Owner: Billy Chia URL:http://billychia.com Join Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:45:35 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Worship leader, Billy Chia, takes an honest look at family, faith and spirituality.
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Worth Your While 2007-08-10 23:28:49 Places I have been this week that you will appreciate as well:
How to Get a Faster Response to Your E-mail by Michael S. Hyatt [via lifehack.org]
Free teaching mp3 on how worship teams can lead visually by Brent Minter from Worship Trench
Ministry Conference Etiquette from Church Relevance
Walkscore is a cool mashup that uses Google maps to score your home based on what attractions you can walk to. My walkscore: zero [via It’s Evansville]
Add your blog to the Blog Directory
Great Rob Bell interview by Vic Cuccia from The Ooze [via Daniel Decker, also see his post on meeting Rob Bell]
My Favorite Part:
What do people say,? “I’m going to go check out a band,” which means “I am to go stand in the back and if they aren’t very good I’m going to leave.” …So when I got into teaching my assumption was that the Jesus revolution ought to be the best thing going or do something else.
World’s Easiest Cookies by Sarah Chia, the World’s Most Bea Read more:Worth
Alex McLean Has No Taste 2007-08-10 09:43:10 With a sorrowful and morose heart I have to report that Alex McLean has posted the World’s Worst Worship Confessional. I used to think this guy had some serious artistic integrity, but alas no more.
I mean look at some of the killer content we’re used to getting at better than blank:
The current media tips series on how to make your worship lyrics look good is pure genius.
Alex’s skills as a graphic designer are G-E-W-D gewd!
His most recent Worship Confessional, although not quite as flashy as some previous offerings, is chalk full of wisdom. I especially liked his thoughts on phrase “this world has nothing for me.”
Alex, you took a real nosedive with this one bro. I might have to take you off my blogroll. (or link to you in posts more often, one of the two.)
Worship Confessional Confessional | 08.08.2007 2007-08-08 22:37:27
We confess the sins of making the world’s worst worship confessional after leading worship for Youth Week at Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
Read more:Confessional
Love Song for Sarah 2007-08-08 11:19:50 When I first met Sarah
I wrote this chord progression on the piano for her. I used to play it everyday and pray for her. After a while I put lyrics to the song.
Sarah was the first in our relationship to actually say the words, “I love you.” In fact she didn’t really mean to, they just slipped out one day when we were gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.
I didn’t say, “I love you” back.
Instead, I took her hand, pulled her over to the piano, and played this song.
(my voice cracks a bit but that’s what it use to sound like when I’d sing it and pray for her. I wrote the lyrics to the bridge after we got married.)
(more…)
Read more:Love Song
Evansville Biaggi’s Fights Breast Cancer 2007-08-07 15:44:33
The Evansville Biaggi’s taking on BreastCancer
with a double attack:
1. Biaggi’s has created its own Evansville Race for the Cure team. Staff members are running on the team and financially supporting it. You can support the Biaggi’s team as well.
2. Biaggi’s in hosting a Susan G. Komen Benefit Wine Dinner on September 7th @ 7pm. All Proceeds from the dinner go to support the Greater Evansville Affiliate for Race for the Cure. Take a look at the menu for the evening. These guys are pros at pairing great food with great wine.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that Breast Cancer is a trendy cause, but I’m pretty proud of the crew at Biaggi’s. Maria Alcantar, Biaggi’s Event Coordiantor, has worked extremely hard, above and beyond the call of duty, to promote this event.
Biaggi’s is the kind of restaurant that adds class and culture to any city. The wine dinners that Biaggi’s continually hosts add value to Evansville all on their Read more:Fights
Share Your Story 2007-08-07 10:12:46 Here to Testify is a new community blog set up to share stories of how Jesus changes lives.
They are looking for both contributing authors and individual stories of faith.
Has Jesus changed your life? Tell your story, these guys would love to share it with the world. They were kind enough to repost my Baptism Testimony from yesterday. Check out their contributors page for more information.
Still in its relative blog infancy, there aren’t many stories up yet, but this could really become a great place to hear how Christ is making a difference in everyday lives.
Read more:Share
Baptized 2007-08-05 23:33:05 The thing is I’ve always loved baptism services. I just get fired up about my faith when I see people getting baptized. Once the service started today I was so energized by the 22 other testimonies I totally forgot it was my baptism service too.
Here is a video recorded by Sarah, my wife, and Ashlyn, my 6-month-old daughter. (If you think a 6-month-old might not be extremely adept at handling a video camera you would be correct. Props to Sarah for actually catching the moment after Ashlyn bumped the camera.)
Here is my baptismal testimony:
I’ve been a Christian all my life.
It’s like David says in the psalms, “From my mother’s womb you have been my God.”
I was born in a Christian household, my parents baptized me as an infant and I was raised in the Church.
It’s like it says in the proverbs, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
So here I am 28 years old, and I’ve never depa
Pat Robertson at Biaggi’s 2007-08-05 02:34:30 Today Pat Robertson
came into Biaggi’s for lunch. Apparently he’s doing some type of speaking in Evansville this weekend. I didn’t work lunch, but when I came in for my dinner shift about 8 different people said, “Oh I totally was thinking about you today, Pat Robertson
came in for lunch.”
(more…)
Wedding as Worship Part 7 2007-08-03 15:44:10 When Sarah and I were planning our wedding we decided we wanted the event to be first and foremost a service of corporate worship to God and only a wedding on secondary level.
This is the 7th of 7 sections of video from our wedding on March 11th, 2006 to show what that looked like.
Part 7 - The Kiss:
Exit Tune: Beautiful Day - U2
Eve-Marie was so cute. Her job was to drop rose pedals on the way in so she thought she’d pick them up on the way out.
Wedding as Worship Part 6 2007-08-02 15:36:59 When Sarah and I were planning our wedding we decided we wanted the event to be first and foremost a service of corporate worship to God and only a wedding on secondary level.
This is the 6th of 7 sections of video from our wedding on March 11th, 2006 to show what that looked like.
Part 6 - Lighting the Unity Candle:
Flame - Nooma, Rob Bell
Sarah and I sifted through tons of music to get the best picks for our wedding. We couldn’t seem to find a song that fit with the lighting of our unity candle. We though this was more representative of what we wanted to convey.
You can purchase Flame at Nooma.com
Unbelievers on the Worship Team 2007-08-12 20:50:45 Recently I posted the following questions on The Worship Community Forums:
Who should we allow on stage Sunday morning?
What are your standards for allowing someone on the team?
Can an unbeliever lead a believer in worship?
Can the “worship team” be an avenue for evangelism? If so how?
How do you incorporate evangelism into your worship ministry?
From the post: Non-Christians on the Worship Team
A lively discussion ensued.
You can see my answers to these questions on the forums.
What are yours? (comment here or there)
Bible Journey > Zechariah 2007-08-16 01:06:00 Here are my thoughts and highlights from Zechariah as I continue my journey through the Bible:
Zechariah means “Yahweh remembers”
What an awesome name. Scripture says to remember the sabbath (Ex. 20:8) and to look on the tassels and remember Yahweh’s commands (Num. 16:39) and yet we are reminded that “Yahweh remembers”
A contemporary of Haggai (Post exile, circa 5:20 BC)
This book is full of parallels:
A return from exile and a return to God
A rebuilding of the temple and a rebuilding of the nation
“You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit” (4:7)
Zechariah is full of apocalyptic imagery: Lamp stands, books, horses.
Each image has a meaning and an interpretation.
2 things God judges: Liars and thieves
God doesn’t accept worship acts with out a worship heart:
“When you held days of fasting every fifth and seventh month all these seventy Read more:Journey
When I Was on TV 2007-08-15 13:56:08 This TV commercial for Biaggi’s aired on a local station. The dapper waiter who walks into the first scene is yours truly. My hands and belt buckle are also prominently featured.
Easy Contest: Win a Link to Your Site 2007-08-14 15:26:35 For all who doubt my power…
Witness:
Victor Estrada from TheWonderfulNoise.com
My comment on Avalanche Ranch - Calvary’s VBS:
Love the hat! I second the “profile pic” suggestion.
His new pic:
The Contest
Given all this profile pic changing going around I thought I’d ask:
Have you seen a picture of me that I should use as my new profile pic?
Drop a comment in the next 7 days and I’ll switch to a picture that someone suggests. If I select the picture you suggested (or photoshopped and emailed to me: billy1979 [at] gmail [dot] com) then you will win a post on Inept as Icing where I will make fun of your blog and link out to several of your pages.
On a serious note
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the only one with real power. Everything I accomplish is by Him, through Him and for Him.
Fishing for a comment from Anne Jackson 2007-08-14 10:33:34 Anne Jackson
(whose cool blog you should read) recently updated her profile pic to a new pic taken by Joshua Longbrake.
I loved the new pic (along with most of Joshua’s stuff) except for the fact that is had a bright blue background.
I left this comment on Anne’s site
…I’m not a fan of the bright blue, it seems out of place in the context of the muted earth tones on your site…
and mysteriously the blue background disappeared:
Mere coincidence or my supreme power over the blogging world?
Read more:Fishing
When the Water Park Closes 2007-08-14 00:58:30 Today we created our own homegrown waterpark.
Sarah and I agreed to leave the computer off all day and spend some family time together. We thought it’d be fun to go to a real water park but apparently they’re only open on the the weekend.
This is what we resorted to:
(It was a ridiculous amount of fun)
(more…)
God’s Purpose through Passion 2007-08-20 18:14:14 I had coffee with my old friend BJ Barnes today. We had some excellent conversation on everything from the state of worship in today’s church to how God is working in our lives personally. Two elements really struck me as exciting:
God wants you to focus on your passion. When I asked BJ, “What is God teaching you right now?” he spoke about passion. He used a great analogy of Jacob’s name changing to Israel. At first, Jacob didn’t live in his new name, but it was a process to become who God wanted him to be. We agreed that we both want to “live in the new name God has given us.” This involves letting go of inhibitions to worship God fully and passionately. It also involves cutting the non-essentials out of our lives to focus on the “sweet-spot” where God has gifted us, given us passion, and created a need for us to fill.
Focusing on passion will take you outside of church. Lately I’ve been on talking a lot about what it looks Read more:Purpose
, Passion
A Sincere Thanks 2007-08-18 13:53:23 Thank you to everyone who has commented and emailed me recently. Thank you for your prayers. They are powerful and my family needs them.
My mom sent me this email today after reading about how God is working in my life:
Be possative about your singing and God will bless you “Power of posative thinking.”My friends son had a terrible fear of singing due to epilepsy one am he almost fell off the choir balcony everyone prayed he takes meds and has never had another attack again.He travelled to England France & Rushia.My friend died this year Bob moved into his own appartment and sings lead tenor in several group0s although He can not drive Boy can he sing. If God wants you to sing He will bless you with the gift, BE POSITIVE Love Mom
She also sent another email where she wrote
YOUR VOICE DOES NOT SUCK!
Then she reminded me of several recent opportunities I’ve encountered because of my talent as a worship leader.
I also had a lengthy Father-Son talk today with my Dad Read more:Sincere
, Thanks
Worth Your While 2007-08-18 11:01:44 Places I have been this week that you will appreciate as well:
Tony Morgan makes a list of his top 25 blogs. Tony’s blogging has been an influence on me so it was exciting to see that we both liked a lot of the same blogs.
Mark Batterson drops a list of his Top 10 Sayings. Not only are these some good wisdom in sound byte form, but the list is a response to requests. Mark is responding to people and that’s good blogging.
As a worship leader the tool that impacts the quality of my music more than any other is my metronome. If you aren’t practicing with one you are cheating yourself, your band, your church and God. This is especially true when you could be using this awesome free metronome online.
Shannon Lewis tells a great story about leading worship according to our calling. This is an excellent example of leading beyond the Sunday morning band.
Dean Peters at Heal Your Church Website posted this hilarious pic highlighting how Christian kitsch art leads to poor webs Read more:Worth
Quit My Job to Pursue God’s Will 2007-08-17 00:40:34 This week was my last week as a waiter. That’s right I quit my job. No, I don’t have another one. Yes, my family is now living on an emergency fund of saved money that will run out if I don’t find another job. Yes, it’s risky, but this was a lion I needed to chase.
The rundown:
For the last two months Biaggi’s has not paid the bills. For two months I have been working full time, wearing myself out, and at the end of the month we are still dipping into the emergency fund to pay the bills. Living on less was not the answer. Sarah and I continually engage in “How can we live on less?” conversations. We are constantly living a more humble lifestyle, not becuase of economics, but because it glorifies Christ. We still have bills. We are a family of four. There’s only so much you can cut out.
How did I pay the bills before?
I cheated on my time card. When I first started working as a waiter I would wait to punch in until I got a table then punch
Magic Techinque to Increase Your Vocal Range 2007-08-23 19:04:47 I had lunch today with my friend Sam Lynn. Sam has a baby due in the next 2 weeks and his schedule is insane. It was a sacrifice for him to fit me in and I greatly appreciated it.
Sam and I talked about all the things you’d expect: what his life looks like with a kid on the way and what my life looks like in the job hunt mode. I talked to Sam specifically about the challenges I’ve experienced with my voice and after listening to where I’m struggling he said,
You want to increase your vocal range.
Yes! I know every tip and trick about breath support and opening your throat (I’ve been doing tons of research lately), but what’s the secret magic technique to give myself a better vocal range? Sam offered me the following:
Excellent Advice for Improving VocalRange
:
If you wanted to slam dunk a basketball you’d need to work to condition your muscles and increase your skill level over time. Your voice also works by using muscles and the only way to make it Read more:Magic
Contest Winner: Mandy Thompson 2007-08-22 21:03:16 Last week I ran a contest to help me select a new profile pic. All the cool kids were changing their pics and I wanted to fit in.
Here are some of the suggested profile photos that didn’t make the cut:
MandyThompson
trudged through my flikr archives to select the new pic you see (photoshopped by me to fit with my theme) and I’m proud to pimp her blogs as a reward.
Although Mandy is a relatively new blogger she has a avid following on two different blogs :
Blending Worship - A niche worship blog with an emphasis on discussing the tension between traditional, contemporary, and blended worship. I’d personally like to hear Mandy’s take on emergent worship and what it means to be doing traditional, contemporary or blended worship in a postmodern context. (hint hint, post idea) She is straight forward and unapologetic about her views and I believe that has contributed to the popularity of her blogs.
Just a Girl - Mandy’s personal blog. Great stuff here as w Read more:Contest
, Contest Winner
My Daughter’s iHumor 2007-08-22 10:18:04 Eve-Marie told me this joke:
What do you get when a dragon breathes on a Mac?
(more…)
Read more:Daughter
McLean Texas Ranger 2007-08-21 22:32:44 Ok, I know I’ve been picking on Alex a lot lately, but I seriously couldn’t pass this up. With the addition of his new beard he totally reminded me of a certain martial artist:
Don’t you see a certain resemblance?
Read more:Texas
, Ranger
CFC in the News 2007-08-21 01:27:17 The Evansville Courier Press did a story on Christian Fellowship Church. They talked about how CFC is a missions minded church and quoted my pastor, in reference to big numbers and big buildings, as saying,
God doesn’t care a rip about all our big stuff
That kinda stuff is why I love David, even if they did post a weird photo of him.
Photo by BENJAMIN REED of Courier & Press
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