March 10, 2025

Faith in Action

Faith in Action
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon iHeartRadio podcast player icon
Season 4 Mahoning Valley Society & Culture

In this episode, we present Pastor Garrick Matlock of the Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center in Warren, Ohio. Born and raised in Warren, Pastor Matlock opens up about his journey—from his roots to his calling in ministry and his work today. This episode is filled with powerful moments of faith, resilience, and purpose, showing how one person’s mission can create a lasting impact.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

  • Growing up where community felt like "a big family"
  • Founding Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center
  • Helping students experiencing homelessness
  • Introducing "Sawubona" as a philosophy for seeing others' full humanity
  • Challenging the narratives of the black church
  • Pastor Matlock's "One Word"

    Visit Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center at 403 Atlantic Street Northwest. Scripture School meets Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 9:30 a.m., and Sunday worship at 11 a.m.

So press play and be moved by Captain Cole's inspiring story. Ladies and gentlemen, Sound United Presents... Pastor Garrick Matlock!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you vibe with podcasts or visit our website. www.soundunitedpresents.com

Sound United Presents is a community-focused podcast powered by Sound United Podcast Studio. Produced by Kimberly Gonzales and D. Lee Scott

00:00 - Welcome to Sound United Presents

01:56 - Host's Personal Connection with Pastor Matlock

09:57 - Pastor Matlock's Warren Upbringing

16:14 - From College to Ministry Calling

22:56 - Founding Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center

29:24 - The Church's Role in Social Justice

55:21 - Finding Balance as a Pastor

01:00:30 - Random Questions and Caribbean Memories

01:08:38 - Where to Connect with Pastor Matlock

WEBVTT

00:00:12.054 --> 00:00:20.992
Hello, ladies and gents, welcome to Sound United Presents, a diverse and inclusive podcast focused on local entrepreneurs, professionals and unsung community heroes.

00:00:20.992 --> 00:00:31.256
Within each episode, our guests will candidly share their stories filled with triumph, failures, humor, lessons learned, insight and some nuggets of wisdom.

00:00:31.256 --> 00:00:34.302
I'm very excited about this and I hope you are too.

00:00:34.302 --> 00:00:35.826
Let's get started.

00:00:35.826 --> 00:00:40.606
Hey folks, thank you for hitting the play button once again on Sound United Presents.

00:00:40.606 --> 00:00:42.615
I'm your host, deshaun Scott.

00:00:42.615 --> 00:00:44.521
This is co-produced by Kimberly Gonzalez.

00:00:44.521 --> 00:00:47.546
Once again, we got a wonderful guest here.

00:00:47.546 --> 00:00:50.253
As I tell y'all all the time, I'm your host, deshaun Scott.

00:00:50.253 --> 00:00:51.314
This is co-produced by Kimberly Gonzalez.

00:00:51.314 --> 00:00:52.296
Once again, we got a wonderful guest here.

00:00:52.296 --> 00:00:58.947
As I tell y'all all the time, I'm batting a thousand and, as usual, I want to give you a little backstory on this individual, because this one hits home.

00:00:58.947 --> 00:01:06.870
This one is like a straight to the heart type episode here for so many reasons and you're going to enjoy the conversation.

00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:13.864
This individual like the other ones, but you're really going to enjoy this conversation, so let me prime this for y'all just a little bit.

00:01:13.864 --> 00:01:20.549
So this gentleman, warren, everybody here in Warren, we know each other for the most part Now.

00:01:20.549 --> 00:01:28.215
I can't remember if it was a school thing because I was skipping class a lot, so it might've been a scene and that, but you know I was a habitual class skipper.

00:01:28.215 --> 00:01:44.566
But fast forward into adult age I would see him a lot in community events doing some wonderful things Youngstown City School District where we were working with the communications team and when they had events and things like that, you know I'd see him and stuff like that.

00:01:44.566 --> 00:01:46.088
So it was always.

00:01:46.088 --> 00:01:51.397
You know, you know how you see people and you you know, hey, what's up, and you just catch up and you know find out what they doing.

00:01:51.397 --> 00:01:56.164
And then you know, you go on and I want to say hope my brother don't kill me on this.

00:01:56.164 --> 00:01:57.844
Uh, I think it was 2019.

00:01:58.825 --> 00:02:04.191
It was crazy because my brother asked me to be his best man, for his wedding Wasn't a big wedding.

00:02:04.191 --> 00:02:06.332
He just wanted to, you know, solidify, get married.

00:02:06.332 --> 00:02:10.317
And I said, yeah, man, like OK, no problem.

00:02:10.317 --> 00:02:17.888
And then he was like, oh, by the way, can you ask E if she will be my wife's?

00:02:17.888 --> 00:02:20.139
I think it's made on her, you know the closest one to the bride, I think made on, or something like that.

00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:26.282
And I was like, oh, yeah, I mean mean like they knew each other, but that kind of honor.

00:02:26.282 --> 00:02:28.344
You know, it's like that was kind of weird.

00:02:28.344 --> 00:02:31.186
Me as the best man yeah, my wife is the, you know.

00:02:31.205 --> 00:02:31.725
But we did it.

00:02:31.725 --> 00:02:34.108
And so I said, well, just give me the details.

00:02:34.108 --> 00:02:37.870
And then we got closer, he he told me where, and it was a church.

00:02:37.870 --> 00:02:41.692
And I'd never, you know, I'd never seen this church before.

00:02:41.692 --> 00:02:44.674
I think I might have passed it a couple times, going to Packard Park or what have you.

00:02:44.674 --> 00:03:08.888
And so I was like, ok, fine, we go in there and we sit and we chill, and you know, my brother's there, his wife Dee is down there doing a thing with my wife, and Pat's pastor comes up looking regal and I said, you know, I just I can't even tell you, because I did the look and I was shocked, I didn't, I didn't know, it was a surprise.

00:03:08.888 --> 00:03:09.831
Like hey, you know what I'm saying.

00:03:09.831 --> 00:03:15.554
Like you know, we about to do this ceremony and I'm running into this brother like, oh man, this is, this is great.

00:03:16.437 --> 00:03:18.824
And so it was a beautiful ceremony, you know.

00:03:18.824 --> 00:03:19.566
And then that was.

00:03:19.566 --> 00:03:23.640
I might have seen him one more time after that, but it was some time, and I think then the pandemic hit.

00:03:23.640 --> 00:03:25.116
I think it was, so it might have been him one more time after that, but it was some time, and I think then the pandemic hit.

00:03:25.116 --> 00:03:26.379
I think it was so it might have been 2019.

00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:31.512
And this is where it gets really really interesting.

00:03:31.512 --> 00:03:41.775
More interesting, so in 2021, you know, y'all know, I've shared with you, at least if you've heard the trailer that you know my wife had passed September 17th of 2021.

00:03:42.539 --> 00:03:55.662
Catastrophic in so many different ways because you know, from being a surprise happening to having to make decisions on the spot of you know what funeral it was, it was a super blur.

00:03:55.662 --> 00:04:08.566
And if you've been through this stuff whether it's a spouse or whatever, you know it's a super blur and part of that, you know the calling hours and all this stuff I'm preparing for this Cause it's, you know, my decisions that need to be made.

00:04:08.566 --> 00:04:10.872
You know it's like a celebration of life.

00:04:10.872 --> 00:04:11.401
You know what.

00:04:11.401 --> 00:04:12.544
How am I going to do this?

00:04:12.544 --> 00:04:20.387
And and I said, well, I'm gonna do it in the park and, you know, in the garden, because that's where she was happiest and no, I hope the weather's going to be fine and so many things going on.

00:04:20.387 --> 00:04:27.475
And then I reached out to a brother who was really, who is really close to our family, um, through his uncle God rest his soul to uh Rob.

00:04:27.475 --> 00:04:44.668
But, um, uh, mario, and you know, I needed somebody to speak at my wife's celebration of life, um, and me and her would always talk about that Cause I would tell her look, if you get somebody to speak at mine, please make sure they say Deshaun and not Del Sean.

00:04:44.668 --> 00:04:58.860
And you know, like we would always talk about this stuff and I would talk about it in a way that I felt it would be me and and so I was like I want somebody that that kind of knows Erica and, you know, knows the family and all that.

00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:13.290
So I put in a lot of work, asked Mario, he, he was great with it Me and him talked and I think a few days before the celebration of life, he, he called me and he was under the weather and he was like brother, you know I don't want to.

00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:14.711
You know I can't be there.

00:05:14.711 --> 00:05:15.730
You know, this is important to me.

00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:28.526
You know, like I got to send, I just it's the thing a husband does, right, I'm sending my wife off.

00:05:28.526 --> 00:05:31.468
I'm already still numb, and you know, but I just want this to be right.

00:05:31.468 --> 00:05:55.064
And he refers this gentleman yes, sir, Going back to all the other times that we've connected, and then it's here and I was like, yeah, and we spoke, because I remember how you spoke at the, at Mario's, at Mario's wedding, so it was.

00:05:55.105 --> 00:05:55.547
It was yeah, yeah, okay.

00:05:55.547 --> 00:06:05.470
So, man, you spoke and and before we even talked about the ceremony, you asked about how I was doing and we talked, uh, some scripture, and we just, and in a way, that wasn't scripture, it was a conversation where scripture was included in it.

00:06:05.470 --> 00:06:06.672
That it wasn't.

00:06:06.672 --> 00:06:09.701
It wasn't an emphasis on that, it was just.

00:06:09.701 --> 00:06:13.685
It's hard to explain, but it's wonderful I'm getting to introduce him.

00:06:13.685 --> 00:06:16.307
Y'all just bear with me, because I got to lay this primer down for y'all.

00:06:16.307 --> 00:06:16.870
Yes, sir.

00:06:17.822 --> 00:06:21.692
So, the the celebration of life happens.

00:06:21.692 --> 00:06:25.911
He comes and I am over watching my kids.

00:06:25.911 --> 00:06:32.874
I'm still shocked because we in a garden where I seen my wife happy, talking to plants and growing tomatoes.

00:06:32.874 --> 00:06:38.672
I am looking at all the people who loved her, who loved me, who loved us.

00:06:38.672 --> 00:06:42.451
I am still shocked.

00:06:42.451 --> 00:06:44.286
All this stuff is going on.

00:06:44.286 --> 00:07:06.370
It's a nice attendance, and we get up and speak, my son gets up and speaks, my daughter you know she spoke and then this gentleman comes up and I got to tell you as much as my mind was running and trying to pay attention to my kids and just trying to make sure everything is right and for me to try to appear strong on the outside.

00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:10.262
Get a little choked up, it's alright.

00:07:13.286 --> 00:07:13.887
It's alright.

00:07:19.375 --> 00:07:25.007
That this gentleman gets up and gives this.

00:07:25.007 --> 00:07:31.848
I don't want to call it a eulogy, I don't, I don't, I don't know what to call it.

00:07:31.848 --> 00:07:59.427
It was just, it was beautiful because with all that going on, that was in my head, it stopped, yes, sir, and as you spoke about Erica, it was if we hung out, it was if you, you knew her.

00:07:59.427 --> 00:08:02.668
You, yes, sir, uh, but I wanted to give you that primer.

00:08:02.668 --> 00:08:04.108
So you understand, it is not.

00:08:04.108 --> 00:08:06.629
This isn't the reason why he's here.

00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:10.511
When I speak of Erica and I speak to that, it's just this connection.

00:08:10.511 --> 00:08:19.175
And then all the stuff that he does now and he is an incredible gentleman, probably the prototype of what you know sound United presents is all about.

00:08:19.175 --> 00:08:27.437
So with that, ladies and gentlemen, now that I've given you that primer and you caught me on on choking up a little, bit because we're not going to delete that.

00:08:27.478 --> 00:08:27.978
It's authentic.

00:08:27.978 --> 00:08:29.379
Yes, uh sorry.

00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:32.403
United presents, pastor garrick matlock.

00:08:32.403 --> 00:08:33.166
Thank you.

00:08:33.326 --> 00:08:34.388
Thank you so much.

00:08:34.388 --> 00:08:35.510
Welcome to the show.

00:08:35.510 --> 00:08:40.889
I'm glad to be here and it's okay to get choked up yeah, well, that was not an intent.

00:08:40.950 --> 00:08:54.471
I'm saying, you know, but you replaying stuff and I and I remember it vividly, you know, and it was just, and what you did and how you did it and your wife and just the way it was just, it was just great man, and I'll never forget that and I remember.

00:08:54.471 --> 00:08:55.922
I have it recorded too.

00:08:55.922 --> 00:08:57.426
I just can't watch it for a while.

00:08:57.426 --> 00:09:00.100
It might it might be some time before I watch it, but I got it up here.

00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:02.804
Yes, sir, take your time with that one right there.

00:09:03.485 --> 00:09:04.027
I remember.

00:09:04.027 --> 00:09:10.355
So as we get started I normally like to let our guests kind of you know, give them their one minute about themselves.

00:09:10.355 --> 00:09:12.283
You know I want to read off everybody's bio.

00:09:12.283 --> 00:09:14.089
I like to give the primer things so people know.

00:09:14.089 --> 00:09:15.893
So tell the audience about yourself a little bit.

00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:17.121
Sounds great.

00:09:17.121 --> 00:09:28.061
Thank you very much and I'm glad to be here on Sound United United.

00:09:28.061 --> 00:09:29.024
My name, as you said, is Garrick Matlock.

00:09:29.024 --> 00:09:31.130
I'm the lead pastor and visionary pastor of Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center.

00:09:31.130 --> 00:09:34.302
But, most importantly, beyond all of those things, I'm a husband.

00:09:34.302 --> 00:09:38.929
July 1st of next year will be 30 years.

00:09:38.929 --> 00:09:42.134
I am a father and a grandfather.

00:09:42.134 --> 00:10:00.883
A father and a grandfather, and you know I'm a son, I am a brother, and those are things that I really like people to know about me, not so much the things that I do, but the things that really make me who I am, and those people who have contributed into my life, who have supported and encouraged me to be who I am.

00:10:01.283 --> 00:10:02.886
Yeah, Okay, all right.

00:10:03.128 --> 00:10:04.029
Do you grow up in Warren?

00:10:04.530 --> 00:10:04.912
I did.

00:10:04.912 --> 00:10:05.874
I grew up in Warren.

00:10:05.874 --> 00:10:07.322
Yes, sir, so you were a Warren native.

00:10:07.563 --> 00:10:08.485
I am a Warren native.

00:10:08.485 --> 00:10:16.461
Grew up on the east side, first four years of my life in the Fairview Gardens, yeah, and then after that on the east side on Woodbine.

00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:18.182
Wait, you grew up in the Fairview Gardens.

00:10:18.243 --> 00:10:42.630
Yes, sir, wow, first four years of my life, fairview Gardens and then we moved over on to Woodbine 1659 Woodbine but a lot of my time also was spent on the North End because, being that both of my parents worked, and literally like nine to five jobs, my brothers and I would come home from school and we would actually be over at our grandparents' house over on the North End.

00:10:42.851 --> 00:10:45.625
Okay, Okay, Wow, that's Fairview Gardens.

00:10:45.625 --> 00:10:58.190
My grandmother was one of the as many of them that come up from you know, down south Arkansas, what have you but she was one of the first residents in there and I actually spent a lot of time in there, especially when I got back at 16.

00:10:58.190 --> 00:10:59.802
But I spent a lot of time there.

00:10:59.802 --> 00:11:02.446
So when you said that I'm Fairview Gardens, Fairview Gardens.

00:11:02.485 --> 00:11:07.914
Yes, sir, and then I didn't know that your family came out of Arkansas, because my family comes out of Fort Nice, arkansas.

00:11:07.914 --> 00:11:11.965
Matter of fact, my great grandfather who was a pastor here in the city.

00:11:11.965 --> 00:11:16.230
He was a pastor in Warren, arkansas, and then became a pastor in Warren, ohio.

00:11:16.511 --> 00:11:19.716
Wow, yeah, yeah.

00:11:19.716 --> 00:11:22.908
On the paternal side, pine Bluff, arkansas.

00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:41.328
Pine Bluff is the same area that my family is from, so the uh jacobs in the eddington, so we're gonna have to have some more talk man, you just yeah, because my mother's doing a lot of genealogy research, so she's actually trying to get to pine bluff to uh connect some dots yeah, yeah, pine bluff, arkansas.

00:11:41.870 --> 00:11:42.932
So how was life growing up?

00:11:42.932 --> 00:11:43.740
You mentioned the.

00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:46.067
You know being on the east side of the North End.

00:11:46.067 --> 00:11:47.890
But how was life growing up for you?

00:11:47.890 --> 00:11:48.712
It was beautiful.

00:11:49.921 --> 00:11:59.951
I had my three brothers that I was growing up with and all of our first cousins and then all of our friends, and in that day and time, community was like a big family.

00:11:59.951 --> 00:12:04.571
I really, really enjoyed my childhood.

00:12:04.571 --> 00:12:06.346
I enjoyed my teenage years.

00:12:06.346 --> 00:12:15.231
Outside was a playground, walking through the woods, my mother always said for my brothers and I said that we was like country boys growing up in the city.

00:12:15.231 --> 00:12:17.543
So yeah, so I love.

00:12:17.543 --> 00:12:22.952
I tell my children, even right now, to this day, I really don't ever say the word bored.

00:12:22.952 --> 00:12:23.914
I was never bored.

00:12:23.914 --> 00:12:25.485
Even to this day I'm still.

00:12:25.485 --> 00:12:26.240
I'm never bored.

00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:26.842
It's all.

00:12:26.863 --> 00:12:28.947
There's too much too much to happen.

00:12:28.947 --> 00:12:31.674
Yes, no, wasn't no screen time back then?

00:12:31.674 --> 00:12:36.350
No sir, outside running, in, you know running and playing which is you know what?

00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:42.392
I wonder if that's a thing, because I'm the same way like I don't there's always something to to do.

00:12:42.392 --> 00:12:43.221
I don't get bored.

00:12:43.221 --> 00:12:50.302
I mean, even when I was on punishment as a kid, which was a lot, and I say that a lot, which is very true y'all I'd find something to do in that room or something you know what.

00:12:50.703 --> 00:12:53.250
I mean yeah, you, just you stay active.

00:12:53.250 --> 00:12:54.921
Where'd you go to school at?

00:12:56.162 --> 00:13:05.556
Elementary school I went to Roosevelt and then junior high school, went to HB Turner Junior High School, then high school, on to Warren G Harding.

00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:08.386
So you full Warren G Harding, you didn't do the reserve Harding.

00:13:08.407 --> 00:13:09.249
You were just tradition.

00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:12.044
because you was on the side, I forgot all about Roosevelt.

00:13:12.206 --> 00:13:20.946
Yes, sir, went to Rose and the crazy thing about it is that I tell a lot of people that that's how time is Everything that I knew growing growing up?

00:13:20.946 --> 00:13:24.533
As far as structures, they're now gone.

00:13:24.533 --> 00:13:27.581
You know, roosevelt elementary is now a community garden.

00:13:27.581 --> 00:13:30.505
Where hb turner was, it is now a?

00:13:30.505 --> 00:13:33.051
Uh, a skate park, wow.

00:13:33.051 --> 00:13:35.455
And then what's left of warren g harding?

00:13:35.455 --> 00:13:39.629
Uh, the one that I attended is actually it's a, it's a monument?

00:13:40.049 --> 00:13:41.874
do you say the warren g harding?

00:13:41.874 --> 00:13:50.341
I have no dog in the fight I came up in 89 and part of it was reserve and part of it was a Harding, and you know.

00:13:50.341 --> 00:13:51.206
So I don't have a dog.

00:13:51.206 --> 00:13:52.503
I thought people would be like the.

00:13:52.503 --> 00:13:54.568
You know, I got a friend who says that.

00:13:54.788 --> 00:13:57.034
Yeah, no, the Warren G Harden.

00:13:57.034 --> 00:14:03.469
No, my wife was the first consolidated class coming back to being one high school, so she was a reserve girl.

00:14:03.469 --> 00:14:07.895
And I always joke about it and say you know, those West Side girls love these East Side guys.

00:14:10.041 --> 00:14:10.682
In high school.

00:14:10.682 --> 00:14:12.649
I mean, were you in any activities, Did you?

00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:19.452
Yes, I was in two, as a matter of fact, to the point to where my parents told me don't sign my name on another thing.

00:14:19.452 --> 00:14:38.035
So I was a Madrigal singer, I was an acapella, I was president of Madrigals, I played football, played basketball, just to my freshman year, but then, after I was involved in everything I could possibly be in, there were some theater productions where they consolidated students from both Warren Harding and Warren Western Reserve.

00:14:38.035 --> 00:14:40.508
So I was involved in a lot.

00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:42.784
Wow, ok, no trouble.

00:14:42.784 --> 00:14:44.349
You didn't get any trouble, nothing like that.

00:14:44.349 --> 00:14:49.888
Well, just asking.

00:14:50.109 --> 00:14:51.110
I can tell you what I was.

00:14:51.110 --> 00:15:03.639
I had a serious case of senioritis and probably my senior year of high school was probably the most dissatisfying year of school.

00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:05.326
I was kind of done with it.

00:15:05.326 --> 00:15:12.200
It was the only thing I really loved back at that time was I did love Madrigals, I did love acapella and I did love all of my Spanish.

00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:14.749
I was in Spanish four by that time.

00:15:14.749 --> 00:15:18.591
I had acquired the language so I was able to speak fluently.

00:15:18.591 --> 00:15:23.552
My Spanish teacher, from Spanish one through Spanish four, never allowed us to speak a word of English.

00:15:23.552 --> 00:15:28.091
So I was pretty much almost fluent after my second year.

00:15:28.091 --> 00:15:30.802
But there was an extra work I did Back then.

00:15:30.822 --> 00:15:43.749
There was a such thing that was called a phone book, white pages and yellow pages, but in the white pages I would look up every Hispanic surname that I could find and I would actually call them on the phone, just so that I could practice Spanish.

00:15:44.751 --> 00:15:46.884
Wow, yes, yes, yes.

00:15:46.884 --> 00:15:51.510
Yes, you used the phone book for educational purposes.

00:15:51.510 --> 00:15:53.508
I used to use the Yellow Pages to prank call.

00:15:54.783 --> 00:15:56.448
Well, now, we had our share of that too.

00:15:57.620 --> 00:16:02.951
Ordering something, or yeah, yeah, anyway, that's another Deshaun discussion there.

00:16:02.951 --> 00:16:10.551
So, going through, even whether it was when you were younger or when, you know, you started high school or middle school, did you have a?

00:16:10.551 --> 00:16:13.916
I like to know like did you have a dream career?

00:16:21.890 --> 00:16:23.273
Like did you want to grow up?

00:16:23.273 --> 00:16:39.563
And the years of watching the Cosbys, seeing an African-American family of a doctor and a lawyer, and I can say in high school, the dream was always college, matter of fact, my parents had put that inside of my brothers and I that you were going to go off to college.

00:16:39.563 --> 00:16:42.682
And then, you know, the Cosby show follows up with a different world.

00:16:42.682 --> 00:16:46.899
So we think that college is going to be a certain thing.

00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:54.413
So myself and a great friend of mine, jeff Butts, who you know, at one point we had talked about that we were going to be attorneys.

00:16:54.413 --> 00:17:01.789
So by the time I got to college I thought that I said you know, I want to help people and I thought that the way to help people was through psychology.

00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:08.391
All it took me was about one semester and I decided no, I don't want to do psychology.

00:17:08.391 --> 00:17:09.895
So I became a political science major.

00:17:09.895 --> 00:17:12.548
So political science and public policy analysis.

00:17:12.548 --> 00:17:22.055
But eventually, within that major, there was a time that I had gone off one summer for to be a leader at a youth camp.

00:17:22.055 --> 00:17:33.085
To be a leader at a youth camp, and one night in the tent I just was in some time in prayer and I just began to pray and just really told the Lord that whatever you want me to do, wherever you want me to go, that's what I'll do.

00:17:33.085 --> 00:17:36.102
And he told me to start a Bible study when I go back on campus.

00:17:36.102 --> 00:17:48.490
So I founded a Bible study, started off with three individuals in my apartment, including myself, and then by the end of the third semester we administered to well over 200 students on campus.

00:17:48.490 --> 00:17:54.465
So it was a very, very powerful time in my life, so my first jump into college.

00:17:54.465 --> 00:18:00.442
As a matter of fact, I can say that it was a very powerful time.

00:18:00.442 --> 00:18:06.313
I've met people that are still friends and brothers and sisters to this very day.

00:18:06.313 --> 00:18:19.586
But my father called me one day while I was at school because during college, you know, life still happens In 1991, my cousin Rekia.

00:18:20.409 --> 00:18:21.330
She had passed away.

00:18:21.330 --> 00:18:23.173
She had had leukemia.

00:18:23.173 --> 00:18:29.247
We had saw her going through remission several times, but then eventually she did lose her life.

00:18:29.247 --> 00:18:31.108
Many things after that.

00:18:31.108 --> 00:18:41.520
But then my father called me and told me that Packer Electric was hiring and asked me I was about to enter into my final semester and said would you like to take this job?

00:18:41.520 --> 00:18:43.336
And I took the job.

00:18:43.336 --> 00:18:51.183
I took the job and I had a lot of credit hours up under me, but I had an opportunity as well.

00:18:51.183 --> 00:18:54.211
So I took the job and I didn't finish school at that time.

00:18:54.211 --> 00:18:55.553
And I didn't finish school at that time.

00:18:55.553 --> 00:19:09.461
But since that time I had gone back to seminary and I went to Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary and ended up graduating with high distinction, with a degree in Christian philosophy and apologetics.

00:19:09.461 --> 00:19:10.903
Ok, how did you?

00:19:11.083 --> 00:19:13.023
So where did you when you started college?

00:19:13.023 --> 00:19:13.565
Where did you go?

00:19:13.565 --> 00:19:15.526
The University of Akron, ok.

00:19:15.526 --> 00:19:16.866
Is it the Zips?

00:19:16.866 --> 00:19:19.632
The Zips, okay, yes.

00:19:19.632 --> 00:19:22.154
And then you got close to graduating.

00:19:22.154 --> 00:19:26.039
Yes, a lot of credit hours under you, the opportunity came to work at Packer.

00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:27.321
What year was that?

00:19:27.321 --> 00:19:28.042
When that?

00:19:28.042 --> 00:19:29.885
I'm trying to think 94.

00:19:29.885 --> 00:19:33.500
, because I was going to say it was a year when Packer started hiring like crazy.

00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:37.972
Yes, started hiring like crazy.

00:19:37.972 --> 00:19:38.876
Like you know, everybody was getting.

00:19:38.876 --> 00:19:40.142
You know, the smart ones went and took the opportunities.

00:19:40.142 --> 00:19:41.950
The ones like me was like nah street is street is where it's at.

00:19:42.270 --> 00:19:43.994
You know you working folks go right ahead.

00:19:43.994 --> 00:19:46.501
That kind of takes me to my next question.

00:19:46.501 --> 00:19:54.337
Because what I mean, what inspired you to just to, to go into ministry?

00:19:54.337 --> 00:20:06.281
Because you on a college campus with activities galore good and bad, yes and you decide you had this calling to to do this.

00:20:06.281 --> 00:20:08.653
Was that the beginning?

00:20:08.653 --> 00:20:09.976
Did you see that?

00:20:09.976 --> 00:20:15.873
Did you see that, even going down further into the future, even with with Packard, right, right there, you know that opportunity.

00:20:15.873 --> 00:20:21.763
But did you have something like you know when I get, you know when I get in my 30s or when I'm going to be doing this?

00:20:21.763 --> 00:20:24.198
I mean, was that on your heart, in your mind?

00:20:25.111 --> 00:20:26.978
Not at the capacity that it is right now.

00:20:26.978 --> 00:20:34.403
However, back then I had been active in ministry since I was about 12, 13 years old.

00:20:34.403 --> 00:20:43.500
My parents were active in ministry and they brought my brothers and I along so early on, and that's one thing I love about the black church tradition.

00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:51.652
A lot of people, even when I had entered into public education, they looked at the amount of skill that I brought to the table.

00:20:51.652 --> 00:20:59.112
But a lot of those skills were learned inside of the black church and where we learned how to serve From a young age.

00:20:59.112 --> 00:21:04.884
Children were promoted, whether it was through music, whether it was through oratory.

00:21:05.490 --> 00:21:07.776
Back in the day, we all had Easter speeches.

00:21:07.776 --> 00:21:10.402
We learned public speaking in the church.

00:21:10.402 --> 00:21:15.061
So we didn't we didn't have effective oral communication courses.

00:21:15.061 --> 00:21:23.814
What we had was you have this Easter speech and you're going to start off with a short one when you're younger and you're going to say happy Easter everybody.

00:21:23.814 --> 00:21:32.842
And then, as you get older, you're going to get, and we were promoted inside of the church and we were encouraged inside of the church to do a lot of things.

00:21:32.842 --> 00:21:40.442
But my parents were always ones that were active in the community as well.

00:21:40.442 --> 00:21:46.224
So that portion of literally saying faith without works is dead.

00:21:46.224 --> 00:21:52.122
They understood that their faith was not just for the building, that their faith was actually for the community as well.

00:21:53.970 --> 00:22:01.459
So I don't want to, I don't want to gloss over what you you know, because there is the ministry, yes, but you also like with Youngstown City School.

00:22:01.459 --> 00:22:02.422
So you're a counselor.

00:22:03.030 --> 00:22:09.818
Well, I'm actually I'm an administrator and I work for Well I'm a McKinney-Vento liaison.

00:22:09.818 --> 00:22:17.884
So what that means is that I actually work with all of the scholars inside of Youngstown City School District and their families that experience homelessness.

00:22:17.884 --> 00:22:26.325
So homelessness is defined differently according to McKinney-Vento than it is according to HUD.

00:22:26.325 --> 00:22:38.915
Yeah, so let's just define any time that a student does not have a fixed, adequate or regular nighttime residence, they're considered as experiencing homelessness.

00:22:38.915 --> 00:22:40.380
Okay, and that's called what now?

00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:46.597
McKinney-Vento, mckinney-vento, yes, okay, all right, I just want to, because I sounded right.

00:22:46.597 --> 00:22:50.960
I thought first it was McKinley, but it's McKinney-Vento, mckinney-vento.

00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:56.056
Okay, yes, and how long have you been doing as an administrator with the school district have you been doing as an administrator?

00:22:56.076 --> 00:22:56.636
with the school district.

00:22:56.636 --> 00:22:57.478
How long have you been doing that?

00:22:57.478 --> 00:23:02.085
This is going on my third year with Youngstown City School District, okay, okay, were you doing anything with them prior?

00:23:02.085 --> 00:23:07.836
Before that, I was actually in McKinney.

00:23:07.836 --> 00:23:09.060
Well, and that's where it comes down to.

00:23:09.060 --> 00:23:10.528
I was working formerly Maurice Claret under the red zone.

00:23:10.548 --> 00:23:14.694
That's when I was yes, okay, yes, so and at that time I was a qualified behavioral health specialist.

00:23:14.875 --> 00:23:15.816
Okay, yeah.

00:23:16.096 --> 00:23:16.576
Cool, cool.

00:23:16.576 --> 00:23:17.759
Okay, that makes sense now.

00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:19.721
So a little clarity.

00:23:19.721 --> 00:23:21.364
You was with, was it Red Zone, the?

00:23:21.423 --> 00:23:22.326
Red Zone Right.

00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:24.143
And so that's when I would see you often.

00:23:24.586 --> 00:23:32.661
At some events, it was under that, yes absolutely, and at that time, yes, I was doing a lot of behavioral intervention through the Red Zone.

00:23:32.882 --> 00:23:33.102
Okay.

00:23:41.950 --> 00:23:46.563
Do you got any, because we'll move to ministry in a minute, but is there any exciting highlights of you in that realm of education, working with students and stuff like that?

00:23:46.563 --> 00:23:46.944
Oh, it's beautiful.

00:23:46.944 --> 00:23:48.208
I've had the opportunity here recently.

00:23:48.208 --> 00:23:50.814
Back last June I spoke at a national conference that had.

00:23:50.814 --> 00:23:55.163
You know, some of my heroes are there Principal Baruti Kafele.

00:23:55.163 --> 00:23:59.181
I had a chance to meet with him and speak with him and hear him talk.

00:23:59.181 --> 00:24:02.134
But then I also was able to do one of my presentations.

00:24:02.134 --> 00:24:19.173
One of my presentations was because, you know, I've been a professional storyteller as well for some time, so my presentation actually was called From Story to Glory Creative Connections that Foster Schoolwide Success creative connections that foster school-wide success.

00:24:19.173 --> 00:24:22.326
So I enjoy, and I did that back in June of last year in Atlanta and then in February of this past year.

00:24:22.326 --> 00:24:27.740
Well, this year I was able to speak in New York City and I was able to do the exact same presentation.

00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:29.413
So it's been a good ride.

00:24:29.913 --> 00:24:32.259
So what prepared you for doing all this?

00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:35.593
I know the answer is because you mentioned it earlier, but I just want to hit it back again.

00:24:35.593 --> 00:24:39.759
As you said, did the church kind of help you with the oral communication like the?

00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.664
You know the build up to do this national stuff.

00:24:42.724 --> 00:24:58.439
now it did the church did, but then also the black home grew up in a day to where, as there weren't all of these what I like to call divisive devices, right now everybody has a TV in their own room.

00:24:58.439 --> 00:24:59.895
That wasn't something we grew up with.

00:24:59.895 --> 00:25:03.320
Tv was in one room and everybody spent time together.

00:25:03.320 --> 00:25:22.644
And there was a time the TV went off, literally Not because it was just turned off that happened too but because once the national anthem came on, once the national anthem came on, the TV went off and you had to wait till the next morning until programs the programming started again if you wanted to watch it again.

00:25:22.644 --> 00:25:36.766
So that meant that there was a lot of time in the home that was spent doing storytelling and I loved entertaining my parents and my brothers with just making up stories and doing different sound effects and doing impersonation.

00:25:36.766 --> 00:25:42.055
So storytelling in the home also helped me with what I do today.

00:25:42.316 --> 00:25:55.051
Okay, so, as you're working at Packard and then you know you're doing stuff with the school, so I'm trying to, I want to forward this off very clearly because I want to get to the church.

00:25:55.051 --> 00:25:59.757
And when you, when you founded the church, or, um, you know when did that happen?

00:25:59.757 --> 00:26:06.044
And it wasn't the cause, the name I have for it now freeway gospel empowerment center, right, yes, but you had other things.

00:26:06.044 --> 00:26:15.306
Like, when we spoke, it was something else, cause I remember it was rest, restoration.

00:26:15.306 --> 00:26:17.551
I want to get this right Restoration, life, christian life, christian life right, ministry, ministry.

00:26:17.551 --> 00:26:27.580
So I remember that because when I called you, I was like, hey, I want to make sure this and you inform me that you know, cause we hadn't talked, for it's been a while, since October 2nd of 20.

00:26:27.580 --> 00:26:31.336
No, no, I won't say that because we we followed up, even after Erica's event.

00:26:31.336 --> 00:26:33.510
So it was some time there, right?

00:26:33.510 --> 00:26:36.577
So tell us about this when did the, when did the church form?

00:26:36.577 --> 00:26:38.982
When did when did you decide to start to do this?

00:26:44.569 --> 00:26:46.798
So I got the vision for the church in April of 2003, while I was still working at Packard.

00:26:46.798 --> 00:26:48.684
We officially launched the church February, the 11th of 2007.

00:26:48.684 --> 00:26:52.617
And it was called Restoration Christian Life Ministries and it was coming from this passage.

00:26:52.617 --> 00:27:00.564
We got the name from the passage in Isaiah 58 and 12, where it says that you will be called repairers of the breach, the restorers of cities in which to dwell.

00:27:00.564 --> 00:27:07.182
And it really resonated with me because I saw my community needing a lot of healing.

00:27:07.182 --> 00:27:19.252
And when I say my community, I'm saying that my community in all of its nuances and variances, the community that was outside of the church as well as the community that was inside of the church.

00:27:19.252 --> 00:27:29.073
There's a very unique phenomenon that we say inside of the church, which I don't necessarily resonate with, that we call church hurt, which we don't call anything else by that.

00:27:29.073 --> 00:27:33.547
It's a unique type of terminology that we have, but I do understand.

00:27:33.547 --> 00:27:38.461
We were talking about pain that happens inside of community and inside of the church community.

00:27:38.461 --> 00:27:51.394
So I wanted to be a place initially and this is how God started us off initially really being able to heal people who had been hurt inside of church community, and we began to work through that.

00:27:51.394 --> 00:27:56.220
Ok, yeah, so that was Restoration Christian Life Ministries.

00:27:56.630 --> 00:28:01.182
Sixteen years later, february the 11th, we changed the name.

00:28:01.182 --> 00:28:12.199
The name Restoration Christian Life Ministries is still a part of our ministry, it's an active part of what we do, it's one of our pillars to say, but our name is Freeway Gospel Empowerment Center.

00:28:12.199 --> 00:28:13.951
Now, and what?

00:28:13.951 --> 00:28:18.122
And that comes from Galatians five and one it is for freedom that Christ has set you free.

00:28:18.122 --> 00:28:22.040
Be therefore steadfast and don't be entangled again by a yoke of slavery.

00:28:22.040 --> 00:28:36.165
So freeway, where we are given to really teach people and help them live in a way that's free, to try to live their lives as burden free as possible.

00:28:36.165 --> 00:28:40.421
That's where freeway gospel empowerment and there's a few different pillars that we have with that.

00:28:40.490 --> 00:28:42.789
So we have Restoration Christian Life Ministries.

00:28:42.789 --> 00:28:54.941
We also have the Way Operation Bible Institute, which is our center for theological, ministerial and missiological training, and then from that we also have what we call Coffee Life Outreach.

00:28:54.941 --> 00:28:58.559
So coffee we use as a pneumatic or as an acronym.

00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:02.259
There was a gentleman that has a restaurant in Sharon named Joseph.

00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:07.019
It's called a Haitian sensations, and I saw a sign in there one day about coffee, which I really love.

00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:07.781
I love coffee.

00:29:07.781 --> 00:29:16.290
So the coffee was a pneumatic and it stood for Christ offers freedom for everyone, everywhere, wow.

00:29:16.832 --> 00:29:20.721
Wow, what's the so the mission like?

00:29:20.721 --> 00:29:21.603
What's the overall mission?

00:29:25.710 --> 00:29:31.894
The overall mission, our mission and our vision statement for the church is love God and all people, transform lives, deploy saints and we're talking about deployment.

00:29:31.894 --> 00:29:34.240
That we're talking about deployment of the word.

00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:35.482
Saints means holy people.

00:29:35.482 --> 00:29:41.239
That means that we don't just go out with knowledge of the word, we go out and we embody what the word is.

00:29:41.239 --> 00:29:45.141
We go out and do our best to live clean, pure, holy lives.

00:29:47.349 --> 00:30:05.012
So one of the things about you and because, going back in history, so we never as a family and I just say you know, me and the kids, we I remember we got baptized, I think in 20, maybe 2017 or something like that, but we wasn't frequent church.

00:30:05.012 --> 00:30:06.757
You know, going to church and things like it was more.

00:30:06.757 --> 00:30:10.393
So my defense was always it's in my heart, right, it's in my heart.

00:30:10.393 --> 00:30:14.018
Or, if you know, if I want to talk to God, I'll go in my closet.

00:30:14.018 --> 00:30:15.701
I can talk to him in the closet, I can talk to him anywhere.

00:30:15.701 --> 00:30:18.065
But the underlying was like I just didn't want to go to church.

00:30:19.134 --> 00:30:20.157
That was the thing right.

00:30:20.210 --> 00:30:22.298
So I'm finding all these other justifications.

00:30:22.298 --> 00:30:27.324
So what I like about you and there's a few other pastors?

00:30:27.324 --> 00:30:30.516
The church I remember growing up was the Temple of Love.

00:30:30.516 --> 00:30:31.693
My grandmother would take us there.

00:30:31.976 --> 00:30:32.657
I don't know why.

00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:38.835
I remember the stories, but I remember some of it.

00:30:38.835 --> 00:30:47.400
I was little when I say this y'all, so I wasn't like in my teens or nothing, but I used to run down the pews and touch all the ladies legs, got you and it's probably why I'm a leg man, oh yeah.

00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:50.953
And then they you know my grandma they say uh, stop.

00:30:50.953 --> 00:30:52.156
My mother say stop, leave that.

00:30:52.196 --> 00:31:00.663
And they'd be like he all right, let leave him be I'm just doing that but then I remember the polyester socks I have to wear, those shoes I have to wear It'd be hot.

00:31:00.663 --> 00:31:20.963
And you know, soon and very soon, you know, I remember all of that stuff there and I think that's probably why because I didn't understand it then I just knew I didn't want to be there, right, and I would go with my grandmother when I got later my teens, and because it's my grandmother, we go across the street and sit and I'd be like you know, man, I wonder what they're doing around the corner.

00:31:20.963 --> 00:31:22.125
Or you know, Duke Street.

00:31:22.224 --> 00:31:23.626
Like what's happening over there.

00:31:23.646 --> 00:31:24.867
You know I'm in this church.

00:31:24.867 --> 00:31:25.429
You know what I mean.

00:31:25.429 --> 00:31:40.057
I'm ready to get out of here, so, but I always had faith and my decisions and a lot of times we raised our kids to fear God and stuff like that.

00:31:40.057 --> 00:31:48.036
But talking to you, a lot of times and I'm getting to the point there are some men of the cloth, ministers, that they're very, it's just very rigid, right, in my experience, like just very rigid.

00:31:48.036 --> 00:31:57.987
When I talk to you and a few others, the way that you, it's more understanding and inclusive, it's I guess that's the way I'm trying to put it.

00:31:57.987 --> 00:32:05.654
So, having conversations with you about you know what we're going to talk about it's just more like you're not offended and you're not going to you understand, right?

00:32:05.654 --> 00:32:06.257
It's just not.

00:32:06.257 --> 00:32:07.318
It's uh, what's the word?

00:32:07.318 --> 00:32:11.721
It's, it's not structured, it's just very dogmatic sometimes.

00:32:11.800 --> 00:32:17.275
Yeah, yeah, like you're scared to ask certain questions because it's like an offensive thing or something.

00:32:17.275 --> 00:32:21.182
But but you know what I mean and so this is part of the reason too.

00:32:21.182 --> 00:32:28.344
I really want to get your because I'm curious about that, concerns about, like, where we go on in the world and why are things happening, and things like that.

00:32:28.344 --> 00:32:38.960
So I'm very this is just like a very good Peaceful conversation that I can have with you and then your feedback talking to you before, so I know you're going to have good answers for this and your insight.

00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:41.721
So I'm going to I'm going to start these off.

00:32:41.721 --> 00:32:46.426
The role of religion how do you, how do you see it evolving today?

00:32:46.426 --> 00:32:53.951
Because it seems to me like it's so.

00:32:53.951 --> 00:32:57.076
I don't know, man, it's so sometimes, sometimes not everywhere, but it can be so divisive, or have you?

00:32:57.076 --> 00:33:02.085
Or there are people who just you know they lose in faith because of all this external stuff going on.

00:33:02.085 --> 00:33:03.958
Like, where do you see it evolving?

00:33:06.269 --> 00:33:17.996
Today what I tend to see and it depends on what we're looking at One thing I tend to see happening with the church and let me, let me let me do some things.

00:33:17.996 --> 00:33:23.961
Historically, 2015, I saw some things really, really change.

00:33:23.961 --> 00:34:02.163
And let me go back even a little further in 2008, with then candidate Barack Obama running for president, I saw a very clear divide that in some instances, used theological terminology to veil political aspirations and it was phony concern about the stances of where then candidate Barack Obama, and what I really saw was the stench of racism.

00:34:02.163 --> 00:34:48.235
2015, with the death of Michael Brown and the conversation that surrounded it and that was amplified by way of social media, which many people sat behind their keyboards as keyboard warriors and really pushed a lot of divisive type things, sadly, some within side of the church community who may have been In position to do certain things really great, but we're not schooled on the subject matter nor the history of those who have experienced the pain, of those who look like Michael Brown, and it became a wedge inside of the church.

00:34:48.235 --> 00:34:57.059
So there are, in a lot of places, some healing that's going on, but we have a lot of work to do.

00:34:57.059 --> 00:35:01.273
There's been a lot of damage done that we have to go back to and look at.

00:35:01.273 --> 00:35:03.960
What was the church's response to Trayvon Martin?

00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:07.077
What was the church's response to Tamir Rice?

00:35:07.077 --> 00:35:09.746
How do we respond with Michael Brown?

00:35:09.746 --> 00:35:17.362
How do we respond as it relates to George Floyd A lot of very popular African-American evangelical preachers?

00:35:17.963 --> 00:35:42.192
They found themselves divided with those that they were at once really close to, and the problem was this is that people passed each other using the same terminology but really talking about two different things, about two different things.

00:35:42.192 --> 00:35:44.601
When we were speaking of historic pain, many of them were speaking in terms of theology.

00:35:44.601 --> 00:35:46.106
We were talking about ethics.

00:35:46.106 --> 00:36:00.945
How does your gospel ethics and your faith ethics respond to the very real pain that's being felt amongst this specific group of Americans, whereas some said, well, the answer is simply just to give these theological.

00:36:00.945 --> 00:36:06.942
At that time we didn't really need a bunch of scripture quoting.

00:36:06.942 --> 00:36:20.532
What we needed was scripture in action in the form of the pursuit of justice justice very well spoken.

00:36:20.572 --> 00:36:22.820
And this this goes back to my long explanation of just being having you here and having this discussion.

00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:23.804
Why very, very well spoken?

00:36:23.804 --> 00:36:45.364
I remember michael brown, um because I grew up in u city and um where he was, which is ferguson yes, isn't, isn't far from there at all, but I remember man, I just remember seeing that young man, that cheat over him for a long time, yeah, and then you know it comes out.

00:36:45.364 --> 00:36:53.411
You know the issue he may have with the police officer I forgot that police officer's name but but, to your point, the media took it over and it was everywhere.

00:36:53.411 --> 00:36:55.635
You know it was it.

00:36:55.635 --> 00:36:56.757
It made me angry.

00:36:56.777 --> 00:37:03.226
And with President Obama, when that was happening, when he was a candidate, I remember that I actually canceled my cable.

00:37:03.226 --> 00:37:09.413
We had, we had cable and my kids, my kids, can testify to this it was getting.

00:37:09.413 --> 00:37:11.980
So because I used to like CNN.

00:37:11.980 --> 00:37:15.351
I mean CNN was was different back then, a lot of different back then.

00:37:15.351 --> 00:37:17.172
I mean CNN was different back then, a lot of them were different back then.

00:37:17.172 --> 00:37:30.884
But I remember it just started getting so race heavy and how they did the pastor and I don't know if he was a pastor, I don't know his official title, but you know they were labeling him this and that he was too extreme and all this other stuff.

00:37:30.943 --> 00:37:37.090
I remember seeing that and I remember making a decision and I told Eric.

00:37:37.090 --> 00:37:37.733
I said I'm about to cut it was.

00:37:37.733 --> 00:37:40.780
It was going into the summer too, because it just started the whole political cycle.

00:37:40.780 --> 00:37:45.860
You know, yes, I said I'm getting rid of cable, like that was the only thing that I could do to detach.

00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:48.358
And I said if I want to do anything, I can go online.

00:37:48.358 --> 00:37:51.795
At that time, if you remember, it was Earthlink, that's what we had.

00:37:51.795 --> 00:37:57.563
I got rid of Spectrum or whatever it was called and just rocked online with that, but I remember it was so divisive man.

00:37:57.623 --> 00:38:01.657
It was and it was, and the ripple effects of it.

00:38:01.657 --> 00:38:02.721
They're still here today.

00:38:02.721 --> 00:38:07.639
We still have a lot of healing that we have to do, and it can only happen in genuine conversations.

00:38:07.639 --> 00:38:32.282
Whereas we can't go in the echo chamber, we have to be in a place to where, as we literally Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu at the decline of the apartheid regime, they developed the truth and reconciliation groups that actually came together under this Zulu and Osa philosophy known as Ubuntu.

00:38:32.282 --> 00:38:44.884
And Ubuntu really deals with and the wording says I am because you are, and what it deals with is that we have to be able to genuinely see one another's humanity.

00:38:45.309 --> 00:38:50.103
I was speaking with somebody the other day and said that admittance is not repentance.

00:38:50.103 --> 00:38:58.204
We have these, these really catchy one liners, where we say things like you know, slavery was America's original sin.

00:38:58.204 --> 00:38:59.693
Ok, that's admittance.

00:38:59.693 --> 00:39:02.842
Repentance deals with turning a different way.

00:39:02.842 --> 00:39:10.043
But we have to ask the question what residue from that brutal institution?

00:39:10.043 --> 00:39:12.532
What still resonates today?

00:39:12.532 --> 00:39:17.077
What still affects people today, today, what still affects people today?

00:39:17.456 --> 00:39:26.045
Let me tell you this when you said that about Michael Brown's laying there in the street with that sheet over top of him, my wife is the the youngest of nine.

00:39:26.045 --> 00:39:30.340
My mother in law was born in 1933.

00:39:30.340 --> 00:39:32.150
She lived in the Greenville and Greenwood areas of Mississippi.

00:39:32.150 --> 00:39:43.864
She remembers going down in the Money Mississippi after Emmett Till was killed and she remembers him being under a tarp, his body being swollen.

00:39:43.864 --> 00:39:45.818
She said it's swollen, looked like a mule.

00:39:45.818 --> 00:39:51.420
Same thing with my wife's auntie, juanita.

00:39:51.420 --> 00:39:52.322
God rest her soul.

00:39:52.322 --> 00:39:52.943
But here it is.

00:39:52.943 --> 00:39:57.981
We have individuals in our families that we've sat with.

00:39:57.981 --> 00:40:02.195
For some people, emmett Till and the pictures of Mamie Till.

00:40:02.195 --> 00:40:09.626
They're pictures in the Jet magazine or they're a motion picture that has just been before us.

00:40:09.626 --> 00:40:16.300
We sat in the living room with those who breathe the air of Emmett Till.

00:40:16.300 --> 00:40:17.943
It's not far from us.

00:40:17.943 --> 00:40:21.342
My great grandmother, lydia Matlock.

00:40:21.342 --> 00:40:22.949
She was born in 1902.

00:40:22.949 --> 00:40:26.000
She was a sharecropper down in Greenville, alabama.

00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:38.822
My mother-in-law used to have to pick 200 pounds of cotton See, because we can call it Jim Crow, but it was just slavery by a different name.

00:40:38.822 --> 00:40:44.054
And we have to look at those things today and to see how.

00:40:44.795 --> 00:40:51.146
What is our Christian response to the mistreatment, the oppression of peoples?

00:40:51.146 --> 00:41:01.672
And I'm not just talking of those who are of our you and who look like us, of those who are of our you and who look like us, those that are down at the southern border.

00:41:01.672 --> 00:41:13.085
One way that you're guaranteed to mistreat people is when you misidentify people, when you begin to reduce them as no longer being people, and you do it with imagery and you do it with words.

00:41:13.085 --> 00:41:19.634
That's the reason why I love the Zulu concept.

00:41:19.634 --> 00:41:21.480
There's a word that I really resonate with, and it's Sawubona.

00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:22.563
We say it at church Sawubona.

00:41:22.583 --> 00:41:23.686
Sawubona means I see you.

00:41:23.686 --> 00:41:25.733
That means I see all of you.

00:41:25.733 --> 00:41:32.893
I see your pain, I see your failures, I see your hurts, I see your aspirations, I see your dignity and your worth.

00:41:32.893 --> 00:41:43.878
And because you are human, I'm going to look first at the fact of who you are before I really begin to dive into what you may be doing.

00:41:43.878 --> 00:41:47.507
We call it in Christianity the Imago Dei.

00:41:47.507 --> 00:41:50.532
Every human being is the Imago Dei.

00:41:50.532 --> 00:41:55.920
God said let us create man in our image, male and female.

00:41:55.920 --> 00:41:56.820
He created them.

00:41:56.820 --> 00:42:06.599
So every human being is, by way of God's design, designed to be an image bearer of who God is.

00:42:07.101 --> 00:42:12.737
So when I look at you, beyond what you're doing, my supervisor, dr Martin Freeman, one question he asked.

00:42:12.737 --> 00:42:17.737
He says we need to stop asking the question of people.

00:42:17.737 --> 00:42:19.101
What's wrong with you?

00:42:19.101 --> 00:42:31.523
He said we need to ask the question what happened to you, because many people have adverse childhood experiences and there are things in life that trigger certain responses.

00:42:31.523 --> 00:42:33.391
So how can we?

00:42:33.391 --> 00:43:01.295
A gentleman I work with named Larry Thompson, with Responsibility Center Discipline, says that how do I reprogram the brain, how do I coach the brain into a place that it can go from autonomy of just desiring self-control and moving into mastery, to where we are able to say that the God given self-control that he has given me has put me in a position that I can make healthy decisions for myself as well as for my community.

00:43:04.289 --> 00:43:08.358
How this brings up a great follow up to this question.

00:43:08.358 --> 00:43:17.099
Because you know, when I I had some church doing, we exposed our kids to some church, right, but it was always we knew what was right was wrong.

00:43:17.099 --> 00:43:17.960
We raised them that way.

00:43:17.960 --> 00:43:29.722
But out in the neighborhoods, when I talked to the youth the still, you know, talk to youth every now and then on certain things, it seems like there is just just I don't know.

00:43:29.769 --> 00:43:31.255
I look at crime and kids.

00:43:31.255 --> 00:43:32.179
I watch a lot of YouTube.

00:43:32.179 --> 00:43:34.251
That was the one thing I was going through with grief.

00:43:34.251 --> 00:43:39.693
I was watching, I was watching this stuff that Erica would normally watch and I'd be like you need to turn that off.

00:43:39.693 --> 00:43:40.594
That made no sense, right?

00:43:40.594 --> 00:43:51.559
And it was these crime things that happened Young man dating a girl and because she wanted to get out of the relationship, he kills her.

00:43:51.559 --> 00:44:01.324
Young man does Like it was, like I'm sitting and I'm looking like how can these kids just take a life like that just blows my mind when you think about.

00:44:01.403 --> 00:44:05.346
It's not in a defense position where you it's either me or you.

00:44:05.346 --> 00:44:11.608
It's literally like you've taken a life and and and there's no, there's no fear.

00:44:11.608 --> 00:44:15.811
Like you know, I'm going to go to hell for this.

00:44:15.811 --> 00:44:17.875
I mean, there's nothing.

00:44:17.875 --> 00:44:33.552
You know what's going on here in this world, and so my question to you is how do you, as far as when it comes to young people, how can the church remain relevant?

00:44:33.552 --> 00:44:36.293
Because a lot of what I, you know, see like, if you have some of these young kids out here, hey, you going to church, nah, what?

00:44:36.293 --> 00:44:37.054
Nah, I ain't going to church.

00:44:37.054 --> 00:44:37.715
You know what I mean.

00:44:37.715 --> 00:44:38.797
Or there's no fear.

00:44:38.797 --> 00:44:40.978
Maybe it's just my generation and I look at it.

00:44:40.978 --> 00:44:43.061
Maybe our generation was the one that did it wrong.

00:44:43.061 --> 00:44:43.762
You know what I mean.

00:44:43.762 --> 00:44:49.447
I have no idea, but how can you know you engage the youth?

00:44:49.447 --> 00:44:51.210
What?

00:44:51.231 --> 00:44:51.572
needs to be done.

00:44:51.572 --> 00:44:53.195
We need to think of what we're doing.

00:44:53.195 --> 00:44:56.882
We cannot just put together programs.

00:44:56.882 --> 00:45:06.679
We are too program centric.

00:45:06.679 --> 00:45:08.989
Yes, we put together programs and we don't talk about lifestyle.

00:45:18.550 --> 00:45:22.320
There was a famous gangster in New Jersey and a pastor got in a car with him and he wrote one day and they saw a young boy walking down the street and he asked that gangster.

00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:22.922
He said tell me something.

00:45:22.922 --> 00:45:24.286
What would make that young boy right there choose you over me?

00:45:24.286 --> 00:45:25.889
And the gangster told the pastor.

00:45:25.889 --> 00:45:26.731
He said it's simple.

00:45:26.731 --> 00:45:29.018
He says it's a matter of presence.

00:45:29.018 --> 00:45:38.594
He said because when his mother sends him to the store to go get a loaf of bread, he has to walk past me and I'm going to give him an extra $5 to go and pick up something for himself.

00:45:38.594 --> 00:45:43.278
He says he's not going to see you until Sunday or at a funeral.

00:45:44.889 --> 00:45:47.538
So the reality is is presence?

00:45:47.538 --> 00:45:51.173
The church cannot make itself absent.

00:45:51.173 --> 00:46:04.954
We cannot come into communities In our own community, jump into the church, go in, shout, praise and cry and then drive out with our eyes blinded, as though we don't see what's all around us.

00:46:04.954 --> 00:46:24.114
We can't see the young boy that's standing out there who's angry angry about why my father was not engaged in my life, angry about the fact that my mother's working three jobs and this teacher got the nerve to be wondering.

00:46:24.114 --> 00:46:30.547
I just watched my brothers and sisters all night long and the teachers are asking me about where my pencil is or why I'm tired.

00:46:31.300 --> 00:46:33.849
So we've got to be present.

00:46:33.849 --> 00:46:37.784
I can say in my life and what I've learned?

00:46:37.784 --> 00:46:39.068
There's nothing.

00:46:39.068 --> 00:46:42.173
Humans need humans.

00:46:42.173 --> 00:46:44.802
That's just a reality.

00:46:44.802 --> 00:46:45.844
Humans need humans.

00:46:45.844 --> 00:46:49.333
The question is is that will the right one show up?

00:46:49.333 --> 00:47:01.896
Because there are those who are going to speak into your life so that you can be the best you, or there are going to be those that come into your life that want to use you for some purpose that God never designed you for.

00:47:01.896 --> 00:47:08.733
So there's a twofold thing that has to happen is that we got to stop having church and start being church.

00:47:08.733 --> 00:47:12.889
The word is the Ecclesia, the called out ones of God.

00:47:12.889 --> 00:47:15.027
The commission is go ye.

00:47:15.027 --> 00:47:23.190
Therefore, jesus first says come to me, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

00:47:24.900 --> 00:47:29.552
Matthew 28 says now go and make disciples of all nations.

00:47:29.552 --> 00:47:39.275
The church has left this and we think that we can use something different to reach people other than literally going out to reach people.

00:47:39.275 --> 00:47:40.902
Different to reach people, other than literally going out to reach people.

00:47:40.902 --> 00:47:44.711
We can reach them with just a recognize sign saying you know, sinners are welcome.

00:47:44.711 --> 00:47:53.831
Well, try that same logic with a fisherman that gets into a boat and say fishes, fish are welcome.

00:47:53.831 --> 00:47:54.554
But he doesn't have a fishing pole.

00:47:54.554 --> 00:47:55.480
See how many fish he comes home with that day.

00:47:56.782 --> 00:48:04.322
Chances are not, so we got to be actively involved in the lives of those that we desire to reach.

00:48:04.322 --> 00:48:13.184
Do you I mean just briefly, do you off the top of your head, are there ways like, do you have you know tactics that that may be?

00:48:13.184 --> 00:48:14.085
Yeah?

00:48:14.485 --> 00:48:19.652
yeah, there's this real good skill that I've learned a long time ago.

00:48:19.652 --> 00:48:20.512
It's called kindness.

00:48:23.596 --> 00:48:25.784
Right, you know when you're in the store.

00:48:25.784 --> 00:48:31.380
How about not looking down at your cell phone just so that you don't have to engage with people?

00:48:31.380 --> 00:48:38.713
How about turning around and seeing that child in the buggy and saying that you know, I like those shoes you have on?

00:48:38.713 --> 00:48:41.126
Wow, is that Spider-Man on your shirt?

00:48:41.126 --> 00:48:42.010
That is excellent.

00:48:42.010 --> 00:48:48.992
Be intentional about paying attention to somebody and to let them know that they're noticed.

00:48:48.992 --> 00:48:52.148
Purchase a coffee for the car that's behind you.

00:48:52.148 --> 00:48:54.606
We can be intentional.

00:48:54.606 --> 00:48:57.668
You see some children outside with a lemonade stand.

00:48:57.668 --> 00:49:02.231
Even if you don't want to drink their lemonade, it looks like it's been sitting out there all day.

00:49:02.231 --> 00:49:04.489
Well, that first sip is syrup.

00:49:05.222 --> 00:49:06.306
I ain't got no pancakes.

00:49:07.128 --> 00:49:07.811
That's exactly it.

00:49:07.811 --> 00:49:12.746
You don't know if you're looking at a parfait or lemonade, there's just layers to it.

00:49:12.746 --> 00:49:17.150
But the reality is, is that you actually go engage with those children?

00:49:17.150 --> 00:49:18.561
Yes, you know, do something.

00:49:18.561 --> 00:49:20.543
I watched my father as a child that you actually go engage with those children.

00:49:20.543 --> 00:49:21.103
Yes, you know, do something.

00:49:21.123 --> 00:49:22.585
I watched my father as a child.

00:49:22.585 --> 00:49:25.911
Our neighbors they were some dirty young men, I mean.

00:49:25.911 --> 00:49:28.914
They looked like they just rolled in the mud.

00:49:28.914 --> 00:49:37.409
But I watched my father one day say that we were going to go get ice cream and that he was going to be taking our neighbors with him.

00:49:37.409 --> 00:49:40.056
And we was like Dad, you know, we like playing with them, but you're going to literally take them in the car.

00:49:40.780 --> 00:49:41.724
But my father did everything.

00:49:41.724 --> 00:49:46.612
He said look, I love you guys and I want you guys to participate in getting this ice cream.

00:49:46.612 --> 00:49:50.465
He said so what we're going to do is I'm going to bring you in, I'm going to get you all cleaned up.

00:49:50.465 --> 00:49:53.630
And my father washed those guys up one by one.

00:49:53.630 --> 00:49:57.382
We watched our parents in the middle of the night.

00:49:57.382 --> 00:49:58.543
We watched our parents in the middle of the night.

00:49:58.543 --> 00:50:14.376
They would get up and, yeah, they would get up in the middle of the night and they'd go out and some of our friends and those that were part of our youth group that were going through very, very dangerous things, volatile things, hurtful things in their home, they would go up and they would go and get them.

00:50:14.376 --> 00:50:17.101
We got to be actively engaged.

00:50:17.121 --> 00:50:17.420
I spoke to him.

00:50:17.420 --> 00:50:18.961
We got to be actively engaged.

00:50:18.961 --> 00:50:27.170
Do you think the black church has the same or more power regarding social injustice than in earlier eras?

00:50:27.170 --> 00:50:34.177
And the reason I ask that is because, when I think back and it's to the civil rights, and even before then the black church was, it was a powerhouse.

00:50:34.177 --> 00:50:37.228
Yes, sir, what's your thoughts on that?

00:50:43.652 --> 00:50:45.097
Is it the same now or is it less?

00:50:45.097 --> 00:50:45.539
Is it more?

00:50:45.539 --> 00:50:53.367
Eddie Gillard wrote a piece some time ago and he said that the like basically that the church has lost his powers, lost his prophetic edge.

00:50:53.367 --> 00:50:54.789
If I look at the media cycles and things like that, I would.

00:50:54.789 --> 00:51:05.101
I would think so because it highlights certain black churches, because it highlights certain black churches, but I don't believe that they look at the whole picture.

00:51:05.101 --> 00:51:07.342
There's things that the black church is still doing.

00:51:08.083 --> 00:51:11.487
We say, well, where's the black church when there's black on black violence?

00:51:11.487 --> 00:51:13.708
Yeah Well, I'll tell you where they are.

00:51:13.708 --> 00:51:16.911
The black church when there's black on black violence, we're on our knees.

00:51:16.911 --> 00:51:22.375
We're in the homes and in the living rooms of those that have been affected.

00:51:22.375 --> 00:51:32.603
Sometimes we are actually down on our knees with the victim, with their blood literally on our hands.

00:51:32.603 --> 00:51:33.344
Where's the black church?

00:51:33.364 --> 00:51:42.307
The black church on one Sunday morning gets called, and that was my church got called when young people were drowned over on Pine Street around Buckeye Curve, and these were my students.

00:51:42.307 --> 00:51:43.666
I called them my kids.

00:51:43.666 --> 00:51:49.952
These were young men that would come up to me before school starts and say Mr Matlock, can you show me how to tie a tie?

00:51:49.952 --> 00:51:52.929
Mr Matlock, can you come and pick me up for church.

00:51:52.929 --> 00:52:01.181
There was times that I would fill my car up with seven and eight kids that were lapped on top of each other just to drive them to church.

00:52:01.181 --> 00:52:03.567
So is the black church responding the same?

00:52:03.567 --> 00:52:05.592
Yeah, but the cameras aren't.

00:52:05.592 --> 00:52:11.123
Yeah, you know, just because the cameras aren't present don't mean that the black church ain't present and powerful.

00:52:13.090 --> 00:52:14.032
One hundred One hundred.

00:52:14.032 --> 00:52:15.317
I agree with that too.

00:52:15.317 --> 00:52:17.423
You know the media, and now social.

00:52:17.423 --> 00:52:21.101
You know social media has its good and its bad, but it's just.

00:52:21.101 --> 00:52:25.001
It's that sensationalizing or the only focus of one thing, but that was powerful.

00:52:25.001 --> 00:52:26.005
The church is involved.

00:52:26.005 --> 00:52:28.170
We're just on our knees with those.

00:52:28.900 --> 00:52:50.476
Yes, sir man, this goes back to why, you know when I said just having these conversations with you about this and that's why when Pastor Mario, when he called me and said our brother Deshaun Scott, he's hurting, his wife has gone on and he needs you, it was without hesitation.

00:52:50.476 --> 00:53:00.891
In the movie Harriet the character that played Harriet she says that I've learned to live now in my life, that when God speaks, that I move without hesitation.

00:53:00.891 --> 00:53:02.641
It was without hesitation.

00:53:02.641 --> 00:53:03.925
My brother was hurting.

00:53:04.987 --> 00:53:07.753
Whatever assignment that I was doing in that moment, god said it's over.

00:53:07.753 --> 00:53:09.786
This is the new assignment for you to go.

00:53:09.786 --> 00:53:12.717
He said you've completed what I've done, what I have for you to do.

00:53:12.717 --> 00:53:20.632
Then get to Deshaun, get to his children, because our people are in pain, they're in suffering.

00:53:20.632 --> 00:53:37.626
I don't mind Programs, events and things like that, I don't, but if it's not making impact in those areas where it's most important, then what are we really doing?

00:53:37.626 --> 00:53:39.692
We need to make an impact.

00:53:39.692 --> 00:53:53.610
We need to be able to be trusted enough to go into those very fragile areas of life and those individuals to trust us there, to know that we're there to do no harm, but rather to build them up.

00:53:54.690 --> 00:54:02.797
So with all this stuff, with all this stuff, you got going on the calling, you know the ministry and the education and just helping people in general.

00:54:02.797 --> 00:54:08.760
How do you?

00:54:08.780 --> 00:54:11.583
balance that out just for some you time and with your wife and things like that.

00:54:11.583 --> 00:54:15.608
Well, one thing with my wife we just had a discussion and I told her.

00:54:15.608 --> 00:54:22.157
I said sometimes I don't do it well because oftentimes I have to have the wisdom.

00:54:22.157 --> 00:54:27.853
I need the wisdom to be able to discern between what's good versus what's best.

00:54:27.853 --> 00:54:39.492
And there's been a lot of times I've given my time to what's good, even when it wasn't necessarily necessary for me to be engaged in that.

00:54:39.492 --> 00:54:41.315
Someone else probably could have taken that up.

00:54:41.315 --> 00:55:02.655
So I grow up, I mature, I learn, and one thing that I've come to learn is how to prioritize my personal health and my personal peace, because it's only then when I can be the best for my wife, Because it's only then when I can be the best for my wife, for my children, my grandchildren, for the church, for the community.

00:55:02.655 --> 00:55:06.221
So I'm very intentional.

00:55:06.221 --> 00:55:13.253
I'm just now actually getting back in the pulpit after taking off about like seven weeks just to just to rest.

00:55:13.860 --> 00:55:16.068
OK, that's important right, yes, sir.

00:55:16.068 --> 00:55:17.682
So what do you like when?

00:55:17.682 --> 00:55:20.268
Do you you when?

00:55:20.268 --> 00:55:21.972
Rest, is that just like resting?

00:55:21.972 --> 00:55:22.981
Do you take up any like?

00:55:22.981 --> 00:55:23.663
Do you golf?

00:55:23.663 --> 00:55:24.965
Do you you kind of I?

00:55:25.005 --> 00:55:29.992
like sleeping me too man, I sleep.

00:55:30.072 --> 00:55:34.744
I I like watching um, some good, inspirational television.

00:55:34.744 --> 00:55:35.945
I enjoy reading.

00:55:35.945 --> 00:55:45.295
I like going to explore, seeing different things, taking in some aspects of nature that I may not have seen before.

00:55:45.295 --> 00:55:46.842
I like some dining.

00:55:46.842 --> 00:55:49.090
I like going to sit someplace with my wife.

00:55:49.090 --> 00:55:52.851
We just went to this really cool restaurant in Cleveland and celebrating our anniversary.

00:55:52.851 --> 00:55:55.385
It's called the RH Rooftop Restaurant.

00:55:55.385 --> 00:55:57.028
Man, it is fabulous, is it?

00:55:57.028 --> 00:55:58.092
Yes, it is.

00:55:58.092 --> 00:56:01.481
What kind of food they got Good, good restaurant.

00:56:01.481 --> 00:56:02.161
Man, it is fabulous, is it?

00:56:02.161 --> 00:56:02.663
Yes, it is.

00:56:02.663 --> 00:56:04.766
What kind of food they got good good, no, they have.

00:56:04.766 --> 00:56:04.867
That.

00:56:04.867 --> 00:56:07.911
It's a a really um, distinguish me.

00:56:07.911 --> 00:56:09.155
It's a lot of things that I tend to like.

00:56:09.175 --> 00:56:17.740
They have a espresso bar that is just like you did say you like uh, yes, yes, sir, so they have espresso bar there.

00:56:17.780 --> 00:56:21.362
they have um some fine wines that are there, but then they also.

00:56:21.362 --> 00:56:23.847
The food was just exquisite.

00:56:23.847 --> 00:56:27.481
My wife had a wonderful salmon and that's my yeah.

00:56:27.481 --> 00:56:28.061
There you go.

00:56:28.061 --> 00:56:31.532
Oh, my goodness, it was it was got to go.

00:56:31.532 --> 00:56:32.201
Nice.

00:56:32.360 --> 00:56:32.661
Nice.

00:56:32.661 --> 00:56:38.880
What nugget of wisdom would you give the 18 year old Garrick Matlock?

00:56:38.880 --> 00:56:40.023
Would you give the 18 year old Garrick?

00:56:39.992 --> 00:56:48.500
Matlock, keep dreaming, continue to keep, always, always, love people.

00:56:51.565 --> 00:56:54.679
But don't give anybody permission to waste your time.

00:56:54.679 --> 00:56:56.581
I like your one word.

00:56:56.581 --> 00:57:03.302
You know I always explain this that everybody has a one word, something that closely connects with them, completely or closely.

00:57:03.302 --> 00:57:05.704
What is your one word and why?

00:57:05.704 --> 00:57:07.025
Sawabona.

00:57:08.144 --> 00:57:11.045
I see you, we're in this thing together.

00:57:11.045 --> 00:57:20.489
So Sawabona and the way that you respond to Sawabona, I see you is Shiboka, which means I exist for you.

00:57:20.489 --> 00:57:33.054
Shiboka, shiboka, okay, or Sibona, and Sibona means I'm here to be seen, that means I've shown up, I'm fully present, that we're here, I got you.

00:57:33.054 --> 00:57:41.398
So from those two words and I use, I mean, sibona is just the key of all of it, but I see you.

00:57:48.583 --> 00:57:49.003
And to be seen.

00:57:49.003 --> 00:57:50.628
That's a beautiful thing, and the other one, shibuna.

00:57:50.628 --> 00:57:51.710
That's the response to it.

00:57:52.090 --> 00:57:55.148
Sibona, sibona, or you can say sibona or shiboka.

00:57:55.639 --> 00:58:02.083
See, I feel like everyone a lot of my friends know dashawn always just getting random t-shirts made.

00:58:02.083 --> 00:58:06.371
You know, I got one that says ineligible bachelor gotcha.

00:58:06.371 --> 00:58:07.760
I bought three of those.

00:58:07.760 --> 00:58:09.003
It's another discussion there.

00:58:09.003 --> 00:58:11.068
Uh, non-verbal communication.

00:58:11.068 --> 00:58:21.340
Yes, yes, yes, you know the one I'm wearing, but he was around when I got this done in 2019, but I feel like that's a, that's a powerful to put on there, and I got one that says babu.

00:58:21.942 --> 00:58:30.306
So I always got to brag about this because my, my, uh, my daughter, uh, when she just had my granddaughter, she was like um, you know what do y'all want to be called?

00:58:30.306 --> 00:58:34.266
And you know, erica was like I'm gonna be called gg.

00:58:34.266 --> 00:58:35.994
And I was like, oh, here we go with this one.

00:58:35.994 --> 00:58:40.769
And she said no, grandma, goddess, so it's just the letter G, that was her thing.

00:58:40.769 --> 00:58:42.804
Got you Deshawn being who he is.

00:58:42.804 --> 00:58:44.929
I said I'll get back with you in about a week and a half.

00:58:44.929 --> 00:58:54.311
So I'm researching because I don't want to be called pop, pop grandpa, I don't want to be anything that is normal.

00:58:54.311 --> 00:58:57.543
So I'm going down and I discovered the word Babu.

00:58:57.543 --> 00:59:02.567
Yes, sir, and in Swahili it's grandfather yes, indeedy.

00:59:02.567 --> 00:59:03.748
See, thank you very much.

00:59:03.748 --> 00:59:04.989
And my grandchildren call me.

00:59:05.028 --> 00:59:05.389
Babu.

00:59:05.550 --> 00:59:07.150
Yo.

00:59:07.311 --> 00:59:08.972
And my wife.

00:59:08.972 --> 00:59:11.155
They call her Bibi Yep.

00:59:11.155 --> 00:59:12.315
Bibi is grandmother.

00:59:12.476 --> 00:59:13.536
Yep, because I tried to get E.

00:59:13.536 --> 00:59:20.862
She was like nope, grandma, goddess, b and E, right, I was like, but it'd be dope, you know.

00:59:20.862 --> 00:59:21.322
And then I told my son.

00:59:21.322 --> 00:59:28.277
I said you also know that he will call me babu before he calls you dada because of the b, it's easy to right.

00:59:28.277 --> 00:59:30.666
Yes, so, and I was right, you know.

00:59:30.666 --> 00:59:32.695
I mean, so there's some strategy in that, you know.

00:59:32.695 --> 00:59:41.362
But it's crazy because my grandkids, uh, especially my granddaughter, she's at that point she'll say babu you know, and you know as a grandparent.

00:59:41.382 --> 00:59:42.164
That hit your heart.

00:59:42.164 --> 00:59:44.769
Man, like you know you could be anywhere.

00:59:44.769 --> 00:59:51.340
You hear that, you know that it is dedicated to you right, oh, they're getting what they want you know they say granddad, you know you.

00:59:51.340 --> 00:59:52.182
A sea of people.

00:59:52.182 --> 00:59:57.786
Everybody might turn around, but babu, yes, sir that's you, that's you, babu.

00:59:58.188 --> 00:59:59.152
Can I have ice cream?

00:59:59.253 --> 01:00:03.126
of course you man, that is a small world, so I'm not the original now, but that's okay.

01:00:03.126 --> 01:00:08.586
Sorry, I'm in a good group, but great mind yep, yep, because I sure said, I'll get back with you.

01:00:08.586 --> 01:00:10.211
And they was like oh, here go, dad, with this.

01:00:10.211 --> 01:00:12.027
You know, I was like yeah, let me find something.

01:00:12.027 --> 01:00:21.289
There was another one too, but that, uh, babu, and I got it on a shirt, you know, and I put the two dots over the a, you know, because people, babu, I'm like no, no, no no, that's not right.

01:00:21.690 --> 01:00:24.914
Yeah, no, that is not be careful what you're saying now.

01:00:24.914 --> 01:00:34.123
So we come into the part of random questions, okay, and I always ask the guest this and I have some random questions for you.

01:00:34.123 --> 01:00:35.085
Are you ready to partake?

01:00:35.126 --> 01:00:35.648
in these.

01:00:35.648 --> 01:00:36.851
Let's do it all right.

01:00:38.523 --> 01:00:42.672
If you could instantly change something in the world, what would it be?

01:00:44.887 --> 01:00:49.606
If I can instantly change something in the world, I would change racial hostility.

01:00:50.581 --> 01:00:54.686
If you had a superpower but you could only use it on Monday, what would it be?

01:00:55.951 --> 01:01:01.929
I would make the work week not start on Monday.

01:01:06.900 --> 01:01:11.271
If you could wear only one color every day, what color would that be?

01:01:11.271 --> 01:01:12.693
Blue, blue.

01:01:12.693 --> 01:01:15.827
Every man should own a.

01:01:17.722 --> 01:01:18.626
Riding lawnmower.

01:01:18.626 --> 01:01:21.606
And let me explain that one.

01:01:21.606 --> 01:01:23.925
Yeah, please do, because my yard's small.

01:01:23.925 --> 01:01:40.005
Okay, I don't care how much work you do during the day, if your wife happened to come in and see you sitting down with a remote control for some reason, that just infuriates them, no matter how much you've done.

01:01:40.005 --> 01:01:48.451
So I tell a lot of young men that invest in a riding lawnmower because your wife just wants to see you doing something.

01:01:48.451 --> 01:01:58.833
So even if you don't drop the deck down, even if you don't drop the deck and you just drive around the yard and listen to Sound United Presents it, at least look like you're doing something.

01:01:58.833 --> 01:01:59.739
And she's going to Sound United Presents.

01:01:59.739 --> 01:02:01.844
Right right, at least look like you're doing something.

01:02:01.844 --> 01:02:02.668
She's going to be happy, right right?

01:02:02.668 --> 01:02:03.471
Yep, he working.

01:02:06.320 --> 01:02:11.307
If you could choose a vacation spot, 21 days, all paid, you ain't got to do nothing.

01:02:11.307 --> 01:02:11.889
It's your vacation.

01:02:11.889 --> 01:02:12.869
You're there for 21 days.

01:02:12.869 --> 01:02:13.351
Where would it be?

01:02:13.351 --> 01:02:15.233
Somewhere in the Caribbean.

01:02:15.233 --> 01:02:19.949
Okay, no distinct place, yet you just know it's the Caribbean, yeah somewhere in the Caribbean.

01:02:19.989 --> 01:02:23.985
It's that halfway place, those blue blue waters.

01:02:23.985 --> 01:02:31.764
I've been to St Thomas, I've done mission work in Belize, but Megan's Bay in St Thomas, that is something to see.

01:02:31.824 --> 01:02:33.842
Especially when the cruise ships ain't there.

01:02:33.842 --> 01:02:34.545
Yes, absolutely.

01:02:34.565 --> 01:02:35.387
We went every year.

01:02:38.539 --> 01:02:45.865
Our honeymoon and then a couple of anniversaries and we stayed at the Sugar Bay Got you Because it was all inclusive.

01:02:45.865 --> 01:02:51.731
And once I learned what all inclusive meant, because at first when we got there I was like man, I ain't paying $11 for no hot dogs.

01:02:51.731 --> 01:02:53.965
Eric Blake Bay, you have a band on.

01:02:53.965 --> 01:02:56.023
Like what that mean that just mean we paid.

01:02:56.023 --> 01:02:57.228
She's like no, it's all inclusive.

01:02:57.228 --> 01:02:58.230
Once that mean that just mean we paid.

01:02:58.230 --> 01:02:59.150
She's like no, it's all inclusive.

01:02:59.150 --> 01:03:00.150
Once I learned what all inclusive meant.

01:03:00.170 --> 01:03:09.197
oh, brother, I was wow, when I, when I was at saint thomas, my, I had a roommate from college uh, good friend of mine, fellow brother that was at the bibles, attended my bible study.

01:03:09.197 --> 01:03:14.065
He's from saint thomas, so, uh, I went around with his family.

01:03:14.065 --> 01:03:25.652
So when I got there, I didn't try, I didn't go as a tourist, I went as a local and I quickly learned how to utilize words that they were using.

01:03:25.652 --> 01:03:31.710
So when it was time for me to pay for T-shirts and things like that, I said no, man with the power from La Cosman.

01:03:31.831 --> 01:03:32.050
What's the?

01:03:32.090 --> 01:03:33.233
price for locals Yep, yep.

01:03:34.539 --> 01:03:36.949
Because we would go down in that shopping district.

01:03:36.949 --> 01:03:47.168
Let me just say E would take me down to that shopping district Because if it wasn't the beach Megan's Bay, smith Bay, which is another good one and it's more there's hardly much there.

01:03:47.168 --> 01:03:50.764
It's beautiful, just as clear, but it's less people there.

01:03:51.322 --> 01:03:53.327
Yeah, we would go snorkeling down, like in Kooky Point.

01:03:53.467 --> 01:03:56.282
Yep, yep, and right there at Kooky Point.

01:03:56.282 --> 01:03:57.927
So Sugar Bay was right there.

01:03:57.927 --> 01:03:58.989
It was an orange structure.

01:03:58.989 --> 01:04:00.152
Yes, sir, that was there.

01:04:00.152 --> 01:04:04.103
But that was one of our favorite places and we would continue to go there.

01:04:04.103 --> 01:04:11.190
Because I actually pitched them on our honeymoon to do photography for them, because I was like people up in Ohio don't know nothing about you and they like to travel.

01:04:11.190 --> 01:04:22.536
So I literally pitched to get us to go every year for two years to go down there, just do pictures for one day, and every year for two years to go down there, just do pictures for one day, and we'd stay for, you know, nine days or something like that.

01:04:22.536 --> 01:04:23.072
It's beautiful.

01:04:23.072 --> 01:04:24.414
The only thing to stop my little eric was like just a side hustle.

01:04:24.414 --> 01:04:32.161
She's like how you pitching people on our honeymoon, right, and then every anniversary we go, we go to saint thomas, but the only thing that stopped that was, uh, hurricane maria.

01:04:32.161 --> 01:04:33.422
And then it got hit with that other one.

01:04:33.422 --> 01:04:37.990
Oh, maria hit him really, yeah, and so know that was like man.

01:04:37.990 --> 01:04:39.934
That hurricane killed my hustle, yeah.

01:04:40.641 --> 01:04:41.164
Was it Hugo?

01:04:41.164 --> 01:04:41.726
It wasn't.

01:04:41.786 --> 01:04:43.934
Hugo, it was Maria and it was one other one.

01:04:43.934 --> 01:04:47.889
Yeah, there was another one, because the one scraped them, but the other one just boom.

01:04:47.889 --> 01:04:58.427
Right, I knew it was Maria because it just we didn't go after that and that might have been 2017 or 2018.

01:04:58.467 --> 01:05:07.936
Rico, some of them actually came here because of Hurricane Maria, because so much had happened with their schools that they wouldn't have been able to continue.

01:05:08.300 --> 01:05:11.126
So they actually, and it was, it was bad.

01:05:11.126 --> 01:05:14.407
So you being there, you understand like the media they was.

01:05:14.427 --> 01:05:24.822
They wasn't even touching the surface, it was, it was bad and there's some individuals that still to this day the the residue and the damage that happened from those hurricanes, like in as well.

01:05:24.822 --> 01:05:40.286
I mean especially I can say from testimonials of my students, man um puerto rico was hit so bad that it there's still some lasting effects to this day small world man babu, saint thomas this was meant to be brother.

01:05:40.286 --> 01:05:41.510
I'm telling you that's it.

01:05:42.541 --> 01:05:43.768
There's a connection, god's hand.

01:05:43.768 --> 01:05:48.126
Where can people get more information about the church or stay connected with you?

01:05:48.648 --> 01:05:49.289
The church is on.

01:05:49.289 --> 01:05:50.030
We're right on.

01:05:50.030 --> 01:05:51.153
Come in and see us.

01:05:51.153 --> 01:05:52.264
That's one of the best ways.

01:05:52.264 --> 01:05:53.228
That's what we like to do.

01:05:53.228 --> 01:05:59.690
During COVID we were on Zoom, but you know, after COVID was over I had to tell people.

01:05:59.690 --> 01:06:02.614
You know, come off of Zoom and come on inside the building.

01:06:02.614 --> 01:06:07.853
You know, don't sit at home on Zoom and I'm just looking at your name and you rubbing your feet together eating Cheetos.

01:06:07.853 --> 01:06:12.900
You know, christianity was expected to be practiced in community.

01:06:12.900 --> 01:06:23.487
So we're at 403 Atlantic Street Northwest and we meet on Wednesdays at seven for scripture school and then Sunday morning scripture school starts at 930.

01:06:23.487 --> 01:06:25.952
Sunday morning worship begins at 11 o'clock.

01:06:25.952 --> 01:06:27.864
403 Atlantic Street Northwest.

01:06:27.864 --> 01:06:28.726
So come in and see us.

01:06:29.248 --> 01:06:30.231
So good to have you on this.

01:06:30.719 --> 01:06:32.527
Thank you, this has been delightful.

01:06:32.960 --> 01:06:33.802
It's an honor for me.

01:06:33.802 --> 01:06:36.710
I'm so ecstatic about it, just great.

01:06:36.710 --> 01:06:43.315
So I thank you for being on here and we'll have you back to that round table I was talking about confidentially the round table.

01:06:43.315 --> 01:06:45.963
I won't go into details because people, what round table you talking about?

01:06:45.963 --> 01:06:46.425
When is it?

01:06:46.425 --> 01:06:48.371
I'm in the works, but thank you for being here.

01:06:48.659 --> 01:07:04.474
Thank you um, you know you, you are very impactful, very impactful and I'm speaking for me because I I can always remember there's a lot that I don't remember Just that whole process, right that, just that, there's a lot that I do remember.

01:07:04.474 --> 01:07:10.813
And on that do remember side was just our conversations and the reach out and stuff like that, but I do.

01:07:10.813 --> 01:07:12.563
Thank you so much for being on the show.

01:07:12.784 --> 01:07:15.130
Thank you and I'm a sound United fans.

01:07:15.130 --> 01:07:18.987
Oh yeah, you about to sign the thing and everything is swag coming for everybody, everybody.

01:07:19.007 --> 01:07:22.297
We gonna hook you up, but hey, folks, thank you for hitting the play button.

01:07:22.297 --> 01:07:23.041
Really appreciate it.

01:07:23.041 --> 01:07:30.108
I hope you got a lot from Pastor Matlock and we will be signing out 3, 2, and 1.

01:07:30.108 --> 01:07:40.030
This episode was produced by the Sound United Podcast Studio, led by Kimberly Gonzalez.

01:07:40.030 --> 01:07:41.476
Photography and video was produced by the Sound United Podcast Studio, led by Kimberly Gonzalez.

01:07:41.476 --> 01:07:45.530
Photography and video content produced by the D5 Group.

01:07:45.530 --> 01:07:54.126
And be sure to visit our website, soundunitedpresentscom, where you can catch up on all the episodes and get some behind-the-scenes content.

01:07:54.126 --> 01:07:55.710
I'm Deshaun Scott.

01:07:55.710 --> 01:07:57.121
Thank you for listening.

01:07:57.121 --> 01:08:10.994
Ready to launch a podcast or create standout audio content.

01:08:10.994 --> 01:08:23.929
Sound United Podcast Studio has everything you need Studio rental, consulting, content development, marketing support, and we even offer remote editing services.

01:08:23.929 --> 01:08:25.755
And we can help you whether you're local or nationwide.

01:08:25.755 --> 01:08:27.359
So book your discovery.

01:08:27.359 --> 01:08:31.065
Call at wwwthesounducom.

01:08:31.065 --> 01:08:35.032
That is wwwthesounducom.

01:08:35.032 --> 01:08:40.399
Or do it the old-fashioned way and call 330-238-7157.

01:08:40.399 --> 01:08:44.500
That is 330-238-7157.

01:08:44.500 --> 01:08:46.774
It's time for you to empower with sound.