Thicker Than Water - The Tankards @bentankard
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Bravo / TV NBC HIT series " Thicker Than Water " on Sunday Nights 9p/8cst. Ben and Jewel on NYC press tour stop by NBC, CBS, and Andy Cohen " Watch What Happens Live " to discuss the excitement of the series and raising a " Blended " family. #ThickerThanWater
Great Show!!! Ugh! Great example of a black family, thank you for taking on the task! Im so excited for you all!! Stay blessed!
Great , great interview. You both look great and you look like you are having so much fun
TOP 7 TOUGH QUESTIONS WE ASK THE TANKARDS ABOUT
" THICKER THAN WATER "
Pick up Ben's FREE e-book " Faith It " as a gift from the Tankards
www.ben-jamin.org ||
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 1) Why did you decide to do a Reality TV Show with Bravo?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer:
A) We wanted to inspire families to DREAM again for the American dream, it is one thing to talk about it, but it is more inspiring when you can see it happen and have someone that you consider family (The Tankards), bring you into their home and show you that God is good and there is hope for ALL. It is meant as a testimony of what God has done because we are ALL praying for something (if we will admit it). The Tankards just wanted to come back and share with the world that your prayers DO come true if you are faithful to God.
B) We wanted to inspire families to fight to stay together. Hopefully after seeing us work out our differences on screen, families will pick up the phone and phone and call long lost loved ones.
C) We wanted to provide exposure for the Tankard children to launch their businesses. They ALL are developing nicely in their own right outside of me and Jewel. More details to come within the season (I can't be a spoiler:)>
This show is REALLY about handling family conflict. We have a blended family of 5 children, 2 daughter-in-laws, 1 grandchild all under one roof. It is sort of like the Brady Bunch. Because I was on the road pursuing my music career success when when the kids were young, I missed out on a lot of those special moments.
Now the kids are all grown (ages 18-29). Since I am successful now, I am reaching back to help them build their own lives, families and careers (and making up for lost moments). The " bling-bling " marketing and sound bites got people talking and tuning in. Once you get past the material marketing, you will see the show is about family. If you liked the Cosby Show or Run's House, you will love Thicker Than Water. Keep watching. Remember this is not TBN or The WORD network. This is major NETWORK TV and not a ministry show. It is entertainment period. We just happen to be Christians. Most people work secular jobs, and they would get fired for speaking in tongues all day at their desk instead of getting their jobs done. Same here, we are "working" for Bravo in a sense. Why? The same reason every else in the world works at their jobs.
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 2) Were you concerned of the backlash for your testimonies of nice material blessings being perceived wrongly?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer:
YES ! We are VOLUNTEER NON-SALARY PASTORS of Destiny Center which we started in our home 12 years ago as as outreach to business owners and big dreamers. This is our way of giving back to community. I was concerned that people would see the sound bites, trailers, and previews and think that my wealth came from my church. This could not be farther from the truth. One thing I learned though is even when people know that you are already financially successful outside of being a Pastor, some of them will STILL be mad that you did not give it all up when you became a pastor. Some believe that Christians should be poor (My folks believed that and I grew up in poverty). They have a right to their opinion. I NEVER debate of argue with people on their opinions. It is their right and I love them anyway no matter what they think. We love people and want to see them blessed with what THEY want...if that includes them wanting to be wealthy, almost wealthy, or not wealthy at all....we are in full agreement with them for their dreams to come to pass. We are all equal under God, there are no classes (lower,middle, or upper).
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 3) What ARE your businesses ?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer: You can google my name or wikipedia my name and see how I have made my living. Here are some of the highlights:
I have made my success through GOD'S GOODNESS on my multiple businesses. I was a pro basketball player and God saved me and anointed me to play the keyboards. A lot of people don't pay attention to instrumental music so they would not automatically know that I am the bestselling Gospel/jazz artist of all time with 21 Gold and Platinum Albums on my wall, 12 Stellar Awards, 11 dove, 3 grammy, 1 Blue Mic and 1 Soul Train award and/or nomination. I am also a producer that has produced 300 songs including 40 for Yolanda Adams. I have been the TOP OF MY FIELD for 25 years. I am also a motivation speaker (NBA Development league, Major League Baseball Summits, ect). I am also suit designer for Big & Tall (Full Tank Line), I am also an author, I am a pilot and buy and sale airplanes. Now I can add reality TV actor to those credits. My wife is a motivational speaker, financial planner, and high level network marketer. She will have a financial show for women in 2014...sort of like Susie Orman. As you can see.. we not need a Pastor salary.....but I DO believe churches should take care of their men of God. In my case, I gladly choose to sow our time for no salary.
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 4) Why did you say " God wants us ALL to be millionaires "?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer
The reason I always say " I have been poor and now I am rich and rich is better" is based on me being poor in my childhood. I remember the food stamps and the tough times. I believe if you are a millionaire you can eliminate the poverty you see and not just "pray" for your fellowman but " pay " for your fellowman. We give donations daily as a family and sponsor about 30 charities. We live far below our means and find it is more a blessing to give then receive. We have given away 18 cars but we don't call a press conference when we bless people. We have a Destiny Center church mission in the Philippines also.
This does not mean is you are NOT a millionaire, that something is wrong with you. God loves us ALL and your tax bracket does not determine your spiritual walk. It is just a goal to set to be more of a blessing to others. Almost like telling your kids to make straight "A"s. The B's and C;s are OK but you get them by shooting for the A. When you go to the Olympics you shoot for the GOLD. In doing so, the bronze and the silver medal is good too, but you don't train for the sliver and bronze, you train for the GOLD.
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 5) What did Jewel mean when she said " If I had to make a vow of poverty, I would have never got save"? Of course, we understand that this was a short "soundbite" in the show trailer but can you help us understand the context?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer:
She was telling the story of how she felt when she was in college. She was from Detroit leading a fast life, dating drug dealers with Big money. At that time she felt like being save would be boring and broke because all the Christians around her were struggling examples. At that time she felt she would wait until she was 80 years old to get save because being a Christian was no fun and if she had to take a vow of poverty she would not get save at all. It was a testimony of her thoughts THEN...not now.
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 6) You said on one clip - " God is all about the Bling in Heaven, there is no ghetto in heaven"...What did you mean by that?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer:
What you heard is part of a sound bite from a full description that I was giving of heaven. Heaven has no slums, ghettos, hospitals, or prisons. B.L.I.N.G is an acronym for : Beautiful - Loving - Inclusive - NeverEnding - Glorious. God is all about the BLING in heaven...do you want to go there ?
-------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 7) Will we see these answers played out on screen?
-------------------------------------------------------
Answer
YES ! You do not want to miss ONE episode of the show. It is going to change TV as we know it.
Watch What Happens ! WE LOVE YOU GUYS AND THANKS FOR WATCHING AND PRAYING FOR US.
#ThickerThanWater Sunday Nights on Bravo 9p/8c Bravo TV
Visit Ben's Facebook
www.ben-jamin.org || facebook.com/bentankardmusic