Ep. 146 How To Speak Lyrically With Wintley Phipps

Hey there, Mark Brown. I've never seen you so excited, man. I've got to see Mark Brown with hero worship. That's cool.

Yeah. I've been following our guest today for about 35 years during his singing career, and he is so versatile. We're gonna meet someone today who can do it all. As a singer, as a presenter, as a narrator, as a voiceover artist. We're going to meet one of my heroes now, one of my friends, Minister Wentley Phipps.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the Unforgettable Presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown. Mark Brown.

Your life tells a story and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation, Ahas. Let's dive right in.

Darren Lacroix. When I was about, I don't know, I was in my 20s, I guess, back in the mid-80s as a Christian, I was hearing Christian music and I heard this voice one time and the song, I think was called I'm Climbing up the Rough side of the Mountain. And this voice was so melodic and beautiful. And the presenter, the singer did something amazing. He held the last note, I'm guessing about 30 seconds, and it blew my mind. I was hooked. And from that day on, I began hollowing and listening to Minister Wintley Phipps. He is so versatile as a minister of the gospel. He's a preacher, he's a teacher, he's a speaker. I heard him at the NSA convention back in 2011. He's also a voiceover artist and a narrator like nobody else. Our Toastmasters friends know me as the voice of God for Toastmasters. If our guest comes into the room, I will leave the mic. I'll go take a seat. I'll hand it to him. Please help me welcome one of my absolute heroes of the faith, my favorite bass baritone in the world, Minister Wintley Phipps. Hello, Wendley.

Hello. Thank you. And I'm humbled, trust me. Thank you for the warm, warm welcome.

Well, Wintley, I chose not to give your whole resume. You've sung for six US Presidents. You have done the whole nine. You are the first gospel artist to sing on Soul Trained. For goodness sake. There's so much here. And there may be those who are wondering, why would you bring a singer on to talk about speaking? Because, Wintley, of your amazing versatility, and I know Darren has some questions for you. I'm gonna breathe and let him take over while I compose myself.

Darren.

Oh, Mark Brown. Mark Brown handed me the leads. I hear there's a story about your youth that we must ask you about.

Well, he'll tell you when he was 14. Please, Whitley, please share that with us. How you got started.

Well, I think I'll take you back just a little further than that. I was born in Trinidad.

Yes, sir.

At the age of 10, we moved to Montreal, Canada. I went from palm trees to ice.

I can relate.

I went to high school there and I joined the hockey team because I couldn't skate very well. So they made me goalie. Goalie doesn't have to go very far from the net, you know. Actually, it goes further back. When I was in Trinidad, five, six, seven years old, I was born to a troubled home and I would get away from my parents troubles. I had a little red tricycle and I'd go in the backyard of my house and turn the tricycle on its side and use one of the backside wheels as a steering wheel. And I would sit there for hours and I would dream and I would dream that I was flying and driving to faraway places in the world and meeting important people. When I was five and six years old, when we moved to Montreal, my father used to take us to the airport to say goodbye to people. Some of us are old enough to remember when going to the airport was a big deal.

Waving gallery. Yeah, the waving gallery.

And you packed a lunch, you know. My father used to take us to the airport to say goodbye to people. And before leaving the airport, I'd look around, see if anybody was looking and I would grab a handful of the luggage tags and I would stuff them in my pocket and I'd go home and get a pencil and print my name. Winkley Phipps. Flight 393, London. Flight 676, Paris. Still dreaming. When I was about 14 and a half years old, I woke up one morning talking like this. I had this sound coming out of my throat from 15 years old. But at the time, I gotta confess to you, it messed up my dreams. Because at the time I wanted to be another Sly Stone. But I met Sly when I was 15 years old and he was stoned. And I said, no, something wrong is wrong. My hero is incoherent. You know, this unique. And it is a unique instrument because I've searched the Internet and I can't find another one quite like it. Give God all the glory for it. So it's a gift from him. I've been using it for the uplift, the inspiration, the encouragement and the transformation of people's lives since I was 16. Because I'll tell you one other quick experience, if you don't mind. I didn't have any voice teachers, you know, with this voice. I didn't have any voice teachers, but I found my voice teacher on the radio and I would listen to this voice, got a little play microphone and I practice as a, as a 10, 11, 12 year old kid, but when I'm 15, I'm trying to sing like this voice on the radio. So for my 34th wedding anniversary, I said to my wife, my voice teacher on the radio, I wonder if he's still in concert. So I googled and lo and behold, he was in concert. So I bought plane tickets and concert tickets and something told me, send him a message. So I sent him an email. I said, sir, When I was 15, 16 years old, I didn't have any voice teachers, but you became my voice teacher on the radio. You have been my musical inspiration, my musical North Star. And I want, I want to tell you all that I've gone on to do with that inspiration and told him how I, you know, I was the last one to sing Amazing Grace to Mother Teresa before she died. And I was the only soloist at Diana Ross's wedding in Geneva, Switzerland. And I said to him, I may not get to see you, but I want to thank you. I got an email back from him saying, sir Tom Jones would like to see you and your wife when you come to Las Vegas.

Wow.

So when I walked into the green room, his eyes went really big because I said, it's not on you to show. Ought to be loved by anyone. That is one blue eyed soul brother that could sing. And little did I know from his Welsh singing tradition. I didn't know about all of that, but I had picked one of the greatest voices you could ever hear in our lifetime to learn how to sing. It was a man who technically used his face, the bones in his face, the mask as we call it in music, to project and fall in love. I'm never gonna fall, you know, can't beat it. You can't just vocal production, that's kind of what happened to me at 15, 16 years old.

Man, that is absolutely amazing. Now, when did you know you clearly you wanted to be a singer, but at what point did you realize you could also use this instrument to minister, to speak into people's lives, to encourage and inspire people?

I want to say this. And I hope I'm not off the mark. You need to focus on your purpose and your goal. And what happens is your voice, whether you're speaking or whether you're singing, is an instrument of purpose. And I want to stop and write that down myself, because I've never said it that way. Your voice.

Your voice is an instrument of purpose.

Instrument of purpose. I will give you and your listeners a little musical tip. Most people would have amazing singing voices if they only sang the way they speak. Most people would have amazing singing voices if they only sang the way they speak. There is a beauty and a uniqueness. I mean. I mean, how incredible that you can use your voice as an identification in technology today. Right? It's just a testament to the amazing uniqueness of every human voice. Well, most people get in trouble when they try to sing because what they're doing is they're trying to sing like what they think they should sound like and not the way they talk. If you just, like, for example, I'm talking to you now. But it is, believe it or not, it is musical, and it is. There's musicality in what I am saying and speaking. So when you hear somebody says, I'm gonna sing a hymn like Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine, they say, I'm gonna sing Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. And then they go, blessed assurance. And you say, whoa, that's the first time I'm hearing that. I didn't hear that before. You know what I mean? But if you say blessed, if you just those same tones with which you speak, if you only use those same tones, you will find great musicality in the human voice, your voice, every one of you. And there are some people in music, they figured that out, and they astound us. They astound us with the quality, the unique quality of their voice, you know? Oh, beautiful. You don't have to go into. You know, that's Ray Charles.

You lean into it too, right?

Yeah. You just. It's just so beautiful. It's so natural. So that's a little tip for speakers. Just like you need to sing the way you speak, you also need to do it the other way as well. In other words, develop a musicality in the way you speak. So I'm speaking to you, but I'm actually singing to you. If you listen to where I go with what I'm saying, I'm singing to you while I'm speaking to you. I don't know if that makes any sense.

I love it. I love it. Different tones. There's different Volume. There's different rhythm to it, and there is a rhythm to speaking. And this is key for us. Develop a musicality in the way you speak. Now, I will tell you this before Darren's next question. I believe you have an advantage. I find your vocal range to be absolutely, positively outlandish. Because I am a baritone, I don't have any great claim. On a good early morning, I get to a low E flat, and that's good.

Oh, okay.

I'm safe. Two octaves. Yes, I've heard you pretty strong about two and a half octaves. And you seem so relaxed and so comfortable. And I don't know how we as speakers can work our vocal cords to find our range. And then we can do the lows and the highs as well with no difficulty and not training our voice. What can you share with our listeners and viewers about that?

Well, again, if you work on making what you're saying musical, I'm going to tell you what it will do for you. One of the worst things that you will see. It happens with a lot with speakers and singers and preachers when they have a fantastic presentation. Have you ever gone up to somebody after a fantastic presentation? Oh, that was wonderful. And you're thanking them and they're saying to you, thank you very much.

Oh, yeah, done.

Thank you. Thank you very much. It's because they weren't using their voice in a musical way and they weren't using. And when I say that every speaker can benefit from a vocal coach, from a musical vocal coach to teach you how to use your face, your mask, the bones in your face to project and use those bones as your own megaphone. So I hope that helps to clarify what I'm trying to say.

Thank you so much, Darren.

So my question be for you that we have a lot of presenters who are, let's say, emerging speakers or beginning pastors. Do you have any stories from early on when you. Let's just say were really nervous or made a mistake or bombed? Because a lot of people think, well, it's easy for them. And you got that voice. You and Mark Brown, like you never bombed. Is there any stories from your beginning that you'd be willing to share and a lesson learned?

The biggest, most important lesson I ever learned was from my voice teacher. Her name was Alma Blackman and she was the director of the choir at our school where I went. I went to Oakwood University. By the way, it's famous for a lot of musicians have come through that school. Take six, if you've ever heard of Them, oh, yeah.

Cable and company. Oh, yeah.

Or even Little Richard went to school there.

Anyone from Macon, Georgia, man.

And Little Richard was a dear friend of mine who passed just recently, but she taught me, I'm a black man. She said, whenever you get a chance and an opportunity, do your very, very best, she said, because one opportunity leads to another opportunity and to another opportunity and to another opportunity. And that's what it's been like for me. I've never had a manager or an agent or a publicist, but the opportunities that I've had musically and inspirationally, you could not script it. You could not. No publicist could say, hey, I heard Diana Ross is getting married. I think I can book you for the wedding. What happened there, for example, was I was singing on a television program, and a few weeks later, I got a phone call. This lady said, is this Wintley Phipps? I said, yes. Oh, my boss was standing in front of the television crying, listening to you sing. And she said, find this guy. Please find this guy. She said, I'm calling for Diana Ross. And she wants you to be the only soloist at her wedding in Geneva, Switzerland. I've never met Diana Ross before in my life. Diana Ross has worked with every major musician on planet Earth that you could think of. She reached for someone she had never met. Wow. Wow. To be the only soloist at her wedding. What's astounding again, when I was singing on that television program, all I was trying to do was my very best. Little did I know one opportunity would lead to another opportunity. And, yes, I've been doing what I've been doing for almost 50 years. I'm 67 years old. I'm 12 and a half years away from 80. Right.

Perspective, Wendy. Perspective. Perspective.

And so I've been doing it for a long time. Now, I would say, early on, as you're doing it, there are going to be moments of fear and trepidation. And especially when you start doing live worldwide television stuff. I mean, yeah, now it's almost that way. Because every time you speak or saying somebody's got a device in the palm of their hands and you're being broadcast around the world. But before we had these devices back in the 70s and the 80s, every time I was doing a Robert Schuler's program, Our Power or any lie, you know, you don't have the luxury to say, excuse me, start that again, or let me go back and fix. There's no fixing. And so there is a certain amount of nervousness. I'm gonna tell you something else. The greatest. And I would say this is probably true not only of singers, but of speakers. And that is, every singer in every song makes mistakes. Every speaker in every presentation makes mistakes. But check this out. But the great ones know how to make a stumble look like a pirouette.

I gotta write that down.

Hashtag wisdom right there.

I gotta write that one down. You know how to turn a stumble into a pyramid?

Yes. In other words, normally it would be a stumble, but when you're through stumbling, people are dazzled by your recovery.

Yes.

And they say, wow. They feel it. They sense it. Because what they felt in that moment was your weakness being turned into a moment of triumph and a moment of strength. I've seen that happen in my speaking. I've seen that happen. For example, if you're speaking and you forget something, that's a stumble. But you have that opportunity to make that stumble look like a pirouette by your recovery and your. And by the way, in terms of singers, nobody did that better for me than Luther Vandross.

Oh, Luther, what a voice, man.

I would listen to Luther and as a musician, I would hear when he goes into a moment that sounds like a moment of off key weakness, but by the time he's through with it.

Griffith. Yeah.

As it's breathtaking, I said, oh, now how did he do that? You know? So anyway, that's a little piece of wisdom I wanted to share.

Well, a follow up question on that, Wintley, because now we know we're kind of partially coming out of the pandemic. We're going back to live events and some organizers are doing live events at venues that maybe have a meeting outdoors in a patio area or a commons area or an amphitheater. And you have done, I don't know how many times you've spoken and sung outdoors. And things can happen that are distractions. What was your most unusual or fearful distraction? Having to be outdoors and the unexpected happen.

I would say probably the most amazing outdoor moment I've ever had. And I had a number of them. That song you were talking about, timing up the Rough side of the Mountain.

Yes, yes.

I actually sang that again at RFK Stadium at a Billy Graham event. So when you. When you. For 25 years I traveled with Billy Graham, and so you get an opportunity to go before some large audiences. When you, when you're in Billy Graham. I remember going to Russia with Billy Graham in Moscow, you know, you got an Olympic Stadium, 100,000 people on the inside, 25,000 people standing on the outside, and a 5,000 voice choir behind me. Wow. Singing How Great Thou Art. You know, probably a very cherished memory in the outdoors for me is singing for Promise Keepers.

Yeah. Back in the day, I remember them.

Promise keepers again. At RFK Stadium in Washington, you have 60,000 men. And I started humming Amazing Grace, and all those 60,000 men began singing with me. Now, that doesn't happen every day. It's an amazing moment that I will cherish whenever I see the tape. I can feel the presence and the power of God that was in that place and in that space that day.

Now, when you were doing the. I'm climbing up the rough. Philip, what happened that day when you were doing that particular song at rfk?

Whenever you do something in the Billy Graham Crusades again, it's one of those moments that, you know, it's a divine moment. And you really. All you're thinking about is in prayer, trying to do your very best. And yes, if you go online, you might see it with me with my big afro at the time and the.

Goatee too, and everything.

And by the way, I guess I need to. I remember when I started going bald and everybody's trying to figure out how you. I guess this may be good for your speakers too, because I guess Willie did it too, right?

Yeah.

But there comes a moment when I actually fought it for a long time. I grew my hair really long, and then I would flip it forward and try to style it to look like an Afro. But it got to be really stressful always having to walk backwards in the wind.

Ah, walking in the wind.

You know when you get up in the morning and you check the temperature and the wind velocity, you got a problem.

None of us right now go through that right now.

I see Darren's got that going on.

When I met him. He had hair 21 years when I met him. And I was actually his coach when he was competing in the Toastmasters contest. Let me ask you this. A little deeper. On the outdoor thing, do you ever get nervous? Does a track go off or the choir is off and you gotta, you know, keep yourself together? Or in that particular song coming up, you're holding a 25 second note at the end. What goes through your mind if, you know, a bug goes flying by? Has it ever happened to you?

I mean, well, you. You jogged a memory for me. It's probably one of the most craziest things that ever happened to me.

You want to hear it, man?

And again, I've sung on stages with the most unique people. I've done Saturday Night Live for Example. But one day I opened, and by the way, you know my motto God gave me, you don't have to compromise to be recognized like that. And so I only do music that is inspirational and uplifting. As a matter of fact, I'll tell you this story. After I sang at Diana Ross's wedding, she actually called and offered me to be the opening act for her worldwide tour. Her biggest tour was coming up. I said, diana, I think I need to remind you of what I do from 16 years old. I only do gospel music. So I said, I don't do Baby, Turn the Lights down, you know, that's for somebody else. That's not for me, you know. And the tour didn't work out. But the man who performed her wedding called me one day and said, I had dinner with Diana Ross and her husband last night in London, and she said she was trying to get you to tour with her and it doesn't look like it's going to work out. And she's really disappointed. And then she said, because Wintley's got something and I don't know what it is, he said, I began to tell her, well, you know, he's given his life to God, and God's presence is what he prays for, you know. He said, but let me tell you why I'm really calling you. He said, I'm calling you to thank you for being true to your convictions. He said, and I'm calling you to thank you. Not just to thank you for being true to your convictions, but to remind you that God said that those who honor him, he will honor. And so the fact that I walked away from that tour, but yet, my friend, the opportunities that have come for me on a world stage, I haven't had to compromise to be recognized. But I began to tell you that story because the most unique opening act I've ever sung for was for James Brown. Wow. James Brown was doing a concert and they asked me to do the national anthem and, you know, another song, I think. But probably going back to your question, the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me, I was in this big, amazing function, powerful guest, political guest, and I'm supposed to sing the national anthem. Somebody put on the wrong track, wrong soundtrack.

Wow.

And they put on the soundtrack for His Eyes on the Sparrow. Wow. And it's the weirdest thing I've ever done, but I sang the national anthem to His Eyes on the Sparrow background. I don't even know how I did it, but things like that happen and you just have to roll with it.

That's two things here, quickly. One is your consummate professionalism. And two, I said top of the program. You are a man who exudes versatility and I know your time is valuable. And there are a couple of questions I gotta ask. That's an amazing story. How you take the words for one song and fit them into another on the fly Live, friends, we as speakers are gonna encounter times when things are gonna go wrong and we have to be flexible. If we're professionals, we have to be versatile and find our way to navigate all of that. And Darren, I don't wanna shortcut you. There's a question you have. I do wanna yank the Whitley.

We're good, we're good.

I wanna yank the wheel. W. I know you're a singer. I've admired you for years. I have sang one of your songs at my mother's funeral in 1992. He is able. And I'm not sure I can still do that. And you will not remember this, but Willie and you and I were at the NSA convention after your keynote. I told you that story. I became a blubbering mess. I couldn't stop crying because the impact of that song on my life and to have that be the last way to honor my mother was a blessing to me. And she died at 67 years old. No prediction here. I'm just telling you that's one more connection for me. But I want to talk technically, for those who are saying yes, mark all this music, but you have. And Darren is going to be a first. It's going to be a first. Darren, on our podcast, video wise, I'm going to bring my wife on because she has loved Wintley for 35 years.

Hello, how are you? I am great, thank you. What a joy it is to meet you.

Oh, likewise.

You have been one of my heroes.

We're Jamaican and you're Canadian, so we're Caribbean. There it is.

Oh, well, I spent a lot of beautiful days in Jamaica, even up in Mandeville, up in the mountains, you know.

Perfect. Oh, thank you so much.

And my wife says the best Callaloo she's ever had was in Jamaica. So.

Yeah, Just so you know, she grows her own.

Thank you. Oh, wonderful. Nice meeting you.

Thank you. Our very first crash of a party of our podcast. My point. Thank you for indulging us that way.

No problem.

Really something else you do. And for those who are saying enough about this music part of it, There is a dimension to your work. You are a preacher. We know that you're A speaker. I've seen you on stage, but you also have a unique way to use your gift. For the last 15, 17 years, I've been blessed to be the voice of God at the annual Toastmasters International Convention and I get my welcome to Toastmasters voice on. But I've heard you also do narrations. I know you're a voice artist, and particularly when you're with Bill Gaither, for those who are on the Christian side, you know who he is. And you did the narration of a very popular poem called Go Down Death. I have seen so many renditions of that, but none, in my opinion, comes even close. So here's a question.

Yes.

You use your voice literally in a musical way to tell the story. We could see Death on his best white horse. The way you use your voice to reinforce the message.

Yes.

How can you help our audience understand the concept of creating the image and the visual and running a movie in their minds with just your voice?

Yes. Well, I'm going to share a couple of things that I hope they won't be too far fetched for some people, but I have a deep respect for people who have awesome memories. There are speakers who can memorize what they're going to say and share it. And not everybody has that gift. As a matter of fact, I tell people all the time there are only two kinds of speakers who try to be extemporaneous off the top of their heads and profound at the same time. And they are usually geniuses and fools. And you pick up which one you're dealing with pretty quick. It doesn't take you long. In other words, what I'm trying to say is if you don't have the gift of memorization for long, it's a lot to memorize something for half an hour, but you still want to use the language. Let me put it to you this way. Yes, there is a musicality in the voice and the use of the voice, but there is a musicality in the use of the language. There is a beauty in the use of the English language that stays with people, that touches people. Again, I don't know how to explain it completely, but I will say this. For example, I could say to an audience, you know, I'm really determined to do my best. But if you also say, I am desperately determined, there is a musicality in using the language that way that people remember. And even if they don't remember, it sits in their thinking, in their minds and on their ears in a way that if you just use it using common words and so I just want to encourage your listeners, try to use the language in a way that is musical because it will take you to another level in your speaking career. I believe that.

Thank you.

Okay. For example, if you go online. If you go online and you put in Wintley Phipps top quotes with all the words that are spoken in this world today, and there are a lot of words for enough words that you string together to become a quotable quote that will live on longer than you have. You will live. That's an amazing accomplishment. So, for example, anybody know about football? The Immaculate Conception. You know the Immaculate Conception.

Reception? Yeah. Reception, yeah.

Do you remember Darren, who it was with the Immaculate Conception in Pittsburgh? Yeah.

It was a guy in the Steelers.

Yeah. Okay.

Well, there's a statue of him in the airport there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was. I was with him the other day. I was waiting. One of them. The guy who actually threw the pass, the quarterback. I'm trying to remember his name. Y' all listeners said. They're probably telling us the name right now.

Back to us later.

But he put up on his. On his Facebook page or something, 20 things you didn't know about me. And he said, one of them is, my favorite quote is by Wintley Phipps. And then he lists. He put the quote down, and here's the quote. It is in the quiet crucible of our personal, private sufferings that our noblest dreams are born and God's greatest gifts are given. And often God gives his greatest gifts in compensation for what we have endured and what we have been through. Those words that are now attributed to me. If you put those words in the Internet, my name will come up and it'll be there long after I'm gone. But those words, I didn't come up with those words on the spot. First of all, I believe that God gave me those words, and I was astounded by them, and that's one of the reasons I remember them. But I rehearsed those words. I refined those words, and there's a musicality to those words that make them memorable as long as time shall last. What I'm saying to you now is pretty heavy stuff because there are a lot of speakers who speak, right? There are a lot of speakers who put a lot of words into the atmosphere. But not every speaker who speaks and puts words into the atmosphere will their words be chronicled, written down, taken in, remembered and repeated, remembered and repeated, as long as time shall last.

By the way, it was Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris.

That's right. Thank you, my. Yeah. I was with Franco Harris not long ago for a function together. It was such an honor to meet him. And Terry Bradshaw was the one that said, one of the things you don't know about me. I don't know Terry Bradshaw. I've never met Terry Bradshaw. And so I'm shocked that Terry Bradshaw says, of all of the quotes in the universe, my most favorite quote is by a man by the name of Wintley Phipps. And I'm saying, my goodness. My goodness. You know what I mean? So you're saying. And you had it right, Darren. It's wonderful to use the language in such a way that people remember it and repeat it.

That's why whenever Mark speaks, he's the wordsmith, not me. I'm dyslexic. So I have a handy thesaurus and dictionary close by. So I'd be like, wait, wait, wait. What was that word? I just have one question for you. When I was doing some research on you, I learned about a great story that I love, but I have a specific question behind it, and it's the story of the Hookup from Heaven and about a cassette. So I'd love to hear that story. And then my question is, how do we have the mindset to set us up to think that way, if you know what I mean? How do we get that. That's a hookup from. Like you said earlier, if I do the right thing and I believe that I must do my best, how do we get that mindset to prepare us for a hookup from heaven?

Well, I want to go back to when I was attending at 16, this Christian school and in Canada, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, outside of Toronto. And I went to the Dean of Men. I said, I'm leaving. I can't take all these rules and regulations you guys have here. You can't hold hands with girls on campus. What kind of stuff is this? This is back in 1971, right? And he said to me, is that what you really want to do? I said, yeah. He said, why don't you do for once, not what you want to do, but what God wants you to do. That hit me like a mobile. I went to my room and I prayed for the first time in my life. I said, okay, God, whatever you want me to, I'll do. I said, if you want me to be a garbage man for you, I'm willing to be a garbage man. If the only music I'll ever know is whistling hymns on the back of a garbage truck, I'm willing to do That I said, you know, I'd like to travel and use my talents for you, and if that's your will for me, open the doors. Let me see. In some way, a day went by. Two men came to me and said, are you in Clay Phipps? I said, yeah. He said, we've been hearing about you. We want you to travel and do singing evangelism with us.

And it wasn't on the back of a garbage truck. Right. Just to be clear.

But I'm dumbfounded because I had never prayed and seen a prayer answered, and that'll scar you for life. The first prayer you ever seen answered is one that you will never, ever forget. And I'm kind of going into this in a different way because I want your listeners to know. And, Darren, bring back just a little bit of that question, because there's something that you said there that I want to remember, and I want to make sure that I answer.

How do you set yourself up for the mindset to do your best just knowing that you will get a hookup from heaven?

The reason I told you that story is because as I was walking the campus over the next few days and weeks, I heard that voice that I now know as God speaking to my heart, saying, I've seen your dreams. Give me your dreams. I'll let you glimpse a little of what I've been dreaming for you. If you can just be faithful to the best of your ability, I'm going to take your life down an unusual path. You will sing to the masses. Now, you got to understand, that was a huge, miraculous promise, because back then in the 70s, you couldn't sing to the masses. There was no YouTube. You know, the only way you got to sing to the mass is if a record company gave you a big recording contract or something, and you'll speak truth to people of influence and power. So here's what I'm saying, Darren. When I heard that in my head and my heart for the rest of my life, what do you think I'm doing? I'm scanning the horizon for what moments that are going to come that will answer that prayer. So you're always trying to see, okay, is this an answer to the prayer coming? Okay. And I want to say something about my wife. We've been married 45 years. My wife, she taught me one of the most valuable lessons when we were courting. We were dating as teenagers. I'm 19. She's 20 years old, she says. She pulls me aside, she says, I want to talk to you about something. I said, sure, she said, I notice you treat my pretty girlfriends better than you treat my girlfriends who are not so pretty. And if you want to be my friend, you're going to have to learn how to treat them all the same. Wow. Okay, bam, drop the mic moment, put those two together. Then every person I'm speaking to, I'm learning to speak to that person with respect, not knowing who that person is, what they could end up being to my life one day. So 41 years ago, Darren, I'm singing in Baltimore, Maryland. I come down off the platform, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Young lady said, excuse me, sir, I just heard you sing. I feel like I can talk to you. Do you have time to talk to me? I said, sure. So she came by our home, we talked together, prayed together, and after praying with her, I said, you know, before you go, God has impressed me to tell you he's going to bless you and give you an opportunity to speak to millions of people. She said, no. You think God would do that to me? And it was Oprah Winfrey. And that's how we met, when she was making $25,000 a year, Darren. And by the way, Mark, I said to her one day, oprah, I said, you know, when we met, you were making 25. She's a billionaire, of course. But I said, when we met, you were making $25,000 a year. And then she said, yeah, I remember. She said, and I still have my tithe steps. Wow.

She was giving.

She was tithing on her $25,000 a year. Wow. Okay. So I'm always looking for those moments, but I'm always remembering to treat everyone with respect when you don't know who they are, where they're going. I'll give you one more. I'm on an Eastern Airlines flight coming back from Los Angeles. I used to fly Eastern a lot. My wife actually recognized this lady and we were blessed. We were sitting in first class because you're not old enough to remember this, Darren. But there was a time when they were introducing non smoking on flights, but they kept a smoking section on the plane. Right?

Because of course, the smoke's not gonna go across the aisle.

Yeah, I remember that.

And what they did was they guaranteed non smokers a seat in a non smoking section. So when they ran out of non smoking seats, they would put you in first class. Right. So here I am sitting in first class with my wife. Lady is sitting across from us. My wife recognizes who she is. So I get a cassette again. That's how long ago it Was. And I knelt down beside her. I said, you know, I just feel impressed of God to come give this to you. The kind of music I do is gospel music. There's a song here called Lord, I Give youe My Life. It's about giving your life to God. She said, thank you so much. I travel with a cassette player and I could play this tape you've given me as I travel. You remember when the Walkman was the rage? You know, little cassette Walkman. That was the.

I had one.

I had one, yeah. This walk before. IPod. Right. When the plane landed in Atlanta, she was standing in the Jetway waiting for me. She could have gone on, but she was waiting for me. She took my hand, she squeezed it. Her eyes were misty. She said, thank you so much. God bless you. That lady was Natalie Wood. A few days before she drowned. And when I heard that she had drowned, she was actually on her way to Carolina to film the movie. The last movie that she did that she didn't get to finish because she drowned. But when it happened again, those moments, I guess this is it. Darren. Moments when you are blessed with gifts are hookups from heaven. Awkward moments when you get to give a word of encouragement to someone else, that's also a hookup from heaven. That's what I want to say. Wow.

Thank you. Thank you. We want to honor your time. And as we wind down, Mark is taking some notes and all the wisdom you've dropped. Wintley. If somebody wants to reach out or find you or find some of your music, where would they go?

Well, I would encourage them to go to 1-800-US Dream, 1-800-US Dream or go online to www.usdream academy. What they will find there is. I was mentored by Chuck Colson. That was another amazing hookup from heaven. What happened was I was on an Amtrak train from Baltimore to Philadelphia. And on Amtrak, when you don't want someone sitting next to you, you camp out, you put your food and your papers around. You send a message, please find someplace else to sit. Well, this man had camped out, but I looked into his eyes. He looked really low and discouraged. There were other seats available. But I walked up to him, I said, is anybody sitting next to you? And he smiled. He said, no. And he pulled up his papers, and it was Chuck Colson. And that's how we met. We became dear friends from that train ride. He began to take me into the prisons with him because he went to prison for the Watergate scandal, you remember, and he came out and started what is the largest prison ministry in the world, Prison Fellowship Ministries. He placed me on his board of directors. We would go to prison. I remember going to a prison in Florida, Marion, Florida. I sang in the men's prison with Chuck. We went over to the women's prison. When I finished singing at the women's prison, a young lady came up to me, pregnant, about to have her baby in prison, tears in her eyes. She said, excuse me, sir. She said, your wife named Linda? I said, yes. She said, that's my aunt. We didn't know that. My wife's brother's daughter was in prison, about to give birth in prison. And my life was changed. You talk about opening up another door of opportunity for ministry and service. One of every three black men between the ages of 18 and 30 in this country are already in prison in America or supervised by the court system of the United States of America. One of every three between the ages of 18 and 30. By the age of 30, 60% of all black boys in America who don't graduate from high school will be in prison by the age of 30. I said, let's start a ministry that will break this cycle of intergenerational incarceration. And that's been the most rewarding thing I've been able to do with my voice, with my singing, with my speaking, is to lift up the opportunity to help help the most vulnerable children in America. Children who have a parent or a family member that's incarcerated, and children who are falling behind in school. So the best way to reach me is through that ministry. I was a founder and I am president of it, and I've been doing that work for 25 years. And that's how I give back, because of the blessings and the beauty, what God has given to me. Wow.

So, Mark Brown, what do we have for keepers here?

Our time. I know our time is almost up. I need to ask one bit of advice. Whitley and I forgot to ask this question. We have several people who are part of our community for whom English is not their first language. In 15 seconds, how would you advise them to build their vocabulary and become good at the language you say we need to master?

Well, this may sound strange, but there is an amazing beauty in two books in the Scriptures, the Psalms and the Book of Proverbs, there is a lyric nature. And no matter what version you read, it will move you, inspire you, and give you a sample of how the language can be used. With lyric beauty. With lyric beauty. And so I would encourage them to do that. And then there are some other Writers that I read that are just amazing. And one of them, frankly, is a Nobel writer by the name of Gabriel Marquez, a Nobel winning laureate writer. He wrote a couple of books, 100 Years of Solitude. Another book is entitled Love in the Time of Cholera. Look, when you read the language, oh my word. It takes you in flight when you read his language. And by the way, he was a Spanish writer, translated into English. Just amazing. So I would encourage them to read good literature.

Wow.

I have to give you my keepers and I have two and a half and a half keepers. I want to give you a few of them nuggets for me and for our listeners.

Yes.

Never stop dreaming. That was early on.

Yes.

Focus on your purpose and your goal because your voice is an instrument of purpose. And guess what? Most people would have amazing singing voices if they simply sang the way that they spoke. Remember, there is great musicality in your speaking voice. So speak the way you sing and develop a musicality in the way you speak.

Yes.

Every speaker will benefit from a musical vocal coach at every opportunity. Do nothing less than your best. Even though every speaker in every presentation makes mistakes, Great speakers know how to turn a stumble into a pirouette. Love that you don't have to compromise to be recognized. And fools can be profound and extemporaneous.

Try only two people. Try it.

Use language in a musical way and rehearse and refine your sequence of words to make them unforgettable. No matter what you do. Speak to everyone with respect. And the moments that when you get to give words of encouragement are your hookups from heaven. Wesley, I can't thank you enough. My heart is full. My page is full. I'll let Darren close us out.

Thank you so much. And thank you for the wisdom from your wife that she passed on to you.

Oh, absolutely.

Great reminder to all of us. Sometimes we as speakers, we go to speaker conferences and we look around for the important people and there's people right in front of us that really need to talk to us and be listened to. You are an inspiration. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for sharing this time with us and with our listeners. Hey, go and check out his organization, what he's doing, and his music is on YouTube. It's simply unforgettable.

Unforgettable.

All right, we'll see you next week. Thanks for listening.

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