The Hamilton Corner

August 23, 2024 · 48:48

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Pastor Paul Blair of Liberty Church in Orlando and Troy Miller, President & CEO of National Religious Broadcasters

Politics & Policy

Show notes

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Pastor Paul Blair of Liberty Church in Orlando and Troy Miller, President & CEO of National Religious Broadcasters To donate call : 877-616-2396

Phone lines mentioned

Full transcript Auto-generated · 8,297 words

Transcribed with OpenAI Whisper (base.en). Timestamps are approximate. Lightly cleaned for readability; quotations from on-air callers may include filler words. Use the audio player above for the authoritative recording.

  1. 0:00Darkness is not an affirmative force.
  2. 0:02It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
  3. 0:06This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
  4. 0:10It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite.
  5. 0:15Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
  6. 0:18And the philosophies of this world.
  7. 0:20God has called you and me to be his ambassador.
  8. 0:24Even in this dark moment.
  9. 0:26Let's not miss our moment.
  10. 0:28and now, the Hamilton Corner.
  11. 0:33What should be the role of the pastor, the pulpit, and the church when it comes to politics and
  12. 0:40the culture?
  13. 0:41Hi, Alex McFarland here.
  14. 0:42Very honored that you're listening.
  15. 0:44You are listening to the American Family Radio Network, and I'm honored to be sitting in for
  16. 0:49Attorney, Pastor, and journalist Abe Hamilton III.
  17. 0:53I have the privilege of being the frequent guest host here on the Hamilton Corner, and
  18. 0:57We have a lot of guests and great opinion makers and leaders of our day and we've got just
  19. 1:03such a person with us right now.
  20. 1:06When it comes to the issue of the pastorate and the pulpit, should ministers speak about
  21. 1:13moral social political issues to their congregants?
  22. 1:18I was just on a show with Fox News and I was debating a more left-leaning pastor who was
  23. 1:24really reprimanding me as a Christian and as a minister speaking about political issues.
  24. 1:30But I can think of no better voice to solicit their opinion on this than Pastor Paul Blair.
  25. 1:35He is the longtime pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Oklahoma. He's been a leader, an author,
  26. 1:41and a voice, I would say, from moral and spiritual truth in our culture for many years. And to really
  27. 1:49way in on this question about should Christians and even ministers insert themselves into the
  28. 1:55political discourse, Pastor Paul Blair is our guest right now. Pastor Blair, thank you
  29. 2:01for being with us and I would say even more importantly, thank you for what you do for
  30. 2:04our country. Well, Alex, it's always enjoyed here from you and it's my privilege to be
  31. 2:10on with you today. I mean, I'm happy to have this conversation because it's not even a
  32. 2:15complicated question to be honest with you.
  33. 2:19Yeah.
  34. 2:20You and I are both ministers.
  35. 2:22I have been a pastor.
  36. 2:24You are a pastor.
  37. 2:25And I know our first most primary call is to the Lord Jesus in his word.
  38. 2:31But you and I both, we speak and write and make our voice heard about political issues.
  39. 2:38Some say that's not only inappropriate, it's a bad thing.
  40. 2:43What do you say to the person that asks why you as a pastor care about politics?
  41. 2:52Well this is the question.
  42. 2:53Of course Alex, we have done 20 in what we call Liberty Pastors Training Camps and we have
  43. 2:58trained over 2,000 pastors across America because quite frankly we have been taught
  44. 3:05wrong and we start with this question with pastors.
  45. 3:09We say, what part of your life is Jesus not the Lord over?
  46. 3:13And all of us know instinctively, and all of us answer out of habit, Jesus is Lord of
  47. 3:19all.
  48. 3:20Well, yes, he is.
  49. 3:21So where in the world did we get this idea that we are supposed to compartmentalize our
  50. 3:27lives and that certain subjects are not allowed to be talked about in church?
  51. 3:32The reality is, as pastors, we are commissioned to make disciples.
  52. 3:37And when we look back at the history of Christianity, the reality is we have to recognize that
  53. 3:42Christianity was birthed out of Judaism.
  54. 3:45And we had a very Jewish worldview.
  55. 3:48And of course, to the Jew, there was no distinction between the material world and the spiritual
  56. 3:53world.
  57. 3:54God created it all.
  58. 3:56And as the apostle Paul said, we're supposed to glorify God in all that we do.
  59. 4:02However, after the death of John the beloved,
  60. 4:04who was the last living apostle,
  61. 4:06and as we got into that next century,
  62. 4:08and as the Gentile Greek culture began,
  63. 4:14of course the church was predominantly Gentile,
  64. 4:17rather than Jewish, as we had been for much
  65. 4:19of the first 100 years,
  66. 4:21well, the Greek thinking, platonic thought,
  67. 4:25of Gnostic thought entered into Christianity.
  68. 4:28The idea of compartmentalizing your life
  69. 4:30in the material world and the spiritual world
  70. 4:33and of course that has infiltrated and affected christianity even today
  71. 4:37the idea that we are to compartmentalize our lives in the certain things that we
  72. 4:41can talk about in church
  73. 4:43and certain things we can talk about in church
  74. 4:45well that's nonsense
  75. 4:47you know the bible talks about everything from economics
  76. 4:50to sexuality
  77. 4:52to family government to church government to civil government
  78. 4:57so as a as a
  79. 4:59Apologists, you know, of course we look to Scripture, we look to the facts for the basis of our faith.
  80. 5:04The fact of the empty tomb is the reason that I'm a Christian.
  81. 5:08But likewise, as a Christ follower, I want to look to the Word of God for instruction on how I should live my life in every area of life.
  82. 5:19So the reality is there's nothing off limits.
  83. 5:22And pastors should be making 24-7 disciples, not just Sunday morning disciples.
  84. 5:28and how we handle money should be different.
  85. 5:31Our home lives should look different.
  86. 5:34How we raise our children should be different.
  87. 5:36Our sexual proclivity should be different.
  88. 5:39And how we engage the world of civil government
  89. 5:41should be different.
  90. 5:43And as you look through the Bible
  91. 5:44and you go all the way back into ancient Israel,
  92. 5:47obviously the intention of civil government
  93. 5:50was to punish evil and to protect the good
  94. 5:53that we may live peaceably in all godliness.
  95. 5:56That was always the intention.
  96. 5:58And even in the days of King David and King Solomon,
  97. 6:01everything, the government justice was supposed to be blind.
  98. 6:05No favoritism to the rich or to the poor.
  99. 6:09No conviction without two or three witnesses.
  100. 6:11I mean, the purpose and intention of civil government
  101. 6:16from a biblical worldview is well thought through
  102. 6:19and well taught in the scripture.
  103. 6:21And quite frankly, we have just been the beneficiaries
  104. 6:26of enjoying the blessings of liberty in America.
  105. 6:30So these last hundred, hundred and fifty years,
  106. 6:33we have gotten more and more lazy
  107. 6:35when it comes to this area.
  108. 6:37But you go and look at the foundation.
  109. 6:39Yeah, go ahead with that.
  110. 6:41You were talking about the really the kind of sacred secular
  111. 6:45divide that Greek philosophy brought in.
  112. 6:48Maybe in church on Sunday, that's my sacred space,
  113. 6:52but Monday through Saturday, I live in the secular world.
  114. 6:55We know that's false.
  115. 6:57Do you think here in America, and look, I love America,
  116. 7:00I love the church, but have we been taught
  117. 7:05a less than complete gospel?
  118. 7:08This idea that we pray a prayer,
  119. 7:11and then the rest of our life we just live,
  120. 7:14like we wanna live, I mean, Jesus is to be Lord of all.
  121. 7:18I think about in Matthew 28, 20, the Great Commission
  122. 7:22where he says, teaching them to observe all things, what sort of off-command.
  123. 7:29A more robust, more fully-orbed gospel shouldn't it tell us that we are his representatives in
  124. 7:36the fight of light over darkness here in this fallen world.
  125. 7:40The complete gospel really should engage our whole life for the cause of truth and ultimately
  126. 7:46the cause of the gospel.
  127. 7:49doubt Alex and as we look at it, Colossians tells us that we are created by him and for
  128. 7:56him. Revelation 4 tells us that we are created by him and for his glory. The reality is the
  129. 8:03church in America think that God was created to serve us. And I too am concerned with what
  130. 8:10you said. We have no holiness in the Christian life anymore. And you look back at the followers
  131. 8:17of the Most High God, from Genesis all the way through revelation.
  132. 8:22Holiness was supposed to be something that permeated our lives and certainly was demonstrated
  133. 8:29in every facet of our life.
  134. 8:31And I'm with you.
  135. 8:33Salvation truly is just a heart-scry away.
  136. 8:37It truly is just as the thief on the cross cried out and said, Lord, remember me when you
  137. 8:41enter into your kingdom.
  138. 8:43However, I think we've systematized it and made it so simple in America that we think all we have to do is pray that quote unquote
  139. 8:50Sinners prayer and we're going to heaven well
  140. 8:53I got to tell you if someone has no evidence of growth in them if there's no
  141. 8:59Lordship of Jesus in their life if there's no no evidence that they are followers of Christ
  142. 9:05But I doubt very seriously they are in fact followers of Christ
  143. 9:09So I think that that is an error that we have made in the American church.
  144. 9:14We have systematized what it means to be sold out for Jesus.
  145. 9:19When Jesus said, be willing to lose your own life for mine,
  146. 9:23or you're willing to deny your own parents even for the sake of me.
  147. 9:26We've made it so simple.
  148. 9:28You just pray the center's prayer, and then you can live life how you want to.
  149. 9:32Don't have to worry about it, because once they've always saved.
  150. 9:35say. Well the reality is that once you come face to face with the resurrected
  151. 9:41glorified Christ just like the Apostle Paul, just like Thomas, it's going to
  152. 9:47transform your life. And if you are a follower of Jesus, there should be evidence
  153. 9:52that you are a follower of Jesus. Amen. Pastor Paul, you played professional
  154. 9:58football and America right now. I mean we're just weeks away from the 2024 election. Compare
  155. 10:08this to a football game. Final moments of the fourth quarter, third or fourth down. I mean
  156. 10:16if the football game championship analogy were applied to America, describe that for
  157. 10:22for us. Could you? Well, I played in several games. I played a game in Gator Bowl against
  158. 10:30South Carolina in college in 1984 and then played a division championship game against
  159. 10:36Minnesota in 1987. Both times we had to drive the field and win the game on the last series
  160. 10:43as time was running out. And I would say that's where we're at right now. I mean, we have been
  161. 10:48behind because we've become well, when there's no holiness, there's no fear of God in America
  162. 10:53anymore. We've got 350,000 churches, but the churches have no impact on the culture. We have a lot of
  163. 11:01Sunday morning Christians. And frankly, we are about to lose what we have enjoyed for these last
  164. 11:09248 years. And you know, Alex, think about it, we're the only Christians in history that haven't been
  165. 11:15persecuted because of our faith. And the fact is that goes back to the influence of the pilgrims and
  166. 11:21and the role that Christianity played in the formation
  167. 11:25of what were originally the colonies that became the states.
  168. 11:29But I would say there's about a minute left on the clock
  169. 11:33and we're behind by six,
  170. 11:35and we are driving the football right now
  171. 11:38and we're at about midfield.
  172. 11:40And we have a chance to save the country.
  173. 11:43We have a chance to score a touchdown and save the country.
  174. 11:46And understand that Donald Trump
  175. 11:48is not the permanent answer.
  176. 11:50Donald Trump will just be a stay against communism.
  177. 11:54He will be a temporary reprieve
  178. 11:57from where we are currently heading.
  179. 11:59But if the church doesn't awaken,
  180. 12:02if we don't have a genuine fire from heaven,
  181. 12:05Spirit-filled revival where Christians fear God once again.
  182. 12:11And then we impact the culture around us.
  183. 12:15Unless we see that kind of revival,
  184. 12:17we're gonna lose the country.
  185. 12:19As John Adams said as our first president, he said,
  186. 12:22our Constitution, we're different from others.
  187. 12:25Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people.
  188. 12:30It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.
  189. 12:33And I would say to you, Alex, we are neither moral nor are we
  190. 12:37religious.
  191. 12:38So why we think our Constitution can hold even now
  192. 12:44should be with great question and great concern for all of us.
  193. 12:48but it's not too late.
  194. 12:50God always does his greatest work
  195. 12:52when the Hebrews are backed up against the Red Sea.
  196. 12:54That's when God shows up.
  197. 12:56We've got a chance right now.
  198. 12:58We've got a chance right now.
  199. 12:59So hopefully the church will awaken, vote right,
  200. 13:02and then start acting right.
  201. 13:04Amen.
  202. 13:05Amen.
  203. 13:06For those just tuning in,
  204. 13:07we're talking with Pastor Paul K. Blair,
  205. 13:09who was named Oklahoma Pastor of the Year,
  206. 13:12not too many years ago.
  207. 13:13And he's the founder and leader
  208. 13:15of the Liberty Pastors Network.
  209. 13:16there's also Liberty Church in Florida. Hey, I've got a lot to ask you, but give us website
  210. 13:24or websites where where can people find you online, Pastor Paul?
  211. 13:27We invite people to go to LibertyNetwork.live. If you go to LibertyNetwork.live, you've got access
  212. 13:36there to our church in Edmonton, to our church in Orlando, and then also our Liberty Pastures
  213. 13:43training camp. In fact, we've got Liberty Pastors University. We've got free education there for
  214. 13:49anyone that wants to go through what we teach pastors. As we teach pastors to think biblically
  215. 13:56about the realm of civil government and what the Bible has to say about economics,
  216. 14:00that's there free online for anybody to go through that certificate training. So we invite them to
  217. 14:06visit the website libertynetwork.live and have access to all that information.
  218. 14:11We've got a brief break.
  219. 14:13Alex McFarland here, you're listening to the American Family Radio Network.
  220. 14:16I would also refer people on my own website, AlexMcFarland.com.
  221. 14:21We're just coming off seven summer youth camps, 1,200 teenagers, and we have written
  222. 14:27a first time voters guide for a lot of teens, college kids that are reaching voting age,
  223. 14:34AlexMcFarland.com.
  224. 14:36If you haven't voted in a while, I would urge you to read it as well.
  225. 14:40Stay tuned.
  226. 14:41and more with Pastor Paul Blair after this on the American Family Radio Network.
  227. 14:46Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 through 8 direct us to display scripture in our homes and other places.
  228. 15:06It says you should decorate with the Word of God and that you are to fill your hearts and minds with these words.
  229. 15:12There's no greater cause than for those of us who know Christ to share Him and God's Word.
  230. 15:17God's Word.
  231. 15:18Get the full article, God's Word on Display by Joseph Parker on thestand.net and join
  232. 15:24the movement to put God's Word on Display at 10laws.us.
  233. 15:29Shiting Light into the Darkness, this is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
  234. 15:42Welcome back to the program, Alex McFarland.
  235. 15:44So honored to be with you and always just a privilege to be speaking with Pastor Paul
  236. 15:49Blair.
  237. 15:50is one of these guys that you want to listen to everything he has to say. By the way, he
  238. 15:55is an author. He wrote, not blind faith, the verifiable evidence that God exists and Jesus
  239. 16:01rose from the dead. And also where the church went wrong that speaks about the compartmentalization
  240. 16:08of the Christian faith. And Paul, thank you for being with us on the program. More importantly,
  241. 16:13thank you for what you're doing for our country. You know, just an hour ago before you and I
  242. 16:18were on the radio, I was talking with a pastor from Minnesota who basically would stand against
  243. 16:28about 99% of everything you and I would stand for. Now, George Barna says there are like 500,000
  244. 16:37ordained ministers in America. Over the last 25 years, here's my question. You call it
  245. 16:43liberal work whatever have the clergy
  246. 16:47hurt america over the last quarter century
  247. 16:50uh... i mean have all these pastors
  248. 16:53really almost been a net negative paul
  249. 16:58i would say absolutely i mean we've we've gone into the secret chintz
  250. 17:02church movement
  251. 17:03uh... we've gone into the mega church movement
  252. 17:06and you know clap if you look at the united states you know i survey of the
  253. 17:11united states back in two thousand
  254. 17:13and we had over eighty percent of the respondents
  255. 17:17that would identify as being christian now whether they were not we don't know
  256. 17:22however over eighty percent identified as being christian they you go back even
  257. 17:26further
  258. 17:27in seventeen seventy six
  259. 17:29uh... for christian but no me who was a
  260. 17:31professor at new york university that did research on the influence of the
  261. 17:35clergy during the war for independence
  262. 17:38uh... her research so that
  263. 17:40at the time of our declaration ninety eight percent of the colonists
  264. 17:46were protestant not just christian but identified as protestant christian
  265. 17:50so in seventeen seventy six we were ninety eight percent by the way the other two
  266. 17:54percent were you or catholic so we were one hundred percent judo christian
  267. 18:00uh... you you go almost almost two hundred years to uh... to well actually
  268. 18:05you get you go but you know i look over two hundred years to two thousand
  269. 18:09and we still had over eighty percent that identified as christian
  270. 18:13and now we have plummeted
  271. 18:15and these last uh... twenty years to where we now are only about sixty three
  272. 18:20percent
  273. 18:21uh... that identify as christian
  274. 18:23and and quite frankly i think that's because of the we are willing to sacrifice
  275. 18:29anything for nickels and noses and numbers we just want people in seats
  276. 18:34uh... and we have you know skinny jeans and fog machines and we we no longer
  277. 18:39Make disciples we no longer preach the gospel. We're more of a self-help therapeutic weekly
  278. 18:4620-minute exercise rather than
  279. 18:49falling in love with Jesus
  280. 18:52recognizing the facts of our faith and
  281. 18:55Then making disciples making followers of Jesus. You know that's what's so interesting when you go back and you look at the
  282. 19:03the Jewish culture, the idea of following your rabbi.
  283. 19:08You didn't just enroll in seminary or enroll in the Bible
  284. 19:13college, you would follow your rabbi.
  285. 19:16I mean, you'd find your teacher and you would literally pick up
  286. 19:19and follow him.
  287. 19:20In fact, there was an old saying that you can tell the maturity
  288. 19:23of a student by evaluating the amount of dust he had picked up
  289. 19:27on his clothing from following his rabbi so closely.
  290. 19:30So the idea when Jesus told the 12 to follow him, that's the idea.
  291. 19:36And as Christians, when we identify as being Christian, we know that that word was first
  292. 19:42of pejorajim that had been labeled as Christians were labeled as followers of Christ.
  293. 19:48Well, that's what we are and we wear that proudly.
  294. 19:52And as we said in the first segment, sadly in America, we have redefined Christianity
  295. 19:58in the praying of magic prayer that doesn't do anything to a person, doesn't
  296. 20:02transform a life. And then we make great Sunday morning Christians. Boy, we are
  297. 20:07phenomenal for an hour. We can love my neighbor and do all that for an hour. But
  298. 20:12we don't teach people, we don't make disciples anymore. And the reality is
  299. 20:17we should be 24-7 Christ followers. Everything we should do should bring glory
  300. 20:23to God.
  301. 20:25What were your thoughts, Pastor Paul, the opening ceremonies of the Olympics that was, I mean,
  302. 20:31clearly, even the Olympic organizers admitted that it was a parody, a mockery of Jesus Christ,
  303. 20:39the Apostles, the Last Supper, and it was carried out in an unspeakably blasphemous way.
  304. 20:46What was your reaction to that?
  305. 20:48Well, Alex, I personally believe, you know, as contologenically, I think we're in the
  306. 20:53fourth quarter
  307. 20:54you know course whether jesus is that she comes to tonight or whether the
  308. 20:58rapture comes in twenty five years
  309. 21:00i mean i can't discern that
  310. 21:03but you'll call told him at the but
  311. 21:05people would uh... would reject sound doctrine is times through more perilous
  312. 21:10and i think we are certainly seeing that
  313. 21:13uh... and and sadly
  314. 21:15you know there's been persecution of christians throughout history
  315. 21:19and there's been persecution
  316. 21:21of christians around the world even today you know you go to afghanistan or
  317. 21:25you go to around or you go to china
  318. 21:27and as a christian in two thousand twenty four year in a face persecution
  319. 21:30but we in america
  320. 21:32we've enjoyed we've been enjoyed the exception
  321. 21:35uh... to the rule
  322. 21:37and the reality is uh... if our of our popular star christian pop this our
  323. 21:42passes with just recognize that
  324. 21:44you know for six thousand years the the dominant form the default form of
  325. 21:48civil government
  326. 21:49has been tyranny we have a strong man
  327. 21:52ruling over subjects
  328. 21:54but for the last two hundred forty eight years we have enjoyed the exception
  329. 21:58where we have citizens
  330. 22:00being served by public servants
  331. 22:03who are there to secure their unable god given rights
  332. 22:07you know there's a tremendous
  333. 22:08contrast between being ruled as a subject
  334. 22:11and being served at a citizen
  335. 22:14but when you look back to the foundation of america you look back at the
  336. 22:17pilgrim forefathers that landed in Plymouth.
  337. 22:20All of Massachusetts was settled by Puritans.
  338. 22:24The term election came from the Biblical foundation.
  339. 22:29Once a year, these members of a particular community
  340. 22:33would elect their governor, and they would vote for the
  341. 22:37most godly representative, hence the elect that they
  342. 22:41can entrust to serve them over the next year.
  343. 22:44you know and and
  344. 22:45not being part of the Anglican Church having come out of the Anglican Church
  345. 22:49When then being a top-down rule, you know those local congregations
  346. 22:55constituted their own churches and elected their own church government so that was that model in mass
  347. 23:02It was a representative government in the church that became our form of government in America
  348. 23:09I've got to ask you this and forgive me for interjecting but time fleets away
  349. 23:12Okay. How are you encouraging your parishioners to pray, be informed, influence others regarding
  350. 23:22this election coming up less than a hundred days away? How are you as a citizen minister,
  351. 23:30your churches advising people to approach this upcoming election?
  352. 23:34Well, of course, our people are certainly well informed. But, you know, we have been
  353. 23:38on top of this. Alex, what we've seen over the last three years and hopefully people are now aware of it.
  354. 23:44You know, the whole COVID thing was something that was planned. As a matter of fact, if your audience
  355. 23:49would look up event 201 online, you can find that the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation,
  356. 23:55the World Economic Forum actually had a meeting at the Pier Hotel in New York to discuss what their
  357. 24:01global response should be if a bats to human novel coronavirus and sweep the world.
  358. 24:07and coincidentally a month later the first case of one was announced in Wuhan. So recognize
  359. 24:14that this whole thing was orchestrated to get people to through fear and wanting to save their lives,
  360. 24:21be willing to give away their liberty. And the whole push has been basically a return to Babel.
  361. 24:27You know, they're pushing for global governance. And I would invite people to check out the world
  362. 24:32economic forum and see what they're all about.
  363. 24:35So many in our own deep state inside the Beltway have sold out.
  364. 24:40I mean, whether they've been bribed or blackmailed or whatever.
  365. 24:43So, but Donald Trump did not.
  366. 24:46I mean, regardless of what you say about him, I've got videos of Trump at the United Nations
  367. 24:51and at the World Economic Forum, both rejecting their invitation and saying the future doesn't
  368. 24:57rest in hands and globalists, it rests in the hands of patriots.
  369. 25:01So there's a reason that Trump had to be removed.
  370. 25:03So as far as me, he is not a perfect man, but he is easily the only choice that I can make
  371. 25:09in this upcoming vote in 2024.
  372. 25:11He will be a temporary reprieve while we get our act together.
  373. 25:16Yeah.
  374. 25:17Yeah.
  375. 25:18And you mentioned that event to a one pandemic exercise.
  376. 25:21This was October 18th of 2019.
  377. 25:24And I will remember, we don't have time to discuss it now, but I remember February, March
  378. 25:29of 2020, how just within about two to three weeks, the world went from barely knowing the
  379. 25:38word quarantine to a global shutdown police state.
  380. 25:43It was frightening.
  381. 25:44Paul Blair, we got to pull away right now, but I appreciate you and one more time, give
  382. 25:50your website.
  383. 25:51LibertyNetwork.live. All that information is there. Reach out to us. If you have a question,
  384. 25:58we'd be happy to help in any way. And Alex, my friend, thank you for having me on. It's
  385. 26:02always a joy.
  386. 26:03God bless you. Thank you, Paul Blair. Well, this is the American Family Radio Network,
  387. 26:07Alex McFarland here. And going to change gears, very, very honored. Somebody I've wanted to
  388. 26:12have on for a long time, Troy Miller. He is the president of NRB, the National Religious
  389. 26:19broadcasters, which is an organization of which I am a member. American Family Association
  390. 26:25is a member as well. It's really the largest gathering of Christian communicators and member
  391. 26:33organizations that daily speak into the lives of millions of listeners. And Troy Miller is
  392. 26:39also the CEO of NRB Television, which you can find on cable and television systems no matter
  393. 26:46where you live in RBTV. Great, great programming. But so much I would love to
  394. 26:53converse with him about. I want to get right to it. NRB President Troy Miller,
  395. 26:57thank you for holding and welcome to the American Family Radio Network. Thanks Alex
  396. 27:03for having me today. It's great to be with you. Dido, I know you're a busy man.
  397. 27:09Before we get too much into some conversation, I've got to ask, where have
  398. 27:13Have you been, what have the last few weeks, when I look up Troy Miller, you may be in Israel,
  399. 27:20you may be somewhere in the world, tell us what you've been up to in the most recent days?
  400. 27:27Well, but I'm not traveling around the world.
  401. 27:30I'm usually on the phone with somebody around the world.
  402. 27:32But yeah, I was in Israel back in May.
  403. 27:35We did a solidarity trip to Israel in a fact finding mission.
  404. 27:39We had a number of meetings with both government officials and non-government entities and religious
  405. 27:46leaders across the country.
  406. 27:48Just to really communicate and show our support for Israel and let them know that the church
  407. 27:53here is praying for the peace of Jerusalem and peace across Israel and praying for the
  408. 27:58Jewish people.
  409. 27:59So that was a great trip, a great visit.
  410. 28:02We've been working a lot, of course, this summer.
  411. 28:05There's quite a few things going into through Congress on legislation and rural changes that
  412. 28:11will affect Christian broadcasters and Christian communicators and people who produce programming
  413. 28:17for television and radio.
  414. 28:19Those are a couple of things that have been really high on our list.
  415. 28:22And then we're just working with a lot of churches right now on various issues that are
  416. 28:27going on throughout the country.
  417. 28:29And of course, as you know, we have a major tropical storm hurricane came across Florida
  418. 28:35and now going up the East Coast.
  419. 28:37And so we're reminding people of how important during times like this AM radio is, as well
  420. 28:43as the local church, the people that really are the first responders to help provide help
  421. 28:49and aid in those kinds of natural disasters.
  422. 28:54Were you there when Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress about, well, now
  423. 29:01about two and a half weeks ago?
  424. 29:02Were you there, Troy?
  425. 29:03No, I was not actually in BC that week.
  426. 29:07I was traveling elsewhere, but I did watch his address and communicated with several people
  427. 29:14in the office there.
  428. 29:17And I thought he did a fabulous job of really articulating the issues that were at hand that
  429. 29:24facing Israel and particularly also the issues with the U.S. and Israeli relationships?
  430. 29:30Yeah, what Well said. You know, I guess over the last 20 years I've been to the NRB annual
  431. 29:39meeting probably 17 or 18 times, National Religious Broadcasters. It's always, I mean,
  432. 29:45hands down the most well organized, most excellent conference of any that I have the privilege
  433. 29:52of attending, but for those that may be unaware of the toy, tell us what is NRB?
  434. 29:57NRB, the National Religious Broadcasters Association, has been around now.
  435. 30:04We just celebrated 80 years.
  436. 30:06NRB was started back in 1944 when radio became this new medium for people to communicate and
  437. 30:14get messaging out on, and pastors wanted to be on radio.
  438. 30:19There was a group that wanted to control, not unlike today,
  439. 30:23who gives a chance to be on those airwaves.
  440. 30:25And NRV was formed to make sure that the public airwaves
  441. 30:29and public communication was open to all of those
  442. 30:32who is God's call to proclaim the gospel
  443. 30:34or to do work of the church.
  444. 30:37And so for 80 years, that's the core of what NRV has done.
  445. 30:40We advocate for Christian broadcasters,
  446. 30:43Christian communicators and for today.
  447. 30:44That means podcasters and bloggers, filmmakers,
  448. 30:48publishers, anybody who's out there, churches are doing that.
  449. 30:52And then as you talked about that,
  450. 30:53we have an annual conference.
  451. 30:55The NRB conference is held annually.
  452. 30:58We'll be in Dallas, Texas area next year,
  453. 31:01February 24th through the 27th.
  454. 31:04It's the largest gathering of Christian communicators,
  455. 31:08people that work in and are called to ministry
  456. 31:11in the Christian media arena.
  457. 31:14And we'll get together.
  458. 31:16We'll hear some great speakers.
  459. 31:17We'll talk about the key topics that are facing communicators.
  460. 31:21And the church today, we'll talk about new technologies.
  461. 31:25We'll pray for one another.
  462. 31:27There's quite a bit of iron sharpening iron there.
  463. 31:30And really help to educate and encourage people
  464. 31:35who God has called to be the proclamations
  465. 31:38of the proclaimers of the gospel throughout the airwaves today.
  466. 31:42And look, today we have the internet.
  467. 31:44People are consuming more media than ever.
  468. 31:46So it's just more important than ever that people get involved in this kind of communication
  469. 31:52and don't give this up to the enemy.
  470. 31:54Sure.
  471. 31:55Hey, can you hold on to another segment?
  472. 31:57Can you stay through the break there, Troy?
  473. 31:59Oh, yeah, absolutely.
  474. 32:01I'm here for you.
  475. 32:02And what is your website before we pull away briefly?
  476. 32:07NRB.org.
  477. 32:09If you want to know more about our work and the conference, you can go to NRB.org.
  478. 32:15Then RB.org as in National Religious Broadcasters, Alex McFarland with our very special guest
  479. 32:21Troy Miller on the American Family Radio Network.
  480. 32:24Stay tuned a brief break and then we're back.
  481. 32:29You can't set this election out.
  482. 32:31I know a lot of Christians do.
  483. 32:33This is true that God is sovereign.
  484. 32:34I tell you that all the time.
  485. 32:37But they fancy that somehow that is separate from their personal responsibility.
  486. 32:41We are His hands and feet.
  487. 32:43And so that's why we have to do what's right.
  488. 32:46Bible says to him that Noah to do good and just doesn't do it. To him it is sin.
  489. 32:51Sandy Rios 24-7 with your host Sandy Rios. Listen on the podcast page at
  490. 32:58AFR.net. Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Bitted Common Terrets are
  491. 33:08available at AFR.net. Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
  492. 33:14Welcome back to the program Alex McFarland here before we resume our
  493. 33:19conversation with Troy Miller of NRB. I want to remind you of two things. One, the website
  494. 33:26AlexMcFarland.com. We've written what I call a first time voters guide and we just came
  495. 33:33off of seven summer camps that we organized and two others that I spoke at, more than
  496. 33:401200 teenagers, college kids, and a lot of them are looking this November. They're going
  497. 33:46to be voting for the first time.
  498. 33:47So if you go to AlexMcFarlane.com, slash vote,
  499. 33:50there are a lot of content about what
  500. 33:53should be the criteria by which I cast a ballot for a candidate.
  501. 33:58There's a PDF, a downloadable.
  502. 34:00It's really kind of a bulletin insert for churches.
  503. 34:03And let me encourage churches, leaders, clergy, really
  504. 34:08pray for this nation and urge your people
  505. 34:11to be informed and to vote.
  506. 34:12And then finally, my book that I wrote four years ago, and it was number one in three categories
  507. 34:18on Amazon, I give God the glory.
  508. 34:20But my book, The Assault on America, How to Defend Our Nation Before It's Too Late, The
  509. 34:25Forward by Will Graham, published by Harrison House.
  510. 34:28These issues still matter.
  511. 34:30Morality, religious freedom, really free assembly, free religious expression.
  512. 34:37Folks, our ability to live out the Great Commission as not only Christians, but citizens, my book,
  513. 34:43The Assault on America, it's available everywhere. Books are sold, and I thank you for your consideration.
  514. 34:50Well, our conversation with Troy Miller, president of NRB, CEO of NRB TV. Troy, thank you for making
  515. 34:58time to be with us, but I would say even more importantly, thank you for what you do for the
  516. 35:04broadcast of Christ's gospel. You're a busy person. I'm always kind of in awe of the pace
  517. 35:12that you keep. So thanks for doing what you do, my friend.
  518. 35:20Well, thanks. I mean, as you just said, we're all called for the work of the gospel, and it's just a
  519. 35:26pleasure to be working on behalf of our members and all of those who are God has called their
  520. 35:32ministries for a purpose in the Kingdom. And so our job is to clear the pathway so they
  521. 35:39can do what God's called them to do.
  522. 35:42How concerned are you about our free ability? I mean, it's one thing to come to a mic and
  523. 35:49say, you know, God loves you, which is true. God does love the world. But yeah, I think
  524. 35:55about myself and people like Robert Jeffers and David Jeremiah and many of our colleagues
  525. 36:02within NRB. And we preach about sin and we call sinners to repentance. And we try to give
  526. 36:12the fully-orbed message of the gospel, Troy. How concerned are you that the gospel might
  527. 36:20someday be contraband and we are not free to proclaim the full counsel of God? Does
  528. 36:27that worry you?
  529. 36:28Well, absolutely Alex. I think if you look at around the world today, and we know there's
  530. 36:36always been opposition to the gospel, particularly in countries that maybe have other religions
  531. 36:41as their dominant religion or in communist countries, but just look at the Western countries
  532. 36:47today that were predominantly, you know, Christian countries for, you know, hundreds and hundreds
  533. 36:53of years. Look to the north of us in Canada. We have members of NRB that are in Canada.
  534. 36:59They cannot get on the television there or do a sermon that's going to talk about sexuality
  535. 37:05or talk about two genders being male and female or talk about the core family as Mary's
  536. 37:11between a man and a woman.
  537. 37:12They will get censored off of Canadian television and radio if they do that.
  538. 37:18And so there are many today who would like to bring those same rules and regulations to
  539. 37:23the U.S. airways as well.
  540. 37:25I think the weaponization of government that's happened
  541. 37:30over the last four years in particular
  542. 37:33should be concerning to all Christians
  543. 37:36in the cross this country,
  544. 37:37not just Christian broadcasters or major pastors in pulpits,
  545. 37:42but even Christians who are just trying to communicate
  546. 37:44within their own social media networks,
  547. 37:47whether they're on Facebook or they're on Instagram
  548. 37:51or they're on X or whatever it is today.
  549. 37:54There are a lot of Christians who can't simply proclaim the truth of the gospel, the truth
  550. 37:58that we find in scripture without the social media organizations either taking those posts
  551. 38:04down or in some cases locking them out of their accounts altogether.
  552. 38:09So that's a major concern of where we're at today and how we're moving forward.
  553. 38:13I think the left would just love to completely silence the message of the gospel.
  554. 38:20American church. And when I was at NRB in Nashville back in February, I guess it was of this year,
  555. 38:28I had the privilege of being with George Barna and you know George Barna, incredibly respected
  556. 38:36researcher. But we were talking about, you know, the 345, 350,000 American churches.
  557. 38:44There may be as many as 100 to 120 million adult born-again Americans.
  558. 38:52And yet, Barna was lamenting the fact that maybe one-third of born-again adults are even registered
  559. 39:01to vote.
  560. 39:02And of that number, less than that actually gets out and votes.
  561. 39:07I guess here's my question, Troy.
  562. 39:10the Christian voting bloc still an influence? We're so numerous and yet I fear not very influential.
  563. 39:22Does the Christian voice still carry weight and clout in American politics?
  564. 39:29Yeah, I do think that the Christian voice still carries a lot of weight in clout with that,
  565. 39:37as you said, but it could carry,
  566. 39:39the point is it could carry a lot more
  567. 39:42if Christians were more active in the political process
  568. 39:48or at least in the electoral process
  569. 39:50that goes on in the country that God's given us.
  570. 39:53That's the democratic part of our constitutional
  571. 39:57republic here and Christians haven't really had a history
  572. 40:01of exercising that, especially in the last, let's say,
  573. 40:0550 to 75 years have exercised that as much as they've done
  574. 40:09in the previous decades of this country.
  575. 40:12Christians had a greater influence
  576. 40:15on the country, the direction, the country,
  577. 40:17and more concerned.
  578. 40:17And there's a number of, I think, reasons behind that.
  579. 40:20We've particularly seen in my lifetime since the 1980s,
  580. 40:25a real push on the left, and even some of those
  581. 40:30in within the Christian community
  582. 40:31to kind of push Christians away from politics
  583. 40:35in the political process,
  584. 40:38saying that it was, you know,
  585. 40:39that the process itself is toxic
  586. 40:41or that Christians shouldn't be involved in this,
  587. 40:45these kinds of things.
  588. 40:46And then of course, today we see in both the mainstream media
  589. 40:50and on social media,
  590. 40:52we see a lot of Christians who are afraid to engage
  591. 40:54in the politics because they're going to be, you know,
  592. 40:57or isolated or badgered by folks in the culture, again, trying to keep you out.
  593. 41:08But think about that for a second. One of the biggest scriptures that's often misused
  594. 41:13is the command that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.
  595. 41:17And I think we forget when Jesus was teaching the apostles in John,
  596. 41:24in the chapters of John 13 14 15.
  597. 41:27I think he said to them, he said,
  598. 41:28I give you a new command.
  599. 41:30It's to love your neighbor as I have loved you.
  600. 41:33And Jesus's life was a life of sacrifice for others.
  601. 41:38And in the church, we have to think about in the side,
  602. 41:42who do we want to be governed by?
  603. 41:44Who do we want and who are the best people
  604. 41:47to govern and administrate this country
  605. 41:51in this government, this land that we've been given,
  606. 41:54this blessing by God, who are the people
  607. 41:57that want to do that?
  608. 41:58Are we just going to abandon and give that over
  609. 42:01to non-Christians, to atheists, to secularists,
  610. 42:06to people who are going to push their agenda
  611. 42:10because the left does not push their agenda,
  612. 42:13or are we gonna be governed by people that do,
  613. 42:16that really hold the values and hold the morals
  614. 42:19and hold to the ideas that we find that we hold in scripture
  615. 42:23because that's the end of the game.
  616. 42:25Loving your neighbor is not backing away
  617. 42:30and turning them over to something
  618. 42:32that would put them into eternity in separation from God.
  619. 42:39We want to love our neighbors so that we can put them
  620. 42:41in eternity in the presence of God and with God.
  621. 42:45And so I really hope that we're working hard
  622. 42:48others a lot of organizations working hard to help the church understand not to be ashamed
  623. 42:54to be involved in this political process as a matter of fact we should be called as a church
  624. 43:00to be involved in this process because we should want people that oversee us, that govern
  625. 43:05us, to be the people that hold the same ideas, hold the same values and those same morals
  626. 43:09that we do.
  627. 43:10Indeed.
  628. 43:11And you know there are implications far beyond the borders of our own country.
  629. 43:15I mean, I think about the people that we send to Washington influence foreign policy and foreign
  630. 43:21policy touches on things like our relationship with the nation of Israel, peace in the Middle
  631. 43:27East.
  632. 43:28I mean, I really think the parishioners of America's churches need to know that our vote
  633. 43:36is a stewardship issue and our vote really carries a lot of ramifications and implications,
  634. 43:44doesn't it?
  635. 43:45Well, it does, and you hit a great point there.
  636. 43:48America, for the first 150 years, 200 years of our country here, America has one of our
  637. 43:58biggest exports has been the American values and their primarily Christian values built
  638. 44:05on the foundation of the scriptures, of the foundations of the teaching of God and the teaching
  639. 44:11of Christ and America exported, if you might say it that way, around the world those values
  640. 44:18and Christianity, we set more missionaries out from the West than have been sent out
  641. 44:23anywhere and now look at where the ramifications that are, Alex, today are exports out of this
  642. 44:29country and the ramifications of those policies are exporting things like transgenderism and
  643. 44:37the rest of the LGBTQ agenda,
  644. 44:41we're sending those things out.
  645. 44:43We're now supporting abortion around the world.
  646. 44:49We're supporting communism and socialism kinds of economic
  647. 44:54ideas that are really hurting people.
  648. 44:57I mean, they're hurting some of these economic policies
  649. 45:01that have come out of America have gone
  650. 45:04into third world countries that had started to make a real change and started to make an
  651. 45:10impact in some of these globalists with their whole environmental movement have pushed those
  652. 45:16countries back by decades.
  653. 45:18And so that's a real immorality that we have to look at.
  654. 45:21And that's an impact of us not being involved here in the United States because those are
  655. 45:26direct exports out of this country.
  656. 45:29Well said.
  657. 45:30Well said.
  658. 45:31And you know, and I think about this too, as well, Troy, that, well, about two months ago
  659. 45:37I was in Atlanta, Georgia, and I was on a show, and I was debating a skeptic that was griping
  660. 45:44about the fact that churches have tax-free status.
  661. 45:48But we all know that churches do so much benevolence and so much good that when Congress gave churches
  662. 45:55nonprofit status, you know, more than a century ago, they understood the benevolent charitable
  663. 46:00work churches give back. But I did some study. The bottom line, about 2.1 trillion a year,
  664. 46:09is given to non-profit and charitable work. Well, 85% of that, I'll be brief, Troy. 85%
  665. 46:16is given by conservatives, if not Christians. And so, this thing of the Christian residue
  666. 46:23or the evangelical voice.
  667. 46:27Not only do we publish the salvation message, but 85 cents out of every benevolent charitable
  668. 46:33dollar, the food kitchens and the closed closets.
  669. 46:39As Matthew 25 would say, giving a cup of cold water in Jesus' name.
  670. 46:43It's not coming from the pockets of atheists or secularists or people united for the separation
  671. 46:48of church and state.
  672. 46:50It is the Christians and the conservatives that are not only broadcasting Christ, but we're
  673. 46:56giving the money that puts food into hungry bellies 85%.
  674. 47:01I mean, it's very important what we have been and who we are as, yes, a nation founded on
  675. 47:09biblical principles.
  676. 47:10Yeah, Alex, the vast majority of charity that goes on around this country and around the
  677. 47:18world. First of all, has its roots in Christianity, some of the largest charitable organizations
  678. 47:24in the world, have their roots in Christianity. They started off, even if they're not today,
  679. 47:30they started off and the reason they exist was because of the work of Christ, the Gospel
  680. 47:35of Christ, and what God has called us to do and be as individuals. Even my own church this
  681. 47:40weekend, we were just talking about with schools starting back here in Tennessee. Our church
  682. 47:45has a backpack program so that underprivileged kids can be able to have all the school supplies
  683. 47:51that they need throughout the school year. And we also do a program that helps kids that
  684. 47:57have food insecurities who are not going to get full meals every day so that kids can have
  685. 48:03lunch programs throughout the whole year. Those are the back bones of Christian charities.
  686. 48:08And those are the things that is this hurricane, tropical storm moves up the coast. You'll have
  687. 48:13of organizations like Operation Blessing Convoyo.
  688. 48:16Troy, almost out of time.
  689. 48:17And these guys will be the ones there.
  690. 48:21Amen, amen.
  691. 48:23We're almost out of time, my dear friend, your website, please.
  692. 48:27In the RB.org to find out all the work we're doing
  693. 48:30in Washington, DC and around the country
  694. 48:33and to come see us at our next convention in Dallas.
  695. 48:36God bless you, thanks for listening.
  696. 48:39The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast
  697. 48:42may not necessarily reflect those
  698. 48:44of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.

Transcript indexed for search. Open the panel to read along.

Share this episode


Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Pick Your Platform All Episodes
Call (888) 589-8840 Book Abe