Amen, so keep your place there in Luke chapter 12 the verse that we're going to focus on you're going to keep your place There we're going to come back to it a couple times throughout the sermon But the verse I want to focus on is verse number 51 where Jesus says Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth. I tell you nay, but rather division so in verse number 51 We see a great verse from Jesus there verse that's Pretty much ignored today. I told you on Wednesday night that I would preach a sermon on the universal church So here it is. I'm going to preach a sermon on the universal church and this doctrine of the universal church This is kind of personal doctrine to me because I grew up with the belief You know growing up in the Lutheran church, which is basically very Catholic the same I grew up with this doctrine of the universal church and after getting saved and then getting into a Baptist church I noticed right away that you know the Baptist preaching and the biblical preaching that I was listening to even before I got Into a Baptist church was very focused on the local New Testament church You know that phrase is used over and over and over again And I guess at the beginning of my Christian walk and my Christian life I guess you could say I didn't really understand the full scope of how You know serious this doctrine is for me The the doctrine of the universal church was mainly Realized in the Nicene Creed if you've ever heard that the Nicene Creed was a creed that you would chant It was a vain repetition that you can't in every service or every every mass that you would go to You just chant to this belief and it's commonly held by the way if you go and you just Google what people think about the Nicene Creed It's commonly held that this this creed encompasses, you know Christian Beliefs, you know four or five points of Christian belief now, you know, that's what people looking at Christianity from the outside Think all right and in the Nicene Creed, of course, it says I believe in one part of it as I believe in one holy Catholic is one version Catholic meaning universal Catholic and apostolic church It's kind of one of those you're just chanting these beliefs They do have the Trinity in there So there are some things that are correct which makes it even more confusing to people But basically the Nicene Creed was created if you just look at the the birth of Christian Let me give you a history of Christianity in two and a half minutes All right, so basically you look at what we're looking at in the book of Acts on Wednesday night You have the book of Acts where maybe we go up to 60 or 70 AD where the church the churches I'm sorry the churches are being persecuted largely by the Jews in the book of Acts But that's transitioned During Nero's reign into persecution by the Roman government itself and then of course I've talked about this in many sermons The the martyrs mirror and other secular historical documents talk about the 10 Roman Persecutions, which is basically it was you know nearly 300 years 250 years of persecution by Different Roman emperors different Roman rulers. All right, there was you know a terrible time for Christianity Terrible things were done, but then in 300 313 I believe it was or three 313 I believe was the edict of Milan where basically constant Constantine this Roman emperor kind of declared the persecutions over let's leave the Christians alone kind of thing and then in 325 AD Something that is touted by the Catholic Church and even Lutheran churches was this council of Nicaea That was that was brought together and this is kind of the formation of what we know as the Roman Catholic Church The council of Nicaea now many people and if you you look this up many people called the council of Nicaea There was another one in 380 or 381. I think that was like the second council of night Nicaea But many people call these councils. This is where they of course in 325 the first council They created the Roman Catholic Church. They invited all these Bishops from all the different churches everywhere Constantine and the Roman government actually funded the council itself So it was literally it was literally a government sponsored, you know ecumenical conference is what it was and So this ecumenical conference many people call it the first ecumenical conference and the second ecumenical conference It was the beginning of ecumenicalism which we'll talk about this morning But anyway out of that came this Nicene Creed all right this all right. Let's all get together and come up with what we believe together Okay, and out of that of course is where we get this idea of the universal Church itself, okay now remember this about yourself because many people do not know this about Bible-believing Baptists, but here's the thing folks not everybody showed up to that ecumenical conference And one thing you have to remember about yourself and people don't realize this and you'll know this I'm going out soul-wining if it ever comes up in conversation or you know deeper conversations about things We are not a Protestant church So we are not Protestants many people think oh Baptists were you know formed in you know the the 17th century All the other Protestants, you know came out with Martin Luther and John Calvin all these people We are you know John Wesley Joseph. Yeah, the Wesley, you know the Wesley Doctor in the Methodist and all this we are not Protestants We're not you know Protestants mean people that came out of the Catholic Church were protesting the Catholic Church We were never part of it, you know They may not have been called, you know They've been right after 325 AD is where the word an abaptist started coming up right after that and they weren't called Baptist before that because They called them an abaptist because they wouldn't accept the change to the gospel meaning works-based Salvation in all these sacraments. Okay, so basically there's always been true believers since Christ and the book of Acts all right. We are not Protestants And when the Catholic Church was formed under the Roman government kind of mixing this doctrine with all these different people and Roman Paganism we get the Nicene Creed which brought in this doctrine that we're going to talk about all that to say this brought in this doctrine of The universal or Catholic Church, you know the universal church meaning Anybody that you know claims Christ is part of the church everywhere in the world. We're all part of the church right now All right, so look I talked I'm going to talk to you about you know the wickedness of this doctrine and why it's such a big deal I already kind of mentioned one aspect of it on Wednesday night is it takes away focus on the local assembly a church is literally if you Translate it from the Greek. It is literally a local assembly of believers All right, so it takes away, you know the focus of what the Bible actually says of coming to an individual Church in a location. All right, you can just say if you believe in the universal church You can just say look I've heard many people say this to me like we're all part of the church They don't go to a church But we're all part of the church because they believe this universal Church doctrine that is not in in the Bible. So no God wants you in a church We talked about that on Wednesday night Hebrews 1025 and other places in the Bible the internet is not a church You know, which is a lot of you know, it's a big problem today You know when everybody just stop going to church and started just watching church online You know in a teams meeting or whatever, you know, that's not church You know the Bible says that church is a local group in a local assembly of believers All right, so let's look at this idea of the universal church First of all, let's just do a quick Bible study on the word church in the Bible All right in the New Testament the word church is used nearly 80 times I think 78 or 79 times in the New Testament now it is It is used majority of the time. It's used in Paul's nine epistles to specific churches Okay, Paul has nine epistles then there's what's called the general epistles Which are two groups of people, you know the Hebrews, you know all these different books But even even in these other books where the word church is used It's always used in the same way to mean a local group of believers in a local place. Let's look at just a couple of Verses I'll read for you some verses and then we'll turn to some verses as well So why don't you turn to 1st Peter chapter 5 and verse number 13? Well, I read for you Romans chapter 16 and verse number 1 Paul says you're gonna go to 1st Peter 5 I'm gonna read for you Romans 16 verse number 1 where the Bible says I commend unto you Phoebe our sister which is a servant of the church At Centria So it's talking about you know, you'll see this in the Bible again and again and again and literally I started to So as soon as I started reading the Bible It's hard to not notice this because you notice that whenever it says the church it's pointing You know 90% of the time it's pointed to a specific It literally says the place right after that in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 18 First of all when you come together in the church I hear that there be divisions among you and I partly believe it so in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 He's obviously talking to the church at Corinth. He mentions that in verse 2 of 1st Corinthians I'm just the beginning chapter, but he's saying when you come together in the church He's talking about you know coming together in that local place. Look at 1st Peter 5 13 the Bible says in 1st Peter 5 13 the church that is at Babylon Elected together with you saluted you and so does Marcus my son turn to Acts chapter 12 turn to Acts chapter 12 And I will read for you 3rd John chapter 1 verse number 9. I wrote unto the church But diatrophies who love it to have the preeminence among them receive it That's not so a letter was written unto the church now people don't necessarily know like where this Diatrophies was at he's writing to a man called Gaius here Who many people think was some people think he was part of the Corinth church some people think he was part of the church in Ephesus doesn't really matter Diatrophies was obviously a person that was obviously not like you know all present everywhere in the world He was at some local assembly somewhere. That's what the church means there look at Acts chapter 12 in verse number one Acts chapter 12 in verse number one now about the time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex Certain of the church what church are we talking about here here? We're talking about you know the church of Jerusalem here We're talking about you know a specific local church here look at Acts chapter 18 verse number 22 just a few Just a few chapters over in your Bible Acts chapter 18 look at verse number 22 and when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and saluted the church where at Caesarea he went down to Antioch so it's very specifically Pointing out these churches. It's pointing out these churches at different locations now Here's some let me just give you some controversial Verses that you know people use to try to prove the universal church Okay, turn to Acts chapter 9 turn to Acts chapter 9 So you say where are these people getting this doctrine they must be using some verses Obviously, we can look at every single verse where a church the word church is used in the Bible and see that it's it's talking about a local Assembly of believers, but look at Acts chapter 9 verse 31 The universal church people will actually say and this is kind of a big red flag right here look at Acts 9 31 The Bible says then had the churches Rest throughout all Judea and Galilea and Samaria and were edified so here we're talking about now if it was a universal church We could just use the word church there then had the church rest throughout all these different regions instead It specifically points out that the churches had rest. It's talking about regions. It's just talking about regions here It's not talking about Individual, you know, it's not pointing out individual cities individual churches and look there's I'm sure there's there's many cities Well, there was many different churches in each city But the point is is it saying then at the church's rest throughout all Judea and area Galilean area and Samaria an area All right, so we're talking about all these different churches. He could have just said the church Well, the universal church people That are really just like really on this doctrine. They'll say this is a mistake and it's a translation error in the King James Bible All right, so they don't even believe the Bible, you know shocker So right away. That's a huge red flag when you meet somebody that says oh, that's a translation error And that they're they're casting doubt on the word of God right away We can exit the building at that point. All right, so they say it should be just church Because you know that that doesn't follow up their doctrine turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 12 turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 12 1st Corinthians 1st Corinthians chapter 12 and Look at verse 28 1st Corinthians 12 and verse number 28 the Bible says here Here's another verse that they'll use and God has set some in the church 1st Apostles secondary prophets thirdly teachers after that miracles then gifts of healing helps governments diversities of tongue so here the Bible is saying here when you actually let me turn there myself because I believe I'm just a couple verses before and I'm gonna bring this up on something else But if you look at just a couple verses before that 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verse number 28 Look at verse 27 it says now you are the body of Christ Okay, so they'll basically say because 1st Corinthians 12 and verse number 28 doesn't Specifically talk to you know doesn't say the church at Corinth. I mean first of all the letter is to the church at Corinth, you know obviously all scripture is profitable for doctrine for all of us, but he's literally writing About you know a generality about what God has done in the church talking about how he's put in local churches Apostles he's put in local churches prophets teachers and you know gifts of healings and all these things but up in the very first in that very next The verse above it he talks about you know the church You know he are he's saying he are so it's like me I'm talking to a plural group of what group of people right ye are the what the body of Christ So he's talking about a church being the body of Christ So ye are the body of Christ So another word really for the the word of a local church could be the body of Christ But now how many people think now the body has many members now How many people think that like a body could have like an arm in Fresno and then you know ahead in Africa or something You know so I mean let's say I mean let's say I had a friend who was a Christian in Africa All right, the proper way to say that biblically would be to yeah I'm a member of this body of Christ and he's a member of that body of Christ churches local assemblies not we're all the members of this you know body of Christ All right, which you know is a is another way of pushing universal Church doctrine which somebody that might surprise you believed in and I'll mention that in a little bit go go but go to Colossians chapter 1 18 looking at verses that people use to teach the universal church. All right Colossians chapter 1 Look at verse 18, which is an epistle a letter to the church at Colossi All right, and he is the head of the body the church who is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in all Things he might have the preeminence here Colossians chapter 1 18 and go to Ephesians chapter 1 now He's just talking about the structure what a structure of a church should look like so the Bible here is talking in Colossians chapter 1 And Ephesians chapter 1 it's giving us this doctrine of What the structure of a local church should be all right look at Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19? And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us were who believe? According to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him in his Own right hand in the heavenly places far above all Principality and power and might and dominion just describing Christ here and every name that is named not only in this world But also in that which is to come and have put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all Things to the church now does that say that like there's a universal church? it simply says that this is the structure of The local church that Christ is to be the head of the local church First Corinthians 15 9 I'll just read for you for I'm the least of the apostles And actually why don't you turn there first Corinthians 15 verse 9 Paul is saying for I'm the least of the apostles that I am Not meet to be called an apostle. He's saying I don't even deserve this job that I have right now because I Persecuted the what he's saying I persecuted the church of God All right Paul says I persecuted the church of God now look at verse number two of first Corinthians chapter one So oh he persecuted the church of God. There's the universal church right there. He's saying the church of God I don't know that sounds like kind of a universal name for all believers All right, but look at first Corinthians chapter one in verse number two Look what he says. He says unto who's he writing the letter to the Corinthian church He's literally about to I mean look and you I mean he's literally about to we can learn lots of doctrine from Paul's letters So the Corinthians but Paul's kind of ripping some face on the Corinthian church here They've done some specific things they've done This is where we get a lot of our doctrine on things that you know how we're to react to certain things in the church Oh, you know a church is supposed to be managed It comes from these two letters that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church because he's he's using them as an example To say look you can't have these things happening there, but look what he says in verse two He says unto the church of God Which is at Corinth? All right, so obviously the church of God is again talking about the local church Okay, so look and also, you know that Paul says that he persecuted the church of God. What was Paul doing? Paul was literally going around to different locations Attacking and persecuting what groups of people He literally said, you know in in in Acts before he gets saved He was literally on his way to Damascus To persecute the local people there Like people in just a a local area All right, because look He traveled around and persecuted local groups of believers. That's what Paul was doing before he got saved So look, we just need to use clear scripture to define doctrine I just pull out like half of a verse and say oh, that's a universal church Okay, so you say all right you say I believe you pastor, but what's the big deal? What's the big deal of somebody thinks that you know if somebody's saved? And they think that hey, I'm part of some universal Invisible church, okay? Well first of all, you know, we know from Wednesday night that it diminishes The command to go to church the command to be part of a local assembly But there's much more to it than this turn to second John chapter one turn to second John chapter one the term look if if the if Basically what this means is the word church has lost all meaning today is what the universal church does all right I mean if the term going to church isn't even true for most people, but they think they're still part of a church a you know Even if no one's even saved you know, I mean Isn't even a church.  What is it according to Jesus? All right, so the first thing I want to point out the first major issue aside from just diminishing the local assembly and the meaning of Going to church and being part of a local assembly is this it diminishes doctrine It diminishes the importance of doctrine in the Bible. Are you in second John chapter one? Look at verse number nine Second John chapter one in verse number nine the Bible says whosoever transgress this Transgress it and a bite not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the father and The son so it sounds to me like doctrine is pretty important It sounds to me like doctrine is pretty important look at Matthew chapter 22 in verse number 33 And I'll read for you actually you go to John chapter 7. I'll read for you Matthew 22 go to John chapter 7 Go to John chapter 7 Matthew 22 33 says this it says this is how important look This is how important doctrine is doctrine is literally what got Jesus in trouble Doctrine is literally why people got upset at Jesus. You're like well Why why does he just not have doctrine then but the point is the doctrine was the entire the doctrine was the point Look at John chapter 7 Matthew 22 33 says this when the multitude heard this they were astonished at his doctrine They were astonished at his doctrine This is why because what he was preaching who he was saying he was is why Jesus was killed I mean obviously we know that he was killed to die to take the punishment for the sins of the world But the people that didn't believe in him they were mad and they were upset at his doctrine look at John 7 16 Jesus answered them and said my doctrine is not mine But his that sent me Jesus said that the doctrine that I'm preaching is the doctrine of God the father So that's how important doctrine is so this idea that we are all part of the church No matter what doctrine we have is just false It's just it's just not true People that you know just claim the name of Jesus regardless of any doctrine that they believe and They're part of the church is just it's a it's a horribly wicked false doctrine And you know what? It's a false doctrine that does a disservice to those people That think that they're just part of this church that they're you know, they're in the club When they're not even saved because they have the wrong doctrine All right look The truth is folks is that most most local church. It's much worse than this because the truth is that most local churches today that we would look at and we would drive by on on The highway or we drive down Bullard Street or whatever Street and we would say oh, there's a church The truth is is that those aren't even churches If we want to actually look at doctrine in the Bible turn to Revelation chapter 2 Turn to Revelation chapter 2 if we want to look at doctrine in the Bible most churches aren't even churches Most churches aren't even churches because of doctrine All right, well, let's look at just this doctrine of the candlestick in Revelation chapter 2 and Revelation chapter 3 so we see Revelation chapter 2 and 3 Jesus is writing these letters or Jesus is talking to seven churches We've studied this Extensively, but what is he talking to them about first of all look at verse number 5? He says remember therefore From whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come to thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of his place Except thou repent so Jesus is saying go back to Revelation 120 the verse just before chapter number 2 Revelation 120 Jesus is saying like look if you if you don't this church. It's not that this church had a false gospel It's not that this church, you know was even preaching false gospel false doctrine.  What does that mean? Well, I'm gonna remove the candlestick from your church if you don't fix these things Look at verse number 20 of Revelation 1 says the mystery of the seven stars with thou sawest in my right hand in the Seven golden candlesticks now he tells us what they are it's like the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches I believe this means the messengers of the seven churches or the pastors of that set those seven churches and The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches So when Jesus says hey get your works right Get your works right or I'm gonna remove your candlestick. You know what he's saying? He's saying I'm gonna remove you from being a church Is what he's saying? He's saying literally if you don't get your works correct Doesn't mention anything about doctrine. He's like I'm gonna remove you from being a church So how do you think and then he goes off?  They're lukewarm. He's like I'll spew you out of my mouth Look, he's referencing just removing them as a church when he says things like that Taking away that candlestick now Knowing that these are the standards think about that verse in Revelation chapter 2 and verse number 5 that if a church a Local church is not because it was a specific local church that he was talking to Okay, now if a specific local church doesn't have the works isn't doing the works that Jesus wants them to do Jesus says I will remove you from being a church Now what do you think Jesus would think with that standard in mind? What do you think Jesus would think about a church that's preaching a false gospel and I say that word loosely a local group of people That are led by some person That's preaching a gospel that is different from the gospel that Jesus said what do you think Jesus would say there? Well, the Bible tells us turn to Galatians 1 Turn to Galatians chapter 1 you say, you know those seven churches they were getting You know they were getting kind of raked over the coals by Jesus there for you know Not doing the works and having some people in the church that were preaching some false things or saying some false things You better get rid of those people get that those things right Fornication there's some sins that were being allowed that shouldn't be allowed look at Galatians chapter 1 of verse 7 8 now Now look at what the Bible says about somebody that would come in and teach a local group of people a false gospel The Bible says in verse 7 which is not another but there'd be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ We're talking about the gospel here. It says some people are coming in trying to pervert it. What does that mean? They're trying to twist it change it Make it something bad. Okay, look at verse 8 Then Paul says but though we or an angel from heaven He's saying anybody comes and tells you some other gospel preach any other gospel unto you Then that which we have preached unto you let him be a cursed Verse 9 as we said before so I now I mean you think he thinks this is this is important He's literally saying the same thing twice If any man preach any other gospel to you then you have received let him be a cursed What he's saying is he's going to this church at Glacier that he has heard has a false gospel Being preached there and he's like if anyone do this they're damned if anyone do this they're damned now What do you think about a local group led by somebody doing this you think that? God Jesus by any stretch of the imagination Believes that they are a church Absolutely, not God was going to remove the candlestick from the church in revelation chapter 2 for not working hard enough For not doing the right works. It didn't say anything about their beliefs being wrong if you so most local churches it's much worse than just This universal church of unsaved people. It's most local churches are not churches They're not a church but yet those people Believe they are part of some weird universal weird individual church or invisible church Because they go to a building once every two months That has a cross on it They think they're part of this weird universal church So first of all it diminishes doctrine The universal church diminishes it tries to round corners on doctrine. It tries to erase doctrine What do you think that they had to do when they got together at that council of Nicaea and they all had their doctrine? Some people had to drop their doctrines if they were all going to get together and agree on this Creed that they all believed all right. The second thing is exactly what I just said is it promotes ecumenicalism That's what it does and that's really the goal is to promote ecumenicalism You know amongst quote-unquote Christianity, you know, I mean you say well now turn back to Luke chapter 12 You say well, you know, I mean can't we all just get along isn't it a good thing to get along? I mean this is what people will say to you, you know as you believe the Bible they will say well Why you know why do you know why judge? Why judge? You know why why are you so judgmental? You know well, what does Jesus say the point is is that Jesus says it himself in Luke chapter 12 Look what he says in verse 51. I read it for you at the beginning of the sermon Suppose you that have come to bring to give peace on earth. He's saying yeah Am I here to just put my arms around everybody and bring everybody in and no He says I tell you nay, but rather division then he goes into this long die tribe about you know I'm going to divide the closest groups of people why doctrine that's why Because he's saying he's saying I'm here to divide because doctrine is so important Doctrine is literally what God is going to get Jesus hung on the cross and doctrine is so important He said that it will divide the the closest groups of people and use the example of a family in one house son father mother daughter Daughter-in-law mother-in-law very close people. He's saying it is going to divide why? Because my people are not going to give up their doctrine is what Jesus says He's like look if you think if you think that you know all people in one house have to get together and just okay It's not a big deal and okay. I'll believe what you believe and and let's come up with a with a family creed In our house Jesus is saying that's not that's that's not my doctrine He's saying doctrine will divide people and he says that's why I bring division because he brings very specific Doctrine so a local church a true candlestick will divide That that is I mean it's kind of the sign of a local church It's kind of a sign of a true candlestick is that it holds the doctrine and look if there's nobody if there's nobody Saying that you know what we preach here when I preach the Bible if there's nobody saying that That's divisive then I think I've got a problem I've got a problem because Jesus literally said who is the word that I came to bring division So if Jesus brings division and I'm just all about getting together with everybody and all about getting together with which just Whoever claims the name of Jesus has a cross on their building or whatever. I've got a problem Because Jesus said he divides All right, turn to 1st Kings chapter 18 and ultimately It it brings in ecumenical medicalism which the problem there is it promotes Compromise it promotes compromise. You say what kind of compromise how big of Compromise does it promote turn to 1st Kings chapter 18 1st Kings chapter 18? This is a story of Elijah and you know the showdown with the prophets of Baal And I'm not going to go through the whole story But I want to read you something that he said at the very beginning of This confrontation look at 1st Kings chapter 18 and look at verse number 20 1st Kings chapter 18 of verse number 20 So Ahab and Elijah they don't really like each other because Ahab is wicked and Elijah is the man of God So Ahab in verse 20 he sent unto the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel These are all the prophets of Baal all these false prophets in Elijah He so he gathered the people and the false prophets All right, and look what Elijah says before he gets down into this big showdown with these prophets He says Elijah came unto all the people and he said how long a halt ye between two opinions He's saying if the Lord be God follow him But if Baal Follow him and the people answered him not a word You know why they didn't say anything because the people were kind of like well they worship God, too We worship God. It's we all worship God That's exactly what's going on Now you will find that today now. I'm talking of the ultimate ecumenicalism is that all religions worship the same God This is the ultimate ecumenicalism. You know there are quote-unquote Christian leaders that believe this there are Christian leaders that believe that Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and all those people they'll go to heaven, too He say well, what about you know John 146 where Jesus says you know I am the way the truth in the life that nobody reads the next part It says no man cometh unto the father, but by me you know there's Christian leaders that say yeah, but People that don't know who Jesus is you know that doesn't apply to them you say what kind of Christian leader Would say something this I don't know how about this one Billy Graham Billy Graham you know Billy Graham Billy Graham believes that Hindus Muslims believed that Hindus Muslims Buddhists He believed in this this body of Christ his his word for the Universal Church was the body of Christ Which I already showed you that's not what it means He believed that the body of Christ was the Universal Church on earth and he and he gave an interview in like 1997 saying yeah, you know what it's the body of Christ Well, how do you get past you know the verses look at look at are you in Luke 12? Are you in Luke 12 go back there look at every believed up verse number 8 verse number 8 of Luke 12 look what Jesus says in verse number 8 of Luke number chapter 12 He says also I say in you where whosoever shall confess me before men him shall the Son of man also confess Before the angels of God, but he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God You know what a Buddhist will do if you walk up to his door and start talking about Jesus and he's not open to it He'll deny Jesus They don't believe Jesus was God a Muslim will deny Jesus a Hindu will deny Jesus look I'm that doesn't make me happy. I hope they would accept Jesus We go we try to get as many Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and and all these different people saved as we possibly can But you know what they'll do if they hold to their beliefs they literally deny Jesus But Billy Graham says in this interview.  I believe that they're all saved You're like you're just like Like who is this person so not only did he preach look he just preached the false gospel anyway He preached a repent of your sins work-based You know Gospel he already preached the false gospel so it really shouldn't surprise you That he doesn't believe the Bible that he doesn't literally believe that he didn't believe the words of Jesus All right, there's plenty of other wicked things we go into about that man But the point is like this is where it goes even with Christians is just it's just like first Kings 18 Where they're just like, oh, we all worship God. You're like, how could they possibly you know the children of Israel? Except with everything that you know in the Bible except prophets of Baal It's the same thing today. We all worship the same God We all worship the same God look Elijah says these things are not the same you must choose one is what he says You must you know what Elijah was teaching you must divide Just like what Jesus was teaching God wants you divided so we see that you know people can go into this like Ultimate ecumenicalism that anybody that claims God look this is what the Sikhs believe the Sikhs will sit there And they'll listen to you preach Jesus and they'll say I believe everything that you say we all worship God You know she but all these other gods and all these different things they just add it all in It's all God.  We're talking about that with Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday.   They don't believe Jesus is God So look it's a it's the dividing point folks You know with people that how about these people that think that oh anybody that claims the name of Jesus I mean just now we just we can take it down one level of hierarchy and be like well, okay You have to have Jesus, but anybody that claims The name of Jesus that then they're in the the universal church. Well, no, that's not what Jesus says in Matthew 7 We went into that in detail yesterday Jesus literally said himself those are red words Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21 The words are red He literally says not everyone that saith Lord Lord Shall enter into the kingdom of heaven Why because they're they're they're Jesus plus works. That's why So look folks this is important This is important to remember that we are a local church because the universal church tries to round all these corners It tries to break down all the division it breaks down doctrine it breaks down Look, it's telling a bunch of people that aren't saved that they're saved It's making people believe that they're safe when they're not It's making people believe in the prison cell of their life where they're waiting to go to hell that it's not a prison cell It's dressing up the prison cell. It's making it look good. So they'll stay in there People need to know that these divisions these doctrines are important and it's the difference between heaven and hell But people just want to fit in see people just want to fit in I even you know psychology today I've got a little quote for you here the need for acceptance People just want to fit in they want to be all together The need for acceptance is a basic human instinct Although some value it more than others we all want to fit in to belong in order to achieve That in order to achieve that we often present slightly different versions of who we are Depending on the environment of whose company we're in they're saying people just like change Who they are depending on who they're around? We should never do this. We might have new newer additions of ourselves for work or at home or even online Isn't that the truth then it talks about things like peer pressure peer pressure works? The reason that peer pressure works with kids and even adults is because of this is because this basic human instinct that people want to fit in People want to they don't want to go into a group of people and be the weird one Or be you know, you know, this is the peer pressure. Don't you want to be cool? You don't do it You know, this is how bullies, you know operate, you know, this is where you know And then also this is where this modern philosophy of of you know So people try to change for the group that they're in this is where this Modern philosophy of just be yourself.  They're just like they're just like be true to yourself, man Just be true to yourself. That's where this comes from Because they're just saying hey just be true to who I want to be like that's a wicked philosophy, too But it's all based on this idea that we all want to fit in turn to 1st Peter chapter 2 We all want to fit in but the Bible says and that's why Jesus is saying this over and over and over again About division.  It's just feeding the flesh It's just feeding the flesh and we all just want to get along We all just want to fit in All right, we all just want to fit in together But guess what as we become peculiar, you know, maybe there's peer pressure And we're just like you know what I don't care what all those other people say But that's why we talked about in Hebrews 10 25 That's why when we talked about that Wednesday about that admonishment and that exhortation, you know what that is That's positive peer pressure That's that's basically what the world will call peer pressure except in a good way So the local church is so important because as we're peculiar like I don't have to be peculiar by myself I'm not like some lone weirdo standing out here. I'm peculiar with a local group of people And that's why you know, it just the local church makes so much Sense everything in the Bible, you know, Jesus, I'm gonna divide things But if you think it through and look at how the church is structured and how everything is supposed to go in the church As we talked about on Wednesday night, it all makes sense and it makes sense for us God's not just saying hey, you know dance this jig because I say so he's saying no do it this way Because it will help you walk this Christian life together. It's very hard being a look we've done it It's very hard being a peculiar person being a Christian on your own that is a very difficult thing to do and You know many people including us at certain points before we came to California failed in that area because we were just we didn't have that Positive admonishment. We didn't have that positive exhortation. We didn't have that positive peer pressure Is what it comes down to so look God designed it this way for us He designed it this way so a group of people could be successful in what in the first works That's the whole point. All right So look the main thing is is that outside of us this universal church You say, okay, I just run into all these people to believe in the universal church It's gonna cut it's gonna cost a lot of people their eternity is is really my main concern Is that these people that believe this it's giving them comfort where there shouldn't be any because guess what? The wrath of God abideth on them Look at the wrath of God abideth on me. I would want to know I Would want to know and this doctrine it rounds it if this false doctrine rounds corners It takes away that fear it takes away, you know The wrath of God upon people that feeling that they should have that hey, maybe I should go seek the truth and Find out what's actually true. All right, so yes, it's very very wicked. It's very very bad Turn to 1st Timothy chapter 6 and we'll end here 1st Timothy chapter 6 and We will end there 1st Timothy chapter 6 look at verse number 3 1st Timothy chapter 6 and verse number 3 the Bible says if any man teach otherwise again talking about doctrine and Consent not to hold some words even to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the again the doctrine Which is according to godliness. He is proud knowing nothing But doting about questions and stripes of words where I've come with envy strife railings evil surmiseings Perverse disputings of men and corrupt minds Destitute of the truth supposing that gain is godliness From such withdraw thyself again dividing Dividing us. All right, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer


ASMR video. I just want to say that you guys have been amazing. I've been receiving a lot of good comments and people have been enjoying my ASMR videos, which I think is pretty cool. You know, I've watched a lot of ASMR videos and I thought ASMR videos, but in the way that I like to make videos, which is very tactical. So, I just want to thank you guys for watching, subscribing, liking, and sharing. I've watched it a lot just because I've upset it and it's real nice that you see a razor, so you don't hurt your ears, so you're not screaming and relaxing. And so, here, look at this. This is one of the clips that I use, triggers that would be some good ASMR videos. Please let me know in the comment. You know, an eating ASMR video, crazy, but it would be fun. So, if you think of any ideas, please move stuff around. And I just want to thank you guys again for watching. Consider subscribing, liking, and sharing this video, ASMR video, and post it very soon.


I want to talk about the dynamic of coming to resent our own needs and how changing this perspective can lead to a huge degree of health and positive change in our life. We believe ourselves to be too needy and it's such hard work taking care of all these needs that we have within ourselves. This is the the art really of self-parenting you know it's meeting our needs and there's that process of finding out what the hell are my needs even if I do want to start meeting them and find a balance between them and because that process is so tricky it is an art form and an art form takes dedication and practice to master because that's true we can start to develop this sort of attitude and you know it comes from our childhood too where it's like maybe I'd be better off without all these needs these needs are more trouble than they're worth because I'm just living with constant resentment and disappointment from not having these needs met and that's such a tragedy because the thing about needs you know having needs doesn't make you needy having needs makes you alive needs are the very thing that connect you to life without needs we're not human and it's it's to feel alive is to have needs to express needs to be open about needs to meet needs that's what the the name of the game is now I have a book it's a free book on my website and it's called forget happiness and I really would invite you to check it out it's basically it offers my model for how to self parent which is how to look at the needs we have inside ourselves and go about meeting them and finding a balance between them one of the things in the book is changing this attitude of I that having these needs as competing needs I'm given some of my time and energy to this need and these other needs are kind of resentful towards this need we want to start moving towards a model or a perspective where we're seeing that each to each need I meet is actually complementary and helpful to all other needs all of these needs that I'm working on meeting are on the same page they're all connected all the needs are serving my life my my joy so no matter that it does take time and energy to meet needs but when you're meeting one need it's not that you're taking time and energy away from other needs necessarily they're all contributing in the same direction the other approach we take unfortunately is that we see these needs as competing and they start to get resentment towards one another but that doesn't make sense maybe this will help the the model I use in the book forget happiness is there's five essential needs that we have this is outside of relationships by the way that's a separate matter I'm just talking about you as an individual person but the needs are one need that we're usually very aware of is the need for responsibility or the need to take care of things that are kind of maybe things that we don't really enjoy you know that is a part of life and addressing that and being able to take care of that is important however most of us get too fixated on that and it is the loudest need of all and we overlook the other needs very briefly these other needs are meaning purpose creativity physical help the need to reflect and finally the need to be lazy or spontaneous I have found that once we you know as an individual person outside of our relationships if we focus on meeting those five needs we're doing a pretty good job of self-apparenting okay but really today's video is about seeing those needs not as making you needy or as a liability they are the things that will connect you to life and if those needs are repressed or they're ignored or denied or not meant which is one of the reasons we go numb in life when met needs but if we have that attitude towards them it's a real tragedy because again it is what makes life worth living having these needs so I guess what I'm saying in today's video guys is drop the the word needy from your vocabulary if you want to use it embrace it see it as one of the I'm really needy I'm very very needy constantly needy 24 hours a day because we want to start to see the needs that we have as you know I put it this way these needs are not going away and I think I mentioned that in the book you got you got two options what your needs you either meet them or you repress them you meet them or you repress them and I would suggest meeting them it is an art form it's a skill set to meet these needs it's a skill of self-parenting but you can you can master it most of the time we uh it's because we don't understand these competing needs and they are the default is that they're set as opposing each other rather than um being in cooperation with each other towards a unified goal of helping the individual but um I hope there's food for thought there throw that word needy out it belongs in the garbage it's not helpful and um check out that book if you haven't already I really I've used it a lot um in my own life as well as with with clients I have found it kind of simplifies the whole and demystifies the process of self-parenting and will help you meet those needs that are just so important to me thanks for being with me as always guys I really appreciate it um if you can uh like this video it helps me with the algorithm it helped me to reach more people and if you haven't already if you could subscribe that would be a big help too thanks guys and I'll talk to you next time bye bye


Hello! How y'all doing? This is Antoine Hunter also known as Purple Fire Crow. I'm thoroughly excited to be here with you today. Before we start I want to acknowledge the land of the Eloni people here in Oakland, California also home of the Black Panther. My visual description I have ebony locks now as it clips three feet long resting over my back shoulders I have a bushy beard and I have that beautiful milk chocolate skin dark chocolates skin got it from my mama I'm wearing a gray t-shirt with yellow print saying hashtag deaf woke I have a long drape red background I'm really thoroughly excited to present our two amazing interpreters where they at I see my two interpreters we have Amber she said I'm happy to be here today my other interpreter Jay these are my beautiful people thank you so much for supporting us today love they are beautiful right and guess what so are you so today thursday august 19th 2021 let me let you know I'm tired however I'm blessed this uh past weekend uh we had the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival uh hopefully you had a chance to watch it it was the bomb oh we had uh just incredible salient talents uh leaders in our community we had poetry uh in sign language it was a blessing I hope we had a chance to tune in uh however today well okay see a few comments so but today um I get to share uh a little bio about our next guest so today we have Ms. Denise Saunders Thompson see the she is the executive a chief executive director of International Association of Black Deaf Dance she has extensive experience in nonprofit and for-profit established or startup organization she has advised organizations on administrative pro programic and fundraising issues including strategic plans policies she's been doing this for over 25 years of experience in arts administration and management practices for private nonprofit organization currently Denise is the president chief executive officer of the International Association of Blacks and Dance Incorporated Ms. Saunders and she's DD Saunders and Incorporation uh just full of uh of cultural and art she keeps busy see the comprehensive fine arts advisory firm affirming artist management uh consulting and productive services she's recently held the position of professional lecturer at American University and graduates of arts she has 17 years experience at Howard University uh engaging in different positions in theater and art and various forms of performance she's director of the theater art and manager as well she's the co-founder of the playwrights uh she's also a business manager and she's a proud mother of Colleen she holds an MFA from the University of California and a BFA from Howard University in theater arts and administration she's also involved in women of color of arts please please please the amazing the incredible Ms. Denise Saunders Thompson thank you Antoine oh i love you i love you it's amazing to see you amazing to see you i'm over the moon excited to see you i wish we were in person oh i wish we were in person my first question for you man how are you i'm good i'm really good it's been a minute and a journey but i'm good my family is good iabd my organization is doing really well and my immediate family my mom she's in Connecticut i haven't seen her yet we haven't been able to travel yet but she's doing well also so i'm good you know there's some people out there you know that are deaf uh deafblind would you provide us your visual description absolutely uh and i also do a land acknowledgement as well i'm currently in Washington D.C. on the land of the Piscataway and Anacostian people and i'm actually residing currently on the campus of Howard University so at some point you may hear some music or some singing or some students in the background because the students are are out practicing here on the yard and in the building i'm currently in the College of Fine Arts on the campus today my visual background i am a brown skin african-american woman my hair is pulled back in this little bun behind me i have on some earrings that are round and dangly and they're made of metal and are of a bronze burgundy color i have on burgundy lipstick and i have on a shirt that is colorless but has a purplish color to it and i'm sitting in a chair a gray chair and behind me is a blank wall and i again am so happy to be here thank you thank you yes so some people were wondering you know if our type of guests that we um have on this show uh today you know we live in the world together we learn from each other we are individuals we have ways to understanding empathizing communicating with the world how communicating through dance and communicating with the world of business and and you know we got that black people you know mm-hmm as a leader i've learned so much um and and you know your teaching has always been and will always be with me forever so we get the opportunity to speak to the world today all right have you ever been interviewed by a deaf person no this is my first time and i think it's interesting so a deaf person interviewing a hearing person but hearing people that interview deaf people all the time it's about having a conversation so thank you for being brave in joining us today thank you you have a plethora of careers what's you know what's been uh your biggest passion in life what i'm doing now i am blessed i am really blessed because i discovered at a young age what it is i was placed on this earth to do and it actually started as a young person growing up in connecticut and having parents who had the courage to say to me follow your dream and my dream was always in the performing arts when i was a young person i knew i wanted to either sing dance act that's what i did i started off dancing and growing up singing in the church choir participating in the school plays and then making the decision when it was time to go to college to pursue my passion on the collegiate level and when i came to Howard University i was the first musical theater major but somewhere in my first year i discovered the business of the arts and the value of determining and being in charge but also having a voice and a say in representing so many talented people piqued my interest and so i changed my major my second year of college here at Howard to theater arts administration and i was like okay i was bit by the bug as they say i was and administration to me is still a creative process and so i think of myself as a creative arts administrator because the work that we do supports the work that we see on stage so as you just stated we're always working together there's no you without me there's no me without you agree there's no you without me i totally agree with that you know if i can help you grow and i'll grow myself exactly and then we both grow together yes the growth is a blessing we're always evolving and we should always evolve yes evolving learning you know people think about the business not as the art or people think of the art not as the business about the art administration and so you you know you are empowering people combining the worlds together so you've you've been involved in Howard University you know wherever you go you've been in several different organizations whether it's small or private organizations or large corporations you you've founded the dance incorporation you built the team you know finding your organization how did that go how did that feel well let me say that our gifts have value and so we have to be clear about the value of our art form and so the your question is really right on point because i recognize the value of the art and it really pained me to see artists being taken advantage of and literally you know used without being valued in the way that they should be the contributions that artists provide to society are immeasurable they are immeasurable and that has value that we can never it that it just has there's a tremendous value to that and so as i began to think about organizations that i could become involved with and support this organization in particular the international association of blacks and dance was one that really valued and continued to be a voice for black dancers and specifically five women really shepherded this organization for many many many years and through their bloods went and tears this organization has evolved into a leader in the field it supports many it's intergenerational and it is home and family and what's most important is that every member every person every entity that intersects with this organization places value on the work of those who are apart and those who are not and we invite everyone in to be apart so i don't know if i answered your question but that's how i got started it's just recognizing that yes um how long has uh iabd international association uh black dance how long has that organization been uh been going on we are currently celebrating 30 years but prior to the formation of the actual association black folks have been gathering together and dancing together for many many years so the people who have been around and who have been dancing for decades i'll say this centuries really um have been the catalyst for the actual formation of the organization so all of the gatherings actually predate the existence of the association which was born in 1991 but prior to that there were conferences that were happening there were gatherings that were happening in a more informal way you know let's get together and have a conversation i'm having this issue have you dealt with it could you help me that type of camaraderie and support within the community predates the actual formation and formalization i'll say of the association itself back to the 60s and 70s and probably before then do you have one of uh you know the fondest moments of being part of iabd yes i do i sure do it was uh gosh let me see this is 2021 so 2010 when i was elected the next executive director and chair of the organization and it happened in philadelphia uh at a conference and festival so 2010 is a landmark year for me in this organization tremendous amazing congratulations thank you a you're an incredible leader i don't know if those who are watching um don't know that and it's i've been involved in iabd um and it's a blessing uh that those that those conferences are they're magical yeah uh i attended the homecoming so that's what it feels like you know i'm involved in several different organizations but to have a predominant powerful black organization i felt welcome you know as a deaf person i mean you've already answered part of my question have prior to me had had you had been involved or met or encountered or you know what's your experience working with uh the deaf community well actually that's a great question because as a professor here at howard back in the uh late 90s and 2000s we did a collaboration with gallaudet university so howard is in washington dc gallaudet university is in washington dc and we did a collaboration uh in dance and theater here at the university one of our former students jaron what's jaron's last name you might know him jaron oh boy it'll come to me uh his mother works at gallaudet and he's also a sign interpreter here in the area and also an amazing dancer he is a hearing dancer however he also has family members who are not and so he has really been that link to the deaf community here as part of the howard university community as well so i did have the opportunity and it was an amazing experience then uh just like this one is now jaron i got to think of his last name it's with an f yes i'm trying to think i'm trying to think it'll come to me anyway jaron if you're watching i'm sure you know something to be done i'm sure it'll pop up uh maybe we might interview him in the future yes it would be great to have on your show yes thank you have you worked with the deaf community individuals that identify as having a disabled what's kind of your hope to learn through these communities you know this is something that you and i had started to talk about and really i want to work more to do i bd has worked to do and has partnerships and collaborations that need to take place between our communities i'm not even going to stand here and pretend like we don't i'm not because there is an opportunity for us to learn from one another and create work together many times we kind of go to the go to people and it's time for us to really spread our wings and look internally at who is right here within community and you are someone who's in community that we haven't really had the chance to work with in an artistic and collaborative space and that's very important to me and that really needs to happen there's support that i often talk about i think what a year ago or so i think i sent you and zana an email and i was like what can we do we need to work together i want to support you this organization wants to support this community that we know exists that we kind of quite honestly jump in and out of but don't have a real relationship like this that needs to be very present and so it's something we need to work on we need to figure out like what is what is it and make sure that we continue to grow partner collaborate all the words evolve work together like we need to establish something that is meaningful long lasting and that is really a pipeline and a way for us to continue to create art together to work art together and to empower an uplift it's a thing we need to work on it geron gilchrist remember see you said it would happen geron gilchrist okay oh yeah i think i know who that is yeah thank you mm-hmm yeah you know it's tough it's tough you know black dancers artists you know what do you feel what's the biggest thing that you've noticed in connection to black dancers barriers like ways that we can support you know what are some things that you've identified i hope you understand what you feel me i understand what you're saying i do i think the biggest thing for black dancers right now honestly is the ability for us to find the synergies between the different forms of dance that we are all creating and working on sometimes we work very siloed and in the silos we don't actually get the opportunity to look beyond who are kind of immediate community or or group that we're working with and many times i find in conversations that i'm having oh wait i know of someone who's exploring some you know something that might be relative to what you're doing do you know about them are you interested in connecting nine times out of ten absolutely but we don't know about someone else's work and the potential for us to really collaborate and partner together and i find that a lot in our community we are all busy we're all creatives we're right now all trying to save our organizations but is there this tangible possible way for us to really connect and support one another i've said this um quite often in speaking with predominantly white institutions about connective tissue and the network so actually making the net work for us we need to also do that within our community and really build a much stronger partnership um and again a synergy and connection to support one another you know yeah i often say you know artists they need a space to feel safe opportunities they need financing there's not a lot of funding uh that supports black black dancers or organizations uh there just seems to be mountains of barriers and our walls uh that's uh we have to break through and i'm hoping that that changes um and like you mentioned you know the net work so making the network for us evolving you know sticking together sticking with black organizations yes that's so true because as you know literally in the last four to five years iabd has received significant funding to support its community and that's only you know been because we finally were able to have some conversations with a funder who listened but not only listened but also wanted to learn and you don't normally find that now you do in you know the midst of the times right george floyd's murder shifted many think many people's thinking um but prior to that you know this organization was a volunteer led association people were not giving money to a black dance service organization because the predominantly white institution dance usa was doing the work but only to a certain extent and so we have to really press upon the philanthropic community to fund differently to engage with us differently to listen be willing to listen be willing to learn because i'm sorry y'all there is so much money out there and the crabs in the barrel mentality does not need to exist in our community because there is money for everyone i believe that and you know why i believe that because my ancestors my ancestors your ancestors they died for this country they worked for this country they made other people extremely rich and that money as i often say needs to be given back to those who died for it and i know that's kind of strong language but i this pandemic has been something else no bring it come on this show is death woke come on well let's just need to wake up right yes let me just really quickly when the pandemic hit and our community stopped working we all of a sudden saw in this country these foundations and the government literally open up those deep vaults and the money show me the money where they say where the money reside where the money reside there was money that just started coming out of nowhere to save people to provide money for us to continue to live you know that money is from our ancestors it's on the backs and it's the blood of our ancestors i mean i really i this is this is going to sound crazy but you know i think of you know the the old white dude with the keys going down the steps and unlocking those vaults and then just passing it up the stairs so that people can you know have access to it we saw institutions philanthropic institutions in one week put together an artistic fund for recovery for our community in one week millions of dollars for us to access one week now y'all know when we do those grants they don't it takes them like three months to get back to us they put that together in one week so let's not let's press on this philanthropic community let's press on these folks that have the dollars to say give the money back give it back fairly give it back equitably and let's begin to change our minds and our thoughts in our hearts about who really needs the support yeah and you know you had mentioned something earlier that they have to be willing to learn willing to listen and i live by the motto that all because you can hear doesn't mean you know how to listen right so we need people to be willing to listen and it's like like you said in the beginning there's no you without me there's no me without you yes we need to help each other grow you know husband wife wife husband and husband husband wife family uh you know we we it's it's the balance sometimes it's sometimes it's on me sometimes i gotta work a little bit more harder for the family uh and then sometimes i'm gonna need to rely on you you know to help out with the family you know yes and that's what the dance world is you know we take turns on supporting each other you know our black people you know they they they've earned this ancestor the ancestors you know for black you know arts you know this world you know some people have you know you know so what happened you know what do you think would happen what would you think would happen in the future if we gave this money uh to our black dancers let me just say this you said something just a moment ago this world and i mean this the world does not move without black creativity the world does not move without black creativity it doesn't so what does that mean that means everything that we touch that we do that we create affects all things it does it does and so we are foundational people because it all springs from us let's go back to africa y'all let's take it back to the motherland it's deeply rooted and we are the seeds we are the seeds and so that's why there is such sometimes momentum to hold us back to hold us down to make us think that we are inferior that we cannot be leaders that we have to be submissive when you sit in the theater and we are on stage i mean i don't know how you all feel but the hairs on my arms it doesn't matter when you and zanya performed in Dayton Ohio a few years ago i mean i literally was just on the edge of my seat the slightest movement i felt it the eye the fingertips the extension of the hand that's power and i'm gonna say this white people know it they can't match it we really are magical people we are and unfortunately they have figured out a way to snuff that out so if all of us were funded hmm if all of us had the resources hmm yes yes brandy black magic yes it's true it is so true yes true true indeed uh you know i was watching an interview uh with a gentleman named michael oh with michelle obama interpreter error uh yeah there was an interview that she was uh she provided at the white house my mind i was just out of it was an out of body experience you know black people you know one of the most powerful positions in the usa is as it's the president so i just want to you know your truth thank you we need that truth thank you for being raw you know people need to wake up you know black people need to know black deaf people need to know you know if you know the things you're sharing today they remember they may have never heard today it's critical the information you're sharing today you know there are there are the black people working in different different different places and you my lord how are you how are you maintaining this much energy with everything that you're doing how do you keep it going i have a family that supports me i'll tell you this short story really quickly my husband before we got married courted me and you know what that courtship entailed him sitting in the theater while i did my thing so he understands my love and my passion and the drive for the work that i do because i told him i was like if you gonna date me you're gonna have to come to the theater you're gonna have to come and see what i do i'm just not out yes right i'm not out in the streets every night i'm in the theater doing my work but i couldn't do this without my family my family my husband and my son they allow me to be the person who i am and do the work that i love to do and support me in it a hundred percent i mean i just i couldn't do it without them i couldn't so i love them i love them to death that's wonderful uh who's your role model gosh people ask me that question and you know i i don't have an answer i mean i i learned from people like i i who's my role model my mom my mom um but there's no one that like comes to mind because i learned from people it it it's important that we get to know and understand people period and as we are encountering them you pick up certain things from everyone and you create that space for yourself there isn't someone who i have said like i want to be exactly like them i've said there's a quality about this person that i like and that i'm going to just take that piece and incorporate it into the person that i want to become and there's a person over here that i like and i love the way they do that and though their way their frame of thinking and that i think is something i can use to better myself but i don't i don't have like a just one person there's many many mentors in my life and many figures in my life who i admire and i learned from and helped to just evolve and build i guess my own my being my person to being a better person it's a journey and during covid it sure has been a journey so we have a few questions left i know your time is precious it's all right i'm enjoying this what hold on you see i'm gonna pose this question me probably what is deaf dance mean to you what is your perspective of deaf dance that's a tough one yeah that is a tough one that's a good question it's dance it's dance it doesn't like the qualifier doesn't matter to me the deaf part it doesn't matter to me the dance matters to me does it touch me does it make me feel am i understanding what you're expressing am i connecting with you that part doesn't matter to me is there beauty in what i see on stage am i in the moment with you that's that's the dance that's the art that's that's the piece you know we have the ability to tell the story without speaking dancers are powerful people powerful people period what other art form allows us to speak without speaking allows us to express without vocalizing or even signing it's the movement it's the feeling it's the emotion it's the storytelling that's the beauty of it hmm yes you're an incredibly special person so i thank you and the international association of the deaf black dance you know with that organization is it challenging to you know find you know interpreters having to meet interpreters or you know be involved in the deaf community especially you know black deaf dancers we need a space to share our art you know you know we understand like for example you know me growing up you know i lived in different worlds you know deaf people of my community you know they looked at me like i'm you know i'm black uh but deaf black or the black people in my community look at me like i'm black or i'm deaf rather so like i balance in between those worlds so and you know myself it's incredible it's been a joy to be black deaf and be a dancer you know iabd provides a place to be able to share your story and i invite everyone everyone to participate be involved in to tune in to iabd and the other organization you had mentioned that you know your mom is your role model you look you look up to them and there's a lot of people you look up to that there isn't just one um and you know you have several people who's influenced you um so now our next segment i welcome you to our game show it's called name these people okay antoine don't have me out here okay let's do this don't worry i'm ready come on you know it's all about educating each other that's right come on let's do this so you have two options you can you can name them or you can uh guess what they do or you know you just guess maybe guess what they do okay it's all be providing a visual description of each of our uh each of the uh individuals so actually uh she was on um she was on our show last week the visual description is a picture of an indian female appears in a beautiful outside of the garden uh with some pink flowers behind her she has a salt and pepper short hair wearing silver bindi on her forehead gold earrings on her ears to match her gold necklace who is she oh i don't know who she is but she's obviously a dancer and she's yeah and she's indian yes and okay kavita yep kavita papalia papyla yeah she's a dance she's a deaf dancer uh native from india uh is the global deaf aid foundation executive director uh mother uh so uh the reason why i brought her name up is because she was on our show last uh last week okay uh she does uh so much uh especially in the nations of africa um and our next uh so just let you know i you know uh these might be a guess for me as well okay a visual description a picture of an african-american male stands next to the smoky white brick walls holding hands to look at the camera and smiling he has a bald head looking handsome with a pair of silver rounded eyeglasses and a thin black beard um who is it he looks like he could be your brother don't kind of have the same frame of the face he does but you know we're our brothers and sisters i don't know who this is but he's um a business person uh okay yeah chris he's in the washington dc area um hopefully you have an opportunity to meet him as well he's an incredible mentor uh role modeling a role model leader inspirational writer so i do hope in the near future you get the opportunity of meeting him i've seen her before uh this picture of an african-american female stands with her arms folding uh wearing a black golf cap and a black eye-framed eyeglasses with her golden brown long golden brown hair on her shoulders you said you've seen her before i have i don't know her name i've seen her before okay i don't know what's her name name is jade brian uh she's deaf a native of new york city i think you may have i think i've you may have met her once a long long long long time ago has she done something at the apollo has she worked at the apollo theater before yes yes yes okay this picture of african-american male has a black short soft curly haircut trimmed black goatee wearing a small silver hoop airing a black suit jacket with a white collar who is it that could definitely be your brother but now isn't he a wayans is that one of the wayans i don't know who is that he's an actor uh-huh marlin sawn okay sawn okay close close close he's a hearing actor native of new york and he was on the show in living color that was during my time when i was growing up oops one more as we have technical difficulties that's okay that's okay she had on a red blouse with a black sweater and a thing in her hair she had a scarf on her head or what do you call those things can y'all see it no we can't see it well i can't see it come on come on come on let's bring it back bring it back you know it is tech to tech you know it's fine it's fine here we go that wasn't the other picture but i'll take this one there's a picture of african-american male stands holds his tap brown leather shoes on his left hand while another tap shoe in his right hand arm holding he has a medium long care free locks full uh stalled beard and so who is he that's the tap man savion glover i worked with him he's phenomenal yep savion glover is hearing is a native of new york new jersey uh in american uh tap dancer actor and choreographer uh this is a picture of african-american female appears behind a white blinds to sit and hug to hugging herself and gold hoop earring peeks out of her right ear she has in her long uh micro braided ponytail with long braids in the front of her shoulders who is she that's a figgins girl which one deon yes is it deon or is it the other sisters there's three they all came they all grew up here in dc went to ellington they all look the same they do they do which one is this uh it's not deon is it i'll give you a little i'll give you a little help on this one oh she's uh she's death i know uh samantha yeah samantha figgins yes she goes uh she identifies as hard-of-hearing uh native of washington dc a ballet dancer and contemporary ballet teacher she's also known for uh the alvin ailey dance theater she was involved in the bay area international deaf dance festival uh the 2020 festival she's incredible uh yeah she's this is a picture of african-american male appears in his black kinky curly afro haircut with shaved sides as his black eye frame glasses and has black trim goatee wearing deeply orange shirt who is he i don't know who this is i don't oh no me too me too who is this oh yeah jeremy lee stone okay death a native of new york american sign language instructor social media platform uh called asl storyteller oh i know who this is yeah yeah there's one more and there's a visual description of black and white picture of an indian female stands against the post office of old male box with her folded arms looking at the camera and greening she has long hair to her shoulders wears a jacket with her tote bag over her shoulders and black pants who is she i don't know what do you think she does or living well she's probably a dancer right ronnie you're in dance is she in dance yes she's fond of yoga she lives in northern california uh works as dreamworks as a graphic designer uh she has she's been credited for a few movies like kung fu panda wow and uh puss in boots okay those are really amazing people that's what i was hoping you would say oh yeah yeah you know i use this moment uh to learn that we can learn together black history you know it's only once a month i mean really black history is every day yeah so you know being that it's every day i use this moment i know we only have so much time left i don't want to take too much of your time so i want to leave some time for the audience uh for a little q&a you ready i'm ready all right audience this is your time go ahead type your questions in the chat box um this is the segment called ask the niece saunders thompson anything oh i'll bless you during this moment uh i definitely saw one question where's the money reside noa anywhere you can find it so question is i feel dancers are often underestimated what advice do you have for dancers to advocate for themselves that's a great great question um one of the things that i often talk about particularly in our field is the fact that um we are often only thought about within the art form that dancers typically don't have a voice that you know just you just continue to dance and don't say anything we have to break that cycle and that culture and that thinking because we are often told to be quiet and just dance that you have a voice that you should not remain quiet we oftentimes think about being penalized for speaking up speak up speak up if the person or the organization that you are involved with or are engaged with really cares about your work your voice will matter if they tell you they don't want to listen and they don't want you to speak up you've got a decision to make so advocating certainly means speaking up for yourself but also so the organization has a responsibility and an obligation to listen to what you have to say and so i often say you know what does that mean to you as an artist working for a particular organization do they respect you do they listen to you do they allow for you and i mean that allow for you that's a strong word but do they allow for you to utilize your voice without there being any type of backlash or any type of repercussions if you don't agree and so we do have to step out there and be strong and be very clear about whatever the matter or the situation may be or what it is you what it is you have to say and sometimes there is penalty and we also have to be prepared for that too question is what is a good advice for a starting professional dance company as a black dance company founder yourself oh wow stay in it oftentimes you're going to be told no and antoine i know you know and most most people who are leading organizations know they're going to be more knows than yeses and so you have to push through the nose in order to get to the one big yes and that's very tough i could tell you you know the number of grants we've written the number of asks and conversations that we have had that didn't garner us anything but that one conversation that one opportunity garnered many so it's really just sticking in there believing in your work believing in the the purpose and the goals of what you're doing and just continuing to just just to do it do it don't let anybody steal your dream don't anybody take um take away the the spirit the dance the drive if that's what you want push through it's going to be tough i know this this is like we always say these kind of like pep talks and advice but it really is it's it is keep pushing just continue to keep pushing and where's you know if you have the opportunity find people who believe in the work that you're doing and work together in a unit because you're gonna need that support you're gonna need the support to continue moving forward so when's the next international black dance conference well we were supposed to be having another one in 2022 and we're not the it's it's there's still too much uncertainty right now in our industry is is not back at capacity so we are pushing back to 2023 january of 2023 and it will actually take place outside of the country will be in toronto canada it's cold in canada in january i know well there's gonna be a whole lot of black people together so there'll be plenty of heat on the stage how about your social media handle we can follow well hold on oh i can answer that one hey so yes you can follow denise saunders thompson on her website and social media her website is www.iabbassociation.org her ig and twitter account is at iabbinc and her facebook uh you can find her at iabb black dance you know but what do you love to cook well my family is interesting i don't eat meat i'm a pescetarian but my son and my husband eat meat so i cook two different meals everything you know when i cook so for myself i am from connecticut originally everyone so i grew up around the water and i love seafood so i love fish i love shrimp i love crabs i love lobster i love scallops i love oysters i love fish seafood so i eat a lot of seafood and i cook that for myself but i have a 14 year old and i had a 50 something year old in my house who eat turkey so chicken and steak so i cook that for them too so it's kind of a weird menu in my house all the time because it's like well we gotta go somewhere where we can both eat we're always navigating that food that food conversation so what do you want for food tonight or what do you want do they have okay then we could eat there so do you feel this new relationship and act of listening from the founders will last well that's a great question um the world the world moves in like these circles and this moment is a cyclical moment because i've heard from those who have been doing this work um prior to me so my founders and members of my community of the older generation talk about this kind of being a repeat cycle what i feel is different about this cycle however is that we spoke up someone asked a question about advocating we advocated as a community as a people loud and clear and there was a moment that took the life of a man what catapulted us in a way that from what i hear from our elders has been different has touched people differently has moved people to think and act differently though not everyone has gotten on that boat but there's a larger majority of folks who are now thinking and listening listening actively to voices that they normally would not have been listening to before so i'm hopeful i'm real hopeful that this is a shift permanently though the cycle will continue there's been a shift permanently so we have two more questions what are some opportunities for deaf dancers and professionals within your organization well we have a number of programming activities and i'm really glad this question was asked um as i mentioned before i was able to see antoine and zania perform on the stages of the conference and festival in Dayton Ohio in 2019 so there are performance opportunities for all organizations it doesn't matter who you are the art that you do the form that you practice there's an opportunity a performance opportunity for dancers for companies there's opportunities to participate with workshops and seminars and classes to teach there's a lot of opportunities in addition we have programmatic um we have programs that involve master classes there's auditions that occur for other companies as well we are a service organization and so we really try to listen to what's happening in the community respond to that but also try and keep our pulse our finger on the pulse of what are the needs and how white and how might we be able to assist in addressing them and or creating opportunities for dancers period i think we have one more does your site have a list of grants um and supporting information yes it does if you go for the resources tab on the website you'll see a drop down and you'll be able to uh what does the tab say i think it says dance resources but you'll click there and you'll see a whole host of information on funding uh funders on um institutions on agencies um across the board for for dancers actually i want to use this time to show a little video okay that group was here we just knew we'd hit our stride but then everything changed no more touring no more performances no more training no more dancing who could have known that when we went home in march it would be for the rest of the year who could have known that when we went home in march and we're having some uh tech things going on but uh i definitely want some people to see that video that is the end of the year video my team came up with that video and it really was a summation just of all of you know a recap of what we went through um throughout the covid year when they sent the script to me it really touched my heart armad abri ronnie ronnie othello delis george george lewis johnson paula kello john luce fessy paul jonesan david sage jones renon is here marcus white and so many more we've made it through 2020 by leaning on each other we won't go back to normal because normal is not enough we deserve more you deserve more you are the reason dance thrives here so keep creating keep innovating keep showing up because the only way forward is together wonderful do you know do you have any final third words or thoughts this has been an amazing night talking with you and um i miss you so much i really do um i don't have much to say i think the video that you showed really some summarizes how i feel right now about what's happening in the world and where we as black people black creatives particularly in dance we just have to keep going we have to lean on one another we have to support one another and i am so proud to be shepherding this organization during this time the people who are part of this association the people who are part of this community we said it earlier it's black magic we are a special people we are a special people keep creating yes yes yes yes thank you so much uh you know being brave and talking to our black deaf community BIPOC community and you know even the hearing community uh you know uh and those who you know maybe interact with the deaf community so thank you so much thank you for being your black magic bring into the space it's been a blessing i'll see you soon we will see each other soon thank you i would like to share my final thought before i even say anything wow wow what a blessing you know as a black deaf dancer in person myself i often don't feel welcomed as an artist we need a space to feel like it's a homecoming for other hearing community those who are leaders please be comfortable inviting and learning new things learning how to grow it's like what denise said there's no you without me there's no me without you if you grow then i grow and we grow together black is beautiful that's true black is beautiful and let's go and celebrate that uplift that i invite you all to become members of the international association of black dance to learn how to fund your own and found your own organization there's no limit to what you can do hopefully you can capture some of that energy that denise has please participate collaborate thank you for watching thank you i need to say thank you to of course denise saunders thompson uh the interpreters the audience howl round drop labs and everyone you who are watching thank you zula for watching you guys are all a blessing come on now where my likes at come on where my heart's at thank you thank you all so much love oh of course thank you to pop fish who designed this t-shirt um if you can please uh donate to urban jazz dance company this platform this deaf woke is is not free uh there are admin costs interpreters other costs to continue this show please if you love this show and if you can contribute to urban real urban jazz dance company dot com come on now where my where my likes at where my heart's at let me see those clicks click six this is not the end but until next time peace love i'm out wait man hold on where's my music at


Hi everyone, Joe for Jaspy's casebrakes.com coming at you with a random number block that features 21 teams, wow. Angels, Yankees, Orioles, Mariners, Dodgers, et cetera. There's the whole list right there. So almost the entire archives break is gonna be in this random number block or serial number style, however you wanna call it. And we're giving away two extra spots. So we only sold eight spots outright. And the top two after this randomizer are gonna get extra spots. Top two after three. Good luck. One, two, and three. There you go. David M, you had the odds on your side. You get the two extra spots. We'll put little rooftops next to your name so you know you won those spots in this little promo here. Now let's gather all of your names and let's roll it and randomize it seven times and assign you a number, randomize you a number. Two and a five, seven times each. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven final time. David down to David. Two and a five, seven times for the numbers. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seventh and final time. You got three down to two. All right, so David you got three, Aaron with seven, David with four and six, Steve with zero. We'll get any and all redemptions that pop out of this case for those 21 teams. Scott with eight, David with one. David you'll still get live one of ones. Steve with nine, David with five and two. So let's sort this numerically and let's also just to help us out put all the teams on that list too because there's so many. All right, so there you go gang. I'll see you in the next video for the break itself. Jaspy'scasebreaks.com.