"My skateboard is my slingshot."

[Shockeye]

Making Christianity trendy

BY RACHEL LEIFER
STAFF WRITER

August 11, 2005

With their shaggy haircuts and piercings, the three teenage boys lounging atop their low-riding BMX bikes outside Glory Zone Ministry in Sayville looked more like extras from a punk rock video than churchgoers.

Enticed by a recent show featuring a visiting team of professional skateboarders, the boys were willing to stay for the Christian message afterward.

"This is awesome," said Zach Pisoni, 13, of Medford.

Packaging an evangelical message with trendy pastimes appeals to kids, and Glory Zone knows it. The skateboarding preachers from actor Stephen Baldwin's Livin' It Ministry have sold more than 100,000 DVDs and countless armbands and T-shirts, mostly to young people attracted to a brand of Christianity that approves of "countercultural" fads frowned upon by traditional churches.

"This is a new kind of Jesus movement," said Mark Gagnon, 17, of Medford, fiddling with the studs in his lower lip. "I've never been to a church where I can bring my bike."

The boys set their bikes down in front of a white tent in the parking lot on church grounds, where more than 1,000 people listened to Baldwin, a native of Massapequa, preaching from an onstage halfpipe in shorts and a Livin' It T-shirt, with a large gold cross around his neck.

"Check it out," said Baldwin, who has appeared in films such as "The Usual Suspects," "One Tough Cop" and "Bio-Dome."

"You can be a hard-core skater kid and still be a person of faith."

After describing how embracing born-again Christianity in 2002 helped him kick materialism, cigarettes and foul language, Baldwin, 39, passed the microphone to Sean Plimmer, road manager of the King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, a posse of skaters contracted to tour with Livin' It. Many are sponsored by Reliance Skateboards, a Christian company based in Nampa, Idaho.

"Thanks, Stevie B.," Plimmer said, waving to the crowd as a hip-hop beat filled the tent. "We're here to give glory to the Lord with our skills!"

Scores of children and teenagers gathered at the foot of the stage. Mouths hung agape as the athletes zoomed around the ramps while Plimmer, 26, provided play-by-play, identifying tricks like the tail-grab and the kick-flip.

When one of skater Josh Kasper's maneuvers failed, Plimmer consoled him. "We love you for who you are, not because you can do awesome tricks every time," he said.

Elijah Moore, 25, has been a skateboarder for 11 years and spent two touring with Livin' It. "Skateboarding and BMX is great entertainment that gets kids in to hear our message," said the native of Garland, Texas. "That's how we lure them in. God gave us the talent so we could preach the gospel."

Mitch Gusman, 16, of Dix Hills, said he was proud his church is including people so often miscast as rebels. "No matter who you are, God will use you," he said, recounting the tale of David, the underdog who felled a giant with a pebble.

"My skateboard is my slingshot."

You tell 'em Stevie B.!

[stray]

"This is a new kind of Jesus movement," said Mark Gagnon, 17, of Medford, fiddling with the studs in his lower lip. "I've never been to a church where I can bring my bike."

Hahaha. I love it.

[Sky]

I hear they are going to tilt the crucifix over so it's an X. EXTREME CRUCIFICATION, BITCHES.

[stray]

St. Andrew already called that one.

[Yegolev]

Steven Baldwin, awesome.  The name Glory Zone reminds me of the Glory Hole Theme Park in San Andreas.

[Sky]

I  GTASA.

I've put in maybe 35 hours so far, and STILL hear new commercials. A couple nights ago I got the one about the suntan lotion, just some funny stuff littered through the entire game.

[HaemishM]

Wow, way to market to a demographic that doesn't exist in the hopes of conversion. Dew on the Mountain or somesuch.

[Paelos]

I just sort of hate the impression that people have that traditional churches think "skater punk" means "lawless heathen". Not all churches look at how you dress as a way to the Lord.

While the church is probably a good thing if it's working to reach youth, it kind of disturbs me that there is even a need for an X-Church.

[CmdrSlack]

I just sort of hate the impression that people have that traditional churches think "skater punk" means "lawless heathen". Not all churches look at how you dress as a way to the Lord.

While the church is probably a good thing if it's working to reach youth, it kind of disturbs me that there is even a need for an X-Church.

Sadly, how you dress does seem to matter to a large number of churches.  I know that when I was attending Mass more often, people would look at me funny if I showed up in a tshirt and shorts.  Granted, it was in a huge yuppie suburb in one of the more yuppified parishes, but still....I always figured it wouldn't matter if you went to church naked, God shouldn't really give a rat's ass as long as you're there to worship and whatnot.

[HaemishM]

I just sort of hate the impression that people have that traditional churches think "skater punk" means "lawless heathen". Not all churches look at how you dress as a way to the Lord.

Unfortunately, 95% of the churches I've been in are exactly this way.

[stray]

I consider myself someone who takes his beliefs fairly seriously, but man, I have some funny stories. I may be Christian, but I've never been too comfortable with churches. I wish it weren't so though.

I didn't have a Christian upbringing or anything, so I never stepped into a church until I came upon on religion my own (I was once "relocated" to private school run by nuns, but that's another story). When I did, I immediately felt out of place. These were the same people that I couldn't stand for years, and here I was, with similar beliefs this time -- and they still gave me every excuse to walk away.

I remember going to my first Sunday service with a neighbor that I knew, and the minute I stepped in I got singled out. After the service, the "youth" preacher walked me outside and "admonished" me (his words) saying that I wasn't taking Christ seriously and was only there to disrupt people. So he advised me not to come back unless I "changed my hair" (it was blue -- but nothing too outlandish). I didn't know whether to laugh or cry (Funny thing though: My neighbor told me that the next week, he saw a few of the girls the next Sunday with blue hair as well. Rofl. I guess I did disrupt people? Definitely not my intention though...).

That's just one of the silly situations, but there's others that'd test the patience of anyone. I've tried to find the "right place", but for most part, it isn't to be found. You guys probably have your fair share of lame crap too, so I'm not going to go into it. I will say though: If you have some animosity because of churches and whatnot -- I understand completely. As a Christian I understand, and as a person who used to "not" be one, I understand from that point of view too. There are some good things I've seen, of course, but for most part, I make no excuses.

[Paelos]

I understand that. I wanted to serve as a Bible study leader for my church in college. They said that to be a leader I had to sign a waiver that said I wouldn't drink in public. Not get drunk mind you, have a drink. I said, I'm 21, it's legal for me to have a drink. They said it would affect my witness to others. I said, I'm the VP of a fraternity, this is impossible for me not to be around alcohol publically, besides I'M OF AGE. They said, sorry, but that's our rule.

It would the first time, and hopefully the last time I've ever told a church leader to shove something up his ass.

And I ended up running a Bible study for 10 good men in my fraternity house. Men this church would never reach that needed help.

[TheWalrus]

  Funny that. Our company chaplain used to go out every once in awhile and get hammered with us, then we'd all have drunken bible discussions.  His reasoning was that, hey, he's human too. Shrug. Worked for us. I think the idea that priests, pastors and popes are above the rest of us is a ridiculous idea to begin with.

[ClydeJr]

I know that when I was attending Mass more often, people would look at me funny if I showed up in a tshirt and shorts.

I think this depends a lot on the church and its area. When I've gone back to the church where I grew up with my parents, I see more and more people wearing T-shirts and shorts. When I was young, nobody would ever wear that. But I think as the years go on, the fewer and fewer kids seems to be going to church. I think they're just hoping the kids will show up now. Unfortunately they've always had a crappy youth program. They moved the age when you'd get Confirmed back to 11th grade so they would keep the kids going to CCE. Once they got confirmed, most of them stopped going to CCE.