Monthly Newsletter

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman

One of the most important questions a person can ask is “how do I become alive.” What does it mean when a person discovers a passion or finds “that which gives them life”? The sad truth is most of the people I run into on a day to day basis simply don’t know this answer. I usually get the look of a deer caught in headlights or a response like “I’m not really sure”. Now they’ll have a large amount of tasks which they’re involved in, and could run off a long list of things they’ve accomplished on a day to day basis, however, it is a rarity to meet the person who actually knows what their heart passions are. Those things which they feel destined to do. How can this be?!? One of the most important questions a person could possibly ask goes unanswered.
So here’s the thing… After a lot of consideration I’ve recently come to the conclusion that becoming passionate about things which bring us pleasure can be a very scary ordeal. It should be really easy and organic, however it can also be petrifying. I mean think about it, this is the authentic me were talking about. Sure it would be easy if your “passion” was the cool or popular thing to do, but what if it’s horseback riding or making cloths? Or how about making hip-hop sermons to give out for free to a bunch of random people who might think it’s garbage?

I like to introduce and explain the concept of “Sermon Jams” by saying it’s a combination of mixing a typical Sunday sermon onto a modern hip-hop instrumental. They’re intended to reach both believers and non-believers, can be used as an edification tool as well as biblical substance for individuals who normally wouldn’t be interested in coming into a church to hear a mono-toned 45 minute church sermon.
"But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" Romans 10:14
The original intent for the Sermon Jams ministry was to extract the essence of a particular sermon topic, in context, and layer it onto an appropriate instrumental of emotional similarity. Thus, creating an audio medium designed to deliver orthodox Christian fundamentals in a pragmatic yet biblical format. In the words of a fans email, “each sermon is so much more memorable and it intensifies the speaker’s words”. The idea for the title and brand, Relevant Revolution, was created from the desire to broaden the spectrum of the ministry from being pigeonholed into solely Sermon Jams. Our primary goal was to allow room to branch into a variety of artistic mediums and ministries.
Project Palestine was the first to be birthed from this passion and consist of a hodgepodge of ideas ranging from Arabic bible readings put to beat, to missionary connections in the Palestinian regions of the West Bank and Gaza strip. Another goal was to establish a section which could host music from underground Christian artist who share a similar theme and heartbeat. The result has been the creation of a website which allows any individual to login and download thousands of hours of biblically edifying Christian audio.
The Sermon Jams take roughly five hours to produce one track and we have produced seven nine track albums to date. We have also tried to scour the web for tracks created by individuals who share our vision and passion. Since the initial publication of Sermon Jams, 14,000 CD’s have been produced and freely distributed which lead to a rapid growth, via online downloads. Each CD costs roughly $1.00 and we believe there is something special about handing a person a free CD.
From the very beginning we have felt called to serve in this ministry with the philosophy to freely give and freely receive. This is the reason why we have never charged for any of our resources or pushed the issue of financial support, however, the time and energy it takes to run the site, create the mixes, and respond to important e-mails has become impossible to keep up. Because of this we have begun inviting people to partner with us to help offset some of our expenses. If you feel lead, please stop by our website and check out the “Support” section .

For the people who are unaware who “we” are let us start off by introducing ourselves. This ministry is the personal outpouring of a married couple, John and Nicole, connected with a local church in Asheville, NC called “the body of Christ Asheville”. We have had an amazing journey since our wonderful wedding on 06/07/08 and have been on roller coaster ride beyond what either of us ever fathomed.
Since moving into our 1920’s cabin we discovered water damage which created a thick layer of black mold throughout the entire hallway, bathroom and kitchen. This extremely difficult remodeling undertaking lasted until late September, but as a result of amazing friends and an incredible amount of divine provision, we’ve moved back in and have begun making our house a home!
Another wild adventure we’ve been on is a magic word called pregnancy. Nicole is almost half way through but the due date of May still seems really far away. The baby has begun to move around quite a lot and we are excited to find out whether “it” is a boy or girl!
John had previously earned money creating ceramic arts and designing websites, however, both of these occupations have become hard to make enough income. He is currently job hunting- please pray for him in this area because it has become a difficult and disappointing experience for him.
Through all of these trials and tribulations we consistently long for the faith to trust in scriptures promise and commission to “seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (John 6:33) and to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6)