Tug Taviano » Faith

Telemarketing Pastors vs. Tim Tebow

Tug Taviano — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:38:00 +0000

So there are two things that I am spending a lot of time thinking about right now, one being the book I am reading (Not A Fan, by Kyle Idleman), and Tim Tebow. Both are intriguing and both are truly changing my mentality, one thought at a time. I am not a big reader on one hand, and on the other, I am a disgruntled Browns FOLLOWER…. you will understand why this is in caps later.

Before this year, I was hoping that Tim Tebow would get his shot…not because I thought he would lead so many comebacks as he has done, or that he would remove the doubt that has been thrown at him, but simply because he is a blast to watch, and the Broncos are my 2nd favorite team in the league. (they were the team I rooted for when the browns were sold to Baltimore) I began to like watching Tebow back in his college days at Florida and the man has not wavered from who he is…no matter what has came against him. He has offered no excuse to his throwing ability, or even truly gotten physically angry when everyone has poked at him. Instead he leads his team to a 6-1 record while he has been the starter and is currently a Trending topic across the nation. There are even remixes on you tube stating all he does is win ( http://t.co/S5MMnU3P ) . But the biggest thing that is associated with Tim Tebow is his faith. In fact as I was listening to ESPN Radio this morning, I heard former BUCKEYE GREAT Chris Carter say this, “You can’t talk about Tim Tebow without talking about his faith” [the two are inseparable]. You hear about this from everywhere, if He fails…. it is because of his Faith… if he is winning, He gives credit to God, while others mock his faith. Either way, the main thing of TIM TEBOW is his relationship with His Savior…and at the end of the day that is all the success he needs.

So you have Tim Tebow who wears his faith on his sleeve, and even under his eyes and then you have telemarketing pastors that are supposed to. Now what I am not saying is that every pastor is like this, but what I am saying is that more pastors should be like Tim Tebow….or my boy Daniel Messner. But by reading the book Not a Fan, I am realizing that even pastors are sometimes fans of God and not Followers. They are trying to win people over to the Christian lifestyle by offering them Jesus for 2 easy payments of 10% of your check and one difficult payment of raising your hand in front of a crowd…but wait, there’s more! They ask questions like How would you like to live forever? Would you like to have your sins forgiven and a fresh start? Do you want to spend eternity in paradise instead of a burning hell? Some even take it a step further and say Would you like a prosperous life? Are you ready to claim the health and wealth that God has in store for you? Does that sound like something you may be interested in? It is like we offer this gospel that offers everything and costs nothing! Now I am not saying at some time , some of those questions are not important but what I am saying is that serving Christ is not all easy…it is not like Christ just says…choose me, and your life will be GREAT! No what he says is FOLLOW me and someday you will get to worship me eternally! You will go through HELL on earth to get to heaven! But just do not root for me when I am doing good, and tell my friends about me when things are great!!! HE IS SAYING WHERE MY SHIRT WHEN THINGS HAVE SUCKED, PREACH MY NAME WHEN THINGS ARE A MESS! I KNOW YOU ARE GONNA FAIL, BUT I WILL BE SITTING HERE SMILING AT YOU AND WAITING FOR YOU TO LOVE PEOPLE THE WAY I DO! People right now are hearing more about faith from Tim Tebow than they are from Billy Graham and both are authentic…be praying that people come to know Christ through this!

You see, I am a Browns Follower, and a Broncos fan…. I will not , not ever be associated with the Browns, I am more than a fan! My prayer is that I will wake up every day and go TIM TEBOW hard for my Lord…no matter what People will know I love God and it will just pour off of who I am!

Sorry for the rambling…but time to catch a ride to Michigan with my friend and co-worker Jacob Reiser…where tomorrow we will be part of the STORY Tour…where over 3,000 people will be hearing about Christ…pray for us that we will serve well in our capacity!

A dream becoming a reality?!?!?!?!

Tug Taviano — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:41:20 +0000

Many of you have known my Grandma – Marilyn Conrad – who passed away September 14, 2005 of brain cancer. My Grandma was my hero…she was my spiritual giant…sorry Mr. Heath and Mr. Mohler…but I used to skip school to play Monopoly with her. I would act like I was sick and mom would take me to Grandma’s and drop me off…where I would lay down for around an hour and then…up and at em we went. Sometimes I would hear the famous victory dance from her…sometimes I would beat her. I wish I could still call her…but in all honesty I still have their number programmed as GRANDMA CONRAD. I cannot change it!

She prayed for everyone…She loved everyone, She had a blast…NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF HER. When she died…MY WORLD GOT THE CRAP KICKED OUT OF IT. My Grandpa (PoPo) asked if I would speak at her funeral….How could I not… Well, God must have gave me the strength, because when I came off that stage…I was weeping like a baby! As a matter of fact, I still do from time to time….and tonight may be one of them.

You see…5 years ago my wife came to me and said…Tug, I had a dream, we were together, and we had to ask for these keys… and this lady looked at us… as we told her we needed them. The lady looked at us as like…why am I to give you these keys…how do you know Marilyn. I told her, and she handed me the keys. When I got the keys I unlocked the doors to an arena ….that there was a line outside jam packed waiting to get in. My wife told me…there was no one that was supposed to get these keys, they were specifically for you (me). We (angie and I) were able to pick these keys up and open the door..because my Grandma left these for me. (ya freaked out yet)

When I heard this …I was getting hired at Crossroads… in Lima, Ohio… a church of around 700 at the time, and I thought that was it. Only to be laid off 2.5 years later. I have thought, a lot about this dream and what it means…because I do believe that God gives us dreams…but when my wife vividly communicated this to me, I could not believe it. She left me the keys to a ministry that she had passed on to me! She left me to do the work that she had done for so long….but I GET LAID OFF!!! For a year I was furious…then disappointed, then happy…..minus losing the teens that I loved so much. But what about the dream….where is it gonna go….I sold wireless internet to hotels for the next almost 2 years. This job was something that I could have retired from… I LOVED IT….LITERALLY LOVED IT! God had something else in store!

I began speaking with a guy named Jacob Reiser, and met him and his dad to talk about possibly working for RUSH CONCERTS (This after running concerts for 10 years in Lima, for no income). We met, felt like family, but had no idea what it would turn into. Well 6 months into the relationship, I count them as brothers, and would go to war for these 2 guys (Jacob and Cliff Reiser). They have enabled me, through God’s leading, to pursue the ministry that I know I am supposed to be a part of.

Well…tomorrow is the day… I head up to Saginaw Michigan, with Cliff and His wife Mary, check in to my hotel….spend the night and then its on like FRICKIN DONKEY KONG. We unlock the doors to arenas….that have lines of people waiting to get in….with keys to the kingdom that these people are wanting and needing to be a part of…they may not know it…but we do! You get it yet….my wife’s dream that she had is truly becoming a reality!!! I am soooooooooooooooo humbled and emotional about this!!

Grandma….Thank you for what you have poured into me…an undying love for the lost, and the ability to be myself no matter what people think! God….thank you for what you are going to accomplish through the Rock and Worship Roadshow….I PROMISE TO LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD!!!

LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!!

IF you are not familiar with this tour… Check out http://www.therockandworshiproadshow.com

Can I brag on my Lord?!?! and not giving your gift to Goodwill!

Tug Taviano — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:55:08 +0000

So there comes a time in life when you can just look at something and be so proud, or should you be….. In my life I am proud of many things…my kids, my wife, my life at some points…but not the proud of hey…LOOK AT ME… look at my kids, look at my wife, look at what I have accomplished. Although at some points in my life that has been the battle that I have had to turn over to God. For 8 years of ministry while I was a youth pastor, I have to admit, I tried to accomplish alot of things instead of letting HIM accomplish whatever HE wanted to. I would give him the reins but keep my hands on them…not cool! So about 3 1/2 years ago is when God put me in a spot of saying…bro…its not about you…AT ALL. This does not mean that I am not proud….cause I am. This does not mean that I do not work my freakin butt off to accomplish what God has set before me. This does not mean that I do not look at my life and say…DANG ….GOD, you sure have given me the exact career that I have always wanted…because he did…but it was not because of me at all. You see God gave me a gift to see if I would use it right, and am soooooo humbled that for once in my life….I can look back and say…I did something with no motives, except knowing that it is what He wanted to accomplish. I have upset some people over the way, and some people do not like to work with me when it comes to concerts….all I can say to that is if GOD gives you something so close to what you know HE IS GIFTED YOU AT…. YOU BETTER NEVER GIVE THAT GIFT TO GOOD WILL!! Let me unwrap that for you…if someone you are working beside gets in the way of what you know has to be done for God…LOVE THEM LIKE CRAZY…but do not worry if DOING WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF YOU upsets them….one thing I do not want on my plate is knowing that the meal was half eaten and it got Cold. Unwrap it a different way…..sometimes God’s people are lazy because they just say……God will do it….When God is asking us to do our part.

God has given us each a gift or more to see if we are going to use it for Him…. For example… How many times have you heard….Man…EMINEM is a terrible rapper! Really….does he suck at rapping…no, in fact I would go as far as to say, he is the most skillful/best flowing/lyrical genius to walk this earth….besides all of my BOYS from the 116 clique…and REACH RECORDS(is that because I have a biased opinion)! But why some people say he is terrible, is because He has taken what God has given him to do and used it to build himself up and not use it to glorify God. If he would spend about 5 minutes with Lecrae, Trip Lee (see below), and many of the other artists of Reach Records…he would see guys who could be making millions in the secular industry, but have given themselves in submission to the God who created them. The difference between Eminem and these guys are…they have recognized that they need to use what God has given them for His glory. They are proud of their Lord.

So proud of him…that Trip has written a song about it…. The song could be taken from the scripture Jeremiah 9:23-24 which states “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.” Here is the song…if you want to listen to it

So let me take a minute to Brag on my Lord…. God, you have done something in this past weekend that I will be forever grateful for, you allowed me and my family to continue to spend time on earth in relationship with my brother! You did not allow a heart attack to take my best friend out of this world. You said NO…not this time…to something that has taken so many people away from their loved ones. I cannot tell people enough how proud I am to have seen you intervene right away! I am proud that you have put people on this earth like Harlan and Gabe’s Pastor Richard who were there to immediately know the decisions that needed to be made. They used the gift of discernment that you gave them and helped save my brother’s life. I am proud of my sister in law Marla, and the love that she has for you, and for my brother. I am proud of my dad, but only because you have changed Him into who you have wanted him to be all along. He just wants to laugh at Satan and say…you tried…but God said no!!! I am proud of my wife, and the ability that you have given her to think of what can be done to alleviate the stress of the situation and want to go down and stay with the girls if that is what was needed. I am proud of my mom, but only because you are giving her the strength to minister in Africa, while so much is going on at home! I am proud of myself, only because you have opened my eyes to love sooooo much more …. I cannot tell you how much I felt your presence this weekend and am forever changed again! I am proud of just getting off the phone with my brother who is going home instead of being Eternally Home…..YOU want him here!!!! God, I could just about lose it everytime I read something on Gabe’s facebook page…in fact I think I have….I never realized I could love someone so much, until I realized how close we were to losing him….I am proud that you have helped me see that!! You have helped me through so much this weekend God…I am forever PROUD OF YOU! I am proud of the strength and calmness that you gave Gabe this weekend! I am thankful that you did not allow an artery that was 100% blocked and called the widow maker, to make my sis-in-law a widow, and my nieces to lose their father! I am PROUD OF WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THROUGH GABE TAVIANO!!!!

I am proud of you, that you have helped change the eternal home of Aaron Cunningham!!!!! DANG PROUD!!! I am proud that you have given me the freedom to be me, and that you are ok with that! I am proud that you have made my wife my PRIORITY on this earth after so long of making ministry over her! I am sooooo proud of what you are going to do in my neighbor Joe’s life and for giving me the relationship with Him…I would not trade it for anything. I am proud of the company that you have completely given me to work with everyday….and for the people that are Jacob and Cliff Reiser! I could go on and on and on….I am proud of the safety that you give my kids, and the love that they have for others….I am proud that you have given me 3 gifts that I will never let go of …well, I know I have given them to you…but Thanks for letting me have them here on earth!!!

I am going to ask all of you to pray for one thing this week….as we are heading out on the Rock and Worship Roadshow….I am going to ask you to pray for my BOY TRIP LEE!!! as he helps tons of people see that they can BRAG ON THEIR LORD…. here is a pic of Trip, that my brother Gabe took in Columbus! (you can hear the interview with Trip on Gabe’s Blog at http://www.gabetaviano.com/people-of-faith/trip-lee/ )

I know alot of this may seem like I am rambling…well I am so deal with it I guess….

Christian Entertainment – Guest post by Isaac Deitz

Tug Taviano — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:08:45 +0000

Written by Isaac Deitz (http://www.tubopopcorn.com , http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3732636/ )

Christian Entertainment

Christian entertainment: A borderline oxymoron. Christianity is about dying to yourself and entertainment is defined as “affording pleasure”. You might be thinking, “are you saying that Christians can’t be entertained?” my response is absolutely not! But I am saying that we shouldn’t be entertained in the ways we seek it out. Let me make my points, then you can argue with me.

I have toured with bands since I was 16 years old, I’m rolling up on 9 years of touring. I’ve been a Christian filmmaker since I was 10 years old. I still don’t claim to be the authority on the subject but I’ve been very involved on both sides, the Christian entertainer and the entertained Christian and both sides seem to be silently screaming for a change and the two don’t seem to understand each other (or seem to try to).

I know there are already a million blogs about Christian entertainment, mostly about music and about which bands aren’t Christians and which ones we should avoid like the plague, etc. I know this blog is just adding to the number. I haven’t seen any Christian entertainment blogs from the entertainers side but I have seen it from the consumer side and I have yet to see one that sees it through the Gospel. So I hope to do both, I hope to talk about it as someone that has worked and currently works in Christian entertainment industry and also as a church layman, a consumer of Christian entertainment. But mainly, I don’t want to just address the problem, but hopefully pose a solution: the Gospel.

I write this out of love for my brothers and sisters that are on both sides. Get back to the Gospel. You are not going to be asked by God on judgement day what bands you’ve listened to. You aren’t currently making a movie of your life that God is going to replay in Heaven and hopefully be pleased with, because he can’t be pleased with it with seeing it through the blood of Jesus. The only hope we have is Jesus Christ. The movie of our life will be repulsive to God without Jesus Christ, even if the movie of our life is G rated with no cussin’ and drinking.* This is the point I will try to make this entire blog.

Christianity has turned into a set of hoops to jump through. How to look like a Christian, do this and this. What’s sad is once it becomes a set of hoops and works, it’s not Christianity anymore, because it’s not about the Gospel of Jesus, which the Gospel says that you can’t earn salvation. So we start making Christianity something that it’s not and start pushing it on others. So this is the drum us Christian entertainment consumers beat all the time to the Christian entertainers.

15-16 years ago I didn’t like music until my older brother brought home a Newsboys cassette tape and I heard “Breakfast” for the first time on a walkman my eyes opened. It was that moment I liked music. They were the gateway to other, better, music. Next thing I know I’m sharing a tour bus with Jeffree star in Europe and to think it all started with Newsboys’ song ‘Breakfast’.

After touring with countless bands I would love to walk you through the things I learned about Christian entertainment.

1. People in Christian bands aren’t ‘expert’ Christians (as if there is such a thing)

I used to think that Christian band members are some professional Christians or prophets from God or something. I think that people do this a lot with Celebrities. It’s called occult of personality. When I was preparing for a drivers test some guy said something I’ll never forget, “all you have to do is drive perfect for 5 minutes, then you have your license for the rest of your life”. This is how occult of personality works. People see you driving good for five minutes and the don’t see how you drive when you’re tired or when you are late for work. That’s why they don’t do driving tests on the way to work late. If you leave enough blanks about your life, people will fill in those blanks. This isn’t just true with celebrities, it’s with crushes too. You see how they treated you for 4 minutes and you just start filling in the blanks of who that person might be and start falling in love with a person you’ve created. This is what happens with celebrities and especially Christian celebrities. Because when you add Christianity to it, there’s a whole new category of blanks that can be filled out in their favor.

I thought for a while that Christian band members were Christians that moved on from the church laymen. Like there are pastors, missionaries and band members. I thought them all one in the same, they all had to pass seminary and go to Bible college or something. That they have been knighted by Jesus Christ to rock for him or something like that. I hope to take Christian celebrities or anyone off the pedestal they don’t deserve, can never live up to and also sometimes don’t desire to. Think of your youth group, Bible study, small group or church. Think of the people that you go to church with. There you go, that’s Christian band members. They just hold guitars instead of hammers. They just have a different job than the people you go to Church with. At this point, you might have noticed I’m not always saying “Christians”, because everyone knows that there are more people that you see at church than Christians. If you grab a handful of people that claim Christianity, some pursue works, some use God to hopefully accomplish their dreams, some claim it because it’s all they know and some are genuine about their pursuit of God. That’s Christian band members.

2. A band with 4 members contains 4 different theologies, goals and doctrines.

You might have also noticed I have been referring to them as ‘band members’ instead of ‘bands’. Because something I learned very quickly is that not every member is on the same page or in it for the same reason. You’ve never met anyone that agrees with you 100%, so why do we start thinking that a band of four guys all agree 100%? This goes to part of my first points, is occult of personality, we assume things. Just because a guy is playing drums about a break-up doesn’t mean he broke up with with girl in the song. If there is a great lyric, it doesn’t mean the whole band agreed with it or wrote it.

Funny thing is, you might be thinking, “well the band might not agree, but they don’t disagree”. That’s not always true. I can think of at least 2-3 cases when a member released a song with lyrics that the band didn’t sign off or approve on the lyrics. So please get it out of your head that they all have meetings every day to make sure they have the same view on doctrine.

I’ve had a friend of mine that is in a Christian band say “I don’t think the other members are in this band for the same reasons I am. I don’t think they see this as a ministry”. I’ve also have seen a drummer from a secular band lead the Bible study at Warped Tour. So that shows that each member is in a band for different reason. This is so important to understand.

Which leads me to my next point…

3. It’s their job.

Some people are paid to flip hamburgers, build houses, grow crops or shred on guitars.
Remember how I said bands are like the people you go to church with? Do you think those will be the same people in five years? Sadly, no. Some people that professed the Christian faith five years ago in my church are professing the opposite now. So what happens if they are getting paid to profess that? It might have started out honest, but when they questioned the deep doubts of their heart and lost, what happens? What if they have a family to feed? What if it’s the only way to make money for them? I’m not condoning this, but I’m trying to get you to understand the situation sometimes we put them in.

I’ll explain on a more personal level. About four years ago I was getting noticed for my video work. People all over the world were watching “The Really Real Show” (a video series I did with Family Force 5). People were recognizing me, asking for my autograph, taking photos with me, drawing pictures of me, sending me emails and in some rare cases, cried when they met me. At the time that was my peak of success, fame, etc. I was writing blogs on Myspace that were making it on Myspace’s front page and top blogs. I was getting thousands of views in a few days and around 30-50 comments each blog. My blogs were about Christianity, people knew I toured with a Christian band and I became a minor Christian celebrity (in some circles). Basically I started getting a lot of momentum not knowing where it would take me but I knew it could be good for my future film career.

In my pursuit of God, I came across some deep serious doubts. I think anyone truly pursuing God will come across these doubts.
They say everyone that gets a motorcycle will crash at least once, mostly just a minor crash, that first crash weeds out people that don’t think motorcycling is worth it and it makes the other cyclists better and more aware. I think like motorcycling, every Christian will have their deep doubts and struggles. Those doubts, either make you stronger or make you walk away from it convinced that it’s not worth it. This happened to my brother a while ago. His doubts got the best of him and he no longer has anything to do with Christianity. Slowly I saw our mutual friend circle close in on him, his chances to marry or even date the girls in our youth group disappeared and that’s when I remembered everything youth group kept telling us “when you are a Christian, your friends might dislike you, you might lose your job and your family might disown you”. But I think that mostly applies to other countries where people are getting killed for their faith. I think it’s the other way around a lot of times here in America. Like my brother, everything he knew was gone, when he was honest with his doubts.

One night in November I was traveling apart from Family Force 5 working for ESPN, I was in my own hotel room in Florida and I’ll never forget the strong feeling of doubt that I had in Jesus. Like being minutes away from loosing my faith all together. I was pleading with God saying, “I just want to follow Truth, even if that means it’s not Christianity”. In that prayer I realized “if I leave Christianity I lose my fan base, my job with Christian bands (even my ESPN job was because I was a Christian), my girlfriend at the time, a lot of my friends (or at least our friendships won’t be as deep or grounded on the same thing) and so much more. But I felt the question, “would you be willing to give this up to follow truth?” and after a lot of thought I answered in honestly, “absolutely”. It was that moment that I felt a renewed faith in Jesus Christ. Like a motorcycle crash, I got stronger when I got back on the bike.

In one case, I’d say that as Christians our faith should be the foundation that everything else stands on, that when we take it away, our social life, pursuits, goals and dreams should all be forced to crumble or at least change. But then on the other side, if our faith is tied into everything we do and we do end up losing our faith, we maintain the appearance of faith. Which happens in the church all the time and if it happens in the church in happens in Christian entertainment.

I know someone that’s in a worship band that lost his faith three years ago. He doesn’t feel convicted to leave because he has a family he has to provide for. He also doesn’t sing or say “I love Jesus” the singer does that. He just plays his instrument. So I guess it’s like a Christian playing drums for Brittany Spears, he won’t agree with her lyrics but he’s playing for a job.

So a lot of people know that Katy Perry used to be a Christian singer with the name Katy Hudson. Her albums didn’t sell. So when her doubts got the best of her, she was free to move on and sing about kissing girls. A lot of Christians have given her a hard time calling her a sell-out etc. Well here’s a question: If she made it big as Katy Hudson, do you think she’d be Katy Perry? While you think about that, think about this: How many Christian band members are stayed in the band they are in because it ‘made it big’ before their doubts got the best of them? I think Katy Perry is the more honest ‘sell-out’ than a Christian band member that just stuck around because it was successful for them.

It happens. Some members just stay quiet and play their instrument. Some continue to fake it because it’s part of ‘paying the bills’ go on stage to pray over the crowd to go back stage and have no pursuit of God outside of that. (Luke 20:46-47 talks about people that make a pretense of lengthy prayers in public, love the best seat in the house and love being recognized in the market”. They like fame and they like fame for appearing ‘godly’. Jesus says they will receive greater condemnation. I’m not writing to rejoice, but to plead and warn my friends and brothers to take God a bit more seriously and remind me to do the same.

This all applies to pastors and religious leaders too. You think that every pastor on the pulpit believes what he says? We have to start humanizing leaders and exalting Jesus Christ.

4. Pray for them, don’t judge them.

This is the biggest problem with all of this. I know members that are honestly seeking God but feel so pedestaled that they can’t admit their flaws, their faults or be real. In fact, I also know some that have been more honest with their struggles or lives and they lose record sales because of it. So they learn to “keep it to themselves” which is so unhealthy for Christian growth. It’s sad because most of the Christians they are exposed to are Christians that worship them and their art instead of the creator God. I’ve also seen Christian promoters take more money than agreed on, Christian events using a bands name to draw fans and then lying to cancel the show last minute, Christians trying to undercut, gossip about the band and a lot of times just waiting for them to slip up. So the members rightfully separate their worlds. The gap between entertainers and the entertained gets wider and wider.

Guess what can fix this? Of course, the Gospel. We need to remember that we are all sinners, all undeserving of God’s grace and we have no right to boast.
We shouldn’t submit to leaders we know nothing about. We should test the spirits. We might enjoy someone’s music but that shouldn’t mean we instantly follow them as people and especially Christians. We should submit to leaders and find good mentors, but we can’t do this because they are good at playing guitar, we should do this if they are good at humbly loving God and loving people and confessing their flaws. We need to realize our own flaws so we don’t get so shocked when we see it in band members. We need to stop thinking that there is “Christian Music” and “Secular Music”. Music can’t accept Jesus Christ as it’s savior. I can show you worship albums that were written under the influence of weed, living with their girlfriends, or whatever else. Just like you can probably point out the Christian in your church that does those very things. Why do we think that Christian entertainers are immune to that? You need to listen to music that stirs your affections for Christ and stop listening to music that robs your affections (Matt Chandler has a great sermon on this). For me, the music that makes me stirred up for Christ is instrumentals or dance music. Ironically, some poorly written worship music robs my affections for Christ because there is horrible theology behind the lyrics. I’ve heard of many bands that used the “Christian music” route to get their name out there, because it’s way easier to make it as a Christian act.

We have so much judgement on Christian performers, that it creates secrets, even if they’re not sins, just secrets which takes away the accountability we could be offering. I know members in bands that smoke, but they have to hide it, some that have quit but had to do it alone, because they couldn’t be honest with their struggles, they couldn’t ask anyone for help. Or with alcohol, a controversial action, which Biblically is meant to be taken in moderation, but since so many Christians don’t see that, the performers have to do it in secret, which makes it so there is no accountability to keep them from drunkenness and loss of control. This applies with so much, but so much remains in the dark, so it grows in the dark as a sin. When we should be safe to bring things to the light to get help, or accountability or whatever else.

The point is, don’t worship something that’s not God. Enjoy it as a gift from God, but don’t follow it off a bridge. Once you realize they are people, some not even Christians, you’ll think about how you treat them and how you judge them. You’ll stop assuming they are Christians and maybe trying to love them like Jesus asked us to. I know a few non-Christian friends that work for different bands and they are just getting push away from the Gospel every time they deal with ‘Christian” promotors, fans and industry. Don’t add to the enormous number of the Christians that fail to interact with the entertainers out of love. It’s not about you, the point of Christianity is that you’re not the point. That applies to both sides.

your friend,

-Isaac
*Isaiah 64:6

Read more blogs from Isaac at IsaacDeitz.com

I just want to be like you

Tug Taviano — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:39:15 +0000

I get a text this morning from my wife….first of all, I love getting texts from my wife, secondly…especially like this. Me(Angie) and Bubby (Tanner) are enjoying our bean (coffee) together He put 3 creamers in, because daddy puts 3 in his coffee. He said he wants coffee every day. I do not know what it is, but stuff like this makes a dad emotional.
The first thing I think is….my son wants to be just like me!!!!!! YES, I HAVE MADE IT. The second thing I think of…CRAP, my son wants to be just like me. I have failures, I have fallacies, I get mad often….why the heck does he want to be like me. Then I get it…he watches me, he sees what I do, he listens to the way I love his mom, the way I treat his sisters. He knows if I want to play with him, or if I just feel like sittin on the couch. He knows if daddy wants to read to him, or if he just feels like going to bed. I have started to see something in the last month….I HAVE BEEN SPENDING A BOAT LOAD OF TIME WITH HIM….and it is rubbing off. We have daddy dates, where we just go to Biggby and sit. We sit at home and shoot basketball in the house, and he says “money” everytime he makes it. We pray together at night….and he says he wants to pray about “GOD.” This is amazing and all….but it is a huge responsibility.

As a dad I have to be careful and live truthful in front of my son, teaching him what love is. Teaching him what my parents have taught me….that they are my second priority….next to my walk with God. It is a Father’s responsibilty to show their children the love of God. I know Tanner loves being like his Dad….but I truly would want to know that if he were to take a walk in my shoes, and be able to become his dad for a day….that he truly would know the love that I have for Him, his mom, his sisters, my family and most of all my Savior.

My best blog yet….

Tug Taviano — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:26:11 +0000

As I was running/elliptical 7 miles this A.M, I tuned into a new cd I bought called Passion: Here for You. I usually workout to heavy music, rap, or something to keep my energy pumping… Well, I was talking to my good friend Charles Hill, who runs to praise and worship (but believe me it is not because he thinks that is the only music you should listen to…the man is real), and felt that I wanted to relax a bit while running. Did not think that I would find my self about balling (had one tear roll down, not sweat and quickly wiped it off) , and it is hard to want to lift my hands while on the elliptical….so I just put my head in my towel, and listened to these lyrics….. THIS IS WHERE THE BEST BLOG YET COMES…. not my words but these

Forever Reign- (sung by Kristian Stanfill on the cd)

You are good, You are good
When there’s nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see

You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy
You’re the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I’m running to Your arms,
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here
In Your presence I’m made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I’m letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

I did chuckle at first that I was running on the elliptical while he was singing running to your arms…..but in all honesty…I began to push harder and harder, exerting more effort. I am beginning to realize that Jesus is all I need….take all the crap that you could be put through…who is left. All the pain that you are going through, who is there? When those around you hurt…who is there? When Japan is devastated, who restores? When someone is on trial and a family is being put through emotional hell…Who comforts? When someone tells you to change how you sing…to whom do you sing however the heck you want to? When you are told to move to a place that no one understands…who told you to go? When there is something that you want something soooooo bad that looks out of reach….who restores hope? Who shows you how to love the unlovable?

Can people see that Christ is evident in your life? Are you able to be you, by knowing Christ alone?

A Soldier and Jesus

Tug Taviano — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:08:11 +0000

Many of you have heard the news, whether it has been on facebook, the Lima News, or even the story that was done on WLIO (above) last night about PFC. Curt Yetman (a recent Allen East grad), but what people have truly got to understand is the love that his father feels for him, and the anguish that this has got to be putting him(Curt) and them (family) through. I have spoken with Bill (who I have known for a long time, dated back to when Curt played little league with my brother in law) on a few occasions since this has happened and although he is sooooo thankful for the prayers that have been prayed so far, you can tell there is a definite need for those to CONTINUE LIKE IT WILL NOT GO OUT OF STYLE.

I received a text from Coach Yetman today that read like this… ” Some very good people have organized a vigil for Curt. Tonight @ 8. Southside Church corner of Elm and Eastown Rds. Love to see you there. He’s coming home tomorrow!!” I immediately picked up my phone and called him…excited for what I am thinking is a homecoming like no other, one with assurance that Curt will recover, that he will be fine, and that he is stable enough to make the trip and wanted to assure him that I will be there tonight.

When I called, I said awesome news that he is coming back to the states… although he is glad that he may get to see his son soon, he asked if I could relay this message to people that I talked with…Although it looks like they may send Curt back to the states, he is not out of the dark so to say. He is in an induced coma, and has 3rd degree burns over a great portion of his body. He was traveling with I believe 7 other soldiers when their vehicle was blown up by a 700-1000 lb (from Bill) IED, and the vehicle was set ablaze. Curt was the gunner for the vehicle from what I hear, and when he was pulled from the vehicle he was still ablaze as well. Out of the 8 soldiers only 3 of them have survived…1 being our own Curt Yetman. He has been supported by 100% oxygen, but now I believe is down to the support of 60% (which is better) however it seems once an hour, his levels plummet. (they are saying that this is due to the damage possibly to the inner lining of his lungs from the explosion) The great news is, he is alive….the other news is, that Bill said he could be in the hospital for a very long time and could take from a year to a lifetime to recover….this being if Curt will make it through this. We know he is strong enough, and we know our God is capable of doing this! Bill also told me that he has had numerous surgeries (do not know what all they have intelled) and they do not know if Curt has enough skin to perform the grafts needed and they may have to use skin from cadavers (not trying to be gross, just wanting you to know the severity of this).

After talking with Bill, I immediately hung the phone up and began to cry in my office….one because the pain I felt for Curt, for Bill, and for the family involved, 2 because I have never been so proud of a soldier in my life, 3 because you never think this is going to happen to a soldier that you know, 4 because I have a son and if he came to me and said he was going to the military I would have reacted the same way Bill did. 5. Do we really understand a Father’s love.

My heart aches for the Yetman’s and I do not know how you are doing this Bill if you read this (I do know that it is only the strength of God that can get you through this). My mind continues to race, why are we over there, why do people give their lives for this, why Curt, why this family, why someone with so much potential….then it hit me…Curt has really seen this country, and our freedom as something to risk his life for, something that he believes in sooo much that come hell or high water, or explosion or under fire….he would put his life at danger for the freedom that we have. Curt is doing in a military sense and an American Freedom sense…what Christ did for us in a Spiritual and physical sense.

You see I have been consistently reminded that there are two types of people that have died for you…..one being a soldier, and the second being Jesus Christ. The soldier risks his life for us to have the freedom that we have here, and Jesus gave His life for the freedom that we have in Him. If you are experiencing the one without the other, than you are not getting total Freedom! I am at a loss for words while speaking with Bill, and him knowing that people are praying for him is what is keeping him going! My prayer is that all of us that are praying for Curt, truly understand who we are praying to, and the power that we have through Him! If you do not have a relationship with Christ, and understand His dying for you….you cannot truly be praying for the Yetmans…just thinking about them!

Bill…I love you brother, and want you to know from the bottom of my heart…that I have never been burdened with prayer so much in my life….I believe that God has this right now and will continue to…and I pray that in some way shape or form…you can see God in this!!

That being said….I still can justify wanting to see those who have done this brought to justice….and we all know what i mean by that!

Thanks Curt and know that we will continue to pray for you!!

If anyone has questions…please ask!

The story of WillRock4Food may be published in a bible…what?!?!?!?

Tug Taviano — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:54:28 +0000

I recently shared my story about my passion for what God has given me (willrock4food) with someone who is publishing a bible and the crazy thing is…it looks like it may be used! The bible will feature a group of young people (i guess that is me) who have been passionate about something that God has given them…WHAT A HUMBLING and EXCITING THING! Our story will be paired up with John 10 (What…that is too big of a passage was my first thought, then God says…TUG—–you care for my sheep and you are one of them….this ministry is all about that)

So here is a snip…of the history and where we are going…and if you would I ask for your support…both in prayer and if you have the ability to donate… a button will be at the bottom!

So many of you know that WillRock4Food exists but not alot of you know where it has came from. Back in 2001, I sat at a prayer meeting and really felt God telling me to start a concert ministry….WHAT? yah a concert ministry He reiterated! I never have really dove into the fact that other people can encourage your calling and that God can be speaking to others about you as well. I walk over to pray with Chris Ewing, who before I said anything, says something to the fact of (maybe not word for word) “I know..you are supposed to start a concert ministry!” Immediately I felt a passion for something, as far as ministry, that I have never felt before! I wanted this to be the best thing that I have ever done…why, because I knew it was from God!

So the next week I began researching what it would take to run a concert, we wanted this to be downtown so we started contacting the City of Lima and rented the Amphitheater at Faurot Park. I was reading this Focus on the Family Magazine who had an article on this guy named Joseph “Afroman” Foreman…you know him as the guy who sings “Because I Got High.” With this being in Focus on the Family, I was assured that this could be a hit, I contacted Afroman’s agent, who did not work with him anymore due to him becoming a Christian. I got a message that night on my voicemail, Hey Tug…this is Joseph Foreman, known as Afroman…I hear you may want to bring us to Ohio…call me on my cell @ Colt45 and Two Zig Zags (just kidding, it is an old Afroman song) so anyways, we call, and he comes up for the weekend in a mini-van with his wife, kids and grandma for a total of $500. We add The Goodbye Session (Hit the Lights) and a couple other bands and it rains…we have around 100 peeps and about 10 get saved….Success right, well yes the fact that souls got saved, but here to find out, Afroman a few months later is back rapping the because I got high and back in the vulgarity of Secular Explicit rap. I contacted KJ-52 and had him call Afroman, whom to this day, I know his heart is amazing but Satan has enticed him by the worldly riches so deep that it will only take God to get him away! (cool fact, Afroman and I talked about going on a cruise together with our wives,cause we share the same anniversary…my wife is afraid of WILD WATER) I still have the pics. (not digital if you would ever want to see them) We had 1/2 Chicken Dinners available, and with the rain….we had a couple hundred left over…(donated to a food bank)

The concerts:
Grits, Broken Yoke ,Godsound and Rocket Ismail
Day of Fire, Krystal Myers, This Beautiful Republic
TFK, Day of Fire, This Beautiful Republic
Sanctus Real, Need to Breathe, This Beautiful Republic
Family Force Five, Falling Up, Spoken, This Beautiful Republic
Family Force 5, Harlend
Skillet, John Reuben, This Beautiful Republic
Skillet, Disciple, Decyfer Down
Red, Barlow Girl, House Of Heroes (with Acts 429)
Reach Records Don’t Waste Your Life Tour “featuring Lecrae, Tedashii, Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, and Flame”
Faith and Family Night at Crew Stadium with Pillar and This Beautiful Republic
KJ52, Group 1 Crew
The Apostles of Comedy Tour
The Village Idiot

Current Shows:
Working on Faith and Family Night with Phil Stacey at Crew Stadium on Oct. 24 ( https://www.thecrew.com/faith-and-family-night )
The Unashamed Tour with Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Sho Baraka, DJ Official, and Pro ( http://www.willrock4food.com/tickets )

The crazy thing about these concerts is that through all of them their has been a passion behind them, to be more than a concert, to create an event that will bring people to know Christ and to use the funds that were generated from these concerts to benefit the misfortunate. Whether it has been the local food banks, the youth pastor networks, or the land recently purchased in Kenya, we have existed to RockFaces to FeedPlaces! Now is the next phase, the form is finalized, and is being shipped to the IRS to become a 501c3, we should have this within a month! This will enable us to become a localized effort of raising awareness of those right here in our backyard who are struggling and use the events to raise money to provide for them in ways that Christ would want us too…I have never wanted this to just be a concert…any person with alot of time and lack of brains can run something like that. (just saying if you ever want to try and start this…make sure it is God)

We are at a point now where I know God wants to take this thing in run with it, I mean…have you ever embarked on something and it just will not die…and no matter how stupid you are, or sometimes how you may come acrossed and do not mean to…GOD STILL GETS THE WORK DONE!! In the last year, God has given me the unction to assimilate a board of directors for this next phase of ministry…for I cannot and have not done this alone, but want to be responsible and professional when it comes to the ministry! God has lined up the following people to be a part of this: Myself (Idiot) Dr. Todd Ignarski (Ignarski Family Medicine), Jen Vastano (marketing director of Jerry Lewis McDonalds), Dr. Phil Mikesell (Endodontic Associotes of NW Ohio), Scott Bechdolt (Northwest Custom Concrete), Mike Hulsey (Gifts of Joy), Shan Griffin (Hospitality WiFi), Gabe Taviano (The River 104.9) Ricky Bowersock (Secondhand Idiot). These guys and gal have the same passion and literally have been aligned by God to continue this!

We know we are to continue it why!
Over 25,000 people have attended Will Rock 4 Food events
Over 4,000 people have came to know Christ (through WR4F events and the support of missions to Kenya)
Alot of money has been given to local food banks and organizations!

We now are trying to raise around $9,000.00 for our next events…why are we asking for this! Because we will use the proceeds and put them to work right here in Lima, Ohio…The proceeds will go to continuing the ministry of WillRock4Food and the development of funding people right here in NWOhio! Feel free to pass this on to businesses and other people to pray and help get us to our goal in the next 2 weeks!

You can donate, by clicking this button!

We are in the process of becoming a 501c3 in which we should have this by the end of the year! (and if we do, this would make all donations this year tax exempt!)

Please also pray as we are praying for my mom, who is ministering to somewhere else that we believe in…Kenya. (she is there til Nov. 10)

I can play the Background…YOU can take the lead!

Tug Taviano — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:11:21 +0000

So many years of my life have been trying to make Christ known…but yet He has not completely been known to me. You see, what many times is in the forefront of our lives is not at the FOREFRONT of our souls. We want him at the Foreground, but we want Him there so we are there with him (to others). We use Him to make us look good, we say we know Him but we fight every day to figure out who He is. We say we want Him to be Lord of our life…but only at our time. I have been there in ministry, make Him known to others, while you have no freaking idea who He is in your own life.

This is what is sooooo hard and a lot of times people who look at us who call ourselves Christians, say you put Him in front, but your lifestyle stays right there as well. God I want you to make me known…is that what we pray? Or is it God I want you to be known, I want you to get all the glory…I will bust my tail for you, but it is all for you to be known! You take the leading role…I will play the background! I am guessing it is the first. I am sooo glad recently God is really morphing me, into the background. He literally has got me out of VOCATIONAL Ministry (which is for some people) into a life where I am focused on HIM, my Family and everything in Ministry (WR4F and volunteering with design and what not at THE BEST CHURCH OF ALL Shawnee Alliance…Shameless Plug ) will come as it may, and I will be there to do what God asks! Needless to say, I am ready for what God asks of me, and willing to Jump First and Fear Later!

This song needed to be out 31 years ago when I was born…..wait it already was, but it took someone putting it to music for me to actually grasp this! I am beyond blessed to have seen this artist in action…the artist’s name is Lecrae..and CANNOT WAIT TO WORK WITH THE 116 Clique in a month for the next Will Rock 4 Food event. ( http://www.willrock4food.com )

Here is why I chose or should say God told me to work with these guys again. The minute they walked into the concert facility, they were not worried about the size of the building, the tickets that were sold (although it was pretty much sold out), not worried if the stage dimensions were exactly to the rider…they were worried about presenting Christ in a way that was making Him known before people ever heard their music. They were even late getting onto the stage because of their DEVOTIONAL TIME…in fact, I only saw Lecrae not in His physical bible only when he was on stage “spitting the Gospel” so to say. Most bands/artists will lead people to Christ only to let your volunteers talk to them in a separate room. Not these guys…they wanted to sit with every person and share Christ with them….saying, do not come back here to meet us…we will be out…come back if this is real! WHAT THE HECK…as a promoter, I have died to see a band as real as these guys even in concert myself! So after the 1.5 hours of them talking with the kids, they then go out for another 1.5 hours or so, and sign autographs and meet those who waited to meet them, again making the focus on Christ. That would be enough you would think, but Lecrae has such a discerning spirit about him, that he stopped me, and asked what is going on man, something is bothering you! Immediately thinking, you do not know me, I began to let him in on “me getting laid off” and not knowing what was coming. ( I thought I had this hidden so well, but you cannot hide it from the Holy Spirit) He prayed and we talked for 15 min or so. Not mentioning that from the stage, each artist gave a real testimony of their life with Christ, and you could see people from the audience just diving in! Besides all of the change that happened spiritually, I have never seen a more diverse crowd (even at a DIVERSE CITY CONCERT), and the most amazing performances I have ever seen in 8 years of promoting shows. When they left, after signing the hood of a SUV with 26” rims, blaring that song (by Tedashii), I immediately told God, they would be back, no matter what the price was! So on November 10, we have the privilege to be the ONLY OHIO STOP on THE UNASHAMED TOUR… http://www.reachrecords.com/unashamed . We were contacted by their manager to see if we wanted the date…before talking with anyone else…I SAID EMPHATICALLY>>>SIGN US UP!

So with all of that story, I want you to watch a video of Lecrae (w/ C-Lite) and the title is called Background. I then want to open up the discussion about…how can God work better when we are in the background! This does not mean go half-butt so to say…it means GO HARD OR GO HOME, while letting Christ be the STAR!
What God is telling me: This ministry (WILLROCK4FOOD), This family (Wife and Kids), this career (Marketing) would not be if it was not for me…imagine where I can take you…if you play the background! So I commit today…to be in the background, and let God work in my family, in my career, and in WillRock4Food. Besides that, please pray for mom!! She just landed in Kenya an hour ago and will be there until Nov. 11! God reigns, so we let Her be in His hands!!

Now …watch the video, and just try not to let God speak to you (SARCASTIC VOICE)

PLEASE SHARE PERSONAL STRUGGLES, OR PRAYER REQUESTS, OR HOW YOU HAVE TAKEN THE BACKGROUND and LET GOD TAKE THE LEAD!!! Lecrae, if you read this….THANKS…you have no idea how much effect God has given you in ministry…HECK, you were #2 to LIL WAYNE!!! That says something about the RIGHTEOUS HEART following what God has you doing!

Make War !!!!

Tug Taviano — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:28:15 +0000

So yesterday our Pastor, Daniel Messner talked about a topic that is soooooo much overlooked to us as Christians….the topic, is how much the devil is really after us, and the realm of Spiritual Warfare. You see Satan finds whatever is our weakness and tries to exemplify it…the thing is, he knows where he can get to us, and the thing is, if we stand up to him and MAKE WAR….the dude will leave! Will he come back…for sure….so get your armor on.

Today I did something that I have never done before, after the encouragement from pastor…before my feet hit the floor….I prayed for each piece of armor on my body that is the Armor of God, and then I turned over and did the same for my wife! Then I got up out of bed, and set my feet on the battle field!

There is sooo much that the devil is after…he is personally after my wife’s neck and back and the fact that he is trying soooooo hard to keep her from being able to function to do what God has wired her to do. She gets so anxious and and dizzy that I am asking you to join me in prayer that Satan will get the heck away from her. (realizing this could be physical, I ask you to pray for healing as well) As a husband it drives you nuts to know that your wife wants to do so much more than what she is right now….meaning, she wants to golf…can’t….wants to lift certain things…can’t wants to not be anxious…can’t…so I ask you to join me in praying the armor of God over her.

Then there is me, I battle with myself not being good enough in every aspect of life, and have battled with years of feeling of being insuperior to others, which does not bother me too much anymore, but tries to creep in! The other thing is financial, that God would relieve the stress of financial burden from our home to where we could not stress any more ( i know that is about 98% of you all as well). The last thing is for those people that I come into contact to know I love them sooooo much and want them to see the love of Christ that I have for them….but do i rep Him well? HMMMMMM .

So I prayed-
First for the helmet of salvation – That I would truly know that I am God’s!
2nd – The Breastplate of Righteousness – That I would make choices and decisions to live in the light, and right manner
3rd -Belt of Truth – That I would only hear what God thinks of me!
4th – Shield of Faith – That I would trust God with the financial burdens and with my wife’s health!
5th- Sandals of Peace – That everywhere I walk, I would be ok with…knowing that God has us!
6th- Sword of the Spirit – That I would truly realize the power that is in God’s word!!

So I make a simple post about putting on the armor this morning, and stepping on to the battlefield, then a friend named Susan Hawson posts the below video, that is from one of the artist’s (Tedashii) that we are bringing to Shawnee Alliance Church on November 10…. I understand rap may not be your thing, but simply ask that you watch the video…read all the lyrics, listen to the beginning intensely….and look SATAN in the face and say…BRING IT!!!

Hey Satan…my God beat you back then, there is no reason to try and step on the field again!!!