Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. As always, we thank you for listening to American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: Yesterday, we had an unusual panel here. We had four of us who had never been together. Today, two of our team members have come back. I didn't know if everybody had quit on me or what. Fred Jackson came back. Good morning, Fred.
Fred Jackson: Yes, good to be back with you, Tim.
Tim Wildmon: And Chris Woodbridge is in the studio.
Chris Woodbridge: Hello.
Tim Wildmon: We're in Tupelo, Mississippi, and in Florida, down around Tampa, is our good friend Ray Pritchard. Ray, you didn't quit. You came back.
Ray Pritchard: Yeah, I came back. I'm always going to come back if I can. The comeback kid, right?
Tim Wildmon: That's right. Most folks know, if they listen to this show, that Keep Believing Ministries is your ministry. You travel the country and even internationally teaching.
Ray Pritchard: Right, teaching the Bible.
Tim Wildmon: Where have you been recently?
Ray Pritchard: Recently, I was in Michigan and then I was up in Chicago. But now, Tim, after what feels like about four years on the road, after traveling and traveling, I'm finally back home, basically home for most of the rest of 2026. Travel is only glamorous when you're not doing it. I'm so tired of wandering through airports and hearing, "We've been delayed," over and over again.
Tim Wildmon: Well, wonderful. All right. Well, listen, folks, thanks for joining us on Today's Issues here on American Family Radio. A lot to talk about. First of all, Ray, give us a good word from the Bible.
Ray Pritchard: The other day, I was working on a devotional that I was going to give to the Keep Believing board last Saturday. It came from a truly obscure little phrase in Acts chapter 20, verse 6, where Dr. Luke is talking about Paul's third missionary journey. They had been in Philippi, and they were leaving. He just throws in this little four-word phrase: "And we sailed away."
Tim Wildmon: That sounds like just a little note: We were here, and then we went there.
Ray Pritchard: But in the greater view of the book of Acts, Paul has just come from an unbelievable turn of events in Ephesus, where he saw a great work for God. Then the silversmiths got upset because they were losing business, and there was a riot. There were thousands of people in that great amphitheater in Ephesus. It was a shocking turn of events.
He had already been told by the Lord that he was heading for trouble. He didn't know where, and he didn't know when. Acts tells us it would happen when he got down to Jerusalem and the Jews told more lies about him. He ended up arrested, went to prison there in Caesarea for two years, and then went on the boat to Rome. That's the rest of the story. He's going from trouble to trouble.
Acts 20, verse 6, just says, "And we sailed away." As I was studying and thinking about that, I came across this little phrase, and friends, I want you to think about this: Faith doesn't need an itinerary.
Tim Wildmon: Oh, wow. What a thought it is. You know, Fred, when I'm planning my week, I want an itinerary. I want to know where I'm going, when I'm going to be there, who I'm going to see, and what meetings I've got. These last few months, flying in and out and across the country, you have all this stuff planned. Faith doesn't need an itinerary.
Ray Pritchard: Friends, there are times when, to do the will of God, you've got to get on the boat, sail away, and leave everything else in the hands of God. I'm reminded of what Hebrews 11:8 says: "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out" and receive a land that he would later receive from the Lord, "went out, not knowing where he was going."
I think it was Oswald Chambers who said, "The life of faith is a call to sealed orders and a great adventure." So, if you don't know what you're going to do tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, it's okay. If you've got a plan, that's fine too. The call of God is simply this: Anchors away, friends. Let's get on board the ship. Sail away, because the captain is at the helm. He's at the wheel, and he'll make sure that in the end, we end up exactly where God always wanted us to be.
All aboard, friends. Get on board the ship. Let's sail away and leave everything else in the hands of God.
Tim Wildmon: That's great. Let's go. I'm ready.
Fred Jackson: Amen, brother.
Tim Wildmon: That fired me up, Ray.
Ray Pritchard: Absolutely.
Tim Wildmon: We're called to be faithful to what the Lord's called us to do, right, Fred?
Fred Jackson: Well, we serve a wonderful God. Many times, we are guilty as Christians of trying to put God in a box, thinking that He thinks the way we do and has limitations like we humans have. But God has a plan. Before we were born, God had a plan for each of us, and He is going to work things together to make sure that plan is carried out.
We just have faith. Like Ray was saying, sometimes we may scratch our heads and ask, "Lord, what's going on here? I didn't see this coming. Where is this going to take me?" But God knows. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.
Tim Wildmon: Amen. Amen, brothers. Let's forge ahead. All right, where were those Bible verses?
Ray Pritchard: Acts 20, verse 6, and Hebrews 11, verse 8.
Tim Wildmon: Okay. All right. Chris, what is the first thing we need to talk about?
Chris Woodbridge: First of all, I just want to say, we have faith in God, but our faith in man is pretty shaky right now.
Tim Wildmon: We have a lot to go over, and I'm going to get into that one.
Chris Woodbridge: It's all good. We did it, Chris.
Tim Wildmon: What's that?
Chris Woodbridge: It's all good.
Tim Wildmon: Yes.
Chris Woodbridge: It's going to be a bad sailing day for people here in the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic today. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina are all expected to see persistent downpours through tomorrow, which could cause life-threatening flash floods.
Tim Wildmon: I've said this before on the show, and I'll say it again: If you're listening to us, please keep checking your local broadcasters when there's bad weather in your area. We will be here to cover those things as they develop, but those people are much closer to you than we are.
I was reading this story about something called a nor'easter. We've all heard the term. It's a storm that forms in the Atlantic and batters the northeastern, or really the eastern, part of the United States.
Chris Woodbridge: They called it a surprise nor'easter. In other words, it just sort of popped up unexpectedly. It's bringing a lot of heavy rain, winds, and storms to the Mid-Atlantic.
Tim Wildmon: That's what you're talking about, right?
Chris Woodbridge: Yes. The Southeast and Midwest are also affected. Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina were mentioned. Tennessee being affected by a nor'easter is kind of a surprise to me as well.
Tim Wildmon: This is, I guess, the first official day of fall, so there are literally changes in the air. I'm looking at the radar, and it's off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina right now.
Ray Pritchard: When we were growing up in Canada, when we used the term nor'easter, we were talking about a really bad snowstorm.
Tim Wildmon: This one has a bucketful of rain for those states Chris has been talking about.
Chris Woodbridge: As we speak, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is addressing the United Nations. Some networks are not covering it, and others are. AFN is there and covering it for you. He has talked about a number of things, and he spent a lot of time just before the show discussing Iran. Here is President Trump talking about Iran and the claims that we have run out of weapons in our mission against Iran and its nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump: The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we're building them at levels that we have never done before.
We are adding to our stockpiles faster than we have ever been able to do before, top-of-the-line stuff. In addition, in the very near future, massive munitions plants will be opening. There are 18 of them being built by the greatest defense companies in the world right now, 18 under construction. Some of them will be completed very quickly. They're almost there.
That rapid construction will lead to very rapid deployment of missiles of every type and ammunition of every type, and we'll be able to supply our allies at a much faster rate than we're doing right now.
Chris Woodbridge: So far, it has been polite Trump. By that, I mean he's been reading from the teleprompter. It's not like a rally, although he does tend to go off the teleprompter sometimes when he addresses the U.N.
Tim Wildmon: Ray, right there he's talking about weapons. Usually, a speech to the United Nations is about peace. I know you have to have peace through strength, but that was just one part of his talk to the United Nations. There have been rumors about the U.S. military running low on munitions, but he says no.
Ray Pritchard: I don't have any reason to doubt the veracity of his claims. I'm sure that's right. Did we use a lot of bombs? I'm sure we did. War is that way. Did we run low at one point? We did. Who knows? But we have a pretty strong defense economy here in the United States.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if what he said is exactly right, that we are producing ammunition at levels never before seen. That's an interesting thing to say at the United Nations. Usually, leaders come and say, "I'm here for world peace. Can't we all get along?" Trump goes to the other extreme and says, "We are building mountains of ammunition. We're going to have more than we've ever had before," which I guess is a way of saying, "Don't test us on this. Don't mess with us."
Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this, Chris. Do you have the quote where Trump talks about Iran directly?
Chris Woodbridge: I can find it. Let me dig it up for you.
Tim Wildmon: Well, I don't have it handy in front of me.
Chris Woodbridge: Okay.
Tim Wildmon: We'll just play cards while you dig it up.
Chris Woodbridge: Okay.
Tim Wildmon: If you don't find it, I'm just going to quote him. This is what he said today at the United Nations. He said, "Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people in countries again?"
Those are sobering words. He used the word "annihilate the Islamic Republic." Then he went on to say, "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn't make sense for them not to."
Trump continued, "They're waiting, that is Iran, to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. That is correct."
Ray Pritchard: I heard him say that.
Tim Wildmon: What you're saying is that those are his actual words, word for word. He said he won in a landslide and would be here for two and a half years. The Republican Party is running, and he'll be helping them, but he's not running. He said, "I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn't even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."
Fred, what about annihilating them and driving them into hell? Do you think these are helpful words?
Fred Jackson: The last part that you just quoted, I heard him say this, and I thought, as he talked about not running and being here for another two and a half years, that he was addressing concerns, even with some factions of the Republican Party.
We've talked about Trump's approval rating right now. Across the board, whether it's a Fox poll or somewhere else, it's in the low numbers. We're talking about maybe 30 percent. Some are at 26 percent approval. It's extremely low.
I think there are Republicans who wish that we could wrap things up very quickly in Iran because they're hearing from their constituents. I think the president was saying this morning in the speech at the U.N., "I'm not on the ballot," even though he's been telling people to pretend he's on the ballot when they vote.
There are some Republicans who may be getting through to him and saying, "I'm not on the ballot. What we need to be voting on here is us versus the socialist Democrats. Let's deal with that. Let's not talk about Iran."
But Trump spent a good deal of time on Iran this morning, as well as talking about his economic record. He also dealt a lot with his victories in bringing peace to various parts of the world. He bragged about his big deal with Greenland, security, and the Danish people. He thinks the Danish people are wonderful.
Toward the end of his speech, he went a bit negative. It was interesting that the U.N. secretary-general opened this day of speeches by saying we need more interdependence. Trump went 180 degrees against that.
Tim Wildmon: Oh, yes.
Fred Jackson: He said that as long as he is president, there are not going to be any global deals. He referred to global deals, such as a global carbon tax. The United States would never adhere to a global carbon tax.
He also attacked one of his favorite targets, the International Criminal Court.
Tim Wildmon: He said the United States would not allow that to happen because the ICC is going after Netanyahu, who is going to speak at this event.
Chris Woodbridge: It's going to be interesting.
Tim Wildmon: The ICC has also been threatening to go after U.S. soldiers in certain cases.
Chris Woodbridge: That's got Stephen Miller written all over it.
Tim Wildmon: He's one of my favorite advisers for President Trump.
Ray Pritchard: Trump has always been strong on resisting international control and rules, having our hands tied by international agreements.
Tim Wildmon: Anyway, we'll see what happens there. Let me ask you guys one other thing about Iran, and then we'll move on, because we've talked about this for months. I wonder if President Trump mentioned this: What is the objective here? What is the point where we say, "Okay, we're pulling out, we're stopping the attack, and we're coming home. We'll come back if we need to, but this is mission accomplished," so to speak? Do you have any idea what that might be?
Ray Pritchard: I know that President Trump said today that Iran must never get a nuclear weapon.
Tim Wildmon: That's not an answer to my question, because they may make a nuclear weapon in five years or ten years, or they may never make one. I don't think we're going to sit over there and wait for them never to get a nuclear weapon. When is "never"? Do you understand what I'm saying?
Ray Pritchard: Yes.
Tim Wildmon: Let me ask the question this way. He mentions the midterms, coming up in just a few weeks. The president seems to be saying, "It doesn't matter. I'm not on the ballot anyway, so let's do a deal now."
On one hand, he speaks about annihilation and sending them to hell. That's apocalyptic language, right? Either come make a deal, or I'm going to send you to hell.
Here's my question, somewhat tangential to what you said. When you speak that way, if he actually decided to hit the button and annihilate them and send them to hell, would that not require the use of nuclear weapons?
Ray Pritchard: No, not necessarily. Let me tell you what President Trump is grappling with, and I'm no military expert. This is an extremely serious decision that he keeps talking about, but he has not made it yet. He's not talking about nuking them. He's talking about bombing Iran into oblivion with conventional weaponry.
When he talks about sending them into hell or annihilating them, he's talking about bombing their water plants and their infrastructure, taking out their electrical capabilities to supply electricity to their cities and their people. We're talking about a massive humanitarian crisis that could be one of the top ten stories of the century. Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but it would be enormous.
Tim Wildmon: Would the American people stand for that? We know the world would turn against us if that happens, right?
Ray Pritchard: To me, that's where he is. We've already bombed everything militarily that we can.
Tim Wildmon: Right, I agree with that.
Ray Pritchard: The reason we're not bombing anymore is because there are no more military targets. The only thing left would be to do what I just described, which would send the Iranian people into a humanitarian crisis. The death toll would be staggering. It would be hundreds of thousands, I guess.
The Iranian people are already in a difficult situation. I'm talking about the average person there in Iran, not the regime. Many disagree with the regime, but they can't do anything because they don't have guns. They're seeing their fellow citizens, when they oppose the regime, taken into the streets and beaten to death. It's a state of terror that the Iranian people themselves are under.
I'm just saying that if President Trump were to start doing what he's talking about, annihilating them and sending them to hell, that's what he's talking about.
Tim Wildmon: I did post that on our page, by the way. We go back to the goal of this effort, which was to ensure that they don't have a nuclear weapon.
Ray Pritchard: What if you can't do that? What if that's an unaccomplishable objective in the moment?
Tim Wildmon: I'm going to tell you what I think happened. I honestly believe Trump underestimated what the Iranians could do in response. We bombed areas believed to be where they were producing a nuclear weapon, but I think there was an underestimation of how the Iranians were going to respond using oil.
Ray Pritchard: That's the one that's hurting the American people: oil and gas prices. Now he's moving on to the next chapter. He's got to stop them from disrupting our oil supply.
Tim Wildmon: Listen, the objective is correct. It is to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. President Trump is right on that. If that's the objective, and he stated that's what it is, that is something that needed to be done.
Evidently, if you believe the Trump administration and the Israeli government, Iran was on the brink, whatever that means, of having an actual nuclear weapon within weeks.
Tim Wildmon: We'll be back momentarily with more of Today's Issues. There's so much more to talk about, and maybe some good news coming up too. Stay with us.
Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR on this Tuesday, September 22, 2026. I don't think I told everybody what day it was when we started the show. That's my job. I have one job: to start the show and tell everybody what day it is, and I think I failed to do that.
Fred Jackson: It's Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Tim Wildmon: It's hard to believe we're already here. It's the first official day of fall.
Fred Jackson: I walked outside, and it didn't feel like fall.
Chris Woodbridge: Not here. We're still in the crucible.
Tim Wildmon: We've been very hot here in North Mississippi, where we are, in the high 90s every day for two or three weeks. Our friends to the west of us have been under what they call a heat dome.
Ray Pritchard: You don't want to be under a heat dome in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and places like that.
Tim Wildmon: Somebody told me that a friend from Dallas hadn't had rain in about 50 days.
Chris Woodbridge: I can believe it.
Tim Wildmon: I just heard this morning that they may have gotten some rain, but it's been almost two months. We haven't had rain here for about three weeks. I don't normally feel sorry for inanimate objects, but I shed a tear for my yard yesterday. It's turning yellow and brown. You try to water it, but it's futile if it doesn't rain. You can put your little sprinkler on it, but it's not going to make that much difference.
Fred Jackson: We've had triple-digit temperatures.
Tim Wildmon: You mean as far as the heat index goes?
Fred Jackson: Yes, the heat index. It hurts when you walk outside.
Ray Pritchard: As a man from Canada, I can understand why you're doubled over on this one.
Tim Wildmon: You go outside when it's 107 degrees, and you don't want to.
Ray Pritchard: I'm going to be optimistic.
Tim Wildmon: Okay, be optimistic.
Ray Pritchard: They say that by this weekend, where we live, we're going to have overnight lows in the 60s and daytime temperatures around 80 or 81 degrees.
Tim Wildmon: Eighty-one sounds really good right now.
Fred Jackson: It really does.
Tim Wildmon: I said I wasn't going to complain about hot weather, but I'm getting there because I can't stand cold weather. If you want to hear some complaining, join us in January.
Ray Pritchard: There's a reason people move to Florida.
Tim Wildmon: That's right, for the winter anyway. You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio, not the Weather Channel, although the older people are, the more they start talking about the weather.
Ray Pritchard: It's funny how the older you get, the more you start looking at the ten-day forecast. You look at it three times a day to see if it has changed.
Tim Wildmon: We've already talked about the potential end of the world with Iran, and we'll see what happens there. But on the good-news front, here at AFA and American Family Radio, we are doing everything we can to train people in what is called a biblical worldview.
The Bible has a lot to say about all aspects of our lives and gives us principles to live by. He promises that obedience to God makes our lives better and is pleasing to the Lord. One of the things we're doing is providing a curriculum to communicate a biblical worldview to children. Joining us to tell us what we're doing and how people can access it is Kendra White, project director of AFA.
Kendra, how long have you been project director?
Kendra White: I've been at AFA a lot longer than I've had that title. I've been here about 15 or 16 years.
Tim Wildmon: I'll go with project director.
Kendra White: That works for me.
Tim Wildmon: Tell us about Activate Kids. We're going to be using the word "activate" for the next couple of minutes here.
Chris Woodbridge: Activate is a verb, right? I remember that from my English days.
Tim Wildmon: Activate Kids is our biblical worldview training curriculum that we developed.
Kendra White: Your listeners have already heard about the Activate adult worldview training curriculum. It's been available for about two years. That started because we kept getting calls from listeners saying, "I agree with everything you guys are saying on the radio. I believe it. But how do I do it? How do I actually bring these things into my community or my home? How do we take an active step?"
That's where the word "activate" came from. We realized that there are a lot of Christians who believe the Bible, but they're like sleeper cells. They're not sure how to engage with culture on these issues. We want to wake them up to actually go and do something.
The adult curriculum has five different units and covers the things we talk about here on American Family Radio: our core values, marriage and family, the sanctity of human life, religious liberty, and other areas where the attack is strongest.
Tim Wildmon: You mean the attack of the enemy, not the attack of obesity.
Kendra White: Right. We found that just because your kids are sweet, cute, and innocent doesn't mean the enemy is going to wait until they grow up to sow seeds of confusion and try to devastate their lives.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where the parenting strategy used to be, "We're just going to keep them away from bad programs on television and try to protect their innocence." Parents absolutely should do that. But we live in such a secularized world that children encounter things on the way to the grocery store, the minute they step out the front door.
Your kids are going to have questions about things they see that are different from the biblical worldview you're training them in. We wanted to create a curriculum to help parents talk to their kids about the hardest things, where the attack is strongest.
We have produced a children's worldview training curriculum that corresponds to the adult curriculum. You can do it independently with your kids, or you can do the adult curriculum alongside the kids. Right now, we have the first unit available. It's called "Bible 101."
We start with questions such as: Can you trust the Bible? How did we get the Bible? What is the Bible?
Tim Wildmon: This is for children around six to twelve years old, correct?
Kendra White: Yes. George Barna says that by age 13, a person's worldview is shaped. Apart from a miracle of God where He literally turns their hearts, they have already made decisions about how they view the world by age 13.
If you're waiting for your youth group to start building a biblical worldview and addressing some of these topics, it's probably too late.
Tim Wildmon: That's sad.
Kendra White: It is. You may be thinking, "You're tackling some pretty ambitious topics. How does this work?" We understand that kids need it to be fun, engaging, and relevant.
It starts with a short video. You can stream these videos, or they are available on DVD. When you sign up through the Activate website, you get access to the videos.
The website is activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Let's give that again slowly.
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Parents and grandparents should type that in. We put a lot of time and energy into this. This is excellent material. We're not just talking about simple Bible stories for small children. We're talking about six- to twelve-year-olds who can comprehend concepts that need to be communicated to them. What is the website again?
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: This comes with a video and a workbook?
Kendra White: It's bigger than just watching a video. It involves parents or leaders engaging with their kids. It comes with a parent-leader workbook that has powerful discussions to go along with the video they watched. It also has activities.
If you're learning about how God's Word was preserved on papyrus paper, you're going to make papyrus paper and practice, like the scribes, writing your memory verse on papyrus paper. There are snacks that go along with the lessons. We wanted to touch on all five senses.
You'll be tasting mashed potatoes with salt and without salt to see which one is better, while talking about how God designed us to be the light and the salt in our hurting, broken world.
Tim Wildmon: Give us some of the topics that you cover.
Kendra White: This first unit is all about the Bible. We talk about why you can trust the Bible, how it was formed, and how it came together.
Tim Wildmon: Kids are told from a very early age that these are just stories. Sometimes, even in Sunday school, we use the term "story." We might even start with "Once upon a time" when talking about Noah. There's nothing wrong with that, but it can make them think these are fairy tales or fables.
Kendra White: We want to talk about how the authors of the Bible suffered and even died so that the words could be written and placed in our hands. We talk about Christian persecution and the process the Bible went through before it reached us. We talk about the inspiration of Scripture.
Many kids think the Bible just fell from heaven, like a giant eagle from "The Lord of the Rings" dropped it on their parents' doorstep. When they find out that humans were involved, and humans are flawed, it can be a little scary. They may hear someone say there are mistakes in the Bible.
I know this seems ambitious for six- to twelve-year-olds, but we talk about the manuscripts and how some people say the Gospels contradict each other.
Tim Wildmon: You haven't dumbed this down to a two-year-old level?
Kendra White: No. This is for six- to twelve-year-olds. It's foundational material that your child needs if they are going to encounter a world of skeptics.
Tim Wildmon: Give us the website again.
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net. Activate Kids is all one word: activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Go there and read all about it. It's available to order now for Christmas for your family. You can use it as a family devotional, and it's also available for Sunday school classes.
The evidence that supports the authenticity of the Bible is the first unit. How many units will there be?
Kendra White: There will be five. Marriage and family is the one we're going to tackle next, probably releasing around June, around Pride Month. We're going to give a strong biblical foundation for marriage: one woman and one man. God made gender. That's our next topic. From there, we'll go on to life, religious liberty, and the other topics.
Tim Wildmon: Check that out, folks: activatekids.afa.net.
Chris Woodbridge: I can't tell you how excited I am that you're tackling the sanctity of human life. I've been here about the same time as Kendra, and I help cover abortion and efforts by the pro-life movement to reduce abortion. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people who say we need to do things as the church beyond January, which is Sanctity of Human Life Month.
The fact that somebody came up with this idea to reach children at that young age, when they need to be reached, was a great idea.
Tim Wildmon: Whoever came up with that deserves some credit.
Chris Woodbridge: I think that was my idea.
Tim Wildmon: It was. You deserve the credit.
Chris Woodbridge: I'm not looking for credit. I just thought we needed to do more about life beyond January.
Tim Wildmon: Thank you, Kendra.
Kendra White: Thank you all.
Tim Wildmon: Kendra White joining us here. This is what we do, folks. Our mission statement says, "Inform, equip, and activate." We try to engage the Christian community and show people how to make a difference and how to be salt and light, as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5.
You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. Ray, any thoughts on what we're trying to do here?
Ray Pritchard: Nothing is more basic than what we do to equip, train, and prepare. I love the word "activate" for the next generation.
The other side has already figured this out. They are coming after our kids, and at my age, I'll say they're coming after my grandkids. Satan has his workers throughout the culture, and they are coming after our kids.
As the saying goes, if you do not disciple your own kids, the world will be happy to do it for you, but you will not be happy with the results. This Activate Kids program is highly recommended. Every family with kids or grandkids needs to get hold of this and take part in it.
Tim Wildmon: The thirteen-year-old marker Kendra mentioned is significant. George Barna said that by age 13, an individual has already pretty much developed a worldview.
Fred Jackson: You stop and think about what Kendra was saying. For people who are older than 70, including myself now, when we were growing up, what we saw on television basically backed up the values of our parents. What we were taught at school basically backed up the values of our Christian parents.
The church, the school, the family, the culture, and general society all supported the same moral value system, for the most part. In the last 50 years, that has changed dramatically.
Now, kids are exposed to so much. It's not just television. It's social media, because many kids have phones. These phones are very useful, but Satan has been using them too.
Tim Wildmon: Good and bad.
Fred Jackson: Yes, good and bad. Depending on where they go to school, that influence is there. Their friends influence them as well.
Ray Pritchard: George Barna says kids' brains are like sponges. Starting at six, they're absorbing all these values from other value systems. That's why this curriculum is so important. It's countering those influences with eternal biblical truths.
This gives parents the tools. Many times, parents say, "How do I counter this? What do I have to do?" These materials that AFA is making available will help guide parents, including mothers, fathers, and grandparents, as they help six- to thirteen-year-olds get a good grounding. When those kids get out there, they are going to be challenged by children who come from a completely secular background.
Tim Wildmon: You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. One thing we're waiting for today at the United Nations is whether we will hear from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. President Donald Trump has spoken to the U.N., but are we going to hear from Netanyahu this afternoon?
Chris Woodbridge: Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.
Tim Wildmon: Thursday, okay. Do you know when he's flying into the United States?
Chris Woodbridge: That is not in the article I'm looking at.
Tim Wildmon: We only have four or five minutes, so we may have to carry this over. We have talked about this some before, but there is a spiritual dynamic going on in the world right now that you're not going to find on Fox News or CNN. This is my observation, and I don't know exactly how it fits in with Bible prophecy or even if it does.
What we're seeing is a gathering of the world against the state of Israel and the Jewish people. Ray, has this always been the case? Israel has always had its enemies, and the Jewish people have seemingly always been under attack since they were dispersed around the world.
Ray Pritchard: After A.D. 70, when the Romans toppled the temple in Jerusalem, the Jews were dispersed around the world. That was 2,000 years ago. The fact that the Jewish people still exist today as a people after being dispersed around the world is remarkable.
Tim Wildmon: It seems like the whole world is against Israel right now, except for the United States. Maybe Great Britain, although it's vacillating. I'm not sure about Canada.
Go ahead and comment on that. We might have to pick this back up after the break, but that's my observation. There is some kind of spiritual dynamic going on here.
Ray Pritchard: Let me recommend that our listeners check out three different places in the Bible and read them on your own: Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Zechariah 14.
Tim Wildmon: I'm going to write this down. Psalm 83.
Ray Pritchard: Psalm 83 describes a confederation of nations rising up against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39 contain a great deal of debate about exactly when these events take place, but clearly there is a confederation of nations, including, I believe, Russia and Iran, moving against Israel to try to destroy the nation of Israel.
Then read Zechariah chapter 14. Clearly, in the last days, Zechariah 14 includes the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom. Just at that moment in the last days, the city of Jerusalem is going to be surrounded by its enemies.
I'm saying that the Bible predicted all this thousands of years ago. What is alarming to me is not just the hatred for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. What really bothers me is the speed at which it is increasing.
It's not just in Muslim nations, where we're not surprised by it, and not just in Europe, where it has been increasing. Now, here in the United States, similar things have happened. People have turned against the Jewish people.
Read those chapters because they portray a picture of the Jewish people being opposed by nations and forces that, if they could, would wipe them off the face of the earth. Yes, I think the Bible predicts a time like what you're seeing right now.
Tim Wildmon: I want to come back and talk about this some more. Even as we speak, Erdogan, who is the Turkish president, is addressing the United Nations and calling on countries to put pressure on Israel. That's going on at the United Nations as we talk here.
We'll be back momentarily with more of Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network.
Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. As always, we thank you for listening to American Family Radio.
Tim Wildmon: Yesterday, we had an unusual panel here. We had four of us who had never been together. Today, two of our team members have come back. I didn't know if everybody had quit on me or what. Fred Jackson came back. Good morning, Fred.
Fred Jackson: Yes, good to be back with you, Tim.
Tim Wildmon: And Chris Woodbridge is in the studio.
Chris Woodbridge: Hello.
Tim Wildmon: We're in Tupelo, Mississippi, and in Florida, down around Tampa, is our good friend Ray Pritchard. Ray, you didn't quit. You came back.
Ray Pritchard: Yeah, I came back. I'm always going to come back if I can. The comeback kid, right?
Tim Wildmon: That's right. Most folks know, if they listen to this show, that Keep Believing Ministries is your ministry. You travel the country and even internationally teaching.
Ray Pritchard: Right, teaching the Bible.
Tim Wildmon: Where have you been recently?
Ray Pritchard: Recently, I was in Michigan and then I was up in Chicago. But now, Tim, after what feels like about four years on the road, after traveling and traveling, I'm finally back home, basically home for most of the rest of 2026. Travel is only glamorous when you're not doing it. I'm so tired of wandering through airports and hearing, "We've been delayed," over and over again.
Tim Wildmon: Well, wonderful. All right. Well, listen, folks, thanks for joining us on Today's Issues here on American Family Radio. A lot to talk about. First of all, Ray, give us a good word from the Bible.
Ray Pritchard: The other day, I was working on a devotional that I was going to give to the Keep Believing board last Saturday. It came from a truly obscure little phrase in Acts chapter 20, verse 6, where Dr. Luke is talking about Paul's third missionary journey. They had been in Philippi, and they were leaving. He just throws in this little four-word phrase: "And we sailed away."
Tim Wildmon: That sounds like just a little note: We were here, and then we went there.
Ray Pritchard: But in the greater view of the book of Acts, Paul has just come from an unbelievable turn of events in Ephesus, where he saw a great work for God. Then the silversmiths got upset because they were losing business, and there was a riot. There were thousands of people in that great amphitheater in Ephesus. It was a shocking turn of events.
He had already been told by the Lord that he was heading for trouble. He didn't know where, and he didn't know when. Acts tells us it would happen when he got down to Jerusalem and the Jews told more lies about him. He ended up arrested, went to prison there in Caesarea for two years, and then went on the boat to Rome. That's the rest of the story. He's going from trouble to trouble.
Acts 20, verse 6, just says, "And we sailed away." As I was studying and thinking about that, I came across this little phrase, and friends, I want you to think about this: Faith doesn't need an itinerary.
Tim Wildmon: Oh, wow. What a thought it is. You know, Fred, when I'm planning my week, I want an itinerary. I want to know where I'm going, when I'm going to be there, who I'm going to see, and what meetings I've got. These last few months, flying in and out and across the country, you have all this stuff planned. Faith doesn't need an itinerary.
Ray Pritchard: Friends, there are times when, to do the will of God, you've got to get on the boat, sail away, and leave everything else in the hands of God. I'm reminded of what Hebrews 11:8 says: "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out" and receive a land that he would later receive from the Lord, "went out, not knowing where he was going."
I think it was Oswald Chambers who said, "The life of faith is a call to sealed orders and a great adventure." So, if you don't know what you're going to do tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, it's okay. If you've got a plan, that's fine too. The call of God is simply this: Anchors away, friends. Let's get on board the ship. Sail away, because the captain is at the helm. He's at the wheel, and he'll make sure that in the end, we end up exactly where God always wanted us to be.
All aboard, friends. Get on board the ship. Let's sail away and leave everything else in the hands of God.
Tim Wildmon: That's great. Let's go. I'm ready.
Fred Jackson: Amen, brother.
Tim Wildmon: That fired me up, Ray.
Ray Pritchard: Absolutely.
Tim Wildmon: We're called to be faithful to what the Lord's called us to do, right, Fred?
Fred Jackson: Well, we serve a wonderful God. Many times, we are guilty as Christians of trying to put God in a box, thinking that He thinks the way we do and has limitations like we humans have. But God has a plan. Before we were born, God had a plan for each of us, and He is going to work things together to make sure that plan is carried out.
We just have faith. Like Ray was saying, sometimes we may scratch our heads and ask, "Lord, what's going on here? I didn't see this coming. Where is this going to take me?" But God knows. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.
Tim Wildmon: Amen. Amen, brothers. Let's forge ahead. All right, where were those Bible verses?
Ray Pritchard: Acts 20, verse 6, and Hebrews 11, verse 8.
Tim Wildmon: Okay. All right. Chris, what is the first thing we need to talk about?
Chris Woodbridge: First of all, I just want to say, we have faith in God, but our faith in man is pretty shaky right now.
Tim Wildmon: We have a lot to go over, and I'm going to get into that one.
Chris Woodbridge: It's all good. We did it, Chris.
Tim Wildmon: What's that?
Chris Woodbridge: It's all good.
Tim Wildmon: Yes.
Chris Woodbridge: It's going to be a bad sailing day for people here in the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic today. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina are all expected to see persistent downpours through tomorrow, which could cause life-threatening flash floods.
Tim Wildmon: I've said this before on the show, and I'll say it again: If you're listening to us, please keep checking your local broadcasters when there's bad weather in your area. We will be here to cover those things as they develop, but those people are much closer to you than we are.
I was reading this story about something called a nor'easter. We've all heard the term. It's a storm that forms in the Atlantic and batters the northeastern, or really the eastern, part of the United States.
Chris Woodbridge: They called it a surprise nor'easter. In other words, it just sort of popped up unexpectedly. It's bringing a lot of heavy rain, winds, and storms to the Mid-Atlantic.
Tim Wildmon: That's what you're talking about, right?
Chris Woodbridge: Yes. The Southeast and Midwest are also affected. Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina were mentioned. Tennessee being affected by a nor'easter is kind of a surprise to me as well.
Tim Wildmon: This is, I guess, the first official day of fall, so there are literally changes in the air. I'm looking at the radar, and it's off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina right now.
Ray Pritchard: When we were growing up in Canada, when we used the term nor'easter, we were talking about a really bad snowstorm.
Tim Wildmon: This one has a bucketful of rain for those states Chris has been talking about.
Chris Woodbridge: As we speak, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is addressing the United Nations. Some networks are not covering it, and others are. AFN is there and covering it for you. He has talked about a number of things, and he spent a lot of time just before the show discussing Iran. Here is President Trump talking about Iran and the claims that we have run out of weapons in our mission against Iran and its nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump: The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we're building them at levels that we have never done before.
We are adding to our stockpiles faster than we have ever been able to do before, top-of-the-line stuff. In addition, in the very near future, massive munitions plants will be opening. There are 18 of them being built by the greatest defense companies in the world right now, 18 under construction. Some of them will be completed very quickly. They're almost there.
That rapid construction will lead to very rapid deployment of missiles of every type and ammunition of every type, and we'll be able to supply our allies at a much faster rate than we're doing right now.
Chris Woodbridge: So far, it has been polite Trump. By that, I mean he's been reading from the teleprompter. It's not like a rally, although he does tend to go off the teleprompter sometimes when he addresses the U.N.
Tim Wildmon: Ray, right there he's talking about weapons. Usually, a speech to the United Nations is about peace. I know you have to have peace through strength, but that was just one part of his talk to the United Nations. There have been rumors about the U.S. military running low on munitions, but he says no.
Ray Pritchard: I don't have any reason to doubt the veracity of his claims. I'm sure that's right. Did we use a lot of bombs? I'm sure we did. War is that way. Did we run low at one point? We did. Who knows? But we have a pretty strong defense economy here in the United States.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if what he said is exactly right, that we are producing ammunition at levels never before seen. That's an interesting thing to say at the United Nations. Usually, leaders come and say, "I'm here for world peace. Can't we all get along?" Trump goes to the other extreme and says, "We are building mountains of ammunition. We're going to have more than we've ever had before," which I guess is a way of saying, "Don't test us on this. Don't mess with us."
Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this, Chris. Do you have the quote where Trump talks about Iran directly?
Chris Woodbridge: I can find it. Let me dig it up for you.
Tim Wildmon: Well, I don't have it handy in front of me.
Chris Woodbridge: Okay.
Tim Wildmon: We'll just play cards while you dig it up.
Chris Woodbridge: Okay.
Tim Wildmon: If you don't find it, I'm just going to quote him. This is what he said today at the United Nations. He said, "Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people in countries again?"
Those are sobering words. He used the word "annihilate the Islamic Republic." Then he went on to say, "Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn't make sense for them not to."
Trump continued, "They're waiting, that is Iran, to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. That is correct."
Ray Pritchard: I heard him say that.
Tim Wildmon: What you're saying is that those are his actual words, word for word. He said he won in a landslide and would be here for two and a half years. The Republican Party is running, and he'll be helping them, but he's not running. He said, "I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn't even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."
Fred, what about annihilating them and driving them into hell? Do you think these are helpful words?
Fred Jackson: The last part that you just quoted, I heard him say this, and I thought, as he talked about not running and being here for another two and a half years, that he was addressing concerns, even with some factions of the Republican Party.
We've talked about Trump's approval rating right now. Across the board, whether it's a Fox poll or somewhere else, it's in the low numbers. We're talking about maybe 30 percent. Some are at 26 percent approval. It's extremely low.
I think there are Republicans who wish that we could wrap things up very quickly in Iran because they're hearing from their constituents. I think the president was saying this morning in the speech at the U.N., "I'm not on the ballot," even though he's been telling people to pretend he's on the ballot when they vote.
There are some Republicans who may be getting through to him and saying, "I'm not on the ballot. What we need to be voting on here is us versus the socialist Democrats. Let's deal with that. Let's not talk about Iran."
But Trump spent a good deal of time on Iran this morning, as well as talking about his economic record. He also dealt a lot with his victories in bringing peace to various parts of the world. He bragged about his big deal with Greenland, security, and the Danish people. He thinks the Danish people are wonderful.
Toward the end of his speech, he went a bit negative. It was interesting that the U.N. secretary-general opened this day of speeches by saying we need more interdependence. Trump went 180 degrees against that.
Tim Wildmon: Oh, yes.
Fred Jackson: He said that as long as he is president, there are not going to be any global deals. He referred to global deals, such as a global carbon tax. The United States would never adhere to a global carbon tax.
He also attacked one of his favorite targets, the International Criminal Court.
Tim Wildmon: He said the United States would not allow that to happen because the ICC is going after Netanyahu, who is going to speak at this event.
Chris Woodbridge: It's going to be interesting.
Tim Wildmon: The ICC has also been threatening to go after U.S. soldiers in certain cases.
Chris Woodbridge: That's got Stephen Miller written all over it.
Tim Wildmon: He's one of my favorite advisers for President Trump.
Ray Pritchard: Trump has always been strong on resisting international control and rules, having our hands tied by international agreements.
Tim Wildmon: Anyway, we'll see what happens there. Let me ask you guys one other thing about Iran, and then we'll move on, because we've talked about this for months. I wonder if President Trump mentioned this: What is the objective here? What is the point where we say, "Okay, we're pulling out, we're stopping the attack, and we're coming home. We'll come back if we need to, but this is mission accomplished," so to speak? Do you have any idea what that might be?
Ray Pritchard: I know that President Trump said today that Iran must never get a nuclear weapon.
Tim Wildmon: That's not an answer to my question, because they may make a nuclear weapon in five years or ten years, or they may never make one. I don't think we're going to sit over there and wait for them never to get a nuclear weapon. When is "never"? Do you understand what I'm saying?
Ray Pritchard: Yes.
Tim Wildmon: Let me ask the question this way. He mentions the midterms, coming up in just a few weeks. The president seems to be saying, "It doesn't matter. I'm not on the ballot anyway, so let's do a deal now."
On one hand, he speaks about annihilation and sending them to hell. That's apocalyptic language, right? Either come make a deal, or I'm going to send you to hell.
Here's my question, somewhat tangential to what you said. When you speak that way, if he actually decided to hit the button and annihilate them and send them to hell, would that not require the use of nuclear weapons?
Ray Pritchard: No, not necessarily. Let me tell you what President Trump is grappling with, and I'm no military expert. This is an extremely serious decision that he keeps talking about, but he has not made it yet. He's not talking about nuking them. He's talking about bombing Iran into oblivion with conventional weaponry.
When he talks about sending them into hell or annihilating them, he's talking about bombing their water plants and their infrastructure, taking out their electrical capabilities to supply electricity to their cities and their people. We're talking about a massive humanitarian crisis that could be one of the top ten stories of the century. Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but it would be enormous.
Tim Wildmon: Would the American people stand for that? We know the world would turn against us if that happens, right?
Ray Pritchard: To me, that's where he is. We've already bombed everything militarily that we can.
Tim Wildmon: Right, I agree with that.
Ray Pritchard: The reason we're not bombing anymore is because there are no more military targets. The only thing left would be to do what I just described, which would send the Iranian people into a humanitarian crisis. The death toll would be staggering. It would be hundreds of thousands, I guess.
The Iranian people are already in a difficult situation. I'm talking about the average person there in Iran, not the regime. Many disagree with the regime, but they can't do anything because they don't have guns. They're seeing their fellow citizens, when they oppose the regime, taken into the streets and beaten to death. It's a state of terror that the Iranian people themselves are under.
I'm just saying that if President Trump were to start doing what he's talking about, annihilating them and sending them to hell, that's what he's talking about.
Tim Wildmon: I did post that on our page, by the way. We go back to the goal of this effort, which was to ensure that they don't have a nuclear weapon.
Ray Pritchard: What if you can't do that? What if that's an unaccomplishable objective in the moment?
Tim Wildmon: I'm going to tell you what I think happened. I honestly believe Trump underestimated what the Iranians could do in response. We bombed areas believed to be where they were producing a nuclear weapon, but I think there was an underestimation of how the Iranians were going to respond using oil.
Ray Pritchard: That's the one that's hurting the American people: oil and gas prices. Now he's moving on to the next chapter. He's got to stop them from disrupting our oil supply.
Tim Wildmon: Listen, the objective is correct. It is to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. President Trump is right on that. If that's the objective, and he stated that's what it is, that is something that needed to be done.
Evidently, if you believe the Trump administration and the Israeli government, Iran was on the brink, whatever that means, of having an actual nuclear weapon within weeks.
Tim Wildmon: We'll be back momentarily with more of Today's Issues. There's so much more to talk about, and maybe some good news coming up too. Stay with us.
Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR on this Tuesday, September 22, 2026. I don't think I told everybody what day it was when we started the show. That's my job. I have one job: to start the show and tell everybody what day it is, and I think I failed to do that.
Fred Jackson: It's Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
Tim Wildmon: It's hard to believe we're already here. It's the first official day of fall.
Fred Jackson: I walked outside, and it didn't feel like fall.
Chris Woodbridge: Not here. We're still in the crucible.
Tim Wildmon: We've been very hot here in North Mississippi, where we are, in the high 90s every day for two or three weeks. Our friends to the west of us have been under what they call a heat dome.
Ray Pritchard: You don't want to be under a heat dome in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and places like that.
Tim Wildmon: Somebody told me that a friend from Dallas hadn't had rain in about 50 days.
Chris Woodbridge: I can believe it.
Tim Wildmon: I just heard this morning that they may have gotten some rain, but it's been almost two months. We haven't had rain here for about three weeks. I don't normally feel sorry for inanimate objects, but I shed a tear for my yard yesterday. It's turning yellow and brown. You try to water it, but it's futile if it doesn't rain. You can put your little sprinkler on it, but it's not going to make that much difference.
Fred Jackson: We've had triple-digit temperatures.
Tim Wildmon: You mean as far as the heat index goes?
Fred Jackson: Yes, the heat index. It hurts when you walk outside.
Ray Pritchard: As a man from Canada, I can understand why you're doubled over on this one.
Tim Wildmon: You go outside when it's 107 degrees, and you don't want to.
Ray Pritchard: I'm going to be optimistic.
Tim Wildmon: Okay, be optimistic.
Ray Pritchard: They say that by this weekend, where we live, we're going to have overnight lows in the 60s and daytime temperatures around 80 or 81 degrees.
Tim Wildmon: Eighty-one sounds really good right now.
Fred Jackson: It really does.
Tim Wildmon: I said I wasn't going to complain about hot weather, but I'm getting there because I can't stand cold weather. If you want to hear some complaining, join us in January.
Ray Pritchard: There's a reason people move to Florida.
Tim Wildmon: That's right, for the winter anyway. You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio, not the Weather Channel, although the older people are, the more they start talking about the weather.
Ray Pritchard: It's funny how the older you get, the more you start looking at the ten-day forecast. You look at it three times a day to see if it has changed.
Tim Wildmon: We've already talked about the potential end of the world with Iran, and we'll see what happens there. But on the good-news front, here at AFA and American Family Radio, we are doing everything we can to train people in what is called a biblical worldview.
The Bible has a lot to say about all aspects of our lives and gives us principles to live by. He promises that obedience to God makes our lives better and is pleasing to the Lord. One of the things we're doing is providing a curriculum to communicate a biblical worldview to children. Joining us to tell us what we're doing and how people can access it is Kendra White, project director of AFA.
Kendra, how long have you been project director?
Kendra White: I've been at AFA a lot longer than I've had that title. I've been here about 15 or 16 years.
Tim Wildmon: I'll go with project director.
Kendra White: That works for me.
Tim Wildmon: Tell us about Activate Kids. We're going to be using the word "activate" for the next couple of minutes here.
Chris Woodbridge: Activate is a verb, right? I remember that from my English days.
Tim Wildmon: Activate Kids is our biblical worldview training curriculum that we developed.
Kendra White: Your listeners have already heard about the Activate adult worldview training curriculum. It's been available for about two years. That started because we kept getting calls from listeners saying, "I agree with everything you guys are saying on the radio. I believe it. But how do I do it? How do I actually bring these things into my community or my home? How do we take an active step?"
That's where the word "activate" came from. We realized that there are a lot of Christians who believe the Bible, but they're like sleeper cells. They're not sure how to engage with culture on these issues. We want to wake them up to actually go and do something.
The adult curriculum has five different units and covers the things we talk about here on American Family Radio: our core values, marriage and family, the sanctity of human life, religious liberty, and other areas where the attack is strongest.
Tim Wildmon: You mean the attack of the enemy, not the attack of obesity.
Kendra White: Right. We found that just because your kids are sweet, cute, and innocent doesn't mean the enemy is going to wait until they grow up to sow seeds of confusion and try to devastate their lives.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where the parenting strategy used to be, "We're just going to keep them away from bad programs on television and try to protect their innocence." Parents absolutely should do that. But we live in such a secularized world that children encounter things on the way to the grocery store, the minute they step out the front door.
Your kids are going to have questions about things they see that are different from the biblical worldview you're training them in. We wanted to create a curriculum to help parents talk to their kids about the hardest things, where the attack is strongest.
We have produced a children's worldview training curriculum that corresponds to the adult curriculum. You can do it independently with your kids, or you can do the adult curriculum alongside the kids. Right now, we have the first unit available. It's called "Bible 101."
We start with questions such as: Can you trust the Bible? How did we get the Bible? What is the Bible?
Tim Wildmon: This is for children around six to twelve years old, correct?
Kendra White: Yes. George Barna says that by age 13, a person's worldview is shaped. Apart from a miracle of God where He literally turns their hearts, they have already made decisions about how they view the world by age 13.
If you're waiting for your youth group to start building a biblical worldview and addressing some of these topics, it's probably too late.
Tim Wildmon: That's sad.
Kendra White: It is. You may be thinking, "You're tackling some pretty ambitious topics. How does this work?" We understand that kids need it to be fun, engaging, and relevant.
It starts with a short video. You can stream these videos, or they are available on DVD. When you sign up through the Activate website, you get access to the videos.
The website is activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Let's give that again slowly.
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Parents and grandparents should type that in. We put a lot of time and energy into this. This is excellent material. We're not just talking about simple Bible stories for small children. We're talking about six- to twelve-year-olds who can comprehend concepts that need to be communicated to them. What is the website again?
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: This comes with a video and a workbook?
Kendra White: It's bigger than just watching a video. It involves parents or leaders engaging with their kids. It comes with a parent-leader workbook that has powerful discussions to go along with the video they watched. It also has activities.
If you're learning about how God's Word was preserved on papyrus paper, you're going to make papyrus paper and practice, like the scribes, writing your memory verse on papyrus paper. There are snacks that go along with the lessons. We wanted to touch on all five senses.
You'll be tasting mashed potatoes with salt and without salt to see which one is better, while talking about how God designed us to be the light and the salt in our hurting, broken world.
Tim Wildmon: Give us some of the topics that you cover.
Kendra White: This first unit is all about the Bible. We talk about why you can trust the Bible, how it was formed, and how it came together.
Tim Wildmon: Kids are told from a very early age that these are just stories. Sometimes, even in Sunday school, we use the term "story." We might even start with "Once upon a time" when talking about Noah. There's nothing wrong with that, but it can make them think these are fairy tales or fables.
Kendra White: We want to talk about how the authors of the Bible suffered and even died so that the words could be written and placed in our hands. We talk about Christian persecution and the process the Bible went through before it reached us. We talk about the inspiration of Scripture.
Many kids think the Bible just fell from heaven, like a giant eagle from "The Lord of the Rings" dropped it on their parents' doorstep. When they find out that humans were involved, and humans are flawed, it can be a little scary. They may hear someone say there are mistakes in the Bible.
I know this seems ambitious for six- to twelve-year-olds, but we talk about the manuscripts and how some people say the Gospels contradict each other.
Tim Wildmon: You haven't dumbed this down to a two-year-old level?
Kendra White: No. This is for six- to twelve-year-olds. It's foundational material that your child needs if they are going to encounter a world of skeptics.
Tim Wildmon: Give us the website again.
Kendra White: Activatekids.afa.net. Activate Kids is all one word: activatekids.afa.net.
Tim Wildmon: Go there and read all about it. It's available to order now for Christmas for your family. You can use it as a family devotional, and it's also available for Sunday school classes.
The evidence that supports the authenticity of the Bible is the first unit. How many units will there be?
Kendra White: There will be five. Marriage and family is the one we're going to tackle next, probably releasing around June, around Pride Month. We're going to give a strong biblical foundation for marriage: one woman and one man. God made gender. That's our next topic. From there, we'll go on to life, religious liberty, and the other topics.
Tim Wildmon: Check that out, folks: activatekids.afa.net.
Chris Woodbridge: I can't tell you how excited I am that you're tackling the sanctity of human life. I've been here about the same time as Kendra, and I help cover abortion and efforts by the pro-life movement to reduce abortion. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people who say we need to do things as the church beyond January, which is Sanctity of Human Life Month.
The fact that somebody came up with this idea to reach children at that young age, when they need to be reached, was a great idea.
Tim Wildmon: Whoever came up with that deserves some credit.
Chris Woodbridge: I think that was my idea.
Tim Wildmon: It was. You deserve the credit.
Chris Woodbridge: I'm not looking for credit. I just thought we needed to do more about life beyond January.
Tim Wildmon: Thank you, Kendra.
Kendra White: Thank you all.
Tim Wildmon: Kendra White joining us here. This is what we do, folks. Our mission statement says, "Inform, equip, and activate." We try to engage the Christian community and show people how to make a difference and how to be salt and light, as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5.
You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. Ray, any thoughts on what we're trying to do here?
Ray Pritchard: Nothing is more basic than what we do to equip, train, and prepare. I love the word "activate" for the next generation.
The other side has already figured this out. They are coming after our kids, and at my age, I'll say they're coming after my grandkids. Satan has his workers throughout the culture, and they are coming after our kids.
As the saying goes, if you do not disciple your own kids, the world will be happy to do it for you, but you will not be happy with the results. This Activate Kids program is highly recommended. Every family with kids or grandkids needs to get hold of this and take part in it.
Tim Wildmon: The thirteen-year-old marker Kendra mentioned is significant. George Barna said that by age 13, an individual has already pretty much developed a worldview.
Fred Jackson: You stop and think about what Kendra was saying. For people who are older than 70, including myself now, when we were growing up, what we saw on television basically backed up the values of our parents. What we were taught at school basically backed up the values of our Christian parents.
The church, the school, the family, the culture, and general society all supported the same moral value system, for the most part. In the last 50 years, that has changed dramatically.
Now, kids are exposed to so much. It's not just television. It's social media, because many kids have phones. These phones are very useful, but Satan has been using them too.
Tim Wildmon: Good and bad.
Fred Jackson: Yes, good and bad. Depending on where they go to school, that influence is there. Their friends influence them as well.
Ray Pritchard: George Barna says kids' brains are like sponges. Starting at six, they're absorbing all these values from other value systems. That's why this curriculum is so important. It's countering those influences with eternal biblical truths.
This gives parents the tools. Many times, parents say, "How do I counter this? What do I have to do?" These materials that AFA is making available will help guide parents, including mothers, fathers, and grandparents, as they help six- to thirteen-year-olds get a good grounding. When those kids get out there, they are going to be challenged by children who come from a completely secular background.
Tim Wildmon: You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. One thing we're waiting for today at the United Nations is whether we will hear from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. President Donald Trump has spoken to the U.N., but are we going to hear from Netanyahu this afternoon?
Chris Woodbridge: Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.
Tim Wildmon: Thursday, okay. Do you know when he's flying into the United States?
Chris Woodbridge: That is not in the article I'm looking at.
Tim Wildmon: We only have four or five minutes, so we may have to carry this over. We have talked about this some before, but there is a spiritual dynamic going on in the world right now that you're not going to find on Fox News or CNN. This is my observation, and I don't know exactly how it fits in with Bible prophecy or even if it does.
What we're seeing is a gathering of the world against the state of Israel and the Jewish people. Ray, has this always been the case? Israel has always had its enemies, and the Jewish people have seemingly always been under attack since they were dispersed around the world.
Ray Pritchard: After A.D. 70, when the Romans toppled the temple in Jerusalem, the Jews were dispersed around the world. That was 2,000 years ago. The fact that the Jewish people still exist today as a people after being dispersed around the world is remarkable.
Tim Wildmon: It seems like the whole world is against Israel right now, except for the United States. Maybe Great Britain, although it's vacillating. I'm not sure about Canada.
Go ahead and comment on that. We might have to pick this back up after the break, but that's my observation. There is some kind of spiritual dynamic going on here.
Ray Pritchard: Let me recommend that our listeners check out three different places in the Bible and read them on your own: Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Zechariah 14.
Tim Wildmon: I'm going to write this down. Psalm 83.
Ray Pritchard: Psalm 83 describes a confederation of nations rising up against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39 contain a great deal of debate about exactly when these events take place, but clearly there is a confederation of nations, including, I believe, Russia and Iran, moving against Israel to try to destroy the nation of Israel.
Then read Zechariah chapter 14. Clearly, in the last days, Zechariah 14 includes the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom. Just at that moment in the last days, the city of Jerusalem is going to be surrounded by its enemies.
I'm saying that the Bible predicted all this thousands of years ago. What is alarming to me is not just the hatred for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. What really bothers me is the speed at which it is increasing.
It's not just in Muslim nations, where we're not surprised by it, and not just in Europe, where it has been increasing. Now, here in the United States, similar things have happened. People have turned against the Jewish people.
Read those chapters because they portray a picture of the Jewish people being opposed by nations and forces that, if they could, would wipe them off the face of the earth. Yes, I think the Bible predicts a time like what you're seeing right now.
Tim Wildmon: I want to come back and talk about this some more. Even as we speak, Erdogan, who is the Turkish president, is addressing the United Nations and calling on countries to put pressure on Israel. That's going on at the United Nations as we talk here.
We'll be back momentarily with more of Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network.
Tim Wildmon, Fred Jackson, Chris Woodbridge, and Ray Pritchard discuss President Donald Trump’s address to the United Nations, including his remarks about U.S. munitions, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, possible negotiations, and military action. The panel also examines the International Criminal Court, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the growing opposition to the Jewish state. Ray Pritchard opens the program with a devotional from Acts 20:6 and Hebrews 11:8, encouraging believers to trust God even when faith does not come with a clear itinerary. The program also considers the spiritual significance the hosts see in increasing opposition to Israel and the biblical passages they believe warrant closer study. Kendra White, project director at the American Family Association, introduces Activate Kids, a biblical worldview curriculum for children ages 6 to 12. She explains how the Bible 101 unit equips parents, grandparents, and churches to teach children about Scripture, Christian persecution, biblical inspiration, and the reliability of the Bible.
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