September 12, 2024 • 21 mins
This episode was uploaded on September 5, 2024.
In this insightful conversation, Stephen Strang interviews Bunni Pounds, the author of "Jesus and Politics." Bunni shares her mission to register and mobilize 1 million Christian voters, discussing the importance of Christian engagement in the political process. She encourages believers to be bold, courageous, and wise in their civic duties, while maintaining a spirit of love. This video provides valuable insights for Christians seeking to make a difference through informed and prayerful participation in elections.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
A very important election is coming up, but a recent report says that many believing Christians
(00:06):
won't even bother to go to the polls.
Why is this?
Well, my guest today on The Strang Report is Bunny Pounds, and she is the author of
this book called Jesus and Politics.
She is on a crusade to get a million Christians registered to vote and to the polls.
We're going to talk about the election.
We're going to talk about some of the issues.
(00:28):
You don't want to miss my interview with Bunny Pounds.
Stay tuned.
I'm Stephen Strang.
Welcome back and welcome, Bunny Pounds.
Thank you for being on my podcast to talk about this important election.
(00:49):
In fact, it is probably correct to say it's the most important election of our lifetime.
And I'm just curious, why don't we start with you telling us about your goal to engage a
million voters?
Well, it's exciting, Stephen, because people are breaking out of apathy right now.
(01:09):
There's an awakening happening in our country, and Christians are starting to realize, though
it's slow, there's a new poll that just came out that George Barnett did out of Arizona
Christian University that one third of evangelicals are not voting at all.
We have to shift that, and we're seeing that.
So we've joined, Christians Engaged has built apparatuses, built strategies to engage Christians
(01:34):
to pray, vote, and engage on a regular basis, not just for this election, but every election.
And we just recently merged with Family Policy Alliance, started by Dr. James Dobson out
of Focus on the Family.
And we're now able to mobilize Christians on the ground in 41 states, as well as in the
(01:54):
air on Christian TV, radio, everywhere where we reach Christians.
So we're excited.
Well, I'm excited to hear about that.
And I think what you're doing is so important.
But help me to understand why it is that a big chunk of the electorate doesn't vote,
because people gave their lives for our freedoms, which include the freedom to elect our leaders
(02:22):
in a democratic process.
But I just don't understand it.
Before we started, I was telling you that I registered to vote the very first day I
was old enough, and I voted in every election except one time where I forgot.
Because that's just important to me, but I've been frustrated with this.
(02:45):
I've been writing about this, talking about it, going all the way back to the Jimmy Carter
era, believe it or not.
And I saw apathy even back then.
Do you think that that is one of the reasons why we're in the mess we're in in the country
right now?
Oh, 100%, Stephen.
We have the problem where we think some things are sacred and some things are secular.
(03:09):
And it's still in our minds as Christians, and it's a lie.
Everything should be under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
And I think most American Christians would have to say, hey, we're thankful we don't
live in North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba right now.
We have religious liberty.
We have freedoms to raise our families the way we want, to teach them about Jesus, to
(03:31):
teach them about the Holy Spirit.
What an incredible freedom that we have.
So why in the world would we just not even participate when we get to elect righteous
leaders?
And what happens is when people don't show up to vote, then people that are not righteous
take and fill those vacuums.
(03:51):
That's what we've been seeing for the last 50 years.
And that has to shift.
If every Christian in this country voted regularly, Stephen, we would see a totally different
America.
Our cities would be different.
Our communities would be different.
Our state would be different.
And our nation would be different because we would elect people that have more of a
(04:13):
biblical worldview than those that others.
Part of it is, you know, Christians are afraid to make hard choices.
Some of these choices are not easy.
Everybody's not Jesus on the ballot, right?
We have to choose between imperfect people.
So we have to make hard choices.
And that's what we try to do here at Christians Engage, just help Christians through all of
(04:35):
the mess and all of the information and get them to understand what's really important.
Well, walk us through this because I, you know, we don't really know who's watching,
but I'm going to assume that those who are watching follow the averages.
So that means that a third of our viewers either aren't registered or if they are registered,
(04:55):
don't bother to go to the polls.
So let's pretend that you're in some setting in a church, maybe where they asked you to
speak.
Persuade my viewers why we should get out and vote.
And you know, in what we're saying right now, we're not even pushing one side or the other.
I mean, there's so much we could go into here in Florida.
(05:19):
There's an amendment called number four that the Florida family voice is coming on really
strong because it puts into our state constitution a very radical right for abortion.
Well, listen, every Christian who believes in life has to be against that amendment.
We're not here to talk about those kinds of things.
We're not here even to talk about is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris better.
(05:43):
We're talking about going to the polls, believing that people will know what to do and make
the right choice.
So just walk me through how you persuade people to do this.
Well, in 1 Timothy 2, it talks about prayers, intercessions, all these things being made,
made for those in government authority over us, right, that we may lead a peaceful life.
(06:06):
It is in our best interest to pray for our elected officials and to participate so that
our families are free, but also that the gospel will go to the ends of the earth.
You know, Stephen, how many people have heard the gospel because of Americans' prosperity
and the ability of American Christians to sow into the gospel presentation around the
(06:26):
world?
It's so critical.
But yes, I mean, the founders of our nation gave us the gift that we get to elect our
representatives.
We're a representative, constitutional representative, elected government.
And so we get to choose our leaders.
What an incredible thing that we get to do.
Every Christian should participate in that.
(06:47):
And every vote matters.
I've seen state representative elections, one by 40 votes.
I've seen city council races, one by five votes or two votes.
There was a guy in Washington state that lost to the election last year by one vote.
Oh, by the way, he forgot to vote for himself.
That was a crucial error.
(07:09):
So we have a real responsibility as believers to be light and salt, to really be Christ
followers in every part of our life and even in our citizenship.
So I would encourage Christians do that.
We have to choose again and make hard choices, so we need to look at party platforms.
(07:29):
Each political party had different beliefs and values that were kind of grown up and
those are put into writing by the parties.
That means the people in those parties.
You have to choose leaders that are going to vote with certain leadership.
When members of Congress go to Washington, they're going to vote with their leaders.
They can tell you they're as independent as your neighbor, but when they get there, they're
(07:53):
going to vote with Mike Johnson or Nancy Pelosi, right?
That's the reality.
So you have to choose based on what your beliefs are, what the Bible says about the issues.
So that means you have to know those issues and then you have to vote accordingly.
That's what we do here at Christians Engage is we help people with a five-step guide to
(08:13):
print off their ballot, research their ballot in every election and make those choices.
This is so important that we worked with you to produce a book and I hope that this podcast
is not specifically to push your book, although there's nothing in the world wrong with that.
People who know me know that I'm always encouraging people to read the new books that came out.
(08:38):
In fact, this week Jonathan Cahn's book called The Dragon's Prophecy released along with
a couple of other books and I just found out this afternoon, this is hot off the press,
that it's number two of all books on Amazon.com if you can believe it.
He has just a wonderful way to explain to people what the Bible is saying and he's talking
(09:04):
about how we're racing toward the end of time and how serious things are in our country.
But you know, it isn't the end of time yet.
Antichrist hasn't presented himself.
We don't have the mark of the beast, although we now have technology to have the mark of
the beast with chips being implanted under the skin.
(09:25):
I can remember as a kid hearing about Mark of the Beast and wondering how in the world
they were going to tattoo 666 on everybody's forehead.
But of course, this was long before the technology we have.
I digress a little bit, but I'm making the point that there are very many things that
are very, very, very serious.
But you know, Jesus said to occupy till he comes and the Bible says that when Jesus comes,
(09:50):
there's going to be two people working in the field, you know, just going through normal
life when suddenly it's all over.
So we have to be engaged no matter what's going to happen.
So just say a little bit about your book because your book is so well done.
I enjoyed reading it.
I learned a lot and I want people to get your book.
(10:11):
Well, thank you guys for publishing it there at Charisma House because yeah, my book's
called Jesus and Polytext, One Woman's Walk with God in a Mud Slinging Profession.
And I wanted to put in there information and education for Christians to walk with God
in government and politics.
It is a hard mission field, but it is a mission field.
(10:32):
But I also wanted to share some of my stories, walking with members of Congress for 16 years,
running for Congress myself, really just how a young mom, I was a young mom, got involved
in this whole thing and really has learned how to walk with God and love Jesus in the
process.
And kind of to break off some fear, Steve, there's fear in people.
(10:56):
I can't get involved with politics.
That's just such a mud slinging, horrible thing.
And we're afraid it's going to corrupt us.
But isn't greater is he who's in us than he that's in the world?
And doesn't that field, that government and that governmental mountain need Christians
and people of faith?
And I want to inspire the next generation to go out there and be a missionary to America,
(11:21):
walk with members of Congress, run for office, working as a city manager.
Go change your world.
And you can do that even in government.
Absolutely.
And Christians tend to be meek.
Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth.
(11:41):
And the other side is so nasty.
Not all of them, of course, but some actually call Christians haters because we don't go
along with whatever their perversion of the day is that they're trying to kind of cram
down our collective throats.
And we're not haters.
We're lovers.
We love the Lord Jesus.
(12:01):
We love God.
We love our fellow man.
But the other side, especially in the political arena, is so nasty that a lot of people recoil.
So tell us again why we should be strong.
We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be strong no matter what comes against us.
Absolutely.
(12:22):
Discipling a nation goes beyond people's hearts being changed.
That's the most important thing is that we change hearts and minds and worldviews with
the presentation of the gospel.
But it goes into how we're actually changing our children, how we're affecting our children
and grandchildren in our neighborhoods.
I think Christians can be the best presidents of their home associations.
(12:45):
What about being the president of the Rotary Club or the Chamber of Commerce?
If we're not in the room when the decisions are being made or when they're trying to decide,
are we going to have a proclamation in our city promoting gay pride or are we going to
have a proclamation in our city or create a diversity equity inclusion program?
(13:07):
Is that what we want to do?
If we're not in the room, Stephen, to be in those committees or be leaders in our community,
we can't push back on some of these ideas that are just not as good for us as Bible-believing
Christians.
So putting ourselves out there and being leaders is something that God loves for us to do.
(13:30):
We get to take the gospel and be an example to people.
We don't have to be ugly.
We can love people.
We can operate within a Sermon on the Mount being peacekeepers as we are bold and courageous
on the truth.
I believe that is the way we should be operating as Christians.
I share that extensively in my book and share crazy stories of miracles, of things that
(13:54):
God's done in my life and through my life with high-profile people in our government.
It's a blessing.
Well, the Bible tells us to be harmless as doves.
It also says to be wise as serpents.
And there's a lot of truth if you really think about that word picture.
So you're getting people involved.
(14:17):
You just told me as we were getting ready for this interview that you have practically
doubled the people who are involved in your ministry getting registered vote.
Tell me about the trends that you're seeing and what you see happening between now and
November 5th.
Well, I'm going to tell everyone this presidential election is going to be extremely close.
(14:40):
Like we've seen really since 2000.
We've got a real differences of opinion from urban to rural people to God-fearing people,
the people that are more secular progressive.
So we need to really pay attention and we need to promote voting within all of our churches
(15:04):
and all of our communities.
It's so, so critical.
I think it's really going to come down to people that are paying attention and using
their brain, I hate to say that, versus people that are just listening to the media's talking
points.
You know, when you're voting for someone for president, let me just break it down for you.
You're voting for the person that is going to put in 85,000 people, employ them in the
(15:28):
executive branch, if not more.
You're putting in the entire cabinet, you're putting in the secretary of state, the person
that's going to be over the department of education.
This is a big job.
Not only commander in chief, but also the person that's going to hire all these people.
You're also going to put in probably around 250 federal judges in the next four years
(15:52):
and at least two Supreme Court vacancies, if not three, it's going to come up in the
next four years.
That's what I'm voting for, Stephen, when I'm looking for president.
So I'm not looking at personalities, I'm not looking at the past, I'm looking at who do
I want in that seat to do those important jobs.
And then on the down ballots, you got to look at your members of Congress, your state representatives,
(16:17):
your state senators, your county government officials.
There's a lot of jobs on the ballots this November that affects all of our lives.
I mean, your sheriff and your county commissioners affect your life.
You better know who they are and if they're doing a good job or not.
So spend 30 minutes researching your ballot and go in there and change the world.
(16:38):
Well said, and I want people to be able to connect with you and your ministry.
So tell us if people want to reach you or if they want to get involved, if they want
to get their church involved.
Hopefully they will get their church involved.
And also people that this resonates with, if they would put a link to this podcast on
their social media, if they would email it to friends, we need to get this word out and
(17:02):
each of us can do our own part.
But it starts with people connecting with Budding Pounds and your ministry, Christians
Engaged.
Yeah, everyone just go to ChristiansEngaged.org and take the pledge on every page on our homepage.
It says, take the pledge to pray, vote, and engage.
You're going to get weekly prayer reminders, videos we do teaching you how to pray for
(17:25):
government.
You're going to get voting reminders, not just for this election, but we're going to
tell you when early voting starts, when early voting ends, when three days before the election
and on election day with our five-step guide to the general election.
And then every election next year, local elections, primaries in 2026, there's so much.
(17:45):
We're going to remind you about every election.
So take the pledge to pray, vote, engage, share it, and share this podcast far and wide
because every Christian needs to get involved.
If we can go to a million Christians, again, that's just a drip in the bucket, but it's
a huge start to see the Christians actually make a commitment to vote in every election.
(18:09):
It's a game changer, Stephen.
Well, thank you.
And in the minute or so we have left, I would like you to pray.
I just felt, Led, that you should pray and then we'll end this part of the podcast and
I'll come back with some closing thoughts.
So just pray for our viewers, pray for our elected officials, pray for this election,
(18:29):
pray for the body of Christ that it'll rise up and do what it should.
Amen.
Well, Lord, we thank you, God.
We cry out right now for this country.
Lord, we thank you.
First of all, we start with thanksgiving, thanking you for the freedoms that we have
in this nation.
Thank you for the prosperity we've seen.
And thank you that the gospel has gone to the ends of the earth and continuing to go
(18:51):
to the ends of the earth because of America.
God, we want this nation to remain solid and fruitful.
So God, we cry out right now for our elected officials right now, our president, our Congress,
our Supreme Court, Lord, all of our local officials, our state legislators.
God, we need you to move in their life.
(19:13):
They need wisdom and a sermon in this hour.
And we pray for them, God, that you would move upon their life, regardless of political
parties, and change them into your image, God.
Lord, we pray, Lord, for every Christian in this country, Lord, whether we've been engaged
before, whether we've been regular voters, or we have been apathetic, God, to rise up
(19:36):
in this moment and say, what can we do for our nation?
What can we do to push this message forward?
God, we pray, Lord, that every Christian listening to the sound of my voice, God, would take
a commitment to pray, vote, engage, to do more for what you're doing in this nation
in this moment.
We're at a critical point.
(19:56):
This is a very, very important election.
And we have so many elections in our cities in the days that come that are crucial.
So God, wake up the church right now.
Use our little voices and our little books and the things that we're doing, God, to amplify
that message.
God, but we absolutely need you right now in this hour.
(20:17):
Lord, God, we pray for revival and a great awakening in this country.
Let us walk in intimacy with you every day and take your presence into our cities and
our communities.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
I hope you prayed that prayer.
And I also hope that you go to the polls because it's important that you vote.
Your vote counts.
(20:37):
And be sure to share this podcast on social media.
If you don't subscribe to The Strang Report, be sure to subscribe.
Hit the little bell so you know when we're on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. Eastern
time.
And remember, you've got to get out the vote.
You influence people.
Everybody influences 25 to 50 people directly and you can encourage them to vote.
(21:02):
Our future is on the line.
Thank you for watching The Strang Report today.
Until next time, God bless you.
A very important election is coming up, but a recent report says that many believing Christians
(00:06):
won't even bother to go to the polls.
Why is this?
Well, my guest today on The Strang Report is Bunny Pounds, and she is the author of
this book called Jesus and Politics.
She is on a crusade to get a million Christians registered to vote and to the polls.
We're going to talk about the election.
We're going to talk about some of the issues.
(00:28):
You don't want to miss my interview with Bunny Pounds.
Stay tuned.
I'm Stephen Strang.
Welcome back and welcome, Bunny Pounds.
Thank you for being on my podcast to talk about this important election.
(00:49):
In fact, it is probably correct to say it's the most important election of our lifetime.
And I'm just curious, why don't we start with you telling us about your goal to engage a
million voters?
Well, it's exciting, Stephen, because people are breaking out of apathy right now.
(01:09):
There's an awakening happening in our country, and Christians are starting to realize, though
it's slow, there's a new poll that just came out that George Barnett did out of Arizona
Christian University that one third of evangelicals are not voting at all.
We have to shift that, and we're seeing that.
So we've joined, Christians Engaged has built apparatuses, built strategies to engage Christians
(01:34):
to pray, vote, and engage on a regular basis, not just for this election, but every election.
And we just recently merged with Family Policy Alliance, started by Dr. James Dobson out
of Focus on the Family.
And we're now able to mobilize Christians on the ground in 41 states, as well as in the
(01:54):
air on Christian TV, radio, everywhere where we reach Christians.
So we're excited.
Well, I'm excited to hear about that.
And I think what you're doing is so important.
But help me to understand why it is that a big chunk of the electorate doesn't vote,
because people gave their lives for our freedoms, which include the freedom to elect our leaders
(02:22):
in a democratic process.
But I just don't understand it.
Before we started, I was telling you that I registered to vote the very first day I
was old enough, and I voted in every election except one time where I forgot.
Because that's just important to me, but I've been frustrated with this.
(02:45):
I've been writing about this, talking about it, going all the way back to the Jimmy Carter
era, believe it or not.
And I saw apathy even back then.
Do you think that that is one of the reasons why we're in the mess we're in in the country
right now?
Oh, 100%, Stephen.
We have the problem where we think some things are sacred and some things are secular.
(03:09):
And it's still in our minds as Christians, and it's a lie.
Everything should be under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
And I think most American Christians would have to say, hey, we're thankful we don't
live in North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba right now.
We have religious liberty.
We have freedoms to raise our families the way we want, to teach them about Jesus, to
(03:31):
teach them about the Holy Spirit.
What an incredible freedom that we have.
So why in the world would we just not even participate when we get to elect righteous
leaders?
And what happens is when people don't show up to vote, then people that are not righteous
take and fill those vacuums.
(03:51):
That's what we've been seeing for the last 50 years.
And that has to shift.
If every Christian in this country voted regularly, Stephen, we would see a totally different
America.
Our cities would be different.
Our communities would be different.
Our state would be different.
And our nation would be different because we would elect people that have more of a
(04:13):
biblical worldview than those that others.
Part of it is, you know, Christians are afraid to make hard choices.
Some of these choices are not easy.
Everybody's not Jesus on the ballot, right?
We have to choose between imperfect people.
So we have to make hard choices.
And that's what we try to do here at Christians Engage, just help Christians through all of
(04:35):
the mess and all of the information and get them to understand what's really important.
Well, walk us through this because I, you know, we don't really know who's watching,
but I'm going to assume that those who are watching follow the averages.
So that means that a third of our viewers either aren't registered or if they are registered,
(04:55):
don't bother to go to the polls.
So let's pretend that you're in some setting in a church, maybe where they asked you to
speak.
Persuade my viewers why we should get out and vote.
And you know, in what we're saying right now, we're not even pushing one side or the other.
I mean, there's so much we could go into here in Florida.
(05:19):
There's an amendment called number four that the Florida family voice is coming on really
strong because it puts into our state constitution a very radical right for abortion.
Well, listen, every Christian who believes in life has to be against that amendment.
We're not here to talk about those kinds of things.
We're not here even to talk about is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris better.
(05:43):
We're talking about going to the polls, believing that people will know what to do and make
the right choice.
So just walk me through how you persuade people to do this.
Well, in 1 Timothy 2, it talks about prayers, intercessions, all these things being made,
made for those in government authority over us, right, that we may lead a peaceful life.
(06:06):
It is in our best interest to pray for our elected officials and to participate so that
our families are free, but also that the gospel will go to the ends of the earth.
You know, Stephen, how many people have heard the gospel because of Americans' prosperity
and the ability of American Christians to sow into the gospel presentation around the
(06:26):
world?
It's so critical.
But yes, I mean, the founders of our nation gave us the gift that we get to elect our
representatives.
We're a representative, constitutional representative, elected government.
And so we get to choose our leaders.
What an incredible thing that we get to do.
Every Christian should participate in that.
(06:47):
And every vote matters.
I've seen state representative elections, one by 40 votes.
I've seen city council races, one by five votes or two votes.
There was a guy in Washington state that lost to the election last year by one vote.
Oh, by the way, he forgot to vote for himself.
That was a crucial error.
(07:09):
So we have a real responsibility as believers to be light and salt, to really be Christ
followers in every part of our life and even in our citizenship.
So I would encourage Christians do that.
We have to choose again and make hard choices, so we need to look at party platforms.
(07:29):
Each political party had different beliefs and values that were kind of grown up and
those are put into writing by the parties.
That means the people in those parties.
You have to choose leaders that are going to vote with certain leadership.
When members of Congress go to Washington, they're going to vote with their leaders.
They can tell you they're as independent as your neighbor, but when they get there, they're
(07:53):
going to vote with Mike Johnson or Nancy Pelosi, right?
That's the reality.
So you have to choose based on what your beliefs are, what the Bible says about the issues.
So that means you have to know those issues and then you have to vote accordingly.
That's what we do here at Christians Engage is we help people with a five-step guide to
(08:13):
print off their ballot, research their ballot in every election and make those choices.
This is so important that we worked with you to produce a book and I hope that this podcast
is not specifically to push your book, although there's nothing in the world wrong with that.
People who know me know that I'm always encouraging people to read the new books that came out.
(08:38):
In fact, this week Jonathan Cahn's book called The Dragon's Prophecy released along with
a couple of other books and I just found out this afternoon, this is hot off the press,
that it's number two of all books on Amazon.com if you can believe it.
He has just a wonderful way to explain to people what the Bible is saying and he's talking
(09:04):
about how we're racing toward the end of time and how serious things are in our country.
But you know, it isn't the end of time yet.
Antichrist hasn't presented himself.
We don't have the mark of the beast, although we now have technology to have the mark of
the beast with chips being implanted under the skin.
(09:25):
I can remember as a kid hearing about Mark of the Beast and wondering how in the world
they were going to tattoo 666 on everybody's forehead.
But of course, this was long before the technology we have.
I digress a little bit, but I'm making the point that there are very many things that
are very, very, very serious.
But you know, Jesus said to occupy till he comes and the Bible says that when Jesus comes,
(09:50):
there's going to be two people working in the field, you know, just going through normal
life when suddenly it's all over.
So we have to be engaged no matter what's going to happen.
So just say a little bit about your book because your book is so well done.
I enjoyed reading it.
I learned a lot and I want people to get your book.
(10:11):
Well, thank you guys for publishing it there at Charisma House because yeah, my book's
called Jesus and Polytext, One Woman's Walk with God in a Mud Slinging Profession.
And I wanted to put in there information and education for Christians to walk with God
in government and politics.
It is a hard mission field, but it is a mission field.
(10:32):
But I also wanted to share some of my stories, walking with members of Congress for 16 years,
running for Congress myself, really just how a young mom, I was a young mom, got involved
in this whole thing and really has learned how to walk with God and love Jesus in the
process.
And kind of to break off some fear, Steve, there's fear in people.
(10:56):
I can't get involved with politics.
That's just such a mud slinging, horrible thing.
And we're afraid it's going to corrupt us.
But isn't greater is he who's in us than he that's in the world?
And doesn't that field, that government and that governmental mountain need Christians
and people of faith?
And I want to inspire the next generation to go out there and be a missionary to America,
(11:21):
walk with members of Congress, run for office, working as a city manager.
Go change your world.
And you can do that even in government.
Absolutely.
And Christians tend to be meek.
Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth.
(11:41):
And the other side is so nasty.
Not all of them, of course, but some actually call Christians haters because we don't go
along with whatever their perversion of the day is that they're trying to kind of cram
down our collective throats.
And we're not haters.
We're lovers.
We love the Lord Jesus.
(12:01):
We love God.
We love our fellow man.
But the other side, especially in the political arena, is so nasty that a lot of people recoil.
So tell us again why we should be strong.
We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be strong no matter what comes against us.
Absolutely.
(12:22):
Discipling a nation goes beyond people's hearts being changed.
That's the most important thing is that we change hearts and minds and worldviews with
the presentation of the gospel.
But it goes into how we're actually changing our children, how we're affecting our children
and grandchildren in our neighborhoods.
I think Christians can be the best presidents of their home associations.
(12:45):
What about being the president of the Rotary Club or the Chamber of Commerce?
If we're not in the room when the decisions are being made or when they're trying to decide,
are we going to have a proclamation in our city promoting gay pride or are we going to
have a proclamation in our city or create a diversity equity inclusion program?
(13:07):
Is that what we want to do?
If we're not in the room, Stephen, to be in those committees or be leaders in our community,
we can't push back on some of these ideas that are just not as good for us as Bible-believing
Christians.
So putting ourselves out there and being leaders is something that God loves for us to do.
(13:30):
We get to take the gospel and be an example to people.
We don't have to be ugly.
We can love people.
We can operate within a Sermon on the Mount being peacekeepers as we are bold and courageous
on the truth.
I believe that is the way we should be operating as Christians.
I share that extensively in my book and share crazy stories of miracles, of things that
(13:54):
God's done in my life and through my life with high-profile people in our government.
It's a blessing.
Well, the Bible tells us to be harmless as doves.
It also says to be wise as serpents.
And there's a lot of truth if you really think about that word picture.
So you're getting people involved.
(14:17):
You just told me as we were getting ready for this interview that you have practically
doubled the people who are involved in your ministry getting registered vote.
Tell me about the trends that you're seeing and what you see happening between now and
November 5th.
Well, I'm going to tell everyone this presidential election is going to be extremely close.
(14:40):
Like we've seen really since 2000.
We've got a real differences of opinion from urban to rural people to God-fearing people,
the people that are more secular progressive.
So we need to really pay attention and we need to promote voting within all of our churches
(15:04):
and all of our communities.
It's so, so critical.
I think it's really going to come down to people that are paying attention and using
their brain, I hate to say that, versus people that are just listening to the media's talking
points.
You know, when you're voting for someone for president, let me just break it down for you.
You're voting for the person that is going to put in 85,000 people, employ them in the
(15:28):
executive branch, if not more.
You're putting in the entire cabinet, you're putting in the secretary of state, the person
that's going to be over the department of education.
This is a big job.
Not only commander in chief, but also the person that's going to hire all these people.
You're also going to put in probably around 250 federal judges in the next four years
(15:52):
and at least two Supreme Court vacancies, if not three, it's going to come up in the
next four years.
That's what I'm voting for, Stephen, when I'm looking for president.
So I'm not looking at personalities, I'm not looking at the past, I'm looking at who do
I want in that seat to do those important jobs.
And then on the down ballots, you got to look at your members of Congress, your state representatives,
(16:17):
your state senators, your county government officials.
There's a lot of jobs on the ballots this November that affects all of our lives.
I mean, your sheriff and your county commissioners affect your life.
You better know who they are and if they're doing a good job or not.
So spend 30 minutes researching your ballot and go in there and change the world.
(16:38):
Well said, and I want people to be able to connect with you and your ministry.
So tell us if people want to reach you or if they want to get involved, if they want
to get their church involved.
Hopefully they will get their church involved.
And also people that this resonates with, if they would put a link to this podcast on
their social media, if they would email it to friends, we need to get this word out and
(17:02):
each of us can do our own part.
But it starts with people connecting with Budding Pounds and your ministry, Christians
Engaged.
Yeah, everyone just go to ChristiansEngaged.org and take the pledge on every page on our homepage.
It says, take the pledge to pray, vote, and engage.
You're going to get weekly prayer reminders, videos we do teaching you how to pray for
(17:25):
government.
You're going to get voting reminders, not just for this election, but we're going to
tell you when early voting starts, when early voting ends, when three days before the election
and on election day with our five-step guide to the general election.
And then every election next year, local elections, primaries in 2026, there's so much.
(17:45):
We're going to remind you about every election.
So take the pledge to pray, vote, engage, share it, and share this podcast far and wide
because every Christian needs to get involved.
If we can go to a million Christians, again, that's just a drip in the bucket, but it's
a huge start to see the Christians actually make a commitment to vote in every election.
(18:09):
It's a game changer, Stephen.
Well, thank you.
And in the minute or so we have left, I would like you to pray.
I just felt, Led, that you should pray and then we'll end this part of the podcast and
I'll come back with some closing thoughts.
So just pray for our viewers, pray for our elected officials, pray for this election,
(18:29):
pray for the body of Christ that it'll rise up and do what it should.
Amen.
Well, Lord, we thank you, God.
We cry out right now for this country.
Lord, we thank you.
First of all, we start with thanksgiving, thanking you for the freedoms that we have
in this nation.
Thank you for the prosperity we've seen.
And thank you that the gospel has gone to the ends of the earth and continuing to go
(18:51):
to the ends of the earth because of America.
God, we want this nation to remain solid and fruitful.
So God, we cry out right now for our elected officials right now, our president, our Congress,
our Supreme Court, Lord, all of our local officials, our state legislators.
God, we need you to move in their life.
(19:13):
They need wisdom and a sermon in this hour.
And we pray for them, God, that you would move upon their life, regardless of political
parties, and change them into your image, God.
Lord, we pray, Lord, for every Christian in this country, Lord, whether we've been engaged
before, whether we've been regular voters, or we have been apathetic, God, to rise up
(19:36):
in this moment and say, what can we do for our nation?
What can we do to push this message forward?
God, we pray, Lord, that every Christian listening to the sound of my voice, God, would take
a commitment to pray, vote, engage, to do more for what you're doing in this nation
in this moment.
We're at a critical point.
(19:56):
This is a very, very important election.
And we have so many elections in our cities in the days that come that are crucial.
So God, wake up the church right now.
Use our little voices and our little books and the things that we're doing, God, to amplify
that message.
God, but we absolutely need you right now in this hour.
(20:17):
Lord, God, we pray for revival and a great awakening in this country.
Let us walk in intimacy with you every day and take your presence into our cities and
our communities.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
I hope you prayed that prayer.
And I also hope that you go to the polls because it's important that you vote.
Your vote counts.
(20:37):
And be sure to share this podcast on social media.
If you don't subscribe to The Strang Report, be sure to subscribe.
Hit the little bell so you know when we're on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. Eastern
time.
And remember, you've got to get out the vote.
You influence people.
Everybody influences 25 to 50 people directly and you can encourage them to vote.
(21:02):
Our future is on the line.
Thank you for watching The Strang Report today.
Until next time, God bless you.
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