0:06 Welcome to Culture and Christianity. You
0:07 know, we're told heroes are out of
0:10 style. I don't believe that. I think we
0:12 need a generation of heroes. And I'm not
0:13 willing to accept what Hollywood is
0:15 generating. I don't think real heroes
0:17 wear spandex and have superhuman
0:20 characteristics. We don't need cartoon
0:22 characters. We need real people. Well,
0:24 Lieutenant General Jerry Boyin is an
0:26 American hero. He served our nation for
0:29 decades. a founding member of Delta
0:32 Force. He led Delta Force. A man with
0:34 real faith. He has a message. It's
0:36 important for men and for young men.
0:38 Veterans Day is this weekend. We have
0:41 heroes amongst us. We need to recognize
0:44 it, celebrate them, and be grateful for
0:46 the sacrifices they have made so you and
0:48 I know liberty and freedom. I believe
0:54 you know, we're going to talk a bit
0:55 about your career and what you've done,
0:57 but I I think the the foundation for
0:58 that, you came from a family of real
1:01 faith. I know your mother was a godly
1:03 praying woman.
1:08 >> Uh my mother u was the granddaughter of
1:11 the people who established the
1:15 Pentecostal Holiness Church.
1:19 So I came from a long line of people
1:23 uh of faith and my mother was a saint
1:27 and uh she was an intercessor and I
1:29 would say to you that intercessors are
1:31 the best warriors in God's kingdom
1:35 because they put it all on the line. But
1:38 yes, and she raised me up to
1:41 to honor the Lord, but also to honor Israel.
1:43 Israel.
1:45 And she made it very clear to me as I
1:48 was growing up that they are just God's
1:51 chosen people. And we must stand with
1:54 them or we will pay a price. So that's
1:57 why I'm so disturbed about what I see
2:00 with this anti-semitism.
2:02 >> Absolutely. And I mean you've I've heard
2:04 you share a variety of ways that she
2:05 would pray and intercede for you at
2:07 different points when you were
2:09 qualifying for Delta and some of those
2:11 places. So some of you who think you're
2:13 all you can do is pray. That's a misunderstanding.
2:14 misunderstanding.
2:16 In most cases, the most valuable thing
2:19 we can do is pray.
2:22 >> Yes. But am I right? We didn't when you
2:24 were doing crazy. when I had I got a
2:28 call asking me to come and try out for
2:30 this new unit which turned out to be the
2:34 Delta Force and uh and they said and we
2:36 need your answer in one hour. So I did
2:40 what every Christian man does when he's
2:42 confronted with a dilemma and I call my mother
2:47 and and I told her what was I said I
2:49 don't know if this is where the Lord
2:52 wants me or not but uh they tell me this
2:53 is going to be the toughest thing I've
2:56 ever done and and they tell me you
2:58 better be in the best physical condition
3:01 you've ever been in. And I said mom you
3:03 need to be praying for me. She said,
3:05 "I'm going to pray for you right now."
3:08 And she started praying. And and I mean,
3:10 when my mother prayed, she shook the
3:12 gates of heaven. I'm telling you. And I
3:15 got family right here, and they will
3:19 tell you the same thing. But uh 36 and
3:23 a2 years I was in the army. Every day
3:26 that I was in the army, my mother prayed
3:31 for me. and she prayed Psalm 91 over me
3:33 every day.
3:35 >> There's, if I remember correctly, that
3:38 Delta trial, there was another component
3:39 of that. You had to make some crazy hike.
3:41 hike.
3:43 And then there was a psychologist
3:46 that had an opinion about your fitness.
3:48 >> Yeah. It may not be the most
3:49 God-honoring part of the morning, but
3:52 it's memorable.
3:57 Well, the trial was a 30-day trial up in
3:59 the mountains of North Carolina and
4:02 going long distances carrying heavy
4:05 loads. And uh the last day we went 40
4:09 miles and we started with 118 people and
4:13 we finished with 19. And the last day
4:15 was 40 miles through the mountains with
4:19 a big heavy ring, snowing. And uh I came
4:24 in first and I had been
4:28 Yeah. But I was trust me when I tell you
4:30 I couldn't do that. I could not do that
4:33 on my own. I was praying and asking the
4:36 Lord to give me what I needed if it was
4:38 his will that I should be part of this.
4:41 Give me what I need and help me through
4:43 this. And that's exactly what he did. He
4:47 gave me what I needed. But uh they
4:49 brought us back to Fort Bragg out of
4:51 those mountains and a psychologist came
4:55 in and gave us all uh a battery of test
4:57 and everything and this this one
5:00 psychologist uh took us all into a room
5:04 and each one of us individually he would
5:07 uh he would talk to us and well when he
5:11 brought me in I sat down and he said he
5:14 he was very unpleasant. Let me just say
5:18 that. And I said, he said, "Uh,
5:20 uh, Captain Boyin, I'm going to
5:22 recommend against you being part of this
5:26 Delta Force." And I said, "Why?" And he
5:30 said, "Because you rely too much on your
5:32 faith, and you just won't fit in here."
5:35 And I thought, "And you rely on your
5:37 nose to breathe. And I think I'm going
5:45 Now, pastor, I'm more sanctified now. Okay?
5:47 Okay?
5:50 I'm more sanctified.
5:52 >> But in spite of all that, they took me.
5:54 They took me in spite of that because
5:57 I've been very open about my faith. I
5:59 didn't feel like I was compelled to hide
6:03 my faith, particularly when I was asking
6:05 the Lord to help me to get through this
6:07 if that's where he wanted me to be. So,
6:11 and but you know sometimes
6:15 when we compromise on our faith,
6:18 when we say we're a Christian and we
6:20 compromise and people see us
6:22 compromising, you don't realize the
6:25 damage that we do. It's not we can
6:28 repent and be forgiven for it, but how
6:30 about those people that see us compromising?
6:32 compromising?
6:37 That's we cannot do that. We can't do
6:39 it. But there are so many Christians
6:41 that are doing exactly the same thing.
6:43 It's all We're all sinners. That's not
6:46 the point. We're all sinners, but we
6:48 can't compromise our faith. And because
6:50 the people that are hurt the most are
6:53 the people that see us do that.
6:55 I think that's such an important point
6:57 because it's become fashionable to
7:00 diminish your faith, to turn it up more
7:02 brightly in some settings and to turn it
7:04 down in other settings.
7:07 And you know the the the marriage
7:10 covenant you have. If you had that
7:12 attitude towards your marriage that in
7:14 some settings I can be less married and
7:17 in some settings I'm more married, we
7:18 would all understand that your character
7:21 was broken. Well, the covenant you have
7:23 with God is more significant than your
7:24 marriage covenant.
7:27 And I'm not diminishing marriage.
7:29 I'm telling you we have bought into
7:30 something that is fundamentally
7:33 deceptive and wrong and from the pit of hell.
7:34 hell.
7:36 We're either Christ followers 24/7
7:40 wherever we go or you're not one. >> Yeah.
7:46 And I you're the Lord blessed you in
7:47 spite of that. You ended up you you not
7:50 only were the one of the founding
7:52 participants in Delta, eventually you
7:54 led Delta. Is that right?
7:59 >> I did. I uh when I reached a uh rank of
8:02 colonel, I became the uh unit commander
8:05 and I I commanded Delta Force for a
8:12 >> Did you get to reassign that psychologist?
8:14 psychologist?
8:18 Oh, I got to tell you
8:21 that psychologist, I'm sure he's read my
8:23 book or seen me somewhere talking about
8:24 this and
8:27 he does not show up at the reunions or
8:31 anything. He's not there.
8:33 When you retired from the military, you
8:34 accepted an assignment with the Family
8:36 Research Council. In fact, you're the
8:38 executive vice president.
8:39 >> Can you tell us a little bit about what
8:41 that does, what that organization does? >> Yeah.
8:42 >> Yeah.
8:44 uh Family Research Council was actually
8:47 created by Dr. Dobson
8:51 uh about 45 years ago. Uh and he wanted
8:53 a an organization in Washington that
8:57 could lobby Congress for public policy
9:00 that uh supported faith, family, and
9:03 freedom. Now we've expanded well beyond
9:07 that now but uh we have a uh we have a
9:11 network of uh pastors in the country
9:13 that when something is happening in a
9:16 certain area we can rally these pastors
9:18 to get involved and get engaged in
9:22 what's going on. uh and we do uh media
9:26 that covers the entire United States to
9:29 try and get things out to the public
9:31 that are important to us as Christians
9:34 that are important to everybody. And one
9:35 of the things, as I said last night,
9:37 that we're working right now is to try
9:40 to get rid of these abortacants, which
9:43 are the pills that that are used for
9:46 abortion. And 62%
9:49 of the abortions today are done with
9:51 these pills. And we're trying to get
9:55 them off the market and make them ban
9:58 them and don't let them kill any more babies.
10:05 The number of abortions has not
10:07 significantly decreased since Roie Wade
10:09 was overturned.
10:11 So it exposed what we knew all along.
10:13 This wasn't primarily a legal issue.
10:15 It's a heart issue. We have to have a
10:17 heart change. 60 million children, more
10:19 than 60 million children have been
10:21 sacrificed on the altars of comfort and
10:24 convenience. That very much is a
10:26 biblical issue. It is not a political
10:29 issue. And the cowardice of the church
10:33 on this issue over decades
10:34 is one of the greatest stains on the
10:36 American church in our history. It makes
10:38 our attitude towards slavery when we
10:41 were accepting of that seem poulry
10:44 based on numbers of people involved.
10:47 Not excusing one. I'm not trying to but
10:48 I'm telling you we have to have a voice
10:51 on this and we have hidden for too long.
10:54 So thank you for what you're doing.
10:57 You spent your professional life leading
10:59 young men and women but overwhelmingly
11:02 young men. So, I I would love to to
11:03 borrow a bit of that experience. If you
11:06 had a message for fathers that have sons
11:09 still at home, what would you say to
11:10 them today? There's a lot of voices
11:13 competing for how they should think and
11:14 what they should do and how they should
11:17 help shape those young lives. What would
11:19 you say to those fathers?
11:22 What I would say to you is first of all,
11:24 set the example.
11:27 Set the example for your son. He's got
11:29 to know what a man is supposed to do.
11:31 And I got to tell you, in our society
11:34 today, Adam, I know it's no surprise to
11:36 you, but men don't even know what men
11:39 are supposed to do in many ways because
11:41 they have been beaten down. They've been
11:42 told that they're no different from a
11:46 woman. And and uh and that's simply not
11:48 true. And it's not just their plumbing.
11:51 I mean, the men come out of the womb
11:55 meant to be warriors. Warriors. You
11:58 understand what I'm saying? Warriors.
12:00 Men come out of the womb meant to be warriors,
12:03 warriors,
12:06 but they're in many cases they are
12:08 conditioned to be just the opposite from
12:12 that. But I would say men, set the
12:15 example for your son. Let them see you
12:19 pray. Let them understand how important
12:23 it is for your children to see you pray.
12:26 And look, you're going to make at times
12:30 bad judgments. you're going to make,
12:33 I will say, mistakes, but be careful
12:34 when you talk to somebody about a
12:37 mistake. When some guy says, "Well, yes,
12:40 I slept with this woman even though I'm
12:44 married and my uh it was a big mistake."
12:49 No, it was not a big mistake.
12:51 It was a choice.
12:54 It was a choice. Don't let them off the
12:55 hook because the next thing they'll say
12:59 is, "And everybody makes mistakes, but
13:01 everybody doesn't make the choices that
13:04 you've made." And I was
13:08 also I would say to to men
13:12 that uh spend time with your son. Spend
13:14 time with your son. I used to take my
13:17 sons up on the Appalachin Trail and and
13:21 we would mark we would walk for days up
13:24 there and it was a time you you you
13:27 can't believe how just being with them
13:29 in a in a setting where there's no distractions
13:31 distractions
13:35 really bonds you with your son and uh
13:37 they've got to see you pray. They got to
13:39 know you're living your faith and you
13:41 need to spend time with them. And that's
13:44 one of the things that you can't get
13:46 back. If if you don't spend time with
13:47 them, you're not gonna get that time back.
13:54 You know, you don't have to look far to
13:56 see that our economy is in real turmoil.
14:00 Our nation is $37 trillion in debt.
14:02 Inflation rates made it hard to buy and
14:04 sell a house, even a car. We're all
14:05 feeling it. When you go to the grocery
14:07 store and you spend an extra dollar or
14:09 two on every item, that gets personal in
14:11 a hurry. Well, the most important thing
14:13 we can do during uncertain times is to
14:15 invest ourselves in knowing God better.
14:18 Read his word, pray. That's the only
14:19 place we're really going to find
14:21 stability we need for the disruption
14:23 that I'm pretty certain is ahead of us.
14:25 You know, beyond that, it's just plain
14:27 wise to make the best decisions possible
14:30 in our daily lives with our investments.
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15:01 You know, I would agree 100% with what
15:02 he said, but don't think of it in terms
15:04 of special events that twice a year you
15:06 go hike the Appalachian Trail or
15:08 whatever. Once a week at the kitchen
15:11 table with your family, let your sons
15:13 see that you value that family enough
15:15 that you'll change your schedule and
15:17 expect them to change their schedule and
15:19 that no knuckle-headed set of coaches
15:22 are going to take that away from you.
15:25 Whatever that takes once a week as a
15:29 family at a table. This is doable. It'll
15:30 take the whole family to make it happen.
15:32 And the first few times it'll make you
15:34 sore like working out when you haven't
15:36 been lazy for a season.
15:38 But it's worth the discomfort to get to
15:40 a better place.
15:43 Let me just add one thing to that and I
15:45 should have said this.
15:48 The other thing which is
15:51 very very important is
15:54 let your sons see how you treat their mother.
16:02 If you want them to be a good husband as
16:04 well as a good father,
16:08 let them see you treat their mother with honor
16:14 and it will have an impact on them. my
16:17 sons now. And I I'm I was conscious of
16:20 that and I tried to do that. I would
16:22 never walk through a door before my
16:24 wife. I would always open the doors for
16:26 her. Those small things that people
16:28 think are
16:32 antiquated now are still valuable if
16:35 you're trying to set us set the stage
16:38 for your son to be a good husband and father.
16:46 you gave the the strength of your youth
16:49 to defending and serving this country
16:51 which hasn't been a particularly chic
16:54 thing to do for a while.
16:57 Uh and I think you know in the the
16:59 diminishment of our attitude towards the
17:01 military is connected in my mind at
17:04 least to the diminishment of the respect
17:06 we have for law enforcement and for
17:08 first responders.
17:09 Um, you can speak to this from
17:12 experience. Do you regret it? Has it
17:13 been a good thing for you? What would
17:15 you say to the young men that are
17:16 looking at their futures and the
17:17 families that are looking for the
17:19 futures? You see, parents, we have to
17:21 value those things for our kids to value
17:23 them. But do you think you made a
17:35 I deliberately didn't say anything about Marines.
17:38 Marines.
17:40 I can't believe he did that. Let me I'm
17:42 going to tell you something now. You
17:49 You know what the uh
17:53 mascot of the army is?
17:57 What is it? It's a mule. Watch the Army
18:01 Navy game. It's a mule. Well, you know
18:05 the Marine Corps is part of the Navy, right?
18:06 right?
18:08 So when the founding fathers were
18:12 developing the plan,
18:16 the army got the mule
18:18 and the navy got the marine corps. Now why
18:21 why
18:24 why is that? Because the army had first choice.
18:35 I got the the first time the general
18:38 came here, we were downstairs and we we
18:41 got on the elevator and a couple other
18:43 men got on and they were all military
18:44 and I I didn't grow up in the military.
18:47 I didn't serve so I don't understand a
18:49 lot of things and I didn't understand
18:52 there might be a little banter between
18:55 and it was the the general and two
18:57 former or two Marines. Marines never
19:01 retire. I I apologize.
19:02 And we got on the elevator and that door
19:04 closed and they started in on one another.
19:06 another.
19:07 And all I could think was, God, if
19:08 you'll get me off this elevator, I'll
19:12 never do anything this foolish again.
19:14 >> But I Larry brought that up when he
19:16 picked me up at the airport the other
19:19 day. And he said the pastor thought we
19:22 were really going after each other.
19:26 He just doesn't understand that. But
19:29 but no, I don't think
19:33 if I had it to do over again, I'd go
19:37 back in the military. I'd go back in I'd
19:40 go back into the US Army and uh and I'd
19:43 spend another 36 years. I I don't regret
19:52 I've talked to a lot of people that have
19:55 said, "Well, I wish I'd stayed in or I
19:58 wish I had been in the army or been in
20:00 the military."
20:03 I've never heard anybody say, "I regret
20:06 the time that I spent in the military."
20:09 You will never regret it. And let me
20:11 tell you, if you've got a son or a
20:14 daughter, either one, that aren't sure
20:16 what they want to do with their lives,
20:19 there's a good way to get them on the
20:22 right track. And we're getting back to
20:25 being a real army. We're getting back to having
20:27 having
20:34 We are now focusing on getting ready to
20:37 win the nation's wars. And Douglas
20:39 MacArthur stood in the West Point Mess
20:43 Hall, that's the dining facility,
20:46 and in 1962, and he looked down at the
20:48 cadetses there, and he said, "Your
20:51 mission remains fixed, determined, and
20:55 viable. It is to win the nation's wars."
20:57 That has not changed. But when we got
21:00 into this cycle of all this woke nonsense,
21:02 nonsense,
21:07 there was no focus on winning wars.
21:11 That mission has not changed.
21:15 But when we were more in concerned about
21:17 somebody knowing the proper pronouns
21:20 being able to hit the target down range,
21:23 that was not preparing for war. And if
21:26 we had been called up then,
21:28 it could have been an ugly situation.
21:31 But now, as soon as we had a new
21:35 president, the recruiting went off the
21:46 And and we, you know, we have to
21:48 recognize that that's what our military
21:50 is for. So, I have no regrets
21:52 whatsoever. And trust me when I tell
21:55 you, my body is so beat up right now
21:58 from that. I've been shot I've been shot
22:00 once. I've been hit with a mortar once.
22:05 I've uh had a parachute fail. And uh and
22:07 I, believe it or not, I went through this.
22:09 this.
22:15 You know what pre-fall parachuting is?
22:17 It's different than static line. a
22:19 static line, the plane pulls your and
22:23 you're only 1,200 ft up. But when you go
22:26 into a freef fall, you go up very high.
22:28 I've been as high as in over in Europe,
22:32 I've been as high as uh 24,000 ft. And
22:35 we jump out and you fly for a little
22:37 ways till you get stable and then you
22:40 pull and then you just fly the canopy.
22:44 So I had never had any training when I
22:46 started doing that.
22:53 and I told the people last night, I have
22:56 a fear of heights. I honestly have a
23:00 fear of heights. That's no joke. So,
23:03 I uh I said to the guys one day, I said, "Hey,
23:04 "Hey,
23:07 I can do that. I I'm watching you. I'm
23:08 watching what you do. I can do that.
23:11 Let's take me up. I I want to do that."
23:13 And they took me up and this was one of
23:15 these it was a CIA airplane and it you
23:18 had to climb out on the strut. I mean
23:22 climb out on the strut and I so I climb
23:24 out on that strut and it dawns on me
23:28 what are you doing
23:30 and I thought Lord if you will get me
23:33 through this I'll never be this stupid again.
23:39 And I and I jump.
23:41 So, I had I did three jumps with no training.
23:43 training.
23:48 And then on the fourth jump, I got out
23:53 and my my air I mean my uh parachute
23:56 malfunctioned. The automatic opening
23:59 device opened at the same time my can I
24:02 pulled my canopy and the two of them
24:04 just kind of ate each other like this.
24:07 It's it's the worst entanglement you can
24:10 have. And I'm sailing through the air
24:12 knowing that I'm I'm going to be killed.
24:14 And I just said, "Lord, don't let me die."
24:17 die."
24:21 And the Holy Spirit said to me,
24:24 "Greater is he that is in you
24:28 >> than he that is in the world."
24:32 And I went I went into the trees, some
24:35 80ft pine trees, and one of those pine
24:38 trees snagged
24:39 and I went all the way to the end of the
24:42 ropes and I hit my knee on a stump and I
24:54 God will never leave you nor forsake you.
25:01 Have you ever said that Christmas is too
25:03 secular and you're tired of it? Well,
25:04 we've got a solution or at least
25:06 something that can help. We've written a
25:08 book. It's called How to Lead with Your
25:10 Faith at Christmas. It's 25 days of
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25:13 share them with family, your friends,
25:15 co-workers. Then there's some ideas,
25:17 even recipes, activities. It's a fun,
25:19 it's like a it's a starter kit for
25:21 bringing your faith to bear this
25:23 Christmas season. Don't stand on the
25:25 sidelines and complain. Let's lead with
25:27 our faith this Christmas season. Let's
25:28 honor the Lord and see the blessings
25:31 that he brings to all of our lives.
25:33 >> Christmas comes quickly and it's easy to
25:35 let the season slip by without focusing
25:38 on what matters most. Pastor Allen's new
25:40 book, Lead with Faith at Christmas, is a
25:42 25-day Advent devotional that will help
25:45 you bring Jesus more fully into the
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25:50 devotionals, prayers, recipes, and
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26:12 You know, obviously the Lord blessed
26:15 you, spared your life, gave you some
26:17 remarkable success, but I also know you
26:20 had to overcome some things. I mean,
26:22 disappointments, every every mission
26:24 didn't work out the way you wanted, >> right?
26:24 >> right?
26:26 >> Heartbreak because sometimes when we
26:28 tell our God stories, it's like we skip
26:29 from mountain to mountain. >> Yeah.
26:30 >> Yeah.
26:32 >> And my journey doesn't always feel that
26:35 way, and I know your has yours hasn't.
26:38 Um, you're one of the you're uh that's a
26:40 miracle with your parachute, but you're
26:42 one of the few survivors of a 50 caliber round.
26:42 round.
26:43 >> Oh, yeah.
26:44 >> I mean, that's not a bullet. That's like
26:46 a little missile you launch out of a gun.
26:46 gun.
26:49 >> I got shot
26:52 uh coming in on a target in Grenada back
26:54 in 1983.
26:56 We were coming up onto the a prison
27:00 called Richmond Hill Prison and and uh
27:03 we were going to hit the prison and get
27:05 the political prisoners out of there and
27:07 put them back in the offices where they
27:11 had been appointed or elected. And uh we
27:14 came up on a target and as we started
27:16 settling in with Blackhawks, first time
27:20 we'd ever had Blackhawks. And we started
27:22 coming in and all of a sudden the skies
27:26 erupted. And I'm telling you, the uh red
27:30 tracers and green tracers just and all I
27:33 could hear them hitting on the in the
27:36 rotor wing, I mean, in the rotor blades.
27:39 And uh I knew there there was a good
27:41 chance that somebody was going to get
27:45 hit. Well, and and you know, we we're
27:47 firing back at them. You know, we're
27:49 doing all we can to knock these guns
27:51 down. They had these 50 caliber
27:56 anti-aircraft guns and and uh
27:59 I'm I'm, you know, trying to whack them
28:01 and they're trying to whack me and all
28:04 of a sudden, boom, boom. And I knew I'd
28:08 been hit and I got hit. came right up,
28:10 knocked a big chunk out of my side, but
28:12 it went up into my armpit. I was
28:14 bleeding profusely. And
28:16 And um
28:18 um
28:21 I said, "Well, go around. Let's go
28:23 around. Go around." And I'm I'm sitting
28:25 there rocking back and forth. I said,
28:28 "Go around. Do it again."
28:30 And my sergeant major reached over and
28:32 took my morphine and hit me right in the
28:34 leg. And all of a sudden I was saying,
28:36 "Come on, get on the ground. We going to
28:39 kill him." You know,
28:41 let me tell you, that was the most
28:43 euphoric feeling I've ever had. And when
28:46 I speak to I speak to people in prison,
28:49 I say the difference between me and you
28:51 is I made one decision and you made
28:53 another one. When I got that, I said, "I
28:55 will never let anybody put that in my
28:58 body again because it's so euphoric. I
29:01 know I could get addicted to this." and
29:04 uh and you made the different decision,
29:08 but uh I was bleeding bad and they took
29:11 me and and and dropped me off on a
29:14 little a little Navy ship there which
29:18 had a little iPad I mean iPad. It had a helilopad
29:20 helilopad
29:23 and I could hear them talking as they
29:25 were saying, "We've got a casualty that
29:27 is expectant."
29:30 That means they expect me to die, which
29:33 means get in there as quickly as possible.
29:35 possible.
29:38 So, I'm bleeding really bad and they
29:41 can't stop the blood because it was in
29:45 my armpit and of course in my side and
29:48 they couldn't stop it. So
29:51 all of a sudden I hear this I'm I'm
29:53 semi-conscious and I hear this
29:56 helicopter coming in and it was a Marine Corps.
29:57 Corps.
30:01 I'm Army. It this was a Marine Corps
30:05 uh helicopter that came in a CH53.
30:08 It came in landed on a deck and they
30:10 start walking me out
30:12 on a stretcher. They got me on a
30:15 stretcher and I'm saying,
30:20 "Lord, have you abandoned me?
30:22 Have you abandoned me, God?" And I was
30:24 serious. Lord, where are you? Have you
30:28 abandoned me? Do you not care anymore?
30:31 And as I was walking out,
30:34 I looked and through my blurry eyes and
30:37 the the pilot was hanging out the window
30:41 giving me a thumbs up.
30:44 And I couldn't I was my eyes wouldn't
30:47 focus and I didn't know I didn't at
30:49 first I didn't understand what was going
30:52 on. And finally my eyes cleared and I
30:55 looked up and the guy flying that helicopter
30:57 helicopter
31:00 was a guy I grew up with. He was a
31:04 Marine and I was in the army. He had no
31:06 idea who he was going to pick up. And
31:08 only three weeks before we had had our
31:13 families together on vacation,
31:16 a wonderful Christian man. And I just
31:18 said, "Lord,
31:21 I know you hadn't abandoned me." And the
31:23 Lord was saying to me, "Not only did I
31:26 not abandon you, I sent your brother to
31:34 Isn't that the time you had a bit of a
31:36 debate with the surgeon?
31:38 >> Yeah. I uh
31:40 I woke up when I got back to Fort Bragg,
31:43 they operated on me on a carrier or put
31:44 me on a carrier and operated and then
31:46 they took me back to Fort Bragg and
31:50 right into the surg surgery there. And
31:53 when uh when I came out of surgery, it was
31:55 was
32:03 I woke up in the
32:07 recovery room. Is that right?
32:09 Is that the way? Okay. I said delivery
32:18 So I woke up in the recovery room and
32:21 this team of doctors said,
32:24 "Sir, you have a very serious injury."
32:27 And I thought,
32:31 "And do you think I don't know that?"
32:33 And they and they wanted to take my arm off.
32:34 off.
32:37 They wanted to take my arm
32:40 and I said, "No, you just do the best
32:44 you can because I have been talking to
32:48 God." And he told me, "If I will trust him,
32:49 him,
32:52 he will heal me."
32:54 And there's there's the arm they wanted
33:01 And for you golfers,
33:04 this hand, this arm is about a quarter
33:07 of an inch shorter
33:09 than the other one.
33:12 It will clear your slice up be better
33:21 There's some orthopedic surgeon putting
33:23 a new advertisement out tomorrow that's
33:26 listening to this.
33:28 Well, I thought of you with the Israeli hostages
33:30 hostages
33:33 because I know you were involved in the
33:34 rescue attempt for our hostages that
33:36 were in Iran. And I read where it was
33:38 one of the more disappointing,
33:40 but I it's a part of the story. I mean,
33:41 the Lord blessed your life and has
33:44 established you, but everything didn't
33:45 work the way you wanted it because that
33:47 day didn't.
33:48 And I've heard you tell some of those
33:51 takeaways. I mean, I
33:53 >> I've been celebrating all week those
33:54 Israeli men and women that walked out.
33:56 It seemed impossible to me. But you went
33:59 to get our hostages in Iran.
34:00 >> You talk about Iran.
34:05 >> Yeah. 1980, we went into Iran to rescue
34:08 52 Americans that were being held by
34:11 followers of the Ayatollah Kmeni. and
34:13 and we got about 100 miles from Tehran
34:17 and we landed in C130s and we brought in
34:20 RH53 helicopters off the USS Nemits and
34:23 tucked them in behind the C130s and we
34:25 pulled the hoses out and started
34:28 refueling the helicopters so we could go
34:31 in on to the next leg into the embassy
34:34 and get our hostages. And all of a
34:36 sudden, one of the uh one of the
34:38 helicopters lifted off in the sand. This
34:40 was right out in the middle of the
34:43 desert and the sand just blew up and the
34:46 and and it was uh I mean the pilot
34:49 couldn't see. He went vertico. He lost
34:50 his equilibrium
34:53 and he came back and landed right on top
34:56 of the uh
34:58 of the uh C130
35:02 and it burst into flames. I was outside.
35:05 I was about
35:08 really probably from here to that screen
35:11 from it and when it exploded I turned
35:15 and I felt the heat and I uh I had no
35:17 idea what happened. I thought they had
35:20 fired mortars or something at us and and
35:24 I I looked back and and I realized that
35:27 45 of the Delta Force men that had
35:30 prayed before we launched were stuck
35:32 inside that burning wreckage. And I
35:36 didn't I didn't know what to do. So I
35:39 did what I always do. Since I couldn't
35:45 I uh I just started praying. I went I
35:48 reached out to my source.
35:51 I prayed a 10-second prayer. I said,
35:53 "Father, these men trusted you. I'm
35:55 asking you to bring them out alive.
35:58 Lord, spare them in Jesus' name. I'm
36:00 in." 10-second prayer. No.
36:03 No.
36:06 the sar Sadducees and the Pharisees,
36:09 they prayed these longer,
36:11 you know, prayers,
36:14 but they weren't praying to God. They
36:17 were praying to the people around them.
36:19 And I will tell you that I get very
36:21 suspect to people that pray these long
36:24 prayers and start quoting scripture and
36:25 all that. You think God doesn't know
36:36 think about it. But um I guess it was
36:38 one of those turning points in your life
36:40 where you realize just how fragile life
36:44 is and you realize that at any moment it
36:48 could end. And for me, it made me much
36:51 more aware
36:55 because those 45 men jumped out of that
36:58 helicopter. I mean, out of that aircraft,
37:00 aircraft,
37:04 they troop door came open and here they
37:07 come jumping through the flames.
37:09 Jumping through the flames out onto the
37:10 desert floor and running. It's like
37:14 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo. You know
37:16 when old Nebuchadnezzar put him in that
37:19 fiery furnace
37:21 and then Nebuchadnezzar jumped up and
37:25 ran over there and he said, "Yo, dudes,
37:28 come here and check this out." That's
37:32 the way they talk back then.
37:43 I see a fourth.
37:46 and looks like the son of God.
37:49 I can assure you
37:52 there was a fourth work walking around
37:55 in that burning wreckage that night. He
38:06 Almost everybody I know wants to feel
38:09 better, have more energy. I mean, myself
38:11 included. Well, I went to a concert a
38:12 few months ago. It's been almost a year
38:14 ago now. And I sat down next to a
38:16 friend. Jordan Rubin was there. I made
38:17 an off-hand comment. I need to feel
38:19 better, get a little healthier. He
38:20 showed up in my office a couple days
38:22 later with a plan for me. Part of it was
38:25 a diet. My diet was centered on Oreos.
38:27 He had some different ideas, but a part
38:28 of what he brought to me was this
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38:33 of my routine for months now, and it's
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39:00 Allen ln30. You get a 30% discount on
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39:06 and you'll bless our ministry. Thanks.
39:09 I read a quote of yours. I wonder if
39:11 it's accurate.
39:15 You had a teaching position for a season
39:18 at a liberal arts college in Virginia. >> Yeah.
39:19 >> Yeah.
39:21 >> Years ago when the trans discussion was
39:24 a little newer. And the comment that the
39:25 quote I read was, "The first man who
39:27 goes into the restroom with my daughter
39:41 And let me just tell you,
39:45 if if there's a man that has the
39:47 opportunity to stand against that kind
39:51 of evil and he doesn't do it,
39:59 This is the the college that I was
40:03 teaching in is the 10th oldest college
40:06 or university in America. It's called
40:09 Hampton Sydney College
40:12 and I was teaching leadership and and
40:14 they put out this policy that uh they
40:18 were going woke and that the men could
40:20 go into the women's bathrooms there. And
40:22 I did say that. I said it at a
40:24 conference down in Florida. I said that
40:27 and somebody videoed me and then they uh
40:30 they took it back and gave it to the
40:32 president of the university or of the
40:36 college and uh they fired me.
40:41 Well, what they didn't count on was
40:44 Franklin Graham got a hold of it.
40:47 Uh Fox News got a hold of it. I was
40:50 doing a lot of Fox News at the time.
40:53 They got a hold of it and
40:56 other organizations and other people got
40:58 a hold of it
41:02 and they started I mean
41:05 they started bombarding the college and
41:07 people started saying we will never put
41:12 another dollar into this college
41:16 and uh and all of a sudden
41:20 eight days after they fired me because I
41:22 said, "The first man that goes into the
41:26 bathroom with my wife or my daughter
41:28 is not going to need to worry about
41:31 getting the surgery." And
41:33 And
41:35 they uh they fired me, but all of a
41:37 sudden, eight days later, I get off a
41:40 plane in Denver and my phone is blowing
41:44 up. And I called my wife. I said,
41:46 "What's going on? I got all kinds of
41:47 calls on my phone. What's going on?" She
41:49 said, "Call the call the president of
41:52 the university."
41:54 And I called him and he said, this is
41:57 what he said. He said, "Jerry, um,
42:00 what would I need to do to get you the
42:03 promise to come back
42:10 Cuz they were losing money. They were
42:13 hemorrhaging money of people that So I
42:16 said, "Dennis,
42:18 uh, and and I really did do I when I
42:21 when he fired me, I got up and shook his
42:23 hand and I said, "Well, I just want you
42:26 to know the last 10 years has been a
42:27 privilege to be able to be here as part
42:29 of this." And I walked out of his
42:30 office. I'm going to take the high
42:32 ground on this.
42:35 Well, I said, "Dennis, nothing has
42:37 changed since what I told you when I
42:40 left and walked out. I will come back if
42:43 you want me to, but only for a year. And
42:46 he said, "Okay." Well, in 15 minutes,
42:48 they had a notice up that I had been
42:51 rehired to the university. But look,
42:54 this is another one of those, don't
43:03 One of the things that I used to tell
43:05 the those young men that I was teaching,
43:08 I taught leadership. I had the most
43:12 overs subscribed class in all of that at
43:17 that that whole uh university or college
43:20 I guess it really is.
43:24 You can't you can't compromise on what
43:26 you believe. And here's what I'd say to
43:29 them. I'd get them around the fire the
43:31 last night of class. I we do it outdoors
43:33 and I get them around the fire and I
43:37 say, "You need to know
43:39 what your values are. You need to know
43:41 what you believe in. You need to know
43:43 what you're willing to sacrifice for,
43:46 what you're willing to to even die for, maybe.
43:49 maybe.
43:50 You need to know that. But you need to
43:53 know why you believe it. It's not
43:55 enough. It's not enough. If you don't
43:58 know why you believe it, that's not
43:59 enough. You got to know why you believe
44:03 it. and and and in our case, we believe
44:06 it because it's in the word of God. But
44:09 we've got to know what we believe in.
44:12 It's not just a matter of having a
44:13 value. You need to know why you have
44:16 that value. And I will tell you that uh
44:18 there are a lot of people that don't
44:21 know why they believe certain things.
44:23 And that's like anti-semitism. Why do
44:27 you believe that the Jews
44:29 are occupying
44:32 territories that belong to the Arabs?
44:34 Do you know anything about the history
44:37 of that? Do you know that on the 29th of
44:40 November 1947
44:44 that the United Nations seeded that land
44:46 to the Jews?
44:50 You're you should be upset with the
44:53 League of Nations or now the United
44:57 Nations, not with the Jews.
44:59 This was bringing the Jews home. This
45:02 was giving them a homeland.
45:03 And they didn't go in there and conquer
45:07 it and take it. Now, they defended it.
45:09 And by the way, do you know the first
45:11 guy that
45:13 was promoted
45:15 into the Hagana
45:18 was an American.
45:21 It was an American that went over there
45:24 and helped to train
45:27 the Jewish forces there because they
45:30 knew that war was coming. His name was
45:33 Mickey Marcus. He's a West Point graduate.
45:35 graduate.
45:38 And after the World War II,
45:40 the uh
45:43 David Bengurian called
45:47 and asked if he could get Mickey Marcus
45:48 to come over and train his people
45:50 because they were going to wind up in a
45:56 war. And Mickey Marcus went over there.
45:59 And he uh trained them and he stayed
46:01 with them when the war started. and he
46:04 fought with them. He led them. They made
46:07 him a general. He was the first person
46:10 to get promoted
46:13 to general officer with them. He is the
46:18 only man at West Point that is buried
46:20 there that died fighting for another nation.
46:21 nation.
46:24 That's the kind of devotion that we have
46:26 to have.
46:30 He was a Jew, but it doesn't matter. I
46:32 consider myself a Jew. I'll just tell
46:35 you that right now. I'm not. I'm My
46:37 bloodline doesn't say so, but my
46:41 children are. Children are one quarter
46:44 Ashkanazi. We got to stand with Israel.
46:46 And we got to know why we stand with
46:50 Israel. And we stand with Israel
46:53 because still today,
46:56 they are God's chosen people. And I will
46:58 tell you
47:05 Israel became a nation.
47:20 that there was something special
47:22 about the fact that she gave birth to a son
47:24 son
47:32 the nation of Israel was recreated.
47:36 Is this the biblical
47:39 Is this the biblical Israel?
47:41 I don't think so.
47:43 But I think it's pretty dog on close and
47:46 it won't take much for it to be and I
47:50 will take your counsel on that. We have
47:53 to stand with Israel. We have to stand.
47:56 It is not occupied territory. It was
47:59 given to them by the United Nations
48:03 and people don't understand that.
48:05 >> We got to stand with them.
48:07 >> General, thank you.
48:15 >> Hey, thanks for joining me today. Before
48:17 you go, please like the podcast and
48:19 leave a comment so more people can hear
48:21 about this topic, too. If you haven't
48:23 yet, be sure to subscribe to Alan
48:25 Jackson Ministries YouTube channel and
48:26 follow the Culture and Christianity
48:29 podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or
48:32 wherever you get your podcast. Together,
48:34 let's learn how to lead with our faith
48:36 and change our culture. I'll see you
