there in the midst of despair,

Someone else pauses to consider

If there might, but someone out there

At one point they didn’t care

Or if they did it got lost in a life of despair

But when its presented on paper so raw and clear

Is it possible there’s some kind of light, amongst the darkness out there?

Is there, maybe, someone out there?

Flash forward to 5am on a park bench, away from the noise of all of them

The darkest sky begins to break

And there’s the sense of a light coming that keeps me fixed on that bench

Considering the night

And the way the story went

The events

I couldn’t even begin to invent

But I’m struck with the realisation that its not all good

And there still is night

A guy I know fought bravely on the wrong side of right on these same streets this same night

And under this same sky I guy I know was arrested tonight

There’s still dark, and the shadows still will gather

And the reality is that all of this still matters

And the sun is rising and its beautiful believe

But, there’s plenty more dark nights that will follow these

We thought we had compassion on these streets

But this night out horizons were blown by how much our God is actively pursuing every single one of these

And how a heart so big we cant even understand, sheds broken heartfelt tears, for each of these

And on that bench Im taken away

To all the different places I’ve been to and returned by that day

From the slums of Gjkova where no one wants ya

To the Dalmatian coast where you have to wonder,

How God could ever be denied

To the eyes of a grown man when he cries

From the persecuted solider on the streets of kosova

To the homeless man who’s begging to start over

From the days of old and stories of Passover

To a sacrifice of grace, that leads, to life

All the pieces of the puzzle seem to come together in the emergence of light

On my knees in the park, in reverence and fear

Having seen all these things and been brought back here

From place to place and stories I hold dear

On my knees I confess “I will worship you here”

From the mountains of beauty to the streets of despair.

From the homes with enough to the tables with nothing to spare

I cant even begin to imagine, let alone answer the questions out there

But I commit to stand and l say “my God, I will worship you here”

And Ill try to understand the issues and become more aware

Be a friend to the broken standing right there

I’m nervous, self-conscious, unsure and flippin scared

But through it all my God, I will worship you here

I’m nervous, self-conscious, unsure and flippin scared

But through it all, my God, I will worship you here

Wednesday 25 November 2009

“I’m talking bout the science of social depravation” Skinnyman

So I didn’t do too well at school, I was the class clown, I just liked making people laugh. I can’t read and write too good so I couldn’t get on. I get board, I got a job in my last year of school, money in ya pocket, a little to help ya mum out, enough for beer at the weekend and it’sall good. But, it means I didn’t do so many exams and that means I aint got qualifications. I lost that job (I was too young to work), I’m not a master mind but I’ll work hard, this just means I’ll do the jobs no one else wants to do, “Ill give you a one’a to do over that...” you know the drill. My Brother just had a kid, he lives in the next road, my little brother’s just out on bail. I’ve got a record as long as my arm and more. If something goes on in this town the police ask me about it (coz to be fair I’m usually in it) My dads sick, seriously. The best job I had was Selling drugs, but for some reason it felt wrong so I stopped. My mum works hard but its tuff with two boys right? my mum and dad don’t live together.
I just wanna work, but I can’t get a chance, I’ve got no qualifications and no experience so I can’t get a chance, I can’t get a break.Im stuck. Everyone want to take the piss out of me, mug me off and I won’t let em, so, I get them before they get me. It’s a f#### up existence, but wot chance have i got.


This guy came to my house for tea today. I wanna just give him a hug and tell him life’s not all bad, but in his situation it is. What hope is there, what chances are there? I just wanna give him a job create opportunities, he’s my friend and it hurts to whiteness the cycle of a social class system that says unless you tick these boxes we don’t care about you. I wanna go to the government and say “this is a good guy, his family are good people, they just got lost and need some help on the way back, Come on, surly there help for these guys” I wanna step in and stop this cycle, bring about a change if I don’t who will? And in 20 years will the next generation of this family telling the same old tale?

I don’t know where to start. I guess, awareness relationship and prayer and action. But the challenge is big. The cost is high, the price might be more than I have but the result. The result is life.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Mathew 11 : 28 the message