MIKESCHAIR formed while they were students at Belmont University.  The Lord has opened many doors for them and as they walk through those doors, they sing about their faith and even about the doubts and questions that they have along the way.  We recently caught up with Mike of MIKESCHAIR to talk about where the Lord is taking them and how the Lord is using them.

The Band

Q – Can you tell me how the band came together?

“We all came to Nashville, Tennessee, to go to Belmont University.  It’s a situation where within the first two weeks of our freshman year, MIKESCHAIR kind of formed.  I had written a song with a friend and we decided that we wanted to record it.  So, as we started recording the song, we need the electric guitar, bass, and drums; we needed all these instruments to make the song.  Right across the hall, our violin/keyboard player Jessie walks in one day while we were recording and was like, “Hey guys, I play violin.  Can I play with you?”  We were like, “Yeah, man.  Come on!”  So he kind of got on the track and the next thing you know, Sam, our guitar player, walks by the dorm room and was like, “Hey guys, I play electric guitar.”  We were like, “Dude, we need that.”  So he came in and got in on the song and then we went out and recruited John, our bass player.  At the time, it seemed so random, all these different people walking by the dorm room but we’ve been doing this now for six and a half years, so it’s very evident that God’s hand was very much in the formation of what we did.  Everybody wonders about the name.  The name came during that time where we were starting the band and recording.  All of the rest of the guys in the band lived on the first floor of our dorm.  I was the only one who lived on the third floor.  So, naturally, I spent all my time down with the rest of the guys to the point that I was sleeping on the floor in their room.  They always like to interject that I was eating their food, which I wasn’t (laughing).  One day, I came back from class and the guys had gotten me a chair, so that I would have something that was mine.  So, I wrote my name on it and every time we would play and record, the chair was involved.  For us, it’s just a reminder of where we started and how faithful God is to bring us from that dorm room to what we are doing today.”

The Music

Q – How have you seen god working through the music He’s given you?

“It’s countless stories.  Even early on, when we were starting the band, we played a lot on campus.  We had one story where this girl came up to us after we played.  She goes, “Guys, I don’t know what it is about your music, but every time I hear it, I cry.”  After talking to her a little longer, we found out that she was actually a Buddhist, so it was just an amazing opportunity to be like, “We know why, this is why this music touches you.”  Just being able to share Christ with her in that moment (was amazing).  It’s things like that all the time and even now, since we’ve had the blessing to be on the radio and for people to hear the songs in more ways, we hear stories from people who just found out they had cancer and our song came on the radio, one song in particular “Can’t Take Away”, and in that moment brought this one person hope.  That’s why we do what we do.  That’s why we’re writing music for the Lord.  That’s why we’re in Christian music because there’s so much more to what we do than just music and that’s what we get excited about.”

Q – How do you guys stay grounded in your faith?

“A huge thing for us is that we’re all deeply rooted in local churches here in Nashville.  Whenever we’re in town on a Sunday, we’re usually serving in some way.  A lot of us help with the worship at our church, just constantly being brought back to why we do what we do.  Another cool thing that we do, we call it marriage counseling.  There’s a really cool organization here in town called Porter’s Call.  Porter’s Call is simply a guy who felt called to minister to artists who are on the road full-time.  It’s free; it’s paid for by all the labels here in town.  Basically, it’s just an avenue for us to come as a band and sit down with somebody who asks us tough questions that most people don’t ask.  (Questions like) Are you loving each other well?  What are you doing on the road to stay connected with your church community?  What are you doing to stay connected in prayer and reading the Bible?  That’s been huge for us.”

Q – How has it helped your walk with God by being surrounded by fellow believers?

“It’s an incredible thing.  That’s a huge part of being a believer, being in community.  Being is such close community with guys that you know in and out…we’re like brothers at this point.  Guys who can call you out, guys who see past the surface, it’s something that’s incredible.”

Q – How important is the Word of God when you are writing songs?

“It’s an integral part of what we do.  A lot of songs that we write, maybe not directly from a Scripture verse, they usually always come out of a quiet time of reading the Bible and praying.  That’s our prayer.  Our prayer is always, “God, give us Your words.  What do You want Your people to hear?”  That’s directly rooted in reading the Bible and having that time.”

Q – Can you give us an overview of the album?

“Our hope is that when someone listens to our record, they are left asking questions that maybe they didn’t have before listening to the record.  Our prayer is that, in some way, God will connect with people through the music.  There are themes throughout our record.  I think faithfulness is one of them.  Honesty is one of the themes because whenever we write, we try to be as honest as we can about the joys of being a believer and about the hard times, the doubts, and the fears.  Overall, I would say hope is one of the overall themes as well.”

Advice and Insight

As Mike and I talked, you could hear the sincerity in his voice about what he believes and what the band has been called to do.  I asked him a couple of insight questions to see what God had revealed to him.

Q – Why is honesty so important in Christianity today?

“If it’s not honest, it’s not Christianity in my opinion.  So many people get caught up in the trap that the church is a place to put up the mask, to put up the guard.  One of the things I love about my community here in Nashville and my home church, the theme is that we have to be honest and real with each other for God to be able to make a difference in our lives.  If we’re not honest with ourselves and we’re not honest with each other and the Lord, then there’s so many things that we get caught up in just as fallen human beings that keep us away from our Creator.  As hard as it is to be truly honest with your friends and with your community and the Lord, it’s absolutely essential.”

Q – What is your favorite passage of Scripture and give us some insight as to why you choose that one?

“I’ll give you two.  There’s one verse that MIKESCHAIR has taken as almost a mission statement.  It comes from 1 Corinthians 13, and it’s basically verses 1-3.  It says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, and didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”  Then it goes on to say that we can have all these gifts but if we don’t have love, then it means nothing.  That’s basically what we base everything we do on.  Is this adding to the noise or is it love?”

“Then, another one.  We have a song on our record called “Let The Waters Rise” and it’s actually our latest single that just came out.  There’s a verse in John, John 16:33, that says, “In this world, you’ll have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world.”  Lately, that’s the verse that’s just been really encouraging me.  This life isn’t perfect and there are things we’re going to have to go through being in a fallen world, but the fact that Jesus has already overcome the world just brings so much hope to me and hopefully others.”

Mike assured me that they will be out on the road in 2010 and will be ministering to people.  Their music is touching lives in ways that they never thought possible when they were sitting in that dorm room at Belmont University, but they found that being honest with people can have a great impact.  Their message is one of hope, a message that we all need each and every day.

History

Q- Give a brief testimony of how you became interested in music as well as the turning point from singing to ministering?

I grew up with music and Jesus.  My parents were worship leaders when I was young.  We   moved to Orange County, CA from San Diego CA when I was a boy.  I began to learn guitar and was active in my youth group.  I had an interest in music and began playing the guitar and writing songs after that.  I was leading worship in our youth group with the songs that I had written at 13.  The songs probably weren’t that good but the group sang them and I felt God using me in this way.

Q- What is the most influential song that you’ve written?

Although, I don’t have a particular favorite, when I am on stage singing songs that I have written, my mind goes back to the particular time that I wrote the song and memories began to flood my mind.

Q- What are some of your musical influences?

Of course, my parents, they developed the love that I have today for music.  I also remember hearing Delirious? King of Fools, and thinking how artistic their worship was.  It was more than just singing verses and then a chorus, it was so creative.  I also credit secular influences such as   U2 and Beyonce and many other eclectic artists whose songs currently reside on my ipod.

Q- What was your first label project?

The first label CD was self titled, Phil Wickham and was released in 2006.

Spiritual

Q- What do you see as man’s biggest struggle in society?

There are many issues that men struggle with but I see the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes as being a struggle that I witness men struggle with.  In this day and age, there is so much temptation through various media outlets that it is easy for men to fall into temptation.

Q-What is your favorite passage of scripture?

Since I have been writing songs for the new album entitled Heaven and Earth, I have read the last two chapters of Revelation over and over again and just to think that there will be an end, an eternal end and it is a reality, that is pretty cool.

I recently caught up with Jonny and we spoke about how God had redirected his life and how God was using his music to speak to people all over the world.  His song, “More Beautiful You” shot up the charts and people began to listen to this message that the Lord was laying on his heart.

His Life

Q – Can you tell me your testimony?

“I came from a Christian family so I honestly have believed in Christ as my Savoir for as long as I can remember.  My testimony has kind of been that journey of understanding that more and knowing what that means and learning how to live because of that more and more each year and each day, really.  A big turning point for me was in college.  I went to Florida State on a baseball scholarship and really had plans to play baseball and hopefully pursue that professionally.  That’s when God called me into music and called me to lay down my desires and lay down baseball.  It was at that point in my life that I really had to decide who I was going to serve.  Was I going to go according to what I wanted or was I going to give me life to God in His service?

Q – How hard of a decision was that for you to make, laying down baseball and pursuing music?

“It was very tough.  I really wish that I could say that I obeyed God immediately when God laid that on my heart but I didn’t.  I wrestled with God for about six months and kind of hit a low point because God was telling me something I didn’t want to hear.  I was doing my best to ignore the fact that He even existed.  Ultimately, I just realized through reaching that low point that the only place where I was going to find contentment and the only place where I was really going to find the joy that I was looking for was in God’s plan for my life, instead of my own.”

Q – As you look back now, how do you see that obedience to God has changed your life?

“Right now, He’s got me playing music.  It looks like He’s really using the music I’m creating, which is awesome.  I can tell you that I don’t want to do this a day longer than I’m supposed to.  Just making that decision, just proclaiming it with my mouth and my actions that I’m going to follow in God’s footsteps is a big thing for me.  One thing I think is funny is that all my life I’ve dreamed of being a baseball player and hopefully playing on a major league field someday in a major league stadium.  Last August, right about a year ago, I was able to play after a Braves game, opening up for Steven Curtis Chapman at Turner Field.  My brother plays baseball on the team and I played music afterwards and I thought that was kind of funny, like God has a sense of humor.  It’s like, because I obeyed, I actually did get to play in a Major League stadium; it just wasn’t exactly how I thought it would be!”

His music

Jonny’s music has touched the lives of millions of people throughout the world.  One of his songs was even featured on an Atlanta Braves program and through it all, God has opened doors for Jonny to minister to people all over the world.

Q – What inspires you when you are writing music?

“Anything.  To me, writing songs is so tough that anything that comes along that inspires a song, I try and latch on to it, whether it’s something I’m going through, whether it’s my wife, or students that I spend time with.  A song can come from anywhere.”

Q – What inspired “More Beautiful You”?

“That one, I wrote after spending time with a bunch of students in Tennessee.  I got to spend a week with a bunch of high school students and we were just kind of observing them, watching these girls try so hard to fit into a mold that they were never really created to fit into.  If you watch that long enough, it’s something that will really start to break your heart.  I wrote “More Beautiful You” just really to speak to groups like that, to youth groups and to camps and to things like that.  I never really had any desire to put it on the radio so the fact that it actually became a number one song on the radio kind of blows my mind.  God had bigger plans than I did, by far.”

Q – How have you noticed changes in your life since the song became so popular?

“In the past, playing concerts has very much been an introduction of my music to the group that was there.  Even if I was the only one playing or if I was an opener, I was really introducing my music for the first time, but lately, I’ve been able to go places and its’ fun to hear them singing along and know the songs, at least “More Beautiful You”.  Hopefully, they’ll get to know more as I keep playing and keep releasing radio songs.  It’s kind of been fun.  It’s opened doors outside of the southeast.  Over the last few years, I’ve really toured a lot in the southeast but thanks to “More Beautiful You” and its’ success, I’ve been able to head out west and I’m going up to Canada.”

Q – What’s one aspect of a musician’s life that most people don’t understand?

“I think that one thing people don’t understand is that we typically do work about a forty hour week.  It’s just very different hours.  We may get to the venue between two and three o’clock and have to start setting up gear and setting up merchandise, sound-checking, then we have a break for dinner, then we play the concert, then have a meet and greet where we sign autographs and sell things afterwards, and then tear down.  By the time we tear down, its’ typically eleven o’clock before we get out of there.  So, we really put in an eight hour day.  It’s just not a typical eight-hour day at all.”

Q – Who has influenced you musically?

“I admire people who do what I’m trying to do, guitar players and singer-songwriters.  On the secular side, I really like John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and guys who are able to do some pretty cool things with a guitar.  On the Christian side, I really like Brandon Heath, Bebo Norman, Caedmon’s Call, and some of the more “storyteller” type of artists.”

Q – Can you give me an overview of the album?

“Musically, it’s acoustic led.  You can tell that I play guitar and that I wrote the songs while playing the acoustic guitar, but it’s pretty eclectic.  I tend to get bored while writing songs so there are songs that sound like acoustic rock, there are songs that sound more like pop-country, and there are songs that, believe it or not, almost have a reggae-island feel to them.  Lyrically, I realize that my audiences are people that are already in the church.  Rather than using my lyrics to introduce people to grace or introduce people to Jesus Christ, I try to use my lyrics to deal with different aspects of the Christian faith.  “More Beautiful You” deals with the aspect of self-image and how you view yourself.  “Stand For You” deals with the idea that we are going to face opposition but we need to stand up to it.  So really, it’s intended to inspire, challenge, and encourage the body of Christ.”

Q – What has God taught you in this journey as a Christian musician?

“The value of relationships has become so apparent, which is ironic because, when I go to a city and I have an hour to play on stage before I head off to the next city, I really don’t get to develop many relationships with the audience; not to a deep level at least.  I feel like God has really challenged me to hopefully encourage those relationships within the body so that maybe six months or a year later, when I come back, I can see that some amazing things have been happening through those relationships. Scriptures tell us that God is love, so simply by loving and spending time with other people, I think that’s our best way to really introduce people to Him.”

Q – What is something about this album that you want our readers to know?

“One interesting thing is that it was actually recorded as my fourth independent record.  It wasn’t until the record was completely done and mastered that it gained the attention of INO Records and they released it nationally.  I think it’s really neat that the record is actually exactly what I wanted it to be because I was completely in charge of the process, so there were no people looking over my shoulder saying that it needed to be this, that it needed to sound this way, you need to have three singles on it or anything like that.  It really was just the record that God laid on my heart to make and that’s what we made.  I’m so proud of how it came out and I hope the listeners appreciate that.”

His Advice

Though Jonny is still a young man, he has seen many things in his life.  He has witnessed God working through his music.  He has watched as God altered the plans he had made for his life.  He has ministered to numerous people and has felt the hand of God upon him as he travels for the sake of glorifying his Maker.

Q – How refreshing was it spiritually when you stepped into God’s will for your life?

“That’s just it…the beauty of surrender.  Realizing that I don’t have to be in control and I shouldn’t be in control.  It was so much of a rejuvenating thing, just being able to pass over those decisions to God because I knew He had what’s best for me in mind.”

Q – What is your advice to Christian men in how to live our lives better on a daily basis for God?

“I believe that everything we do, we should strive to be Christ-like and so, as men, we can really get to know the character of Jesus by reading Scripture and by studying Scripture.  If we take all of our pointers and allow Him to be our guru and just kind of model ourselves after Him as best as possible, we are going to see amazing things happen to our lives.”

Q – What is your favorite passage of Scripture?

“It kind of changes, but I’d probably say Micah 6:8 because it’s such a great call for us.  It just gives us such a specific challenge as believers.”

Speaking to Jonny, you caught the sense of a man who was amazed at what God has done in his life and what God is going to do in the future.  I asked him to tell me one thing that most people didn’t know about him and he asked his wife.  He said to me, “She says that I can balance the guitar on my chin.  Perhaps the most impressive thing I can do on a guitar is balance it on my chin.” We shared that laugh but just in that moment, I could see that Jonny saw everything that has happened in his career and his life being a result of what God is doing.  When we understand that it is what God can do and the plans that He has for our lives, we no longer have to resist when God tries to redirect us.  We can see that the redirection will create in us a more beautiful person, one more reflective of Jesus Christ.

*Special thanks to Stacie Vining for her help in lining up this interview with Jonny Diaz.  Without her help, this interview would not have been possible.

Scott Brosius is now the head baseball coach at his alma mater.  He is in our Men of God spotlight this week and we recently caught up with Scott over the phone to talk about faith and baseball.

His Life

Scott grew up in Oregon and would attend college at Linfield College.   His roots were not in the church, but Scott had attended various churches while growing up.  After being drafted and playing in the minor leagues, Scott would meet someone who helped him to learn about Jesus.

Q – Can you share your testimony with us?

“Growing up, I had gone to church at a lot of different places, but as a family, we weren’t really a church attending family.  I would hop on the church buses and go wherever they took me and went with my friends as a kid but I never really understood what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ or knowing God in a personal way.  As a kid, it was that eye in the sky and you just wanted to mind your business.  Growing up through high school and even in college, I didn’t have one of those wild lifestyles.  I lived a pretty normal, focused life, stayed away from all the trouble, but as far as the church goes, I never really attended in high school or in college much.  When people would talk to me about who Jesus was and was wanting me to become a Christian, I just sat on the fence, trying to figure this whole thing out.  I tried to figure out what that meant and was kind of afraid to jump off.  Like it is for a lot of people, sometimes it takes something in your life to kind of push you and for me, it was dealing with the death of my mom.  She was battling cancer and I was in the minor leagues playing Double A baseball, and to that point in my life, everything had kind of gone exactly as planned.  I had a goal of playing baseball from the time I was four or five years old and I got the opportunity to play in high school and play in college, a chance to get drafted and play professionally and I was just working my way through the minor leagues and everything was going as planned.  Then all of the sudden, something happened that was out of my control, the first real negative thing that I had to deal with.  I think it was really kind of through that process that I ultimately ended up making that decision.  I had a former player in Huntsville, Alabama named Rocky Coyle, who I was working out with in the offseason.  He was very active.  He was the youth pastor for years and years but as I knew him, he was just a few years out of baseball.  He was talking to me quite a bit about what it meant to be a Christian and what that meant in your life.  At that point, I was still really hesitant to make that commitment.  I just didn’t get it and I was a little fearful of what that meant and how it could change my life.  My mom was in the middle of a bone marrow transplant.  I was in Alabama and she was in California.  She worsened quickly so I had flown back to California to see her.  My stepdad called and said, “I think you need to get out here. It doesn’t look real good for her.”  So I got out there, I guess on a Wednesday.  I got to the hospital and stayed that the hospital for the first day, overnight, and it was apparent that she was getting worse.  On Thursday morning, the doctors came in and talked to us about her situation and said that at this point, it didn’t look like they were going to be able to save her; they were just going to try to make her as comfortable as possible.  It was pretty devastating news to deal with the reality that my mom was going to die in the near future.  I left the hospital that morning and went back to the house and cleaned up, showered, just trying to gather myself a little bit.  A few hours later, I went back to the hospital.  I got to the hospital and my sister met me at the front door.  She was crying and said, “Mom died while you were gone.”  The thing that I remember about that moment was just this overwhelming kind of panic feeling.  I started taking off and just running through the hospital, just kind of blowing through the doors, just banging through all the doors.  The cancer unit was kind of in the back of the hospital.  I was just running, feeling like I had to get there to see her and just feeling this panic.  When I got to those glass doors, this sliding door that went into the unit where she was at, this mom was walking out with this brand-new, newborn baby.  To this day, I still don’t know why they would have been in that part of the hospital.  But she came walking out with this little, tiny baby and just made me stop dead in my tracks and I just looked at this baby.   I heard this voice inside me that said, “It’s ok.  With her death, she has new life.”  It was just as clear as a bell, the words.  I hung there for a second and the thing that hit me at that moment was all the panic was gone.  The pain, of course, and everything else that I was feeling was still there, but that overwhelming panic was gone.  It was replaced with some kind of peace.  After the funeral, I came back and was talking to Rocky about what happened and about what I heard and what I felt.  He looked at me and said, “Scott, you’ve got to know, don’t you?  You have to know that God is real and God is personal and He just spoke to you in a way that nobody else could have spoken to you.  No human could have said anything at that point that could have taken away those feelings that you had, but they were taken away.”  As I was sitting with them, it was a real rainy day; we weren’t working and were just sitting in his Bronco and talking about all of this.  He was like, “You can’t deny this anymore.  You’ve got to understand that God is real.  Don’t you want that?”  I was like, “You know, you’re right.  I can’t deny this and if that’s who God is and can be that personal and help me through something like that, then I want that.”  It was in the car that afternoon that I prayed with Rocky.”

His Career

Scott made it up through the minors and took over at third base for the Oakland A’s.    He hit a home run in his first game and held the position until the end of 1997, a season of struggles for Scott.  The A’s traded Scott for Kenny Rogers and Scott would find his new home in New York would propel him to the top of the baseball world.

Q – What was the highlight of your career?

“It would be hard to pick one out.  I think getting called up to the big leagues for the first time was certainly a highlight.  It happened on my dad’s birthday.  Being able to call him and say, “Hey!  Happy Birthday!  By the way, do you want to come to Oakland and watch me play?” that was a pretty special time.  Your first game in the big leagues is something that you will never forget.  Of course, going to New York and having the chance to play in four World Series and winning three of them.  Each World Series was special in its’ own way.  I think that there’s something about the first time you that you do it.  So, 1998 and that season, winning the World Series.  My dad, at that point, was diagnosed with cancer as well and had gone through surgery earlier in that year, but I made the All-Star team and was able to fly him out and share the weekend with him at the All-Star game.  There are a lot of things in that 1998 season that stood out as special.

Q- Who was the toughest pitcher you faced in your career?

“I wish that I could say there was only one but there were a whole bunch of guys that seemed pretty tough on me.  I think the guy that stands out to me quite a bit is Randy Johnson.  I thought he was tough and I think the thing that was interesting about Randy was that overall, I was a pretty good fastball hitter and he’s a fastball pitcher.  I still had trouble with him.  He was probably the toughest lefty that I remember facing.  There are a couple of guys that stand out.  A couple of guys I didn’t have to face too much.  Rivera, obviously, I got to be on the right side of him, playing defense instead of facing him quite a bit.  Jack Morris was a guy that when I first came up, I got to face him and he was pretty nasty.  There are a lot of them that were tough.”

Q – How did faith influence your career?

“For all of us, there’s a lot of growth that happens.  A huge part for me was dealing with adversity.  In baseball, just like any time in life, it’s not if the adversity is going to happen, it’s when it is going to happen.  There was a season going through them.  My 1997 season in Oakland, I had an absolutely horrible year, injury-filled, didn’t play well.  The team didn’t play well.  I was away from my wife and kids more as they were getting older.  It was really a kind of miserable year.  I remember coming home after that season and talking to my wife, just saying, “I can’t do this again.  I can’t play like this.  If this is what baseball’s going to be, I’m going to walk away from it.”  As we talked and prayed about it, I think god kind of hit me over the head a little bit that offseason and said, “You know. To this point, you’ve turned over everything in your life but baseball.”  For me, baseball’s like, “Yeah, I’m the guy facing the ninety-five mile per hour fastball and I’m the guy that has to catch it.  I’m the guy who’s got to do this kind of stuff.”  I think I was holding on pretty tight.  I think God was saying, “Look, you need to let go.  Can you trust Me with baseball as well?”  Growing after that 97 season, just making the commitment that from here on out, this is no longer my thing.  I’ll play it under God’s terms and not mine.  I got traded to New York, which was probably the last place I would have ever chosen for myself to get traded to, but it ended up being the time of my life.  Going through the adversity that I did and coming to a point where I said, “Man, I’ve really got to let go of this, play hard, and do all of those things, but don’t worry about the things you don’t control.”

His Advice

Scott retired after the 2001 season, walking away with three World Series rings, a Gold Glove, an All-Star game appearance, and the MVP trophy of the 1998 World Series.  He has stayed in baseball, teaching young men about the things that he learned along the way.

Q – How is faith influential in your career now as a coach?

“I think that’s part of the real fun of coaching kids at this age.   They’re coming to a point in their lives now where they’re making decisions that will impact the rest of their lives.  (It’s fun) Being able to speak into that a little bit, you know.  “Let’s talk about the things that really have true importance.”  Everybody talks about getting a job and making money and all these types of things that college-aged kids talk about but being able to talk to them about the bigger picture things and things that do have more importance than just the things that we do.  We talk quite a bit about how people are going to remember who you are as a person and what you believe a lot more than they’re going to remember what kind of average you had or what you did and things like that.  My faith is the foundation of everything that I talk to these guys about when we talk about these big picture things.”

Q – In your opinion, what does it mean to be a man of God?

“It’s a journey that never ends, that we never get figured (out completely).  Even last night, in our small groups and in our Bible studies, as we’re talking about things, it’s just learning to understand and learning to recognize God in everything that we do.  I think that sometimes for me, I get focused on the do’s and the don’ts and the trying to do this and sometimes, I think it’s just being able to slow down and live a life that’s in recognition of the joy that God brings to our life.  As we talk to our kids, friends, and people around me, maybe help people to see that they might be missing as well.”

With every new door that God has opened in Scott’s life, with every adversity he has had to face, with every change in scenery and with every opportunity, Scott has been able to see that God stand by His Word and has never left him.  Each day brings those opportunities for each of us to see what Scott has seen in his life.  God is there and God is waiting for us to turn everything over, understanding that this life is not our own.  It is a chance for us to praise God, glorify God, and to spread God’s Word and love to a world that is desperately in need.

Just like your cover letter should make the employer eager to read your resume, your resume should make him eager to meet with you face-to-face. You accomplish this by selling yourself better than the other applicants. Think of it like this: people don’t spend $100 on Nike tennis shoes because they’re the best shoes in the world. They might or might not be; I really don’t know. People buy them because the advertisers sell them!

So your resume is your advertisement. You’re the marketer and the product! That said, you should tailor your resume to suit the needs of your target market (the employer). In other words, you should have a standard resume that can be adjusted slightly depending on the position you’re seeking and the personality of the hiring person.

As I mentioned last time, it’s likely most of your resumes will be submitted online or as attachments, so you’re extremely limited in your visual presentation. Back in the day, I used Publisher to design a spectacular layout and printed it on heavy cotton paper—grey with blue font. It stood out from the pack like a glow-in-the-dark necklace, and I almost always got called for an interview!

Those days are gone, though, so you have to use different tricks. Bold print for certain words or phrases is one way, and really does a good job of making that particular statement jump off the page! (See what I mean?!) Italics can help emphasize key words as well. Different size fonts and highlighting are two other tricks, but I’d use these with less frequency. I typically use only two or three font sizes for the body of the resume: one standard size (14 pt) for section headings, another for bullet points in the body of the sections (10 pt), and sometimes 12-point for opening and closing paragraphs. Full justification always looks better than left-margin-only justification.

Those are a few tricks you can try, but the key is to use what fits your style and personality. Remember that the prospective employer only wants to know two things about you: who you are and what you’ll do on his team. The layout of your resume helps tell him who you are. You’ll use the content of the resume to further describe yourself and highlight your skills.

On that note, let’s talk about the body of the resume. There’s nothing I hate more than opening a resume and seeing this:

OBJECTIVE: To obtain a position that allows me to use my strengths to help the company succeed while offering room for personal advancement.

My response to this opening is usually to close it up and hit the delete key. Why? Because this person obviously is either stupid, lacks creativity, or he thinks I’m stupid! Every person on the planet has that same objective! You have limited space to get me interested in you. Why waste it by telling me something I already know! Instead, say something of value, and ignore the “Objective” heading. Just put your name and other personal information at the top of the page, and write a full paragraph opening below that—something like this:

For much of my life and career, I have specialized in caring for the elderly and terminally ill. I have a natural gift and strong desire to serve individuals in this stage of life, my goal being to keep them as functional as possible. My expertise in restorative nursing has given me the opportunity to develop one of the first restorative programs in the state for an Adult Day Care facility. This program includes individualized exercise programs and an exercise focus group. In addition, I have created and overseen In-Service programs for entire facilities. I have strong staff development skills, and I love to teach. As a certified STNA Instructor, I had a near-perfect passage rate for my students, and I always earn the highest possible scores on all audits. Combined with my long history of solid performance in various other challenging roles as an RN, these factors make me an excellent candidate for a position within your firm.

After reading this opening paragraph—whether you know anything about nursing or not—you now know a lot about this particular nurse! That opening is probably a bit too long (remember the two- to four-sentence rule), but it’s well-written, creative, and full of good meat, making it far more effective than the typical opening most resume-readers see. That’s your goal!

After the opening, then, should be your characteristics or attributes. This is where you describe your style: who you are and what you’re passionate about. These are not so much job skills as they are job styles. They are the inner motivators that drive your decision-making and action-taking.

• Team-building & mentoring: I instill a winning attitude within my organization using training, communication, & motivation to maximize potential; I am skilled at building a team of individuals who possess the intangibles necessary for long-term success; I believe in establishing an environment where team members are empowered to grow & thrive within their set boundaries

• Sales-driven & focused: I find opportunities for growing sales while maintaining crisp, uncluttered locations; I do not settle for a “nice” increase
• Creative problem-solving skills: I root out the true causes of issues & look for the solution that works best immediately & long-term; I treat the problems, not the symptoms

As you can see, even though there are only three bullet-points, there is a wealth of information about this individual. Just like the RN above, this person has effectively described his strengths, and illustrated exactly what he means by phrases such as team-building and creative problem-solving.

Depending on the amount of real-world experience you have, the next section would be your Qualifications. Or, if your prior experience is limited, you could also list them with your with your Key Attributes, and label it as Key Attributes & Qualifications. Either way, your qualifications should specifically target the job you’re seeking. For instance, if you’re applying for an auto mechanic position, the fact that you can merchandise clothing in a department store is completely irrelevant. So give careful thought to what skills are necessary to perform the job effectively, and what skills you possess that made you successful in the past and/or will make you successful in the future.

OK, we’re about halfway there, so we’ll stop for this week. This should give you plenty to think about and work on until I finish up on the next blog. Then after we get through resume-writing, we’ll tackle the job hunt itself and take a look at things like phone skills, interviewing, follow-up, and negotiating salary (everyone’s favorite!).

Til then…

Saemus Sutton is the creator of the Wash, Rinse, Repeat leadership mentoring model and author of the book Leaders Make Leaders.  For more information, visit his website at www.leadersmakeleaders.com.

LIFE

JV:  Ben, were you raised in a Christian family?

BU:  Yes, my father was a United Methodist Minister going on 30 years now and my mom was an amazing woman of faith.  I was fortunate enough to be raised in a family where the love of Christ could be seen in my parents relationship and both my sister and I responded well to that and we were saved at an early age.

JV:  How have your childhood experiences have affected your decision to live for Christ?

BU:  Growing up in a Christian family and seeing the Word of God as truth and how important the Bible was to my family set a tone for me.  Going into middle school, high school, and even college, I was aware of temptation and to have that biblical foundation helped me through those times.

JV:  Who were some of your influences as a young person and why?

BU:  Well, family is huge in my life.  My sister was a huge influence on me.  When I met my wife in college, she became a major influence on who gave me accountability as a man of God and to keep me focused on the goal at hand which was to serve Christ.  In sports, I looked up to guys like Chris Carter, Tony Dungy who also went to the University of Minnesota.  He became a friend, a coach, and a spiritual mentor when I played with the Colts.

JV:  How long have you been married?

BU:  3 years and we had a little girl in March whose name is  Elleora Grace.

FAITH

JV: Share a brief testimony.

BU:  I was saved at a young age, 3^rd or 4^th grade and asked my dad to help me pray the prayer of salvation and it was a wonderful time for the both of us.  In high school, I went to an Acquire the Fire conference and I have never experienced Christian faith like that.  This engulfing, all consuming fire of Christ and I would have to say that even know I accepted Christ at a young age that it wasn’t until the 9^th grade until that conference that I got on fire for God.  It took my faith to a new level.

JV:  How do maintain your character, integrity and walk with God in an arena where God is not necessarily honored.

BU:  Accountability.  The guys on the team that are Christians constantly keep each other accountable so that we can focus on God.  The other thing is the Ultimate playbook, the Bible.  I know that I start to struggle when I lose sight of how important my quiet time and my prayer time with the Lord is so when those start to fall, is when I struggle.  I need consistency to spend time doing those things that keep me close to Him.

JV:  What is the major struggle in this culture that makes men struggle?

BU:  Fear, I think Satan strategically uses fear to take away our courage and to take away our boldness.  Lust, as men we can be tempted by watching it in different forms but we need to  flee from it as the Bible says and try to live blameless especially in that area.  One of the songs on the new album RUN TO ME which I co-wrote with Jeremy Camp.  We wanted to write a song with man’s struggles especially lust and how being at a point that Jesus Christ is our Savior and He is here to rescue us out of that sin.  We can always run to Him for that and understand that He is here.

MUSIC

JV:  How long have you been singing?

BU: The fourth grade.  My dad was a vocal music major before he went into the ministry and my mom has a tremendous voice so music was an integral part of our family so my sister and I both grew up singing in church and things.  In college, I was able to do the National Anthem and fun things like that but music was a big part of my life since I was a little kid.

JV:  Do you have a radio single off of the new album?

BU:  Actually, we have 2 songs that we are promoting at the same time.  WE ALL BOW DOWN is a song that I had the chance to sing with Sandy Patty on.  It’s an awesome song written by Mark Harris formerly of Four Him.  The other song is called YOURS is adult contemporary where WE ALL BOW DOWN is more of an inspirational song.

JV:  What is your favorite song on the album?

BU:  That is really a difficult question because I had part in writing 10 of the 12 songs but I would have to say the last song on the album PASSION which was taken from the idea of The Passion of The Christ.  It was an eye opening, soul awakening movie for me, I was in tears and I bowed on my knees in prayer and the Lord gave me this song.  It was written very quickly in about 10 minutes and it is a God breathed song about His sacrifice.  I really believe God gave it to me because He wants people to have a relationship with Him and to see what His heart is all about.

Preview and buy the album here

FOOTBALL

JV:  In what year were you drafted?

BU:  I had a serious injury my senior year in college so I went from a second round draft pick to not getting drafted at all.  It was devastating but if that wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have signed on with the Colts and been on a championship team so God is great!  I was pretty doubtful and angry at the time with God but He has a way of showing you that His way is better.

JV:  What were some feelings, emotions, and experiences as part of being on a championship team?

BU:  The Super Bowl is hard to describe.  It is so big and massive and I watched it on television in previous years but I never realized how big it was.  We were at practice in the Miami Dolphins facility and the road was closed from the practice facility to the hotel.  It was then that I realized how big it really was.  There were 101 people who watched that game and to me it was surreal.  So many emotions were running through us excitement, being anxious things like that.  Once we were at the game we knew what we had to do and it was business as usual.

Travis Fryman would have a stellar career and now, finds himself still in the game of baseball but looking at the game from a different perspective, as he is in the managerial role.  I spoke with Travis on the phone to talk about baseball, life, and the Giver of all good things.

His Life

Travis grew up with a love of baseball and was raised in a Christian environment.  It would take years for him to begin to grasp what it meant to be a follower of Christ, as he told me in his testimony.

Q – Travis, when did you give your life to Christ?

“It was the offseason of 1994-1995.  I grew up in a Christian home.  I even invited Christ into my life as a child, but I really didn’t understand what it meant to surrender my life to Christ until February 25^th, 1995, at my home church.  I had just gotten to that place in my life where I began to understand what that really meant.”

His life would be changed from that point.  For years, he had experienced success on multiple levels, but his viewpoint of what matters the most in life changed.

His Career

Travis came up with the Detroit Tigers in 1990 and would play for the Tigers until 1997 and then finished his career with the Cleveland Indians.  Multiple times, Travis was selected to the All-Star game and won a Gold Glove award during his career.

Q – How did your faith influence your career?

“In dramatic ways.  Had you known me before Christ and after Christ, certainly there were some significant differences.  The greatest difference in my life before Christ and after Christ was that before Christ, I really didn’t care that much about the men that I played with.  If they played hard and worked as hard as I did and they wanted to win as much as I did, I liked them.  If they didn’t, I really didn’t want anything to do with them.  I didn’t know if they were married or had kids or anything about their personal life and again, I didn’t really care.  After I gave my life to Christ, God really gave me a great love for my teammates and I began to look for ways to love them and serve them, and for the opportunity to share the gospel.  I am not a person who believes you check your faith at the door to the locker room.  I believe that if you are a follower of Christ, that Christ is central in your life, and that relationship with Him permeates every relationship in your life and everything that you do in your life.  There is really no area in my life that my relationship is not impacted by.”

Q – What was the highlight of your career?

“Certainly, the opportunity to play for Sparky Anderson was an incredible thrill for me.  He was the perfect manager for me to come under.  Being able to play with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, which was a big thrill for me.  Playing in Cleveland at a time when they were sold out every night and we were in the postseason three of the five years that I was there, that was very exciting.  Participating in All-Star games, those things were fun.  Certainly those are some high points in my career, but if I look back on my career, the things that mean the most to me are not anything that really happened between the chalk lines.  The things that mean the most to me in my career were the relationships that I formed with the men that I played with, the Bible studies that I participated in, how God worked through you in the lives of other people and just those opportunities that come really on a daily basis in the locker room as you’re building those relationships.  Having God working through you in their lives is an exciting thing and I don’t believe there is anything more exciting or more fulfilling in your life than being part of when God calls someone to Himself and they give their lives to Christ and you’ve been a part of that process.  I think that’s the most rewarding thing to participate in.”

Q – Who was the toughest pitcher you faced in your career?

“No question in my mind, statistically speaking, Pedro Martinez pretty much owned me.  I just had tremendous struggles against him.  I didn’t pick the ball up very well.  I don’t know what my career numbers were off him.  I think they’re somewhere in the neighborhood of two for fifty-something, which isn’t very good.  I did not have a great deal of success off of Pedro.  Aside from Pedro, no one really jumps out at me.  But I can say, with great assurance, that Pedro pretty much owned me.”

His life today and his insight

Travis has now become a manager and I wanted to see how God had shifted his viewpoint in this new career.  Travis helped me to understand purpose and to understand what our lives are to be about, something that God has taught him over the years.

Q – How do you see God using you now in the managerial role?

“In purpose, it’s no different than my purpose in any other area of life.  I really believe that there is a difference between God’s purpose for your life and God’s plans for your life.  I believe that God’s purpose for your life and for mine are exactly the same.  God’s purpose for our lives is for us to enter into a relationship with Him and to enjoy that relationship for all of eternity.  His purpose for us also is to glorify Him within the world.  His plans for Andy and His plans for Travis are unique to each of us.  Where the Scripture says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know” God’s saying, “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord “plans to prosper you, not to harm you and to give you a hope and a future.”  It says that He knows those plans and those plans are unique to you and to me.  It’s not God’s purpose that’s a mystery to me; it’s God’s plans that are a mystery to us.  I’ll never know all of God’s plans for my life but I have decided that I want to embrace God’s purpose for my life wherever I am, whether that’s at home with my family, whether that’s serving at my local church, whether that was as a Major League Baseball player or now as a minor league manager.  I’m going to pursue my relationship with God; that’s an intimate love relationship with Him and I’m going to bring glory to Him right where I’m at and I do that in a variety of ways.  (I do that) Through my relationships with men who are entrusted to my care, through my interaction with my peers, other coaches and managers, through the platform that I’m given, an opportunity to share or speak and communicate what God’s done in my life and just through conversations that I have with people.  Everybody has to decide, I believe, to embrace God’s purpose for your life and if you want to embrace God’s purposes for your life right where you are, I believe God’s plans for your life begin to be unrolled or unveiled in your life.  I don’t get too caught up worrying about what tomorrow holds.  I’ve just decided I’m going to embrace God’s purpose for my life today where I’m at.”

Q – Do you have a favorite passage?

“At this point in my life, I really do.  It’s 1 Corinthians 9:19.  It’s a great passage of Scripture.  God put that on my heart about three years ago.  It says, “For though I am free from all men, I’ve made myself a servant to all, in order that I might win the more.”  It really defines my life.  The first part says, “Though I am free from all men” and God’s given me great freedom.  Anything I’m involved in now, I’m involved with it because I choose to be there, not because I have to be and that says a lot about what the desires of my heart are.  “Though I am free from all men, I’ve made myself a servant to all” and it’s a reminder to me why I am here.  I am here to serve those who are around me, to be the aroma of Christ where I am and to put others before myself, but I do that, according to the last part of that verse, “in order that I might win the more”.  The goal of my life is to share Christ with those who are around me in the hopes that they would come to know Him.  That verse really guides my life.”

Travis Fryman lives his life in a manner that he wants others to come to know the peace and the joy that he has found in Jesus Christ.  He once loved victories in baseball but now, he is obsessed with the victory that we find in Jesus Christ.  It isn’t the love of the game that drives him today.  It is the love of the team, the team of believers that he is a part of that God is using daily.

Music

Who influenced you musically? (Bryan)

As a youngster rock bands like Van Halen and Queen.  I became a Christian when I was 14 at a very legalistic church.  Rock music was considered a sin.  There was a period of time during my teenage years that I explored “acceptable” forms of music, which basically meant anything without drums or electric guitar.  I dove into classical music.  This was good for me.  I really enjoyed Bach.  It was tough but good to broaden my musical horizon.  My first introduction to Christian music was a band called Pray For Rain, or PFR.  They were a huge influence on me.

What does Vota mean?

We wanted a name that didn’t have a big meaning attached to it.  We wanted fans to just let us be the definition.  As they dive into who we are and our music, that’s VOTA.

What songs on the new album do you think impacts and encourages the Christian the most?

The song “Honestly” encourages and challenges the believer not to be afraid of being honest about your weaknesses.  Much of the church is afraid to share their doubts and struggles.  This song is a call to be transparent not just with our faith, but our doubts, not just with our strengths, but our weaknesses.

What is your favorite part about touring?

Bringing these songs to new places and audiences.  I like traveling with my friends.  Least? Being away from my family

How would you describe your particular genre?

I think this new album falls into a pop/rock/dance category

Faith

What do you think the biggest problem facing Christian men today?

Such a weighted question.  For me, my biggest problem as a Christian man with a family is truly living my life by faith.  I have a family to take care of.  Carrying the weight of caring for a family can have an effect on so many of life’s decisions, such as choice of career, where we choose to live, how much we give to others in need.  I’m always wanting to see far down the road, to keep my family in a safe environment and secure financial situation.  I don’t want my faith in Christ to be an “addition” to my life.  I want my faith in Christ to “be” my life.  I want to be able to trust God when the path before me is dark and uncertain.

What has the Lord taught you through Vota?

Nothing has really come easy for us.  There seems to be a new crisis every other day.  These difficulties have sharpened and refined us.  We’ve learned how to work together as a team.  We’ve learned to trust God more and realize our plans and timing are not always His. 

What is your favorite Bible passage and why?

The entire book of Galatians has been a favorite for me.  My eyes have been opened to the gospel in a whole new level over the past few years.  It has deepened my faith, ignited my soul, and to a greater degree opened my eyes to the beauty of salvation.  This has been a huge inspiration to me for the writing of the songs on this record as well.

What’s next for Vota?

In 2006 we formed the 180 Tour.  The 180 Tour is a public high school assembly program that encourages students in their character and decision making.  Every school we visit we have an evening event planned where we invite students out to a concert where they can hear the gospel.  We’ve visited over 200 schools in 20 states since 2006.  We plan on further developing this ministry into a non-profit organization.  Visit www.180tour.com for more information.

            Stephen Curry also held that dream.  His father had excelled in the NBA and he dreamed of going to an ACC school or an SEC school, but they took a pass on him during the recruiting process.  Faced with the disappointment of not making it to where he thought he would have been, Stephen had to decide whether to give it all up or go somewhere else and make history.  He chose Davidson and history would be rewritten in the next few years.  We caught up with Stephen recently and he is our Men of God Spotlight.

His Life

            Stephen Curry was born in 1988, the son of Dell Curry who was making a name for himself as an NBA player.  Stephen attended high school in Charlotte and as his senior year came, he waited to see who would offer him a scholarship.  He would receive an offer from tiny Davidson College and accepted the offer to play for Coach Bob McKillop.  His game would never be the same.  His faith in God, however, started at an earlier age.

Q – When did you give your life to Christ?

“It was in the fifth grade.  I used to go to Central Church of God in Charlotte and I gave my life to Christ, went down to the altar down at the youth service, one Wednesday night.”

Q – How have you noticed that your life has changed since then?

“I think it’s just kept me focused in the life that I have going right now.  My desire is to play basketball and I think my relationship with Christ has helped me to stay focused and give glory to heaven and reach people through the talent He’s given me.  Case in point, last year’s NCAA Tournament and things like that.  Just allowing the talents He’s given me to give glory to Him and further His kingdom through that.”

Q – When did you start writing Bible Verses on your shoes?

“That was when I first came to Davidson.  I’d just opened up my first pair of team shoes and had a Sharpie next to me.  I thought that was a pretty good idea to write down some verses.  My mom’s favorite verse is Romans 8:28, which is on one side.  The Philippians 4:13 was one that I thought about when I started to play basketball all of the time.  I thought that would be a good daily reminder to have it on my shoes.”

His Game

           Stephen Curry came onto the scene as a freshman at Davidson.  He led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament after posting the second highest scoring average as a freshman in the NCAA.  He scored 30 against the University of Maryland in an opening-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.  The next year, he would explode, leading Davidson to the Final Eight while wowing the world with his shooting and unselfish play.

Q – What was the highlight for you from last season’s tournament?

“All of the games were a lot of fun.  Playing at Ford Field in front of 70,000 people is just crazy.  But I think that it was that first win that we had against Gonzaga in Raleigh and it was our first NCAA win for our school in, I think, 40+ years.  Coach had been here, I think that was his twentieth year and they had been to the tournament a lot and hadn’t won one.  We finally got him one and got the ball rolling.  It was a pretty special time for us.  You could see it on his face after we won.  He was proud to coach us.  We got him that one.”

Q – You were passed over by some bigger schools during the recruiting process.  How do you think God used that to help you to get where you are now?

“I think I could have gotten caught up in the hype of going to a big name school and possibly lost my foundation of what I grew up on.  For maybe a month or two, that’s all I thought about.  I thought about how I needed to impress all these people to get in to the ACC and SEC schools.  I needed to play outside of my game and do something extra special.  Once it came down to it, everything happens for a reason and I think God wanted me here at Davidson just so that this story could unfold the way it has so far.”

Q – The disadvantages of playing at a small college are well-documented.  When tournament time comes, often times, if you don’t win your conference tournament, you don’t get in the Big Dance.  What, in your opinion, is an advantage to attending a small school like Davidson?

“I think the fact that we get to know everybody on campus is a very unique situation.  Me and my teammates, after games, go to the Student Union and we’ll talk to all of our friends and our classmates, who we all know.  You can sit down and have a conversation with them and thank them for coming to the game.  I don’t think you really get that at a big school where the athletes kind of go missing from game to game.  Academically, it’s nice with the student to teacher ratio.”

Q – Your name was hot last year after the tournament.  What made you decide to come back to school for another year?

“Just realizing that I wasn’t ready for that jump yet.   I’ve been blessed to have my dad play 16 years in the NBA, so he can give me his insight about when the right time comes to go to the next level and what I needed to do to get better, so I wasn’t rushed into a decision.  I love college and I love my teammates so it wasn’t a hard decision to come back.  It’s something I wanted to do and it’s worked out so far.  I’ve had the opportunity to get better and make my game a whole lot better.”

            Stephen constantly reflected attention back to his teammates and his coaches as we spoke.  It was not an act.  That is who he is as a person.  He holds an understanding that in basketball and in life, we need others to make it through to the next level.  In today’s world, that is a rare quality for an athlete to have.

His Outlook

            His humility was shocking and his overall nature and demeanor was refreshing to see in a world consumed with self and greed.  Stephen is someone who looks to see things beneath the surface, not settling for simple appearance but looking for depth.  It is how he is as a person, having great depth of character for someone who is only twenty years old.

Q – Why do you think God has given you this opportunity to be in the spotlight?

“I’m not sure, to be honest with you.  It is a blessing to have everything happen the way that it has, so far, since I’ve been here at school.  I try to stay as humble and use every opportunity to deflect attention off of me to Him.  So I have that little sign I do after the game and during games and Bible verses on my shoes and use my humility and the situation that I’m in to bring glory to Him.  The people who are watching basketball games might not know that somebody’s trying to witness to them while they’re playing, but it’s something that I try to do.”

Q – With all of the attention you are getting now, you still seem to be team-focused, which is odd in today’s sports world.  What keeps you grounded and focused?

“Just knowing that basketball is a blessing and a gift.  My coach here at Davidson, Coach McKillop, preaches that in his own way.  (He says) That we have a blessed opportunity to play basketball and right now, you have to just cherish that.  I think to be selfish about it or take the spotlight, put all of the attention on yourself, would take advantage of that situation.  Personally, I know that my teammates, coaches, and everyone else involved are as much of a part of it as I am.  With that in mind, I give glory to God for my talents and whoever is helping me, they get the credit too.

            Davidson is working towards another NCAA Tournament berth this season.  If they make it, the cameras will again shine upon this young star as the media will chronicle each step Davidson and Stephen Curry make along the way.  Stephen, however, will continue to point the cameras and the world to a Savior who has changed his life.  He wants history to say that he stood for Christ in everything.