Getting to Know Aunt CeCe (Winans)

hey saints and aint how are you what up with y'all preston is very green i am you know what i'm saying you know i'm saying like it you remember the whiz green it worked did you ever see the whiz with uh michael jackson yes yeah yeah it was that's the only a wizard of oz that i like okay because i didn't like the first one why not it was creepy why it was just a creepy show i mean And it's about a witch. Oh, that's probably what I ain't like. My spirit wasn't being witnessed. You might have been discerning something. I don't even honestly, truly, genuinely want to banter long because we have Miss Cece Winans. Miss Cece. On the couch. Auntie Cece. Miss Priscilla. Yes, how are you all? Miss Priscilla. Because people be thinking that's what your mama named you, is Cece. That's right, and that is not what she named you. So that's her real name, Priscilla? Priscilla. Wow, I didn't know that. I told somebody that one time. And they said, really? I said, Cece is so drilled into our minds that we think that's on the birth certificate. And it's not. It is not. Priscilla. And you got to tell us, if you don't mind, you got to tell us B.B. real name now. Benjamin. Benjamin. I was going to say Bernard. You didn't get it. It's Benjamin. Uncle B.B. Benjamin. I didn't discern that actually. And Priscilla. He just had a birthday I saw on social media. Yeah. A lot of whinings are in September. My mom was right after him. But Debbie's like, she's September 3rd. Then Ashley, she's not a winon, but she's the 5th. And then Joy, my niece, is the 6th. And then Bebe's the 17th. That's an expensive mom. It's a lot. My mom's the 22nd. And Debbie's son, Jackson, is the 23rd. It's like every day in September is almost somebody. Wow. Yeah. Well, we are grateful that you are here. Thanks for coming. This means a lot. You're welcome. A ton of questions. I just told Ms. Cece. I said, we don't plan out our questions. I want you to know, Auntie Cece, every time somebody asks me about you, I say, this is one of the safest people I ever met in my life. That's great. I remember you came to our event in Nashville. And you didn't greet us without, hey, you said, come here, let me pray for you. You guys are so nasty. You just prayed. And it was so beautiful. And sincere. And I felt like your love. And so every time I'm around you, it's always a joy. Oh, well, praise God. I'm so proud of y'all. You guys are amazing. Thank you. What God is doing in you and through you is just incredible. Auntie Cece read my book. I got to say it. Oh, and it's so good. Tell us about it. Yeah. I mean, it's good in every way. Telling your story, how you came to know the Lord, your grandmother. You really read it. Oh, my goodness. So good. You said how you say we're supposed to listen, we evangelize. Not only did I read it, I learned a lot. It was really good. I'm going to be struggling with pride. You need to say that to me. No, no, you got to be humble. I'm just playing. There she goes. She's in it now. He resists the pride. Rebuke me. And gives grace to the humble. No, I'm really grateful for that. No, really great. Really great book. Really. Thank you. I appreciate that. We'll talk about it some more later. Thank you. So I think one of my questions, people may be familiar with this, but I'm not. Okay. You come from a really big family, a very talented family, a very God-oriented family. But I'm curious on how God met you, you know, like what your salvation story is, because I can't say I ever heard it before. Yeah, it's not really a story story as much as I fell in love with the Lord as a kid. Again, my great-grandfather was a pastor and anointed us and prayed for us. And my grandmother, that's why when I was reading your book about your grandmother, she was my best friend, my father's mother. And I used to go to prayer with her all the time. 6 a.m. prayer, 12 o'clock. She was just my best friend, really. And I fell in love with the Spirit of God. first, you know, just being in his presence, seeing people pray. And I just, I just always sensed it. And, and so probably about, probably about nine years old, I asked the Lord to come into my heart, you know, but I fell in love with him, I think before then and wanted to please him. He did something in my heart as a kid. And, but that's the age when you have to, where the Holy Spirit will start, you start making choices on your own. It was like, you know what, you know, I was like, I was, you know, when you're raised in church, you go down to the altar probably every Sunday. Yeah. To say, Lord, forgive me for this. Forgive me for that. Just in case. And I want to accept you again. Just in case. Yeah. Because one thing I learned early on as a kid was that I didn't want to go to hell. That's good. Yeah. That's good. Because they taught on hell a lot back then. Oh, yeah. So I didn't want to go there. I knew I didn't want to go there. But then a little later on, I was introduced and really understood the love of God. And that's been my motivator ever since then. So I was about nine years old. I asked the Lord to come into my heart. And I just been striving to please him. Did you ever have a phase? Because I've heard of people who were raised Christian or raised in context where they have a phase where they get out into the world and it's like they have to live out their faith differently because they're not in the safety of their home church or their family or underneath parental covering. Was that a thing for you or you just you was locked in? I have made my share of mistakes, but as far as a phase of wanting to be outside of the will of God. I thought you were just going to say outside. That works too. She is so relevant. I can't. No, I don't know that about that. I wanted to be outside. That's hilarious. No, if anything comes out like that, you know it's a mistake. I understand But outside of No, I never really had a phase Where I wanted to be outside I had a lot of friends who did You know, who were raised in the church with me And, you know, felt like they had to get out And do something different You know, and I just kind of stayed in And prayed for them I love that Yeah He was like a little Eli Did you ever get tired of just being CC Wine and singing? I'm just tired of serving the church with my gift people knowing who I am, taking pictures of me everywhere I go. Well, even before we get there, you know, the question is, were people even leveraging that when you were young? How did you even step into a singing? Very good. Awesome. No, they weren't leveraging that when I was young. As you said earlier, my whole family sang. You know, we were from Detroit. Probably everybody in the city sang. But singing was always a part of our lives, but I was in the kids' choir. I didn't get into TV until I was like 17 or 18 years old. It was called PTL. PTL. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I was on PTL. That was a network? That was a network, the Christian TV show with Tammy Baker. And so I'll tell you how we got there. But so growing up in church was just growing up in church. And we were at Sunday school. We were there from whatever time, 8 o'clock until 10 o'clock at night, because that's when you ate at church and you had, you know, the kids hang out and the youth hang out. And so that's what it was. You know, I did my first solo when I was eight, but that's because my parents and the Sunshine Band teacher said she can sing the song. You know, I didn't want to, never really wanted to be out front, but I always loved to sing. So we always sang in the choir background. My first job was probably singing backgrounds for Andre Crouch. That's a big deal. That's a big deal. We met him. He had heard about the Winans, and that's how my brothers got signed. So up until then, we were just singing in church and doing school, working jobs, doing different things. And then Andre heard about us, that there was a family in Detroit, Michigan, that could sing. and ended up giving my brothers, the Winans, their contract on Light Records. So my brothers started out, and then Bebe and I went, a friend of ours was the musical director at PTL, and they needed some singers. So we went as part of that group. We auditioned, and Tammy gave us a song to sing, Love Lift Us Up. which we changed. They wanted to change it to Lord Lift Us Up. And we sang that song together, and they started saying, can we get those two little colored kids to come to our church? We hadn't planned on being a duet, but when we sang that song together, people started requesting for us to come. And that's how Bebe and Cece got started. Y'all made some powerful music together too. And? Y'all used to make my mom cry. In hindsight, I'm like, y'all was making pop a little bit. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, R&B. Y'all was making some, you know what I'm saying? Voices are butter. Silk. No, but even the vibe, like, was that intentional to make music that was contemporary? It was, but, you know, when we came out, we got a lot of, we got some flack. But she said, mm-hmm. I wasn't around I'm just imagining I know how the church I know how the church functions Y'all weren't even born I probably wasn't born You probably weren't even born I was born in 89 You were born in 89? No, you weren't born I was married in 84 In 84 Oh yeah, we were Yeah, y'all weren't even Y'all are babies That's why I said in hindsight But But we got a lot of flack But we were taken back by it Because In our home all we could listen to was gospel music. And because of that, and we, all of us being lovers of gospel music, and should I say music, period, we were in Motown, you know, my mom and dad both sang. 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So we grew up on contemporary music Along with the hymns Along with Shirley Caesar Along with the Mighty Clouds of Joy You know, so we had a lot of We had everything in our home Andre Crouch came I mean, my goodness You can play his stuff now And it's still the best of anything You know, best of everything, should I say But he was very contemporary So we didn't know that the rest of the world Felt like gospel music Should have been with a pipe organ you know um so yeah so that was like what what are y'all talking about yeah i have a question yeah you you and bb your whole family y'all have been very successful y'all put out some really great music and i'm always intrigued when gospel artists um operating a level of excellence that allows them to mingle in the world in ways that other artists don't have the opportunity to i've told you once before like i saw a video pop up and you talking about your relationship with Whitney Houston. And I just know, I've literally heard so many secular artists reference you, like how much they love you, but your music has always been Christ-centered. It's always been biblically sound. And as an evangelist, that's always been so inspiring to me, when people in the world can actually love people who talk about Jesus for real. Like throughout the years, we've never seen your music compromise. It's always been Christ-exalting and all the things. And so I guess as an evangelist, I'm just curious. I was talking to kirk franken one time and he was just having all the unique opportunities that he has to build with people how has it been for you you know and being able to rub shoulders with people who are in the world who love you yeah yeah um but they probably not walking the walk that you walking right like how's that been first of all it's been awesome and i have to give a lot of credit to of course all credit goes to god but a lot of credit to my brothers the winings um i can listen to their stuff today and it is so powerful It is everything but totally biblically sound And that was always our goal was to allow the Lord to use our music to do whatever he wanted to do And so the Lord just allowed our music to go places that we didn't know it would go. R&B, radio. We had more R&B hits than we had in the gospel. Wow. world. So our first Grammy Award, I mean, we grew up doing our own Grammy Awards because it was so many of us. It's 10 of us. It's 10 of y'all? Oh yeah. My mom had seven boys and I have two sisters, so it's 10 of us. So, you know, I could be doing a speech and we're doing our crowd noise, we're doing everything. And so when it actually happens, like, oh my God, we're really here. And so we're rubbing shoulders with Stevie Wonder and this person. And so you brought up Whitney. We were at the Image Awards the year she came out. And we crossed each other's path in the lobby. And she was like, Bebe and Cece. And I'm just like, how does she know us? And she started singing our stuff. Oh, wow. Yeah. It was like, wow. I'm like, what? And she was like, are y'all singing around here? I said, what are you talking about? And I'm like, we actually are. We were singing in a small little place. Called Concerts by the Sea. It was called Concerts by the Sea. And a lot of artists would do different showcases there. And it was a little ride, too, from L.A., if I remember right. And she's like, where are you guys going to be? And we told her. She's like, okay, I'm going to see you guys. And then we were like, yeah, right. Because this is the year she came out, and she's winning everything. But she showed up that night. Oh, wow. She came. She came to Concerts by the Sea, ended up on stage with us. singing our songs better than we've ever sang them in our lives. So I was like, it's time for you to get off the stage now. Is there a video of that? Probably. I know I have pictures of that night because my son Alvin at the time was probably, I don't know, about, maybe he was four. Maybe he was about four years old at the time. Because you're my favorite gospel singer. Thank you. I don't think I've ever told you that. No. And Whitney Houston is probably my favorite secular singer. Oh my gosh. So to see that together, that's like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Somebody would have camcorder because that's what they would have needed. They didn't have no cell phones. That's right. That's right. That's right. One of the wrestles I tend to find myself in is it can sometimes be difficult when you have gifts and you have the ability to walk in those gifts in a variety of ways where you can give your yeses to a lot of people. yet you're a wife and a mother and so you have to always prioritize home over public calling that's right how have you navigated that or how did you navigate that in the early years of your marriage of mothering right while also having a career well you you just said it um i was taught that yeah taught that you're called to be a wife and a mother first I remember even even before I got married we were singing I was on ptl for a few years and then I met Alvin and we got married um and I remember my brother Marvin sitting down with me saying now you know if he tell you to stop singing you gotta stop singing that's scary oh it would have been for me and i said yeah i know that he said okay as long as you know that and my husband has he's been nothing but support 200 support all these years praise god yeah but i went in understanding the priority that God is first and then it's my family, you know, and then it's everything else. Yeah. So that was, so I had it, you know, sometimes it wasn't as easy with me and BB because he's the guy, you know. So I was like, okay, I'm going to do this, this, this, but I'm not doing this. Yeah. But he can move in the same kind. Yeah, he could do it. So, but it's keeping your priorities straight. Yeah. And that really goes, that goes for us as women, but that goes for everybody. And when you really keep your priorities straight, you'll stay on the straight and narrow. You know? That's a word. And there's been times when it's like, okay, God, if you call me to sing, then I got to make, I need this for the kids. Yeah. I need to make sure this is, I need to make sure Alvin is good. Yeah. Such and such. You got to work this out. If you didn't, then I'm going to have to stay home. And he always came through, bringing the right people at the right time and the right season, you know, to help. And so I always, yeah, I always looked up to him and asked him to help. Yeah. If this is your will, you know, and he has always made it very clear that it was. Yeah. I asked so many questions. Okay. We talked about boundaries within your home. You said the expectations. In the age of social media with so many people are building platforms, sometimes it can be hard to try to find that balance of having boundaries, knowing when to say no. Every time I run around you, it's very obvious that you're a sweet woman, but it's very obvious that you know what you want, that you're not going to let nobody run over you. And I know you just have a ton of experience of— It's the story I could tell, but I can't tell it. So in my mind— That's what's in your mind is that story. I had that story in the back of my head. Jackie told me I wasn't there, but I'm like, that's the type of. Can I share? I'm going to share. I'm going to share very, very, very vaguely. She came on, but told me this. I said, I knew I loved. It was fantastic. It was the second generations in the, when y'all moved to the little stadium situation. And I had a host who was helpful and good and stuff like that. But this line started to form where people were taking pictures with me. and when you're the person that the people want to take pictures with it just becomes odd for you to say no I need to go to the bag dot dot dot so I'm starting to get stuck and this line is forming Miss Cece came over she said where's your host? I said she's right there and you said something to her I ain't gonna say what you said but it was the most firm but kind kind of thing direct it was giving you're not doing your job but I'm still gonna respect you Right, of course. But you're not doing your job. But it was like in that moment, it was like I saw like the businesswoman, the mother, also I felt delivered. Like you were like Moses a little bit because I needed a red flag. I needed somebody to rescue me. But it's because you know. And so you were like, she can't take any more pictures. We'll see y'all afterwards. But it wasn't even fake. And so I went and told Preston that because I think sometimes I think that's what I respect about even maturity and older folk is that y'all know how to be respectful and firm in a way that's not people pleasing. And that's what it gave. It's like, nah, like that's a boundary. And that's the reason why I asked the question. I had to give context. I'm sorry. Okay. I'm friends with a lot of Christian influencers or whatever. And they just don't be knowing how to say no. They don't know how to not let people take advantage of them, you know, and I think the older generation y'all Especially for somebody who's been doing as long as you just you just know what you got the capacity for You ain't gonna let nobody bully you, you know A couple years ago the Lord started to put it on my heart to start an online community group for men Because just going out doing events One of the things that I saw the most is just men are lonely. We need community we need to know that you know not only do god care but there's people out there men out there other men who will love you who cares and so that's the reason why i'm starting an online community group called the sons of man where we would talk about real issues where we can have a real community um you know where we can have a safe place to come and just be men vent but also one of the main reasons why i started you know sons of man is because i want us to see how jesus this humanity relates to our manhood, right? God became man. And so not only do I see you, but most of all, God sees you. And so in this community, we're going to be consistently reminded how we're seen by a holy and a righteous God, how we're loved by a holy and a righteous God, and how we're sons by a holy and a righteous God. What you'll expect from this community group is realness. I mean, I'm always real on every platform that you see me on, but y'all gonna see a part of Preston that y'all don't see nowhere else. We're going to have real intimate, honest, transparent conversations that's only in-house. So social media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, they're not going to get this. Y'all going to get this. Not only that, y'all going to get exclusive real FaceTime videos with me where, you know, you can ask me questions in real time and I can just, you know, give you answers in real time, you know, and so, you know, pop-up live events or whatever around the country where only my patreon people will be able to come to and so i think ultimately what you will get is just exclusive access to me in a way that the other you know social media outlets don't have but also you're going to get real honest transparent conversation um that's safe but at the same time fruitful and edifying so yeah can't wait to see that. Well, first of all, that's some of that, a lot of that's going to come with time. You know, I can't say when I was 17 that I didn't maybe do too much, you know. But going back to priorities, when you understand your priorities, that cuts out a lot. When you really respect that and really have your convictions on that. So learning how to say no, you learn how to say no. Yeah. Because I can't do it. Because, you know, I got babies. I have a husband. God didn't call me to save the world and lose my marriage. Oof. You know? So I actually fear God in this. I actually believe him. That's a word. That he's looking at me. You know? And so when you live in a way where you really believe he's looking at you, you know, people say they want God with them at all times, but he is with you at all times. So treating people with respect and you're supposed to do that, but it doesn't mean you don't say no. Yes. You understand what I'm saying? So, so a lot of that, um, comes from just having the right order in your life. And again, I, I'm so grateful for my parents. I'm so grateful for the older saints who didn't just teach us the way, but they lived the word out. And they weren't impressed with our gifts. You know, when you grow up and you're around, and that's why being plugged in and really having a home church is so important. I cannot stress the importance of a home church, and a whole lot of people don't feel like that's important. But it's important because people didn't see me as CeCe Winans, the singer there. I was just CeCe. sit down and hush up. You know what I'm saying? It's like, no, you came in late. They didn't treat us like we were stars. And a lot of people don't want to submit somewhere because people really get to know you, not just what you do. And that helps in your training. So having the balance is very important because if the enemy don't get you one way, he'll get you another way. by wearing you out and making you tired and you doing stuff. I remember hearing my pastor's wife say years ago that the Lord revealed to her she was doing all this stuff and she wasn't getting credit for all of it. Because a lot of it was just stuff that people wanted you to do. That's your reward. That's your reward. And then you're tired and you wore out and it's just like, what? So it's important that people get it. But I just believe that you really have to seek the Lord and really do the right things for the right reasons. That's good. That's real good. In an industry that is ran with the fiscal stuff in mind, how do you manage both? I'll back up. I asked this question one time, Jen Johnson had this thing in her house and it was like a bunch of leaders, preachers, singers. And there was a panel with Priscilla Shire, I think maybe Christine Kane and Jen Johnson. And I asked the question from a genuine place because all of us in that room had some level of significant influence. And I was like, how do we, we all exist in an industry where godliness can be gained for us. Right. That's right. The song I write, the sermon I preach, the book, you know. And so how do you manage being a good steward of your money, being a good business person, yet at the same time, not allowing your heart to be corrupted by that pursuit? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So how have you existed in this industry without letting it corrupt you? It's the fear of the Lord. Because it's with anything. It's like, or there's money, or there's a deal. When the fear of the Lord dictates what you do and how much you do, you're going to have to say no to some lucrative stuff. Yeah. And I'm not going to say you're not going to feel it. You might say, oh, you know what I'm saying? But it's still, it's not in you to say yes when you know it should be no. Yeah. Yeah Yeah And then whatever you do if you doing it unto the Lord and the Lord blesses you in different ways the problem comes in when you start doing it for something else Does that make sense? So if your motive is right and you keep that right by your relationship with Jesus, your personal relationship, not what you do on stage, but your personal relationship with Him, if you keep that front and center, that will really dictate everything else. because then you come into a place, Jackie, where you just say, okay, you look at the natural, the calendar. There's only so much you can do. I was telling y'all earlier, I looked at my schedule just like, did somebody knock me out when I said yes to this? Because I'm saying to myself, where is the wisdom in this? But there are seasons sometimes where you have to sacrifice more, and the Lord will give you the grace for it. But if I'm just out here doing stuff, trying to keep my name out there and trying to, because that comes with the industry. You know, a lot of times, you know, well, you have to do this and you need to do this. And I was like, no, I got to go home. I said I was going to sing this, but I'm not going to. What am I going to the after party for? Yeah. Going home. I don't have to go. I'm going home. I just wouldn't even know what I did if I was at an after party at the Doves. What is Sissy doing here? Hilarious. Is that Sissy? It's like I'm going to go. I went with Jen last year. I was like, okay, I'm going to give you something to eat. But when I was in those, you know, the years when my kids were little and I'm newly married and, you know, I had stuff to do, it was just like, I'm not doing, I can't do that. Yeah, that's good. And I was saying that for the right reasons. Yeah. Not because I was trying to be a troublemaker. Yeah. But that's too much. I can't do that, you know. And so when you honor God, he will honor you. And people might be mad at you for a minute, but then they'll come around too. Yeah. Yeah. I truly believe that. I've shared this before. I believe that for me, responsibilities is what has kept me humble. Come on. Because I'm very ambitious. And so I could really be out here writing more, creating more, speaking more. But it's the responsibilities that always pull me back where I just never can say yes as much as I might prefer. Want to. Right. And so I just think it's a good anchoring to have, especially responsibilities that don't center you. Yeah. Right. So for me to come home and have to help this child with her sight words, you know what I'm saying? Or you come home. Sometimes I come all dressed up and then the baby throw up on you. Yeah, it's just like, oh, you don't care. I'm CC Wise. Don't none of that matter. That's why home is so important, because home humbles you. Exactly. It makes you be in reality with your weaknesses, because the world is not going to remind you of your weaknesses, especially if you're gifted. But home has a beautiful ability to remind you. Yep. You're not tight. You're actually not that tight. When I go home, my kids are so unimpressed by me. So unimpressed. And I'm like, you know daddy's a good poet. We don't care. They don't say I asked you to tuck me in, and you didn't. So I don't care that you're a great apologist. And not even talking about kids So true So true Jackie be like Boy get out of my face Home And it's the same with home And if you're not That's why I said the home church It's the same thing Yes You know when you're actually Praying over somebody Or you're working with the kids Or you're working It keeps you You're coming off the road And now you're serving Yeah And it's a great balance And you're getting poured into You're just not the one That's pouring out Who's pouring into you I want to know though Because your home church experience might be completely different. Okay. Because you and your husband, y'all have... Well, at this point now, but that was... Our church is only, what, 12 years old. Yeah, I know back then, but I'm just saying, how does that dynamic work? It's like, oh, I'm going to go to C.C. Wine's church and, you know, like... Oh, now when people come. Yeah, how does creating boundaries when people come to your church now? So good. Good question. Yeah. Well, it varies. Now that I'm, you know, because when we started the church, I knew I was supposed to come off the road. And I did that and just focused on the church for probably about eight years straight. So I wasn't out there a lot. So I was there and people didn't even know who I was. Some of the young people were coming because our church was made up of really my kids' friends. So for a while, it was fine. Some people knew me. Some people didn't. And some people would come because they knew I was there and say, can I get on a worship team? I'm just like, I don't even know you. I know you can't get. Are you even saved? Yeah. You know, because then that's when I realized. That's a really good question. That's when I realized how much the church had changed, you know, because when I was coming up, everybody couldn't play. Yeah. Yeah. If you didn't have a lifestyle, you couldn't play. Yeah. We should talk about that. Oh, my goodness. And so when people were coming up with their guitars, like, I want to get on a worship event, I'm like, who are you? No, really? I was like, who are you? Why would I let you come up here and play it? I don't know who you are. That's something that we need to get back to. Oh, my God. Because we buy you gifts so much. That's a whole nother podcast. So, but now that I'm out there, a lot of people come. They'll hear that it's your church and they want to take pictures. I'm like, no, this is not where I take pictures. I'm glad you came. But I came all the way from, I didn't know you were coming all the way from there. How was I supposed to know? I didn't know that, yeah. I'm here for church, and this is who I am here. That's good. So I have to tell a lot of people, no. Because, again, I fear the Lord. I'm not going to be in the church and y'all taking pictures. It's not my concert. It's not that type of thing. It's this Sunday, you know? So, yeah, that's the way I do it. That's good. I got one more question. Okay, you go. I was only going to say that what she's communicating is wisdom that Brian communicated to us when our platform started to grow. And it therefore became hard. Like, it became harder to actually be known because you're known. and Brian was like the way people will be able to get rid of the facade of who you are is you actually showing up as who you are and saying no to things that continue to prop up this image so if it's a picture nah bro I'm sorry about that but I will have a conversation with you but I don't have to take a picture or not dipping out of the service early you come and you sit and you hear the sermon is like let me get up out before people see me you know like we've even had to do that at our new church where it would be more convenient to leave early right but what does that communicate to people right and so no stay during the doxology be inconvenienced because when you have some level of celebrity you are so uh taken care of where you have to choose inconvenience a lot of time that's good it's like no wait in the line and be okay i think a lot of times people people don't know how to not treat you like a celebrity because you don't come out of that mold. Right. Because you want it. We have to come out of that mold. Right. You have to come out of that mold. We have to give people permission to treat us like humans. There you go. So I think that is so good what she just said, showing up as you. Yeah. And that's what I do. Yeah. You know, I put on a little makeup for y'all because I'm going to be on this broadcast. Broadcast. Broadcast. But a lot of times I go to church, I just put some Vaseline on, I'm coming to church. I've seen how you moved when I went to your church earlier. And it's, she's there. I'm here. No, no, she's there. It wasn't like a distancing where, you know, she's just in the green room the whole time. No, I belong to the church. I'm one of the members of the church. I remember it was a Tuesday night because the double wars in Nashville, they're normally on Tuesdays, at least for the last few years is on Tuesdays. And so I remember it was a big night for me at the double wars. And then Wednesday, I had a life group, a cell group happening on Wednesday. So when I showed up Wednesday, I remember this young guy, nice guy. He looked at me, he's like, Pastor. He said, I mean, he was really in shock. He was like, I was not expecting you to be here. And I was like, well, why not? This is real life. This is what Jesus is going to count. He's not counting the awards that I won. And he was like, oh, my God. And I could tell it just really shook him, you know, in a good way. That's good. But when you show up as a normal person, people will eventually treat you as a normal person. That is true. That's good. That's good. I have a question from afar. And bless you. I'm sorry. You sneezed. It's okay. Thank you. Looking through social media, it seems as if, I don't want to say, I think the word resurgence isn't the right word. But I think we grew up on alabas box. Yeah. We grew up on songs like that. But now you seem to be tapped into the newer generation in ways that our gospel heroes ain't never did before. I mean, you got songs with Brandon Lake. And it's good songs, like really, really good songs. Was that intentional to connect with this generation in the way that you're doing right now? What was that? Did it come naturally? Did you say, I want to connect with the generation by having collaborations like that? Because the stuff that you have, you've been on fire for the last couple of years. No, legit. And so I'm just wondering, I'm just wondering, because like. I told Preston, I said. Y'all are so silly. What? Well, I didn't see. And trust, I'm not gassing you to gas you. Right, right. No, seriously. I was, because we know that people, they can be successful and then they lose their touch on what works, what sounds good, the creativity, where it's like, yeah, that was killing in 1988. It's 2025. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So, but you're, it's good. Y'all know what I'm saying? It's funny because you said 88, but I was out way before that. That's the best. That's the farthest I can go. But I'm thinking like Smokey Robinson Like the music But Smokey was that guy But it's like What are you doing So with you to me It's favor, it's grace But to me there's some type of Intentionality To still be good Because you can still sing You can still sing What we're saying is I think your music Your voice is still beautiful But it's culturally relevant That's a great way to hustle It's cultural We don't often see that With the gospel artists that we've been listening to Since we were seven I'm dead serious My mom was playing you when I was seven I was seven years old Waking up to seasick And it's like now you got songs with branding I love your mother for that I love that To clean I'm sure Wow Yes and no It's intentional and it's not intentional I think some of it is common sense no what I mean by that like for instance my son my son is an incredible writer and producer so I think having younger people around you you know I think sometimes people feel they're so gifted and talented they don't need help that's good and when you have young people around you they'll keep you in touch you know and there's going to be some things you're going to run past me I'm going to be like, mm-mm. That ain't for me. And I ain't trying to be 12. You know what I'm saying? It's a difference in trying to be, you know, I can't, that's not what I am. It's just funny that you said 12. Because you would have said 18, 19. She said, I ain't trying to be 12. I ain't trying to be a preteen. Well, they're younger stars nowadays. So, yes, but it's not overthought. You know what I'm saying? It's just that I love music. I love I'm applauding her on her record now I gotta go Get those lyrics for me and so I can See what's happening I told her Instant classic they're coming Incredible I can send you the PDF Incredible and that's not that's not really The type of music that I listen to But I'm open because it's like It's gotta be great I mean she did it it's gotta be great I gotta figure this thing out you know But also I'm looking for I've always looked for people for my children because my children weren't thrilled about maybe everything I liked. And now I'm looking for people for my grandchildren. You know, so it kind of keeps me in that vein, but also being open to do something different. I like doing things that are different. That's good. You know, and so I think that has worked for me. Yeah. But again, my number one focus is Lord, is this what you want me to do? Yeah. That's good. That's it. That's good. You shared on Better Together. It was a clip. I don't know how old it is, but I would love if you re-shared it here. Okay. And it was about you praying for your son and how he was in a season of struggle and you had to surrender and submit that because we have a really diverse demographic that listens to us. We got the 19 year olds and we have the 50, 60 year olds who might need some encouragement. And if you're a young person with kids, I feel like this is the type of stuff you put in your pocket because it might be something that you actually got to pull out one day. And so do you mind just walking through that story? Oh, no, I don't mind that at all. And I was just starting from there because there's plenty of stories in raising children. Yeah. But Alvin at the time was, well, he had graduated from college and I knew he wasn't where he needed to be in the Lord you know but he wanted to try living abroad you know and and I didn want him to go I was like, so where do you want to go? And he was like, well, I think he decided I'm going to Australia. And I'm like, well, what did I do to you? Why would you go that far? And clearly he was trying to get away from me and his dad. And I didn't know how messed up he was. I found out later how messed up he was. He was messed up. And even on his flight over there, he told us that he told God, whoever gets me first, me or the devil, that's the way I'm going. Wow. That's how messed up he was. And so I looked at Alvin, my husband. Well, they're both Alvins, Alvin III and my husband. So I looked at my husband. I was like, you going to let him go? He's like, bae, he is grown, and this is what he wants to do. So we're going to pray for him. We're going to trust God. So I was like, okay, you know And I didn't feel good But he said, that's what he said to the Lord over there I mean, on the plane Got over there, hooked up with a friend That he had met through me Because I was on tour over there at one point So I was mad at myself And Wally was his name And he called and said Man, Wally picked me up, I made it Told him, he made it We was like, okay And he said, he's going to this little church. And I don't really want to go, but I don't have a car yet. We were like, well, just go with him. Just go. And if you don't like it, you can leave, you know. So he goes to this little church. And when I say he was messed up, he was living in sin. But he goes into this little church and God gets a hold of him. he said the pastor came up to him and said, I don't know who you are, but you're spiritually dull. And they began to prophesy over him. Right? He was in Sydney? Huh? He was in Sydney? No, he was in Melbourne. Okay. Melbourne, Australia. Because we just got back from Australia. Melbourne, Australia. Different. And he called us. The next time he called us, he was there for a little bit. The next time he called us, he said, God is real. Wow. And so I was like, well, I've been telling you that all your life. And when he left, of course, I'm praying, crying out to God, Lord, bring my son home. Bring him home. Bring him home. Bring him home. I'm just crying. Bring him home. And then when I got that call, he said, God is real. And I could hear it in his voice. And I was just like, OK. So when I hung up, I was like, Lord, he ain't never got to come. If he's finding you over there, then let him stay there. And he got saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, on fire for God. Wow. Came back to Nashville. He'd stayed over there probably about six to seven months. The thing that brought him home, my father passed. And I remember at the funeral, Alvin got up there and said, Granddad will be really happy because I'm really saved. Wow. And then Ashley got up after him and said, unlike Alvin, I've been sick. She gives that. She gives that. But he went back for a little while longer and he submitted to those pastors at that church. Then he asked us, he came back home and he said, I would love to invite some of my friends over to the house. And at this time, he's taking people to lunch. He's talking to them. He's getting these kids saved, getting them filled with the Holy Spirit. I didn't recognize him. God took him and just transformed him. He came back home saying, we got to fast. We got to pray. And I'm just like, who is this person? And I just begin to thank God. And I remember the Holy Spirit saying, I did all of this and you were nowhere around. I said you did Yeah So just really And I love to encourage parents To just trust God You know Yeah cry out pray for him fast But worrying No no no He said the seed of the righteous Will be delivered You gotta hold on to that No matter how dark And I remember I remember the some of the strife or the tension that we had when he was you know yeah teenager high school even some of the college it was just and i knew it was a spiritual battle yeah you know i knew it was a spiritual battle so so i tell i tell parents love your kids but don't compromise for your kids i love you but i'm i'm not going to hell for you either you know what i'm I'm saying I'm going this is because my thing is if I compromise who gonna bring you back you know because I love you but I love God more we have to love God more even when our kids don't see it they're angry they they feel this because they're going through what they go through and I realized that was his testimony that's what he had to go through and then when I had no idea he would be a pastor yeah I had no idea he would be a pastor but now everything makes sense so now he's my pastor. Yeah, he's my pastor. And when I tell you every week when the word of God comes, I'm saying to myself, Lord, you're amazing. I'm ready to just lay out on the floor and just weep. Wow, that is beautiful. Because God took it and he loved music. You're talking about love music. He laid down his music. He wasn't thinking about music. He just wanted to see people say. Wow. Telling us that it was time to fast. I said, oh, wait a minute, who is this? But God took him And when I'm talking about A change from Saul to Paul It was just It was unbelievable And he has kept that fire So God will do it You know He will do it And he'll do it to the extent That you don't even recognize I think that's beautiful Because I mean You said the Holy Spirit said Yeah I did this And you were nowhere around Nowhere around But at the same time The Bible does say You know Raise a child And where they go That's right. You know, and they will not, you know, depart from your teaching. And so, like, I'm pretty sure a lot of the things that they, you guys instilled in him. Yeah. He just returned back to that. Yeah, that's true. The Lord watered the seed. Sometimes we just cannot hear from the people that we've been around our whole life. You know what I'm saying? That's just the reality of it. We need somebody else to kind of, you know, water their seed. That's why you pray for divine connections. Yeah. God will bring divine, because I didn't know these people from, I was like, you're where? And then when he told me, he was like, they're kind of like you and dad, except they're white. She's going around the house singing in tongues, and he's just chilled out, you know, like that. And so I was like, Lord, I thank you. Because in a strange way, it gives Jonah. You're going way over there to Nineveh. That's so far. You're just going way over somewhere else. Because if you really think about it, Australia is a really random place that you get saved. That's what I'm saying. It's like, what? I mean, big time. But then you get swallowed up by that well. That well was salvation. Wow. You know what I'm saying? And so to me, it's just like his arm is not too short to save. And I feel like I need those stories because we got four kids. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, when of y'all are going to lose your mind? Don't say that. It's a reality. Don't say that. I just believe. They don't have to lose their mind, but they're going to grow up. They're going to have their experiences. Do stuff I don't want them to do. Oh, of course. That's what I mean. Especially at stage. Well, don't say lose mind. Don't have to be losing mind. Keep their mind, father. So when their mind ain't lost, but y'all doing what I don't want you to do, I'm going to reflect back on this conversation and be like, hey, you want to go to Sydney for a week? Yeah, but those ages, it's called being who you guys are. My kids never saw me do one thing in public and then something else at home. You understand what I'm saying? Did we make mistakes? Yes. But when we made mistakes, we said we were sorry. Yeah. My father did that with us. You know, hey, I messed up. I'm sorry. Yeah. That goes a long way with kids. Yeah. You know, so they knew he was real, you know, but every kid has to choose them for themselves. Yeah. That's it. They have to choose them for themselves. And so, but God honors your prayers. He honors. And even those times when they say, you know, their kids and their teenagers give them their privacy. And I was like, they're not getting no privacy here. You know, so I go in their room I'm going in their drawers I'm praying I'm annoying them with oil I'm doing what they did with us And I saw that, yeah, we had some crazy days too You know, but we all came back Amen You got any advice for us? I feel like I can't let you sit on my couch And not get your wisdom Just as parents, you know, raising young children Being public ministers Well, I've been watching y'all from afar You know, and I just think you guys are doing an awesome job. I think you are. My thing is keep it simple. We're living in a time where we've become so educated that we forget the simple things. Like I'm sorry. Like I was wrong. You know what I'm saying? You never get too educated for that. I'm just playing. And that's in your marriage, right? That's in your marriage, but that's wherever you are. Like you said, you're treating people the way you want to be treated. The goal is to be like Jesus. And as long as that's your goal, you're going to be fine. And then watching who you have with your children. You've got your mom. Awesome. Keep them close. And yeah, but y'all are doing a great job. And you've been anointed for it, so God's going to give you the grace to do it. And when we go to thinking that the minute I think I have something to do with what's happening is when I mess up. I know that I'm doing what I'm doing because God has called me to do it. Yeah. And I also know that if he tells me to stop, I can stop. Because I don't worship what I do. I worship who he is Yeah, that's good And that's just for every believer So you guys are doing an amazing job You're shining Thank you And just keep it simple And be consistent in the things that matter Because careers and popularity That'll go up, that'll go down But your relationship with Jesus It just continues to go up It remains the same It's stable It's the only thing you can trust that's good yeah well thank you we love you on TCC I love y'all Miss CC we love you we appreciate you I'm just thankful to have gotten to know you to spend time at your church to meet Ashley to meet some of your sisters to go to generations a few years in a row I'm thankful that y'all moving to date I'll be left out when they go to generations oh you're thankful we're moving to date I am Ah, yes, yes. It was such a complex weekend. I know. It was beautiful. I know. Generations context. Miss Cece and her daughter Ashley host a conference called Generations in Nashville. Yes. And the beautiful thing about it is they legitimately were bringing in the generations. So it was a lot of like mothers and parents. And it was like deep because it's like, I bring my kids. I bring my mom. Like you don't see conferences that hold space for both. And even the platform, you have the young, you have the mature, You have the sages You have the peers But it was Mother's Day weekend So it made sense Yeah But it also Was a little complicated Yeah I knew that Well great I'm glad you're happy Because we love having you And everybody wants you there Every time And I know that won't happen Every time Hey I will cancel stuff But I am so proud of you I mean you guys have such an anointing And that's why when I saw you I did pray Because my heart I could cry thinking about it I left saying, wow, the next generation is in good hands. The gospel's going to continue. See, you about to cry now. And you made me cry. You almost did that in a cry. No, but that is awesome. I'm a thug. Because you're asking the shiny. No, no, my eyes, I'm not going to cry. Don't do that. I really appreciate it. And I know it's not easy sometimes, but make it easy. Make it easy. It doesn't have to be hard People make you think it has to be hard But you make it easy You make it easy Well thank you You got it, thanks for having me I don't know what else to say Is it anything that you want people to know That you got coming up I know you just did Africa You and your husband was all over Africa I said they gonna do every country on the continent No we are not doing every country I would love to, but I don't know if I'll make that before Jesus comes back. No, no. I just, I'm so grateful for the love of God and the love of God's people. And I'm just honored to be here with y'all. I'm honored to be here with y'all and to see those beautiful babies. You came bringing them gifts. You brought them bluey and all kind of stuff. They're going to want you to come back every time. I want to say this real quick. Okay. My 10-year-old, they go to a Christian school, and they was playing your video. And she said, they stopped playing Auntie Cece's video. And I said, I know her. And one of my classmates was like, stop lying. She's like, I'm not lying. I do know her. I met her like four times. And I was like, everybody ain't got to believe you. That's right. I said, everybody ain't got to believe you. But I might have to show up one day. You might have to show up one day and just flex on the little girl like, hey, you said my little niece don't know me. That's right. That's right. That's right. Well, I love y'all. Keep doing what you're doing. Thank you. All right. All right, y'all.