Bob Newman the CEO of CoolyRocksOn (Coolangatta, Gold Coast) met with Cricket Chaplain and Well-Being Australia's chairman Mark Tronson at Preacher's Perch Tweed Heads earlier this month after one of the CoolyRocksOn board members had initiated the recommendation.
Taxing home to Tweed Heads from the Gold Coast Airport a little time ago, the taxi driver was a CoolyRocksOn board member driving us from the airport after yet another mission away.
We regularly get a Tweed Heads taxi to and from the airport, it's only a short run, usually around a $17 fare, and the driver's know our home as 'the Chaplain's house'. We got chatting and I mentioned I was preaching the next morning at Pioneer Country Grace Church.
That opened up the conversation regarding the lack of a Christian Service at CoolyRocksOn since the Coolangatta St Peters had closed its doors last year - where the Christian Service was usually held.
This led to being officially invited to explore this opportunity with CoolyRocksOn which led to the meeting with Bob Newman.
CoolyRocksOn runs for 10 days from the first weekend of June to the second weekend – the Queen's Birthday long weekend. 2014 dates are 30 May–9 June.
It hosts around 1400 vintage cars many of them from the 20's and 30's along with a host of the Rock'n'Roll 50s and 60s era classic motor vehicles – the astonishing big American cars commonly referred to as Yank Tanks.
There is a fantastic car parade on the Saturday morning of the long weekend and the massive crowds enjoy walking around the Coolangatta precinct inspecting these much loved automobiles of an era past.
Rock'n'Rool 'bands' from across the nation get booked for the week long festival where they play in clubs, pubs, restaurants, halls, in the parks and reserves, along with dancers who get into Rock'n'Roll dress from the 50s and 60s and dance the week away.
Along with the classic cars, there is dance, artists, family-fun zone, dance competition, Miss CoolyRocksOn, Markets, Street Parade, Poodle-Oodle Parade and Merchandise. It's all on the web site (above).
Prior to the 2013 CoolyRocksOn Bob Newman spoke at the Tweed Heads Chamber of Commerce on the festival, while three sets of dancers in their period dress danced away in those classic Rock'n'Roll moves.
Organised by CoolyRocksOn
Bob Newman came with his own agenda to fit in with the CoolyRocksOn festival mood, which is setting aside 8.30am Sunday morning a section of the big marquee for the Christian Service,
CoolyRocksOn organises it all – they register specific Bands to perform in the Christian Service playing the great classic hymns, they print off my Order of Service along with the words of the hymns. In addition in the program I am listed as CoolyRocksOn Chaplain with a bio and a phone number.
The Christian Service is planned to run for 50 minutes in toal with Bands playing in four different places (a total of 7 classic hymns), a Prayer, a Bible Reading and I noted that in such a situation a 7 minute message (sermon) is long enough.
The bio for the 2014 CoolyRocksOn program is as follows:
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (ret), the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and Life After Cricket since 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and has a daily column in 'Christian Today' (on-line). Mark is a local and serves as the Chairman of Well-Being Australia which specialises in youth development and specialised respite. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
American preacher Stephen Brown of Key Life Network ministries regularly said that 'divine appointments' regularly come our way, when going somewhere else. (www.keylife.org)
In this case, we were simply catching a taxi ride home from the airport after another busy mission trip away, and this whole new arena of ministry was opened to us. We were heading somewhere else when a 'divine appointment' came our way.
CoolyRocksOn – Facebook page
Great news folks! The famous Cooly Rocks On Rock 'n' Roll Church Service IS BACK! This event will take place on Sunday 8th June 2014. It will be a non denominational service held in the Swing City Marquee by Rev Mark Tronson.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html