Stay tuned to meet a man that has a 00:00:01.33\00:00:02.66 strong passion for art and an even stronger passion 00:00:02.70\00:00:05.43 for serving the Lord. 00:00:05.47\00:00:06.84 My name is Jason Bradley 00:00:06.90\00:00:08.24 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:00:08.27\00:00:10.37 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:00:33.96\00:00:36.03 I had the opportunity 00:00:36.06\00:00:37.43 of going to the General Conference Session 00:00:37.50\00:00:39.47 where I ran into an old friend, 00:00:39.53\00:00:41.47 Raymond Wade has been a volunteer for Dare to Dream 00:00:41.50\00:00:44.51 since its inception and designed the logo for our D2D Program 00:00:44.57\00:00:48.94 called "The New Journey" 00:00:48.98\00:00:50.41 which highlights the testimonies 00:00:50.48\00:00:52.35 of offenders and ex-offenders, 00:00:52.38\00:00:54.15 he also designed the Virtual Set for our "Did you know Fillers?" 00:00:54.18\00:00:57.69 Let's take a look at his testimony. 00:00:57.72\00:00:59.59 What a blessing it is to be at the General Conference Session 00:00:59.62\00:01:07.96 of 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, where I ran into 00:01:08.00\00:01:11.93 a wonderful family friend of mine 00:01:11.97\00:01:14.24 that I've known for probably about 19 years, 00:01:14.27\00:01:17.81 Mr. Raymond Wade, welcome, welcome. 00:01:17.84\00:01:20.94 Thank you, how are you Jason? I'm doing well. 00:01:20.98\00:01:23.31 Good to be here. 00:01:23.35\00:01:24.68 So, tell me a little bit about your background 00:01:24.71\00:01:27.78 you're an amazing artist, a wonderful God-fearing man 00:01:27.82\00:01:32.55 tell me a little bit about your background, where were you born? 00:01:32.59\00:01:35.49 Well, I was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 00:01:35.52\00:01:39.06 that would be Allegheny East Conference 00:01:39.09\00:01:41.83 that's where I was born and raised. 00:01:41.86\00:01:44.47 I was the youngest of four children, 00:01:44.50\00:01:47.27 I was raised in West Philadelphia 00:01:47.30\00:01:50.04 and that's about it. 00:01:50.07\00:01:53.17 Okay, the youngest of four children 00:01:53.21\00:01:56.01 what was it like growing up with four children 00:01:56.04\00:01:57.81 and being the baby, were you spoiled? 00:01:57.85\00:02:00.12 Well, being the youngest 00:02:00.15\00:02:02.05 you always manage to get in trouble, 00:02:02.12\00:02:04.29 Okay. or at least blamed for getting 00:02:04.32\00:02:06.32 in trouble for doing things you might not have done, 00:02:06.35\00:02:08.79 like for instance, I remember one incidence 00:02:08.82\00:02:12.16 when my brother broke a leg on a chair, 00:02:12.23\00:02:15.46 and the older brother would always prop the chair back up 00:02:15.50\00:02:19.43 and then when we play in the house, 00:02:19.47\00:02:21.50 he would always make sure I was near that area 00:02:21.54\00:02:24.21 where the leg was broken, then once I tapped it 00:02:24.27\00:02:26.84 and it fell, then I was to blame. 00:02:26.88\00:02:28.51 It was your fault. 00:02:28.54\00:02:29.88 It was my fault so, those kinds of things, 00:02:29.91\00:02:32.01 when you're the youngest but other than that 00:02:32.05\00:02:34.32 it's been a pretty good life, we had a good time. 00:02:34.38\00:02:36.18 Now how were you educated? 00:02:36.22\00:02:38.05 I was educated... we weren't a rich family 00:02:38.09\00:02:42.76 growing up my father wasn't an Adventist at the time, 00:02:42.82\00:02:46.76 he was a... my mother started Adventism 00:02:46.80\00:02:50.03 when I was a one year old, 00:02:50.10\00:02:51.43 and she was determined to give us a Christian education 00:02:51.47\00:02:55.17 so he didn't believe in Christian education at that time 00:02:55.20\00:02:59.94 so he would fight against it but she struggled and made sure 00:03:00.08\00:03:04.75 all of us got a Christian Education 00:03:04.78\00:03:07.32 in the local church school there in Philadelphia 00:03:07.42\00:03:09.98 and then we went on to Pine Forge Academy 00:03:10.09\00:03:13.86 and we went on to Oakwood College as well, 00:03:13.96\00:03:17.66 and then I went on to an Art School from there, 00:03:17.69\00:03:21.06 University of Memphis where I got an Art Degree. 00:03:21.10\00:03:24.43 Wow! wow! so you had a long journey, 00:03:24.47\00:03:27.00 Yes, yes. lot of school, 00:03:27.10\00:03:29.14 so you have a college education, 00:03:29.17\00:03:33.17 when did you determine that you wanted to pursue Art? 00:03:33.21\00:03:37.55 Well, growing up in that era, 00:03:37.61\00:03:41.32 I grew up around the late '50s- '60s- and the '70s-era 00:03:41.38\00:03:48.99 I didn't get a lot of encouragement for Art 00:03:49.02\00:03:53.13 Okay. I know downtown Philadelphia had 00:03:53.16\00:03:56.13 a great Art Museum there, they had a great Art School, 00:03:56.16\00:03:59.53 but I used to always look and admire it 00:03:59.57\00:04:02.04 but I wasn't able to attend it... 00:04:02.07\00:04:04.41 attended the school 00:04:04.44\00:04:05.77 because a lot of people were telling me 00:04:05.81\00:04:07.18 that Art is not something that I'm going to make money at, 00:04:07.21\00:04:12.98 do something else, but I was determined 00:04:13.01\00:04:16.89 you know, I had that... 00:04:16.92\00:04:18.42 so I didn't get a lot of family support 00:04:18.45\00:04:20.79 my sister was a very good artist as well, 00:04:20.86\00:04:23.12 and I used to study her art, 00:04:23.16\00:04:24.66 there was a fellow at the church who knew how to draw, 00:04:24.69\00:04:27.73 so I would tinker, you know, 00:04:27.76\00:04:30.03 but one thing that I learned that... 00:04:30.07\00:04:32.83 even though I didn't do a lot of art when I was young, 00:04:32.87\00:04:36.44 I used to look at things and imagine 00:04:36.50\00:04:39.17 that if I ever had the opportunity, 00:04:39.21\00:04:41.78 how would I draw that? How would I paint that? 00:04:41.81\00:04:44.91 How would I make that in a sculpture? 00:04:44.95\00:04:49.05 and that type of thing 00:04:49.08\00:04:50.45 and everything in my early childhood 00:04:50.49\00:04:52.62 was unique because 00:04:52.65\00:04:54.02 most of my art was contained in my mind, 00:04:54.06\00:04:56.69 Okay. 00:04:56.73\00:04:58.06 so when I finally started doing Art on my own, 00:04:58.09\00:05:01.03 things just started happening and I was able to create 00:05:01.10\00:05:04.20 things very quickly because I've studied it 00:05:04.27\00:05:06.87 even though I didn't put it down 00:05:06.94\00:05:08.97 in actual image form. 00:05:09.00\00:05:10.61 Okay. Does that make sense to you? 00:05:10.64\00:05:12.74 Yes, so you've always had a very creative artistic mind. 00:05:12.77\00:05:18.38 Right, but I didn't have a lot of support 00:05:18.41\00:05:21.72 so basically I just looked at certain people 00:05:21.75\00:05:25.39 like... we had a lot of Bible story books 00:05:25.42\00:05:28.99 I used to study a lot of Harry Anderson's paintings 00:05:29.02\00:05:33.40 and I used to say, 00:05:33.43\00:05:35.63 "How would Harry Anderson paint this?" 00:05:35.66\00:05:37.53 I studied a lot of old Masters, go to the library, 00:05:37.57\00:05:41.24 that type of thing so, I was more or less 00:05:41.30\00:05:43.67 a self-taught artist up to a point 00:05:43.77\00:05:45.67 I went to Art School where I developed more skill. 00:05:45.71\00:05:49.91 Okay, now, did you have any mentors 00:05:49.94\00:05:52.51 as you were coming up, 00:05:52.55\00:05:53.98 like, people that worked hands-on with you 00:05:54.02\00:05:56.28 with this artwork? 00:05:56.32\00:05:57.75 Well, yeah, growing up my sister used to draw 00:05:57.79\00:06:00.59 I used to admire her work, 00:06:00.62\00:06:01.96 there was a fellow at the church 00:06:01.99\00:06:04.06 I used to admire his work as well, 00:06:04.09\00:06:06.19 and, you know, studied some of the artists 00:06:06.23\00:06:10.07 that I looked at in books and that type of thing. 00:06:10.10\00:06:13.44 Okay, okay. So those were pretty much 00:06:13.47\00:06:15.77 my mentors early on. 00:06:15.80\00:06:17.14 Okay, so there was a serious lack of support 00:06:17.21\00:06:20.68 for you coming up as an artist, 00:06:20.71\00:06:24.28 Yeah. it's interesting that 00:06:24.31\00:06:27.12 you look at a lot of artists 00:06:27.15\00:06:29.85 and they don't really make it until they're dead. 00:06:29.88\00:06:32.75 We don't want that for you, 00:06:32.79\00:06:34.42 we don't want that for you, 00:06:34.46\00:06:36.06 we want you to thrive and survive. 00:06:36.09\00:06:38.46 That's true. 00:06:38.49\00:06:40.00 So, I've seen your artwork and it is amazing, 00:06:40.03\00:06:44.43 we actually have a picture of a piece 00:06:44.47\00:06:46.40 that you did, it was the "Jumping the Broom" 00:06:46.43\00:06:50.01 tell us a little bit about, "Jumping the Broom. " 00:06:50.07\00:06:53.01 Well, "Jumping the Broom" is an African-American tradition 00:06:53.04\00:06:58.71 that used to take place during the 00:06:58.75\00:07:02.25 pre- and post-slavery times 00:07:02.28\00:07:05.52 where many of the wedding ceremonies, 00:07:05.55\00:07:09.32 it's kind of like a doorway into the home, 00:07:09.36\00:07:12.19 they would put a broom there to symbolize 00:07:12.26\00:07:15.30 their industry or their working conditions 00:07:15.33\00:07:18.37 and they would jump over this broom 00:07:18.40\00:07:20.47 into a ceremony which symbolized their marriage 00:07:20.54\00:07:25.94 in their union together, 00:07:25.97\00:07:27.64 and that's what the painting is symbolizing 00:07:27.68\00:07:30.48 you see in the background is food, 00:07:30.55\00:07:33.21 Oh yes. 00:07:33.25\00:07:34.95 this particular painting is done in a... 00:07:34.98\00:07:38.22 what I call an Afro-Centric way where everything has 00:07:38.25\00:07:42.46 pyramid shapes... Okay. 00:07:42.49\00:07:44.33 which was a shape that many of the 00:07:44.36\00:07:47.60 Nubian cultures used in Egypt 00:07:47.60\00:07:50.33 where it was diamond-shaped or pyramid-shaped. 00:07:50.37\00:07:54.70 if you look at the artwork, 00:07:54.74\00:07:56.81 you'll see that the dog there has... 00:07:56.87\00:07:59.41 you could draw like a triangle, so all through it is triangular, 00:07:59.44\00:08:04.88 or pyramid shaped, Okay. 00:08:04.91\00:08:06.48 so that's the composition and the design of this piece 00:08:06.51\00:08:09.85 and if you see, all the different things 00:08:09.88\00:08:12.39 that they used in African-American culture 00:08:12.42\00:08:14.86 like the food in the background, the living conditions, 00:08:14.89\00:08:18.36 I had showed pictures of happiness and dance 00:08:18.39\00:08:22.66 and I have one of religion, you know it's all comprised 00:08:22.70\00:08:26.00 within that painting, Okay. 00:08:26.03\00:08:28.14 That is a beautiful painting 00:08:28.17\00:08:30.31 by the way. Well, thank you. 00:08:30.34\00:08:32.41 Now where is it that you pull your inspiration from, 00:08:32.44\00:08:35.41 where do you get your inspiration, 00:08:35.44\00:08:36.78 when you're sitting down and you're getting ready to 00:08:36.85\00:08:40.35 paint one of your masterpieces where does it come from, 00:08:40.42\00:08:43.99 because you're creating something from nothing, 00:08:44.02\00:08:45.89 you have a blank canvas and then you're working away 00:08:45.92\00:08:51.09 and creating something spectacular. 00:08:51.13\00:08:53.90 Well, most artists receive a lot of inspiration 00:08:53.93\00:08:57.27 from their lifestyle, Okay. 00:08:57.33\00:08:59.00 I call myself... I'm a realist... 00:08:59.03\00:09:01.67 you know, I paint things that I see 00:09:01.70\00:09:04.24 and that are realistic, 00:09:04.27\00:09:05.74 I like to paint things as I see them. 00:09:05.77\00:09:07.94 Okay. 00:09:07.98\00:09:09.31 Realistically, as far as the images, 00:09:09.34\00:09:12.01 realistically as far as the social aspects 00:09:12.05\00:09:16.38 of what that person is doing socially, economically, 00:09:16.42\00:09:21.59 and spiritually, so, I consider myself 00:09:21.62\00:09:24.46 a realist, I get a lot of my inspiration 00:09:24.49\00:09:27.23 from religious art as well, 00:09:27.30\00:09:30.17 I tried to do things that are positive and cultural 00:09:30.20\00:09:34.07 and that's basically where I draw my inspiration from 00:09:34.14\00:09:37.61 and I also like to study some of the old Masters 00:09:37.64\00:09:41.04 as far as their techniques, I like their style, 00:09:41.08\00:09:44.98 I like some of their... 00:09:45.01\00:09:46.35 now one great Adventist artist... 00:09:46.38\00:09:49.72 I follow his style as well, 00:09:49.75\00:09:51.89 that he has an exhibit here in the General Conference as well. 00:09:51.92\00:09:56.26 I like his style of painting because he paints realistically, 00:09:56.29\00:10:00.60 spiritually scenes, Okay. 00:10:00.63\00:10:02.10 and I like to paint cultural scenes 00:10:02.13\00:10:03.97 and also occasionally I dip into a little abstract 00:10:04.03\00:10:08.74 I like abstract but I like to have an image 00:10:08.77\00:10:11.61 not just something you don't recognize 00:10:11.64\00:10:14.04 but an image, an abstract image, 00:10:14.08\00:10:16.11 so, those are the things that I like to paint. 00:10:16.14\00:10:20.72 At what age did you develop the passion for Art, 00:10:20.78\00:10:25.29 I mean, sometimes you get into things, 00:10:25.32\00:10:27.22 you begin to do them you don't always start off 00:10:27.26\00:10:30.69 that great but then as you build like, what age did that passion 00:10:30.73\00:10:36.20 burn inside you? 00:10:36.23\00:10:37.77 I really enjoyed Art as far back as I can remember 00:10:37.80\00:10:43.67 even at the age of five and six, 00:10:43.74\00:10:46.94 one of the North American Division Vice Presidents, 00:10:47.01\00:10:53.78 used to be my classmate 00:10:53.85\00:10:55.42 back in our school in Philadelphia 00:10:55.45\00:10:57.05 and he used to tell me 00:10:57.12\00:10:58.75 that I used to always get in trouble 00:10:58.79\00:11:00.36 because in the early years 00:11:00.39\00:11:02.09 when I was supposed to be paying attention to our teacher, 00:11:02.12\00:11:05.66 I was tinkering and drawing and scribbling on my pad, 00:11:05.69\00:11:09.06 so even early on as far as first grade 00:11:09.10\00:11:12.20 I had that passion to do something in Art. 00:11:12.23\00:11:15.30 Wow! 00:11:15.34\00:11:16.67 I knew that was something that I wanted to do. 00:11:16.71\00:11:18.81 I know plenty of first graders that draw better 00:11:18.84\00:11:20.98 and paint better than I could ever paint 00:11:21.01\00:11:23.55 I did not inherit that artistic gene. 00:11:23.61\00:11:26.51 And I think you have an inherent... 00:11:26.55\00:11:30.55 you have something in you, creative, 00:11:30.65\00:11:34.12 but that talent has to be developed. 00:11:34.16\00:11:37.09 Okay. You have a desire to paint, 00:11:37.13\00:11:39.69 or to draw or to create something, 00:11:39.73\00:11:42.20 but you have to develop that talent. 00:11:42.23\00:11:44.73 Now do you feel like it's something that could be learned 00:11:44.77\00:11:47.17 and acquired or do you have to... 00:11:47.20\00:11:49.14 do you feel like it's something that 00:11:49.20\00:11:51.64 you have to just be born with naturally? 00:11:51.67\00:11:54.21 I think it goes both ways, you can... 00:11:54.24\00:11:56.78 because when I started out, 00:11:56.81\00:11:58.15 I've been looking at my early paintings 00:11:58.18\00:12:00.22 versus as my paintings now, 00:12:00.25\00:12:01.58 I don't like the early ones anymore 00:12:01.62\00:12:05.29 I like my later paintings because they look more polished 00:12:05.32\00:12:09.22 but early on, 00:12:09.29\00:12:11.53 you know you have that desire 00:12:11.56\00:12:14.30 and in your mind, it's the greatest thing ever 00:12:14.30\00:12:16.73 but as time went on I got... 00:12:16.77\00:12:19.43 you know, you develop and you get better 00:12:19.47\00:12:21.24 and you keep working at your skill till you develop it 00:12:21.27\00:12:24.67 but Art is something that you really never 00:12:24.71\00:12:27.81 reach that point of perfection, 00:12:27.88\00:12:31.38 you're always striving to get better. 00:12:31.41\00:12:33.58 Yes. You always see another Artist 00:12:33.68\00:12:35.75 and you say, "I want to do that... better 00:12:35.78\00:12:37.85 I can do my hands a little better, 00:12:37.89\00:12:39.95 I can paint 'noses' a little better" 00:12:40.02\00:12:41.96 and that's... so it's always something you're striving for. 00:12:42.02\00:12:45.53 What struggles did you have as an up-and-coming Artist, 00:12:45.56\00:12:48.86 what challenges did you face? 00:12:48.90\00:12:51.10 Well, like early on I had no encouragement. 00:12:51.13\00:12:54.44 Okay. 00:12:54.50\00:12:55.90 My parents didn't see there was something, 00:12:55.94\00:12:59.61 they felt that it was something that rich people did 00:12:59.64\00:13:04.18 and a poor African-American kid 00:13:04.25\00:13:10.59 in Philadelphia living in certain conditions, 00:13:10.62\00:13:14.29 they felt like I needed to do something else 00:13:14.32\00:13:17.96 to maintain a living and so... that was some of the struggles 00:13:17.99\00:13:22.93 when I went to college, I was actually studying 00:13:22.96\00:13:27.77 Medical Technology. Oh really, okay. 00:13:27.84\00:13:32.71 Yes, but I enrolled in school a little late 00:13:32.74\00:13:37.51 and I wasn't able to take the courses that I wanted to take 00:13:37.55\00:13:42.55 so the only thing that was available left 00:13:42.58\00:13:45.55 were some Art Courses and I took these Art Courses 00:13:45.59\00:13:49.72 and I dropped out of Medical Technology 00:13:49.76\00:13:52.53 and continued in the Art, 00:13:52.59\00:13:53.96 because that's what I really wanted to do. 00:13:54.00\00:13:55.63 So those were pretty much some of my struggles growing up. 00:13:55.66\00:14:01.67 And then how did you take that passion... 00:14:01.70\00:14:04.77 that desire for Art, 00:14:04.81\00:14:06.14 how did you take that and turn that into ministry? 00:14:06.17\00:14:08.31 Well, after I graduated, I met my wife, 00:14:08.34\00:14:14.82 Jeanette Hikes, at that time 00:14:14.85\00:14:18.52 and she wasn't an Adventist but we gave her Bible Studies, 00:14:18.55\00:14:26.80 she became an Adventist, and we got baptized 00:14:26.83\00:14:29.10 actually we're celebrating 35 years next week on the 13th. 00:14:29.16\00:14:35.67 Congratulations! 00:14:35.70\00:14:37.07 I just saw the pastor that baptized us 00:14:37.11\00:14:39.41 not too long ago... a few minutes ago 00:14:39.44\00:14:42.34 out in the General Conference area 00:14:42.38\00:14:45.21 but anyway, I went on... after I got married 00:14:45.25\00:14:51.32 and I finished college, Art School, 00:14:51.39\00:14:55.59 in the back of my mind I kept hearing, 00:14:55.62\00:14:59.76 "You cannot make it in Art, you cannot make it in Art" 00:14:59.79\00:15:03.23 because these are the things that I was taught, 00:15:03.30\00:15:06.40 my wife encouraged me to try out for this 00:15:06.43\00:15:09.67 large advertising company and I said, "No way" 00:15:09.70\00:15:16.18 I said, "They're not going to hire me, 00:15:16.21\00:15:18.75 I'm fresh out of college" 00:15:18.78\00:15:20.12 it was an outdoor advertising company, 00:15:20.15\00:15:22.95 it was actually painting billboards 00:15:22.98\00:15:25.69 I said, "They're never hiring me" 00:15:25.72\00:15:28.36 and she said, "Well, you're telling me 00:15:28.39\00:15:30.56 about faith, what about your faith?" 00:15:30.63\00:15:33.60 So, I said, "Okay" so I went down there 00:15:33.63\00:15:36.46 and it just so happened that some of the painters 00:15:36.50\00:15:40.00 had this little mini-revolution at the company 00:15:40.04\00:15:44.44 and they got fired, so they needed three painters 00:15:44.47\00:15:48.91 very quickly, and I happened to interview 00:15:48.94\00:15:51.65 right at the time they needed the painters 00:15:51.68\00:15:54.45 and they said, "All right, come on in" 00:15:54.48\00:15:56.95 they hired me, and this was the largest 00:15:56.99\00:15:59.42 advertising company in the world, 00:15:59.45\00:16:01.76 they do outdoor advertising, they do all the advertising 00:16:01.79\00:16:05.73 for airports, they're on TV Stations 00:16:05.76\00:16:09.66 as well as most of the major radio stations 00:16:09.70\00:16:12.53 and I was working in outdoor advertising 00:16:12.57\00:16:15.34 so, at that time, 00:16:15.37\00:16:17.97 we used to hand paint the billboards 00:16:18.01\00:16:22.71 these billboards were 14 feet by 48 feet 00:16:22.74\00:16:27.25 so they were huge, 00:16:27.32\00:16:28.65 now inside wasn't too bad because 00:16:28.68\00:16:33.22 you can stand back from it 00:16:33.25\00:16:35.29 but when you have to work outside, 00:16:35.32\00:16:37.73 and you had to climb a hundred foot billboard 00:16:37.76\00:16:42.33 and you are on the scaffolding, 00:16:42.36\00:16:44.60 you're right up on the billboard so, 00:16:44.63\00:16:48.37 that became very difficult 00:16:48.40\00:16:50.87 so you had to know what was going to look good, 00:16:50.91\00:16:53.48 and what wasn't going to look good, 00:16:53.54\00:16:54.88 but I learned so much from that company, 00:16:54.91\00:16:58.45 I worked for that company for 18 years 00:16:58.48\00:17:02.08 but the problem that I was having at that... 00:17:02.12\00:17:04.82 I started feeling bad about that because 00:17:04.85\00:17:07.49 Outdoor Advertising Companies during the '80s and '90s, 00:17:07.52\00:17:12.66 did a lot of cigarettes and they did a lot of alcohol 00:17:12.69\00:17:17.57 and the Holy Spirit started working on me 00:17:17.60\00:17:19.87 "This is not what I want you to do" 00:17:19.90\00:17:22.20 And I'm glad that you said that 00:17:22.24\00:17:24.21 because that was going to bring me to another question, 00:17:24.24\00:17:26.31 what challenges did you face as a Christian artist 00:17:26.34\00:17:30.15 you know, not wanting to compromise 00:17:30.18\00:17:32.38 the faith to make a quick buck? 00:17:32.41\00:17:34.58 Yeah, and it was a difficult decision 00:17:34.62\00:17:38.22 because the money was good, 00:17:38.25\00:17:39.99 you know, I was able to buy 00:17:40.06\00:17:41.69 any car that I wanted, live where I wanted, 00:17:41.76\00:17:44.53 but it started bothering me 00:17:44.56\00:17:48.80 about doing certain types of 00:17:48.83\00:17:53.00 advertising... now, I did go to my supervisor 00:17:53.03\00:17:57.64 and told him that I wanted paint maybe... restaurant things 00:17:57.67\00:18:01.78 and not so much alcohol and cigarettes, 00:18:01.81\00:18:03.71 so I did get a break 00:18:03.78\00:18:05.38 but sometimes you would have to do it, 00:18:05.41\00:18:07.35 so I still felt bad about it 00:18:07.38\00:18:09.08 so the Holy Spirit started working on me 00:18:09.12\00:18:13.59 and around 2000, 00:18:13.62\00:18:15.32 that part of advertising, 00:18:15.36\00:18:18.39 as far as hand painting, was phased out 00:18:18.43\00:18:21.10 and they started letting painters go, 00:18:21.13\00:18:23.57 Okay. so that's when I started 00:18:23.60\00:18:26.47 my own company, 00:18:26.50\00:18:30.01 Okay, what's the name of your company? 00:18:30.04\00:18:32.77 RJ Wade Enterprises 00:18:32.81\00:18:35.01 And what's the website 00:18:35.04\00:18:37.15 for your company, how can you be reached? 00:18:37.18\00:18:38.85 You can reach me at www. rjwade. com 00:18:38.88\00:18:44.75 and my email is: raymond@rjwade. com 00:18:44.82\00:18:49.79 Okay, okay, 00:18:49.82\00:18:52.13 now you said earlier, "I want to take it... 00:18:52.16\00:18:55.33 move towards the family aspect of it" 00:18:55.36\00:18:57.97 unfortunately, now-a-days, in our Society, 00:18:58.03\00:19:02.00 there are so many broken homes, 00:19:02.04\00:19:03.54 there are so many failed marriages, 00:19:03.57\00:19:05.57 there are so many kids without fathers 00:19:05.61\00:19:07.61 and et cetera, et cetera, 00:19:07.64\00:19:09.54 how did you manage to maintain 00:19:09.58\00:19:13.88 such a fruitful and happy marriage 00:19:13.95\00:19:18.05 for 35 years, and raise a kid, 00:19:18.09\00:19:22.09 you have a son as well that I know quite well 00:19:22.12\00:19:25.23 who grew up to become an anesthesiologist, 00:19:25.26\00:19:28.26 how did you, what are some tips 00:19:28.30\00:19:31.63 what are some tools that you implemented? 00:19:31.67\00:19:33.87 Well the first thing you have to do is find a great wife. 00:19:33.94\00:19:36.07 That would definitely help. 00:19:36.14\00:19:38.44 You have to find a great wife, 00:19:38.47\00:19:40.71 and I found that in my wife, Jeanette, 00:19:40.78\00:19:43.98 she was very supportive and she gravitated towards 00:19:44.05\00:19:50.09 Adventism very quickly, 00:19:50.12\00:19:53.59 she has always been the type of person 00:19:53.66\00:19:55.72 that was an Adventist waiting to be introduced 00:19:55.76\00:19:57.99 to Adventism, she gravitated towards 00:19:58.06\00:20:01.56 the diet, the ministry, 00:20:01.60\00:20:03.87 so that's a great help, and also embracing my... 00:20:03.93\00:20:10.57 I learned a lot from my mother as well, 00:20:10.61\00:20:13.27 my mother was a Bible Worker but my father, growing up, 00:20:13.34\00:20:19.08 was... he was a hard worker 00:20:19.11\00:20:22.52 but he was an alcoholic early on 00:20:22.55\00:20:25.59 but my mother stuck with him 00:20:25.62\00:20:28.62 she prayed and she 00:20:28.66\00:20:30.96 constantly worked with him 00:20:30.99\00:20:32.53 and my father ended up joining the church 00:20:32.56\00:20:34.66 under C.D. Brooks one of his evangelistic meetings 00:20:34.73\00:20:39.20 in Philadelphia and he did join the church 00:20:39.23\00:20:43.24 and became a Literature Evangelist 00:20:43.27\00:20:46.61 until the day he died so, praise the Lord for that 00:20:46.71\00:20:49.28 so that has kind of stuck in my mind, 00:20:49.34\00:20:51.71 and some of the things that she taught me growing up 00:20:51.75\00:20:54.25 Christian education, 00:20:54.28\00:20:56.45 and when my own son, 00:20:56.48\00:20:58.59 I said I was going to 00:20:58.62\00:21:00.59 pay him a lot of attention 00:21:00.66\00:21:03.12 go to his games. I never missed any of his games, 00:21:03.16\00:21:08.20 I taught him sports, I wanted him to be a man's man 00:21:08.23\00:21:13.30 we all used to play ball together 00:21:13.34\00:21:16.77 Yeah we did. 00:21:16.81\00:21:18.14 and Gabriel became a very good basketball player 00:21:18.17\00:21:20.44 but one thing I noticed about my son 00:21:20.48\00:21:21.98 he was very smart, 00:21:22.01\00:21:24.05 because my wife used to teach him to read early on 00:21:24.11\00:21:26.51 Okay. and even at the age of two 00:21:26.55\00:21:29.12 he was able to read small books 00:21:29.15\00:21:31.49 and I saw that he was very gifted, 00:21:31.52\00:21:33.82 he was a very smart young man 00:21:33.86\00:21:35.29 and I used to want to be a doctor... growing up 00:21:35.32\00:21:38.63 so I said, "Well, maybe I can help him 00:21:38.66\00:21:41.76 become a doctor as well" 00:21:41.80\00:21:43.13 if he decided that he wanted to be something else, 00:21:43.16\00:21:45.90 that was fine also but he stuck with it 00:21:45.93\00:21:48.77 Gabriel made good grades. 00:21:48.80\00:21:51.01 And that's something that always 00:21:51.04\00:21:54.21 impressed me about Gabe 00:21:54.24\00:21:55.58 because coming up through the years, 00:21:55.61\00:21:57.68 I mean he was... everybody was like, 00:21:57.71\00:22:00.32 "Oh Gabe, come and play" 00:22:00.35\00:22:02.18 but Gabe could play basketball like no other. 00:22:02.22\00:22:04.79 He was All-State Basketball Player 00:22:04.82\00:22:08.12 and He still maintained like a 4.0 GPA 00:22:08.16\00:22:11.19 which never ceased to amaze me. 00:22:11.23\00:22:15.00 Well, I had a different scale for Gabriel, 00:22:15.03\00:22:17.67 I used to tell him that I didn't go below an "A" 00:22:17.73\00:22:23.00 I said, "A plus" is excellent "A minus" is equivalent to a "B" 00:22:23.04\00:22:30.11 and an "A" is equivalent to a "B" 00:22:30.15\00:22:34.38 and an "A minus" is equivalent to a "C" 00:22:34.42\00:22:36.32 so I had a pretty high scale for him 00:22:36.35\00:22:38.19 because I knew he could do it and he always maintained a 4.0 00:22:38.22\00:22:42.79 all the way through college and even into Medical School 00:22:42.82\00:22:47.36 you know, he did well, so... 00:22:47.40\00:22:49.60 And now he's an anesthesiologist. 00:22:49.63\00:22:51.57 Now he's a practicing anesthesiologist. 00:22:51.63\00:22:53.47 So, what's next for you? 00:22:53.50\00:22:54.94 Well, currently I'm working on a public art project 00:22:54.97\00:23:01.11 in the city of Fort Worth Okay. 00:23:01.14\00:23:03.45 and also, I'm working as a kind of a 00:23:03.48\00:23:09.75 graphic artist evangelist, I call myself a... 00:23:09.78\00:23:15.69 I have a ministry within the churches 00:23:15.72\00:23:18.36 in the Dallas Fort Worth area I do a lot of their literature, 00:23:18.39\00:23:22.90 people want to do religious CDs, 00:23:22.93\00:23:26.50 covers, I do book covers, I do a lot of brochures, 00:23:26.53\00:23:30.91 I do work for... 00:23:30.94\00:23:32.61 even work for North America Division 00:23:32.67\00:23:36.71 I do work for... I remember back... 00:23:36.75\00:23:41.78 not this General Conference but I think 00:23:41.82\00:23:43.95 two General Conferences ago 00:23:43.99\00:23:46.82 I did the Education Magazine Cover 00:23:46.86\00:23:48.59 so I work with that throughout the church 00:23:48.66\00:23:51.89 and I use that as a ministry 00:23:51.93\00:23:53.66 in order to get out the advertising and the marketing 00:23:53.70\00:23:57.90 so people could come into the meetings 00:23:57.93\00:24:01.20 and then to church. Okay, 00:24:01.24\00:24:03.00 now, in the short time that we have left 00:24:03.04\00:24:06.21 I want you to look into the camera over here 00:24:06.24\00:24:09.41 and I want you to tell that struggling artist out there 00:24:09.44\00:24:13.85 what advice do you have for them... 00:24:13.92\00:24:15.72 the up-and-coming artists? 00:24:15.75\00:24:17.09 I would say, 00:24:17.19\00:24:20.39 if you are an artist 00:24:20.46\00:24:21.79 and you have a passion for doing it 00:24:21.82\00:24:23.19 believe in the Lord and the Lord will lead you 00:24:23.22\00:24:26.56 into the way that you should go. 00:24:26.59\00:24:28.46 Art is not so much limited to painting or sculpture, 00:24:28.50\00:24:35.40 it's also... you could be a graphic artist 00:24:35.44\00:24:38.34 you could be an animator, 00:24:38.37\00:24:39.71 you could be... any creative field 00:24:39.74\00:24:41.58 is a field that takes some type of artistic ability, 00:24:41.61\00:24:46.01 even in a television studio, 00:24:46.05\00:24:48.58 you have to have some type of creativity 00:24:48.62\00:24:51.05 in order to work your cameras in... 00:24:51.09\00:24:53.46 you know to work different things into the stage 00:24:53.52\00:25:00.43 the stages are done by artists, 00:25:00.46\00:25:02.16 the graphics are done by artists, 00:25:02.20\00:25:04.47 so, I would suggest to anybody 00:25:04.50\00:25:06.74 that has the ability and creative mind, 00:25:06.77\00:25:08.97 is to seek the Lord first, and continue in prayer 00:25:09.00\00:25:14.11 and work hard at your craft, 00:25:14.18\00:25:15.84 and keep the Lord first in all that you do 00:25:15.88\00:25:18.48 and you will be successful. 00:25:18.55\00:25:20.22 Yes and again that's very important 00:25:20.25\00:25:23.79 you have to put the Lord first in all kinds of things, 00:25:23.82\00:25:27.49 see, you stood up for the Lord, you stepped away from 00:25:27.56\00:25:31.16 the guaranteed money, all of that, 00:25:31.19\00:25:33.40 and you stood up for the Lord, 00:25:33.50\00:25:35.56 and you stood up for your principles 00:25:35.60\00:25:37.80 and you still pursued your passion 00:25:37.83\00:25:40.04 but you did it in a format 00:25:40.10\00:25:41.74 that would honor and glorify God. 00:25:41.77\00:25:43.47 and whenever you do that God blesses that 00:25:43.57\00:25:47.08 He honors that and He keeps that. 00:25:47.14\00:25:49.51 Well, it has been such a pleasure 00:25:49.54\00:25:51.25 having you here... Well, thank you Jason. 00:25:51.28\00:25:52.91 and this is so much different from when I was a kid. 00:25:52.95\00:25:55.92 Yeah, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of you. 00:25:55.95\00:25:57.69 So, thank you so much Mr. Wade. 00:25:57.72\00:26:00.49 All right, thank you. All right. 00:26:00.52\00:26:03.19 Think about it, 00:26:03.22\00:26:04.69 Raymond sacrificed a high-paying career 00:26:04.73\00:26:07.40 to follow Christ, that reminds me of a text 00:26:07.46\00:26:10.07 in Mark chapter 8 verse 36 which reads, 00:26:10.10\00:26:12.57 "For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, 00:26:12.60\00:26:15.94 and forfeit his soul?" 00:26:15.97\00:26:17.31 God is and was the greatest artist of all time 00:26:17.34\00:26:20.51 and His canvas is the world and all that's in it 00:26:20.58\00:26:23.85 Psalm 19:1 says, 00:26:23.88\00:26:25.78 "The heavens declare the glory of God; 00:26:25.81\00:26:27.82 and the firmament shows His handiwork. " 00:26:27.85\00:26:30.22 I encourage you to take a look around you 00:26:30.29\00:26:32.62 and marvel at God's creation, 00:26:32.65\00:26:34.42 our Creator creates nothing but masterpieces 00:26:34.46\00:26:37.79 which we have the privilege 00:26:37.83\00:26:39.46 and opportunity of enjoying, 00:26:39.49\00:26:41.03 each and every one of us possesses talents 00:26:41.06\00:26:43.97 that we can utilize to bring honor and glory to God. 00:26:44.03\00:26:46.57 Are you using the talents that God gave you 00:26:46.60\00:26:50.01 for His honor and glory? 00:26:50.07\00:26:51.41 At Dare to Dream we really appreciate our Viewers. 00:26:51.44\00:26:54.38 I got to meet a lot of you at GC, 00:26:54.41\00:26:56.48 and I was so moved by the impact 00:26:56.51\00:26:58.51 that Dare to Dream is having in your lives. 00:26:58.55\00:27:00.55 Some of you asked me about the ways to watch Dare to Dream. 00:27:00.58\00:27:04.02 You can download the free 3ABN APP 00:27:04.05\00:27:06.72 onto your Smartphone or Tablet 00:27:06.79\00:27:08.52 or you can make a one-time purchase 00:27:08.59\00:27:11.13 of a Roku box and watch D2D on your television. 00:27:11.16\00:27:13.96 Of course, you can just go to our website 00:27:14.00\00:27:16.26 and watch us on your computer 00:27:16.30\00:27:17.80 and while you're there, "Like" us on Facebook, 00:27:17.83\00:27:20.34 and check us out on Instagram and Twitter, 00:27:20.37\00:27:22.77 our Social Media information is on our Website. 00:27:22.80\00:27:25.27 If the Holy Spirit impresses you to support Dare to Dream 00:27:25.31\00:27:28.91 with a tax-deductible love gift, 00:27:28.94\00:27:30.65 please send it to: 00:27:30.68\00:27:32.01 Dare To Dream, PO Box 220, West Frankfort, Il 62896 00:27:32.05\00:27:37.12 or give us a call at 618-627-4651 00:27:37.19\00:27:43.36 and share with us how 00:27:43.43\00:27:45.16 you have been touched by the programming 00:27:45.19\00:27:47.30 here on Dare to Dream, 00:27:47.30\00:27:48.63 our Website information is: D2DNetwork. tv 00:27:48.66\00:27:53.60 and there are different ways on there 00:27:53.64\00:27:55.50 in which you can get to our Instagram 00:27:55.54\00:27:57.57 and our Twitter and our Facebook. 00:27:57.61\00:27:59.51 Well, we've reached the end of another Program, 00:27:59.54\00:28:02.81 join us next time and remember 00:28:02.98\00:28:04.55 it just wouldn't be the same without you. 00:28:04.58\00:28:07.05