Bringing a New Kind of Worship to 33rd Street

Scott Pausal, also known as Rubox Cube, is a worship team member of Summit’s 33rd Street campus. Because the jail does not allow drum kits, Scott provides the percussion vocally—by beat boxing. Scott grew up in a church-going family in Orlando, but for much of his life he felt as though he was just going through the motions of organized religion. “I never really understood God’s love as far as having a personal relationship with our Creator,” he says. “It was a lot of images and pictures without fully understanding who God really is.”

He first attended Summit Church a few years ago at Easter. At the time, he was in an a cappella group called Yella with two Summit attendees: Mike Bustillos and Shannon McGhee. “I went to the service and saw a bunch of other friends I didn’t know went to Summit,” Scott says. “I loved the vibe of the community, loved the way the gospel was being delivered, and just felt a peace about staying.”

After spending some time at Summit, Scott felt a strong desire to get involved with ministry through the church and soon his beat boxing came to the attention of Kyle Cox, worship leader for Summit’s 33rd Street campus. “I asked God to somehow use this beat boxing gift I had for His kingdom,” Scott says. “When this opportunity came, it was interesting to see how I can be used in both church and in jail.”

The beat boxing connects with the urban/hip-hop style of the worship music at 33rd Street. “It helps give energy and a unique worship experience for the men there,” he explains. “Some of them approach me and tell me they would be in their cells, not interested in coming down to church service,” Scott says. “But then they said when they heard the beat boxing from inside their cells, they were curious enough to come out and listen… It’s moments like these that I know I’m being used effectively in the body of Christ.”

Scott has a degree in health information management from UCF, where he now works in the Student Health Center. In addition to his day job and volunteer work, he is active in a variety of local performance groups, including an a cappella group called Party of 6 and an acoustic trio, Radio Free, which perform at corporate events.

The list doesn’t stop there: He’s part of a scratch DJ group doing community hip-hop events; he hosts and organizes an open mic event for beat boxers called Vokushin’ (short for vocal percussion); he’s in a Christian hip-hop acoustic group called T-Study-in-a-Box that performs for youth groups; he’s part of the band Revolutionary Cry, which leads worship for the singles ministry at First Baptist Orlando; and he also does solo beat box gospel pieces at churches and youth groups.

As for his unique stage name, Rubox Cube? “I was given the name from a good friend of mine who noticed that I always play with Rubik’s Cubes and like to beat box,” Scott explains. “He suggested that I try solving a Rubik’s Cube while beat boxing.” When Scott began doing just that at his shows, the nickname Rubox Cube was born.

Of all the many audiences for whom Scott performs, the inmates at 33rd hold a special place in his heart. “Services at 33rd Street are basically the same as other Summit services,” Scott says, “but the fellas at 33rd are so passionate when they worship. It really gets the whole team excited to be there.”

Guest blogger James Brendlinger is a longtime Summit Church partner and attendee. He volunteers with the Communications department as a writer for both the SUMMIT MAGAZINE and the blog.