40th Anniversary of Ichthus

Wilmore, Ky. is the site for the annual Christian music festival, Ichthus. This year, from June 10-13, Ichthus will be celebrating its 40th birthday.

This year many changes and special events will take place honoring the 40th anniversary. The festival is increasing its normal number of stages from 3 to 7. The festival will keep the main stage, edge stage, and deep end stage, and also add four more stages to the list. Ichthus 2009 will feature over 111 bands, including Skillet, Disciple, Family Force 5, Hawk Nelson, Sanctus Real, and Kutless.

Family Force 5 live at Ichthus 2008



John Cooper (lead singer of Skillet) live at Ichthus 2008


Key speakers for the event will include Bob Lenz, Pete Hise, Shane Claiborne, and Justin Lookadoo. The festival will also feature rock climbing, swimming, mission opportunities, and a Saturday night communion service.

Jeremiah Massengale, a long time fan and supporter of Ichthus, is very excited about the 40th anniversary.

"As this year marks the 40th anniversary of Ichthus, tens of thousands of people will no doubt descend on Wilmore, Kentucky to see the most popular acts in Christian music. But hopefully they'll do more than that. Hopefully, through maybe a message or song, they'll experience Jesus Christ in a new way that will really impact their lives for years to come," said Massengale.

Payment plans for tickets are now available online at Ichthus' official website. The website features a variety of payment options and prices for tickets.

Ichthus was the first Christian music festival in the United States. It began in 1970 as a response to the popular Woodstock Festival. Ichthus' main goal was to give teenagers and youth as an alternative to the lifestyles and music of secular society. Over the years, the staff at Ichthus has continued to put Christ at the center of the festival. As a result, thousands of young men and women have been deeply impacted and changed by the ministry of Ichthus.

crowd at Ichthus 2008 taken from Ichthus official website

Dear Diary

"Dear Diary" is the third album released by Christian punk rockers, FM Static, a side project of two members of the Christian hard rock band, Thousand Foot Krutch. FM Static is led by

Trevor McNevan (lead singer and guitar) and Steve Augustine (drums).

While on tour, as Thousand Foot Krutch, lead singer Trevor McNevan began writing for the new record. McNevan came up with the idea to make their latest album, a concept album.

"This is the first concept album I've worked on, and it was a ton of fun. It felt theatrical from the start. I imagined this high school boy, new in town, writing through life's big questions about faith and fitting in as he grows up towards college," says McNevan.

"Dear Diary" is based around a high school boy who moves to a new town. Each song represents a different diary entry of the boy as he is experiencing love, anger, sadness, and faith in this new town. In between each song, in the liner notes, a short back-story is also told about the teenager.

The first two songs on the album introduce us to an unnamed boy who writes diary entries about his feelings living in a new town. "Boy Moves To A New Town With An Optimistic Outlook" is about the boy looking ahead to what could possibly be a new beginning in his life. The second song, "The Unavoidable Battle Of Feeling On The Outside," is about the boy feeling like an outsider in high school and deciding to try and stick it out.

The album then takes a turn when the main character meets the girl living across the street. "Boy Meets Girl (And Vice Versa)" is a fun song about the boy falling in love with his next door neighbor.

A few songs later, the album takes a drastic turn. The girl's father commits suicide, and the girl and the mother decide to move away. The next few songs are emotional diary entries about feeling helpess and alone in troubled times. The boy is crying out to God to help him and his neighbors get through these hard times.

The album does not end on a sad note though. The album comes full circle when the boy graduates from high school and decides to go to college. "The Shinding (Off To College)" is a fun, heartfelt song about the new experiences of being in college.

The music on this album directly parallels with the emotions portrayed in each song. The fun, happy songs have driving guitars and drums. The serious and sad songs are filled with slow melodies and simple piano chords.

Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine have put together a powerful, emotional, and heartfelt album. The main fans of FM Static, teenagers and college students, will no doubt fully accept and identify with this record.

According to McNevan, this album is a true coming of age story. "What listeners can ultimately expect is a rocking, melodically-charged coming-of-age story that somehow combines the creative vibe of independent films like "Juno" and "Napoleon Dynamite," a dash of "High School Musical" charm, and the altogether rare element of uncensored faith."

Overall, this is truly a groundbreaking album. Never before has a Christian punk rock band put together an album of this scope and magnitude. FM Static takes a simple coming-of-age story and transforms it into a story about love, faith, grief, and God. This album is the first great Christian punk rock album of the year.

Steve Augustine(drums) pictured left and Trevor McNevan (vocals and guitars) pictured right

All Trevor McNevan quotes were taken from FM Static's biography at toothandnail.com.

For the Love Of Russia

Coy Webb pictured bottom left with members of the FBC mission team

Coy Webb truly has a heart for reaching the lost around the world. Webb has been on sixteen mission trips to countries such as Brazil, Poland, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Georgia, and Mexico. However, Webb's true passion is for the people of Russia.

"Yes, I believe I truly have a heart for Russia," stated Webb.

Glenn Hickey, a member of First Baptist Church and friend of Coy Webb, has been on three trips to Russia. He believes Webb has a heart for overseas missions. "Coy has a heart for any country he goes to, including Russia," stated Hickey.

Russia is a vast country. It is the world's largest country and it is twice the size of any other country in the other world. Russia even stretches across 11 time zones. Within this vast land, Russia has many different practicing religions. The dominant religion within Russia is the Russian Orthodox Church. The second biggest religion within Russia is Muslim. Only about 1% of the nation is Protestant.

The Russian Orthodox Church's doctrine is vastly different than the Protestant faith. "The Russian Orthodox Church believes in Jesus Christ, but their faith is about works. They do not stress a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church also mixes in some folk and traditional rituals and practices as well," stated Webb. For this reason, Webb felt God was directing him toward ministering to the people of Russia.

"I felt that God was directing me to Russia because there is such a spiritual need there. Only 1% of the people are believers [Christians]," stated Webb.

Coy Webb's first trip to Russia came in April of 1992. He was leading a team of Christians from the First Baptist Church of Monticello, Kentucky. On this trip, the team went to build a church in Sosnovy Bor and also do evangelism. Webb and the team had to resort to using many primitive construction techniques while building the church.

"We had to toss bricks up on the roof for someone to catch one at a time. I was up on the second floor scaffold laying brick. I also used a sledgehammer to break up huge rocks to make gravel, " stated Webb.

Webb was excited about building the church. "I was very excited to help build a physical structure for the Russians that would serve as a witness to the community," said Webb.

Along with construction, Webb also preached at the Sosnovy Bor Baptist Church twice and assisted in door-to-door distribution of Bibles. While witnessing to the Russians, Webb and the team led 7 people to Christ.

The town the mission team was visiting was very close to a nuclear power plant. Due to the close proximity of the town to the plant, the Russian national government limits the number of people entering the town. In order to enter the town, the mission team had to give the police their passports.

"When we first got to the town, the security took away our passports and visas. We were told to never give away our passports, but we had to do that in order to get in. I was a bit anxious about giving away my passport, but we [mission team] had no choice," stated Webb.

The second trip to Russia was two years later in May of 1994. The primary goal of this trip was to build another church in Nizhny Novgorod and also do evangelism. Webb also helped pass out Bibles on the street.

The second trip was very special to Webb because he was able to visit the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Webb, along with the other mission team members and some Russian friends, sang Amazing Grace in front of Lenin's tomb in the Red Square. "We [Americans] sang Amazing Grace in English while the Russians sang it in Russian," said Webb.

Webb was moved by his experience at the Red Square. "It was a very surreal moment to sing Amazing Grace at a place where Atheism was promoted," said Webb.

Webb's third trip to Russia came in December 2006. The mission team went to several orphanages and delivered Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes to the children. According to Samaritan's Purse official website, their goal is to bring joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes. Since 1993, more than 61 million shoeboxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe.

Webb also gave a presentation at each of the orphanages telling the children and the staff how they could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While they were there, Webb and the team led 50 people to Christ.

The final trip to Russia came in October of 2008. On this trip, Webb and the mission team visited children's shelters and also did home evangelism. While at the shelters, the team performed with puppets, clowns, and music. Webb also developed and taught a discipleship class to new Christians in Russia. In this final trip, Webb and the team from Monticello helped bring 35 people to know Christ.

Coy Webb has been greatly impacted and moved by his four trips to Russia. "Russia is still a land recovering from decades of oppression. From my first to last trip, I am seeing signs of the economic climate increasing, but spiritually Russia is still a very dark nation. The church [Protest Church in Russia] has undergone a great deal of persecution. Their stories have moved me to consider my commitment to Christ," stated Webb.

Hickey says he would go anywhere in the world with Webb. "I would go with him anywhere. He is always confident on trips. He is a very spiritual man and amazing things always happen when he is there," stated Hickey.

Coy Webb has been on a total of four trips to Russia with the First Baptist Church of Monticello, Kentucky. Coy Webb truly has a heart and passion for the lost people of Russia. Coy Webb is even preparing to go to Russia for the fifth time in 2010.

Glenn Hickey pictured far left and Coy Webb pictured center praying with Russians and members of the FBC mission team

Early Upsets

The NCAA tournament is always filled with thrilling upsets. Mid-majors always have two or three monumental upsets in the first round of the tournament. This year, two mid-majors upset two higher ranked seeds: 12 seed Western Kentucky beat 5 seed Illinois and 13 seed Cleveland State upset 4 seed Wake Forest.

Western Kentucky dominated most of the game. They were leading 37 to 28 at the half, and led 68-51 late in the game. However, Illinois made a late comeback. Illinois cut the lead to two points with less than a minute left to play in the game, but it was to little to late. The 12 seeded Hilltoppers beat the higher seeded Illinois 76-72 in the first round of the tournament.

The second upset featured an absolute blowout. Cleveland State dominated Wake Forest from the very beginning and eventually won 84-69. Cleveland State took the lead at the beginning of the game and never looked back.

Upsets are always prevalent in every NCAA tournament. This fact is what makes the NCAA tournament great. Mid-major schools always have a chance to upset their higher seeded, power-house opponents. This year was no different. Both Western Kentucky and Cleveland State sent their opponents home early in this year's tournament.

Eliminate Conference Tournaments

This year, three undeserving teams made the field of 65 by receiving the automatic bids that come with winning your respective conference tournaments: Temple, Mississippi State, and Chattanooga. Each of these teams were fortunate enough to make the NCAA tournament by winning their respective conference tournaments. However, none of these teams deserved to make the field of 65 due to their mediocre regular season.

Temple finished the regular season with a record of 19-11 and only two key wins against Penn State and Tennessee. They also finished fourth in the Atlantic Ten Conference. Mississippi State finished 3rd in the SEC West and 6th overall in the SEC. Mississippi State had a record of 19-12 and had no meaningful nonconference wins. The final team is Chattanooga. They finished the regular season with a losing record of 15-16. They also finished 6th in the Southern Conference.

I believe conference tournaments should be eliminated. They serve no purpose. First, the top seeded teams in the conference tournaments have nothing to play for. Teams such as Duke and North Carolina, at the end of the regular season, usually have number 1 seeds locked up whether they win the conference tournament or not. On the other hand, mediocre teams are given the chance to make the NCAA tournament if they simply just win three games in a row. The tournament selection committee is allowing mediocre teams to enter the NCAA tournament by having automatic bids come from conference tournaments. I believe the regular season winners of each conference should get the automatic bids. This way, mid-majors and major conferences, are still represented equally and the selection committee can then weed out the undeserving teams from the field of 65.

#1 Seeds Never Lose

Many teams have tried, every team has failed. Year after year, #16 seeds enter the tournament with the dreams and aspirations of becoming the first #16 seed to ever beat a number one seed. Some teams have come close, but no #16 seed has ever defeated a #1 seed in the first round of the tournament.

Twice in the history of the NCAA tournament has a #16 seed lost by only one point to a number one seed. Both of these games came in 1989. Princeton (#16 seed) lost to Georgetown (#1 seed) 50 to 49. East Tennessee State also lost to the number one seed Oklahoma 72 to 71.

In this year's tournament, two #1 seeds performed very well and two did not. Connecticut and North Carolina blew out their opponents by a combined total of 99 points. Louisville and Pittsburgh, on the other hand, had a harder time with their #16 seed opponents. Louisville won by 20 points, but they only led #16 seed Morehead State by two points at the half. Pittsburgh won by ten points, but the game was played a lot closer than the final score.

Number 16 seeds in the tournament are a combined 0-99 since the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in 1985. Many teams have come close to winning, but no team has ever won as a #16 seed. This year, both Morehead State and East Tennessee State gave the number one seeds a run for their money, but came up short in the end. This tournament proved to be just another tournament where all four #16 seeds go home in the first round.

Snub Teams

There is always one common denominator in every NCAA tournament: snub teams. Snub teams are teams that are not selected to participate in the tournament, but are deserving due to their complete body of work in the regular season and in their conference tournament.

Only 34 at large teams can make the field of 65. With this limited number of teams getting selected, snub teams are always prevalent during the tournament selection process.

This year, many teams were snubbed by the tournament committee: Saint Mary's and San Diego State. Saint Mary's finished the year 26-6, and 10-4 in their conference. The team finished second in the West Coast Conference behind Gonzaga. Saint Mary's finished the season with an RPI of 48 and a strength of schedule of 159. Saint Mary's had key wins against Providence, San Diego State, Southern Illinois, and Utah State.

The second snub team was San Diego State. This team finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State had an overall record of 24-9 and a conference record of 11-5. Key wins for San Diego State included Utah, New Mexico, and UNLV. Their best nonconference victory came against Cal State Northridge. San Diego State finished with a strength of schedule of 35 and an RPI of 35.

However, each team was not selected into the tournament due to flaws in their resumes. Saint Mary's had very good key wins and a very good RPI, but their strength of schedule hurt them. Rarely do teams with a strength of schedule higher than 100 get into the field of 65. San Diego State had a very high RPI and strength of schedule. However, their non-conference schedule hurt them. Their one quality non-conference win came against Cal State Northridge.

Overall, both of these teams deserved to be in the field of 65. Each team had flaws, but their strengths greatly outweighed these flaws. Saint Mary's and San Diego State are the two major snub teams from the 2008-2009 college basketball season.

Eliminate The Play-In Game

Every year, two teams will be forced to participate in a play-in game before they can enter the NCAA basketball tournament. Each year, two mid-major teams play for the right to play the top #1 seed in the tournament.

This extra game came into existence in 2001 when the MWC (Mountain West Conference) split from the WAC (Western Athletic Conference). This created a major dilemma because the split added an extra automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The number of automatic bids in the tournament grew from 30 to 31. To compensate for this new automatic bid, the tournament commitee decided to have a play-in game.

This year, the two teams that competed in the play-in game were Morehead State and Alabama State. Morehead State dominated the whole game and won 58 to 43. Morehead State will play Louisville in the first round on Friday March 20.

I believe the tournament committee should eliminate the play in game. The committee should simply eliminate one at large team in order to compensate for the extra automatic bid. If you eliminate one at large team, there would still be 33 at large teams in the field.

Furthermore, the loser of this game works hard all season long to get to the NCAA tournament, and then they are quickly exited by a meaningless game. This game eliminates the dreams of so many young college players. The losing team does not get the chance and the glory of playing in the first round of the tournament. Alabama State was seeking its first Division One postseason win. Instead, they were defeated and sent home without ever officially entering the NCAA tournament.

Finally, every year the two teams that play-in the game are mid-majors. These mid-majors won their conference and they are participating in a play-in game. If the tournament is going to have this game, they should pick the last two at large teams making it into the tournament. If they did that this year, Arizona and Wisconsin, would be playing in the play-in game.