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Glenn's Show Prep

Pastor Jim Garlow thinks people need to wake up to a serious culture myth

June 04, 2015
Wilson

Writer

People just assume that just because things are one way today, they will be that tomorrow. That's a huge cultural myth. You need to prepare for what is coming in the very near future, and Pastor Jim Garlow is hosting a conference in San Diego to help. On radio this morning, Pastor Garlow discussed the the Future Conference, the Black Robed Regiment, and more.

GLENN: Jim Garlow is a good friend of mine and was there with us at Restoring Honor. He is the pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego, which is not an easy place to be a pastor. He has been under attack and his church has been under attack for a very, very long time. But he has something going on. June 14th through the 17th. And it's free to attend. If you happen to be listening anywhere in California or you want to travel to California -- San Diego is not a bad place to vacation, especially in June -- you can find information on this at SkylineChurch.org. He has a conference, and I'll let him tell the idea behind it. But it's basically to start to empower you, people of faith, and empower the pulpits to do the same thing. It's called the Future Conference, and Jim is with us now. Hi, Jim.

JIM: Hey, Glenn. Good to be on with you, my friend.

GLENN: Thank you. Tell me about the conference. You have 50 people coming in, and you're covering everything.

JIM: It's 56 speakers, but who's counting? And we're covering all kind of topics: Poverty, racism, the Biblical foundations to economics, how to save Iraqi Christians, how to relate to millennials, human trafficking, the tragic loss of religious liberty in America, terrorism here, terrorism abroad, the role of Israel, radical Islam. Emergency preparedness, defending marriage, radical new evangelism, and even this topic, when biblical obedience requires civil disobedience, or principled resistance. So a lot of different topics, and it's designed to educate, embolden, and activate all of us.

GLENN: Jim, I have to tell you, I'm announcing something next week myself, and I think that the -- I think the Lord speaks through the multitudes. And we are -- we are at the time that none of us thought could happen or would happen, never again is now.

You're feeling that. Is that why you're doing this?

JIM: Absolutely. Absolutely. Morally and economically, we're at a crisis, and that's not just a euphemism. We have this cultural myth that many people follow. The cultural myth goes like this: The way things are, are the way things are always going to be. And that is not the case.

Any study of history knows that nations begin, and nations end. And some are saying we are at the end of the end. And they're not Chicken Little, just screaming the sky is falling. Even in the economic world -- I have a friend who lectures -- speaks at a prestigious east coast university to billionaires who told me last week that among the billionaire friends he has -- he's lectured every year for many years -- and he says, never have I seen them with this level of fear in just the economic arena. And in the moral collapse of our nation.

And so the Future Conference is one guy's way, and we all have our part. My way of saying, I take a stand here, and I want to raise up as many people as I can who really understand the biblical underpinnings. God's word has all the truth. The biblical underpinnings of all of these contemporary gutsy issues. Equip as many people as rapidly as I can in all these issues.

We have an incredible list of speakers. Congressman Bob McEwen. Bishop Harry Jackson from D.C. Star Parker. The Catholic Chaldean bishop, Bishop Mar Sarhad Jammo. Now, he's from Baghdad. He'll give us a report on how to save Iraqi Christians, his own friends.

Kendra Todd. She's going to speak on how to reach millennials with the truth. She happens to be the first female to ever be on Donald Trump's The Apprentice, the youngest ever to win it.

A man named Kasim Hafeez. Now, he is a radical -- was a radical Islamists and got spun around and lost his hatred for Israel and realizes how spectacular Israel is.

Another one is Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook. She's an Obama appointee. Was. She stepped out of the role now. But the religious liberty ambassador to all nations. And a host of others. There's 56 speakers total. That's just a few of them. Like Steve Riggle, for example. He's one of the pastors of the Houston five that was attacked by the mayor there recently when she went after five pastors and violated the First Amendment. So a host of speakers covering so many superb topics.

GLENN: Okay. You're hearing Jim Garlow. He's the pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego. Jim was one of the first to sign up for the Black Robe Regiment, when we went to Washington, DC, five years ago this summer, and has been a good friend ever since. And his -- somebody has just come up to me over the last three months, Glenn, do you remember those groups of guys that stood behind you on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? Is that still going, and are those guys still active? Not only is that still going, the number in the Black Robe Regiment is about 70,000 now. The number that I think will walk through a wall of fire, you know, and possible death is anywhere between 17 and 10,000. That's an extraordinary number of people that are willing to lay it all down on the table and go to jail or go to death because they serve God and not man.

Jim is one of those men. So you are -- you're putting this together. Now, is this -- is this for pastors or is this for regular people?

JIM: We're saying it this way. It's for three categories. Pastors. Christian leaders. And serious followers of God. And so it's wide open to anybody who is serious about these things, who wants to learn.

It's interesting. The line of the speakers is so exceptional, so strong -- by the way, they can go to FutureConference2015.com, and they'll see the whole list of speakers, or SkylineChurch.org. Either place. And the list of speakers is so strong, that one of the major universities here in San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene University is giving three hours' graduate credit for people who come to this conference and who will sign up of course through the university to get that.

But it's a goal -- you used some language here a moment ago, Glenn, that the uninitiated will understand. Willing to walk through the wall of fire and possibly death, that's what you just said.

And that's honestly where we are. I spoke to a group of about 350 pastors one time at Samford. Not Stanford. But Samford University down in Alabama. And behind me on the wall was a bust of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And I said to the pastors: Stop telling stories and illustrations about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and be willing to be Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

And we have come to that moment. You have wisely said, what you did a few moments ago, based upon an accurate reading of the cultural landscape. And people like you and me and, thank God, many others are digging in very deeply and laying the benchmark of where we're going to stand on these issues. And so I urge people to come to San Diego for four wonderful days, June 14 through 17. It starts off with Bob McEwen. He'll speak in our Sunday morning services. But it officially kicks off Sunday afternoon at 6:00 p.m. June 14th, ends Wednesday night, June 17th. There's no registration charge. No cost for coming. We do ask people to register though at FutureConference2015.com, or they can call the church office: 619-660-5000.

GLENN: Jim, can I ask you one last question?

JIM: Yes, sir.

GLENN: Compare what you believed or where you were five years ago to where you are today. I've known for five -- when we first stood on those stairs together, I knew where we were headed. Most did not. We all kind of hoped that it wouldn't come down. But I have had a growing feeling since last year. And unstoppable feeling this year. That it now is time and it has begun. Can you tell me the difference five years ago to today?

JIM: I will. And I'm going to take you back just three years ago. You were on the platform of our church. And I threw the question out to you and one other person in that Sunday night seminar format. And I said, where are we right now in America? And the other person said, the Titanic has not hit the iceberg yet. You leaned over to me and said: I want to answer first. I disagree. And you said, the Titanic has hit the iceberg. It's a case of now getting life jackets and lifeboats. I agreed with you that day. And I agree with you today.

You have and I have and others like us and some listening have what I call the disadvantage of the prophet. That's where you can see what other people cannot see. And you sound so alarmist. You sound so melodramatic. Other people are saying, we can play shuffleboard on the surface of the Titanic. It will be fine. You see what is happening, and you're trying to save lives. Here's how I know how much worse it has gotten. I record once a month, and I just finished moments ago recording one-minute commentaries. They're called the Garlow Perspective, and they air on 850 radio outlets once a day. And most of them are recordings of the state of lawsuits against Christians across America. I just finished that recording moments ago.

And every month, I get shocked. I get stunned at how much more severe the lawsuits are against being a follower of Jesus Christ in this nation. The rise of the anti-Christian sentiment and the rise globally of anti-Semitism. I just got back from Israel. It's my seventh trip. My wife's 53rd trip. We just got back a week ago from Israel. And what we're witnessing globally, what we're witnessing here, the world is on fire. Something is happening, and we want to urge as many people to be prepared to stand. I tell my own congregation. I can't tell you exactly what is coming, but I am preparing you for whatever it is that's coming.

GLENN: Jim, thank you for being one of those men. Thank you. Sincerely. It is a --

JIM: To you as well.

GLENN: It's rare to meet somebody and then know them as well as I know you and to know that you're not in this for the money. You're not in this for a book sale. You're not in this -- you really will stand till the end. And to hear you speak this way, you and I have spoken off-air over the years, and we have both said, well, maybe some day. But not quite now. And to hear you do this and put this together at the same time that I'm feeling the same things and I'm doing something myself, I am telling you, the Spirit speaks through the multitudes. And I'm grateful. I'm grateful for your willingness to stand.

JIM: Well, thank you. When Bruce Jenner, or Caitlyn, is lifted up and then a person who says that a child deserves to have a mommy and daddy is condemned and potentially fined and can be sentenced to jail, that is where we have gotten.

But the good news is, we're not budging. And we're not going anywhere. We're standing. And truth always eventually and righteousness always eventually emerges. My Ph.D. is in historical theology and church history, and truth always ultimately wins out.

GLENN: Jim, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

JIM: Blessings on you. And thank you, my friend.

GLENN: You too. Jim Garlow. Skyline Church. It's SkylineChurch.org. It's in San Diego. It's actually La Mesa, California. The Future Conference: What you thought was coming is here now. That's the name of it. SkylineChurch.org. Do you feel that, Pat? Or is that just me?

Britain says “no work without ID”—a chilling preview for America

OLI SCARFF / Contributor | Getty Images

From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.