WEBVTT
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.280
And welcome, friends, to the Generations Broadcast.
00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:08.720
Kevin Swanson, your host with you.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.960
And today we're gonna come back to the election.
00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.400
Wow, the midterm election's coming up now in what, two and a half weeks?
00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.160
And the swing could be tough.
00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.120
And the swings are getting increasingly radical.
00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.199
I don't think there's any question about that.
00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.000
Uh the left is more leftist and the right is hopefully staying right.
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.519
We'll see how that works out.
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.199
But the swings are coming even more radical every election.
00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.119
And uh so the if we swing to the left in this election, it could be painful.
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.000
But let's be sure that Christians engage.
00:00:38.159 --> 00:01:13.280
I just did the numbers, what, 45 million Americans turn out for the midterm elections, not very high, but if all 60 million evangelicals voted, well, that's plenty enough, if if if we could get 50% of evangelicals voting, and preferably those that typically vote on the conservative side of things, if we could bring them in, and I think typically they run about 80 to 85 percent uh go conservative on the evangelical white evangelical population, anyway, not sure about you know all of the ethnic groups, but uh but if that be the case, we could wind up absolutely dominating this upcoming election.
00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.519
So let's uh let's see how that works.
00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.879
But are they motivated to get out to vote?
00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:20.319
Will people vote?
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:21.680
I guess that's the bigger question.
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.040
Uh Tim Barton from Wall Builders now joins me again on this edition of the program.
00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.200
Hey, Tim, welcome back uh to Generations.
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:28.239
It's good to have you here again.
00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:29.200
Well, thanks, Kevin.
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:29.840
Good to be with you.
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.359
Yeah, I mean, this is exciting.
00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:32.959
We're coming to midterm elections.
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.920
It looks like we may be on our own 30-yard line right now, so we got to fight back a bit.
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:39.680
What's your take on it right now?
00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:49.599
Give me a sense for where now you're in Texas, and so you know, you've got a Senate race that's neck and neck, but uh give me a sense for what's going on nationwide right now.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:02:07.439
Yeah, I I think I'm I'm encouraged by what I see, but I'm not uh I'm not ignorant of the challenges that lay in front for a Christian um who, as a biblical worldview Christian, I will vote on largely conservative value-related things because I recognize it's what the Bible teaches.
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:17.039
With that being said, uh I recognize historically that in the mid-year, off-year elections, those midterms, they usually go to the party opposite of what the president is.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:23.360
And so just looking historically, it's already going to be an uphill battle for the Republicans on Trump's side.
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:37.360
But what I do recognize as well is that as you kind of pointed out leading into this, this is a bigger swing as far as political ideologies being different than we've seen probably in our lifetime.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:43.199
It used to be something you could joke about that hey, either you're voting Republican or you're voting communist.
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:44.960
This year, that's real.
00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:49.919
You're either voting Republican or you're voting for a socialist, a communist, or an Islamist.
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.080
That like that's kind of the reality.
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.560
And America gets to choose which direction we want to go.
00:02:54.719 --> 00:03:11.599
I think one of the things that I recognizing having been around political circles for decades and very involved with different campaigns and political leaders, I'm used to seeing polls that are not always accurate and reflective of the general population.
00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:26.879
What we know uh that for those of us that are kind of political junkies and operate inside of this to some extent, a lot of times polls are used to influence, sway, and persuade individuals rather than accurately reflect what's going on in a population.
00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:51.599
And I think we're seeing some of that because when you look, for example, at Minnesota and at Michigan, and it's really close and tight races there between the Republicans and Democrats, and then you look in Kansas and you look in Texas, and it's really close races between Republicans and Democrats, it doesn't make sense that it would be really close and competitive for Republicans and Democrats in very blue states and in very red states.
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:58.240
So some of the polls have to be very misleading, and now it's just a question of which ones are ultimately misleading.
00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:11.919
The fact that President Obama is going up to campaign in Michigan gives an indication that they probably don't feel as confident about Michigan as maybe they're letting on, or you wouldn't bring in right kind of their version of the big guns to come and try to gin up support.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:22.079
So, what I think some of what we're seeing is ultimately uh the Democrats have probably peaked uh with their enthusiasm of their base, of the people who want to come support them.
00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:33.680
And at this point, I think you're seeing a little bit more of a swing in a trend for independents, for conservatives, Christians, Republicans that are are recognizing I need to get off the sideline and get involved.
00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:43.839
And to your point, if we just had Bible-believing Christians go vote based on their biblical values, these elections wouldn't really be that close.
00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:57.120
But it does matter that the church shows up because if if Christians don't show up and vote, then this could go a very different direction, which could, and this is not hyperbole, this could fundamentally change the direction of America.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:02.240
Uh, it's very common that someone says this is the most important election of our lifetime.
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.759
Well, well, this one, it's it's becoming increasingly true in these elections.
00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:21.199
This one is correct because we we've never been at the place where you had open socialist, Marxist, communist, Islamist that were running for statewide elections, and that's literally on the ballot in multiple states this year.
00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:28.160
So this is different than any election before, and people cannot sit out, they can't be discouraged and say, Well, I don't think my vote matters.
00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:35.439
So you have to get involved, and literally, not hyperbole, the future of America could be at stake.
00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.519
Tim, there have been elections in the history of this country that didn't make a significant difference.
00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.839
I mean, think of Abraham Lincoln, think of Woodrow Wilson, uh, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:51.120
Uh, you know, these elections mattered and they really set a new trajectory for the nation.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:06:01.040
I, you know, identify for us what happened in the history and and how that could make an impact today with this election and the 2028 elections.
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:04.079
Yeah, there's a lot of great historic elections we can point to.
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:13.680
Uh, you know, obviously you have a George Washington who's the only president ever elected unanimously through the Electoral College process, which is just amazing to think about we had a president unanimously elected.
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:25.360
But after President Washington, you could you could virtually go through every president and point out that the leaders made decisions that impacted the future of the nation, some of them in significant ways.
00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:25.600
Yeah.
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:44.319
Whether it be an Andrew Jackson, whether it be an Abraham Lincoln, whether it be, I mean, people you've mentioned a Woodrow Wilson, an FDR, a Ronald Reagan, we could give dozens and dozens of examples, uh, even a Dwight Eisenhower, where people made policy decisions that forever change the future of the nation.
00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:52.639
And sometimes, when you looked at a guy like Ronald Reagan as a fun, close example, he was a guy that a lot of people blew off, discredited, right?
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.240
Who's this Hollywood actor who's been a governor?
00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:57.360
What does he know?
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:09.519
And the reality is the the president before him, Jimmy Carter, the economy was so broken, it was so devastated that Jimmy Carter was literally saying, We're gonna have to just learn to ride our bikes to work.
00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.879
Well, right, we we won't be able to have enough gas for the cars all the time.
00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:17.920
We're gonna have to get used to maybe uh not having these trips.
00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:22.560
And we're gonna, you know, maybe food is more scarce, you got to grow some gardens.
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:28.720
He was literally setting people up for what was ultimately in his mind the downturn of America.
00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:34.319
And then Ronald Reagan showed up and said, No, no, all you need is a leader, all you need is a different vision.
00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:40.560
And literally, under Ronald Reagan's leadership, you have a change of direction for the future of America.
00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.079
And people can look right now at President Trump.
00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:50.879
And and for those who are not uh in favor of President Trump, I understand you can criticize and do things.
00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.959
I do want to just give a little contrast though.
00:07:53.040 --> 00:08:04.639
Yeah, when you look at President Biden and the policies under President Biden, whether it be extending some of the COVID lockdowns, whether it be opening up a southern border where anywhere between 10 and 20 million illegal migrants came across the city.
00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:10.160
And don't forget throwing pro-lifers into prison for the very first time in American history, as far as I can remember.
00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.879
I mean, you know, what 12, 14-year prison census for pro-lifers.
00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:17.360
And Trump, you know, released them.
00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:18.319
I mean, it's incredible.
00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.480
I mean, there are things like that that show you the radical, you know, policy difference, ideological difference between the two.
00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:25.040
It's credible.
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:25.360
Right.
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:27.519
And this is this is a contrast of that.
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:36.799
It's very easy to show the contrast that this is not like a Bill Clinton and a George Bush that people could look at and be like, you know what, I don't like his tax policies.
00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:44.480
I I don't there was there was minor things because both of them had kind of the same underpinning moral current, so to speak.
00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.320
Not that, you know, necessarily Bill Clinton had to some different morals and perspective.
00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:58.799
But the reality was when it came to governing the nation, they were not like diametrically opposed the opposite ends of the spectrum of pendulum swing.
00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:10.320
Where we are looking at now, it is the exact opposite side, where you have some people that believe that America shouldn't have borders and anybody can come in and the government's gonna fund everybody and you shouldn't have private property.
00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:22.399
And yeah, I mean, you can literally go down the list of Democrat versus Republican, and so choosing a president fundamentally will have an impact because of the direction of the nation.
00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:35.840
And again, whether it be going into poverty or escaping poverty, so so economic decisions, whether it be open borders or closed borders, whether it be solving, but by the way, also a really good contrast point.
00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:43.919
A lot of the cities that have had crime rates that are almost unfathomable, and President Trump says, Hey, we can solve that problem.
00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.799
All you have to do is actually enforce laws.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:54.320
Maybe let's have a a few more law enforcement individuals, and maybe in some cases, like in DC, let's bring in the National Guard to bring security.
00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:02.639
As someone that's been going to DC as an adult, doing things working in DC, uh I've been there for decades.
00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:12.000
And ultimately, there were places if you get a couple blocks away from the Capitol from the White House, DC was one of the most dangerous cities in America.
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:17.039
And it was at times very dirty uh because of a lot of the trash that was thrown everywhere.
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:29.440
President Trump has changed the crime rate of so many cities, and again, this is the difference a leader makes, where you can have policies that actually encourage people to do bad things.
00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:34.240
Like in California, we're not gonna penalize you if you stole less than a thousand dollars because that's really fine.
00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:35.120
Well, what's happening?
00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:37.120
Businesses are having to leave California.
00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.600
This is the difference a leader makes.
00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:43.840
And so looking at what happens in upcoming elections, it really does matter.
00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:48.480
And by the way, why would this midterm election really matter when we're talking about a president right now?
00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:57.279
Because the Congress or the Senate are the ones that will either directly oppose or directly support what the president's vision and mission is.
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:04.320
And so when, and by the way, and let's point the Senate hasn't been real supportive of President Trump's vision and mission.
00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:12.639
Uh, a lot of what he's done has been in spite of the Senate, not because of the Senate, but but it's also worth pointing out the House passed over 700 bills, the Senate hasn't even taken up yet.
00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:15.200
So people look and go, Congress is so incompetent.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:24.960
I would, I would actually filter that toward maybe one of those two bodies in Congress because under Mike Johnson's leadership, the House did a lot of really good things.
00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:29.840
It looks like they were less productive because those things ultimately weren't passed, but that's because of the Senate.
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:38.240
And partly that's because even though there's 53 Republicans, many of those Republicans would fall in the category that some people might know the term rhino.
00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:42.960
These are incredibly moderate Republicans who don't support conservative policies.
00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.720
The reason that John Thune didn't bring up the Save Act was because he didn't want to expose who some of these moderates were.
00:11:48.799 --> 00:12:09.440
But I say this to point out that the reason we have a bunch of moderates on the Republican and conservative side is because we haven't had the right people showing up in the primaries to support the good candidates so we could elect better candidates in the general election, which by the way, there are like for in Texas, for example, John Cornyn was a senator in Texas for decades.
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:15.919
He got defeated in the primary by Ken Paxton, somebody who is far more aggressive on conservative policies.
00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:22.000
There are some of these people that are not the aggressive conservative leaders that are being replaced.
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:32.080
And so this is something that is on the ballot in the midterm that we can actually get better conservative Republicans in the Senate and then hopefully get better things done.
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:43.200
So even though this is not a presidential election, it does matter in the midterm how the president is able to enact his policies or have those opposed based on the House and the Senate.
00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.960
And don't forget the pro-life justices.
00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:52.879
I just did a quick survey online, Tim, and found out that uh that Trump has appointed the most pro-life justices of any president.
00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.080
Go back to JFK.
00:12:54.159 --> 00:13:00.720
JFK did one, Richard Nixon had one pro-lifer, Ronald Reagan had one, sadly, two pro-aborts.
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:01.679
George H.W.
00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.919
Bush had uh one pro-lifer.
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:04.879
George W.
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.919
Bush had two pro-life justices, and Donald Trump three pro-life justices.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.480
So what you're seeing is that, you know, you've got a trend that's been going in a better direction.
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.759
And uh Donald Trump is at the forefront of that, at least in terms of appointing pro-life justices.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.759
Not that, not that they always do what you want them to do, but you know, at least you've got something there.
00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:24.320
Absolutely.
00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:37.039
And and to add on to that, and this is, I know, this is it's gonna feel like a hot take that seems inconsistent when I first say this, but we have never had a president who has been more pro-life or more pro-religious liberty than Donald Trump.
00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:46.720
And I know that seems uh maybe an anathema for some people, going, President Trump, there's no way it's sometimes people confuse his personality with his policies.
00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:56.240
President Trump has appointed judges who have been more pro-life, more pro-faith, pro-religious liberty than anybody we've had in American history, to your point.
00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:12.240
In fact, the policies that he's been advocating at virtually every level of the federal government with all of his executives and the fact there's a faith office and in every part of the executive branch, it's it's really remarkable what they're doing to protect and defend religious liberty.
00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:13.759
And again, as you mentioned, pro-life.
00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:29.919
So this is something that I think what what the media often does is they try to get people distracted on personalities and ignore the reality that what is more important in our elected officials is not their personality, it's the policies they promote.
00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:37.600
And I say this too fundamentally as a Christian, because we recognize there are certain things in life that God will bless and certain things that God does not bless.
00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:43.519
And it's not necessarily the personality of the leader, it's the policies of what are promoted by that leader.
00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:58.159
And so, even though I certainly don't agree with everything President Trump has ever done, but I still recognize that President Trump has done more on the pro-faith, pro-religious liberty, pro-God, pro-life side than any president before him.
00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.720
And he's enacted policies that actually position America in a far better place.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:12.960
Maybe policies we could argue that God can actually bless some of this, as opposed to having a guy who might have a better personality, but doesn't enact as good of policies.
00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:21.840
I would rather have someone enacting good policies who maybe I don't always like their personality than someone that I like their personality and they don't promote good policies.
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:31.679
What are the critical races and the critical ballot issues coming into the midterm elections here that Christians all over this country need to be paying attention to, uh, Tim, from your assessment?
00:17:43.179 --> 00:17:46.700
Yeah, I think there's a lot of ballot measures in a lot of states.
00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:58.220
And it's actually kind of fun to track some of these because there are some states that right now are very blue states, but they have ballot measures that are put on the ballot because they got enough signatures in the state.
00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:12.860
And so, for example, in Colorado and Oregon, there's several states we can point to where there are very conservative and even pro-life, pro-faith-oriented ballot measures that uh, and and by the way, like even maybe like voter ID things.
00:18:13.179 --> 00:18:32.860
Some of these things that the majority of American people, 80-20 issues, 90-10 issues, that the majority of Americans, whether you identify as a Republican, an independent, uh, a Democrat, a moderate, a conservative, a liberal, whatever you identify as, 80% of American people are supportive of some of these basic things.
00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:34.380
We don't want boys playing in girl sports.
00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:36.299
We think people should show an ID to vote.
00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:38.380
We like kind of go down the list.
00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:43.900
These are on the ballot in some very liberal states, and right now they're trending in a very positive direction.
00:18:44.139 --> 00:18:55.579
So I think what's going to be interesting is not just tracking who gets elected in some of these states, but also tracking how these ballot measures are supported in some of these states.
00:18:55.740 --> 00:19:09.819
Because I think this will be something that actually some of these will cross over the aisle, political aisle, so to speak, that I think there's Democrats that will support what are on the outside perspective, the media would portray as these conservative issues.
00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:14.860
And the reality is, no, these are just basic common sense and logic kind of issues.
00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:16.619
So those are going to be really interesting to track.
00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:20.460
Certainly, there's a lot of Senate races, uh, there, there's a lot of House races.
00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:29.099
I think Mike Johnson identified that he thinks there are 18 House seats that Republicans might be able to pick up, which would be fascinating.
00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:31.579
I'm not sure I'm quite that optimistic.
00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:41.740
And frankly, I have a really good friend, Josh McPherson, who's a pastor in Washington State, and he is praying and believing, and I like his terminology, he said, I'm believing for a midterm miracle.
00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:48.539
Well, yeah, if Republicans picked up 18 seats, that would have to be a miracle because there's no logical way you could really see that happening.
00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:56.539
Because generally speaking, in a midterm election, people are going to vote for things that we are navigating challenging ways right now.
00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.500
You're going to vote for your gas and your groceries, right?
00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:01.420
What am I paying right now?
00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:04.700
And that is one of the biggest influences that drives a vote.
00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:15.500
But why I think this might be different is when you also have a lot of ballot measures that are things that do tend toward a conservative value structure.
00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:27.660
When you do have candidates like the Democrat Socials of America who are running for statewide offices who say we want to abolish the Senate, we want to abolish the Electoral College, we we want to expand the U.S.
00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:30.379
Supreme Court to make it represent whatever the American people want.
00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:36.460
We want to change the presidency when they are literally out loud articulating some of the removal of this.
00:20:36.539 --> 00:20:43.500
And again, these are the same people that feel like we don't need police officers, we just need more sidewalkers that solves violent crime problems.
00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:44.539
It's crazy talk.
00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:53.099
And then you add to the fact that you have uh growing concerns in some areas of the Muslim influence in America, et cetera.
00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:56.220
I I think there's a lot more nuance in this election.
00:20:56.379 --> 00:21:01.819
And so I think it actually adds more uncertainty, which is why I think the polls are even less trustworthy.
00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:16.379
But CNN has come out and said that even though Democrats are ahead on all these polls in these states for Senate uh and for the House, that usually Republicans far overperform on what the polls give.
00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:26.059
And now that the polls are tightening, even though Democrats might have a two or three percent lead, a percentage point lead, Republicans at times will go five or eight percent better than what the polling showed.
00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:31.180
And so even CNN said that Democrats should not feel comfortable and feel safe, what's going on?
00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:38.140
And I think part of it is there's lots of other underlying issues because we're not just voting on gas and groceries in this midterm.
00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:44.220
We literally are voting for whether or not we're gonna be communists, socialists, Marxists, Islamists, et cetera.
00:21:44.379 --> 00:21:47.180
Those are literally things on the ballot this year.
00:21:47.660 --> 00:22:01.500
Talk to 60 million evangelicals, all of which are not listening to the program, sadly, right now, but uh the the the average evangelical in Idaho or Missouri facing, you know, an important abortion measure on the ballot this year.
00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:03.180
Tim, talk to them for just a moment.
00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:07.740
They're considering not voting, or they've lost their ballots for some reason.
00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:09.819
Uh just kind of ignored them.
00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:12.940
There's an argument to say that's just a sin.
00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:31.660
I think that's just it's it's a sinful thing not to vote on a clear issue that would represent a pretty significant amount of salt and light for your state or for your community, and perhaps even, you know, guard that particular state from being destroyed by Almighty God for the shedding of innocent blood across the land.
00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:38.940
Um, of course, I'm throwing out some things here for you, but uh talk to the average evangelical and just say, hey, you need to be voting.
00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:39.819
This is important.
00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:51.660
Yeah, I think one of the things that we misunderstand is we think at times as Christians that we have the luxury that we are in charge and we get to decide and determine what we do when it comes to our leadership.
00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:54.700
And I would just point out I think it's misunderstanding a lot of things.
00:22:54.859 --> 00:23:00.940
Um, the Bible makes it very clear that the mom and dad are in charge of the family.
00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:03.019
And if a dad's like, yeah, I'm gonna check out.
00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:06.059
I'm not gonna be a dad today, you don't have that luxury, right?
00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:11.980
If you are driving a vehicle uh and and you're in the middle of traffic, you're like, you know what, I'm just gonna stop driving.
00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:16.299
Like, no, what you are doing, you are not just stewarding for yourself.
00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.259
Your stewardship is impacting those around you.
00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:30.460
And one of the things the Bible teaches is that when God has given you a leadership position, when God entrusts you with something, there is an expectation of performance from what you've been entrusted with.
00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:36.220
This is very much what we see in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents, and Luke 19, the parable of the minas.
00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:41.339
And by the way, in in both of those, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like this.
00:23:41.500 --> 00:23:44.859
He's giving a spiritual truth, but he's saying, let me just give you the practical parallel.
00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:52.379
It's like if there was a boss and the boss called employees, said, Hey, I want all of you to work on these things, and you are in charge until I return.
00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:54.940
That's what it says, Luke, uh, in Luke 19.
00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:57.339
It says, occupy until I return.
00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:59.099
You are in charge until I return.
00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:05.980
And what happens is, and in both of those, the master shows up at the end and says, Hey, let's talk about what you did with what I gave you.
00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:11.019
And and in both of them, there was a servant who was lazy who was afraid of the responsibility.
00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:12.460
Like, I didn't want to make a mistake.
00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:14.619
I didn't want to do the wrong thing and get in trouble.
00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:15.900
So I buried it in the ground.
00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.779
But here I brought back, here is what I owe you.
00:24:18.940 --> 00:24:25.980
And the master said, You wicked, lazy servant, if you knew I was going to expect to gather what I haven't scattered.
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:27.099
I was going to reap what I haven't sown.
00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:38.140
If you knew I was going to expect from you, why didn't you at least put it in the bank with a gain interest because you did nothing to take it away from him and actually cast that servant into outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth?
00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:42.460
And I get that somebody might say, Yeah, but Tim, I mean, that I don't think it's really applying to voting.
00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:48.859
What I would point out is just like a mom and dad are in charge of the family, just like if you're driving the car, you're in charge of the car.
00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:55.980
In America, we are the most unique nation in that our constitution is built on we the people.
00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:00.460
If somebody were to ask who's in charge of America, we the people, we are.
00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.379
We are the leaders of this nation.
00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:05.900
So we don't have the option to say, you know what, I choose not to lead today.
00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:07.740
That's not a luxury and a privilege you have.
00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:11.099
God's given us a stewardship, and we have to be good stewards.
00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:19.900
And by the way, in the end of those parables of Luke 19 and Matthew 25, the master, when he rewards the ones that did well, he said, Well done, good and faithful servant.
00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:21.819
He didn't say, Well done, good and successful.
00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.660
He didn't say, Well done, good and productive.
00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:23.980
Why?
00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:26.220
Because you don't always succeed in being faithful.
00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:28.619
You won't always be productive when you are faithful.
00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:32.299
Now, you won't be successful and productive if you're not faithful.
00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:38.859
But the reality is God hasn't called us to win everything he's directed us to, but he has called us to be faithful in everything.
00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:44.940
And if we sit out and don't vote, I contend you are not being faithful with the stewardship that God has given you.
00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:47.019
And one more time, Tim, take a look at the numbers.
00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:49.339
I just did it myself, kind of a math guy here.
00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:55.099
But uh 60 million evangelical adults in America, if half of those evangelicals voted, I'm just talking about 50%.
00:25:55.420 --> 00:26:10.619
We get half of them, half of the evangelicals in America voted and added the 80% ratio, you know, 80% going to the bright side versus the dark side, uh, that would that would be 24 million people voting on the right side of this.
00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:14.859
The evangelicals alone would tip the whole election, assuming 45 million voting.
00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:15.500
Does that make sense?
00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:23.099
I mean, if I could get half, just half, 50%, if I get half my congregation voting for the right side, okay.
00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:31.259
And even of that, if I can, if you know 20% of them went the wrong direction, but half of the congregation is voting on the 80% ratio.
00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:39.099
I've got 24 million votes all by myself, you know, just with the evangelical crowd alone, and I've won the election.
00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:40.779
That's not too bad.
00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:46.619
Unquestionably, because a lot of these races will be decided not by millions, but by thousands.
00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:51.740
Some of these congressional races, it might even be hundreds, 300 people, 400 people.
00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:53.420
You can look at that and go, you know what?
00:26:53.579 --> 00:27:00.700
If one church would have showed up, one church could have made the difference on who's in Congress and maybe even who has the balance of power in Congress.
00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:06.140
Whether you have an Alexander Ocasio-Cortez as speaker of the house or a Mike Johnson, a speaker of the house.
00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:15.500
Like that, that literally could be the decision if churches choose to show up or not get involved because of, as you're pointing out, like 20, 30 million Christians.
00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:35.740
If we showed up and voted based on biblical values, it would change the entire nature of the Senate and the House for the good, where we could actually enshrine through legislation some of the basic common sense values that we care about that we haven't seen fully enacted, but it's because we haven't had enough of the good people there.
00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:40.940
And the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:43.339
If we don't show up, exactly the bad guys win.
00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:49.900
And I'm not talking about political party because I recognize the Bible tells us that we're in a spiritual war and there are forces of darkness against us.
00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:52.220
If people of light don't show up, the darkness wins.
00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:53.259
That's the bottom line.
00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:57.099
All it takes for evil to triumph is for the good guys to not show up.
00:27:57.339 --> 00:27:59.180
We can't sit this one out.
00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:00.299
We have got to show up.
00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:01.019
Absolutely.
00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:01.740
And prayer.
00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:02.619
Let's throw that out.
00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:09.019
I know that you pulled together a bunch of folks at the ATT stadium for uh a prayer down there in what, Dallas?
00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:10.700
Uh, how did that work out?
00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:11.980
And uh why is that important?
00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:20.859
Yeah, and to be clear, just for anybody listening, that's us in Texas, because Philip Anthony Mitchell actually is a pastor in uh Georgia who did that.
00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:22.539
But this is incredible.
00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:29.180
It I think one of the reasons I'm hopeful for the future of the nation is because I see a revival happening all over this nation.
00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:39.500
And this was an indication that just this last weekend, there was literally a prayer and revival service, a repentance service, crying out to God in Cowboy Stadium.
00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:43.900
80,000 Christians showed up at Cowboy Stadium.
00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:54.539
And as someone who's in the Dallas Four Worth area, uh, I can tell you, as uh a former Cowboy fan, and I say that because it's always heartbreaking every year, um, this was the best thing that's happened in Cowboy Stadium all year, including the football games.
00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:57.420
Uh, it was incredible what God is doing.
00:28:57.500 --> 00:29:02.379
And so, Kevin, I am I am optimistic about the future because I see more Christians waking up.
00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:11.259
I see more churches and pastors getting involved, and in the ways that really matter, because we're recognizing we're not just navigating a political landscape.
00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:14.059
There is a spiritual war that we are in the middle of.
00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:22.539
But when we pray, when we do battle in the heavenlies, and then we show up and take action in the physical, that's how we win.
00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:29.660
And I am encouraged, knowing that there is a bunch of war happening in the heavenlies by people that are showing up and praying.
00:29:29.819 --> 00:29:36.059
And then if we will be activated to get involved, we can change the future direction of this nation for the good.
00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:38.299
And that's exactly what I'm praying and believing for.
00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:42.940
The lesson on this program today, my friends, is get off the pews, get out of the pews, and do something.
00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:48.619
Pray, vote, make a difference, be the salt, be the light that Jesus calls us to be.
00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:49.980
Hey, we're here for a reason.
00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:52.299
So, so go out there and disciple the nation.
00:29:52.379 --> 00:30:03.019
And one of the ways to disciple the nation is to vote, set the nation in a good direction and perhaps even, perhaps even uh relieve the nation from the uh the judgment of God coming down upon a nation.
00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.180
So lots of good reasons to vote this season.
00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:08.059
So glad Tim Barton has been with us on this edition of the program.
00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:11.420
Tim, thank you so uh so much for joining us again.
00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:19.740
And again, for anybody who wants to connect with Tim and his uh his his podcast and all the rest of his ministry, wallbuilders.com.
00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:21.579
That's wallbuilders.com.
00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:24.220
Tim Barton with me on this edition of the program.
00:30:24.379 --> 00:30:25.099
Tim, thanks.
00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:26.299
My pleasure.
00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:33.660
This is Kevin Swanson inviting you back again next time as we continue to lay down a vision for the next generation.
00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:42.299
This has been a production of the Generations Media Network.
00:30:42.379 --> 00:30:45.660
For more information, go to generations.org/slash media.
00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.280
And welcome, friends, to the Generations Broadcast.
00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:08.720
Kevin Swanson, your host with you.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.960
And today we're gonna come back to the election.
00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:14.400
Wow, the midterm election's coming up now in what, two and a half weeks?
00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:16.160
And the swing could be tough.
00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.120
And the swings are getting increasingly radical.
00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.199
I don't think there's any question about that.
00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.000
Uh the left is more leftist and the right is hopefully staying right.
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.519
We'll see how that works out.
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.199
But the swings are coming even more radical every election.
00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.119
And uh so the if we swing to the left in this election, it could be painful.
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.000
But let's be sure that Christians engage.
00:00:38.159 --> 00:01:13.280
I just did the numbers, what, 45 million Americans turn out for the midterm elections, not very high, but if all 60 million evangelicals voted, well, that's plenty enough, if if if we could get 50% of evangelicals voting, and preferably those that typically vote on the conservative side of things, if we could bring them in, and I think typically they run about 80 to 85 percent uh go conservative on the evangelical white evangelical population, anyway, not sure about you know all of the ethnic groups, but uh but if that be the case, we could wind up absolutely dominating this upcoming election.
00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.519
So let's uh let's see how that works.
00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.879
But are they motivated to get out to vote?
00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:20.319
Will people vote?
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:21.680
I guess that's the bigger question.
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.040
Uh Tim Barton from Wall Builders now joins me again on this edition of the program.
00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.200
Hey, Tim, welcome back uh to Generations.
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:28.239
It's good to have you here again.
00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:29.200
Well, thanks, Kevin.
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:29.840
Good to be with you.
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.359
Yeah, I mean, this is exciting.
00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:32.959
We're coming to midterm elections.
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.920
It looks like we may be on our own 30-yard line right now, so we got to fight back a bit.
00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:39.680
What's your take on it right now?
00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:49.599
Give me a sense for where now you're in Texas, and so you know, you've got a Senate race that's neck and neck, but uh give me a sense for what's going on nationwide right now.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:02:07.439
Yeah, I I think I'm I'm encouraged by what I see, but I'm not uh I'm not ignorant of the challenges that lay in front for a Christian um who, as a biblical worldview Christian, I will vote on largely conservative value-related things because I recognize it's what the Bible teaches.
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:17.039
With that being said, uh I recognize historically that in the mid-year, off-year elections, those midterms, they usually go to the party opposite of what the president is.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:23.360
And so just looking historically, it's already going to be an uphill battle for the Republicans on Trump's side.
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:37.360
But what I do recognize as well is that as you kind of pointed out leading into this, this is a bigger swing as far as political ideologies being different than we've seen probably in our lifetime.
00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:43.199
It used to be something you could joke about that hey, either you're voting Republican or you're voting communist.
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:44.960
This year, that's real.
00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:49.919
You're either voting Republican or you're voting for a socialist, a communist, or an Islamist.
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.080
That like that's kind of the reality.
00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.560
And America gets to choose which direction we want to go.
00:02:54.719 --> 00:03:11.599
I think one of the things that I recognizing having been around political circles for decades and very involved with different campaigns and political leaders, I'm used to seeing polls that are not always accurate and reflective of the general population.
00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:26.879
What we know uh that for those of us that are kind of political junkies and operate inside of this to some extent, a lot of times polls are used to influence, sway, and persuade individuals rather than accurately reflect what's going on in a population.
00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:51.599
And I think we're seeing some of that because when you look, for example, at Minnesota and at Michigan, and it's really close and tight races there between the Republicans and Democrats, and then you look in Kansas and you look in Texas, and it's really close races between Republicans and Democrats, it doesn't make sense that it would be really close and competitive for Republicans and Democrats in very blue states and in very red states.
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:58.240
So some of the polls have to be very misleading, and now it's just a question of which ones are ultimately misleading.
00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:11.919
The fact that President Obama is going up to campaign in Michigan gives an indication that they probably don't feel as confident about Michigan as maybe they're letting on, or you wouldn't bring in right kind of their version of the big guns to come and try to gin up support.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:22.079
So, what I think some of what we're seeing is ultimately uh the Democrats have probably peaked uh with their enthusiasm of their base, of the people who want to come support them.
00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:33.680
And at this point, I think you're seeing a little bit more of a swing in a trend for independents, for conservatives, Christians, Republicans that are are recognizing I need to get off the sideline and get involved.
00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:43.839
And to your point, if we just had Bible-believing Christians go vote based on their biblical values, these elections wouldn't really be that close.
00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:57.120
But it does matter that the church shows up because if if Christians don't show up and vote, then this could go a very different direction, which could, and this is not hyperbole, this could fundamentally change the direction of America.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:02.240
Uh, it's very common that someone says this is the most important election of our lifetime.
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.759
Well, well, this one, it's it's becoming increasingly true in these elections.
00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:21.199
This one is correct because we we've never been at the place where you had open socialist, Marxist, communist, Islamist that were running for statewide elections, and that's literally on the ballot in multiple states this year.
00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:28.160
So this is different than any election before, and people cannot sit out, they can't be discouraged and say, Well, I don't think my vote matters.
00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:35.439
So you have to get involved, and literally, not hyperbole, the future of America could be at stake.
00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.519
Tim, there have been elections in the history of this country that didn't make a significant difference.
00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.839
I mean, think of Abraham Lincoln, think of Woodrow Wilson, uh, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:51.120
Uh, you know, these elections mattered and they really set a new trajectory for the nation.
00:05:51.199 --> 00:06:01.040
I, you know, identify for us what happened in the history and and how that could make an impact today with this election and the 2028 elections.
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:04.079
Yeah, there's a lot of great historic elections we can point to.
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:13.680
Uh, you know, obviously you have a George Washington who's the only president ever elected unanimously through the Electoral College process, which is just amazing to think about we had a president unanimously elected.
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:25.360
But after President Washington, you could you could virtually go through every president and point out that the leaders made decisions that impacted the future of the nation, some of them in significant ways.
00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:25.600
Yeah.
00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:44.319
Whether it be an Andrew Jackson, whether it be an Abraham Lincoln, whether it be, I mean, people you've mentioned a Woodrow Wilson, an FDR, a Ronald Reagan, we could give dozens and dozens of examples, uh, even a Dwight Eisenhower, where people made policy decisions that forever change the future of the nation.
00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:52.639
And sometimes, when you looked at a guy like Ronald Reagan as a fun, close example, he was a guy that a lot of people blew off, discredited, right?
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.240
Who's this Hollywood actor who's been a governor?
00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:57.360
What does he know?
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:09.519
And the reality is the the president before him, Jimmy Carter, the economy was so broken, it was so devastated that Jimmy Carter was literally saying, We're gonna have to just learn to ride our bikes to work.
00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.879
Well, right, we we won't be able to have enough gas for the cars all the time.
00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:17.920
We're gonna have to get used to maybe uh not having these trips.
00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:22.560
And we're gonna, you know, maybe food is more scarce, you got to grow some gardens.
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:28.720
He was literally setting people up for what was ultimately in his mind the downturn of America.
00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:34.319
And then Ronald Reagan showed up and said, No, no, all you need is a leader, all you need is a different vision.
00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:40.560
And literally, under Ronald Reagan's leadership, you have a change of direction for the future of America.
00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.079
And people can look right now at President Trump.
00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:50.879
And and for those who are not uh in favor of President Trump, I understand you can criticize and do things.
00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.959
I do want to just give a little contrast though.
00:07:53.040 --> 00:08:04.639
Yeah, when you look at President Biden and the policies under President Biden, whether it be extending some of the COVID lockdowns, whether it be opening up a southern border where anywhere between 10 and 20 million illegal migrants came across the city.
00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:10.160
And don't forget throwing pro-lifers into prison for the very first time in American history, as far as I can remember.
00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.879
I mean, you know, what 12, 14-year prison census for pro-lifers.
00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:17.360
And Trump, you know, released them.
00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:18.319
I mean, it's incredible.
00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.480
I mean, there are things like that that show you the radical, you know, policy difference, ideological difference between the two.
00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:25.040
It's credible.
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:25.360
Right.
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:27.519
And this is this is a contrast of that.
00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:36.799
It's very easy to show the contrast that this is not like a Bill Clinton and a George Bush that people could look at and be like, you know what, I don't like his tax policies.
00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:44.480
I I don't there was there was minor things because both of them had kind of the same underpinning moral current, so to speak.
00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.320
Not that, you know, necessarily Bill Clinton had to some different morals and perspective.
00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:58.799
But the reality was when it came to governing the nation, they were not like diametrically opposed the opposite ends of the spectrum of pendulum swing.
00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:10.320
Where we are looking at now, it is the exact opposite side, where you have some people that believe that America shouldn't have borders and anybody can come in and the government's gonna fund everybody and you shouldn't have private property.
00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:22.399
And yeah, I mean, you can literally go down the list of Democrat versus Republican, and so choosing a president fundamentally will have an impact because of the direction of the nation.
00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:35.840
And again, whether it be going into poverty or escaping poverty, so so economic decisions, whether it be open borders or closed borders, whether it be solving, but by the way, also a really good contrast point.
00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:43.919
A lot of the cities that have had crime rates that are almost unfathomable, and President Trump says, Hey, we can solve that problem.
00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.799
All you have to do is actually enforce laws.
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:54.320
Maybe let's have a a few more law enforcement individuals, and maybe in some cases, like in DC, let's bring in the National Guard to bring security.
00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:02.639
As someone that's been going to DC as an adult, doing things working in DC, uh I've been there for decades.
00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:12.000
And ultimately, there were places if you get a couple blocks away from the Capitol from the White House, DC was one of the most dangerous cities in America.
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:17.039
And it was at times very dirty uh because of a lot of the trash that was thrown everywhere.
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:29.440
President Trump has changed the crime rate of so many cities, and again, this is the difference a leader makes, where you can have policies that actually encourage people to do bad things.
00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:34.240
Like in California, we're not gonna penalize you if you stole less than a thousand dollars because that's really fine.
00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:35.120
Well, what's happening?
00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:37.120
Businesses are having to leave California.
00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.600
This is the difference a leader makes.
00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:43.840
And so looking at what happens in upcoming elections, it really does matter.
00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:48.480
And by the way, why would this midterm election really matter when we're talking about a president right now?
00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:57.279
Because the Congress or the Senate are the ones that will either directly oppose or directly support what the president's vision and mission is.
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:04.320
And so when, and by the way, and let's point the Senate hasn't been real supportive of President Trump's vision and mission.
00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:12.639
Uh, a lot of what he's done has been in spite of the Senate, not because of the Senate, but but it's also worth pointing out the House passed over 700 bills, the Senate hasn't even taken up yet.
00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:15.200
So people look and go, Congress is so incompetent.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:24.960
I would, I would actually filter that toward maybe one of those two bodies in Congress because under Mike Johnson's leadership, the House did a lot of really good things.
00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:29.840
It looks like they were less productive because those things ultimately weren't passed, but that's because of the Senate.
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:38.240
And partly that's because even though there's 53 Republicans, many of those Republicans would fall in the category that some people might know the term rhino.
00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:42.960
These are incredibly moderate Republicans who don't support conservative policies.
00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.720
The reason that John Thune didn't bring up the Save Act was because he didn't want to expose who some of these moderates were.
00:11:48.799 --> 00:12:09.440
But I say this to point out that the reason we have a bunch of moderates on the Republican and conservative side is because we haven't had the right people showing up in the primaries to support the good candidates so we could elect better candidates in the general election, which by the way, there are like for in Texas, for example, John Cornyn was a senator in Texas for decades.
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:15.919
He got defeated in the primary by Ken Paxton, somebody who is far more aggressive on conservative policies.
00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:22.000
There are some of these people that are not the aggressive conservative leaders that are being replaced.
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:32.080
And so this is something that is on the ballot in the midterm that we can actually get better conservative Republicans in the Senate and then hopefully get better things done.
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:43.200
So even though this is not a presidential election, it does matter in the midterm how the president is able to enact his policies or have those opposed based on the House and the Senate.
00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.960
And don't forget the pro-life justices.
00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:52.879
I just did a quick survey online, Tim, and found out that uh that Trump has appointed the most pro-life justices of any president.
00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.080
Go back to JFK.
00:12:54.159 --> 00:13:00.720
JFK did one, Richard Nixon had one pro-lifer, Ronald Reagan had one, sadly, two pro-aborts.
00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:01.679
George H.W.
00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.919
Bush had uh one pro-lifer.
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:04.879
George W.
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.919
Bush had two pro-life justices, and Donald Trump three pro-life justices.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.480
So what you're seeing is that, you know, you've got a trend that's been going in a better direction.
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.759
And uh Donald Trump is at the forefront of that, at least in terms of appointing pro-life justices.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.759
Not that, not that they always do what you want them to do, but you know, at least you've got something there.
00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:24.320
Absolutely.
00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:37.039
And and to add on to that, and this is, I know, this is it's gonna feel like a hot take that seems inconsistent when I first say this, but we have never had a president who has been more pro-life or more pro-religious liberty than Donald Trump.
00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:46.720
And I know that seems uh maybe an anathema for some people, going, President Trump, there's no way it's sometimes people confuse his personality with his policies.
00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:56.240
President Trump has appointed judges who have been more pro-life, more pro-faith, pro-religious liberty than anybody we've had in American history, to your point.
00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:12.240
In fact, the policies that he's been advocating at virtually every level of the federal government with all of his executives and the fact there's a faith office and in every part of the executive branch, it's it's really remarkable what they're doing to protect and defend religious liberty.
00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:13.759
And again, as you mentioned, pro-life.
00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:29.919
So this is something that I think what what the media often does is they try to get people distracted on personalities and ignore the reality that what is more important in our elected officials is not their personality, it's the policies they promote.
00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:37.600
And I say this too fundamentally as a Christian, because we recognize there are certain things in life that God will bless and certain things that God does not bless.
00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:43.519
And it's not necessarily the personality of the leader, it's the policies of what are promoted by that leader.
00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:58.159
And so, even though I certainly don't agree with everything President Trump has ever done, but I still recognize that President Trump has done more on the pro-faith, pro-religious liberty, pro-God, pro-life side than any president before him.
00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.720
And he's enacted policies that actually position America in a far better place.
00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:12.960
Maybe policies we could argue that God can actually bless some of this, as opposed to having a guy who might have a better personality, but doesn't enact as good of policies.
00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:21.840
I would rather have someone enacting good policies who maybe I don't always like their personality than someone that I like their personality and they don't promote good policies.
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:31.679
What are the critical races and the critical ballot issues coming into the midterm elections here that Christians all over this country need to be paying attention to, uh, Tim, from your assessment?
00:17:43.179 --> 00:17:46.700
Yeah, I think there's a lot of ballot measures in a lot of states.
00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:58.220
And it's actually kind of fun to track some of these because there are some states that right now are very blue states, but they have ballot measures that are put on the ballot because they got enough signatures in the state.
00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:12.860
And so, for example, in Colorado and Oregon, there's several states we can point to where there are very conservative and even pro-life, pro-faith-oriented ballot measures that uh, and and by the way, like even maybe like voter ID things.
00:18:13.179 --> 00:18:32.860
Some of these things that the majority of American people, 80-20 issues, 90-10 issues, that the majority of Americans, whether you identify as a Republican, an independent, uh, a Democrat, a moderate, a conservative, a liberal, whatever you identify as, 80% of American people are supportive of some of these basic things.
00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:34.380
We don't want boys playing in girl sports.
00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:36.299
We think people should show an ID to vote.
00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:38.380
We like kind of go down the list.
00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:43.900
These are on the ballot in some very liberal states, and right now they're trending in a very positive direction.
00:18:44.139 --> 00:18:55.579
So I think what's going to be interesting is not just tracking who gets elected in some of these states, but also tracking how these ballot measures are supported in some of these states.
00:18:55.740 --> 00:19:09.819
Because I think this will be something that actually some of these will cross over the aisle, political aisle, so to speak, that I think there's Democrats that will support what are on the outside perspective, the media would portray as these conservative issues.
00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:14.860
And the reality is, no, these are just basic common sense and logic kind of issues.
00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:16.619
So those are going to be really interesting to track.
00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:20.460
Certainly, there's a lot of Senate races, uh, there, there's a lot of House races.
00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:29.099
I think Mike Johnson identified that he thinks there are 18 House seats that Republicans might be able to pick up, which would be fascinating.
00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:31.579
I'm not sure I'm quite that optimistic.
00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:41.740
And frankly, I have a really good friend, Josh McPherson, who's a pastor in Washington State, and he is praying and believing, and I like his terminology, he said, I'm believing for a midterm miracle.
00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:48.539
Well, yeah, if Republicans picked up 18 seats, that would have to be a miracle because there's no logical way you could really see that happening.
00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:56.539
Because generally speaking, in a midterm election, people are going to vote for things that we are navigating challenging ways right now.
00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.500
You're going to vote for your gas and your groceries, right?
00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:01.420
What am I paying right now?
00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:04.700
And that is one of the biggest influences that drives a vote.
00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:15.500
But why I think this might be different is when you also have a lot of ballot measures that are things that do tend toward a conservative value structure.
00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:27.660
When you do have candidates like the Democrat Socials of America who are running for statewide offices who say we want to abolish the Senate, we want to abolish the Electoral College, we we want to expand the U.S.
00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:30.379
Supreme Court to make it represent whatever the American people want.
00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:36.460
We want to change the presidency when they are literally out loud articulating some of the removal of this.
00:20:36.539 --> 00:20:43.500
And again, these are the same people that feel like we don't need police officers, we just need more sidewalkers that solves violent crime problems.
00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:44.539
It's crazy talk.
00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:53.099
And then you add to the fact that you have uh growing concerns in some areas of the Muslim influence in America, et cetera.
00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:56.220
I I think there's a lot more nuance in this election.
00:20:56.379 --> 00:21:01.819
And so I think it actually adds more uncertainty, which is why I think the polls are even less trustworthy.
00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:16.379
But CNN has come out and said that even though Democrats are ahead on all these polls in these states for Senate uh and for the House, that usually Republicans far overperform on what the polls give.
00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:26.059
And now that the polls are tightening, even though Democrats might have a two or three percent lead, a percentage point lead, Republicans at times will go five or eight percent better than what the polling showed.
00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:31.180
And so even CNN said that Democrats should not feel comfortable and feel safe, what's going on?
00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:38.140
And I think part of it is there's lots of other underlying issues because we're not just voting on gas and groceries in this midterm.
00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:44.220
We literally are voting for whether or not we're gonna be communists, socialists, Marxists, Islamists, et cetera.
00:21:44.379 --> 00:21:47.180
Those are literally things on the ballot this year.
00:21:47.660 --> 00:22:01.500
Talk to 60 million evangelicals, all of which are not listening to the program, sadly, right now, but uh the the the average evangelical in Idaho or Missouri facing, you know, an important abortion measure on the ballot this year.
00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:03.180
Tim, talk to them for just a moment.
00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:07.740
They're considering not voting, or they've lost their ballots for some reason.
00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:09.819
Uh just kind of ignored them.
00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:12.940
There's an argument to say that's just a sin.
00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:31.660
I think that's just it's it's a sinful thing not to vote on a clear issue that would represent a pretty significant amount of salt and light for your state or for your community, and perhaps even, you know, guard that particular state from being destroyed by Almighty God for the shedding of innocent blood across the land.
00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:38.940
Um, of course, I'm throwing out some things here for you, but uh talk to the average evangelical and just say, hey, you need to be voting.
00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:39.819
This is important.
00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:51.660
Yeah, I think one of the things that we misunderstand is we think at times as Christians that we have the luxury that we are in charge and we get to decide and determine what we do when it comes to our leadership.
00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:54.700
And I would just point out I think it's misunderstanding a lot of things.
00:22:54.859 --> 00:23:00.940
Um, the Bible makes it very clear that the mom and dad are in charge of the family.
00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:03.019
And if a dad's like, yeah, I'm gonna check out.
00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:06.059
I'm not gonna be a dad today, you don't have that luxury, right?
00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:11.980
If you are driving a vehicle uh and and you're in the middle of traffic, you're like, you know what, I'm just gonna stop driving.
00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:16.299
Like, no, what you are doing, you are not just stewarding for yourself.
00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.259
Your stewardship is impacting those around you.
00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:30.460
And one of the things the Bible teaches is that when God has given you a leadership position, when God entrusts you with something, there is an expectation of performance from what you've been entrusted with.
00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:36.220
This is very much what we see in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents, and Luke 19, the parable of the minas.
00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:41.339
And by the way, in in both of those, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like this.
00:23:41.500 --> 00:23:44.859
He's giving a spiritual truth, but he's saying, let me just give you the practical parallel.
00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:52.379
It's like if there was a boss and the boss called employees, said, Hey, I want all of you to work on these things, and you are in charge until I return.
00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:54.940
That's what it says, Luke, uh, in Luke 19.
00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:57.339
It says, occupy until I return.
00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:59.099
You are in charge until I return.
00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:05.980
And what happens is, and in both of those, the master shows up at the end and says, Hey, let's talk about what you did with what I gave you.
00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:11.019
And and in both of them, there was a servant who was lazy who was afraid of the responsibility.
00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:12.460
Like, I didn't want to make a mistake.
00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:14.619
I didn't want to do the wrong thing and get in trouble.
00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:15.900
So I buried it in the ground.
00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.779
But here I brought back, here is what I owe you.
00:24:18.940 --> 00:24:25.980
And the master said, You wicked, lazy servant, if you knew I was going to expect to gather what I haven't scattered.
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:27.099
I was going to reap what I haven't sown.
00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:38.140
If you knew I was going to expect from you, why didn't you at least put it in the bank with a gain interest because you did nothing to take it away from him and actually cast that servant into outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth?
00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:42.460
And I get that somebody might say, Yeah, but Tim, I mean, that I don't think it's really applying to voting.
00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:48.859
What I would point out is just like a mom and dad are in charge of the family, just like if you're driving the car, you're in charge of the car.
00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:55.980
In America, we are the most unique nation in that our constitution is built on we the people.
00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:00.460
If somebody were to ask who's in charge of America, we the people, we are.
00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.379
We are the leaders of this nation.
00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:05.900
So we don't have the option to say, you know what, I choose not to lead today.
00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:07.740
That's not a luxury and a privilege you have.
00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:11.099
God's given us a stewardship, and we have to be good stewards.
00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:19.900
And by the way, in the end of those parables of Luke 19 and Matthew 25, the master, when he rewards the ones that did well, he said, Well done, good and faithful servant.
00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:21.819
He didn't say, Well done, good and successful.
00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.660
He didn't say, Well done, good and productive.
00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:23.980
Why?
00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:26.220
Because you don't always succeed in being faithful.
00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:28.619
You won't always be productive when you are faithful.
00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:32.299
Now, you won't be successful and productive if you're not faithful.
00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:38.859
But the reality is God hasn't called us to win everything he's directed us to, but he has called us to be faithful in everything.
00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:44.940
And if we sit out and don't vote, I contend you are not being faithful with the stewardship that God has given you.
00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:47.019
And one more time, Tim, take a look at the numbers.
00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:49.339
I just did it myself, kind of a math guy here.
00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:55.099
But uh 60 million evangelical adults in America, if half of those evangelicals voted, I'm just talking about 50%.
00:25:55.420 --> 00:26:10.619
We get half of them, half of the evangelicals in America voted and added the 80% ratio, you know, 80% going to the bright side versus the dark side, uh, that would that would be 24 million people voting on the right side of this.
00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:14.859
The evangelicals alone would tip the whole election, assuming 45 million voting.
00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:15.500
Does that make sense?
00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:23.099
I mean, if I could get half, just half, 50%, if I get half my congregation voting for the right side, okay.
00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:31.259
And even of that, if I can, if you know 20% of them went the wrong direction, but half of the congregation is voting on the 80% ratio.
00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:39.099
I've got 24 million votes all by myself, you know, just with the evangelical crowd alone, and I've won the election.
00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:40.779
That's not too bad.
00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:46.619
Unquestionably, because a lot of these races will be decided not by millions, but by thousands.
00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:51.740
Some of these congressional races, it might even be hundreds, 300 people, 400 people.
00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:53.420
You can look at that and go, you know what?
00:26:53.579 --> 00:27:00.700
If one church would have showed up, one church could have made the difference on who's in Congress and maybe even who has the balance of power in Congress.
00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:06.140
Whether you have an Alexander Ocasio-Cortez as speaker of the house or a Mike Johnson, a speaker of the house.
00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:15.500
Like that, that literally could be the decision if churches choose to show up or not get involved because of, as you're pointing out, like 20, 30 million Christians.
00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:35.740
If we showed up and voted based on biblical values, it would change the entire nature of the Senate and the House for the good, where we could actually enshrine through legislation some of the basic common sense values that we care about that we haven't seen fully enacted, but it's because we haven't had enough of the good people there.
00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:40.940
And the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:43.339
If we don't show up, exactly the bad guys win.
00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:49.900
And I'm not talking about political party because I recognize the Bible tells us that we're in a spiritual war and there are forces of darkness against us.
00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:52.220
If people of light don't show up, the darkness wins.
00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:53.259
That's the bottom line.
00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:57.099
All it takes for evil to triumph is for the good guys to not show up.
00:27:57.339 --> 00:27:59.180
We can't sit this one out.
00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:00.299
We have got to show up.
00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:01.019
Absolutely.
00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:01.740
And prayer.
00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:02.619
Let's throw that out.
00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:09.019
I know that you pulled together a bunch of folks at the ATT stadium for uh a prayer down there in what, Dallas?
00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:10.700
Uh, how did that work out?
00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:11.980
And uh why is that important?
00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:20.859
Yeah, and to be clear, just for anybody listening, that's us in Texas, because Philip Anthony Mitchell actually is a pastor in uh Georgia who did that.
00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:22.539
But this is incredible.
00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:29.180
It I think one of the reasons I'm hopeful for the future of the nation is because I see a revival happening all over this nation.
00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:39.500
And this was an indication that just this last weekend, there was literally a prayer and revival service, a repentance service, crying out to God in Cowboy Stadium.
00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:43.900
80,000 Christians showed up at Cowboy Stadium.
00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:54.539
And as someone who's in the Dallas Four Worth area, uh, I can tell you, as uh a former Cowboy fan, and I say that because it's always heartbreaking every year, um, this was the best thing that's happened in Cowboy Stadium all year, including the football games.
00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:57.420
Uh, it was incredible what God is doing.
00:28:57.500 --> 00:29:02.379
And so, Kevin, I am I am optimistic about the future because I see more Christians waking up.
00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:11.259
I see more churches and pastors getting involved, and in the ways that really matter, because we're recognizing we're not just navigating a political landscape.
00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:14.059
There is a spiritual war that we are in the middle of.
00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:22.539
But when we pray, when we do battle in the heavenlies, and then we show up and take action in the physical, that's how we win.
00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:29.660
And I am encouraged, knowing that there is a bunch of war happening in the heavenlies by people that are showing up and praying.
00:29:29.819 --> 00:29:36.059
And then if we will be activated to get involved, we can change the future direction of this nation for the good.
00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:38.299
And that's exactly what I'm praying and believing for.
00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:42.940
The lesson on this program today, my friends, is get off the pews, get out of the pews, and do something.
00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:48.619
Pray, vote, make a difference, be the salt, be the light that Jesus calls us to be.
00:29:48.779 --> 00:29:49.980
Hey, we're here for a reason.
00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:52.299
So, so go out there and disciple the nation.
00:29:52.379 --> 00:30:03.019
And one of the ways to disciple the nation is to vote, set the nation in a good direction and perhaps even, perhaps even uh relieve the nation from the uh the judgment of God coming down upon a nation.
00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.180
So lots of good reasons to vote this season.
00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:08.059
So glad Tim Barton has been with us on this edition of the program.
00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:11.420
Tim, thank you so uh so much for joining us again.
00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:19.740
And again, for anybody who wants to connect with Tim and his uh his his podcast and all the rest of his ministry, wallbuilders.com.
00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:21.579
That's wallbuilders.com.
00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:24.220
Tim Barton with me on this edition of the program.
00:30:24.379 --> 00:30:25.099
Tim, thanks.
00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:26.299
My pleasure.
00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:33.660
This is Kevin Swanson inviting you back again next time as we continue to lay down a vision for the next generation.
00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:42.299
This has been a production of the Generations Media Network.
00:30:42.379 --> 00:30:45.660
For more information, go to generations.org/slash media.
