First Issue Magazine Sample and Media Kit

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Hello. Thank you for joining us on the jour-ney! For some reason, God chose us, some silly sheep, to put together a magazine. For some reason, you are reading this magazine that God has put together using some silly sheep. We hope that you are blessed, encouraged, and challenged as you read.

This is the first issue, and we had to use our near-est resources in order to put this together. All of the people featured in this issue were born in dif-ferent places, but they all happen to live within a few minutes from where I live. This made it easier and cheaper for me to interview rad peeps from around the world. So why am I telling you this?

My first point is that it’s not where you’re from, but it’s where you’re at. My friends are from different plac-es, but their hearts are united in Christ Jesus. That is what this mag is all about. We want to inspire you to passionately follow your God given dreams, and we will do this by introducing you to people that are living their dreams.

The second point I would like

to make is that the Lord always gives us what we need in order to accomplish His will. One day I would like to be able to fly to different states and countries to bring you stories of other ser-vants from all over the world. But for now since we can’t afford to travel the world yet, God has brought people from all over the world right to my doorstep.

If you feel like you can’t be used by God because you lack something, think again. My challenge to you is this: Use what you have to do something now. Use the very things that God has given you. Young David didn’t wait to grow muscles or to buy a shotgun, he had a dinky little sling-shot and because he was willing to let the Lord work through him, he brought Goliath down in time for dinner. Stories like this will be told for hundreds of years. When we let God do things through us, He makes the impossible possible. So when the enemy tries to burst your “bubble”, tell him that your Heavenly Father says this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made per-fect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

bubblemag / Issue 1 / Vol. 1PUBLISHERCROSS CULTUREEDITOR IN CHIEFNINO CAMILO

ART DIRECTORCHRIS LAURICONTRIBUTING WRITERSJIMMY ROBESON, TRISH TEVES, HEATHER LAURI, RICHARD MULDER, VINCE MARJES

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07 greetings

09 soundcheck: third day

10 devotional: hopefully love

12 profiles15 media kit: mission, content, rates

20 {FEAturE} {interview with reed cromwell

from olivia the band}

24 david:the shepherds song

a cross culture comic preview

bubblemag volume 1 issue 1 © 2006, Cross Culture Entertainment, all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. bubblemag is published bi-monthly (six issues per year) by Cross Culture Entertainment, 8367 Lemon Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91941. Printed in Korea.

Third Day continues to send out a message

of hope and comfort through each and every

one of their albums. Wherever You Are, Third

Day’s newest album, follows suit. In such a

time as this, with pain, turmoil and sorrow fill-

ing our televisions and movie screens, a re-

minder of God’s love and salvation is exactly

what we need.

Mac Powell’s smooth and serene voice is

pleasant to listen to and fits perfectly with

the semi-alternative sounds of the band. He

clearly expresses the heart of a friend stand-

ing by your side offering reassurance of the

light ahead, in “Tunnel,” the opening song. In

“Mountain of God”, He assures the listener

that we “must go through the valley to stand

upon the mountain of God.”

However, it is not just Mac’s voice: Wherever

You Are’s production is consistent and pleas-

ing to the ear. All 52 minutes and 29 seconds

offer delightful melodies with skillfully placed

electric guitar hooks, enchanting organs and

heavy drums.

Third Day’s sound stays consistent with

their previous albums, which seems to work

for them since their sound has captured the

hearts of so many contemporary Christian

music lovers in years past. Their songs are

not too hard, but are just right for the broken

hearted seeking encouragement. The energy

of the album stays fairly consistent throughout

the album. Songs ranging from the somewhat

slow “Carry My Cross,” which tells of the cru-

cifixion from Christ’s perspective, to the rock-

ing guitar riffs of “I Can Feel It,” keep a nice

upbeat feel throughout the album.

Their message of hope is clearly evident

throughout the album, however a weakness

is present: it does not seem to develop into

anything deeper. The listener is encouraged

by catchy uplifting phrases, which may per-

haps be too generic. It is possible the band

sought to offer just a simple message of com-

fort, but I cannot help but ask why they did not

take the present opportunity to develop the

deep truths of the gospel from which many of

the songs were conceived.

The band’s heart is in the right place though.

In response to the recent tragedies - hurri-

canes, tsunamis, war and terrorist attacks -

the band seeks to offer encouragement to all

who have been affected. Lyrics like “There’s

a light at the end of the tunnel,” and “Cry out

to Jesus” remind the listener of Jesus’ help in

the midst of all trials.

-Jimmy Robeson

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Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, en-dures all things. Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The grom age is a crucial stage as boys and girls take the form of men and wom-en. The decisions we make during this time will determine our future and our legacy. Growing up I realized that many of the problems I was facing were the result of the decisions others had made before me. All of us will face problems, issues, trials, and whatever else you want to call them. They are a part of life, and they make us stronger as we learn to overcome. If every day were sunny the land would dry up. But because of the storm and the watering of our lives, beau-

tiful flowers bloom and trees bear sweet mangos.

Our parents get divorced, we are abused, hated, hurt, and betrayed. Generation af-ter generation these curses are passed down. My desire is that we—us, you and I—will not continue to pass the curse as a family heirloom. Because we are abused does not mean that we have to abuse. Because dad left the family does not mean that we should abandon others.

Most of the time our reaction is to rebel and hurt others because we—us, you and me—have been hurt. This is not rebelling. This is conforming to all the wrong decisions that were made before, which makes us exactly like the one who has offended us in the first place. This is spreading the problem, when instead we can be a part of the solution. When you are skateboarding you might see a guy hit a crack and go flying off of his board. This doesn’t mean that you should do the

same. We should strive to be better by studying the area and his mistakes, so that when it’s our turn to skate down that street we won’t trip on the same crack.

The call to rebellion is really in love and forgiveness. Let us look back to all of the messed up things before us, and fight to make decisions that change the curse. Forgiving those that have hurt you, and asking for forgiveness of those that you have hurt will give you a fresh new start. The stormy winds of hate will disappear, and the ocean of life will glass off nice and smooth. Now is the time to stop and turn from wicked ways. What we do now af-fects the world through the younger gen-eration. What will we pass on to them? Hopefully Love.

God Bless,

Nino Camilo

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A couple of years ago I met Chris Lauri at an action sports event. We exchanged numbers and I assured him that if he was ever to travel from Seattle, WA to San Diego again, that he was very welcome to stay with me in my small two bedroom apartment by the beach. A few months later Chris calls me and takes up my of-fer. Sooner than I am ready, Chris and about twelve skateboarders show up on my doorstep ready to take over! How was that, you ask? Amaz-ing! You see, this was the Boarders For Christ crew, and they came to skate in the name of Jesus. Needless to say; we skated, prayed, laughed, praised, and made lots of other noise! Here is a little more information on the servant God chose to lead these “Boarders for Christ”.

BORN: November 20, 1978BORN AGAIN: 17 years oldHOMETOWN: Seattle, WAHOME CHURCH: Grace FellowshipPETS: a dog named MosesFOOD: Mexican, I love nachosWORK: Founder of Boarders For Christ and Ethos SkateboardsMUSIC: Matt Redman, Hillsongs, Sufjan StevensHOBBY: Graphic Art Design, SnowboardingMOVIE: Don’t watch many movies, but I prefer comediesVERSE: 1 Timothy 4:12MINISTRY: Evangelism, I like sharing the gospel!

MESSAGE:1 Peter 4:10 As believers we are here to serve. God has given us all gifts that can be used to glorify Him. I love board sports. It’s amazing that God allows us to reach people through vehicles like skate-boarding. He can use a simple piece of wood under our feet to bring people to know Him. Use your passion to glorify God. He wants to give you the desires of your heart.

Find out more about the BFC Ministry:

boardersforchrist.com

ethosskateboards.com

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MINISTRY: “I usually lead worship, but lately God has put on my

heart those that are homeless or less fortunate, so I

want to do something to help.”

VERSE: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

MESSAGE:“God created us for a purpose. Things in life might

not happen the way you think they are suppose to,

but it’s up to God and He knows what’s best. He

will not give us more than we can handle, so let Him

direct your steps.”

You can hear Rheanna’s music on myspace.com/

rheannadowney.

You can buy her CD at walkingonwater.org

You may not know Rheanna by face, but if you’ve

watched the surf film “The Outsiders”, I can guaran-

tee you that you know which song she played. Rhe-

anna’s version of Amazing Grace is

powerful, and her love for God is

contagious as she simply uses her

gift of music to glorify God. We had a

cup of tea with Rheanna to find out more about what

makes her sing.

BORN: March 12, 1980

BORN AGAIN: 5th grade

HOMETOWN: Carlsbad, CA

HOME CHURCH: Grace Fellowship

FOOD: Pad Thai Noodles

WORK: Barista, Nanny, Musician

MUSIC: Sufjan Stevens (for the moment)

HOBBY: Surfing, cooking

MOVIE: “Born into Brothels”

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Born Canadian, temporarily Arizonian, raised Hawaiian, born again Christian, Surfer, divinely a musician, currently re-siding as a Californian. Such is the life of Reed Cromwell, lead singer and bass player of Olivia the Band. I noticed one thing about Reed in the time that we spent together: he always has a song to sing. He never stops singing. From rap to punk, from worship to rock, Reed is always singing a new song. His song selection, skin complexion, food of choice (spam and eggs), and kinky hair can only make you wonder….”Where is this guy from?” But if you step back and put on your spiritual eyes, it is plain to see that God’s perfect plan made Reed the mutt that he is. And though Reed is from many different lands, and sings many different ways, his heart remains in one place, and he purposes to sing about one thing.

BM: You have an interesting background. Could you share a little bit about where you were born, where you grew up, and how you ended up where you ended up?

RC: Alright, ummmm. I was born in British Columbia, Canada. I grew up out in the middle of nowhere with some hippy parents, and around 2nd grade we moved to Arizona for a couple of months. Then my dad got a job which took us out to Maui, Hawaii, and I’ve been out in Ha-waii ever since. When I graduated from high school, my parents moved back to Tuscon (AZ) and I stayed in Hawaii, lived with a bunch of guys, surfed, and worked…and loved it!

BM: How were the transitions? What grade did you move to Hawaii?

RC: I was in 3rd grade when I moved to Hawaii. I was pretty young, so it was different. You know, getting used to other schools and stuff, and I was like a full haole (Hawaiian term for a person from the mainland). I mean, I still am, but you have to learn the different culture and stuff. That’s when I started going to the beach, and once I went to the beach it was on! I was like, “Ahhhh man, this is what it’s about right here!”

BM: So you have a passion for surfing?

RC: Ohhh yeah!

BM: So did you start surfing in 3rd grade?

RC: Well yeah, I’d just go jump around in the beach like…just in the shore break, sand slide and just goof around. Not like actually surf. I actually started surf boarding and not just playing around when I was in 5th or 6th grade. That was in Hanalei on Kauai. We moved over there and I started surfing a place called Kalihiwai. After a year there we moved to Oahu, and then I just surfed as much as I could. We lived in Mililani so it was like half an hour from the North Shore. My dad would take me to the beach every day after school, and then my mom would yell at him for taking me to the beach too much. (we laugh)

BM: So did you always dream of being in a band as a kid?

RC: Oh no, no ways! I’ve always listened to music, but I never bought a record on my own until I was a sophmore in high school. I was flippin through the radio stations and I heard the chorus of a song and it sent shivers up my spine and I was like, “Whaaaaat is this all about?” So I bought some records and those were the first CD’s that I bought that I actually start-ed listening to. After that I started going to concerts, and I went to a few live shows and I was just blown away at the energy. All the other guys’ in the band (Olivia) were in a band before this and I would just go to the shows that they played. I mean, they were all my friends and I had nothing else to do. So if they were play-ing a show I would just go hang out with all of them, make t-shirts, and just try to get everybody dancing and stuff. That band (Engine Number 9) ended and we started this band (Olivia) in 2000. Gabe just got married so he didn’t want to play, and I was just going to sing. Me and Jus-tin would drive around town and we would sing to all our favorite CD’s at the top of our lungs. So we entertained starting a band and I thought it would be awesome to sing. Then Christian was like, “okay”. I liked the songs that Justin and those guys wrote. So before we started we all got to-

gether and made some goals, and we de-cided that we were going to do something other than sit on the North Shore. “We’re going to California one year from now, re-gardless.” And then we figured, if we’re going to make that goal, we need to bring a demo with us. This is before we had any songs or even practiced, you know what I mean? In the course of that year we practiced and we were going to find a bass/guitar player, cuz Justin was just playing guitar to get the ball rolling. But we never found that person, so I would pick up the bass and Justin would show me what to play.

BM: So you were just going to be a sing-er?

RC: Yup, I was just going to sing.

BM: And you didn’t have any clue on how to play an instrument?

RC: No. I played acoustic (guitar). Two minutes here, two minutes there cuz all my friends did. I knew some of the basic chords but I didn’t really play an instru-ment at all. But, God just hooked it up. He gave me enough to get by.

BM: So being a kid from Canada who moved around a lot, what was your first encounter with the other guys in the band?

RC: I would see them at the beach and right around my senior year in high school, I started hanging out with them going to punk shows and stuff. My room-mate asked me to go to a Bible study. He was like, “Hey man, I’m a Christian.” I was like, “What does that mean?” All I knew about Christianity was like televan-gelists and how much money they make, and how they were always getting busted for doing dumb stuff all the time. So I was like, “Whatever!” and I went to a Bible study. Christian, our drummer, his par-ents gave me my first Bible, and it was at Justin’s house and his parents were there.

I kept hanging out with them, went to church with them, and right around that time I asked myself, “What am I going

“So before we started we all got together and made some goals, and we decided that we were going to do something other than sit on the North Shore.”

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and the more you seek to be like Jesus, the less you worry about other things.

BM: What inspires you lyrically?

RC: God uses all kinds of stuff for me. From friends and family, nature, and dif-ferent experiences. I’ve been reading lots of C.S. Lewis stuff, the Bible, art, and all different kinds of music. A lot of times I get ideas while we are at church during worship. A lot of times I don’t like that style of music, but I think a lot during that time. God talks to me a lot during that time, it’s cool.

BM: Sometimes life on the road can be very hard. What are some of the sacri-fices that you’ve made in order to be a part of the band? Do you struggle with anything in particular?

RC: For the most part it’s all about time. When you’re in a band, it’s all about the band. It’s not like you go to work from 9 to 5 and decide that your gonna hang out with this person on that night, and this other person another night. It’s not like that. You’re in a van together all day, ev-ery day, and you can’t just decide to go and do something. You don’t have your own car or anything. It pretty much just

takes up your whole life. The band is ev-erything.

BM: Is there anything else that you would rather be doing right now?

RC: I have ideas for the future if we have more time or if we stop playing music. I’d definitely like to be surfing a lot more! But, it’s so rad. We get to travel and meet people every night. We just got to go to Australia, and all over the east coast, so I can’t really complain because it’s so awe-some. But everything has it’s ups and downs.

BM: So what keeps you going in the downs?

RC: Just knowing that this is where God wants me to be. I know that. If I ques-tioned that, then it would definitely be harder. So He gives me a peace about where to be. I’ve learned over the years that I want to be where He wants me to be. He knows what’s good from me, way more than me. I might think I know what would make me happy, but I’ve learned over the years that I have dreams that are the wrong dreams. Even though I would rather be on the North Shore surfing ev-ery day, God knows that it’s not the best

for me. I just want Him to do whatever He wants through me. Life is pretty short, and if you think of it through an eternal perspective, when I die and go to heaven I just want Him to say, “Well done.” That’s one of my fears. I don’t want to get to heaven and have Him say, “You could have done more.” I think about that ev-ery day.

BM: What is the message that God has put on your heart for the world to know?

RC: To sum it up—There’s a big God out there. He created everybody and every-thing. He sent His son Jesus, and that’s it. We need to seek Him more. It’s evident, it’s in everything. It’s in creation. You just look around in nature and you can’t deny that. I just wish people would even take 5 seconds to stop, take a breath and focus and think. If what the bible says is true, there is a heaven and a hell. There is a right and a wrong, and there is a deci-sion that every single person in the world has to make. It’s not my place to say that somebody is or isn’t a Christian, cuz that’s up to God. But the Bible tells us how to live. Seek the truth and you are going to find it. He says so Himself.

{ the olivia boys at work in the office }{a visual definition of “garage band”.}

to do?” Whether I live a fulfilled life with a wife, kids, and career, or if I die right now, it all seems the same. I thought, “There must be something way bigger than just this life.” And I started seeking and asked, “If there is a god out there, please help me out.” I thought I was go-ing crazy, I had lost all reason to wake up in the morning.

So I started seeking and I found out what the heart of Christianity was, re-gardless of the people. I studied about why people believe, and found out it was because of the Bible. So I studied the Bible to see why people believed what it said, and it’s an amazing, in-spired book; it’s a miracle on how that book came together.

So I went to church and I would see the hypocrites, but I would also see the love. I just kept asking questions over the next few years and after a while I came to a point where I was just like, “There’s a line drawn.” There’s right, and there’s wrong. You either give your life to God or you don’t. There’s heaven and hell.

BM: You shared that your roommate brought you to a Bible study. Was there

ever any family influences to get you to go to church?

RC: No, I am the only Christian in my family. My parents taught me “be good”, and however the world works it will work out good—karma, or whatever you want to call it. They have their own deal. My dad has read tons of spiritual books. It’s cool to talk to them and see where they are coming from.

BM: Was your family supportive of church and band?

RC: For the band they were just awe-some. They let us borrow the truck for like two months at a time and we just put tons and tons of miles on it. They were pretty stoked on whatever I did which is pretty amazing. I look back to before I was a Christian and I just see God work-ing so much, even from when I didn’t know anything about Him. From when I was a little kid, to the parents I have, I am just amazed. I thank God for my family.

BM: Do you feel a need to communicate your love for Christ to them?

RC: If what the Bible says is true, then

I worry about their salvation, heaven and hell. But in another respect, God has given me a peace to where it is like He will take care of it. It’s like He says, “You do your part to pray, seek, and don’t slack. But I am the Judge, and it’s My job to save people.” And I think God will work it out whether it’s through me or some-body else.

BM: It sounds like you’re all about family and friends. Is fellowship important?

RC: It’s huge. It’s everything. I am in a very unique situation where everybody in my band is my best friend. So we just get to cruz and hang out. I’ve had a roommate since I was a junior in high school so I’ve never lived on my own. I don’t think I’d want that. I love com-ing home to a whole house full of people with tons of different conversations going on. Fellowship is what I miss most about Hawaii. There’s so many people back home that God is working in, and they’re so amazing that just hanging out and being around them, you don’t even have to talk and you’re like, “What is up with these people? They’re awesome, there’s just something different.” You can’t even explain it, it’s just God hookin it up, and it’s awesome. The more you seek God,

{ reed in focus }

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