I want to spend my life
00:00:01.63\00:00:07.64
Mending broken people
00:00:07.67\00:00:12.61
I want to spend my life
00:00:12.64\00:00:18.95
Removing pain
00:00:18.98\00:00:23.89
Lord, let my words
00:00:23.92\00:00:30.13
Heal a heart that hurts
00:00:30.16\00:00:34.60
I want to spend my life
00:00:34.63\00:00:40.54
Mending broken people
00:00:40.57\00:00:45.94
I want to spend my life
00:00:45.97\00:00:51.48
Mending broken people
00:00:51.51\00:00:56.05
Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today.
00:01:10.67\00:01:12.70
My name is CA Murray,
and allow me once again,
00:01:12.73\00:01:14.87
to thank you for
sharing just a little of your,
00:01:14.90\00:01:18.04
no doubt, busy day with us.
00:01:18.07\00:01:19.67
So thank you as always
for your love, your prayers,
00:01:19.71\00:01:22.24
your support of this ministry
as just shy of 34 years.
00:01:22.28\00:01:26.95
We've been lifting
up the name of Jesus,
00:01:27.02\00:01:28.58
spreading the gospel
00:01:28.62\00:01:29.95
to the uttermost
parts of the earth,
00:01:29.98\00:01:32.29
and preparing men and women
00:01:32.32\00:01:34.09
for the second
coming of our Lord
00:01:34.16\00:01:35.49
and Savior Jesus Christ.
00:01:35.52\00:01:36.86
I want you to draw very closely
to the television set today
00:01:36.89\00:01:40.33
and listen with your good ear
00:01:40.40\00:01:42.43
because we've got a
very exciting testimony.
00:01:42.46\00:01:45.77
The name is familiar to me
00:01:45.80\00:01:47.54
because I've pastored
members of the pastor's family.
00:01:47.57\00:01:52.51
So when I hear the name J.
00:01:52.54\00:01:54.21
Malcolm Phipps
Jr., I know that name
00:01:54.28\00:01:57.91
and I know many
members of his family,
00:01:57.95\00:01:59.85
his wife
Carolyn is here with me.
00:01:59.88\00:02:01.98
And he is pastor
00:02:02.02\00:02:03.89
of the Bethel
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
00:02:03.92\00:02:08.26
in Tulsa, North Tulsa, Oklahoma.
00:02:08.29\00:02:10.83
Good to have you here.
00:02:10.86\00:02:12.23
We're glad to be here,
appreciate the opportunity.
00:02:12.26\00:02:15.03
Praise the Lord.
00:02:15.06\00:02:16.67
Carolyn is in
charge of the soup kitchen
00:02:16.70\00:02:18.90
at the Bethel Church.
00:02:18.93\00:02:20.27
Yes, I am.
00:02:20.34\00:02:21.67
And a lot of what
we're going to talk about
00:02:21.70\00:02:23.71
is ministry that the church
carries on in the community
00:02:23.74\00:02:26.88
and ministry that
you are able to carry
00:02:26.91\00:02:28.71
on during some
pretty rough times.
00:02:28.74\00:02:32.51
Yes. Talk about that.
00:02:32.55\00:02:34.15
And I'm sure you can both
say that the Lord is good.
00:02:34.22\00:02:36.35
Yes. Absolutely.
00:02:36.38\00:02:37.72
And has kept you
through some rough stuff.
00:02:37.75\00:02:39.09
Yes. Very much so.
00:02:39.12\00:02:41.96
For which we praise the Lord.
00:02:41.99\00:02:43.53
Let me ask this question
just before we go to our music
00:02:43.56\00:02:45.53
and do some other things.
00:02:45.56\00:02:47.50
Oklahoma as a state,
00:02:47.53\00:02:48.86
is it prone or
given to the tornadoes?
00:02:48.90\00:02:50.67
It is.
00:02:50.70\00:02:52.03
It is right in the
middle of Tornado Alley.
00:02:52.07\00:02:53.84
Uh-huh.
00:02:53.87\00:02:55.20
And you can expect
a tornado every year.
00:02:55.24\00:02:59.14
Is that so?
00:02:59.17\00:03:00.51
Maybe not
necessarily in Tulsa. Yeah.
00:03:00.58\00:03:02.68
But somewhere in Oklahoma,
there will be a tornado.
00:03:02.71\00:03:07.05
When they build and constructed,
00:03:07.12\00:03:08.65
do they build with that in mind
or can you even do that build
00:03:08.68\00:03:11.75
to so that you can
withstand a tornado?
00:03:11.79\00:03:13.66
In our rebuild, that
is part of what we did.
00:03:13.69\00:03:17.33
There is a new roof
or a new roofing system
00:03:17.36\00:03:20.20
that they have now
00:03:20.23\00:03:21.56
that is supposed to
help the roof stay on.
00:03:21.60\00:03:23.77
Uh-huh.
00:03:23.80\00:03:25.13
Because the air
passes through rather...
00:03:25.17\00:03:27.24
Instead of going in
and ballooning it up.
00:03:27.27\00:03:28.60
Right.
00:03:28.64\00:03:30.01
So I suspect you lost your roof.
00:03:30.04\00:03:31.37
Oh, yes.
00:03:31.41\00:03:32.74
I suspect you
lost a lot stuff...
00:03:32.77\00:03:34.51
you lost a lot of stuff.
00:03:34.54\00:03:35.98
We're going to
talk about that too,
00:03:36.01\00:03:37.55
and I know you brought
some pictures with you.
00:03:37.58\00:03:39.48
Before we go to our
music, let's get some history,
00:03:39.51\00:03:41.95
graduate of Oakwood College?
00:03:41.98\00:03:43.39
Graduate of Oakwood,
00:03:43.42\00:03:45.05
it was college
then, university now.
00:03:45.09\00:03:47.26
Yes.
00:03:47.29\00:03:48.62
And also of
Southwestern Adventist,
00:03:48.66\00:03:50.63
I got a theology
degree from there.
00:03:50.66\00:03:52.46
Okay, all right.
00:03:52.49\00:03:53.83
In Keene, Texas.
00:03:53.90\00:03:56.80
Started out my
ministry as a teacher.
00:03:56.87\00:03:59.77
Uh-huh.
00:03:59.80\00:04:01.14
And Principal in
Southwest Region Conference.
00:04:01.17\00:04:02.84
I see.
00:04:02.87\00:04:04.21
Obviously, grew up
in an Adventist home.
00:04:04.24\00:04:05.57
Yes.
00:04:05.61\00:04:06.98
Your dad was J.
Malcolm Phipps Sr.
00:04:07.01\00:04:08.38
Right.
00:04:08.41\00:04:09.74
And...
00:04:09.78\00:04:11.11
His dad was
Frederick Charles Phipps,
00:04:11.15\00:04:13.52
who pastored in the
old Allegheny Conference...
00:04:13.55\00:04:16.35
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
00:04:16.38\00:04:17.72
And then his father
was St. Clair Monte Phipps,
00:04:17.75\00:04:22.56
who was the first elder
of the first Adventist Church
00:04:22.59\00:04:26.16
in Trinidad.
00:04:26.19\00:04:27.53
Have mercy. Is that so?
00:04:27.60\00:04:28.93
So the Phipps' are from...
00:04:28.96\00:04:30.30
You go back far
enough, you go to Trinidad?
00:04:30.33\00:04:31.67
Yes, sir.
00:04:31.70\00:04:33.03
I see, I see, I see.
00:04:33.07\00:04:34.40
Now of course
as we were talking,
00:04:34.44\00:04:35.77
I pastored
members of your family,
00:04:35.80\00:04:37.67
Ed Phipps and his wife Grace
00:04:37.71\00:04:39.57
and Cullen Phipps
and his wife Claudette.
00:04:39.61\00:04:41.64
Right.
00:04:41.68\00:04:43.01
We're members of my church,
00:04:43.04\00:04:44.38
the Ephesus Church in Manhattan.
00:04:44.41\00:04:45.75
Those were my
dad's first cousin.
00:04:45.78\00:04:47.12
Yes, yes. Their
fathers were brothers.
00:04:47.15\00:04:48.65
I'll take a quick
story about Edward Phipps,
00:04:48.68\00:04:51.22
who was an elder at the time.
00:04:51.25\00:04:53.15
I was going to a meeting
at Atlantic Union Conference
00:04:53.19\00:04:57.43
and heading up to Massachusetts
and left my wallet home.
00:04:57.46\00:05:02.40
And I was running a little late,
00:05:02.43\00:05:04.17
so I got stopped.
00:05:04.20\00:05:05.97
And I didn't have my wallet.
00:05:06.00\00:05:07.90
So the policeman said, "Well,
you can't drive that car."
00:05:07.94\00:05:10.14
So they took me to jail,
00:05:10.21\00:05:13.51
and I called Bruce
Wills who was the Dean of men.
00:05:13.58\00:05:15.98
I said, "You need
to come and get me
00:05:16.01\00:05:17.35
'cause I can't drive my car."
00:05:17.38\00:05:19.28
So when they...
00:05:19.31\00:05:20.65
They took me into the cell,
who is in the cell next to me
00:05:20.72\00:05:23.69
but Edward Phipps, my elder,
00:05:23.72\00:05:27.72
who also have
forgotten his license.
00:05:27.76\00:05:32.03
And he was of
course at the time,
00:05:32.06\00:05:33.40
he was Head of the
Department of Motor Vehicles
00:05:33.43\00:05:35.00
for Bronx County.
00:05:35.03\00:05:36.36
Wow.
00:05:36.40\00:05:37.73
He was a motor vehicle guy,
00:05:37.77\00:05:39.10
and he's in jail
cooling his heels.
00:05:39.13\00:05:40.47
Someone had to sign us
out, and we laughed about this,
00:05:40.54\00:05:43.04
and I said, "Elder, if
you don't tell anybody,
00:05:43.07\00:05:45.84
I won't tell anybody."
00:05:45.87\00:05:47.21
And of course,
00:05:47.28\00:05:48.61
that story goes
back 20 plus years
00:05:48.64\00:05:49.98
and Edward has
passed to his rest.
00:05:50.01\00:05:52.08
So I'm free to tell it now,
00:05:52.11\00:05:53.52
that we spent some
time in jail together.
00:05:53.55\00:05:55.55
Yeah.
00:05:55.58\00:05:56.92
But great family, great
supporters of the church,
00:05:56.99\00:05:59.62
wonderful, wonderful people.
00:05:59.65\00:06:01.06
Now tell me how you guys met.
00:06:01.09\00:06:02.42
In fact, let me go to Carolyn.
00:06:02.46\00:06:04.06
Now you actually do get to talk.
00:06:04.13\00:06:05.46
Okay. I will get
the truth from you.
00:06:05.49\00:06:07.00
Okay, I'll tell the truth.
00:06:07.03\00:06:09.56
I'm the guilty party.
00:06:09.60\00:06:11.87
I approached the
pastor. Is that so?
00:06:11.90\00:06:15.04
By way of a letter,
the old-fashioned way,
00:06:15.07\00:06:18.84
and told him how much I enjoyed
00:06:18.87\00:06:21.11
his Wednesday
night prayer meeting,
00:06:21.14\00:06:23.98
and asked if he
would come back and do more
00:06:24.05\00:06:27.12
Wednesday night prayer meetings.
00:06:27.15\00:06:29.05
So it took him a
while to answer my letter,
00:06:29.08\00:06:31.95
maybe two months.
00:06:31.99\00:06:34.09
So I thought,
00:06:34.16\00:06:35.49
"Oh, he's not
interested, so that's okay."
00:06:35.52\00:06:39.09
And I got a letter,
00:06:39.13\00:06:41.46
received a letter
about two months later
00:06:41.50\00:06:44.73
saying he's happy that I enjoyed
00:06:44.77\00:06:47.57
his Wednesday night sermon
00:06:47.64\00:06:50.01
and that I
needed to ask my pastor
00:06:50.04\00:06:53.31
if he could come back.
00:06:53.38\00:06:55.21
So indeed, I did ask the pastor,
00:06:55.24\00:06:58.55
and he came back.
00:06:58.58\00:07:00.82
So that's how
it all got started.
00:07:00.85\00:07:03.59
Okay, let's hit the pause button
00:07:03.62\00:07:04.95
'cause this is
kind of intriguing.
00:07:04.99\00:07:06.86
So you get this letter,
00:07:06.89\00:07:08.92
did you read
anything into the letter
00:07:08.96\00:07:10.93
rather than
just a letter for you
00:07:10.96\00:07:12.46
to come back and speak
or was that kind of neutral?
00:07:12.49\00:07:15.33
'Cause you kind of
took your time responding.
00:07:15.36\00:07:17.47
Well, the letter was perfumed.
00:07:17.50\00:07:23.20
There's a little hint.
00:07:23.24\00:07:24.61
And the letter was
not as dry as she made it.
00:07:24.64\00:07:30.28
And I was a little hesitant
00:07:30.35\00:07:34.25
because I didn't
want to commit myself
00:07:34.32\00:07:37.59
as soon as that,
00:07:37.62\00:07:39.65
and from what I
could read from the letter,
00:07:39.69\00:07:41.52
she was not looking
for something casual.
00:07:41.56\00:07:43.86
Uh-huh.
00:07:43.93\00:07:45.26
And so I took time
00:07:45.29\00:07:49.30
because I needed
to think it through.
00:07:49.33\00:07:50.87
Yes.
00:07:50.90\00:07:52.23
And then I sent a response.
00:07:52.27\00:07:54.14
So you put a little
something in the letter,
00:07:54.17\00:07:55.57
a little hook in the letter.
00:07:55.60\00:07:56.94
Just a little. Yeah.
00:07:57.01\00:07:59.07
Now the truth comes out. Yes.
00:07:59.11\00:08:00.61
Oh, yeah. Yes.
00:08:00.68\00:08:02.78
So you could tell
00:08:02.81\00:08:04.15
there was something
more than just an invitation.
00:08:04.18\00:08:07.15
Had you known each
other or met each other
00:08:07.22\00:08:09.78
over in another time
00:08:09.82\00:08:11.15
or this was really
kind of preliminary stuff?
00:08:11.19\00:08:13.02
Her pastor, Elder Durand Fords,
a very good friend of mine,
00:08:13.05\00:08:17.13
we've been friends
since childhood almost,
00:08:17.16\00:08:21.13
have been trying to hook us up.
00:08:21.16\00:08:22.90
He'd been trying
to get us together.
00:08:22.93\00:08:25.30
And he had
introduced me, you know,
00:08:25.33\00:08:28.34
I'd be standing in line
with the pastors at church,
00:08:28.37\00:08:30.41
he'd introduced me to her,
00:08:30.44\00:08:32.11
and he'd give me a little nudge,
00:08:32.14\00:08:33.91
like that's the one.
00:08:33.98\00:08:35.88
And she always
wore these long dresses
00:08:35.91\00:08:40.32
and tent-like, she
was very conservative.
00:08:40.35\00:08:43.39
And so she was
nice and she was pretty
00:08:43.42\00:08:46.52
but, you know...
00:08:46.55\00:08:48.96
We were at a gas station
one day, Pastor Ford and I,
00:08:48.99\00:08:52.63
and this BMW pulls up
00:08:52.66\00:08:55.13
and this woman in
the sundress gets out.
00:08:55.16\00:08:58.00
And I was like, "Who is that?"
00:08:58.03\00:09:00.64
And he said,
"That's nobody but Carolyn.
00:09:00.67\00:09:03.00
I've been trying to tell you."
00:09:03.04\00:09:05.01
I said, "I must find
out about this lady, "
00:09:05.04\00:09:07.91
and I got out of the car
and went and introduced myself.
00:09:07.94\00:09:11.41
And things sort of
picked up from there.
00:09:11.45\00:09:14.42
Uh-huh.
00:09:14.45\00:09:17.19
Obviously, you were intrigued
and I just need to ask who...
00:09:17.22\00:09:21.32
This was post that
letter or before that letter?
00:09:21.36\00:09:23.76
This was after the letter?
00:09:23.83\00:09:25.16
This was after the
letter. Okay, okay.
00:09:25.19\00:09:26.80
So the letters
had been exchanged.
00:09:26.83\00:09:28.93
That's right.
00:09:28.96\00:09:30.60
And obviously,
something happened
00:09:30.67\00:09:33.47
because you're here today.
00:09:33.54\00:09:34.87
But in whose mind did
00:09:34.90\00:09:36.24
the idea of
marriage first appear,
00:09:36.27\00:09:38.27
do you think?
00:09:38.31\00:09:40.01
I think it was in her mind. Yes.
00:09:40.08\00:09:42.24
Because...
00:09:42.28\00:09:43.65
Her pastor, now there
were two pastors involved,
00:09:49.55\00:09:52.35
we had Elder Ford and
you had Elder James Cox.
00:09:52.39\00:09:54.72
Uh-huh, I know James Cox. Okay.
00:09:54.76\00:09:56.19
Well, Ford was her pastor
00:09:56.22\00:09:58.03
who brought her into the church.
00:09:58.06\00:09:59.56
I see.
00:09:59.59\00:10:00.93
He was the one who baptized her.
00:10:00.96\00:10:02.30
Pastor Cox was
her current pastor.
00:10:02.33\00:10:04.27
And the Pastor Cox was
in cahoots with Elder Ford.
00:10:04.30\00:10:10.54
And so he gave me tickets
to a Kirk Franklin concert.
00:10:10.61\00:10:15.91
Uh-huh.
00:10:15.94\00:10:17.28
And suggested that
maybe I should take Carolyn.
00:10:17.35\00:10:18.68
Uh-huh.
00:10:18.71\00:10:20.15
And so I asked her to
go, and on our way to dinner,
00:10:20.22\00:10:27.06
we were invited to
dinner at someone's house,
00:10:27.09\00:10:29.79
she let me know
on the way to dinner
00:10:29.82\00:10:32.46
that she wasn't interested
in just dating to be dating.
00:10:32.49\00:10:37.20
If it wasn't leading anywhere,
00:10:37.27\00:10:38.60
then she wasn't
wasting her time.
00:10:38.63\00:10:40.17
I see.
00:10:40.24\00:10:41.80
And so she said,
"You're an attractive man
00:10:41.84\00:10:44.47
and you probably
have somebody somewhere,
00:10:44.51\00:10:47.28
you need to get that
straight and then get with me."
00:10:47.31\00:10:50.98
So you kind of put
that all out on the table.
00:10:51.01\00:10:52.75
She put it all on...
00:10:52.78\00:10:54.12
Well, God bless you.
00:10:54.15\00:10:55.48
Upfront and
immediately, yes, I did.
00:10:55.52\00:10:58.89
No sense in just
killing clock time,
00:10:58.92\00:11:01.12
we need to be going somewhere.
00:11:01.16\00:11:02.49
Exactly. Praise the Lord.
00:11:02.52\00:11:03.86
Well said, and well done.
00:11:03.93\00:11:05.26
Thank you. That
did not scare you away?
00:11:05.29\00:11:07.63
No. No.
00:11:07.66\00:11:09.30
I was just like okay.
00:11:09.33\00:11:10.67
This is either
all in or nothing.
00:11:13.74\00:11:15.10
Oh, yes, sir.
00:11:15.14\00:11:18.24
And x number of years later
here you are, praise the Lord.
00:11:18.27\00:11:21.74
Happily married. Yes, thank God.
00:11:21.78\00:11:23.11
And we thank God for it.
00:11:23.14\00:11:25.68
You started out teaching
00:11:25.71\00:11:27.22
and went back to
school into ministry,
00:11:27.25\00:11:30.62
and you land in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
00:11:30.69\00:11:33.59
let's pick up the story
00:11:33.66\00:11:34.99
there before our
time gets away from us.
00:11:35.02\00:11:37.63
And then I want to take a moment
00:11:37.66\00:11:39.19
and go to the meeting.
00:11:39.23\00:11:40.96
But tell us, give me a little
of the culture of the church.
00:11:41.00\00:11:43.16
This is pre all of this drama,
but tell me about the church
00:11:43.20\00:11:46.63
and you're coming to the church
and how you found that church.
00:11:46.67\00:11:49.10
Okay.
00:11:49.14\00:11:52.17
I am a community
pastor is how I termed myself.
00:11:52.21\00:11:56.68
Wherever I go, I try to,
00:11:56.75\00:12:00.42
first of all, join a
ministerial alliance.
00:12:00.45\00:12:02.52
I did always the
same thing. Okay.
00:12:02.55\00:12:04.29
And then get
involved in the community,
00:12:04.32\00:12:06.86
whatever is happening.
00:12:06.89\00:12:10.13
So I ended up
00:12:10.16\00:12:12.49
joining the North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Conference.
00:12:12.53\00:12:15.40
Uh-huh.
00:12:15.43\00:12:17.40
I've been in the
conference for a year
00:12:17.47\00:12:20.07
and they asked me
to be the treasurer.
00:12:20.14\00:12:22.37
And I told them,
"I'm not going to do that,
00:12:22.40\00:12:25.27
I'd rather not do that."
00:12:25.31\00:12:27.48
I said, "This is a
Baptist Ministers Conference,
00:12:27.51\00:12:29.54
I'm a
Seventh-Day Adventist pastor,
00:12:29.58\00:12:32.15
I would not want
to handle the money,
00:12:32.18\00:12:34.85
that's a recipe for bad things."
00:12:34.88\00:12:36.45
Yes, yes.
00:12:36.48\00:12:37.82
But it is also a
testament to their trust
00:12:37.85\00:12:40.56
and respect for
you, as a matter of fact.
00:12:40.59\00:12:42.76
I recognized that, but
I was afraid to do that.
00:12:42.79\00:12:44.93
Yes, sir.
00:12:44.96\00:12:46.59
So the next year, they asked me
00:12:46.63\00:12:47.96
to be the vice
president of the conference.
00:12:48.00\00:12:51.40
And so I told the president now,
00:12:51.43\00:12:56.07
"I'm Seventh-Day
Adventist pastor."
00:12:56.10\00:12:58.07
He said, "I know that."
00:12:58.11\00:12:59.77
I said, "And you asking
me to be the Vice President
00:12:59.81\00:13:02.08
of the North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Conference?"
00:13:02.11\00:13:04.75
He said, "I know that."
00:13:04.78\00:13:07.05
I said, "Okay."
00:13:07.12\00:13:09.18
And so then they asked me
to be over the ministers helps,
00:13:09.22\00:13:14.76
which is like
continuing education
00:13:14.79\00:13:17.16
but a pastors that they have do,
00:13:17.23\00:13:18.96
you know, these weekly sessions.
00:13:18.99\00:13:20.33
Yes.
00:13:20.40\00:13:21.73
And so I said, "Are you
sure you want me to do that?"
00:13:21.76\00:13:26.27
I said, "I can
only teach what I know."
00:13:26.30\00:13:28.60
Precisely.
00:13:28.64\00:13:30.01
"I'm a
Seventh-Day Adventist pastor,
00:13:30.04\00:13:32.14
are you sure you want me to...?"
00:13:32.17\00:13:33.71
He said, "Didn't I ask you?"
00:13:33.78\00:13:36.01
I said, "Okay."
00:13:36.04\00:13:37.98
So they learned the
Three Angels Message,
00:13:38.01\00:13:40.92
and the Sabbath, and
the state of the dead,
00:13:40.95\00:13:42.82
and the health message, and...
00:13:42.85\00:13:44.19
All right.
00:13:44.22\00:13:45.59
What you were hoping
was what you got, you know.
00:13:45.62\00:13:47.06
I could give them what I know.
00:13:47.09\00:13:50.33
Praise the Lord.
00:13:50.36\00:13:51.69
So this is my second
term as the vice president.
00:13:51.73\00:13:53.43
All right, praise the Lord.
00:13:53.50\00:13:54.93
I'm also member of the
NAACP in the Southern Christian
00:13:54.96\00:13:58.50
Leadership Conference chapter...
00:13:58.53\00:13:59.87
Oh, praise the
Lord. In that city.
00:13:59.90\00:14:02.40
And we make it
our business to attend
00:14:02.44\00:14:06.54
the town hall meetings
of the city councilperson.
00:14:06.57\00:14:09.51
So we try to stay
involved in the community.
00:14:09.54\00:14:13.31
Yeah. Well done.
And I appreciate that.
00:14:13.35\00:14:14.68
Ellen White does say,
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.05
"Draw near to
ministers of other faiths."
00:14:16.08\00:14:17.42
She makes that
statement, "Draw near to them
00:14:17.49\00:14:19.65
and let your light
shine before them also."
00:14:19.69\00:14:22.12
So you're doing that,
and that's a good thing,
00:14:22.16\00:14:25.33
and then working
with the government.
00:14:25.36\00:14:26.70
I did that when I
was in New York City
00:14:26.73\00:14:28.06
all those years.
00:14:28.10\00:14:29.43
It's a positive
thing to be sought in light
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.20
in some of those associations,
so kudos and good for you.
00:14:31.23\00:14:35.07
I think I want to put hit
the pause button right there
00:14:35.10\00:14:37.24
and go to our music
00:14:37.31\00:14:38.67
because once we get into
this the drama of the story,
00:14:38.71\00:14:42.08
I don't want to pause.
00:14:42.11\00:14:43.88
We're going to call
Yvonne Lewis-Shelton here,
00:14:43.95\00:14:49.35
a good friend of the ministry
00:14:49.38\00:14:50.72
and now the Dare To
Dream General Manager.
00:14:50.79\00:14:53.96
She does a very beautiful song,
00:14:53.99\00:14:55.66
and it's called In Christ Alone.
00:14:55.69\00:14:58.33
In Christ alone my hope is found
00:15:16.21\00:15:21.85
He is my light,
my strength, my song
00:15:21.88\00:15:26.76
This
cornerstone, this solid ground
00:15:26.79\00:15:32.33
Firm through the
fiercest drought and storm
00:15:32.36\00:15:37.20
What heights of
love, what depths of peace
00:15:37.27\00:15:42.50
When fears are
stilled and strivings cease
00:15:42.54\00:15:47.84
My comforter, my all in all
00:15:47.88\00:15:53.11
Here in the love
of Christ I stand
00:15:53.15\00:15:59.72
In Christ alone
00:16:05.89\00:16:08.60
Who took on flesh
00:16:08.63\00:16:11.37
Fullness of God in helpless babe
00:16:11.40\00:16:16.37
This gift of
love and righteousness
00:16:16.40\00:16:21.74
Scorned by the
ones He came to save
00:16:21.78\00:16:26.92
Till on that cross as Jesus died
00:16:26.95\00:16:31.92
The wrath of God was satisfied
00:16:31.95\00:16:37.16
For every sin on Him was laid
00:16:37.23\00:16:42.70
Here in the
death of Christ I live
00:16:42.73\00:16:48.64
There in the ground
00:17:08.42\00:17:11.23
His body lay
00:17:11.26\00:17:14.10
Light of the
world by darkness slain
00:17:14.13\00:17:18.77
Then bursting
forth in glorious day
00:17:18.80\00:17:24.31
Up from the grave He rose again
00:17:24.34\00:17:29.31
And as He stands in victory
00:17:29.34\00:17:34.45
Since curse has
lost its grip on me
00:17:34.48\00:17:39.75
For I am His and He is mine
00:17:39.79\00:17:45.36
Bought with the
precious blood of Christ
00:17:45.39\00:17:51.87
No guilt in
life, no fear in death
00:17:58.01\00:18:03.75
This is the
power of Christ in me
00:18:03.78\00:18:08.52
From life's first
cry to final breath
00:18:08.55\00:18:14.09
Jesus commands my destiny
00:18:14.16\00:18:18.79
No power of
hell, no scheme of man
00:18:18.83\00:18:24.17
Can ever pluck me from His hand
00:18:24.20\00:18:28.90
Till He returns to take me home
00:18:32.11\00:18:37.55
Here in the power
of Christ I'll stand
00:18:37.58\00:18:42.38
No power of
hell, no scheme of man
00:18:42.42\00:18:47.69
Can ever pluck me from His hand
00:18:47.72\00:18:52.26
Here in the power
00:18:58.10\00:19:01.40
Of Christ
00:19:01.44\00:19:06.68
I'll stand
00:19:06.71\00:19:13.72
Thank you, Yvonne Lewis-Shelton.
00:19:22.79\00:19:25.39
Well done, beautiful song.
00:19:25.43\00:19:28.13
My guests are J.
Malcolm Phipps Jr.
00:19:28.16\00:19:30.17
and his lovely wife Carolyn.
00:19:30.20\00:19:32.67
And we just got a
little past their meeting
00:19:32.70\00:19:35.60
and an exciting
meeting that was.
00:19:35.64\00:19:39.74
We praise the Lord for that.
00:19:39.77\00:19:41.48
But now you're
coming to Tulsa to pastor,
00:19:41.51\00:19:44.25
and you were giving me
00:19:44.28\00:19:45.61
just a little
flavor of the church.
00:19:45.65\00:19:47.02
Yes.
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.38
Well, so my church,
00:19:48.42\00:19:50.79
just as I try to be
involved in the community,
00:19:50.82\00:19:53.25
my first task, I felt
00:19:53.29\00:19:54.62
was to involve the
church in the community.
00:19:54.66\00:19:57.33
And so
00:19:57.36\00:20:00.10
we have several
different outreach programs.
00:20:00.13\00:20:03.80
The first thing we did
was try to purchase a bus.
00:20:03.87\00:20:06.84
Uh-huh.
00:20:06.87\00:20:08.20
'Cause you can't
really reach the community,
00:20:08.24\00:20:09.57
especially in urban setting
00:20:09.60\00:20:12.54
if you don't have a
way to get people to church
00:20:12.57\00:20:14.78
because many times
they don't have a way.
00:20:14.81\00:20:16.54
Yes.
00:20:16.58\00:20:17.91
And so if you
don't have a vehicle
00:20:17.95\00:20:19.28
where you can pick them
up and bring them to church,
00:20:19.31\00:20:20.82
they're not going to be there.
00:20:20.85\00:20:22.18
And so first thing we
did was try to get a vehicle
00:20:22.22\00:20:25.62
and then after that,
00:20:25.65\00:20:27.89
we had a young lady by
the name of Valida Thomas,
00:20:27.92\00:20:31.66
who was our youth leader.
00:20:31.69\00:20:33.40
And she and her
assistant Gail Heron
00:20:33.43\00:20:37.17
proposed that we start
a Vacation Bible School
00:20:37.20\00:20:40.34
in one of the housing
projects called Apache Manor.
00:20:40.37\00:20:43.10
Uh-huh.
00:20:43.14\00:20:44.47
And so we did that,
took the bus, went out there,
00:20:44.51\00:20:47.48
and brought the
kids to the church,
00:20:47.51\00:20:49.68
and we started that.
00:20:49.71\00:20:51.05
And out of that,
00:20:51.08\00:20:53.52
we grew a pathfinder club,
00:20:53.55\00:20:56.89
Bethel Mighty
Thunder Pathfinder Club.
00:20:56.92\00:21:00.89
And from that pathfinder club,
00:21:00.96\00:21:04.13
we baptized about
five, six, seven people.
00:21:04.16\00:21:08.00
Praise the Lord.
00:21:08.03\00:21:10.00
Even today, the pathfinder
club is still operating
00:21:10.07\00:21:12.60
even though we
don't have our own church.
00:21:12.63\00:21:14.64
But the pathfinder
club is still going on,
00:21:14.67\00:21:17.21
Elder Antonio Thompson
is the pathfinder leader.
00:21:17.24\00:21:21.71
And most of the
club, I would say,
00:21:21.74\00:21:24.08
certainly half of the
club, are non-Adventist.
00:21:24.15\00:21:26.18
Wow, praise the Lord.
00:21:26.21\00:21:27.92
So it is still being
used as a witnessing tool
00:21:27.95\00:21:31.45
and we're still
trying to win young people.
00:21:31.49\00:21:34.16
Now let me ask
you something, pastor,
00:21:34.19\00:21:35.52
because obviously you came
to the church with a vision
00:21:35.56\00:21:38.76
for community outreach
00:21:38.79\00:21:40.13
and some may say
extreme community outreach,
00:21:40.20\00:21:42.43
I think it's just
where it ought to be.
00:21:42.46\00:21:44.30
Did you have to
kind of drag your church
00:21:44.33\00:21:45.93
kicking and screaming
00:21:45.97\00:21:47.34
or did they buy
in to your vision
00:21:47.37\00:21:49.80
of moving out
into the community?
00:21:49.84\00:21:51.37
Well, they
bought into the vision
00:21:51.41\00:21:53.48
but they didn't
buy into the vision.
00:21:53.51\00:21:56.41
What I mean is they
thought it was a good idea,
00:21:56.44\00:22:00.02
but they didn't want to
spend any money to do it.
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.52
So getting the bus
was a trial, I mean...
00:22:03.59\00:22:06.32
And then when we got it,
00:22:06.35\00:22:07.69
you know, we really
couldn't afford brand new ones,
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.36
so there were
some issues with it.
00:22:09.39\00:22:10.73
Yes.
00:22:10.76\00:22:12.09
And they were,
00:22:12.13\00:22:13.50
"See, we wasted
all that money, we..."
00:22:13.53\00:22:14.86
So we had to go through
that, but in the long run,
00:22:14.90\00:22:18.37
they have seen the benefit of it
00:22:18.40\00:22:19.77
because there are souls
who've been won as a result.
00:22:19.80\00:22:24.14
The other outreach
00:22:24.21\00:22:25.54
that we have gotten
into is community service
00:22:25.57\00:22:29.01
and there was a strong
community service program going
00:22:29.04\00:22:31.28
when I got there,
that was with Elder Barnes,
00:22:31.31\00:22:33.35
Elder Sheila Barnes.
00:22:33.42\00:22:36.05
She does an
outstanding job passing out food
00:22:36.08\00:22:39.32
and commodities, clothing,
diapers, that type of thing,
00:22:39.35\00:22:43.43
and twice a month on Wednesdays,
00:22:43.46\00:22:46.80
they would come in for that.
00:22:46.83\00:22:49.56
Those same two young
ladies, Alita and Gale
00:22:49.60\00:22:52.23
started what they
call Pathfinder Pathways,
00:22:52.27\00:22:55.20
which was the
idea was a soup kitchen
00:22:55.24\00:23:00.58
where people could
come and get hot meals.
00:23:00.61\00:23:04.38
And they never quite
got it off the ground
00:23:04.41\00:23:06.11
but they were packing up meals
00:23:06.15\00:23:09.18
and taking them
out to the homeless.
00:23:09.22\00:23:13.09
But they sort of
got behind with it.
00:23:13.12\00:23:15.39
And so in order to make
it run more efficiently,
00:23:15.42\00:23:20.10
Sister Phipps took
over helping them with that.
00:23:20.13\00:23:23.50
I see.
00:23:23.57\00:23:24.90
And they changed the name
to the Soup Kitchen at Bethel.
00:23:24.93\00:23:27.97
Uh-huh.
00:23:28.00\00:23:29.34
And we actually
started preparing hot meals
00:23:29.37\00:23:31.34
at the church,
00:23:31.37\00:23:32.71
and as people came in
to the community service,
00:23:32.74\00:23:36.54
while they were waiting,
they could get a hot meal.
00:23:36.58\00:23:38.78
I see.
00:23:38.81\00:23:40.15
And then we also began
serving meals on Sabbaths,
00:23:40.22\00:23:43.59
and I will stop now and
let her tell her own mission
00:23:43.62\00:23:46.42
because that's
what she is here for.
00:23:46.45\00:23:49.39
We started it about 2014,
00:23:49.42\00:23:54.03
and it happened
right on Thanksgiving Day.
00:23:54.10\00:23:57.27
So we have people come in
00:23:57.30\00:23:59.97
to have a hot
Thanksgiving dinner
00:24:00.04\00:24:03.41
and let me say, nutritious.
00:24:03.44\00:24:06.21
So we had some firemen come in,
00:24:06.24\00:24:08.68
we had policemen come in,
00:24:08.71\00:24:11.48
we had people from
the street come in.
00:24:11.51\00:24:14.32
So we were very happy about that
00:24:14.35\00:24:16.89
and they seemed to
really have enjoyed the food
00:24:16.92\00:24:20.89
and the fellowship...
00:24:20.96\00:24:22.29
Yes. And the prayer.
00:24:22.32\00:24:24.46
We would always pray.
00:24:24.49\00:24:26.70
We would ask if they
had any prayer requests.
00:24:26.73\00:24:30.87
So some would, some would not,
00:24:30.90\00:24:32.80
we would always have
literature out on the table
00:24:32.83\00:24:36.17
so that they could take
that with them and read later
00:24:36.20\00:24:39.54
if they wanted to,
and they always did that.
00:24:39.57\00:24:42.74
So we started out
just a little slow,
00:24:42.78\00:24:46.48
but as the word got
out, they were coming.
00:24:46.51\00:24:50.99
Praise the Lord.
00:24:51.02\00:24:52.35
And we were so thankful
00:24:52.39\00:24:53.76
because we are
supposed to feed the hungry,
00:24:53.79\00:24:56.83
the Lord tells us that.
00:24:56.86\00:24:58.39
So we felt really good about it,
00:24:58.43\00:25:00.93
and it continued
until the tornado.
00:25:00.96\00:25:07.04
And after that, we
still would make bags,
00:25:07.07\00:25:12.47
lunches to go out
and give to the homeless.
00:25:12.51\00:25:16.48
And I would like to tell
one quick story about that,
00:25:16.51\00:25:20.22
they went out with
the bags that lunch bags,
00:25:20.25\00:25:23.18
and one guy said,
"No, I don't want anything
00:25:23.22\00:25:26.42
because I can't eat it anyway,
00:25:26.45\00:25:28.59
it's unclean, you
know, unclean foods.
00:25:28.62\00:25:31.43
And you got your
pork, and whatever,
00:25:31.46\00:25:33.19
baloney or
whatever, so I don't want it."
00:25:33.23\00:25:36.90
So they gave him the bag,
he did look in it, and he said,
00:25:36.97\00:25:41.07
"Oh, thank God, I can
eat everything in this bag."
00:25:41.10\00:25:47.18
Come to find out, of
course he was homeless,
00:25:47.21\00:25:50.85
and he was also Adventist.
00:25:50.88\00:25:55.15
So that really
touched our hearts,
00:25:55.18\00:25:57.72
and he did ask for literature,
and he was given that.
00:25:57.75\00:26:01.86
But it was such
a heartfelt story,
00:26:01.89\00:26:05.13
a true story that you never know
00:26:05.16\00:26:08.33
who you will touch,
00:26:08.36\00:26:10.37
who you will find
out there in need.
00:26:10.40\00:26:12.63
Yes, yes.
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.04
So it's been a true blessing,
00:26:14.07\00:26:15.94
and we cannot wait to
get back into the kitchen
00:26:15.97\00:26:21.14
to start cooking again.
00:26:21.18\00:26:22.51
Yes, yes.
00:26:22.54\00:26:23.88
Yes, when things are finished.
00:26:23.95\00:26:25.28
All right, well done.
00:26:25.31\00:26:26.65
Pastor, walk me
through this devastation,
00:26:26.68\00:26:29.22
what happened, how did it come,
00:26:29.25\00:26:30.59
how did it take place,
00:26:30.62\00:26:31.95
just give me a bit
of the culture of that
00:26:31.99\00:26:33.49
whole experience.
00:26:33.56\00:26:34.89
Okay, if I could
back up just for a minute.
00:26:34.92\00:26:37.73
Sure.
00:26:37.76\00:26:39.53
It was not just...
00:26:39.56\00:26:41.00
We also served on Sabbath. Yes.
00:26:41.03\00:26:43.77
Sabbath morning,
00:26:43.80\00:26:45.13
we serve breakfast to those
who came with the bus ministry
00:26:45.17\00:26:48.67
and anybody was welcome.
00:26:48.70\00:26:50.04
Yes, yes.
00:26:50.11\00:26:51.44
But it was
specifically for the children
00:26:51.47\00:26:52.81
that were coming
with the bus ministry.
00:26:52.84\00:26:54.64
We found out that many
times they were hungry...
00:26:54.68\00:26:56.48
Yes, yes.
00:26:56.51\00:26:58.45
When they came to church.
00:26:58.48\00:27:00.02
And so we had a
breakfast for them
00:27:00.05\00:27:01.92
and we had homeless people
00:27:01.95\00:27:03.82
came in off the
street would eat breakfast.
00:27:03.89\00:27:06.15
And of course, we
let them know that,
00:27:06.19\00:27:07.56
you know, we have church today
00:27:07.59\00:27:08.99
and after church,
we'll be serving again.
00:27:09.02\00:27:11.26
And so many times
00:27:11.29\00:27:12.66
they would stay for
church and eat again, you know.
00:27:12.69\00:27:14.86
Praise the Lord.
00:27:14.90\00:27:16.23
Now how big a church
are we talking about,
00:27:16.26\00:27:17.60
membership-wise?
00:27:17.63\00:27:18.97
Membership wise, book
membership is about 153.
00:27:19.00\00:27:22.37
We had about half of
that before the tornado,
00:27:22.40\00:27:25.21
at about 70 coming.
00:27:25.24\00:27:26.57
Okay.
00:27:26.61\00:27:27.94
So you're doing a lot
00:27:27.98\00:27:29.31
with a
relatively small membership
00:27:29.34\00:27:31.15
but you're doing a lot of stuff.
00:27:31.18\00:27:32.51
Yes. Yeah.
00:27:32.55\00:27:33.92
And of course,
00:27:33.95\00:27:35.28
after being out of
our church for two years,
00:27:35.32\00:27:36.69
folk have gotten discouraged.
00:27:36.72\00:27:38.05
Yes, yes.
00:27:38.09\00:27:39.42
And so we're down to
about half of what we had
00:27:39.45\00:27:41.42
before the tornado came
but we're hanging in there.
00:27:41.46\00:27:43.53
Praise the Lord.
00:27:43.56\00:27:44.89
And we're still doing
ministry, still reaching out.
00:27:44.93\00:27:47.30
Yeah, yeah.
00:27:47.33\00:27:48.66
Let's move into
this whole tornado thing.
00:27:48.70\00:27:51.83
Now I know we've
got some pictures,
00:27:51.87\00:27:53.23
we got to weave in here.
00:27:53.27\00:27:54.87
I've not seen them.
00:27:54.90\00:27:56.24
So if they sort of
amplify your story,
00:27:56.27\00:27:58.51
just call for
them, we'll put them up.
00:27:58.54\00:28:00.41
But when did this
tornado take place?
00:28:00.48\00:28:02.04
And talk to me
about the devastation
00:28:02.08\00:28:03.45
before, during, after.
00:28:03.48\00:28:04.81
Okay.
00:28:04.85\00:28:06.18
We were in prayer meeting
00:28:06.21\00:28:07.85
on Wednesday, the
30th of March, 2016.
00:28:07.88\00:28:12.75
And all of a sudden,
00:28:12.79\00:28:14.56
everybody's
cell phones went off.
00:28:14.59\00:28:17.66
And right after everybody's
cell phones went off,
00:28:17.69\00:28:22.56
we started hearing wind noises
00:28:22.60\00:28:25.63
and silts started
coming down from the ceiling.
00:28:25.67\00:28:28.34
So that was the alert that
a general word was sent out
00:28:28.37\00:28:31.17
through everybody's cell phone.
00:28:31.21\00:28:32.54
Right. Okay.
00:28:32.57\00:28:33.91
And the siren, the
city sirens came on.
00:28:33.98\00:28:35.31
Uh-huh.
00:28:35.34\00:28:36.68
And members said,
00:28:36.71\00:28:38.28
"Pastor, do you
think we better go home?"
00:28:38.31\00:28:40.72
I said, "I don't think so,"
00:28:40.75\00:28:42.48
I said, "I think we better move
out of here though 'because..."
00:28:42.52\00:28:44.62
Yeah, yeah.
00:28:44.65\00:28:45.99
And as I was speaking,
the roof started coming off.
00:28:46.02\00:28:48.19
And so we...
00:28:48.22\00:28:49.56
Are you kidding? No.
00:28:49.59\00:28:50.93
So we got out into the foyer,
00:28:50.96\00:28:53.80
the building
construction is cinder block.
00:28:53.83\00:28:57.00
And so once we
got into the foyer,
00:28:57.07\00:28:58.40
it was a lot safer.
00:28:58.43\00:28:59.77
Yes.
00:28:59.80\00:29:01.14
So there was a
like a nook out there
00:29:01.17\00:29:03.04
and we all huddled in that nook
00:29:03.07\00:29:04.84
and just covered
ourselves and prayed.
00:29:04.87\00:29:06.61
Now no advance
warning, nothing as...
00:29:06.68\00:29:08.61
Before the cell
phones, no advance warning,
00:29:08.64\00:29:10.98
nothing that
this thing was coming?
00:29:11.01\00:29:12.35
The sun was shining,
the birds were singing,
00:29:12.38\00:29:14.52
it was a beautiful day.
00:29:14.55\00:29:15.88
Have mercy.
00:29:15.92\00:29:17.29
And all of a
sudden, it got dark.
00:29:17.32\00:29:20.29
And the phones went off,
the city sirens went off,
00:29:20.36\00:29:25.06
and I mean, within seconds,
we had to get out of there.
00:29:25.09\00:29:28.56
So from the time
the phones went off
00:29:28.60\00:29:30.10
to the time
anything actually hit,
00:29:30.17\00:29:31.63
we're talking how long?
00:29:31.67\00:29:33.74
Ten to fifteen seconds.
00:29:33.77\00:29:35.10
Oh, my soul. Yeah.
00:29:35.14\00:29:37.71
And so one of the members
who was running a little late,
00:29:37.74\00:29:43.48
as we were going
out into the foyer,
00:29:43.55\00:29:47.02
she walked in the front door
and no sooner did she walk in,
00:29:47.05\00:29:51.09
then the bricks
over the front door fell
00:29:51.12\00:29:53.76
in that spot where
she just came from.
00:29:53.79\00:29:55.82
Wow. Wow.
00:29:55.86\00:29:58.73
We saw a whole lot
of miraculous things.
00:29:58.76\00:30:00.80
Indeed, indeed, indeed.
00:30:00.83\00:30:02.86
So you're huddled in the...
00:30:02.90\00:30:05.20
In the foyer.
00:30:05.23\00:30:06.57
Give me some sense of
the mood of the people there.
00:30:06.60\00:30:11.37
Well, I'll say
this, no one was crying,
00:30:11.41\00:30:14.28
no one was screaming.
00:30:14.31\00:30:15.74
Praise the Lord.
00:30:15.78\00:30:18.11
People were just praying.
00:30:18.15\00:30:20.02
Everybody was just praying.
00:30:20.05\00:30:22.25
Yes, yes, yes.
00:30:22.28\00:30:23.79
Wow. Yeah.
00:30:23.82\00:30:25.15
We were huddled in a group.
00:30:25.19\00:30:26.69
So the roof is coming
off and bricks are falling,
00:30:26.76\00:30:29.69
what else is
happening to the structure?
00:30:29.72\00:30:33.43
Well, we didn't know
everything that was happening,
00:30:33.50\00:30:38.03
we found out later, but
what we did know was that
00:30:38.07\00:30:40.84
no sooner had we
left the sanctuary,
00:30:40.87\00:30:43.27
then the upstairs
fell into the sanctuary.
00:30:43.30\00:30:47.18
Wow. Okay?
00:30:47.21\00:30:48.54
So we missed that.
00:30:48.58\00:30:50.05
Just as we missed
that, the lady missed
00:30:50.08\00:30:52.18
the bricks
falling on her, coming...
00:30:52.21\00:30:56.48
But afterward, we found out
00:30:56.52\00:30:58.39
how bad the damage actually was.
00:30:58.42\00:30:59.82
Sure.
00:30:59.85\00:31:01.19
Because that sanctuary,
00:31:01.22\00:31:04.03
the construction had
these huge wooden arches
00:31:04.06\00:31:08.06
that hold up everything.
00:31:08.10\00:31:09.43
Yes, yes.
00:31:09.46\00:31:10.80
They had literally been
pulled up out of their sockets.
00:31:10.87\00:31:15.17
So this is the sanctuary pre...
00:31:15.20\00:31:18.01
That's the
sanctuary before the tornado.
00:31:18.04\00:31:20.18
Yes, it was
before the tornado hit.
00:31:20.21\00:31:22.14
That's a nice
looking little sanctuary.
00:31:22.18\00:31:23.55
Uh-huh.
00:31:23.58\00:31:24.91
And you don't get to see...
00:31:24.95\00:31:26.28
So that's the
building in front outside?
00:31:26.31\00:31:27.65
That's the building
before the tornado hit, yes.
00:31:27.68\00:31:30.99
That's a nice
little church building.
00:31:31.02\00:31:33.29
But those beams have been
pulled up out of their sockets
00:31:33.36\00:31:36.32
and they had steel socket.
00:31:36.36\00:31:38.46
Oh, yes, yeah
'cause wood comes down
00:31:38.49\00:31:40.70
into the steel
thing and that's bolted.
00:31:40.73\00:31:42.40
The socket is about
this deep and there is a bolt
00:31:42.43\00:31:45.90
that runs through
the beam and the socket.
00:31:45.93\00:31:48.97
Precisely, I
know the construction.
00:31:49.00\00:31:51.07
It had pulled the beam out
of the socket, bolt and all,
00:31:51.11\00:31:56.38
and set it behind the socket.
00:31:56.41\00:31:58.61
Yeah, just moved
it out of the socket.
00:31:58.65\00:32:00.32
Yes.
00:32:00.35\00:32:01.68
Wow. Wow.
00:32:01.72\00:32:03.05
How long are we talking?
00:32:03.08\00:32:04.42
I mean, because
time gets compressed
00:32:04.45\00:32:06.05
when you have these
kind of things going on,
00:32:06.09\00:32:07.46
you know, just a
minute seems like an hour,
00:32:07.49\00:32:09.29
an hour seems like a day,
00:32:09.32\00:32:11.03
as best you can tell,
00:32:11.06\00:32:12.39
how long did this shake
rattle and rolling going on?
00:32:12.43\00:32:15.53
No more than a
couple of minutes.
00:32:15.56\00:32:16.97
Yeah.
00:32:17.00\00:32:18.33
Two, three minutes.
00:32:18.37\00:32:20.67
And when it was
over, the sun came back out
00:32:20.74\00:32:23.71
and the birds started singing
00:32:23.74\00:32:25.07
just like you
would have thought...
00:32:25.11\00:32:27.74
You would have
thought nothing happened,
00:32:27.78\00:32:29.38
except the church was gone.
00:32:29.41\00:32:31.08
It was gone, yeah.
00:32:31.11\00:32:32.51
Man, oh, man.
00:32:32.55\00:32:35.25
And no loss of
life, praise the Lord.
00:32:35.28\00:32:38.75
No loss of life,
not even any injuries,
00:32:38.79\00:32:40.69
nobody was hurt.
00:32:40.76\00:32:42.09
Oh, praise God, praise God.
00:32:42.12\00:32:44.23
That shows you how suddenly
this kind of thing can come,
00:32:44.26\00:32:47.23
from a sunshiny day...
00:32:47.30\00:32:48.63
Yes.
00:32:48.66\00:32:50.00
To a...
00:32:50.03\00:32:51.37
And did they determine
how strong this tornado was?
00:32:51.40\00:32:53.54
F2. F2.
00:32:53.57\00:32:54.94
So this is something
serious, to be taken seriously.
00:32:54.97\00:32:57.61
From sunshine to
F2, back to sunshine.
00:32:57.64\00:33:01.68
Yes.
00:33:01.71\00:33:03.11
And in the meanwhile,
the church is destroyed.
00:33:03.14\00:33:06.28
Wow, wow.
00:33:06.31\00:33:07.68
Was the building
even habitable after this?
00:33:07.72\00:33:11.02
No. Okay.
00:33:11.05\00:33:12.39
Because it tore the roof off.
00:33:12.42\00:33:14.09
Yes.
00:33:14.16\00:33:15.49
Half of the building
had no roof and it rained...
00:33:15.52\00:33:19.89
You know, because with
the tornado, came rain.
00:33:19.93\00:33:22.70
And so I think they're getting
ready to show the video now,
00:33:22.73\00:33:25.07
it shows the damage afterward.
00:33:25.10\00:33:26.43
All right.
00:33:26.47\00:33:27.80
But it rained in the building,
00:33:27.84\00:33:30.61
we had about two or
three inches of standing water.
00:33:30.64\00:33:33.78
Okay, so your building is...
00:33:33.81\00:33:35.14
So it was...
00:33:35.18\00:33:37.28
Within three days
after the tornado,
00:33:37.35\00:33:40.85
we had mold running up the wall.
00:33:40.92\00:33:42.25
Sure, yeah, yeah, it's caught
just that fast, just that fast.
00:33:42.28\00:33:45.72
Let's take a look at this
video and kind of get a concept
00:33:45.75\00:33:48.52
of what Pastor
Phipps is talking about.
00:33:48.56\00:33:50.86
Oh, yeah, it hit the church.
00:33:56.97\00:33:58.87
It hit the church,
not went over us but...
00:33:58.90\00:34:02.40
It straight up hit the church.
00:34:02.44\00:34:03.81
This is the east
side of the church.
00:34:21.52\00:34:25.43
As you can see as
the front is gone,
00:34:25.46\00:34:31.17
the roof is destroyed.
00:34:31.20\00:34:34.17
From the inside, it
only looked like halfway gone
00:34:34.24\00:34:36.50
but from outside,
you can see it's gone,
00:34:36.54\00:34:38.81
the roof is
destroyed all the way
00:34:38.84\00:34:40.88
to the back of
the church just about.
00:34:40.91\00:34:44.98
This is the...
00:34:45.01\00:34:46.35
Anybody call
the gas company yet?
00:34:46.38\00:34:48.12
No, somebody needs to call them.
00:34:48.15\00:34:49.52
Please, call them
00:34:49.55\00:34:52.25
and let them know that
the gas is real strong.
00:34:52.29\00:34:55.96
That's the next thing
I'm afraid it might blow up.
00:34:55.99\00:34:57.33
I already called
the fire department.
00:34:57.36\00:34:58.76
Okay.
00:34:58.79\00:35:00.13
Now, pastor, I'm glad
00:35:08.17\00:35:09.50
we got a chance to
see the before picture
00:35:09.54\00:35:12.14
so you can see the
extent of the devastation,
00:35:12.17\00:35:14.21
doesn't look like
the same building.
00:35:14.28\00:35:15.61
No.
00:35:15.64\00:35:16.98
And that happened in
just a matter of minutes,
00:35:17.01\00:35:18.35
and the roof is completely gone.
00:35:18.38\00:35:20.82
Now I heard you say in the video
00:35:20.85\00:35:23.22
that you were smelling gas.
00:35:23.25\00:35:24.59
Yes.
00:35:24.62\00:35:25.95
Yeah, so you had
some ongoing danger.
00:35:25.99\00:35:28.16
Well, the gas line,
when it took the roof,
00:35:28.19\00:35:31.16
it snapped, the gas line.
00:35:31.19\00:35:33.53
Uh-huh.
00:35:33.60\00:35:34.93
And I mean, you
could hear and smell...
00:35:34.96\00:35:38.50
The hiss.
00:35:38.53\00:35:39.87
The gas, and it
was very loud hiss,
00:35:39.90\00:35:42.60
and the smell was very strong.
00:35:42.64\00:35:44.87
Yeah, yeah.
00:35:44.91\00:35:46.24
And so my fear was the
thing was going to blow up
00:35:46.27\00:35:49.04
'cause you had
live wires hanging out,
00:35:49.08\00:35:51.15
you know, hanging
down and everything.
00:35:51.18\00:35:53.11
Yeah, you had a recipe
00:35:53.15\00:35:54.68
for major, major
catastrophe and disaster.
00:35:54.72\00:35:59.02
But evidently, God was with you.
00:35:59.05\00:36:00.46
Yeah, the first
responders got there.
00:36:00.49\00:36:01.96
Uh-huh.
00:36:01.99\00:36:03.32
They got there very soon,
and they turned the gas off,
00:36:03.36\00:36:06.29
and then...
00:36:06.33\00:36:07.66
So what could have been
even worse was prevented.
00:36:07.70\00:36:11.80
Praise the Lord.
00:36:11.83\00:36:13.17
Were there other structures
in the general vicinity
00:36:13.20\00:36:15.57
of the church that
were damaged at all?
00:36:15.60\00:36:17.34
Every Church on 46th
Street North got hit.
00:36:17.41\00:36:21.38
Every church? Every church.
00:36:21.41\00:36:25.61
Every church.
00:36:25.65\00:36:27.02
Every church
was nailed. My soul.
00:36:27.05\00:36:30.19
And one was beyond repair.
00:36:30.22\00:36:33.46
They had to tear that one down.
00:36:33.49\00:36:34.89
The rest of them
have been repaired.
00:36:34.92\00:36:36.86
Ours is the last
one to be repaired.
00:36:36.93\00:36:40.00
The...
00:36:40.03\00:36:41.36
There were about what
five churches overall?
00:36:41.40\00:36:42.73
Yes, about five churches.
00:36:42.76\00:36:44.10
About five churches...
00:36:44.13\00:36:45.47
And everybody got hit? Yes.
00:36:45.50\00:36:47.54
How did...
00:36:47.57\00:36:48.90
Once an assessment
was made of what happened,
00:36:48.94\00:36:51.81
how much was salvageable?
00:36:51.84\00:36:53.17
How much is you have to...?
00:36:53.21\00:36:54.54
If you have mold
growing out the wall,
00:36:54.58\00:36:55.91
everywhere mold
is, got to come down,
00:36:55.94\00:36:57.48
that cannot be,
00:36:57.55\00:36:58.88
you know, you got
to rip those walls out,
00:36:58.91\00:37:00.25
you got to take that out.
00:37:00.28\00:37:01.75
So how much of the
church was salvageable?
00:37:01.78\00:37:05.52
Just the outside framework,
the outside, the stone,
00:37:05.55\00:37:10.26
that's it.
00:37:10.33\00:37:11.93
Okay, so you got
it from inside...
00:37:11.96\00:37:13.93
Inside was
completely gutted out.
00:37:14.00\00:37:15.36
Yes, yes, yes, yes,
that's a major project, yeah.
00:37:15.40\00:37:19.73
Give me the mood
00:37:19.77\00:37:21.50
of the church
body during this time
00:37:21.54\00:37:23.91
because this kind of
thing, pastor, as you well know,
00:37:23.94\00:37:26.44
this kind of makes...
00:37:26.47\00:37:27.81
If you got anything,
00:37:27.84\00:37:29.18
it's going to
show during this time.
00:37:29.21\00:37:30.55
You can either shake your fist
at God and turn and run away
00:37:30.58\00:37:32.71
or you can either
roll up your sleeves
00:37:32.75\00:37:35.28
and let's get cracking.
00:37:35.32\00:37:36.69
What was the
mood of your church?
00:37:36.72\00:37:40.89
The best way I
can put that is that
00:37:40.96\00:37:44.03
we've had a core,
00:37:44.06\00:37:46.46
and I would say it's
about half of the membership
00:37:46.49\00:37:48.76
who was coming at
the time, who have stuck.
00:37:48.80\00:37:51.60
Praise the Lord.
00:37:51.63\00:37:52.97
They've stuck,
they've hung in there,
00:37:53.00\00:37:54.47
they're not going anywhere,
00:37:54.50\00:37:56.17
they're going to
make this work whatever.
00:37:56.20\00:37:59.77
And the other half have
forsaken our sinful aid.
00:37:59.81\00:38:03.75
Uh-huh.
00:38:03.78\00:38:06.11
Well, you know, as
you will know, pastor,
00:38:06.15\00:38:08.08
that's the way it is in life,
00:38:08.12\00:38:09.45
you never get a hundred percent.
00:38:09.48\00:38:10.82
That's right.
00:38:10.89\00:38:12.22
But if you have
enough, who have enough,
00:38:12.25\00:38:14.69
Jesus in them to put
some spine in their backbone,
00:38:14.72\00:38:18.89
they'll stick it
out, and they'll rebuild,
00:38:18.93\00:38:20.96
and they'll start again.
00:38:21.00\00:38:22.33
So obviously, you
got a core people...
00:38:22.36\00:38:23.70
We've a core who are serious.
00:38:23.77\00:38:25.37
They are not going anywhere,
00:38:25.40\00:38:26.94
they're going to see it through,
00:38:26.97\00:38:29.94
and that is what
has kept us going.
00:38:30.01\00:38:32.94
Yeah.
00:38:32.97\00:38:34.31
Where are you
meeting because this is...
00:38:34.34\00:38:36.14
we're talking about 2016
and it's not complete yet.
00:38:36.18\00:38:39.81
So where are you meeting?
Where's the church meeting?
00:38:39.85\00:38:41.55
Well, see, this is
what comes from having
00:38:41.58\00:38:45.35
good relationship
with the community.
00:38:45.39\00:38:48.69
There was a church who
was out of their church
00:38:48.72\00:38:52.69
and they used our church
00:38:52.73\00:38:55.40
while they were
rebuilding their church.
00:38:55.43\00:38:59.03
And we charged
them $600 a month.
00:38:59.07\00:39:03.41
So when we were
out of our church,
00:39:03.44\00:39:07.08
they let us come to their church
00:39:07.11\00:39:08.44
that they had rebuilt.
00:39:08.48\00:39:09.81
Praise the Lord.
00:39:09.84\00:39:11.18
And they
charged us $600 a month.
00:39:11.21\00:39:15.72
See, and that's because
00:39:15.75\00:39:17.09
there was a
pre-existing relationship.
00:39:17.12\00:39:18.72
You didn't have to go finding
a relationship, you had one.
00:39:18.75\00:39:21.22
Yeah.
00:39:21.26\00:39:22.59
And that's just
to give you an idea,
00:39:22.62\00:39:25.96
we had our youth federation,
...facility wasn't big enough,
00:39:25.99\00:39:31.87
we rented another
facility for Friday and Sabbath,
00:39:31.90\00:39:36.84
and that was
$600 for those 2 days.
00:39:36.91\00:39:41.54
So they got some
contact for that $600 a month.
00:39:41.58\00:39:44.15
Yes, yes.
00:39:44.18\00:39:47.52
And that was the church.
00:39:47.55\00:39:48.88
Yes, yes. It
was $600 for 2 days.
00:39:48.92\00:39:52.35
So these people
charged us $600 a month.
00:39:52.39\00:39:55.99
Praise the Lord.
00:39:56.02\00:39:57.36
When we left there,
there was another church,
00:39:57.43\00:40:02.50
again, the pastor and I
00:40:02.53\00:40:04.27
were in the
ministerial alliance together.
00:40:04.30\00:40:06.74
This is a CME church,
00:40:06.77\00:40:08.70
a Christian Methodist Episcopal.
00:40:08.74\00:40:10.81
But the pastor and
I were both members
00:40:10.84\00:40:12.51
of the North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Conference.
00:40:12.54\00:40:15.71
And when he heard that
00:40:15.74\00:40:17.08
I was going to need to move
out of the church where I was,
00:40:17.15\00:40:19.31
he said, "Well, come on over."
00:40:19.35\00:40:20.72
Yeah.
00:40:20.75\00:40:22.08
And I said, "Well, how
much am I going to need
00:40:22.12\00:40:24.02
to compensate you?"
00:40:24.09\00:40:26.62
He said, "What are
you paying over there?"
00:40:26.65\00:40:28.89
I said, "Six hundred a month."
He said, "Six hundred a month."
00:40:28.92\00:40:34.00
See, when you cast
your bread upon the waters
00:40:34.03\00:40:36.16
and you make these
kind of friendships,
00:40:36.20\00:40:38.27
in times of need,
00:40:38.30\00:40:40.44
the Christ in them will come out
00:40:40.47\00:40:42.40
and great things can happen.
00:40:42.44\00:40:44.84
When I was pastoring Bethesda
and Amityville, the same thing,
00:40:44.87\00:40:47.58
we actually had mold
in one of our columns,
00:40:47.61\00:40:49.64
those prefab columns that come
from the ceiling to the floor,
00:40:49.68\00:40:51.78
that had to be replaced.
00:40:51.81\00:40:53.15
So we had to be
out of the building.
00:40:53.18\00:40:54.52
We went down street to
Hollywood Baptist Church.
00:40:54.55\00:40:57.39
I had known the pastor
from the ministerial alliance,
00:40:57.42\00:40:59.72
he said, "Come on down."
00:40:59.75\00:41:01.19
And we were
there a couple months
00:41:01.22\00:41:03.63
and no problem, no problem.
00:41:03.66\00:41:04.99
It's good. Yeah.
00:41:05.03\00:41:06.36
So when you show
yourself friendly and see,
00:41:06.39\00:41:08.16
good is what good people do,
00:41:08.20\00:41:10.90
not because they're
trying to get something back
00:41:10.97\00:41:13.13
but that's what good people
do, that's what Christians do,
00:41:13.17\00:41:15.97
and there are times we
need to call upon that goodness,
00:41:16.00\00:41:18.31
and it's there for you
'cause your put something in,
00:41:18.34\00:41:20.48
you can take something out.
00:41:20.51\00:41:21.91
So the building begins,
00:41:21.94\00:41:26.11
the rebuilding begins,
00:41:26.15\00:41:29.42
talk to me a
little bit about that
00:41:29.45\00:41:30.79
'cause that must be staggering.
00:41:30.82\00:41:32.15
It's not a big,
big congregation,
00:41:32.19\00:41:33.56
but you got a big, big job now.
00:41:33.59\00:41:35.19
That's correct. Yeah.
00:41:35.22\00:41:36.62
Well, it has been
00:41:36.66\00:41:40.03
a very, very difficult trial.
00:41:40.10\00:41:44.67
There was differences of opinion
00:41:44.70\00:41:46.50
between the
contractor, and the architect,
00:41:46.53\00:41:50.44
and the insurance
company as to how much
00:41:50.51\00:41:53.98
it was going to cost
to rebuild the building.
00:41:54.01\00:41:56.98
The architect and
the contractor felt that
00:41:57.05\00:41:59.15
it was going to cost
between $800,000 and $900,000.
00:41:59.18\00:42:03.22
The insurance company felt like
00:42:03.25\00:42:05.05
it should only cost
about $600,000 and $700,000.
00:42:05.09\00:42:09.16
And so it has turned out
00:42:09.19\00:42:11.86
that it was what
they said it was.
00:42:11.89\00:42:16.33
So we are...
00:42:16.36\00:42:17.70
You know, and
then on top of that,
00:42:17.73\00:42:19.07
we had the mold damage.
00:42:19.10\00:42:20.84
Well, the
insurance company said that
00:42:20.87\00:42:22.77
we were not covered for mold.
00:42:22.80\00:42:25.91
But according to Oklahoma law
00:42:25.94\00:42:28.24
we are covered for water damage.
00:42:28.28\00:42:31.18
And on the Oklahoma law,
00:42:31.21\00:42:32.55
water damage and
mold is the same thing.
00:42:32.58\00:42:34.32
Well, praise the Lord.
00:42:34.35\00:42:35.68
So they did have to pay
us something for the mold.
00:42:35.72\00:42:39.55
But again, the mold company said
00:42:39.59\00:42:42.59
it was going to cost $300,000
00:42:42.62\00:42:45.33
to clean up that church.
00:42:45.36\00:42:46.70
Wow.
00:42:46.73\00:42:48.13
Insurance company felt like
00:42:48.16\00:42:49.50
it should only
cost about $150,000.
00:42:49.53\00:42:52.57
And that's what we got.
00:42:52.60\00:42:53.94
And so to make...
00:42:53.97\00:42:57.11
Yeah, those
companies are in business
00:42:57.14\00:42:58.84
to make you rich, you know.
00:42:58.87\00:43:01.34
And I want to just
hit the pause button
00:43:01.38\00:43:03.45
there for a second
and go to you, Carolyn,
00:43:03.48\00:43:05.01
because one of the things
that I saw in the notes is that
00:43:05.05\00:43:07.65
while you were out and
wrestling with this stuff
00:43:07.68\00:43:10.32
and this is headache,
00:43:10.39\00:43:11.72
I mean, this is the
stuff you got to deal with,
00:43:11.75\00:43:13.59
the church kept
up its ministries
00:43:13.66\00:43:15.72
and its community outreach.
00:43:15.76\00:43:17.13
Talk to me a
little bit about that.
00:43:17.16\00:43:18.49
Okay, we certainly did.
00:43:18.53\00:43:19.86
It was difficult
because so many members had left
00:43:19.89\00:43:24.57
but the Lord only needs a few,
00:43:24.60\00:43:27.24
just a few to
keep His work going.
00:43:27.27\00:43:30.11
So we no longer had a
kitchen to prepare the food.
00:43:30.14\00:43:35.21
So we had to go back
to the bag lunches again.
00:43:35.24\00:43:40.05
And we would take those
out into the community again,
00:43:40.12\00:43:43.49
that was successful.
00:43:43.52\00:43:44.95
Praise God for that.
00:43:44.99\00:43:47.46
We also started
a glove ministry.
00:43:47.49\00:43:52.36
G- l-o-v-e.
00:43:52.39\00:43:54.03
G- l-o-v-e-s,
gloves for your hands.
00:43:54.10\00:43:57.90
Uh-huh.
00:43:57.93\00:43:59.27
During the
winter time, of course.
00:43:59.30\00:44:00.64
Uh-huh.
00:44:00.67\00:44:02.00
And I was just riding around,
and I stopped at a restaurant,
00:44:02.04\00:44:05.74
and there was a
homeless guy there,
00:44:05.77\00:44:08.11
and I noticed that
the weather had weathered
00:44:08.14\00:44:12.38
and damaged his fingers
00:44:12.41\00:44:16.05
to the point where
they were black and scarred.
00:44:16.08\00:44:19.99
And I asked,
00:44:20.06\00:44:21.39
"Sir, is there
anything I can do for you?
00:44:21.42\00:44:24.49
I do have gloves in the car.
00:44:24.53\00:44:27.03
They may not be the
color you would want."
00:44:27.10\00:44:30.27
So he said, "Miss, anything
that you can give me is okay,
00:44:30.30\00:44:34.54
the color doesn't matter."
00:44:34.57\00:44:36.27
So I went back down to the car
00:44:36.30\00:44:38.74
and all I found
were pink gloves.
00:44:38.77\00:44:42.98
And I came back in a bit
disappointed to him, and said,
00:44:43.01\00:44:46.48
"Sir, this is all I
have, just the pink ones."
00:44:46.51\00:44:50.72
And he said,
"Miss, it doesn't matter,
00:44:50.79\00:44:54.19
they will help me.
00:44:54.26\00:44:56.49
I thank God for you."
00:44:56.52\00:44:58.23
So he put the
gloves on immediately
00:44:58.26\00:45:02.13
and he was so thankful,
00:45:02.16\00:45:04.07
so that really
made me feel good,
00:45:04.10\00:45:06.10
just something that simple.
00:45:06.13\00:45:07.87
Yes, yes.
00:45:07.90\00:45:09.24
So we will continue with
that, the glove ministry.
00:45:09.27\00:45:13.98
So...
00:45:14.01\00:45:15.71
She would go out to
the Dollar store and buy...
00:45:15.74\00:45:17.91
And buy bulk.
00:45:17.95\00:45:19.88
Whole bunch of
gloves and just ride around
00:45:19.91\00:45:21.88
passing them out to...
00:45:21.92\00:45:23.25
Bless your
heart, bless your heart.
00:45:23.28\00:45:24.85
So she
frightened me a little bit
00:45:24.89\00:45:26.22
'cause some of the places
00:45:26.25\00:45:27.59
she was going to
pass out the gloves...
00:45:27.66\00:45:31.76
You got to take the
name of Jesus with you...
00:45:31.79\00:45:33.40
Yes, you do.
00:45:33.43\00:45:34.76
Yes, you do,
then you're equipped.
00:45:34.80\00:45:37.20
Another ministry we
found a need for was the...
00:45:37.27\00:45:41.97
We would package up
00:45:42.00\00:45:44.14
different items, personal items,
00:45:44.21\00:45:46.81
and we would call those
bags personal care bags.
00:45:46.88\00:45:51.65
And anytime
someone needed those,
00:45:51.68\00:45:54.78
we would pass those out.
00:45:54.82\00:45:56.99
We have blue bags for the males,
00:45:57.02\00:45:59.72
we had pink for the females
00:45:59.75\00:46:02.86
with the different items,
including personal hygiene.
00:46:02.89\00:46:07.86
Yeah.
00:46:07.90\00:46:09.23
Here's what I salute you for,
00:46:09.26\00:46:10.67
the idea that you're trying
to get back in your building,
00:46:10.70\00:46:14.14
you could
realistically spend every penny
00:46:14.17\00:46:18.64
on getting back
into that building,
00:46:18.67\00:46:20.41
to the neglect of
those other kinds of things
00:46:20.48\00:46:22.68
that you're doing.
00:46:22.71\00:46:24.05
But you saw benefit in the fact
00:46:24.08\00:46:27.62
that you need to keep
doing these ministries,
00:46:27.65\00:46:29.52
you need to keep reaching out.
00:46:29.55\00:46:30.99
So this is taking resources
00:46:31.02\00:46:32.65
that some might
say with some argument,
00:46:32.69\00:46:35.32
"Well, we need to put this thing
00:46:35.36\00:46:36.73
back in our building."
00:46:36.76\00:46:38.09
But you don't want to
cut off your ministry...
00:46:38.13\00:46:39.46
And there were
some who did say that.
00:46:39.49\00:46:40.83
Yes, yes.
00:46:40.86\00:46:42.20
We were determined that
00:46:42.23\00:46:43.57
we were not going to
let the pathfinder club die
00:46:43.60\00:46:46.17
and we were not
gonna let the ministry die,
00:46:46.20\00:46:48.87
whatever outreach we
could do, we tried to do.
00:46:48.90\00:46:52.64
So not only did you hold
on to what you were doing,
00:46:52.67\00:46:55.14
you added stuff.
00:46:55.18\00:46:56.51
You know, you're
adding ministries
00:46:56.54\00:46:57.88
while you're trying to
get back in your building,
00:46:57.91\00:47:00.82
and I think that's commendable.
00:47:00.85\00:47:03.69
As a matter of fact,
00:47:03.72\00:47:05.52
we had our
conference wide camporee.
00:47:05.55\00:47:10.83
Our club, even though
00:47:10.86\00:47:12.19
they don't have
any place really to do
00:47:12.23\00:47:15.60
what they want to do,
00:47:15.63\00:47:16.97
they are doing it at
home and in people's house,
00:47:17.00\00:47:20.57
what time, maybe
the hour after church
00:47:20.64\00:47:22.80
and the church we're renting,
00:47:22.84\00:47:26.51
they came in second
place at the camporee.
00:47:26.54\00:47:31.28
So we were very proud of that.
00:47:31.31\00:47:32.91
Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord.
00:47:32.95\00:47:34.32
And with a large number
00:47:34.35\00:47:35.68
of
non-Adventists attending there.
00:47:35.72\00:47:39.09
As we look at the church,
00:47:39.12\00:47:40.46
how far are you
along in the remodel?
00:47:40.49\00:47:43.09
Could you say
quarter of the way,
00:47:43.12\00:47:44.46
half the way, third
of the way, where...?
00:47:44.49\00:47:45.83
We are in the last phase.
00:47:45.86\00:47:49.93
In fact, our...
00:47:49.96\00:47:53.47
So this is the part of the...
00:47:53.54\00:47:56.44
What am I looking at here?
00:47:56.47\00:47:58.71
Oh, that's the
rebuild. Oh, okay.
00:47:58.74\00:48:00.28
Yeah, that's the rebuild.
00:48:00.31\00:48:02.11
Oh, I see the columns...
00:48:02.14\00:48:03.95
That's the early
part of the rebuild.
00:48:03.98\00:48:05.38
Yes, yes, yes.
00:48:05.41\00:48:07.05
But we are at the phase now
where the outside is complete.
00:48:07.12\00:48:10.52
Uh-huh.
00:48:10.59\00:48:11.92
And the sheetrock is
all up on the inside,
00:48:11.95\00:48:14.32
sheetrock, electrical,
plumbing, all that's done.
00:48:14.36\00:48:16.42
Praise the Lord.
00:48:16.46\00:48:17.79
And so the drop
ceilings, and the sound system,
00:48:17.83\00:48:22.06
and all that have
to go into sanctuary.
00:48:22.10\00:48:24.63
And we're trying to the...
00:48:24.67\00:48:27.90
We want to give thanks
to our Union Conference
00:48:27.94\00:48:31.44
and our conference,
00:48:31.47\00:48:33.17
our Conference
President Elder Watkins,
00:48:33.21\00:48:35.31
the Secretary, Elder Brooks,
00:48:35.34\00:48:37.05
and the Treasurer, Elder Palmer.
00:48:37.08\00:48:39.95
They went to the Union
and the Union President
00:48:40.02\00:48:43.25
gave us an allocation of $90,000
00:48:43.28\00:48:46.15
to try to get us
back in our sanctuary.
00:48:46.19\00:48:48.96
And so we want to
publicly say thank you for that
00:48:48.99\00:48:53.06
because it looks like
we'll be able to go back
00:48:53.09\00:48:55.40
in just the sanctuary now,
00:48:55.43\00:48:57.17
the city has already said
00:48:57.20\00:48:59.27
that they will allow
us back in the sanctuary
00:48:59.30\00:49:02.54
if these requirements were met.
00:49:02.57\00:49:04.41
Yes.
00:49:04.44\00:49:05.77
And so we're looking
00:49:05.81\00:49:07.31
at the end of August,
beginning of September,
00:49:07.38\00:49:10.85
we'll be at least be able
to get back in the sanctuary.
00:49:10.88\00:49:12.48
Sanctuary,
praise God, praise God.
00:49:12.51\00:49:14.42
And so now we're trying
to come up with the funds
00:49:14.45\00:49:17.29
to reopen our kitchen
and the fellowship hall,
00:49:17.32\00:49:19.59
the community service area.
00:49:19.62\00:49:20.96
So that's the
next thing on the list.
00:49:20.99\00:49:22.32
That is the next
thing on that list
00:49:22.36\00:49:23.73
so that we can
get back out there.
00:49:23.76\00:49:26.73
So you want to get
in so you can get out.
00:49:26.80\00:49:28.46
That's right. Yes.
00:49:28.50\00:49:29.90
We want to get back in
the street helping people.
00:49:29.93\00:49:31.33
Yeah. Praise the Lord.
00:49:31.37\00:49:33.44
I think the Lord's
going to honor that.
00:49:33.47\00:49:35.10
Your president
is Calvin Watkins?
00:49:35.14\00:49:36.47
Yes. Yes, sir.
00:49:36.50\00:49:37.84
I have known him many,
many, many, many, many, years.
00:49:37.87\00:49:40.38
Steven Brooks is
the Secretary. Yes.
00:49:40.41\00:49:42.24
And the
Treasurer is Philip Palmer.
00:49:42.28\00:49:43.65
Philip Palmer, uh-huh, I
know your administration.
00:49:43.68\00:49:46.15
Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord.
00:49:46.18\00:49:47.88
So you're nearing home. Yes.
00:49:47.92\00:49:49.92
And to be at this point
having been where you were
00:49:49.95\00:49:54.39
and to see that
you're almost back,
00:49:54.42\00:49:56.19
give me some mood,
00:49:56.22\00:49:57.63
some sense of the
mood of the church
00:49:57.66\00:50:00.30
at this point of time.
00:50:00.33\00:50:01.66
Oh, it's like a
cloud has been lifted,
00:50:01.70\00:50:04.80
a bird has been raised,
00:50:04.83\00:50:07.04
the folk are happy,
the folks are excited,
00:50:07.07\00:50:09.07
they are very excited about it,
00:50:09.10\00:50:10.74
looks like we're going
to actually go back home.
00:50:10.81\00:50:12.71
Yeah.
00:50:12.74\00:50:14.08
Let me ask you
this, Pastor Malcolm,
00:50:14.11\00:50:15.44
because obviously
high on your agenda
00:50:15.48\00:50:19.31
was the
continuing of the ministries.
00:50:19.35\00:50:22.65
Do you think that
that in any way...
00:50:22.68\00:50:26.45
How can I put this?
00:50:26.49\00:50:27.82
You know, I
think the Lord honors
00:50:27.86\00:50:29.26
those who honor
Him and honor His work.
00:50:29.29\00:50:31.39
The fact that you
didn't just turn inside...
00:50:31.43\00:50:33.53
You remember
the story in Haggai,
00:50:33.60\00:50:36.20
everybody's
building their own house
00:50:36.23\00:50:37.87
and things are going...
00:50:37.90\00:50:39.33
You didn't just say
we're going to get the house,
00:50:39.37\00:50:41.07
we're going to
continue the ministry.
00:50:41.10\00:50:42.80
I think the Lord
honors that. Yes.
00:50:42.84\00:50:44.54
Yeah, that kind of
thing, the fact that
00:50:44.57\00:50:45.91
you want to keep on
reaching into the community
00:50:45.94\00:50:48.54
and being the
hands and feet of Jesus,
00:50:48.58\00:50:50.55
I think the Lord
honors that, I really do.
00:50:50.58\00:50:52.65
And it is our
intention when we go back in,
00:50:52.68\00:50:55.08
to go in with a revival.
00:50:55.12\00:50:56.55
Amen. I like that.
00:50:56.58\00:50:58.12
We're going to go in
with the evangelistic meeting.
00:50:58.15\00:51:00.96
Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord.
00:51:00.99\00:51:02.92
You're in North Tulsa,
00:51:02.96\00:51:05.06
give me some
sense of that community.
00:51:05.09\00:51:06.70
Are you out kind of in a rural
00:51:06.73\00:51:08.26
or are you in a
kind of suburban setting?
00:51:08.30\00:51:09.90
I don't know that part of Tulsa.
00:51:09.93\00:51:11.50
Historically,
North Tulsa was the area
00:51:14.64\00:51:18.14
where people of color lived.
00:51:18.17\00:51:19.91
Uh-huh.
00:51:19.94\00:51:21.28
Okay, I don't
know if you're familiar
00:51:21.31\00:51:23.45
with Black Wall
Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
00:51:23.48\00:51:25.95
In Tulsa, yeah.
00:51:25.98\00:51:27.68
That's North Tulsa.
00:51:27.72\00:51:29.08
Yes. Okay.
00:51:29.12\00:51:30.99
And it was a very
prosperous area at one time.
00:51:31.02\00:51:33.39
At one time.
00:51:33.46\00:51:34.79
And then we had tragic incidents
00:51:34.82\00:51:37.46
that took place in 1921,
00:51:37.53\00:51:39.79
a terrible race riot,
and it was all destroyed,
00:51:39.83\00:51:44.27
and it's been
uphill climb since then.
00:51:44.30\00:51:47.44
Yeah, yeah.
00:51:47.47\00:51:50.11
The demographics have changed.
00:51:50.14\00:51:53.58
And so though
00:51:53.61\00:51:55.01
it's still considered
to be mostly a black area
00:51:55.04\00:51:59.65
'cause that's what
it's historically been,
00:51:59.68\00:52:01.85
it is now cosmopolitan.
00:52:01.88\00:52:03.99
You have Hispanic, White, Asian,
00:52:04.02\00:52:06.86
some of
everybody in North Tulsa,
00:52:06.89\00:52:08.92
most of your black
churches are still there,
00:52:08.96\00:52:11.86
though the members
may have moved south
00:52:11.89\00:52:14.50
where all the better
housing and all that is,
00:52:14.53\00:52:16.97
everybody comes back in
on the weekend for church.
00:52:17.00\00:52:21.77
And there's still a
strong pocket of black folk.
00:52:21.80\00:52:25.37
But it is a cosmopolitan.
00:52:25.41\00:52:27.84
In fact, my
congregation is not all black.
00:52:27.88\00:52:30.35
You know, we have
Caucasian members,
00:52:30.38\00:52:33.35
it just shows
you the community...
00:52:33.42\00:52:34.75
So you're
reflecting the community,
00:52:34.78\00:52:36.12
yeah, and praise the Lord.
00:52:36.15\00:52:37.49
How big a city is
Tulsa, citizenship-wise?
00:52:37.52\00:52:40.99
If you if you
include the Metroplex,
00:52:41.02\00:52:43.36
about half a
million, six hundred thousand.
00:52:43.43\00:52:45.16
A decent sized town. Yeah.
00:52:45.19\00:52:46.53
Yeah, praise the Lord.
00:52:46.56\00:52:47.90
The city itself is I
think is right around 400,000.
00:52:47.93\00:52:49.83
Okay, 400,000.
00:52:49.86\00:52:51.20
We've thrown a lot at
you, but this is a church
00:52:51.23\00:52:53.20
that is doing great
things for the community.
00:52:53.23\00:52:55.37
And in a moment,
we're going to tell you
00:52:55.40\00:52:57.14
why their work is so necessary.
00:52:57.21\00:52:58.77
But should you
want to make contact
00:52:58.81\00:53:00.18
with the Bethel
Seventh-Day Adventist Church,
00:53:00.21\00:53:02.21
here is the contact information
00:53:02.24\00:53:03.68
that you're going to need.
00:53:03.75\00:53:05.08
It's 1365 East, 46th Street,
00:53:05.11\00:53:08.72
North Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128.
00:53:08.75\00:53:12.22
The telephone
number, (817) 371-3654,
00:53:12.25\00:53:17.33
and the email or
rather the website,
00:53:17.36\00:53:21.06
Bethel49.
AdventistChurchConnect.org.
00:53:21.10\00:53:26.17
Going to go to our news break,
00:53:26.20\00:53:27.54
then we'll be back
with a closing thought.
00:53:27.57\00:53:29.64