Radio Envoy

Mark was recently interviewed by Radio Envoy about his time in China, the recording of the Door, and the transition from being a drummer to a guitarist.

Listen to the interview here.

Back to Asia

It's time again to jump on a giant United airplane for 12+ hours and head back to Asia! Dreams of kung pao chicken, $4 foot massages, and vibrant Chinese markets swirl in the Tedder's minds.
Mark and Carrie Tedder are getting ready to head back to Asia on February 8th for a small tour of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
Mark will be leading worship at a conference in Beijing, as well as their China home church of BICF.
Then the Tedders will head down to Hong Kong and lead worship at Island ECC, where their good friend Jeff Caylor is the worship leader.
Finally, they'll fly to Bangkok for some meetings and back to Colorado in late February.
Please pray for approval of The Door by the Chinese government for distribution within China, for safe travels and opportunities to reconnect with Asia-based friends along the way.

Humanifesto

I want to be a grace guerilla
no longer a chameleon of karma
the time has come to stand out from the crowd.
I want to give forgiveness a fighting chance of freeing me
I want to live in love
and live it out loud.

I want to drink deep of the foolishness of wisdom
instead of swallowing the wisdom of fools
I want to find a source in the deeper mines of meaning
to search out the unsearchable
to invoke the invisible
to choose the truth the TV hypnotists aren't screening.

No camouflage
no entourage
no smoothly fitting-in
I want a faith that goes further than face value
and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

I want to be untouched by my possessions
instead of being possessed by what I touch
to test the taste of having nothing to call mine
to hold consumption's cravings back
to be content with luck or lack
to live on water as well as on wine.

I want to spend myself on those I think might need me
not spend all I think I need on myself
I want my heart to be willing to make house calls.
Let those whose rope is at an end find in me a faithful friend
Let me be known as one who rebuilds broken walls.

No camouflage
no entourage
no smoothly fitting-in
I want a faith that goes further than face value
and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

I want to be centered outside the circle
to be chiseled by a different seam
I want to be seduce by another story
and drawn into a deeper dream
I want to be anchored in an undiscovered ocean
to revolve around an unfamiliar sun
a boom box tuned to an alternate station
a bullet fired from a different gun.

No camouflage
no entourage
no smoothly fitting-in
I want a faith that goes further than face value
and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

-Gerard Kelly on The Door CD/DVD

An Introduction to the HuLuSi

The instrument used throughout the song "More Of You" on The Door is the hulusi ( 葫芦丝) . A free wind Chinese traditional instrument, it originates from the Dai ethnic group in China's Yunnan province. The words 'hulu' mean 'gourd' and 'si' means silk, because of it's silky sound.

A gourd windchest attached to bamboo reeds, this instrument is distinctively Chinese, although variations can be found in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.

It's not uncommon to see an older Chinese man outside his shop in China playing the hulusi. It is said that originally the Dai men would play it to express their love to women. Gourds and bamboo creating silky sounds...not a bad way to woo.