Why the Christian Vote Matters

[00:00:30] Speaker A: Secretary Branham, welcome back to the Code Red studio. [00:00:33] Speaker B: It's such a pleasure to be here. I couldn't wait to get back. [00:00:35] Speaker A: Well, a lot has changed since you were here last time. You've taken on some new responsibilities. Tell us about that. [00:00:42] Speaker B: I have. So I continue to be the secretary for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, a job that I love. And I've also, in February, was appointed to be the governor's faith and community liaison. So I share double duty. And I'm also a member of the Faith and Community Council, too. So three different hats right now, but loving each and every one of them. [00:01:03] Speaker A: Well, and. And you guys are kind of counting down the days. How. How many more months at this point do we have the greatest governor in the history of the United States? [00:01:16] Speaker B: I tell you what, I've been really reflecting and thinking about this a lot, Pastor, because, you know, here we are in October, and there's going to be a new governor in about 30 days, almost. Well, less than 30 days. And eventually all of us will have to put in our resignations and go through this transition. And it has been the job of a lifetime, the career of a lifetime, to serve this governor. I've loved each and every moment. I love each and every hat I'm wearing and, you know, really reflecting and in prayer to be what steps are coming next. But anxious and excited. [00:01:55] Speaker A: Well, we, you know, we don't know what the future holds. We're going to talk about that. But one of the candidates had a staff member. We were invited up to a faith gathering in D.C. we were there in the White House. And I just, you know, out of all the hundreds of people, sat down beside one of the chief candidate, one of the candidate's chief employees. And we were talking. We're talking about Florida, kind of put the dots together. And I said, hey, I don't know when you guys get ready to build out the administration, you know how much crossover there will be from DeSantis to whoever comes next. But I said, let me say this. And you don't know this. You didn't ask me to do this. But I said, I've met with these people in the faith realm. And I said, they're some of the most sincere, godly, authentic followers of Christ. And I said, if you're looking in that department, I really hope you'll give some of them a shake to a fair shake to consider them for the next administration. So. And I mean that. And you don't see that. I don't see that in the federal level. I don't see it in other states that I've served in. There's something special taking place in the governor's office right now in the state of Florida, 100%. [00:03:12] Speaker B: And I think that's really why I wanted to talk to you today, because I think as we're preparing for election, and I know a tremendous amount of us have fatigue, we're seeing all the ads, we're tired of all the rhetoric, but it is so important right now to lean in, because right now the governor has built up such a very strong and fortified faith office, so much so that I got to be in D.C. talking about the Florida blueprint with the White House faith office. And it is so imperative and important now. And I was telling you, being reflective, to have faith surrounding your leadership and surrounding the people making decisions on your behalf and making sure that they are living into those priorities, surrounded by faith. And, and right now, even as secretary for the Florida Department of Elder affairs, we pray before every meeting. We pray as senior leadership. We pray before we testify. I've never had the opportunity to get to do those types of things. And I think not only are they great, they're imperative. [00:04:13] Speaker A: Right. We're recording this is today, October 6th, is that right? Yes, October 6th. We're recording this. This will air within the next few days. It's already too late at this point to register new voters, but we still can get out the vote. And from what I'm told, what percentage of Christians typically vote in the state elections? [00:04:38] Speaker B: Well, Erin was looking at the numbers for me. 79% of the population in Florida thinks feels that they identify as religion, as religious and as Christians. So if 79% of that population, only 51% of them vote. And we know that drops down in the midterms, Right. So you really need to make sure as a Christian, because I have lots of friends coming to me saying, I'm not going to turn, I'll pray about that. I think it's ever more important right now to discern, look at the candidates, see if your priorities as a Christian person, as a Christian family, are being advanced through these candidates and whether or not you believe those leaders will surround themselves with faith and prayer and everything else. [00:05:23] Speaker A: You know, I remember when I came here nine years ago, so I just turned 50 this year. So 41 moved down to Florida and our kids transitioned out of homeschool environment into the public school and, you know, being introduced. My wife is an elementary education major, so we knew public school. We were both educated through the system and, you know, at that time, I remember in fourth grade, Ms. Dutton's class, when she had to tell the class, boys and girls, I can no longer lead you in a devotion and prayer. And she told us that. I remember it vividly. She was crying. And it really hit me that day that, okay, this is something. And you know, as a fourth grader that was not a believer at the time, not a faithful Christian. I heard that. And I thought, well, what's the big deal? She tells us these little stories out of the Bible. It says a prayer, but what difference does that make? It's just like 15 minutes. Well, that was a really big deal. And that was even later. You know, most schools had long since let prayer out of the schools and forbid teachers from being involved in that. But I remember fourth grade. So when our kids go back into the public school system, so many things that we consider normative, morally, ethically parental, the place of mom and dad in a child's life, the patriotism, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem, things that we just grew up with as normative, they were no longer normative. And so nine years ago, I'd been a pastor, Frankly, I'd been a Republican. I voted for Clinton. That was the only Democrat. I'll say that was B.C. that was before Christ came to Jesus, and it affected my vote. But since that time, when I saw that my kids, that the school was not going to champion those causes, as a pastor, I felt like, okay, now maybe we need to take up that mantle and speak out a little more than I had in the past. When you took this new role, did you find that any of your Christian circles maybe said, hey, it's fine if you want to go serve in politics, but I'm not comfortable with this faith and politic mixture? [00:07:47] Speaker B: Wow, that's a good question. Not in my circles. I think they were ever hopeful and thought, wow, that exists. You have a faith office? Yes, we do. And you have a faith council. Yes, you pray. So that was very encouraging. It's encouraging to my circles. It was encouraging to me. I really wasn't sure when I first started. And my political background is long. I've spent a lot of time in politics in different spaces and places in different states. Never had the opportunity to really testify like that and pray out loud in public. So I think most of my friends were highly encouraged by that and surprised, but I think in a very, very good way. As was I. As was I. [00:08:34] Speaker A: As you've traveled, it seems like you're really getting around the state and having to engage with different leaders and different pastors, do you find that some are more open to having conversations about elections and civic change and all of that? [00:08:53] Speaker B: I think for some, honestly, pastor, I think some pastors decide how do I. Or trying to discern how do I be pastoral and step into this space. And what I would say is, I'm not saying that as a pastor, you need to tell me who to vote for or tell me what to vote for, but do tell me to vote, because that's a civic responsibility. Give me the time to show up, you know, it's November 3rd. We need to be there. October 5th was the last day to register. And why that's important, because for me, what I've learned. I did not understand that my faith was going to blossom, deepen and grow in my ministry as secretary for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, I never saw that coming. So it's a blessing and a gift to be able to deepen my walk with Christ because I'm surrounded by so many people of faith in the governor's office. And that's a tremendous blessing. What I've learned through that is there shouldn't be. I think when Thomas Jefferson wrote his letter that we all kind of hearken back to, it was not to separate church or to pull church out of government, but to say we shouldn't be persecuted by our faith and our religion. So I would say this is the intersection of faith and government. And I think it's important to have faith be a big part of your leadership and your government. For me, it's a ministry. I'm called to, the service I'm in. So if I feel like it's a ministry, I want faith surrounding me in that experience. So for pastors out there, I really urge you to step in, lean in with your congregations to get them engaged. Praying is great, but I think we need your action right now. I think it's ever more important as we go into midterms, who do we want leading Florida next? Is that a person of faith? Is that a person that's going to advance the priorities that you consider important, and will they be able to have a faith office? All the questions that we think about right now, things that I would like to preserve in our leadership as we. I mean, transition is very heavy on my heart, and it's a big part of what we're all reflecting on right now, things that I consider to be really important that I hope make it through that transition. [00:11:08] Speaker A: Well, you know, you know where I'm at, and you know that we're engaged the best that we can be as a church and try to mobilize our people. Let me play devil's advocate a little bit here for the pastor who says, I fear if I step into that arena and push my people too much to get engaged in the process, maybe I could be guilty of committing a crime or lose our tax exempt status. What would you say to that, Pastor? [00:11:39] Speaker B: So that's a good question. It came up on the voices that lead and we actually had the White House faith chief of staff come on Pastor Todd Lamphere. And he was incredible. And he said, never in the history. Same with the former faith liaison for the governor, Eric Dillonback. Never in the history has any church lost their tax exempt status because of that. So I think we err on the side of caution as pastors and I understand the concern and the fear about it. But if we lean in the right way to just say as disciple groups, encouraging you, encouraging you to sit down and have these conversations, what do you believe? What do you hold most dear as Christians? What do we consider to be the most valuable things? But I don't think that the Bible, I don't think that faith has asked us to step away or outside of our government. I think they've asked us to lean in. We talked about when we were on the voices that lead the City of God, and I had to go back and read parts of it again from St. Augustine to talk about the two cities, the earthly city and of course our heavenly paradise in that city. We're all pilgrims in this earthly kingdom, but we're here to be good stewards of it too. So it's more than just prayer, it's action. And I think that's important. So I don't want to put fear in pastors to say, oh, but I do want them, and I talked to my own pastor about them. I do want them to lean into the fatigue and the anxiety and the fear surrounding elections because I think that's something that we have to be tethered to our faith in order to dispel anxiety and fear. [00:13:16] Speaker A: Help us understand from your perspective, having been in Tallahassee, what are the primary faith issues, ethical, moral issues that we're facing that could go in a non Christian direction? What do we have to lose? Someone might say all of the candidates claim to be Christian. So if that's the case, what difference does it make? We're seeing things like Talarico in Texas who are representing a different form of Christianity. We have, you know, people who are non Christians winning Some major offices across the United States. What do we stand to lose in Florida if our people don't get involved? [00:13:57] Speaker B: That's a great question. So Eric mentioned, Eric Dillonback mentioned there was almost 2,000 pieces of legislation. So for all of you listeners out there, we have a 60 day session. It's really 90 days if you add the committee weeks. But that's a short amount of time to make a lot of decisions on behalf of the entire state of Florida that affect you, all your families, your livelihood, everything. So these legislators are part time. So I say that to people to say they're relying on you for information. And if there's almost 2,000 pieces of legislation that involve faith, not just property taxes and everything else we care about to make sure we've got dinner on the table and a roof over our head, but everything else under the sun. So all of that's up for grabs. So, you know, as candidates say, they're all, you know, faith inclined. What I beg you to look in and really discern who's around the candidates. Do they have faith liaisons? Do they have discerners that are really calling them to make sure that they're leading with faith? One of the candidates, that was really encouraging to me because they do have somebody on their campaign who is a faith director. That is something very, very important to the campaign. Faith is what got that person there and faith is what's going to keep them there. I'd also say we have a faith office that isn't codified in our government, so it's not part of the Florida Statutes. That's up for grabs. You know, that's up for grabs. It could go away. We do everything we can, Aaron and I, in the faith office, to ensure that we are fastening down all of the stakes that we need to, to ensure it's there. And it really, I said before, holds itself as a national model because we've talked to White House faith office about that and it's a great blueprint. All that could go away. And worst, worse than going away is just kind of putting it to the side and let it not be a thing. I've seen wonderful pieces of legislation, wonderful pieces of organizations that are just kind of, yeah, we prioritize it, but do we really? And then it's just collecting dust on the side. [00:16:02] Speaker A: What you said about who they surround themselves with is so important. You know, I think the governor and the first lady, they have a sincere faith and they've represented it well. But you know, even, you know, frankly speaking, if you look back at our last presidential election. Two people who had their own claims to faith and positions and all that. At the end of the day, I don't know where they're at before the Lord, you know, but I looked at who they surrounded themselves with, and my concern was, when it comes down to making a major decision, which one gives me the best shot of having a conservative Christian voice in that room that represents our perspective on the world. And so that is really what sold me on Trump. It's not because I think Trump is a. The ideal Christian statesman, but I'm probably going to have someone who is in that room when he. When the decisions are being made. [00:17:02] Speaker B: Oh, right next to him. Pastor. I mean, Pastor Paula White, Cain, Jenny Corn, other people from the White House faith office. We went up there to D.C. they held a wonderful event. But there are so many leaders that report directly to the president that are deeply steeped in faith. [00:17:19] Speaker A: Right. [00:17:19] Speaker B: And advance their priorities with faith as the center cornerstone. Everything they do. That's highly encouraging. Right. So, same thing with the candidate I was talking about. That's highly encouraging. The fact that the governor took this faith office and built it up into something that was front and center in his administration is huge. [00:17:39] Speaker A: Right? Yeah. And, you know, now in Tallahassee and in D.C. it's very common to catch cabinet members having a prayer around a coffee pot, you know, just in the hallways singing songs of praise. People that hear that, I've come back and reported that to this program, to our people at the church, and they're like, well, that's awesome. That's great. It is great. But you have to understand, that's never [00:18:08] Speaker B: happened, you know, not in my career, [00:18:11] Speaker A: that I've ever witnessed. It's been outlawed by many, you know, many departments. [00:18:16] Speaker B: Not until now, because I'm on a Bible study with generals, with other cabinet members, with other secretaries, with other chiefs of staff, with other people from the administration that are right next to the governor every day. And we start with humility in our leadership. And to have these people be mat carriers for you and be really determined to make sure that we're not only advancing the Kingdom of Christ here on earth, but we're humble in the face of that, and we are putting God first. That's something I've never gotten to participate in before. So if that's encouraging, it's the same thing that I saw at the White House faith office, where I thought, that's encouraging. And then for the White House faith office to say, we really love how fortified Florida is, you know, help us build a blueprint for other states. That's encouraging. So that's why I think it became. After I came back from D.C. i was on the plane thinking, we need to make sure we vote as Christians, we need to make sure we vote. It's ever more critical so that we are able to preserve that kind of ministry in our own government and leadership. [00:19:25] Speaker A: We live in a day where it's very polarizing politics. I don't know that it ever was not polarizing. [00:19:31] Speaker B: It feels more polarizing. I understand. It does. [00:19:34] Speaker A: It does. It feels that way. But I've gone back and looked at, you know, our church was started the year Lincoln was elected. And so I've dialed in to that point in history, the Civil War era, and studied it deeply. I mean, dozens and dozens of books on that time period. And they were pretty. I mean, they had a Civil War, of course, but just politically, they were extremely polarized over the issue of slavery, over states rights, so many issues. And they were hostile toward one another. And what they said in the halls of Congress, whatever it might be, you turn on the news today and it's in your face, and there are people again, just sort of playing devil's advocate that would say, you know, I just want to enjoy life. I just want to go about my day. I get up and I've got Fox News and CNN and they had this cortisol spike and I'm all flustered. And, you know, I just don't want to turn on a Christian podcast or walk in a church and hear them telling me that it's very important that I go vote. What would you say to that person? [00:20:42] Speaker B: Wow. I would just say I understand the fatigue, I understand the anxiety, but I think the only way to press through that to ensure, listen, this is something that we said before, but what do you want to be praying for? You want to pray after the fact, like, God help me, you want to be praying and action oriented now. So I would say to Christians out there, I understand the fatigue. Heck, I'm in this. This is where I live and breathe and work. And I'm fatigued, I'm anxious. But I would say that in my anxiety, I know that I have to press ever more forward because that causes less anxiety for me to lean into the Lord, lean into my faith and lean into my civic responsibility. I'm less anxious as a result of that, more hopeful, more encouraged. But I would just say I want to be praying for and after, but I don't want to be praying. Lord, please help us through the next four years. You know, I don't want to be praying that prayer. [00:21:40] Speaker A: No, I'm with you. And it's. I remember when Governor DeSantis was up for the first election, and that was a tight race. [00:21:48] Speaker B: It was less than 40,000 votes. And I want to say that to your listeners, too. The first election, first election with Andrew [00:21:56] Speaker A: Gillum, these were not two men that were very similar in position, not at all. [00:22:01] Speaker B: And you know where. You know where that ended up for Mr. Gillum? Less than 40,000 votes that our governor won by. So if you think about that, then it kind of calls back to, how do I deepen my Christian experience by being more active in this. [00:22:20] Speaker A: In this election, having met, had the opportunity, the open doors that you guys have provided for us, that the faith office in D.C. have provided. It's interesting. And I think everybody has this moment in their life where they see that the people who are calling the shots and running this thing are real people. They've got the same struggles and worries, and they have kids that rebel. They've got all of this stuff. They've got homework to coach their children through all of those things. I think realizing that it does change how you pray. Was there a moment in time when that kind of clicked with you, that there was a potential not only to vote and get engaged, but to work for a governor? At what point did you see that pathway kind of emerge? [00:23:11] Speaker B: I think it continued to evolve for me. Listen, you're right. We're all human beings. We're all trying to bear the image of Christ and falling short of it and broken. All of our leaders, you know, the ones that, like I said, I'm hopefully discerning and choosing, are really earnest and they're to do the right things. But we're all broken. We're all human. So I think the fact that we had this open engagement and this open invitation to pray for each other in this humanity, in this brokenness, to pray for our leadership. God calls us, the Bible asks us to pray for our leadership. So I think in that, the ability to do that put me at a great, great peace and, like I said, encouragement along the way that I began to realize as a leader, as an agency head, that this was not only a call from God, and I said that, and I always say that, but it's a ministry that I'm responsible for. And in all of that ministry, that prayer and humility and engagement with my fellow Christian warriors out there was really, really important. [00:24:25] Speaker A: Well, and I think realizing the only people on the Ballot this year are sinners. [00:24:32] Speaker B: That's so true. I love that every one of them [00:24:35] Speaker A: are sinners, and so they're image bearers. They have remarkable potential. Every single one of them bears the image of the Lord, you know, and every single one of them is broken, and they're a sin. And so, you know, reminding us, we need each other, we need to vote, we need to get engaged in the process. But if somebody looks out and says, I don't think I need to be in that space, I would say, just be sure. [00:25:04] Speaker B: Because, like, are you sure? All we have. [00:25:06] Speaker A: All we have is people that are imperfect. [00:25:09] Speaker B: I would just say, are you sure? Because I have a lot of friends that will say, tell me who to vote for if I show up to the polls like that. To me, and I love them. They're dear friends, dear Christians, but they don't want to plug into that piece. And I would say those are the leaders for four years that are making the decisions. We talked about 2,000 pieces of legislation that's just for faith, folks. That's not talking about, like I said, property taxes and Insurance and Amendment 4, Amendment 3, all the things that we're worried and concerned about whether or not it's legal to smoke pot through the state of Florida for recreational purposes. All of that is going to be through leaders that you gave your vote to and ultimately gave the responsibility to. To do that. And they have to do that in the halls of our Capitol. They have to do that in the halls of, you know, the governor's office and everything else in between. So I can't think of a more important time for a Christian to be discerning and pay attention to all of our broken leaders, to say who's. Who's being surrounded by faith, who grew up with faith, who's got a testimonial to faith, who is testifying about why they are here with faith. And you'll see a lot of leaders emerge that are doing that as opposed to leaders emerging that are not doing that. [00:26:27] Speaker A: My son graduated from the University of Florida. [00:26:30] Speaker B: Go Gators. [00:26:30] Speaker A: Go Gators. [00:26:31] Speaker B: Go Gators. [00:26:33] Speaker A: He was a poli sci major. He moved to Nashville. His day job in Nashville is with a political consultant up there. And he came to me one day and he said, someone in the church, probably speaking, the Lord speaking through them, came to my son and said, you know, you've got all of the right stuff to really be an influential leader. And I think the Lord might call you into government one day to civic service. And so after it was over, With Cole came to me and he said, dad, he said, you know, I get that. And it came at an important time when he had to decide on a major and all this stuff. But he said, dad, I get that. But I don't eat, sleep, drink, breathe politics. I don't get up in the morning thinking about it. I don't go to bed at night thinking about it. And I said, son, I said, you know, you've got to make decisions for yourself. I said, however, I really don't want the person that eats, sleeps, drinks, breathes politics making all of the decisions for our world. I want the person who's walking with the Lord, who has a good moral compass, who is ethical in their dealings, who's got character as a gentleman or a lady. I want the moms and dads that love their children, that go to church, that read the word of God, that listen to the Holy Spirit. Those are the people I want making decisions for Florida. I don't want the person who's. All they ever think about is whether it's Republican or Democrat. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Right? [00:28:12] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. [00:28:13] Speaker B: And if you look at your legislature and you line everyone up, they come from all different spheres of influence. And that's exciting. That's what makes our legislature exciting. You've got lawyers, you've got marketers, you've got, you know, insurance pharmacists, everybody. And I think that's really, really important because that's what's neat about the community, is that every zip code is represented. Everybody, it is. [00:28:38] Speaker A: You know, and the mother, the stay at home mom that's just trying to raise her kids and put food on the table, that loves Jesus, that's the one that I want making decisions for Florida. The hard working guy that goes down to the paper mill and puts in his hours and, you know, provides for his family that, you know, has a hard time being awake on Sunday morning, but he's there. He sits in a Sunday school. I want those people making decisions for our state. [00:29:06] Speaker B: I agree. And I think it's. If you're doing it the right way, it's not feeding ego. This is an act of love and commitment and sacrifice for yourself and your family because, you know, burn up. I attend a lot. It's a sacrifice to leave your family be up there doing the things. It's exhausting, it's stressful, it's anxiety producing. So if you are doing it with humility and love and to bear the image of Christ and advance the kingdom on earth, it's a Sacrifice too. So, you know, praise Jesus for the folks that come in and do that. [00:29:39] Speaker A: I've told you know, there's certain things that I'll tell our church every believer needs to pray about. You need to pray about adoption. Would God have you adopt? If you've got the resources to do that, you need to pray about what type of education you're going to provide for your children, foster care. You should pray about that. It may or may not be God's calling on your life, but those are things we should pray about, not just presume we're going to do it the way our parents did. And civic service is one of those things you should pray about and consider. But when it comes to the vote, I would say that's not something you need to pray about. You just need to go and do your duty as a citizen. [00:30:19] Speaker B: And we know, Pastor, I mean, how many people to live in America, what a blessing to have the opportunity to do that, to choose leaders. There is religious persecution across the globe, people dying for the opportunity to vote. And I don't want to sound preachy, especially not, not with you, I mean, or to your listeners, but I think to be here in America in this blessed space and have the opportunity and literally the convenience on every measure. You know, I think about for seniors, as the Secretary of Elder affairs, that we make it easy for seniors or people that don't have every capability to drive down to their voting precinct, well, we'll make it as convenient as possible for you. We want your vote. We need your vote. It's important. [00:31:05] Speaker A: I'll tell our seniors or moms and dads sometimes, you know, the way that you raise your kids, if you train those kids to value scriptural principles and to trust the word of God and to walk with Jesus, that's the young man who will one day, or young lady who will make decisions about your end of life care. [00:31:26] Speaker B: Amen. Yes. [00:31:27] Speaker A: And in the same way, if you are engaged in the process, if you're voting, if you're helping get out the vote, you're choosing the people who literally make those decisions. [00:31:37] Speaker B: And we talked about this because my son just turned 18, he's in college now and he's got a big adventure and a big life ahead of him. And, but we talked about, he couldn't wait to vote. He's so excited to vote and that's how an 18 year old is looking at that. But I asked him to please sit down, you know, and do his homework and think about it and ask questions. All the things from the Young voter all the way to the older voter. All of these count, all of these matter. [00:32:04] Speaker A: We're going to put some of these in the show notes. But how would you advise? Because not everybody has a mom who has the access that you've got. So how would you advise someone who says, okay, you're convincing me, I need to make sure I go vote? How would they educate themselves? [00:32:23] Speaker B: Oh, I love that question. First, I would talk to people that I trust, my Mac carriers and have conversations and ask good questions. And I always do that because I think that's important. And then I think it's important to go to different sources. So you can go to the supervisor of elections, you can go to Florida Family Voice has an entire voting guide that Eric Delaback and I talked about. So if you go to Florida Family Voice and their website, there's an entire voting guide that's been put together in a very thoughtful way that'll help you discern the candidates as well. [00:32:53] Speaker A: And those are not telling you vote this way or that way. They're showing you what the self reported candidates, what they have said they believe about the candidates. [00:33:01] Speaker B: Against your Christianity. Yes. Against your faith to say, okay, here's what the candidates have said when we've asked. And then I would go, I like to go to the candidates websites. What do I see on their websites? What do I see on their platforms that speaks to me and also showcases faith, commitment, leadership, humility, all the things. Is there a candidate that's being more negative in their approach or very positive in including the Lord in those concepts? So I also go to all their websites as well and I think that's really important. [00:33:35] Speaker A: Have you noticed with conservatives that we tend to be more mobilized when we're on the defensive? [00:33:42] Speaker B: That's funny. I think as human beings we tend to be more mobilized when we're on the defensive. But yes, I think as conservatives, it's really important to not rest on any freedom laurels. [00:33:57] Speaker A: You said it earlier, you're either going to pray on the front end or the back end. You know, we'll pray on both. But it seems like we get more serious about what we care about when the other side wins. And we've been there and I think right now when we've had some alignment with the state, the federal government, in my lifetime, I've not lived in a place we have more freedom of religion than we do right now. [00:34:28] Speaker B: Right. And I said Florida is the blueprint. And that's true. We're not just saying that because we feel like we Are. We are. It's faith first, freedom first in Florida. So if you want to keep that, you got to pay attention. [00:34:42] Speaker A: You do. And I don't mean to sound alarmist, but I kind of do that. When these things, you know, our experience historically is when these things, when that pendulum swings, it swings far. [00:34:53] Speaker B: It does. We have a big reaction, you know, and I think that's. That's the interesting part about our nation, is our reactions are big and the pendulum swings all the way over. So. And that is a cautionary tale, you're right. So that's not being an alarmist. That's just reality. That's how we operate. That's how we respond. So we, you know, we have this faith first, freedom first, and that sometimes we tend to sit on those laurels and rest on that and get a little lethargic in our response. So, unfortunately, because of. And you've seen the rhetoric, because of all of that, it. You can't be resting on your laurels, can't be lethargic in this experience, and you don't want the pendulum to swing all the way over to the other space because then you're going to be praying for help. [00:35:43] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. There won't be anything you can do about it besides pray for four years. We're going to put links into how to find where to vote and to make sure that you have the information that you need. Shifting gears just slightly, as the governor, the first lady, looks at what's ahead for them, what's going on in their heart right now, in their mind, what are they thinking about? Are they excited about the future? You know, I think a lot, as I read biographies about, like, a Churchill, that there was sort of a time in his life where he had done the big thing and he kind of had a depression seemingly come over him. I look at our. Our first family, and they're so young, and they have so much more to offer to this world. I certainly hope that's not the case. I hope there's a lot more ahead for those guys. But tell me, from what you can share, how are they doing and how are they processing all this? [00:36:44] Speaker B: Well, I'll tell you a story that I like to share with a lot of my friends about our governor. And I just. I really loved this. It's kind of like a. Ooh, okay. But I heard him say it in a press conference one or two times, and then he, of course, he said it directly to us, but all of the agency heads were meeting, and we were with the governor's Staff to what we call the eog, the Executive Office of the Governor. And we're all sitting in his big conference room, and he walked in and he just, you know, in a very nice way, but a very strong way, said, hey, I know we have a couple of months left. I'm not here to talk about other things. I'm not here to talk about the next thing. I'm here to talk about this thing. I've got my foot on the gas. A lot I want to do, a lot I want to accomplish. I'm still governor. I'm going to be governor, and until the last possible moment to do the work that I am here to do. And if anybody didn't want to do that, that's okay if you leave now, but we're foot on the gas. And I thought, wow, that's interesting. And then he repeated it at a press conference I was in. I thought. And. And everybody looked at me and thought, is that. Is that right? And I said, yes. I mean, he said that literally last week. And I really believe. And I loved that because it gave me clarity and freedom to just live in the moments that I'm in. Because I wanted to say, what is Michelle doing? What's the governor doing? What's Michelle doing? What's my family doing? What are we going to do? We just put our child in a really expensive private school. What does the Lord have for me next? And kind of worried and concerned and anxious like a lot of folks. And what I loved about what he said is it gave me freedom and clarity to stay right here and just be resolved to finish what we started, to make sure that there was no thing unfastened or undone and that we had left nothing on the field. I love that he gave us that message. And then in the press conference past that, he said, you know, many people, all the time, every time I'm around him, anytime he's in front of anybody to ask questions, they say, what are you doing next, Gov? What are you going to do next? And he always says, I don't want to spend one moment talking about that. I have so much more I still want to do. I've never seen a leader be that energized at the end. So it's like fourth quarter, you know. You know, we're at fourth quarter and we're, you know, fourth and long, and he's still going for it. He is still going for it. He's, you know, we're in the red zone, and he's still pushing as hard as he possibly Can. So I love that. And then the second part of that I'll say is whenever. Whenever I'm around the first lady, she's very, very faithful. So she's hosted a lot of pastoral luncheons, as you know, and spends a lot of time just receiving and listening to words from pastors from all across our great state. And I love that she's got that kind of servant's heart and that kind of discernment and faith. Both of them are extremely faithful. So I know that their next steps are going to be big adventures. And I pray, I pray a lot for them because they have a long adventure ahead of them. Like, as you mentioned, they're a young family. They're. I mean, if you've met both of them, they're super energized and highly engaged. [00:39:50] Speaker A: Oh, it's unreal. [00:39:51] Speaker B: It is not. Yeah. Not going to slow down at any time for the disabled offices. [00:39:55] Speaker A: Well, I have no doubt from everything I've witnessed, I don't know of time when we've had a harder working governor and president in those offices than we [00:40:06] Speaker B: have right now, 100%. And I saw the same reflections from the White House. I mean, it was just incredible. Incredibly busy, so much on their plate, so many things that they wanted to accomplish and just, you know, against a ticking clock of time, because it is. I think we talked about this before deployment, so, you know, you have a fine night amount of time. You know, you have a mission. And we keep piling more stuff that we want to do because there's so much on the mission that we want to accomplish. And then on the other side, you want to make a transition smooth, make it be a turnkey operation for our next great leader, you know, that's going to sit in that seat and do the work. So it's also preparing the next administration to have a good transition. [00:40:49] Speaker A: I've pastored three churches. When I was in seminary, I was pastor in Kentucky, then in Alabama, my home state, and then here. And each time when it was apparent that we were going to take a new opportunity, I would tell my wife, you know, I want to give maybe a few weeks between when I finish up at one place and start at the next one. I never did it because once you kind of close up shop on one, you get so excited about what's next. I do. [00:41:21] Speaker B: That's such a good way to look at it. [00:41:24] Speaker A: It's positive. [00:41:25] Speaker B: It is. And I think God has given me through my prayer and supplication. So I'm on my knees praying Every day. Let me stay here, right here, Lord. Let me take care of my people here now in this ministry, in this work as a leader. So I think to just finish that. Finish that deployment and then look to the future with anticipation and energy is exciting. [00:41:47] Speaker A: I do hope. Is it January when the governor's sworn in? So when the new governor is sworn in, I do hope they take a little time and just relax and take it all in. And, you know, because he has been such a good servant to this state, and we appreciate it very much, and I hope he does. Final question. Will we ever see Michelle Branham on a ticket? [00:42:10] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. I don't. I never say no because I don't know what the Lord's calling me to do. But right now, I really love the kind of ministry I'm in. So just working really hard to see what I can do next to use all of the five or so years that I've been an agency had to continue the work on. And right now, for me, the best spot is behind the scenes, behind the leader, doing that kind of work. It's been the joy and privilege and blessing of my life. So I'm just hoping I get to keep doing it. [00:42:44] Speaker A: Well, if it's Governor Branham one day, all we ask is that you don't forget Code Red. Come back on the program. Okay. [00:42:51] Speaker B: I love your aspirations. Thank you, Pastor. [00:42:54] Speaker A: Thank you so much for joining us. [00:42:55] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, my pleasure.