The Eric Metaxas Show - Letter to the American Church

Episode Date: January 20, 2024

Eric has a roundtable discussion about his new film Letter to the American church  ...

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Folks, welcome to the Eric Metaxus show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy pm investments.com. That's legacy pm investments.com. Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that one plus one is two and two plus two is four, and four thousand seven hundred eighty two plus four thousand seven hundred and eight two is nine thousand five hundred and sixty four. But did you know that there's a guy so smart he can do all those calculations in his head? Well, at least maybe the first two. Please welcome your WizKid of the Airwaves, Eric, my taxi. Hey, folks, welcome to the program.
Starting point is 00:00:52 Last month, I was at Amfest in Phoenix with Charlie Kirk and the gang, and most of the people involved in the letter to the American Church documentary were there. We thought it would be fun to have a roundtable discussion to kind of wet your appetite for what's in the the film letter to the American Church dropping February 8th. So we were with John Amman Chukwu, Victor Marx, and his wife, Elaine Marks, Pastor Rob McCoy. It really was just an interesting conversation. And we were having it. I thought, we've got to play this on the radio program. So here's the conversation from Amfest last month centered around letter to the American Church. Here it is. So we are here to have a roundtable discussion.
Starting point is 00:01:39 loosely based around my book in the film Letter to the American Church. I'm joined by some friends who are all in the film. Victor Marx. Eileen Marks. Thank you. Where's Groucho? Thank you. Pastor Rob McCoy and John Amunuchuku.
Starting point is 00:01:59 So why don't we just throw out kind of a basic question? What is the climate spiritually, politically, today within the American? church, you are the pastor of a church. I'll start with you, Pastor Rob. Thanks, Eric. Well, the condition of the church, in my estimation, is that we abdicated the public square a little over 50 years ago, and we're reaping what we've been sowing. The church was indoctrinated or inculcated with this idea that the church isn't supposed to be involved in politics, and nothing can be further from the truth. The church is to be in the center of the ecclesia, the public square contending for the wise restraints that would allow our neighbors to be set free.
Starting point is 00:02:42 And if we love our neighbors ourselves, that's our job. So there is an awakening with a remnant that's occurring right now after we went through the tyrannical lockdowns. And they're waking up to that. And the last thing is, a number of younger pastors, a lot like Martin Neemoler with Bonhofer, they did it wrong at the beginning. but they're now fully on board to do it right if this comes up again. So it's kind of exciting.
Starting point is 00:03:11 We have over 3,000 partner churches with TPSA Faith, and that's a result of pastors waking up. John, you're also a pastor. Yes. Do you go by Pastor John? John works. Okay. I just, first of all, I want to thank you for wearing a double-breasted jacket,
Starting point is 00:03:29 as it says in the memo, guys. That's right. No, seriously, you have been outrageously, beautifully outspoken as a pastor, as a father. What is your sense of where we are now in the nation and in the church? I think in many ways the church is afraid of confrontation. There it is. They're more comfortable sitting in the seat of neutrality. We're comfortable with apathy.
Starting point is 00:04:00 we think that the role of exposing darkness is left for someone else to do. We now have shepherds who are afraid of their sheep when shepherds are called to lead sheep. And so we're in a bad place. You know, I do believe that there is a remnant that will not bow. I do believe that there will be a great revival. But we do see in scripture that there will also be a falling away. And so this falling away or standing aloof has been the impetus for what's going on today. But I think that now more than ever, we must proclaim truth boldly.
Starting point is 00:04:42 We must stand tall in the halls of government. And we must engage the culture to stand tall as well. Good word. Why didn't you talk to him first? His was way better. Yeah, that was. That was definitely better. No, it's just so, it's extraordinary to me because I think that people are inspired by both of you.
Starting point is 00:05:03 I've been inspired by both of you. And I know that there are people who are watching what you're doing, seeing you on social media or in person, who are inspired to speak out. That's part of why we're doing this, is that when you hear people speak out, you go, okay, maybe I need to speak up. Victor and Eileen, what's your sense? Well, I have witnessed our country go down. I was born in the 60s, and I think both coming from divorced families, to me, I see the family unit has been falling apart since the 60s. And as a woman, women are like thrown into this chaos.
Starting point is 00:05:43 They don't know where to stand because the leadership, especially in the church, has abdicated this role. So women are being pushed out to the front. there's out of order. So I see so much chaos going on with women. And it's, and it is on the men. It's on the pastures, on the leadership. So that's, that's what I've been witnessing. It is, it's interesting to me that you, Victor, and you, John, I'm in Chukwu, you come across as very manly men in the public sphere. You notice I'm reading Rob out of that. You'll notice, we're going to edit that out. No, but it is interesting that generally speaking, we live in a culture.
Starting point is 00:06:28 The culture has been feminized, but the church in particular has been so feminized. And a lot of pastors feel that they have some mandate that I've got to always be nice and smiley. They don't seem to understand that part of being a shepherd means being a warrior. They don't get that. You've been a warrior in various contexts. Yeah, and I agree with what everyone's saying. but particular to that, I think the church has, they've gone too far in the realm of grace without the balance of grit.
Starting point is 00:07:02 And that makes for a weak church. I tell folks when I speak, I'm not a nice person. Ask ISIS, but I'm a kind person. That's my goal. Because nice people will do things because they want something, including pastors. They'll be nice to the congregants because they want to build their church. But kind people will do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. Because don't give a nice person what they want and you'll see who and what they really are.
Starting point is 00:07:36 I always think of the scripture, not the scripture, sorry, from the Narnia Chronicles, when you have, you know, they're asking, is Aslan, who's the type of Christ, is he a tame lion? and the answer is no, but he's good. And that's kind of interesting, right? Because you have a lot of shepherds. They seem to have gotten the memo that I'm supposed to be nice. I'm supposed to be tame. And that's not biblical.
Starting point is 00:08:03 That's really not God's idea of manhood. We're supposed to be good. But sometimes that means being fierce. John, when you go in front of those school board meetings and you read the passages from these, just deeply offensive, horrifying books, there's a boldness that comes over you. But you wouldn't be able to be there if you weren't bold.
Starting point is 00:08:28 Exactly. You know, when we have this conversation around being kind and being nice, we also have to consider the fact that we're called to be faithful. You know, we're all waiting for a well done, thou good and faithful servant. Right. And so faithfulness is the thing that we should be seeking to become, to be faithful in the kingdom. And a faithful Christian is not going to sit back and allow transgenders and schools to set up drag queen story time and not say anything about it.
Starting point is 00:09:00 You can't be faithful and look the other way. You can't be faithful and witness blacks be positioned in the public school system as victims and whites be labeled as inherently racist, right? Regardless of the fact, you have to say something about that. And so I engage every school board from the heart of the issue. And the fact is this, that we have moved away from God because society wants to become secular. This is a plan that has been taking place for decades. This didn't happen overnight. In 1962, when Madeline O'Hare, a wicked witch, who's probably in the hottest part of hell today,
Starting point is 00:09:43 when she lobbied to remove prayer from the public school system, zero Christian organizations came forward to bring a brief to silence her and to stop her. The church was silent then, and the church is silent today, but we need more faithful warriors. For more than 10 years, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless providers standing behind their values and their exceptional service. They're an example of putting the cause ahead of profits, and it's why I am proud to partner with them,
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Starting point is 00:13:01 Here's a moment for the church to stand. So this is now 70 years ago. And the American church somehow at that time, it was not in warrior mode. Then you come to the 60s, something happened. So this has been going on and on and on. And what caused me to write the book in a sense is I thought, where did the church get the idea that we're not supposed to be political? It's not even a biblical idea. But somehow it's like most of the American church drank that Kool-Aid and isn't even
Starting point is 00:13:33 even questioning it. And it affects lives. I got to ask you, Rob, you really have been a warrior in this. What caused you to speak up when so many were not? I mean, is that just who you are or did something happen in your life or in your church? What caused you to become the kind of pastor that you are now? That's a very kind question. I wasn't raised in a Christian home,
Starting point is 00:14:02 but my parents were very politically active. And so my dad ran for office. My mother was President of Republican Women. We walked precincts. I met Reagan when I was 10, got his autograph. So I was raised, participating in community long before I knew the scripture that says, love your neighbors yourself. And then I was surrounded by men and women who had served in the armed forces.
Starting point is 00:14:28 I remember Admiral James Stockdale at our Christmas party, and we had to his leg was fused so we had to set it up so no one would trip over his leg in the Christmas party Captain James Stark his left arm was fused he set it in a bar in the prison cell in the Hanow Hilton when he ejected out of his A6 compound fracture and these men had served and struggled and so I was I was raised with them as examples my godfather was the highest ranking survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor he was 99 years young he died at 100 but he was a lieutenant on the USS Cassidy. listen. So that was inspirational to me. I love this country. And then when I came to the Lord and saw the connection between the two, I couldn't understand why the church was silent. I was baffled. Calvary Chapel, you know, in 1968, Chuck starts it. California has a fifth largest GDP. And we finished the California aqueduct. It was, it was a conservative state. And then, you know, in 68, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. Bobby Kennedy was shot by Sirhan, Surhan. We had the Ted Offensive, the Milai massacre, and all these young people checked out of the church and went into Eastern
Starting point is 00:15:35 religion and experimental drug use. And Chuck and Kay went to ministered all these burned out hippies and washed on the shores of California, but avoided politics. And they had 10,000 percent growth of conversions were, you know, throwing the net out every Sunday, but they never taught them about their responsibility in the ecclesia. And so California, you know, 52 years of 10,000 percent growth with all these new believers, you'd think that I'd have a profound effect on the sociological aspects of California. Now we have the sixth largest GDP. We have the highest gas tax, sales tax, income tax, corporate tax. We lead the nation in debt. Authors of no fault divorce that Reagan signed. Transgender bathroom bills. The most secular progressive sexual education
Starting point is 00:16:13 curriculum is vile. And here's a kicker. It's estimated we've aborted more children in California because abortion was legal long before 73. It's estimated we've aborted more children in California than the current population of Canada. And we don't just rip the baby apart and Lushets remains, you know, into the sewer system of the state, we harvest the organs on the downbeat of the heart. I mean, this makes Nazi Germany look like Girl Scouts. And so the church is supposed to be in the public square. And I couldn't see the separation of that. What am I supposed to do, shelve my Christianity when I go into the voting booth? No, we're supposed to express that. That's where Christians are good government happens with good people. Wow. It reminds me. There's a
Starting point is 00:16:59 chapter in the book titled the idol of evangelism. And that's exactly, I feel like you have described it perfectly. We're not supposed to, you know, make converts, make disciples of all nations. Of all nations. Foundries, borders, common. So the idea that, you know, suddenly all these people are coming to Jesus and you kind of want to say, and so what? Like, if they really come into Jesus, it's going to affect their lives. They're going to care about other people and they're going to want to get involved and that did not happen and that's that's across america that's not just california that the evangelical church somehow got stuck on we just want people to come to jesus as though that's going to take care of everything as though magically um you know it's a given that the holy
Starting point is 00:17:48 spirit will do the rest of the work and pastors and christians are supposed to be involved in making disciples that's the lord wants to work through us in doing that but sometimes I've seen the church and pastors in particular use it as an excuse to not engage. You know, I came from a horrific background of abuse as a kid. So when I came to faith, I was actually in the Marines. It was a pretty radical transformation. And that gave me now even more of a drive and a passion to stand up for what was right. And you have to do it through laws.
Starting point is 00:18:25 You have to do it through proper governance. and right now, I think we're at a critical point. One aspect, I'm very happy that we know who's who in the zoo because I had to get rid of a lot of books after the lockdowns of pastors and good writers. Well, listen, break that down what you just said. What you're saying is because of the lockdowns, because of what happened, suddenly many of us saw that there were people not willing to stand up. Like we never knew that.
Starting point is 00:19:00 We had this, there's a great testing of the church that happened in 2020, 2021. We'd never had that before. And many, many, many pastors and Christian leaders failed the test. Yeah. There's two places I've been able to see pastors lead or show what they're made out of. One is actually in martial arts because we taught it for so long. You get somebody in the ring, a pastor. Some of the time, pastors are the most egotistical.
Starting point is 00:19:28 cowards I've ever seen. Quick as to get angry because they live in a bubble. They just live in a bubble that's their little world, and anybody that challenges them. So when somebody's punching them in the face, and you're saying, hey, you've got to pick your hands up, man. The second place is actually in combat situations where I've brought ministers to Iraq
Starting point is 00:19:48 when we were doing recovering rescues or helping kids who are traumatized by ISIS, and I would see the heart of some of these men. and the good and the bad. And that was only a pre-shadowed to what happened in COVID. And it boils down to fear. There's a lot of men, they're just afraid. But what I'm excited about right now is we just, I mean, this week are challenging a gay couple in Colorado.
Starting point is 00:20:20 That's a well-known YouTuber, but he has said things on his show like, Let's just pretend I'm a pedophile. Or why is it wrong for me to Google naked babies and ejaculate on the... I mean, it's extreme what he has said, and he's one of the biggest perverts. They just were awarded two babies last Friday. Wait a minute. That pastor? I read about this.
Starting point is 00:20:48 I don't mean pastor. I mean, that person, I read about that. Yeah. Shane Dawson. Okay, so what you're saying, in other words, this is what it, what it's... gets down to is that you would think that everybody would be upset about that and speaking up, first and foremost, the church. Yes. You would expect that when you have a clear case of something vile and harmful to children, that the church would not even hesitate. Right. Because, you know,
Starting point is 00:21:15 the abortion issue, they can hide, duck and dive. This is two twin boys that are under the care of very dangerous perverts. And if the church doesn't step up, If pastors don't use their platform to say, at all costs, those babies must get rescued, then you really know what these men behind puppets are made of. Well, the two of you have ministered in places I can't even imagine, and you've actually seen evil. Let's just say what it is, evil, ISIS, okay? You've seen evil. It's my estimation that most of us in America, and particularly in the American church, have really forgotten about the evilness of evil. We act like, I don't need to be a warrior because, you know, everything is different.
Starting point is 00:22:07 We're not facing evil. But you've seen evil. You've seen evil against children. Is that your sense that if people could see evil, they would understand, oh, you know what? I didn't realize it was that bad. Maybe I better do something. Maybe most pastors or Christian leaders, just they're not dealing with what we would call evil.
Starting point is 00:22:27 Well, I think the reality, the sad reality, is we are seeing evil. And there is a complacency going on. And I believe that there is a lack of fear of a holy God. So people think they're never going to be held accountable. They're not going to have to deal with it. And it's interesting being over in Muslim countries, we see people, they worship Allah.
Starting point is 00:22:55 They're afraid of him because they don't know where they're going to go. But we as believers, as Americans, we have access to God's truth and we're ignoring it. So I think the blinders are on people. They don't see it for what it really is. Legacy precious metals has a revolutionary new online platform that allows you to invest in real gold and silver online. In a few of these steps, you can open an account online, select your medals of choice, and choose to have them stored in a vault or ship to your door. You have access to a dashboard where you can track your portfolio growth in real time anytime. You'll see transparent pricing on
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Starting point is 00:25:06 Again, Nutrametics, N-U-T-R-A-M-D-X.com. Nutrametics.com use the code Eric for 15%. percent off. Welcome back to our roundtable discussion from last month in Phoenix at Amfest about letter to the American church. Okay, John, you've talked a lot over the years about cultural Marxism, about BLM, about the LGBT Q LMNOP. My name is Legion World. And we are now seeing, and this is the lunacy, we're seeing those groups get behind open anti-sense. Semitism. And what do you make of that? That we're seeing, in a sense, you know, the demons are coming out of the bushes. And we're seeing this really, really clearly. But the alliance among those three groups, that, you know, pro-Hamas, the LGBTQ lobby, the BLM Marxists.
Starting point is 00:26:21 What do you make of that? The force behind the BLM movement was the destruction of the image of God, right? Destroy the nuclear family. Push wholesale homosexuality upon the general population. In order for homosexuality to thrive, it requires. is heterosexuality, right? But let's push a culture that refuses to do it God's way, right? Let's go against male and female, and let's put two men together,
Starting point is 00:27:04 and let's put two women together. You know, that is an attempt to destroy the image of God as well. And now let's resist the apple of God's eye, right? Let's fight against Israel and let's support Hamas. further destroying the image of God. I have a new book coming out in May of 2024 entitled Hoodwinked. Ten lies Americans believe in the truth that will set them free. One of the lies is that transgenders are under attack.
Starting point is 00:27:40 And that's not true. You know, we saw in the shooting in Nashville where this wicked woman, Audrey Hale, goes into the school and she kills six Christians. and the Biden administration really has nothing to say about it, but, hey, we support the transgender community. They're not under attack. Truth is under attack. The Bible is under attack.
Starting point is 00:28:06 The Judeo-Christian principles that made this nation great, America wasn't made great in 2016. It was made great from the infancy. You know, our founding fathers enacted a covenant with the God of the Bible. That's what made this nation what it is today. But we see BLM has now been exposed and the cover has been removed. And they used a strategic marketing plan called jamming.
Starting point is 00:28:37 If you keep a thing in front of a person long enough, they become desensitized to it. So let's show the general population support for homosexuality. Let's laud individuals who want to murder a baby. Let's convince the church to side with politicians who think, no, we should do it at 20 weeks. No, 12 weeks, no eight weeks. But when we search the scriptures from Genesis to Revelations, we don't see exemptions. We don't see a time frame where the God of the Bible says, yes, you can kill a child then. And so it's a holistic plan to bring about a culture of.
Starting point is 00:29:19 death. Islam is a political structure disguised as a religion. Sharia law. And secular progressivism is a religion disguised as a political structure. And the two feet on each other. And they go after any culture that declares absolute truth. So America and Israel, and we believe in absolutes. And so with that being said, that's the, it's between what God said and what man said.
Starting point is 00:29:46 And in the secular progressive and also Islam, they, They come together as a common force towards a common enemy. And what they do is ultimately they're going to devour one another. Because in the 1040 window where 90% of the Muslim world exists, LGBT, homosexuals are being thrown off buildings. Now, not in Gaza because there's no tall buildings left. That was a joke. And so you see this mess that's being created. And ultimately, they're going to devour themselves.
Starting point is 00:30:19 that's what happens. It's the law of entropy. It reduces to its least common denominator. But when you talk about the titler cycle, from slavery to faith, faith to freedom, freedom to abundance, abundance to apathy towards dependence and then dependence towards slavery, you pointed out, and I love this, Eric, you insert that triangle of freedom, faith, virtue, freedom, anywhere in that cycle and it resets it. and the church has the ability to reset that cycle. It's, the, the antichrist is, is not God's equal and evil. He's, he's stopable. And God wants us to engage
Starting point is 00:31:02 and push back the gates of hell. Gates enslave. But the moral law applied to the civil law will set them free and point them to Christ. We have, we have a great opportunity ahead of us. I've never been more excited. This is a great time to be alive.
Starting point is 00:31:17 He picked us for such a time as this. talk about occupying in the most practical sense. We know Christ is returning or we're going to go see them, but just like in the good work that Christians do in a variety of fields, for us, if we're to go rescue a kid and we're being shot at or mortared, well, we're still going to try to do the mission because what have we lost? As my wife says, even if we die, haven't we won? So I think Christians,
Starting point is 00:31:49 and America need to live like they're going to die because they still win. We're not in charge of the outcome, but the obedience. Charlie said that last night was great. Yeah, we're supposed to actually believe in the resurrection. And if you actually believe in the resurrection, if you actually believe Jesus defeated death on the cross, which every Christian claims to believe, then you have no fear.
Starting point is 00:32:11 And we need to live that way. Are you tired of not getting a good night's sleep? Well, my friend, Mike Lendell, has created the perfect solution. He didn't just stop at the pillow. He also created the Giza Dream bed sheets made from the world's best cotton called Giza. These sheets are ultra soft and breathable yet extremely durable. And now for a limited time, you can get 50% off the Giza Dream sheets with prices starting as low as 2998. These sheets come in a variety of sizes and colors and have a 60-day moneyback guarantee and a 10-year warranty.
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Starting point is 00:33:23 letter to the American Church. If the church doesn't wake up and take a stand now, what is each of you, what is your sense of where we go from here? I tell you, if the church continues down the same path, we will witness the dethroning in America of our government, the family, and of the Christian church. You know, in our American ignorance and arrogance, we think that this nation can't fall. Right? When you look at revelations, you don't see America per se, but you see the church. And so I think that we may be past that tipping point where the judgment of God, the thumos of God, is getting ready to come to this nation.
Starting point is 00:34:19 And we saw a glimpse of it during the pandemic, right, where tyrants were allowed to lord over us. But I think that as we wag our finger in the face of God and we provoke him to anger and wrath, I think that we're going to see God's hot anger and jealousy because God desires to be in a wholesome relationship with all of his creation, and he becomes jealous when he's not. And I think that if we continue down this path, we will see the removal of our candlestick. And that's the thing that I'm afraid of the most. Pastor Rob, what do you think? Do you sense that we might turn around or if we don't, what happens?
Starting point is 00:35:14 Because I know you, everyone here, I think, has inspired something. somebody to say, you know what, I think maybe I got it wrong. Maybe I need to revisit this. I know people have read the book or seen the film. They basically, you know, you want to think that people go, you know what, you're right. I got it wrong. I want to get it right. I know that that's been the case. What is your experience? Have people gotten back to you and said that your voice kind of changed my mind about some of this? Yeah, for sure. I'm a little more optimistic, I think, and the two of the rest of the folks on the table in the sense that the eschatology has, I call it self-fulfilling prophecy.
Starting point is 00:35:59 Calvaries are, Calvary Chables are pre-trip, pre-millennial, and so the next thing on God's day plan is the rapture. And it's an eschatology developed for an affluent nation as far as I see it. And yet, though I am pre-trip, pre-millennial, I've seen it that it's caused apathy and inactivity. Can I translate that into English? Yeah, eschatology is a study at the end times. Most people know, but in case you don't,
Starting point is 00:36:24 you're saying is there are many Christians, and you mentioned Calvary Chapel, but the point is there many Christians across America who say, you know what, it's over, Jesus is going to pull us out of here, there's no sense in doing anything because we're going to get pulled out of the fire. And you can't find that justification
Starting point is 00:36:42 anywhere in the scriptures. He says, occupy until I come. do business until I come. When he talks about the lamps of the virgins and keeping the wicks trimmed and all that, he wants us busy about his business. We don't know the day or the hour, but if all we're doing is looking at the horizon for his soon return, as opposed to preparing for his return, and just using eschatology to justify her apathy, and then to say, you know, you're participating in a government that's flawed.
Starting point is 00:37:13 And they say, you know, I just preach the gospel. I don't do politics. Politics is dirty. I always say, so is a church. What's your excuse? And then the other one is they say, I'm tired of voting for the lesser two evils. And I always say, unless Jesus is running for office, you'll always be voting for the lesser two evils. You're to contend, as you pointed out, John, you're contending for the welfare of those children that Jesus says, you caused one of these Istanbul.
Starting point is 00:37:35 It would be better for you to have a millstone tied around your neck, cast and deep association. You're telling me you can't go to a school board meeting and contend for the welfare of your citizens. in the community where God has placed you. I'm sorry. But the church is waking up to its responsibility. I'm optimistic about it. I sincerely believe there's going to be an awakening and a revival in our lifetime. And we're going to watch this. And everyone who said his soon return, look, I wish he'd come back yesterday. And if he comes back today, he's going to find me busy. I'm thrilled for his return. But the one thing I do know, all the folks out there that just look at every scripture for his eminent return and aren't going to the school board meetings, aren't engaging in the ecclesia,
Starting point is 00:38:18 they're going to have mud on their face because the Lord's going to cause an awakening. Nicely. Victor, you wanted to kind of relate this back to, you know, Israel's war on Hamas. And to some extent, that seems to have fueled the fires of cultural Marxism because behind all of this stuff, when we say we're fighting evil and a lot of it is what we can called cultural Marxism. And Marxism is atheistic. It is ultimately just very spiritually dark. It pretends to be neutral. But you have spent a lot of time in Israel. You're familiar with Hamas and with some of these very violent, hateful people in that part of the world. Well, we can speak as a couple who
Starting point is 00:39:04 still have a home in Iraq to Christians that have actually been persecuted. And I mean, we have seen death, dying, suffering, torment, torture from evil, which you spoke of. And I, we were in Israel right after the attacks. We deployed out there with our teams. And, and you know what? We found a messianic church group, a small group of people that had to flee their town because of mass attack. So this is where your theology, whatever you believe, gets shook. and now you're entering, you know, not first world issues, but third world of how evil can absolutely ruin your or make you strong in your faith. And I'd say this, America, I think, I don't know if it's God's wrath or the lack of,
Starting point is 00:40:01 I just think it could be the consequences of Christians doing nothing. and part of that is Marxism is really it's being funneled in. And I really pray, your book could be the last clarion call for the church to wake up. That's what I personally think. And as far as Christ coming back, whether he's coming back to get us or we're going to see him personally, because we'll be in Israel next week. and we face rockets, and we've faced it all many times. That can easily come to America,
Starting point is 00:40:43 especially with the type of the forest characters that are in America right now. So I don't think it would be something coming over. I think they're already here. And the church is the greatest opportunity. If pastors stand up, speak up, and you know the first book I read as a Christian was, the cause of discipleship. I was still in the Marine Corps when somebody handed it to me.
Starting point is 00:41:07 So that has framed our life on following Christ only as a disciple. Come on. Welcome back to our roundtable discussion from last month in Phoenix at Amfest about letter to the American church. All right. So as we go around here, kind of closing up, what are practical things that each of you believes the church can do? They're pastors listening to this.
Starting point is 00:41:32 They're leaders in churches listening to this. listen to this. What are practical things? If somebody says, okay, I kind of get this, what can I do? What are some things, John, that you would suggest? Well, you know, putting our faith into action, finding a mission field and adopting it, whether it's going to a local school board meeting, whether it's going to an abortion clinic and adopting that abortion clinic and supporting mamas who have found themselves in the ditch, you know, whether it's starting your own school to teach and to train, our precious arrows, find a way to do something actively. Pastor Rob, practical thoughts?
Starting point is 00:42:13 Yeah. What can churches do? What can pastors do? So God gave us the moral law, the decalogue. And when the moral law is applied to civil law, it's the wise restraints that'll make men free. But if you remove the moral law, civil law becomes a weapon to enslave man. We just saw that with the tyrannical efforts of Governor New Salini and others. And so when we're looking to elect officials and, and, and, you know, we're looking to elect officials and,
Starting point is 00:42:35 politicians or actors performing a script written by the audience. If we're going to write that script, then there's three questions I typically ask anyone who seeks my endorsement as a candidate. First of all, name the seven articles of the U.S. Constitution. Tell me how many amendments there are. And preferably I'd like to hear the first ten when you give me the Bill of Rights. And then I ask them, please recite for me the Ten Commandments from memory, because that's going to be the filter of every decision you're going to make. And that moral law applied to civil law will set your citizens free. But if you don't know that moral law, what's your governing position? So one God, no idols, don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain, honor the Sabbath
Starting point is 00:43:14 day, honor your mother and father, don't murder, don't commit adultery, two in a marriage, not five, don't steal, don't bear false witness and don't covet. If they can't recite those, you're not getting my endorsement. Go back and do your homework. Because if we start infusing this nation with men and women who understand the more moral law to govern civil law. That's going to be, as it says in Galatians 3, the law is a school teacher, a guardian, to point us to Christ until faith comes. So that's my push right now. That's my focus in this nation. And we've ignored civics in America. Growing up in America,
Starting point is 00:43:48 you know, we're not teaching the Constitution, any of that stuff. So it's kind of fascinating to me that only when most Americans don't know this stuff can the dark forces come in, globalist, Marxist forces, they can only come in when most Americans don't know most of what you just said. That's a perfect segue for this, because if you're looking at cultural Marxism, and these are all oligarchies, whether it's fascism or communism, the fewer ruling the many, as opposed to a bottom-up government like we have in a constitutional republic. So if you look at communism, it's already a violation of two of the Ten Commandments. Don't covet and don't steal. So that's out. That's just not going to be sufficient to govern mankind. The protection of private property.
Starting point is 00:44:38 The number one book of all the books of our founders quoted is Deuteronomy. They looked at the Constitutional Republic of Israel to fashion our own government. So the pastors have a responsibility to reinstill that in the culture. All right. Practical steps. Eileen, what can churches Christian leaders do? I would say take the idea. of spiritual warfare, seriously, because this is what is causing all this problems. It is good
Starting point is 00:45:08 against evil. It is light against dark. Take it seriously in your home and understand that there are so much programming coming in if you don't allow it. If you don't eliminate it and recognize how people are being programmed and they're being controlled. And it has to start in the home unit. husbands and wives and children understand that if we have this strong unit at home, then we're going to be a stronger community. And what do you mean just to be clear when you say spiritual warfare? Oh, I'm talking the enemy is against people. He is attacking people.
Starting point is 00:45:43 He is using all these social issues in his favor. And he's winning a lot of ground. We as Christians have to stand up and take our place. I want to thank all of you for being part of this conversation. and for what you do. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:46:01 Thank you so much. You bless me.

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