Why Civics Feels Intimidating

SPEAKER_03 0:07

Welcome to the Wallbuttle Show where we take on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective. Rick Green here with some special guests in studio with me today. We had them here yesterday getting the uh you know the opportunity to learn a little bit about the Patriot Institute, where you want to send your 17 to 25 year olds for a full year at the campus, an academic year. It's about nine months on site at the Patriot Academy campus in Constitution City, Texas. Zach and Bella and Hannah with us today.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

And so we start doing Thorns and Roses, and one of the first people to answer says, I thought that the this process was too difficult for me to understand. But now I'm gonna be at my capital next week. Because they make this seem like something that you can't possibly understand.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

They make this seem like something back on the intimidate people from being involved in the process because they don't want people coming out.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

It's impossible to go testify, or it's it's too scary to go testify. And we're putting in this process where they're not only having to go testify, but they're having to go and present their own bill and defend their own bill in from front of a committee of peers, but of people who are wanting to call you to a higher standard and who are iron sharpening you. And so they're asking you the hard questions and they're stumping you at the mic, and you're having to think and you're having to reason in your mind and get better. And so getting to see these men and women of courage who are coming seeking knowledge, and they're saying, I'm not gonna let my age decide that I'm done learning, or let my age decide that I'm incapable. And that's true on both sides, whether you're at a leadership congress or whether you're at a patriot experience, there is this on either end of the spectrum, there's this idea that you're either too young to know that sort of thing, or you're too old to learn anything new. And the best thing about Patriot Academy is we're in this atmosphere that says, first of all, you're never too young.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

You're never too young to learn this, you're never too young to go out there and change the world, you're never too young to be at the foot of the charge, you're never too young to hold this torch of freedom. And second of all, you are never too old to learn. You're never too old to grab hold of the torch. If you haven't been holding this torch of freedom well, well, the weatheredness of hands does not define their capability. And so these hands are coming in and we're all just grabbing this torch. And so getting to see here on campus, weathered hands, fresh hands, young hands, calloused hands, all coming together to grasp this torch of freedom. Because the value of freedom doesn't diminish with age and it doesn't lack value with age, whenever you're too young. And so getting to be in these events, whether it be with the young people where you're getting to encourage them and say, Okay, you're not too young, like get up and do it. Like when I was 16 and I was 17 and I was terrified, and that's okay. Like, be terrified and also go forth and do this thing.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Yeah, courage is not the absence of fear, it's overcoming fear. Yes. And doing it, yeah. Okay, speaking of you're not too young to learn, which by the way, to close out that story, I love the fact that this older person at the end of the process spoke up and said, I thought I I was too old, or I thought I was not gonna be good at this. You helped me get through it, now I'm gonna go back home. And they actually went home and used

Activate Kids Biblical Worldview Training

SPEAKER_03 2:59

it. Yes. Uh, but speaking of not being too young, activate kids, building a strong biblical worldview starts today. So this is one of the areas Patriot Academy's actually been weak in the past, these younger kids. So we're great at 15, 16, and older. We're starting to do some things like vacation liberty schools and things like this. But activate kids has been doing this for a while. They're fantastic at it. It's an in-depth worldview training course to help kids stand on the truth of God's word. It tackles crucial topics like the sanctification, the set of sanctifying of human life, uh, the sanctity of human life. Wow. See, guys, y'all y'all are getting to see how I can blow um a radio spot. The true definition of marriage and family and other Christian values that are currently under attack. So here's what Activate Kids covers. It's basically Bible 101, uh, powerful video lessons. She uses student workbooks, got stickers, and interactive activities. It's got a parent leader guide with engaging discussion questions, all kinds of games, crafts, memory verse motions, and activities. It's designed for basically six through twelve, so kids age six through twelve. So it's a little bit younger than what we typically target at Patriot Academy Academy. So that's why I'm glad we're partnering with Activate Kids. Uh, perfect for a family devotion time, Sunday school classes, or a homeschooled student. Pairs beautifully with AFA Activate, which is our adult worldview training course, so the whole family can share, uh, can learn the same truths at the same time. So Bible 101, that's what's in unit one. Get it. Uh, unit one, uh, you can do it right now. I guess this is at uh activate kids.afa.net, but if you go directly to afa.net, we've got links. You'll find it eventually. But if you can remember the whole website, it's activate kids.afa.net. It's only forty bucks if you order right now. It's just in time for Christmas. I mean, this is the preparation of your young people for being able to be good citizens. This is you're never too young to uh start. Uh, I think what you said is absolutely right, Hannah. You're never too young to learn. And actually, that's when your brain absorbs more anyway. So it's the perfect time to start doing this. Um, I can see the smile on your face because all of y'all did this kind of this type of thing in your families, and it's part of what prepared you to be even good patriots when you came to Patriot Academy. So I encourage people to go to the website right now today, activate kids.afa dot net. Check that out. Okay,

Patriot Institute Path And Next Steps

SPEAKER_03 5:13

we're gonna take a break in just a second, but when we come back from the break, Bella, I'm gonna ask you about guns. Okay. Because I know that's part of what you learned to do here on the campus. You're actually now a firearms instructor here at Patriot Academy. And um just, you know, talk about uh you you used the phrase earlier, Zach, blowing it out of the water. I mean, this was one of the things that surprised people. Um let's see, you're 19 now? How old are you? 19? Okay, so Bella's 19. So you were 18 when you went through our basic instructor development course and you'd already done s a little bit of training with us. Um, but to be able to be an actual instructor at 19 years old and teach other people, so basically taking what Hannah was talking about in the sort of classroom or at least the leadership laboratory of what we do with a legislative simulation, and in the same way as a young person to be able to be on the range with people of all ages, some of which never touched a gun in their life, uh, some of which probably shouldn't have ever touched a gun in their life. Right. In other words, you're dealing with people that don't have the skills and you're teaching them the skills. Very intimidating thing for most people, but yet at 19, you're out there as an instructor coaching. So when we come back from the break, I want to talk a little bit about that, what that was was like for you to learn that, and what why you have enjoyed that as part of your Patriot Academy experience. Um, as we're going to break the website, Patriot Academy.com forward slash institute. If you got a young person in your life that you think would enjoy having this uh amazing experience for an academic year at the Patriot Academy campus, it can also be a senior in high school. So we had several seniors in high school last year that came and did what we call a super senior year. So they got their high school, final year of high school uh knocked out while they're doing what is essentially college courses here at the Patriot Institute. And this year, they'll be able to actually get college credit for that time that they're in the classroom. So check that out. It could be 17 up to 25 years old, patriotacademy.com forward slash institute.

Lives Fortunes And Sacred Honor

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Quick break, everybody. We'll be right back here listening to the Wall Builder Show.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Okay, we want to let you know about a new product we have here at Wall Builders called Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor, the Signers of the Declaration. Like most Americans, you might be someone that you recognize some of the names of the Founding Fathers, but do you know their story? We want to help remedy that. My dad and I have written biographies on all 56 signers of the Declaration to help reintroduce people to the men who literally signed their names on the line for the sake of the nation. And when they did this, they knew that they were essentially signing their death warrants. They were risking everything for the hope that they might be able to purchase freedom for the rising generation with their lives, their fortunes, and sacred honors. In spite of the hardship that every one of them endured, none of them recant or backed away. Now, if you don't know their story, you can get to know all 56 of them. Go to wallbuilders.com and look for the book Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor, the signers of the Declaration.

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Welcome

Bella’s Call To Teach Firearms

SPEAKER_03 8:11

back to the Wall Builder Show. Special guest in the studio today, doing it a little different. I've got three of our Patriot Institute grads joining me. They actually work full-time here at the Patriot Academy campus in Constitution City, Texas. Let's see, Zach, you do media, which is uh still photography and video and editing, and most of the reels that people are watching on Facebook or X or Instagram for on Patriot Academy. You you've been doing all of those for the last few months, and they're amazing. Really, really well done. Uh Hannah does a little bit of everything all over the campus, coffee shop, helps run the institute, uh, public speaking, organizing events, all kinds of things. Uh Bella also does a little bit of everything, including, as we were saying just a few minutes ago, firearms instructor. So, how did you become a firearm? What drew you to going beyond just taking the class? Because everybody that comes to the campus learns to defend themselves. So we especially the ladies, we really want the ladies to learn to defend themselves and carry a firearm. Um, but you went beyond that and said, I don't just want to learn how to do this, I want to teach other people how to do this. What what created that desire in you?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yeah, so I'd actually love to tell you guys because it wasn't something that I wanted to do. It was something that the Lord called me to do because I was freaked out. I was like, I don't I don't necessarily love guns that much. I don't really want to just go and dive deep into it and spend a five-day rigorous course learning and really being like torn down, but to build you up to to be able to become an instructor. And I was like, nope, I'm good. I I'm good. I will just be a student here, I will just learn. But I remember hearing the Lord say, no, I want you to go through this, not for you, but for me. And so I was like, okay, I can't, I can't ignore that. So I did it because um not because I wanted to or because I wanted to gain extra skill or other things. It brought those things along, but because I know the Lord wanted me to do it. You're just being obedient. I was being obedient, yes. And through that obedience, he opened up doors for me to pour into, like you said, young ladies that come here on campus. He also um heightened my skills through the instructors that we have here who are very skilled in what they do and who love what they do so much that like they are not getting the amount of recognition for it because they're so skilled and they their pay is not not there, but that's why we're not. But that's why we do it is because we recognize who we're doing it for ultimately and who else benefits from it, which is other people, which are the people that come here to learn. So I did, I went through the instructor development course and became an instructor with my two other siblings as well. And the the class time after that, just realizing, okay, wait, wait, wait, I'm done. No, I'm I'm not done. I am so not done. I went through that course to be able to pour into the students that then come on campus. And to like just three weeks after that, I was able to instruct one of my first classes and be out there on the range with the students and seeing some of the girls out there that I got to help walk through situations that you could tell they had personal um background that they needed to get over and that they needed to realize that they could defend themselves and just be able to help people of all ages. When Hannah had mentioned that there's old and young people out here, being able to realize that okay, this is a skill that I have become proficient in, and all these old people coming out here like they they don't know what they're doing. They are out there because they want to learn and because they are not giving up. Yeah, yet they they're not too proud to do that as well.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

And no, I was I don't want to jump in on you. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

No, you're good. It it really taught me a lot because this is something that I can't teach them, but also the humility that they're teaching me by coming out there and having someone as young as me be able to teach them because I am only 19, uh, it it brought a level of respect for them because it's it's hot out there. It is it is a rigorous course as well. And um you'd mentioned people coming in for uh leadership congresses and coaches and all the events we have out here. We recently had military veterans and coaches, constitution coaches out here, and just being able to learn from them. We have so much being poured into us that it's only so much joy that we can give back, and we we want to be able to pour back into them. And so by all the different ways we do that, being an instructor is one of the ways that I can do that.

Trauma Confidence And Ethical Questions

SPEAKER_03 12:32

I I I think it's probably hard for people to maybe uh I don't know if you can comprehend this or not, but there there is something about watching someone come to a firearms course like what we do, scared uh of the gun, but also there's people with trauma that have that we've had people come through our courses who have had loved ones murdered in front of them. We've had people from the Las Vegas mass murder event that took place, that had to dive under tables and run. I mean, people with real trauma in their lives. And to see them very emotional that first day, even just being around guns or the first time that that things are fired on the on the range, and then see them in the fourth day and see that they have conquered that and to be a part of that and to get to help coach them through that or talk them through that or you know, see their growth over those four days. It's I think it's hard for it. I don't know if people can understand why that is so rewarding for us. And and a lot of people have tried to get us to stop doing firearms training, you know, that they I get I get this all the time. People say, well, y'all just look like you're some kind of militia and you got the name Patriot and you're doing firearms, and so you know, they say all kinds of crazy stuff about us. And so pe a lot of people have tried to get us to stop it because this is a small part of what we do in terms of our overall mission and what Patriot Academy does. But I've just refused to stop because I love seeing the look on someone's face at the end of the four days and seeing them. I I know for me it was that way. I walk different uh because I know I can defend my family, I know I can stop the threat. And especially for women, it is the great equalizer. I mean, for to know that you can now walk from the grocery store to your car and not have to be in fear, um, to know that you could stop someone from attacking you. I mean, I that to me that is it's just too rewarding. So I don't know, speak to that if you wish, kind of why that that is so rewarding now that you've done it and had had the classes where you've seen that in other young people or I'm sorry, not other young people, not just even other ladies, but even the guys. Uh to know that you can defend your family for us men, that's a big, big, big deal. Because we've known deep down that we couldn't. Like if if the wrong person at the wrong time comes in, they're gonna be able to harm my family. Not anymore. Now I know I can stop that threat. It makes you feel totally different.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Yes, it it does take you through a process in your own mind of working through, okay, is this is this something that I I can now implement on daily life?

SPEAKER_03 14:48

And people struggle with that because you know, because that whole moral and ethical question is there as well. Yeah, yeah. Which we address in the classroom and talk about. But sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

No, no, it's it's very unique because the classroom doesn't just walk you the on-the-range course doesn't just walk you through how able to shoot a gun and how to be proficient, which actually we get you to the level of training through the like the hours of course and material things that we've put into developing this class. It it trains you not only how to um be able to be proficient in a gun, because you're better than a lot of the military and uh firearms police out there, because of how much time we put into you and because of just the repetition after repetition, it it's very uh empowering. I told one of our instructors the other day, I definitely feel powerful when I carry a gun because like like Rick said, there's a lot of uh different situations you walk into and you just feel comfortable knowing how to use a gun. But they also we walk you through the situations that you might walk into on a daily basis. We we conquer that question of is this okay? Is this wrong that I am going to protect a loved one because of killing someone else? Um we also walk you through different scenarios about just whether you're coming out or whether when to engage. There's there's a lot of decisions you have to make in your mind, and you have to be able to um have time to do that. And so a lot of the the course time out there, but the curriculum as well that we pour into you has it was it was very interesting because I was out there one day and helping this this little guy, he was 13 and he was on the line and his hands were just shaking. I was like, Hey buddy, you okay? He goes, Yeah, it's just it's it's a little hard to hold up the gun. And just realizing how hard things are in our own life when we don't put effort into it, but to see him out there putting that effort into it, to see him out there just being willing and just yes, I'm ready to do this next step. And so building that that habit of protecting yourself and protecting others. And he was doing it right there. And he got it down. He actually he was one of our best shooters out there. Okay, so it was really neat to just watch that.

How To Listen And Download

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One more break today, folks. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Wallbuilder Show.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

This is Tim Barton for the Wallbuilder Show, and I just want to make sure you know that you can listen to us wherever you go. If you get up in the morning, you do a workout, if you're mowing the grass in the afternoon, if you're driving somewhere, and you want the opportunity to get some insight into political realm from a historic, a constitutional, and a biblical perspective, hearing from incredible expert voices. We are on basically every platform that you can find. Whether it's Apple Music or iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podcast Index, Overcast, Pocket Cast. There's so many things I don't even know what all of these are. But if you go to wallbuilders.show, you will find a list of all the different places where you can listen to the program. And of course, if you already listen to podcasts, you know how to download a podcast, you know how to find us. We would encourage you to download the podcast so you can listen at your convenience. If you're not in the car, that's no problem. Download the podcast, take us with you on the road. We want to be an encouragement to you in your day. Go to wallbuilder.show to find out all the places where you can stream or download.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

Welcome

Constitutional Defense Course Invitation

SPEAKER_03 18:01

back to the Wall Builder Show. Hannah and Zach and Bella with me in studio today to talk about the Patriot Institute. A lot of Christians think they don't don't have the right to defend themselves. They take it out of context, the turn the other cheek uh verse. And so we go through all of that. If you're interested in that, we encourage you to come. We call it constitutional defense because just like Bella was saying, it's both the mental and the physical. So we do the intellectual ammunition. You learn the constitution, you learn the second amendment, you learn the moral and ethical question, all of those things, but then you learn the physical as well, and you go through the repetition to be able to get get really good, even if you've never touched a gun in your life, which most of our students that come here have never had any kind of training like this. 55% of our students are women. I mean, we are really um we really emphasize helping the the regular citizen learn how to do this. And Bella said something that some of you out there might have um either not believed, or especially if you were in law enforcement, you might have even taken offense to it. Uh but it is true that when you you go through our our training, uh you will take a test that is harder than most law enforcement exams in the country. And so if you if you pass that test, um you've actually done more. In fact, we've even had some of our very young students hop on the line with some of our law enforcement. We had a lot of law enforcement that come out here, our local sheriff's department, uh DPS, Secret Service even uses the place. There's a lot of people that come uh use our place and and do our training. And the um uh one of the young ladies got up and and did the test with uh some of our law enforcement folks and beat most all of them. So anyway, I'm just telling you, it's real. This training works. So go to our website, patriotacademy.com, come to one of our constitutional defense courses. I think the next one is October, uh it's the second, uh, whatever the second Monday is in October. And I'll be teaching the Constitution at that one. So sign up and and uh and come join us.

Fighting Apathy Finding Purpose Building Legacy

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Okay, we got like five minutes left. I want to switch topics back to the institute and talk about purpose. Um, how young people at 17, 18, 19 years old are looking for meaning and and how the institute helps them find that. Like, what is it about this environment that helps foster not only the the what's in the classroom, the iron sharpening that y'all were talking about earlier in the coffee shop or around the fire or whatever. How does this atmosphere in this environment help you to find purpose? Deep question for these guys. All right.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

I think that there is just this constant push in our culture right now for apathy. And you see that in just the fact that everything that is being invented right now is just to make your life easier and more comfortable. It's all just to make it coast. I mean, whether it be AI or new devices or new cars, everything is there to make your life more simple, easier. We have to put less thought process and less action into every single thing that you're doing. Like apathy is being something that is pushed so well that you don't even realize you're being apathetic. I mean, your car drives for you because it's easier. And young people are my generation especially is being raised in this world where everything is eventually going to be done for you, so that if you have to do something, it's like, man, why can't I just like where's the easy version? I mean, eating well. Cooking real food is takes time and effort. And so coming into this institute year and spending time, you really see what an angel of death apathy is. And whenever you live an apathetic life, you are shorting, first of all, your ability to to be someone who is remembered. Legacy starts with planting seeds because seeds are what's going to grow someday into your legacy. And everyone has a root desire deep in their heart to have a legacy. For in 50, 60, 70 years, whenever you look back, you can say, I did something with my life when I was 20 years old, that I'm getting to see other people reap the fruit from the tree that I planted. But there's this idea that apathy is better. But what is apathy except sitting on the edge of the field hoping that the seeds will plant themselves? And there's no fruit from that. In 60 years, you're going to look back in that comfortable season where you were chilling and relaxing, leaning back in the chair of life, not realizing that the seeds that you should be planting are slowly w rotting. And withering because your mind is doing the same. You're setting yourself up for this extreme failure. And so you come into this institute year and there's no way to be apathetic. Genuinely, it is one of the most beautiful, difficult things to ever exist. Because you have to be intentional with your time and you get as much out of this institute year as you're willing to put in. So if you are an active individual, if you are a passionate individual and you are passionate in class time and you are passionate out of class time and you're seeking those deep conversations, then it's going to plant seeds, not just in your heart, you're getting planted into, but also in into other individuals. I think one of the most beautiful examples wasn't actually my year of the institute. It was the next year. And in class time, the question of what is chivalry came up. And instead of just, you know, they spent the entire four hours of class time talking about what chivalry was, they said, hey, let's get together in the coffee shop tomorrow night and let's have a quick discussion on what is chivalry. What does it mean to be biblically chivalrous for men? And what does it mean to be biblically chivalrous for women? That quick conversation ended up being about like six hours. Oh yeah. It was incredibly deep. And I can look back not just on my my heart posture, but an understanding of, okay, well, how can I, as a woman, respect my brothers and be chivalrous to then, to them and for their hearts. But also, what does their chivalry mean to me? It does not mean that they think that I'm too weak to open doors. It means that they see me respectable enough to open the doors for me. And so just even in average conversations, we're seeing this passion. And I think in all of us in that year, there was this extra passion for the biblical family to be to be rebuilt in America. And for boys, these these guys to come in at six at 17 through 21, and they're just getting this like, oh wait, hold up. I need to be a father. And not just not just someone who has a kid, but someone who fathers his children, someone who raises his children, someone who treats his wife in a way that his sons are going to want to treat their wife someday. And so purpose and passion is really built through interaction with other young people because you just you see them living life and you're calling each other to a higher standard and you're planting seeds. And through that planting and through that fostering, it becomes this greenhouse season where you really get to see, oh, that's the kind of tree I want to plant. That's the kind of seeds I want to plant.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

And it's more than just you individually. I heard a lot of culture in there. It's more that you know it's what you guys are gonna do for your whole generation. We're

Institute Details Dates And Perfect Will

SPEAKER_03 24:17

having such a great conversation with Zach and Bella and Hannah, all graduates of the Patriot Institute, which by the way, the website's Patriot Academy.com forward slash institute, Patriot Academy.com forward slash institute. That is our one year program at Patriot Academy. So our leadership congress is what we're known for. We do that in state capitals across the country. That's three days or seven days at the National Academy. But the Institute, you get a whole year, an academic year, nine months at the Patriot Academy campus in Constitution City, Texas. It starts October 2nd, so there is still time to apply. Not much, just a few days. But if you have a young person in your life, or if you're listening right now and you're between the ages of 17 and 25, you can even be a high school senior. We call it a super senior year. Finish out your senior year of high school while getting some college credit doing the institute with us. Master's level training in apologetics and communication and life purpose, um, firearms training, which Bella talked about last week. We might even get into a little bit more today. But I had I was closing out the program last week. We were talking about really the most important thing I think that that happens here, which is your relationship with God, figuring out what God's calling you to, what that perfect will is. I've always said, yeah, you know, we can easily end up in God's permissive will where we're doing something that's good, but it just doesn't feel like that's where I'm supposed to be. And I always use the story of Eric Liddell where he talked about, you know, he was an Olympian and he said, God made me fast. When I run, I feel his pleasure. When I run, I feel no one's pleasure. Not God's, not mine, no one's. So running is definitely not my purpose, or I know I'm not in God's perfect will when I'm running, which is why I don't run. That's my excuse for not exercising, y'all. Um, or at least not using that as my form of exercise. Okay, but finding that perfect will, finding that purpose where when you're doing it, man, you feel God's pleasure. All right, folks, out of time for today. We have uh Bella and Zach and Hannah with us for the next couple of days as well, so you don't want to miss that. Got some great wisdom from these young people that you're gonna enjoy and you want to share with your friends and family, go to wallboulders.show and share the program. It's a great way to be a force multiplier. A lot of people don't know that opportunities like this exist, opportunities for young people to not go get indoctrinated at some college campus just because we like the football team, but actually go somewhere where they're gonna learn the life skills, figure out their purpose, uh, be able to learn what it takes to be a good citizen, be able to defend the faith, all of that they're gonna get at the Patriot Institute. Check it out at Patriotacademy.com forward slash institute, and I'm gonna go to the