1 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,280 We're going to be on the 1st lesson. 2 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,800 It is a group session called What does Inclusion Mean? 3 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:19,680 And so as those are getting passed out, you can go right to 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,400 the group session in the front. You also find in the booklet 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:27,200 some your conference schedule as well as a little bit about us, 6 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,680 some of the books that we have. We'll talk about those later. 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,159 Places to eat for lunch. As you can see, for us to be 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:34,800 able to serve lunch is a difficulty here because of the 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,880 space, the confines of being able to serve it, prepare it, 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,160 all of those things. And So what we do is take a 11 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,240 break and there's a Wendy's up the street, there's a Dunkin' 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:45,960 Donuts up the street, there's other places. 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,360 That's all in your booklet so that you don't even have to pop 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,280 at your GPS. You can just look over the next 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,240 few minutes to see what you'd like to do for lunch. 16 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:54,600 Thank you for understanding that. 17 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,640 But I want our first session to be this this morning. 18 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,080 What does inclusion mean? Now, if you are like me, you 19 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:01,480 probably hear that word inclusion. 20 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:02,960 It makes you cringe a little bit. 21 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:05,840 And that wasn't always the way. I feel like when we started our 22 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,960 special needs journey years ago, the term inclusion was one that 23 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:11,840 was used quite a bit and I don't know that we ever thought 24 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,200 anything about it. In fact, the FIT Conference, if 25 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,840 you're curious about the first time you heard about the FIT 26 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:18,800 Conference, you thought we were exercising or something like 27 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,880 that, that's certainly not the case with all the doughnuts we 28 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:21,720 have in the back. Amen. 29 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,000 But it is not the big conference is not that kind of conference, 30 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,520 but it is finding inclusion together, finding inclusion 31 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:32,240 together. But again, if you're like me, 32 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,080 this word inclusion is one that maybe you've become 33 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:36,960 uncomfortable with over the past few years. 34 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:42,840 And the whole reason is DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. 35 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,040 Right there at the top of your page, it says this. 36 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,720 And we have a lot of blanks. So we can make sure that you're 37 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,040 following along, fill those in. If you are following along at 38 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,440 home, you can fill those in as well. 39 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,680 But there's been a great deal of discussion about inclusion over 40 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,320 the past several years due to DEI, diversity, equity and 41 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,280 inclusion. And I try to do a little bit of 42 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,720 research recently about a good working definition of what DEI 43 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:06,840 is. And I know this will be a 44 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,440 surprise to you, but nobody seems to have a good definition 45 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,880 of it because it seems like it's what whoever the person is 46 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,440 talking about wants it to be is what it is. 47 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,440 And that's, that's kind of the problem, isn't it? 48 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:22,880 The whole idea What's 1 of many problems with DEI and this is 1 49 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,360 definition that I found this gobbledygook here. 50 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,000 It says DEI includes 3 terms that get to the heart of the 51 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,240 conditions research shows are essential for better 52 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,240 performance, problem solving, and helping people thrive in 53 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,360 their schools, workplaces and communities. 54 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:42,360 Encompassing diversity and various identities, equity in 55 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,280 ensuring opportunities despite inequalities and inclusion in 56 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,000 creating welcoming environments. And this is from DEI. 57 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,840 Define what diversity, equity inclusion really means. 58 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,240 Authored by Debate Chavez, chief diversity officer at the 59 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,560 University of Michigan. And that's a lot of words that 60 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:01,600 basically say not a whole lot, isn't it? 61 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:03,800 It's a whole lot of words that don't say a whole lot. 62 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,280 And I want to say on the record here this morning, I have no 63 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,120 problem with diversity or equity or inclusion. 64 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,280 What I do have a problem with is what the liberals have termed 65 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,120 diversity and equity and inclusion compared to what the 66 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,040 word of God would talk about diversity and equity and 67 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:25,760 inclusion that we don't buy into the hype of the DEI wokeness 68 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,000 that is out there today. You say, brother, are you just 69 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,600 trying to push Amen buttons this morning? 70 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,680 Why are you going over this? Don't you know, do you feel like 71 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:33,960 there's some closet liberals that are around here today? 72 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,440 And the answer is yes, yes, I do. 73 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,160 No, I'm just kidding. No, I don't at all. 74 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,680 But but I, I think this term inclusion is an important one. 75 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,760 It's one that's talked about a lot in the special needs 76 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,680 community, but it's also one that's going to be important and 77 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,880 should be important in your church if we use it in the right 78 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:52,600 way. I'm tired. 79 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,320 I don't know about you, but I'm tired of yielding those things 80 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,320 that are good and right to those who want to take them and 81 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,600 pervert them. For instance, I want to be able 82 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,800 to use the rainbow without having the connotation of that 83 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:11,720 stolen by the L GB TQIA plus minus equal divided sign 84 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,160 movement. It's and you say, well you're 85 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,120 mocking. No, I'm not. 86 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,279 I'm just saying that's exactly how it goes. 87 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,839 I remember when it was just gay and lesbian and then it just 88 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,560 grew and grew and grew because there's no actual definition. 89 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,200 Love is love, defining the word by the word meaning it could be 90 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,560 whatever you want it to be. So I don't want to yield the 91 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,320 rainbow. I don't want to yield a good 92 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,960 word like inclusion to those who are trying to muddy the waters 93 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,360 and turn it into something of which it is not. 94 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,440 DEI, as it's taught in academia and liberal think tanks, is 95 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,440 opposite to biblical truths. I can just give you a couple. 96 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,080 And again, this is not us preaching for an hour on 97 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,680 teaching for an hour on DEI. But again, I do think we need to 98 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,520 kind of lay a little bit of a baseline. 99 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,680 It was Voltaire who said, if you wish to converse with me, define 100 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,120 your terms. Now, I will say Voltaire was not 101 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,080 a very nice man, particularly to Christians. 102 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,880 But I do like that, that quote because we want to make sure 103 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,240 when we're using the word inclusion that we're using the 104 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:11,920 same word with the same definition. 105 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,200 For instance, when I was growing up, I was a Lutheran. 106 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,680 I got saved when I was 16 years old by the grace of God. 107 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,760 I was in the Lutheran Church before I heard the gospel in a 108 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,320 independent Baptist Church. And for years they said in the 109 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,320 Lutheran Church, you're saved by grace through faith, and the 110 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,440 Baptist say you're saved by grace through faith. 111 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:31,960 I came to find out. But what the Lutheran Church 112 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,040 meant by saved by grace through faith was not the same as what 113 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,080 the Bible said. And so we wanted to define our 114 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,760 terms to make sure that we're not just saying the same thing, 115 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:41,360 but talking about the same thing. 116 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,080 So what? Why isn't this inclusion 117 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,800 incorrect, this worldly thought process of inclusion that's out 118 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:48,920 there? Well, first of all, because the 119 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,280 Bible condemns being a respecter of purpose of persons, showing 120 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:57,840 favoritism or partiality, inclusion, trying to put one 121 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:01,640 group ahead of another. Deuteronomy 117 You shall not 122 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,960 respect persons in judgment. You shall hear the small as well 123 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,040 as the great. You shall not be afraid of the 124 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,560 face of man, for the judgment is God. 125 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,120 Then the cause is too hard for you. 126 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,040 Bring it unto me, and I will hear it. 127 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,440 Problem 2821. To have respect to persons is 128 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,800 not good. Another problem with this DEI. 129 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,920 It promotes the Bible teaches promotion by merit. 130 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,760 Lukes, 1917. And he said unto him, Well, thou 131 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,880 good servant, because that has been faithful, and little have 132 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,560 thou authority over 10 cities. James 21. 133 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,840 My brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 134 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,360 Lord of glory with respect of persons, but if you have 135 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,560 respective persons, you commit sin, you are convinced of the 136 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,920 law as transgressors, you know, what are we supposed to do? 137 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:51,160 James chapter 2 is a a perfect example of this is that we don't 138 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,240 move people up to the front because of the way they look, 139 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:54,720 the way they talk, what they can tie. 140 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,880 We don't move people to the back because of what little they have 141 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,720 or how they're dressed or what not. 142 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:05,440 You know, the whole idea of DEI as the world says it is false 143 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,480 and we reject it wholeheartedly. However, and this is where we 144 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,880 get to the part about not what we're talking against, but what 145 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,320 we're talking for because that's where we really want to get this 146 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,520 morning. What we are for is good and 147 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:21,880 right inclusion with those special needs children and by 148 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,200 the way, adults as well. They're not going to get a lot 149 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:28,040 of conversation here today because of what we're focusing 150 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:29,440 on. But we do want to make clear 151 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,760 that there are not just special needs children in your church. 152 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:33,920 There's also special needs adults in your church. 153 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,560 And if you don't have special needs adults in your church, 154 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,480 those special needs children will turn into special needs 155 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,880 adults someday. So there does need to be some 156 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,440 thought and conversation about that as well. 157 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,560 So how do we include them? How do we make them feel like 158 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,800 they are a part of the church? How do we make them feel like 159 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,240 they're a part of the Sunday school, of the junior Church of 160 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,280 the Morning worship? How do they feel like they're a 161 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,240 part of it? And the good news is you feel 162 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,120 the same way that we do. That's why you're here, the 163 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,640 reason you're watching, the reason that you came here to 164 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,200 Easton today is because you want to be able to figure that out or 165 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,080 you want to sharpen your skills for those people that you were 166 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,200 trying to minister to. So with this in mind, I do want 167 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,440 to mention this. We have likely have a very dim 168 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,920 view of inclusion, yet I might remind you that when that Satan 169 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:25,040 is the master copycat, taking things that are good and right 170 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,800 and perverting them and using that word, perverting in the 171 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,799 very real context of taking something that is good and right 172 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:36,080 and turning into something that is not, that's a perversion. 173 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,120 Genesis 3-4, the serpent said of the woman, He shall not surely 174 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,880 die. Galatians 1-6 and seven I 175 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,640 marveled that you were so soon removed from that, from him that 176 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:49,800 called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel which 177 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:53,440 is not another, but that some may trouble you and would 178 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,600 pervert the gospel of Christ. This is what Satan does. 179 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,200 He takes something that's good. Let's include everyone special 180 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:06,080 needs wise, into our churches, into our Sunday schools, into 181 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,320 our junior churches, and turns that word inclusion into 182 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,480 something else that becomes a buzzword that does not mean what 183 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,920 it ought to mean. So now let's get to what it is. 184 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,600 The very basic definition of inclusion is near the bottom of 185 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:19,920 your page, top of your next page. 186 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,240 It was universally accepted until the recent political 187 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,480 changes. The action or state of including 188 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,080 or of being included within a group structure. 189 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,800 The action or state of including or of being included within a 190 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:36,840 group structure. Now, I don't know about you, but 191 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,000 I don't typically like definitions using the very same 192 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,840 word to be able to define. I just talked about that, didn't 193 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,480 I? And we went through several 194 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,040 dictionaries because Diane said, well, is it just the dictionary 195 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:50,520 you chose? And so, you know, that's the way 196 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,120 the world does it now. You just find the dictionary you 197 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,880 want, right? So it, hey, we'll do the same 198 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:55,160 thing, right? That's what they do. 199 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,000 We'll do it. No, but we just wanted to see 200 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,560 what was out there. Every single one of them used 201 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,520 the word including. And I do think it's OK because I 202 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,080 don't know about you, but when I hear the term inclusion, I don't 203 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,520 know that I actually think including at the first, I don't 204 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:10,160 know that I do. Maybe you do. 205 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,360 But the idea of what is inclusion, we want everyone to 206 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,680 be included. We, we want little Johnny, We 207 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:20,560 want little Susie in your class who has autism, who is 208 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:24,640 nonverbal, who has some sort of physical disability, whatever it 209 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,160 may be, some combination of all of those. 210 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,760 We want them to feel included in the classroom. 211 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,880 By the way, we're not just doing that because we want them to 212 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,040 feel warm and fuzzy. We're not just doing that 213 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,400 because we don't want mom and dad to leave the church. 214 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:44,400 We're doing that because Johnny and Susie special needs, they 215 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:46,560 need to learn about Jesus Christ. 216 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:48,920 I want to make something abundantly clear this morning 217 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:52,120 before we go any further, is that everything that we're going 218 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,680 to teach you, everything that we want to talk to you about, the 219 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:59,960 question and answers that we have are really all focused at 220 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,560 its very core at this purpose, teaching these young people and 221 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,600 again, older people, but these younger people about Jesus 222 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,400 Christ. You might say this, well, I 223 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:13,480 don't know that he'll understand about Jesus Christ if I teach 224 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,560 him Jesus Christ. I don't know that she'll 225 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:19,400 understand the basic concepts of the Bible if I teach her the 226 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,840 basic concepts of the Bible. And I'm going to say this 227 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:23,840 clearly, this is a special needs loving group. 228 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,080 And so I can say things very clearly because you're used to 229 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,920 people saying things, probably those kids to you very clearly 230 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,160 sometimes right down the line. So I'm going to say this to you 231 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,800 very clearly. It's not up to you to decide if 232 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:36,960 they can learn those things or not. 233 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:38,920 Just teach them Jesus. All right. 234 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,680 Now the way we adapt that will be different. 235 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:44,520 And that's OK. We're going to talk a lot that 236 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,600 that's a lot of what we're going to talk about today. 237 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,760 But we're going to teach them Jesus. 238 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,720 We what we don't want is to create a place where, well, as 239 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,680 long as they're quiet and as long as they don't get interrupt 240 00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:58,480 everyone else, then everything will be OK. 241 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,400 That's not what we're going to be teaching you. 242 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:01,720 And I don't believe that's biblical. 243 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,040 The idea is this, we're going to teach them Jesus, whether they 244 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,000 reach the age of accountability or not, where they'll truly 245 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,640 understand the gospel. That's not for me to decide. 246 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,440 That's not for our junior church teachers to decide. 247 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,760 What we're just do is keep teaching them Jesus. 248 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,240 AJ, if you'd asked me when he was about four or five years 249 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,440 old, if that he would understand the concept of who God is or 250 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,280 talk about Bible verses or things like that, the answer 251 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,080 would have been a hard no. He was pretty much non verbal at 252 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,040 the time and there wasn't a lot of hope that we had that he 253 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,240 would be verbal. I would tell you now he is so 254 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,040 very verbal Now he is, he is so verbal. 255 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,360 I mean, there are times like that non verbal thing like what 256 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,560 you know, what happened to that? Or can we just get a couple 257 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,040 hours of the non verbal thing, you know, like that would that 258 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,320 would be great. But you know, this is we don't 259 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:49,800 know. The doctors don't know. 260 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,120 We don't know, God knows. And So what do we know? 261 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,480 Well, we've got a Commission. This Commission does not change 262 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,000 because of the needs of others. In fact, God gave us Commission 263 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,000 knowing that there be autism. I'd, I'd argue that God gave us 264 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,120 Commission knowing to be Down syndrome and knowing that there 265 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,480 be children that have other type of neurotypical issues and 266 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,200 physical issues and all those things. 267 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,640 The principles don't change, but the methods will. 268 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:18,480 And that's what you need to remember. 269 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,680 The principles that we're going to look at don't change. 270 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:24,280 If it's from the Word of God, we don't get to change it. 271 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:25,840 Listen, that's what the liberals do. 272 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:27,760 And I'm not talking about liberals politically. 273 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,040 I'm talking about liberal Christians that they say, well, 274 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,280 I know what the Bible says, but in our situation, stop right 275 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,160 there. This is what the Bible says. 276 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:36,680 This is what we're going to do. And by the way, we're going to 277 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:38,840 be looking at what the Bible says about inclusion here in 278 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,840 just a few moments. But we're not going to change 279 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,960 what the Word of God says because of our unique 280 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,080 situations. But what we are going to do is 281 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,400 that we are going to keep the principles of the Word of God as 282 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,000 they are, but adapt them so that those young people will be able 283 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,840 to be included in their classrooms. 284 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,800 What inclusion is not. I've also talked about this, 285 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,880 just made some, just some remarks about it. 286 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,520 It's not simply making sure every child can physically sit 287 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,800 in your classroom. Inclusion is not. 288 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,320 Well, we have all of our kids in the classroom. 289 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,800 That would be the very technical definition of inclusion. 290 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,360 But that's not what we're trying to do here and now. 291 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,240 That might be a good starting place. 292 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,000 It could be that Johnny needs to only sit in class for 5 minutes 293 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:26,200 and that's all he can handle for a while. 294 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,400 And then, excuse me, we'll work to 10 minutes and we'll work to 295 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,320 20 minutes and we'll work to a whole class. 296 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,360 And then we'll start to give him some adaptives that we can work 297 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,120 on to be able to allow him to be able to understand some 298 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,600 concepts. But the whole idea is that we're 299 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,920 not just going to leave him there in the corner and say, 300 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,640 look, just don't interrupt the other kids while they're 301 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:48,720 learning. You say, why would you say that? 302 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,400 Because there's churches that that's the way that it is. 303 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,160 That's not your heart. I know that's why you're here. 304 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,600 But that's there are churches that are like that and we want 305 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:58,200 to avoid that. That is not inclusion. 306 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,880 It's not pretending differences don't exist and forcing everyone 307 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,240 into identical activities. There was a mother that we met 308 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,920 in Kansas a few years ago. It's interesting that when we go 309 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,640 to these special needs conferences, we've been able to 310 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,680 do some fit conferences or do some special needs teaching in 311 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:18,840 other places. And that we were at a church in 312 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,040 Kansas and they said, what would you also talk about special 313 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,840 needs and the ministry and the books before you get to 314 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:26,080 preaching? And that's what we did. 315 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,200 And after church, listen, the ladies line up to talk to my 316 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,360 wife. All the ladies want to talk to 317 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,520 my wife. And I just stand there and 318 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,360 sometimes the guys would come up and say, what do you think about 319 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,920 the chiefs? You know, that's what so and 320 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,280 it's like, well, I mean, special needs dads and men really need 321 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,080 to be able to get involved in that world and understand those 322 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,080 things too. But I find it's the women that 323 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,960 always want to talk to my wife. But one of the conversations 324 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,240 that she was having with the lady, and then I kind of butted 325 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,120 into it because none of the guys were really talking to me. 326 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,440 So I just decided to join that conversation was a woman who 327 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,480 said, and I'm going to kind of just give you a very basic 328 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,680 summary of this. Her daughter was non verbal. 329 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,520 And she was saying that her daughter in the junior church in 330 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,680 that children's class really was not participating at all and was 331 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,120 not allowed to participate because she could not speak. 332 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,240 And she says, I want her to be able to do memory verses and I'd 333 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,240 like her to be able to pray in front of the class. 334 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:24,520 And the teacher just took that as well. 335 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,640 I'm going to make her say her memory verse just like everyone 336 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,280 else. And if she can't say it, then 337 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,440 she doesn't get a star on the chart. 338 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:34,160 And if she can't, she can stand in front of the classroom. 339 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,960 And if she can't say anything, then she has to sit back down. 340 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,080 Now, that seems rather cruel to me, to be honest with you. 341 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,920 That's not, by the way, that's not what the mother was asking 342 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,400 for. The mother was asking, well, is 343 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,440 there some way that my child can do a memory verse like with a, a 344 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:55,200 board to be able to either write or to be able to make choices to 345 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,000 be able to do that or to be able to have a prayer request board. 346 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,800 We have a young lady in our church who is nonverbal. 347 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,599 She is the sweetest young girl that you could ever imagine. 348 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:07,920 She comes in to church with this beautiful smile every Sunday 349 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,520 morning and I just love her dearly. 350 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,920 In fact, AJ and her have this very interesting relationship 351 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,520 that they have with each other. It's like they connect on a 352 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,400 different level. There's on a wavelength none of 353 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:20,880 us understand, but they can. They understand one another. 354 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,480 And you know, she has a board when it's prayer time that she 355 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,960 has six different things that she can pick from and she pulls 356 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,840 off the one she wants to pick. It's attached with Velcro and 357 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,000 she puts at the top and says, this is what I'm going to pray 358 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,240 for or this is who I'm going to pray for this week. 359 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:38,720 She can participate. That's inclusion. 360 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,560 Now here's the problem. That takes work. 361 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,640 You don't just roll out of bed on Sunday morning and blow off 362 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,000 the flash cards and stand in front of the kids. 363 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,880 And that works because it's not. It does take some preparation. 364 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,960 And by the way, over time that preparation can be lessened as 365 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,360 you start to build a body of materials that you can reuse 366 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,960 over and over again. But that's not what we're 367 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:06,880 talking about. Just saying, well, we're going 368 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:09,080 to force you to do the same thing whether you can do it or 369 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:10,480 not, that that's not what we're talking about. 370 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,920 It's not allowing a child to behave or act how they however 371 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,080 they want. You know, the the pendulum, and 372 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:17,960 we'll talk about this in our last session. 373 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:22,360 The pendulum can swing so far the other direction that special 374 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,200 needs families become entitled. We have to have this. 375 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,040 We will have this pastor. This is the way that it needs to 376 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,920 be. And can I just say this and I 377 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,520 don't know again, if you're in the room, don't get offended 378 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:34,960 because listen, I'm not talking about you. 379 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,040 I'm talking about the people online. 380 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:40,640 OK, so just that that makes me feel better if I say that. 381 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:42,160 But I may be talking to you too. All right. 382 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:48,520 But I will say this, I am very much involved and want to 383 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,640 minister to the special needs community, but as a pastor, I 384 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:56,360 have to think of everybody. I can't just lobby for one 385 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:58,720 community at the sake of everyone else in the church. 386 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,200 Sometimes decisions have to be made that are hard and difficult 387 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,360 and maybe not as easy as a special needs parent would want 388 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,320 it to be. So as a pastor and as a special 389 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,520 needs parent, you have to understand that your child can't 390 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:14,560 act however they want. And by the way, you don't want 391 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:15,720 your child to act however you want. 392 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,480 There are times, you know that AJ acts in a way that's not 393 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:20,720 right. And I want him to know that when 394 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,320 he's adult, He can't do that at Walmart. 395 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:24,840 He can't do that in other places. 396 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,920 And by the way, this goes with it, It's not permitting a child 397 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,200 or their parent to be in charge of your classroom. 398 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:35,440 That's not inclusion either. Several years ago, we consulted 399 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,480 with a church in Ohio and they wanted to talk to us about an 400 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:41,160 issue they were having in their junior church. 401 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,240 They were working so hard with this young man. 402 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,040 He was probably about 13 or 14 years old, somewhere around 403 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,440 there, and they were trying to work with him to be able to sit 404 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,560 in a junior church. And if my memory was right that 405 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,080 he was actually maybe a little bit outside of the normal grades 406 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,680 to be in there, but they were making accommodations for him 407 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,760 and also had someone that was sitting with him. 408 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,240 Well, it ended up that he was being inappropriate to some of 409 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,560 the young ladies that were there, inappropriate to the 410 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,960 adult workers, female workers that were there. 411 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,560 And so the pastor had to call the family in. 412 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:17,320 Now the pastor, again, we consulted with him and, and the 413 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,120 whole idea was, listen, we don't want to be accusatory to this 414 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:22,560 young man at all. Perhaps he doesn't understand, 415 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,160 perhaps he's doing something that he doesn't know. 416 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,520 However, it's still not appropriate. 417 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,360 You can't just say, well, my child doesn't understand. 418 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,640 So moms and daughters just beware. 419 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,920 Moms and daughters just stand far away from him. 420 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:40,760 That that's, that's not inclusion. 421 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,000 That's that's not what we're aiming for. 422 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,960 And it ended up being that in talking to this with this 423 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,360 pastor, talk to the family, the family just got so upset they 424 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:51,960 left the church. Well, you don't, you don't care 425 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:53,600 about our family. You don't love our family. 426 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,360 The idea is we love them so much and they were trying to bend 427 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:58,200 over backwards and make even more accommodations. 428 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,480 But we love you so much that we're just telling you it's not 429 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,680 appropriate. Listen, that 13 year old becomes 430 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:08,280 a 21 year old and at the store touches a woman inappropriately 431 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:10,200 and he could be taken out in handcuffs. 432 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,480 Now, I'm not trying to be weird about this, but we've seen even 433 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,840 young autistic people or autistic people of any age, to 434 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:21,400 be honest with you, then resist arrest because they're confused 435 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,920 and tragic consequences can take place. 436 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,200 You say you you're being over the top. 437 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:30,600 No, no, I'm saying exactly what has been in the news the last 438 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:32,200 few years. This happened in Rhode Island 439 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,040 not that long ago. It's happened to other places as 440 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,120 well, where a child with autism becomes confused, not with a 441 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,280 guardian, not with a parent, and then tragic consequences can 442 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,360 take place. So what does that young man need 443 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:44,080 to know whether his intent was right or not? 444 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,240 We don't touch women in an inappropriate way. 445 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,880 And So what we're telling you is if you were worried about 446 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,520 inclusion, meaning the parents run your class or the children 447 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,040 run your class, that's the pendulum swinging too far the 448 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,120 other direction. The old saying is true. 449 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:01,480 There's a ditch on both sides of the road and we don't want to 450 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,280 fall so far and we don't make any accommodations. 451 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,320 Your kid can't talk well, they can't do anything in our class 452 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:08,960 and they can't learn. They can't get a star. 453 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,200 They don't get a treat. The other side is, well, we 454 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:13,840 don't listen. We don't want to offend these 455 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:14,880 people. So we'll just let them do 456 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,840 whatever they want. We'll let the kid do whatever 457 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:18,240 they want. They can scream, they can 458 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,640 terrorize, and other people will leave the church because now 459 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,000 they can't hear the word of God because of what's going on. 460 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,400 There has to be a middle ground. There has to be a biblical 461 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,640 ground. And the answer is there is 462 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,600 that's what true inclusion is, making sure that everyone is 463 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:36,880 fitly framed together, that it's not just the special needs child 464 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:39,840 and it's not just the special needs family, but that as a 465 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:43,840 church, all are together. Now, here's the definition that 466 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,400 I really want you to focus on. And if you want to know what 467 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,600 true inclusion is and what it asks, this is what I want you to 468 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,200 focus on inclusion in the classroom. 469 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:59,280 Ask this question, do I have access to the room and am I 470 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,880 included in what is going on in the room? 471 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:07,760 Do I have access to the room and am I included in what is going 472 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,160 on in the room? Now let's take the first part 473 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,640 that mostly deals with physical disabilities, doesn't it? 474 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,480 Can a child be in the room? Now let's also be equally 475 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,360 honest. Our church is blessed in the 476 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:23,560 sense that we don't have any type of access issues in this 477 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,840 building because this is not a typical church building. 478 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,360 We had a guy who came here once and he called us the cult in the 479 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:32,040 trailer after he left. And and The funny thing was, I 480 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,280 was more insulted about calling this a trailer than a cult. 481 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,600 And it's like, this is not a trailer. 482 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,400 All right. Like it's not a cold either, but 483 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:40,840 I'm just saying it's not a trailer. 484 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,800 We think it's a double wide. Come on, man. 485 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,800 Like, are you kidding me? But because this is a metal 486 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,400 building that was turned into a church and we came here, we have 487 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,480 no ADA issues at all. In fact, we're one of the few 488 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:55,080 churches in town that is ADA accessible, which is a blessing 489 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,200 for us. But I also recognize that some 490 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,400 of you come from churches that retrofitting to the ADA is 491 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,560 almost next to impossible. I get that. 492 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:04,440 Or it would come at such great expense. 493 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,800 It's cost prohibitive. And again, you don't have to 494 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,240 follow the ADA federally because churches are exempt. 495 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,640 I will tell you this, the AAB, which is the state version, the 496 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:19,040 Massachusetts version of the ADA, it is more stringent than 497 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,800 the ADA churches are required to follow. 498 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,560 And that may be a little bit of a shock to pastors. 499 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,120 And there can be some carve outs for you as well because of 500 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:30,960 finances and different types of things. 501 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,160 But there are certain parts of the law served on the Commission 502 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,160 of disabilities in our town for six years. 503 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,200 There are certain things that are required even of churches in 504 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,560 the state of Massachusetts, not federally, but from the state. 505 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,000 And if you're watching wherever you are, if whatever country 506 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,120 you're in, you should be aware of what the laws are in your 507 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:51,200 area as well. But I will say that there are 508 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,960 things that you can do and accommodations you can make even 509 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,960 an older church buildings to be able to make accessibility. 510 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,440 And so those are some things that you would have to look at 511 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,800 or maybe consult with someone who knows a lot more about 512 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,320 building and those types of things. 513 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,360 Or you might just need to be able to say, well, we're going 514 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:08,920 to move our classroom to an accessible room. 515 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,080 We're gonna move to the first floor or we're going to move to 516 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:15,280 another room. It's, it's just more of a 517 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,080 mindset than anything. We were at another church in 518 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:19,520 Kansas. It was about a year and a half 519 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,080 ago and we were actually doing a fit conference there. 520 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,080 They actually invited us to come and do a conference. 521 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,040 They said, listen, we'll invite everybody. 522 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,680 We'll do everything. We'll, we'll serve the meal. 523 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,360 All you got to do is come and teach the lessons. 524 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:32,240 I was like, Pam, there's a great setup right here. 525 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,160 We, we were all about that. And it was such a blessing to be 526 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,040 able to go. And there was 1 gentleman that 527 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:38,760 was in a power chair that was there. 528 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,400 You get a special needed adult, a, a person with a handicap. 529 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,800 He was there with a power chair, chair and we talked to him for a 530 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,480 little bit and he we learned through the process of time that 531 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,240 because of the way this church was that and it was an older 532 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,240 church and he couldn't actually come in through the front door. 533 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,880 And so they made him with the only way to come in the 534 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,760 accessible entrance was in the back. 535 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 It went through a choir room. It went through a place. 536 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,960 Well, if your choir rooms, like most choir rooms, you know, it's 537 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,440 just like, it's like, you know, it's like there's all this sheet 538 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,720 music everywhere and you kind of what are we going to sing on 539 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,080 Sunday? Kind of just that one, all 540 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,560 right, Because that's the way ours was when we were in, when 541 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,480 we were in Tampa. It took us a lot of work to get 542 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,560 it what it needed to be. They decided if this is the 543 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:23,600 accessible entrance to the church, we've got to do better 544 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,000 back here. And so they renovated that small 545 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,320 room. It was about 8 by 810 by 10, 546 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:30,760 something like that. They moved the choir books to 547 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,800 another area. They they painted it, they put a 548 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,440 little chair in there just so other people for coming in and 549 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,080 out and they just made it look comfortable to me. 550 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,320 That was wow, that's inclusion. It's not just going through and 551 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,720 saying, well, listen, just go through the stacks, acquire 552 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,400 books and make it to It was someone who felt like they were 553 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,640 a part of the church. It probably cost them a few $100 554 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,840 for paint and a little elbow grease to clean and that was 555 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:57,040 about it. But do you know what a 556 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,520 difference of a testimony it was to that man to be able to feel 557 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,520 like my church cares? So that's the first part is just 558 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,040 knowing that they can get access to the room, wherever that is. 559 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,640 That's your auditorium, your sanctuary, that's the classroom 560 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,800 that you meet, whatever it is. But when they get there, are 561 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,680 they included in what's going on in the room? 562 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,280 That it's not just about making sure they can get in the room, 563 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,040 but can they participate in what's going on when they get 564 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,440 there. This is the part that will help 565 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,560 you with as time goes on. It's not what I'm going to cover 566 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,840 this morning in this session because what we're talking more 567 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,720 philosophical, more biblical. Diane is going to help you with 568 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,880 a great deal more with that because it requires maybe 569 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,360 adapting the environment. It requires adapting the method 570 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,880 of instruction. It requires adapting the 571 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:42,840 conditions. And we'll look at all of those 572 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,200 later and make practical application. 573 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,720 But adapting those things does not mean you have to change who 574 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,120 you are. It does not mean you have to 575 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,520 change who you teach. It doesn't mean that you have to 576 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,200 teach that one child at the expense of all the other 577 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,440 children. It can all be done together. 578 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,400 I am constantly amazed that's what's accomplished in that 579 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,400 glass room back there here at 800 Washington St. 580 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:10,000 It was I think 2 weeks ago, we had a, a very high attendance. 581 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,880 We were in and of that high attendance, there were 12 in 582 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:16,960 that glass room. Now, I would encourage you at 583 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,920 some point, just go peek your head in that glass room. 584 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,600 All right, men, we'll be meeting in there in just a few minutes, 585 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:22,760 but peek your head in the glass room. 586 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:26,280 Tell me if you think 12 children should be in there, especially 587 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,520 with several of them with special needs. 588 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,600 And I, and I've, I've said this before, I'd rather preach out 589 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,200 here. I'd rather do everything out 590 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,880 here than to be the one standing in that classroom and doing it 591 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:39,680 because I, I don't know that I can do it. 592 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,360 I just don't know. I mean, look, Lord gives you 593 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,200 grace when you need it. But I mean, we're talking about 594 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,920 grace, you know, for, for me to be able to do it. 595 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,560 But to know that my wife at 10:00 and Miss Cassandra at 596 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:54,000 11:00 are in there and they're teaching the kids the word of 597 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:58,280 God and they're not just getting a, a hey, sit down and be quiet 598 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,320 and, and, and don't, don't make a lot of noise. 599 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,120 But they are learning and they're growing. 600 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,240 And we just had a young lady just about 6 months ago in there 601 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:09,920 that didn't get saved in junior church. 602 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,000 But then she came out during the children junior church activity 603 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,520 afterwards. And she wanted to get saved to 604 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:17,160 the point that I was trying to go through with her. 605 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:18,640 And she's kind of like, what's taking so long? 606 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,800 I already know what I needed. If she was trying to tell me the 607 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,560 plan of salvation, I was like, hey, girl, I think you already 608 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:25,600 got it, to be honest with you. I think you already know what 609 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,200 you need to do. And so where did that come from? 610 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,920 Because of the preacher. Because what happened in the 611 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,240 glass room, you know? And a young lady, by the way, 612 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:35,760 also has trouble keeping attention. 613 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,280 But the Lord was able to work through some of those things, 614 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,760 but there was some accommodations that needed to be 615 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:43,400 made. So we thank the Lord for that. 616 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,840 Well, what's the biblical foundation for this type of 617 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:47,200 inclusion? I want to take maybe the next 10 618 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,400 minutes to look at this. So if you have your Bibles, turn 619 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,080 to 1st Corinthians chapter 10. Let's get down to preaching. 620 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:57,000 All right, First Corinthians chapter 12, you can go to 621 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:58,120 chapter 10. It's a good chapter 2. 622 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,520 But we're supposed to be going to chapter 12, and we're looking 623 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,320 at verse #12. Now, this chapter deals with the 624 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:09,760 local church. I I say that because sometimes 625 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,560 it's talked about in a universal sense. 626 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:15,040 And I would say what we see here is a local church body that's 627 00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,760 being spoken of here, because at the end you'll see that there 628 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,280 could be the potential for schisms, difficulties, 629 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,520 divisions. Nothing that's universal, 630 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,160 invisible can have schisms, difficulties and divisions. 631 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,480 But we're talking about a very real church here. 632 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,120 And this is where we start to get the idea of this fit 633 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,360 conference, how we're we're put together. 634 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,120 So read along with me verse #12 you read silently widely aloud. 635 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,560 It says, For as the body is 1 and hath many members, and all 636 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,920 the members of that one body being many are one body, so also 637 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,520 is Christ. For by 1 Spirit are we all 638 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:51,480 baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether 639 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,360 we be bond or free, and have made all, and have been all made 640 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,520 to drink into one spirit. For the body is not one member, 641 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:02,440 but many At the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am 642 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,000 not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body? 643 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,400 The ears shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not the body. 644 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,840 Is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, 645 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,360 were where were they hearing? If the whole were hearing, where 646 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,320 were the smelling? But now hath God set members, 647 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,120 every one of them, in the body, as it had pleased them? 648 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,440 Let's stop right there for a moment. 649 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,200 In the local body, we are different. 650 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:29,600 And I've said before, the Liberty Baptist Church has so 651 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:31,640 many different characters. We could have a sitcom with all 652 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:32,960 the different characters that we have. 653 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,200 You know, there's so many different people coming from so 654 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,120 many different walks of life. By the way, that starts with the 655 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:39,320 pastor. I'm not exempting myself from 656 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:41,120 all that. I'm I, I am. 657 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,040 I may be the under shepherd. I'm not the chief shepherd, but 658 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:48,040 I may be the chief character that is here at Liberty Baptist 659 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:48,760 Church. I'm not. 660 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,560 I'll acknowledge that freely. But I will say this, we're 661 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,760 different by design, that God has purposely put us together, 662 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,720 that what God has done in Bellingham or what God has done 663 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:04,600 in Webster or in Peabody or in Holbrook or in Washington, 664 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:06,960 Trailia, Washington, I hope I said that right. 665 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,640 Or in Scotland or wherever that is that pretty good. 666 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,600 No, it wasn't good, all right. But wherever it may be that God 667 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,320 has put the people in that church to be I eyes, ears, 668 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:23,720 mouths, noses, hands, feet, all different, but different by 669 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,560 design. Because if we were all the same, 670 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,640 that that would make a very difficult type of church, 671 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,560 wouldn't it? That God brought us all together 672 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:32,360 the way he did. And who is the one that did it? 673 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,640 Well, it said that God was the one. 674 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:39,320 He did it as it pleased him. So I would say to you this 675 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,080 morning that even those who might seem like they don't fit 676 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,640 because of their special needs, so maybe I remind you, God has 677 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:52,760 placed them within your watch care God, God has God desires 678 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,280 for you to remember that they are part of the body. 679 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,520 They are part of the body, that they cannot be put off to the 680 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,200 side. Not only are they important, but 681 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,240 they are necessary to the work. Do you know how many people have 682 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:12,080 come to know the Lord or have come to church over the years 683 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,840 because of AJ? And he doesn't even realize it. 684 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:20,760 He doesn't even recognize it. We were at that conference a 685 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:25,240 couple of years ago in Kansas and I remember it was pretty 686 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:27,080 overwhelming. It's probably about 150 or so 687 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,360 people there was so well attended. 688 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:30,560 It was such a blessing. And we got to the end of there 689 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,480 was a pastor there. In fact, I believe there's some 690 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,040 from their church that are watching here today. 691 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:40,080 And Brother Quigley, Pastor Quigley, a friend of ours, got 692 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:44,560 up and, and he, he prayed to close the service to, to close 693 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:46,840 the conference. And I'll never forget what he 694 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,520 said. He said as he prayed, you know, 695 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,520 for safe travel and, and all the different things. 696 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,880 And as we went our way, he says, and Lord, thank you for AJ. 697 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:00,760 And none of them knew AJ. We didn't bring him with us. 698 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,560 I said thank you for AJ because if it wasn't for AJ, none of us 699 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,679 would be here today. I thought about that. 700 00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:13,199 It sounds like I didn't know that, so I'd never heard it come 701 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:17,280 out of someone else's mouth. And it really hit differently 702 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,080 when I thought, wow, all of these people came today because 703 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,199 of AJ. Anything good that we have 704 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:28,000 obviously comes from the Lord, but it's because the Lord gave 705 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,440 us AJ. You're telling me we'd have 706 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:33,239 three books for special needs families and for churches? 707 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:36,040 If you're telling me we have a fit conference, it would be more 708 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,840 likely to have a fit conference. And that's unlikely, but it 709 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:41,480 would have been more likely than this. 710 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,480 I didn't know the difference between autism and Down syndrome 711 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,920 when they told me what it what what AJ was dealing with. 712 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:49,840 And I say that not to be funny. I'm saying cuz that's where I 713 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,000 was. I'd no idea whatsoever. 714 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:55,440 But look at what God did. Why? 715 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,240 Because God placed him with us. God placed him within this 716 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:01,480 church. And so those people, that's what 717 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,760 inclusion is all about. Look at verse #19. 718 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,840 And if they were all one member, where would be the body? 719 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,000 But now are they many members, yet one body? 720 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,320 And the eye cannot say into the hand I have no need of thee, nor 721 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:15,920 get to the head of the feet, I have no need of you. 722 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:18,360 Why do we need these special needs people here? 723 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,320 Well, it seems like we don't have the right to ask that 724 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,560 question. Nay, much more, those members of 725 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:27,320 the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. 726 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:33,400 It's the ones that you don't see coming that could be the ones 727 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,320 that are the game changers in the church. 728 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:39,640 And so, well, you know, I'll, I'll teach this little boy about 729 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,160 the Bible, but I don't know what he'll become to well, one, he 730 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,160 could get saved and that'd be good enough. 731 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:47,920 I mean, I don't know what more you'd need from that. 732 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,920 But it could just be he could change a family, could just be 733 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,160 he could change a church, could just be change a community. 734 00:35:56,240 --> 00:36:00,200 See, it's not up for us to decide what the end consequences 735 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,680 will be to say, you know what this seems more feeble, but it 736 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,440 seems to me that God takes pleasure in the feeble. 737 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,280 Just went through First Corinthians preaching through on 738 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,120 Wednesday nights, first few chapters. 739 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:11,960 They were so proud of themselves. 740 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,640 He said this you know what you you really need to be weak. 741 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,240 That's where it's at weakness as where as you, you've cherished 742 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:21,600 your strength, but you're not actually strong. 743 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:22,920 So I had to talk to you as babes. 744 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,720 You need milk instead of being the strong meet people that you 745 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:30,320 need to be. And so, yeah, there's some 746 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,920 people that may not seem like they belong, but boy do they 747 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:34,880 belong. And we need to help them belong. 748 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,880 Nay, much more of those members of the body, verse 22 would see 749 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,400 more feeble or necessary. And those members of the body 750 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,160 which we think to be less honorable upon these we bestow 751 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,760 more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more 752 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,560 abundant comeliness, for our comely parts have no need. 753 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,000 But God had tempered the body together, giving more abundant 754 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,560 honor to them, part which lacked that there'd be no schism in the 755 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:58,960 body, but that the members should have the same care one 756 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:00,960 for another. And whether one member suffer, 757 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:04,040 all members suffer with it or 1 be honored, all of them, all the 758 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:06,040 members rejoice with it. Again, it seems to me that's 759 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,160 very clear why this is talking about the local church, because 760 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,320 it's talking about real issues that are happening within a 761 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,160 body. Not something that's just 762 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:15,040 floating in the air, but something that's very real here. 763 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,600 So what do we see from this? Just to fill in your blanks 764 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,600 there. Each member of the body, the 765 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:24,120 local church has unique gifts. AJ has unique gifts. 766 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,000 He does. And I'm not talking about the 767 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,920 special gifts that sometimes people ask you about that say, 768 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,640 well, what's your child's special gift like? 769 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,840 Like every child has to be a savant at the piano or do math 770 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,720 on command or, or, or some of those things you see on 771 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:41,680 television or in the movies. AJ does not have a special gift 772 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,480 in the sense that he is a savant at something, you know, he can 773 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:48,320 play chess with blindfolded, you know, or something like that. 774 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:53,520 You know what AJ special gift is being AJ and you say, well, that 775 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:55,200 sounds that sounds just kind of silly. 776 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,440 Well, that's what it is, because that's who God made him. 777 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,160 And so yes, that's that's what he is. 778 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,520 That's his unique gift. But every member has unique 779 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:07,640 gifts. Those who seem, quote seem to be 780 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:11,840 more feeble are necessary. The body is tempered, which 781 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,840 means to commingle the body being commingled together that 782 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,160 we are one. That's why when one rejoices, we 783 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:20,400 all rejoice. That's why when one sorrows, we 784 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,160 all sorrow because we're together as one to the end that 785 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,640 there be no schism and that the members have the same care one 786 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:28,960 for another. I would say it's a good argument 787 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,720 for biblical inclusion, not the world's inclusion, but what the 788 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:34,800 Bible says. Now quickly because I'm going 789 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,360 over just a touch and we'll probably go to 9:50 and then 790 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:39,400 take a 10 minute break and then we'll split. 791 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,440 I'll tell you more about that in the and in Ephesians 2/21/22. 792 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:45,800 It's right there on your page. And whom the this is where we 793 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:48,320 get our our term fit conference from. 794 00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:52,840 And whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a 795 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,760 holy temple in the Lord. And whom you also are building 796 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:58,280 together for the habitation of God through the Spirit. 797 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:00,760 While the body is the temple of the Spirit. 798 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,480 The church is also recognized that way as well. 799 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,160 First Corinthians chapter 6 talks about the body being the 800 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:08,320 temple of Spirit. First Corinthians chapter 3, and 801 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,160 of course Ephesians chapter 2 talk about the church being that 802 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:14,360 the church is fitly framed together, meaning every piece is 803 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,160 exactly who and where it needs to be. 804 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,520 This is biblical inclusion. The world's inclusion typically 805 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,320 brings together pieces that don't belong for the sake of 806 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,560 unity. Biblical inclusion understands 807 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,960 that those God has entrusted us with must be included in the 808 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,240 whole. The mission of the church 809 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,840 extends every part of the church, including those with 810 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:37,600 special needs. Again, the Great Commission does 811 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:41,520 not stop when someone's understanding seemingly stops. 812 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:46,040 The Great Commission continues. It's just that we need to adapt 813 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:50,040 our methods so that we can fulfill the biblical command. 814 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:55,320 And I'll just give you this this, and, and, and then we'll, 815 00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:59,360 we'll take a break. When AJ started here, I mean we 816 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,840 started Liberty 2013. We moved to this building very 817 00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:07,240 quickly after being in the in the school for about 3 months 818 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,320 and we knew around that time something was different about 819 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,680 AJ. Time goes on, he gets the 820 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,880 diagnosis, he's not able to sit in the classroom. 821 00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:17,840 Of course, you understand some of you being from smaller 822 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,000 churches, church plants, you understand that when you're the 823 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,400 church planter, church planter's wife, you do everything. 824 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:24,720 I mean, let me tell you, you don't understand church planting 825 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:26,520 until you plunge the toilet in your suit. 826 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:28,480 I'll tell you. That's when you know, it's like, 827 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:31,600 you know, this is when this is like, it's hit me like, this is 828 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:32,840 church planting. This is where it's at. 829 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:36,040 OK. And so there were times for 830 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:37,960 years that AJ would actually have to sit in the nursery 831 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:39,640 because he couldn't sit out here during services. 832 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,920 So either Diane or Bethany or Kaylee's older sisters, we had 833 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:47,240 to sit in the nursery until he's about 7 or 8 years old because 834 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:48,480 he just couldn't handle being out here. 835 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,240 We got to the place we said this is unsustainable, we can't keep 836 00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:54,200 doing this. So we explained to our church, 837 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,200 he's going to be coming out a few minutes at a time. 838 00:40:56,880 --> 00:40:59,360 And we worked on it. And our church was so wonderful 839 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,920 in so many ways. And I remember AJ sitting in the 840 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:02,960 back. I have a video of him I'm 841 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:04,360 preaching. And I'm just, you know, just 842 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,400 Sunday night, you know, independent Baptist, I, I say it 843 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,280 to Lara, you know, and AJ is in the back and he's, he's got 844 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:11,640 headphones on. They're not even connected to 845 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:12,640 anything. And he's doing this. 846 00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:17,040 And Diane takes a video of it and you can just hear me. 847 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:22,560 And AJ is, I thought, I wonder how many other people would wish 848 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:24,160 they were doing that right now, to be honest with you, 849 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:26,160 headphones on, not listening pass. 850 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:32,640 You know, we went from that to him sitting in church to even 851 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:35,640 after my wife's gone through some very difficult health 852 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:38,480 issues and still does in many ways, but was not able to come 853 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,280 to church for a while. But sometimes I'd have to preach 854 00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:43,280 and he'd be sitting right here in the front row. 855 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,360 Never thought that would happen. They could sit through old 856 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:46,600 service. Well, a couple times he didn't 857 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,400 do so well and had to come down and finish my sermon standing 858 00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:52,680 next to him. Didn't see that coming either. 859 00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:56,880 And thankfully I've remembered a lot of my sermons so that like, 860 00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:00,240 OK, I see, I didn't know I need to memorize this one, but that's 861 00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:02,040 OK. But you know, what's really 862 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,760 interesting, you talk about inclusion growing over time. 863 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:06,600 And Diane noticed this a couple weeks ago. 864 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:09,400 We have men's prayer here at 9:00, and we actually have about 865 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:11,320 9 or 10 men who will come together and pray. 866 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:14,160 But then afterwards, you know, we all kind of get into our 867 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:17,040 groups and drink coffee and talk until 10:00 and Sunday school 868 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,760 starts. I didn't notice this, but 869 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,000 there's a couple guys talking outside. 870 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:23,480 I believe it's Dave and the other day, because our church 871 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,880 had five days here on Sunday. Could you imagine 50 people in 872 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,680 five days? That's, that doesn't make any 873 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,200 sense. But that's what we 10%. 874 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:35,640 We had a tithe of Dave's in our church on Sunday. 875 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:40,520 And so Dave, Dave too, you're Dave too, all right. 876 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:48,600 And Dave too was outside with Dave for outside talking. 877 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,560 And there was AJ just standing with them. 878 00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:57,680 He was standing and listening. And then he was talking about 879 00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:58,320 geese. OK. 880 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,080 He had some desire to talk about geese. 881 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:04,800 But you know, I thought that's the elder teaching the younger. 882 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:08,200 He said, no, that's not the old teaching the younger saying, 883 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:11,760 hey, that's what the Bible says. No, he would just learn, hey, 884 00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:14,280 this is what the men do. They stand outside and drink 885 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:15,440 coffee. They anybody hasn't asked to 886 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,920 drink coffee yet, but they stand outside and drink coffee and 887 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,120 they talk before church and sometimes they talk about the 888 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:22,880 Lord. Sometimes they talk about the 889 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,320 Pats. Not much lately. 890 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,800 Sometimes they talk about the weather or what's going on, but 891 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,480 that. But they're together as men. 892 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,720 They're saved. They have commonality. 893 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,880 And there's AJ just standing there and you know, every once 894 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,600 in a while talk about geese and they'll get back to just 895 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:40,280 listening. It's like that's inclusion. 896 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,440 And two guys who one fairly knew who didn't bat an eye at that, 897 00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:46,480 but just included him in the conversation. 898 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:50,000 That's what we're looking for. That's biblical inclusion. 899 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,280 And we're going to help you with some of that here as the day 900 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,200 goes on. Heavenly Father, thank you for 901 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:55,880 this time. I pray that you just be with us. 902 00:43:55,880 --> 00:43:58,760 We take a break. And as we continue here in just 903 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:00,880 a moment, thank you for each of these people. 904 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:02,280 Thank you for the people watching online. 905 00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:04,200 It's something that we don't take lightly. 906 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,000 Thank you so much for each and every one of them. 907 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:09,680 We ask it in Jesus name, Amen. Before we go to a break, let me 908 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:11,920 just explain to everybody, whether you're here or whether 909 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:13,200 you're online, what's about to happen. 910 00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:16,200 We'll take a break at 10:00. The men, we will take in the 911 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:17,840 glass room. We might not have enough chairs. 912 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:18,840 We might need to move some in there. 913 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,120 That's the case. We'll address that when we get 914 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:22,960 there. Ladies, you'll remain out here 915 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,440 for split session. Diane will be teaching and then 916 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:26,760 I'll be teaching in the glass room. 917 00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:29,920 If you are watching online, what's going to happen is this 918 00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:32,200 link will be your link for the entire day. 919 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,200 But what will happen is while we're on breaks, you'll just see 920 00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:38,480 a, a card on the screen that says we will be right back in a 921 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:42,200 minute and just know right around 10:00 Eastern Time we 922 00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:44,920 will be returning. It will be Diane's lesson. 923 00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:47,560 We will not be recording the lesson in the glass room just 924 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,200 because of the constraints of the size of our building and 925 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:52,760 where we have everything as far as audio visual. 926 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,960 So at 10:00 Eastern Time, if you're watching online, you'll 927 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:58,680 be watching Diane. If you're here, get Donuts, get 928 00:44:58,680 --> 00:44:59,920 coffee. If you're at home, you're on 929 00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:01,080 your own. I hope you got something there. 930 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:03,880 All right? And so we'll be breaking and 931 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:05,720 we'll be back at it at 10:00, All right.