Taking Your Job Seriously

The place was packed. I found myself taking my seat largely surrounded by women of a certain age. They were up for a good time. The warm up was a pianist who had won a Tv reality show called ‘The Piano.’ He had touched the heart of the nation as he shared the impact that his foster parents had had on his life and on helping him to pursue his dream. He shared a little more of that story as he warmed up the crowd. He spoke of his love for his daughters and wanting to write music that would be a legacy that would let them know how loved they were and how they had changed his life. He spoke of the life changing nature of the phone call from the main act who had called him up and asked him to come on tour throughout the UK and Ireland with him. He couldn’t believe it, and now he was playing the Waterfront Hall and holding people spellbound with his amazing piano playing, with his warmth and his shyness as he shared his life and his music and spoke of his excitement that he was launching his new album at the beginning of June. All of this was new to him, but if people logged onto his name on their social media feed and gave him a ‘like it’,’ would help his album to get noticed.

He finished his short set to a great ovation, having encouraged everyone to enjoy the show, then it was time for the curtain to settle once more as we talked among ourselves. After about 10 minutes, the place went strangely quiet, then there was some noise, then there were lights and suddenly Gary Barlow bounced onto the stage.

For the next couple of hours he showcased his hits from over 30 years. He had once been part of one of the biggest bands on the planet, TAKE THAT. He had enjoyed a long solo career, he had written musicals that had successful runs in London and New York, he had toured the world, and now he was in Belfast.

The lights were spectacular. The band were incredible musicians, and for the next couple of hours he gave people exactly what they wanted. He gave them music that made them feel good, so good that they all got up and danced. He encouraged them to sing along with the songs they knew, and they did word for word. He moved from singing to playing the piano. He invited Brad Keller, the warm up back onto the stage to play for one of his biggest hits which he had written when he was 15, long before Brad was born.

He helped those who hated their jobs to forget for a couple of hours about what made their working environment so challenging. He made people laugh with his self deprecating humour. He took some selfies with fans up the front who were celebrating birthdays, or who had come from all over the world to hear him. At a few points, he got the audience to sing back his songs and applauded their efforts as he went along touching their hands and injected colour and energy and fun into a Wednesday night in Belfast.

You didn’t have to be a life long fan to enjoy the show. I snook in on the coat tails of the lovely Mrs. Pierce who had been given 2 tickets as a Christmas present. As we queued to pay for the car park, we bumped into an old friend who had looked after our daughter in nursery school. Everyone was buzzing with joy. The woman in front of us had been in the fourth row but moved up to the front and Gary had touched her hand as she reached out. She was still shaking she announced to us all as she went back to her car smiling and feeling the best she had felt in a long time as we all celebrated with her.

You could write it all off as escapist, populist nonsense if you wished, but I saw a man who took his job very seriously.

He was outrageously talented and he wanted to use that talent to bring joy to his audience. He had become very rich and famous doing this over the past 35 years or so, but he didn’t take it for granted. In a little speech not long before the finale, he spoke of how it had been an honour to perform for us. He recognised times were hard and people had chosen to spend their hard earned money listening to him and his magnificent band.

He had used his platform to give a hand up to someone starting out in the music business and, throughout the show, although he was the undisputed star, he kept naming and applauding his musicians who were making him shine.

He injected life and energy into lifting the spirits of people who were most likely battling with all sorts of things, from difficult family situations to health worries, to challenges in the work place. Who knows what he might have been battling himself as he lifted the room to a joyful place and laughed at himself and their screams as he shimmied his way through his impressive songbook that has brought so much fun and pleasure to the world over the past three decades.

What if the Church took people on a powerful journey of faith rather like this – where the whole point of encountering God’s holy and loving presence was tangible and encouraging and joyful? What if the church helped people to feel encouraged and joyful and connected, and all the generations could come together and rejoice that Jesus could be the unifier in the midst of all our struggles and doubts and challenges? What if the mood could change from energy and joy to quiet and reflective and no one felt threatened by the changes?

What if we felt so comfortable in our own skin that we didn’t feel we had to outdo the church down the road, but rather we celebrated in their successes and did what we could to help it grow? What if we really recognised and understood that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever?

We’d love to see you at our Taize service on Wednesday 7th May at 7.30 pm when there will be some music, silence and reflection, and it just might open up a new way into God’s presence.

We look forward to welcoming our theological student Francis for a 3 week placement with us this month. Please give him a warm welcome at services and in your homes.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

Listen to the latest episode of ‘Bitesize Chunks of Faith’