Transcript

Rick Green is speaking at Colorado Christian University for the Leadership Congress

>> Rick Green: We inform religious freedom is about people of faith being able to live out their faith, live out their convictions, no matter where they are. We equip sacred honor is the courage to speak truth, to live out your free speech. We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character. This is at the Core on American Family Radio. Welcome to at the Core with Wacca Wabbin and Rick Green. I'm Rick Green, America's Constitution coach. Thanks for joining us today. I'm actually coming to you from Colorado. I'm at Colorado Christian University for the Leadership Congress in the Rocky Mountains with a ton of young skulls full of mush that Rush Limbaugh would have said. But actually, this group, this is not young skulls full of mush. These are brilliant Navy Seals of civics that are going to help save America. So, hey, welcome, Patriot Academy Glad to have you on there with me this afternoon. So we've got students here from all over the country, and they have come in. We do this across the nation. I think we do six or seven of them this summer. We'll be in Idaho next week and Florida the week after that, Delaware later, and lots, of other, great places. But they have come in here to essentially be a legislator for the week. So they're doing a mock legislative, what we call a legislative simulation. It's a mock session. And so they're going through committee, they're filing bills, they're on the floor debating. Tomorrow we'll be at the state capitol. it's a great program. It's actually our flagship. We started this back when I was a legislator in Texas in 2000. and now, after 25 years of doing it, we got thousands of graduates across the country, some of them serving in Congress, some of them in state legislatures across the country, many of them in the White House right now, helping to save America. And so it's just great to be a part of it, and we're thrilled to be doing it right here in Colorado, which is, in my opinion, one of the states that we need to be investing in. I believe that Colorado can be turned around. How many of you that are here are actually. You live in Colorado? That's okay. Lots of hands going up. So how many of you agree we can save Colorado as we're saving America? Y' all with me on that? Okay, good, good, good. So we are, for all the people that are out there listening on Colorado stations, help is on the way. If you could see the young Faces that I'm looking at right now. These are passionate, articulate, sharp young people, and they're going to be part of the solution, not only for Colorado, but across the nation. so I'm going to really be talking to them on the air today, but you get to listen in as, part of the American family radio family. And then they'll be the ones asking questions to during today's program instead of taking calls. So no need to dial that number. We're going to have everybody here doing questions, but I want to talk to them for just a second a little bit about why you're here and what we hope that you leave here with. two days from now or not. We'll be done tomorrow night, but you'll be heading out on Friday. can I just tell you right up front, just so that you can set aside any of your reservations thinking that God can't use you because of whatever. Number one, everyone. Everybody is broken, okay? Everybody's got something that they have to overcome. Everybody. And this especially fits with all of our homeschoolers and IR1. Everybody's weird, okay? It's not just you. It's not just that person sitting next to you. Everybody's got quirks. Everybody's got some, you know, something that they haven't yet sharpened. So everybody's broken. Everybody's weird. But God can use every single one of us. I don't know what he's got planned for y' all. We talked a little bit about that last night. Whatever it is that he's got planned for you, our hope is to infuse backbone into you so that you are willing. Willing to stand firm on God's word and willing to stand against a culture that wants to reject God. You get the privilege of being rebels with a cause. You get to be the rebels. Like most people your age, you naturally want to go against the tide. You want to go against the man. You want to go against the establishment. You get to do that and go against a leftist control of our country and most institutions in our country. So you get to be a rebel for the right reasons. You get to go against and be countercultural and actually restore what this nation was built upon in the beginning. So just know everybody's broken. Everybody's a little bit weird. And none of that should hold you back. But this is a chance for you to sharpen yourself and get better at winning people to your side for whatever you're going to do. And so, part of what we want to happen at Patriot Academy Is get rid of some of that weirdness, get rid of some of that, if not all of that brokenness, which God can heal whatever it is in your life and realize that he can use you. And when I say everybody's broken, what I mean by that is we've all had trauma in our life of some kind. For some people, it's big T. And for some people, it's a little taught. We've all got things that have happened to us. Most of us in this room, though, whatever you faced in your life, is really not that big of a deal. Now, there's some of you that have had real trauma, and I'm not dismissing that at all. I'm going to address that in a second, actually. But for most of us, life's been pretty good. God's protected you. You've had a wonderful American childhood. you've got parents that love you and have invested in you. You got family and people around you, that have tried to do everything to give you every advantage in life. Otherwise you wouldn't be here at Patriot Academy. Somebody thought enough of you as a potential leader and as a young person they wanted, wanted to invest in, to even tell you about Patriot Academy, let alone maybe give you scholarship money or in some way help you, to get here. And so I say this as nicely as I can, but, you know, you got to get over some of those things that you might be having as hang ups. Can I just tell you right up front so you'll get over it? Your mom likes your sister better, okay? And if you don't have a sister, well, guess what? Your mom wanted one. All right? Get over it. Go to Florida.

Stay humble and be a servant leader

Have a Dove bar. Get over it. I mean, we get so hung up on these things that these little slights and these little things in our life as kids or whatever, and we think I just didn't have the same advantages as other people or whatever. So what? Honestly, the more challenges that you've had to face, the more likely you're going to be, successful and be able to be someone that God can use. And so I'm hoping that we can instill in you a love for the grind, that you will develop the grit and the resilience that is necessary. If you don't fall in love with the grind, you are not going to be extraordinary. Let me just again, burst a bubble here. You never arrive. You never reach a point where, okay, I did everything. Now I'm successful. I'm at the mountaintop. It's over. However hard you work, however successful you become, there's another mountain to conquer. There's something else that God wants you to do. It is about the journey. It is about. It's why he says, count it all joy. When you experience various trials, he's using those to make you stronger, to make you more effective, to make you able to relate with other people that have been through those similar trials. So it's always going to be a situation where you have to have what we call constant and never ending improvement. You never stop improving, you never stop sacrificing, and you never stop being a servant leader. I hope that if you get anything from us that you don't walk out of here or maybe even a couple of years from now, we help get you a job with a congressman or maybe you become a congressman or whatever. I hope you never become one of those pompous, arrogant people that thinks, now I am so special and because God used me, everybody needs to treat me special, stay humble and be a servant leader. Be a George Washington. The reason we have the painting of George Washington resigning as the general when he could have been king, we have that painting hanging in the, in the House chamber of the legislative hall there at the Patriot Academy campus. It exemplifies servant leadership. The willingness to always put others first, to always be willing to sacrifice, to always be willing to serve in the smallest and low, what you might think of as the lowest things, no matter how successful you might be. I've been really blessed to have mentors like David Barton. And David is a guy that most rooms he walks into, he's recognized by everybody and everybody wants his autograph, everybody wants to talk to him and get a picture with him almost anywhere that he goes. David Barton is the first person to take out the trash, to carry something, to give up his seat for someone else. Most of the time. If you ever get to an event that David Barton's speaking at and you're looking around wondering if he's there, you know where he is. He's sitting on the floor in the back corner of the room, working on his slides or working on something else and being as humble as you could possibly be. He's the most Christ like man I've ever been around. I always want to model that and I want to challenge you to model that. And never, no matter how great the impact is that you end up having that. You never let it go to your head and you never start thinking, I did that. God gave you the opportunity to do that. He gave you. Now I'm not saying you don't work hard and that you don't take some personal pride, not sinful pride, but some personal pride in knowing, man, I worked hard. I'm so thankful that God gave me the chance to do that. And I got to go do those things. I. But absolutely keep, Keep your perspective. And one of the things David told us one time, we had a group like this, and somebody asked him in the, in the group, they said, well, how do you stay humble whenever you're, you know, having such a national impact? You spend time with presidents and all these, all these things that you, that you do. And he said, I never, every time somebody tells me, you know, you impacted my life or you did this or that, he said, I literally cover my mouth and I just, am. I just almost ignore it. I don't let it go to my head. I don't think about it as I got to do that. I simply get to think about it as I get to be a conduit or a reflection of God's hope. And I think probably the best example of that most of you may have. I don't know if you've heard this story from any of my recordings or not, but there was a kid named Robert Fulghum that went and studied in Greece for the summer, and he was studying under the great philosopher Papadeirus, and he's in this class. And Papadiras has lectured for about an hour and a half. And for those of you that are unfortunate enough to go to college someday, I mean that, unfortunate, because most colleges, you're going to be indoctrinated. Now, if you go to Color Christian right here, you won't be indoctrinated. You'll be equipped and empowered. So there's about 10 good schools left, so I hope you go to one of those. But if you go to college and you sit in a class and your professor lectures for an hour and a half, when he gets done lecturing for an hour and a half, and he says, are there any questions? Don't ask any questions. Nobody there wants to stick around for another 30 minutes. They're all ready to go. But Robert Fulge kind of just thought, well, this is my only chance to ask this guy. That's the great philosopher Papa Dirus, the thing that's always been the burning question on my mind. And so when Papa dares says at the end of his hour and a half lecture, are there any questions? Fulghum raises his hand and professor calls on him. And Fulghum, says, professor, what's the meaning of life? Okay. He's asked, what's the meaning of life? To a philosophy professor after an hour and a half lecture, don't ever do that. But the professor just sits there and stares at him for about 20 solid seconds. Everybody in the room, totally silent, just looks at him. He says, I sense a ring of sincerity in your question, therefore I'll give you a sincere answer. And he tells the story of growing up there in Greece, and the, German Nazis had taken over, and, they were living under total totalitarian. And he said, it was pretty rough. We were very poor. We didn't have any toys, nothing to play with. But he said one day there was a German officer that had a motorcycle wreck just outside my house. And after they cleaned up the motorcycle, they had left behind a few little pieces. And one of the pieces was a broken mirror. And he said, I. I found that broken mirror and. And I took it and I smoothed it out. And he said, I made a toy out of it. I figured out I could catch the light on it and reflected on things, and I just got. I kind of played around with it. I got really good at it. He said, I figured out I could pretty much catch the light, reflect it off of that mirror and shine it anywhere that I wanted. And he said, one day I figured out I could actually catch light on that mirror, and I could shine the light into places where the light had never shown before. He said, that's the meaning of life. It's not to be the light. It's to be a reflection of the light, to be a conduit of hope. And Fulghum did an amazing thing. He reached in his pocket right there in class, and he pulled out that mirror. He caught some light coming in from the window, shined it right into Fulghum's eyes, and said, now, are there any other questions? What a great way to live.

Some of you are being abused, and Patriot Academy is here to help

Friends, we have the light of the world. We have the answer for the darkness in the world. We have the opportunity to be a reflection of God's hope and a reflection of the biblical laws of nature and nature's God that actually produce blessings. And we can teach people that if you will stop going against the laws of nature and nature's God, you won't have the curses anymore. If you'll line up with the laws of nature and nature's God, you'll get the blessings. That's what you get to be. And if you keep that in mind, that no matter how far you go, no matter big it gets all that. You will stay humble, and you will still be effective for God. So let me just say there's an exception to this whole. Count it all, Joy. When you experience various trials, you have to take God's word in his totality. And we've got a real problem in America right now, and some of you are actually dealing with it. And so I want to say just 30 seconds of this, and then I'm going to challenge you to hopefully reach out to us if this is you. But if statistics are true, there's some of you in this room that aren't just having a difficult time. You are being abused. You're being sexually or physically abused by someone in your family or someone close to you. If that is you, there is a way out. There is an escape, and there is a better life for you. And Patriot Academy is here to help you. Please reach out to one of our team members. We've already seen this happen, and I'm telling you, it is amazing to see God's work and the healing that he can do and how he can help you to understand the difference between your heavenly father and other people maybe in your life that acted like they were lovers of God, but then treated you in a horrible way. And I just want to say, we know that's going on in an unfortunately high percentage of homes, not only in America, but in Christian homes and in homeschooling families. If that's happening to you, find one of our team members and tell them that you need help. And we will help you get out of that situation, flee that abuse, and be able to open a new chapter in your life.

I want you to find God's perfect will for life

All right, enough of that. Let's get back to the good stuff. Constant, and never ending improvement. And I'm, hoping that every one of you will adopt that. I want you to find God's perfect will for your life. Not his permissive will, but his perfect will. for some of you in this room, that's going to be politics. For some, it's going to be business. For some, it's going to be raising up the next family and the next children that are going to lead America. I love the story of Eric Liddell. The movie is way too old for most of you sitting, here. But some of you listening on, on the air will remember Chariots of Fire. And Eric Liddell was an Olympian who refused to run on the Sabbath. And so he could not run in the race that they had. He had trained for. And everybody expected him to get gold. And so here he is at the Olympics, his dream has been dashed. He trades races with someone else so that he can still run, but not on the Sabbath in a race that he had not even trained for. He ends up winning the race, getting his gold medal. And he was asked about his life and his sacrifice of the race that he was supposed to be in. And he said, you know, God made me fast and he made me for a purpose. And when I run, I feel God's pleasure. He was doing what God had called him to do at that time. He became a missionary later on. Well, I can just tell you this morning, when I run, I don't feel anybody's pleasure. Not God's, not mine, not yours, nobody's. That is not God's will for my life. But when I see the light bulb come on in your eyes and you are filled with. Sparked with passion and sparked with purpose for your life. I feel God's pleasure. That's what I was created to do. I don't know what it is for you, but we want to help you find that thing that when you do it, you feel God's pleasure. So when we come back from the break, we'll talk a little bit more about the things you can do with Patriot Academy. I'm going to invite you to spend the summer with us at the Patriot Academy campus and some of our future programs. And then we will open it up to your questions. Stay with us, folks. We'll be right back. You're listening to at the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green. At the Core podcasts are available@afr.net now back to at the Corps on American Family Radio.

Rick Green: Patriot Academy trains young people to be leaders in whatever area

Welcome back to At the Core I'm, Rick Green, America's Constitution coach. Thanks for staying with us today. Once again, we're in Colorado for the Leadership Congress. Patriot Academy does this all over the nation. And we've got a lot of great young people here, 16 to 25 years old, learning the legislative process, learning public speaking skills, all kinds of great things that will help them be leaders in whatever area God calls them to. We're big believers in having a biblical mindset. In every profession, there is no area that's off limits. The Bible applies to everything. Psalms 24:1 says, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. I'm just a country boy. I can tell you what it means in country boy language that means it's all his everything, every area. Business, politics, entertainment, movies, media, journalism. You name it, it's all God's. And if we don't see God's principles in a particular arena, because we're not taking them there. So we're raising up this next generation of leaders to go into every single area of the culture and take over. So, yes, to all you people that get offended by that or you want to make up, you know, nasty words like dominionist or Christian nationalist or whatever, call me your worst, do your worst. All I'm going to do is be biblical, because the Lord is lord over everything in my life, and he should be lord over everything in your life as well. So to pastors out there that are afraid to speak on these issues of the day, a very simple question. What part of your life is the Lord not Lord over? Because that's the only part you shouldn't be preaching about on Sunday morning. Nothing's off limits. And that's how we're raising up these young patriots.

The Patriot Institute is offering 30-day training from July 2 to August 2

Now, before I take your questions, we got some students ready to ask questions. Tell you real quick about the Patriot Institute this summer. If you would like an opportunity to truly be sharpened, to have the opportunity to get rid of some of that weirdness. Come on, homeschoolers. Laugh. if you want an opportunity to be sharpened by a little bit of, you know, social sharpening, that your friends will be very honest with you and say, you know, that thing you're doing is really weird. Stop doing that. or, whatever it might be. If you want a chance to learn in depth about the Constitution, if you want a chance to get some really good leadership training, communication skills, an entire month of it. If you want a chance to learn how to use a firearm, even better than most police officers, our training at Patriot Academy, Constitutional Defense, is actually harder and better training than most law enforcement officers in America get. And you can get that training. So you'll get four days of firearms training. You'll get, Constitution training. You'll get three hours college credit for, going through our republic. If you can keep it. You'll get a chance to learn from Adam Curry, the podfather, the guy that literally sat down with Steve Jobs back in the 90s and invented the podcast. You'll be able to learn journalism from Laura Logan, the last living actual journalist on the planet, and, and from folks like Chris Dunham and David Barton, Tim Barton and me, and a lot of other people. Anyway, 30 days, July 2 to August 2, I'm inviting each and every one of you right here now.

American Family Radio is giving away 50 Patriot Institute scholarships

I'm about to give away $100,000. Y' all ready? Anybody want to partake in me giving away $100,000 right here in this room and on the air. Here's the deal. We have a wonderful donor that got really excited about the Patriot Institute and the opportunity for you to not just have a week with Patriot Academy, but entire month. And she said, I will give some scholarships for that. So we have 50 scholarships right now available for you to come spend an entire month at the Patriot academy campus. It's 2,000 bucks. 1997, if you want to do the infomercial. But wait, there's more. 1997, to do the whole month normally. But I have scholarships available, but you've got to apply fast. We're down to, what, three and a half weeks before July 2nd is here. And so, I don't even know if she knows that she's going to get these, inquiries. Where'd Bailey go? Did she. Is she still in here? Yes. Bailey's not here, or she gone. Okay, well, Bailey, everybody find Bailey. If you're interested in getting a scholarship, if you'd like to come spend a month with us, we are providing lodging. You get all of the training. The last week of the month, you get all your meals. So it's our national leadership Congress, you get to go through that as well. The first three weeks of the month, you got to buy your own groceries, and you'll be rooming with three other, young leaders. and y' all can, you know, pull together for that. And we have interns that have been doing that for a year, and they can tell you that they have actually survived. We haven't had anybody die yet that was having to buy their own groceries and provide, their own meals. Anyway, an entire month of July at the campus, we want to take you to the next level. It is the next level program for Patriot Academy, and we'd love for you to participate. So if you're interested in that, talk to Bailey, or if you're listening on air right now, then go to patriotacademy.com institute, patriotacademy.com institute. Fill out that very short form asking about more information. Tell them you heard about it right here on American Family Radio and you're interested in one of those scholarships.

Okay, let's open it up to questions. Who's first? Go. Stacey Jane Zurith: Thank you so much

Okay, let's open it up to questions. Who's first? Go. Hi. So my name is Stacey Jane Zurith. before I get to my question, I just wanted to say thank you so much for believing in our generation and equipping us with the tools to be able to fight against the evils that are happening in our country. Amen. Thank you so much. Yes. Now, I don't know if. Yeah, like I said, when I do this, I feel God's pleasure. So it is literally. It's not a chick fil a answer. I literally mean my pleasure. No, I actually should say God's pleasure. anyway, so those of you at home listening, you probably couldn't hear that, but she was just thanking Patriot Academy and our team for providing these tools for them.

Could you share or describe a particularly challenging period or dark season in your life

So now your question. So, could you share or describe a particularly challenging period or dark season in your life where you felt overwhelmed and just wanted to quit and how that affected you and your family? So her question is, once she wants me to share my deepest, darkest secrets and the hardest times in my life, I'm going to cry on air. Where is Theo Vaughn when I need him? so, no, she literally asked, like, what was one of the hardest times during these 30 years of doing this and not only launching Patriot Academy, but just being involved on the front lines? And it's actually an easy answer. There was a time when I was in the legislature towards the end of my legislative career. I was in a very tough district. I was the number one target in Texas for, the Democrats, they wanted to take me out and they spent a ton of money and got a prosecutor to basically do the lawfare that Trump has faced and, and, other great warriors have faced. unfortunately, I was one of the ones they cut their teeth on. And it was a dark time. I mean, you walked around feeling like there was a black cloud around you because I didn't know when they were going to cuff me and do the perp walk in front of my kids. And potentially I was going to end up in jail for a period of time. And it was all just a political persecution, and designed to defeat me in the election, which they did barely by 200 votes out of 45,000. It was a close race, but thank God I lost because it actually was God's way of preparing me for the things that we're doing now. But it was a dark time and it was very, very tough. And I'd had to get up and at these campaign events, put a smile on my face knowing that this entire medical industrial complex and the entire, left wing judicial, leviathan in Texas was coming after me and, trying to destroy me and destroy my family and destroy my family's name and dragging my family's name through the mud. And there was a lot of times that I asked, why in the world am I Doing this. Is this worth it? Is what I'm doing worth it? And we had a dinner in the middle of all that. We had our regular annual, fundraising dinner for my campaign. And I had passed this bill in Texas that is called Celebrate Freedom Week, and it requires students to study the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution every year. And so there was a military group, an officer, non commissioned officers group that, had given me an award for doing that. And they came to my dinner to present it to me. And so all these military veterans got up and they described why they were thankful for the bill and, and gave me the word. And it just hit me. I'm sitting there, listen. I was listening to him and it hit me. I am such a wuss. I am such a crybaby. What a snowflake I'm being. They're prosecuting me. They're calling me every name in the book, but nobody's shooting at me. I don't have bullets flying past me. I'm not having to, you know, be in a trench and go without sleep for weeks at a time like these guys that fight in these wars do. And, I'm not having to, you know, literally be in a firefight every day to defend our country. And I thought, these guys have been willing to lay down their life for our nation. They've been willing not just to give of their time and their money and their reputation. They've been willing to die so that I could be free. So in that moment, I think God just gave me peace and just took all that pressure. And after that, I literally, at that point, I adopted James and counted all joy when you experienced these trials. Because I realized I see what God's doing and I see why we're doing this. And, so anyway, that was that. I didn't mean to go that far into the weeds on the story, but it was, it was tough. And so when all this stuff happened to Trump and, and later they went after. They got done with me, they went after Tom delay. They took out the House Majority Leader. He was probably the most pro life, conservative, powerful politician in the country. He was the House Majority Leader in Congress and was getting all kinds of great stuff done for us. And they got him. They took him out with all these bogus investigations and charges and junk. And so they figured out that their lawfare could take out our people. Because we have struggled with fighting back on that level because we love biblical justice where everybody's treated the same. Not social justice, where you're treated based on the Color of your skin or your political affiliation or your religious affiliation. Biblical justice says, neither Jew nor Greek, neither rich nor poor. Everybody's treated the same accord. And so we love that. You know, I grew up on the Superman comics. Truth, justice, and the American way. And so we would, we would never think to actually go after our political opponents and prosecute them for something that we're not prosecuting any. Everybody that's doing that thing for if it's actually illegal. But the other side mastered this, and they almost took Trump out using it, right? They. The things that they did to him and the way that they went after him. I don't know that there's another man alive on the planet that could have withstood all that. That, that he withstood. Not only the assassination attempts and the, lawfare and just the derision and everything, they just, they picked the wrong guy. And he, was willing to fight back, and he had the money to fight back. That was probably what made it the darkest for me when it happened to me is I didn't have the money to fight back. So we were literally. It felt like we were powerless and people were running from us instead of running to us. you know, our prayer team and our close knit group in our district, they absolutely stood by us. But most of the politicians and everybody else was, oh, if there's smoke, there must be fire. And they fell for kind of the same thing last night. We were talking about the J6 defendants. Most people weren't willing to platform them and have them on their shows and, and come to their defense because they're like, oh, if there's smoke, there must be fire. What if they were one of the ones that broke glass or what did whatever? that's how we felt back then. And it was hard to find people to stand with you. I can guarantee you this. If you ever have the opportunity to do this, the people that did stand with us, I'll never forget it. And I will go down on a sinking ship with them anytime they need me. Never miss the opportunity to stand with your friends and family when they're going through the toughest time in their, in their lives. You won't, you won't regret it.

You almost finished Independence Hall, what's next on campus

All right, next question. Hello, Mr. Green, my name is Joel Fan. I was wondering, you've got such a great campus down there in Texas. very good cult base. I mean, institution. And now that you got. It's almost done, you almost finished Independence hall, what's next? After you finish Independence hall, what's the next Big thing that's going to happen on campus. So the question is, what's the next big thing on campus? Actually, Independence hall is the next big thing. So we haven't built it yet. We're just breaking ground on it next month. Our goal is crazy, and, only the Lord can make this happen. Our goal is to build it in one year so that next July 4th, we're cutting the ribbon on Independence hall. And you guys can all walk through Independence hall and sign the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall. So that actually is the next big project. We did just finish our legislative hall. That's the one that we finished our chambers finished. We actually do the mock legislative session. What y' all are going to experience tomorrow at the state capitol here in Colorado. We're able to do that every week at the, at the Texas, campus for Patriot Academy. And ours looks like the Texas House Chamber. Right. We actually had these awesome Amish carpenters come in and replicate the Texas dais that's at the, at the Texas House floor. So anyway, the next big one is Independence Hall. And the cool thing is it's just in time for the 250th. So we're literally going to celebrate the 250th birthday of the nation, 250th birthday of the Declaration, by studying the Declaration of Independence and rebuilding, in the place where the Declaration was done. Good question. All right, let's see if we can get another one in before I got to go to break.

Sometimes you have to go against colleagues to get a bill passed

Go ahead. Okay, so the question is, how do you balance this, this experience where part of its debate, and you're trying to get your bill passed and you're, you know, having to basically go against people that you're at the same time trying to build relationships with, and, and, you want to be genuine and not be pretentious or fake. And frankly, part of the reason we designed the leadership Congress the way that we did is this is how the real legislature works, too. If you were a real state rep and a real legislature, you would be facing that exact same challenge. You're trying to build relationships with your colleagues, and you're. And you're trying to have good enough relationships that you can work with them on bills. and also, just because you're wanting lasting relationships with these other leaders, at the same time, you may have to really go after them on a bill. You may have to defeat what is their, you know, most passionate project, even if they're of the same party or maybe from your same region or whatever. If they're doing something that's violating the lift principles, and you're trying to kill that bill. Well, you got to go against them on that one. I found it was actually kind of. I didn't expect it. When I went to the legislature, I thought, okay, every day, you know, we're going to line up over here, and the other side's going to line up over there. We're going to duke it out every day, and the best bill is going to win. I actually found as a Republican, that some of my most intense battles, I was locking shields and teaming up with a Democrat to get that bill passed. example of that was when I. When I passed the bill to stop cities from suing gun manufacturers, blaming them for crimes. This was happening all over the country before any of y' all were born. And, Andrew Cuomo was the head of Bill Clinton's, Housing and Urban Development, and he was suing gun manufacturers, saying, because you're making all these guns and flooding the streets with all these guns. That's why people are dying. And so then all these cities started jumping on those lawsuits and blaming the gun manufacturer for crime. Now, if you think about it, that's like blaming the spoon manufacturer, because, you know, I gained 15 pounds every Thanksgiving. it's not the spoon manufacturer's fault. It's my lack of discipline. Right. The gun is nothing but an inanimate object. It's a plastic or metal object that can be used for good or evil. We've got a book coming out on the biblical right of armed self defense. We almost called it Gun Violence Saves Lives. Because if the dirt bag comes through that door right there and starts shooting up the room, you will want me to put some gun violence on them. You will want the perpetrator to be stopped. And the only way you're going to stop them is with violence. You stop violence with violence is the only way that it gets done. so anyway, that bill, I, was really surprised. It was a Democrat from. From, inner city Houston. So I got a black Democrat standing there with me. That's against, you know, against me on virtually every other issue. But when it came to school choice and guns, he and I were on the same page. And so he stood with me through three hours of debate on the House floor, and he would take on the Democrats sometimes, and it was actually kind of fun. He had this, this one Democrat that was probably the best debater in the Texas House at the time. His name was Sylvester Turner. Just passed away just a couple of weeks ago, it went on to be mayor of. Of, Houston. And. And Sylvester Turner. If you're debating Sylvester Turner, if he starts rhyming, you're in trouble. If he starts singing, you're done. I mean, there's just. He's just too good. It's over. And he got up at the back mic, and we were having this little back and forth, and I could tell it was, you know, it was going to be tough. And. And so, Ron Wilson gets up there. he was my buddy from. From Houston, and he starts debating Sylvester. And I mean, it was just like. It was. It was like a dramatic, show. I mean, these guys were just going at each other, both of them Democrats from Houston. Anyway, it was so fun. But all of that to say, you have to build relationships with the very people that you may be debating against or going against. And that's why last night's discussion is so important. Civil discourse or civil war? You have to get to where you can have these discussions and respect the other person enough, even if they're against you on everything, that you respect them enough that you can have that discussion and you can entertain their arguments and then be able to counter their arguments. I'm not saying you don't stand up for what you believe, but you got to build a relationship at the same time, because you never know when that very person you're going at it on this particular topic is going to be the very person standing with you and side by side with you on a totally different issue. And so the balance is. It is hard to find. I know you can absolutely do it. And the secret is respecting other people, just having a healthy respect for other people, not thinking too highly of yourself and. And. And being willing to humble yourself and. And, And. And build those relationships, whoever it might be. And here at Patriot Academy, you got to be thinking about it the whole time. The most important question you could be asking yourself is, especially if the person you're debating is of the opposite sex, I might marry this person. This might be my future spouse. I need to be careful how I debate them. Okay, that's kind of, I'm not. I'm not kidding. 43 weddings. I need. I need 50. So maybe we get serious. Seven weddings out of this particular Patriot Academy group. What are y' all laughing at? You need to be looking at it around the room going, yeah, maybe that one. Conservatives need to get married sooner, younger, have more children. We need to win elections. The only way we're going to win elections is to have more voters. So go make lots of patriot babies. That's what I'm saying. All right, we got to take another break. We'll be right back, folks.

Preborn helps women decide between life and death of an unborn child

You're listening to at the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green. We're live from the Colorado Christian University campus. Headed over to the Colorado Capitol tomorrow for the Leadership Congress. Stay with us. You're listening to at the Core. According to a recent study of hundreds of post abortive women, 60% reported that they would have preferred to give birth if they just received more support from others or had more financial security. That's where preborn steps in. PreBorn is there for women in their darkest hour, deciding between the life and death of their precious child. The reality is women are being pressured to make this fatal decision. They're being told that their babies are just a clump of cells. Preborn welcomes women with God's love and introduces them to the beautiful life growing inside of them. That doubles their baby's chance at life. When you support preborn, you're not only supporting women, you empower them. Your donation of $28 will help a woman to make a choice that she won't have to regret for the rest of her life. It'll give her the ultimate blessing. Life. Your love can save a life. Just dial £250 and say the word baby. That's £250, baby. Or visit preborn.com that's Preborn at the Corps. Podcasts are available at afr.net now back to at the Corps on American Family Radio.

Rick Green: I believe there were five proposals during our break

Welcome back to At the Core with Walker Wildmon and Rick Green. I'm Rick Green America's Constitution coach. Thanks for staying with us. We're at the Colorado Christian University campus, headed over to the state capitol in Colorado. Tomorrow we're doing the leadership congress there. And while on break, I believe there were five proposals. No, I didn't see any guys on their knees with a ring asking. No, not one. Not one gentleman moment. I gave you the perfect opportunity. Let's go. Seize the day. Carpe diem.

You should figure out what your spouse is so you can communicate better

all right, anyway, next question. Titus, go ahead, buddy. Yeah, no, I am hyper visual. I. I have a really hard time going into kinesthetic. I have to make myself, do that. my wife is really more digital than you would think. She's. She's very logical. She's actually more logical than I am. I'm the one that cries in movies, not her. so I'm the. I am kinesthetic when it comes to entertainment and that kind of stuff. So I'm emotional. but my wife's actually very digital. So you, and believe me, you want to figure out what your spouse is so you can communicate better with your spouse and with your kids, everybody. It's such an important tool. For those of you listening on the air right now, you need to go through our power of purposeful communication. You can do that@patriotacademy.com Good question.

Elijah: I think President Trump recognizes a spiritual battle in Washington

Alright, next one. Okay, good question. So Elijah was asking me, we'd mentioned a little bit last night about how it used to be. Well, even now in some areas of Washington D.C. you can just feel the demonic there. There's just a dark spirit over the place. And and, and it has changed dramatically because of the flood of faith based people that have moved to Washington in the last six months to serve in the administration to be part of the White House. So at the White House specifically, even as, as one of our guests last night, I started to say her name, but I don't know who's listening today and might get her in trouble. But one of our guests last night that works at the White House was saying, you know, at the White House she can tell that that spirit has lifted. And it's very different. But in other places and in in Washington D.C. it's still very dark. And so the question is do, do those politicians know that and, and are there many of them that recognize the spiritual? I would say no, not most of them don't. I think they're beginning to. I think honestly for, for President Trump, even after Butler and the assassination attempt and literally being shot, a lot of people say he was shot at. Don't forget he was actually shot. Okay. but for him, there's no doubt that he now recognizes that battle. I think it's part of why he talks about it more and it's part of why he's elevated the faith office to such a high level where they have access to him consistently. They're literally right outside his door. Nearly, there, I mean there's now a faith office personnel at the highest levels in every single department. One of our Patriot Academy grads is the one coordinating all of that now. And I think Trump has allowed for that and elevated that because he recognizes a spiritual battle. When I was there yesterday or day before yesterday, one of the pictures hanging on the wall was a lot of that faith team praying for the President. Many of y' all have probably seen those pictures on, on Flashpoint or some of the other events that we've had. And, it was just really cool to hear them tell me some of the ones that were in that room praying with President Trump, talking about how when he sees them and he's around them, he acknowledges the importance of the pastors and the churches and, and I don't know much about his personal faith. You know, I mean, look, and we can all judge, right, based on some of the fruit. but I would argue most of the bad fruit in Trump's life was before he was president, not during his presidency, which is very different. But, anyway, so I think there are some. And even over at Congress, same thing, there's a pretty good core group in Congress that are strong faith based believers that realize they're in a spiritual war and are part of the prayer teams. And last night when I was mentioning Barry Loudermook's book and then they prayed, he, wrote it 10 years ago, and he's doing a re Release for the 250th, and he was talking about the various prayer groups on Capitol Hill. They're vital. And when you go back to the founding era, you know, listen, you may, you may be here and not believe in the spiritual realm, and maybe you don't believe in that scripture that talks about, we're not battling with flesh and blood, but, with principalities of darkness. but if you think back to the founding era, there were hundreds of times, not just one or two times, hundreds of times when either Washington or others prayed for certain things to happen. And then it happened. God intervened in the Revolutionary War over and over and over again. That's the only reason we were able to defeat a military that was way more powerful than us. I mean, we didn't have a chance against the British, and yet we end up winning the war. And you go through history, even guys like General Patton, I mean, Patton was a guy who would literally stop at these churches while they're going through Europe and they're fighting the Nazis. He would stop at these churches, and he would go into the church and he would argue with Jesus and he would talk about, well, I need to do this, I do that. Well, Lord, if you would have just done this or if you would have brought it back. And, and, and there was one time at the Battle of the Bulge when they needed certain, weather to happen at the right time and all this. And for several days it didn't happen. He goes in there and he's like, lord, did you switch sides? What's going on why, you know, why would you help that? what did he call. He called Hitler a paper, hanger. Because he, you know, something about. He was. Used to do wallpaper before he was crazy man. Anyway, and then. And then he comes back in. When God lifted the. Had the, clouds leave at just the right time where we were able to. To, deal with that whole situation, he goes back to that same church, and he stands there in the church, he says, all right, Lord, I'm sorry you had a plan all along. I was wrong. I'm just telling you, there are instances like that virtually at every step of the American story. There is a. Literally a weave a golden thread throughout the American story of providential history that made it happen. And we used to teach that. We just don't teach it anymore. and I wish we would, then we would have more politicians that understand that spiritual realm. And I will say this about the word politicians. We are not. We don't have you here to raise up politicians. Politicians are only thinking about the next election. You're here to be a patriot, and patriots think about the next generation. So if you do end up in elected office, if you will not buy into what the consultants and everybody tell you, you got to do this to get reelected, you got to do that to get reelected. No, do the job that the people sent you there to do, do what's right, and then let the chips fall where they may. And I guarantee you that even if you don't win the next election, you will be happier. You will have done what God called you to do, and you won't get caught up in the swamp and become a swamp creature. But most likely, if you're willing to stand firm and not play the game and not do those things that supposedly are what you need to do to get reelected, you'll actually get reelected because the American people will respect the fact that you've been willing to stand, for what you believe. That's why people like Thomas Massie and Chip Roy and Rand Paul and, yes, Donald Trump, are beloved and, and why they are able to do great things and get some really good stuff done because they. They stand their ground.

Several times in the legislature, I think I got it wrong on a vote

All right, next question. Go ahead. Yes, yes, absolutely. I told you last night, you know, if I'm wrong, I want to know. Right? And I admitted last night there was a time in the 80s when I was wrong. One time. Just one time. That was it. No, there was actually several times in the legislature that, that I think I got it wrong on my vote. So I'll give you, I'll give you one example. I was, we had this bill that was, that was going to allow for red light cameras in Texas. So that's where you have a camera at the red light. And if you run the red light, it takes a picture of your license and they mail you the ticket. and so when the bill first came up on the floor, I voted no and it died by one vote. So it was a one vote difference. It died by one vote and I voted, I think the right way, voted no. Well then, the author, who was a friend of mine is working on me hard, man. He's like, we're going to bring it up for reconsideration tomorrow. I'm showing you all these studies. I promise you it's going save lives and yada and all this stuff. And I'm still like, no, I'm too libertarian, right? I'm like, there's no way I'm going to be for that. And da, da, da. And the next morning as I'm driving to the Capitol, I run a red light because I'm late. Imagine that. and I run this red light and as I'm going through the red light, I think to myself, if there was a camera, I would not have run this red light. And so when I get there, I vote with him and it switches and we win by one vote on the wrong side and we pass red light cameras in Texas. And to this day I regret that vote and I wish I could go back and reverse that and have not been part of creating what I think is, an open door to the totalitarian state. So I'm embarrassed to even admit to you that I did that. But it was actually just stupidity on my own part thinking, well, I would have done better if there had been, you know, Anyway, so I, that's one example. There's a couple other ones, you know, that I could definitely tell you about. But there's, there's times where, and I'll tell you this, as a legislator, you have five, six, seven thousand bills that you deal with in, just a few months. And so there's no way to be an expert on all of them. And so a lot of times you vote the wrong way just based on misinformation and you just didn't get all the data that you needed. It's one reason I'm not anti lobbyist. I think the lobby plays an important role. You need them there to help educate you on that issue. Even your own staff. Like I had a budget, As a legislator, that allowed me to have two or three staff members, but it's still not enough to review all those bills and be experts on everything. What you have to learn as a legislator is who can you trust and who are the good lobbyists and the people that are there representing whatever interest they might be representing a particular part of industry. Maybe they're a family values, lobbyist. Maybe they're, you know, whatever their issue is, you'll. You'll figure out pretty quick which ones are going to be honest with you and, And. And not lie to you and not, you know, set you up and just try to get their bill passed, at any cost. And that's, you know, you got to find people that don't believe the end justifies the means that they are willing to do what's right, regardless of what it costs. So enough of my embarrassing moments. Thanks a lot, man.

There are a lot of colleges that have sold out now

All right, one more question. Go ahead. Oh, man, I'm getting put on the spot on the air. let's see. For those, colleges out there that would like me to say something nice about you send the check to. No, I'm kidding. we don't have any sponsorships like that. I won't be able to name them all off the top of my head. But I'll tell you, just because Christian is in the name of, don't assume that that's a good college. All right? There's a lot of schools in America now that have sold out. They're totally woke. They're anti biblical. there's some of them that will even on their tours say, well, the C in our name can be a big C or a little C. It's really whatever you want it to be, really. so anyway, you got to be really, really careful. CCU is obviously a really strong school, so this is a biblical worldview. Solid school. Armstrong and the others just did such a good job at making the foundation here. Really, really good. I'm a big fan of Liberty University. My oldest son got his economics degree there at 17 years old. my nephew got his degree there. A lot of. A lot of folks are going there and getting a good education. Patrick Henry is a fantastic college. Highly recommend Patrick Henry. In fact, Abigail goes to Patrick Henry. She can tell you more about Patrick Henry. let's see. Bryan College in East Tennessee is a good one. Hillsdale is good. Let's see. I'm forgetting. I know I'm regent is great. Okay. Thank you. Charis Bible College. Absolutely. Andrew Wommack School is fantastic. And they've got multiple campuses now, and they're growing like crazy. and you get to go to, you know, beautiful Colorado for those of you that are here. Colorado. I'm forgetting. But anyway, that's, you know, honestly, we need to publish one. We, need to publish a list. I did find there was a group just the other day when I was in D.C. at Heritage that, is doing Now, I can't remember the name of it, but they're doing a report on colleges specifically for this purpose so that you know which ones are staying true. And I'll tell you, it's hard for colleges to stay solid. It's hard to find faculty that are going to be biblically solid. And so they face a lot of challenges. And often, I'm not kidding you, it literally can depend on the president of the college. One person leading that college can take it the right direction or take it the wrong direction. And I've watched that with. Especially with some of the smaller schools. it's no different than the country or a state. Leadership absolutely matters. So, anyway, great, great question. All right. Anymore? Is that it on the. Oh, no, we got one. Go for it.

What about doing a Patriot Academy in California

All right, so the question is, first of all, thank you for coming to Pahrump and Front, sight when we were doing that, years ago. Now you can come to Fredericksburg, Texas, and we have much better ranges, much nicer place, and the best instructors from across the nation. So, thank you for coming and being a part of that. Then the question was, what about doing maybe a Patriot Academy in California? And she mentioned that she's learned more here at Pager Academy than any government class. and would we do one in California? So, first of all, I'm all about, doing mission work behind enemy lines. And so. I'm kidding. California's not enemy lines. But sometimes it feels like that when I go out there. I'm sorry, Julia. I know Julia's back there rolling her eyes at me, saying, don't be picking on my California. Oh, there's parts of California, honestly, are more conservative than Texas. I remember leaving Texas in the middle of the COVID insanity, and Greg Abbott had shut down the state. Was a terrible governor during COVID He's doing much better now. Thank you, Greg Abbott, for passing school choice. but. But. But he was terrible during COVID And I fly from Texas, supposed to be the beacon of freedom for the world, to Sacramento, California, Drive an hour north to Yuba City to speak at a church. I've been at 15 years in a row. Love those folks at Calvary and, Pastor Ceosiola. And if you're listening, thank you. and I get to their church, and, I mean, nobody's wearing a mask, everybody's hugging, everybody's singing. you know, we're having a great time. It's a packed house. And go to dinner with the pastor. And I say, pastor Seosiola, how in the world did I leave Texas and come to California and have more freedom than I did in Texas? And he said, well, our sheriff and our mayor and everybody got together and, when this whole thing started, they had a press conference and said, gavin Newsom can pound sand. We're not doing any of that nonsense that they're trying to get us to do. And so local leaders that had good constitutional values were able to protect that part of California. And it's true, throughout the agriculture area of California, there's very concerned. There's probably more conservatives in California than any other state, unfortunately, like you just said, la, San Francisco, now even San Diego used to be conservative. Now it's gone left wing. The big cities are the problem. And frankly, it's always been that way. The founding fathers warned about the big cities. They said God made the country, man made the cities. They said the cities are actually like abscesses on the human body where all the impurities go. I mean, that's essentially what happens. It ends up being the place. It's a depravity of man. And you study the depravity of man, you put more men together, you get more depravity. Anyway, California's got a lot of problems because of. Of that, but I haven't given up on California. I don't know if we'll do a Patriot Academy at the Capitol there. they would probably run us out, but. But we do one in Delaware and it's as. As, liberal as. As California. So we'll see. Maybe right now, Arizona is the closest one that we do to California. but we'll see what happens. Maybe the Lord will open the right doors there.

JD Vance: Will President Trump's administration help with Article 5 convention

All right, time for one more before we gotta go off the air. Yeah, so the question was about convention of states. Now, you did the Emerging Leader program this year. Okay? Great program. We highly recommend it. All of you in here, you should find out more about it if you want to do. Because you can do this one remotely. So our program at the campus, the Patriot Institute, you actually live at the campus for that year, but you can do the Emerging Leaders program with our friends at Convention Estates, for nine months and do it from wherever you live. And I've had some of my kids have gone through it and then some of my kids ran it, and, it's just a wonderful program. The question was, 19 states have passed or called for a convention. Can we get to the 34? Will President Trump's administration be helped? I think the answer to all of that is yes, yes, yes. Partly because there's so many key players in the Trump administration that are with us on actually using the Constitution to save the Constitution, which is what Article 5 convention is all about. Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance I mean, you go down the list. Most of the people that he's appointed have already announced there with us on this. Trump's never taken a position on it, but I think it absolutely makes sense. And the reason I think he will start pushing for it is when he finally realizes, which he may already realize, and he just hasn't announced it yet. This is the solution to the rogue judges that are trying to stop his agenda. This is the solution to abolishing the Department of Education and a lot of these other agencies and departments that were never authorized in the first place. And it's the only way to make it permanent. And even if he accomplishes a lot of those things, things, it's all temporary, right? If you, if we lose the election four years from now and you get another Joe Biden type, then, then it's going to go. The pendulum is going to swing the other way. So I do believe that his, his administration is going to be a big, big help on that. We'll take more questions, but we got to go off the air. Everybody listening right now. Be sure and go to patriotacademy.com and if you want to take advantage of that scholarship offer for students 16 to 25 to spend 30 days with us on the, on the campus at Patriot Academy, July 2nd 2nd to August 2nd, go to patriotacademy.com institute and fill out that form. And you need to do it fast because those 50 scholarships, they may be gone just right here in this room in Colorado. Hey, Patriot Academy, thank you for being on the air with me today. God bless you. The month of June has been hijacked by the anti Christian culture to show their pride in something God calls an abomination. When you support afr, you help us continue to stand for godly values and provide the resources for you to stay in the know about the enemy's tactics, to say thank you for your gift this month, we'll give you the booklet inside the LGBTQ push of the 1990s. To help strengthen your convictions, just go to afr.net offers afr.net offers the views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio. M.