"We Got Our Groove Back" - Rev. Frederick D. Haynes, III, PhD

47:04 God, you know how we feel. You know what we're dealing with, what we're going through, what we're up against, what's happening in the world around us. We need a word from you. We need to hear from you. If we don't hear from you, God, what shall we do? So please remove any distractions that may divert our attention. Don't let me or anything in me or about me get in the way of what you were up to and what you want to say and accomplish through me hide me behind the cross and help us to see Jesus and we'll give you all of the glory and all of the honor empty me of me fill me with your holy spirit stand in my body take over my mind and think your thoughts take my mouth and speak with power your word bless your word and give such power to your word that none of us online or in the house leave this experience this encounter the same way we came in Jesus name amen and hallelujah would you praise God with me for our wonderful tribe choir young adults y'all killing y'all killed it y'all killed it thank you thank you so much Amen. I want to call your attention to the book of Psalms, Psalm 126.

48:28 And there in the first verse, it reads from the New American Standard Bible, translation of the 11th century vowed Hebrew text. It reads, when the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. you may be seated in God's presence I want to put a tag on this text and for a few moments with your prayers I want to talk about we got our groove back we got our groove back Tyler the creator Tyler the creator lyrically laments I'm gonna run out of moves because I can't groove to the blues I like that. Tyler the creator in a song where he laments his loneliness but tries to create a facade of fun and being funny through dancing. and yet Tyler the creator is lamenting through his lyrics that he can't groove to the blues and as a consequence he is losing his moves. I park here parenthetically because Tyler the creator in essence is saying how is Cupid gonna shuffle when he's suffering? How can I Wobble, baby, wobble, baby.

50:00 How can I wobble when life goes wrong? In a real sense, he wants to know how hard it is to put boots on the ground when you're broken. Where them fans at? I'm simply raising these questions because what we see in these lyrics is that my man has lost his groove he's lost his groove you didn't feel Tyler the creator maybe you feel our homegirl Erykah Badu Erykah Badu had a song years ago called didn't you know And in that song, Erykah Badu works her Baduism and she says, Ooh, hey, I think I made a wrong turn back there somewhere. And then she goes on to say that, didn't you know, didn't you know, I think I lost my way.

51:01 Understand that Erykah Badu, when you marry her lyrics to the lyrics of Tyler, the creator, you come up with the reality that all of us reach a point in our lives where we lose it or we lose our way. We reach a point in our lives where we find ourselves wondering how it is we got where we are but we look in the rear view mirror and it hits us that we made a wrong turn back there somewhere but then with Tyler the creator we are dealing with the blues I think I'll hang out right there because think about it he brilliantly as a rapper is saying he cannot groove to the blues y'all know the blues the blues in a real sense were songs of melancholy songs that in a real sense spoke to the reality of disappointment heartbreak and sorrow and so what Tyler the creator is lamenting in his lyrics is that as much as he'd like to groove it's hard to move and groove to the blues I'm hanging out right there because already I'm in somebody's kool-aid I've called out your flavor. There's a facade you have when you show up to church on Sunday, when you go to work on Monday. There's a smile that you wear on your face and yet for many, I'm going old school, it's Smokey Robinson, tears of a clown when there's no one around. I think y'all gonna get this in just a moment because it's hard to judge people by what you see on the outside because you don't know what's happening behind the scenes. All of us reach moments in our lives where we lose our groove. All of us reach moments in our lives where we have lost our way.

53:04 Who am I talking to? Showed up to church today. No, you've tuned in and the bottom line is you know what it's like to feel that you've lost your way. When it comes to faith, you've lost your way when it comes to your sense of purpose and mission. You've lost your way. Wait, I'm not done. Not only have you lost your way, but for some, here it is. You can't groove because of your own personal blues. That's what's happening in our text. In our text, the audience that is the recipient of this wonderful hymn, this wonderful psalm, Psalm 126, They look in their rear view mirror and they have experienced what Brueggemann called disorientation. And in their disorientation, they had experienced the hell of an ale.

54:03 And when they experienced that ale, they were then captives of captives of the consequences. Watch this of the ale that they had taken. Here it is. They experienced an ale because they had failed the God of their ancestors. I think I'll park right there because when you experience an ale because you have failed, that can be hell. I'm raffing. Y'all just not getting it like I need you to watch it. They experienced an ale. What was the ale? Bible readers already know that 598 to 587, before the common era, the people of God in Judah had been defeated. They caught an ale by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. Wait, it gets worse.

54:55 Not only did they catch an ale through defeat, but the book lets us know that the temple was destroyed and the city was demolished. They experienced an ale. Why? Because they had failed to listen to the prophets. Anybody ever caught an ale because you just didn't listen? Anybody know people around you who could be in a lot better situation if they had just listened? If you're not careful, you will catch an ale and fail and experience hell because you don't listen. Wait, I'm not even done. because the text lets us know they are now experiencing the hell of being captives of the consequences of the choices that they made. May I hang out right there for just a moment because they are captives of exile.

55:52 They are in Babylonian exile, captives of the consequences of their choices. And the book lets us know they have been handcuffed by helplessness And watch this, they've lost their groove, groove, groove. Some of y'all not really caught up in the culture, so you ain't feeling the term groove. Let me see if I can help you with groove. Groove has to do with one's rhythm and flow. That's when you got your groove on. When you get your groove on, life is moving smoothly. There's a flow that you got now. I recognize there are other synonyms for groove and some of y'all are thinking about the Isley brothers. I want to groove with you. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about groove in on a Sunday afternoon. I'm talking about that kind of groove right now. Y'all hang with me for just a moment because I'm talking about your groove when life is flowing and things are going the way that you want them to. That's your groove. But every now and then you catch an ale and you are in the hail of being a captive of the consequences of choices that were made because you did not listen.

57:18 That's the text y'all. They did not listen and now they're in Babylon. They are broken in Babylon. They are so messed up in Babylon, they've lost their groove. How do I know? Because Psalm 137 says, their Babylonian captors said, why don't you sing some of the songs of Zion like you used to groove to back in Jerusalem? And they said, how we going to sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Remix it, Freddie Haynes. How we going to groove in Babylon like we did in Jerusalem? The book lets us know they've lost their groove. They caught an ale and they're living in the hell of having failed. I'm hanging out right there because somebody's looking at me right now. I pulled up to your address and listen, ain't nobody judging you because all of us have failed.

58:17 Don't you look down your nose of snobbery at anybody around you because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray. All of us have made some choices we'd like to take back and gone with some people we wish we had never met. All of us have been some places we wish we had never gone. All of us have caught the ale of having failed. So don't you give up on you because God hasn't given up on you. But hold on, I'm about to shout you because the text lets us know. Here they are in Babylon. Babylon has brutalized them. Babylon has done them dirty, oppressing them. But always understand, my sisters and brothers, every empire has an expiration date on it. If that empire does not live by the principles of justice, I think I'll hang out right there.

59:20 Because y'all, we are catching some L's in this nation because of an empire that is led by President Pickpocket. I think I'll hang out right there. President Pickpocket. You know what pickpockets do. Pick pockets will distract you and then rob you of resources because they are having an agenda to get you as they bump up against you. Preach, Freddie. I'm about to do that. President pickpocket, that's what he's doing. He bumps into us and distracts us with unconstitutional wars where we are spending billions of dollars over in Iran for a war that Congress did not call for. And sadly, Congress is such a doormat that they will not hold the president accountable while he's picking our pocket. Y'all still not getting it.

1:00:19 I'm letting you know that we are spending money on a war, but we don't have money for everyone to have access to health care. We're spending money while he pickpockets this country. Have you thought about the fact that no president in the history of this nation has made more money off the office of the presidency than the current occupant in the White House? I call him President Pickpocket, and I ain't just going to call it here. Y'all wait till I get to D.C. and call it in his face and call him President Pickpocket because the president has been pickpocketing this nation. He has been making sure that his goons, his political goons in the billionaire Epstein class class that they are getting paid while we find ourselves continuing to be paralyzed by a jacked up economy because we have a goon in the office, a pickpocket in the office who is not concerned about affordability. Why are you going to be concerned about affordability when you are pickpocketing the American people every single day. I'm simply trying to say that we find ourselves catching L's in this country. Catching L's. Rachel Maddow put it like this. She says there's a war that has been declared on black America. Roland Martin puts it like this. We're witnessing the defunding of black America. It's all going on right now. We're catching L's. Wait, I'm not even done. It's not just President Pickpocket, but please check out what's happening with the criminality of our justice system. I was appalled to discover that the judge in the Carmelo Anthony case, John Roach, had the unmitigated gall to do something I've never seen before. Y'all correct me

1:02:25 If I'm wrong, I've never seen a judge post-trial sit down for an interview to discuss that trial. And yet he arrogantly in his pomposity sat down to discuss the trial. Now, judges I respect, they have shared with me that your responsibility is to what? Call balls and strikes. That's how justice is served. Y'all know justice. Justice my sisters and brothers is when according to Lady Liberty you basic or Lady Justice Justice is blindfolded but in this judge's court the blindfold was removed and this judge had the nerve to say that he prepared for this trial until they had a well-oiled machine a well-oiled machine that kept the public from witnessing what was going on and deals were made behind the scenes.

1:03:28 We still don't know the full extent of the deals that were made. I'm simply trying to say Judge John Roach did some bugging because Judge John Roach, watch this, didn't call balls and strikes because he was too busy moving the strike zone. He moved the strike zone. The only strikes we see were black jurors or black potential jurors who were struck, three of them educators, and that was used against them. Wait, what? You mean we trust educators to educate our children? We trust educators to teach our children? We trust educators to bring out of our children the best that is in them. But we don't trust them to sit on a jury because of their education. No, son, it wasn't their education.

1:04:24 It was their pigmentation. I'm simply trying to say we're taking some L's. We're taking some L's. We're taking some L's and the L's are hell. L's are hell, but God ain't done and God ain't dead. I love the text because the text lets us know that this is a psalm of what Brueggemann called new orientation. A psalm of new orientation is when God breaks into our disorientation and surprises us with a grace we did not see coming. Makes a way out of no way. And before we know it, what was our worst? God snatched the best out of it and opens the door to a new possibility that we never saw coming. And that's my thesis.

1:05:23 And that's where I'm going for the rest of this message. God is so good that God will break in to your disorientation in the hell of your hell. When you have failed and then blow your mind and surprise you with a grace you did not deserve. A grace you did not earn. I don't know why y'all sitting holy on me. Because if I've got anybody who's made a mistake, grace ought to make you shout. If I have anybody who's ever done something you wish you hadn't done and God somehow covered you in spite of you, that's a hallelujah right there. Is there anybody here who just wants to say amazing grace shall always be my song of praise for it was grace that bought my liberty. I don't know why God came to love me so. God looked beyond my faults.

1:06:18 God looked beyond my failure. God looked beyond my mess. God looked beyond my stuff. God looked beyond my faults and saw my knees. Ah, hallelujah. I'm feeling that. I'm feeling that. God's grace will surprise you. God's grace will blow your mind. And when God's grace does that, you can get your groove back. And that's what I came to say to somebody today. It's groove back, taking time. That's what I came to tell somebody today. As we get ready for revival, revival simply means your groove is about to come back. You about to get your groove back. All right.

1:07:10 All right. How does that work, Freddie Haynes? I'm almost done. text shouts at me because the text says when we get our groove back this is real good right here when we get our groove back uh we discover what God is up to when we are down now now let me be real down is on everyone's itinerary no matter how big your Bible is how long you've been going to church how strong you think you are all of us have a date with down ah some of us here it is have been let down others of us have fallen some of us came to church and we're feeling the bottom line is down is something all of us have a date with and someone is looking at me right now feeling down. I get that. Down is something all of us feel no matter who we are.

1:08:19 I think that's why. Who is it? Langston Hughes had that mother tell that son who evidently was down with ungrammatical profundity. Well son I tell you life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's attacks and it's splinters boards torn up. Places with no carpet on the floor bare. But all the while I've been a climbing on, reaching landings, turning corners, sometimes going in the dark where there ain't been no light. So boy, don't you quit down. Don't you sit down on them steps because you find it's kind of hard. Down, I still going. I still climbing. And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. That boy was down, but down is not your final destination. Down is where you catch your breath because God is up to something even when life gets us down.

1:09:14 I'm slowing down because you really doing a good job of keeping up with me so I just wanted to say that right quick and and give him some props because I ain't easy to keep up with but I'm simply trying to say my sisters and brothers that all of us get down. Who am I talking to? Life has let you down. People have let you down. You feeling down. Some folk are low down. Down happens. And when down happens, God is up to something. They are in Babylon down. But news comes to them that Persia had defeated Babylon. I love that right there. Again, every empire that does not practice justice has an expiration date on it. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down and wither like the green grass.

1:10:22 I'm simply trying to say trouble don't last always. That's a shout out to those who are suffering in the Sudan. And trouble don't last always. That's a shout out for those catching hell in Haiti. Trouble don't last always. God is going to have the last word. Not your oppressor. That's a word for those who find themselves in pain in Palestine. A war is still raging. They are still engaging in a hostile takeover that this country is financing over in Gaza. It's still going on. But here's the word, trouble don't last always. God is going to have the last word.

1:11:10 Now, now, I got to do this. I got to do this because here's what gets me. With all that being said, do you know that Persia defeats Babylon? But when the psalmist writes this hymn, this song, the psalmist, don't miss your shout, doesn't say Persia, doesn't say Cyrus. He says the Lord.

1:11:40 Okay. All right. All right. The Lord. providence got up in politics so that the oppressed overcame the Lord now I got to do this I got to do this uh and I'm asking you not to judge me just stay with me okay uh this is a song India recently said that music has a programming capacity okay so so so when you hear songs india says understand that music will program you it it songs get in your spirit melodies get in your mind music has a programming capacity This is music that speaks to a social situation.

1:12:44 We've always had in our community a soundtrack that spoke to our social situation. Thank God for music that when life had us down allowed us to look up because music has a programming capacity that will program you for possibilities or program you for poison. Now, now, now. No judgment, no judgment. But there's a song that's jamming this summer. It's called the song of the summer. Spin that.

1:13:33 Okay. All right. They playing holy like they don't know what I'm talking about. It's called the song of the summer. And it's a jam. all y'all it's a jam but listen to the lyrics and it kind of jacks with me young Miami all love here all love because with all the hell we're catching at this time why are you allowing corporations and corporate money to define the lyrics that you are going to put in the airwaves because the bottom line is you come out of a tradition musically of ancestors who in slavery did not talk about spend that but before I be a slave I'll be buried in my grave and go home to my god and be free you come from a legacy a legacy of liberating lyrics and those liberating lyrics gave music to a movement.

1:14:33 And so that's why we sang, We Shall Overcome. That's why we sing, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Till Earth and Heaven Ring. That's why we have movement lyrics. Thank God for the fact that we had when Michael Jackson was doing his thing. He said, I'm looking at the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. Thank God that when there was famine in Africa, that musicians got together and they sang We Are the World because they recognized that music has a programming capacity to it. Thank God for those who looked up and saw the Black Lives Matter movement catching hell and yet they sang We Gonna Be Alright. Thank you, Kendrick Lamar. Where is the movement music right now? Where are the liberating lyrics right now?

1:15:28 We need some music that speaks to the fact that we have ICE agents who are terrorizing communities. We need music that speaks to the fact that we have a president who has made this nation a rogue nation. Where is the music that speaks to the fact that God's world is going to hell and people don't have access to health care? People are struggling. People are suffering. unhoused people find themselves in a jacked up situation and music ain't saying nothing about it. I ain't judging just musicians because I got preachers in the pulpit who preach every Sunday and they don't say a mumbling word about the hell this nation is going to. okay all right this is for our visitors in the family reunion I'm on one today now since I'm on one today here's the good news the good news is providence gets off in politics the Lord the Lord and notice it's in all capital letters all caps means Yahweh I am that I am who met Moses on the back side of the desert to begin the process of setting the captives free I'm talking about our liberating revolutionary and revolutionary liberator almighty God God, the great I am, is the one who set them free.

1:17:15 God is the one who brought them back. God, here it is, was the uncaused cause causing the comeback. The Lord brought back the captives of Zion. How did God do it? God used Persia who they didn't know to do something for those God knew okay I'm going to shout you right now God is so amazing God will use other folks fights to set you free God will use what's happening over here to bless you over there. God is so good that God said, I am sovereign.

1:18:09 Persia is fighting Babylon. I'm going to use Persia to defeat Babylon. Babylon's going to have to set you free. Persia don't know you, but I know you. I know your situation. And I'm going, okay, okay. All right, all right. You remember that scene, that powerful scene in Montgomery, Alabama? What was it? December of 1956. 300 plus days had gone on in the Montgomery bus protest. And here it is. Martin King and the Montgomery Improvement Association were being sued by the city of Montgomery because of the carpool they had set up. Don't you love it? Have you thought about the fact that before Uber, they set up a carpooling in Montgomery? They said, since we're not going to ride the buses, we're going to engage in Coogee Chagalia, self-determination, cooperative economics, and we are going to set ourselves free. What a novel concept to not depend on other folk, but to use what you've got to get what God wants you to have.

1:19:22 And y'all, here's what happened. They got sued by Montgomery. Montgomery, and they're in a courtroom like Judge John Roach's courtroom. So you know it's not going to go well for them. But all of a sudden, the Supreme Court in D.C. ruled that segregation in travel on the buses in Montgomery was unconstitutional. And the word got to the hearing there in Montgomery. And when the word got to the hearing, an old deacon said, God Almighty just spoke from Washington, D.C. Providence got in politics. I didn't come through. A few weeks ago, Dr. Norfleet, we had the wonderful fine arts camp, powerful camp. And of course, I came up, had a great time at the fine arts camp with the kids. And one night this kid came up to me.

1:20:15 And when he came up to me, here's what blew my mind. He comes up to me and he has on his soccer outfit. He's been playing soccer. And so he runs up to me and says, Pastor, we won. We won. I said, that's really good. He said, and I'm the one who's responsible for the win. I said, I gave him dap, dapped him up. I said, did you kick in the winning goal? He said, kinda. It was an, watch this, own goal. O-W-N-G-O-A-L. I said, what's on goal? And I learned it because I was getting ready to watch the World Cup. And so he said, on goal is when the opponent mistakenly, inadvertently kicks the ball in our goal. And we won. I said, how did that happen? He said, I had the ball.

1:21:07 I kicked the ball mistakenly to my opponent. My opponent then caught the ball off his head and it bounced off his head and went straight into the net. And we won the game 5-4 because of an on-go. I didn't score it myself, but the one who was against me scored for me. And because the one who was against me scored for me, we ended up winning the game. Can I give somebody time to shout right there? He'll prepare a table before you in the presence of what they meant for evil. God can work for good. No weapon formed against you will prosper. God can use your haters as your elevators. God can use those who try to bring you down to lift you up. I got to quit.

1:22:01 Here's something else. It's real good. Text says this. I love it. It says God will, oh my God, bless you beyond your wildest dreams on the stage of your worst nightmare. Do you see this text? The text says that when the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, it was like a dream. the picture is we didn't see this coming the picture is it was all a dream no that's not the one uh the picture is the picture is that this was beyond our wildest dreams and that's God for you God in the midst of your nightmare ain't done as a matter of fact oh I love this God works the nightmare shift.

1:23:04 When you're experiencing your nightmare, God clocks in. And when God clocks in, God is about to do something mind-blowing. God is about to give you a dream out of your nightmare. God wants you to reimagine what's possible in the midst of what's painfully problematic. What's painfully problematic ain't the last word. God has the last word And God just clocked in Because your nightmare is not making you feel good Y'all know him in the Bible The Bible says it was a nightmare When Paul and Silas got thrown in a Philippian jail at midnight And that's when God clocked in And they prayed and they sang And the book says God produced the first jailhouse rock And before you know it The book lets us know An earthquake happened and the chains fell off and the prison doors flew open because God clocked in on the nightmare ship.

1:24:13 The Bible says Peter was in jail on death row and the church went down in prayer. And God clocked in on the nightmare ship and God sent an angel. Y'all know I'm a Baptist preacher. One Friday, it was a nightmare. Jesus hung, bled and died. He got lynched on an old rugged cross and the Bible says it was a nightmare. Peter denied him. Judas gave up and committed suicide. But early Sunday morning, God raised him from the dead because God clocked in on the nightmare shift. Here it is. Here it is. Watch this. and when God does that God will put you back together better than ever Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah That's right.

1:25:34 it's used for dream in some contexts imagine new possibilities it's used for having been put back together stronger than ever to the point of wholeness in other contexts and I'm simply trying to say that's how good God is God will let you dream of what's impossible and then make sure you get back stronger, better than ever. And when God puts you back together, you're stronger than ever. You're better than ever. Earlier this year, earlier this year, I spoke in Columbus, Ohio for the AKA's regional conference for their public meeting. Yeah, for their public meeting. And so, so after it's over, a lot of people come up who I recognize. And there was one person I recognized and I couldn't quite remember the name and of course she pulled the old what's my name and so uh I'm in Columbus Ohio I don't know your name and so so uh but I didn't say that I said you forgot your name so I can't help you uh we can call someone around here to help you get your name back I'm real sorry you know you said pastor quit playing I used to go to your church back in the day uh back on Keast and so I said that's a beautiful thing I said where are you now and She said, well, that's a marvelous story.

1:27:02 Can I tell you right quick? It's other people around. And so I say, listen, can you just wait before you tell me your story? And she said, okay. And y'all, I'm glad she waited because now I got to give it to you. Here is what she shared and I promise you I'm done. She said, pastor, I'm here in Columbus right now, not because I plan on it, but because my life fell apart and God put me back together here. I said, how did that happen? And she said, in the course of a year, I lost my marriage. In the course of a year, I lost my job. In the course of a year, my mom passed away. All in the course of one year. I think that's why Shakespeare said, this is me talking right now. Shakespeare said that life, that trouble seldom come as single century men. They come in battalions. When it rains, it pours.

1:27:55 And so she had all of that happen in the course of a year. And she said, Pastor, I'm living, watch this. I'm living in Washington, D.C. I lost everything. And when I lost everything, I'm hurt. I'm heartbroken. And I decided to go and treat myself on a trip up in New York City because that was my mom and I's favorite place to go together to catch plays on Broadway. I went to see two plays on Broadway. So I'm staying in the NYC for one week in the same hotel. My mom and I had stayed in the last time we were in New York. I felt her presence in that hotel. And I felt like life was going to turn around. But Pastor, one night I'm sleeping and I have the worst nightmare to this day. I can't tell you what happened, but it was such a bad nightmare.

1:28:50 I woke up on the floor. I pulled myself together, opened up my eyes under the bed in the dim twilight. I could see a photograph. I reached for the photograph. It was the photograph of a little boy. And so I looked at the photograph, waited till morning, called the front desk, told the front desk about a photo I had found in the room. Hopefully they can get it back to its owner. Pastor, I go to a play. The next day when I get back to my room, the phone is ringing. I answer the phone. On the other end is this voice of a man who I do not know. He said, is this so and so? I said, yes, it is. And you're staying in room such and such. I said, yes, I am. And you are the one who found the photograph of my son. I said, oh, that's your son.

1:29:43 Yes, my son died 20 years ago. And when he died 20 years ago, this was my favorite photograph. I had taken a picture of it from my phone on the bed, but somehow it must have fallen off the bed. I lost my favorite photograph of my son. You found the photograph of my son, and I want to give you a reward. I said, sir, my mama taught me you do good for good's sake. You don't do it to get something back. God will take care of me. He said, I understand God will take care of you, but maybe God wants to use me to help bless you. And that's when she said, well, sir, if you want to help me, then help me find a job where I can help people who are poor and not be poor myself. And help me pay off my student loan debt. Ha, ha, ha.

1:30:36 And he said, who's student loan debt? Where do you get your loan from? She told him where her loan was from in excess of $125,000. He said, hold on one second. A minute later, he comes back on the line and says, my college roommate has your loan. I just told him to give it to me. I'm going to take care of it. She said, what? Why are you doing that? He said, you also said you want to work helping poor people. Well, would you mind helping me in Columbus, Ohio? Because in honor of my son, I have a foundation that reaches out to at-risk youth, especially in underserved communities. The president of my foundation just retired. I was about to put out some feelers to find someone, but I did research on you. And you are the person for the job.

1:31:34 I'd like for you to be the president of my foundation and I am going to take care of all of your loans but will you move to Columbus, Ohio? She said, oh, did you not hear me? I'm packing my bags right now to move to Columbus, Ohio. But sir, why are you doing this for me? She said, because you found my son's picture and because you found my son, I'm doing all of this for you. I talked so fast y'all didn't shout over here. The reason I'm doing everything I can for you is because of what you did for my son. And because of what you did for my son, I'm going to do all of this for you. May I just give somebody room to shout. If you know who the son is, the son will set you free. The son will make a way for you.

1:32:28 The son, I got to do it like this. Can't nobody do me like Jesus. Ain't nobody to be like the Lord.