Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Nwamiko Madden
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000037
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a young man
00:02 that is multi-talented and has dedicated all of his gifts 00:06 to Jesus Christ... 00:07 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching 00:09 Urban Report... 00:31 Hello and welcome to Urban Report... 00:33 My guest, in the Studio today, is Nwamiko Madden 00:39 he's a Filmmaker, Actor, Singer, 00:41 et cetera, et cetera, et cetera... 00:43 Welcome to Urban Report Nwamiko... 00:45 Thank you... Thank you, Yvonne... 00:47 We just praise the Lord to have you here... 00:49 It's a blessing to be here... 00:51 You know it wasn't an easy feat for you to come... 00:55 No... Tell us what obstacles 00:56 you met... just trying to get here today? 00:59 Yeah... it's still not quite an easy feat 01:02 because I'm just trying to run on Holy Spirit 01:04 and adrenalin right now... 01:05 yeah... last night the flight that I was supposed 01:09 to catch was like... missed... and then... 01:12 I missed my connection and then they lost my bag 01:14 then I had to run 01:15 one end of the airport 01:17 to the other... which is the biggest... 01:18 and one of the biggest airports in Chicago, 01:20 and it was just crazy... 01:22 so, and then my... my Rent-a-Car they gave me the wrong 01:27 Rent-a-Car... so I had to leave it 01:28 and come back... and it was like... 01:29 just... interesting... so, I was like... 01:31 there must be a reason for me to come here... 01:33 Exactly... that's what I think, I think... 01:34 the enemy was trying to block it 01:36 because you must have something to share with us 01:39 that God wants you to share, and the enemy wants 01:43 to block that... That's my prayer... 01:45 that's my sincere prayer, 01:46 that it's what God wants to share... so... 01:48 Yes... we're glad that you made it 01:50 and we're glad that you're here, 01:52 and I really want our viewers 01:53 to know... about your background... 01:56 tell us about... what... what you do... 01:58 Okay... well I can go back to... 02:01 just about... 02:03 when I was a twinkle in my mom's eye... 02:04 because it's part of who I am... 02:08 my mother... when she was pregnant with me... 02:11 she didn't tell me this until... like about... 02:13 couple of years ago... Okay... 02:15 but when she was pregnant with me... 02:16 she dedicated me to God in her womb... 02:18 Hmmm... and she was very, very convicted 02:20 she's like... I'm having a son, she's just like... 02:23 for some reason... she was very convicted 02:24 about this... and then she started praying... 02:26 and then she dedicated me to God... 02:27 in the womb... right... like... kind of like Samuel 02:31 sort of... you know... Yeah... yeah... 02:32 but the strange thing was... was that... 02:34 Ellen White... she talks about how children... 02:37 a lot of times... show the disposition 02:40 of the parents during the pregnancy... 02:41 the emotions of the mother, 02:43 so, from a very young age, 02:44 I was always convicted about God, 02:46 I had to be serious about God... 02:48 you know... and I was just like 02:49 "Yeah, if I mess up with God... 02:51 things are going to be really bad... " 02:53 you know... Ah... 02:54 so that was always kind of... 02:55 that's kind of where the spring board 02:56 of my spiritual walk came from. 02:58 So, you feel that... from the beginning... 03:01 you just kind of had a unique perception of God 03:05 a unique relationship with God... 03:07 Yeah... it's interesting just... I should say... 03:10 a sense of His presence... Hmmm... 03:12 but you know... there's a text in Corinthians... 03:15 and it says that... "For I think God has set us 03:18 apostles last... for we are made a theater unto the world 03:22 unto angels and unto men... " 03:24 Right? Yeah... 03:25 and it's really interesting because the idea that 03:28 the whole universe is watching us, 03:30 watching this world... Yes... 03:32 is kind of what was... in a small way... 03:34 impressed upon me... almost like your life is a movie 03:37 Yes... and... in a way... it is... 03:38 most people don't think of it like that... 03:41 as you... you as an individual, you're raised... 03:43 and everybody is watching you, your guardian angel... 03:45 God... the angels... unfallen worlds... 03:46 they're watching you... and so, I always had that sense 03:49 from a young age... like... 03:50 "I'm being watched by God, so, you got to be careful. " 03:52 you know... Yes... yes... yes... 03:54 so, as a young boy... you just felt this 03:57 close relationship with the Lord, 04:00 when did you find out that you could sing... 04:03 because our viewers are going to have an opportunity 04:07 to hear you sing on "Magnify Him" 04:10 in an upcoming season... so, tell us... 04:12 when did you know that you could sing? 04:14 Well, I didn't know I could sing... 04:16 I just like to make a "Joyful noise" 04:18 as I would call it at first... but what happened was... 04:21 at a young age... we would, sometimes, 04:26 get really bored... Friday nights... and we'd have 04:28 like... "Seventh-day Adventist Idol" 04:31 and my mom would be the judge... 04:34 not my mom... my grandmother... rather... 04:36 she would be the judge 04:37 she was a captive audience... she couldn't go anywhere 04:39 on Friday nights... and so she was there... 04:40 and we... us cousins would get together 04:41 and have singing competitions on Friday night... 04:43 to keep ourselves occupied... and I wouldn't sing too great, 04:47 I would just kind of croak... 04:49 you know what I mean... and then my different cousins 04:51 would all make fun of me... they're like... 04:52 "Ah... Nwamiko... you singing really bad... " 04:53 I'd be like... "Oh... why are you making fun of me... " 04:56 Were they making fun of you? 04:57 They were making fun of me... right... yeah... 04:58 so, that's what happened... and they would do the same thing 05:00 at Church as well... right... like we would draw drawings... 05:03 because we're sitting in the pews, you know, 05:04 not really listening to the sermon as a kid... 05:06 and then they'd be like... "Look how bad Nwamiko draws" 05:08 and I'd be like... "wah... " 05:09 and so what I did was... I withdrew... 05:11 and I kind of... 05:12 I recognized that my gift was my imagination... 05:14 so the Bible says... "as a man thinks, so is he... " 05:17 Yes... so I just said, 05:18 "If I think hard enough and practice... 05:20 I can get good at those things... " 05:22 and so, I kind of just pulled into myself 05:24 and I said, "I'm going to get good at singing... " 05:25 and then I just started to do that... 05:27 and I said, "I'm going to get good at drawing... " 05:29 and then I just started to do that... and then... 05:31 But you know what... obviously you had the instrument 05:34 because there are some people... who say, 05:36 "I'm going to get good at singing... " 05:37 and no matter what they do, 05:40 they can only go... but so far... 05:42 Yeah... but you... can sing... 05:44 so the Lord's given you the gift... 05:46 All praise to Him... you know... 05:48 it's... I really just think... He's more... just given me 05:50 a determined mind... I don't consider myself 05:52 the best singer in the world... by... like... I mean, 05:54 like I said... I still consider it a joyful noise... 05:56 you know what I mean... but it's just a matter of... 05:59 anything you can do for God in this life... 06:02 I say, "Do it... " Hmmm... 06:04 because this is the one... the talent of your time 06:06 is what you've been given now... Yes... 06:08 so just "milk it to the most. " Yes... yes... yes... 06:11 so, how did you get into... because our viewers 06:14 don't know that you got into 06:16 the Entertainment Industry... Right... 06:17 What did you do 06:19 in the Entertainment Industry and how did you get there? 06:21 Okay, well, it kind of starts again... when I was a child... 06:24 because, as I said, I was kind of convicted... 06:27 felt that conviction, and what I would do 06:29 in School... I'd be like, 06:30 "Hey, you guys are eating pork, that's really bad for you... 06:33 you could get sick... " like I was just kind of... 06:35 you know... throwing it out at them... 06:37 You celebrate Halloween? That's the devil's holiday... 06:39 you're going to... I would just... kind of like... 06:41 Like you were the police... Yeah exactly... 06:42 yes... spiritual police... exactly... 06:44 and I was like Pharisees... 06:47 it was really bad... it was really bad... 06:50 so what happened was... 06:51 I basically... just was like... 06:53 "How come my method of evangelism is not working?" 06:56 "How come nobody wants to join us?" 06:58 They were being rebuked all the time... 07:00 Exactly... exactly... right... 07:01 so I just couldn't figure it out... 07:03 and then... when other kids... 07:04 when they would ask for religion... 07:06 they're like, "Oh, I'm Hindu... " 07:07 "I'm Baptist," "I'm Buddhist," you know... 07:09 "And what are you Nwamiko?" "I'm Seventh-day Adventist" 07:11 and they'd be like, "What, every day a dentist... 07:14 what... what is that...?" I'm like, 07:15 "No, Seventh-day Adventist" 07:18 "What, Thursday's on the Apprentice... what?" 07:20 I'm like "Eeek... " 07:21 and then that's when God hit... 07:22 well, I don't know if I can say it was God... 07:24 but something hit me with the idea... 07:26 I was like... if McDonald's can have Ronald... 07:28 and Scientology can have Tom Cruise 07:31 why can't Seventh-day Adventism 07:33 have a person that gets famous 07:35 and represents them to the world? 07:36 So, everybody can just say... 07:38 "Oh, that person is a Seventh-day Adventist... " 07:40 Okay... okay... you understand... 07:41 that was my logic and I was just thinking... 07:42 "Yeah, like a role model... you know... or a mascot... " 07:46 Hmmm... and so, I'm like... 07:47 "That's what I'm going to do... I'm going to be the 07:49 Seventh-day Adventist role model... " 07:51 you know... and from a young age... 07:52 but I didn't know how I was going to do it... 07:53 I looked like... I'm from Canada like a small town of... 07:56 well, it's a big city... but Montreal... 07:58 and I just had no idea how I was going to get into the 08:01 that position... 08:03 to represent that... but I thought 08:05 I wanted to be a stunt man at first... 08:07 and things just kind of progressed... 08:09 it was just the thought in the back of my mind... 08:11 but then I recognized that I could 08:12 I could like... do little scenes in Elementary School 08:16 and they would work out... people would be like 08:17 "Wow! that was the best sleep I've ever seen... " 08:20 you know what I mean, just small things like that... 08:22 and then I went to High School and then I did a Drama Class 08:25 and then... it was just like... that's where 08:26 things really flourished... people were just like... 08:29 "I want to be with your group" every class... I mean... 08:32 I would ace... and it just went really, really well... 08:35 so I was like... "Okay Lord, what does this mean, 08:37 is this what I'm supposed to do?" 08:38 and then somebody offered me to join with an Agency 08:41 an Acting Agency who... 08:43 and their sister was a model... 08:44 kind of... one of these fly-by-night things 08:46 it wasn't that good... you had to pay money to get in 08:48 Okay... Yes, yes... yes... But the interesting thing was 08:50 I didn't get any calls for the first 8 months 08:54 of being with them right... but then 08:55 about 8 months later they were like... 08:57 "We have an audition for you... guess what... 08:58 it's your first audition... " 09:00 I'm like... "Yes, yes... " and I'm like, "Okay, I'm ready" 09:02 and they're like... "Listen, it's on Friday night 09:04 at 5:30 so you're going to go there... " 09:05 and I was just like... "Okay, this is November 09:07 so the sun sets at about 4:30... " 09:09 I was like, "No, no, no, we need to reschedule" 09:11 and they're like... "No, you need to go to this audition" 09:15 and I'm like... "Lord" you know... 09:18 Your first audition... and it's on a Friday night... 09:21 and it's... right away hitting it to the test... 09:23 you know what I mean... and so I said to myself, 09:26 and people around me were like... 09:27 "You're sure you don't want to go?" 09:29 "You're sure you don't want to go... " 09:30 you know what I mean... and I'm like... 09:32 Big temptation... "Lord... " and then I just said, 09:35 "If I take the first step... it's a fall... 09:37 I'll be falling the rest of the way... " 09:38 Come on... come on now... so I said, 09:40 so I said, "No, I went into this for that reason... " 09:42 that was the thing about me... 09:44 I didn't really care about fame... 09:45 especially considering my popularity 09:46 in Elementary School... I just really wanted to get the 09:49 Church out there... to be known... and so... 09:52 I said... "I'm not going to go" 09:54 and she's like, "What, I don't understand 09:56 da... da... da... da... " she's like French 09:57 you know what I mean... and then... and then... 09:59 and that was it... and I didn't hear from her 10:01 for another couple of months, and then... 10:03 I said, "This is crazy... 10:04 there's got to be more auditions than this... " 10:06 and so I call her back... and I hear... 10:07 "This number is not in service" 10:09 I said, "What?" I drive down there... yeah... 10:12 I drive down there... and I see "For Rent" 10:15 on the Front... and I'm like... 10:16 "Oh my goodness... " and so I'm like... 10:18 "There goes my dream... " it was like... raining 10:20 so nobody could see me cry... I was like, 10:22 "There goes the acting thing" you know, 10:23 but... God had other plans... 10:25 I think... and this is really interesting 10:27 because... I still... this beginning part... 10:30 I don't know just how Providence figured 10:32 into the whole thing but... you can be the judge... 10:34 so, that same year... 10:36 at the end of the year, I do a monologue 10:39 in a High School Drama, for the close of the year... 10:42 you know... and at the end of it... 10:44 this tall high-pitch-voiced guy comes up to me and he says, 10:46 "I like what you did... and I'd like to represent you. " 10:49 I said, "What!" I was like, 10:50 "Wait... I don't work Saturdays" 10:52 and he's like, "Oh, that's okay, I'm Jewish" 10:55 I was like, "Yes... " This is like a perfect situation 10:58 Yes, yes... exactly... exactly, not what I was expecting 11:01 but, I mean, it was just like, things just worked out... 11:03 and it turns out that he runs the biggest agency... 11:07 talent agency in Canada... 11:08 and they had offices in Los Angeles... 11:10 so from the Monday after... I was doing auditions... 11:13 yeah... and it was just like, things just started picking up, 11:16 and I was like, "Lord, " Now, auditions for what? 11:19 for singing... for drama... for...? 11:22 No, for Television... Okay... 11:24 Yes... like Nickelodeon shows... like youth shows... 11:28 anything that was pretty much Network Television, 11:31 or sometimes... feature films... 11:33 because a lot of American feature films come from Canada 11:36 because of the tax break and stuff like that... 11:37 So, Yeah, yeah, yeah that's what it was... 11:41 and it was really, really interesting 11:44 because it wasn't long before I got my first role 11:47 and it was with Vanessa Williams and I don't know... 11:51 Oh, we have a picture of you with Vanessa Williams 11:54 that we need to put up... Yeah... 11:56 Tell us about meeting her, what was that like? 11:58 I mean, we didn't spend much time... talking too much 12:01 because she was into her character and stuff like that... 12:04 so it was just like... that was my first role 12:06 where I play her brother, and the Director... 12:08 it was my very, very first role, and the Director was just like, 12:11 "Hey," he's like, "Wow, you don't have to be 12:14 that good about it... " you know what I mean... 12:16 because I was really trying hard to impress them 12:18 and he's like, "It's okay... tone it down a little bit... " 12:20 I said, "Oh... okay... " Now what was this for? 12:22 It was a TV movie... called "Diva's Christmas Carol" 12:29 Okay... I shouldn't have said the name, 12:31 but... because it's BC... before Christ... 12:34 Yes... yes... yes... In a way... it was part of my 12:37 journey... so the idea is that, we did it... 12:39 and it was a Christmas movie and she plays a 12:40 "modern-day scrooge" basically 12:42 and I played her brother so that was the beginning 12:46 of just the couple of other things 12:48 that started to pick up... And what are 12:50 some of the other roles that you played? 12:52 Again, this is not to glorify you, 12:56 this is actually to lay the groundwork... 12:59 of your journey... Right... 13:01 because people need to know how you got to 13:03 where you are now... Exactly... amen... yeah... 13:06 we are just dirt with God's breath... right... 13:08 That's right... God does amazing things, but, 13:10 Yes... I think, that was the first role 13:14 and then... things just slowly started to pick up 13:18 where I got... I think I did an Anthony Hopkins film... 13:21 "The Human Stain" I did a small role in that... 13:24 and then... there were a couple other small Canadian shows 13:29 here and there... and then I got my first lead 13:33 in an international TV series, and that was an interesting 13:37 story because... it's the same deal, you know, 13:39 I went in... I had a friend there... 13:41 who is another actor, and he basically got the role, 13:44 they asked him to stay back they're like, 13:46 usually after you do an audition you leave 13:48 and then you wait to hear but he was already staying back 13:50 like... they were saying, "Just wait there... " 13:52 so it was almost like a done deal... 13:53 but then I went in... and then they're like, 13:56 "Hmmm... " they're like, 13:58 "Can you shave?" you know, so you can look young, 14:00 and I was like... I never shaved in my life, 14:02 Right... so the very first time I shaved 14:03 you know, like you think about a father and a son... 14:06 like, "this is how you do it" I did that 14:08 in a Casting House... you know what I mean... 14:11 I'm trying not to cut myself 14:12 so I can go back in there and get this role, 14:14 and then... they were like, "Okay, this is awesome" 14:16 and then... I told them about the Saturday thing 14:18 and they're like... "What? Saturdays... 14:20 are you Jewish... like, what is this... da... da... da? 14:21 and they called France... because it was a Canada-France 14:23 Co-production... and then the said, 14:25 "You know what... we'll take you 14:27 and we'll change the schedule to keep you... " 14:30 and I was like, Amen... can I get an Amen... 14:32 but I was like... at that time, 14:34 it was only me in the room, you know what I mean... 14:36 because nobody else was Adventist... you know... 14:37 Yeah, yeah... So the Lord just started to 14:39 work things out where I was just like... 14:40 I started to see that my plan for blossoming in this direction 14:45 was actually working... and then I got another role 14:48 in between the two seasons... then we had a second season, 14:50 things were starting to expand and build up... 14:52 and then there was... and I became a vegetarian in the 14:56 2nd season... I was like, "I have to get back" 14:58 I was little bit Pharisaical-minded right... 15:00 I was like... "I have to get closer to God" 15:02 because I'm making all this money and da... da... da... da 15:04 I'm being really personal and really open with the... 15:06 No, we want it... no, we want the transparency 15:09 because this again... this is your journey... 15:12 Right... because we have to get to 15:13 "Certain Sound" and how did you get there? 15:16 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, so Viewer Discretion is advised, 15:20 or Spiritual Discretion is advised... 15:21 B.C. anything that happens B.C. is just that... 15:25 Before Christ... so go ahead... 15:27 Okay... good... so... yeah... got this other role 15:29 in between the two seasons... they asked for a second season 15:32 and I was just feeling super inspired... 15:33 and at the same time, I felt slightly like the 15:37 religious... the young religious ruler... 15:40 who came to Christ... How so? 15:41 I felt like things were going so good... 15:44 that something was wrong... Ahhhhh... 15:47 I believed the truth fully... 15:49 but then I was making ridiculous amounts of money 15:53 and then... I felt kind of... you know... 15:55 distant from people in the Church 15:57 because... it's weird... and the devil was, I think, 15:58 trying to play with my mind on this 15:59 because sometimes you wake up to go to Set 16:01 and in the morning... people wake up 16:03 and give you a hug... you know what I mean? 16:05 and they're like, "Hey, what's up Nwamiko... " 16:07 I'm like... "I'm doing good... da... da... da... " 16:09 you know 5 o'clock in the morning... 16:10 and we eat breakfast... and then you go to Church, and 16:12 you hear in a gruff voice, "Happy Sabbath" 16:14 do you know what I mean? and the contrast... 16:17 just kind of... was like, "Lord, why?" you know... 16:20 You weren't seeing any joy... 16:21 Yeah... you know, and so, I just saw that 16:24 and I was like... "There's something with that... 16:27 we need to work on that... " so, what happened was... 16:29 I was just feeling super convicted 16:31 and I did this Week of Prayer, 16:32 and what had happened was I was getting ready 16:34 to move to Los Angeles... right and for this thing called 16:37 Pilot Season... where at the beginning of the year 16:39 they have a whole bunch of movies... 16:41 and there was the Vice President of Casting from Fox 16:42 and he's like, "I want you to come down Nwamiko... " 16:44 he interviewed with me in Montreal... 16:45 my agent is like... there are three people on his wall, 16:48 there was this... blond girl, there's this Latino guy 16:50 and then there's you... he wants to get you working 16:53 Wow... but in the midst of that... 16:55 God says, "You're not going to Los Angeles... " 16:58 and I didn't hear a voice, but I felt the voice... 17:01 I was like... "What do you mean?" 17:02 Yeah... yeah... it's like, this is my plan, 17:05 this is my opportunity... Exactly... exactly... I'm like 17:07 Famous Adventist... you know... like the Plan... 17:09 My plan... yeah, exactly... exactly... 17:12 "My Plan" right? Hmmm... hmmm... 17:14 so, I'm like, "Lord, how is this going to work out?" 17:15 and then He's just like... "You're not going... " 17:16 and then I tried by asking for signs... 17:18 and He's was just like... not giving them to me, 17:20 I felt like He was just kind of like... 17:21 "I already told you what to do" kind of thing, you know, 17:24 and so, I was just like, 17:27 "Okay... " I got two auditions from Los Angeles 17:28 and they're like, swearing and drinking 17:30 and stuff like that that I didn't feel 17:31 too comfortable with... because I always said, 17:33 I want to be able to do things my children can watch... 17:34 Yes... Right, and then, those things 17:37 weren't that... and so I said, "I'm not going to go... " 17:38 Would you believe it... that 10 days later... 17:41 after I decided not to go... I get a phone call... 17:43 and it's my buddy, 17:45 from two years ago, 17:46 that I hadn't spoken to in a long time, 17:47 he said, "Nwamiko, we need to talk... " 17:49 and I'm like, "Sure, talk... " and he's like... 17:50 "No, no, no... I need to come in your basement, 17:52 and we need to talk, one-on-one... " 17:53 Okay... 17:56 imagine a person you haven't spoken to 17:58 in a long time... just calling you up... 17:59 out of the blue like that... or... out of the blue... 18:01 Yeah... comes into my basement, 18:02 he's like, "Listen, Nwamiko, you can't tell this to anybody" 18:06 I'm like, "Okay" he's like, 18:08 "Listen, I quit my construction job... I went up North... 18:11 and I started working on a plantation, 18:15 a marijuana plantation... for three months, 18:17 I was going to make $50,000 growing marijuana for this guy, 18:21 and everything was going excellent... 18:24 we were going to make all this money... 18:26 the plants were taller than you, we were about a week 18:29 from the harvest, right? then I get up one morning... 18:32 and I'm waking up and I'm just... kind of... 18:35 scratching my eyes and looking outside to go check the plants 18:38 and then, all of a sudden, it seems like the entire sky 18:42 had only one cloud... and that one cloud... 18:45 was perfectly formulated like an angel... 18:49 and it had a sword in it's hand, and the head was slowly turning" 18:53 and he says, "as the sun rose, you could see 18:55 more of the detail... the abdominals, the cheek bones, 18:57 the everything... on this angel... 18:58 and it was almost a sign of judgment... " 19:00 and he's like, "What in the world is this?" 19:02 Hmmm... so he runs back in 19:03 to get the two other guys and he runs out... 19:05 and he's like... "Look at this" like a painting... 19:07 you know what I mean, Right... right... 19:09 and they're like, "What's wrong with you... 19:11 what got into you... " Were you smoking? 19:12 Exactly... "you've been touching the boss' stuff!" 19:15 he's like, "No, I was not... " and so, they didn't see it... 19:18 and that's part of the reason why I would... sometimes 19:21 nickname him Paul... my friend, right, 19:23 because you remember, Paul, he had that experience 19:25 with two other guys... and they didn't even see it... 19:26 Yes... yes... yes... so, what happens is... 19:28 ten days later, they wake up 19:30 sorry... a couple of days after that incident... 19:34 they hear the helicopter sound 19:38 and it's the Canadian version of the FBI, basically, 19:41 the RCMP... 19:42 they come down on the place... 19:44 and the helicopter lands, and they're like, 19:45 "Oh, my goodness... " they start taking out 19:46 their wallets... they start running to and fro 19:48 like headless chickens almost, Yeah... 19:50 running through the woods... getting cut by the trees 19:52 and like, trying to get a signal to get a friend to pick them up, 19:54 and then my friend escapes, 19:55 and he asked me... he's like, 19:56 "Listen, Nwamiko, I just have one question for you... 19:59 I was going to make all this money... 20:01 I was going to go to Vegas and I was going to 'play it up' 20:03 why did God do this to me... you were the most 20:06 spiritual person... I remember from a young age... 20:09 why did God do this to me?" 20:10 Now, was this guy... did he have a spiritual past? 20:13 No, not at all... he just went to Elementary School 20:16 like when I was in the Pharisee-mode with me... 20:18 that's pretty much how I knew him, you know, 20:20 and we went to different High Schools... 20:22 and this was after High School, and so, he's just like 20:25 "Why did God do this... " I'm like, 20:26 "Dude, the guy was going to take that money 20:28 and give it... to like... " you know what I mean... 20:30 "bad things" Yeah... yeah... yeah... 20:32 "and like the marijuana too itself, 20:33 probably it's for... children" 20:34 and he's like, "I don't understand... " 20:35 and I'm like, "Okay, you need to understand... 20:36 let's do Bible Studies," 20:38 so, for the first time in my life 20:39 I'd just go online and get some Bible Studies... 20:41 and I'd give him Bible Studies, and he accepts the truth, 20:44 he marries his girlfriend and they become a couple 20:49 officially a couple, by marriage, 20:50 Right... and then, she's baptized as well 20:52 and brings his whole family into the truth... 20:54 and then, he becomes a soul-winner 20:56 this guy starts soul-winning a whole... I mean... 20:59 I can't even get into all of it... 21:00 Yeah... but... 21:01 yeah, because... go ahead... go ahead... 21:03 I'm like... this is so interesting 21:05 and we're down to like the last few minutes, 21:08 we haven't even started... anything else... 21:10 Oh... okay... So, did you come back to the 21:12 Lord then... or renew your relationship with the Lord... 21:15 through him... through his ministry? 21:16 No, at that point where I knew I wasn't supposed 21:18 to go to Los Angeles... Okay... 21:19 to Hollywood... because if I wasn't there... 21:21 he couldn't have gone... you understand... 21:23 he wouldn't have come to the truth, 21:25 and so, right after that, 21:26 I said, "Okay, this is good... 21:28 I know what to do now... 21:29 I need to stay... " 21:30 and the Lord showed me some other things... 21:32 about... I need to leave the Industry entirely... 21:34 you know... And you were right there... 21:37 Yeah... yeah... yeah... I was about to move to Hollywood 21:39 Wow... and basically what God did 21:42 is... "I want you to tune out of the television... 21:45 and I want you to tune into Ellen Vision... " 21:47 and I was like, "Huh, and He basically said, 21:49 "I want you to start reading the things 21:51 to use that imagination that you have been given 21:53 as an actor... Yes... 21:54 but use it on the things that God... " 21:55 because everybody has an imagination 21:57 Yes... right, but we just don't 21:58 recognize that the things that are spiritual 22:01 are real... so, you watch a movie, right, 22:04 Yeah... and if you see a little kid, 22:05 he comes out of the movie theater and he's like 22:07 chopping away... right... 22:08 that means, he has just seen a karate movie, 22:09 Right? Right... 22:11 if you see, I don't know, 22:13 Superman or something like that 22:14 you see kids running around like 22:15 they want to fly... they want to exist in that world 22:18 Yes... but when you read 22:19 The Great Controversy... and you read about 22:22 fallen angels and good angels and this battle 22:24 that's intergalactic between good and evil... 22:26 and then you close that book... 22:29 that story is still real... Wow... 22:31 you've just been awakened to the fact 22:32 that you're in that story... 22:33 and so, that's where we got the inspiration... 22:37 to kind of start this ministry, I say, "We" because 22:40 God and myself... to move forward this ministry 22:43 in taking things that are spiritual 22:45 and especially present truths for this time... 22:47 and bringing them out in a powerful 22:49 and identifiable way... for the masses today... 22:53 so, we decided to call the ministry... 22:55 "Certain Sound Media" based on 1 Corinthians 14:8 22:59 which says, "If the trumpet give 23:00 an uncertain sound, who shall prepare themselves for battle?" 23:02 Ah... Right? 23:04 Yes... so we need a certain sound 23:05 because in music media... 23:08 music, movies and messages... actually... 23:11 Yes... those are the three things 23:13 that we do in the Ministry... 23:15 and I wanted to make sure that 23:17 in those three things 23:18 they are uniquely Adventist, they present a true message 23:20 that's Biblical... and sometimes, 23:23 musicians will say, "Oh, I did this album... but 23:25 I don't sing about the Sabbath on the album... " 23:27 and I'm like, "Why?" Hmmm... hmmm... 23:29 you should... if you know the truth, 23:32 then you're withholding it... that good thing from the rest 23:34 of the world... you know, sometimes they think 23:36 it's a burden to give people the truth, 23:38 but actually... it's a blessing... 23:40 You want to cry aloud and spare not... 23:41 That's it... to show the better side of it... 23:44 so often... in Adventist culture we're more into 23:48 the "don'ts" than the pointing to something better 23:50 Absolutely... that is the key, that is the key 23:54 because it's all about the abundant life, 23:57 Exactly... so, it's not about 23:58 the dos and the don'ts... it's about the relationship... 24:00 Exactly... God didn't say to the woman at the well, 24:02 "Look how bad your water is... " 24:04 He's like, "Listen, let me tell you about my water... " 24:07 Yes... You understand... 24:08 Yes... yes... there's a contrast there... 24:10 Yes, that's it... that's it they'll recognize it right away 24:13 and so... that's kind of how we got into the idea 24:15 of making Christian-centered films... 24:17 and the film that we're working on right now... 24:19 is a film called "The Five Stone Secret" 24:22 we just released it... and the Lord has been blessing 24:23 we just won Best Animation at a Film Festival... 24:27 yeah... you can see the picture probably... 24:29 up there... it's with me and my sister... 24:32 I had a twelve-year reunion with my sister 24:34 that I hadn't seen in twelve years... 24:36 and we went to the Film Festival together... 24:38 and I had a chance to explain Daniel 7... 24:40 so, maybe I could share the trailer... 24:42 of what it looks like... Yeah, let's take a look at it... 24:44 The Five Stone Secret yes... The Five Stone Secret... 25:47 I want to see that... I've got to see it... 25:50 it looks... it looks like it's so compelling 25:52 Praise God... praise God... Yes... yes... yes... 25:55 we wanted to compel the eyes and the senses, 25:59 so that they'll get close to what's presented 26:02 and then they'll see a deeper truth beneath it... 26:05 because in the story there's actually a... 26:07 I don't want to call it, "A new light... " 26:10 but a deep revelation... in the story 26:12 of David and Goliath... which most people 26:13 just kind of gloss over, we usually think the story 26:15 is just for children... Yes... 26:16 but there's something deeper there... 26:18 All right... to bring out on DVD... 26:19 Wonderful... and when do you think it's going to be... 26:22 Oh... it's already out... it's already out... 26:24 we're showing it at Film Festivals 26:25 and you can get it off the website... 26:27 and what is your website? www. certainsound. org 26:32 certainsound. org 26:34 In this last minute, what do you want 26:36 our viewers to know... 26:37 Okay, our big thing that we're trying to do right now... 26:40 is... we're actually trying to, you heard me use the word 26:43 Ellen Vision before... Yes... 26:44 we're trying to produce a two-hour, 26:47 fully 3-D animated 26:49 feature film released in 26:50 theaters around the world 26:51 where it's going to be Patriarchs and Prophets... 26:53 Desire of Ages... and The Great Controversy 26:56 we have the entire team ready to do this, 26:58 but we need prayers... Yes... 27:00 we need more prayers... Yes... 27:02 we need the Holy Spirit... and we need investors... 27:04 Yes... so, I'm just asking 27:05 and soliciting the people out there 27:08 in TV Land... just to pray for us 27:11 because we are close to doing this... 27:13 and the Lord has done 27:15 some amazing testimonies 27:16 which I don't have time to get into already... 27:17 getting us close to there... but we need those investors and 27:20 obviously the prayers... so, as the Lord leads, 27:22 just pray for us so that... that can be done... 27:25 Oh, thank you so much Nwamiko for being with us, 27:27 we're so happy and blessed to have you here... 27:31 The pleasure is mine... 27:32 Well, we've reached the end of another Program... 27:36 you've heard Nwamiko's burden, he has a burden 27:39 for getting the Word out... in a new and refreshing way... 27:43 that's going to reach multitudes of people 27:46 for Jesus Christ... we have an obligation 27:48 to support that kind of ministry so go to the website, 27:53 and help the Brother out... 27:54 Thanks for tuning in... join us next time... 27:57 it just wouldn't be the same, without you... |
Revised 2015-04-09