Babbie Mason
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First Person is produced in cooperation with the Far East Broadcasting Company, who rejoice in the stories of changed lives through the power of Jesus Christ. Learn more at febc.org. And my desire to share my love and my light for him is that to be kind to others, to be sensitive to their needs, to listen to their story in that critical moment when their heart opens up, give them Jesus.

Her life is all about telling people about Jesus. On this edition of First Person, you'll meet Babi Mason. Welcome, I'm Wayne Shepherd.

Babi is an award-winning singer-songwriter and author, conference speaker, and TV host, and you'll get to know her as you stay with us now for the interview. She'll go all the way back to the beginning of her life and tell how the Lord has led her all the way. We'll begin the conversation after I remind you that these weekly interviews tell the stories of people who have yielded their lives to God and found meaningful purpose in serving Christ. Everybody has a life story, and we enjoy learning from them.

If you are a new listener, I invite you to our website, FirstPersonInterview.com, where you'll find an archive of hundreds of these stories. Again, that's FirstPersonInterview.com. Well, Babby Mason is one busy woman. She has a very dedicated following of people who draw much inspiration from her music and speaking, and many have chosen to follow Christ because of her ministry. When we talked online recently, I asked her to take me back all the way to the beginning. Well, I grew up in southern Michigan.

Not too far from Detroit. And my hometown is Jackson, Michigan. Yep. I know it well. You know Jackson, Michigan. I grew up in Lapeer, Michigan. Wonderful. I love those connecting stories. And I know right where Lapeer is. Do you?

Oh, of course. I grew up in Michigan until I got married, 26 years. And my parents love to fish. And of course, Michigan is a Great Lakes state. So we are all over the state. Michigan's shallow waters, ponds, big lakes. And our Great Lakes are like oceans. They're huge. We are Michiganders, aren't we? Yes, we are true Michiganders.

Well, if you hold up your right hand, it looks like a mitten. Jackson is down in the southeast corner. I tell people I'm from the thumb, and they say, what are you talking about? The thumb of Michigan, the mitten.

Well, I'm in the bottom part of your palm, okay? Yes. And I grew up there in Jackson. My father was a pastor. My father, the late, great Reverend George W. Wade, and my mom, Georgie Wade, came up from the South during the great migration of the late 1940s and settled there in Southern Michigan. And that's where all of my siblings, except for my oldest brother, were born. And so I was born right there in Jackson. My father pastored one church for 40 years.

Church was our life. It was our every waking moment. My parents were dedicated to the church, which meant that we were dedicated to the church. You were dedicated to the church. We were dedicated to the church. And I came, you know, Wayne, I don't ever remember a moment in my life where I didn't always believe that I was a Christian. Hmm.

Yes. What a wonderful heritage. What a wonderful, as a matter of fact, my great grandfather, my grandfather, my father, my oldest brother, my nephew, my first cousin are all preachers and pastors. And he's not done yet. He is not done yet. And I fit into that legacy as well.

And so churches, as I said, churches are life. So I accepted Christ when I was eight years old, although I have known of his presence and his power since my birth. But of course, I made that decision to follow Christ at the age of eight.

And of course, I was playing the piano as a kid. I mean, as a toddler, I was banging on the piano. I was going to ask you if you were singing by seven or eight years old. I was singing as, I think I was singing when I came into the world. My mother was a singer. She was the consummate singer. And of course, every pastor loves a wife who can sing. And so my mother directed the choir and she sang around the house and sang solos in the choir. And so I caught it early and easily. Hmm.

And so when I was in the church, I was matriculated through all the junior choirs and then the teenage choir that we called the pastor's choir and then the adult choir that we called the senior radio choir because my father had a radio ministry. And by the time I was in my early elementary school years, first grade, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, my parents discovered that I could pick out a few chords on the piano.

And so my church did not use printed music. Everything was done and sung by ear. But my mother was adamant about getting me a piano teacher, and I began to study the classical composers. But we didn't sing a lot of Bach and Brahms and Beethoven in my daddy's Black Baptist church. I don't think so, no. Yeah.

So we sang everything by ear, but I was playing, you know, picking out a few chords at the piano. And my father, one Sunday, our church pianist, I think her family moved away, and our church was without a pianist. And my father looked at me at age nine. Oh, boy. And he said, Babs.

Today, you're going to play. And that was how I got hired, Wayne. At the age of nine, and I had about a three or four chord vocabulary in the key of C, which meant they sang in the key of C for a very long time until I could figure out how to play and transpose to other keys.

and played for my father's church for nearly 20 years until I got married and moved to Georgia. And so those years were just the formative years of ministry, and I began to lead the choir, direct the choir, plan the worship, even as a young teenager, and assumed all of that responsibility. But you know, Wayne, of course, when I got to my late teenage years and began to try to figure things out for myself, I...

Loved those years. And then growing up not too far from Detroit, which was Motown, and Motown was in its season during my teenage years, then I started casting my dreams and my eyes towards Detroit. Okay. Yeah, there's a story there too. But I gave my heart to Christ very early in life, and he has become the dearest relationship that I have. He is my Savior, my Lord, my friend.

the inspiration behind all of my music. And I'm, after 40 years, this is our 40th year in ministry. October the 1st of this year marks my 40th year in ministry as a full-time vocation. Congratulations. Wow. Thank you. And so I'm living for the Lord and living my dream, really. Isn't that amazing?

You know, there's so many good things happening in the world and in church world today. And I know that you see it as you travel around the country and around the world and speak in churches. But you've got to be thankful for those days when church was the center of life, right? Church was the center of our life, the center of our community. In Jackson, Michigan, I'm not sure how it was in Lapeer, probably in Lapeer, too, there was a big Catholic influence. Mm-hmm.

There were a lot of Catholic churches and still are today in Jackson. And that influenced our community. We observed Lent, which is really kind of a, not really a Baptist tradition. We kind of acquired that from our community. We didn't eat meat on Fridays.

And so we had a very traditional upbringing and a wonderful, closely knit community. My father was not only a pastor, but he was very involved in the community. He was a county commissioner, as many black pastors were in that era of the 60s.

as they were rallying black people to vote and getting the right to vote and those kinds of things. My father was very active in the community, and I watched my parents serve long and tirelessly. Well, take me back to that Motown aspiration. What turned you away from that? I'd be interested in that story. When I graduated from high school and went to college,

And there was just that little bit of a kind of a separation between, you know, as I entered into my early adulthood, I kind of was sensing a little bit of freedom there. And so my goal was not to sing gospel music early on because it's,

Our church was influenced by a lot of traditional black gospel music, choir music, and that was not the music that I wanted to sing. This was kind of in the very, very early days of what we would call contemporary Christian music, but a lot of those artists were white.

And so I was just looking for a place to land and looking for a place to fit in. And the closest and the nearest place and style that I wanted to emulate was Motown. And so I started singing in bars and clubs on Friday nights around Southern Michigan while still singing.

fulfilling my obligation to sing and play the piano in my father's church. This is reminiscent of Aretha Franklin. Very. And I figured if Aretha could do it, and she was a preacher's daughter, then certainly I could do it.

But you know, Wayne, there was this restlessness in my heart when I would go into the club or the bar. And back then you could smoke in a bar and smoke in a club. And there was a lot of smoke and alcohol. And that was not an environment that I was familiar with. But I love that music.

And I wanted the stage and I wanted to hopefully see that somebody could acknowledge my gift and my talent and make me a Motown star. And that was the reason why I did it. It was about the music. And because I didn't drink or smoke, I wasn't involved in that kind of lifestyle, but it was about the music. And every time I would go into a bar or a club, I would sense this huge conviction from the Holy Spirit.

I had enough of the, this is a word of encouragement to parents. That scripture verse that says, train up a child in the way that he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. Well, I'm a product of that. The Holy Spirit convicted my heart, but I kind of compartmentalize that and, you know, put it in the back of my heart and chase that dream.

and I did that for a couple of years when I got a scholarship to go to school at Spring Arbor University. Familiar with Spring Arbor University? Yes, I am. Yes. It was back then it was Spring Arbor College. And I went to school there. And Wayne, I was so I was here again. Spring Arbor was just 12 or 15 miles from my house, but it was a whole new world.

of Christians on a college campus and going to chapel twice a week and hearing amazing speakers that inspired me and motivated me. And I got to remember the small groups that were forming on college campuses where our college formed a group and I got a spot in singing in that group. And we began to travel

and sing about Jesus, music that was inspiring. By that time, Andre Crouch was coming on the scene, and singers and the disciples and the Hawkins singers, and there was that influence as well. Well, one day, I sat down in the college snack bar on the campus there, and it was in the fall of the year. The air was chilly. I ordered a cup of beef vegetable soup,

and from the snack bar, and the soup was piping hot. It was served in a styrofoam cup and a white plastic spoon, and in just a few moments, as the soup began to grow lukewarm and the grease began to coagulate on the top and stick around the rim of that cup and rolled off that white plastic spoon, the Lord sat down. The Spirit of the Lord just whispered in my heart, this is your lifestyle.

And I had, listen, I'm a preacher's kid, memorize scripture. You know, very traditional family. We said grace every night at dinner and we all went around the table and recited the scripture verse for that night. So I remembered a lot of scripture. And while I was sitting there in the snack bar,

A scripture verse came to my memory from the book of the Revelation, chapter 3, verses 14, 15, and 16, that letter to the church at Laodicea. But it was like Jesus was saying, I'm reading your mail right now. And I remember that passage that says, I know your works, and I know that you're neither hot nor cold, and I wish you were either one or the other. But because you're lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spew you out of my mouth.

Well, I received that as an ultimatum. And sitting right there in the college snack bar, no one sitting at the table but me and the Holy Spirit, I surrendered my life totally and completely to the Lord. And I said to him, you can have my life, my music, my dreams, my hopes. And that day, you know, I accepted Jesus as my Savior at age eight. But that day he became my Lord. Beautiful. All from a cup of soup.

All from a cup of soup. And just little by little, you know how the Lord works, just incrementally, one step at a time, building my life, building my lifestyle, opening up doors for ministry. I made a few records on my own back in the day. And then in the late 80s, I signed with Word Records and made 10 records for them. Just was on their label for 10 years. And then with Spring Hill Music,

and made lots of music that, you know, people, a lot of people are familiar with. There's much more we can learn from Babby Mason, and we'll continue the conversation coming up in a moment here on First Person.

Here's Ed Cannon on a vision for FEBC's weekly podcast. The primary purpose of Until All Have Heard, of course, is to share the experience that FEBC has because we have staff on the ground in so many oppressive places. But in addition to that, we're trying to speak to you in a way that only the kind of testimonies you'll hear from around the globe can do.

Discover how the gospel is making a difference around the world. Search for Until All Have Heard on your favorite podcast platform or hear it online at febc.org. ♪

My guest is Babby Mason. Babby is a musician. She's an author. She's a conference speaker. She's a radio and television host. She's amazing. You even are known to break out the song of the Piggly Wiggly. Tell me that story from your book, Babby. It's an amazing story. Thank you for asking me, Wayne. I wrote this book called Each One Reach One, which is inspired by a song that I sang and wrote in the 90s. Yeah, I can hear it in my head right now. Yes.

And I prayed this prayer that, you know, as I was inching toward my 50th year of walking with Jesus, prayed this prayer and just said, God, I want to be a better witness. I want to shine my light brighter as I'm inching toward this season in my life.

I just want to be obedient to the Great Commission, and I want to be obedient to what I call the Great Mandate from Matthew 5, verse 16. And that's what the book is written on. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. And when I prayed that prayer, the Lord took that prayer and began to run with it.

But I think a lot of it was because of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, desiring to meet the needs of others, desiring really to share my faith anywhere and everywhere, not just when I was on stage. And the Lord began to take me up on it. And so one day, I was in the Piggly Wiggly, and that's our local grocery store here in West Georgia where I live. It's a rural part of the world. If you know Piggly Wiggly, you know what we're talking about. If you don't, you need to find out. You need to find out. It's our little neighborhood grocery store.

And I'm in the checkout line, and there's music playing on the loudspeaker, and it's a familiar song. I think it was Neil Diamond singing Sweet Caroline. I promise you, I was not singing very loud, just kind of humming to myself. And the gentleman who was getting checked out ahead of me turned and said, wow, that sounds really good. You should consider singing for a living.

I said, well, I do. I do sing for a living. He said, well, sing something for me right now. Oh, boy. I said, hey, that's like saying, stick him to a Rottweiler. I pushed my card up a little closer to him so that I have a little closer proximity and began to sing a verse of Amazing Grace. All of a sudden, I heard the music turn off in the store.

The gentleman who was the manager, I assume the manager of the store, came out of that little cubby, and he came and he stood right in front of the checkout lane. He bowed his head, he lifted his hands, and began to worship. People, one by one, just kind of began to collect around that checkout stand. And when I realized I was drawing a crowd, well, I turned it on like I was singing on the stage of... You were back in church. I was back in church, and I...

I turned it on and began to sing all the nuances and just minister to the people. More people began to collect. I ended up singing all the verses to Amazing Grace that I could remember. When I was done, I ended on a high note. There was some applause and some amens. I live in the buckle of the Bible belt. And while people went back to their work and their journeys, wherever that was taking them, I had a short conversation with the gentleman as he went on his way.

What happened after that is really where the Lord just began to shine. The little clerk was a high school girl, probably late high school or early college. She said, wow, Amazing Grace is my grandmother's favorite hymn. Now, this is what I've learned is that

On the heels of an act of kindness or where you, since the Lord is present, people respond to that and they open up their heart. And when they do, you can see a little bit of their life change.

In that little moment. So be sensitive, yeah. Be sensitive. You have to be sensitive and observant. And just tread lightly in that moment and listen to the Holy Spirit. She said that her grandmother was at home and that her grandmother was suffering from cancer. I've learned to be empathetic and sympathetic. And I said, oh, I'm so sorry to hear that your grandmother is suffering. How is she doing?

She said, she has good days and she has bad days. I said, wow, I'm so sorry to hear about that. I said, do you mind if I pray for your grandmother right now? And Wayne, I've done this many times. I've prayed for many people and not once has anybody ever refused prayer. I've been in the grocery store, the airport. They've been adamant. Yes, please pray.

Please pray for me. And that was her response. Yes, please pray. She stood perfectly still right there in front of her cash register waiting for me to pray. I prayed a simple prayer, nothing long, nothing laborious, no litany of scripture verses or a long sermon, just short. In a few moments, I was done. She checked out my groceries. I bid her a God bless you. As I was heading toward the exit, a lady stopped me and she said, I heard you singing.

And I saw you praying for that young lady. And this is a word of encouragement for us listening today, that people are observing you. If you're a Christian, people are watching you. They want to see if you walk the walk and talk the talk. I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I'm far from it. But I'm trying to represent Jesus and make him look good. She stopped me and she said, I saw you pray for that young lady. And I heard you singing. Would you mind praying for me? My husband isn't walking with the Lord.

I stopped and I prayed for that dear lady, a short prayer that encouraged her. I bid her a God bless you. I made it to my car where a young lady in the parking lot stopped me with three kids in her cart. She said, my husband just abandoned us and left us alone. Do you mind praying for my family? And I prayed for her family. And I got in the car and I just said, God, I said aloud, God, what just happened in there? And the Lord is showing me that conversation.

kindness, not just being nice, but kindness, which is a fruit of the spirit, which is a spiritual attribute, which emanates from the heart of God. Kindness is a superpower. It's meeting the needs of others without expecting anything in return.

It's extending the hands and the heart of Jesus to others who need him. And that is really the basis of this new walk with Jesus. And my desire to share my love and my light for him is that to be kind to others, to be sensitive to their needs, to listen to their story, to be sensitive in that critical moment when their heart opens up. And when it does, give them Jesus. Yeah.

Well, and this is the message throughout your book, Each One Reach One. Babby Mason, I know that you have a heart. We have just a couple of minutes left here, but I know you have a heart to encourage young musicians. You have so much great experience that you can pass on and wisdom you can pass on. Just say a word about that and mentoring. I know you were mentored, I'm sure, by many people. Share what you've learned.

Yes, I have had mentors, mentors that, you know, you mentor people even when you don't know it. And I emulated and imitated Andre Crouch, and he taught me how to write, even though he may have heard my music, but he didn't sit down with me at the table and teach me. But I learned a lot from his music. I sat down and attended a lot of classes and courses in and out of Nashville and other music conferences. And so I'm grateful for that.

So I wanted to carry that on by doing worship conferences for singers, songwriters, and authors. It's called the Inner Circle. You can go to my website at babby.com and get on my mailing list, and you'll know when those conferences are coming up.

But I do all of that, which is an extension of that prayer that I prayed, is that, God, I want to use everything that I have. If you'll give me the platform, you'll give me the words, you'll give me a place to use my gifts and my talents, then this is what I'll do. And that's what I'm trying to do. Irma Bombeck, who was a wonderful comedian, said some words that I really treasure. And she said, when I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left to

But I could say to God, I used everything you gave me. She is an amazing person who gives God the credit for everything she's done. You've been listening to Babby Mason tell us her story this week on First Person. Among her many talents is writing, and she has a book titled Each One Reach One, Everyday Ways You Can Shine God's Light. And we'll place a link to it at FirstPersonInterview.com. There's also much more about Babby through that link, including her speaking schedule. FirstPersonInterview.com.

These conversations happen with the support of the Far East Broadcasting Company, a ministry that reaches the each ones of this world through broadcasts and social media. To learn more, please visit febc.org. When contacting FEBC, make sure you mention to thank them for First Person. Now, with thanks to my friend and producer, Joe Carlson, I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us next time, and thank you for listening to First Person. ♪