WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

“I truly understand as an adult, how childhood can affect your life as you mature,” said Dr. Marcus Barr. “I can remember at the age of five I was robbed of my innocence and this patterning happened 13 different times. I really want to be transparent because I’ve come across so many people from the secular world and the church world that have gone through this experience. 

“I was molested at the age of five by a family friend, someone that my mother entrusted to stay at our home. I was also physically, mentally and verbally abused by a person my mother entrusted. I later learned that my mother was never aware of the abuse I encountered,” said Dr. Barr. 

As Marcus began his school years, he was diagnosed with PTSD and labeled EMH (educable mentally handicapped). “These categorizations followed me throughout my high school years. During this period of my life, the agony, the pain, the hurt, the distress, the rejection, and the anger that I felt became unbearable. On top of all of that, I was not able to get support from my family because of the religious energy and judgmental behavior. This left me depressed, feeling guilty and ashamed of who I was. I felt life wasn’t worth living. Therefore, I had suicidal thoughts because I couldn’t measure up to my family’s expectations,” shared Dr. Barr.     

“After saying yes to my calling and purpose to the Creator God of all things, I began to pick up the fragment pieces of my life and reprogrammed myself with visualization, meditation, and script writing. That was outside of the norm for the dogma Christianity orthodox religion that I had been taught and indoctrinated in. When I made peace within myself, I stepped down from pastoring and my life transformed due to the self-work. I had a divine encounter with I AM that totally liberated my mind, body and soul.” Dr. Barr continued, “My assignment now is to help people heal from the inside out, because the nature of God is in the oneness of all of us. Consciousness helps us to shape and master our own reality. It’s time for everyone on the planet to wake up to this true awareness of who they are and not allow anyone else to write their journey,” said Barr. 

The Twin City native turned the pain of his childhood experiences into a passion to help others overcome their trauma, and become successful mentally, spiritually, and financially. Dr. Barr is the founder/president and CEO of two well-known organizations in Winston-Salem and nationally. M.B. Ministries, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is an outreach ministry that provides clothes, food, school supplies and more to those who are less fortunate. Arms Development, Inc., is known for ushering and molding aspiring entrepreneurs into successful careers and business.

“For so long I believed that my calling was to preach in the pulpit, but now I understand that my purpose in life is far greater than the four walls of the church building, which was designed to be a hospital, yet it has become a dictatorship, leaving many in bondage, fear, depressed and poverty. My mandate is to set the captive free, mind, body and soul. Reaching the brokenhearted, damaged, confused, downtrodden, drugs and alcohol addicted, domestic abused, and sexually molested church people that have been damaged and ultimately cast away. God has sent me as a messenger from the poor house to the White House, teaching others that love heals all. My mother always taught me to love others and my father trained me to have whatever you want in business and out of life. His last words to me before he transitioned was, ‘Whatever you do, promise me you’ll obey God,” he shared. 

Dr. Marcus Barr has become one of the most sought-after motivational speakers, a life coach, certified Reiki Master and certified Church Planter in the country. Barr has spoken from the pulpit and in the medical field. He was a guest speaker at the AAPC local chapter of Piedmont Professional Coders at Novant Health Conference Center. His message has inspired millions of people around the world, both young and old. 

“When people put a stigma on you, they put you in a box. But I teach people that there is something far greater than what someone has labeled you to be. I teach you how to turn your pain into passion and profit, because you deserve all that God has for you. I teach them how to reach inside of consciousness to fulfill their purpose on earth,” shared the former pastor. 

When you see Dr. Barr today, you’ll see an extremely successful businessman, author and speaker. But most people don’t know about the process it took to get there. He encountered plenty of trials and tribulations along the way. Like so many, during his personal struggles, the church wasn’t a place of comfort and support if your lifestyle didn’t fit the ideal Christian. “I was being judged by the church because they didn’t know what I going through. They had no idea that as a child, my innocence was taken from me 13 different times. So, as an adult, I felt like the church, my friends and family had turned their backs on me. I nearly lost my mind, Busta,” said Dr. Barr. “

“The church strips people of their oneness. We’ve given them plenty of money, yet we’re still broke, lost and confused. Enough is enough. It’s time to walk in truth. I went into an extremely dark place and I only had God to rely on and He brought me through it. That’s why I do what I do. I want to be that light to others. I want them to know that they will get through as well,” he said. 

Dr. Barr’s resume speaks for itself. In 2019 he received the President’s Volunteer Service Award at the White House in Washington D.C. and the Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of dedication and outstanding service to the great State of North Carolina by Governor Roy Cooper, also in 2019. He’s on the board of directors for several organizations locally and nationally, including: the honorary chairman of the Small Business Advisory Council in Washington, D.C.; chairman of the board of directors of Pearls United, Inc.; and president of the Society for the Study of African American History in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, just to name a few. He’s currently writing a book and says, “This is a tell-all book about all the things that people want to know about Dr. Barr. I want everybody to get ready, because they have written their story about me, but I’m rewriting the story so I can tell people who I really am. It’s going to show people how to get free,” said Dr. Barr. 

My phenomenal Person of the Week is Dr. Marcus Barr: “Where I am, God is. And where God is. I am.”