The other night at cell group we were having a bit of a chat about worship music, what it is, and what we liked. That was something of a sidetrack as the Bible study had been on Romans 1, looking at how Paul explains the gospel, and how we are bought to salvation.

When I came in I put on U2’s Achtung Baby from the point where I had paused it on the way out; I was totally struck by the words to The Fly. It’s pretty amazing, especially considering it’s from the album which often considered the point where their work started to become less Christian in it’s influence.

It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky

It’s no secret that our world is in darkness tonight

They say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon

Y’know I don’t see you when she walks in the room

It’s no secret that a friend is someone who lets you help

It’s no secret that a liar won’t believe anyone else

They say a secret is something you tell one other person

So I’m telling you… child

Low Voice

A man will beg

A man will crawl

On the sheer face of love

Like a fly on a wall

It’s no secret at all

Gospel Voice

Love, we shine like a

Burning star

We’re falling from

The sky… tonight

It’s no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest

It’s no secret ambition bites the nails of success

Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief

All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief

Low Voice

A man will rise

A man will fall

From the sheer face of love

Like a fly from a wall

It’s no secret at all

Gospel Voice

Love… we shine like a

Burning star

We’re falling from

The sky… tonight

Oh yeah

It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky

The universe exploded ’cosa one man’s lie

Look I gotta go

Yeah I’m running outta change

There’s a lot of things

If I could I’d rearrange

Now, it’s clearly not worship music, in the traditional sense. But at the time I found it pretty amazing.

It’s not often I can say this, but I live in a truly beautiful area (even if it does rain a lot).

Again I find myself apologising for the infrequent updates. Sorry. I’ve made a couple of attempts at drafting articles, but I can’t seem to come up with anything that doesn’t read like a rant. I’ve spent the last two weekends at an Intercessors For Britain Prayer and Bible weekend and then a SPEAK Flower Model weekend: an interesting combination. I’m also making a third attempt at reading Tom Sine’s Mustard Seed Verses McWorld. Broadly speaking, the result is that I’m terrified. Where I thought I understood, I’m now confused. Where I was confident, I’m now uncertain.

I’ve always positioned myself in a place liberals consider conservative evangelical, but conservatives consider liberal. In secular circles most would probably put me somewhere left of centre, provided I keep my mouth shut when discussing certain issues. I’ve always been happy with that position. It’s let me stay out of traditional stereotypes, and anyway, surely it’s better to take God’s ideological position than a worldly one that takes a few of His values and compromises many others. It’s beginning to hit me, though, that such a position doesn’t really lend itself well to building strong relationships.

Of my friends; I consider some too right wing, some too liberal, most just too apathetic. Very few seem to be in that place of wanting to truly give God everything, and even less actually having the courage to go through with it. I don’t seek to blame God for my own inadequacies. I know already that the Christian must forsake all family and friends and daily take up his cross, but that doesn’t make the prospect any less frightening.

To make matters even harder, self sacrifice alone is not enough. In this place where I agree with no-one and in which I must seek to live entirely opposed to modern culture, I must also consider others as more important than myself, and keep love for those same forsaken family and friends absolutely central. Beyond even that, I must love my neighbour irrespective of prior relationship, or such week political divisions as mentioned earlier.

Now how does that work?