Point of View June 23, 2025 – Hour 2 : What Really Matters

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[00:00:37] santé норм salad pleasure , pain accession deprecations, these products, transgender待ating, health小ullose��� related photos on the hormonal dikevan 바� Però that they have and was learning even more about Hal Donaldson, and we thought it would be great for you to learn about him as well, especially since he has this new book on What Really Matters, How to Care for Yourself and Serve a Hurting World. He is the president of Convoy of Hope. This is an organization that has been providing supplies and resources,

[00:01:07] warm meals, groceries, medical and dental screenings, opportunities, business, all sorts of things like that. And rated very high by Charity Navigator, he is the recipient of the National Distinguished Service in Social Welfare Award. He's the author of more than 30 books, including Midnight in the City, including this particular one, What Really Matters. He's a graduate in journalism from San Jose State University

[00:01:34] and has a bachelor's degree as well in biblical studies from Bethany University and joins us now by phone. So, Hal, thank you for joining us today here on Point of View. Hey, thank you, Kirby. It's great to be with you. I appreciate the work that you do. I've had such high respect. But then I open up your book and find out your family background and a car accident that killed your father and really ruined the health of your mother

[00:02:00] had such a devastating impact on you and maybe is key to your, really, if you will, empathy and desire to reach out to the poor. Can you share that? Yeah. You know, I think it's twofold. One is I truly did experience the shame and the pain of poverty, living on food stamps, having holes in your shoes, not being able to go to school with a sack lunch in your hand. And so I know what that's like. But I also experienced the power of kindness.

[00:02:29] And I didn't choose a life of bitterness in large part because people from a local church, they wrapped their arms around me and they showed me love. They told me that God had a plan for my life. And even though I was wrestling with a lot of insecurities and a lot of questions, I didn't understand how a loving God could take a father away from poor kids and a lot of questions like that. It was their kindness that helped me choose Jesus, a life of following Jesus versus a life of bitterness.

[00:02:59] One of the things that I thought was kind of interesting, you have a background in journalism, and yet you were the editor-in-chief of the magazine for the Assembly of God Fellowship. And so I think a lot of people would love to know how you ended up in this line of work, given the fact that it looked like you were going to be a journalist and an editor for the rest of your life. Yeah, so did I. Yeah, I was on that track for sure. You know, as the editor of that magazine, which had a very large circulation,

[00:03:29] I traveled the world. I had the opportunity to hit every continent, 90 countries, and I saw firsthand the need. I was exposed to the need. And I also saw places where the church was having a huge difference and really arresting poverty, helping people escape poverty. But also, I saw just the masses of people that were being mobilized. And the thought occurred to me,

[00:03:59] you know, maybe this is something I need to do. And it really goes back to a story I was writing for some missionaries in Calcutta. When I landed, they told me that they wanted me to interview Mother Teresa for their book. And in the course of that conversation, she just turned the tables on me. She said, young man, let me ask you, what are you doing? What are you doing to help the poor and the suffering? And I figured it's probably not a good idea to lie to Mother Teresa. So I told her the truth. I said, I'm really not doing much of anything.

[00:04:28] And she said, well, everyone can do something. Just do the next kind thing that God puts in front of you. And so the rest of the story, as I came back to the States, I felt compelled to do something quite unusual. I felt compelled to travel to eight cities and to live in the streets for three days and three nights. I went to Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, DC, New York, major cities, wrote with the police on the midnight shift, walked the streets with a hidden tape recorder, interviewing drug addicts, gang members, prostitutes, runaways, the homeless.

[00:04:58] And, you know, I feel like God had to do a work in my heart before he could do a work through my hands. And I came back after those trips and I loaded up a pickup truck 30 years ago with $300 worth of groceries and started passing them out to migrant farm workers in Northern California where I was living at the time. And that was the start of Convoy Vote. Oh, just amazing. Now, one of the things I do want to get into, and that gets back to the title of the book, What Really Matters, because early on, again,

[00:05:29] I appreciate your vulnerability. You talk about the fact that while you were traveling and serving disaster survivors and helping impoverished families, you missed band concerts, soccer games, things of that nature. And that vulnerability then shows up later when you really talk about the need for what you might call a change survey. You know, how much time are you spending with Jesus? How much time are you spending with your family?

[00:05:55] And that really caused you to reevaluate your sleep, your weekend speaking engagements, dinner appointments, and those kinds of things. And in some respects, that really is one of the major themes of your book, isn't it? It is. At age 50, I found myself lying in a hospital bed with heart issues, which really got my attention. And lying in that hospital bed, I came to this realization that I was traveling the world.

[00:06:24] We were feeding lots of people. We were helping lots of people. But I was chasing need. My focus was on need rather than just living in obedience. And I began reading the gospels and it became very clear to me that Jesus didn't meet the needs of everyone that he encountered. He didn't feed everyone. He didn't heal everyone. He did what his father in heaven asked him to do. And I can say this to you, Kirby. I mean,

[00:06:49] I'm sure that there are many really good missions that I took to places like Afghanistan and the Philippines, all over the world, meeting needs. But I may not have been there in the will of God. I may not have been living in obedience as opposed to just trying to respond to need. And I think the older I've become, the more I realize how important prayer is to the kind of work that we do. We are bombarded with requests, opportunities,

[00:07:19] and it's just imperative that you just hear from God. Let's take a break. And when we come back, I want to get into some more of those details. But again, giving a suggestion about making sleep more consistent and reevaluating your speech. And also making sure that you go to the doctor and reassign some of your projects and nightly walks with your wife and on and on. But also, I do want to get into not only what you've done to change,

[00:07:46] but how you've sought out many of those core values that are very important in the convoy of hope. And then also just a whole series of maybe looking at some of the sources of stress. Yesterday, interesting enough, I was teaching through James 3, talking about the tongue. And I then at the end talked about difficult people. And that's one of the things you're talking about. Weariness, fear, anger, and all the rest. And so this book,

[00:08:15] whether you are working in a ministry like convoy of hope, or just trying to figure out maybe what you need to be doing so that you're in the will of God, is a book I would recommend. What Really Matters, How to Care for Yourself and Serve a Hurting World. It is published by our good friends at Baker Books. It is written by Hal Donaldson. And it has got a virtual who's who of individuals that have endorsed the book. Let's take a break.

[00:08:42] And we'll come back a little bit more with some of the insights from Hal Donaldson right after this. This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. Freedom in this country depends on three important foundations. Morality, limits, and human rights. First, freedom depends on morality. John Adams observed,

[00:09:10] Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. When the citizens have an internal moral compass, the size and scope of government can be small. There's no need for external laws and regulations from government. If people do what is right, and demonstrate common sense, the republic will thrive. Second, freedom also depends on limits. Lord Acton famously explained, Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[00:09:38] That is why the framers instituted checks and balances in our constitutional system. They also recognized the rights of citizens to hold government officials accountable. A moral people keep the government in check. A limited government keeps political leaders in check. A third foundation of freedom depends on respecting human rights as granted by our creator. That important principle is found in the Declaration of Independence, which explains the why of American government. And it is also implied in the Constitution,

[00:10:06] which explains the how of American government. And this country has not always lived up to those ideals, but they provided a worthy goal to achieve. Although you may know all these foundational principles, I fear that a whole generation of young people do not know them because they were never taught in their civics classes. And I see each of these foundational principles slipping away. If we don't begin to teach these principles to our children and grandchildren, then morality, limited government, and respect for human rights will soon become relics of our past.

[00:10:36] That is why we need you to teach them to your family today. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view. Go deeper on topics like you just heard by visiting pointofview.net. That's pointofview.net. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Privileged to have with us for a few more minutes, Hal Donaldson.

[00:11:05] Again, he is the author of this book, What Really Matters, but probably best known as the President of Convoy of Hope. Just an incredible ministry that you need to find out more about. Of course, we have a link so that you can find out more about theconvoitofhope.org. And I would encourage you to support them as well. And also, you can find out more about the book. You probably can find it in your local bookstore, but if you can't, there is a way in which you can find it both in paperback and Kindle,

[00:11:33] and I think you will really appreciate that as well. So, lots of great material that is available. And I just thought for just a minute, Hal, one of the things that you are talking about in the book is kind of get, some people get stuck, and I would imagine you were there as well. Ephesians 4, verse 27 says, Do not give the devil a foothold. And you say a foothold is a situation where somebody has obtained power influence.

[00:11:59] And so you talk about the need to maybe recognize that if the devil has a foothold, you need to figure out how to resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Of course, I've been teaching through James right now. But also to have people praying for you, to maybe even have a specific list and things of that nature, because in some respects what we're talking about is the need for people who are stuck to get unstuck and thus be able to do the will of God.

[00:12:28] So true. And, you know, I wrote the book because Convoy had really experienced meteoric growth. I think on the Forbes list, we're like the 27th largest in the United States out of 2 million. And so what was happening, I was getting a lot of calls from leaders, business leaders as well as pastors, church leaders, saying, well, how did this happen? How did you do it? What are some of the organizational things you need to do?

[00:12:53] And my response was, well, you as a leader, you need to make sure that your heart is healthy, that you as a person are healthy. And they would say, well, we get that. But, you know, and I would explain that the heart is the foundation that God builds upon. If as the leader, your heart is healthy, if you're in a good place, then what you're doing is you're giving God a foundation, a larger foundation than he can build something on. And so I would share that. And they would say, yeah, yeah, I get that. But what are some of the organizational adjustments?

[00:13:22] And so I just figured, you know what, I'm just going to put in a book. So now when people call, I just send them a book. And that's really what we did. But, you know, I just believe that success is more dangerous than failure. It is. Because success can lead to self-reliance. And I know for us at Convoy, I think when I got my life in a better place and I became, I would say healthier, we began to see unbelievable growth. Yes.

[00:13:50] But it begins with a leader, the pastor, the business leader being healthy. Well, again, one of the things I want to pass on to individuals that may be in a ministry, in a business, maybe they're elders, deacons, whatever, you actually sat down and stated your objectives and principles, you know, whether it's love and dignity and service and excellence and integrity and unity and support and partnership, hope and advocacy. Those are just a few that you have listed there.

[00:14:19] And it does seem to me that that's helpful as well. We all have a mission statement. We all sort of think we know where we're going. But I think those core values are very important as well as an organizational structure, don't you think? They do. And, you know, they have to obviously move from paper to real life. And for us, those core values, I would say they manifest themselves in doing what we say we're going to do,

[00:14:47] under-promising, over-delivering, and just operating at the highest level of integrity. And I think, you know, that's how it's really played out for us. Those core values have taken this organization a long ways. I think so. One other one I did mention was the issue of stress. You know, you talk about the fact that you can reduce stress by getting real and speaking life and forgive yourself. But I thought one of the very helpful charts was where you have the source of stress on the left-hand side.

[00:15:17] Let's just pick difficult people. And then you have God's promise, you know, about the idea of love your neighbor and hate your enemy. You know we should love everyone and all the issues that are associated with that in Matthew 5. Limited resources, you know, Philippians 4, my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of the glory of Christ Jesus. Weariness, fear, anchor, regret.

[00:15:42] It does seem to me that you have taken the time to say, okay, what are the stressors in my life and others need to evaluate? What are the stressors in your life as a young mother, as an entrepreneur, as a successful person in the business world, a successful person in ministry? And then begin to sort those out as well. And that was another key to your success, I think, as well. It was.

[00:16:09] And I think, you know, being intentional and writing out, okay, these are the things that are causing me stress. But this is what I'm going to do about it. And I'll just give you three, three things that I did that are extremely practical. And as you know, the book is just filled with practical tips on how to remove stress from your life and to live in obedience to Christ. But I used to do breakfast, lunch, and dinner meetings religiously.

[00:16:34] And I cut out dinner meetings because I began to give that back as an offering to my wife and to my children. I began to make vacations sacred. At the beginning of the year, we would schedule a vacation and our vacation time, and there was nothing that would get in the way. I remember one time being invited to the Oval Office with some other leaders, and I turned them down.

[00:17:02] Why? Because my family was more important. Another rule that I use to this day is my 8 p.m. rule. And at 8 p.m., Kirby, you're not going to see me or hear me dealing with difficult issues. Because here's the reason. If you're thinking about it at 8 o'clock, you're probably going to be thinking about 10, and you're going to be lying awake at 1 or 2 in the morning trying to figure it out.

[00:17:28] And so an alarm goes off for me at 8 o'clock where I really turn my attention to my family and to God. And it was things like that that I think helped me find a place of greater health. Again, you have disciplined myself not to entertain weighty topics after 8 p.m., reduce time spent on email and my phone after dinner, review my calendar for the next day before dinner. You go through those long lists. But I thought I'd pick one other one, and then we'll let you go.

[00:17:57] And that is you talk also about having this inner circle of friends, kind of like a personal board of directors. And, again, you have this hard copy you keep in your briefcase, but you're looking for people that are loyal, prayerful, trustworthy, biblical, confidential, resourceful, strategic, generous, compassionate, kingdom-minded, available.

[00:18:21] It does seem to me that, again, there is a wisdom with many counselors, as we are told in Scripture. But, again, picking the right inner circle, very important for your success as well, isn't it? It really is because we're surrounded by givers or takers. And I think as I really began to analyze my life, what was happening as I was being, my energy was being siphoned off by people who weren't giving a lot in return.

[00:18:47] And, you know, I believe that Scripture makes it very clear that we all have a hedge of protection around us. We think in terms of angels, but I also think in terms of people. People can help be a part of that hedge that protect us. And I think when I made some of those changes, it helped me, again, find greater health. Let me just mention that one of the reasons I wanted to do this is just to feature you because of John Kasich's comments.

[00:19:15] And, of course, I've been familiar with the Convoy of Hope, but also wanted to let listeners know that they can be supportive of you. And so we have a link to convoyofhope.org. There's a place where you can find out more about Your Kindness Can Change the World and certainly learn a little bit more about the people that you've helped, the volunteers you've engaged in the way in which people can get involved with you as well.

[00:19:42] So, again, that website is there available. But let me also mention that this book is out, and it is entitled What Really Matters? How to Care for Yourself and to Serve a Hurting World. Just a veritable who's who of individuals. Greg Groeschel, Jenny Allen, Chris Tomlin, Sammy Rodriguez, all sorts of people have been on the program with us. Ben Rothensperger, Kathy Ireland, on and on, just all sorts of individuals that you would know. And so the book is out.

[00:20:12] It is published by Baker, and you should be able to find it in your local bookstore. And if you can't, we'll certainly provide information about that on our website at pointofview.net. So, Hal, thank you for joining us. You came highly recommended by so many individuals, and it's a privilege to have you on the program with us today here on Point of View. Kirby, thank you so much for having me, and congratulations on the show, the radio show. And you just do an excellent job. Really impressive. Let's see if we can take a break.

[00:20:39] And when we come back, I wanted to get back into some issues in the news, but also thought, let's bring in some of the people behind the scenes who actually are in charge of Point of View, because after all, we are coming to the end of our fiscal year. And I have said before, I want you to support your church. I certainly want you to support a radio station that carries this program. If it's one that's non-commercial and depends on your financial donations, or else support the advertisers.

[00:21:08] Whatever that might be, so that you can help them. But I hope that you will consider what you might do to support this ministry as well. Lots of great material that we've posted on the website at pointofview.net. We need to take a break. We'll come back and give you a little bit of an update on how we're doing as we come to year end. All that coming up right after this. Well, I do need to say that we are running out of time to raise funds by June 30th,

[00:21:36] the deadline that will determine our budget for the next fiscal year. Your gift will make a difference. And thanks to an ongoing matching challenge, your gift will be doubled through the month of June. Here's why Point of View is the media ministry to support as we forge into the future. Point of View is trustworthy with proven dedication to a biblical worldview for 53 years and counting.

[00:22:05] Additionally, Point of View is making a multi-generational impact. Your support equips listeners to articulate biblical truth about the issues of our day with their children and even their grandchildren. Americans need a proven resource to equip current and future generations to live out God's truth in our time.

[00:22:28] Give it to them today by giving at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. That's pointofview.net and 800-347-5151. Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:56] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson. Back once again, let me just mention that tomorrow we have Kevin Lehman with us and we'll be talking about his new book. And then we'll certainly be getting back into the issues in the news. I might just mention Wednesday we have Gary Frazier and we'll certainly be talking about the Middle East.

[00:23:26] Next Monday we have Gary Bauer. We'll certainly be talking about the Middle East and a variety of other things. So all through the week we'll be talking about very important issues. But I thought for just a minute we might bring in the president and vice president of Point of View. Warren Kelly is the president. Janet Weidler is the vice president of Stewardship. And Warren, first of all, this is our last week before the end of the fiscal year. Yes. Which I've said in some respects is more important than even December 31st.

[00:23:51] Because once we end this fiscal year, we have the summer to kind of figure out where we are, to put together a budget. This is a very important time for fundraising. It is a very, very important time for fundraising. And we have a goal. We need to hit $150,000 before the end of the fiscal year. And as Kirby mentioned, we're just a week away from that. So far we have $60,000 that's come in toward that. So we need another $90,000 before the end of the year.

[00:24:20] And did I mention that we're only a week away from the end of the fiscal year? Well, Janet, you are the one that has pulled together some of this giving that has taken place. So has Warren. And in some respects, you get a chance to meet these donors. I do. And you just love these donors, don't you? What a privilege it is to be able to visit with them and share some food and fellowship and get to know about their lives, their family, how they first learned about Point of View. We just got a gift in from our friend in El Campo, Texas of $500.

[00:24:50] And then a couple in Wolcottville, Indiana just gave us a gift of $2,500. So we are really happy that these gifts are coming in, that we are supported by our partners. But as we go on, you can show us how much you value Point of View and learning truth and having the biblical views given to you by all the different issues going on in the world today.

[00:25:19] But you can help us by calling in right now and giving towards our fiscal year. And it is such an important time for us, like Warren had mentioned. I met a couple of days ago with somebody from Tyler, Texas, who has been listening to Point of View since Marlon Maddox was still on the air. And they have never given a gift. So if you are in that category that you have been listening to Point of View and you have never called in with your gift, please do so now. Warren, I've got to come back to you because I know your story.

[00:25:48] You've got to tell it one more time here because you've met with people who you've talked to who have never given to Point of View. I have. I've had several meetings like that with people that I knew from other sources that they had listened to Point of View for many years. Some of them have had a profound impact. The show had a profound impact on their lives, changed the whole direction and course of their lives, and yet they'd never given.

[00:26:12] And I have struggled with that for years and trying to figure out why it is that people don't give when they know that there's a need. So I booked lunch and sat down and every single time I'd ask the question. It says, I'm not trying to, you know, put you on the spot here, but I know Point of View is important to you. Oh, yeah. And I know you care about the show. Oh, yes, very much so. It says, but you've never given to support the show. Can you tell me why? And I get this deer in headlights look every single time.

[00:26:42] And it's just, oh, I just, I never thought about it. Yes. So if you've never thought about it, now's a good time to think about it. So as Jenna said, we would appreciate you if you would call. It's 1-800-347-5151. I might just mention, too, I'm holding up this for those of you that are watching online, but it is our latest issue of Outlook. And, Jenna, you talked about our partners because we really do see them as partners, and they value the Outlook magazine.

[00:27:09] They value those booklets, and you've heard that time and time again, haven't you? I have, pretty much from everybody I meet with. Those booklets are such an incredible tool to give out, especially for younger people, the college and career age and the teens. If you belong to a church and you are in charge of a group such, you know, the college and career or the youth group, this is a great way for them to learn about what's going on in the world from a biblical view.

[00:27:39] And a lot of people think that they have a biblical view, and they are proven wrong over and over and over. So this show is such a valuable asset to those that are seeking God, seeking his will, and seeking the truth. Well, again, we don't necessarily claim to be a prophet, but here the latest issue that is arriving in everybody's inbox, either certainly if they get it by digital or if they certainly get it in their mailbox, is the one on this axis of evil. The latest booklet, Warren, is on Sharia law.

[00:28:09] Yeah. So you can kind of see that we certainly try to be timely. And, Janet, you run into that as well. There are people that will sometimes say, do you have a booklet on? I remember one time we were actually in Peoria, and that was one of the questions. Do you have a booklet on Hinduism? I said no, but we will have one. And there it is right there next to me. And so you can see that in some respects we do see you as a partner because you give us ideas.

[00:28:36] Even today I was responding to an email from somebody asking a very good question. And, Warren, that's another ministry off air that we do in addition to all the broadcast every day. It is. There are so many resources that are available through Point of View. If you visit the website, Kirby's putting at least half a dozen new articles on the website every single day that relate to the topics that he's talking about.

[00:28:58] So that gives you resources that if you want to share something with somebody and you don't remember exactly what he said, a lot of times you can find the information in the resources that we put on the website. Make those available. But, again, the resources when you give are so valuable. The booklets, the Outlook magazine, the different things that we're sending out. So we do appreciate your support and we want to be partners with you in reaching your community as you partner with us in your financial support.

[00:29:27] One other one I thought we'd mention is somebody that sits in this chair occasionally and certainly sits over there is Liberty. And she has been doing a podcast for some time, which we actually are sort of bringing under the umbrella of Point of View. Can you explain that for a minute? Yes, we started it kind of under the umbrella of Point of View and then we moved it separate on the advice of legal counsel to protect some things that we were doing online. But because of the things that have changed in the culture, it now makes more sense to bring it back under the umbrella.

[00:29:56] So Liberty has the Know Why podcast. You can see it at knowwhypodcast.com. It's a great, shorter piece that's geared toward a millennial demographic. She does a great job with that. That's one of the things that we're doing to reach that younger demographic. But Liberty is also helping more and more with the show and giving us a younger voice here. So there's a lot of things that we're doing looking ahead to the future. But to continue those things, we do need your help.

[00:30:26] I might just mention one other one. If you look down on the website there, we have Pray for America. We certainly do that. And we also have the Point of View highlights because Megan has taken some of this great material and put it in a shorter format. And I run into sometimes, Jana, you run into young people as well saying, I'm not sure I can listen to a two-hour program. But if you can give me the highlights of the interview you did with Dinesh D'Souza or Max Lucado or Eric Metaxas, I'd be glad to listen to that. That's correct.

[00:30:52] And a lot of people, a lot of young people listen from their phones. They don't have radios anymore. They don't listen to it in their car. They don't listen to it in their car. Highlights that Megan put together are, it's like you talk about the cliff notes. And it's easier for the young people to be able to hear that, absorb it, and have a solid impression and opinion about what's going on. And if they have a cell phone, maybe we should have an app on the cell phone. What do you think? We are working on that.

[00:31:21] We have found that the total to update our website to support a new phone app. And if you're using the old phone app, you're probably having problems with it. But we talked to somebody and came up with the $65,000 price tag for that, of which we have already raised $20,000 from two of our partners. So that's something else to look into. If you are in a position to give, please be blessed by giving and bless us by your gifts.

[00:31:50] And there's more. A lot of times people say, I'm just responding to and supporting a two-hour broadcast. No, there's a whole lot more behind the scenes. There's a whole lot more. And there's something that I haven't had a chance to even share this with you. I was talking to one of our board members last week. And she made the comment, says, you know, Kirby has all of these different organizations on the show and talks to them, helps promote their organizations, help them with their fundraising for their organizations.

[00:32:18] So when you're giving to point of view, you're literally giving to help hundreds of different organizations across the country and broadening that impact in that way. So there is, like you said, so much more than just the radio program that you're accomplishing when you give. Let's just real mention before I let you guys go, because I know you'll be getting the phone calls. First of all, Warren, you mentioned the number 800-347-5151.

[00:32:44] And I suspect it'll get pretty busy near the end of the week, which is why I'm bringing in family members to answer the phones there as well. 800-347-5151. But now we have, it says Anchor to Truth, 56,000. Now it's up to 60,000 because of what Jana's done. So now we're up to $60,000 match. And it's a dollar for dollar match. So if you said, I would love to make sure that my money, my donation, my gift is matched, now's the time to do so.

[00:33:12] So again, 1-800-347-5151. And of course, the website's pointofview.net. So, Jana, I know you'll be talking to people on the phone, playing with people and answering those phone calls. So, Warren, thank you for being with us today for just a short time. And we will take a break, come back and get into just a few other issues in the news. But don't forget, we have Kevin Lehman tomorrow. That'll be a lot of fun. And we have all sorts of other guests all through the week. And ending up with Penne Dexter and Kelly Shackelford. Let's take a break. We'll be right back.

[00:33:55] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Back for just a few more minutes. Let me again mention that we'll have Kevin Lehman with us tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll have Gary Frazier on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to, of course, the Friday weekend edition with Penne Dexter and Kelly Shackelford, who, by the way, is on the way to Washington, D.C. again. But he said he's coming back Thursday night, so he can be with us on Friday. And then Monday, we have Gary Bauer.

[00:34:20] So you can see we've got a loaded lineup, and certainly there are a lot of different topics we address. I've got to tell a funny story. One time we had a guest in studio, and before the program starts, there's a piece that we play oftentimes, and people that on the Internet can hear it. You maybe don't hear it on your radio program. But I go through all the different topics we list. And he said, boy, that's an incredible list.

[00:34:43] And then my response is, yeah, and sometimes we cover that many topics or a good portion of those topics in two hours because we certainly have today talked about what is happening in Iran and Israel. We've talked about, of course, the Convoy of Hope. Talked just a little bit with Warren Kelly and Jana Weidler about Point of View. And here, my commentary today is about Freedom's Foundations, and tomorrow it's on historical ignorance.

[00:35:10] And I thought I'd just mention that briefly because that's another thing that we like to do here on Point of View, and that is we recognize that we have not done a good job of teaching our children and grandchildren the American history and certainly the reason for the founding of this country. And there certainly is a lot of evidence of God's providence in history, and you've heard us oftentimes talk about that and interview guests on that.

[00:35:38] And so I thought it would be worth mentioning that today's commentary is called Freedom's Foundation. And I point out that really freedom in this country is based upon really three important foundations, morality, limits, and human rights. Morality, well, that one's pretty simple because if you go to the website today, you will see that Karen has posted a quote from John Adams who said,

[00:36:05] Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. We talked about that, interestingly enough, with Kelly Shackelford and Dr. Merrill Matthews on Friday, because when people have an internal moral compass, the size and scope of government can be small. But when you no longer have a basis for morality and everybody does what they think is right,

[00:36:34] you can't even have enough police officers on every street corner to actually deal with what happens when human sinfulness takes off. So the first part of freedom is morality. The second is limits. Lord Acton famously said, Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[00:36:57] That's why the framers of the Constitution had checks and balances on our constitutional system. It recognized that human beings have rights and moral people will keep the government in check, but also a limited government will keep the political leaders in check. So morality, number two, limits. Number three, human rights. That one also is very important, because if you want to understand our government,

[00:37:27] you need to recognize that the Declaration of Independence really gives us the why of American government, and the Constitution explains the how of American government, which also, I think, explains some people say, Well, I don't see God in the Constitution. First of all, I think you can see some implications there. Okay. But I'll admit that, because it's really answering the how question. But the why question, if you want to make a distinction,

[00:37:55] with a church may have a doctrinal statement, which will tell you the why, what we believe, and then you might have church governance that tells you the how. It may not even mention God there, but it doesn't mean the church doesn't believe in God. This is the same kind of thing. Now, we'll first of all have to admit that the country hasn't always lived up to those ideals, but it was a worthy goal to achieve. And so, again, if you see that these foundational principles are important,

[00:38:24] that's why we need to teach them to our children and our grandchildren. Otherwise, that's going to be slipping away, which sets me up for the commentary you will see posted tomorrow. But I'll give you a preview. It's called historical ignorance. And that is, we have all sorts of studies that have shown that most Americans, even if they've gone to college, do not understand our history and our structure of government.

[00:38:54] One example I give is from Tim Gegeline, who's been on the program with us, served at one time as special assistant to President Bush, now writes columns that you can read. And he talked about a study of about 2,500 Americans and found that only half of the adults could even name the three branches of government. Oh, goodness. I'm getting heartburn already. Only a third, about 36% of college graduates could do so.

[00:39:22] And interestingly enough, 18% of the students tested could not name a single right or freedom guaranteed under the First Amendment. This is pretty bad. Well, you say, well, but we must have done better at our elite universities. And, of course, you would know that's not the case because, let's take Harvard. Harvard, even there, Harvard is a prestigious school. It has been one.

[00:39:49] But they found that even on the test, Harvard graduates scored 69%. Most of us would consider that to be, what, a D+, a failing grade. And so there are all sorts of evidence of the fact that we have work to do. Well, that's one of the things we really want to do here on Point of View is educate you about Americans' history, and we certainly want to do that. But also recognize that maybe you aren't getting all the facts.

[00:40:19] The other day I rattled off just a few. For example, in the month of May, now we're coming to the end of June, but in the month of May, we actually, in this country, created 139,000 new jobs that beat expectations for the third month in a row. So you can see that there's always an estimate on how many jobs will be created. We've exceeded that three months in a row.

[00:40:47] And you probably won't be hearing that in too many examples of legacy media, but you heard it here on Point of View. We also have talked about tariffs. Again, we're not real thrilled with the tariffs that Donald Trump has tried to implement. They've been on again, off again. But even so, the tariffs have reduced the budget deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office, by $2.8 trillion.

[00:41:16] And if you remember a couple of months ago, the big issue was the price of eggs. And I just found this on National Egg Day. Yes, there is such a thing as a National Egg Day. They calculated that egg prices were down 61% since Trump took office. And, of course, we've talked about the military and how the U.S. Army met its fiscal recruiting goals four months early.

[00:41:41] And, of course, some of the reason for that celebration of 250 years of the U.S. Army was because it might encourage more young people to consider joining the U.S. military. So, there are a lot of really important principles there. And while we're talking about the military, as we started the program today, let's at least applaud the military for a job well done. We were talking about off-air. Oftentimes, no matter what happens, Trump is wrong.

[00:42:11] But this time, even the media had to say, looks like a job well done. They were able to get in, bomb, get out. And no loss of life, not a hair on the head of any one of those individuals was harmed. And yet, we are also seeing that there are other actions being taken by Israel. And perhaps the Middle East will be more of a safe place than it's been in the past. We'll find that out.

[00:42:38] And that's why we'll continue to talk about this all through the week. If you find yourself saying, I'd like to find some of those articles, look for them at the website, pointofview.net. Think about clicking on that button that says, give now. And now we have a matching challenge up to $60,000. A lot of good work. First of all, I want to thank Megan. Glad to have her back. Engineering the program. Steve, thank you for producing the program. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow right here on Point of View.

[00:43:05] Well, I do need to say that we are running out of time to raise funds by June 30th, the deadline that will determine our budget for the next fiscal year. Your gift will make a difference. And thanks to an ongoing matching challenge, your gift will be doubled through the month of June.

[00:43:30] Here's why Point of View is the media ministry to support as we forge into the future. Point of View is trustworthy with proven dedication to a biblical worldview for 53 years and counting. Additionally, Point of View is making a multi-generational impact. Your support equips listeners to articulate biblical truth about the issues of our day with their children and even their grandchildren.

[00:43:58] Americans need a proven resource to equip current and future generations to live out God's truth in our time. Give it to them today by giving at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. That's pointofview.net and 800-347-5151.

[00:44:24] Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.