April 4, 2025 • 28 mins
Bobby Hayden Jr. shares his remarkable journey from child prodigy and rock star to homeless heroin addict and finally to a redeemed minister with a powerful testimony of God's transformative love.
• Child musical prodigy who performed on the Ed Sullivan Show and Grand Ole Opry by age 10
• Ran away at 16 to pursue rock and roll, eventually playing with bands like Poison and Motley Crue
• Social drug use led to severe heroin addiction that cost him his career and left him homeless on Skid Row for 8 years
• Prayed for hope from a dumpster and received it the next day from a man named "Esperanza" (Spanish for "hope")
• Now runs Cardboard Box Ministries, completely free from addiction since 2008
• Believes transformation comes through discovering who Jesus really is and letting Him "love the hell out of you"
Five truths for a supercharged day: total forgiveness in Christ, being a new creation, freedom from the law, union with Christ, and empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople sharing real struggles
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, ronMyers.
The promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Hello, my friends, it is so good to be with you
today.
Are you ready for someencouragement, some empowerment?
Well, my story today is allabout that, because it focuses
on something that is so powerfulto each of us forgiveness,
redemption, how much we're lovedand the freedom we have when we
(00:45):
walk in the finished work ofJesus.
My guest today, bobby Hayden.
He was a rock and roller andeven as a child, people knew he
was destined for great thingswhen he appeared on the Ed
Sullivan Show.
And after you hear Bobby'sstory, I will share some things
(01:07):
to remind you how free, howforgiven and how much you are
loved.
A supercharged monologue.
But first, bobby, what's yourstory?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (01:20):
Well, at a very, very young age, five or
six years old, I started pianolessons and I started climbing
up on the piano stool and Iwrote a song called the Son of
Abraham.
I was raised Catholic and, totell you the truth, at that age
I didn't know Abraham fromPeyton Manning, but for some
(01:42):
reason I wrote this song calledthe Son of Abraham and my mother
heard me singing thisparticular song on the piano
every day.
And then she got out the FrankSinatra records, the Judy
Garland records, the Al Josenrecords, and she started
training me every day afterschool to sing along with these
(02:04):
records, because she was a bigfan of Judy Garland and all the
Broadway shows and the oldstandards.
So I started singing thesesongs around my hometown of
Evansville, indiana.
And one thing led to another.
I went to Chicago and I wasrunner running up on the Ted
(02:25):
Mack Amateur Hour.
And one thing led to anotherand we found ourselves in New
York at the Johnny Carson Show,the Milton Burroughs Show.
I came to Nashville, I did theGrand Ole Opry and I was a
legend in my own mind by thetime I was 10 years old singing
these old standards.
(02:46):
And then the Beatles came on,the Ed Sullivan show and I sit
there on that Sunday night and Isaid mom and dad, that's what I
want to do and they didn'tagree with that decision.
So they kind of pulled the pluga year later on my musical
career and because I I had a big, big void to fill from that
(03:07):
euphoric feeling of showbusiness and traveling the
country and I became addicted toapplause at a very young age
and, as you might have heard oryou might know, it doesn't
really work out good for a lotof child stars.
They usually end up goingthrough something.
So I ran away at 16, startedplaying in rock and roll bands,
(03:29):
wound up in Hollywood in 1980,and then the party started A big
party huh.
They call it the GlitterfieldHalls of MTV.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Wow.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (03:51):
And I moved in with some guys in Hollywood in
1980, and they went to work forOzzy Osbourne.
Wow, and I played all thosegigs around town with all the
well-known bands Poison, motleyCrue, guns N' Roses.
Randy Castile played for Ozzyfor 13 years and so the touring
(04:14):
started.
The party started and in the80s there was a pandemic cocaine
problem and we were snortingcocaine.
It was a social thing.
However, I didn't know theseeds that I was planting.
Same thing with alcohol.
The drinking became a socialproblem, but later on it became
(04:36):
alcoholism.
The cocaine became an addiction.
The lifestyle became anaddiction.
My life was all about me, ron,me, me and me, and it led to a
very, very dark place.
Ron Meyers (04:51):
Listeners, if you just tuned in.
Bobby Hayden Jr, a childprodigy, started as just a rock
star on TV as a youngster, grewup into many of the national
acts touring with them, and thenone day somebody introduces you
to heroin, wasn't it in Detroit?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (05:10):
Yeah, it was the late 80s and the pandemic
cocaine problem had actually ledinto trying to relax at the end
of the day, and the heroinbecame popular.
It became popular in Seattle,it became popular in Los Angeles
and it was a way of justunwinding and sedating yourself
(05:34):
from all the hoopla and the gigsand the accolades.
And it was life in the fastlane and all of a sudden this
heroin kind of slowed it down.
But in the meantime theaddiction that it brought it
took over my life.
Heroin became my mama, my daddy, my girlfriend, my career, and
(05:56):
the people in Los Angelesrecognized this and a lot of
those people gave up on me.
So the gigs throughout the 80sgot smaller and smaller and by
the 90s I went to Michiganbecause the classic rock scene
became big around the country.
So I was doing a lot of classicrock shows with Mountain, and
(06:18):
Quiet Riot was actuallyconsidered classic rock,
considered classic rock.
And that's where I becameaddicted to heroin in Detroit
and ended up taking a bus backto Los Angeles in 1998 and went
down into Skid Row, purchasedsome heroin and went to sleep
behind a row of bushes andstayed there behind that row of
(06:39):
bushes for actually a yearbefore I got me a cardboard box.
Ron Meyers (06:44):
So you lived behind a bush for a year and then you
got a cardboard box and lived inthat.
For how many years?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (06:51):
I was downtown Los Angeles, in Skid Row, for
nearly eight years and I wouldlike to take a minute and just
paint a picture of the darknessthat I was set free from.
When you're homeless, ron, youdon't bathe for a year at a time
.
You stand on the side of thefreeway with a sign that says I
(07:13):
will work for food and you standthere all day, all afternoon
and most of the night, to feedthis addiction of heroin.
There's a big downtown LosAngeles.
Heroin is very, very easy toget.
It's sold on every streetcorner and when you're addicted
to heroin you have to be closeto it.
(07:34):
So it just takes over your life.
I injected heroin eight to 10times a day.
My arms were so scarred withneedle injections that I had to
revert to my legs.
So I would take the needle,stick it right through my blue
jeans into the muscles of mylegs every day, five to ten
times a day.
Well, my body was totallyscarred.
(07:56):
I had poison oozing out of mylegs.
Bus drivers would see me on acorner waiting for the bus and
they would notice who I was andthey would drive right on by.
So I started waiting on busesthat never came and when I would
go to the hospital, they wouldfor such things as scabies or
(08:19):
fleas from sleeping onbroken-down mattresses.
They would make me stand on thesidewalk.
So this idea of life I had inthe 80s of being this rock god
for lack of a better term.
I had became a broken manpushing a shopping cart with
aluminum cans, standing andbegging on the side of the road
(08:42):
for eight years and one day,near death.
A homeless man came up to meand said Bobby, you are dying,
you need to pray in the name ofJesus.
And Ron, I looked at him andsaid dude, I know who God is,
I'm a Catholic.
And he said well, bobby, how'sthat working out for you?
(09:04):
And right then he pulled outthat Bible and started showing
me verses about speaking thename of Jesus out my mouth.
He told me, ron, that therewould be a cashless society one
day.
And that's what got myattention, because all my
dealings with people on the sideof the road to get money for my
addiction was always cash.
(09:25):
So I thought to myself wow, ifthere's no cash, how in the
world am I going to afford myheroin that I live off of and
keeps me moving around?
And so God used just the rightthings to capture my imagination
to find out more about this mannamed Jesus.
(09:47):
So this man named Mark that wastalking to me came by my camp
every night and I ended upcalling him Jesus.
I would ask my friends.
I said, hey, have you seenJesus tonight?
And they go no, he hadn't beenaround a couple days.
And then a couple days laterhe'd come back and we would read
verses, just easy verses.
Like I am the way, the truthand the light.
No one goes to the Fatherexcept through the Son.
(10:12):
So this word of God was gettingon the inside of this broken,
heroin homeless man myself.
And one day, in a dumpster Iwas hiding from the police and I
was injecting heroin and I waseating pizza garbage out of the
dumpster and the ants werebiting me on the inside of my
throat and I couldn't scratchthem.
(10:33):
Ron and I had came to the endof my rope, like where God's
office usually is, and I criedout in the name of Jesus, send
me some hope, send you some hope.
I just needed some hope.
I was broken.
I couldn't do it anymore.
And the only thing that I couldvirtually yell out of my mouth
(10:54):
while I was breaking in thisdumpster and crying my eyes out
was if you're real, in the nameof Jesus, send me some hope,
Because that's what this guy hadtold me to speak his name out
my mouth.
Ron Meyers (11:08):
We want to get back to how you met, how you were
transformed, but that song, theSame, is Beautiful.
Tell us a little bit about thatsong that you wrote.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (11:15):
Well, I was in Indianapolis.
I came back to Indianapolis tovisit my family.
All the relationships wererenewed.
I actually met Jesus in 2008,.
And I was saved.
And when I got back to Indiana,I continued my walk and my music
(11:37):
just started changing.
From writing songs like Baby,baby, you're my Baby, baby,
honey, honey, you're my HoneyHoney, I just dove a little
deeper and these songs startedcoming.
Dove a little deeper and thesesongs started coming.
And the clergy around town andpeople that have mentored me,
they started coming to my houseand they said, bobby, where are
these songs coming from?
(11:58):
And I told him, I just.
And one man told me one day.
He said, bobby, when there's anearthly brokenness, there's a
heavenly openness, and I neverforgot that.
And when God does a big thingin you, he does it because he's
got a big thing to do throughyou.
And my life flipped upside down.
(12:21):
I told this story on manyChristian TV programs Our Power
700 Club, starts and Farm, theMinistry, cardboard Box,
ministries.
And it just hasn't stopped, ron, when it looks real dark to
someone out there, what itactually does, ron, it causes
one to start looking for thelight switch, and that light
(12:45):
switch in my case was flat outJesus.
Ron Meyers (12:49):
So that hope that came to you that day in a
dumpster and transformed yourlife and that was back in 2008,
you said is when you came toJesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (12:59):
Yes, and I might as well say this.
I've had no triggers.
I haven't had a drink ofalcohol.
My heart did a 180, and thedesires of my heart changed.
And it all started just bywalking through that door that
said Jesus on it.
It just changed my way ofthinking.
(13:21):
Revelation started coming to meabout things that I missed and
where I actually was on thisplanet, and it just I just got
to know.
Let me just back up and justtell you what really happened In
2007,.
While in that dumpster, I criedout in the name of Jesus, send
me some hope.
(13:41):
The very next day, a manknocked on my cardboard box by
the name of Mr Esperanza, and hesaid I'd like to put you on a
bus to a rehab in Phoenix,arizona.
I got on that bus, ron, andwhen I got to that rehab, they
told me that Esperanza inSpanish actually means hope, and
(14:03):
that's the way God communicateswith you, way God communicates
with you.
He started showing me beyond ashadow of a doubt that he was
pursuing me and that he loved me, and I just started reading the
word and finding out.
I didn't understand a lot aboutthe Bible, ron, but I noticed
there were some red parts in theback and I just started reading
(14:24):
them red parts and when I gotto that rehab they had me on 140
milligrams of methadone One day.
I just decided you know what,I'm not going to take this
methadone every day and Istarted decreasing on my own.
30 days later I wascigarette-free, alcohol-free,
methadone-free for the firsttime in 40 years.
Ron Meyers (14:45):
Hallelujah.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (14:46):
I was 100% clean.
I was 55 years old when thishappened.
Ron Meyers (14:51):
And you are a fireball for Jesus today.
You haven't turned back.
You have a ministry calledCardboard Ministries and we'll
give that contact information injust a little bit.
But, bobby, there's peoplelistening right now that are
dealing with addiction of somesort in their life and they have
no hope or no even time to messwith God, they think.
But now they're divinelylistening to this program.
(15:12):
Talk to them.
What would you tell that person?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (15:15):
I would tell that person to simply open that
Bible and get alone with Jesusand just learn about Jesus.
Read the scriptures, read theProverbs.
When I read verses like mypeople are being destroyed for
lack of knowledge.
I was being destroyed and theknowledge I was missing was
(15:38):
about Jesus, and he'll give youback the years that have been
wasted.
All these verses startedspeaking directly to me.
But if you don't open that bookand surround yourself with
people that know the real Jesusand through them Jesus will love
that hell right out of you.
(15:59):
So many times I wish that Icould just start over and
reprogram and reboot my brain soI didn't know anything about
drugs.
I was looking for that freedom,and where the Lord is, there is
freedom, and who the Son setsfree is truly free indeed, and I
found out who I was in him andthat he was my dad.
(16:20):
It's as easy, ron, as you justneed to find out who your daddy
is, who's your daddy, and onceyou do, your thinking starts
changing.
And remember correction is notrejection.
See, I had that mixed up.
I thought correction thatpeople were rejecting me, but
(16:41):
it's actually a better way forGod to show you how to deal with
things.
Ron Meyers (16:45):
Bobby Hayden Jr, a rock star, heroin addict, today
on fire for Jesus, has aministry Cardboard Box
Ministries.
How do they find moreinformation about you and your
music, Bobby?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (16:59):
We're on social media
cardboardboxministriesorgFacebook.
Bobby Hayden Jr.
It's very easy to find onFacebook.
I do a lot of churches, a lotof shelters.
All I do now, ron, is just showup with this inside of me and
(17:20):
it's as easy as just puttingyour arm around a guy and say,
hey, listen, it's going to beall right and he will love the
hell out of them people rightthrough me and it has nothing to
do with me, it's all him.
Ron Meyers (17:32):
One of the questions that I ask all the guests is
how do you get the hell out ofyour life?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (17:39):
It's a one step program.
Admit to yourself you may havemissed a memo or two and you
find out about this man 2,000years ago by the name of Jesus,
who went to the cross and gavehis life so that we will have a
life more abundantly.
And if you can receive thatlove, it's a done deal.
(18:01):
He will love that hell out ofyou and he starts eliminating
your termites Because, ron, onething I do know for sure we all
got a lot of termites.
Ron Meyers (18:12):
When I return.
Five tips on how to have asupercharged day.
(18:18):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your
host, ron Myers.
Real stories, real strugglesand real hope.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
In life on earth, we will have troubles and
challenges, some more seriousthan others.
Being a follower of Christdoesn't mean life suddenly
becomes a bed of roses, butJesus is always there to help us
get through it all.
My name is Mark and this is theJourney.
Several years ago my wife wasdiagnosed with cancer.
(18:48):
We walked through it together,through doctor's appointments
that never really gave us thenews we hoped for.
It was excruciating watchingwhat cancer would do to her body
over the next six years, andeven more heartbreaking to know
my son and daughter would losetheir mom.
I wrestled with God for twoyears after she died, trying to
understand why he would take herfrom us.
(19:10):
People commented often on howstrong I was.
Looking back, I realize it wasJesus who carried me through
those days of sorrow.
He was my refuge and strength.
I didn't know what to do exceptto call out to him.
In the Psalms, david referred tothe Lord as a strong tower.
He says in Psalm 141, I call toyou, lord, come quickly to me,
(19:34):
hear me.
When I call to you, my eyes arefixed on you.
In you I take refuge.
Life is tough and we allencounter difficult
circumstances, but Jesus is ourstrength.
He's our peace.
When the storms of life comeroaring in, he's a high tower
where we can take safe refuge.
(19:55):
David said my eyes are fixed onyou, lord.
(20:20):
Good advice for us today, the Journey.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Does God speak to us today?
If so, what does he sound like?
Thundering roars, crashingwaves, a booming megaphone?
Maybe, sometimes, but maybeit's not quite as Hollywood,
dramatic as all that.
Maybe it's a little more simple.
John 10, 27 says my sheep hearmy voice, I know them and they
(20:48):
follow me.
In the midst of all the noiseand questions, god is speaking
and we can hear his voice.
We just need to learn torecognize it.
So what does he sound like?
He sounds like love, likereconciliation, like kindness,
wisdom, hope, truth.
(21:09):
Do you know those sounds Then?
Maybe you hear His voice moreoften than you think.
Maybe you're being led by Himmore than you realize.
Maybe God is speaking to youand you actually are listening.
You just didn't know it.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (21:38):
The time of how you're living will change it
.
(21:41):
Welcome back listeners.
Get the hell out of your life.
Get the hell out of your life.
Ron Meyers (21:52):
Welcome back listeners.
Here are five truths that, ifyou focus on these as you start
your day, you can have asupercharged day.
Number one focus on totalforgiveness.
Remember that you are totallyforgiven past, present and
future.
Remember that you are totallyforgiven past, present and
future.
Hebrews 10.14 tells us.
For by one offering, he hasperfected for all time those who
(22:15):
are sanctified.
This truth means that, as abeliever, you are fully forgiven
and sanctified and you can restin the assurance of your
perfect and eternal relationshipwith God.
2.
You are a new creation inChrist, with a new heart and
spirit.
Second Corinthians 517 tells us.
Therefore, if anyone is inChrist, he is a new creation.
(22:37):
The old is past and behold, thenew has come.
This truth emphasizes thetransformative power of being in
Christ.
As a believer, you are notdefined by your past or your old
self.
Instead, you have been made new, with a new identity and a new
heart.
This truth means you areentirely accepted and loved by
(23:01):
God.
Number three freedom from thelaw.
You are free from the law andits demands because you are
under grace, not law.
Romans 6.14 tells us, for sinshall no longer be your master
because you are not under thelaw, but under grace.
This truth highlights thefreedom believers have from the
(23:22):
power of sin.
Being under grace means thatyou are no longer bound by the
law's demands or sin's dominion.
Instead, you live in thefreedom and the empowerment that
grace provides.
Number four union with Christ.
You are one with Christ andnothing can separate you from
(23:45):
his love.
Romans 8, 38, 39 tells us.
For I am convinced that nothing, neither death nor life,
neither angels or demons,neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, noranything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us fromthe love of God that is in
(24:06):
Christ Jesus, our Lord.
This truth offers you assuranceof the unbreakable bond between
you and God's love.
Number five empowered by theSpirit.
The Holy Spirit lives in you,empowering you to live out your
true identity and bear the fruitof the Spirit.
Galatians 5.22.23 tells us that.
(24:27):
But the fruit of the Spirit islove, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things, there isno law.
This verse describes thequalities that the Holy Spirit
produces in the life of abeliever.
This fruit reflects thecharacter of Christ and is a
(24:50):
testament to the transformativepower of his presence in your
life.
Well, friends, if you focus onthose five truths each day, you
can have a supercharged day.
How do you get the hell out ofyour life?
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Get on your knees and cry out to the Lord.
He hears you, right where youare.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:10):
How do you get the hell out of?
Ron Meyers (25:10):
your life, well, you replace it with Jesus.
We got to be born again, bornof the Spirit, and that's by
trusting Jesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:16):
Christ, turning from our sins and
trusting Jesus.
You find out about this man bythe name of Jesus, who went to
the cross and gave his life sothat we will have a life more
abundantly, and if you canreceive that love, he will love
that hell out of you.
You trust in him and you lethim love the hell right out of
you.
Ron Meyers (25:35):
How do you get the hell out of your life?
Oh gosh, jesus, jesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:39):
Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus is the way, the
truth and the life.
Ron Meyers (25:44):
No one comes to the Father except through him.
So how do you get the hell outof your life?
Record a voice memo and emailit to me, ron, at the promoter
dot org, and you can helpencourage a person listening to
get the hell out of their life.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Ron, we'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's
conversation.
We want to encourage you todaywith God's promise to you.
It comes from the book ofJeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
For I know the plans I have foryou, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not toharm you.
Plans to give you hope and thefuture.
(26:25):
That's God's promise to youwhen you choose to commit your
plans and future to him Now backto Ron.
Ron Meyers (26:36):
Well, friends, my time is up.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Share this program with yourfriends.
It's on any podcast platform.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofyour Life.
I'll be back next week withanother great episode.
In the meantime, remember thisI love you, Jesus loves you, and
when you give Jesus your heart,you not only get the hell out
(26:59):
of your life, life gets good.
Give the hell out.
Give the hell out.
(27:07):
Give the hell out of your life .
Today's show is proudlyunderwritten by the Christmas
City Gift Show.
Mark your calendars forNovember 7th through the 9th and
experience the magic inside theChristmas City Gift Show inside
the Mississippi CoastConvention Center located on the
beach in Biloxi, mississippi.
(27:28):
For more information, visitchristmascitygiftshowcom.
If you would like to be a guestand share your story of God's
amazing grace, visit our website, thepromoterorg and click the
Share your Story tab button.
Thanks for listening, and ifyou would like to listen to
previous episodes, click on thepodcast tab at thepromoterorg.
(27:48):
Join us next week for anotheredition of Get the Hell Out of
your Life Real stories, realstruggles and real hope.
It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople sharing real struggles
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, ronMyers.
The promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Hello, my friends, it is so good to be with you
today.
Are you ready for someencouragement, some empowerment?
Well, my story today is allabout that, because it focuses
on something that is so powerfulto each of us forgiveness,
redemption, how much we're lovedand the freedom we have when we
(00:45):
walk in the finished work ofJesus.
My guest today, bobby Hayden.
He was a rock and roller andeven as a child, people knew he
was destined for great thingswhen he appeared on the Ed
Sullivan Show.
And after you hear Bobby'sstory, I will share some things
(01:07):
to remind you how free, howforgiven and how much you are
loved.
A supercharged monologue.
But first, bobby, what's yourstory?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (01:20):
Well, at a very, very young age, five or
six years old, I started pianolessons and I started climbing
up on the piano stool and Iwrote a song called the Son of
Abraham.
I was raised Catholic and, totell you the truth, at that age
I didn't know Abraham fromPeyton Manning, but for some
(01:42):
reason I wrote this song calledthe Son of Abraham and my mother
heard me singing thisparticular song on the piano
every day.
And then she got out the FrankSinatra records, the Judy
Garland records, the Al Josenrecords, and she started
training me every day afterschool to sing along with these
(02:04):
records, because she was a bigfan of Judy Garland and all the
Broadway shows and the oldstandards.
So I started singing thesesongs around my hometown of
Evansville, indiana.
And one thing led to another.
I went to Chicago and I wasrunner running up on the Ted
(02:25):
Mack Amateur Hour.
And one thing led to anotherand we found ourselves in New
York at the Johnny Carson Show,the Milton Burroughs Show.
I came to Nashville, I did theGrand Ole Opry and I was a
legend in my own mind by thetime I was 10 years old singing
these old standards.
(02:46):
And then the Beatles came on,the Ed Sullivan show and I sit
there on that Sunday night and Isaid mom and dad, that's what I
want to do and they didn'tagree with that decision.
So they kind of pulled the pluga year later on my musical
career and because I I had a big, big void to fill from that
(03:07):
euphoric feeling of showbusiness and traveling the
country and I became addicted toapplause at a very young age
and, as you might have heard oryou might know, it doesn't
really work out good for a lotof child stars.
They usually end up goingthrough something.
So I ran away at 16, startedplaying in rock and roll bands,
(03:29):
wound up in Hollywood in 1980,and then the party started A big
party huh.
They call it the GlitterfieldHalls of MTV.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Wow.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (03:51):
And I moved in with some guys in Hollywood in
1980, and they went to work forOzzy Osbourne.
Wow, and I played all thosegigs around town with all the
well-known bands Poison, motleyCrue, guns N' Roses.
Randy Castile played for Ozzyfor 13 years and so the touring
(04:14):
started.
The party started and in the80s there was a pandemic cocaine
problem and we were snortingcocaine.
It was a social thing.
However, I didn't know theseeds that I was planting.
Same thing with alcohol.
The drinking became a socialproblem, but later on it became
(04:36):
alcoholism.
The cocaine became an addiction.
The lifestyle became anaddiction.
My life was all about me, ron,me, me and me, and it led to a
very, very dark place.
Ron Meyers (04:51):
Listeners, if you just tuned in.
Bobby Hayden Jr, a childprodigy, started as just a rock
star on TV as a youngster, grewup into many of the national
acts touring with them, and thenone day somebody introduces you
to heroin, wasn't it in Detroit?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (05:10):
Yeah, it was the late 80s and the pandemic
cocaine problem had actually ledinto trying to relax at the end
of the day, and the heroinbecame popular.
It became popular in Seattle,it became popular in Los Angeles
and it was a way of justunwinding and sedating yourself
(05:34):
from all the hoopla and the gigsand the accolades.
And it was life in the fastlane and all of a sudden this
heroin kind of slowed it down.
But in the meantime theaddiction that it brought it
took over my life.
Heroin became my mama, my daddy, my girlfriend, my career, and
(05:56):
the people in Los Angelesrecognized this and a lot of
those people gave up on me.
So the gigs throughout the 80sgot smaller and smaller and by
the 90s I went to Michiganbecause the classic rock scene
became big around the country.
So I was doing a lot of classicrock shows with Mountain, and
(06:18):
Quiet Riot was actuallyconsidered classic rock,
considered classic rock.
And that's where I becameaddicted to heroin in Detroit
and ended up taking a bus backto Los Angeles in 1998 and went
down into Skid Row, purchasedsome heroin and went to sleep
behind a row of bushes andstayed there behind that row of
(06:39):
bushes for actually a yearbefore I got me a cardboard box.
Ron Meyers (06:44):
So you lived behind a bush for a year and then you
got a cardboard box and lived inthat.
For how many years?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (06:51):
I was downtown Los Angeles, in Skid Row, for
nearly eight years and I wouldlike to take a minute and just
paint a picture of the darknessthat I was set free from.
When you're homeless, ron, youdon't bathe for a year at a time
.
You stand on the side of thefreeway with a sign that says I
(07:13):
will work for food and you standthere all day, all afternoon
and most of the night, to feedthis addiction of heroin.
There's a big downtown LosAngeles.
Heroin is very, very easy toget.
It's sold on every streetcorner and when you're addicted
to heroin you have to be closeto it.
(07:34):
So it just takes over your life.
I injected heroin eight to 10times a day.
My arms were so scarred withneedle injections that I had to
revert to my legs.
So I would take the needle,stick it right through my blue
jeans into the muscles of mylegs every day, five to ten
times a day.
Well, my body was totallyscarred.
(07:56):
I had poison oozing out of mylegs.
Bus drivers would see me on acorner waiting for the bus and
they would notice who I was andthey would drive right on by.
So I started waiting on busesthat never came and when I would
go to the hospital, they wouldfor such things as scabies or
(08:19):
fleas from sleeping onbroken-down mattresses.
They would make me stand on thesidewalk.
So this idea of life I had inthe 80s of being this rock god
for lack of a better term.
I had became a broken manpushing a shopping cart with
aluminum cans, standing andbegging on the side of the road
(08:42):
for eight years and one day,near death.
A homeless man came up to meand said Bobby, you are dying,
you need to pray in the name ofJesus.
And Ron, I looked at him andsaid dude, I know who God is,
I'm a Catholic.
And he said well, bobby, how'sthat working out for you?
(09:04):
And right then he pulled outthat Bible and started showing
me verses about speaking thename of Jesus out my mouth.
He told me, ron, that therewould be a cashless society one
day.
And that's what got myattention, because all my
dealings with people on the sideof the road to get money for my
addiction was always cash.
(09:25):
So I thought to myself wow, ifthere's no cash, how in the
world am I going to afford myheroin that I live off of and
keeps me moving around?
And so God used just the rightthings to capture my imagination
to find out more about this mannamed Jesus.
(09:47):
So this man named Mark that wastalking to me came by my camp
every night and I ended upcalling him Jesus.
I would ask my friends.
I said, hey, have you seenJesus tonight?
And they go no, he hadn't beenaround a couple days.
And then a couple days laterhe'd come back and we would read
verses, just easy verses.
Like I am the way, the truthand the light.
No one goes to the Fatherexcept through the Son.
(10:12):
So this word of God was gettingon the inside of this broken,
heroin homeless man myself.
And one day, in a dumpster Iwas hiding from the police and I
was injecting heroin and I waseating pizza garbage out of the
dumpster and the ants werebiting me on the inside of my
throat and I couldn't scratchthem.
(10:33):
Ron and I had came to the endof my rope, like where God's
office usually is, and I criedout in the name of Jesus, send
me some hope, send you some hope.
I just needed some hope.
I was broken.
I couldn't do it anymore.
And the only thing that I couldvirtually yell out of my mouth
(10:54):
while I was breaking in thisdumpster and crying my eyes out
was if you're real, in the nameof Jesus, send me some hope,
Because that's what this guy hadtold me to speak his name out
my mouth.
Ron Meyers (11:08):
We want to get back to how you met, how you were
transformed, but that song, theSame, is Beautiful.
Tell us a little bit about thatsong that you wrote.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (11:15):
Well, I was in Indianapolis.
I came back to Indianapolis tovisit my family.
All the relationships wererenewed.
I actually met Jesus in 2008,.
And I was saved.
And when I got back to Indiana,I continued my walk and my music
(11:37):
just started changing.
From writing songs like Baby,baby, you're my Baby, baby,
honey, honey, you're my HoneyHoney, I just dove a little
deeper and these songs startedcoming.
Dove a little deeper and thesesongs started coming.
And the clergy around town andpeople that have mentored me,
they started coming to my houseand they said, bobby, where are
these songs coming from?
(11:58):
And I told him, I just.
And one man told me one day.
He said, bobby, when there's anearthly brokenness, there's a
heavenly openness, and I neverforgot that.
And when God does a big thingin you, he does it because he's
got a big thing to do throughyou.
And my life flipped upside down.
(12:21):
I told this story on manyChristian TV programs Our Power
700 Club, starts and Farm, theMinistry, cardboard Box,
ministries.
And it just hasn't stopped, ron, when it looks real dark to
someone out there, what itactually does, ron, it causes
one to start looking for thelight switch, and that light
(12:45):
switch in my case was flat outJesus.
Ron Meyers (12:49):
So that hope that came to you that day in a
dumpster and transformed yourlife and that was back in 2008,
you said is when you came toJesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (12:59):
Yes, and I might as well say this.
I've had no triggers.
I haven't had a drink ofalcohol.
My heart did a 180, and thedesires of my heart changed.
And it all started just bywalking through that door that
said Jesus on it.
It just changed my way ofthinking.
(13:21):
Revelation started coming to meabout things that I missed and
where I actually was on thisplanet, and it just I just got
to know.
Let me just back up and justtell you what really happened In
2007,.
While in that dumpster, I criedout in the name of Jesus, send
me some hope.
(13:41):
The very next day, a manknocked on my cardboard box by
the name of Mr Esperanza, and hesaid I'd like to put you on a
bus to a rehab in Phoenix,arizona.
I got on that bus, ron, andwhen I got to that rehab, they
told me that Esperanza inSpanish actually means hope, and
(14:03):
that's the way God communicateswith you, way God communicates
with you.
He started showing me beyond ashadow of a doubt that he was
pursuing me and that he loved me, and I just started reading the
word and finding out.
I didn't understand a lot aboutthe Bible, ron, but I noticed
there were some red parts in theback and I just started reading
(14:24):
them red parts and when I gotto that rehab they had me on 140
milligrams of methadone One day.
I just decided you know what,I'm not going to take this
methadone every day and Istarted decreasing on my own.
30 days later I wascigarette-free, alcohol-free,
methadone-free for the firsttime in 40 years.
Ron Meyers (14:45):
Hallelujah.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (14:46):
I was 100% clean.
I was 55 years old when thishappened.
Ron Meyers (14:51):
And you are a fireball for Jesus today.
You haven't turned back.
You have a ministry calledCardboard Ministries and we'll
give that contact information injust a little bit.
But, bobby, there's peoplelistening right now that are
dealing with addiction of somesort in their life and they have
no hope or no even time to messwith God, they think.
But now they're divinelylistening to this program.
(15:12):
Talk to them.
What would you tell that person?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (15:15):
I would tell that person to simply open that
Bible and get alone with Jesusand just learn about Jesus.
Read the scriptures, read theProverbs.
When I read verses like mypeople are being destroyed for
lack of knowledge.
I was being destroyed and theknowledge I was missing was
(15:38):
about Jesus, and he'll give youback the years that have been
wasted.
All these verses startedspeaking directly to me.
But if you don't open that bookand surround yourself with
people that know the real Jesusand through them Jesus will love
that hell right out of you.
(15:59):
So many times I wish that Icould just start over and
reprogram and reboot my brain soI didn't know anything about
drugs.
I was looking for that freedom,and where the Lord is, there is
freedom, and who the Son setsfree is truly free indeed, and I
found out who I was in him andthat he was my dad.
(16:20):
It's as easy, ron, as you justneed to find out who your daddy
is, who's your daddy, and onceyou do, your thinking starts
changing.
And remember correction is notrejection.
See, I had that mixed up.
I thought correction thatpeople were rejecting me, but
(16:41):
it's actually a better way forGod to show you how to deal with
things.
Ron Meyers (16:45):
Bobby Hayden Jr, a rock star, heroin addict, today
on fire for Jesus, has aministry Cardboard Box
Ministries.
How do they find moreinformation about you and your
music, Bobby?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (16:59):
We're on social media
cardboardboxministriesorgFacebook.
Bobby Hayden Jr.
It's very easy to find onFacebook.
I do a lot of churches, a lotof shelters.
All I do now, ron, is just showup with this inside of me and
(17:20):
it's as easy as just puttingyour arm around a guy and say,
hey, listen, it's going to beall right and he will love the
hell out of them people rightthrough me and it has nothing to
do with me, it's all him.
Ron Meyers (17:32):
One of the questions that I ask all the guests is
how do you get the hell out ofyour life?
Bobby Hayden Jr. (17:39):
It's a one step program.
Admit to yourself you may havemissed a memo or two and you
find out about this man 2,000years ago by the name of Jesus,
who went to the cross and gavehis life so that we will have a
life more abundantly.
And if you can receive thatlove, it's a done deal.
(18:01):
He will love that hell out ofyou and he starts eliminating
your termites Because, ron, onething I do know for sure we all
got a lot of termites.
Ron Meyers (18:12):
When I return.
Five tips on how to have asupercharged day.
(18:18):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your
host, ron Myers.
Real stories, real strugglesand real hope.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
In life on earth, we will have troubles and
challenges, some more seriousthan others.
Being a follower of Christdoesn't mean life suddenly
becomes a bed of roses, butJesus is always there to help us
get through it all.
My name is Mark and this is theJourney.
Several years ago my wife wasdiagnosed with cancer.
(18:48):
We walked through it together,through doctor's appointments
that never really gave us thenews we hoped for.
It was excruciating watchingwhat cancer would do to her body
over the next six years, andeven more heartbreaking to know
my son and daughter would losetheir mom.
I wrestled with God for twoyears after she died, trying to
understand why he would take herfrom us.
(19:10):
People commented often on howstrong I was.
Looking back, I realize it wasJesus who carried me through
those days of sorrow.
He was my refuge and strength.
I didn't know what to do exceptto call out to him.
In the Psalms, david referred tothe Lord as a strong tower.
He says in Psalm 141, I call toyou, lord, come quickly to me,
(19:34):
hear me.
When I call to you, my eyes arefixed on you.
In you I take refuge.
Life is tough and we allencounter difficult
circumstances, but Jesus is ourstrength.
He's our peace.
When the storms of life comeroaring in, he's a high tower
where we can take safe refuge.
(19:55):
David said my eyes are fixed onyou, lord.
(20:20):
Good advice for us today, the Journey.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Does God speak to us today?
If so, what does he sound like?
Thundering roars, crashingwaves, a booming megaphone?
Maybe, sometimes, but maybeit's not quite as Hollywood,
dramatic as all that.
Maybe it's a little more simple.
John 10, 27 says my sheep hearmy voice, I know them and they
(20:48):
follow me.
In the midst of all the noiseand questions, god is speaking
and we can hear his voice.
We just need to learn torecognize it.
So what does he sound like?
He sounds like love, likereconciliation, like kindness,
wisdom, hope, truth.
(21:09):
Do you know those sounds Then?
Maybe you hear His voice moreoften than you think.
Maybe you're being led by Himmore than you realize.
Maybe God is speaking to youand you actually are listening.
You just didn't know it.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (21:38):
The time of how you're living will change it
.
(21:41):
Welcome back listeners.
Get the hell out of your life.
Get the hell out of your life.
Ron Meyers (21:52):
Welcome back listeners.
Here are five truths that, ifyou focus on these as you start
your day, you can have asupercharged day.
Number one focus on totalforgiveness.
Remember that you are totallyforgiven past, present and
future.
Remember that you are totallyforgiven past, present and
future.
Hebrews 10.14 tells us.
For by one offering, he hasperfected for all time those who
(22:15):
are sanctified.
This truth means that, as abeliever, you are fully forgiven
and sanctified and you can restin the assurance of your
perfect and eternal relationshipwith God.
2.
You are a new creation inChrist, with a new heart and
spirit.
Second Corinthians 517 tells us.
Therefore, if anyone is inChrist, he is a new creation.
(22:37):
The old is past and behold, thenew has come.
This truth emphasizes thetransformative power of being in
Christ.
As a believer, you are notdefined by your past or your old
self.
Instead, you have been made new, with a new identity and a new
heart.
This truth means you areentirely accepted and loved by
(23:01):
God.
Number three freedom from thelaw.
You are free from the law andits demands because you are
under grace, not law.
Romans 6.14 tells us, for sinshall no longer be your master
because you are not under thelaw, but under grace.
This truth highlights thefreedom believers have from the
(23:22):
power of sin.
Being under grace means thatyou are no longer bound by the
law's demands or sin's dominion.
Instead, you live in thefreedom and the empowerment that
grace provides.
Number four union with Christ.
You are one with Christ andnothing can separate you from
(23:45):
his love.
Romans 8, 38, 39 tells us.
For I am convinced that nothing, neither death nor life,
neither angels or demons,neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, noranything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us fromthe love of God that is in
(24:06):
Christ Jesus, our Lord.
This truth offers you assuranceof the unbreakable bond between
you and God's love.
Number five empowered by theSpirit.
The Holy Spirit lives in you,empowering you to live out your
true identity and bear the fruitof the Spirit.
Galatians 5.22.23 tells us that.
(24:27):
But the fruit of the Spirit islove, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things, there isno law.
This verse describes thequalities that the Holy Spirit
produces in the life of abeliever.
This fruit reflects thecharacter of Christ and is a
(24:50):
testament to the transformativepower of his presence in your
life.
Well, friends, if you focus onthose five truths each day, you
can have a supercharged day.
How do you get the hell out ofyour life?
Speaker 5 (25:05):
Get on your knees and cry out to the Lord.
He hears you, right where youare.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:10):
How do you get the hell out of?
Ron Meyers (25:10):
your life, well, you replace it with Jesus.
We got to be born again, bornof the Spirit, and that's by
trusting Jesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:16):
Christ, turning from our sins and
trusting Jesus.
You find out about this man bythe name of Jesus, who went to
the cross and gave his life sothat we will have a life more
abundantly, and if you canreceive that love, he will love
that hell out of you.
You trust in him and you lethim love the hell right out of
you.
Ron Meyers (25:35):
How do you get the hell out of your life?
Oh gosh, jesus, jesus.
Bobby Hayden Jr. (25:39):
Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus is the way, the
truth and the life.
Ron Meyers (25:44):
No one comes to the Father except through him.
So how do you get the hell outof your life?
Record a voice memo and emailit to me, ron, at the promoter
dot org, and you can helpencourage a person listening to
get the hell out of their life.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Ron, we'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's
conversation.
We want to encourage you todaywith God's promise to you.
It comes from the book ofJeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
For I know the plans I have foryou, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not toharm you.
Plans to give you hope and thefuture.
(26:25):
That's God's promise to youwhen you choose to commit your
plans and future to him Now backto Ron.
Ron Meyers (26:36):
Well, friends, my time is up.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Share this program with yourfriends.
It's on any podcast platform.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofyour Life.
I'll be back next week withanother great episode.
In the meantime, remember thisI love you, Jesus loves you, and
when you give Jesus your heart,you not only get the hell out
(26:59):
of your life, life gets good.
Give the hell out.
Give the hell out.
(27:07):
Give the hell out of your life .
Today's show is proudlyunderwritten by the Christmas
City Gift Show.
Mark your calendars forNovember 7th through the 9th and
experience the magic inside theChristmas City Gift Show inside
the Mississippi CoastConvention Center located on the
beach in Biloxi, mississippi.
(27:28):
For more information, visitchristmascitygiftshowcom.
If you would like to be a guestand share your story of God's
amazing grace, visit our website, thepromoterorg and click the
Share your Story tab button.
Thanks for listening, and ifyou would like to listen to
previous episodes, click on thepodcast tab at thepromoterorg.
(27:48):
Join us next week for anotheredition of Get the Hell Out of
your Life Real stories, realstruggles and real hope.
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