PLANO, Texas, In the new White Chair Film, “The Storyteller,” released by global storytelling organization I Am Second, Tyler Brown, a strategic ministry coordinator at e3 Partners, shares his journey from a life of addiction to that of inspiration, unpacking his story of brokenness to living a radically-free life.
At the top of his class in school, an all-star in sports and a high achiever, Brown was on the path to success as a young teen. Yet, when he was introduced to drugs at age 16, his whole life changed. From marijuana to crystal meth, Brown shares how he gave up everything to satisfy his all-consuming addiction.
“I fell in love with a drug, and it absolutely destroyed by life… The drugs had so much power over me, I would do whatever it took to get them,” Brown shares. “I was lost; I was broken… I didn’t care about myself anymore; it destroyed relationships that I had with my family. All I was doing was getting high. I was all alone… I was stealing, in and out of jail, in and out of rehabs, halfway houses, homeless…”
In the film, Brown recalls a significant night, five years into his addiction, when he found himself entranced — burning a cross.
“I don’t know what was in my heart, but it was anti-Jesus,” confesses Brown. “That was a testimony of where my life was at. I woke up the next morning and was awakened a little bit to that reality, [asking], ‘Wow, where have I let myself go?’”
It was then that Brown launched into a desperate drive to turn his life around. Upon finding community in a church, he was ultimately inspired to give his life to Jesus, surrendering his addiction in a cry for heavenly intervention.
In his newfound freedom, Brown was excited to share his profound story with anyone and everyone. That is, until he began to question his own qualifications in doing so. New to faith, newly married and new to Bible College, Brown started to feel unfit to share the Gospel with others.
“Something [had] started to shift in my heart,” shares Brown. “I started to lose a little bit of that original passion that I had for Jesus. I started to get really insecure, [thinking], ‘…How am I going to preach the Gospel to people if I don’t really know what the [Gospel is]?’ So I started to kind of get lost…To the point where I wasn’t even telling people about Jesus because I didn’t know if I was…equipped to or had enough knowledge to.”
Yet, he was encouraged otherwise by a group of friends, urging him to serve and share about Jesus in his own neighborhood. Today, Brown lives a radically different life of joy and boldness, honoring God by actively sharing his story as an encouragement to the lost, addicted and brokenhearted. In his obedience to this calling, he acts as a prime example of how God can use anyone, no matter their history, circumstances – or lack of qualifications – to share the Gospel.
“[Before,] I was a nobody; I was lost…broken…helpless…hopeless…I was on the bottom of a bathroom floor, smoking a crackpipe all alone, naked,” Brown says. “And now… here I am today… I’m a new person, and it doesn’t make sense. But I behold it, and I want others to experience it too.”
To watch the exclusive I Am Second film, visit https://www.iamsecond.com/film/tyler-brown. To learn more about taking next steps in your own spiritual walk like Brown, including understanding who you are, how to tell your story, knowing God’s story and how to Live Second, please visit: iamsecond.com/live-second-journey/.
About I Am Second
I Am Second is a nonprofit launched in 2008 that ignites hope and inspires people to live for God and for others. Its website, iamsecond.com, features written and film-based stories of more than 150 athletes, actors, models, musicians, cultural influencers and everyday people who have stepped in front of the camera and declared, “I Am Second.” For information, visit iamsecond.com.