New Videos

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

G8 Summit

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

1600

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

iTunes Test

This is an old podcast to test out the iTunes podcast directory. God bless.

Tommy

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day. Enjoy this day, and be safe.

Tommy

iTunes and Podcasting

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

Far To Long

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

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

Emerging Show Will Go On

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

My Life So Far

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 Will Post Soon

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, I will post very soon. God bless!

Tommy

And The American Idol Is...

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

What Happened

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

Who Will Win

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

More Photos

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

Spider

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)

My Last Day In Nashville

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

Some Photos

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.

Posting Will Happen

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

Emerging Church Conference Day 3

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.

Emerging Church Conference Day 2

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

An Amazing Conference

The Emerging Conference started off with a bang. I did 2 courses today, one with the pioneer of video sattelite churches, and one with the writer of Emerging Culture, and Emerging Worship--Dan Kimball. The course was 5 hours today and 5 hours tomorrow, and then the actual conference begins with worshops by Sally Morgenthaller (an amazing author on worship), Richard Foster (the author that has most influenced my life), Brian McLaren (my favorite author right now), etc.

Today's course was basically an intro into how we as a culture are moving from a modern mindset to a postmoder mindset. What was taught today I basically already new, but was interested in the more in depth discussions we had on this topic. Again, the highlight of my day was the Labryinth, you need to check it out online from my last post. God bless, and emaiil me with your thoughts.

Tommy

First Day At Emerging Church Conference

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

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!

New Photos

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.

The Emerging Show- Part 2

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 May 9, 2005- Part 1

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

New Relevant Magazine

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

The Emerging Show Response

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.

Halleluiah

America finally is making sense.

Cool Tree

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

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

Sitting At Borders Music

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.

Beautiful Day

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

Worship

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.

400 Listeners

Today we've reached 400 listeners to the Emerging Show. Peace, love, and rock and roll.

Tommy

The Emerging Show Part 2- April 27

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 Epitome of Post-modernism

I saw this picture at a local Starbucks, and I'm not condemning or supporting anything. I just thought it was a clear picture of the status of post-modern infiltration into our society. What do you think?

p.s. check out the new show here, and also check out one of our sponsors here .

The Emerging Show - April 25, 2005

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)

300

We've reached 300 listeners. I'll quit posting now. :)

Also, if you haven't read the last article "An Unfinished Work of Art", you can click here to read it.

Tommy

The Emerging Show is Emerging

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

An Unfinished Work of Art

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”.

The Emerging Show Part 2

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

Looking For Writing Staff

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 Emerging Show- April 18th - PART 1

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 Website/New Show Tomorrow!

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

Jesus in the Morning

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.

Beautiful Prayer

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.

Christ-Centered Worship

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

Vote for The Emerging Show Now

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 OSX Tiger- April 29

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

The Emerging Show- April 11, 2005

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

The Emerging Show- A New Podcast

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

The Best Salsa Ever

This is by far the best salsa I've ever had, it was made by my beautiful girlfriend Emily

First Podcast

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

American Idol Is Messed Up

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?

Beautiful Day

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

My First Baseball Game of the Year

This is a pic from my phone directly to my blog. technology...

A Sad Day

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

Easter and Day 3

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

Holy Thursday

When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."

Luke 22:14-16

How I See It

The Terri Schiavo case is an occurrence in history that is begging for the voice of the Body of Christ. I just want to share my personal opinion in this case, hoping that it will add to the dialogue of many followers of Christ on this subject.

Without getting into legal speak (i.e. the Senate's intervention, courts, etc.), I want to focus on the big picture. We have a woman whom God has created who is by some accounts "alive" and by other accounts "brain dead". With this bit of information alone we, as believers in Christ, should at this point always be on the side of life. There is no room for error in this situation, there is not room for ideology. If we genuinely believe in the sanctity of life, and we have a full grasp of the gift that it is, then by no means should we advocate the removal of a feeding tube which may or may not kill this woman. This also begs the question of living wills and so forth...I'm not going to go into those ethics, but what I want us to be aware of is that we do not have a living will in this case. We only have word of mouth testimony (which is also sketchy at this point, but I digress).

This posting was put here on the fly, so it isn't perfect, but I wanted to just voice the opinion that I have regarding life. I am by no means advocating what the Senate has done, what the courts are doing, what the family, or husband is doing, but I have posted to share with you that in any case when there is ANY doubt, we should always err on the side of life, always.

Trip To Nashville

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

Trip To Nashville

Trip To Nashville

Trip To Nashville

Weather, Gas, God

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

Move In Week and Grace

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

Moving In Photos

Moving In Photos

Moving In Photos

Moving In Photos

Moving In Photos

Valentine's Day

Here is a goofy picture of me and Emily on Valentine's day. Aren't we
cute :) ? We went to Red Lobster that day--yum.

I'm Sick

I woke up sick. No fun.

In other news: The band and I did a wonderful retreat in Soloam Springs, Arkansas. We had an absolute blast, but man were we worn out. It was one of the best band trips we have been on in a long time. Lots of fun. God bless you.

Tommy

The Spirit of God

The spirit of God is a beautiful and mysterious thing. Everytime I see that the spirit has moved (I know that I don't always notice, but you know what I am referring to when you "know" that God is involved) I am strengthened with a certain hope and joy. The spirit moves in so many ways---through music, through relationships, through art, etc. This past week at Northview we had a very beautiful time of worship through music. I believe the spirit was there in fresh ways that can't be explained in words. But, I have also experienced the spirit move in ways that we don't always think about, for example: when I personally am down and someone says something at just the right way---the spirit moved in a mysterious way. It happened to me this past week when I was speaking to my girlfriend Emily about something that had happened that day that wasn't very fun, and she said "it will be okay". 4 simple words that the spirit transformed into a language that only he speaks. If you open your eyes a little wider you can see that God is in the small things, and the big things, in fact he transcends even that terminology---we will never fully understand. God is God and I am not. Grace and peace to all of you, and I hope you had a great Valentine's day.

Tommy

Worship

I invite you this week to intentionally ask Jesus for a fresh
experience of Him. Throughout scripture (Psalm 145:4) God is inviting
us to partake of him. Sometimes he asks us to partake of him as water,
sometimes as bread, sometimes as wine---all lead to one thing, an
experience with the creator of the universe. When I say experience, I
don't mean it like you would experience a television show, or
experience a roller coaster ride, no, I mean you would experience the
risen Christ so fully that you can do nothing but change. As you
prepare to worship through music at your own churches this weekend, I
pray that you will prepare you heart first by inviting the risen Christ
into conversation, ask for a special grace this week to experience him
in a new and fresh way.

A Generous Orthodoxy

This is a book that has been on the best sellers list for a long time.
In fact, I had to go to 4 bookstores just to get a copy. The author,
Brian McLaren, was voted one of the top 25 evangelicals on the front
cover of Time magazine. I picked the book up yesterday, and haven't
really been able to put it down. If you love the church (the Body of
Christ), and would like to know more about where it is going and where
it came from, you should read this book. I will give you a full report
on it when I'm finished. God bless you, and enjoy the presence of God
today.

Tommy

Did You Take A Selah Moment?

It is extremely easy in our postmodern do-everything-fast society to forget and take a selah moment (a hebrew word for silence or stillness). Have you taken one this week? Have you really sat down and just talked to the living Christ? You'd be amazed at how much our creator longs to just talk with us--he is a seeker after us even more than we are seeker after him.

This week has been a wonderful week. I haven't really enjoyed the weather (until yesterday and today), but I think this week has been a paramount time of seeking the presence of Christ. God is alive and doing amazing things in Oklahoma City and around the world. I think it's time we stop saying WWJD in our society and start saying What Is Jesus Doing.

I am eagerly awaiting our time of corporate worship on Sunday morning with my Northview family. God bless you all!

Tommy

Advancing The Ideal of Liberty

Today President George W. Bush gave his Sate of the Union speech. It
was a grand speech full of ideas that will progress the country in a
way we need to go. You don't have to agree with everything he stands
for to understand the strength he brings to this country. His
continuing tag line is that America can be a beacon of light that
advances freedom. I totally agree with this. If I didn't agree with
anything else in his policies, I would support him for his resolve for
freedom. A few days ago we saw Iraq vote freely for the first time. I
was proud to be and American that day. God bless.

Tommy

Word On The Street

I have recently stumbled upon this brand new paraphrase of the
scriptures. I will make a note of warning -- this is not a
translation of the bible -- it's even a stretch to say that it is a
paraphrase, but I think it is a really beautiful expression of how Rob
Lacey interprets the Bible. I would recommend it to anyone who would
like to see a fresh perspective on the holy scriptures. Here is an
example from John 3:16:

''Cos God's so passionate about the planet that he donates his one and
only Son. Whoever invests their life in His Son doesn't die, but gets
given this limitless life. D'you think God sends his Son to slam
people down? No! He sends his Son to liberate people."

A Rainy Day

Today is a day of rain. I don't like rain at all, in fact I despise it. Rain doesn't put me in any sort of bad mood, but it does bring a sense of dreariness to the day. But, even though I don't like the rain, I sure do like what the rain brings: new life, color to the earth, etc. I'm going to look at this rainy day in a different way. I'm going to see the beauty that can come of it, not just the dreariness that comes from it. God bless.

Tommy

A Good Week, A Hard Week

This week has been a very good week. God has shown me some wonderful truths in His word, and has taught me some new things about life in general. I have enjoyed every minute of creating our weekend experience at Northview. I am very excited about where God is going to take us.

This week has been a very difficult one as well. My grammy was diagnosed with a lower form of breast cancer. You don't need me to tell you that this was not something I wanted to hear. It is something that is very difficult for me, yet at the same time I am believing that God is completely in control of the situation. Some people say that miracles aren't prevalent any more, but I say that God has gifted technicians, scientists, and doctors with the ability to make machines and medicine to detect sickness. I believe God places miracles in many places, we just don't see them.

God bless you guys, I hope you have had a wonderful week. Enjoy God this weekend.

Tommy

Pay It Forward

I saw Pay It Forward again yesterday, and I must say that it is in my top 5 favorite movies. The story alone should capture anyone with a human heart and soul. I would recommend it if you have never seen it. I really believe the movie is drenched in the grace of God.

This week has been marvelous so far, I am excited about what God has in store for the rest of my time this week.

Tommy

My New Office

Here is a photograph of my new office. It obvioiusly isn't a picture of the whole thing, because we couldn't get the camera to show all angles. A lot of people helped put it together. Thank you Brak, Emily, Kristin, Abe, and all those I have forgotten. I'll post more pictures later (since I know you are all quite excited about my workspace...yea right). God bless!

My Dog Skip

This is a picture of my dog named Skip. Isn't he cute. (this photograph courtesy of Emily Borah ©)

Condi Rice and Jesus

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, I seem to have lost time (still haven't found it). This past week was very intense, but refreshing at the same time. This current week is starting off great, weather is good, work is absolutely wonderful, friends are great, family is lovely, girlfriend is incredible, and God is always Good. Jesus is showing me some cool things in his word and in my life in powerful and pulchritudinous ways. Psalm 42 is one of the most profound pieces of scripture in the living text of the Bible. Check it out with new eyes. God bless!

p.s condi rice should run for President

The Biggest Achievement of Mankind

The New Office

Here are a few pics from my newly minted office, they aren't the best
pics, and they really don't do the room justice, but alas here is a
peek into my world via the world wide web. I had a lot of help and
guidance from my GF, roomate (Abe), friend Christin, mom, dad, God.
It's an amazing space for me to come and create. I love it.

God has been good this week in a beautiful way. He has showed me a
freshness in the scripture this week that has been very renewing. God
bless, and enjoy God this week.

Tommy

The New Office

Streams of Life

Today was a wonderful day of rest. I had my prayer time today at a lake. Bodies of water are one of my favorite sanctuaries.

Yesterdays worship experience at NCC was a beautiful time of meeting with God. Yahweh is moving in this city in a mighty way, God is faithful.

It's Cold in Oklahoma

My Desk...Inspiration

. Here is a pic.

Tommy

A Day In The Life...

My week starts on Tuesday. This is the day that everything that I do
as Creative Arts guy at NCC starts to take shape. At 9:00am we begin
what I call our "Experience Design Team". This is the team that takes
the scripture-based theme for the weekend and fleshes out a worship
experience that tells the story of the week. There have been days that
we have met for almost 4 hours, it is a blast, but it can be
exhausting. The picture I have posted is one of the places that we
meet (Panera Bread Company). We try to meet at different places to
enrich our creative juices. There is nothing else I would rather do
right now then be the Creative Arts director, it is more rewarding than
you can imagine. 2005 is going to be a year to remember. God bless
you all. Peace, love, and rock and roll.

Tommy

Life On The Mezzanine

This week of preperation and prayer has been wonderful. I have had a beautiful time of centering with Christ on the things that are most important in my personal life and in the Creative Arts ministry God has allowed me to lead. I took this week off from leading worship and it has been refreshing, but at the same time I have the sense of being on the mezzanine (waiting room). I am excited about what God has prepared already for worship at Northview, and even in my personal worship. My favorite hymn has been with me all week as I learn more about worshipping my creator: "All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing".

Peace, love, and rock and roll

Tommy