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Rev. Sedar Shako Interview · What You Have Seen and Heard

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hello again,
0:00
SPEAKER_00: and welcome back to another episode of What You Have Seen and Heard,
0:03
SPEAKER_00: which comes from when Jesus sent the delegation of John back to tell them
0:06
SPEAKER_00: about what they've seen and heard.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: And so it's a series of conversations.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: My name is Travis Stevick,
0:11
SPEAKER_00: and I am a pastor in Northwest Iowa in the Global Methodist Church,
0:14
SPEAKER_00: and it's just a series Thank you, Travis.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, and thank you to have me.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: So the first question that I ask of everybody is to tell the story
0:43
SPEAKER_00: about how it is you either became a Christian in the first place or how it is
0:47
SPEAKER_00: that you began to take your faith seriously.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: I grew up in Africa.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: I was born.
0:56
SPEAKER_01: My name is Sedar Shako.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: I am married to Marceline Zeba.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: We have four girls.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: All of them, we came.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: They lived.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: The others joined America a few months ago, so we all are here in Iowa.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: The way I became a Christian first,
1:18
SPEAKER_01: I was born a Christian,
1:20
SPEAKER_01: and also my parents, you know, my parents, mom and dad, they were Methodists.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: So in Africa, it's different with what we see in America, because Africa...
1:35
SPEAKER_01: When it's time for the church, it's just strict.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: You have to go to church.
1:41
SPEAKER_01: That was mandatory that you can skip because we had a rule in our house
1:47
SPEAKER_01: that my dad made that if you don't go to church, you won't eat.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: No church, no food.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: So I was going to church just because of the food,
1:59
SPEAKER_01: you know, just as young, not to have something that God will call me to ministry.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: It was that way.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: So we went and we had a Bible study.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: I joined a youth group.
2:14
SPEAKER_01: The youth, the teenagers doing, I did, but I did not know that I'm doing this.
2:21
SPEAKER_01: One day I will be a pastor.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: I will be called to minister.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Right.
2:25
SPEAKER_01: To minister.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so we, and also we had prayer before we go to bed.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: We ate together and also my dad said pray.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: So I grew up in that way.
2:38
SPEAKER_01: So we had just a little discipline of you cannot do what you think, what you want about Christ.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: Only you can follow what your dad says.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: So how is it that, so today, I'm sure you follow Christ not just because your dad says.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: How did you come to take that faith on in your own life for your own yearning,
3:03
SPEAKER_00: in your own desire to follow Jesus?
3:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, good question.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: So after being confirmed,
3:10
SPEAKER_01: because I started to realize that this is not the funny things I'm doing
3:16
SPEAKER_01: because I wanted to do confirmation for two years.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: Africa, we have two years.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: In my time with Methodist Church, they had a class for two years.
3:26
SPEAKER_01: And if you do not pass class, you have to go back again two years.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: So we learned the discipline, the doctrine of Methodist Church, and the Christian's life.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: And during that time, I was baptized by the pastor.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: And the day of my confirmation,
3:43
SPEAKER_01: because my pastor was very focusing on transformation from youth life
3:52
SPEAKER_01: to youth Christian.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: You know, from begging to the Christian.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: So he just,
3:58
SPEAKER_01: he focused his,
4:00
SPEAKER_01: the main verse that we read,
4:02
SPEAKER_01: the book we read, I keep this in my mind, was Romans chapter 12.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: You know,
4:09
SPEAKER_01: Romans chapter 12,
4:10
SPEAKER_01: when Paul says,
4:12
SPEAKER_01: I beg you,
4:13
SPEAKER_01: brother and sister, do not live according to this word, you need to be transformed.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Right.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: So he was seeking for us to be transformed, to become the real Christian, the true Christian.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: And since we continue to learn that,
4:28
SPEAKER_01: my life was now taking direction that I need to follow what I study.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: And that time was really,
4:37
SPEAKER_01: really serious because the pastor was focusing that God is coming soon.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: You know, the Revelation 22 says, I'm coming soon.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: For us, for me, soon we're saying that he will come tomorrow.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: So when he was talking that you need to live the holiness life because Jesus is coming soon.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: So he was showing us the bad side.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: If you want to take part of the rapture,
5:07
SPEAKER_01: the first resurrection and the rapture, if you will stay, see what will happen.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: So he told us the beast, all of these things, and that was a little scary.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: When I can see this will happen,
5:21
SPEAKER_01: that's why I will start realizing that I needed to take this serious in my life.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: So if Jesus come tomorrow,
5:30
SPEAKER_01: I can take power in the first resurrection because I don't want to suffer
5:34
SPEAKER_01: with what will happen after resurrection with tribulations.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: Sure, yeah.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: So at some point in your life, God called you into pastoral ministry.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: You were just recently ordained as an elder in the Global Methodist Church.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: So how did that process, how did God call you in that direction?
5:54
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, so I got my degree in Africa, you know, with Global Methodist Church.
6:02
SPEAKER_01: They have some seminary that is qualified, worked with them.
6:07
SPEAKER_01: But yeah,
6:08
SPEAKER_01: and my degree was taken from the Baptist,
6:12
SPEAKER_01: Pentecost,
6:13
SPEAKER_01: which is not associated Some courses is associated with Global, but some not.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: And when I came,
6:22
SPEAKER_01: the district superintendent,
6:23
SPEAKER_01: after they did, I presented them my credential and the transcript from Africa.
6:29
SPEAKER_01: They said, no,
6:30
SPEAKER_01: you need to go through your course again,
6:34
SPEAKER_01: taking some courses that worked with Global,
6:37
SPEAKER_01: and so you can be qualified to be ordained.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: Because it was my core, you know.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: So in Africa,
6:45
SPEAKER_01: when I started taking my life,
6:47
SPEAKER_01: tuning to God, being a serious Christian, I started serving.
6:53
SPEAKER_01: I served in so many churches in Africa.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: And I also did a lot,
7:00
SPEAKER_01: my whole life at Travis, I will say, I never done something else, only the ministry.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: Because I took constantly from what I learned from the pastor and we went from there.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: So when I came to America, when they told me, they did like me.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: So they still continue to like me.
7:23
SPEAKER_01: But they said, if you want to be a pastor in America, see what you need to do.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: Some people would say,
7:30
SPEAKER_01: some people would consider that it was maybe like a punishment,
7:34
SPEAKER_01: which for me wasn't because I have to follow the rule.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Going through that, it took me like eight years.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: It started with joining church,
7:49
SPEAKER_01: being a member, and becoming a lay speaker, going to go preaching.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: And then become licensing school and went through that.
8:00
SPEAKER_01: I took part time and then I started when I say I have to have this done and
8:05
SPEAKER_01: then I go to full time.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: It took me like eight years because it was my passion.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: You know, I have to do because it was my passion, which was good for me.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: So you mentioned that you came to America.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: And like I said, you were in Northwest Iowa, same general place that I am.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: How did God call you to America?
8:28
SPEAKER_01: Great question.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: You know, I did not know that one day I would come to America.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: It's like you, you know, you do not dream that one day you can go to Central Africa.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: Right.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, because you don't speak French.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, you may know French, but sometimes...
8:43
SPEAKER_01: It's hard for you to preach in French.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: That wasn't my dream.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: I did serve God in Africa,
8:54
SPEAKER_01: and one day I saw the man who came and dreamed and said,
8:58
SPEAKER_01: Siddar, now I've done with you in Africa, now I have to send you to somewhere.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: He did not say America.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Because,
9:07
SPEAKER_01: as you know,
9:08
SPEAKER_01: it is not easy to come to America because coming to America with
9:12
SPEAKER_01: a whole family costs a lot of money.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:15
SPEAKER_01: And I did not have money to cover every cost to bring my family with me.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: The man came in a dream and said, Siddhar, I want you to go to serve me somewhere.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: I said, in the dream, I told him that it would be nice for you to send me with my whole family.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: And...
9:36
SPEAKER_01: Well, I had a friend who came with people in Iowa.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: They lived in Nashua.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: They came to mission trip and he asked me because he knows that the way I pray and all I do.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I want you to be there.
9:54
SPEAKER_01: I'm coming with the people that never been in Africa the first time.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: So you need to prepare time to pray for them.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: So when I went, I did pray and then we had a very good connection.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: And the good people,
10:07
SPEAKER_01: they also said, Sadar, we are going to do the process for you to come to America.
10:12
SPEAKER_01: I said, I never dreamed because I don't speak English.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: As you know, Travis, I had just three words when I came to America.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: And they said, for me, it was like a dream.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: But because God talked to me, God told me this many years ago.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: And then I said, yeah,
10:34
SPEAKER_01: they came and my friend did the process with those who did drain that process
10:42
SPEAKER_01: and God help us.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: And we drain, we came.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: So this is crazy.
10:50
SPEAKER_01: When we got a visa, my wife thought that I speak well English.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: Because she asked, you are going to serve to America.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: Are you going to preach in French?
11:00
SPEAKER_01: I said, no, I speak English.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: She said, could you speak?
11:03
SPEAKER_01: I said, yeah.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: I know English.
11:07
SPEAKER_01: I had it just in that time.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: I learned three words.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: No problem.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: That's OK. Sure.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: So that was three English words I knew in Africa.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: And I told my wife, I said, yeah, I speak.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: And when I say thank you, No problem, that's okay.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: She said, yeah, you speak English, you speak.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: I said, yeah, very nice.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: So coming to America,
11:35
SPEAKER_01: now in the planet, they start asking me, they ask us, what kind of food do you like?
11:40
SPEAKER_01: I said, thank you.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: What?
11:45
SPEAKER_01: No problem, that's okay.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: I did not know what I'm saying, but that is English.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Right.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: Coming to America for me was God's time.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't my plan.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: And my friend lived in Nashua and we went to Nashua.
12:03
SPEAKER_01: We stayed there.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: And one day I went to join pastor to meet the district superintendent.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: And this time we were Methodist, UMC, United Methodist Chief.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: I went to join the pastor, the district superintendent, Jackie Bradford.
12:23
SPEAKER_01: So he, in that time, Bishop Trumbo was our bishop in Iowa.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: And I asked him, I want to join the ministry.
12:34
SPEAKER_01: He said, Siddhar, could you give me, could you tell me your story?
12:39
SPEAKER_01: And I brought the pictures, the transcript, all of this.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: They saw the pictures and said, oh yeah, Siddhar, you speak well.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: You know what to do, but one thing is, You do not speak English.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: I said, I don't speak English.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: That's why I don't know what to do.
13:00
SPEAKER_01: And he says, she said, you need to start teaching the tree, teaching by yourself.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: Speak English because we don't have a French congregation that we can give to you.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Right.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: So more practice and God opened the way.
13:19
SPEAKER_01: And then they sent me to start.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: I was associate pastor in Jubilee Methodist Church in Waterloo.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: And then after that, they appointed me to be full time in Lansing and New Orleans.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: So you have done some ministry in both Africa and in America.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a little bit about your experiences about how is that different
13:42
SPEAKER_00: and how is it the same or, you know, those kinds of things?
13:49
SPEAKER_01: The difference is for just the way people receive God, receive the Word of God.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: In Africa, people are more loud.
14:01
SPEAKER_01: They clap hands, they sing loud.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: They are more emotional.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: Maybe that is a good word to use.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: In Africa, people are more emotional with God.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: They're scary.
14:15
SPEAKER_01: They're waiting for everything that comes from God.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: That is, they have a strong faith, trusting God, because everything they have is from God.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: And people spend more time, no matter what you have, what you do on Sunday, it's God's day.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: The people pray aloud.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: No, the people want to go to do the ministry, to join, to invite people.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: Most picnic, it's about God and sharing things like that.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: That is in Africa.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: And America, people are more Reserve, I'm not saying reserve, but are more strict.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: You know, this is, and also we have a bulletin.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: You cannot go beyond the bulletin.
15:12
SPEAKER_01: You have to follow the bulletin.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Sure, right.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, and you preach people, you do.
15:20
SPEAKER_01: So the first time when I came,
15:22
SPEAKER_01: I did struggle with them because I came from the congregation when I speak,
15:28
SPEAKER_01: The people say, amen, amen.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: But America, don't wait until you can see that.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: Right.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: They listen, but they cannot make any comment, any movement, just being strict in listening.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: But because that is the way they were raised, they were trained.
15:52
SPEAKER_01: Right.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: Which is very nice for me.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: That is some comparison.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: Now we struggle because all the people want to stay in the same way.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: The young generation, they don't want it.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: So now it's like we have two congregations in one church doing the same service.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: The young generation, they like the contemporary song, clapping hands.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: They want to feel God,
16:29
SPEAKER_01: but the older people,
16:31
SPEAKER_01: they like, they want the traditional service, they just want to see what you do.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: Sure, right.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: You see?
16:40
SPEAKER_01: So that is, and we cannot reject one and accept one.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: We are working to have,
16:48
SPEAKER_01: like, I'm on a bridge, try to bring both sides with me so we can go along.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: That is some difference, I see.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: But all of them, we worship God.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: This is actually going to transition a bit into a different question.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: So Harrison Lake Park are rural communities.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: I live in Marcus, which is also a rural community.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know, so this is more of a comment first about the community I find myself in.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: And that is one of the things I have long noticed and really respected
17:20
SPEAKER_00: about Marcus is that they have not done what so many small towns in Iowa have done.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: There are some small towns where the sense you get is they say,
17:29
SPEAKER_00: we don't want something to change.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to do something new into the future.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: We want to just kind of hold on to what we've got.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: And we're going to hold on to it tighter and tighter.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: And then hopefully we'll maintain it for as long as possible.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: But the problem is if you do that, you eventually lose what you have.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: And so one of these have been consistently And so what I've expressed
17:45
SPEAKER_00: in my context is that these communities around here have really been very proactive
17:48
SPEAKER_00: in trying to say, well, we've got to do new things.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: We've got to try to expand, not just maintain.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: And I sometimes wonder if there's a similar situation in the church where...
17:59
SPEAKER_00: So I guess I'm curious about, do you have any thoughts?
18:01
SPEAKER_00: You said you were in Waterloo, and now you're in Harrison Lake Park.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: So you went from a very urban situation,
18:06
SPEAKER_00: you know, at Jubilee, to being a much more rural situation.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, how has that transition been in your experience?
18:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, before to come to Lake Park and Ohio Harris, after Jubilee, I went to Lansing.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: Lansing and New Orleans.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: If you see in our conference,
18:40
SPEAKER_01: the church there that moved from our conference
18:42
SPEAKER_01: and joined Wisconsin Conference was one of the church I laid.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: That's New Orleans, New Orleans.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: The first thing was, and also I'm going to talk about the course The society and the community.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: When I went to Lansing, Lansing, east of Iowa, they are more outgoing and open to the strange.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: And New Alban, the time I went to the first, the church was, the average was five people.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: But because they received my leadership, We moved from 5 to 70 plus before I left.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: Wow, okay.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: And Lansing, the attendance was 40 when I went, but we moved from 40 to 100 plus.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: What is the problem?
19:46
SPEAKER_01: The problem is the previous pastor who was there before me,
19:51
SPEAKER_01: He told them that the conference sent a black pastor from Africa,
19:56
SPEAKER_01: but he doesn't speak English.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: But some of them,
20:01
SPEAKER_01: the things that they were expecting to see in the pastor,
20:04
SPEAKER_01: my previous pastor did not.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: Like having Bible study, play guitar, all of this, all of this.
20:14
SPEAKER_01: When I came, and then I tried to do it.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: Some did not like it, some did not.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: And you cannot satisfy both sides.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: So some may be uncomfortable, some may be comfortable.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: But what you do is, what can I do best for all of us who can be on the same page to go forward?
20:37
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: And the people were very outgoing, receiving, welcoming.
20:44
SPEAKER_01: And we involved,
20:46
SPEAKER_01: I did the baptism,
20:47
SPEAKER_01: the first time in town to do the baptism by emergence,
20:50
SPEAKER_01: you know, in the Mississippi River, which was very successful.
20:54
SPEAKER_01: That brought revival.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: When I moved to Lake Park, my current church in Harris, west of Iowa, people are more reserved.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: They are not more outgoing.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't say they don't like you, but they take time to know you.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: They take time to study you, to know who you are, your action, whatever you do.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: So in the beginning,
21:23
SPEAKER_01: I had a little trouble with them because I thought that the same attitude
21:32
SPEAKER_01: the people
21:33
SPEAKER_01: in East has, they will be the same.
21:37
SPEAKER_01: It was different.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: They take time.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: They are not more welcoming, but they take time to know you.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: And going through that, we still struggle with that.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: We have people that will accept you,
21:55
SPEAKER_01: even though Jesus, some people will accept you, some people may not.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: But the experience is,
22:06
SPEAKER_01: In West,
22:08
SPEAKER_01: the place I am now,
22:09
SPEAKER_01: like a small town in Iowa, Lake Park and Harris, the people are not more outgoing.
22:16
SPEAKER_01: And the people are more reserved and a little bit critical.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Do you get that?
22:24
SPEAKER_01: I do, yeah.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a little bit critical.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: And that is, but I'm just taking courage.
22:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm encouraged myself with what the Bible says.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: For example,
22:38
SPEAKER_01: when Jesus sends disciples,
22:41
SPEAKER_01: we're on Luke chapter 10, Matthew chapter 10, Matthew 28 verse 19.
22:49
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus is sending disciples.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: There is no place Jesus will say, Jesus said, they will like you.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: Some will like you, some will reject you.
23:00
SPEAKER_01: We still have people struggling with discrimination, but this is the way I see things.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: When I come to talk about the discrimination drivers, I don't see only the black between white.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: I can see also the black between black and the white between white.
23:18
SPEAKER_01: Did that make sense?
23:18
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: Because don't every white love every white.
23:26
SPEAKER_01: Don't every black love every black.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Right.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: But what I knew is,
23:30
SPEAKER_01: what I do is, Those who love what I do, those who like what I do, let's go together.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
23:37
SPEAKER_01: But those who do not like, I ask them, would you tell me how to do so you can be satisfied?
23:44
SPEAKER_01: Because I did not hear to lose member, but I came here to get them so we can go on the same way.
23:53
SPEAKER_01: So that is what I see.
23:55
SPEAKER_01: Even though when people come with a Most things are negatives.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: I don't see that because I am getting my strength in the Bible.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: As long as the conference wants me to serve, I do.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: Did I answer your question?
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's one of those things where every culture is a bit different, right?
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Because on the one hand,
24:18
SPEAKER_00: you have some places that are quick to receive and some who are more reserved.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: But I find that at least with some people who are slow and a little more reserved,
24:28
SPEAKER_00: you know, like you said, they're watching you.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: They're studying you.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: They want to make sure that who you are matches up with what you say.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: And I find at least sometimes those people,
24:36
SPEAKER_00: once they're convinced,
24:37
SPEAKER_00: once they've really learned who you are and all the rest,
24:40
SPEAKER_00: they will really be great advocates and great kind of champions for
24:44
SPEAKER_00: the work you're trying to lead.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: Not everybody, of course, but I think that there are some people who do do that.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: And it's funny to think about how.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: Iowa is not outrageously large from east to west, but several hours to drive across it.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: And yet you are right that there are some big picture differences from one side of
25:01
SPEAKER_00: a state to another.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: And you and I are in an annual conference that covers five states.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: So if there's a difference between Eastern Iowa and Western Iowa,
25:10
SPEAKER_00: what are the differences between Iowa and Nebraska and Minnesota and North Dakota
25:16
SPEAKER_00: and South Dakota and Montana?
25:18
SPEAKER_00: And part of why I'm having these conversations is so we can get to know each other
25:22
SPEAKER_00: and our strengths and all the rest and to also reflect on what are the things
25:25
SPEAKER_00: that make us the same in Jesus Christ and also the things that are different enough
25:29
SPEAKER_00: that are worth learning from one another to understand how different people
25:35
SPEAKER_00: in different places are in different circumstances.
25:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can also add something.
25:42
SPEAKER_01: You know,
25:43
SPEAKER_01: you may go somewhere and the people may not agree what you do,
25:48
SPEAKER_01: but more you do what they expect in their mind, they will like you.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
25:55
SPEAKER_01: In both churches, we are getting new members.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: You know,
25:59
SPEAKER_01: the church went through a very difficult life with division,
26:05
SPEAKER_01: living, UMC, all of this, this, this, this, this.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: But after that, we get so many new members in both churches.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: I also, what heiress did very nice,
26:20
SPEAKER_01: and they continue to do it, they said the pastor said I speak Bible.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: But what is the problem?
26:26
SPEAKER_01: He has a different accent, you know?
26:29
SPEAKER_01: No, I cannot deny that I accept it.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: I have a different accent with them.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: So what they did, they said, let's change the sound system.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: They had the old sound system,
26:43
SPEAKER_01: and they said,
26:44
SPEAKER_01: let's purchase the new sound system that can help us to make it clearer,
26:50
SPEAKER_01: Pastor Segar's voice,
26:52
SPEAKER_01: because we want to hear what he says, and because also he's speaking Bible.
26:59
SPEAKER_01: And they are now spending over 11,000
27:07
SPEAKER_01: to purchase new system sounds for that with a speaker.
27:13
SPEAKER_01: The reason they do that,
27:14
SPEAKER_01: they want to hear me clear because In the past,
27:19
SPEAKER_01: the request was, we need a pastor who speaks the Bible.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Right.
27:24
SPEAKER_01: But now Pastor Siddar is speaking the Bible,
27:27
SPEAKER_01: let's also help him to make his accent,
27:30
SPEAKER_01: I won't be like American,
27:32
SPEAKER_01: my accent won't be like you,
27:35
SPEAKER_01: it will be more okay, for they can understand that we are working on that.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: So they make effort.
27:43
SPEAKER_01: And also they told me, Sadar, you also need to go slow down.
27:47
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to go speedy.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: This is not Africa congregation.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: You need to speak slow because you want to hear what you say.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, they worked hard.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm working hard.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: That is the good communication we have.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: I have both of them.
28:01
SPEAKER_01: They are two great congregations for me.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: Well, I hope that they have had more luck with you being able to slow down
28:08
SPEAKER_00: than my congregations have had with me.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: I speak very quickly,
28:12
SPEAKER_00: and I'm about as slow now as I ever have been in the pulpit,
28:19
SPEAKER_00: and it's still too fast for a lot of folks.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: And I don't speak a different language.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: I don't speak in a different accent.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Although I did have,
28:29
SPEAKER_00: it was the same language,
28:30
SPEAKER_00: but when my family and I lived in Scotland,
28:32
SPEAKER_00: I would occasionally be the reader of scripture for the morning.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: And I said,
28:36
SPEAKER_00: if you don't mind me,
28:37
SPEAKER_00: my ridiculous accent, you know, and they said, oh, we like your accent.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: So I hope that for everybody,
28:42
SPEAKER_00: for any one person there is who finds your accent hard to understand,
28:46
SPEAKER_00: I hope there's at least a couple folks who find it endearing and find it.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: I hope it's also a reminder.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: So one of the things that I love about The fact that our denomination is global,
28:56
SPEAKER_00: not just in name, but in fact.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things I love about the fact that though I am lamenting the long trip
29:05
SPEAKER_00: I am so glad to go because it's a reminder that the God who is at work here
29:10
SPEAKER_00: in Northwest Iowa is also at work all over the world.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things I love about the fact that I get to talk to people like you
29:17
SPEAKER_00: as well is that just you just being who you are is a reminder that the God
29:21
SPEAKER_00: who is changing my life where I am was already changing your life
29:25
SPEAKER_00: when you were living thousands of miles away.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: And we have a mission team that has been going to South America for the last several years.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: And it's always a great reminder to say the God who is doing great.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: You hear the stories about somewhere else and they're exciting because they're somewhere else.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: But they're also that same God is doing work among us and wants to do work among us.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: And I just find that to be an incredibly encouraging reality
29:47
SPEAKER_00: that our God is actively at work everywhere.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that is.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: And in Lansing, in Luke Park, I do like what some folks does.
30:01
SPEAKER_01: What they do is,
30:03
SPEAKER_01: you can see those who understand my accent well,
30:06
SPEAKER_01: like especially the women,
30:08
SPEAKER_01: they sit beside the men,
30:10
SPEAKER_01: their husband,
30:11
SPEAKER_01: and if I say something they don't understand,
30:13
SPEAKER_01: their husband doesn't touch me well, the women, they help them.
30:17
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: He says this, he says this, you know?
30:21
SPEAKER_01: So when, what is that?
30:23
SPEAKER_01: He says this,
30:24
SPEAKER_01: he says,
30:25
SPEAKER_01: you know,
30:25
SPEAKER_01: it just,
30:27
SPEAKER_01: we are building more,
30:29
SPEAKER_01: I see more connection because if I told him that he helped me to speak well so
30:38
SPEAKER_01: that you can learn what you, you can get what you need.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: Right.
30:43
SPEAKER_01: I did not come here just to fill the pulpit, but I came here to feed you with a spiritual food.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: Right.
30:51
SPEAKER_01: If you don't get what I'm telling you, that you are not doing well.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: So that is the way we are working together in both congregations.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: I think it's fantastic.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: I mean, just the more ways we can be...
31:08
SPEAKER_00: If we have kind of...
31:12
SPEAKER_00: A characteristic difficulty in America is that we are so individualistic.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: We tend to think of like me and myself and I'm going to figure everything out
31:19
SPEAKER_00: and I'm going to live my own way.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: And there is some good that comes from that in the sense of you have individuals
31:26
SPEAKER_00: who feel the need to take responsibility,
31:28
SPEAKER_00: but we lose something as well,
31:31
SPEAKER_00: which is we sometimes forget the fact that we need one another.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think that every time we have an opportunity to see The body
31:39
SPEAKER_00: of Christ reinforcing one another and sharing with one another.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a very good thing.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: So a question that I kind of ask everybody,
31:48
SPEAKER_00: and I want to hear your thoughts about it,
31:49
SPEAKER_00: is I always ask if there's any kind of sickness that you identify in the church,
31:55
SPEAKER_00: in churches.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: And again,
31:56
SPEAKER_00: I always kind of preface it the same way because I want
31:58
SPEAKER_00: to make sure people are not misunderstanding.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Two things.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: One, you have had church experiences both on two continents and in several places on this one.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: And so nobody who's listening to this,
32:08
SPEAKER_00: if you have someone from Harris or Lake Park who's listening,
32:10
SPEAKER_00: nobody should assume that he's talking about you because we're talking
32:13
SPEAKER_00: about bigger picture things.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: And two,
32:14
SPEAKER_00: the word The word sickness,
32:16
SPEAKER_00: I actually kind of stumbled into it in the first place,
32:18
SPEAKER_00: but I use it deliberately now because it's a reminder that if somebody is sick,
32:22
SPEAKER_00: they don't need judgment.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: They need diagnosis and healing and treatment.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: So my goal of asking this question is never to antagonize anybody,
32:31
SPEAKER_00: but to be able to say,
32:32
SPEAKER_00: what are we doing or what are we allowing to be in our lives that is hindering us
32:36
SPEAKER_00: from being all that God's called us to be?
32:38
SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious if you have any insight from your experience as to a sickness.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: That affects
32:45
SPEAKER_01: the church.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much.
32:48
SPEAKER_01: The church sickness from both churches is, the first is,
32:57
SPEAKER_01: we are serving one God.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: People need to be united.
33:02
SPEAKER_01: People need to be connected.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: We need to be tight.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: We need to be holding hand one another so we supporting one another so
33:13
SPEAKER_01: that we can Make disciples for Christ and transform the world.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: In other parts, I don't see that connection.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: You know, if we remain divided, we cannot stand.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: But if we united, we will be strong.
33:36
SPEAKER_01: You know, Jesus said, every kingdom is divided, cannot stand.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: That is Many people, they are thinking by their own.
33:50
SPEAKER_01: What I need is, we need all of us to come and being on the same page, let's go.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Not to give us permission to do something, but you speak on behalf.
34:02
SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to say that because I was afraid to offend people,
34:06
SPEAKER_01: but I didn't like it, which is not good.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: Right.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: I will ask for God and also the leaders and those who have a charge,
34:18
SPEAKER_01: you know, to help us to bring people to be one.
34:24
SPEAKER_01: You know, many times Jesus said, my Father and me, we are one.
34:29
SPEAKER_01: That's why all I do, I do because of the connection I have with my Father.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: Yesterday,
34:37
SPEAKER_01: if you see what I preached yesterday,
34:41
SPEAKER_01: I did say, But the congregation, the building belongs to everyone.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: We had people, those who suffered, they gave a lot of money to build this building.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: What it was dedicated to God, it is not personal building.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: And no one will kick someone out of the church because it's God's church.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: That is the good I like, that is the most I appreciate, the global.
35:08
SPEAKER_01: Because the global is working to bring all of us,
35:12
SPEAKER_01: not to discriminate people, not to divide people.
35:17
SPEAKER_01: Women, black, white, we need to be one so that we can build the kingdom of God.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: And if we don't have that in our mind, it will be difficult for us to succeed.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Because we'll be like Tobija and Sambala in the time of Nehemiah, you know.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: Nehemiah was building the wall, but some people were destroying.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: They did not see the wall succeed and the work of succeed.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: So that is what I see the difficulty.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: You mentioned what you preached on last week.
35:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm preparing a sermon, and one of the parts of the passage is...
35:56
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: And we live in such a divided time.
36:11
SPEAKER_00: I think it's so easy to say,
36:12
SPEAKER_00: you know,
36:13
SPEAKER_00: and we tend to fight actually the most strongly with those who are very similar
36:15
SPEAKER_00: to us in a lot of ways.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: And so it's a reminder that,
36:20
SPEAKER_00: you know,
36:22
SPEAKER_00: to say you and I, I mean,
36:24
SPEAKER_00: we haven't had enough conversations along these lines,
36:26
SPEAKER_00: but I'll bet you if we talk to each other long enough,
36:28
SPEAKER_00: we're going to find one or two things where we don't see eye to eye on.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: But we do see eye to eye on Jesus and we do see eye to eye on the importance
36:35
SPEAKER_00: of Jesus and the transformation of the Holy Spirit.
36:37
SPEAKER_00: And so even though we may have those disagreements,
36:41
SPEAKER_00: that doesn't necessarily mean we can't be hand in hand doing ministry together.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: And I think that that is something that I also fear that in America we may be losing
36:51
SPEAKER_00: because I feel like we become more and more polarized where it's like
36:53
SPEAKER_00: if you're not 100% with me, you must be the enemy.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a lot of danger in that.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: So I think you're right.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: I think unity is definitely a thing that is a struggle because, again,
37:04
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned before about how communities sometimes try to hold on
37:07
SPEAKER_00: to what they've got.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: And I remember when I was younger,
37:11
SPEAKER_00: I always thought it was strange that all the young people liked the idea of change
37:15
SPEAKER_00: and all the older people hated it.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't figure out why.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: And now as I've gotten older, I think I understand a little bit why, at least one reason maybe.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: And that is,
37:25
SPEAKER_00: I think the older that you get,
37:27
SPEAKER_00: the more change has meant loss rather than opportunity.
37:30
SPEAKER_00: You know, loss of opportunity, loss of comfort, loss of familiarity.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's so tempting to say, I just want to stay where I am.
37:41
SPEAKER_00: And yet we also know that the gospel on the one hand is the same for all time.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: And yet we also know that If the cost of reaching new people is that I have
37:55
SPEAKER_00: to lay down some of my preferences,
37:58
SPEAKER_00: and I say no to that,
37:59
SPEAKER_00: what I'm saying is my preferences are more important than somebody else's soul.
38:03
SPEAKER_00: I know some people in my congregation who have told me,
38:10
SPEAKER_00: I don't necessarily love the contemporary music,
38:14
SPEAKER_00: But I know how important it is to reach the next generation.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: I know how important it is to reach people who don't yet know Jesus.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: And I think that that is a great, it is a sacrifice.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes, sorry, I'm talking more than I normally try to,
38:28
SPEAKER_00: but I think that there's a sense in which unity always comes at sacrifice.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: It's to say what really matters and how can we hold tightly to what really matters
38:37
SPEAKER_00: and then be as loose as possible with the things that matter less.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: Not that they don't matter, but they matter less.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think that's a good insight that you have for us.
38:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I am working on that.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: You know, Travis, in all, what I say, what I do more is encourage people to pray.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: Because it looks like we have minimized the pray in team.
39:09
SPEAKER_01: So if God help us to come together,
39:12
SPEAKER_01: to come with a group and sit down and let's pray for our church,
39:17
SPEAKER_01: it's more stronger than everyone pray by themselves.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: What I did also, what God helped me in Lansing and New Albana to do, To change many things.
39:29
SPEAKER_01: I did not change, like you mentioned, about to change.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: You know,
39:32
SPEAKER_01: the old people don't want to change because they'll say to the pastor,
39:35
SPEAKER_01: we have done this for a long time, for whole lives.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to change it.
39:42
SPEAKER_01: And I took people, I had a group of prayer and I called them the warrior.
39:49
SPEAKER_01: And the youngest in that group, the team we had to pray for the church, the youngest was 67.
39:59
SPEAKER_01: The youngest woman in that group.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: So we had over nine people, but the youngest was 67.
40:05
SPEAKER_01: So many of them were between 85 to 67 age.
40:15
SPEAKER_01: And when I came here, I said, let's have a group of prayer.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: So since we started praying in both churches,
40:24
SPEAKER_01: So Lake Park,
40:26
SPEAKER_01: we pray on Saturday,
40:29
SPEAKER_01: 8.20 in the morning for the dedicated service tomorrow, on Sunday.
40:34
SPEAKER_01: And Harris, we have a prayer on Wednesday.
40:37
SPEAKER_01: I see things start moving.
40:38
SPEAKER_01: You know, I see some people, they start losing.
40:42
SPEAKER_01: Most of the things, they were very strict.
40:45
SPEAKER_01: It started bringing change.
40:47
SPEAKER_01: So I will also encourage people to pray,
40:50
SPEAKER_01: having prayer in team, you know, I appreciate it because I see global.
40:55
SPEAKER_01: Honestly,
40:56
SPEAKER_01: I would say we thank God for the leaders we have in our conference,
41:03
SPEAKER_01: Global Methodist Church.
41:04
SPEAKER_01: They focus on pray, which is a very nice message.
41:08
SPEAKER_01: Also, for anybody who's watched this,
41:10
SPEAKER_01: one of the things that we have been doing as an annual conference,
41:13
SPEAKER_01: and I think this is happening in other places around the world as well,
41:16
SPEAKER_01: in the Globe Methodist Church, is we are using
41:29
SPEAKER_00: Training material from the ILI, the International Leadership Institute.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: And it's called History Makers, I want to say, is what it's called.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: And several of us had some training in South Dakota earlier in the year,
41:42
SPEAKER_00: and we will have another one later on.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: And so we're trying to integrate that into our districts, into our local churches.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: So if you hear anything about ILI, that's what we're talking about right now.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully you'll hear more about it.
41:53
SPEAKER_01: I do like it,
41:54
SPEAKER_01: and I appreciate it,
41:56
SPEAKER_01: and I'm working to bring some of the two or three churches,
42:00
SPEAKER_01: two people, to this when you are going to speak next month.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: Because it was very helpful when Lujan spoke about it.
42:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we need things like that, because that is going to help us to be more open, you know.
42:16
SPEAKER_01: That is, yeah.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: Is there anything else that you want to make sure you share with whoever might be watching?
42:25
SPEAKER_00: I want to make sure you have an opportunity to share any stories that you want to include.
42:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
42:31
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Travis.
42:33
SPEAKER_01: First, I want to thank you for having me and providing your time.
42:37
SPEAKER_01: I know you were busy and as you are preparing to go to South Africa for
42:41
SPEAKER_01: the general conference, there is a lot.
42:44
SPEAKER_01: You also will learn more good things When you go to Africa,
42:50
SPEAKER_01: because you will see how the African,
42:52
SPEAKER_01: and especially the South African people, they are very louder.
42:57
SPEAKER_01: And the way in Africa, they are the first one that they worship with dance and singing.
43:04
SPEAKER_01: So you see they swell because of God.
43:07
SPEAKER_01: You will see that.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
43:09
SPEAKER_01: So I want to encourage people to continue to build the relationship To learn
43:17
SPEAKER_01: from one another,
43:20
SPEAKER_01: even though those who do not have the experience to serve,
43:24
SPEAKER_01: if you have the elders or the older people in the church that can help them to grow,
43:33
SPEAKER_01: please come around them, be the main advisor so they can learn how to serve.
43:45
SPEAKER_01: Because I see the pastors in America, they are diminished.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: There is so many diminished.
43:56
SPEAKER_01: Many people, they don't want to serve.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: That's why we can see Many times we closed church, but we closed the church, we opened bar.
44:08
SPEAKER_01: We closed the church, we opened.
44:11
SPEAKER_01: We should maybe close bar and open the church.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: So I encourage people to stand,
44:17
SPEAKER_01: to serve God,
44:19
SPEAKER_01: because Jesus promised us that he went to prepare a place for us, he will come.
44:26
SPEAKER_01: And everyone will be accountable for what?
44:29
SPEAKER_01: He did, and when God will come.
44:32
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
44:34
SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate the time that you're sharing with us.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: Will you kind of wrap us up in prayer?
44:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
44:44
SPEAKER_01: Gracious God, we thank you.
44:49
SPEAKER_01: I glorify your name.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: I give you praise.
44:53
SPEAKER_01: For the men of God, Travis found the time with me to share this word with others.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: Bless those who are going to listen.
45:02
SPEAKER_01: Bless whatever we shared and continue to build our relationship.
45:09
SPEAKER_01: Holy Spirit's being in action that we can stand to bring more people into the kingdom of God.
45:17
SPEAKER_01: We thank you, Jesus.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: And then I pray with love.
45:21
SPEAKER_01: I hope that those who are going to listen,
45:24
SPEAKER_01: they will get something that they will apply in their life.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name, amen.
45:31
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
45:33
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: This has been What You Have Seen and Heard with our guest, Zadar Shako.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: I want to remind everybody that this is based entirely on people recommending folks to me.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: So if you have somebody in your neighborhood who you think has a great story
45:45
SPEAKER_00: to tell,
45:45
SPEAKER_00: or God's doing great work in their midst,
45:48
SPEAKER_00: or they're just starting off and they're serving the church in some way,
45:51
SPEAKER_00: even as laypeople,
45:52
SPEAKER_00: send me an email at pastortravisatmarcusgrace.com,
45:55
SPEAKER_00: and I'd love to reach out to them.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.