Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000032
|
00:01 One of today's guests choreographed routines
00:02 for some of the Music Industry's biggest stars 00:05 the other guest was on the verge of a lucrative music deal... 00:08 Stay tuned to find out why they are no longer buying 00:12 into the hype of the world... 00:13 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching 00:16 Urban Report... 00:37 Hello and welcome to Urban Report... 00:40 Today our guests are Dwayne Lemon and Lance Wilbur 00:43 Co-Directors of Tekoa Missions... 00:45 Welcome to Urban Report Dwayne and Lance... Yeah... 00:49 Thank you for having us... Glad to have you... 00:52 and you know what's great? I have you in the Studio... 00:55 because usually, I have to Skype in guests 00:56 because we are kind of in a remote area... 00:59 but you guys are here... live and in person... 01:02 Oh, so good to have you... Thank you... 01:05 You have such compelling testimonies... 01:07 and I know... our Viewers are... many times they... 01:11 you can just kind of get impressed by 01:14 what's going on out there... 01:16 without really knowing what's behind it... 01:18 I think... if people really knew what was behind everything, 01:21 they would be a little appalled by it... 01:24 Hmmm... hmmm... So tell us... tell us... 01:26 I'll start with you Dwayne 01:27 give us the basics of your testimony... like 01:31 where did you come from... 01:32 what were you doing before? let's just talk... 01:35 Yeah, basically, I was born in Queens, New York... 01:38 Yup, New York... we're going to give New York a shout-out... 01:41 I'm a New Yorker too... yeah... okay... 01:43 Specifically in an area called Hollis Queens 01:44 Okay, okay... and Hollis Queens was 01:46 very, very well-known for being one of the center areas 01:50 in Queens, New York for the hip hop culture 01:52 and a few Rap artists... one of them being Run DMC 01:55 there were from there... amongst several others... 01:58 Isn't 50 Cent from Queens too... and Jay Z... 02:01 weren't they from Queens? Well, Jay Z, I'm not really sure 02:04 I think Jay Z was from Brooklyn Okay... okay... 02:06 but nevertheless... you know... it was a central area 02:09 where a lot of concentration of the hip hop culture 02:11 could be seen... and, of course, a lot of people 02:14 of today... have come from Queens... 02:16 nevertheless, that's where I grew up... 02:18 and I grew up in a home that was not religious... 02:20 Hmmm... 02:21 there was no profession of any kind... 02:23 of any religions... my parents basically said, 02:25 "Don't kill anybody 02:27 and don't steal anything 02:28 and more-than-likely you'll be all right 02:29 and probably you'll even make it to heaven" 02:30 Hmmm... very simple rules... 02:32 nevertheless, you know, 02:34 growing up in a home where I'm the youngest of 8... 02:36 my... yeah... Oh... 02:38 my father... he was married to another woman 02:41 and they had 7 children... and then she died... 02:44 and then my father met my mother and then I was number 8... 02:46 Okay... 02:47 so there were 5 boys and then 3 girls... 02:50 Wow! so, I was the youngest of course 02:53 and, you know, we grew up in a home where 02:56 there was somewhat of a love one for another 02:58 as far as brothers and sisters were concerned... 03:00 we cared for each other... 03:02 we bothered each other... we made each other mad... 03:04 we did what a lot of families did 03:06 in those days... and nevertheless... 03:08 we grew up in a home 03:10 where dad was self-employed... 03:12 for the most part... yeah... he would do a lot of 03:14 side painting jobs... he did work for a blue-color 03:16 Organization but most of his income came from that... 03:19 so as a result of that... hustling a lot... to make money 03:23 dad was not home very often... mom was in the Corporate world 03:27 and she was working in the World Trade Center 03:28 and, you know, Mom was a Corporate Woman... 03:30 she is from the Virgin Islands, she was the daughter of a 03:33 Methodist Pastor... and dad, pretty much, as far as 03:36 I remember... people used to refer to dad as somebody who was 03:39 always... had street knowledge, street life... 03:41 Now, when you say "hustling" you don't mean, 03:43 "hustling... hustling" 03:44 No, no... "hustling" in this context... 03:46 was working really hard like over-working... 03:49 Okay, I just wanted to make sure Yeah... 03:51 Finer terms... Yeah, yeah, understood... 03:54 Okay... so, you know, so mom was there 03:56 as much as she could be... dad, again, hard worker... 03:59 very strong and discipled... 04:02 you did not cross dad or else... the wrath would come... 04:04 Hmmm... but nevertheless 04:05 they did their best of what they could offer 04:09 to give myself and my brothers and sisters a happy home... 04:11 all right... Yes... 04:13 now, in that, you know, we did not get a chance to 04:17 get the nurturing that would come from 04:20 what we understand today as a "Bible-believing household" 04:23 Hmmm... you know where there is 04:25 morning worship, evening worship, 04:26 Right... regular church attendance 04:28 prayer and things like that, we didn't get any of that... 04:30 There wasn't any prayer going on at home? 04:32 There was no prayer at all... 04:33 Okay... at all... we went to Church 04:34 pretty much once a year, that was around Easter time 04:36 and for me... that was the time to show off my new suit 04:39 because I didn't wear a suit any other time... 04:41 Okay... okay... you know, very, very vain... 04:43 just empty... no religion whatsoever 04:47 with that being said... I grew up watching television, 04:50 being trained and reared up by entertainment, 04:53 video games... all of these different things, 04:55 anything that just could stimulate me enough 04:57 as a young child to have a lot of fun... 04:59 so, in that environment... growing up... 05:02 my family, I discovered, was very musical... 05:04 my brother Michael... he sang, he tried to go ahead and sing... 05:09 he never made a career of it, of course, 05:11 but nevertheless, he tried... my brother Leslie was 05:13 very talented... he knew how to play the keyboard 05:15 he knew how to play several instruments, 05:19 my brother, Vernon, was excellent at the drums, 05:21 and my father was a drummer... 05:22 he used to play at the night clubs in Harlem... 05:24 So, you come from a musical family... 05:26 Correct... yeah... so there was a lot music going on 05:28 but I didn't have any of these musical talents... 05:31 we used to listen to Rhythm and Blues, 05:33 a little bit of gospel... very little gospel... 05:36 but then... we also listened to something called Funkadelic 05:38 it was like... what they call T-Funk... 05:40 Hmmm... hmmm... 05:41 and it was kind of... like a mixture 05:43 of a lot of different types of music... all into one... 05:46 nevertheless, that's what we grew up on... so... 05:49 listening to all this music in the house, it got to a point 05:52 where I wanted to find out "Well, what's my talent?" 05:54 so, I tried playing the drums, wasn't very good at it... 05:57 Hmmm... hmmm... touched the keyboard... 05:58 couldn't do it... my father always said I had 05:59 fingers made for the keyboard but it just never panned out... 06:02 Hmmm... hmmm... but what I did notice was that 06:04 that every time music would play... 06:06 my feet would just start naturally moving... 06:08 Hmmm... I mean, it was very, very 06:10 impulsive... it was like... as soon as you heard something, 06:13 it was like, "Oh, okay... " and I started moving around... 06:15 so I discovered at a very young age that 06:17 that I knew how to dance... Okay... 06:20 yeah, that was just something that I loved to do... 06:22 it was like... any time music would play... 06:24 and later on... I discovered that there are some people 06:28 who move to music... 06:29 and there are other people, who the music moves... 06:31 Hmmm... and the people who the 06:33 music moves... always made the best dancers 06:35 Okay, so explain that... explain that a little bit... 06:38 There are some people when they listen to music... 06:41 they are trying to process it in their mind, 06:46 and to keep their bodies and their motions coordinated 06:49 to the music so they can move at a certain pace and so on 06:52 I see... I see... there's a lot of this effort 06:54 that's being put out... and then there are other people 06:56 that when the music plays... it's moving you... 06:58 so it's almost like your body is naturally flowing with the music 07:01 Okay... those always made 07:03 the better caliber of dancers... Okay... okay... 07:05 yeah, and we discovered that later on 07:07 because the music was always moving me... 07:08 it was just moving me... 07:09 So, you went into dancing, I assume... 07:12 Oh yeah, definitely, definitely, it got to a point where 07:15 it first started just... being in my home and when we 07:18 were playing music in my backyard during a barbeque 07:20 then... Dwayne was "the entertainment" 07:23 Okay... so, you know, and I loved 07:24 getting attention... because I just didn't get 07:26 as much as I needed... from my parents... 07:29 Hmmm... hmmm... so there was still 07:30 somewhat of a love gap... so, for me, the love gap was 07:34 bridged... by me dancing... 07:36 and then receiving what I interpreted as love... 07:38 Okay... which was attention... 07:39 Okay, so, when did you take that into the professional realm? 07:43 what happened with that... there was a series of events 07:46 that took place with that... I went to High School, 07:48 and when I went to High School, I was pretty much a nobody... 07:51 no one recognized me for anything... 07:52 but, I knew how to dance... so I ended up participating 07:56 in the "Homecoming King - homecoming Queen Pageant" 07:59 Okay... Yeah, the talent shows... 08:01 so when I did that... I ended up winning... 08:04 and I danced... 08:06 Because the talent that you were displaying... 08:08 everybody had to do their talent and yours was dancing... 08:10 exactly... exactly... and you would win... 08:11 Yep... Okay... 08:12 and through the votes and everything... 08:13 they chose me as the Homecoming King for that year 08:15 1989... okay... okay... 08:17 so, when I became the Homecoming King... 08:19 I got a lot of attention... I mean... a lot of attention... 08:23 and then, there was a series of events, 08:25 kind of fast forwarding, 08:26 there was a series of events in High School that took place 08:30 where some guys came and they started dancing at the school, 08:32 and I really didn't appreciate the fact that 08:35 the crowd... the auditorium... was showing all these guys 08:37 the love that I felt belonged to me... 08:39 Right... right... right... right 08:40 so, therefore, I got jealous about that... 08:42 so I went up on stage and I wanted to battle with them 08:44 by dancing... Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... 08:46 and the teachers thought 08:47 that a fight was getting ready to start up... 08:48 so the teachers broke it up 08:50 they said, "No, no, no, let's stop this" 08:52 and then we were left off the stage 08:53 and a fight broke out as a result of that... 08:58 somebody thought that one of these guys wanted to 09:00 start trouble with me so they want and started 09:02 to jump on the guys and beat them up 09:03 Hmmm... and it was terrible... 09:05 come to find out that the guys that they beat up 09:08 at the School... were part of a group in Brooklyn, New York, 09:11 called "The Decepticons" there was a cartoon 09:13 that used to be called "The Transformers" 09:15 and they had the Autobots and Decepticons 09:16 the Decepticons were the bad guys... 09:18 to make the long story short, they were the bad guys... 09:21 they were known for just beating people up 09:23 killing them... all these things... 09:24 Even the name, "Decepticons" 09:26 I mean... you know... sounds like... bad news... 09:29 Well, they basically interpreted 09:32 the Decepticon guys who got beaten up, 09:34 they figured I started this fight... 09:36 I sent the guys... so, they began to call my house 09:41 and tell my mother and my father "We're going to kill your son" 09:43 and so on... and my mother got very nervous 09:45 Wow... 09:47 and she said, "You can't go back to School" 09:48 and so I became a high school dropout... 09:49 Wow, and at what grade were you in at this point? 09:52 This was when I was in 11th Grade... 09:55 Okay... oh wow! so you were a Junior... one year left... 09:58 and you dropped out... Hmmm... hmmm... 10:00 Well, what happened after that is... 10:02 I ended up having to look for a job... had to work... 10:04 because I couldn't go back to School... 10:07 so, odd jobs were not working for me 10:09 I took a job at UPS... hated it... 10:11 tried to do another job in another location 10:14 hated it... so I told my mother and father 10:16 I said, "Listen, they always do auditions for videos 10:20 in New York... in Manhattan... so let me give it a try" 10:24 again, because my parents didn't have any 10:26 strong moral standards... they just said, 10:27 "Go for it... whatever you believe you can do... do it... " 10:30 Hmmm... hmmm... so I went from the house parties 10:32 and I started going to music auditions... 10:34 and that's how I started getting into the Entertainment Industry 10:37 I see... so you went to some of these auditions 10:40 and one of them clicked for you... 10:42 one of them clicked... 10:43 it's probably the one that clicked that really helped 10:46 launch my career... was with Queen Latifah... 10:48 Okay... Queen Latifah held an audition 10:51 and I was part of the group called "Quiet Stone" 10:54 and our concept was always "We walk soft but we hit hard" 10:57 Hmmm... Quiet Stone... 10:59 and we would just go in there 11:00 and just kind of look like nobody... 11:02 but when it was time for the dance... 11:03 and they would press play in that music... 11:05 the music took over... and, therefore, 11:08 I would demonstrate my talent and then, Latifah said, 11:11 "Oh yeah, we got to bring this guy in... " 11:12 Hmmm... and that's how I got in... 11:14 I went on the Apocalypse '91 World Tour 11:16 you know, with the Public Enemy 11:18 and there were several other artists 11:20 and that was kind of like the really kick-off... 11:22 Hmmm... of my being involved in the 11:23 Entertainment Industry as a dancer and choreographer... 11:26 One of the things that people might not know 11:28 about the Entertainment Industry is... it is about "who you know" 11:32 Oh yeah... because those doors open 11:34 as you get to know one person and they recommend you 11:38 to somebody else... that's how the doors open for you 11:41 Absolutely... it's kind of... from within 11:44 Yes, it is... and so, you're saying that 11:47 when you started out... you took these auditions 11:50 and stuff... did really well... one person saw you... 11:52 "We got to have him... " and then, the rest of the doors 11:55 started opening... Really, the rest is history... 11:57 Wow, so who else did you... 11:59 work with, some of the names? 12:02 I worked with Queen Latifah, I worked with Salt-N-Pepa 12:06 Hmmm... hmmm... worked with a Rap Artist 12:09 by the name of MC Lyte, 12:10 I started to work with Busta Rhymes 12:12 and then Leaders Of The New School 12:13 A Tribe Called Quest... Wu-Tang Clan 12:15 I ended up going more so to the singing side 12:18 so then I met a guy by the name of Tony Terry... 12:20 who was a great R and B Artist at that time... 12:23 really well known... then Cee Cee Peniston 12:25 and then, of course, Brandy... Hmmm... hmmm... 12:28 when I got a chance to work with Brandy, 12:29 and these were individuals 12:31 that we started doing music videos with and tours with, 12:34 and then it started to branch into other things like 12:37 Commercials... Sprite commercials, 12:39 Coco Cola, Nike and the list goes on... 12:41 Hmmm... hmmm... then eventually there was a 12:43 a Sitcom called "New York Under Cover" 12:46 Yeah... and they brought me in 12:48 to do some acting... that was my first time doing acting 12:50 Okay... you know, and, 12:51 that was incredible as well... 12:53 so, it was in a very short period of time 12:55 but before you know it, I was a dancer, a choreographer 12:58 an actor, you know, the list goes on... 13:00 and it was kind of like... you're going uphill... 13:02 Yes... you know... at that point... 13:03 What did you see... this is so important because 13:06 people think that the music industry 13:10 is just all glamour and glitz 13:11 and that people are just having a great time... 13:13 and all that... Hmmm... hmmm... 13:14 what did you see... behind the scenes 13:17 that would make you go, "Whoa... " 13:19 that would kind of take you aback 13:21 what did you see? Yes... 13:22 there is a lot that takes place when the lights go off... 13:28 and I realize that the Entertainment Industry 13:31 it's very trap-oriented... because what they do is... 13:34 when the lights are on... and you see the music videos, 13:37 and you see the "Bling... bling" all of the glamour, 13:40 the money... the women... the men... 13:41 and this that and the other... but when those lights go off... 13:45 it's a whole different world... I saw murder, I saw thievery, 13:48 I saw abuse... 13:50 I saw individuals who were wrongly done... 13:53 there were things that were done to them that were horrible 13:57 it's difficult to even mention specifically some of the things 14:00 that I've seen... I've seen a lot of crooked behavior, 14:02 a lot of crooked foul activities 14:03 you know, you see these things when the lights go off... 14:06 there are promises made but not fulfilled 14:08 Hmmm... hmmm... there's a lot of using and 14:10 abusing of individuals from the mental to the physical 14:13 and perhaps in certain ways even spiritual levels... 14:15 Yes... then there's a lot of bloodshed 14:18 there's a lot of fighting, there is murder, you know, 14:21 there are things that take place that I saw... that I said, 14:25 "Man, I didn't know that I was entering into this... " 14:27 Yes, see to me... that is the thing... 14:32 Satan is so conniving... 14:35 he presents this picture that everything is beautiful... 14:39 but when those lights go off 14:41 you see... all of this dirt... Corruption... 14:44 yes... all of these things that are going on 14:46 and just... it's just... you know that it's a trap 14:51 That's right... it is a trap... 14:52 and I want our Viewers to know that... 14:55 that's so important... because we get beguiled... 14:57 Yes... we're beguiled by the Serpent 15:00 we're really... get beguiled... and if we if we are not careful, 15:03 we think it's so great... 15:05 Now, I'm going to come to you Brother Lance... 15:08 because I want to hear what's been going on with you 15:11 and then we're going to talk about Tekoa... 15:12 I wish I had an hour... I need an hour with you guys... 15:17 see it's not fair... you're going to be doing 15:19 something on the Today Program, 15:21 and I didn't get you for an hour, ok, so I am going 15:23 to have to talk to them. 15:24 Okay, now Brother Lance... tell us about yourself... 15:26 Where did you come from? 15:28 I'm from Massachusetts originally... 15:31 I was born right on the outskirts of Boston... 15:34 and I lived in and out of Boston and around the area... 15:36 pretty much... growing up... 15:38 I kind of come in from a different angle... 15:41 similar background... I had a single-parent household 15:43 I was raised by my mother, bi-racial family... 15:45 and really no morals in the house... 15:50 I mean there was standards and values, I guess, 15:52 it wasn't complete chaos... Hmmm... hmmm... 15:54 but no religion... certainly no religion... 15:56 pretty much... try everything once... 15:58 you know, do whatever you want 15:59 as long as it doesn't hurt anybody 16:00 kind of values... Hmmm... hmmm... 16:02 so, I was exposed to a lot of things... 16:04 early on... you know... 16:07 domestic violence, drugs, 16:09 alcohol... all kinds of things at a young age... 16:13 so by ten-years-old... I was already 16:15 repeating those things... 16:17 and repeating the behaviors that I witnessed... so... 16:18 I was already getting involved in the streets 16:21 more heavily and smoking and drinking 16:23 and that just escalated By ten... 16:25 by ten... yeah... Wow! 16:26 so, pretty much, eleven, twelve, now it's everyday... 16:30 and I'm pretty much now getting sucked into that 16:33 street life... and it was just, at that time... 16:36 pervaded by hip hop culture... so, I became addicted to it 16:41 I mean... I was kind of anti-establishment 16:44 and I was just, I don't know, 16:48 people probably had all kinds of bad names for me, 16:50 but I was just on the streets... Yeah, yeah... 16:53 whatever you can imagine... that life would be... 16:55 that's what I did... 16:56 so, I had my mid-life crisis at 15... 16:59 because I had pretty much done everything, you know, 17:02 tried everything that I wanted to try... 17:06 just partying and you know money and 17:10 basically anything that came to mind, I did it... 17:14 if I wanted to do it... I did it 17:16 and there was nothing... there was no law or anything 17:18 that could stop me... so, a large group of friends 17:21 a large "crew" if you will... 17:23 that we used to be together everyday, 17:24 every day was like a party... 17:26 and eventually, I just got disgusted with that, 17:29 lifestyle... at 15... Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... 17:32 it wasn't fun anymore... it was kind of maxed out... 17:34 Hmmm... hmmm... ran its limits... 17:36 so, I began asking questions, I literally remember 17:39 a conversation that I had "God" whoever I understood 17:43 was God at that time... because I remember 17:47 as a young child... having a conception of God 17:50 and Christ and the Bible... but, no real experience, 17:53 you know Church... and weddings and funerals and... 17:56 Right... Easter and Christmas 17:57 kind of thing... But no relationship... 17:59 no relationship... Yeah... 18:00 I just had peripheral knowledge, 18:02 so, I remember asking for things I understood, 18:06 "Oh, you pray for something and God 18:09 'is supposed to give it to you'" so, I remember asking for things 18:11 and if it didn't immediately manifest itself... 18:14 I would curse God out... and I would just have tirades at God 18:17 Wow! so, fast-forward at 15... 18:19 it was mid-life crisis... I'm disgusted with my life, 18:21 I'm not satisfied... and I asked the question, 18:25 "Why am I here... what is the purpose... 18:27 is there a God... is the universe... " 18:29 all these questions... these Proverbial questions 18:33 and an answer came into my head 18:35 a very clear voice came into my head 18:37 and the voice said, "If you want answers, go and read... " 18:39 Hmmm... and I hated reading... 18:42 to me reading was for certain kinds of people... 18:45 Nerds? exactly, exactly... 18:47 so I just wasn't in to it... I mean, I was never "dumb" 18:50 I mean, I was always an "intelligent kid" 18:53 and I could do what I wanted... but I didn't like School... 18:57 it just didn't appeal to me... so, I took it as a challenge 19:01 I was very competitive, I played sports... 19:03 I was a three-sport athlete, and so I said, 19:06 "All right, that's a challenge if you want answers, go read" 19:08 I took it like that... I literally got up 19:09 and left my house, and went to the High School I was attending 19:15 I went to the Library and took out some books... 19:17 I took out some books on philosophy, 19:18 I took out a book on Shamanism, I took out a book on Egyptology, 19:22 and I took out a book on Mars... the planet, the red planet... 19:27 Whoa... whoa... Egyptology and Shamanism... 19:29 Yes... yes Whoa, okay... 19:31 so I started my journey... 19:33 I literally now... 15, 16, 17, 18... 19:36 I'm still in the streets, I'm still doing all kinds of 19:39 Were you doing music at this point? 19:40 Yeah, pretty much by this time it was music and basketball... 19:45 or street and basketball... I had already received 19:48 some invitations... even in my sophomore year 19:51 I was receiving letters to play basketball 19:53 at various schools... but I hated school... 19:55 and so, street life and drugs and alcohol every day... 20:01 and late nights don't mix with high-level athletics... 20:07 and so, they were able to scrape me by... 20:10 and I received, you know, people offering to buy you shoes 20:14 and send you to camps and do all these things 20:17 and pass you through grades and classes... 20:19 that you don't even attend or don't do any homework for... 20:21 Wow! but I just... I got less 20:24 and less interested with School, I guess the whole idea was... 20:27 I'd wake up whenever I wanted, go into school... 20:29 just find out what's going on for the day and then leave... 20:31 So, how did you get into the pro-music... 20:36 I know that you were doing music and basketball... 20:39 how did music, then, take over? 20:40 Because, basically, with hip hop culture 20:43 when I was just completely engrafted into... 20:46 in running the streets and taking in the culture 20:50 through the music, and the entertainment 20:51 and the movies... and, you know, my surroundings 20:54 and the people that I was running with everyday... 20:56 that became an option... in other words... 20:59 I was always good with speaking, and just... 21:01 it was a natural talent that I had... 21:03 so, it's something that I heard... 21:05 and, you know, you go from memorizing people's songs, 21:07 to then... somebody saying, 21:09 "Hey why don't you make your own?" 21:10 Okay... and then you sit down... 21:12 and it's just automatic... you don't... it comes naturally 21:15 so, everyday becomes now... 21:16 I'm going to pursue this professionally... 21:18 so, I'm going to just... from writing rhymes and Emceeing 21:23 amongst your friends... 21:25 now you're going to different levels... 21:27 so, I connected with pretty much the most prominent 21:30 Deejay Producer in the Boston area 21:33 he was in... pretty much all the prominent magazines at the time 21:37 and Boston really didn't have a reputable hip-hop or music 21:40 scene for the hip hop culture so it was very, very isolated 21:44 groups that were identified with the city of Boston... 21:47 so there was an underground swelling that was happening 21:51 at the time... as hip-hop was starting to spread globally 21:54 where... we were just getting more and more opportunities 21:57 so, I started getting serious, I started putting together Sets 22:00 and putting together a demo... and recording... 22:03 and that kind of went from there... 22:06 So, you guys both... this is so deep... 22:09 you guys both... had invested yourselves 22:12 into that whole hip hop culture, into that whole music deal... 22:17 and yet, you were brought out from it... 22:20 I want to know... as quickly as you can 22:24 tell me, how you got out, because I want to hear about 22:27 Tekoa Mission... Yes... 22:29 how did you, first Dwayne, how did you find the Lord? 22:33 and then I want to hear about it from you... 22:35 Okay... even while I was in the Entertainment Industry, 22:38 traveling and everything, 22:39 even the partners that I brought in... to dance with me, 22:41 one of them, he actually decided 22:43 to no longer go in to work with me anymore, 22:45 and I asked him, "Why?" 22:46 and he said, "Because Christ and the world do not mix" 22:49 Hmmm... hmmm... now, that was a seed... 22:51 when you think about the Bible, in Isaiah 55 where it says, 22:54 "so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: 22:56 it shall not return unto me void... " 22:57 Right... he planted a seed in my mind... 22:58 Right... so, I'm thinking, 23:00 "Christ and the world do not mix" 23:01 at first I was like, "Man, you're crazy... 23:03 all this money and everything... and you're telling me 23:06 that you're going to turn it away for Jesus?" 23:07 it didn't make any sense... but then... 23:09 a very traumatic experience happened... 23:11 my nephew got killed... Hmmm... 23:13 and when my nephew got killed, it was one of the first funerals 23:16 that I ever went to... and when I went to that funeral, 23:18 that's when... watching his casket go into 23:22 the ground... it felt like he was being pulled out of my life 23:24 and it was through that experience 23:27 that when we went back into the limousine... 23:29 all the voices in the limousine kind of drowned out... 23:31 I started to hear a voice asking me very clearly, 23:34 "Will you accept me now?" Wow! 23:36 "Will you accept me now?" Wow... 23:39 and it was like... that voice was clear as day 23:41 and in my mind, I knew that this must be God... 23:43 Yes... and that was the first time 23:45 that I ever said, "Yes" to the Lord... 23:47 Wow! that's awesome, what about you? 23:48 Yeah so, going back, 23:50 when I heard that voice 23:52 that said, "If you want answers go and read... " 23:54 so I did... and so the whole time 23:56 when I'm continuing to deal drugs and run the streets 24:00 and produce music... I'm studying... I'm reading... 24:03 heavily... Hmmm... 24:04 so, fast forward 5 years later and about 60 books, 24:08 of all kinds of religions, New Age, 24:11 and Buddhism and Islam... I pretty much decided 24:14 that I was going to join the 5 percent Nation... 24:17 it's an off-shoot of the NOl... the Nation of Islam in America 24:20 and so, through a providential series of events... 24:27 I found myself in a Barber Shop, I sat in this Barber Shop, 24:31 and I began to go into the Barber Shop 24:33 to get haircuts and just to hang out... 24:35 I was very close to the person I was working with... 24:36 and we used to get into religious matters... 24:38 and had virtual fist fights over religion 24:40 and I was 60 books in... and I felt that I knew everything 24:43 you couldn't tell me anything, and one day, the owner, 24:45 after months and months, the owner said, 24:46 "Hey, I have a Pastor coming in to give a Bible Study, 24:48 why don't you sit and wait... " 24:50 I said, "No problem... " I thought, 24:51 "Another challenge" Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... 24:53 "like the pastor is not going to be embarrassing you" 24:55 so, I sat in... closed the Barber Shop, after hours 24:57 there were about 25 of us in the Barber Shop... 25:00 we sat down for a Bible Study 25:01 and the Bible Study was on the Authority of God's Word 25:04 and the prophecies of Daniel chapter 2... 25:06 I had already read books that I had accepted as truth, 25:09 prior to, sitting down and seeing this in the Bible, 25:12 and when I saw it in the Bible, my mouth was stopped 25:16 Wow! and I asked for that set of 25:18 lessons... there were 31 lessons in the series 25:20 I took them home, I did all of them once, twice, 25:22 I was half way the third time, 25:23 and the Pastor asked me 25:24 if I had any questions... I said, "No, no questions" 25:26 my mind was made up... 25:27 Wow! you see how God had this 25:29 divine plan for the two of you! 25:32 All right, fast forward now and tell us about Tekoa... 25:35 What is it? Tekoa Missions is a ministry 25:39 we're located in New Hampshire, 25:41 over there over New England in the Northeast... 25:43 and our goal is to produce an army of young people 25:46 who are committed to soul-winning for life... 25:49 we started in 2008... we are two of the Directors 25:51 there's another Director, Brother Andre Waller 25:53 who also works with us very closely... 25:55 and we pretty much have an Evangelism Training School... 25:58 so we train young people how to learn... 26:01 how to win souls for Christ, how to work and add numbers 26:04 to God's Kingdom... we're also interested in 26:07 not just training young people to do missionary work 26:11 in the U.S. in the Northeast... predominantly 26:13 but also creating a Center, if you will, 26:17 like a refuge... a sanctuary... 26:19 to reach the cities... 26:20 you know, the urban areas... and the Communities... 26:23 the population centers that are desperately in need 26:25 of the truth... and the gospel... 26:27 and not just the gospel in the theoretical sense 26:30 in the preaching sense, but in a practical sense... 26:33 Yes... the day-to-day... The day-to-day... 26:35 so, learning how to offer solutions to people's issues 26:40 and ministering to people physically, mentally, 26:42 and spiritually... so, creating a network, if you will, 26:46 that workers can be trained to offer those services 26:49 and then offer something outside of the cities, 26:52 in the Country... to bring people from the cities 26:55 out there... and let them see the contrast 26:57 to see that there's a different way of life... 26:59 so we take a lot of young people from urban areas... 27:01 so, then they can go back into those urban areas... 27:04 not just after the education but we're working these centers 27:07 while they are being educated so they're getting a practical 27:10 education and the Biblical, theoretical training as well... 27:13 Wow! that is wonderful... 27:16 what a wonderful God-inspired plan! 27:19 Yeah... and I praise the Lord 27:21 for you guys... I love to see young men 27:23 that are on fire for God... 27:24 that have come out from the darkness... 27:26 Thank you so much... Thank you for having us... 27:28 you're in His marvelous light 27:30 and I'm just... I'm thrilled to have you 27:32 and I'm looking forward to you guys... 27:34 you guys are going to be hosting a Program on Dare to Dream 27:37 so, I'm really excited about that, 27:39 and we'll talk more about that 27:40 in December when you come back... 27:41 All right... All right... 27:42 Thanks for joining us... 27:44 and tuning in today... 27:45 you know, today you've heard from two young men 27:48 that are on fire for God... 27:50 that have come out from the darkness 27:52 into His marvelous light... there is nothing better 27:55 than that... there is nothing greater than that 27:57 join us next time... 27:59 it just wouldn't be the same without you... |
Revised 2015-07-14