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Ever wanted to have that seamless, face-to-face delivery for your next Christian event that only a professional news reader can present? You need an autocue. But how do you get one without breaking the bank? Read the secret in my latest article at your.sydneyanglicans.net

It is remarkable to reflect on the way in which God chose to create his universe. Everywhere we turn there is evidence of his lavish love and creativity; the boldness of a sunset… the beauty of a tulip… the brightness of the sun.

One particular area in which we see his creativity is in music. Music has the power to move people in a way that words fail to achieve. It can lift us to new heights, and take us on a journey to places unexpected.

At the 2004 TWIST Music Conference, Mike Raiter spoke of the power of the song. In referring to the wonderful Colin Buchanan concert the night before, he said that because of his gift of music, Colin could have taken our crowd anywhere. “But”, he observed, “aren’t we thankful that he took us to God!”

We know the power of music. We use it every week to proclaim God’s praises. Yet, we want to make sure we use this powerful tool to achieve the best possible outcomes.

That’s why it’s important our musicians are well trained. That’s why the TWIST Music Conference is such an important event for our musicians.

Registrations close Monday night, and the conference begins the Saturday after. Don’t miss out on stimulating teaching from Mike Raiter, terrific congregational music from some of Australia’s most gifted musos, and invaluable hands-on training in many great workshops.

Full details at www.twist.org.au. Don’t miss out!

When does style overtake substance? This is one of the perennial issues in youth ministry–especially in music. Read my latest column at sydneyanglicans.net

Here’s an excerpt:

Now I recognise that speaking this way does little to give me youth ministry street-cred (or whatever it’s called these days). I am at great risk of being labelled out-of-touch, over-the-hill, geriatric, or whatever term of endearment the younger folk might care to give me. But I wonder whether or not there are certain tempos and vocal styles that are incompatible with congregational singing, even for a group of people who are regular listeners of heavy metal?

If on Monday 5th Feb you’re around a radio in Sydney (or a web browser anywhere) at around 10.30AM, have a listen to my interview with Joanne Traeger on FM 103.2. It will be streamed on the web from the FM 103.2 stream.

She’s going to chat with me specifically about the TWIST Music Conference in August, and the DVD we made from last year.

If you haven’t seen the DVD, here’s a sneak peak of the song ‘Never Alone’:

Buy the full DVD at www.twistconference.com. 

Check here after the interview for an update on how it went.

[PS. Sorry if you tuned in two Mondays ago and didn’t hear me… the original interview was delayed.  But fingers crossed for Monday!]

The continued growth of TWIST, the music conference of Emu Music and Youthworks is causing more growing pains. As a result of three years of capacity crowds, despite increasing the venue size every year, we need somewhere larger.

To solve this problem, we will be moving this year to The Kings School, in Parramatta, to a venue that can seat in excess of 1000 people.

This year’s conference will be held on Sat 12th - Sun 13th August, 2006. Our guest speaker is John Dickson.

For full details, including online registration, visit www.twist.org.au