Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Good afternoon, good evening wherever you are in the world. It’s Dr. Jan Fortman with Relationship Matters TV. I hope everyone is having a beautiful, beautiful morning, afternoon, or evening. Well, I’m here in Chicago or right outside of Chicago and the heat index today went up to a hundred and twenty degrees. All I have to say is I’m in air conditioning but I stepped outside and that heat hit me like whoosh and I stepped right back inside. I don’t know what’s happening but I know that this heat is unbearable and it seems like all the center of United States we are under and even out in the west this weather and this heat is, you know, I just feel sorry for people who don’t have air conditioners. But if you are anywhere where all this heat is, check on your neighbors especially if they’re seniors. Check on them just, you know, and they might need water, they might need fans, whatever, but check on them to make sure that they’re okay. So let’s, I want to get right into our show this evening here because it’s evening here because I have someone on this show who I’ve known for a little while and he’s a very, very special person. So let me tell you about Reverend, I’m gonna say it right, Reverend the Right Reverend Arturo Barnes. Let me tell you a little about a little bit about Arturo Barnes. He was born and raised in Chicago, and people will know this if you live in Chicago in the South Shore Community. He’s an associate minister of True Light Church Baptist where he serves as the Director of Christian Education and he’s also involved in Christian education at the district and state levels. He received a bachelor’s degree in computer science. I don’t know what that has to do with being a reverend but I’m going to ask him from Central State University and currently sits on the board of directors of Central State National Alumni Association. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, probably will make one of them signs and something that they do. He is also a member of MJM Speaker Circle Toastmasters Club and he does he hold the rank of President? I don’t know but he, you know, he’s just really brilliant at public speaking. And Arturo, Reverend Arturo Barnes is a devoted husband and father for most importantly he is a servant of the one true God. So I’m going to bring to you right now Reverend the Right Reverend Arturo Barnes. Good evening Reverend Barnes. I’m calling you Arturo because that’s how I know you.

Arturo Barnes
Good evening Dr. Fortman. Oh wait a minute, what was this one of the signs he was talking about? [Laughter]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, I know, I know. I’m surprised you don’t have on your colors and all of that stuff and I don’t see anything behind you. Oh wait a minute, is that what that is?

Arturo Barnes
That’s my Crest, that’s my fraternity crest right there.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I should have known, I should have known. Well Arturo, thank you so much for being my guest this evening and I want to get right into it. I’ve got some questions that I want to ask you but this is just a conversation. So now I know you from Toastmasters because we’re both in at the uh, we’re in MJM Speaker Circle and it is the premiere club in Chicago, Illinois. So you are an officer, correct?

Arturo Barnes
Yes, currently I am the Vice President of Education but I am also a past president of MJM Speaker Circle.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And I should know that. Okay, so what I want to ask you, the first question I want to ask you is what made you decide that you wanted to be, should I say, a preacher?

Arturo Barnes
Okay, yeah, what made you decide that you wanted to be a preacher? Well, the journey begins in 1983. I was born by the river. Okay, well it begins actually before then. I was one of those people that was born in the church. I was born in Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church on the south side of Chicago and in ’83 I joined my current church, True Light. My mother, Charlotte Warren, was a professional educator and she was also a well-known Christian educator across the city and the state of Illinois. So growing up, I was raised by a single mother and I was often in her shadow. So before I tell you about how I, what I wanted to do, I was going to tell you about everything that I didn’t want to do. Okay, but and let me tell you this, if you want to make God laugh, tell him what you’re not gonna do. That’s gonna make God laugh because if God has something for you, it’s gonna happen whether you realize it or not. Okay, my mother was a well-known Christian educator and in 1999 I was first asked to be a Sunday school teacher. I was a little hesitant to teach because teaching was my mother’s thing. I wanted to do my own thing but teaching was my mother’s thing. But God worked that thing out, put me in front of young people. My first group of students were teenagers. I was teaching high school students and I shared the information with them and I realized that teaching was one of my callings when one of the parents of the students came to me and expressed their gratitude on the improvement that their daughter had been making. And the daughter was in the store somewhere talking to some miscellaneous adult in the store and they were having a religious, a Bible-based conversation and the young lady was holding her own and it was because of the information that we had discussed in class. So that was me accepting the fact that I was going to be teaching Christian education. So at that point, I began to listen and accept what God had in my life. So that began my education journey, my Christian education journey in 1999. So let’s fast forward to 2012. Ministers, Christian ministers, we receive a spiritual calling. We believe God speaks to us and tells us in our spirit that we are being called to serve him in ministry. In 2012, I received my ministerial call to service. So that was in 2012. And in 2014, I preached my first sermon and I have been preaching and teaching consistently ever since. “Don’t Be Scared” coming out of Second Timothy chapter 1 verse 7, chapter 2 verse 7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” That was my first sermon, “Don’t Be Scared.” And that, in essence, preachers are often taught as you’re preparing sermons, prepare someone that will speak to yourself. And as here I am about to embark on this ministerial journey and accepting that God, this is something that God has called me to do. So in acting in that calling that God has called me to do, there’s nothing for me to be afraid of because God is going to take care of you. So there’s no reason for me to be apprehensive, there’s no reason for me to be scared. So I’m not scared and I wanted to share that with the people. Don’t be scared. What God has to do is for you and don’t be scared to act and move within your calling.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so let’s go back to when you said God called you in your spirit. Explain to my audience exactly what that means. Is it a dream? Is it, uh, it’s exactly what is it that you felt?

Arturo Barnes
Everyone receives their calling in different ways. For me, it was a Tuesday morning. I was driving down Lake Shore Drive on my way to work. It was approximately eight o’clock in the morning. I was coming around the bend where the McCormick, for those who know Chicago and Lakeshore Drive, is around the bend where the McCormick Place is, McCormick Place, Soldier Field. And Jan, just as clear as I can hear you, said, “You will be my messenger.” Just, “You will be,” just as clear as day. And I heard it and I felt it. And let me tell you, it affected me. So when I got to, when I parked my car, so I’m on my way to work, I parked my car, I’m in the garage downtown about to go to work. I called into work and told them I’m going to be about 30 minutes or so late. And I just hung up and I just sat there and reveled in the moment, shed some tears, reveled in the moment. I called my pastor, I called other preacher friends who were close to me to explain to them like I got the call. I wasn’t excited, I was more amazed and shocked that I got the call. And of course, they were excited for me. They all individually, they prayed with me at that moment when I called them to acknowledge my call. So it was a voice for me, it was a voice I heard while I was driving to work on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay. So now do you think there are people who, let’s say, heard the call but ignored it? And if they did ignore it, you know, if they do ignore it, does it, in your opinion, does it keep happening and that it comes to a point when they just can’t ignore it anymore? Or do they just go on, in your opinion?

Arturo Barnes
In my opinion, it’s unavoidable. So I told the story about me being hesitant to teach. So I ignored and avoided my calling to teach for a moment. After I accepted that, I said, “Okay God, whatever you say, I’ma do it. I’m gonna trust you.” So I fought teaching, I fought teaching for a moment, but then I realized this is my lane, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. So when the time came and I received the call to preach, I already knew the voice. I already knew the voice. So I accepted that as I accepted it, that it was my time without hesitation for preaching. I did hesitate to accept the call to teach back in ’99, but when I got the call to preach by 2012, no hesitation whatsoever. And I believe when people avoid or ignore their calling, their life’s not right. Their life’s not right, nothing works right for them. They don’t feel right, they don’t act right, things around them don’t come together like it should because you’re going against what God has in store for you. And do people go all of their lives without acknowledging their call? Yes. And I believe their lives are unnecessarily difficult because of them accepting their calling. Is my life problem-free? No, no, not at all, not at all. But with my calling and a solid spiritual foundation, I believe I can more easily deal with the challenges that life presents me.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So now, now there are some preachers who I would say are teachers and then there’s some preachers who are, you know, I don’t know how to describe it, but preach. Some teach, some preach. So would you say, which one are you? Are you the teacher?

Arturo Barnes
I classify myself as a teacher-preacher.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
A teacher-preacher, okay, okay.

Arturo Barnes
Because I’m in the practice, I make a concerted effort to educate the congregation, educate my audience on whatever the point is before you touch on their spiritual needs. I was taught you make an intellectual connection with the people, then you make the spiritual connection with the people. So I make a concerted effort when I present my sermons to make an intellectual connection to teach them something. I always say, I always tell people, “I’m going to learn you something and then we’re gonna get on out of here.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, okay, okay. So now if, let’s say someone gets the calling, is it difficult to become, and you are ordained, I know you’re ordained because I went to your ordination and it was, the questions that they were asking and I thought, oh my goodness. And I remember you weren’t the only one and there was one young man and he was so nervous and, you know, so tell me, in order to be ordained, if you get the calling, what do you have to go through?

Arturo Barnes
Preparation, to put it in a nutshell, you have to prepare yourself. So traditionally, when an individual, and I’ll just speak to how my church and my pastor, my pastor is Dr. LaRue Franklin Kidd, when an individual comes to my pastor and acknowledges their calling in the ministry, the first thing my pastor will do is send them to Sunday school. Send them to Sunday school, make sure they have a good biblical foundation and a good understanding of Baptist doctrine and beliefs before you can get out here and stand before people and represent God and represent, you know, our body of believers. We need to ensure that you know what you’re talking about, that you have been trained right. So we are proponents of education, training, and preparation. So before we go through the ordination process, we go through at least a year of training and preparation. So I was licensed in 2014, which means I could marry and bury. I could marry people and bury people legally. Once I received my ordination, that means I could then lead a congregation. I could become a pastor then. I am now eligible to become a pastor. And for the record, I’m not in the running to be nobody’s pastor.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
You know I was going to ask you that question.

Arturo Barnes
If it happens, it happens. If it happens, it happens. But God has not presented that to me yet because God knows where I am in my life. And with pastoring a church and congregation, you take on the people and you take on the people’s problems. So I don’t believe I’m at that point in my life to take on a congregation full of people’s problems. If God says differently, so be it. But I don’t know, not yet, not at this point, not where are we at, August 24th, 2023, nope.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Because that was my question, you know, like did you want to be the pastor of your own church one day? But as you said, you have not gotten that calling yet. Because I know when I did market, well, I promoted the show, I called you pastor. So that might be something, you know, like in the universe that kind of, you know.

Arturo Barnes
No, that was a typo. [Laughter] I am at the point in my Christian journey, I don’t tell God what I want. I kind of walk the path and let God reveal it to me as it comes. And every time, without fail, God blows my mind.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay. Now you still have a nine to five.

Arturo Barnes
I do.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So what do you do?

Arturo Barnes
I am a 22-year employee for the city of Chicago. Specifically, I work for the Chicago Public Library. As you mentioned in my intro, I have a degree in computer science from Central State University and I am in their IT department. I am one of the help desk supervisors. So when the staff call in with computer problems, I have a staff of guys that answer the phones to help or record the problems. I am their direct supervisor.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay. Because I wonder, I’m like, okay, so I know you’re a computer expert and I’m like, what does that have to do with being a minister? But you were on your way to your nine to five.

Arturo Barnes
I was on my way.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
When you got the calling. So this is a loaded question. Do you think that there are some preachers who were not called but they just decided that that’s what they wanted to do for whatever reason?

Arturo Barnes
Absolutely. Con artists in every field and religion and theology is no exception.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow. Have you run across any? Were there any that you said, you know what, that person evidently that’s trying to be a preacher was not called?

Arturo Barnes
Yes, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So how could you tell the difference?

Arturo Barnes
Key terms and phrases. So here’s what I was taught with ministry and music. With ministry and music, a lot of times in the ministry and music, they will not say God, Jesus, Lord, Holy Spirit. They will not.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
In the music?

Arturo Barnes
In the music. I don’t want to start quoting lyrics because I don’t want to cause no problems. I don’t want to call them copyright issues. But there are certain Christian music, not gospel, in certain Christian music that would not say the name Jesus, but they’ll say him, you. So you have to be mindful of that. Preaching, gospel preachers, the culmination of most gospel sermons is Jesus being crucified and resurrected. If a sermon does not culminate with Jesus dying on the cross, being buried for three days, and raising and his resurrection, it’s a trigger, it’s a red flag for me. Not every sermon is going to culminate like that, but I’m listening, I’m listening. And on a related note, when I go into churches or places of worship, when you go into the sanctuary, if there are no signs or symbols in the sanctuary that identify it as a place of Christian worship, that’s a flag.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay. Alrighty, so there’s some questions that have come in and what we’re going to do is just go for a quick commercial and we’re going to come back with you, Arturo, the Right Reverend Arturo, and I want you to respond to these questions, okay?

Arturo Barnes
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so we shall be right back. Do not go away because, and if you have questions, just send them to me. Either text me at 773-443-2058, that’s 773-443-2058, or if you, depending on what kind of page you’re on, if you’re on YouTube, that’s what you have to do, you have to text me. But if you’re on Facebook or any of the other platforms, you can just shoot the question to me via the chat. So we’ll be right back, don’t go away. Oh, they’re coming in right now, don’t go away.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Supposed to be a storm up north and it’s probably doing something with the internet. But anyway, let’s get back with the Right Reverend Arturo Barnes. Okay, the first question that came in, it says, “Many have reported that a large percentage of people are leaving the church as a whole. Why do you think that this is happening?”

Arturo Barnes
Too many options. People are given too many options with the explosion of social media, YouTube, and TikTok. Too many of the wrong people have been given a platform and have been drawing people away from the church because the messages that they’re delivering are what the people want to hear as opposed to what the people need to hear. A lot of these people with platforms are very charming, engaging, and entertaining. People are being distracted by entertainment more so than ministry. And there is a very fine line between ministry and entertainment. So people are being distracted. They have too many options. Too many of the wrong people have been given platforms because of and due in part to social media and YouTube and the like.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, let’s see. Describe to us some challenges you had when you first started preaching. Challenges I had when I first started preaching and how do you, how did you handle it? This is from a fellow Toastmaster, Vanessa.

Arturo Barnes
Very good. Hey Vanessa. How did I handle it? So I’m trying to think of the challenges and I’m trying to think, is it a challenge that I’ve solved, that I’ve overcome? Yes, one that, that is an excellent question. One of the greatest challenges that I’ve faced is time management. Time management. I want one of, personally, one of my, and so now this is a transparent moment, one of my biggest challenges that I face personally is managing the time to air discernment. Okay, oftentimes when I’ve been invited or assigned to preach, I immediately, just to myself, I already started thinking about my sermon topic, the points I want to make and what have you, the connections I want to make, but I don’t put it down on paper or formulate it. And I often do not put an organized sermon together in the most timely manner. I’m not creating the content at the last minute. I oftentimes find myself just putting it together in speech format. As a Toastmaster, you understand that. So right now, time management in the preparation of my sermons is my biggest challenge.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so another question. What do you do when people don’t accept the sermon that you have given?

Arturo Barnes
I accept that they don’t accept it. It is not my job to force the message down their throat. I believe when I’m preparing a sermon, I truly believe that God is speaking to me or using me to deliver a message to someone. The person who doesn’t accept it may not be the someone that that message was for. Oftentimes after I’ve delivered a sermon, someone will come up to me and say, “That message was for me.” Everybody doesn’t come up and say that. That message might not be for that person at that time. I accept it because I believe that God has called me to do this work. I have also accepted that everyone is not going to be receptive to it. And to use the vernacular, it’s simply the nature of the beast. Everybody is not going to accept the message.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, and the other question that came in is, “Where do you see yourself five to ten years from now?”

Arturo Barnes
Preaching and teaching the word of God.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So I’m looking behind you and I see a keyboard.

Arturo Barnes
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So you play?

Arturo Barnes
I play several instruments.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. Yeah, well, and they are?

Arturo Barnes
I started playing the trumpet in fourth grade. I started playing the trumpet in fourth grade. I played the trumpet from fourth grade through college. So I played in, I played the element, I played in it. We had a jazz band in elementary school. So in the elementary school jazz band, I played in the marching and concert bands in high school and I played in the marching and concert band in college at Central State. I play, I play at the piano and I am currently taking guitar lessons. So I am playing the guitar and I believe the voice is an instrument. So I can carry a tune. I may not be, I may not be able to sing, but I can carry a tune.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
You could, you can’t sing, but you can see, look, you know what now? Oh, so you know, you have really put your foot in it because at the next time, you know, there are some Toastmasters, I’m sure from MJM Speaker Circle that are watching this. And so I am sure that in one of our meetings though, with one of your presentations or speech, you really got to play the trumpet for us. And there, and I don’t remember, I don’t remember a guitar. I don’t put you on the spot. I don’t remember a keyboard in that room, but you can always bring your guitar.

Arturo Barnes
I have no problem singing for you guys. I haven’t picked up a trumpet since 1999.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Really?

Arturo Barnes
It would not be pretty. We have to be mindful, Jan, that we have our meeting in a library. So, but yeah, a trumpet would not be appropriate.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, well, Renita Dixon is saying so many talents and I am certain I am not the only talented one in our group. I’m not the only multi-talented one in our group. And let’s see, Henrietta Brinson wants you to know that she is watching.

Arturo Barnes
That’s one of my church members, Dr. Henrietta Brinson.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. Alrighty, well, welcome Henrietta and well, Dr. Henrietta and welcome Renita and also welcome to Vanessa who takes something in. So, okay, so now you play, well, you were playing the trumpet and you were, you play the piano and you’re learning the guitar. I own a harmonica.

Arturo Barnes
Oh my God. [Laughter] I’m not proficient, but I think I can play like Yankee Doodle and when the saints, amazing, I could play Amazing Grace.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay, okay, that’s good. Okay, well, you can play that in the library. So, I also know that you are on this journey of becoming a voiceover expert. Is that true?

Arturo Barnes
Okay, so here’s the story with that. I joined MJM Speaker Circle, a club of Toastmasters International in 2019. At that time, Dr. Jan Fortman was the president of the club. As I began to spend time with the club and we got to know each other, Dr. Fortman encouraged me to pursue a voiceover work. And since then, I have started establishing myself and marketing myself as a voiceover artist. And that is one of the things I plan on using to fund my way through graduate school is the voiceover.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay, and that’s because I really like your voice, you know, and especially, you know, when you’re giving your presentations and all. And another text came in and this is from another one of your fellow Toastmasters, Gwen Dunbar, and she says, “We want a concert. He is very artistic. God has truly blessed him.”

Arturo Barnes
Alright, well, Gwen wants a concert. How about I open up for Ronnie Ray? How about that? I can open up for Ronnie Ray.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, see, if people have watched my previous shows, they would know that Gwen Dunbar is the mother of the world-famous comedian Ronnie Ray. So, you know, maybe Gwen just might communicate that to Ronnie Ray and you just might be opening up. You never can tell, you never can tell. So now I’m looking at these other questions. Oh, I think that, you know, oh yeah, that was about it as far as the questions are concerned. So, is there anything, you know, I’m looking to make sure, oh, there is another question. Okay, we only got a few minutes to go, folks. So, Marcy Hill wants to know, “Hey Arturo, how does it feel to pursue your goal of voiceover work?”

Arturo Barnes
Hey Marcy, pursuing the goal of voiceover work, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I have seven years until I retire from my nine to five. And so now I’m working to establish multiple streams of income beyond my nine to five. And the voice work, voiceover work is proving itself to be one of those streams of income that will, you know, take care of me and my needs after my nine to five. So I’m excited to see what’s in store. As I tell people that I’m pursuing a career in voiceover work, everybody took, “Oh, you got the perfect voice for it.” So every, I get a lot of positive feedback about my pursuits in the voiceover world. So I’m excited to see what God has in store for me.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Alrighty, well, guess what? Ronnie Ray says, “Wait a minute, tell him to come on.” [Laughter] Alrighty now, so Arturo, I love this question that just came in. “With all of your talents, tell us something that we don’t know about you.”

Arturo Barnes
Something that you don’t know about me. Well, I just told you about the instruments. I have quite an ambitious bucket list. I have quite an ambitious bucket list. So one of the things on my bucket list, I desire to further my education. I currently have a bachelor’s in computer science. This year in December, I will turn 48 years old. And now I am preparing myself for my 50s. That entire decade, I plan on spending my 50s in graduate school. I ultimately plan on earning two PhDs. I’m a glutton for punishment.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, you are.

Arturo Barnes
But I tell you that I desire one academic PhD and one degree in a religious discipline, theology or ministry or something of that sort. The academic degree, which I will pursue first, will be a PhD in organizational leadership or organizational management, something to that effect. So that is something most people don’t know, that I plan on spending my, you’re not gonna see a lot of me in my 50s because I’m gonna be hitting the book. So I’m weaning myself away from a lot of stuff that I’m involved in now to prepare myself for school in my 50s. I’ve actually even, I work for the library, so I’ve actually started borrowing textbooks regarding organizational leadership and management to kind of get me back in the swing of things. I haven’t been in school since 1997. I haven’t been to school since ’97, but I desire to go back. So I’m gradually ramping up to launch when I turn 50.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So why organizational leadership?

Arturo Barnes
I believe God has a movement within me for my people. And when I say my people, I don’t necessarily mean my skin folk, you know, people of my skin color, not nothing racially, but also religiously. So for Christians and those would say marginalized, I truly believe there is a movement within me. And to have earned a degree in organizational leadership or management, I believe I will learn some strategies to be most effective in creating and executing this movement. And to those people who are from Missouri, you know, show me something, you know, show me people, to have a degree in organizational leadership or management, I believe that would prove me to show a degree of credibility as I attempt to implement these strategies.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, all right. So you will be the Right Reverend Doctor Arturo Barnes.

Arturo Barnes
If the Lord says the same.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Alrighty. Oh, okay. So Arturo, we’re about to wrap up. And what is a message? Now, this show is called Relationship Matters. And I know that on your journey, on both your journeys, your computer science journey, your musical journey, and your journey to becoming a minister, there have been probably particular relationships, personal and professional, that have gotten you to where you are. Give me, who are they? Who are these people?

Arturo Barnes
Alright, so of course, I’m going to start with my mother, Charlotte Warren. Charlotte Warren, that is my education and religious inspiration. One of my most profound, if that’s the right word for it, religious and academic inspirations. My mother was one of the smartest people I know. I know. For my ministerial journey, it begins with my senior pastor, Reverend A. Harold White, Reverend Dr. A. Harold White. He was one of the first people to teach me how to use my voice at a young age. He taught me how to project and he taught me how to speak with clarity. He taught me how to use my voice to fill a room without the use of amplification, without the use of a microphone. I know how to use my voice to fill a room without a mic. My Christian education journey, let me give some shout outs here. So we have my mother, Charlotte Warren. We have Reverend Dr. A. Harold White. We have Minnie Barfield. We have Latisse Dubois, Claudia Cribs. Did I say Gladys Gill? Let’s see, Willie Caldwell. And whether she knows it or not, one of my Christian education mentors is Dr. Henrietta Brinson.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. This is one of our guests today.

Arturo Barnes
So that is a small list of the people who have influenced and inspired me thus far on my journey.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, alrighty. And Marcy Hill says it’s excellent. All you’re doing is excellent and she’s very, very excited for you. Now, your church, just in case someone wants to just come to Chicago or you’re already in Chicago, so this is where you can see or hear and experience the Right Reverend Arturo Barnes. If you’re in Chicago or you’re coming to Chicago, it’s the True Light Church Baptist, 7300 South Maryland in Chicago, Illinois. And so church service starts at what time?

Arturo Barnes
9:30 a.m. Central Time. Our services are streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. The pastor is Dr. LaRue Franklin Kidd. And I also want to mention that this year, True Light is celebrating our centennial. We are 100 years old and we have been celebrating all year long.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, well, congratulations, congratulations. And Reverend Arturo Barnes, I really, really want to thank you for being a guest on Relationship Matters TV.

Arturo Barnes
It was a plum pleasing pleasure, Dr. Fortman. Thank you for the invite.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So I will see you when I see you, I should say, one of these Toastmasters meetings.

Arturo Barnes
Yeah, one of them, one of them.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So thank you so much and you have a beautifully blessed rest of your evening. Oh, and I’ll close it the way I opened it.

Arturo Barnes
Oh God, okay. For you all who just came in, you know he’s an Alpha, okay. The coldest, oldest in the cold.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, alright. Okay, but you know, I have had some Omegas and some Kappas on here, so.

Arturo Barnes
Well, you know, everybody makes mistakes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, they’re not gonna like that. Alright, Arturo, you take care.

Arturo Barnes
Alright, take care.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, bye-bye. Well, that was, I really, really, really enjoyed that interview and, or that conversation as you say, and I hope that all of you have enjoyed it also. So this is Dr. Jan Fortman with Relationship Matters TV and what I’m going to do now, the sun has gone down and I’m going to step outside just to see if it’s still hot. Oh yes, it is. As a matter of fact, I look down here and it says it’s still 91 degrees. Oh well, but the sun is down, so I’m gonna step outside. So what I want you to remember is there that there are all kinds of relationships and all kinds of relationship matters and how you communicate is the why of your relationships. That is a Janism. Alrighty, okay, see you again next week on Relationship Matters TV. Bye.