WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.080 Lad with. 2 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:20.839 Levin k left behind a decorated military career in the 3 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.359 Black Ops to live a simple life working construction. But 4 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.000 when his boss's daughter, who was like family to him, 5 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:30.079 is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her 6 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:33.200 home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he 7 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.759 could have imagined. So sets the stage for the new 8 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:40.320 movie A working Man starring Jason Statham, now in theaters. 9 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.159 You should have put to the left and be dead. 10 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:45.840 Oh you dead, you'd be dead. 11 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.240 From the director of The Beekeeper, a nineteen year old 12 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.000 cost Kidnam. 13 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:55.679 She's a good kid. She's a great kid. She's like 14 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.719 family to me. Come went back to five and this 15 00:00:58.880 --> 00:00:59.359 is you have a. 16 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:06.319 Trafficking I'm gonna find a better go for long? How 17 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:15.680 do they get to work? To work? 18 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:37.799 So it cuts you around out? Good luck, get the work. 19 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:41.599 Jason statho oh that is not good work. 20 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:43.879 Doing, uncle. 21 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:50.920 People whose mommy dressesn't funny. 22 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:51.400 Work? 23 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:57.480 Look at those bricks. You're a working man. That's right. 24 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.120 Let's play and i'd so please to be joined by 25 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:03.640 its writer and director, David Ayir. 26 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:05.480 David a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for 27 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:06.280 coming on tonight. 28 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:07.879 Thank you so much for having me. 29 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.240 David, You, along with Sylvester Stallone, wrote A working Man, 30 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.719 and given that, I've seen The beat Keeper also with 31 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:16.960 Jason Statham, I've also seen Suicide Squad that you directed. 32 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.520 I've seen Training Day Squat The Fast and Furious that 33 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:21.800 you wrote. I say all that to say, you know 34 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:25.080 a little something about action movies and what works. What 35 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:27.719 are some of the rules that you swear by in 36 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:29.759 making a good action movie. 37 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:33.599 I think it's also having a lot of heart in it. 38 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:36.240 It's having great characters, you know, so that when the 39 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.639 action kicks off, we care about who's doing it and 40 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.599 why it's happening. And in this case, you know, Jason's 41 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:45.599 really the king of the genre. I mean, he's his 42 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:49.719 own action genre. And just giving him the opportunity to 43 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.719 show up as an actor and really have some love 44 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:56.319 on screen and really give him a righteous mission, I 45 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:58.560 think is what sets this film apart. 46 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.000 In watching A working Man, and you kind of hinted 47 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.520 at it right there, I'm reminded of this rapport that 48 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.120 you have with Jason Stathan, but also Michael Penia. What 49 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.400 is it that you like about working with them individually 50 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:11.560 or even collectively. 51 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.919 You know if Jason it's this is a guy that 52 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.280 does his own stunts. This is a guy that has 53 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:20.680 an encyclopedic knowledge of action. He's been doing this a 54 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.479 long time and he's really good at it. And the 55 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.199 thing that I've learned is just how good of an 56 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.840 actor he is and how much heart and soul he has. 57 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:32.319 And it was a great thing to team him up 58 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.039 with such a strong actor like Michael Penya, who is 59 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.719 just an incredible actor, really strong. He can take a 60 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:43.000 room over, take the scene over, and he just grounds everything. 61 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.960 So anytime I can put actors like that together, you know, 62 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:48.319 you can see the result. 63 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:53.960 Jenny's missing, What do you mean miss it? 64 00:03:58.680 --> 00:03:58.879 Sure? 65 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:04.240 Friends? On fri Saturday, we were worried, so we called 66 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:05.319 the cops. And then that's on the. 67 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:08.400 She had a piano. 68 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:11.240 Side on something like we invited half our family. 69 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:16.600 My cousin Donor is a police captain in Philly, and 70 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:18.160 she says, they don't work these cases. 71 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:22.319 They take a report and forget about it. Can you 72 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:22.759 help us? 73 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:26.319 Like and keeps you sut running swool, No help us 74 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:26.759 find Jack? 75 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:32.720 My dad was green Bray. I can see you guys 76 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:38.639 coming a mile away. You want bad guys you bought 77 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.319 the planes, you get those bad guys? 78 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:43.920 How much different person? 79 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:47.600 Now, since you mentioned Jason Statham and how he does 80 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:51.000 his own stunts, how does an idea for an action scene, 81 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.839 be it in A Working Man or any other movie? 82 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:58.040 For you completely that sophisticated fight choreography? How does it 83 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:01.199 go from the page to the Do you just leave 84 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:05.079 the section blank and say, okay, insert Jason fight choreography 85 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:06.720 or is it more sophisticated? 86 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:08.240 What type of direction do you give? 87 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:12.160 You know, you try and create kind of the atmosphere 88 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.079 and tone in the script itself, but then it always 89 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:16.800 takes on a life of its own. And I don't 90 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.319 think people understand how much work goes into these things. 91 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:22.439 You know, the stunt team gets together early on in 92 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:25.879 the process before you shoot, and they'll just experiment and 93 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.279 they'll videotape it, and they'll cut things together, and you 94 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.439 go and you watch and you give notes, and everybody 95 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.360 has ideas and you know, maybe we can throw a 96 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:35.120 bag of cement at this guy. Why don't we throw 97 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.680 a bucket of nails? So everyone's kind of adding to it, 98 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:41.560 and then once you're on set, that's where it really 99 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:44.639 comes to life. And that's where the challenge is because 100 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.319 it's it's hard. You know, you shoot this stuff over days. 101 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:49.920 It's a lot of punches, a lot of repeats, and 102 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:52.120 there's Jason in the middle of it doing everything. 103 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:55.360 Anyone who's seen your work or knows your work knows 104 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:57.160 that there's going to be a lot of action, as 105 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:00.439 I talked about, Anyone who's seen ad Jason state Atham's 106 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:01.920 work knows that there's a lot of action. 107 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:03.480 But a working man. 108 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.360 Although it is definitely an action movie, tell me if 109 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:09.160 I'm wrong, I would say it's equally about family. Not 110 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.079 to say that it's a family movie, but the theme 111 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:13.920 of family is ever present, is it not. 112 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:16.000 That's exactly it. 113 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:16.399 You know. 114 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:19.759 Jason is this you know, troubled guy with the past 115 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:22.560 who gets adopted by this loving family that takes him 116 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:25.839 in and gives him opportunity and helps him rebuild himself. 117 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.920 And we love them for that. So when it comes 118 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.959 his turn to help them, we're really rooting for that 119 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:35.920 to happen. We're really rooting for him to bring their 120 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.639 daughter back, you know, who is like his daughter. And 121 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:44.120 even the bad guys have their families and their relationships 122 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.959 and their history and their rules and their traditions, and 123 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.839 I think that's just part of the human side of things. 124 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:54.040 And when you can bring that to a film and 125 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:57.000 have some incredible action, I think you're going to get 126 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:59.240 a really satisfying experience for the audience. 127 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:01.279 Doile action, no doubt. 128 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.759 And there was a lot of heartfelt moments in the 129 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.240 movie which actually surprised me. But was there anything which 130 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:11.920 surprised you either in the writing, creation or the filming 131 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:14.240 of the movie which you said, well, I thought I 132 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.759 had what idea going in, but now it's something else. 133 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.360 I would say. It's Ariana Reeves, who plays Jenny, the 134 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:26.519 girl that gets kidnapped. I always saw Jenny as a fighter, 135 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:30.079 as someone that could fight back, but Ariana brought this 136 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.399 level of humor and presence in spirit to the role 137 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.560 that I wasn't expecting, and by the end of it, 138 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:41.839 you almost believe that she could rescue Jason. 139 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:46.000 How do you know when you are screen testing actors 140 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:51.319 beyond those you've worked with that someone has that special 141 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:55.360 quality or can deliver a particular scene in your mind, 142 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:57.319 or they're just reading some sides. But how do you 143 00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:59.439 know you have the right actor or actress? 144 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:04.439 You know it's it's something you know when you see it, 145 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:08.319 I really feel. And it's one of the toughest parts 146 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:12.319 of the process is casting, because there's all these incredible 147 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.199 people and they really put their heart and soul in it, 148 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.199 and you have to narrow it down to a few 149 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:23.040 choices and then ultimately one choice. But it's every role 150 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:28.360 requires this own special thing and sometimes you don't know 151 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.079 what that is until you actually see it and you go, Okay, 152 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.600 there it is. That's the person. And that's what happened 153 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:34.279 with Adriana. 154 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.240 He is David Ayer, writer and director for the new 155 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:42.879 movie A Working Man starring Jason Statham, now in theaters. David, 156 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:44.799 thank you so much for coming on tonight and I 157 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:46.679 can't wait for everyone else to see it as well. 158 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:47.440 It's a good one. 159 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.120 Thank you so much for having me. 160 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:53.440 You're listening too later with Moe Kelly on demand from 161 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.120 KFI AM six forty. 162 00:08:55.480 --> 00:09:00.000 And this next story, I'm quite sure is probably gonna 163 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.639 piss you off. This next story is probably going to 164 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:10.759 reaffirm a lot of stereotypes and some of our dislikes, 165 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:14.559 if you will, of churches today in America. It's going 166 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:18.519 to remind us some of the problems of the many 167 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:21.360 problems I guess with religion. In fact, this is going 168 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.320 to be part of my final thought tonight, So I'm 169 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:24.559 going to. 170 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:27.799 Give you a little bit of a preview here. Marvin Sap. 171 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:29.320 You may have heard of him, you may not have 172 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.559 heard of him, but he's a megachurch pastor. He's also 173 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:38.759 a very very popular gospel artist. He's worth maybe four 174 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:43.679 to five million dollars. He has a church well respected 175 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:45.600 in those fields. 176 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:47.039 Give you a point of reference. 177 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.159 There is an undated clip which is circulating online, and 178 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.360 I have a feeling it's relatively recently from what I 179 00:09:54.360 --> 00:10:00.679 could discern. And in this clip, he is demanding that 180 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:05.039 anyone who is watching his service, streaming it online, and 181 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:10.440 anyone who is in the actual physical church, they must 182 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:14.720 donate at least twenty dollars to reach a goal of 183 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:20.399 forty thousand dollars before he will let anyone leave who's 184 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.480 in the physical church. Quote, close the doors. We're all 185 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.960 going to leave together. Y'all ain't going to go no 186 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.080 place but to the restaurant. Talking about going out to 187 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:34.879 brunch after service. There's a thousand of you tonight, and 188 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:38.519 those that are watching it's one thousand that's watching online. 189 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:40.279 This is a small seed. 190 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:44.919 If I get one thousand online to give this, If 191 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.559 I get one thousand in the sanctuary to give this, 192 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:52.320 that's forty thousand dollars tonight. I'm challenging each of you 193 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.399 all down here to give a twenty dollars seed. Now, 194 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.759 everyone up here, we've all sewed and seated. But I 195 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:04.000 need everyone up here to sow one hundred dollars because 196 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.120 it costs to sit up here. And he was talking 197 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.240 about the people who were in the pulpit alongside of him, 198 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.919 other preachers and clergy church staff. 199 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:20.480 So put your twenty dollars away. That twenty wasn't for you. 200 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:23.879 He continued, requesting that the offerings be walked to the 201 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:26.960 front so he could see the massive effort. I can't 202 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:30.320 speak to this in all churches, but what is common 203 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:33.279 in the Black Church tradition is you walk and you 204 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.840 hand your offering. You're a cheerful giver, and you walk 205 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.240 and you're paraded around the whole church for everyone to 206 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:45.320 see that you're actually quote unquote giving your tithes and offerings. 207 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.600 All I know is this is not an uncommon phenomenon, 208 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:54.919 and I can give you many examples, maybe not this extreme, 209 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:59.240 but very close to it, where you would have preachers 210 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:06.000 ministers who refused to end their sermon or end the 211 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:10.159 service without getting a certain dollar amount. And mind you, 212 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:11.919 there are a lot of people in church. All they 213 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.559 have left is their faith. They are there because they're 214 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:17.720 going through something. They need a word, as it said, 215 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:20.679 they need some sort of reassurance, some sort of message 216 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.480 which speaks to them personally and can help them individually. 217 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.600 I don't know if you've never been to church, but 218 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:29.639 there are many times where I would go to church 219 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:31.759 and you would think that that message on that day 220 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:35.960 was meant particularly for me because it spoke to something 221 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.240 that was going on in my life and I was encouraged. 222 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:39.440 Because of it. 223 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:43.200 There is a purpose for a service, especially when you're 224 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:45.360 talking about someone who's a newbie in Christ, someone who 225 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:50.360 may have just been born again, and they're looking for guidance. 226 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.600 And that's why, and I say this unfortunately, that's why 227 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:57.240 many times people will look at the minister as the 228 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:01.120 conduit between that person and God. 229 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:04.559 And then you. 230 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.279 Learn more about the Bible and then you don't need 231 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.720 that type of intercessor you don't need someone in between 232 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:10.399 as a go between. And I always make the distinction 233 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:15.080 between faith and religion. This is an example of why 234 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:20.159 people hate religion. There are two churches here. 235 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:23.399 In the south Land that I no longer go to. 236 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:32.120 One the is a relative relatively large church, almost megachurch status. 237 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:44.440 The pastor is related to a globally renowned singer, very 238 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.200 very avant garde singer. 239 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.320 And you're really narrowing it down now, you know that, right? 240 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:50.000 I know. 241 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:56.200 And this pastor proceeded to have on the last occasion 242 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.480 that I went to his church. 243 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:00.240 Uh, he proceeded to have and. 244 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:05.879 Hour long offering hour long, meaning for one hour, he 245 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:11.039 proceeded to be rate the congregation for an offering you. 246 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 Mean, like from the beginning of my interview with David 247 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.320 Ayre to the end. 248 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:15.639 Of the show. 249 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:24.759 Yes, an entire hour of asking yes, including asking for offerings. 250 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:31.879 The second was a church that found its home from 251 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:36.360 a large auditorium to actually moving up to the forum. 252 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:43.000 And and that pastor who made that move and took 253 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.159 over the form was not in that day, but this 254 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:50.799 was a special occasion and the special guest pastor proceeded 255 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.360 to tell us. 256 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:56.240 That nothing was going to happen, nothing was going to happen. 257 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:58.600 We were not going to get a word, we were 258 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:01.840 not going to hear from the Nothing was gonna happen 259 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:06.240 until we had all donated enough to I believe, if 260 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:10.480 I'm not mistaken, reached a similar amount there. And there 261 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:14.440 was a lot of superstars in that congregation. There were 262 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:19.720 a lot of well known athletes at Justices, all sitting 263 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.639 in the front row who all got that VIP parking 264 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:25.480 and VIP escort up to the front so they could 265 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:27.559 get in and out. And it was a real to 266 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:31.600 do to be at this church at the Forum. And yeah, 267 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.919 and we sat there that night because it was a 268 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:38.440 nighttime service. I believe it was the Christmas Eve service. 269 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:41.279 It costs a lot to even go to get tickets 270 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:42.000 to go, so we. 271 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:42.519 Paid a lot. 272 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:45.320 You had to pay for the tickets, Yes, and then 273 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:48.159 you had to give a tithe and offering to the 274 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.000 satisfaction of the guest speaker. 275 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:54.600 Yes, it was enough to make me say, oh, hell 276 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:57.039 to the nah, we are not coming back here. 277 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.360 You got something against a shakedown now, and then I 278 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:02.639 don't see what the problem. That's what. 279 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:05.240 Well put it this way, And we're talking about these 280 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:11.519 tax exempt organizations which are doing more for themselves than 281 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.240 they are in the community. And I'm not saying all churches. 282 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:18.440 I've seen some small what they call storefront churches do 283 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:22.200 a lot in the community. But these megachurches and these 284 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:28.360 mega pastors oftentimes are not punching their weight. You see 285 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.679 the enrichment of the pastor. You see it in they're clothed, 286 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.120 their cars sometimes. 287 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:37.399 Jets, and you see. 288 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:41.000 Well, let me back up now, a lot of churches 289 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.279 are preaching and teaching what it's called the prosperity gospel, 290 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:48.240 where if you donate more money, you will receive more 291 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.600 money in your life. You know, it's not about salvation. 292 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:54.960 It's about getting more money and the way that you 293 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:58.559 can live better or live life more abundantly, as the 294 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:03.720 verse goes, is you donate more. Now, there are Bible 295 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:07.440 verses which speak to tithes and offerings. 296 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:10.200 It's Malachi three to eight. I'm doing this off the 297 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:10.640 top of my head. 298 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:13.599 So if I get it wrong, sorry, Malachi three eight, 299 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:15.519 And I know my pastor would always say it. You know, 300 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.359 bring ye all the tie tithes to the storehouse, so 301 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.599 there may be meet in my house. And now prove 302 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:23.759 you herewith say at the Lord of hosts that I 303 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.440 will not open up a window and pour and a 304 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:28.400 blessing will pour out of it. In other words, the 305 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:30.200 more money you give, the more that you're going to 306 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:32.200 be blessed. And that has been bastardized. That's the word 307 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.640 I mean bastardized to be the whole point of the Gospel, 308 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:40.039 where the more you donate, the more that you will 309 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.279 be blessed. And then that opens the door for the 310 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:48.279 real shakedown to happen, where you have preachers just outright saying, well, 311 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:51.480 you're going to hell if you don't donate or you know, 312 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.480 tie or give a certain amount offering on this type 313 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:54.920 of day. 314 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.839 So it hurts my heart because as a person. 315 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:02.799 Of faith, and I'm not sin less, you know, let's 316 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:05.599 be clear, I'm a crack vessel and I fall short. 317 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.559 It hurts my heart because I see the manipulation of 318 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:12.799 the church and how it extends beyond just the church walls. 319 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:17.480 We see it through use of the Bible in politics, 320 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:20.759 we see it in many varied forms. We see it 321 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:24.519 in the cover up of abuses in like the Catholic 322 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:26.599 Church talk about all that. So I'm not gonna give 323 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:28.880 it away now, But what I when I see this 324 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:31.359 what Marvin Sapp was doing. It just hurts my heart 325 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.039 because you're just taking advantage of people. You have a 326 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:40.359 tax exempt organization and you're living, you personally have a 327 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.559 personal net worth of some four to five million dollars, 328 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.759 and you're gonna hold people hostage who may not have 329 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.559 a pot to urinate in or a window in which 330 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.240 to throw it out. 331 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:54.160 Just like taught us. Look the. 332 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.240 Church that we went to at the forum, the money 333 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.759 that was being asked for was for specifically pastoral care, 334 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:07.880 and it was prosperity peaching because we were we were 335 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:12.119 told that by giving freely to take care of he 336 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:15.279 who brings us the Word of God, we would then 337 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:17.640 be blessed eternally even more so. 338 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:20.160 And blah blah blah blah blah. And I'm way. You 339 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.720 just told me you were not leaving here. 340 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.440 You're not starting nothing until we give more money to 341 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:26.079 the pastor. 342 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:28.680 I got more on this. We gotta go to a break, 343 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:30.000 but I have more to say on this. 344 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:30.240 Now. 345 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.119 You got to be remembering stuff and thinking about stuff 346 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:35.519 and getting mad about stuff all over again. 347 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.759 You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on Demand from 348 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:41.119 KFI AM six. 349 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.039 With mo Kelly on. 350 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:53.359 AM six Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and last segment, 351 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:55.680 I was telling you about Marvin Sap who's a very 352 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.279 influential famous not only make a church pasture, but also 353 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.039 gospel artists. And there's a video going around where he 354 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:12.119 was holding his own congregation. I will say hostage, maybe 355 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.240 that's too strong a word, but he was shaking down 356 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:18.279 his congregation, would not let them leave until they pointed 357 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:22.759 up between the online streaming audience and also the end 358 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:28.359 sanctuary audience forty thousand dollars on this random Sunday, and 359 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:31.920 it got me thinking about my issues with the church 360 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.240 over the years. Tawalla was telling his stories and I 361 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:39.440 can't speak for all churches, but it's common within the 362 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:43.440 historically Black church tradition. What I mean by that is 363 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:46.119 there's Kojik, which is the Church of God in Christ. 364 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:52.400 There's ame African Methodist Episcopal, there are others. There's a 365 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.119 type of tradition in a way in which services run 366 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:59.799 obviously Southern Baptists, and money usually is at the forefront 367 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:07.039 of it, unfortunately, and it's manipulative, it's unkind, it's ungodly, 368 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.319 and it goes on every single day, and I understand 369 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.559 why it turns off people to religion, which is different 370 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:16.599 from faith, and if you don't understand the difference, it 371 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:21.079 can harm your faith as well. I know I can't 372 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:22.799 speak for Tuala, but I know in the church as 373 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:26.359 I've been in, there are things that the church would 374 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.480 pay for. In other words, your tithes and offerings would 375 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:34.240 go to the parsonage, which was where the pastor or 376 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:36.759 preacher would live. In other words, they would have that 377 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.039 an actual house that we would pay for, or there 378 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:42.279 would be a housing allowance or a car alligance allowance, 379 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:45.200 just like someone who worked at any other corporation. So 380 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:48.599 for the most part, especially with the megachurches, all the 381 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:53.200 personal needs of a pastor are already taken care of. 382 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:55.960 And almost every single church they had this thing called 383 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:58.880 the building fund, where you would always have to set 384 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:01.319 aside money, which is different from your tithes, which is 385 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:04.559 supposed to be ten percent of your of your treasure, 386 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:07.839 is different from your offerings because your offering is supposed 387 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:10.440 to be over and above what you're giving from for 388 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:13.680 your tithe. And then outside of your tithe and offering, 389 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.599 you would have to set aside even more money for 390 00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:19.279 like the building fund, or you'd have to do this, 391 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:22.440 or you're paying for that. It's always something in this 392 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:27.519 every single week. But the funny thing is when the 393 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:30.920 church wanted to do anything which wasn't for the benefit 394 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.640 of the pastor, then the church would have to do 395 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:38.519 something like a bake sale or a fish fry selling 396 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:42.720 fish plates. I mean, it was always on the shoulders 397 00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:46.519 of the members to pay for everything for the pastor 398 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.680 and everything for the church. And you're always behind the 399 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:52.720 eight ball or some emergency it has got to be 400 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:54.599 done today, or they're going to turn the lights out 401 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:55.519