Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
On this Freedom Friday. Man, we don't want the rocks calling out, so let's get our voice to it. We're asking you right now. Tools of transformation. Who or what has God used in your life powerfully? To watch God really alter some things in your life and make big steps in this relationship with Jesus Christ? Give us a call right now. We're going to go wide open phone lines for these next 20 minutes for sure. 855 five 7898. What is your story of transformation? What tool has God
used to transform you on this Freedom Friday? Testify. You get a soapbox to tell a whole lot of folks 800, 555, 78, 98.
You know, this one's a real recent development for me. And and I love even just the little bit of taken in so far. It's it's the Wild at Heart podcast by John Eldredge. And I've been listening. I started listening to his series on his new book, which is Experience God really? Because I think sometimes we don't expect to experience God the way that he wants us to. He read a quote that changed the way I look
at things and convicted me a little bit. He said that it's not that we don't experience God like the disciples and apostles, because Jesus cared about them more or attended to them more than he does us. We don't experience God the way they experienced God because we don't attend to Jesus the way they did. And that was convicting for me.
It's a great statement.
Yeah. If I want to experience God, I have to be with him and attend to him like the disciples did.
Love it. Good word. Jonathan, what's the name of that podcast?
Wild at heart. Yeah.
Really good. Great. Great brother. What do you say? 805 555 7898. Transformational Tools in Your Life 805, 55 7898. Joan. What do you say, Joan? In Ohio?
Hello. Thank you. Um, the transformation tools in my life were two radio programs. One was focus on the family with Doctor James Dobson. And on his broadcast, he had, uh, for Nichols, the founder of Moms in Prayer International. Sharing of praying scripturally for your children and their schools. Talk about transforming lives, praying scripturally for children. Uh, it just changed my life. It's absolutely changed my life.
That's beautiful. Isn't that great? I mean, the amount of transformational tools out there are, they're so diverse. There's so many. And we're asking you to champion them this morning. 805, 55, 7898. It's freedom Friday. Let's roll. Marshall in Florida, it looks like. What do you say, Marshall? Hello? Marshall. Yeah, I got you. Let's go.
Yeah. All right, sir. Well, I was saved in 2009. I went through went into a ministry discipleship program called Loving Hands Ministries. And they provided a place to where I was able to get free from drugs and alcohol. I've been in addiction for many, many years, and this place has allowed me to come to fall in love with Jesus and become a disciple of Christ. And I've been free from drugs, alcohol for 14 years now, married, got three children, serve in my church. But most of all,
I'm a disciple. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. And I want to, you know, want to tell people about it.
Marshall that's awesome bro, I love it.
It's so beautiful. That is so beautiful. What's the fresh thing God's doing in your life right now, Marshall? on this path of discipleship.
Well, he, um. We started a new thing for our church on Wednesdays. Um, we're going through a devotional called secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge. But most of all, he's showing me that my family, especially my children and my wife, are my, uh. That's my ministry. I mean, we're youth directors at our church, but, uh, just calling us back to disciple our actual our children. That's most important.
Awesome. Marshall, you're a good man. Thank you for calling in from Florida. 800 555 7898. Beautiful man. Gabriel in Florida. What do you say, Gabe?
Gabriel. Hello? Oh, this is. Yeah, this is this isn't Gabe.
This is Gabriel. What do you say, Gabriel?
Me?
Yes. I was richly blessed by a book called Hope in the morning. M o u r n I n g. It is a biblical based book for those that are going through grief and have walked through extreme suffering. My husband got into the wrong friends, the wrong crowd, started using drugs and is currently incarcerated, actually being charged with murder. And the Lord, you know, stripped me of all my earthly security. My husband, my provider, everything. My home. But
he has restored it all. And that book truly was just such an encouragement to me to hear the testimonies of believers who have suffered, who have walked through the valley and truly have seen the Lord's faithfulness on the other side.
You're a rock star, Gabriel. You know what? I can't do this for everyone. But I want you to stay on the horn. I'm going to get you a Carlin crew prize pack, so stay on the horn. Gabriel. Gabriel, do you have children? Where are you at?
I have, I have six children. Yes. I was pregnant with my sixth son when this happened in, um, November of 2023. And I decided to name him Gideon after judges chapter six. Gideon who tore down the temple that his father built to the false god Baal, and who rebuilt the temple. And God used mightily, um, through the through the failures of his father. Gideon was chosen. And that's the that's the name I chose for my youngest son.
That's, you know, Gabriel, this is mind blowing. The kind of joy that you have in the Lord with the situation that you're in. This is all God's, sister. This is.
100%.
100%. Anything you get in, you see, good in me came from the Lord. That's the truth.
What's. What's the situation with your man? He's looking. He's looking at life. Plus. Is that what he's looking at?
He is. He is. So I reached out to my father in law to help us, um, to do an intervention, essentially. And, um, his his father, he is being charged in connection with, um, murdering his own father. And so I was grateful that I was able to escape that day with my children. The day that event, the event occurred. And the Lord has shown us great mercy since. But, um, it's been a very sobering time for us. And just looking at how the sin of others affects you and thinking through, um,
just the faithfulness of the Lord, truly. And I do pray for my husband and that the Lord would, you know, bring true repentance for him. But currently, uh, that is what he's facing. That is what he's looking at. And I, I pray for him often, and so do my children. And I'm grateful for the pastors and leaders at my church who have faithfully walked my family through this, and thinking about those conversations with my children and what all
that looks like. I mean, the Lord has been mightily merciful in all of that.
Gabrielle, you are so inspiring. You know, I want to give you something here that the Lord's laying on my heart. I'm going to turn to it in Scripture, and I want you to hear me. Um, this is from Exodus 20, verse 20. Gabriel I. This is for you, sister.
Thank you.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Comma, comma. This for you, Gabriel, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love
me and keep my commandments. Gabriel, you know what you're doing, sister. You are breaking the chain.
Praise the Lord.
You are breaking the chain, Gabriel. And you are.
Inspiring.
You are inspiring to myself and so many tens of thousands listening right now. Gabriel.
Oh, sister. Stay.
Stay on the horn. What are the ages of your kids. What are the ages?
Oh, my oldest is 15 and then I have an 11 year old. My daughter's the only girl. She's six and my son is four. He'll be five. I have a three year old and a one year old. My youngest. Gideon.
Mhm. I got to tell you, Gabriel, you're taking my breath away, sister. Wow. This is sobering and beautiful. Stay on the horn. I'm getting you a call and crew prize pack.
My goodness.
If that doesn't rock your world. If that doesn't.
Go get your pulse checked.
Yeah. Somebody put your index finger on your neck and make sure you've got a pulse. Oh my goodness. We're going to spin a record here. What's your story on this Freedom Friday? What do you say? What's a tool of transformation? God's used in your life comes in a lot of different forms. 805, five, five, 78, 98, 805, five, five, 78, 98.
A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
You just heard a phenomenal story. I mean, peel paint story here from Gabriel, and she's in Florida. She's got six kids. Husband's incarcerated, looking at life plus for murder. And God has rocked her world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Some of you are asking, what's the book that she read? Hope in the morning. Hope in the morning. It's the name of the book. Wow. Incredible. Going back to the phone lines, what's that on this Freedom Friday? What's that transformational tool God has used in
your life? Misty. First time caller. Tennessee. What do you say? Misty?
Good morning guys.
And, um, my tools. A little more unconventional than most, I would think, but it's my son.
How has God used him?
My son. Um. My son started going to attending church when he was in middle school, and he is now almost 30. And he and his wife, the walk that they have.
It's just.
Phenomenal. Phenomenal to.
Me.
And it's got mama.
Cooking.
Now too, right?
Absolutely. I mean, I've always been a believer, but to watch my son and my daughter in law made me want to be and follow the way I should, the way God has intended me to. And my daughter in law gets up every morning and post on, um, her story. She reads a different book every single day. So when she's on posting and reading, I'm reading with her and I'm following with her Mr..
Mom, Misty is going. God, how did you give me a daughter in law like this? And what did you do to my son? What a cool thing that your kids are. Are inspiring you to walk with Jesus. Misty, you are a blessed woman.
Absolutely beyond. Blessed beyond.
Way to go, Misty.
And I thank God every day for giving my son the woman that he gave to her. I prayed for her. Please God, bring this woman into my life. And when he did, oh, oh.
You didn't know her life was going to smack you upside the upside the head and go, let's go, mom, let's go.
That's great, I didn't.
Oh my goodness, Misty, first time caller in Tennessee. Thank you sister. Oh these stories. Oh I gotta rub my eyes. This stuff gets too good. Oh 800 555 7898 what tool of transformation is God used in your life? You've heard it all this morning. What tool of transformation has God used in your life? Give us a call right now. 800 555 7898.
He was running from God, but God's love brought him home. Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
By the way, if you're looking for Carl and crew on Facebook or Instagram, be sure to put in Carl with the K, Carl and crew with a K and crew with a C. Some people think flip that around. Nope, it's Carl with a K. Check it out. Follow us. We got a lot of new stuff that's coming up here soon, and I want you to be positioned and ready to go. When we pull the trigger on this stuff. It's going to be a lot of fun taking your stories today. It's overwhelming. The stories that have come in today.
This is why you want the show cast. We'll give you more details on that. But this is exactly why. In fact, we're going to put Gabriel front and center on the show cast for sure. Her story out of Florida epic. Taking your stories right now. Every story is powerful because it's God's work in you. Tools of transformation on this Freedom Friday. What does God used in your life to really change you? Rachel in Ohio. What do you say? Rachel?
Hi.
Um.
So God is.
God has used a lot of things to change my life, but, um, one of the biggest ones. So my story is quite a bit like Gabrielle's. Um, my ex-husband went to prison, and I was left with several children. Um, I was also an abuse victim. And so when that happened, I ended up turning to alcohol. Yeah. And I lost all five of my kids, and I was supposed to go into treatment, and I. As soon as I refused to go, God crashed my car and totaled it. And, uh, my dad just happened to be there to pick me up
and detox me. And I got all five of my kids back, and, um, going back to school for missions is what I was originally going for, you know, 15 years ago. So.
Wow, Rachel, what a turnaround. What happened between losing kids and getting them back? There had to have been God at working you radically. They aren't given those kids right back to you.
Oh, no. It took about two years and it was I mean, God still continually strips us of, you know, the things of this world to show us what's important. And even despite all the things I've done wrong, my kids, I still see God pulling them and pulling them.
Yeah. Rachel, let me ask you a question, because you've gone through some tough stuff. How important is the Word of God in your life right now? That's got to be front and center, I would assume.
Oh, huge. If I if I don't read my Bible, I the whole day is just off.
Yeah. You know, I heard a stat recently, in fact, we used this a couple of years ago and I just want to use this. I suspected this with Rachel. People that are experiencing this kind of fresh streams of living water flowing through their soul. There's empirical data that proves this. You read the Bible one day a week. Not much change. Two days a week. Not a lot
of change. Three days a week. Not a lot. You crest that four day a week, you start to get that higher percentage of in the word versus not in the word into you. Boom. Things begin to change. There is a direct line. There's a straight line between Bible reading consistently, being in the word and getting the word into you. This isn't about some pharisaical thing where it's like, yeah,
I know the word man. I've been in the. Oh no no no no no, I'm talking about humbling yourself under God's hand, being in the word, getting the word into you. It's transformative. What's the fresh thing God's teaching you right now, Rachel from Ohio.
Oh.
All kinds of things. Um, continuing to trust is a big one. Especially I'm a single mom of five and you know my oldest is going to be 18. So they're starting to drive and move out. It's a whole nother.
That's a whole nother world in your.
Area of life.
Yeah, yeah. Do you have help alongside you right now, Rachel? Do you have people that come alongside you?
Oh, yeah. I have a beautiful church family.
Wow, Rachel. You're awesome. Again, I can't give these to everyone, but I'm going to give away another one. Stay on the horn for Carl and crew. Prize pack. Sister, you need this in your house. Okay, so we're going to shoot it your way. You didn't. You didn't call to get. But you're getting it anyway. Way to go. Overwhelming stories of transformation. Overwhelming. Can God change where you're at today? Oh.
Can he? You might say, Carl, I. I came here thinking that I've got some issues in my life, and those issues aren't diminished by hearing these stories today. What it does for you, is it? It gives you a breath of hope that says if God can minister to people transformative power in the situations that they're in, he can help me. That's exactly what the Spirit of God is doing in your life today. It's just awesome. Love's got away, man. This is Andrew Ripp, and boy, does
it give us a call. Still taking stories of life change. Transformational tools 805 55, 7898.
She's a choreographer extraordinaire, and everything is Greek to her. Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
What up? What a freedom Friday. Tools of transformation. We've been asking you, what has God used in your life to transform you? And, I mean, this is this is epic. This is why we open up phone lines here, especially on Fridays. Uh, right here in Illinois. What do you say, Gloria?
Um, dad used dance ministry and flag and banner ministry to totally transform, uh, all of everything related to ministry. And June 1st actually marked the 40th year that I've been involved in this, uh, which is really great.
Let me tell you something, Gloria. Let me tell you something funny. I was in South Africa when I lived there, and I saw for the first time in my life in a European church in South Africa. I saw a dance ministry. And I'm like, what in the world is happening right now? Somebody call security? And then I realized, no, man, we got we got the David thing going on here, dancing before the Lord. Yeah, that was my first thought is, okay,
who let these folks in here? Because they're coming down the aisles and they got banners going and everything, but boy, it was it was an expression of worship and. it was beautiful. Mary in Indiana. What do you say, Mary?
Good morning. How are you?
Great. What's your story, sister?
Well, I wanted to say that I am a reader, and. But I had never read the Bible. And while I would go through it and read scripture, trying to support, you know, things that I wanted to support, but I never read it. And I realized that other books that I read, I read for understanding and trying to understand what the author was trying to say to me. And so one day, I decided that I was going to read the Bible with that intent to understand it, and it transformed my life.
So cool. Mary. See, this is the stuff, man. It comes in so many different shapes and sizes. Thank you. Mary from Indiana. Getting an understanding of what the Word of God is saying. Getting something to illuminate. It's cool, by the way. Keep it pinned right here. I might have a couple of copies because I'm behind the curve of moody Bible commentary to give away. I just might, but not right now. Not right now. Jake in Florida. What do you say, Jake?
Carl. Good morning. How you doing?
I'm doing great, man. What's your story?
I decided to sell everything back in 2018 with my wife and daughter, and we lived in our van and traveled around, and we were in Arizona, and I took a walk one day, and I felt the presence of Jesus. And ever since then, it hasn't stopped. I've been a believer and my family, our life has just been transformed from this experience. And ever since then, we've, uh, we've given our lives to God. And it's been wonderful.
Jake, this is awesome. You know what you are? You're a transformed hippie, modern day hippie, Jake. That's what you are, man. That's awesome. Jake.
He led us into the direction, and now we build, uh, vans and tidy homes for people who want to experience life on the road. So he he guided us to a path.
Oh. That's awesome. How old are you, Jake?
I'm 37 with four children.
Oh, Jake, this is great. We got so many young people listening to this show now. This is so cool, Jake. Godspeed to you, man. Thanks for calling in. Oh my goodness, Paula in Florida, what changed your life? Hello, Paula.
Are you thinking of Paulette?
Oh, we got the wrong name. We'll go with Paulette. Sorry, Paula, we called you. I called you Paula. You're Paulette. We got you in Florida. What do you say, Paulette?
Um, I want to tell you about a tool that has been very useful in my Christian walk. And it's a book by Sarah Young. I don't know if you've heard of her.
Oh, yeah. Jesus calling.
Calling. And I've been using that for 20 years, and it's really like my go to reference book. And it's a big help. And the other resource is Moody Bible Station. And I bought myself a second radio so that I could have that throughout the house at all times. And, um, it's a big resource to me. And I'm trying to put God first. But this morning it was difficult because my cat had a fur ball and I had to deal with that first, but I had to get back
to it. I tried to have my devotions first, and, um, today I just had to adjust because that's what happened. I had to deal with that big furball.
Paulette. Paulette, you crack me up, sister. Only a cat owner would know that that that a fur ball could take away from a devotional. But hey, fur balls happen, man.
They happen. You gotta deal with them.
Yeah, sometimes I cough so much, I think I'm going to have a fur ball.
That's concerning.
I'm just wondering what you were going to say to that. I don't have your calls. Right. Taking your calls right now. 800 555 five, 7898. What's your transformational tool? Oh, it's great, a great devotional and moody radio right after the fur ball is cleared. Give me a call right now. 800 555 7898.
He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Carl and crew on this Freedom Friday celebrating transformational tools. Keep those calls pouring in. 800 555 7898 Tonya first time caller in Tennessee. What do you say, Tonya?
Um, I just wanted to call and share. God is really transforming my life, and I'm thankful I grew up in church, but I ran from God because things happened as a child that I didn't understand. And, um, I've been through a lot of abuse, and I had PTSD so bad I wouldn't leave my home. And so my church has this ministry celebrate recovery. You've probably heard of before. And, um, I started a study last year, and I worked through that, uh, writing down everything in my life, just taking a look
at it. And I was so thankful for the step study group I was in. The women were just all very encouraging and pointing each other to Jesus. And we worked through all of those steps. And and then we have something to also called freedom ministry at our church. And, um, it's a deliverance ministry. They help me to look at the strongholds in my life. Fear was the main one, especially with what I have experienced in my life, that there was so much and they we broke those strongholds
and they helped me with that list of people. And I was on that list. I needed to forgive myself. So I've been writing forgiveness letters, and it's just been so there's been so much freedom that I found in that and finding who I am in crossed again.
Tonya, that is so cool. Yeah. Shame what Satan's trying to do there is he's trying to pound you with shame. He's the accuser and the deceiver, and so he will deceive us into taking bait. And then he smacks us upside the soul when we take it. And we've got to be able to detach that choice that was made there from our true identity in Christ. And Tonya, I'm so glad you're getting free, sister. We love you. Thank you so much for calling in today, Tonya. First time
caller from Tennessee. Wow. I'm telling you, man, God is on the move. Uh, if you aren't getting that out of today, you're missing it. Like the broadside of Mccready's barn. Yeah. Wow. Wow. Taking your calls, we got time to get a couple more in here. 805, five, five, 78, 98 on this Freedom Friday. What's the transformational tool God has used in your life?
Your shot of hope to help you through the day. This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
On this Freedom Friday, we're celebrating tools that transform. Get up on the soapbox. Share your story. What are you grateful to God for? Some tool of transformation that God's used in your life mightily. 800 555 7898 Jeremiah in Michigan. Take it away, my man. What's your story?
Um, well, I was adopted at a very young age, um, by a very Christian family. Um, my parents were awesome all through my life, praying for me always. My dad always, um, pretty much keeping it all about Jesus. Um, little, um. He always prayed Jacob's prayer over us as kids going to bed, and, um, he never takes the same way back from going to a trip. And I always wondered why he always said, no, no, don't take the same way you came, take a different way back. And I
listened to the Bible app. And in somewhere in First Kings or second Kings. It talks about not taking the same way you came and I and I called my dad and I said, that's where you got that from. And he just kind of laughed and he said, yeah. So, um, really the best resource would be the Holy Spirit would be God, because all, all good things are his are his good ideas first. Right? So.
Amen, brother. Amen. Jeremiah. What a dad you have, huh?
Man, he's he's so awesome. He's awesome. Shout out to, uh, Rick Vanderwoude. He's listening, he's listening. He listens to you guys all the time. But, uh, really just just an awesome man.
So how old are you, Jeremiah?
I am 34.
34. If you're forgetting your age right now, dude, it's going to get worse as you get older because you're young enough.
Well, I did, uh, I went through a about a decade of hard drug use, and, uh, and I'm coming out of the the I'm I'm on three years outside of that now. So, um, my dad was with me through all of it. You know, he. He prayed with me and and always supported me. And now he kind of runs a home ministry at his house for for guys that are looking for the same thing and just pointing them all to Jesus. That's so.
Cool.
That's so cool. I relate a lot to, um, to that guy about the tattoos and things like that. I have a cover up myself of of a brand that I had of of of my own. So, uh, I texted Inc. I'm looking forward to connecting.
So right on Jeremiah. You're a good you're a good brother, man. Thank you for calling in this morning. But we've got something for you right now. I'm blown away at how many people want to know where they stand with God and get a tool of transformation. We got something really interesting today. I didn't know that people would grab it like this. I should have known. When you ask people take a quiz to learn about yourself, it's an awesome thing.
Whether it's Myers-Briggs disc, you name it, whatever it is, and we've got something that's going to help you spiritually pin Pinned down one of seven areas that you need to grow in most and cheer for you in an area where God's really doing a work. This is a great little tool, comes right out of the seven resolutions, and we actually work this up. A couple of years ago, had a organizational psychologist form a quiz. Gary Chapman told me, you got to have a quiz, Carl. You got to
have a quiz. So it's a great little tool because it helps people launch a discovery process that is really awesome. And some of you feel stuck today identifying where you're stuck and opening up kind of the portal to wow, this is how I can walk forward. It's a pretty good little tool and we've had hundreds of these things already. Head out the door.
Yeah, I'm really excited about this because sometimes you can feel stuck, but not necessarily know where that feeling is coming from. You know, it's like, oh man, something's wrong. But I just can't tell what I need to work on. This quiz will really help you identify that, I think it's worth checking out. It really only takes five minutes to get a really good, accurate reading of your best area and your area for most growth needed, and so just text the word quiz to 855 five, 78, 98.
That's 805 five, 578, 98. Just the word quiz.
Yeah. If you you might come up here's here's let me give you kind of seven buckets to think in. You might come up realizing, man I'm lacking essential spiritual discipline. So I'm missing out on hearing the voice of God. Or I'm not mindful of who I am in Christ. And that's an area that I really need to grow. It might be that God says there's something that's been
hiding in the shadows. It's just eating your lunch. That sin thing that's holding you back could be that you got the wrong friends around you to go where God wants to take you. Whatever it is. Text the word quiz right now to (800) 555-7898. We'll get it out to you. Quiz to 800 555 7898. We can't get everyone who's calling in. And I'm sorry. It's hard. We got so many of you that are teeing it up here today, but we're grateful for those that we can get in here. Paula,
first time caller from Florida. What transformational tool has God used in your life to give you freedom?
Thank you. It was my brother in law who graduated from.
Moody, became the pastor, and transformed my life from being a Catholic to understanding for the first time that Jesus took everything that I had done and I had messed up a lot, and that just floored me. The other thing was, I would say the main thing that happened in the last few years was suffering when we had a great ministry. My husband and I, we became accidental developers, helped a lot of people who all turned on me right after my husband died, and many of them were Christians.
That was surprising, but that transformed me to really seeking the Lord, and he gave me scriptures. During that time. I had to get lawyers and it was tough.
Yeah.
That's hard. I think suffering was the thing that really got me serious.
Yeah. I want to give you a Psalm here today. And for some of you that feel like, man, you're getting smacked around. Um, there are some psalms. Just bang. It's like when you read it, you're like, yes. Sometimes you might go through some betrayal or some something that you've gone through and you're like, God, why in the world is this happening? Listen to this in Psalm 112. I'm going to read it to you very short Psalm praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments. His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright He is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man or woman who deals generously and lends, who conducts their affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved. He will be remembered forever. He is
not afraid of bad news. As hard as firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady. He will not be afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. Listen to this. He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it in his anger. He gnashes his teeth and melts away. The desire of the wicked will perish. Here's the point. Outlive those around you.
Outlive those around you. The greatest thing that you can do in betrayal is to live righteously, and God will handle the rest.
It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
What if you've been branded with an identity that is far from what God wants to do in your life. What do you do if you've got? What do you do if you've got gang symbols or signs or numbers tattooed on your bod? But you gotten out of that thing. What do you do if you've been branded with your pimp's name and his ID? What do you do if you've been branded with a barcode because you're a sex trafficked girl and you're a survivor? What do you do now? You know what the feds do? They call my friend
Chris Baker. No joking. Award winning documentary on Inc. 180. Details. Coming up. You're going to want to hear this.
You're listening to Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Carl and crew on this Freedom Friday. We're celebrating a whole week of tools of transformation. And if you take Tools of Transformation and combine that with this principle of spiritual freedom, boy, have I got someone for you. Chris Baker Bakers, founder of Inc. 180, Inc.. 180 is a powerhouse ministry in a way that you would never imagine. You might get it by the title. Chris Baker transformed by God. Did you ever imagine God would have you where you are today when he saved your soul?
Absolutely not brother, I can't I still can't believe it. 14 years later.
It's crazy man. All right, so back up. You were radically altered by Jesus Christ. Give us that story. And then what in the world God brought you into? It starts with the feds, and then it goes beyond there. Take it away.
Yeah. So I always believed in God. I grew up in a household with my mother, who was, uh, from Northern Ireland. And, you know, she dragged me to church as a kid, and I just I didn't pay attention, you know, and. Right. I as a teen growing up in South Central Los Angeles, um, I kind of ran as far away from God as I could and just thought I had all the answers. And, you know, growing up, I lost 17 friends to gang violence in LA. I
was never involved, but all my friends were. By the time I turned 18, I'd been shot and stabbed twice and lost my best friend Dante. 21 years ago and moved my family to Chicagoland and through a series of events, ended up in a Christian counselor's office. And she prayed for me, and my wife and I encountered the Holy Spirit in my counselor's office and went to church the next morning. Six months later, I was on top of a mountain in Haiti, helping my church build a school.
I'm trying to serve as much as I could in any way that I could locally, you know, abroad, whatever it was, and really just started praying and asking the Lord, you know, Lord, I'll do whatever you want me to do. I tried to do it my way for 38 years, and I found out that that was a terrible idea. So I'll do whatever you call me to, um, for the rest of my life. And in 2011, we were
blessed with the calling of Inc 180. Although I didn't really listen to it at first because my my initial reaction to the Lord telling me, go do what you love to do more than anything and do it for free to help people that are trying to change their lives. You know, I walk into a church to this day and I have, you know, I have 131 tattoos that I chose to place on my body. And I love
them all. They tell my story. But, you know, when I walk into a church, I see people, you know, women kind of grip their purse or walk around where I'm at to get where they're going.
And you're a big you're to be fair, Chris, you're a big dude too, man. So you got a guy with a few tats who's a big dude and it's like, hey, it's very clear. This guy.
Yeah, absolutely. And and I own that, you know, it was my choice. So, um, but, you know, he called me to it. And initially in 2011, we just started with removing gang tattoos. You know, we moved from South Central Los Angeles to southwest Chicago. And, you know, that's how I learned that the Lord has a great sense of humor because I thought I was leaving all that stuff behind when I left LA with my family. Yeah, just started trying to help people one at a time.
You know, it's the whole theory of the one over the 99. And the ministry has greatly expanded over the last 14 years, and we work with state, local, federal authorities and help sex trafficking survivors who were branded by their pimps or traffickers with tattoos.
Yeah. Now it's right there that I want us to slow down, because I think a lot of people hear that. And when I first heard this, I thought I'd heard it all. And you know my story. I got delivered from cocaine, I ran hard. I've never had a tat in my life, Chris, but I feel like God put a God, put a tattoo on my heart of salvation, man. Amen. And and it's it's one of the coolest things ever. I mean, I give all praise and glory to God, but a lot of these people, and this is what's wild.
You got called by the feds to help people. Some were in gangs, some were being sex trafficked. Explain what's going on there, because a lot of people don't know what's happening.
And it's crazy how those two worlds co-mingle, too. But you know, when people are in gangs, that's their their, their life. That's what defines them. And they love to have those tattoos all over their face and hands and neck and and the minute that they're out of that world, it's the first thing that they want gone. But sex trafficking survivors are almost always branded by their pimps or
traffickers with names. You know, the pimps name barcodes to symbolize, hey, you're just a piece of product I could buy, sell, trade, or throw you away whenever I want. Um, we also see a lot of gang symbols branded on trafficking survivors or victims, because gangs are very involved in trafficking, and it's a very lucrative business for them. I love our our federal, state and local authorities, but when it comes
to sex trafficking, it's an ever changing landscape. And unfortunately, Uh, and this is no slam on our local law enforcement. They're just behind the eight ball on how to investigate this stuff and shut it down, because it's constantly changing. And in a city like Chicago, where violence is such a huge part of the equation, unfortunately, that's where the focus is.
Okay. Coming up, Chris Baker, my guest. He is the founder of Inc. 180 and an amazing man of God. Big award winning documentary documentary done on Inc 180 that was on TLN. Uh, we're going to have links for you coming up, but I want more details and stories of transformation from the inside out. Hang on.
Your shot of hope to help you through the day. This is Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
My guest on this Freedom Friday. Tools that transform you put freedom and tools that transform together. And what do you have? You got Chris Baker in Inc 180 tattoo artist that has been used mightily to help cover up not only gang symbols, but also So barcodes and pimp's names. That's almost hard to believe. Chris, for the average person, I thought I'd seen it. Heard it all. But this is brutal. These guys, Brandon, Brandon, these precious girls. Give me. Give me a story. Um, let me back up. You
were first asked by the feds to come in. Was that kind of a wild thing for you to be contacted by them saying, hey, can you do cover ups for us? What were they? What were they asking you to do?
Yeah, it was actually it was crazy. It still is to me to sit and think about it, but I actually had a federal agent that showed up at my church when I was asked to speak. My pastor asked me to give an update on Inc. 180, about six months into doing the work, and he happened to be there that day. And of course, we know God does everything for a reason, but he came running up after me in the parking lot after church that day and
asked me to come speak to their gang unit. He set up a meeting for us about two weeks later, and that morning he called me and asked if their trafficking team could sit on it. I thought he was talking about drug trafficking because I had very, very little knowledge of sex trafficking at that point. But that day
changed my life. They spent about three hours giving me a very high level understanding of what it looks like in this country and beyond, and asked me if I would be willing to expand the ministry to help trafficking survivors. And I was like, how could you possibly say no to something like that?
It's just it's breathtaking. Give me a story of a young lady. Obviously, you're going to withhold her identity, but give me a story of something that happened that you're like, the boom crew needs to hear this.
Well, actually. Perfect timing. I just had a situation. So three years ago, I was out at the Super Bowl in Phoenix helping state, local and federal authorities and other nonprofits with the search for victims around the Super Bowl. And I was doing removals and cover ups down there as well. I was in the FBI office in downtown Phoenix, and they brought in a ten year old little girl.
And, uh. Come on, man, please.
Yeah. And this, it just gets worse and worse. But, uh, this this little girl was trafficked by her own mother for drug money for two years, 10 to 15 times a day. And when they brought her in, it just absolutely knocked me sideways. I'll never say that. I've heard it all. I've heard a lot. But this one, um, they will all affect me for the rest of my life. Every story, every every client that I've been able to, uh,
be a part of helping. But this one in particular, um, my wife and I, we do emergency placements for foster care while they're lining up more long term places. And I immediately went to, we have to adopt this little girl and help her get through the rest of her life. And fortunately for everybody, especially the little girl, she was actually just adopted by her caseworker and her her caseworkers
husband is also a caseworker. Um, I was part of a zoom call with the courthouse in Phoenix about a week and a half ago, where they finalized her adoption, and for the first time, I got to see her face because when they brought her into me to remove the dollar sign tattoo between her thumb and her forefinger, she was wearing big baggy sweatpants and a hoodie with the drawstrings pulled real tight and I could barely see
any of her face. The only thing that she said to me as I removed the tattoo off of her tiny hand was, thank you. When I finished, and to see her face, to see the vibrancy and the life back in her face for the first time absolutely was a gift from God to see that. And I will always remember her face, her story. But I'm excited to stay in touch. I've become friends with her now adoptive family, and just to be able to be blessed to see her life transformed in a radical, amazing, beautiful way.
Chris Baker, my guest right now, he's the founder of Inc. 180 God is doing something amazing. You don't charge for any of these removals or cover ups, do you?
No, not a thing. And my my accountant thinks I'm crazy because we, you know, we always keep track of, hey, what would this have cost if we had charged for it? And we've given over $1.6 million in free services away in the last 14 years. And I love it because, you know, when they ask me, they're like, what's the catch? I'm like, there's no catch. Jesus paid for it already. And that's the bottom line.
Chris, I love you, hot dog. I love you so much, man. Um, give us one more story. I'm not letting you go. What? What's God doing? Yeah.
So much. I mean, I just literally just got back from Denver, Colorado. Um, I had a number. I had 29 trafficking survivors out there that I went to do removals for, but also had a friend of mine who does full time prison ministry. And he had he had a young man who was a former gang member from Louisiana, now lives in Denver. Um, he was arrested and charged with murder. He was facing 123 years in prison. And, um, DNA evidence proved that he didn't do it, but he
had a number of gang tattoos. He had 16 different tattoos on his body. And when I was out there this last week doing trafficking removals, I got the opportunity to sit with him and start the process of removing his tattoos. And I'll be going out there every month for the next 5 to 6 months to continue that process for him until it's done. But, you know, a lot of people look at what we do and they're like, oh, that's so great that you're able to remove those tattoos
so they can go get a job. And yeah, it is. That's a that's a big part of it. But really the best part of what I get to do is I get to watch Jesus work inside people. You know, I often tell folks that Jesus works on their heart and their soul, and I work on their skin, and we try and meet in the middle. And, you know, through that, it's just a lot of listening. You know, the folks that I get to help, that's all they really want. They want someone to listen to them and
not try to solve their problems. Because that's not my job. That's Jesus's job. And but just to to hold space for them and give them a place where they can be heard and be seen. And just to sit and listen to this young man's story was incredible. And we shared a lot of similarities in our life. You know, we've had a lot of pain. We've had a lot of loss. Um, but just to sit and be able to do that with him was really cool and get
to start this relationship. I don't have clients. I have a lot of friends.
Chris Baker I it feels like the Spirit of God is moving this ministry further down this road, and it seems like the avenue is getting wider and your touch points are getting. Uh, it's just it's overwhelming. I don't even have words to put to what God is doing through you, my man.
I feel the same way. You know, I tell people all the time, the Lord lets me play in some pretty amazing sandboxes.
Yeah, it's it's crazy what God has done in and through you. Again, Chris Baker, founder of Inc. 180. And here's what I want to do. Chris is a great communicator, and I want you to consider inviting him to an event that you have. Could be student ministry, could be a weekend service, could be a midweek prayer time. I don't know what it is, but I want to give you a link that's going to put you on to
Inc 180 and actually his speaking page. There's other pages that you can get to because as you heard, he's he gives away these services for free and could be the Spirit of God is prompting you to throw some shekels his way and say, Godspeed to you, my man. You're doing God's work. Just text the word inc right now to 800 555 7898. Just that one word Inc I k to 800 555 7898 800 555 7898.