Dare to Dream has a new series: Foundation of our Faith. 00:00:01.13\00:00:04.60 Stay tuned to meet the speaker and the musical evangelist 00:00:04.93\00:00:08.54 that are launching it. My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:00:08.57\00:00:11.04 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:00:11.17\00:00:13.38 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:00:34.10\00:00:36.26 My guests today are Dr. Timothy Nixon 00:00:36.40\00:00:39.57 and Brian Ezra Bates. 00:00:39.73\00:00:41.74 I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Nixon 00:00:41.87\00:00:44.74 and Brian on the set of Foundation of our Faith: 00:00:44.87\00:00:47.84 Dare to Dream's new series. 00:00:47.98\00:00:50.01 I first talked to Dr. Timothy Nixon, 00:00:50.25\00:00:53.15 who by the way is an old family friend... 00:00:53.28\00:00:56.58 like a cousin to me. 00:00:56.72\00:00:58.22 He grew up in the inner city and we went to the same church. 00:00:58.45\00:01:02.39 Our parents were friends. 00:01:02.52\00:01:03.99 I was close to his family. 00:01:04.13\00:01:05.66 So it was really a blessing to bring him here 00:01:05.89\00:01:08.96 and to have him as our first speaker. Take a look. 00:01:09.10\00:01:13.40 As you know, I love to be on the set 00:01:15.67\00:01:19.44 of a new program for Dare to Dream 00:01:19.57\00:01:22.14 with the speaker or the host. It is such a blessing for me. 00:01:22.28\00:01:26.72 And tonight I am thrilled to be here 00:01:26.75\00:01:30.02 with my friend, my family... I call him my cousin... 00:01:30.15\00:01:34.29 Dr. Timothy Nixon, who is the associate chaplain 00:01:34.42\00:01:38.19 at Andrews University. Thank you so much. 00:01:38.33\00:01:41.76 Thank you. May I call you Tim? Yes you may. OK. 00:01:41.90\00:01:44.10 Tim, you are just such a blessed speaker. 00:01:45.40\00:01:51.27 And one of the things that I notice is that 00:01:51.64\00:01:55.11 you have a passion when you speak. 00:01:55.24\00:01:58.85 You are fervent about what you're talking about... 00:01:58.98\00:02:02.95 about your topic. Where do you think that comes from? 00:02:03.08\00:02:06.32 That passion, that fervency for the Word? 00:02:06.45\00:02:11.09 Where do you think that comes from? 00:02:11.23\00:02:12.73 Boy... wow! 00:02:14.60\00:02:16.67 I just believe that there's such an urgency all the time. 00:02:20.00\00:02:23.81 Especially now. 00:02:26.74\00:02:28.74 You just never know whoever's listening to you 00:02:32.28\00:02:38.15 whether or not this might be the last time they hear a sermon. 00:02:38.29\00:02:42.42 Mmmm. And so 00:02:42.66\00:02:45.99 I really always feel that sense of urgency, 00:02:47.30\00:02:51.10 and I feel that especially believing 00:02:51.93\00:02:57.14 that God has given me something to say. 00:02:57.27\00:02:59.17 That it must be for someone who is there to hear the sermon. 00:02:59.31\00:03:03.91 Wow! That is so true. 00:03:04.15\00:03:05.95 This time... at this time in earth's history 00:03:05.98\00:03:10.39 we have to hear... people have to hear this message 00:03:10.52\00:03:14.09 because it could be the last time. That's right. 00:03:14.32\00:03:16.76 You grew up in the inner city... in Brooklyn. 00:03:16.99\00:03:20.26 That's right. Tell me about growing up in the inner city 00:03:20.40\00:03:24.63 'cause you are like a poster guy for Dare to Dream. 00:03:24.77\00:03:27.84 You know, you grew up in the inner city 00:03:28.07\00:03:30.17 and God has blessed you to just accomplish so many things. 00:03:30.31\00:03:33.81 And we praise Him for that. 00:03:33.94\00:03:35.24 Tell us about your background. 00:03:35.38\00:03:37.38 Well, I grew up in Brooklyn. 00:03:37.61\00:03:39.38 Bedford-Stuyvesant. 00:03:40.52\00:03:43.05 And you know thinking about those days growing up in the 00:03:43.39\00:03:47.49 1960's through the riots of the 60's. 00:03:47.52\00:03:51.83 Through the civil rights struggles. 00:03:51.96\00:03:53.60 Through so many things. 00:03:53.73\00:03:56.03 To just think of living through that 00:03:58.10\00:04:02.24 is just an amazing thing to think about. 00:04:02.47\00:04:05.17 And what brought me through that was family 00:04:05.21\00:04:08.11 and the church. 00:04:08.34\00:04:09.91 Those are the two things that I firmly believe 00:04:10.35\00:04:14.08 brought me through that. 00:04:14.12\00:04:15.42 You know, it's interesting that you would say that 00:04:15.65\00:04:17.85 because you were raised in a two-parent household. 00:04:17.99\00:04:22.66 I know... I knew your parents and they were like my aunt 00:04:22.79\00:04:28.26 and uncle. So how do you think 00:04:28.30\00:04:32.47 your upbringing gave you an advantage 00:04:33.37\00:04:38.07 over some of the boys that didn't have what you had? 00:04:38.21\00:04:40.94 It's invaluable. Ummm. 00:04:44.05\00:04:47.35 Just to... I often tell people that 00:04:47.48\00:04:52.72 there was never a thought in my mind 00:04:52.85\00:04:55.99 that my parents would ever divorce. Hmmm. 00:04:57.23\00:05:00.30 So to grow up never even thinking 00:05:00.46\00:05:05.50 that that would happen just takes such a burden 00:05:05.83\00:05:11.24 from you emotionally 00:05:11.37\00:05:13.14 and in every other way. 00:05:14.31\00:05:16.28 And to think that there are young people 00:05:16.64\00:05:19.71 who grow up having to deal with that kind of burden. 00:05:19.85\00:05:23.28 You know, I see them now... Being a chaplain 00:05:23.52\00:05:26.59 you see all kinds of young people who come to the campus 00:05:26.72\00:05:29.79 who come to school, you know, with varying kinds of 00:05:29.82\00:05:33.19 situations that they come with 00:05:33.23\00:05:34.86 and the various baggage that they come with. 00:05:34.93\00:05:36.60 And it's really amazing the kinds of things 00:05:36.63\00:05:39.63 that young people have to deal with and struggle through. 00:05:39.77\00:05:45.04 And to see them persevere 00:05:45.17\00:05:48.81 is really quite an amazing thing. 00:05:48.94\00:05:51.38 And it's so different, isn't it, from when we were kids. 00:05:51.61\00:05:54.55 I mean I know I'm older than you. 00:05:54.78\00:05:56.38 And you don't have to remind me of that. 00:05:56.52\00:05:58.05 Yes... just a little older. 00:05:58.09\00:06:01.06 But you know when we were coming up 00:06:02.36\00:06:05.09 we didn't have some of the same challenges 00:06:05.23\00:06:07.76 that we have now... that these kids have now. 00:06:07.93\00:06:10.10 Not at all. And so I know you see it first hand. 00:06:10.13\00:06:12.83 Can you give us an example of some student that you 00:06:12.97\00:06:17.24 have - without naming any names - but a challenge 00:06:17.37\00:06:19.84 that is different with a student that you have now 00:06:19.97\00:06:23.18 versus when you were coming up. 00:06:23.31\00:06:24.88 Well... I mean there are students who come 00:06:25.21\00:06:29.18 to our campus who are actually the glue 00:06:29.32\00:06:35.19 that holds their families together. 00:06:35.22\00:06:36.86 How so? 00:06:37.09\00:06:38.19 Financially. There have been situations where... 00:06:38.83\00:06:43.26 where we find out that there are students who are taking out 00:06:43.40\00:06:45.90 student loans to really support their families. 00:06:45.93\00:06:51.04 And it's really a tragic thing to find out. 00:06:51.47\00:06:54.31 You have those kinds of situations happening. 00:06:56.34\00:06:59.28 And it's really hard to fathom that this young adult 00:06:59.81\00:07:05.79 is carrying that kind of burden for their families 00:07:05.92\00:07:08.62 along with trying to get through college. 00:07:08.76\00:07:13.29 So it's really very challenging today 00:07:13.63\00:07:18.63 for some of the young adults. And of course, 00:07:18.80\00:07:20.50 you know, there are others who are really thriving 00:07:20.74\00:07:23.91 and who come from very strong families and strong backgrounds. 00:07:24.04\00:07:26.74 But you have those cases as well. 00:07:26.98\00:07:29.21 Yes, yes. You were in New York City 00:07:29.34\00:07:31.98 last year. What were you doing in New York City 00:07:32.11\00:07:34.88 evangelistically? 00:07:35.02\00:07:36.25 I was a speaker for one of the NY13 meetings 00:07:36.38\00:07:40.09 this past summer in Brooklyn. Back in Brooklyn. OK, OK. 00:07:40.22\00:07:44.53 At the Bushwick. OK. And it was really a... 00:07:44.56\00:07:48.83 It was an amazing thing to be back in Brooklyn 00:07:49.30\00:07:51.97 and to be in Brooklyn for an extended period of time. 00:07:52.20\00:07:55.84 I had been back before, but just a weekend here and there. 00:07:55.87\00:07:59.27 Right. But to be there for four weeks 00:07:59.41\00:08:01.94 and to really be back in Brooklyn and to 00:08:02.08\00:08:05.21 travel around and to get a feel for the city again 00:08:05.35\00:08:10.32 and to see how drastically it has changed was just amazing. 00:08:10.49\00:08:13.99 I was just going to ask you: how has it changed? 00:08:14.02\00:08:16.26 How is it the same and how is it changed? 00:08:16.29\00:08:18.23 It has... the demographic has changed tremendously. 00:08:19.39\00:08:24.47 The neighborhoods have changed tremendously. 00:08:25.93\00:08:28.07 It's just a completely different mix now. 00:08:29.90\00:08:33.48 And you would not recognize downtown Brooklyn 00:08:35.11\00:08:39.11 from the days when I grew up there and what it is today. 00:08:39.25\00:08:43.62 And it just reminded me how we have to think differently 00:08:43.79\00:08:49.66 about how to minister to the city 00:08:49.79\00:08:53.56 and how to reach people in cities today. 00:08:53.90\00:08:57.33 'Cause there are unique challenges, are there not? 00:08:58.10\00:09:00.80 I mean, unique challenges to inner city residents 00:09:01.04\00:09:05.37 that perhaps suburban people don't encounter. 00:09:05.51\00:09:09.18 For example, the gangs. 00:09:10.21\00:09:13.62 You know, you don't have a lot of gangs in the suburbs 00:09:13.85\00:09:17.45 but you do have the Bloods and the Crips 00:09:17.59\00:09:20.76 and all that in the inner cities. 00:09:20.89\00:09:22.49 And so what we're finding with the inner cities 00:09:22.72\00:09:25.59 is... the absentee fathers. 00:09:25.63\00:09:29.66 The mothers raising boys 00:09:29.70\00:09:32.87 without the fathers. I mean, this is happening in the suburbs 00:09:33.00\00:09:35.80 but it's happening a lot in the inner cities. 00:09:35.84\00:09:38.81 And so we have some really unique challenges. 00:09:38.94\00:09:43.18 Mass incarceration and all of these things. 00:09:43.31\00:09:46.58 So it's like... To me, you know, growing up... 00:09:46.72\00:09:50.72 I didn't grow up in Brooklyn but I went to church in Brooklyn 00:09:50.75\00:09:53.96 and my dad was your principal. 00:09:54.09\00:09:56.09 That's right. By the way, let me just ask you this: 00:09:56.22\00:09:57.93 did you get the wire like Pastor Lomacang? 00:09:58.06\00:10:00.43 Did you get the wire? Everybody got the wire. 00:10:00.56\00:10:04.27 Your father should be very lucky that he's not a principal 00:10:05.83\00:10:10.27 these days... he'd be in jail. 00:10:10.31\00:10:12.17 We won't talk about that. 00:10:12.41\00:10:14.38 But look how you turned out. Well, yes. 00:10:15.38\00:10:17.55 And look how Pastor Lomacang turned out. That's true, 00:10:17.58\00:10:19.98 that's true. We know you guys got a little spankings, but 00:10:20.02\00:10:22.62 you know... Well, I wouldn't call them little spankings. 00:10:22.75\00:10:25.39 But we won't talk about that. 00:10:25.62\00:10:27.16 You are here for Foundation of our Faith, 00:10:28.82\00:10:32.23 and you are our first speaker for this whole series. 00:10:32.36\00:10:35.66 Yes. Tell us a little bit about what you're going to be doing 00:10:35.80\00:10:39.53 with this series. 00:10:39.67\00:10:41.27 I'm going to be dealing with relationships 00:10:41.40\00:10:43.27 because I think that it's one of the most important 00:10:43.41\00:10:48.34 issues for us to deal with and talk about. 00:10:48.48\00:10:53.25 I think it's one of the biggest challenges in our community 00:10:53.48\00:10:57.02 today. Young people, young adults 00:10:57.05\00:11:00.99 and older people 00:11:01.86\00:11:04.79 have some of the greatest challenges as it relates to 00:11:06.39\00:11:09.40 relationships. Male, female, and marital relationships. 00:11:09.43\00:11:13.64 The home is at the center of our communities. 00:11:13.67\00:11:17.81 And so I felt it would be good to deal with 00:11:18.04\00:11:23.24 those issues. To talk about men in relationships, 00:11:23.38\00:11:26.21 women in relationships, marriage, and then the family. 00:11:26.25\00:11:29.02 And so I wanted to focus on that 00:11:29.25\00:11:31.05 and just spend some time talking about some real issues. 00:11:31.32\00:11:34.59 Some adult issues. We don't talk about adult issues in the 00:11:35.59\00:11:38.96 church - mmmm - and so I wanted to really spend some time 00:11:38.99\00:11:42.13 talking about some serious adult issues 00:11:42.26\00:11:44.77 in the church as opposed to letting everybody else 00:11:44.90\00:11:47.70 talk about it. I think that's so important 00:11:47.74\00:11:49.94 because there's so many things that sometimes we just tend to 00:11:49.97\00:11:53.34 sweep under the rug or we just don't deal with at all 00:11:53.48\00:11:56.21 because we don't feel that they're necessarily appropriate. 00:11:56.24\00:11:58.85 But they are. If we don't talk about them in church, 00:11:58.98\00:12:00.88 where are we going to really give a spiritual perspective 00:12:01.02\00:12:04.92 on those issues? So I think that 00:12:05.05\00:12:07.99 the whole relationship emphasis is critical. 00:12:08.12\00:12:13.03 Because again you know that, within American society 00:12:13.16\00:12:18.80 anyway, we have the erosion of the family... 00:12:18.83\00:12:20.97 and particularly in black communities we have the erosion 00:12:21.10\00:12:23.94 of the family... so we really need what you're bringing. 00:12:23.97\00:12:27.08 Thank you so very much for what you're doing for us. 00:12:27.44\00:12:31.11 And I want you to know, viewers, that these messages 00:12:31.28\00:12:36.15 are so God-sent. I know you're going to be blessed 00:12:36.28\00:12:40.19 by Dr. Timothy Nixon. 00:12:40.32\00:12:42.69 Thank you so much for being with us. 00:12:42.82\00:12:44.99 Thank you for having me. God bless. 00:12:45.03\00:12:46.70 It was so great to talk to Dr. Nixon 00:12:49.40\00:12:52.43 and to just see where he's come. 00:12:52.57\00:12:54.97 God has brought him a mighty long way. 00:12:55.10\00:12:58.01 Next I sat and talked to Brian Ezra Bates 00:12:58.34\00:13:01.58 and I was so impressed with his transparency. 00:13:01.81\00:13:05.45 He really opened up and shared some personal information. 00:13:05.68\00:13:09.55 One of the things that blesses me so much 00:13:09.78\00:13:12.75 about our speaker and our musician 00:13:12.89\00:13:15.99 is that they've been on the spiritual path. 00:13:16.12\00:13:19.39 And you can see. You'll be able to see with Brian 00:13:19.63\00:13:22.26 how God has just led him so far. 00:13:22.40\00:13:26.17 I'm sure it's going to bless you. It certainly blessed me. 00:13:26.30\00:13:29.20 Let's check it out. 00:13:29.44\00:13:30.71 Join me in welcoming Brian Ezra Bates 00:13:32.81\00:13:36.61 to the Foundation of our Faith set and Urban Report. 00:13:36.75\00:13:40.25 How are you? Hello! I'm great, thank you. 00:13:40.28\00:13:42.12 It's so great to have you. You are our musical evangelist 00:13:42.25\00:13:46.99 for this set of Foundation of our Faith - yes - 00:13:47.12\00:13:51.53 and we are just being blessed by your music. 00:13:51.76\00:13:56.06 Well it's a true blessing to be here. Well praise the Lord! 00:13:56.20\00:13:59.60 Tell me... Let's hear a little bit about your background. 00:13:59.73\00:14:02.87 Where'd you come from? Well, I was born in Jackson, MS. 00:14:03.00\00:14:07.38 I grew up some in Atlanta, Georgia. 00:14:08.71\00:14:11.68 And I moved to Huntsville, Alabama, when I was a senior 00:14:11.91\00:14:15.62 in high school. And I just recently moved from there 00:14:15.65\00:14:18.85 about a year and a half ago to another little city in Georgia 00:14:18.99\00:14:23.29 next to Chattanooga, TN. Oh wow, wow. 00:14:23.43\00:14:26.46 And are you in music ministry full time? 'Cause you certainly 00:14:26.59\00:14:29.66 have the gift. No, no. Full time I'm a drug and alcohol 00:14:29.70\00:14:34.67 counselor full time. How did you go there? 00:14:34.70\00:14:37.34 How did you get to be that? 00:14:37.57\00:14:39.41 Well I have a real passion for addiction - 00:14:39.54\00:14:42.48 all types of addiction - because of my family background 00:14:43.41\00:14:46.55 and my own personal history with it. 00:14:46.68\00:14:48.88 Tell us about that. 00:14:49.02\00:14:50.19 Well I grew up in a family of mostly men... 00:14:50.22\00:14:54.29 with my dad's family. And every man in my family 00:14:54.42\00:14:59.39 including my dad, his brothers, my uncles, 00:14:59.53\00:15:02.43 his uncles, his father even 00:15:02.56\00:15:05.33 suffered from some type of addiction. 00:15:05.57\00:15:08.27 His father died when he was six 00:15:10.24\00:15:12.44 of cirrhosis of the liver. 00:15:12.84\00:15:15.21 He drank himself to death. 00:15:15.44\00:15:16.81 Now this is your grandfather? 00:15:17.71\00:15:19.11 This is my grandfather who I never met 00:15:19.25\00:15:20.52 because of his alcoholism. 00:15:20.65\00:15:22.38 I have uncles who were raising alcoholics. 00:15:22.88\00:15:26.25 My father was an alcoholic, a drug addict, sex addict... 00:15:26.52\00:15:31.33 and his brothers were the same. 00:15:31.49\00:15:33.26 And so addiction just runs rampant through the men 00:15:33.50\00:15:37.47 in my family. And so once I had my own personal struggle 00:15:37.50\00:15:42.34 with it I had to really depend on God to change some things 00:15:42.37\00:15:48.18 in my life. And once He did 00:15:48.21\00:15:50.28 I was able to understand some of the things that He 00:15:50.41\00:15:52.98 did those things for. And part of the reason was 00:15:53.01\00:15:55.85 because of my own personal testimony that He had given me 00:15:55.88\00:15:58.75 and the responsibility to share that. 00:15:58.99\00:16:01.52 How did? Let's unpack that a little bit. 00:16:01.76\00:16:05.06 How did you fall into it as well? 00:16:05.29\00:16:08.60 Well my uncle actually introduced me to some things. 00:16:09.90\00:16:13.47 Was he a young uncle? 00:16:13.60\00:16:15.07 Well at the time he was younger but he was older than me. 00:16:15.20\00:16:18.07 He was my dad's age, but at the time he was a younger man, 00:16:18.61\00:16:22.38 of course. And he introduced me to pornography 00:16:22.51\00:16:25.28 at a very early age. I was very intrigued by it. 00:16:25.41\00:16:30.29 Of course. I was a young boy but definitely too young 00:16:30.42\00:16:34.86 to be exposed to that type of thing. No man should be, 00:16:34.99\00:16:37.33 but I was very young. 00:16:37.46\00:16:39.73 And I had an empty place in my spirit because I never 00:16:39.86\00:16:44.30 really had a connection with my father. 00:16:44.33\00:16:46.57 I never really felt like he liked me when I was a kid 00:16:46.90\00:16:49.67 growing up. I would do things for him, but he just never 00:16:49.70\00:16:52.17 really seemed interested. And so I already had a hole there. 00:16:52.21\00:16:55.38 And so my uncle introduced me to something that I could 00:16:55.51\00:16:58.55 actually fill that hole with for a very long time in my life. 00:16:58.58\00:17:00.82 And so I started very early 00:17:00.95\00:17:02.45 delving into pornography and all of such things. 00:17:03.45\00:17:08.09 And I took it into a marriage that I ultimately lost. 00:17:08.32\00:17:12.06 And, you know, it ran rampant through my life as well. 00:17:12.39\00:17:15.96 It's amazing, isn't it Brian? how... On Urban Report 00:17:16.20\00:17:20.87 I always talk about God's plan. 00:17:20.90\00:17:23.37 And God has a plan for each person and so does Satan. 00:17:24.11\00:17:29.24 Yes. And Satan's plan is to ultimately destroy you. Yes. 00:17:29.41\00:17:35.32 And God's plan is to prosper you - yes - 00:17:35.55\00:17:38.42 and to give you a future and a hope. Correct. 00:17:38.45\00:17:41.29 And some times families just get caught up... 00:17:41.56\00:17:44.49 families, generations. Um-hmm. You know, there are generations 00:17:44.53\00:17:48.63 of issues. Yes. And so what you're telling us 00:17:48.76\00:17:51.50 is that you had generational issues 00:17:51.53\00:17:55.24 with addiction... whether it was pornography or substance abuse 00:17:55.37\00:18:00.28 or whatever. Right, right. And that is part of what 00:18:00.31\00:18:05.25 Satan's plan was for you. Right. 00:18:05.38\00:18:07.98 Where was your mom in all this? 00:18:08.02\00:18:09.48 Were you raised by your mom at all? Yeah, my poor mom. 00:18:09.52\00:18:12.12 She was kind of helpless to the whole thing. 00:18:12.25\00:18:16.59 She married this man who was a great man. 00:18:16.62\00:18:18.69 My father was a great man but he had these vices 00:18:18.73\00:18:22.36 that ultimately destroyed their marriage. 00:18:22.50\00:18:25.20 And so I grew up in several kinds of homes. 00:18:25.33\00:18:27.50 I grew up in a loving home with my mom and dad at first. 00:18:27.64\00:18:32.17 And then all of a sudden tumultuously thrown into 00:18:32.54\00:18:35.81 a single-parent home where... I stayed with my mom, of course. 00:18:35.94\00:18:39.45 And then I moved with my dad for a spell 00:18:39.68\00:18:41.48 which was really rough on my life as well. 00:18:42.38\00:18:44.52 Which is actually where I discovered my love for music 00:18:44.75\00:18:46.89 was with my father. 00:18:47.02\00:18:48.22 Mmmm. I grew up with music in the home. 00:18:48.36\00:18:51.19 I mean, all types of gospel music, secular music. 00:18:51.33\00:18:54.00 And that was... For a long time my escape 00:18:54.20\00:18:58.47 was into music. 00:18:58.70\00:19:00.17 And so I actually ended up moving back with my mom 00:19:01.14\00:19:04.37 at some point, and my love for music continued to just grow. 00:19:04.41\00:19:08.78 And I know it was God because He knew that I needed 00:19:09.01\00:19:12.38 something to help me keep grounded during the process 00:19:12.41\00:19:15.52 of delving actually even further into my addiction. 00:19:15.65\00:19:18.72 And I'm just grateful to Him for that. 00:19:18.95\00:19:21.46 Yes, yes... He's so good. 00:19:21.59\00:19:24.23 And even when we stray, even when we go away from Him 00:19:24.26\00:19:29.76 He gently leads us back. Yeah. 00:19:29.90\00:19:32.70 How did you find God? 00:19:32.93\00:19:35.10 How did He become the Lord of your life? 00:19:35.24\00:19:37.97 Hmmm... I was searching, I was searching. 00:19:38.41\00:19:40.28 I was sick... I was tired of being tired. 00:19:40.31\00:19:43.55 And you know, I knew that... How old were you? 00:19:43.68\00:19:45.68 My relationship... my real relationship with Him started 00:19:47.55\00:19:50.19 when I was probably about 20. 00:19:50.22\00:19:52.12 19... 18 or 19. 00:19:52.89\00:19:55.52 And I was really tired of the way that I was living. 00:19:55.76\00:19:59.33 And I had met this beautiful young lady, and she was a SDA. 00:19:59.56\00:20:03.77 I wasn't Adventist. 00:20:03.90\00:20:05.07 And I started going to church with her 00:20:05.20\00:20:07.00 and going to Oakwood College to AYS 00:20:07.04\00:20:11.27 and being exposed to the music there. 00:20:11.41\00:20:13.61 And I made a promise to God. I said: "God, if You will bless 00:20:13.74\00:20:17.25 my voice and help me to get better" - 'cause I thought I was 00:20:17.28\00:20:20.68 pretty good. Turns out I wasn't very good in fact. 00:20:20.72\00:20:23.42 She let me know that without any question. 00:20:24.15\00:20:26.79 But I told Him if He blessed my voice that I would only use it 00:20:27.69\00:20:30.83 for Him. And He began to do that. 00:20:30.86\00:20:33.73 And it was during that process of time that I got 00:20:34.76\00:20:38.97 acquainted with the church 00:20:39.00\00:20:40.24 and started studying for myself for the first time in my life. 00:20:40.57\00:20:43.44 Reading the Bible for myself and studying these powerful 00:20:43.67\00:20:46.17 messages. And God just... He just did something for me. 00:20:46.21\00:20:50.61 I mean, and it was amazing how He turned my life. 00:20:50.65\00:20:53.05 God is amazing because all of your steps 00:20:53.55\00:20:58.79 were orchestrated - yes, every one - 00:20:58.92\00:21:01.12 so even when you made mistakes He was bringing you back. 00:21:01.16\00:21:02.92 He was exposing you to music - yes - and the things that 00:21:03.09\00:21:07.03 would draw you to Him. Yes. People and places that 00:21:07.10\00:21:10.47 would draw you to Him. Yes. 00:21:10.50\00:21:12.53 So at what point did you finally say "I surrender... 00:21:12.67\00:21:16.37 I give my life to You. " How old were you then? 00:21:16.50\00:21:18.71 I was probably about the same age. It probably happened 00:21:18.87\00:21:20.48 about a year later so I was probably 19. 00:21:20.51\00:21:23.01 And that's when I got baptized. 00:21:23.24\00:21:25.48 And I completely gave my life over to God. 00:21:25.61\00:21:27.88 I tried to carry the message to everybody I met. 00:21:28.02\00:21:30.62 Even to my family... who are still not Adventists 00:21:30.95\00:21:33.42 but that's what happened for me. 00:21:33.46\00:21:36.46 That's what happened for me. 00:21:36.59\00:21:37.83 And my struggle with my addic- tion got a lot worse after that. 00:21:37.86\00:21:41.56 Really? It did. It really did. How so? 00:21:41.80\00:21:45.07 How did it get worse? 00:21:45.23\00:21:46.50 Because at that point I was now part of this church. 00:21:46.63\00:21:50.44 And I had experience with God that was real 00:21:50.77\00:21:53.71 and so I felt like that experience was going to cure me. 00:21:53.94\00:21:56.75 Hmmm. And it definitely was the stepping stone 00:21:57.65\00:22:01.55 towards aiding me, but because I had an expectation 00:22:01.68\00:22:07.49 that wasn't realistic my addiction got much worse. 00:22:07.52\00:22:10.46 So what did you do? 00:22:11.43\00:22:13.23 What did you do to actually 00:22:13.56\00:22:18.70 get on a different path? 'Cause it was getting worse... 00:22:18.83\00:22:21.77 Um-hmm. How did you get it better? 00:22:21.90\00:22:23.81 What did God do through you? He broke me, man. 00:22:23.84\00:22:27.21 He broke me. He broke me and everything that I held so dearly 00:22:27.64\00:22:32.58 was taken from me and I hit what they call "rock bottom. " 00:22:32.71\00:22:35.98 And I ended up actually going to rehab 00:22:36.42\00:22:39.72 and counseling and support groups. 00:22:41.02\00:22:43.69 With prayer and fasting and everything that the church 00:22:43.83\00:22:48.40 taught me to do. I had to not only do that 00:22:48.43\00:22:51.57 but I had to actually join that with some other things. 00:22:51.60\00:22:55.07 You know, I had a lot of formulas in my head 00:22:55.20\00:22:57.61 about what I thought I should do. 00:22:57.74\00:22:59.51 You know, the praying and the things that the church teaches. 00:22:59.74\00:23:03.68 And I didn't actually grab onto some of these other things 00:23:04.88\00:23:09.05 as well like counseling and things. 00:23:09.08\00:23:11.09 Had a lot of Christians tell me that all I needed 00:23:11.22\00:23:13.25 was to just pray and just fast and just give it to God. 00:23:13.29\00:23:16.22 And I did all of that and it just never went away. 00:23:16.36\00:23:18.16 Um-hmm. And when it actually came to me was one day 00:23:18.39\00:23:22.36 I was praying I said: "God, I just need You to take this 00:23:22.40\00:23:24.77 from me. " And He spoke very clearly to me. He said: 00:23:24.80\00:23:27.27 "No, I want you to give it to Me. " 00:23:27.40\00:23:29.00 Wow! And so that's when my process of surrender started. 00:23:29.24\00:23:32.51 Wow! What a deep point. 00:23:33.11\00:23:35.31 Not take it from me but the Lord said 00:23:35.44\00:23:39.45 "give it to Me. " He wanted me to offer it up to Him as a gift. 00:23:39.48\00:23:42.15 And I was thinking: "Why would You want this as a gift? " 00:23:42.38\00:23:45.12 You know: "Why would You want this as my offering to You... 00:23:45.45\00:23:48.89 this awful thing? " 00:23:49.02\00:23:50.76 And He made it very clear to me that He put it in my life 00:23:51.29\00:23:55.03 at a time when I actually needed it 00:23:55.16\00:23:58.10 to survive some of the things that I was going through 00:23:58.23\00:24:00.37 as a way to disconnect from it so that I could survive it. 00:24:00.60\00:24:03.44 And now I didn't need it any more so He wanted it back. 00:24:03.87\00:24:06.98 Wow! So you had to surrender your life 00:24:07.71\00:24:12.51 and God also allowed you to get the tools that you needed. 00:24:12.75\00:24:16.75 Yes. You needed some tools - yeah - to get through it. 00:24:16.79\00:24:20.52 Some real stuff, yeah. Right? Um-hmm. And it wasn't just... 00:24:20.66\00:24:22.99 It's OK to get counseling; it's OK to get tools - yes - 00:24:23.12\00:24:27.76 and help - yes - you know, because God works through 00:24:27.93\00:24:31.13 people as well. That's right; that's right. 00:24:31.17\00:24:32.77 So what a blessing... what a blessing. 00:24:32.80\00:24:35.00 And your story is so powerful because you show - 00:24:35.14\00:24:41.14 and your transparency is a blessing, too - 00:24:41.28\00:24:43.45 and you show that it's God's work in you. 00:24:43.58\00:24:47.72 God is working through you. 00:24:47.85\00:24:49.52 What do you want? In about a minute, what do you want 00:24:49.65\00:24:52.39 our viewers to know about Brian Ezra Bates. 00:24:52.52\00:24:55.62 I am a man saved by grace. 00:24:56.46\00:24:58.46 And He took me from a place of shame 00:24:58.79\00:25:04.10 to a place of grace. 00:25:04.23\00:25:06.47 And I'm so grateful... and that's it. 00:25:06.60\00:25:08.84 I mean, for me I just want to share 00:25:08.97\00:25:11.37 as much as I can with everybody. 00:25:11.51\00:25:13.64 I'm an open book as you can tell. 00:25:13.78\00:25:16.81 But there's no shame here any more. 00:25:17.78\00:25:19.71 It's just grace, and I just want to share that grace 00:25:19.85\00:25:21.98 with others. Amen. Well, thank you for sharing 00:25:22.02\00:25:24.42 that with us and thank you for sharing your wonderful gift. 00:25:24.45\00:25:28.12 And viewers: you are going to be so blessed 00:25:28.26\00:25:30.96 when you hear the ministry of Brian Ezra Bates. 00:25:31.09\00:25:35.00 Thanks. 00:25:35.13\00:25:36.60 I really enjoy talking to our guests 00:25:38.40\00:25:41.27 on the sets of their programs. 00:25:41.40\00:25:43.41 It seems to be a comfortable environment for the guests 00:25:43.54\00:25:46.17 and it's a change of pace for me. 00:25:46.21\00:25:47.94 I hope that you were inspired by these interviews 00:25:48.28\00:25:50.98 and that you will apply any spiritual lessons 00:25:51.11\00:25:53.75 that you learned from them. 00:25:53.78\00:25:55.18 Man, Brian's testimony is so powerful! 00:25:55.52\00:25:59.22 Just to know that he went through all of those twists 00:25:59.45\00:26:03.36 and turns and God has him on his feet standing and ministering 00:26:03.39\00:26:08.46 before people now. It is such an amazing blessing. 00:26:08.60\00:26:11.93 And wait until you hear Dr. Nixon's sermons 00:26:12.17\00:26:15.44 and Brian's music. 00:26:15.60\00:26:17.07 Make sure to tune in to Dare to Dream 00:26:17.21\00:26:19.91 and watch Foundation of our Faith. 00:26:20.04\00:26:22.01 Check the website for the scheduled days and the times 00:26:22.28\00:26:25.41 of this airing. Also, if you know of any singers, 00:26:25.45\00:26:30.55 musicians, artists, that would like to be on Dare to Dream 00:26:30.69\00:26:35.82 or be on Magnify Him or be featured on Foundation 00:26:35.96\00:26:40.00 of our Faith, please contact us here. 00:26:40.13\00:26:42.96 You can write me here care of: 00:26:43.20\00:26:45.77 Call us and let us know or send some music. 00:27:11.03\00:27:14.36 Send a sample of your music so that we can hear 00:27:14.50\00:27:17.73 and then we'll be able to check it out and see if 00:27:17.87\00:27:20.70 it'll work for Magnify Him. 00:27:20.84\00:27:23.20 We are looking for people to minister not just perform. 00:27:23.44\00:27:27.68 Performance is not what we're looking for. 00:27:27.81\00:27:29.81 We're looking for ministry and of course great voices 00:27:30.05\00:27:33.58 and great musicians. So please, support us in that effort. 00:27:33.75\00:27:37.75 Pray for us, and also support us financially. 00:27:37.99\00:27:41.26 Ask the Lord what He would have you to do 00:27:41.39\00:27:43.56 for Dare to Dream and how He would have you to support us. 00:27:43.69\00:27:47.76 We really need your prayers and your financial support. 00:27:48.00\00:27:51.33 Well, that's the end of our program for today. 00:27:51.57\00:27:54.57 I hope that you were blessed. I hope that you were inspired. 00:27:54.80\00:27:57.47 And I hope that you will tune in on a regular basis. 00:27:57.61\00:28:00.58 Thanks for tuning in today. 00:28:00.81\00:28:02.38 Join us next time. Just wouldn't be the same without you. 00:28:02.41\00:28:05.48