Looking for high quality leadership for a concert, workshop, retreat or special event? Check out these personalities. You may already know some of them, while others may be new to you. All bring an honest, insightful and unique perspective on faith.
To arrange for an event with any of these personalities, click here.
When singer/songwriter Pat Terry takes the stage, he brings his history with him. Those who followed Pat’s music in the seventies and early eighties will recognize the songs that blazed a trail for the new and rapidly growing Christian Music genre.
Country music fans may be familiar with the songs he authored throughout the nineties for other artists like Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Sammy Kershaw, and Kenny Chesney. Indeed, the last 35 years have been quite a trip for a songwriter who credits
The Beatles 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan show as the initial catalyst for his desire to make music. Six years after that British invasion, a new found Christian faith added another layer to Terry’s creative direction and was reflected in the work that followed.
Starting in 1973, Terry wrote and recorded six albums with his own Pat Terry Group, one of the pioneer groups of the first wave of the then fledgling Contemporary Christian Music genre. Several of his songs from that era became CCM standards, including “Home Where I Belong”, which has been covered by a diverse list of artists from pop singer B.J. Thomas, to current gospel favorites, The Gaither Vocal Band. The eighties found Terry in a more rock oriented mood. With iconoclast artist/producer Mark Heard behind the boards, he recorded three ground breaking solo albums which redefined his sound and brought in a whole new generation of fans.
Listen to a Song from Pat’s Latest CD
Then in 1986, Terry took a hiatus from touring and turned all his attention to songwriting, which landed him squarely in the middle of Nashville’s music community. From the nineties to the present day, his songs, including three number one country hits, have been recorded by a variety of country superstars, including, Travis Tritt (“Help Me Hold On”), Tanya Tucker (“It’s A Little Too Late”), and Sammy Kershaw (“National Working Woman’s Holiday”). Other artists who’ve covered Terry’s songs include Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, John Anderson, Tracy Byrd, and Confederate Railroad.
Coming full circle, Terry has recently gone back to his singer/songwriter roots, releasing his own new CD entitled, “Laugh For A Million Years”. The album features 11 new songs, including his own version of “Someplace Green”, which was recently made popular by “The Oak Ridge Boys”.
Daniel Bailey is a person of sometimes faith and undeniable passion. He is a singer songwriter with a love for traditional folk music. Daniel was born an raised in the state of Kentucky with one year spent in Dallas Texas (some would call this the lost year). He now lives in the heart of music city Nashville Tennessee. While Daniel has several albums out, the best way to hear him is in a live setting. So if you like what you hear, then bring him to your town!
Kind Words
The first time I heard Daniel Bailey, he opened for the Lost Dogs. The last time I heard Daniel Bailey, he was singing for my church. In the between times I’ve seen him on stages, in coffeehouses, and even on my front porch. Daniel is one of the funniest, most talented, and most brutally honest Christ-followers I have ever known – which is why the stories and the songs he shares are so moving and memorable. Whether performing for large crowds, or leading a small group in an intimate worship service, Daniel Bailey and his guitar live the Gospel amidst the fear, sorrow, hope and joy we find in the real world.
Bert Montgomery, Pastor, University Baptist Church at Mississippi State University. Author: Elvis, Jesus, Willie & Me.
Previous Concert Locations
Buecehl Park Baptist Church, Louisville KY
Central Baptist Church, Lexington KY
University Baptist Church at Mississippi State University
Immanuel Baptist Church, Paducah KY
Broadway United Methodist Church Paducah KY
The Church of the Holy Trinity Georgetown KY
Faith Baptist Church, Georgetown KY
Calvary Baptist Church, Lexington KY
Western Kentucky University BSU
University of Kentucky BSU
Collin County Community College BSU
Joes Java Wilmington Ohio (Christian Venue)
Green Lake Conference Center | Worship Leader/Concerts
Iowa Regional Youth Event | Worship Leader
Rosemont Baptist Church, Lexington KY
Glorietta Baptist Conference Center, New Mexico
Central Christian Church, Lexington KY
Sober Grounds, Oklahoma City OK
Inter Faith Alliance Paducah Community College
Campbellsburg Baptist Church, Cambellsburg KY
United Church of Chapel Hill North Carolina
Illustration by syndicated cartoonist Greg Cravens
Bert Montgomery grew up outside of New Orleans, lived in Memphis, and dearly loves the state that connects the two. He teaches sociology and religion courses at Mississippi State University, writes a lot of stuff, and pastors the University Baptist Church in Starkville.
His writings have appeared in newspapers from Baton Rouge, LA, to Henderson, KY; in The Wittenburg Door and in Baptists Today; and from the now defunct CalebsCafe.com to the still-going-strong EthicsDaily.com. He has preached in Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Disciples of Christ Churches in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Bert’s humor, insights, and unique blend of the Gospel and pop culture have been featured at events such as the W.C. Handy Blues and BBQ Festival in Henderson, Kentucky, to the Pardon Johnny Cash Flower-Pickin’ Festival in Starkville.
Bert has served churches as a pastor, a youth minister, an ordained deacon, and as an active layperson. His second book, Psychic Pancakes & Communion Pizza, is due to be released in May 2011 from Smyth & Helwys Publishing. For what it’s worth, Bert has studied at Mississippi State University, Union University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Mississippi College, Memphis Theological Seminary, and the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky; he actually hung around long enough to get degrees from three of these institutions.
Event Leadership
“God’s Got His Mojo Workin’!”A bluesy gospel for ALL God’s chillun’, this message is for diverse groups and includes musical accompaniment.
A sermon inquiring into where we might find Jesus.
A Communion meditation asking, “are we too proud to beg?”
A PG-13 rated sermon (due to explicit biblical violence and sexuality), this fun and troubling sermon challenges us to acknowledge very unpleasant stories in our Scriptures, and to interpret all Scriptures through the person of Jesus who is the ultimate revelation of God to the world.
A musical rambling-folk-style sermon (a la “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”) inspired by an encounter after an Arlo Guthrie concert. Singer/Songwriter Daniel Bailey joins in on this one.
Inviting everyone to join Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John, and Jesus on the mountain where God renews and refreshes our perspectives. Includes Daniel Bailey (if possible), or a meditative power-point video utilizing a Daniel Bailey song.
Bert’s contribution to the “catchy-Christian-book-feel-good-and-be-blessed” movement (inspired by Brother Lawrence).
A Christmas sermon calling the Church to social action. Inspired by James Brown.
A Christmas sermon emphasizing God-becoming-flesh.
Available for Sunday morning sermons; special events or services; weekend retreats; group conferences; etc.
I knew Bert could not only write but could grab hold of you and take you with him on an exciting journey because he did that in class papers he wrote for me at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky. Into this little book he has packed a ton of wit and wisdom about church as he has experienced it. You must buy a copy. Bert will make you laugh from beginning to end, but when you finish, you’ll say, “Yeah. That’s the way it is.”
~ E. Glenn Hinson
Professor of Church History and Spirituality
Baptist Seminary of Kentucky
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (retired)
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (retired)
If you’re looking for someone who can apply Biblical truths to popular culture and is also funny, Bert Montgomery’s your man. I have heard him speak and I have read his writings. Bert Montgomery makes me think and also makes me laugh.
~ JOHN LEPPER
Coordinator
The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship
Bert Montgomery is an out-of-the box, no cookie-cutter, full-throttle Jesus kinda guy who gets what it means to be on mission with God in the world. I’m glad to call him a friend and colleague and my teacher in remembering that life isn’t just about rules and regulations. It is about taking yourself out to the edge and leaping toward whatever God has in store.
~ ROB NASH
Coordinator of Global Missions
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Bert is a creative thinker who brings Christianity to the sinners, and we’re all sinners. He’s not intimidated by discussing Christ with people who gave up church for bars. He speaks the language of faith in a way that makes sense to nearly everyone. When Bert preached the Christianity of Johnny Cash at the Flower Pickin’ Festival, we could all relate.
~ ROBBIE WARD Founder and Executive Director
Pardon Johnny Cash Flower-Pickin’ Festival
“Growing up outside the church in Washington, D.C., I had the typical stereotype of a Southern evangelical Christian—a stereotype that seems to have made quite a resurgence in the last twenty years. Having made my home in the South, it is people like Bert Montgomery who keep me from feeling like an outsider, and who remind me that evangelical doesn’t have to be a dirty word, but one that I can claim humbly for myself.”
~ OTEIL BURBRIDGE
bassist, The Allman Brothers Band
“Bert Montgomery is a modest sort of fellow despite all of his accomplishments. He’s a writer, a speaker, and a musician. The neat thing is, when he writes you can hear the music. And when he speaks, you can hear the care and thought that goes into every word he writes. Oh yeah — and he can be very, very funny, too. This is a good combination and I heartily commend the writing and speaking and music of Bert Montgomery to you.”
~ ROBERT DARDEN
former Senior Editor of The Wittenburg Door
Associate Professor of Journalism, Baylor University
Author, People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music
and Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor
Jeanie Miley is a writer and columnist, a retreat leader and speaker on topics of spiritual growth and wholeness. She is the author of nine books, with her latest titled: Joint Venture: Practical Spirituality for Everyday Pilgrims.
With a belief that the goal of any spiritual growth process being to heal, transform, liberate and empower individuals, Jeanie’s personal mission statement says that whether she is writing or teaching, her intention is “to connect people to God, to their own souls and to each other through writing and teaching.”
Retreat Leadership
Jeanie leads retreats that inform and educate about practical, relational spirituality.
Besides the topics listed below, Jeanie leads contemplative retreats, using a variety of material. She also leads workshops and retreats based on her book, JOINING FORCES: BALANCING MASCULINE AND FEMININE.
She leads a workshop or retreat on the process of transformation through suffering in the book of Job, based on her book, SITTING STRONG: WRESTLING WITH THE ORNERY GOD, as well as numerous offerings, using the life of Jesus and the book of Psalms. She has led numerous workshops and retreats on the processes of recovery from codependency, the discovery of gifts and calling, the healing of loss, emotions and memories.
Jeanie’s basic retreat or workshop offering is “Joint Venture: Practical Spirituality for Everday Pilgrims”, in which she provides a lifeline of spiritual formation, discusses the True Self and the False Self, what it means to be made in the image of God, the joint venture between God and the individual that facilitates the growth of the True Self, the barriers to the True Self and ways of overcoming the barriers. This material is presented in her new book, Joint Venture: Practical Spirituality for Everyday Pilgrims, which was recently released by Smyth and Helwys Publishing.
Jeanie is a trained facilitator for Centering Prayer workshops, and has been trained to lead various other workshops.
Making Space for Grace
Teach Me to Dance
Let Your Light Shine
Mary Magdalene: Woman of Faith
Sitting Strong: Wrestling with the Ornery God
Joint Venture: The Growth and Development of Faith, of Practical Spirituality for Everday Pilgrims
Joining Forces: Balancing Masculine and Feminine
Keeping Hope Alive
Love: Giving it/Receiving It
Encounters with Jesus
Becoming Fire
Christheart
Creative Silence
Praying the Psalms
Beside Still Waters (Parts 1 and 2)
Leading Relational Bible Studies
Gift Discovery (based on the workshop, Volunteer Career Development: Self-Assessment and Self-Management)Spiritual Formation and Growth
Contemplative Prayer
Using the Scriptures in Prayer
Centering Prayer
Choosing Life, Making Peace, Giving Love
Forgiveness as a Way of Life
The Power and Practice ofGratitude
The Whisper of his Grace (from Job)
Made in the Image of God
Love — The Real Thing
More About Jeanie Miley
Since her college years, Jeanie has been fascinated by the integration of psychology and spirituality, forming a deep belief that religious practice or dogma means nothing unless it makes a difference in the everyday life of the individual and in personal relationships. One of the most frequently-heard comments about Jeanie’s teaching and writing is that it is “practical, meeting everyday-needs of persons of all ages.” (Check out Jeanie’s blog).
Jeanie has read and studied broadly in the areas of spiritual growth, and her teaching rests, as she says on a “four-legged stool” — Bible study, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, contemplative prayer and Jungian psychology.
As a minister’s daughter, her earliest training was in the teachings of the Bible, and in 1971, she was introduced to the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, identifying immediately that the principles of the recovery program were consistent with the teachings of the Bible.
In 1979, she began a quest in the area of contemplative prayer and meditation, and has studied under Thomas Keating at the Benedictine Monastery, in Snowmass, Colorado, and Keith Hosey, the former director of the John XXIII Retreat Center in Hartford City, Indiana. She is a trained facilitator for Centering Prayer workshops. Jeanie has been a student of the teachings of Carl Jung, through her own analytic process of many years. She has studied under Dr. James Hollis, Pittman McGehee and other instructors at the C. G. Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas, since 1998. Through the analytic process and her study, she has come to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ teachings about “the kingdom of God within.”
Graduating from Baylor University in 1967, Jeanie has continued to receive training in the areas of Marriage Enrichment, Couples Communication, The Thomas Concept Relationship Seminars and parenting seminars. Jeanie is a graduate of the Spiritual Direction Institute at the Cenacle Retreat House, in Houston, Texas, and has a full practice of directees.
Jeanie teaches a popular women’s Bible study at River Oaks Baptist Church, in Houston, Texas, and at other sites in the Houston area. She is a frequent retreat leader for groups across the country. In 2001, she taught the concepts in her popular book, The Spiritual Art of Creative Silence, for 450 women in a school for women leadership in Seoul, S. Korea. Her book, The Spiritual Art of Creative Silence, has been translated into Korean by Tyrannus Publishing Company. The English version of that book is in its twentieth year in print and continues to be a practical guide in contemplative prayer.
A sustaining member of the Junior League of Houston, Jeanie has served on numerous boards and committees, including the editorial board of Interfaith Ministries in Houston, the Spiritual Formation Task Force and the Coordinating Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Jeanie Miley has been married to Martus Miley since December, 1967, and they are the parents of three adult daughters and grandparents of seven.
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