First Finished Job

So I printed my first job, and in the graphics world, its never quite finished until it's printed. Paul told me Thursday at lunch he needed this poster and logo by Friday afternoon. . .(gulp) sure! Needless to say, I had something to keep me pretty busy. Thew and I went into work early on Friday to get some work done and after a few versions and approvals and passes we finally got the finished product at 6:00p.m. But we needed to get them printed out by Saturday. But at 6 we had a dinner, then one of Keynotes acts is David Pendleton (hilarious ventriloquist) and he came in and gave us a show which was also open to the public for free as a form of outreach. He was awesome. Then we had an open night mic, which I'll explain later. Afterwards we headed back to the office to print it out. I asked Vicki how many she wanted she said, "um, we'll start with 50 11x17s" and I was like DANG! So we ended up printing 1000 quarter sheet fliers, 30 11x17-inch posters, and 30 8.5x11-inch fliers that night. Except, the printer was messing up, so the printer would only take orders of 10 sheets at a time, and we needed 250 pages just for the quarter inch fliers. . . . long story short, we left about 3am Saturday morning. It was good real life experience and thanks to Fernando for making us true art majors who work late until the wee hours of the mornings finishing a job. Today, Monday, we printed out 400 more quarter sheet fliers and some more 8.5x11 and 11x17s. So I can kind of start to understand why they were so careful about every detail. But the poster was for an outreach that is this Saturday, June 5th. Three of Keynote's full time band's are playing and they'll be kids games,  free concerts, and food vendors as a type of outreach. So if you want to be praying for that it would be cool. But for now I'm going to head to bed and get some sleep.

God Provides.

God never ceases to amaze me. Even in the little things, or maybe its especially in the little things. So tonight, we have our evening off sort of type of thing. So I had it planned out, when we got back from the office and studio I was going to run into walmart to get some stuff and grab a bite to eat. Really, all I could think of I needed from walmart was deodorant (the stick broke this morning, so i really needed it) and I wanted to get some food for lunch tomorrow, because I was a little tired of eating PB & J and knew if I continued, it wouldn't be good down the road. Hence, why I was going to get something to eat out tonight. I was digging some McD's or Wendys (something with a dollar menu, but preferably Wendys). So I figured I'd call up Thew and see if he wanted to go to, cause he sounded interested in getting some food, and I thought if he doesn't go then I'll call JR and talk to him on the way, because I was wanting to talk with him and show him some really cool stuff God showed me this morning.  So I walk outside, get in the car, and call Thew. Thew responds with "oh, actually I'm just eating some food now." So I said thats fine and I start the car. . . . Yes, the bug. The one and only. It starts, but is making this weird rattling noise. After diagnosing it along with 6 other guys standing around the back of the bug (where the engine is) with our hands on our knees hunkered down to see the engine, we decided it was the fan smacking on something like it had came loose and was spinning cock-eyed. 

Fantastic, I can't even get the car to run. So I walk back inside and the thought hits me. SMACK! Hey, you saw a Wendys across the street from where we turn out, (maybe quarter of a mile away). Alrighty, well, we'll start with dinner. And I'll walk, I could use some exercise, it's a nice day. So I walk across and go into Wendy's and am feeling pretty hungry and have some 1 dollar bills. I figure anything I dont eat I could always save for later. So I ended up getting some 99 cent chicken nuggets, a chicken sandwhich, and 3 jr bacon cheeseburgers. I ended up giving the guy one extra dollar because two were stuck together. I walk outside and decide to eat on the grassy hill-side facing the highway. As I'm sitting there a thought pops into my head, one of those "Abram get out a piece of paper and write this down cause theres alot more following it" thoughts that God talks to me through. So as I'm sitting there God starts revealing part of his strategy for my life and whats been going on in my life that I don't understand and just have been trotting along trying to figure it out. So after that, I walk back across one street to get to the other side (haha) because I'm trying to go diagonally. But I walk accross one street without any problems in traffic and I see as I get to the other one they're going to be going so I'll have to wait. So I'm like ah, ok. I look up to see the Wallgreens sign. Ha. Perfect. I need deodorant. I start thinking dang God you really do provide. I get in there and down the first isle, deodorant. But what's this? The type of deodorant doesn't come there, no wait. It does. But this time it comes with a bonus pack of this new kind they're trying out. . . for the same price, 3.99. So I dig in my pocket on my way up and pull out 2 dollar bills and some change. Then I look in my wallet and find a dollar. . . flip through, and that extra dollar from Wendy's. So I had just the right amount of cash. (otherwise I would have just used debit, but it makes you feel good when you can use cash). So I walk outside and just as I get to the road it had turned red long enough that I could walk across 6 or 7 lanes of traffic without hesitating. I smile and just thanked God, then remembered what was in my hand. My two extra sandwhiches. . . lunch for tomorrow. I started out for food, deo, and lunch tomorrow. God provided food, deo + bonus pack, and lunch tomorrow. God's a cool guy. And as I finished this up, I just got invited to go play some sand beach volleyball outside at 8. and it's 3 til. God is good.

Legalism?

So last night Brian, one of my roommates, read a quote about legalism. Something I thought I once was in deep with but had overcome. Then this morning, I was reading my Bible, and the thought popped into my head, "You need to define and figure out legalism." But it wasn't involved with where I was reading just random, so i dismissed it and kept reading. Then today during the illustrations class, we had to define abstract terms or churchy terms using illustrations and guess what. . . my group got legalism. No one could really think of it, Ed defined it and all of a sudden I had it. I thought it was ironic 3 times in a day and a half. Then during our "Discipline of Silience" time (aka alone time with God), I started writing down some analogies from this class and the one I wrote most about . . . legalism. I just got off the phone with a friend where the idea came up and I tried to explain it, but it was like I was wearing glasses and didn't need to. The ideas and thoughts are right in front of me, but I just can't see it. I need to write it down and out and do some research on it. (One thing I've found I need to do is journal or write, thats how I put thoughts together and how God speaks to me, and thats what Satan doesn't want me to do, so here I am writing.) I'm going to write about Legalism, and what I know about it and the research I've found. I'm not saying this is the Gospel truth.

Legalism Illustration:

Legalism is like a big coorperate office where you have to be at work at 9:oo.00 A.M. on the dot, no excuses. Very strict. You sit at your cubical, everything formal, gray. You sit there until Noon and leave for lunch. You must be back by 1:00.00 pm and not a second later. If you are late you get your head chewed off. You have your parking space where you and only you can park. You work must be completed and perfect, no typos or stray marks. You work by yourself because only you are in charge of your work. You wear a black or blue suit and tie every day. You must look professional. One small slip up of parking, tardiness, dress, work, or bathroom attendance and you're back in the mail room, starting from the bottom working your way up.

To me Legalism seems to be tied very close to the Law in the Old Testament that the Jews were so caught up in preserving. They didn't understand grace. Dang, I just realized thats what I've been reading in Romans. Like the first 3.5 or 4 chapters is proving how you can't do it by yourself and can't do it by the law. But Paul doesn't stop there, he shows us how no matter how much we try and follow the law, we can't make it, but he also goes on to prove how we can make it. How Christ made a way for us. Grace.  (Grace (as defined in the back of my bible) - God's free and unmerited favor for sinful humanity. or "getting what we don't deserve.") But back to the Law and it's Legalistic comparisons, one website noted the purpose of the law in Galatians 3:24 "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."

I feel like thats where a lot of churches get stuck in. We see ourselves as pitiful worthless sinners who will never amount to anything. But thats not what the Bible says. I heard once (haven't checked it out to prove it for myself yet) that not once in the new testaments are believers called sinners. Thats not who we are anymore. Paul says he was one of the worst sinners. Note that he was. But in 2 Corinth 5:17 it says we are a "new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." It doesn't say God took a sinner and slapped a fresh coat of paint on them. He made us something new.. . . . . . I think I'm getting off track. All serious and valid points, but I should get back to legalism. 

The way I understand it is Legalism is almost borderline religion. It's admitting all the facts, but letting your actions become religious. Legalism seems like its like "You have to read your bible 30 minutes a day, and pray 15 min, and talk to at-least 3 people a week about Jesus." Don't get me wrong I think those things are great, and I think it's very important to set goals and even vocalize them, but the key word in that sentence is the second one, HAVE. As soon as you force these things, its like its a religion. You have to do these so many things to get closer to God.  God's more into relationships. God wants you to come to Him and seek Him because you love Him. True, some days you don't feel like you love Him, or you don't want to seek him and you do you have to force yourself to do it. Like Paul says he has to "beat [his] body and make it [his] slave" 1corth9.27- He's talking about running the race, but I've had to chose to worship God or chose to serve him or chose to get up and go when my body didn't want to and my emotions didn't want to.  But I think we kind of sell Christianity at churches as legalism. "If you read your bible and you pray and blah blah blah." Grant it those things are important and the best things you can do, but you shouldn't do it because you think you HAVE to or God won't love you.  If you think, that check out Romans 5:8. 

Ooooh. Here's the quote from Brian's book called "UnChristian" by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. "Embracing truth without holding grace in tension leads to harsh legalism, just as grace without truth devolves to compromise." 

^ I think sometimes as the Church, we fight so hard not to compromise that we make it legalistic. It's a hard balance to find, but we need to be aware that we're off balance.

Here's an excerpt from a website I found and liked.  

www.gotquestions.org/Bible-Christian-legalism.html

"The word legalism does not occur in the Bible. It is a term Evangelical Christians use to describe a doctrinal position emphasizing a system of rules and regulations, in achieving both salvation and spiritual growth. Legalists believe that strict literal adherence to those rules and regulations is demanded. Doctrinally, it is a position essentially opposed to grace. Those who hold a legalistic position may even fail to see the real purpose for the law, especially the purpose of the Old Testament Law of Moses, which is to be our "schoolmaster" or "tutor" to bring us to Christ.

Concerning one's dispotion, legalism is opposed to being gracious, and even so believers can be legalistic. We are instructed, rather, to be gracious to one another: "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters" (Romans 14:1). Sadly, there are those who feel so strongly about their eschatological (concerning the events at the end of time) position  that they will run you out of their fellowship before allowing you to express another position. That, too, is legalism. Many legalistic believers today make the error of demanding unqualified adherence to their own biblical interpretations and even to their own traditions. For example, there are those who feel that to be spiritual one must simply avoid tobacco, alcoholic beverages, dancing, and movies, etc. the truth is that avoiding these things is no guarantee of spirituality."

I'm not going to say there is no good use for legalism, because maybe there is. . . I just don't know what it is. Right now, it seems like its a tool that the Devil uses to slow us down or stop us or get us distracted on the wrong thing. I'm not a big "the-Devil-made-me-do-it" type of guy, but over the past few weeks I have experienced some serious spiritual warfare. It may seem kind of old school or traditional to you or to whoever, but think about it. Satan doesn't want you to fall in love with Jesus, because then it'll be written all over your face and you can't help but talk about it, so more people will fall in love with Him. So wouldn't Satan, if he could, do something to prevent you from falling in love with Jesus or telling someone else about Him? Plus, there's numerous verses that talk about spiritual warfare. 

Something I've been learning a lot about, especially since I've got here is all the lies Satan tells us. Some of them he's told us so many times that we've just accepted them as the truth and would have no reason to question. Some of them he's tied into spiritual things so it seems like it's part of the chemical composition that we've ingested and makes up part of our thought process and who we are. But if we stop and examine everything closely enough we can see it's really more of a yellow leech thats tried to attach to a piece of truth and blend itself in so that we believe it's just part of it. Legalism for example, seems like one of those times Satan takes scripture and bends them or morphs it or take the perspective off of what it was meant to be to distract us. Weather or not it's intentionally taught, it is being taught in many churches. Sometimes, its just one of those traditions or acts that we do without thinking, but if we stop to think. . . hmm, why do we do that? or is that really in the Bible? then we see the truth without lies attached. 

One other thought/lie/lesson I've been learning is about sin, and the guilt of sin. I think a lot of times as Christians we drag around guilt when we don't need to. After we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us of what we did and we do feel guilty, (it's like God puts this thick wet cotton blanket on our hearts that just dampens our lives and makes our hearts heavy) But when we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us. (1 John 1:9) But when he forgives us there is no guilt left, (in Romans 8:1 "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"). He takes the blanket away. But I think a lot of times, Satan uses that. He takes the wet blanket God puts on us, and attaches additional guilt and chains them over our heart. So after our wet blankets are removed because we've asked for forgiveness and turned away (repented) then we're left with chains on our heart from Satan. He tried to sneak them on afterwards. These chains are things like "you're never good enough" "you can't do that" or one I just realized is "you just screwed up, you need some time away to get yourself together before you go before the Holy God." Thats one I've gotten a lot lately and didn't really realize it or pick it out until this weekend when someone else mentioned it.  After I sinned, I felt so bad about it, I felt like I needed some time to prove I was sorry or to give me some recovery time before I went to God to apologize. It seemed like I was kind of cheapening grace if i just ran to Him. But if you think about it, thats like someone being in a car wreck and have their arm broken and face all cut up and bleeding and saying "just give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and straightened up before I go see the paramedic." It's stupid. God wants us to run to Him, as soon as we've messed up.  Like a parent, as soon as you break the cookie jar, you should go tell them what you did, instead of waiting. It seems like Satan brings that out so we put that distance in between us and God because we're "not worthy." (Side note: we weren't worthy before. But now we're covered in Christ's blood, which makes us worthy to be in God's presence.) It's like the best place to have a car wreck is in the hospital parking lot because your already there, you just have to go to the place of healing. Once we're saved, we are in the parking lot, and when we screw up all we have to do is go to the place of healing.

I'm sorry. I don't mean for this to sound preachery or like I'm standing on a soapbox. I'm just referencing these things because I've been finding that not everything thats taught in church is in the Bible.  So I can prove it to myself and to someone else, I have the scriptural proof of where it's at that proves it. I've added it on here so you can find the proof too. 

Ok I thought I was done but I clicked on one more site and it brings up this whole other side of it. Here's a one liner 

"Legalism is the damning lie that says God's pleasure and joy in me is dependent upon my obedience." 

"Legalism is the lie that God will find more pleasure in me because my obedience is greater than others or that God looks at me with disgust because I am not growing in grace as quickly as my friends. It is the failure to remember that God's pleasure in us comes outside of us (in Christ). Legalism causes the heart to forget that God sings over us because of the work He has done, not because of what we have done.  --  Believers equally bring pleasure to God because the pleasure He receives in us is the purchased pleasure of the substitution of Jesus Christ. Any imagined superiority to other Christians (not rules or lack of rules) is the sure sign of the legalist."

I was just thinking, I guess seeing your spiritual journey as a ladder is kind of legalistic. Like, I was here, now I'm here. Because with or without meaning to, you just compared yourself to yourself before and are opening up yourself to comparing yourself to others relationships. Then you start to think I'm doing more than Him, so Jesus is happier with me. There is no ladder, there is no next ring you have to stretch to reach for. It's a relationship not a corporate ladder of stuff to reach for.  There is no set of levels or pleasedness (yep just made up that word) with a friend, you just want to know more about them, you want to share more of your heart and see more of theirs, you want to spend more time with them for love. and I'll end with Love, because after all the greatest is Love.

Logistics and Guys Retreat

Sorry about the lack of posts, I'm still getting used to this. This- being posting and Keynote. Things have been pretty busy around here.  They've been keeping us on our toes, well more of God has been keeping me off my feet. I realized I haven't really introduced you to life in Indiana so I thought I'd do that first.

It's flat.

Just kidding, well no it is flat, but what do you expect from the mid-west. (which I asked someone about. How is Indiana "mid-west" when its more on the east side of the country? I don't know if anyone really knows, but he suggested maybe it's by population.) But since it's so flat here the sunsets last for hours. Back home, the sun would duck behind a mountain and the sky would be dark fast. Here, it won't get dark until 10 or 10:30 sometimes, which is kinda cool, but I wouldn't trade it for those West Virginia hills. (you know they're pretty majestic and grand.) The temperature here is probably in the 80's, so it's not too bad. Oh, here is at the apartments, which is very nice, and the apartments are in Fishers, Indiana. The office and studio we work in is Westfield, IN. (Both of which are suburbs of Indianapolis). The apartments we're living in are really nice, they're in an apartment-complex called SunLake. (All of which I think are cool, we are in Fishers, Indiana. Fishers = Fishers of Men, and we're staying at a place named after the Sun/Son) But anyways, there is a lot of corn here. I didn't expect there to be so much, I feel like I'm in Iowa (which I've never been to, but if I had I figured it would be like this).

WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.

Last week was kind of an orientation type of time and ministry training. We had classes in the morning and afternoons on things about the ministry. Like today, we the sessions talked about using Illustrations (how to, the importance of, examples),  and the other one was about speaking in Context.  A lot of the classes focus on communicating and connecting. How to best say what you want to say and have the other person understand it. But its not just lecture like a class at school, (no there aren't tests either), but often we'll split up in groups to talk about a point or come up with an example by doing little exercises. Actually, we have "comm. drills" which means we have to get up infront of our team (bands, media, film) and tell a story. They have different exercises we try to do to better connect with the audience. Yesterday, each audience member had hold up their hand and the speaker had to make eye contact with them for 5 seconds without looking away before they could put their hand down, and we had to do that til everyone's hand was down.  They suggested saying a sentence or a thought to one person, and thinking of it that way, then conveying another sentence or thought to another person. I joked "dang, that means I'm going to have to have a thought that lasts 5 seconds," turns out either I talk fast, or my thoughts really don't last 5 seconds. We were also suppose to work on our facial expressions to convey the message. It's not to make us look fake, but to help us be more authentic and have them experience what we do. Plus, many people are just so nervous they get up there and get frozen face syndrome. The worst or best part of it is that you're video-taped and after your presentation, you go to the back and watch it. It's not my favorite part, but I learn a lot about how I do things, and things I need to improve.

Thats one of the biggest things I've been dealing with, is that there's alot of things, I'd just rather not do (like watch myself public speak after I've just done it) but they give you that little encouragement of, yes you have to do it, so in the long run it will help make me a better arrow. 

A lot of these tips they are giving for the bands to help them communicate on stage and be larger than life because they are on stage, but the tips and hints and ways are the same and help communicate if you were in a one-on-one conversation in a coffee shop. But thats not all we've been doing.

We (as a media team) have been going through training in the office, like getting our computers hooked up to the network and printer and going through training on some of the office equipment. Friday, we received our first assignments. Leah (graphics girl from Montana) was working on the Level 3:16 logo (one of the IMPACT bands). Lauren (graphics girl from Penn State) was working on the Soul Seed logo (one of the other IMPACT bands). Thew (video dude from Wisconsin - his real name is MatTHEW, but his ultimate frisbee team needed a quick name and there was already a Matt on the team so they called him Thew and it stuck - thought you'd enjoy). Thew is working on the promo video for next years summer project, by brainstorming, doing some research, and is starting to get video clips. Glory (graphics girl from Florida) was working on the Ritmo D logo (Spanish for "Rhythm D" - D for Destino). Another side note: Glory asked for time off from her job to come to Keynote and they wouldn't let her, so she quit her job (full time, she graduated last spring) to come to Keynote cause she felt God was calling her here, so if you got some extra prayer time on your hands, I think asking God to hook her up with somethings sweet afterwards would be cool. But Cait (photographer from Oregon) started scouting out locations and positions for the bands for the photo-shoots which start tomorrow. And I was working on the Swerve (pop rock band) poster. It was a little difficult because I didn't have the photo to base the poster off of, so it was kind of tricky but I think I've got some good  things. We turned them into today and had a review and collaboration time which I think went well. We also got our next assignment which is to design t-shirts for the Keynote Summer Project.  

FYI. Keynote, the organization, is not just happening during the summer. Keynote does what college students do in the summer, year round with professional musicians. They usually don't tour in the summer because they put so much time and effort into this summer project, but I think they're one band heading to Europe tomorrow and maybe one more going out later this summer. A lot of the full time people also use this time to help raise their support for next summer. Like me, and the other 70 people who are here, they have to raise their support to live on all year long. They are also working on booking shows for their full-time bands for the next season. But most of their effort seems to be on us, the summer project, they're treating us like their full time bands. Each band has their own sound tech, tour manager, director, and all that other stuff.  The good news is I'm learning a lot about bands and live music and the terminology that goes with it. 

GUYS RETREAT

Forgot to mention this weekend the guys had a retreat. Well, the girls did too, just not with the guys. The guys went to Squirrel Lodge, IN. It was about an hour and half. I sent a text out on the way that said, "I'm on a coach bus with 30 some other guys, no windows, broken air conditioner in 90 degree weather, traveling and hour and half away but we're stuck in traffic. . . yeah, we love Jesus." It was kinda funny but it was true, we do all love Jesus. haha. The ride wasn't too bad, we stopped at Pizza Hut and filled up. After getting back on the hot bus with all these guys and no ventilation, I just thanked God we decided not to stop at Taco Bell. WHEW!

The guys retreat was very good though. I felt as if it was a good time for guys just to be guys. Yes, burping and farting and all that fun jazz, but it was a good time just to let down. I felt like there was this unspoken competition (like there usually is), between guys, especially when girls are around.  But with no girls, we all could just be more open and honest. In fact, the first night we talked about being a man of God and what stops us from that, and it was good for us to be able to open up to each other and relate to each other. The theme was "living a deliberate lifestyle." But the first night really opened up things for the rest of the weekend. We had another few sessions throughout the weekend and went canoeing at one point.  But the retreat brought about a lot of introspection and thought, which had already been using up most of my time since I got here, but it was good. God has been showing me a lot about me and who I am and things I do, some of which I don't need to do, some of which I could work more on.  But all in all I felt like the retreat was a very good weekend and opened up everyone to each other and things have been a lot . . . i guess less rigid or maybe less uncomfortable around each other since. But I know I'm surrounded by a good group of guys, it was nice to sit around in a circle, and one hear a bunch of men singing praises to God, (cause as you may know, our cru doesn't have alot of guys) but also to hear multiple people say, "well, I was reading in 1 Peter" or "in 2 Corinthians, God showed me blah blah blah, and thats helped me with blah blah blah." It was just pretty neat to hear so many people looking to the right book for the answers. There was no weird looks or sighs of "oh boy, here he goes again" but attention and yearning to find answers and truth. 

Wow, I realized I just wrote alot. So, I think I'll leave it at that for tonight. I'm gonna go grab some "Me & G" time.  If you have some time, I have a few friends who are going through a rough patch, so if you want to pray for strength and motivation, and wisdom in situations, and patience that would be awesome. Thank ya.  This has been Abram Goff live from Fishers, Indiana. Goodnight and God bless.

God showed up early.

God showed up days before we got here and made his presence known the first night we were here. I've seen glimpses of heaven, where people from everywhere come to praise God. Here's an example of what I"m talking about, in my apartment there is; Owen - a drummer from Montana: Eli- a guitarist from Massachusetts: Nolan - a drummer from Ohio: Bevan - a piano player from New Zealand: Brian - a pianist from Virginia: and Will - a videographer from Wisconsin. There are also people here from Wyoming, Florida, Oregon, California, Texas, and Argentina, and thats not everywhere. IT's a beautiful thing, when we are having praise and worship and you hear accents from everywhere all singing praise to One Man. This One Man has proven himself worthy by hearing stories of God coming through where it could only be Him. God has already proven and explained so many things that have happened lately. Things I've been dealing with and things I've wondered, and proven things I've thought to be true.

I won't go into a lot of detail, but here's some scripture that Keynote is based around, and stuff I learned yesterday. In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul says "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." Wow, what a power-packed verse. Paul is willing to transform himself into any demographic so that he might make this connection. earlier in Acts 17:16-30, Paul is in this meeting in Athens and begins to blow their mind with this new story. But how he goes about it is how Keynote kind of operates also. Paul starts out by noting their devoutness in their religious ceremonies, (He applauded what they have in common by finding common ground.) Then he went on in verse 28 to quote the secular poets of the day, (he spoke a common language.) Today, not too many people go around quoting poets of the day. Our modern day poets are. . . musicians. Letting their poetry flow to the beat of music. So Keynote takes secular music, music that people can identify with and have common ground, and by speaking that common language, they can connect with the people they come in contact with. Then after Paul made this connection with them, he told them the most amazing story ever. Then after the connection is made, through music, they get to tell them the most amazing story ever (funny thing is, the story hasn't changed). I love funny stories.

Right now, all of the projects are going through ministry training. This training shows us different ways to share God with the world, ways to connect, and ways to better commuincate  God. Tomorrow, we continue with training and begin using our individual talents and gifts we've been given: the bands begin to rehearse, the film team begins writing scripts, and we, the "media" team begin our promotional projects for the bands. Today, they talked about us being the forerunners like John the Baptist, by not calling attention to us, but by doing what we've done to point to Him. One guy described it as an announcer for the basketball game, he makes all this noise and works really hard to get everyone's attention, then points them to the stars. Thats how we are, people look at us and we point them to Him.