1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 Yeah, let's see how it goes with the beard and the microphone and whatever. 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,680 So, alright, so because I'm long-winded, I set a timer. 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,320 Alright, so, good morning everybody. 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:18,400 So today I'm going to be talking about Ubuntu, which is worship through your community. 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,960 So I'm going to be following behind some pretty powerful messages. 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,200 I don't know, you know, those of you who were privileged enough to see and hear the messages 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:31,720 before with Greg and Tony and Marissa and Scott. 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,000 I always find, you know, it's when new people start coming up to talk and give messages 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,520 and stuff, you just don't know what to expect. 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,280 And so I apologize in advance for that, by the way. 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,080 But no, I always really find, you know, Greg's sermons are awesome and very thought-provoking. 12 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:47,920 I love it when Scott shares. 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:53,000 But now that Eric and Tony and Marissa have shared, I hope I'm at least half as compelling 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,000 as them. 15 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,920 Now, I have to give a couple of references for the past sermons as, you know, and they'll 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:00,200 come up in my message. 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:06,560 But I told Marissa the other day, so as I was like polishing up, trying to cut out all 18 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:12,560 the fat, you know, in the sermon, and I'm talking about community, I get an email and 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,600 a phone call about some legislation that I'm trying to help push through that has to do 20 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,400 with restoration and community. 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,800 So I was like, God, incidents, here we go. 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,000 You know, like it was like confirmation that the timing is right. 23 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,680 So anyway, I'm going to give you guys a little background on me so you know where I came 24 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,720 from. 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:37,240 So I was born in Keewanee, small farm town, about 45 minutes away. 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,640 Went to school with kids whose parents had gone to school with my parents. 27 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:48,320 My dad and I even had a few of the same teachers from 1962 to 1993. 28 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:49,320 Everybody knew everybody. 29 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,120 You know, at least it seems so. 30 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:53,640 My mom was a volunteer in the community. 31 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,800 She worked on the 708 mental health board. 32 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:02,600 Later on, she worked at Black Hawk College as a volunteer for the ESL program. 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,280 And so I was kind of getting the feel of what it means to be in the community. 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,000 But how did I end up on Rock Island? 35 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:13,080 Well my mom's next older sister, my Aunt Jenny and my Uncle Bob, moved here from Colorado, 36 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:19,040 Oklahoma, around 1980, and they started a service master cleaning business. 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,720 They were also Cub Scout leaders, so they were pretty plugged into the community. 38 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,760 So as a kid, it was always more exciting to be hanging out in Rock Island, and they got 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,520 introduced to all the businesses, the restaurants and whatnot. 40 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,800 And then my aunt and uncle, since they were so connected, I got to see celebrities, like 41 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,480 I hung out in Don Sharp's house one time. 42 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:42,360 Or, yeah, like, or you know, meet the mayor or the consument or the owner of this business 43 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:43,680 or that business or whatever. 44 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,840 And so, you know, another example of community. 45 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,680 So a few years later, I met my wife, Bree. 46 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,720 After we were married and started looking to buy our first home, we felt very, very 47 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,640 strongly about living in Rock Island. 48 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:02,520 We looked at a lot of promising homes, and then they'd sell right from underneath us. 49 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:04,600 You guys, if you ever shopped for a home, you know how that goes. 50 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:05,600 You're like, oh, this is perfect. 51 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,560 And then, oh, someone put an offer in, and it's been accepted. 52 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,320 So we walked into the back door of our house, which goes into our big kitchen. 53 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,940 And if you've been to our house, you know we have a big kitchen, which everyone seems 54 00:03:14,940 --> 00:03:19,080 to congregate and talk while we're trying to cook dinner to hang out in the other room. 55 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:20,080 But it's such a big kitchen. 56 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,080 We walked in and we went, we have to make an offer. 57 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:23,960 We don't want to lose this one. 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:29,080 And then Bree had mentioned also that as we drove through the neighborhood at night, all 59 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:30,080 the porch lights were on. 60 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:32,520 It looked very welcoming and warm. 61 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,160 And when we drove through the day, you'd see people out in the neighborhoods. 62 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,120 It just looked like a neighborhood. 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,280 So I'll fast forward a little bit. 64 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:42,640 Once we got the house, we got settled in. 65 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,540 We started to meet all the neighbors, they were very welcoming. 66 00:03:46,540 --> 00:03:52,280 We had an elderly neighbor who, her and her husband were in their 90s before they moved 67 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:53,780 away. 68 00:03:53,780 --> 00:03:57,240 The husband had gone to elementary school with Mr. Rogers. 69 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:58,240 No joke. 70 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,880 We were at the 90-something birthday party, and they had this thing up at the elementary, 71 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,320 and one kid's got the sign that says, whatever grade school. 72 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,080 And there's Mr. Rogers sitting next to John Caldwell. 73 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:08,080 Crazy. 74 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,040 So yes, very neighborly people. 75 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:18,800 So we had the Caldwells, and then we had another family, a lady named Terry, who organized 76 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:23,760 our neighborhood block club meetings, talked about updates and concerns. 77 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,280 Clara had a phone tree that she would publish, and then everyone knew everybody's phone numbers 78 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,520 so we could call each other if we needed anything. 79 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:36,720 We had a sheriff, the sheriff at the time, a judge, several Augustana professors, several 80 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,560 working class families, and a pot dealer on the corner right across the street from us, 81 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:47,080 who loved to share his gardening tips, and he had a pet squirrel named Boo Boo. 82 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,340 As time passed on, our little neighborhood had some changes. 83 00:04:50,340 --> 00:04:57,880 People come and go, houses suddenly get expansions or garages pop up, including us. 84 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,320 Trees have fallen down in some of our derechoes and things like that, and we've planted some 85 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:02,320 trees. 86 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:07,840 But something that has not changed in this neighborhood is our sense of community. 87 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:11,880 Back when we first moved into the house, there was a letter B on the front door, and I was 88 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,960 like, hey, it's for Boswell, and Bree's like, no, we've got to put a better door on. 89 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,160 But it stood for Baker, and there was a family in our house called the Bakers, and they had 90 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,000 been there for 50 years. 91 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,280 And we found out that Mrs. Baker, when she was a widow, used to make cookies for the 92 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:31,040 neighborhood kids, and that her house, now our house, was the safe place for all the 93 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:32,040 kids in the neighborhood. 94 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,040 And so we thought, that's kind of a cool tradition to continue, so let's make our house that 95 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,320 safe place. 96 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:41,760 And so, as our kids know, we've always been one to invite people over. 97 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,360 We tell our kids to invite their friends over, and then no matter what's going on, our house 98 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,800 is a safe space. 99 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,040 During this time, we got to know our mayor, our alderman, things like that. 100 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,000 We hosted barbecue, block club parties, and things like that. 101 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,000 We were cultivating a Ubuntu, but we didn't know about that yet. 102 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,520 Nowadays, we have become, in our block, some of the longest homeowners. 103 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,600 22 years, something like that. 104 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,680 We've even convinced friends and families to buy homes in the neighborhood. 105 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,240 I can think of several people that we've talked into buying houses in our neighborhood. 106 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:24,640 But one of them you know, Darryl, Bree's dad, and Bree's mom moved into, on the opposite 107 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:25,640 corner. 108 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:29,880 We're at this corner, and they're at that corner, and they moved in about 10 years ago. 109 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,880 What's really funny is, you know, not knowing anybody but us. 110 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,680 And my mother-in-law, Deanna, was, I could say, an introvert of introverts. 111 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,560 She loved quiet walks in nature and just doing whatever. 112 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:46,160 But somehow, they made friends with everybody at their end of the block. 113 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:47,480 Everybody knows them. 114 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:53,600 So, there was even a lady who just walks in the park all the time, and they became best 115 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:54,600 buddies. 116 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,640 And now, she's still a valued friend of our family. 117 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,480 So it's funny that even the introvert family at the other end of the block is plugged in 118 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,780 with everybody. 119 00:07:04,780 --> 00:07:09,800 So many of the people have checked on Darryl, brought him food. 120 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,200 You know, there's always something going on. 121 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,440 One day, he brought the neighbor, he called the neighbor, she was having car trouble, 122 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,800 and then he talked to me, and I fixed her car, and then she brought me cookies. 123 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,120 So, like, so, he's always setting me up with stuff like that. 124 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:29,520 Somehow, during this time, like, we became, in this 22 years, the go-to neighbors that 125 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,840 the other people brought their concerns to. 126 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:36,720 So, one time, I was out for a walk with one of our recently elected aldermen, and he was 127 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,400 new to the area, and we're walking around, and we bump into this other neighbor, David, 128 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,880 who lives just down the street, and he had asked me a question, and I started, and the 129 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,280 alderman started talking, and he said, no, no, I want to hear what Andy has to say about 130 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:50,280 this. 131 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:51,280 And I was like, but he's the alderman. 132 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,160 He goes, I don't know, you know. 133 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:59,480 So it's just funny how, like, we developed a sense of community and trust. 134 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:05,980 So there were things in our community over the years that inspired me or concerned me. 135 00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:10,640 I started noticing things, you know, as we lived there that could use attention. 136 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,040 I began volunteering with neighborhood block clubs. 137 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,720 We had pancake fundraisers. 138 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:20,040 I started to realize the power of organizing in a group and how we had influence over things 139 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,280 getting better. 140 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,520 First thing you know, I'm the president of Rock Island Neighborhood Partners, community 141 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:31,640 caring conference, which I know Marissa is involved with now, just organizing neighborhoods, 142 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:37,400 getting neighborhoods to talk to each other, to have events to become community. 143 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:42,200 So after doing all that, you know, now I'm at a thing and I'm on a panel that's interviewing 144 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:43,720 police chief candidates. 145 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,480 I'm having dinner with the mayor, doing all this stuff where I'm just so plugged in, and 146 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,780 I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy. 147 00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:54,260 But it's all because we shared passion about community. 148 00:08:54,260 --> 00:08:57,480 And so I would bring these things up to people. 149 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,640 We would talk about our ideas and we would make changes. 150 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,720 And so, you know, things were going well. 151 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:08,640 I have immense pride in some of the things that I've helped get going. 152 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:13,960 You know, some of the things I'm reminded of that groups that have continued on and 153 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,760 I just think, well, I was like a help with a spark that got that going kind of a thing. 154 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:18,960 But two things happened to me. 155 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,600 Two major things that happened to me on this journey of community. 156 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,880 The first was that a dream long held inside me was reawakened. 157 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,600 I always wanted to be a police officer. 158 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,640 Just as a kid, thought it was the cool idea to be like there, you know, I used to watch 159 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:40,960 chips, which I know I'm dating myself. 160 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,480 But no, I just wanted to be a police officer. 161 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,400 And I was inspired by the leadership in the departments that we have. 162 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,980 And so the more and more I talked to them, the more they said apply. 163 00:09:49,980 --> 00:09:54,280 Go back to school, get your degree or law enforcement degree, things like that. 164 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,960 I felt like that my enthusiasm and passion for the people in the community would be an 165 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,360 asset in that role particularly. 166 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:06,840 The second thing that I began to realize was those in the refugee community around us. 167 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,680 Rock Island is a huge refugee area. 168 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:13,360 Lots and thousands and thousands of people come here from all over the world. 169 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:19,200 And so I began to see, you know, how both the people in the refugee community and those 170 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,560 involved in the criminal justice system who are part of our community and how to make 171 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:24,040 them fit. 172 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:29,520 I began to see places where puzzle pieces fit together, okay, needs, resources. 173 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:34,320 As I continue to go deeper to these two groups of community members, I started to feel a 174 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,800 sense of kinship and connection. 175 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:41,240 By day, I would volunteer at war relief, moving heavy furniture and run around with Jerry 176 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:46,600 around town, get groceries set up, so much fun. 177 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:51,160 And then at night, I go in the afternoon and I got a job by the sheriff. 178 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,000 I worked in the county jail. 179 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,720 So by day, I'd be busting my butt physically. 180 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,600 And then in the afternoon, I'd go in and spend time with people who were having their worst 181 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:01,600 days ever. 182 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,200 At a minimum of 40 hours a week, I was there a lot over time. 183 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,880 So I felt like I was living there too. 184 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,420 I didn't feel like I was better than the people there. 185 00:11:10,420 --> 00:11:12,560 I felt like I understood them. 186 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:14,220 They were my neighbors. 187 00:11:14,220 --> 00:11:17,480 I treated them with respect and looked for small ways to bless them. 188 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,360 Remember, they're having the worst day of their life. 189 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:26,320 I mean, nobody wakes up in jail and says, this is the greatest experience, five stars. 190 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:31,800 So some dumb things that you would think that I did, but it made a huge difference. 191 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:37,040 For example, every day at a certain time of day, everyone's allowed to clean their cells 192 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:38,640 in their rooms. 193 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,920 And so every day, the officers come in and they fill up the mop water and they give them 194 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,560 a mop head that's not been washed in six months. 195 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:48,080 And they give them the garbage bags and all that stuff. 196 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,200 Well, that thing kind of bothered me a little bit. 197 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,560 So then what I started doing is the weeks that I was assigned to each of those areas, 198 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,960 I would wash the mop heads and dry them. 199 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,880 And then sometimes I put, which we weren't supposed to do this, but I put a little bit 200 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,640 of bleach in the mop water, make it smell really fresh. 201 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,880 You would think I gave someone like a pizza or something. 202 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,600 Those guys would get so excited about the fact that now they had fresh mop heads and 203 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,200 the floor smell like bleach that smelled clean. 204 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:14,200 Hallelujah. 205 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:15,400 Like it was a big deal. 206 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,560 Whenever I did laundry, I would pick out the best jumpsuits and the towels and things like 207 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:22,000 that so that when the guys got their stuff, it wasn't all ratty. 208 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,280 Little things, but it made a big difference. 209 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,600 I was frustrated though that my ability to serve these people in the situation was limited 210 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,320 to feeding them, clothing them, giving them mops, right? 211 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:39,280 I kind of one day, so in the jail, the old part of the jail is like a big circle or octagon 212 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:40,280 kind of thing. 213 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:41,280 And so there's like all these blocks. 214 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,800 And when you work there, you're in the middle of all that. 215 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:49,080 So when I came down to do my rounds and I'm looking at A through G and I'm just like, 216 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:50,080 what am I doing here? 217 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:55,240 What can I do for these people other than keep them fed and happy, I guess, best I can 218 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,680 every day, but I'm not making a difference in their lives. 219 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:03,680 So that was when, about the time that I had the opportunity to jump into probation and 220 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:06,200 became a probation officer. 221 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:07,640 What a difference. 222 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:09,800 The power to help people change their lives. 223 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:11,960 I could get right in the situation with people. 224 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,340 I could encourage them, advise them, advocate for them. 225 00:13:15,340 --> 00:13:18,840 Not only could I just say something to someone in jail, but like now that I'm working with 226 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:23,600 them, I can make phone calls, show up for places, things like that. 227 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,840 One of the men that I met in the jail was a trustee for a while. 228 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,400 And what a trustee is, is there's someone who's obviously trusted to cook or clean 229 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,000 or whatever and be part of a team. 230 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,740 Those guys get some extra perks and benefits. 231 00:13:34,740 --> 00:13:39,700 So obviously if you're willing to work 40 hours a week in a jail for little to no pay 232 00:13:39,700 --> 00:13:43,040 at all, you must have decent work ethic or whatever, right? 233 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,680 Well anyway, I met one of these guys and he was dealing with an issue that had to do with 234 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,840 substances and he was in there. 235 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:56,400 And a few years later, now as a probation officer, he ends up in front of me again. 236 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,160 And I think, you know, what's going on with this guy? 237 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:01,320 And so he tells me where he's at with things. 238 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,920 And it turns out he had some issues with substance abuse over the years. 239 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,960 He kind of had an epiphany moment. 240 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:08,780 This is not what I should be doing. 241 00:14:08,780 --> 00:14:14,180 And since that time, had become a sponsor and started working at a treatment center 242 00:14:14,180 --> 00:14:17,960 helping people like way more than I ever could as a probation officer. 243 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:19,640 And I was so impressed by that. 244 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,080 And I was like, well, what are you doing here with me? 245 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,040 Well, then I look and he's got a three-year-old case involving something. 246 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,760 Well, what happened from that time until the three years that's gone by until now when 247 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:30,920 he's standing in front of me? 248 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,400 And he'd been doing all this stuff in the community and helping people. 249 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:39,280 If somebody needed an encouragement or a ride to a group meeting or something like that, 250 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,200 he was doing this stuff. 251 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:42,360 And so it just kind of bothered me. 252 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:47,280 Why are we still prosecuting a case against a guy who had drugs who is now helping literally 253 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,140 hundreds of people? 254 00:14:49,140 --> 00:14:52,040 So it just kind of bugged me. 255 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,800 And so one day he had a court date coming up. 256 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,040 And I called the state's attorney. 257 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,480 And I said, what's the deal with this case? 258 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,080 This guy's doing all these cool things, helping people. 259 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,400 Why are we still trying to prosecute him when we've got other people that have done really 260 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,240 dumb things and we've already let them go? 261 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,960 And she said, well, tell me what you think. 262 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:16,240 And so I gave her a 20-minute explanation of why I feel like we should just let this 263 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,320 thing drop and he should be doing what he's doing because it's amazing in the community. 264 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,200 And she said, well, I appreciate the feedback, whatever. 265 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,920 Well, a couple of months goes by and I see his court date coming up again. 266 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,960 And he's still getting prosecuted for this case. 267 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,360 So I called the state's attorney again, except this time I talked to one of the assistant 268 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:33,480 state's attorneys. 269 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,880 And I went through the whole rigamarole again and I said, why are we wasting our time trying 270 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,640 to throw this guy in prison and make him a convicted felon when he's doing all these 271 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,960 amazing things in the community? 272 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,080 And what's the point? 273 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,480 And she said, this bothers me too. 274 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:49,480 Let me check on it. 275 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:50,480 That was on a Friday. 276 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,040 Then on a Monday, it bothered me all weekend. 277 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,640 On Monday morning, she called me and said, I talked to the boss who you had talked to 278 00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:59,120 previously. 279 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:04,760 She gave me the go ahead to go ahead and put this guy on a special 12-month thing where 280 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,720 after that everything goes away like it never happened. 281 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:12,200 And she said, but because you've advocated for this guy, I'm going to let you call him. 282 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,760 Not his attorney, not the state's attorney, not the judge, whatever in court. 283 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:16,760 You go ahead and tell him what you did. 284 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,760 And I'm like, well, I just felt it was the right thing to do. 285 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:26,440 So I called Justin and I tell him that this is all getting dropped and whatever as long 286 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,760 as he does the things he's already doing. 287 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,760 And I hear like a thumping noise and something and I'm like, what's going on? 288 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,080 And then I think I heard him say something like, I just fell out of my chair. 289 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:40,280 And he was, and Justin is a very tall person. 290 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,600 So I got to hear what the sound of a very tall, like rock-sized person falling out of 291 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:45,600 a chair sounds like. 292 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,360 And I was like, are you all right? 293 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:48,360 He said, yep, yep. 294 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,600 And I said, from that point on, we had 12 months. 295 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:52,600 He hit all the things. 296 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:58,680 He went back to school for college and all of that stuff got dropped and he now works 297 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,960 at a treatment center, continues to. 298 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,400 And he's kind of one of my guys that when I have somebody who's struggling, I put him 299 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:11,100 in contact with him or he'll give me a recommendation on where somebody should go. 300 00:17:11,100 --> 00:17:12,560 And so he's still doing that thing. 301 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:17,880 And just by me doing that one little thing, it's like it expanded. 302 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,920 So it's like, it's like I walked into the room and this was like a giant thousand piece 303 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,000 puzzle and there was a couple pieces missing. 304 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,600 And all I did was walk up like grandpa used to do. 305 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:32,200 He'd have the last piece in his pocket and he'd hide it from everybody. 306 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:37,080 This is grandpa tweet and grandpa tweet would walk in the room and snap that last piece 307 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,080 in. 308 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,800 So it's almost like I got to be the privilege of walking in and the puzzle was already laid 309 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:45,240 out and I just put the last piece in and like, wow, except now do I not only see that big 310 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,160 picture altogether, the puzzle keeps expanding. 311 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:56,040 It's the connections, the outreach, the things that it does goes out in the community. 312 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,980 So you don't know what your simple thing will do. 313 00:17:59,980 --> 00:18:05,120 How many people will those that you have blessed impact? 314 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,600 The children, the future children of your neighbors? 315 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,600 Let me share a fact with you. 316 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,080 Studies have shown studies. 317 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,760 This isn't an Andy fact that I made up. 318 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,360 This is studies. 319 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:23,480 When someone in addiction becomes sober and healthy, their sobriety positively impacts 320 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,120 seven generations of their family. 321 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:32,120 That sounds biblical, like literally, right? 322 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:37,400 So when you love your neighbor, when you worship God by loving your neighbor, your love will 323 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,520 literally grow and expand to affect people you will never know and that will never know 324 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:42,520 you. 325 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,200 I think this is kind of mind blowing. 326 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,080 Take a moment to ponder that. 327 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:52,560 This is where I'm going to borrow from Tony for a moment and say, it's not about doing 328 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,740 but being. 329 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:57,720 Worship God by being a good neighbor. 330 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:03,840 I have experienced my greatest ever joy in serving others. 331 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:10,160 Being and encouraging my neighbors to move forward is worship that I can't contain inside. 332 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,160 This is a side effect of worship. 333 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:13,960 It transfers to those around you. 334 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:14,960 It's contagious. 335 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,840 I'm kind of borrowing from Greg's first sermon about worship. 336 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:24,080 I liken it to the feeling of watching your kids or your friends or your family open their 337 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,720 presents on Christmas morning or on their birthdays. 338 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,880 That is what it feels like inside of me when I get to serve people in the community. 339 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:33,960 It's amazing. 340 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,400 Imagine living a life where we get to experience this all the time. 341 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:40,720 This is worshiping through community. 342 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,880 This is Ubuntu. 343 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:44,880 So what is Ubuntu? 344 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:46,560 Why do you keep talking about it? 345 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,280 Why is it on your shirt? 346 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,560 By the way, Abby, yeah, it's on my license plate too. 347 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:53,920 Abby made this for me. 348 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,360 Yeah, brief sister. 349 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:00,220 Recently I was reading, those of you who know me know I love to read. 350 00:20:00,220 --> 00:20:05,960 Recently while reading an autobiographical collection by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who 351 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,160 was a contemporary and a good friend of Nelson Mandela, I was introduced to this philosophy 352 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,440 of Ubuntu. 353 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,840 I am a person through other people. 354 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,680 My humanity is tied to yours. 355 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:21,640 Wikipedia, when I looked it up, now there is an Ubuntu that's like a software or something 356 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:27,240 which was endorsed by Desmond Tutu and whatever it was like a thing, but the Ubuntu I'm talking 357 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,200 about is what inspired that. 358 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:34,400 It's a South African philosophy which teaches that all humans are deeply interconnected 359 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,080 with respect to its foundations. 360 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:40,400 It asks us to look outward, acknowledging the humanity in others. 361 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,080 When we do this, our behavior transforms. 362 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,800 It's impossible to mistreat others if we recognize their inherent value. 363 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,000 We don't want to hurt our own bodies. 364 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,740 Tutu explained it this way. 365 00:20:54,740 --> 00:20:55,740 This is not the Wikipedia. 366 00:20:55,740 --> 00:20:56,740 This is Desmond Tutu's version. 367 00:20:56,740 --> 00:21:00,000 One of the sayings in our community is Ubuntu, the essence of being human. 368 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,880 Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in 369 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,560 isolation. 370 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,800 It speaks about our interconnectedness. 371 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:14,080 We think of ourselves far too frequently just as individuals, separate from one another. 372 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,800 Whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. 373 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,400 When you do well, it spreads out. 374 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:20,880 It is for the whole of humanity. 375 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,280 I got a million stories. 376 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,440 I'm going to try to only tell you a couple more. 377 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:32,240 There was a police officer, a sheriff's deputy that I spent a lot of time with. 378 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,120 Before I started working there, I did an internship. 379 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:35,120 It was 12 weeks. 380 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:38,120 I had to quit my job. 381 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:42,280 I spent 40 hours a week as a volunteer intern with the sheriff's department. 382 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:49,840 There was one particular officer who I spent a couple of shifts with and just really, really 383 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:57,720 kind-hearted, be the mature adult in the situation and just handle things in such a cool way. 384 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:03,360 At the end of my internship, by the prompting of my wife, the smarter half of my brain, 385 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:06,400 I wrote thank you notes to everybody that I spent a shift with. 386 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:07,800 It was eight hours or whatever. 387 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,680 Some guys spent 16 hours, 24, whatever. 388 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,280 It was a lot. 389 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:12,280 I wrote thank you notes. 390 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:18,240 I thought about how to make each one individual and special because each person is different. 391 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,680 I wrote an encouraging note about this guy's integrity. 392 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,160 His name is Mike. 393 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,520 His integrity and just how he inspired me to do the right thing and his faith was evident 394 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,640 in what he did and whatever. 395 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,760 That was 10, 11 years ago now. 396 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:36,680 Last summer, we're in court and he happens to be the assigned deputy for court. 397 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,320 There was a guy causing a ruckus in the courtroom. 398 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,240 He got escorted out and Mike stood with him out in the lobby and got him kind of calmed 399 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:44,240 down. 400 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,620 I finished up what I was doing. 401 00:22:46,620 --> 00:22:48,280 When I go to court, I'm all dressed up. 402 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,840 I look like an attorney or something, fancy. 403 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,200 I look important. 404 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,320 People sometimes think I am and then they're like, oh, is that the federal prosecutor? 405 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,960 No, I'm just the probation officer. 406 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:05,080 I went out into the hallway after I got done advocating for a client in front of the judge. 407 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:11,400 Mike stopped me and I said something to him like, hey, I really appreciate whatever. 408 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:16,020 He said, I appreciate your professionalism and how you handle and you care about clients 409 00:23:16,020 --> 00:23:17,020 and whatever. 410 00:23:17,020 --> 00:23:18,020 I was like, oh, that's cool. 411 00:23:18,020 --> 00:23:21,120 I'm like, well, thanks because you inspire me too. 412 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:23,160 He says, but I got to tell you something else. 413 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,160 I was like, yeah. 414 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:29,160 He goes, do you remember when you were the intern in our department and we rode around 415 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,320 together and then you wrote me the notes at the thing? 416 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:32,800 I said, well, I guess, yeah. 417 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,120 I don't remember what I wrote. 418 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,520 He said, this is what he said. 419 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,400 Now, this might mess me up a little bit. 420 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:45,160 He said, every time I get my uniform on to go to work, I look at that note that you gave 421 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:51,560 me and it inspires me to go out and be the best officer that I can be. 422 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:53,000 He said, thank you for that. 423 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,960 I was just like, oh my gosh, it just about melted right there. 424 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,280 Just that one thing that I did for him, how many people does he come in contact with every 425 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,440 day? 426 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:08,120 As the police are pulling people over, whatever, and knowing that he's got that thing in his 427 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:11,040 brain of I'm taking God with me. 428 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:12,040 I'm honoring my neighbor. 429 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:13,040 I'm doing the right thing. 430 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,040 I have integrity and all this stuff. 431 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:17,040 Just powerful. 432 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:25,800 All I did was just say an encouraging word. 433 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:32,920 Going back to Greg's first message saying that worship is too small for just us. 434 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,840 Worship is way too big for that. 435 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:39,160 In Mark 12, Jesus says, the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with 436 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,920 all your passion, prayer, intelligence, and energy. 437 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:44,680 That's the message version. 438 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:46,840 The second commandment was equally as important. 439 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,120 Love others as well as you love yourself. 440 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,320 There is no other commandment that ranks with these. 441 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:57,240 The greatest commandment, love your God, love your neighbor. 442 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,640 Loving your neighbor with all your, just think about that, loving your neighbor with all 443 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:01,920 your passion and energy. 444 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,520 I think I understand this. 445 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:10,840 Reading about Ubuntu, making that connection, made me realize the puzzles kind of fit together 446 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:16,840 for me. 447 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:22,320 At a recent training for work, this was like in October, we had a very inspiring speaker. 448 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:27,240 It was a specialty court for drug abuse and stuff training. 449 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,800 He frequently referenced a book that researched the war on drugs in America. 450 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,720 Of course, if you know me again, I went and checked the book out and read it after I got 451 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,120 back from conference. 452 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:44,960 One of the most profound truths that I have taken from this was the opposite of addiction 453 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,660 is not sobriety. 454 00:25:47,660 --> 00:25:49,980 The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. 455 00:25:49,980 --> 00:25:56,840 The opposite of addiction is connection. 456 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:02,880 I believe that everybody has a God-shaped hole and a neighbor-shaped hole in their heart. 457 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,360 When we lose our connection with our friends and our family or even God, we sometimes try 458 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,120 to use artificial substitutes. 459 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:18,800 We mask or numb our pain with unhealthy relationships, substances, activities, working too much, 460 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:19,800 things like that. 461 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:25,240 But we can't replace the needed connection that we have with anything but a real relationship. 462 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:30,200 We are meant to be in a community. 463 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:36,040 Think about when you go somewhere and you're around people you don't know. 464 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:37,040 It's one of the things that we do. 465 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:41,040 I feel like when I was writing this, I felt like this is a Seinfeld scenario. 466 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,880 Why is it we always look for this little common ground thing to talk to somebody about? 467 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,320 Bree and I were in Decorah, Iowa one time on a bike trip. 468 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,660 We were sitting there having a drink or something. 469 00:26:52,660 --> 00:26:54,640 I was wearing a Bix shirt. 470 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,880 The guy next to us says, oh, you're from the Quad Cities. 471 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:57,880 I'm like, huh. 472 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,760 He's like, hey, did you guys know about the waterfall hike and whatever? 473 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,860 Then we ended up having this 20-minute conversation with this guy just because he connected with 474 00:27:04,860 --> 00:27:06,100 us with the Quad Cities. 475 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:09,200 He told us about where all the cool hiking spots were for the waterfalls, which we went 476 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,920 on and they were awesome. 477 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,960 But it's that scenario where we go somewhere and we're like, oh, hey, you're a Cardinals 478 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:16,960 fan. 479 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:17,960 You're a Cubs fan. 480 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,880 What kind of pizza do you like or whatever? 481 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:26,740 We just have that itch to kind of do that and make that connection with people. 482 00:27:26,740 --> 00:27:31,260 So there's another place in the community that I see and hear and experience the sense 483 00:27:31,260 --> 00:27:33,720 of Ubuntu community frequently. 484 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:38,320 This is going to make a few people uncomfortable because I'm going to talk about a bar. 485 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,160 I'm talking about Radical Effect. 486 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:41,600 Oh, no. 487 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:42,600 Okay. 488 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:43,600 All right. 489 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:44,880 Oh, no. 490 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:45,880 So Radical Effect. 491 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,680 Those of you that are from Rock Island, it's at the top of the hill in what we call the 492 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,240 College Hill area. 493 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:57,560 There's Happy Joe's and there's a new nightclub on the corner that's like Wine and Spirits. 494 00:27:57,560 --> 00:27:58,800 Then there's a comic book shop. 495 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,600 There's a barber. 496 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,080 The hardware store is right there. 497 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,440 So it's at the top of the hill, middle of town. 498 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,040 But there's a community sense at Radical Effect. 499 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,520 Everyone shares and encourages one another. 500 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,480 The community considers it a safe place. 501 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:19,760 It's one of the places that I like to go because I know that I'm not going to run into conflict. 502 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,000 People just aren't going to be arguing or fighting or whatever. 503 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,920 I wish more churches were like this. 504 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:26,920 It's kind of ironic. 505 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:28,460 I know. 506 00:28:28,460 --> 00:28:32,000 But at Radical, everyone is welcome as long as you aren't being disruptive. 507 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,640 And honestly, I've never seen anything happen like that. 508 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:41,400 They do fundraisers for needs and families, for the schools. 509 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:47,120 We have art fairs and food trucks and celebrations and community connections happen there. 510 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:52,400 I see aldermen, congressmen, mayors, you know, like all these different people having drinks 511 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,200 and sitting and talking. 512 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,760 I have made so many friends through spending time there. 513 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,400 And it's almost like it's holy ground. 514 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,120 The members of the community protect it and keep it as that. 515 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,820 Even though it belongs to Rich, if you know Rich, I'm pretty sure everyone who hangs out 516 00:29:10,820 --> 00:29:16,080 there regularly feels some sense of ownership and responsibility to keep it that way, to 517 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:17,600 keep it safe. 518 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:22,240 If only more churches were like the community at Radical. 519 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:28,840 Ubuntu is also a philosophy of reconciliation and forgiveness that expresses respect for 520 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,160 one's dignity irrespective of what that person has done. 521 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,520 Those are Desmond Tutu's words. 522 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:40,160 Tutu seeks restorative justice to give opportunity for the healing of both the oppressed and 523 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,480 the oppressor as children of God. 524 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,600 So I have one more story for you. 525 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,960 This guy's name is Al. 526 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:56,280 And Al is an older guy, long career of criminal activity behind him, has a reputation. 527 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:57,800 Well Al is getting older. 528 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,000 Al has a good set of skills when it comes to like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, things 529 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,000 like that. 530 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,200 But he's getting older, his arthritis is bothering him, things like that. 531 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,120 Well I had Al on probation. 532 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:11,160 It was really hard to find him a job because of that kind of stuff. 533 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,680 But smart guy knew all of these things that I wish I knew. 534 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:21,000 Well one day a puzzle piece clicked in my head and I said to him, you know, there's 535 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:26,720 a program called Youth Build in the community where older people teach skills to young people 536 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,760 who are trying to learn a trade or whatever. 537 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:31,640 So they redo houses and stuff. 538 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:36,600 And so I said to Al, I said, what do you think about working for a place where you don't 539 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,160 physically have to do the work anymore and you can have these young guys with, they're 540 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,040 not aching backs, do all this stuff and you just teach them the right way to do it and 541 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,000 you get paid really well. 542 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,040 And he said, I don't know, I never thought, I never had an opportunity like that before. 543 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,800 And I said, well, is it okay if I name drop you and I go talk to the guy? 544 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,440 And he said, well sure, that's fine with me. 545 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:03,120 Well I met with the director at Youth Build, had a conversation about Al, and he said, 546 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:04,820 bring him in. 547 00:31:04,820 --> 00:31:10,960 So this is one of the most mind blowing experiences I've ever had was these two like retired age 548 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:16,720 guys, one guy working with this Youth Build for a long time and this guy with the reputation 549 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:18,800 his whole life of being the criminal. 550 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:22,280 And I bring them together and they start asking each other questions and they have this 20 551 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,640 minute interview and I wanted so badly to be able to record this because it was the 552 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,180 coolest scenario. 553 00:31:27,180 --> 00:31:32,640 And so the first guy, the boss asks him the questions and then he says, well yeah, I have 554 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,840 this certificate and this skill and this certificate and this skill and this thing and this thing 555 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,320 and this thing, but what about my time spent in prison? 556 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,200 I've been to federal prison, I've been to state prison. 557 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,120 And he says, that's exactly what I'm looking for because I want you to be able to teach 558 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,920 these kids the things that you've done and the experiences that you've had so that they 559 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:54,160 know that this is a better path rather than what you did before. 560 00:31:54,160 --> 00:32:00,520 So fast forward, so I had to have this thing and I'm like, I don't know how it goes. 561 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:04,360 A couple weeks later I see Al and I ask him how things are going on or anything. 562 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,480 Well I think that was like a year ago or more. 563 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:13,080 I see a story in the paper and here's a group of kids working at YouthBuild and here's the 564 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,900 boss, his name's Rufus, and here's Al in the picture. 565 00:32:17,900 --> 00:32:23,200 So I sent that picture around at work and I said, look at what Al is doing now. 566 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:27,360 And of course the response I get was, well I hope he's not teaching the kids bad things, 567 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:28,760 you know. 568 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,600 So I was like, all right, fine, you don't have the same viewpoint I do. 569 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:37,960 No, here's a guy that a year ago I connected, whatever, and he's getting paid really good 570 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:42,480 money to teach these kids skills, drywall, electrical, plumbing. 571 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,480 Like I said, he was certified in all these things, skills that he learned while he was 572 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:47,160 in prison in the work program. 573 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,400 But when he got out he was licensed and did this stuff. 574 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,480 I think he told me one time he put like all the gas meters in downtown Davenport when 575 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,040 he worked at MidAmerican or something like that. 576 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:01,800 So yeah, so here's this picture and like I said, I got to be in that moment. 577 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:05,840 It was like, like I said, Christmas morning, watching people open gifts and it's always 578 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:06,840 the perfect gift. 579 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:08,760 It's not like, oh thanks, another sweater. 580 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,920 It's like, look, the Transformers or look, my favorite video game or look, the coolest 581 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,000 book that I've been wanting. 582 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,780 I got to be, I felt so undeserving of being in that scenario in that moment and watching 583 00:33:19,780 --> 00:33:27,200 these two guys connect and knowing that restoration was happening. 584 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,400 I can't even begin to explain how it felt. 585 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,680 It was just the coolest thing. 586 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:37,080 But knowing now, seeing the paper, the story in the paper and knowing that he's still plugged 587 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,600 in with them and that he's mentoring youth. 588 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:44,240 Nobody else was going to give him that opportunity, but something, somebody was bugging me in the 589 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,240 back of my brain and said, you need to make that connection. 590 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:50,360 I don't know who that was. 591 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,040 Maybe the Holy Spirit. 592 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:59,000 So 1 Corinthians 12, 12 through 26, you guys probably recognize this. 593 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,760 Body and diversity in the body. 594 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:05,640 Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body. 595 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,080 So it is with Christ. 596 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,160 For we were all baptized in one spirit. 597 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:15,180 So as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, we were all given the spirit, 598 00:34:15,180 --> 00:34:17,040 one spirit to drink. 599 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,800 Even so the body is not made up of one part, but of many. 600 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:25,320 Now if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body. 601 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:27,480 It would not for that reason, stop being part of the body. 602 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:31,960 And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I do not belong part of the body. 603 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:36,640 It would not be for that reason to stop, it would not for that reason stop being a part 604 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:37,640 of the body. 605 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:41,240 If the whole body was an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? 606 00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:44,800 If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 607 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,620 But in fact, God has placed the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted 608 00:34:48,620 --> 00:34:50,120 them to be. 609 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,380 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 610 00:34:53,380 --> 00:34:56,600 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 611 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,680 The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. 612 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,080 The head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. 613 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,680 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 614 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:12,920 And the parts of the body that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. 615 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:17,080 While our presentable parts need no special treatment, but God has put the body together, 616 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:21,440 giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in 617 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:25,240 the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 618 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:28,180 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. 619 00:35:28,180 --> 00:35:33,080 If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 620 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,080 We belong to each other and we are one body. 621 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,800 We just want to know where and how we fit. 622 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,920 We're always trying to figure out if we're the eye, if we're the ear, the foot, the hand, 623 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,320 and who the other people are, to find our connection with them. 624 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,540 But no matter what our part, we are all the body. 625 00:35:49,540 --> 00:35:51,340 We are community. 626 00:35:51,340 --> 00:35:54,480 We are Ubuntu. 627 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:58,560 Part of this is being proud of each other and not being jealous. 628 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:03,600 Cal once asked me if I was jealous because Cal, our 18-year-old, can do all these amazing 629 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,840 musical things in like top 5% of their class and all that stuff. 630 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:12,600 And Cal said, are you jealous of me because I do all these things? 631 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:13,720 And then it kind of clicked. 632 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:18,440 And I said, no, I'm not jealous, but I am very proud of you. 633 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,040 We should be proud of each other because we're the body. 634 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,080 We shouldn't be jealous, but we should be proud of each other. 635 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,720 I can't do the same thing so that I shouldn't be jealous. 636 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:30,520 I should be proud that that person is doing that thing. 637 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,120 We are the community of God together. 638 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:40,020 Ubuntu is the joy of knowing others and being known, of feeling interconnected and part 639 00:36:40,020 --> 00:36:41,960 of something bigger. 640 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:44,440 Your part in the kingdom of God. 641 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:49,200 Ubuntu is finding your purpose and fulfillment in the community that God has created for 642 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,520 you to be a part of. 643 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,240 Living in community is a response of worship to God. 644 00:36:55,240 --> 00:37:22,240 Thank you.