Transcript

Hamilton: God called believers to be ambassadors even in this dark moment

>> Joseph Parker: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.

>> Speaker B: This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

>> Joseph Parker: It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people.

>> Speaker B: Out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world.

>> Joseph Parker: God has called you and me to be his ambassadors even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment.

Alex McFarland: Church of every generation has privilege of participating in Great Commission

>> Speaker B: And, now the Hamilton Corner.

>> Alex McFarland: In the Gospel of Mark, Mark 16, verse 15, the word of God says this. Jesus said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The command to preach the good news to the whole wide world. We often call that the Great Commission. And you know, by doing radio and television and publishing and events, the church of every generation has the privilege of participating in Christ's Great Commission. Well, hi, Alex McFarland here. I'm so excited because, folks, we have a very rare opportunity. In the next few moments, we're going to visit here on the American Family Radio Network with someone, I'm not sure if you've heard of this, person before, but they are a key part of the church's ability to live out the Great Commission in the Western world today and really all around the world. His name is Troy Miller, and Troy is a, just a valued friend and colleague. He is the president of nrb. Now, you've heard us many times on afr. We talk about every spring we go to national religious broadcasters. It's been my Joy for almost 20 years, I suppose, to go to the NRB convention frequently. It's in Nashville, it's in Dallas, sometimes, sometimes Anaheim, California. But the leader of nrb, which is, ministries, all the beloved programming you hear like David, Jeremiah and Charles Stanley and of course, the American Family Association. We are a part of nrb, and I am a member myself, even though I'm, there with, the American Family Radio Network. But Troy Miller, I've watched the Lord use this man in so many ways. And we are here at the COVID We'll talk about that. But it's a rare privilege, and it is a privilege indeed to have Troy Miller making time to be with us on the show today.

Troy Anderson is the president of the National Religious Broadcasters Association

So, sir, welcome to the program. Thank you for making time, and we just look forward to hearing all that God is doing through your life and work with nrb.

>> Speaker B: Well, Alex, thank you for having me. It's great to be here with you. As you said, you and I have been, I think, friends, for almost 20 years as well. Since around NRB and of course as you said, American Family Association, American Family Radio have been longtime members of nrb. So it's just a privilege and honor to be with you.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it's great to have you. And folks, we're on the road, we're traveling and we are coming to you from a very special place. Also a member of National Religious Broadcasters, probably one of the legacy members for many years, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Just a few, a short space from where Troy, you and I are, is our longtime friend Jim Kirkland. 106.9 the light BRB blue, ridge Broadcasting. But we're at the COVID we're in the middle of a seminar this week on apologetics, Biblical Worldview. So Troy, thank you for being with us. For those that may be unaware, what is nrb?

>> Speaker B: Yeah, so nrb, as you said, goes back a long time. This is actually our 82nd year, for NRB, for the NRB convention. so NRB started back in 1944 when radio was the new medium out there. And there was a group of pastors said this is a great way to communicate the gospel. This is a great way to disciple the church. And so they wanted to get on radio. Well, like everything else, there was a group that decided they were going to be the gatekeepers and the main radio, entities at the time. they were like, yeah, this religious stuff's cool, but we only want it to be this long and we don't want it to take up all of our programming. and so to counter that, to make sure that the gospel could be in the marketplace, they got together in 1944 at Moon Church, informed the National Religious Broadcasters Association. And so for the last 80 plus years we have been fighting for advocating for the rights of Christian communicators of all kinds. Of course, started at radio radio to television and now all things digital. And we have publishers, and authors and filmmakers, podcasters, bloggers, YouTubers, you name it, tiktokers. And we work really hard so that they can stay in that public square, in that public marketplace. and it's been a lot of work, especially recently with a lot of the censorship and weaponization of the government.

Troy Hardeman's leadership of NRB is just exceptional

>> Alex McFarland: Well, and there's a lot of exciting news to talk about, a lot of exciting victories. And Troy, you've been absolutely at the forefront of that and I want to talk about this and maybe there are even people listening and you might want to pray about someday attending an NRB convention or joining nrb, a little bit of history, because I do love history. And Troy, let me commend you in all honesty, I've been a part of a lot of things and I remember when I first became aware of you, I was working for James Dobson at Focus on the Family and, you know, began to go to these conventions. The first one I went to would have been maybe 05 in Dallas or something like that. God bless you, sir. I've seen a lot of leaders in a lot of contexts. And when you're at nrb, there are thousands of people, hundreds and hundreds of ministries, like nobody I've ever seen. You deliver the content. You unify many different people and organizations and camps and groups. And for, one thing I commend you. Your leadership of NRB is just exceptional. To God be the glory and you're gifted and you're godly.

Troy Miller: About every hour is something different at nrb

The other thing I've got to ask, what is it like, help people understand A Day in the Life of Troy Miller, if you would.

>> Speaker B: Oh, that's a pretty interesting one. If you, if you, like change, then you would like A Day in the Life of Troy Miller. Because about every hour is something different because we, as you said, and look, God does get the glory. And I'll say this real quickly. You know, I grew up in a bad home environment, but was mostly raised by my grandparents and thought I was going to follow in my grandfather's footsteps, be a part time farmer and a policeman and such, but then ended up in the Navy and then ended up in the tech industry and so on. And I can tell you this, I never thought I'd ever be anywhere near an organization like this, let alone running one. but God orders our steps. He trains you. Wherever you're at today, God is, I guarantee God is training you for something you don't even know is coming down the road, in there. But my days are full of change because our organization, you said we deal with radio and television and radio and television program, producers and podcasters and all these different kind of industries, including, you know, churches out there, because every church is a Christian communicator today. And so, you know, I could be at one point talking about a radio issue, at another point I could be on television, talking about some issue in the culture and then turn around and be talking about foreign missions. and so that's how my day usually goes. My days on a variety of topics that are going around because we do Kind of three major things at nrb. Like you said, we, advocate for Christian communicators and then we work on equipping them for excellence in the ministry that they've called them do. Those are kind of our two main, as I call our two main pillars. And our third pillar is we advocate or we not advocate. Sorry. We amplify the messages that a lot of our folks are doing. So we amplifying the pro life fight. We're amplifying Christian persecution or we're amplifying, you know, the relations between Christians and Israel.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Speaker B: And so a lot of work like that.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen.

Focus on the Family has consistently supported Israel and Israel itself

And I want to say, I think one of the things that excites me has been, NRBs just very consistent stance for and with Israel. And, one of the highlights for me personally, the breakfast every year with folks like Joel Rosenberg and frequently members of the Knesset. Troy, where I grew up near Greensboro, North Carolina, there's a large Jewish population, wonderful people. The hospital in Greensboro was built by a Jewish family. Many of the schools around. And, so all my life I've been around precious, precious Jewish people. And I'll never forget the first NRB that I ever had the privilege of attending. I went with a number of my colleagues from Focus to the Israel Breakfast, and there were some members of the Knesset, and it was very emotional. And they said, we want to thank you in Israel. We know the best friends we have in this world are the Evangelical Christians of America. And it was just, ah, all I could do to hold back the tears. I mean, it was very moving, wasn't it?

>> Speaker B: Yes, it's very moving. And you know, Alex, that is even more prevalent today since the October 7th, massacre that happened in Israel because it's been Christians who have constantly come to the aid, of our Jewish friends and Israel itself. I was there just two months after that, event. And then I was there about six months, after that and then another year. And there was a constant theme amongst the Jewish people. And we know that in America there are a lot of liberal, Jewish people. But they have said to me over and over again, look, my liberal friends have abandoned me. But often the Christians who I stand on opposite ground with have been here praying for me. They have been supporting us, they have been championing our causes and they have been boots on the ground to help us. And that's, I think Alex is making a huge impact in the Jewish community today. And look, and I'm hoping and looking for we all know there's going to be a revival someday in the Jewish community, but maybe that'll be in our lifetime.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. And, you know, when NRB was in Dallas, not this year, but I'm thinking it might have been about 21 or 22. there's an Emmy and telly award winning documentary filmmaker that is a dear friend from Atlanta. she's done work for Fox News, she's done work for many networks, and she's a renowned cinematographer, she's Jewish. And, we paid and took her to NRB to cut some film for us. And she went to the Israel Breakfast and she had grandparents that died in the Holocaust. And I looked, lights were down and Joel Rosenberg and a number were speaking and she was just weeping. And, of course we've, in addition to being a professional colleague, we've been trying to share Jesus with this person. And so that's just one example of how NRB is proclaiming the gospel. You're at the absolute forefront of that. You know, whether it be Samaritan's, purse, Billy Graham answers in Genesis, David, Jeremiah, my friends at Focus on the Family, Jim Daly, we all talk about Troy Miller and Brother I before we take our first break.

Abe Hamilton: Any website sites that you would direct people to

Any website sites that you would direct people to or do you have a book out, any way that, we can help promote, Troy Miller?

>> Speaker B: I have been pushed to write a book, so I may be starting one. But look, you can track [email protected] that's again nrborg, and you can track all the issues that we're doing there and you can go to our other websites NRB convention, as you said, to find out, what's going on at the annual convention there. and you can track a lot of the legislative and cultural issues that we're dealing with as well. Or follow us on Twitter, RB association or NRB CEO, and you can follow me personally.

>> Alex McFarland: And when we come back, we do have a break in a few moments, but, I want to talk about some of the issues and some of the legislative victories that you've been at the forefront of. But, but there is, also NRB TV now. And what is that?

>> Speaker B: So NRB TV was started 20 years ago, 2005, to give a place for independent television producers, to have an outlet because, and we'll probably talk about this later because at the time PBS was moving away from Christian programming. And so this was a great time. So we call it a Christian worldview pbs because we do Lots of apologetics. We do lots of Christian worldview programming conferences, but we also do cooking and arts and entertainment music. And we have a gentleman out of Atlanta that does painting. we all remember Bob Ross on pbs. We have a gentleman like that that does it. And he interweaves his faith into that, as well. So nrbtv.org is a great place to find out all of our programming. Like Alex. You can find him there every week.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, and we're deeply grateful for that. Well, folks, this is the American Family radio network. Alex McFarland sitting in tonight for Abe Hamilton. Trust you've had a good day. Trust you're planning to be in the house of the Lord on Sunday. But we've got a brief break. Stay tuned. We're going to come back and talk with Troy Miller, the leader of national religious broadcasters. By the way, you can listen [email protected] this show will be [email protected] and, if you like what you hear, pray for afr. Share this with a friend. Stay tuned. A brief break and more about the gospel in the 21st century world on AFR. We're back after this brief break.

>> Speaker B: A discipleship minute with Joseph Parker.

Our, uh, words are powerful, much more so than we typically understand

>> Joseph Parker: Our, words are powerful, much more so than we as human beings typically understand. A saying that used to be popular years ago stated, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me. This is possibly one of the biggest lies you will ever hear. Words can hurt to an extreme degree, and people use them to hurt others every single day. Yet for us as believers, followers of Christ, our goal is to use our words every day to bless others and point them to Christ. Our words should bless others, promote healing in people's lives, grace and encouragement in the lives of those around us. We should habitually lift others up by our words. It is, in fact, relatively easy to bless others and encourage people with our words if we wisely and very deliberately seek to do so.

>> Speaker B: Shining light into the dark. This is the Hamilton corner on American Family Radio.

>> Alex McFarland: Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here we'll resume our conversation with Troy Miller as we record, and broadcast this show.

The 104th annual Cedar Falls Bible Conference kicks off tomorrow in Iowa

The 104th gathering of the Cedar Falls Bible Conference is underway right near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Falls. It's been my joy to be there several years, and tomorrow, August 2nd, I have the privilege of being the keynote speaker. I'll be speaking at 9, 30, 11 and 7pm and every time we go to Iowa, I mean, we just meet the greatest people in the world. So if you're listening to this and you happen to be within driving distance of Cedar Falls, Iowa. I would love to meet you. And I want to thank Matt Reisner and all of his great staff for allowing us to be a part of the Cedar Falls Bible Conference going on now for over 100 years. Glory to God. And also glory to God for the work of Troy Miller. And first of all, Troy, thanks for making time to be with us.

>> Speaker B: Oh, no, it's great to be with you. Thanks for having me.

>> Alex McFarland: yeah.

60% of Americans say they engage with Christian media on a regular basis

And you know, one of the things that, was a great thrill all my life, all my Christian life, I've heard of George Barna and the Barna Research Group and I mean, just one of the most respectable respected, pollsters, trend watchers. And, now every time I go to your annual convention, I get to interview him. But there was a recent Barna report that, says a lot about really the state of the church and our culture. And I wondered if you'd care to comment. one of the headlines says, most Americans engage with Christian media.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, and that was, one of the. To be honest, that number was beyond what we anticipated it was going to be. So we reached out to Barna, around the fall of last year, and we asked them to help us with a, ah, survey to look at, you know, was Christian media having an impact? That's really the kind of the premise behind this. And we asked specifically, was media having an impact beyond your church media? Okay, so one of the things we asked people when we asked them all these questions was, set aside your pastor for a second. We're not talking about you watching your pastor sermons or any of that. So we asked folks, just the general population, out there, do you engage with Christian media? And 60% of Americans, that's 60% of Americans, not evangelical Americans, just Americans, said that they engage with Christian media on a regular basis. and that number was just phenomenon. I really, to be honest, thought it was going to be maybe in the, high 40s. I think I would have been really happy and great with. But 60%, and I think it really shows, that there's still a real hunger and desire in America to know about, the Bible, to know about God and to know about, the gospel in their lives.

>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely. You know, some good news because I suppose for 25 years we've talked about, you know, people falling away and the church plateaued or declining. And I mean, to be sure, folks be in prayer for an awakening and be a part of a church and we need to, you know, ardently do what we can to bring people under the sound of the gospel. But some good news. USA Today, Troy. This Easter had a big feature story about how Gen Z and Younger are coming back to church. And it said, and it's not just at Christmas and Easter. And I was on Fox with our mutual friend Loren Greene back in, I don't know, maybe March with a gentleman from Barnes and Noble Booksellers. And he was, and they showed some B roll of Bibles being sold that the major book retailers are selling Bibles, just about as quickly as they can get them in. And a lot of among the people buying a copy of God's Word are young adult males ages 18 to 30. Well, this is good news and helping move the needle, I believe. Making an impact positively for the gospel in our culture are yourself and the Christian ministries that you represent.

>> Speaker B: Well, absolutely, that Christian ministries are making an impact, here. And we can help quantify that data as well. Because one of the things that came out for us now you might have thought if I asked most people, you know, who listens to Christian radio, watches Christian television, consumes Christian media, they would have probably said the older generations, the baby boomers, the X generations. But that wasn't the case. The two largest consumers of Christian media were the Gen Y's. That's the millennials and the Gen Z's. They were the two largest groups. And over now most of their media consumption of course is on social media and digitally. But they were consuming Gen Z, for example, was consumed. Over 60% of them were interacting in some form of Christian media, on a weekly basis. And over 50% of the millennials, they were the two largest groups. And that as you said, that is really encouraging when we look at some of the other data about them buying more Bibles, purchasing Bibles, purchasing study materials and the young males, both millennials and Gen zers who are going back to church at a record rate.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. Well, yes, so Christian media does have an impact. You know, there is a fairly well known atheist that I've debated a number of times and I'm trying to win him to the Lord. But he is somewhat well known. But he asked me one time, he said, hey, have you ever heard of, Charles, Stanley? I said, absolutely. He said, do you like him? Is he good? I said, yeah, he's awesome. He's right on the money. now. He's in heaven now. But this was A couple Years ago, Dr. Stanley was still with us. And I said, how do you know about Charles Stanley? He said, well, you know, you know, I see him sometimes. Now. This is a big published atheist. And in my heart, I said, well, praise God. If you're watching Charles Stanley, that's a good sign.

>> Speaker B: It's a great sign, ah, that they're watching Charles Stanley. Let me say this. I think about what this says about the culture today. Another question we asked was, why do you tune into Christian media? What's the reason behind it? You know, trying to figure out what's the driver for this. And the number one answer, and I really think this talks about the culture today. Number one answer was, I'm looking for hope and encouragement.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Speaker B: I'm looking for hope and encouragement. you know, the culture is so full of negativity and despair, and we're just, we're constantly pushing, you know, all of the problems. You know, that's what bubbles up into the mainstream of the news today. And yet we have a large group, 60% of the country out there saying, you know what? I'm really looking for hope. I'm looking for encouragement. I get enough of this other stuff. And I thought, you know, isn't that what the gospel is all about? Isn't that the whole idea that there's something inside of us that we know life should be better than this, life should be different. I should feel like I have a purpose and a meaning. I should feel like there's hope, in there. And then, Alex, you'll like this one for all that you do. The number two reason right behind that wasn't it was this. Let me just say it this way. I want to know more about my Bible and how to love God better people.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Speaker B: So it was like, I'm looking for hope and encouragement, but I have a real active purpose for that. I want to know how to understand my Bible better, how to understand and love God better, and how to love people.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Well, and also really, I don't know how to phrase it, better than this to know what's going on.

The purpose of life is to know Jesus Christ the Savior

Wednesday night, two days ago, we had Jay Warner Wallace on, and he's, part of the conference that we're in right now. And Jim Wallace, who was a renowned, ah, detective, became a Christian in his 50s. He said part of the reason that he ultimately came to Christ was because this is true. Jesus is the risen son of God. But the Bible, God's word, tells us where we came from. Where we are, why we're here, and where we're going. And I would be remiss if I didn't say this if you're listening to the program right now, Troy Miller, Alex McCarthy, McFarland. Maybe you're one of the people like we all were at one time. You're wondering just what is all this about, friend? The purpose of life is to know Jesus Christ the Savior. And he died for you. He rose again. we often say this, Troy, that Jesus is as close by as a prayer. M. And, isn't it one of the perks of a biblical worldview? That's life, reality as informed by God's holy word? I think one of the great, the benefits package, shall we say. We know what's going on.

>> Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. Not only do we know what's going on, we kind of know how the story ends, as well. So we know what the future is. and then because of that, and because we know we have a purpose, we know we're not just a random act of nature. and we know that there's a purpose in our lives and a purpose in our relationships, with other people and especially with God. And it's why people say all the time, all this stuff goes at you Christians, but you still, you still have so much peace and joy. Well, that's because we live in peace and joy, because we know the answers that everybody's searching for.

>> Alex McFarland: For. And we have hope, which, you know, we were talking about humans need food and water, but humans need hope. And there is hope in Jesus. And I'll say this, there's so much I want to ask Troy Miller. But, folks, no matter what you've done, Christ will forgive you. No matter what has been done to you, he can heal you. In fact, Joel 2:25 is, in the Old Testament. It says, God restores the years. The locust has eaten. And you mentioned growing up on a farm. I did, too. my family, I live, within about two miles of where my family's been for 200 years. And, you know, if the crop, if you've got a drought or if the deer eat all the corn, you're out of luck till next year. God restores the years. The locusts has eaten. That's really kind of a farming analogy. And folks, no matter where you are in the journey, no matter what your age, what the past might have been, a new day can begin now, today, with Jesus. Call on Jesus. Let me just say this. On My website is a little tab. What does God say about my relationship with him? Alex mcfarland.com. now there's a book that we've given out to quarter million people. And you can have this book, it's on my website. And if you need to come to Christ, if you need to come back to Christ, you could do that today. And if the spirit of God is stirring within you and you think, you know, I need that hope, I, surely would love to have a fresh start with God. It can begin today. Jesus loves you so much. Call on him.

A lawsuit challenging the Johnson Amendment challenging nonprofit political speech is pending

Well, Troy, one of the things that you've done with nrb, and I know recently there's a victory in process even as we speak, related to something, some legislation from 1954 that you've been addressing. And I want you to talk about the free open door legally for the proclamation of the gospel.

>> Speaker B: Well, the case is still, under review by the judge right now, so it's still an active case. So as the plaintiff, I can't talk much about the case in particular, but, what you're referring to is what's commonly known as the Johnson Amendment. And I can talk about the history of that. Lyndon B. Johnson, when he was running for Senate in Texas back in the early 50s, he was actually opposed by a number of churches, number of African American churches, that kind of looked at him as a racist. So he made it into Congress, he got into the Senate, he became, becomes, one of the Senate leaders and he attaches to a bill, ah, this amendment, this Johnson Amendment. And what it did was silence nonprofit organizations, typically known in the IRS code as a 501. and this bill did three things. One, it said nonprofits can't donate to campaigns. two, the leaders of that nonprofit in particular, in this case, all churches are considered 501C. Three threes. can't oppose or endorse candidates, or issues that would oppose or endorse a candidate. And then third, they can only do so much lobbying. So our case goes after number two there, this idea, that you can't endorse or oppose candidates or in particular talk about issues that are around the campaign. That's what our case is going after. That's what were looking to get, turned over or tossed out as, we believe it's a violation of the First Amendment, both the freedom of speech and of course for pastors, the freedom of religion, free exercise thereof. Because you think about it this way, up until Lyndon B. Johnson For 175 plus years in this country, the pulpits were one of the chief voices into the culture and into elections. so that case, we're hoping, very soon we'll get a ruling from the judge and we'll be able to announce that ruling. but that's the history behind the case and what the case is. And it would restore back to what we originally had in this country, the freedom for pastors in the pulpits to talk based on their conscience, their interpretation of the Bible and their shepherding of their flocks, of their congregations, not restricted by the government.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, I mentioned George Barna a couple of moments ago. Barna and I a year ago were at nrb and he had some very recent data that, roughly 80 to 80% plus of parishioners want their clergy to speak about moral, social, political issues from a biblical perspective. What thus saith the Lord. so listen up, church leaders. But barna said like 3 to 9% ever do and at most even the highest number, 12% in the pulpit Sunday morning, speak about moral, social, political issues from a Christian perspective. And I think there are a lot of reasons for the, the habitual silence of the pulpit. But ministers, fellow pastors, 80% or more of your members, they want to hear from the pulpit what does God's word say? And praise the Lord. Because of this impending ruling, and we're praying it across the finish line, there'll be more. Well, the freedom that we once had restored. We've got to take a brief break.

55% of American adults say assassinating Donald Trump could be justified

Troy Miller of National religious broadcast, Alex McFarland here. You're listening to the Hamilton Corner on the national. On the nrb. No, I'm sorry, on the AFR network, American Family Radio. Stay tuned. We've got a break and we'll come right back. More with Troy Miller.

>> Speaker B: In a recent survey of 1,200 left of center American adults, 55% responded that assassinating Donald Trump could be justified. We are swimming in shark infested cultural waters. Some are suffering from Christianophobia. Jesus said, if they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. Please give today to help AFA keep equipping you and others to stand for Christ. Help us shine his light into our dark culture. Visit afa.netwarrior the Hamilton Corner podcast and one minute commentaries are available at afr.net Back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Alex McFarland: Thank you for being with us today

>> Alex McFarland: Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here. By the way, if you, if you would, my website, alexmcfarland.com conversations we have a summer speaker series. And August 21st, Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk and I will be at the Alabama Theater in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And I know we've got a lot of listeners around the Mid Atlantic region, but we would love to see you. And yes, there will be open mic Q and A. So if you've ever wanted to ask a question of Charlie Kirk, you just might get your chance. Try to join us August, Thursday night, August 21st, myself and Charlie Kirk together in Myrtle Beach. You can learn more about [email protected] well, the time just fleets away. And again, Troy Miller, I'm so grateful for you being with us. but again, and I know I speak for millions of Christians and many ministries, thank you for giving your life to keep the airwaves open for the proclamation of the gospel, all that you do to advocate for the church. Well, of course, in America, but really throughout the world. And we'll talk about that, but thank you.

>> Speaker B: Well, look, like I said, it's not anything I ever thought I was going to be a part of or doing. but, you know, if we're just obedient to God and let him open the doors for us, he trains us up and then he puts us in the right place. So it's a privilege, I count it as a privilege and a joy, to be doing what I'm doing right now.

>> Alex McFarland: I know. And, I'm like you. I never knew, growing up, even going to college, never knew what I'd be doing. And, folks, God wants to use you. Hey, don't forget First Corinthians 15:58, that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

President Trump has advocated for cutting funding for public broadcasting

But, Troy, I grew up all my life, pbs, public broadcasting. President Trump has really advocated for the cutting, if not the eliminating of funding for public broadcasting. I like, I'm glad of that because I've observed for decades that it seems like PBS has just been a megaphone for the left. can you give us any update on where that stands on the possible reduction of funding for that?

>> Speaker B: Yeah, actually, Congress just passed a bill, for the defunding of pbs. so both PBS and npr, National Public Radio. So Public Broadcasting System is television, National Public Radio is radio. And then what's known as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which, funds, most of the funds go through, and it funds a lot of the programming. And look, I'm like you, Alex. I grew up on pbs, okay? I watched Sesame street and the Electric Company and zoom. Some of you guys might. I remember, when Morgan Freeman was the janitor, you know, on the electric company. I'm pretty sure it was the electric company. You know, I, when he became famous in Hollywood, I was like, wait, I saw this guy as a kid, you know, on there. And look, PBS has a carve out. There's what's called the public interest obligation, Public interest carve out, that Congress set right away. When radio came around, when broadcasting mass communication came around, Congress understood there's a public interest. The business itself won't do all of that. So they created this public interest, which is where a lot of our programmers like afr, they get their non commercial nonprofit stations under those same rules. But PBS over the last, as you said, especially over the last couple decades, I do think that there was a time where they really focused on education, they focused on training kids and teaching kids and doing those. They had a lot of great arts and entertainment, programming on there. But over the last two decades they have really moved to a single ideology, that they move forward. And it's really a secular, ideology. It was, I think, back in 2008, 2007, sometime around then, they came out with new rules. They called a non sectarian, that they wouldn't carry any programming that had a sectarian message, a specific sectarian message, which really turned out not to be true because they carried a number of programs on Islam, they carried a number of programs on Eastern religions. They actually carried a number of programs that either showed the negative side of Christianity or was always questioning Christianity. that was out there. And of course then they carried all of the liberal causes that were out there. So I think because of that shift, we have been saying for a long time, and we said this to the White House back in Trump's first administration, that PBS should not be getting public funding to do that because if they're not gonna represent all of the taxpayers, then they shouldn't get money from.

>> Alex McFarland: Any of the taxpayers, plus do endless fundraisers. NPR does, and I mean PBS does all of these fundraisers in addition to getting tax dollars.

>> Speaker B: Well, and it puts them, they've always had an advantage over the rest of us who are public interest, non commercial, nonprofit programmers as well. Because not only have they gotten this money from the government to produce programming, but a lot of this money has helped them with their infrastructure, things that they didn't have to pay for. So they could take all of their. Look, I don't mind them doing Their fundraising. That's how they should do that. If you want to watch this programming, then support that programming. I think what they're afraid of is that they know that they've been reaching a very small segment and they've seen their fundraising reduced and they've really leaned more heavily on this government funding than they've really said to be. And so I think that's what their worry is out there. But we want to see it as a level playing field, okay? That's the whole thing. Be on a level playing field. And look, again, if you're going to get government funds, then represent all of the people in your public interest programming, not just one small ideology, one small set of philosophies or opinions in this country.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, last December, I was at a board meeting for, for, brb, the radio arm of the Billy Graham Ministry, the growing radio arm. And, one of the, reports that was given dealt with how much people listened to radio in the car. Now folks, this is really going, to surprise you, I think, because, every now and then people will say, Alex, you're on the radio actually seven days a week. do you get much traction out of that? And we do. We get volumes and volumes and volumes of correspondence from people impacted. But as of December last year, some data that I heard at this board meeting, 93% of people in America hear a car radio at some point during the week.

>> Speaker B: That's right.

>> Alex McFarland: That is amazing, isn't it?

>> Speaker B: It is amazing. But radio is still, you know, a key, tool that people use. It's so much easier in your car to tune in your favorite radio, and especially because radio gives you that, immediate information. You know, what's the weather, what's the traffic, what's going on, Is there anything I missed on the news? And then you can get your favorite programming. And Christian radio has seen tremendous growth over the last decade. We've, seen out of, just out of a secular magazine, inside radio, Christian radio is always in the top two top three genres of radio listed. Christian music and talk and teach. and on the AM dial, look, 80 million Americans still listen to AM radio and depend on it. It's the number one source for informational radio, for informational programming. And the top genres on radio on AM radio are Christian talk and teach, conservative talk, sports talk, and a lot of Spanish language and other language programming turned into radio. And as you know, and I grew up in a kid, you grew up on a farm, you listen to those. My Grandfather listen to those farm reports on AM radio. He listened to those weather reports, the crop reports and what's going on. We had a very large, hog farm. And he was like, you know, what are pork bellies? I never learned about. I learned about that growing up. What are the pork belly prices?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, exactly. And also, let me just say this. And the Lord is so good. I do, Troy, I do so many interviews. Literally five days a week I could be on interviews all across America. And so many of the shows that I'm on, being interviewed about various issues. There is such a beautiful American, local flavor.

>> Speaker B: That's right.

>> Alex McFarland: I listen to. I was on, just Yesterday morning at 7:30, we were here at the Billy Graham Conference Center. But I was on this Detroit News that was an AM throughout parts of Michigan. And so I'm. And it's not just sentimentality. I mean, this is legitimate serving the needs of the American people. I love AM radio. I love FM as well. But talk to me.

There is some legislation that you have, uh, spoken about about keeping AM radio

There is some legislation that you have, spoken about and advocated for about keeping AM radio present in automobiles.

>> Speaker B: That's right. And there's a couple of issues behind this bill. It's called the AM radio and every DASH act. it has a very wide bipartisan support, almost 50, 50 across the aisle. It's one of the few bills in Congress today that has that much support, to keep in AM radio in the dash. And two things behind that. So one, the auto manufacturers came out and said, oh, we can't do AM radios anymore. They're going to interfere with electric cars. This is sort of around when the EV mandate was at its height. And that's going to interfere. Well, I came from a naval engineering kind of background in electronics. And even the government, budget office came out and said, no, that's not true. It's a $35 part. and on a $20,000 car, that's nothing.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, yeah, sure.

>> Speaker B: To do this. What was really behind it, Alex, was who's gonna control the information in the dash? Who's gonna control. If you go out to the Consumer Electronics show, if you, excuse me, Go out to the big, broadcast show, you're gonna hear what's called the connected dash, the connected car. Anybody who's bought a new car today knows that your car comes with an Internet service that you can sign up for. And that's what the car manufacturers are really looking for, is who's going to control that. And really over the air, free over the air broadcasting is a threat. To that.

>> Alex McFarland: Because it's uncontrolled.

>> Speaker B: Well, it's uncontrolled and it's free. And it's up to the consumer. The consumer can just pick the dial and they can listen to what they want to, and it gives the consumer the choice. And so we have been, really working hard for the passage of this bill. we're pretty sure when Congress comes out of, their, recess, their August recess in September, this bill is already out of committee in the Senate. we just need the bill to come out of committee in the House, make it to the floor.

>> Alex McFarland: Ah.

>> Speaker B: As of this morning, I got an alert. It's 261 sponsors in the House. So there's no really worry about it. It's going to pass through. but it's about that.

AM radio and FM radio are very local. And we don't want to lose that

And then I just want to touch on this last issue that you said. Localization. Right. Because AM radio and FM radio, radio in particular, they are very local. They carry local advertisers, they carry local churches, they carry the local community calendar, they carry the local, advertising and traffic and all of those reports. And I think a lot of America today doesn't want us to see. To go. Go to 100% national networks.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Speaker B: You know, they don't want 100%. They want localization. What's going on in my community and what's important. And I'll say this, because we're here in Asheville, it's also these radio stations, and I know Blue Ridge Broadcasting was a big part of this. In Samaritan's Purse, they're the first on site to help during disasters.

>> Alex McFarland: Exactly.

>> Speaker B: and they're communicating that information out. That's not a national. You can't do that when you're a national broadcaster. You can't get on the local and say, hey, people, if you've lost your house, here's where you get housing, here's where you can get temporary lodging, here's where you can get water, here's where you can get a meal. That happens at the local level. And we don't want to lose that. And we shouldn't lose that across America. And we shouldn't have another gatekeeper come in, tell us what we can and can't listen to.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

National Religious Broadcasters addresses Christian persecution around the world

you know, we've only got a couple of minutes, but I've got to try and get this in. You recently were in. Is it Nigeria?

>> Speaker B: Nigeria.

>> Alex McFarland: We've got to do a whole other show about the persecution of the church around the world, but that too is something NRB addresses and, if you would, and I'm so sorry that we're short on time, but talk to us about the state, the safety of the church elsewhere in the world right now.

>> Speaker B: It is not very safe to be a Christian elsewhere in the world. Nigeria just recently was named, the top country for the most Christian persecution. There in Northern Nigeria, Muslims, are just slaughtering Christians right now. We have a heightened Christian persecution across India, most Muslim states. And look, right now in Europe, we have a lot of Christian persecution. And look, you can't even put your faith on your own social media page today, and you could end up in jail in England. So it is a cause we're working on. We are very, very pleased that this State Department and this administration has pushed it to the highest levels. But please, please keep us in prayer, there. We need a lot of doors to open up and, to protect Christians, around the world. We think we have it here in America. We don't know. recently there were. It was in Uganda. There were over 40 Christians who were just slaughtered brutally. Machetes, for one thing and one thing only. They believed in Jesus Christ.

>> Alex McFarland: I know. as I hear the music taking us out, but congratulations. National Religious Broadcasters has a building in our nation's capital now. And what day will you dedicate that building?

>> Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's, September 17th. we'll be in Capitol Hill, but just look on nrb.org and you'll find it. You'll find that exact date. but God has blessed us with a permanent home, in D.C. as you said, to work on behalf of all Christian communicators, including you, on your own social media pages.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

Troy Miller: Be in church on Sunday and tell somebody about Jesus

Well, as we started with Mark 16:15, that we've been commanded to tell the whole wide world about Jesus. Troy Miller, you're doing that. And the many broadcasters you represent, ourselves included. Folks, thanks for listening. Be in church on Sunday and tell somebody about Jesus. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.