MY TESTIMONY ‼️‼️

i'm stephen barr of cast member church at walt disney world if you were anywhere near a radio in the early 90s or flipping between mtv and vh1 i have no doubt that you're familiar with the music of wilson phillips a multi-platinum grammy-nominated group of three women all with musical pedigrees that boggle the mind kearney and wendy wilson daughters of musical genius brian wilson the founder of the beach boys and chyna phillips daughter of john and michelle phillips the driving musical force behind the mamas and the papas following in their parents footsteps kearney wendy and chyna created music which provided an emotional soundtrack that still resonates today chyna phillips is now chyna phillips baldwin that's right she's married to actor producer and writer billy baldwin and you guessed it brother to steven alec and daniel chyna is also a born-again christian and not afraid to live her life out loud in fact she hosts her own youtube channel california preaching i had the opportunity to sit down with chyna and talk about her journey and of course we started with how it all began chyna your parents are in the rock and roll hall of fame yeah i have to ask you what was it like to grow up in that kind of environment being surrounded by so much musical history you know what by the time this is the truth by the time uh the mamas and papas had already disbanded i was two so i was just a baby when i grew up i basically just grew up it was like me and my mom and rosa garcia who was the woman that she hired to take care of me because my mom was acting at the time and uh so it was really just us against the world and we were living in an apartment in beverly hills but we were living in an apartment so we're struggling to make ends meet because my mom when she decided she was done with um my my dad basically she didn't take a penny she didn't want to take a penny so she was really out to prove that she could do it on her own so uh we weren't struggling terribly but you know it wasn't like i was living in mansions in bel air and you know driving around in limousines all the time that just wasn't how i grew up so did your mom's desire for independence inspire you well then when i was four she moved in with jack nicholson for three years so things changed a little bit when i was four sure and then when i was about five and a half or six i guess about six no let's see was i four yeah i was four when i was i'm asking billy when i was four i moved in with jack and then when i was about six and a half we moved in with warren beatty so yeah so i did grow up an apartment so like between the celebrity move-ins did your mom try to give you a normal childhood or protect you from the hollywood culture at all it didn't even cross my mind to be honest i didn't think about like wow i'm really being protected from hollywood scene now maybe when i was like 14 15 i realized when i looked at other kids like wow you know i could have been a statistic i could have turned out to be a hollywood statistic kid but my mom wouldn't let me work in the business she let me model when i was 15 16 but she wouldn't let me like do a movie or audition for anything until i was 18. and i knew she was protecting me because she didn't want me to become a statistic yeah billy loves this story i went to lunch at a place called la dome in beverly hills which was the very high you know and very fancy restaurant and i guess orson welles saw me sitting at a table with my mother and two or three hours later called my mom's management and then asked her if i could start with him in the movie that he was about to make the upcoming movie he was about to shoot and my mom said nope sorry she can't work till she's 18. so she did protect me from that she also didn't let me join the mickey mouse club which i was very upset about very upset about because i was obsessed with the mickey mouse club every day when i came home from school i would watch the mickey mouse club like that was my thing i'm saying that she they asked me to be a member of the mickey mouse club and my mom said no she can't work until she's 18. so that really was like a dagger through my heart i wanted to be in the mickey mouse club more than anything in the entire world like it still hurts it still hurts to this day on your youtube series california preaching you talk about this amazing encounter that you had with jesus what led up to that experience at the time i was going to a public school that was just the unified school you know junior high in my in my area and i just wasn't having a good experience there i was being bullied and i was just not happy so i said to my mom you know i want to switch schools and she said well the only school that's really in the area that you'd be able to like ride your bike to because i'm not driving you to school every day is a redeemer baptist school and i did have a couple of girlfriends that were at that school and i was so miserable at the school i was at but i was i was willing to go anywhere so i said this fine i'll go there and she was like are you sure you know they're going to talk to you about jesus and i was like yeah that's fine so i went to the school and like on day two i was already in trouble because i stole a chocolate milk from the cafeteria like this was a big big thing so the kids approached me the next day and they were like why did you steal the chocolate milk from the cafeteria and i said well i didn't you know have the money to pay for it so i stole it what are you gonna do about it you know and they were like um well you know we just wanted to let you know that if you ever wanted chocolate milk next time all you have to do is ask you don't have to steal it and i was like okay well that's nice that's really sweet and then they said and we were wondering if you would want to ever accept jesus christ into your heart and i was like okay um obviously they think i'm a sinner so okay that's fine i'll accept jesus christ into my heart so they took me down into the girls bathroom with this little salvation card and it wasn't awkward at all there were like six girls and they were all hovering around me and i was reading this card and they're like just read the words and i was like dear jesus i accept you as my lord and savior and i'm reading these words and i'm not thinking anything's gonna happen i'm expecting nothing sure enough as i'm reading the words i start to feel this power and this energy flood through my body and it's like it's just moving down like scanning my body and it's going through my body and it's going all the way down and i finish saying the words and i can't speak i can't speak i am i'm so blown away that the holy spirit has just moved through my body that literally i cannot physically speak and they're like are you okay and i'm going and they're like uh okay and i didn't and then i didn't speak for like i tried not to speak i was afraid almost that if i spoke this feeling that i was feeling this this this clarity and this peace and this love that i felt come over my body i was afraid i was terrified that it was going to go away because i had never experienced anything like it in my entire life was there a dramatic change after that experience i was still living in a home where there were bibles and we weren't talking about jesus and you know my parents were divorced and my mom was going out every night and partying and there were you know not heavy drugs around me but you know there was a little pot and there was some booze and you know so it wasn't a christian atmosphere and it wasn't really supporting it wasn't going to support this new experience that i just had so i stayed at that school for two years and then when i left that school unfortunately that's when i kind of nose dived and really started getting into drinking and using drugs and um i was a party girl i mean that's let's call it what it was i was a party girl i was going to clubs and i was you know dating guys and i was you know uh using drugs and i was using cocaine i was smoking pot i was drinking alcohol i was i mean you know i always told myself i wasn't gonna do the the really hard stuff like cocaine actually was like my limit i didn't even want to try cocaine but i got you know sort of peer pressured into it but i was like i'm never ever ever gonna use heroin which i never did and for good reason i mean my dad was you know a notorious heroin addict for 30 some odd years so i was just terrified by heroin i didn't want to get near it and i one of the couple of times that i'd visit my dad back east i had seen him od a couple of times and i'd seen you know i'd seen things that a child shouldn't see let's just put it that way so sorry i'm slurping [Laughter] so how did the memory of that encounter with jesus stay with you even during those darker times i always knew deep in my heart that jesus was the answer i always knew that he was god i just got lost i just i lost my way chyna may have lost her way but jesus never left her side like the good shepherd that he is jesus was determined to guide her back her story continues as we talk about how wilson phillips came to be well we started singing together because somebody had put in a phone call to me and they were like we're trying to get some celebrity kids together you know to to do a song kind of like a we are the world of celebrity children i was thinking this is the worst idea i've ever heard in my life but i was like you know it sounds like it could be fun you know he was like we've got moon zappa and we've got some other people and i was like okay you know let's give it a try so i said would you like me to reach out to carney and wendy brian wilson's kid girls and he was like definitely do that so i called them up and they were like yeah we're interested i said well we better get together and sing girls because i haven't sung in years i haven't sung since we used to sing together as kids we started playing fleetwood mac and we started playing the eagles and we started singing along and i didn't know anything about harmony so i took the middle and you know carney and wendy did their harmony thing between me there was a sound there was just this undeniable sound carney and wendy's mom walked in and she was like what is happening in here and we were just like we're just singing and she was like this sound she was like you guys need to start a group and so we kind of looked at each other and thought you know that's not a bad idea and the whole like we are the world with celebrity kids thing fell apart so we just kept singing together one day i called my mom up and i was like because i was at carnegie's house and i was like mom we're all here and we're singing and we want to start a group and she was like oh okay that's nice and i was like no no you don't understand we really want to start a group and we need your help who can you call and she was like well why don't you just give richard perry a call and i was like oh yeah that's right he's a producer i called up richard perry and he was like yeah come on down to my house on thursday night and have something prepared went to his house stood in front of him and we sang demo [Applause] and he goes that's it that's it and we take it in three-part harmony just fell on the floor laughing he was like okay that's the best audition i've ever seen in my life let's do something together so we started literally recording like throwaway songs from the pointer sisters that were in the trashcan we were like pulling them out of the trash can and we were demoing them and we did that for about two or three years we were just developing our sound richard perry god bless him hooked us up with glenn ballard to start writing songs we had already written release me which ended up being our second single off the debut album we had written up the three of us around my mom's piano and we sang it to him and he was like oh i love it and then that inspired hold on he wrote the music to hold on and i took the music that night the night he wrote the music i went in my car and just listened to it over and over and over again and when i pulled up in front of my mom's house i had a memo pad a legal pad and i just started flooding with lyrics and i just you know an outpouring of lyrics and i should tell you that by that time i had already gotten sober i had already pulled my life together i was in therapy i was going to therapy like twice a week and i knew that i was at a fork in the road when i was about 19 years old i was like okay i if i continue doing what i'm doing i'm going to die like i knew either i was going to die physically or i was going to die spiritually or both i knew it the the program that i was using was talking about living life one day at a time right hold on for one more day aspect of the song was derived from that slogan you know one more day wrote out the entire lyric and then and wrote the melody and i knew kind of like when the holy spirit had come through my body after i'd written the song and sang it through all the way through in my car and i wrote it in like an hour i felt that same feeling all over like tingling vibrational feeling all over my body and i knew that i had just been channeled like god had channeled that song through me i really felt like i had nothing to do with it i can't even take credit for it i literally feel like i downloaded it from heaven then the next day i sing it for carney and wendy and and glenn ballard everybody loved it we demoed it that's history chyna and her husband billy continue to hear story after story of how hold on has given others strength to keep moving forward in fact there was one particular message that deeply moved both of them so many people that said i was you know my husband left my wife left me in the kids or i was going through cancer treatment or i was homeless or i was going bankrupt i was going into foreclosure i was suicidal totally i was suicidal i was coming out of the closet it was like so many different struggles in their lives that they were battling with and this this one was the most recent i've literally heard this i don't know dozens and dozens of times she's heard it hundreds of times and this just came in yesterday really beautiful sorry but we were both emotional wrecked when we read this one yesterday i mean he was choking on his tears hi thank you for your candor and openness for christ you three completely changed my life and i have thought about sending all of you this message privately for about 30 years but there is nowhere i can send you an email also i am 100 sure you have received hundreds of messages like this but it is time i let you know that i'm alive 30 plus years later because of your song hold on i was 15 years old when i was about to end it i had just finished steaming the bathroom pills and razors were in place and i was holding up my letter to my mom letting her know how much i loved her and i was sorry i can remember not feeling anything i was basically dead already and a small voice in my head said listen to one more song before you go so i had my stereo in my room i turned on the radio and the dj says this is a new song by wilson phillips hold on and the song began i know there's pain why do you lock yourself up in these chains no one can change your life except for you don't ever let anyone step all over you just open your heart and your mind is it really fair to feel this way inside someday somebody's going to make you want to turn around and say goodbye until then baby are you gonna let them hold you down and make you cry don't you know things could change things could go your way if you hold on for one more day can you hold on for one more day things will go your way hold on for one more day and something inside of me broke and i woke up and i was hysterical and extremely fearful because i was so close to ending it all excuse me and i was only a kid but this song literally brought my spirit back to my body and i was awake and simply shocked at what i almost did i immediately tore the letter dumped all the pills and turned off the shower and cried for hours thanking god that i was still alive from there i took some time but i went on to give my life to the lord okay i love this part i i wanted my life to be more than just a life to live my heart has always been to impact and give and gosh so many days i have wanted to tell you this but honestly i just didn't have the self image to reach out but now with all this craziness going on in the world i just needed you to know that i'm alive because the holy spirit used your song to save my life also whoever has been saved through god using me is also a crown for you china i really hope you realize the impact you've had on the world i am able to help many through christ because you ladies were so obedient thank you again i'm 46 now married and very much in love with my lord and savior jesus christ and my husband and please remember that you're doing good work love so-and-so even as chyna continues on with wilson phillips she has taken a giant leap of faith she now hosts her own youtube series california preachin it's not a glamorous look at her faith no chyna has taken the opposite approach she's bold and she's brutally honest she shares her doubts her fears her regrets even her present anxieties and she often invites billy into open and honest discussions about their differing perspectives china wants you to see jesus up close and personal as he works in and through an imperfect life i mean i have to be honest after wilson phillips and after i had kids there was a long while where i was just like lord what now what do you want from me now what do you want to do with me what do you want how do you want to use me and i really felt like i was just sort of floundering i just didn't have direction i just didn't feel like i was being used in the way that he wanted me to be used and this really small still voice kept saying youtube channel he [Applause] okay you know maybe maybe i'm supposed to talk about jesus on like a platform on a public platform and so that's why i kind of i'm veering this conversation and i didn't mean to do that actually you've opened the door to something very exciting when you launched your youtube series california preaching you put yourself out there what gave you the confidence to take such a bold leap of faith as you know once you're convicted in your heart and you know that jesus is the son of god and you know that he died for us and paid our price you know pay to our our uh debt and that he literally shed his blood for you and that he came in human form to earth and that he sacrificed um his life so that you could have not just a hundred years of life after death and not just 300 years of life evidence and not just 5 000 years of life after death not just 20 000 years of life after death but eternal infinite life after you die with him with your creator honey nothing can stop you it's like you just can't nothing can stop you because that's it becomes you know the bible says go out and preach to the nations preach my name and so there was this fire in my belly and i just felt like well what could be more important what could be more satisfying what could be more uh fulfilling for me than to talk about the lord but i knew i wasn't a pastor and i knew that i didn't want to go to like you know seminary school or you know i i just didn't i just knew that wasn't my my path so i prayed about it and if you look back you know evolvement of my channel you'll see that in the beginning i've got my hair just perfect i've got my makeup just perfect and it's really evolved because the lord i was getting so anxious before each time we shot i would like make sure my my outfit was just right and that i literally had everything i was gonna say on a uh what do they call billy well teleprompter teleprompter i had everything on a teleprompter i was reading off a teleprompter every word and it just i felt like my spirit was stifled and so then i started dreading doing them and i was like lord do you want me to do this or not like if you want me to do it make it easy and i just got word from him like you need to strip this down and you need to be raw and unedited and if you want to put on a little makeup that's fine girl but like you need to just be you and all of this like lighting has to be just right and the outfit just right it's not that's not going to work the holy spirit's not going to be able to move through you guess what god was right so there's no doubt that chyna has been to the mountaintop and certainly walked through some dark valleys as she looks back she can see how jesus has walked beside her every step of the way so what does the future hold for china phillips well who's to say but one thing is for certain with jesus guiding china's life the best is yet to come [Music] you

Channel: Chynna Phillips Baldwin

Views: 39,550

Rating: 4.9267397 out of 5

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Id: FwajwxMtSYo

Length: 22min 36sec (1356 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 27 2020