Changing One Thing Changed Everything - Bobby Hayden Jr. | August 24, 2025

Okay.

So about a year ago, um, Mr. Hayden

came to Miami Correctional Facility.

If you guys aren't familiar with

it, it's a maximum security men's

facility up north of Kokomo.

Um, I always say it's my home.

It's my home facility.

I've worked at a lot of

different facilities.

This one I love.

Um, I was not gonna go the

day that Bobby was coming.

I was having a really

hard time in my life.

Um, I didn't know what was gonna

happen and I was just gonna stay

home because I was afraid that

I was going to have a medical.

Issue when I was there, so

I did not wanna risk it.

Um, my boss ended up canceling

that day and um, so I felt

obligated to go ahead and go.

And when I got there, I didn't

really know what to expect, but I

met Bobby and he was so authentic,

um, spirit filled, love filled, and

I just could not believe, um, who he

was and what I saw when I got there.

Um.

I had actually been telling my mom

a few days before that I felt like

with the medical stuff going on,

that I was actually being punished.

Um, I've worked in the prison

system for a long time.

Sometimes I'm a little guarded,

sometimes I'm a little rough around

the edges, and I was like, yeah, God is

upset with me and he is punishing me.

And when I met Bobby, he actually

shook my hand and stopped for a second

and said, Cassie, precious, Cassie.

I, I knew, and Bobby will say,

like, he says, I don't do anything.

It's all Jesus.

And I knew that that was God's

way of telling me that, no, you're

not vile, you're not disgusting.

'cause that, those were

the things I was saying.

I was like, I'm a sinner.

There's no way you could love me.

And I was like, man, I, I

cried for probably three days.

Um, and I was like, when I feel

better, we need to bring this guy back.

Um.

I don't know if anybody has ever

worked in the correctional system.

There's a lot of ladies and gentlemen in

there that are searching for something.

They're, they're searching for Jesus.

There's a lot of gentlemen and

ladies in there who have found Jesus,

but unfortunately have to what I

call clean, clean up the dishes.

Um, they have to do their dishes.

So we really would like to move towards

having a revival in these prison systems.

These guys are worth it.

They're worth our time.

Um, there are some amazing people in

there, so I'm just so grateful that

Bobby has taken time to come up here.

Um, we're gonna go to

some facilities this week.

We have three different facilities

that we're gonna go to, and, uh, I'm

super excited because we need Jesus

in these facilities and he does a

great job of bringing it, bringing

the spirit, and bringing the love.

And these guys.

Have told me, um, all this week I was at

Miami and I had guys stopping me asking

me to make sure they were on the list

because they cried last year and they

want Jesus and they want to hear about it.

So Bobby, if you want to go, I don't.

I'll ramble forever, so.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Should I use this?

Or just how?

How does this sound?

That's fine.

I think I'm good.

Just relax.

Easy.

Does it?

We've already got what

we're looking for, right?

It's good, ain't it?

Ain't it good to be on the

right bus for a change?

Woo.

Timely.

Amen.

The chaos that we got in the world

has found its way into the prisons.

And it's on steroids.

It's dark in there, folks.

So we wanna pray that the light makes

its way into the prisons and pray

for us this week that we can carry

that light into the prison and slosh

what I'm carrying on all them people,

because I got it.

You see, when God does

a big thing in a person.

He does it to do a big

thing through that person.

Amen.

And he tricked me every step of the way.

And I mean that.

There's some of you in here just, uh oh.

These two back here.

Let's just let the spirit go for a minute.

Is that okay?

That's all we got.

Do you understand that?

That's all we have is the Holy Ghost.

He's awesome.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

But these two right here, I mean,

I'm celebrating 17 years clean and

sober without any triggers at all.

So I see stuff.

Golly, it's just all over.

You stand up and let him see what Jesus

looks like For God's sake, do you see it?

It's just all over him.

You can't take this.

He's completely irresistible.

So when you get a taste of this, you,

you're not, you don't want to go anywhere.

You understand, but you two

are just, I mean, you're just

in my, on my heart right now.

Stand up.

Because you've been there, done

that and bought the T-shirt

and I don't know you people, but I

see it and you're just so awesome.

Goy, you can't even take it.

What's your eyes?

Their eyes.

Because we kept these little

bodysuits can't take him.

Do you understand?

It's real.

He's real now.

So you guys are just, oh my

God, he's just awesome, dude.

Just and, and you can tell

people that I can't reach.

So you have a job now.

God wants to love this

troubled world through us.

That's how it gets done.

It's a cold labor.

You've heard that term in Bible study.

He needs us.

So our job as a human

being is to do one thing.

It's just receive his love

so you can give it away.

The fallen in love and the fallen

out love, that's a worldly thing.

And we've all been there and

done that, and we've repented.

Let's see, a show of hands have repented.

Amen.

It's about love.

And I'm not gonna draw it out

today, but it's special for me

to go into the prison this week.

And when I was a little boy, I

got famous, became a legend in my

own mind, and the music changed.

And when it did, my parents

said, no, not that music.

We like our old type of music.

And I interpreted that as

love with a hook in it.

I'll love you if.

So communicate with your children.

Never let that happen because it's

a lack of communication and if you

wanna see what love without a hook in

it looks like you look at the cross.

He gave it all a done deal.

So let the main thing remained the main

thing, and that's God's love, not our sin.

The savior came to save, not condemn.

So it's about the love.

So I was quite a mess in my early days

thinking I was all that in a bag of chips.

And I got to h weird in

1980 Hollywood, excuse me.

And, uh, the, the drugs took

me down a road of despair.

By the year 2000, I lived in

a cardboard box in Skid Row,

and this went on for 10 years.

And a man came into my camp one day and

told me about this fellow named Jesus.

So I ran him off.

First Chance I got it, and he wanted me

to look at that Bible and I looked at it.

And Cassie, there wasn't one picture in

that whole book and that made me mad.

But you know what?

I found the red parts, duh.

And I started reading the red parts and

that living word and that Holy Bible basic

instruction before leaving Planet Earth.

This is mine right back here, Sonny.

You're awesome.

You know that.

You really are.

You're awesome.

So this is, he said this basic

instruction before leaving Earth.

This is it right here.

This is a living word.

This gets on the inside of you.

And then he can love that hell

through out of you, through people.

If you're around the right bunch of

Holy Spirit filled people, right?

So

one day in a dumpster, I broke.

I couldn't take it anymore.

Bed on the side of the road, and I

didn't take a bath for a year at a time.

I clean up pretty nice

now though, don't I?

Anyway, looking good.

I broke.

And when there's an earthly brokenness.

There's a heavenly openness.

I had a heart change.

I couldn't do it no more.

And what did Jesus tell

Nicodemus, you must be born again.

I was born again at that very moment in

that dumpster when I realized I could

not do it anymore, and I cried out.

I said, God, if you're

real, send me some hope.

And the next day, a man

put me on a bus to a rehab.

His name was Mr. Esperanza.

When I got to the rehab, I found

out Esperanza in Spanish meant hope.

Not only did he send me hope, this

dude's name was Hope, so the heathen

that I was, I said to myself, there

might be something to this Jesus stuff.

And that was enough because what is he?

He's a fisherman of men, and he wiggled

that worm right there in front of me

and I went for it and I ate it all.

But that was just the beginning.

So by now, my family found out that I

was in rehab and they wanted to bring me

back to Indianapolis and my sister Abby.

She had just had a little boy by the

name of Hayden Rogers, and I fell in love

with this little boy, and God used that

little boy to love that hell out of me.

And I gave music lessons

to a lot of other children.

And these innocent children were

looking at me as I taught him guitar.

And I've been an active addict

for 40 years, and God loved this

hell outta me through my family

and through these children.

And that's how recovery works.

That was a wonderful story you told.

And God's loving the hell outta,

where's the guy with the Yeah, you,

God loved the hell outta that boy

and is still doing it through you

because you're open now and you

know that that's all there is.

Okay.

Do you see how it works?

See when you got a

stronghold or a yoke on you.

You can't counsel that out.

This is above Dr. Phil's pay grade.

You can't do that.

It takes the anointing.

And the anointing is love.

And that's how people are set.

Fred, who the sun sets free

is, I've read that in here too.

Who The sun free is free Indeed.

So anyway,

I got home in 2008 and I

went to my sister's house

and I still smoke cigarettes.

And one morning about five o'clock,

I got up to smoke a cigarette and I

blew the smoke out and I saw the smoke

go up against the building and it

went up and it went into that little

guy's room, that little baby's room.

And because of my love for that little

boy, he slept with me every night.

He pounded on my bed and

I pulled him up on my bed.

And when that smoke went

in his room, I went,

never smoked one since

we're talking 17 years.

So don't put him in a

box, ladies and gentlemen.

'cause he can use anything.

So fast forward, I've been clean 17 years.

My sister's family, they finally

said, would you like to go to church?

We went to a church.

Guy told me he wanted

to do, do a new record.

I said, where at?

He said 31 in Broadway,

downtown Indianapolis.

My cardboard bucks had been

at 31 in Broadway in downtown

Los Angeles for 10 years.

You can't make this stuff up and

all God is doing is expanding my

faith to show me that he is real so

I can go carry on kingdom business.

And I remember that guy

who told me about Jesus.

He, he quoted a scripture.

He said, Jesus will give you back

the years that the malls eight.

And I thought, what's this

crazy crack head talking about?

So on my 70th birthday last year,

on my 70th birthday last year,

I'm in the penitentiary at Bunker

Hill where she works, and I got 50

or 60 level four felons on their

knees given their life to Jesus.

Wow.

And I'm scarred from my neck to

my ankles within drug injections.

And when they saw those scars as

when doubting Thomas saw the scars

on Jesus due, just like that, these

people's lights went on and they

knew that this creator was real.

So now they're pursuing

to know him better.

So I just urge every one of you.

To open your hearts.

See, trying to love an addict like

me was trying to love a porcupine.

You ever tried to love a porcupine?

It's hard.

I'm gonna stick you,

but you might have to buy 'em a hot dog.

You might have to give 'em

a nice pair of warm socks.

You have to build a relationship first and

then they'll, one day they'll come to you

and say, why are you being so nice to me?

And that's your opportunity

I thought you'd never ask.

Amen.

So that's how recovery works.

By the way, that little 2-year-old

kid that loved that hell out of me,

he's sitting right here, stand up.

Hey, he's 17 at Catholic Garin right now.

And my little sister who came

after me out there in California

to find out where I was.

She's sitting right here

and her husband, Scotty Rogers sitting

right there after a year in the

rehab, he called her one lunchtime

and said, it's time to bring him home.

And they brought me home and

now they're in the church house.

And I'm the weirdest preacher

you ever seen in your.

Amen.

That's my story.

I travel to the United States now

and do nothing but recovery meetings.

I meet 'em right where they're

at, and I am seeing God move in.

Every meeting I go into,

people's lights are coming on.

Jesus said it.

I didn't.

I will draw all into myself.

I will pour my spirit out upon all flesh.

How many spirit filled Christians

are in this room right now?

Do you understand the Holy

Ghost is making a move on the

outside and he's coming in hot?

It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Y'all look like the little doggy in

the back of the truck going like, amen.

Now what about you?

Knuckleheads up here.

I gotta talk to you.

How many of you kids got a guys?

I didn't mean kids.

I didn't mean to insult you.

My God.

That's not, I'll give you $200

for that, for that head of hair.

Amen.

Y'all go to Bible study.

Hallelujah.

Have you got a praying grandma?

You do.

Let's see a show in hands of a

praying grandma, that's probably

why you're here in church.

Woo.

You know everything that grandma told us

when we were growing up and we thought

it was corny, and they told us and told

us, you gotta go to church, you gotta

do this, you gotta do, do you know they

were absolutely 100% correct, dude.

You know it inside.

You don't hear it with your ears anymore.

You're hearing it with your heart

and you know that you, oh, hold me.

How old are you?

Nine.

Dude, you get it, don't you?

Listen, let's tell these

people something together.

Now we're gonna tell you

exactly about this walk.

If it gets any more complicated

than Jesus loves me.

Yes he does.

'cause the Bible told me so, or

whatever that you've missed it.

Do you see this right here?

He loves me and don't

know why you like me.

So carry him.

If you don't understand

it, then humble yourself.

Come down about a foot and a half,

you'll find yourself right here and

say, Hey, I want to know you better.

It's you have not because you astronaut.

I was raised Catholic and I missed a lot

of it, and I love him, but, but it's okay.

We're all.

It's a process and we're

all moving toward the light.

Beautiful, isn't she?

Amen.

You did good.

Hallelujah.

Do you realize when you have a

Holy Spirit moving like it is right

now and wooing your heart that

you don't have to say anything?

You can actually preach

without saying a word.

You're precious.

Do you sense that?

Do you know what that is?

That's him because we're like-minded.

We're in agreement.

We've stopped.

God, you're, you'll never,

ever be the same, will you?

Huh?

You're good now, aren't you?

Isn't that beautiful?

Oh my gosh.

Let's not be in a hurry.

Let's see if he wants to do anything.

Are you okay?

How's your golf game, dude?

Oh, not real good.

Not do real good.

We'll pray for you after the service.

Amen.

What do you guys think?

You think I'm full of it, or you

think I might be onto something?

You might be onto something.

I might be onto something.

Look at homie here.

Stand up a minute.

You, you, you.

Oh my God.

Come here.

Come here.

No, you stand up.

Turn around me.

Yeah.

Look at what do you think?

Oh, come.

Do you see it on him?

Do you see it on him?

Amen.

What's all the bus about?

I've already got what I'm looking for.

Amen.

Amen.

You are awesome dude.

Sit down.

Amen.

Ah,

I moved to Nashville four years ago.

I got down there and boy,

that's a mess down there folks.

Woo.

My little nephew played baseball.

I'm kind of grateful that he went

somewhere else this last year.

I'm good.

I think

music's important, ain't it?

You see the atmosphere changed us then.

Hey, amen.

I'm gonna tell you a

story about all of us.

I know a lot of you personally.

And I wrote this song and I went

to record it in Nashville and

the Lord said, let not

make love, not hate.

See, I've been trying to be famous

now for about 60 years and I

didn't really do so good, and now

that I let him move a little bit.

People come in to help me record and

I have to go in the bathroom and cry

when I find out that guy worked for

Reba and that guy worked for Dolly and

Garth Brooks, piano players playing.

And man, when Steely steely, Dan's

background singers walked in.

I woohoo, I about lost it anyway 'cause

I'm one of about 10 million in Nashville

that wants to be famous and write songs.

But unless you go through Jesus.

God, unless you find some humility and

say, look, I can't do this without you.

You can do nothing the Bible says.

So I try it now and my music's starting

to mean a little something and I'm,

it's starting to have a little depth.

Well anyway,

I used to lie,

sometimes steal stuff.

I would get high.

It was never enough.

I had to hustle.

I lived to scam

till I heard a little voice in my head.

See, that ain't who.

I ain't.

I been.

I've been working hard.

I've been working.

I've been working.

I've been,

I don't know where I'm going.

I do know where I been,

that fella I used to be.

I.

I used people and then I throw them away.

I cursed like a sailor all day, every day.

I owed a lot of money,

but it was already spent.

There's that voice again

in my head telling me to,

well, I been.

I've been working hard.

I've been working.

I've been working.

I've been working hard.

I'm.

I've

that fella I used to be.

I don't, here,

I'm looking in the mirror.

It.

So I'll keep her working.

I'll keep her working.

I've been working,

I'm going.

But I do know.

That fella I used to be.

I don't

that fella I used to be.

I sure don't wanna be.

Him.

Amen.

Amen.

You think I still got it?

I'm crooning pretty good

for 71 years old, ain't I?

I think God may have

something to do with that.

What you think?

Duh.

Who'd have thunk it?

I changed one thing

and everything changed.

I'm in Nashville at 71 years old,

playing with people I never dreamed of.

My desires of my heart has changed.

Just like the Bible says.

I deal with people in

recovery and addiction.

And I just walk in and

just say, how you doing?

That's what Jesus did.

The love and his compassion healed people.

It wasn't that he was a superhero

or a cosmic vending machine.

It was his love and it was his

compassion that healed those people.

The world's in a dark, dark place,

but I see God moving every single day.

So I'm gonna make it easy on you.

Here's all you gotta do.

When you meet a knucklehead and you,

you know he is a mess, just look him

dead in the eye and say, you know what?

I love you and there's

nothing you can do about it.

Amen.

I wanna thank my family for

rescuing me 17 years ago.

My God, they've created a monster.

Amen.

Put a nickel in the box back there.

Get you a new cd.

It's called The Attic in the Basement.

I got a knee replacement a couple

months ago, and I went back to

my sister's house and got in the

basement, wrote the whole record.

Amen.

So he'll turn it around.

Amen.

Amen.

You'll know them by their love.

This is churches full of it.

Thank you for having me.

God bless every one of you.

Okay?

Amen.