Participants: Arthur L. Andrews
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000214A
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00:01 Want some inspiration and motivation?
00:03 Well, stay tuned to meet a man who's gonna take you there. 00:07 My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:08 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:34 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:37 My guest today is Arthur L Andrews, 00:39 inspirational and motivational speaker. 00:43 Arthur Andrews is an award-winning speaker, 00:46 author, trainer, and success coach. 00:48 Born and reared in Brooklyn, New York, 00:50 Arthur is a product of urban life 00:52 and has experienced first-hand 00:54 the awesome challenges of the streets. 00:57 In 1990, 00:58 Arthur began realizing goals of his own 01:01 and began his professional speaking and training career. 01:04 Since then, he's given over 1300 speeches, 01:08 many of them repeat performances. 01:11 Arthur has dedicated his expertise 01:13 to helping corporations shake off mediocrity 01:16 and maximize their unlimited potential. 01:20 But Arthur's primary focus is in evangelism. 01:23 Welcome to Urban Report, Arthur. 01:26 Thank you, Yvonne. This is exciting. 01:29 I know, I can't believe I have you with me. 01:31 I'm so happy. 01:32 Words cannot accomplish the symbol 01:34 is what I'm feeling. 01:37 You are so funny, 01:38 as our audience is going to know 01:41 within the next few minutes. 01:43 But underneath all of that, Arthur, I mean, you're funny, 01:47 and you make people laugh, and you are very insightful. 01:52 God has given you so many gifts. 01:54 But underneath all of that 01:56 is a man who has been through a lot in life. 02:00 Tell us about your upbringing. 02:03 Tell us about, you know, 02:04 where you grew up and how you grew up? 02:06 Yes, I came out of a little town called Brooklyn, 02:11 Bedford-Stuyvesant to be exact. 02:14 And could any good thing come out of Bedford-Stuyvesant? 02:18 Well, I think about Jesus of Nazareth. 02:20 Could any good thing come out of Nazareth? 02:22 I had a lady that raised me as her very own, 02:25 her name was aunt Thelma 02:26 My parents couldn't take care of me 02:28 because of extenuating circumstances. 02:31 But aunt Thelma raised me as her very own, 02:33 I didn't know the difference. 02:35 And she beat me too, just like I was her very own. 02:38 She told me, she told me one day, she said, 02:40 "Look, you run your mouth like a bell clapper. 02:42 All you do is talk. I got to go to school. 02:45 And this is the time of work, continue. 02:46 What is wrong with you?" 02:48 I said, "Nothing's wrong with me, aunt Thelma." 02:49 She said, "Look, come over here," 02:51 she said, "if you wanna talk, 02:52 you might as well get paid for it," 02:54 and aunt Thelma said, 02:55 "You're going to be a great elocutionist." 02:58 And she would challenged me, "Go, look it up." 03:00 And I was having great difficulty 03:03 pronouncing the word 'elocution.' 03:05 So people asked what I want to be, 03:06 I said, "I want to be an executioner." 03:08 That may help a lot. 03:10 Okay. 03:11 And I did that at programs, and they're embarrassing me. 03:14 But then Thelma took me all around Brooklyn. 03:16 To say the speech called, Take Your Place, 03:19 and the rest is really history, you know, 03:21 you treat a child the way that he is, 03:22 it only becomes worse. 03:23 But she didn't necessarily feel 03:25 what would it could be the child 03:26 because of what it should be. 03:28 Mmm, oh, I like that. 03:29 And I'm excited about that. 03:30 And I possess that she reared me 03:32 in the spirit of anger, who said that. 03:33 And, Yvonne, it's been incredible. 03:37 You know, coming out of Brooklyn, New York, 03:39 I was raised in a, not a very diverse community. 03:43 So it was very challenging for me 03:45 to get out here and start speaking, 03:47 they're just to offer you speaker for each 03:49 'cause I always just knew, 03:50 you know, I might just yell at the screen. 03:52 But the people, the people used to say to me, 03:53 "You got to calm down. What are you angry about?" 03:56 And I was angry. 03:57 But this field is so awesome, 04:01 and you just meet so many different people. 04:04 And you really get to share your faith. 04:05 Yes. Yes. 04:07 Let's go back for a second, 04:08 because we kind of missed the whole lot of area here, 04:12 so how did you avoid, the drugs, the gangs, 04:16 all of that growing up in Bed-Stuy? 04:19 How did you avoid getting involved in all that? 04:22 Structure. 04:23 And I had an uncle Jacky, I had my brother 04:26 and I knew they will kill me, 04:28 so, I really, really was... 04:33 I should say it wasn't a challenged childhood, 04:36 I had a great childhood. 04:37 But I had mentors, I had people that I looked up too, you know. 04:41 And... 04:42 You know, that is so important, Arthur, 04:44 because you just named some men 04:47 who played a pivotal role in, in you and your outlook 04:52 and that's one of the things that's missing so much 04:55 in our communities now. Yes. 04:57 It's the absence of the male mentor, 05:02 the one that can take somebody and train them. 05:03 Well, I had it truly. I had it truly. 05:05 I had uncle Conwy, then I had, you know, 05:09 well, I have my parents, my maternal parents, 05:11 then I had uncle Conwy, and then I had uncle Jacky, 05:15 who was with me till my teenage years. 05:16 So I was very gifted and blessed, you know, 05:20 not to be affected. 05:21 And she told me, I felt like the first principal, 05:24 "You're going down to stay with uncle Jacky." 05:25 I said, "Well, they don't eat meat. 05:27 They don't eat white bread, 05:30 and they don't watch television. 05:31 I'm not going." 05:33 And I had a protest 05:34 but I ended up there, and it was the best thing 05:36 that ever happened to me really. 05:37 So when did you go and live with uncle Jacky. 05:41 1973. 05:42 Wow. 05:44 It changed my life and it saved my life. 05:45 So, were you in high school? Were you in high school then? 05:47 High school. 05:48 Had dyed my hair auburn, 05:50 and a base guitar on my back, 05:52 and army fatigue jacket 05:53 when he picked me up, he said, "Lord, have mercy." 05:57 But he was patiently kind. 05:59 And sometimes, you know, your parents, 06:01 your family won't take care of you. 06:03 God will send strangers... 06:07 To pick up the slack, 06:08 and I was fortunate, Yvonne, I really was. 06:11 And then I was blessed to meet 06:12 such a wonderful person like you. 06:13 Oh! Praise the Lord, Arthur. Thank you. 06:17 Well, you've been a part of my life. 06:18 I guess, in full disclosure here, 06:20 you know, you're a family to me so... 06:23 You're my cousin, and I'm just so thankful 06:26 for what God has done in your life 06:27 because I know it's been difficult and challenging 06:32 but yet, the Lord is allowed you to rise 06:35 to every challenge and so... 06:38 Absolutely. That's a major blessing. 06:39 So you went, you stayed with uncle Jacky and aunt Joe. 06:43 Tell us the importance of that kind of a structure? 06:47 You're saying that they ate differently, 06:49 they didn't have TV. 06:51 Tell us the importance in your life of structure. 06:52 It's just the dynamics of a family life. 06:55 It's the dynamics of a man, 06:57 absolutely a young man 06:58 witnessing and seeing him love his wife. 07:01 Oh! Come on now. 07:03 I had the benefits, Yvonne. 07:04 Well, I've been married now, of 38 years. 07:07 I had the benefit of being under his tutelage 07:11 and watching him interact with my aunt Joe, 07:14 which is absolutely awesome. 07:15 What were some other things that you saw? 07:17 What's different about, 07:18 'cause I love their relationship 07:20 and anybody who knows them, Claude and Joselyn Thomas, 07:23 anybody who knows them, 07:25 knows that their relationship is just special. 07:28 What were some of the things that you saw, that you felt 07:32 you should transfer into your relationship? 07:35 Well, temperament, you know, temperament, 07:37 the way that you speak, you know, 55 % of what you say, 07:41 you say with your body, 07:42 38% is tonality and 7% words, 07:45 the least important form of communication is words. 07:49 I watched out, he interacted, 07:50 and even with the stress of feeding, 07:54 preparing for eight people eat dinner every night, 07:57 I never missed a meal. 07:58 Never was hungry, 08:00 but I knew that it was a struggle. 08:03 But he loved me. 08:04 Never put his hands on me. 08:07 But the way he spoke and in order... 08:10 Discipline and consistency. 08:13 It wasn't we had worship once 08:15 and then we didn't have worship one night, 08:17 it was consistent. 08:18 He always read, 08:20 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, 08:21 from doing thy pleasure on my... 08:23 I mean, I grew up with that. 08:24 So it was a blessing. 08:26 I was finding it, 08:28 but once I got down into that community, 08:31 there were other people, even checks the village, 08:33 he really does. 08:34 And in the dynamics of being around uncle Tim 08:37 and Mervick Warren, and those people were friends. 08:41 They would come by, so, you know, 08:42 I never saw anything like that in Brooklyn. 08:44 I never, I never, I never experienced 08:47 someone actually sitting down and talking to you 08:50 and I think it's the way that it should be 08:51 'cause I suggest, she used to get on my nerves, 08:53 she put things on balloons that she loved me, 08:55 Jesus still loves you, all kind of things. 08:58 Seriously, I called her down to read, 09:01 nookie cookie's lady, you know, all that stuff, 09:04 that was really important to a person 09:05 who's growing up in urban New York, you know that. 09:08 A major shift in my life 09:10 and then I had the benefits 09:12 of hearing some powerful speakers 09:13 on the planet, like Henry Wright. 09:16 Heard him when I was 16, revolutionized my life. 09:21 So being in that environment 09:24 really changed the course of your life, didn't it? 09:30 Absolutely. Environment plays a big role. 09:33 Because getting away from that urban environment 09:36 and not just the fact that it's urban, 09:38 but you needed the structure and the family life that... 09:43 That's what I needed. 09:44 Uncle Jack and Aunt Joe offered you. 09:46 Absolutely, and the patience, 09:48 and listening to them praying for me, 09:51 it was incredible. 09:52 They wouldn't give up on me. Yeah. 09:54 They would continue to pray for me. 09:56 And till this day we still pray. 09:58 With the dynamics that we have, 09:59 the interactions that I have with him 10:01 to this very day. 10:02 You know, it's so, so important, 10:05 you know, he's my hero. 10:08 He is. They are incredible people. 10:10 When I was away from, 10:12 I was out of the church for several years 10:15 and while I was out there, 10:17 uncle Jack and aunt Joe would just, they just loved me. 10:20 They didn't... Absolutely. 10:21 They didn't condemn me. 10:22 I was in the music business 10:24 and, you know, and I wasn't wild and crazy, 10:27 but you don't have to be wild and crazy 10:28 to have lost your connection 10:30 and I lost my connection with the Lord 10:33 and instead of them, you know, 10:35 beating me over the head with doctrine and stuff, 10:38 they just loved me, 10:39 they told me they're praying for me, 10:41 they loved me, and they, and that was it. 10:45 I mean, I just didn't feel condemned by them 10:48 and that's so important. 10:49 And so what they offered you 10:51 was that steady, love environment. 10:55 Steady. That you could thrive in. 10:57 Absolutely. 10:59 So was it there, that you determine that you, 11:01 I mean, after aunt Thelma 11:02 wanted you to be an elocutionist, 11:04 was it in the home of uncle Jack and aunt Joe 11:08 that you decided you wanted to be a speaker, 11:11 or where did that happen? 11:13 In the beginning of the '90s, 11:14 I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. 11:16 I was on a job doing, 11:18 I was just about to get fired maybe not that quick. 11:20 So, you know, I wasn't happy and I called Uncle Jacky, 11:24 I was at the age of 33. 11:27 And I called him and said, "I'm just not happy." 11:30 I said, "Can I come and live with you?" 11:32 He let me come and stay with him 11:34 to get myself established. 11:35 That was I had the call to be a motivational speaker. 11:38 I actually went down to be a dean, 11:40 but things didn't work out, we're not going to go there. 11:42 But nevertheless, 11:43 I became just excited about motivational speaker. 11:48 I really got in Les Brown. 11:50 And I said, "Man." 11:51 I said, "Boy, I think I can do that." 11:53 When I found that what he's making an offer, 11:54 I said, "The Lord is able." 11:58 Tell us about, tell us a bit about Les Brown. 12:01 Well, Les is, is a very unique gentleman, 12:03 he's very gifted. 12:06 Unrelentless. 12:07 Has been through so much, 12:09 but I've never met a man 12:11 that could bounce back like that. 12:12 I've never heard a person speak like that. 12:14 And I called him actually, 12:18 31 days, 12:20 I got his number, 12:21 someone was trying to jumping onto him, 12:23 said, "I had natural borne communications skills." 12:26 "Yeah, you're right." 12:28 And he said, "Well, come on, there's so much money, 12:29 $20 a year to speak. 12:30 I'm not going up there for $20 for Bible talk. 12:32 Are you kidding?" 12:34 And I didn't go. 12:35 But I met him at a hotel, 12:38 Guardia to be exact 12:41 and we talked and then I left. 12:43 I got his number. 12:44 But he had a number 800, CI Can. 12:49 So I called him, 800 CI Can. 12:51 And first time I called, 12:53 they said, "Listen, don't call here." 12:55 They didn't say, "Don't call here." 12:56 They said, "But you don't just pick the phone 12:58 to call Les Brown. 12:59 And does he know who you are?" I said, "No. 13:01 I said, "I'm Arthur L Andrew, but I'm hungry." 13:03 Okay, that's nice." 13:06 Day number 10. 13:08 I called again, just like I never called before. 13:11 Then they said, "Listen, sir, 13:13 we're gonna report you to the authority 13:14 'cause you're stalking Mr. Brown. 13:15 For stalking Mr. Brown." 13:17 "Mr. Brown said on his tape, 13:18 number eight, in the middle of the tape, 13:20 that you got to be hungry." 13:22 Day 28, 13:25 they hung up. 13:27 29th day, they answered the phone, 13:30 I said, I said, "It's Arthur L Andrews. 13:32 She said, "Didn't I tell you?" 13:34 and said, "I thought maybe they fired you 13:35 because of your attitude" 13:37 Day 31st, 13:40 I called up and I said "Listen, this is Arthur L Andrews. 13:43 I'm one of Les Brown's illegitimate children... 13:47 He said, "Hello, this is Les Brown, 13:48 who is this fool?" 13:51 And that's, the rest is history. 13:53 And I went to Lane Marquee, and I spoke, 13:55 5000 people gave me an opportunity, 13:57 that's why you got to be prepared for your chance, 13:59 5000 people, and I froze for 30 seconds. 14:05 Wait, your first, 14:06 your first major speaking event. 14:09 Opportunity. Opportunity he gave me. 14:12 I froze. 14:13 Was in front of 5000 people? Five thousand people. 14:15 And you froze. Lane Marqee and I froze. 14:19 And his cousin was furious. 14:21 I told you, didn't know them. 14:23 But there was a gentleman in the audience, 14:27 and he stood up and said, "Speak of your own brother." 14:29 And the rest, I just started speaking. 14:32 That's why, you know, 14:33 you got to really prepare yourself 14:35 because failure at a chance 14:36 can really make you look ridiculous. 14:38 And I was so happy that I prepared, 14:40 it was there, stored away. 14:42 But then that's all I needed was that boost, 14:44 then I started speaking of Les Brown and crazy 14:46 and I'm gonna travel with him. 14:48 Yeah. 14:50 Now look at that, 14:51 look at how God opened that door for you. 14:54 Now you said something that was very profound, 14:58 you were talking about 15:00 how you must be prepared for the opportunity. 15:03 Unpack that a little bit for us 15:05 because I want our viewers to know, to understand 15:08 that concept of being prepared. 15:10 Well, Abraham Lincoln said that, 15:11 "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, 15:14 I would spend six and half sharpening my axe." 15:17 You must be ready, because... 15:19 And he also says, he says, 15:21 you know, "I will study and prepare, 15:22 my chance will come and then I will be ready." 15:25 It's really a terrible thing to be in front of someone 15:30 or to suggest that you're a professional 15:33 and you don't know your craft, 15:34 sharpen your skills, hone your skills, 15:38 know your craft, and speak with excellence. 15:40 And one things that I think I froze, 15:42 Oakwood College and Moran Hall, 15:44 because they will boo you off that stage. 15:47 You know, you just said, 15:48 did not appreciate mediocrity at Oakwood. 15:50 There were so many people that demanded excellence 15:53 and one of the greatest experiences I had in my life, 15:55 I read some of the greatest speakers 15:57 that walked this planet, 15:58 had walked through Aster Auditorium 16:00 back in the down, if you know Aster Auditorium 16:03 but you may be little too young for that. 16:04 Oh, you watch it. Watch it. 16:07 Aster Auditorium, 16:09 you remember asking me, you still have church? 16:11 Yeah. I remember Moran Hall. 16:13 Well, Moran Hall, but then we went to Aster Auditorium. 16:16 That was after my time. 16:18 Okay, and that was the place 16:20 that I heard some of the greatest speakers. 16:22 Walter Pearson. 16:24 And Walter Pearson was kind to me, 16:26 Somebody I remember kind to me, 16:28 he wasn't stuffy, he wasn't a high ground, 16:31 and he said, "When you become successful, 16:33 you just let that smoke last down and talk to me." 16:36 That's what he told me. 16:38 And, you know, of course, the rest is history, 16:41 really I'm just having a ball doing what I loved. 16:43 My vocation is my vacation. 16:46 Ah, I love it. 16:47 So give us a minute or two, 16:50 sample of what you would say to motivate people, 16:55 you're going to a corporate environment 17:00 and you want to motivate people. 17:03 What would... Or inspire them. 17:04 What kinds of things do you say to them? 17:07 Well, life makes one demand of every living organism. 17:10 Meaning that we must come to term the situation 17:12 that it confronts, 17:14 realizing there are two ways to meet a situation. 17:16 Sometimes you could change the situation. 17:18 Other times, you must change yourself. 17:19 But we know that change is both a process 17:22 of disruption and renewal. 17:24 You know, you will not make some choices now, 17:26 what do you want? 17:27 You know, if you had a choice 17:30 or you had the power to change your life, 17:32 what things would you change? 17:33 Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? 17:38 There are things that I ask them in reference to, 17:41 are they committed and dedicated 17:43 to the purpose of something that you want to do 17:45 or something someone told you to do? 17:48 Because you really can't progress 17:49 and be the best you can, 17:51 doing something that you hate. 17:53 That's good. 17:55 Are you on a job? 17:56 Or are you in a vocation 17:58 that doesn't give you any fulfilment? 18:00 There are so many people, they did the survey, 18:03 they found that 87% of the people 18:06 don't like their jobs of what they're doing. 18:08 They're miserable. 18:10 And if you don't have a plan for your life, 18:12 someone else does. 18:14 And that's why it's important to, 18:16 let me just add this, you know, 18:18 I got to a point where I got to decide myself, 18:20 and I really want to get to this point. 18:22 And God spoke to me intuitively 18:25 and said, "I'm not gonna share my glory with you." 18:28 And that thing just knocked me, 18:30 I mean, knocked me for a loop. 18:31 Explain that? 18:33 Because that's, we need to know a bit more about that. 18:37 What do you mean by that? 18:38 Well, sometimes motivation and inspiration speaking 18:41 hinges on the borders of secular humanism. 18:45 And God is not gonna share His glory with you. 18:47 Explain that? 18:49 'Cause some people don't even know what that is, 18:50 I know what it is, but some... 18:52 He gets all the glory. 18:53 What is secular humanism? 18:55 Well, that's where there's dependence on you and my God. 18:59 Okay. 19:00 That you created this. Yes. 19:02 I, I created this. 19:05 You know, and then like for instance... 19:07 Yes, ma'am. 19:08 So was that part of your experience? 19:11 Had you reached a place in your experience 19:14 where you were leaning toward that 19:16 and God had to reign you back? 19:17 Tell us, tell us that experience. 19:19 Absolutely, absolutely. 19:21 You begin to think that you own the room 19:25 or it was because of your expertise 19:29 and your communication skills that got you this opportunity. 19:32 And then you change lives. 19:34 No, no, I don't change lives. 19:36 I'm really not the motivator. 19:38 The Lord is. 19:41 That's instinction. 19:43 What did it take to get you there? 19:47 I was standing at the New Orleans Superdome 19:51 at Louis. 19:54 And I've just spoken 19:56 and T.D. Jakes and Serita Jakes was in the audience. 19:59 And I'm telling you, I thought I was dead, 20:02 walking in a high cotton, a proud peacock, 20:06 and I was calling everybody and as I was doing it, 20:09 he said, "What does it, what does it profit a man 20:12 to gain the whole world 20:14 and lose your soul?" 20:17 I had remembered that he was the chief motivator 20:20 and he gives the assignment, 20:22 not me. 20:24 And when I began to understand, that door began to open, 20:27 but I was trying to open the doors, 20:28 I was trying to make it happen. 20:30 I want to grow up, I want to be a gospel all star. 20:32 I was at all the events 20:34 and trying to get on BET, 20:35 and trying to do this, and trying to do that. 20:37 But, Yvonne, you know, that only what you do, 20:40 it may sound corny and cliches, 20:43 but only what you do for Christ will last. 20:46 He has to be the focal point of why you do what you do? 20:49 So now I'm not trying to impress audiences, 20:52 I'm inspiring audiences. 20:54 I love it. 20:56 To be the best they possibly can be. 20:57 And my mantra everyday, when I get in the mirror, 21:00 is the mark of greatness is truly upon you. 21:02 And you must not be limited 21:03 by the short sight of you and other, 21:05 you can because you think you can, 21:07 you can because God said you can. 21:08 You're looking good, feeling good, smelling good. 21:10 You are a masterpiece of creation 21:12 because God does not pick junk 21:14 and I kiss myself on my hand. 21:18 This happened. 21:19 This brings some joy to some people. 21:21 I love that. 21:22 One day I did all of that, worked on myself, 21:24 talked to myself and, you know, life happens, 21:27 and I walked out of the door, and got on a plane, 21:30 and went to do a speech. 21:31 I stopped by, at the airport, at McDonalds 21:34 and a girl looked at me and she looked and said, 21:36 "Well, what do you want?" 21:39 I've looked at her. 21:41 What do you... 21:42 "Well, good morning, you know..." 21:44 But she was just having a bad day 21:46 and so after she served me, 21:49 after she slid the orange juice at me 21:51 and told me how much it was. 21:53 I said, "You know, you could say, thank you." 21:54 She says, "On a receipt." 21:57 Wow. What do you do with that? 21:59 Costumer service. Yeah. 22:01 But I stepped back and I said, 22:03 "You know, you're acting lot of different, 22:04 you take your medication," and she laughed. 22:07 She said "Sorry, you're communist." 22:08 I said, "No, no, 22:09 I'm just seeing that you're having a bad day, 22:11 I just want to make your day" 22:12 She said, "Actually you seem like a nice man." 22:14 She said, "Are you really... Are you... 22:16 Are you an entertainer or something, you're funny." 22:18 I said, "No, I wasn't trying to be funny." 22:21 But she said, "Sir, can I talk to you?" 22:23 I said, "Sure." 22:25 She said, "Listen, I just found out I was pregnant 22:27 and I don't know who the father is." 22:28 I said, "I'm neither, honey." 22:30 But nevertheless, you know, 22:32 sometimes what people are going through 22:34 is not about you, it's not about us, 22:36 it's about what God can do through us 22:38 or accomplishes on purpose. 22:40 And sometimes you step back and look 22:42 and if we understand 22:44 people's history will be more compassionate. 22:47 Very true, very true. 22:51 When you, wow, when you were on that stage 22:56 and, you know, 22:59 you were there with the women that losed situation 23:02 and you were feeling like, "I have finally arrived." 23:08 Is that when the Spirit of God spoke to you 23:11 and kind of reigned you back in? 23:13 After I got to the room, when I got to the suite 23:16 and I was looking out of the window, 23:18 that's when it came up onto me. 23:19 You know, God speaks intuitively, 23:21 because, you know, if He spoke out louder, 23:22 it's freaky, I would jump out of the window. 23:24 Right. 23:26 "Arthur!" I couldn't handle that. 23:28 I couldn't handle at that time. 23:30 But just intuitively. 23:32 "What does it profit a man to gain whole world..." 23:35 And I said, "To lose your family." 23:38 My uncle used to tell me something all the time. 23:40 He would ask me, "So, Arthur, 23:42 is your wife secure in your love?" 23:44 I used to get so angry, just kept little quiet. 23:47 And I would go through all of my millennial things. 23:51 He'd somewhat ask you the question again? 23:53 Is your wife secure in your love? 23:57 And I began to think about that. 23:58 What does it really profit me? 24:01 If I'd really gained the whole world 24:02 and lose my family in the process. 24:05 What am I? I'm just a successful failure. 24:08 I've got trophies, I've got all kind of things. 24:11 But I don't have my family. 24:14 So, you know, you got to go back again 24:16 and look at the things you got to go back 24:17 and smell the rose and find what's really important 24:19 and now I'm a papa. 24:21 And it's just incredible, it's a second coming, 24:23 looks just like me, my wife said, 24:24 "This is not your son," whatever. 24:28 But I love it. 24:29 And I love what I do now because I have, 24:31 I really have a purpose, not that I didn't have before. 24:34 But I was endeavored to be a star, 24:36 a super star, a celebrity. 24:39 God is a star of the show. 24:41 Yes. 24:42 You know, and allow Him... 24:44 and He promised, didn't He promised us, Yvonne? 24:46 He said, "I'll supply all your needs. 24:49 You take care of my kingdom," 24:51 and now I'm a kingdom builder. 24:53 I'm involved in my church, 24:55 I'm now working with the Bible worker 24:58 and we're going out 24:59 and we're knocking on the doors, 25:01 can you imagine that, 25:02 we're knocking on doors. 25:04 Yeah, you look like the JW's, 25:07 we're out there, 25:08 and we're knocking on doors 25:10 and do you know we have a Tuesday night Bible study 25:12 and it is packed. 25:14 And then, 'cause the only way you're gonna build this church 25:17 it's not through music, music is wonderful. 25:19 But going and connecting with people 25:22 and then I had to ask myself 25:23 and I hope I'm not getting too spiritual here. 25:25 No, no, no, this is great. 25:28 But I'm just telling you, I'm telling you right now that, 25:30 that... The Spirit spoke to me again. 25:33 And so my wife sometimes, she thinks it's gas, 25:35 but I say, "It's not gas, it's the Spirit." 25:38 Stop. 25:39 So the Spirit spoke to me again. 25:41 Guess what He told me? What? 25:44 In the last three years, 25:46 how many people have grown under the water, 25:49 come to know Jesus Christ 25:50 because of your personal ministry? 25:52 Yvonne, I hung my head. 25:55 So He was asking you basically, 25:58 what have you done to bring souls to me? 26:02 'Cause there're people with those crowns. 26:04 Right. You're not going by yourself. 26:06 Right. 26:07 And I had to think about that. 26:09 And do you know what that promoted really within me? 26:12 What? To study. 26:14 To be able to explain what I believe in the Word of God. 26:20 And then make it very interesting. 26:22 So that it would be receptive 26:24 and you know, we were out evangelizing 26:28 and I actually say canvassing really. 26:33 And some of the guys who were basically dealing drugs, 26:39 basically setup a Bible study. 26:42 So, you know, going for the Bible... 26:44 We went to one home and the lady had a... 26:47 She was pregnant, she had a hole in her mattress, 26:50 a big hole. 26:51 When we got a mattress 26:52 and got the box string, everything. 26:56 See people, you know, 26:58 it's easier minister people, 27:00 when you're meeting temporal needs. 27:02 A man can't hear if he's hungry 27:04 and his stomach is growling, 27:06 it's hard to really hear your message. 27:07 That's right. 27:09 But they're more inclined to come to your church. 27:11 You know, just not giving handouts 27:14 but providing temporal needs, the things that they need. 27:16 So a lot of what I did has changed 27:20 in the last two or three years. 27:23 And my church has been incredible 27:25 in helping me restructure what I do. 27:28 And I'm having more impact. Oh, that's right. 27:30 People say something different about you, 27:32 I can't put my finger, 27:33 but you're just so nice and you're so calm and... 27:37 Well, I'm not trying to prove anything. 27:40 I know who I am. 27:41 There's all I can promise that 27:42 if you don't know who you are, then anyone can name you, 27:45 and everybody can name you, 27:46 you may answer to just anything. 27:48 And you know what on that? I belong to Jesus. 27:51 That is great. 27:53 And on that we have to end, I can't believe our time is up. 27:56 Thank you so much for being with us 27:58 and thank you, for joining us. 28:00 Join us next time 28:02 'cause it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2017-02-21