Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)
Sean BE demonstrates such a strong desire to fulfill Matthew 5:16 —to let God’s light shine before others … to give glory to his Father—that he adopted the designation BE in his name. BE reminds Sean and those around him to be God’s light in a dark world. Among myriad ways to do that, Sean lets his light shine through family, music, and mission to the world.
Sean Be Music and Ministry
Sean BE, chart-topping singer-songwriter and WieRok Entertainment recording artist was among the star-studded lineup for recent Winter Jam 2023, a 40-city nationwide outing—one of Christian music’s biggest annual tours. To have been included in this year’s Winter Jam is quite an honor.
Sean’s view of Winter Jam is “Community. The tour brings together youth groups, youth leaders, families, and churches. It offers music for all ages, and everyone can have fun worshiping together. Most importantly, the Gospel presentation is at the center of everything Winter Jam does. I’ve known of the tour my whole life, and I’ve seen artists I’ve looked up to over the years on the Winter Jam stage, so I’m humbled God allowed me to be a part of it.
“A highlight of the tour for me was speaking with and praying over youth leaders from each city before the show. That was particularly special because I share their hearts for student ministry. And after the show when people stopped at my table and shared their stories, they brought so much excitement that allowed me to see how God is working in their lives.
“The tour stopped in Nashville on my daughter’s third birthday. I cut a song from the end of my set and called Angelina up on the stage, and the whole arena sang Happy Birthday to her! It was a special memory!”
Without consistent and dedicated communication, the family could lose touch during tour times. Sean is grateful for FaceTime and other modern methods to participate from afar. “My wife Marina has a great circle of friends, and we have a supportive family. My grandma has been strong in helping build Marina’s faith, and she also helped me learn to put God first. For a long time, my grandpa was a traveling evangelist, so my grandma understands absence. She’s mentoring Marina through this season to see that we come through it even stronger.
“Marina was ‘all in’ during my time on Winter Jam—the short-term sacrifice in the long-term mission.She isn’t looking at the next three months; she’s looking at the next three years when maybe we’ll have our own bus with the family traveling together. Marina is growing herself, and that inspires me to grow myself as well. Even though we’re apart logistically, our hearts are together, elevating each other.
Decision and Transition
“I loved being in children’s and youth ministry. Many of the youth in that church are now in ministry themselves, and one of them joined me on Winter Jam as my tour manager. Music has always been a goal for me. I took a lot of shots at music, but in Colorado, it never worked out. I had some let downs and got discouraged. It was my wise grandma who counseled,‘If you feel that strongly that you’re supposed to do music, then you probably are supposed to do it. You need to pray with a sincere heart that He will guide your path in music, but that if it doesn’t happen, you will serve Him faithfully wherever He has you.’
“That’s a hard prayer because I don’t want there to be an‘ if it doesn’t happen.’ However, I did pray that prayer and devoted myself fully to working in the church. As I started to see the lives that were being impacted and the growth of the church, I realized, ‘Wow, God really is using me here for this season.’
“My transition to full-time music came quickly. When we had our daughter, I was getting ready to pull back from music and maybe do a few local shows a year. However, I felt God telling me,‘Go do this.’ I had never thought about going to Tennessee, not even visiting Tennessee, but I felt led to go. Before visiting Nashville, I prayed and fasted and developed along the observational list. God hit every item on that list and even more. I called Marina to tell her, ‘I think we can do this. I think it can really happen, but before it can, we’ll probably have to move here. The next words out of her mouth were, ‘Okay, I’ll go start packing.’ We were in our Nashville apartment a little more than a month later.
“One of the hardest parts about moving to Tennessee from Colorado was not having our family 15 minutes away. It was a tough transition because we moved here with no job—trying to figure life out.
“More Than a Conqueror” and The Good Fight
In addition to his recent Winter Jam feature, Sean BE’s newly penned song “More Than a Conqueror” will be showcased in the upcoming 2023 box office film The Good Fight. Starring actor and recording artist John Schneider with an appearance by hip-hop hitmaker Steven Malcolm, Sean BE makes a cameo in the Holleyland Productions movie. He explains,“‘More Than a Conqueror’ was inspired by Romans 8 and serves as a reminder that when we’re fighting the good fight with God surrounding us, there is no battle too great to overcome. My hope is that when people hear this song and watch the movie, they’ll be encouraged by the reality that God ultimately conquers our battles.”
It’s amazing how this song ended up in the film. “‘More Than a Conqueror’ came to me while I was driving. Just over a week after I recorded it, my manager called to ask if I’d be interested in his pitching it for a movie. ‘Yeah, of course.’
“We went to West Virginia to The Good Fight shoot, met the director, and about 15 seconds into the track, he said he loved the vibe. Then, he paused, and I thought, ‘Oh, no, he doesn’t like it.’ He said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but the tagline for the movie is to be more than a conqueror, battles must be fought. I love this song; we want to use it!’
Invitation to “Step into My Story”
Sean BE’s 2022 song “Step into My Story” chronicles the artist’s journey of surrender, offering encouragement for all who struggle. This former children’s pastor and youth leader, whose high-energy live performances now captivate audiences around the country, inspires a new generation to find its identity in Christ.
“I want my music to create an environment of joy, inspiration, and encouragement, and I want my life to be proof that God gives direction to a wandering heart, humility to a prideful spirit, and forgiveness to a broken past. He uses every situation—good or bad, past or present—to lead us where He’s called us. He makes our story bigger than we are because He makes our story impact people around us. God has a purpose for our future, but He redeems our past.
Sean explains, “‘Step into My Story’is a prayer against pride that can lead us to believe we can make it on our own; pride will make us keep trying until we’ve made a huge mess and end up in places we never wanted to be. This song is my prayer asking God to prevail over pride. I hope people who have been there—like I have—will pray this with me.
“God works in our stories to give purpose to everything we’ve been through, showing us we didn’t come this far just to come this far.”
Sheila E. Moss: author of Living to Matter: Mothers, Singles, and the Weary and Broken; Interrupting Women: Ten Conversations with Jesus; and international publications derived from teaching Bible and Christian ethics in Africa, Ukraine, Venezuela, and England; teacher of Bible classes for 35+ years; mother of five adult children and grandmother of eleven
