Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia

These shots were taken while we were staying in Mt Evelyn with Ali's parents for a few days.White CockatooNanna's garden

Perth From Kings Park at Dusk

Perth Zoo

After living in Perth for 7 1/2 years I had never been to the zoo there. So when we were in Perth in early July, Ali and I went on a gorgeous Winter's day and spent 2 or 3 hours there. It's a great place to be with a camera. I had fun!

I especially love big cats!

The Tigers were incredible...

Haha! This little guy has had enough of you staring at him!

(Actually he has a damaged finger and can't bend it.)
And now for the Aussies...

Last Fling @ Riverview

On our recent trip to Australia we spent almost two weeks in Perth with two main things on our agenda. One, Catch up with all our Riverview friends and say a proper goodbye, and two, have an appointment at the US Consulate to apply for new Visas. All went smoothly with the visas and as a result we are back in the US ready to start at Coast Hills. Woohoo!

We got to lead worship at the Sunday morning and night services and finish our time with Riverview on a high note. It was a privilege to be on the Riverview stage leading the church one more time and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sunday morning with the choir. They were rockin' and it was good to lead with their energy behind me.

I didn't take any gear with me on this trip, so had to borrow everything. (Huge thanks to Kajen and Annette.) This was the first time I've played through a "normal" rig for about 7 years and it was a bit weird at first. I had it sounding pretty good by Sunday night though and it was a lot of fun.

(For those of you who care, I was using an American Deluxe Strat, a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb 22 watt amp, a Line 6 Distortion Modeller, Line 6 Delay Modeller, Boss Digital delay Pedal and an overdrive pedal that I can't remember the name of - it was light blue.)

The presence of God was so powerful that the girls had trouble keeping their feet on the ground...

It was passionate ... and loud! (Sorry Ruthie :-)

In each service there were baptisms during the worship at the end - very cool!

Father's Day at Coast Hills

Here are some shots from the services on Father's Day (15th June). There was also the special Summer offering that day. This was just before we left for Australia - we just arrived back yesterday.

Singing "Daughters" by John Mayer. I LOVE doing that song.
Lots of space and feel, and a great message.

Going out on an up note - Hosanna by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown.
Some great colors and moods, and a very high drum riser!

(Thanks to Gary Sutherland for the photo's)

Next Steps

Rehearsal at Coast Hills Community Church on May 25th.

This was the fifth time I've played at Coast Hills. I've led there three times and played guitar two other weekends including the fantastic Good Friday Production.

I contacted Coast Hills on Paul Colman's recommendation right around Christmas time last year when I was looking for extra opportunities to get out there and minister, and so the relationship began. They had been looking for a Worship Leader for quite some time and even though they made this clear to me, at the time I was not looking for another job - I already had one at Riverview OC.

Well, just before Easter we discovered that we would no longer have a position at Riverview. We really feel that we should be staying in the US and so I put my hand up for the job at Coast Hills. The application and interview process has been very, very long and we've had to be extremely patient. It's been a testing time for us as we've been without work (income) and living in uncertainty for a long time.

... So anyway, this morning I signed an offer from Coast Hills to be their Worship Pastor! Very exciting! This is contingent on getting our Visas approved in the next 60 days, so we'll be off to Perth to deal with that as soon as Daniel finishes the school year on June 18th.

We're really looking forward to being a part of the team at Coast Hills Community Church. We've already met so many wonderful people who are quickly becoming friends. God is good!

End Of An Era

May 11th was officially our last Sunday with Riverview Church. After nine years (7 1/2 in Perth, and 1 1/2 in Orange County) our journey and adventure with Riverview is over. Wow, we have certainly made some memories in that time and made some wonderful friendships that we expect to last on into the future. Our time with Riverview has been some of the most significant in our lives and we will carry the memories and experience as treasure in our hearts for the rest of our life journey. It worked out that my parents were able to be with us at this significant time. We had planned for them to come over and visit us before we knew we would be finishing up so it was really nice to have them around for a couple of weeks.Prayers for us as we prepare for a "hope and a future" (Jer 29:11) outside the walls of Riverview.

Thank you to all those who have supported us and loved us and believed in us and served with us for the last nine years. Keep Shining and continue to inspire others to worship God. God is Great!

Newsboys at Spirit West Coast, Del Mar

Thanks to Paul Colman we were very blessed to be able to go to Spirit West Coast in Del Mar for the Friday night of the 3 day Festival. We got to catch up for half an hour or so before the show which was great as it was twelve months since Daniel and I went and saw the Newsboys and Delirious at the last Spirit West Coast. This time we got to see Leeland and of course Newsboys.

Paul was in fine form...

The show was rockin' as usual. An hour and fifteen minutes that passes so quickly - even if you are standing in the rain (and covered in sticky breakfast cereal!) Great light show, great energy and a lot of good songs keep you engaged from start to finish. Great work guys!Such a Rock Star!

Peter zaps Paul!

Out on the extension stage in the rain.Peter praying in the rain after he had spoken.
(Just to prove that I was there too!)

John Mayer Magic

I'm a big John Mayer fan. I love his playing and songwriting and simple, direct from the gut musicality. That's not to say that he's simplistic - he's definitely not. It's just that he's managed to do what many of the greats do and that is to present something complex and make it sound simple, earthy and straight from the heart. There is incredible technical prowess attached of course, but that is never what you'll hear. You hear the emotion and the heart of it.
Anyway... came across this video of the birth of the song "In Repair". This is a peep into the process, an afternoon of eavesdropping on what happens when you put three highly talented and creative musicians in a studio with nothing but some great gear and the goal of writing a song. (It's about 18 mins long, but very, very cool!)

(click on the pic)

Chicago

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Chicago for a few days. As it turned out the weather was perfect (by Chicago standards) with clear skies and a reasonable temperature.

We flew in directly over the city and then did a big u-turn out over Lake Michigan. This was the view from my window seat. Not bad!

I went to Chicago to see my friends Jay and Helena McNeil, who are both worship leaders at Willow Creek Community Church. They have lived in Chicago for the last 4 years. (Previously they were at Careforce Church, on the outskirts of Melbourne in Australia).

I've known Jay for 21 years and have played alongside him in numerous different bands and settings over this time. (He was usually playing drums in those days.)

This time Jay was leading worship and I was playing guitar in the worship band for Willow's Wednesday evening "New Community" service. It was a great privilege to be on the Willow stage, and a lot of fun as they had assembled a killer band for the night.

Jay gave me a whirlwind tour of the Willow facilities and I was blown away at the scale and scope of it all. It's been very well thought out and executed, with every possible need covered. All the technical and creative aspects of the facility are world class. I felt very blessed to have been able to see the behind-the-scenes workings of one of the world's great churches.

The next day I was coming home but first we took a couple of hours to record some guitar on a project Jay was working on. That was fun (I love recording!).

So it was a great trip and it was especially cool to catch up with old friends and continue where we left off. Hopefully we'll get to do it again.

Someone's Been At My House!

It must be universal!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

As they say, the one thing that never changes is change itself. And yes, change is upon us once again. We have been here in Irvine, California for 15 months now as part of Riverview OC and this part of our journey is almost over. In May we will be finishing up with Riverview. We are believing that God has something great for us to be a part of and are now looking to see what that might be.

We will be staying in the US and more specifically in Southern California, if possible. If you have any great ideas for us please don't hesitate to get in touch! I'd love to hear from you.

As I wrote in July 2006:
None of this changes what it’s all about!
I still believe I’m to lead others in their love for God.
I’ll continue to use my gifts to help others express their worship.
I still want to discover God and bring that discovery to others.
I don’t believe my calling is changing...

So I'll continue doing what I do with a new employer in a different environment. Please pray with us that we find that place soon.

Thank you all for your support over the years. Let’s continue to build the Kingdom of God and build people’s hearts, making His praise glorious! God is Great!

Keep shining!

Mark
This is our letter of recommendation from Riverview. I'll copy it below in case you can't read it without a magnifying glass!
__________________________________________________________________
April 7 2008

To whom it may concern,

Re: Letter of reference for Mark and Ali Cullen

Mark has been employed by Riverview Church since May 7 1999 as our Worship Pastor. Ali has assisted voluntarily in the worship and women’s ministries of Riverview Church since that time and commenced part time paid employment in January 2007 at our Orange County Campus.

Due to financial constraints at our Orange County campus, and additionally at our main campus in Burswood, West Australia, we unfortunately have had to release Mark & Ali Cullen from paid ministry employment as of May 15 2008. During their 8-week notice period, they will remain in their current roles and assist us greatly in transitioning the ministries they are involved in to others.

Additionally, we are doing all we can to help and assist Mark and Ali into their next paid ministry role. Our relationship is healthy and we fully expect that into the future our relationship will remain strong, open and supportive.

During their time with us Mark and Ali have served Riverview Church loyally and faithfully. They are a couple of great integrity with substantial ministry skills and experience. It is certainly with great regret that we have had to release them, however we believe that they will continue to serve God faithfully and another ministry will be the beneficiary of their sincere and dedicated service. We love, support and unreservedly endorse this couple to any ministry and church.

Please don’t hesitate to email or call our Executive Minister, Mark Webb, or myself if you have any questions or enquiries, as we would be delighted to assist you.

Yours faithfully,


Phil Baker
Senior Minister

Tommy Walker @ Saddleback Church

Last Sunday afternoon I went along to Saddleback Church to attend their 4:30pm service. I'd heard that they were having guest Worship Leader, Tommy Walker, and his band. I've heard Tommy's name mentioned a fair bit but (I'm ashamed to say) never really heard his music and I'd never seen him play.

Wow! What an amazing band. Every one of them brilliant and well known players and singers - they were cooking. And Tommy - truly one of the great worship leaders of our time. He was completely transparent and authentic, obviously personally in love with Jesus, and wanting nothing more than to help everyone in their expression of worship. And he certainly did that. His very laid back humble approach and encouraging words made everyone immediately warm to him and trust his leadership.

Tommy is a phenomenal musician too - an amazing songwriter and guitar player. I wouldn't say his music is incredibly modern but there was something in it that moved me deeply. I've often been excited by music but this was something more, something spiritual.

On Monday night I returned as Tommy was doing a solo workshop, speaking from his heart and doing a few of his songs. He has been the Worship Leader at Christian Assembly in LA for 18 years and has written over 100 songs that are currently being tracked by C.C.L.I. and are being sung in churches around the world. There is a wealth of experience there backed by humility and integrity and it was an absolute privilege to hear him, see him, and get to meet him afterwards. Gold!

Tommy's latest album is "I Have A Hope" which is sure to give the church worldwide a few more songs to sing!

9 Lives!

Well this post is a little overdue but I've had a lot on my mind recently. (Stay posted for more on that very soon.)

You may remember that we said goodbye to our cat Ella back in September (here's my original blog post). I wrote that post after we were quite certain that she was gone for good. A number of cats locally went missing around that time and there are Coyotes in the area (I actually saw one the other day when I was out running).

Well, a friend of ours recently gave us a local Real Estate advertising brochure that had a few public announcement type ads on the back of it. There was an ad for a brown cat that had been found. We thought, "there's no harm in checking it out", so Ali called the number. Five minutes later we had the news that Ella was living with a family only 3 or 4 blocks from our house, so we went around to pick her up.

The people were so nice. Ella had wandered into their backyard just after the fires in October (about a month after she went missing!). She was skinny and filthy and riddled with worms and the pads on her feet were all cut up. They took her in and took her to a vet and nursed her back to health and set about trying to find her owners. It was more than five months since she walked out our front door.

She had been well loved by another family and was returned to us beautiful and healthy. It was a strange feeling to have her "back from the dead".

I think she's really enjoying being home!

Life Songs!

Psalm 146:1-2

Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God!
All my life long I'll praise God,
singing songs to my God as long as I live.

Amen to that! That's what it really means to live a colorful life.