ITS ABOUT TO BE PUBLICLY RELEASED!!!!

After more than a year of preparation and development, this film will release in theatres nationwide January 22nd.  The film features the story of two teenagers whose paths separated at the beginning of highschool.  One was escorted into the spotlight, and the other faded into obscurity.  The film does an amazing job at addressing issues relevant to today’s teens including suicide, cutting, teen pregnancy, drugs and drinking, and divorce, without seeming too over the top by piling them all on one character.

If you are in High School or Junior High ministry, or if you know a teenager, take them to a theater near you on opening week.  You can check out the trailer here for a bit more of a taste of this great film!  There is also a great site for leaders with tools to help you use this film as an outreach opportunity.

Director Brian Baugh said, “(This is) a film made with a different approach, a different production value, with a different vision…(it) looks at real teen culture—as edgy and uncomfortable as it can be at times…with characters and a story that have credibility.”  With 12,000 church leaders and youth seeing the film in pre-screenings, viewers rated the film’s quality at 9.0 out of 10 and 9.3 out of 10 for ministry usefulness. The film has also been hailed by leading teen ministries: Josh McDowell called the film “excellent” and“relevant”; Ron Luce of Teen Mania Ministries called the film “important” and “a wake-up call for teens”; and author and veteran youth minister Brooklyn Lindsey called the film “more than a movie—it’s an invitation for teens to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

Baseball players all have specific positions on the field.  Some are better at the quick moves required on the infield, others at making the adjustments needed and having the leg speed to cover the relative vastness of the outfield.  One is specialized at delivering the ball, and another specialized at catching it.  There are multiple coaches, some working with the pitchers, others focusing on other aspects of the game, and finally, the GM who heads up the whole show. 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its
work. – Ephesians 4:15,16

The team trains, each person on the team studies and practices his role, and finally, the team suits up in the team's uniform bearing the team's name, and…

You see, that is where the vision turned odd.  The team was all practiced up, all suited up, and fully equipped…

…BUT NEVER LEFT THE DUGOUT AND TOOK THE FIELD.

Our churches are not the game.  Our churches are the locker room where we put on the name of Christ.  The dugout is where we prepare for the upcoming challenge, but eventually, we have to take the field, each to our own position, and take on our opponent who stands at the plate waiting.  On the field is where churches become "the Church".

Do not be confused.

WE ARE NOT THE SPECTATORS.

WHEN YOU CHOSE TO FOLLOW CHRIST, YOU LEFT THE STANDS.

Now it is time to take the field.

Are you ready to play ball and get a little dirt on your knees, or are you hangin' in the dugout?

I got my hair good and wet, lathered up nice and thick, and then, without much further thought, opened my eyes and let the foam run right down into them.

Fortunately, the labeling on the bottle was as accurate as could be.  As crazy as it sounds, the shampoo cause no noticable irritation to my eyes.  Satisfied that my hypothesis was now proven however, I began to ponder what I later realized was the real lesson from this little experiment…

Are we, as those who label themselves "Christians", as forthright in our own labeling?  Can others count on us to be as gentle and tender as the One whose name we so proudly bear?  Please, share your thoughts with me!

And, by the way, feel free to try this on your own.  That fresh baby smell alone is worth it.  =)

Ispired by a passage from Lord of the Rings, where Sam asks Gandolf if "everything sad going to come untrue", Jason's title track is beautifully written, both times.  Thats right, there is a part I and a part II, and while both reflect a different season and mood, they are both right on.

Amy's favorite track, For the First Time Again, includes beautifully crafted phrases like "Sometimes I think I know too much, but even then its not enough.  Can you take me back so I can move ahead?  Take me deep inside the grace that forgets instead of down the well worn path of my regrets.  I'm older than I've ever been.  Can you take me back and make me new again?  Cause I need you now, as much as I did then."

Finally, my favorite track on the album is titled "Fade With Our Voices".  It is a an excellent wakeup for those of us, like myself, who need to check our motives and our actions to see if they are lining up with our speech.  It's words challenge us to "make our lives a melody that we proclaim when we live in Jesus' name."

But don't just take my word on it.  here is what NewReleaseTuesday.com had to say about this new project. 

Do yourself a favor and head over to http://JasonGrayMusic.com today and pick up this new release.  It will be a great add to your collection, and a blessing to your daily walk with God!

Couple great excerpts from the article:

• What emerged from Pritchard's keynote talk was not a passion for the
  environment so much as a passion for people, their health and
  well-being, and particularly for social justice. "If our abuse of the
  environment raises, for example, the rate of debilitating asthma
  attacks, then it is a compassion issue for the church." (Rusty Pritchard, Co-Founder of Flourish)

• South Atlanta pastor Leroy Barber spoke of how his church worked to
  "green my 'hood." His parishioners live with all the unsightly and
  unsanitary things other Atlanta neighborhoods avoid: chemical plants,
  an auto impound lot from another municipality, a landfill, poor public
  transportation. He described his church's efforts to improve the lives
  of their neighbors through economic development, health and nutrition
  programs, and even pedestrian safety campaigns. "That's good news for
  the poor," he said.

• The dominant spiritual message was the need for neighbor love and the social justice activity neighbor love entails.

• A number of social justice ministries were represented at the conference. The most popular booth belonged to Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee,
  (a Share5 Partner ministry!) with its slogan–"Drink Coffee. Do Good."–and its endless urns of
  really good joe. The ministry helps Rwandan genocide survivors to form
  coffee-growing co-ops, then helps them speed their best beans to market
  where they command top prices. These co-op farmers typically increase
  their revenues by a factor of 4.5, exceeding the prices paid in
  fair-trade programs. Land of a Thousand Hills markets their product to
  and through churches.

            (all excerpts pulled directly from the Christianity Today article…)

It is great to hear that there is a movement of compassion finding its way into all corners of Chrisitanity today.  If not compassionate, what are we when it comes to our daily lives?  If we lack compassion, can we really call ourselves Christ-like?

Share5 Overview – Background and Partners from Share5 by WorldWins on Vimeo.

The video above is the first 10 minutes of the message spoken by Chad in April at New Heart Foursquare in Simi Valley, CA.  While the message for the day was "Walking on the Roof", these first minutes provide an overview of Share5, our personal story, and some of our great partner ministries.  Enjoy!

Vital Statistics:
year:  1993
model:  34n
legnth:  34'
width: 8'4"
engine:  454 Chevy Gas
weight:  appx 16000 lbs
avg fuel efficiency:  8mpg
understorage compartments:  2 full passthrus, 5 partial compartments
ammenities:

• 6 gal hot water heater
• 80 gal fuel tank
• 80 gal water t
• 45 gal grey water tank
• 50 gal black water tank (toilet, people!)
• gas furnace
• ac and dc lighting
• full gas and electric refrigerator and freezer
• queen bed in rear
• dinette makes into full bed for kids to share

We've added:

• 900 watt inverter (charge laptops when driving)
• 32" visio LCD TV
• Mac Mini w/ wireless keyboard and mouse
• 2 macbook laptops
• AT&T wifi access card
• black bookshelf/tv stand
• featherbed over the queen matress
• 5000# rear airbag suspension
• new heat riser bushings (exhaust)
• New am/fm/mp3/cd player stereo
• Garmin Nuvi 260 GPS!

While we were there, I asked Larry if he could take a look with me at two other concerns:  the passenger side rear air bag (suspension) had a slow leak, and the dash AC on the RV has never worked. 

Over the course of the 3-4 hours that followed our arrival, we were blessed with a great time of fellowship and conversation, an oil change, dinner, a leak-free right rear airbag, and our AC issue diagnosed, isolated, and a solution planned out!  WOW!  When I reached into my pocket for my checkbook, Larry once again refused to allow us to pay him for his services.  I appreciate he and his family's contributions to what we are doing.  He is an integral part of keeping us rolling, and I pray that the blessings he receives are both eternal AND in this present time and place! 

SO… if you are ever in or around Oceanside, and you need a mechanic with amazing skill AND a great heart that I can promise will treat you fair… Let me know and I'll be GLAD to hook you up with Larry Fabbrini. 

Larry, Thank you for being a giver.  God Bless you.
Chad & Amy

I am happy to say that this week, thanks to the generous responses of readers of this blog and supporters of World Wins International, that we were able to provide $2050 of the total of $4500 needed for this project in only a few short days.  I have been in contact with Pastor Sackey, and he said his church raised an additional $800 from their members and the community, which means that they were only $1650 short of the full purchase price, which the family has agreed to take on payments.  Praise God!

Thank you for your support of this great acquisition.  If you missed the original post and would still like to participate, we would be happy to let anyone who wishes help pay off the remaining balance on the land.  Simply contact us through the website, or go to our secure online giving page.

I walked up to a coffee table run by a group doing reconciliation ministry through Rwandan coffee.  As a volunteer unpacked their story, God spoke to me for what would be the first of many times that week.  He said “you need to work with this ministry”.  I thanked her for the coffee, and left wondering what that would mean.

The first person I had an appointment with suggested we go catch Andy Stanley’s opening session.  We headed to the front row of section 110, right next to the speaker’s entry. The intro video for REVERB (the theme for 2007) began, and all the screens in the arena flashed the statement “one person can make a difference” followed by the question “What will you do?”  I had no way of knowing it then, but this theme would resonate in my head and my soul until it caused a change to take place.

Andy Stanley called me “the most powerful person in the room”, and told me how God wanted to put “extraordinary influence” in my hands.  He asked how I would leverage that influence for the sake of others.  There may have been 11,999 other people in the arena, but I know he was talking to me.  I returned to the same seat after the break, and Francis Chan said that if I’d only believe what God says about me, there was no limit in what God would do through me.  More importantly, he asked if I was in love with my Jesus, and if I was doing the task he had set apart for me to do.  I called my wife and told her something indescribable was going on, enough to make me oddly sick to my stomach.  I told her I couldn’t explain it, but knew God was up to something.  She promised to pray.   I went to the hotel.  I went to bed.

Craig Groeschel told me the next morning that his 6 children were praying that God would disturb me.  Little did he know that God had already answered their prayers in advance. Shane Claiborne talked about being a different kind of Christian, and my eyes filled with tears.  I knew God meant me.  There was Sunday Adelijah, Erwin McManus, and others.  God used each one of them over those two days to speak to me at my very core. I ended up listening to every speaker, recognizing my only appointment was a God appointment.  Finally, Rick Warren asked what we would do with what God had placed in our hands. I began to inventory exactly what that was. He spoke of influence once again, and the responsibility that comes with it.  He spoke of his trips to Africa, and my eyes filled with tears yet another time.

My wife and I had just returned from our first trip to Africa only three weeks prior to Catalyst, and the memories were still fresh on my heart.  In 2005, God called my wife and I to start a nonprofit to work with and support ministry projects and development in Africa.  We founded the nonprofit, but a few months later, I was offered a position with a company to work in Christian media.  We put our nonprofit on hold, and I took the position.  A trip to Africa had been in our plans as well, but I canceled it twice over the next two years because it created schedule conflicts with my “real” work.  I guess God felt Catalyst was a good time to realign my priorities.

I returned from Catalyst and I knew God had done something, but I wasn’t sure what.  I remembered the coffee people.  I remembered the messages.  I even looked through my notes and watched the DVD’s I bought.  Its only in looking back today, however, that I can fully see what Catalyst 2007 meant.

As I write this, I am sitting in my home office with my wife.  We just booked our flights to come (together) to Catalyst 2008.  I am no longer an executive with a media company, though they are still doing quite well.  I resigned from that post in June, leaving my comfortable salary, benefits, and stock options to return to the calling God placed in my heart three years ago.  We have put our house on the market and will soon be moving our family of four into an RV. (thanks to Shane Claiborne for that idea!) We’ll be starting a traveling ministry for the project we call Share5, kicked off October 31st by 3 week multi-state tour as the ministry partner for Christian Rock band Wavorly!

This year at Catalyst (where the theme is appropriately "Together"), you will find us serving coffee from the table of our now good friends and ministry partners – Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.  Turns out we’ve been able to fund some microfinance loans for a few of their growers.  There is a meeting on this year’s agenda as well with a couple other nonprofits whose leaders just happened to be either attending or speaking at Catalyst.  The introductions have literally been happening over just the last few days as we realized everyone would be in Atlanta.  Our plan is to discuss how we could combine our Share5 concepts, Land of a Thousand Hills’ coffee growers, specially designed bicycles from another nonprofit, and microfinance processes from yet a fourth to create an efficient, manageable and sustainable ministry solution none of us could have done on our own.  We’ll be coming together to talk about working together.

One year from Reverb to Together.  God spoke to one person, me, in 2007. Now, a year later, I find myself in a position of influence, bringing ministries together to help address problems we can’t solve on our own.  You think the Holy Spirit is leading us this year?  I look forward to being together.  Save me a seat at the front of section 110, right next to the speaker’s entry.  I seem to recall that God’s anointing is extra heavy in that spot.

Chad Houck
Director, Co-Founder
WorldWins International/ Share5