good morning. welcome to mosaic. i'm ron. it's always a joy and privilege to host on behalf of my cohost elizabeth and our mentor, the late hugh burrow. he was the pastor of ill hillside presbyterian church. down the street was allen temple baptist church. the president at that time was alfred smith sr. he

was the president of the clergy, father jay michaels who we lost not long ago was vice president. i was the second vice president. hugh was the secretary. we were mentored by the great senior. s i had the privilege of marrying junior and his wife elaine. they reminded me at their 100th allen temple anniversary that it's been 40 years now. the i heard a buzz, you should hear dr. jackie. jackie will preach the paint off the sanctuary. one friday nighty came to good friday services. i don't remember what word she preached eight years

ago, but it was a dynamic, electrifying message. we're honored to have the first elected pastor, a woman pastor, senior pastor of allen temple. dr. reverend jacquelyn thompson. great to have you here. thank you for coming. reginald liles, deacon, brothers to brother, reverend williamsing and long had to make the contact. >> they made it. i'm here. >> i'm glad you're here. >> thank you so much. tell us about your calling. it's phenomenal to have you. calling to church or ministry? i'm the daughter of a pastor. my father who recently passed in december was reverend thompson. >> i didn't know. that. he pastored for 40 years. i've grown up a church girl all

my life. we started the question faith, theology, things your experiencing in life and in the world. i began seeking a deeper relationship with god. i started teaching in west oakland. >> they're going through a lot. >> we need to be in protest about that. >> that's right. >> encountered kids who i realized that my desire was to go into law and politics was not enough. they needed a transformation deeper than anything external. the only thing i could impart besides what we did in the classroom was what was sustained me up to that point. that was my faith, that sense of hope. i started a gospel choir. you know legally you're not supposed to say the name or have bible study in schools. we had character work and deep conversation. through that proquestions of administering to them,

the lord began speaking to me about proclaiming larger audiences. ty didn't realize dr. smith sr. had been watching me as well. i went to him and told him i was feeling this burden. i had this experience. i had gone to the service and he preached on jonah. i was there. every time he said jonah, i heard jackie. before i knew it, i don't know how it happened f. i don't remember walking, getting up. i was at the altar. i said yes to that sense of g god i had. i preached my trial sermon probably august of -- wow, 25 years ago this year. august 1995. up immediately moved to dc to

go to howard school of indy. >> that's exciting. >> that's opening segment and going to keep us truly interested all the way. we'll come back in a moment. >> wonderful. >> please join us. reverend jackie thompson. a hick historic the church 100 year anniversary.

welcome back to mosaic. if you heard thompson, you have to be excited about her call to ministry. tell us more about what that's been like for you? pastoring in al entemple? it's been a joy. i was raised in allen temple. i came there when 12 years old, looking for a church. i was -- for lack of a better phrase, sick of going to church. that was the era you went to church all day. there was sunday school, morning service, 3:00 service. you came back for 6:00 service. at 12:00, i was not making the connection as to why this worship experience was occurring and what pivot was supposed to mean for my life. i had a mother who wasn't so committed to her church she didn't think it was important for me to have a relationship with god. we traveled, landed in the

balcony in temple church. this man got up. i'll never forget it. he preached matthew 28. at 12, i understood. the sermon was relevance in faith of god and meant we were supposed to do something, not sitting in the pews of celebration, that faith should drive us to action. i was raised at allen temple. pastoring there has been surreal. it's my life coming back full circle. i feel blessed for the opportunity to give back. >> have you experienced seeing that is in -- . not really. the transition process was tess say. i saw my first woman preacher there. people can be challenged by female authority. i have no horror stories to

tell. people are amazing, loving, kind. we're in our honeymoon stage. we'll see. when we get to year seven, we'll see. >> i always saw allen temple as a mega church. it's still mega. how is membership there? about 2800 now. >> okay. >> with people moving out, that's still a if good number. >> absolutely. with many churching losing members. we're very blessed. >> when were you there? their pastor had gone. they were experiencing transition and asking pastors would they come support and encourage the people. he was air new pastor, been there a couple years. they had before inviting me. that particular sunday, knowing he had left and how important pastoral leadership is, i wanted to

encourage the people. >> that is great. >> we had his sister in concert this past sunday. we heard your message preserved for a purpose. >> it was the closing sermon for black history month to remind african-american people out of everything we've been through and the success we've experienced that god has kept us for a reason, it's not just for us to live in our particular socioeconomic classes. we've been blessed to go and be a blessing to other people and bring another generation along with us. reminding us that we were kept this far for a person. to have the speakers like you did, that was a great idea. >> for me, sometimes black history month can become pigeon hold. we focus on known superstars,

names we hear before. we were people before we were enslaved. it was important to me to make the connection between africans and the actual continent. we have members who are from the nations that were lifted up. i wanted them to be affirmed as well. >> we definitely felt lifted. >> good. tell us about your style of preaching. i was not being facetious. i'm one of the few that made it through seminary and didn't take a preaching class. the reason being because i started preaching my first year. the dean of preaching at howard university school, dean evans, crawford i preached at his mother-in-law's church in rhode island. i got back todc.

he said you don't need a class. he signed me out of it. my preaching style developed over the years. i start with what is the one take away i want people to leave with and i build the sermon from there. preaching is about transformation, not just of the mind but of behavior, understanding. i start with a behavior purpose this. dr. frank thomas lifted up in his book. he's an amazing man. in his book, like to never quit praising him, he lifts up a behavioral purpose statement. what do you want to be different as a result of the engagement? i took that to build from.

>> the bio said deep scholarly. >> still down to earth, practical, touchable. i think sometimes in churches, we lose a generation because we're not able to speak to their current day. what are has to do with identifying with people where they are. it's not just a heavy approach to the gospel. actually trying to administer like jesus who walked among the people, lived the life. he tried to make the gospel relevant to them. >> his parables are my girlfriend whit. >> like that. we loved coming.

i understand. brothers to brother. >> major supporters. i'm so appreciative of that. >> i want to take a break and hear more. please join us. dr. thompson.

welcome back to mosaic. you talked about howard. you did a lot of work in dc. >> i did. >> tell us about that work. >> i left here in 95. dr. if he woulder and dr. rice, sanders, d dr. carpenter. i served on staff of shiloh baptist church, washington, a congregation founded by slaves. they had a rich history and also a social justice

dna. i served as youth pastor a number of years and built that program and model up to scale. it became nationally recognized. it shifted the because dc was not the dc that is today. there were a lot of means in the community. i wrote a grant for teen mother this is that was founded. the program does the outreach services of the church. >> you were extremely successful, but your call to preaching, teaching became -- it prevailed. >> it did. >> where did you get your doctrine? 468 that's where you combine family situation on our roots. >> yes. >> of course what you're doing into community too. >> that was an opportunity for

me to blend my concept around my role in the community and way state needs to be transformed to reach another generation. we're living in a time many of our young people are anti institution. particularly institution religion. faith and institution have brought us this far as a people. we have to figure out how to make them relevant to the next generation coming behind us. >> do you think of running for office. i'm not opposed to it. i think my influence is greater in this capacity than political office. you can never say never when called. >> one of my predecessors was mayor f. i realized i

could only done one job. >> i'm enjoying this posture. it gives me the opportunity to critique the things i see that are wrong. sometimes when you're functioning in office, you lose your about to do that. you're considered part of the institution. i'm consideratable with the voice, have you considered this or that? there's people left behind. absolutely. >> my community organizer was paul. he's still around. >> he is. he's full of rich history as well. >> that's the term he'd use. he wanted to be that. >> it's necessary. he's able to do that with publishing. we get it every sunday. >> that's excellent. i'm glad to hear that background. >> do you still sing? a little here and there in church. >> you had a choir you started. >> yeah. it's a part of worship not as an artist or

anything. my dad was a recording artist. >> that's right, dr. thompson. right. with all that pitch make untran richness, you felt called for the purpose, reserved for the purpose. but not pastoring. i did not want to pastor. i had seen so much. it's a tremendous job. it's a labor intensive job that never ends. i think when god calls you to it, i think there's at a call to preaching and call to the pastoring. it requires a different skill set. once i was confirmed god was calling know pastor, i undoubtedly said yes. >> this past sunday, you were there 8:00 to 6:00 or so? about 7:00. that didn't count the hours you had to prepare. exactly. you do it with joy. it's really true, when you find what you're born to do, it doesn't feel like work.

that is true even #ministry. >> right. so what is your staff like? i know you have to have help. >> we have help. we do have 60 ministers. we also have staff ministers who cover areas you have. we're going to build out more staff in the future. >> you did not baptize? i did not. it was deacons and our other clergy. you want to give them opportunity to preserve their guests. when he was preaching, i didn't want to baptize, run, dry off. god didn't just call you. it gives opportunity to exercise their rights as well. same with communion. what about a memorial service, funerals, weddings. they're all divided. >> do you have to do much of

them at all? i do some. some are divided between the clergy and st . i am concerned. i saw all that work. >> i have great escape. i stand on the legacy of great leader who is built wonderful organizations and provided opportunities. >> when it comes to having that large staff, it seems like you're able to manage well? i inherited good people. i take no credit f. i inherited pop already trained. my goal is bring them into the next generation. we have one more segment. that's covering the next session h. let me know. >> please join us dr. thompson.

in this last segment with dr. thompson. we want to look at her entire ministry again. allen temple celebrated the 100th anniversary, centennial. tell us what that was like. >> it was amazing. it's an opportunity to reflect on where god brought them from. it was an opportunity for us to

celebrate smith leadership. they're combined leadership with the father and son represents 50 years. we were able to dedicate aid street name. we celebrated the retirement of smith jr. we hosted the best preachers in the nation from mcmickle, jeremiah wright, all profits in their own right. le haines, celebrated a wonderful ceremony. it was amazing. it gave the congregation opportunity to reconnect. it was a blessinged time. >> do you have many members commuting? we do. we have a good number that live in the area. for the most part, we're a commuter church different from when i joined. when i joined. many lived in the neighborhood. now it's predominantly hispanic. >> we experienced the same.

people are commuting. there's tremendous ministry going on. my 300 colleague and i mentioned reverend jenkins. he's doing great work there. they have to commute. they stay there and produce. so in our last minute or so, what would you give as the advice for pastors in that urban area and centers, seeing it move away. what was the best way to galvanize ministry? around mission and relationship. it's not just coming in sunday morning for celebration. it's everything that happens during the week whether feeding the homeless, dealing with human trafficking, planning outreach in thank you communit. that's instilled in our dna. speaking out on those that are voiceless. people committed to that,

there's no distance they won't drive in order for that to be maintained. they've maintained relationships with one another. they've been in each other's weddings, want to see their grandchildren be a part. if you can build relationship among those members, you'll have success. success is not surprise. success is impact. jesus had 12. he changed the world. we're on mosaic today because of the ministry. >> amen. >> we'll keep that in mind, i think we'll find good success in urban environments. the smiths left a great successor. >> thank you for coming. >> thank you for having me. >> you are a blessing

throughout your ministry. different parts of the world watch. >> appreciate it. thank you for joining us. the board is our light and salvation. that is my favorite. not just when we die, this ministry is for life abundant, full, complete now. easy dr. thompson adds to that as temple church does. god bless. thank you for being with us.

californians are facing a bleak start to the new year. a potential government shutdown with the president refusing to sign a new bill. hospitals are bracing for a new search concern this morning the new virus strain may have made it to california. a suspected suicide bomber as federal agents are looking for a person of interest under the rv explosion in nashville. good morning. let's start with a check of our mother. >> we are waiting for tonight's rain.