andi oakes

This entry is more of an appeal...Earle "Early bird" Smith.  Thanks for your message, but could you send me your email address so I can send you a reply?

Here’s a bit of an update “bloggy” thing to let you know what I’m up to:

I’m so thankful for the last year and all the wonderful things that Grace and I have experienced and all the new people who have come into our lives, both locally here in Northern Ireland, throughout the UK and also our new extended family over the pond in Nashville, TN.

2009 was a year that, as well as bringing many new things along, also saw the resurrection of some aspects of my work that I thought I had left behind, with me feeling inspired to return to painting.  I had previously stopped producing any art work at all in 2006, after my Dad passed away as well as finding myself suffering with depression towards the end of that year which subsequently took a lot longer to fully recover from.  So to feel inspired once again during the latter part of last year to paint was actually quite unexpected for me, and I found it a great source of encouragement to have my work so well received by so many people.  So I’m intending to have at least one exhibition locally this year with a view to looking at other venues around the country as well as internationally. (Might as well aim high I reckon.)

2010 is already shaping up to be something of a significant year in itself.  My work with Arise in Lurgan continues in a great atmosphere of anticipation as more people have been joining the worship team and seeing their gifts released.  We’re excited as a ministry to see what lies ahead for us all as well as for the greater work of Shankill Parish, within which Arise functions.

January has also seen me embark on a six month project with a lovely church in the neighbouring city of Lisburn where I have been invited in for a six month period to develop the worship ministry in Kingdom Life.  Their senior Pastor, Brian Agnew, called me just before our trip to Nashville to discuss the project with me and to see if I would be interested.  I just love working with and encouraging people and so it was really a bit of a “no-brainer” for me.  So we’re already two weeks into our walk with Kingdom Life and I love every minute of it. It is just such a joy to meet and spend some time with more wonderful people.

I’ll also be continuing my contact with the Elim church in Caledon, a place that is so close to my heart.

I’ve been rehearsing with my new band over the last few months of 2009 and so we’re just about ready to be let loose on an unsuspecting public.  Our intention is to start doing more concerts together over the next year, which is something of a change for me as I tend to do most gigs in an acoustic set up.  I have been blessed with some great musicians who are also friends and I know we are going to have an awesome time playing for people and leading them in worship.

Apart from all of that stuff, I am just so thankful for everything God has allowed me to experience over the last few years. I have changed so much as a person and that has a great deal to do with the experiences that God has taken me through and, more importantly, the people He has brought into my life.  Life is about people.  Without others in our lives, I believe we miss the point of existence.  Life is not about making money, gaining influence or having all you needs met… I believe it’s about sharing with others and allowing them to share with you.  I am deeply grateful for every person who has influenced me for good so far and I would not be who I am today without them.  Some I see frequently, some I see occasionally and others are far out of my reach.  But wherever they are, I want them to know…thank you.  When people touch you deeply, they leave something of themselves with you and it is my joy and a great source of comfort in my own life to carry those marks of love with me wherever I go.

Grace and I want to wish you all a very happy and blessed New Year and our prayer and hope for you is that you discover and experience more of God’s love in your life and that you find the real joy in life, which is sharing that love with everyone you come in contact with.

Bless you,

Andi

Why are we so afraid of being completely in the Now? What is it aboutour lives that make us so dissatisfied with who we are and what we do?

Perhaps it’s a problem that is in essence very particular to those ofus who live in the West, with our very modern outlook on life; but itdoes appear as though most people in our culture are intensely unhappywith their lives and so are constantly straining to acquire more or bebetter than they perceive they are. Now, there is nothing wrong withwanting to improve things and be a better person – that’s seems a verynoble aspiration indeed – the problems start, I think, when we put allthe emphasis outside of ourselves and we start falling for thedeception that our answer lies somewhere “out there” just beyond ourreach. If we could only stretch a little farther or press a littleharder then perhaps we could grasp what is eluding us, or force openthe door that stands between us and what we think we need.

I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. And the conclusion Iam coming to is simply this: the answer for my life is not outside ofme, just beyond the horizon somewhere – it is actually already withinme. The answer to a dissatisfied and constantly restless spirit is tosimply become content.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to haveplenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and everysituation…” the Apostle Paul (Phil 4 v 12)

So how does one become more content?

Well, I think the answer is contained in this little quote from Paul –we have to learn it. Paul had to learn to become content and we have todo the same. One of the consequences of the fall of mankind is ournatural tendency to focus on all things negative. Negativity is ourdefault setting. And it is this negativity that continually tells usthat we “don’t have enough”, or we “don’t look good enough”, or we “arenot clever enough”. We then convince ourselves that if we could onlyget more and improve ourselves then we would be happy.

Unfortunately however, we cannot buy contentment at Walmart or Tesco. We must learn it.

So how do we learn to be content?

We have to remind ourselves to be fully in the NOW. We have to stoplooking to tomorrow for the answer and begin living fully “today”.Jesus referred to Himself as the “I AM”. “I AM” is a powerful statementand is how God refers to Himself. God is fully in the NOW. He is notlooking to improve Himself or straining to achieve personal goals – Heis the ultimate expression of contentment, peace and sufficiency. Godis never distracted by what may be around the corner…He is “I AM”.

God is not even influenced by our failures and imperfections when beingwith us…He is “I AM” and as such He does not “react” to us the wayothers do. He doesn’t recoil with disgust at our humanness, but remainsthe perfect expression of love – for He is love. Jesus also is neverpulled away from us because of His own problems and worries…He is “IAM”. And yet how often are we unable to fully concentrate on thepresent because we are worried about the future or burdened by thepast? How many times have we failed to give someone our undividedattention because our minds are on our own agenda?

Jesus came to live in us by faith, and so to bring us the power of NOW…the power of the “I AM”.

The power of NOW is to know the “I AM” in our lives. To believe that wealready have all we need because the “I AM” has come and will livethrough us by faith as we allow Him.

Paul concluded his statement by saying this:

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Phil 4 v 13

To believe in Jesus, is to believe in the I AM.

To rest in Jesus, is to rest in the I AM.

To trust in Jesus, is to trust the I AM.

With the I AM in your life…you already have everything you need,because it’s all to be found in Him, and therefore in you as youbelieve in Him.

As a music artist and worship leader I spend a lot of time thinking about and discussing “worship” with other people; and I think it would be safe to say that it is very much one of the key factors in church development these days. “Worship” is probably one of the main criteria that people look to have fulfilled before joining a church, and I think I would even go as far as to say that it’s probably one of the top two boxes that people want to be able to tick before even thinking about committing to a local church. And that kind of worries me.

First of all, to be part of a local expression of the church is to take up your role as an agent of change in the area and among the people where you are. So our first question should surely be “Is this where God wants me to be?” There is absolutely no point, in my opinion, of being part of an “all singing and all dancing church” if you are not called to be part of the body of believers there.

If we make our decisions based purely on what the church offers us, then we are missing the point of becoming a change agent of God – for that is who we are all supposed to be. We are to be, not only carriers, but implementers of the Kingdom of God that we say we belong to, actively working to change “our own world” for God’s greater glory. “Our own world” for many of us is our church.

Far too many people are running off elsewhere to what they think is the finished product. They are not prepared to spend the time in their own churches to help them grow…to serve their own community of people. No. In these days, it seems that the draw of the “pop worship” culture is just far too great. This probably comes from our desire to get the quick fix solution – the “I don’t have the time to wait so I’ll go over there to get what I need now” attitude that so pervades our modern thinking.

The problem with running off to the get quick fix is that we miss the real benefits that come from taking the slow path. Just as a diet of fast food will eventually leave us devastatingly unhealthy, so seeking the fastest route to spiritual satisfaction will eventually leave us spiritually sick.

You see, God could quite easily take us all home to heaven the moment we respond to Jesus, but He doesn’t.  Why? Because the end isn’t the important bit, but how you get there that counts.

It’s all about the journey. It’s all about the struggles. It’s all about the challenge. It’s about character and character takes time and, more often enough, pressure to produce.

The real heroes of the faith are the people who stay where God has placed them and continue to do what they are called to do, no matter how good or how bad the worship team are – because true worship is not about  music, but about a tender heart that yearns to do what God wants.

By the way - if you want to see how well you and your church really worship…then try doing it without singing songs. True worshippers can praise God in every situation and they don’t need any help to do it.

“While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul travelled through the interior provinces.  Finally he came to Ephesus, where he found several believers.”  Acts 19 v1

I wonder how many times I have read verses like this and not really grasped the weight of what was being said.  Verses like these seem to be only the links that bind the more interesting bits of the greater story together, like those little “map scenes” in the Indiana Jones movies where they show a line travelling across the globe indicating the journey that’s being under taken by our intrepid heroes.  How long they take to get there or the route and means they use is of little importance to the story – all we want to know is that they actually arrive.

But the journey is important.  It’s the journey that, in many ways, shapes us.  How long did it take Paul to reach Ephesus?  Where did he stay along the way?  How long was he travelling through the provinces?  Who did he meet?  What did he see?  How did he feel? 

There is so much that us left unsaid in this little verse, and yet it quite possible that the journey to Ephesus, by way of the provinces, was quite uneventful in terms of what Paul was used to; but that doesn’t mean it was unimportant.  What was God building in Paul’s character during this time?  What conversations was he having with his co-workers and the people they would encounter, that were influencing his thoughts?

Journeys cost.  They cost money, yes, but they also have adeeper cost.  The cost of leaving home and loved ones; the cost of comfort and security – journeys always cost.

It seems to me that if we believe we have a destiny to fulfil and a mark to make on this world, then we must be prepared to do a lot of “travelling” in order to get there. We must be prepared to disappear for a while into the mundane and allow ourselves to embrace the costly reality of the journey.  Yes, there may be an exciting destination ahead; but unfortunately we do not have the luxury of being able to cut to the“map scene” and thus avoid the actual travelling that’s involved in getting there. 

If you are convinced you have somewhere to go and something significant to do when you get there – then be advised…you’re going to have to probably spend a lot more time than you realise “travelling through the interior provinces.”  You can’t avoid it. 

So my advice is: Trust Jesus and just tryand enjoy the ride.

I just got back off one of the most challenging, exhausting but most satisfying weeks of my life down at the West of Ireland Activity Centre in Sligo at Camp Ireland.

Camp Ireland is run by Crown Jesus Ministries, and a couple of monthsago the guys asked if I would be able to help them out for one of the weeks as a co-director and worship leader for the Camp. "Sure" I said with absolutely no idea of what was involved. So the week of camp rolled around and I found myself packing my case with one of those oh so annoying senses of impending doom hovering around me as I suddenly realised that I didn't even know how to pack for something like this!

It was only after the buses arrived and over 50 screaming kids disgorged themselves onto the grounds that I then broke out into a cold sweat, wishing that someone would transport me as far away from Sligo as I could possibly get.  I mean, all I could think of as they began swarming around us was that scene from Jurassic Park where the Velociraptors start hunting the humans - I suddenly felt like a very small rodent who had stumbled upon some sort of annual Cat conference.

The kids were all from different backgrounds. Some from inner city Dublin, some from Belfast, some from Coleraine, Ballymena and Ballymoney.  Some were from very underprilvileged backgrounds and somewere from very privileged backgrounds.  But all of them had one thing incommon - they were just kids.

A week at Camp Ireland comprises of wall to wall activities, both indoor and outdoor.  There's football, rounders, mountain biking, archery, basketball, canoeing, pedal boating, campfires, singing - on and on it goes.  There really is never a dull moment at Camp Ireland.  Each day culminates in what we call "Discovery time" where we all get together in the main hall from around 9pm and hear about how much Jesus loves us. It was awesome because it was totally focused on Jesus, which is why I love the guys at Crown Jesus Ministries.  By the end of the week, we had seen 12 of the kids commit themselves for the first time to Jesus, with most of the rest of them responding to the call to go deeper in their relationship with God.

On the last night, as I led these bundles of never ending energy in worship, we sang "King of kings, majesty" and I invited those who felt they wanted to, to kneel in worship before Jesus. To my utter joy, almost every child immediately fell on their knees, many with their hands raised in worship.  It was truly overwhelming to be there.

As a co-director, I also had the privilege of spending time with each of the teams that had been assigned for the week, and was able to get to know the kids individually during these team sessions, finding out about their hopes and dreams. These times proved to be some of the most moving for me.  We would play a game during these sessions where I would have a crown and each one of us would get to be "King or Queen of the world" and would then be allowed to make at least 2 declarations: One to help the world and another for oursleves.  Almost without exception the children would want to help the poor which touched me so much; and when it came to doing something for themselves, the most common feature seemed to be chocolate in some for or another - except for one little boy, who said that he would like a lot of money so that he could pay doctors to make his mummy better.  As you can imagine we all went silent and I had to fight back a whole torrent of tears.

It has been a long time since I have done something which has touched me so much and I can honestly say that the kids I spent the week with are totally awesome.  God blessed me by allowing me to share in their lives for a week.

I encourage you to find out more about Camp Ireland and the work of Crown Jesus Ministries. The guys need a lot of resources to keep this great project going during the summer and I know they would appreciate your prayers and encouragement as they seek to extend the Camp and be able to bus more children and young people into these literally life changing weeks. If you want to make a difference in Ireland, then I heartily recommend partnering in some way with Camp Ireland. Camp Ireland currently runs for 3 weeks during the summer, but the goal is 2 months. Imagine the children and young people who could be led to Jesus over that time!  Let's pray it happens.

You can find out more about Camp Ireland and Crown Jesus Ministries @ www.crownjesus.org

I had the privilege of visiting Wales a couple of weekends ago and whilst I was there, in the very south western corner, I discovered the truth about my mobile phone network - that it really is completely rubbish.  I spent the entire weekend opening and losing my mobile phonelooking for any sign of network coverage in vain.  There was nothing...absolutely nothing. Not even a glimmer of a signal flickered on myscreen and it was totally frustrating.  I thought it would be somewhat liberating to be out of signal range for a while and feel the complete freedom of not being in contact with anyone from home...but it was absolutely awful.

So if anyone tries to sell you the idea of having a technology detox and suggests shipping you off to some supposedly quaint little cabin on the side of some squirrel infested mountain somewhere well beyond the reach of civilisation (which usually involves not having a toilet by the way) then run away, because they're nuts.  I hated every second of being out of contact with those who are the most important to me.  It was just dreadful to not be able to pop off a note to let them know what was going on and how I was doing, or to find out how they were, or just to get any kind of message from them at all so that I could know that everything was ok.

And so I would have been in almost complete despair that weekend except for one glorious hour when I went for a walk down by the harbour of the little town that I was staying in.  As I ambled along, my ears firmly plugged into my mp3 player, I just happened to glance down at my phone and discovered, much to my surprise, a signal!

My thumb, which had been poised and ready for such a moment, blurred into action with the reflexes of a Lioness who'd just stumbled upon the secret location of the fabled obese gazelle herd of the African savannah (don't google it, I made them up. But if you do discover them,remember where you heard it first), and I began speed texting with all my might.  And then it got even better, when I started getting replies!  Everything was right with the world and I felt as though I couldfinally relax fully.  What a difference it made.  So I stayed there foran hour and just kept the communication going, and it did me the world of good.

I'm a citizen of heaven according to the Bible.  Not because of what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done for me.  He makes it possible for me to have a home in heaven, but He doesn't just leave it at that, because He's made it possible for me to keep in contact with Him as well - even though I can't see Him.  But just like my mobilephone network, I go through patches where the signal is just awful.  Sometimes it's my fault - I keep messing with the receiver down here or forget to keep it on charge or, like every nearly every other male on the planet, I think I can get the best results without ever needing to consult the manual until I really have to. But sometimes my network seems to go down and it's not my fault at all.  Sometimes my network provider seems to go offline, and nothing I seem to do can bring it back, no matter how hard I try.

But in all of these trials of communication, I am learning a simple little truth for my own walk - when the network's up and the signal is clear - make the most of it and speed text like crazy!

Myspace, Bebo, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger - on and on goes the ever growing list of web sites that allow you to share something of your life with complete strangers all over the world. What is this obsession we seem to be developing for social networking sites?  What is it that makes us want to share everything from the most innocuous and mundane to the most painfully sensitive moments of our lives? Why are we becoming addicted to giving the world in general a running commentary on our daily lives?
You only have to type a random word or name into an internet search engine to discover the plethora of self published information that exists for such a huge swathe of the population of our world. You can read everything from the fantastically facile details of someone?s daily routine to heart wrenching insights into the personal fears, hurts and struggles of complete strangers; who interestingly enough seem less unknown to us by very fact they have shared something of themselves with us. And perhaps that's exactly the reason why our obsession with self publication is growing?
By uploading more and more of ourselves on to this most public of mediums we perhaps, in some way, become a little less invisible and a little more "known" by someone else. It seems that most of us, if not all, are driven by the simple desire to be "known"  - to be recognised and affirmed by our peers. It's what drives so many to put themselves through the ignominy of standing on a huge "X" on a floor in the desperate hope of being accepted by some panel of "experts". It's what pushes people onto reality television. It's what compels us to try and please those we admire the most or at least those whom we perceive to be the possessors of a greater influence than we ourselves have.
Perhaps it's just simply that we are all basically desperate? Desperate to be recognised; desperate to be seen; desperate to be accepted; desperate to be loved.

The words of a simple carpenter from a Hicksville, nowhere special, backwater town on the troublesome outer reaches of the most powerful Empire the world has ever seen. An uneducated labourer; unknown and unrecognised by the one's who had been diligently looking for him for generations and at one stage shunned by many of his own family and friends for being more than a little "off the wall" if not just plain "mad". And yet there was something about the way He walked through this world that draws our attention to Him. There was something about His brief sojourn among us that captivates our imaginations. How can someone so despised and ridiculed be so self-possessed and assured?

Jesus seemed to live His life on earth in the light of one simple piece of knowledge: that ever- loving eyes, all seeing and full of expectation and kindness were fixed upon Him perpetually - that even when he stood alone...He was seen.
Those eyes are on each one of us, right now. You and I are seen. You and I are known. You and I are understood completely by the One who is set upon loving us.
Look up my friend, my fellow Blogger and Twitterer - the stage is set, your audience is in place and your heart is exposed to the One who loves you more than you could ever comprehend.


* John 8 v 36
**John 13 v 3

Having only settled myself into the large sofa that I like to call home in my local Starbucks, and despatched some sort of healthy fruit and cereal bar, my morning musings were rudely interrupted by a very loud and intrusive claxon alarm followed by a rather stern, and disembodied automated voice informing us of some impending doom and demanding that we all exit the building immediately. So the staff in store along with myself and every other store in the mall that I could see from my current vantage point, did what any normal human being does in circumstances like these – we promptly ignored it.

It genuinely took several minutes for most of us to wake ourselves out of our comfort zones in order for us to even pop our heads outside the door of the store to see if it was a genuine emergency. Only then did we see that all the other stores were doing the same thing and that some had even gotten as far as pulling down their shutters and had began to make their way to the nearest exits. Looking at each other with varying degrees of bemused excitement and apprehension, we all decided that this was indeed something that perhaps demanded our attention and so we also began leaving the building in that most British of “orderly” manners. Walking towards the assembly point, I smugly congratulated myself on my foresight in ordering my tea in a take-away cup. Of course, I always order my chosen beverage in a take-away cup much to the bewilderment of the ever changing staff of my local coffee house; but this morning I was able to cheerfully parade beside them holding my little thermal cup victoriously high and declaring “See…now you know why I order this in a take-away cup.” Vindication at last! It can sometimes be a long time coming, but today was my day – my faith was rewarded and my take-away cup came with me all the way through our little adventure. Yes, our morning was interrupted by the harsh sound of a blaring emergency horn and yes, we were all subsequently herded out like some kind of…er…well, herd; but throughout it all…through every moment of this mildly terrifying, death defying flight for our very mortal lives…I was ready, and - I had my tea!

A theme that you will find in the Bible is the theme of the “sudden”. Suddenly things will change. Suddenly God can intervene. Suddenly God interupts. And Jesus said that we were to be watchful because He is promising to come back…suddenly. It would seem prudent to me then that we perhaps adopt some practices and habits that put us in good stead for one of those God type “Suddenly” moments. There’s nothing like being prepared, even if we forget occasionally the real reason for why we do certain things – because you never know when you’ll need to have your tea in a take-away cup.

Post script:

It turned out to be an emergency drill. I was at least hoping for an alien invasion or something. I could have been a useful help to humanity – the alien invaders might have quite liked tea, and preferred to sit down for a nice chat with biscuits. Ah well – next time perhaps.