Dare to Dream has a new
series: Foundation of our Faith.
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Stay tuned to meet the speaker
and the musical evangelist
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that are launching it.
My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guests today
are Dr. Timothy Nixon
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and Brian Ezra Bates.
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I had the opportunity
to sit down with Dr. Nixon
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and Brian on the set of
Foundation of our Faith:
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Dare to Dream's new series.
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I first talked to
Dr. Timothy Nixon,
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who by the way is
an old family friend...
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like a cousin to me.
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He grew up in the inner city
and we went to the same church.
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Our parents were friends.
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I was close to his family.
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So it was really a
blessing to bring him here
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and to have him as our
first speaker. Take a look.
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As you know, I
love to be on the set
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of a new program
for Dare to Dream
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with the speaker or the host.
It is such a blessing for me.
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And tonight I am
thrilled to be here
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with my friend, my family...
I call him my cousin...
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Dr. Timothy Nixon, who
is the associate chaplain
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at Andrews
University. Thank you so much.
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Thank you. May I call
you Tim? Yes you may. OK.
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Tim, you are just
such a blessed speaker.
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And one of the
things that I notice is that
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you have a
passion when you speak.
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You are fervent about
what you're talking about...
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about your topic. Where
do you think that comes from?
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That passion, that
fervency for the Word?
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Where do you
think that comes from?
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Boy... wow!
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I just believe that there's
such an urgency all the time.
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Especially now.
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You just never know
whoever's listening to you
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whether or not this might be the
last time they hear a sermon.
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Mmmm. And so
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I really always feel
that sense of urgency,
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and I feel that
especially believing
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that God has given
me something to say.
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That it must be for someone
who is there to hear the sermon.
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Wow! That is so true.
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This time... at this
time in earth's history
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we have to hear...
people have to hear this message
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because it could be the
last time. That's right.
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You grew up in the
inner city... in Brooklyn.
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That's right. Tell me about
growing up in the inner city
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'cause you are like a
poster guy for Dare to Dream.
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You know, you grew
up in the inner city
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and God has blessed you to
just accomplish so many things.
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And we praise Him for that.
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Tell us about your background.
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Well, I grew up in Brooklyn.
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Bedford-Stuyvesant.
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And you know thinking about
those days growing up in the
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1960's through
the riots of the 60's.
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Through the
civil rights struggles.
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Through so many things.
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To just think of
living through that
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is just an amazing
thing to think about.
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And what brought me
through that was family
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and the church.
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Those are the two
things that I firmly believe
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brought me through that.
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You know, it's interesting
that you would say that
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because you were raised
in a two-parent household.
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I know... I knew your parents
and they were like my aunt
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and uncle. So how do you think
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your upbringing
gave you an advantage
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over some of the boys
that didn't have what you had?
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It's invaluable. Ummm.
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Just to... I
often tell people that
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there was never a
thought in my mind
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that my parents
would ever divorce. Hmmm.
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So to grow up
never even thinking
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that that would happen
just takes such a burden
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from you emotionally
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and in every other way.
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And to think that
there are young people
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who grow up having to
deal with that kind of burden.
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You know, I see them
now... Being a chaplain
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you see all kinds of young
people who come to the campus
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who come to school, you
know, with varying kinds of
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situations that they come with
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and the various
baggage that they come with.
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And it's really
amazing the kinds of things
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that young people have to
deal with and struggle through.
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And to see them persevere
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is really quite
an amazing thing.
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And it's so different, isn't
it, from when we were kids.
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I mean I know
I'm older than you.
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And you don't have
to remind me of that.
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Yes... just a little older.
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But you know
when we were coming up
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we didn't have some
of the same challenges
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that we have now...
that these kids have now.
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Not at all. And so I
know you see it first hand.
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Can you give us an
example of some student that you
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have - without naming
any names - but a challenge
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that is different with a
student that you have now
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versus when you were coming up.
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Well... I mean there
are students who come
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to our campus who
are actually the glue
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that holds their
families together.
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How so?
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Financially. There have
been situations where...
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where we find out that there
are students who are taking out
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student loans to
really support their families.
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And it's really a
tragic thing to find out.
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You have those kinds
of situations happening.
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And it's really hard to
fathom that this young adult
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is carrying that kind of
burden for their families
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along with trying
to get through college.
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So it's really
very challenging today
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for some of the young
adults. And of course,
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you know, there are
others who are really thriving
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and who come from very strong
families and strong backgrounds.
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But you have
those cases as well.
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Yes, yes. You
were in New York City
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last year. What were
you doing in New York City
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evangelistically?
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I was a speaker for
one of the NY13 meetings
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this past summer in Brooklyn.
Back in Brooklyn. OK, OK.
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At the Bushwick. OK.
And it was really a...
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It was an amazing
thing to be back in Brooklyn
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and to be in Brooklyn for
an extended period of time.
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I had been back before, but
just a weekend here and there.
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Right. But to be
there for four weeks
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and to really be
back in Brooklyn and to
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travel around and to get
a feel for the city again
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and to see how drastically
it has changed was just amazing.
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I was just going to ask
you: how has it changed?
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How is it the same
and how is it changed?
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It has... the demographic
has changed tremendously.
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The neighborhoods
have changed tremendously.
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It's just a
completely different mix now.
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And you would not
recognize downtown Brooklyn
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from the days when I grew
up there and what it is today.
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And it just reminded me how
we have to think differently
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about how to
minister to the city
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and how to reach
people in cities today.
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'Cause there are unique
challenges, are there not?
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I mean, unique challenges
to inner city residents
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that perhaps suburban
people don't encounter.
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For example, the gangs.
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You know, you don't have a
lot of gangs in the suburbs
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but you do have the
Bloods and the Crips
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and all that in
the inner cities.
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And so what we're
finding with the inner cities
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is... the absentee fathers.
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The mothers raising boys
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without the fathers. I mean,
this is happening in the suburbs
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but it's happening a
lot in the inner cities.
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And so we have some
really unique challenges.
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Mass incarceration
and all of these things.
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So it's like... To me,
you know, growing up...
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I didn't grow up in Brooklyn
but I went to church in Brooklyn
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and my dad was your principal.
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That's right. By the
way, let me just ask you this:
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did you get the wire
like Pastor Lomacang?
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Did you get the wire?
Everybody got the wire.
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Your father should be very
lucky that he's not a principal
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these days... he'd be in jail.
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We won't talk about that.
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But look how you
turned out. Well, yes.
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And look how Pastor Lomacang
turned out. That's true,
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that's true. We know you
guys got a little spankings, but
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you know... Well, I wouldn't
call them little spankings.
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But we won't talk about that.
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You are here for
Foundation of our Faith,
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and you are our first
speaker for this whole series.
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Yes. Tell us a little bit about
what you're going to be doing
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with this series.
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I'm going to be
dealing with relationships
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because I think that
it's one of the most important
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issues for us to
deal with and talk about.
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I think it's one of the biggest
challenges in our community
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today. Young
people, young adults
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and older people
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have some of the greatest
challenges as it relates to
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relationships. Male, female,
and marital relationships.
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The home is at the
center of our communities.
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And so I felt it
would be good to deal with
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those issues. To talk
about men in relationships,
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women in relationships,
marriage, and then the family.
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And so I wanted to focus on that
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and just spend some time
talking about some real issues.
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Some adult issues. We don't
talk about adult issues in the
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church - mmmm - and so I
wanted to really spend some time
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talking about some
serious adult issues
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in the church as opposed
to letting everybody else
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talk about it. I
think that's so important
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because there's so many things
that sometimes we just tend to
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sweep under the rug or we
just don't deal with at all
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because we don't feel that
they're necessarily appropriate.
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But they are. If we don't
talk about them in church,
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where are we going to really
give a spiritual perspective
00:12:01.12\00:12:04.95
on those issues? So I think that
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the whole relationship
emphasis is critical.
00:12:08.21\00:12:13.05
Because again you know
that, within American society
00:12:13.25\00:12:18.82
anyway, we have the
erosion of the family...
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and particularly in black
communities we have the erosion
00:12:21.23\00:12:23.97
of the family... so we really
need what you're bringing.
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Thank you so very much
for what you're doing for us.
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And I want you to know,
viewers, that these messages
00:12:31.39\00:12:36.18
are so God-sent. I know
you're going to be blessed
00:12:36.38\00:12:40.23
by Dr. Timothy Nixon.
00:12:40.43\00:12:42.71
Thank you so much
for being with us.
00:12:42.91\00:12:45.01
Thank you for
having me. God bless.
00:12:45.11\00:12:46.72
It was so great
to talk to Dr. Nixon
00:12:49.52\00:12:52.47
and to just see where he's come.
00:12:52.67\00:12:55.00
God has brought
him a mighty long way.
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Next I sat and
talked to Brian Ezra Bates
00:12:58.46\00:13:01.61
and I was so
impressed with his transparency.
00:13:01.91\00:13:05.47
He really opened up and shared
some personal information.
00:13:05.77\00:13:09.57
One of the things
that blesses me so much
00:13:09.87\00:13:12.78
about our
speaker and our musician
00:13:12.98\00:13:16.01
is that they've been
on the spiritual path.
00:13:16.21\00:13:19.41
And you can see. You'll
be able to see with Brian
00:13:19.71\00:13:22.32
how God has just led him so far.
00:13:22.52\00:13:26.22
I'm sure it's going to bless
you. It certainly blessed me.
00:13:26.42\00:13:29.26
Let's check it out.
00:13:29.56\00:13:30.75
Join me in
welcoming Brian Ezra Bates
00:13:32.90\00:13:36.65
to the Foundation of our
Faith set and Urban Report.
00:13:36.85\00:13:40.24
How are you? Hello!
I'm great, thank you.
00:13:40.38\00:13:42.14
It's so great to have you.
You are our musical evangelist
00:13:42.34\00:13:47.00
for this set of
Foundation of our Faith - yes -
00:13:47.20\00:13:51.56
and we are just being
blessed by your music.
00:13:51.86\00:13:56.11
Well it's a true blessing to
be here. Well praise the Lord!
00:13:56.31\00:13:59.65
Tell me... Let's hear a little
bit about your background.
00:13:59.85\00:14:02.92
Where'd you come from?
Well, I was born in Jackson, MS.
00:14:03.13\00:14:07.42
I grew up some
in Atlanta, Georgia.
00:14:08.82\00:14:11.70
And I moved to Huntsville,
Alabama, when I was a senior
00:14:12.00\00:14:15.65
in high school. And I
just recently moved from there
00:14:15.75\00:14:18.89
about a year and a half ago to
another little city in Georgia
00:14:19.09\00:14:23.33
next to
Chattanooga, TN. Oh wow, wow.
00:14:23.53\00:14:26.47
And are you in music ministry
full time? 'Cause you certainly
00:14:26.67\00:14:29.71
have the gift. No, no.
Full time I'm a drug and alcohol
00:14:29.81\00:14:34.72
counselor full time.
How did you go there?
00:14:34.82\00:14:37.37
How did you get to be that?
00:14:37.67\00:14:39.44
Well I have a real
passion for addiction -
00:14:39.64\00:14:42.52
all types of addiction -
because of my family background
00:14:43.52\00:14:46.59
and my own
personal history with it.
00:14:46.79\00:14:48.90
Tell us about that.
00:14:49.10\00:14:50.22
Well I grew up in a
family of mostly men...
00:14:50.32\00:14:54.30
with my dad's family.
And every man in my family
00:14:54.50\00:14:59.42
including my dad,
his brothers, my uncles,
00:14:59.62\00:15:02.49
his uncles, his father even
00:15:02.69\00:15:05.39
suffered from
some type of addiction.
00:15:05.69\00:15:08.32
His father died when he was six
00:15:10.35\00:15:12.48
of cirrhosis of the liver.
00:15:12.95\00:15:15.24
He drank himself to death.
00:15:15.54\00:15:16.84
Now this is your grandfather?
00:15:17.82\00:15:19.14
This is my
grandfather who I never met
00:15:19.34\00:15:20.56
because of his alcoholism.
00:15:20.76\00:15:22.43
I have uncles who
were raising alcoholics.
00:15:22.99\00:15:26.29
My father was an alcoholic,
a drug addict, sex addict...
00:15:26.60\00:15:31.34
and his brothers were the same.
00:15:31.57\00:15:33.28
And so addiction just
runs rampant through the men
00:15:33.58\00:15:37.53
in my family. And so once I
had my own personal struggle
00:15:37.63\00:15:42.39
with it I had to really depend
on God to change some things
00:15:42.49\00:15:48.23
in my life. And once He did
00:15:48.33\00:15:50.31
I was able to understand
some of the things that He
00:15:50.51\00:15:53.00
did those things for.
And part of the reason was
00:15:53.11\00:15:55.87
because of my own personal
testimony that He had given me
00:15:55.97\00:15:58.78
and the
responsibility to share that.
00:15:59.08\00:16:01.55
How did? Let's
unpack that a little bit.
00:16:01.85\00:16:05.09
How did you
fall into it as well?
00:16:05.39\00:16:08.65
Well my uncle actually
introduced me to some things.
00:16:10.00\00:16:13.53
Was he a young uncle?
00:16:13.73\00:16:15.12
Well at the time he was younger
but he was older than me.
00:16:15.32\00:16:18.12
He was my dad's age, but at
the time he was a younger man,
00:16:18.72\00:16:22.43
of course. And he
introduced me to pornography
00:16:22.63\00:16:25.33
at a very early age. I
was very intrigued by it.
00:16:25.53\00:16:30.33
Of course. I was a young
boy but definitely too young
00:16:30.53\00:16:34.87
to be exposed to that type
of thing. No man should be,
00:16:35.07\00:16:37.34
but I was very young.
00:16:37.54\00:16:39.75
And I had an empty place
in my spirit because I never
00:16:39.95\00:16:44.34
really had a
connection with my father.
00:16:44.44\00:16:46.61
I never really felt like
he liked me when I was a kid
00:16:47.01\00:16:49.72
growing up. I would do things
for him, but he just never
00:16:49.82\00:16:52.22
really seemed interested. And
so I already had a hole there.
00:16:52.32\00:16:55.41
And so my uncle introduced
me to something that I could
00:16:55.61\00:16:58.59
actually fill that hole with
for a very long time in my life.
00:16:58.69\00:17:00.84
And so I started very early
00:17:01.04\00:17:02.48
delving into pornography
and all of such things.
00:17:03.56\00:17:08.13
And I took it into a
marriage that I ultimately lost.
00:17:08.43\00:17:12.07
And, you know, it ran
rampant through my life as well.
00:17:12.47\00:17:16.01
It's amazing, isn't it
Brian? how... On Urban Report
00:17:16.31\00:17:20.90
I always talk about God's plan.
00:17:21.00\00:17:23.43
And God has a plan for
each person and so does Satan.
00:17:24.23\00:17:29.27
Yes. And Satan's plan is to
ultimately destroy you. Yes.
00:17:29.50\00:17:35.34
And God's plan is
to prosper you - yes -
00:17:35.64\00:17:38.45
and to give you a
future and a hope. Correct.
00:17:38.55\00:17:41.31
And some times
families just get caught up...
00:17:41.64\00:17:44.59
families, generations. Um-hmm.
You know, there are generations
00:17:44.62\00:17:48.67
of issues. Yes. And
so what you're telling us
00:17:48.87\00:17:51.53
is that you had
generational issues
00:17:51.64\00:17:55.29
with addiction... whether it was
pornography or substance abuse
00:17:55.49\00:18:00.32
or whatever. Right,
right. And that is part of what
00:18:00.43\00:18:05.29
Satan's plan was for you. Right.
00:18:05.49\00:18:08.00
Where was your mom in all this?
00:18:08.10\00:18:09.50
Were you raised by your
mom at all? Yeah, my poor mom.
00:18:09.60\00:18:12.16
She was kind of
helpless to the whole thing.
00:18:12.36\00:18:16.60
She married this
man who was a great man.
00:18:16.73\00:18:18.71
My father was a great
man but he had these vices
00:18:18.82\00:18:22.41
that ultimately
destroyed their marriage.
00:18:22.61\00:18:25.24
And so I grew up in
several kinds of homes.
00:18:25.44\00:18:27.56
I grew up in a loving home
with my mom and dad at first.
00:18:27.76\00:18:32.22
And then all of a
sudden tumultuously thrown into
00:18:32.65\00:18:35.86
a single-parent home where...
I stayed with my mom, of course.
00:18:36.06\00:18:39.48
And then I moved
with my dad for a spell
00:18:39.78\00:18:41.53
which was really
rough on my life as well.
00:18:42.51\00:18:44.56
Which is actually where I
discovered my love for music
00:18:44.86\00:18:46.91
was with my father.
00:18:47.11\00:18:48.26
Mmmm. I grew up
with music in the home.
00:18:48.46\00:18:51.21
I mean, all types of
gospel music, secular music.
00:18:51.41\00:18:54.03
And that was... For
a long time my escape
00:18:54.33\00:18:58.50
was into music.
00:18:58.81\00:19:00.22
And so I actually ended
up moving back with my mom
00:19:01.25\00:19:04.41
at some point, and my love for
music continued to just grow.
00:19:04.51\00:19:08.80
And I know it was God
because He knew that I needed
00:19:09.10\00:19:12.40
something to help me keep
grounded during the process
00:19:12.50\00:19:15.56
of delving actually even
further into my addiction.
00:19:15.76\00:19:18.75
And I'm just
grateful to Him for that.
00:19:19.05\00:19:21.49
Yes, yes... He's so good.
00:19:21.69\00:19:24.25
And even when we stray,
even when we go away from Him
00:19:24.35\00:19:29.80
He gently leads us back. Yeah.
00:19:30.00\00:19:32.76
How did you find God?
00:19:33.06\00:19:35.14
How did He become
the Lord of your life?
00:19:35.34\00:19:38.00
Hmmm... I was
searching, I was searching.
00:19:38.50\00:19:40.31
I was sick... I was
tired of being tired.
00:19:40.41\00:19:43.57
And you know, I knew
that... How old were you?
00:19:43.78\00:19:45.73
My relationship... my real
relationship with Him started
00:19:47.65\00:19:50.22
when I was probably about 20.
00:19:50.32\00:19:52.14
19... 18 or 19.
00:19:52.97\00:19:55.54
And I was really tired of
the way that I was living.
00:19:55.84\00:19:59.34
And I had met this beautiful
young lady, and she was a SDA.
00:19:59.64\00:20:03.83
I wasn't Adventist.
00:20:04.03\00:20:05.10
And I started
going to church with her
00:20:05.30\00:20:07.06
and going to
Oakwood College to AYS
00:20:07.16\00:20:11.30
and being exposed
to the music there.
00:20:11.50\00:20:13.64
And I made a promise to God.
I said: "God, if You will bless
00:20:13.84\00:20:17.26
my voice and help me to get
better" - 'cause I thought I was
00:20:17.37\00:20:20.71
pretty good. Turns out I
wasn't very good in fact.
00:20:20.81\00:20:23.44
She let me know that
without any question.
00:20:24.24\00:20:26.82
But I told Him if He blessed my
voice that I would only use it
00:20:27.79\00:20:30.84
for Him. And He
began to do that.
00:20:30.94\00:20:33.74
And it was during that
process of time that I got
00:20:34.87\00:20:39.03
acquainted with the church
00:20:39.13\00:20:40.29
and started studying for myself
for the first time in my life.
00:20:40.69\00:20:43.48
Reading the Bible for myself
and studying these powerful
00:20:43.78\00:20:46.22
messages. And God just...
He just did something for me.
00:20:46.32\00:20:50.64
I mean, and it was
amazing how He turned my life.
00:20:50.74\00:20:53.07
God is amazing
because all of your steps
00:20:53.65\00:20:58.82
were orchestrated
- yes, every one -
00:20:59.02\00:21:01.15
so even when you made mistakes
He was bringing you back.
00:21:01.25\00:21:02.96
He was exposing you to music
- yes - and the things that
00:21:03.17\00:21:07.07
would draw you to Him.
Yes. People and places that
00:21:07.17\00:21:10.51
would draw you to Him. Yes.
00:21:10.61\00:21:12.57
So at what point did you
finally say "I surrender...
00:21:12.77\00:21:16.42
I give my life to You.
" How old were you then?
00:21:16.62\00:21:18.76
I was probably about the
same age. It probably happened
00:21:18.97\00:21:20.51
about a year later
so I was probably 19.
00:21:20.62\00:21:23.05
And that's when I got baptized.
00:21:23.35\00:21:25.52
And I completely
gave my life over to God.
00:21:25.73\00:21:27.92
I tried to carry the
message to everybody I met.
00:21:28.12\00:21:30.66
Even to my family...
who are still not Adventists
00:21:31.06\00:21:33.46
but that's what happened for me.
00:21:33.56\00:21:36.47
That's what happened for me.
00:21:36.67\00:21:37.80
And my struggle with my addic-
tion got a lot worse after that.
00:21:37.91\00:21:41.63
Really? It did. It
really did. How so?
00:21:41.93\00:21:45.10
How did it get worse?
00:21:45.34\00:21:46.56
Because at that point I
was now part of this church.
00:21:46.76\00:21:50.47
And I had experience
with God that was real
00:21:50.87\00:21:53.76
and so I felt like that
experience was going to cure me.
00:21:54.06\00:21:56.78
Hmmm. And it definitely
was the stepping stone
00:21:57.75\00:22:01.58
towards aiding me, but
because I had an expectation
00:22:01.78\00:22:07.51
that wasn't realistic my
addiction got much worse.
00:22:07.61\00:22:10.49
So what did you do?
00:22:11.51\00:22:13.26
What did you do to actually
00:22:13.66\00:22:18.74
get on a different path?
'Cause it was getting worse...
00:22:18.94\00:22:21.82
Um-hmm. How did
you get it better?
00:22:22.02\00:22:23.84
What did God do
through you? He broke me, man.
00:22:23.94\00:22:27.25
He broke me. He broke me and
everything that I held so dearly
00:22:27.75\00:22:32.60
was taken from me and I hit
what they call "rock bottom. "
00:22:32.80\00:22:36.00
And I ended up
actually going to rehab
00:22:36.50\00:22:39.75
and counseling
and support groups.
00:22:41.10\00:22:43.72
With prayer and fasting
and everything that the church
00:22:43.93\00:22:48.45
taught me to do. I
had to not only do that
00:22:48.55\00:22:51.60
but I had to actually join
that with some other things.
00:22:51.70\00:22:55.10
You know, I had a lot
of formulas in my head
00:22:55.30\00:22:57.66
about what I
thought I should do.
00:22:57.86\00:22:59.55
You know, the praying and the
things that the church teaches.
00:22:59.85\00:23:03.73
And I didn't actually grab
onto some of these other things
00:23:04.98\00:23:09.06
as well like
counseling and things.
00:23:09.17\00:23:11.12
Had a lot of Christians
tell me that all I needed
00:23:11.32\00:23:13.28
was to just pray and just
fast and just give it to God.
00:23:13.39\00:23:16.24
And I did all of that
and it just never went away.
00:23:16.44\00:23:18.19
Um-hmm. And when it
actually came to me was one day
00:23:18.49\00:23:22.40
I was praying I said: "God,
I just need You to take this
00:23:22.50\00:23:24.81
from me. " And He spoke
very clearly to me. He said:
00:23:24.91\00:23:27.32
"No, I want you
to give it to Me. "
00:23:27.52\00:23:29.06
Wow! And so that's when my
process of surrender started.
00:23:29.36\00:23:32.55
Wow! What a deep point.
00:23:33.27\00:23:35.36
Not take it from
me but the Lord said
00:23:35.56\00:23:39.47
"give it to Me. " He wanted me
to offer it up to Him as a gift.
00:23:39.57\00:23:42.18
And I was thinking: "Why
would You want this as a gift? "
00:23:42.48\00:23:45.14
You know: "Why would You want
this as my offering to You...
00:23:45.54\00:23:48.91
this awful thing? "
00:23:49.11\00:23:50.77
And He made it very clear
to me that He put it in my life
00:23:51.37\00:23:55.07
at a time when I
actually needed it
00:23:55.27\00:23:58.15
to survive some of the
things that I was going through
00:23:58.35\00:24:00.43
as a way to disconnect from
it so that I could survive it.
00:24:00.73\00:24:03.47
And now I didn't need it
any more so He wanted it back.
00:24:03.97\00:24:07.01
Wow! So you had to
surrender your life
00:24:07.83\00:24:12.56
and God also allowed you to
get the tools that you needed.
00:24:12.86\00:24:16.78
Yes. You needed some tools
- yeah - to get through it.
00:24:16.89\00:24:20.55
Some real stuff, yeah. Right?
Um-hmm. And it wasn't just...
00:24:20.75\00:24:23.02
It's OK to get counseling;
it's OK to get tools - yes -
00:24:23.22\00:24:27.81
and help - yes - you
know, because God works through
00:24:28.01\00:24:31.17
people as well.
That's right; that's right.
00:24:31.27\00:24:32.80
So what a
blessing... what a blessing.
00:24:32.90\00:24:35.06
And your story is so
powerful because you show -
00:24:35.26\00:24:41.19
and your transparency
is a blessing, too -
00:24:41.39\00:24:43.49
and you show that
it's God's work in you.
00:24:43.69\00:24:47.76
God is working through you.
00:24:47.96\00:24:49.54
What do you want? In
about a minute, what do you want
00:24:49.74\00:24:52.43
our viewers to know
about Brian Ezra Bates.
00:24:52.63\00:24:55.66
I am a man saved by grace.
00:24:56.55\00:24:58.48
And He took me
from a place of shame
00:24:58.88\00:25:04.16
to a place of grace.
00:25:04.36\00:25:06.50
And I'm so
grateful... and that's it.
00:25:06.70\00:25:08.88
I mean, for me I
just want to share
00:25:09.08\00:25:11.40
as much as I can with everybody.
00:25:11.60\00:25:13.69
I'm an open
book as you can tell.
00:25:13.89\00:25:16.85
But there's no
shame here any more.
00:25:17.87\00:25:19.75
It's just grace, and I
just want to share that grace
00:25:19.95\00:25:22.02
with others. Amen.
Well, thank you for sharing
00:25:22.12\00:25:24.46
that with us and thank you
for sharing your wonderful gift.
00:25:24.56\00:25:28.14
And viewers: you are
going to be so blessed
00:25:28.34\00:25:30.99
when you hear the
ministry of Brian Ezra Bates.
00:25:31.19\00:25:35.05
Thanks.
00:25:35.25\00:25:36.65
I really enjoy
talking to our guests
00:25:38.52\00:25:41.30
on the sets of their programs.
00:25:41.50\00:25:43.45
It seems to be a comfortable
environment for the guests
00:25:43.65\00:25:46.22
and it's a
change of pace for me.
00:25:46.33\00:25:47.99
I hope that you were
inspired by these interviews
00:25:48.39\00:25:51.00
and that you will
apply any spiritual lessons
00:25:51.20\00:25:53.77
that you learned from them.
00:25:53.87\00:25:55.21
Man, Brian's
testimony is so powerful!
00:25:55.61\00:25:59.24
Just to know that he went
through all of those twists
00:25:59.54\00:26:03.39
and turns and God has him on his
feet standing and ministering
00:26:03.49\00:26:08.50
before people now. It is
such an amazing blessing.
00:26:08.71\00:26:11.98
And wait until you
hear Dr. Nixon's sermons
00:26:12.28\00:26:15.49
and Brian's music.
00:26:15.70\00:26:17.12
Make sure to tune
in to Dare to Dream
00:26:17.32\00:26:19.94
and watch
Foundation of our Faith.
00:26:20.14\00:26:22.06
Check the website for the
scheduled days and the times
00:26:22.37\00:26:25.45
of this airing. Also,
if you know of any singers,
00:26:25.55\00:26:30.58
musicians, artists, that would
like to be on Dare to Dream
00:26:30.79\00:26:35.86
or be on Magnify Him or
be featured on Foundation
00:26:36.06\00:26:40.03
of our Faith,
please contact us here.
00:26:40.23\00:26:43.00
You can write me here care of:
00:26:43.30\00:26:45.83
Call us and let us
know or send some music.
00:27:11.10\00:27:14.42
Send a sample of your
music so that we can hear
00:27:14.62\00:27:17.79
and then we'll be able
to check it out and see if
00:27:17.99\00:27:20.76
it'll work for Magnify Him.
00:27:20.96\00:27:23.25
We are looking for people
to minister not just perform.
00:27:23.55\00:27:27.72
Performance is not
what we're looking for.
00:27:27.92\00:27:29.85
We're looking for ministry
and of course great voices
00:27:30.15\00:27:33.63
and great musicians. So please,
support us in that effort.
00:27:33.84\00:27:37.79
Pray for us, and also
support us financially.
00:27:38.09\00:27:41.28
Ask the Lord what
He would have you to do
00:27:41.48\00:27:43.59
for Dare to Dream and how He
would have you to support us.
00:27:43.79\00:27:47.81
We really need your prayers
and your financial support.
00:27:48.11\00:27:51.39
Well, that's the end
of our program for today.
00:27:51.69\00:27:54.60
I hope that you were blessed.
I hope that you were inspired.
00:27:54.91\00:27:57.50
And I hope that you will
tune in on a regular basis.
00:27:57.70\00:28:00.62
Thanks for tuning in today.
00:28:00.92\00:28:02.40
Join us next time. Just wouldn't
be the same without you.
00:28:02.50\00:28:05.50