learn how abbvie could help you save. good morning and welcome to mosiac . i am ron swisher and it is always a happy time to host . we hope you are still in the resurrected spirit throughout your congregations and your individual and collective lives and also throughout the community because we want to go beyond

our churches and congregations . we want to impact our community, our society, in the world. it's a privilege to have two of my friends and colleagues here with me . that is reverend bobby jones from citrus heights outside of sacramento . >> that's correct. >> and reverend anthony jenkins from temple outside of san francisco . >> correct. >> is great to have you here. >> absolutely. >> let me ask you about how you approach easter. bobby , do you want to go first . >> easter is the cornerstone of our faith as christians . it's a time of renewal and restoration in the lives of believers. in jesus christ. for us, easter is a time of celebration and a time to

continue to pass on the great tradition of this is why we believe. we have a savior that love does and a god that loves us so much that he sacrificed his only son for the entire world and in so what is a joyous time for us. >> anthony . >> i agree with reverend bobby. with the title of my summer sermon, resurrection was about change and about moving forward. i feel that is where we should be. rather than marking the beginning of change with the new year, it should start with the resurrection . each year we should move forward and change . letting things that held us back or handcuffed us in a spiritually unhealthy way , letting those things die and move forward in a good and spiritual way.

>> host: i appreciate your comments. how was it for you on that day ? what was your celebration like ? >> the celebration was awesome . the excitement we had . we baptized 12 people on easter sunday or resurrection sunday . >> host: 12 is great . >> we had a great time celebrating and these were all young people . we had a couple of adults but the majority were young people who made the decision for themselves . they are going to dedicate their lives to god to live in a way that is witness to their relationship with our creator and it was an awesome time . >> it is wonderful to hear that . >> at temple, we began early that morning at the ocean where we had our sunrise service on the beach with the sand and the waves coming in . we were able

to do some ministry with some of the homeless population as well as we had a very different group with some members and friends of members that fellowship with us prior to us having a contemporary service at temple which starts at 11:00. >> and next sunday , what was it like ? >> for us, praise god, we had a great turnout. my sermon that sunday was a fighting hope . i believe that is the hope that god brought to us . with just the way the world is moving in the oppression , we have to fight to have our hope . as long as we are anchored in the rock, jesus christ, we will be okay. >> what about the 12 that were baptized, did some come back ? >> absolutely . it was a

wonderful time because we were still writing high-end folks were still excited and it is encouraging . it really is about a new start and a new beginning . the resurrection of our lord and savior was volutionary and radical and it's a new journey . we began to talk about you are a week older in your new journey in life . so, forget about what is buried in the old and that has passed , move forward and create newness in your life . celebrate this new journey and look toward the future and resurrection for us is about hope . >> host: we will talk about that in the ministry in this world. we will come back in the next segment and talk more about your dynamic ministries. please join us with great friends and colleagues in ministry together.

>> host: welcome back to mosiac . i had the privilege of serving with these two ministers in our first segment and what i discovered is strong prayer lives in strong preaching . so, tell me about that . how did you develop the prayer life that you both have ? of course, preaching is an ongoing challenge, tell us

about that . >> i think what happens is that it starts from within. in my theology, i believe there is something that happens in our life that draws us to god. when i was drawn to god , i developed a prayer life . to be honest, i was nervous at first because i thought there was a prescribed way to relate to god . after i began to grow into relationship with god , i knew i had an opportunity to speak to him just as i would speak to you or to a parent. i became more open and the more open i became with god, the more revealing an understanding . i began to understand more of myself and through that i began to strengthen and strengthen and now i am in a place of having a deep spiritual

momentum in my life and my preaching. >> host: what would be your advice to lay and clergy who want to develop a deeper prayer life? >> don't go as if you have to be afraid of god. scripture tells us to fear god , but translated into greek or hebrew, it means to respect . so, we can come with openness. don't feel that god is strong and stiffnecked . god is radical and loving us as well. just come openly . >> you were with me three years and we were all there together and i know from personal experience your prayer life as well as your preaching, what is your take on it . >> my prayer life is my personal relationship with god in my creator . if i don't have that personal relationship that inspires me and motivates me

and supports me and nurtures me, then i missing something. as with any relationship , it requires us to invest in it and nurture it and to spend time developing that relationship. so, my prayer life is out of that relationship with god. i want god to know me intimately and i believe god does . more importantly, i want to know god . i can go to god and be transparent . i can go to god and let it all out . as a pastor, we often have to contain some things, not for the relationship with we have where we support and nurture each other and where we are spiritual warriors, if you will, and prayer partners . that relationship with god is where i live . >> host: i want to start their

. people think we may be activists or engaged in our community but it starts with our personal relationship with god . i wanted the congregation as well as the audience to hear that. it is great to hear that . now let's talk about some of the ways in which you engage with society and the people around you. when issues come up, how do you see your ministry ? >> well, i see my ministry as first and foremost my faith must be relevant to the life i lead . if i am leading a life for example at my son's school or the educational system , i bring my faith experience to that . there is no dichotomy and who i am . i am not just a pastor, but i'm a man of god . so, to engage in things of the community, whether it be helping build a

community garden -- why do i do that? because out of my faith and being a steward of the gifts that god has given us. likewise, if there is a challenge, then we, the people of faith, and it's a personal thing for me, to engage in that. i don't want to sit on the sideline and say, isn't someone going to do something about that? i want to be there . >> i have a saying that you cannot withdraw what you have not deposited. what i mean by that is that as pastors , we want more people to be involved in our church and in our ministries. i believe that some churches build walls. a temple is a church where they kick the walls down and we go out into the community. i think that requires our purpose personal relationship with god because there is community

working on community things . what do i bring? i bring spiritual integrity . we are involved in ministries in the community because when we look at jesus and scripture , i think one time he was inside the temple and the rest of the time he was outside bringing this virtual walk that is god to the outside community. he ate with the tax collectors and was with the woman at the well and what her act. these were . he was going to the people and we believe that temple that it is imperative we not down the walls of the church which we have with various ministries. >> one of the few times he was in the temple , he talked about the spirit of the lord and it was in his hometown and he got ran out . sometimes it is not in the temple we have affirmation and support .

sometruly is out. it's boldness inside and outside as well. it's not o i within . sometimes we are focused on the vibrant praise and worship. come dressed as you are in bs you are , but also take it outside the walls with the various ministries that we have. >> i completely agree with anthony, reverend anthony . to me, we have to be radical in our faith . for so long and far too often, we try to be safe and careful. we don't want to offend anyone . so often we find the spiritual -- the faith component , the people . it's not about trying to be extreme on one side or the other. for example, all parents want their children to

receive education, quality education and to be equipped to compete in the workplace . likewise, healthcare , all of these things we bring a voice to that and we say , we need to be a part of the process and we need to be at the table . i like to say, and some of my colleagues like to say that if you are not at the table, then you are probably on the menu. >> yeah . >> we want to ensure we are at the table and at least bring the voice of the people who are typically not at the table and typically not considered. i think that is what christ did and does through us and so we continue that. >> i want to further this discussion because you have brought up some great points. so please, please join us. reverend anthony and reverend bobby .

welcome back to mosiac . during break, we got excited about the resurrection again. one of our guests, anthony, was talking about resurrection and not just with jesus. we are hoping that this happens throughout our community and congregations. again , how do you go about doing that? >> i think it is -- again i go back to the beginning when we were talking about new year's resolutions. people say it is new year's day and i want to lose weight and handle my finances better and i want to change and improve myself. more importance than new year's day, it should be resurrection day . we should see how we are

growing and how we can improve ourselves on that day . i shared during the break that i believe in my theology that jesus came not just himself to be resurrected but for the church to be resurrected. not just from death to life, but in our daily lives, things that need to shed from us that are really dead and holding us back . we look at ourselves, where my going this next year in my spiritual journey? >> for me , echoing that , more importantly, the resurrection is back getting up and moving forward and rising up like the phoenix from the ashes. as a pastor , and one who leads a faith-based organization here in the state , it's about lifting up the people and empowering the people . it's about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked .

empowering others to fish for themselves as well. we believe , all of us believe and people of faith and people love god believe that if we elevate the conditions of the leased of us, it is better for all of us. for me , it's not just easter sunday but every day is resurrection day . every day is let's get up and let celebrate this gift of life that god has placed before us. how do we do that? live this life and spread the joy and give love. tag, you are it. tag , you are it and go and do likewise. that's what christ did . >> i agree with reverend bobby. also , we have an organization at our church called the bay area immigration task force which is connected with

justice for our neighbors in washington, d.c. . it has to do with helping people who are trying to become citizens in the united states and then the requires boldness of faith . churches don't do this but at temple we do this. we have legal services with a lawyer that is full-time on staff and an office that does neff nothing but deal with immigration rights and issues to help people . the service is free but it requires a boldness to go out. it is not what some of the country may feel is the right thing to do but as people of faith, we feel it is the bull thing to do. >> temple in my view is one of the most diverse churches in our conference. not for

lifestyle but for ethnicity are e are no pihow soe ded . we are so bold that the temple churches sometimes have the habit of the old guard sitting in one seed all the time . someone that is homeless or hungry or of a different lifestyle , they can sit in any seat and be welcomed and that is jesus. >> and i understand there are 14 different languages spoken there ? >> 14 different languages and maybe a few different ethnicities . >> that's an exciting place to be . you've been in sacramento about 10 years now? >> that's correct and i think i baptized your son , isaiah and it's good to see you again. >> you as well .

>> at sacramento, you are at the n with things that were happening and we have another minute or sothis segment . you are the chair of the pastor's organization ? >> i am the president and ceo of the california association of black pastors. it is an empowerment agency. we advocate not just on behalf of african americans. we understand that in most of the best categories you can name like education and health, we take residence at the bottom. so, our efforts are to empowerment that community and lift them up . we do that with all communities . jewish communities in different faith backgrounds . so, when we celebrate what jesus said to love your neighbor , it's not just your black neighbors or your white neighbors or your educated. it says to love your neighbors . that's what we do.

you will often find me and others at the capital advocating on behalf of proposed legislation going forward. it benefits the entireteand 's e ab >> we will come back for the last segment and it is hard to see you go . come back in these last few minutes with these great ministers. reverend anthony and reverend bobby.

>> host: it can be challenging because often you will take

shots from colleagues and others in the administration . even some chmbs th ent . when cagoes out and is, th must h ou reverend bobby said is spreading the good news of jesus christ. also at temple , people realizing the doors and norms of the church are open to everyone . one thing that excites me is when i see little children come to the church and enjoy being in church . running around with excitement and being taught about jesus christ and it thrills my soul . >> the most challenging ? >> the most challenging is breaking down the stereotypes of christianity . saying we

are self-righteous hypocrites , that is not always true . more times than not we, as a humble people with hearts and hands open to help whoever we can . like i said , lift by the example of our lord, jesus christ . >> tell them who you are and where you are. >> i'm in odis urch cius heights, california . >> i'm at 65 beverly street in san francisco. 94132 is the zip code . if you want to come to church and have fun, come to temple . if you want to be part of a church that is extremely diverse, come to temple . >> and first come to community in fairfield. >> [ laughter ]. >> it is great to have you

guys. i have missed you being together in ministry but god has called you to individual ministries and you have served wonderful churches in oak part and centennial . bobby and of course anthony has been at tracy and is now at temple . >> yes . >> thank you for joining us. i am ron swisher and we hope you have been inspired by these two great ministers .

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