May 2009
A Texas Christian businessman has a simple plan for evangelizing his community: Lift Jesus up and let Him do the rest.
In December, Norm Miller, CEO of Interstate Batteries, launched I Am Second, a three-year Dallas-area ad campaign that features both prominent and lesser-known Christians proclaiming that Christ is first in their lives. Its companion Web site features video testimonies from Christians ranging from actor Stephen Baldwin to former Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch to virtually unknown Dallas-area residents telling of how God changed their lives after they battled eating disorders, divorce, addiction or abuse.
In its first two months, the campaign generated 280 million impressions from billboards, print ads and TV commercials reaching the Dallas-Forth Worth community. Since it launched in December, IamSecond.com has logged 750,000 unique visitors from every state and 188 nations.
“The mandate was lift up Christ and He’ll draw all men to himself, so all we’ve got to do is be concerned with the lifting,” said Miller, who is investing $1 million a year in the campaign, which he formed in partnership with Dallas-based mission organization e3 Partners. Today he was given the first Dream Builder of the Year award from Dream Builders men’s ministry for his work founding I Am Second.
The site has drawn visitors from as far as China, and Welch’s testimony has been posted on YouTube and subtitled in Russian and Italian. In recent months, ministry and Christian business leaders in Atlanta; New York City; Orlando, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Tucson, Ariz., have expressed interest in taking the campaign to their cities. Similar requests have come from as far as Ireland, New Zealand and India.
“My heart was my Jerusalem, and I thought that this was possible, these other cities,” Miller said. “But my thought was, There’s plenty of people like me in these cities, and if God wants to do it, He’ll raise them up. There’s not a lack of money. There may be a lack of giving the money, but there’s not a lack of people having the money.”
Miller said the idea for I Am Second came to him in early 2008 when he was approaching his 70th birthday and began contemplating his legacy. “I started thinking about Dallas-Fort Worth and their need for a real encounter with the truth of Christ,” Miller said. “I thought, Does that really need to be done? And I agreed that it did.”
Campaign organizers said I Am Second can help Christians share their faith with unsaved co-workers or neighbors.
“It says in Ephesians that the purpose of the church, of the evangelists, and the teachers, and the preachers is for the equipping of the body to do the work of the ministry,” said e3 Partners Vice President Nathan Sheets, who helped developed the I Am Second campaign. “And so we view this as a way to be able to strategically come in and help the church executive what’s the mandate of the church, to be the church. It’s been done so well, it emboldens Christians to want to be proud of it and to share it.”
Sheets said the campaign was meant to make Jesus famous and embolden people to live for Christ. But he believes it also can help change negative perceptions about Christianity.
“I want to get away form the religious conversation,” Sheets said. “We don’t live authentic, transparent Christian lives, and people feel like we’ve got it all figured out and we don’t ever do anything wrong, then we end up with people in media who are popular in Christendom that are no different than anybody else. We wind up with Christian marriages with a higher divorce rate than secular society. That perceptionally makes people go, ‘This is all fake.’ Versus just saying: ‘I still struggle in my life … but luckily Christ died for my sins and I’m forgiven and He can help change my heart and my life, so let’s just do this thing together.’”
The I Am Second Web site includes links to small groups that meet in Dallas-area churches, businesses and homes. Miller said churches tell him the campaign’s impact has been “tremendous.”
“This is the part that takes faith,” Miller said. “Normally … I would want to know how many people you’re going to have on the street, how many people you’re going to talk to, how many people have come to Christ. I want to know the impact of the money, to be a good steward. But in this case Christ said, ‘Look, lift Me up, and I’ll draw all men to Myself.’ And I got a freedom out of that.”
“I’m totally shocked at what’s happened outside of Dallas-Fort Worth,” Miller added. “But I’m content with what’s happened inside Dallas-Forth Worth because we’re only six months into a 36-month plan. I really believe God’s going to do a lot more as time goes on because most efforts aren’t that long. It’s almost a dripping faucet. I gotta see what that site is, after a year and a half of seeing [the ads]. What is that? You might forget it after 90 days, but if you see something and you don’t know what it is and you wonder then a year later you see it again, eventually you’re going to say, ‘I’m going to find out what that is.’ And that’s what we’re hoping. That’s our prayer.”
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I just had someone email me about wanting to become a believer. The issue was that they didn’t think they were strong enough. A few months ago, I had another friend who said something very similar to me. This verse immediately came to mind. It was also a challenge to me. I love acting like I have it all together, you know? I love Christ and therefore things are great! But in reality, any ounce of strength I have comes directly from Christ. I was incredibly weak when I came to Him. I don’t know how much you guys know about my testimony: http://iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Shannon_Culpepper/, but I came out of a verbally abusive relationship. A lot of times I hear, “That took a lot of strength to be able to leave.” On the contrary! I was tired of fighting. I was tired of being talked down to. I couldn’t handle being in the relationship anymore. I was too weak to keep going through what I was going through. So I ran to Christ. Then, He gave me strength. But how often do I actually tell people that my strength isn’t my own?
All that to say this: When we proclaim or present strength, I challenge you to make sure that people know it is entirely from the Lord, because even when we’re weak, He makes us strong.
Isn’t our God good?
That’s all for now J
-Shay
Meeting at a Café that is always busy, always a little bit noisy, and always hopping with people doesn’t exactly seem like the ideal place for a spiritual group to meet. But I have to say, I’ve been surprised by its success. Last week, as my friends and I huddled around my laptop, watching the Brian Welch video, something struck me. It wasn’t any great epiphany. It wasn’t any glorious moment. It was just the beauty of what was happening right before my eyes. In my group there was a girl who is recapturing her relationship with Christ, a guy who is seeking the Lord on his own for the first time, an atheist, and a few other believers. And we were there, building friendships, and lifting up Christ in our conversation. We were encouraging each other. We were taking a testimony and looking for the significant pieces of it. We were looking for God—together.
I’ve been surprised by the way this group has opened doors in the past two months we’ve been meeting. Because we’re in an environment where people are already meeting, there have been people that join us who wouldn’t have otherwise come. Because the curriculum makes conversation easy, everyone stays engaged whether they are Christian or not. Because it starts with watching video, there’s a good central topic to go off of. It’s just natural. It’s evangelistic. Ultimately, it lifts up Christ. I’ve been really blessed by leading it. J
I get requests often for volunteering opportunities, and ways to get involved. This is a great way to do it. Instead of looking to us to give you a project or an event to work, look to the lost in your community and meet with them. We’ll give you the materials. Just reach out to them. You can find instructions on how to start a group here: http://iamsecond.com/#/getinvolved/ .
-Shay
My story begins about a year and half ago. That’s when the girl whom I loved more than I ever thought possible left me for good, and it really tore me up. The hardest part of trying to deal with the break up was the memories that kept surfacing. I began changing myself in ways that would separate my life from her memories and about six months later it was as if my eyes had suddenly opened to my attempts at coping; the new look, the new music, and, more disturbingly, a much angrier and more calloused view of life.
All my life I had been going to church, raised by my parents to be Christian; did the youth group thing and put on a show. I never gave up the belief, but I was not convinced that God cared enough to be active in our lives. I would show these people that you don’t need a living relationship with God to succeed… I seemed to be doing well in life. But it was all a face and inside I was dying. Then, about a month ago I met Shannon Culpepper. I learned that she was a Christian and worked for I am Second.
Upon returning to school, I was sitting in class the next day with my laptop, quickly becoming disinterested in the lecture. After accepting a friendship invitation on Facebook from Shannon, I was browsing her pictures and came across one of her standing in front of a bill board for I Am Second. I then felt compelled to visit the website listed on the billboard just to see what this organization was about. I was not too surprised to find it to be a ministry group, but I was intrigued to find that Shannon had a testimonial video on their website. I was not expecting what I saw, and immediately became transfixed. The classroom disappeared and it was just me and God working through this girl’s story to touch my own heart, and he did in the smallest and yet most deeply profound way. Hearing about how she felt empty, and called out to God each night to keep going turned a switch in my heart and I suddenly realized something that I had always known, yet kept buried under layers of self reliance: the fact that the only cure for my loneliness, the only filler for my emptiness was Jesus, and through him I would be whole again. It was a small mental change to see this truth, but it made an infinitely vast difference in my life.
Never underestimate the power of the small things.
Shannon didn’t do anything besides be good company that weekend, and that’s all she needed to do to unknowingly act as a catalyst for reviving my faith in Jesus. I have since reestablished a relationship with Jesus and have been feeling better than I honestly thought I ever would. I hope this will bring a measure of encouragement to people who think that they are no good at witnessing or evangelizing. You don’t have to be a preacher on a soap box, just be a good friend and live by His example. You will impact more people than you realize.
Thank you, Shannon.
Thank you, I Am Second.
Thank you, Jesus, for never abandoning me.
“Miranda- I just put you on the list for the Brian Welch interview. You want to go, right?”
Does anyone really need to ask that question? I mean, he was the lead singer of Korn! I remember growing up singing the songs with my sisters, as we danced around pretending to be rock stars. Korn was my sisters’ favorite band, and I remember all of us being a bit upset when Head decided to leave. We didn’t understand, nor did I ever know why until I am Second came along and I watched his video. And this week, I realized that he is just like you and me. He struggles. He falls. But, then, he trusts Christ to hold him steady and keep him strong. That is what I am Second has become to me-real people, in all their flaws and imperfections, coming to our God who loves us despite our inability to understand or reason why.
I could tell you all about my first week as an intern, but it would be insignificant if you did not know where I was two weeks ago. My experience here has been amazing. Everyone has this deep understanding and love despite where I was, because they have been there too. So what happened? Let’s just say my finals week ended with me overdosing because of the intense amount of pain that I had endured over the semester. And I remember crying out to God, screaming that I did not want to love Him or anyone else for that matter because I am so tired of being hurt time and time again. I thought no one really could love me, because I myself was so screwed up beyond repair. There is a lot that went in to why I thought that, but for the sake of time I will just simply say that I thought I was too broken for even Christ to fix.
But, as I have experienced the inner workings of I am Second this week, God has brought me to a place of complete peace. The old has been washed away, and the new has come. No, it has not been easy, but it has been gloriously fulfilling. It has been a crazy busy week: planning the Head concert and the upcoming Rangers game on the 30th
(you’re coming right?!) , as well as lots and lots of busy work. At the end of the day, however, I am simply amazed by where God has brought me. I don’t know how or why I am the intern, but I am so glad that they have let me be a part of this revolution. It is not exactly new; God being first was revolutionary even in Christ’s time. However it is a revolution that has been forgotten by our materialistic, consumer society.
So the question is no longer whether being Second is relevant. The question that now begs to be asked is are you in?
-Miranda, our new intern
“I don’t want boring religion God. I want You.”
There was a mosh pit. There was loud, heavy music. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
As I walked back to our booth at the Brian Welch concert a few nights ago, I heard him singing over and over again, “I don’t want boring religion God. I want You.” Those words struck me. It’s the anthem of the broken, the hurting, the bored, the lost—those in need of life-transformation. But it’s not religion that’s going to get them there. It’s God.
I was deeply moved as I stood in the crowd looking around at a group of believers singing/screaming, “You’re washed by the blood”, and cheering as Welch told his story of how he came out of a destructive lifestyle into the arms of his Heavenly Father. These means of worship—the metal, the screaming, the head-banging–were foreign to me. I was actually skeptical about the whole thing. That was, until I was there, experiencing God move in that place. These were people who had been redeemed just as I have been. But the group wasn’t subscribing to conventional “religion” as we know it. It wasn’t a Bible Study, or a worship service on a Sunday morning with 5 songs and words on the screen. It was raw worship. They’ve experienced God, and they were moved enough to scream about it. As Brian said, they “won’t shut up about it” because of all God has done.
Overall, it was just encouraging to see something that was different. It kind of brought a new meaning to the words “sing to the Lord a new song”. It gave me chills to see Brian reaching out to his fans to share with them who God was, sans the traditional church service and “walking down the aisle”. God was there, and it was in no way boring.
Amazing.
-Shay
As we approach Memorial Day – Monday, May 25 – former Army Capt. Chris Plekenpol can speak to his combat experiences and journey of faith during a time of year when we remember our fallen heroes. He commanded a company in Iraq for a year beginning in September 2004.
Chris’ poignant experience in the military, including how he dealt with and what he learned from losing his first man in combat, is featured on the I am Second Web site. I am Second is a multimedia campaign designed to help people discover their purpose in life through Christ. Its site contains the video stories of struggle, transformation and restoration of celebrities, athletes, pastors and everyday people alike.
Chris Plekenpol is a West Point graduate who is currently attending Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of “Faith in the Fog of War” and is a highly sought after speaker.
The I am Second Web site has had almost 900,000 visitors since it went online in December 2008 as an initiative of Dallas-based e3 Partners Ministry, Inc. Dallas Cowboys Jason Witten and Greg Ellis, Texas Rangers baseball star Josh Hamilton and singers Jason Castro and Brian “Head” Welch, among others, share their personal stories of faith on the site.
This was posted as a comment on the blog last week and I thought you might find it encouraging:
“Thanks to the groundwork laid before me by this site I’ve re-dedicated my life to Him and His work for my life. I’ve been trying to do things on my own for the better part of ten years and due to this site and the prayers of others I found my life is better lived if I take a back seat and become, as you say, second. I am in need of prayer to stay on course and want to give you my thanks and Him my praise… God bless!”
What a blessing to know that I am Second can be used as such an influential tool in the Kingdom.
Brian “Head” Welch, former lead guitarist for the Grammy Award-winning metal rock band Korn, who left the band in 2005 after becoming a Christian.
A concert with the Head band featuring songs from the album, “Save Me from Myself.” Welch will also show his I am Second video, which chronicles his personal journey to faith after being a junkie rock star. I am Second literature will be available at the venue. For ticket information, visit www.frontgatetickets.com.
I am Second is a multimedia campaign designed to help people discover their purpose in life through Christ. Celebrities and everyday people share their personal stories of struggle, transformation and restoration on iamsecond.com. Site visitors are empowered to interact with other people 24/7. I am Second is a project of Dallas-based e3 Partners Ministry, Inc.
Brian “Head” Welch made the decision to rededicate his life to Christ in 2005. In the process, he conquered his drug habits and made his then 5-year-old daughter Jennea a priority. His story is the most popular one on the I am Second Web site, which also features football star Jason Witten, singer Jason Castro and actor Stephen Baldwin, among others.
A concert with the Head band featuring songs from the album, “Save Me from Myself.” Welch will also show his I am Second video, which chronicles his personal journey to faith after being a junkie rock star. I am Second literature will be available at the venue. For ticket information, visit www.frontgatetickets.com.
I am Second is a multimedia campaign designed to help people discover their purpose in life through Christ. Celebrities and everyday people share their personal stories of struggle, transformation and restoration on iamsecond.com. Site visitors are empowered to interact with other people 24/7. I am Second is a project of Dallas-based e3 Partners Ministry, Inc.
Brian “Head” Welch made the decision to rededicate his life to Christ in 2005. In the process, he conquered his drug habits and made his then 5-year-old daughter Jennea a priority. His story is the most popular one on the I am Second Web site, which also features football star Jason Witten, singer Jason Castro and actor Stephen Baldwin, among others.
