A Ministry of Music with Erskin Anavitarte

Christmas gift why not the one she can have a couple of chicken maybe it's not the for your family but it is the perfect gift for poor family ninja chicken can break the cycle of poverty for poor family yes chicken chickens and provide nourishment for family and they can sell mosaics at the market for income when you donate a chicken or any other gospel for Asian 1% of what you give goes to the field and get the ball went gospel fundraiser to support family of Jesus family this Christmas and give them six explanation see chickens and camping. This is Mike Swick from if not for God podcast our show stories of hopelessness turned and I hope your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting to just seconds.

Enjoy it Sharon but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. How do we bring healing to black and white racial reconciliation.

How does our country heal from all the political turmoil chaos.

What about covert, 19 what if you're a basketball playing guitar Banyan man of God who sings all the time and I get a call from the campus is a we cancel camp because a code what you do this guys with me.

He loves Jesus in you spreading the message of hope all over the country the world.

He's a hope your he is Erskine Erskine music Erskine Austin Erskine avatar today is the name avatar day you Erskine music I like music go to that site. Listen to his music.

You will be deeply touched, deeply encouraged because he's got gospel gaps to him and his music. Erskine, how in the world did I know you as we play some serious basketball yet. That's probably how we got snow yet more deeper now. I enjoyed getting to know you before you knew me watching you perform at NRB. Oh yes, sneaky to have a whole group in worship.

Yet a phenomenal job well we got to talk and I said hey that thing you did for like 10,000 people. Can you do it for like 20 people in our truth booth at NRB 10,000 maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but cuticular people to and you you stooped down and asked that I am a people like velvet.

We were so grateful for this is you do the praise and worship, but then your you play college basketball and sure there's a whole lot warlocks is a state university you go there's a whole lot woven into your DNA. You're a champion for adoption and foster care.

You're also usually speak about spiritual awakening and revival in the preaching the gospel message was just this is get out again, you're my favorite question asked him as my guest who is Erskine who is Erskine yeah you say all those different characteristics about me but man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ. A man who loves his family loves his wife and has a new dog named. That we got during the quarantine that is a nine-month-old border collie and now she's part of her family now and so all those characteristics along with video games and other things is that makes up Erskine while in you share your story some this morning at the new Canaan society bunch of men a lot more on zoom. Probably they were in person. Sure played QB play the guitar.

You are picking and grinning and blessedness like crazy and Antonio Manwaring was pretty awesome what you talk about kind of a very fascinating you you you you showed up at the white church in the black church the white your thing then using this awesome song which were in a play for everyone here just a second to talk about that dynamic. You know, being in Texas and the first time you ever went to a quote unquote white church yet you don't know what you don't know until you know in the sky when those things work shirt for me as I will send this one is a bit of a disconnect. There's a lot of things that were strange. The environment was strange for me as a young child because it was something different. That didn't happen any other time. It was the one day a week where things were irregular. The schedules of irregular people, attitudes, actions dressed in all manners of the culture were irregular. On that Sunday is our member in very many occasions just being you know maybe a little bit put off for the church because the message seem to be a pretty hard line you know your your bad sin, bad, bad, bad, bad, and I'm thinking I don't really like this that much but you know grew up in an environment where there's a lot of people who invested in me and I took the time to download an amount my mind and in understanding the fact that I needed Jesus and the need the cross and got saved at the age of 12, and you really begin throughout my teenage years having a hunger and thirst for the Lord and all of its components and a lot of those things that I disliked about the church I came to love about the church, especially the length of the services and you know you grow the black church of the year that thing all day long.

I remember on one particular occasion getting out of church and saying I really wish that I could go to church more like I wish we could do this whole thing only like I want the whole day and everything just to be devoted to reading Scripture and singing songs and having this atmosphere and someone told me that hey, there is a church that meets in the evenings. I thought this is amazing that's that's go to church in the evening we could do more of this and I remember it was an all white church that he walked into brother Billy Johnson this is Miller Heights Baptist Church and I was kinda shocked because now completely out of my element. There is all white people who were here this building. I'm thinking I didn't even really think about the fact that got saved by people like that. I guess that's the thing, and brother Billy was so gracious and continues to be even to this day of allowing me to share my gifts there with the congregation. He even let me preach sermons.

They were some of the worst sermons I think that I've ever heard before, but he let me preach to his congregation on Sunday evenings and you know as we got to know each other over the years he just invested a lot of time and development in understanding and support and encouragement my life and so little I was being discipled by all black church in the black pastor David L Norman as well as brother Billy Johnson at all white church no Heights Baptist Church and group those two streams of influence in my life. And so it led to a type of rich understanding that gave me a little bit of perspective of time both worlds that were going on there and some of the things that the church I believe can bridge the gap in and helping people understand about that.

The truth of the gospel and how it brings us together really cool and you know that's that's inspired a song that other things as far as I'm sure that's a lifelong work there is some real racial ethnic acrimony in the culture challenges people upset systemic racism they're talking about. There's the black lives matter movement so you found yourself as a is a man of God is an African-American man to God ministering in white churches, black churches speaking truth of this. It was refreshing. Everybody walked out the room today.

Just saying wow what a refreshing perspective that you gave about how Christ is really the one that brings it all together and now I don't think it's a new perspective that's 2000 years of making of Christ being that reconciler who brings us together and breaks down these barriers of sin and breaks down these areas where normally, our culture would be the largest determinant of what happens now are communion with Christ becomes a point in the ground in which we can relate to one another and so hopefully they were encouraged by that, but I want to say I didn't break any new ground today say anything new. I said something very old, and perhaps we forgotten some capacities or maybe we've moved away from her. Just not highlighted to the degree that we should have it. We need to get back to the truth of the gospel to the core truth and that's what you did just took us back to something that to the Lord Jesus Christ getting folks to him and to the cross, where the ground is level at the foot of the cross and so here's a song set the song up the name of the song.

A quick replay right now. Songs called black-and-white, and it begins with the lyrics, the most segregated time in our country Sunday morning at 11 o'clock I quotation I heard from Martin Luther King and I thought what this could be put to the lyric and so myself and another songwriter by the name of Jeff Pearson wrote the song and it's been loudly received.

Actually in various places around the world. To my surprise of people who were not initially dealing with the black and white issue, but the alienation that happens in cultures all around the world, and it resonated with the song and so it's black and white heritage and the website for folks that want to get this will take us right dishonoring to our break is what will they can find my music on any place where music is played or streamed and then Erskine music.com is my website will put some pictures of the social media Boston I did. I got a video of you singing the song all my Instagram. Yes, I got a light from this morning. It will be on there if you want to go to Stu Epperson@Stu Epperson watch a video of it, but be sure you get this music and share it with your passion. Have the sky come seeing and speaking preacher your camp, your group, your church, whatever your club, FC exaggerates the yesterday guy here is where is the song black-and-white by saying in a a do the mean and have Qatar will travel will preach about Jesus. Users can easily right now Erskine music.com. What a blessing you have been in my life.

Thanks for your friendship yet. Christ, it's been awesome to goes both ways. Well, play basketball, and then you minister you encourage me and so many Erskine you're passionate about the gospel me at the end the day you have the you said about a lot of things.

You've played the trombone you play all kinds of instruments. I don't know many people that went to college in both participated in the marching band and played college basketball at a high level. What was that like that was a pretty rich experience. I remember on one occasion it was a week before classes started and I was at summer marching band, and I remember walking down the hallway and there were a group of I know who they are now, but a group of saxophone players who were having a conversation in the hallway.

As I was walking by.

They didn't know who I was. They never met me before they said did you guys hear a rumor that there's gonna be a guys on the basketball team. This can actually be an marching band and a couple of like that'll never happen to that.

Who would do that and I thought, oh, I guess, are talking about me and so that was a really rich experience to be able to be in both worlds literally felt like both sides of my brain were lighting up at the same time. On any given day, depending on where I was on campus and now you strap a guitar on you get in front of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people, prisons, campus churches, groups everywhere. A few people many people. It doesn't matter if someone calls Erskine goes Erskine music.com, or cause your team.

Have you come to their church to their homecoming to a concert where they get like what is your passion to deliver step set foot on stage while the coolest thing about what it is that I do. Is there so many varieties of music that are right so many different genres are right pop country pop R&B ballot soul is music EDM by decently different things that I can literally ask them the question what is it that your organization or group or church is needing to have happen if is just a worship set and were doing corporate worship. That's great. I love doing that.

That's wonderful. If you need me to do original music in various genres or particular genre. I'm usually equipped to be able to do those kind of things as well. Various groups of had me like the summer I did the 10 killer Baptist Association in Oklahoma and I was the camp pastor as well as the Worship leader. That's a bit much and so normally in those type settings.

I bring my band with me and so I can shoulder some of the load on the music but I speaking events, singing events, camps, retreats, conferences, like a said sidewalk performance is they needed to block parties in the neighborhood there's some people use me in evangelistic settings like that as well house concerts and house concerts political. While that's not fun, but tells you, your family, wife, kids, Kelly and I my wife.

We've been married for almost 18 years now and that's a wonderful journey.

You know we talked about in our engagement. What maybe some of the possibilities of music could be in our lives and what different types of ministry might look like.

She served a couple years overseas in Zimbabwe before we were married in. You know, we just always knew that the Lord was going use this lapse in an unconventional way. We had no idea at the time what that was to look like and so we've been married for 18 years approximately about 12 years ago my life and I doubt that our two kids Jasmine and Justin and so they been a part of our family since then.

And it's just been tremendous to be a foster home, as well as an adoptive home and to be able to see literally waves of kids commanding us to be able to do various things to get them further along in life and that's been a neat journey for us to let we sure this morning about an abortion. Such a hot potato in our culture, and of course was white people were yes right Rob for life. If we were in overthink fingers. Her parents are pro-life, we wouldn't be here. But in that same vein, you mentioned to hamper life always through Genesis extend that that energy from you know we need to make sure that were contending for the lives of children to be born in this world, but in the environments of their morning. We need to make sure that if there needs to be an intermediary that steps in and says hey we can provide a home.

We can provide some resources we can help in this area were also is energetic about those things as well. That's for you all have really been champions for foster care and for adoption lot of folks out there need to adopt and raise a godly seed that way you can send out the world and make a difference. We know that there's a lot of persecution in the world today. For Christians, and that could be coming home to rest in America and in some ways are used, but first in one your latest songs talks about Jesus Christ being worth it. Can you set that up and get a bracelet veneer branching there on your is not sure that it is Jesus work with it yeah so hopefully we'll get a chance to hear the song but it all springs from the fact that in very many places in the world even today we have our brothers and sisters who are persecuted, to the extent of being threatened to lose their lives lose their livelihood lose their family members lose their culture lose everything for the sake of following Jesus and so why would a person who is facing that kind of persecution stand for Christ in the midst of that is because Jesus is worth it.

What Jesus died on the cross and how Jesus impacted our lives. We know that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. And we know that sufferings of this world not worthy to be compared and so that theme I think is one that resonates around the world, but perhaps perhaps that will begin to resonate more in our lives, even here in America as we perhaps go through some challenging times and go through difficult times to recognize we continue to keep the main thing the main thing and maybe in some ways to it will cause us to galvanize and come to the center of saying there's a lot of peripheral arguments we've gotten ourselves into, and major on the minors when in fact the gospel and making sure the truth of what we believe is the thing that we most contain for a while and that would be a unifying force. Strange as that sounds that would be a unifying force and so the song is easy worth it and it was written by Nick Ripken into derivative of his book the insanity of God in the insanity of obedience.

Both Nick and Ruth are dear friends of ours and we would love just being able to partner with them in their ministry door and go out with the song is he worth it.

And one of the lyrics. It really hit me with a song when I heard you sing it earlier is we have the privilege of carrying his cross and require her to put that way, what a privilege it is, thank you for sharing the Christ through music in word. Thank you for using all the avenues of an opportunity and influence throughout the radio to be able to tell the truth and tell people yourself. So thank you for that. A man will hear comes is he worth it. Learn more about Erskine's podcast is programming his awesome music is all of his records and have them come speak to your group. You will be thoroughly blessed@erskinemusic.com and here's this latest song that will really challenge you to pray for the persecuted church and to step boldly into the gospel yourself and maybe it's time we start stepping up and really matters in all and still get when you hear that man's I'll let you tell him about it right now in the song is awarded by Erskine right here. God bless you think so I think you will know it all and in the VGA and this is the Truth Network