March 20, 2025

"Conversations: Rick Green"

"Conversations: Rick Green"

Pour a cup of coffee and join Jimmy and guest, Rick Green, as they discuss what it means to engage culture from a biblical worldview. Rick is the founder and president of the Patriot Academy in the Texas Hill Country. They are raising up the next generation of culture shapers and history makers.

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I have that song on my playlist. So this coffee

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cup, hold on, ready, three, two, one. There we

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go. So this coffee cup was gifted to us by the

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boys of Mercy Me. You really got, you got that

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directly from, no way. Okay. Yeah. That's cool.

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Quick story. They reached out to me, John Schuser.

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He's the lead guitar player. One of them. There's

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two, two lead guitar players. He reaches out

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through Facebook of all places. He goes, Hey,

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I know, I know you don't know me, Pastor Jimmy,

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but, Darren Tyler up at Conduit Church in Nashville

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is my pastor. I know Darren. That church is growing

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big time out there. Great guy. And he said, I'm

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one of the guitar players for Mercy Me. I was

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like, oh, that's cool. And he said, hey. So he

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was trying to get to Adam. So he knew I baptized

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him. Well, Adam was telling me that they were

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fans of Adam's, that they watched his No Agenda

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voice. No way. So anyway, that's how that happened.

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So we ended up with these cups. In fact, I'll

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just show it around here. Nice. I actually like

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it. I like what it says. Wake up and do my happy

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dance. We should make happy dance the theme song.

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Come on now. Oh, man, they rocked that out. So

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you'll notice over there, too. Got the tavern

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mug on set with us. Excellent. Excellent. I have

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the props. Yes. And, of course, one of my favorites.

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Nice. That has become something that is so important

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to me. Somebody reached out to Adam Curry recently,

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and he forwarded me the email. She lives right

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around the corner from the monument. No kidding.

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And she wrote the book on the monument. Oh, wow.

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And she had heard Adam on. Oh, is she the one

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that did the book? We carry that book. Okay.

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In the Patriot Academy. story yeah she's actually

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sending me and adam both a copy of it because

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he was talking about it she saw him on rogan

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and said i actually wrote the book on that i'm

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going to send you a couple of copies of that

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nice and maybe someday we could meet up because

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we want to go back there at some point you know

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well go you can't go with us easter because you

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got to be here for easter but we're gonna know

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yeah we're gonna go for the shot heard around

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the world 250th birthday right there in lexington

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and then drive over to Plymouth and do a little

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Easter service at the monument. Powerful, powerful.

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So let's say a word of prayer as we get started.

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I'd like to kick off right. Father, in Jesus'

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name, what a privilege it is to be here with

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Rick, just a man who's so influenced my life

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on so many levels and so thankful for his friendship,

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but also thankful for his coaching and his mentorship

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in regards to all things constitutional, all

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things about loving our nation well, and also

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pulling this nation back to where it needs to

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be. And so thank you for Rick and the Patriot

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Academy, for Kara, the kids, and the interns

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out there, just an amazing team doing amazing

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work. And so bless him, encourage him. And today

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we just put before you what we're doing here.

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We give it to you, consecrate ourselves, our

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thoughts, our conversation. You take it where

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you want it to go, and we'll riff on it as you

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bring it to us. We trust you in it. And Father,

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for our hearers. And for those who are watching

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and joining us, Father, would you encourage them,

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give them the grace to live up in a down world.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. This is our first

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inaugural video version. Uh -oh. We've never

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done it before. You should have picked somebody

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better for that. It's going to be the first.

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Man, we just went downhill. We're going down,

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not up. We're supposed to be living up. We're

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supposed to be living up in a down world, right?

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So I want to welcome you to the inaugural video

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version of this. And we're stepping into a new

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space with this on YouTube and others. And just

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super excited to have you today, brother. You

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bet, man. We're getting to do life together.

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You hear me say this a million times. We get

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to do this. Well, right now we're in a season

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where we're getting to do life together in this

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season. So excited about having you and Kara

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and the kids and the whole Patriot Academy crew

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and team here in Fredericksburg, Texas. You guys

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moved from Dripping Springs. So I want you to

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just kick this off by telling us a little bit

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about your background. I'll probably ask some

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pointed questions. If I interrupt you, just flow

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with me. Just for people who are watching or

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listening, because we'll have this both audio

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and video, I want them to get to know who you

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are, and I really want them to connect with the

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Patriot Academy. So tell us how it started. Just

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give us a quick background on that, and then

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why you ended up in Fredericksburg instead of

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Dripping Springs. I think you and Annette are

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a big reason. I think God was bringing us together,

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man. This church, this whole environment, this

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whole group, I've never felt more at home. I

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mean, there's no way to tell all the different

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times you have said something that my family

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looks, we all look around and look at each other

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and go, we've been saying that for years. He

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said it exactly like we say it, you know, and

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just over and over and over again. I mean, even

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the title of your show, you know, we re -produce

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or re - I guess, did Zig Ziglar's Raising Positive

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Kids in a Negative World. It's just like the

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same kind of theme, right? It's like all this

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other stuff's going on in the world that's bad.

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We'll show you how God's going to make good out

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of it. It's just that same attitude. So anyway,

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it's like brother from another mother, man. I

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mean, that's all the time. Even the other day,

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there was one of your sermons. It was probably

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three weeks ago. You said something about your

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mom being a teller and talking about the whole...

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you know, fake, uh, not, you don't handle fake

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money. You handle the real thing. So you recognize

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the fake money, exact same thing with my mom,

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bro. Exact same thing. I even tell that story

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in one of my constitution classes. Cause I use

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the example of study the actual constitution,

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not the Supreme court opinions that are not the

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real thing. And I tell, and I'm like, you're

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telling that story and cameras looking back at

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me going. that's gaga too that's gaga story it

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is just amazing it happens all the time and so

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yes i'm telling you man and it's just a holy

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spirit thing adam and i were talking about the

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other day it's like all these things where the

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holy spirit just brought so many of us together

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for such a time as this and it's almost like

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it it saves time it's i don't know it's like

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we're starting in the same place we don't have

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to try to figure out how to work together It's

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just been a natural dovetail. Oh, good way to

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put that. My word for this year is convergence.

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That's it. And it literally is this merging,

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this converging of people, place, things, time,

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season, culture, what God's doing in the earth

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right now. It's like this convergence of streams,

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and I'm just catching the waves. I always say

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I don't generate the waves, just catch them when

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they come by. And then when you ride that one

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out, you paddle back out and catch another one.

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And that's really what we're in right now. not

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having to fight it you know you've ever been

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in a season where it's like you're trying to

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make it happen trying to make it it's just not

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working it just won't come together it's the

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opposite of that It's like everywhere we're turning,

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it's just smooth. It's hitting that wave exactly

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right. It's so natural as breathing because we're

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not trying to generate or make things happen.

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It's just God is putting these things in front

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of us. I always have called it, for years, the

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favor factor. He's putting these things in front

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of us. We simply step into them. And the door

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opens, you step through it. It's like when he

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got Peter out of jail, right? Or Paul, Paul and

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Silas, when they were in jail. And the door's

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open. What do you do? You walk through the door.

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door that's open right no effort they weren't

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having to bang on the wall they weren't they

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didn't have a file trying to right right they

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had bars back there i don't know how they did

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it back in the first century but but they were

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able to just walk out because the doors open

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and i feel like that's what we're doing right

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now on every level amen well that's uh that's

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the way we feel being here you know we've been

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over in dripping springs for 30 years my wife

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grew up there i grew up in the dallas area and

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wiley and um you know when i came down here for

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law school and we met got married it was only

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three years in that I ran for the legislature.

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And so we ended up in the state house at a very

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young age. And so all of a sudden we're thrust

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into this political world and trying to figure

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it out. And what really shocked us was how many

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people in that arena We're just constantly finger

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to the wind, kind of blown by whatever was going

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on with no real conviction, no plumb line of

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this is what I'm here for. This is what I'm fighting

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for. And so we decided, you know what, we need

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to raise up a generation that has a conviction

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oriented compass of what right and wrong is and

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how to walk that out in the political arena.

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That was where our passion was. And so that's

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when we started Patriot Academy. So it's been

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25 years of training young people. And just a

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few years ago, we started. training old people

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too. So all of us, every age, you know, yeah,

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that's right. That's right. It was because people

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our age were saying, where's our program? You

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know, we're watching these kids get this foundation.

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What can we do to come participate? So now we've

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got the coach program. We got the youth leadership

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program and we'd always wanted to have a campus,

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but we, you know, we'd, cause we'd bounce around

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to state capitals. We do the programs in state

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capitals around the country. And we always wanted

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to have a campus cause we knew we've had the,

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we get the kids for one week at a time and you

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can only do so much. And a lot of the kids would

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come back three, four or five years in a row.

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So we could build. on it, but we always dreamed

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of having them for a year. Our kids went through

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a program like that over the last, I guess, five

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years. We were sending them to Hot Springs, to

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Tim Brooks' church there. Paul Kern had them

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for a year. What I saw him do with them when

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he had that year, and we think we're pretty decent

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parents. We're not the best, but we're not terrible.

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Like I was saying with Zig Ziglar's Raising Positive

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Kids in a Negative World, we did all of that.

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But by sending them to Paul and what they call

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Leaders Academy up there in Hot Springs and watching

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their growth over that year, the interaction

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they had with other kids, the iron sharpening,

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the grounding, the focus on the Lord. I call

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CBI's casual but intentional meetings. Yes. Those

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are the ones you have after class. Yeah, around

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the fire or just at lunch or whatever it might

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be. Yeah, in the dorm or whatever, or in your

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case, the mini home. Yeah. To me, that's where

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a lot of life happens. I always say a lot of

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what we do in church is an excuse to get us together.

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Exactly. I mean, all the programming, all that

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is all great, and it's important. It has good

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content, but it's really the interaction and

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the conversation to happen after you've been

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in an environment where you've been taught, where

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you're learning something, where your mind gets

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pumped, and you're like, I've got to talk to

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somebody about this. Even our Constitution classes

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are like that. I tell everybody the magic happens

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after the video. Play the video. That's the excuse

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to come together, kind of like what you're talking

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about, but then it's the fellowship. afterwards

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where the iron sharpening iron happens and and

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even we tell people at the campus you know we're

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building independence hall we're doing all this

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stuff but the buildings are the carrot man that's

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just getting them there so that you can do exactly

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what you're talking about do life together and

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have those moments of inspiration so we saw that

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in our own kids saw the result of what happened

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when they did that one year program said we've

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got to do this for these patriot academy kids

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that are coming through the program so that's

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the reason we ultimately wanted to have a campus

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And Kara said Fredericksburg from the beginning.

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I mean, even when we first started looking, she's

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like, Fredericksburg, I mean, the Holy Spirit

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was just drawing us here. I was going to ask,

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is it something she felt like the Lord was leading?

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We hadn't even been here that much. I think we

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had visited here maybe once or twice over 30

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years, but she just knew this was the place.

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And, of course, my reaction was, too expensive,

00:11:17.940 --> 00:11:19.539
there's no way, you know, it's not going to work.

00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:21.480
And so we looked all over the state. She looked

00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.539
at 200 different places, ranches, you know, and

00:11:23.539 --> 00:11:25.759
we did a whole tour of Comedy and Constitution

00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:28.500
every night, 17 nights all around Texas, and

00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:31.059
every night I'd say, Somebody wants their ranch

00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:33.919
to be the legacy of Patriot. We got a couple

00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.720
offers, like down at the border, no thanks. Midland,

00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.659
we love Midland, Odessa, but not that much. And

00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:42.220
then the Lord opened up Fredericksburg and gave

00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:44.940
us this place. And man, it's been fast and furious

00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:48.500
for the last, it's only been 26 months now. But,

00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:51.100
man, it's been amazing. I literally live two

00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:54.220
miles past you. So you've seen us every step

00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:56.059
of the way. I've seen it every step of the way,

00:11:56.059 --> 00:11:57.559
driving by there. At first, it was like, what

00:11:57.559 --> 00:11:59.679
is going on over there? I mean, because when

00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:01.240
you drive a road every day, you notice everything.

00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:02.860
Right, right. Especially if it's something different.

00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:05.460
And we were like, man, something's going on there.

00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:08.100
And we watched and watched. I actually remember

00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:11.259
hearing you the first time, Rick, was at the

00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:13.200
Lincoln Reagan dinner. Oh, yeah. That's three

00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:14.519
years ago. That's right, before we even had the

00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.289
land. Yeah, the first time you spoke there, I

00:12:17.289 --> 00:12:18.750
think it was the first one they had here, it

00:12:18.750 --> 00:12:21.289
was an inaugural. And I remember, of course,

00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:24.429
I love Laura and everybody else, but I was like...

00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:27.740
That guy, I don't know what he does, but I need

00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:30.820
to be in his proximity. And I look for that.

00:12:30.899 --> 00:12:33.460
That's something all my life. I always look for

00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:35.559
people that had something I wanted. Then I just

00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:38.360
go after it. You know, whatever. I look them

00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:39.919
up online nowadays. You can do a lot of things

00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:41.940
digitally. I got mentors all over the world.

00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:43.440
They don't even know they're my mentor. Right,

00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:45.360
right. But that's the beauty of the digital world.

00:12:45.850 --> 00:12:47.929
There's negative and positive. There's positive

00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:50.370
a lot if you use it right. But I just remember

00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:52.830
when you all were talking about coming to Fredericksburg.

00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:54.629
Yeah, yeah. That night, I mean, we literally

00:12:54.629 --> 00:12:56.149
threw it out there. You threw the carrot out.

00:12:56.190 --> 00:12:57.990
Yeah, so we'd love to be. In fact, one of the

00:12:57.990 --> 00:13:00.309
guys came up that night, Steve Morosevich lives

00:13:00.309 --> 00:13:02.889
here, and he came up and said, if you come to

00:13:02.889 --> 00:13:05.159
Fredericksburg. I'll write the first $10 ,000

00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.600
check. So I have that piece of paper. He wrote

00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.059
it on a piece of paper, and I texted him the

00:13:09.059 --> 00:13:10.580
other day, and he did. As soon as we got the

00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:12.259
place, he donated. And I told him the other day,

00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:13.820
I said, man, I found that piece of paper where

00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:15.299
you wrote that down. I said, we're going to frame

00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:17.019
it and put it at the campus. But anyway, so that

00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:18.820
night we didn't have the place yet. I think it's

00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:20.299
interesting, though, that you felt that draw.

00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:22.799
I think we might have met briefly that night.

00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:24.220
I can't remember. I know you did the prayer that

00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:25.600
night because I was the same way. I was like,

00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.240
man, that guy's on fire. So think about that.

00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:31.820
That would have been another year and a half.

00:13:32.529 --> 00:13:35.049
before we came and visited the bridge. And I

00:13:35.049 --> 00:13:37.889
remember that first Sunday in November of 2020.

00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:41.350
That would have been November of 2023. And we

00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:44.269
sat there. It was Cameron and Kara and me. We

00:13:44.269 --> 00:13:45.610
were the only three out of the family that was

00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.250
there. And they were on both sides of me. And

00:13:48.250 --> 00:13:50.830
your sermon, man. I'm telling you, they're elbowing

00:13:50.830 --> 00:13:53.830
me, bruising every rib. Every five minutes you're

00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:55.049
saying something, they're like, did you hear

00:13:55.049 --> 00:13:56.490
that? Did you hear that? And I'm looking around

00:13:56.490 --> 00:13:58.330
for a camera going, is this Candy Camera? What's

00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:00.470
going on? Who is this guy? Everything you said.

00:14:00.629 --> 00:14:02.750
And then you put John Cooper's book up, Wimpy,

00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:04.929
Weak, and Woke. I took a picture, sent it to

00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:06.710
him, and I'm like, this guy's preaching from

00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:09.720
your book. And it was just, I mean, it was so

00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:12.559
obvious. I mean, we knew that Sunday. It took

00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.139
that one sermon. We said, this is done now. We

00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:17.299
waited. We were like, okay, let's just make sure.

00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:18.980
Yeah, we'll make sure he's for real. Yeah, make

00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:20.340
sure he's for real. He didn't just do that for

00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:22.240
us. Right, right. And you didn't even know who

00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:23.620
I was. I mean, you wouldn't have known. Well,

00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:25.639
think about it. In a real sense, and I say this

00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:27.980
a lot, I say, if you come to this church, you're

00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:29.960
jumping on a moving train. Exactly. I mean, so

00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:31.320
you kind of got to get up to speed a little bit

00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:33.500
to jump on it, right, or rip your arms off. So

00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:36.919
you guys came in as we were really moving down

00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:40.220
the street. track. Um, God had just so arrested

00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:42.659
my heart about what's going on in culture, not

00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:45.059
just politics, culture in general. Politics is

00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.320
a part of a much, you know, it's a cog in a big

00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:49.759
wheel, right? Or a spoke in a big wheel. And,

00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:52.220
um, but it just so happens that was more in the

00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:55.000
line with what you were doing. And so I can't

00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.700
not talk about that thing. The Lord really convicted

00:14:57.700 --> 00:14:59.840
me of a number of years ago. We were in Abilene,

00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:04.159
Texas. I i called up the mayor of abilene texas

00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.919
back then it was mayor grady barr and i asked

00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:09.679
his the gatekeeper his secretary and she was

00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.500
the gatekeeper i said i'm a pastor at you know

00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:15.080
a church in town just moved here and i would

00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:17.000
like to meet with the mayor and she's like well

00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:18.779
what would this be about i mean she just was

00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.039
like a total gatekeeper and it was interesting

00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.409
because i got a sense of pushback like I got

00:15:24.409 --> 00:15:26.669
the feeling that when pastors called the mayor,

00:15:26.789 --> 00:15:28.649
it was probably for a negative thing. Yeah, just

00:15:28.649 --> 00:15:29.889
chewing him out for something. It was a complaint.

00:15:29.990 --> 00:15:31.990
Yeah. And I just told her, I said, I just want

00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:34.029
to meet with him and just be a blessing to him

00:15:34.029 --> 00:15:35.970
and encourage him and thank him for his leadership

00:15:35.970 --> 00:15:38.269
in the city. She said, oh, well, we got an opening

00:15:38.269 --> 00:15:40.450
this week. And I mean, it happened that quick.

00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:43.370
The defenses came down. Oh, totally. And I walked

00:15:43.370 --> 00:15:45.250
into the office. She was super sweet. I met her.

00:15:45.350 --> 00:15:47.529
I sat down with Mayor Barr. And I was a little

00:15:47.529 --> 00:15:49.809
nervous. I'm younger. I was a lot younger. And

00:15:49.809 --> 00:15:52.769
I'm like, I felt really led by the Lord to go

00:15:52.769 --> 00:15:55.600
be a blessing. How can we support instead of

00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.659
always tear down, right? And so I stepped into

00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:00.879
his office. He has a guard up a little bit because

00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:02.799
he's like, what's this guy want? And I just sat

00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:04.940
in his chair. And by the way, the chair like

00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:07.120
set me a foot lower than him. It was really bizarre

00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.639
because he's a short man of stature. So he had

00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:11.759
this tall chair. He arranged the room so he could

00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.659
feel. His chair popped up and everything. And

00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:16.080
I'm sitting there looking up at him like a little

00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:21.039
kid. Alice in Wonderland. Totally weird. But

00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.919
I was much younger than him. I would have done

00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:25.360
that anyway. Posturing is sit below him to honor

00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:27.779
him. But I just said, I'm just here. I'm a new

00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:29.779
pastor in town and I want you to know our church,

00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:31.720
we've been praying for you and praying for our

00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:35.019
city, praying for our city council. And we want

00:16:35.019 --> 00:16:37.519
to know how, I'd like to take back to our church

00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:39.799
just some prayer points so that we can remember

00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:42.139
to be lifting you up. And I said, because I don't

00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:44.720
think that government and churches should be

00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.679
at odds. I think we can work together to make

00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.259
this a better place. And I sang his song apparently

00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:52.259
because he invited me. Wow, man. Met with him

00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:54.940
for the next year, every month, at least once

00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:58.230
a month to go pray. in his office. I gave him

00:16:58.230 --> 00:17:00.230
the scripture that first day. It was a Proverbs

00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:02.289
11, 11. It says, by the blessing of the upright,

00:17:02.509 --> 00:17:09.390
the city is exalted, but by the blessing of the

00:17:09.390 --> 00:17:12.309
upright, the city is exalted, but by the mouth

00:17:12.309 --> 00:17:15.130
of the wicked, it is torn apart. Man, you were

00:17:15.130 --> 00:17:18.210
way ahead of the game. Oh, wow. He said, do you

00:17:18.210 --> 00:17:20.549
have that on a piece of paper? And he took out

00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:22.369
a sticky note, and I wrote it down for him. He

00:17:22.369 --> 00:17:25.190
stuck it on his desk. And I didn't even know

00:17:25.190 --> 00:17:27.109
if he's a believer or not, a Christian. He said

00:17:27.109 --> 00:17:29.109
he sometimes prays, but, you know, you just don't

00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:32.390
know. Is it God fear or what? So we built this

00:17:32.390 --> 00:17:34.769
relationship together. And what he did, he started,

00:17:34.910 --> 00:17:36.410
I'd go, I'm coming to his office. He's ready

00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:38.829
for me next time. He had blueprints of the city,

00:17:38.849 --> 00:17:42.289
city plats and rolling them out saying, here's

00:17:42.289 --> 00:17:44.210
our flood issues. And here's where we got issues.

00:17:44.430 --> 00:17:46.950
We got to fix these creeks. And we've got a no

00:17:46.950 --> 00:17:49.750
smoking ban coming up, being placed before city

00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:52.230
council. It's going to be a war. I mean, so he

00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:53.779
started laying out everything. Well, that was

00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:57.140
my first step into engaging culture outside the

00:17:57.140 --> 00:17:59.779
four walls of the church. And that did something

00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.940
in me. The day that he resigned, he was going

00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:04.920
to resign. He was getting older. He was ready

00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.539
to take. take his leave. He called me. He said,

00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:09.180
you're the first. I haven't even told my wife.

00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:11.880
He said, I'm calling you, Jimmy, because you've

00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.599
walked with me this last year and a half, two

00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:16.720
years. And he said, I want you to be the first

00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:18.160
to know, and I want to invite you. I'm going

00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.140
to make it public tomorrow. I'm going to do a

00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:23.759
press conference, and you'll be the only non

00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.720
-press in the room. Would you come with me? And

00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.140
so I stepped in there, and I realized all that

00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:31.579
did for me as a young man is it ignited something

00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:35.130
in my heart to say, You know, we had a small

00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:37.930
church. We didn't have a big footprint, but we

00:18:37.930 --> 00:18:40.730
had, because of this, we had big influence. And

00:18:40.730 --> 00:18:43.630
I realized if you can influence the influencers,

00:18:43.690 --> 00:18:45.589
it doesn't matter how big your footprint is.

00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:48.009
Yeah. And that's being salt and light. If you

00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:51.089
can get their ear, get their heart, you can influence

00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:53.450
the world, right? Amen. So that started me down

00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:54.950
that track. So that's my background. That's a

00:18:54.950 --> 00:18:57.910
totally different mindset than most. what most

00:18:57.910 --> 00:18:59.369
are taught in seminary, right? It's like that

00:18:59.369 --> 00:19:01.670
separation is truly a separation. We don't even

00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:03.910
go in that arena. We stay inside the four walls

00:19:03.910 --> 00:19:05.609
of the church. Yeah, you're going to run off

00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:07.230
your tithers. You're going to run off people.

00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.900
And I just remember... And that was before I

00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:12.779
did this, obviously. I did go to seminary, and

00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:14.480
I heard those kind of things. Fortunately, my

00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:17.339
undergrad was with the Doug MacArthur Academy

00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:20.000
of Freedom at Howard Payne University. They were

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.220
all poli -sci, and they were pro get involved,

00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:24.960
get your hands dirty. So I think that was probably

00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.980
where that seed was planted in me. So anyway,

00:19:28.059 --> 00:19:31.059
good things. I love it, man. So why Patriot Academy?

00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.799
I want to ask you this question. I was a youth

00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.579
pastor for 15 years. I'm still one. I don't tell

00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:39.369
anybody. I'm totally still that mindset. older

00:19:39.369 --> 00:19:41.190
now helps to be a guitar player you know the

00:19:41.190 --> 00:19:45.089
whole package right total total youth pastor

00:19:45.089 --> 00:19:46.950
guy all these a clipboard and a whistle and i'm

00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:51.589
good to go but uh so so the next generation generational

00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:54.089
transfer is a big thing in my heart always has

00:19:54.089 --> 00:19:57.069
been uh i remember we had a saying touch the

00:19:57.069 --> 00:20:00.599
camp touch the campus touch the world yeah Or

00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:02.180
touch the campus, reach the world. One of those.

00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:03.680
Reach the campus, touch the world. I think that's

00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:05.700
what it was. There it is. And that was one of

00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:08.480
our mottos. And so we did a lot of campus ministry

00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.660
back in the day, whether it was junior high,

00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:13.700
middle school, junior high back then, middle

00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:16.200
school and high school. But then we went on college

00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:18.980
campuses all over the place. And so I'm curious

00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:21.779
about what led you to begin to think about the

00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:24.380
next generation. You know, it really was frustration

00:20:24.380 --> 00:20:29.039
at the Capitol and realizing. I'm probably not

00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.059
going to change hearts and minds here. They're

00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:32.799
already dug in. They're already kind of in their

00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.000
way. So how do we raise up the next generation

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.160
better? And Psalm 78 started kind of being a

00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:42.059
guidebook. It was like, okay, that whole chapter

00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:44.680
is essentially how to pass the torch of freedom

00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.410
and not... fumble the baton as you're as you're

00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:49.049
passing it and what what the negative effects

00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:51.029
are if you don't pass it well and how you can

00:20:51.029 --> 00:20:53.029
get the positive if you do and so we even named

00:20:53.029 --> 00:20:55.430
we're called Patriot Academy today but the foundation's

00:20:55.430 --> 00:20:57.690
actually called the Torch of Freedom Foundation

00:20:57.690 --> 00:20:59.329
because it's literally about passing the torch

00:20:59.329 --> 00:21:01.549
and then Patriot Academy is just a DBA of of

00:21:01.549 --> 00:21:04.170
that so that that image in my mind was there

00:21:04.170 --> 00:21:06.509
of okay how do we do this well how do we pass

00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:08.630
the torch intact so we got to preserve it to

00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:11.230
do that And then how do we teach them how to

00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:14.430
receive the torch and then inspire them to preserve

00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:17.269
it? So that sort of became the whole idea. And

00:21:17.269 --> 00:21:19.250
that's why initially it was with the youth. But

00:21:19.250 --> 00:21:21.670
then there was this quote by John Jay. He was

00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:23.509
the first chief justice of the U .S. Supreme

00:21:23.509 --> 00:21:26.970
Court. And he said that you've got to have every

00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:30.130
generation know. And if they know their rights,

00:21:30.269 --> 00:21:31.650
then they'll perceive when they're violated and

00:21:31.650 --> 00:21:33.289
be the better prepared to defend and assert them.

00:21:33.390 --> 00:21:35.910
But he had this phrase. He said, teach the rising

00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:38.960
generation to be free. And I thought that was

00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:41.099
always, for the first 10, 15 years of what we

00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:42.519
were doing, I thought, well, that's the youth.

00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:45.059
And then I started realizing, actually, every

00:21:45.059 --> 00:21:47.400
generation, there's a rising generation in our

00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:50.519
generation, in every generation, and just how

00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:53.019
civically ignorant we were and how the church

00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:54.960
had become civically ignorant too. Well, biblically

00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:56.740
ignorant too, right? You got 9 % reading the

00:21:56.740 --> 00:22:00.059
Bible, but very civically ignorant and going,

00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:02.380
okay, we can change that. Ignorance is curable.

00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:04.640
We just have to... be willing to take the time

00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:06.440
to dive in, study these things. And when we do,

00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:08.180
and that civic literacy goes up and biblical

00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:11.240
literacy goes up, then truth, actually people,

00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.099
you know, we always say truth will set you free,

00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:15.819
but you got to know the truth. So finding that

00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:18.759
truth, raising that literacy just became a total

00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:21.940
mantra for us. Wow. I love that. When I met you,

00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.579
well, actually the first time I heard you speak,

00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.920
and you were talking about Patriot Academy, I

00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:27.519
was like, this was exactly my mentality for so

00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:30.019
many years is we've got to continue to raise

00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:31.920
up. Of course, being in the church world, I'm

00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:33.579
a professional Christian, as Alan Jackson says.

00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:36.460
Being in the church world, we've watched churches

00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.740
grow old, not so into the next generation, not

00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.000
raise up the next generation, train them in the

00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.759
way they should go, right? And when you're old,

00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:45.299
you won't depart. They didn't do that. And so

00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:47.480
what happened was these churches grew old, and

00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:49.940
then their light went out. Yeah. They were gone.

00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:52.700
They started to literally die, die off. And you

00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:55.619
saw that generation getting essentially stolen

00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:57.559
by the enemy because they weren't taught those

00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:59.839
things. So when they go into the college or wherever

00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:03.200
and all of the negative about the church, negative

00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.839
about God, and they're challenged. I mean, a

00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.039
lot of those professors, they literally set that

00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:09.440
out as their goal to basically rob you of your

00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:10.900
faith. I'm going to show you why you've been

00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:13.099
lied to. And then if you're not ready to give

00:23:13.099 --> 00:23:15.450
an answer like we're supposed to be. You feel

00:23:15.450 --> 00:23:18.269
stupid, you feel unequipped, you know, and then

00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:19.630
you're mad at your parents and your pastor and

00:23:19.630 --> 00:23:21.630
everybody else for not equipping you, so you

00:23:21.630 --> 00:23:23.170
walk away. So that's why you ended up with...

00:23:23.289 --> 00:23:26.029
I mean, I saw studies that said 80 % of Christians

00:23:26.029 --> 00:23:27.609
were walking away from the faith in college,

00:23:27.650 --> 00:23:30.750
and it's because we failed to prepare them to

00:23:30.750 --> 00:23:32.589
be ready to give an answer. Wow. You know, I've

00:23:32.589 --> 00:23:35.029
always heard this statement, because that's so

00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:37.589
spot on. You know, we're one generation away

00:23:37.589 --> 00:23:40.210
from whatever. That's right. Paganism. That's

00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:42.490
right. Loss of our freedoms. We're one generation

00:23:42.490 --> 00:23:45.289
away, which means if we're not willing to, as

00:23:45.289 --> 00:23:48.660
those forefathers had these great... vivid imagery

00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:52.019
of laying down in the mud so that the next generation

00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:55.500
can walk over them. And so we've got to be, and

00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:57.819
I've always said it this way, we can't be the

00:23:57.819 --> 00:23:59.859
ceiling for the next generation. We got to be

00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:02.220
the floor. We got to be the launching pad. So

00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:06.349
we hand them the baton. And at this level where

00:24:06.349 --> 00:24:09.410
they continue to rise and run. And so I brought

00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:13.210
on Pastor Brian, as you know, a year and a half

00:24:13.210 --> 00:24:16.069
ago. And everybody's goo -goo over him. And here's

00:24:16.069 --> 00:24:18.569
the deal. It's so exciting to me is I saw the

00:24:18.569 --> 00:24:20.730
call of ministry on his life 20 -plus years ago

00:24:20.730 --> 00:24:23.450
and invited him to come aboard. And he became

00:24:23.450 --> 00:24:26.009
our youth pastor and just took off. And he's

00:24:26.009 --> 00:24:27.750
one of those guys that I've been willing to lay

00:24:27.750 --> 00:24:30.089
down in the mud for because I see this greatness

00:24:30.089 --> 00:24:32.650
in him. Him and others like him. We've got others

00:24:32.650 --> 00:24:35.829
in ministry all over the place. But to be able

00:24:35.829 --> 00:24:38.730
to have him here close now, you know, I've hired

00:24:38.730 --> 00:24:42.119
him three times. I said, dude, you cannot leave

00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.380
three times. This is it, man. This is it. But

00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:48.619
it's because we've walked together. Anytime he

00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:51.079
left, he left with blessing. He left with honor.

00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:53.599
And he's returned with honor. There were seasons

00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:55.720
probably that he needed. Absolutely. That convergence

00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:57.460
you were talking about, all those things he went

00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:59.119
and did, I bet I have no idea what he was doing.

00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:00.640
Nine years of business. There's no doubt. In

00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.259
the business world. And military and all of that.

00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.319
All of it came back together. And so I just see

00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.839
that. That's so important that we continue to

00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.180
raise up the next generation and pour into them.

00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.980
So thank you. Too much of ministry dies because

00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:16.180
we don't, right? You get these personality types,

00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:19.500
and God does great things through them, but then

00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:21.380
when they're gone, that whole thing dies because

00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:23.059
they didn't pass the torch well. They hang on

00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:25.660
to it. Yeah. They're not willing to let go. And

00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:27.819
that's where I'm at with Pastor Brian. I'm just

00:25:27.819 --> 00:25:30.700
giving him more and letting him run with WWJD,

00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:33.759
our discipleship core class. Dude, those Wednesday

00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.400
nights, man, I've been bragging about on y 'all

00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.339
all over the country because it's exactly what

00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:41.740
the church needs. Because that depth that y 'all

00:25:41.740 --> 00:25:44.539
are going into is preparing us as the congregation

00:25:44.539 --> 00:25:46.859
to be able to go be ready to answer whenever

00:25:46.859 --> 00:25:49.319
these things come up and to just be better disciples

00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:51.460
to go live that stuff out. So y 'all are doing

00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:53.859
a phenomenal job. know I've told you this in

00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:57.079
front of other people at church, but... It always

00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:59.200
seems like everywhere I've been before, if the

00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.400
pastor's not there and the second guy gets up,

00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:04.079
you're like, but not here, man. It could be either

00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:05.740
one of y 'all walking up on Sunday morning. You

00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:08.779
know you're going to be fed well. You're just

00:26:08.779 --> 00:26:11.180
blessed to have him as your assistant pastor.

00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:13.059
What's his official title? I don't even know.

00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.880
Executive pastor. Executive pastor. Okay, got

00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:16.880
it. Yeah, yeah. No B team here, brother. No B

00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:19.819
team. That's exactly right. And that's it, empowering

00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:22.619
people to rise up and lead. I was taught by good

00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:24.779
leaders that the best thing you can do is bring

00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:27.000
smarter. better people around you. Exactly. And

00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:30.000
then that'll elevate you as well. So iron sharpens

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.380
iron, right? Amen. Amen. So let's continue. Let's

00:26:32.380 --> 00:26:34.319
get back on with you because, man, just super

00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:36.319
excited to have you. And this won't be the first

00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:38.839
time, brother. We're going to have you on as

00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:40.799
a regular because I think it's important. So

00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.460
you've been called America's constitutional coach.

00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:46.480
How did that title come about and where did that

00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:49.380
come out of? We just, man, we made it fun actually

00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:51.700
to study the constitution. So more people were

00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:54.259
willing to, which was a boring topic to me in

00:26:54.259 --> 00:26:56.049
high school. in college. I hated history. I hated

00:26:56.049 --> 00:26:58.970
government. I slept through that. Then I found

00:26:58.970 --> 00:27:00.750
David Barton. Somebody gave me a cassette tape

00:27:00.750 --> 00:27:02.089
of David Barton. I'm going to show my age here,

00:27:02.150 --> 00:27:04.329
cassette tape. All of a sudden, I was looking

00:27:04.329 --> 00:27:06.490
at history through the eyes of the people that

00:27:06.490 --> 00:27:08.390
experienced it. He was so good at telling the

00:27:08.390 --> 00:27:10.150
stories, making you feel like you were going

00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:13.789
in a time machine. I adopted that from him. Then

00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:15.750
being raised on Zig Ziglar and him being one

00:27:15.750 --> 00:27:19.410
of my mentors, more his style of teaching. David

00:27:19.410 --> 00:27:21.589
was so good at this. When I first went to work

00:27:21.589 --> 00:27:25.460
for David, Wow, 2001, so 24 years ago. He said,

00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:28.500
Rick, you don't need to be me. Don't try to just

00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:30.759
duplicate exactly what I'm doing. Take what I've

00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.400
got and then put your style on it, right? Go

00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:36.880
be you. Just use the content, but do it in your

00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:38.779
style, which my style is very different. I'm

00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:40.960
more of a Zig Ziglar type, motivational exhorter.

00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:43.839
David's more professor -like, right? And so we

00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:45.279
had two totally different styles, which ended

00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.079
up for wall builders being great because it made

00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:50.160
our radio show alive. And then I'd go talk to

00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:53.319
these Amway groups and big conventions and sales

00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:55.779
groups and people that wanted it to be more of

00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:57.960
a motivational thing. Anyway, so that turned

00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:01.099
out to be a really good combination for what...

00:28:01.230 --> 00:28:03.869
made the Constitution classes entertaining and

00:28:03.869 --> 00:28:05.549
exciting. And then we went to the historical

00:28:05.549 --> 00:28:08.490
sites and brought it to life. And so we put,

00:28:08.490 --> 00:28:10.130
man, we put so many people through the Constitution

00:28:10.130 --> 00:28:13.470
classes. And then it became during COVID, that's

00:28:13.470 --> 00:28:14.930
when we got the moniker America's Constitution

00:28:14.930 --> 00:28:17.150
Coach because all these people were going, okay.

00:28:17.529 --> 00:28:19.529
Can they do this to us? You know, does government

00:28:19.529 --> 00:28:20.950
have the power to do this? What's constitutional?

00:28:21.109 --> 00:28:23.130
What's not? People, for the first time, really

00:28:23.130 --> 00:28:25.210
start asking questions. You know, they actually,

00:28:25.349 --> 00:28:27.390
instead of trying to get them to pay attention,

00:28:27.470 --> 00:28:28.869
it was at their front door. This is why I say

00:28:28.869 --> 00:28:30.589
we don't chase politics. It showed up at our

00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:31.930
front door. It showed up at our front door. Exactly

00:28:31.930 --> 00:28:33.990
like you said. So that really opened the door.

00:28:34.089 --> 00:28:36.250
We went from, I think right before COVID, we

00:28:36.250 --> 00:28:38.450
had about 200 Constitution coaches. Oh, my. We

00:28:38.450 --> 00:28:41.029
now have 30 ,000. Oh, my. So it just exploded

00:28:41.029 --> 00:28:44.640
because of. The first time that most people had

00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.279
experienced the Buddha government on their neck

00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:49.259
in America and became so close to seeing everything

00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.839
crumble that all of a sudden people woke up and

00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.420
said, you know what? Like you said, it's one

00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:56.079
generation away, and I haven't done a good job

00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:58.240
of learning this myself, and I certainly haven't

00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:00.259
done a good job of teaching my kids. Where can

00:29:00.259 --> 00:29:02.059
I go to learn it? And so that's where Patriot

00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:03.839
Academy was. I think God had been preparing us,

00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:06.200
obviously, for 20 years to be ready for that

00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:09.140
moment and step into that gap and teach that.

00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:12.559
And it's been fun, honestly, to see those light

00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:14.579
bulbs come on, see people get excited. People

00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:16.839
hungry for it. Yeah, yeah. It's one thing to

00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:19.380
teach a crowd that's not really hungry. You're

00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:22.099
working. Oh, yeah, man. But when you teach people

00:29:22.099 --> 00:29:24.400
who are hungry, it pulls it out of you. I'm telling

00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:28.299
you. That's when a teacher, a coach. You're in

00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:31.309
the sweet spot. Because normally, and you probably

00:29:31.309 --> 00:29:33.329
like this too, when I go speak at a group, I

00:29:33.329 --> 00:29:34.829
always have to tell myself, okay, if just one

00:29:34.829 --> 00:29:37.029
person gets it. If one person gets it, that's

00:29:37.029 --> 00:29:38.730
why I'm here. Get yourself going. Yeah, and that's

00:29:38.730 --> 00:29:41.099
enough for me to do it. But now it's like. I

00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:43.359
mean, everybody's really into it. Well, listen,

00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:46.339
we did biblical citizenship here, and, bro, that's

00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.640
one of the best things we ever did. By the way,

00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:50.819
I don't know if I even told you this, but we

00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:54.420
actually leveraged the energy from biblical citizenship.

00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:57.180
We did eight weeks here at the church, had phenomenal

00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:59.440
turnout for that. Yeah, that was awesome. Nearly

00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:02.759
200 people every night. And that's when we were

00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:05.619
like, this is the time to drop the WWJD because

00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:07.319
we've got people in the habit of coming. So you

00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:10.200
just segued right off. Springboard from that.

00:30:10.220 --> 00:30:13.740
We call that movement in church world where you

00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:15.380
want to move from one thing to another and not

00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:17.700
let this gap happen because people lose momentum,

00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:21.619
get out of the habit. But that class was so...

00:30:22.549 --> 00:30:24.569
For me, this is where I learned about the National

00:30:24.569 --> 00:30:26.710
Monument to the Forefathers. Kirk Cameron did

00:30:26.710 --> 00:30:30.349
a phenomenal job teaching around that thing.

00:30:30.430 --> 00:30:32.470
I had not seen the movie Monumental. I've seen

00:30:32.470 --> 00:30:35.710
it now since. But he basically took what he learned

00:30:35.710 --> 00:30:38.190
from that and compressed it into a phenomenal

00:30:38.190 --> 00:30:41.309
teaching on this amazing monument. He's such

00:30:41.309 --> 00:30:43.849
a gifted teacher, too. He really is. Again, making

00:30:43.849 --> 00:30:46.720
it fun, making it entertaining. applicable to

00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.000
our lives right instead of just this old monument

00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:50.980
it's like what do these things mean and then

00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:52.480
he takes it and goes okay here's what we need

00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:55.000
to do with it i love kirk man he's so good at

00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:57.029
that So good. So I do have some paraphernalia

00:30:57.029 --> 00:30:59.349
on here for a reason. Awesome. And one is because

00:30:59.349 --> 00:31:02.569
when I started really reengaging culture and

00:31:02.569 --> 00:31:05.170
stepping into the space, I realized how much

00:31:05.170 --> 00:31:07.869
I didn't know or had just forgotten from college

00:31:07.869 --> 00:31:10.049
and high school. It's been a minute. So at my

00:31:10.049 --> 00:31:12.869
age, and I was like, I need resources. I need

00:31:12.869 --> 00:31:16.170
help. And with you coming along, so I'm going

00:31:16.170 --> 00:31:18.750
to show some things. First of all, I like this

00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:24.089
book pretty good. I might recommend this. You

00:31:24.089 --> 00:31:26.029
better stay away from that guy, man. You'll be

00:31:26.029 --> 00:31:28.670
on Right Wing Watch's most hated list. I read

00:31:28.670 --> 00:31:30.009
this on the airplane. I thought we were going

00:31:30.009 --> 00:31:35.309
down. So this is a great book by Rick. What moved

00:31:35.309 --> 00:31:37.529
you to write this book, by the way? Because everyone

00:31:37.529 --> 00:31:40.690
needs to read this book, literally. If you're

00:31:40.690 --> 00:31:42.730
stepping into this space for the first time and

00:31:42.730 --> 00:31:45.650
you're beginning to relearn and re -remind yourself,

00:31:46.009 --> 00:31:48.789
this is one of the best books out of everything

00:31:48.789 --> 00:31:50.309
I've read. Thank you, man. I'm not just blowing

00:31:50.309 --> 00:31:53.539
smoke. I really mean that. It helped Lee. actually

00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:55.819
turned me on to this and lit him up. And I said,

00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:57.900
if it's lighting Lee up, I got to read this book.

00:31:57.940 --> 00:32:00.180
And I did. In fact, I read most of it on an airplane.

00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:03.940
And so what, what inspired you to, to get this?

00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.299
Well, two, two things. First of all, Newt Gingrich

00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:08.440
gave a talk on the declaration of independence

00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:11.720
that just lit me up. Like that made me want to

00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:16.000
break down. what I call in the book, the frame,

00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:19.339
freedom's frame, and really understand how to

00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:21.779
apply the Declaration to today. And then David

00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:25.140
Barton's book, Original Intent, is so good, but

00:32:25.140 --> 00:32:28.319
it's so big and so thick and so scholarly that

00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:31.079
I knew that most people like me... would not

00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:32.880
get through it. Which that would be me. Yeah,

00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:35.660
so I was like, I need a dumbed -down version

00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:38.420
of Barton's original intent. Remember those yellow

00:32:38.420 --> 00:32:40.579
books? Yeah, it was like the Cliff Notes, right?

00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.980
For dummies. Constitution for dummies. That's

00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:45.799
what I should have called it. Declaration for

00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.279
dummies. Put a little cover on it. Yeah, so those

00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:51.220
two things converged to write that book. And

00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:53.660
I had actually kind of, you know, we talked about

00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:56.529
Zig. I had sent Zig back in... I don't know,

00:32:56.589 --> 00:33:00.430
93, 94. I had sent him a book that I had written,

00:33:00.569 --> 00:33:03.490
and I sent him the book, and I asked him to do

00:33:03.490 --> 00:33:05.269
the foreword on it. And he calls me, and he says,

00:33:05.349 --> 00:33:07.910
he said, Rick, I know three things. There is

00:33:07.910 --> 00:33:10.849
a God, I'm not him, and neither are you. Burn

00:33:10.849 --> 00:33:14.470
the book. I was like, what? I was like 25 years

00:33:14.470 --> 00:33:17.730
old, and it was such an arrogant book. Honestly,

00:33:18.009 --> 00:33:20.549
I'd gotten into Tony Robbins and a lot of this

00:33:20.549 --> 00:33:24.049
stuff, and a lot of it was humanist, almost new

00:33:24.049 --> 00:33:28.029
age. I had my scripture in there, but it was

00:33:28.029 --> 00:33:30.109
very clear I was leaning too far into that stuff,

00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:32.490
and Zig knew. He instantly recognized it, and

00:33:32.490 --> 00:33:34.970
he was like, Rick, I'm telling you, when you

00:33:34.970 --> 00:33:36.710
get a little older, you're going to wish you

00:33:36.710 --> 00:33:38.490
hadn't written this book. Of course, I hang up

00:33:38.490 --> 00:33:39.690
the phone, and I'm thinking, oh, the old man

00:33:39.690 --> 00:33:42.259
just doesn't get it. Jimmy, it wasn't six months.

00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:43.960
I was trying to get every copy and burn it. I'm

00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:46.559
not kidding you, man. And so 10 years later.

00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:48.240
No, it would have been longer than that. It would

00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:51.460
have been almost 13 years later. I had been seeing

00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:53.660
Zig on the circuit. Like, I got to open for him

00:33:53.660 --> 00:33:56.000
at this event. And I'm doing all these. And when

00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:57.839
I opened for him at this big event in Houston.

00:33:58.890 --> 00:34:01.029
Well, I was nervous because it was a big crowd.

00:34:01.109 --> 00:34:02.829
It was like 7 ,500 people. I'd never spoken in

00:34:02.829 --> 00:34:05.109
front of that many people. And I'm going on right

00:34:05.109 --> 00:34:07.769
before Zig Ziglar. And so I'm backstage, nervous

00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:10.409
as I can be, and Zig could tell. And so he comes

00:34:10.409 --> 00:34:12.289
over and he prays for me. And so I go out and

00:34:12.289 --> 00:34:13.969
give the speech. I get a standing ovation. I

00:34:13.969 --> 00:34:15.969
come back, and he comes over to me, and he goes,

00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:18.250
now you're ready to write that book. Wow. And

00:34:18.250 --> 00:34:20.849
so I'm in tears, you know. Oh, my gosh. I write

00:34:20.849 --> 00:34:23.670
Freedom's Frame. I send it to him. And actually,

00:34:23.789 --> 00:34:25.510
it was a couple years later because every time

00:34:25.510 --> 00:34:26.750
I'd see him, he'd be like, how's that book coming,

00:34:26.849 --> 00:34:28.719
Rick? How's that book coming? I'm working on

00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:30.820
it. I'm working on it. We need people to go to

00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:32.900
us. Don't we? Yes, no doubt. And I, and I probably,

00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:34.179
I don't know if I would have actually finished

00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:36.019
if it hadn't been for him continuing. Cause he's

00:34:36.019 --> 00:34:37.420
my hero. You know what I mean? This is like the

00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:40.320
guy that I was raised on. Yes. I mean all of

00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:42.260
that. And so anyway, when I sent him the book

00:34:42.260 --> 00:34:46.139
and he sent me back the forward. Bro, I don't

00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:47.800
remember where I was in the country, but I remember

00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:50.519
being in a hotel room, and I was bawling like

00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:53.780
a baby. It was just like that. For him to write

00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:57.320
that forward 15 years later, after he had told

00:34:57.320 --> 00:35:00.539
me with that first book I wasn't ready, it was

00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:04.420
a big deal. Anyway, so that all led to writing

00:35:04.420 --> 00:35:06.659
that book so that people would rediscover these

00:35:06.659 --> 00:35:08.300
principles and declaration. And like Zig says

00:35:08.300 --> 00:35:10.360
in the foreword, it's basically for every citizen.

00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:13.099
just to understand the principles that made America

00:35:13.099 --> 00:35:15.119
great. It's very much like the monument. And

00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:16.699
then what can you do about it? So a lot of it's

00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:19.159
action steps too. It's beautiful. And tell us

00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:22.579
where anybody's watching or listening. PatriotAcademy

00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:24.860
.com. There you go. PatriotAcademy .com, easiest

00:35:24.860 --> 00:35:27.400
place to get it. And in fact, we've got a new

00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:29.719
course coming out later this summer. We're going

00:35:29.719 --> 00:35:31.820
to launch it on July 4th, of course, because

00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:34.469
we're... As of today, while we're recording,

00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:38.269
we're 411 days from the 250th birthday of the

00:35:38.269 --> 00:35:41.190
nation. So it's the countdown is there. Yeah.

00:35:41.250 --> 00:35:43.369
And so we want to launch this new course. We're

00:35:43.369 --> 00:35:46.730
going to call it a blueprint for rebuilding liberty

00:35:46.730 --> 00:35:49.630
with truth, justice, and the biblical way. So

00:35:49.630 --> 00:35:51.269
I'm a Superman fan, right? Truth, justice, and

00:35:51.269 --> 00:35:53.190
the American way. But the American way is essentially

00:35:53.190 --> 00:35:55.010
the biblical way. That's how the nation was built.

00:35:55.210 --> 00:35:58.889
And so it'll basically be an upgrade to Freedom's

00:35:58.889 --> 00:36:01.269
Frame, but in a video course that'll kind of

00:36:01.269 --> 00:36:03.349
like biblical citizenship, but a shorter one,

00:36:03.389 --> 00:36:05.130
like a four -week one. Something you can do online,

00:36:05.349 --> 00:36:08.030
too. I mean, that's beautiful. And the goal is

00:36:08.030 --> 00:36:10.750
to just talk about for the next year the Declaration

00:36:10.750 --> 00:36:13.750
so that on the 250th, July 4th, everybody can

00:36:13.750 --> 00:36:16.289
revive those principles of the Declaration. Some

00:36:16.289 --> 00:36:18.510
of the most inspirational words for me stepping

00:36:18.510 --> 00:36:21.949
back into this world after being... out of it

00:36:21.949 --> 00:36:24.210
for so long and then when the lord totally brought

00:36:24.210 --> 00:36:26.469
me back in where the declaration of independence

00:36:26.469 --> 00:36:28.769
is that preamble i mean that opening is like

00:36:28.769 --> 00:36:31.769
it's genius i've it's one of those beautiful

00:36:31.769 --> 00:36:34.289
pieces of literature i've ever read to where

00:36:34.289 --> 00:36:37.369
when i read it i get emotional yeah i can barely

00:36:37.369 --> 00:36:39.789
read i think i think jefferson was absolutely

00:36:39.789 --> 00:36:42.329
god inspired to do it i was at a rotary club

00:36:42.329 --> 00:36:44.730
this morning and i had forgotten that their first

00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:46.250
thing that they you know they do their little

00:36:46.250 --> 00:36:48.570
their four step thing that they put and the first

00:36:48.570 --> 00:36:53.099
one is first Is it true? And so after they did

00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:54.519
that, I just springboarded off that, and I was

00:36:54.519 --> 00:36:56.219
like, you guys realize we're about to celebrate

00:36:56.219 --> 00:36:58.679
the Declaration of Independence. We hold these

00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:01.599
truths. And if you don't build on truth, the

00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:03.420
whole culture falls apart. And that's what happened

00:37:03.420 --> 00:37:05.519
to us as we started buying into moral relativism.

00:37:05.619 --> 00:37:08.519
There is no truth. Anything goes. Everybody has

00:37:08.519 --> 00:37:11.280
their own truth. Now, wait a minute. UBU. Yeah,

00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:13.780
UBU, whatever that is. Whatever, it's okay. So

00:37:13.780 --> 00:37:16.139
getting back to we hold these truths. truths

00:37:16.139 --> 00:37:18.559
to be self -evident is critical. Not my truth.

00:37:18.860 --> 00:37:21.260
Not my truth. These truths. The truth. Oh, brother.

00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:23.619
Oh, get me going on that. Here's another good

00:37:23.619 --> 00:37:25.500
one. I want to get some resources to people.

00:37:25.659 --> 00:37:27.780
This was recommended to me by another pastor

00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:31.920
friend. America's God and Country by William

00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:34.500
Federer. Bill Federer is a national treasure.

00:37:34.679 --> 00:37:37.519
That guy, when I have him on radio, you ought

00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:38.960
to get him on your show, man. When I have him

00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:41.719
on, I just ask one question, and 30 minutes later,

00:37:41.780 --> 00:37:43.659
the show is full of incredible information. I'm

00:37:43.659 --> 00:37:45.840
telling you. You've got to be intimidating. He's

00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:48.719
like Barton, walking encyclopedia, man. I'd be

00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:51.199
like a little kid, you know. He's great, but

00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:53.739
great guy, and he has the most random stuff.

00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:55.679
Like, you want to know about St. Nick and how

00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:58.300
Christmas and all that? He will just, he's got

00:37:58.300 --> 00:38:00.019
it all, man. He just gives that whole history.

00:38:00.019 --> 00:38:01.980
He's got some good Instagram shorts right now

00:38:01.980 --> 00:38:03.980
where he does these little shorts like that.

00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:06.000
He's great. Totally awesome. Now, here's another

00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:08.719
great one. David and Tim Barton. Yeah, man. This

00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:12.679
one is, man. I got to get you the volume two.

00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:14.989
So they've got volume two out. I knew that. And

00:38:14.989 --> 00:38:17.329
they're working on volume three. But, man, that's

00:38:17.329 --> 00:38:19.130
gold right there, the American story. I mean,

00:38:19.170 --> 00:38:21.869
what I do, they're doing it in sections. They're

00:38:21.869 --> 00:38:25.469
doing it in sections of time. And, again, so

00:38:25.469 --> 00:38:30.690
good, so rich, chock full. I mean, you can't

00:38:30.690 --> 00:38:32.289
go wrong on this. It responds to so many of the

00:38:32.289 --> 00:38:34.710
lies about who we are as a people and our history.

00:38:34.769 --> 00:38:37.250
It's just really good. Here's one. This is by

00:38:37.250 --> 00:38:39.329
Gary DeMar. Yeah, Gary's great. Another great

00:38:39.329 --> 00:38:41.590
book, America's Christian History, The Untold

00:38:41.590 --> 00:38:44.309
Story. Love is Approach. Actually, this was one

00:38:44.309 --> 00:38:46.050
that Kurt Cameron was recommending. And it's

00:38:46.050 --> 00:38:48.150
so unusual for Gary to have a book that's less

00:38:48.150 --> 00:38:50.409
than six inches thick. So that's a great one

00:38:50.409 --> 00:38:52.869
to have because most of his are anchor weights.

00:38:53.690 --> 00:38:55.610
And there's pictures. And there's pictures. For

00:38:55.610 --> 00:38:57.969
guys like us. So the country boy, I can get through

00:38:57.969 --> 00:39:00.510
it, yeah. And I have to tell you, one of my favorites

00:39:00.510 --> 00:39:03.269
that is my go -to ongoing, and this thing is

00:39:03.269 --> 00:39:06.250
a beast, it's the Founder's Bible. Oh, man. And

00:39:06.250 --> 00:39:08.570
this was, I mean, it's the New American Standard

00:39:08.570 --> 00:39:11.710
text of the Bible, but interspersed throughout

00:39:11.710 --> 00:39:16.530
it are vignettes and short articles on all things

00:39:16.530 --> 00:39:19.829
founding fathers, all things original documents.

00:39:20.349 --> 00:39:22.889
Biblical application. I mean, it really is based.

00:39:22.989 --> 00:39:24.469
Basically, I think it's the best thing David

00:39:24.469 --> 00:39:26.610
Barton... has put out in his whole life because

00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:28.250
when I read that and I read through it every

00:39:28.250 --> 00:39:31.190
year and I'm able to read the scripture and then

00:39:31.190 --> 00:39:34.010
read about somebody in history using that scripture

00:39:34.010 --> 00:39:37.429
in life, then it makes me start thinking, okay,

00:39:37.489 --> 00:39:39.829
how can I use this scripture in life? So it just

00:39:39.829 --> 00:39:42.389
gets us in the right mindset. The Bible's practical

00:39:42.389 --> 00:39:44.630
for everyday life. I love his treatment of the

00:39:44.630 --> 00:39:46.969
monuments too. He has some great things on the

00:39:46.969 --> 00:39:49.309
monuments. If you've ever been to DC, which I've

00:39:49.309 --> 00:39:51.610
been many times. And even the artwork, there's

00:39:51.610 --> 00:39:53.409
such good, the artwork in there is incredible.

00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:57.179
highly recommend how can people get this patriot

00:39:57.179 --> 00:39:59.239
academy .com or wallbuilders .com you get it

00:39:59.239 --> 00:40:00.880
either place and there's a digital version too

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:02.719
so you can get it on your you know like when

00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:04.400
i'm on the plane i read it on because that thing's

00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:06.539
heavy because it's mine's hardback too so it's

00:40:06.539 --> 00:40:09.179
even heavier uh but the yeah so you can do the

00:40:09.179 --> 00:40:11.179
app or you can um get that at patriot academy

00:40:11.179 --> 00:40:13.420
.com and it's a great present, too, to just give

00:40:13.420 --> 00:40:15.639
to people. Just like Adam giving it to Rogan.

00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:17.440
That was huge, man. This was a gift from Jonathan

00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:19.159
Edwards gave this to me. Did he really? Oh, I

00:40:19.159 --> 00:40:20.780
love it. Such a blessing. And he did a great

00:40:20.780 --> 00:40:22.760
job with Biblical Citizenship, man. He did. He

00:40:22.760 --> 00:40:26.219
did. So, man, we're talking about a lot. You

00:40:26.219 --> 00:40:29.219
guys, we had you here to do the Comedy and Constitution

00:40:29.219 --> 00:40:32.719
show. That was fun, yeah. That was amazing. Brad's

00:40:32.719 --> 00:40:35.300
a master. He's a master communicator. Brad Stein,

00:40:35.519 --> 00:40:38.019
he knows how to, he's a master of rhetoric, and

00:40:38.019 --> 00:40:40.659
he's so good at having you laugh in one minute

00:40:40.659 --> 00:40:43.099
and then just, oh. Punching you in the gut with

00:40:43.099 --> 00:40:46.920
some truth. Love Brad. Twice I was on my guard.

00:40:47.019 --> 00:40:48.559
I was like, something's coming. Right, right.

00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:51.059
He is that good, and he is brilliant. He is a

00:40:51.059 --> 00:40:52.840
great thinker. You should have seen him with

00:40:52.840 --> 00:40:55.980
the Moms for Liberty. We had 150 of them out

00:40:55.980 --> 00:40:58.239
at the campus a couple weeks ago. Oh, my God.

00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:01.670
That was the week we were out. You know how he

00:41:01.670 --> 00:41:03.969
picks on everybody? It was just hilarious, man.

00:41:04.030 --> 00:41:06.829
Just imagine him and 150 Moms for Liberty. I

00:41:06.829 --> 00:41:08.489
was going to say, in that environment, I can

00:41:08.489 --> 00:41:11.809
imagine. I've got thoughts. We love them, though.

00:41:11.969 --> 00:41:14.349
We're so thankful that their leaders come to

00:41:14.349 --> 00:41:16.829
our church. And God has done something really

00:41:16.829 --> 00:41:18.590
unique in this convergence thing we were talking

00:41:18.590 --> 00:41:21.409
about. The Lord brought you guys here, and we

00:41:21.409 --> 00:41:24.070
just knit together. We knit hearts. But he also

00:41:24.070 --> 00:41:26.030
brought the Moms for Liberty here. He's brought

00:41:26.030 --> 00:41:27.969
the J6ers here. A lot of the J6ers here, yes.

00:41:28.210 --> 00:41:30.809
And I got to meet Luke Cooper. Coffee or Cooper?

00:41:31.210 --> 00:41:35.070
Coffee or Cooper. Yeah, coffee. But Luke and

00:41:35.070 --> 00:41:36.730
we're going to go get coffee and get some time

00:41:36.730 --> 00:41:38.530
together. He's doing a podcast now with Laura

00:41:38.530 --> 00:41:40.510
Logan. I didn't know that. Yeah, they just started

00:41:40.510 --> 00:41:42.730
this. He's moved here. That's awesome. Yeah,

00:41:42.789 --> 00:41:46.360
he lives here now. When you stop and look at

00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:50.500
who God has brought here, Justice Devine, he

00:41:50.500 --> 00:41:52.059
pops in and out of here. Yeah, great guy. He

00:41:52.059 --> 00:41:53.280
loves coming over here. He comes out and hangs

00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:54.900
out. My favorite judge in the whole country.

00:41:55.179 --> 00:41:57.980
Even more than, well, Clarence Thomas and Justice

00:41:57.980 --> 00:41:59.900
Devine are close, but he's on our Texas Supreme

00:41:59.900 --> 00:42:02.880
Court. We need him. Stay in the course. Even

00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:05.019
the body of church, even the church here, I don't

00:42:05.019 --> 00:42:07.519
think there's a profession. or a background not

00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:09.099
represented in this church. I agree. You know

00:42:09.099 --> 00:42:11.760
what I mean? I agree. It's just a wealth of experience.

00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:13.920
We've got an international arms dealer. I mean,

00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:17.440
we've got a guy who sells jets to Nicaragua and

00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:21.840
Brazil. It's mind -bending. Every Sunday I stand

00:42:21.840 --> 00:42:23.619
up there and, first of all, I think, I get to

00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:25.539
do this. This is such a privilege. Well, I think

00:42:25.539 --> 00:42:27.579
that, too, is going to be part of the next chapter,

00:42:27.659 --> 00:42:30.880
is those people within our church that have so

00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:33.619
much to give and so much wisdom. And the reason

00:42:33.619 --> 00:42:35.599
Patriot Academy is here is to bring the kids

00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:38.260
here for those people to mentor. And I don't

00:42:38.260 --> 00:42:39.920
know how it's all going to work out or exactly

00:42:39.920 --> 00:42:43.460
how it's going to play out, but I just see that,

00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:46.679
man. Because you can see the... it's almost like

00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:49.119
they're pregnant with purpose that they that

00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:52.139
not not for themselves right like i i tell kids

00:42:52.139 --> 00:42:54.619
sometimes you're pregnant with purpose but That's

00:42:54.619 --> 00:42:56.179
for what God's going to do in their life. These

00:42:56.179 --> 00:42:58.719
people are pregnant with purpose to pour into

00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:00.179
those kids. You know what I'm saying? It's like,

00:43:00.260 --> 00:43:01.780
anyway, I don't know how that's all going to

00:43:01.780 --> 00:43:04.659
play out. In our men's breakfast, our legacy

00:43:04.659 --> 00:43:08.159
men's breakfast, we had like 127 at the last

00:43:08.159 --> 00:43:11.920
one. And then of all people, Pastor Leon Benjamin

00:43:11.920 --> 00:43:15.860
from the White House Office of Faith shows up

00:43:15.860 --> 00:43:18.880
randomly because he had done a podcast. He was

00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:20.519
here with Laura, right? Yeah, he was with Laura.

00:43:20.659 --> 00:43:24.619
So Joe Burkett and David Young. Drag him to a

00:43:24.619 --> 00:43:26.380
men's break. Poor guy was probably wiped out.

00:43:26.619 --> 00:43:28.219
And who are these people you're going to take

00:43:28.219 --> 00:43:30.719
me to? Yeah. And then he shows up, and he kept

00:43:30.719 --> 00:43:32.659
turning me. I brought him up on the platform,

00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:34.119
let him share a thing. He kept turning me, going,

00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:37.719
there's fire in this room. There's fire. There's

00:43:37.719 --> 00:43:41.239
fire. Revivals. I mean, he got it. He got what

00:43:41.239 --> 00:43:43.519
we know. And I'm telling you, those guys, he

00:43:43.519 --> 00:43:45.880
and Paula White and all those on that faith council.

00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:47.800
In fact, Barton and I were just talking last

00:43:47.800 --> 00:43:49.219
night. He was just at the White House yesterday

00:43:49.219 --> 00:43:52.289
with all of them. And he said, Rick, I've never

00:43:52.289 --> 00:43:55.730
seen people of faith have this much access and

00:43:55.730 --> 00:43:58.090
direct work with the president of the United

00:43:58.090 --> 00:44:01.389
States. So that's not just some figurehead. It's

00:44:01.389 --> 00:44:03.090
not like President Trump said. which is what

00:44:03.090 --> 00:44:04.610
I'm cynical about some of that stuff. It's like,

00:44:04.630 --> 00:44:06.610
oh, he's just giving them lip service. He's giving

00:44:06.610 --> 00:44:08.030
them a little name, a little office way over

00:44:08.030 --> 00:44:10.550
there in the West Wing or whatever. No, man,

00:44:10.610 --> 00:44:12.489
they are literally in the middle of everything.

00:44:12.849 --> 00:44:15.150
So that whole thing that's happening right now

00:44:15.150 --> 00:44:18.269
is being bathed in prayer. It's phenomenal. I

00:44:18.269 --> 00:44:20.590
mean, I haven't seen it in my lifetime, so I

00:44:20.590 --> 00:44:22.269
don't know what God's plan is for all of this.

00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:25.039
But he's moving, bro. Conversions, brother. It's

00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:27.139
all coming together. These streams are merging

00:44:27.139 --> 00:44:31.880
and becoming a force. Amen. A force. Force multiplies,

00:44:31.880 --> 00:44:34.550
you say. I love that term. Love that term. Tell

00:44:34.550 --> 00:44:36.750
us what's the best way for us to see you. I mean,

00:44:36.789 --> 00:44:38.650
you've got a great podcast called The Tavern.

00:44:38.730 --> 00:44:41.050
Thank you, thank you. Which has been huge. We're

00:44:41.050 --> 00:44:43.489
working on getting it onto our Godcast. Yeah,

00:44:43.489 --> 00:44:45.030
we've got to get that and Wall Builders. You

00:44:45.030 --> 00:44:47.530
know, Wall Builders radio is daily. It's only

00:44:47.530 --> 00:44:49.849
about 30 minutes, and it's David Barton, Tim

00:44:49.849 --> 00:44:51.869
Barton, and myself, and every day is some sort

00:44:51.869 --> 00:44:54.550
of biblical, basically what we always say is

00:44:54.550 --> 00:44:56.190
biblical, historical, constitutional perspective.

00:44:56.230 --> 00:44:58.090
So whatever's going on, whatever the hot take

00:44:58.090 --> 00:45:00.139
is that's going on in the world. We'll break

00:45:00.139 --> 00:45:01.559
it down and say, here's the biblical perspective

00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:03.260
on it. Here's what's happening in history. So

00:45:03.260 --> 00:45:05.039
we know what works, doesn't work. And here's

00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:06.400
how it plays out constitutionally. Because with

00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:08.880
this administration, there's a lot of, Trump's

00:45:08.880 --> 00:45:11.059
moving so fast with so many of these things.

00:45:11.659 --> 00:45:13.300
There's a lot of questions about what's constitutional,

00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:15.440
what's not. And so for us to be able to come

00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:17.380
in and bring that history, and especially with

00:45:17.380 --> 00:45:19.780
some of these judges that are trying to stop

00:45:19.780 --> 00:45:21.659
what the president's doing. Perfect example would

00:45:21.659 --> 00:45:25.039
be taking these 250 gang members, put them on

00:45:25.039 --> 00:45:26.719
a plane, sending them back where they came from.

00:45:26.780 --> 00:45:29.090
And this judge is trying to stop it. And there's

00:45:29.090 --> 00:45:31.210
very clear constitutional authority for the president.

00:45:31.289 --> 00:45:33.250
And there's even a congressional act, the Alien

00:45:33.250 --> 00:45:35.849
Act, where the Congress gave that power to the

00:45:35.849 --> 00:45:37.829
president and said the courts can't even review

00:45:37.829 --> 00:45:40.269
it. We call it positive exception in Article

00:45:40.269 --> 00:45:43.489
3. And so the court doesn't even get to say whether

00:45:43.489 --> 00:45:45.630
or not the president can take them out. Anyway,

00:45:45.789 --> 00:45:48.750
that kind of education. I love that, too, the

00:45:48.750 --> 00:45:50.769
way President Trump said, oh, sorry, they're

00:45:50.769 --> 00:45:53.590
already out of U .S. airspace. Anyway, there's

00:45:53.590 --> 00:45:55.630
a lot of takes like that. That's called The Wall

00:45:55.630 --> 00:45:57.630
Builders Show, and you can get that at wallbuilders

00:45:57.630 --> 00:46:01.650
.show or at wallbuilders .com. And then The Tavern

00:46:01.650 --> 00:46:05.010
you can get on patriotu .com or hopefully soon

00:46:05.010 --> 00:46:09.070
on Hello Fred. And then American Family Association,

00:46:09.429 --> 00:46:11.190
they've got about 300 stations around the country,

00:46:11.250 --> 00:46:13.610
and I do a live call -in show for them twice

00:46:13.610 --> 00:46:17.400
a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 2. So that's

00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:21.579
AFR .org. But also Flashpoint. Oh, yeah, and

00:46:21.579 --> 00:46:25.440
then Flashpoint. Yeah, huge. Bro, 10 to 1, people

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:28.440
will tell me. And I used to do Newsmax and Just

00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:30.179
the News, and I'd just do all these shows, and

00:46:30.179 --> 00:46:32.340
I'd get worn out. But 10 to 1, people say, I

00:46:32.340 --> 00:46:34.179
saw you on Flashpoint. So Carrie and I were like,

00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:36.320
let's stop doing all the other shows and let's

00:46:36.320 --> 00:46:38.300
just do Flashpoint. And so I do that one Monday

00:46:38.300 --> 00:46:40.880
and Tuesday nights, so 7 to 8. I love that. We

00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:43.019
try to keep up with it. There's so many of them.

00:46:43.039 --> 00:46:45.059
There's so much. The Lord's blessed that big

00:46:45.059 --> 00:46:47.400
time. It was kind of that convergence thing because

00:46:47.400 --> 00:46:50.239
it was a lot of different. You got prophet -type

00:46:50.239 --> 00:46:53.480
guys and other guys, and then here I come with

00:46:53.480 --> 00:46:55.280
a kind of constitutional country boy coming in.

00:46:55.579 --> 00:46:57.400
It's just been an interesting mix that people

00:46:57.400 --> 00:46:59.880
love. And I love that, too. At first, I was taken

00:46:59.880 --> 00:47:01.420
aback by it. little bit. And then I watched it

00:47:01.420 --> 00:47:03.460
a few times. I thought, Oh, I get it, man. I

00:47:03.460 --> 00:47:05.800
see what God's doing here. It's a tapestry. He's

00:47:05.800 --> 00:47:09.000
pulling it all together. So I've really, really

00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:13.699
dug in and enjoyed that. So, um, last thing I

00:47:13.699 --> 00:47:15.139
want to do before we land the plane, cause I'm

00:47:15.139 --> 00:47:16.679
glad we, I wanted to get your information out

00:47:16.679 --> 00:47:20.059
there, but, um, Man, you know, they just dropped

00:47:20.059 --> 00:47:24.059
80 ,000 -plus documents on JFK. Yeah. And social

00:47:24.059 --> 00:47:26.780
media is going berserk. I spent a little bit—I

00:47:26.780 --> 00:47:29.139
try not to, but I spent a little time last night.

00:47:29.159 --> 00:47:31.699
Yeah, I tried to last night, too. We just sat

00:47:31.699 --> 00:47:34.860
and watched—got on and reading stuff back and

00:47:34.860 --> 00:47:37.699
forth. And what's your hot take on that? Because,

00:47:37.739 --> 00:47:40.480
I mean, already people are already pointing the

00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:42.300
finger at Israel, saying, you know, Mossad was

00:47:42.300 --> 00:47:45.699
involved. You know, I mean, LBJ. I mean, you

00:47:45.699 --> 00:47:48.750
go down the list. Bush. I mean, boom, boom, boom,

00:47:48.849 --> 00:47:50.690
boom, boom. All these dominoes are starting to

00:47:50.690 --> 00:47:52.750
tip and fall. So what's your hot take on just

00:47:52.750 --> 00:47:54.849
what's happening? You know, I don't know what

00:47:54.849 --> 00:47:56.789
the specifics are going to be that come out,

00:47:56.869 --> 00:48:01.010
but I love the transparency. I mean, I am so

00:48:01.010 --> 00:48:04.090
excited about what Elon Musk is doing and what

00:48:04.090 --> 00:48:07.070
Trump is willing to do, what RFK has been pushing

00:48:07.070 --> 00:48:09.679
for. I think we've been hungry for that for a

00:48:09.679 --> 00:48:11.760
long time. Part of the reason there's been this

00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:15.019
lack of patriotism and cynicism is because of

00:48:15.019 --> 00:48:16.860
all the cover -ups and because of this kind of

00:48:16.860 --> 00:48:19.059
stuff that they've hidden from us. So I don't

00:48:19.059 --> 00:48:20.280
know what's actually going to come out. I remember

00:48:20.280 --> 00:48:22.280
Anna Paulina, whatever her name is, from Florida,

00:48:22.380 --> 00:48:25.480
the first thing she said was, this evidence will

00:48:25.480 --> 00:48:27.920
prove there was a second shooter. So that, right

00:48:27.920 --> 00:48:29.519
off the bat, was like, okay, this is going to

00:48:29.519 --> 00:48:31.179
rock everybody's world a little bit because it

00:48:31.179 --> 00:48:33.039
just proves there was a cover -up. So whatever

00:48:33.039 --> 00:48:36.510
was there that wasn't let out. We'll see. Second

00:48:36.510 --> 00:48:39.849
shooter, was it all backed by LBJ? I mean, LBJ,

00:48:39.869 --> 00:48:44.769
he was a nasty character. I mean, even the church

00:48:44.769 --> 00:48:49.530
today is impacted by his 1954 Johnson Amendment

00:48:49.530 --> 00:48:51.550
when he was a senator, and his whole reason he

00:48:51.550 --> 00:48:54.329
did that was retaliation against pastors in Texas,

00:48:54.409 --> 00:48:56.070
because they had campaigned against him in the

00:48:56.070 --> 00:48:57.750
Senate race, they knew he was not an ethical

00:48:57.750 --> 00:49:00.449
guy, and so he was doing that to hurt the church.

00:49:00.780 --> 00:49:02.880
And we're, what, 70 years later, man, and it's

00:49:02.880 --> 00:49:05.119
still hurting the church? Anyway, he was a nasty

00:49:05.119 --> 00:49:07.639
character. Wouldn't shock me a bit if he was

00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:09.639
involved in that. One of those recordings is

00:49:09.639 --> 00:49:12.460
already out that this guy's at least, he's talking

00:49:12.460 --> 00:49:14.599
to this Billy Saul Estes guy, and he's literally

00:49:14.599 --> 00:49:17.730
saying that. that Johnson wanted to hit on. Anyway,

00:49:17.849 --> 00:49:19.309
so I don't know how much of that's going to end

00:49:19.309 --> 00:49:21.650
up getting proven, but I remember one of my other

00:49:21.650 --> 00:49:23.389
mentors was a guy named Dr. Charles Jarvis. He

00:49:23.389 --> 00:49:26.670
was kind of a comedy after dinner speaker, actually

00:49:26.670 --> 00:49:29.030
lived right over here in San Marcos, Texas. And

00:49:29.030 --> 00:49:31.230
I grew up listening to him with my dad when we'd

00:49:31.230 --> 00:49:33.590
be driving on the road. And so half my comedy,

00:49:33.650 --> 00:49:35.929
I stole from him, jokes that I even use today.

00:49:36.190 --> 00:49:39.090
But he used to joke about the Billy Saw Estes

00:49:39.090 --> 00:49:41.829
case and the most motivated suicide in history.

00:49:42.300 --> 00:49:44.199
Because there was a guy that literally had five

00:49:44.199 --> 00:49:46.699
gunshot wounds and a wound to the head, and they

00:49:46.699 --> 00:49:48.800
ruled it a suicide. Right. That's a motivated

00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:50.360
suicide right there, brother. Of course it's

00:49:50.360 --> 00:49:53.239
a suicide. But it was something to do with Johnson.

00:49:53.239 --> 00:49:55.019
Wow. I don't know what's going to come out, man,

00:49:55.079 --> 00:49:57.360
but I love the fact that it's coming out. And

00:49:57.360 --> 00:50:00.500
I think the Epstein stuff, all of that, I try

00:50:00.500 --> 00:50:02.139
not to go too far down the rabbit hole and get

00:50:02.139 --> 00:50:03.460
too caught up in a lot of that stuff because

00:50:03.460 --> 00:50:06.099
you can live there. Yes. But I want people to

00:50:06.099 --> 00:50:08.960
be able to have that. at their fingertips. And

00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:11.219
I get national security, and the Constitution

00:50:11.219 --> 00:50:13.500
even has a clause in there about it doesn't have

00:50:13.500 --> 00:50:15.500
to go in the journal if there's national... So

00:50:15.500 --> 00:50:18.900
I understand that, but... 70 years? I mean, the

00:50:18.900 --> 00:50:21.940
MLK stuff, the JFK stuff, the RFK stuff, all

00:50:21.940 --> 00:50:23.619
of that should have been released a long time

00:50:23.619 --> 00:50:25.699
ago. And it's now history, and it needs to be

00:50:25.699 --> 00:50:27.980
a part of our history, good or bad. Yeah, that's

00:50:27.980 --> 00:50:29.280
right. Good or bad needs to be there. We can

00:50:29.280 --> 00:50:31.239
handle it. I mean, the American people are mature

00:50:31.239 --> 00:50:32.739
enough to handle the good, the bad, and the ugly.

00:50:32.820 --> 00:50:34.179
And if we would teach it like that, that's one

00:50:34.179 --> 00:50:36.099
of the things David taught me early on. Don't

00:50:36.099 --> 00:50:38.860
run from the bad. We're not these Pollyanna wave

00:50:38.860 --> 00:50:40.920
the flag just to feel good people. We're going

00:50:40.920 --> 00:50:42.019
to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly because

00:50:42.019 --> 00:50:44.980
we know on... On par, when you compare the American

00:50:44.980 --> 00:50:47.480
story to any other nation in history, it is the

00:50:47.480 --> 00:50:50.300
greatest nation that has ever been. And so we

00:50:50.300 --> 00:50:52.280
don't mind telling the ugly. Because we can tell

00:50:52.280 --> 00:50:53.820
the good with that. That's so good. I'm going

00:50:53.820 --> 00:50:56.519
to steal this from you. Where are people trying

00:50:56.519 --> 00:50:58.539
to come? Where are they trying to get in? That's

00:50:58.539 --> 00:51:00.900
right. There's no tunnels trying to get into

00:51:00.900 --> 00:51:03.500
North Korea. There ain't no Cuban dream. There

00:51:03.500 --> 00:51:05.699
ain't no North Korean dream. It's the American

00:51:05.699 --> 00:51:08.739
dream. And they're not going the other way. There's

00:51:08.739 --> 00:51:11.280
a reason for that. American exceptionalism is

00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:13.739
alive and well. I think we're in for some of

00:51:13.739 --> 00:51:16.760
our best days. I really am. Six months ago, I

00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:18.780
heard you stand in front of a crowd at a Remnant

00:51:18.780 --> 00:51:20.760
Alliance meeting and say, we could be looking

00:51:20.760 --> 00:51:24.429
at... the end. of an empire yeah and i remember

00:51:24.429 --> 00:51:26.889
that day we were over in lano texas and i and

00:51:26.889 --> 00:51:30.449
i i felt i felt your weight yeah and because

00:51:30.449 --> 00:51:32.610
it was resonating because we were all starting

00:51:32.610 --> 00:51:34.369
to wonder it's probably seven eight months ago

00:51:34.369 --> 00:51:36.409
now yeah and we were all starting to wonder because

00:51:36.409 --> 00:51:38.570
it was looking real bad there for a minute oh

00:51:38.570 --> 00:51:41.469
but god oh but god man we were we were bible

00:51:41.469 --> 00:51:44.530
suddenly yeah immediately yeah i love those yeah

00:51:44.530 --> 00:51:46.889
they're still possible we've just seen one walked

00:51:46.889 --> 00:51:48.670
out and he's doing he's doing it beyond anything

00:51:48.670 --> 00:51:50.730
i would have dreamed i mean i when i was giving

00:51:50.730 --> 00:51:52.539
that speech i was thinking okay, we're teetering

00:51:52.539 --> 00:51:54.780
between liberty and tyranny, and if we put our

00:51:54.780 --> 00:51:56.579
shoulder in, we can hopefully save this thing

00:51:56.579 --> 00:51:59.920
and push it back into liberty. He's done... Far

00:51:59.920 --> 00:52:03.539
more. I mean, God has moved in such a mighty

00:52:03.539 --> 00:52:06.199
way. He's changing hearts. The harvest you were

00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:08.340
talking about Sunday, I mean, these kids that

00:52:08.340 --> 00:52:10.079
are coming to the Lord, these college campuses,

00:52:10.219 --> 00:52:12.579
all this stuff, this interest in the Bible, you

00:52:12.579 --> 00:52:14.559
just go down the list. I mean, God is moving

00:52:14.559 --> 00:52:16.780
in a powerful, powerful way. And I think what

00:52:16.780 --> 00:52:18.400
you said, I think America's best days are ahead

00:52:18.400 --> 00:52:21.000
because of that. And if we will restore, and

00:52:21.000 --> 00:52:22.239
we see it in the Old Testament over and over

00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:24.659
again, when they came back to God, when they

00:52:24.659 --> 00:52:26.579
came back to the truth, they were blessed, and

00:52:26.579 --> 00:52:29.179
they experienced a season of prosperity. and

00:52:29.179 --> 00:52:30.800
all those things. And I think we're in for that,

00:52:30.840 --> 00:52:34.000
man. I think we're rediscovering those truths

00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:36.559
and falling in love with them again. And as a

00:52:36.559 --> 00:52:39.119
result, our kids are going to live in a better

00:52:39.119 --> 00:52:41.420
place. Beautiful, Rick. Thank you. One last thing

00:52:41.420 --> 00:52:42.900
before we go. This is what I want you to end

00:52:42.900 --> 00:52:44.860
with. There are people who are going to watch

00:52:44.860 --> 00:52:47.900
this or listen, and they're going to say, where

00:52:47.900 --> 00:52:51.460
do I start? The resources are overwhelming. And

00:52:51.460 --> 00:52:53.840
it's kind of like going to eat at, what's that

00:52:53.840 --> 00:52:58.679
one place? Cheesecake Factory. You got a 30 page

00:52:58.679 --> 00:53:02.059
menu. Right. You get frozen. You're doing headlights

00:53:02.059 --> 00:53:03.900
because it's too much. That happens to this.

00:53:04.039 --> 00:53:05.920
Yeah, absolutely. Go to In -N -Out Burger and

00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:08.239
it's like. Simple. I'll take it. I'll take that.

00:53:08.500 --> 00:53:10.539
You know, just add some grilled onions. Yeah,

00:53:10.579 --> 00:53:12.400
that's it. I mean, it's that simple. But so what

00:53:12.400 --> 00:53:15.119
would you tell people who are like. I want to

00:53:15.119 --> 00:53:17.280
be informed, but I don't know where to go. There's

00:53:17.280 --> 00:53:19.139
so many news outlets. I don't know who to believe.

00:53:19.480 --> 00:53:21.739
What's a good kind of just a real simple step

00:53:21.739 --> 00:53:24.579
in? Give them an on -ramp into getting resourced.

00:53:24.760 --> 00:53:27.440
Well, it sounds very self -serving, but no kidding.

00:53:27.539 --> 00:53:30.300
Go to patriotacademy .com. Start with that book,

00:53:30.420 --> 00:53:32.280
Freedom's Frame. It's the simplest, easiest place

00:53:32.280 --> 00:53:35.269
to go. And if you don't want to get together

00:53:35.269 --> 00:53:37.570
with a group to do biblical citizenship, at least

00:53:37.570 --> 00:53:39.610
walk through those videos by yourself, but I

00:53:39.610 --> 00:53:41.570
highly recommend doing it with friends and family

00:53:41.570 --> 00:53:43.630
because, again, it's when the video's over and

00:53:43.630 --> 00:53:45.789
you can talk about it. So make that commitment

00:53:45.789 --> 00:53:47.869
of two hours a week to just get with some friends

00:53:47.869 --> 00:53:50.389
once a week, have some coffee and cake or whatever

00:53:50.389 --> 00:53:52.570
in the living room, watch the video, and then

00:53:52.570 --> 00:53:54.369
sit around and talk about it. That's a great

00:53:54.369 --> 00:53:57.329
on -ramp because there's so much there and there's

00:53:57.329 --> 00:53:58.989
a lot of depth, but you'll figure out when you

00:53:58.989 --> 00:54:01.269
go through that class. Which direction do I want

00:54:01.269 --> 00:54:03.030
to go with this? What's God putting on my heart?

00:54:03.170 --> 00:54:04.929
So that's the two things I start with, freedom's

00:54:04.929 --> 00:54:07.329
frame and biblical citizenship. Great. Fantastic,

00:54:07.550 --> 00:54:09.309
Rick. Rick, thank you, brother. Love you, man.

00:54:09.349 --> 00:54:14.929
Amen. Good to be with you. Yes. At least once

00:54:14.929 --> 00:54:17.769
before we go out of here. Listen, go to Living

00:54:17.769 --> 00:54:19.989
Up in a Down World. We want to get you connected.

00:54:20.050 --> 00:54:23.269
Go to livingupinadownworld .com and you can subscribe

00:54:23.269 --> 00:54:25.289
there. And that way we'll get our newsletter

00:54:25.289 --> 00:54:27.630
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00:54:34.630 --> 00:54:39.469
eat, pray, wait. meet pray love channel and we're

00:54:39.469 --> 00:54:41.150
going to flip it over to living up in a down

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world now so we're going to make that happen

00:54:43.190 --> 00:54:45.789
and and so you'll be able to see this this video

00:54:45.789 --> 00:54:48.630
there and other places so anyway thanks for joining

00:54:48.630 --> 00:54:51.369
us today just always annette and i from our heart

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we love you guys and we want to help you live

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up in a down world have an amazing day on purpose