static paper spring 2011

8/6/2019 Static Paper Spring 2011

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[M

USIC]

[V

IEWS]

[LOCAL]

[STUFF]

+ Skillet Crosses overthe Line page 10

+ New Maylene andthe Sons of Disaster

page 23

+ The Wrong Way

to Date page 14

+ A Loving Godand Hell? page 25

+ The Other

Albuquerque page 18

+ College Studentsand the Churchpage 31

+ Introducing

Static Radio page 3

+ Whats Wrong with

Perfect? page 25

ISS

UE1//JULY-AUGUST2011//FREE


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Te radio station has seen a lot o changes over the last decade, whether its the music we play or the sta we employ. One thing that never seems tochange around here... is change. So when word came down that we would be changing our direction and name, we knew we didnt want to all back onsome current trend or ippantly pick a name or this ministry. It seems (a lot o times) that when trying to come up with a name that identies abusiness, product, or even ministry, the tendency is to latch on to a trendy name and then try to match the product to the name. We tried to startwith the vision Christ has given us or the uture. We called a meeting o the minds with a couple pastors and wrote out a plan.

First, whats our demographic? As a non-commercial Christian station, it has been difcult to maintain an identity when the target audience is theyouthbut the unding comes rom parents and businesses (most o whom have no clue what the youth are interested in). Te 18-25 age group aside,we decided that our true demographic is Christ. We are reminded multiple times in the book o Colossians that everything we do, we do or the Lord.No matter what radio says our demographic is, as Chris tians, our de mographic is always Jesus.

Secondly, what are we trying to do? Entertain? Present a worldview? Be real or relevant? In a u nique ministr y like radio, its al l o the above. We wantto leave a mark in the community and all over the world in a way that points directly to Chris t. We want to provide an alternative to all the junk that otherradio oers. We want to entertain without sinking down to the same old stale jokes and gossip talk that you can nd anywhere. Most imp ortantly, we

want to consistently present the gospel o Chris t in a loving, authentic, and relevant way.

At this point youre probably wondering what Static has to do with any o th is. Well, at the meeting the pastors asked what we want to accomplish. Ouranswer was simple: We want to drown out the noiseall the junk the world pushes out at us as acceptable content. As we said in the beginning, thestation has been in a state o change or some time, yet the gospel we relay is unchanging. So we shot straight to the character o the gospel. It isunchanging, unwavering, and doesnt need to present itsel as relevant because the act is: it is. It is so real that sometimes it hurts, convicts, and evenoends. During the conversation, the wordstaticwas brought up. Te word staticmeans (among other things) showing little or no change; constant.1 Intechnology,staticmeans unaected by the passage o time, or the presence or absence o power.

For example, a static website contains web pages with xed content that doesnt change as the user interacts with it. 2 Te proverbial light bulb ashedin our headsand the rest is history.

Welcome to Static Radio.

1 dictonary.com2 Ibid

What Is STAtIc


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ba

nter

Static Paper June - August 2011, Issue 1

Publisher //Connection Communications

Director// Brian Nixon

Editorial Director //Rebekah Hanson

Associate Editors //Joan Polito, Nancy Reimann,and Jerry Rood

Contributors / / Adrianna Duran-Leon, Matt Gentry,Will Hall, Rebekah Hanson, Leigha Harvey, Nate Heitzig,Skip Heitzig, Stevo Jeter, Nancy Reimann, Jerry Rood,and Yo Snyder

Design Director //Brandi Sea Heft

Ad Design // Khanh Dang and Nikki Sandoval

Distribution //Joan Polito

For Advertising Inquiries, Please Contact

Sales Manager //Darren ArnoldConnection Communications4001 Osuna Rd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109505.344.9146 1.800.922.1888


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Banter 4

Te Edge 6Sage of the Diviners

Te Sound 10No One Hit Wonder

Renovate 14Is Tere a Wrong Way to Date?

Te Movement 18What is the Other Albuquerque?

Kindled 22Many Roads to Heaven

Te Underground 23

Soundcheck 23

Te Jocks 24Morning Show Co-Host Matt Gentry

Te Question 25Te rouble with Hell

Te Good News 25

estify 27

Te Source 28Plead the Fifth

Te Heart 30From a Listener

Te Beat 31United

Pop Culture 33What is PEZ?

contents

Leighareviewstheirnew

albumCrazyLove

Page23


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Not many healthy teens or adults require asitter. You knowsomeone to watch over themto keep them out o trouble. Or keep them romburning the house down. Or shooting or stabbingsomeone. But having a sitter present is just oneo the guidelines or use o the drug Salvia.According to The Salvia Divinorum Users Guide,sitters are absolutely essential.1 Other cautionsinclude: Never, ever attempt to drive under theinluence o salviadoing so could prove atal!Never use Salvia i guns, knives, or other danger-ous objects are within easy reach, and Be extracareul o lames (candles, lighters, ire, etc.) whenusing Salvia. Sound like a good time to you?

the

edge

By Nancy Reimann& Yo Snyder


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Salvia Divinorum, or Sage o the Diviners, isan herb rom the mint amily and is commonlyound in Southern Mexico and in Central andSouth America. Tis particular herb containsthe chemical Salvinorin A, the strongest hal-lucinogenic in nature.2 Tis chemical afects the

kappa opioid receptors o the brain; its a potentdrug, which causes hallucinations, disorien-tation, and conusion. Salvia has many streetnames: Sage o the Seers, Maria Pastora, MagicMint, Ska Pastora, Diviners Mint, Sally-D, andLady Salvia. Leaves rom the plant are dried andsmoked, chewed, or crushed or juice.

Users report out o body experiences, alternate


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realities, powerul visions, and vivid hallucinations that are oten terriying.Many describe a transcendental spiritual journeyone supplier says it in-duces spiritual phenomena, like astral projections, positive and permanentmind altering changes in perception, and out o body experiences. 3

Now, heres the kicker: Salvia is legal. Tats right; this psychedelic high isavailable at a airly low cost online, at head shops, or even in tobacco storeswith little or no restriction. It isnt currently regulated by the U.S. Govern-ment, but the Drug Enorcement Administration (DEA) is keeping tabs on it,considering it a drug o concern.4 Tey are closely monitoring any reports

o abuse, and some states have regulations relating to the use o Salvia. Sotechnically, yeah, its legal or now.

Harris Stratyner, PhD, co-chair o the medical scientic committee o theNational Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc., nds the typi-cal range or users is about age 12 through college.5 According to an articleby Te New York imes, 3% o males between 18 and 25 have tried Salviaat some point6 and 5.5 % o high school seniors reported using it in the pastyear.7 Tat may not seem like a signicant number, but statistically that putsit somewhere near the same level as Ecstasy useand over twice the usageo LSD. And Salvias popularity is on the rise. In act, social media sites suchas Youube are spreading the interest as users post videos o themselvesater sampling Salvia to document their wacky antics and reactions. Someo these videos have upward o one million hits.

So Whats the Draw?In short, there are normally two appeals or Salvia use: curiosity and spiritualhunger. Salvia is not considered a social or party drug. In act, people underits inuence do not interact with those around themthey withdraw. Salviais considered an entheogen (directly translated as having god within 8)

and is a substance taken to bring on a spiritual experience. Historically,Salvia use originated in spiritual rituals among the Mazatec Indians o Oax-

aca, Mexico, who combined bothCatholic and indigenous traditions.

Accounts o Salvia trips oteninclude the idea o a spiritual jour-ney, many unpleasant: I elt I had aguide. Someone or something thatled me and showed me how pliablethe universe was, writes John Boyin salvia.nets online journal o Sal-via experiences. In this rst badtrip I had been swept up by a cos-

mic broom. My existence relegatedto a piece o cosmic dust. It wasblack everywherethe cold void ospace. I still had my consciousness

and was aware o my human past but something told me that this would bemy new lie. A prison o the mind, he continues. I got sucked into the bow-els o the earth. It was a bluish grey cavern with a line o people marchingand working... I hell exists then I have been there I dont know i Salvia isjust a mind [expletive] or a glimpse o the aterlie. I pray to god its not thelatter.9

John Boy is not alone in his hellish experience: Salvia eels like hell to me nomatter what strength it is. I mean it this time; I swear to God I will never useSalvia again and I cannot believe how reely distributed a powerul drug likeSalvia is. Someone could really get hurt or die on this drug, 10 writes Lover-Sogie on experienceproject.com. I was sort o spinning and zigzagging and Ielt a real presence, like spirits?, ghosts?, a being? It was like the dead. Terewere like really big thick pinkish tendrils closing in on me rom both sides andtrying to surround me and I kept hearing theyre here to take you, theyrehere to take you (to the dead?) It was terriying and I hated it and it allhappened so ast,11 writes CRC in a posting titled My Existence Was akenfrom Meon salvia.net.

Te New York imesreports that Jared L. Loughener, the man arrested orshooting nineteen people and killing six o them outside a ucson grocerystore in January, used marijuana and mushrooms. But his drug o choicewas Salvia. While Salvia did not cause him to go on his rampage, its efectsclosely mimic psychosis, and scientists believe that it both masks and ag-gravates mental health issues. 12 Altering your conscious state, however youmay do it, doesnt exactly lead to good things.

im, a sixteen-year-old student rom Albuquerque, said o his recent exper-imentation with Salvia: It was regrettable, you know, now that I look back

on it. I just think, man, I was stupid!He added that since Salvia is legal,it opens the door to a host o otherissues, It led to smoking cigarettesand other things so it was just Hepaused. It doesnt lead to anythinggood.

Remember Noahs shameul littledrunken episode? (See Genesis9:20-23.) Ephesians 5:18 says, Anddo not be drunk with wine, in whichis dissipation; but be lled with theSpirit. Heres the thing: Wine isntillegal either, but were still warned

not to overindulge. With Salvia there isno such thing as moderation. Youtake a hit and, or all intents and purposes, youre immediately drunk. Youvelost control o your cognizant sel. And at the core o biblical warnings is thatvery principle: Dont let anything but the Holy Spirit take control o you. Idont think its gloriying to God. It changes your state o mind, which isntright, im said.

We should also guard ourselves rom deception. While not all people experi-

ence a bad trip, those who take Salvia are purposeully warping reality anddeceiving themselves. Te Bible repeatedly warns us to be sober-mindedand alert (see Mark 13:33 and 1 Corinthians 16:13). Tere is a very real enemyat workone who brandishes spiritual deception to steer us rom truth.

And theres another biblical principle to consider as well. I our bodies are thetemple o the Holy Spirit as the Bible says (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), how doesit honor God to allow that temple to get all tripped out with weird and wackyexperiences? In a sense, arent we really just saying that God isnt excitingand His presence isnt lie altering enough? Tat we need some other sub-stance to helps us eel the way we want? Shouldnt we think twice beorewe act like God isnt enough and try to ll the void?

Te real question is Why? Legalor not, why use a hallucinogenicdrug? Because its the cool newthing to do? Because everyoneelse is trying it? I we as Christianshave said that we are surrenderedto God, but also surrender ourconsciousness to some drug, howmuch have we really surrenderedto God? I we say God is our all inall, but turn to brain-altering chemicals to have a little un, is God really all

we need? And just because something is legal, does that necessarily make itright? Abortion is legal, but is it okay?

Salvia and its use present some interesting moral quandaries. Sure its legal,but how do we determine whether or not its okay? What is our standard omeasure? Tats where our personal relationship with God comes into play.Depending on how close we are with Him, how much weve given Him ruleover our lives, and how much weve let Him change us into His image, thatshow well individually determine the answer to the many shades o graywe encounter in lielike the use o Salvia (see 1 Corinthians 6:12). Its alsowhere our conscience comes into play. Tat is, i were not too busy alteringour consciousness with legal hallucinogens.

Accounts oSalvia tripsoten include

the idea oa spiritual

journey, manyunpleasant

Tere is a veryreal enemy at

workone whobrandishes

spiritual decep-

tion to steer usrom the truth

Dont let any-thing but the

Holy Spirit takecontrol o you


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1. Sage Student with contributions by Daniel Siebert Te Salvia divinorum Users Guide,http://www.sagewisdom.org/usersguide.html

2. Salvia divinorum use, experiences and other ino., http://www.salvia.net/

3. Salvia divinorum and how it efects you,http://ethnobotanicalherbals.com/salvia-divinorum/salvia-divinorum-and-how-it-efects-you/

4. Judy McKee, Salvia Divinorum: Not Your Fathers Garden Planthttp://www.naag.org/salvia-divinorum-not-your-athers-garden-plant.php

5. Kathleen Doheny, Salvia FAQ, http://www.webmd.com/parenting/eatures/salvia-aq

6. Kevin Sack and Brent McDonald, Popularity o a Hallucinogen May Twart Its Medical Useshttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/us/09salvia.html

7. Marijuana use is rising; ecstasy use is beginning to rise; and alcohol use is declining among U.S. teens,http://monitoringtheuture.org/pressreleases/10drugpr.pd

8. Entheogen, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen#cite_note-3

9. John Boy, Hell Is Not Fire and Brimstone, http://www.salvia.net/exp_johnboy.htm

10. LoverSogie, My 2 rips On Salvia Were Like Going to Hell,http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Smoked-Salvia/261081

11. CRC, My Existence Was aken rom Me, http://www.salvia.net/exp_crc.htm

12. A.G. Sulzberger and Jennier Medina, Shooting Suspect Had Been Known to Use Potent, and Legal, Hallucinogen,http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/us/18salvia.html

7%oAmericansdont

knowthefrst9wordsotheirnationalanthem,butknowthefrst7othe

Canadiananthem

21%ousdontmakeourbeddaily5%ousneverdo

85% ouswilleatSpamthisyear

14%ouseatthewatermelonseeds

44%omentailgatetospeedupthepersoninront

othem

29%ousignoreRSVP

66%owomenand59%omenhave

usedamix tocookand takencredit ordoingit romscratch

the facts

Scan Me!


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What does it take to have steady, consistentsuccess in an industry where so many would-be superstars are one-hit-wonders or one-and-done wannabes? I anyone could answerthat question its Jon Cooper o Skillet. For over

15 years, Skillet has been one o the premierrock bands o the Christian music industryand more recently one o the top rock bandsin mainstream music. Howd they do this? Wefgured the best way to fnd out was to ask. Sowe called up Jon and asked him some questions.

By Yo Snyder


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the

s

ound

i Alth h


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First, wewerecurioushowJonandSkillethavebeenabletokeeptheirmusiccur-rentalltheseyearsandmoreimportantlyhowtheyconsistentlyrenewedtheirspiritualinspiration.Ilikever-satility,soIkeepreshbyjustenjoyingdi-erentkindsomusicandthinking,How can Imake my sound a littleresh and still keep myidentity?Ienjoythatalot.IlovewritingsongsandIthinkalotowhatkeepsyourmusicreshisyourlyrics.Youknow,aloto

timestherewillbebandsthatjustkeepputtingoutthesamerecordoverandoverandoverandtheyretalkingaboutthesamethings.IthinkSkilletisabandthathasre-allygrownandchangedovertheyearsinwhatweretalkingabout.Spiritually,Ithinkthatsadirectreectiononmyownspirituality,onwhatshappeninginmyownlie,whatIeelGodisspeakingtome,whatIseeGoddoingonthe

earth,orwhereIseeneeds.You

knowthatshowIwritemysongsandIthinkthatexcitementoverwantingtosaysomethingthatmatters,wantingtohaveapurposewithyourmusic,Ithinktheexcite-mentandpassionothatmakeitresh.

But keepingthemusicandlyricsreshisonlyhalthebattle

orabandthatwantstolast.Alothaschangedinthefteenyears

thatSkillethasbeenaround,andoneothereasonsthebandhaslastedthislongisduetotheirabilitytochangeandadapttothetimes.OnethingImpleasedtosaythatSkillethasdonewell,saysJon,Isthatrom

thebeginningSkillethasbeenaveryviralband.NotthatJonhasalwaysunderstoodwhatthatmeant.WhenourfrstCDcameout,Ineverheardotheinternetbeore.MyguitarplayerwasdoingawebsiteandIjustkeptsaying,Idontunderstandwhatthiswebsitethingis.Hedtrytoexplainwhat

theinternetisandImlike,Tatjust doesnt make any sense to me.Nobodys going to take ten minuteson their computer to go online andfnd out whats going on with theband; Tat just doesnt make anysense. Butmyguitarplayerwasre-allygoodatitandreallyconvincedthatitwouldhelpusandthrough-outthenextewyearsitdid.Skil-letwasoneotheveryfrstbands

doinginternetstu:sellingmer-chandiseontheinternet,talking

toans,andhavingaanclubontheinternet.AndtruthullyIdidntevenknowmuchaboutit.Itkindobecameajoke,evenwithouransitbecameajokethattheleadsingerJonhadneverbeentotheirwebsite.ButwhatImsayingisSkilletsdoneagoodjobogettinginormationoutwhetheritwasourwebsite,thenitwasMySpace,nowitsFacebook.Wedovideopodcasts,wedoonlinechatswheretherewillbe500peopleonthechatboardaskingusquestions,wellgoonandplayanacous-ticsongorouranclub.

Teres moretoallothisthanjustkeepingupwiththetechoto-daysworld.AnotherreasonSkillethascontinuedtobesuc-cessulisbecausetheyvestayedconnectedwiththeirans,some-thingthatJonsaysisvitalanditisntsomethingalotobandscontinuetodooncetheymakeit.Wedoallsortsothingstointer-actwithouranstoletthemknowweappreciatethemwhichwedo.Wetreatouransverywell.Ithinkthedaysosnubbingyouransandbeingtoocooloreverybody,thosedaysaregonebecauseyouwontbearoundanymore.Teyllfndthebandthattheyeelknowsthem.

NorwouldIsnubmyansanyway,becausethatstheoppositeowhatmymessageis.Tatsthere-allycoolthingaboutChristianmu-sic.AlotoChristianmusicisbeingacceptedoutsideotheChristianmusicindus-trySkilletsoneothosebandsandIthinkitsbe-causeSkillethasames-sagepeoplewanttohear.Itsevidentinthewaywe

liveourlives;itsevidentinthewaywetreatouransonandostage.Itsnotjustabusinessthing.IeellikeImrepresentingGodwhenIgoonstagesoImgoingtodotheverybestshowIcando.ImnotgoingtoendearlyandImnotgoingtotreatmyansbadlybecauseImrepre-

sentingChristinallthatIdo.

Although JonknowsthatSkillethasamessagethataudienceswanttohear(evenaudiencesthatmaynotnormallylistentoChristianmusic)someothebandsrecentcrossoversuc-cessstillsurpriseshim.Itsbeenincrediblethisyear.Youknowthey

dotheendotheyearBillboardcharts,basicallytheysaythese

arethetop200recordssoldorthewholeyear,thisistheop20radiosongsotheyearandwhatnotandwevenevershownuponalotothesecharts.ButthisyearIoundout,andIdidntevenknowwegotthismuchplay,butIguesswewerethenumbereightmostplayedbandonhardrockradioor2010.TatdoesntincludeChristianormatsthatsjustmainstream,hardrockradio.Andtheyweretheeighthmostplayedbandolastyear.Yeah,crazy,Icouldntbe-lieveit.Especiallysincetherearestillalotstationsthatwontplay

Im not goingto end earlyand Im notgoing to treatmy fans badlybecause ImrepresentingChrist in allthat I do

t ll b Ch i ti


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usatallbecausewereaChristianbandandtheyjustdontlikeit.SoIwasveryshockedtofndoutwegotthatmuchplay,andIhonestlydontknowwhyitshappened.WevebeenworkingharddoingthesamethingwevebeendoingoryearsandyearsanditjustseemedlikeGodopenedthedoorsandthiswasHistimetodoitandHeputushereandgaveusthatplatorm.TatstheonlyrealanswerthatIhave.

Perhaps oneothebestreasonsorSkilletssuccessisalsooneothesimplest:Skillethasthebeliethatwerejustgo-ingtobewhoweare.Sometimeswereonthesemainstreamrock

stationsandtheysayHey,weretalkingwithJonromSkillet.NowSkillet,letsjusttalkaboutthisChristianthing,youguysarentreallyChristians,areyou?Tatstheirfrstquestion,andIjustan-swerandsay,Yeah,weabsolutelyareChristians.Anditdoesntmat-tertomewhatanyonethinksaboutitIjusthopetheylikethemusic.Withthatkindoattitude,theDJschange,theyrelikeokaythisguyisgoingtoman-up.Itsthatstraightorwardattitude,that

willingnessjusttoman-upandbewhotheyareinChristastheyrockthemassesthathasdefnedSkil-letandtheirmusicoverthepastdecadeandahal.Withoutadoubt,itsabigreasonortheirpopular-

ityandsuccess.ItsalsowhytheywillmostlikelyremainoneothepremiereChristianrockbandsormanyyearstocome.

Its thatstraightforwardattitude, thatwillingness justto man-up andbe who they arein Christ

hmm...

Scan Me!

To use a QR code, all you have to do is scan one withyour mobile phone. Just point and voila! If your phonedoesnt come equipped with a barcode scanner app,there are many free, quality scanner apps in yourphones mobile app market.

Electricity is really just organized lightning. George Carlin


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reno

vate


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One thing Ive oundin common amongpeople in all eras o

lie is relationships. It doesntmatter what you want to callthem because the truth isthat relationships change. Forexample, today we say dat-

ing or courting. Back in the50s they said, Were goingsteady.

While I was writing this ar-ticle I asked mysel, Why do somany people today have rela-tionships that end unsuccess-fully?And also, Why does ourgeneration have the tendencyto date the wrong way? I real-ized the reason so many peo-ple date wrong is because theylearned rom bad examples.

You see, we as a society getour dating lessons rom themedia; and what do they sayabout dating? Well I took alook at some o the populardating V shows and this is

what I ound Hollywood saysabout dating. One: Dating isnot exclusive. wo: Its OKto date and hook up with asmany people as you want (nowonder so many marriagesend in adultery). Tree: Datingis simply a game. Four: I youget lucky you might date andmarry someone rich and thenyour lie is set. Five: Its OK tobe in love with more than oneperson. And six: A private che,hot tub, and lots o wine arewhat make a good date.

Its easy to see that the me-dias idea o dating is a little bito kilter. Society looks at whatcan please instantlyratherthan ultimately. So our ques-

tion is: What does the Bible sayabout dating? I want to pointout that this is something youare going to have to deal with.At some point (i you haventalready) youre going to getinvolved in a relationship withanother person and youregoing to eel those butteriesin the stomach. Many o youeventually want to get mar-ried. You might say, Not me.

Im not going to get marrieduntil Im this age and have agood job and house and my lieplanned out. Te point is thatyoure going to: Youre goingto fnd someone someday andyou are going to all in love.

But heres the thing. Unortu-nately, the Bible doesnt reallysay much about dating. No-where does it say, Tis is howthou shalt date. And this is thereason why there are so manyChristian books written onthe subject. Some o them aregreat and I encourage you toread them, but when it comesdown to it we always need tocome back to what the Biblesays. Although Scripture maynot give us a chapter o guide-lines or dating, it does give ussome very good lie applicationprinciples that, when appliedto dating, can truly changethe way you pursue relation-ships. Ultimately, ask thesequestions: What do I want in a

relationship? What does Godwant in my relationship? Andare they the same?I guaranteethat i you take the principleswell look at in a moment andapply them to your lie, it willconsistently help you.

Tere is a sad trend that Iveseen. Whether you are a highschool student, a college stu-dent, or an adult, people have atendency to lower their stan-dards. Tey start out very highand then, or whatever reason,they drop slightly lower. Tenyou see that cute guy or girlwho isnt necessarily walk-ing with the Lord and it dropsa little more. Ten that guyor girl asks you to do some-

thing you know is wrong andit drops just a little lower. Andwhat eventually happens isyou end up all the way downat the bottom asking yoursel,How did I get into this situa-tion?It doesnt just happen allo a sudden; its a slow, gradualmovement that you slip into.But thats not the way it shouldbe, is it? We shouldnt be set-

tling or less than the best that

God has or us. We shouldntbe driving the Pinto when Godhas a Ferrari. And I mean Fer-rari on the insidenot the out-side. It doesnt matter i a carlooks great on the outside, thequestion is: Does it run? Sadlysome people, because o soci-

ety and a lack o discernment,are let dating someone who isa Ferrari on the outside and aPinto on the inside. Teir out-ward appearance and their in-ward heart condition just dontmatch up.

However, this is the way hu-man nature is. People comeup to me and say, Wouldyou please tell me how ar istoo ar? Te answer is No.I reuse to do that becausethat question is simply ask-ing me to draw a line that youcan walk up to and peer overthe edge. Rather than asking,How ar can I go beore I amsinning?because, chancesare, whatever that marker

is in your mind its probably

sinask yoursel, How holyis too holy? Or how about,How pure is too pure? Aschildren o God we should beseeking the highest, not thelowest. A huge problem withdating today is we view datingrelationships like tiny mar-riages. What happens is youbecome so invested and tied tothis person because o sexualintimacy that you create amini-marriage which overtime will split up and cause amini-divorce. No wonder thedivorce rate is so high. We areteaching ourselves that its OKto give something meant only

or marriage and then leave

As childrenof God weshould beseeking thehighest, notthe lowest

when we get bored. So Im going to give respect the won over, and this requires cultivation. I

Is there


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g g g gyou three quick principles or how to havesuccessul dating relationshipsand thena ew warnings.

When youre seeking a relationship thereare three areas in which you need to makesure you are compatible: spiritual, emo-tional, and physical (in that order).

Spiritually: Does he/she have a strongwalk with God? Second Corinthians 6:14says, Do not be unequally yoked togetherwith unbelievers. Tis should be the frstquestion askedperiod. Tis is the oun-dation that should be asked and answeredbeore you even consider dating or court-ing or whatever with another person. Dothey adore God and are they converted?

And not just are they convertedbut arethey real? Are they really stoked on Godor is that just a mask they put on to beaccepted? Ive known a lot o people whowill put on the Christian ace and speakthe Christian words just to get a dilutedversion o a Christian ing. But are theyconverted, are they real, do they adoreGod, and do they respect you? Do they

pboundariesyouve putin place? Dothey respectthe convic-tions youhave? Dothey love God

with theirlips and theirlives? Sothe ques-

tion isnt are they Christian, but are theyconverted, are they dierent? Are theyseeking to grow in their relationship withChrist? When you look at their lie is thereevidence o their belie in Jesus?

Emotionally: Do they have the same in-terests as you? Tis is one o the mostimportant parts o the relationship. Tis iswhat to do once you have caught the fsh.A lot o people spend so much time in theactual pursuit o love that once they fnallyfnd it they dont know what to do with it.Both girls and guys alike want to eel pur-sued and desired even ater theyve been

, qyou really want to see your relationshipgrow and ourish then you must spendreal quality time with one another. Not ina movie theater or kissing in a dark room,but rather personal time getting to knowone another. Do they meet your emotionalneeds? Do they esteem you greater thanthemselves?

And physically: Are you attracted tothem? I they pass all o the above, thenspend some time with them in group situ-ations frst. Ask yoursel, Do they repre-sent Jesus to me?Not do they have longhair, a beard, and wear robes, but do theyhave spiritual qualities? Finally dont betoo transparent or too dependent (I need,thereore I love). I see too many girls and

guys searching or love just because theyare seeking validation. Tat will alwayslead to heartache. Seek your validation inChrist. He thinks youre beautiul and Heloves you more than youll ever know! Andeven i nothing comes o the relationship,at least youve ostered good ellowshipwith a brother or sister in Christ.

Is thereevidenceof theirbelief inJesus?


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them

ovement

By Bekah Hanson


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Its 4:58 am.You wake up disoriented, lookingor your alarm clock to hit snooze

and turn of the buzzing noise.Tenit hits you. Tere is no alarm clock. Te buzzing noiseis the same delivery truck that backs up each morning

a couple eet rom the dumpster you sleep near. You

have to go to the bathroombut theres nowhere to go.

Youre starvingbut the nearest shelters and churches

wont open or breakast or another couple hours. And

youre not aloneyour 5-year-old daughter is stillasleep next to you. You are homeless. Youre also a

mother. And its been eight days straight on the streets.

the kingdom prepared or you rom the ounda-tion o the world: or I was hungry and you gave

Well, reader, what would you do? 23% are veterans (compared to 13%f l l ti ) 6


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tion o the world: or I was hungry and you gaveMe ood; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; Iwas a stranger and you took Me in; I was nakedand you clothed Me; I was sick and you visitedMe; I was in prison and you came to Me. Tenthe righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord,when did we see You hungry and eed You, orthirsty and give You drink? When did we see

You a stranger and take You in, or naked andclothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or inprison, and come to You? And the King will an-swer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you,inasmuch as you did it to one o the least othese My brethren, you did it to Me (Matthew25:34-40).

But how can we help? I mean, besides handingout a dollar. Or spending an aternoon at JoyJunction just so we can ease our consciences

back into our own comortable corners o Chris-tendom. How can we reallyhelp?

Kathy Sotelo, Joy Junctions Outreach Coordi-nator, oered some practical tips: We have agreat volunteer program. I youre under 18, youhave to have a guardian with you, but you cando anything at Joy Junction. You could ser veood, serve drinks, read to the children, lead anarts and c rats class. You can get creative aboutwhat you want to bring to the shelter and oer

our residents, be they adult or children. On a bito a dierent track, the homeless [we meet onthe street] want eye contact. Tey are no di-erent than us. A simple hello and acknowledg-ment.

But whoever has this worlds goods, and seeshis brother in need, and shuts up his heart romhim, how does the love o God abide in him?(1 John 3:17).

As Dr. Reynalds reminded me, It is a literal mis-sion feld in the South Valley [o Albuquerque].And people orget. Tey want to go to Uganda,Mexico, Israel. Come down to Joy Junction.

On any given night in America, any-where from 700,000 to 2 million peo-ple are homeless1

Most o us react in one o three ways to thehomeless. Number one: Tey should get a job.Heres a act: 44% did paid work during the past

month.2 13% have regular jobs.3 Number two:Tey freak me out. I dont know what they mightdo to me. Heres a act: 22% o the homeless havebeen physically assaulted.Seventat% have beensexually assaulted. And 38% say someone stolemoney or things directly rom them.4 Num-ber three: Teres nothing I can do about it butgive them a couple dollars and hope they dontspend it on drugs or alcohol. Heres a act: Terearethings we can do and were going to look atsome o themright now.

40% are families with childrenthefastest growing segment5

Here in New Mexico, Joy Junction is our larg-est homeless shelter. Beginning in 1986 with52 acres, Joy Junctions mission is to provide ahand up, not a hand out, to the homeless resi-dents being served.

Te ounder and CEO, Jeremy Reynalds, de-

scribed the openly Christian shelter: We have aaith-based lie recovery program which is ba-sically built upon the yndale House RecoveryBible. [Te homeless] want to know somebodycares. Tey want to know their lie has meaning,value, and purpose.

1 http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/homeless.shtml

2 Ibid.

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#2008_Annual_

Homeless_Assessment_Report_to_Congress

4 Ibid.5 Ibid.

I youre a non-aith-based ministry oragency, you have toreplace the booze orthe use o street drugswith something. I

youre just saying Geto thiswell why?For what? Having arelationship with Jesusis the core o every-thing that we do.

It is a literal missionfeld in the South Valley[o Albuquerque]. Andpeople orget. Teywant to go to Uganda,Mexico, Israel. Come

down to Joy Junction.

of general population)6

And thats what we try to tell them a relation-ship with Jesus Christ doesgives their liemeaning, adequacy, purpose, and ulfllment. Iyoure a non-aith-based ministry or agency,you have to replace the b ooze or the use ostreet drugs with something. I youre just say-

ing Get o thiswell why? For what? Having arelationship with Jesus is the core o everythingthat we do.

Homeless lifetime self-reported abuse

problems: 62% alcohol and 58% drugs 7

But how eective is this really? I mean, yourehomeless. Youre hungry. Youre depressed.Youre wearing the same clothes or weeks. Howdoes Jesus ft into this picture?

Were very select about who we have to comeand teach the salvation message, the recoverymessage. Tey want to know how Jesus canhelp them cope with ten people in line or therestroom: how He can give them p atience. Teydont care about the Greek exposition o a word.Well teach or about 20 minutes just so they canhave something to get through that night, thatday, that week. Its all about building a relation-ship where they can trust you to hear what youhave to say. And it takes time. Its messy. Its notalways rewarding. We do what we have to do:make Bibles, prayer, and ood available. Wereopen seven days a week.

28% have more than a high schooleducation8

Most people dont realize we have two Albu-querques. We have our Albuquerque with the

DCs and the skinny jeans and the ashionablemusic and then we have the Albuquerque withsomeone struggling to make his way rom oneminute to the next. All o uswhen we woke upthis morningwe had places to go and people tosee. A homeless person can wake up not evenknowing what time it is. Youre hungry; youstink a little bit. Any eelings o sel-esteem youhad go down the toilet (which you dont have).I youre outside, your lie revolves around thedaylight. You carry all your belongings on your

back. You have no hope and its not enough orChristians to come along and go, You need Je-sus. Tey knowthey need Jesus because theywant a riend. Tey need us to be a physicalmaniestation o Jesus, not an annoying voicethat tells them they need Jesus.

Ten the King will say to those on His righthand, Come, you blessed o My Father, inherit

6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States#2008_Annual_

Homeless_Assessment_Report_to_Congress

7 Ibid.8 Ibid.

al.


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[ 21 ]

THREE

THINGS TO

DO THIS

WEEK:1. Purchase a $5.00 gitcertifcate at McDonalds.

Place it in your backpackor car. Give it to the nexthomeless person youencounterwith Godsblessing.

2. Look through yourcloset. Pick out a hoodieor a homeless teen and

bring it to Joy Junction oranother shelter.

3. ake $1.00 rom yourallowance or paycheck.ake it to the Dollar Storeand buy a lip balm, can osoup, or bottle o shampoo.Donate it to Joy Junction or

another shelter.

For more inormation on

volunteering or visiting JoyJunction, please contact

Jonathan Matheny at 505.463.3818

or visitjoyjunction.org

Become a an on Facebook:facebook.com/JJABQ

Saying

Im

sorryisthe

same

ass

aying

Iapolog

ize.Exceptat

a

funera

DemetriMar

tin

Scan Me!

So this is my rst book review or Static. Actually, its probably my rst book reviewsince reshman year o high schoolbut thats beside the point. I picked up a copy


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[ 22 ]

S y g p p p pyo Be Intolerant: Because Some Tings Are Just Stupid by Ryan Dobson. Why? Be-cause I pretty much liked the title. And the introduction was amazing:And Jesus said unto His disciples, Go into all the world, teaching all men to live any way

they want, and urging each to fnd his or her own path to God. Let not any one o you makesomeone eel inerior or victimized because o their belies. Above all, be tolerant. Verily,verily, I say unto you that what you believe and how you live do not matter, so long as youare sincere.

Leaving that place, Jesus led His disciples to Jerusalem where they broke bread at ClubUpper Room. Tere He addressed them again, saying, I am one o the ways, one o thetruths, and just one possible lie. I you are basically a good person, youre okay in my book.And i you choose to come to the Father (or Mother, i you preer) through Me, thats cool.Now go orth to live according to whatever eels good to you.

And there was much rejoicing.

I love the introduction. Because I love sarcasm. A lot. So Ryan Dobsons rst book beginswith a undamental truth o the Christian worldview: Jesus Christ is the onlyway to the Fa-

therand thus, to eternal salvation (see John 3:16; 14:6, Acts 4:12; 16:31; Romans 6:23). Mosto us know this. Most o us believe this. In other words, or most o us this isnta news ash.

So why did Dobson bother writing the book?

I had been to a [Christian] school to speak on [how] Christ is the way, the truth, the lie.No one gets to the Father except through Him. When I was done this little girl came upand said, I dont think its air that you say Jesus is the only way to heaven. I thought shewas kidding and I laughed. And then I blurt out, Oh my goodnessyoure serious! Andshe was like, Yeah. I said, Do you read the Bible? And she said, Yeah. And I said, Have

you read, you know, all o it? And she said, No, not all o it. But I think Jesus was love. And I said, Well,

yeah, I think Hes love, too. And she said, Oh, ok, good. And she turned around and walked away. AndI thoughtIm at a Christian school. Tey have Bible class every single day, ve days a week. Tis girl wasa sophomore in [a Christian] high schooltwo years o thisand she still thinks there are many roads toheaven. I just thought weve got to start standing up or right and wrong. Its ok to be right. 1

At about 120 pages, Dobsons book is a quick read. Its denitely based on solid, biblical truth and arm evangelical oundation. But what sets it apart rom the hundreds o other similar books on theChristian bookshelves? o be honest, its very basic in its approach. Te main premise is to be bold orChrist in a world o moral relativity. And weve heard thatover and over again. Weve heard that God isnot Santaa gentle orgiving deity who winks at sin and lets everyone into heaven just cuz (p. 76).Dobson also reerred to the concept o Christ as either liar, lunatic, or Lord (p. 81). Unortunately, that

argument is ar rom original. Te trilemma was rst introduced by C.S. Lewis in the mid-twentiethcentury, and later commented on by Norman Geisler and other prominent preachers and theologians.

Tat being said, Dobson does draw an interesting parallel between the eternal path o unbelievers and adevastating bridge collapse in 2002:

On May 26, 2002, a towboat on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma accidentally pushed a barge into a concrete bridge support. Te bridge waswhere Interstate 40 crossed the river. At the impact, a third o the bridge collapsed.

Te problem was that people on the interstate couldnt see that the bridge was out Tree eighteen wheelers went over, along with sevenpassenger cars

We know the bridge is out. We know that people are naively accelerating to their deaths. And were in the right place at the right time withthe right tools to do something about it (pp. 91-92).

So who would benet rom this book? Probably not the airly strong, solid-ood, long-time believer. But all o you long-time believers haveat least one or two baby believer riends, right? Or amily members? And maybe one or two o them arent quite all-the-way with Jesusyet. Like, theyre going to church on Sunday morningshung over rom partying on Saturday night. Or you have a cousin whos saying shes aChristian but living with her boyriend. Or theres someone you know who wants to speak up or Christbut hes too embarrassed. Give himthis bookimmediately. (Well, ater you make sure hes got a Bible to read.)

As Dobson said, Christianity is ofensive. Its always been ofensive. You know, you were born into sin. And weve gotta die to ourselves andrepent o our wrongdoing and ask Christ to come into our lie and the Holy Spirit to ll us up so that we stop behaving that way. And thatsgetting of the ence.2

1 First Friday Interview with Skip Heitzig, courtesy o Connection Communications2 Ryan Dobson with Jeferson Scott, Be Intolerant: Because Some Tings Are Just Stupid (Carol Stream: yndale House Publishers, Inc., 2003)

kin

dled

by Bekah

Hanson

Tis girl was a

sophomore in[a Christian]high schooltwo years othisand shestill thinks

there are manyroads to heaven

KindledKudos

With a name like Maylene and the Sons o


23/36

[ 23 ]

With a name like Maylene and the Sons oDisaster, attention is easily drawn to thisincreasingly popular southern rock group.Established in 2004 in Birmingham, Alabama,

Maylene and the Sons o Disaster have been fghting theirway to the rontline o the Christian music industry. Mem-bers include Dallas aylor, who provides the lead vocals,Chad Hu on lead guitar, Jake Duncan on rhythm guitar,

Brad Lehmann on bass guitar, and Matt Clark, who poundsthe drums. Te band signed to Ferret Records in 2007, andin 2009 they were already releasing their third album, III,which has s parked national recognition. IIIis a perect ex-ample o their hard-hitting southern rock, driven by vocal-ist aylor (who also happens to be the ormer singer o Un-deroath). Ater spending two years on the road with bandslike Emery, Se cret and Whispe r, Norma Jean, and For oday,Maylene continues to keep a steady tour schedule. Teyspent the summer o 2010 headlining the highly recognizedScream Te Prayer our and recently completed a NorthAmerica tour during the spring o 2011. Currently, the bandis ocusing on writing and producing a new album. I yourelooking or some good ole ashioned southern hard rock,Maylene and the Sons o Disaster is your band. Check outtheir popular track Step Up, Im On Iton Static Radio.

the

u

nderground

by: Will

Hall

In their music, Hawk Nelson has always been able to fnd thecrazy balance between enjoying lie to the ullest and livinglie with a purpose. Hawk Nelsons latest album, Crazy Love,continues that tradition and eels like a natural progression

in their sound. In a way, Crazy Lovegoes hand-in-hand withtheir previous album Live Life Loud; with Live Life Loudbeingthe how and Crazy Lovethe why.

Troughout the record, the band addresses important spiritualissues along with the message o Gods overwhelming loveallwhile keeping their signature punk, pop sound. Te band pulledmuch o their inspiration or their latest work rom FrancisChans book Crazy Love, which ocuses on what it means to beloved by God and to love Him back. Te title track sets the toneor everything else on the album with lines like this: Tey saythat were insane/We say that weve been changed/ By thepower o/Crazy love.

Once youve accepted that everything about Hawk Nelson iscrazy (in a good way), including their outlook on love, then thewhole album makes sense. From the more worship style trackslike My Next Breath and Your Love is a Mystery, to upbeatsongs with a purpose like We Can Change the World andOne Shot, each song proves the band has risen to a new levelin their music. I the music is sounding too seriousdont worry.Classic Hawk humor pops up in songs like LAX (a hardcoretribute to the Los Angeles airport) and ally-Ho (the albumsexuberant frst track). Te music all adds up to another crazy-good oering rom Hawk Nelsonwith a message that can turnyour lie upside down.

sound

check

by: Leigha

Harvey


24/36

[24]

Iwasaskedtowriteanarticleorthelaunchoournewquarterlypaper,Static.Atrst,Iwasgoingtowriteanarticleontheexciting(and

sometimesdaring)lieoatapdancer.However,

IsoonrealizedIknownothingabouttapdancing,andwonderedwhyIwasconvinceditwassuchadaringliestyle.Granted,ittakesamazingagil-ity,strength,andcommitmenttobecomeasuc-cessultapdancer,andIdoadmiretheartbutIeltIreallyknownothingaboutit.AndalthoughIhavewitnessedmanyatapdancingrenzies,IbelievewritinganarticleonsomethingIknownothingaboutwouldnotbeadvantageoustoyou,thereader,ortome,thewriter.Nowatthispoint

youremostlikelywonderingwhyIwouldwanttowriteanarticleonsuchanincrediblyascinat-ingartsuchastapdancing.Teanswerisquitesimpleactually...Ihavenoidea.Recently,StevoandIstarteddoingthemorningshowtogetheragain.Forthosewhomaynotremember,StevoandI(alongwithJoey)didmorningsonM88orseveralyearsasTeTreeAmigos.Well,nowwerebackbutwithoutJoey.Andthatsareallygoodthingbecausebabykangarooscanbevery

unpredictable.SinceStevoandIhavestarteddo-ingradiotogetheragain,alothashappened.Forstarters,weverenamedthemorningshowTeOldManandtheSteve,takenromsomeamousbookIveneverheardocalled Te Old Man andthe Sea. Itsabookthathasnothingtodowithradiosoperectorus!Oneomyavoritetop-icsbroughtuponthemorningshowwasabouthumantaxidermy.Tequestionwasraisedlikethis:Iyoucouldbestufedbyataxidermistater

youdie,whatposewouldyouwanttoeternallybein?Wehadeverythingromtherockposetoarobotpose.Anyway,asStevoandImovecloserandclosertoworldwideame(jk),pleasekeepusinprayer.Welookorwardtoservingyouandthecommunitiesthatweinltrate.

thejocks

-MattGentry

Im having troublewiththewholeconceptofhell.th


25/36

[25]

Te Gospel o Matthew says: Tereore you shall be perect, just as your Father in heaven is perect (Matthew 5:48). I read abook which suggested the main problem with Christians is we have our halos on too tight. Te author believed Christians aretoo righteous, too good, and too perect to relate to ordinary, everyday sinners. In order to be more approachable, he suggest-

ed Christians adjust their halos so theyre just a little crooked. Personally, I ound that to be one o the most ludicrous thingsIve ever heard. Granted, Christians can be pretty annoying when theyre legalistically holier than thou, but the solutionisnt to behave in an unashamedly worldly ashion knowing that Gods grace will cover you. Some believe that Jesus told us tobe perect like God just to demonstrate how impossible that was. However, I dont think He meant we shouldnt even tryto beperect. Being a disciple o Christ means learning to be like Christ; and the good news is that as we do, we will slowly be per-ected by Him. As or being too perectly righteous and unable to relate to people? Jesus was perectly righteousyet sinnersocked to him. Righteous perection doesnt scare sinners away; it piques their curiosity and draws them to the good news osalvation. Dont be a holier than thou Christian, because theyre pretty annoying. But be a Christian who is trying daily tolive more and more like the perect example o righteousness we see in Christ by the power o the Holy Spirit.

thegoodnews

Whats Wrong with Perfect?

g pIfGodissoloving,howcouldHeeversendanyonetohell?Itjustdoesntmakesensetome.Canyouhelp?

First o, lets establish one important act. Hell is realbut it wasnt created or us.Hell was made or the angels who rebelled with Satan against God. Matthew 25:41reveals this to us: Ten He will also say to those on the let hand, Depart rom Me,you cursed, into the everlasting fre prepared or the devil and his angels. Unortu-nately, our sin nature places us in that same rebellious camp. Tis brings up the sec-ond important point: God doesnt send anyone to hell who doesnt want to be there.People choose to go to hell when they choose not to accept Christ. God has done ev-erything possible to prevent any o us rom going to hell. His own Son sacrifced Hislie on the cross to pay the price or our sin. He also conquered death and the gravethrough His resurrection so that we could enjoy eternal lie with Him instead o su-ering the eternal death that sin condemns us to endure. However, we must chooselie, we must choose orgiveness, and we must choose Christ i we want to escapeeternity in hell. Ive oten heard how unair it is that theres only one way to escapehell. Its so narrow-minded to say that Jesus is the onlyway to heaven and eternal

lie. Consider this: without Christ there is no way to escape hell. Without the sacrifceo Jesus, we all would have been destined or eternity in hellbecause thats whatsin condemns us all to. Tats ar more unairto have no option at allin my mind.Its amazing that God was willing to provide us with a way to avoid hell at all. Insteado saying how unair it is that Jesus is the only way, we should be glad theres anyway at allto avoid hell. Hell is a terrible and very real place. God doesnt want any ous to go there. So He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to create a way or us to escape hell.Whether or not we end up there is ultimately up to us.

heque

stion

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go withyou in the car, in case the need should arise for them tobark violently at nothing right in your ear.

Demetri Martin


26/36

[ 26 ]

It was causing me so much stress that I couldnt eat,I couldnt sleep I was making myself sick trying to


27/36

[ 27 ]

I couldn t sleep, I was making myself sick trying totake care of him and work and everything else and Iwondered, Why am I doing this? I could just leave.

The thing that kept me there was I knew Id madea vow to him and to God, and that if I left, I wouldfeel like I was failing everyoneincluding God.

We live in a culture that idolizes comort and ease. When things get difcult we

look or a way to escape to something eas ier. Adrianna Duran-Leon, midday jock

on Static Radio, is dierent. She didnt look or the easy way out. She didnt just quit

when things got tough. She ound st rength outside o hersel to endure; to prosper

and thrive in the midst o circumstances that would cause most o us to give up. So

how did she get to that point?

Much o what shaped Adris character was ormed in her youth. My grandather

was a huge inuence in my lie. He was a mighty, great man o God. He was con-

stantly happy. You never really saw him angry or upset or sad. Not to say that he

didnt get that way, but he didnt show it because he knew that Christ living in him

was greater than any situation. He would teach me everyday stu, whether it was

shing or whatever, and he would bri ng it all back to Christ and you could totally see

Christ in his lie. You could just see the joy o Christ emanating rom him.

Te inuence o Adris grandather, as well as her Christian mom and grandmother,

eventually led her to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior in 1993. Ater

spending much o her youth around the church and not being impressed, the relent-less, joyul example o her grandather eventually helped her to get itshe nally

understood why she needed Christ. Little did she know just how much she would

need His strength, grace, and comort in the years ahead.

In 2004, Adri married her husband Mikey and it seemed as though all was well in

their world. But those moments o comort, ease, and happiness were short lived.

Just three years ater they were married, during a trip to the ER ater months o

deteriorating health, Mikey was diagnosed with cancer. Tey told us it was a brain

tumor. Tey told us it was badthat he would have to go into surgery almost imme-

diately. It was a long, excruciating, eight-hour surgery, and when the doctor came

to talk with us he said the tumor was so big that it was pushing against the brainstem. I you damage that, youre dead. Mikey could have died at any time because

o where the tumor was. A wrong move, twist o the neck, anything like that and he

could have died.

Mikeys lie was saved, but months o chemotherapy, radiation, endless doctor vis-

its, and additional health problems rom the treatments ollowed. Marriages have

been torn apart due to ar less challenging circumstancesand leaving did cross

Adris mind. Why did she s tay? Te way I was brought up, and my grandather

teaching me everything that he did, I knew I had to stay. And Im glad that I did

because were both stronger now.

Would Adri have been able to stay without Christ in her lie? Would she want to

change things i she could? Do we want to go back and do that again? No. But would

we go back and change it knowing where God has brought us and w here Hes going

to take us? No, I wouldnt change that either.

Few people ace challenges like Adri and Mikey have. And were it not or Christ in

her lie, w ho knows how her story would have turned out. Perhaps one statement

best sums up Adris experience in situations where the only choice is to rely on God

or strength and help: Its hard going through the storms, its hard going through

the re, but when you look back, its all worth it. Just think, i she had quit, given up,

or let when the storm came, she never would have discovered this precious truth.

te

stify

when you

look back,its all

worth it

th


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[ 28 ]

Kids need to see parents who show honor and respect to theirheavenly Father. You may or may not have children yoursel, butyou all have parents, right? And what is Gods commandment toall o us ? Honor your ather and your mother, that your days may be long

upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12).

Tis commandment (the fth one) is mentioned not once or twice, but atotal o eight times in the Bible; twice in the Old estament and six timesin the New estament. Im not talking about examplesthere are plenty othosebut the commandment itsel is repeated. Anything that God saysis important, but something He repeats eight times is reallyimportant.

Te Bible doesnt say to honor your mom and dad just i theyre perect,or i they do an outstanding job. Lets ace it; there is only one perect par-entGod. Were just told to honor our parents, and when we do that we

also honor our heavenly Father.

Te day my son was born and I realized that I was a parent, it hit me likea ton o bricks. It was an entirely new role or me. I started to wonder i Idhonored my own parents enough. So the frst thing I did was call them. Isaid, Tank you or putting up with me my whole lie. Tank you or yourlove and your patience. And, by the way, you have a grandson.

You see, my ather and I werent exactly close as I grew up. A ter I gotsaved, I became really sel-righteous. I thought, I know the truth, and hedoesnt. I was arrogant and fgured I didnt need to listen to him. Ten theLord spoke to my heart and said, Go humble yoursel b eore your ather,

and tell him youre sorry or your bad attitude. God was holding me, as aChristian, to a higher standard.

Ater that, my relationship with my dad started to turn around. By hum-

bling mysel, I was ollowing what it says in the fth commandment.Tat could be your experience, too.Whenever you decide to change, Godwill honor your commitment to Him.Tings may not be perect, but Godwill honor it.

Te One who made our amilieswants them to be healthy and whole.Whenever anyone comes to theheavenly Father through His Son

Jesus Christ, changes will take place.One change will be an attitude o hu-militya desire to love, to orgive, tohonor, and to respect. At least, thatswhat I ound.

You are all c hildren o your parents. Some o you are parents yourselves,and your kids will someday be parents, too. I showing honor to parentshasnt been practiced in your amily, a good place to start is with you. Iyou honor your parents, your children will learn to do the same. Tatsobedience to the Fathers commandment, and it honors Him. And isntthat what we all want to do?

he

so

urce

Lets face it;

there is only

one perfectparentGod


29/36

[ 29 ]

An Apos-trophy is the award given inthe Best Apostle category.

Yes Billy, Do you know what anApostrophe is?

t


30/36

[ 30 ]

the

h

eart

I need some advice from a Christian viewpoint. Tere is a girl that I really like and she says she doesnt want to worry about a

relationship. She is amazing but she doesnt want a romantic relationship right now, even though I do. What should I do?

Letmetellyouastoryomyown.About14yearsago,IwenttoagamenightataChristianhouseontheUNMcampus.WhileIwasthere,Imetagirl.ActuallyImetthegirl.IdontknowwhyIthoughtthat,butIdid.Nowthisgirlwasintheleadershipoayouthgroupthatdidntbelieveindating.AndsherecentlyhadabadexperiencewithaguywhoclaimedGodtoldhimhewasgoingmarryher(unnythingGodneversaidanythingaboutthattoher).Bottomline,IhadnochancewiththisgirleventhoughIcouldtellshelikedme.SowhatdidIdo?Iwaited.Iwasherriend.IspenttimewithheratchurchandingroupsinanywayIcould.Iwascontentandwillingtoenjoyhercompanyinanykindorelationship,althoughIreallyhopedthatsomedaywewouldbemorethanjustriends.Ivebeenhappilymarriedtothatgirloralmost12yearsnowthehappiest12yearsomylie.

Somystoryhadahappyending,butyoureprobablywonderingwhatthishastodowithyou.Hereareacouplethingstoconsider.One,iyoucantrustGodwitheternalsalvation,whynotwithyourrelationships?Itsnotalwayseasy,Iknow.Butbelievemeitmakesliemuchlessstressul.Second,iyoureallycareorthisgirl,thenyouwillrespectandsupportherchoiceaboutrelationships.Youwillputherwantsanddesiresbeoreyourownandbethebestriend/Christianbrotheryoucanbetoher.TatsexactlywhatIdidwiththegirlImet.Iyoucandothatwiththisgirl,perhapsthingswillchangedowntheroad.Canyouwait?JacobwaitedsevenyearsorRachelanditseemedbutadaytohimbecauseohisloveorher(seeGenesis29:20).IwouldhavedonethesameorthegirlIloved.Butmaybeshewontchange.MaybethisisntGodsbestoryouasaspouse.Canyouacceptthat?CanyouletgoowhatyouthinkisgoodorwhatGodknowsisbest?Canyoucontinuetobeanhonorableriendeveniromanceisneverapartotheequation?Iyoucantletgo,iyoucantputasideyourwantsorsomeoneelses,iyoucantcompletelytrustGodinthisyoureinoramiserable,heartbrokentime.Iyoucan,youllndreedom,peace,andhappiness.Tatmaynotbetheansweryouwant,butspeakingrommyownexperienceswithasimilarsituation,itsthebestanswerIcangive.Ipraythatithelps.

Submit your questions to [email protected]

FROM A LISENER:


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Forsmallchurches,collegeministrycanbechallenging.ypically,smallchurchesdonthaveenoughstudentsincollegeortheusualtypeoministry.Butitheydontdoanything,graduatingseniorseitherendupnotgettingthetypeospiritualinstructiontheyneedastheycontinuetoattendyouthgroup,ortheyleavealtogetherandacethechallengesocollegealone.HereinAlbuquerque,agroupopastorscameupwithan

inspiringsolutiontothisproblem,soIsatdownwithMattWilliamsoCityChurchtolearnmore.

Where did the idea for UNITED come from?

TeideacameromtheheartotwoyouthpastorshereinAlbuquerque:JeremyRodriguezoFaithLutheranandJustinRichteroHeightsCumberlandPresbyterian.Tetwosawaneedorabiggercollegecommunityintheirownchurchesandtheyrecognizedthattheywerentalone.Teydecidedtodosomethingaboutit.Itstartedwithjustthetwoothemandquicklygrewtoincludevechurches.Allotheyouthpastorsromthesechurcheswerealreadyriendsandtheideaultimatelygrew

romtheirauthentic,realChristianrelationships.Eachchurchhasitsownstyleandattractsadierenttypeodemographic,butthisisaneventwherestudentsareexposedtodierentstylesandtraditionsblendingthedemographicsoeachcongregationtogether.

How does UNITED help solve the unique challenges facing smallchurches and college ministry?

Mosttimes,smallchurchcollegeministryisabasicBiblestudy,anditcandevelopanElijahmentality-likewearethelastremnantinourcity,weareallaloneinthis.ItseasytodoaBiblestudybutitshardtotakeasmall

grouptothenextlevel.Itshardtobuildacriticalmassinasmallchurch.UNIEDisnotintendedtoreplacethelocalchurchgroup;itsintendedtobuildmomentuminourexistingchurchesandbringusclosertoChrist.Wearepartosomethingmuchbiggerthananythingwecoulddoasindividualchurches.

Whats it like to work with so many diverse churches for a com-mon goal? What difficulties arise and how do you solve them?

Soarwehaventhadanymajordifculties.Weattributethistotheheartohumility,servantleadership,andunityintheleaders.Tisisntaboutone

congregation,onesetotraditions,onepreacher,oroneworshipteam.Tis

isaboutthecollectivebodyoChristinAlbuquerque.Werotatehostchurchessoeachservicehasadierenteel.Ionechurchdoestheworshipmusic,anotherprovidesthepreaching,andyetanotheractsastheemcee.Temorechurcheswehaverepresentedonstageinaservicethebetter.Tisisaboutunityinourcity.WehaveamosaicoChristiansputtingasidedierencesandocusingontheimportantthings:keepingthe

majorthingsmajorandtheminorthingsminor.

Why is it so important for there to be a place of ministry forkids after high school and into their young adult years?

TeresahugegapinthelocalchurcheswithintheUnitedStates.Itsthelostdecadethattimeobecominganadult,gettingoutotheparentshouse,goingtocollege,andbecomingresponsibleoryoursel.Tisisthetimeoliewheresomeoourmostimportantdecisionsaremade.Wepickourcareers,ourspouse;westartbuildingonourvaluesystem.Weseewhatworksandwhatdoesnt.Webelievethatthisisthetimeoliewhentheenemyattacksyoungpeoplethehardest:itswhenwehavethemost

reetimeandthedevilwantstooccupyit.WewanttoseeyoungadultsgetredupaboutthegospeloJesusChrist.WewanttowatchGodtransormthiscitythroughtheyoungpeoplewhoarepassionateaboutHim.Tereisagreatcommissiontoulllandthisisanopportunitythatyoungpeople,hereinAlbuquerque,havetobepartosomethingmuchbiggerthanthem.

the

beat

If someone wanted to find out more about UNITED,where can they get more information? When and

where do you meet?

Find us onfacebook: United-Young-Adult-Worship

You can email us at [email protected]

Because we move from building to building each month,you need to connect with us to keep in touch.

UNITED always meets the first Monday ofeach month beginning at 6:15 pm.

*

by Yo

Snyder

WE WANT TO SEE

YOUNG ADULTS GET

FIRED UP ABOUT THEGOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.


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Pop Culture Puzzlers Pop Culture Pieces

pop


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In 1897, Jell-O was invented. Whichwas not an original favor?

o Raspberry

o Orange

o Lemon

o Lime

What novel inspired the name Starbucks?

o A ale of wo Cities

o Te Canterbury ales

o Moby Dick

o Emma

What is the last word in the Declarationo Independence?

o Honor

o Fortunes

o Lives

o Republic

Brothers/cousins Anthony, Ivan, Michael,and Cameron (as Caleb, Nathan, Jared, andMatthew) perorm as this group:

o Owl City

o Boys Like Girls

o Shinedown

o Kings of Leon

What is PEZ and wheredid it come rom?

In 1927, in Vienna, Austria, a candy maker

by the name o Eduard Haus, III developed a

candy to conceal adult smokers bad breath.Te original avor or the candy, which is

still available today, was peppermint. When

marketers extracted the rst, middle,

and last letters o the German word or

peppermint, peferminz, they were let

with PEZ, and the name stuck. Convenient,

headless PEZ dispensers suraced in the

late 1940s, and allowed the smoker to pop

a PEZ to reshen his breath at any given

time. In 1952, the PEZ revolution spread tothe United States. Marketing gurus, ater

extensive research with children, determined

that character heads were just the vehicle to

drive up sales.

Te current availability o certain avors

o PEZ depends upon where you live. In

Spain, apple and raspberry avors may be

purchased, while in Hungary and Tailand,

chocolate may be added to your stash. Over275 diferent PEZ character heads have been

designed since 1952. In terms o popularity,

the Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus models

top the list year ater year.

Excerpt taken romwww.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/pez.asp

p

culture

Te rst product to have a bar code was Wrigleys gum

A jiy is an actual unit o time: 1/100 o a second

Porcupines foat in water

Te average lie-span o a major league baseball is 5-7 pitches

Every time you lick a stamp, youre consuming 1/10 o a calorie

Te average person has over 1,460 dreams a year

Answers:Lime,MobyDick,Honor,KingsofLeon

1980f


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1980.What do you remember about 1980? What do you mean you werent even born yet? Whatever. Is there anythingin 1980 thats even worth reminiscing about? Lets jump in the Way, Way, Way Far Back Retro Station Wagon Ma-chine (were working on the trademark or that name, so dont get any ideas) and nd out.

Ronald Reagan deeats Jimmy Carter in a presidential landslide victory. John Lennon is shot to death by a derangedan. Almost every television in the country tunes in to the prime time soap opera Dallas. Everyones wondering:Who shot J.R.?

Music? Pink Floyd comes out with Another Brick in the Wall We dont need no education/ We dont need nothought control/No dark sarcasm in the classroom/eachers leave them kids alone Queen ofers an (unknow-ingly) eternal contribution to the world o sports with Another One Bites the Dust Another one bites the dust/Another one bites the dust/ And another one gone, and another one gone /Another one bites the dust.

Ok, I never claimed 1980 was the year o superb lyrical articulations.

Speaking o sports (and we were right up there with Queen remember?), the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the LosAngeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV. Te Philadelphia Phillies thrash the Kansas City Royals in their rst ever WorldSeries title. Te Los Angeles Lakers deeat the Philadelphia 76ers. Hey, Pennsylvaniayou cant have it all, OK?

rapper Keepers at school. Moms ghting over Cabbage Patch Kids in stores across the nation (Did you have one? Ihad 3, na na na na boo boo). Trees Company. Te Dukes o Hazzard. Little House on the Prairie. Te Facts o Lie.

1980 was an epic year or the big screen:

Te Empire Strikes BackAirplane!Te Blues BrothersTe ShiningCaddyshack

We all know time fies. But what are we doing to redeem our time down here? King Solomon said, I have seen allthe works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping or the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Nowthat certainly doesnt seem very promising. Whats our hope, then? Lets take a look at how Solomon winds upEcclesiastes:

Let us hear the conclusion o t he whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is mans all.

For God will bring every work into judgment,Including every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Fear God and keep His commandments. Tats how we redeem our time.Tats our only reasonable response o aith and obedience to our sovereign God.

p.s. Post-it notes by 3-M were introduced in 1980. Just so you know.

ashb

ack

by Bekah

Hanson

Scan Me!


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static paper spring 2011

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