I know I haven't posted in a month, and I'm truly sorry, but life has been busy as of late. I will update you on all the happenings of this month soon, but before I do that I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! Enjoy family, and friends, and enjoy this break.
Also, happy Hanukkah for all my Jewish friends
Happy Kwanza to my African friends (David in Johannesburg)
Happy Festivus to all my friends who are Seinfeld fans.
Tommy
Today is World AIDS Day, and we never get any good news about the AIDS/HIV fight so I thought I would share some.
The ONE campaign was started last year to ask Americans to use their voice to influence the government to step up the fight against AIDS/HIV. So far, because of the response of the American citizens, 350,000 people are alive because America decided to use some of their resources to change something. I love hearing good news. Although we must continue to do more, this is a great first step.
Silence is the very presence of God---always there. But activity hides it. We need to leave activity long enough to discover the Presence---then we can return to activity with it.
-M. Basil Pennington
This is a truth we all need to hear. Sometimes I wonder if our time spent doing nothing but communing with God should be tithed the same as our money.
Tommy
The Christmas Season has begun. As you know I am the Creative Arts guy at Northview, and our Creative meeting today completely focused on Christmas worship experience. To be honest, as a worship leader, the Christmas season is not my favorite time of year. Don't get me wrong, I love singing Christmas carols and the traditions of Christmas are beautiful, but it is extremely difficult to jump modes for a month to totally divulge your energy on completely different music, creative elements, etc. I will say though, that as a creative director the Christmas season is full of color, symbolism, and life that can connect on many levels, so I am excited about what is to come. Also, Northview is revamping its podcast to include video starting this week, so you can listen to the message and see the speaker all at the same time. Technology rocks.
p.s. here is a picture of me and my dog (it's not the best picture of me, great of the dog), it's also Emily's dog, and she also took this photograph. She is an amazing photographer and an amazing person :) check out www.emilyborah.com
Tommy
Check out northviewcc.com to see the next series at Northview. It's called The Chronicles of Bethlehem (The Search For The King). We decided to take a different look at the Christmas story this year, and follow the steps of the different seekers of the Christ child (shepherds, wisemen, etc) and apply truths from their stories. It will be an interesting study. Also, $5 for the first person who tells me what movie the promo music comes from (hint: it's not Chronicles of Narnia). God bless!
Tommy
I hope everyone has an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving day. Take this day and completely rest from the ongoing week that you usually partake in. Enjoy family, friends, and God. God bless.
p.s. did you know that the Seperatists who formed the Plymouth Colony actually observed Thanksgiving day as a fast not a feast?
This is an old column I wrote over a year ago, but I think it's appropriate given the looming holiday season is approaching.
Elisha stood on the mountain waiting to hear from God. I can imagine Elisha's heart jumping as he heard the mighty windstorm approach. The wind was so harsh that the scriptures say rocks were torn loose. I can also imagine Elisha's heart sinking as he realizes that God is not to be found in this violent gale. Then an earthquake makes an approach. Elisha's heart jumps at the thought that God may be in this earthquake. The anticipation of an encounter with his creator must have been nerve-racking. After the earthquake was over Elisha stood alone. Suddenly there was a fire. At this point, he had to believe that the fire must be God. God had used fire many times before to speak, so clearly it was him, right? After the smoke cleared the area Elisha stood--alone. Then a whisper. The scriptures describe this whisper as gentle?, so gentle in fact that Elisha had to move towards it to understand it. This is when Elisha met God.
This story is full of truth. Not just a principle to live by, not just a compass to guide, but a truth to shape us. We are to be silent. We are to wait. We are to listen. It is hard as a human to do this. This is not just a 21st century problem. This is a problem that we find time and again through the living story we call the Bible. We can't blame our inability to decipher the whisper of God on TV, cell phones, internet, etc. That is the easy way out. The problem is internal, not external. We must shape our inner core to be silent at all times. This is when we are worshipping him most fully---when we are silent on the inside.
Silence is the very presence of God---always there. But activity hides it. We need to leave activity long enough to discover the Presence---then we can return to activity with it.
-M. Basil Pennington
Tommy
P.S. Check out the new Blog/Podcast from Vinmergent. You won't agree with everything, but he'll make you think. Click on the title of this post to go to the website.
For those of you who keep up with news in the world you most likely have heard about the ballot intiative in Dover, PA that was just rejected. The ballot was a voting initiative to keep or not keep "Intelligent Design" in the curriculum of the local public schools. The votes were tallied and the community voted to not teach Intelligent Design in public schools. You may or may not agree with this, but I hope as a follower of Christ you will join me in asking Pat Robertson to apologize to this community. Shortly after the voting was tallied Mr. Robertson commented on his nationally syndicated TV show the 700 Club. His words were pointed directly to this community
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city..."
I don't usually do shameless plugs for anything in particular, but I think this is deserving. Kevin Max is one of my favorite artists (he used to be in a little Christian band called DcTalk). His music is creative in the vain of the Killers, U2, etc. Check it out. Great stuff. (click on the title of this post to purchase)
Me and Brack Mosshart (percussionist) had a great weekend in the Ozarks leading worship for 6-12th graders. We were also privileged to be working with a guy from South Africa named Derek who lead us in teaching. Wonderful weekend, great weather. I will post pics later. God bless.
Well, this weekend I am leading worship with my friend and percussionist Brack Mosshart near Arkansas. I will miss my church family, but will enjoy the change of scenery. Enjoy God this weekend in a way you haven't before. God bless!
This is my favorite hymn. It was written by Francis of Assisi in 1225. The musical score was written the year of 1623. One of my favorite modern arrangements is by the David Crowder Band. God bless you on this beautiful day.
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
This is a beautiful scripture from a rather unknown book of the Bible. I was reminded of this verse today by a friend. God bless.
For the Lord is the One who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his every thought. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads the mountains under his feet. The Lord God Almighty is his name!
-Amos 4:13
Well, last posting I told you and showed you what I do as far as being a worship leader. I am also responsible for all the media for worship experience at Northview. Click on the title of this post to see some examples of my work. This sampling is only from the month of October, I will try to post previous months soon. A lot of these videos can be used in devotionals. God bless!
Tommy
Well, I just realized the other day that I've never really shared what I do with myself during the week. Most of your know I'm the Creative Arts Pastor at Northview Community Church, but what does that mean? Well, first of all I lead worship on most weekends, here are some pics:
This week has had absolutely marvelous weather. Every day has been in the mid to upper 60's. Beautiful.
In political news, Harriet Meirs is not going to the be the next Supreme Court Justice. I'm sure she is a nice lady (she looked like she would bring a tray of cookies to every Judicial event), but come on Bush, where are her credentials? I'm not saying she wasn't qualified (being the aid to the most powerful man in the world would be a good resume topper), but I believe the American people are looking for someone to go into the court who is ready to make changes, ready to stand for something, she didn't seem that way. Anyway, I hope his next nominee will unify our country, not divide it further. God bless!
I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I want to start back up, but if you are blogger you understand that you have to get in a groove, and if you get off the groove it's hard to get back. Well, I'm trying to start the groove again. As you may or may not know who I am, I will reacquaint myself with you. My name is Tommy Bailey, and I am the Creative Arts Pastor at Northview Community Church. My respobsibilities are to musical worship, media, and overall artistic direction of weekend worship experiences. It's a very rewarding calling, and I love what I do. I also have a wonderful girlfriend named Emily. 
Life is good, and I love the cold weather. God bless.
I apolgize again for the delay of Emergingshow.com . September 13th. That is the day is all begins again (that was cheesy)
Emergingshow.com
Click on the title of this post to donate to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund. The Mayor of New Orleans today issued an SOS stating that "we have no more resources". Please join with me as we help part of our family in need.
Tommy
I know I said that I wasn't going to post until September 6th, but my outrage got the better of me.
A fellow follower of Christ, Pat Robertson, called for the assasination of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. Being a major leader in the Christian community (especially evangelical), Pat has the ear of many of the Bible belt. It is a sad day when such a leader calls for death. I would hope that the Christian community will rise up and ask that Pat Robertson apologize for his words that are so contrary to Christ's ("Peter, put away the sword"). Everyone makes mistakes, and the Christian community will extend grace to Mr. Robertson, but I pray that he will fix what he has broken.
p.s. In no way do I support Hugo Chavez, he is a man that does not need to be in power, but assisination is never the call of a follower of Christ.
Yes, the hibernation is over. The podcast will be resuming SEPTEMBER 6, 2005!
The podcast formerly known as "The Emerging Show", will now simply be called "Emergingshow.com". The format will be very similar to the previous format, but will hopefully include more interaction with guests, users, etc. The show had over 5000 individual listeners before the summer began, and with the advent of the iTunes Music Store now including podcasting, we are expecting a much bigger response. God bless you all for waiting patiently. See you on September 6.
Emergingshow.com Team
I am giving the message tomorrow at Northview, and here is a video that is part of the message. Let me know what you think. God bless.
p.s. you will need QuickTime to view it.
Tommy
Today I will ask everyone who reads this blog and listens to the Emerging Show to say a prayer today for those leaders who are meeting at the G8 Summit. They have a chance to enact a saving grace upon the continent of Africa--one true sense of the word salvation. God bless.
Tommy
With the advent of Podcasting on iTunes, it has opened doors to many podcasters to a whole new audience. Since iTunes released it's podcast software we have had over 1600 individual listeners to the Emerging Show, and these are old shows! I can't wait to begin the new shows starting in about a month! God bless!
Tommy
Hey Guys,
Just to let you know, iTunes just released a new update that incorporates podcasting directly into the software. When the Emerging Show starts up again you will be able to get all the podcasts directly loaded to your iTunes and/or to your iPod (if you have one). Go ahead and go to the iTunes music store if you have the new version and subscribe for free to the Emerging Show! God bless!
Tommy
Well, it has been far to long since I have posted. I am sorry.
Today is my birthday, and I woke up to breakfast and a new digital camera from my girlfriend. Could it get any better?
I promise I will start updating again soon, the summer is almost over. God bless.
Tommy
This summer is proving to be one of the fullest summers ever. Life is speeding by at the speed of sound.
Due to my hectic schedule during the summer, The Emerging Show with be postponed until the end of this summer season. I will try to post a few podcast between now and then, but there will be no schedule until the end. I know you understand. God bless!!
p.s. I will still post to this blog as much as I can.
Tommy Bailey
Just a reminder that The Emerging Show does still exist, but it has not been on an active schedule for the last 2 weeks. It will resume shortly. I know you all understand (around 2500 hundred individual listeners to the last podcast) that life gets busy sometimes. God bless!
p.s. be sure to check out the "Make Poverty History" website. Click on the banner at the top of this page. So many good things are being done through this orginization, and others like it trying to clear poverty in the worlds poorest countries. Did you reallize that 30,000 (that's 3 a second) people die every single day because of poverty. Check out the website, and get involved.
Tommy
Life the past 2 weeks have been a buzz of activity. Last week, I was asked to lead Northview in worship and teaching all by myself (with violin help from the mast violinist Houston). I had a wonderful time, and I think I learned more than I taught. It was a fun week, and a great weekend of worshp with my church family.
Before the weekend my sister had her 18th birthday party. I got her cigarettes and an iTunes gift card. Pretty good brother, huh.
This week I am having a great time creating and dreaming, but am having a difficult time picking out songs (usually a long process for me, but this week has been unusually long. Most of the time I have to take a whole day to process the flow of worship through music.)
This is a quick glance at life so far, I will update you with some more creative pics. God bless.
Tommy
I was almost wrong with my leanings toward Bo Bice. I am not
concerned whatsoever with the career of Bo, he will be a star. I am
so happy for Carrie, and I have to be honest that I am proud that she
is from Oklahoma (except for the fact that when they talk about her
hometown they seem to show only the biggest of "hicks". To the rest
of the world--Not all Oklahomans are hicks!) God bless.
Tommy
I have to be honest, I really didn't think any of them did their best yesterday. I have to admit that as a musician I must empathize with the fact that it is impossible to do your best after tirelessly singing and learning songs at the rapid pace that they are forced to. So, with that said, I have to say I favor Bo, although, I think he only has a slight edge (he performed "Vehicle" brilliantly). I guess we will see what happens tonight.
Tommy
Tonight Bo and Carrie have their final performance before American Idol 2005 finally ends (didn't it seem like it was longer this year?). I have a personal favorite, but I think they both have a shot. It will be an interesting night.
Of all the performances I have seen, I believe Bo is a much better showman, and he did prove that he can sing last week when he did an a capella tune. Carrie does have a star quality about her, and she has an excellent voice, and she is from Oklahoma...
p.s. my favorite is Bo (although, I'm not sure how he will have any credibility in the rock and roll world if he wins, I mean come on, Mick Jagger wouldn't be Mick Jagger if he would have won American Bandstand, but we shall see)
Tommy
Here are some photos from part of my weekend in Nashville (click on the title of the post). On Sunday afternoon we took a trip to Nachez Trace and found trail tucked away in the woods. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the photos don't do it justice. God bless.
Tommy
I just walked into the men's restroom at Northview and saw this. If
you don't know me well let me inform you that I am more afraid of
spiders than any other creature on this earth. The picture doesn't
really give much perspective, but it is aprox. 2.5-3 inches long (no
exaggeration)
I am leaving tomorrow morning to head back home to Oklahoma City. I will soon post photos from the conference, and also talk about some of the conversations that arising in the "emerging" church arena. In the meantime (sorry I always promise pictures and nevery deliver) I have posted some creative pictures that I took randomly, click on the title of this post to go there. God bless.
Tommy
If you click on the title of this post you can look at some random shots from the Emerging Church conference and random shots from Nashville. I've had an aboslutely wonderful/refreshing/renewing/insightful/exciting time at this conference. Today I went to a seminar with Brian McLaren on scripture, and let me tell you, it made me see the scriptures in an absolutely fresh way. I am excited. Now I realize that it's always easy to get pumped up at a conference because of the excitement in the air and the energy of having everyone there for one purpose (like youth camps, hehe), but I can honestly say that this week has had a great impact on me, and the faith community I am a part of that will be added to the story of my life.
On a side note, I was able to meet Richard Foster, and Brian McLaren today...my 2 favorites, they seemed very genuine. Also, the prayer chapel, labyrith, and various worship experiences were probably the most beautiful part of my weekend. I will have plenty of photographs from all those. All the photos I have so far are all from my cameraphone. There will be better photos from my friend who has a professional grade camera. Thanks Thad.
God bless.
I am sorry it is taking so long to post all my pics. I will do it as soon as I get them all in order (there are hundreds. Peace.
Tommy
Amazing. That's the best word I can come up with for my experience so far. I will post tons of pictures tonight for you. I will also go into more depth about the seminars I attended. I am going to a Richard Foster seminar in about 20 minutes (probably the writer that has helped me grow the most). Yesterday I had 2 seminars, one with Brian McLaren (I can't explain how wonderful this seminar was), and LeRon Shultz (not exageratting...probably the most intelligent man I ever heard speak, but it wasn't so "heady" that is wasn't understandable).
Every night at around 7:00pm there is a general session, and instead of bringing in another lecturer, the staff of Emergent thought it would be more beneficial to have a message of blessing at the end of each day to decompress from the days seminars and workshops. The "blesser" was a lady by the name of Phyllis Tickle. I have to admit when she got up I instantly put a stereotype around her (she's probably around 85 years old), but when she started speaking it was like listening the words of Christ from Christ in person. I will talk more about her later. Amazing.
At the end of each general session you are able to go to 1 of 3 worship experiences off campus. Last night I went to a Taize worship experience at Christ Cathedral Church (one of the most beautiful churches you have ever seen). It was so intensly beautiful words can't describe it. You can click on the title of this post for a link to the Taize community in France. Refreshing would be a good adjective, but that is only one slice of the pie. Tonight I will be going to a liturgical/postmodern worship experience at a Presbyterian church downtown, I'm very excited. I wish you all could be here. I will post pictures tonight. God bless.
This morning we finished our Critical Concerns course on "emerging" worship, and what that means to the body of Christ. We looked at practicle examples of how different methodologies are being used to express worship (I have many ideas to use back home). We looked at practicle ways of growing a church that expresses worship in a variety of ways.
One of the things I enjoyed about Dan Kimball was his experiential attitude toward teaching. There were many times when he had us draw, sculpt, listen, and see differnet ideas that he was talking about. It was a great course. The ironic thing was that a lot of the practics that he was talking about are already being implemented at my church (not all--I hope to add some), but it seemed that he put into words what I have been reading, thinking, and praying about myself. I said this ever since I moved to OKC and started working in a church plant, I believe many of us are seing that God is moving in the hearts of those all around the world in new and fresh ways, and I am excited about what is to come. I'll post later on today. God bless!
Tommy
I arrived at the Emerging Church conference at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. It is an absolutely gorgeous day down here, and the people are as nice as ever. After registration you had the option of perusing the bookstore (pictures to come soon) or visit the labyrinth (which I was really looking forward to). I have never experienced a labyrinth before, only read about them, they are very similar to something we already do at Northview Community Church in OKC called Dwell. The labyrinth is very hard to explain and the picture I have posted doesn't do it justice. I have linked the title of this post to a website that presents an online version of the same labyrinth that I experienced this morning. I have to say that it was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever done.
When you walk into the room you are handed an iPod-type of device. When you put the headphones on a speaker guides you with scripture and various other readings as you walk through the stations of the labyrinth. Like I said before, I can't really explain it, you have to experience it. Go to the website and check it out, make sure you have about an hour of time to spend with God---without any distractions. I will post again tonight. God bless!
Tommy
This week I will be in Nashville, TN for the annual Emerging Church convention. Rather than producing a show I am going to upload pictures and a synopsis every evening of the topics we discussed at the conference. God bless!
Click on the title of this post to see some new photos that I took over that last few weeks. I am not a photographer, just a creative eye. You'll know who I am if you are driving around OKC because I'm the guy that pulls over to take a picture of just about anything (including trash cans, cool colored barrels, etc.). I hope you enjoy them.
I am continuing my series on the Celebration of Discipline this week. I am talking specifically about prayer. The short amount of time does not allow me to go into the full depth and scope of all that prayer is. I recommend picking up Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline. God bless!!
Tommy
The Emerging Show for this week Part 1 is available. The show is taking off. Last week the show alone had 1400 listeners, yes I said 1400. Every week is growing. I am excited about the future. We are adding a new segment to each podcast that will be for sponsors (listen for this weeks sponsor). If you would like to be a sponsor please email me. God bless you all!
Tommy
I don't usually rant about magazine articles, but I just read an
article that interviewed one of my favorite artists, Moby. This is
one of the best articles that I have read in Relevant magazine. You
should read it whether or not you like Moby. Great stuff.
Tommy
Due to the enormous amount of response from last week's Part 2 of the Emerging Show, I am going to leave it up one more week. Just this particular Podcast has hit 946 listeners. I will come back next week with both Part 1 and Part 2. I will continue my series on the Disciplines of the Faith. God bless you guys!
Tommy
p.s. If you haven't listened to it yet, you can click on the "MP3 2" link on the left.
I saw this cool tree in a field all by itself, so I stopped and took
a picture of it. Pretty cool.
The Emerging Show will only have one part this week. We will release on Wednesday.
By the way. With all totals in, the Emerging show was listened to by 714 listeners last week alone. Wow. God bless.
Tommy
I am working at Borders Books and Music today (using their internet and cafe) and in the midst of iPod toting, laptop carying, book reading types, there is an old woman who is humming loud enough for the whole cafe to hear her. I have been sitting next to her for half an hour, and she is loud. I'm not sure she even knows that she is humming. I would take a picture for you, but I think everyone, including her, would know what I'm doing. Funny.
It has been a wonderful day for me today. Meeting with God this morning with my church was amazing, and the rest of the day was very peaceful. I am excited about where God is going to take me this week. I personally have been blown away by the response of the Emerging Show. This week we have reached 640 listeners. Amazing. I am excited about continuing the dialogue of the emerging generation. God bless you!
Tommy
This morning allow yourself to be consumed by the creator of the universe. Don't settle for just an emotional high. Pray for a meeting with the Holy God of heaven. Enjoy him today. God bless.
Tommy
p.s. the Emerging show has reached over 500 listeners to this weeks show.
Today we've reached 400 listeners to the Emerging Show. Peace, love, and rock and roll.
Tommy
The Emerging Show part 2 is out today! I am starting a new series on the spiritual disciplines. Every week during our part 2 we will discuss how we can allow ourselves to be "create-able" by God. In our post-modern society, it is hard to even know how to "be still, and know that he is God". Join in on the conversation. God bless.
click here to listen, or click on mp3 2 .
The new show is up and ready to go. We want your input on this weeks show especially. Please, give us your opinions on the topics we discuss (how many times are you asked that?). We would love to see the show hit 400 listeners by the end of this week. Tell all your friends!! And go vote at PodcastAlley! Part 2 will be out tomorrow. God bless.
(you can click here, or on the title of this post, or the mp3 1 link to listen to part 1, or you can subscribe and make your life easier)
As of today, the total listeners (including subscribers and those who just download the podcast) has reached 296. We are on a roll!! Keep on listening. Also, if you haven't heard part 1 or part 2 of this weeks show click on the "mp3 1" link or "mp3 2" link to listen. God bless you guys, and go out and vote!
Tommy
creative arts newsletter - may 2005
Paul Gardner once said, “A painting is never finished.” The scriptures constantly refer to God as a creator. The ultimate painter if you will. I often imagine God as a cosmic Michaelangelo with a paintbrush in his hand constantly making changes and revisions, adding texture and color, and stepping back to look at his painting and smiling, not because it’s finished, but because he takes great delight in the creative process.
C.S. Lewis constantly referred to the fact that we were all made in the image of God, and everything we do, everything, comes from a beautiful desire that he already has. Think about it. Genesis refers to a God who went a on a little creative binge and designed what we call the universe. If you can remember back to your childhood, can you reminisce about the excitement you had when you were finished with your first watercolor? There seemed to be a passion to create. The education philosophy for elementary aged students now revolves around the “creative learning” process. God has instilled in us a passion to create, because he is creative.
Like I said at the beginning of this article, God is creating you as you sit here and read these squiggles on this page. In the early years of greco art, being commissioned to paint a human subject was one of the highest honors you could receive. The process of a human subject painting was a long and arduous one. The subject would have to remain perfectly still for months on end as the painter worked his mess of lines and colors into depth, character, and beauty. I sometimes wonder if God is asking me to “please sit still, I’m not finished”.
As I said a few posts back, we are dividing The Emerging Show into 2 parts. Part one will always come out on Mondays, and part 2 will always come out on Wednesdays. This will help those who want to listen to the entire show, but cannot do it in one sitting. You wil also notice two buttons on the top left, one is "MP3 1" and the other is "MP3 2". Every week you will be able to click on"MP3 1" to listen to the current week's show part 1, and the same goes for part 2 with "MP3 2". You can always make it simpler by subscribing, click on the "Feed" button to do just that. God bless you all, and enjoy today's show with special guest Thad Hawk, you can click on the title of this post to listen to it as well.
P.S. We have almost hit the 100 listeners mark only on our 3rd week!! With no adverts!
Tommy
Are you a writer? Do you have an interest in culture, technology, faith, post-modernism? If so, we would love to have you as an adjunct writer for the emerging website. We are also looking for writers who are willing to research news, topics, and humor for The Emerging Show. If you are interested in applying for a staff position please send an email with information about yourself and background, and a possible sample. This emerging movement is about community, we can't do it alone.
Click here to email
Also, if you haven't heard the new show click on the "mp3" link at the top, or subscribe to the show by clicking the "feed" link.
The new show is up and ready to roll! Click here or on the title of this post to listen, or click the "feed" button to subscribe (it is completely free). We are trying a new format that will most likely be the norm, every week we will divide the show into 2 parts, one that will come out on Tuesday, and one on Wednesday. This will make it a lot more user friendly for those who want to listen to the whole thing, but don't have the time to listen in one sitting. The second part will be available tomorrow with special guest Thad Hawk. It's a very intriguing conversation.
Links from this weeks show:
Podcastalley.com (vote!!)
Cyberhymnal.org
Emerging Words Conversation Blog
American Idol
Martha Stewart
Emerging Words is a new website/blog created for those who are joining in on the emerging conversation. A good friend of mine designed and is running this "conversation blog". I would recommend it highly. Click here or on the title of this post to go there. God bless.
Don't forget that the Emerging Show will broadcast it's new show tomorrow. Check it out, and get involved. Email me at tommy@tommybailey.net to let your voice be heard on the show about God, life, politics, culture, technology, etc.
Tommy
This is a picture I took while taking a Saturday morning walk before the hustle of the day begins. I saw this statue of Jesus and thought I would take a pic of it with my new cameraphone. What caught my attention though was the way the statue was sculpted. His facial features and hand "movements" seemed to say "...come to me". This weekend as you prepare to worship remember first what Jesus said in Matthew "...come to me". It says that when we draw near to him, he draws near to us. He created us to love him. In loving him, we become shaped, transformed, renewed, and all we can say are the words from the Doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen.
This is a beautiful prayer that I found that has been great to read before a personal worship time:
Lord, I so wish to prepare well for this time.
I so want to make all of me ready and attentive and available to you.
Please help me to clarify and purify my intentions.
I have so many contradictory desires.
I get preoccupied with things that don't really matter or last.
I know that if I give you my heart,
whatever I do will follow my new heart.
In all that I am today, all that I try to do,
all my encounters, reflections - even the frustrations and failings
and especially in this time of prayer,
in all of this may I place my life in your hands.
Lord, I am yours. Make of me what you will. Amen.
Check out this article by the late John Wimber as he discusses how we should view worship. It's a wonderful and eye-opening article by a great leader in this area. God bless.
Christ-Centered Worship
John Wimber
We need your help to get the word out about the Emerging Show. We were just added to the wonderful PodcastAlley directory, and we need you to go and vote for our podcast. Click here to go the Emerging Show page on PodcastAlley to vote. If you haven't heard the April 11th show, you can click here, or click the "feed" button to subscribe. God bless you all!!
Tommy
Apple's new operating system "Tiger" is set to be released April 29th.
This will definitely rock the technology world. Check it out here.
Tommy
April 11, 2005 - Brand New Show!
This weeks show covers topics like postmodernism, American Idol, and some technology bits. We want you to get involved, email me at tommy@tommybailey.net to have input on the show. I know I promised an interview with the Creative Arts Director at Designers Church in Nashville (Thad Hawk), but we had some technical difficulties for this show, but we will have him next week. You can listen to this weeks podcast by clicking on the title of this post, or you can subscribe to it by clicking on the "feed" button located on the top left hand side of this page (this subscription is free). Listed below are hyperlinks that are mentioned on the broadcast:
American Idol
Brian McLaren
Sony Patent
I posted yesterday about a new podcast show that I was working on at nights after work, and I am excited to say that we are ready to go! If you click on the title of this post you can listen to the podcast directly, or if you use a podcast feed reader you can subscribe to the feed by clicking on the "feed" button on the right side of this page. The first show was recorded today, and it is only a few minutes, it is a test of the system. It's going to be a great program based on God, politics, life, culture, technology, church, etc. I would love your input, and if you want to be on the show let me know!! God bless.
p.s. it will be a weekly broadcast.
Tommy
This is by far the best salsa I've ever had, it was made by my beautiful girlfriend Emily
This is my first podcast. I working on producing a weekly Podcast radio show that touches on subjects of God, politics, life, technology, culture, etc. It'll be a cool show. This particular podcast is only a song that I recorded a long time ago, I'm just using it to test my broadcast feed. God bless.
Tommy
Last night on American Idol Niko was voted off and Scott was not. Now, I like Scott as a person, he seems to be a nice guy, but come on...based on all performances Niko was more superior by far. But let's put Scott away for a second, there is another Idol who should have been voted off months ago...Anthony Federov. Once again, I like the guy, he seems nice enough, but this is a music competition, and I agree with Simon wholeheartedly that his last performance was "hideous". Who is voting in America?
It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away.
These past few days have been gorgeous here in OKC, other than the wind. If you live in Chicago, and think you guys have a lot of wind, come here.
Tommy
Terri Schiavo passed away today. I won't say anything more based on my opinion, but I would like to leave us with this fact:
-170,000 disabled people were killed by the Nazis (because they did not have a "good" quality of life), making them the second largest group of Holocaust victims after Jewish people.
Tommy
I had an absolutely wonderful Easter weekend. Our worship experience at Northview was a beautiful time of worship and celebration. Easter is my favorite holiday because we get to celebrate the very reason we are Christ followers, his death, and resurrection.
We also have started to host a city-wide non-denominational bible study called Day 3 at Northview, and we had a wonderfully intimate time of worship together yesterday. It is fun to get together and worship with people you know, as well as those whom you don't know. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing.
Tommy
Sorry it has been so drastically long since I have posted, I have been out of town and super busy. On that note, I should let you know that I went out of town last week to Nashville to do some writing and recording. I had a gret time, and got a lot acomplished. The photos below this post are all from last week, it was a great time.
Well, we have finally moved into our new facility at Northview, and it is amazing. God is blessing in some miraculous ways. I am very excited about where he is taking us next. I am also VERY excited about the upcoming Easter weekend. I love Easter and what it means to those who follow Christ!! God is moving, keep on praying!
Tommy
The weather this week has been absolutely breathtaking. God is definitely putting on quite a show in heaven. Unfortunately gas prices seem to be skyrocketing all across the country, we here in Oklahoma City have the cheapest in the country, but we feel the pain as well, as soon as it hits $2.00 a gallon we will all be freaking out (even though the rest of the US and the world has been over $2.00 for a long time). Oh the joys of being a cowboy...
Our first worship experience in Northview's new worship facility was amazing!! We had such a blast, and God was there changing lives in big ways. If you click on the title of this blog you can see pictures of that weekend. God bless you all!! And, if you are a Christ follower, invite him to start to cultivate in you a spirit of worship before you enter your house of worship this weekend.
Tommy
All the photos below this post are from our move in week at Northview. We are finally moving in to our new space that has taken a long time to finish. The anticipation is killing us!
This week at Northview our worship experience is based on the idea of Grace. Grace is one of those topics that brings to mind the forgiveness of our sin, the unmerited love that God has for us, so on and so forth. All those things are critical to our knowledge and experience of God, but as I have been designing and implenting elements for this weekend I have started to see once again that grace is a very hard subject to deal with as a human. Is it possible to extend grace to someone as ruthless as Saddam, is it conceivable to extend grace to someone who killed a family member (Timothy McVeigh), etc. Grace isn't fair and if we don't come to grips with the implications that it has on those who truly believe Jesus Christ then we will be living out a faith that will never be complete. It's been an interesting study. I would welcome any thoughts. God bless you guys, sorry it's been so long since I have posted.
Tommy
