Philip Tyson Video Blog

This is my video blog for March 9th, 2009. We have just returned from one of our concerts and I have a few things to say.

A short Story about how Samaritan Revival started

About a year ago, I was in Honduras where I work for the Good Samaritan Baptist Mission as a missionary and I decided that I wanted to put together a little group to sing for the students in one of our Christian Schools. We have about 4,000 kids in six different schools in Honduras and Nicaragua but in this one town, we have about 1200.

I figured that we could have a Tuesday Night devotional and we would try to get some of the parents to come and hopefully, they would ask Jesus to enter their hearts and they would saved. My daughter was blessed with a beautiful angelic voice so I figured that with two of three more singers, we would put together a singing group to lead the tuesday night services.

I really didn't now what type of music we should sing. The normal spanish christian music just did not feel right because most of it is just repeating the same couple of words 17 thousands times. I wanted our songs to send a messages. My mother came up to me one day and said "You need to sing Midnight Cry". We decided to translate it into spanish to see if we could touch peoples hearts with this type of music. When I say "this type of music", I mean a type of music that these people had never heard before.

Tuesday night came around and my daughter plus three young men stood up to sing. It just happened that we had a mission group from the U.S visiting us that night and when the song was over, you could of heard a pin drop. There was no clapping or shouting, just a calm, silent feeling all over the auditorium.

I went up to the pulpit and spoke for about 10 minutes and gave an invitation. Over 30 people came forward a received Christ as their savior. Some of the americans that was there started crying and they said that they had never felt such a spirit even though everything was in spanish. As the group sung Midnight Cry in spanish, they could hear the english words in their mind.

To make a long story short, we were invited to sing in a church in the Alabama. We did not even have a name for our group. Some would call us the Good Samaritan group, the samaritan singers, Honduras singing group, the samaritan and many more. We really did not care what they called us, we were just happy to be able to sing and minister to a church in the U.S.

This was in March of 2008. Today, we have recorded two albums in Nashville and we have a distribution deal with New Day Christian Distribution. We have traveled to over 60 cities in the U.S and in March we start a 50 city tour. Here is the incredible part of all this, we sing in only english speaking churches. We have sung in a couple of spanish churches but 99 percent of the churches we sing in do not know a word of spanish. We sing in spanish and we put the english words on a screen. Many times, people will come to the altar while we are singing.

Here is what I want all you to understand by this story. God has a purpose and a plan for all of our lives. I have no idea where this is taking us but we have decided to go through every door that God opens. Who would of ever thought that so many english speaking churches would open their doors to a spanish southern gospel group.

Every step that we have taken, we have learned many lessons and we have tried not to sing songs for ourselves but songs that we know will minister to the congregation. Sometimes, we will sing only SGM if that is what the church wants and loves. Other times, we will mix a little bit of Casting Crowns or a song like I can only Imagine if we feel like this is what touches the people more.

We have learned that we are always guest in a church and our main purpose should be to minister to the hurting ones that our listening to us sing.

Keep us in your prayers. Our only desire is to minister and as long as God opens up the doors, we Samaritan Revival will never give up the opportunity to spread the Word of God as long as he gives us strength.

Samaritan Revival

Working Harder in Harder Times

As many of you know, times are getting hard for many people. I know that the economy is bad and many have lost their jobs. I just wonder some times though how much of it is REAL. In other words, is it as bad as the media says it is. If you have heard the news for the last six months, our economy was supposed to totally bust before the year ended but it did not. I am not saying that things are not going to get worst, I just believe that in these times, we better work even harder than ever and we are all going to have to learn how to save money.

As a Christian Music Group, the economy scare effects us in a large way. I was talking to a high executive with a Christian Record Label and he was telling me how hard it was for many smaller singing groups and how they were struggling. Many groups charge a fee to come sing in a church or some type of Christian venue. Churches today are not able to pay for a group to come sing. If you are in a group, the invitations to sing will be very unlikely, especially if you charge a certain amount.

In one way, this is a good thing. I guess this will make us think really what our purpose for having a music ministry is. We do not have that problem because we have never charged to come minister at a church. We are a love offering basis group. This means that we will come and you can give us a love offering if you can and there is no set amount. This can be dangerous if you have to travel 1,000 miles and then you may get $200 dollars which may not cover the gasoline but if your purpose is to minister then you have to place your needs in the hands of the Lord.

The truth is, we have to work harder. We have to make the phone calls, send out the letters and emails, and search the internet for opportunities. So far, God has blessed us with over 40 concerts starting in March and many on a waiting list. Why? I have no idea. I really don't. I just make the call and pray that we will be invited or our request will have a positive answer.

What we need to think about in these hard times is "Conctacts". When a christian group visits a church, they make friends and contacts that can last for years to come. We have learned that people who we met during our concerts ended up joining our mailing list and later on they helped us financially.

Think about something. Is your ministry about the money? Ours is not and never will be. Maybe this is why so many churches are asking us to come. We want to minister to people and we want to be a tool of the Holy Spirit to deal with the lives of people.

Sometimes I wonder how many groups are being effected. I know that the small groups are but what about the large groups like Mercyme and Casting Crowns. What about the Gaither Vocal Band and Michael W. Smith. I truly pray that they are not being effected because their ministry is touching so many lives.

I can tell you this. Samaritan Revival will not ever charge for a concert. We will accept love offerings and we pray that people will donate to our ministry but we will never never charge a fee to minister. I am not saying that no group should charge. Many of the large groups carry enormous expenses when they put on a concert but we keep things as simple as possible so we will not have that problem.

What I can tell you if you have a Gospel Group is, Work Harder than ever. Do not let the economy keep you from following your dream. Do not let the economy keep you from fulfilling your calling. Just keep your eyes on Jesus and He will provide for you.

Here is a list of our concert dates so far.

Sun Mar 01 09 10:00 AM | Suwanee, GA US
Venue: Peachtree Road Baptist Church
Address: 142 Old Peachtree Rd, Suwanee, GA, 30024, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 01 09 05:30 PM | Douglasville, GA US
Venue: Central Baptist Church
Address: 5811 Central Church Rd, Douglasville, GA, 30135, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Mar 04 09 06:30 PM | Douglasville, GA US
Venue: New Hope Spanish Church
Address: 5811 Central Church Rd, Douglasville, GA, 30135, US
Details: None provided.

Fri Mar 06 09 07:00 PM | Roopville, GA US
Venue: Roopville Road Baptist Church
Address: 835 North Highway 27, Roopville, GA, 30170, US
Details: None provided.

Sat Mar 07 09 07:00 PM | Bryson City, NC US
Venue: Victory Baptist Church
Address: 2175 New Fontana Rd, Bryson City, NC, 28713, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 08 09 09:30 AM | Roopville, GA US
Venue: Roopville Road Baptist Church
Address: 835 North Highway 27, Roopville, GA, 30170, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 08 09 07:00 PM | Marietta, GA US
Venue: Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
Address: 287 Mt Calvary Rd NW, Marietta, GA, 30064, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Mar 11 09 07:00 PM | Silver City, NC US
Venue: Community Baptist Church
Address: 2575 Hamp Stone Rd, Silver City, NC, 27344, US
Details: None provided.

Sat Mar 14 09 07:00 PM | Chattanooga, TN US
Venue: Lupton Drive Baptist Church
Address: 859 Lupton Dr, Chattanooga, TN, 37415, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 15 09 09:30 AM | Greenville, SC US
Venue: Tanglewood Baptist Church
Address: 2801 Old Easley Bridge Rd, Greenville, SC, 29611, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 15 09 05:30 PM | McDonough, GA US
Venue: Glenhaven Baptist Church
Address: 345 E Lake Rd, McDonough, GA, 30252, US
Details: None provided.

Mon Mar 16 09 07:00 PM | Carrollton, GA US
Venue: North Point Baptist Church
Address: 1400 Cedar Street, Carrollton, GA, 30117, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Mar 18 09 07:00 PM | Newnan, GA US
Venue: Bible Baptist Church
Address: 1608 North Hwy 29, Newnan, GA, 30263, US
Details: None provided.

Sat Mar 21 09 05:00 PM | Douglasville, GA US
Venue: Ebenezer Baptist Church
Address: 7305 Hwy 166, Douglasville, GA, 30135, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 22 09 09:30 AM | Hephzibah, GA US
Venue: Friendship Methodist Church
Address: 3027 Tobacco Rd, Hephzibah, GA, 30815, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 22 09 06:00 PM | Modoc, SC US
Venue: Red Oak Grove Baptist Church
Address: 174 Red Oak Grove Rd, Modoc, SC, 29838, US
Details: None provided.

Tue Mar 24 09 07:00 PM | Roopville, GA US
Venue: Holy Ground Baptist Church
Address: 1355 North Hwy 27, Roopville, GA, 30170, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Mar 25 09 07:00 PM | Roopville, GA US
Venue: Holy Ground Baptist Church
Address: 1355 North Hwy 27, Roopville, GA, 30170, US
Details: None provided.

Fri Mar 27 09 07:00 PM | Douglasville, GA US
Venue: Clearview Baptist Church
Address: 4456 Dodson Dr, Douglasville, GA, 30134, US
Details: Samaritan Revival Ages: All ages


Sat Mar 28 09 06:00 PM | Douglasville, GA US
Venue: Clearview Baptist Church
Address: 4456 Dodson Dr, Douglasville, GA, 30134, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 29 09 09:30 AM | Decatur, AL US
Venue: Decatur Baptist Church
Address: 2527 Danville Rd SW, Decatur, AL, 35603, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Mar 29 09 05:30 PM | Villa Rica, GA US
Venue: Fullerville Baptist Church
Address: 423 Old Town Rd, Villa Rica, GA, 30180, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 05 09 10:00 AM | LaFayette, GA US
Venue: Naomi Baptist Church
Address: 4171 E. Hwy 136, LaFayette, GA, 30728, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 05 09 05:30 PM | Chattanooga, TN US
Venue: Edgewood Baptist Church
Address: 4230 Benton Dr, Chattanooga, TN, 37406, US
Details: None provided.

Tue Apr 07 09 06:30 PM | Johnson City, TN US
Venue: Boone Trail Baptist Church
Address: 1985 Carroll Creek Rd, Johnson City, TN, 37615, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Apr 08 09 06:30 PM | Johnson City, TN US
Venue: Boone Trail Baptist Church
Address: 1985 Carroll Creek Rd, Johnson City, TN, 37615, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 12 09 09:45 AM | Canton, NC US
Venue: Center Pigeon Baptist Church
Address: 224 Center Pigeon Rd, Canton, NC, 28716, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 12 09 06:00 PM | Greenville, SC US
Venue: Trinity Way Baptist Church
Address: 4113 Old Buncombe Rd, Greenville, SC, 29617, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Apr 15 09 07:00 PM | Buford, GA US
Venue: Temple Baptist Church
Address: 3680 S Bogan Rd, Buford, GA, 30519, US
Details: None provided.

Sat Apr 18 09 07:00 PM | Villa Rica, GA US
Venue: Shiloh Baptist Church
Address: 9060 Ephesus Church Rd, Villa Rica, GA, 30180, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 19 09 11:00 AM | Decatur, GA US
Venue: First Baptist Spanish Church of Atlanta
Address: 3532 Covington Hwy, Decatur, GA, 30032, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Apr 19 09 06:00 PM | Bessemer, AL US
Venue: Grant Street Baptist Church
Address: 724 Grant St, Bessemer, AL, 35020, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Jul 05 09 09:45 AM | Summerville, SC US
Venue: Palmetto Land Baptist Church
Address: 114 Tomaka Dr, Summerville, SC, 29483, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Jul 12 09 10:00 AM | Franklin, NC US
Venue: Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
Address: 142 Pleasant Hill Rd, Franklin, NC, 28734, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Jul 12 09 06:00 PM | Franklin, NC US
Venue: Grace Baptist Church
Address: 143 Setser Branch Rd, Franklin, NC, 28734, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Jul 19 09 11:00 AM | Newnan, GA US
Venue: New Heights Baptist Church
Address: 154 GA Highway 34, Newnan, GA, 30217, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Jul 19 09 06:00 PM | Lithia Springs, GA US
Venue: Colonial Hills Baptist Church
Address: 7131 Mt Vernon Rd, Lithia Springs, GA, 30122, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Aug 02 09 06:00 PM | Gardendale, AL US
Venue: Gardendale Baptist Tabernacle
Address: 2649 Decatur Hwy, Gardendale, AL, 35071, US
Details: None provided.

Sun Aug 09 09 08:30 AM | Franklin, NC US
Venue: First Alliance Church
Address: 31 Promise Lane, Franklin, NC, 28734, US
Details: None provided.

Wed Aug 12 09 07:00 PM | Savannah, GA US
Venue: Hope Baptist Church
Address: 11100 White Bluff Rd, Savannah, GA, 31419, US
Details: None provided.

May God Bless You,
Philip Tyson
Samaritan Revival

And my Lifesong sings by Casting Crowns - Spanish Lyrics

In my last post, I listed the songs that we will be recording on our next album. We have picked wonderful songs to translated into spanish and the first one is "And my Lifesong Sing" by Casting Crowns.

English Lyrics - And Now my LIfesong Sings
I once was lost, but now I’m found
I once was lost, but now I’m found
So far away, but I’m home now
I once was lost, but now I’m found
And now my lifesong sings

I once was blind, but now I see
I once was blind, but now I see
I don’t know how, but when He touched me
I once was blind, but now I see

And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings

I once was dead, but now I live
I once was dead, but now I live
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You

Spanish Lyrics - Por Fin Quiero Vivir
Perdido Yo, Dios me Hallo
Perdido Yo, Dios me Hallo
Lejos Yo Fui, Mi Hogar Perdi
Perdido Yo, Dios me Hallo
Por fin quiero vivir

Ciego estaba, hoy miro yo
Ciego estaba, hoy miro yo
No se porque, pero me toco
Ciego estaba, hoy miro yo

Por fin quiero vivir
Por fin quiero vivir
Por fin quiero vivir

Estaba Muerto, Hoy Vivo yo
Estaba Muerto, Hoy Vivo yo
Entrego mi vida, a ti Senor
Entrego mi vida, a ti Senor
Entrego mi vida, a ti Senor

Aleluya, Aleluya
Por fin quiero vivir
(repite 4 veces)

Video of the Song - And my Lifesong Sings in English


This song is a wonderful testimony on a lost soul who has found God and wants to his life to be a witness to God. Samaritan Revival will be recording in February of 2009 at Daywind Records in Nashville, Tn.

Hatred and Christianity

The title of this article is Hated and Christianity. These two words do not fit no matter how you try to put them together but unfortunately it is something that is being practiced today. Let us see what the definitions of these two words are. The definition of hate is "dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards". The definition of a Christian is "Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus". This definition was taken from a dictionary, not from the Bible but nevertheless, it is true.

It seems that today Christianity has been divided into two groups. I know that there are exceptions and there are many wonderful christians that are not part of these two groups but unfortunately, the world uses the bad to stereotype all christians.

The first group is a form of extreme liberal christianity. Basically, to make it easy to understand, as a christian you can come as you like, act like you want, say what you want, live like you want and worship in your own way. Do not worry about salvation or hell, we will try to fix your finances and your low self esteem. We do not need to preach the whole bible because most of it is not relevant to us anyway. As long as you know that God loves you then that is enough.

The second group has a theme of hatred. The call themselves conservatives but they have no idea what being a conservative really is. They teach that God hates us all. They teach that God wants us all in hell and that Jesus has to plead with him to allow us to be saved. They teach that once you have fallen in sin, you are doomed. There is no redemption and that you should just wait it out until it is your turn to die. There is no hope, no peace, and no joy for anyone that does not follow strict guidelines that are placed by "holy men" on this earth. There are some even more extremist like Fred Phelps that says that God hates America, he says that he wishes that every american soldier in Iraq would be killed because they serve a nation that is hated by God. If you do not believe me then just look up his name in google. He even pastors a baptist church.

Why are we so divided? When has the Bible become to difficult to understand? There is one verse in the Bible that says it all. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave is only begotten son, so whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life. GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. I know I am always writing about Love but this is what Jesus showed and did when he was on this earth. How could our Holy Father give his only son to die on a cross if He did not love us? I should not even ask that question because the Bible already says that God did it because He loves us.

Do you know what a conservative is? One definition is "a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas". This is a good definition because we should not try to change what the Bible says. We should not put our own ideas in and try to make them some type of biblical referendum. Here is the bottom line and this is what the Bible says. God sent his son to die on the cross for us. We must accept Him into our heart and ask Him to forgive us of our sins. We then will become born again and the Bible says that old things have passed away and now they are new. We become like new born babies and we start growing in the Lord. Does this mean that we will never make a mistake? NO! We will make many mistakes but as long as our heart is right and we turn to God for forgiveness, he will forgive and restore. What happens it we do not receive Jesus as our savior? The Bible says that we will be judged for our sins and we will go to hell. This is not a new idea, a change in the way the Bible is read, it is the Word of God. Revelation 20:15 says, "If your name is not found in the book of life, you will be cast into the lake of fire". This does not mean that God hates us. He hates sin. God is so holy that sin cannot accept someone that has not been redeemed by the blood of His son but one we accept Christ as our savior, everything changes. Our life changes and we now belong to Him.

Does this mean that God does care about our finances or our self esteem or any other problems that we have? Of course He does. A father cares about his children and He wants his children to be happy and content. He wants all of us to be successful and full of joy. But first, we must lay down our life and give it to Him totally. Not half way to totally. Does this give us a right to judge others? The answer is NO. The Bible plainly says that we should not judge. God is the only one that has the authority to judge.

Hatred and Christianity do not go together. I am proud that I am a conservative but I am not an extremist. I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Me desire is to see people saved and I will work until i die for His kingdom but I also have to work each day to keep my own life clean and my eyes placed of the cross of Jesus.

Let's try to stop the hatred. Let us also open our eyes and see that God is holy and we must submit to His will.

Philip Tyson

You never know what tomorrow may bring

Have you ever felt stuck in the mud? No matter how hard you work or how much effort you put into reaching a goal, you just cannot get started. On the other hand, have you ever been cruising along without any speed bumps in the road and all of a sudden everything just seems to fall apart? You never know what tomorrow may bring.

If we could only look into the future, wouldn't that be great. To know what is coming so we can be prepared for it. Many people have a problem with not knowing what is coming next. They lay at night not able to sleep because they do not know what tomorrow will bring. When the phone rings, they are afraid to answer because it may be bad news. It would surprise you to know just how many people suffer from this each day.

Honestly, I hate no knowing. When someone calls me and they set up to meet me to discuss something several days in advance, I cannot stand the waiting time. I like to know NOW. I do not like surprises but we all have to deal with this because we cannot get our way every time. Life does not give us this luxury.

The solution to this is simple and it can be hard. It really depends on how much faith you have in God. When you put your life in God's hands, and you trust Him totally, you come to realize that no matter what the future has in store for you, God is in control. This does not mean that everything is going to come out like you want it to come out. I heard a preacher say just the other day that God will break you before He will use you. How will He break you? Only God knows but He will never abandon you no matter what you are going through. Tomorrow is a question because we may have an hourly schedule but we really never know what is coming but God does.

I remember when I applied back in 1990 for a Radio permit in Honduras. I wanted to build a Christian Radio Station. I walked into the government office and applied. I had no paperword, just a form that was given to me. When the government official received the application, he let me know right off that it would be almost impossible for this contract to go through. I cannot really explain it but I left that office with peace in my heart. It was not the kind of peace that assured me that the permit would be given, it was just a feeling or a mentality of not worrying about it. If it came through, GREAT, if it did not, OH WELL!

I didn't really think about it anymore until I received a phone call nine months later. I remember picking up the phone and a male voice said, "is this Philip Tyson?" I said yes. He said "Your radio permit has been approved." For a moment, I did not even know what he was talking about. I had put this in the hands of the Lord and for some reason that only God knows, He wanted me to wait nine months for this permit to come through. This is how the Samaritan Radio Network started. We are now the largest Christian Radio Network in Central America. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING.

I am no expert about prophecy or anything else but I can tell you this. Let God handle things. Do what you have to do and then wait on God. If it is His will, it will happen. If it is not, it wont. It is that simple. We have to put effort into what we believe God is calling us to do but let us not rush the Lord. He works on His timeline and when the time is right, tomorrow will be a wonderful day.

Philip Tyson

Friends no matter what

Many of you may not know this but my wife and I are dog lovers.  I don't mean that we just like pets, I mean we really love dogs.  We have seven.  Yes, you heard me, SEVEN.  We have one Rottweiller, five labradors and one Sharpei.  I have learned so much about these dogs and they have even taught me about life and how to deal with different type of people.  Don't take me wrong, I am not calling people dogs, but like dogs, people are different and they react to different situations differently.

Lets start with Max.  He is beautiful black Male Lab who is the BOSS.  He keeps to his own but every one of the dogs respect him.  During the day, he spends his time out in the yard walking around letting the others know that they better behave.  Here is where everything changes. When their is fireworks or thunder, Max goes into a panic attack.  He gets very nervous and even though he does not cry, he starts running around trying to find a place to hide.  The other dogs just look at him like "What is the world is wrong with him?"  He is the only one that is afraid of fireworks on thunder.  At night, he comes in the house and he will not sleep unless he is in bed with us.  If we don't turn the air conditioner on, he will just stare at it until we turn it on.  He lays his head down and in three seconds, he is snoring.

Gus is a yellow male Lab.  We thank that he may be a little mixed with hound but he is an incredible loving dog.  He loves Olga. my wife, more than anything in this world.  We have finally figured out that he does not think that he is a Dog.  He will not have anything to do with the other dogs and even though we let him out to play, he just goes out and uses the bathroom and then he is back in the house wherever Olga is at.  At night, he sleeps with us and he even has nightmares.  He will start shaking and crying while he is asleep.  He eats alone.  He will not eat when the other dogs are around.  He is a loner and as long as Olga is around he is happy.

Jolly is a female Rottweiller.  She is a beautiful dog and she is so loving that she when she wants to give you a kiss, she will actually rap her paws around your neck and pull your face toward her.  She cares nothing about being in the house.  She loves the outdoors and that is where she sleeps.  She plays with all the dogs and sometimes a little rough but they all love her especially the males.  

Yellow, Browny, and Smokey are beautiful young labs.  They are all about six months old and my favorite is yellow.  She loves me more than you can imagine.  Where ever I am, she is there with me.  I can be working on the computer and she will lay their by my side for hours until I get up.  If I go to bed, she jumps in the bed and lays beside me.  She is faithful and loving. Browny and Smokey are playful.  They have so much energy that they can run all day long and not get tired.

Now lets get to Juliette.  She is so ugly that she is beautiful.  I know that sounds strange but she is totally different than all the other dogs.  All the other dogs don't really like to play with her much but let me tell you that when she wants to play, they are going to play whether they like it or not.  She will go after them and follow them around until they pay attention to her.  Being a Sharpei means that you are a guardian.  You are small in size but you feel like you are eight foot tall inside.  You don't look down at yourself and you no matter what happens, you will be in the middle of it.  Sometimes Juliette will want a kiss but instead of a kiss, she will grab your lip and almost bite it off.  She does not mean harm but that is just her way of showing affection.  

All of our dogs have different personalities and they have to be treated differently.  Just because they are different does not mean that one is better than the other.  They all have their good points and their bad.  Because we love them, we over look their bad and we focus on their good.  We show them love and they show us love back.  We don't wait for them to show us love first.

How many people do you know in your life.  Just think about how many different people with different personalities you know in your work, your church, or even in your family.  Sometimes we seem to notice the bad in them and they seems to over shadow their good side.  In the past, I have known people that just rubbed with the wrong way but when I got to know them, they turned out to be wonderful people.  I know that their are people out there that is just unbearable to be around but the question is "Does that make them a bad person?"  

I thank God for many things in my life but their is one specific thing that I am truly appreciative for.  I just don't judge people anymore.  That does not mean that everyone is my friend but I just believe that if anyone is going to be judged, it is going to be God that does the judging.  We all know this because the Bible tells us but in real life, it is hard to not judge others.  If I were to beat one of my dogs because of his flaws, he may not show much love toward me but if I can learn to live with them even though they have flaws and correct them in the right way, the love they show they can show is incredible.  

I know that this may sound funny but my dogs make me feel special, probably because I make them feel special.  We as human beings can be the same way.  Try it out.  Pick five people and start doing special things for them.  Start showing then extra attention.  Call them on the phone and just listen to their problems without judging.  Make them see that you care about them and every once in a while, do something extra special for them.  

Do this and let me know the results.  You will be surprised the impact you will have in their life.  How will you know?  Because they will start doing the same for you.  Their is a scientific equation that says "Every action has a reaction" and this is true in our relationships with our loved ones and even with the ones that we have not learned to love yet.  

Just love one another and be happy.  Easier said than done, you say?  Not if try and with Jesus living in our hearts, we can do it!!!

Philip 

This world is turning upside down

Have you ever set back and just looked at everything that is going on around you.  I have and sometimes it is pretty scary.  The problem today is that as Christians we are not allowed to express are true feelings if those feelings may upset someone.  I guess that is why I love to write on this blog because no matter if you read this or not, at least I am expressing what I feel and if this hurts me then I guess I will just have to live with it.

This world is turning upside down.  Twenty years ago, it was really easy to know exactly how to act and what to do or not do in the ministry but today everything has changed.  Churches are so divided in so many ways and honestly, I do not know how Pastors are able to handle it.  Just take the future election that are coming up.  We have a Democratic candidate that is extremely popular but he is extremely liberal.  He believes in gay marriage and abortions.  Just those two issues should make any true christian stray away from him but that is not the case.  

Just this week we had a man come down on one of the mission trips to Honduras who was very very pro Obama.  Of course no one knew this and when my mother mentioned something to him about the elections, he made it very plain to everyone that he was a strong Obama supporter.  What should a person do in a situation like that?  Should we keep quite to keep from offending him or do we have the right to express our opinion?

Politics is not just a problem today.  As we visit churches in the states, we enter every venue not really knowing what to expect.  Years ago, every church was pretty much the same when it came to many aspects but today you never know what to expect.  Their is not much middle ground anymore.  You are either liberal or a legalist in  your beliefs.  I used to think that legalistic meant you followed the law of God but I have found out by experience that most legalistic minded people make up new rules as time passes.  Liberals on the other hand seem to have no rules.  Many have no respect for the house of God anymore and it is overwhelming to see a song leader leading worship in flip flops and in bermuda shorts.  

As a group, we truly try to overlook what we see and focus on our purpose of being there.  Unfortunately, we run into situations that effect us.  One example is that their is now a movement in churches in the U.S. that believe that singing with sound tracks is a sin.  Please dont ask me to quote a scripture for this because I would have to read the Bible from cover to cover and I dont think that their was soundtracks back in the days of Moses.  

At one of our concerts in North Carolina, I actually had a man come to me all excited because he had found the problem for rebellion in the youth today.  SPORTS!  Yes, I am not lying.  He said sports.  I was not planning on hearing to much more of this but he went ahead and explained why SPORTS was the demon that was destroying our youth today.  He said that SPORTS came from the country of Greece and since the Greeks worshiped other gods then anyone who participated in sports was actually bringing honor to other gods not the true God Jehovah.  Here we are in a church, invited to sing, what I am supposed to do.  I just looked at him and said REALLY, and walked away.  

I envy people who are able to find a good church to go to and that is the only church they assist. Unfortunately for missionaries, evangelist, singing groups like ours, we visit all kinds and it is not easy find one you fit in but when we do, it is such a wonderful experience.  

I am not liberal and I am not a legalistic.  I am in the middle and the Holy Spirit guides me in my daily decisions.  I have been thru it in my life because of some stupid decisions that I made when I was much younger but it has done something good for, it has shown me who really love me and does not.  If you want to know who your true friends really are, mess up once and see who sticks around.  Ninety percent of my friends vanished but I thank God for the friends that stuck around.  Guess what, these friends are not legalistic and they are not liberal.  I guess you would just call them christians.  They dont judge, they just love.  Sounds like Jesus to me!!!

Philip

Christian Music and the Internet

It has only been one year since we started Samaritan Revival and WOW have we learned alot.  First of all, we have learned that we are not the only Christian Group trying to be noticed on the internet.  There are literally thousands of Christian groups who are subscribing to about every music community like Myspace, Facebook, Hi5 and others just trying to reach a new fan base.

When we first started out, we were so excited that we really did not care about exposure, we just wanted to sing to people and we prayed that our music would touch hearts and souls.  Unfortunately, you can compare music to a favorite food.  You find out that you love fried mushrooms but after you eat the mushrooms for a while, you are ready for a new taste.  You may say that it is not this way if your purpose is to minister but it definitely is.  What if you went to church and you heard your Pastor preach the same message over and over again.  After a while, you would get tired of hearing the same thing.

I know of groups that upload their music to many sites like reverbnation and hundreds of others but after months or years, they never update their sites with new songs or as we see now, with photos, blogs, or even videos.  One good example of a group who really has it together is Mercyme.  They not only promote their music but they use sites like youtube and Godtube to show their personal side and their day to day activities.  With so many reality shows on TV, people today want to see more than just what they see at a concert.

The internet is so powerful because you can go into peoples homes and expose your life to them.  Let me just warn you though, people are not dumb and they know if you are just putting on a show or if you are being honest about what you are showing them.  When someone gets to know you as a person, then your music becomes part of them.  They relate to you in such a different way and they even worry about your progress in the Music Industry.

Today, many artist are staying away from Record companies.  I do not know if that is good or if it is bad but what I do know is that the tools are out there on the internet to help you promote your music.  Itunes has got to be one of the greatest portals that has ever opened up to the indie artist, but you cant just have your music on itunes an expect everyone to buy it.  You have to work and I mean work extremely hard to meet people, make fans, and sometimes even give your music away for awhile until you build up a following.

Samaritan Revival uses several tools to promote and sell their music.  One great site is www.blastmymusic.com/avivamiento - Here you can listen to 30 seconds of each song and then purchase it for .99 cents.  We also created a youtube page called www.youtube.com/samaritanrevival which is really great because you can upload any video you want.  You can just video yourself talking to your fans or your newest music video.  Don't expect millions of visitors overnight.  We have been on youtube for about 6 months and our videos have been watched about 10,000 times.  Compared to others, that is not alot but it is alot more than we had six months ago when no one could watch our videos. 

If you are a Christian Artist, it is really important to let people know what your purpose is.  Is it just to sing and gain popularity or is it a ministry for you.  These are very important points that you need to bring out to your fans.  

Our biggest promotion tool has been our site at www.myspace.com/bandaavivamientosamaritano - our songs have been played almost two million times and we have met many wonderful people including Christian artist who have given us advice spiritually and advice on many areas that has to do with the industry.  I know that there are pages on myspace that are not suitable for a Christian but here is a simple solution.  Don't visit these pages.  If you walk into a book store, there is always a magazine stand with great magazines but their are always adult magazines.  Just like myspace and some other sites, you just stay away from them.

I do not know if we will ever get signed by a record company but what I do know is that when we do, we will already have a large fan base.  Just remember this, even though we love to sell Cd's, that is not our purpose and God is not blind to the desires of our heart.  He will bless you as long as you work hard and your purpose is placed on him.

Philip Tyson

www.samaritanrevival.com