Risen Magazine Spring 2011

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Monique Henderson :: More Than GeneticsWith two gold medals from two different games, this Olympic track star talks trainingand motivation. Plus while Monique has managed to stay clean and still rise to the top,she shares the disappointments that surround doping in sports.

Mary Murphy :: Choosing to LaughKnown as the Queen of Scream, this So You Think You Can Dance? judge opens up aboutdomestic abuse, her family and how dancing saved her life.

Skillet :: John Cooper, Following His HeartWhen front man John Cooper formed Skillet, he was just following his heart… little didhe know, his Grammy-nominated rock band would break industry molds and blesseveryone involved.

Jabbawockeez :: Faith of the UnbelievableThey won the first season of the reality dance competition America's Best Dance Crew, thisall-male modern dance/hip hop group gets up-close and unmasked.

Richie Furay ::Best known for forming the band Buffalo Springfield, and performing the song that hascome to symbolize war during the 1960s, but Furay is more than just For What it’s Worth.This Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member continues to influence America with more thanjust his music.

Kutless :: Believing in Something BiggerThis band’s music has been featured in film, television, and video games… currently ontour, guitarist Nick DePartee gives us a glimpse of life on the road.

Doyle Young :: in VietnamIt’s been 35 years since the Vietnam War ended, and while the country that was onceconsidered the enemy remains Communist, one American professor finds himself trainingVietnam’s next generation of business leaders.

Expressions

Ben Herrera

Lou Mora

The Twilight SagaVampires are all the rage right now and we have most-talked about bloodsuckers on thescreen: Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, and ElizabethReaser

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ere's somethin’ happenin’ here… is the opening line in the Buf-falo Springfield song, For What it’s Worth. e song becamesomething of an icon during the 60’s representing the collec-tive feelings brewing during the Vietnam-era. But that’s notwhat the song was actually about, according to band memberRitchie Furay who states, “It was about the cops trying to shutdown a club and kids were in a tizzy.” Regardless of the song’smany interpretations, the theme of change is clear. Change canbe exciting and scary; change can liberate individuals or im-pede individuals; change is inevitable and affects everyone’s life.

In this issue, Furay talks openly about his musical influence onAmerica and the personal changes that have occurred in his lifesince he first took to the stage. (page 28). Queen of Scream MaryMurphy may be boisterous and full of joy when you see her ontelevision judging the reality competition, So You ink You CanDance?, but her life hasn’t been without challenge. Murphyopens up about her family and how she is using the domesticabuse she endured in her first marriage as a catalyst to helpother women change their situations (page 10). Two-timeOlympic Gold Medalist Monique Henderson is one of thefastest women in the world. She’s earned this title without thehelp of any of the performance-enhancing drugs that continueto change the landscape of sports in America. Henderson iscandid about doping, her training and the trek to London forthe 2012 Olympic Games (page 04).

Change has not escaped Risen Magazine either. I’ve steppedinto the role of Editor-in-Chief and will make the commitmentto our readers to keep the things they love about the magazine,while striving to offer a great balance of articles featuring ac-tors, athletes, authors, musicians, and more. I’m excited aboutthe future and know the Lord will continue to bless our read-ers, our staff, and the wonderful subjects of our interviews.

All I can say is, “ere's somethin’ happenin’ here…” and I’m excitedto be used by God and to see Him work in your life too.

Kelli Gillespie

THERE’S SOMETHIN’ HAPPENIN’ HERE

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More Than GeneticsM o n i q u e H e n d e r s o n

he made the Olympic team at only 17 years of age, yet Monique Henderson wenton to compete in Athens, Greece in 2004, and Beijing, China in 2008. Both times

she brought home a Gold Medal in the 4x400 Meter Relay. Now, at 27, she shows nosigns of slowing, with her eye set on competing in London in 2012. This two-timeGold Medal Olympian talks family, disappointments when it comes to drug accusationsin the industry, mentors, motivation and the responsibility of her celebrity status.

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Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photos: Jackie Wonders

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Risen Magazine: Who introduced you to track & field, and when did youstart running? Monique Henderson: My oldest sister, she’s 8 years older than me. Shestarted running when she was 11 or 12 – I can’t really remember clearly be-cause I was young. But she was really good, so my dad would drive her about25 minutes away every day to one of the only other youth track and field clubsthat was around our area. After about one-year-and-a-half (years) of that hesaid, ‘You know what, I should start a track team in the inner city of SanDiego, down in southeast San Diego.’ So he did. He partnered with the Mar-tin Luther King recreation center and starteda track club called The MLK Blasters,.. Itstarted with 13 kids in 1987, and from thereit grew and by the time I was 5 – the startingage to be on the team was 6, but I was goingto turn 6 in a few months – he let me be onthe team. Both of my sisters were on the teamso every day they would go to practice, Iwould ask, ‘Dad can I go now? Can I runnow?’ Because I didn’t know what it was; I justknew that my sisters weren’t home, and Iwanted to be where they were. So eventuallyhe let me come out and join the team andthat’s how I started.

RM: At point did you realize you were reallyfast?MH: No one else remembers this, but inkindergarten, we had relay races and I wasbeating the boys. (They) were really mad at me and one of them was cryingand I remember that clearly. After joining the team, there were a lot of goodrunners on the team in that area, and so it was by the time I was about 8 yearsold that I was beating boys and girls that were several years older thanme…people started realizing I might have a pretty good talent.

RM: Comment about having two older sisters.MH: They were both really good athletes and good at track. My older sisterMonica would set records at our high school, then my other sister Starla,came a few years later, and would break the records, then I’d break Starla’srecords. So we had a nice little legacy at Morse [High School in San Diego].

RM: So your dad served as your coach then, is he still your coach now?MH: Oh yes he is! [Laughter]

RM: Did that come about because you had worked with him for so long andit was a trust issue?MH: My dad coached me until I started high school. And then the MorseHigh School coach, who had coached my sisters began to coach me - withsome input from my dad. But (at that time) it was mostly my coach, GaryMacDonald. In college I had my collegiate coach, but my dad still had someinput there, and so they ended up being really good friends talking about dif-ferent workouts and things. After graduating from UCLA I spent anotheryear (in L.A.) with my college coach and then her schedule just didn’t workout. That’s when I moved back to San Diego and realized, who better tocoach me again than my father, who’s always been there. So he’s been coach-ing me since the end of 2006.

RM: So on one side that’s got to be really nice with a definite comfort levelbuilt in, but on the other side, are you able to separate (from everything else)? MH: We definitely talk about track at home! We definitely do, track’s ourlife. But you know what? I think it just works out because he’s been coachingme since I was 6. We know each other so well and we avoid things that willpush each other’s buttons. I just know that no one else in this world will trulyhave my best interest at heart as much as my father does. So it works out re-ally well. Even the days where I might not agree with what he’s trying to getme to do, I know that it’s for my benefit and he sees something in me that I

probably don’t even see in myself.

RM: You were the first high school athleteto make the US Olympic team since 1976,how did that feel? MH: It was crazy. I had no idea. It was justsomething I hadn’t even thought about goingthrough my junior year of high school. I wentand ran through our high school season. Iwent to our high school state meet and ranreally fast there. All of a sudden there wasthis buzz, ‘Are you going to go to theOlympic trails?’ And I was like, ‘Wait, whatI’m only 17!’ It took a lot of convincing froma lot of people to even get me to go to the tri-als and then when I got there it was just like,‘Okay I’m here.’ And there was a lot of mediabuzz when I was there - and that was reallystressful. I made it all the way to the finals,which was a big deal, and I was happy with

that! I got 8th out of 8 people in the finals and I was soooo happy. And thenabout a week-and-a-half after the Olympic trials, they called me and askedme to be on the Olympic team, which was a huge shock. At that point Istarted learning the history that no one my age had made the team since 1976and it was a really big deal, so I was really honored.

RM: Getting to go to the Olympic Games - what’s something we wouldn’tknow from your perspective about the Games themselves or the Olympic Vil-lage? It seems like it would be a lot of fun, but I imagine it’s quite a bit of work.MH: [Laughter] Actually, it in itself is not a lot of fun. It’s really intense. Youmeet a lot of people who are the best athletes in their country…in the world,and that’s huge. And then, you meet our great athletes and we’re all inter-mingled. But as fun as you think it might be, it’s just really intense and every-one is extremely focused.

RM: How do you mentally prepare for such intensity? Do you have pre-runrituals?MH: It’s really a crazy thing when you think that you’re training for years andyears to go out there and give – I mean my race, 49 seconds is the goal – andit’s like that it, it’s all you have. It starts in practice and everyday life, it’s justfocusing on every single run you do and really reaching within yourself andblocking out all the outside factors. Meditation and visualization… you haveto count on all those, and all your practice and training.

RM: Who did you look up to on the track, who was your mentor or some-one that you aspired to be?MH: When I was coming up through high school, even into college, it was

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine at Point Loma Nazarene University in san diego, California.

...by the time I wasabout 8 years old Iwas beating boysand girls that wereseveral years olderthan me…peoplestarted realizing Imight have a prettygood talent.


Marion Jones. She was one of the people that reached out to me when I wastrying to decide to go to the Olympic trials in 2000. She called me and en-couraged me and she was a really big role model in my life. (Later) When herdrug accusations came out and she confessed… it really had an effect on me,on how I felt about her, and the sport of track and field, and it was a toughtime because she was someone that really exemplified being a classy femaleathlete who I had looked up to for years. It was pretty disappointing.

RM: What are your thoughts on that? It’s notunique to track and field, we are seeing it inbaseball, football, even cycling, it seems likein every sport, performance enhancing drugsare being used – how do you think that shouldbe dealt with?MH: When you are an athlete that is doing itnaturally, it’s just really disheartening to havea feeling that someone else isn’t. You just feellike you’re never going to have a fair playingfield and that’s really troubling. In our sport,it’s rampant. It really hits home when theseare the athletes that you’re around every dayand they seem like normal people doing thewhole anti-drug/anti-doping campaign rightalong with you, and then you find out, ‘Ohyou were doing drugs too! Wow. Okay.’ Nomatter what, it’s still shocking.

RM: Is track still fun? Or do you look at it now as a job?MH: It’s definitely still fun. It’s still what I love to do and it’s always going to besomething that is a part of me. It’s just my life. But at this point it is a job. Thereis no easy way around that, so that does bring another aspect of it into reality. Itmakes it a little bit different when you’re not just doing it for the love of it any-more, but you’re doing it to pay bills. That does change things a little bit.

RM: You won gold in Athens, and then again in Beijing, in 2012 theOlympics are in London, I’m assuming you’re going to continue and competethere too?MH: Yes. My goal definitely is to be back in London. I haven’t competed,actually since 2008, so I think a lot of people are just counting me out, say-ing, ‘You’re retired.’ I’m like, ‘You can think that, but I’m not going to say onething or another.’ But I’ve been kind of off the radar just doing my training,focusing day-in-and-day-out because after 2008, more than anything, (Ineeded) a mental-spiritual break from the sport. Like I said, it was just a lotof politics, the drug accusations and everything made me want to take a stepback. But I can never stop training and I’ll never stop wanting to make an-other Olympic team. So that’s where I’m at right now.

RM: You mentioned the spiritual-side, does faith play a role in your life?MH: Oh, absolutely. From a young age, it’s the way I grew up just being a strongChristian and I mean at this point when I look around, I know the talent I haveis truly a blessing. It’s more than genetics or anything like that. It’s really a bless-ing. And to have made it to this point, and made it this far, to do the things I’vedone I know it’s a blessing from God and I’m very thankful for that.

RM: And with that blessing comes responsibility and you’ve done great things

and lent your name to charity events, there’s a Monique Henderson Award –which is awesome!MH: [Laughter] Yea, that’s a little known fact in San Diego track and field!

RM: What are some of the causes you tend to see your heart drawn towards?MH: I love to lend my time to help out with different causes and organiza-tions. When I (began) training at the Olympic Training Center in San Diegothere were a lot of Paralympic athletes training there as well. A lot of them

are from the military – amputees – who weregetting their lives back on track and by pur-suing athletics and participating in the Par-alympics. Many of them are now my trainingpartners at the center. They are such greatpeople, and it makes me realize that sportsare something that transcends disabilities,culture, gender, race, ethnicity, whatever it is,it’s something that everybody loves andeverybody needs. (As a result of this) Mymain charity, is Sports for Exceptional Ath-letes [S4EA] and it provides sports activitiesand recreation activities for all people withdevelopmental as well as mental disabilities.I just love going out there with them becauseyou see what sports are about. It’s about thecompetitiveness – that’s there for sure – and

just the drive, and the love, and it’s so motivating to be around people that aredoing it for those reasons again. I love that charity.

RM: I know a lot of times when you get attention for one specific area thatyou excel in it is hard to kind of separate from that. You get defined as anOlympic athlete, or a teacher, or whatever your occupation is… but there’smore to Monique as a person, do you feel like you can separate yourself fromthat at all?MH: I hope so! My dad told me when I was getting ready to go to collegethat it’s what you do outside the arena that everybody sees you in that reallymakes you the person you’re going to be remembered for. So to me, I just feellike I can use what I’ve done on the track to give back, or help out, or growas an individual. To me it’s just a starting point. It’s the recognition I can usethere, to go and do other things and bring attention to other causes. In a wayit’s great to be Monique Henderson, the Olympian, the track star, but it’s alsowhat I can use that for that’s really important to me.

RM: What advice would you give to young people if they are interested inpursuing a dream - that seems to others unattainable - but to them, they’relike, ‘I know I can do this?’MH: You have to focus on yourself. Surround yourself with positive peopleand then the people that are negative… turn that into motivation for your-self that is going to drive you every day. Don’t ever be discouraged by havinga goal or a dream that others might laugh at, or has never even been donebefore. Or hasn’t been done in 30-something years, like the situation I was in.That should never deter anyone from still trying and at least giving 100% oftheir efforts to try to reach that goal.

...it’s what you dooutside the arenathat everybody seesyou in that reallymakes you the per-son you’re going tobe remembered for.

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Risen Magazine: You’re a nine-time Dance Champion, how did you get into competitive dancing?

Mary Murphy:That’s a really good question because I certainly didn’t grow up dancing. Most peoplestart at the age of three and I didn’t start until I was 19. I had three brothers and I was pretty muchthe fourth boy. I grew up in a town that was very similar to (the movie) Footloose. No dancing goingon in that town… and if you did, you’d probably be arrested. It was a very small religious community.

There really wasn’t a lot of access to anything for women or girls; the only sport that was avail-able to us was track. So that’s what I did, and my three brothers did it as well. I just wanted to doeverything my brothers did. I played the drums with them, but unfortunately that was only cool andokay until we went into high school. The rest of the guys were not happy because I was one of the first(female) drummers in the state of Ohio. I played all of the instruments back then… but it didn’t mat-ter, it wasn’t a place for women at that time. So (the guys) beat on me a lot and I went to the band di-rector one day and I said, ‘Listen they are really beating me up with the sticks back there.’ And he said, ‘WellI think you should find another instrument to play.’ I was really hurt by that because I wanted him to stickup for me, and that shouldn’t be any type of behavior that (the school) should condone.

So the funny thing is, I started playing other instruments and I ended up playing bassoon. I gotreally good at it and became first state, all-chair, in band. If I had wanted to go to Ohio State I couldhave had a partial scholarship to play the bassoon, but I decided to go to Ohio University and run track.

RM: Wow! So obviously you had a music background and rhythm in your blood – you could defi-nitely keep a beat. MM: The first time I was starting to change and not act like a boy, as far as wearing sweat pants andT-shirts, was my junior year in high school when I became a majorette. I had to dance a little in that

ary Murphy will make you laugh and she’s proud of it. Affectionately calledthe Queen of Scream, this ballroom dance champion and judge of the show,

So You ink You Can Dance? has used her discipline, ambition, and perseverance torise to the top. Opening up about her past abuse, family and faith… Murphy’sstory is not only inspiring, but a lesson in healing and growth.

Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photos: Bil Zelman


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and became head majorette my senior year. That was the first time I was outin front of lights and cameras and applause…and if I threw the baton re-ally high in the air and I caught it, the crowd would go nuts and I loved it.But it also gave me such anxiety every week because as head majorette, I hadthe big toss to do (Mary laughs). I caught it every single week and that wasa lot of pressure, so when I went into college, I studied Physical Education.I wanted to be the best Physical Education teacher and Elementary SchoolSpecialist with an emphasison Creative Dance.

I started moderndance in college. There wasone small ballroom class Itook, but I had zero inter-est, zero interest in it. Itook some jazz and ballet,but I really liked moderndance. I liked being funkyand crazy at that time inmy life. I got married my freshman year in college and my husband at thetime pretty much forced me to move to Washington, D.C., where he had anembassy offer. We moved and he proceeded to go overseas. That summer, Iwalked into a dance studio for a job. It was a ballroom dance studio, and I stilldidn’t really like it. To be honest, the average age of the client there wasprobably 80. The dancers were not high level and it didn’t really set with me.

The manager asked me if I’d like to go watch the U.S. Ballroom Cham-pionships in New York City. As a dancer right out of college I wouldn’t havedreamed of going to New York City by myself, it scared me. (But I accepted)and he took me and it was just like a scene in the movies. I walked throughthese massive double doors and into a magnificent ballroom that was three-tiered with chandeliers… very, very ornate. Everybody was dressed up, every-body had formals on in the ballroom and then I looked out onto the dancefloor and that’s when I saw what professional ballroom dancing was sup-posed to look like. The fabulous costumes, the hair, the make-up -- why tha teven interested me, I don’t even know. But I can honestly say I was hit like alightning bolt.

My path for whatever reason had led me there for that day and some-one let me know this is what I’m supposed to do with my life. I knew it with-out a doubt and I said it right out loud, right there at that minute, andwithout even staying and watching the entire competition, I said, ‘I want tobe a United States Champion.’

I left that weekend and went back (to Washington, DC) and begansearching for the best instructors and started taking a course. I didn’t havean incredible amount of dance experience (other than what I got in college),but I took to it naturally, and worked really hard for a long time.

RM: Did you have support along the way? What did your parents thinkwhen you said you were going to pursue dancing? MM: No. After my parents mortgaged their home to put me through col-lege, that announcement didn’t go well. We had a heated discussion over itand my father didn’t talk to me for two years. He was a school teacher andwanted me to be a school teacher as well. I was the only one who was fol-lowing in his footsteps and he knew I would be a good teacher. So he didhave a real issue with my decision.

All that my parents could see, and what most people saw back in thosedays with ballroom dancing, was that you’re dancing with men. And thatwasn’t a proper business; to get paid to dance with people was not highly re-spected in those days. He (dad) didn’t see what I saw. He wasn’t there at theWaldorf. He didn’t see the fabulous professional ballroom dancers, the per-son that I wanted to aspire to become.

Eventually, dad came around and he would come to some of my dance

competitions. It was just such a different world, but he saw I was so deter-mined, even though I wasn’t making much money at it. (She pauses)…you’reextremely poor, but there’s something in you that just won’t let you stop. It’svery addictive and you’re going to do whatever it takes, and you’re driven andyou want to be a champion.

It didn’t happen overnight for me. I won the U.S. 9-Dance Champi-onship in 1996, but in 1990 and 1991 I was the Austrian national cham-pion, which was actually bigger than placing here in the United States. Thatdidn’t matter though to me…I said I wanted to be U.S. Champion all thoseyears ago... deep inside me it was still irritating me…I hadn’t finished a goal.

After dancing for Austria I came back the United States and was verydetermined (to win). I kept on going and finally won the U.S. 9-DanceChampionship and retired the next day. I wanted to have a U.S. title and itwas time to move on and do other things. Once I’ve accomplished some-thing I want to move forward and experiment and do something new.

RM: I think ambition, drive, focus and hitting goals is so important. Whatis it within you that drives you to want to be that way? That’s a definite char-acter quality that not everybody has.MM: I have to thank my first husband. I was in an abusive relationship – Iwasn’t allowed to dance by the way, so any time he came back into the countryI had to stop – the fact that he told me I would be homeless, probably a milliontimes, if I ever left, kept me motivated. He threatened to kill me if I left, andall the things that came along with that relationship (made me strong).

I really feel like dancing saved my life and I am still driven today, I hateto say it, by a feeling that I could be homeless. I attribute much of that ex-perience to what motivated me in life, but also that my father was very pro-fessional as a worker in his life, and me, and my three brothers are all reallyloyal, hard-working people. I owe some of that to my parents and some ofthat to my first husband. From that situation, I strive to make a difference indomestic violence and treat people the way I want to be treated.

RM: I see so much strength in you. You’ve been able to use your celebrity tobring attention to the abuse in your past that you handled yourself. Whatmade you decide now was a good time to talk about it?MM: I carried it around for a long time and a lot of my close friends obvi-

014 RISEN magazine

ously knew about it. Back then it wasn’t something you could talk about andas far as I knew there weren’t any shelters (for women). Nobody talked aboutit… period. Parents at that time never talked about it because domestic abusewasn’t even in our vocabulary.

I did go to my parents for help. They did see me with a black eye onenight and I just really wanted my father to kick (my husband’s) ***. But wewere Catholics, and we were told that you need to make your marriage work.I was devastated by that. I went back (to my marriage) to keep trying to make

the situation work. It lasted about eight years. Luckily, I lived through it -and got out. It was a hard decision (to talk about the abuse), but it was so lib-erating to talk about it openly.

I had no idea the impact it would make. I knew that I needed to letwomen know – because they see me all the time as strong, laughing andscreaming on TV – I came from that (abusive background) - because whenyou’re in it, you can’t imagine that anyone else (that shows joy) could havecome from something like that. (It’s easy to assume) my life’s been hunky-dory the whole time. I think most people’s impression of me is that I’ve hada very carefree life and the best of everything. There was something alwaysin my spirit, no matter how many times I’ve been beaten down, that withina few days after (abuse) I would be laughing. I don’t know where that camefrom. I always seem to find the humor in something. I could even laugh atmy face if I saw bruises on it a few days after. I choose to laugh in life. Ichoose to find the humor.

Thank God everything strikes me funny. I know it probably drives somepeople nuts, but I just don’t really care. I am who I am and I want to see morepeople laughing. I know sometimes I’m over the top and I’ve heard somepeople can’t stand it when I scream on the television show, but I don’t care.I don’t care what that side says because those kids deserve all the enthusiasmI have to give. I’d do more if I could, I’d get up and do back flips!

RM: I think you’re definitely a fan-favorite when it comes to So You ThinkYou Can Dance? and they named you the Queen of Scream! I think that’s anendearing name – you’re good with it?MM: It’s a good thing. Definitely it was something that resonated around theworld because the scream, and the Hot Tamale Train, that phrase, literallywent around the world in just one week. People were screaming… peoplewere screaming at me… and I would travel someplace and I would get peo-ple to move their arm up and down and they wouldn’t even have to scream,I knew what it meant. I knew what they were saying to me. They were like,‘Whoo-whoo’ or ‘Put me on the Hot Tamale Train,’ everywhere I go in theworld. I was just shocked by that. It took me back.

We get so programmed in life to be a certain way, act a certain way – fol-low, follow, follow – and be like the next person. My hair has to be like that,I want that dress, I want that face, or I want that body. We’re in a societywhere we’re preprogrammed, or we at least think we need to be like some-thing else. I was so completely off the chart in the other direction that peo-ple saw that, and in a way wished they could not be embarrassed to screamfull tilt and just let it go. Some of the people I talked to said, ‘When youscream Mary our whole family screams too.’ I feel blessed people like the phrase,

I feel blessed that people love it when I scream.I just feel blessed. It’s just me, being me.

RM: I think it’s so genuine… and it is hard forpeople to be themselves especially with famebecause people want to know about you and it’sharder to stay grounded. How do you do it?MM: (I do it with the help of ) my very best

friend who I’ve known since I was five years old.I think also living in San Diego is another reallylarge part of me staying grounded and havingmy dance studio (here). I can be at a premiere

in LA, riding in a limousine, and then (in a matter of hours) be driving mybutt down (to San Diego) and (deal with) a toilet problem at the studio andthen Mary’s in there cleaning the toilet. That has the tendency to bring youright back!

You can get caught up (in the fame). It is nice to be riding in a limou-sine and having people do your hair and make-up, and running around doingeverything for you. But living in San Diego and having a business keeps megrounded. I have been burnt several times in Los Angeles and I have learnedmy lessons. I go in, I do my job and then I get back to people who are real;my close friends. Being a celebrity is really tough in Los Angeles. A lot ofpeople are nice to you because of who you are. Let’s face it… there is alwayssomebody working an angle to make money off of you when they could re-ally give a rats-*** about you.

RM: You mentioned growing up that your town was Footloose-style and yougrew up in a Catholic home, was faith a part of your life?MM: Absolutely. I was in Catholic school up until the seventh grade andalso (in church) every Sunday, and Wednesday, plus (I attended) Catechism.In school we studied religion, so it was a big part of our lives. One day wewere placed in public school and I never knew why. For years I never hadthe courage to ask my father about it. (I later found out that) my parents leftthe church because one day the pastor put up a chalkboard showing exactlyhow much money each person gave to the church, (at least the lowest in theparish), for everyone to see as they walked into church that morning. My fa-ther was a school teacher that made next to no money and my mother stayedat home trying to control all of us four kids. I remember seeing the chalk-board but I was young and didn’t read anything anyways. That was the rea-son we left the church… my dad said, ‘Never again. at’s no kind of religionthat would do that to somebody. We gave what we could.’ It was upsetting to meyears later to find out that was the reason. It made me angry with theCatholic church. I know not all Catholic churches are like that, but I canonly talk about our experience. It’s sad that it had to end that way and that’swhy our faith stopped there, so to speak. But I don’t think it ever stopped mefrom being spiritual.



RM: So where do you find yourself now as far as faith?MM: I find myself struggling today, honestly, especially this last year. I goto church now, but I struggle because of situations. I think I’m very spiritual.I think I’m generous and deeply committed to making a difference in mycommunity.

RM: It seems thatwhere you are placed isdefinitely for a pur-pose. You’re being usedto affect so many peo-ple. Would you haveever thought thatdance would be thispopular in modern daywith shows like So Youink You Can Dance?and Dancing With e Stars?MM: It was only six and a half years ago that everywhere I went, every char-ity event, or place I’d go people would ask, ‘What do you do?’ and I would behorrified because the next words were, ‘I’m a ballroom dancer.’ And they’d say,‘ You’re a what? What bar do you work at?’ I’d say, ‘No, no ballroom – waltz,tango, cha-cha-cha.’ A lot of time they’d say, ‘But what else do you do for a liv-ing dear?’ It was so condescending. To think that Dancing With the Stars andSo You ink You Can Dance? made such a transformational, global change inpeople’s minds concerning ballroom dancing, and the idea that you can leada healthy, happy life doing it and actually make a good income, is amazingto me. That’s the power of television…now it’s respected around the worldand everyone wants to do it I’m so deeply grateful that I lived long enoughto have this experience.

RM: I was so surprised that with all your dance accolades, this year was thefirst time you’ve been on Broadway. Was that your decision?MM: Dancing on Broadway is the highlight for sure in my dance career.Honestly, for ballroom dancers there was really no opportunity to dance onBroadway. It was never even part of our mindset… it wasn’t something youcould even put into the universe. It wasn’t made available to us up until all ofthese dance shows. Burn the Floor has been around, the company has beentogether for close to 9-10 years now and they’ve been traveling the worldand revamping the show until finally all the ballroom stuff (was added) andthe timing was right.

The show was fine- tuned and tweaked to be a really hot, dynamicshow, and it did amazing on Broadway. When Jason Gilkison(director/choreographer) called me and asked, ‘Would you like to dance onBroadway?’ (I paused) thinking how old I was and that two weeks ago Iwas in a wheelchair because I threw my back out for the first time in mylife…I had a tumor in my right foot…only two working ligaments in myright ankle…acute tendonitis in my right arm…a torn right rotatorcuff…check, check, check, check – as he was waiting for my answer and thenext thing out of my mouth ‘ Yes I would!’ I hung up the phone, andthought, ‘What the*** are you thinking, girl!’

RM: It sounds like to me the fight is still there!MM: Last year I was red-eying across the country weekly. When I was in LA

I was doing three hours of physical therapy - not training. Physical therapyand training are two different things. I never did get to train for Broadwayto get the endurance and to get myself in shape again. I had the (So You inkYou Can Dance?) finale, the after party and the very next morning I flew toNew York City and four days later I was on stage. It was a whole new world

of hurt and my body had never been in so much pain. It was the ultimatetest on my perseverance, but when I was on stage… I loved every single sec-ond.

RM: You’ve gotten to do so many amazing things, is there anything left onyour checklist that’s important for you to accomplish? MM: Certainly part of my legacy will be my Chance to Dance program. We’rein our fourth year right now and we have about 500 kids in the program tomake dancing affordable and basically free to the underserved areas of SanDiego. That is one of my big missions and will ultimately, I think, be mylegacy in life. I just started a new program called, Soldiers Who Salsa – we’renot necessarily married to that (name) – but we teamed up with theWounded Warriors program at the Navy base and it serves all forms of themilitary. We have a dance program for amputees, brain-inflicted, and posttraumatic syndrome soldiers. I’m hoping my program will go nationwide tomilitary bases. I’m really proud of it.

I would also love to have my own show one day. Ever since I was a kidI’ve wanted to do a variety show. It’s the weirdest thing that I’m movingcloser and closer to that being a reality. I used to love e Carol Burnett Show,(and a show like) that would be a lot of fun for me. I want to do things Ihaven’t done before. It scares me, but at the same time it makes me grow.

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John CooperFollowing His Heart


020 RISEN magazine


anned from listening to rock music when he was little John Cooper felt God calling him to be in a band. Faced with thetough decision of following his heart or his parents, Cooper chose the desire God placed in his heart to pursue his dream. Andblessed he’s been - his Grammy-nominated rock band Skillit has released 7 albums and sold more than a million and half recordsto date. Fans love their passion, songs, and shows packed with pyrotechnics. And one summer night in San Diego was no excep-tion. The stage went black with only the glow of cell phones and cameras, while the crowd chanted, “Skill it, Skill-it, Skill-it.” Thevoice on the loud speaker bellowed, “Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the show. You are invited to stand. You are invited toscream…” and scream they did! But before front man Cooper took the stage, he took some time to tell Risen Magazine his story.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in san diego, caRisen Magazine: Being a Christian working in mainstream secular music,how do you stay true to what message you really want to get across?John Cooper: I find it kind of like anything else in life. For instance, when

[you go] to college, you're making a decision to go to college and you knowthere is going to be new temptations and new stuff out there trying to lead youastray or vie for your affection. You’ve gotto make decisions for who you want to beand then hopefully you put in safeguardsto help those decision last. I find [thesame] with any kind of business, or rela-tionship even, what I mean is that practi-cally for me, I need to have people in mylife that I trust to speak into my life - mypastor and my wife, and whoever that'sgoing to be that we're open about thingsand I know that I'm human and I can messup and I need those people to be there forme and to keep me, not just to keep me ac-countable, but to be with me, to fight withme and to pray with me. A lot of bands if I see they've really gone off trackfrom where they started from, it’s normally because they don't have people intheir lives like that. It's very easy to get sucked into this world; the musicworld is almost like its own separate world from normal life, especially main-stream music.

RM: Do you have safeguards for that when you're on the road? Do you do de-votions together and hold each other accountable?JC: Absolutely. We do all of those things you just mentioned. Some of that isalso natural because my wife is in the band and we have our kids on the roadwith us. So it really does seem like a family; the whole band seems like a fam-ily. We're very open about what we're trying to accomplish and who we wantto be. We all go to church together and the leaders of our church are very in-terested in our lives and being that authoritative role for us. All that is set inplace, and then yes, we'll have worship times together. The girls were just inhere, and walked out there, they are reading the Bible together. They're goingthrough the Bible together and that's what they are doing in the other roomnow... they do that together every day. And absolutely, if somebody sees some-thing that is questionable we bring it up. The good thing is that as a groupwe've already decided who [we] want to be together. When it doesn't work,is me coming to you and saying, ‘Hey I say you doing this and is everythingokay with that,’ and you being like, ‘Well that’s just who I want to be.’ Fromthe bottom this is not built correctly. Skillit is built well from the bottom up.

RM: You write your own music and are a true artist. I think the indus-try has changed and it's more about the game-changing song, what aresome of the biggest challenges you're facing in the industry that you did-

n't think you'd have to?JC:That's always been there on the pop side mainly, with pop artists that comeand go, all looking for the new thing. I'd say 12-13 years ago, Brittney Spearsand N'Sync and all these people popped up on scene… that was the next levelof that evolution [with the idea] we can make stars, which kind of lead up to

American Idol and stuff like that. There definitely isa ‘Hey we're going to show you how much power we re-ally have, we can make people be stars as long as they cando this good, or this good, etc…’ That pressure has hap-pened. I was basically told if Skillit wanted to sellone million records, we're going to have to sign atleast a few chests/boobs. It was a conversation withmy label, I was saying I've been in Christian musicfor a long time and that's never come up before.When it happens you don't really know what to sawand there's an issue of you not wanting to offendpeople because they're like, ‘You're a rock band andthat's what they do.’ They feel almost like somebodysaid, ‘Hey will you sign my shirt,’ and you say, ‘No I

don't feel comfortable with that.’ And then they feel offended. It started this wholeconversation of basically you're never going to sell one million records if you'renot cool. So those began to be the challenges for Skillit. You'll never sell one mil-lion records if you don't do that, you'll never sell one million records if you're notwilling to sing about some things that you don't believe in, or maybe it's not thatyou don't believe in it, but it might not be the best influence.

RM: So how do you handle something like that? Do you continue to blur theboundary or do you say, ‘No this is where we're going to be and we know our musicwill stand alone?’JC: We've had some issues, but we haven’t gotten music pressure from thelabel about having to change lyrics, but honestly, I always knew I wouldn't dothat. And I think even if it started to seem like maybe that’s not a big deal, Ihave my wife, I have my pastor at my church, I have my band together, thosethings I believe don't happen because of all of these safeguards. So I don'tsound like a blast to my label, they haven't been hammering me like you've gotto cuss in a song, that's not really what they're saying... but there have been acouple songs where they've said if you could just say "hell" or "damn" it's notreally that big of a deal, what's the big deal with this. And from my point ofview, I just say it's not who I am, it's not in my artistry and I'm just not goingto do it. I think that God has honored that and taken Skillit to a place, thathonestly we've sold so many records that we're a little bit of an enigma, I thinkour label doesn't know why we've sold so many records. I don't know howwe've sold so many records. I don't really know how it's happened.

RM: God doesn't make mistakes and He places people in specific industriesthat aren't necessarily Christian. It's important to have people like you that are

Writer: Kelli Gillespie

I've done a lot ofpraying and soulsearching aboutwhat it is God hasasked me to do. ”

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022 RISEN magazine

bringing music to a secular crowd that can relate and read into your messagemore. And it's not like your songs are preaching, they just deal with real issues.JC: I hope so, thanks. I feel very passionate about all those things you've justsaid, why we do what we do, and what I feel called to do. I've done a lot ofpraying and soul searching about what it is God has asked me to do. Fiveyears ago we had a record called "Collide" that was 3 records ago, and that wasmy 5th record, and that was my first album we ever recorded that I didn't sayJesus on. It was a real soul searching timefor me, I feel like these were the songsthat God gave me and I never thoughtI'd have a record that didn't say Jesus onit and I don't know how I feel about it.You know what it was like, for peoplethat care about stuff like this, it was likein the New Testament, Simon Peter'sdream with the animals coming downand God telling him to take and eat andhe was saying, no I'm not going to do it,it's unclean, and God was saying, stopsaying that what I’ve told you to do is un-clean. I really felt like it was that way. Ifelt God was saying these are the songs,you're not meant to say Jesus on thisrecord. You're starting a new thing and Ihad a real hard time with it. It was mysensibilities, because I am an evangelistat heart. But I knew it was the Lord andthat's why God just kept taking us downthat road and now I can see why He's done that. Write songs people can re-late to whether you're a Christian or an atheist. I want it to be like last weekwhen we played with Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains, somebodycame up to me and said, ‘Hey I love your music man, I love all your albums,I'm an atheist I'm not Christian, but I don't even care I love all your records.’I think people are relating to what we're singing about and a lot of peopleknow we're Christians, but they just like the way the songs make them feel.

RM: When you were young did you know that this is what you wanted to do?Or did you want to be a basketball player, or a teacher...JC: I did want to be a basketball player and a musician.

RM: Because those hybrids are so common...JC: Competitive people. Musicians are very competitive, unless they are high.The high ones don't care anymore. I started listening to rock music when Iwas in about 6th grade and it was all Christian music - Petra was my band -Christian music was so impactful to me that I did have a dream of being aChristian musician. I didn't necessarily think that would happen. I didn't evenknow what I'd play, I was a piano player at the time, and thought I could playkeyboards and that could be really cool. I didn't know I'd end up being asinger. I thought that would be amazing. If I could do anything in the world,I'd be in a Christian rock band. It never crossed my mind to be in just a band,because I listened to Christian music. I grew up in a family that was againstall music besides Classical and hymns. I wasn't allowed to listen to Christianmusic for a very long time because my family believed the drums are from thedevil, and guitars are from the devil and Amy Grant is the anti-Christ.

RM: So what gave you the confidence then to pursue it? I would think par-ents are usually a big motivating factor.JC: Yeah, they were really against it. I became a Christian when I was five. My

mom was a Jesus-freak, passionate about Jesus, taught me about Jesus and Ihad a huge respect for my Mom and she is the reason I am walking with God.But there were definitely things in my upbringing I had a hard time with andthe reason is because they didn't make any sense from the Bible to me andthat is probably the reason I hate religiousness and I've really fought againstthat my whole life. You know in 5th grade I wanted to wear black jeans andI wasn't allowed to wear black because it was the devil's color, and I wanted

to have a mullet, I wanted a mullet so bad, likeMacGyver, but not allowed to do that becausethat's what non-Christians do, Christiansdon't do that. So all that stuff really botheredme and I had a real hard time with this wholemusic thing, I could not wrap my headaround why God would create music butthere would be a genre of music that was in-herently evil or poisoned by the devil. I justcouldn't buy it. I thought they're trying tocontrol me and I don't like that I want to dowhat God says and I want to obey my par-ents, but this just doesn't make sense.

RM: So are your parents supportive now?JC: This was all leading up to 6th/7th gradeand we started fighting, and fighting and Istarted listening to Christian music and myparents did not like it but I think they finallyrealized they were going to lose me. I loved

music, my mom was a piano teacher and she felt I was a gifted musician andshe knew how much I loved music and when I heard rock music I just freakedout. I just wanted to sit in a house and listen to rock music all the time. Ithink they realized we are going to give in a little bit and let him listen toAmy Grant, Michael Smith and Petra, or else he might be listening to Metal-lica and Motley Cru with all my buddies. So they gave in a little bit. My mompassed away actually when I was a freshman in high school and apparently herbig thing was - I love my family by the way, I'm close with my family andeverything is fine now - but the big thing that my family really believed foryears and years was that mom was on her death bed saying her biggest con-cern for her whole life was that I would get ruined by rock music and Satanwas going to use me and they held that over my head for a long time. Theneventually I remember praying, I was an adult, I was 18, I feel God telling meI got to do this and it's either going to be do what the Lord says, or do whatmy parents say, and there is only one right decision here. I talked with mypastor about it, it wasn't like I was being rebellious, I was an adult, I wasn't13 or something. It was difficult because still to this day I respect my mom awhole lot, she was the cornerstone person in my life that lead me to Christ.A lot of opposition at first, but now everybody loves it and is really cool aboutit now. Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years even in the church con-cerning rock music the way people dress, tattoos, piercings and what not.

I was 18, I feel Godtelling me I got todo this and it's eithergoing to be do whatthe Lord says, or dowhat my parents say,and there is only oneright decision here.”

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o dance is natural, to dance like the Jabawokeez is supernatural- sort of anyway -in a coordinated event that is part miracle andrevelation that is attained by few. The 7 to 11- member crew, counting (and they always count him) the recently deceased Gary“Gee” Kendall brings illusion to life, and with it, a faith in things unseen.

I arrived at the scene of this interview, to see the Jabawockeez laughing and speaking with a TV reporter. Kevin “Keibee”Brewer shows off the knot on his head from his endless spinning and then joins the crew who joyfully attempt to teach the re-porter to dance. When asked to join them, I passed, instead memorizing the steps to try them at home, beyond the eyes of Amer-ica’s (some would say the world’s) Best Dance Crew. Alone with the music blaring, I found that even the basics are more difficultthan they look, and they look difficult. It’s like that with the Jabbawockeez—they and their art are illusionary, causing you, attimes, to doubt what you see, and to believe in what you don’t see. I spoke with them about the seen and the unseen world, bothrealms familiar to them. Now, it’s for you to decide what’s real.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Los Angeles, California..

Writer: Chris Ahrens

Risen Magazine: Where does inspiration come from?Kevin “Keibee” Brewer: For me personally, I would say that my dancing isvery spiritual. When I get into my element, I kind of open myself up to chan-nel a creative force or energy that I feel is coming from God. It’s worked prettywell for me so far. Sometimes I have a block. Then I have to relax and let go,but for the most part, that’s where it’s coming from, for me.

RM: I first read the word Jabbawockeez (actually Jaberwocky) in one of LewisCarroll’s books.Jabbawokeez: [Nod in unison] Absolutely. That’s correct.RM: Does the name have any significance?Ryan “Kid Rainen” Paguio: It does have significance in what we’re trying todo. Actually Joe and Kevin came up with the name from a Lewis Carroll poem.Of course it was Jaberwocky, about a mysterious dragon that a lot of peopledidn’t believe was real. I guess that’s what we try to do with Jabbawockeez, likewe’re a figment of your imagination. We’re not really on stage; what we do onstage is unreal. How are they doing that, or how are they moving that way? Thereason we wear the masks is to cover up each other’s identity and show thatwe’re one unit. That was the main objective, and we kind of tweaked the nameout to make it different and to make it sound more hip-hopish.

RM: Talking about spiritual purpose, do you guys feel a deeper purpose be-yond entertainment?Ben “Big-Tek” Chung: I’m sure I speak for the rest of the guys when I say thatwe believe the gifts we have are God-given. We as Jabbawockeez understandthat there’s something bigger that we’re dancing for and something bigger

than we understand. I think the only reason we’ve come this far is to have thatpurpose fulfilled, so we just keep creating and we hope to continue to inspirepeople, not just to dance, but to pursue any dream they might have. We’re pur-suing our dreams right now; we’re living them out, and we want to encouragethat in others. We’re just a part of the big picture and we want to be signifi-cant. I think that’s what we’re doing here.Saso “Saso Fresh” Jimenez: I would want the kids to pursue whatever God hasgiven them to do. I think it’s kind of a consistent theme that our parents did-n’t really support what we were doing. It’s tough; you want to play both rolesand do what they want you to do—maybe doctor, lawyer,dentist-- while at thesame time you have this inner thing, this connection, and you want to do that.I would say to definitely obey your parents, listen to what they have to say, andat the same time, don’t forget what that ability is that you have inside. Youhave to respect that, otherwise you’ll just be like, ‘Man, I wish I’d done that’.Regretting it will just eat at you, so kids, just do it. And parents, I hope you cansee the light in your children and help them move that forward. That’s whereI’m coming from.

RM: In general creativity is at war with perfectionism, yet you guys are so cre-ative and so precise. Is that ever a conflict?Phil “Swaggerboy” Tayag: As artists, we want to be perfect. Nobody can reachthat, but we do strive for it. We like to work at the spur of the moment—otherpeople like to call that procrastinating [Laughter all around]. That’s the beautyof our art, because everybody has so many ideas. We can sit there and try to cre-ate a masterpiece that can take forever, but being pressed for time, we narrowit down. That gives us the balance.

JABBAWOCKEEZ Faith of the Unbelievable

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RM: On America’s Top Dance Crew, you were given less than a week to comeup with something.Swaggerboy: That was when we first began creating under pressure. Usuallywhen we put shows together we usually have a lot of time. Some of us are usedto taking time and some of us are more organic, letting it flow. We kind oflearned how to mesh together and make it work after that. I guess that’s whythe shows come out like they do. The truth really is, there is no answer to whythe shows come out looking like they do. There are so many different mindshere, and through that time—we’ve been together over ten years now— we’velearned how to work with each other.

RM: Have you had any big blowouts?Swaggerboy: Not really. There are times we can get on each other’s nerves andwe sometimes bicker, but honestly, I think that just makes the love growstronger. We look back on everything that we’ve been through; we all knoweach other’s lives. I don’t see any crazy blowouts or anything like that because,each one of these guys is a good person. They would never yell or want to hurteach other, or anybody else. My brother Chris wants to speak.Chris “Cristyle” Gatdula: At the end of the day, we’re all down for each other.At the end of the day, we have each other’s backs. We all roll on black; that’swhat we say, cuz if one person’s going that way, we’re all gonna go that way. Ifone person decides to go one way, we’re all gonna roll with it. It could be wrong,but if it is we’re all gonna be wrong together. It becomes a beautiful picture.

In Niagara Falls we all got some money together and put a hundred dol-lars on black. It hit black and we all stuck together. You tell us to jump in thelake, we’re gonna jump in the lake, with all the alligators [Laughter all around].We were able to go to Jack in the Box that night [Laughter all around], butthen we lost it again. [Hard laughter all around].

RM: Have any of your parents wanted you to be a track star, or do some othersport?Jeff “Phi” Nguyen: I think I can speak on behalf of the crew when I say prettymuch all of us went through that. Dancing for males, especially in our culture,isn’t the most masculine thing to do. On top of that, it’s not the most securetype of career you can pursue. We went with the dancing thing and it paid offand they [our parents] can see that. Now that we’re all getting older, we can seewhere our parents were coming from, they just want the best for us. We totallyunderstand that now, but as kids we were thinking, Why you hatin’ on mydancing, I’m dope. Now they see the success and they say, ‘Yeah, my kid is dope.’So it’s pretty cool.

RM: How did you guys find each other?Someone from crew: Craig’s list. Looking for crew…. [Extended hard laugh-ter all around.] Phi: Just through friends. Gary Kendal, our fallen member, AKA Gee-One,he passed away right before we did the show [America’s Top Dance Crew]. Hewas actually the main force and the main reason we auditioned for this show.Gary was the one; he was like our Yoda in the group. He is the Yoda of our

group. He made his way down from Northern California and ran into Ryanand Chris and some of the other guys and everybody kind of linked up. I joinedthe crew in 2004 and Ben joined in 2007. Gary was that bridge that put it alltogether.

RM: Is that the significance of looking up and pointing?Phi: Yes, it’s one for Gee. Voice from Crew: He’s actually not a fallen member, he’s a risen member.Faith, Hope and Love, bro.

RM: You guys ever pray together?Voice from crew: Oh yeah, all day.Phi: After the show, before the show, after we eat, before we eat. We have toman, cuz sometimes the juices don’t flow and we say, ‘What are we gonna do?’It’s like, we have to pray, we have to pray. We pray, put one up and for somestrange reason we bang out materials. Voice from Crew: God is big and God is good. Our last little session that wehad, we all just had to go to Sacramento and rehearse. We made provisions todo a 60-minute show, but we didn’t actually finish until a few days before wewere on. There were a lot of things that were goin’ on and at some points it wastough to focus and through prayer it all came together.

RM: My wife and I were watching you guys on TV and we were actually intears. It was so beautiful and so hopeful.Keibee: Thank you, man. When we were on America’s Top Dance Crew, Garyhad just passed away two months earlier. At that time, we were spread apart.Doing the show brought us together and we were able to talk about Gary.There were a lot of things people didn’t see, not just the crying that I did whenthey interviewed me. Even behind the scenes. Honestly, prayer really got usthrough that whole time. That’s when we decided to pray before every rehearsaland show, just to get us through this time. Gary was a big part of all of our livesand we went through a lot. During the filming of that show, while we were onthe show, we did a show called One For G, in the Bay Area. Everything kindof came together in our favor, from sticking together and praying together.

RM: There’s a fine line between confidence and pride. Cristyle: I think if you put your pride down you can get far. We let our pridedown and we can listen to each other. We’re seven guys and when you getseven dudes… Voice from crew: Ego! Cristyle: …We really take the time to listen and try other people’s sugges-tions. Like we said, we’re gonna ride on black.

Keibee: I wanted to add that you have a gift, a God-given talent. When youhave that, you can walk out in faith, knowing that you’re going to do it. If Iam synchronized with my faith, I am going to go and learn from that personand, hopefully, they will learn something from me at the same time.

If I am synchronized with my faith, I am going to go andlearn from that person and, hopefully, they will learn some-thing from me at the same time.

028 RISEN magazine

Richie Furay


ichie Furay is one of the reasons rock and roll today sounds theway it does. The bands he helped start in the 1960s, Buffalo

Springfield and Poco, changed everything. Richie continues to makemusic in clubs across the country with The Richie Furay Band, aswell as in the Calvary Chapel church he pastors in Boulder, Colo.The bulk of this interview was conducted before a show at a club inSolana Beach, Calif. while his band was warming up, but when it gotso loud that even the excellent recording device could hear only thedrums, he agreed to finish it on the phone.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine inCsan diego, California.

Risen Magazine: Pretty much everyone who knows rock history says that withoutthe sound that Buffalo Springfield and Poco created, there would have been no Ea-gles, Loggins and Messina, or country rock. You started something. Is that how yousee it, too?RF: I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but yes. Springfield was more eclectic,and Poco was more defined. Steven (Stills) and Neil (Young) had so many thingsthey were experimenting with, and I was just trying to get songs recorded. BuffaloSpringfield was more a cross between rock and folk music. With Poco, we were fo-cused. I wanted to try to bridge a gap between country music in Nashville and ourrock and roll in Los Angeles. Very few groups were doing what we were doing. Butwe were the pioneers, no doubt about it.

RM: Does that make you feel proud when you look at your influence?RF: I don’t think it’s pride. I was doing what was coming natural to me. I wasn’t try-ing to prove a point, but I wanted to establish camaraderie between two styles ofmusic. When you listen to what country music is today 30 and 40 years later, wellit’s obvious that’s what we were trying to do way back when.

RM: Who were your early musical influences?RF: My dad loved country music. Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran were majorinfluences. Conway Twitty was rock and roll back then. Buck Owens in Bakersfield- he was unique unto himself and had an impact on me.

RM: Everyone takes Buffalo Springfield seriously, but I don’t think many took thoseguys as seriously. RF: Someone had to lay the foundation.

RM: Some of your band mates such as Steven Stills, Neil Young, Jim Messina,Randy Meisner, went on to incredible fame and fortune. Do you ever feel that yougot taken advantage of in that you had all this influence, but never reaped as muchin financial success?RF: Financially, probably, especially with Poco, because we never had the commer-cial hits while I was in the band. That’s what finally drove me out of the band. We

Writer: Dean Nelson

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could draw the audience, we could excite the audience, had a good live fol-lowing, but couldn’t get AM radio, which at the time was what it was allabout. A hit back then would have helped a lot even today. Some people whohad hits are still playing and can do so comfortably. It’s a little more difficultfor me. But that’s okay, it’s how the Lord laid it out for me.

RM: I know you mean that, about the Lord, but a lot of people would lookat this and say you got shafted.

RF: (laughs) – From a worldly standpoint, I’m sure a lot of people would. Inthe long run, though, I would have lost my family if I had been a huge com-mercial success. I would have lost my wife, my kids. There came a time in mylife where I had to make a decision. I chose my family. When crisis hit, I couldhave gone the success route, but I decided that nothing was more importantthan having a solid family. And here we are, married, 42 years later. For thatI wouldn’t want it differently. God played a big role in my life.

RM: When you hear the Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth”played virtually everywhere in the world, and especially on movie soundtracks,do you still get a bit of a rush from hearing it? I know I do when I hear,“There’s somethin’ happenin’ here – what it is ain’t exactly clear.”RF: No. Not at all. I think I’m anesthetized by it. It’s not a surprise.

RM: You and I were at dinner with some friends in a restaurant in the Do-minican Republic when it came on over the sound system, and we all went nutsand brought the owner of the place over to meet you. But you were just ho-hum.RF: It’s nice to know I was part of that song and band, but it doesn’t send tin-gles up and down my spine. I don’t want to sound nonchalant about it.

RM: Why is it still such a rallying cry?RF: It seems that every generation uses it as their protest anthem. Sincethere’s nothing new under the sun, they keep coming back to it. People thinkit was about the Vietnam War, but it had nothing to do with that. It wasabout the cops trying to shut down a club and kids were in a tizzy. RM: In your books Pickin’ Up the Pieces and For What It’s Worth, as well as inyour music, you talk a lot about getting second chances. What do you meanby that?RF: I probably should have died in the Ritz hotel in Paris, France because ofthe drugs I had taken. God was gracious in allowing me to wake up the nextmorning. It was a matter of kids doing the foolish things kids do. We were in-dulging ourselves in drugs. I liked to think that I had good perspective onthings, but that was one night where I let my boundaries down and wentoverboard. Stupidity. Thank God for the grace to let me see another day. Healso gave me a second chance with my marriage. Nancy and I tried to divorce,

but God gave me a second chance to restore our marriage. We were done.She was moving on, and it didn’t include me. That was a third chance, actu-ally. Neither one of us knew there was a divine hand over us. She had writ-ten me a letter while I was at Al Perkins’ house, and they thought it was toostrong and tore it up and wouldn’t let me read it. After they left the house fora while I went into their trash and put the paper together to see what I was-n’t supposed to see. And she was quite clear. We were done.

RM: Thinking about your goingthrough the trash to retrieve this lettermakes me wonder if that’s where thesong Pickin’ Up the Pieces came from?RF: (laughs). No. That was alreadydone and recorded. This was a few yearslater. But I like it as a story – I’m goingto try to work that into the song!

RM: You say God told you to go homeand reconcile with your wife. Was it a

voice in your head? Heart?RF: It was one of those internal voices. All I know is that I was on a porchin Los Angeles on a hot day in September and a chill came over me. I hadto go inside, and said I needed to go home. The voice was so definite andspecific – it left no room for me to sit and think about it. It was time to move.Don’t’ wait. “This is Me telling you to move, so go.” I got the next flight outand went right home. I didn’t call Nancy and I didn’t know why. The obvi-ous reason was that my wife had scheduled an abortion for the next day andhadn’t told me.

RM: In your shows you always include songs that are overtly worship songsto God. Do you think all of your songs or all good music is a form of wor-ship music?RF: I wouldn’t say that. I think worship songs have a specific purpose andfocus -- to give thanks and to honor the Lord. The other songs are musicallyfine, but lyrically they’re not the same. But there’s not a song I’ve written thatI’d be ashamed to sing today. Even Kind Woman sounds like there are somesuggestive moments, but it’s still okay.

RM: When you do worship songs at clubs and elsewhere that are not full ofpeople who believe in God, you’re doing that intentionally. Do you ever runinto resistance? Do you wonder if your audience wishes you’d just stick toBuffalo Springfield or Poco music? RF: Yup. I run into it quite a bit. Sometimes it’s before we get there andsometimes after we get there. I have a purpose in mind for doing it. I’m notgoing to proselytize. People pay to hear the songs, not to hear me preach. Idon’t preach, but I try to talk about my life. I want there to be a song or songswhere I can say, I want you to listen to this for this reason. I was working withChris Hillman one night, and we got around to a song with our testimony,and four tables got up and walked out. A girl started yelling, “What are yougoing to do about the war?” Another time my business manager got a callfrom Nike. They wanted to know what our set content was going to be, be-cause they had bought a bunch of tickets to one of our shows, but they did-n’t want to come to a church service. Other Christian artists don’t get thiskind of reaction, but I do.

I probably should have died in the

Ritz hotel in Paris, France because of

the drugs I had taken. God wasgracious in allowing me towake up the next morning.


RM: Mostly, though, are people generally open to your mixing some of yourChristian songs into your shows?RF: Very much so. Most of the time, our audience comes back and back.Even the non-Christians in the audience tell us it’s not offensive.

RM: You say in your shows that all the songs you write are either to your wifeor your Lord. That said a lot in a very brief moment. It said “This is who Iam.” Did you ever have a dialogue with God that said – “Hey, all these guysI have worked with over the years have had huge hits, and they never talkedabout you or their wives. Why didn’t I get to that level?”RF: I had that kind of dialogue, but I didn’t know who I was talking to. Itwas before I became a Christian. I don’t know if I was crying out to God orwhat – I was just as talented as these guys. I was so driven to be that rock androll star that the rest of them were. Nothing was going to stop me. Then Ibecame a Christian and the carpet got pulled out from under me, and Godshowed me “Okay, now, let’s evaluate – what’s important here?” I had to makea decision, and I never looked back. The “why them and not me” questionnever came up after I was a believer. I knew who I was and what I had andwhat God had given me.

RM: Don’t you at least get a little twinge today that says, That could havebeen me?

RF: The more I play, the more the enemy uses that issue to resurface in mylife. Why isn’t one of MY songs in every movie, instead of “For What it’sWorth”?

RM: Seems like a reasonable question. RF: I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I know what I’ve got and I knowwhat I’ve done, and I know the talent I have surrounded myself with, and I’veheard my other friends – they can do so much more than they’re doing today.My band right now has something so good. It’s frustrating, but we can onlydo so much. It has a lot to do with the fact that I never had a hit record. ButI know that what I have can stand up to any of them any time.

RM: What was it like being at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event in1997?RF: I have mixed emotions about it. The honor is very special. But twothings bothered me about it. Neil Young didn’t show up. I think somethingwas going on between him and Steven Stills. So the whole Buffalo Spring-field band wasn’t there. The other thing is that the judging is so subjective.There are so many bands that deserve to be in there but aren’t. And others arein two or three times. Where are the Moody Blues, the Hollies, Poco? WithPoco we influenced the biggest and the most popular rock and roll band inAmerica – the Eagles. Two of their bass players were in my group. Glen

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Frye sat in my living room while we rehearsed. That leaves a little bitter tastein my mouth. So the statue is not the first thing people see in my house.RM: Back in the 60s when you were playing in clubs in Greenwich Village,did they really pass the hat around to pay you?RF: There were these little clubs all over, and tourists would come in. Wedid three or four sets a night, with Steven Stills and others, and pass the bas-ket around. That was our pay for the evening. Sometimes you’d make somemoney and sometimes you didn’t.

RM: Are the old days of rock still a good memory for you?RF: It was a great time to be making music.For the most part it was all about the music.Later on I got caught up in trying to be suc-cessful, but it was a great time for friends –the band was my family.

RM: When you were with Poco, is it reallytrue that your agent told you NOT to go playat Woodstock?RF: Our manager told us he had a better gigfor us, which he didn’t.

RM: I would have struggled with bitterness over that one.RF: I really believe that if we would have played at Woodstock it would havebeen a different career for Poco.

RM: That’s a big what-might-have-been.RF: You can’t live there, though. You have to move on.

RM: What’s one of the strangest things that happened in one of your shows?RF: We were playing one of my songs, and it has a bit of a groove, and wewere playing away, and then it was like a freight train coming to a dead stop– slower, slower, slower. I looked over and our drummer was laying across thedrums, with a hand barely hitting the snare. The drugs he had taken before theshow took effect. We were grooving and then we heard this “wack, wack….WACK… wack”…. And it got slower and slower. The band helped him off thestage. He was eventually able to come back and finish the set. Another time,when Buffalo Springfield was playing on a tiny stage, Steven and Neil and Iwere on one level and the drummer and bass were on a small platform aboveus. Bruce (Palmer), the bass, never played with his eyes open, and he kept hit-ting Steve and knocking his cowboy hat off. Steve got tired of it and toldBruce that if he did it again he’d punch him out. Sure enough, Bruce knockedit off and Steve punched him out right on the stage in front of the audience.At that same club, Dewey Martin brought in Otis Redding and had him singwith us.

RM: During a show did you ever have the feeling, “this is the coolest thingever?”RF: Sure. You look out at the audience and see they’re enjoying it and you’remaking great music, that’s an incredible feeling.

RM: Why does Buffalo Springfield keep coming up as a frame of referencefor everyone? Rolling Stone magazine keeps publishing pictures of you all.Why do you think that is?RF: Buffalo Springfield left a mark. There was a lot of creativity and talent.

It got noticed by the hard core music scene of the day. It’s still looked uponas a watermark for what a band could be like. People recognized how goodthe band was. It’s a testimony today that it’s still acknowledged and that peo-ple make mention of the band 40 years later.

RM: I have a Buffalo Springfield t-shirt, and every time I wear it, somestranger will stop me and say what a great band it was.RF: It was great to be a part of it.

RM: What’s your favorite song from those days?RF: I’ve recorded “Go and Say Goodbye” three times, and “Kind Woman”four times.

RM: How is a band like a family?RF: When there is no pretense, a vulnerability, they know you, a comfortlevel, you’re accepted for who you are, if you’re crossing lines they can bringit up. Springfield wasn’t a family.

RM: Egos got in the way.RF: That happened in both Buffalo Springfield and Poco. Being self con-sumed. When I left Poco that wasn’t the best decision I could have made per-sonally or musically. But Poco was a family band. When a member left wegrieved over it.

RM: I saw you sign a poster from a concert that a fan had, where Poco wasthe headliner, and Elton John was the opening act. Is that really what hap-pened – Elton John opened for you?RF: That was 1970 or 71, when he was coming out with his first record.(Laughs) And why not?

RM: How do you define success?RF: Knowing the Lord. That’s success. Sometimes I ponder how things werein my life, and I see how shallow they were until I had that encounter withthe Lord. It humbled me and showed me I wasn’t running the show. But Ithought this was it – what could be better than your name in the lights at theHollywood Bowl, or Carnegie Hall, or Madison Square Garden? And that’snot it at all. Success is knowing the Lord. You could give me all the hit recordsand I would trade them in right now. They wouldn’t mean a thing.

...and I see how shallow they were

until I had that encounter

with the Lord. It humbled me and showed me I wasn’trunning the show.

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Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Del Mar California at Spirit West Coast

Risen Magazine: Being in the music industry, what is one of the biggest chal-lenges you face being a Christian?Nick DePartee: Balance and keeping priorities straight. Remembering whywe're out here, but at same time always having to deal with the business andindustry-side of what we do just to stay alive and always be fresh and current.A lot of balancing that goes on but I think we're learning the more we focuson God and focus on the reason we're a band in the first place, the closer wecan get to focusing on that…. everything really does just fall into place. I wishthere wasn't just a Christian industry and mainstream. I think there shouldn'teven be a divide personally, but I think that's always the balance. This is ourministry and number one we're called to do this, but this is also our livelihood.We need to be wise with money and financial side of everything, even theBible talks about being good stewards of what we've been given but at thesame time we're called to do this and that needs to be our primary goal.

RM: You guys seem like a really cohesive unit and you're the newest memberto Kutless.ND: Yeah. I joined about 3 1/2 years ago.

RM: So what was that like coming in and working with guys that essentiallystarted in college?ND: They started as a worship band and I got to know the guys through mu-tual friends probably 6 months to a year after they started the band, and I'vebeen friends with them forever. The whole story of Kutless has been such acrazy journey. I started guitar teching for them back in 2006. They said, 'Heywe need a guitar tech' and I had just quit a job and it was crazy even just howthat all formed, it was very much God orchestrating things, where in the midstof teching [I thought] 'God what are you doing? Why am I teching? I wantto be doing this [playing in band]. You gave me a passion for music.' You knowyou question God, I think we all do this, but it's fun when you get to that nextstep God's taking you and look back and think 'Oh, that's why He did all thosethings.’ Hindsight is always 20-20 of course. The whole journey of all the mem-ber changes that happened in Kutless and to find ourselves all the way back toalmost where we started - the band started as a worship band and it's always

been at the core of who we are. We're definitely a rock band, but worship hasalways been a part of the band since day one. I think it's refreshing to be wherewe are today with a new record, just being reminded I think of all of that. Atthe bottom of what we're doing no matter what is going on around us, what-ever bands are blowing up or not blowing up, we need to just remember thatwe are being called to worship. We need to be worshiping God more offstagethan on. I think that's the biggest lesson, what happens when you walk off thestage, that's what people look at.

RM: What does happen? Because you're on the road a couple hundred days ayear, as a band do you do devotionals, do you have accountability partners?How does that work?ND: That's definitely a huge part of the struggle. We're usually gone mostweekends; we do about 200 shows a year, which means we're traveling closerto 275 days a year, because there are a couple travel days around every show.It's a massive struggle and we've definitely had to perfect the art of accounta-bility with each other, and with our churches back home. Three of us live inNashville now, and two of the guys still live in Portland, Oregon so even as aband it's not like we go off tour and we just hang out and chill and go to churchtogether. We're in an odd spot and I think it’s the biggest struggle to keep ourwalks "normal." It's such an un-normal lifestyle that we live. Schedules are allover the map, you're traveling crazy hours and we don't even know where weare half the time. To have a solid walk in that, is almost impossible when youtry to just look at it logistically.

RM: Speaking of traveling all over the world, you guys have recorded your al-bums in very interesting places whether it be a farmhouse or Abbey Roadsstudio in London where the Beatles recorded! How much of an effect doesthat have on your overall album based on the environment?ND: I think it has a huge effect. Our last album To Know at You’re Alive, ac-tually the one just before this recent album, we recorded half of it in Portland,Oregon. It was super gray and rainy the whole time. And then we went downto San Diego and recorded the back half of it up in Oceanside area and youcan almost hear the different vibes. For me personally, John and I do a lot of

Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photos: Allister Ann

hile worship is at the core of Kutless, they are more than just a Christian Rock band. Not only have they performed for mil-lions, but their music can be heard in film, on soundtracks such as “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,”hit TV shows, and featured on video games. But this group has their priorities straight and Guitarist Nick DePartee talks about lifeon the road, challenges, and faith.


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the writing and we're both affected even just writing for records. I think we getin ruts just sitting at home, uninspired. I've driven out in my truck in Nashvillein the middle of the night and just driven out in the hills and sat in the bed ofmy truck and just tried to write songs because I just needed some differenttype of atmosphere.

RM: When you go on tour and you're in different venues in different cities…do you ever get time to go out, do you make it a point to see one unique thing?ND: We try to. I think that's one of the most frustrating things. People arelike, ‘Oh you get to travel all the time,’ and we're like, ‘This is a rad dressingroom!’ We've even flown over to Norway to play a show. And it's like awe-some, Norway, I've never been to Norway. Literally we were in the air morethan we were on the ground. We basically got there [did a] sound check, took

a nap, played the show, went to bed, got up and flew out. I had dinner in Nor-way, breakfast in Amsterdam, then dinner back in Nashville in the same day.I don't want to complain about this because that was rad, who can say they didthat, but I kinda wish I could see more. I think that's always going to be thefrustration because we never get to see as much as we like. Anytime we can wealways try to go out and see whatever, any cool museums or monuments, oranything awesome to see in the city we're in. If we can have any time, we tryto get out and see as much as we can.

RM: Do you pull from personal experience, or people you meet and you seea need? Where do the lyrics come from?ND: Yeah it’s a blend. It definitely all comes from our lives, everything we'reexperiencing, it’s personal. What we're going through, what God's taking usthrough at the time. We're writing a few new songs… me and our bass playerjust wrote one. We've had a few friends going through some major, major tri-als with marriage stuff and lots of heavy things that I've never had to gothrough. I'm watching these marriages go through some tough stuff and youknow God is bigger even in those situations. We were talking about redemp-tion and we ended up writing a song. We weren't even planning on writing thatnight and I happened to have my guitar, we just threw some chords togetherand this song came out of nowhere - in like an hour - and it's called Re-demption Song. I have no idea maybe it will end up on the record. I don'tknow. I love when songs happen like that, so organic, it's life, it's on our heartsand it's cool that God is even able to redeem in the middle of such chaos andlet us write a song about it and it just comes out. There was a quote I read theother day that said, 'If you write songs from your head, you're going to reachpeople’s heads. If you write from your heart, you'll reach their heart. If youwrite from your life, you'll reach people's lives.' Not that there is anythingwrong with any of those, but just knowing however you write a song that'swhere you're going to touch people.

RM: Because performing is such a rush and it's a thrill, and it's part of theshow, when you're up there are you able to materialize and say 'Hey we're ac-

tually affecting these people's lives, through the words that are written,' or doyou do it all and think we might have helped somebody that needed to hearexactly what we were singing about tonight?ND: Honestly I think that's another big struggle. It's so easy in the momentof writing songs to be very much involved and [thinking] this is going to im-pact people and when you go on stage that's one of the easiest times to be dis-tracted, for me personally at least. I've been on shows and when tax seasoncomes around and I have all these bills, [I’ve] literally [been] playing and re-focusing during the middle of the song thinking, how was I just thinking aboutall of this other stuff. And, I know there have been these times over the last yearwhere I've hit these spots on the set where I just pause and I think this is big;this is so much bigger than anything we can do. Special little moments where

everything becomes surreal and you take yourself out of it completely. This isso much bigger than us. This is not us at all, it's almost refreshing, a weight offthe shoulders, this is so clearly God and we're glad we get to be a part of it be-cause He could choose anybody to do His will.

RM: Especially with the world being the way it is now, the economy beingbad, with housing bad, with natural disasters, people are searching for some-thing, they just don't know what it is. When you look at something like faith,how do you describe it, how do you know that faith is real in your life?ND: For me, and I think this is what people need as well, it's just seeing ithappen and it's real. I've watched people in my life, my own family, just sur-vive situations and come through situations where it's impossible, that should-n't have happened, you watch and it's just so clear. Whether you believe inGod or not, to say that there's not something greater, at least something goingon that is so clearly bigger than all this chaos going on in our lives… I per-sonally believe that it's God. I would so much rather believe in God and trustin what He's doing, than go through life without that hope and without be-lieving that there is someone out there that cares so much more than anyonein this world can ever care about you. I think just how real it is. I think that'sour goal. It's easy to go up on stage and just be a Christian and be like 'PraiseGod' and when you walk off that stage I think that's when people eyes reallystart looking at what [we’re] going to do. How are they living their lives? That'sconvicting and it's hard but I think that's where we can be the most effective;walking off the stage and just loving people. People don't need to hear wordsand scripture and be preached at, we need to just be real. We're called to lovepeople first and foremost and I think if we're doing that and showing themGod's love rather than just slapping the Bible across their face, that's whereGod really becomes alive to people.

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oyle Young walked through the lobby of the university auditoriumwhere he was about to give a seminar on leadership, and he noticed

the beautiful, colorful banners with inspiring quotes from the world’s intel-lectual and political leaders. He had seen many of them before in the dozensof seminars he has conducted

Quote from Kant? Check. Hegel? Check. Ho Chi Minh? Right overthere. Nietzsche? Of course. Descartes, Machiavelli? Yes and yes. There weredozens of them. They were thought provoking and somewhat typical for abusiness management seminar. Most students registering for the session hur-ried past the banners into the auditorium. Some stopped and looked. Youngwent back and forth in front of them, reading each, as if looking for some-thing.

Finally, he called a school administrator over.“You left out the most important person of all,” Young said.“Really?” The administrator seemed worried about the mistake. “Who did weforget?”

“Jesus Christ,” Young said. “He was the only one who declared himselfGod. He said that he was the way, the truth and the life, and that no onecould come to God except through him.”

“Jesus Christ?” the man looked quizzical. “I have never heard of him.”Hello, Vietnam.

Young was in the Southeast Asian country through a California collegeprogram to teach organizational leadership at Vietnam National University,a school established in the 14th Century, and at Ho Chi Minh University.He knew that he couldn’t teach leadership principles without talking aboutvalues.“And you can’t talk about values without talking about Jesus,” he said.

For Young, just being in Vietnam was difficult for him to get his headaround. He had not fought in the war between the U.S. and Vietnam becausehis father had died and Young was the oldest of his siblings. The U.S. mili-

tary gave him a familyhardship deferment.But many of his friends fought in the war, and several were killed. He hasseen their names etched in war memorials, along with names of 55,000 otherU.S. soldiers killed there.

Instead of a soldier, Young became a business man, working with someof the world’s largest corporations in marketing, management, and organiza-tional development. From 1985 to 1999 he had his own management con-sulting firm, where companies would hire him to start universities within theircorporations for in-house training, curriculum and mentoring. He wrote abook on the corporate world’s best practices. Doyle Young knew business,leadership, management, and all points in between. He was sought by com-panies around the world to help them develop better practices. One companyin particular where he thrived was a newspaper corporation.

Developing good business practices is one thing. Developing your owncharacter is another.

“I was around all of this wealth and power for years, but my own life wasa mess,” he said.

And it all came crashing down around him. The wealth disappeared.So did the power. His wife of five years was about to leave him.

After making and then losing a small fortune, he asked himself, “If you’reso smart, how did you end up like this?” For the first time in more than 20years he prayed, starting with, “I don’t even know if you exist.” When he wasnine years old he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, but Young walked awayfrom that relationship when his father died. Now, more than two decadeslater, he re-introduced himself.

Because of his financial meltdown, Young was also trying to sell his car.A person came to the house to buy it. There was a quality about the personthat intrigued Young, and so he asked the buyer what he did for a living. Theman said he was a pastor. Before that he had been a newspaper editor.

D

Doyle Youngin Vietnam

Dept:OutReach

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“I have never heard ofJesus before“, the studentsaid. “Can I Google Him?”

“I asked him what a pastor did, and he said I’d have to come to hischurch to find out,” Young said.

The next Sunday, Young told his wife he was going jogging, but went tochurch instead. As soon as the music began, he broke down in tears.“I realized almost immediately that I loved God more than I knew,” he said.Young went to the church secretly for three months before his wife confrontedhim.

“What’s going on with you?” she said.“What do you mean?” Young replied.“Most of your life you’ve been a bastard. But lately you’ve been a nice guy. What is happening to you?”“I’ve been going to church.”His wife pondered this for a few moments.“Well, if God can do this to you, I want to meet him,” she said.So she went to church and got saved.For the past 20-plus years, their relationship has grown, and Young’s

heart turned toward serving others. He remembers praying at a Prison Fel-lowship meeting for God to use him. That desire became a reality, with Youngleading Bible studies in local prisons and correctional centers, and becominga chaplain in a sheriff ’s department.

And now a professor in a Communist country. About 35 years after thewar ended, Young is training Vietnam’s next generation of business leaders, ina country that was once considered the enemy, where several of his friendsdied, where more than 3 million Vietnamese were killed, leaving a country ofmostly young people.

“When I walked into the auditorium for the opening reception, therewas the Communist flag on the stage right next to the American flag,” hesaid. “I was the poster child for cognitive dissonance. I was near tears for mybuddies that whole evening.”

What Young found during his time in Vietnam was a culture of businessprofessionals who want to help bring their country out of an agricultural-based economy to a more aggressive industrial economy.

“To them, the past is the past,” he said. “They are looking at China andseeing that they need to get on the worldwide economic bandwagon.”

Despite Vietnam’s official Communist government and Buddhist reli-

gion, Young felt free to teach the leadership lessons he learned from follow-ing Jesus, focusing on humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control –traits that the apostle Paul called the fruits of being influenced by the HolySpirit. Young also drew heavily from Christian writers such as DallasWillard, Ken Blanchard and Henry Blackaby. The overall message ofYoung’s teaching was that true leadership comes from serving others. Hehad a platform to proclaim that servant leadership was more than a concept,but a viable practice in business, politics and all other aspects of society.

“They have such reverence for university professors, so they took my les-sons very seriously – you could tell the way they leaned forward to listen,” hesaid. “While I was talking about this I had the sense I was on holy ground.”He felt that the lessons of Jesus fit well into their culture, but said the studentsdidn’t have a context for those lessons.

“It seemed like they hadn’t heard these things before. The students hada seriousness and a focus that was wonderful, but with a slight sense of con-cern for how they will live out these principles of leadership.”

He didn’t speak of Jesus overtly in the classroom, but when he talkedinformally with students one-on-one, he was plain in how Jesus Christ hadchanged his life.

“Jesus made it clear that if we were not ashamed of Him, he would not beashamed of us,” Young said. “So in private settings I felt free to talk about my faith.”

He felt that these lessons were received with great enthusiasm – enoughso that Young is now exploring the possibility of starting a Christian univer-sity in Vietnam. That need crystallized for him at the end of conversationwith a student where Young had talked about both Jesus and the Bible. Thestudents seemed both interested and confused, just as the college adminis-trator had been when discussing the banners in the lobby.

“I have never heard of Jesus before”,the student said. “Can I Google Him?”

Dean Nelson is the director of the journalism program at Point Loma NazareneUniversity in San Diego. His recent book is God Hides in Plain Sight: How toSee the Sacred in a Chaotic World.

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Writer: Krislyn Smith

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If you’re into comic books and video games, chances are you’ve seen Ben Her-rera’s work. Video games such as Anachronox, Red Dead Revolver, Magic theGathering: Battlegrounds, and Street Sk8er 2 all reflect Herrera’s skills. Thisconcept, 3D, and comic book artist has found his way to stardom throughdrive and determination in a grueling industry where results are far from in-stant. A video game can take anywhere from one to five years before com-pleted. But Herrera says it’s worth it, “It’s a really cool thing to finally see allthe work you put in and for the game to get out there on the shelves and getplayed and hear reviews. You put a lot of time into it.”

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine

Risen Magazine: When did you develop your passion for art?Ben Herrera: When I was a kid, I started collecting comic books. I did it alittle bit here and there. I remember as a kid I’d read comic books in the li-brary and spend hours looking at them. I found out later on, I was just moreinterested in the art. I was always fascinated with the art. Then I started col-lecting comic books, just for the art, and started focusing on who my favoriteartist was. That really inspired me. Then I started getting more and more intodrawing. I even drew comic books for myself. I’d make my own superheroesup, my own characters, and staple the pages together. I didn’t really considerit a career until after I graduated.

RM: Who was your favorite super hero?BH: I liked a lot of the Marvel characters, like Captain America, Spiderman,and e Avengers.

RM: Who are some artists you looked up to?BH: Back in the day there was an artist named John Byrne who was my fa-vorite at the time. He really influenced me as a kid. I also appreciated NealAdams who was a little before my time. Currently, I appreciate Olivier Coipeland Claire Wendling’s art work (both French artists). I’m starting to get intoEuropean artists. There are a lot of good artists in France that I didn’t see toomuch of when I was a kid, but I’m starting to appreciate a lot of their worknow. Especially since growing up you see a lot of the artists here that only do

Ben Herrera


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one or two things, a pencil or ink and colors. With European artists, theydo it all. RM: Everyone who is living their dream has a defining moment where theymake a decision to follow that dream, what was yours?BH: I was a delivery worker when I was 18 and out of high school. Atwork I would always talk about being an artist. And there was this one lady,I’ll never forget her, she said, ‘ You know what, you’re going to shut up rightnow, we’re going to sit down and we’re going to open up the yellow pages andfind something to do with art work.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ I knew I had todo something I loved, I just wasn’t happy at my job.

RM: Tell me about your first comic book series.BH: My first series was called Freex. I went from going to Comic Conbeing the amateur guy running around showing my stuff trying to get cri-tiqued, to all of sudden being the featured guest there and signing auto-graphs. I’m like, ‘You want my autograph, no way!’ It was a huge blessing andconfirmation. All the years of hard work now to finally be like, ‘Wow itshappening!’ Then comics become the catalyst to me getting into games.

RM: Was it easy making it as an artist?BH: I did want to quit a lot of times, because I’d think it would take for-ever to get where I wanted to get. I was just thankful to God because I lookback and I asked him to help me keep going. Looking back it was a hugeblessing to see how he kept the inspiration there. It was discouraging to seeothers succeed before me. I was thankful that the Lord showed me to keepgoing by putting different people in my life and by having the responsibil-ity that I had.

RM: Where do you find your creativity?

BH: One of the biggest things is that I still collect comics. I love story tellingstill… which involves comics and movies. I get a lot of inspiration from peo-ple, how they interact, how they sit, and the looks they get on their faces. I’ma total people watcher! It’s inspiring because I want to translate all that stuffinto my work.

The way buildings are and architecture. I get inspired a lot by archi-tecture and fashion because all those things, for me, play into how I’mgoing to design someone. What kind of feeling I can evoke for peoplelooking at my work.

I also get a lot of my inspiration from the Bible. I never really didChristian illustrations before. I didn’t know if I could get it right and I havealways been critical and self conscious of my own work. Just approachingcertain subjects were daunting to me. But lately, I started opening up a lit-tle more, and suddenly, I wanted to get more inspiration to draw imageriesand scenes from the Bible. I did an illustration recently on Barabbas (the fa-mous criminal awaiting execution and the crowd chose Jesus to be executedin his place). That was the first illustration in my life that had to do with theBible. I definitely want to do more.


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Lou Mora has turned passion into profession. Even after graduating college,most kids struggle with the decision of what to do in life… the daunting taskof figuring it all out. However, as fate would have it, Mora would soon meethis destiny in an abandoned dark room.

While in college, Mora had a close friend who was living in Sweden.When she invited him to come and visit, Mora jumped at the opportunity.He recounts, “I pretty much sold everything I owned, bought a camera, packedmy bags and left.”

It was there that Mora discovered his true calling and career. In the base-ment of the Swedish house there was a dark room that hadn’t been used forseveral years. Mora researched the steps and tools needed to make this darkroom functional once again. During that process, he figured out what chem-icals to use and taught himself how to process film. “When it came to beingin the dark room and actually printing the pictures and seeing that wholeprocess… that’s when something inside of me just clicked.” After six monthsand a newfound passion, Mora left Sweden saying, “By that time, I definitelyknew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine

Risen Magazine: How do you define your style?Lou Mora: People have always described my photography as subtle. When-ever I shoot people on my own, the things I look for are light and a nice back-ground. With the person, I don’t like to give too much direction. Suddenlytheir head is titled this way, and their hand is that way, and it looks super awk-ward… and that’s not what I’m about. I tend to like to have people doingwhatever it is they enjoy.

RM: What do you get out of your profession?LM: It’s all about shooting people. Real people and real moments - that’swhat I love. All my life I have played around with photography. My dad waskind of into it and I would always take his camera at family events and go andshoot. I always remember people telling me, ‘Oh this is actually a really goodpicture Lou.’

Lou MoraWriter: Krislyn Smith

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RM: When it comes to your career, do you tend to be a goal-setter? LM: Ever since I started shooting, I’ve always had these little goals formyself. It’s also little silly things that I want to accomplish that makeme feel successful, like to drive down the 405 and see one of my imageseither on the side of a building or on a billboard.

RM: What drives you in such a competitive industry? LM: Photography is definitely one of the most competitive industriesout there, especially now that there’s digital photography. Every Joecan go buy a camera that isn’t that expensive and go shoot pictures andthen start a flicker site. The market is oversaturated with photographyand photographers. You just have to have the drive to keep going andgoing. It’s tough. You’re going to get rejected constantly. You have tobe motivated in order to make it in this industry.

Last year with the economy, it was really a rough year. There werepoints where I didn’t know what was going to happen, but it goes backto having the drive. Are you going to give up now or are you going to gofor this. To me, there is no other thing that I want to do in life. This ismy passion. It’s the love of photography. I see how people react to myphotography and how it makes them feel. That’s all really wonderful tohear because when I’m shooting, that’s what I want to capture.


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America has a newfound fascination with vampires. Back in the day there was Dracula, but even he wouldn’t have beenable forecast this current obsession with the blood suckers. Now it’s all about HBO’s True Blood, CW’s Vampire Diariesand of course The Twilight Saga. First there were the books by Stephenie Meyer, then, there was Twilight the movie, fol-lowed by New Moon, and this year Eclipse hit theatres. The final book Breaking Dawn will be broken into two featurefilms as the success of this franchise seems to only be gaining. With a spotlight on their every move the cast of The Twi-light Saga talk about working together, premieres, choices and family.

Rob PattinsonOn His Panic At Premieres“It seems like my crowd of family and parent’sfriends so gets bigger and bigger every year so Ikind of have to do my entire family reunion as wellas do a premiere every single time, which isincredibly stressful.”

Kristen StewartOn Not Being Normal & Making Choices“I always knew that I wanted to be making movies somehow, but I never I thought I would necessarilyeven be an actor. Now I’m going way back, I started acting when I was like 10. You can’t really prepareyourself for this, this is not something that happens, really ever, with any movies. It’s pretty unique. I’ma planner. I like to know what’s going on before I go through with something. I guess like everyone, it’sfear of the unknown. But I’m kind of a control freak, to be honest. But I like to push myself to be moreimpulsive and stuff.

Taylor LautnerHow He Handles Decisions“Usually I find that it’s best to go with yourinstincts, when you start thinking about - that’swhat Bella does she gets lost in all of this, and she’sthinking about this choice and this choice – that’skinda when you make the wrong choice in real life.

Dakota FanningOn Working With Her Friends“The cast is so wonderful and so welcoming and somuch fun to be around… everyone is so lovely andit’s a nice group of people to work with. Kristen[Stewart] is one of my best friends, we’re veryclose, so I love getting to work with one of mygood friends and then all the down time as well

Elizabeth ReaserOn Her Protective Mom“I was reminded when we were making this movie[Eclipse] of one time this girl was mean to me inthe first grade and my mother went in and – ‘tsk-tsk-tsk’ – the girl was calling me ‘Betsy-Wetsy’ andtraumatizing me. And so it reminded me a mothercan be fierce.”

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The Twilight SagaWriter: Kelli Gillespie


Dept:Q-5

Risen Magazine: How do you manage so many tasks?Alicia Previn: I’ve always had mountains of energy—whichmeans I sleep well when I finally hit the pillow—raised in a mu-sician’s home, went to creative make-your-own-everything schools,outdoorsy nutty kid, began playing violin at seven, and later livedin Europe continuing recording, touring, writing while cooking tostay alive in-between. I’m going to college now for a degree andteaching violin lessons, so yes, it’s taxing. I need a massage! Mycreativity is begging to be the priority in my life so, God willing,that door is opening wider.

RM: Where do you think creativity comes from?AP: The Creator makes us unique, peculiar vessels imbued withideas, senses, feelings, inklings, but we need to believe it’s okay togo there . . . to express or to appreciate creativity whether it’s apainting or the design of a tractor gearshift. That’s what makes lifeamazing! Being creative keeps us alive and vibrant in everything ittouches from the sublime to the ridiculous. Creativity comes frombeing made in God’s image . . .

RM: Do the Scriptures speak to you of creativity?AP: I love to re-read the account in Exodus, of the men beinggiven the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, andcraftsmanship to create the items for the tabernacle. It’s writtenthere to give us encouragement. Especially as I’m on our churchworship team, continually praying to be used to lead the congre-gation to participate, to open up to the Spirit and truth of whatGod has for us and what we give toward Him. I long for oppor-tunities to use music, writing, singing, painting, instruments, gifts,and inspirations, all for the glory of God.

RM: How do you think your music takes people to-ward Godliness?AP: My violin has become an extension of my heart—and I hopeto my mind doesn’t get in the way of the sounds God wants tomake. Making the violin sound like a horn or lead guitar allows meto convey a different side of the instrument, use wah-wahs, etc.,and I love to improvise! Funny because I’m left-handed but learnedright, so I feel connected closely to my fingering hand . . . dear peo-ple have told me when I play it “talks.” I’m humbled by the manythings that have been said.

Psalm 27:13–14 says, “I am still confident of this: I will seethe goodness of the LORD in the land of the living; Wait for theLORD, be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Thisand many of the Psalms inspire me, heal me from past hurts, giveme lyrics to hold up a song like golden scaffolding, and I get deeplyinto them through worship. I became a follower of Christ and im-mediately wanted to take hymns into a hardcore band so kidswould listen to them . . . still waiting to do that one! If all Scrip-ture were a song we’d know them all by heart and be transformed.

RM: In what other ways are you exercising your cre-ativity?AP: Recently I recorded a song I wrote in 1993 about the mighty,lowly earthworm. I took the words and wrote a children’s early sci-ence book, illustrated it, made an audio version, which is going to beprinted this month. I’ll be presenting The Earthworm Book at var-ious locations while looking for a publisher. More books on the way.

To learn more about Alicia Previn visit LOVELY PREVIN musicat www.myspace.com/lovelyprevin.

The violin is really emotional to me and when I saw Alicia Previn play, it moved me. But I had no idea of herback-story—that her father was Andre Previn, and that he had furnished her with the finest tutors since the ageof seven. That she played with the London Symphony Orchestra Chorus while still in high school, that she wenton to play with the Young Dubliners and Flogging Molly, and that she is a trained chef and an accomplished ac-tress, a writer of children’s books and a devoted worshiper of the Most High. A sweet sound in His ear seeps outto the rest of us..

Writer: Chris Ahrens

Lovely PrevinAn Extension of

my Heart

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Risen Magazine Spring 2011