davis|cognizance | Bradley Davis' Blog

Putting up the Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree Time Lapse from today...

Obama & Church -- Should I be concerned?

According to this article on Politico.com, Barack Obama has not attended church since becoming the President Elect. Should I be concerned about this?

The article says that Obama has not been attending any church for the past few weeks over concerns that his entourage would disrupt the services. While I am appreciative of his concern about the integrity of the local church, I am left to wonder about the source of his spiritual and moral guidance during, what I can only imagine to be, a very intense time of life.

I have said since election day that I really want to give our new President a chance to be the leader that we need in a very tough time. I believe that the best way that he can lead this country is to look to the principals that have been laid out -- and have proven themselves through history -- in the Bible. I also believe that the best place that he can gain steady knowledge and encouragement in those principals is in a church on a regular basis.

I am still at a point where I want to support Barack Obama. I want all the lofty rhetoric to ring true and usher in a time where politics matter less and people are better today than yesterday. However I am skeptical when I see that he makes time for the gym but not worship.

I want to see our new President as a man of principals. A man that shares my deepest beliefs about making the world a better place. Unfortunately this causes me to be concerned...

Mike Huckabee at Apostles

I was really excited today to hear that next Sunday former Governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will be speaking at Apostles.

Huckabee was really the only candidate in the 2008 primaries that gave me any reason for excitement -- can you say Fair Tax? He was also, by far, the most eloquent speaker of the group.

It should be an exciting day to hear a message from the man that could be the future of the Republican party!

Thanksgiving Day Video

Each fall at Apostles we put together an extended video testimony for our Thanksgiving day service. Normally the videos we produce for our Sunday services run 5-7 minutes, however this piece is designed to be the bulk of a service and runs about 27 minutes!

The subject for this year's video is our great FOH sound engineer, Jeff Wood, and is entitled "Song of Thanksgiving." Jeff is someone who I really enjoyed being around way before we began this project but as I was able to meet people in his life and hear his story I really gained a whole new level of respect for this man.

Jeff is someone who really lived the life of a rock star and experienced all that the lifestyle could offer. In the video we explore the deep challenges of his life and show how our amazing God lifted him up and has begun to use him in incredible ways.

If you are free on Thanksgiving morning this year at 10:00 a.m. make plans to come to this service at Apostles. I don't often tout events like this on my site, but I am genuinely excited about this piece and the impact that I believe that it will have in people's lives.

If you can't make it to the service (where we will show the video on a 20ft screen in High Definition) check back next weekend for a link to the video that I will post online.

Ride with me to work

I know everyone in Atlanta loves commuting, so take 60 seconds and ride along with me to work...

Why Worry?

Great quote from Andy Stanley tonight:

"The thing you worry about the most is what you are most devoted to..."

"If you shift your devotion what would happen to your worry?"

Going to Africa...Go with me.

This coming January 15-25 I am going to be a part of a three man mission team to the country of Lesotho in southern Africa. The primary focus of my part of the trip will be to produce a "virtual prayer walk" video that will be used here in the United States to educate people and to help people pray for the ministry in Lesotho.

I am extremely excited about the chance to take the skills that God has given me in the area of media production over seas. We'll work with the local missionaries to shoot and edit this video on site in Lesotho (more on that later), then we'll help them with both DVD and online distribution of the video. Our goal is to show Christians here in the US how they can pray for this powerful ministry in a relatively unknown part of the world.

This trip is being sponsored through my Dad's mission agency, Mission Team Inc.

I need your help with this endeavor in two ways...

First, I need your prayers. This will be a trip that involves a LOT of travel and will be grueling physically and mentally -- your prayers will make the difference.

Second, I need your financial support. This trip will cost about $2500 for each of us and I need your help to defray that cost. If you are able and willing to support this cause please visit the Mission Team Inc Donation Center and click the button that says "Give to Specific Fund of Project." Once you begin the checkout process just mention the Lesotho trip in the "Specify Fund" box. If you would rather donate by check please send that to Mission Team Inc at the address listed on the site.

All of the donations are tax deductible -- details can be found at missionteaminc.com.

Whatever you can do to be a part of this trip is appreciated. Check back with me often here or subscribe to my RSS feed for lots more about this trip in the coming weeks...

History...

Undeniable History

Tonight we are witnessing history. Barack Obama's election as the next President of the United States is one of those rare moments when you know you are watching somthing that will be talked about for many years.

No matter what your political affiliation or views of the candidates in this election, tonight its worth taking a few minutes to step back and realize that this is a new era for America.

Tonight I pray that Barack Obama will lead this country in a way that will glorify God. May God bless President elect Obama and may God bless America.

Nassau Zoo Home Video

I know, I know -- Home videos are the worst... I promise this one is only a few minutes.

On Wednesday, Leslie and I visited the Ardastra Gardens Zoo in Nassau. You'll see in this video that we were able to feed Lory Parrots and saw some of the only trained Flamingos in the world. The Flamingos are actually trained to respond to voice commands.