On Saturday night I had the pleasure of playing the role of DJ at the wedding reception of some good friends of mine. To be honest, the technical side is pretty simple with an iPad and a clever DJ app (I used iDJ, which cost me the princely sum of £1.49). But what you actually play is less straightforward. So, should you find yourself called upon to do something similar, here are my top tips…

You can’t please everyone, so please yourself.
This is the key principle to bear in mind. Whatever you play, someone will love it, someone else will hate it. So the person who’s enjoying it may as well be you. Try to include something for everyone – for example, I generously included Killers AND Arctic Monkeys. But as you’ll be the only one on the dance floor all night, you might as well make sure you’re having a good time. Then try to make sure the Bride and Groom are enjoying themselves. Everything else is a bonus.

Start strong.
At a normal disco, people take time to warm up to the idea of dancing. At a wedding, everyone dives in after the Bride and Groom have their first dance. So a strong start is imperative. Here’s how I started:
1. “Wouldn’t it be nice” – Beach Boys (the first dance, so I didn’t really have a choice, but it went down well)
2. “I wanna dance with somebody” – Whitney Houston
3. “Blame it on the boogie” – The Jackson 5
4. “Brown-eyed Girl” – Van Morrison

This is an ideal starting line-up. It treads the delicate line between cheese and cool that will stop people from sitting down because they think it’s going to be too cool/cheesy

Don’t worry, you won’t need to give the line a second thought once people trust your musical genius. The next two songs will seal the deal. So I went with:
5. “The Shoop Shoop Song” – Cher
and
6. “You Can’t Hurry Love” – The Supremes.
Enough said. Follow this up with something like “I don’t feel like dancing” and you won’t go far wrong.

People don’t really know what they want to dance to.
People will make all kinds of requests of you throughout the night, giving the impression that they know what you should be playing. But the secret of a memorable disco is to play the tunes people aren’t expecting. Essentially there are two kinds of people in the world: people who like dancing to ABBA… actually, there’s only one kind of person in the world. But some people feel the need to lie about it most of the time, such that the wedding reception is the only place they can comfortably express how they really feel. They’ll keep requesting things like Daft Punk and Killers to demonstrate they’re into ‘decent’ music, but they really want you to play some ABBA (or S Club).

Similarly, think of the kids. I said no to Gangnam Style three or four times, mainly because I don’t own it. You have a responsibility to educate these young minds (and the older ones too). Where else will they learn all the moves to YMCA, or the genius of Black Lace?

Remember, people might think they know what they want, but you know what they need.
Which leads me on to my next tip…

Don’t give in.
As the night goes on, people’s feedback will become increasingly robust. Only your strength of conviction will see you through. “Last Dance” by Donna Summer is objectively the greatest possible closing number for a wedding disco (assuming you’ve already been told by the Bride or Groom that the national anthem isn’t appropriate). But it takes about 55 seconds to kick in. Hold. Your. Nerve.

Similarly, when a slightly worse-for-wear party guest hands you an iPhone which is slowly loading a Youtube video of the Tom Jones song you don’t have, this will almost certainly be a disaster. Don’t do it.

Timing is Everything
For example, the Black Eyed Peas hit “I gotta feeling” has very different connotations when played at the start of a wedding reception than if you play it at the end. Enough said.

With great power comes great responsibility
There are few sights more rewarding than a dancefloor full of sweaty party guests of all manner of ages and backgrounds united in a common purpose, namely, the Macarena. But use it wisely.

Anyone got any other helpful tips?

But then we popped into one of the other galleries and I saw this – Pavlova (c1912) by Bruce Turner.

I’ve been fascinated for a while with the challenge of capturing dynamic movements in paint. A painting necessarily freezes time, which is fine for lots of subjects but effectively kills dance. And since the advent of cinema, it’s a challenge which has become largely academic. But when I saw Pavlova in Tate Britain I loved it, because I think Bruce Turner has managed something few others have.

Apparently Anna Pavlova appeared at the Grand in Leeds in 1912, which is probably when Turner, a Leeds-based painter, was inspired to paint her. Turner was part of the Leeds Art Club, an avant garde group of artists who had a keen interest in modern and abstract art. I think sometimes it seems as if abstract painters are painting less than they would if they painted more figuratively. But I really like the way Turner has used a Cubist-influenced style to try to capture more than he otherwise could.

Looking at Pavlova one way, it’s as if he hasn’t just captured one moment, but a series of moments all at once. But when you watch a ballerina as skilled as Anna Pavlova was said to be, it can seem as if they’re in lots of places all at the same time. As you look at this painting in real life, its impossible to see a collection of abstract shapes on the canvas; you can almost see her twirling through the angular patterns in front of you.

What do you think?

7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Apparently this has been voted the second greatest novel of the 20th century (losing out to Ulysses by James Joyce – maybe that’s one for 2013). Set in 1920s America, it’s a story of unrequited love. But it’s also a reflection on the flip-side of the American dream, and on what happens when people have too much money and time on their hands. I read this in anticipation of Baz Luhrmann’s movie, Gatsby, which is due out later this year…

8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I remember watching this on the BBC and then reading the book about 20 years ago, but this year I decided it was time for a reread. The story follows one man lost in London – but this is Neil Gaiman’s take on London, where familiar landmarks become unfamiliar and scary. The Black Friars are a group of monks protecting a powerful relic by Knight’s Bridge; Earls Court is the home of an actual Earl who holds court on an abandoned Underground Train; and the Angel Islington is, of course, an actual angel. It’s a brilliant tale. Read it and you’ll never look at London the same again.

9. Gunn’s Golden Rules by Tim Gunn

“Make it work!” Those of us familiar with Project Runway (and who isn’t) will know Tim as the no-nonsense mentor and style-guru, who regularly stops (or tries to stop) the designers from making terrible mistakes. Always impeccably turned out and with perfect manners, he’s one of my heroes, and in Gunn’s Golden Rules he shares his effortless sense of style and etiquette with the world. Part guide, part memoir, think of this not so much as a “how to” guide, but more of a “how should.”

10. Seven Days That Divide The World by John Lennox

As a Christian with a science degree, I find myself talking about the first chapters of Genesis with some regularity. In Seven Days, John Lennox explores some of the issues involved in reconciling what the Bible tells us about the world with our observation of it. For me, the most helpful section looks at how our understanding of Scripture has developed alongside our understanding of the natural world. Frustratingly, this book won’t answer every question you have, but it’s an excellent introduction, particularly if you want to get to grips with some of the philosophical questions behind the discussion (and, if you’re going to talk about this, you’re going to want to).

11. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
This is the story of how an encounter with Jesus can turn a person’s life upside down. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield is the eponymous unlikely convert. As a lesbian english professor, she was taught (and taught others) to read everything through the lens of feminist and Queer theory. But then her research brought her into contact with Christians who engaged with her questions and ideas, and welcomed and loved her. This book is the story of what happened, and of the results. And her background puts her in a unique position to raise important questions about how Christians should be interacting with the culture around them. Easily one of my favourite books of 2012.

12. Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill

I love this book. Wesley Hill is a Christian who is also gay, and celibate. In this honest and personal account, Wesley explains that we all need Jesus to bring us back into relationship with our Father, and he explains what this means for him, and for many Christians who are seeking to live the same way, often in secret. He shares the struggles and the joys he’s faced along the way, and why knowing Jesus is worth such a sacrifice. And interleaved with Wesley’s story he shares lessons from the lives of three other well-known Christians who’ve made the same choice he has. Whatever your views about how Christians should think about homosexuality, you’ll benefit from reading this. In a discussion which can quickly become heated, and where the real people involved are easily forgotten by all sides, Wesley’s careful and personal explanation of the choices he’s made is an important addition.

1. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

OK, technically 3 books, but I can’t imagine you’d read just one of them. I read these ridiculously quickly, and the first book is way better than the film. The last book is a bit hard going (Katniss spends most of it trying to stop herself from crying), but I liked the ending. In fact, I think I liked the ending for all the reasons I really should have hated it… but I don’t want to spoil it.

2. The Great Divorce by CS Lewis

Recommended by my friend Michael Ots, this is CS Lewis’s musings on the future hope that Christians are waiting for. Rather than a detailed Bible study, Lewis offers us a “supposal” – a reflection on some aspects of the new creation. In particular, I loved the idea of the future being “more real,” and the variety of responses people have as they visit the new creation (not all of them positive).

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This was my first time reading Dickens, and it’s a story I already knew well (largely thanks to the Muppets, whose rendition is surprisingly accurate). But I LOVE the way Dickens writes, and his way with words is what you miss out on in the innumerable film adaptations that were all over the TV this Christmas.

The story, with its challenge to the way we think about the poor and needy, is as current as it ever was. But it also raises a question about how our hearts change, and what might make the changes last.

4. Still Got It, Never Lost It!: My Story by Louie Spence

OK, this book isn’t exactly the intellectual highpoint of the list, but I love a good celeb biography. It’s a sparkly, lycra-clad story about how hard work and determination make one man’s dreams come true. And the Spice Girls.

5. Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius by Michael Michalko

This year I had the chance to do some reading and thinking about creative thinking. Michalko’s book is a great introduction, full of helpful insights and practical tips.

6. Drops Like Stars: A few thoughts on creativity and suffering by Rob Bell

I don’t agree with everything Rob Bell has to say about everything, but in Drops Like Stars I think he gets it spot on. It’s a simple idea – an experience of suffering will often stir up creativity in us as it destroys our comfort zones and pushes us to see the future differently than we might have. Rather than offering answers to questions about why we suffer, Bell reflects on how a wise and loving God, “the God who wastes nothing” might work through our suffering.

You can now read Part 2…

I’m in love. With TED.

TED‘s been around for a while, but you may not have been introduced… I’ve got into it in a big way over the past couple of weeks thanks to a brilliant app on my newish iPhone. TED, stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design.” It grew out of an annual conference in California, which has now spawned similar events all over the world. These conferences bring together thinkers and innovators from all kinds of backgrounds, each getting 18 minutes to present their ideas in creative and engaging ways. The TED motto is “ideas worth spreading,” and the website does just that – all the talks are available to watch for free. So you should do just that…

I love TED because I love ideas, and I love listening to other people thinking deeply and differently about culture and the world we live in. Lots of these are aimed at improving the world and society, and making a better future for humanity. As a Christian, these are conversations I want to join in with, because I think I have something to say. I also love having my brain prodded and disturbed by the challenges and possibilities these experts share through TED.

I’m been enjoying the iPhone app A LOT, but you can get the talks online too. If you like ideas, you’ll love TED too. Here are my current top 5 arty talks from the oodles on offer on the TED website and app. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

5. Wayne McGregor: A Choreographer’s Creative Process In Real Time

Wayne McGregor is a choreographer, but forget the kind of thing you might have seen on Fame. In this video, McGregor explores the physicality of the human body, and how he translates a thought into movement and then into communication.

4. Thomas P. Campbell: Weaving Narratives in Museum Galleries

Campbell is the director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, with a special interest in tapestries. Here he describes the thought that goes into displaying work in a way that engages the viewer on a deeper, human level. (He drops a non-gratuitous F-bomb near the beginning – maybe give this one a miss if that kind of thing troubles you…)

3. Frank Warren: Half a Million Secrets

The Post Secret website is the largest advertisment-free blog on the internet. Every week, Frank Warren receives hundreds of postcard confessions from people all over the world; here he shares just a few of them.

2. Antony Gormley: Sculpted Space Within and Without

I’ve enjoyed Antony Gormley’s work for ages – in this talk he explains some of the thinking behind it, stemming from a childhood fascination with space and being.

1. Chip Kidd: Designing Books is No Laughing Matter. OK, it is.

As eBooks sales continue to grow, the traditional printed volume looks to be under threat. Kidd gives an impassioned (and hilarious) defense of physical paper-and-ink books, describing how he seeks to create covers which bring a book to life before you even start reading it. (Again, there are a couple of F-bombs, and a reference to Lady Gaga – stay away if you don’t like that kind of thing).

While preparing for a talk next week (called, “God and Creativity: is Christianity bad for the arts?” – more on that next week), I came across this article over the regularly-excellent Relevant Magazine.

The Biblical Basis for Fun by Adam and Christine Jeske

I don’t have much to add, other than, “Yeeeess!”

Fun is an important part of the way I live my life, and the way I go about the work I do. But sometimes I feel like it doesn’t sit well with people. Maybe they think I’m not taking things seriously enough, or that I’m a bit immature. Whatevs (as I would normally say to them). But Christians don’t really have a reputation for being ‘fun,’ and our attempts to change that are usually fairly cringe-worthy. I guess there are justifiable concerns about avoiding immorality and being sober-minded. But I actually think the way we think about fun says a lot about what we think about Jesus…

I think the problem is that our view of fun is lacking. We equate fun with the wrong things. We think it means trivial, or selfish, or running after material pleasure. But what about joy and celebration? What about joy and celebration? As the Jeskes say in their article, “fun is not escaping from reality—it’s entering in more fully.” Seriously fun.

As I read about Jesus in the gospels, you can’t help but notice that he’s a lot of fun. He’s the guy who brings gallons of amazing wine to a wedding party. He’s the guy that people drop everything to spend time with. He tells hilarious stories. Sinners and tax collectors invite him to their parties, and children flock to him. Is that how I make Jesus sound when I tell people about him? When I talk about Jesus, I’m ultimately inviting them to a party with him that will last for all eternity. Do I make it sound like one of those family occasions where you stay for as long as you’re obliged, but no longer than that?

When we squeeze the fun out of life as a Christian, we squeeze the truth out of the gospel. Knowing Jesus should make life more fun, not less! Yes, the gospel is deeply serious. It’s about life and death. The reality of our sin and God’s judgment is serious, and so is the fact that Jesus died to reconcile us to God. But while it is serious, it’s also GOOD news!

And shouldn’t news as good as this produce the kind of lightness of heart that allows me to enjoy the amusing details of the world we live in? It secures my identity so I can laugh at my own foibles and awkwardness. My acceptance and reputation come from Jesus and what he’s done, not from me, so I embark on adventures without the crippling fear of failure. And I can look at the hilarious, intriguing world I live in and see the meaning behind it, because I know the one who made it. That makes it more fun, not less!

As the Jeskes put it, “if we have fun, we will follow Jesus better, we will know him more, we will be more effective in our service to Him and the world.” I agree completely. So I pray I’ll be able to live a life that’s fun enough to point to the reality of the gospel, and which entices others in to enjoy it with me!

This week I was finally able to see Damien Hirst at Tate Modern. I’m a big fan of Hirst, and it was a treat to see so much of his work in one place. I saw some old favourites, like The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living and Pharmacy. But I think I may have added another piece to my list of favourites: The Anatomy of an Angel.

At first glance, The Anatomy of an Angel looks like a classical sculpture of an angel, beautifully carved from carrera marble. But as you look, you realise that parts of the angel have been neatly cut away to reveal organs and bones beneath, resembling the anatomical models which are familiar from Hirst’s work.

After an appallingly-long, completely unintended hiatus, I’m finally back.  So I thought I’d start with an easy one – an introduction to one of my new favourite books – and I haven’t even finished it yet!

I’ve had Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl on my Kindle for a couple of months, at the recommendation of my friend Mike.  It was recommended to me again (and a few thousand other people) last week by my boss Jason, and I generally take notice of what he says.  So I took the plunge.

It’s a brilliant book which wrestles playfully and joyfully with some big questions, expressing the sheer wonder and confusion of living in a fallen world made by God.  It’s not really an art book, although it’s artfully written.  But it’s a book which lays a crucial foundation for how we think about art and creativity, and in fact any other aspect of life as we cling to this moist, spinning ball of rock we call home.

Expect a lot of quotes from this book, but here’s one that really stuck out for me.  At a conference last week I went along to a series of talks helping us to grasp the whole storyline of the Bible.  It was helpful in lots of places, but we were repeatedly urged to look to a future which lies ”beyond and above”, and to be cautious of anyone who would focus too much on this present world.

I left feeling pretty dissatisfied.  I agreed with the speaker in lots of ways – I ,  But if we’re not careful we end up devaluing a creation which, although now damaged, God once said was “very good.”  And we can imply a disconnected, ethereal future which makes this physical creation into a messy, distasteful business.  And which doesn’t sound very appealing anyway.  A view like that tiptoes dangerously close to Plato and Greek philosophy, and it’s pretty unbibilical.

ND Wilson gets us back on track.

“The world is beautiful, but it is badly broken.  St Paul said that it groans, but I love it even in its groaning.  I love this round stage where we act out the tragedies and the comedies of history.  I love it with all of its villains and petty liars and self-righteous pompers.  I love the ants and the laughter of wide-eyed children encountering their first butterfly.  I love it as it is, because it is a story, and it isn’t stuck in one place.  It is full of conflict and darkness like every good story.  And like every good story, there will be an ending.  I love the world as it is, because I love what it will be.”

By the way, my second favourite line is: “This poetry has testicles.”  You’ll need to read it yourself for the context…

All the classic elements are there – baby, Mum, (adoptive) Dad, ox and ass, shepherds, wise men and angels.  In fact, the painting is covered in angels, framing the action in the centre of the painting.  They circle above in the golden dome of heaven, and they stand around below pointing men toward the new-born Jesus.  Dressed in white, green and red, the traditional colours of faith, hope and charity, they carry olive branches and banners proclaim peace to men of good will.

So far, so nativity.  But as you look closer there are some strange and unexpected details.  Botticelli’s version of the nativity is sometimes described as a “double painting,” because Botticelli was painting two realities at the same time.  At the bottom of the painting, the angels awkwardly embrace men; they’re lifting them up from their suffering as hope enters the world.  Around their feet, seven demons (apparently – I could only find six) flee for their lives as God-made-man makes his entrance.

And there are hints that point to how he will bring about the peace the angels promise.  The baby lies on a sheet that suggests the burial shroud his body will be wrapped in a few years later.  And behind him, the donkey’s back clearly displays a cross in dark fur.

Botticelli paints the boy who is Immanuel, “God with us,” born in obscurity to humble parents.  But he also paints Jesus, “God saves,” whose birth is announced by choirs of jubilant angels, but which is also overshadowed by the death he’d die to save the world.

As I’ve read and spoken on the Christmas story again this year, I’ve been really struck by the choir of angels who appear in Luke 2.  As a group of shepherds tend their flocks, an angel appears and announces the birth of the Lord Jesus.  And then…

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  (Luke 2v13-14)

At the announcement of the birth of Jesus the air is filled with angels all praising God.  Then as quickly as they appeared, they’re gone, and the shepherds head off to find the baby, with little more to go on that the fact he’ll be lying in a feeding trough.

The angels sing a song of two parts.  They sing glory to God as He steps in among His people to bring them back to him, and they proclaim peace on earth to those on whom God’s favour rests.  It’s a song of heaven and earth reconnecting.  The peace they sing about isn’t a ceasefire or an end to family arguments – it’s peace with the God of the Universe as sin is paid and the world is offered a way back to him.  No wonder they sing!

The next time a choir of angels like this turns up is in Revelation, in John’s glimpse behind the scenes of heaven.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”  (Rev 5v11-12)

A hundred million angels circle the throne singing glory to the Lamb looking as if it had been slain.  They’re praising Jesus again.  Only this time, His mission is finished and his work is done.  Instead of lying in hay and cow spit, he’s seated on the throne at the centre of heaven.  And although most of the world missed it the first time, this time the rest of creation joins in as every creature in every corner of creation sings his praises.

The choir of angels, appearing over a field of sheep to a handful of shepherds, point to the two realities of what’s going on just like Botticelli.  The humblest and most human of births delivering the Son of God to save the world.  And that’s worth celebrating this Christmas.

Happy Christmas.

"I'll be home for Christmas" by Thomas Kinkade, whose work is mentioned by the Gospel Coalition guys.

It’s about time I posted something Christmassy, or in fact anything at all…  I’ve got a Christmas post ready to go up in the next day or two, but for now I thought I’d point you to this great video conversation at The Gospel Coalition: Bad Art and the Tortured Beauty of the Cross.

The discussion between Scotty Smith, Mike Cosper and Greg Thornbury focusses on the way evangelical Christians can often be pretty unrealistic in the art they create.  The results are often at best inauthentic, and at worst just plain bad.  And they usually fail to connect with the real experiences of either Christians or non-Christians.

These guys don’t say everything they could, and it’s a bit annoying that they all just agree with each other, but it’s a really helpful starting point.  Here’s the video:

For what it’s worth, I agree with them.  It’s tempting to just create nice things, but which don’t really capture or connect with the world around us.  But it’s a fine line to tread.  While I think we have to avoid kitsch art that ignores the reality of life in a fallen world, we shouldn’t revel in it either.  As Christians, we have a good news which is honest about reality as it is, but which also offers hope for the future in the Lord Jesus.  If we didn’t have that, then of course we would want to pretend everything is already lovely.  But we can be real about the world now because we can be real about what the world will be like, thanks to Jesus.

Also, I love what Greg Thornbury is wearing.