August 12, 2025 • 58 mins
Reverend AA Cleveland continues to share his extraordinary journey of surviving three life-threatening aortic aneurysms and heart surgeries while maintaining his faith and purpose. His powerful testimony reveals how facing death transformed his ministry and led to unexpected opportunities in both spiritual and educational realms.
• Surviving the first aortic aneurysm that ruptured in two places during a Bible study
• Enduring a 100-day hospital stay with kidney failure and nearly losing his leg
• Approaching his second aneurysm with mental preparation, requesting time to get "mind right"
• Understanding the difference between miracles and healing - we participate in our healing
• Converting hospital inspiration into educational programs that increased parent involvement
• Recognizing when suffering is truly "for the gospel" versus personal challenges
• Finding purpose through pain and using our testimonies to help others
• Maintaining spiritual fire while facing repeated setbacks and health challenges
• Embracing failure as a continued learning opportunity regardless of age
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Thanks for listening!
Until next time, continue to press into your purpose!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Hello, this is valeria right, and thank you for
tuning into pressed intopurpose this week.
On pressed into purpose, wecontinue our conversation with
reverend aa cleveland.
A second what made what madeyou say it's time to transition
out of this?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
well um lifestyle lifing okay, okay the, the uh uh
, second uh aortic aneurysm shutit down okay, all right, okay,
so, so let's, let's pause okayfor the calls and let's talk
about you, because you said thesecond, yes, let's talk about
(01:05):
the first and let's talk.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Let's just talk about let's, let's talk about that
that health.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I don't know if we want to call it a scare oh yes,
that's great word okay, allright especially the first one
Great word they're as scared ashim too.
Right, did not see it coming,zero clue.
It was like boom, like whoait's one of them.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So what were you doing?
Take us through it.
What were you doing what washappening, and then how did we?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
First Peter 315 was my selected scripture text for
the whole month.
Apostle Donald Alfred had givenme the entire month to do Bible
study.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, so now I'm a young, elder.
That's huge yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
A whole month, a whole month Listen.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And I know the rest of y'all hating.
I'm loving it, just loving it.
Don't praise the Lord.
You ain't praising the Lord.
Don't try, you can't stand methis much.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But I'm going to kill it.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I'm going to murder, death, kill this just cause.
Please be there.
I want you to witness yourdeath.
I need you here, and we wereexplaining how to be ready to
give an answer.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
But I was focused on the gentleness and respect.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Now all Pentecostals that are watching, hear my heart
.
I'm Pentecostal to the bone.
I love the Pentecostal church.
Okay, now all Pentecostals thatare watching, hear my heart.
I'm Pentecostal to the bone.
I love the Pentecostal church.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I love everything about it Okay.
I really do.
Okay, I am the birth child ofthe church of God in Christ.
Do you hear me?
I hear you, baby, I can churchyou now.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Okay, oh, I know you can, I know you can.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And I tell musicians all the time don't go there
unless you're ready to hang withme Listen.
Because these other folk beenteasing you.
I don't fit across you overinto something that you're not
ready for, but the problem I washaving is when many of the
Pentecostals could not explaintheir differences to a Muslim,
(03:31):
to a Buddhist, to a Jehovah'sWitness.
All right, and out of that, notbeing able to explain the knee
jerk was well, I don't know whatyou're talking about?
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I don't know.
You're going to hell.
I said you can't do that.
You just can't do that, I mean.
But it was done.
So you know, I'm not lying,right?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I know you ain't lying, I know you ain't lying.
You give people permission tobuild up a wall against you
because they call you ignorant,unlearned, self-righteous and
everything else.
And you missed the goldenopportunity how about this?
To drop a seed of the word,because, again, at that time,
(04:15):
many of us were trained.
When I witnessed to you, yousupposed to break down on your
knees, lift your hands to Godand you finna turn today,
because I'm filled with the Holy.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Ghost.
Today is the day of salvation.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You're going to do it today.
I said what if the scripturethat talks about one plant to
other waters but God gets toincrease?
What if they get saved?
10 years later you ain'tnowhere around and they done
forgot your name.
But they said this lady I usedto work with Right.
You don't like that.
You're going to tell themMissionary Valeria, right, right
(04:48):
, right.
You're going to tell them,reverend Cleve, you're going to
call my name.
Tell the people.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So I want to add it to my account, okay, right.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I said but God got the record.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And we got to be cool with himhaving the record that's true,
that's true.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
So I was lining up different religions alongside of
christianity.
Okay, not denominationalchristianity.
Okay, to call stew baptistapostolic the five tenets of our
faith?
Okay, just kept it real basic,okay.
By the time we got to the thirdinstallment I was up and, uh,
(05:30):
it felt like a mac truck hit mein the middle of my chest.
That was much bigger.
I was working out even more andtaking creatine and looking all
fluff and buff, and so I wentlike that and this heat went
through me in this clammy sweatand it was like hot to cold,
(05:54):
cold to hot.
But I looked at the clock and Ihad 15 minutes left, okay.
Then I looked at my haters.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I can't with you, I can't with you, I can't with you
.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You ain't getting my 15 minutes.
No, not at all.
You're not getting them.
You're not Not knowing Negro.
You dying, you are literallydying, dying.
I sat on that altar, on themsteps with that microphone.
(06:37):
Oh my God, held my chest andgot my 15 minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Oh, you did.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I got receipts.
I sure did.
This is what growing up in theghetto and going to church would
do for you.
Oh my God, make you do ignorantstuff.
I sure did do it, and the Lordwouldn't let my wife be there
that night.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Because she would have been like get off, okay,
let's go, let's go.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Something wrong with him, right?
Everybody else was like ooh,thank you, jesus, he's dying.
Wow, the late Deacon Masseycame to help me, walked
downstairs and it felt likesomebody had plugged his leg
into a wall socket and the painwas unbearable.
By the time I got to ApostleDonald Alford's office I
(07:26):
couldn't stand and I felt myselfgetting ready to faint and I
hit the floor and all the saintsthey were around.
You know St Friar Church.
They speaking in tongues layinghands.
I'm smelling bad breath withpeppermint.
I cannot with you.
There was so much going on.
I cannot with you and I'mtrying you.
There was so much going on.
I get mad with you and I'mtrying to figure out what is
(07:48):
going on with my body.
Oh God, and I tell ApostleAlfred all the time, out of all
them folk in the room, sir, youwere the only one that really
heard God.
He said I'm calling theparamedics.
Right, I said you got the HolyGhost.
I don't know what the rest ofyou're doing.
(08:09):
I said either that or you saidhe ain't dying in my office.
Okay, not today, not tonight.
That man got the paramedics,that's so fast oh my god, fast,
oh my God.
They took me to one.
It used to be Westlake.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yes, and they had me up in there and the guy was
supposed to have given me a CATscan but he was tired, he had
been there all day.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
He had too much overtime.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
So he was going.
You know, they were telling mewe're going to give you some
strong Tylenol and you're goingto come back tomorrow Because I
was fussing and the only reasonI wasn't cussing is because my
past in them was there, Becausemy wife got good insurance.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Y'all need to give me something for this leg.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Period Right now.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I'm not in here free Right.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I'm going to need some care.
I'm going to need some care.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
A cardiologist from Loyola had been doing some
community service there earlierthat day.
Wow, he forgot his files.
He came back to get the filesand they said he noticed the
parking lot is jammed.
That's why I said listen, Ilove my Pentecostal saints,
(09:34):
because they were out therebombarding heaven praying for
young elder Cleveland.
I was 34 years old by the timehe got on the inside of the
emergency room.
There was no seats.
They were in there prayingsilently, speaking in tongues
Jesus, jesus, jesus.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
I'm talking about Shoko.
Yeah, they're going in.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, he said what is going on.
He said well, we got a reverendin the back and his symptoms
are da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
He said give him a CAT scan sowe can see what's going on.
Right, and they told him whatthe CAT scan guy said.
All I heard was some knowntongues.
Baby, he laid him out.
(10:19):
Listen, did you hear me?
They gave me a CAT scan.
You hear me?
They gave me a cat scan.
Doctor came back around thecorner and said sir, I'm going
to need you to be very still andlay back.
Okay, I'm like when they'regoing to give me something, but
it's pain the leg I was just theleg Spent two hours, something.
(10:42):
I'm trying to shoot it.
Give me a pill, something.
He said you see this, these arethe main positions Of your
aorta.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
This is all you got left.
It had ruptured in two places.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Ascending and they were trying to figure out why
have you not drowned in your ownblood?
Wow?
That's why every time, I thinkof the look I was giving my
haters sitting on that altar youidiot Dummy.
Yes, god looks over babies andfoods.
(11:25):
That's what they say.
Now you call it how you see it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Right my God.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So they rushed me from there to Loyola.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
My wife said they called her and told her get
somebody to watch your kids.
You got to come out here.
You're going to be here for awhile.
You're going to be here for awhile.
Riding in the ambulance.
I asked those guys.
I said, hey man, am I going todie because I'm like I'm scared?
(12:05):
Listen, no, am I going to dieBecause I'm like I'm scared?
They said no, you ain't goingto die.
Later on, after stuff got real,they didn't know they were
trying to get on the team, right, baby.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Just don't die in here.
Didn't nobody want me to die onthe dock?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So, yeah, oh God, rushed me into the OR and before
they put me out, well, first ofall they wanted to lift me up
off the gurney thing right, andput me on the operating table
Right.
Here we go again.
I just pushed myself.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
They go.
Oh, oh, right sir.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
No, I'm like come on man, just come on, right, sir.
I'm like come on man.
At this point I'm like, if thisis it, there's nothing I can do
to stop it Me crying me,nothing.
This man just said my aorta isruptured in two places Ascending
(13:04):
.
Now, even as a C student I knewit's coming up.
Ascending is up, descending isdown.
That was not rocket science forAl Jr Girl.
I laid back on that table and Isaw that thing come.
(13:27):
I said wait, I prayed foreverybody in that room.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Are you serious right now?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
I sure did.
I said you bless every doctor,every nurse because they working
on a preacher, the man of Godis in the room.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
You bless their families.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You bless their children and their children's
children, jesus, because they,working on your service, jesus
and I started singing my mama'ssongs wow she did.
Wow, I ain't saying nothing new.
That was on the radio wow everyhymn that came to my mind.
(14:03):
Listen, and to this day theystill talk about that because
what I'm shocked that you neverpassed out.
That's what they said.
Now, if you can't remember,john ritter died like a couple
of weeks prior of the same thing, and he dropped dead.
(14:24):
There was this negro here, justup, just up Right, and that's
when, like the Lord gave mepermission to start calling
myself one of the greatestgladiators ever.
Listen, wow, I went to the wallwith Satanators.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Ever Listen, oh wow.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I went to the wall with Satan.
Wow, sure did.
I was in the hospital 100 days.
Kidneys fell, liver failed.
They wanted to amputate thelower part of this leg because
with that pain I was feeling allof the blood.
It's like he did me a favor.
(15:06):
He let it dump this way insteadof coming up this way.
But it tore every muscle, allthe veins, nerve endings were
trashed, yeah, and they had toperform a fasciotomy so it can
(15:27):
all drain out.
And the leg tried to die anyway.
Wow, and my wife, missionary G,listen.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Is she going to get it Listen?
Speaker 2 (15:37):
She said y'all ain't cutting nothing off.
Not today, because some ofy'all didn't think he was going
to make it anyway.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Come on, come on, come on, sister Lori, and speak
now Come on.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
She said God got it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow, yep, sure did.
Wow, some crazy times, and theywill always try to come and do
a procedure to either fix mykidneys or fix my liver when she
would have to leave.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Because they didn't want to deal and go to work.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
She would threaten me .
I said now I'm going to callthe police because I'm a sick
man in the hospital and I feelthreatened.
I'm going to tell these folksI'm scared of you.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
You better not let them, do nothing, listen without
.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Without me being here .
Come on, and I would tell them,god would always take me to
like one or two days before theysay they couldn't wait no more.
Or it's going to be permanentlydamaged.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I said I need 24 hours to talk to God.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And every time the kidneys just came on.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Jesus Wow.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I need 24 hours.
Listen, your liver is going tobe damaged forever.
Just give me.
The surgeon started telling him.
If he tell you he needs to talkto his God, because there's
something special about this man, listen, give him 24 hours and
God will just do it.
I will wake up in.
The room would be filled withstudents, they taking notes
(17:13):
Because they trying tounderstand they put me in the
journals, in the magazines, inthe hospital.
It was crazy, wow, it was crazy.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
So how did you so?
You said second aneurysm though.
So that was the first one.
You were in the hospital 100days, so there had to be some
residual effects to that.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Well, no, because it took about a year to rehab so I
can learn how to walk again.
Okay, so that was my emphasisGot you.
Getting healthier so I can getback out on the road and start
preaching.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Look, now you want to preach, won't God do it?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You couldn't give me a mic fast enough.
You know I don't even need amic.
I preach on the street corner.
I was laying hands on peoplewho was coming to the hospital
to see me.
I'm preaching and teaching.
They was definitely going to belike he's gone, Yep.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It was like a Jonah experience.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Oh, I'm out the belly .
It is well, wow, so, yeah.
So after like two years, man, Ithought I was just in the clear
, yeah.
Right yeah yeah, I washealthier and they had took me
(18:39):
through the whole dieticianthing and all this kind of stuff
.
It just rewired me.
Yeah, I mean everything aboutGod, family, it just centered.
It was just, and for a coupleof years a lot of folk didn't
like to be around me.
Listen.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Because if there was a fanatic, it was you.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You need to understand me and Enoch was
cousins.
I was about to walk out of herewith God.
My kids used to say we couldn'tturn on BET.
Nothing Like my spirit.
Get out of it.
Turn it off.
Turn that mess off in here.
Not in here.
Not in here.
That's for me at my house.
(19:20):
Hey, you going to do it up inhere.
You going to serve him, Trustme.
Wow be in my house.
Hey, you gonna do it up in here.
You gonna serve him, trust me.
Wow, that's so bad.
I just started studyingeverything and my wife came on
one day.
Y'all put these books up.
He's gonna lose his mind andhear on us.
I'm gone you was all dead.
I'm zoned wow.
(19:41):
So by the time it was time forthe second one.
It was something that we couldplan for.
Uh, because when they saw it,it's like my feelings was hurt
because you're doing all thesethings.
And then I'm like god, you look,I'm going after you with
everything I got and you'regonna let this happen again, and
(20:04):
this one is gonna be biggerthan the first one, where they
had to open me up from my leftshoulder blade all the way
around to my stomach and put mein like a horse, uh, harness,
and open me up like a fillet andreplace like three-fifths of my
aorta.
Are you serious?
I'm very serious, very serious.
(20:28):
That hurt me more than thefirst one in the leg.
When they did the skin grafttook skin from my thigh, uh-huh,
to cover these up.
I had 22 staples, because justhow long it's been now like 25,
27 years they didn't have allthis new stuff.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
They got now Right right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Metal staples to hold this skin and 17 on this side.
Oh, and they had to put a pieceof mesh over here so the skin
can grow again.
Wow, so I can't take a shower.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I'm always washing up .
Yeah, I don't like the way Ismell.
I'm always washing up.
Yeah, I don't like the way Ismell.
I'm a clean freak.
Just inhale.
Just inhale with me.
You tell me they got to do who?
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Ten years later, absolutely Wow.
But here's the difference myfirst cardiologist who's no
longer with us.
This is where it gets realeerie.
Okay, people that he used tospeak into my life and talk me
off the edge.
(21:35):
Many of them have alreadytransitioned and I'm still here,
the poster child, for I don'tlook like what.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
I've been through, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
They told me that they wanted to do it this
particular month.
I said no, I need two months toget my mind right.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, yeah, wait, how you what, they what, wait a
minute so they tell you it'scoming and you're like, but wait
, I need time Because I learnedthe definition of a miracle is
something that is out of thescope of control of man.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I knew God was going to give me a miracle.
Okay, Because that first oneshowed me.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So I'm like I'm still in warfare and I learned from
the first one as a man thinkethin his heart, so is he, and if
your mind ain't strong, therecovery will break you.
Okay, okay.
God never will ask us toparticipate in a miracle,
(22:47):
because we can't do nothing withit, but he will demand us to
participate in our healing.
That's where the trust come in,that's when all of that yeah,
it's time to dig.
It's time to dig now, and thatkind of digging is work.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, it's time to dig.
It's time to dig now.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
And that kind of digging is work.
Yeah, okay, because the doctorsare going to do their job,
which is do the surgery and tellyou before the surgery what
could go wrong.
Right, and I need you to sign.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Not a fan of that part.
I looked what.
Not a fan of that part I lookedwhat Not a fan.
So this says you sneeze.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
You had a rough night and the blade go just a
millisecond.
You sign.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Not my fault, not my what I'm practicing, because
they practice medicine theypractice, Girl.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Listen, I'm like this is crazy.
So okay, we got past that partand the first thing I did when I
woke up I just kept pushingthat button Come stand me up,
Get me out this bed, Because.
I remembered the first time Iwas afraid to get out of the bed
(24:09):
because it was going to be toopainful, and I remember the
feeling that went through mybody when I finally got out of
the bed the first time.
I didn't, but my mind and mysoul was like come on, you here,
let's go, it's time to get itwow, it's time to get it deal
(24:30):
with that initial yeah so youcan start getting better yeah
yeah, and that's the same thingwith life.
Yeah, this is, this is what Itell, uh, or I talk about when
corporations have me say come in, say, to talk to leadership,
about being resilient.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
And you know, setting a plan to win, Sometimes you
have to immediately face themost difficult thing head on.
Yeah, yeah yeah, Don't tarrywith it, Don't put it off.
Just yep, it's going to punchyou in your gut.
All of that, Wow.
But after that you have justaccelerated your healing.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Okay, yeah, okay Right.
I mean I'm thinking aboutsurgeries that I've had and that
, like you said, that first timeyou get up after they've cut
you, yes, and you're just like Ican't do this, I don't want to
do this, and they're like youhave to get up.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
And why do they tell you you have to?
Because you are the presidentof you and you have to issue a
executive decision or order thatsaid we back and everything
needs to line up.
Blood needs to flow like itused to flow.
(25:52):
Come on, I know they cut you,but they gave you some new blood
in there.
So now the new blood has to beintroduced to the old blood
that's still left.
Wow, wow, wow, absolutely so.
And they were telling me well,you know, you're probably going
to have to be in here threemonths.
(26:13):
I said I don't think so, maybetwo.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
You said because I've done this before.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
And I'm better prepared.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I was gone in two months.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Wow, wow.
So when you are quick, to callpeople stubborn, or they're a
rockhead or this, that learnthis story.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yeah, yeah, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Because if you have never had to get in a dog fight
with life, you don't understandwhy some of us we on purpose.
We try to keep it light.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Because everything about our lives has been a
struggle and dark and heavy, andheavy and heavy.
And you don't want to meet meover there, you don't.
You don't, because I'm going towin, I'm going to absolutely
win.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Because I got a lot of fight.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I got a lot of fight that I didn't even know I had.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Yeah, yeah, if you're enjoying the episodes like
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We'd love to hear from you.
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Go to destinyfam1.com for allyour media needs.
Destiny Film and Media yourdestiny through film and media.
(27:45):
So you're talking about how it,how it like, shifted you and
lined up some things.
What are some lessons that you,that you learned from going
through this, these twoaneurysms?
Speaker 2 (28:09):
okay, well, um, let's , let's add the third surgery,
okay, okay.
A year after that, uh-huh, theysaid your heart valve is tired.
Yeah, he's he.
He called us last night andsaid he, getting ready to quit,
we're not going to give you thepig, we're not going to give you
the cow.
(28:29):
This new titanium piece hasjust been passed and it's okay
in the medical science world.
We need you to come in so wecan put this in there.
I said is this the last one youcan call my doctor?
Now, dr Swartz, it's just likeI tell him all the time I made
(28:52):
you famous man.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Man cuz listen.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I made you famous, brother.
I'm still waiting on my check,okay, because now you're the
head of thoracics.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Listen Of.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Loyola Hospital in Maywood.
That's a plug, right?
And he said well, now youprobably have to stay in about
two weeks.
I said I'm going to be gone inseven days.
They put it in and on theseventh day I waited and waited.
I said y'all call him.
Well, he said you got to getthis tube out of you.
(29:25):
Come pull it out.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Because it's complete .
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Pull it out now.
It was like you are not thepastor here, sir.
You say I'm the pastor overthere, you are patient.
I said oh no, I'm pastor, Isure am.
And they pulled it out.
And they pulled out.
They came back around, theysaid well, he said, if you said
(29:48):
you.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
He said if you said Let him go.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
It took them too long for my wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Uh-huh, Please tell me you didn't start walking
about it.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Listen my daughter Lauren, was smaller.
I said get these flowers, passme my clothes.
I got dressed and they werehollering Mr Cleveland, you
can't walk out of here.
I said alright, see y'all, I'mdone with this, I'm done.
I was flat out done like Jesus,okay, I'm done.
(30:26):
I ain was flat out done LikeJesus, okay, I'm done.
I ain't got no more phone,right, I'm tired.
My wife tired, children tiredof this.
We tired, we's tired.
Boss, my family tired Everytime the phone rings.
Is he half dead again?
No, no, not at all oh god, thisis it.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
You are the definition of you shall live and
not die, and declare the worksof the lord.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I used to tell my sons it's going to be a great
day when you get punched in yourjaw, because the next day
you're going to be a great daywhen you get punched in your jaw
Because the next day you'regoing to be like I didn't die.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Now somebody threatening to hit you means
nothing Right right, right Right, that's true.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
The surgeon was like okay, come on.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Come on, Because evidently, there is still more
work for me to do, for you to doyes, absolutely, absolutely,
and we have to get that type oftenacity.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah, it's like, okay , take a lick.
Well, they already hit me.
Well, they're going to hit youagain because the fight is still
going.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Okay, so the suffering for the gospel.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I kind of want you to unpack that scripture and we
were really doing good and youjust came good.
And you just came around thatcorner.
You should have took a sip ofwater and said, look, done this,
now let's be messy.
Come on, let's be messy.
(32:20):
Baby, here it is.
It's like yep, you be like.
That's why I don't like yourred big head bud there.
It is right there.
Yep, here we go.
All right, I tried to do a.
I did.
I was going to Y'all heardPeople that know me like Al is
really doing good, staying awayfrom his theological premises.
(32:44):
Uh-oh, for there are many.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Did I step on a lamp?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I knew this was a setup.
I knew it was coming.
I knew it was coming.
All right, go ahead, shoot theshot.
I done been was a setup.
I knew it was coming.
I knew it was coming.
All right, go ahead, shoot ashot.
What are you doing?
I done been on crosses before.
They ain't even got to nail medown.
I just climb up there.
Just climb on up there now.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I don't know, I was just sitting here and it was
just like.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'm like that Because none of those surgeries had
nothing to do with suffering forthe gospel To start there.
It may have been my personalcourse.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
But it had nothing to do with suffering for the
gospel.
I am so sick of that beingmisplaced In testimonies, in
songwriting, sermons.
What are you talking about?
(33:54):
They coming against me at work?
Suffering for the gospel?
No, you always late.
You overstayed lunch.
They heard you when you was inthe break room and said I'm here
to try to see the less I can dotoday.
Then they call you on it I'msuffering from the gut.
(34:15):
No, you're not.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
This is not that.
This is not that.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
This is rent-a-unter, caesar.
What is new, caesar?
It's not rocket science people,all these holy deep folk, you
just can't do right.
But then you want to invite me.
(34:43):
I want you to hear my praiseteam.
I don't want to hear yourpraise team.
You are a bad worker.
I don't want these folks toeven know we associate outside
of this office.
I'm trying to figure out whythey ain't fired you yet.
I don't want to hear yourtestimony.
(35:06):
I'm trying to figure out whythey ain't fired you yet.
I don't want to hear yourtestimony.
I don't Because I heard youtalking about the other girl the
other day.
But you're suffering for thegospel.
Okay, alright, makes sense toyou, makes sense to me.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
So what is suffering for the gospel?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Thank you for asking.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
To decide what it is not.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
When you take a faith constitutional stand on your
principles.
I don't believe in this.
I don't believe in that.
I don't do this because myfaith constitution said
da-da-da-da-da, Okay, and you'repersecuted for your stance on
your faith constitution.
That's suffering for the sakeof the constitution.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Get it, I do, I do.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Ain't nobody saved in the office but me.
But now you're going to bepersecuted.
You don't ever go out to drinkwith us.
No, we actually come to theparty.
No, next day, here she come,here you go.
That's persecution for yourfaith, constitution.
That's suffering.
(36:22):
For the sake of everything else, you may have to do something
with your character, just maybe.
Maybe I don't know you likethat, but I think that's a good
place to start, okay okay, okay,okay.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Well, I thank you for that understanding.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
And don't y'all take this just on a clip, on a clip
you're going to take and make itgo viral.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
No, oh God.
Well, now that we've clearedthat up, yes, Don't clear
nothing else up.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Because there's so much more, there's so much more.
Because there's so much more,there's so much more, there's so
much.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
I want to kind of bring it home.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
I just heard that old Broadview Baptist doxology
bring him in praise God, fromwhom all blessings flow.
Yes, sir, baptist doxologyBring them in Praise God, from
whom all blessings flow.
Yes, sir, one of the sweetestsongs you could ever hear when
you're ready to get out ofchurch.
Let's sing this.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Woo.
So you've had so manyexperiences in the marketplace,
You've had so many experiencesin the church and we really
(37:56):
haven't talked much about your.
Well, we did kind of touch onyour family because of the
illness and all of that.
Well, we did kind of touch onyour family because of the
illness and all of that.
What has caused you to stickwith the gospel, the good news,
(38:24):
this far into your life and notsaying that you're going to sway
from it but what has caused youto hold on and not let go?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Me being honest with myself, to say there are some
days I don't want to do it, butI know I'm called to do it.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's a part of my purpose.
So when I have those days, Itake it to Him, I take it to God
.
I don't want to do this today.
I really don't.
Well, al, they bought you aplane ticket and you're supposed
to preach tonight.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Well, they can find somebody else.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
People have no idea at the type of grappling that
goes on with gifted people.
Sometimes people think you knowthose of us with all these
gifts.
Every time the phone ring everytime they oh praise the Lord, I
don't feel like the airporttoday.
Right, how about this one?
(39:30):
What's this?
Who are they sending to pick meup child?
Speaker 1 (39:40):
It does matter that part.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Is it a talker?
Hmm, I already don't feel likebeing here at your church.
I can't tell you that, right.
And then why am I smelling yourbreath from the back seat?
Oh, oh, you were seat.
(40:03):
Oh, and he was Pastor.
Pastor, he's like Jesus, helpme.
Or you get to your hotel roomand it ain't right, and you
already know him Be out there.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
It's the little things, it's the little things
they all just add up.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
But he's like you know what would your mom say?
You ought to be happy.
Come on and bring it back.
That you got something thatstill blesses his people.
Wow, Then you add on to thisand he done spared your life.
How many times, boy Come?
Speaker 1 (40:39):
on.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
That's a great checker.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Come on.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
That's a great checker.
Come on, that's a great checker.
Yeah, I started getting ittogether.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
You got the tail of that flesh.
Listen, absolutely.
We have an assignment.
We have an assignment, yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yeah, because you remember that first time, al.
That could have been the lasttime.
You remember that second time,al.
Yeah, that could have been thelast time.
How about the third time?
Al, surely Right, and he getsme right together.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
So I am grateful, the same way I wrote that new
division out in the 90s.
Yeah, it's how I wrote theparent involvement curriculum
after the second surgery in thehospital on a big napkin on the
side of my bed.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yeah, no education degree, no, nothing.
It's like a scroll came downand I saw it and I remembered
from the gift company when youhear it like that, write it yeah
, yeah and when I got wellenough to go back to my office
at school as a community liaison.
Uh-huh, that's all I was okay.
(42:00):
I typed it out, put it on theprincipal's desk.
The day after school he cameinto my office.
He said I'm going to put thisin presentation form.
I need you to give me aboutthree or four days.
I want to practice with you,then go rehearsal again, come on
, come on.
(42:20):
He was the president of theDuPage Principals Association.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
He said I want you to present this to all of these
principals.
I walked out of that onepresentation with over $100,000
in contracts.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Wow, and that lasted 13, 14 years.
Church folk had no idea.
I was traveling all over thecountry speaking at educational
conferences and you couldn't getinto my breakout sessions
because the averageparticipation of
African-American parents in anytype of PTA PTO was zero to
three percent at the time.
(43:01):
Every curriculum that I wasplanting planting and at that
time I was in 6 schools at thesame time- ok there was about
50-75 black and brown parentsonce a month in an orchestrated,
organized learning session ofhow to partner with your student
(43:26):
for success Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
So when people talk about so the scripture that
talks about witty ideas andinventions, absolutely Like,
that's like just saw somethingwas like that ideas and
inventions.
Speaker 2 (43:44):
Absolutely Like.
That's Like just Salt Summitwas like that.
It just came to me.
Yeah, people have no idea.
The first Salt Summit almostdidn't happen Because I got
disgusted at registration.
I was going to let the 15people figure out I wasn't
coming.
Well, I guess he ain't coming.
(44:07):
The 15?
The 15 people?
Wow, al didn't show up.
Wow, I came anyway and it endedup being like 25.
Okay, okay, but from that yearmoving forward, 75, 150, 200
(44:30):
people.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Don't despise small beginnings Just rolling.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Wow, and anybody that I would call to come and give
like a TED Talk typepresentation.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:43):
Never told me no.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
That's why.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I say what God is going to do with you.
I've seen it before, I've seenit.
You just look, put your headdown and muzzle through.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
You're doing a great job, thank you, and Sam got a
banging studio.
Yeah, you're doing a great job,thank you, and Sam got a
banging studio on.
I'm telling you.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
Listen, tell the people about Destiny Filming
Media.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
This thing is tight.
I'm mean, I'm like, oh listen,I can come over here and do
about 15 shows and run them up.
Man, this is nice and it'scomfortable, looks clean, smell
clean Ears, clean, ears, clean.
All of that I love it.
(45:31):
I done done some podcasting,but let me get out of here.
It's like y'all just rubbed thewalls with pine salt or
something.
Like y'all just rubbed thewalls with pine salt or
something.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Well, I can't smell like a senior citizen facility.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Wait a minute, what's going?
Speaker 1 (45:57):
on here.
Well, as we bring this to aclose.
I think I'm on one second.
I think I'm on one second as webring this to a close.
If you had to talk to somebodyabout purpose and walking in
their purpose and facingchallenges along the way, what
(46:22):
advice would you give them?
Two things, what advice wouldyou?
Speaker 2 (46:29):
give somebody just starting out?
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And then, what advice would you give somebody who has
been walking in it, but theyare just fatigued.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
Oh, wow.
Let's start off with, say thenewbies Mentorship is good,
wisdom nuggets are everything,but there's a blessing that
comes with youth, which is thisthe fire you have today you will
not have in 20 or 30 years, mm,mm.
(47:00):
You just will not.
So if you find yourselfattached to anyone that always
tell you, no, sit down, wait,wait, sit down, run, run, run to
(47:20):
the one that'll say, well, hey,keep going, but beware of this.
Hey, keep going, but next timetweak it like this hey, push a
little harder, but the next timeyou do it, do this, da-da-da,
da-da.
Watch out for those who ride onthe.
Just stop.
You need to pray some more.
I can pray and work.
Yeah, I can fall on my face andfail.
(47:44):
Encourage me to get back up.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Don't tell me to stop .
Speaker 1 (47:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
Bishop Patterson would say something like this.
He said it takes fire to heatyour home Back in those days.
It takes fire to make the trainmove.
Fire is good, yeah, but uh, outof control, fire come on will
burn up everything.
(48:12):
So look for people that giveyou templates to keep you from
burning up yourself andeverybody else.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Give me some, give you somefences, some boundaries.
It's a boundary, no stoppage.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
Yeah, because this fire is going to help you down
the road.
Yeah, for the people that arefatigued.
Never get tired of the feelingthat comes when you fail.
Yeah, because that's anotherlearning experience.
(48:49):
At a certain age, you don'tlike to fail and I get it Agreed
, but when you stop learninglessons, what is it time for?
Ooh.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Good evening.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
Well, okay then right , okay, I'm here to learn until
I leave here those about 15 or20 years that some would say
that I lost due to my healthchallenges and healing and all
of that and being like you knowwhat.
I'm just going to stick withMarketplace, because every time
(49:27):
I get over here with him it'sback in this hospital again.
I'll just stay over here.
I'm going to talk about himover here too.
Right, right, right.
Y'all got something elseworking over here that don't
seem to be working out forCleveland.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
I have a degree that's not finished right now,
because every time I took aclass Don't it scare you
Everything.
All hell broke loose.
It just break loose.
I said I can't with this Gotyou.
Speaker 2 (50:00):
You got to tell me no more.
I'm sorry I interrupted, goahead.
No, no, no, no, I'm glad I'mnot alone.
So here I am, god willing,september I'll be 59.
Okay, and I still have fears.
Yes, talk about it, about doingsomething that I know that is
righteous.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
And that will bless thousands.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Yeah yeah, but seemingly every thousands yeah,
yeah, but seemingly every.
Come on, man, this next run, Idon't want bursitis, I'm going
to authorize this.
Nothing, you hear me, nothinggo wrong.
(50:43):
I don't want to lose a tooth.
I'm going to hang nails.
You see me, nothing go wrong.
I don't want to lose a tooth, Idon't want to hang nails.
You said hold it together, holdall of it together, because all
I need is a sign I'm out, can'tdo it.
Well, we're going to have tohave to take your left toe.
(51:05):
I quit, that's it Boom.
And when he left, when he letthe left toe go bad, he knew I
was out.
So he's not surprised.
I'm surprised he didn't.
(51:27):
Well, can't you serve the Godof your surprise?
Right, because I can.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
Yeah, from the bench.
Speaker 2 (51:37):
Preach you on the rug , on the bench.
Oh God Right.
Speaker 1 (51:44):
Hang in there, that's right.
Right, those are the Lord'sCome on.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Y'all dishes got to hold it close.
That dish says shakta, I bindit.
I bind that, break spirit.
Come on out of here.
You break spirit.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
Oh God Woo, oh God, oh that was good.
Speaker 2 (52:21):
That was good.
I said is the rapture coming?
Wait a minute, I think I'mready.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Oh my God, this conversation has blessed me
today.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
I had a good time.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
Listen, I have laughed.
Speaker 2 (52:40):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
I have pondered, I have just been introspective.
You have shared some of themost impactful and important
times of your life and I trulyappreciate you taking the time
(53:01):
to share with not just me butthe Preston's Purpose community,
because we need to understandthat just because you give God a
yes doesn't mean thateverything is going to go well.
Speaker 2 (53:19):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
We need to understand that.
We need to understand that weneed to be prepared for that and
we need to trust God in themidst of that.
And your life speaks to all ofthose things Amen.
Even with the you about took meout, with the second one, with
(53:40):
the second aneurysm talkingabout I need two months, Like
wait what?
Yeah, but it still speaks topreparation and God giving you
grace to be able to even preparein that way, but I Hallelujah.
(54:03):
What I also want the people toknow is that not to despise
small beginnings Amen, becausewhat was your normal was weighty
, like your early beginningsthat was weighty Amen.
(54:30):
You didn't recognize it at thetime not at all, but it was
weighty and it prepared you foreverything that God had for you
on this other side.
Yeah, and I'm just gratefulthat through it all, you kept
moving thank the Lord.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
I think this may be the first time that I've really
ever really talked about my lifemm-hmm yeah you know, um, I am
not a braggadocious guy, but I'ma very confident guy yeah so I
I would, I would weigh those twoto make sure that I'll be
(55:14):
balanced, because my confidencesometimes can be overwhelming
even with my silence, because myspirit says I'm not intimidated
.
He just over here hollering.
Speaker 1 (55:28):
Don't try me.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
You do not want this smoke.
You don't Dot com.
I'm him, heart surgeries andall I am he.
Heart surgeries and all Listen.
He's like I got two good blowsleft before I leave here.
I'm saving them.
One is for my wife and theother one is for one of them.
(55:51):
Kids y'all try to mess with.
Now it's the grandkids.
Now the kids might be on theirown Right.
The Lord has been good to me,yeah, yeah.
And I guard those gifts.
Oh, winston Churchill, 1945,giving a commencement speech I
(56:19):
believe it was at Yale or one ofthose places, and it's in this
book called A Mind for God.
A Mind for God by James EmeryWhite.
Okay, and he quotes Churchilland there's a tag that I love
and this is for every giftedperson who knows that you have a
(56:42):
righteous heart.
You're not lifted, you're notpushy, you're just good.
Let the people feel the weightof who you are and let them deal
with it.
Speaker 1 (56:58):
Listen.
Well, on that note, I will saythank you, reverend Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (57:06):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (57:07):
I will say thank you to the audience that is
listening.
This definitely is a.
This definitely has been aninterview or a conversation,
because I don't really dointerviews, I have conversations
or a conversation, because Idon't really do interviews.
I have conversations that ifyou go back and listen to it
(57:28):
again, you might get some otherstuff that you didn't get the
first time, even through thelaughter, even through.
Speaker 2 (57:41):
You know the heavy moments and knocking down tables
.
There's so much power in here,listen.
Speaker 1 (57:46):
We knocked down tables.
Listen, we done, done it all ontoday's.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
That was a Baptist fit.
You missed it.
Speaker 1 (57:51):
All we needed was.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
Go in.
All of that happened.
You better watch it.
Speaker 1 (58:00):
We got to get out of here.
All right, we will catch youall next time on the next
episode of Prestige Into Purpose.
Until then, continue to walk inpurpose and be blessed.
We'll see you next time onPressed Into Purpose.
Don't forget to like andsubscribe so you can be notified
(58:20):
whenever new episodes areavailable.
Today's episode is brought toyou by Destiny Film and Media.
Go to destinyfam1.com for allyour media needs.
Destiny Film and Media yourdestiny through film and media.
Hello, this is valeria right, and thank you for
tuning into pressed intopurpose this week.
On pressed into purpose, wecontinue our conversation with
reverend aa cleveland.
A second what made what madeyou say it's time to transition
out of this?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
well um lifestyle lifing okay, okay the, the uh uh
, second uh aortic aneurysm shutit down okay, all right, okay,
so, so let's, let's pause okayfor the calls and let's talk
about you, because you said thesecond, yes, let's talk about
(01:05):
the first and let's talk.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Let's just talk about let's, let's talk about that
that health.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I don't know if we want to call it a scare oh yes,
that's great word okay, allright especially the first one
Great word they're as scared ashim too.
Right, did not see it coming,zero clue.
It was like boom, like whoait's one of them.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So what were you doing?
Take us through it.
What were you doing what washappening, and then how did we?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
First Peter 315 was my selected scripture text for
the whole month.
Apostle Donald Alfred had givenme the entire month to do Bible
study.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, so now I'm a young, elder.
That's huge yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
A whole month, a whole month Listen.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And I know the rest of y'all hating.
I'm loving it, just loving it.
Don't praise the Lord.
You ain't praising the Lord.
Don't try, you can't stand methis much.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But I'm going to kill it.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I'm going to murder, death, kill this just cause.
Please be there.
I want you to witness yourdeath.
I need you here, and we wereexplaining how to be ready to
give an answer.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
But I was focused on the gentleness and respect.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Now all Pentecostals that are watching, hear my heart
.
I'm Pentecostal to the bone.
I love the Pentecostal church.
Okay, now all Pentecostals thatare watching, hear my heart.
I'm Pentecostal to the bone.
I love the Pentecostal church.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I love everything about it Okay.
I really do.
Okay, I am the birth child ofthe church of God in Christ.
Do you hear me?
I hear you, baby, I can churchyou now.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Okay, oh, I know you can, I know you can.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And I tell musicians all the time don't go there
unless you're ready to hang withme Listen.
Because these other folk beenteasing you.
I don't fit across you overinto something that you're not
ready for, but the problem I washaving is when many of the
Pentecostals could not explaintheir differences to a Muslim,
(03:31):
to a Buddhist, to a Jehovah'sWitness.
All right, and out of that, notbeing able to explain the knee
jerk was well, I don't know whatyou're talking about?
Speaker 1 (03:41):
I don't know.
You're going to hell.
I said you can't do that.
You just can't do that, I mean.
But it was done.
So you know, I'm not lying,right?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I know you ain't lying, I know you ain't lying.
You give people permission tobuild up a wall against you
because they call you ignorant,unlearned, self-righteous and
everything else.
And you missed the goldenopportunity how about this?
To drop a seed of the word,because, again, at that time,
(04:15):
many of us were trained.
When I witnessed to you, yousupposed to break down on your
knees, lift your hands to Godand you finna turn today,
because I'm filled with the Holy.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Ghost.
Today is the day of salvation.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You're going to do it today.
I said what if the scripturethat talks about one plant to
other waters but God gets toincrease?
What if they get saved?
10 years later you ain'tnowhere around and they done
forgot your name.
But they said this lady I usedto work with Right.
You don't like that.
You're going to tell themMissionary Valeria, right, right
(04:48):
, right.
You're going to tell them,reverend Cleve, you're going to
call my name.
Tell the people.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So I want to add it to my account, okay, right.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I said but God got the record.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And we got to be cool with himhaving the record that's true,
that's true.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
So I was lining up different religions alongside of
christianity.
Okay, not denominationalchristianity.
Okay, to call stew baptistapostolic the five tenets of our
faith?
Okay, just kept it real basic,okay.
By the time we got to the thirdinstallment I was up and, uh,
(05:30):
it felt like a mac truck hit mein the middle of my chest.
That was much bigger.
I was working out even more andtaking creatine and looking all
fluff and buff, and so I wentlike that and this heat went
through me in this clammy sweatand it was like hot to cold,
(05:54):
cold to hot.
But I looked at the clock and Ihad 15 minutes left, okay.
Then I looked at my haters.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I can't with you, I can't with you, I can't with you
.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You ain't getting my 15 minutes.
No, not at all.
You're not getting them.
You're not Not knowing Negro.
You dying, you are literallydying, dying.
I sat on that altar, on themsteps with that microphone.
(06:37):
Oh my God, held my chest andgot my 15 minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Oh, you did.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I got receipts.
I sure did.
This is what growing up in theghetto and going to church would
do for you.
Oh my God, make you do ignorantstuff.
I sure did do it, and the Lordwouldn't let my wife be there
that night.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Because she would have been like get off, okay,
let's go, let's go.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Something wrong with him, right?
Everybody else was like ooh,thank you, jesus, he's dying.
Wow, the late Deacon Masseycame to help me, walked
downstairs and it felt likesomebody had plugged his leg
into a wall socket and the painwas unbearable.
By the time I got to ApostleDonald Alford's office I
(07:26):
couldn't stand and I felt myselfgetting ready to faint and I
hit the floor and all the saintsthey were around.
You know St Friar Church.
They speaking in tongues layinghands.
I'm smelling bad breath withpeppermint.
I cannot with you.
There was so much going on.
I cannot with you and I'mtrying you.
There was so much going on.
I get mad with you and I'mtrying to figure out what is
(07:48):
going on with my body.
Oh God, and I tell ApostleAlfred all the time, out of all
them folk in the room, sir, youwere the only one that really
heard God.
He said I'm calling theparamedics.
Right, I said you got the HolyGhost.
I don't know what the rest ofyou're doing.
(08:09):
I said either that or you saidhe ain't dying in my office.
Okay, not today, not tonight.
That man got the paramedics,that's so fast oh my god, fast,
oh my God.
They took me to one.
It used to be Westlake.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yes, and they had me up in there and the guy was
supposed to have given me a CATscan but he was tired, he had
been there all day.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
He had too much overtime.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
So he was going.
You know, they were telling mewe're going to give you some
strong Tylenol and you're goingto come back tomorrow Because I
was fussing and the only reasonI wasn't cussing is because my
past in them was there, Becausemy wife got good insurance.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Y'all need to give me something for this leg.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Period Right now.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I'm not in here free Right.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I'm going to need some care.
I'm going to need some care.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
A cardiologist from Loyola had been doing some
community service there earlierthat day.
Wow, he forgot his files.
He came back to get the filesand they said he noticed the
parking lot is jammed.
That's why I said listen, Ilove my Pentecostal saints,
(09:34):
because they were out therebombarding heaven praying for
young elder Cleveland.
I was 34 years old by the timehe got on the inside of the
emergency room.
There was no seats.
They were in there prayingsilently, speaking in tongues
Jesus, jesus, jesus.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
I'm talking about Shoko.
Yeah, they're going in.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, he said what is going on.
He said well, we got a reverendin the back and his symptoms
are da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
He said give him a CAT scan sowe can see what's going on.
Right, and they told him whatthe CAT scan guy said.
All I heard was some knowntongues.
Baby, he laid him out.
(10:19):
Listen, did you hear me?
They gave me a CAT scan.
You hear me?
They gave me a cat scan.
Doctor came back around thecorner and said sir, I'm going
to need you to be very still andlay back.
Okay, I'm like when they'regoing to give me something, but
it's pain the leg I was just theleg Spent two hours, something.
(10:42):
I'm trying to shoot it.
Give me a pill, something.
He said you see this, these arethe main positions Of your
aorta.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
This is all you got left.
It had ruptured in two places.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Ascending and they were trying to figure out why
have you not drowned in your ownblood?
Wow?
That's why every time, I thinkof the look I was giving my
haters sitting on that altar youidiot Dummy.
Yes, god looks over babies andfoods.
(11:25):
That's what they say.
Now you call it how you see it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Right my God.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So they rushed me from there to Loyola.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Uh-huh.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
My wife said they called her and told her get
somebody to watch your kids.
You got to come out here.
You're going to be here for awhile.
You're going to be here for awhile.
Riding in the ambulance.
I asked those guys.
I said, hey man, am I going todie because I'm like I'm scared?
(12:05):
Listen, no, am I going to dieBecause I'm like I'm scared?
They said no, you ain't goingto die.
Later on, after stuff got real,they didn't know they were
trying to get on the team, right, baby.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Just don't die in here.
Didn't nobody want me to die onthe dock?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So, yeah, oh God, rushed me into the OR and before
they put me out, well, first ofall they wanted to lift me up
off the gurney thing right, andput me on the operating table
Right.
Here we go again.
I just pushed myself.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
They go.
Oh, oh, right sir.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
No, I'm like come on man, just come on, right, sir.
I'm like come on man.
At this point I'm like, if thisis it, there's nothing I can do
to stop it Me crying me,nothing.
This man just said my aorta isruptured in two places Ascending
(13:04):
.
Now, even as a C student I knewit's coming up.
Ascending is up, descending isdown.
That was not rocket science forAl Jr Girl.
I laid back on that table and Isaw that thing come.
(13:27):
I said wait, I prayed foreverybody in that room.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Are you serious right now?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
I sure did.
I said you bless every doctor,every nurse because they working
on a preacher, the man of Godis in the room.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
You bless their families.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You bless their children and their children's
children, jesus, because they,working on your service, jesus
and I started singing my mama'ssongs wow she did.
Wow, I ain't saying nothing new.
That was on the radio wow everyhymn that came to my mind.
(14:03):
Listen, and to this day theystill talk about that because
what I'm shocked that you neverpassed out.
That's what they said.
Now, if you can't remember,john ritter died like a couple
of weeks prior of the same thing, and he dropped dead.
(14:24):
There was this negro here, justup, just up Right, and that's
when, like the Lord gave mepermission to start calling
myself one of the greatestgladiators ever.
Listen, wow, I went to the wallwith Satanators.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Ever Listen, oh wow.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
I went to the wall with Satan.
Wow, sure did.
I was in the hospital 100 days.
Kidneys fell, liver failed.
They wanted to amputate thelower part of this leg because
with that pain I was feeling allof the blood.
It's like he did me a favor.
(15:06):
He let it dump this way insteadof coming up this way.
But it tore every muscle, allthe veins, nerve endings were
trashed, yeah, and they had toperform a fasciotomy so it can
(15:27):
all drain out.
And the leg tried to die anyway.
Wow, and my wife, missionary G,listen.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Is she going to get it Listen?
Speaker 2 (15:37):
She said y'all ain't cutting nothing off.
Not today, because some ofy'all didn't think he was going
to make it anyway.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Come on, come on, come on, sister Lori, and speak
now Come on.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
She said God got it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow, yep, sure did.
Wow, some crazy times, and theywill always try to come and do
a procedure to either fix mykidneys or fix my liver when she
would have to leave.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Because they didn't want to deal and go to work.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
She would threaten me .
I said now I'm going to callthe police because I'm a sick
man in the hospital and I feelthreatened.
I'm going to tell these folksI'm scared of you.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
You better not let them, do nothing, listen without
.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Without me being here .
Come on, and I would tell them,god would always take me to
like one or two days before theysay they couldn't wait no more.
Or it's going to be permanentlydamaged.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I said I need 24 hours to talk to God.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
And every time the kidneys just came on.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Jesus Wow.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I need 24 hours.
Listen, your liver is going tobe damaged forever.
Just give me.
The surgeon started telling him.
If he tell you he needs to talkto his God, because there's
something special about this man, listen, give him 24 hours and
God will just do it.
I will wake up in.
The room would be filled withstudents, they taking notes
(17:13):
Because they trying tounderstand they put me in the
journals, in the magazines, inthe hospital.
It was crazy, wow, it was crazy.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
So how did you so?
You said second aneurysm though.
So that was the first one.
You were in the hospital 100days, so there had to be some
residual effects to that.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Well, no, because it took about a year to rehab so I
can learn how to walk again.
Okay, so that was my emphasisGot you.
Getting healthier so I can getback out on the road and start
preaching.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Look, now you want to preach, won't God do it?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You couldn't give me a mic fast enough.
You know I don't even need amic.
I preach on the street corner.
I was laying hands on peoplewho was coming to the hospital
to see me.
I'm preaching and teaching.
They was definitely going to belike he's gone, Yep.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It was like a Jonah experience.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Oh, I'm out the belly .
It is well, wow, so, yeah.
So after like two years, man, Ithought I was just in the clear
, yeah.
Right yeah yeah, I washealthier and they had took me
(18:39):
through the whole dieticianthing and all this kind of stuff
.
It just rewired me.
Yeah, I mean everything aboutGod, family, it just centered.
It was just, and for a coupleof years a lot of folk didn't
like to be around me.
Listen.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Because if there was a fanatic, it was you.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
You need to understand me and Enoch was
cousins.
I was about to walk out of herewith God.
My kids used to say we couldn'tturn on BET.
Nothing Like my spirit.
Get out of it.
Turn it off.
Turn that mess off in here.
Not in here.
Not in here.
That's for me at my house.
(19:20):
Hey, you going to do it up inhere.
You going to serve him, Trustme.
Wow be in my house.
Hey, you gonna do it up in here.
You gonna serve him, trust me.
Wow, that's so bad.
I just started studyingeverything and my wife came on
one day.
Y'all put these books up.
He's gonna lose his mind andhear on us.
I'm gone you was all dead.
I'm zoned wow.
(19:41):
So by the time it was time forthe second one.
It was something that we couldplan for.
Uh, because when they saw it,it's like my feelings was hurt
because you're doing all thesethings.
And then I'm like god, you look,I'm going after you with
everything I got and you'regonna let this happen again, and
(20:04):
this one is gonna be biggerthan the first one, where they
had to open me up from my leftshoulder blade all the way
around to my stomach and put mein like a horse, uh, harness,
and open me up like a fillet andreplace like three-fifths of my
aorta.
Are you serious?
I'm very serious, very serious.
(20:28):
That hurt me more than thefirst one in the leg.
When they did the skin grafttook skin from my thigh, uh-huh,
to cover these up.
I had 22 staples, because justhow long it's been now like 25,
27 years they didn't have allthis new stuff.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
They got now Right right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Metal staples to hold this skin and 17 on this side.
Oh, and they had to put a pieceof mesh over here so the skin
can grow again.
Wow, so I can't take a shower.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I'm always washing up .
Yeah, I don't like the way Ismell.
I'm always washing up.
Yeah, I don't like the way Ismell.
I'm a clean freak.
Just inhale.
Just inhale with me.
You tell me they got to do who?
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Ten years later, absolutely Wow.
But here's the difference myfirst cardiologist who's no
longer with us.
This is where it gets realeerie.
Okay, people that he used tospeak into my life and talk me
off the edge.
(21:35):
Many of them have alreadytransitioned and I'm still here,
the poster child, for I don'tlook like what.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
I've been through, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
They told me that they wanted to do it this
particular month.
I said no, I need two months toget my mind right.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, yeah, wait, how you what, they what, wait a
minute so they tell you it'scoming and you're like, but wait
, I need time Because I learnedthe definition of a miracle is
something that is out of thescope of control of man.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I knew God was going to give me a miracle.
Okay, Because that first oneshowed me.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So I'm like I'm still in warfare and I learned from
the first one as a man thinkethin his heart, so is he, and if
your mind ain't strong, therecovery will break you.
Okay, okay.
God never will ask us toparticipate in a miracle,
(22:47):
because we can't do nothing withit, but he will demand us to
participate in our healing.
That's where the trust come in,that's when all of that yeah,
it's time to dig.
It's time to dig now, and thatkind of digging is work.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, it's time to dig.
It's time to dig now.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
And that kind of digging is work.
Yeah, okay, because the doctorsare going to do their job,
which is do the surgery and tellyou before the surgery what
could go wrong.
Right, and I need you to sign.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Not a fan of that part.
I looked what.
Not a fan of that part I lookedwhat Not a fan.
So this says you sneeze.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
You had a rough night and the blade go just a
millisecond.
You sign.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Not my fault, not my what I'm practicing, because
they practice medicine theypractice, Girl.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Listen, I'm like this is crazy.
So okay, we got past that partand the first thing I did when I
woke up I just kept pushingthat button Come stand me up,
Get me out this bed, Because.
I remembered the first time Iwas afraid to get out of the bed
(24:09):
because it was going to be toopainful, and I remember the
feeling that went through mybody when I finally got out of
the bed the first time.
I didn't, but my mind and mysoul was like come on, you here,
let's go, it's time to get itwow, it's time to get it deal
(24:30):
with that initial yeah so youcan start getting better yeah
yeah, and that's the same thingwith life.
Yeah, this is, this is what Itell, uh, or I talk about when
corporations have me say come in, say, to talk to leadership,
about being resilient.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
And you know, setting a plan to win, Sometimes you
have to immediately face themost difficult thing head on.
Yeah, yeah yeah, Don't tarrywith it, Don't put it off.
Just yep, it's going to punchyou in your gut.
All of that, Wow.
But after that you have justaccelerated your healing.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Okay, yeah, okay Right.
I mean I'm thinking aboutsurgeries that I've had and that
, like you said, that first timeyou get up after they've cut
you, yes, and you're just like Ican't do this, I don't want to
do this, and they're like youhave to get up.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
And why do they tell you you have to?
Because you are the presidentof you and you have to issue a
executive decision or order thatsaid we back and everything
needs to line up.
Blood needs to flow like itused to flow.
(25:52):
Come on, I know they cut you,but they gave you some new blood
in there.
So now the new blood has to beintroduced to the old blood
that's still left.
Wow, wow, wow, absolutely so.
And they were telling me well,you know, you're probably going
to have to be in here threemonths.
(26:13):
I said I don't think so, maybetwo.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
You said because I've done this before.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
And I'm better prepared.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I was gone in two months.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Wow, wow.
So when you are quick, to callpeople stubborn, or they're a
rockhead or this, that learnthis story.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Yeah, yeah, right yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Because if you have never had to get in a dog fight
with life, you don't understandwhy some of us we on purpose.
We try to keep it light.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Because everything about our lives has been a
struggle and dark and heavy, andheavy and heavy.
And you don't want to meet meover there, you don't.
You don't, because I'm going towin, I'm going to absolutely
win.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Because I got a lot of fight.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I got a lot of fight that I didn't even know I had.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Yeah, yeah, if you're enjoying the episodes like
share, subscribe, leave us acomment.
We'd love to hear from you.
Today's episode is brought toyou by Destiny Film and Media.
Go to destinyfam1.com for allyour media needs.
Destiny Film and Media yourdestiny through film and media.
(27:45):
So you're talking about how it,how it like, shifted you and
lined up some things.
What are some lessons that you,that you learned from going
through this, these twoaneurysms?
Speaker 2 (28:09):
okay, well, um, let's , let's add the third surgery,
okay, okay.
A year after that, uh-huh, theysaid your heart valve is tired.
Yeah, he's he.
He called us last night andsaid he, getting ready to quit,
we're not going to give you thepig, we're not going to give you
the cow.
(28:29):
This new titanium piece hasjust been passed and it's okay
in the medical science world.
We need you to come in so wecan put this in there.
I said is this the last one youcan call my doctor?
Now, dr Swartz, it's just likeI tell him all the time I made
(28:52):
you famous man.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Man cuz listen.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I made you famous, brother.
I'm still waiting on my check,okay, because now you're the
head of thoracics.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Listen Of.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Loyola Hospital in Maywood.
That's a plug, right?
And he said well, now youprobably have to stay in about
two weeks.
I said I'm going to be gone inseven days.
They put it in and on theseventh day I waited and waited.
I said y'all call him.
Well, he said you got to getthis tube out of you.
(29:25):
Come pull it out.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Because it's complete .
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Pull it out now.
It was like you are not thepastor here, sir.
You say I'm the pastor overthere, you are patient.
I said oh no, I'm pastor, Isure am.
And they pulled it out.
And they pulled out.
They came back around, theysaid well, he said, if you said
(29:48):
you.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
He said if you said Let him go.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
It took them too long for my wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Uh-huh, Please tell me you didn't start walking
about it.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Listen my daughter Lauren, was smaller.
I said get these flowers, passme my clothes.
I got dressed and they werehollering Mr Cleveland, you
can't walk out of here.
I said alright, see y'all, I'mdone with this, I'm done.
I was flat out done like Jesus,okay, I'm done.
(30:26):
I ain was flat out done LikeJesus, okay, I'm done.
I ain't got no more phone,right, I'm tired.
My wife tired, children tiredof this.
We tired, we's tired.
Boss, my family tired Everytime the phone rings.
Is he half dead again?
No, no, not at all oh god, thisis it.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
You are the definition of you shall live and
not die, and declare the worksof the lord.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I used to tell my sons it's going to be a great
day when you get punched in yourjaw, because the next day
you're going to be a great daywhen you get punched in your jaw
Because the next day you'regoing to be like I didn't die.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Now somebody threatening to hit you means
nothing Right right, right Right, that's true.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
The surgeon was like okay, come on.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Come on, Because evidently, there is still more
work for me to do, for you to doyes, absolutely, absolutely,
and we have to get that type oftenacity.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Yeah, it's like, okay , take a lick.
Well, they already hit me.
Well, they're going to hit youagain because the fight is still
going.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Okay, so the suffering for the gospel.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
I kind of want you to unpack that scripture and we
were really doing good and youjust came good.
And you just came around thatcorner.
You should have took a sip ofwater and said, look, done this,
now let's be messy.
Come on, let's be messy.
(32:20):
Baby, here it is.
It's like yep, you be like.
That's why I don't like yourred big head bud there.
It is right there.
Yep, here we go.
All right, I tried to do a.
I did.
I was going to Y'all heardPeople that know me like Al is
really doing good, staying awayfrom his theological premises.
(32:44):
Uh-oh, for there are many.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Did I step on a lamp?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I knew this was a setup.
I knew it was coming.
I knew it was coming.
All right, go ahead, shoot theshot.
I done been was a setup.
I knew it was coming.
I knew it was coming.
All right, go ahead, shoot ashot.
What are you doing?
I done been on crosses before.
They ain't even got to nail medown.
I just climb up there.
Just climb on up there now.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I don't know, I was just sitting here and it was
just like.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
I'm like that Because none of those surgeries had
nothing to do with suffering forthe gospel To start there.
It may have been my personalcourse.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
But it had nothing to do with suffering for the
gospel.
I am so sick of that beingmisplaced In testimonies, in
songwriting, sermons.
What are you talking about?
(33:54):
They coming against me at work?
Suffering for the gospel?
No, you always late.
You overstayed lunch.
They heard you when you was inthe break room and said I'm here
to try to see the less I can dotoday.
Then they call you on it I'msuffering from the gut.
(34:15):
No, you're not.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
This is not that.
This is not that.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
This is rent-a-unter, caesar.
What is new, caesar?
It's not rocket science people,all these holy deep folk, you
just can't do right.
But then you want to invite me.
(34:43):
I want you to hear my praiseteam.
I don't want to hear yourpraise team.
You are a bad worker.
I don't want these folks toeven know we associate outside
of this office.
I'm trying to figure out whythey ain't fired you yet.
I don't want to hear yourtestimony.
(35:06):
I'm trying to figure out whythey ain't fired you yet.
I don't want to hear yourtestimony.
I don't Because I heard youtalking about the other girl the
other day.
But you're suffering for thegospel.
Okay, alright, makes sense toyou, makes sense to me.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
So what is suffering for the gospel?
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Thank you for asking.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
To decide what it is not.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
When you take a faith constitutional stand on your
principles.
I don't believe in this.
I don't believe in that.
I don't do this because myfaith constitution said
da-da-da-da-da, Okay, and you'repersecuted for your stance on
your faith constitution.
That's suffering for the sakeof the constitution.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Get it, I do, I do.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Ain't nobody saved in the office but me.
But now you're going to bepersecuted.
You don't ever go out to drinkwith us.
No, we actually come to theparty.
No, next day, here she come,here you go.
That's persecution for yourfaith, constitution.
That's suffering.
(36:22):
For the sake of everything else, you may have to do something
with your character, just maybe.
Maybe I don't know you likethat, but I think that's a good
place to start, okay okay, okay,okay.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Well, I thank you for that understanding.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
And don't y'all take this just on a clip, on a clip
you're going to take and make itgo viral.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
No, oh God.
Well, now that we've clearedthat up, yes, Don't clear
nothing else up.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Because there's so much more, there's so much more.
Because there's so much more,there's so much more, there's so
much.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
I want to kind of bring it home.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
I just heard that old Broadview Baptist doxology
bring him in praise God, fromwhom all blessings flow.
Yes, sir, baptist doxologyBring them in Praise God, from
whom all blessings flow.
Yes, sir, one of the sweetestsongs you could ever hear when
you're ready to get out ofchurch.
Let's sing this.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Woo.
So you've had so manyexperiences in the marketplace,
You've had so many experiencesin the church and we really
(37:56):
haven't talked much about your.
Well, we did kind of touch onyour family because of the
illness and all of that.
Well, we did kind of touch onyour family because of the
illness and all of that.
What has caused you to stickwith the gospel, the good news,
(38:24):
this far into your life and notsaying that you're going to sway
from it but what has caused youto hold on and not let go?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Me being honest with myself, to say there are some
days I don't want to do it, butI know I'm called to do it.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's a part of my purpose.
So when I have those days, Itake it to Him, I take it to God
.
I don't want to do this today.
I really don't.
Well, al, they bought you aplane ticket and you're supposed
to preach tonight.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Well, they can find somebody else.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
People have no idea at the type of grappling that
goes on with gifted people.
Sometimes people think you knowthose of us with all these
gifts.
Every time the phone ring everytime they oh praise the Lord, I
don't feel like the airporttoday.
Right, how about this one?
(39:30):
What's this?
Who are they sending to pick meup child?
Speaker 1 (39:40):
It does matter that part.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Is it a talker?
Hmm, I already don't feel likebeing here at your church.
I can't tell you that, right.
And then why am I smelling yourbreath from the back seat?
Oh, oh, you were seat.
(40:03):
Oh, and he was Pastor.
Pastor, he's like Jesus, helpme.
Or you get to your hotel roomand it ain't right, and you
already know him Be out there.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
It's the little things, it's the little things
they all just add up.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
But he's like you know what would your mom say?
You ought to be happy.
Come on and bring it back.
That you got something thatstill blesses his people.
Wow, Then you add on to thisand he done spared your life.
How many times, boy Come?
Speaker 1 (40:39):
on.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
That's a great checker.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Come on.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
That's a great checker.
Come on, that's a great checker.
Yeah, I started getting ittogether.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
You got the tail of that flesh.
Listen, absolutely.
We have an assignment.
We have an assignment, yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yeah, because you remember that first time, al.
That could have been the lasttime.
You remember that second time,al.
Yeah, that could have been thelast time.
How about the third time?
Al, surely Right, and he getsme right together.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
So I am grateful, the same way I wrote that new
division out in the 90s.
Yeah, it's how I wrote theparent involvement curriculum
after the second surgery in thehospital on a big napkin on the
side of my bed.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yeah, no education degree, no, nothing.
It's like a scroll came downand I saw it and I remembered
from the gift company when youhear it like that, write it yeah
, yeah and when I got wellenough to go back to my office
at school as a community liaison.
Uh-huh, that's all I was okay.
(42:00):
I typed it out, put it on theprincipal's desk.
The day after school he cameinto my office.
He said I'm going to put thisin presentation form.
I need you to give me aboutthree or four days.
I want to practice with you,then go rehearsal again, come on
, come on.
(42:20):
He was the president of theDuPage Principals Association.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
He said I want you to present this to all of these
principals.
I walked out of that onepresentation with over $100,000
in contracts.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Wow, and that lasted 13, 14 years.
Church folk had no idea.
I was traveling all over thecountry speaking at educational
conferences and you couldn't getinto my breakout sessions
because the averageparticipation of
African-American parents in anytype of PTA PTO was zero to
three percent at the time.
(43:01):
Every curriculum that I wasplanting planting and at that
time I was in 6 schools at thesame time- ok there was about
50-75 black and brown parentsonce a month in an orchestrated,
organized learning session ofhow to partner with your student
(43:26):
for success Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
So when people talk about so the scripture that
talks about witty ideas andinventions, absolutely Like,
that's like just saw somethingwas like that ideas and
inventions.
Speaker 2 (43:44):
Absolutely Like.
That's Like just Salt Summitwas like that.
It just came to me.
Yeah, people have no idea.
The first Salt Summit almostdidn't happen Because I got
disgusted at registration.
I was going to let the 15people figure out I wasn't
coming.
Well, I guess he ain't coming.
(44:07):
The 15?
The 15 people?
Wow, al didn't show up.
Wow, I came anyway and it endedup being like 25.
Okay, okay, but from that yearmoving forward, 75, 150, 200
(44:30):
people.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Don't despise small beginnings Just rolling.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Wow, and anybody that I would call to come and give
like a TED Talk typepresentation.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:43):
Never told me no.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
That's why.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I say what God is going to do with you.
I've seen it before, I've seenit.
You just look, put your headdown and muzzle through.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
You're doing a great job, thank you, and Sam got a
banging studio.
Yeah, you're doing a great job,thank you, and Sam got a
banging studio on.
I'm telling you.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
Listen, tell the people about Destiny Filming
Media.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
This thing is tight.
I'm mean, I'm like, oh listen,I can come over here and do
about 15 shows and run them up.
Man, this is nice and it'scomfortable, looks clean, smell
clean Ears, clean, ears, clean.
All of that I love it.
(45:31):
I done done some podcasting,but let me get out of here.
It's like y'all just rubbed thewalls with pine salt or
something.
Like y'all just rubbed thewalls with pine salt or
something.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Well, I can't smell like a senior citizen facility.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
Wait a minute, what's going?
Speaker 1 (45:57):
on here.
Well, as we bring this to aclose.
I think I'm on one second.
I think I'm on one second as webring this to a close.
If you had to talk to somebodyabout purpose and walking in
their purpose and facingchallenges along the way, what
(46:22):
advice would you give them?
Two things, what advice wouldyou?
Speaker 2 (46:29):
give somebody just starting out?
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And then, what advice would you give somebody who has
been walking in it, but theyare just fatigued.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
Oh, wow.
Let's start off with, say thenewbies Mentorship is good,
wisdom nuggets are everything,but there's a blessing that
comes with youth, which is thisthe fire you have today you will
not have in 20 or 30 years, mm,mm.
(47:00):
You just will not.
So if you find yourselfattached to anyone that always
tell you, no, sit down, wait,wait, sit down, run, run, run to
(47:20):
the one that'll say, well, hey,keep going, but beware of this.
Hey, keep going, but next timetweak it like this hey, push a
little harder, but the next timeyou do it, do this, da-da-da,
da-da.
Watch out for those who ride onthe.
Just stop.
You need to pray some more.
I can pray and work.
Yeah, I can fall on my face andfail.
(47:44):
Encourage me to get back up.
Speaker 1 (47:47):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Don't tell me to stop .
Speaker 1 (47:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:52):
Bishop Patterson would say something like this.
He said it takes fire to heatyour home Back in those days.
It takes fire to make the trainmove.
Fire is good, yeah, but uh, outof control, fire come on will
burn up everything.
(48:12):
So look for people that giveyou templates to keep you from
burning up yourself andeverybody else.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Give me some, give you somefences, some boundaries.
It's a boundary, no stoppage.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
Yeah, because this fire is going to help you down
the road.
Yeah, for the people that arefatigued.
Never get tired of the feelingthat comes when you fail.
Yeah, because that's anotherlearning experience.
(48:49):
At a certain age, you don'tlike to fail and I get it Agreed
, but when you stop learninglessons, what is it time for?
Ooh.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Good evening.
Speaker 2 (49:06):
Well, okay then right , okay, I'm here to learn until
I leave here those about 15 or20 years that some would say
that I lost due to my healthchallenges and healing and all
of that and being like you knowwhat.
I'm just going to stick withMarketplace, because every time
(49:27):
I get over here with him it'sback in this hospital again.
I'll just stay over here.
I'm going to talk about himover here too.
Right, right, right.
Y'all got something elseworking over here that don't
seem to be working out forCleveland.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
I have a degree that's not finished right now,
because every time I took aclass Don't it scare you
Everything.
All hell broke loose.
It just break loose.
I said I can't with this Gotyou.
Speaker 2 (50:00):
You got to tell me no more.
I'm sorry I interrupted, goahead.
No, no, no, no, I'm glad I'mnot alone.
So here I am, god willing,september I'll be 59.
Okay, and I still have fears.
Yes, talk about it, about doingsomething that I know that is
righteous.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
And that will bless thousands.
Speaker 2 (50:21):
Yeah yeah, but seemingly every thousands yeah,
yeah, but seemingly every.
Come on, man, this next run, Idon't want bursitis, I'm going
to authorize this.
Nothing, you hear me, nothinggo wrong.
(50:43):
I don't want to lose a tooth.
I'm going to hang nails.
You see me, nothing go wrong.
I don't want to lose a tooth, Idon't want to hang nails.
You said hold it together, holdall of it together, because all
I need is a sign I'm out, can'tdo it.
Well, we're going to have tohave to take your left toe.
(51:05):
I quit, that's it Boom.
And when he left, when he letthe left toe go bad, he knew I
was out.
So he's not surprised.
I'm surprised he didn't.
(51:27):
Well, can't you serve the Godof your surprise?
Right, because I can.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
Yeah, from the bench.
Speaker 2 (51:37):
Preach you on the rug , on the bench.
Oh God Right.
Speaker 1 (51:44):
Hang in there, that's right.
Right, those are the Lord'sCome on.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Y'all dishes got to hold it close.
That dish says shakta, I bindit.
I bind that, break spirit.
Come on out of here.
You break spirit.
Speaker 1 (52:17):
Oh God Woo, oh God, oh that was good.
Speaker 2 (52:21):
That was good.
I said is the rapture coming?
Wait a minute, I think I'mready.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Oh my God, this conversation has blessed me
today.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
I had a good time.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
Listen, I have laughed.
Speaker 2 (52:40):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
I have pondered, I have just been introspective.
You have shared some of themost impactful and important
times of your life and I trulyappreciate you taking the time
(53:01):
to share with not just me butthe Preston's Purpose community,
because we need to understandthat just because you give God a
yes doesn't mean thateverything is going to go well.
Speaker 2 (53:19):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
We need to understand that.
We need to understand that weneed to be prepared for that and
we need to trust God in themidst of that.
And your life speaks to all ofthose things Amen.
Even with the you about took meout, with the second one, with
(53:40):
the second aneurysm talkingabout I need two months, Like
wait what?
Yeah, but it still speaks topreparation and God giving you
grace to be able to even preparein that way, but I Hallelujah.
(54:03):
What I also want the people toknow is that not to despise
small beginnings Amen, becausewhat was your normal was weighty
, like your early beginningsthat was weighty Amen.
(54:30):
You didn't recognize it at thetime not at all, but it was
weighty and it prepared you foreverything that God had for you
on this other side.
Yeah, and I'm just gratefulthat through it all, you kept
moving thank the Lord.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
I think this may be the first time that I've really
ever really talked about my lifemm-hmm yeah you know, um, I am
not a braggadocious guy, but I'ma very confident guy yeah so I
I would, I would weigh those twoto make sure that I'll be
(55:14):
balanced, because my confidencesometimes can be overwhelming
even with my silence, because myspirit says I'm not intimidated
.
He just over here hollering.
Speaker 1 (55:28):
Don't try me.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
You do not want this smoke.
You don't Dot com.
I'm him, heart surgeries andall I am he.
Heart surgeries and all Listen.
He's like I got two good blowsleft before I leave here.
I'm saving them.
One is for my wife and theother one is for one of them.
(55:51):
Kids y'all try to mess with.
Now it's the grandkids.
Now the kids might be on theirown Right.
The Lord has been good to me,yeah, yeah.
And I guard those gifts.
Oh, winston Churchill, 1945,giving a commencement speech I
(56:19):
believe it was at Yale or one ofthose places, and it's in this
book called A Mind for God.
A Mind for God by James EmeryWhite.
Okay, and he quotes Churchilland there's a tag that I love
and this is for every giftedperson who knows that you have a
(56:42):
righteous heart.
You're not lifted, you're notpushy, you're just good.
Let the people feel the weightof who you are and let them deal
with it.
Speaker 1 (56:58):
Listen.
Well, on that note, I will saythank you, reverend Cleveland.
Speaker 2 (57:06):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (57:07):
I will say thank you to the audience that is
listening.
This definitely is a.
This definitely has been aninterview or a conversation,
because I don't really dointerviews, I have conversations
or a conversation, because Idon't really do interviews.
I have conversations that ifyou go back and listen to it
(57:28):
again, you might get some otherstuff that you didn't get the
first time, even through thelaughter, even through.
Speaker 2 (57:41):
You know the heavy moments and knocking down tables
.
There's so much power in here,listen.
Speaker 1 (57:46):
We knocked down tables.
Listen, we done, done it all ontoday's.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
That was a Baptist fit.
You missed it.
Speaker 1 (57:51):
All we needed was.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
Go in.
All of that happened.
You better watch it.
Speaker 1 (58:00):
We got to get out of here.
All right, we will catch youall next time on the next
episode of Prestige Into Purpose.
Until then, continue to walk inpurpose and be blessed.
We'll see you next time onPressed Into Purpose.
Don't forget to like andsubscribe so you can be notified
(58:20):
whenever new episodes areavailable.
Today's episode is brought toyou by Destiny Film and Media.
Go to destinyfam1.com for allyour media needs.
Destiny Film and Media yourdestiny through film and media.
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