The Hamilton Corner

April 24, 2025 · 49:48

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Bunni Pounds, Founder and President of Christians Engaged

Politics & Policy

Show notes

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Bunni Pounds, Founder and President of Christians Engaged To donate call : 877-616-2396

Phone lines mentioned

Full transcript Auto-generated · 8,144 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. 0:03It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
  3. 0:06This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
  4. 0:11It 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. 0:33Should Christians speak out about politics?
  12. 0:36Does the church have a role or an influence to exert in government and culture?
  13. 0:43Hi, Alex McFarland.
  14. 0:44You're very honored to be sitting in for Abe Hamilton tonight on the Hamilton Corner.
  15. 0:49It's my privilege somewhat frequently.
  16. 0:52I sit in while Abe may be traveling and tonight is one of those nights.
  17. 0:57I really believe that this could be one of the most significant consequential shows that
  18. 1:05you listen to in many a day.
  19. 1:07I've got with me bunny pounds and she is a voice, a leader, an author, her book, Jesus
  20. 1:15and Politics.
  21. 1:17One woman's walk with God in a mud-slinging profession and she's insightful and we always
  22. 1:25learn from her when we have the time to converse. Later on we'll take questions as well and maybe
  23. 1:31you want to weigh in and ask a question about this. But first of all welcome Buddy Pounds and
  24. 1:38thank you for making time to be with us today. Alex, really great to be with you. So thankful
  25. 1:48for you and this ministry and your voice of bringing the biblical worldview to every Christian in the
  26. 1:53country we're thankful. Well, amen. Well, listen, I want, before we get in, there's
  27. 2:00so many things I want to ask you. I want you to give your website and folks, after
  28. 2:04you hear Bunny Pounds, you will want to access her content online and her book as
  29. 2:10well. But where may people find you? Yeah, Christians engaged.org. Christians with
  30. 2:17an S engaged with a D org. That's our main ministry website or my name, Bunny,
  31. 2:23with an IBunnyPounds.com has even more stuff.
  32. 2:27You know, when I was a youth pastor in Greensboro, North Carolina back in the 90s,
  33. 2:33one of the things that we did, I think it was probably about 1997,
  34. 2:39we brought David Barton to Greensboro. You know David Barton and
  35. 2:43Wall Builders. Oh yeah. And it was phenomenal. And we've
  36. 2:48known him all these years. But my point is when you look at the history of the country
  37. 2:54really up until the mid-20th century, America was so overtly steeped in the Bible, biblical
  38. 3:06principles, Christians being involved, presidents that would talk about Jesus, and we were an
  39. 3:14unapologetically Christian culture and government.
  40. 3:18And then nowadays, like every week of the year bunny, I get reprimanded by ministers who
  41. 3:24email me and they'll say, Alex McFarland, you're a pastor.
  42. 3:29You have no business talking about politics.
  43. 3:32You're called to preach the gospel.
  44. 3:34Stay out of this thing about government and culture and politics.
  45. 3:37How did we get this dichotomy?
  46. 3:41We were overtly Christian and now it's almost assumed that the Christians have no right
  47. 3:49to speak about government and culture.
  48. 3:51How did this bifurcation happen, Bunny?
  49. 3:57Well somewhere we decided to buy into the lie, Alex, that some things are sacred and some
  50. 4:02things are secular and it's really not the word of God.
  51. 4:07Jesus, when he walked on the earth, talked about everything.
  52. 4:12He talked to the people in the temple, but he also talked to the people in the market.
  53. 4:17I was just, I'm doing a Bible study right now on my podcast, Jesus from America.
  54. 4:22I'm pre-recording the book of Philippians.
  55. 4:25And it just hit me even as the Apostle Paul was talking about the women that were, you know,
  56. 4:31influential in the church of Philippi.
  57. 4:34You know, we see Lydia, we see all these merchants and business owners and et cetera.
  58. 4:42You know, it really kind of frustrates me sometimes with pastors because they want it.
  59. 4:47They'll encourage the businessmen or women in their churches to go take Jesus to their
  60. 4:51boardrooms or public educators to take Jesus to their classrooms.
  61. 4:56But when you start talking about politics, oh, let's take Jesus to our city council or
  62. 5:00our school board or pray for our member of Congress or support a candidate.
  63. 5:05They like freak out, right?
  64. 5:08Oh, yeah.
  65. 5:09And it's just, you know, we have to realize that the God wants our voices in every space.
  66. 5:16My story is I was a homeschooling mom that got active 20 years ago and I wanted to make
  67. 5:21a difference and I saw that I could make a difference in some homeschool issues and some
  68. 5:27on the life issue and the sanctity of human life.
  69. 5:30And I got involved in party politics.
  70. 5:33Oh, horrible, muddy, yucky.
  71. 5:36Nobody wants to do that, right?
  72. 5:38But I realized I could actually shift the party platforms in my state and I can make
  73. 5:44it more biblical.
  74. 5:45And then I realized I could actually support candidates that held biblical values and would
  75. 5:51push those values if they got into office.
  76. 5:54Then I realized that I could be a staffer and a consultant and walk with members of Congress
  77. 5:59and give them wisdom and help for their life as they served in those places.
  78. 6:05tell me we can't be missionaries in those places of influence, we can.
  79. 6:10Well, we can, and very often, and I know, you know, I started out very respectfully calling
  80. 6:18and dialoguing with elected officials in my home state of North Carolina and then senators
  81. 6:24and leaders that went to Washington.
  82. 6:26But very often, I've had congressmen and senators say, you know, you're the only constituent
  83. 6:33that called. So Reverend McFarland, what you got, nobody else has called me, so I will
  84. 6:40listen to you. My point being, one voice can really make a difference, can't they?
  85. 6:47Oh, 100%. I could tell you story after story, Alex, of the man or woman that decided to go
  86. 6:53to the community college board of trustee meetings, and nobody went, and then they decided to
  87. 6:59to write a blog on how they were raising taxes.
  88. 7:02And then they decide to run for that board of trustees.
  89. 7:05And how they shifted tax rates and how they,
  90. 7:09you know, in our city in Rowlett, Texas,
  91. 7:11one pastor who got involved with Christians engaged,
  92. 7:15started working with five or six other pastors,
  93. 7:18got all of our products, our Get Out the Vote system,
  94. 7:22our education products into five or six churches.
  95. 7:25He started putting his members from an Assembly of God
  96. 7:28church on boards and commissions in our city. Then he started running people for
  97. 7:33City Council. They they flipped the City Council for putting more conservatives on
  98. 7:40that City Council and then got rid of the DEI program in our city. So that's how one
  99. 7:46pastor, one person can make a difference. We've seen that over and over again. I
  100. 7:51can tell you stories all day long. Wonderful. Well mint, you mentioned
  101. 7:56Christians engaged. Tell about that. And I want to ask, is this in all 50 states?
  102. 8:03Yes, yes. So, yeah, I spent about 16 years in political consulting working for members of Congress and candidates, a couple of my former
  103. 8:13candidates are in the cabinet now, Lee Zeldin and Sean Duffy were two of my former candidates.
  104. 8:18But I ran for Congress 2018 and then at the end of that realized that I really felt like the Lord was telling me that he was going to
  105. 8:27waken his church in the days ahead and to build systems to help mobilize the body of Christ.
  106. 8:33Because it's not good enough, Alex, just to talk about Christians praying and voting.
  107. 8:39We need to be reminded. You know, we're all busy. We've got kids with soccer games and we've got church activities and we've got businesses to run.
  108. 8:47So how can we help motivate and create a call to action for every Christian in this country that would actually help them do what they're
  109. 8:55Called to do that's what we set out to do with Christians engage
  110. 8:59And I believe we've done it. We actually track every election in the country and we in a data secured system
  111. 9:07That's only for the body of Christ
  112. 9:09We push people to pray every Monday for their elected officials in for America. We create videos
  113. 9:16those scripture prayer prompts and then we track every election and push out four texts
  114. 9:22and four emails around every special election, primary, federal election, state election and
  115. 9:28on the local elections we talk about them from a statewide basis.
  116. 9:32So we've got local elections happening right now in our state of Texas and we're pushing
  117. 9:38out five step guides to your local election and helping Christians vote in those nonpartisan
  118. 9:43elections.
  119. 9:45We believe that if Christians start doing that, we could impact our communities for the long
  120. 9:50term.
  121. 9:51And then we also build about $300,000 of on-demand video curriculum teaching Christians how to
  122. 9:57engage in civics, in running for office, local government, and biblical worldview topics.
  123. 10:03It's been fun.
  124. 10:04Amen.
  125. 10:05Amen.
  126. 10:06Hey, by the way, folks, I've got the great privilege of being on the Hamilton corner again tomorrow
  127. 10:11evening and we'll have on Kathy Branzel, the president of National Day of Prayer.
  128. 10:17By the way, NDP National Day of Prayer is coming up on May 1st and I want to
  129. 10:22encourage you. They've got like 19,000 gatherings. That's so wonderful and be
  130. 10:31a part of it no matter where you are in America. There is an opportunity for you
  131. 10:35to be a part of National Day of Prayer and we'll talk about that some tomorrow.
  132. 10:39But, Bunny, my heart is just so thrilled to hear how God is using you.
  133. 10:45And, yeah, I mean, even early in America, one of the great leaders, Daniel Webster, early
  134. 10:54in American life, he basically said, why should we let the pagans chart our future?
  135. 11:01And the way he phrased it, it's so beautiful.
  136. 11:04He said he wanted the evangelical volume in every city, town and hamlet.
  137. 11:11Now that was the Bible because if we don't proactively share truth, moral boundaries,
  138. 11:18and yes the gospel, then a false pagan, worldly worldview will take control.
  139. 11:26So I think we have a great opportunity not only to walk with the Lord, grow in the Lord,
  140. 11:34help our country know who Jesus is and his principles and his word shape what our culture
  141. 11:41is like.
  142. 11:42Yeah, we've got two things here, Alex.
  143. 11:46We really encourage people and this is part of the reason why I wrote my book, Jesus in
  144. 11:50politics is we need to get every Christian praying, voting and engaging on an ongoing
  145. 11:55basis.
  146. 11:56We absolutely need more Christian consultants.
  147. 12:00We need more Christian staffers.
  148. 12:01We need more Christians running for office.
  149. 12:03We need more Christians advocating for our values and going to their city council meetings.
  150. 12:08We need all that.
  151. 12:10But we can't cease to be Christians when we're doing that.
  152. 12:14We have to operate with boldness and courage and we need to operate within the sermon and
  153. 12:18the mount as well.
  154. 12:20So part of what we're trying to do with Christians engage is create a civic engagement ministry
  155. 12:26that will help pastors.
  156. 12:27We have a whole pastors toolkit.
  157. 12:29We help pastors and churches do voter registration, voter mobilization and education around the
  158. 12:35country.
  159. 12:37And we are in all 50 states.
  160. 12:39We work with our family policy councils on the ground around the country.
  161. 12:44And we also, all of our technology and stuff is all 50 states that we track.
  162. 12:50But we also have an opportunity to mentor and train and disciple young people and people
  163. 12:56that are engaging in politics on how to do this in a right fashion, how to do it with knowledge,
  164. 13:03first of all, with a prayer for heart and to keep our integrity because I think you've seen this
  165. 13:10Alex in our movement sometimes. People create politics as an idol in their heart or they start
  166. 13:18attacking people in a way that doesn't look too Christian. It's one thing to stand up for your
  167. 13:23values, but it's another thing to start attacking people personally. So we try to
  168. 13:28train Christians how to stand up for truth, how to speak the truth in love, but also
  169. 13:34to navigate these political mind fields so that they can really make a difference.
  170. 13:38Well, I'm so glad you say that because, you know, a person to be loved is more
  171. 13:47important than an argument to be won. Amen. And in the spirited discourse, I don't like
  172. 13:57wokeness. I don't like some of the ideologies that are markism, socialism, moral libertarianism,
  173. 14:08the LGBTQ trans agendas. But you know what, the thing is that the activists in those realms
  174. 14:14are people that are deceived.
  175. 14:17And yet we need to stand for truth and fight back error,
  176. 14:21but let's pray and live so that these people
  177. 14:25can come out of the darkness into the light.
  178. 14:28And we can't win them if we're cruel to them.
  179. 14:33But hey, we've got to break.
  180. 14:35Bunny Pounds, I could not be more excited.
  181. 14:38The guests that we have, Bunny Pounds, Jesus and politics,
  182. 14:42plus your calls and questions on this edition of the Hamilton Corner, Alex McFarland.
  183. 14:47He's listening to the American Family Radio Network. Brief break, stay tuned more for God
  184. 14:52and Country after this brief break. A discipleship minute with Joseph Parker.
  185. 15:03How tragic it is when people who say they love Jesus will see the need, see the problems,
  186. 15:10for whatever reason, pass by on the other side. Sometimes people may think, well,
  187. 15:14That's not my problem and I don't want to be a victim like he was.
  188. 15:18Well, that's a wrong perspective.
  189. 15:21Some may think, well, I'm busy.
  190. 15:22I've got other things to do.
  191. 15:24Well, it's easy to say everybody's busy.
  192. 15:27Everybody has something to do.
  193. 15:28By the grace of God we see where God commended the Samaritan.
  194. 15:31He too had something to do, but he took time.
  195. 15:34He made time to stop and help with compassion.
  196. 15:38Someone who'd been beat up and left for dead on the side of the road by the world.
  197. 15:44You and I need to make time to live a life of compassion.
  198. 15:48We're called to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in the world.
  199. 15:53How important it is that we're faithful to do that.
  200. 15:56This is what we're made for.
  201. 16:05Shiting light into the darkness.
  202. 16:07This is the Hamilton Quarter, an American family radio.
  203. 16:12Welcome back to the program, Alex McFarland.
  204. 16:14Hey, while we're talking about making a difference and being equipped and having our voice heard,
  205. 16:20I want to remind you, please pray and attend if you're able the conversations that matter.
  206. 16:27The speaker series that we start May 4th, so just a week from Sunday, Myrtle Beach, South
  207. 16:32Carolina, we're at a wonderful theater down there.
  208. 16:36My first speaker in person, not video, I'm talking live, Dinesh D'Souza, multiple number
  209. 16:43one New York Times best-selling author renowned filmmaker, probably one of the
  210. 16:49greatest political science voices. He served in the Reagan White House and
  211. 16:55Dinesh will be there in person to speak and he'll have open mic Q&A. I mean think
  212. 17:01about that. How often do you get the opportunity to ask questions of one of
  213. 17:06the most astute? He's brilliant but he's funny too. He's very witty. Dinesh D'Souza,
  214. 17:12conversations that matter and the website is AlexMcFarland.com slash
  215. 17:18conversations. We would love to see you there on Sunday night May 4th. But with me
  216. 17:24now also riveting communicator, inspiring speaker, Bunny Pounds, Jesus and
  217. 17:30politics. And so much I want to ask you and we will take calls in a few moments.
  218. 17:36But tell people about Christians engaged and give that website if you
  219. 17:41with please, Bunny.
  220. 17:43Yeah, we're here to help every Christian pray, vote,
  221. 17:47and engage.
  222. 17:48We have built a 50-state get-out-the-vote system,
  223. 17:52a church outreach program, a young adult program.
  224. 17:55We called 1630 for 16 to 30-year-olds.
  225. 17:59We're taking 50 young people to Washington, DC,
  226. 18:02this summer on scholarships.
  227. 18:03So if you're 18 to 30-year-olds,
  228. 18:06and you feel called the government politics and ministry,
  229. 18:09We wanted to put you in the fire in Washington DC
  230. 18:13for three and a half days.
  231. 18:16We're raising up the next generation of leaders
  232. 18:18and we have also created eight national products.
  233. 18:23Amazing on-demand video curriculum
  234. 18:25and we can also take these classes to each church
  235. 18:29around the country.
  236. 18:30So we are doing the stuff.
  237. 18:33Alex and people can reach us at christiansengage.org
  238. 18:37and take the pledge to pray, vote, and engage,
  239. 18:40and you'll get in our system and see all the amazing events
  240. 18:44and different things that we have going on.
  241. 18:47Well, and as Americans, we have this incredible opportunity,
  242. 18:53Lincoln referenced it in the Gettysburg Address,
  243. 18:56and I want you to speak about this self-government.
  244. 19:01Isn't that amazing?
  245. 19:03So talk to us about the incredible God-ordained opportunity
  246. 19:09that we US citizens have to participate in self-government.
  247. 19:16Well, he set it up in the book of Genesis, Alex,
  248. 19:20that we get to regulate ourself and govern ourself.
  249. 19:25You know, God was after.
  250. 19:27I love that he didn't create us as robots, right?
  251. 19:30He wanted voluntary lovers,
  252. 19:32people that would choose him.
  253. 19:35And I love that our Constitution even,
  254. 19:38as we're about to celebrate our
  255. 19:39250th year birthday of America next year,
  256. 19:43our Constitution of America was built
  257. 19:46on liberty, justice, the rule of law.
  258. 19:50And those processes came out of the Bible,
  259. 19:53out of a biblical worldview.
  260. 19:56And that's, I believe, why this Constitution
  261. 20:00has lasted more than any other Constitution
  262. 20:02world history. And I believe will last for years to come. But you know, as
  263. 20:08individuals, we have a responsibility to choose the Lord to govern
  264. 20:14our self rightly, and then to govern our families, then govern our churches,
  265. 20:19and governments, real role is to step in when people are evil dovers,
  266. 20:23when there is no justice, when their laws are being broken, to protect the
  267. 20:30people from themselves. And so I love that the government is a God-ordained institution
  268. 20:38as well as the church and as well as the family and as well as our relationships with the Lord
  269. 20:43individually as well. I just, you know, I'm so edified listening to you and at what age did the
  270. 20:54white bulb come on. I mean, have you always just been a civic minded Christian or how did God
  271. 21:02birth within you this fire for God and country? Well, I became, I really had an experience with God
  272. 21:11when I was 13 years old and became a radical evangelist in my public high school actually.
  273. 21:19But I went to a Christian music concert years ago, I was a senior in high school and went to this
  274. 21:25concert called Cornerstone Festival. I was actually just telling the story. Was that in Pennsylvania?
  275. 21:31Yeah, yeah. And we're in this tent, right? There's all these vendors in ministry there. And this
  276. 21:39group Operation Rescue was there and showing these really graphic videos of what abortion is. And
  277. 21:48it was the first time I was really exposed to that as a young person. And I remember Alex,
  278. 21:53I didn't put this in my book. I haven't really even talked about this, but I was telling this to a friend a few days ago and just reliving it.
  279. 22:00I just remember standing there at that booth and just weeping over the slaughter of babies in the womb in our nation.
  280. 22:09And that caused me when I went to Bible college at Christ for the nations a few years later, I joined the moral issues ministry and we would pray at abortion clinics.
  281. 22:20and we would speak to people on the streets of Dallas and share the gospel.
  282. 22:24And then, you know, I thought I was going to be a missionary to Latin America.
  283. 22:29And then all of a sudden my best friend proposed over pancakes and I'm mirroring a pest control guy.
  284. 22:35And having a pest control company and I'm like, OK, I guess I'm not going to Guatemala now.
  285. 22:40I'm going to be in America and we started having little babies.
  286. 22:44And I and I was trying to figure out how I could really make a difference.
  287. 22:47And there was this woman on talk radio named Laura Ingraham.
  288. 22:51Most of your listeners are probably heard of Laura and I got addicted to
  289. 22:55listening to this crazy, funny woman named Laura Ingraham.
  290. 22:58And that produced me really wanting to make a difference in politics and
  291. 23:02government and going back to school and the rest is history.
  292. 23:06Amen.
  293. 23:08That is that is so wonderful.
  294. 23:09I want to share a scripture and then I want your comment and please speak to
  295. 23:15the pastors if you would because you know Bunny well back in 2016 Tony Perkins of
  296. 23:23FRC call me he knows I'm from North Carolina hundred counties and I had preached
  297. 23:30in 98 of the hundred counties in North Carolina most of the great big churches
  298. 23:37and Tony Perkins he said Alex can you help us get some voters guide throughout
  299. 23:42North Carolina. It was a nonpartisan, just to explain where the candidates were. So I
  300. 23:48was like, sure, Tony, I got this, man. I'm a North Carolina boy. They love me here.
  301. 23:54You know? So I called all these, I mean, I spent weeks calling all these pastors
  302. 24:00where I had preached in these churches and the churches of North Carolina. And
  303. 24:0590% of the pastors, they would go, oh, Alex, hey, now you know we're for you,
  304. 24:12Alex. You know, you're hometown boy, but I don't touch politics. We're sorry, Alex. We cannot put
  305. 24:20these voters' guides. And I mean, we're talking about life, the sanctity of life, you know, the nature
  306. 24:27of marriage, the preservation of religious freedom. And I got to be honest, you know, I eventually we
  307. 24:34got the voters' guides in maybe half of the churches. But my point is, sorry to take so long to set this
  308. 24:41this up. What do you say to the pastors that offline, they'll say, Oh, hey, I'm for you.
  309. 24:50I'm right there where you are, but I don't publicly go on record. And I, you know, how
  310. 24:55do we get the spiritual leaders and the churches engaged when they seem too fearful to take a
  311. 25:03public stand?
  312. 25:07There's a couple things going on, Alex. After about 150 pastor meetings, the last few years
  313. 25:13me and my vice president Ben Kwine have taken, I can tell you, I'm convinced more and more
  314. 25:19every day that pastors are not afraid of separation of church and state and the Johnson
  315. 25:23Amendment. Those are just paper tigers. They're not really worried about that. What they're
  316. 25:28really worried about is one tithing member leaving their church. And when the average church
  317. 25:36in America is under 250 people, every single one of those people sitting in those pews are
  318. 25:42absolutely important to the pastor. You understand that as a pastor.
  319. 25:46Yeah, sure.
  320. 25:46So we have to reach them with that understanding. We have to
  321. 25:51understand that they're terrified of the woman in their
  322. 25:55congregation that's had an abortion, that when they start
  323. 25:58talking about abortion, she's just going to get angry because
  324. 26:02she's not healed. She hasn't been delivered or the man that's
  325. 26:06paid for abortions that's never dealt with it, that they're
  326. 26:09going to get so convicted, but they're not going to deal with it
  327. 26:12that they're going to just run out the door with their checkbook, right?
  328. 26:15So we have to help them take baby steps.
  329. 26:20And I know that sounds kind of weird,
  330. 26:22but I believe every pastor in this country can preach a sermon on pray,
  331. 26:27vote, engage without splitting their church.
  332. 26:30Okay, start with that.
  333. 26:32Talk about the role of us praying for our elected officials and our government officials
  334. 26:37out of First Timothy 2.
  335. 26:38Then talk about the importance of loving our neighbors and electing righteous leaders and why that's important and should be part of our discipleship.
  336. 26:47Then talk about engagement, which we're all every pastor in the country, Alex. I'm going on a rant here, but it's important.
  337. 26:54They're going to all talk about taking Jesus out and being missionaries. When you walk out Sunday morning, go be a missionary.
  338. 27:01You're on mission for God.
  339. 27:03You're on mission for God, but man if you start talking about hey
  340. 27:08I'm gonna go advocate for this biblical value or I'm gonna go run for city council or I'm gonna go take on the
  341. 27:14LGBTQ movement and pride month on in the Chamber of Commerce
  342. 27:19They're going to like freak out. Okay?
  343. 27:22Pastor you can't freak out you have to empower your people to go out there and take biblical worldview
  344. 27:30you into the marketplace and into your city. That's how we get the light. And oh, by the way,
  345. 27:36people are not going to be convicted. The Holy Spirit's job description is to convict the world
  346. 27:42of sin, righteousness and judgment. If they're not bringing the truth of the word of God, how are
  347. 27:48people even going to be convicted of their sin? That's what the role of the Holy Spirit is. So
  348. 27:53it's, it's, there's a whole bunch there, Alex, but we have to, number one, I want to tell people
  349. 27:59love your pastor, they've got the hardest job on the planet. Walk beside them and
  350. 28:05say I will be the one that will help you talk about these subjects and also work
  351. 28:11to mobilize people in our congregation because I know you don't have the bandwidth.
  352. 28:14Thirdly, just tell them we are going to support you and have your back if you get
  353. 28:20out there on the water and talk about prayer voting engagement and issues. We
  354. 28:24will have your back and we are going to support you and make sure that everybody
  355. 28:28understands we stand with you. If we do that, we will see more pastors stand up, I believe.
  356. 28:33I mean, you know, back in February, I was at NRB National Religious Broadcasters, which is
  357. 28:39with AFR. We go there. It's the big gathering of broadcast ministries and it's talking to George
  358. 28:46Barna, the Barna research group, very brilliant guy. And he was saying that, you know, like 82 to 85
  359. 28:54percent of all parishioners want their clergy to speak about moral, social, political issues
  360. 29:03from a biblical perspective. You know, what thus saith the Lord? And yet, and it varies, but somewhere
  361. 29:11like three to seven percent max of clergy will, from the pulpit, in that posture of authority,
  362. 29:21speak on record about moral social political issues.
  363. 29:26And I would say to pastors, and hey, pastor,
  364. 29:29I feel you're paying, I have pastored, I am a pastor,
  365. 29:33I'm in a pulpit somewhere every week,
  366. 29:35I understand the fine line of diplomacy
  367. 29:39that you think you have to walk.
  368. 29:40But here's the thing, 80% of your people in your pews
  369. 29:44are ready and eager for you to speak on record
  370. 29:49about moral social political issues.
  371. 29:52And so I would say, like you said, the fear of man brings a snare,
  372. 29:56the Bible says, but let's not be afraid.
  373. 29:59Let's be obedient. That's what we're called to do, isn't it?
  374. 30:02Well, and I'll say this, Alex, Gen Z,
  375. 30:06they're leaving the church because it's not relevant to them because pastors are not
  376. 30:10talking about anything that they need to hear from.
  377. 30:13They're worried about pornography, they're worried about transgenderism,
  378. 30:16They're worried about bullying, they're worried about suicide rates, you know, they're worried
  379. 30:21about all this stuff and where are they listening?
  380. 30:24The good thing is there are voices arising that are pushing young people back to the Bible
  381. 30:30that are pushing people to stand up, you know, many of our friends in the movement that they're
  382. 30:35listening to and going, oh, wow, if that guy has boldness, man, maybe I could get a little
  383. 30:41bit of boldness.
  384. 30:42But they're not hearing it from the American pulpit.
  385. 30:45And so we have to really examine our hearts and go, what are we actually building here?
  386. 30:51What are we actually doing here?
  387. 30:53You know, if we're not leading people, this is my big message for my life, Alex, is if we're
  388. 30:58not leading people back to intimacy with Jesus to the place of prayer, to the Word of God every
  389. 31:04day to worship, and we're not teaching them how to walk with him and hear from him, how
  390. 31:10do we expect them to be leaders in their generation or do anything?
  391. 31:14We're not going to do anything.
  392. 31:16So we have to disciple people.
  393. 31:18That's not happening in the American church very much.
  394. 31:22And then we have to push them out and support them and hold their hand when they go out there
  395. 31:26to be leaders and mess up and fail and get muddy and, you know, we've got to walk with
  396. 31:33them and be those, those pastors that help them in those, in those processes.
  397. 31:38Well, and as Billy Graham said, once courage is contagious, you know, I mean, honestly,
  398. 31:44we are bold and truthful and biblical. It will spread. Hey, we've got a brief break. We're
  399. 31:52going to take calls. Now here's the number folks, triple eight, five, eight, nine, 8840. That's
  400. 31:57eight, eight, eight, five, eight, nine, 8840. If you've got a question for Bunny Pounds or
  401. 32:04myself, we would love to hear from you. Jesus and politics. Let's talk, Bunny, before this
  402. 32:11brief commercial, give a website again to help people where they can find you online.
  403. 32:16Yeah, Christiansengage.org. On that website, take the pledge to pray, vote, engage, and
  404. 32:22grab my book at Amazon, Jesus and Politics.
  405. 32:26Great. Hey, we've got a brief break. Alex McFarland here, the American Family Radio Network, your
  406. 32:31calls, your questions, and more when we come back. Triple eight, five, eight, nine, eighty
  407. 32:36eight, forty. Let us hear from you. We're back after this.
  408. 33:09Thoughts of the child you were carrying,
  409. 33:11keep poring over in your mind.
  410. 33:13A deep, unrelenting sadness over shadows your days,
  411. 33:17and you wonder if you will ever feel whole again.
  412. 33:20There is hope and healing from a reproductive loss.
  413. 33:24Call the International Helpline 866-482-LIFE
  414. 33:29and talk with someone who has been where you are.
  415. 33:32Your call is confidential,
  416. 33:33and we will help you find healing.
  417. 33:36866-482-LIFE.
  418. 33:39So Middle East, that's one part of the world we need to pay attention to, especially the
  419. 33:43country of Israel.
  420. 33:44Each week, I hope you make sense of what's happening in that region through a biblical
  421. 33:48lens.
  422. 33:49I'll bring you important information about security threats, archaeological discoveries,
  423. 33:52biblical prophecy, ministries happening on the ground, and much more.
  424. 33:56I'm John Riley.
  425. 33:57Join me for the Middle East Report Special Edition every Saturday at 6.30 PM Central on American
  426. 34:02Family Radio as I connect you to the people, places, and geography of what we read in God's
  427. 34:08word.
  428. 34:13Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Minute Common Terrets are available at EFR.net.
  429. 34:19Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
  430. 34:24Welcome back to the program.
  431. 34:25Alex McFarland, very honored to be sitting in with Abe Hamilton, or for Abe Hamilton III.
  432. 34:32He's an attorney, a pastor, and a broadcaster.
  433. 34:36And I feel very privileged that he would entrust the Hamilton Corner microphone to me when he
  434. 34:42is on the road.
  435. 34:43So we're talking with Bunny Palms.
  436. 34:46And by the way, this show, you can listen again at AFR.net.
  437. 34:51Check out if you would the website and the app.
  438. 34:54There's a station map to show where all of the American family stations are.
  439. 34:59And then of course, people around the world listen online.
  440. 35:02And maybe if you've got a friend that's kind of reticent to,
  441. 35:08as a Christian, make their voice heard, this show might encourage them.
  442. 35:12But, Bunny, thank you for being with us.
  443. 35:14We're gonna go to some callers right now.
  444. 35:17And by the way, if you have a question,
  445. 35:18the number is 888-4888-40.
  446. 35:23But we'll begin in Kentucky.
  447. 35:25Jacob from Kentucky, welcome to the program.
  448. 35:30Hey, bird, I enjoy your broadcast today.
  449. 35:35Well, God bless you.
  450. 35:35I'm gonna make a thorn in the words.
  451. 35:37Thanks.
  452. 35:38It's Alex here, actually, but thanks for listening.
  453. 35:40I know who it is.
  454. 35:42I got you that time didn't I?
  455. 35:44You did, you did.
  456. 35:46But thank you.
  457. 35:47Hey, what's your question for Bunny and myself?
  458. 35:50Hey, I'm currently unengaged in the political process period because I really don't see too
  459. 36:04much difference between the two parties and the only time I ever hear anything about what
  460. 36:14God or anything on programs like this and there's not very many of those I can tell you that.
  461. 36:25And what would you have to say to people in that sort of situation?
  462. 36:34Well, I have some thoughts. Thank you for asking. Thank you for your honesty.
  463. 36:38Bunny, I kind of hear that sentiment sometimes. What would you say to this person?
  464. 36:45Well, I'll tell you, Jesus is not on the ballot. Part of what we do with politics is choose between imperfect people.
  465. 36:53But I would challenge you that there's not a lot of difference. There is great differences between the two party platforms and the values of different candidates.
  466. 37:05And it doesn't take that far to look.
  467. 37:09We put out a biblical roadmap to the party platforms,
  468. 37:13which was 16 issues of what the Bible said on the topic,
  469. 37:17what Marxism said on the topic,
  470. 37:19and then the full platform playing
  471. 37:22for the Republican Party and the Democrat Party
  472. 37:24on those issues.
  473. 37:27And yeah, I would love to get that to you
  474. 37:31at Christiansengaged.org gets on our website,
  475. 37:33but that would, I think would be a helpful tool for you to see,
  476. 37:37but also, man, I know in 2020,
  477. 37:40I'll just give you an example from my life,
  478. 37:43our county judge shut down our whole county in Dallas County,
  479. 37:47but right up the road, there was a county judge
  480. 37:50that feared God and didn't shut down the county
  481. 37:53and calling county in Plano and McKinney and Frisco.
  482. 37:56And so for three weeks in our county,
  483. 37:58we had to suffer under a county judge
  484. 38:01that wanted to do something else.
  485. 38:03So it really matters who you elect because they really affect your life even on a county and city level.
  486. 38:10I'll just leave you with those thoughts.
  487. 38:12Indeed, indeed. Thank you, Jacob.
  488. 38:15Let's go to my home state of North Carolina.
  489. 38:18Jessica from North Carolina.
  490. 38:20Welcome to our conversation with Bunny Pound.
  491. 38:23Hello, Jessica.
  492. 38:28Hi, can you hear me?
  493. 38:30Yes, now we can't. Thank you.
  494. 38:32What you got?
  495. 38:33So I just want to say this is my first time listening in.
  496. 38:39So I just think it's been wonderful.
  497. 38:43But the question that I do have is since God knows everything,
  498. 38:48he sees all our days before, you know,
  499. 38:52the numbers of hairs on our head are people predestined to
  500. 38:59for hell.
  501. 39:02Let me jump in on this and then, Bunny, you can weigh in as well.
  502. 39:07And thank you so much, Jessica, for a great question.
  503. 39:09No, I do not believe that anyone is predestined by God for hell.
  504. 39:16Sometimes that's called double election.
  505. 39:18Throughout the Bible, God says, whosoever will may come.
  506. 39:23I think about Isaiah 55, 1 through 7, whosoever will may take
  507. 39:28of the bread of life and Revelation 22 ends, whosoever will may come to the water of life.
  508. 39:35And Jesus said in John 3, 16, to Nicodemus, whoever believes in Him.
  509. 39:41So here's the thing, Jesus' death on the cross makes salvation possible.
  510. 39:48But our response to Christ makes salvation actual.
  511. 39:53I really do think salvation is offered to all people, not sadly, not all except Christ,
  512. 40:00some reject the light they've been given.
  513. 40:03But I personally believe, Jessica, that whoever will turn to Christ in faith, whoever that's
  514. 40:12who can be saved, anyone.
  515. 40:14Now that's a long topic.
  516. 40:17And I believe me, I realize there's so much on this.
  517. 40:20Let me recommend a book from my mentor in grad school.
  518. 40:24He was a very close personal friend.
  519. 40:25He's in heaven now, Norm Geisler, G-E-I-S-L-E-R, brilliant scholar.
  520. 40:32I could do a whole program on that man's credentials.
  521. 40:35But Dr. Geisler wrote a book called Chosen But Free.
  522. 40:41What does it mean that we're chosen in Christ yet we have free will and we are responsible
  523. 40:46to make a choice?
  524. 40:48but free is a great book on that subject.
  525. 40:50Thank you, Jessica.
  526. 40:51Let's go to Virginia, Mark in Virginia,
  527. 40:54where we'll be doing a youth camp in Virginia,
  528. 40:57but Mark, are you there?
  529. 40:59I'm there.
  530. 41:00Can you hear me?
  531. 41:01We can hear you.
  532. 41:02Welcome.
  533. 41:04Thank you.
  534. 41:05I met you before at a proof for youth thing
  535. 41:10I took my youngest son to, but I'm sure
  536. 41:12you don't remember anyways.
  537. 41:15What I found is that those churches that stand for truth have no problems filling the pews.
  538. 41:26And one of the things that I do with pastors is I take them to John 10.
  539. 41:32And I say the sheep hear the shepherd's voice. But when the wolves come, the hired hands run away.
  540. 41:39So what are you, pastor? Are you a shepherd? Are you a hired hand?
  541. 41:44Wow, good stuff. Hey, Bunny, isn't it true? The more theologically and politically conservative
  542. 41:52a church is, the more those are the churches that are growing. Oh, it's absolutely true.
  543. 41:58You see the mainline denominations continuing to lose members as pulpits remain silent on
  544. 42:06a lot of topics in the evangelical world. There's definitely more growth. Yeah, people, especially
  545. 42:142020, Alex, I mean, we saw a mass exodus from certain churches and a lot of growth in some
  546. 42:21other churches because of the boldness of pastors to keep churches open or to speak the truth related
  547. 42:28to what was happening. So people are looking for that. I've seen more people switch churches in the
  548. 42:33last five years than I think my entire lifetime. And I challenge people, you know, you got to really
  549. 42:39look at who your shepherds are and where your tithe money is going too. Are you supporting
  550. 42:45people that are actually preaching the truth and love? Yes. George in Kentucky, George,
  551. 42:52are you there? Hello, hello. Welcome. Can you hear me? Hi, I have a question for you and
  552. 43:00bunny. I want to give you my opinion of the three most important things in life. And then
  553. 43:11I would like to hear your opinion of the three most important things in life and how God applies
  554. 43:20to those three things. I think the three most important things are in this order, security
  555. 43:29health and finance and I would like to know what you think. I mean this is
  556. 43:36overall out of everything your whole life I would like to know what you think the
  557. 43:40three most important things are and then how God applies to those. Thank you for
  558. 43:47the question I'm gonna jump in and I'm gonna throw it to my to I think the three
  559. 43:52most important things in life and number one our salvation that we are born again
  560. 43:58because eternity itself hangs on that.
  561. 44:01Then I think stewardship of one's life,
  562. 44:04because 1 Corinthians 6, 19, and 20 says that
  563. 44:08we are not our own, that we are responsible
  564. 44:11to the God who made us and the Savior who redeemed us.
  565. 44:16So we're to be stewards of our life.
  566. 44:19And then the final thing, I believe,
  567. 44:21is involvement in Christ's Great Commission.
  568. 44:25The Bible tells the church to go into all the world mark 16 15 Matthew 28 18 through 20 and let me just say
  569. 44:32There has never been an engine that has done the most good for the most people
  570. 44:38Like the United States and I've traveled to third world countries and when I'm deep in the interior of Africa or South America
  571. 44:47And I find people that have food a well
  572. 44:52literacy, schools, hospitals, it always, it doesn't matter anywhere you go on the
  573. 44:59globe when you find the betterment of the human condition. It was done by
  574. 45:04American Christian entities. So those are my three bunny. What do you say to the
  575. 45:10caller? That's some good three. I was thinking as he was talking, my number one
  576. 45:15is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he sent, John 17. I think that's my
  577. 45:21ultimate calling in life is to know God intimately. Number two, relationships,
  578. 45:27you know, the first and second commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul,
  579. 45:31mind and strength, love our neighbor as ourself. And then I'll piggyback on
  580. 45:35your Zalix of stewardship with the gospel. I'll put that in the third category,
  581. 45:40which is stewardship of our gifts and talents and our life for the propagation of the gospel and
  582. 45:45in the kingdom of God would be my three the way I laid out.
  583. 45:49But all of those are important.
  584. 45:51But again, loving God and loving our neighbors is really how we're working all that out
  585. 45:57in our individual lives.
  586. 45:59And George, hear me out.
  587. 46:00I say this very respectfully and humbly.
  588. 46:04Security, health and finance.
  589. 46:06I'm with you.
  590. 46:07Those matter.
  591. 46:08But Jesus asked the question, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose
  592. 46:11his soul?
  593. 46:13You could be healthy and wealthy, but still be lost.
  594. 46:17And so the beautiful thing, C.S. Lewis once said this, grasp earth and you'll miss heaven.
  595. 46:24Plus you'll lose earth because we're all going to die.
  596. 46:26But if you take the hand of Christ, Matthew 6, 33, the Lord said, seek first the kingdom
  597. 46:34of God and His righteousness and all these other things be added to you.
  598. 46:39God knows that we desire security, we want to be healthy, and we have financial needs.
  599. 46:46The Lord knows that.
  600. 46:48And the beautiful thing that Christ promised, and I would just encourage you on my own website,
  601. 46:54AlexMcFarlane.com.
  602. 46:55There's a tab, What Does God Say About My Relationship With Him?
  603. 46:59Please read that.
  604. 47:00And trust Jesus, and you'll get those other physical needs that you're thinking about as
  605. 47:06well.
  606. 47:07We've got time, I think, for one more call.
  607. 47:09Let's go to Patty from Iowa.
  608. 47:11Patty, are you there?
  609. 47:13Yes.
  610. 47:14Welcome to our conversation with Bunny Pounds.
  611. 47:16Thank you.
  612. 47:19I live in a town of about 11,000.
  613. 47:21There is a college here which always makes it a little more livable, but Iowa is basically
  614. 47:27conservative and Republican.
  615. 47:29They announced in the paper a couple months ago that for the first time they made it like
  616. 47:35it was a good thing.
  617. 47:37They were going to have gay pride parade in Waverly or LGBT pride parade.
  618. 47:45And I haven't seen anything in the paper since then of anyone doing anything to try to prevent
  619. 47:50that.
  620. 47:51And I'm not in very good health myself.
  621. 47:54I don't always make it to chill, but I doubt if any of the past trees, I don't know what
  622. 48:03to do about it or if there's anything that gunners should be done about it.
  623. 48:07I thank you for your concern.
  624. 48:15Bunny, do you have any advice for people maybe in a similar situation?
  625. 48:21Here comes the LGBTQ trans pride parades.
  626. 48:26And what can or should people do about that?
  627. 48:30Yeah, well, you know, we've got free speech, of course, but we also should be bold in our
  628. 48:36faith.
  629. 48:37And I have a really great friend, Wade Aaron, he takes a cross and walks across the country,
  630. 48:42know, and brings the gospel into those places. And I would, I would suggest that if it's happening
  631. 48:49and you can't do anything to stop it, go out there and love on people. Talk to them. You're
  632. 48:55gonna find backslidden Christians. You're gonna find wounded people. You're gonna find
  633. 49:00people that need Jesus. But then, you know, have somebody in your town write an op-ed to
  634. 49:06the, to the paper. Ask people to write letters to the city council and make your voice be heard
  635. 49:12that you might not want that next year.
  636. 49:14Yeah, and you know, let me say these nervous,
  637. 49:17Nelly city administrators that grant a prayed permit
  638. 49:21to really 1% of the population when 98 and a half percent
  639. 49:27are probably conservative Christian, heterosexual.
  640. 49:32You know, we can make our voice heard,
  641. 49:34and I believe we should.
  642. 49:35Bunny Pounds, thank you for being with us tonight.
  643. 49:39The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast
  644. 49:42may not necessarily reflect those of 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