[00:00:00] From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now. Well, welcome to a special edition of Washington Watch. Today is Good Friday, a day to remember that our hope is not found on Capitol Hill, but on a hill called Calvary.
[00:00:29] So for this edition, I'll be joined by two special guests, two members of Congress, not to discuss the news of the day, but to discuss the good news and how their faith in Christ has directed their lives and shaped their worldviews and their paths. We'll hear their personal stories and their journey with the Lord Jesus Christ and how the Lord led them into public service and how that guides them today. And we might touch on some of the issues, but I doubt it.
[00:00:58] My guest for this special edition is Louisiana Congresswoman Julia Letlow and Kansas Congressman Tracy Mann. But before we begin, let's start with our word of the day. Our word for today comes from Ezekiel 37, the vision of the valley of the dry bones. Then God said to me, prophesy over these bones and say to them, oh, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live.
[00:01:27] Well, he goes on to say, so I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound and behold, a rattling and the bones came together bone to its bone. And I looked and behold, there were sinews on them and flesh had come upon them and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. There is miracle working power in declaring the revealed word of God. But words alone are not enough. They must be infused with the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit.
[00:01:57] Before we speak God's word, we must pray that people will truly hear it. That kind of hearing, the kind that brings dead things to life, only happens when the Holy Spirit opens ears and softens hearts. Let's pray that he would be doing that in our day. To find out more about our journey through the Bible, text Bible to 67742. That's Bible to 67742. Well, my first guest represents Louisiana's 5th Congressional District,
[00:02:27] geographically the largest district in the state. And she happens to be my representative in Congress. Recently, she was honored with FRC Action's 100% award for scoring a perfect 100% on our issues, faith, family, and freedom, while serving in the 118th Congress. Today, in the 119th Congress, she serves on the House Appropriations Committee, Committee on Education. With me now is, in the FRC studios, is Congresswoman Julia Letlow.
[00:02:57] Congresswoman, thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for having me today. This is, it's a great opportunity to have you as my member of Congress, but also to hear your story. It's a really powerful story. And I want to start with just your encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and how you have talked about how that really transformed your life back in the early 90s. Yes, yes.
[00:03:26] Well, you know, looking back on my life now, it's very easy to see the Lord's hand in every step that I took. So, yes, I can take it all the way back to fifth grade if you want. But you know what? I want to write a book sometimes because that is the most pivotal point in people's lives. When you go back and you ask people, tell me what happened fourth and fifth grade. Usually there is a life shaping event that occurred during that time period.
[00:03:56] So let's start with fifth grade. Yes, so fifth grade was actually the year that I made the decision that Jesus would be my Savior and was baptized in the Ouachita River by a very dear pastor, family friend of ours. And my dad was there as well. So yes, that was such a, the most important decision of my entire life. For the benefit of some of our viewers and listeners, just to kind of give a little context of the Ouachita River, that's also where the Duck Dynasty guys hang out.
[00:04:24] That's right. That's right. We all went to school together, believe it or not. So wonderful family. But also in the fifth grade, I remember the Lord putting a desire in my heart to become a teacher. And I remember going home and telling my parents that not only a teacher, but very specifically a college professor. And I'm not sure I even really knew exactly what that was. But my parents were tickled at the time. They said, oh, Julia, we have no doubt that you will,
[00:04:53] you will be determined and live out those dreams. Just make sure that you choose a university wisely, because you're going to be in school for a very long time to have to go after a PhD in order to become a college professor. So yes, two pivotal things that happened in the fifth grade for me. And on that journey, oftentimes as Christians, people think, well, everything's going to be rosy. Everything's going to go just right. The reality is we face a lot of challenges.
[00:05:22] In fact, I think oftentimes more because God is equipping us, training us, putting us through the refining fire to really refine that faith so that we can have a greater impact for his kingdom, which is eternal. You've experienced that. Sure. Talk about the experience you had with your brother when you were in high school. Thank you. So yes, I was having the best time in college.
[00:05:49] I was a junior and living with sorority sisters, roommates at the time. And I should preface this also with just had the most incredible upbringing, two loving parents, faith-filled, strong Christian parents who instilled that faith within each one of us. My older sister, April, is four years older than me. I'm the middle kid, admittedly.
[00:06:13] And then we had our younger brother, Jeremy, who was just gregarious, full of life. Just you wanted to be around him, infectious life, all of those things. So I remember I was at my home and received one of those phone calls that you'll never forget. It brings you to your knees. And I had learned that my brother had passed away in an automobile accident that night.
[00:06:40] And my parents were awaiting a cruise ship down in Florida at the time. And this was right on the cusp of cell phones. So we weren't immediately able to get in touch with them. And I remember going to the hospital, and they take you into that smaller room. And no one would make eye contact with me. So I knew something that it was all true, what I'd been told over the phone. Now, my sister had not been relayed all of that information.
[00:07:08] So she was still hopeful that it wasn't as dire as I knew. But I walked into that room, Tony, and I saw my dad's best friend dialing away on the telephone. And then that's when it hit me. Someone is going to have to tell my parents this earth-shattering news that will change their world forever. And I'd been told by an acquaintance, and it was very jarring. And I just—the Lord put it upon me.
[00:07:35] This needs to come from somebody who loves Jeremy almost as much as my parents do. And I looked at my sister at the time, and she was in shock. We had just been told, yes, that they confirmed that he didn't make it. And I looked over at my dad's best friend, and I said, Will you let one of us know when it's time? It needs to come from a direct family member. And I just remember shaking. And Mr. Terry, my dad's best friend, came in. He said, We finally got him on the line. Your dad's on the phone.
[00:08:05] And I looked at my sister, and she was going through those awful shock emotions at the time. And so I went with my pastor, Dr. David Youth, at the time. And it was on one side, and then youth pastor on the other. And I just felt this peace come over me, that peace that surpasses all understanding. And my dad said, Julia, honey, what's going on? And I just said, Dad, Jeremy got in a car accident today, and he didn't make it.
[00:08:34] And I expected my dad to have all of those just wailing and crying and falling to his knees the same way I did. And there's just something about our father's love. And my dad and mom, for that matter, will always be my heroes in my mind because my dad knew exactly what I needed to hear. And it was truth. He said, Julia, your brother is in heaven right now rejoicing with the Lord.
[00:09:02] And we had 17 amazing years with him. And for that, we will be grateful. What an incredible gift to impart to a teenager who was grieving and grappling with how to make sense of this. And there just is no sense.
[00:09:22] But to have a father like that, a human father in my life, to be such an example of what I think our Heavenly Father does for us, just bestow that love on a child that's grieving and hurting. What an incredible experience. Well, and also, as we're here on Good Friday, right before Resurrection Sunday, to know the peace that we can have in the midst of that difficulty when we know the person that we love and grieve for
[00:09:52] is in the presence of God for all eternity. I mean, there's nothing that you can trade for. And I've, as a pastor, in fact, as a police officer, I used to have to do the notifications. So I've been, of course, mostly strangers that I would have to make that contact with and see how people deal with it differently. But when you have that assurance, it doesn't remove the grief. But it enables you to work through it. That's right. Absolutely. It's hope.
[00:10:22] That's right. So how did that shape you? Sure. So fast forward, again, knew I wanted to go to graduate school, follow that dream that the Lord put into my heart. And so I was pursuing my master's degree. And I had these two amazing college professors, major advisors in my life at the time. And when I'm going through one of life's tragedies, valleys, I want to lean into the literature. I want to read about other people's experiences. How did they make it through?
[00:10:52] What nuggets of wisdom did they use to get through really tough times? And there just wasn't a lot out there, Tony, on sibling grief, per se. There was a lot of literature on if you lose a spouse or a parent or a child, God forbid. But there just wasn't much out there on sibling grief. So I had these amazing college professors who at the time said, well, Julia, you should write about it. You should write your thesis on sibling grief. And it was twofold for me.
[00:11:19] It was cathartic in that it started to help me heal. But it also contributed to a deficit in the body of literature on sibling grief. And God forbid somebody in the future finds themselves at that pivotal moment in their lives. And they're looking for something to read, to find hope. It's a Romans 8.28. Right. That all things work together for good. That's right. So that parlayed into a PhD program where I had the opportunity to write a dissertation
[00:11:49] and interviewed five different families who had lost a direct family member and asked them, how did you find meaning after loss? What did you do to try to find purpose and hope? And they all imparted their wisdom on me. And I was able to write that into a dissertation, which I would then later use later on down the road. Wow. It's just so encouraging how the Lord can take those moments that we think could be the end.
[00:12:19] And it's really just the beginning. We just have about a minute and a half left in this segment because I want to go to the next encounter that you had. Because teaching and being in public office, not the same thing. This was not a path that you had chosen. But I can speak to that. I think that's the way the Lord works. People talk about, you know, I don't know. I want to be a Christian. It's so boring. Anything but boring. No, that's right. You never know what the Lord has in store for us. It's just a matter of whether or not we're going to be obedient.
[00:12:48] Now, when we get into the next segment, I want to talk about your husband, Luke. Yes. I knew Luke. Yes. He was your high school sweetheart. Yes. You became parents and you continued, both of you, to have very successful careers. Yes. And you both felt that the Lord was leading into public office. Him, not you. Right. And it ran for Congress.
[00:13:15] And when we come back, I want to walk through that process because he had been involved. I worked with him back before he actually became a candidate for office. But I want to talk about that because that's more about your story and how the Lord has used that and how you've yielded to the working of our Heavenly Father. So, Julia Letlow, I want to thank you for joining us. So, stay right there.
[00:13:42] Folks, stick around because we have a lot more of this special Good Friday edition of Washington Watch straight ahead. And be sure and check out our Bible reading plan. Stand on the word. Text Bible to 67742 and you can join us on the journey. Don't go away. At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect.
[00:14:08] That's why FRC President Tony Perkins went to Capitol Hill to testify on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Islamist terror groups target Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria with brutal violence. Representative Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said 55,000 people have been killed and 21,000 abducted in the last five years alone.
[00:14:33] The congressman also stressed that 89% of Christians in the world who are martyred are from Nigeria. Yet the government of Nigeria has failed to make progress against religiously motivated persecution of Christians despite religious freedom being enshrined as an essential human right in their constitution. Tony Perkins called for the United States to send an unmistakable message. This is systematic religious violence.
[00:15:00] Nigeria must be re-designated a country of particular concern. Biden administration's removal of this designation was a reckless mistake that emboldened the very terrorists who are slaughtering Christians. Redesignating Nigeria will enable the U.S. government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians. These are not just numbers. These are fathers, they're mothers, they're children, they're families.
[00:15:32] They're children, they're children, they're children, they're children. In this case of the pandemic, they say it's going to be a challenge. We live in fear because at any point it can be our turn to be killed. But to remain silent is to die twice. So I have chosen to speak. FRC is calling on President Trump to act now to promote religious freedom around the globe and speak up on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
[00:15:56] Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today and join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We've created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective, read and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events, and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family, and church members and stand firm everywhere you go.
[00:16:29] Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith-centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines, delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington Stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
[00:17:03] Welcome back to this special edition of Washington Watch. Now, typically, we have legislators and elected officials on the program discussing the news of the day, but today we're discussing the news, the good news. And we're doing that, by the way, of just talking about how members of Congress in particular, as my two guests today, how faith in Jesus Christ has shaped their lives and how it guides them today.
[00:17:29] This is one of the most encouraging aspects from my vantage point. And as I've been here over 20 years, I've watched this progression of more men and women of genuine deep faith in Jesus Christ being called into this arena. And now, that should encourage all of us because it tells us that God is not finished with our nation, with our government, because usually when he's finished, he pulls people out. He doesn't send them in.
[00:17:58] And Julia Letlow is one of those individuals that the Lord has called into government and is using her in a very significant way as she has yielded to him. And Julia, I want to pick up. We were discussing your husband, Luke. I didn't go into the story of what happened, but he was elected to Congress from the north part of our state in the Monroe area. But five days before he was to be seated in office, something happened.
[00:18:27] Right. So I lost Luke to COVID. And when I received the phone call, I was graciously allowed to be by his side at LSU Shreveport. I know a lot of people weren't afforded that opportunity and just had some really precious moments with him and was able to say our goodbyes. But yes, I lost him to COVID and was just an absolute shock. And it's one of those moments where you just think, oh, don't I get a pass?
[00:18:57] You know, I want to ask you about that because I don't want to eat up too much time. But I do think it's important. I mean, you lost your brother. Yes. And now your husband. Were you asking God? Right. You ask those questions. Not again. You know, I thought I'd already gone through the worst experience that you could possibly go through. But yes, he unfortunately passed away and he was in perfect health. And we were on one of life's mountaintops. Yes. He just won his congressional seat. Yes.
[00:19:27] And Luke, you knew him. He taught me so many pearls of wisdom along the way. One of which is to live in the moment. Be appreciative of all that God has given you right here and right now. I remember the night that he won and just, you know, I was gloating over him saying, oh, you know, baby, just knocked it out of the park. 65 percent. Wow. You know, what's next? Send it.
[00:19:52] You know, he said, Julia, I just want you to know if nothing else ever happens to me in this life, I am so incredibly grateful and content. I got to marry the love of my life. We built our dream home on family land. And I had these two beautiful babies and was able to run for an office that I've dreamed about my entire life. Let's just be so appreciative right now. And I've taken that with me every day that I've lived since.
[00:20:18] After he passed away to COVID, you were, people talked to you about it. And I think, if I recall correctly, I think there was something said that you felt like this was something he would want you to do. Yeah. Speak to that decision. Sure. I mean, this is not your field. No. Education is your field. But in fact, most spouses, you know, my wife, when I was in politics, she doesn't like politics because she saw how bad it can be.
[00:20:46] And it's harder for the spouse because they mostly see the bad things. Right. But you jumped into the arena. Why? You know, again, the Lord preparing you. One day Luke came home and said, honey, I have the best idea. We're going to go on a good old fashioned stump tour. We hooked up Billy Nungesser's elephant to the back of the video. I pulled that around the state. I have pulled that around the state many times. He said, we're going to visit all 24 parishes. I'm going to give a good old stump tour speech.
[00:21:14] And the best part is we're going to take the kids. And I said, honey, that is the worst idea I've ever heard in the world. And Tony, when I tell you what a blessing that was to me, I fell in love with the people from every single parish that we represented. And when we came back, I said, okay, that was amazing. But let me tell you something that I noticed. There aren't a lot of women in public office. There aren't a lot of women running. And I just took it for granted that there were. And I noticed that there weren't.
[00:21:43] And he said, honey, you're a thousand percent right. So you do something about it. And I said, well, not me. You know, I have these babies. I have, you know, he said, well, that's why women won't step up and run. And so I said, you know what? Maybe I will. Maybe I'll run for school board one day, you know. And then, of course, the Lord having other plans for my life. But he had always said, Julia, you have the qualifications. You have the background.
[00:22:10] He said, promise me if the opportunity ever arises, you'll run through that door because you have the desire to serve. And that's what's most important. And you've done it well. You've gone through multiple elections now. What was most surprising when you stepped into that arena? I know you saw it from the vantage point of a spouse. But once you stepped into that arena, what was most surprising? The most amazing people.
[00:22:37] You know, we have, there are fringes on both sides. They tend to soak up a lot of the media. They're louder than most. And so they're the ones that get hurt. And so America sees us fighting on television all the time. But truly, when you go, there's 400 or so really amazing people on the house side who are willing to work together. And that's been so encouraging to me. I expected it just to be inner fighting. But I've met some of the most amazing faith-filled people on both sides of the aisle.
[00:23:07] And so that's been the most rewarding part. Yeah, one of the things the speaker and I have talked about for years is, since he's been to Congress, is the need for greater civility in those conversations. And he's practiced that. And he's articulated that. And I do hope that we can get to a place as a country where we're not allowing the fringes to drive the conversation. Because as followers of Christ, our goal is not to win a debate or even an election. It is to win hearts and minds with the truth.
[00:23:37] Doesn't mean we don't get involved. We don't take principled stands. But we've got to keep the eternal things before us. That's right. A little over a minute left, Julia. How can our listeners and viewers be praying for you? Oh, just pray for stamina, for just, I feel the prayers. I really do. And just that everything that I continue to see the Lord's hand and everything leading up, good or bad. And I share my testimony wherever I go.
[00:24:07] I know that while I would give anything to have Jeremy back and Luke back, if I hadn't lost Jeremy, I would have not had clarity of mind or sound mind to be able to make that crucial decision to run for office. Because I knew that that physical pain that you feel when you lose someone, it will subside. And so, just back to your point, I've seen the Lord's hand in every experience, good or bad. And knowing that, reminding me of the Lord's sovereignty. So, that would be my ultimate prayer.
[00:24:35] Well, we will pray to that end. Thank you. And pray for your two children as well as they grow up. And watch mom be a leader in our nation. Julia, great to have you on the program. Thanks for joining us. It's an honor. Thank you. Folks, stick with us. Next, we're going to talk to Congressman Tracy Mann. I talked to him last week. I'm going to show you that in just a moment, so don't go away. Everything we do begins as an idea.
[00:25:03] Before there can be acts of courage, there must be the belief that some things are worth sacrificing for. Before there can be marriage, there is the idea that man should not be alone. Before there was freedom, there was the idea that individuals are created equal. It's true that all ideas have consequences, but we're less aware that all consequences are the fruit of ideas. Before there was murder, there was hate.
[00:25:29] Before there was a holocaust, there was the belief by some people that other people are undesirable. Our beliefs determine our behavior, and our beliefs about life's biggest questions determine our worldview. Where did I come from? Who decides what is right and wrong? What happens when I die? Our answers to these questions explain why people see the world so differently. Debates about abortion are really disagreements about where life gets its value.
[00:25:59] Debates over sexuality and gender and marriage are really disagreements about whether the rules are made by us or for us. What we think of as political debates are often much more than that. They're disagreements about the purpose of our lives and the source of truth. As Christians, our goal must be to think biblically about everything. Our goal is to help you see beyond red and blue, left and right, to see the battle of ideas at the root of it all.
[00:26:26] Our goal is to equip Christians with a biblical worldview and help them advance and defend the faith in their families, communities, and the public square. Cultural renewal doesn't begin with campaigns and elections. It begins with individuals turning from lies to truth. But that won't happen if people can't recognize a lie and don't believe truth exists.
[00:26:49] We want to help you see the spiritual world behind the political world, the truth claims behind the press release, and the forest, and the trees. Welcome back to this special edition of Washington Watch for this Good Friday edition. We're kind of stepping away from the news of the day and giving special attention to the good news. Joining me for this second half of the program is Congressman Tracy Mann.
[00:27:18] He represents Kansas' first congressional district, commonly known as the Big First, because it's a district that spans more than half of the state, making it the seventh largest district in the nation that does not cover an entire state. He's serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was recognized last week as FRC Action's 100% award recipient for scoring 100% on our scorecard during the 118th Congress.
[00:27:46] Today, in the 119th Congress, he serves on two House committees, the Agriculture Committee and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. On the Agriculture Committee, he is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, a staunch advocate for farmers and stewarding agriculture resources. Congressman Mann is married to his wife, Audrey, and he is the father of four children, and he joins me in studio. Congressman Mann, welcome to Washington Watch. Great to see you. Honored to be here.
[00:28:15] Appreciate all that you do. Let's, you know, this is a little different. I know we talk policy a whole lot, but let's talk, I want to talk faith, family, and freedom. Let's just start with faith. What role has your Christian faith played in bringing you to this point in your life? Yeah, well, everything. You know, so I grew up in a Christian family.
[00:28:41] Our family's gone to church our whole life, appreciate that, was saved early on, but really had experience with Jesus when I was in college. You know, when you grow up on a farm, you work really hard, and I took those same values to my spiritual life as well, and I was trying to change my life from the outside in and just realize one day in college, one, I was getting tired, and two, realize if I would just let Jesus change my heart, my life could be changed from the inside out. And since that day, it's changed everything for me. Where were you in college?
[00:29:11] I went to Kansas State University. Studying? Agricultural Economics at GECON. Always figured I'd go back and farm with our family. That's what our family's always done. And lo and behold, ended up, you know, life took a different path. Ended up going into real estate and now get to be a member of Congress. What brought you to that place where you realized there was something missing? I was getting tired, as odd as this sounds. So, you know, I was the kid. When I was in seventh grade, I'd wake up at 530 in the morning, feed our cattle and work out because I wanted to be a successful athlete.
[00:29:39] And then when I, spiritually, I started, you know, said I had the same work ethic to my spiritual life, which meant for me to keep growing, I needed to be in five Bible studies instead of four. Or it needed to be in more small groups. So kind of working. Kind of that idea that if we work hard enough, we're going to be successful. Precisely. Yeah. Instead of real. And then I realized, just dawned on me, I'm getting, one, I realized I'm 23 years old. I'm getting exhausted already. And just realized, hey, if I would just let the Lord change my heart. So a discovery of grace. Yeah.
[00:30:09] We don't have to earn it. Yeah, exactly. It's given to us. Yeah. And when Jesus said, you know, Matthew 22, you know, you clean the outside of the cup, but the inside's filthy dirty, that was me. The outside was, I was working hard to clean it, but the inside hadn't changed. And it was really just letting Jesus change the inside. What happened at that point then? It was a wild experience, Tony. So it felt like scales fell off my eyes. Like I just felt this weight kind of fall off of me. And then I felt like I'd struck gold. And I said, hey, if this is real, I'm going to share this with all my friends.
[00:30:38] And so we are some guys, you know, at K-State, we're all walking together. And then we started meeting in small groups. Those guys are still my best friends. Talk to them, you know, every week. We've been walking together for 25 years now, but it just literally changed everything. At what point did you meet your wife? About two years after that. So met Audrey. That was another big part of my spiritual journey as well. And we've been married now for 23 years. If you don't mind, talk a little bit about how did that encounter happen? Yeah.
[00:31:07] So I was in, I was at Kansas University. I was student, my president, president of my college. Went to a leadership conference in Topeka. Audrey was at a different college. She's from Oklahoma, but she's at a different college in Kansas. She was also there. We met. I asked her out literally for a year. She kept turning me down. Finally, moment of weakness, I asked her to go out with me. She said yes. And we've been hanging out ever since. So how long have you been married now? 23 years. 23 years. And how old are your children? They are 13 down to seven.
[00:31:37] So we have four of them. Sounds more planned out than it was right now. They're 13, 11. It's a good starter family. Yeah, that's exactly right. So, you know, honestly, so we got married, wanted to have children and then couldn't. Had a series of miscarriages. This whole issue of when does life begin? I've always been pro-life, but it crystallized in me when we were going through this miscarriage process and realized, if this is just tissue, Tony, why am I grieving? Why does it hurt so bad? So it's very personal.
[00:32:06] But that's where this whole notion of there's no question in my mind that life starts at conception. And it only becomes more real when you have that first child. That's right. Because we went through a very similar process. And then when that first child was born, it was like I was... I'd been pro-life because, you know, that's what you do if you are a Christian and you're following the Lord. But then you really understand it when you see the just the unbelievable miracle of life.
[00:32:35] That's right. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. But there's just no question God creates life. He's about that. You know, he is our life giver. And yeah, so being a dad, huge in my life, you know, learning what does it mean to love as a father? How does my father love me every day as I'm trying to love my kids? You know, that is also why I think fatherhood has been under such attack is because when we
[00:33:03] walk in this world, we kind of...our relationship with our father influences our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Yeah. And when you see so many bad relationships there, it taints that relationship with our Heavenly Father. And I think that's why Satan attacks the father more than anything. All right, Tracy, we're up against a break. We're going to come back. And I want to talk a little bit more about family, your family history.
[00:33:29] You've got an interesting history, long time in Kansas, family goes way, way back. We want to talk about that as well as how you balance, you know, being here in Washington, D.C., family back in Kansas, dad, small kids. How do you manage all that? So we're going to talk about that when we come back. Folks, stick with us as we continue this special Good Friday edition of Washington Watch. We're going to continue our conversation with Congressman Mann on the other side of the break. So don't go away.
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[00:36:54] That's S-A-G-E-C-O-N, Sage Con, to learn more. Welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks so much for joining us on this Good Friday. And as I mentioned earlier, we're kind of stepping away from the news and giving special attention to the good news. My guest is Congressman Tracy Mann. He represents the 1st Congressional District of Kansas, and we're talking about things that, well,
[00:37:22] everything we talk about here matters, but this really matters. It really matters. We talk about faith, family, and freedom. So we talked a little bit about how you came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and how that impacted your life. Married, four children. Fascinating story. You and I had dinner quite some time ago, and we were having a conversation over dinner, and I just found it was fascinating, the connectedness, why family is so important.
[00:37:50] And your dad still lives in the home that your grandfather built that came from Sears and Roba. Yeah. Actually, my great-great-grandfather ordered our farmhouse from Sears and Roba catalog, and it came on the train as a kit, and they assembled it. And that's where my dad will sleep tonight. You know, my parents were married for 53 years. My mom passed away, went to be with the Lord last fall. But I grew up with a strong sense of place and family,
[00:38:19] and then, you know, grew up working on our farm. My dad every day. My grandpa, his father lived 100 yards away. And so this notion of, you know, being around men who loved the Lord, worked hard, was just kind of ingrained in me, and I'm so grateful for those experiences, Tony. There's so much that comes with that. When you need help, you need not just encouragement, but, I mean, you have that connectedness with the family right there. You can turn to the family.
[00:38:48] And I would say, I mean, that's one of the things I think that's missing in our society today is we're so mobile. We're moving across the country different places, and we don't have that infrastructure. And frankly, I mean, not to get into the politics of this, but this is why so many people, I think, turn to government is because the family's not there. I think that's exactly right. And I think, you know, males and fatherhood matters greatly. I think about a defining moment in my life. I remember I was 13 years old.
[00:39:18] I was riding with my grandpa. We had two farms. One was 20 miles away. We were driving. It was harvest time. And we passed our neighbor who was in a grain truck who was 16. His name's Wesley Miller. I'll never forget this. And we're going along, and there's a pecking order in the harvest field. And I was at the very bottom, so I was the grain cart driver. But my grandpa looked over at me, and he said, Tracy, I see that Wesley learned how to drive a grain truck this year. I'm thinking about putting you in one. And I said, but I called him Papa. But Papa, Wesley's 16, and I'm 13.
[00:39:47] And he looked over at me, Tony, very lovingly but rebukingly. But he goes, yeah, but your last name is Man, and his isn't. And that's all he said. And kind of this notion of, hey, you're my grandson. You can do anything. Like, that stays with me to this day. And I just think the importance of, you know, grandparents, parent fathers, grandfathers, mentors, you know, people in other people's lives to really come along beside and put their stamp and say, hey, you've got this because you're a child of God. Yeah.
[00:40:17] We can't look at that without also understanding this, as we were talking in the earlier segment, the spiritual side of that. And why I don't necessarily think it's intentional, but we've had a culture that has been dismissive of fathers, dismissive of masculinity. I mean, when you're on the farm, you're working. It's physical work. I mean, I've worked in the oil field, I know, back in Oklahoma when I grew up there.
[00:40:47] You know, hay, you know, going out and harvesting the hay. And I mean, that's hard work. And boys, men, young men learn from hard work. And seeing others model that for them makes a huge difference in their lives. Yeah. And when you're in the trenches with somebody, building fence, working hard, pushing through, like, these are all things that are, you know, you only learn some things by watching it and then doing them. And I, you know, all things are spiritual, right?
[00:41:16] And the majority of the issues faced in this country are spiritual. There's an enemy. He is seeking to, you know, steal, kill, and destroy. And he is going right after the family, which is why this program and what you're doing matters. So, Tracy, let's talk about that because, you know, you and I share something in common. We've both been in office, but we right now we're both, we both commute. Now my children are a little older because I've been doing this for over 20 years.
[00:41:44] Balancing that role as a father because our call as fathers, as husbands is first and foremost to our family. Even if we carry a title of congressman or whatever, our first responsibility is to them. How do you manage that? Yeah. Well, I think the big thing is remembering what is the big thing, and that's I'm a dad first. And, you know, even when things are crazy in D.C., I'm checking in with Audrey, talking to the kids, being engaged with them. That matters greatly.
[00:42:12] You know, in this town, you know, you wear a pin and people call you sir. When I go home, I'm dad and my kids don't listen to me when it comes time to go to bed or clean their room or whatever. But that matters, right? Presence, presence. Yeah, and we're a carry-our-own-luggage kind of a family, right? And so it's really important that we instill those basic values in our kids, and that's what we're seeking to do.
[00:42:33] At the end of the day, I feel like I'm in this office because I feel called to do it, and I'm trusting the Lord to also make up some gaps and, you know, to make sure that our kids also thrive. They're in a great spot right now. I'm grateful for that. A lot of prayer, a lot of being present as well. I think, Tracy, that's very important, and I hope other fathers are hearing that because not everybody's a congressman. Not everybody is in Washington, D.C., but they all have responsibilities. They have jobs.
[00:43:01] They have obligations to care for their family, and there's always that tension. But I'm going to go back and just kind of unpack what you said so that others will grab that. Number one is priorities and knowing that the most important title that we'll ever have is father, husband, and we need to prioritize that. What I've also found over my time is intentionality, that we have to be intentional.
[00:43:28] And I think actually having this distance each week makes me more intentional when I'm back home to invest in my children. I think if you're there in and out every day, we kind of think, well, we'll do that tomorrow. We're not as intentional about building those relationships with our children. I think that's a great insight, Tony. Intentionality matters, and I think that's true if you travel for work or if you don't.
[00:43:53] When I get home, when I go back to my house, I have this little bridge in the front of our driveway, and I think to myself, okay, I'm now checking in. This is not going home to check out. This is actually where my career, this is where the most meaningful things that I'm going to do really start as I get home and work to engage with the kids.
[00:44:11] Yeah, because you haven't experienced this yet, but there will come a time when you leave Congress, and I've just watched over my time here that, you know, this town forgets easily, but your kids won't. That's right. Yeah. And that's something you've got to keep in the forefront, and we're called to be, you know, children of God and then parents, and then husband, and then parents first and foremost.
[00:44:36] I want to go back to the farm for a moment because farmers, it's a family undertaking, as you just described about your grandfather being in the truck with your grandfather. And I have found, I don't know if you've done this, you probably have, but even having some of your kids come up and stay with you here during the week as you're here and experience what you're doing. My kids, in fact, just a couple weeks ago, my youngest son was here with me.
[00:45:02] I love to hang out with my kids, but it's important for them, I think, to see what their fathers do and for your children to be a part of what you're doing. And that's not just if you're in Congress or you're at the Family Research Council. I think that's for everything. I think that's right. And you think about this phenomenon of leaving to go to work and coming back is really just the last 120, 130 years. You know, before that, families lived together, worked together, ate practically every meal together. Yeah.
[00:45:33] You know, we're mentored by, you know, fathers were in the home. So this separation we now have, it's not necessarily bad, but I just think we have to be extra proactive. Intentional. Intentional. I can recall as a kid, my dad was a lineman, electrician, he climbed poles. And I remember he would take me occasionally to, I couldn't work with him, but he would, you know, I would take him to work with my mom.
[00:45:55] And just to see where my dad worked was, it was a big thrill for me to go and see what my dad did and be a part of it. And I think, again, there's this separation that culture kind of pushes on us. And I think we've got to push back on that and begin to incorporate our kids. That's why I'm, you know, I know there's been these bring your kids to work day and things. I actually think that's a very good idea. We need our kids to see us working and see why these things matter. I think that's exactly right.
[00:46:25] And to be an example, you know, there's, you can talk all you want, but we learn by seeing and doing things. Absolutely. And then when they see you in, you know, situations where it's tough, not just, you know, when it's easy or you're accounting your day, but when they see, hey, dad's in a tough meeting right now or in a sticky situation and they see how you respond to that. But I saw that with my dad and grandpa growing up and a strong impact on me. And I think we all want to give those things to our children.
[00:46:51] Tracy, one other thing that you said I want to kind of highlight is having dinner together. It's amazing how many families are so busy they don't have time to sit down and share a meal. And I find that we focus on that on the weekends because obviously in here in D.C. during the week you can't do that. But we have such encouraging, informative time.
[00:47:19] That's where, quite frankly, we've made it intentional to build worldview as we talk about what we've all experienced during the course of the week and make biblical illustrations out of that. Yeah. And share and be together as a family. My wife and I, we love to invest in college students. And so when we have them over to our home, it's amazing how we have, you know, so many young people that have never really had family meals. You know, meals in their own family or with others. We're losing that.
[00:47:48] It's really important. I think we ask ourselves, why did God create us to need to eat? And now we do it three times a day. I think it's so we connect. It's not just about getting nutrition. Look what Jesus did. Look what Jesus did. Most of his ministry was over a meal. Yeah. And at the very end, what did he do? He made breakfast for his disciples. It's pretty incredible when you think about it. Yeah. A lot can happen over a meal. There's just fellowship. There's just even here in D.C. I mean, it's one of the things I try to do is have a meal with members at least once a week. And intentionality, too.
[00:48:17] You know, not just having a meal and talking about sports, which is fine sometimes. Like when we sit with our kids, we do this thing called sunny, stormy, rainbow. Like, sunny, like what's the best thing that happened today? Stormy, what's the worst thing that happened? Rainbow, what's something you're looking forward to? Oh, that's good. Some people call it high, low, buffalo. And our kids, whether they're six or 13, you know, it gets them to share. We've used the word a lot. Intentionality matters. Well, I agree with that. We don't talk sports.
[00:48:44] I want to talk with my kids about meaningful things. And I know I'm going to offend a lot of sports fans. But, I mean, there's a place for it. But sports and weather are not the things that really matter. Yeah. And, you know, imagine our table would be easy just to talk about politics. Yeah. We don't talk about politics. Because let's talk about – I'm tired of talking about those. That's all I've talked about all week long. Yeah. All right. We just have a few minutes left, Tracy. So, I want to kind of get your sense – you know, you've been here for a while now.
[00:49:13] Let's talk sunny, stormy, and rainbow, I guess, to paraphrase what you said there. What is it that gives you – that is good that we see happening in this country? And then I want to ask you, what concerns you? Yeah. It's a great, great question. There's a lot of goodness happening in the country. I mean, I feel like there's a renaissance – you know, I feel like there are – this is a time in our country where people are coming back to the Lord. It's a very real way. I think you're right. And, you know, it feels that way.
[00:49:42] I think we need to keep praying. I think believing that our best days are yet to come matters. So, I think we need to keep praying and believing and trusting the Lord. Because I think he has – he's not done with America yet, and it's fun to get to be part of that. Yeah. I think you're absolutely right. There is a lot that we see happening that the media doesn't necessarily report it, but we see the signs of it, which is encouraging. I want to go – what troubles you? What concerns you about what you see from your vantage point as a member of Congress?
[00:50:12] Yeah, a lot of things. Certainly the breakdown of the family utmost, but also our debt. You know, we're $36 trillion in debt. I just think that that's an existential threat to the country. And also, we just drifted from our basic fundamental founding values, which I would argue our faith, family, hard work, personal responsibility, caring for our neighbors. This is what makes America, America. These values are still alive and well in much of our country. A lot of our country, though, it's not.
[00:50:41] And we've got to figure out how we reinvigorate those values. I think it goes back to the family. I think the family is the incubator for that. But if we're going to see it, it's going to be in the family as they're infused with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that's going to happen. All right. Rainbow. Yeah. We – as a nation, we turn 250 years old next summer. I think we have a tremendous opportunity to do a kind of a spiritual reset, if you will, Tony. I think it could be a tremendous opportunity.
[00:51:10] There's going to be fireworks. There's going to be a lot of things. But we have an opportunity to reflect on who we are, what God wants us to be, and what the next 250 years are. And so I'm spending a lot of time prayerfully really thinking about, praying about, talking to others about what that might look like. So that's something I'm looking forward to. That is great insight, because I do think this is an opportunity to go back and say, you know, how did we get here? What's our foundation?
[00:51:36] And I think when you go back – and we've got a couple of generations now that have not really been taught our history and what it is. And as we go back to that, we can uncover the ancient paths, as the Scripture says. Yeah. I'm reading back through Chronicles, kings right now, you know, had good kings. The people did well, and then the next generation would have a bad king. You know, there's up and down, up and down. But I think we have a huge opportunity in our country. So I'm pretty optimistic looking forward. But we've got to keep praying for the country.
[00:52:06] How can our viewers and listeners be praying for you and your family? Yeah, I would say, you know, to stay connected to each other and to the Lord. And then when I think about how to pray for our leaders, I think about what – instead of reinventing the wheel, I look at what Solomon prayed for. When he became king, God appeared doing a dream. Most people say to ask for wisdom. He actually didn't ask for wisdom. He asked for a discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong. And so I think praying for a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong.
[00:52:34] Because the problem in this town is there are people that think things that are wrong are right. There's people who think the things that are right are wrong. But I think a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong. Well, and it begins with a recognition that there is right and wrong. That's correct. Yeah. Tracy, we've just got about 30 seconds left. Can I pray for you? Yeah, please do. Thank you. Father, we thank you for this time together as we celebrate this day, a day that was a turning point in the history of mankind, the hope that we find through Jesus Christ.
[00:53:02] And I thank you, Father, for raising up leaders like Tracy. And I pray your blessing upon him and his family. And we do join together, praying that our leaders at every level of government would have that discernment. Number one, recognizing there is right and wrong. There is truth. And Lord, may they lead this nation in the way of truth. And we thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. All right. And folks, thank you for joining us as well.
[00:53:30] And I'll leave you once again with the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 6, where he says, when you've done everything you can do, when you've prayed, when you've prepared, and when you've taken your stand, by all means, keep standing.
[00:53:43] Thank you.