Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast - We Cannot Abandon the Children! [Featuring Kirk Cameron]

Episode Date: June 7, 2024

“It is time to lean in and create the culture we want building our children's future world,” Kirk Cameron told Pastor Allen on this podcast about the importance of teaching children truth. Their engaging conversation will encourage anyone who is concerned about the deception washing over our children. “We've got to get back on the offense. No more defensive living, waiting to be rescued,” Cameron advised. He shares about several projects he initiated to take a biblical worldview into our culture, including hosting library story hours, writing children’s books, and creating a new television show specifically geared toward children. He also offers practical ways we can bring Christian values to the children in our communities.More information:Kirk Cameron’s website: https://www.kirkcameron.com/Brave Books: https://bravebooks.us/2024 See You at the Library Event: https://bravebooks.us/pages/see-you-at-the-library-2024The Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk: https://bravebooks.us/pages/the-adventures-with-iggy-and-mr-kirk--It’s up to us to bring God’s truth back into our culture. It may feel like an impossible assignment, but there’s much we can do. Join Pastor Allen Jackson as he discusses today’s issues from a biblical perspective. Find thought-provoking insight from Pastor Allen and his guests, equipping you to lead with your faith in your home, your school, your community, and wherever God takes you.Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/3JsyO6ysUVGOIV70xAjtcm?si=6805fe488cf64a6dListen on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culture-christianity-the-allen-jackson-podcast/id1729435597

The enemy can simply pick up our playbook for righteousness, and all they have to do is switch out the true God for a false God. All they have to do is make good evil and evil good, and then you run the same strategic plays of training the children, and in 40 years you've got an entirely different cultural paradigm. And that's what they've done. You know, generations ago, it was very difficult for the drag queens to get some space in a public library.

It was very difficult for children to change their genders in a public school. But now things have gotten much better for these diabolical strategies because we've loosened up and we've not had our eye on the prize and we have let this happen on our watch. Well, we've got to get back on our game

and we've got to recognize that the most precious thing the Lord is done, given us is those hearts and minds and souls of these children. And we've got to get back in. On the offense, no more defensive living, waiting to be rescued. It is time to lean in and create the culture we want, building our children's future world. Today, we face an overwhelming amount of negativity. From hostile politics to dysfunctional rants on social media, we need something to cut through the noise and remind us that there's still good in the world. There's still hope.

Pastor and author Alan Jackson is that voice of truth and courage. Through his inspirational new show, we can learn how to reset our focus, flourish in a time of fear, and be a source of light and hope in today's climate. It's time for a new perspective. Watch Alan Jackson now. Welcome to Culture and Christianity. I'm excited. My guest today is Kirk Cameron, where you may notice we're in a little different place and I'm in a little different uniform. We just taped an episode of my new program, Alan Jackson Now, that'll be airing on TBN each evening at 6 p.m. Central Time.

But Kirk is actually on the set of a new show he's taping, which I'm more excited about the one that I'm doing. The name, I've got to check. This is a little different. It's the adventures of Iggy and Mr. Kirk. So I haven't had Iggy yet, but I'm looking forward to that opportunity. Welcome. It's good to have you, Kirk. Thanks.

It's great to be here. I wish Iggy was here with me. Every once in a while, he'll just sort of pop up, you know, over my shoulder. And he's an adorable green iguana named Iggy. And as the story goes, he lived on a place, a magical place called Freedom Island. And I was a pilot flying my plane. And I happened to go there. And his father left him to my care. And so I've been raising Iggy the iguana in my back. yard tree house with my family. And together, we learn all of these biblical lessons while we entertain kids and provide parents with a tool. They will help them to shape their hearts and minds toward righteousness. So you're the 21st century addition to Mr. Rogers. That's what we're going for. Mr. Rogers with a beard who flies an airplane. So it's a little updated. It's more modern. It's lots of high energy, hilarious dialogue. We've got some actors. Lee Allen Baker from Disney's Good Luck Charlie. She played the mom, and now she's creative Lee.

She does lots of arts and crafts. We have a mailman, and we have all sorts of fun characters and beautiful animation. And we hope that this is going to be a staple for children's programming for generations. Your schedule makes me tired. There's another project. There's another project. I know you've been working on for a couple of years in the libraries across our nation that I think it really probably grew into more than you imagine, but there's a kind of a new

chapter that coming up. Can you tell us a little bit of what you're doing? Yes. So there's an event coming up in August, which is a 2.0 of an event we did last year called See You at the Library. This came out of reading children's books of Christian virtue in public libraries. We were supported by thousands of parents and grandparents everywhere we went across the country, but there were those who didn't want us to be there. This is, you know, part of the Rainbow Rebellion who don't like Christianity and its values taught to the children because they're representing a different set of values. Well, we did a national event that was attended by tens of thousands at public libraries in 46 different states where they sang, they prayed together, and they read their

own books of virtue to their children all across the nation. Well, this year on August 24th, we are going to gather again across the country. We're hoping for a thousand public libraries for an event called See You at the Library. And you can go to bravebooks.com. Bravebooks are the, that's the book company that's sponsoring the whole program. I've been working with them. And you can find a map of the United States and locate the library, near you so that you can be a part of and support Christian values coming to your community and your public spaces to see you at the library. So we can be a part of, we can sponsor this in our own community.

That's right. You can sponsor this in your own community. You can host an event at your local library or you can come and help to bring books and other kinds of fun activities and games and food and drinks to your public. library so that it's a great family time for everybody. That's us. People ask me all the time, you know, what can we do? Well, that's something we can do.

And that's a threshold I think we could all get to. Some people may not have been aware of what you're doing. I don't know in the libraries. I've been following it. But one of the things that was a real surprise to me was the resistance you found, that there were libraries, if I'm telling you, right, if I'm not, you correct me, that they would welcome a drag show, but they would be offended when you came in to read a more traditional children's book.

Yeah, that's exactly right. And we knew that would be the case when we went to cities like Los Angeles and New York City and D.C., but we found it pretty much everywhere. They're smart, Alan. We know that the enemy can simply pick up our playbook for righteousness, and all they have to do is switch out the true God for a false God. All they have to do is make good evil and evil good. And then you run the same strategic plays of training the children. And in 40 years, you've got an entirely different cultural paradigm.

And that's what they've done. You know, generations ago, it was very difficult for the drag queens to get some space in a public library. It was very difficult for children to change their genders in a public school. But now things have gotten much better for these diabolical strategies because we've loosened up and we've not had our eye on the prize and we have let this happen on our watch. Well, we've got to get back on our game and we've got to recognize that the most precious thing the Lord has given us is those hearts and minds and souls of these children. And we've got to get back in. on the offense, no more defensive living, waiting to be rescued. It is time to lean in and create the culture we want, building our children's future world.

You say that so well, and within authority, because your career started as a young person in Hollywood, and you had to overcome all of the junk that typically comes in that environment, and the headwinds that don't agree with you. So maybe we could find the courage in our communities to push through some headwinds because everybody's not going to cheer. That's at least been my experience. That's right. And I had to learn, and I'm still learning, how to not play for the praises of my boss or even the praises of my children, not the praises of my pastor. I have to live for an audience of one, and that is the Lord.

And if I can honor God and what I'm doing, not looking for applause, not looking to be paid back in some form of power or influence or adoration, but simply blown away by the opportunity to honor God by being faithful, wherever he's planted me as a husband, as a father, as somebody who works in my industry, well, that's the privilege, that's the joy, that's the prize. And then God does all of the work that we can't do. So he can do heavy lifting that we would never be able to accomplish. He's done it before and he can do it again.

I agree with you. God does work we can't do, but I think God also won't do the work that we can do. Amen. Until we're willing to stand up and take our place, then I don't think we get the multiplier that God brings to the table and into that equation. Yeah. Yes, Alan, you know, sometimes I think what would happen if God really turned the tables and shifted all of the political power into the hands of church people? Wow. Do we have pastors that have enough integrity to be able to have already trained their flocks to know what to do with that kind of political power? You know, they complain

about Christian nationalists and too much religion and government. But, you know, that I, there's all sorts of problems with that because they're the, the enemies of God are far more religious than I am. They just have a diabolical God that they're serving. But I do think it's valid to say, if we're not willing to homeschool our children or private school our children or help families who need community and co-ops to educate our children and give other options than the public school system, if we're not willing to get our hands dirty in politics, if we're not willing to put our money up to create television shows, well, then what would happen if we got our wish and we're able to be in charge of our culture? I think we might fumble the ball and give it right back to

them. So let's train our children now so that if God does send revival, we'll know what to do with the football and we can run it down the field for a touchdown. Absolutely. And I want to add a component to that because I'm a product of the public schools. And I don't think we can afford to abandon them. I think we've got to volunteer our time. You don't have to be on the faculty or an administrator in a public school. You find a way to be engaged and bring your biblical worldview and your Christ-centered values. We cannot abandon those children. This is our generation.

And I refuse to hand them over to teachers' unions who will advocate for ungodly things. These are our communities, our schools, our tax dollars pay for them. I think we've got to find ways to be engaged in those places so that our public education system becomes God-honoring again. I'm not going to abandon politics to evil. And I'm not going to abandon our public schools to evil either.

It's going to take a little courage, but I think we can do this. Yeah, I think that we can do it too. And I think that it all comes back to personal responsibility. Like you said, God has equipped us. He's called us. And he expects us to take stands for righteousness. And we can do that in a thousand different ways. We cannot farm it out to organizations. I cannot subcontract my parenting even to a youth pastor. That's just not the plan. And as parents and grandparents, we've got a role to play. and nobody else can do it. You know, for decades, the United States was at the forefront of the missions initiatives, taking the Christian faith to the nations of the world. And I know that is no longer considered chic

as all sorts of colonial aspirations that have been denigrated in the academic level. But that imagination that we need to take the gospel to other places, I think it has to start in the communities where we live. We have to take the gospel into our schools. We have to take the gospel into the universities. Folks, we're one of the top ten,

nations in the world in need of evangelism. So you don't need a passport to take the gospel into places where the voice of Jesus has heard small. You just need an awareness of the community where you live. And if we'll pick up that assignment, I'm grateful for celebrities and people that have a Hollywood pedigree like Kirk that are willing to do this with courage and boldness. But ultimately, I think it's going to come down to the average citizen in small towns in America and big cities in America. They will take the block where we live and take our faith into those places around us in a meaningful way. Everybody won't cheer, but some's lives will be changed for all eternity because we're willing to do that. Kirk, you're an inspiration. Yes, amen. That's exactly

right. I don't remember ever reading a story in the Bible about some Hollywood star who did something that turned the world around, but I see lots of stories about nobody's from nowhere with nothing to offer but a heart that is fully surrendered to the Almighty, and they turn out to be stronger than Samson. They're more courageous than David, and they're out there just crushing it for the kingdom of God. And I'm so encouraged by that. It lets me know that even a former atheist actor from Hollywood, California can have a little part to play in the kingdom of heaven. I'm going to borrow your line. I'm going to do a sermon series on Nobody's from nowhere. Yeah. Okay, you got it.

I'll send you a link. You know, we hosted a conference a few weeks ago called Culture and Christianity here at the church. And Kirk was one of the presenters. We had about a dozen people. And really, it was a top shelf group of people from all over the country. And I haven't had a chance really to talk with you since we did that. But of all the people who presented, I thought you brought the most mature presentation of our faith. I mean, there were some powerful presentations with some very strong messages.

but I was so appreciative of there's a seasoning to your faith and what you're doing with children and in libraries, there are things you could do that would be more gratifying for your ego or your professional aspirations. And it takes a bit of a grown-up to step into the places you are. And I want to thank you for it. It was evident when you were in our building, and it's evident when I see you on television

and the things you're doing in the media. Thank you, brother. I look to you like a big brother, and you have a way of calming my nerves when things are looking sketchy out there. And you keep teaching us how to have a big, confident, strong faith. And I just keep thinking about the fact that what does it profit of man if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul? And with a world of people trying to find themselves out there, they end up losing themselves in a culture that is totally lost.

But if we lose ourselves for the kingdom of heaven and for the gospel, that's when we find ourselves right smack in the will of God with a hope and a future. Well, you were kind to me today. You said you think of me as a big brother. When you were here for the conference, you said you thought of me like a grandfather. And my staff is still laughing at me about that comment. So you're not welcome back, but I do forgive you. It's a biblical idea. Oh, my goodness. Did I say that?

You said that. They have the tape. They keep playing it for me. So thank you for a gift that keeps on giving. No, yeah. Hey, I've got more. That's what scares me. You've got a weekly television program right now that's on TBN called Takeaways. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Sure. So takeaways is now, and it's, we just started our third season. It's on Monday nights on TBN, Trinity Broadcast Network and TBN Plus, the online app. And I've had a chance to meet so many interesting people. And Alan, you've been so gracious to come on the show and apologists, Bible teachers, but also astronauts and storytellers and filmmakers and educators, even atheists and musicians just. It's been amazing to see how God is working in his people everywhere. And I learn something every week as I'm talking to people.

So if you are looking for encouragement and hope and actionable items that you can take away from these conversations so that you can make a difference in your community and in your nation right now, you could join us on Monday nights. It's called Takeaways. All right. Well, the thing we try to do in this podcast is give people things they can do. And I think you've given us a laundry list today. We've got to see you at the library event in August. And we could not only join with you in praying, but we can actually sponsor that in our own communities. Tell us again where we go to find that.

You could go to bravestoryhour.com. And that'll take you right to the event, bravestoryhour.com. And if you can't remember that, just go to bravebooks.com and you'll find tabs for all the things that we're doing. All right. So there's something we can do locally. We could be praying for your new television show, The Adventures of Iggy and Mr. Kirk. I'm looking forward to meeting Iggy. I believe that'll make a difference in a whole generation of children. Yeah, he's the breakout star of the show, you know, and he's getting a bit of a big head.

His agent's been calling. He already wants a raise and a bigger trailer. Well, what I want to know is are we going to like see a smackdown WWE event between Iggy and the Geico gecko? Well, yes, you know, it's either going to be the Geico or it's going to be Culture the Vulture, who is also in the show. All right. A cage match, primetime Christian TV. That's right. Kirk, thank you for all you're doing to strengthen the body of Christ and families in our nation. You're a blessing. Appreciate your friendship. God bless you, Alan.

Thank you for all that you're doing. You and your team. Great job. Hey, 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 to subscribe to Alan Jackson Ministry's YouTube channel

and follow the Culture and Christianity podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Together, let's learn how to lead with our faith and change our culture. I'll see you next. time.