Christians have to get registered to vote and elect godly men and women to office, Dr. Chris Hughes said on the Todd Starnes Show.
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The following is a rush transcript from The Todd Starnes Radio Show. Listen to the program live Monday – Friday from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m. Click here to listen to the full interview
TODD STARNES: [00:45:51] Dr. Chris Hughes has started an incredible organization called the Citizens for America Foundation, and we’ve been telling you about this huge event that’s happening right here in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 30th, this coming Saturday. And we want you to be there. This is an important conference. Dr. Hughes, good to have you with us today. [00:46:10][19.8]
DR. CHRIS HUGHES: [00:46:11] Todd, it’s such an honor to be on your show. [00:46:12][1.5]
STARNES: [00:46:13] And I have to tell you that the best thing about your conference, I don’t have to get on board an airplane to go anywhere. [00:46:18][5.7]
HUGHES: [00:46:19] Well, that makes it great. And you are the flagship speaker of our event, but that’s why we’re excited to be in Memphis. You have a great airport here, really, 2 hours from Dallas, 2 hours from Colorado, anywhere in the country. You can be here quickly. [00:46:30][11.0]
STARNES: [00:46:32] We are very proud of our airport. It was finally up upgraded, and we love that thing. And it really is an easy way to get here. A lot of churches, a lot of groups around the mid-south need to attend this conference this weekend. Tell us about the conference. [00:46:48][15.9]
HUGHES: [00:46:49] Well, it’s called the Culture Engagement Summit. You can learn more at citizensforamericafoundation.com. We’ve got almost 40 speakers, Dr. Robert Jeffers, really America’s pastor, is coming Ryan Helfenbein from the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University. Mark Meadows, former congressman and Chief of Staff to President Trump. Marsha Blackburn, Rick Scott, and so many others are coming. But it’s a great day where we want Christian conservatives to gather and learn what they believe and why they believe in the Bible, to develop a biblical worldview on a lot of issues that you talk about every day right here, Todd. And then be able to take that back specifically into the arena of public policy and politics. It’s important, because we have a major election. You were just talking about the Georgia election before the break. a [00:47:41][52.1]
STARNES: [00:47:41] And that’s really the key here, is that you have to get the Christian community out. I’ve seen surveys estimates that maybe two out of three conservative Christians stay home and don’t go and vote on Election Day. That’s appalling. [00:47:55][13.8]
HUGHES: [00:47:55] Yeah, it’s disgraceful. George Barna, a Christian pollster, says there’s over 40 million Christian evangelicals who are eligible to vote and are not even registered to vote. And, you know, with what’s going on with school boards across the country, Todd, I know you talk about that every day. We can win those local school board elections if we would just turn out and vote. [00:48:14][18.4]
STARNES: [00:48:15] Where do you see this conference going? I mean, it’s not just speeches, but you also have some great workshops as well. [00:48:21][6.7]
HUGHES: [00:48:22] Yeah, we have about 30 breakout sessions, so you can interact. You know, a lot of people go to these big conferences, and they can’t interact with these famous speakers. Well all these people are going to be very accessible that day. You can ask questions, and we want you to leave learning, is homosexuality a sin? Is transgender something really that God ordained that you want? Is abortion a sin? And what do we do? We may live in the post Roe America in just a couple of months, the Supreme Court could decide that Roe v Wade goes back to the states. We need to be prepared as Christians, so I want people to get educated that day. You’re going to leave equipped and have a lot of great information that you can go back and share at your churches and your community. [00:49:00][37.4]
STARNES: [00:49:00] The event is Saturday, April 30th, this coming Saturday on the campus of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. That’s right off Interstate 40. And again, if you’d like information, citizensforamericafoundation.com. Dr. Hughes, in your travels around the country, are you finding that conservatives are mobilizing, that they are beginning to engage on the local level? [00:49:23][23.1]
HUGHES: [00:49:24] Todd, I think it’s starting to pick up. And one reason is, as much as I hate it, all the craziness of COVID across the country, when kids were sent home, parents began to see what was being taught in our school system. And that was a wakeup call, and I hope and pray that we’re going to have Christian parents across the country that will mobilize and decide that we’ve got to get engaged in this process. [00:49:44][19.7]
STARNES: [00:49:44] It is. And it’s an ongoing process. I mean, yesterday we had the Supreme Court argument with Coach Joe Kennedy. And at stake, there could be a landmark decision that would decide whether or not public employees would be able to actually pray on government property. It’s hard to imagine we’re debating those kinds of issues in the 21st century. [00:50:03][18.4]
HUGHES: [00:50:03] Yeah, just 15 years ago, we would have never dreamed of where we are today in America. And churches need to wake up, because our religious liberties are in danger. And pastors, a lot of you won’t take a stand on these issues, but you’re going to lose the right to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible is going to become hate speech if we don’t do something. [00:50:21][17.5]
STARNES: [00:50:22] And as a matter of fact, there was a school district and our listeners on KQAM in Wichita know this area very well, where a former city council person actually wanted the Bible removed from the classroom and the argument they used, and this is why I’m a free speech purist and my contention is if they’re going to ban my books, they could very well one day ban the Bible. So, I think this is more an issue of what is appropriate for a child to read. And this city council person says the Bible ought to be removed from the from the classroom. [00:50:54][32.3]
HUGHES: [00:50:55] That should scare all of us as Christians. They want to remove the Bible, but they’ve got all these pornographic books, literally through the common sexuality education curriculum that our federal government is funding that are very graphic and pornographic, and the pictures are being shown to seven- and eight-year-olds. [00:51:09][14.2]
STARNES: [00:51:10] I don’t care if it’s straight or gay. I don’t think children need to be learning about sex in preschool in kindergarten. [00:51:18][7.9]
HUGHES: [00:51:18] I agree 100%, but it’s happening all over the country. [00:51:21][2.5]
STARNES: [00:51:21] And the reason why is very simple. Dr. Hughes, I suspect it’s because parents are just not engaged in the education process. [00:51:29][7.9]
HUGHES: [00:51:30] That’s right, and we need to encourage them. Parents, you need to know who’s on your school board. Pastors know who’s there. Go to meet the teachers, and if we engage as parents across the country, we can make a difference. [00:51:40][10.4]
STARNES: [00:51:41] Now, I want you to answer what I hope is not a difficult question, but I’ve just been confounded with the number of evangelical Christian pastors who have gone woke and don’t want to talk about the issues of the day. And I’m wondering why that is. What’s going on? [00:52:00][18.7]
HUGHES: [00:52:00] Well, I think there’s a real infiltration. So, I’m going to really make some people mad here. I’m a Southern Baptist, but it’s happening within the Southern Baptist Convention right now. We have a huge number of pastors who are allowing CRT, critical race theory and preaching it from the pulpit. They preach all this other stuff except the gospel of Jesus Christ and the good news of Jesus Christ. Our seminaries right now are teaching critical race theory and so many other things that should really terrify us. And it is time for us to wake up in our churches and tell our pastors they need to address these issues. They’re scared of offending people. [00:52:31][31.2]
STARNES: [00:52:32] And correct me if I’m wrong here, but one of the reasons why what you just said is so vitally important is that the Southern Baptists have the largest seminaries in America. And they’re training not just Baptist preachers, but Methodists and Presbyterians and Lutherans. I mean, right on down the Protestant life. [00:52:48][16.1]
HUGHES: [00:52:48] Right. We are the largest training organization for pastors and missionaries and sending missionaries around the world. So, if men and women are being trained in a way that is not biblical, if they’re being taught this critical race theory and other nonsense, it’s going to affect churches and Christendom for years to come. [00:53:06][17.4]
STARNES: [00:53:06] And that’s why I’m so glad that Ryan Helfenbein is going to be a part of this great, great Saturday. He’s the executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University. And if we’re going to really impact the culture, we’re going to have to support universities like Liberty. We’re going to have to support great seminaries like Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. [00:53:26][20.3]
HUGHES: [00:53:27] We’ve got to support them, and Ryan’s just a super defender of the faith and constitutional values. I know you’re having Ralph Reed on in a little while, Ralph’s sending a team for the Faith and Freedom Coalition. To talk to us about how to get out the vote and turn out the Christian vote. It is going to be a great day. [00:53:41][14.0]
STARNES: [00:53:41] You know, it’s interesting you mentioned that. A lot of folks don’t realize that Ralph Reed and his group registered more Republicans to vote in the last presidential election than the entire Republican Party did. [00:53:53][11.7]
HUGHES: [00:53:53] Ralph has done an incredible job with the Faith and Freedom Coalition. They’ve knocked on millions of doors, as you said, registered millions of Christian voters, and they’re making a real difference as Christians engage. [00:54:03][9.4]
STARNES: [00:54:03] You didn’t tell me, by the way, this just registered. You said I’m like the speech. I’ve got to wrap this thing up. [00:54:11][7.5]
HUGHES: [00:54:11] You’re the man. [00:54:11][0.3]
STARNES: [00:54:12] I don’t know about this. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a guy on a Saturday. [00:54:15][3.0]
HUGHES: [00:54:15] Well, there’s nobody better than Todd Starnes. And I would fly to Memphis from anywhere in the country just to see you. [00:54:20][4.6]
STARNES: [00:54:20] It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re going to have a great time. You’ve got a great lineup of speakers, both locally here in the Memphis area and really nationally. Who are some of the others? I mean you’ve got like 30 plus. [00:54:32][11.4]
HUGHES: [00:54:32] Yeah so, an interesting one that’s not a famous name, you may recall there was a shooting in a church in Texas in 2017, and the guy who went out to his truck and got his AR-15. [00:54:40][8.4]
STARNES: [00:54:40] Sutherland Springs. Yep, I remember that. [00:54:43][2.5]
HUGHES: [00:54:43] Yeah. Steven Willeford, the guy that shot the bad guy and ran him down on the road, he’s coming here and Gun Owners of America is bringing him to our event [00:54:50][7.2]
STARNES: [00:54:50] Is that right? Oh, that’s going to be fantastic. So, there really is something for everybody at this summit. [00:54:56][5.7]
HUGHES: [00:54:56] There really is. It’s going to be a great day. [00:54:58][1.3]
STARNES: [00:54:58] And I love the fact, I mean, it’s pretty economical. And you also get lunch, which I mean, you know, this crowd loves to eat. Alright, so very nice. So, Dr. Hughes, this coming Saturday, April 30th. What is it that you want people to walk away from this conference knowing and doing? [00:55:21][22.6]
HUGHES: [00:55:21] Well, I want them to have an urgency and know that Jesus is returning at any time, and we need to be ready, and we need to impact the culture for Jesus. And there’s no better way to impact the culture for Jesus than to win people to Jesus. So, we want to lead people to Jesus, but we’ve got to elect godly men and women to public office this year. [00:55:38][16.4]
STARNES: [00:55:38] That’s it. I mean folks, it really is that simple. If we’re able to do that, we’re going to be able to facilitate a lot of change in this country. 844-747-8868 is our toll-free telephone number. That’s 844-747-8868. Let’s go to the phones here. Salem, Oregon. Mike is listening to us on our great affiliate out there, KYKN. Mike, you’re on the air with Dr. Hughes. [00:56:04][26.0]
CALLER: [00:56:05] Hi, Dr. Hughes. I think what people are failing to realize is the poison of pornography that is running rampant in our churches. I myself struggle with pornography and have fought for years to get away from it. [00:56:34][28.2]
HUGHES: [00:56:34] Well Mike, it is a plague in our churches, but a real problem right now is because kids are being shown so many pornographic images as early as first and second grade. It is going to get a whole generation of people addicted to pornography just because of what’s coming through our school systems. [00:56:47][12.7]
STARNES: [00:56:48] Mike, we appreciate the call. We are really tight for a break here. So, thank you for that, and I know, again, some of the workshops, maybe we could just rattle off a couple of them, so folks know what to expect. [00:56:58][10.4]
HUGHES: [00:56:59] Well, we’ve got a former congresswoman, Rosi Orozco, coming from Mexico, a Mexican congresswoman, and she’s going to address human trafficking. Todd, we have an epidemic in our country where people are being brought across that open border that should be closed and sold as sex slaves. We’ve got Gun Owners of America talking about the biblical mandate of being able to defend yourself. Scott Klusendorf, he’s probably the best apologist in the nation to talk about the pro-life issue. So many issues are going to be covered that day. Please go to citizensforamericafoundation.com and register today. [00:57:31][32.3]
STARNES: [00:57:32] And we also have a direct link on our live show blog, folks. So, either way citizensforamericafoundation.com We would love to see you there on Saturday, April 30th. Now, Friday, we’re going to be broadcasting our program from the campus of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. And if you live anywhere in the Mid-South, we would love for you to come out and say hello. Grace will be there. I will be there, and we’re going to have a great time leading up to this coming Saturday. [00:58:00][27.9]