DAA # 12


APeXMinistries.com

Number 12
May 25th, 2001

FAQ
Schedule
APeX Throwing Up!
APeX Attacks
Digital APeX Attacks
Audio APeX Attacks
Photo Gallery
Guestbook
Merchandise
Links
Promo Kit
References
Friend's of APeX
Gene
Brad
Contact Us
APeX Points
Site Tour
Home

Greetings from the world headquarters of APeX Ministries. We hope that you and your family are living as true Alleluia! people and are celebrating the joy and richness of this Easter season!

We are not dead! As Mark Twain once said, "The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated." We have received a few notes wondering if we had fallen off the face of the earth. We have not. We just have not made the time to complete this fine publication. In the last few months Gene drove over 17,000 miles (that is not a typo). Brad and his beautiful wife have moved themselves (and their dog Alex) to Littleton, CO.

Many thanks! Gene would like to thank Julliana Casale, Amanda Chinkos, Nicole Crooms, Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR, Andrea Graugnard, Emily Krebbs, Michelle Long, Tony Monterastelli, Ryan Panaro, Mia Park, Will Ward, Kristin Witte, and Jackie Wheeler for the CDBrad & Joia would like to thank Edwin Trahan, Ben Schuman, and Katrina Hafenbredl (all from St. Frances Cabrini parish in Littleton, CO) for their enormous help in their latest move (and hopefully the last for a long while).

Your brothers in Christ
Gene and Brad

PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate it.

While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought
Kickin
Up coming shows
Web Page Updates

While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought
by Gene David Monterastelli III

Last summer I was in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City with my mother and sister. At the end of mass I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a red hair high school age male. He asked, “Didn’t you use to be in APeX?” My mother and sister were speechless at the fact that I had just been recognized. I was wondering if I had been fired and APeX had moved on with out me. (The person who is fired is always the last to know.). As we walked out of the church, my mother and sister decided that they we now my entourage. It was really an absurd moment. In the last four years I think I have been recognized on the street four times tops, and only once without Brad (and his very distinctive hair). I am not a star. (I can see you all nodding in agreement, “Was there ever a question?”) I will never be a star. To be quite honest I never really want to be a star. But there are times when I get scared. There times I look at how I am acting. I get scared because there are times that I act like I should be treated like a star. At times is it easy to get a swelled head and forget why I am living the life I live. It is easy to get caught up in attention and praise and forget ministry.

There are times in which I really think that we need to take the word ministry out of our organization’s name. I have brought this idea up to friends on a few occasions, and most of the time have been met with hostile confrontation. “What are you talking about not doing ministry? The work you do changes people’s lives.” As flattering as that sentiment is, I wonder if it is true. What I do know is this. I am a storyteller. The reason that I tell the stories I do is because I learned something from them. I tell the stories in the hopes of being entertaining and may be get the listener to think.

One thing that I have learned as a storyteller is the fact that I have no control over what the listener is going to take from the story (if anything at all). I have so little control that I can’t even choose the content that they are going to take away, much less the meaning. I have had people walk up to me after hearing a story they had heard me tell before and ask why I had changed the detail. When I explain to them that I haven’t they don’t believe me. They remember me telling it a very different way. I have even had a high school student argue with me about my own past and how he remembered it. He was convinced that I was remembering it wrong.

The word ministry to me implies some sort of intentionalness. In ministry one is called to
respond to certain needs and use their gifts to respond to those needs. I wonder if as a
storyteller that is possible. I have no clue of the needs of the audience, and in the end they are choosing what to take away. I am not choosing what to give them like I would choose to give some one food or money.

In the end I know this, I am called to tell stories. It is something that burns in my soul, and it is something I think I am capable of doing. I hope that when I tell stories people think and question, but in the end if there is any transformation of heart of the listener it is because the Holy Spirit is at work. I have not done that. I am not changing peoples lives, the Holy Spirit is. I guess all that I can hope for is that I am able to recognize my own giftedness and use my gifts in my daily life. By doing so then, maybe, I can become a vessel of the Holy Spirit. I hope that am able to recognize the Super Natural in others. I hope that we are able to be in communion in that knowledge. If we are able to do that then we will see each other (and ourselves) as the Body of Christ. Then we will all be transformed. It won’t matter who is serving and who is being served. It won’t matter who gets the credit for it. And it won’t matter what we call it.

Kickin’ It Old School
By Brad Farmer

I recently rediscovered a wealth of really cool prayers for my own life. Guess where I found them? In my own personal notes? From the lives of the saints? In a modern book of prayers? No. There are tons of great, life-giving prayers in all of those, but these prayers are over 2500 years old! I found them right there in the Bible. I’m talking about the Psalms. I used to have a really hard time getting into a lot of the Psalms because they seemed to be about war and things in the writer’s own life that really had nothing to do with mine. I mean when was the last time I prayed about “when evildoers come at me to devour my flesh” (Ps 27: 2)? I never thought of myself as someone having a lot of enemies. But the rest of that Psalm (27) says exactly what is on my heart! “One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life” (Ps 27:4). But what about this?… “Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.” (Ps 27:12) Or what about one like Psalm 59? It’s a complaint against bloodthirsty enemies “…growling like dogs, prowling the city” (Ps 59:7,15). (I encourage you to look this one up and read it right now.) Actually, I believe I do have enemies such as these. Psalm 59 describes to me the dark forces, the fallen angels that are every bit as real as the holy forces. “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Eph 6:12) In this light, even the Psalms about war are every bit as applicable to my own reality as the rest. It’s even a battle with that own part of myself that leads me into temptation. I LOVE the Psalms now! They’re such awesome prayers! They are about praise of a God so awesome we can’t describe Him, they are in thanksgiving, they are cries for help. I can’t help but be in renewed awe for God and recognize my own absolute dependence on Him, and with that my trust in Him, after reading a few of the Psalms. I encourage you in your own lives to pray these powerful prayers. Let them speak to you wherever you are in your own life and let your own heart join in their praise, thanksgiving , and even their lament.

To close, I ask you to, right now… right this very moment, look up Psalm 8 and pray it. It’s one of my personal favorites! Isn’t God cool!

Up coming shows

Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates

May 25th St. John's Bohemia, NY
June 8th - 9th Diocese of Little Rock Youth Rally Little Rock, AR
July 13th -14th Diocese of Galveston-Houston High School Youth Rally Houston, TX
July 15th - 20th Encounter the Gospel of Life Work Camp Washington, DC

For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit:
http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html
For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739

Web Page updates

The last print issue of APeX Attacks is on line at:

http://APeXMinistries.com/APeXAttacks.html

The up coming show list is now up to date for 2001:

http://APeXMinistries.com/FutureShows.html

A number of changes have been made on the links page. Check them out at:

http://APeXMinistries.com/links.html

Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list:

http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html

© 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc.

--"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."

St. Francis of Assisi

http://APeXMinistries.com

	APeXMinistries.com	Number 12 May 25th, 2001
FAQ Schedule APeX Throwing Up! APeX Attacks Digital APeX Attacks Audio APeX Attacks Photo Gallery Guestbook Merchandise Links Promo Kit References Friend's of APeX Gene Brad Contact Us APeX Points Site Tour Home	Greetings from the world headquarters of APeX Ministries. We hope that you and your family are living as true Alleluia! people and are celebrating the joy and richness of this Easter season! We are not dead! As Mark Twain once said, "The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated." We have received a few notes wondering if we had fallen off the face of the earth. We have not. We just have not made the time to complete this fine publication. In the last few months Gene drove over 17,000 miles (that is not a typo). Brad and his beautiful wife have moved themselves (and their dog Alex) to Littleton, CO. Many thanks! Gene would like to thank Julliana Casale, Amanda Chinkos, Nicole Crooms, Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR, Andrea Graugnard, Emily Krebbs, Michelle Long, Tony Monterastelli, Ryan Panaro, Mia Park, Will Ward, Kristin Witte, and Jackie Wheeler for the CDBrad & Joia would like to thank Edwin Trahan, Ben Schuman, and Katrina Hafenbredl (all from St. Frances Cabrini parish in Littleton, CO) for their enormous help in their latest move (and hopefully the last for a long while). Your brothers in Christ Gene and Brad PS: Don't forget to forward this on to your friends who would appreciate it.
	While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought Kickin Up coming shows Web Page Updates
	While brooding at a coffee shop I had just a thought by Gene David Monterastelli III Last summer I was in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City with my mother and sister. At the end of mass I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a red hair high school age male. He asked, “Didn’t you use to be in APeX?” My mother and sister were speechless at the fact that I had just been recognized. I was wondering if I had been fired and APeX had moved on with out me. (The person who is fired is always the last to know.). As we walked out of the church, my mother and sister decided that they we now my entourage. It was really an absurd moment. In the last four years I think I have been recognized on the street four times tops, and only once without Brad (and his very distinctive hair). I am not a star. (I can see you all nodding in agreement, “Was there ever a question?”) I will never be a star. To be quite honest I never really want to be a star. But there are times when I get scared. There times I look at how I am acting. I get scared because there are times that I act like I should be treated like a star. At times is it easy to get a swelled head and forget why I am living the life I live. It is easy to get caught up in attention and praise and forget ministry. There are times in which I really think that we need to take the word ministry out of our organization’s name. I have brought this idea up to friends on a few occasions, and most of the time have been met with hostile confrontation. “What are you talking about not doing ministry? The work you do changes people’s lives.” As flattering as that sentiment is, I wonder if it is true. What I do know is this. I am a storyteller. The reason that I tell the stories I do is because I learned something from them. I tell the stories in the hopes of being entertaining and may be get the listener to think. One thing that I have learned as a storyteller is the fact that I have no control over what the listener is going to take from the story (if anything at all). I have so little control that I can’t even choose the content that they are going to take away, much less the meaning. I have had people walk up to me after hearing a story they had heard me tell before and ask why I had changed the detail. When I explain to them that I haven’t they don’t believe me. They remember me telling it a very different way. I have even had a high school student argue with me about my own past and how he remembered it. He was convinced that I was remembering it wrong. The word ministry to me implies some sort of intentionalness. In ministry one is called to respond to certain needs and use their gifts to respond to those needs. I wonder if as a storyteller that is possible. I have no clue of the needs of the audience, and in the end they are choosing what to take away. I am not choosing what to give them like I would choose to give some one food or money. In the end I know this, I am called to tell stories. It is something that burns in my soul, and it is something I think I am capable of doing. I hope that when I tell stories people think and question, but in the end if there is any transformation of heart of the listener it is because the Holy Spirit is at work. I have not done that. I am not changing peoples lives, the Holy Spirit is. I guess all that I can hope for is that I am able to recognize my own giftedness and use my gifts in my daily life. By doing so then, maybe, I can become a vessel of the Holy Spirit. I hope that am able to recognize the Super Natural in others. I hope that we are able to be in communion in that knowledge. If we are able to do that then we will see each other (and ourselves) as the Body of Christ. Then we will all be transformed. It won’t matter who is serving and who is being served. It won’t matter who gets the credit for it. And it won’t matter what we call it.
	Kickin’ It Old School By Brad Farmer I recently rediscovered a wealth of really cool prayers for my own life. Guess where I found them? In my own personal notes? From the lives of the saints? In a modern book of prayers? No. There are tons of great, life-giving prayers in all of those, but these prayers are over 2500 years old! I found them right there in the Bible. I’m talking about the Psalms. I used to have a really hard time getting into a lot of the Psalms because they seemed to be about war and things in the writer’s own life that really had nothing to do with mine. I mean when was the last time I prayed about “when evildoers come at me to devour my flesh” (Ps 27: 2)? I never thought of myself as someone having a lot of enemies. But the rest of that Psalm (27) says exactly what is on my heart! “One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life” (Ps 27:4). But what about this?… “Do not abandon me to the will of my foes; malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.” (Ps 27:12) Or what about one like Psalm 59? It’s a complaint against bloodthirsty enemies “…growling like dogs, prowling the city” (Ps 59:7,15). (I encourage you to look this one up and read it right now.) Actually, I believe I do have enemies such as these. Psalm 59 describes to me the dark forces, the fallen angels that are every bit as real as the holy forces. “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Eph 6:12) In this light, even the Psalms about war are every bit as applicable to my own reality as the rest. It’s even a battle with that own part of myself that leads me into temptation. I LOVE the Psalms now! They’re such awesome prayers! They are about praise of a God so awesome we can’t describe Him, they are in thanksgiving, they are cries for help. I can’t help but be in renewed awe for God and recognize my own absolute dependence on Him, and with that my trust in Him, after reading a few of the Psalms. I encourage you in your own lives to pray these powerful prayers. Let them speak to you wherever you are in your own life and let your own heart join in their praise, thanksgiving , and even their lament. To close, I ask you to, right now… right this very moment, look up Psalm 8 and pray it. It’s one of my personal favorites! Isn’t God cool!
	Up coming shows Please pray for us and for those we are blessed to serve on these dates May 25th St. John's Bohemia, NY June 8th - 9th Diocese of Little Rock Youth Rally Little Rock, AR July 13th -14th Diocese of Galveston-Houston High School Youth Rally Houston, TX July 15th - 20th Encounter the Gospel of Life Work Camp Washington, DC For a complete list of APeX's Schedule please visit: http://apexministries.com/FutureShows.html For booking information you can contact APeX at 888/522-2739
	Web Page updates The last print issue of APeX Attacks is on line at: http://APeXMinistries.com/APeXAttacks.html The up coming show list is now up to date for 2001: http://APeXMinistries.com/FutureShows.html A number of changes have been made on the links page. Check them out at: http://APeXMinistries.com/links.html
	Important note: If you received this e-mail as a forward from someone else and would like to receive Digital APeX Attacks every time it is published, or if for some reason you have received this e-mail in error from APeX please follow this link to add or remove (though we couldn't imagine why you'd want to remove) yourself from the mailing list: http://apexministries.com/MailingList.html © 2000 APeX Youth Ministries, Inc. --"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." St. Francis of Assisi http://APeXMinistries.com