Christian Jugglers' Association Newsletter Blog

Help a Fellow Juggler

2009-05-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

Steve Thompson has a question that he would like to see discussed. Please add your input if you think you can help. The only stipulation in responding is to please be Christlike towards people with different views than yourself. Here's Steve:

"Basically, I have been asked to do my 1hr Gospel Juggling Show which I perform regularly, but this is the first time I will be doing it in a Catholic setting (always performed my shows for Protestant outreaches up til now but a Catholic Church has asked me to perform a 1hr show at their Youth Festival (summer camp). I am sure that Christian performers regularly perform with many different Christian denominations and maybe they have certain things they keep in mind for what particular subjects to avoid (such as not talking about Baptisms at a non-Baptist type Church as a very loose example!) There are many subtle (and not so subtle) differences between all the Protestant denominations so if anyone also has little bits of advice for dealing with performing for each of those settings, it will be useful also. I imagine that this topic could be quite a debate if we can get other Jugglers involved in coming up with suggestions and hints/advice!" -Steve Thompson, England

CJA Newsletter #47, Spring 2009

2009-02-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

In this newsletter (click on each link to go to that article OR just scroll down and read the articles in succession):

1. President's Message from Jesse Joyner

2. 2nd Annual Christian Jugglers' Conference - July 11-12, 2009, High Point, NC

3. An Interview with World Champion Juggler Dana Tison

President's Message

2009-02-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Exciting things are happening in the Christian Jugglers' Association as we head into this new season of Spring. As Christians, we get to celebrate Spring as the season of Lent, which is the period of days leading up to Easter. During this time, we get to reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wrote a Biblical study on Paul's resurrection creed in 1 Corinthians 15 on my personal blog. Check it out by clicking here and let me know what you think.

About a year ago, the active membership list of the Christian Jugglers' Association was somewhere around 60 or 70 people. Since then, we have almost doubled in size, as our current membership roster lists 139 people. While the economy is in recession, the Christian Jugglers' Association is rapidly growing! Maybe one reason is because there is no cost to join. On that note, we do have money in our organization's account, which helps to fund the hosting of our website and the few costs we have for running the Christian Jugglers' Conference each July. Keep telling your friends and family about our organization, as we are open to all skill levels (even people who do not know how to juggle, but might like to learn how). All people need to do is send in an e-mail to christianjuggling at gmail dot com (spelled out to avoid spam) and indicate that they want to join.

Finally, I want to close my remarks with an important issue for Christian jugglers that came up in my phone conversation with Dana Tison a few weeks ago:

To be both a juggler and a Christian can look a lot of different ways. Let's take something like art, for example. One artist who is a Christian can paint a wonderful city skyline or fruit still-life, while another artist who is a Christian can paint an image of the empty tomb following the resurrection of Jesus. Is one work of art more "Christian" than the other? Is one artist better at proclaiming their faith through their art than the other? No and no. Similarly, we are no more or less spiritual with our art of juggling whether we use our juggling as an allegory for Christian messages or not. As Christians who are also artists/athletes in the field of juggling, we ultimately glorify God through pursuing excellence in our craft.

Dana said that when he ministers in churches, he will perform his juggling act, and then close with an explanation of the Gospel message without juggling anything. Furthermore, Dana will perform with excellence on secular cruise ships, and then perhaps later find himself in a casual conversation with a cruise ship patron that turns spiritual. I, on the other hand, usually present the Gospel message throughout my juggling routine, using objects to represent various characters or things in Bible stories. Is either way more holy than the other? No way. Remember Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire? He would run his heart out (and glorify God by doing so) and then speak with interested people about his faith after he was done running.

I want to also add that being a Christian Juggler doesn't mean you have to have a polished juggling routine so you can either share the Gospel during or after your show. Remember, the key word here is excellence. You can be a hobbyist juggler and glorify God through doing your very best (whatever level that is) at the art of juggling. People notice excellence, but God is ultimately your only audience. It is every Christian's call to share the news about Jesus Christ, through both word and deed (which is the Great Commission - Matthew 28:18-20). But Jesus also spelled out the most important commandments, which are (1) love God with our whole beings and (2) love others selflessly.

This coming Lent season, think of ways that you can (1) glorify and love God through simply learning a new juggling trick or practicing something challenging (He sees your effort) and (2) help someone else with the selfless love of Christ (such as patiently teaching someone else how to juggle or making a someone sick in bed smile because you juggled 3 balls for them).

-Jesse Joyner
President, Christian Jugglers' Association
Lent 2009

2nd Annual Christian Jugglers' Conference - July 11-12, 2009, High Point, NC

2009-02-26T13:56:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars! Sign up TODAY!

The time is coming for the 2nd annual Christian Jugglers' Conference on July 11th-12th, 2009 in High Point, North Carolina. This conference is FREE (voluntary donations will be accepted) and we will be meeting on the weekend before the International Jugglers' Festival just 20 miles down the road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. So you can attend both conventions back-to-back if you wish.

We had a great time last year with the first annual conference. To watch a video of last year's conference, click here. The format will be similar, where we will have workshops, open gym time, a business meeting, special presentations, and a closing show for the weekend. Community Bible Church in High Point, NC has graciously allowed us to use their gym and facilities in exchange for us providing a Christian Juggling show for their community on the second night of the conference. Anyone who attends the conference can participate in the show, and all you have to do is show up that weekend and indicate that you would like to be a part of the show. Then we will place you in the repertoire accordingly.

For planning purposes, all we ask is that you RSVP if you are coming to the conference. You can do that by sending an e-mail by clicking here and indicating that you will attend the CJA conference in July.

For a weekend schedule and a more full list of details, visit http://www.christianjuggling.com/2009_CJA_Conference.html

Food and lodging will not be provided. But remember, the conference is FREE! For the best lodging, I would suggest searching on google and looking for your preferred accommodations for either the High Point, NC area or (for people staying on for the IJA Festival) the Winston-Salem, NC area (or somewhere in between).

Interview with World Champion Dana Tison

2009-02-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Having a resume of international juggling medals and cruise ship gigs is not what primarily identifies Dana Tison. Though those are accomplishments about which he should be proud, you can tell from the following interview the few things that matter most to Dana Tison - faith and family.

Jesse: Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself (family, career, where you live, etc.)

Dana: I’m married to a wonderful woman from Buffalo, NY (Donelle) and we have two kids: Ethan (11) and Michaela (8). We live in Charlotte, NC and are involved at Hickory Grove Baptist Church. Currently my wife home-schools the kids and does some balloon-twisting on the side at restaurants or fairs or VBS or wherever she happens to be hired. I perform a comedy/juggling/unicycling show on cruise ships and at various churches around the country.

Jesse: How did you get into juggling?

Dana: I was bored one summer day in 1980 when I was nine years old. Remembering seeing my grandfather juggle three oranges in our living room, I decided on a whim to learn how to juggle. After learning to do three tennis balls in about an hour, I did nothing else with juggling until two years later when I was eleven. I met some jugglers (The All-American Mini Circus, including Rick Schnitker, Chuck Bollinger, Daniel Anderson, and later Mardene Rubio) who told me about the Baltimore Jugglers’ Association which met every Monday night. Once I started attending there I was hooked!

I began attending every IJA convention I could starting in 1983 (Purchase, NY) until the fall of 1987 when I started college and began walking with the Lord. I attended less conventions from then on since my faith became a bigger priority in my life than juggling.

Jesse: How/when did you become a Christian?

Dana: I became a believer at about five or six years old through the witness of my parents. I prayed every night for two weeks that Jesus would come into my life because I knew that without Him I’d go to hell when I died. So I understood that He died to pay for my sins. However, I did not learn to walk with the Lord until I went to college in 1987. Within my first week or so of college, a close juggling friend, Kathlyn (Lyman) Toney, who attended Towson State University with me invited me to attend the weekly meeting of Campus Crusade for Christ. When I went I was amazed to find about 80 college students all excited about Jesus! They were singing songs and celebrating the Lord. I was amazed. In my previous experience at a seemingly dead Methodist church (which my family and I had abandoned when I was about 13), I never saw such excitement.

I think it was the following week that I got involved in a Bible study and I had a wonderful four-and-a-half years of fellowship, learning, and training through many meetings, conferences, summer mission projects, etc., related to Campus Crusade for Christ.

Jesse: What got you into using juggling as a ministry to others?

Dana: Well, once I started to walk with God it seemed very natural to try and use my talents for the King of kings. I did perform a handful of times in Campus Crusade related outreaches at Towson State University and on summer mission projects and during witnessing in Daytona Beach, FL over spring breaks. But for the most part I avoided performing since I always got so nervous beforehand! I was always introverted and was very concerned that I would drop all over the place in front of a crowd.

But after joining Campus Crusade for Christ staff and transitioning into the Andre Kolé Ministry (Andre Kolé is a world-renowned illusionist who has been using his talents for the Lord for about 45 years now), I began to use my juggling more in ministry. I opened for Andre Kole’s 80 shows during the school year of 1994-95 with a ten-minute juggling/comedy act. That was my first taste at any regular performing, though I had done a handful of shows at churches through the years.

After graduating seminary with a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies at the International School of Theology (Campus Crusade for Christ’s seminary, which has since closed its doors), I started to sense that the Lord wanted me to use my juggling full-time. So my wife and I began praying about that and after almost two full years of prayer we made the leap from Campus Crusade for Christ staff to try and make a career out of juggling. I wasn’t pursuing ministry-related performances solely or even primarily, but I certainly would’ve welcomed them. Rather, I was pursuing cruise ships as my main focus. My reasoning was that I would be able to provide for us as a family by performing once or twice a week on the ship and would have a lot of free time to study and prepare myself to go for a Phd in theology or some related field of study. I thought I would end up teaching as a professor in a seminary. But once I started performing and God began giving me many evangelistic opportunities at churches along with cruise ship performances, and I started to see how many folks I could share the gospel with on the cruise ships one-on-one, I began to think that God wanted me to stay in this career longer than I originally thought.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever end up going for the Phd in the future, but He certainly is giving me many opportunities to serve Him where I am right now.

Jesse: Tell us a memorable juggling story you might have.

Dana: All performers collect funny stories and mishaps. I don’t have that many that I can think of at the moment. But in March I remember flying into Fort Wayne and having a horrendous show–at least from my perspective. Actually, I was supposed to fly into Ft. Wayne but ended up flying to Indianapolis instead due to a cancelled flight out of Atlanta. My host at the church picked me up (a two-hour drive) and it took us three-and-a-half hours to drive back to Fort Wayne due to a horrible snow/ice/sleet storm. And did I mention my luggage didn’t arrive? Fortunately I had 2/3rds of what I needed for the show, but that other third was kind of important! So as we drove slowly and carefully through the storm we tried calling around to people in the IJA roster from around Fort Wayne to see if anybody had a unicycle, clubs, knives, etc. for me to use for the show.

To make a long story short, we arrived at the high school where the show was to be five minutes after the event was supposed to begin! There were many factors that were threatening to undermine the show: we were rushed; I didn’t have all of my props and had to borrow some; I didn’t have time to work with the sound/lights tech to help her figure out my cue sheets or to test the lights, CD, and microphone; the sound/lights tech was a 17-year-old who didn’t have much experience; my hands were freezing from bringing in all my stuff across the parking lot and sidewalk through the snow storm and into the High School; etc.

I quickly tested some clubs and a unicycle someone brought, changed my shirt and shoes, and then we had to begin. With the exception of the perfect two-minute opener and the almost perfect 3-minute closer with my rings and subsequent gospel illustration, the rest of the show seemed pretty bad to me. At first the mic. sounded terrible–so right after my two-minutes of club-juggling a sound guy took two eternal minutes to mess around with the microphone transmitter in my pocket to try and fix it. Despite his efforts, for the first half of the show the sound of the microphone was not loud enough for the front half of the audience to hear over the music (found out later the speakers in the front had been turned off for a choral event earlier in the week–the judges wanted to hear the choir sing with no amplification–and no one turned them back on).

Here was another mishap: I had loaded all the props into a trunk that somebody had brought and placed it on a piano bench out on stage. And in the middle of the show when I went to slide the piano bench forward for a particular routine the bench’s legs caught on a piece of the hardwood floor that was sticking up slightly, which catapulted the trunk and everything in it forward onto the floor. I just started cracking up! And the audience did too. (For anyone who is just beginning to perform and hasn’t learned this yet–always have fun (or at least look like you’re having fun) no matter what happens. The audience will be happy as long as you are.... and if you’re upset, they will be upset)

Another mishap: When I finally start to ride the unicycle I like to make it look like I’m totally out of control, which wasn’t too hard since the tire was almost flat–felt like the whole stage was covered in mud. As I was pretending to be out of control and got near the prop case on the piano bench I realized that I was a bit more out of control at that moment then I intended and I made a split-second decision to try to play up the chaos by duplicating the knocking over of the prop case while comically falling off of the unicycle. I figured it would be funny since I had already knocked the case over previously. So I tried that, but all I managed to do was to knock over a few things off of the prop case onto the floor while I landed on the floor which made at least one lady that I saw in the audience grab her mouth in horror! I instantly realized that I had totally convinced this woman (and perhaps others) that I couldn’t actually ride the thing and I was in mortal danger!! Argh. I wanted them to know that I was kidding. So I determined from that moment onward to show complete and utter expertise on that unicycle to drive home the point that I meant to knock into the prop case! I also realized as I got back up on the unicycle that I hadn’t considered where I had put those brand new, sharp hatchets that someone had bought at a hardware store for me! Were they up on top of that case still or had they fallen down to the ground almost decapitating me or had I put them on the ground when I was done? I had no idea . . . and still don’t. Thankfully no limbs were lost! But that incident is a great reminder of why one should never try brand new ideas without having practiced and thought it out first. (Not that I had much of a choice with this show–I was forced to juggle hatchets and clubs and ride a unicycle that I had never tried before.)

So after doing the rings and sharing the gospel presentation, I was so happy to get off of that stage. I shook my head about it all night . . . I was amazed at what a poor show I had done. Most everything was out of my control, but it was just frustrating that it caused the show to suffer so much.

I headed to the water fountain after I was done and some woman who was watching her toddler out in the hallway told me what a good job I did. I was like, "well, I hope it was good!" She just stared at me quizzically. Then that same scenario happened again with another woman on my way backstage–she told me how good the show was. I was surprised and figured they were just being "nice."

When I got backstage again and started packing up my things and putting away the borrowed props, the host was on stage and had me come out there again and asked them to give me some applause. So I walked out there and to my absolute shock they all stood up for me! What!? I guess that confirms it . . . these people in Fort Wayne don’t get out much! Either that, or the show was much better from an audience’s perspective than from my perspective. (That interpretation would fit in nicely with why those two women gave me compliments after the show and didn’t understand why I questioned their assessment of the show.) I guess I was more disappointed than they because I was comparing this show to what I normally am able to deliver; but they had nothing to compare my performance to.

So why did God allow such a crazy performance? Who knows. But perhaps there was a reason for it. Maybe somebody needed to hear the gospel presented from a weaker/faulty vessel, rather than through a polished vessel. If so, then I’m glad to do a poorer performance than usual.

"To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. " (1 Cor. 9:22)

"Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:10)

Jesse: What juggling feats are you working on right now?

Dana: There’s nothing in particular I’m working on right now. I’m just sort of trying to maintain my juggling abilities and especially the tricks that I perform in my shows. Of course I also work on some things that are harder than what I perform so that the tricks I perform seem easier. So tricks I like to work on now are 7-up pirouettes with 7-balls, a 4-up pirouette out of a 6-ball shower, 9-rings. But I must confess that I’m not as motivated as I once was to get a lot better. When I have "free time" I’m much more interested in serving at my church, reading theology, and playing with my kids.

One trick that I’ve really enjoyed performing is a 5-up pirouette out of 7-balls. I try it probably during 90% of my shows (whenever my juggling doesn’t feel quite up to par or when the lighting is particularly bad or if a cruise ship is rocking then I won’t try it). When I do try it, I’m usually successful . . . but not always.

Jesse: What is your favorite Bible verse/ part of the Bible?

Dana: That’s a really hard question! I have many favorite parts. I like Ephesians, Galatians, parts of Exodus, etc. One of my favorite verses is 1 John 2:28 which I’ve long had as part of my "signature" on email: "And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming."

I love that verse because it reminds me of what my priorities should be in life. It reminds me that when Jesus comes back again that I need to be living in such a way that I’ll hear Him say "well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master." I want to be able to shout and yell and rejoice when I see Him coming on the clouds of heaven rather than "shrink away in shame at His coming." We all know the feeling of shame associated with sin in our lives, so that verse really helps me stay focused and motivated to obey Him each day.

I also love Colossians 3:1-2, " If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Jesse: Do you have any stories about people who have been impacted in their faith by your juggling?

Dana: I wish I did. I’ve received emails telling me of hundreds of people that have allegedly put their trust in Christ as a result of my being at a particular evangelistic event. Only God knows how many of those are genuine commitments. But I don’t get to see the "rest of the story" and how people live after praying a prayer of salvation or re-commitment.

Hopefully the Lord will allow me to be encouraged by some cool stories once I get to heaven.

Jesse: Do you have any other weird talents?

Dana: Other than juggling and unicycling and comedy . . . not really. I’m a "one-trick pony." :-)

Dana Tison lives with his wife and two children in Charlotte, NC. You can read more about him by going to his website at www.danatison.com

CJA Newsletter #46, Winter 2009

2008-12-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas from the Christian Jugglers' Association

Here are the three exciting articles in this quarter's newsletter. You can click on each one to visit that particular article or you can simply scroll down on this blog and read each one in order:

1. NEW and IMPROVED CJA Website

2. Dan Meyer on America's Got Talent

3. Christian Juggler Interview - Bob Cates

-Jesse Joyner, CJA President
www.ChristianJuggling.com

NEW and IMPROVED CJA Website

2008-12-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

BRAND NEW CJA WEBSITE

We have done a complete overhaul of the CJA website, getting a new domain name (www.ChristianJuggling.com), a new "juggler's available" list, and an easy-to-use archive database with plenty of past newsletters in PDF form.

To visit the new website and wander around, click on the following link: www.ChristianJuggling.com

The old domain name (www.juggling.org/~cja/) will still lead you to the same new website.

Furthermore, if you have content, videos, or if you would like to be listed in the "juggler's available" portion of the new website, then send an e-mail with that information to christianjuggling at gmail.com (spelled out to avoid spam).

Please add this new website to your bookmarked pages. Pass on this website to any organizations who would be interested in knowing about it. And I will accept any and all feedback. Thanks!

Dan Meyer on America's Got Talent

2008-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Our very own CJA member Dan Meyer was featured on NBC's America's Got Talent this past season. He made it pretty far in the competition, going all the way to Las Vegas under the scrutiny of some tough judging. We congratulate Dan for his hard work. You can visit his website at www.cuttingedgeinnertainment.com

Christian Juggler Interview - Bob Cates

2008-12-01T07:26:00.001-08:00

I asked our Canadian friend Bob Cates to answer some questions about juggling in his life right now. He answered in essay format, so I will let him tell his own story and updates. Read and enjoy!

Hi there,
My name is Bob Cates, and my show is called Comedy in Motion or Comedy in Motion with Bob Cates.
I have been making my living full time as an entertainer since 1995. I just got married last summer in my old age at 37 and my wife who was 38 at the time had been looking for a long time as well. Little did she know her husband was the guy who she had hired for a show in 2002. Yes you heard correctly. My wife has been the director of children's ministry at a few large churches for the last 10 years. In 2002 she hired me for a show for some carnival day they were having at her church. There were no sparks at that time which is a funny story in itself. Our paths crossed again 2 years later at another ministry event for just a moment. So we knew OF each other. But, we eventually connected romantically through www.christiancafe.com. Apparently I met every point on her 3 point list, and she met every point on my 27 point list! She now works in the business with me, doing one illusion, and assisting on stage and off. Being able to work and travel together with my wife was always a strong desire for me. And the Lord mercifully brought me a woman willing to quit her (very good, and fulfilling job) and do just that. We had a great first winter together with 4 months spent working on the Ms Statendam in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Although our cruise ship days are likely going to drop like a 5 ball mills mess, now that we are a "duel" act; there have been many cutbacks on cruise lines, attempting to save money by cutting two person acts (in order to save flight costs).

I learned to juggle in my last year of high school (age 18) by teaching myself with tennis balls. I was inspired when I saw a juggler on tv at school and said to my friend, "wouldn't it be cool to be able to juggle!" He showed me that he could do it himself with chalk brushes, and I went home that night and taught myself. It took about 3 hours, but I'm nothing if not persistent. After high school I had a year of Bible College, then 4 years at McMaster University for business. I started Juggling Clubs (societies) at both places and practiced on average for about 6-10 hours a week for those 5 years which is when I picked up my core skills.

I became a Christian at a young age, seeing the need for salvation from my sins, and was baptized at 18 before going off to Bible College. When I was a missionary in Lithuania for 7 months after university, I used the juggling to draw crowds for some street ministry. I started using the show to share the gospel closer to 1998 and beyond after being exposed to Christians in the arts in the United states doing such things, such as magicians, or Christian jugglers I met at the IJA conventions. I was actually good friends with Mike Koehler - the founder of the CJA though since we lived within an hour of each other.

My faith has grown in various ways over the years, and so has how I've shared the Gospel in the show. One thing I've rarely done (which seems to be quite popular in the US) is to share (Bible) stories with the juggling, for example. I've always tended to use the juggling oriented object lessons, and then go on to explain the Gospel. However this has changed over the last year. About a year ago I became aware of www.wayofthemasterradio.com (see also www.wayofthemaster.com and livingwaters.com) and, after having listened to many podcasts of the radio show, it has transformed the way my wife and I do evangelism from the ground up.

You can see our story here.

Our eyes were opened to use the Law (the 10 commandments) in sharing of the Gospel - but more than that we were inspired to share our faith more boldly than we do now (off stage and on).
This includes tracts, one on one conversations, and open air preaching. As a result,this has affected ministry shows in that I want to preach even more, and make the Gospel even more personal to the hearers. This has led me to encourage churches to use the following format.

First, I present a one hour show, then the MC takes the stage for 10 minutes and can share ministry info about the church, or videos, etc. Then I return to the stage out of character as myself and preach the Law and the Gospel (We broke God’s Law, but Jesus paid our “fine”) for about 10-15 minutes. This method allows me to keep the entertainment the entertainment, and the gospel the gospel. It also gives the church a few minutes of time to introduce themselves to any new faces from the community. We still do some shows, however, where the Gospel is incorporated into the show.

Here is a tidbit Americans may find interesting: Here in Canada, churches just do not want to charge tickets for a show/concert, OR even take up a freewill offering. There is a great resistance to either one of those, so I pretty much have to charge a set fee for the shows. They want to make the events free to the attendees of the outreach.

The latest juggling feat I've been working on is also one of the hardest things I do: Dance Dance Revolution while juggling. On the hardest song, on the hardest setting. This year, I've taken it to another level - TWO DDR pads (8 arrows) at the same time, while juggling. No one in the world is doing this, that I know of. Visit www.comedyinmotion.com for video.

My favourite part of the Bible is usually what I'm currently studying. I could not even say one book above another!
Regarding impacting others, I know I've inspired others to share their faith, as I have been by other bold Christians. For example, when working on cruise ships, I'll take my bible and study books and go wherever: the library, the deck, and study out in the open, where everyone can see (even after I've done the show). Talking one on one I now try to swing the conversation to spiritual things. In fact, I believe I've been more effective for the kingdom in the last 6 months than I have in all my life - and I'm referring to my life OFF stage. This shows the great impact that the ministry of Ray Comfort at Living Waters has been.

I'm very thankful to God for the ability to make a living at something as fun as juggling, especially considering that I was so shy growing up, and am still very introverted. I'm the epitome of doing all things through Christ who strengthens me. For my last words to those just starting out, or just hanging in there - don't quit - don't quit - don't quit!

Bob

CJA Newsletter #45, Fall 2008 - by Jesse Joyner

2008-08-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Christian Jugglers,

I'm using this new format of a blog to communicate our quarterly newsletter of the Christian Jugglers' Association. This blog is very versatile in communicating. We can post articles, videos, links, and pictures as ways of staying in touch with one another and sharing ideas with each other. Please give me some feedback on this blog thing and let me know what you think. There are already three articles below this one on the blog - two are routine ideas and one is a recap of the 2008 Christian Jugglers' Conference.

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS
Also, if you have a YouTube account with videos, I can put you on the list from which we get the video feed at the top of this website. That means your videos can appear at random at the top of this page. Only submit your YouTube account if most or all of your videos on your account are clean and juggling related (ideally having to do with Christian juggling).

SAVE THE DATE
Save the dates of July 11th-12th, 2009. These will be the dates the 2nd Annual Christian Jugglers' Conference in the Winston-Salem, NC area - just before the IJA Festival in that same region. I already have one lead of a church that may be able to host us in High Point, NC (which is in the Greater Winston-Salem area). Stay tuned for more information on that.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS
If you would like to post an article about a Christian Juggling routine idea or your testimony or something else encouraging for our readers, then respond to the christianjuggling e-mail that you got in your inbox. If you do not have that, respond to this blog below and I'll give your our membership information.

CJA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Our very own Dan Meyer has been showcased on NBC's America's Got Talent! He made it all the way to Las Vegas and he was one of the entertainers who was able to be voted in by viewers last week. Keep watching to see if he makes the cut. Congrats to Ben Hestness of Paul Arneberg's Jugheads for winning the Bronze in the Junior's at the IJA Festival last month!

Create Your Own Christian Juggling Routine - by Gary Luber

2008-08-21T10:24:00.003-07:00

If you juggle at all, or want to juggle, regular practice is certainly an on-going requirement. Whether you practice daily or weekly depends on your plans for juggling. You may enjoy juggling as a hobby, you may juggle as a performer, or you may wish to use juggling to convey a message.

There are several fine books available with juggling routines already written to convey a Christian message. For some examples see http://www.jugglingworld.biz/shop/products_christian.html. I have used routines from books when I started and occasionally still do, but most of my routines I’ve developed myself. Quoting from a recent performing magazine “the best routines are personal ones”, and that’s what has worked for me. I’d like to share a few thoughts and hope it may help you.

As a Christian, I have several disciplines I need to apply in my life. Bible reading, prayer, worship, church involvement and sharing my faith are all basics. As I am about my daily life I often write notes to myself, an idea that comes to mind about a juggling routine or a teaching topic that really interests me, or a Bible principle that I’d really like to share (ideas from the Holy Spirit I believe). It’s not unusual that I get an idea during my quiet time with the Lord or during congregational worship at church. Later it’s always best that I add the idea to a notebook or computer file, for further development. I recall a performer who taught a class said “the difference between a hobbyist juggler and a professional is a 99 cent notebook”. Amen to that. Write down your ideas, because you’ll forget them later; even drawing a sketch is helpful. If you get a good idea when you are near falling asleep, get up and jot down a note (it really does happen, more often than you think).

Take time to intentionally just play around with your favorite juggling props (not the same activity as practicing juggling tricks). What does the prop look like? What does it remind you of? What can an audience imagine it to be? If I attach something to a juggling prop, what does it look like then? When I’m developing a teaching topic, like early American history for example, I can imagine a club as a musket, a flute, or the torch on the statue of Liberty.

I pray then as well. If it’s truly your heart’s desire to share a message, ask Him for ideas. Have a pad and pen next to you during your play time and write down ideas you get. Occasionally, ask family members who see you, or kids who may watch you, what they think your playing around “looks like”, what it reminds them of. Kids come up with good ideas that we are often too serious to think of. We want it done fast, but good ideas don’t arrive on a schedule. It’s understandable, most of our adult life we’re expected to be serious, to get things done, on time. But the best material for performing comes from taking time to relax, be silly and creative. As you are developing a routine, with patter (words) that go along with the juggling, write them down word for word, as you would say it. Personalize it. You can always improve it later (and you will).

Using juggling as a teaching tool is not like using magic, where you can look over a wide variety of tricks at a fine dealer table (or on line), subsequently buy a few tricks, then diligently practice and present them. Your juggling tools to work with are more specific and initially more limited. The three most traditional props are balls, clubs and rings. The next most popular are sticks, diabolo and cigar boxes. Expanding further include such tools as spinning balls, hats and rola bola. Some quick-start tools, which require less practice, include scarves, poi, balance feathers and spinning plates. Now expand your toolbox by playing with similarly-shaped tools (eg. toilet plunger, machete, oranges, eggs, a skateboard, etc) which really help your presentation become more interesting to an audience. Take time to stroll through the hardware store, or the pet store, and always the toy store. Review books and videos from the library of other performers, jugglers and non-jugglers. See what performers did 50, 100 or 200 years ago. It’s a great learning experience. Take a storytelling class to help you in developing patter. Lastly, I believe humor and action are important ingredients to convey a message.

After you get a routine to a place where it is “almost ready”, go ahead and try it out somewhere on an audience. The added pressure of a scheduled date forces you to complete it. Afterward you will undoubtedly want to improve it anyway. You honestly can’t wait until a new routine is “really ready”, because that means you’ll never finish it, or it will be years before you finish it (subsequently you know you’re going to tweek it again anyway). I know. I’m a good procrastinator. I’ve got many good routines in my notebook or in my head which I ought to finish someday. But it’s Sunday afternoon and the Lazy Boy chair looks so inviting right now. Zzzzz.

Mr. G has enjoyed performing for church and community audiences in the greater Chicagoland area since the early 1990's. He has taught juggling as a ministry at the International Conference of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians in Marion, Indiana. Locally, he teaches juggling for fun at the Fox Valley Park District in Aurora. For over 20 years, Gary continues to teach in children's ministry at his local church. Mr. G is a member of the Christian Jugglers Association, the Fellowship of Christian Magicians and the International Jugglers Association.
"I continue to do what the Lord has asked me to do, to use juggling as a ministry. I really enjoy juggling, teaching and performing. My hope is the character of Jesus Christ shows through, in all I do." Gary can be reached at mrgjuggler@sbcglobal.net

The Most Important Ball - by Steve Winger

2008-08-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

To start this routine explain to the crowd that we are going to play a game called "the most important ball." Their job is to keep their eye on one special ball and point to it when you are done juggling. Start with just one ball and continue to add balls until you have reached your max. [It is helpful if you have balls that seem to look all alike, but can be distinguished by you up close] After adding balls to reach your maximum talk about how God wants to be the most important thing in each of our lives - He wants to stand out [pull out a brightly colored ball] like this ball. This bright ball represents God and how He wants to stand out in our lives. Try to keep your eye on the Ball that represents God. When I stop juggling point to the hand you think it is in. You all got it right! and that is how it should be - When people look at you they should see the most important thing and that should be God!

Steve was just 13 years old when he saw a man at a carnival juggling. It was that day that he decided he wanted to become a juggler. Through his high school years Steve became a street performer and juggled for the merchant association of a local shopping mall in St. Louis, MO. It was there that he learned to juggle and tell stories at the same time. Little did he know the impact this experience would have on his future.In 1984 while attending the University of Tulsa, Steve was asked to share a devotional for one of the campus ministries. He was asked to tell the story of the Prodigal Son in a creative way, where college students wouldn't be bored. Steve juggled the story of the Prodigal Son. The message was very well received. That night several members of the University of Tulsa football team were in attendance. They asked Steve to join them and share his juggling story at several high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes groups. Thus "Juggling for Jesus" came into being.The following summer God opened the doors for Steve to develop and expand his juggling ministry. The St Louis Post Dispatch got word of Steve's ministry and ran an article about him that was featured on the front page. That summer Steve had the opportunity to juggle for over 75 groups in 3 different states.After college, Steve continued his juggling ministry in combination with working on staff as a college minister. In 1989, Steve headed to Asbury Theological Seminary where he would receive his Masters of Divinity degree. While in seminary world of his juggling ministry again spread. Steve juggled at over 300 events in his 3 years at seminary.After seminary, Steve moved to Lubbock, TX, where he again served as a college minister. In January of 2002 Steve responded to God's leading and started traveling full time with his juggling ministry. He still lives in Lubbock, Texas with his wife Kim and his children Aaron, Faith and David.

Steve can be found at www.JugglerForJesus.com

The 1st Annual Christian Jugglers' Conference - by Jesse Joyner

2008-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings fellow Christian jugglers,

If you missed the First Annual CJA Conference in Lexington, Kentucky this past summer, then we hope you can make it next year, because we had a great time. We had a little over 30 people (including family members), which is a good turnout considering our entire membership list was 66 at the time. Since then, our membership has grown to almost 90, and I expect that number to increase as we continue to spread the word about the Christian Jugglers’ Association.

The Conference started out with worship on Friday night, July 11th. David Cain played the guitar while we sang “Lord I Lift Your Name on High.” Some people juggled during the singing. Then David gave a presentation on the history and different types of Christian Juggling. On Saturday, we had a day full of workshops and open gym time. Nathan Dorrell taught people how to use the diabolo in ministry routines. David Cain taught some folks how to use plate spinning in ministry routines. He even brought out his new toy – the boomerang, which he managed to get stuck on the top of the heating vents in the auditorium we were using. There were probably 10 people helping to try and get the boomerang back down somehow – which they succeeded in doing. Grace Bidgood ran a “woman power” juggling workshop and did whatever women jugglers do when they get together.

On Saturday night, there was a showcase of Christian Jugglers. Anyone who wanted to perform a routine could come and share that with the group. Tim Elder started out with his Creation routine, which is very creative and clear is its message. Chase Martin managed to pull off a one-high back-flip out of three balls. The amazing Hodge brothers dazzled us with lots of objects combined with not many years of life on this earth. Jeremy Stanley did some great ball work to the tune of “Made to Love” by Toby Mac. His brother, Jeffrey, put to work his newly learned skills in plate-spinning from the conference.

On Sunday morning, some of the attendees spread out into local churches for ministry outreach using juggling. We visited some seven churches that morning and then we all convened for lunch at Ci Ci’s Pizza. That was the end of the conference, but some people stuck around for the IJA Festival the very next week. It was there that we got to have a CJA meeting in the middle of the week. We had an abbreviated version of the CJA conference, giving people the opportunity to share ministry routine ideas with one another. Check out the video below of the CJA Conference recap by Kevin Smith.

The real success in this CJA conference comes in the form of training and equipping jugglers to use their juggling skills to further the Kingdom of God. This may be tough to measure in the immediate, so I would love your feedback if you went to this conference. Let me know how this affected you in terms of equipping and encouraging you to use juggling as a form of ministry. I personally like knowing that I am not alone in this "pioneering" type of ministry. Just the fellowship alone can be encouraging.

The thing that sticks in my mind from the conference was something David Cain said in the opening session on Friday night. “It’s about the message,” he said. That sums up Christian Juggling. We can entertain all day long, but if what we are doing does not bring glory to God, then we are like a "banging gong or a clashing symbol." Furthermore, Paul Arneberg reiterated with me the fact that pursuing excellence in our craft (even without words) can bring glory to God as well. So, it's about the message - both the spoken and the unspoken message. Let us always point to the Lord for all that we do in the art and sport of juggling.