May 12, 2026 · 50:49

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Greg Rowles and Dr. Damon Friedman

Culture & Media

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Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Greg Rowles and Dr. Damon Friedman | 1-800-326-4543 ext. 345 To donate call: 877-616-2396

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Full transcript Auto-generated · 9,198 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.

0:00Darkness is not an affirmative force.
0:03It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
0:07This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
0:11It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite.
0:15Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
0:18And the philosophies of this world.
0:20God has called you and me to be His ambassador.
0:24Even in this dark moment.
0:26Let's not miss our moment.
0:29and now the Hamilton Corner.
0:32Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. That's Psalm 33 12 and with that wonderful verse of
0:38scripture I welcome you to this edition of the Hamilton Corner. Alex McFarland here sitting in for
0:44attorney, pastor, broadcaster Abe Hamilton the third. Very, very honored to be on the Hamilton Corner.
0:51We've got a great show tonight. We really do and you know with our nation celebrating our 250th
0:59birthday. Think about that. A quarter millennia. The United States of America has existed and what a
1:05blessing. And we're going to talk about something that is just uplifting to a lot of people. I've got
1:10a dear friend I want you to meet in just a few moments. But let me say this, many of you know
1:16that for 27 years, our ministry, we've done biblical worldview events all around the country. And
1:23and it's been my joy.
1:25I was a youth pastor in Greensboro, North Carolina,
1:28and I just wanted my kids to be able to not lose their faith
1:32when they'd go away to college.
1:34I would have kids from my youth group,
1:36some of the best and the brightest that I had,
1:38and they'd go away to Duke or Chapel Hill,
1:41and they would hear a lot of things
1:43that would challenge not only their Christian faith,
1:45but even their loyalty to America.
1:48So in the 1990s, we began to book a lot of speakers
1:51bring them to Greensboro. And I began to rent the Greensboro Coliseum like three times. You
1:56know, looking back, I don't know how God gave me the vision and maybe the courage to do that.
2:02But we would go and we would rent the Greensboro Coliseum and bring in speakers. One time we brought
2:07in coach Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys had 8,000 teenagers come out to hear coach Landry.
2:14And little did I know that I would be renting lots of theaters over the course of my adult life.
2:21And so God has been really good to us. We've done 51 citywide events over the years all over America,
2:29thousands of speaker, well, thousands of attendees, several hundred speakers we've booked.
2:35And a couple of years ago, we begin to set our sights on Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand.
2:42And, you know, last year we brought in speakers like Dinesh D'Souza, Gary Chapman, who wrote the five love languages,
2:49Charlie Kirk just two and a half weeks before he got killed and I want to tell
2:54you folks I've never had a better experience anywhere throughout the USA
2:59than the experience of renting the Greg Roles Legacy Theater in North
3:05Myrtle Beach. Now 22 million people a year go to the Myrtle Beach area from all
3:1250 states and part of the reason that we love to minister down here and we've
3:15We've brought Abe Hamilton down before, Jenna Ellis, a lot of great people, but if you've
3:20never been to the grand strand, I mean, it's fantastic, the restaurants, the golf, the ocean,
3:27but you need to know about the Greg Roles Legacy Theater.
3:30For one thing, we're doing several of our conversations that matter, events there this
3:35year, and we'll be bringing in incredible speakers like Eric Metaxas, one of the biggest selling
3:41Christian authors of our lifetime.
3:44And the Greg Roles legacy theater is named for a man named Greg Roles.
3:51He's a singer, he's a musician.
3:53I'm proud to say he's a friend and he is with us now.
3:57And it's a great privilege to talk with the namesake of the theater, Greg Roles himself.
4:04Greg, welcome to the American Family Radio Network.
4:07Thanks for being with us.
4:08Alex, you're so welcome.
4:10What an incredible introduction.
4:12Wow.
4:13over my shoulder like who's he talking about that's incredible thanks for that
4:19you're gonna be your June but June 20th your first appearance here this year yeah that's true
4:24that is true one of our what we're starting a tour across America called revive us and yes
4:30at the Greg Roles legacy theater June 20th we're gonna have a revival meeting and I will
4:36believe me folks we're gonna as we get a little bit closer to you more and more about that but
4:40For those that may not know, I want to hear your story, Greg.
4:44How did God bring you to where you are in your life and career, brother?
4:51Thanks, Alex. I love listening to people's story. People always ask me about, you know,
4:58point A to Z. I don't know if I got to Z yet, but anyway, I grew up in a family band back in
5:04Fred Explorer, Virginia. Literally falling asleep on dance hall tables at the age of four, watching
5:10my dad played music. And those were incredibly impressionable years when it came to music,
5:20just because I wanted to be like my dad. He was my hero. And he sang and played guitar
5:24and I thought, well, man, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. And dad
5:30was a civil engineer by trade, but he played on the weekends. So we formed a family band.
5:38And at 13, that's my first professional performance for the Jerry Lewis telethon, Washington, D.C.
5:46leg of that.
5:48And we had a family band with my mom, my dad, my brother, my cousin, my aunt, we were called
5:53the Nashville Connection.
5:55And so all those years, Friday and Saturday nights, we were playing, I tell everybody,
6:02we played the animal circuit, we played the elps lodge, the able slides, and the most lodge.
6:06And right? And had a lot of fun doing it, but grew up on stage literally with mom and dad.
6:13And dad originally did this to get us in the kitchen, just kind of keep the family close together,
6:17keep them tight, keep us, you know, talking and visiting with each other. We'd never,
6:24I don't think he ever thought that we would take it that seriously, that we wanted to go out and
6:29play for a living and make money doing this when we did. And I did that through my middle school year
6:36to my school years through those colleges and then moved to Nashville.
6:40Now what was your set list?
6:42I mean what were the types of songs that you did?
6:46So anything Alex then that played on the country radio at the time
6:51in the late 70s, early 80s, all the way through the you know
6:54late 80s, we tried to play those songs but we also
6:58that grew up playing the old 50s and 60s rock and roll. So we played a lot of those
7:02standards also. Anything with a good beat we found that people love. People love things that they could
7:08they can dance to. But what I found out early on was that people came back to see people. Mom and
7:15dad would have us go visit the table between sets and thank everybody for coming. And so
7:23just like everything else it's all everything's relational. So people came back to see people they
7:28We gave them a good beat, but they liked us as people.
7:31So they would follow us around and became really family.
7:35And I do that every single night here at the theater.
7:37I thank people for coming.
7:38You know, there's so many places to go be entertained.
7:41I want to make sure that they know how much we appreciate them being here,
7:45taking time, their hard and money to come and allowing us to entertain them.
7:49Yeah.
7:50Well, and I appreciate you and folks, if you're just tuning in,
7:53We have a conversation with Greg Roles, well known of the Greg Roles Legacy Theater in North
8:00Myrtle Beach. Give your website. I want to point something out to folks, but Greg, what's your website?
8:06Yeah, it's gregrollslegacytheatre.com or GRL at T NMBingorathMyrtleBeach.com. You can find it either way.
8:16You can google it. It'll pop right up for you. Sure. And Roles, the last name is ROWES.
8:22That's right.
8:23Yeah, thanks Alex.
8:24Yeah, I appreciate it.
8:25Well, I want to say thank you.
8:28In your shows, I mean, you honor God and country.
8:33It's great, patriotic.
8:36It's world-class.
8:37I mean, it's comparable to anything you would hear in New York, Las Vegas.
8:44I mean, it's top drawer, but you've got the gospel, you've got the patriotic, and you've
8:50got something for everybody and thank you for doing that Greg.
8:56Now you're welcome.
8:57You know, it hasn't always been that way.
9:00I didn't find the Lord till I was 37 and I'll be 61.
9:05I will tell you, I was playing across the country at the fairs and festivals, all these
9:11casinos.
9:12And when I, after Star, I want to add McMahon's Star Sur, but after that, the Star faded quickly
9:19and my gigs became fewer and far between. So I found myself working for a temp agency in Nashville
9:26and I was parking cars off the Audubon for Nissan, exteras and altimas and I put them up on train
9:34cars and I went across this gravel parking lot one day and these raggedy old jeans and t-shirt
9:41and steel toe shoes and the week before I was headlining Harris and flash bulbs going off.
9:48And anyway, I walked across this parking lot and I got down on my knees and I said,
9:53I said, God, I'm lost and you helped me. I said, I don't know what I'm doing, but I
10:00sure don't enjoy doing this. Can you help me? And two weeks later,
10:06Opryland USA had called me, the folks that I worked for in Nashville at the
10:12show park there at Opryland USA before I won Star Search. They called and said,
10:16Hey, there's an MC gig we'd like you to consider in Myrtle Beach at the Alabama theater, which you consider doing it
10:22And I said no, I've been to Myrtle Beach and it's awful
10:24I came here for a
10:2796 and camp but I was camping in the middle of a hurricane and didn't even know it so my impressions of Myrtle Beach were not you know
10:34they were not fun ones so
10:38They I went back and talked to them again and and
10:41And lo and behold, we found ourselves here in Myrtle Beach.
10:45And a couple of years later, Brandy,
10:47my bride who you've met also,
10:50and she grew up Christian and wanted to get back into church.
10:53And I grew up the CEO.
10:55I was Christmas Eastern occasionally at church.
10:59That's the only time you found me there.
11:02If somebody died or somebody got married,
11:03I was singing for him.
11:05And so we started going to church
11:09and we were baptized together on Easter Sunday in 2002.
11:15But I remember coming out of that water thinking,
11:17okay, God, I'm good, you're good with me, I'm good with you.
11:20And Brandy came on the next week, she said,
11:22okay, let's go to church.
11:23That's all Sundays are my day off.
11:25I deserved a sleep in on Sunday.
11:28That's my day, it's not the Lord's day, it's my day.
11:31Anyway, she started reading her Bible
11:33and I'd get up at five o'clock in the morning, Alex,
11:36and she was in the kitchen reading her Bible,
11:38I thought, oh my gosh, I've married this Jesus freak, you know.
11:41And the closer she got to Jesus, the more I think I resented her, because I was no longer
11:47number one in the family.
11:49And so I just, the spider, I started to sleep on the couch.
11:54And despite me, she let me sleep on the couch.
11:57And right, that went on for a couple months and I came on one night and she said, you know,
12:03you know what, you know what, the guy that's here to lead our family, right?
12:07I think I want you to leave.
12:10And that was very sobering for me to hear.
12:12I remember begging to stay at the house.
12:18And I slept on the couch a couple nights later.
12:21I came home from a show and as I did every night, I kissed my kids good night.
12:26I got under this Ricky the Old Sealum fan in the middle of the living room just off of
12:31that couch.
12:33And I had the same conversation that I had two years earlier in that gravel parking lot
12:38parking those Nissan's and that's a God I'm lost.
12:42And you help me.
12:44And I got back up on that couch and a couple days later
12:46she came home with a book by Max El-Cato called a Book,
12:50a love worth giving based on the Corinthians one,
12:53the love chapter.
12:55And I wasn't a big reader,
12:56but she asked me to read this book with her.
12:58So over the course of a month,
13:00she'd read a little bit every night.
13:01I'd read a little bit every night.
13:02After about two weeks, she invited me to the bedroom.
13:05And I remember a few, a couple of weeks after that, we kissed again for the very first time.
13:13And it's been baby steps ever since then.
13:15But I never thought I would have been involved in ministry.
13:20I was part of a praise team.
13:23And then I ended up planning a church and becoming a music pastor for seven and a half years.
13:28And that's been a while ago.
13:30It was one of the most rewarding jobs and the toughest jobs I've ever had in my life.
13:35But again, such a magical time.
13:40So everybody's walk is different.
13:44And I think I truly believe that we're wanderers.
13:47You know, God said he went after the one sheet.
13:50You know, he left the other 99.
13:52He went after the one.
13:54And there's so many of those ones out there that I've met just like me that, that, you
14:00you know, they, they stray away from the shepherd.
14:05They stray away from God.
14:06And God is so patient and so loving that he cares so much
14:10that he would go and get you.
14:12Amen.
14:14That he needs you that much.
14:15He wants you that much.
14:16That he needs you.
14:17You need him, but he wants you that much.
14:20Amen.
14:21He does that.
14:22I think he's done that with me several months, you know.
14:24You've been honest, Alec.
14:26Hey, Greg, hold up thought.
14:27Forgive me.
14:28We've got a break coming up here.
14:30Alex McFarland here, we're talking with Greg Roles of the Greg Roles Legacy Theater in North
14:35Myrtle Beach, where we'll be on June 20th and else other times this year as well. Stay
14:40tuned more with Greg Roles on this edition of the Hamilton Corner on the American Family
14:46Radio Network. We've got a brief break and we'll be back.
15:00A discipleship minute with Joseph Parker.
15:03Love gives. Love seeks to bless. Love seeks to carry out the work and the will of God. That's
15:09It's an important truth to understand.
15:11You know, the world often will say,
15:12I love you because you're pretty.
15:14I love you because you give me money
15:16or all sorts of things.
15:18But genuine love isn't a love that says I love you because.
15:22Someone says they love you,
15:23but they're always asking you for this and that.
15:26And they say, I love you so you should do this for me.
15:29Again, that doesn't sound like love
15:31based on what the Word of God teaches us.
15:33John 3 16 tells us for God,
15:35so love the world that he gave
15:37his only begotten son
15:38whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
15:42You know, when we're evangelizing and doing the work of disciple making, we're loving people.
15:48Remember, the Word of God and the Spirit of God teach us to live a lifestyle of ministry,
15:53reaching out to a world that desperately needs to be touched by the love of God.
16:04Shiting light into the darkness, this is the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
16:11Welcome back to the program.
16:12It's a great honor to be sitting in for Abe Hamilton.
16:15If you recognize my voice, it's probably from a show called
16:18Exploring the Word that we've done now for 16 years.
16:22And exploring the word is heard Monday through Friday,
16:25three to four central four to five Eastern.
16:29And in the time zone of your choice,
16:31it's always a great honor to be sitting in for Abe Hamilton.
16:34And a great honor to be talking to my friend and colleague,
16:36Greg Roles of the Greg Roles Legacy Theater.
16:41I want to get back to his testimony, but let me just say,
16:44if you're traveling this summer, hey look,
16:46you need to come to the grand strand.
16:49For one thing, you'll eat some great seafood, probably.
16:53You might come to one of our conversations
16:55that matter events, but the show there,
16:58Music and Memories at the Greg Rose Legacy Theater,
17:03what I've heard of your band and the music.
17:06I know you do, sometimes you do some Elvis, don't you, Greg?
17:11Yes, Alex, and thank you.
17:12We do a little bit of everything.
17:14I think our theater is different in this day and age
17:17because we are 100% live.
17:19There are no vocal tracks in the show.
17:20There are no instrument tracks in the show.
17:23We have incredible musicians, world class,
17:26a world class cast.
17:28You know, if you put the years together
17:31of this entire truth, you're talking about
17:33over 420 years of professionalism on stage.
17:37And the resumes are a mile long from all these folks.
17:40and I'm humbled to share the stage with them.
17:43But we're right here on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach,
17:46as you know, which is iconic.
17:50The birthplace of Vanna White, she's
17:52like our hometown girl in the home of the shag,
17:56the state dance at South Carolina,
18:00and so much history up and down Main Street.
18:03And here we are now honored to be such a big presence
18:08on Main Street.
18:09We can't miss our building.
18:10It started out as a theater in 89 and it was a church,
18:14I think as you know, for years before the church
18:17built the larger sanctuary and we took it from a church
18:21back to a theater setting.
18:22And basic, my partner Brad, who you're friends with,
18:26also Brad Alexander, gutted it and redesigned it
18:30and stated the art sound and lights and comfortable seating.
18:33And it's a 793 seat venue now and I call it our living room.
18:39And that's the way I want everybody to feel is that they're in our living room to be entertained every night.
18:44Well, you know, and something else that maybe we'll talk about this another day, but this area,
18:50Highway 17, which is also called King's Highway, that goes, you know, pretty much from the North Carolina
18:56state line, you know, down the seaboard. Historians call this the cradle of American evangelism,
19:04that missionaries from Europe were coming here
19:08almost for the last 400 years.
19:12And the Gospel, the message of Jesus Christ,
19:15was really seeded into this region.
19:18There's a very famous evangelist, George Whitfield, Greg.
19:22And this is the guy that led Benjamin Franklin to Christ.
19:25Whitfield would do outdoor preaching,
19:29you know, probably right where your theater sits.
19:32So, I mean, there's so much history here.
19:35And folks, if you're coming,
19:37you will not be disappointed, I promise you.
19:40But.
19:41I did.
19:42Great.
19:43You got you kind of gave me that little tidbit.
19:45And I did.
19:46I found a lot of that same information.
19:48I had no idea that this area was known to be so rich
19:54in history with the teaching of the gospel.
19:56Exactly.
19:58Hey, we're almost out of time for this segment.
20:00But Greg, I want to circle back.
20:02Before the break, you're talking about
20:05how you were kind of at a crossroads.
20:08And you cried out the Lord and Jesus was there for you.
20:12What do you, give a word to somebody listening
20:15and they might be right at that same juncture.
20:18And they're just wondering, you know,
20:20what's my purpose?
20:22What am I here for?
20:23Does God have something for me?
20:26What do you say to that person, Greg?
20:29I think, well, first of all, there's hope.
20:32For me, Jesus gave me hope.
20:35And I found that he was truly listening to me.
20:39And looking back, I found that he was listening all along.
20:43But I think a lot of people, and maybe even me,
20:46people don't, they make religion complicated.
20:51And I kind of equate it to my wife, my kids.
20:55The more I talk to them, the better I get to know them, the more I trust them, the better
21:02they get to know me.
21:05And I find that same thing with God.
21:06I talk to him throughout the day.
21:09Amen.
21:10And it's not just the foxhole Christian.
21:12You know, I used to be the foxhole Christian.
21:14I just get mad at this God and I'll never do it again.
21:17You know, those conversations promise you.
21:19I promise you, I'll never, whatever that circumstance happens to be.
21:23Now it's just, it's conversational.
21:25I'm just riding down the road and I just, I just talk.
21:28And I truly believe there are those quiet places
21:31where he speaks to you.
21:32He speaks to you in different ways.
21:34And sometimes there are those earthlings
21:36that come alongside you like Brandy
21:39that gave me that book, My Max Locato.
21:41That was a God-wing for me.
21:45The folks pulling me into their office back years ago
21:48after I asked God for help.
21:50That was a God-wing.
21:51So now I'm looking for him.
21:53I'm waiting for him to speak.
21:56And I would say for somebody that it's just
22:01maybe completely just downtrodden,
22:04for whatever circumstances they're going into lives,
22:07it sometimes it takes that, Alex.
22:09You have to be sometimes, and maybe a lonely place,
22:13a dark place where you're receptive,
22:16you're open to listen to those things.
22:20And I know that God loves intercessor prayer.
22:23So I'll be praying, I pray every day for people
22:25that have not received that gift of salvation yet.
22:29And I know there may be somebody listening tonight
22:31that was just like me going, man, I am lost.
22:34I'm lost.
22:36My only words that advice would just say, God,
22:39can you help me?
22:41Can you help me?
22:42I've made so many mistakes in my life.
22:44I'm not perfect, but I need help and I need your help.
22:49You know Greg, one of my favorite verses is beautiful.
22:52Thank you Greg.
22:53John 6 verse 37, the Gospel of John, Jesus said this and said, this will be in red ink
22:59in your Bible folks.
23:00This is the words of Jesus.
23:02He said, the one who comes to me, I will in no way reject.
23:07So listeners, I mean that's, that's, that was Greg Rose.
23:11That was me.
23:12That might be you right this minute.
23:13If you turn to Christ, his arms are open.
23:17Greg, we got to pull away right now, brother, but I look forward to hearing your shows this year,
23:24your fantastic musicians, and as you said, no lip syncing. If you want to hear live music and
23:30hear it done well, a show that will lift you up, the Greg Roles Legacy Theatre in North Myrtle Beach,
23:36that's the place. And Frank, for your ministry's buddy, looking forward to seeing you.
23:41Right on. Thanks, brother. Alex McFarlane here, folks. This is the American Family Radio Network,
23:46and we're going to kind of segue now. And another thing very near and dear to my heart are our
23:52veterans. My dad was a decorated World War II vet. My dad was in a plane crash in World War II.
24:00One survivor, it was my dad, and that's pretty key to me being here. But whenever I hear of
24:07somebody that's ministering to our servicemen and women, my respect for them is just off the charts.
24:14We're going to talk to Damon Friedman.
24:18He's a decorated US Marine Corps officer.
24:23He transferred to the Air Force as a Special Warfare Officer.
24:27He retired, served our country more than 20 years.
24:30He retired as a lieutenant colonel and he's doing some very, very unique things to give
24:38purpose and health to our veterans. And he established S.O.F. missions. We're going to hear
24:45about that. But Dr. Friedman, thanks for holding and welcome to the American Family Radio Network.
24:51Yeah, thank you for having me. I really appreciate I'm actually a fan of the great work and broadcasting.
24:58So it's a pleasure to be here my friend. Well, God bless you. Thank you very much. And
25:03And listen, I'm impressed because you're currently working on a Masters of Public Administration
25:11at Harvard.
25:13Am I right about that?
25:15Yeah, I was honored at Harvard University recruited me to take this degree, but it's a focus on
25:24the expansion of the work that we're doing.
25:26They're going to help develop a strategic plan that will make us the largest nonprofit, greatest
25:32network of providing free medical care to veterans across the nation and they were so
25:36brilliant and kind that they made me the American service fellow. So it's going to be wonderful.
25:42Oh that is great. That is great. I did a doctoral course there. Cambridge, Massachusetts. And
25:50so it's the school with a lot of history and man, major street cred but going there. But
25:58I want to talk about your work with veterans and begin to tell us about that if you would,
26:04Dr. Friedman.
26:05Absolutely.
26:06I'd like to just kind of share with all the listeners and viewers out there that I served
26:1120 years in the military, as you mentioned in my bio, predominantly in special operations,
26:17multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
26:19And I served predominantly throughout the entire time of the post-9-11, those 20 years,
26:24to start in 2000, finished in 2020.
26:27And the reality is, is that with all the combat deployments,
26:30I experienced trauma.
26:33And that's a part of war.
26:34It's processing the trauma.
26:36And what does that look like?
26:37You're dealing with PTSD.
26:38You're dealing with mild traumatic brain injury.
26:40You're dealing with insomnia, chronic pain.
26:43You're dealing with moral injury, all those things.
26:45And the fact is, is that everything kind of cumulates.
26:49And for me, I started struggling.
26:51and many Americans do not know that over 20 veterans
26:55take their lives every single day.
26:57I'm very, very passionate about trying to find a solution.
27:01Yeah, so by the time that we get done with this radio show,
27:05one veteran will have taken their lives.
27:07And that's just a catastrophe and it's an epidemic
27:10among our veteran community.
27:11And so this is a driving force.
27:14It's one thing to fight an enemy, a terrorist enemy,
27:18an enemy that has to be stopped.
27:21It's another one, and one of my brothers pays the ultimate price, dying on that battlefield
27:28for the sake of American freedom and fighting for other people that can't fight for themselves
27:32against depression.
27:34But it's another thing when they come back home and they bring the war home and they end
27:40up using the freedom that they're fighting for.
27:42They use their own freedom to take their freedom and they take that act out of desperation and
27:50they take their lives. So that's what S.O.A. Commission is about we're here to combat the
27:55suicide epidemic and we're doing it by force. And it's something that must be done.
28:01Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to get my mind around that statistic. 20 veterans a day. Yeah. That
28:07is so tragic. I would warrant that 99% of Americans don't know that. That does. By the
28:19The way folks were talking with Dr. Damon Friedman, you have a very renowned podcast
28:25yourself.
28:26Where can people learn about you and hear what you do, sir?
28:30Yeah, so it's the Damon Friedman Show, the real life network, kind of spearheaded by Pastor
28:36Jack Hibbs, started this incredible real life network, Dwight Thompson, kind of the executive
28:40director of that.
28:43We've had Jack Hibbs on this program, by the way, in Times Pass.
28:46Yeah, he's a great friend, a great mentor.
28:49It's just a force to be reckoned with. And he just felt that the team just felt like my voice
28:54need to be heard. And so I podcast things that are very important, specifically symptoms that a lot
29:00of these veterans are dealing with. But it's about empowering leaders to be the best version of
29:04themselves. So for me, I travel around the country. I'm a premier speaker, bureau speaker, shout out
29:10to premier. They put me on stage and give me a platform, especially even with Fortune 500
29:15companies, not just faith-based events, to be able to share my story, which really revolves
29:20around how God radically changed and transformed my life and how He's using me as an unstoppable
29:25force for good and how I'm doing it is through this organization, SOF Missions, where we provide
29:30free medical care to veterans.
29:31But I challenge leaders, I challenge leaders to be a force in this ugly world.
29:37We need hope and we need purpose.
29:39And so that's really my jam in the Damon Friedman Show talks to leaders across the nation
29:44on what they're doing and how they are making an atomic impact.
29:47Indeed, indeed.
29:51And let me ask you this from coming out of a deployment to transitioning, what's the
29:59difference between the veterans that make a healthy transition back into civilian life
30:05and those that really hit a rough patch that could be potentially a disastrous rough patch?
30:13So I think that there's two kinds of veterans and I always have to be very careful because
30:17I don't want a certain population of veterans to feel marginalized because at the end of the
30:21day I want to make this point really clear.
30:24If you sign on the bottom line, you put on that uniform, you took that oath and you defend
30:28your country, you did a great act and you are part of a 1% of Americans that will never
30:34ever do joining the military.
30:37It's one thing to serve in the United States military.
30:39It's another to deploy into combat.
30:41It's just a different process.
30:43Again, it's not marginalizing a community or population,
30:46right?
30:47It sacrifices a sacrifice.
30:48It's just that when you start seeing and experiencing war,
30:52it changes human being.
30:55We're talking about experiencing psychological trauma,
30:59physical trauma, spiritual trauma,
31:01just things that just change the makeup of who we are.
31:05And you ask the question,
31:06what's the difference between a successful transition
31:09and an unsuccessful transition?
31:11I will tell you right now,
31:12I thought that I was set up for success, my friend.
31:15I had a nonprofit waiting for me doing SOF missions,
31:18doing a great purposeful act, I mean, meaningful impact,
31:22right?
31:22And the reality is, is that I was not prepared.
31:26And the way that you prepare properly
31:28is by having psychological, physical, social,
31:32and spiritual care, so that we can kind of figure out,
31:36where is this trauma being processed?
31:38When we experience a traumatic experience,
31:40It's being processed in multiple domains.
31:42Humans have that psychological domain,
31:45that physical, that social, that spiritual.
31:47And so there's just these issues that lie in between.
31:51And we think we could just talk it through.
31:53It's not that way at all.
31:54We've got to be able to unpack things.
31:57And so it's about really addressing the challenges
32:00that we have been struggling with
32:02and finding solutions instead of hiding a lot of veterans
32:05will just say, I'm good, I'm good, I'm resilient.
32:09And then we get out and then you can see how we don't transition well.
32:13And it's, and it's quite obvious.
32:16Wow.
32:16The voice you're hearing is Dr. Damon Friedman doing great work for God in
32:21country. Hey, we've got to take a brief break. Can you hang on for another segment?
32:26Dr. Friedman.
32:27Yeah, absolutely.
32:28I'm standing by my friend right on a, what's your website?
32:33It just go please. It's daminfridman.com and you learn everything about me
32:38and the work that I'm doing.
32:39Friedman is spelled F-R-I-E-D-M-A-N.
32:43Hey, Alex, I'm Roland here, the American Family Radio Network.
32:46We've got a brief break. Stay with us. We're going to be back with more after this on The
32:51Hamilton Corner.
32:52As we watch world events unfold and fulfill Scripture, it's hard to believe anyone could
33:05doubt God and His Word are real. And yet there are so many who either question or completely
33:10refuse to believe it. The God who speaks is a 90 minute documentary that hits the doubt
33:15head on with evidence that proves God is real and His Word is the ultimate authority.
33:21Watch it anytime and invite others to watch with you.
33:24Just visit stream.afa.net.
33:28That's stream.afa.net.
33:30Hi, I'm Tim Moore, Senior Vantillist on Christ in Prophecy.
33:34Can you see the signs of the times multiplying all around?
33:37Jesus is coming back and He doesn't want His people to be unprepared.
33:41to stay up to date about unfolding events
33:43and get a biblical perspective on the signs of the times,
33:46listen to Christ in Prophecy, here on American Family Radio.
33:50Join us Sundays at 11 a.m. Central,
33:52as we reveal the prophetic hope
33:54for those who believe in Jesus Christ,
33:56as well as the Bible's warning about God's coming wrath
33:58to those who don't yet know Him.
34:01Caring for Elderly Parents.
34:03This is David Wheaton, host of The Christian World View.
34:07Caring for Elderly Parents can be tiring, inconvenient,
34:10and at times feel hopeless.
34:12But as you humble yourself before the Lord
34:14and His perfect will and ways,
34:16He will give you the grace,
34:18the supernatural power and perspective,
34:21to do what He calls you to.
34:23Let's remember to follow the example
34:25of the Lord Jesus Christ who said,
34:27"'The Son of Man did not come to be served,
34:29"'but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.'"
34:34Here are most recent Mother's Day program
34:36with my 92-year-old mother, my siblings,
34:38and two of my mom's caregivers at theChristianburialview.org.
34:43And then join us this weekend as Christian scholar,
34:45Carl Truman joins us to discuss
34:47how the rejection of God degrades our humanity.
34:52Listen to the Christian worldview with David Wheaton,
34:54Saturday mornings at 8 central on American Family Radio.
35:05A Hamilton Quarter podcast and one-minute commentaries
35:08are available at aFR.net.
35:10Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
35:15Welcome back to the program.
35:17We're going to resume our conversation with Dr. Damon
35:19Friedman in just a moment.
35:20But over the break, you might have heard the president of American
35:23Family Association, Tim Wildman, talking about biblical worldview.
35:27And one of the things that I really love.
35:29And we give God the glory as I travel the country everywhere
35:33I go.
35:33Literally everywhere I go, people talk
35:36about what American family radio means to them and the programming.
35:40And I mean, if I go through Atlanta Airport or DFW in Dallas,
35:45Almost always somebody will stop me and they'll say Alex, you know, we love aFR
35:51There's a conference this summer called activate and let me encourage you Google
35:58American Family Association the activate summit is July 16 through 18
36:02Some of the speakers are dr. Jessica Peck bird Harper pastor Jeff Shreve a lot of great speakers
36:09I was one of the keynote speakers last summer. I'm not there this summer. I'm on the road
36:14but it is a fantastic seminar on worldview because really, I mean, America is not going to be a vacuum.
36:23There will be some predominant worldview and it needs to be the biblically informed worldview.
36:31And so the activate summit is fantastic. I would encourage you to consider and the time to sign up, the window is closing, I believe.
36:40that's going to be in July. You'll love to blue also by the way. The other thing I want
36:45to say, our youth camps are starting for 27 years. We've done summer youth camps. We
36:50talk about God and country. Talk about the Christian faith. But we also talk to middle
36:56school, high school kids about being a citizen. What does it mean to be a good citizen in
37:04United States of America and the website for our camps is equipretreat.org
37:11albeit all these camps we started out in Montana in just a few weeks so please
37:17be in prayer and we have one camp a new camp in Western North Carolina
37:23beautiful Brevard North Carolina and if you're in this part of the world look at
37:30But look at the cities, most of the camps are sold out, but we've got some space in
37:34Brevard and I tell parents and youth leaders, hey, invest a week that will count for a lifetime.
37:41And what a joy to see God working in the lives of thousands and thousands of young people.
37:46Keep us in prayer.
37:47Well, somebody else got his using to touch many lives as Dr. Damon Friedman.
37:51And I so appreciate the work he does for our veterans because whenever I'm out, you know,
37:57Very often you'll see like a man with a hat on and maybe they were a Marine in, you know,
38:03some conflict and always I'll walk up with these people and say, hey, thank you for serving
38:08our country.
38:09And sometimes people almost get emotional and a tear might come to their eye.
38:14And I've had men say to me, because I'll say, hey, I see your insignia there, thank you
38:20for serving America.
38:22And I've had a few guys, they'll say you're the first person who's ever said that.
38:26And so I think that we can't do enough for those who put their lives on the line to keep
38:32America free.
38:34And somebody who's doing that and I just have all the respect in the world for Dr. Damon
38:38Friedman.
38:39Welcome back.
38:40Thanks for being on the program tonight, Dr. Friedman.
38:43But let me say with the utmost sincerity, thank you for ministering to our veterans.
38:50100%.
38:51And every American veteran deserves the absolute best.
38:54When they go out and they serve our country,
38:57they make a sacrifice that all Americans get to reap the rewards.
39:02We're the greatest country in all of the world
39:04because of the American veteran.
39:06And we want the American veteran to find peace.
39:08We want them to find hope.
39:09We want them to find purpose.
39:11And that's what we're here to do.
39:12We're here to take care of them.
39:14Approximately 20 veterans, 20 million veterans
39:18are in the United States.
39:19And there's just not enough resources out there.
39:21what happens when, especially all of my brothers and sisters who come back from the war post 9-11,
39:26it's 20 years with the war, the longest war in history. And right now we have an epidemic of over 20
39:32veterans take their lives every single day. There's not enough resources. There's not enough programs.
39:36There's not enough. Do you think that this pains God? 100 billion percent it does. God wants
39:44this to find peace. God wants this to find joy. And you know what? That American veteran that made
39:49that sacrifice and some of them pay the ultimate sacrifice which is laying their life on the line
39:54paying the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives. The implications are so huge. We got to take
40:00care of the men and women who put on that uniform. You know what I mean? Indeed. Indeed. Do you have
40:05any advice for churches how churches could do outreach to our veterans? Yeah, absolutely. You
40:12know, it's interesting that you're asking me this question right now. If you go to churches and they
40:18and you look at their missions field,
40:21rarely do you ever find the veteran community.
40:24And so I think that right now on AMR,
40:27I'm gonna say this, Alex, if you're a church right now
40:29and that you're listening to this, right now, ask yourself,
40:35are you providing the level of support?
40:36Is the veteran community part of your mission field?
40:40And if they're not, ask yourself, why shouldn't they be?
40:42We take care of homelessness, we take care of children
40:45who have no homes, we take care of addiction,
40:47We take care of women and shelters.
40:50We take care of all of these people.
40:51But what about the American veteran?
40:53Why not?
40:55Why can't we just have this focus on them,
40:57especially with states that lots of veterans are in Texas,
41:01California, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida,
41:04those kind of things, we should definitely make
41:06the veteran community a mission field
41:08because they are part of the unreached people group,
41:11very much like the 1040 window, if you just think about it.
41:13And they're right here in America,
41:16right outside your front door.
41:18Wow, powerful, powerful.
41:21And I gotta ask you about the war in Iran right now.
41:27During the break, you and I were talking about
41:29some things that probably a little bit classified,
41:33but first of all, how many of our fighting men and women
41:39are in Iran at this point?
41:41Do you know?
41:42So I cannot verify exactly how many women are there,
41:48but I will tell you that there's a lot of conflict
41:51surrounding the actual war.
41:53And we know that I ran 100%, 100%, they're an enemy
41:58of the United States, they're the enemy
41:59of the free world, period.
42:02The real question is, how much involvement
42:04should the American, you know, should America be involved in?
42:08At the end of the day, we fought these wars here
42:10Afghanistan, we fought it in Iraq, all these wars in the Middle East, there's got to be
42:15a point in time when the people fight for themselves. It's one of the reasons why we empower Israel
42:20to fight within the Middle East. And so I'm just sharing my two cents on this one.
42:26I as an American don't want to get involved in any more wars. This is just my personal opinion.
42:30Do we need to do we need to do we need to take Iran out? Do the leaders deserve to die? 100
42:35billion percent they deserve to die. They do. They are the capital. They're the head of
42:40tyranny throughout the world and somebody has to take them out. I just, I think for a veteran
42:44who served 20 years, predominantly in the war, I just think that we need a little bit of breathing
42:49room. Now, I'm not saying I'm not going against what the president of the United States is doing.
42:53I think that his actions are reasonable and the actions taken are justified. I just ask myself,
43:03does America have to be as involved the way that we're doing? There's many ways that we can
43:07accomplish this. And, you know, as a special operator, I always
43:11navigate the battlefield in a very different way than conventional
43:14forces. And that's what I like to share about that.
43:17Yeah. Well, thank you very much. You know, with all the technology,
43:22it's definitely a different world. Yes. And let's just talk about
43:28national security. In European, how is national security today
43:34different than say it would have been 20, 25 years ago.
43:37So I'm going to tell you right now,
43:39and this is very important for all of our listeners.
43:42There is a 9-11 attack being
43:45planned every single day.
43:48Every single day.
43:49The reality is when Pro Harbor,
43:52when we were attacked in the beginning of World War II,
43:54and we got involved,
43:55and then you fast forward into 9-11,
43:57September 11, 2001,
43:59these things are being planned all the time by terrorists,
44:03all the time by our enemy. So when it comes to national security, when it comes to protecting our
44:08borders, we have to be more diligent today than ever because now the space is not no longer just
44:16the ocean, it's not just the water, it's not just the land, it's not just the air, it's space,
44:20brother. And we're living in a time when it's becoming more dangerous than ever. That's why
44:25Space Force stood up. A lot of people kind of laughed, right, Air Force, you know, and space like
44:30space force, but the fact is, is that Star Trek is coming, my friend, it's already here. Star Wars
44:36is already present, so we have to protect our borders all the way out throughout space.
44:42Yeah, and securing the borders, my goodness. I'll just put it this way. I've spoken in many,
44:51many towns of like Southwest Texas, Nevada, Arizona, like the Lower Southwest, and I've met with a
44:59of a lot of people in positions of leadership
45:03that were very, very concerned.
45:06I mean, almost panic level concerned
45:09with the amount of illegals coming across our southern border.
45:13And yeah, this is, yeah, this is dangerous, Alex.
45:16And I know that there are a lot of different opinions
45:20and the fact is that the previous administration,
45:23there are more terrorists,
45:24people who are so dangerous criminals
45:26that crossed over the border.
45:28Now listen, I'm not like, I'm not being a MAGA guy,
45:30I'm not, I'm an individual that loves my country,
45:34believes in protecting my country,
45:36and whether you're a Democrat or a Republican,
45:38whether you're a strong hardcore believer or an atheist,
45:43you should living in America,
45:45you should have pride in making sure
45:49that our country remains free for the people that live here.
45:52So our borders right now are more protected than ever,
45:55and I'm grateful for what the president's doing.
45:57And yes, we've got a lot of illegals in our country right now.
46:01And I think that we're more vulnerable than we've ever
46:04been because we, because the previous administration allowed
46:07these people to come on in.
46:08And we have to be more vigilant than we ever have.
46:11And I support a lot of the deportation that's going on right
46:15now.
46:15And it's unfortunate that it's occurring the way it is,
46:18because I do believe that our countries should be receiving
46:22immigrants, because that's how our America became great.
46:25But there should be a process.
46:27Exactly.
46:28That protects our country.
46:30There should be a process.
46:32Very much like all of our forefathers did, we established a process and we did it in order
46:37to protect our American way of life and the people that live here.
46:41Yeah, exactly.
46:43You know, Dr. Friedman, one of the things that I've done over the last 20 years I've taught
46:49and one of the subjects is political science.
46:51you know, plenial theorists going back to, you know, Plato 200 BC, the first responsibility
46:59of a just government is to look after the welfare of the citizens.
47:05Now, there can be benevolence and immigration, but you know, whether it be, we're going back
47:12to ancient Israel, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, certainly Europe, I mean, a just government
47:18looks after the welfare of the citizens and suffice it to say the previous administration
47:25and similar ones, that was not the number one priority. So let me ask you this, besides
47:33terrorists with schemes and plans, I was distraught over the amount of illegal drugs
47:40crossing borders, northern and southern. Yeah, I mean it's ridiculous and I don't understand
47:46how the previous administration could not identify that to and how destructive it is.
47:52I mean, oh, let's just let everybody in because we're America. We're the greatest country. We're
47:56just going to let everybody in and everything come in. It blows my mind because that's not the way
48:02that I love you quoting Plato because what he said was absolutely true. We have to look over
48:07our first and foremost priorities to take care of our citizens of this great nation.
48:10Yeah, you're on point, brother. You are on point.
48:12Well, I love America. I do, you know. My home is heaven, but I'm a Christian first, but I'm
48:20certainly a patriot. And I appreciate you so much. We're running out of time at, I want
48:26you to, your social media platforms, website, digital content.
48:31Absolutely. You know, yeah, I would just like to say, I got this book coming out right now,
48:37second June available on Amazon and it's called the Special Warfare CEO.
48:41Okay. Right here, this is my life's work and it directly reflects and supports
48:46my initiatives of being a veteran advocate and providing that free medical care to veterans.
48:51This right here is all my lessons learned as a special operations leader, as a commander,
48:57as a non-profit leader and an incorporate in government leadership and it empowers individuals
49:02will be the best version of themselves right here from the trenches, my friend, Special
49:06Warfare CEO on Amazon today. It launches 2nd June, but you can order it. It supports our
49:12work. I greatly appreciate it, my friend.
49:15Congratulations on the book release. Thank you.
49:18Did you publish that with Broad Street?
49:21I did. Broad Street. I got it. Yeah. I'm full of them.
49:24They're fantastic. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
49:27Our other show, Exploring the Word, Bird Harper and I have done three books with Broad Street
49:33on Bible questions.
49:34You know, thousands of listeners call in and they are top-door.
49:39We love the folks at Broad Street Publishing, fantastic Christian organization.
49:44So give your website, Dr. Friedman, please.
49:48Yeah, so you just go to Damon Friedman dot com and you'll learn everything about me and
49:53the work and the initiatives that I'm having and I'm just grateful for being a
49:57patriot and being a voice empowering leaders to be an unstoppable force for
50:01good. That's what I do. There's a dark and broken world and I'm about empowering
50:06leaders so that they're problem solvers because we need more people that love
50:10God, love our country and actually action something out there so that they can be
50:16an unstoppable force for good. And I appreciate this time Alex. I'm a big fan of
50:20AMR, you're doing some great work and I hope to be back on your show again man. I
50:24really am. God bless you. Thanks very much. And folks, we're free because of the
50:31protection of God, but the investment of our veterans as well. So think of
50:35veteran, pray for America. Blessings to you all. The views and opinions expressed in
50:41this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family
50:45Association or American Family Radio.

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