sometimes i like to picture Jesus in a modern day setting and wonder how His life and ministry would have looked if it was 2011 when God decided to come to earth in human form to settle the original score instead of 2000ish years ago
would He have watched movies or played computer games? Would He have had His own Facebook page or blog? Would Jesus own a cellphone (my thorts are He probably wouldn’t because He seemed to be quite an in-the-moment in-the-place kind of guy) or gone and watched five days of a cricket test (i suspect He might have done this, and used it as an opportunity to spend some time bonding with His little band of followers throwing out “The kingdom of God is like a slip cordon…” and other teachings)
we don’t really know and i imagine if we put even three people in a room and asked them a bunch of those type questions we would have a variety of strong but differing opinions on most of them
looking back over the last two days of Arisefest – the christian band festival i was privileged to be a small part of (as mc for the main stage) – i thort through that scenario again and came up with a few thorts on the matter
in the unlikelihood (i.m.o.) of Jesus being part of a rock/hardcore/hip-hop/indie etc band that played at the festival…
…He wouldn’t invite girls to throw themselves at the single band members and then take off his shirt and call on people in the crowd to do the same…
…He wouldn’t disrespect the festival organisers and the other bands in a tightly packed band schedule by ignoring signals from the side of the stage to end His band’s set so that the next band could go on, just because He wanted to stay on the stage…
…He definitely wouldn’t lead crowds in vociferous “Jesus is my King” chanting or intense praise and worship and then follow it by launching into “just one more song” when told to leave the stage because He was already a few minutes over…
…and i’m fairly certain He wouldn’t have one of his band members try and physically back the mc off the stage and then Himself physically push him away just for a last few minutes of crowd fervour as He played an extended instrumental ending to the “just one more” song He’d decided to do making Him now 15 minutes over His allotted time…
at the same time as some of this was going on, there were a couple of moments that really stood out for me, and reflecting back on them now, the ones that come to mind pretty much all involved bands that i am friends with some or all of the members of (that makes me happy) – moments like the Harbourlight guys playing their set with such a Jesus-focused passion that spilled over to the crowd, Rash from Versus the Wolf taking some precious minutes out of their playing time to address the crowd and share their hearts for doing what they do (which is glorifying God and reaching people with the hope that is in Jesus) and Tyron from Skylit City – the organiser of the festival – full on passionately singing their bands songs and later on leading the crowd in a time of rampant worship and then finishing their band set and leaving the stage ten minutes before their time had even run out (maybe something along the lines of “It’s all about You” honestly being lived out there)
what would Jesus do? We wear the bracelet, maybe we ask the question, but to be honest i’m not sure it’s hitting the heart of the matter because we can only guess and ponder and hypothesise and possibly argue about it… what might be a better, more accurate question is “What would Jesus have me do?” and it really was a festival for me of seeing some bands and people legitimately answering that question while others simply chased the applause of the crowds or got caught up in the experience of the moment…
to Be The Change (festival theme) you HAVE to start with being changed…
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Irresistibly Fish 
Bands are notorious for seeking self glorification. Whenever someone is on a stage, there is the temptation of glory seeking for oneself. Years ago I used to go to three day and three night trance parties out in the countryside. At these parties you camp out and dance for days to psychedelic trance music. There are substances at these parties and people enter shamanic states. Some see the devil and some see God! Most just enjoy the vibe and energy of the people and the music and three days of dancing, breaking on through, a night filled with sensual wild energy and dancing until the sunrise and into the day and so on for three days. Swimming in the river and meeting people and hippies. The music is continuous for three days. In the early days these parties would attract about 7000 or so people. Today it’s become more commercial and more younger people just going there to get out of their trees. Before people would go there for a good time and for a shamanic type experience. The music would sound repetitive to the outsider, but to the trance seeker it eas a symphony of energy. You would see angels and demons and all kind of energies, look into the clockwork of how the universe is made and understand it. What you’d see was too radical, too weird to describe once you had come ou of the trance. I’d go there to connect with God, have a good time and to fight armies of demons. As years went on, more demons appeared and less angels. The parties took a different turn and so I left the scene. The trance djs would mostly be there to lead us on journeys into the spirit world. It was intense. The energy on the dancefloor was wild, untamed, sexual, ferrel and insane. It was real! We would gather in the early days and chat about life, philosophy, religion, and the earth, you would meet photographers who travel the world taking photos of lush green jungles, desert landscapes, remote mountains, rare animals. It was probably like the Woodstock of the 60’s but on a smaller scale, but the music was way more intense and full of energy.
Now I’m no longer interested in bands, Christian or otherwise. I find them incessantly dull and mindlessly boring. The way some singers seek glory and groupies is so obvious I don’t need to be on any trance to see it. Christian bands repeating words, is that praise? A taperecorder could do that. Rock stars groupies, hogging the mike. There may be Christians there but it all seems very commercial, very cheesy, and not much different from any other rock festival. Maybe the crowd is younger and a little more behaved, but in reality it’s very similar to a rock festival except much more cheesy. It doesn’t seem real, seems very manufactured, forced.
Once you’ve danced wildly under the stars, going deep into trance, seeing angels and demons, realizing how fragile and short life is, dancing wildly while in a trance, walking barefoot in the ocean near the main party, complete loss of ego and glory seeking, fun, feeling energy course through your entire body like a fire, smiling at random members of your tribe on the dancefloor, watching the sunrise and dancing until noon, swimming in mountain rivers and then continuing the dance, feeling at one with nature with the earth beneath your feet. I cannot go back to watching a guy on stage seeking glory for himself and saying empty words. I need it to be real! I need to feel alive. I don’t want to live vicariously through others on stage. I wish you also experience such one day.
hey graham
tx for the comments dude – sounds like some crazy experiences there
i think the key word when you look at the festival is “some” and the reality was that there were a bunch of bands who really did get it, who were all about glorifying God and the same about the audience – people there for different reasons and that’s not necessarily a bad thing either – may be better than some of the alternatives – at least we created a safe place for people to party – but it is always difficult to fairly compare one experience to another and so while your experiences sound truly epic and momentous i would imagine there would be a lot of the people from Arisefest both bands and audience who would testify to the same – and the majority of the music there was definitely not cheesy – you have to hear bands like Versus the Wolf, Show and Tell, Theatre to know that this was not your run of the mill cheesy band vibe – and then electro and indie electro bands The Kiffness and To Our Divine who would be closest to your trance experience i imagine and there was definite crowd-going-offness happening there… i am certainly not dissing the whole festival but just wishing those who didn’t get it (and are in it for the stuff you said and there were definitely those) would.
It is great that you guys have a safe environment for the people to party in. At some of the later trance parties, people would overdo it and sometimes a death would occur. The difference is in how far the people pushed the boundaries. One night vs three days and nights. Booze or cooldrink vs peyote and other substances. Seeing with your eyes or with your soul. This year I did not even celebrate new years. I prefer to go by the seasons, watching the trees and birds, celebrating each new season. I’m kinda done with all Parties. The things I’ve seen are so radical that i may need time to put them into perspective or even describe them. I do know that the spirit world is real, and that God exists. You keep on doing what you do, and always seek. You can’t be radical enough!
Just thought how amazing it would be if you and a few good Christians had a little tent area at a trance party and offered food and oranges and good teaching to those who enter the spiritual world without a guide. Could really help those who are lost on a dangerous wilderness.
hi,
wow post!!
this was our first ‘Arise’ experiance, but we had been to some of the ‘JJS’ festivals. we took 22 of our youth and young adults to the festival – promising them the best time they will ever have (with a solid christian base) The best time is a solid given!! they had so much fun! they danced, laughed, screamed, swam (stupid far), played, ate, watched the sun rise, made friends – what a blast. and although our group was varried, no one complained that there was nothing for their taste in music.. every one wanted more, but at lease all had something. the metal heads and hard core guys were blown away with their first experiance of a mosh-pit and had never seen a live hard core group. getting to spend some intence time with the band member (amazing guys) of Theatre changed opinions and hearts.. and the dancers bopped to The Kiffness 🙂 and To our devine. the worshipers got their worship the instrumentals theirs, the whole schpeel!! amazing line up with amazingly well executed planing. and for that a well done to Tyron and his crew.
for me… i was so impressed with the A-Team. the way they miggled with the groups of people. making friends, chatting, being a part on ground level and not just the ‘untouchables’ you often find with crews. i loved getting to spend (even small amounts) of time with some of them.
i think my onion (worst part) was the one mc.. i was sad that his jokes were about being drunk and the worhiping band members was wierd.. now i loved his message @ 12:00 about living all the way for Christ, about being diff than the world, about being recognised as the body of Christ.. i hope he chooses that approuch for his MC-ing next time. i know he has a huge impact on the youth he works with, as he is energetic, alive, enthusiastic, but be careful what you make look ‘ok’ and what you teach them to stay clear of, they won’t take serious if we joke and mock about it.
i understand about the band being late. i’ve had places with time slots that people have gone over and it has been difficult to correct the time after that. and i agree (although from down there we didn’t even notice and thought it was a big game) that it is not the Christian thing to do.
and my only other comment – on arriving the Thursday morning there was some real old school 80’s music played… with so much spectacular christian music out there, so much that many kids have never heard… why go with the secular stuff? why not dedicate the whole weekend to stand up christian music.
all in all it was a 10/10 for the festival and we will be back next year and the year after and the year after, until the very last one!!! i can not think of anything i’d rather be doing for new years.. thank you ARISE FEST –
hey maryna
thankx for your comments – sounds like you had an amazing time and i will definitely pass the feedback on to Tyron and the A-team – don’t know if you realise it but i was the onion you were speaking about altho there was only the one joke about the giraffe which included a drunk man as far as i can remember (criticism accepted) and the rest of the mcing was done in the spirit of the 12pm message i gave – i agree with you in terms of some of the music i heard playing as i arrived and i’m sure the guys will hear that and discuss it further – hope to see you with an even bigger group in 2011 and that more fun and God connection will be had…
much love
brett fish
whahaha, brett.. sorry, egg in face moment! beleive me, my crit is in no way to break down, maybe in some ways to give a diff perspective..
we find youth are desperate for role models and we are very strict on ourselves for that reason. we try not to allow anything in our lives that may (even in the smallest way) confuse or distract them from the plan and the purpose God has for them. i’m by no means saying that we have accomplished that – Praise God He is still at work in us –
we plan 3/4 day camps for only 60 – 100 people; this (AriseFest) scale of planning takes not only hours and dedication but an amazing team.. so again, well done!!
m
thankx maryna, i completely appreciate the challenge and am not saying you are wrong at all – i am pretty selective on what i say and what i don’t and that particular joke may be something we can agree to disagree on or it may be something i will think more about and go yeah you’re completely right and not use it again – either way i will definitely think about it so thank you for your words – i wish more Christ-followers would hold people accountable for stuff.
Hi there
Lol the 80s music is what I use to test my rig .the Analouge production off most of that eras music way exceeds the bed room productions of today.
But I’m always open to new music and suggestions , generally the main marquee is out of bounds and my area till start of main stage event.
wah ha. winner.
Pushing on stage? No way – you serious? Maybe the band started late and so had to end later? Just a thort. Maybe the MC should have been the better person and let the band play on. He could have easily spoken after the band had finished.
Kurt, the same guy went between 30 and 45 minutes over the year before (depending who you listen to, i wasn’t there) and in a lineup with 11 bands there are such tight schedules in place that you can’t afford to go over – the bands finished up at around 2am already – he didn’t start late – he just knowingly wanted to take more time than he had and disregarded other bands completely (the year before the band after him didn’t get to play) – it wasn’t about speaking cos that happened the following night and wasn’t related to that particular singer – just trying to get the next two bands on…