What would you do
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if your church was
blown away in a tornado?
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Stay tuned to hear
about the tornado in Tulsa.
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My name is Jason Bradley,
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guests today
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are Pastor J.
Malcolm Phipps Jr.,
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senior pastor of the Bethel
SDA church in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
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and he is
accompanied by his lovely wife,
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Mrs. Carolyn Phipps.
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Welcome to Urban
Report. Glad to be here.
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Glad to have you. Thank you.
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You're welcome.
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Now we have a lot to
cover in a short amount of time,
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but I want to get
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into your
background a little bit
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and who you are.
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Have you always, Pastor Phipps,
been a Seventh-day Adventist?
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Yes, I am a fourth-generation
Seventh-day Adventist pastor
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on both sides of my family.
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Wow!
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My mother's side goes
back three generations,
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Elder John and Charles Mans.
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Okay.
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And Charles Mans was
my great-grandfather,
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and John Mans was
my great grand uncle.
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Okay.
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And they were early
pioneers in the black work
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in the southeast,
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the southwest part
of the United States.
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Wow!
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And what about you, Mrs. Phipps?
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Well, unfortunately,
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I have not always
been Seventh-day Adventist.
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Okay.
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I grew up Baptist, but as
soon as I learned the truth
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as an adult, I
never looked back.
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How were you
introduced to the truth?
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By a Bible worker,
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by the name of
Brother Michael Brown
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gave me Bible studies.
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Okay. And my life has changed.
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It changed completely. Wow.
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Yes. And so how
did you guys meet?
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Well, there were two
pastors that were influential,
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Elder James Cox and
Elder Durandal Ford.
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I know both of those pastors.
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I went to school
with Durandal, the son,
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and then with Crystal Cox.
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Well, those two
pastors were the matchmakers.
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Okay. They set us up.
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Okay. So they
arranged the meeting.
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Now did you approach Mrs. Phipps
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or did Mrs. Phipps approach you?
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How did that take place?
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What was the
initial point of contact?
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I initiated everything.
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He came to prayer
meeting one Wednesday night,
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and I said, "He's a good pastor.
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I'd loved his message."
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So I decided to send
him a letter, a traditional,
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old-fashioned,
handwritten letter.
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Okay.
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And I told him how
much I enjoyed his sermon
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that Wednesday night, and
I would like to hear more.
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Okay.
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So it took him about two months
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to return a response.
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It took you two months
to respond to the letter,
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what happened?
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I wanted to make sure
that I wasn't being too hasty.
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Okay.
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I also wanted to make
sure that I was ready to go
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to that level of a relationship
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because it was
clear from her letter
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that she wasn't just
looking for something casual.
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And so I didn't
want to lead her on.
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Okay.
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I didn't want to make
her feel as though I was,
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you know, being disingenuous.
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So I waited until I was sure
I was ready to make the step.
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Okay, okay.
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And so then
after those two months,
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you responded
back to her letter.
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Now you said that
he was a good pastor,
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also a
good-looking pastor that you...
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Yes, I failed to say
that. A good-looking pastor.
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Okay.
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And I said, "Oh,
I'm sure he's married
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or someone has
snagged him already."
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But I said, "I'm going to
try. I can only get yes or no."
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What happened after that?
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Well, Pastor Cox did
a little instigating.
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He gave me some tickets
to Cooke-Franklin concert
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and suggested
that I take Carolyn.
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Okay. Okay. And so I did.
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And on our way,
she'd let me know
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what I thought all along
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that she was not
looking for anything casual,
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that she was looking
for a serious relationship.
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And if I wasn't serious,
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then she wasn't
going to waste her time.
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So it was all or
nothing. All in, all out.
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That's right.
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Well, it looks like
it worked out for you.
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Yes, it did. Yeah, yeah.
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So tell me
about your church now,
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fast forwarding a little bit,
Bethel SDA in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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Tell me about how you reached
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the community and
what your church is like.
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Well, I always join
the ministerial alliance
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wherever I go.
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Okay.
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And so we got
involved immediately
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with the other pastors,
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which was very
fortuitous as you'll see later.
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The next thing we did
was to try to purchase
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some transportation.
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The church van was
in very bad condition.
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It really wasn't road
worthy. So we bought a bus.
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Okay.
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And the purpose of
that was for outreach.
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At the same time,
we bought the bus,
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AY Leaders started
Vacation Bible School
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and one of the housing projects
nearby called Apache Manor.
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Okay.
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And we would pick
up the young people
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and bring them to the church.
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And that went over very well.
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The young people
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from their Vacation Bible School
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became the core
along with our young people
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of Pathfinder Club,
Bethel Mighty Thunder.
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Wow! Okay.
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And so between five and seven,
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eight young people
have joined the church
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as a result of being baptized.
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Wow.
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Even now, while
we're out of our building,
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the club is still operating.
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Okay.
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And the leader of the club now,
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Elder Antonio Thompson,
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he has about half of
the club is non-Adventist.
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Wow!
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Half of the club is
non-Adventist, okay.
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And so we're still doing
our outreach and witnessing
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even though we're not
in the building that way.
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Now let Sister Phipps
talk about the soup kitchen.
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Okay.
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Because that was the next thing
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the Pathfinders
started the process.
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It was called
Pathfinder Pathways.
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Okay.
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And they would get the
things from the food pantry
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and take dry lunches,
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you know, packaged
lunches to the homeless.
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And we reorganized it,
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Sister Phipps took over.
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We named it the
Soup Kitchen at Bethel.
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Nice. Okay.
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So we started the Soup
Kitchen at Bethel about 2014.
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Okay.
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We had our first
Thanksgiving dinner.
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We had an array of people,
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we had policemen who
worked down the street,
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we had firemen, people
off the streets came in,
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and we had a
wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.
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They all enjoyed it.
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We had
literature out on the table
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so that they could
take those at will,
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take them home and read them,
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you know, read about
Seventh-day Adventist.
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Yes. Yes.
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We also would do back lunches,
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and the Pathfinders would take
those out and serve to people.
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May I add a quick
story? Absolutely.
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Okay.
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One, they
served one person there
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in particular, and he said,
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"No, I don't want anything.
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I know I can't eat it.
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I know a lot of it is
probably unclean pork,
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baloney or whatever,
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and I just
rather not be bothered."
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So they said, "No, take a look."
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And he did.
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So we were grateful, and
he was happy about it, yes.
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Oh, good, good, good, good.
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So he looked in the back,
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and he saw that
the food was good
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for his
consumption, there was no pork,
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there was none of that.
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Absolutely.
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And so he was
excited about that.
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Yes.
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Now why was that
so important to him?
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I think because we
found out later that,
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of course, he was homeless
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which made us sad,
but he's also Adventist.
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Wow!
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So we know that we
have our own brothers
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and sisters out
there who are struggling,
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and that's why it's
so vitally important
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that we stay out
there and help those
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who are in need of help.
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Wow.
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And so what inspired you guys
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to get this part of
the ministry started,
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the Soup Kitchen,
reaching out, feeding?
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It's practical Christianity,
but what brought that about?
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Because in the
community, the north side,
00:10:01.73\00:10:04.67
I would drive around, and
I would see so many people
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who needed food, who
were in need of food,
00:10:08.30\00:10:11.24
and they didn't have it.
00:10:11.27\00:10:12.91
And when they would come,
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they would have
their children with them,
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sometimes babies, and
that touched my heart,
00:10:16.58\00:10:20.78
and I had to do something.
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I had to. Yes.
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You know, North
Tulsa is a food desert.
00:10:24.39\00:10:25.95
Yes. Okay.
00:10:25.99\00:10:27.32
Yeah, there are
no grocery stores.
00:10:27.36\00:10:30.79
People shop out
of the Dollar Store
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or convenience stores
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if they don't
have transportation.
00:10:37.30\00:10:39.67
And so and many of them don't,
00:10:39.70\00:10:42.20
and they live
within whatever few blocks,
00:10:42.24\00:10:47.71
a lot of them,
they're born, raised,
00:10:47.74\00:10:49.88
and die within
that neighborhood.
00:10:49.91\00:10:52.08
And they don't ever go anywhere.
00:10:52.11\00:10:53.95
Wow!
00:10:53.98\00:10:55.78
So the only nutritious food
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that they got was
from the soup kitchen
00:10:58.19\00:11:00.59
and the community service.
00:11:00.62\00:11:03.39
Elder Barnes runs
our community service,
00:11:03.43\00:11:06.16
Elder Sheila Barnes,
and she would have boxes
00:11:06.19\00:11:10.47
which they would
have healthy food
00:11:10.50\00:11:12.60
that they could take home.
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.17
And commodities,
clothes, diapers,
00:11:15.20\00:11:18.54
whatever they needed,
she would supply that.
00:11:18.57\00:11:21.88
And so since there was no
grocery stores, no Walmart,
00:11:21.91\00:11:25.68
you know, it's a desert.
00:11:25.71\00:11:27.78
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:27.82\00:11:29.15
And so what we were
doing was really needed.
00:11:29.18\00:11:31.62
Yes. Absolutely.
00:11:31.65\00:11:32.99
So you filled the
void in the community,
00:11:33.02\00:11:34.62
you met their needs,
00:11:34.66\00:11:35.99
and then you told
them to come follow Christ.
00:11:36.02\00:11:37.79
Yes. That's beautiful.
00:11:37.83\00:11:39.16
Yes.
00:11:39.19\00:11:40.53
And we had several
people who don't join the church
00:11:40.56\00:11:42.46
from the Soup Kitchen
and from community service.
00:11:42.50\00:11:44.93
Wow!
00:11:44.97\00:11:46.30
And that transportation
00:11:46.33\00:11:47.67
that you guys
purchased was crucial.
00:11:47.70\00:11:50.01
Absolutely. Yeah.
00:11:50.04\00:11:51.57
Because many of those
people didn't have a way.
00:11:51.61\00:11:56.71
So, okay, so you
have the Soup Kitchen,
00:11:56.75\00:12:00.05
how often did you guys feed
the community, like what days?
00:12:00.08\00:12:06.55
The Soup Kitchen was open
the same time community service
00:12:06.59\00:12:08.89
was opened.
00:12:08.92\00:12:10.26
Okay.
00:12:10.29\00:12:11.63
And that was
every other Wednesday.
00:12:11.66\00:12:12.99
Yes. Okay.
00:12:13.03\00:12:14.36
From 5:00 to 7:00. Okay.
00:12:14.40\00:12:15.73
And the reason for that is
00:12:15.76\00:12:19.53
because they regulate
00:12:19.57\00:12:22.80
how often you can be open.
00:12:22.84\00:12:26.41
Yes, you have
several different charities
00:12:26.44\00:12:30.28
that operate.
00:12:30.31\00:12:31.65
You have Catholic
charities and then others.
00:12:31.68\00:12:34.52
Okay.
00:12:34.55\00:12:35.88
And so there's a
certain amount of time
00:12:35.92\00:12:38.69
that you can operate.
00:12:38.72\00:12:40.39
And they really don't want you
00:12:40.42\00:12:41.76
to operate outside of that time.
00:12:41.79\00:12:43.19
Okay.
00:12:43.22\00:12:44.56
And so we just we
had to be obedient.
00:12:44.59\00:12:47.96
Wow.
00:12:48.00\00:12:49.33
Okay, so but you
maximize that time though.
00:12:49.36\00:12:51.20
Yes, we do.
00:12:51.23\00:12:52.57
That's what it sounded
like, you maximized that time.
00:12:52.60\00:12:56.60
All right, so you've
got the Soup Kitchen,
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.31
what are other outreach deals?
00:12:58.34\00:13:00.28
You had the Pathfinders deal,
00:13:00.31\00:13:02.14
but how else did you
reach the community as well?
00:13:02.18\00:13:05.85
Well, as I mentioned earlier,
00:13:05.88\00:13:08.65
we joined the
ministerial alliance.
00:13:08.68\00:13:11.59
And they have
different functions
00:13:11.62\00:13:14.16
throughout the year.
00:13:14.19\00:13:15.52
Okay.
00:13:15.56\00:13:16.89
And our church became
involved in those functions.
00:13:16.93\00:13:19.13
In fact, when we when
we joined the alliance,
00:13:19.16\00:13:22.70
after the first year,
00:13:22.73\00:13:24.60
they wanted me
to be the treasurer.
00:13:24.63\00:13:27.67
I declined to do that. I
thought that wasn't wise.
00:13:27.70\00:13:31.51
Adventist pastor
that handles the money
00:13:31.54\00:13:33.11
for the North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Alliance,
00:13:33.14\00:13:35.44
I don't think so.
00:13:35.48\00:13:39.11
So after the second year,
00:13:39.15\00:13:40.48
they asked me to
be the vice-president.
00:13:40.52\00:13:43.72
So they asked so...
00:13:43.75\00:13:45.39
Wait.
00:13:45.42\00:13:46.76
So they asked you
to be the treasurer,
00:13:46.79\00:13:49.89
you declined that,
00:13:49.92\00:13:51.26
then they asked you
to be the vice-president,
00:13:51.29\00:13:54.36
what happened next?
00:13:54.40\00:13:57.03
I said, "Brother,
I'm an Adventist pastor,
00:13:57.07\00:14:00.10
you sure you want me
to be the vice-president
00:14:00.14\00:14:02.80
of the North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Conference?"
00:14:02.84\00:14:05.44
Uh-huh.
00:14:05.47\00:14:06.81
And he said, "Didn't I ask you?"
00:14:06.84\00:14:08.78
I said, "Okay."
00:14:08.81\00:14:11.68
So then they assigned me
to the pastoral helps part.
00:14:11.71\00:14:15.58
Uh-huh. We meet every Tuesday.
00:14:15.62\00:14:17.89
He assigned me to pastoral help.
00:14:17.92\00:14:19.25
It's like continuing
education for the pastors.
00:14:19.29\00:14:22.46
This is an excellent
witnessing opportunity.
00:14:22.49\00:14:25.83
And so again, I asked him,
00:14:25.86\00:14:28.03
"Are you sure that's
what you want me to do?
00:14:28.06\00:14:31.43
I only know Adventism. I
can only teach what I know.
00:14:31.47\00:14:37.97
This is a North Tulsa
Baptist Ministers Conference."
00:14:38.01\00:14:41.11
He said, "Didn't I ask?" Uh-huh.
00:14:41.14\00:14:44.01
He said, "We need
to be well-rounded.
00:14:44.05\00:14:45.85
We need to know
and be educated."
00:14:45.88\00:14:47.98
I said, "Okay."
00:14:48.02\00:14:49.38
So they learned the
three angels' message,
00:14:49.42\00:14:51.25
they learned the Sabbath,
00:14:51.29\00:14:52.62
they learned the
state of the dead,
00:14:52.65\00:14:53.99
they learned the health message,
00:14:54.02\00:14:55.82
they learned it all.
00:14:55.86\00:14:57.46
Wow!
00:14:57.49\00:14:59.66
Where else are you
going to find the opportunity
00:14:59.69\00:15:03.70
to present that in that manner?
00:15:03.73\00:15:05.40
That's a blessing.
00:15:05.43\00:15:06.87
God opened the
door for that one.
00:15:06.90\00:15:08.70
What was their response?
Well, the response was varied.
00:15:08.74\00:15:15.14
We talked about the Sabbath,
00:15:15.18\00:15:17.21
several of them
just dropped their heads.
00:15:17.25\00:15:19.05
And we had the same response
with some of the others,
00:15:23.15\00:15:25.45
the biggest
debate and discussion
00:15:25.49\00:15:30.89
was over the health message.
00:15:30.93\00:15:33.46
Really? Yeah.
00:15:33.50\00:15:36.23
There was some who felt like
00:15:36.26\00:15:37.60
that was part of
the Law of Moses.
00:15:37.63\00:15:40.04
And that it only
applied to the Jews and so on.
00:15:40.07\00:15:43.37
And so we had a real
healthy discussion on that.
00:15:43.41\00:15:46.01
Okay. The
Sabbath was not an issue.
00:15:46.04\00:15:48.48
They all knew.
They knew the Sabbath.
00:15:48.51\00:15:51.61
State of the dead was divided.
00:15:51.65\00:15:54.88
There were some
who agreed with us,
00:15:54.92\00:15:56.95
and there were some who
were adamant and opposite.
00:15:56.99\00:16:01.42
And when we've really got
into some serious discussion
00:16:01.46\00:16:04.03
was when I brought up the fact
00:16:04.06\00:16:06.09
that Jesus, after He had risen,
00:16:06.13\00:16:10.43
told Mary, He
had not yet ascended
00:16:10.47\00:16:12.93
to the Father.
00:16:12.97\00:16:15.37
So if He had not yet
ascended to the Father,
00:16:15.40\00:16:17.44
the thief couldn't have been
with Him on Friday in paradise.
00:16:17.47\00:16:22.61
And so that really
sparked some discussion.
00:16:22.64\00:16:28.05
We did give several of
them who were interested,
00:16:28.08\00:16:31.49
Amazing Facts Bible studies
00:16:31.52\00:16:33.25
so they could look
further for themselves.
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.02
Uh-huh.
00:16:35.06\00:16:36.39
But I haven't pressured anybody.
00:16:36.42\00:16:37.76
Okay.
00:16:37.79\00:16:39.13
I just sort of...
00:16:39.16\00:16:40.50
I gave them the
information. Yeah.
00:16:40.53\00:16:41.86
They're all educated men,
00:16:41.90\00:16:43.23
I gave them a
chance to digest it.
00:16:43.26\00:16:45.73
Yeah. I will come back to it.
00:16:45.77\00:16:47.24
Absolutely.
00:16:47.27\00:16:48.60
And I'm
wondering how'd they feel
00:16:48.64\00:16:50.37
when they see the Sabbath?
00:16:50.41\00:16:51.74
I mean, because
you really can't argue.
00:16:51.77\00:16:53.64
It's plain, it's plain
as day. It's very plain.
00:16:53.68\00:16:56.21
And it's that almost
00:16:56.24\00:16:57.58
that you could
see around the table
00:16:57.61\00:17:00.58
when I got to the Seventh-day
Sabbath, they just...
00:17:00.62\00:17:03.92
Yeah, I mean,
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.29
how are they going to refute it?
00:17:05.32\00:17:06.65
They can't. Yes. Yes.
00:17:06.69\00:17:08.06
Wow, that is an excellent
witnessing opportunity.
00:17:08.09\00:17:11.79
You also have
some other ministries
00:17:11.83\00:17:13.96
that you do
outreach, Backpack Ministry.
00:17:14.00\00:17:17.87
Tell us real quick
about the Backpack Ministry.
00:17:17.90\00:17:22.00
Well, just before school starts,
00:17:22.04\00:17:24.34
about two weeks before,
we will find who is in need,
00:17:24.37\00:17:29.14
and we will supply that need
to the children for backpacks.
00:17:29.18\00:17:33.62
And, of course, school uniforms,
00:17:33.65\00:17:36.92
if they need those,
00:17:36.95\00:17:38.75
we will satisfy
that need as well.
00:17:38.79\00:17:41.06
Wow.
00:17:41.09\00:17:42.42
And also another ministry
is the personal care bags
00:17:42.46\00:17:46.80
that we provide for those
00:17:46.83\00:17:48.93
who are in need of basic
00:17:48.96\00:17:52.93
soaps, lotions,
00:17:52.97\00:17:55.00
whatever they need,
we will provide that.
00:17:55.04\00:17:58.47
Wow.
00:17:58.51\00:17:59.84
So you guys have
had a tremendous impact
00:17:59.87\00:18:01.21
on the community.
00:18:01.24\00:18:02.58
You know, we've been
talking about your church,
00:18:02.61\00:18:03.95
we've been
talking about the impact
00:18:03.98\00:18:05.71
that you've had on the community
00:18:05.75\00:18:07.22
and alliance and
all of these things,
00:18:07.25\00:18:09.98
but we haven't seen any
pictures of your church.
00:18:10.02\00:18:12.22
Now we have some
pictures of your church
00:18:12.25\00:18:15.96
while it's intact and
looking pristine clean.
00:18:15.99\00:18:20.86
So we're going to take a
look at some of those now,
00:18:20.90\00:18:24.43
and you can tell us
what we're looking at.
00:18:24.47\00:18:26.50
Well, that's
the sanctuary there.
00:18:26.53\00:18:28.70
That's the sanctuary.
That's the front of the church.
00:18:28.74\00:18:32.01
Okay. Okay.
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.14
So you got...
00:18:34.18\00:18:35.51
Before the tornado.
00:18:35.54\00:18:36.88
Okay, and it looks like
it's pretty solid, solid there.
00:18:36.91\00:18:39.98
Well, that's why we survived
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.35
'cause of the
cinderblock construction.
00:18:41.38\00:18:42.72
Okay.
00:18:42.75\00:18:44.09
And so you guys
were hit by a tornado...
00:18:44.12\00:18:48.52
During prayer
meeting. During prayer meeting,
00:18:48.56\00:18:50.36
so there were
people in the church?
00:18:50.39\00:18:52.19
Yes, we had just
finished a song service section.
00:18:52.23\00:18:56.13
We were about to have,
as we're going to the prayer
00:18:56.16\00:18:59.97
'cause the people are
giving their testimonies
00:19:00.00\00:19:01.77
and the prayer requests,
00:19:01.80\00:19:03.14
and we were about to
start the prayer itself.
00:19:03.17\00:19:06.07
Okay.
00:19:06.11\00:19:07.44
And then
everybody's phone went off.
00:19:07.48\00:19:09.04
Really, with the alarm.
00:19:09.08\00:19:10.41
And as soon as
the phone went off,
00:19:10.45\00:19:12.15
then the sirens started.
00:19:12.18\00:19:14.62
And as soon as
the sirens started,
00:19:14.65\00:19:18.52
silt started falling
down from the ceiling.
00:19:18.55\00:19:20.56
Wow!
00:19:20.59\00:19:21.92
And they said,
"Pastor, don't you think
00:19:21.96\00:19:24.53
maybe we ought to go home?"
00:19:24.56\00:19:25.89
I said, "No, I think
we're in safest place.
00:19:25.93\00:19:28.80
We're in a
cinderblock construction,
00:19:28.83\00:19:30.17
but we need to get out of here."
00:19:30.20\00:19:31.60
Yes. So we got inside.
00:19:31.63\00:19:33.47
No sooner that we
start out to sanctuary,
00:19:33.50\00:19:35.44
then we could hear
the roof coming off.
00:19:35.47\00:19:37.94
Wow!
00:19:37.97\00:19:39.31
So we began to run
out of the sanctuary.
00:19:39.34\00:19:41.08
Yes.
00:19:41.11\00:19:42.44
We got on to the foyer,
00:19:42.48\00:19:44.01
and no sooner had
we got in the foyer,
00:19:44.05\00:19:45.81
then there was a
sister who was late,
00:19:45.85\00:19:47.85
and she stepped
inside the doors,
00:19:47.88\00:19:49.78
and the bricks in the front fell
00:19:49.82\00:19:51.32
where she would have been
if she had been a second late.
00:19:51.35\00:19:54.42
Wow!
00:19:54.46\00:19:55.79
At the same time,
00:19:55.82\00:19:57.16
the upstairs of
the sanctuary fell down
00:19:57.19\00:19:59.69
into the church.
00:19:59.73\00:20:01.36
So if we had hesitated,
00:20:01.40\00:20:03.53
it'd been a
whole different story.
00:20:03.57\00:20:04.90
Oh, yeah.
00:20:04.93\00:20:06.27
We may not be sitting
here talking today, that...
00:20:06.30\00:20:08.00
So nobody was hurt,
not a scratch on anybody.
00:20:08.04\00:20:13.44
You know, we
actually have a video clip
00:20:13.48\00:20:16.44
that we're going
to show of just right
00:20:16.48\00:20:19.65
when the tornado took...
00:20:19.68\00:20:21.02
Right after the
tornado took place
00:20:21.05\00:20:23.15
and look at the devastation
that took place to the church.
00:20:23.18\00:20:26.42
Let's take a look at that clip.
00:20:26.45\00:20:27.86
Oh, yeah, it hit the church.
00:20:34.13\00:20:36.16
It hit the church,
not went over a foot.
00:20:36.20\00:20:39.63
It straight up hit the church.
00:20:39.67\00:20:41.17
This is the east
side of the church,
00:20:58.69\00:21:02.82
as you can see,
00:21:02.86\00:21:04.19
the front is gone.
00:21:04.23\00:21:08.60
The roof is destroyed.
00:21:08.63\00:21:11.50
From the inside, it only
looked like halfway gone,
00:21:11.53\00:21:13.84
but from outside,
you can see it's gone.
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.10
The roof is
destroyed all the way
00:21:16.14\00:21:17.97
to the back of
the church just about.
00:21:18.01\00:21:22.24
This is the west...
00:21:22.28\00:21:23.61
Do I call the gas company yet?
00:21:23.65\00:21:25.38
No. Somebody needs to call them.
00:21:25.41\00:21:26.92
Please, please call
them and let them know
00:21:26.95\00:21:30.09
that the gas is real strong.
00:21:30.12\00:21:33.19
That's the next thing
I'm afraid it might blow up.
00:21:33.22\00:21:34.56
Why don't you call
the fire department?
00:21:34.59\00:21:36.22
Okay.
00:21:36.26\00:21:37.66
Wow.
00:21:43.97\00:21:45.30
Now that is a whole another look
00:21:45.33\00:21:48.07
to the church that we saw
00:21:48.10\00:21:49.44
that was
pristine clean and intact.
00:21:49.47\00:21:51.77
That tornado came through
and devastated the church,
00:21:51.81\00:21:54.58
and it's a blessing that
you guys are still alive.
00:21:54.61\00:21:57.71
And, you know,
00:21:57.75\00:21:59.61
I've heard your story before,
00:21:59.65\00:22:03.95
and I was very
impressed with what took place
00:22:03.99\00:22:07.89
even after the tornado
00:22:07.92\00:22:09.82
while you guys
were in the process,
00:22:09.86\00:22:12.16
and while you're still
00:22:12.19\00:22:13.53
in the process of
rebuilding the church.
00:22:13.56\00:22:16.80
Touch on how
ministry still continued
00:22:16.83\00:22:21.90
while you guys were rebuilding.
00:22:21.94\00:22:25.01
Well, we were determined
not to let our light die.
00:22:25.04\00:22:30.48
There were those who wanted
00:22:30.51\00:22:31.85
to move south.
00:22:31.88\00:22:35.25
And I was determined
that we were going to stay
00:22:38.02\00:22:40.46
in our neighborhood
00:22:40.49\00:22:41.92
because we already
had outreach going,
00:22:41.96\00:22:44.59
we had people who were contacts
00:22:44.63\00:22:48.13
who could
possibly join the church.
00:22:48.16\00:22:50.37
If we move south, we
make it almost impossible
00:22:50.40\00:22:52.77
for them to be with us.
00:22:52.80\00:22:54.14
Yeah.
00:22:54.17\00:22:55.50
So...
00:22:55.54\00:22:57.24
It so happened
that there was a church
00:22:57.27\00:23:01.58
who was renting from us
00:23:01.61\00:23:04.25
while they were
rebuilding their church.
00:23:04.28\00:23:06.95
And so we charged
them $600 a month.
00:23:06.98\00:23:12.29
And just to give you an idea,
00:23:12.32\00:23:14.32
we had a Youth Federation
and rented another facility
00:23:14.36\00:23:19.33
because our
facility was too small,
00:23:19.36\00:23:21.96
and it was $600 for two days.
00:23:22.00\00:23:24.67
Okay.
00:23:24.70\00:23:26.03
Okay, so just to
give you an idea.
00:23:26.07\00:23:27.40
Uh-huh.
00:23:27.44\00:23:28.77
So we charged them $600 a month.
00:23:28.80\00:23:30.14
Okay.
00:23:30.17\00:23:31.77
When our church was destroyed,
they opened their doors to us,
00:23:31.81\00:23:36.61
and they
charged us $600 a month.
00:23:36.64\00:23:38.91
Wow!
00:23:38.95\00:23:40.75
If we had not fellowshipped,
00:23:40.78\00:23:42.82
we would have
00:23:42.85\00:23:44.92
had that door not open to us.
00:23:44.95\00:23:47.59
After we had been
there for a while,
00:23:47.62\00:23:51.43
we decided to move again,
and we moved to another church,
00:23:51.46\00:23:56.53
the pastor was a
minister of the alliance.
00:23:56.56\00:23:58.80
Okay.
00:23:58.83\00:24:00.17
It was a Christian
Methodist Episcopal pastor.
00:24:00.20\00:24:02.77
He opened his church
to us, and he said...
00:24:02.80\00:24:06.51
Well, I asked him, "How
much do we need to pay?"
00:24:06.54\00:24:09.88
He said, "Well, what
were you paying before?"
00:24:09.91\00:24:11.81
I said, "Six hundred a month."
00:24:11.85\00:24:13.52
He said, "Then
six hundred a month."
00:24:13.55\00:24:15.78
Wow. Wow. So they were
fair. They were more than fair.
00:24:15.82\00:24:20.09
They were extremely generous.
00:24:20.12\00:24:23.06
Absolutely. Yes.
00:24:23.09\00:24:24.43
And so the point is,
00:24:24.46\00:24:25.79
it's that because
of the relationships
00:24:25.83\00:24:28.73
that we built in the
community, we have been blessed,
00:24:28.76\00:24:33.27
whereas we would
have been in serious hurt.
00:24:33.30\00:24:37.24
And see, that's important.
00:24:37.27\00:24:38.97
Like your church is one
00:24:39.01\00:24:40.51
that would be missed
00:24:40.54\00:24:43.88
had it just vanished.
00:24:43.91\00:24:45.81
You know, the
community would miss your church
00:24:45.85\00:24:47.78
because you have
a tremendous impact
00:24:47.82\00:24:50.25
on the community.
00:24:50.29\00:24:51.62
Now what's going on
with the rebuilding process
00:24:51.65\00:24:54.26
of the church?
00:24:54.29\00:24:55.62
Well, we ran into
a few difficulties.
00:24:55.66\00:24:59.26
There was a discrepancy
between what the architect
00:24:59.29\00:25:01.83
and the contractors
thought it was going to cost us
00:25:01.86\00:25:04.73
to get back in the building
00:25:04.77\00:25:06.50
and with the
insurance company thought
00:25:06.53\00:25:08.37
it was going to cost us
to get back in the building.
00:25:08.40\00:25:10.97
And they were between two
00:25:11.01\00:25:12.67
and three
hundred thousand dollars
00:25:12.71\00:25:16.54
apart on...
00:25:16.58\00:25:17.91
That's a huge discrepancy. Yeah.
00:25:17.95\00:25:20.15
And, of course, the
insurance company gave us
00:25:20.18\00:25:22.15
what they thought
00:25:22.18\00:25:23.52
it would cost us to get back in.
00:25:23.55\00:25:25.45
And it turns out that
it was what the contractor
00:25:25.49\00:25:28.49
and the architect said
00:25:28.52\00:25:31.23
it was going to cost.
00:25:31.26\00:25:33.66
In addition to that,
00:25:33.70\00:25:36.70
of course, with
the roof blown off,
00:25:36.73\00:25:38.80
it was raining,
00:25:38.83\00:25:40.17
you know, rain always
comes with the tornado.
00:25:40.20\00:25:41.64
Yes.
00:25:41.67\00:25:43.00
So we had two to
three inches of water
00:25:43.04\00:25:45.21
standing in the building.
00:25:45.24\00:25:48.21
And, of course,
within three days,
00:25:48.24\00:25:50.05
we had mold
running up the walls.
00:25:50.08\00:25:53.01
Wow.
00:25:53.05\00:25:54.38
And the insurance company said,
"We weren't covered for mold."
00:25:54.42\00:25:57.59
And so that was another battle.
00:25:57.62\00:25:59.65
But the state of
Oklahoma says that water damage
00:25:59.69\00:26:03.43
and mold damage
is the same thing.
00:26:03.46\00:26:05.49
So then they had to come
up with money for the mold.
00:26:05.53\00:26:09.83
But again, there
was a discrepancy.
00:26:09.86\00:26:12.17
The mold company said
00:26:12.20\00:26:13.54
it's going to cost
$300, 000 dollars to fix this.
00:26:13.57\00:26:16.87
And the insurance company said
00:26:16.91\00:26:18.81
they felt like it would cost fix
00:26:18.84\00:26:20.18
a $150,000 to fix it.
00:26:20.21\00:26:22.04
And so they gave us $150,000.
00:26:22.08\00:26:24.61
Again, it was what the
mold company said it was.
00:26:24.65\00:26:29.78
So we had to take money
00:26:29.82\00:26:31.59
that we needed to
build to fix the mold
00:26:31.62\00:26:34.32
because we couldn't go
back in without fixing mold.
00:26:34.36\00:26:36.52
So you're short of finances
00:26:36.56\00:26:39.59
on getting the
church fully repaired.
00:26:39.63\00:26:42.53
That's correct.
00:26:42.56\00:26:43.90
And how much short
would you say that you are?
00:26:43.93\00:26:46.00
Well, we are fortunate
00:26:46.03\00:26:49.94
that we are part of a union
00:26:49.97\00:26:53.54
that really cares about us.
00:26:53.58\00:26:55.54
And so the South
Western Union Conference
00:26:55.58\00:26:58.88
in cooperation
00:26:58.91\00:27:00.25
with our
president, Elder Watkins,
00:27:00.28\00:27:03.28
came up with a grant of $90,000.
00:27:03.32\00:27:05.05
Okay.
00:27:05.09\00:27:06.76
And so we'll be able to
get back in our sanctuary,
00:27:06.79\00:27:09.62
we're hoping, by September.
00:27:09.66\00:27:11.23
Okay.
00:27:11.26\00:27:12.59
The rest of it, we
got to keep raising money.
00:27:12.63\00:27:15.06
And so how do people,
if they want to support
00:27:15.10\00:27:18.17
what you're trying to
do, rebuild the church,
00:27:18.20\00:27:21.07
how do they get
in touch with you?
00:27:21.10\00:27:22.97
What's the website?
00:27:23.00\00:27:24.97
It is Bethel49.
AdventistChurchConnect.org.
00:27:25.01\00:27:30.25
And do you have an
email address as well?
00:27:30.28\00:27:32.61
My email address is my name,
00:27:32.65\00:27:35.12
jmalcolmphippsjr@yahoo.com
00:27:35.15\00:27:39.02
Okay, wonderful.
00:27:39.05\00:27:40.39
And when people
go to that website,
00:27:40.42\00:27:41.76
they'll be able to
click on a Giving tab
00:27:41.79\00:27:45.33
and donate to the church
00:27:45.36\00:27:46.70
so that you guys can
finish repairing the church.
00:27:46.73\00:27:49.70
There'll be a
place under church budget
00:27:49.73\00:27:51.73
where they can
type in "rebuild".
00:27:51.77\00:27:55.87
Wonderful.
00:27:55.90\00:27:57.24
Thank you so much
for joining us and...
00:27:57.27\00:27:59.74
Thank you for
having us. You're welcome.
00:27:59.77\00:28:01.74
And thank you for joining us.
00:28:01.78\00:28:03.11
Join us next time, and remember,
00:28:03.14\00:28:04.48
it just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:28:04.51\00:28:06.51