Jordan Redding

Sometimes the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, on those occasions when it probably should!

On Saturday the 30th August at the Roslyn Presbyterian Church, there was a concert to celebrate the relaese of Malcolm Gordon's new album, “One Voice” and the comeback of Mephymology. Malcolm's song “Te Whiti” can currently be heard on Radio Rhema and Life FM.

The concert also featured the premiere of the music video for “Child Song”, which was written by the young Dunedin man, Jordan Redding. It's been adopted as the theme song for Global Mission. (That's the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand's office called Global Mission. It's situated in Auckland.)

Interestingly enough, Jordan attended Kavanagh College, the Catholic co-ed school in Dunedin, until last year. The reason I heard about him is that he was one of 2008 Otago Daily Times Class Act finalists. This initiative identifies and celebrates the excellence of young people in the province of Otago.

One Voice - Malcolm Gordon

When my son was about eleven, he performed in several television skits for a national children's program, Spot On. One of the other young cast members was Malcolm Gordon, who has currently an ordinand at the Knox Centre of Ministry and Leadership.

Malcolm's creative talents are still well to the fore: he's recently brought out an album of songs called: One Voice. I've heard this album, and there are some great songs on it.

One Voice is a lot of things. It’s not only the name of Malcolm Gordon’s new album. It’s the name of an organization set up to help creativity thrive within Christianity. (If you’re wondering about where you can get a copy of the album, head to Manna Christian Stores or email orders@onevoice.org.nz.)

One Voice is a project exploring contemporary expressions of Christian worship.

I quote from the One Voice website: Christianity has had an interesting journey with ‘the arts’, being on the one hand the single avenue of artistic expression for large chunks of our Western history, and at other times, staunchly opposing what it deemed to be idolatrous.

Our spirituality is not easily definable, but it would be safe to say that it can’t be articulated without artistic creativity. Photography, design, poetry, music and dance all have something unique to offer. However we can’t presume that if we let our creativity loose, without parameters or guiding lights, that we’ll end up with something spiritually authentic.

That’s what One Voice is about; encouraging creative expression that is deeply embedded in the Christian story, and guided by the light of Jesus. Art should never be considered an end in itself, it is a mode of communication. It is, however, a mode of communication capable of an even richer palate of expression than language itself, which is precisely why it must be used in the service of the most wondrous story ever told.