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00:00:00 The number 23 is often associated with excellence, dominance, and greatness in the world of basketball.
00:00:07 Some people call it your Michael Jordan year, when you've displayed unrivaled skills, tenacity, and your preeminence is indisputable.
00:00:15 Others call it your LeBron year, where you've demonstrated leadership, versatility, and a relentless pursuit of victory.
00:00:23 Welcome to I Love the Word as we honor our 23rd year, not by measuring championships or records,
00:00:31 but by measuring the impact and importance of the work that we do.
00:00:36 Because for us, it's not about winning games. It's about winning souls.
00:00:41 Today, we bring to you the heartfelt narratives of members of our church from different generations.
00:00:48 Their stories are as diverse as they are inspiring.
00:00:51 Each one a testament to the indelible impact of a church committed to not only changing lives, but saving them also.
00:01:00 From the grace-filled journey of a single mother who found solace in her faith,
00:01:05 to a couple who found invaluable support during personal tragedies and trauma,
00:01:10 each story provides personal proof of the power of the Word.
00:01:15 If you've ever been curious about how a church becomes so much more than just a place
00:01:19 where people come together to worship on weekends, you're about to witness it right now.
00:01:25 I am Saniqua. I go by Sonny.
00:01:28 I'm Brother John Cooper.
00:01:30 My name is Elder Beloved.
00:01:32 Well, my name is Isaac King. Well, you know me as Dre.
00:01:35 My name is Deacon Pixie.
00:01:36 My name is David Etheridge. I'm also a deacon here at the church.
00:01:38 My name is Denzel Gresham.
00:01:40 My name is Rachelle Cook.
00:01:41 What first drew me to the Word Church was listening on 1490 in 2001.
00:01:47 January 6th, that next year, that's when we physically came, and that's when I joined.
00:01:51 I joined in 2015.
00:01:53 Pastor just captivated me, just the way—
00:01:56 I was already in the season of thinking and just being filled with knowledge.
00:02:00 And so it was so good to supplement that with knowledge of the Lord, right, and of the Word.
00:02:05 Like, Pastor was just going in and going so much deeper than I was used to.
00:02:10 I finally found a church that catered to men, you know,
00:02:13 because we're the head of our household, so he wanted to strengthen the men to make us leaders.
00:02:19 You know, again, that's what drew me to the church.
00:02:22 I've been at the church now on and off for about 10 or 15 years,
00:02:28 just due to some life changes that I made and going to college and transitioning back to Cleveland, Ohio.
00:02:34 And I just asked God, "What is it that I'm missing?"
00:02:36 And He said, "I think you need to go back to the Word Church."
00:02:38 Awesome teaching, great people here.
00:02:41 I miss so much love in this church, even though it's a big church.
00:02:44 It doesn't feel like a big church because there's so much love.
00:02:47 Pastor gave me a call.
00:02:49 He said he wanted to—he selected me to talk to everybody about how God helped me with my children and stuff like that.
00:02:56 And he just wanted me to come down to the church and answer some questions.
00:02:59 So at that time, I was pregnant with Grace, and I'm thinking, "What? Like, what questions?"
00:03:04 You know, "What are you going to talk about?" and stuff like that.
00:03:08 And so once we got down there and we was all on the stage.
00:03:13 I know your situation, and we decided to do something.
00:03:16 The Word Church is going to buy you a house.
00:03:23 We're going to buy you a house, and you're going to have your own room,
00:03:29 and you're going to have your own room, and this one is going to have a room,
00:03:33 and you're having a little girl.
00:03:35 And that little girl can't sleep in the room with these boys.
00:03:37 She's going to have her own room.
00:03:39 My first memory was us getting a house.
00:03:41 And so we're standing behind a bus, you know what I'm saying?
00:03:43 And then in a little bit, we hear, "Move that bus."
00:03:48 And then the bus moved, and then it's the house.
00:03:51 [laughter]
00:03:53 [indistinct chatter]
00:03:55 [indistinct chatter]
00:03:57 [indistinct chatter]
00:03:59 And this is my bed. This is my bed.
00:04:03 [indistinct chatter]
00:04:06 Whenever I see pastors doing activities in the community,
00:04:09 be it the car giveaway, paying someone's rent, buying groceries,
00:04:15 all of that is just, I want to be able to do that.
00:04:18 And my prayer to God is that, "Lord, bless me financially so that I can bless others."
00:04:23 It ain't about me. It's about you.
00:04:25 I just want to lift up the name of Jesus.
00:04:27 And if I can do that just by giving, I want to do that.
00:04:31 Oh, man, to see the Word in real time.
00:04:35 Watching Pastor serve the community, Matthew 25 Alive has been a staple here.
00:04:40 You know, we take care of the poor.
00:04:42 We take care of those that are in prison.
00:04:44 We clothe those that are naked.
00:04:47 You know, just seeing that made me want to be a part of something bigger than myself.
00:04:51 So many souls have gotten saved here.
00:04:53 I've seen so many funerals here at the church where the people were not even members.
00:04:58 It's just that because that's who we are.
00:05:00 The events that they have that we go to and give out gas or whatever is full,
00:05:06 or the carnival that they had and everything, you know, you see a difference in yourself.
00:05:12 You're the one that's helping everybody.
00:05:13 It feels good when someone comes to you and asks you for something and you can provide for them.
00:05:18 Bless us. You will help us to not be conformed to the ways of this world, Lord.
00:05:23 But we will be renewed by your Spirit, Father God.
00:05:27 We will not conform. We will not sit back.
00:05:30 We will not submit to culture, Lord.
00:05:33 We will continue to follow you, Lord.
00:05:35 We will continue to bless your holy name, Father God.
00:05:39 We will continue, even when it gets hard, even when it gets tough, Lord.
00:05:44 We will continue to bless your name, Lord.
00:05:47 I felt like God was telling me to open my mouth, and I've always been soft-spoken.
00:05:51 I've always been kind of, put me in the background, what y'all need me to do in the background, and I got you.
00:05:56 But I was in a season as I joined YF where God was telling me, "No, I need you to speak up."
00:06:02 And I didn't even realize what he was trying to do in that season.
00:06:07 So we started our prayer call, and we're on there every Wednesday.
00:06:11 And it's so crazy because I'm a planner, right? I'm a thinker.
00:06:17 So I will go through and make these the prayer points, this the order.
00:06:20 Let me say it again so I got it.
00:06:22 And man, the moment that I opened my mouth, God just takes control, and he starts to work through me in a way that I'm like, "Oh, this is what you meant by open my mouth.
00:06:33 This is why you were telling me to speak, to walk in the season of speaking."
00:06:39 And so prayer has been all over me.
00:06:41 And honestly, it's a push and a pull.
00:06:43 Now, we interviewed your son, Dre.
00:06:48 And we're going to bring him in here in a second, but he said that he saw you kind of grow tremendously over these years.
00:06:54 I feel like emotionally, she really went to another level because, yeah, yeah, she just went to another level.
00:07:02 What was it before?
00:07:06 It was like a quick temper, I would say, quick temper.
00:07:12 But now it's more like she's more calm and she talked first.
00:07:18 And slapped later.
00:07:20 Yeah, slapped later, 100%.
00:07:22 Sometimes it was slapped first, but I don't know if you can say that out here.
00:07:26 Watching Lady Vernon, how she handled her children and how she handled me, that just helped me to just realize I can do better.
00:07:34 How am I representing Christ to my children if I'm not taking the time to parent them in the right way?
00:07:42 I didn't understand growing up because my mother did the best she could where she was at.
00:07:47 But coming here and being reparenting, that is a great motivation for me to become better.
00:07:54 For those that didn't know, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2011.
00:07:59 I used to walk, ride my bike here to church.
00:08:04 And that saying, "Come as you are, you won't stay as you are," is true to its model.
00:08:10 Yeah, I used to ride my bike and walk.
00:08:13 And then until I started slowing down physically and using the wheelchair, it's kind of been a blessing in disguise.
00:08:21 People say, "Oh, I'm sorry that you got diagnosed with MS."
00:08:24 I'm like, "No, it's kind of the best thing that happened to me because God is strong when I'm weak."
00:08:29 And the teachings that the pastor has taught us, taught us to rely on God no matter what we're going through.
00:08:37 So, yeah, I draw on God for my strength when I have those bad days where I can't get up or things of that nature.
00:08:46 But, you know, He keeps me going.
00:08:48 I was with the Lord, but not all the way in.
00:08:52 I can't say I'm recovering because I have recovered, but I am a recovered crack addict, marijuana addict, alcohol addict, cocaine user.
00:09:04 And just by listening to the word that helped me get clean and sober, leave it alone.
00:09:08 Don't go back with no 12-step program, no methadone, nothing to win me off but the word.
00:09:14 It was 20 years ago. I was really sick.
00:09:17 And I was in the hospital for a month.
00:09:20 I almost died. And the church was really there for me.
00:09:24 And it was like people were just coming like the leaders, deacons, elders.
00:09:30 And people were saying, "Is this a celebrity here? Who is this person?"
00:09:35 And it just made me feel so good because I was in a dark place.
00:09:38 Even when I came home, they were calling me.
00:09:41 Pastor would call me, Lady Vernon would call me.
00:09:43 They were bringing me communion, just seeing if we needed anything.
00:09:47 And that was just really impacted me because we only had been here for like three years.
00:09:53 And it just made me feel really good. And right then and there, I knew I was at the right place.
00:09:58 So my son, Kay Juan, my oldest son, got into some trouble and he ended up getting into a fight and got stabbed.
00:10:05 And he didn't make it through. But I remember just calling pastor.
00:10:10 And he was like, "I'm on my way." And Pastor and Lady Vernon and Elder Drida or his sister,
00:10:18 they met me at the hospital. And the Word Church that whole week, just the support,
00:10:24 nonstop calls, just coming and sitting with me, just helping me through, helping my family through.
00:10:29 That was a lot for me because that was the hardest thing that I ever faced in my life.
00:10:35 But to have the support of the church to come forward and just walk me through that.
00:10:41 Yeah, that was a whole nother level for me.
00:10:44 My journey at the Word Church is continuing to grow me and those around me.
00:10:54 Just like a big old family.
00:10:57 Yeah.
00:11:02 Yeah, that part. I think I come here to be here just to be a part of a family.
00:11:07 Like, I feel love on a whole nother level.
00:11:13 This may be a little, a little cliche. Come as you are, but you won't stay as you are.
00:11:18 And that message still resonates with me to this day.
00:11:24 If the Word Church closes, Cleveland will miss us. It's 23 years.
00:11:28 I'm proud to say I pastor a church that makes a difference.
00:11:32 Look at this camera right here. And for those who are watching and somebody that's thinking about, you know, joining the Word Church.
00:11:39 Why is it that they should consider being a part of the Word and why you love the Word and what you would just want them to know about the Word?
00:11:48 Hey, hey, quit thinking about it and come, come, come see for yourself.
00:11:54 There's a life change in here, the atmosphere, the great teaching.
00:11:59 It gets no better than this. Come. You know, don't hesitate.
00:12:03 You'll be glad that you came here. And that's one of the best decisions I made in my life.
00:12:08 It's coming here to the Word. Do it. Take that leap of faith.
00:12:11 Don't worry about how many people is in the room. Don't worry about the cameras.
00:12:16 Worry about the conviction that's on your heart. If you are feeling led towards this church,
00:12:22 if you feel like God is whispering to you and telling you to join it, do it and stick with it.
00:12:28 Go above and beyond. It is a big church. So you don't have to make that step to get connected in ministry.
00:12:33 You're going to have to make that step to hang out in the convention center.
00:12:36 But the moment that you do the experiences that you will get, you will know like, oh, God, God wanted me to be here in this moment.
00:12:45 will be confirmed, so do it.
00:12:47 Join the Word Church, it is the best church in Cleveland.
00:12:51 Period.
00:12:51 - By now you have firsthand insight
00:12:55 into why so many people say.
00:12:57 - I love the Word.
00:12:58 - I love the Word.
00:13:02 - I love the Word.
00:13:03 - Oh!
00:13:04 - I love the Word.
00:13:06 - I love the Word. I love the Word.
00:13:07 - I love the Word.
00:13:09 - Church.
00:13:10 (laughing)
00:13:11 - Church.
00:13:12 - With such passion and joy in these stories,
00:13:16 you see that the heart of the Word Church
00:13:18 isn't in the building, but in the people who call it home.
00:13:21 It's in Elder Beloved's gratitude and spiritual growth.
00:13:25 It's in Sonny's deepened understanding of God
00:13:28 and appreciation for the push to be better.
00:13:30 And in Denzel's remarkable rediscovery of
00:13:34 and return to his roots.
00:13:36 You saw it in Dre's growth from a baby boy
00:13:39 to a young leader.
00:13:40 And in Deacon DeDe and Deacon Pixie's devotion
00:13:44 and long-term commitment.
00:13:46 And who wasn't touched by John's indomitable faith
00:13:49 and resilience amidst the adversity
00:13:52 that changed the landscape of life as he knew it.
00:13:56 They are the Word.
00:13:58 Their stories are evidence of the fulfillment found here.
00:14:02 But what you've witnessed today
00:14:03 is just a microcosm of who we are.
00:14:06 Because the story of the Word,
00:14:08 it isn't complete without you.
00:14:10 Without you continuing to show up and show love
00:14:14 through your service, sacrifice, and support,
00:14:17 the Word Church would not be what it is today.
00:14:20 So when we say, "I love the Word,"
00:14:23 we're not just talking about God's holy Word,
00:14:27 nor the place where we worship.
00:14:29 We're talking about a living, breathing community
00:14:32 that reaches out, picks you up,
00:14:34 and walks with you every step of the way.
00:14:37 We're talking about a family, a mission,
00:14:40 and a movement that we're all a part of.
00:14:43 Because here at the Word Church,
00:14:45 we're not just learning the Word, we're living it.
00:14:48 As we celebrate our 23rd anniversary,
00:14:52 we honor the stories, the journeys,
00:14:54 and the transformations that define us.
00:14:57 We honor you, the embodiment of the Word,
00:15:01 the heart of this church.
00:15:03 Because I love the Word, it's more than just a theme.
00:15:07 It's our truth.
00:15:08 Here's to you, who make us who we are today,
00:15:12 and who will shape who we become tomorrow.
00:15:15 (audience applauding)
00:15:18 - But you don't take the life of one of my daughters
00:15:20 at the Nation, and the Nation do nothing.
00:15:24 The Nation gotta stand up, amen?
00:15:25 Call that number until the phone lines almost break.
00:15:30 Doing all we can to demand justice for Amanda Williams.
00:15:35 Can y'all clap for the life of our sister?
00:15:37 (audience applauding)
00:15:39 Lord, we pray that you would help us with justice, Father,
00:15:43 for her, that this mother can rest in peace,
00:15:46 or have some kind of closure before she goes to heaven.
00:15:51 Now be with her, God, and be with this entire family.
00:15:54 In Christ's name we pray, amen.
00:15:57 (drum beating)
00:16:00 - We begin with reaction now as the alleged shooter
00:16:04 of Amanda Williams is behind bars.
00:16:07 - Has to earn in part credits of community speaking out,
00:16:09 and demanding justice.
00:16:11 - I've never seen a case this big move this quickly.
00:16:14 It didn't get balled down, it moved.
00:16:16 (upbeat music)
00:16:30 (crowd cheering)
00:16:33 (crowd chanting)
00:16:36 (crowd chanting)
00:16:39 (crowd chanting)
00:16:41 (crowd chanting)
00:16:44 (crowd cheering)
00:16:55 (crowd chanting)
00:16:58 (crowd chanting)
00:17:07 (crowd chanting)
00:17:10 (crowd chanting)
00:17:13 (crowd chanting)
00:17:16 (crowd chanting)
00:17:29 (crowd cheering)
00:17:36 (crowd chanting)
00:17:41 (crowd chanting)
00:17:44 (crowd cheering)
00:17:55 - 23 years, I've never done what I'm about to do right now,
00:18:04 and that is if it's okay, just have a conversation with you.
00:18:08 And John one, just so we can,
00:18:12 so somebody from the old school can say,
00:18:14 he ain't even preached the word.
00:18:15 In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.
00:18:20 That's the end of my sermon, amen.
00:18:21 Let's have a conversation.
00:18:22 Don't say he didn't preach the word.
00:18:26 There it is right there, in the beginning was the word,
00:18:29 and the word was God.
00:18:31 I'm talking about, I love the word, I love the word.
00:18:36 So I wake up this morning,
00:18:37 I don't have to tell you how much is happening
00:18:39 in this world, and happening with our ministry,
00:18:42 happening in the city, and I just get this mindset
00:18:45 that I need to talk with you for a minute.
00:18:47 Just been 23 crazy, amazing years,
00:18:51 and I'm just grateful for it, amen.
00:18:53 And I was thinking about something,
00:18:55 in the beginning was the word,
00:18:57 in the beginning was the word.
00:19:00 The idea that in the beginning was the word,
00:19:03 which means, wait a minute, Genesis one,
00:19:06 in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
00:19:09 Next time we see in the beginning, we see it in John one,
00:19:11 in the beginning was the word, and the word was God,
00:19:13 and the word was with God, which speaks to Christ,
00:19:15 the son of God, who the Bible calls the word.
00:19:18 Wait a minute, is the word the word, or is Jesus the word?
00:19:21 Bread of heaven, sent down from glory,
00:19:25 many things, you are a prophet, king.
00:19:30 You are the living word, living word.
00:19:35 The word of God is Jesus indoctrinated.
00:19:39 Jesus is the word incarnated,
00:19:42 which means the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
00:19:47 It is that Jesus that changed my life.
00:19:50 It is that Jesus that changed a bunch of your lives.
00:19:55 It is that Jesus that can change your life this morning.
00:20:00 I care who you are, a PhD, or straight out the penitentiary,
00:20:03 that precious Palestinian Jew named Jesus
00:20:07 grabbed my heart at 15 years old,
00:20:10 and he wouldn't let it go.
00:20:12 I've broken his heart, I've left him for periods in prayer,
00:20:16 but he's never left me.
00:20:18 Yeah, when I turned my back on him,
00:20:19 he never turned his back on me.
00:20:21 And so it is this Jesus that we preach here.
00:20:25 It is this Jesus that we lift up,
00:20:27 and in no way, and in no way to theologues,
00:20:31 to theologues and biblicists,
00:20:33 and remember at this level, everybody watches me,
00:20:35 and seminary kind of thinkers critique everything I say,
00:20:39 and that's okay, I try to be clean when I teach.
00:20:41 So I wanna say at the outset,
00:20:42 in no way am I sort of doing this parallelism
00:20:45 or this juxtaposition between the word of God
00:20:49 and the word church like we're on their level.
00:20:52 No, we are not on the word of God's level.
00:20:54 We are beneath the word.
00:20:56 We are messed up in human flesh
00:20:58 and depraved on many levels.
00:21:00 And so in no way am I comparing us to the word of God.
00:21:04 The word of God is bigger than this church.
00:21:07 It's bigger than the pastor.
00:21:09 The word of God is a light unto my feet,
00:21:11 a light unlapping to my path.
00:21:13 Thy word have I hid in my heart
00:21:15 that I might not sin against God, thy word.
00:21:18 And so this is not some sermon to compare us.
00:21:21 However, at the same time,
00:21:23 I do see that this ministry was built on the word.
00:21:27 I'm tripping because many of you don't know this.
00:21:30 I'll just say it right quick, but it's like 24 years ago.
00:21:34 Can you get that in your brain?
00:21:35 25, if you count when I first got there,
00:21:38 I'm 28 years old and the first church called me.
00:21:42 I used to wouldn't say their name.
00:21:43 Now I say it, I'm so proud and love them.
00:21:45 Second Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
00:21:50 They picked me to be their pastor.
00:21:51 They were mostly 80 years old.
00:21:53 I was 28.
00:21:54 We were not a match made in heaven.
00:21:56 [audience laughing]
00:21:58 I come in fly, let's get it.
00:22:00 They're like, hold on youngster.
00:22:01 [audience laughing]
00:22:03 Hold on youngster.
00:22:05 It's like 20 old men with Stacey Adams
00:22:07 sitting on the front.
00:22:08 [audience laughing]
00:22:09 And in the old school church,
00:22:10 the deacon sit on the front looking at you.
00:22:12 [audience laughing]
00:22:14 And they just thought I was a bit radical.
00:22:17 And why did they put you out pastor?
00:22:19 Nothing immoral, thank God.
00:22:22 Money or women will never be my issue in terms of integrity.
00:22:25 Don't clap for me because I have issues.
00:22:27 Just money and women will never be one.
00:22:30 I won't let that happen in terms of integrity.
00:22:32 And they locked me out because I was changing too much.
00:22:35 They said, we love you.
00:22:36 You got the nicest wife in the world,
00:22:38 but you're just crazy.
00:22:40 [audience laughing]
00:22:41 Slow down.
00:22:42 And I said, I can't.
00:22:44 I was pregnant with the word church.
00:22:45 I didn't know it.
00:22:47 My secretary, Hope's mama.
00:22:49 Hope's mama was my secretary, my little church clerk.
00:22:51 And she would do the programs.
00:22:53 And I thought I would be there until I died.
00:22:55 I really did.
00:22:56 I didn't love them that much.
00:22:57 Still love them.
00:22:58 They gave me a chance when nobody knew my name.
00:23:00 You wouldn't know me right now if they hadn't picked me.
00:23:03 And so I'll always love them.
00:23:05 Amen.
00:23:06 Don't forget who put you on.
00:23:07 They put me on.
00:23:08 Amen.
00:23:08 They put me on.
00:23:09 [audience applauding]
00:23:10 And I would tell my church clerk, do me a favor.
00:23:14 Where it says Second Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
00:23:16 I said, right under that in parentheses,
00:23:18 I want you to put the word church.
00:23:20 That's gonna be our nickname.
00:23:22 In my mind, I'm thinking I'm gonna retire there.
00:23:24 I was a pastor.
00:23:25 Your mama died in Pittsburgh.
00:23:27 They gave me a little car.
00:23:28 I drive to Pittsburgh and beat the family to the funeral.
00:23:31 I love pastoring.
00:23:32 I love people, man.
00:23:33 So I'm pastoring.
00:23:35 I said, put the word church, chairman of the deacon board.
00:23:38 That sound more important than the pastor, don't it?
00:23:39 Praise God.
00:23:40 Amen.
00:23:41 The chairman of the deacon board
00:23:42 sound more important than the pastor.
00:23:43 Some churches got chairmen of the deacon board.
00:23:45 That sound more important than the pastor.
00:23:47 And he come in, what's this word church?
00:23:49 I said, oh, nothing.
00:23:49 That's just our nickname.
00:23:51 I want people to know we all about the word.
00:23:52 I didn't know I was pregnant with y'all.
00:23:57 And so one Sunday, they locked the doors.
00:23:58 They do.
00:23:59 They locked the doors of the church.
00:24:00 And somebody called me.
00:24:02 We had 50 people to baptize that morning.
00:24:05 The church had 75 people when I got there.
00:24:07 You could throw a rock, blindfolded, and not
00:24:09 hit nobody.
00:24:12 Close your eyes and throw a rock and still miss everybody.
00:24:16 There were no chairs in the balcony
00:24:17 because nobody was coming.
00:24:19 They had to put chairs in the balcony
00:24:21 because nobody had sat up there in years.
00:24:23 It's jam-packed in one year.
00:24:26 God was moving.
00:24:27 I would still be there right now.
00:24:30 I would.
00:24:30 My plan was to retire there.
00:24:32 They changed the locks on a Sunday.
00:24:34 And so the news shows up.
00:24:35 The same Channel 5 that recorded me for advocacy
00:24:39 showed up to talk about how a young pastor gets
00:24:41 ousted by senior members.
00:24:44 And I thought I was dead.
00:24:46 It was the saddest day to this day, hear me, of my life.
00:24:50 Of my life.
00:24:51 And that's the people who are going through something.
00:24:53 I've always wanted to be a pastor.
00:24:54 I didn't want to be a lawyer, an attorney, nothing.
00:24:57 What I'm doing is the only thing I've ever wanted to do.
00:25:01 And I've dealt with rejection in my life on a personal level,
00:25:04 some major rejection.
00:25:05 And so now here it is again.
00:25:07 I'm not good enough.
00:25:10 And the only thing I've ever wanted to do,
00:25:11 I done flunked at that.
00:25:13 And the whole city laughing at me.
00:25:15 Preachers have preached my professional funeral.
00:25:18 Stupid young boy.
00:25:19 Should have just shut up and preached.
00:25:21 Now he's locked out.
00:25:23 Didn't know what to do.
00:25:24 My wife says, we're going to be fine, baby.
00:25:27 Didn't know when I'm pregnant.
00:25:27 We start the word church.
00:25:29 I said, we don't call it the word church.
00:25:31 The word church.
00:25:32 Bishop Joey tells me start your own church.
00:25:34 We start the word church.
00:25:35 And the word Baptist, I said, no.
00:25:38 All the Baptist guys says he's lost his mind.
00:25:41 He think he Pentecostal.
00:25:42 All the Pentecostal guys said he's not saved.
00:25:45 Let me try that again.
00:25:46 All the Baptist boys said he think he's Pentecostal.
00:25:49 All the Pentecostal said he think he's not saved.
00:25:52 He fronting like he got the Holy Ghost.
00:25:54 I didn't know what I was.
00:25:55 Something just told me don't put no label.
00:25:57 Denomination.
00:25:58 Denominations of money.
00:26:00 Denominations of money.
00:26:01 A $1 bill, a $5 bill, a $10 bill.
00:26:05 Denominations of money.
00:26:06 Separate.
00:26:08 To separate.
00:26:10 Denomination.
00:26:11 Denominate.
00:26:11 To separate.
00:26:13 I didn't know what I was.
00:26:14 I just knew I didn't want to be labeled.
00:26:17 What did you want to be?
00:26:18 The word church.
00:26:19 Whatever the word says, that's what we going to do.
00:26:23 That's what we're going to do.
00:26:26 So we go in John F. Kennedy High School.
00:26:29 And people said, I'm not going to no school.
00:26:31 A lot of older people said, I'm not joining that church.
00:26:34 Because if I die, you cannot have a funeral in a school.
00:26:38 That's what some older people said.
00:26:39 I'm not joining until you get a building.
00:26:43 One year later, we're at 700 members.
00:26:45 And then the second year, they're
00:26:46 putting chairs in John F. Kennedy from the classrooms.
00:26:49 And then finally, there's no place to put nobody.
00:26:52 And so we go to Maple.
00:26:54 And we go to Maple Movie Theater.
00:26:55 We put a million dollars in it.
00:26:57 We outgrow it in two years.
00:27:00 And then I don't have time to build,
00:27:01 because they're joining by the 50s each week.
00:27:03 And so we had to buy the biggest thing we
00:27:05 could find in Cleveland, which was this.
00:27:07 The word church.
00:27:09 The word church.
00:27:10 Let me just give you a few things I love about the word.
00:27:13 And then I'll be done.
00:27:15 Never had a conversational sermon in 23 years.
00:27:19 I woke up today.
00:27:19 And if you've been watching my Instagram,
00:27:22 if you love me and following me, you
00:27:24 know there's been a different kind of two weeks.
00:27:27 There's been a different kind of two weeks on so many levels,
00:27:30 on so many levels.
00:27:32 And so I thought to myself, I'm going
00:27:34 to have a conversation with the people I love.
00:27:37 And they can watch me on YouTube later
00:27:39 and figure out if I can preach or not.
00:27:42 I want to do this.
00:27:43 First of all, I love the word church because of its longevity
00:27:46 and stability.
00:27:49 I love the word church because of its longevity,
00:27:52 its stability, its stability, its longevity.
00:27:55 20 years.
00:27:56 We're not the oldest church.
00:27:57 Oh, no, we're baby church, comparatively,
00:27:59 to other ministries that have been around for 150 years.
00:28:02 Some, like an Antioch Baptist Church,
00:28:04 a Shiloh that were birthed by persons who were in slavery
00:28:08 and came out of slavery.
00:28:09 I have so much respect for your Shiloh's oldest Baptist
00:28:11 church in Cleveland, by the way.
00:28:12 Oldest black church is Shiloh Baptist Church,
00:28:15 which birthed Antioch.
00:28:16 How do you know that, Pastor?
00:28:17 Because I love the church.
00:28:19 I love the history of the church.
00:28:20 I love the history of the local church and the corporate church
00:28:23 and Antioch Baptist Church.
00:28:25 Believe it or not, second oldest church,
00:28:26 past Napoleon Harris, the fifth is there now.
00:28:28 And Shiloh, first black church in Cleveland,
00:28:31 we're standing on their shoulders.
00:28:33 And can I tell you, but in terms of longevity,
00:28:36 about three years in, we become the largest church ever
00:28:40 in the history of the city of Cleveland.
00:28:43 And we have never stopped being the largest since.
00:28:46 The best attended.
00:28:49 Longevity, we've hung around.
00:28:51 There is no church, and you can check for yourself,
00:28:54 I think, that even has 1% of our social media following,
00:28:58 our YouTube watchers on a Sunday.
00:29:00 We may have 50,000 to 100,000 people
00:29:03 that watch across the world in any given week,
00:29:05 and a couple hundred thousand on certain things we do.
00:29:09 And God has let us maintain that for 20 years.
00:29:12 Stability, stability, which means we've been stable.
00:29:15 We preach Jesus.
00:29:17 We're not perfect now.
00:29:18 Stability, people come and go, staff members, elders,
00:29:20 people make mistakes.
00:29:21 There are falls, there are people who leave.
00:29:23 We planted churches.
00:29:24 And I tell you all the time, and I still mean it,
00:29:26 there are two things you can count on here.
00:29:28 Jesus is Lord.
00:29:30 And until he says different, me and that girl
00:29:32 are gonna be standing right here treating people right.
00:29:34 (audience applauding)
00:29:36 Amen.
00:29:36 I can't guarantee you who's not gonna leave me.
00:29:40 I just can't guarantee you that,
00:29:42 who's not gonna make a mistake,
00:29:43 or God calls into something else,
00:29:45 or I could have done better by them and they move on.
00:29:48 I can't guarantee you that.
00:29:49 Some will leave that you'll miss more than others.
00:29:51 Some will leave you won't even know they were here.
00:29:52 They didn't have enough impact on you.
00:29:54 Others will leave, you'll have to grieve it
00:29:56 because they meant something to you.
00:29:57 But I can guarantee you, until God fires us or retires us,
00:30:03 or takes one of us, we're gonna be standing right here.
00:30:05 So we represent the stability.
00:30:07 Don't look at anybody else, look at Jesus,
00:30:09 because he is the author and finisher of your faith.
00:30:12 And then your two leaders are standing here
00:30:14 with the blessed people who stick with us.
00:30:16 But my pastor, Oliver Morris, he's in heaven now.
00:30:20 He told me years ago, he said,
00:30:21 "Vernon, you're one of the most gifted young men
00:30:24 "I've ever met.
00:30:25 "Let me tell you something I want you to carry with you
00:30:26 "the rest of your life.
00:30:27 "Can't nobody mess up Vernon but Vernon."
00:30:31 He says, "If you walk upright and live right
00:30:35 "with the gifting that's in you, nothing can stop you."
00:30:38 I've carried that my entire ministry.
00:30:40 Lord, let me just try to please you
00:30:42 with all of my inadequacies and insufficiencies.
00:30:45 And so I love the word churches, I do.
00:30:47 I love its stability.
00:30:48 I love the fact it's stable.
00:30:50 I like it that you went to college and came back
00:30:53 and we were still standing here.
00:30:54 Yeah, you got divorced and met another man
00:30:58 and brought him up to me and I hugged him too
00:30:59 like I hugged your other husband,
00:31:01 the one that you left, praise God.
00:31:03 I hugged you, your new husband and you.
00:31:06 And then the word church is the only church I know
00:31:09 that the baby's mother and the wife go here.
00:31:12 That people get divorced and they both won't leave.
00:31:17 They're like, "No, I'm not leaving the church.
00:31:19 "I'm not leaving either."
00:31:20 So you're gonna look at that person,
00:31:22 they're like, "Pastor, I'm sorry,
00:31:23 "I ain't leaving my church."
00:31:24 I'm like, "Woo, bless Jesus, amen."
00:31:26 And I love it because there's something
00:31:31 about this ministry that they both say,
00:31:32 "I still need this."
00:31:35 Even though we ain't got each other.
00:31:36 Not only do I love the word church's stability,
00:31:38 I do, and its longevity,
00:31:40 but secondly, I love its creativity.
00:31:42 I do.
00:31:43 Did you just see how good that documentary was?
00:31:46 Would y'all clap?
00:31:48 Look at this camera right here.
00:31:49 Who does that?
00:31:50 Is this the NFL or church?
00:31:52 I mean, this is what my son told me.
00:31:57 Ray said, "Dad, there's this camera
00:31:58 "that can go all the way across the church."
00:31:59 I'm like, "I can't keep up.
00:32:01 "Just do whatever y'all wanna do."
00:32:02 Praise God, amen.
00:32:03 I think about George and the ministry
00:32:05 and how they sing and the creativity
00:32:06 and the arts team.
00:32:07 I think about the media team.
00:32:08 I think about the creativity,
00:32:11 that nothing's ever the same.
00:32:12 That nobody's on their phone right now.
00:32:14 There are thousands of people.
00:32:15 Tell me another place other than some concert
00:32:17 or a movie where nobody's on their phone.
00:32:19 Now you minimize that.
00:32:21 Look at the teenagers.
00:32:22 Tell me another place in the world
00:32:24 with technology where people do not look
00:32:26 at their phone while the man is talking.
00:32:28 It just doesn't happen.
00:32:29 Either they're at a comedy show,
00:32:31 a movie theater, a Beyonce concert,
00:32:33 something like that.
00:32:34 Other than that, somebody's looking at their phone.
00:32:36 But there's so much creativity here
00:32:38 because of the geniuses.
00:32:40 I got people who just make me look smarter
00:32:42 than I really am.
00:32:43 And this creativity in this place,
00:32:45 I love the creativity.
00:32:47 I tell people who work here,
00:32:48 you might make more,
00:32:49 but there are two things for certain.
00:32:50 Nobody's gonna treat you better.
00:32:51 That's a fact, number one.
00:32:52 No one's gonna pray for you while you're at work
00:32:54 unless you go to the prayer room and honor you.
00:32:56 And secondly, I don't know that there's
00:32:57 a more creative place to work.
00:32:59 We don't even know what it's gonna be each week.
00:33:01 We don't know in our team meeting.
00:33:02 Are we getting ready for outreach or a concert
00:33:04 or something we're doing, a new documentary?
00:33:06 It's never the same.
00:33:07 The week goes so fast.
00:33:09 Ask the people who work here
00:33:10 because it's so creative.
00:33:11 I love it.
00:33:12 I thank God for that.
00:33:14 I thank God for the creativity.
00:33:15 But then I love the word churches.
00:33:17 Not only do I love the longevity and the stability,
00:33:19 not only do I love the creativity,
00:33:20 but I love the diversity.
00:33:24 Want me to blow your mind?
00:33:25 Watch this.
00:33:27 Everybody over 50, stand up.
00:33:30 (audience applauding)
00:33:36 Now sit back down.
00:33:37 I actually asked you to stand up too fast.
00:33:39 You ain't stretching nothing, praise God.
00:33:40 So that was, I should've let y'all,
00:33:43 gave y'all a warning.
00:33:44 Get your legs ready if arthritis don't mind
00:33:47 and rheumatism relents.
00:33:50 But I just, that was too fast.
00:33:52 I'm so sorry.
00:33:53 I should've went younger first.
00:33:54 And that was on me.
00:33:56 That was very insensitive.
00:33:57 That was, your whole knee hurt.
00:33:59 You got, your whole, you like,
00:34:00 my whole knee went out.
00:34:01 Mom, that's, why don't you?
00:34:03 Everybody under 50, stand.
00:34:07 Ooh!
00:34:10 (audience applauding)
00:34:14 Look around.
00:34:16 Oh, that's the overflow.
00:34:20 See, that's creativity.
00:34:20 Look how many people sitting in the overflow, everybody.
00:34:22 Clap for them over there.
00:34:23 I see y'all over there.
00:34:24 (audience applauding)
00:34:26 Geniuses upstairs, geniuses.
00:34:29 Sit down, everybody.
00:34:31 Diversity.
00:34:32 Who has that?
00:34:34 You ready for this?
00:34:35 All men stand up.
00:34:38 (audience applauding)
00:34:42 Sit down, bros.
00:34:53 Did you hear him say,
00:34:55 you know why there's so many men here?
00:34:56 Because I'm intentional.
00:34:58 I try to depict masculinity when I stand.
00:35:03 Then I let my girl handle the ultimate femininity.
00:35:06 We kinda got this mom and dad flow of this ministry.
00:35:09 She be mom, I be dad.
00:35:11 We sort of father the ministry.
00:35:13 I think it's nothing like a pastor who has a cold wife,
00:35:16 and then they flow together.
00:35:18 I know there are single pastors.
00:35:19 We're not better, we're just different.
00:35:20 Different does not mean deficient, by the way.
00:35:23 It just means different.
00:35:24 At this house, we like the idea of the family feel.
00:35:27 And so bros like it 'cause I don't cater to women
00:35:30 when I preach.
00:35:31 You know, you can shout women and say,
00:35:33 and all these no good men, oh, preach pastor.
00:35:35 And he shouldn't have left here.
00:35:38 And he's no good, even on Father's Day.
00:35:40 You're no good baby's daddy.
00:35:42 You're raising children.
00:35:42 You killing the brothers on Father's Day.
00:35:44 They're like, I can't even go to church on Father's Day.
00:35:46 He telling me when I,
00:35:47 Negro killing me on my day.
00:35:49 I'm gonna go to Cheesecake Factory.
00:35:51 (audience laughing)
00:35:54 I don't wanna go to Cheesecake Factory for no first date.
00:35:57 I saw that on Instagram.
00:35:58 Girl, you better be glad somebody wanna take you behind
00:36:00 the Burger King and try to love you.
00:36:03 It ain't a lot of brothers.
00:36:06 That's why you was with a white brother that day.
00:36:07 So another thing, let me just say this.
00:36:09 See, the reason why Lady Vernon got all my money,
00:36:17 'cause she saw the potential in me.
00:36:20 She saw the best.
00:36:22 And she glad she stayed too.
00:36:24 I'm her baby daddy.
00:36:25 And she glad about it.
00:36:26 You better honor the man you with, all of you.
00:36:34 All of you with a husband in this church, he's valuable.
00:36:38 Can't wait to start this singles tour to tell ladies,
00:36:42 doesn't have to be rich if he's trying.
00:36:44 Yeah, yeah, brother got potential.
00:36:47 Get in on the ground floor.
00:36:48 Don't you wish you would've got in on the ground floor
00:36:50 of Netflix with some stock?
00:36:52 Yes, if she can get anything I got now,
00:36:55 'cause she believed when nobody saw what was in me.
00:36:58 So, so diversity, but not only diversity of age and gender,
00:37:02 you'll love this, but diversity of style.
00:37:04 And you miss that.
00:37:07 Some of you miss that.
00:37:08 No, stay with me upstairs.
00:37:09 No, no, diversity of style.
00:37:10 When I say diversity of style, it is the idea,
00:37:13 you'll love this, that when you come here,
00:37:15 everybody got flavor.
00:37:16 Some people got a hat on, some people chilling.
00:37:20 You got people with that young flavor,
00:37:22 and then there are older seasoned people.
00:37:23 Some people like my mother-in-law,
00:37:25 she gonna wear white on the first Sunday,
00:37:27 no matter what I try to stop her, she just can't.
00:37:29 It's in her soul.
00:37:30 I'm like, just forget it.
00:37:31 I'm like, you know we don't wear white
00:37:33 on the first Sunday, mother, mama, but it's okay.
00:37:36 Just keep on wearing it.
00:37:37 She got a hat and gloves.
00:37:39 Now, when you got one glove, one glove,
00:37:42 Mother Williams has just one glove.
00:37:44 Old school.
00:37:45 (audience applauding)
00:37:49 And then, can I tell you something?
00:37:50 Say style.
00:37:51 Let me ask you a question, don't lie to me.
00:37:52 Who grew up in church like me?
00:37:54 Didn't the people that were 50 look 75?
00:37:57 (audience cheering)
00:38:00 When you look back, those were young ladies,
00:38:03 but they had an old spirit.
00:38:04 And so here, girls, you didn't know how cute they were
00:38:07 'cause everybody looked so old.
00:38:10 No style, everybody looked at 70,
00:38:13 and Lady Vernon, her 50, she the finest thing
00:38:15 in this church, good God.
00:38:18 Lord is my shepherd, he know what I want.
00:38:20 (audience applauding)
00:38:24 I mean, guys, my son's age, be trying to get her number.
00:38:27 I'm like, brother, I can't fight no more, man.
00:38:29 Please, just walk away, brother.
00:38:31 I got a son your age.
00:38:33 You're trying to holler at my woman, amen.
00:38:35 I guess all the ugly women go to other churches,
00:38:38 but y'all got flavor up in here,
00:38:40 which y'all thank God for the style.
00:38:44 The women of this church in their 50s, 60s,
00:38:47 seriously, the bruh's got that style.
00:38:50 You feel it, man.
00:38:51 When I say diversity, it is the idea during the worship,
00:38:56 I'm singing, "Hold to his hand."
00:38:59 I'm singing, "I need thee," when I grab the mic.
00:39:02 At the same time, they singing "CCM to the hilt,"
00:39:05 and people jumping, and you get everything.
00:39:08 Don't sleep on that.
00:39:10 There's no one kind of worship here.
00:39:12 I may sing a hymn, but yet we understand we need diversity.
00:39:16 Can I tell you something else about the church,
00:39:19 and I'm just about done?
00:39:20 The relevancy, I love the relevancy.
00:39:23 (audience applauding)
00:39:24 I told you this, and I said it on Instagram.
00:39:27 There are churches, there are churches, there are churches,
00:39:31 and I mean this, that always, and pastors,
00:39:34 and I tell you this, all of us grew up in churches
00:39:36 where the pastor told the truth.
00:39:39 It just wasn't always a relevant truth.
00:39:42 He wasn't up there lying, but she was still sleepy,
00:39:45 and bored, and ready to go,
00:39:47 because it's like Daniel in the lion's den
00:39:49 when I got my own personal lion's den.
00:39:52 Yeah, I'm single, talk about that.
00:39:55 My husband and I have been married now
00:39:56 a quarter century, pastor, but we've hit a wall,
00:39:58 and we're losing something.
00:40:00 We can't tell what it is.
00:40:01 Maybe it's the empty nest thing.
00:40:02 We don't know, and here you are preaching
00:40:05 about something that bores my husband,
00:40:08 and you want me to keep bringing him to church.
00:40:09 He don't wanna come, plus the game coming on.
00:40:11 You ain't talking about nothing.
00:40:13 (audience laughing)
00:40:14 Relevance.
00:40:16 I didn't get in no trouble.
00:40:18 There are some founder privileges.
00:40:20 I exercise founder privilege sometimes.
00:40:22 Carry a big stick, use it if you have to.
00:40:24 Carry a big stick, I exercise some founder privilege,
00:40:27 and say, listen, from now on, on Sunday morning
00:40:29 at the second service, the contemporary service,
00:40:31 I want nothing in front of me but 18 to 35.
00:40:34 I want YF.
00:40:35 Now, some churches, that would have been a fight.
00:40:37 That would have been, who are they, why I got here first.
00:40:40 I said, some of them was just in beds
00:40:44 they shouldn't have been in last year.
00:40:46 (audience applauding)
00:40:47 Let me try this again.
00:40:49 Some of them was sleeping with men, women, both at the same.
00:40:53 You name it, and post-pandemic,
00:40:56 God then brought hundreds of young people,
00:41:00 put 'em on the front.
00:41:01 Let them see.
00:41:03 Are y'all listening to me?
00:41:05 And all of my older members said, go ahead, pastor.
00:41:08 Do what you gotta do to keep them grounded.
00:41:11 And when I'm preaching, see, y'all can't see them.
00:41:14 You see the back of their heads,
00:41:15 but they look at me and they don't move their eyes.
00:41:19 You don't know what it feels like.
00:41:20 They look at me, they don't move their eyes.
00:41:22 They're looking like, I've never heard this kind of,
00:41:26 watch this, life-changing, relevant word from Jesus
00:41:31 that's changing your life.
00:41:33 (audience applauding)
00:41:36 Relevancy.
00:41:39 I wanna preach what's relevant.
00:41:41 I'm not gonna get up here
00:41:42 and not talk about the Israeli Hamas conflict.
00:41:44 I'm not gonna get up here
00:41:45 and not talk about the mad man in Maine.
00:41:48 Relevancy, if I had a free one,
00:41:50 I would tell you I love the Word Church
00:41:51 because of its advocacy, but I don't have time.
00:41:53 I gotta stop.
00:41:54 It's advocacy, the idea that if you have a Pastor Hannah,
00:41:59 and we're all in tongues, watch this,
00:42:01 and there are thousands of you, watch this,
00:42:03 praying, and my daughter, and my children, and all of you,
00:42:06 and switch, and jump to somebody else and pray with them,
00:42:08 and switch, and jump to somebody else.
00:42:11 If all of that praying in tongues
00:42:14 does not equate to advocacy, what kind of church are you?
00:42:18 (audience applauding)
00:42:20 So that if you're on the floor,
00:42:23 praying and having good church,
00:42:25 but yet that same church won't use its weight
00:42:28 to get justice for a young lady killed
00:42:31 through domestic violence,
00:42:33 (audience applauding)
00:42:34 then what kind of church are you?
00:42:37 Relevance, and you saw the weight of this place.
00:42:41 Oh, I gotta go.
00:42:42 Let me hurry up.
00:42:43 I love the word spirituality.
00:42:45 Let's have church.
00:42:46 Can I tell you there are thousands of people in this church,
00:42:50 watch this, clap if you believe it, who love Jesus.
00:42:53 (audience applauding)
00:42:54 Let me try this one more time.
00:42:55 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God,
00:42:59 and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
00:43:04 and we beheld His glory.
00:43:06 That is the only begotten of the Father,
00:43:09 full of grace and truth.
00:43:11 In the beginning was the Word.
00:43:13 This is a spiritual house.
00:43:15 Oh, you think I don't know some of y'all still sleep around.
00:43:18 Brother hugged me at the nine o'clock service,
00:43:20 got up close to me, and the weed almost knocked me down.
00:43:23 I said, "Bruh."
00:43:24 (audience laughing)
00:43:26 He said, "Pastor, I love you."
00:43:27 I said, "Yeah."
00:43:28 (audience laughing)
00:43:29 Yeah, that's one of them,
00:43:31 I gotta preach another service,
00:43:32 and you're making me feel pretty good standing here, man.
00:43:34 I need to stay focused, brother.
00:43:36 I'm feeling like, and I said, "You smoking weed, huh?"
00:43:39 And he's like, "Yeah, Pastor."
00:43:41 I said, "That's all right."
00:43:41 I said, "God's gonna ease your mind to a place
00:43:44 "where the Holy Spirit is gonna be enough."
00:43:47 (audience applauding)
00:43:48 I said, "You're gonna stay for church, right?"
00:43:49 I ain't putting him down.
00:43:51 Pastor, what's wrong with weed?
00:43:53 Hear me, anything that you need
00:43:56 to make your mind feel better is not of God.
00:44:01 Pastor, but you don't know how bad it hurt.
00:44:03 Try not to shout.
00:44:05 At this point in your life, maybe God wants you to hurt.
00:44:07 (audience applauding)
00:44:08 But you don't know how much pain this is.
00:44:11 God said, "I need you to feel this pain."
00:44:14 Oh, I'm sorry, lean on somebody and say,
00:44:15 "'Cause when I come out of this,"
00:44:17 go ahead, tell 'em right quick.
00:44:18 Oh, I wish I had five people
00:44:19 that would turn up with me for a second.
00:44:22 I wish I had three people that would tell somebody,
00:44:24 "When I come out of this," go ahead.
00:44:26 It hurt right now, I'm going through something.
00:44:28 Do I have anybody that survived anything in this house
00:44:32 and knows that when you are spiritual,
00:44:34 Galatians 6, those of you who are spiritual,
00:44:38 restore such a one.
00:44:39 Those of you who are spiritual, you're missing it.
00:44:42 The Bible does not say those of you who come to church.
00:44:45 The Bible does not say those of you
00:44:47 who are on the worship team.
00:44:48 The Bible says in Galatians 6,
00:44:49 "If any man falls, if any person has a slip up,
00:44:52 "if any person has a wreck,"
00:44:54 those of you who are spiritual,
00:44:56 katazora, restore such a one.
00:45:01 Katazoro, mend.
00:45:04 Katazoro.
00:45:05 I did not get up here to do Greek today.
00:45:07 I got up here to tell a story.
00:45:09 Katazoro, it is literally like a person
00:45:12 who broke their arm and they got a flint on their arm
00:45:14 or a split on their arm,
00:45:15 but it's so darn ginger, and if you hit it wrong,
00:45:21 'cause they already in a bad place,
00:45:24 so katazoro, restore, which means,
00:45:27 I know how to handle you, girl,
00:45:29 even though you was in a bed with somebody last night.
00:45:32 When you whisper in my ear,
00:45:33 "My wife don't know I cheated on her, Pastor.
00:45:35 "Tell me what to do next."
00:45:37 I fail, I did something stupid.
00:45:40 I can't just, it's the wrong person in your ministry
00:45:43 who's not spiritual.
00:45:45 Say it's the wrong thing.
00:45:47 You gotta be able to gently
00:45:50 (congregation murmurs)
00:45:52 restore.
00:45:54 I don't care what you've done, Jesus love you.
00:45:58 Grace is in this place.
00:46:02 I love the words spirituality.
00:46:05 I walk in some houses and I can tell,
00:46:10 and when I say house, I mean church houses,
00:46:13 I don't feel the spirit in there.
00:46:15 Yeah, I feel all kinds of spirits.
00:46:16 I feel bros, supposed to be bros,
00:46:18 not acting like bros.
00:46:20 I see women, I see everything.
00:46:23 You can tell everybody's sleeping
00:46:24 with whatever feels good this week up in here.
00:46:28 It doesn't feel, that's not to say
00:46:30 that persons who deal with sexual differences
00:46:32 are not Christians.
00:46:34 I don't teach that.
00:46:35 I just believe in my heart, though,
00:46:37 that God made a man for a woman and a woman for a man,
00:46:39 and not just that agenda, but leader, spiritual.
00:46:43 The elders at my church don't run around on their wives,
00:46:46 and if they do, we get a hold of them
00:46:49 and we speak into their life.
00:46:50 If they wanna keep doing that, they can't serve here.
00:46:53 Yeah, if you're not gonna honor your wife
00:46:54 and honor your husband, I'm not throwing you away,
00:46:56 but you can't serve in leadership.
00:46:59 Yeah, because people are already a mess
00:47:01 and they want their leaders to be spiritual.
00:47:03 (audience applauding)
00:47:06 And then, I love the word church and spirituality,
00:47:11 but then finally, and I gotta stop,
00:47:13 I love the words possibilities.
00:47:16 (audience cheering)
00:47:18 You don't know what I just said.
00:47:19 Look at me.
00:47:21 I love the words possibilities.
00:47:22 The same church that was in tongues Wednesday,
00:47:27 the news stations are posting how one ministry,
00:47:31 and brothers from the streets,
00:47:32 when the streets love you, you are loved,
00:47:34 and the streets are talking, and the streets told me,
00:47:36 I've been in this city for years past,
00:47:38 I've never seen a case get resolved that fast.
00:47:42 The word nation, and we got a long way to go.
00:47:45 There's still a trial, and I need you to hear me.
00:47:47 I am not a tragedy pimp.
00:47:49 I gotta say this and I'm done.
00:47:50 They called me and said, we got justice.
00:47:53 A grand jury has indicted for murder and other charges.
00:47:56 He is now in custody.
00:47:58 Everyone's calling me, the prosecutor,
00:48:00 the mayor of Warrensville.
00:48:01 They kept me in the loop.
00:48:03 And pastor, why did you shut up for a week
00:48:06 and not talk about the case?
00:48:08 Because some preachers so busy trying to be important,
00:48:11 they mess up the case.
00:48:13 So I couldn't tell you that I was going back and forth
00:48:15 downtown and meeting with prosecutor O'Malley.
00:48:17 I couldn't tell you that I am the only person,
00:48:20 other than the family, that they show the camera footage
00:48:25 to of when the shooting happened.
00:48:27 And it wasn't four times, it was six times.
00:48:30 And it wasn't just six times, one,
00:48:33 two bullets went through her arm and hit her again.
00:48:35 So shot eight times.
00:48:38 Yeah, you wanted to know why I couldn't let it go.
00:48:40 And so I'm carrying that, plus all the personal stuff
00:48:43 that's happening in my life that I'll get to,
00:48:45 but I want you to hear me, the possibilities of the word
00:48:48 church and a meeting with the family.
00:48:50 And mom got to step out because who
00:48:52 wants to see the last seconds of her daughter's life.
00:48:55 So I got to work with the attorneys
00:48:56 and push the prosecutor.
00:48:57 And yet, Pastor Mama and Pastor Daughter, all this is happening.
00:49:01 And then finally, I get the call saying, Pastor,
00:49:03 the indictment came down.
00:49:05 And Prosecutor O'Malley, I killed you publicly.
00:49:08 I'm going to praise you publicly.
00:49:10 You did what you said you would do.
00:49:13 And I respect you for that, sir.
00:49:16 Mayor Sellers, the detectives of Warrensville,
00:49:18 they did their jobs.
00:49:20 And if you go to our website right now,
00:49:23 go to our YouTube page, I have pulled the press conference
00:49:26 down when I stood here with the family.
00:49:28 Why?
00:49:29 Because that's over now.
00:49:31 I'm not leaving that up there so people can say,
00:49:33 look how good Pastor is.
00:49:35 I take everything off my Instagram
00:49:36 about me doing press conferences because look how good Pastor is.
00:49:40 Then they call me and say, the arraignment is this Tuesday,
00:49:42 Pastor.
00:49:43 And the family and attorney called me,
00:49:45 the family wants you there.
00:49:46 I said, tell them respectfully, I will not be there Tuesday.
00:49:50 I did my part.
00:49:52 I don't want a camera.
00:49:54 I'm not a tragedy pimp.
00:49:56 I'm done with that.
00:49:58 I told Attorney Ian Freedman, you take him from here.
00:50:02 I don't want another camera in my face.
00:50:04 I just had to raise a little hell, and we did that.
00:50:06 Praise God.
00:50:06 Amen.
00:50:08 But now I don't want another camera in my face.
00:50:10 I've been on TV for 20 years.
00:50:12 The possibilities of the Word Church are unlimited.
00:50:16 This many people in the room, did you see the power?
00:50:18 Some of you were not there for Dr. King.
00:50:20 You were not there for the civil rights movie.
00:50:22 You were not there for the Voting Rights Act of '64,
00:50:25 Civil Rights Act of '65.
00:50:27 You were not there for any of that.
00:50:29 You weren't bit by dogs.
00:50:30 You don't know the power of the church and advocacy.
00:50:34 But just by making a phone call and shooting an email,
00:50:38 you saw the weight of this many people
00:50:41 to do more than cook chicken and shout,
00:50:46 but literally get justice for Mama.
00:50:48 Because had it been your sister that got blasted
00:50:54 eight times in the bedroom, you would
00:50:57 have wanted me to say something for her.
00:51:00 And I'm done with that now.
00:51:01 I'm done with that.
00:51:02 It's in the hands of the jury.
00:51:03 I have nothing else to say about that.
00:51:05 That's done.
00:51:05 So I don't want any more cameras.
00:51:07 I'm not going.
00:51:07 You will not see me Tuesday.
00:51:08 You will not see me at the arraignment.
00:51:10 I'm a pastor.
00:51:11 I'm not a tragedy pimp.
00:51:12 I raise my voice when I need to use it.
00:51:15 The possibilities of a church with this many people
00:51:20 on the same page with the coldest first lady
00:51:23 in the country, everybody, come on.
00:51:25 [APPLAUSE]
00:51:28 No, no, no, no.
00:51:29 Look at me.
00:51:30 Look at me.
00:51:30 I mean it.
00:51:32 You've been to the church where the first lady was nice,
00:51:34 but maybe she wasn't that smart.
00:51:36 [LAUGHTER]
00:51:39 I'm just telling you the truth.
00:51:41 Well, she was smart, but she wasn't that nice.
00:51:44 Here's a woman with an earned doctorate degree,
00:51:46 and yet five children, cute and treat people nice.
00:51:50 I'm sorry she my wife.
00:51:51 That's just the truth.
00:51:52 She's earned her own way at this ministry, everybody.
00:51:56 We got everything.
00:51:58 Sit down.
00:51:59 In two minutes, I got to tell you this.
00:52:01 And you guys are going to give me 10 minutes today.
00:52:05 And if nobody's dead in trouble, please don't walk out
00:52:07 on Pastor Day.
00:52:08 Those watching online, give me some birthday privilege.
00:52:11 If you honor me, please do not walk while I'm talking,
00:52:13 unless it's an emergency.
00:52:15 Because I want to just tell you this.
00:52:16 We got everything.
00:52:17 Say everything.
00:52:19 Say everything.
00:52:20 There are churches-- hear me, look at me--
00:52:22 who have a lot of older members who are beautiful,
00:52:25 but they have no young people.
00:52:26 They have no future.
00:52:28 There are churches who do church one way.
00:52:29 There's no diversity.
00:52:30 You know what you're going to get when you walk in.
00:52:32 It never changes.
00:52:33 It just is what it is.
00:52:34 There are churches that have millions and millions
00:52:35 of dollars, but they're not community cognizant.
00:52:39 They got money, but they don't have any power, any flavor.
00:52:42 Here you come.
00:52:43 I saw YF Lyon dancing outside.
00:52:45 The style.
00:52:45 We have fun here.
00:52:46 Brothers love it.
00:52:48 Penitentiary brothers and college brothers love it.
00:52:50 We got everything.
00:52:51 We got young.
00:52:52 We got old.
00:52:53 We got men.
00:52:54 We got advocacy.
00:52:55 Watch this.
00:52:56 The pastor has an earned doctorate degree,
00:52:58 but he prays in tongues.
00:53:00 So you don't know if he's Pentecostal or is he scholarly.
00:53:03 He tries to be a little bit of both.
00:53:04 We're flowing.
00:53:05 I bring a John Hannah, but then I bring an E. Dewey Smith.
00:53:09 E. Dewey Smith, Dr. E. Dewey Smith,
00:53:11 who preaches with that seminary flair and scholarship
00:53:13 that I love personally.
00:53:14 But then I know when we're wide open,
00:53:15 bring a John Hannah because I need somebody that can just
00:53:18 get us in the presence.
00:53:19 And so some people can't handle it.
00:53:21 They want you to be one thing.
00:53:23 And so I'm a bridge in the kingdom,
00:53:25 which means when you're a bridge--
00:53:26 thank you, Bishop Joy--
00:53:28 you get walked on by both sides.
00:53:32 We got everything except one thing, and it changes today.
00:53:37 We got everything except unlimited resources.
00:53:42 And we take in more money, and we do more
00:53:44 because you guys give well.
00:53:45 And we're able to change the game in ways.
00:53:47 Who does more?
00:53:48 You saw the film.
00:53:49 The tape don't lie.
00:53:50 You see exactly what we've been doing for 20 years.
00:53:52 I've been jealous two times in my life.
00:53:54 I'm saying it publicly.
00:53:55 I've been jealous two times since I've been in ministry.
00:53:58 Don't act like you've never felt a little jealousy before
00:54:00 and had to rebuke it in the name of Jesus.
00:54:02 Amen.
00:54:03 Back in the early 2000s, a couple of my colleagues
00:54:05 were going on TBN more than me.
00:54:07 Daystar.
00:54:07 I had never been on TBN.
00:54:09 Our church is blowing up.
00:54:10 I'm like, I want the world to see Cleveland.
00:54:12 I've got a better children's church, better teen ministry.
00:54:14 And they're more popular than me.
00:54:16 I had a little hater spirit for like two days.
00:54:19 The Lord told me whenever you feel jealous of somebody,
00:54:21 pray for them.
00:54:23 It changed my life.
00:54:24 I've never been jealous since.
00:54:26 And I'm really exaggerating, embellishing.
00:54:28 Not so much jealousy, just a major admiration
00:54:31 and wanting God to do the same thing.
00:54:33 But the second time I felt it was about two weeks ago.
00:54:35 And that is I saw a young brother of whom
00:54:37 I'm so proud killing the game on another level.
00:54:39 And he announced and was saying, we just
00:54:42 gave $8 million away.
00:54:45 Yeah.
00:54:45 Then a pastor was in trouble.
00:54:47 He brought him up and said, I want
00:54:47 you to have a million because I heard
00:54:48 you've been through something.
00:54:49 Here's a quarter million for you,
00:54:51 quarter million for you, quarter million for you.
00:54:53 And then there's a church from Africa.
00:54:55 God told us to do ministry in Africa.
00:54:56 So I'm giving this pastor from Africa who's at my conference.
00:54:58 Here's a million for you.
00:55:00 I was like, ooh.
00:55:01 I mean, I went outside like, I'm a loser.
00:55:08 Praise God.
00:55:10 I'm like, I failed miserably at life.
00:55:12 I don't really.
00:55:14 I said to myself, look at me.
00:55:19 More than anything in the world, I want us to do that.
00:55:25 Look at me.
00:55:26 More than anything in the world, exception of my family,
00:55:31 I want us to turn Cleveland out like no church.
00:55:34 I want CNN to fly in and say there's never
00:55:38 been a church like that.
00:55:40 I want to do Shark Tank church style.
00:55:46 Stop.
00:55:48 Remember I told you this.
00:55:49 I met with my 100 biggest givers yesterday, and they gave big.
00:55:54 I met with them yesterday.
00:55:55 I said, you guys are going to be on a panel of people.
00:55:57 Remember this in two or three years that I said this.
00:56:00 There'll be people that come to our church,
00:56:01 because we'll do it monthly, or at least bi-monthly, whatever,
00:56:04 where you come in and present to us
00:56:06 why we should give you $10,000.
00:56:08 And then we check your financial records,
00:56:10 make sure you're together.
00:56:11 And we decide.
00:56:12 We have a group of people who just decide
00:56:14 who we give money to to get their life going,
00:56:16 whose house we pay off.
00:56:17 Can I preach to somebody?
00:56:19 The word church is version, the word tank.
00:56:24 Or church tank, I don't know.
00:56:27 But I do want you all to know this.
00:56:29 In the name of Jesus, and we're going home.
00:56:31 Thank you.
00:56:32 You could have walked and said, forget him.
00:56:34 I'm grown.
00:56:34 I'm leaving.
00:56:35 But nobody moved.
00:56:36 I love you.
00:56:38 I break the spirit of poverty.
00:56:41 Let me try this again.
00:56:42 [APPLAUSE]
00:56:45 I want to ask a few people something,
00:56:46 because I'm the least prophetic guy in the country.
00:56:50 What's your lead gift, pastor?
00:56:52 Your lead gift.
00:56:53 My lead gift is giving and leadership, all right?
00:56:55 And of course, communication.
00:56:57 Everybody knows that you hear me teaching,
00:56:58 preaching is what I do.
00:56:59 I'm a leader and giving.
00:57:01 Those are my gifts, OK?
00:57:02 There are people who are much more prophetic than me.
00:57:04 But I want to speak some stuff.
00:57:06 You don't know the power of this place.
00:57:08 Did I tell you Amanda--
00:57:09 did I tell you Amanda--
00:57:12 did I tell you Amanda--
00:57:14 Amanda's killer was walking around chilling.
00:57:17 Imagine the mother running to him at Chick-fil-A
00:57:21 with his new woman.
00:57:22 Get your head around what could have happened.
00:57:30 Yeah, your baby gone, and you just see him at the mall.
00:57:34 If it's my son, if it's my son, you shoot a girl eight times,
00:57:39 you need to go sit down.
00:57:41 I believe that in my soul.
00:57:43 And that's all I have to say about that
00:57:46 until we see where this trial goes.
00:57:49 But because of your advocacy-- so I
00:57:51 get a phone call about a young man in our church,
00:57:53 and they say, Pastor, young man, he's here today.
00:57:56 And Daddy told me, please say it.
00:57:58 Daddy told me this morning.
00:57:59 Shannon told me, please say it.
00:58:01 That's what he told me.
00:58:02 Please tell the church.
00:58:04 So I'll tell you.
00:58:05 Mackenzie, who's over-- raise your hand, Mackenzie.
00:58:07 Watch this.
00:58:08 Mackenzie-- all young people look at me, all teenagers.
00:58:11 Mackenzie on a date with a girl, just chilling.
00:58:14 And kids, just kids.
00:58:16 Whatever kids do, whatever.
00:58:18 And boom.
00:58:19 And then you unfollow her.
00:58:23 Just unfollow her, which is like an insult now.
00:58:25 You didn't-- we kiss, we hug, whatever.
00:58:28 And you unfollow me.
00:58:29 So then I'm going to accuse you of raping me.
00:58:33 Mackenzie, the Cincinnati Reds baseball team,
00:58:37 Shannon and his beautiful mama Jennifer,
00:58:40 and his mother, his birth mother, and Jennifer,
00:58:42 his bonus mother.
00:58:44 And Shannon participating in his life,
00:58:46 but particularly Shannon taking him to baseball practice
00:58:49 since he was four years old every day.
00:58:50 Shannon played baseball.
00:58:51 You may not know that, but Shannon
00:58:52 was a great baseball player.
00:58:54 And so he put it in his son.
00:58:56 And so Mackenzie, top player in Ohio.
00:58:59 Cincinnati Reds draft him.
00:59:02 Couple hundred million dollars possibly on the table.
00:59:05 He's a week from leaving from spring training.
00:59:09 This girl says because she mad.
00:59:11 Yeah, he tried to-- and then took whatever
00:59:14 and put it in a bag.
00:59:16 Yeah.
00:59:18 I just knew right away.
00:59:20 I want you to hear me.
00:59:22 He's facing 22 years in prison.
00:59:25 I want you all to hear me.
00:59:26 And so the judge, who's never let nobody out
00:59:30 in the history of her career-- matter of fact,
00:59:33 her nieces go here.
00:59:34 Nieces go here.
00:59:35 It's going to put-- don't know.
00:59:37 Don't know what would happen.
00:59:39 And they just had me come.
00:59:40 And I just stood up there and looked at her and said,
00:59:42 please hear me.
00:59:43 And great attorneys, hear me.
00:59:45 And three years of hell and money for Jennifer and Shannon.
00:59:50 Imagine Shannon his whole life.
00:59:52 And we get the call.
00:59:53 I want to tell you what week it's been.
00:59:55 This Friday, I get the call.
00:59:56 All charges dropped.
01:00:00 Mackenzie, run up here right quick.
01:00:01 Run up here.
01:00:02 Run up here.
01:00:04 Run up here, Mackenzie.
01:00:07 Somebody make some noise in this place.
01:00:09 Shannon, come up here.
01:00:10 Shannon, come on.
01:00:12 Oh!
01:00:12 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:00:16 And I prophesied the Cincinnati Reds are still
01:00:24 going to let him come back.
01:00:26 All charges are dropped.
01:00:28 If not them, top 100 player in the country
01:00:32 can hit it out the park.
01:00:34 All professional pitching, he can hit it.
01:00:37 And baseball players make more money than NFL and NBA.
01:00:41 And I prophesied that bag is still coming to you.
01:00:45 And you better buy them everything they want
01:00:47 as soon as you get it.
01:00:48 20 years, I've never seen Shannon cry.
01:00:56 He put his soul into this boy.
01:01:06 And God told me to tell you, it shall pay off.
01:01:09 In the name of Jesus.
01:01:12 It shall pay off in the name of Jesus.
01:01:14 And to all of you, like me, who decided to take on somebody
01:01:24 with children, if you're going to take on somebody's child,
01:01:27 you've got to love them like they're yours
01:01:29 or don't take them on.
01:01:31 Jennifer been in that courtroom sitting next to the birth mama
01:01:34 every day, crying so she in just as much pain.
01:01:38 Her money getting spent on a child she didn't birth.
01:01:41 But she said, do what you got to do for your child.
01:01:44 And I stand with you.
01:01:45 When you take somebody, you take everything
01:01:47 that come with them, blended families.
01:01:49 I ain't preached this long, literally all year.
01:01:58 I'm done.
01:01:58 Look at me.
01:01:59 We need one thing.
01:02:03 We got everything.
01:02:05 Got the right leadership, the right first lady.
01:02:07 I hope the preaching is decent.
01:02:09 Got the right leaders, got young, got old, got middle class,
01:02:12 got hood, got everything.
01:02:15 Let's take the top off poverty.
01:02:18 The Word Church downtown is paid in full.
01:02:21 14 acres across the street, paid in full.
01:02:25 The Dr. R.A. Vernon building, look at me, paid in full.
01:02:29 We have one bill left.
01:02:32 It is this building I'm standing in.
01:02:34 I want-- pastor, I've heard you say it.
01:02:37 No, no, no, no, not like this.
01:02:39 We're paying it off.
01:02:41 It's going to take us together.
01:02:43 I'm talking about not-- no, no, no, 30-year mortgage.
01:02:45 I want it done in the next two years or less.
01:02:48 We paid this building off.
01:02:51 I'll give you the details.
01:02:55 I got to go away.
01:02:56 OK, OK.
01:02:58 Let me say this, dog on it.
01:02:59 So I got Amanda.
01:03:05 I got all that.
01:03:06 I get this news.
01:03:07 I got to go downtown.
01:03:08 Y'all don't even know this.
01:03:09 Had to put on a suit, go to court with them this week.
01:03:11 Let the jury see me, all that.
01:03:13 Just try my best, do whatever I can do.
01:03:14 All that.
01:03:15 Top of that, watch this.
01:03:16 We got John Hannah in town, hosting him.
01:03:19 We got Pastor Mike Jr. on continue.
01:03:24 We got Pastor Darius Dallie's on continue.
01:03:26 We got Travis Green.
01:03:27 So I got to do all that.
01:03:28 We got all that going on.
01:03:29 Lady Vernon goes to a prison Sunday night.
01:03:31 You don't even know this.
01:03:32 The prison on 30th with the women,
01:03:34 bunch of women in prison.
01:03:35 She takes all the women elders and leaders.
01:03:37 They minister to them.
01:03:38 On top of that, many of you know our daughter
01:03:41 is in the hospital, watch this.
01:03:43 And what we didn't tell you, because we just
01:03:45 don't believe on you, is that her heart was just
01:03:48 doing this thing like it wasn't going to work.
01:03:50 So we got to choose between bring the baby early
01:03:53 or give her the medicine to keep her heart going.
01:03:55 And so it's really tricky.
01:03:57 And so it's a lot going on.
01:03:59 The medicine can hurt the baby, boom, boom.
01:04:02 And at 434 yesterday morning, Sinead had my first grandchild.
01:04:06 [APPLAUSE]
01:04:10 Jason and Sinead.
01:04:11 On November 4th, which also happens
01:04:18 to be Ralph's 18th birthday.
01:04:21 Just waking up in the morning, got to thank God.
01:04:24 I don't know, but the day seems kind of odd.
01:04:27 No barking from the dog, no smog.
01:04:31 And mama cooking breakfast.
01:04:32 [APPLAUSE]
01:04:42 If you need to leave, I change my mind, walk out.
01:04:44 But I'm going to prophesy over somebody.
01:04:47 I told the 100 best givers this.
01:04:49 Look at me, because I want to speak it over you.
01:04:51 Couples, look at me.
01:04:53 At this moment right here--
01:04:55 let me try this again.
01:04:57 At this moment right here, my life couldn't be any better.
01:05:03 [APPLAUSE]
01:05:06 There's a moment in your life, and I speak it.
01:05:09 My grandchild is here.
01:05:12 My daughter in love back there is going to birth my namesake
01:05:16 in about a month.
01:05:18 I love your first lady more than I've ever loved her right now.
01:05:20 Luster lover more than I ever have this second.
01:05:24 All of my kids are in church right now.
01:05:27 Right this second, every child I have is working in ministry.
01:05:31 Right now, Shanae is having a baby.
01:05:34 I got the best church in the world.
01:05:37 Everything I asked God to do for the last year,
01:05:39 you have no idea the kind of warfare I've been under.
01:05:42 Amanda gets justice.
01:05:44 McKenzie is free.
01:05:47 Y'all not talking to me, everybody.
01:05:48 [APPLAUSE]
01:05:52 My son, Ralph, turned 18 yesterday.
01:05:55 And thank God I didn't have to go get him
01:05:57 from the hospital or jail.
01:06:00 None of my children have brought me any children
01:06:02 before they were married.
01:06:04 We are an imperfect family.
01:06:06 But I told my girl, let's praise him.
01:06:08 Watch this, right here.
01:06:10 I'm going to try this one more time.
01:06:11 If you need to go, get the heck out of here.
01:06:13 The Lord told me, praise him right here.
01:06:16 Watch this.
01:06:17 Because tomorrow, I could get one phone
01:06:20 call that changes everything.
01:06:23 Stop waiting for the ball to drop
01:06:25 and just praise him right here.
01:06:28 Somebody-- I don't know what might happen.
01:06:33 I don't know what tomorrow holds.
01:06:35 I'm going to build me an altar right here.
01:06:38 Oh.
01:06:38 We got to go home.
01:06:49 But slap five people say, praise him right here.
01:06:51 Go ahead.
01:06:53 Praise him right here.
01:06:56 Praise him right.
01:06:59 Praise him right.
01:07:00 Somebody watching online, stand up in your house.
01:07:12 Praise him right.
01:07:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:07:17 Will Smith said-- Will Smith said, Jennifer,
01:07:31 in the movie Pursuit of Happiness,
01:07:33 he said this little part right here is called happy.
01:07:38 This little part right here.
01:07:41 [CHEERING]
01:07:44 So now do this.
01:07:46 Please, one last thing.
01:07:49 We cancel the debt over your life in Jesus' name.
01:07:55 We're getting ready to take a two-year journey.
01:07:58 And in these two years, we shall report houses being paid off.
01:08:02 We shall report student loans gone.
01:08:05 Have you ever seen me commit to anything we didn't do?
01:08:09 I told you before the pandemic, I don't want credit.
01:08:12 I want God to be glorified.
01:08:13 Only 10 of you remember.
01:08:15 I said, get ready for unexpected checks.
01:08:18 That was before the pandemic.
01:08:20 That was before everybody in America got a free check.
01:08:23 The Lord told me to get ready.
01:08:25 Then I told you before the pandemic, I said,
01:08:27 revival's going to break out in this church.
01:08:30 And it's going to happen through young people.
01:08:33 But some of you just don't remember that I told you that.
01:08:36 And now I am telling you, the next Mohican of the word
01:08:39 church is to owe no man anything, to have more money.
01:08:46 We've been blessed.
01:08:47 We do millions right now.
01:08:49 But multiple more millions are coming.
01:08:52 We shall burn the mortgage on the word church in two years.
01:08:57 Listen, we shall--
01:08:58 [CHEERING]
01:09:00 If it takes a little longer than two, I'll let God be God.
01:09:07 If it takes three, if it takes four, but it shall not be 30.
01:09:11 We shall burn the mortgage on this building.
01:09:14 And there should be multiple millions in the bank
01:09:17 that when I hand this ministry over in the next 10,
01:09:21 15 years, all buildings shall be paid for.
01:09:25 Multiple millions in the bank so that one church
01:09:28 has sustained greatness for one century.
01:09:32 [CHEERING]
01:09:35 Your kids are coming to this church.
01:09:38 Let me prophesy.
01:09:39 Your kids are coming to this church.
01:09:42 College scholarships, more homespun.
01:09:46 Everybody in this ministry that loves me, that loves Jesus,
01:09:52 that believes in the vision, all the people
01:09:54 that were at lunch yesterday, raise your hand.
01:09:56 I see you.
01:09:57 Make your way to the altar.
01:09:57 I'm 100 best givers that are here.
01:09:59 Run to the altar.
01:09:59 I want to pray.
01:10:00 Sit right where you are.
01:10:01 Sit right where you are.
01:10:01 Sit right where you are.
01:10:02 Sit right where you are.
01:10:03 Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
01:10:05 Also, come to the altar.
01:10:06 Stand in front of me.
01:10:07 Everybody in this church that will give $1,000 or more,
01:10:12 $1,000 or more.
01:10:14 Look at me, bros who not broke.
01:10:16 Entrepreneurs who not broke.
01:10:18 Some people broke, y'all.
01:10:19 It's all they can to give $20.
01:10:22 Those of us who have done all right,
01:10:24 we got to do a little better than that.
01:10:26 Those that will give between $1,000 and a million.
01:10:28 Anybody got a million?
01:10:31 Somebody watching me online, the Lord told me to say this,
01:10:34 you're going to think I'm crazy.
01:10:35 He said, start talking to millionaires like you believe.
01:10:38 I want to talk to somebody that can pay off everything we have
01:10:41 and God told you to pay off everything we got.
01:10:44 If you knew who my wife and I were having dinner with
01:10:46 tonight, I'm not name dropping.
01:10:47 If you knew who was driving to the ranch
01:10:49 to meet with us tonight, you'd fall out your seat.
01:10:51 God is connecting dots of people that
01:10:55 have multiple, multiple, multiple, multiple millions
01:10:58 of dollars and we're not even begging.
01:11:00 They want to meet with us.
01:11:02 Let me try this again.
01:11:03 If you knew, some of you saw the movie,
01:11:06 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
01:11:07 If you knew who was coming to dinner at the ranch tonight,
01:11:09 I speak over your life.
01:11:11 Everybody that can give between $1,000 and a million,
01:11:14 start walking to the altar fast.
01:11:15 Don't walk.
01:11:16 I want you to watch this.
01:11:17 Come to the altar.
01:11:18 Come on, get out your seat.
01:11:19 Come on, come fast, come fast, come fast.
01:11:21 Come stand in front of the altar.
01:11:22 Y'all come close, come close givers.
01:11:24 You should have seen 9 o'clock between 1,000.
01:11:26 Come on, come on fast.
01:11:27 Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
01:11:29 Let God do it.
01:11:29 Come on, come on.
01:11:30 Oh, y'all should start thanking God at this altar right quick.
01:11:33 Come on.
01:11:34 Every person that would give between $1,000 and a million,
01:11:37 start walking, start walking, start walking, start walking.
01:11:40 It's on your screen.
01:11:41 Those online that would give over $1,000,
01:11:43 start saying, it's me, pastor.
01:11:45 I got problems, but I'm not broke.
01:11:47 I have a good job.
01:11:48 I'm a single female.
01:11:50 I've saved my money.
01:11:51 I'm almost retired.
01:11:52 I'm an entrepreneur.
01:11:52 Start.
01:11:53 Keep walking.
01:11:53 Keep walking.
01:11:54 Keep walking.
01:11:55 Keep walking.
01:11:55 If you'll give, come on.
01:11:56 They're coming.
01:11:56 They're coming.
01:11:57 They're coming.
01:11:57 Come on, come on, come on.
01:11:58 Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.
01:12:00 Keep coming, keep coming.
01:12:02 Everybody that believes God, as you
01:12:03 can do between $500 and $1,000, you start walking right now.
01:12:07 Come to the altar.
01:12:08 Just do what I say.
01:12:08 Come on, and bring it with you.
01:12:10 Come, bring your phone, bring your check.
01:12:12 Come on, come on.
01:12:12 Y'all should thank God right quick.
01:12:14 They're coming, they're coming, they're coming, they're coming.
01:12:17 Between $500 and $1,000, start walking, start walking.
01:12:21 Pastor, why you raise the money?
01:12:23 I don't want any haters to watch me right now.
01:12:25 Any haters that don't help nobody, please log off right now.
01:12:28 Because I got to do what I got to do for the kingdom of God.
01:12:31 Amen.
01:12:32 When you do as much as we do to help people, you can hate.
01:12:35 Until then, let me work, let me work.
01:12:37 Come on, come on, come on, come on.
01:12:38 Give us something.
01:12:38 Give us something.
01:12:39 Come on.
01:12:39 Y'all start coming.
01:12:40 Oh, come to the middle, come to the middle.
01:12:43 Come on, come around, come around.
01:12:44 Oh, y'all should thank God.
01:12:46 Oh, y'all should thank God.
01:12:48 Y'all should thank God.
01:12:50 Somebody ought to walk by faith right now.
01:12:52 Oh, my gosh.
01:12:54 Pastor, all I got is $500.
01:12:56 Then you broke anyway.
01:12:56 Bring it up here and sew it.
01:12:58 Amen.
01:12:58 And say, I want God to get in on this right now,
01:13:01 in the name of Jesus.
01:13:02 If you do between $100 and $500, you
01:13:04 start coming to the altar.
01:13:06 That should be every grown person here
01:13:08 that loves your church.
01:13:10 Come on, this is not $20 a day.
01:13:12 Unless you don't have no money, then that's fine.
01:13:15 But everybody that will go get some dinner, that
01:13:17 will buy a new skirt, that will get your hair done this week,
01:13:20 that will get your lashes done.
01:13:21 Come on, tell the truth in Jesus' name.
01:13:23 Everybody that will spend money on Netflix or food
01:13:27 that you don't have to have, come to this altar.
01:13:29 Come on.
01:13:30 Oh, I'm going to pray.
01:13:30 I got one rule, and I'm going to let you go.
01:13:33 Do not come up here and lie.
01:13:36 Whatever you say you're giving, give it
01:13:38 before you leave this altar.
01:13:40 If your phone doesn't work for any reason,
01:13:42 don't leave the parking lot until it's gone out
01:13:44 of your account.
01:13:45 Yeah, tell me, tell upstairs.
01:13:47 The media is not working.
01:13:48 The internet's not working.
01:13:49 But give God your word.
01:13:50 Don't walk right away.
01:13:51 Let's do it.
01:13:51 Ready?
01:13:52 Come on.
01:13:52 I'm going to pray.
01:13:52 I'm going to pray.
01:13:53 Everybody else that will give between $1 and $100,
01:13:56 you stand from your heart.
01:13:58 Let me pray.
01:13:59 Y'all ready?
01:14:00 Come on, hold it up.
01:14:01 Hold it up.
01:14:02 I got one rule, please.
01:14:03 Whatever you said you came up here to give,
01:14:06 put it on that altar.
01:14:08 Use your phone now.
01:14:10 Don't lie to the Holy Ghost.
01:14:11 Anybody know the story of Ananias and Zephiah?
01:14:13 Praise God.
01:14:14 Amen.
01:14:15 So please, go back to your seat if you don't have it.
01:14:17 God's not mad at you.
01:14:19 But don't lie about giving.
01:14:21 Amen.
01:14:22 Look at people coming.
01:14:22 Those in overflow, come on over if you want to give.
01:14:24 In the overflow, walk over.
01:14:25 Come on.
01:14:26 Hold that offering up.
01:14:27 In the name of Jesus, I break generational curses.
01:14:30 I break the spirit of poverty.
01:14:33 I need multimillionaires in this ministry.
01:14:36 Lord, take some retired people and give them
01:14:38 a million dollars next year.
01:14:40 Lord, I want millionaires in this ministry, God.
01:14:42 I call houses paid off in Jesus' name.
01:14:46 In the next five to seven years, as we
01:14:47 pursue debt cancellation, over the next two years,
01:14:50 people will have no debt.
01:14:51 The last bill they will have left is their house.
01:14:54 And then they will start making principal payments
01:14:56 on their home.
01:14:57 And that 30-year mortgage will turn
01:14:58 into seven years and two years.
01:15:00 They will be totally debt-free.
01:15:02 They will have no bills except utilities.
01:15:05 And they will pay them in advance
01:15:06 so no bills come to their house.
01:15:08 In the name of Jesus, to every person
01:15:11 that would sow into this church and work hard and live right
01:15:14 and be smart, I preach right now and pray and prophesy
01:15:19 they shall have more than enough, more than enough
01:15:22 for their grandkids, more than enough
01:15:25 for comfortable vacations with nice rooms and ocean fronts.
01:15:29 In the name of Jesus, I speak them out of 33B
01:15:33 into 1A and 1B first class.
01:15:36 In the name of Jesus, I speak prosperity over this house.
01:15:41 Lord, we have everything.
01:15:43 Now, we prophesy.
01:15:44 You said, ask what you will that it shall be given.
01:15:47 You said, you shall supply all of our needs.
01:15:50 In the name of Jesus, I prophesy now.
01:15:53 God, do it now.
01:15:54 In Jesus' name, you shall supply all of our needs.
01:15:59 And it is so.
01:16:00 In Jesus' name.
01:16:02 Please don't walk out the door.
01:16:03 Drop it as you go back to your seat.
01:16:05 Walk.
01:16:05 Come on, let's go.
01:16:06 [MUSIC - "GOD, YOU ARE GOOD"]
01:16:07 (SINGING) God, you are good, and your mercy
01:16:10 endureth forever.
01:16:13 Lord, you are good, say.
01:16:16 Lord, you are good, and your mercy
01:16:18 endureth forever.
01:16:21 People from every nation.
01:16:23 People from every nation.
01:16:26 From generation to generation.
01:16:30 We worship you.
01:16:34 Hallelujah.
01:16:34 Let us all say, no one's walking.
01:16:36 No one's walking.
01:16:37 God, you are good.
01:16:38 We worship you.
01:16:39 We worship you.
01:16:40 You are good.
01:16:43 Everyone stand.
01:16:44 Let me pray for you as you go.
01:16:46 Just wait one second.
01:16:47 Wait one second, everybody.
01:16:48 Wait one second.
01:16:49 I know we're alone today.
01:16:50 Let me pray over you before you go.
01:16:51 I know some of you need to go.
01:16:53 I appreciate your patience today.
01:16:54 Father, in the name of Jesus, thank you
01:16:57 for the best church in the world.
01:16:58 Thank you for 23 years, God.
01:17:01 Give us 50 more, God.
01:17:03 God, we cancel every assignment of the enemy against our people.
01:17:07 Thank you for the Holy Ghost.
01:17:09 Thank you for what you've done through this ministry.
01:17:11 Thank you for a good week, God.
01:17:13 Thank you for a healthy grandchild.
01:17:16 And God, I'm proud to be granddaddy.
01:17:19 I'm not G-pa.
01:17:20 I'm not pawpaw.
01:17:23 I'm your daddy's daddy.
01:17:25 I'm granddaddy.
01:17:26 And this is grandma.
01:17:27 Thank you, God, for my namesake who shall arrive.
01:17:31 R.A. Vernon III, I prophesy him healthy, God.
01:17:35 Then in the next 60 days or 50 days or whatever, God,
01:17:38 you would bring him here healthy in Jesus' name.
01:17:41 Then I thank you for all of my spiritual children,
01:17:43 the best members in the world, the elders, the ministers,
01:17:46 the deacons.
01:17:46 Thank you for 23 years.
01:17:48 And now, God, I speak life.
01:17:50 And I speak it into the atmosphere
01:17:52 that unusual resources are coming to a church.
01:17:56 The Bible says you give seed to the sower.
01:17:58 And so therefore, God, I prophesy millions
01:18:01 into this house.
01:18:02 Let our church witness a miracle so they can watch
01:18:06 it happen in their own lives.
01:18:08 Do it in this house first.
01:18:09 And then let them see what's going
01:18:10 to fall on their house because of the right connection.
01:18:14 I thank you for the Holy Ghost.
01:18:16 I thank you for 23 years in Jesus' name.