[00:00:00] Speaker A: It's November 5, 2024, and we are on the brink of one of the most consequential elections in U.S. history. I am Zach Terry, and this is Code Red.
As our culture stands at an ideological Crossroads, we have two candidates who represent two distinct futures for America. Republican Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, a man who combines the ideological worldview of Ronald Reagan with the publicity instincts of Don King.
Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice president. Harris, who was thrust to the head of her party after the poor performance of President Joe Biden in his first debate with Trump.
According to the polls, the race is as close as any in recent history, with a slight edge in momentum for Trump as Americans go to the polls. But the election will ultimately be determined by the electoral math, specifically as it pertains to a number of toss up states. The majority of those states are in the eastern and central time zones, which gives us some hope that we could have a presumed winner by midnight tonight.
But in times like these, anything could happen. With that in mind, let's go first to our boots on the ground in Washington, D.C. my son Cole. Terry.
Cole, what's the general mood there on the ground in D.C. regarding the election?
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Hi.
[00:01:34] Speaker C: Yeah, so the general mood here in D.C. is one of uncertainty. Nobody really knows what's going to happen. There's not one prevailing opinion over the other as far as people that have hard facts. Nobody's saying, oh, Trump's going to blow it out of the water. Convo is going to blow it out of the water.
Nobody's expecting a runaway. A lot of people are hoping for one.
But I've heard people who know what they're talking about predict very different things in terms of whether we're going to keep the House, whether we're going to gain the Senate, whether we're going to get the presidency. Everyone has a different combination of those three. And so nobody really knows what's going to happen and nobody with much common sense really claims to.
But everyone's obviously pushing for their candidate to win in the end.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: Cole, knowing that D.C. tends to vote more liberal, I would assume that you've heard more chatter in favor of Kamala. Is that accurate?
[00:02:31] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:02:31] Speaker C: So you're right. D.C. is a 95% Democrat population, only 5% Republican in this area.
That being said, the people that I've been around in particular have not. I typically don't hang around a whole lot of people that are going to be voting for Kamala. Mostly it's conservative that I end up running those circles. But when you're walking around, you will hardly ever see a Trump sign. Sometimes you'll see a tourist come through with a MAGA cap on. But today alone, I've seen so many people walking around wearing these camo Harris walls caps that are, you know, the camo green, then the red or the orange lettering on it. And so you will see far more of that in D.C. than you will Trump stuff.
Surprisingly, there's some kind of local res, regional politicians that you will see that are conservatives. You'll see a lot of Glenn Youngkin kind of T shirts. That's the Virginia governor. But yeah, no, a lot more Harris stuff than Trump stuff around in D.C.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Cole, has there been anything that you've seen or witnessed in D.C. that might surprise the average citizen elsewhere regarding the election?
[00:03:40] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm not sure that there's anything in D.C. that would necessarily surprise people if they know D.C. and know that it's, you know, cities are going to be more liberal, and this is a very liberal city among liberal cities, but it is very different than what I'm accustomed to back home. And so some stuff that you'll see there was a very, very large Kamala Harris rally over in front of the White House last week. Just last night, there was a protest, a pro Palestine protest just down the road from where I live and right over close to the Capitol.
Not too long ago, there was a gender liberation march that started at the train station and went all around town in front of the Supreme Court.
And so you'll see a lot of that kind of stuff that you would never see something you would very rarely see something of that nature in a place like Fernandina back home, much less something of that magnitude. But you will see that very often in this area. And so usually it's people pushing for particular issues or particular positions on those issues rather than advocating for one candidate or another. Occasionally you'll see a rally like I did last week, but usually it's just people who are pro Palestine, pro women's rights, pro abortion, whatever.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: Thank you, Cole.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: This election is important for many reasons, not the least of which are the wars raging in Europe and the Middle East. As followers of Jesus Christ, we view much of our history through the lens of the nation of Israel. After this break, we will hear directly from Fotei Mikhail, a dear brother in Christ who lives in Jerusalem, who follows the Christian faith as he shares about his personal experience in Israel and his hopes for this presidential election. We'll be right back.
The main reason that I wrote Parenting in A culture war is simply because that the world that I grew up in has changed. It's radically different than what we were equipped to talk about and to answer as young people back in the 80s and the 90s.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: Today, we're faced with things like the.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: LGBTQ movement, the pride movement that's seeking to take over our communities and even our churches.
And when our young people go into.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: The world, whether it's through public school.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: Or college, whatever it may be, if we don't give them answers and a worldview to interpret things around them, they're going to be easy pickings for the enemy.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: So today we have a very special guest in our. In our studio, virtually with us, Fote Mikhail, who's been our tour guide in Israel many times in the past. But most importantly, a little over a year ago, we were together when the war with Gaza began. I'll never forget that moment when we were going back to the tour bus and the phone started lighting up as people began to text and let us know what had happened when the Hamas attack occurred. And so we went through that ordeal together. You got us home safely. And Fote we, with God's help, we deeply appreciate you and your work, and you'll be a brother in our hearts forever. And so welcome to Code Red and catch us up. How is life there in Israel these days?
[00:07:28] Speaker E: Life is really great.
It's not like a year ago, to be honest.
For the first few months, the kids, they were not able to go to school, Market was closed, all the sites, the one you know, it was not really able to reach it, but thank God, these days life somehow is normal unless we have an attack. So I remember when Iran, they attacked Israel, life was stopped for a few days. But these days I can tell that we start to go back to normal life, especially after the victory, let's say the one we achieved in both sides at the area of Gaza and of course at the area of Lebanon after we were able to terminate their leaders. I think life now is.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: Is better in your mind, and I know it's just one man's perspective, but in your mind, do you think that you've reached a climax when it comes to the conflict and things are going to get better, or do you think that there's still some more escalation to come?
[00:08:34] Speaker E: It's really hard to tell, to be honest. It's really hard to tell. But I will say that we achieved many goals according to the government, especially, as I said, terminating some of leaders, the main leaders. I think that was really a Victory and big achievement for our country. But still there's more goals as we can hear in the news.
Hopefully, hopefully things will be better.
Maybe sooner rather than later, the war will stop. But as I said, the fact that we started, it's really hard now to go back unless you'll just achieve everything. Because for me, for an example, I don't want to hear about Hamas, I don't want to be hear about Hezbollah for the coming 50 years from my life, God willing, if I will live for another 50 years. So I think that the governor, they are doing the right thing. They want to bring this story to an end to guarantee that our people, they will live a normal life. No more attacks from any side and we can have peace.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: Amen. We're praying for that. We're certainly praying for your safety and the safety of your family. Tell me in the, in your line of work I know you've done, you've achieved quite a bit.
But I'm assuming tourism is not doing great at this point.
How are you making it? How are things going?
[00:10:02] Speaker E: Unfortunately, the tourism field will be the first field to stop and maybe the last field to come back to life.
For the first half year, the government, they paid us after that they said that it's now our time to find our job back or to find a new job. So for the last, let's say seven months, I was like paying everything from my own saving, trying here and there to find a job. But as you can tell, it's really hard for us now to have groups. I had one group last September and that was really like for me, as if I won the lottery, to be honest, because after a year of sitting home to have again life. Because for us, sharing the Bible, sharing our faith, it means a lot for us. It's not just an Inca for us. In fact, this is how we can feel that we are alive. By sharing our experience with the Lord, by sharing our faith. This is how we can feel that we are participating in the Kingdom of God. So it's been a little bit hard, but I will say that at the end, God is providing. Thank God we are doing okay. And we are waiting the second for people to come back to our country and start walking the path.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: I hope that our groups can be one of the first.
We are excited, we miss Israel. Something that we've done every two years for a good while. Julie and I led groups over there. This year we're going to London or England and Scotland, and so we're going to be doing that in 2025. So hopefully by 2026, things will settle down and we can be back in that land again.
You know, we're on the brink of a historic election here in the States.
And I'm curious, from your perspective in Israel, what do you. How does the election of an American president bode for you there in Israel? What's the talk on the ground? Who are the Israelis in, in Israel, in Jerusalem, which I might say, you live in Jerusalem. So what is the talk on the ground there about the American election? Or is it just not a concern?
[00:12:15] Speaker E: No, to be honest, it's all the time. It's a concern for us. But let's put it in this frame.
We can tell that during the last decades that America stands all the time for Israel. And I'm one of the people listening to the news all the time, listening to both candidates, what they are saying. And it's really bringing joy to my heart when I hear both of them. They are saying that we will stand for Israel.
I believe that Israel and America, they are twins. In fact, they have one soul. So we share the same soul. We share the same blood. And for me, it's really important to see that no matter what will happen, America will stand for Israel. And of course, Israel will stand for America. So this is, to be honest, for us, what we can see, that every time we have a new president, this new president is showing his sympathy to Israel and in fact, he's showing his love to Israel. And you can feel it, to be honest, you can feel it all the time, how people or the president, he will stand for us.
Maybe in this, it's a little bit different. I can hear what people, they are saying in the States.
But for us here, we have, in fact, a different understanding for the election. For us, the election means that the new president, he will bring more power to this, to the country, to Israel, he will stand for us and they will support us just to try to finish the world when we started and to be able to get back our normal life.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: I know as things are escalating with Iran, I read this, I think it was yesterday, we sent over a number of bombers to the Middle east just in case things got worse.
Do you sense that that's going to escalate even further? Do you think there will be attacks inside of Iran that continues, or do you think that's kind of reached its conclusion?
[00:14:18] Speaker E: It's really hard to tell these days, honestly. But after, you know, we responded and we attacked Iran and I heard that Iran is there, not going to respond back and this is what they said.
But, you know, this is, this is war. You don't know when they will attack. You don't know why they will attack. And what the United States, they did by sending all these troops and in fact send all these different missiles and bombers, I think that was the best thing they did. As I said, Israel, they are the best ally for America. And the same thing America, they are the best ally for Israel. And what they did, they want to guarantee that Israel will remain standing and will stay safe. And I do appreciate it. When I just was watching the news and I saw how they send all these bombers, it brought really joy to me. I can tell that we are not alone.
People all over the world, they are supporting us, especially the United States of America.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Amen.
Well, in recent days, has your family, is there anything, any concerns for your safety? Or do you feel like that at least the conflict that's closest to you, has that settled down? Or do you still wonder when you sleep at night if there's a missile that's going to get through the Iron Dome?
[00:15:43] Speaker E: This is the problem. Like, I remember, like a few weeks ago, I was close to the old city of Jerusalem and my family, they were home. And we started just sitting in the siren. I just. I was in an open courtyard and I look all the way up to the sky and I saw all these rockets. They were just flying over the city of Jerusalem.
This is the problem. Sometimes maybe by mistake, maybe one of these rockets will fell down on our homes or on the streets, schools, buses. You don't know. It's really hard to tell. So, of course, all the time it's a concern. It's really a concern because you don't know what's going to happen. But believe it or not, for me, I believe in one thing, that the Lord Jesus Christ, he will protect us. The Lord, he will keep us safe. Even if the rocket will just fly on top of my house. And this, what happened, to be honest, it was flying into our houses. The Lord is protecting us.
He did for the last 40 plus years in my life. And I think he will just keep doing it till the end of my life.
Amen.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: Amen. Amen. Well, Fote, Mikhail, we want to let you know that we're praying for you, praying for your safety as well as all of our friends in Israel. And we deeply appreciate your friendship over the years and we look forward to seeing you again face to face.
[00:16:58] Speaker E: My brother, thank you. Thanks so much, brother. Thanks so much.
[00:17:02] Speaker A: When we come back, we will hear from Pastor Hernan Sierra, a Honduran brother who has personally counseled people desiring to enter into the United States illegally. Stick around.
My name is Zach Terry, and I am the host of Code Red, where we bring you to the epicenter of some of the most urgent conversations happening around the world regarding the Christian faith and the marketplace of ideas. Never miss an episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app or by visiting CodeRedTalk.com while you are there. Be sure to leave a review and share the content you find with the people in your circle of influence. This is Code Red.
Welcome back to Code Red. The border has become one of the top issues in this election, and as hundreds of thousands of people enter into our country illegally, we want to talk today about that issue with Hernan Sierra, a man who has counseled people on this issue firsthand.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: We have my dear friend Hernan Sierra, who is a pastor in Tegucigapa, Honduras. How are you doing, Hernan Brother, it's.
[00:18:23] Speaker D: A joy to be here with you. I'm honored and I'm always better than I deserve, so that's the only thing I can say, better than I deserve.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: Well, it's great to see you as well and wish we could see each other in person, but thankfully we have this opportunity to jump online.
As you know, we are on the brink of a monumental election here in the states and it feels like they're all that way recently.
But we have our House, our Senate, and especially our presidency. That could change massively in the next few hours. So I was just curious thinking through you served down south of the border in Honduras and do you know any people personally who've entered into our country illegally?
[00:19:22] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, it's. I don't know how long this podcast gonna last, but we can talk all night about this. Yes, I do know.
So I live in Honduras, Central America, and as you know, you've been here. We are right in the middle of the continent. So this is actually like a bridge that would connect South America, North America. So we see hundreds and hundreds people every day just walking through our country.
We see people from our country leaving to go to the US Thinking they'll find a, you know, a better life there, which I think has been.
Has been just a lie, you know, told to them. I. I do know people that have left even we have a family in our congregation and one of the siblings in this family, he, one day he decided to go to the States and sadly, and I will have to say this sadly, when he got there, brother. He got an airplane ticket. He got his document, and he got, I think, like fifteen hundred dollars, so papers, an airplane ticket to wherever he wanted to go in the States, and fifteen hundred dollars.
So that's what they're getting.
And I say, sadly, because I don't. I don't think a country can survive doing this. And it's been in. It's been. It's been in this administration.
[00:21:26] Speaker B: Wow. So that's, that's coming from the American government. He's getting that. That kind of a handout.
[00:21:33] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: Wow.
What. What would you say, as a Honduran, from people that, you know, who've done it the legal way, who've sought citizenship in the United States?
What is the current processing time for that to take place?
[00:21:52] Speaker D: Oh, well, again, I mean, this is a topic we can spend. We can spend a lot of time because we've had people in our congregation that they have gone to the state in the right way, in the legal way.
And for them, the process is. It's not an easy process, but it's a safe process for them.
And I think, and I'll talk about the former administration, this administration, and how different it has been.
My opinion, brother, and I'm talking as a believer with a Christian worldview, I would say that the former president, he was trying to put the house in order. It's. From what I see, he was trying to put the house in order. And even though, even though he was stricter in the, in the policies, I would. I would say it was safer for us as a third world country. Safer in what sense?
And better when you put rules that would regulate, you know, the people that would get in as a country, we are, we are not into. Not getting into a social disorder.
That means people are not crazy about getting to the States because they think they're going to have a better life there.
So when you open up the borders, people get crazy. They think, oh, we're going to get there. We're gonna have a better life.
And it creates here in our society, disorder, I would say a chaos.
Because now people are thinking, oh, we should move out. You know, there's a better life there.
Which obviously they don't know what they're talking about.
And they hear some others that they're getting $1,500, they're getting a plane ticket, you know, they're getting papers, and they don't know. Actually, they don't know or they don't realize they're being used, because I know this. I know this Like, I think in your Congress, you know, the amount of population in a state, you know, would determine how many congressmen you have. So if you have people that have no right of vote, but they're just counted as, as, okay, this is part of the population and we'll get more power if we let them in, brother, That's. I believe that's what's happening.
So it is creating a social chaos here because people are going there. We're seeing people from Venezuela, from Colombia, from Panama coming all the way through all these countries and through here. And they're bringing, of course, they're bringing more poverty to the country.
Now we have to deal with many other things, like even human trafficking, because they want to go to the States. But I will add an extra element that I probably, you are aware of this.
We have seen.
We have seen Arabs coming through our borders and they look like Hispanics. They look like Hispanics. So you guys don't even know who's coming in.
People might think, oh, these are just a group of Hispanics coming, but in the midst of those Hispanics, you'll find Arabs. So that's very concerning.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I would see.
Think about the proverb that says, we don't despise a man when he steals bread because he's hungry, but if he's caught, he has to repay.
Was it sevenfold in that text?
So I imagine that a lot of people who've been told that life is easy if they would come to the United States, that they're, you know, that's their motive. They're, they're breaking the law, they're doing something that's wrong, but their motive is they want a better life. They want a better life for their kids, whatever it might be.
So, you know, we have to figure that out, figure out how to bring them into a place of right standing with the state. However, you're right that when our enemies see this opportunity, this wide open door of entry, you're going to have at least a minority of people with nefarious intent coming across our border that who knows? God only knows what they're up to and who they're working with and who sent them and financed them to come through. But, you know, we've seen people from China, we've seen people from the Middle east, we've seen people from Russia who've entered into our country illegally and have been dispersed throughout our nation. And I'm confident there are sleeper cells that are here because of that wide open border already.
And biblically, to think of what Paul said on Mars Hill that God appointed our times and our places, that you're a Honduran and you're where you are for a reason, for the glory of God. And I'm where I'm at for a reason. And certainly that doesn't mean we can't try to better our situation or at times be called to a different country. We send missionaries to new countries all the time, but we always try to do that within the laws of that country, to be a good witness and a good citizen when they get there. And so how do you counsel people when they come to you? And has anyone ever came to you and said, pastor, I'm thinking about making this move or maybe going in illegally. How do you shepherd them through that sort of thing?
[00:28:41] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. So you have to tell them the hard things. So I would tell them, okay, let's pray. Lord, just bless my intention of walking down illegally to this country. Blessed, please be with us. I mean, and, you know, they get it. They do get it. They do get it, brother.
Which is kind of funny because you guys have heard a lot, you've dealt a lot with what people would call social justice, right? And actually, I would say. I would say, I mean, we don't deal with that in here. We don't deal with that in here.
But I would say even those who were claiming social justice don't even know that doing that with the borders is actually social justice.
I would say that we're trying to. We're trying to.
We're trying to remember Jeremiah 29, you know, when God told Jeremiah, so, okay, you're there, so try to work for the peace of the city so you'll find peace. So I would say, you know, to our people here, just stay here, work the Lord, the Lord has promised to bless his children.
And this is the place the Lord has put you in. You don't. You don't. You. You will never find, you know, a blessing of disobedience, you know, disobedience to the law. So that doesn't. That doesn't make sense. And then you remember what happened to Elimelech when things were not going well in Bethlehem and he went down to Moab and what, he thought he was going to find a better life there, but actually he found death. That's what he found there.
So I would counsel those who come to us, we would tell them, no, you know what? We don't think this is the right way. We don't see in Scripture that's the right way. And actually, I would Say, with your former administration, President Trump, he was working in a way that they would come legally. So, I mean, I appreciated that he was trying to. Again and again, I don't want you guys to get me wrong. I don't want to interfere in what the decision of the borders are, is going to be. But I would say that he was trying to look for a focus that would honor the principle of justice of those who are living in the states and those who are planning to move in order to do it in an order way and a responsible way, not irresponsible, as we've seen all this exodus that they've called it, you know, they've called this an exodus, you know, a massive exodus to the states.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Well, back, you know, four years ago, when Biden became president and Kamala became vp, they really made a big deal that she is the border czar. That was the lingo that was used, and that she was going to fix the border and wasn't going to do it the way Trump did with the wall. But she had her ways, and she was going to fix these things. And month after month, year after year went by, she'd never visited, she never went down to see what was taking place, never heard any news reports or any movement on that front whatsoever. And then when she started running for, you know, this election, she kind of distanced herself from that role. That, no, this was more Biden's problem. It wasn't so much her. And now she has these grand ideas that for four years she's done nothing to fix the issue, but suddenly we're supposed to trust her. And so, you know, sadly, many people will fall for that and hope, but we're hopeful. You know, right now, the latest polls, things are looking really good. So hopefully by this time tomorrow night, this, this podcast will air on Tuesday. But hopefully within the next few hours, we will hear that it's gone. It's gone for President Trump. That's what my prayer and my hope is, not that he's a perfect man, but. And, you know, we, to be honest, very disappointed on his position related to abortion in recent days.
You know, we end up choosing that person whose platform that we can most align with, and his is far closer than. Than Vice President Harris's has been.
[00:33:53] Speaker D: Yeah, I agree.
And again, brother, when you think about what happened in the past and what's happened this year, just as you said, Vice President Harris, she distanced herself from all that. But I would argue in the past, when the last administration you guys had, President Trump, he was working In a way that he would help the region, at least this region, to get more stable.
He was trying to promote security and have a more stable region.
And. And in order for that to happen, he was bringing programs to these countries to promote a safer environment for the people here so they wouldn't migrate. That's what he was doing.
There was a lot of investment in the country, agreements with Central American countries. So more investment would come. Outsiders would come and invest here in these countries.
Well, that way we would have more jobs, we would have families that wouldn't need to think, oh, we need to migrate there, because they would have find stability here. So that's what we found in the last administration that we didn't get here in this administration. So with the zero tolerance that people would. Would think, oh, he's so. He's so mean. He's been so mean. But he was just. He was just trying to tell the people, hey, as you're passing through these countries, your life, your life is in danger. I mean, you can die. You can end up in human trafficking. So no tolerance. We're going to close this. You stay in your country. Let's work so you guys can have a safer place to be in and you can have like a better economy. So that's what we saw in the past that we didn't see here, but we saw here in open border again. I think all these people are just being used, you know, to get more power. I guess that's what I'm assuming.
[00:36:20] Speaker B: Well, it will tip the scales and the layout of Congress, and eventually you will see that moving things more blue. Well, let me say thank you for joining us, Pastor Hernan. And maybe with a mind like yours, maybe one day the Lord would demote you to become President Hernan. Down in Honduras. You've certainly got the right perspective and the right mind for it. And God knows Honduras has dealt with its share of corruption as we have here in the States. And so it's sadly the fact that sometimes God gives us the government that we don't deserve, and sometimes he gives us exactly what we deserve. And so we're all hoping we do not get what we deserve through this. We want a good and godly government where the gospel can be preached freely and missionaries can be sent around the world.
[00:37:16] Speaker D: And you know what? You're right with all this. There's a saying here. Probably you have this same saying in the U.S. but there's a saying here in our countries. Whenever the US Sneezes, we get the flu, right? So whatever happens, there it will affect us.
But then I'm reminded of Isaiah 46, verses 9 and 10.
Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things which have not been done, saying, my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure. So that's just a word of encouragement to you all. We love you. We're praying for you. Yesterday at our church, we prayed for these upcoming elections, but we know. We know who is in the throne.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Amen. Well, thank you, Pastor Hernan. Thank you for joining us today.
[00:38:23] Speaker D: Love you all. Bless you.
[00:38:25] Speaker A: When we return, Brad Sykes will join us to discuss the impact of this election on our nation's economy.
[00:38:38] Speaker F: My name is Chris Hughes. I started listening to Maximum Life on Spotify about a year ago, approximately. Maximum Life really has been just such a blessing as it has really allowed me to learn and gain some incredible insight from Pastor Zach in what I would call small bite sized pieces that are able to be listened to while you're in the car or just essentially taking care of things you need to do.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: So today in the Maximum Life studio, virtually, I've also brought in, as we've also talked to people from around the world. We have a local friend here with us today. Brad Sykes is coming to us live from Jacksonville, Florida. Brad, welcome to the Maximum Life studio.
[00:39:31] Speaker G: Hey, good to be with you, Zach. Thanks for inviting me and I hope you guys will bear with me as I'm in the car, but we'll make do.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: Hey, you got to do what you got to do. That's just how it is these days. And we're talking about the election. This is airing on Election Tuesday. And who knows if we'll even know who the. Who the winner is, you know, by the end of the day. But I kind of wanted to get your take as a businessman. You're a realtor there in Jacksonville and you and your wife Vicki, and you have a Christian impact there. I know. Tell us a little bit about some of the things you've done in the Christian community beyond just being a faithful follower of Jesus. As a businessman.
[00:40:17] Speaker G: Yeah. Well, first of all, yeah, sometimes I think I've done too much. I was meeting with some guys this morning, and, you know, I was talking about how I first came to northeast Florida, what moved me here. And sometimes I'm almost embarrassed to tell you all the things that I've done. Not to say, hey, you know, pat me on the back, but more to say, I've tried a lot of things. I've failed at some things. I've had some success at some things. But in the end, I am a business guy who loves Jesus. I'm really a Jesus follower who likes to do business. And as a result, I have stayed in this area for the last 27 years, built a handful of businesses, and by God's grace, he's blessed some of those. And he has.
He's. He's done a work in me as a result of those businesses, both in their success and in their failure. So interesting. We're talking about politics because so oftentimes, you know, it's like those two things we don't talk about in private con, you know, in those public conversations are politics and religion.
Here's the intersection of both. Right, right.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I know you've started or you've been involved with SWAT Radio there in Jacksonville on Truth fm, where we're also on the air. And I know that's had a big impact throughout northeast Florida. And tell us a little bit about what you and Jeff have done with Christian businesses there. I know you've started a new. A new movement there in Jacksonville for Christian businessmen.
[00:41:58] Speaker G: Yes. So, first of all, just got off the air of SWAT Radio, so I'm literally in the car heading home. But that's been going on for about eight years. That is a Bible study that started here in Jacksonville. And as a result, about eight years ago, in fact, right after the election last year, In January of 2017, we started SWAT Radio. Doug McCary and myself, I never had any intentions of doing radio, was invited by Doug to come join him to exposit the Word together. And as a business guy, what does it look like as a family man, what does it look like to apply the Scriptures? So, anyway, that's one thing. I don't know if I'm a glutton for punishment for new ventures, but Jeff Dalrymple and I, one of your good friends and I met, in fact, you and I and another brother, Trey Brunson, had tacos one day probably about three years ago. And Jeff and I just had, you know, our. Our. Our kind of hearts were knitted together as it related to discipleship. And for me, you know, the fields of the business, the marketplace is where God has allowed me to disciple men.
And, you know, when you think of the marketplace, we quickly go to organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. And so much of what we've seen in the marketplace, I mean, I was just listening to something yesterday, talking about a lot of these companies and how they've kind of changed their views and really I think have lost track or lost, lost their understanding of who their, you know, who their customer is, which is very discouraging. When you hear companies, whether it's Harley Davidson or tractor supply or Lowe's or any company that has embraced things that are completely unbiblical, it's kind of like, you know, hello, you know, do you not know your audience? And so Jeff and I started to talk about the idea of starting an organization maybe similar to the Chamber of Commerce, where you got like minded people around faith based people, not just to do business with each other, but to encourage, you know, first of all to engage in fellowship, to equip in truth and to encourage godly living. And you know, it just so happens that for me, the marketplace is where I spend a lot of my time. I spend a lot of my time at home and I spend it in the marketplace. Where am I going to make disciples? Jesus said all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go make disciples. Where am I going today? Where I'm going today is to work. And so, you know, it's certainly a benefit I have of owning my own business and have owned a number of different businesses and that's allowed me to speak the gospel into those places. So that's kind of how the Christian Chamber came about.
[00:44:55] Speaker B: Is there a website or a place that our viewers could go to learn more about that?
[00:45:01] Speaker G: Yes. Nefl, like Northeast Florida nefl Christian Chamber.
[00:45:08] Speaker B: Excellent. Well, I know a lot of, a lot of guys will check that out. So we're. This is airing on election Tuesday, as we said earlier. And I wanted to get your take on the election and specifically how it relates to the economy, how that affects businesses on the micro level, on the local level.
What do you expect the impact to be for you personally if it goes one way or the other?
[00:45:39] Speaker G: Wow.
Well, I don't have a crystal ball.
I do know, I think it was Tozer who said that God has not surrendered authority in the chaos of the world we're living in. God has not surrendered authority. He's on the throne. I hate to admit this. I was very transparent on the radio just 30 minutes ago about the realities that, you know, it seems in these seasons we get so caught up in all the noise out there in the world. And I'll be the first one to admit I can get wrapped up in that and realize that I've got to take every thought captive. And if the outcome of this election changes my Joy, then my joy is not rooted in Christ. It's rooted in the circumstances.
I'm speaking to the choir, obviously, in this context. But, you know, I think when I look at what's happening in the world, what has happened over the last four years, and again, it's not as, it's not as much obviously, one candidate versus another. It's one platform versus another. And I think generally, whether you, whether you're a Trump fan or you're not, again, I'm not voting for a personality or a pastor or a preacher. I am voting for a platform form. And albeit I don't agree with everything Donald Trump says or does, I think, generally speaking, I hate this terminology, he's the lesser of two evils, not just for me personally or for my family, but even for my businesses. And so, you know, I think the, there's how I think it will change if, you know, if Trump's in office, I think there's a lot less burden, a lot less hoops to jump through. I think we're going to see at least, certainly in the real estate business, I think I'm not, I wouldn't be surprised at November 7th. We don't see an interest rate drop now. That's going to come either way. But I'm talking long term. I think over the next six to 12 months, 18 months, I think we will see a slow drop of the interest rates, which is going to be necessary.
I don't think as a, as a real estate investor, you know, you know, we can look at the last, you know, three or four years as an indication of what to expect. Those were interesting times.
What we're looking for in the real estate business is stability.
But we are looking for opportunities for young, you know, young families to buy first homes.
You know, it kind of depends on what kind of business you're in. But, you know, I'm not anti regulations, so I am for regulations, but I'm for some reasonable regulations. I don't care whether you're in the food and drug business, whether you're in hospitality hotels, you're in the pharmaceutical business. We want regulations there. Right, right. You know, but it's just how much do we need to be tied down? So I think just to be free to do business as we see fit. And I think one candidate supports that. One candidate wants to get more into our business, as they say.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: Well, and I know here in the state of Florida, of all places, we've, we have a general bent of just wanting to be left alone as far as possible.
We believe in the speed limit on the highway, but at the same time, we don't want any more, Any more laws, any more restrictions than are absolutely necessary for a good and godly culture to exist. And so, you know, do you think that the impact, you said you believe by the seventh, if Trump is elected, that we would see the interest rates going down?
Do you think the impact would be felt immediately in the markets? As far as the stock market, do you think you'll see a trend up and to the right immediately, or do you think it'll be gradual?
[00:50:00] Speaker G: I hope it, to be honest, I hope it's not immediate, because I think that's. That's what we would call a volatile market. I don't think we want a volatile market. I think we want a stable market. I think that's one of the things that Trump brings, you know, and again, I, I think it'll drop November 7th. I just, I just think it will.
I, I don't know what. I'm not. I don't have any inside knowledge on the Fed. But, and, and to speak of the stock market, I certainly couldn't speak of that. But I do think Trump will bring stability, which is something that's desperately needed these days.
[00:50:41] Speaker B: Certainly.
[00:50:42] Speaker A: Certainly.
[00:50:42] Speaker B: Well, Brad, thank you for jumping on here and speaking into this, this pivotal day in the life of our country for all of us, where we're as believers in Jesus Christ, we're following a king, ultimately, but we all have to deal with the repercussions of elections. And so we're praying for God's will to be done, and we're praying for.
[00:51:06] Speaker A: The like, as you said it.
[00:51:07] Speaker B: Well, the lesser of two evils going forward.
[00:51:10] Speaker G: Well, and, you know, I hate to say that. Jeremiah 29, verses 5 through 7. I was looking at this morning as my wife and I were praying together, as we do in the mornings. It says, build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons. You know the text, right? And what's interesting is who is that written to? Well, it's written to those who were, who were, you know, being captive. They were held captive. They were exiles in Babylon. And, you know, I think it's a good reminder for us. We're exiles. You know, this isn't our home. This isn't our permanent home, praise God. And. But while we're here, you know, Jeremiah is saying from the Lord, hey, live life, do business, build homes, have families. And I think one candidate represents more of what a biblical family. Looks like and how we're to conduct business. And, man, I'm. I'm praying and I'm hoping that we get the outcome we're hoping for. But at the end of the day, God is on the throne. He is sovereign, and my joy is to be found in him. So.
[00:52:22] Speaker B: Amen. Amen.
[00:52:23] Speaker G: We'll keep praying.
[00:52:25] Speaker B: Amen. I agree, brother. Well, thank you for being with us today, Brad. Wish you well.
[00:52:30] Speaker G: Thanks, Zach. Good to see you, brother.
[00:52:32] Speaker A: Well, that wraps up this edition of Code Red. If you haven't already done so, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Also, download the Maximum Life app from your app store. You can find all of the content produced by Maximum Life as as well as the entire library of episodes of Code Red. Visit us
[email protected] to learn more about all we have to offer and consider becoming a donor to enable us to continue our mission of shaping worldviews and daily walks by the power of God's word. Thank you for joining us. I'm Zach Terry, and this has been Code Red.
