University Fellowship of Christians Audio

Responding to a recent announcement by the University of Tasmania that the planned move to a centre-city campus will no longer go ahead in its entirety, the staff of the University Fellowship of Christians got together for a video conversation about the significance of this revised plan. We discuss the changes to ministry among university students and other young adults that we have observed since the COVID-19 lockdowns and what inter-denominational community, ministry and mission looks like among Hobart's young adults in the 2020s.   Young Adults as a ministry category0–3:57 — An important time of development, transition and shared experience.3:58– 5:55 — Different definitions of ‘young adult': ‘emerging adult' (18–23) vs 'not adolescent but not middle-aged' (18–30).5:56–8:59 — Important milstones for emerging adults in spiritual formation: decisions, failing, learning, and growing in responsibility and independence.8:59–10:36 — Making the young adults category too broad increases the temptation for some people to stay immature. Church leaders need to give adult responsiblity to those in their mid-to-late twenties.10:36–14:42 —Making the category too broad both neglects the specific strategic needs of emerging adults and fails to address the different pastoral needs of those in their mid-to-late twenties.14:43–15:43 — Comparing evening services and mid-week young adults groups.15:46–19:11 — The danger of unhealthy demographic silos in the church. The value of wider all-ages integrated church community and ministry. The benefits of inter-denominational young adults ministry19:12–25:31 — Specialists in evangelism and leadership development benefit local churches and denominations. Inter-denominational ministry fosters a crossover of social groups and learning experience.25:32–29:52 — A vision for urging emerging adults to opt for more.29:52–30:42 — Enriching the training of young adults involved in apprenticeships and internships.30:42–32:31 — All Tasmanian churches should have some interest in a ministry to UTAS, given its place in Tasmanian society and culture.32:32–34:00  — The best way to reach UTAS in the 2020s is through relational networks, not geographical locations.34:02–35:50  — Effective inter-church and inter-denominational ministry requires a lot of proactive intentionality and discipline. Final thoughts35:51–38:44  

Responding to a recent announcement by the University of Tasmania that the planned move to a centre-city campus will no longer go ahead in its entirety, the staff of the University Fellowship of Christians got together for a video conversation about the significance of this revised plan.We discuss the changes to ministry among university students and other young adults that we have observed since the COVID-19 lockdowns and what inter-denominational community, ministry and mission looks like among Hobart's young adults in the 2020s. The UTAS announcement1:15–3:45  — The announcement to ABC News about UTAS pulling back from a complete move to the CBD.3:45–6:09 — The announced 4 sites is really 8 sites. They feel further apart than they appear on a map.6:10–7:30 — It is now a very different university experience than previous generations at UTAS and other universities.7:30–8:18 — University administrations themselves are not great at facilitating community.8:20–9:36 — UTAS Hobart has had a few smaller campuses for decades.9:37–13:00 — A full move to the Hobart CBD could have worked.13:01–13:41 — The new plan means all of UTAS will no longer move into the city, nor ever return to Sandy Bay. Broad cultural changes to uni student life and behaviour in the 2020s 13:42–15:03  —Various factors were already changing student life and behaviour prior to the planned CBD move and COVID lockdowns.15:29–17:38 — Economic factors, leading to students living at home and working multiple casual jobs.17:39–20:23 — Almost no student sharehouses in the 2020s, leading to loss of informal community and ministry opportunities, residential accommodation not all well suited for ministry and mission.20:35–24:41 — Loss of central campus spaces and move to hybrid leaning means uni students' lives are less defined by university. There's no longer a general uni student experience.24:42–25:58 — The usefulness of the category of ‘young adult' (18–24 year old) rather than ‘uni student'.26:03–27:22 —Ministry and mission is now different. There is no simple ministry ‘to students on campus' anymore. It is no longer what people who were at uni in the 1990s or 2000s envision us doing.27:46–33:53 — Examples of uni students who have proactively connected with campus ministry. Local commuter students and not involved in large church young adults groups. New arrivals to the city not fully integrated in churches.   Learning from churches in university towns in the UK and USA33:54–36:56 — Lessons to be learned from churches in university towns in the United Kingdom and the United States.  36:57–40:07 — Advice to students on finding a church when they move cities to study.40:08–44:04 — Applying UK/US church integration practices to the Hobart context in the first few months of the uni year.44:05–47:29 — The importance of managing transition points well,  even for young adults who don't move for study.        

Erratum: the story about Michael Winkler's Grimmish was told off the cuff and includes many errors of specifics.

This extended interview is in two parts. First, Mikey discusses general principles with Greg about congregational songwriting, personal songwriting and the place of art and beauty in the Christian life. Second, Greg breaks down the composition and recording of one song—'The Same God'—in detail, drawing out general songwriting principles along the way.Time StampsPart 1: Discussion About Songwriting and Art1:40: Songwriting for church compared to songwriting for self-expression.6:23: Why might a Christian spend time on personal songwriting?8:06: The place of beauty and creativity in the everyday Christian life.9:21: The value of Christian music outside of congregational singing.11:39: The consolation of art in times of suffering.13:12: A Christian musician or an artist who happens to be a Christian?16:13: The legitimacy of making art part time or in your spare time.19:17: It is healthy to have some structure in your life outside of music.21:13: A word of encouragement to Christian artists.26:25: The courage of your convictions vs imposter syndrome.28:09: Art doesn't have an easy career pathway and the industry keeps changing.Part 2: The Making of ‘The Same God'(from 30:26)Section A: Composition31:10: The initial idea for the song.32:32: Early demos: verse and chorus.35:00: Theme of lyrics—“In any other time…”36:00: Change in rhythm.36:36: Six months of iterations.38:30: Preserve ‘bad ideas' which may be useful for another song.38:52: Drawing inspiration from other people's songs.40:04: Structure: three verses before chorus.40:27: Structure: pre-chorus.42:45: “Don't bore us, get to the chorus.”44:18: Structure: the function of the bridge.45:35: Structure: final line.46:46: The bridge originally a different song by Luke Woodhouse.48:37: The bridge modulates to a different key.50:50: Song structure moves from dark to hopeful.51:30: “Don't give up, don't give in”—perseverance in the Christian life.52:42: Take your time.52:54: Different types of collaboration.54:09: The value of writing congregational songs collaboratively.Section B: Recording55:40: Steps from composition to recording.56:28: The value of recording with other musicians.57:08: The sense of occasion of recording day.57:27: Funding recording an EP or album.58:43: Trusting the instincts of those you work with.59:55: Process—Writing, Demoing, Pre-production, Recording, Mixing, Mastering.1:02:50: Sending demos and reference tracks to other musicians.1:03:05: Keith Urban, The Speed of Now.1:03:45: “Do what serves the song”—welcome suggestions and questions from other musicians.1:05:00: Recording; record guide track and adding backing loop.1:06:00 Record bass and drumming for 1 or 2 days.1:07:44: Record acoustic and rhythm electric guitars.1:08:10: Record across sound spectrum—bottom, mid and high.1:08:30: High electric guitar part—recorded at home afterwards.1:09:17: Guitar solo.1:09:45: Backing vocals added.1:10:50: Synth and piano added.1:11:12: “Room to breathe”—being willing to take stuff out.1:11:50: Acoustic version and live version of the song after recording.1:16:34: ‘The Same God' full final EP version.Greg Cooper is a songwriter and speaker who is passionate about music's ability to open up our minds and hearts, and to bring comfort. His latest EP South of the River was released in late 2022, reflecting on the difficult pandemic years and the stories of hope that emerged in adversity.Having recently served as Music & Gatherings Pastor at St Jude's Carlton (and similar roles in Sydney), Greg is currently completing theological study at Ridley College and loves attending City on a Hill in the heart of Melbourne. He was a member of worship band Garage Hymnal and has written extensively for churches, with songs such as ‘Hear Our Prayer' being sung at churches across the nation.Having previously worked as a lawyer in areas of social justice, Greg also enjoys sharing of the life-transforming work of Compassion with churches throughout Australia.