Welcome And Petra Callback

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Welcome to the intersection of faith and culture. It's the wall builder show. Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton, taking on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective. Websites are wallbuilders.com and wallbuilders.show. And yes, my my voice is back down an octave level. Guys, I was uh did I sound like a middle school girl yesterday with Petra? I mean, was it that bad?

SPEAKER_03 0:31

I mean, I I think it was obvious enough the fact that uh we were excited to have a conversation as well. Uh, and you just kept going and we're like, I guess, I guess we're not part of the show today. That's no problem. Uh it would, bro, it was so fun. I I told uh I told one of our team that my favorite part about listening to it um was it reminded me, uh, we've had a couple moments. We've interviewed some people that you know musically were a big deal for our era generation growing up. I remember um when I interviewed Rebecca St. James and for King and Country, uh, and it was like, I can't believe I'm interviewing Rebecca St. James. Like I was in middle school and high school, and her music was so cool, whatever, right? It's it's been a few decades, but it is so fun to be able to connect with people that have served and loved God uh in many ways faithfully and and had such an impact on culture and on generations. So it was really fun listening, obviously. Um you you were very excited about it, and I love that for you. Um it would yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Good stuff. Yes, very funny. It's interesting how things are kind of cycling back too. Some, you know, Petra was that they've been kind of off the news for a good while and now back in. And it's interesting that we're we're kind of returning to some things that that had been really important in previous in a previous generation or even a generation or two back. And I think that's a really good sign of some of that stuff coming back.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Well, guys, I think it's one of the things we've talked about a lot, that the the faith resurgence happening in America. Um I was gonna mention this yesterday. I I didn't have the opportunity to be on the program yesterday. Uh but on on Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

That's just beyond belief. That's just beyond belief. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I can't help it. Yeah. Um but but more power to you, Tim. Sorry, I can't I'll stop.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

I'll stop. Um only only old people know the references, but that's fine. Yeah.

A Packed Church And Young Faith

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Um so on Sunday I had the chance to go over to Lake Point Church in Rockwall, which is uh Josh Howerton's church, and it's one of these churches that is a mega church. Um I was blown away for so many reasons because he emphasized discipleship so heavily. Um it was it was a far deeper message than what you expect from some of these seeker-friendly churches that just want to uh say the things that make people happy and that's how they grow their congregation. It was so different. And guys, what boggled my mind that the the main auditorium and they have multiple campuses, they that this main campus, they have overflow rooms, and and the main auditorium, it's probably a a 3,000-member uh seating in that auditorium. I'm I'm guessing something close to that, I'd imagine. I could be off by 500 one way or the other, but it was very large. And there was there were no open seats, there were people sitting and standing uh in the aisles on the stairs along the back. It was overflowing. And what was incredible about this is I would say the overwhelming majority of people there were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. And when we talk about uh, you know, God on the move, Dad, you're saying like this resurgence of things coming back. Well, a lot of what's coming back is is a faith movement. And and I know for many people listening, is depending on what state, what city, what county you live in, it's not unusual that we will have people asking, hey, so you know, are there really good things happening? Do you see good things? Because where we are, it's very discouraging or frustrating. And what I can tell you just firsthand, being able to be very blessed to be in some of these places where God is abundantly moving, it is amazing that God is reaching the hearts, the minds of rising generations, and really maybe many generations uh of people just that are uh are willing uh to be used by God, that their eyes and their ears are open, their hearts are receptive. But guys, on Sunday, just to reaffirm like the move of God happening in this nation, it was absolutely incredible to see what God is doing at Lake Point through Pastor Josh Howerton, that entire organization, church, and ministry, an incredible team over there. And and it was just another indicator that God is on the move in this nation. Incredible things are happening, even so much that when Petra is becoming cool again, you know God is on the move. Well, Tim, with you being there, I mean, how many how many services do they have on a weekend there? And they're all full. And the Sunday services, generally speaking, are the ones that are the most full, but even the Saturday services are are packed, is my understanding. And again, they have multiple campuses, but they're averaging like 35,000 people a weekend coming through their campuses. And and again, it's just it is incredible that there are people that they're not coming for seeker-friendly messaging. Uh Josh Howerton started a series in First Timothy, uh, excuse me, 2 Timothy, which is the the last of the Pauline epistles. That's the last thing that Paul wrote uh shortly before he is executed for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's writing to encourage Timothy. And so Josh is just walking through the details of what this is and has this incredible message that he unfolds. This is not something that is is a self-help message. This is a Bible-centered, gospel-centered, discipleship-driven message. And the room was packed and overflowing with people that were coming to be discipled, not just to get life coached, not just to feel good, people that were being discipled of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and how you do that to the fullest. Guys, it was so incredible and encouraging to see what God was doing.

Revival Versus Awakening

SPEAKER_00 6:39

That's also the difference between a revival and awakening. Because you know, a revival is let's all come to Jesus, and awakening is let's figure out how to live like Jesus in in this in this area. And so those kind of messages and sermons, even that itself is such a good indication of of maybe things to come. But if it is an awakening like we think it is, I mean, Whitfield went 34, 36 years in that awakening, never knew he was in one, and it may be the same thing with us. This may go for decades, and hopefully it does, but we'll see change over that time. And and just what we're talking about here, that's it's just a good indication of some change already beginning to happen.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Well, and you talk about things coming back around, it's it's so um ironic to me, Tim. That building that you were in is the building I grew up in going to church. I mean, we helped build that building for Church on the Rock. What, 40 years ago? Let's see, I'm uh 55, 40. Yeah, that would have been 40 years ago when we built that church. And Russ Taft used to used to be there and uh help with worship and you know, so some of that 80s music, even even all the way back then. But you know, I was watching Josh on uh Sean Ryan and listening to to some of that and just his ability to communicate and have that platform. Um the interviews that you've done with Josh, I think are up in the millions now, right? And views, I mean it's it's absolutely incredible the way that God is using these voices and and opening up the door. And so the revival, I I I think it's absolutely real. Um, and as you said, Tim, it's the it's the tenor, it's the it's the courage with which these messages are being uh given. And people are hungry for it. I mean, I I I think they don't, you know, the the this whole tickling of the ears thing is getting old and and people want to know truth, and so they're hungry for it. So I hope more pastors will be encouraged to do do the exact same thing. It's super exciting to see such a growth in the church and a growth with these young people, especially. I mean, that's part of what you know, we're obviously all very involved with working with the youth and seeing that next generation come up. So super,

Ryan Walters And Teacher Momentum

SPEAKER_02 8:32

super exciting. And of course, speaking of youth and education, our friend Ryan Walters, we've uh it's been a few months since we had him on, did incredible work up in Oklahoma. And David, I think you worked with him even back then when he was superintendent of education up there, some of the great policies that they implemented. When we had him on, I remember we talked about the fact he's like a Trump at the state level because he's just pushing the envelope. And now, of course, he's helping to train these teachers all over the country. Uh, David, I think you keynoted the conference. So I was there a couple of days later, or maybe the next day after you were there. But how exciting to see public school teachers. And I know y'all have had groups coming in for the teachers uh for for wall builders and training them for years, and now this thing is just growing like crazy to have these conservative, you know, civics minded want to teach students to be good citizens. And Ryan's conference, I think, was just incredible. And and uh so David, what did you talk about when you opened up the conference?

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Well, I I talked to him a lot about where we were on the 250th. So I I brought history in and related to that. But just going to Ryan for a minute, this is a guy that's really fascinating. He is super uh grounded. Uh a young man, I'm putting young man, he's got to be what between you, you and Tim somewhere, maybe. Um, I know, probably, I don't know. What is he in?

SPEAKER_03 9:43

It's upper 30s, lower 40s, where you guys I like that you are still identifying that as a young man. Uh because he's right, he's he's 30 years younger than you. That's gotta be super young. Um, I that's right. Yeah, I I think he's probably in his 40s. Um, it is is my guess. Um, but yes, in the grand scheme of things, that's young. Uh, I was just chuckling with somebody on staff, remembering dad, when you uh turned 40, you were uh involved at a Christian school at the time, and they brought out these balloons. Um, it was over the hill. Like 40 used to be really, really old. At least people joked about it being old, and now it's like, oh, he's only 40. That's so young. I appreciate that because as you get older, obviously it becomes younger. Um, so I he's he's a full-grown man. I don't know if I can call him a young man at this point, but he's a full grown man.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Well, it's interesting because he's he's got it, he was in charge of education in Oklahoma, and Oklahoma certainly is one of the reddest states in the United States. And as it turns out, in education, it was one of the more liberal states in the United States. And this is the problem with red states. Once they get red, the only way you're gonna get elected is to be red. So if you've been blue all your life, you suddenly turn red and say, I've been red my whole life, and you get elected as a red guy when you're really a blue guy. And so there was so much liberality. Uh, you know, it's interesting. Uh there's there's five states that do not allow homeschool kids to participate in in public school activities, even though they pay public school tax. Oklahoma's one of those. That's a very blue policy. And so education-wise, Oklahoma was not particularly um out there leading the way in conservative policies, and he got his brains beat in by Republicans in Oklahoma that are not necessarily conservative, that were just over the top for public school everything. We don't want competition. We don't want to have to improve things. And so he did such a great job uh of being articulate, of being uh a really a well-mannered guy in the face of some vicious attacks. And now he's taken on this national group where that you have so many, and they I think they have, is it 15 or 18,000 in this group, Rick? But they're they're public school teachers from across the nation that don't want to be part of the union. They don't want to be part of the progressive stuff, they want to be part of something solid. And so we were just getting them good information when we were there. And that conference really, really was a strong conference. And it's great to see Ryan doing that. And by the way, if you're a public school teacher, maybe think about jumping into that organization that Ryan's leading now. Yeah, very encouraging.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

We'll learn more about it when we come back from the break. Ryan Walter is our special guest. You're listening to The Wall Builder Show.

Lemuel Haynes And Forgotten Heroes

SPEAKER_03 12:34

This is Tim Burden from Wall Builders with another moment from American history. Too often today, history education excludes great black heroes from the American founding, such as Lemuel Haynes. Haynes abandoned as a baby, pioneered churches across Upper New England. He became the first black American to pastor a white congregation, to receive an honorary master's degree, and to be ordained by a mainstream Christian denomination, the Congregationalist. He was a soldier during the American Revolution, and in his churches on George Washington's birthday, he regularly preached sermons honoring George Washington. Even late in his life, he expressed his willingness to go back to battle if necessary to protect America, which he called a sacred arc. American history is filled with numerous examples of black heroes who are largely ignored by mainstream education today. For more information about Pastor Lemuel Haynes and other colonial patriots, go to wallbuilders.com.

Taking Education Back From Activism

SPEAKER_02 13:33

Welcome back to the Wallbuilder Show. Thanks for staying with us. Ryan Walters back with us. I think last time you were on the show, you were still in Oklahoma. Maybe it was right after you'd gone to uh Teacher Freedom Alliance. But anyway, we we we love having you on, man. You did incredible work in Oklahoma. And now I think of it this way, you're basically exporting that good work all over the country. So, Ryan, thanks for coming on, man. I appreciate it. Always an honor to be on, Rick. Appreciate it. Well, enjoyed being with you at the conference for the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Uh, I noticed you had this other guy named David Barton. I I guess you just needed to fill a spot. I don't know. I don't know what was going on there. No, David actually came back. He's like, man, we got to get Ryan on. This is so cool what they're doing with these teachers. And anyway, so uh super excited about what you're doing. I loved what I saw there. And uh man, this is the way to take education back and make it a an institution that actually supports America instead of tearing it down.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

No, that's right. And I'm telling you, when you have Rick Green and David Barton, I'm telling you, you you get a lot of folks very excited and uh very excited about uh what we can do here and to make America great again. And, you know, I mean it's fascinating because you look at the education landscape, you know, and like you said, Rick, you know, what we did in Oklahoma was we just took on the radical left and said, listen, we're taking these institutions back. You know, we're not gonna sit back and allow education to be controlled by left-wing groups like the teachers' unions, like these uh school administrators that are just these far left folks that are in these spots. And so we're we're gonna take the fight to them. We're gonna have an aggressive game plan to come out and bring education back to some common sense. I mean, that's the reality is so much of this is common sense. Don't you want the next generation to love this country? I mean, I that should not be a controversial statement, but of course, in a lot of education circles it is because it's been dominated by DEI, CRT, all this anti-American nonsense. So, I mean, our teachers are just so electrified hearing from David Barton, hearing from you, and saying, yes, this is the type of curriculum, this is the type of understanding of America we want our our students to hear and feel. And of course, that's what so many parents and grandparents around the country have been asking for. And so it's been tremendous. And again, it's it's an honor to work with you, and it's an honor to see that work being done inside the education space.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

Man, I I love the fact that you know, with these teachers, because a lot of times we conservatives get a bad rap and they act like we're anti-teacher because the the typical teacher unions became so left wing. We were we were anti-Marxism, anti-leftism, and those teacher unions are so taken by that philosophy that by going against them and the and the things that they were doing, sometimes people labeled us as just being anti-teacher, when in fact we were rooting for the good teachers that were out there that were still trying to keep the pro-America stuff in and just trying to give kids good reading, writing arithmetic and you know, good values, good American values, good history. Um, and so what you've done is and and what the Teacher Freedom Alliance is doing is is basically coming alongside those teachers and helping them, getting them good training, getting them good uh resources, and bringing them together. I think one of the things I noticed at the conference anyway, they're all looking around the room going, I'm not the only one. This is kind of nice. You know, so so that's another thing you do is bring them uh together for community. So anyway, just I think just hit on that a little bit, the importance of not giving up on education and not giving up on good teachers out there.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Well, uh, no, I think you said that really well, Rick. I mean, you know, when you look at education and you look at, yeah, you know, the left always tries to say, you know, they conservatives, the right, oh, they're against teachers. It's like, no, we're against absolute nonsense being pushed into the classrooms. And then look, if you're a social justice warrior um activist masquerading as a teacher in the teachers union, pushing this anti-American and lies, transgender lies to our kids, yeah, we don't want that, we don't want that nonsense push on our kids. That's right. But we want great people in education, we want our kids. I mean, I I've always looked at, you know, teaching in general, it tends to attract more conservative, traditional-minded folks because again, it is it is a profession where you're saying, look, I want to pass this on. I want to conserve American values by passing it on to the next generation. Uh, I want to ensure that these values don't go away, that they don't die. Um, and so you have so many good people that are teachers, but I'm telling you, they are beaten down. They they are targeted by the teachers' union, they are targeted by left-wing administrators. And so, you know, our thought with the Teacher Freedom Alliance is number one, we've got to have a counterweight of the teachers' union to come in here and say, listen, there is a professional organization that actually is professional, not a left-wing operation funneling money of the Democrat Party. But we actually are going to do a lot of the things that the teachers union claim that's what they were created for 30 or 40 years ago, which is true professional development. We want to help you be a better history teacher. We want to help you be a better math teacher. We want to help you do these things. And then, you know, the thing that, of course, you're so spot on about that I hear forgotten so often is we are here in education. We have a school system to produce good American citizens. If we don't produce good American citizens, this experiment in a constitutional republic will not continue. And so we want good academics, we want kids to be able to fulfill their God-given potential so they can go out, use those talents God gave them. But we also want to make sure that our kids understand the nation's values, love this country, and are able to continue along that value set moving forward. And there's a lot of great teachers around the country that want to do that, but I'm gonna tell you they are up against some tremendous uh forces there from the teachers union and these left-wing groups. And so we're gonna continue to fight them um tooth and nail all the way.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Well, you you you know this way better than I do, but I I I remember even 25 years ago when I was in the legislature, a lot of what I would hear from really good teachers is, hey, you know, I don't want to be a part of this teacher union, but it's the only way I can get, you know, the insurance, liability insurance, the only way I can do some of this professional development.

Training Teachers And Restoring Discipline

SPEAKER_02 19:35

And so I just have to. And so then that teacher union ends up with all that money from the dues, and they're not using it. They're using it for a little bit of those of those things, but they're also using it to radically transform education into a Marxist. I mean, I think the California teacher unions alone spent, I I remember it being literally hundreds of millions of dollars over the years to stop school choice and that sort of thing. I I know you guys are already doing, I mean, you've got an insurance thing you do for them, you've got the professional development, you've got, you know, get putting curriculum in front of them, you're bringing them to all the things, like you said, that they used to have to say, well, I have to be a part of the teacher union. No, you're giving them an alternative to that.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

And Rick, I'll show you, you know, one of the things we discovered when we first started here was, you know, even in states where you leave the teachers' union, you're having to go back to get your professional development to keep your certificate, to keep your job. I mean, this is how embedded they've put themselves in education. That even in red states, so many times, the tea you have to go through the teachers' unions to keep your certificate to be a teacher, even if you're not in the union. And so we're sitting here going, well, we can offer professional development, and frankly, we'll offer it a lot better than what the unions do. And it won't have all the left-wing nonsense, right? If you're going to do professional development and math, there's not going to be any DEI or nonsense in there. But we're going to actually find really great folks to come out and provide these types of professional developments. We're going to bring back classroom discipline. That's another one. I mean, the left has gone crazy with this victimization um mindset in our schools where you see schools that are just chaotic, there's no discipline, it's just a mess. We have a lot of our teachers go, hey, sign me up. I want to understand how to manage a classroom. I want to understand how to have high expectations on kids so they learn some self-responsibility about their behaviors so they can grow up to be better functional adults. I mean, these are things that as you start putting this together, it attracts really good teachers. To your point, it brings them together in a community as well, where they're not alone, they're not isolated. But again, these are things that for the longest time the unions dominated and by the way, collected money off of every aspect of this. That then they go and turn around and give to the furthest uh left uh Democrat candidates in the nation. And again, the Supreme Court said a few years ago in the Janice case you don't have to join the teachers' union to be a teacher. You don't have to give dues to the Democrat Party to be a teacher. That would, of course, violate your constitutional rights and liberties there. So um, we're gonna continue that fight and we're gonna continue to expand in what we're offering for good teachers.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

We are so aligned, man. I'm just looking right on your website. Helping teachers who develop free, moral, and upright American citizens. That is the mission. That is absolutely the mission. It's why we do what we do here at Wall Builders, why Patriot Academy does what it does. Just so thrilled with what you're doing, Ryan. Loved what you did in Oklahoma. I mean, we were we talked about you all over the country that we needed more folks like you in education. Um so super proud of you and appreciate you being a champion out there. Teacherfreedomalliance.com. We have a lot of teachers that listen to the program. Really want to encourage y'all. Go to teacherfreedomalliance.com. And I think I read on your website, Ryan, for teachers membership. Is it free?

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Is that free? Did I read that right? It's free. Um, you know, we we want to support you. We want to make sure that teachers have that. Again, we're not funneling money into the Democrat Party, so we're able to do these things uh for the teachers. So again, it is free. Uh there's no charge to teachers. Sign up, um, get involved

Free Membership For All 50 States

SPEAKER_01 22:54

in the work we're doing. There, there's no there's no cost of entry there. In any state, so are you in all 50 states?

SPEAKER_02 22:59

Do you have to be in a particular state to join, or it's all of them? All 50 states. All 50 states, fantastic. All right, teacherfreedomalliance.com. Get signed up there. And then, of course, I I know this was your big annual conference you just had, but I'm assuming y'all are still doing stuff throughout the year. So if they get on the email list now, you got stuff coming up in the in throughout the school year.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

That's right. We're all over the country with our with our professional development, with our trainings, with our conferences. So, yes, sir. And uh if you sign up, we'll be giving you emails and when we're coming near you. Cool. All right, teach your freedomalliance.com.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

That's Ryan Walters. Appreciate you, brother. Keep it up, man. We'll see you soon. Thank you, Rick. Appreciate you, brother. Stay with us, folks. We'll be right back with David and Tim Barton.

Jefferson Draft Resource And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Hey guys, this is Tim Barton from Wall Builders. I want to let you know about a new resource that should be a tool in your toolbox. This is the reprint of Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence. Now, there's lots of reasons it would be cool to own a reprint like this, but one of the things that I want to highlight is not only is this a reprint that is in Thomas Jefferson's own hand in cursive, it shows some of his edits along the way, which is really fun, but it also shows what Thomas Jefferson thought was the most significant grievance in the original draft. It's the longest grievance, it's the last grievance. It was a grievance against the slave trade, arguing actually also against slavery, and arguing for the humanity of all that were enslaved. Thomas Jefferson thought that was the most important. Now, it didn't make it in the final draft, and we will explain why in the resource packet you get when you order one of these copies. But friends, this is something that you want in your collection. Go to wallbuilders.com and look for Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

Welcome back to the Wall Builder Show. Thanks for staying with us back with David and Tim now. And and uh yeah, man, they're growing like crazy. Thanks to Ryan for coming on and thanks for what he's doing. Uh, we've always said this, guys. There's good teachers in the classroom because we're always lambasting the teacher unions because they do such evil leftist work, but there are good teachers out there. We know them, we work with them, and I'm just thrilled that they have an organization like this to plug into.

SPEAKER_03 25:03

Yeah, Teacher Freedom Alliance is a really great thought that's been needed for a long time. As Ryan pointed out, when you have a lot of these teachers unions that are funding Democratic candidates that are promoting ideologies that that aren't just political, they're actually destructive to the nation. When you look at Marxism and communism, those are things destructive to the nation and also things that don't encourage students to use their God-given gifts, talents, and abilities to go do something productive in society and for God's kingdom, it actually encourages the opposite, that that you're a victim and and you have to uh overcome and overthrow the oppressor, et cetera, et cetera. This is what we have been seeing as a result of honestly some of these really bad teachers' unions promoting this bad philosophy. But to see Ryan and so many incredible people leading in an opposite direction, offering some really good teachers a good alternative to some of these woke teachers' unions is encouraging. And because we still have the majority of the youth in America going to public schools, we cannot fully abandon the public schools. Now, all of us would kind of agree if you are a parent and you have the option to homeschool your kid, that's a good option. You should take that. But we also recognize that there's a lot of parents that they're gonna be in the public school system. And so if your kids are in public school, we would encourage you advocate for your teachers to join into this movement, become part of this teachers freedom alliance so they can get better training and they can encourage and promote truth to students.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Teacher Freedom Alliance.com, Teacher Freedom Alliance.com. Thanks so much for listening today. You've been listening to the Wall Boulder Show.