Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190041A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:11 I am JD Quinn. 01:12 And we want to thank you so much 01:13 for joining us today. 01:15 We have an inspiring story and wonderful guest. 01:20 But we want to take this opportunity 01:22 from the bottom of our heart to thank you for your prayers, 01:25 and your love, and your financial support 01:27 of this ministry. 01:28 It's amazing how God uses this 01:32 as an evangelistic tool. 01:35 We have people, Shelley, calling all around the world, 01:38 looking for the closest Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:40 God gets all the glory. 01:42 Amen, and amen. 01:43 And you know what excites me, 01:45 it's not just people who are discovering Jesus 01:48 for the first time, 01:49 but people who have left the church 01:51 and start watching 3ABN and return to church. 01:55 That's exciting. 01:56 They're missing that first love. 01:57 Yes. Amen, amen. 01:59 Well, before we even read the scripture, 02:02 I just want to tell you about our guests 02:04 because they are so special. 02:05 We have a true treasure with us today. 02:08 He has been president of Oakwood, 02:10 he's a pastor and evangelist. 02:12 When I first met him, he, I believe, 02:14 had already retired, 02:15 he was the vice president of the General Conference 02:19 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:21 and he pastored in Vegas for maybe 10 years afterwards, 02:25 was when I first met him. 02:27 But I'm speaking of none other than Dr. Calvin Rock. 02:31 Thank you. 02:32 Dr. Rock, thank you for being here. 02:34 Thank you for having us. 02:36 You know, the Lord has led you 02:39 on an exciting journey through your life 02:42 and you have such a distinguished record 02:45 of ministry and service for Him. 02:48 And we just, we want to thank you 02:50 for giving your all to God. 02:53 It's a pleasure to share. 02:54 Amen. Amen. 02:55 And we talked your lovely wife into joining us 03:00 just at that last second. 03:02 We kind of applied little pressure 03:05 and she has joined us on this set. 03:07 Sharon Rock, thank you for joining us today. 03:10 Thank you for having me. 03:12 Now, we're going to get back to their personal story, 03:14 then we're going to talk about an exciting thing 03:19 that the Lord is doing in Nairobi. 03:22 And I wanted to read this scripture to you 03:24 before we go to music. 03:27 You remember on the day of Pentecost, 03:30 3,000 people accepted the message, 03:33 and that was exciting. 03:35 Amen. 03:36 You know, the Holy Spirit was being poured out. 03:39 But I want to read to you from Acts 2:46-47. 03:45 Because it wasn't just the 3,000 and stopping, 03:50 but because the Holy Spirit was there, 03:52 listen to what Acts 2:46 says, 03:56 "So continuing daily, 03:59 with one accord," talking about the people 04:01 who had first joined the church, 04:03 "in the temple and breaking bread 04:05 from house to house, they ate their food 04:08 with gladness and simplicity of heart." 04:12 And here's the point, verse 47, "Praising God, 04:17 and having favor with all the people 04:19 and the Lord added to the church daily, 04:24 those who are being saved." 04:26 You know, when a group of people get together 04:29 and open up their heart to let God pour His love 04:33 into their heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, 04:36 a church is going to grow. 04:38 Amen? Amen. 04:39 And we're going to put that in steroids 04:41 on this particular session, aren't we? 04:43 Yes, that's true. 04:44 I mean, this is amazing how the Lord is working. 04:47 Amen. Amen. 04:48 But, honey, everybody loves music 04:50 and I know that you've got a special guest to introduce. 04:53 Yes. 04:55 He's also a treasure. 04:56 Yes, he is. And that's Wintley Phipps. 04:58 And he's going to be sharing with us, 05:00 "Coming Again." 05:37 Why stand ye gazing there 05:42 Up into the sky? 05:48 Be not discouraged 05:54 For we have brought good news 06:01 This same Jesus 06:05 whom we do magnify 06:11 Soon He will come again 06:17 For all to glorify 06:24 He is coming again 06:38 Son of the Father 06:44 He is coming again. 06:50 On Calvary 06:52 He claimed my destiny 06:55 Lord, I humble myself 07:05 To Thee 07:16 Lord, I want to see Your face 07:21 Just help me be strong 07:28 I know You will return 07:34 I know it won't be long 07:41 He is coming again 07:54 Son of the Father, 07:59 He is coming again 08:05 On Calvary 08:08 He claimed my destiny 08:11 Lord, I humble myself 08:21 To Thee 08:26 Lift up the trumpet, 08:29 And loud let it ring 08:31 Jesus is coming again 08:36 Cheer up, ye pilgrims, 08:38 Be joyful and sing 08:41 Jesus is coming again 08:45 Coming again, coming again 08:49 Jesus is coming again 08:54 Coming again coming again 08:59 Jesus is coming again 09:09 Amen and amen. 09:11 It's amazing. 09:12 He's an anointed singer and an anointed preacher, 09:15 and I believe Wintley was 09:18 one of your students, wasn't he? 09:19 He graduated from Oakwood while I was there. 09:22 I called him one of my boys. 09:24 And I think you call CA Murray the same thing. 09:27 CA is one of my boys. 09:29 Father Abraham has many sons and daughters. 09:33 Yeah. 09:35 Please, let's kind of turn the clock back. 09:39 Give us a little bird's eye view 09:41 of your growing up years 09:43 and just let's talk about your life, 09:46 how God has lead? 09:48 It all begins with my grandmother, 09:50 my mother's mother, my maternal grandmother, 09:53 who was baptized from The Morning Star, 09:58 the decks of the Morning Star, 09:59 the little boat that Ellen White's son 10:02 built that sailed down Mississippi River 10:06 and docked along the shores. 10:09 She was a girl of maybe 14 10:11 when she accepted the Adventist message 10:14 and was one of the original 16 students at Oakwood 10:18 Industrial Training School, 10:20 as it was called then, one of the original 16 in 1896. 10:24 So my family's been Adventist ever since. 10:27 But, let me ask you, Dr. Rock, when did it become, 10:31 I mean, we can come from generations 10:33 of Christian families but God has no grandchildren, 10:37 He only has children. 10:39 When did it become real for you 10:41 that personal connection with God? 10:44 I must have been 15 10:48 because I was born into the system 10:50 and the church and 10:53 had all my relatives Adventists. 10:56 My mother's side and several on my father's, 11:00 but at age 15 or 16 11:04 sometimes we say Jesus found me but I found Him, 11:08 He found me and I gave my life to Him. 11:11 Praise God. 11:13 And though I had been baptized 11:16 as a student in church school at age 12, 11:19 I was now truly converted, 11:22 and dedicated, and gave my life to Christ. 11:26 Amen. 11:27 So give us a little of your background 11:31 on your journey to the General Conference, 11:34 tell us how God used you or how He lead? 11:37 Well, after attending church school in Los Angeles, 11:41 high school and one year and 11th grade 11:44 at Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania. 11:48 Those were the war years, World War II, 11:51 and, of course, World War II defined my generation. 11:55 Hmm, very much. 11:56 And things were very, very rough in LA, 12:00 which is where we lived in Los Angeles. 12:02 My mother had moved from New York, 12:05 where I was born in 1930, 12:09 a long time ago, 12:10 and at age 11, 12:12 they'd taken us to Los Angeles to find a better living. 12:16 My father was from Barbados, 12:20 and he was here on a visa and something happened 12:23 I'm not sure yet what it was, 12:25 but he had to go back to Barbados. 12:27 I never saw him until I was 34. 12:31 And my mother reared us, 12:33 saw that we were kept in church school, 12:35 and it was love of her 12:38 and her love for the Lord 12:40 that really gripped me and held me 12:42 when a lot of my friends 12:43 were going in the other direction. 12:46 I loved my mother, 12:47 and I didn't want to do anything to hurt her. 12:50 And that had a lot to do 12:51 with my affection for the church 12:54 because she was very closely connected in her work 12:58 and her holding various offices. 13:01 But after high school, 13:02 I went to college at Oakwood, graduated. 13:07 Hated Oakwood for a while because I owed a lot of money, 13:10 and I was glad to get out of there. 13:14 But the president's daughter had caught my attention, 13:16 we later married. 13:18 And after a while, I learned to get over it. 13:22 And I paid my bills 13:24 and went to correspondence school, 13:27 I had finished through that process 13:30 and got my degree, had already become a pastor. 13:34 I left college early because I owed so much money 13:37 and I had to work so hard, 13:38 my mother couldn't do it all by herself, 13:40 and I couldn't work hard enough to pay all the bills. 13:43 But once I got over all of that, 13:45 I began to talk about Oakwood 13:47 as a place for my young people to go to school 13:49 and started a chapter down in Miami 13:52 where I was pastoring at the time, 13:54 went on and got an education in Detroit later on, 13:59 a master's degree in sociology 14:02 and after that in New York, 14:05 worked on a PhD in sociology which I didn't finish, 14:09 because by that time after 17 years 14:12 in pastoral ministry, 14:14 with a three year stint in the Southern Union 14:16 as the Associate Ministerial Secretary, 14:19 I was asked to be the President at Oakwood 14:21 in 1985 and... 14:27 1971 until 1985, 14:30 so for 14 years I was President there, 14:32 left there and became one of the six Vice Presidents 14:36 of the General Conference in 1985 14:39 and stayed there until 2002. 14:43 During that time, as you mentioned earlier, 14:46 I did serve on various school boards, 14:48 Andrews and Loma Linda in particular, 14:52 and shared the Loma Linda board for 11 years, 14:56 work with, I think, 14:58 the most dynamic female president 15:01 of a school we've ever had, 15:03 Dr. Lynn Barons and retired in 2002. 15:09 My wife was 65 years, 15:12 died in June of last year, 15:16 and in February of this year, eight months later, 15:20 I married Sharon. 15:23 The Lord brought her into your life, no doubt. 15:25 Yes. 15:26 Sharon, let's talk about you for just a minute. 15:30 Tell us how you grew up? 15:33 Did you grow up in a Christian home? 15:35 Yes, I did grow up in a Christian home, 15:37 but not a Seventh-day Adventist home, 15:40 I grew up in a Baptist home. 15:42 My grandfather and father were both Baptist pastors 15:47 and they pastored the same church for 66 years 15:50 and served as President of the New York State 15:54 Baptist Convention and Vice President 15:57 of the National Baptist Convention. 15:59 I then relocated to California 16:03 in 1975. 16:05 And I actually joined 16:08 the interdenominational choir. 16:12 And we were singing 16:13 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic 16:16 under Zubin Mehta, 16:17 and it is there that I met some Adventists 16:21 who invited me to church, and that's how I really joined 16:25 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 16:27 Okay, now let me ask you this question. 16:29 How difficult was it, 16:31 you know, I grew up in the Church of Christ, 16:33 and God just through personal study 16:36 lead me from that to a nondenominational 16:40 and then to understanding the truths of His Sabbath 16:44 and other things that opened the way for me 16:47 to join Adventist Church. 16:48 How difficult was it for you, 16:50 as a Baptist pastor's daughter to accept these truths? 16:54 It wasn't really difficult for me 16:57 because I loved the message 16:59 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 17:01 and the love of God 17:03 that the people with whom I was associating displayed, 17:08 and the observance of the Sabbath 17:10 and setting aside and having the focus 17:14 and the understanding 17:15 and I had a long talk with my dad, 17:17 and his advice to me was, 17:20 "Whatever you believe, live it." 17:23 And I believed in the message, 17:26 and that's what I've tried to do is live it. 17:28 Amen. 17:30 Now you have a son, 17:32 and what is your son doing? 17:34 Yes, my son is the pastor of the Mount Rubidoux 17:39 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Riverside, California. 17:43 And I understand, Dr. Rock, you said, "That is the church." 17:46 It is. 17:48 It is the church in the State of California, 17:51 especially for African-American Seventh-day Adventists. 17:55 Of course, the appeal is for everybody 17:58 and the membership is varied, 18:00 but that is a concentration 18:03 that is exciting and dynamic 18:06 and he's a charismatic young fellow, 18:09 I think 39 now, if I remember correctly, 18:11 soon to be 40. 18:13 But he receives accolades and support from Australia 18:17 and England, all around the world. 18:19 I'll tell you what, we love... 18:21 I've spoken in a number 18:23 of predominantly black churches, 18:26 and that's my favorite place to go. 18:28 You get amens. 18:29 They draw on the anointing, 18:32 I mean, it's a totally different experience 18:36 and I love it. 18:37 How did the two of you meet? 18:40 Well, let me begin, 18:43 Sharon will no doubt finish it. 18:45 She'll correct. 18:47 And keep me straight as I go along. 18:51 After losing Clara, 18:54 Clara Peterson her maiden name. 18:57 And Clara had an extended time, 19:02 did she not, toward the end? 19:04 Yes, yes, 19:05 she had been on hospice care for 10 months 19:11 and prior to that for about six years, 19:15 was suffering from osteoporosis, 19:17 and finally expired. 19:21 We did all we could to keep her home 19:23 which was my real, real passion. 19:25 I wasn't going to put her in anybody else's home, 19:27 but ours. 19:29 And she appreciated and enjoyed that. 19:31 But after the Lord saw fit to let her go to sleep, 19:36 I was confused 19:38 and just kind of had to see 19:43 about what to do next with my life 19:44 because she had been so much inspiration 19:47 and inspiration, and a guide and a companion. 19:51 But another one of my boys, 19:54 Dr. Baker, Delvon Baker who had been a Vice President 19:58 and was until last General Conference 20:00 in San Antonio. 20:02 Invited me to come to AUA, Adventist University in Africa, 20:06 where he is now serving as Vice Chancellor. 20:09 He's President 20:10 but in Nairobi as many other African countries, 20:14 the President of the country is the President. 20:17 And whoever we send as President 20:18 is Vice Chancellor, 20:20 so he's Vice Chancellor at this marvelous institution 20:24 that the church built several years ago, 20:28 to try to encourage our graduate students in Africa 20:32 to stay in Africa and serve. 20:35 Very often when they come to US or England, 20:37 they'll move to these countries and not go back very often. 20:42 So I stayed at AUA, 20:44 on that lovely modern compound for five weeks 20:49 in meditating and praying, 20:51 and going to church 20:53 and visiting churches, 20:55 and we're going to talk about them soon I believe, 20:58 that I had the privilege of starting some years prior. 21:02 And when I got back, 21:04 I spoke to after that hiatus there, 21:08 I talked to one of my nieces 21:11 in the Riverside area and said, 21:14 "Look, you know, you've got all... 21:16 Man was not meant to live alone. 21:18 Yeah. 21:20 I'm a widow, 21:22 now widower and I've got to figure out 21:25 what to do next in life. 21:27 And I had spoken to her and said, 21:29 "Look, if you have 21:32 some people around that you know, 21:33 a nice Christian ladies, 21:35 I'd like to expand my sphere of social acquaintance. 21:39 And who knows, 21:42 who knows, 21:45 the Lord may lead to something down the line. 21:50 And she told me a few weeks later, 21:52 Uncle Calvin, I've been looking around 21:54 and I have 21 names for you. 21:59 And, of course, after that bit of a shock, 22:01 I said, "Deborah, 22:03 her name is Deborah Austin now, 22:06 I said "Deborah, I don't need 21 names, 22:08 I'm just, you know, you've got two or three 22:11 you can recommend on the top of your list." 22:14 And she did and said, "Yes." 22:17 And the pastor's mother of the Rubidoux Church 22:21 is number one. 22:24 And I've never seen her, never met her, 22:25 didn't know her, but I said, "All right. 22:29 If she's number one," and her husband Jerry said, 22:32 "Yeah, yeah, doc, she's number one, 22:36 so the both of you agree?" 22:37 I said, "Yeah." 22:39 I said, "All right, well, 22:41 I'd like to call her." 22:43 So if you can get her phone number, 22:45 I'll call her. 22:47 And if you tell her I'd like to meet her 22:48 and she gives you her phone number, 22:50 I will call her. 22:51 So they met her at church 22:55 and told her that 22:58 I'd like to speak to her to meet her. 23:01 Again, I've never seen, I didn't know her 23:03 and I was a little bit a little bit shaky about that, 23:07 I said, Lord, we'll try it, see what the Lord does, 23:10 see what's going on. 23:11 And surely enough, she gave the phone number 23:15 and I called her and I said, 23:19 well, you don't want to hear all that. 23:21 The point is, I called her 23:23 and I asked 23:25 if I could take her to lunch or dinner. 23:30 I told her, I eat twice a day, 23:32 4 o'clock in the evening, 9 o'clock in the morning, 23:36 and I'd appreciate, 23:37 she said, "Well, you eat at nine?" 23:40 I said "Yes." 23:41 She said, "Well, let's do 9:30." 23:43 I said, "That's pretty good." 23:44 She doesn't want to come off real accommodating right away. 23:47 She's gonna make it 9:30 23:50 and that led to our brunch 23:52 and the beginning of a friendship 23:55 that turned into romance 23:58 that eventuated several months later 24:00 into marriage, 24:01 and we were wed on February 17 of this year 24:05 at her son's church in Rubidoux, 24:08 at the Rubidoux Church in Riverside, California. 24:12 I just have to ask her one question. 24:14 We don't have to have all the details. 24:16 But did you know Sharon, when you met him 24:20 that this could be a potential love interest 24:23 or life partner for you? 24:25 I did, because through the years 24:28 and the total number of years 24:30 that I've been single was... 24:33 I'm gonna turn so I can really hear this, 24:35 I like this story. 24:37 Thirty four years, and for 34 years, 24:40 I just wasn't thinking about marriage 24:43 or I never really thought I would ever marry again. 24:47 And so I did feel that 24:50 God had put me through a test 24:53 because I lost my sister last year 24:56 and I had to be gone most of the year 24:59 back to New York, I had three sisters, 25:02 and I had to take care of the two remaining, 25:06 one had to have brain surgery and that and, 25:09 so I got them along with my niece's help, 25:12 who is a physician in Virginia, 25:16 and she said, "I'll take them 25:18 and they can come and be with me." 25:20 So that meant getting them relocated, 25:24 and then getting our family home 25:26 put up for sale 25:27 and it took me most of the year to do that. 25:31 And I felt that that was one of the most challenging 25:35 and devastating times of my life 25:37 because even after my sister's brain surgery, 25:41 then she lost her sight, 25:43 because of the tumor and things like that, 25:46 and I knew that God was putting me through a test 25:49 but I really said to Him,? 25:51 "I want to be a vessel that You can use 25:54 and I want to be an example of your love," 25:57 especially to my family 25:59 because I'm the only Adventist in my family. 26:03 And I feel He did that and at the end of that trial, 26:07 I felt, "Well, there's something 26:09 in store for me," 26:10 and that something became a real blessing to my life 26:14 because when we had our first meeting, 26:17 and we were talking and all of the love 26:21 that was coming through, and the compassion, 26:24 and the love for God really, really impressed me 26:28 about Dr. Rock because I've always just admired people 26:34 who can have that love and not feel ashamed 26:39 or anything to express how much they love the Lord, 26:44 and what the Lord has done and worked in their lives 26:48 and our stories, sort of, were coming together 26:51 and matching a lot the challenges 26:53 that we've had in life and how God was leading 26:57 that whole time. 26:58 So I did feel that this could turn into something special. 27:03 Well, Dr. Rock, congratulations. 27:05 Oh, I love to hear that story. 27:07 Very well-articulated Thank you. 27:09 Amen, amen. 27:11 I know that now we're going to go into some multiplication. 27:14 We're gonna rewind the clock 27:17 all the way back to 1987. 27:21 Tell us what, how God led you in '87 27:26 because that's what we're going to be talking about today, 27:29 is seeds planted in 1987 27:33 that had just exploded. 27:37 Yes, in 1987, 27:39 I had been working as a General Conference 27:42 Vice President for a couple of years, 27:45 always wanting to get back 27:47 into evangelism and pastoral work. 27:50 When I accepted the call to Oakwood in '71, it was... 27:54 And I'm not sure 27:55 this should have been my chief motive, 27:57 but one of the chief motives was to get the school 28:00 to pay my way to get my PhD. 28:03 I would work so hard at Oakwood when I was a student, 28:06 I didn't study very much, 28:07 I didn't get the grades I wanted. 28:09 I wanted to study, so soon as I got a chance 28:12 later on in ministry, I started going back to school 28:14 and did the masters and so forth but, 28:17 now I have been at Oakwood, 28:22 they took care of the finances 28:25 I was now Dr. Rock, 28:27 which I needed to be to be the president there. 28:30 And not just that I wanted to get the tools 28:33 so that I could work for the Lord better 28:36 and do writing which I love to do 28:39 and have been doing for quite a few years. 28:44 I have several books published by Pacific Press 28:47 and Review and Herald, 28:50 Buy Morning Watch book by the way for 2015 28:53 something better as a one contribution, 28:56 but back to the substance of my answer, 28:59 I felt that it would be a disaster 29:04 if I couldn't pastor again. 29:06 And as I served as President of Oakwood, 29:09 it was with a pastor's heart, 29:11 and a lot of students got a lot of tuition money, 29:15 paid through special contributions 29:17 I garnered. 29:18 Because I remember those hard days 29:20 I had when I was at Oakwood 29:22 and I presided there as a pastor. 29:27 I went to the General Conference, 29:28 I was the Vice President 29:30 but down in my heart I was a pastor. 29:33 And I never understood 29:34 why when issues arose at the GC 29:37 that my brother and some of the GC brethren 29:39 didn't respond with a pastor's answer. 29:42 And I was always pushing Elder Wilson pushing, 29:46 pleading with Elder Wilson who was my first president 29:49 and the others remember the pastor, 29:53 remember, yes, the father of our present leader. 29:57 And I asked him, I said, "Look, elder, 30:01 you know, I'm a pastor, 30:03 I know I can pastor a church. 30:06 I'm not sure whatever else I can do, 30:08 but I can pastor. 30:09 So cut me loose. Let me do my evangelism." 30:12 He said, "Sure." 30:13 And I did evangelism in number of countries, 30:17 England and Romania, 30:19 and Russia, and Zimbabwe 30:22 and, of course, one that we're talking about, 30:26 among others, is the one in Nairobi. 30:30 And in 1987, 30:33 one year before the first 30:36 and I think only annual of fall council 30:39 the GC has had in Africa. 30:41 I went there and was sort of a preparation 30:45 for spiritual dynamics of the oncoming 30:49 General Conference annual council. 30:51 We wanted to get the nation, 30:53 the continent spiritually prepared 30:57 for what was going to happen. 30:58 So we poured a lot of money and had a lot of assistance 31:01 in this meeting, 31:03 and baptized 1250 some, 31:08 and had a follow up in '88, 31:11 just prior to the arrival of the delegates 31:14 and that added on. 31:15 But in 1987, 31:18 350 of the 1200 plus people 31:22 who were baptized were set aside 31:25 as the English speaking church for Nairobi, 31:29 the first I believe, 31:31 English speaking congregation in Kenya. 31:34 And that church which said, 31:37 "No, we will do English, 31:40 we're going to abandon Swahili, 31:42 and we're going to have an English speaking 31:44 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 31:45 New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church 31:47 has in the 32 years 31:50 since then exploded in membership. 31:54 It now has 4,500 members. 31:59 That's amazing. 32:00 It has started eight other congregations 32:04 and conducts 13 branch Sabbath schools. 32:08 Well, I think we have a graphic perhaps... 32:09 We do. 32:10 So let's look at that graphic just now. 32:14 So they started with 350. 32:18 Yes. 32:19 And there they have 4,150 in the New Life Church. 32:25 4150 is the addition 32:29 to the 350 with which they started. 32:33 And then they've added 6,350. 32:35 And the purple, 32:37 yeah, the purple bar represents the total number 32:41 of the churches that they have begun, 32:44 the eight churches. 32:46 In addition to the 4,150 that's going. 32:47 Right, one of those eight churches 32:50 and I visited all eight of them 32:52 during my five weeks stay in September last year. 32:57 Can we hold that up on the moment longer 32:59 that graph? 33:00 We'll return to that graph, sure. 33:02 We visited all eight of those churches 33:05 and I visited most of those Sabbath schools. 33:07 But the summation of it all 33:11 is that the aggregate addition 33:14 to the 350 is approximately 33:17 1,100 members that these 350... 33:20 Eleven thousand? 33:22 Eleven thousand, thank you. That's amazing. 33:23 Eleven thousand that they've added 33:25 to their own number. 33:27 And that's just 33:31 something that ought to be chronicled, 33:34 not anything I did, of course, I wasn't there, 33:37 I baptized, and I left and came home 33:40 and did all the other things we've been talking about. 33:42 But meanwhile, these members, 33:44 laity and pastors have preached, 33:47 and evangelized, and dedicated themselves 33:50 with fanatical obsession, to seeing to it 33:54 that the Word of God is preached and taught 33:57 and all of this is done in Nairobi with the guidance, 34:01 I must mention the name of Dr. Gregory, 34:04 who is the president of the division there now. 34:06 And by the way, he was my driver, 34:09 and my translator, when I was there preaching, 34:11 he did a lot of that for me. 34:13 And Dr. Paul Wangai, 34:17 a physician, Adventist physician, 34:19 who was an elder of the church, 34:21 who has been the real spirit 34:24 and the force that has held things together 34:28 in guiding this church in its development. 34:31 So I say, praise the Lord and thank God. 34:34 And there's only one explanation 34:37 for that kind of exponential explosive growth. 34:41 And that is, 34:42 these people are being led by the Holy Spirit. 34:44 It's just, you know, 34:45 it's not us who adds to the church really, 34:48 it is the Lord just as we read in Acts Chapter 2, 34:51 that He brings people in, 34:54 but I think when you were talking about 34:57 how your stories kind of overlapped. 35:00 You're seeing the love of God in Him. 35:04 Obviously something when you planted the seed, 35:07 the Lord, opened those people's heart, 35:09 they open their hearts to the Lord, 35:11 to receive that same kind of love 35:14 and that's why they're attracting so many. 35:17 I know you have a number of pictures, 35:19 and I think they're important to you, 35:21 and we don't want to get beyond the... 35:24 I mean, we don't want to end up out of time 35:27 without showing these pictures. 35:29 So let's go through those pictures 35:31 and where you can explain to us, all right. 35:34 This first picture is a picture of 8,000 people 35:38 who gathered on the... 35:41 one of the final Sabbath's of our seven week meeting, 35:45 six or seven week meeting we had there. 35:47 This would have been in '87? 35:48 In 87. Okay. 35:50 This is a Uhuru Park 35:52 and behind it you see the big hotel, 35:54 one of the large hotels in Nairobi, Kenya, 35:58 but there were 8,000 people there that Sabbath. 36:01 What amazing sight that was and what a blessing 36:06 and a thrill it was to preach to that group. 36:09 This is one of the first baptisms we had. 36:11 You see, number of ministers gathered there. 36:14 We had to have 15 36:16 or more pastors baptizing for an hour. 36:19 How many did you baptize? 36:21 in three week period, 36:26 or two three weeks, 36:28 but this is one of the first baptism. 36:30 Here you see, 36:31 at the extreme right Thompson K, 36:36 well-known in our church as the sign language guru. 36:39 He's talking to some of the hearing challenged 36:42 on the front there and the people behind him. 36:47 This picture was taken... 36:49 All of that was in '87, right? 36:50 Now you're dealing with last year 36:53 when I was there in September, 36:54 these people are all a part of the group 36:59 that was baptized in '87. 37:01 Some of them are their children, 37:03 but these are the originals 37:05 of the 4,500 members of that one church 37:09 that began with 350 people 37:11 of the 4,500 been at this group. 37:16 And so this is the New Life Church? 37:18 And this is the New Life Church, 37:20 these are deacons, and deaconesses, 37:22 and members who were there to greet us, 37:25 to greet me 37:27 and now you have one or two of the smaller churches 37:30 that they started. 37:31 So they've spawned, New Life Church spawned eight. 37:34 Wow! 37:36 We have a graph if we have time for that 37:38 but this is one of them. 37:39 One is... 37:40 This is the Kaloleni Church, 37:42 which actually still speak Swahili 37:46 and is from a satellite beginning. 37:50 Here is the New Life Church B, 37:53 they call it I believe it, 37:55 which has 2,500 members. 37:59 Praise God. Can you imagine? 38:01 starts a church of 2,500. 38:05 And this is that congregation. 38:08 And another shot, another picture 38:11 from another angle of that same congregation. 38:15 And here is one of the pastors and group as leaders. 38:20 And this is the pastor in the blue. 38:21 This is one of the pastors 38:23 of one of the eight churches they began. 38:27 And they're, of course, 38:30 working hard to see that 38:32 even they so that 38:35 not only has the mother church started, 38:37 but they who are the daughter churches 38:42 are trying to plant themselves and one of them is successful, 38:46 so that the beat goes on, 38:50 the ripples roll on out, 38:52 and the Word of God still spreads, 38:55 and if time should last I wouldn't be surprised 38:59 if in addition to the many thousands 39:02 that one church has begun, 39:04 there'll be many, many more. 39:05 Amen and amen. 39:08 How exciting to plant that seed in '87? 39:12 Yeah, as we were mentioning a little bit earlier, 39:14 just the planning of one little seed started this. 39:18 And then because of the work of the Holy Spirit 39:20 and their dedication, 39:22 and paying attention to how the Lord is leading now. 39:26 This is just a show of the beautiful fruit 39:30 that's been produced. 39:31 And we assume that this is a new day, 39:34 and that they will continue to fertilize the seed 39:38 and it may be five years from now, 39:42 this could be even tripled, 39:44 I mean, we're living in the last days 39:46 and we know that the Holy Spirit 39:47 is working hard in people's lives 39:49 and is dedicated as they are. 39:52 And why do you think, 39:54 you know, you see maybe a church 39:57 in the United States that has 150 or 350. 40:02 You rarely see this kind of growth 40:05 where, you know, in a few decades 40:09 they have spawned 10,000 people. 40:11 Why do you think it is different in Nairobi? 40:15 Good question. 40:18 Here's a preacher born to ministry? 40:24 Served all these years, 40:25 the greatest number of individuals 40:27 that I've ever baptized in the meeting 40:30 in the United States is 200, did that in Memphis. 40:34 In 1969, 40:36 a year after King's assassination, 40:38 the city was still reverberating 40:41 with those issues, 40:43 and it was a great time to preach 200 were baptized. 40:47 Same preacher, 40:49 several years later, 40:50 1250 and I had to ask myself, what's the difference? 40:54 The difference is, as Jesus told us, 40:57 the poor hear Him gladly, that's one difference. 41:01 And when you go to certain towns 41:03 in certain places such as Siberia. 41:07 I did a seven week meeting in Novosibirsk, 41:12 it was way about four hours flight from Moscow. 41:16 And the people 41:18 live with simple, fair, 41:22 the streets are so clean, 41:24 you don't see trash in the street 41:26 because they pick up every little piece of paper 41:28 and stick and they not just to keep 41:30 the streets clean, 41:31 but they make something out of everything. 41:34 And when you go to cultures like that, 41:36 you discover that your meeting is the biggest thing in town. 41:41 So I go to Nairobi, 41:43 and they have these English speaking, 41:47 it was in a theater, 41:49 but these English speaking people 41:53 and they are attracted to your diction 41:56 and to your accent 41:58 and they want to know more about America, 42:00 and you come in with certain advantages, 42:02 including the fact 42:03 that there's not that much else that really attracts them plus, 42:08 as Jesus says, "Those who really are oppressed 42:13 and who are without long and look 42:17 and are happy to hear about a coming kingdom." 42:20 The earth made new 42:22 and deliverance from these pains and sorrows 42:24 and people who are oppressed, 42:28 more easily accept and hear the gospel. 42:31 You know, the sad thing is when you said that, 42:34 you go there 42:36 and you're the biggest thing in town. 42:37 I wish everybody understood 42:39 that when there is an evangelism series going on, 42:42 it is the greatest thing going on in town. 42:47 In many cities, yeah. 42:48 You know, it's so sad we're so distracted 42:50 and we have so much 42:54 that it's much more difficult in the developed countries. 42:58 When Elder Wilson Sr. said, "Well, Calvin, 43:03 I wanted to go to St. Petersburg," 43:06 as it was once called, 43:08 because I had heard so much about it 43:09 in World War II, I told you my generation 43:11 is defined by World War II, 43:13 and I know that's where the Germans returned back 43:16 by the Hardy Russians 43:18 and the General Winter defeated Hitler. 43:24 And I was afraid, not afraid, but I had some caution." 43:27 Why do you want to send me to Siberia? 43:29 I am a black Seventh-day Adventist 43:31 and they're saying, 43:33 "Yeah, you're going to have your evangelism 43:34 but go to Siberia. 43:36 I said, "Wait a minute, 43:37 I don't know how's that gonna look?" 43:39 You know, the first Seventh-day Adventist preacher 43:42 to do evangelism in Siberia, black Adventist preacher 43:46 and they're sending me to Siberia, 43:47 I don't know. 43:49 But my mother said, "Son, that's not the right attitude. 43:53 They're sending you there 43:54 because they know you can do it." 43:56 I went there, and the reception, 43:58 these people, 44:00 who could never had, as I understood it, 44:03 an Adventist evangelist, 44:06 to have somebody come in and to tell them 44:09 who're all wrapped up in this dark Russian orthodoxy 44:14 that had them in this bleak 44:18 kind of approach to religion. 44:20 And to hear the brightness of the Second Coming, 44:23 to hear people singing, 44:25 to meet people like Glenn Foster, 44:27 who was our health lecturer. 44:29 And Thompson Caius picture, 44:33 you saw on Brenda Spragens is saying for us and others, 44:36 Charles Cheatham, 44:37 who did our TV work, 44:40 visual aids. 44:42 It just exploded, they didn't have much. 44:45 They didn't, they didn't. 44:46 They never heard this. 44:47 And they talked about the wonderful things 44:51 and the promises of glory. 44:53 And they were so happy 44:54 that somebody came and preached to them 44:56 and that was the same dynamic in Nairobi. 44:58 And it's the same dynamic all over the world 45:01 where people have been oppressed. 45:02 So to answer your question, it is a matter of hope. 45:06 Amen. 45:08 It is a matter of hope in Jesus Christ. 45:10 And knowing that not only does He bring us 45:13 guidance for our living, but He's given us 45:16 His robe of righteousness, 45:18 so we don't have to work ourselves to heaven. 45:20 Hallelujah. Amen. 45:22 We're covered with His robe 45:23 and under His robe while we're still growing, 45:26 we're already accepted. 45:28 And He loves us and we, 45:30 it's that sweet message. 45:33 And when people hear that, 45:35 who are oppressed, especially even the rich, 45:38 there are some Joseph's of Arimathea, 45:41 and there's some Nicodemus's around 45:43 but the poor hear Him and they glow 45:46 and they're glad, and it's a joy. 45:48 I love that kind of preaching. 45:50 I wish I could spend the rest of my life doing it. 45:52 I think that there's nothing more exciting 45:55 than doing an evangelistic series 45:58 because you get to lay a foundation 46:00 and build on it and take people on that journey 46:05 as long as your focus is always on Jesus, 46:10 and the love of Jesus, and the righteousness of Jesus. 46:14 In His covenant of righteousness by faith, 46:16 I'll tell you it is exciting to watch people change. 46:20 Right. 46:21 Sounds like you've been there. 46:22 Oh, yes. Oh, yes. 46:24 And I know when we were recently, what? 46:27 Year before last when we were in Phoenix and we did the... 46:34 Not Nevada, we were in Phoenix 46:36 and we did an evangelistic series 46:40 and there was a little man who came in 46:42 and he was just angry, he was angry. 46:47 And it was interesting that he came back 46:49 the next night and he was angry. 46:52 And just over a period of 14 days, 46:56 you know, 14 nights, 46:58 watched him go from being this angry person 47:02 to where, I mean, 47:04 he was just filled with love and he was bringing me gifts 47:07 and he was, 47:08 I mean, he had a lot of physical problems, 47:11 but he fell in love with God 47:13 and watching God change him so quickly, 47:17 it just brings tears to my eyes even now. 47:20 And he had to be baptized and he was in a wheelchair. 47:23 Yeah. And so that... 47:25 He just wanted with all of his heart 47:27 to be baptized. 47:28 Yeah. Yeah. It was... 47:30 Nothing more satisfying than that. 47:31 That's right. 47:32 Nothing more satisfying than that. 47:34 Okay, so we only have a few minutes left 47:35 and we will come back. 47:37 We will be going to a break, 47:39 but we'll come back for a final thought. 47:41 So I'm not asking for a final thought, 47:43 I just want to know what you're doing now? 47:46 Right now you want to know that? 47:47 I mean, what... Or after the break? 47:49 Oh, no, go ahead and tell us now, 47:51 what's going on in your life right now? 47:52 Do you go out and speak still? 47:54 Are you writing? Oh, yes. 47:55 I take appointments. 47:57 I told you I have... 47:58 Father Abraham has many sons, 48:01 my sons call the old man to be with them once in a while. 48:04 And on this very trip when we leave here we'll be... 48:07 I think I mentioned, 48:08 at the South Atlantic Conference camp meeting 48:12 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, 48:15 then we'll be back home. 48:16 And I still do a lot of writing, 48:18 a lot of articles for our papers. 48:20 And I've got a couple of more thoughts for books 48:25 that I hope to be able to polish 48:27 and Sharon, 48:30 who has such expertise with that part of the world 48:34 of which I know nothing and that is computerization, 48:39 is a great, great help and assistance in that 48:44 and we're working together on some reports 48:47 and she's going to help me organize my materials. 48:50 I've already talked to Andrews 48:53 and Oakwood about my records, 48:59 papers, and things that I've collected, 49:02 which are of historical interest to the church. 49:04 Recently did a book 49:05 that was printed by Andrews Press 49:08 titled Protest and Progress, 49:12 the push for parity 49:14 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church 49:15 by black Seventh - day Adventist leaders. 49:18 And it's been an eye opening volume, 49:21 they tell me, and I've got other things 49:24 that I hope to be able to produce soon. 49:28 I don't know if I'll ever do another morning watch book, 49:30 like the one that went out in 2015 in San Antonio, 49:34 or at that time, but I have some... 49:36 Lot of work goes into something like this. 49:37 Some hopes of maybe even another morning watch book, 49:40 and certainly some other devotional thoughts. 49:43 So I do a lot of writing and play golf when I can. 49:47 Yeah. Amen. 49:49 Now there is no real retirement from ministry. 49:51 People will ask us when you're going to retire, 49:54 and it's just not in our vocabulary. 49:57 It is, it? 49:58 No, but golf does sound good. 50:02 How many years has it been since you had an opportunity 50:05 to play golf? 50:06 Well, what we're going to do right now 50:08 is we have an address role for Dr. Rock. 50:13 And perhaps that you've watched this, 50:15 you're thinking, you know, 50:17 I'd like to talk with this gentleman. 50:19 Maybe you have a spiritual question 50:23 or concern, or maybe your church 50:27 would like to invite him to come and speak. 50:30 This is how you can get in touch with Dr. Rock. 50:36 If you would like to speak with Dr. Calvin Rock, 50:39 or if your church would like to invite him 50:41 to come speak in your area, 50:43 you may reach him in a variety of ways. 50:45 You may call him at area code 50:47 (702) 597-5973. 50:52 That number again is (702) 597-5973. 50:57 You may also email him at CBRock@Cox.net 51:02 and if you prefer, you may write to him 51:04 at Dr. Calvin Rock 143 Cascade Lake Street, 51:09 Las Vegas, Nevada 89148. |
Revised 2019-07-31