BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

The Journey of Pastor Keith Bradley: Creating a Faith-Filled Legacy in Ministry

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 5 • Episode 2

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Pastor Keith Bradley, Heirs Christian Center Church in Charlotte, North Carolina is  a dynamic leader with a compelling story, joins us to uncover the profound intersection of faith and purpose. From his early days in Newark, New Jersey, where he navigated the challenges of foster care and his mother's mental health struggles, to becoming a beacon of spiritual guidance for athletes at Ohio State University, Pastor Bradley's journey is nothing short of inspiring. Discover how his passion for sports and personal resilience fueled his commitment to ministry, shaping the lives of countless individuals and families in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hear firsthand about the pivotal moments that transformed Pastor Bradley's life, notably his work in juvenile corrections, which ignited a lifelong dedication to serving youth through faith. His extraordinary story takes us through his commitment to celibacy until marriage and distancing from secular influences, leading to impactful ministry on college campuses through Inside Stuff Campus Ministry. Through these initiatives, Pastor Bradley highlights the power of mentorship and spiritual growth, demonstrating how they cultivate personal and community development.

As we wrap up our conversation, we explore the themes of legacy and personal growth through the lens of faith. Pastor Bradley passionately speaks about leaving a "faith file" rich with values and experiences for future generations, urging listeners to embrace their unique identities and purposefully impact the world around them. Uncover how embodying the traits of a 'baller' can propel you toward achieving both personal and spiritual milestones, inspiring you to build a lasting legacy that resonates beyond your lifetime.

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Speaker 1:

So the reality is, whether you're young or old, we're all at the same core. So, in other words, like me and you are just older, young people. Yeah, so what happens is the Holy Spirit speaks everybody's language. So if you're yielding to the Holy Spirit, he's communicating customized information. So I think over the years, what I learned is be sensitive to your audience. So if it's just about what I know, then I'm force feeding you what I like to hear me saying. Proverbs 18.2 says so. My heart discovers itself, but when I'm serving, I'm trying to hear from God what's customized for your design, what you need. So now, that's no respect of age.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to Be A Baller podcast. I'm your host, Coach Tim Brown. Today we have an amazing guest joining us, Pastor Keith Bradley. Pastor Keith Bradley is former associate pastor of Columbus Christian Center and now is pastor of Harris Ministry in Charlotte, North Carolina, Along with his lovely wife, Melanie Bradley. Pastor Bradley has a true love of sports and has mentored and discipled many collegiate and professional athletes. During his time in Columbus, he was a team chaplain for the Ohio State University football team and led many players to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. As someone who loves people, Pastor Bradley has spent many years serving as a guidance and mentor to individuals from all walks of life. Let's dive into our conversation with Pastor Bradley. Welcome to Be A Baller podcast, man. I'm great. It's exciting to be here. Tim man, I'm so glad to see you. We go way back. We go way back. We come a long way. We come a long way, Come a mighty long way, they're saying church.

Speaker 1:

Huddles at the high school. Wow, wow.

Speaker 1:

It takes me back, you know high school married for over 30 years. There's a story about how you guys met and all that. Can you share with the audience, this love story? But I was dropping off a car at Faith Ministries so while I was in the hallway no, I was in the parking lot I said, well, let me just go in and get a second sermon. Sat back in the hallway they were at Northland High School at the time and I said you know, they were doing an altar for Call to Salvation. I said, well, let me go in there and pray. So I stepped in to pray. Then he did an altar call just for people to have prayer. I said, well, I'm here, might as well get some prayer, tim. I walked up in a line and at the time it was an auditorium, so it was spilled out into the aisles. So I went and grabbed hands. So I'm turned sideways. Everybody else is facing towards the stage. Grabbed hands, started praying and a shock went through my arm. Wow. I looked up. I saw the back of a young lady's head. Wow. So I know it was prayer. But I was like I hope this prayer hurry up and get over with so I can see who this is. And she turned around I said, oh man, she looks good too Right. So I went to sit down. She goes to sit down.

Speaker 1:

Faith Ministries was a split off from Shiloh. So I was like God, where did she come from? Did you drop her out of the ceiling? So I said what do you say to somebody in church? I was like you know from New Jersey. So I was like what line Did you say, hey, you know John 316? And I just did what we would call back in the day corny. I said hey, my name is Keith, and so we started to talk. We connected. She walked up to me. First things that came out of her mouth was are you a minister? I was like no, I got a pro tryout next week, but nah. So she spoke my future in her first breaths. And make a long story short, we engaged. I engaged her in five months, married her in 10, and we've been the best of friends for the last. We've known each other for 32, but married for 31. Wow, look at God.

Speaker 2:

Look what God do when you go to church. Bro, Come on, Come on you young folks listening to this broadcast. Y'all need to get to church.

Speaker 1:

You're looking for the right one. You want to find her in the right place.

Speaker 2:

You need to get to church, Come on explain. You know you mentioned you're an East Coast guy. Yes, sir, Newark, New Jersey.

Speaker 1:

Can you talk about growing up and your unique family experience? Yeah, so my mom and dad got divorced when I was maybe like I don't know somewhere between one and a half or two, I don't recall too much before three. So I ended up with foster parents. So my dad, since I was a child when in school he got custody of the kids because he was working, my mom was dealing with some postpartum depression and eventually got into schizophrenia. So he gets the children and the Department of Youth and Family Services, which is in New Jersey, said, ok, well, we'll hold your child until you get settled. What you give him? What? Five, six months? He never came back and got me, wow.

Speaker 1:

So I stayed with foster parents up until I was 17, reunited with my dad when I was 14, but I visited him on the weekends. But at that point I have to use a nicer word on this podcast I'm a bitter person, I'll just put it that way. So I'm edgy, don't trust anybody. I felt like the world owed me a lot. So I had a chip on my shoulder, you know, for a long time.

Speaker 2:

You know it sounds like you took that chip on the athletic field. Oh yeah, athletic court. Can you talk about your athletic experience? Where is your pretty? Good athlete back in the day.

Speaker 1:

Pretty decent. But because growing up with foster parents, you don't have that parent guiding you through the sports process, you know, just guiding you how you're supposed to evolve. You know, just like you know you talk about boys won't be boys. Well, I didn't know how to be a young man, a boy, a man or anything, because I had older parents. So I'm guessing.

Speaker 1:

So I didn't play in high school because I talked my way off of the team because I figured they already had older parents. So I'm guessing. So I didn't play in high school because I talked my way off of the team because I figured they already had their team. So when I didn't try out, the coach was like why'd you leave? I said well, I figured you already had your team. He's like yes, you were a part of it. So I ended up walking on in college, went through a process there because again, I'm battling through low self-esteem so finally I cracked the lineup, played in college, went to the Division III Final Four, eventually went on to play some semi-pro basketball but eventually got good at it. So I thought that's what I was going to be purposed to do until I ran smack into the Lord.

Speaker 2:

Speaking of that, talk about that faith journey.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let's talk about that so, interesting enough, I always believed in God, I always acknowledged God. But you know this it's a difference between believing in someone, acknowledging someone, and having a true relationship like them getting into your heart, Right. So I worked in juvenile corrections after college. Of course I worked in juvenile corrections here in Ohio also. But in working in juvenile corrections, one day the kids no one would take them to chapel and I was like, well, I don't go to church, but that's not fair to them. Chapel says nobody else to take you. Because I wasn't against God, I just wasn't living for God Went to chapel and for the first time I got a solid explanation of Jesus Christ, Like up to the point they would say you know, Jesus was the son of God.

Speaker 1:

I was like, well, if he's the son of God and I'm a son of God, well, I got to go through him, you know. So I would never talk about Jesus, got to go through him, so I would never talk about Jesus. But that day they explained it in a way as if God's sitting on a throne, I'm smothered in sin, I'm praying to God, but this big you know, remember pig pen, this big soot is coming up before God. God's going whoa, whoa, whoa. Who's that trying to pray? Do me a favor, Jesus, go, cleanse him with your blood and bring him before me. But I'm running from the very Jesus that I need to connect to, to wash me, to present me before God. Once I understood that everything was Jesus and that started the process.

Speaker 1:

Started the process, but I really didn't experience the presence of God until I was in a living relationship and we broke up and I moved to this different town. I was walking down the street one day and, like warm honey, the presence of God poured on my head and I never experienced that. I said, oh God, I'm so sorry. I will never let nothing come between me and you, ever again in my life. So at that point I knew there were two things keeping me from God. One number one, believe it or not was music, All the secular music. And number two was sex. So I said, God, I'm giving away all my albums, I spent $500 a week on music and I'm not having sex till I get married. So I stopped having sex until I married that lovely woman over the next room.

Speaker 2:

You know what was that inspiration for you to answer your call to ministry in 1993? And how has that calling shaped your work and relationship over the years.

Speaker 1:

Interesting enough, when I came to Columbus Christian Center I really started learning the word from the standpoint of studying and just the reality of what the word is and and I'd never been part of a church community. First church I ever joined in my life was Shiloh Baptist. Second church I joined a year later was Columbus Christian Center. And so now I'm growing in the community. I'm learning about faithfulness, like being tied in, being a part of the church, not just going and leaving, but, you know, serving. So I worked in juvenile corrections at a place called TECO. You remember Training Institute of Central Ohio, maximum security for youth. So I was working with youth. And one day I had this vision and in this vision God said you're chasing these youth around at TECO. There's youth chasing you at the church. And in the vision I turned around and embraced the youth that were chasing me. That week, me and David Forbes Jr we went out to breakfast and he said you know I need you to pray about something working with the youth. I was like huh.

Speaker 3:

I said I don't need to pray about it.

Speaker 1:

God already told me that I'm supposed to work with the youth. The way their system was, you had to serve for like eight weeks and then you can preach. Well, I had never. You know I give testimonies before, but I never preached nothing. So I taught on King's Kids, galatians 4, 1, and 2, which is the foundation for Heirs Christus in the church. While I was teaching I would flow off of the notes and a presence would hit me. Then I would try to rush back to the notes because that's your safe place, right right.

Speaker 1:

And then it would leave, and then I would just flow. So I said, I'm just going to let go, and it was almost like I scored 70 points in a game.

Speaker 3:

I walked outside.

Speaker 1:

I said God, what was that? He said that's what I designed you to do. Wow. So I told Pastor Forbes, I'm not trying to pastor a church or anything. I'll just be faithful from that point.

Speaker 2:

You spent 18, 19 years in Columbus at Columbus Christian Center, yes, sir, and during that time you found quite a few programs. You know Harris basketball program. And then let's talk about you called it Inside Stuff Campus Ministry at Ohio State. Yes, sir, can you talk about that?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so Inside Stuff was campus ministry and it was really. I did it with Ohio State, which was a rare thing, and I also did the student body at Capital University. How Ohio State started was Ahmed Plummer, you know, played for, of course, the Buckeyes and the 49ers. He started going to the church and then you had Obie Stilwell who does the broadcast. Now he started working with me at Ohio Youth Advocate Program. So I was trying to offer share, mentor, disciple, however you want to call it, with both of them and they both asked me at the same time hey, would you be willing to do a Bible study at Ohio State? I meant from the standpoint of just growing in the Lord, obie, because, whether it was Eddie George, joey Galloway, they were sitting around talking about God. He says I can't answer all that questions, so would you mind coming and doing Bible study? We already was doing Bible studies in high schools and started at Capitol. That's how it started, wow.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Can you share some of those highlights of that experience?

Speaker 1:

It was phenomenal, of course the Buckeyes was phenomenal just from the standpoint. You know, you got the guys growing in the Lord, right, right, and you have different challenges. The thing about growing as the young guys here tell you, you always have people that are excited about it, but then you have the people that have a thousand questions you know almost like, so I call them the controversial people. So I don't think these people mind me saying their names. So you had Mike Wiley, who was one of our always asked questions. Demetrius God rest his soul that passed away.

Speaker 1:

Demetrius Stanley was a guy and the thing is good guys, but you had to give them truth for them to believe. You couldn't just fluff them. And those were guys you couldn't fluff. But I think what stands out to me the most is two guys Ahmed, of course, and Will Allen. And they're buying. Once they realize seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all things will be added unto me. Ahmed will come from a Wisconsin game 3 o'clock in the morning and still be at the 745 service consistently. So his athleticism, his game, his props wasn't above God. Will came behind him. I shared Ahmed's story and Will Allen did the same thing. Same thing. Seek him first. The kingdom of God, consistent in church, consistent in things to God he's. You know, we talk to this day like that, to this day. Those were the biggest, two of many phenomenal highlights.

Speaker 2:

I think once you get those guys, and others just kind of follow. Yeah, we always had a good extension of you.

Speaker 1:

Good core Doug Worthington I ran into him last time I was here. He was a core Laranitis. He was good. Core Doug Worthington I ran into him last time I was here. He was a core Laranitis, he was good. Core Joel Penton does LifeWise. He was a good—those were the guys that would draw others in. Malcolm Jenkins oh yeah, you know they were pillars that were like hey guys, we have Bible study, right, right, right.

Speaker 2:

Right when them guys tell you we got Bible study Right right, right, when them guys tell you, we got Bible study.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got.

Speaker 2:

Bible study. Yeah, exactly, I don't know where you're going, but we got Bible study and they didn't say I got Bible study.

Speaker 1:

They said we got Bible study, and you talked about this earlier. As much as us, as senior leaders, are trying to impart, we can't do it without those under us that they relate to sharing that same good news.

Speaker 2:

So you and your bride moved to Charlotte to start a Harris ministry. First of all, can you tell the audience what the acronym? What does that? What does the acronym stand for? Which acronym?

Speaker 1:

Harris, harris. Well, harris is not an acronym. Years ago I did a basketball camp. It was an acronym. Hooping Expression in a Royal Rap Session. Gotcha Right.

Speaker 2:

Say it a little slower because you want to look good.

Speaker 1:

Hooping Expression in a Royal Rap Session. So that was the AIRS basketball program which you probably remember. Gotcha Right. But AIRS Christian Center Church, foundational scripture, galatians four, one and two. It says, uh, there differs nothing from a child. Um, uh, when he's young, he difference nothing from a child. I said no description by heart. It says but it's under tutors and governors until the appointed time of the father, right? So it's saying that we all have a preparation for purpose, but we have to go through our process and then we receive our inheritance as an heir. But while we're young we're treated even though we're heirs to the throne. We're treated almost as children in our teaching and training, under tutors and governors. So that's the foundation of our ministry is equipping heirs for the kingdom of God. So, preparation for purpose, as I was when we worked together, it's in Charlotte now, if we just. It's in Charlotte now.

Speaker 2:

You know, one of your sayings or missions is you're known for being a guide and providing an ear for both the young and the old. So how do you bridge that gap? Bring those together? You know, because you have. You've got young people. On one end, you've been a youth pastor, you've been working with young athletes and now you're a senior pastor over all age groups. How do you bring those?

Speaker 1:

together. So the reality is, whether you're young or old, we're all at the same core. So in other words, like me and you are just older, young people, that's good, yeah. So what happens is the Holy Spirit speaks everybody's language. So if you're yielding to the Holy Spirit, he's communicating customized information. So I think over the years what I learned is be sensitive to your audience. So if it's just about what I know, then I'm force feeding you what I like to hear me saying. You know, proverbs 18.2 says so. My heart discovers itself. But when I'm serving, I'm trying to hear from God what's customized for your design, what you need. So now, that's no respect of age, because it's what you need at the time. And the Holy Spirit knows what you need and if I yield, he's going to give you what you need. So it's been refreshing, you know, even as our church, from the nine-year-old to the 90.

Speaker 2:

Amen, you know. As you look back on your journey in ministry, what advice would you give to young pastors on those who are just starting out in their own callings? What advice would you give to young pastors on those who just starting out in their own callings.

Speaker 1:

What advice would you give? My advice would be never stop serving, you know, because I think every level of leadership is a greater level of service. So if you, you know, as you start, if you maintain the heart of a servant, again, people always gravitate because they're going to get the meal from how you're submitted to God. But if you get to a point when you get caught up in self and it's about people serving you, you're going to lose sight of what they need. So now they can't feed on your diet. They have to feed on their customized diet, that's good, that's good.

Speaker 2:

You know, this is a legacy podcast. Yes, yes, it's about being and it's about building a lifelong legacy. What does that word legacy mean to you?

Speaker 1:

Legacy is everything. Everything in you benefits others, and what's in you lives beyond you. And so I just taught on Legacy on Sunday at Emerging Ministries, and that's what I was talking about. I said you know, what legacy are we leaving for the people behind us? What legacy are we leaving for the people behind us? And if we're so busy just consuming our pleasures at the expense of other people's purpose, we're not fulfilling legacy. What you, what you said about this podcast, is what God put us here, for. Everything in us is to establish a legacy. We still talk about Jesus because of legacy. We still talk about Jesus because of legacy. We still talk about Abraham because of legacy. We still talk about David because of legacy. When we pass away, will they still be talking about us?

Speaker 2:

Wow, Good that messed me up with that one. I was thinking really, what are they going to say about me? Yeah, I remember.

Speaker 1:

You know you can give a child money, Right. But if your legacy to them is heartache, pain and despair, they can't even see the money you left, Right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Sometimes we talk about I always talk to young people and my family as well about a faith file, Faith, fire, Faith file File. I love it, Faith file. We want to leave a faith file for them so they can look back, open up that file and they can see what God has done, not just through our lives, but just what you said, through my mother, through my grandmother. You know that's good Through our lives, Even through their own lives. You know through our lives, Even through their own lives. You know, Right, they get to the point. They know that was definitely the Lord.

Speaker 3:

You know, yes yes, they walked out on faith.

Speaker 2:

Our son's an assistant general manager with the Indiana Pacers so his faith file includes the fact he has an MBA in accounting. So he's working at a bank fifth or third bank doing well, you know workers were up to the ladder. He quit the job, stepped out on faith because he wanted to pursue this dream, drove out to Vegas, you know, to be an intern living in an apartment with four guys.

Speaker 2:

You know not getting paid now Not getting paid, did about two internships and so now he's in a position. You know where he has an actual job in the league, but anyway, that's part of his faith file. You know he had to step out on faith and those are things that you want, when you talk about legacy, like you said, to remember. Those are things you want people to remember. I remember this guy. He was at K-State, you know he didn't even play college basketball and here he is in the NBA. You know in the front office, but that's part of that. Lord, as we say Exactly, you know things come and go, but the Word of God remains forever. It's always going to be there. I love that. Speaking of that, you know I'm going to step another step now writing a book. Yes, rondé Booz, with yourself Finding you in the Midst of them, a Guide to Becoming. Can you kind of talk to us about this book, the inspiration behind and the purpose and the goal of writing this book?

Speaker 1:

about this book, the inspiration behind, and the purpose and the goal of writing this book, so interesting enough, I started working on that book in 2005.

Speaker 1:

But because of you know, eventually realizing we had the pastor set it down, we go out to Charlotte, picked it back up, set it down and we started the church. But the rendezvous with yourself is, a lot of times we try to fly with other people's wings, we try to fill other people's designs. I know, in your book, boys Won't Be Boys. You know, you really challenge everybody. Hey, like these young men have a customized design to be solid young men and boys, solid young men and boys. But if you start to force your design on them, your expectations on them, now you're not giving them the freedom to evolve. And so one of the things about even the angle that you are approaching is they wake up and they're forced to conform, as opposed to being allowed to transform. And the thing about a rendezvous with yourself it's, you know, a lot of times we live it with mistaken identity, and the devil loves that because he'll give you an identity. And so you have a lot of kids. They're on drugs, they're frustrated, they're falling to peer pressure because they don't have the strength to maintain and keep evolving in who they are. Like you can run a race. I was sharing this with an athlete just the other day I said you can run a race. You could be faster than them and slower than you. You can win the race but not run at your pace. You could have broke a record if you decided to empty out as opposed to compare yourself to someone else. And so when you the scripture says in Luke 15, it says the prodigal son came to himself, so that means if he came to himself, that means he wasn't with themselves. So the scripture says you can oppose yourself in 2 Timothy 2. It says you have to be recovered from yourself. Why? Because sometimes we deceive ourselves.

Speaker 1:

In James, chapter one, Sometimes we're so clouded we've lost who we were. In a book I talk about there was a point we've lost who we were. You know, in a book I talk about there was a point I didn't even know how to laugh. So I started mimicking other people's laughs and I just didn't. Simple as not knowing how to laugh, not knowing how to talk.

Speaker 1:

You know, as my son was growing up, you know he would make an expression like Martin Luther King, because what is he trying to do? He's trying to find out who am I? My grandson said to that church on Sunday. He said, man, I just want to know what I'm purposed to do and who I am, because we can get caught up in keeping up. And so this book. Whether you're young, whether you're old, whether you, especially a lot of former athletes, when they finished playing, their whole identity was in what Playing. And then now they're stuck because they're like now what do I do? Well, what do you do is that was a platform, that wasn't a purpose. You still have purpose and there's still other platforms, so you can continue to evolve into your design. Right, and that's the baseline for the book, right? Well, you got me fired up.

Speaker 2:

I'm glad you gave me a copy. I can't wait to read it. Could you share with the audience how they can get a copy of the book and they can touch with you?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so they can get it. They can pick it up at KeithMLBradleycom or Amazoncom.

Speaker 2:

Good. Well, this has been great. Well, that's all we have time for today. On today's Be A Baller podcast, I want to thank our special guest, pastor Keith Bradley, for sharing his experience in ministry and his experience in answering that call to ministry. So I also want to thank him for his commitment to not just empowering those that he came in touch with back at Ohio State but continuing on to empowering that next generation. You know, of leaders and ministry and just good people, just good people. So I want to thank you for that. Hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. Remember. Building a lifelong legacy is not just about what we achieve in life, but also how we use our gifts and talents to make a positive impact on the world around us. And don't forget to subscribe and listen to Be A Baller podcast so you can stay up to date with all our latest episodes. Our podcast guests are always willing to share wisdom and inspire others to build a legacy that lasts. Pastor Bradley, thank you for being on the show.

Speaker 1:

It's my pleasure, man. It's good to connect again.

Speaker 3:

I appreciate you being here, If you enjoyed our show, please share this podcast with family and friends. Be a Baller podcast is available on all major podcast stations. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller. This podcast was created by Coach Tim Brown and produced and edited by the video production class of Worthington Christian High School.