Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), John and Angela Lomacang
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000088S
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a couple that dared to dream their way
00:03 out of the inner city and into a powerful ministry 00:07 for Christ. My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:09 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:32 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:35 My guests today are Pastor John and Angela Lomacang. 00:38 Welcome to Urban Report John and Angie. 00:41 Good to be here... good to see you. 00:43 We're so glad to be here with my friend Yvonne. 00:45 Our friend. You know what? 00:48 You know, when you go to a new place 00:50 you need to feel like you have family there 00:54 and people that you know and love. 00:56 And we didn't know each other well in New York 01:00 but John was my dad's student. My dad was his principal. 01:05 Right, right. May I call you John 'cause you're Pastor John? 01:08 Sure... That's fine... get comfortable. 01:10 My dad's student at Bethel Elementary School. 01:14 And so coming here... And of course, I knew Ken. 01:18 Yes, she knew my brother Ken and his wife Jackie, yeah. 01:22 So it's like having a family here. 01:25 It's even though we didn't grow up together 01:28 because I'm considerably older... 01:30 Let's just say I'm just older. 01:32 Not the adjective considerably... adverb. 01:36 My dad was a stickler for grammar. 01:38 Let's not say that but let's just say older. 01:41 We have connections - right - through our family members, 01:44 and so coming here and being with you guys 01:47 has been such a blessing. Praise the Lord. 01:49 Many of our viewers already know you because 01:53 you are both on 3ABN regularly. 01:56 Pastor John, you host A Sharper Focus 01:59 and House Calls - um-hmm - and now you're the new host 02:03 for our new series Foundation of Our Faith 02:06 on Dare to Dream. 02:07 Of course Angie is a production assistant for 3ABN Radio. 02:11 So they know you but they might not know the story 02:15 that you have. And our viewers love stories. 02:18 So tell us a bit about how you grew up 02:23 and what happened in your life. 02:25 How did you get from point A to point B? 02:29 You want to begin, honey? Should I begin? 02:31 OK... ladies first. Yeah... go ahead. 02:33 Well, I was raised in Brooklyn. 02:37 New York, and my parents were of Jamaican descent. 02:42 They're Jamaican but I was born in England. 02:45 And after my father died we migrated to Brooklyn. 02:48 It was a family of eight - Wow! - 02:51 and so I'm the youngest of 8. 02:54 You have seven siblings? Yes. 02:56 Five brothers and two sisters so eight of us. 03:00 And after my father passed away in England 03:03 we all came to America - to Brooklyn. As they say: 03:08 "to the hood. " Did you move to the "hood? " 03:11 Did you live in "the hood? " Oh yeah... wow... oh yeah. 03:14 Right now it's not the hood... it's downtown Brooklyn. 03:18 It's a very classy area now but when we lived there 03:24 it was "the hood... " It was right on St. James Place 03:28 and Fulton Street not far from Bethel. 03:31 Yeah... and back then it was a "hood. " 03:34 So it must have been hard for your mom 03:36 to bring eight children from England 03:41 to the United States. Very hard. 03:43 How did she do that? 03:45 Well after my father passed away we came up 03:48 in sections. My two oldest came up to America 03:54 to Brooklyn. They came first. 03:56 And my aunt came to England and took them to New York 04:02 with her. And then about four years later - 04:06 three or four years later - we came to New York. 04:10 My mom, my brother Cliff, and my sister Lecia. 04:14 We... the three youngest ones came and then 04:17 three years later the other three came. 04:20 So it was all in sections. So your mom had 04:23 everybody come in shifts kind of. 04:25 Exactly. We could never afford... yeah. 04:28 So once you were over here what was your mom doing? 04:31 How was she caring for your family? 04:33 Oh it was hard... it was VERY hard because she... 04:38 Well, she worked a little outside of the home 04:41 but she was always mom at home. 04:44 She was "mom-in-chief" if I could say. 04:46 She was an excellent mom. 04:47 So my mother came to New York and she took care of people's 04:53 homes, the Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. 04:55 Cleaned their homes, cooked, did all... She had like 04:58 two and three jobs. She just didn't have one job. 05:02 It was like one after the other after the other. 05:04 Worked extremely hard and never touched welfare 05:07 not once. She was an extremely hard worker. 05:10 So my mom did that and we all were in... 05:15 She bought her house. She was able to buy a house. 05:19 And after she bought the house we all of us lived in that house 05:24 in Brooklyn - Monroe Street and Throop and Tompkins - 05:27 so we were in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Wow! 05:30 In the "hood" officially again. 05:32 Now was your mom an Adventist when she came 05:35 to this country? Or was that? Yes, she was an Adventist 05:38 all her life, and so we all... She made sure we... 05:44 Well, we couldn't afford church school so we went public school. 05:47 One brother, Ken... he went to Northeastern Academy. 05:51 And so that was nice. He was the only one that went 05:54 to an academy. But my mom was a hard worker. 05:58 We all went to school. She always pushed education. 06:01 She didn't have much of an education, but she pushed it 06:04 on us to get your education. 06:07 So we all worked hard to study hard. 06:10 And she always made sure when you come home 06:11 you do your homework. You get something to eat 06:14 but you do your homework. Yes. 06:15 And she always had a nice warm meal for us. 06:18 Every time we came home there was a nice meal for us. 06:20 She was always a good mom. 06:24 A great example of a mom. 06:26 That's what I was going to say: look at the example 06:28 your mom set. She worked so hard. 06:31 She brought you over. She brought you here in a godly 06:34 home so that you could know the Lord. 06:37 She taught you the value of education. 06:39 And she taught you how to be a great homemaker 06:44 because, Ang... you are. 06:46 You're the hostess with the mostest, girl. 06:48 I've got to tell you, Angie is hostess with the mostest. 06:53 She cooks up a storm... I love to go eat her food. 06:56 So, you know, your mom gave you these wonderful lessons 07:01 in how to be... Even though she was no longer a wife 07:04 she taught you really the basics I think - 07:08 she did - of being a good wife. Yes. 07:10 Yes she did. That's wonderful. 07:13 Yeah, she's always in the kitchen. 07:15 My mom lived... right John? That's right. 07:18 She's always in the kitchen; that's her favorite place 07:21 in the house. The comfort zone. Exactly. 07:23 And so that's where I get that from... my mom being in the 07:26 kitchen all the time and cooking. 07:28 And I remember on Sabbaths when they would have a block party 07:32 outside. Some people may not know what that is. 07:35 Tell us what that is for those that don't know. 07:38 It's a party for the block that you live on. 07:42 It's a party - a big party - where they have music 07:46 and food and everybody in the neighborhood would come. 07:50 Everybody comes out of their apartments or homes - yes - 07:53 and just has a big party. Yes, and so 07:55 on Sabbath... they usually have those block parties on Sabbath. 07:59 And we were to not go. We'd hear all the music 08:03 and stuff, and my mom would make sure we will have worship 08:07 and things just to keep our minds off of the music. 08:09 But it was really hard... it wasn't easy. 08:11 The music was thumping. 08:15 You could feel the bass on the windows, right? 08:18 Oh yeah! After sunset we'd go out... go outside 08:21 and see our friends and stuff. But it was a great childhood. 08:25 And being a single mom, every Friday night 08:29 she would gather us for worship. 08:30 That was always a big thing in my house which I always 08:34 remember. She would say: "Come on everybody... 08:36 sunset. " And dinner... the house smelled so good. 08:41 We ate dinner and then we'd have worship. 08:44 We'd be playing our Jim Reeves music or Heritage Singers. 08:48 That's right. And so it was a home. My mom made it a home. 08:52 We didn't have a father but I had five brothers. 08:55 They were like five fathers. 08:57 That's the truth... I'll tell you that. 08:59 I'm sure... I'm sure. Yeah. 09:00 So you had a wonderful legacy. Yes, yes, yes. 09:04 And that is really good for our viewers to know as well: 09:07 that you don't have to have a lot of money to create 09:10 a legacy. That's right. You can be very poor even 09:15 and yet teach your children the values that they need to have 09:19 to be successful in life. So we praise the Lord for... 09:22 And I also remember my mom going to school. 09:26 She became a nurse's aide and worked at Brooklyn 09:28 Jewish Hospital. And she was always doing something. 09:32 She always wanted to go to school. 09:34 Next thing you know, she was trying to be a hairdresser. 09:35 She was in school. Then a masseuse. 09:37 She was always going to Manhattan working at night 09:41 and going to school in the day. She was always doing something 09:46 to keep herself active and her mind active. 09:49 And so I really appreciate that about her. 09:52 She was a strong mom... very strong. And she would always 09:55 protect her little girls - yes - always. 09:58 Which is really important. Yes, always talked to us about 10:01 keeping our virginity and things like that 10:03 and going out with boys. She was very protective. 10:07 And I really appreciate that about her. 10:10 Amen. That's truly important. Yes. 10:12 What about you, Pastor John? Tell us about your upbringing. 10:15 You know, when I think about it there's a text that came to my 10:19 mind. I think it's in Genesis 41:15 where Pharaoh said 10:22 to Joseph: "I have had a dream but there is no one to interpret 10:26 it. " And I think my life was kind of that way. 10:29 I believe that my dream started... and I'm using that 10:32 in context with this program... my dream started 10:35 before I was born. I think the Lord... I'm convinced the 10:39 Lord had a dream for me 10:41 that had to take me through channels of disappointment 10:44 to make that dream a reality. 10:46 I was born in Manhattan: 10:50 72nd Street... Central Park West. 10:52 I lived there for 3 months before I decided to move. 10:57 Actually my mom and dad were never married. 10:59 My mom was a young Filipino-French girl from 11:03 the Virgin Islands that came to New York with 11:07 big hopes and dreams... I think that's a phrase I like 11:09 to use... and met a musician. 11:11 Johnny Parker... he was a famous jazz musician. 11:14 Put that name on YouTube you'll find out more about him. 11:16 Maybe more than I know. 11:17 And they met long enough to conceive me, and they went 11:20 their separate ways. And out of that 11:22 my mom would take me to a babysitter every day. 11:25 A lady by the name of Carmen Haynes from Trinidad 11:27 and her husband George from Barbados. And they were the 11:31 babysitters. And at 3 months old my mom decided to leave 11:34 my sister and I at the babysitters. 11:36 My sister was 3 years old, I was 3 months old. 11:39 They abandoned us and left us there. 11:42 I've had the privilege of putting that story in a book... 11:45 about us also in a book called Abandoned But Not Alone 11:49 by Pacific Press. It's still available. 11:51 An excellent book, by the way. 11:53 It's a page turner... I mean you just want to keep reading 11:57 'cause it's so interesting. Wow! That's a praise the Lord. 12:01 And so knowing at the early stages of my life 12:06 the Lord allowed me to get connected with the church 12:08 through Momma Haynes... everybody called her. 12:10 Didn't have any of her own children. 12:11 Raised one son they brought from Trinidad. 12:14 But my foundation was the most important. 12:16 Church every Sabbath. We'd get there before 12:18 Sabbath School began and the deacons would have to 12:20 put us out on Saturday night. 12:22 I mean: "Sr. Haynes, we're closing up now. " 12:26 Bethel was a big church - 1,200 members. 12:28 Oh yes. We spent all day at church. 12:29 And so even to this very day wherever my wife and I travel 12:32 or across the state... even when we traveled with the 12:36 Heritage Singers, it would be a small church or a big church. 12:38 Church on Sabbath is just church for us 12:41 because it's an appointment with God... 12:43 not so much just to fellowship. 12:45 But at the age of 12 the lady that raised me 12:50 took sick, and by the time I was 13 she passed away. 12:54 But before she passed away... 12:56 Angie made a point that I'd like to build on... 12:59 I went to public school all my life, too. 13:01 But just before Momma passed away she put me in Bethel. 13:04 That's where I met your dad as my principal. 13:07 I was in Bethel for two years. 13:11 That was important because I was going down the road... 13:13 I was in schools in Brooklyn. 13:16 I was in one of the worst high schools: 258, which was 13:19 known to be... every other day there's something like a fire 13:22 or the police or the teachers are fighting with the students 13:25 or just such a terrible school to be in. 13:29 Something worse than sometimes you see on television. 13:32 And I was afraid to go to school, so I was absent 13:33 42 days from school, so rightfully I should have been 13:37 left back. But the Lord had a plan for me... 13:39 a dream that He was bringing to fruition. 13:41 Put me in Bethel, and I was there for 2 years 13:45 and started high school. And we met. 13:48 I'm kind of giving the condensed version. 13:50 Well before you go there let me just ask you something: 13:52 let's go back to your mom, because once she left you 13:55 and your sister did you have any more contact with her 13:59 over the years? Did you know where she was? 14:01 Well you were 3 months - right - three months old - 14:03 so you couldn't... I mean that was a moot point. But... 14:07 What? 14:09 How did that shape your perception of family? 14:14 Well it took a long time for my sister to convince me 14:16 that the people raising us were not our parents. 14:18 You know, it's kind of like that commercial years ago: 14:21 look at me, look at him, look at me. 14:23 And she would say: "Look at them; look at us. 14:25 You can tell they don't look anything like us. " 14:27 Until one day I went to school - I was in the second grade - 14:30 and they told me to: "Give this note to your parents 14:33 when you go home. " And I was using the name John Haynes. 14:36 They said the note was having to use his real name 14:40 so I went back to school with the name John Lomacang. 14:43 I thought it was an assignment. It didn't make much difference 14:46 to me but then my sister said: "See, I told you! " 14:48 But there was some anxiety to know who my parents were. 14:54 Who my mom was. I just had heard a name. 14:57 Some people used to say: "Well I think her name is Kim. " 15:00 And I saw a picture of her once. 15:02 And that picture disappeared. I never knew what happened 15:04 to that picture. And I knew that at least her face... 15:10 saw her face. But I grew up through life 15:12 with a pretty balanced home, 15:14 so I didn't have that separation anxiety. 15:16 Who am I? What's going on? Where's my mom? Where's my dad? 15:19 'Cause God allowed me to be put in the situation 15:21 from young that gave me the stability. 15:24 Mom and dad. So... three months old. 15:26 I don't know anybody else. Right. 15:28 So by the time I start kicking into reality and knowing what's 15:31 going on around me I had a balanced home 15:33 for the most part. We compared Christmases. 15:36 Sometimes... Her mom had 8 so it's hard to provide 15:39 for 8 children. You know, we had pretty good Christmases. 15:42 We had wonderful birthdays. 15:45 It was just a house filled with activity. 15:47 Really didn't have the need of anything. 15:49 Did they other children of their own? Just one little boy 15:52 that wasn't their own naturally. It was a boy that they 15:54 adopted in Trinidad and brought home. 15:56 Brought over to America with them. 15:59 But the critical point in my life was at 13 16:02 when Momma passed away. 16:04 I left the church a year later 16:06 and went out into the world. I lost my anchor. 16:08 Were you angry with God? Well you know, at that point 16:10 I began to ask the question: "Why is this happening to me? " 16:15 And then I started asking the question: 16:16 "Well where is my mom? Where's my dad? " 16:19 I met my dad at 13 years old for the first time. 16:22 Tell us about that. My biological dad. 16:25 Just one Sunday evening when the house was filled with calypso 16:30 which in the culture of Trinidad and Barbados 16:33 Sunday nights or Saturday nights was calypso time in our home. 16:36 Papa would bring all this cousins over. They would play 16:38 the guitars and drink and smoke and play calypso. 16:41 I had had my fill of it that night, so I went to the 16:43 neighbor's house. And on my way there 16:45 I met a man who had just pulled up in front of the house 16:47 in a four-door, black Fleetwood Cadillac. 16:50 Ummm. And he started asking me questions 16:52 as he was coming out of the car. 16:54 And said: "Is your name John? " 16:56 He said: "Your name is probably John, isn't it? " 16:57 "Yes. " "And your sister's name is Vivian. " "Yes. " 16:59 "And you're 13. " "Yes. " "And she's 16. " "Yes. " 17:01 And I'm: "Well how do you know? " 17:04 "He said: "Well I'm your dad. " 17:05 And I said: "No you're not; my dad's in the house. " 17:07 And I ran in the house, and he had told me his name. 17:11 And I ran in the house and over the sound of the calypso 17:13 I said: "There's a man said he's my dad. " 17:15 Said: "What is his name? " He said: "He told me his name is 17:18 Johnny. " Said: "That's your dad! " 17:20 And that's how I met my father. Thirteen years old. 17:22 Did he come in and visit with you? 17:24 He came in and visited. Came to find out that night 17:25 I was a junior. You know Junior's Cheesecake downtown 17:28 Brooklyn? Oh yes. He took me to Junior's Cheesecake. 17:30 Gave me a $20 bill. 17:32 And from that point till the time he passed away in 2006 17:35 I didn't really get to know very much about him. 17:37 Knew him for 30+ years, and he never allowed me to come in. 17:40 He was the only child. I was an only child. 17:42 Never got to know my family on his side. 17:45 It was quite a struggle to kind of live with that. 17:49 And so during that identity crisis, we met. 17:53 We met... I won't tell the year. 17:56 OK... we met... Want me to tell the year? No. 17:59 OK, I won't tell the year. 18:00 But we're going on 31 years of marriage. 18:02 But we met as teenagers. I was 16. Ooh... 18:05 And we dated off and on for nine years. 18:07 We were just kind of little rascals 18:09 and didn't really know what we wanted. 18:11 But she was very much in the church and I wasn't. 18:13 I was just coming back. 18:15 And we met, and she gave me a family to connect to. 18:18 Ummm... So we became like good friends 18:21 long before we were dating. 18:24 We just hung out with her brothers. Played basketball 18:26 with her brothers on Sunday. 18:27 Her mom became like my mom. 18:29 When she cooked, she always put dinner aside for me. 18:31 Right. We were all friends 'cause I was not allowed to have 18:34 a boyfriend at 16. 18:36 And with all those brothers, too. Oh yeah, that was... 18:38 My brother would always say: "You want a ride home? " 18:40 They would say to him. I'd say: "No I have my bicycle. " 18:43 They said: "No, you need a ride home. " 18:45 You know how brothers are. 18:46 They'd put his bike in his car and take him home. 18:48 My bike in the trunk. "You're not sitting in this house 18:50 with my sister. " And I understand now. 18:53 But you know, this sounds strange, but I didn't think 18:56 carnal like that back then. 18:58 I didn't think that way. 18:59 So it didn't really phase me very much. 19:02 It was a different time. You know, back years ago 19:07 we weren't bombarded with so much sexual stimuli. 19:10 Now, everything... so the kids are getting 19:13 involved in all of that so much earlier and it's a mess. 19:18 So you weren't even thinking about it. 19:21 Three Stooges was like my max. 19:23 There's no suggestions there at all. 19:27 And so God brought me to the place where He awakened in me 19:33 this dream, 'cause she was not about to date any person 19:36 that wasn't connected to the Lord. 19:38 So her mission from God - we talk about that in the book 19:40 in detail - her mission from God was to get me 19:43 back in the church. And you know, young ladies could 19:46 get the attention of a young man faster than the pastor can. 19:49 That's true. And so she invited me to her house 19:51 for worship, and just tell briefly that night... 19:55 the changeover. Oh yeah, I invited him 19:57 for worship, and he came over. 19:59 Said: "John, my mom always has worship on Friday night. 20:03 Why don't you come over? " So he came over. 20:04 He said: "Sure. " And so my mom said to him: 20:07 "Oh, OK John, would you read this scripture? " 20:10 And he said: "Oh, sure. " 20:11 He took the Bible. I can't remember what the scripture was. 20:14 For instance: "John 3:16. " 20:16 "For... God... so... loved... " That's him. 20:19 "Loved... the... world. " He was just... 20:21 Was he nervous reading it? 20:23 I thought he couldn't read. 20:25 But he could read but he was just nervous. 20:27 And beads of perspiration was dripping all over the Bible. 20:32 And I'm like: "Oh... " What were you thinking 20:34 at that point? Well I wasn't... He was a partier. 20:38 I was a partier. I'm thinking: "You know, 20:39 I've got a party to go to. Hurry up with this worship. " 20:41 I partied from Thursday to Sunday. OK. 20:44 And I was just very much involved in gambling 20:47 and pool hustling. Gambling in the sense of pool tables. 20:50 I didn't do dice and all that and buy lottery tickets. 20:53 I figured if I'm going to gamble I'm going to do something 20:54 that I have control over. 20:56 You know, if I'm going to lose I'm losing on my own terms. 20:58 It's going to be on my hand that I lost 21:01 or my hand that I won. 21:02 But we studied, studied, studied... but you have to tell 21:04 the rest of the story. Yeah, we did study quite a bit. 21:06 And so anyway I said one Friday night 21:09 'cause he kept coming over every Friday night... 21:11 He kept coming over. I kept inviting him. 21:13 Said: "Come on John, come over to my house for worship. " 21:15 'Cause I knew he was so carnal; his mind was in the world. 21:18 Yes. And so I kept kind of inviting him. I prayed for him: 21:21 "Lord, please help him. " 21:22 So anyway, one particular Friday night 21:25 I said: "John, have you seen this book Great Controversy? " 21:28 He said: "Oh, yeah, Momma used to have this 21:30 when she was alive. We used to have that book. " 21:32 I said: "Come on, let's read it. " 21:33 So we went toward the end of the book 21:35 and the promises of Christ's return. 21:39 And he started reading it and reading it 21:42 and next thing you know he just broke down and cried. 21:44 Oh... And he said: "Angie, I'm wasting my life. 21:48 I'm wasting my life. " 21:50 It really got to his heart. 21:52 The Holy Spirit worked on you then and there 21:55 and broke you - right - right there. 21:58 To tell you how complete the break was 22:00 on that Friday - I worked at Bank of America - 22:02 I would go to work with my pool stick 22:05 in my leather case and my boom box 22:07 so that I could party down in Battery Park or by the World 22:10 Trade Center in New York. And so when work was over 22:12 "It's lunch time... it's party time. " 22:15 That was Friday. On Monday I went back to work with my Bible 22:18 and The Great Controversy. Amen. 22:20 And I would look for people on the A Train to talk to about 22:22 the Lord. That's Broolyn... that's New York! Yeah! 22:25 And so I was: "You want to have Bible studies? 22:27 Where do you work? " Lunch hour. "Let's have 22:29 Bible studies at the World Trade. " This is Friday, 22:31 Saturday, Sunday, Monday. 22:33 I'm going from gambling to witnessing for Jesus 22:36 on Monday. And that started a fire in my life 22:38 which led to many twists and turns. 22:41 In the interest of time I want to kind of bring it to 22:44 the condensing points. We dated together 22:47 and we eventually got married, but just before that 22:51 one of the brothers... We had such a relationship 22:53 one of her brothers said: "They do everything together. 22:55 They planning on getting married or something? " 22:57 And this is the funny part of the story: 22:58 after dating her off and on for nine years 23:00 one of her brothers - he's deceased now - 23:02 he came to me one day and he said: 23:04 "You gonna date my sister forever or you gonna marry her? 23:06 What you gonna do? " Aahhh. 23:08 Here I am 25 years old and he's asking him... 23:12 He said: "What you gonna do? " I said: "Yeah, I'm going to 23:14 get married eventually. " He said: "When? " 23:16 He was very strict. He put you on the spot! 23:19 I looked in his eyes and he was serious. 23:20 And I said: "Uhhh... by next month. " 23:23 And we got married thirty days later. 23:26 That was 30+ years ago. 23:28 Wow! We planned a big wedding at Bethel. 23:31 So I told her: "Your brother proposed and I accepted. " 23:36 And you know, the Lord has taken us 23:38 from these two little knucklehead selfish children - 23:41 very selfish - so much into ourselves. 23:44 We got married and our lives took off from there. 23:47 We moved down to Florida after about three months 23:49 living in New York. Moved to Florida and 23:52 not long after we moved to Florida we got the invitation 23:55 to join the Heritage Singers. And her mom... 23:56 When we didn't know what to do what did your mother say? 23:59 "The blessing is on the word go. " 24:02 That's right. Wow! Like Danny says. Yeah. 24:05 He says: "Opportunity knocks once. Go. " 24:07 And our lives took off. 24:09 You know, we say "Go. " We've been going ever since. 24:12 Fifty-two countries later... 24:14 But that's because we gave our heart to the Lord. 24:16 But what I was saying is 24:18 so at 19 we got baptized together. 24:21 Ohhh... We both recommitted our lives to the Lord together. 24:25 And through a series of twists and turns 24:27 when I gave my life to the Lord and finally got rid of the music 24:31 'cause I had hundreds of albums. I was a disc jockey also. 24:34 OK. And... oh yeah... 24:36 I said "Ok, Lord, I'm going... " He was always partying. 24:39 One particular Friday night I found out where the party was. 24:45 And I'm like: "OK, John's on the Windows of the World 24:48 at the World Trade Center disc jockeying"... disc jockeying 24:52 and I went there and I said: "John... " 24:55 He had his headsets on just jamming. 24:57 I said: "John, it's Friday night. 24:59 You should be at home. It's Sabbath. " 25:01 "Yeah, yeah, Angie... yeah. I've gotta go; I've gotta go. 25:04 You go home, go home, go home. " 25:06 I said: "John, you shouldn't. " I had such holy boldness 25:09 it just scares me. I'm like "What am I doing there? " 25:11 And when I look back I'm like... But I went there 25:14 and I'm telling him "You don't belong here. " 25:17 That's right. And eventually so I said: "OK, Lord, I'm 25:19 giving this up, " after the conversion story, reading the 25:21 Great Controversy, but it took a little bit 25:23 to get rid of that out of my blood. Yeah. 25:26 It was a while. One Sunday - this was the cut-off point - 25:28 we were going to disc jockey for a wedding reception. 25:30 Had a car accident, and I said "If we had lost our lives, 25:33 I know we'd of both been lost. " This small little Honda Civic. 25:36 She broke the windshield; I twisted the steering wheel. 25:39 I knew if I had lost my life I'd have been lost. 25:42 And that was the change in our lives. In a nutshell 25:44 gave our lives to the Lord. Joined the Heritage Singers. 25:48 After that God opened the door for us in ministry. 25:52 And the dream... now we look back on it 25:55 and what's so amazing about a dream... 25:57 Which we look back and sometimes we say to ourselves 25:59 "The secret of our success is not what we do 26:02 but it's being humble. " Every day we pray for that. 26:06 The story is so beautiful 26:08 because you can see how God brought both of you 26:12 together - um-hmm - because you have such a powerful ministry 26:16 together. She is your companion, your helpmeet. 26:20 I wouldn't be who I am without a wife like this. 26:22 She is just the consummate preacher's wife, pastor's wife. 26:27 That's right! She's wonderful; you're a godly man. 26:30 I mean, it's just a wonderful pairing. 26:32 What would you tell? In one minute, what would you 26:35 tell our viewers about how to keep it together? 26:38 Oh wow! OK, honey. We worship together. 26:41 Yes. We pray together. We have fun together. 26:43 We laugh together... we laugh together. 26:45 Either at each other or at somebody else. 26:48 No, we do... We're very real. 26:51 We speak our minds to each other. Yes. 26:53 She has a voice... I have a voice. 26:55 We don't yell. We are not the type of people to yell. 26:59 We don't do that. But if she doesn't like 27:00 something she'll say it. If I don't like something, 27:02 I'll just say it. And he will say it! 27:03 We're very real. There are a lot of people that are stuck 27:05 in one-way relationships where you know the visibility 27:09 is his or hers. I tell people: "This is my wife. 27:12 I take here wherever I'm invited around the world. " 27:14 If I get invited and they don't want to bring her, 27:18 I say: "Cancel me. " 'Cause God has given both of us 27:20 a dream. And we dared to dream - yes - and we grasped 27:24 the vision that God had for us. 27:25 And that's why we are still going forward in Christ. 27:28 Praise the Lord! And you set boundaries 27:30 around your relationship and that's wonderful. 27:33 So just unpack that boundaries issue 27:36 a bit for us if you would. 27:38 You know, we have a parameter we've set in our own lives 27:41 about each other. When I'm not with her, 27:44 when she's not with me, we don't have to worry 27:45 about each other. We know to whom we belong. 27:47 I belong to her... she belongs to me. 27:50 And as long as we maintain that, we know that our blessing 27:52 will continue. That's part of the great secret 27:55 in our success. Well thank you so much. 27:58 Thank you for being here. And thank YOU so much 28:01 for joining us today. Tune in next time. 28:04 It just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2023-10-07