Ep. 106 | One Kidney, One Yes, 100,000 Saved Lives

What if one unexpected moment of obedience could help save thousands of lives?

In this powerful episode of the History Makers Leadership Podcast, Daniel sits down with Randy Simpkins, a pastor, business leader, former public servant, and living kidney donor whose life was transformed by a simple, God-ordained moment.

What began as a cup of coffee during an interrupted Appalachian Trail journey became a divine appointment that opened Randy’s eyes to the silent crisis of kidney disease. In response, he made a life-changing decision to donate a kidney to a man he had never met.

This inspiring testimony of faith in action highlights the profound impact of obedience to God and the power of servant leadership. With over 100,000 people currently waiting for a kidney transplant, Randy’s story brings urgent awareness to the need for living donors and shows how one “yes” can truly save lives.

You’ll also hear the heart behind the End the Wait movement, a bold initiative mobilizing churches and communities to inspire 100,000 living kidney donors and bring hope to those waiting for a miracle. This conversation explores faith, sacrifice, leadership, and the ripple effect that happens when ordinary people step into God’s calling.

From dialysis awareness to the gift of life through transplantation, this episode is a compelling reminder of what it means to live a purpose-driven life rooted in biblical leadership.

Tune in to be inspired, challenged, and equipped to make a difference.

Take the next step:
Join a community of leaders committed to making an impact. Discover how ILI’s Eight Core Values can transform your leadership: https://ILITeam.org/discover

Learn more about End the Wait:
https://endthewait.net

End the Wait exists to inspire living kidney donation and build communities of support for those waiting for a life-saving transplant.

Transcript

A Life Saving Opportunity

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What if as you were having a cup of coffee in the morning, you were confronted with an incredible opportunity to save a life? Today we're going to be sitting down with my dear brother Randy, a a business leader, a preacher, teacher, uh a former person in the political space, but uh a leader who is confronted with that kind of opportunity. Uh, we're gonna sit down today and talk about an issue that faces uh more than a billion people around the world and a movement that he has to see a hundred thousand people change history for men and women across the nation. Looking forward to this conversation on today's History Makers Leadership Podcast. So May 5th, man, big day, exciting moment. Yes. Uh tell me a little bit of like what's happening uh i on this day.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

May 5th is, and I just found this out about four hours ago.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

May 5th is transplant number 14. May 28th is transplant number 15. You are kidding me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Man, I never would have imagined that this this whole transplant community was as big as it is. Uh like in terms of the need, right? Like what what what's the ratio? Is it like 10 a day that uh that are needed?

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Well, it's closer to you depending on what your source is, anywhere between 13 and 20 people die every day waiting on a kidney. Yeah. One out of seven people worldwide have chronic kidney disease. About thirty-eight million in the United States alone. And nine out of ten don't know they have it. And so once you get far enough along, a lot of a lot of people aren't tested for that. And uh, you know, once you find out for too many, it's you're facing dialysis.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:40

And uh and then once you get to that point, there's only two ways to get off of dialysis is you either find a donor, living or deceased, living is much better, or you pass away.

Randy’s Detour From The Trail

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Randy, this is insane to me how I've I've I I mean, look, I I've been uh in a number of of different hospitals and doctors' offices. My my family's got some medical things, my my parents had some medical things. Uh I had no idea that the kidney transplant need was anywhere near this high uh or that this process uh was as as revolutionized or revolutionary as you've described it to be. So I I wanna I want to introduce uh the the listeners here a little bit to you, Randy. Um, you know, at the History Makers Leadership Podcast, we want to walk with Christian leaders around the world, and I think there's an opportunity for us to kind of help make them aware of some of what we're talking about here. Tell uh tell us just a little bit from the beginning, uh, how did you come to learn some of this of the need for kidneys? Um what that what has what has that looked like? How did God kind of put you into this spot uh where we find ourselves now?

SPEAKER_02 2:50

It's a pretty incredible story. Yeah, because like everyone else, I knew nothing about this silent crisis that we have uh and until about three, about four years ago now. Okay. And um I've been a pastor for 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

One of my lifelong dreams was to hike hike the Appalachian Trail. And so I had an opportunity to be one of two Appalachian Trail chaplains uh appointed by the UMC at that time uh to hike the Appalachian Trail back in 22. Okay. So my church was gracious enough to give me a six-month sabbatical and and I was hiking the trail about 2,200 miles, and I was, you know, getting an opportunity just to be a uh just be a follower of Christ along the way and be a witness, be a friend, and and preach at a few churches along the journey. And so uh started January 1st of 22. Okay. And um, and so I don't recommend hiking in the mountains in January. It was cold. Yeah. But um I made it about a hundred miles and things were going great. And uh then a blizzard came in. I was in North Carolina. Okay. A blizzard came in, a big blizzard, a couple of feet of snow and single-digit temperatures, and so everyone on the trail got off for that to you know, thaw out some. While I was at home, I got jury duty, and then I was appointed to a jury, and then things at work and church, I'm also I'm bivocational, I'm also a utility contractor.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

So that's right, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

And um, and so things changed at work and church, and I was not able to go back on trail. Um, but I'd been asked to serve on a women's retreat called Walk to a Mayus. Okay, yeah. It's based on Luke 24. Yep. And um, and so I had to turn that down. I mean, it was it was a life-changing experience when I went through as a pilgrim 10 years ago. Yeah, and so every opportunity I get to go back and serve as one of the clergy, I take advantage of that, and I had done it probably 25 or 30 times.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

So it's a wonderful um retreat, and this was a women's retreat. And a very good friend of mine, Judy Rainey, was going to be the lay director. So she asked me to do it, but it was in March of that year, so I had to turn it down. But now that I'm back off of trail, I reached out and said, Hey, I'm still available if you need me for anything. And she said, Well, I still need a head spiritual director, would you do it? So I said, Yeah, I'd be glad to, and a little disappointed. What God, why did you open these doors of opportunity? It had turned into a ministry. A lot of people were following it on social media, and now it's gone.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Yeah.

The Coffee Conversation That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Um, so what's up with that? And um, but I learned through this process, just step through the doors of opportunity that it gives us and not plan out your own path, yeah, but just say, How can I serve now? You guide me, you know, you like my path. And uh, but I wasn't feeling that at that time. And so that retreat runs from a Thursday night through a Sunday night. Okay. And uh my normal routine is I'm a very early riser. So by five in the morning, I'm in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee, planning out my day in the conference room. And so I'm getting my cup of coffee the first morning on Friday morning, and I'm I'm in the kitchen. It's sort of a horseshoe-shaped kitchen with swinging doors on both sides. So the coffee's on one side and you can't see the other side. And I hear voices, and I'm thinking, oh no, it's five o'clock in the morning. I'm on a women's retreat. They may be in their PJs. Oh, no. I'm gonna I'm gonna exit stage right, yeah, and actually stage left. And uh, and so I get my coffee and I'm about to I'm about I can't take tell what they're saying. Uh, but then uh the lady's voice elevates a little bit, and I hear her say, she's talking to her mom and to her daughter. She said, We just have to pray we can find somebody that's O-positive that's willing to give up a body part, but how do you ask somebody for a body part? And I just froze. I knew from my time in the military that I was O-positive. Okay. And I just had this overwhelming sensation of this is why I brought you home. And so I stepped around the corner, scared them, of course, and uh said, I'm op I'm O positive. Well, her husband, uh, about a year earlier had had a cardiac event. He was uh thought he was a healthy man, he had diabetes, uh, but uh he had his own retaining wall business and uh she was an executive at at UPS and uh and so they had a a good, strong, faith-based relationship, and uh, and then that happened. He coded three times over the weekend. Uh they c told her to call in the family, but he survived. But through that process, uh the doctors found out that the reason that he had the cardiac event was because of the fluid buildup, because his kidneys were in stage five renal failure. And they uh they told them through that process, you're gonna have to find a donor. He probably has less than two years to live. The challenge uh that most people don't realize is there's around a hundred thousand people on the kidney transplant wait list. There's actually hundreds of there's a couple of hundred transplant wait lists. There, every transplant center has a wait list. And so uh, you know, you you you're on the wait list of whatever hospital you are able to attach to. And in his particular case, in his demographic, he was looking at a six to eight year wait, and he had less than a couple of years to try to find a donor. And so they're overwhelmed with now he's on dialysis three times a day, he's recovering from dialysis in between, and on their own, they have to they have to find a donor, and that's a hard ask. Um, and so when I stepped around the corner, you know, there was I'm sure a glimmer of hope there, but also who is this stranger? Yeah, is he really going to give up an organ? Um, for me it was an easy decision. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Um, but um, so we prayed, we went in the chapel and we prayed about it together, and then we started the process to learn. And that's when I learned about all of this massive need. And uh, but I still had a feeling I was supposed to, I was I was being convicted about this for a reason. Well, then through the process, I found out that if you've had a blood transfusion, it makes it very difficult to match, even though we were the same blood type. You have tissue matches, all these different markers, all these different health concerns. Sure. Um, you know, based on the camera angle, the audience can tell I probably need to drop a few pounds. And so they told me I needed to lose about 20 pounds in order to donate. And and so I started this uh a few months long process. The hospital was great, it was Piedmont in Atlanta.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

And so, but they said that there's there it's it's almost impossible for you to match because you both have had blood transfusions. And so it sort of randomizes what's called your HLA.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Okay.

What Kidney Donation Really Takes

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Uh, but then they exposed me to this thing called pledge or a paired exchange, and they said if if you're willing to donate, uh you can put him down as the potential recipient. Your kidney would go to someone else that you do match with, and then he would be elevated and likely get a kidney within weeks and maybe even days um or months, you know, but he'll be moved up to the top of the list. And so I said, Well, great, that saves two lives. Yeah, and so let's do that. And so um that was March when that process started, and April, August 8th, and I still hadn't met him at this point. Uh August 8th, I went in for my full day of testing, and uh he went in August 9th, and uh I had lost the weight by then, and and um and he had take to had to take care of a few things as well. Um a few days later, maybe a week later, Piedmont called me up and they said, uh, we have never seen this before, ever. But it's as if you've had his kidney in your body the last 54 years. Oh you're a perfect match. So I met him a week before the surgery. The surgery was September 30th, and seven days later, this is not an exaggeration, I went to the gym. Now I got lightheaded doing calf raises, but I was there. I felt well enough to drive, I was off the pain medication. They literally took the kidney out through my belly button, and I have a very minimal scar, you can't even see it. Um, and within six weeks, I felt totally normal. But that's how I was exposed to how great this need is and what the process is now to donate a kidney. And so there's just so much misinformation or lack of information out there. I was uh I was so excited. You know, sort of like when I went into ministry. You know, uh like I said, I've been a pastor 10 years, and when you have this realization, this breakthrough epiphany that all this Jesus stuff is real. Once you make that decision and that surrender, I think that you know that that God just sort of fills you with that blessing. Yeah. And and then you're like, you're so excited and passionate about sharing that with other people. And that's the way I felt about this as well, is there's this huge need with a solution that and Russell, we're we're brothers for life now.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

He's doing great. Okay, and yeah, he's doing great. And and that's the story I hear. I had a friend call me just the other yesterday, actually. He's 82 years old now, and he just celebrated his 26th anniversary or in June is celebrating his 26th anniversary of his kidney transplant. Wow. So I mean, it's a cure, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Man, I so my mind is just reeling from this, Randy, because I man, I I know as a leader, I've been I've been in a spot where, okay, God, you've got me on this trek, you've got me on this trail. I think I know where I'm going, and all of a sudden, diversion. Or what I thought was a diversion. Yeah. Right? What I thought was a a a a season off the trail, but that I would return to the trail would turn into something completely different. And and for God to uh bring you to that gathering, have you getting that cup of coffee in the morning, and and uh just impress upon your heart, man, this is an opportunity uh to step in. This is something where I'm I'm calling you to have an eye and an attention. Um and I'll be honest, again, I uh when you know, off mics, even before all this stuff began, when you came and just shared with with our team what God's doing in uh your life and in the midst of of all of this experience, this is kind of an initiating moment, but it it brought to my mind a whole world of things that I never even really considered. I it never dawned on me the incredible need and the opportunity. Um, and and I know the history of our faith is one where uh Christians have regularly been g been engaged in medical uh intervention for people that that otherwise uh we're we're helpless. We're hopeless, we're we're missing, right? I mean, Jesus went and healed, and and by God's grace, we pray over those instances even today, but we also have an opportunity to engage in that uh through through the other means that God has given us here. And so to hear your story of hey, I went, it was clear that God, uh I love that the the doctor's like, I mean, it's like you've got his kidney in your body. Like how incredible. Okay, so you go through what sounds like a pretty life-transforming experience. Not life transforming in that like you don't have any extra medicines or anything now, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Like you're I now I can't take NSAID. So that means if I have a headache, I take Tylenol instead of ibuprofen. Sure. Other than that, there is absolutely no restrictions. And within a month and a half after the surgery, I felt like I do right now, probably a little better.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Man, so uh essentially, uh no negative ramifications after all of this. And and all of a sudden, man, you you've literally saved a man's life.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Well, God did through me. I mean, right, right, but yes, that that's that was the the net result.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yeah, that's insane.

The Ripple Effect Of One Yes

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Okay, all right. So, but let me let me say this. Yeah, yeah, come on. I want to make sure it's clear that there have been so many times in my life when God has called me to do things and I have not been obedient. So this is the type of ripple effect that occurs the the the time that I was. So that has encouraged me to be so much more aware of of of what God can do through us when we are obedient instead of just ignoring the calls that He has in our life. So there wasn't there's nothing special about me. It that time I chose to be obedient and it has turned into more than I ever could have imagined.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Well, let's let's unpack that a little bit, right? There's there's two ripples in that that I want to look at, right? Uh and we'll start with the first and the weight.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Tell me tell me about this first ripple. Uh what is it? Uh and and where is it where is it going?

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Okay. Wow. That's a long that's a big one. So hang on your bridges here. Kick us in, man. Okay. So about six weeks after the surgery, a pastor, local pastor here in Carrollton reached out to me and he said, Man, you're the only person on the planet that would have matched him. You weren't even supposed to be at this retreat. There's so many God things that happened. Would you come share your testimony with our men's group at our church? Sure. So they were having a breakfast on a Saturday morning in November, and and I went and shared. There were about 30 men there, and I shared about a 30-minute testimony and how it changed me and uh, you know, the and and how seamless the process was for me and uh and the impact that it had on Russell and his family, his community. And so I shared all that with them, and at the end we had a Q ⁇ A, and one of the guys asked me, um, he said, you know, you seem completely fine now. So I'm curious, would you do it again? And I had the same sentiment that I've heard from every single donor, and I've met a lot in the last three years. Uh, but it's the same sentiment I answered it kind of a funny way, but I said, if I had 200 kidneys in my body, I'd do it 199 more times starting tomorrow because it changes you when you're the vessel through which God gives someone life. Amen. It was a very spiritual experience for me, a transformational spirit, spiritual experience. And so after that meeting, uh two of those 30 men came up to me and they said, I had no idea. I I'm blown away by the need and and the ability to fix this. Uh, how do I do it? Yeah. And I said, How do you do what? And he said, How do I how do I donate a kidney? Wow. Yeah, that was my response. And then about two or three weeks later, I had an opportunity to speak at a Kiwanis club, a small gathering in Baldwin, Georgia. Yeah. And the same thing happened. A lady approached me and she said, What do I need to do? What's the age limit? I'm I'm interested in donating a kidney. Wow. So driving home from that Kiwanis meeting that night, I got to thinking, I know there's a hundred thousand people in this country that would do what I did if they knew, if they were educated on what the process was and how great the need was. But how do you get the word out in a way that inspires people to action? Not a documentary, not statistics, uh, not just um, you know, the lack of information that's out there, but uh something that moves people. What has made the difference in these two situations? And it was the personal testimony, it was sharing the story. And then it hit me 25 years ago, or 26 years ago, my two-year-old son disappeared and he was missing for about eight hours. This entire community came together and they helped find him. Um, and I was a workaholic dad, I was a very superficial Christian. I was not a good father and a good husband, even though I didn't know it at the time. Yeah, uh, because I was checked out. I was working. I was I was uh even at church, it was about programs and not a real relationship with the Lord and uh until that day. And when I was faced with losing my child, all of my priorities were straightened out. It was my eating out of the pig trough moment.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

And so about eight years later, um uh some filmmakers came to our town to do a movie. And I was county commissioner at that time. Okay. And uh, and so I spent the day with them, and uh, it was really cool, a couple of Hollywood people coming out to make a movie in our little rural time town. And so um spent the day with them, and they said, You know, you don't seem like a politician. I said, Thank you. And they said, How'd you get involved in politics? And I told them I will never be able to repla repay our community for what they did for my family. Well, and so I shared with them how it changed my priorities and my life and all that. And about a year later, they approached me about making a movie about that experience. And we were very opposed to it to start with because I wasn't a good husband, I wasn't a good father. I really didn't want other people to know that. Yeah, for my wife, she was it was a it was a horrible moment for her as a mother, even though I was the one that lost him, and I was the one that was supposed to be watching him, not her. But but it was a tough experience for us to you know potentially have to relive.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Who wants to put like the a low moment in their life out in front?

unknown 19:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

But here's what we realized, Daniel. God was the orchestrator of that, he was the architect of that moment. That was a means of grace to bring me back to the Lord, to bring me back on path. And so he owned that moment. And who are we not to share that if other people can learn from our experiences? So we agreed to do it. Lionsgate released that. That movie is called The Way Home. And and here we are, 20 or 50, it was released in 2010.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Okay.

Turning Testimony Into A Movie

SPEAKER_02 19:39

So it's been 16 years. It's still on Amazon Prime, it's still on YouTube, it's still on Tubi, all these other platforms. Tens of millions of people have seen it. People still reach out to us today, all the time, about seeing that and how it's impacted their priorities. And so I thought, what if we made another movie? We opened a nonprofit and we put we we made a bigger movie and we got it in theaters across the country, and we got this need about kidney transplants out in front of everybody. And um, and we got in front of a hundred million people, and then we take the proceeds from the movie, put it back into the foundation, partner up with other organizations, and just make this a news story that it should be. Boots on the ground, go find a hundred thousand donors. And I thought if we can get in front of a hundred million people, then all we would need is one out of a thousand to say, I can do what that guy did. And if we did that, then we would end the wait. So that's where I came up with the name. And that was a fleeting thought. And then my next thought, implanted by the enemy, yeah, was that's way too big. You're a local pastor and you're a ditch digger. So just stick with that and don't, you know, this is way too big. So I kind of put it in my pocket for a couple of months. Okay. And didn't really, you know, but it wouldn't go away. That that vision wouldn't go away. And so Dean Kane played me in the first movie.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Dean Kane. Yep. Uh what else have I seen him in? Uh he was Superman in Lewis and Clark. Okay. Yeah. Ripley's Believe It or Not, he hosted that. Yeah. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Hey man, that's a good looking actor to play you. Good for you.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

John, John uh Goodman wasn't available, so I had to settle for Dean Kane. I mean, hey, yeah, look, there you go. But so uh so is Dean connected to this at all? I mean, so he is. So I ended up reaching out through another person. I hadn't spoken with him in twelve years or more.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Um and uh so I reached out to I was able to make contact to him and Lori Beth Sykes that played my wife in the first movie. Um and we reached out to both of them and explained this vision. That led to a meeting in June of that same of 23, okay, uh, up in West Virginia. We spent about three days uh interacting with the two of them. My wife and I, Crystal and I did. And um as a result of those three days, Dean said, No one's ever done anything like this before. You're talking about making a movie whose soul power. Purpose is to save 100,000 lives. I'm all in. So we actually had a board of directors meeting with our nonprofit yesterday. Dean and Lori Beth are both on our board of directors and they have been instrumental. So not only is Dean on the board of directors, um, he he directed the movie. He was able to call in uh favors a lot of his friends that uh that that engaged in our project and and it has turned it the the the movie is so good. They did such an incredible job. I put a little pressure on them.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Yeah.

Building End The Wait Chapters

SPEAKER_02 22:33

I said, just want you to know your performance may determine how many lives are saved. So no pressure. Of course, they laughed about that, but they all understood that the the power of this story and this message, um, and it's a phenomenal script, and and they didn't cut any corners making the movie. So we had investors that were willing to take way less of a percentage. The filmmakers took way less than normal so that the foundation can mostly benefit from the proceeds. Yeah. But what we didn't realize is that God would expand this vision uh to the point that the movie itself, in instead of being the focal point, it has become just the the pilot light of a movement uh that that is uh is is going to be transformational. We've basically built an ecosystem with our partnerships uh of of how to change the system, uh, of of uh uh how to engage uh people in a much bigger way, how to promote uh action in on the local level through interacting with people that are in need. Um that uh you know it's a hopeless feeling knowing that you have to rely on someone else. So people that are living with that for years, some people are on dialysis for 20 years. And so living through that hopelessness, um, we as Christians are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So there's a whole community out there that needs to be ministered to. So this has grown into something much bigger. What we didn't anticipate is that people would reach out to us while this process of building a movie infrastructure and a nonprofit infrastructure, at the same time, they're gonna reach out to us and they're gonna say, uh, hey, I need a kidney, can you help me? And so now we start doing events in local areas just to educate their peers.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

And every single time there's been a response of how can I donate a kidney? So that I should have said it differently. May 5th, we have miracle number 14.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Brother, I I mean, all I'm hearing is ripple effect and ripple effect and ripple effect. For the Christian leaders that are listening, I all I feel like the testimony of some of this story is you can't underestimate the ripple effects of a moment of obedience. And when we when we live in that, and and uh those radical moments of obedience uh result in uh just transformational change uh for for our good, right? In us and and and strengthening our faith and and uh honestly, I would say experiencing some of the greater joy that that Jesus offers us, but but to the benefit of if of others. Uh I mean, you're telling this story, and I'm I'm I'm reflecting, going, man, not only did he experience something, you had the wisdom, uh uh the God-given uh heart and vision to see, wait a second, uh, it's the power of story that compels people. I think it's a really biblical concept. I think that's why Jesus told stories. Harolds, yeah. I mean, it's what it's what it is. I think that's how he communicated for a reason because I think God made our hearts that way. But but when you described someone sitting on dialysis for 20 years, all I can picture is the guy sitting outside the pool, waiting for the waters to stir up over and over and over again. And he keeps going and he keeps trying, and somebody's always beating him until finally Jesus shows up. And we know, as Christians, we are are are given the great privilege and calling to be his ambassadors, yeah, right? To be his his messengers, his sent ones. And what you're describing is something that that could be revolutionary for people where we we can come alongside and say, hey, here's here's this this thing that I have. Uh and God gave me extra.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

Yeah, you know, in the the uh in the Old Testament, um, there's this term as part of Passover called mitzvah. Okay, and it means gift. And so, you know, uh the Jewish community embraces that as a command, and their scripture is our Old Testament, it's our scripture too.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

And mitzvah, their their their belief, correctly so, is that our greatest command is to to give a gift, and their greatest is life. And so um, you know, when uh the one way that I look at this is it is a command from God for us to to be able to help give life or protect life in any way we can. So the last thing I will ever do is go ask someone, hey, will you give a kidney? It's is God is calling you to give a kidney. That's not my call, right? But I believe that there are literally hundreds of thousands of people out there that if they know this need, that there will be a conviction, is this something I'm called to do? And so that's all we want to do is create an awareness. So now we are creating the largest awareness campaign that's ever been done of the need for live kidney donation. And it's also a call for us as Christians, yeah, as people of faith, to consider is this something that I'm called to do? Um, and there's a lot of people that aren't medically able to do it, but they can help promote and raise awareness so that those that are can be aware of it.

How Churches And Donors Can Start

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Wow. Man, this is this is absolutely incredible. Uh I love the heart behind it. Uh, it's a heart driven by uh a love for people, a love for the Lord. I can see your joy uh and that sense of man, God is on the God's on the move and He's on the move in a powerful way through the midst of this. Um, real quickly, we've talked a little bit, man, this is a this is a regular need uh in our country and around the world. Yeah, uh a consistent need. We talk about wanting to to have a hundred thousand people uh engage in this. It's bold and it's exciting. Um we've we've talked a little bit about uh how God has works through the power of story and how this is an incredible story that that you guys are telling in a theatrical way. It's not a couple of guys out back, it's it's a real crew uh coming together and putting this together. If somebody wanted to take some kind of a step, right? Uh I'm thinking of I'm thinking of you know my church, right? What what what what would I even do? Like, can I is this something where I like I I should do a showing in my church? Like, is there is there like group movie tickets? Where where would I go to find information as you guys are helping to uh just spread the word about about this incredible movement that God's opened the door for?

SPEAKER_02 28:54

So our our information hub is our website. Okay, and it's end the weight e-end. Okay, and end the weight.net.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Okay.

Paired Donation Support And Logistics

Resources And Closing Encouragement

SPEAKER_02 29:02

All right, and so there's opportunities for people to we we want to engage with church churches. So we're establishing what's called in the wait chapters. Okay. And we're gonna establish these all over the country. So uh when people see the movie or they just hear about the movement, they have an opportunity to go on the website and they can sign up to, hey, I want to open a chapter in my church, in my community. We want it to be laity-driven. And so then they they can we have the the uh template in place to instruct and teach them uh to to how to how to run this organization. And the churches or the the groups, it could be civic clubs, uh they can then they can design it however they see fit to also go out and help the shut-ins or help those that are homeless in their community. But it's basically an opportunity in a structured way to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to give a ride to someone that needs to go to dialysis. Let them know there's a community that loves you. So it's also an opportunity for churches to uh to evangelize and disciple so they can invite them to come to the church. This is an in-the-weight church. So, so we've had people from Alabama, from Atlanta, from Buchanan that have come to my church at Old Camp because they've heard about this movement and they show up and say, Hey, I need a kidney, and we'll pray over them. And we've been able to help some find kidneys, and we're actively through our social media putting their message out there and their need. So, but somebody may say, Well, I I just want to help too. So through our website, we're able to connect people that just want to help logistically with transportation or meals or whatever. We will tag their information and it'll go to the nearest chapter. And so they're well able to engage there. Uh, we absolutely would love for churches and and and and church church faith communities to, you know, when the movie comes out to to buy up tickets and go to the movies. You never know when one person in your congregation or in your community feels that conviction. Yeah. So it it it's uh yeah, all of that will come out later. We expect the movie to be released later this year, fall, fall of 26. Fall of 26, yeah. And uh so um we welcome people reaching out to us through our website. Okay. Umfo at in the weight.net or randy at in the weight.net, they both both come to the same place. Yeah. And um, and so we have a team that will um that will help connect them and uh and line it up. But but we also, yeah, if someone comes onto the website and they're like, I want to donate a kidney. So now we've partnered with a group called the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation. Oh, okay. So they're connected with uh dozens, I think 60 to 80 transplant centers across the country that are high-yielding transplant centers. They provide uh lost wages for donors. Donors don't pay a penny for all the testing. If nothing else, you'll find out if there's anything going on that you need to know about it at no cost. There you go. Wow. Uh so they they provide all the transportation to and from the hospital, um, usually two trips. One is for a workup, and then the other is for the actual transplant. They handle all the costs for everything, and they will try to maximize the number of life saves through kidney chains for everyone. So uh they recognize the benefit of partnering with us. We recognize, you know, we want to plug into what's going to yield the most kidney, uh most life saved. And so uh th it it's just a win-win for the faith community um and the blessing that you receive from just being able to had a a person in our church that was dying of cancer, and once a week I gave him a ride to the cancer center, and the the fellowship, the the bond that we grew um was tremendous. Yeah. Just on that ride back and forth once a week. So that opportunity for us to not just write a check as a church, as a church uh member, as a Christian, as a follower of Christ, uh, but to engage in relationship. Yeah, uh, it it's it's sort of like those collapsible camper cups. Remember those? So it's it's like we feel like our role as a Christian being full is is this much. And then once we get to that point, God says, Oh, hold on, there's another level here. And he just keeps expanding the cups. And so as we engage with fellowship and service to other people, uh he just the blessing is more the of ours. Wow. Those who have the opportunity to let him work through us than it is even those who are receiving the blessing. That's been my experience.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Randy, man, I love the bold vision. Uh, it's exciting, it's wonderful to see. Uh, and Christian leaders, I just want to let you know, I think God is looking for men and women who live and lead from a heart of visionary leadership, who want to overcome obstacles, uh, mobilize the body of Christ in order to reach the nations for Christ. And the weight is an example of that kind of incredible leadership. Randy, I'm so thankful uh to hear how God is working through your life, uh, to see that lived out faithfully. And I know you want to point all the glory to God, which is where it's deserved. Um, and yet it's the testimony of the life and the story you're living right now that inspires and encourages so many. So thank you so much for your faithfulness leaders. If you want to find some incredible resources that'll uh help you along that path, check out endthewait.net. You can learn more about uh what God's doing uh through that movement and that uh that energy. And if you want to find other leadership resources, I want to encourage you to check out iliteam.org. There you'll discover not just visionary leadership, but but the eight core values of the most effective Christian leaders. Uh and Randy, if you've got time, I'd love to stick around and talk about how you move from a story into a vision that's becoming a reality. Man, there are Christian leaders all around who are trying to figure that out every week. Uh, we'd love to unpack that with you.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Sure, glad to do it.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

Sounds great, man.