Ep 221 | Willie Robertson's Wild Ride from Worm Farms to 'Duck Dynasty' Fame | The Glenn Beck Podcast

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And now, a Blaze Media Podcast.

The beard and the bandana are a little more than an accessory,

a symbol of the man whose name is synonymous with family and faith and the great outdoors.

He is the CEO of Duck Commander.

He is the face of one of the most watched reality TV shows of all time.

He's one of the biggest shows here on the Blaze.

He is a true embodiment of the American spirit.

I can't wait to talk to him because

his stories from early age.

He not only developed a deep appreciation for the outdoor way of life,

but also

there's a reason why he's the CEO.

And Duck Dynasty and all of it happened

thanks to his father also, who hasn't been without serious trials and tribulations of his own,

he found redemption and they share it all the time.

But this man's story is more than

duck calls in hunting gear.

It's about resilience, entrepreneurship like crazy, and the power of faith to overcome life's challenges.

He has captivated audiences all around the world.

He is charming.

He is friendly.

He is fun.

I love him.

And somehow or another, he and his family have survived reality TV.

Beyond the cameras and the fame, he is a devoted husband to his wife and a loving father to their six children.

He's a best-selling author now, sought-after speaker, philanthropist with a heart as big as Louisiana Sky, author of a new book called Godspeller.

If you stay until the end, you will learn the secret behind the man that took a simple duck call business and turned it into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

And you're also going to have a lot of laughs.

Today, welcome to the program.

Willie Robertson.

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Can't wait.

Here we go with Willie.

Willie,

we've been sitting here as they were trying to fix a light.

Yeah.

And for a while.

And we, yeah, I know.

And

you started talking about Florence, Italy.

You're going to Florence, Italy.

I am.

And

I love it, it is just history there and the art there is amazing.

And

you're going back.

You studied there, right?

I lived there.

My wife and I lived there.

We did a college program and I lived there for like four months.

Yeah, that's a culture.

That's all so culture.

That's how I'm so cultured.

No, well, back then, see, we had a little thing called the old bait and switch.

So, when I married Corey, my hair was really short, no beard,

very preppy.

Preppy?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, oh, yeah.

And then over the years, I just slowly, she got the real.

So I looked at my dad, and I looked at me.

I was like, oh no, that's what you ended up getting at.

You went to Florence, which is...

Studied there, yeah.

One of the great, and you studied.

Well, that's where we took.

Well, yeah, we had to, that's where we got our credit for art appreciation, music appreciation, foreign languages.

We had to take them there.

And I don't know that I would have passed any of those classes had I not been there.

Yeah, yeah.

Because you had to.

You walk in.

You have to go order your own coffee.

You have to go.

And so I had to learn.

You go in on art.

you know I I was like there's the fake statue in the in the square of the David right and you're like I have seen it and I've seen it a million times and you know somebody I know in the family probably has one you know sitting on a shelf and then you walk in and see the real David yeah and it is

completely I don't I don't even know how to describe yeah what the difference is it's yeah there's I mean there's a a lot of art there.

Yeah.

And sadly, when I was there, I was so sick of art because we've been doing it all like for college, like all the way from Amsterdam to Paris.

Like, we've been, and I didn't have the,

which is ironic.

The class was called Art Appreciation, and I didn't have the art appreciation like I would now.

So, so, what did you get your degree in?

Uh, okay, now

you got to stay with this one because it's not going to make a lot of sense, but I'll explain it.

I have a non-certified to teach PE degree.

You could teach PE.

No, I can't teach PE.

No, you can't because you're not certified.

I spent like six years getting a degree that every time I just tell people the name of it, they start laughing.

Here's the deal.

I can't teach, I can't legally teach PE, which is PE is essentially rolling some balls out in a gym going, all right, kids, get after it.

I can't teach that.

Wait, but that's how I suppose.

But wait, what was that degree supposed to give you?

Okay.

Okay.

So

here's how we explained it.

If you wanted to learn about, like,

so you weren't going to be a teacher, but let's say you were going to run a health club.

So you needed to know some business.

So we, instead of the education classes, we took business classes.

So it was like a business side of physical education.

Okay.

And I did ask the school I went to, I said, do y'all still have that degree?

And he said, no, no, we don't.

that one's been gone.

He was like, no, that's a shit.

That was created for you and all the football players

who needed to really get through school.

You, though, are like, you are a fascinating guy when it comes to business.

You were,

tell the story about you selling

candy on the

candy in elementary school.

Fifth grade, yeah.

Yeah.

Big year, fifth grade.

Big year.

Big year.

I don't even even remember my fifth grade.

Fifth grade.

Fifth grade changed my life.

Fifth grade was the reason, I mean, 100% why I got the job as CEO of Duck Commander because of fifth grade.

When my dad,

my dad said,

I said, dad, I think I can turn this company around.

I think I can take us to the next level.

He goes, yeah, in fifth grade, you did shut that concession standard.

He referenced that.

He didn't read a resume.

He didn't ask about the degree that I have.

Well, that would have convinced him.

No, we had a guy give, so a guy came down.

So where we live is like the end of dad still lives there.

It's a dead end road.

And people would come down there looking for duck calls.

And they would, you know, and we just

sell them to him right there.

So we had this dude come down.

He wanted a duck call.

They're chit-chatting, and he said he was a candy distributor.

And I just happened to be standing out there.

You're how old?

I'm in fifth grade.

That's

10.

I have no idea.

And I'm just standing there.

And so he starts explaining what he did.

He said, I'm the distributor of candy.

And I didn't understand how distribution worked.

And he was like, you know, like when you go in a gas station, you buy this candy.

Well, I'm the one that sells it to them.

And then they sell it to you.

They're the retailer.

And I was like, oh, that's brilliant.

And then he handed, he had a box of hubble, bubble, bubble gum.

And he just handed it to Phil.

And I'm standing right there.

Right place, right time.

And Phil just leans over and said, here you go.

And he said, that's for the boys, which I'm like, no, this is for me.

So I took that gum and I went to, I just laid there.

I just remember I sit on the bed and I was just like, God, do I just eat, you know, like just all of it?

Like it just back to back to back to back, you know, because we were so poor.

We didn't have any money.

And I was like, and I thought, no, I'm going to sell this.

I'm going to sell this gum.

I'm going to be the retailer.

And, and I've got this.

I got no money in it.

So this will be my, you know, my spider money.

Yeah, my seed money.

So I get on the bus, man, start selling and they're

you know talk about a hot market i mean i mean because because the school didn't sell gum 10 they didn't sell gum and i'm like that's a miss and so i sell all that out then i go to mom and i said mom i need i need more candy and i had this cash you know and so she took me to like what they called cash and carry where you could buy a box which i costco

yeah so i go up there and i buy me you know some boxes of candy so i just looked at what the concession stand had and i just ordered the opposite because their selection was crappy anyway.

So

I just, I just start shoving all this.

I got a big coat on.

I'm wearing this stuff.

So in my locker, I put shelving in all my candies, my gum and stuff.

You know, I lock on it.

So I would just go and I'm dealing.

I was like a drug dealer, but it was candy.

Because

here's the flaws of the concession stand.

The selection was crappy.

They didn't open till 2.45.

So it was the last 15 minutes of school is when you could buy.

By 2.45, I've got everybody's money in the whole school.

They're out.

And they're chewing gum.

How much do you remember how much you made?

Oh, hundreds of, I mean, hundreds and hundreds of dollars, man.

I was like, mom's like bumming money off of it, you know?

Rolling cash in like a rubber band.

Then they started like popping up like competitors.

The yaunt boys up the road started their little can.

I'm like, ah, this is getting out of control, you know?

And so everybody, you know, and then the principal called me in his office and

shuts me down.

Why?

Well, he said, because he said he met with a concession stand and he said their, their sales were down.

I mean, that's literally what he told me.

I'm sitting there as a fifth grader, and I'm like, well, I can tell you why.

You know, like, they need a better.

And he goes, I'm banning you.

You can't sell anything.

I always say it was my first run-in with the government.

So

shut me down.

what did you do?

I mean, you obviously knew

you were an entrepreneur.

Well, I knew that, well, I had a worm farm probably out

the year before.

So in fourth grade, I was a worm farmer.

And so I had,

that's probably where I knew like, that's where I really built a business like from the ground.

Fourth grade.

Fourth grade.

So I had this boat.

So dad had this old boat.

It was kind of sunken a little bit in the creek because dad was fishing pretty much.

Like Duck Commander was small, but mostly we got our money from fishing, commercial fishing, nets.

And so I had this, he had this boat, and I said, Dad, can I have that?

Can I use that boat?

He says, it doesn't work for a boat anymore.

And he said, yeah.

So I drugged that thing.

I don't know because we had no equipment.

I still don't know how I got that thing on these sawhorses.

Because we had no tractor.

We didn't have, we had nothing.

But I put this boat up on two sawhorses.

And dad said, Worms love manure.

So old man Lee, about a mile up the road had all these cows and so i took a wheelbarrow walked one mile oh my gosh shut you know barrel by barrel and filled this thing up with cow manure and dirt and then i just went out and found all the the worms that i could so i knew all the spots right where the worms were you went out and found all the worms yeah they're free i mean i knew it actually gotta find the right so it's the right moisture content with the leaf uh content there were other ways like you could take a two sticks and like you you could kind of agitate them up.

But I knew where to find them.

I was finding earthworms last week.

Like, I still do it.

That's fun.

It's awesome.

You still sell them?

No, I don't sell them now, but I have a bucket at home.

And now I've had to text people like, make sure you water my worms.

And so I had all these worms in there.

And I put, dad said they like cornmeal.

So I spread a little cornmeal, had them covered up.

I'd water them every day.

And then we lived on a boat dock.

And so we lived right at the, where the creek comes off the river.

And so granny, granny had the big business.

She had the the boat dock so she had put the landing in and she had a mailbox and it said a dollar for a deal and you they'd stick a dollar in there and i could take two stick i would fish some dollars

but then i set up on her boat dock and it said willie's worms and then i would i'd count them all out and i'd put them in old can so all the cans like was we saved every can um that would spit most of them but it was like all the corn cans and all that so i had cans and i'd have like we'd count them out and so i'd sell the fishermen the worms.

You had to get up at like daylight, so that was my first business.

But that was, you know, it was only Saturday, it was hard work, they were nickel apiece, and I knew I was destined for something bigger than this.

And then the candy thing happened, and I'm like, oh, yeah,

yeah.

So,

where did that

well?

Was that

you think that started because of necessity, or because that's who you are?

I think it was necessity, creativity,

just a willing to work.

I wasn't.

That's a big one now.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

No TV.

No, we had a TV with three channels, and they were only watching whatever dad watched.

We could watch Dukes of Hazard.

We had to work.

We had to fold boxes while we did it.

But we did all the jobs of Duck Commander.

Like, we dipped all the calls.

I mean, there was no employees.

It was when it first started, it was us, you know.

Answer the phone, customer service.

I'd pick up the phone.

It took me a decade to stop saying duck commander when I answered my phone.

You know, Duck Commander, how can I help you?

You know, and then we were like 10, like we're writing down orders, you know,

and we would ship them.

Mom would ship them out.

We'd put the orders up.

And so, but then we would sell fish.

So I probably learned more about selling from selling.

Well, I sold the gum, but that was a great.

But when you can sell fish, like

they weren't cleaned, you know what I'm saying?

So we'd go to the fish market and they would take them.

If the fish market didn't take them, we'd go to the street corner.

Fresh fish, like super fresh like you got to clean them fresh

so buffalo catfish but the catfish usually the catfish was the that was the king so they got you got like 70 cents a pound for those the buffalo was like 30 cents a pound then you have all the trashy fish you know the goo and the guard we'd try to sell them all man but you had to but i would watch that dad was such a good salesman like dad would have could sell anything now he was just a you know i think now people see him because he's gotten older and you know he's but back in the day man that dude could he could sell man he was they he, we would, we, he had these, so we'd catch German carp where they're yellow and they taste horrible.

And dad's,

I remember dad was talking to these guys.

He goes, you know what that fish is?

That's a golden buffalo.

He just changed the name of it.

And that sounds way better.

Like, German carp.

Ain't nobody want to eat a German carp and golden buffalo?

Hmm, I'll try.

So, so I had a knack for it.

Um, and then, but you know, Glenn, I was always like, I'm out of here, man.

I'm getting out of here.

I'm never going to work for this business.

And then

it was so crucial who I married.

So I married Corey.

Her family were big.

They were big business people.

They had bought.

like chains of restaurant.

I mean, chains of retail stores.

And so it was just a, it was just a perfect combination, man, because they took a lot of time.

Oh, she understood it too.

Mm-hmm.

Really smart.

So she's smart.

Her degree is not

to not be able to teach PE.

She actually has an art education degree, which is hilarious that she got that degree.

But Corey's really smart.

And so, yeah, you just had a great combination, man.

She's more of the detailed.

Like she reads the papers.

And so I went to college.

So

here's what's even more stupid.

And Corey's like, Willie, for some reason.

You got this dumb degree, but you feel like you're so smart because you like I feel like I pulled one up.

I was like, how about about that?

Like, how smart am I?

No, by the nature of your degree, it's saying you're not, but I feel like I'm like, I pulled something off of my life.

Hey, you know what?

I tell you, degrees, I think, are worthless.

I mean, according to what you're getting it in, I guess.

I mean, you're going to be a doctor.

Well, yeah.

I mean, if you're like,

so Corey and I went to college at the same time, which was, that was clutch.

I mean, you had, we did all this.

So she would take all the notes and like, it was very helpful

to, you know, because she would do all the details.

But then as our jobs ended up, everything we've done in life, it's been the same way because we worked together.

But I learned a lot from her family, a lot from just about general business and how to do stuff.

And yeah, that's where it kind of, but when I, true story, when I went to dad at 30, I said, dad, I think, because I went away and then I worked for her family.

And then I came back to dad and I said, dad, I think I can, I think I got what it takes, you know, because I saw something.

I was like, something's here.

I could see how people people reacted to Phil.

And I just, I knew, and he had done all the heavy lifting, but they were kind of tired and were like, I think we've sold all the duck calls we're going to ever sell.

And

I came in and told him that he said,

You did shut that concession down in fifth grade.

I said, I did.

And he goes,

This is Phil Nice contract.

Phil goes,

You're the man.

I said, Okay, I'm in charge.

And that's how I got to tell you.

That's how I got in charge.

I remember at the height of it, I was driving across the country,

and every truck stop, every 7-Eleven,

everything

had

tons of Duck Dynasty merchandise.

And I just, I, like the fifth place I stopped for gas, I just thought, who is running this?

This is genius.

And that's all you.

No, not me.

I mean, it was, there was a lot of.

You were the CEO.

Well, yeah, but I mean, I was, you know, the TV show definitely helped, you know.

Oh, no, no, no.

I know that.

But, I mean, the merchandising.

Well, it was both.

It was Duck Dynasty and it was both of us.

So I didn't own Duck Dynasty.

That was, that's A ⁇ E's mark.

And so our mark is Duck Commander, which was even more challenging selling against yourself in the market.

Wow.

Because they had the rights to my face just like I did.

They had the rights to feels, you know, our likenesses, the things we said.

And so,

but yeah, but I mean, I played my part.

But even with the company, I played a part.

I mean, I wasn't the, you know,

I think I've made more mistakes.

Like, I've done more stupid stuff than I have smart stuff.

But if you get one that works,

it only takes one.

But see, when I went into dad, so when I took the company over, and so dad's like, all right, you know, you're the guy, you're taking over.

And I said, all right.

And so I just, I had some things happen right.

You know,

I got somebody to to pay us to use their products, like an endorsement.

We didn't have that, and so that was key.

And so, I had like a camouflage company and then a shell company.

And well, dad's like, this cat's on fire.

I'm like, hey, I just made this money to the bottom line, and you get, and you get free stuff.

So, it was like, they were like, this is cool.

And so, we started moving towards this, you know, because dad had done, nobody really knew who Phil was.

Like, he was this mysterious bearded dude at the end of the river.

And they knew he was kind of of like a preacher but he just he didn't go uh network at the show the hunting shows right and so i was able to get in there do more of that and then television was interesting because so corey my wife says she watched reality tv and she's like

willie y'all should have a reality tv show and i'm like

i don't think i said corey we're just normal people like

And Corey said, Willie, y'all ain't normal.

I said, you think?

She was like, I'm telling you, I think y'all could do a, you know, she was like, your family's just so.

Did you ever, were you ever concerned that that would

destroy your family?

Because

those family relate, those family relations.

People warned, like, a lot of Christians told us, like, oh, you can't do this.

You're going to destroy your family.

But I was like, if, if not us, then who?

Like, who, who's going to have the slot if we're not in it?

You know, I mean, I was looking at people who do TV and I said, it seemed like there's not a lot of bright lights on the TV, you know?

And I said, maybe we should.

but no, I mean, I felt firm in our faith and who we were, and, you know, like, and you know, I think you, you, you get a chance, and I felt like, I'm like, oh, maybe God led us to this and said, hey, here's your opportunity, and here's something to do.

So

the movie, the movie, The Blind,

you know, it's one thing

because I, I'm a, I was a raging alcoholic, and oof, did I need redemption?

But it's one thing to talk about it.

It's another to see it acted out on the screen.

It is.

How was that?

How did that impact you guys?

It was difficult on every level.

We made the movie, and I say we,

Corey and I, and my cousin, Zach Dasher.

My first cousin, who

his mom is Aunt Jan.

She's the one who got the preacher to go talk to Phil.

So he was making it, you know,

just as crucial as in his mom's honor.

You know, she passed away and socially, she didn't even get to see the movie.

But we made the movie.

It was our first movie to make.

So we had these meetings.

We're like, we started a production company after Duck Dynasty because we knew, we said, man, we got to.

There needs to be more shows, you know, positive.

Because we heard the people going, we want more TV and movies like this.

And so

didn't necessarily, I mean, we knew TV.

I knew how to make that, but

movies different.

Yeah.

And so we jumped in and we had all these ideas.

And one of the ideas was actually Phil and Kay's story, you know.

And I was like, what dad gunner?

Do we want to start out with more of our family?

Because the idea was going to be like, we need to tell other people's stories, not just ours.

And,

but it was just so, such an incredible story.

And so we go to Phil, we say, he actually said the same thing to me with the TV show.

I went to dad.

So when Corey said, hey, y'all should do a TV show.

And then

somebody wanted to do one.

So I went to dad.

And I said, Dad,

they want us to do a TV show.

Phil's like, ah, that'll never work.

And I said, well, it could help business.

It could help us get the gospel to more people.

And he looks up.

And then again, Phil gives me the,

hey, if it'll get the gospel out, I tell you, that is why.

And the movie was the same way.

That is, that was what attracted me.

I heard people talk about you guys.

He said, there's this show, and they pray at the end.

They sit at the table and they pray in the end.

That's what attracted me.

And

I don't know how you pulled that off with

television A ⁇ E and all of that stuff.

It wasn't as bad as what you think.

Really?

Like, it was like the idea, we just, because we were sitting with the production company, and you're right.

I know these people are obviously Christians.

I mean, some may be, I don't know, but not overtly.

But we just thought it'd be a good idea.

And

they were like, yeah.

So it wasn't as combative as what you may think.

I guess is what people may think it is.

Now, they did.

They would edit out in Jesus' name, which,

and they stopped doing that.

They finally quit doing that.

Feel so mad.

So they would do that.

That kind of bothered us.

But yeah, they, you know, I mean, if once it started working,

a lot of people got other ways.

Okay.

That's what they.

But I think they always struggle with what made it work.

You know, like, what exactly made that work?

So I guess, for instance, they would put shows behind it that were,

you know, I won't say anti-faith, but definitely, you know,

superworldly.

And they wouldn't work.

They would flop.

You know, they were like, your viewer would literally turn the channel because they knew, like, bang, go to another one.

So.

So, yeah, they struggled with knowing.

I think, especially, I think the faith part and the prayer part, you know, how much that played into it.

And,

but it wasn't a religious show.

No.

Phil was the Phil wanted it more religious.

Phil was like, Willie, we need more preaching on here.

I said, Dad, there's another Robertson family that has a TV show that preaches.

That's the 700 Club.

Like, let them, like, if they want to know more, let them come.

But let's just laugh.

Like, we, I think we have a gift and a talent of

being able to do television like this.

Because, I mean, to be honest, no one had ever done a show quite like that.

Because

Doug Doncy was a sitcom, it wasn't a reality.

It was more, it was a sitcom.

but we weren't actors we were real people but it played so we we it was filmed like a sitcom like i would walk in the door walk in the duck car room that's what seinfeld does and yeah right so you would enter the room so it we filmed it just like a sitcom and so

but it was hard to you know it was hard to keep doing that because our lives started changing like when you're driving around seeing us in all the truck stops and everything.

Like, it was just weird that we didn't know.

Cause we don't, they wanted, it was like we were in a bubble.

Right.

But it was strange, like, like we'd be shooting a thing at the grocery store and it would be like, no big deal.

I've run out of gas.

Like, how do, what do I do?

But I'm like, I could see myself on People Magazine.

Because it's kind of weird, you know,

to stay what was real, what was kind of

calling guided reality because it was like, it's real.

I mean, and so I think other people doing reality shows would probably have a hard time shooting it like that.

And so, um,

uh, but it worked, you know, it, it, the combination worked.

And so what was you just had some real.

What was, if you could boil it down in a sentence,

what was the secret of the show?

Why did it work?

I think it was a combination of authenticity,

authenticity, faith, and funny.

That's a hard combination.

That's a hard combination.

Especially funny.

Funny's hard, man.

Funny is really hard.

And so,

and the way they edited was really funny um uh the guys out there in la that edited that stuff it's just they they did these pauses and it's these long trying you know more kind of uncomfortable uh

and then sighs super funny and especially sigh edited's funny i mean because you could just like but sigh uncle sigh like

You could plug in anything you want into that man.

And now this is a guy who spent 25 years in the military, in the army,

graduated from high school only

worked at a golf course, and then dad ends up hiring him to build reeds for us.

You know, he's retired, life's over, you know, size, you know, he's 63 years old, I think, when the show started.

And then this guy fine.

And then I, the first thing I wanted to do, you're talking about how smart I was at business.

The first thing I wanted to do was fire sigh.

So I come in.

I'm the new CEO.

I'm looking at our, here's our payroll expense.

We have four employees.

One of them lays on the couch every day, sleeps, farts, belches.

And I'm like, dad, we need to let your brother go.

You know, we just need to trim it up.

And he wouldn't let me fire him.

And I was like, my wife

won't let me fire my son either.

And he does the same thing.

Well,

so here's the deal.

So dad said, no.

So then Doug Dynasty comes along.

Sy is gold.

I mean, just TV gold.

Yeah.

And I'm thinking, I almost fired him.

And so here's the lesson for that.

Sometimes Sometimes you may have a diamond in your company.

You've got them in the wrong spot.

Yeah, you got him.

So Sy, when he came there, but when we filmed, man, when we filmed that show, and these are long days, you know, because, I mean, it was long.

This stuff took a long because it was more like a TV show, like a long TV show.

But like most of the stuff Sy would say about me, like being fat and all that.

Most of it was my, like I would tell him like Sy, say, and I would just come with these zingers.

And then the harsh part was just not to laugh at him the whole time because it was so funny, you know.

Like we were filming this part.

We were in Nashville filming this thing.

We were at the studio, and Sy was, he's going to sing this song.

And so, so I got with him and the bra said, Sy,

when you start singing the song, just start talking, like, talk through one of your poker hands and act like that's a song, you know.

So I was like, all right.

So we go there.

Sigh goes, so I was

playing poker and they dealt a card, and I'm looking at a

stack.

and then so I'm sitting there now I'm already turning so I'm straight facing the sing I'm going side you're just talking about it you're talking about a hand you're not even singing the songs no hey Jack I'm singing a song and so the hardest part was to keep it straight while he and let him just do his thing and he could he was brilliant man the way he could do that

with

a full-time army guy who worked at you know and who would have known he was gonna have this new lease on life and just

he was awesome it was it was unbelievable but you just had such a combination of like Phil being this like like I think that's what people saw themselves like they weren't like us but it's like ah see that's that's like my dad you know yeah yeah that's like my grandpa you know he is just the same way like says stuff that's you know sometimes totally inappropriate

I'm like oh I just hit 60 and I decided

I'm gonna say whatever you're getting there right yeah you're getting there that's the way Phil is it's like well can you get your dad to not say that I'm like no that's pretty

whatever you love about him, he's going to say something.

Like, no matter what, like, and here's the deal.

I can't understand this about Phil.

Phil lives at the end of a dead end street in the, I mean,

street, road.

It used to be, it was dirt up until like,

until Duck Dynasty happened.

I think they finally paved our road.

Um, he's down there.

He has no cell phone.

He's never owned a cell phone.

Good for him.

He has no computer.

Wow.

He has a landline that I think they just got back because it got destroyed by something.

So he didn't have a landline.

And

for some reason, Phil can get his message out all over the world.

And I'm like, how does, like, I'll hear about somebody like, how does Phil Robinson keep getting these messages out?

He has no cell phone computer and lives on Danny's Tree.

And next thing I know, I'm reading something in the, you know, online.

I'm going, oh, boy, what'd Phil say now?

Yeah, I just, you never know what's going to, but it's, you know, I think he's,

he's earned it and that's, he says what he is.

And he's, but he's authentic, you know?

He is.

He reminds me a little bit of Billy Graham in the way I became friends with Billy Graham the last five years of his life.

And

he's a great guy.

And

he told me,

you know, we were talking about him being on Carson and everything else.

And he said, it made him all uncomfortable.

But the first thing I talked about was Jesus Christ.

He said, because

that may be the only question I get.

So no matter what they ask, it's about Jesus Christ.

Interesting.

Yeah, I got to meet him as well right before he passed.

It was amazing.

Yeah, I was

so honored.

In fact, when I met him and his daughter had set it up, and so they're right there in his little house, you know, in North Carolina, and she says, Daddy,

this guy's from Duck Dynasty.

He came all the way from Louisiana to see you.

And Billy Graham looks up and goes, came to see me.

Why would you see me?

I'm a nobody.

And I thought, wow, that's the right attitude.

That's the right attitude.

He was really, he was the real deal.

Yeah.

He was absolutely the real deal.

Fascinating what he did.

And so,

but he, and he even said, like, it's, like, it's going to change.

I think the way to get the message of Jesus out would change.

He even talked about the workplace.

And so, yeah, I think we all play our parts on getting this out.

But Doug Nazity was a way.

Which is what I told Phil.

I said, it's a way to get the gospel out.

And you don't have to read Bible scriptures.

You can do it in a fun way, bring people to the table.

But even just giving people

just a form of entertainment, you know, because people just, that you can laugh at, you can watch together.

You don't have to worry about it.

It's really, it's really funny.

I spoke the other night

recently at a place and they had a house for me in someone's house.

They'd let me stay in.

And there's a Duck Dynasty channel where you can.

Apparently, you just watch it all the time.

And they had that on when I got there, and they thought it was so funny, you know?

So I walk in there and I'm at this this house and I can hear my, I walk in, I hear myself talking.

I'm like, what in the world?

And so I sit there and I'm speaking like the next morning and it's probably 11 o'clock at night.

I got sucked into the Duck Dynasty vortex.

I'm like five episodes.

I'm like, I've got to go to bed.

And I got up at this speech and I said, guys, let me tell you what.

I sat up and watched that Duck Dynasty for five episodes.

Everybody's laughing.

And I said, you know what?

I learned about that show.

It's a really good show.

It's a funny show.

Like, I haven't watched it in so long.

But anyways, it was funny.

And just, you know, man, I've talked to more people who were just like,

my mom passed away.

We watched that together.

I mean, I hear it almost every week.

Just like I hear that too.

Yeah, just like my dad was a big fan and we would watch it together and he's passed away.

And it's, I mean, it's like he was in the hospital.

And

he wanted to watch that Duck Nasty.

I get, because I get flagged whenever the name pops up.

And so interesting.

I get a lot of obituaries

that's in some paper, like in Richmond, Virginia.

And they'll say, you know,

Betsy Connor.

She loved her needlework.

Watching Duck Doddy like it showed up in the obituary.

So

pretty, pretty, pretty cool stuff.

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And I don't mean for serious issues.

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So,

Godspeller,

this book is,

in a way,

kind of anti-Phil because Phil will go scriptures, full-on scriptures.

And

this is

live it, share it,

bring it into the culture.

This is kind of like

the anti,

it's the, I hate to say this, but, you know, like the,

what's his name, Kendi, that, you know, you have to be anti-racist.

You can't just not be racist.

You have to be anti-racist and all of that woke crap.

And this feels like the antidote.

Wow.

You didn't feel that way.

I still know that, well,

maybe that's the secret.

Maybe that's it's you know, maybe that's the becoming all things to all men to try to snatch some from the fire.

It's uh, it was just like, I still think the scriptures are there.

Well, I tell you this, I actually printed out for Phil for it.

Even came in book form because I wanted to read it.

And Phil read it and I didn't know what he was going to say.

Phil said, that's the best explanation of how to share the gospel I've ever read in my life.

And I was like, wow.

And this is so annoying, Phil.

This is so funny to me.

He goes, and you were so nice about it.

Which I knew.

That's what he struggles.

So because you'll get into that light.

Yeah.

And I was like, we don't have to, you know, you don't have to necessarily

do that.

And so,

yeah,

I think certain people,

they have a hard time talking about it.

And so I taught this class on it.

It was right after COVID.

But it wasn't PE.

No, it wasn't PE.

No, there's a Bible.

I was actually teaching people how to share their faith.

And because COVID had happened, and so we weren't, I wasn't speaking.

and

these guys at church asked me about sharing your faith and they said can you teach a class I said yeah I'll teach one so I started gathering other stuff where I was talking to people like what holds you back you know and it was it was almost the same answers it was like I don't know the Bible well enough

I don't know where to start And they had the desire.

They were just like, and no one's ever taught me how to do, like, how do you do this?

I thought we were supposed to keep it to ourselves.

We do this a lot of stuff

to disqualify ourselves from even talking about it.

And what a beautiful...

And I don't want to feel like the weirdo that's...

Yeah, you don't want to be weird.

And that's why I was like, you know, I mean, I may be the weirdo.

And a lot of people are like, when they come to the Lord, no one ever tells them that that's part of the deal.

Like, hey, you need to go share this.

So if you think about it in the Bible, like when...

when Jesus calls Peter, he just says, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men, you know, and he he follows him.

So he obviously knew that was going to be part of the deal.

And so what I wanted to try to do as I was writing was like, how can I break down these things and make the argument?

One, should we do this?

And so

from the Great Commission, so like Jesus was living his life.

Once he died, he came back from the dead.

I was really interested.

What happened then?

What happened?

What were they talking about then?

Jesus was here for a little while, and he says in the Great Commission, go make disciples of all nations, baptize people, teach people three things, which is a mission.

That's a mission.

Well, a lot of people I knew, they're nowhere near those three things.

They're not doing any of those.

So the question is, was that just for them or is that for us today?

Well, then I'll say, well, then I think we think like the people in the Bible, like those.

fishermen, those people he was talking to were like some kind of super duper.

We think them as like religious, like the highest you could get.

When Acts chapter four those two of those same guys was talking and said their peers here's how they saw them as regular unschooled ordinary men so they didn't uh more of a non-certified to teach me

that's the way they saw them right right it wasn't like they were like some

you know uh knew all this so and he's telling these guys and he goes this is the mission and then we see them start living that out so all of and especially the book of acts i wanted to see what these conversations were like because we really don't have that we have conversations with Jesus in the Gospels.

We have the book of Acts.

Then we have letters.

So these are letters to churches with problems.

And so we can gather them.

But I wanted to see that like, what's that like conversation look like?

And Acts chapter 2 is one of the first ones.

You get that.

And then they just start going through.

And I want to know what did they say to people?

What was the reaction?

What were the questions they asked?

And so, and then want to put that into a modern day and say, okay, what would this look like to have these conversations?

And what would it, what do you ask people?

Where do you start?

Where do you start?

Where would you start with someone?

John chapter 4 is a great one.

Jesus is talking to a woman at a well.

She's from a different area.

He probably shouldn't be talking to her.

I know that because when his dude showed up and they were like, what are you doing talking to her?

But just by talking to her, he showed that he cared about her.

The big question he asked her is like, well, how do I start this thing?

Jesus said, can I get a drink of water?

That's where it started.

Yeah.

So that's where it can start.

It ended with the whole village, her whole village knowing Jesus.

They all came down because she went and said, Y'all got to go meet this guy, man.

He got her story, which is usually how I do it.

I just ask people their story.

Most people love telling you their story, you know.

So I'm like, Hey, you got a relationship with Jesus or wherever that where to start?

You know, well, seven years old.

Well, how's it been since then?

And then we start going through the story.

He goes through her story.

Hey, go get your husband.

I don't have a husband.

But he pushed in.

He pushed in and said, Ah, is that true?

And I always, I asked myself, why did he push in?

Why would he want to know more?

Because it's kind of embarrassing because I think Jesus knew if you don't deal with this story, you're never going to understand.

You're never going to get past it.

And so for a lot of us, we have to get past this thing of where we're at.

That'll hold us back from telling someone else because we're like, oh, I'm so screwed up.

I'm the last person to be talking to anybody else.

And that's why, even in this book, I wanted to tell, hey, this is my story.

This is where it's at.

This is what can happen.

I really want to connect you to the Bible.

I don't want to just tell you my opinion.

I just want to connect you to that.

Like you can read it.

You can decide.

If I never see you again, you've got the New Testament.

You maybe know some start and pass and go.

I'm not the judge.

I don't know who you are.

I don't know if you're going to heaven.

I have no idea.

That's you, but you

do know you.

God.

I will tell you, though.

I will show you some scriptures, though, that say this is where they started.

This is what they said.

Peter said in Acts 2, he says, repent and be baptized.

I can explain those two terms to you.

I can explain what he meant, you know,

from other sections of the Bible.

Because a lot of people, I feel like they, you know,

raise a hand somewhere and they're like, hey, I'm in, you know, but they don't know.

They walk out of the building.

They're like, what just happened?

I don't know.

I know.

I know.

And then we're, you know, and they don't know their mission.

They think the mission is, you know, how many people I run into?

They think the mission in life as a believer is to try to go to church as much as they can and try to be a good person.

That's not the mission.

That's not like, that was never, I never read that.

I never read.

They don't even talk about going to church.

I don't even know what going to church means anyway.

We are the church.

Yeah.

Church is

going.

Because if I feel like I'm going, then I'll leave and right.

Well, then I may act one way there and I may act a different way.

I don't even like the terminology.

I always think of churches.

In my mind, it's like a hospital or a clinic that I have to go to once a week because I'm just beaten down by the world and it recharges me.

Yeah.

And I go.

It's just a...

yeah

well it's like a fellowship right it's just like where you get but it's not the end all it's just one that's just like supposed to charge you for the it can it can charge it can be yeah there's a lot of but the church moves around the church is happening everywhere you know all over the globe yeah the church is moving the church is happening on tuesdays and wednesdays and fridays this book is for people this book is actually not necessarily for sunday morning this book is for like yeah saturday morning in the deer stand for friday night at the football game for Thursday morning at work.

And, you know, when your friend comes in, they're bawling and crying.

They're going, oh, what's the problem?

Oh, I've got, you know, my uncle's just got hit by a car.

And I'm, and now you may want to know some answers to have to share with them.

You know, the Bible says, always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have.

Always be prepared.

You know, so there's a certain amount of preparation that we make to be able to talk to people.

Because if I don't know, if I don't know a lot about something, I'm not going to talk about it.

You know, if you start talking about mountain biking, I'm like, I don't know what you, I have no idea, I can't even talk about that.

But I, when I get into people's stories in their lives, I start becoming, I think we become, you know, we're ambassadors for Jesus, right?

We're an ambassador, so we're representing him.

We're on this earth.

So then we become maybe like the counselor, you know.

So sometimes when I'm talking to people, I feel like a counselor.

You know, I'm trying to walk them through, you know, sometimes maybe like a great physician, like you're like a physician where you're like, okay, let's talk about, I mean, at the end of the day, the physician just goes, I know a lot about this, but

here's a diagnosis.

Here's what we're going to try to do.

You want to do it or not?

Yep.

You know, I can give you the medical terms.

Now, one year after that, you'll know more about that, whatever.

You know, you'll know more about it than anybody because that's what you got.

You're going to read other people's stories.

You're going to watch videos.

You're going to, you know, I feel like that's kind of like Christianity at the beginning.

You may not know a lot, but you're like, I know

what I've been doing ain't working, and so we're going to try something different.

Yeah, which is where Phil was, and that's where I started the book, which is Phil's story.

And I was so blown away by Phil's, like, it really hit me, Glenn, even in making the movie and watching the movie that was even hard to watch, really hard to keep less than rated R because his life was not, you know, his life was like that.

But I thought, wait, can we stop?

On

it, it was hard to watch it

because I

I asked you that before.

Were you reliving it?

Was it, I mean, I can't imagine Phil watching it.

I think it was hard for him, really hard for him.

I bet it was.

We watched it together, and then the movie's going there like, hey, we've got another one set up.

And Phil said, I've seen it.

I'm good.

One's enough.

Yeah.

Because it's so against everything in life.

Like, think about Christianity.

Your past is is behind you.

We're looking forward.

But I even think, not even Christianity, in general, in life, like, we can't dwell on the past.

You got to look forward.

Yeah, it's gone.

Like, you know, I think that's a great thing unless they make a movie about it where we just live in it.

Right.

We just live there now.

And the worst part of your life, we're going to make a whole movie that looks really realistic.

And you just got to remember that.

So, man, you're ripping off.

scars there that were just rough.

So it was hard for him.

But again, he said, if it helps people see then i'm willing to y'all can put it up on the i think but that's got to be hard he was so embarrassed he was like because the person he was so mean to was my mom you know and us and like he was just like yeah so it was just it was hard to yeah i cried every time i watched it and you know at different parts too it was like it was weird by the end i was crying it like when he came up with the duck call i was like because i thought wow that was such a you know had that not happened um

uh so just very hard.

And then, and then to my other point, I was saying was like, what if that hadn't happened?

What if Phil doesn't come to the Lord?

Right.

My whole life is completely different.

Yeah.

We're not, we're not talking.

Right.

I'm not here.

Right.

I don't, there's no duck commander.

There's no duck dynasty.

There's no TV show.

There's no, you know.

Do you think you would have found the Lord without his redemption the way you have?

Well, I guess I would say this.

It would be impossible for me to know, but I would say probably not because I feel like a lot of people, I'd say most people don't.

Right.

So just by the numbers, you know, because how many people coming out of broken homes, coming out of

trauma and all this stuff,

dad was going to go to jail, I mean, for sure.

He was wanted by the law.

I mean, what the numbers are, people that come out of there who have great success in a Christian life.

Slim, right?

I mean, probably not.

So I was,

I always wrestle with,

you know, there's no waste with God.

You know,

you're in his carpenter shop.

There's no sawdust on the floor.

He uses all of it.

Yeah.

All the wrong cuts.

He is like, oh, no, no, that works.

And it's more beautiful.

Yeah.

And

I don't know if my relationship with him

would be as deep as it as it is if

i hadn't so desperately needed him you know what i mean and it wasn't like hey please you know heal or please it was i was done right i was done as a human being right and when you're truly broken i kind of feel bad for people

who haven't been truly truly broken because

wow i just have this different it's a corner

understanding of

it's gone, right?

But you can't that anymore, but you can still have that.

Like,

that's so interesting you say that because I always thought, like, with Phil, I was like, My story's not as cool as Phil's, you know, like I'm like, right, right, right.

I took it to the end, and then he's like, right, this thing almost

you have changed because you witnessed it.

There, that's why I was saying you don't have to be as broken, right?

Because I think we're like, ah, but because you may not come back, Right.

Honey punches the votes for a todos.

Toda albener para sabermás.

You may not find it.

In your brokenness, Phil could have ended up dead for sure.

Right.

Killed, in jail, like lost.

You know, if mom doesn't forgive him, Phil could have have said, okay, I'm ready.

And mom said,

double middle fingers in him going, I'm out.

Like, I'm sick of the way you, and so, man, it was so crucial.

Like, the movie was, it was just much mom's story.

Like, oh, yeah.

How she forgave and stuck with this guy.

Saw some vision of something in the future.

But I think you can.

I don't know.

I think about, you know, probably the workers and the wages.

You know, I think when you were saying that it was like,

you don't have to, you know, but there may be something in your life where you find, you, it may be something else that you pull from where you're saying the brokenness, but it's either pull from appreciation or pull from something else.

It just, because you can have a great relationship with not

screwing up your whole life.

No, I know.

And I know a lot of people who are like that.

Yeah.

I mean, it's like, you know, hey, my wife and I, we, you know, we both had affairs on each other.

Now we're just closed.

You don't have to do that.

You know,

find that place.

I know.

I struggled with this with my kids because, you know, I wanted them to know my story, but I'm like, but don't do that.

Yeah, right.

It's not, find God.

Yeah,

don't do the things that, yeah.

And so.

So when I think of, and again, this goes back to the book.

I think Mars Hill is,

at least it was for me, so impactful if you understand

he didn't come to Mars Hill and say,

as it's written,

you know, you're too religious.

He came and said, you're so religious.

You're so,

he said, I know your poetry.

I know.

He got to know them

and love them in their own way

before

he started

talking.

He found the way in,

but it wasn't scheming.

And sometimes I think people don't share

the gospel or maybe

more likely, at least I've seen,

they share the gospel and it's like, I want to help him get redeemed and I want him to get baptized.

And if he's not going to, I'm not really his friend.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

Do you have you?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Probably been guilty of it.

Right.

And it's in my past, you know.

I've probably been guilty of that where it's like, because I'm so like, because I want to tell that story.

I don't want to tell that story.

I don't want to say, like, oh, this person here.

And like, sometimes there's people I work with all the time that I'm just like, ah, sometimes these conversations are 20 minutes.

Sometimes they're two days.

Sometimes they're two hours.

Sometimes they're 20 years.

There's people I've been sharing with that long.

I'm still here.

I'm still here.

I'm still texting.

I'm still talking.

I'm still being kind and friendly to people.

And I'm still coming at maybe a different way.

Like the Apostle Paul said he was praying or he said, pray for me that the mystery of the gospel can come out of my mouth more clearly.

What is he?

What is that?

Pray that the mystery, nobody knew the gospel better than Paul.

So, how did, how is it not coming out?

Because I think it's more like art and less like science.

Oh, yeah.

So, science is like, Glenn, here's the deal.

But I can tell Glenn that, and Glenn can say, I desperately need you.

I can tell Johnny that, and he can say the complete opposite thing.

So, it's like, hmm, there's a story in my book about Bill.

And Bill,

I kept wanting to preach the gospel to this guy.

And he would say the same thing every day.

He's like, hey, he who had not sinned cast the first time.

Every time I brought it up.

And I'm like, dang, God, man.

So I'd say, hey, Bill, you know,

you're talking about going to get surgery.

You know, I was just going to talk to you about your relationship with Jesus.

He who had not sinned

every time.

And it wasn't until we were in New York City.

We just had the big meeting.

That would bring a lot of people to their knees, by the way, just being in New York.

With some business people, we're talking about business we're talking about money and he was so excited we're in a car i finally got this guy like to himself and i just said he was smoking i mean he was smoking like a burger

i said how old are you and he told me his age like 58 and i said i think you're gonna be dead in 14 years you're gonna be dead

he just looks at me his eyes are big he's like what i said i don't know i'm just spitballing here but i think you're gonna be dead well how would you say that and i said

he goes I've never thought about that.

And I said, well, you may start thinking about it, you know, the way you're living, the way, you know.

So we pull up to the hotel.

We're in this nice hotel.

And he said, will you come tell me more about that?

I said, I will.

So I'll go get my Bible.

You know what he didn't say?

He who had not sinned cast his first own.

Now, I tried a bunch of times,

but finally picked another way that made him think about it.

So it could be physical death.

That could be work for somebody.

Some people wouldn't.

We both know Marcus Lutrell.

I remember talking to Marcus about physical death.

Whole different, never even heard, you know, imagine his take on that.

Like, no.

You know, and so what works for some people doesn't work for others.

I could say, Glenn, you could be part of a church, a group, and you could have friends, and you could, oh, and you could say, yes, that's what I've been looking for.

And then I tell somebody else, and they're going, I will never step foot in there.

When I was a child, I was, hmm, so that doesn't work.

So it's like, ah, not that way.

And these are the way these conversations, the subtitles, turning darkness into light, one conversation at a time.

So as we have these conversations, I just, you know, I think I've got the Holy Spirit living in me.

So that's going to guide me.

It's probably what guided me to tell Bill, you're going to, I think you're going to be dead in 14 years, you know?

Because that wasn't something you planned.

The way you just said it a minute ago, like, I tried a different angle.

I'm just trying to

have a conversation.

And then if they don't want to know, like, I think you have to be authentic,

but you also have to be looking for change yeah when jesus invites himself to zacchaeus's house it's a bold move right now everybody hates zacchaeus they're like we hate this guy and everybody's like who's he's hanging out with this cat you know jesus walks in he's looking for change zacchaeus i don't know what exactly he said to the man but he's like okay new rules i'm giving

i'm paying back money which is repentance right he's like saying i'm going to repent jesus says this is why i came to seek and save what was lost for these kind of people i know Because I think that was such a message for everybody to send that going, we hate this guy.

So Glenn, I think it starts.

You have to start with caring about people.

Yes.

Because what I see in this country more than ever, we just don't care about each other.

How many videos am I going to have to see of somebody walking down the street, step over somebody who's dying or just got mugged?

They don't care.

They don't care.

I just got back from downtown Seattle.

Ooh, there's not a lot of people caring about other people there.

like it's just, and I'm standing there going, How would I, you know, oh, what a mess, you know, and so we have to care about people because

is it really attractive to you to get into other people's problems too, especially when you, you know, like that's hard.

It's that, that's uh, I think this book would be hard for people because

I've read some books where I'm kind of uncomfortable because I'm like, shoot, I feel like I feel like I need to do that, be better at that.

And so, I read some that I'm like, oh man, this is a different level.

Cause a lot of people kind of got it where they're well, nah, now I try to go to church.

I'm, you know, I live a good life.

You know, I love Jesus and cuss a little too, you know, whatever, whatever the t-shirt says.

I don't know, you know, the way I see this country going in our world is just chaos and just darkness.

And man, we got to have, you know,

all the people who were out sharing their faith in the New Testament got killed.

So I'm real careful about when I say, you know, if you do this, man, he's going to take care of that little thing for you.

And this is, your life's going to be a little bit better unless you're in North Korea, unless you're in China, you know.

Yeah.

We got to be possibly what's coming.

Yeah.

I mean, yeah, yeah, this could be.

So I think the timing's right.

But I'm just trying to figure out, you know, how the message is the same.

The methods can be different.

Yeah.

So the methods of the menu telling.

It has to be different now.

I mean, at least.

It can be different for different people.

Right, right, right.

But I mean, generally speaking, I think the churches

have just gone silent.

They're just rotted.

This always happens when there's a reformation, and

it's just rotted from the inside.

And it's the church outside that matters.

And the church outside

has to lead the way.

It can be, I mean, yeah, I mean, it can be both.

I think there's some church.

I think they just, what happens is you get off the path and you get into these, you know, all kind of different things and different, you start meeting.

All your meetings are about not the things that you need to be meeting about.

Nobody, people aren't preaching the gospel anymore.

Here's the biggest thing: being a gospeler is about being outward.

Yeah.

And what I see is, I think a big struggle right now, people go to church, everybody's looking inward.

Tell me something to help myself so I can, it's like a self-help.

So, do you remember?

Do you remember just a minute ago you said somebody will say something, and you're like, oh, geez,

I just told you about church being a hospital for me.

I'm having one of those moments like, ooh.

Well, that's why.

Well, I'm trying to like

go to a hospital, but I don't go to one every week.

Yeah.

I don't even want to go to one every week.

I know.

I just feel so beaten down by the world at times that you just, like, I just want to go and just.

Nothing is sacred in the world.

Nothing is above man in the world.

You know, it's until, you know, maybe because where you live, but like you don't see all the stars and everything here in Dallas.

You certainly don't see it in New York City.

And I go to my ranch and I see the, it's completely dark and you can see the stars everywhere.

And it just auto,

it's like the campfires.

We don't have campfires anymore where you can sit around, look up and go, Why am I here?

What is all of this?

But, but, but.

Okay.

You need the chapter called hope yeller i know that there's a bunch of bad i feel like here's what here's the problem with christians to me we're all just screaming about how bad everything is where's the good we're supposed to be teaching people good news

Where's the hope?

Where's the and so I feel like like

this is the second time now I'm going

so we're just so what it is you're looking at because if you say you can't see the stars in Dallas, but there's somebody in

probably in some part of California or New Jersey going Dallas is like heaven.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.

You know what I'm saying?

Where it's like, you know,

yeah, Idaho is like, no, no, no, but I'm not.

But here's the thing.

Here's the thing.

If those are the worldly parts, you imagine somebody in Yemen, like some believer that's like, you know, and so a lot of this will pay off

in the beyond.

This thing, this thing we're in, lasts like that.

I know.

I mean, we're getting older.

I mean, it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I'm trying to pump the brains on this thing.

It's life is so fast while we're here on this earth.

Like, we're only here for just a little more time.

And then we're going to be able to do all kinds of things.

That's what we live for.

That's why it's a desperate measure to get the good news out while we're still here on this earth.

Because if we're just running around on earth trying to get the net, you know, I'm just trying to stay, you know, once you go on mission, man, once you turn it around, we mentioned Billy Graham.

Think about that mission.

Look at what, you know, look at him.

He was like, there's millions of people all over this planet that would not know the gospel had it not been for that dude.

I know.

Just saying, let's go.

And see, one of the last things.

So we got to yell hope.

We got to yell hope and positivity and good, not just the bad.

I get like this world, this whole world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Okay, what are we going to do about it?

What are we going to say about it?

What did Jesus do about that?

You know, it's not.

You know, have you found, though, that when you say that to people, because I've been saying for the last

maybe two years now,

we've passed all the exits.

We've passed all the rational exits politically and socially and everything else.

We're now

almost at the gates of hell.

And

the only thing that will save us now is Christ.

That's it.

Us returning to God.

asking, recognizing what we've done

and truly changing our life and trying, and it has happened before to societies.

It just well, and it may have to get bad before it gets good.

People's lives certainly look like that.

It may have to get bad before it gets, you know.

Yeah.

Before it can get better, it may have to get way worse.

I know.

As an alcoholic, I worry about that.

What's your bottom?

Right.

And so in this country, yeah, it may have to be very uncomfortable, which would, I would,

which would lead people to something.

And usually does.

I mean, 9-11

next week, more people were in church, I think, than you know

in a long time, right?

There was a coming together.

When you get scared, you know, when you get, when there's fear and there's true fear,

and that may be what has to happen to get, you know, a lot of people.

And if that's what you will have a humble people.

In the eternal sense, that's what has to happen.

So, like, I mean, to understand eternity and, you know, I think I put this story in the book.

My daughter was in fifth grade.

She actually just graduated from college a couple of weekends ago, and she was in fifth grade.

And Corey's like, Willie, go help her with that assignment, which is very unusual.

I wasn't normally that guy to go.

So I go in there and I'm like, here, give me this thing.

And I'm going to like fifth grade.

And I'm like, I ain't got a clue.

I mean, I literally, I don't have a clue how to answer this question.

I lay it down.

I said, Bella, here's the deal.

This test doesn't matter.

She's crying.

I said, this doesn't matter.

In fact, fifth grade doesn't matter.

You know, who cares about, you know?

Unless you're selling gum.

Unless you got a, yeah, I definitely, you know, unless it's a mode of like business.

So I'm like, you got it?

She's like, yes, sir.

I got it.

So I go back there and watch TV.

My wife comes in.

It's like, what did you just tell our daughter?

And I said, what do you mean?

She goes, she said, you just said her test didn't matter and her whole grade doesn't matter.

And I said, yeah, I'm sticking with that too.

Now I think she knows she just graduated college.

I think she understands what I was saying to think back to fifth grade.

So I think once we live with the eternal mindset, we have that heavenly mindset, man, this is like a, you know, and it also

he doesn't waste anything.

I mean, so something screws up.

Jambalaya, you throw everything in there.

Like, I'm using stuff from, I've told you stories about fourth grade, fifth grade.

Like, who would have thought I would have even, but now they're in, you know, now they're like, oh, I can use this, you know.

Yeah.

I think he uses, that's the beauty of Christianity is that you can use even the bad, even the stuff, like oh this is bad right and yeah it's like when we used to like reality tv it reminds me of that when the thing happens that's going to shut down the thing and i always say but you never can see it and i would say whoa whoa whoa whoa this is what this is what this is the show this is the show right you're like no no we can't film the show because this happened i'm like that is the show that's the show you're right the first time i ever did reality tv my My phone froze up.

I missed my alarm.

I was supposed to be down there duck hunting feeling them.

slept in

and they're down there feeling them are getting all ready and the director's looking around goes okay he goes oh where's willie and phil does not miss a beat feel's like oh i imagine he's still asleep and

like and they're like we can't film this show and he they're like well we're going hunting if y'all want to not film don't film and the guy's like Willie, screw this whole thing.

I wake up like at nine o'clock.

I'm like, oh no, the college.

I'm like, I got to get out there.

I need a P-ro, which is a small boat.

I go to get a small boat.

There's a boat.

It's the size of this tape, like, but it's this big.

And I'm like,

how are they riding this thing?

I come to find out later.

It's a serving tray for crawfish.

It's not enough to.

So I get in this thing.

Like, it's literally the size of my hips.

And I get in there and I'm like, okay.

And as soon as I did like this, it was just, and I paddled that thing out there.

And you see me shoot out of the woods.

And here, and

I feel like, what's he riding?

And Jason says, I see nothing but his body.

We don't even know what's he.

So when I pulled up to the deal,

that was the show.

That was a show.

None of that was scripted.

So sometimes it's like, that's the thing that you're looking for.

Would you

close in prayer?

No, we're.

Father, we're so grateful to be in your presence.

I just pray for Glenn.

I pray for just the audience he has, all the everything he's built, Father, just in this world and all the people he has around him.

And Father, I just pray that you always give him hope and always give him the insight,

Father, to make things clear to people.

And I just, I know he gets beat down, Father, and I just pray that you be with that.

Give him hope,

positivity,

renewed energy.

And Father, just give us all that.

Give us all the vision to see things and see the future see uh being with you see eternity and uh seeing uh something beyond this earth uh that we know is hard to see uh be with our faith um

i pray that we all become better gospellers we we just have the gospel on our lips all the time i pray for all those around the world who are sharing their faith even at the

even at the possibility of um peril and um Father, I pray for them and I just pray for, give us strength, be with this country, Father.

We know it's just so screwed up in so many ways.

But Father, help us to be voices.

Help us to be voices to try to make that change.

Even if not for us, for our kids and our grandkids.

And Father, I just pray that you'd be with.

Be with us in this year.

What a nutty year, Father.

We just pray that you give us wisdom and understanding.

I pray for all the leaders, and we know that you're in charge.

Put these people in and move them out.

Thank you for this show.

Thank you for this time, this conversation, Father.

And I just pray that we always have an answer for the hope that that we have, and that's you.

And we give you all the praise through Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

I love you, brother.

Awesome, buddy.

Thank you.

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