Впервые в России побывала общеизвестная английская христианская группа «Delirious?».

Такого концерта, думаю, люди в церкви еще не видели; уровень творчества группы, проведение и подготовка к нему были по-настоящему на высоте. Зал был биткм набит людьми, а те кто нес могли попасть на концерт, стояли за дверями наполняя все фойе, только чтобы услышать хотябы музыку. Когда еще более 1000 молодых людей соберутся в церкви во время открытия молодежной конференции «YOUTH 07» на концерте известной группы, поклоняясь в одном духе Богу?!

«До такого уровня стоит расти всем музыкальным группам, а также всем, кто хочет доносить Бога до людей.  И каждый, побывавший там в среду, смог убедиться в этом».

Ведь ребята – настоящие профессионалы, если говорить о подаче концерта – такое увидишь не часто, скажем, один из тысячи раз. «Команда просто супер! Они задают тон, а через них Бог касается наших сердец».
 И если «Delirious?» собирают 800 тысяч на своих концертах, то в этом зале понимаешь, что для Бога важен каждый человек, начинаешь яснее чувствовать себя частичкой единого целого – осознаешь, что находишься на правильном месте в правильное время.

Еще до начала концерта зал был настолько разогрет,  будто замер в ожидании,  так, что после первых аккордов можно было ощутить ту волну радости, пробежавшую среди людей. Это не описать словами, это нужно прочувствовать и увидеть.

Весь зал пел вместе с Мартином, все текли в едином Духе, Божьей любви – не важна была разница языка. Когда становишься единым целом, любые границы стираются, остаешься лишь ты и Он. Об этом пели и “Delirious?” – желание наше быть с Ним одним целым, течь в Его присутствии.
Время пролетело – будто прошло лишь 5-10 минут, а не два часа. Когда ребята ушли со сцены первый раз, казалось, что так и нужно – на этом все закончится, но было немного жаль, что уж слишком быстро – в поклонении незаметно прошли полтора часа… Но затем “Delirious?” вышли и спели не одну, а еще пару песен! И закончилось все словами из Библии – они ушли, а зал стоял в молчании и тихом смирении –  хороший конец этого вечера.

Музыканты также побывали ночью на красной площади, сделали общие фотографии, увидели то, что изучали в книгах, историю своими глазами.

Ради такого мероприятия стоило усиленно готовиться, молиться и ждать – и верим, что это не последний такой концерт, не только эта замечательная группа приедет к нам еще раз, но таких музыкантов, а за этим и таких вечеров будет больше!


 Эксклюзивное интервью и всю информацию о концерте  вы сможете прочитать в декабрьском номере молодежного журнала «YOUTH».



A famous English Christian music band Delirious? has visited Russia for the first time in history!

I don’t think people in a church have ever seen something like that. Everything was on a highest level – preparation, show and the music itself. More than a thousand young people were gathered together on an opening of the youth conference YOUTH’07 and were worshiping God on a concert of a well-known band in one spirit. The venue was over packed with people. Those who were unable to get in were standing behind the doors  just to hear the music. Where else could you find it?! “All music bands should try to achieve this level and all those who want to bring the Gospel should do it with the same passion. Everyone on a concert could see it yesterday”.

Delirious? musicians are the real professionals, and their show is unique. Not often we could watch concerts like that in our country. “The team was just cool! They lead youth in worship, and God touched young hearts through them”.

Delirious? gathered 800 thousand people together on their concerts and here, in our small venue we understand more the meaning and importance of every single person. You begin to clearly see yourself as a part of something big and realize that you are on a right place in a right time.

Before the concert the audience was already excited and had a great expectation. When they just play first accords, the wave of joy filled the building. No words could describe that, you should have seen and felt it yourself.

People sang along with Martin (the leader) no matter of language differences. When you abide in one spirit there are no any boundaries, just you and God. The songs of Delirious? were all about about our desire to be one with Him, flowing in His presence.

The time passed very quickly. When they finished we thought it’s evident but pity, but then they came back and play not one, but even two songs. The concert was finished as it is written in Bible. They went out, but people were standing in silence and humbleness. The best end of a night!

English musicians also visited the Red Square late at night, made some group photos, and were amazed by seeing our city which they have read in books about.

All our preparations, prayers and expectations were totally worthy for such an event. We believe it’s not their last concert in Moscow, it’s just a beginning! It’s just a beginning of great holly shows in our country!

When I got the email from my friend Thux asking whether I was available to do a shoot for Delirious? it was pretty surreal. The band, or rather their music has played an almost iconic role in my spiritual journey over the last 10 years.

My father introduced me to the person of the Holy Spirit when I was ten years old. I’ve always had a passion for God, a desire to serve him with all of my life. In ‘96 we had a group of students come to our home town, that’s Port Elizabeth, roughly in the middle of the southern most coastline of Africa. They were under Billy Kennedy’s leadership and came to minister in our local church. Wow. The two weeks they were here in SA had to have been some of the most awesome spiritual moments of my life up until that point. There seemed to be a wave that had broken in the youth in the UK, from what we could tell it was huge, at least for us it was something we’d never seen or felt before. A large part of that revival and it’s expression was the ‘new sounds and rhythms’ coming from Delirious? then, ‘Cutting Edge’. We had worship night after night singing what became anthem songs for us – ‘I’m not ashamed of the gospel’ and ‘did you feel the mountains tremble’. With the worship, the freedom, came the jumping. And the jumping song, the happy song. It was so strange for our little group of 60 or so at first. The guys were jumping up and down like Kenyan warriors (and warriors they were!). All it took was one night of this dance, this new song, this madness for the heart of what God was doing back in the UK to get into our very bones. It got deep into my heart that night, and it changed my life forever.

The encounters with Jesus in the months and years that followed   were like nothing I’ve experienced before, or since. So many young people were being saved. Hundreds, thousands in this little town. The music carried such a clear message of what was on God’s heart at that time, it was like feeling His Pulse for the first time, his hearbeat. ‘the rythym is the heartbeat, is the heartbeat...’ We even started worshipping to didgeridoo’s and bongo drums in dark church halls. There was a new sound and rhythm that took us straight to  the heart of God. Songs like ‘Lord you have my heart’ and ‘I could  sing of your love forever’ became our small group bonfire-on-the- beach-acoustic-guitar-and-voices favorites, those first four Cutting Edge album’s taking us through the first year of amazing time.

It’s strange how a revival glows, ignites, lives like a flame, and then slowly cools and dies out in the early hours of the morning. I’m not sure what it must have been like seeing the Welsh revival wane and I’m not sure if this wave we experienced in ’96 and ’97 was that big as far as revivals go, but I know that it was significant. Significant for Port Elizabeth, significant for Africa, and for the rest of the world. I had the privilege of traveling a couple of years later and found it had hit Europe and America too,  and Delrious? were there at the heart of it all, putting the heart-cries and God–dreams to live and die for our King of youth across the globe into words and songs.

‘Deeper’ came at just the right time for us as many who we’d witnessed being saved had grown cold and fallen away. That was so hard. Those of us ‘History Makers’ found ourselves in a desert place, a no man’s land where life had become more complicated, there were more questions that needed answers. Martin said something interesting during the Gig on Wednesday night. He said the older you get, the more questions you have. How true that was for us. I know that it was a wheat and chaff time though, and I know that God will not lose one of the little one’s he has destined to call his own.

The poverty and issues surrounding our eager young hearts here in South Africa weighed us down and there were more questions than answers. The work was much and the laborers were few. When it came to the nitty gritty, the dancing, jumping army had left for more comfortable pastures.

We’re still kind of in that place, to some extent today, finding  Oasis’s of God’s glory which keep us going. I write ‘we’ because this story around the music and revival was shared by many of my closest friends, family members and young people in the local church here. The flame will not go out for those that remain, that have persevered. I know that the wave we experienced is only a taste of what’s to come. Come Lord Jesus, come!

The week of the photoshoot has been pretty hectic. Wow, I’ve been so snowed under with shoots this past month and post production is running a little behind.  It was also Allan’s (my hubby) 30th on the night of the shoot so there was all sorts of planning to do on a personal level as well. The gig on Wednesday night was awesome. Allan went off his rocker before God which was so cool to see. Its’ been a while. I tried to connect with God, I did a little, but I was so full of adrenalin and butterflies in my stomach from the crazy week. But it was awesome just to soak it in, the presence of God, and to refocus and connect once again with what God was saying to the world through the music.

It’s amazing where we’ve come from – screaming History makers to singing ‘here I am, send me’. I can say that 10 years down the line of this ‘lets change the world with God’ scenario, I say those  words with holy fear. Living on the doorstep of so much need is  such a constant reminder of what still needs to be done. So now its a ‘here I am - and I admit right now that we can’t do it unless you seriously rock up in power God and we’re not going to make it home alive if you don’t pitch up  - send me’ anthem!

How to paint a township red? Lord we need your grace...

I’m so excited for this next album. I can’t wait to hear it, and to see what part of our Father’s heart you guys have accessed this time.

It was awesome shooting you guys, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for being faithful. You are so special. So special to me and many. I pray such blessing and protection over you and your families.

Waiting in expectation for a new song!

Sonja

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if the last 48 hours were a meta tag... it might read something like this...

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Chicken...

That's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Kiev. I'm sorry but that's the way that my mind work, small and simple. This is our 3rd visit to Kiev in the Ukraine, Eastern Europe feels so different, it looks different, It's an interesting dynamic, a place
that is embarrassing a 'new world' with all of it's technologies and a country that has the remains of communism. The thing that I am left with is, what amazing people, hearts wide open, inviting and full of warmth.

Once again we had a rather rushed set up and no sound check, always a little stressful but once you get up there the connection is instant, a little like a strong espresso first thing in the morning. I had a few interesting problem with my kit, almost chopped the end of Lees finger off because of a faulty drum throne that he was trying to fix during a song, it collapse on his finger, I looked down and there is the big man with his finger wrapped in my towel covered in blood. That boy is a hero, working his socks off.

Now, what was amazing was also our exit from the Ukraine. Our first experience of flying on a private jet to Germany for our next show in Essen. [we hitched a ride with the kind hosts of the next show]. A Gulf-stream G4 awaited us and as we boarded we all tried our very hardest to do the 'cool thing' and pretend that this was a very normal experience for us. Of course we had not even seen a picture of such a beautiful flying machine. While the guys sat in luxury I opted to ride in the cockpit with the pilots, amazing experience I saw the world from a whole different perspective. Driving a Porsche or a Masserati would be up there for me in my material mind, but flying one of these things has to be the biggest buzz available to man. I learnt enough to know that this is the way to travel in the future, given a spare million pounds that is.

Looking forward to South Africa and also a photo shoot in a Shanty town in Port Elizabeth which I have been working on for the past few weeks with an amazing photographer. We are also getting closer to an album title, we wish we could of had all of your help on this one although 5 opinions is often 4 to many.

Until next time from SA. Over and out. Smeezer