Sharon Pulliam: Utilizing Ministry to Inspire

Interviewed and Written by Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson @TocarraMusikWorld and Aaron Robinson @Iamcomprehend

 

Over the years, gospel artist Sharon Pulliam has inspired many of her listeners and fans through her ministry along with her powerful messages in her records as she delivers the song with her beautiful voice. During her music career, she has graced the stage with many great gospel artists. Sharon Pulliam is the host of her show "A Time Of Inspiration" that airs on Rejoice 102.3 WYCA. She is also the host of her television show "A Time Of Inspiration" that is broadcasted around the world on the VTV Network.

Outside of entertainment, also Sharon Pulliam devotes her time to organizations and mentors youth who are looking to become future entrepreneurs. Consciousness Magazine had the opportunity to interview the lovely Sharon Pulliam. Here is what she has to share with the readers.

 

Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson: Your radio show titled “The Time of Inspiration” that you host airs every Thursday at 10:00 AM on Rejoice 102.3 WYCA. What influenced this amazing radio show?

Sharon Pulliam: What influenced the radio show on Crawford Broadcasting, Rejoice 102.3 - a time of inspiration was the catastrophe during and after the pandemic, and how we heard such sad stories about people dying, about crime rates going up, about the carjackings, people losing their lives and family members just being so down trotted because of their losses. And God just put it on my heart to do something inspirational. And therefore A Time Of Inspiration was birthed.

Tocarra: Wow! Yeah. That was definitely a trying time during the pandemic. Yeah. So, are there any guests that appeared on your show, that you have been very inspired by in terms of an individual who made a significant impact on your life?

Sharon: Yes. There's been several, but I'll say my co-host, actually Dr. Kina Peppers, she's an OBGYN and she should have been dead. God brought her back to life.

Tocarra: Wow!

Sharon: She was blind. She couldn't walk; she couldn't feed herself. She had to learn how to do life again. Her story impacts me every time I hear it, to the point whereas now she's one of the co-hosts of the show.

Tocarra: Wow! That's an amazing story.

Sharon: And now she inspires people and directs people in health, wellness, and fitness.

Tocarra: So, moving forward, can you tell us a little bit about your TV show on VTV Network called “The Time of Inspiration”?

Sharon: Yes. So, VTV Network, ROKU, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV… Time of Inspiration, it's kind of like a radio show podcast. It airs on VTV network on Sundays at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The show is really to inspire the world to be the best human beings that God has created us to be. That's the intent and purpose of the show. We're intentional in directing people to be all that God has given them, all that God has created them to be, is our ultimate goal.

Tocarra: Yes. That's very important, to be the best you that you can be.

Sharon: Yes.

Tocarra: Okay. Now, let's talk about music. You have such a beautiful voice, of course. What keeps you motivated and inspired to record timeless gospel and inspirational records?

Sharon: Well, what keeps me motivated in recording is just my own relationship with God and me wanting to share my personal experience and worship experience with the masses of people. I'm thinking about doing a new project, soon, and I'm inspired through just wanting to uplift people. That's really the real reason why I like recording. It's really for people. It's for the masses. It's for those that have lost hope in this trying world, in deprived communities and the racial discrimination - just what we even go through as a people and not just as our people, but to uplift any diverse culture of people to be better and have a closer relationship with the Lord.

Tocarra: Yes, absolutely. Now, along your journey, are there any challenges that you face as a woman when it comes to the entertainment business?

Sharon: Oh, so many challenges. I now have my own production company. I'm the CEO of Sharon Pulliam Productions, LLC, which produces the television show and the radio show. There are a lot of men in the industry doing what I do. So, it's a competitive field. And I was first just on the radio doing my show on VTV Network. The president and CEO heard our show on iHeartRadio. First, it was on iHeart, and then we switched over to Crawford Broadcasting, and he wanted me to bring the show on his platform on the television network, which streams all over the world… nationwide.

Tocarra: Nice!

Sharon: And the challenges are just being current and being in the present, being in the know with what's going on now, and to draw a diverse group of people and all age groups. I love reaching out to the millennials. I love reaching out to Gen Z, Gen X, and the Baby Boomers. And it's important as an African American female with a production company to show our young girls, even at my age. I was a late bloomer with this career, but it's never too late and you can do anything you put your mind to.

Tocarra: Yes, you can; I definitely agree. You are also an active minister. I know music is ministering also. How do you stay focused and balance your music career that you were called out to do, along with pursuing your ministry journey?

Sharon: I really see them as coinciding with each other. So, it's not really having to balance it, but just knowing when it's strictly ministry and then knowing when to allow it to be business. You know, it's a thin line between business and ministry and you have to know when to draw the line because sometimes when you're doing it as ministry, people want to kind of like brush it off, like you're not as serious or it's not as valuable. That's why it's good to have the business component in it so that you'll be taken seriously.

Tocarra: When do you know when God or the Most High touches you? Like, when did the Spirit touch you to pursue your ministry?

Sharon: I go back to when I was a young girl, at the tender age of 10-years old, singing in my uncle's church, the late Reverend George Gage, my grandfather. Oh, wow! I feel like his spirit just transferred to me as far as my relationship with God. I used to sit in the room with him and he would read the Bible and I was like a sponge. I would just love sitting in the room with my grandfather! And then my grandfather transitioned. We started going to my uncle's church, the late Reverend Thomas. I was in the choir and I was 10-years old and singing in the choir. I was the youngest one in our church choir. It was a nice sized church; we had like 500 members. Back then, that was huge. And I remember singing next to my aunt, and the next thing I know, maybe a month or so later, she gave me my first lead song.

Tocarra: Oh, wow!

Sharon: I was nervous as heck, but she kind of thrashed me out there and I owe it to her just seeing whatever she saw in me. From there, my singing catapulted. Then I sang for my grammar school graduation. I sang in the high school choir. I sang for my high school graduation. I traveled with my college choir. It just went from place to place and glory to glory. When I became a member of the Apostolic Church of God, the late great Dr. Arthur M. Brazier, he put me on television. He got me out there to the masses of people, and the rest is history.

Tocarra: So, a moment ago you mentioned a possible music project. Would you like to elaborate on that at all, or do you mostly just want to pursue radio and television at the moment?

Sharon: So right now, I’m focused on the television and the radio show because it's a lot of work that goes into that. I also work in healthcare; I’m part-time. I have my company to run and the two shows, because they're not one in the same. You take one show at the radio station and you take the other show with the television production. I'm focused on that, but there's like a burden in my spirit of this song. I don't even want to give the name of it yet, but I think I'm going to do a partnership with one of the other recording artists that's pretty known, and we're going to do a collaboration. But it's in the working.

Tocarra: Very, very nice! Let's move to inspiration. So, for those individuals who are having a challenging time in their life, maybe wanting to give up and feels like there's no hope. What advice, or words of encouragement would you say to them?

Sharon: I would say turn within and allow the spirit of God within you. And if you don't have the spirit of God, I would say pray and ask God to fill you with His spirit; pray and ask Him to help you. Just something as simple as saying, “God, I need help.” He is so pliable and sensitive to the broken-hearted, the wounded and those that cry out to him. That's His soft spot. And I believe those that humble himself before Him, those are the ones that He really, I think, looks after. The Bible tells us about coming to Him as dear children. And when we come to God, just like a child that knows nothing, you know, you need your parents to teach you how to walk, teach you how to eat, and teach you how to write in school. You learn how to write and how to read - the same with God. He will teach us everything we need to know and how to build that strength, that inner-strength to go forward and also reach out to somebody. It's okay to ask for help. Have a spiritual person to pray with you. Get a prayer partner. Join a prayer group. Just reach out to somebody that can encourage you. But, I would say focus and read your word and pray and just ask God to help and He'll do that.

Tocarra: Great advice! Most definitely. So, you are an organ donor. Are you still an advocate for organ donors at the moment?

Sharon: So, I am; I’m not as active with Donate Life as I was years ago, but I still donate blood. I was donating plasma, but I was donating so much that they actually made me stop, because I have one kidney. I just love donating. So, I'm an advocate and encouraging people to be a life donation donor and donate life, whether it is blood, plasma or bone marrow. And it's really simple. It takes nothing for you to give blood and you save like four or five lives with one pint of blood. So, I'm a big advocate on the back burner, more so, than on the front burner when I was working in the forefront with Donate life.

Tocarra: So, speaking of being an organ donor, what are some of the misconceptions that people may have in regards to being an organ donor?

Sharon: Ooh, that's a good question! One of the misconceptions is that, first of all, when you give the kidney initially, they say, ‘oh, you can be up and at it right away.’ It took me at least a year to get going like I was, and to have the energy. I think because I had a reaction to the anesthesia. There's a misconception that everything is just still the same. I noticed I have to feed myself lively foods in order to get the strength that I once had. I have to intentionally build my strength up because sometimes I don't have the strength that I had before donating. Moreover, it's a beautiful thing. I feel light as a person and I've changed my lifestyle of eating. I practice eating a healthier lifestyle as opposed to being on a diet. I think the misconception is that you can do everything that you used to do and eat everything you used to eat. I stopped eating beef and pork. I actually feel better now than I've felt in years. So, you can live a wonderful life, but you have to make some lifestyle changes in order to accommodate that lifestyle.

Tocarra: Are there any other organizations or initiatives that you are involved with or work with that is dear to your heart?

Sharon: So, I don't work specifically with any organizations. I do volunteer with certain organizations that some of my friends are involved with. I also mentor young people. I've been advising several young entrepreneurs and encourages them and give them a platform to get their businesses out there. I kind of do it on a one-on-one basis with youth and young adults. I try to live my life as an example so they can glean from it, like I gleaned from the people that I looked up to. I'm open to working with organizations. It's just that I am kind of like a one-on-one person right now mentoring, and advising youth and young adults and millennials.

Tocarra: I definitely understand. Now, before we conclude the interview, would you like to add anything in closing?

Sharon: I'm just excited! I thank you guys for the opportunity to be a part of your magazine; it's a wonderful magazine. I love what you guys are doing and I'm really excited about where God has me now. I feel like I'm being the best me that God has created me to be, which is the theme and the vision of my television show and radio show, “A Time of Inspiration.” And I'm looking forward to all the other things that are in store in the New Year. I'm looking forward to doing more in 2024, more of life, more traveling and just taking the television show to the next level, the radio show to the next level, and just making an impact in the world.

Tocarra: Sounds great! Thank you so much for this inspiring interview!

Sharon: Thank you so much for this time!

 

Follow Sharon Pulliam on Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonjpulliam

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharon.pulliam.1

https://vtvtelevision.com

https://www.youtube.com/@GraceThenBeautyMinis

Art Direction: Marta Hopkins

Photographer: Aaron Robinson

Hair Stylist: Porshia Williams

Makeup Artist: Te'Hila(makeupbytehila)