The Virtual Pew Daily: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Unprofessional Attitudes Hurt Bands & Venues

Pleae note, there will be photographs of bands we do support in the Wichita area on this posting. Just because we don't have a photo posted, don't mean we don't support you. But some of the bands we have had bad experiences with, are not posted. The band photographs are hyperlinked and you can click on the photo to visit their page and listen to their music. You will also see additional hyperlinks in the article which I would encourage you to visit.

I have wanted to write this for some time, and have hesitated due to not wanting to offend or hurt people, but it is time something was said.

I want to be careful how this comes across as it is going to appear to be negative in some ways. That is not my desire; it is my desire that at some point people would learn, especially some of the bands and some of the venues in this local. I realize that people around the country are also reading this so if the shoe fits for your community, add your two cents.

Let me preface by stating that while I am now a pastor, speaker, and writer, I spent a great deal of time early in my life in promotions, marketing and management. In 1988 I had according to Performance Magazine, the Top New Agency in America, and Poll-Star Magazine had us listed as one of the top 10 agencies in America. I had the top grossing band in America in theaters 2,500 and under, Blue Oyster Cult was #2 and The Judd’s was #3 according to Performance Magazine. I also had 3 of the top 10 shows in America in clubs 800 and under, all according to Performance Magazine. I say this to make a point, I did a pretty good job in my field, and I knew the industry and business, especially as a musician, and manager. I was blessed to work with some really good bands, but I also realize that a lot of my work led to those associations.

Now let me address something that has bothered me lately as I have experienced first hand some issues with the Wichita Music Scene. While there are some wonderful bands in the area which I will work with any day, any time, any moment, there are others who have a lot to learn. As a promoter now, (as well as a musician and magician) I am shocked that some local bands have venues to play. I say this because it is not unusual to have local bands cancel, even at the last moment prior to a concert or event.

It is time bands learned to respect the promoting agency booking them in, and it is time, agencies and venues stood together to share with each other which bands are and are not, professional. I have had bands cancel within 2 hours of a show, one band who walked out of a show without telling me (after they arrived at 8:15 for a 8 PM show and wanted us to set up around their needs as opposed to the band which was booked as the headline act), and bands not even show up at shows that have been booked without ever even making a phone call. Let me make it clear, these are not the actions of bands that will “make it” in this industry. In the past I have played quite a few locations as a musician and worked as a manager, Athens Georgia, Greenville/Spartanburg South Carolina, Tulsa Oklahoma, Boston Mass, New York, Chicago and others. In none of these locations would a band do this but one time, and at that point, no reputable promoter or venue in the community would book that band again because those venues interact and let each other know what to expect, or possibly expect Simply put, they share experiences. Only in Wichita have I seen these types of actions occur, where a band can do these types of things, and “get by with it.” It is time for these types of things to stop. For those in the Wichita, or Kansas Markets, you want to know about my experiences with a particular band, fine, ask me and I will tell you exactly what I experienced.

Here is the problem with these actions, venues, even small ones, have time and money invested. Sometimes at Mosaic, we have great crowds, sometimes we don’t, but the promotions are the same. Let me explain.

I book a band, and the conditions of the booking are almost always the same. We work on an 80 / 20% split for anything over $200. The headline band gets 80%, Mosaic gets 20%. All bands are allowed to keep 100% of concession sales. I know this may sound strange to some, but there are many venues that charge a percentage for band concession sales. Our shows are all a recommended donation of $5. I always, repeat, always, personally contribute to the bands that are playing. We also do all of the free promo we can, including the local papers, and press releases to radio and television stations. Sometimes we get those aired, or played, sometimes not. Now another point of clarification; for bands we book, we also feed them, and provide drinks for them. I also pay a publicist 10% of all income from shows, including the shows where we get less than $200. On those shows I give the publicist 10% and the band gets 100% of anything under $200, at this point you can see that we are losing twice. That is okay though, we enjoy the opportunity to provide music opportunities to the bands, and we consider this a “ministry” so even for a small church that also provides various forms of entertainment, that gets by month to month, this is something we value and want to provide the community. For those having issue with a church doing this, most all shows we book in, (over 95%) of them, are booked in as non religious shows and I have no idea where the musician is coming from spiritually. Yet, we still do it, even though an expense to us.

Now let’s not stop there regarding our expenses, we print posters, around 100, flyers, around 200. When you figure in the cost of this, the time involved in promoting at various locations including MySpace, Facebook, and RokICT among others, can you see why I would get upset over the actions of some bands?

Back in the day when I was working with Steppenwolf, Marshall Tucker, Kansas, and Nantucket among others, Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs started calling me Twiggs Jr. This was a unique compliment coming from Steve, especially with the closeness he had with Twiggs Lyndon. It is a part of that attitude that I still have which has motivated me to write this. Enough is enough, and some bands need to grow up, and some venues need to “band” together to protect our expenses and efforts. I am asking; if you as a venue have a bad experience, let me know, at that point, Mosaic won’t allow that band to play at our facility. You want to know about a band that has played our venue, ask me. I’m not talking about a bad night, or a new band coming out, I’m talking about a band that has little or no respect for the venue which is hosting them or isn’t professional.

I have even heard some bands bad mouth other bands in the area, again, enough is enough. One of the bands I have heard several people mention is one of the most professional bands I have worked with. I guess that is the problem, that band is professional. That band and others, who are professional, are getting bad mouthed around town by other bands, to those unprofessional bands that would do this, shame on you. You have no idea how close I am at this point now in mentioning names of some of those bands who have done this. Some of this comes from bands who have cancelled and walked out of shows.

While there are rare reasons for cancellations, and especially late cancellations (very rare), those reasons still costs the venue money. “Sorry” can only go so far, but when sorry costs me in the neighborhood of $50 - $100 in actual cash, (comes out of my pocket, not Mosaic) or 15 – 20 hours of my time, hearing “sorry” is a hard word to swallow. Again, there are rare appropriate situations. I had a recent act have a serious illness in the family recently, I understand that. I also understand though, there is still a loss, even for this.

I now have for Mosaic, and would encourage venues to draw up cancellation contracts, if a band for any reason cancels a show in an inappropriate time frame, then that venue will be paid for their time and expenses. The venue and promoter have provided free publicity; bands should have to pay for those services, expenses, and time. I believe in logical argument, what logic would dictate that the promoter or venue should have to eat these costs?

Now let me be clear, there are many wonderful and professional bands in this community. There are also those that need to grow up. If a band is going to take on the professional act of playing, asking people to contribute money for their service or product, then they need to act professional.

In the future, I plan on organizing workshops to assist bands in becoming more professional. I also plan on trying to organize venues around town to work at protecting our investments and reputation. I firmly believe that until we do this, then the bottom line is that Wichita will not get the overall respect within the industry that will help both bands and venues. If our reputation improves, then bands get better gigs, larger audiences, more money, and potential music deals. Then venues get better draws and make larger profits. In both of these scenarios, the fans and audiences win.

I realize some will take this wrong, it is not my intent, there are some who will say negative things, or even say, forget playing at Mosaic, that is fine, with those attitudes we would really rather have more professional bands or acts I am tired of having to explain to fans why a band or act never showed, or why one walks out because they threw a pitty party about not playing when they wanted after showing up late for a concert. It is my desire to frankly, not loose any more money than I have to, but also see some great talent do more than be a hit on their block. Every one of the bands I have had a bad experience with is wonderful musicians, whose music I liked, otherwise I would have never booked them. There are some things to learn though, and just as a band should protect their reputation, they need to realize, that without venues to play or exhibit their talents, they will be limited as to the places they can play. As a musician, I can’t imagine not wanting to have my music heard. That place would be an awfully selfish place to be, but then again, I guess the attitude of being selfish is one of the things I am addressing here.

For those in the music industry, those who read this, either local to Wichita or nationally who will be reading this; what say you?

The following is a video of one of the bands that we support that has played Mosaic, in fact our house band and I enjoy it for an obvious reason, again, a rather professional band at that. Just click on the video, if the video don't appear, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DE4HpGV-_U

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Friday, September 25, 2009

The Mackenzie Phillips Impact & Your Help

To friends of The Virtual Pew, Churches, Businesses and others, I am writing in request of help in starting up Mosaic ARC. If you have been following the news, both nationally and locally lately you are aware of the new attention being given to persons who have been physically and sexually abused. This is a horrible thing many have ignored for far too long. The reality is that our silence, our refusal to help people who have been hurt by physical and sexual abuse is sin. I know this all too well as I am a rare instance, of a male who was sexually abused by various persons including my own mother. I know the horror of living a life with the nightmares, difficulties, and conflicts. I know the struggle of both seeking and offering forgiveness. I know it is time that of all people, people who say they are followers of Jesus take seriously their call to reach out to this population of people.

One of the most often heard reasons for not getting help in this area for the victims, is they can’t afford it. What if I told you that a new program was starting October 1, 2009 in Wichita to provide help in recovery for whatever a person could afford to donate? If they can’t donate anything, there is still help available. What if I told you this was a huge step of faith of two ministries, The Virtual Pew and Mosaic Church?

The Virtual Pew is a ministry I started online several years ago, as a part of our ministry we have been reaching out to people often ignored or neglected who access the internet. As a part of my own story of abuse has been the desire, and blessing of touching people across the globe. In my own ministry I realized some time ago the need to have an actual center to provide one on one, direct help and recovery. I came to this realization upon my visiting my mother in Johnson City Tennessee prior to her death, and shortly after her death. It was while there that I believe God gave me direction on this ministry. I hope to someday see centers based on this approach across the country, including my home town of Johnson City Tennessee.

While back home I shared this vision with the leadership at Mosaic Church, where I serve as the pastor. During this meeting we accepted the challenge of starting a program of this nature up in the Mosaic Church facility. This really is an outreach and ministry of service to all people, despite, faith, financial status, or orientation. It is provided in an environment to encourage recovery and growth. For many, this is simply allowing the possibility to just talk about their experiences, for others it will require more, such as personal confrontation with support and more. For those that seek to involve faith in their recovery process, then that support is also available, but it is not required for individuals who receive help in the strictest of confidential settings.

Mosaic ARC (Abuse Recovery Center) has had a nationally recognized artist express a willingness to donate services to help with art work for branding and logo purposes. We are currently decorating the facility at Mosaic. We are in need of various items regarding the decoration of space, as well as ongoing support in the costs of operating this program. Currently myself, and Debby Elwood, a Masters Level Certified Counselor is providing the recovery services. Neither of us is receiving any additional salary, and Debby is volunteering services at this point, with the hope of drawing in some salary. Currently 30% of all proceeds coming in from services will go to support Mosaic, and the remainder, including any income that comes in from the work I do, will go to support Debby. My salary is quite low at Mosaic and the hope is that eventually, through growth and services offered that there could be some increase, but I only mention this to indicate, our desire is to really help, and the truth is, on a contribution as you can service like this, it will become very difficult without your support.

There are ways people can support this program. I will bullet many of those points.

· Make referrals to the program. If you or someone you know has experienced and had difficulties as a result of physical and sexual abuse, contact us at Mosaic, 316-305-0491 or 902 George Washington Blvd / Wichita KS 67211
· Donate financially and designate for the program. Contributions are tax deductible and should be made to Mosaic Wichita. Contributions can be mailed to the above address, or if wanting to give through The Virtual Pew, those gifts can be made online, although there is a charge to our services for those gifts.
· Donate by spreading the word. We have sent out numerous press releases, and one would think that with a service of this nature, especially with the national news, we would have had various interviews on the subject. Sadly, so far those requests have been few.
· Schedule me to speak at your church, business or event. I have shared The Story of Anthony across the United States from major corporations to small churches and small businesses. I am blessed to know this story has touched many persons. There is no charge for this, although contributions to the ministry are appreciated. If travel is involved outside of the Wichita Metro area, then request for transportation and lodging is requested. This story is not only informative, it is motivational for all persons, including those who have gone up in happy and healthy families. · Donate services. We need help from time to time for various things. Presently we need help with transportation of items that have been donated to the program. Even the use of a small pick-up truck would be appropriate.
· Donate items. A list of needed items at this point are needed to furnish the office, remember a small church, a ministry with little resources are taking on a huge task. Your contributions and help in this area help make this a community ministry, not just a ministry of Mosaic.
· There are other ways to help, if you are touched by the potential of this ministry, contact us and we will assure you, we will find a way to use you in Mosaic ARC.
· The donation of $300 a month would also allow us to rent the space next to Mosaic and use that space specifically for Mosaic services and specified space for Mosaic ARC. Currently we are using a former classroom in Mosaic which we are decorating and finishing up.

Presently we are seeing 3 people for this service. This is rather remarkable in that these three came in via word of mouth prior to even starting to offer services. We officially don’t open until October 1. We know we will ultimately need more people to help in the recovery services. We also know there is potential for growth to this program.

As mentioned earlier, there are items we are presently in need of. I am indicating those items, and please note, contributions to purchase the items can also be made and a designated dollar amount will be listed if wishing to donate the money as opposed to the item.

For the reception area:

· Television Stand - $100 (unless a flat screen which will be mounted on the wall, then $50)
· Television (we have priced several flat screens which would be optimal, with a built in DVD player for between $300 for a 27” and $400 for a 32” at Wal-Mart. This is to go in the reception area and be for parents awaiting children in tutoring, or friends or family with individuals receiving counseling for the Mosaic Abuse Recovery Center.
· Magazine Stand - $25
· Several appropriate magazine subscriptions – Price varies, subscriptions can be sent to Mosaic Address
· Book Case - $50
· Appropriate books – Generally $10 - $25 per book
· Wichita related art work – Price varies per work of art.

For the Mosaic ARC Office

· Locking file cabinet - $50
· Computer desk - $100
· Computer with appropriate memory and appropriate larger screen to be used in other events where video can be used in counseling or teaching sessions, (computer needs a DVD/CD player) - $900
· Appropriate computer speakers - $75
· Computer 3 in 1 printer - $50
· 2 comfortable nice matching chairs $200
· 1 nice office chair - $90
· 1 matching love seat - $150
· Larger book shelves - $75
· Appropriate books & Videos related to abuse, recovery, so forth - $10 - $25
· Appropriate lighthouse art work, or art work emphasizing recovery. – Price varies
· 1 nice floor lamp - $25 - $100
· Journaling note books to be given to individual receiving recovery services - $20

This last week I had a gentlemen who had a family member receiving services at Mosaic who spoke to me in the reception, waiting area how nice it would be to have a television or some reading material in that room. I told him I agreed and that I had made a request in the past to have some of that available, I now make that request again. Can you help out? Will you help out in providing a much needed service? Every time you see the news, or a mention of the effects of physical or sexual abuse, know there is a program you can help support which is doing something to help these victims. The question is, not if you can help, but will you?

To see the story of Anthony, just click on the video, if the video don't appear, just click on the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpZbGbNWU10

Monday, September 21, 2009

Contemplating Over A Panini At Meads Corner

I sit here in a super nice coffee shop this morning, Meads Corner in Wichita on the corner of Douglas and Emporia like I normally do a few days a week. I sit here wondering about things while contemplating life. Things like why would a police officer not want to help a church reach out to kids or young adults in an impoverished community? Why would a government not look out for the people it represents? Why would a person you have loved unconditionally turn their back on you? Why would a pastor not have the desire to love children? Why would someone not make the effort to share with someone that is hurting that they care and are either thinking of them or praying for them? Today, I wonder about a lot of things.

The truth is, I am far from perfect, but I follow one I know is perfect. For those who spend any time with me they know I am not as much of a “talker” as I sometimes let on. Truth is, one of the things I like about coming to Meads is I can sit at my little table, work on my computer, and at times just sit back, watch and listen to people. I like to contemplate. I like to ponder. Maybe it is conceded, but I think I am a much deeper thinker than maybe some give credit for. There are the stereotypes that sometimes come about from the long hair, piercings or whatever. People are so quick to judge based on outward appearance, without ever really knowing the heart of the person they are making judgments about. I don’t think that is such an unusual thing we all do it at times, I know that.

As I sit here, getting ready now for what is in my opinion the best sandwich in Wichita Kansas, (the chicken panini) I look around as the Rotary Club is winding down their meeting. The place is hopping, busy, yet, here I still sit, at my own little table contemplating the world. I see another guy on his computer, I wonder, what is he going through? Does he have a relative who is having a tough time? I think I know the answer to that question. There is a lady eating her gelato, alone for now, but apparently going to her meeting. I see another hooking up their computer and then a lady holding a small child talking to someone behind the counter. What are their experiences? What are they going through? As a brother of the human species do I even care?

Today, like many others, I contemplate, I have to be careful though, and my friend Jeremy just told me my panini is coming up. That sandwich is too good to think about other things, my stomach tells me to enjoy the moment. I think I will, but then I see across from me at another table, a young lady enjoying her sandwich. Maybe we should talk about how good the sandwiches are at Meads, maybe we will discover something else that has value, and maybe we will share in this thing called life. What do you think?

Sometimes I think I have the answers but I am quickly reminded, I don't. I think I have things figured out but something comes along to show me things are different than I thought. I have a meeting coming up after my sandwich. What will it be like? Will it be boring? Will something positive come out of talking about death? I don't know! I do know life is full of surprises and I might just be in for one. How about you, ever give that thought an option or possibility? If we never try, we will never know.

Meads, thank God a place exists that allow for the possibility of the impossible. Thank God I have learned lessons like that if I am willing to sit back and listen, give life a chance, sometimes, especially the times I need it the most, I might just be blessed. I could only hope there is a Meads Corner on every corner of every city. For some reason I can't help but think the world would be a better place.

One of the fun events recently at Meads was doing a concert there with my wife, son in law, and the band SHEL. The place was so full they had to move out the tables, and it was packed standing room only and a great evening of music and entertainment. Here is a video of our concert with Shel, just click on the video, if the video don't appear, just click on the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hkFLQLQRvk

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Why Stay Like A Baby?

I am a strange cookie, I know that. One of the things some know me for is my ability to be blunt. Some say, “You never have to worry about Mike stabbing you in the back.” Or; “Mike is a straight shooter, it is one of the things I like about him, he is real.” Of course over the years I have discovered something that will shock people. I have learned people lie.

I have discovered many people do like this attitude. I think it is part of growing up in a society that has people competing against each other. We are used to people using us like a broken down tool to get ahead, not for anything other than the satisfaction of self advancement. Along the way, many are hurt and others feel like used up trash thrown by the roadside.

There are those who like the honest, in your face approach when it is used on someone else, but when confronted with the truth of their own issues, they don’t like it; in fact, they may be among the first to turn on you. When one has invested so much time in the development of a relationship that encourages honest communication, few things hurt as much as someone who turns their back on you when they have stated you are a friend.

I have learned over the years when to be gentle, and when to be honest. When having a relationship with someone for a period of time, making serious sacrifice to serve and be with them, when having them request that you be honest, and then you confront them on something like their anger issues, their treatment of children or the way they treat people in a judgmental, condemning way, there should be a point of understanding. Often there isn’t a point of understanding because there isn’t a point of maturity that has developed.

I have learned something over the last weeks, something God is speaking to my heart about, that is the need for universal, uncompromising love, no matter what, but also an expectation that those of us who say we follow Jesus, or even those who don’t but consider themselves adult, recognize the need to grow up and develop maturity. I am not talking about never having fun. I am talking about serious issues, issues like growing in life, growing in understanding.

I can’t help but notice the immaturity in our society. While many do grow, one can’t help but notice there are some who don’t or won’t. I can’t help but notice immaturity when I turn on the television or listen to the radio and see the fighting and squabbling that takes place. It might be on a political point or a point of preference. It may be on an awards show where we see one jealous person take away from the moment of another who just won an award. We might see it when someone we know tries to get credit for something they either didn’t do or had a small part in it. The truth is, from temper tantrums, to the bickering and arguing, we see immaturity all around us, and the church is not excluded from this. In fact, sometimes, those in the church understand the concept of maturity less than other population groups because they have isolated themselves so much, they don’t always understand the real world and real world expectations. This isn’t just unique to the church though, this has permeated all reams of society.
I don’t know if people realize the prison they bind themselves in when they refuse to grow. Can a politician ever get back to the point of doing what is right for their country and constituency? Can a musician learn to joy in a special moment of someone even when their favorite artist didn’t win? Can a person of faith, really make the sacrifice to grow and be more than just a baby in their faith or life? Can they enjoy the growth process we call maturing?

I have a long way to go in my own life in certain areas. Let me make clear though, while I don’t always agree with the assumptions of others about me, I have learned that when people have invested their lives in me, when they have invested their honest to goodness friendship in me, that when they confront me, while I may not like their initial impression or thought, I have learned, they have earned the right to confront me and I am blessed that they are there to help me in my journey called life. Many times I realize that with some time, I learn points of growth, and I am grateful for that growth opportunity. While I have much growing to do, I have grown and I believe many of us need to be encouraged to continue that growth process.

To be honest, I want you to seriously look at your life. Are there areas you aren’t willing to grow, or haven’t grown? Are you willing to do what is necessary?

While this is an issue around the globe, it is a unique problem in the West, especially in the United States. Unfortunately, to many, we come off as more of a spoiled brat than we do someone who truly loves, and serves our community and our God. Thankfully there are those organizations, often Christian based who are doing great P.R. work for us, from Compassion International, to World Vision, and from The Mennonite Central Committee, to New Tribes Missions. These organizations are serving and loving others unconditionally and their impact can’t be ignored.

This week I use a line from William Shakespeare in my sermon, “Life is more than just an act.” I remember the song by Mike Johnson some years ago that followed this line of thought. Unfortunately, many of us need to remember, we can either go through life acting, or we can go through life living and growing. I want to grow in my spirit and in my wisdom until the day I die. I have hope, and I have joy through a leader and guide named Jesus. He is my Christ; he is my forgiver and everything. After all he did for me; I think I owe it to him to become the best man I can be. What about you?

The following is a video by former Yes Keyboard Player, Rick Wakeman. Watch it, listen to the music and contemplate, am I willing to mature and grow.

To view the video just click on it, if it don't appear, just click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrtTlx765cI

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Rip Offs, Scams, and Get Rich Quick Schemes

Those who know me know several things drive my passions. One such thing is people taking advantage of the poor, or trying to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals under the pretext of helping them, but in reality, more concerned about helping themselves. Many catch phrases that give some of these people away are things like “network marketing,” “a new business,” “opportunities for growth,” “financial freedom” and you have likely heard of others. There is what many of us know as pyramids schemes and get rich schemes. Right off the bat, the operative word in these descriptions is “schemes.” It becomes confusing though, while some of these are legitimate businesses, others are not and in both cases the intent can and maybe should be questioned. Some individuals make a good living, others don’t. Some are good products, others aren’t. I am not going to go into a ton of discussion on this, what I will say, is I have tried my hand in some products because I liked them. I will give a quick review of things my wife or I have done and as a result we have first hand knowledge.

Let me make clear, we never tried to get others to sign up on any of these things, we signed up because we used the product.

The King / Amway: Amway has a great product, I believe especially so in some of their cleaning products, over the years though, things have changed, it isn’t just cleaning supplies anymore, it is everything from cars to jewelry, if you want it, they have it. We did Amway twice, the first time; we lost a friend who never followed through with helping us. The second time, we lost a friend who followed through for awhile, then left Amway and I think felt guilty for their actions, I don’t know despite our efforts to keep in touch with him, we don’t ever hear from him anymore. I did go to a few meetings on Amway, and it was like a pep-rally that to be honest, seemed a little weird. It was all about getting rich, and getting others rich. While I still like some of the products, I have a sour taste and no interest in ever signing up again.

Shaklee: Another product that I got into because I liked the product. I still believe, to this day, the best results of any vitamin I ever was from Shaklee vitamins. The best shampoo I have ever used was from Shaklee. I did sell enough of this product to other people to get a few commission checks. It is a product I believed in and still do. I don’t have a Shaklee membership anymore; don’t even know if they exist. My membership lapsed and I never heard anything about signing back up. I went to a few meetings and unfortunately they weren’t much different than the meetings at Amway, a lot of pomp and show, and people trying to get other people signed up so they could get rich, (that is the person doing the selling, not so much the person doing the buying.) Now with that said, understand, some do get it, when others succeed, it helps their profit margin. I also understand there is likely a few that really do want to help others, but I believe very few are concerned more about others than they are themselves. In other words, the motive is still entirely selfish.

Avon: My wife did this for a period of time and worked her tail off, guess what? While there are items she liked, and still buys, (such as skin so soft the best bug repellant on the planet) she hardly ever made a dime from Avon. By the time she purchased the kits, samples, books and more, she even lost money at times. We know people can make money from Avon, but we just never saw it, even after a lot of work, that is a shame.

PartyLite: Now not all is bad and the next two companies are examples of that. My wife sells PartyLite and guess what? She makes money and has never tried to sign anyone up. It is a great product and one I was extremely critical of before she started, after all, who would pay that kind of money for a candle? What I learned is, I would! The candles and supporting cast of products are simply that much better than other comparable products. My wife and I feel so good about this company that we believe she will make a great supplemental income when she retires from teaching. It is not that difficult, when working 10-20 hours to make a profit of $600 - $1,500 profit, especially after establishing a clientele which isn’t that difficult. Again, it takes a little work, but do the math. One thing we like is there has never been a high pressure push to sell to others the company, although the “networking” or “pyramid” concept is an option to make more money. This is a company I firmly, and honestly believe, can help people make money within certain situations with a little work. There are draw backs, the main thing is that PartyLite changes their product way to often, making it difficult to get rid of old product and thus

producing the need to buy new product and catalogs.

Lastly, for us is Advocare: Advocare provides nutritional products and is a product I like and their energy drink, SPARK is in my opinion second to none, with the possible exception of the Dr. Enuf soft drink bottled in my home town, Johnson City, and “the original energy drink.” Advocare provides a high quality supplemental product for people serious about sports performance. While many may not be familiar with Advocare, it has been a product that sells itself. One of the problems with Advocare is there is not a high profit margin, and the truth is, sometimes one can find the product on EBay and other locations cheaper than you as a distributor can buy the product for. I also don’t care much for some of the companies’ policies. On one occasion the company stripped my membership from me for trying to promote and sell the product on line. I see numerous people doing the same thing on message board forums and other locations that are “technically” violations of the companies sell policies.

I don’t think there is not enough training for Advocare as much of the learning takes place from using the product. While there is wisdom here, I believe more training would be appropriate. Advocare did apologize in one instance the stripped me of my membership but not until some damage was done and a sour taste was left in my mouth. It is a great product though, and I still use it. I have never tried to “sign up” people and I have found the product, among elite high performance athletes sold itself because it works. I still use Advocare and while I have never really “made money” from it, I value the product and there has not been pressure to get me to sign people up.

Now there is a new product out I have to say something about, I say something about it because I have some level of concern and believe the product has to justify its cost. I am actually doing this for a couple of products to help make a point, and hopefully drive home some solid and appropriate advice for people considering these products. For example, there is a new energy drink Efusjon, which costs the distributor around $3 per drink. I have had it, and I have had SPARK from Advocare. Spark from Advocare cost the distributor around 75 cents per product and it has a superior nutritional rating over Efusjon. It is why I could support one and not the other, and the sign up cost for Advocare is substantially less. One is used by Olympians, the other is not. I usually sell my spark for $2 per pack, at athletic events to friends I sell for around $1 which is what many people do for friends, and with the new flavors, Spark tastes better. I can make a decent profit and make it available to the consumer for less. Spark sells itself, accomplishes its purpose and is affordable. I call that being consumer conscious while at the same time making a little profit, at least to cover my costs. Of course if the main objective is something other than the quality of the product, say, making money, then one product may be better than another, as a consumer though, I have to question a salesman selling me something for more when there is a better product available for less. I could say something about bailing out car companies here, but I will refrain from those comments.

Now I have to also address another concern I have witnessed lately regarding another product and this one is going to likely cost me some friends at various locations, especially since I have seen this product pushed a lot lately at MySpace and Facebook. Let me be clear, it is not my intent to hurt anyone, it is my intent to help those who are vulnerable, and possibly spending lots of money either signing up for something or buying something that is a “new” or “miracle” product. There are many new products like Efusjon that is going around but another is Mona Vie.

Mona Vie uses the popular Acai Berry and has become a newer networking product that has garnished attention for its supposed medical benefits. I had a friend who got me to try Mona Vie. I did some research though, not just from the company website but from other sites. I would encourage anyone considering networking or getting into “business” to do the research. Don’t take the person trying to sell you the product’s word for it, remember, you buying their product makes them money. I don’t care who you are, this has the tendency to lead to possible dishonesty or deception, even if not intended. For example, it becomes easy to ignore the facts, and to take into consideration that there may be better options for the person who is having the product pushed on them for the benefits. You can normally tell this when the person trying to sell you their product seems to not be able to understand you aren’t interested in “getting rich” or in helping them “get rich.” “No thank you” to these individuals seems to be hard to understand.

Now my initial thoughts about the Acai Berry: I have to admit, the research on the product is quite impressive. What the long term effects are I don’t know. I would like to see a higher standard of research and a broader range of research to support the claims, on everything from healing diabetes to cancer. Those types of claims, especially from people selling the product bother me and are at the best, misguided, at the worst, sinful and dangerous to the life of others.

It amazes me at the number of people who are trying to get rich who in reality have little or no money, and in the process, seem to know more than medical doctors and scientists. They usually are the first to condemn the FDA and other scientific groups and the entire medical profession as a whole. Think about it, if their knowledge is legitimate, they would be doing more and selling more than they are, they would be driving the new Cadillac Hybrid Escalade, not a 1977 Vega. Many hide under the guise of being an entrepreneur, but the evidence doesn’t support their claims. You can tell me about something, but I will always listen when you show me. Otherwise, it becomes very difficult because so many of us have been burnt by fire more than once, we aren’t excited about getting burned again.

Please notice, on the Acai Berry, I am not knocking the berry, just the messenger, who misrepresents the Berry, whoever that may be. When quick fix financial or medical claims are made, be cautious, stay away, and at the very least, do ample research to check out the claims.

Now I have tried Mona Vie, and while it isn’t the most pleasant tasting juice, it isn’t bad. It has a thick texture to it and the side effects for some may be the most disturbing aspect of the juice. Here is what I discovered about drinking the juice for a couple of months as per the manufactures recommendation. I went to the bathroom a lot more, (a realistic way of saying it had an affect on my metabolism) and it caused some side effects related to that which was actually kind of gross. Now please don’t take this wrong, but I think it is important to say things in a way that folks understand. It had a diacritic on me and gave me gas that didn’t have the most pleasant odor. I did feel better and had no problem drinking the product until it was gone. The only problem was the need to buy at least 2 bottles per month, at $40 - $45 per bottle, this is expensive. I later discovered that distributors have to buy so much juice each month. This is a reason I would not consider being a distributor. There is another though; let me explain.

I was recently shopping, (Wal-Mart) and came across another Acai Juice product put out by Genesis Today. The juice looked very similar to Mona Vie so I decided to purchase it and give it a try. Guess what? Same thing as Mona Vie but a huge difference in price. While Mona Vie cost between $40 and $45 a bottle, the Genesis Today costs $6.47 per bottle. A huge difference, even as a distributor, I couldn’t come close to this cost. Here is the other kicker; it became very difficult to find the actual detailed nutritional information for Mona Vie. Even when visiting the forums for Mona Vie this question was asked by a distributor who was apparently getting asked the question by people they were trying to sell the product to. Check out the answer they got when asking for information regarding the nutritional information regarding Mona Vie (please note the following is an exact quote to the question from a distributor):

“In describing to someone the properties of Mona Vie, one shouldn't get caught up in the "nutrition facts" per say. Rather make sure to highlight and discuss the value of the ingredients, and the roll they play in one's health. You want to focus on the merits and benefits each ingredient, Acai, White Grapes, Pomegranates, have, and how they benefit you.”
Did you read that? People are being encouraged to not share the “nutritional facts.” For me the lack of information on the web sites by Mona Vie. Answers like this given on public forums to distributors give me a great deal of caution and concern. Let me show you the difference in what I did find regarding the contrast of these two products.

Both are actually a 100% blend of juices that include the Acai Berry and other juices including White Grapes, and Pomegranates. The overwhelming primary in both products is the Acai Berry. (Note here, I could as a consumer, over a period of time of using both products, could tell no distinguishable differences, in taste, or in effectiveness or side effects of the product.)

Genesis Today Acai Berry Juice: (I discovered this information in 20 seconds)
24,000 mg of Acai per 8 oz serving
Proprietary Acai Antioxidant Blend 262.5 mg
Proprietary Genesis Antioxidant Blend 300 mg
Calories 125
Total fat 2 g
Omega 3 25 mg
Omega 6 250 mg
Omega 9 1150 mg
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 10 mg
Potassium 195 mg
Total carbs 20 g
Dietary fiber 4 g
Sugars 21 g
Protein 1 g

Vitamins

A 10
Calcium 3
Thiamin B1 100
Niacin B3 50
Folic Acid 100
Biotin 100
C 200
Iron 5
Riboflavin B2 100
B6 100
B 12 1000
Pantothenic Acid 50

Now here is what I found after 1 ½ hours of research regarding Mona Vie

Nutrition Facts from the label
Serving size 1 fl oz.
Calories - 20
Total fat - 0 g
Sodium - 0 mg
Total Carbohydrate - 4 g
Sugars - 4 g
Protein - 0 g
Vitamin C - 25 %
Iron - 2 %

That is it, nothing else, it may be out there, and if so, please someone, show it and provide it I for one would like to see it. I did find a number of locations on the web that expressed concerns of how the quality of the berry and product has likely gone down hill since the efforts of Mona Vie to use the Acai Berry for “networking” or “getting someone into independent business.”

Why did I do this posting? There are no get rich quick schemes and there are those who would distort facts. I believe it is vital that followers of Jesus help spread truth about some of these things. There are many good people that get caught up in these things. I have good friends I respect and love that are doing Mona Vie. I don’t get it, and after trying both products, what I will say is the Acai Berry something worthwhile Between the two products though, there is very little difference that I can tell, if any. The only difference is the amount of money it costs. Many will respond with something like “yea but you can’t make a profit margin from Genesis Today.” While this is true, I won’t get stuck with product I as a distributor have to buy either. Neither will I be tempted to take advantage of someone who doesn’t have the money in trying to sell them on the product so I can make more money, especially so when they can buy another product that is essentially the same thing for much less.

There is a lot of debate here, and unfortunately many seem to get caught in these schemes. I sort of understand it but I challenge, not all people want to get rich, and we should never try getting rich at the expense of others. There is something the Bible says about the “love of money.” I can’t help but wonder because it looks that way, there are a many people that seem to have a love of money. I would challenge each person to question their hearts in matters like this. If a product like Spark or Genesis Today Acai Berry Juice provides either essentially the same or a better product for substantially less money, why would we push a product on someone else that costs more? Is it because we want to get rich, want more income, or is it because we really care? I just ask people to be honest.

Here is what I know; I work roughly 70 hours a week. I will be glad to verify that to anyone wanting explanation or proof, (another thing that bugs me about why Mona Vie won’t make their complete nutritional information available, something called integrity.) In 2008 I made somewhere around $15,000. I am not bragging, heck it isn’t anything to brag about, some say I’m poor, financially maybe I am, but you know what? I have everything I need and I believe have things I don’t need. I have eaten at the nicest steak house in Wichita, Chester’s, twice now, at a cost of over $70 per meal for my wife and I. I have eaten at other fine establishments, like Logan’s Steak House, Texas Road House, and many others like McDonalds and Wendy’s. I go to the movies and sit in a room where it costs between $12 and $18 to sit in a nice recliner and it includes a meal. On many of those meals, in fact most all, God used someone else to provide, so I appreciate people with money. However, my experience shows me people who get it right, really do see their money as God’s money, and have no trouble blessing others, not using them. I have nice shoes I have been able to get this year, finding a 75% off pair of New Balance, Tieva’s, or Sketchers for $20 amazes me. I have been to Tennessee twice, Fargo North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado and many other places, all of this and more on $15,000 per year. I pay taxes, (in fact in one instance when a former employer took out taxes from my check and never paid the IRS or State, I have paid taxes twice.) I have also been to great plays, great concerts and numerous other activities that were fun dates for my wife and I, and guess what, I have the largest amount of money in my savings now than I have ever had in my life.

I have come to realize, God is my provider, in Hebrew he is my Jehovah Jireh. To the poor, to those who don’t have money, please be careful with the resources you have, take care of your obligations, your obligations first of all to your church if you are in a church, if not, to legitimate ministries that do the work of God. I would challenge, don’t rob God. Don’t be fooled to get involved into something you can’t afford, use wisdom. To those who would take advantage of these individuals, I say, shame on you. I pray God will bless you, but I also pray that the Jesus who became angry of others taking advantage of his children reveal himself and his purpose to you. We need to also remember, there are spiritual children, Jesus’ words of warning about taking advantage of little children I believe applies to spiritual children just as much as it does to age appropriate children. May we all learn to trust in God and place our value in people as opposed to material possessions, when we do this, we will have all we need, because our God already owns it all anyway. Don’t get sold on a get quick scheme, do your research and homework, while there are good companies out there, I mentioned some, there are bad people in even the good companies.

It will be interesting to see the response I get from this one, for some reason, I think some aren’t going to like it, while there will be others who will say, AMEN! AMEN! And again AMEN!

The following is a short video that sums so much of what I am trying to say up. None of us have to get caught in the get rich, fix all schemes that so many promote. To watch the short video, just click on it, if for some reason the video don't appear, just click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgU8re8b8aA

Just For You

You are important and I want you to know that you can feel free to contact me at any time. I always try to respond to comments posted here, when appropriate, and have learned from my work as a counselor and pastor that people need to know that they are important. My contact information is available and I encourage you to contact me when need be. The fact that you are a real person is not lost on me. While you are at it, if needing a place to plug in, you can also join and become a part of The Virtual Pew. Message boards and interaction are available there as well. Thanks for visiting and know that God loves you and so do I.