Are you caught up and enslaved by sexual sin? 00:00:01.06\00:00:03.53 Stay tuned to hear about a program that offers 00:00:03.57\00:00:06.50 practical, biblical, life-changing information 00:00:06.54\00:00:09.61 that can set you free. My name is Yvonne Lewis, 00:00:09.64\00:00:12.68 and you are watching Urban Report. 00:00:12.72\00:00:26.10 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:00:36.60\00:00:39.44 My guests today are Pastor Joshua Nelson and his 00:00:39.48\00:00:43.10 panel from "Pure Choices." Pure Choices is a program 00:00:43.13\00:00:46.67 that has a new format, with a variety of hosts and 00:00:46.70\00:00:50.21 ministry teams. Recently, I talked to them 00:00:50.24\00:00:53.08 on the Pure Choices set, take a listen... 00:00:53.11\00:00:59.72 It's my privilege today to introduce the new 00:00:59.75\00:01:04.75 pure choices team. Our host is Pastor Joshua Nelson 00:01:04.78\00:01:09.29 Pastor Nelson, welcome to Urban Report. 00:01:09.33\00:01:12.30 Thank you... I know it's weird because we are 00:01:12.33\00:01:14.52 on the set of Pure Choices, doing Urban Report, but 00:01:14.55\00:01:17.33 you viewers are used to me doing that and you know 00:01:17.36\00:01:20.58 I love doing this. So, it's so good to have you here. 00:01:20.62\00:01:23.80 We were fortunate enough and blessed enough 00:01:23.84\00:01:26.68 to have had another team... Pastor Seth Yelorda and his team 00:01:26.71\00:01:31.34 that hosted Pure Choices previously, and now, 00:01:31.37\00:01:35.07 because they couldn't continue to do it, we have a new team, 00:01:35.10\00:01:38.49 and God is so faithful, He continually provides 00:01:38.53\00:01:41.83 for us on Dare to Dream. So, thank you so much, 00:01:41.86\00:01:45.13 and we are going to kind of go around, 00:01:45.16\00:01:47.57 and introduce yourselves to our viewers, 00:01:47.61\00:01:49.94 because you are going to be on Pure Choices and so, 00:01:49.98\00:01:53.23 we'll start with our new host, Pastor Joshua Nelson, 00:01:53.26\00:01:56.18 tell us about yourself Pastor. Where do you Pastor? 00:01:56.22\00:02:00.03 I pastor in South Carolina, in the great conference of 00:02:00.06\00:02:04.16 South Atlantic Conference, and I am in the Lake City 00:02:04.20\00:02:08.27 in Marion District and so I have two churches there, 00:02:08.30\00:02:11.86 and I started out in ministry about five years ago, 00:02:11.90\00:02:15.75 and I went to Oakwood, well, I pastored a little bit 00:02:15.78\00:02:19.60 for a couple of years, I went to Andrews, 00:02:19.63\00:02:22.49 and graduated with my M.Div. and now I am back in the field 00:02:22.52\00:02:26.64 pastoring... before that, well, I am from California, 00:02:26.68\00:02:29.61 it's a big part of who I am... California boy... 00:02:29.65\00:02:32.10 Yeah... I can hear the California accent 00:02:32.13\00:02:35.38 yeah... Yeah, exactly... 00:02:35.41\00:02:36.90 and so I am very proud of that, and I have a little sister, 00:02:36.93\00:02:41.30 Shantula, she's two years younger than me... 00:02:41.33\00:02:43.74 and she's a nurse in D.C. and my mom and dad, 00:02:43.78\00:02:47.80 who are still in California, my dad and mom raised me very well, 00:02:47.84\00:02:52.17 I think, hopefully, I turned out OK, I think, 00:02:52.20\00:02:55.30 they home-schooled me which was a big part of my life, 00:02:55.34\00:02:58.80 and that was a blessing, I also went to academy when 00:02:58.84\00:03:02.27 I got into high school, so... Are you married? 00:03:02.30\00:03:06.07 No, but I am getting married, All right, give a shout-out 00:03:06.11\00:03:08.65 to your fiancé... I'm in love with my fiancé, 00:03:08.69\00:03:12.31 Kimberly Doss and we are getting married very soon, 00:03:12.34\00:03:15.49 so I am very excited, yes... That's awesome. 00:03:15.53\00:03:18.40 Marquis... Yes, my name is Marquis Jackson 00:03:18.44\00:03:21.24 and I pastor in Sumter and Manning, South Carolina, 00:03:21.28\00:03:24.70 also in the great South Atlantic Conference, amen. 00:03:24.73\00:03:28.08 Just like Josh... Pastor Joshua Nelson, well, I've also pastored 00:03:28.11\00:03:33.10 for the past five years as well, my life is similar, 00:03:33.14\00:03:36.62 I didn't go to academy, but when I graduated from High School 00:03:36.66\00:03:40.15 when I started at Southern Adventist University, 00:03:40.19\00:03:42.61 I was Biology major, changed to Accounting major, 00:03:42.64\00:03:46.26 the Lord called me in my Sophomore year to go into 00:03:46.30\00:03:49.89 Theology, I wrestled with it for two years, 00:03:49.92\00:03:52.36 but the Lord called me, kept on calling me, 00:03:52.39\00:03:54.43 and I finally accepted, and at that time, 00:03:54.46\00:03:56.42 I was not at Southern, I was at the University of Cincinnati, 00:03:56.46\00:03:59.15 I am from Cincinnati, Ohio, so all the Ohio people, 00:03:59.19\00:04:01.73 let's get a shout-out as well... 00:04:01.76\00:04:03.10 Then I transferred to Oakwood University, graduated, 00:04:03.14\00:04:07.26 I went straight to Seminary, after that, I was doing 00:04:07.29\00:04:11.38 literature evangelism. The Lord opened the door for me 00:04:11.42\00:04:14.96 to speak with my previous President, Elder Minninghall, 00:04:15.00\00:04:18.51 and the Lord just blessed me to be put at the 00:04:18.55\00:04:21.04 District of Marion, Lake City, and Laurens, South Carolina 00:04:21.07\00:04:24.57 so I pastored the district where Pastor Nelson pastors now... 00:04:24.61\00:04:28.07 This is my second district, the Lord has really been blessing, 00:04:28.11\00:04:32.94 I love ministry, its work, but it's truly a blessing. 00:04:32.97\00:04:36.15 Thank you... Pastor Kory... 00:04:36.19\00:04:39.55 Well, my name is Kory P. Douglas P. Douglas if you want to 00:04:39.58\00:04:44.09 call me that... K the initials and the name 00:04:44.13\00:04:47.19 I pastor in the Central States Conference, 00:04:47.23\00:04:49.90 I'm in Southeast Missouri, what they call the Bootheel, 00:04:49.94\00:04:53.02 I'm in Charleston, Missouri, and in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 00:04:53.05\00:04:55.98 in two weeks, it will make one full year of pastoring, 00:04:56.02\00:04:59.19 which in itself to me is a miracle, seeing as though 00:04:59.23\00:05:02.33 I had no intentions when I was growing up to be in Ministry 00:05:02.37\00:05:05.08 at all, so that's a testimony of how faithful God is, 00:05:05.12\00:05:07.97 I am originally from Brooklyn, New York, I don't know if I can 00:05:08.00\00:05:11.94 shout-out my favorite team, we are having a great year, 00:05:11.97\00:05:13.78 this year, a certain guy who got traded from a certain city... 00:05:13.82\00:05:17.06 and I love my city, you know, I love everything New York... 00:05:17.10\00:05:22.34 ok, so shout-out to the New York viewers, I am the eldest of 00:05:22.38\00:05:26.69 too many kids and you know, it's a great responsibility, 00:05:26.73\00:05:31.01 I pretty much raised some of my younger siblings, 00:05:31.04\00:05:33.08 you know, I can tell by that little out of my different 00:05:33.11\00:05:36.53 experiences in life, how God has grown me for Ministry, 00:05:36.57\00:05:39.38 even though, you know, I had no intentions to be in it, 00:05:39.42\00:05:42.47 I just wanted to say this, is that, God is faithful, 00:05:42.51\00:05:45.49 you know, the call to ministry, to do something that you don't 00:05:45.53\00:05:49.07 feel equipped to do, you don't feel worthy to do, 00:05:49.10\00:05:52.32 and yet everyday He shows you, I can use anybody... 00:05:52.35\00:05:55.50 I just love that about ministry, like Marquis said, it's work, 00:05:55.53\00:05:58.91 it's challenging sometimes, you are going to get frustrated, 00:05:58.95\00:06:02.29 but just to see people give their lives to Christ, 00:06:02.32\00:06:04.63 man! there's nothing like it, so And that's such an important 00:06:04.66\00:06:06.95 point, you know, that God can use anybody, 00:06:06.98\00:06:09.23 our viewers need to hear that, because no matter what 00:06:09.27\00:06:12.39 your circumstances, no matter where you are, 00:06:12.43\00:06:14.72 God can take you from where you are and take you on another path 00:06:14.76\00:06:18.70 that you had no idea that you were going to go on... 00:06:18.73\00:06:20.85 So we praise the Lord for that. Kean, tell us about yourself, 00:06:20.89\00:06:24.81 Sure, I am a product of Christian education, 00:06:24.84\00:06:28.18 I thank God for the opportunity to attend Pine Forge Academy, 00:06:28.21\00:06:34.14 and at that point, I really started to develop a 00:06:34.18\00:06:39.25 relationship with God and from the time I graduated, 00:06:39.28\00:06:44.28 I wanted to do God's will for my life, so I ended up going 00:06:44.31\00:06:48.53 to Oakwood and studying Social Work, 00:06:48.57\00:06:51.50 and it was such a blessing just learning how to serve 00:06:51.53\00:06:59.09 the poor, those who are in need, because I understand that 00:06:59.13\00:07:04.56 this is what Jesus did when He was on this earth, 00:07:04.59\00:07:07.00 and so I went from there, I did missionary work for a year 00:07:07.04\00:07:11.01 and then, I did my Masters in Social Work, and I was a 00:07:11.04\00:07:14.95 Social Worker in D.C. for three years, first I did Child Welfare 00:07:14.98\00:07:19.87 and then I worked in an inner city school, 00:07:19.91\00:07:23.81 and learned a lot... how to deal with all sorts of different 00:07:23.85\00:07:29.67 people from different circumstances, 00:07:29.70\00:07:31.58 and it has really helped me to understand God better, 00:07:31.62\00:07:36.04 and as I was working, I started to hear His voice more clearly, 00:07:36.08\00:07:41.16 as He was leading me, how to serve Him on a different level, 00:07:41.19\00:07:46.24 so he called me from there, and although I was very 00:07:46.27\00:07:49.04 reluctant to go to the Seminary, I finally understood that this 00:07:49.08\00:07:53.64 is what He wanted me to do, so, as long as it was His will, 00:07:53.67\00:07:58.36 I am going to go for it, so I went and I realized that 00:07:58.39\00:08:03.01 I am a better person and that He may have just sent me there 00:08:03.04\00:08:07.16 just to mature me as a Christian I realized that, 00:08:07.20\00:08:09.84 I didn't really know Him before, like He wanted me to 00:08:09.87\00:08:14.48 and that I didn't know myself, so it was a great opportunity, 00:08:14.52\00:08:17.89 I just finished in December, and I am looking forward to 00:08:17.93\00:08:21.98 furthering my studies so that I can go into missionary work 00:08:22.01\00:08:26.03 full time... Praise the Lord, so you, 00:08:26.06\00:08:28.05 you are not looking to pastor, so you won't be necessarily 00:08:28.09\00:08:32.77 Pastor Kean Baxter, you'll be... do you want to 00:08:32.81\00:08:37.05 evangelize? Like what is your goal, do you know yet? 00:08:37.08\00:08:40.58 My focus is on... God does call some people to pastor, 00:08:40.61\00:08:47.77 and I may at some point... but, He has laid a burden on me 00:08:47.80\00:08:51.78 for missionary work, I've had a wonderful opportunity to 00:08:51.81\00:08:55.75 travel to Africa and Central America, El Salvador, 00:08:55.78\00:09:02.97 Honduras, Guatemala, and it made an indelible impression 00:09:03.00\00:09:09.25 on my mind to seeing people hungry for the Word of God, 00:09:09.28\00:09:15.46 many people are very poor and don't have the basic necessities 00:09:15.50\00:09:18.99 of life.. I've read a book about the Adventist history and 00:09:19.02\00:09:24.37 about Medical Missionary work, medical evangelism, 00:09:24.40\00:09:27.44 and this is something I strongly believe in... 00:09:27.48\00:09:30.56 the gospel and the health message are supposed to 00:09:30.60\00:09:33.12 go together and both of them together, have a synergistic 00:09:33.16\00:09:37.03 effect and it makes our evangelism more powerful, 00:09:37.07\00:09:41.73 because everybody needs to be healthy, and there are so many 00:09:41.76\00:09:45.45 people... overseas and even in the inner city, 00:09:45.48\00:09:48.86 who don't understand... basic understanding of health, 00:09:48.90\00:09:53.33 you know, a lot of people are dying from heart disease, 00:09:53.37\00:09:56.87 cancer, these things, a lot of them can be prevented, 00:09:56.91\00:10:00.38 so this is my burden... Well, good, and I want to come 00:10:00.41\00:10:03.72 back to your burdens because I think that's really 00:10:03.76\00:10:07.04 important, so thank you for sharing that... 00:10:07.07\00:10:09.83 Kim Petersen, tell us about yourself... 00:10:09.86\00:10:12.54 Well my name is Kimberly Pearson and I am from Maryland, 00:10:12.58\00:10:16.81 I was born and raised, so shout-out to all of those 00:10:16.85\00:10:19.57 from the DMV area which is the District, Maryland, 00:10:19.61\00:10:21.93 Virginia, but that's what we like to call it... 00:10:21.97\00:10:24.22 that's where I was born and raised and ever since 00:10:24.26\00:10:27.50 I was young, I just felt a calling on my life, 00:10:27.53\00:10:30.74 my mom used to write these speeches for me and I would 00:10:30.78\00:10:33.81 stand up and say them in Church, even from a little girl... 00:10:33.85\00:10:36.52 I preached my first sermon when I was eight or nine years old 00:10:36.56\00:10:39.20 and from there, they were like, you know, you are going 00:10:39.23\00:10:41.34 into Ministry but, you know, I loved Ministry, but I thought 00:10:41.38\00:10:44.30 that Ministry was just a hobby for me and so, you know, 00:10:44.33\00:10:47.22 I was involved in Church, I was in Pathfinders, you know, 00:10:47.26\00:10:50.18 shout-out to the Master Guides, and it was a wonderful 00:10:50.21\00:10:53.09 experience and I went to Pine Forge Academy, 00:10:53.13\00:10:55.66 where I graduated from with Kean, we've known 00:10:55.70\00:10:58.27 each other for a long time, All right... yeah... 00:10:58.30\00:11:00.84 ...and from there I went to Oakwood, strangely enough 00:11:00.88\00:11:06.40 my major initially was Theology, but I felt like well maybe, 00:11:06.43\00:11:10.62 I don't need a degree in Ministry to tell people 00:11:10.65\00:11:13.38 about Jesus, because whatever God calls you to... 00:11:13.41\00:11:16.10 we're called to be a light, you know, that was fine, 00:11:16.14\00:11:18.82 so I did Elementary Education, I taught first and second grades 00:11:18.85\00:11:22.32 in Florida Conference at Jacksonville Adventist Academy 00:11:22.35\00:11:25.42 for about five years, and during that time, I was working with 00:11:25.46\00:11:28.70 Central States Conference, doing youth leadership, 00:11:28.73\00:11:32.05 writing plays and productions for them, you know, just 00:11:32.09\00:11:35.37 doing a lot of speaking, but I thought Ministry was my 00:11:35.41\00:11:37.91 hobby and then finally God said, "No, no, honey, 00:11:37.95\00:11:41.38 Ministry is not your hobby, that's your calling... 00:11:41.41\00:11:44.35 Come on, come on... That's what I've gifted you with 00:11:44.39\00:11:47.35 and so, from there, I went to Andrews University, 00:11:47.39\00:11:50.28 Theological Seminary and God... the call from Oakwood University 00:11:50.32\00:11:56.53 where I am now the Associate Chaplain there, 00:11:56.57\00:12:03.41 with a team of Chaplains and I have the privilege of 00:12:03.44\00:12:06.60 ministering to all of the young ladies on campus 00:12:06.64\00:12:09.94 and it is such a beautiful, beautiful experience, 00:12:09.98\00:12:14.12 and I would not trade my job... this ministry or the 00:12:14.16\00:12:17.66 process of being called to Ministry for anything 00:12:17.69\00:12:21.16 in the world. Yes, the journey... 00:12:21.19\00:12:22.52 You wouldn't trade the journey, right, because each of us 00:12:22.56\00:12:26.53 has our own journey... Sister Jean, tell us about your 00:12:26.56\00:12:30.50 journey... My name is Jeanne Nikiararu 00:12:30.53\00:12:33.02 Mogusu.. I am the second of four children. I was born and raised 00:12:33.05\00:12:37.48 in Kenya, East Africa, and I came to the United States 00:12:37.52\00:12:42.34 when I was an adult... I came for Graduate School 00:12:42.37\00:12:47.16 and I must admit that Ministry was never in my cards, 00:12:47.19\00:12:51.01 as they say, it was never anything that I ever thought 00:12:51.04\00:12:54.93 about because growing up I never saw women in ministry, 00:12:54.97\00:12:58.82 you know, I never saw any women in the pulpit, 00:12:58.86\00:13:03.10 so it was never even an inkling in my life plan and so I went to 00:13:03.14\00:13:12.97 Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. 00:13:13.01\00:13:16.74 I did my Masters in Public Policy and Administration 00:13:16.77\00:13:21.62 I went and had a tremendous time God really blessed me, 00:13:21.66\00:13:26.30 I went to... had a couple of really great internships, 00:13:26.33\00:13:31.20 went and started my Ph. D. in Urban and Regional Planning 00:13:31.24\00:13:35.69 had finished my course work in record... in a year, 00:13:35.73\00:13:39.52 I finished all my Ph. D. coursework, was working on my 00:13:39.55\00:13:42.84 dissertation... You're a slouch aren't you... 00:13:42.87\00:13:46.74 well, I was ambitious... I was ready to get out of school 00:13:46.78\00:13:51.22 because I had always planned, I would go straight through my 00:13:51.25\00:13:54.32 Ph. D. so that nobody ever told me to go back to school... 00:13:54.35\00:13:57.39 so that was my life plan and then, just when I had finished 00:13:57.42\00:14:02.14 my course work, I was doing my research work, 00:14:02.17\00:14:04.84 my dissertation and then I started getting this inclination 00:14:04.88\00:14:09.11 of going into Ministry, and at first I was like, 00:14:09.15\00:14:11.34 "Lord, I am NOT going into ministry," 00:14:11.38\00:14:14.27 I've never, you know, seen... I've never met a female pastor, 00:14:14.30\00:14:19.06 mind you at this point, I am like, 27, 28 years old, 00:14:19.10\00:14:23.47 so I've never met a female pastor and never had any notion 00:14:23.50\00:14:27.05 that there were female pastors, so I was like, 00:14:27.08\00:14:29.39 I am not going to be the only person... you know, 00:14:29.43\00:14:31.70 being stared down in a classroom you know, 00:14:31.73\00:14:35.02 You didn't want to be pioneering I must admit-I am not that brave 00:14:35.05\00:14:39.54 I am not that person, so, it was a long journey, 00:14:39.57\00:14:45.02 let's just put it that way, until I buckled down, 00:14:45.05\00:14:47.33 I told the Lord, "You know, if that's where you want 00:14:47.36\00:14:50.65 me to be," because I was an international... 00:14:50.69\00:14:52.28 I am an international student, so if that's where you want 00:14:52.31\00:14:54.58 me to be, you're going to avail the funds for me 00:14:54.62\00:14:57.39 to go to the Seminary... The first time my pastor asked 00:14:57.42\00:15:03.51 me to preach a sermon, was on a Tuesday night, 00:15:03.54\00:15:06.56 the person had cancelled for Sabbath, and he had, 00:15:06.60\00:15:09.55 you know, multiple churches, so on that night, 00:15:09.58\00:15:13.54 I had a car accident.. I was supposed to preach on 00:15:13.58\00:15:17.43 Sabbath... luckily... I wasn't really badly injured, 00:15:17.46\00:15:21.28 I just had, you know, minor injuries, 00:15:21.31\00:15:25.03 but that money that I got from settling my accident 00:15:25.07\00:15:29.06 is actually what sent me for my first year, 00:15:29.10\00:15:31.08 at the Seminary, so at that time, I was really confused, 00:15:31.12\00:15:35.67 I was like, "What on earth is God doing?" 00:15:35.71\00:15:37.50 But it was quite an interesting take on events, 00:15:37.53\00:15:44.33 I got there and it was a real struggle because I was 00:15:44.37\00:15:49.37 coming from a place where it was a Fulbright Scholarship, 00:15:49.40\00:15:53.21 had lots of grants and various opportunities and literally 00:15:53.25\00:15:57.02 learning to trust God to do everything for me, 00:15:57.05\00:16:00.41 where I am a financial freak, I need to know, you know, 00:16:00.45\00:16:04.77 I need for my books to be balanced and this was the 00:16:04.80\00:16:09.05 first time in my life where it was like God had to balance 00:16:09.08\00:16:12.20 the books for me... This was like a walk of faith... 00:16:12.23\00:16:16.00 It was a tremendous walk of faith and it was an even 00:16:16.04\00:16:19.25 bigger walk of faith because my family did not quite 00:16:19.28\00:16:23.49 understand what I was doing, because you can't just go, 00:16:23.52\00:16:27.70 you can't say you're going from a doctoral program 00:16:27.73\00:16:31.74 and coming, you know, literally down into a Master's program 00:16:31.78\00:16:35.41 in the name of "doing what God wants you to do... " 00:16:35.44\00:16:39.20 because logistically, you know, you cannot... it's just not done 00:16:39.24\00:16:44.91 you know, I remember calling to the Seminary when I was 00:16:44.95\00:16:48.06 trying to figure out what to do, and the Program Director 00:16:48.09\00:16:51.09 at that time was just asking me, he's never had anyone 00:16:51.13\00:16:54.09 do their Post-Doctorate at the Seminary... 00:16:54.12\00:16:58.24 but God has been really consistently providing 00:16:58.27\00:17:03.54 and showing me that He has a plan for me and for my life. 00:17:03.57\00:17:07.96 And that's the important thing, from each of you, 00:17:07.99\00:17:11.28 I'm hearing that you might have been on one path, 00:17:11.31\00:17:14.53 but then, God opened your eyes, and brought you on another path. 00:17:14.57\00:17:19.69 Let's talk a bit... because I love your stories, 00:17:19.73\00:17:22.60 I love your stories and you fit right into the whole concept 00:17:22.63\00:17:27.08 of Dare to Dream, you know, the whole concept of letting 00:17:27.12\00:17:31.36 God lead you to His plan for you so tell me about Pure Choices... 00:17:31.40\00:17:38.66 what can we expect this season with Pure Choices... 00:17:38.70\00:17:42.66 I know that you are all in ministry so that gives you 00:17:42.69\00:17:47.47 a theological foundation, what gives you the "authority" 00:17:47.50\00:17:52.24 so to speak to be on Pure Choices? 00:17:52.28\00:17:55.07 What do you think Pastor? I was just starting to say 00:17:55.10\00:17:58.38 that I have no authority... to be on Pure Choices, 00:17:58.42\00:18:01.63 it's only Jesus and His grace, and His mercy that I can even 00:18:01.66\00:18:05.39 sit here, really, when I heard, that you had asked me to do this 00:18:05.42\00:18:08.99 I really did not want to do it, frankly because of the past, 00:18:09.03\00:18:11.86 you know in really seeing that, Oh, you didn't tell me that... 00:18:11.89\00:18:14.68 Oh yeah, oh yeah, I was really praying about this thing, 00:18:14.72\00:18:18.41 but I felt that God saying, "Look you are a real person 00:18:18.44\00:18:21.56 who has had real struggles and now you can give an authentic 00:18:21.60\00:18:25.58 expression of really what we should be doing... 00:18:25.62\00:18:28.11 and really help somebody else who is struggling... 00:18:28.15\00:18:30.31 and so that's really why I decided to do it, 00:18:30.34\00:18:32.50 and it was a struggle between me and God.. I didn't tell you 00:18:32.54\00:18:34.55 about that... but you know I worked it out 00:18:34.59\00:18:36.88 and I asked my friends really to come on with me who 00:18:36.92\00:18:40.28 may have had similar struggles as well, and really you can 00:18:40.32\00:18:43.55 expect real people who are pastors now, who have been saved 00:18:43.59\00:18:46.79 by Grace, just presenting their side and showing you 00:18:46.83\00:18:49.64 how God has really taken us from that place to... 00:18:49.67\00:18:52.45 and taking us still... to a better place... 00:18:52.48\00:18:55.37 Because it is a journey, because it is a process, 00:18:55.41\00:18:58.34 because none of us is perfect, no one's perfect... 00:18:58.38\00:19:01.24 no one's sitting here and that's why when I asked you about 00:19:01.27\00:19:03.99 the authority to do it, no one's sitting here saying, 00:19:04.02\00:19:06.41 "Oh, we've figured it all out... we're perfect," no, we are 00:19:06.45\00:19:10.38 in process... what about you, what about you? 00:19:10.41\00:19:14.03 Well, you know part of what God used to bring me to ministry 00:19:14.07\00:19:16.73 was my discontent with ministry, you know, growing up 00:19:16.77\00:19:20.18 and listening to pastors who essentially preach the same 00:19:20.22\00:19:23.60 sermons over and over again, they would tell you to be clean, 00:19:23.63\00:19:26.86 to be holy, to be pure, but the sermon never got to 00:19:26.89\00:19:30.13 the "How" part, you know, it would always be, 00:19:30.16\00:19:33.33 "No, you are not good, get better, come to the front 00:19:33.37\00:19:37.34 now for the appeal, and you are coming up for the appeal 00:19:37.37\00:19:40.21 because you know you are not clean, you know you are not pure 00:19:40.24\00:19:42.71 but you leave the appeal feeling like, "Well what am I supposed 00:19:42.74\00:19:45.17 to do now?" and as a kid, all you would do is try harder 00:19:45.21\00:19:48.31 and harder and harder... but you'd always feel like 00:19:48.35\00:19:50.33 nothing really changed, and you try to live up to the 00:19:50.36\00:19:53.00 standards and the pressures that Christianity, you felt, 00:19:53.04\00:19:55.65 placed on you, you know, that's part of the discontent 00:19:55.69\00:19:58.05 that God used to bring me to Ministry... 00:19:58.08\00:19:59.83 I felt like, you know, if I had to just call it, 00:19:59.87\00:20:02.47 we got to go deeper, you know, and I think one of the issues 00:20:02.51\00:20:05.55 that we struggle with, especially as young people and 00:20:05.59\00:20:07.74 what we struggle with growing up, and I mean, 00:20:07.77\00:20:09.17 I can testify for myself, is that nobody was really 00:20:09.20\00:20:12.47 real with me, you know, I didn't know what it was like 00:20:12.51\00:20:16.08 for the adults around me, to show the struggle of the 00:20:16.12\00:20:19.65 Christian walk. I saw the standard of the Christian walk 00:20:19.69\00:20:21.90 but I never got to experience the struggle of it 00:20:21.94\00:20:25.28 and so for me, if I didn't look like them, 00:20:25.32\00:20:27.83 something was wrong with me, while at the whole time 00:20:27.86\00:20:30.07 I didn't realize that something was wrong with them too... 00:20:30.11\00:20:31.96 you know and so on this show, I just want to be real, 00:20:31.99\00:20:35.69 I want young people to see that, man, we are all struggling 00:20:35.73\00:20:38.84 and it is only by the grace of God that anybody will be able 00:20:38.87\00:20:41.95 to make pure choices... And that's such a great point 00:20:41.98\00:20:45.01 because, you know, it's so important for people to 00:20:45.04\00:20:48.04 understand the steps, how does Christianity 00:20:48.07\00:20:51.55 translate into everyday life, you look like you were 00:20:51.59\00:20:53.83 going to say something... Yeah, I was going to say 00:20:53.86\00:20:56.03 growing up... my father passed away when I was 17 years old, 00:20:56.07\00:20:59.86 and I was a senior in, you know, in High School and you know, 00:20:59.90\00:21:03.89 not having my father around as I began my relationship process 00:21:03.92\00:21:07.88 was major for me... trying to figure out how to date, 00:21:07.91\00:21:11.35 how did that look like, what would my dad think of 00:21:11.39\00:21:14.76 this guy... what would he say to me, and trying to have 00:21:14.79\00:21:18.25 to resolve that and God played such a big role in being my 00:21:18.29\00:21:22.18 Father and my relationship counselor and being not God 00:21:22.21\00:21:26.07 but Daddy... and that was major for me and, you know, 00:21:26.11\00:21:29.54 I didn't start in ministry fresh out of Oakwood... 00:21:29.58\00:21:32.95 I lived life, you know, and I dated and I made some mistakes 00:21:32.98\00:21:38.51 and now that I am able to be in ministry, I am working with 00:21:38.54\00:21:41.93 college students who are where I was and I know what that 00:21:41.97\00:21:45.48 feels like... and so part of the reason that I really wanted 00:21:45.52\00:21:49.00 to do this... is to say, "Hey, you know, I am a woman 00:21:49.03\00:21:52.12 in ministry and I get it, I've been there, 00:21:52.15\00:21:54.51 I know what it's like, and I know that God... 00:21:54.55\00:21:56.87 he cares so much about us, that He's not just our father, 00:21:56.91\00:22:01.10 He's not just Elohim, He's not just Almighty and Powerful, 00:22:01.14\00:22:05.30 but He's God... Daddy... who cares about us 00:22:05.34\00:22:07.93 He cares about our heart, He cares about a heartbreak, 00:22:07.97\00:22:11.27 He cares when we cry, and that's something I want to convey 00:22:11.30\00:22:14.62 not just to my young ladies at Oakwood but to 00:22:14.65\00:22:16.48 young ladies across the world. That's great... Marquis... 00:22:16.52\00:22:20.62 Yeah, I am 33 years of age, my mom and dad divorced 00:22:20.65\00:22:25.58 when I was 5 years of age, but they re-married each other 00:22:25.62\00:22:28.44 during my freshman year in High School 00:22:28.48\00:22:30.38 my little sister, she's 17 years of age, with her being 17 years 00:22:30.42\00:22:34.15 of age, God really blessed me to have a sister, 00:22:34.19\00:22:37.58 when I grew up I always wanted to have a little brother, 00:22:37.62\00:22:40.06 but the thing is... the reason I wanted a little brother was 00:22:40.10\00:22:42.51 so that I could beat him up... God said, now hang on, 00:22:42.55\00:22:45.10 I am not going to give you a little brother but a 00:22:45.14\00:22:47.66 little sister but when I was in that formative years, 00:22:47.70\00:22:50.35 like about 13 or 14, I started listening to hip-hop and 00:22:50.39\00:22:52.98 rap music and my mind just really got caught up with some 00:22:53.01\00:22:55.94 crazy stuff, and so when my sister was born, 00:22:55.98\00:22:59.54 God then said to me-during this time I am listening to the bad 00:22:59.58\00:23:03.35 music and He said, "Do you want your little sister 00:23:03.38\00:23:05.71 to date someone who listens to that kind of music?" 00:23:05.75\00:23:08.01 With that, that changed my whole perspective and so, yes, 00:23:08.04\00:23:11.35 my dad is in the home, my mom is in the home, 00:23:11.39\00:23:13.86 but I am almost 16 years older than my sister, 00:23:13.90\00:23:16.30 So Mariah, my little sister, she's helped me to be 00:23:16.34\00:23:19.28 accountable, and as I got accountable with my little 00:23:19.32\00:23:21.90 sister, it has caused me to change my own lifestyle, 00:23:21.94\00:23:24.49 of course, because there's things that I want to do 00:23:24.53\00:23:26.84 and I was so focused on it, and tried to get as many girls 00:23:26.87\00:23:29.37 as I could, my mind was totally focused on all those things, 00:23:29.41\00:23:31.87 but God changed that perspective and as He has changed 00:23:31.90\00:23:35.39 my perspective to lead my little sister, He has also caused me 00:23:35.43\00:23:38.17 to be at my Church and to tell men and women, 00:23:38.20\00:23:40.71 young men, young women to be active for Jesus Christ, 00:23:40.75\00:23:43.43 because if not... the world will sure enough get them. 00:23:43.46\00:23:46.11 So, you know, help out as He has helped me get 00:23:46.14\00:23:48.14 pure choices, helped all of us, to develop people more so 00:23:48.18\00:23:51.01 to help share that to younger people, 00:23:51.04\00:23:52.53 and people our age as well. Absolutely, God gave you that 00:23:52.57\00:23:57.27 little sister to have and to interact with a female 00:23:57.31\00:24:01.33 on a certain caring level, I think, and so, that just changed 00:24:01.36\00:24:06.54 everything for you. Praise God for that. 00:24:06.58\00:24:08.89 What about you, Kean? When I got the call from 00:24:08.98\00:24:11.63 Josh, or was it an e-mail, I knew it was providential 00:24:11.66\00:24:16.72 because just a week before, I got into a huge discussion 00:24:16.75\00:24:21.77 slash debate with a few of my friends over Facebook 00:24:21.81\00:24:26.78 on the topic of sex and there just seemed to be so many 00:24:26.82\00:24:31.76 different views, and we all grew up... 00:24:31.80\00:24:34.80 born and raised in the Church, and we still had so many 00:24:34.84\00:24:39.51 different views on the topic, some of them of course were 00:24:39.55\00:24:44.19 subjective, and not all of them were Biblical, but I recognized 00:24:44.23\00:24:51.61 that there is just such a need to be more open and honest 00:24:51.65\00:24:56.21 on this topic like Kory was saying, unfortunately this has 00:24:56.24\00:25:01.36 been really taboo... and the older generations 00:25:01.40\00:25:05.47 aren't as open on this topic that's so important and 00:25:05.51\00:25:09.96 the tendency to be quiet or of a reserved nature on this topic 00:25:10.00\00:25:16.77 actually produces a lot of misconceptions... 00:25:16.81\00:25:19.30 and I think that this is exactly what the devil would like, 00:25:19.33\00:25:22.57 you know, don't talk about it, pretend like everything is fine, 00:25:22.60\00:25:25.81 meanwhile, we're all struggling, we're all confused, 00:25:25.84\00:25:29.87 and it breeds a lot of... just you know, poor choices... 00:25:29.91\00:25:33.91 Poor choices, that's good-I like that-as opposed to Pure Choices, 00:25:33.94\00:25:40.41 yeah, that's right... and we cannot have a situation 00:25:40.45\00:25:43.64 where it's taboo to talk about something that is as pervasive 00:25:43.68\00:25:49.71 as and as much of a blessing as sex is supposed to be 00:25:49.75\00:25:55.39 in the proper context. Does anybody have a 00:25:55.43\00:25:58.73 final thought before we go... just something that you want our 00:25:58.76\00:26:03.19 viewers to know about Pure Choices... 00:26:03.23\00:26:05.50 I'm going to go with you, Pastor and put you under the microscope 00:26:05.71\00:26:10.48 right now... Well, I just want to say that 00:26:10.52\00:26:12.50 Jesus... it's all about Jesus, you know, it's really, and in my 00:26:12.54\00:26:15.70 journey... through my journey in which... making pure choices 00:26:15.73\00:26:18.85 and trying to make pure choices, has all been about 00:26:18.89\00:26:21.15 my relationship with Christ... and I really want people to 00:26:21.18\00:26:25.48 realize that through this whole experience on pure choices that 00:26:25.52\00:26:28.38 that's what we are really trying to bring out... 00:26:28.41\00:26:29.65 you have to get to know Jesus, you have to get to know Him, 00:26:29.69\00:26:32.33 you have to learn Him, you have to experience Him, 00:26:32.37\00:26:34.35 because without Him, then basically you won't want to 00:26:34.38\00:26:36.33 make pure choices... you won't have a desire to do 00:26:36.37\00:26:38.45 anything of this nature... you'll be watching and 00:26:38.48\00:26:40.49 say, well I'll make excuses and I had to be real with myself 00:26:40.53\00:26:43.23 before I got on this show and say, or program and say, 00:26:43.26\00:26:45.92 I'm going to really do this, I'm going to make this a 00:26:45.95\00:26:48.04 part of my life... and really make pure choices... 00:26:48.08\00:26:50.60 so trust me, you do not want to miss these programs, 00:26:50.63\00:26:53.12 these series on Pure Choices... You don't want to miss it, 00:26:53.15\00:26:56.84 please tune in... Thank you... 00:26:56.88\00:27:01.84 Just wait until you see the programs that this team 00:27:05.63\00:27:09.34 has done... they really demonstrate the practicality 00:27:09.37\00:27:13.20 and relevance of the Bible, as they deal with sensitive topics. 00:27:13.23\00:27:16.49 You won't want to miss any of these programs... 00:27:16.52\00:27:19.59 They really had a profound effect on all of us 00:27:19.62\00:27:22.62 in the control room. We think that you'll be blessed 00:27:22.65\00:27:25.06 by it too... you know, some people think that 00:27:25.09\00:27:28.18 well, one sin is worse than another.. is worse than another, 00:27:28.22\00:27:32.54 but you know what? Sin is sin... and the things 00:27:32.58\00:27:35.60 that this team does, is they deal with these issues, 00:27:35.64\00:27:39.36 from a place of God's ideal... So it's not condemning, 00:27:39.40\00:27:43.09 but it's edifying... Well, thanks so much for 00:27:43.12\00:27:46.48 tuning in... join us next time. 00:27:46.52\00:27:48.58 It just wouldn't be the same without you. 00:27:48.62\00:27:52.83