I've started turning my attention to our next installment of Facedown, which is October 29. I am so pumped about this one! I don't want to give anything away, but I can already tell you this is going to be one incredible night.
As each Facedown develops, they take on their own personality. That's what I love...each one is different. This one I've really felt God stirring in my heart that Facedown needs to go back to it's roots this time. What are those roots? Glad you asked!
Facedown is founding on Leviticus 9:23-24. In the Bradford translation (which means I'm giving a quick look at it) God's glory appears to all the people as He consumes their first offering with fire. When they saw it, the Israelites shouted for joy...but then, realizing that God had actually accepted the offering, they fell facedown with a holy fear. Those are the pillars of Facedown: shouting for joy and falling facedown. So, you could almost call this one getting back to the basics. We will encounter God that night through humbled hearts bent towards seeking His glory.
Stay tuned as things develop!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Let's Go Tigers, Let's Go
I know today isn't Thursday, but I had to post this. My Tigers (Go Mizzou) broke the Top 25 this week. Let's go Tigers, let's GO!
I realize that I'm probably the only Mizzou fan in the CSRA (except for my son!), but when your team starts 4-0 for the first time since Noah and the ark, you HAVE to celebrate!
Monday, September 25, 2006
You Never Let Go
So I decided after a few weeks of sporadic blogging that I'm going to put myself on a schedule (or a "shed-ule" like they say in the UK). So for those of you faithful readers out there (both of you), I'll be posting on Mondays and Thursdays. And that's that.
Reflecting on yesterday's services, the highlight for me was the new song "You Never Let Go". What a powerful song! It has hit me lately that people are walking around wounded all the time. And how powerful it is to know that God isn't letting go of us...that He's always with us, through the calm and through the storm. If the song hit you in a powerful way, do me a favor and put a comment here with this post about your thoughts on the song.
Well, have a great week and we'll blog at you on Thursday!
Reflecting on yesterday's services, the highlight for me was the new song "You Never Let Go". What a powerful song! It has hit me lately that people are walking around wounded all the time. And how powerful it is to know that God isn't letting go of us...that He's always with us, through the calm and through the storm. If the song hit you in a powerful way, do me a favor and put a comment here with this post about your thoughts on the song.
Well, have a great week and we'll blog at you on Thursday!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Blessed Be Your Name
Lately life has been a mess. The obvious is that 4 kids keeps us busy. So has the transition to the gym for the church. And not to mention my other duties as a husband, a father, a worship leader, a journey team leader, etc. So you can imagine the craziness of life!
Today it hit me when we were singing Blessed Be Your Name how God wants us to rely on Him despite our circumstances. If I can learn how to bless His Name regardless of what I'm going through, then I think I've taken a step closer to His heart.
It's been cool to watch the response to that song as we sing it at TNC. I have begun to realize that people connect with that song because life is messy and messed up! I'm so thankful for a God who cares about me...who loves me regardless of what or who I am.
Today it hit me when we were singing Blessed Be Your Name how God wants us to rely on Him despite our circumstances. If I can learn how to bless His Name regardless of what I'm going through, then I think I've taken a step closer to His heart.
It's been cool to watch the response to that song as we sing it at TNC. I have begun to realize that people connect with that song because life is messy and messed up! I'm so thankful for a God who cares about me...who loves me regardless of what or who I am.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Laughter is healing
Tonight our Jteam just had a social night. We started a new group with two awesome leaders (Jon and Jennifer Pruett), so we kept it simple tonight. After eating and doing some announcements, we played catch phrase. What a blast! I haven't laughed like that in a while.
I've always wondered what it is about laughing that can be so healing. Life has been so crazy busy lately, I needed tonight!
On another front, here's a picture of the gym on Saturday from TNC photographer Zaki Rucker:
Thanks Zaki! What a great start to a new season at TrueNorth!
I've always wondered what it is about laughing that can be so healing. Life has been so crazy busy lately, I needed tonight!
On another front, here's a picture of the gym on Saturday from TNC photographer Zaki Rucker:
Thanks Zaki! What a great start to a new season at TrueNorth!
Monday, September 11, 2006
We made it!
Well, we finally made it to the NAHS gym yesterday! After months of planning, purchases and preparation, we did it and it excited all expectations. God is amazing!!! I think the most powerful moment of the service was during the song "My Desire". God took over at that point and really spoke to a lot of hearts. He really worked in me through it.
So we have turned the page to a new era for TrueNorth. We've added a bunch more seats allowing more people to come in and experience the change. I'm so pumped at what our amazing God has in store for us.
To Him be the glory!
So we have turned the page to a new era for TrueNorth. We've added a bunch more seats allowing more people to come in and experience the change. I'm so pumped at what our amazing God has in store for us.
To Him be the glory!
Friday, September 08, 2006
You Never Let Go
Matt Redman's new song, You Never Let Go, has been ringing in my ears this evening. There's so much hurt and pain out there...so much hopelessness and despair...so much loneliness and feelings of having no purpose...this song is a great comfort. Here are the words of the chorus:
O no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go through every high and every low
O no, You never let go, Lord, You never let go of me
I think we forget sometimes that God is with us. It's easy to feel abandon at times because we can't feel Him near us. I love the poem called footprints. The author speaks this very thought of abandonment by God...but then he realizes that God has been carrying Him.
It's interesting to me that, with all the excitement of TrueNorth moving to the gym this weekend, this would be the thought I blog about. But I think there are quite a few out there that feel this way. Those that are feeling this way have been near to my heart lately. So here's a shout of encouragement: God never lets go of you.
O no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go through every high and every low
O no, You never let go, Lord, You never let go of me
I think we forget sometimes that God is with us. It's easy to feel abandon at times because we can't feel Him near us. I love the poem called footprints. The author speaks this very thought of abandonment by God...but then he realizes that God has been carrying Him.
It's interesting to me that, with all the excitement of TrueNorth moving to the gym this weekend, this would be the thought I blog about. But I think there are quite a few out there that feel this way. Those that are feeling this way have been near to my heart lately. So here's a shout of encouragement: God never lets go of you.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
FryPod
Monday, September 04, 2006
Bye Bye Bye
Yesterday we bid farewell to the auditorium...or, as in the words of the immortal boyband NSync, "bye bye bye"...
It's been an amazing two years in the auditorium. God has done some incredible things through TNC in that building. To think back over these two years, I'd have to say some of my favorite moments were Facedown and Dunk'd services. Seeing people admit publicly their devotion to Christ is amazing, and we've seen a bunch do it in the auditorium! And then to see people engage their hearts with God's through Facedown worship has been equally as moving.
So now we embark on a new adventure...the gym. The setup is going to be quite elaborate. The capabilities to take production of our services to a new level has me pumped up and ready to go! And, more important than the bells and whistles are the number of seats that we are able to add so that we can reach more people with the life-changing news of Christ. That's what it's all about!
I hope you will make it a point to be there this Sunday for our new adventure into the gym and it's dunk'd! We get to see about 30 people confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives!!!! That's good stuff!!!!
It's been an amazing two years in the auditorium. God has done some incredible things through TNC in that building. To think back over these two years, I'd have to say some of my favorite moments were Facedown and Dunk'd services. Seeing people admit publicly their devotion to Christ is amazing, and we've seen a bunch do it in the auditorium! And then to see people engage their hearts with God's through Facedown worship has been equally as moving.
So now we embark on a new adventure...the gym. The setup is going to be quite elaborate. The capabilities to take production of our services to a new level has me pumped up and ready to go! And, more important than the bells and whistles are the number of seats that we are able to add so that we can reach more people with the life-changing news of Christ. That's what it's all about!
I hope you will make it a point to be there this Sunday for our new adventure into the gym and it's dunk'd! We get to see about 30 people confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives!!!! That's good stuff!!!!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Blogger's Block
So I've been in a bit of a "bloggers block" lately...either nothing to write about or no time to write! As many of you know, we're moving to the gym on September 10. Waht an exciting time for TNC because we're going to be doubling our seating capacity. After seeing huge numbers the past two weeks (we had 521 in the 2nd service last Sunday, and the auditorium only seats 480!) this is a very timely move.
Other exciting stuff coming up is auditions on September 18 & 19. I'm always wary of announceing auditions because i don't think we get a true representation of what's out there. Most people assume that we would never use certain instruments because we are a guitar driven band. But that's just not true! As a matter of fact, my buddy Brian is playing trumpet for us on a song next week. I'm looking into using some strings soon. So, if you can play an instrument and you feel like you could contribute to the music at TrueNorth, sign up!
Lastly, Facedown is a month away! I'm so pumped! It will be on October 1, which is a Sunday evening service...and we'll be doing it in the gym. Good stuff! It's going to be powerful, so mark it on your calendars now.
Oh! One more thing. We've started a blog for our Creative Arts groups. Check it out at www.creativeartsblog.blogspot.com. We will use this a lot to communicate with those in the Artist Circle and the Writer's Fellowship.
Until next time...
Other exciting stuff coming up is auditions on September 18 & 19. I'm always wary of announceing auditions because i don't think we get a true representation of what's out there. Most people assume that we would never use certain instruments because we are a guitar driven band. But that's just not true! As a matter of fact, my buddy Brian is playing trumpet for us on a song next week. I'm looking into using some strings soon. So, if you can play an instrument and you feel like you could contribute to the music at TrueNorth, sign up!
Lastly, Facedown is a month away! I'm so pumped! It will be on October 1, which is a Sunday evening service...and we'll be doing it in the gym. Good stuff! It's going to be powerful, so mark it on your calendars now.
Oh! One more thing. We've started a blog for our Creative Arts groups. Check it out at www.creativeartsblog.blogspot.com. We will use this a lot to communicate with those in the Artist Circle and the Writer's Fellowship.
Until next time...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Creative Arts
Last night we kicked off two exciting new groups at TrueNorth...the Artist Circle and the Writer's Fellowship. We had close to 25 there which blew me away! There was a cool energy from everyone there. I am so pumped about getting these two groups started!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
24
Laurie and I have become hooked on "24". I know...where have we been? I think everyone I know watches that show. To be honest, we haven't wanted to become slave to the TV every week, so we recently started renting the DVDs of Season 1. Good stuff!
I've had some people ask me for some more pictures of Ella. Well, here's my little princess practice her yoga...just like her mom!Lastly, for those interested in the Arist Circle or Writer's Fellowship, we are having our first meeting Monday night at Nacho Mama's. We'll start to gather around 7P. I'm pumped about these two groups getting kicked off!
Until next time...
Monday, August 21, 2006
The Party's Just Getting Started!!!
Wow! Yesterday was an amazing day at TrueNorth! We celebrated two years of joining God in His work. How awesome is it to be able to serve the Creator of the universe? Sometimes I don't completely grasp what a privilege and honor it is to be used by God on Sundays. He doesn't need me...but He wants to use me! How cool is that?
So the turnout was unbelieveable with 1217! That would be our third largest attendance to date. (We had close to 1700 at Easter '06 and then somewhere over 1300 for a Dunk'd service in the spring '06.) Please "hear me this morning" (Stevie D original right there baby!): when I mention numbers, it's not pointing praise to us as TrueNorth. No, it's all about pointing the praise to God, who has grown this church beyond our wildest dreams. We were talking today in staff about how many times we have to adjust what we are doing on the fly because God has sent waves of growth our way.
The coolest parts of the service were these:
1) knowing that 180 TrueNorthers participated in the celebration by voting for their favorite songs. That was cool!
2) The video testimonies were incredibly powerful. Jay and Laura Knotts were in one part and what they had to say hit me hard. They are some amazing friends to us and we been a small part of their journey...so to hear them say that TrueNorth has provided healing and freedom for them, I had to fight back tears. It's a beautiful thing when God's people do what we are designed to do: love God and love each other.
I could talk about so much more, but I'll spare you the long-winded-ness.
Happy Birthday TNC!
So the turnout was unbelieveable with 1217! That would be our third largest attendance to date. (We had close to 1700 at Easter '06 and then somewhere over 1300 for a Dunk'd service in the spring '06.) Please "hear me this morning" (Stevie D original right there baby!): when I mention numbers, it's not pointing praise to us as TrueNorth. No, it's all about pointing the praise to God, who has grown this church beyond our wildest dreams. We were talking today in staff about how many times we have to adjust what we are doing on the fly because God has sent waves of growth our way.
The coolest parts of the service were these:
1) knowing that 180 TrueNorthers participated in the celebration by voting for their favorite songs. That was cool!
2) The video testimonies were incredibly powerful. Jay and Laura Knotts were in one part and what they had to say hit me hard. They are some amazing friends to us and we been a small part of their journey...so to hear them say that TrueNorth has provided healing and freedom for them, I had to fight back tears. It's a beautiful thing when God's people do what we are designed to do: love God and love each other.
I could talk about so much more, but I'll spare you the long-winded-ness.
Happy Birthday TNC!
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Big day planned!
Tomorrow is the big day at TrueNorth! We celebrate 2 years of turning spiritual seekers into passionate followers of Christ. It's been an amazing ride so far, I can't imagine what the future has in store for us.
I would encourage to get there early because we are expecting a huge crowd for both services. Lots of people are hearing about what God is doing at TNC and they want to experience the change for themselves.
See you tomorrow!
I would encourage to get there early because we are expecting a huge crowd for both services. Lots of people are hearing about what God is doing at TNC and they want to experience the change for themselves.
See you tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
THANK YOU!!!!
Well the voting has ended. Thank you, TrueNorth, for particpating in the celebration this past week! We had 180 votes cast, which has just blown me away. So, I'm sure you want to know what songs were at the top. I'd love to share it with you, but you'll have to wait until Sunday!
Something exciting and new that we are introducing this week is our new logo:
It embodies who we are as a church...our motto, Lift Up Love In Live Out, is the centerpiece of the design. So, we'll be bringing out some new t-shirts this week as well as some other cool things.
God is doing some exciting things at TrueNorth and we're just riding the wave of His goodness as long as it goes!
Something exciting and new that we are introducing this week is our new logo:
It embodies who we are as a church...our motto, Lift Up Love In Live Out, is the centerpiece of the design. So, we'll be bringing out some new t-shirts this week as well as some other cool things.
God is doing some exciting things at TrueNorth and we're just riding the wave of His goodness as long as it goes!
Monday, August 14, 2006
TNC in the news...
TrueNorth made the news this weekend. Diane Cho with Channel 12 news came to video and interview some of our people. It's a very good video about our church!
Also, wanted to remind you that today (Tuesday) is the last day to vote for your favorite songs. The top picks will be in this week's set list. It's a great way for everyone to participate in the celebration.
Oh, if you haven't watched Steve's message from Sunday, you should! It was an incredible message reminding us that church does not exist to consume your life and be your only source of spiritual food. It's purpose is to equip you to do ministry and to feed yourself. Watch it on our website.
There are a lot of exciting things happening at TNC these days. As you may know, we celebrate two years this Sunday! We've also just brought on a new staff member, Gene Jennings. Gene brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the table. I'm already convinced he's a tremendous asset to our team!
BABY UPDATE - Laurie and Ella are doing well. Can't believe it's already been a week! Of course, the next thing I know she'll be starting school...it's amazing how fast they grow up. And big brothers love her to death! God has blessed us in so many incredible ways!
Also, wanted to remind you that today (Tuesday) is the last day to vote for your favorite songs. The top picks will be in this week's set list. It's a great way for everyone to participate in the celebration.
Oh, if you haven't watched Steve's message from Sunday, you should! It was an incredible message reminding us that church does not exist to consume your life and be your only source of spiritual food. It's purpose is to equip you to do ministry and to feed yourself. Watch it on our website.
There are a lot of exciting things happening at TNC these days. As you may know, we celebrate two years this Sunday! We've also just brought on a new staff member, Gene Jennings. Gene brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the table. I'm already convinced he's a tremendous asset to our team!
BABY UPDATE - Laurie and Ella are doing well. Can't believe it's already been a week! Of course, the next thing I know she'll be starting school...it's amazing how fast they grow up. And big brothers love her to death! God has blessed us in so many incredible ways!
Ouch!!!
A friend sent me this video the other day. I have no clue what they are saying, but all I can say is "OUCH!!!"
Click Here
Click Here
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
We are family...
We left the hospital (or hos-ti-bull as Stephen calls it!) today. It's good to be home! It's even better to have all six of us together. I've missed my boys the past two days and so has Laurie. We are so blessed! Ella is the sweetest thing. How is it that I'm so blessed with this family God has given me? I'll never understand it...but I also won't complain!
Don't forget to vote for your favorite songs that we do at TrueNorth! As a way to celebrate our 2 year old birthday, we are letting you participate in selecting the songs that make the set list. So don't forget to vote! (Voting ends August 15, 2006).
Don't forget to vote for your favorite songs that we do at TrueNorth! As a way to celebrate our 2 year old birthday, we are letting you participate in selecting the songs that make the set list. So don't forget to vote! (Voting ends August 15, 2006).
Monday, August 07, 2006
You are so beautiful...to me
That song's been ringing in my ears all day because my beautiful baby daughter is here!!!!! And I have to say, I'm in love. Here are her stats...
Ella Rose Bradford
Born at 11:35A on Monday, August 7, 2006
Weighing in at 7 pounds 7 ounces
Standing at a mighty 20.5 inches
And did I mention she's beautiful?
Momma's doing well. I have to say that she's amazing because I COULD NOT endure what she's been through the past few weeks. She always tells me that men would die if they had to go through labor. I strongly concur!
So we are a family of six now. As a friend of mine told me today, we now reach automatic gratuity at restaurants...yikes! Oh well, as Stevie D says, we're doing our part to grow the church!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Chris Brown Band
We were so blessed to have the Chris Brown Band come and lead us in worship today. It was very nice to have the day off and actually come to church with my family! (Which we have never done at TrueNorth.)
Anyway, Chris and his band have a CD out that you canbuy here. Look for us to be adding their song "Absorb" to our set list very soon!
Also, a shout out to the boys (and girl!) of Stainless. They rocked the house today with Bon Jovi's "Wanted: Dead or Alive". We are so incredibly blessed at TrueNorth to have the talented musicians we have. God is so good!
Well, tomorrow morning Laurie and I are heading to the hospital so she can be induced. We are so excited to meet Ms. Ella! Please pray for us that everything will go smoothly. Until next time...
Anyway, Chris and his band have a CD out that you canbuy here. Look for us to be adding their song "Absorb" to our set list very soon!
Also, a shout out to the boys (and girl!) of Stainless. They rocked the house today with Bon Jovi's "Wanted: Dead or Alive". We are so incredibly blessed at TrueNorth to have the talented musicians we have. God is so good!
Well, tomorrow morning Laurie and I are heading to the hospital so she can be induced. We are so excited to meet Ms. Ella! Please pray for us that everything will go smoothly. Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
