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IDOC: FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO DISCIPLE OF CHRIST

What does it look like when God takes everything the devil meant for evil and hits the reverse card? Maurice Hall — known as Sir Genius — knows exactly what that looks like.

In this episode of B.A.S.I.C. Conversations, Brother Boston sits down with fellow South Bend brother Maurice Hall, a Christian hip-hop artist, facilitator of The Way Out men's reentry group at Christian Center Church, and host of the All Glory to God Podcast. Maurice lost his father at nine and his mother at fourteen, found himself deep in gang life, incarceration, and searching for truth in all the wrong places — until God stopped him in his tracks and turned his misery into a ministry.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How losing both parents before age 14 shaped Maurice's rebellion and road to prison
• His Road to Damascus moment and why giving his heart to Christ wasn't enough the first time
• What 11 years and multiple incarcerations taught him about God's timing
• How the Way Out group is pouring back into formerly incarcerated men right here in South Bend
• Why his album IDOC doesn't stand for what you think — and what it actually means
• Sir Genius spitting live bars in the studio 🎤
• The question every B.A.S.I.C. Conversations guest answers: "What would you say to your younger self?"

Maurice's answer will stay with you.

Connect with Maurice Hall / Sir Genius: 🎵 Music: Sir Genius on all streaming platforms 📀 Album: IDOC — I Am a Disciple of Christ 🎙️ Podcast: All Glory to God Podcast on YouTube

Connect with The Way Out: 📍 Christian Center Church | Ireland Road, South Bend, IN 📅 Fridays at 6PM | Download the CCC App or visit christiancenter.org

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STOP WORKING FOR GOD, START WALKING WITH HIM

What if the problem wasn't that you stopped believing — but that you never stopped working?

In this episode of B.A.S.I.C. Conversations, Brother Boston sits down with Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and worship leader Tim Timmons — the man behind MercyMe's powerful hit Even If, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia in the film I Can Only Imagine 2.

Tim opens up about the moment he quit working for God and started walking with Him — and why that shift changed everything. He shares how a cancer diagnosis at 25, given five years to live, became the doorway into a deeper, more honest faith. He talks about the X he writes on his wrist every morning, what it means to be a branch attached to the vine, and why elementary faith might just be the most powerful kind.

Brother Boston also shares something deeply personal — how Even If played on repeat as his wife Molly prayed over him during a seven-day coma, and how he woke up the very next day.

This one hits different. Whether you've been doing a lot for God but feeling empty, or you're still asking what if He's actually real — this conversation is for you.

Connect with Tim Timmons: 🎵 Music: Available on Spotify, Apple Music & Amazon 📖 New Book: Waking Up Again — available everywhere 🌐 timtimmonsmusic.com | @TimTimmons on Instagram

B.A.S.I.C. Conversations is a podcast about faith, redemption, and transformation. Hosted by Kevin "Brother Boston" Kelly | B.A.S.I.C. Ministry — Born Again Soldiers In Christ

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"Strip It Down to the Chassis" — Bob Goff of LOVE DOES

What does it look like to strip your life down to what actually matters? In this episode of B.A.S.I.C. Conversations, Brother Boston sits down with New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and founder of Love Does — Bob Goff.

Bob shares how a pellet gun, a flawed friend, and plain language changed his life forever. He talks about leaving behind his law career and speaking career to focus on what will outlast him. He opens up about his time teaching at San Quentin, what the men behind the walls taught him, and why Jesus always hangs out at the kid's stable.

This conversation is real, funny, and deeply honest. Bob reminds us that the gospel isn't a set of rules — it's a person. And that faith expressed in love is the only thing that counts.

Whether you're in recovery, reentry, or just trying to figure out who you are when everything else is stripped away — this one is for you.

Topics covered:
• How Bob came to faith through a deeply flawed friend
• Why plain language is more powerful than fancy theology
• What the men at San Quentin taught Bob about authenticity
• Leaving behind a career to focus on what lasts
• The "chassis" framework — who are you when everything is taken away?
• Bob's word to anyone hitting a wall: "It'll work, but it's gonna be a real hassle"

Connect with Bob Goff: bobgoff.com
Love Does nonprofit: loveDoes.org

Follow B.A.S.I.C. Conversations:
YouTube: youtube.com/@BrotherBoston
Instagram: @BrotherBoston

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"I Care About Where You're Going, Not Where You've Been" — Pastor Mark Lantz of Christian Center Church

What do you do with a past full of mistakes, regret, and shame? According to Pastor Mark Lantz of Christian Center Church in South Bend, Indiana — you use it as a platform.

In this episode of B.A.S.I.C. Conversations, Brother Boston sits down with Pastor Mark for a raw and Spirit-filled conversation about grace, calling, and what it really means to build a church for people who think they don't belong. Pastor Mark shares how God ordered his steps from a youth camp altar call at 17 to leading one of South Bend's most diverse and welcoming congregations — and why he believes your past doesn't define you, but the grace of God does.

They dig into what it takes to deliver an uncompromising, soul-stirring message every single week, why the altar call is one of the most missing elements in today's church, and what advice Pastor Mark would give to any ministry venturing out to reach the forgotten and overlooked.

If you've ever felt too broken, too far gone, or too ashamed to be used by God — this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• How Pastor Mark answered the call to ministry at 17
• Building a church that looks a little like heaven
• Preparing a message that feeds the heart, not just the head
• Why your testimony is your greatest ministry tool
• Psalm 37:23 and the scripture that has anchored Pastor Mark for decades
• His closing word to his younger self — and to you

"I care about where you're going, not where you've been." — Pastor Mark Lantz

Connect with Christian Center Church: https://www.christiancenter.org

Subscribe, leave a review, and share B.A.S.I.C. Conversations with someone who needs to hear it.

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Episode 3 | Billie Edison — "For Such a Time as This"

What do you do when you're surrounded by US Marshals, guns pointed at your head, and you've already told yourself you'd never go to prison alive?

Billie Edison did the one thing she never expected — she listened.

In this episode of B.A.S.I.C. Conversations, Brother Boston sits down with his friend and fellow Last Mile alumni Billie Edison — a mother of seven, a woman of faith, and one of the most remarkable transformation stories you'll ever hear. Billie opens up about growing up surrounded by drugs and alcohol, working in the medical field for 23 years while fighting addiction, and the chain of events in 2016 that led to her arrest on charges of felony murder and robbery.

But this isn't a story about what Billie lost. It's about what she chose.

Behind bars, she picked up a Bible she had no interest in reading — and encountered a peace she had never felt from any drug, any relationship, or anything in this world. Then came the decision that changed everything: with early release on the table and her attorney ready to go, Billie told God she needed a sign. She asked Him specifically — if you want me to stay, someone has to tell me I was brought here for such a time as this. The very next day, at a seminar, a woman on the screen said exactly that.

So she chose to stay.

She completed The Last Mile Program, came home, and within two years landed a job in the IT department of the Indiana Pacers. She has since purchased her own home, her own car, and is actively going back into prisons across the country to bring hope to those still inside.

God didn't just change her circumstances. He gave her a purpose she couldn't have planned for herself.

This one will stay with you.

Key topics: addiction and recovery, finding faith while incarcerated, The Last Mile Program, reentry, restoration, purpose after prison

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Episode #2: "We're Gonna Be Okay" — Molly Kelly

In this powerful conversation, Brother Boston sits down with Molly Kelly, Executive Director of Upper Room Recovery Community — who also happens to be his wife.

Molly shares her raw, unfiltered journey from 20 years of meth and heroin addiction to nearly three years in Indiana Women's Correctional Facility, where she found something unexpected: joy. She opens up about the day before her arrest when she was already looking for a way out, how prison became the place where she truly met God, and the leap of faith that brought her to California to marry a man she'd only known through letters and phone calls.

Now leading transitional housing and recovery programs in South Bend, Molly breaks down the brutal reality of the overdose crisis, the emotional toll of helping others while protecting her own sobriety, and why she believes recovery is 110% possible — even when it's hard.

If you've ever felt like you're too far gone, this episode is for you.

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B.A.S.I.C. Conversations - Episode 001: Oak Smith

What happens when a formerly incarcerated man sits down with the warden who led the prison during his time inside?

Host Brother Boston welcomes Oak Smith - former Acting Warden of San Quentin State Prison - for a raw conversation about faith, transformation, and second chances.

Oak spent 27 years in California corrections. He shares how "checking his humanity at the gate" nearly destroyed him, why he played pickleball with incarcerated residents, and the moment he realized he'd been living as a "fake Christian" for 15 years.

Brother Boston opens up about finding freedom in Christ while incarcerated and the anxiety of reentering society.

Together, they explore the dehumanization on both sides of the bars, the mental health crisis among correctional officers, and what it means to live your faith when it's hardest.

Two men. Two perspectives. One truth: transformation is possible.

Guest: Oak Smith, former Acting Warden of San Quentin (retired Nov 2024) 

Host: Brother Boston, founder of B.A.S.I.C. Ministry, former San Quentin resident