A party WITH A purpose

Marketplace, Jun 10, 2008 by Prestegard, Steve

The largest religious music festival in Wisconsin takes place in Oshkosh each July. But calling Lifest a "religious music festival" understates what Lifest offers. Speakers include John Ortberg, a Baptist minister and author on "spiritual formation." One of the creators of Veggie Tales will be present, along with a speaker who calls himself a "pastorpreneur." A family-friendly comedy stage is one of the six stages on which acts will be featured, and an "American Idol"-like talent search will be held. Fireworks are scheduled for the Friday night of the festival. Children's activities and vendors can also be found at the Sunnyview Expo Center for the 10th annual Lifest July 9-13.

Lifest is the brainchild of Bob Lenz, who began Life Promotions "to convince youth that they are valuable and can choose to live life to their fullest."

Lenz cites two statistics: 1,800 children attempt suicide every day, and 18 of them succeed. He notes that 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but 30,000 suicides occur each year in the U.S. - what he calls "terrorists inside our own skin."

Lenz's inspiration to begin Life Promotions was not the result of a life-changing religious experience. It was the daily examples of a sister, who is mentally handicapped, and a brother, who has cerebral palsy.

"Growing up I had to ask, do they have value? When you have hard times how do you handle it?" he says. "I found a purpose in life and living even in hard times. We've got to treat each other with love and respect - that's my message."

Life Promotions speakers, including Lenz, speak to schools and churches. Lenz speaks to 250,000 teens and parents each year, and in late May visited his 50th state.

"We want to be an experience," says Lenz, who didn't set out to be a motivational speaker or evangelist because of their popular culture portrayals. "They come in with arms folded saying `Go ahead, make my day.' We tell our team if we get them to laugh, they'll listen, and if they listen, they'll learn."

Life Promotions' approach differs from motivational speakers because of its follow-up program, where an afternoon speech to students will be followed by an evening program for their parents. Those who say they want to change are given a seven-week study program book.

"We did leadership goals a couple of years ago, and one of my goals is that I want to be hated as much as Barney the purple dinosaur, because that means we're having an impact," says Lenz. "As Abraham Lincoln said, you can chop a lot of wood if you don't care where the chips fall. The stress of this business isn't worth a 'good job' comment after a speech if we're not changing lives.

"We want to be more than just talk, so we won't come unless the school is signed up and counselors are in place so they're hearing what their parents want them to hear. We don't want to be a hit-and-run speaker; we want to have part of the community here; we want to be an extension of the churches here."

Lenz's inspiration for Lifest, which he calls "a party with a purpose," came at an REO Speedwagon concert at the Brown County Arena in Ashwaubenon in the 1980s.

"I picked up my foot and I floated - that's how many people were there," he says. The concert also featured drinking and "a message that I didn't think was beneficial."

Later, he attended

"Honestly, the amount of success has surprised us," says Lenz. "I'm really humbled by it."

Music offerings for the 2008 Lifest include Switchfoot, which has received airplay on commercial radio; Casting Crowns, which has won eight Dove Awards, the Christian music industry's Grammy; and Steven Curtis Chapman, singer of the number one downloaded song, "Cinderella," who has received airplay on country radio.

Lifest may be the only Christian music festival to get complaints of excessive noise: "The music was too loud and they didn't expect that from a church group," says Lenz.

To Lenz, the most unique part of Lifest is "the diversity of our festival - you go to some festivals, and they're really focusing on just youth or one style. There is something there for everybody, from karaoke to a basketball tournament to a climbing wall to carnival rides. One of my friends says it's one of the only places where we'll have things for your two-year-old. It's totally Wisconsin, so you've got your deep-fried cheese curds."

At the same time, he adds, "It's the biggest Christian conference in the area because we have youth pastor seminars every day, a marriage seminar going on at the event, people coming in on eating disorders - I can have the time of my life and deal with the biggest problems of my life at the same time. We want something for everybody."

Activities also include volunteer efforts. Six Lifests have featured the construction of Habitat for Humanity houses. Anti-AIDS and anti-hunger programs also can be found at the festival.

One of the challenges of Christian music festivals is that the word "Christian" encompasses many denominations and beliefs, ranging along the religious and political spectrum.