Welcome to Issues and Answers.
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Have you ever wondered
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what's involved in being
able to really get together
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community program that
really puts you in a situation
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to be a real
service to your community?
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How do you get your
church or other groups involved?
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Today we're gonna talk about
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how to organize a massive
city wide plan to be able
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to serve for Jesus Christ.
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Our guest today is
Pastor Fred Batten.
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He is the pastor
of the Word of Life
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Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
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He is also a graduate
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of Middle
Tennessee State University
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with a degree in Business,
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Vanderbilt University
and then Andrews University
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where he is currently working
in Masters... no I'm sorry,
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a doctorate
degree in Urban Ministry.
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We are so
excited to have him here
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and look forward to
the tools and the resources
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that he is going to
share with us today.
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Thank you so much for
coming to Issues and Answers,
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Pastor Batten.
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Thank you so much, Karen.
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Glad to be here.
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We're just elated to be
able to come and share today.
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Well, fantastic.
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So I understand, the name
of the program was "I serve."
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Yes, "I serve."
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And we patterned
after in all those things
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in the internet and
so forth, "I serve."
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We want to be able to
have people in the church,
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identifying themselves
with service to the community.
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And this program began
by... several years ago
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when the General
Conference talked about
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mission to the cities.
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And to those making a vision
along with the Southern union,
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they decided to
have a couple of cities
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in the Southern Union to
promote evangelism emphasis
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for a five-year period.
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Tampa, Florida, that was one
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and Memphis,
Tennessee was the other
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in the Southern Union.
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And so with that in
mind, our conference president
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for the South Central Conference
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of Seventh-day Adventist
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and the Kentucky,
Tennessee conference presidents,
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they got together
and also even the...
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Gulf States Conference
president came alongside of us
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and we began to talk
about what it would mean,
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what it would look like
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to have some
emphasis of evangelism
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and outreach in
the City of Memphis
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in the greater
metropolitan area of Memphis.
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So no one cared
about conference lines
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or territories or anything?
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Every one just kind
of, got together and said,
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"Hey, we're gonna
focus on metropolitan Memphis
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and do something."
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Yes, we decided
to come together.
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Now it also took time for us
as pastors in various churches
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because we have
different programs,
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different
ministries, different emphasis
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that is going on
in our own churches,
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in our own congregations
and the areas where we serve
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in the City of Memphis.
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However, we came together,
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we started to pray and
we started to eat together.
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You know, eating
together and praying together.
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That's good, you know. Yes.
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We started doing
those kinds of things
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but we had some
ideas that were fantastic.
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We just want to go and take
the City of Memphis by storm.
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But we had to step back.
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One of our
mentors for the group,
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Elder Benjamin Jones,
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he said to us that we need
to be able to trust each other
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so that we can
work with each other.
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And so as we began to fellowship
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and get to know each other,
know our interests, our likes
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and ministry
emphasis and strengths,
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we began to dialogue more
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and we began to know each other,
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had fun, played games.
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Those kinds of things there
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and we were able then
to come up with some ideas
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that we could all get together
and get behind and focus on
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and so we began to do
that and that's why...
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that's how "I serve
Memphis" came into being.
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Wow, so once
every one got together
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and you're saying that
the brethren and sisters
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had unity of the spirit.
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What was the project
that was planned after that?
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What was the next
thing that happened
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after everyone came
together, eating together,
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playing together,
what happened next?
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Well, I will say that
that took a little time,
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that process itself took
over a year and a half or so
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of doing those kinds of things,
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meeting on a kind of
a like a monthly basis,
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except for
during the summer months
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when people were
traveling and so forth.
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But we came
together and we decided,
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there was
something that was going on
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in the community.
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The mayor of Memphis
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wanted to beautify
the City of Memphis
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and he wanted other
non profit organizations
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and churches faith based
organizations to get involved.
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And so we... I was asked
to be the point person to talk
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with the organization that
was heading up for the mayor.
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It was called "Faith in Action."
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And so we got
together and we talked about
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what that would look like
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and what they were
asking for us... of us to do.
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So we brought it
back to the committee,
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to the pastors
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and the pastors then
talk to their churches
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and organized
their congregations
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to come out and to serve.
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We wanted to
beautify the City of Memphis
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and so we had an opportunity
to go out into the community
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and to just you
know, pick up trash,
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you know, just clean
up... Something simple.
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Simple, but it was something
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that we all could be able to do,
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young and older alike
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and so the Adventist
church in the City of Memphis.
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We came together
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because we
believe that we could...
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we would be stronger together
in serving our community.
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And so we even had t-shirts
that were ordered and placed
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and the people wore
t-shirts on that day.
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Do you have one
of those t-shirts?
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I do.
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It was called...
this is the t-shirt here,
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"Adventist serving Memphis."
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And it's a part of
the "I serve" opportunity
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that we have.
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And so it was
very, very positive.
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It was October...
in October of 2013
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that we came
together for the clean up.
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That was the first project.
That was the first project.
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And then after the
first project in 2014,
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we began to look at some
other more traditional ways
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of coming together.
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Matter of fact,
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we planned as the
pastors came together,
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we planned a
camp meeting service
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for the City of Memphis.
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It was awesome.
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We had great
speakers and singing going on.
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Like who, who did you have?
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Well, actually the
first time we did have it,
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we had persons,
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our conference president
from South Central Conference,
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Dana Edmond.
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And we also had Wesley Knight
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from the South
Atlantic Conference
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and they came in to speak for us
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and some other pastors came
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to highlight that
particular four-day event,
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small camp meeting
for the city of Memphis.
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We packed out
the Longview heights,
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Seventh-day
Adventist Church there,
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we had a great
crowd... Like how many people?
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People who've not
been to Longview, how many?
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Well... Few
thousand people there?
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At this particular time
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we had approximately 500
of the members that come.
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It was a good
gathering for the first event.
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For the first event.
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Now how many churches
are in that area that...
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There are Ten areas, ten
churches rather in the area
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that helped you
comprise this particular group,
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matter of fact, the ministers,
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we affectionately
call ourselves "MAMA."
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That's Memphis Area
Ministerial Alliance.
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And so we come together
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and we want to be able
to share the love of God
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and in challenging our
members to be more engaged
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in fellowship as
well as in service.
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So now for going
back to the first one
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where you were mentioning,
where you were working
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with the City of
Memphis in the mayor's office.
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How did that come to be?
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Well, actually,
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we had talked with the
mayor a few months earlier,
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the group of
pastors came together
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and we wanted to
talk with the mayor
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and let the mayor know that
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we want to be a part of
serving the City of Memphis.
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We want to able to...
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not just to be
persons or organizations
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that will try to
take for ourselves
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and get for ourselves
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but we wanted
to be able to serve
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the City of
Memphis, matter of fact...
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What was the part of that group?
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Like you if decide to go,
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say if someone who's
going away into their city,
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who would you
suggest to be that group
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that would go and
talk to the mayor's office
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at their local town or city?
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Well, it should be a person
who is representing the church,
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a pastor that could
represent the church
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or it could be
someone that maybe a liaison
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that is in
connection with the church
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and the
community, those persons.
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You need to have
some kind of connection,
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some kind of
calling card if you will
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to be able to do
that kind of thing
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and be able to be
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with the idea of
you going into serve,
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find out where you can serve,
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not going in with your programs
and say, I want to do this...
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Right.
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I want to be able to serve,
how can we serve the city.
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So you kept it open
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when you wanted to
go talk to the mayor.
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Correct. Correct.
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You came with the
group of people and you said,
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"We're just here to
serve, what can we do?"
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Yes.
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And the mayor didn't...
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Wow, that... is that a
little scary a little bit,
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what the answer might be?
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Well, when you come in
and you go in with the idea
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that is outlined
in Jeremiah 29: 7.
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I think you have
that Bible text for us,
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could you mind reading
that for us, in Jeremiah 29: 7?
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There is
something there in that text
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that outlines an
idea or an emphasis
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that as churches
and church leaders
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we could learn from
it in Jeremiah 29: 7.
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Okay.
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"And seek the peace of the city
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where I have caused you
to be carried away captive,
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and pray to the Lord for it;
00:11:05.83\00:11:08.00
for in its peace
you will have peace."
00:11:08.03\00:11:11.33
That says it in a nutshell
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because as we know
that text, the background,
00:11:13.74\00:11:16.60
the context is the
children of Israel,
00:11:16.64\00:11:19.31
God's people were
in Babylon in captivity
00:11:19.34\00:11:22.81
and some, the false
prophets were saying
00:11:22.84\00:11:25.68
that they were
getting ready to leave,
00:11:25.71\00:11:27.42
ready to get out of captivity
00:11:27.45\00:11:29.38
but God told
Jeremiah to tell the people
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that you're gonna be
here for a little while
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so you might as well
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just be able to seek
the peace of the city
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and when you do that,
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you will gain the peace as well.
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You will be benefited by
being able to seek the peace,
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the shalom of the city.
00:11:47.17\00:11:48.70
Now, Pastor Batten, you
know, Seventh-day Adventist,
00:11:48.74\00:11:50.77
there's a lot of conversations
about Jesus is coming soon
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and we are in last days
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and people are looking
forward to going to heaven.
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Are you actually suggesting
00:11:58.88\00:12:00.38
that we should seek
the peace of where...
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the cities where we are
and actually stretch out
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until the Lord comes?
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I do believe that is the case
because when we are recognizing
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that Jesus said
that we should occupy
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until He comes.
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Occupy what? Occupy where?
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That means to say that we
should be able to serve, work
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and be engaged in
the culture where we are.
00:12:24.84\00:12:28.84
That is to say not necessarily
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take on every
aspect of the culture
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but we should be able
to speak to the culture
00:12:33.85\00:12:36.55
and be able to recognize
that we are part of that culture
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and that we are wanting to share
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a counter cultural
prospective biblically
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to the people
that's going to help
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to bless them, to
help to encourage them
00:12:50.23\00:12:53.37
and help them to
know that God is love
00:12:53.40\00:12:56.04
and that He is
coming back real soon.
00:12:56.07\00:12:58.54
And that the only way
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that we can get
that information out
00:13:00.08\00:13:02.41
is to mingle among the people
and to seek to bless them.
00:13:02.44\00:13:07.28
So you're in the mayor's office
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and everybody is
there and you're saying,
00:13:09.32\00:13:12.69
"Mr. Mayor,
00:13:12.72\00:13:14.42
what can we do to make
the City of Memphis better?"
00:13:14.46\00:13:18.73
What did he
respond, Mayor Wharton?
00:13:18.76\00:13:21.20
Mayor A. C. Wharton,
he began to talk about
00:13:21.23\00:13:23.23
several different things.
00:13:23.26\00:13:25.13
Some of us... the initiative
00:13:25.17\00:13:26.63
that he's talked
about in the city,
00:13:26.67\00:13:29.54
the mentoring
program that he has
00:13:29.57\00:13:31.91
and some other activities
that he was talking about
00:13:31.94\00:13:35.31
the "Gun down Memphis"
00:13:35.34\00:13:37.25
whereby they tried to
get the guns off the streets,
00:13:37.28\00:13:42.75
holding sessions in
churches and so forth like that.
00:13:42.78\00:13:46.86
That particular
piece was not something
00:13:46.89\00:13:49.69
that we felt we
wanted to get engaged in
00:13:49.72\00:13:52.09
at that particular time.
00:13:52.13\00:13:53.80
But the other piece
about beautifying the city
00:13:53.83\00:13:57.40
and doing some other
things we thought that...
00:13:57.43\00:13:59.07
Like what other things?
00:13:59.10\00:14:00.80
Well, other things regarding
the helping individuals
00:14:00.84\00:14:05.27
with mentoring,
those kinds of things
00:14:05.31\00:14:09.28
and though there's pastor,
buddy of mine in Memphis,
00:14:09.31\00:14:12.61
Pastor Kymone Hinds,
00:14:12.65\00:14:14.08
he's engaged in mentoring,
00:14:14.12\00:14:17.49
he is a pastor
of the Overton Park
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.39
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:14:19.42\00:14:20.76
So there are other
things that we are engaged in
00:14:20.79\00:14:24.96
maybe individually as
a particular congregation
00:14:24.99\00:14:28.26
but for the "I
Serve Memphis" portion,
00:14:28.30\00:14:32.27
we wanted to do something
that we all could be engaged in.
00:14:32.30\00:14:36.30
And it would be something
that we could galvanize
00:14:36.34\00:14:39.74
our people, our
members to be able
00:14:39.77\00:14:43.85
to be the hands
and feet of Jesus
00:14:43.88\00:14:46.38
in the community.
00:14:46.41\00:14:47.75
Okay, so you settle in
a project with the mayor.
00:14:47.78\00:14:50.59
And then how did you
go about setting a date
00:14:50.62\00:14:53.25
and then getting the
word out to the churches
00:14:53.29\00:14:55.02
and the members, I should say
00:14:55.06\00:14:56.39
'cause churches
are just building,
00:14:56.42\00:14:57.76
how did get them,
00:14:57.79\00:14:59.13
the word out to the
members of the church?
00:14:59.16\00:15:00.50
Well, we were able to...
00:15:00.53\00:15:01.86
we tried to take a page out
of the young people's play book,
00:15:01.90\00:15:07.54
we use in the social media,
00:15:07.57\00:15:10.44
we use different
ways of communication,
00:15:10.47\00:15:14.24
church bulletins, one on one...
00:15:14.28\00:15:17.08
What social media did you use?
00:15:17.11\00:15:18.48
Well...
00:15:18.51\00:15:19.85
Did you create a Facebook page?
00:15:19.88\00:15:21.28
We did a Facebook page.
00:15:21.32\00:15:23.35
We created a website
which is "iservememphis.org."
00:15:23.39\00:15:30.23
And people could go
and sign up to register
00:15:30.26\00:15:33.56
to be involved in the
event on that particular day
00:15:33.60\00:15:38.17
so there was
some pre-registration
00:15:38.20\00:15:39.90
that was done
for people to sign up
00:15:39.93\00:15:42.60
for the "I Serve Memphis"
00:15:42.64\00:15:44.54
that big day in
October 27, 2013.
00:15:44.57\00:15:50.55
So now you were able then
to... so you have the help,
00:15:50.58\00:15:53.65
like you said some young people
that were able to get you up
00:15:53.68\00:15:56.32
on social media
and so that's free.
00:15:56.35\00:16:00.02
Yes.
00:16:00.06\00:16:01.52
They have the time,
they have the technology,
00:16:01.56\00:16:04.23
they have the
energy, they know how
00:16:04.26\00:16:06.09
and my goodness, they
can do a marvelous thing
00:16:06.13\00:16:10.73
with the technology today.
00:16:10.77\00:16:12.23
And so using those things
00:16:12.27\00:16:14.74
and getting them engaged as well
00:16:14.77\00:16:16.71
was helpful in that regard.
00:16:16.74\00:16:18.77
Okay, so you created a
website, Facebook page,
00:16:18.81\00:16:21.51
you started getting the word out
00:16:21.54\00:16:23.41
and then how was the response?
00:16:23.45\00:16:25.15
The response was great.
00:16:25.18\00:16:26.55
People signing
up to participate.
00:16:26.58\00:16:27.92
People signed
up, matter of fact,
00:16:27.95\00:16:30.02
on the day that
we went out to serve
00:16:30.05\00:16:32.25
on that particular
portion of "I Serve Memphis,"
00:16:32.29\00:16:35.99
we had over 85
people from the churches
00:16:36.02\00:16:39.59
to come out... 85, wow.
00:16:39.63\00:16:40.96
You know, to come out to
beautify the city, you know.
00:16:41.00\00:16:43.33
I thought that
was an awesome thing
00:16:43.37\00:16:46.37
and would like
more but hey, 85 people
00:16:46.40\00:16:49.80
to come out on a early
morning over the weekend,
00:16:49.84\00:16:53.51
hey, you can beat that.
00:16:53.54\00:16:55.38
So then you had 85
volunteers, they all came to...
00:16:55.41\00:16:58.61
what part of
Memphis did they come to?
00:16:58.65\00:17:00.25
Actually we started in
the Frayser area of Memphis
00:17:00.28\00:17:03.79
in Word of Life.
00:17:03.82\00:17:05.15
We met at the
Word of Life church.
00:17:05.19\00:17:07.19
We had snacks for
them that morning.
00:17:07.22\00:17:09.92
What kind of snacks?
00:17:09.96\00:17:11.29
Well, we had some
breakfast thing...
00:17:11.33\00:17:13.60
breakfast bars, cereal bars,
00:17:13.63\00:17:15.53
fruit and water and
those kinds of things.
00:17:15.56\00:17:17.33
Where did you get all that from?
00:17:17.37\00:17:18.70
Did somebody just buy that,
00:17:18.73\00:17:20.07
was that a pool of
money from the organization?
00:17:20.10\00:17:23.10
Well, the organization
00:17:23.14\00:17:24.47
and the Memphis Area
Ministerial Alliance, "MAMA"
00:17:24.51\00:17:27.64
purchased those items so
that members can be able to,
00:17:27.68\00:17:32.18
you know, if they didn't
eat breakfast just that morning,
00:17:32.21\00:17:33.85
they had
something to hold them over.
00:17:33.88\00:17:36.35
And what kinds of
things that people,
00:17:36.38\00:17:37.92
so you mentioned
about the t-shirts.
00:17:37.95\00:17:40.09
Did people wear those t-shirts?
00:17:40.12\00:17:41.52
Did you have t-shirts? They did.
00:17:41.56\00:17:42.92
They wore the t-shirts.
00:17:42.96\00:17:44.39
Actually they had to
purchase their own t-shirts,
00:17:44.43\00:17:46.43
but hey, they
were able to do so.
00:17:46.46\00:17:48.46
They were excited about it.
00:17:48.50\00:17:49.93
They purchased their
t-shirts, wore their t-shirts.
00:17:49.96\00:17:52.77
It was a great day. Wow.
00:17:52.80\00:17:55.84
So were they
divided strictly by churches
00:17:55.87\00:17:59.47
or was it just by teams?
00:17:59.51\00:18:00.84
How did you divide up the...
00:18:00.88\00:18:02.71
how did you
organize the volunteers?
00:18:02.74\00:18:04.35
Well, we
organized the volunteers,
00:18:04.38\00:18:06.55
we put them in groups,
00:18:06.58\00:18:07.92
we had different
areas of clean up.
00:18:07.95\00:18:10.12
They were different
streets that were...
00:18:10.15\00:18:12.49
we had persons that were
captains of different streets,
00:18:12.52\00:18:15.92
different areas
00:18:15.96\00:18:17.29
and they would go
to different areas.
00:18:17.33\00:18:18.79
One of the events on
that particular day was also,
00:18:18.83\00:18:21.60
we were able to be
engaged with a elementary school
00:18:21.63\00:18:25.50
where we were
able to do some things
00:18:25.53\00:18:28.10
to spruce up their
campuses, well, on that day.
00:18:28.14\00:18:30.41
So there were some
00:18:30.44\00:18:31.94
who were doing
the street clean up,
00:18:31.97\00:18:34.48
and there were others who
were at the elementary school.
00:18:34.51\00:18:37.55
What kind of work did you
do at the elementary school?
00:18:37.58\00:18:39.58
We kind of spruced up their area
00:18:39.61\00:18:41.48
and paint, did some painting.
00:18:41.52\00:18:42.85
You painted? Yes.
00:18:42.88\00:18:44.35
Did you rake leaves,
you know, what did you do?
00:18:44.39\00:18:46.15
Well, we painted their parking
lot on that particular day.
00:18:46.19\00:18:48.59
That's a big job.
00:18:48.62\00:18:49.96
That's not a little some things.
00:18:49.99\00:18:51.69
Okay, so you
painted a whole parking lot?
00:18:51.73\00:18:55.56
Volunteers did. We
striped their parking lot.
00:18:55.60\00:18:58.10
Wow, that would be normally
very expensive enterprise
00:18:58.13\00:19:01.24
if the school
had to pay for that.
00:19:01.27\00:19:03.14
So that was
something that volunteers did.
00:19:03.17\00:19:05.61
Did you have a machine
or did they do that by hand?
00:19:05.64\00:19:07.78
How did they do that?
00:19:07.81\00:19:09.14
Well, it would've
been nice to have a machine
00:19:09.18\00:19:12.25
but it was nicer
to have the rollers
00:19:12.28\00:19:14.75
because it made us
interact with each other
00:19:14.78\00:19:18.02
and we were able
to have a good time,
00:19:18.05\00:19:20.62
just, you know,
get a little paint
00:19:20.66\00:19:22.59
on our clothes and our hands.
00:19:22.62\00:19:24.59
Wow, that is totally awesome.
00:19:24.63\00:19:26.63
So then how did the neighborhood
00:19:26.66\00:19:28.73
receive people coming through
cleaning up their neighborhood?
00:19:28.76\00:19:33.47
Well, the neighborhood people
were pleased, matter of fact,
00:19:33.50\00:19:38.87
the mayor came
out and took a picture
00:19:38.91\00:19:42.08
with one of the
groups that was out
00:19:42.11\00:19:43.95
on that particular day.
00:19:43.98\00:19:45.55
So he noticed? He did.
00:19:45.58\00:19:47.82
He took notice. He did.
00:19:47.85\00:19:49.22
Wow, so...
00:19:49.25\00:19:50.59
And we give all
glory and praise to God.
00:19:50.62\00:19:53.59
Amen, amen.
00:19:53.62\00:19:55.36
So what kinds of
equipment did people bring?
00:19:55.39\00:19:57.93
Did they, you know,
did you supply every thing
00:19:57.96\00:20:00.73
or did they bring
rakes and bags and, you know,
00:20:00.76\00:20:03.30
how did that work out?
00:20:03.33\00:20:04.67
Well, the city
provided some thing.
00:20:04.70\00:20:06.30
They provided some bags,
trash bags and some gloves.
00:20:06.33\00:20:12.31
Now, but others
brought some rakes
00:20:12.34\00:20:14.34
and those kinds
of things to help.
00:20:14.38\00:20:16.61
But mainly were...
00:20:16.64\00:20:18.68
it was kind of self
contained in terms of
00:20:18.71\00:20:21.25
not needing the whole
lot of tools and utensils
00:20:21.28\00:20:26.05
but we were able to
do what we needed to do.
00:20:26.09\00:20:28.82
Pick up some things, move tyres,
00:20:28.86\00:20:31.09
put them out to
this curb in the city
00:20:31.13\00:20:33.19
where they can come
by and pick them up.
00:20:33.23\00:20:35.46
So how was the weather that day
00:20:35.50\00:20:37.10
when everyone say,
hey, 85 volunteers,
00:20:37.13\00:20:39.57
they want to come out and serve?
00:20:39.60\00:20:40.97
Was it sunny, was it
warm, was it perfect weather?
00:20:41.00\00:20:44.14
Well, it was in October.
00:20:44.17\00:20:46.44
In October,
sometimes in Tennessee,
00:20:46.47\00:20:48.21
in Memphis, Tennessee, is
a kind of... sometimes iffy.
00:20:48.24\00:20:50.88
Sometimes it will rain
a lot during that month
00:20:50.91\00:20:53.72
but it started
out a little cloudy
00:20:53.75\00:20:56.79
but it cleared up,
00:20:56.82\00:20:58.65
God blessed us
and gave us favor.
00:20:58.69\00:21:01.62
I think it was a
little sunshine that day.
00:21:01.66\00:21:03.09
It was a little
cool that morning.
00:21:03.12\00:21:04.46
But as the day went
on, we started at 8:30
00:21:04.49\00:21:07.93
and we ended at 11:30,
around 11:30, 12 o'clock.
00:21:07.96\00:21:12.47
So how much territory
were you able to cover?
00:21:12.50\00:21:14.60
How much of the neighborhood
were you able to clean up?
00:21:14.64\00:21:17.84
It's a good
question because what we did
00:21:17.87\00:21:19.67
in dividing up
different streets, we were,
00:21:19.71\00:21:25.28
it was kind of broad breath
of area where we served...
00:21:25.31\00:21:29.95
Miles or two...
00:21:29.98\00:21:31.62
Well, from Word of
Life, I would say that
00:21:31.65\00:21:34.36
the farthest
street that we covered
00:21:34.39\00:21:36.59
was about five miles away.
00:21:36.62\00:21:38.89
Because it was the
one that was recommended
00:21:38.93\00:21:42.13
by Dr. Bill Burn, one
of the community leaders
00:21:42.16\00:21:44.37
in the city... in
the area of Frayser
00:21:44.40\00:21:47.10
because he has a group
that does clean up as well.
00:21:47.14\00:21:50.47
And he recommended that
that we do that particular area
00:21:50.51\00:21:53.38
because it was
heavily cluttered with litter.
00:21:53.41\00:21:56.81
Then we did the
area by the school
00:21:56.85\00:21:58.68
and then we did Highway 51
which is a major thoroughfare
00:21:58.71\00:22:02.48
from Memphis to the
city called Millington,
00:22:02.52\00:22:07.72
Highway 51, Thomas
Street in that area
00:22:07.76\00:22:10.06
where there are some
retail stores and so forth.
00:22:10.09\00:22:13.33
And were out there on
that main street as well.
00:22:13.36\00:22:16.20
How did the
retails owners, how did...
00:22:16.23\00:22:18.87
what did they think about that,
00:22:18.90\00:22:20.24
everybody cleaning
outside of their store?
00:22:20.27\00:22:22.30
Well, the CVS store,
00:22:22.34\00:22:25.91
they were very
excited about us being there.
00:22:25.94\00:22:28.74
They appreciated it very much
and matter of fact, the manager
00:22:28.78\00:22:34.32
'cause we are cleaning
up outside of the store,
00:22:34.35\00:22:36.48
and we asked if we can throw
some trash into his dumpster.
00:22:36.52\00:22:41.62
He said, "You
guys out here don't...
00:22:41.66\00:22:44.23
he gave us some water, you know,
00:22:44.26\00:22:47.60
free of charge
just gave us water.
00:22:47.63\00:22:49.00
So as the way of
saying, thanks for cleaning up.
00:22:49.03\00:22:52.03
So has the media
covered any of the events
00:22:52.07\00:22:54.27
that you've held?
00:22:54.30\00:22:55.94
Well, this particular one,
we didn't have media coverage
00:22:55.97\00:22:59.14
but we had media
coverage for some other events
00:22:59.17\00:23:01.68
that we've had since then.
00:23:01.71\00:23:03.98
Okay.
00:23:04.01\00:23:05.35
So you did another event like
this at another time in the...
00:23:05.38\00:23:08.22
Yes, in the
month of April of 2014.
00:23:08.25\00:23:12.39
We have another clean up.
00:23:12.42\00:23:13.86
It was kind of rainy that day.
00:23:13.89\00:23:15.42
But we went out
and served anyway.
00:23:15.46\00:23:17.79
Even though it was raining,
we went out and did service
00:23:17.83\00:23:20.30
and the media actually came out
00:23:20.33\00:23:22.63
and caught us in
serving in the rain.
00:23:22.66\00:23:25.80
Oh, that's cool. That's cool.
00:23:25.83\00:23:27.70
So what other kinds
of events have you held
00:23:27.74\00:23:30.84
or that you're planning?
00:23:30.87\00:23:32.44
Well, we've had
some other events,
00:23:32.47\00:23:34.61
matter of fact, we
earlier this year in 2015,
00:23:34.64\00:23:39.65
we've had an
event called a Symposium
00:23:39.68\00:23:44.22
for Law Enforcement.
00:23:44.25\00:23:46.79
We wanted to be able
to recognize the tensions
00:23:46.82\00:23:50.09
and the things that
are going on because...
00:23:50.13\00:23:52.59
or things that were
happening across the country
00:23:52.63\00:23:55.06
where police and citizens
being in violence and so forth.
00:23:55.10\00:24:02.07
We wanted to be
able to show that
00:24:02.10\00:24:04.21
we cared about
our police department
00:24:04.24\00:24:06.71
and want the police
department to know that
00:24:06.74\00:24:08.38
we were concerned
about our city as well.
00:24:08.41\00:24:12.35
And so the churches got together
00:24:12.38\00:24:14.88
and we went out to
the different precincts
00:24:14.92\00:24:17.59
where nearest to
our churches location.
00:24:17.62\00:24:21.92
And we prayed for the
police at the police precinct.
00:24:21.96\00:24:26.59
And they were
ecstatic about that
00:24:26.63\00:24:29.36
because, you know,
sometimes the police,
00:24:29.40\00:24:31.37
although they are there
to protect and to serve.
00:24:31.40\00:24:34.24
Sometimes they get a bad rap
00:24:34.27\00:24:36.37
because if something goes down,
something goes wrong or why,
00:24:36.40\00:24:39.94
then the finger is
pointed at a police...
00:24:39.97\00:24:43.98
at law enforcement.
00:24:44.01\00:24:45.75
But we wanted them to know
that we were supportive of them
00:24:45.78\00:24:48.92
and that we were
wanted to know that...
00:24:48.95\00:24:50.79
want them to know that
we were praying for them.
00:24:50.82\00:24:53.46
So who was involved
in that particular event?
00:24:53.49\00:24:55.82
Was it just the churches only,
were there other city officials
00:24:55.86\00:24:58.99
or county
officials that were involved?
00:24:59.03\00:25:01.26
Well, that particular piece
00:25:01.30\00:25:03.10
in praying for
the police department,
00:25:03.13\00:25:05.70
the churches
went to the location.
00:25:05.73\00:25:07.90
Okay.
00:25:07.94\00:25:09.27
And later on that
day, we decided to have
00:25:09.30\00:25:13.01
what we called a Law
Enforcement Symposium
00:25:13.04\00:25:16.75
and where About we
met at one of the churches
00:25:16.78\00:25:19.05
and some city officials came.
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.45
They were invited,
00:25:21.48\00:25:22.82
the district
attorney was invited,
00:25:22.85\00:25:25.09
city council
persons were invited
00:25:25.12\00:25:27.26
and the police
department was invited
00:25:27.29\00:25:28.89
and the
neighborhood and the churches
00:25:28.92\00:25:31.99
were invited to come,
00:25:32.03\00:25:33.36
Seventh-day
Adventist churches were invited
00:25:33.40\00:25:35.00
because we wanted to talk about
00:25:35.03\00:25:37.33
what are the
things that we can do
00:25:37.37\00:25:39.20
and teach our
children our young men,
00:25:39.23\00:25:41.14
especially our young
African American men,
00:25:41.17\00:25:43.51
how they out to respond,
00:25:43.54\00:25:45.34
what should they do if
they were stopped by the police,
00:25:45.37\00:25:49.71
how should they
respond or what should they do
00:25:49.74\00:25:52.55
what question should they ask,
what things should they know.
00:25:52.58\00:25:55.72
Okay, very... in the few minutes
00:25:55.75\00:25:57.79
that we have
left for the program,
00:25:57.82\00:25:59.32
what were some of the highlights
00:25:59.35\00:26:00.82
of some of that
advice that was given
00:26:00.86\00:26:02.62
and that came from that?
00:26:02.66\00:26:04.09
Well, one of the things
00:26:04.13\00:26:05.46
that stood out
very dramatically was
00:26:05.49\00:26:08.06
one of the officers just
gave us this information.
00:26:08.10\00:26:11.97
If you are stopped,
especially at night,
00:26:12.00\00:26:14.57
if you are stopped by
police, what you need to do is
00:26:14.60\00:26:17.87
turn on your
light inside the car,
00:26:17.91\00:26:20.31
put your hands on the wheel
00:26:20.34\00:26:22.54
and just follow the
officer's instructions.
00:26:22.58\00:26:26.88
That way you can be and safe
00:26:26.92\00:26:28.98
and the officer
can be safe as well.
00:26:29.02\00:26:32.02
How was the
feeling of the event,
00:26:32.05\00:26:34.26
you know, once it ended?
00:26:34.29\00:26:36.22
How did people feel
about having come together
00:26:36.26\00:26:38.69
and done all of those activities
00:26:38.73\00:26:40.06
with the police
and the county etc.?
00:26:40.10\00:26:42.40
Well, the
members of the churches
00:26:42.43\00:26:44.13
were excited about it.
00:26:44.17\00:26:45.50
They were glad that we did that
and they are looking for more.
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.47
The police department
was appreciative of the fact
00:26:49.50\00:26:52.31
that we felt the need
and the desire to do so
00:26:52.34\00:26:56.81
and they said,
they'll be willing
00:26:56.85\00:26:58.75
to do it again to help us
00:26:58.78\00:27:00.55
as we seek to
try to help the city
00:27:00.58\00:27:02.62
as we seek the peace of the city
00:27:02.65\00:27:05.22
as God instructed
through Jeremiah 29: 7.
00:27:05.25\00:27:10.63
Amen.
00:27:10.66\00:27:11.99
So is there resources
00:27:12.03\00:27:14.10
that you guys could consider,
00:27:14.13\00:27:16.00
the gentlemen,
the pastors, the...
00:27:16.03\00:27:18.23
was it "MAMA" of the city?
00:27:18.27\00:27:20.80
Yeah, Memphis Area
Ministerial Alliance.
00:27:20.84\00:27:22.60
Okay, that you
could put on your website,
00:27:22.64\00:27:24.87
iservememphis.org that
could help other people
00:27:24.91\00:27:27.74
who are interested in
starting programs in their city?
00:27:27.78\00:27:31.15
Well, they can contact us
00:27:31.18\00:27:34.35
through that particular website.
00:27:34.38\00:27:36.42
We have information
out there about the events
00:27:36.45\00:27:39.12
that we've had in the past
00:27:39.15\00:27:41.32
and there will more things
that we would put on there
00:27:41.36\00:27:43.63
as we move further
along in the future.
00:27:43.66\00:27:46.70
Okay, well, thank you so
much for coming, Pastor Batten.
00:27:46.73\00:27:49.43
I really
appreciate your sharing.
00:27:49.46\00:27:50.83
Thank you.
00:27:50.87\00:27:52.20
That was pretty awesome
00:27:52.23\00:27:53.57
all the things
that we're involved.
00:27:53.60\00:27:54.94
It is a group of people coming
together to make a decision
00:27:54.97\00:27:57.27
to do something
different for their city.
00:27:57.31\00:27:59.41
And for those of you at home
who want to make a difference,
00:27:59.44\00:28:02.21
there we go,
we've been shared...
00:28:02.24\00:28:04.15
he shared with us
how we can do that.
00:28:04.18\00:28:05.91
We can get
together a group of people
00:28:05.95\00:28:07.98
to go to the mayor,
00:28:08.02\00:28:09.35
to be able to
pray for our police.
00:28:09.38\00:28:12.05
Let's just be that
light in the world today.
00:28:12.09\00:28:14.02
Thank you so
much for joining us.
00:28:14.06\00:28:15.39
Have a great day.
00:28:15.42\00:28:16.76