As the 2024 Elections drew near, every Christian must understand that their vote holds the power to change the direction of the nation. If they fail to participate in this vital moment of the democratic process, the entire country cannot move to a brighter future. In this episode, Terri Hasdorff sits down with author, speaker, and media commentator Floyd Brown. Together, they discuss why Christians must unite for the common goal of transforming the United States through their political engagement and with God’s help. Floyd explains what it takes for the spirit of the Lord to recapture the country, bringing a wave of love and peace. He also explains why indifference slowly kills US society and how the COVID Policy killed the country’s diversity of business.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

The Critical Role Of The Christian Vote In The 2024 Elections With Floyd Brown

I’m honored to be joined by our guest, Floyd Brown. Floyd is an author, speaker, and media commentator. He is the former CEO of USA Radio Network. Mr. Brown founded the conservative Western Journal in 2008. In his early career, he worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for political campaigns. His most recent book is Counterpunch: An Unlikely Alliance of Americans Fighting Back for Faith and Freedom. Floyd, thank you so much for being on the show.

It’s so good to be with you. I know you, as an author, have written a great book, and we share a publisher. Our books dovetail well together. It’s great to be with you, and I’m excited to visit.

Thank you so much. I’m just going to jump right in. Floyd, approximately 64% of Americans identify as Christians. Yet, according to a recent study, 90 million Christians in America are eligible to vote, but as many as 40 million fail to vote in presidential elections. Fifteen million Christians are not even registered to vote according to the My Faith Votes website. I’m just curious, what are your thoughts on this study?

Every Christian, when they walk into the church, should look up and down the pew and realize that less than 60% of them are even registered to vote. Of those 60%, maybe half of them will show up depending on whether it’s a presidential election or a midterm election. Christians just aren’t exercising their duties as a citizen of the United States. Christians can change America.

That’s one of the things that is important for any Christian to understand. It’s within our power to change the course and direction of the nation. If we’ve got problems with the way the nation’s headed, then we’re part of the solution. We need to get motivated and activated because we can change it. When Christians vote, we have good policies. When they don’t, we have bad policies.

I live in the Phoenix area. We have a little school district called the Washington School District. That particular school district, an elementary school district was captured by a group of LGBTQ activists. It all poured out into the public when they decided to no longer accept student teachers from the local Christian college, Arizona Christian University. They said, “We don’t want bigots from a Christian college being student teachers.”

There are no less than four megachurches inside that school district. Any of them, if they had just gotten motivated, would’ve kept those LGBTQ activists from gaining control of the school district. I say shame on the leadership in those congregations because they weren’t registering to vote and they weren’t working. They could have been impacting their school district.

Maybe they’ve woken up and maybe they’ll change things now, but there’s no reason. There are 3,100 counties in America. They all have churches. Three thousand of those counties should be governed as conservative counties. Many of them are totally governed differently because Christians and conservatives aren’t showing up and aren’t impacting those races.

One of the reasons people don’t understand why Liberals are always in control of these local governments is because they worship the government. It is an act of worship for them to run for office. That’s what they put their time and energy into. As Christians, we’re called to occupy all of the mountains of influence. Government is one of those, and we need to be active in that, as you so well put in your book.

We have very common messages and themes. I write about how for the Liberal Left, tithing to politics is like tithing to religion and they give to it regularly. I almost called my book Less Than 1% because that’s the percentage of Americans who gave to political campaigns in the 2016 election cycle. It is a matter of just getting involved and giving your time, energy, and finances, if possible.

In your book, Counterpunch, you stated that America’s colonists realized the importance of uniting for a common goal. They set aside their differences, and with God’s help, they formed the United States of America. Throughout history, God often uses everyday people who are willing. History is full of examples of small groups making unbelievable contributions to their fellow humankind. Good governance is about understanding where we are now and how we move forward together as Americans. What is it going to take to save America? Concerned citizens work together with courage, boldness, and conviction. I love the way you put that. Why, in your opinion, are Christians needed now more than ever before in politics?

They’re needed now more than ever because this world has gotten so crazy without Scripture, and without the revelation of Scripture, without God’s Word in our lives. It’s hard to even understand what’s going on. I tell people, “If you want to discern current events, read Scripture. If you want to discern what’s going on, press close to Jesus because He gives us supernatural discernment in order to understand what’s going on in the world.”

He makes us a new creation. When He remakes our minds and He renews us, He gives us a special discernment, which helps people understand where we are. It says, “The tribe of Issachar understood the times that men were living in.” This is back when Israel was a nation. It was often because they were studying Scripture and they were close to their God. I believe that that is the way we will change the nation.

One of the biggest problems we have is indifference in the church. Indifference is a little bit different than complacency. Complacency is you’re happy with the way things are. We’re more indifferent. We’re not necessarily happy with the way things are, but we’re indifferent in that we feel like we’re in our cocoon and it’s not going to impact us. We don’t feel the anxiety.

That’s the people downtown who are addicted to drugs. That’s the people downtown who are homeless. We’re way out in the suburbs and our churches are out in the suburbs. Our hearts have grown cold towards those people. That concerns me. I pray every day, “Dear Heavenly Father, keep my heart the way You want my heart to be.” I pray that He will remake my heart.

Chuck Missler, who’s somebody I’ve studied a lot, was a great Bible teacher. He has since passed away. He said, “The number one stewardship of a Christian is their own heart.” I want to feel towards these homeless people, towards these drug addicts, the same way Jesus would feel. That’s heartbreaking. When your heart is broken, then you can impact your community.

This is why we have to go in and try and fix things. Our government has grown indifferent to the sufferings of these people, in my opinion, especially at the Federal level where we send billions and billions abroad to fight and execute wars while at the same time, we have bridges falling down in Philadelphia. We have all kinds of issues in our own cities and towns. We have homeless veterans on the street that need care.

To me, it’s not appropriate just to tell a mentally ill person, “Go back out on the street and fend for yourself.” That’s not compassion. Compassion is when you try to help these people and make sure that they’re getting the treatment and help that they need. Those are all things which motivate me as a Christian. They should motivate every Christian to be involved in politics so that we can be good stewards of the money government has. Government has immense amounts of money, but if it’s not spent right, then shame on us for not trying to impact that.

 

You talked in your book about an organization that I know well called Transparency International. I worked with them in the past. They do a wonderful job. They renounce corruption around the world. Each year, they publish an annual index of the most and least corrupt countries around the globe. Now, they ranked America not even in the top 10 for least corrupt. We ranked number 27 for least corrupt out of the 180 countries they evaluated. That’s troubling that we’re not even in the top 10 anymore. I’ll ask this, why do you believe that political engagement is so important, in particular when it comes to fighting corruption in government?

It is sad. That statistic broke my heart when I saw it. I grew up in a country that wasn’t corrupt. I’ve seen it change over time and become unbelievably corrupt. I feel like my country has been sold. I talk a lot in my book about what I call the wealth extraction machine. By wealth extraction machine, I mean government policy made this big shift. It used to be that we were focused on the middle class and making sure the middle class did well and that the broad spectrum of Americans did well. In my lifetime, the difference between the middle class and the uberwealthy has just exploded. That’s not a result of free enterprise. That is a result of a change that came in our country where we’re no longer a free enterprise nation. The middle class has been hurt by this.

One of the examples I use is the COVID policy. The policy that the United States adopted when dealing with the COVID pandemic minted no less than 40 brand-new billionaires. At the same time, we locked down and closed hundreds of thousands of small businesses. Many tens of thousands of those small businesses will never get back into the business. They’re totally defunct now. They’re dead.

Whether it’s a small restaurant, retail outlet, or gym, these businesses provide the engine of wealth for the employees that work at that business. What always made America strong was our diversity of business. Yet what’s happened is Congress has been bought, I believe, by mega-wealthy large corporations that spend literally millions of dollars in campaign contributions and they were all protected through COVID.

You could keep Walmart open while the small store was shut down. The big grocery chains were all open. Home Depot was open, but the small little Ace Hardware store had to close. The dichotomy is endemic to what has happened. A lot of the big corporations don’t even consider themselves American anymore. They consider themselves global corporations. They don’t focus on what they do for the community. They might give it a little bit of lip service, but that’s not their focus. Their focus is on these huge markets that are abroad. Like India and China. They’re trying to access these markets. Their focus isn’t the United States anymore.

One of the things I talk quite a bit about is the shift and the push towards globalism. That’s damaging. I think that nationalism is God’s system of governance. Let me explain that. God gave us the nation of Israel, I believe, as a prototype for how nations should be governed. He called the children of Israel out of a globalist empire, Egypt. At the time, Egypt and the Pharaohs were a global empire. He called them out and he made them a nation. When he made them a nation, he gave them three things. He gave them a religion, a culture, and borders.

Most people don’t realize God respects borders. In the Old Testament story, when Moses was leading the children of Israel in the Exodus, they got to the nation of Moab. Moab said, “You can’t come into our nation.” Moses went to God and he said, “God, what do I do? Am I going to have to war with these people so I can cross their borders?” God said, “No. Respect their borders and go around.” That’s exactly what Moses did.

I believe God talks a lot about nations in the Bible. He talks about goat nations and sheep nations. He talks about a lot of different nations. It’s because nations are a great way to have governance. People feel safe inside their nation. They have a shared interest in their nations. I’m a big nationalist. That’s opposed to globalism. That’s one of the reasons that America’s borders are under attack the way they are. Globalists don’t like borders. They want this global governance, which takes government completely away from the people. It’s very anti-democratic because you’re giving it to this supreme elite.

I believe the United States of America is the bulwark that is stopping globalism. That’s why they’re trying to bring America down. They want globalism. We want America. We want our nation. We want what our founders gave us. That’s the big battle that’s going on. I would even be so bold as to say that if America does go down, she’s going to be saved this time. I don’t believe she will now. She will sometime in the future,

The key thing to remember is we’re a bulwark against globalism. When America goes down, there is going to be a global empire. I believe that what you’ll see is the unfolding of what the Bible calls the beast system. The next global empire will be that beast system that’s talked about in Revelation. That’s why it’s important that Christians fight for America.

In chapter 22, talking about walls and borders, you quoted the ancient prophet Isaiah who wrote that “Those from among you shall rebuild the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths in which to dwell.” That’s Isaiah 58:12. You go on to say, “What if the people do not rise up?” The need for getting involved by working from the ground up to ultimately ensure that we have a national government committed to our individual liberties is so critical. That’s something that you just spoke a lot about.

You also talked about Alexis de Tocqueville. He has been frequently quoted talking about how in America, we brought to the new world a form of Christianity, which he said he couldn’t describe any better than by saying it is a democratic and republican religion. He said, “This sect contributed powerfully to the establishment of a democracy and a republic. From the earliest settlement of the immigrants, politics and religion contracted an alliance that has never been dissolved. There is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. There can be no greater proof of its utility than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.”

Going back to my original stat, if 64% of Americans identify as Christians and we are the ones who are called upon to be the repairers of the breaches and the walls, it is a time where we are called upon now more than ever to get involved in the mountain of government. Any thoughts on that that you’d like to comment on?

You captured the essence of the book. We’ve got to get off of the pew and into our communities. One of the things that COVID did was it isolated people. I talk a lot about the different false narratives. All of those false narratives have a purpose. The purpose of the false narrative is to make you feel isolated and alone and to take you out of the community.

I opened the book by talking about the first major speech I did after COVID when I went to this conference called the Reopening Conference. It was a time in America when it was eerie to travel. I remember walking through Sky Harbor Airport, and this massive airport was empty. I’m glad it’s since been refilled. Back then, it was empty and nobody was on the flights. Nobody was traveling.

When we got to this conference, it was so refreshing because humanity broke out. Our masks weren’t just down. We were hugging and touching. God wants us to worship Him in the community. That’s the whole beauty of the church. What I’m trying to call people to do is to get back into their communities. People don’t understand the amount of power they have right around themselves, right where they’re planted. If you want to change America, change your neighborhood. If you want to change America, change your town. Change your county. Focus right where you have the power to change things. Find people in your community.

If you want to change America, change your town first. Focus right where you are and find people in your community.

I tell the story of a guy named Basil Fernimos. Basil was upset with mask mandates. He texted 50 of his friends to meet at a coffee shop to talk about how they could kill this local mask mandate and 250 people showed up when he texted 50. That was the formation of a group, which now has a huge impact on our community. Basil’s the local handyman. He’s the guy we all call when our doorknobs broke or our fan in the ceiling is out of alignment. Basil comes and fixes it. He knows how to fix anything. He’s also fixing our community by bringing people together.

Get to know your neighbors again. I have neighbors in my neighborhood who are still isolated and hiding out in their houses since COVID. We need to rebuild the community. It’s incumbent upon those of us that are Christians and that are out there to reach out, get to know those people, and remake things from the bottom up.

Frankly, it gives me a lot of joy. I get joy from the Holy Spirit when I’m out there doing what God has called me to do. Each of us is different. That’s the great thing about the Body of Christ. Some of us are fingers. Some of us are noses. Some are mouths. Some are arms. We all have a different part of the Body of Christ. If we ask Jesus, He will tell us what part of the Body of Christ we’re in. It’s amazing. We can get tremendous joy by just walking in that path He has for us, to love on our fellow man.

 

One other side note, people say politics is divisive. It’s nasty. It’s dirty. That’s not surprising because the Democratic Party has been mentored for the last 40 years by a guy named Saul Alinsky. Saul Alinsky’s entire plan, which he wrote in a book called Rules for Radicals, calls on people to be divisive, to attack people, and to ridicule people. Those are his rules. One of them is the use of ridicule. It’s your most potent tool. It’s nasty because of that.

The solution is for us to look to the Bible for our rules for living, go out, and meet that ridicule with love, acceptance, and caring. That’s what Jesus told us to impact our communities with. It’s no surprise that Saul Alinsky’s book was dedicated to Lucifer, the one he calls The First Radical. The way we meet that is with the love of Jesus. We go out into our communities and we help change lives. We help change people. That’s how we’ll remake America. It always boils down to these simple things.

Floyd, as we wrap up here, what is one final thing you’d like to say to our readers, or one last thought you’d like to leave them with?

If you want to impact America, the number one thing you can do in your life is to get closer to God. Spend time in prayer. Seek Him. Build your relationship with Him. Go deeper with him. He wants you to follow Him more closely. The more closely you follow Him, the more impact you’ll have on changing America.

Where can our readers find you if they want to learn more about what you’re doing or get a copy of your book?

My book is available anywhere books are sold. You can get it at ChristianBook.com. You can get it at Amazon.com. You can get it at Barnes & Noble. If they want to follow Western Journal, that’s where I do most of my writing. They can get an app on their iPhone or Android device. Finally, if they want to follow me on Twitter, I’m just @FloydBrown on Twitter. I don’t post that often, but occasionally, I’ll post something.

One other thing, I see us changing America. I’ve been involved in four major wave elections in my lifetime. The first was Reagan, then the Gingrich and Contract with America, then the Tea Party, and then the MAGA movement. I believe in 2024, we are going to have a major wave election. This time, it’s going to be different. It’s going to be one where Christians come out and recapture their nation.

What does the Bible teach us? “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. His Spirit is changing people. I believe we’re already in the midst of a revival. He’s drawing people to Him. That is going to have a huge impact in 2024. I don’t care who the candidates are. We’re going to see real change.

That’s encouraging. Thanks so much again for being on the show with us, Floyd, and thanks to our readers for tuning in.

 

Important Links

• Floyd Brown – LinkedIn
• Transparency International
• Rules for Radicals
• Counterpunch: An Unlikely Alliance of Americans Fighting Back for Faith and Freedom – Amazon
• Counterpunch: An Unlikely Alliance of Americans Fighting Back for Faith and Freedom – Christian Book
• Counterpunch: An Unlikely Alliance of Americans Fighting Back for Faith and Freedom – Barnes & Noble
• Western Journal
• @FloydBrown – Twitter