Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast - The Opportunity Most Christians Are Overlooking

Episode Date: April 24, 2026

You’ve been given more authority than you realize—but most of us are using it far too small. In this episode, Pastor Allen Jackson challenges the way we think about spiritual authority, prayer, and influence, and why it was never meant to stop at personal comfort or convenience. He draws a sharp contrast between how power is often used in public life and how believers are called to use the authority of the Kingdom. This is a call to lift our eyes beyond ourselves and engage in what God is doing in the world. If faith is meant to make an impact, then the real question is: What are you doing with the authority you’ve been given?

Hey, welcome to culture and Christianity. It's always a treat to get to have a minute with you. This is the one setting I get to engage in where it feels like kind of just a personal conversation. I'm not managing a room full of people and outlines that I'm necessarily constrained to. So grab a cup of coffee or a bottle of water and let's sit down and process what's happening in our lives and in the world today. What I want to do in this session is a little more personal. I got an invitation on the Friday before Holy Week. So the Friday in front of Palm Sunday, late in the day.

I got a call from the office. I'm not in the office on Fridays. And I got a call from the office late in the day. And they said, we have a call from the White House. And we think it's real. And I said, well, you can talk to them. It's okay. And long story short, there was an invitation to an Easter luncheon for faith leaders at the White House.

And I haven't processed this on big platforms because that's not really what it's about. So there were about 75 faith leaders that gathered and another 25 people that were probably in some way a part of the apparatus of government. And really just to acknowledge God's goodness in our nation and to pray for our administration. President Trump came and made a speech. He probably had a 10-minute speech written, but it took about 45 minutes because he took his Trump tours. I was grateful. Just full disclaimer on the front end, I'm very grateful for this administration because I believe they have stood up for a number of issues that are about biblical values,

not politics, marriage between a man and a woman, that there's a difference between men and women and they shouldn't be confused and men shouldn't compete in women's sports. Some things that to me are biblical issues that really have little, if anything, to do with politics. The outcomes are expressed in politics, but they don't begin with political issues. So I was grateful to go and to pray for this administration. I believe we should pray for any administration, whether they're the ones we vote for or not. We have that directive in Scripture to pray for those in authority over us, that we may live peaceful and godly lives. The purpose of good government is to maintain enough tranquility that we have an adequate opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

That's how I evaluate whether a government is good or bad. Do they create an environment where we have as much freedom as possible? previous administration was constricting that. You don't need much discernment to look around the world and see governments that oppose the gospel, that limit it. They're not good governments. That's clear biblical stuff. So at least gives you a lane to pray in and be aware of.

But I had some takeaways from the luncheon. We had a luncheon and that was it. There wasn't anything around it, beyond it. We weren't recruited. I wasn't volunteering. But I had some takeaways. One, as I said, a deep appreciation. for this administration. I think they're fighting battles that are bringing some freedoms and liberties

back to our lives and our families, and I'm grateful for that. But big picture, you know, I have been a pastor now for a season. And so across that run, I have interacted with a variety of public officials from the local level right to the White House. I have known city councilmen and county commissioners, some of them friends, some of them we have worked with in professional ways. I have known state legislators in the state of Tennessee. I have known state department heads within the state of Tennessee, various departments within the state, and had to work with them on a variety of projects. I have known state legislators. Again, some of them in personal ways, and some in professional ways. And I have known governors and the people who work with them and the

The aides, I've been engaged in that. And I've had on a more limited basis an opportunity to talk to U.S. congressmen and senators, presidents, members of their cabinet. I've just had that privilege over many years, not just in the last couple of weeks, of engaging with that broad spectrum of people who have chosen to be engaged in public service. and my general takeaway is their normal people. Now, sprinkled across that years of experience in those range of offices, there have been some people with extraordinary gifts, but typically they're pretty normal people that have a disproportionate authority because of an office that they have been elected or appointed to serve in. so that it isn't because they have necessarily unique gifts, an unusually high IQ or extraordinary leadership abilities or phenomenal management skills. Some have, but that's not typically the reason they were chosen. They're typically pretty ordinary people who have this disproportionate

amount of authority because of the office that they hold. Does that make sense? There aren't very many of those public servants I meet and go, I don't know another human being with the gifts that you have. Well, let me contrast that. I went a few weeks ago. I like college basketball. And so the SEC, the Southeastern Conference tournament, men's basketball tournament, was played in Nashville. And I had the opportunity in my dad and my brother and I went. And so I got to watch one day four or five games in the SEC tournament.

And the guys playing in the men's tournament, they're not normal. they are crazy gifted people. Most of them are much taller than normal. You know, they're 610 inch 610. I mean, they're large. They're incredibly nimble and quick, coordinated. They can jump over a gym. I mean, they are unicorns.

They have incredible gifts. I know they've worked hard and they've developed them and all those things. But they started with a gift mix. No amount of training when I was 20 would have given me the physical gifts and abilities that they demonstrated. They have some gifts. When I think about the people that I have met that are doing public service, whether it's from the local level to the highest level in the nation,

I don't meet those people and think that they are so phenomenally gifted. I think they have a block of authority. And I began to think about that because I pray far more for those people that are our elected officials than I do the athletes. I don't consciously very often pray for athletes. athletes. We may enjoy, if you enjoy sports, you may enjoy that. But when I thought about the people that have been elected to office, our public servants, there's a group of public servants that I despise. And despise is the kindest word I have. And it's not about political party. It doesn't matter

to me whether they're Republican or Democrat. But if they use the authority they've been given, the office that they've been invited to serve in by public choice, to me that's a sacred trust. It's an invitation. It's not based always on academics or they've been invited to serve on behalf of the people to represent their constituents. And I despise the people that use those offices primarily for personal gain or the benefit of their family. If they do that to accumulate resources or for ease and comfort because they like the lifestyle, they like the limousines or they like the best seats or they like being acknowledged or they're, like being introduced or if it feels like it's just for personal gain, I don't have any respect because the way I understand public service is that we go to represent our constituents to bring a better outcome to whomever it is we're representing. Not to the diminishment of

the other people in the community, but to be a good representative for that group of people. I suppose the kind of the old-fashioned term for that was statesman, you know, that you actually go with the good of the nation or the good of the state or the good of the community as the primary component of your decision making. And if you do that otherwise, if you do that in a way that is about selfish ambition and personal gain, I think it's reprehensible. I think the same is true of ministry. I think we serve in the church for the betterment of the people.

I think the laborer is worthy of his hire. I don't think if you work for a church or you serve the kingdom of God, you should do it for free. That makes no sense to me. In fact, I think our values are upside down. We pay athletes more than we pay people that we represent the kingdom of God. That's probably another day's podcast. I'll come back to that.

You know, this podcast is made possible because of sponsors. And one of our sponsors is preserve gold. And I appreciate their partnership with us. And I pray it's a blessing to you. You know, one of the things that I hear most often right now is this, that people are doing their best plan for the future, but they're not sure what's trust anymore. You know, the headlines, they change every day.

And the economy, it feels pretty unpredictable. And that uncertainty, it's unsettling to all of us. But as people of faith, we're not called to live in fear. We're called to live with wisdom, with discernment, and with peace. Well, part of that is simply taking practical steps to protect what you've worked so hard to build and establish for yourself and your family. That's why many are turning to time-tested assets like gold and silver. Not as a reaction, but as a way to bring stability into their financial plans.

Well, if you'd like to learn more, I encourage you to connect with preserve gold. They've helped many people understand how to diversify their savings with physical gold and silver, including in retirement accounts. And right now, you can get their free wealth protection guide by texting Allen, it's A-L-L-E-N to 50-505. Plus, with a qualified purchase, you can receive up to $15,000, in free gold or silver. Well, if you want to learn how precious metals could help protect your savings, text Allen to 50505 today.

You'll receive your free wealth protection guide. You and I both know enough people who serve in the public arena that have elected jobs that have made tremendous personal benefit in game. In fact, there's a whole class of professional politicians who haven't had private sector jobs, who haven't had to make payrolls and sign paychecks, and they accumulate vast personal wealth, while they hold jobs that seemingly have modest compensation. There's an enormous discrepancy in that. It's uncomfortable to me.

I don't respect it. I don't think that's the point of public service. I think our founders imagined a government that was, you know, where we had citizens who provided leadership and then stepped back into their private lives, And we have strayed a long way away from that. But this isn't a podcast about term limits. But I mean, we see a U.S. Congress person, for instance, whose personal wealth goes up by $30 million in a year who's representing a state where there's billions of dollars of fraud. That's difficult to respect unless there is a tremendous desire to provide transparency to the tiniest level of where you found $30 million in a 12-month period.

And I don't mean in abstract terms. And so, but that's an extreme case. all are familiar with this. But here's my takeaway. I despise those public servants who use their block of authority and power for personal gain, for personal comfort, for personal ease. You know, they want drivers and cooks and all the things. And then I began to think about my own life and my experience in the midst of Christendom. And I believe that as Christ followers, you and me, any person who is a Christ follower, a fully devoted follower of Jesus, if you've chosen Jesus is Lord of your life and you mean it,

we have been given a block of authority. The New Testament says that we are kings and priests, that we have an ambassadorial role for the kingdom of God, the most powerful influence, that the greatest expression of power that's available to a human being, is the power of a living God. I believe that. I have seen evidence of that over,

and over and over in my life, and not in the distant history. I see it on a weekly basis. I see lives transformed. I see people healed. I see outcomes to circumstances that seem completely unacceptable be reversed, and God brings remarkable things out of those places. I see expressions of the power of God on a very regular basis. You're accustomed to hearing me say God is moving in the earth, and I believe that. So I believe you and I, as Christ followers, have a block of authority that's greater than any elected office. And you can push that all the way to Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania Avenue, or the halls of Congress,

or the Supreme Court, or whoever you imagine to be the loftiest, most influential person of those that we elect. I believe as Christ followers, what we represent exceeds that. I was going to say Trump's that, but I would get emails. I think that what we've been entrusted with is greater than that. I believe that. We have the ability to change the eternal destiny of people's lives. by inviting them into the kingdom and being advocates and ambassadors,

and we've been called to take a place. If you have just a passing knowledge of Scripture, you know that. Well, the other component of that, I despise the politicians that use that for personal comfort and convenience and gain. I don't know how many prayer meetings I've been in. I've been in thousands of them. I have interacted with tens of thousands of Christ followers. And I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of the time,

our request and our focus is on how we can utilize the power of God to make our lives more comfortable and convenient and to bring opportunities to ourselves or our immediate family. Now, I don't think that's evil or wicked or inappropriate. I believe God wants us. I believe we're invited to extend to God those invitations into our lives. I believe he wants to bring good things to us. but I very much believe we have a much larger assignment than imagining that our interface with Almighty God is to make our lives comfortable. I think that is as much a misuse of our entrance into the kingdom of God as to see an elected

official, a politician, use the power of their office for personal comfort and convenience and personal gain. I believe we are intended to be light and salt, difference makers, in this present age for the purposes of the kingdom of God. Now, I don't say that to bring shame or guilt or it's something of an awakening me, and I'm doing it. I'm having the conversation with you in a podcast because I haven't figured out yet how I want to distill that into public presentations that I'll make to a congregation or in a podcast. a book, it's coming. I'll get it all lined up. So when you hear it and see it, you'll know I've had the opportunity you've been able to listen to the Lord enough to kind of get to the end. But a lot of times I process by having a dialogue with friends. So I decided today to have a dialogue

with you about this because I don't want my life to be spent. And when I stand before the Lord to give an account for how I live my life, and I believe I will and you will, I don't want to proudly say, I don't want to boldly say, you know, puff out my chest and said, well, I ask you to make my life easy every day. You know, I'm not opposed to easy, and I'm grateful for every blessing that the Lord gives me. But I believe we're called to something more, the same way I believe a city council person is called to more

than their personal satisfaction, or that a county commissioner or a state governor or a congressman or a senator or a president. If they use those blocks of authority for their own personal ambition and gain, I believe it's a misuse of the office. And I believe if you and I use the power of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus' name for just our personal comfort and convenience, we are abandoning the primary reason that we were brought into the kingdom of God.

We can use our biblical heroes for this if you want to. When God recruited Moses at the burning bush, he didn't say, Moses, I'm going to multiply your goat herd. He said, I'm going to send you back to Pharaoh. And you've got to tell him to let my people go. Moses did not want to do that. And from that day at the burning bush until the end of his life, Moses' life was more complicated. Now, I know there are some characters where God multiplied their goat herd.

Jacob comes to mind. But God had larger plans for Jacob. The goat herd was the lessons he was learning in the midst of learning to trust God. You know, Jacob means deceiver, maybe literally in Hebrew, Twister. Jacob was a twister of facts, a twister of circumstances, trying to find personal gain. And God was transforming Jacob to become an important part of the unfolding story of a covenant people. And God is using you and me working through us to be a part of an unfolding story to let the kingdom of God be presented in the earth. And so I want to invite you.

I get mad. I get mad. I talk to people all the time. They don't like politicians or they don't like politics. or they don't like this policy, we don't like that policy. I got that. They don't like church policies. They don't like choices. I get that too. So you should be mad at people that you think have authority that you don't have. But what I want to ask you is what you're doing with the authority that you do have.

And I know a little bit about that without knowing the details of your life because the spiritual authority you have isn't connected to the university where you've graduated or didn't. It's not your spiritual authority is not connected to your bank balance and how impressive. it is or isn't. Your spiritual authority is not connected to your physical appearance and whether it's celebrated or not. We have all been welcomed in an equal way into the kingdom of Almighty God. And I want to ask you what you're doing with that authority. It's changed me. These last few weeks, if you watch our live stream or if you watch our services, if you've been listening, I have been praying far more intentionally for the nations of the world because I've believe God called us to make an impact beyond ourselves and the people that gather with us in our

homes. And I believe you have a primary spiritual responsibility to your family. I'm not telling you you don't. But I'm telling you if the majority of your spiritual authority is exerted for the comfort of your family, I don't believe you're any better than a politician that uses their power for the comfort of their family. We've been called into the kingdom of God. I understand, I'm not asking you to be a workaholic. I'm not telling you to ignore your family. I get that responsibility. If you follow this ministry, I just did several weeks on your kitchen table and that it's the primary expression of spiritual authority in your life. It begins there, but teach your children to pray for the nations. Teach your children to fast and pray that the purposes of God would break forth in America.

Teach your children about the authority of Almighty God. See, that's a completely different orientation than help me get on the ball team I want to. And again, I'm not opposed to that, but it's an insufficient expression of the authority and the power that we've been welcomed into. Almost everybody I know wants to be healthy or healthier. And I think most of us would like it to happen to us by accident. But that hasn't been my experience. So what do we do in a world where there's so many options and diets seem to be like fashion trends? They change with every season. And how do we respond? Well, I want to tell you about something that I trust,

something that has worked in my life. Ancient nutrition gives you a whole menu of supplements, sources for protein, and collagen that I have found made a difference in my life. You know, I decline most sponsorship invitations. But this isn't something that is just an invitation to be a sponsor for something. I've actually used it in my life and it's made a difference. Jordan Rubin happens to live in the Nashville area, so he and I have become friends.

long before I was doing this podcast. And his coaching has helped me lead a healthier life. And I have found those ancient nutrition supplements to be very valuable, whether it's the multi-collegin or now the new multi-protein. It's hard to eat enough protein sometimes as you age to maintain the muscle that we want to maintain. And those supplements have been very helpful for me. They've been gracious enough to give those of you who are listeners to our program. If you'll use the code fuel 26, you'll get a 26.

you'll get a 26% discount sitewide on ancient nutrition. That's ancientnutrition.com. Let's make choices to be healthier, and maybe we can limit the pharmaceuticals will be dependent upon. That would be a God thing. God's moving in the earth, and we can be a part of it by what we put on our fork

and not just the pills we take. Daniel is a fascinating book if you haven't read it lately. Daniel lives the majority of his adult life as a slave. When we're introduced to Daniel, He's already a slave in Babylon. And he serves in the court of the sultan, of the king, if you prefer, of Babylon and then Persia. But, well, to serve in the court, to be a courtier,

to serve in the court in antiquity, there's a high degree of probability that Daniel would have been mutilated. It would have been a eunuch in order to serve in that position. So by the time we meet him, his homeland has been destroyed. He's a slave in a foreign country. He has suffered physically. And when we're introduced to him, he's determined to honor God down to the level of what he eats. He wants to eat a diet.

He doesn't ask for a kosher diet. He asks for a simple diet that he can honor the Lord. And the response that God gives to Daniel and his three friends is he gives them extraordinary insight and understanding. and Daniel even the ability to interpret dreams. And what comes out of that over several decades is Daniel becomes a force in a foreign empire from the seat of a slave, not from a seat of political power or prowess. There's often tremendous hatred and jealousy directed towards him because of his effectiveness in leadership and service and management.

But from that, God gives him such extraordinary insights into what, is ahead, that he impacts the direction of nations and of empires, and then God later in Daniel's life gives him revelations of what's to come at the end of the age that you and I still read to understand what is ahead of us. Now, Daniel clearly had to have a desire to serve the Lord and engage with the Lord that was about something other than personal comfort and convenience. or when we meet him in Daniel chapter one, he would have been angry and rebellious and sullen, and he wasn't. So a part of my message today, let me do it this. Let's begin with an invitation.

If you're mad at God, because your circumstances aren't what you would like them to be. Maybe evil has intruded on your life. Just sheer evil, and you have suffered because of it. I will weep with you, but I will invite you to move past that. I believe the power of God is sufficient to deliver and then to restore those places in our lives that are broken down by evil. God can write a new future for us. Now, sometimes, and I've had to do this, I have to surrender my dreams for the future. And my ideal imagination of how my life will unfold and what the next chapter will look like,

I haven't had the privilege of having the chapters unfold like I would have written them when I was a young person. But I can tell you that the hand of God is clearly evident on the unfolding story, and I believe that would be true for you. So let's begin. Some of us need to begin with the Lord and say, you know, I need to make peace with you. I've been angry and resentful and bitter because I don't like the way you've been managing my circumstances. And if we can make that peace with God, then there may be somebody we need to forgive, or some bodies or some organization or some church or whatever it may be. The luxury of carrying anger and bitterness and resentment is not helpful. It will keep you from the blessings of God.

It isn't an emotion. You don't wait to feel like forgiving somebody. Forgiveness begins with a decision. It's a choice of your will. And if you'll simply say, God, I forgive, and then you fill in the blank. I forgive Alan, because his podcasts are boring, whatever it may be. You make that decision with your will, and your emotions will catch up. What I have found in my life and in helping other people, if there's a point of angst,

if there's a hurt or a wound or an anger or resentment or a hatred that you've carried for a long time, if you made that choice today and said, I forgive that person that those feelings are going to revisit you. And when they do, I have a habit. I'll say, no, no, no. I made that decision with Allen in the middle of the podcast that I was going to forgive that person or that circumstance or that organization. So in my mind, it's like I put it in a trash bag and I tie it off and I put it on a conveyor belt and I watch it disappear over the horizon. So when the thoughts come back, uh-uh, in the middle of that podcast with Alan, I expressed my intent to forgive. I'm not picking up that resentment or bitterness.

So we're going to make peace with God. We're going to forgive. And then we're going to say to the Lord, I want to be available for whatever you have for me. Now, in my life, that doesn't typically mean something dramatic or significant. It's not about stadiums filled with people. It means I begin to change how I pray, how I think, how I talk to the Lord. I have been for days now quietly, and it's leaked into my public life, saying, God, let the believers in Iran have the privilege of worshiping in public. Where there's been an underground church and tremendous pressure and tremendous persecution and arrests, they've been taking women off the street and torturing them if they're not in the appropriate dress, the hijab.

Imagine the pressure that's come on our brothers and sisters because of their belief in Jesus. God, let there come enough openness in Iran that in the streets of Tehran, the people can gather and express glory and honor to Jesus of Nazareth is Lord and King. I understand it's a Muslim nation. It has been for a long time. But I'm believing that God will bring that freedom. I've been praying the same thing for Cuba, for Havana, that in the streets of Havana, where for decades and decades there's been tremendous oppression and a tremendous result. to Christianity, that there'll be freedom in Havana to worship the Lord. I'm praying the same for Gaza. I'm praying for Nigeria, where they are today hunting Christians. They're being

systematically eliminated. Do you understand that? They are hunting Christians. I live in the South. We hunt white-tailed deer and we hunt turkeys. In Nigeria, they are hunting Christians. So I try not to let a day slip past me without praying for God's mercy and his protection, that those people that are engaged in that behavior will be turned back. You know, I mentioned Daniel. In the book of Daniel, we learned that there are spiritual forces that have authority over nations. Now, I don't know everything about that, but I know enough about that that I've begun to say, in Jesus' name, let there be a different spirit rule and reign in Nigeria, a spirit that doesn't hate Christians.

God, be merciful, remove those people, silence those people, stop the slaughter. I don't think, you know, I don't pray generically for the world and for all the nations in the world because a prayer for everything often feels like a prayer for nothing. You know, I want to pray with enough specificity and enough intentionality that when there are changes, I can begin to stop and say, Lord, I thank you for what you're doing. I thank you for the freedom that's come to the Iranian people or the opportunity that's come to them. I believe the current war that's unfolding in Iran and the removal of the Ayatollah and so much of his leadership team and now the Republican Guard, I pray. I believe it's a clear response to the prayers

of the believers in Iran. I understand there's governments involved. I'm grateful for our Department of War and Secretary Heg Seth and what he has done, but I don't believe that the military operation were the primary point. I believe it was the prayers of God's people that brought about the other things that we are seeing happen. But for that to be completed, it's going to take the prayers of God's people. Let's join our brothers and sisters. I have no objection to you praying for yourself and your home and your family and your personal needs and for healing and provision and for all the opportunities. I believe it's appropriate to you invite God into your life. But let's not limit the expression of the power of God through our lives just to our personal

comfort and convenience. Let's begin to be voices in the earth for the expression of the power of Almighty God, to see these principalities and powers, these strongholds of spiritual forces of wickedness that are rooted in the heavenly places, that they be brought down, that they be dismantled, that they be thrown into confusion. And, you know, if you hear that in your response, is, well, I don't know how to do that. We'll begin to talk to the Lord. You know, I don't know that any of us know how to do this perfectly, but I want to learn, I want to grow. I'm going to open my Bible, and I follow Paul through the Book of Acts and then through the cities of the Roman world through those letters, and he'll go into a community and he'll start to preach the gospel,

and there'll be a riot or some sort of an uproar or a community. I mean, it's disproportionate responses, and I believe it's a spiritual conflict. Well, folks, we have been for so long told to keep our faith inside the church and not to bring it into the public square. And so it's reduced us to this little private, quiet, personal prayer thing. And I'm inviting you back out into this world where God has sent us to be ambassadors for his kingdom, to be salt and light, to use your voice. Just begin with the Lord. Don't tell anybody.

Don't announce it. I'm not recruiting you. I'm not starting some big, broad, new prayer initiative. I'm having a cup of coffee with a group of friends saying to you, I don't want to use my invitation into the kingdom of God and the sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth. to enable to be a part of his eternal kingdom, just for personal gain or opportunity. I want to take my place.

When my life is done, when my strength is spent, I want to know that through my life, God brought freedom and liberty and hope to individuals, to families, to communities, if God chooses in a more broad way. And he may do that through words I speak or things that I use to communicate. He may do that through prayers, I pray,

that nobody knows I was engaged in. How God brings the outcome is up to him. But I intend to make the greatest impact, I know how, with the awareness and the revelation that God gives to me, and I want to invite you to join me. You are not insignificant. You're not unimportant. It isn't about how much influence you know that you have.

You have influence in the kingdom of heaven. Imagine, if you will, that the President of the United States would take your call. and he trusted your opinion. I would submit to you that's more important than having a following of however many people you'd like to have in the social media. Well, the king of kings and the Lord of Lords will take your call. The book of Hebrew says we can come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy to help us in our time of need. Let's approach the throne of grace and talk to the Lord. You can talk to him about your personal stuff, but when you're done with that, let's talk to him about

what's happening in the earth. God, let there be a freedom in Iran. Let there be a new authority in Iran that doesn't rule with fear and terror and murder and violence and hate. Let there be a, let the spirit of God be welcomed. If God could do that historically, God can do that today. And I believe he's waiting for you and me. I have a childhood memory I want to share with you. It was our kitchen table. I've got two younger brothers. I've gathered around the table. And my parents were consistently, persistently inviting guests to dinner. You know, practicing that notion of hospitality. My brothers and I weren't always excited about it, but I realized that we had a front row seat for expressions of the kingdom of God. We can still do the same. Imagine your kitchen table

as an expression of God's love in this generation. God's moving in the earth. Let's join him. Hospitality doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it begins with inviting someone to your kitchen table. To help you get started, we've created a Tools for Hospitality set. It includes a custom kitchen towel that reminds you sweet tea, pecan pie, and your God's story make a difference. It also has three favorite recipes from Pastor Allen and some tips that will help make hospitality a little bit easier. Request the Tools for Hospitality set with your gift of $25 or more at Alan Jackson.com or call 800-8805102. That was my takeaway. I've been asked a few dozen times what my takeaway was from an Easter lunch at the White House.

That was my takeaway that I cannot waste or squander the privilege of being an ambassador for the kingdom on just personal stuff. And I like comfort and convenience. I'm not looking to suffer. I don't look to make things as difficult as possible. But I will do difficult things because I believe there's a better outcome. the other side. And I will engage in things that are often sometimes require sacrifice of me because I believe it's better for the broader good. And I know there's a lot of voices that will tell you not to do that, but I don't believe they're godly voices. So if you're angry at a

politician today or angry at a church leader because you wish they would be more aware of making decisions that are better for the group, let you and I become that person. God is moving in the earth, believe he's preparing a church to change the destiny of nations. I don't know what that will look like. I haven't seen it often. But I'm willing to be the prayerful part of that. Whatever part the Lord asks me to play in that. And I would ask you to join me. I'm grateful for your life that you would spend a few minutes with a podcast.

You ask the Lord what he has for you. and just quietly begin to talk to him about where you see needs. Maybe it's a local school. God, in my local school, let the name of Jesus be more welcome. Maybe it's a local university campus. Maybe God will call you to pray for the city council or the county commission or the school board. Just begin to cry out to him and say, in those places, let your truth be honored. Let your freedom be welcome.

Let your outcomes break forth. If we will all begin to take our place, looks, it isn't political. It's about being salt and light. Turn on the light and let the darkness be dispelled. God's moving in the earth. I want to be a part of it. And I'm honored who had a few minutes with you.

I will be back next week. We'll see what God's doing. God bless you. Thanks for joining me today. Before you go, please like the podcast and leave a comment so more people can hear about this topic too. If you haven't yet, be sure and subscribe to Alan Jackson,

Ministries YouTube channel and follow the Culture and Christianity podcast. You can do that on Spotify, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Together, let's learn how to lead with our faith. We can change our culture. I'll see you next time.