Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Joshua Nelson
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000042S
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00:01 Are you caught up and enslaved by sexual sin?
00:03 Stay tuned to hear about a program that offers 00:06 practical, biblical, life-changing information 00:09 that can set you free. My name is Yvonne Lewis, 00:12 and you are watching Urban Report. 00:36 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:39 My guests today are Pastor Joshua Nelson and his 00:43 panel from "Pure Choices." Pure Choices is a program 00:46 that has a new format, with a variety of hosts and 00:50 ministry teams. Recently, I talked to them 00:53 on the Pure Choices set, take a listen... 00:59 It's my privilege today to introduce the new 01:04 pure choices team. Our host is Pastor Joshua Nelson 01:09 Pastor Nelson, welcome to Urban Report. 01:12 Thank you... I know it's weird because we are 01:14 on the set of Pure Choices, doing Urban Report, but 01:17 you viewers are used to me doing that and you know 01:20 I love doing this. So, it's so good to have you here. 01:23 We were fortunate enough and blessed enough 01:26 to have had another team... Pastor Seth Yelorda and his team 01:31 that hosted Pure Choices previously, and now, 01:35 because they couldn't continue to do it, we have a new team, 01:38 and God is so faithful, He continually provides 01:41 for us on Dare to Dream. So, thank you so much, 01:45 and we are going to kind of go around, 01:47 and introduce yourselves to our viewers, 01:49 because you are going to be on Pure Choices and so, 01:53 we'll start with our new host, Pastor Joshua Nelson, 01:56 tell us about yourself Pastor. Where do you Pastor? 01:59 I pastor in South Carolina, in the great conference of 02:04 South Atlantic Conference, and I am in the Lake City 02:08 in Marion District and so I have two churches there, 02:11 and I started out in ministry about five years ago, 02:15 and I went to Oakwood, well, I pastored a little bit 02:19 for a couple of years, I went to Andrews, 02:22 and graduated with my M.Div. and now I am back in the field 02:26 pastoring... before that, well, I am from California, 02:29 it's a big part of who I am... California boy... 02:32 Yeah... I can hear the California accent 02:35 yeah... Yeah, exactly... 02:36 and so I am very proud of that, and I have a little sister, 02:41 Shantula, she's two years younger than me... 02:43 and she's a nurse in D.C. and my mom and dad, 02:47 who are still in California, my dad and mom raised me very well, 02:52 I think, hopefully, I turned out OK, I think, 02:55 they home-schooled me which was a big part of my life, 02:58 and that was a blessing, I also went to academy when 03:02 I got into high school, so... Are you married? 03:06 No, but I am getting married, All right, give a shout-out 03:08 to your fiancé... I'm in love with my fiancé, 03:12 Kimberly Doss and we are getting married very soon, 03:15 so I am very excited, yes... That's awesome. 03:18 Marquis... Yes, my name is Marquis Jackson 03:21 and I pastor in Sumter and Manning, South Carolina, 03:24 also in the great South Atlantic Conference, amen. 03:28 Just like Josh... Pastor Joshua Nelson, well, I've also pastored 03:33 for the past five years as well, my life is similar, 03:36 I didn't go to academy, but when I graduated from High School 03:40 when I started at Southern Adventist University, 03:42 I was Biology major, changed to Accounting major, 03:46 the Lord called me in my Sophomore year to go into 03:49 Theology, I wrestled with it for two years, 03:52 but the Lord called me, kept on calling me, 03:54 and I finally accepted, and at that time, 03:56 I was not at Southern, I was at the University of Cincinnati, 03:59 I am from Cincinnati, Ohio, so all the Ohio people, 04:01 let's get a shout-out as well... 04:03 Then I transferred to Oakwood University, graduated, 04:07 I went straight to Seminary, after that, I was doing 04:11 literature evangelism. The Lord opened the door for me 04:14 to speak with my previous President, Elder Minninghall, 04:18 and the Lord just blessed me to be put at the 04:20 District of Marion, Lake City, and Laurens, South Carolina 04:24 so I pastored the district where Pastor Nelson pastors now... 04:28 This is my second district, the Lord has really been blessing, 04:32 I love ministry, its work, but it's truly a blessing. 04:36 Thank you... Pastor Kory... 04:39 Well, my name is Kory P. Douglas P. Douglas if you want to 04:44 call me that... K the initials and the name 04:47 I pastor in the Central States Conference, 04:49 I'm in Southeast Missouri, what they call the Bootheel, 04:52 I'm in Charleston, Missouri, and in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 04:55 in two weeks, it will make one full year of pastoring, 04:59 which in itself to me is a miracle, seeing as though 05:02 I had no intentions when I was growing up to be in Ministry 05:05 at all, so that's a testimony of how faithful God is, 05:07 I am originally from Brooklyn, New York, I don't know if I can 05:11 shout-out my favorite team, we are having a great year, 05:13 this year, a certain guy who got traded from a certain city... 05:17 and I love my city, you know, I love everything New York... 05:22 ok, so shout-out to the New York viewers, I am the eldest of 05:26 too many kids and you know, it's a great responsibility, 05:30 I pretty much raised some of my younger siblings, 05:33 you know, I can tell by that little out of my different 05:36 experiences in life, how God has grown me for Ministry, 05:39 even though, you know, I had no intentions to be in it, 05:42 I just wanted to say this, is that, God is faithful, 05:45 you know, the call to ministry, to do something that you don't 05:49 feel equipped to do, you don't feel worthy to do, 05:52 and yet everyday He shows you, I can use anybody... 05:55 I just love that about ministry, like Marquis said, it's work, 05:58 it's challenging sometimes, you are going to get frustrated, 06:02 but just to see people give their lives to Christ, 06:04 man! there's nothing like it, so And that's such an important 06:06 point, you know, that God can use anybody, 06:09 our viewers need to hear that, because no matter what 06:12 your circumstances, no matter where you are, 06:14 God can take you from where you are and take you on another path 06:18 that you had no idea that you were going to go on... 06:20 So we praise the Lord for that. Kean, tell us about yourself, 06:24 Sure, I am a product of Christian education, 06:28 I thank God for the opportunity to attend Pine Forge Academy, 06:34 and at that point, I really started to develop a 06:39 relationship with God and from the time I graduated, 06:44 I wanted to do God's will for my life, so I ended up going 06:48 to Oakwood and studying Social Work, 06:51 and it was such a blessing just learning how to serve 06:59 the poor, those who are in need, because I understand that 07:04 this is what Jesus did when He was on this earth, 07:06 and so I went from there, I did missionary work for a year 07:10 and then, I did my Masters in Social Work, and I was a 07:14 Social Worker in D.C. for three years, first I did Child Welfare 07:19 and then I worked in an inner city school, 07:23 and learned a lot... how to deal with all sorts of different 07:29 people from different circumstances, 07:31 and it has really helped me to understand God better, 07:35 and as I was working, I started to hear His voice more clearly, 07:41 as He was leading me, how to serve Him on a different level, 07:46 so he called me from there, and although I was very 07:48 reluctant to go to the Seminary, I finally understood that this 07:53 is what He wanted me to do, so, as long as it was His will, 07:58 I am going to go for it, so I went and I realized that 08:02 I am a better person and that He may have just sent me there 08:07 just to mature me as a Christian I realized that, 08:09 I didn't really know Him before, like He wanted me to 08:14 and that I didn't know myself, so it was a great opportunity, 08:17 I just finished in December, and I am looking forward to 08:21 furthering my studies so that I can go into missionary work 08:25 full time... Praise the Lord, so you, 08:27 you are not looking to pastor, so you won't be necessarily 08:32 Pastor Kean Baxter, you'll be... do you want to 08:36 evangelize? Like what is your goal, do you know yet? 08:40 My focus is on... God does call some people to pastor, 08:47 and I may at some point... but, He has laid a burden on me 08:51 for missionary work, I've had a wonderful opportunity to 08:55 travel to Africa and Central America, El Salvador, 09:02 Honduras, Guatemala, and it made an indelible impression 09:09 on my mind to seeing people hungry for the Word of God, 09:15 many people are very poor and don't have the basic necessities 09:18 of life.. I've read a book about the Adventist history and 09:24 about Medical Missionary work, medical evangelism, 09:27 and this is something I strongly believe in... 09:30 the gospel and the health message are supposed to 09:33 go together and both of them together, have a synergistic 09:36 effect and it makes our evangelism more powerful, 09:41 because everybody needs to be healthy, and there are so many 09:45 people... overseas and even in the inner city, 09:48 who don't understand... basic understanding of health, 09:53 you know, a lot of people are dying from heart disease, 09:56 cancer, these things, a lot of them can be prevented, 10:00 so this is my burden... Well, good, and I want to come 10:03 back to your burdens because I think that's really 10:06 important, so thank you for sharing that... 10:09 Kim Petersen, tell us about yourself... 10:12 Well my name is Kimberly Pearson and I am from Maryland, 10:16 I was born and raised, so shout-out to all of those 10:19 from the DMV area which is the District, Maryland, 10:21 Virginia, but that's what we like to call it... 10:24 that's where I was born and raised and ever since 10:27 I was young, I just felt a calling on my life, 10:30 my mom used to write these speeches for me and I would 10:33 stand up and say them in Church, even from a little girl... 10:36 I preached my first sermon when I was eight or nine years old 10:39 and from there, they were like, you know, you are going 10:41 into Ministry but, you know, I loved Ministry, but I thought 10:44 that Ministry was just a hobby for me and so, you know, 10:47 I was involved in Church, I was in Pathfinders, you know, 10:50 shout-out to the Master Guides, and it was a wonderful 10:53 experience and I went to Pine Forge Academy, 10:55 where I graduated from with Kean, we've known 10:58 each other for a long time, All right... yeah... 11:00 ...and from there I went to Oakwood, strangely enough 11:06 my major initially was Theology, but I felt like well maybe, 11:10 I don't need a degree in Ministry to tell people 11:13 about Jesus, because whatever God calls you to... 11:16 we're called to be a light, you know, that was fine, 11:18 so I did Elementary Education, I taught first and second grades 11:22 in Florida Conference at Jacksonville Adventist Academy 11:25 for about five years, and during that time, I was working with 11:28 Central States Conference, doing youth leadership, 11:31 writing plays and productions for them, you know, just 11:35 doing a lot of speaking, but I thought Ministry was my 11:37 hobby and then finally God said, "No, no, honey, 11:41 Ministry is not your hobby, that's your calling... 11:44 Come on, come on... That's what I've gifted you with 11:47 and so, from there, I went to Andrews University, 11:50 Theological Seminary and God... the call from Oakwood University 11:56 where I am now the Associate Chaplain there, 12:03 with a team of Chaplains and I have the privilege of 12:06 ministering to all of the young ladies on campus 12:09 and it is such a beautiful, beautiful experience, 12:14 and I would not trade my job... this ministry or the 12:17 process of being called to Ministry for anything 12:21 in the world. Yes, the journey... 12:22 You wouldn't trade the journey, right, because each of us 12:26 has our own journey... Sister Jean, tell us about your 12:30 journey... My name is Jeanne Nikiararu 12:32 Mogusu.. I am the second of four children. I was born and raised 12:37 in Kenya, East Africa, and I came to the United States 12:42 when I was an adult... I came for Graduate School 12:47 and I must admit that Ministry was never in my cards, 12:50 as they say, it was never anything that I ever thought 12:54 about because growing up I never saw women in ministry, 12:58 you know, I never saw any women in the pulpit, 13:03 so it was never even an inkling in my life plan and so I went to 13:12 Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. 13:16 I did my Masters in Public Policy and Administration 13:21 I went and had a tremendous time God really blessed me, 13:26 I went to... had a couple of really great internships, 13:31 went and started my Ph. D. in Urban and Regional Planning 13:35 had finished my course work in record... in a year, 13:39 I finished all my Ph. D. coursework, was working on my 13:42 dissertation... You're a slouch aren't you... 13:46 well, I was ambitious... I was ready to get out of school 13:51 because I had always planned, I would go straight through my 13:54 Ph. D. so that nobody ever told me to go back to school... 13:57 so that was my life plan and then, just when I had finished 14:02 my course work, I was doing my research work, 14:04 my dissertation and then I started getting this inclination 14:09 of going into Ministry, and at first I was like, 14:11 "Lord, I am NOT going into ministry," 14:14 I've never, you know, seen... I've never met a female pastor, 14:19 mind you at this point, I am like, 27, 28 years old, 14:23 so I've never met a female pastor and never had any notion 14:27 that there were female pastors, so I was like, 14:29 I am not going to be the only person... you know, 14:31 being stared down in a classroom you know, 14:34 You didn't want to be pioneering I must admit-I am not that brave 14:39 I am not that person, so, it was a long journey, 14:44 let's just put it that way, until I buckled down, 14:47 I told the Lord, "You know, if that's where you want 14:50 me to be," because I was an international... 14:52 I am an international student, so if that's where you want 14:54 me to be, you're going to avail the funds for me 14:57 to go to the Seminary... The first time my pastor asked 15:03 me to preach a sermon, was on a Tuesday night, 15:06 the person had cancelled for Sabbath, and he had, 15:09 you know, multiple churches, so on that night, 15:13 I had a car accident.. I was supposed to preach on 15:17 Sabbath... luckily... I wasn't really badly injured, 15:21 I just had, you know, minor injuries, 15:24 but that money that I got from settling my accident 15:29 is actually what sent me for my first year, 15:31 at the Seminary, so at that time, I was really confused, 15:35 I was like, "What on earth is God doing?" 15:37 But it was quite an interesting take on events, 15:44 I got there and it was a real struggle because I was 15:49 coming from a place where it was a Fulbright Scholarship, 15:53 had lots of grants and various opportunities and literally 15:56 learning to trust God to do everything for me, 16:00 where I am a financial freak, I need to know, you know, 16:04 I need for my books to be balanced and this was the 16:08 first time in my life where it was like God had to balance 16:12 the books for me... This was like a walk of faith... 16:15 It was a tremendous walk of faith and it was an even 16:19 bigger walk of faith because my family did not quite 16:23 understand what I was doing, because you can't just go, 16:27 you can't say you're going from a doctoral program 16:31 and coming, you know, literally down into a Master's program 16:35 in the name of "doing what God wants you to do... " 16:39 because logistically, you know, you cannot... it's just not done 16:44 you know, I remember calling to the Seminary when I was 16:47 trying to figure out what to do, and the Program Director 16:51 at that time was just asking me, he's never had anyone 16:54 do their Post-Doctorate at the Seminary... 16:58 but God has been really consistently providing 17:03 and showing me that He has a plan for me and for my life. 17:07 And that's the important thing, from each of you, 17:11 I'm hearing that you might have been on one path, 17:14 but then, God opened your eyes, and brought you on another path. 17:19 Let's talk a bit... because I love your stories, 17:22 I love your stories and you fit right into the whole concept 17:27 of Dare to Dream, you know, the whole concept of letting 17:31 God lead you to His plan for you so tell me about Pure Choices... 17:38 what can we expect this season with Pure Choices... 17:42 I know that you are all in ministry so that gives you 17:47 a theological foundation, what gives you the "authority" 17:52 so to speak to be on Pure Choices? 17:55 What do you think Pastor? I was just starting to say 17:58 that I have no authority... to be on Pure Choices, 18:01 it's only Jesus and His grace, and His mercy that I can even 18:05 sit here, really, when I heard, that you had asked me to do this 18:08 I really did not want to do it, frankly because of the past, 18:11 you know in really seeing that, Oh, you didn't tell me that... 18:14 Oh yeah, oh yeah, I was really praying about this thing, 18:18 but I felt that God saying, "Look you are a real person 18:21 who has had real struggles and now you can give an authentic 18:25 expression of really what we should be doing... 18:28 and really help somebody else who is struggling... 18:30 and so that's really why I decided to do it, 18:32 and it was a struggle between me and God.. I didn't tell you 18:34 about that... but you know I worked it out 18:36 and I asked my friends really to come on with me who 18:40 may have had similar struggles as well, and really you can 18:43 expect real people who are pastors now, who have been saved 18:46 by Grace, just presenting their side and showing you 18:49 how God has really taken us from that place to... 18:52 and taking us still... to a better place... 18:55 Because it is a journey, because it is a process, 18:58 because none of us is perfect, no one's perfect... 19:01 no one's sitting here and that's why when I asked you about 19:03 the authority to do it, no one's sitting here saying, 19:06 "Oh, we've figured it all out... we're perfect," no, we are 19:10 in process... what about you, what about you? 19:13 Well, you know part of what God used to bring me to ministry 19:16 was my discontent with ministry, you know, growing up 19:20 and listening to pastors who essentially preach the same 19:23 sermons over and over again, they would tell you to be clean, 19:26 to be holy, to be pure, but the sermon never got to 19:30 the "How" part, you know, it would always be, 19:33 "No, you are not good, get better, come to the front 19:37 now for the appeal, and you are coming up for the appeal 19:40 because you know you are not clean, you know you are not pure 19:42 but you leave the appeal feeling like, "Well what am I supposed 19:45 to do now?" and as a kid, all you would do is try harder 19:48 and harder and harder... but you'd always feel like 19:50 nothing really changed, and you try to live up to the 19:52 standards and the pressures that Christianity, you felt, 19:55 placed on you, you know, that's part of the discontent 19:57 that God used to bring me to Ministry... 19:59 I felt like, you know, if I had to just call it, 20:02 we got to go deeper, you know, and I think one of the issues 20:05 that we struggle with, especially as young people and 20:07 what we struggle with growing up, and I mean, 20:09 I can testify for myself, is that nobody was really 20:12 real with me, you know, I didn't know what it was like 20:16 for the adults around me, to show the struggle of the 20:19 Christian walk. I saw the standard of the Christian walk 20:21 but I never got to experience the struggle of it 20:25 and so for me, if I didn't look like them, 20:27 something was wrong with me, while at the whole time 20:30 I didn't realize that something was wrong with them too... 20:31 you know and so on this show, I just want to be real, 20:35 I want young people to see that, man, we are all struggling 20:38 and it is only by the grace of God that anybody will be able 20:41 to make pure choices... And that's such a great point 20:44 because, you know, it's so important for people to 20:47 understand the steps, how does Christianity 20:51 translate into everyday life, you look like you were 20:53 going to say something... Yeah, I was going to say 20:55 growing up... my father passed away when I was 17 years old, 20:59 and I was a senior in, you know, in High School and you know, 21:03 not having my father around as I began my relationship process 21:07 was major for me... trying to figure out how to date, 21:11 how did that look like, what would my dad think of 21:14 this guy... what would he say to me, and trying to have 21:18 to resolve that and God played such a big role in being my 21:22 Father and my relationship counselor and being not God 21:26 but Daddy... and that was major for me and, you know, 21:29 I didn't start in ministry fresh out of Oakwood... 21:32 I lived life, you know, and I dated and I made some mistakes 21:38 and now that I am able to be in ministry, I am working with 21:41 college students who are where I was and I know what that 21:45 feels like... and so part of the reason that I really wanted 21:48 to do this... is to say, "Hey, you know, I am a woman 21:52 in ministry and I get it, I've been there, 21:54 I know what it's like, and I know that God... 21:56 he cares so much about us, that He's not just our father, 22:01 He's not just Elohim, He's not just Almighty and Powerful, 22:05 but He's God... Daddy... who cares about us 22:07 He cares about our heart, He cares about a heartbreak, 22:11 He cares when we cry, and that's something I want to convey 22:14 not just to my young ladies at Oakwood but to 22:16 young ladies across the world. That's great... Marquis... 22:20 Yeah, I am 33 years of age, my mom and dad divorced 22:25 when I was 5 years of age, but they re-married each other 22:28 during my freshman year in High School 22:30 my little sister, she's 17 years of age, with her being 17 years 22:34 of age, God really blessed me to have a sister, 22:37 when I grew up I always wanted to have a little brother, 22:40 but the thing is... the reason I wanted a little brother was 22:42 so that I could beat him up... God said, now hang on, 22:45 I am not going to give you a little brother but a 22:47 little sister but when I was in that formative years, 22:50 like about 13 or 14, I started listening to hip-hop and 22:52 rap music and my mind just really got caught up with some 22:55 crazy stuff, and so when my sister was born, 22:59 God then said to me-during this time I am listening to the bad 23:03 music and He said, "Do you want your little sister 23:05 to date someone who listens to that kind of music?" 23:07 With that, that changed my whole perspective and so, yes, 23:11 my dad is in the home, my mom is in the home, 23:13 but I am almost 16 years older than my sister, 23:16 So Mariah, my little sister, she's helped me to be 23:19 accountable, and as I got accountable with my little 23:21 sister, it has caused me to change my own lifestyle, 23:24 of course, because there's things that I want to do 23:26 and I was so focused on it, and tried to get as many girls 23:29 as I could, my mind was totally focused on all those things, 23:31 but God changed that perspective and as He has changed 23:35 my perspective to lead my little sister, He has also caused me 23:38 to be at my Church and to tell men and women, 23:40 young men, young women to be active for Jesus Christ, 23:43 because if not... the world will sure enough get them. 23:46 So, you know, help out as He has helped me get 23:48 pure choices, helped all of us, to develop people more so 23:50 to help share that to younger people, 23:52 and people our age as well. Absolutely, God gave you that 23:57 little sister to have and to interact with a female 24:01 on a certain caring level, I think, and so, that just changed 24:06 everything for you. Praise God for that. 24:08 What about you, Kean? When I got the call from 24:11 Josh, or was it an e-mail, I knew it was providential 24:16 because just a week before, I got into a huge discussion 24:21 slash debate with a few of my friends over Facebook 24:26 on the topic of sex and there just seemed to be so many 24:31 different views, and we all grew up... 24:34 born and raised in the Church, and we still had so many 24:39 different views on the topic, some of them of course were 24:44 subjective, and not all of them were Biblical, but I recognized 24:51 that there is just such a need to be more open and honest 24:56 on this topic like Kory was saying, unfortunately this has 25:01 been really taboo... and the older generations 25:05 aren't as open on this topic that's so important and 25:09 the tendency to be quiet or of a reserved nature on this topic 25:16 actually produces a lot of misconceptions... 25:19 and I think that this is exactly what the devil would like, 25:22 you know, don't talk about it, pretend like everything is fine, 25:25 meanwhile, we're all struggling, we're all confused, 25:29 and it breeds a lot of... just you know, poor choices... 25:33 Poor choices, that's good-I like that-as opposed to Pure Choices, 25:40 yeah, that's right... and we cannot have a situation 25:43 where it's taboo to talk about something that is as pervasive 25:49 as and as much of a blessing as sex is supposed to be 25:55 in the proper context. Does anybody have a 25:58 final thought before we go... just something that you want our 26:03 viewers to know about Pure Choices... 26:05 I'm going to go with you, Pastor and put you under the microscope 26:10 right now... Well, I just want to say that 26:12 Jesus... it's all about Jesus, you know, it's really, and in my 26:15 journey... through my journey in which... making pure choices 26:18 and trying to make pure choices, has all been about 26:21 my relationship with Christ... and I really want people to 26:25 realize that through this whole experience on pure choices that 26:28 that's what we are really trying to bring out... 26:29 you have to get to know Jesus, you have to get to know Him, 26:32 you have to learn Him, you have to experience Him, 26:34 because without Him, then basically you won't want to 26:36 make pure choices... you won't have a desire to do 26:38 anything of this nature... you'll be watching and 26:40 say, well I'll make excuses and I had to be real with myself 26:43 before I got on this show and say, or program and say, 26:45 I'm going to really do this, I'm going to make this a 26:47 part of my life... and really make pure choices... 26:50 so trust me, you do not want to miss these programs, 26:53 these series on Pure Choices... You don't want to miss it, 26:56 please tune in... Thank you... 27:05 Just wait until you see the programs that this team 27:09 has done... they really demonstrate the practicality 27:13 and relevance of the Bible, as they deal with sensitive topics. 27:16 You won't want to miss any of these programs... 27:19 They really had a profound effect on all of us 27:22 in the control room. We think that you'll be blessed 27:24 by it too... you know, some people think that 27:28 well, one sin is worse than another.. is worse than another, 27:32 but you know what? Sin is sin... and the things 27:35 that this team does, is they deal with these issues, 27:39 from a place of God's ideal... So it's not condemning, 27:43 but it's edifying... Well, thanks so much for 27:46 tuning in... join us next time. 27:48 It just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2024-12-23