Leaders And Hope From The Next Generation Part One: Tune in today as we have a special guest on who has been through the WallBuilders Leadership Training Program. Learn more about the program, what students are taught, and find out how you can join us! Tune in now!

Air Date: 04/02/2019

Guest: Daniel Vareed

On-air Personalities: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton

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Transcription note:  As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Transcription will be released shortly. However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.

Faith And The Culture

Rick:

Welcome to the intersection of faith and the culture. This is WallBuilders Live where we talk about today’s hottest topics on policy and faith in the culture. We always do that from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective.

We also generally take a generational approach. In other words, we’re thinking about how do these issues affect us today, but also how do they affect the next generation? That’s actually the difference between a patriot and a politician. A politician only thinks about the next election. A patriot thinks about the next generation. So, today we’re going to be talking about the next generation.

In the meantime, you can find out more about our program at WallBuildersLive.com and also WallBuilders.com. WallBuilders Live has a list of our stations, it also has archives of the past few programs. And then on WallBuilders.com you can get all kinds of great tools for yourself and your family.

You’re going to want to have that WallBuilders.com website ready because after today’s program you’re going to want someone you know involved in the leadership training program at WallBuilders.

We”€™ve got two special guests coming up in the program today. They’ve both been through the leadership training program and they’re going to tell us about their experience there. But first let’s get an idea of what the program is.

We’re here with David Barton America’s premier historian and our founder at WallBuilders. And Tim Barton is with us, national speaker and pastor and president of WallBuilders. And I guess, Tim, you’re actually with them every day, day in and day out, during this leadership training program?

What The WallBuilders Training Program Looks Like

Tim:

Yeah, I am there every day helping oversee the program and really helping lead a lot of conversations. We do a lot of discussion and lecture in the morning. We have all kinds of speakers that will come in. And then in the afternoon we do a lot of very intentional research where we will pick a topic and then go to original sources. And we teach the students how to use original source documentation, how to look for it, how do we know something’s authentic?

In a world and culture where there’s so much of the fake news, and fake history, and opinions, and emotions, over facts, we want to make sure we really dig into what’s actually true and really try to give the kids an apologetic of how to find and discover truth. And don’t settle for somebody”€™s opinion. We want to know what’s true and the truth doesn’t line up with our feelings and our opinions. We have to be willing to sacrifice at times our feelings and opinions in favor of truth.  

So, even though, for example, we might think George Washington was an amazing man. If we start reading history and realize that truth takes us to a different conclusion not based on feelings or opinions, but based on actual historical documented evidence, then you have to be willing to change your opinion based on what is actually true. However, I’m not going to let somebody”€™s opinion, some professors opinion, some news outlets opinion, determine how I am going to perceive reality. I’m going to pursue truth.

So, we really try to encourage young people to pursue truth doing apologetics for the faith, right, Christianity, the Bible in America. Doing an apologetic for American exceptionalism. We go through the Constitution and talk about why it’s so successful, and why it’s been so significant, and why it is so important. We talk about capitalism versus socialism, we talk about the Second Amendment, and the First Amendment.

Engaging Minds

Tim:

And we go through an awful lot of stuff to try to help engage young people’s mind in part of the discussion. Where we want to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. We want to be led by a pursuit of truth in all these areas. And be people that don’t just think, “€œWell, socialism must be good because my professor said it”€™s good, because Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it’s awesome, therefore it must be good.”€ We want to dig a little deeper.

So, that’s really kind of what we try to do is help them learn to be critical thinkers, help them learn to go deeper, help them to pursue truth. So, this is kind of what we do for two weeks.

Rick:

Now, let me ask you, Tim, before we have our special guests on, you do this in a very hands on way. In other words, this is not just a day in and day out lecture kind of deal. You’ve got them in the library, you take them over to Mercury One, you’re putting them in the situation where they kind of see this worldview played out in the real world in these actual newsroom type situations, or in the research that you guys are doing here at WallBuilders.

Tim:

Yeah. It really is a hands on situation, Rick, where because we have such a large collection of original documents, they’re actually going to be holding original documents, letters from different presidents, letters from Founding Fathers, original prayer proclamations. And we’ll even show them how you can find a lot of these things online and you can verify and validate that, no, this is actually the writings of George Washington. There’s places that actually print those writings online.

So, we don’t have enough, maybe, for everybody in the room to hold the original writings and letters of Washington, but we all can get online and we can find those writings online. And it really is something we try to be very active and engaging with. In fact, there’ll be many moments when we will put them in positions where they have to defend a position that they think they believe and, “€œWell, why do you believe that? How do  it’s true? What’s your source? What’s your information?”€

Not Only Discovering But Defending

Tim:

So, not only do you have to discover or define your positions, you will then have to defend what those positions are. And if you have truth on your side those positions are defensible. But this is kind of the point is we don’t want to just rest on what we think or how we feel. We want to pursue truth.

But once you have truth we also want to learn how to communicate that to our peers, to our friends, to the next generation, to the people that we work with, to the boss. So, we”€™ll talk through, well, how do you engage a professor? If a professor says something that seems utterly ridiculous, how do you engage that professor and have a conversation so that you’re not going to be penalized, right? The professor is not going to come against you and it’s not going to affect your grade necessarily, but how can you engage the professor, or should you engage a professor? What are scenarios when you should speak up at this moment, but in other moments maybe you need to let that one go.

So, we even try to give them the wisdom of when to engage and how to engage when the time comes for them to engage. So, it really is very much a hands on practical training. It will be very much an apologetic of the Christian faith, of the Bible in America, of America being a unique nation, of the Constitution and the Declaration, so much of what we promote here at WallBuilders in general. But this one is going to be a hands on experience.

So, when one of these students goes back to college, when they go back to the work environment, and they, maybe they”€™re even an educator already, whatever scenario they go back to, nobody’s going to be able to talk them out of some of the things they’ve learned because they will have learned holding the original document. Once you’ve held one of John Hancock’s proclamations where he talks about praying and seeking forgiveness from Jesus Christ our Savior, and someone says, “€œWait a second, none of the Founding Fathers believed in God.”€ There’s no way they’re going to talk you out of the fact that, “€œYes, they did believe in God. I held the original prayer proclamations they did where they talked about God and Jesus.”€

So, it really does give them a solid foundation to engage the conversation and to do a little differently than what they’re hearing on the academic and educational circles they”€™re in.

Get Young People Applying Now!

Rick:

We’re going hear from a couple of graduates that have actually been through this when we come back from the break. As we’re going to break, though, just put this in context, folks, we”€™ve got two opportunities for this this summer 2019 and time is running out. So, you need to get the young people in your life online applying right now.

The two dates – session one is in June – it’s June 3rd to the 14th. Session two is in July. It’s the 15th through the 26 of July. And just– I just want you to imagine this, alright, hands on face to face training and teaching from David Barton, Tim Barton, Glenn Beck. They’re going to be over at at the Blaze studios at Mercury One, they’re going to be in the WallBuilders library, they’re going to have other teachers from constitutional law firms, political groups, all kinds of great teaching.

The alumni from this program love it. They talk about the difference it made in their individual faith and life. But as important, or perhaps more important, if you’re looking at the nation as a whole, it gave them the tools they needed to defend these things when they went back on campus or they went into their career.

So, check this out right now at our website WallBuilders.com/leadershiptraining. Or if you just get to the website WallBuilders.com, click on that button that says “€œinitiatives”€ and it will have the option there for leadership training. This is an incredible experience, 18 to 25 year olds, get them online, get them to apply. When we come back in the break you’ll hear from some of those who’ve actually been to the program.

Stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

A Moment From American History

This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment from American history. Too often today history education excludes great black heroes from the American founding. Such as Lemuel Haynes.

Haynes, though abandoned as a baby, pioneered churches across upper New England. He became the first black American to pastor a white congregation, to receive an honorary master’s degree, and to be ordained by a mainstream Christian denomination, The Congregationalist.

He was a soldier during the American Revolution and in his churches on George Washington’s birthday he regularly preached sermons honoring George Washington. Even late in his life he expressed his willingness to go back to battle if necessary to protect America, which he called, “€œa sacred ark.”€

American history is filled with numerous examples of black heroes who are largely ignored by mainstream education today. For more information about Pastor Lemuel Haynes and other colonial Patriots go to WallBuilders.com.

Rick:

Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us here on WallBuilders Live. As promised, in studio with us now is Daniel Vareed. He’s a graduate of the leadership training program and now I guess, Daniel, oh, by the way, welcome to the program. Glad to have you, man.

Daniel Vareed:

Thank you for having me.

Rick:

Hey, where are you now? You went to the leadership training program, are you in college right now?

Daniel Vareed:

So, I’m currently a first year law student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Rick:

Alright, you’re a Razorback, we’re going to call the hogs before the program’s over,.first year law student. So, you had been, I guess, through undergrad and then attended between undergrad and law schools. Is that how your timeline worked?

Daniel Vareed:

Yes. So, I had just completed undergrad and literally two weeks after I jumped into the leadership training program.

An Experience Unlike Any Other

Rick:

So, how many times during the leadership training program were you going, “€œMan, I wish I’d had this before I went to college.”€

Daniel Vareed:

Quite a few times actually. Personally, it was an experience unlike anything I’ve ever been to. And most people think it”€™s classroom settings and lecture style. Most of our discussions were what they were – discussion dialogues. And, personally, I learn better in settings like that anyway. So, I kind of wish undergrad was like that.

Rick:

Alright, well, now that you’re at law school– actually, before we talk about how you’re applying what you learned at the leadership training program, tell us a little bit more about the experience itself. Coming in, what did you expect? And tell us what kind of stood out to you during those two weeks.

Daniel Vareed:

So, coming into the program I had no expectations. I didn’t know what to expect. I was thinking it would be just like undergrad in the sense that I would be in the classroom all day just taking notes from a textbook and occasionally having one of the leaders talk to us if we had questions like that. But it turned out to be completely different.

Tim and Mr. David, personally, they walk us through different lessons and different things that are impacting our society today and it’s hands on. We asked a lot of questions and they answered them to the best of their ability. And it was just an illuminating experience for me personally.

Rick:

Was there– in terms of interaction with other students as well, how many– did that help with– I think of it in terms of iron sharpening iron. You”€™ve got other young people seeking truth as well. Was it just kind of one sided from the lecturers when the folks were speaking or did the student interaction also help create an environment where you could learn more and you could share with others?

Iron Sharpens Iron

Daniel Vareed:

There was definitely a lot of student interaction and I think that’s why we’re– still today, I’m in contact with a lot of the LTP students that I was in session with. During breaks especially we would– the conversation would spill over into our thoughts, and how we were gathering information, and what we thought about it personally. So, it was, as you said, iron sharpens iron. It was really cool. You just get different perspectives and different thoughts in just talking to different students who I call my friends now.

Rick:

That’s cool. That’s cool. Alright, well, after you went to the training program, going home, give us an idea of what you were able to actually apply. In other words, not just a great experience, but what”€™d you take home with you that you were able to use? Whether in just knowledge applied to a discussion or whatever . What was applicable in your life going home from the training?

Daniel Vareed:

I think the biggest thing was identifying some of the social inconsistencies that we see in sort of the norm that people kind of just assume are correct. But as we learned through LTP aren’t actually the case. A lot of what LTP does is kind of just talk about why people are thinking certain things.

And I think one of the discussions that I remembered was libertarianism and how we went into that, and kind of dissect it, and how it’s different from both the left and the right, and why we should know kind of what differences are. And in many respects many people don’t know differences and thus they’re just making assumptions.

Helped The Transition Into Law School

Daniel Vareed:

And for me personally, we got to– so, every day in LTP we spent the last hour or two of the day getting to research different people and different topics. A lot of what we did, we end up reading a lot of letters from some of our Founding Fathers. And personally for me, that helped me in reading case law because a lot of some of the older precedent cases are old English. So, getting exposed to that type of language early on really helped me transition into law school.

Rick:

Oh, that’s cool. I hadn’t thought about that. So, by being in the library reading those letters in that old English, that helped when you got into law school with some of those cases. What about even perspective on cases? Typically law school professor do not hearken back to the Founding Fathers anymore. They just go with whatever the latest judge said about whatever that issue is.

So, does that help you at law school to have a little bit more perspective, maybe, than other students would have? And sometimes more than even what your professor would raise in class?

Daniel Vareed:

Well, funny enough, we don’t actually take constitutional law. It”€™s a course, but it’s offered only in our second year, our first semester of our second year. I’m about to go through an entire year of law school and I’ve not been told by professors to even look at the Constitution. Which, in my opinion, is kind of crazy.

Rick:

Right.

Daniel Vareed:

So, in that regard, I’m sure it’ll help me when it comes to constitutional law and we take that course. But at this point, I think it’s kind of, like you said, a lot of judicial opinions and things that I was honestly surprised about because the Constitution is the foundation of our law system. So, to me, I think it’s kind of backwards, but who am I to say that.

The Places You Go

Rick:

Well, okay, so let’s talk about the places that you went. So you got to be in the library, you went over to Mercury One, what”€™d you guys do over there and was it kind of cool to get to see those studios?

Daniel Vareed:

So, the library itself was incredible. We got to spend two days out of the two week program there. That certainly wasn’t enough time in my opinion. I could be there all two weeks. I could’ve spent the entirety of two weeks there just learning and reading through all different documents and letters. That was incredible.

And then going through the Mercury One studio is really cool as well. We got to spend a day just listening to Glenn on his radio program and then Glenn put us on his show as well. And as someone who does the soundboard and stuff like that for my church, I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to that stuff. So, I thought it was super cool just seeing the behind the scenes and seeing how everything is prepped. And then also just listening to Mr. David and Glenn go back and forth during an interview was incredibly awesome.

David:

Hey, I’ve got to jump in, Dan, you asked the rhetorical question they don’t teach the Constitution, but who are you to think that they should. You’re the next generation and you’ve actually got the right thinking on this. And and some point, you might be a law professor and that’s something you’ll be able to change. But already recognizing the fact they’re not even teaching the Constitution in law school puts you so far ahead of where so many attorneys are. And I’d say don’t demean yourself– which you don’t anyway– but I love the fact that you point that out and you already recognize the fallacy of it.

Tim:

And, Dan, this is Tim. So, I have two questions. First, for our listeners, the leadership training program, just so everybody knows, we are Christians running this program. So, this is a faith based program for sure. So, Dan, for you, my first question is, coming in as a Christian, did the program do anything in the sense for you of your faith of did it reaffirm what you already knew? Did it challenge you to think differently even about the way you read the Bible or the way the Bible applies to life? What what did it do in regards to faith for you?

A Couple Takeaways

Tim:

And my second question is what was maybe one of the big takeaways for you from the program looking back going, man, that was such a cool experience, or that was such a cool thing that we talked about, a conversation, something I learned? What is something you can point back as a takeaway from the program? So, first thing is Christian faith. The second thing is a take away. What do you think?

Daniel Vareed:

Well, personally, in history classes growing up we never really talked about our Founding Fathers. And what gets lost in all this is all– especially when reading through the letters and the different proclamations of National Days of Prayer, is that faith was such an important part of their life. And that really challenged me personally to be more active and to be more– to get in the Bible more personally.

I pride myself on trying to be in the word every day and praying at least three times a day. But seeing how influential the Bible was and their faith was to the founders of our country, and how they made it an intentional act to make faith part of their daily lives, was something that was so profound to me and challenged me to just do better in my faith and to make sure that I was just kind of following in their footsteps because they created something incredible.

And then your second question was biggest takeaway from the program?

Tim:

Yeah. What’s something that looking back you go, “€œMan, that was so cool.”€ Or, “€œThat was such a neat conversation.”€ Or this thought that I maybe hadn’t thought before, or this explanation. What’s something looking back that was a cool takeaway for you?

Forgetting Our Roots

Daniel Vareed:

That’s a good question. So, my biggest takeaway from the program is that I think that as a country we’re forgetting our roots. And I think LTP is a great reminder of where we came from and what’s out there for us. So, I think we have a propensity just to always kind of, nowadays at least, not look at traditions and kind of just do our own thing, try to state our new thing.

But I think personally looking back at the likes of Washington, Jefferson, and someone I got to study during the LTP program, Samuel Huntington were just so eye opening to me. And it made me realize that I think faith is so important to not just our daily lives, but to our country and our society and that’s being lost nowadays, in my opinion. So, that was the biggest takeaway – how far we’ve kind of strayed away from our roots, in a sense.

Tim:

So, Dan, for anybody listening, if maybe they”€™re a parent and they have someone who’s 18 to 25, maybe it’s someone who is 18 to 25, what would you say about the program? Would you encourage them to come and why?

Daniel Vareed:

I would 100% encourage you and I would recommend it, personally. Just because it’s not a traditional setting like you would think for college or even high school. I learned more in those two weeks than I could probably– about the Constitution– than I could say I”€™ll probably learned in 15 weeks of taking my course here at law school. We dive that deeply into it and it can be kind of intimidating.

So, my best advice is to join, sign up as soon as you can because the spots are limited. And you get an experience, and it”€™s not just a solo thing, I’m still connected with people that are in the program. I even talked to one of them the other day. I called them and it’s just incredible. You build incredible friendships and you just learn a whole lot. And it’s just, honestly, a confidence booster for what’s out there.

Rick:

Dan, really appreciate your time, man. Especially since you should be studying for those law school classes right now, but you probably learned more on this program than in class today anyway.

Daniel Vareed:

Absolutely I did.

Rick:

No, man, we’re excited for you and glad you’re going into the law. We poke fun at and pick on the law schools with good reason, but we need more believers like yourself with a good foundation going in there and influencing it in a positive way. So, we’re excited for you and we really do appreciate you taking time today to be with us.

Daniel Vareed:

Awesome. I’m very thankful to be on the program today. Thank you.

Rick:

Stay with us, folks. We”€™re going to take a quick break. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Bring A Speaker To Your Area

Tim:

Hey, this is Tim Barton with WallBuilders.  And as you’ve had the opportunity to listen to WallBuilders Live, you’ve probably heard a wealth of information about our nation, about our spiritual heritage, about the religious liberties, and about all the things that make America exceptional.

And you might be thinking, “€œAs incredible as this information is, I wish there was a way that I could get one of the WallBuilders guys to come to my area and share with my group.”€

Whether it be a church, whether it be a Christian school, or public school, or some political event, or activity, if you’re interested in having a WallBuilders speaker come to your area, you can get on our website at www.WallBuilders.com and there’s a tab for scheduling. If you”€™ll click on that tab, you’ll notice there’s a list of information from speakers bio’s, to events that are already going on. And there’s a section where you can request an event, to bring this information about who we are, where we came from, our religious liberties, and freedoms. Go to the WallBuilders website and Bring a speaker to your area.

Studying Someone You”€™ve Never Heard Of

Rick:

We”€™re back on WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us. Back here with just David and Tim. And interested in you all”€™s reaction to what Daniel said, but I want to reiterate some he said real quick which is the spots fill up quick. So, that means go now – WallBuilders.com/leadershiptraining. Go check it out right now. Those spots will be full, so you’ve got to– they will be full by the time we get to the summer, so make sure that you get in there and you get your slot for that young person that you’re thinking of even as you listen to the interview.

David, Tim, what”€™d you think about Daniel’s interview?  

David:

The whole thing was great, but I’ve got to say my favorite point was where he said Samuel Huntington. I have never in my life heard any American use the name Samuel Huntington at any point – not a park ranger, not anybody. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, one of the great Founding Father governors.

But that’s the cool thing about what we do is in the afternoons we”€™d say, “€œOkay, on this date you find a Founding Father you’ve never heard of and study them.”€ And you find a general, or you find a Constitution signer, or whatever.

Tim:

Yeah. And that’s part of our specific intentional research where one day you pick a signer of the Declaration that you’ve never researched. For example, most Americans have probably heard the name Benjamin Franklin, but how many have actually researched him? Not very many.

So, what I tell them is just because you know their name doesn’t mean you know their story. And, actually, we go around the room and everybody gets to pick one signer, we don’t double up, and actually we don’t take more than 50 kids a session. So, there are 56 signers, so we don’t have to double up. But everybody gets to study somebody they’ve never learned. And then we take the last 30 minutes of the research time and everybody gets to tell part of the story they just researched and discovered.

So, not only are you discovering a Founding Father who you’ve never studied before, you also are hearing the report of some of these others that have studied. And we’ve already showed, right, how to do research from original documents to the students. So, they’re taking notes and I tell them, here’s what’s great is from this point forward you now have contact with these other people and they’ve done research too.

Knowing What The Truth Looks Like

Tim:

So, if there comes a point where it’s like, “€œHey, I want to know more about these guys.”€ You can e-mail your friends and say, “€œAlright, who had this guy? Send me the notes on this guy.”€ And it’s all been footnoted to original source documentation. So, we really are trying to raise up kind of this army of truth seekers and, really, biblical position thinking young people to go forward.

And it is so encouraging to see who they are and really even where they come in those two weeks from maybe being not as sure about their faith, or about America, or being able to defend certain positions. At the end of two weeks, they’re in a position where they absolutely have the confidence to have those conversations, to engage, sometimes even in debate, but because they know what truth looks like and they are in a pursuit of truth.

And let me just tell you, if you’re 18 to 25 this is something you really need to check out, get more information on. Not everybody will be able to attend. We just don’t have room for everybody, but it’s something you need to check out. If you”€™re parent, look up to leadership training program at WallBuilders. Maybe you have kids in high school right now, they’re not old enough to come. This is something they should do before they go to college. Help prepare them for the stuff they’re going to hear when they go to college.

And maybe you’re a listener and you”€™re in position where you don’t have kids in that age or stage of life and you still want to do something to help. Well, you actually can help sponsor kids to come attend the leadership training program. You can actually, on the WallBuilders Live website, there”€™s a “€œdonate”€ button. You can donate, you can give, to help the program. So, everybody can do something to help engage. But this is a program that literally is transforming and training the next generation to be difference makers in America.

Rick:

We had another graduate of the program ready to share. We’re out of time for today though, so we”€™re going to ask him to come back and be with us tomorrow and share his story and his experience at the leadership training program.

And, again, it”€™s so easy to go to the website and learn more. When you get on there and you see all the things that happen during this two weeks you are going to want to sign up quickly before those spots fill up. It’s an amazing experience and from one standpoint, we think of stuff like this and wonder if it will work, or it will make a difference, or will it be a cool experience for people. And now years into this, we see the results.

Leaders And Hope From The Next Generation Part One

Rick:

This is not just an idea. This is not just, “€œHey, maybe if we get a bunch of people to come together, and hold Founding Fathers documents, and study signers of the Declaration, will it make a difference? Will it help them when they go back to school?”€ No, no. We’re seeing it happen now. It’s no longer a question. It works. You want to be a part of it. You want to be a part of someone in your community experiencing this.

So, just like Tim said, even if you’re too old, if you’re over 25 you can’t go, you can sponsor a student to go. And what will happen is that student will then come back into your community and they will be a leader in that community with this incredible experience, and this knowledge, and this foundation, from which they will lead.

So, make it make a big difference by being a part of this – WallBuilders.com/leadershiptraining. That’s the place to go to get somebody signed up today or make that contribution. If you don’t know anyone that you can sponsor, make a sponsorship of someone that we will get from somewhere across the nation coming in. That’s still a part of preserving America and making sure that you’re part of restoring our Constitutional Republic.

Thanks so much for listening today to WallBuilders Live.