Allen Jackson - Spiritual Warfare In The Workplace - Part 1
It's good to be with you again. I wanna give you an invitation today. We do a weekly podcast called "Culture & Christianity". I sit down with friends who are making a difference in our culture or who have experienced God in a very profound way. There's a new podcast gets posted every Friday. You can go any place where you get your podcast. Just look for "Culture & Christianity". I believe it will be a blessing to you. Our program today is one of our more recent podcasts. I sat down with a friend, John Amanchukwu. He's visited more than 17 states talking to school boards about illicit material in the school libraries. It was a powerful presentation of how to take our faith outside of the church and make an impact with it. I think you'll enjoy getting to know John and his message is important for this generation. Enjoy the podcast.
Allen Jackson: Well, welcome back to "Culture & Christianity". I am delighted to have my friend John Amanchukwu with us again today. We did a podcast some months ago. If you missed that, let me send you back there. I think it'll bless you. We talked about lies that Americans believe. And John, as you will find out in a moment, speaks with some clarity and truthfulness that is refreshing. I'm of the opinion that the church has to tell more truth than the politicians do. And we currently have an administration that's trying to tell the truth, so the church is gonna have to raise our game a little bit, those of us they believe we're Christ followers, we also have a live audience with us today, which is not normal for a podcast. We have got a room filled with teenagers. Can y'all make a little noise? Yes. So John and I get into this discussion and you hear noise in the room it's not they're coming for us, they're very much encouraging us. So John, welcome back. It's good to have you.
John Amanchukwu: Thank you so much for having me back on. It's a joy to be here.
Allen Jackson: It is always an honor to be with you. Now the last time we were together, you were just releasing a project, a documentary that you've been working on called "22 Words".
John Amanchukwu: Yes, "22 Words". It's a film that really covers the history of how the American education system imploded. You know, in 1962, you had the court case, the Engel v. Vitale court case where they lobbied to remove school sponsored prayer from the public education system. It took place in Hyde Park, New York. There was a simple non-denominational, non-proselytizing prayer that was allowed to be recited every day, led by the school system and or the teachers. And the prayer is simple, it's short. It says, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee, and we beg thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country".
Allen Jackson: And they objected to that prayer.
John Amanchukwu: They objected to that prayer and the prayer only had 22 words and it hence the title of the film "22 Words". And from that terrible court case and ruling, the Supreme Court ruled eight to one to remove that prayer. We have seen the American education systems spiral downward. We've gone from prayer to porn. From prayer to transgenderism. From prayer to critical race theory where today, kids go to school who are White and they're told that they're inherently racist because of the pigmentation of the skin tone and Blacks are being labeled as proverbial victims. It's division. We've gone from prayer to transgenderism. We've gone from prayer to now kids going to school and they're saluting and having the BLM flag or the pride flag and the Progress flag flown at their school system. And so we have seen these things take place, but it's a direct result of removing God from the public school system. I believe that any place where God is banned, that place is cursed. You can't reap the favor and the benefits of a holy and righteous God when that God is no longer welcome.
Allen Jackson: Yeah, I'd agree with you and my academic career kind of tracks when all that happened. I was a child, but I mean, I lived through that. And the idea was that if you said that prayer in a classroom and one person objected, then you couldn't say that prayer because if one person was offended you didn't have permission to take the values of a larger group and force them on that person, am I right? Is that the idea?
John Amanchukwu: It is, that's the idea.
Allen Jackson: And so because of that, the Christians and we were overwhelmingly Christian, but if one person raised their hand, well, the Christians said, well then we won't do that. We don't wanna be offensive. So scroll forward 50 years. And now we find the schools that will bring in LGBTQ, they'll bring in all sorts of things. And if I raised my hand and I say I'm offended, now they say, "You're wrong".
John Amanchukwu: You're wrong, and they label you as being a hate monger or a bigot or a homophobic when if you go 50 years back it was okay to have the voice of dissent. And so today we live in a culture where if you disagree with the person, then disagreement equals hate. And that shouldn't be the case just because you disagree doesn't mean that you hate someone, just means that you disagree on a point. I can still love you and disagree with you. But there's a new religion that's being taught. It's the religion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's the religion of communism and Marxism. There are people who hate the cause of Christ and the name of Christ so much that they want to shout and scream, "Death to America". Kids are taught to hate the American flag and to hate the founding of our country. There's so much divisive talk and rhetoric that's being pumped into the hearts and the minds of our children and so many of our kids are confused today. They're on this pendulum of wondering whether or not this country is good or whether it's the worst country ever on the face of the planet. And so all of this divides America, but we want to unite America. And there's nothing wrong with viewing this country as a Christian nation. America was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles. I still believe that. You believe that and that doesn't simply make me a Christian nationalist. They've made that a derogatory term, right? But it really means that you hold to traditional values, values that stemmed from the Word of God.
Allen Jackson: Well let's go back to DEI because that's had an enormous amount of public funding. We've got DEI ingrained in our academics, particularly at the university level. And I've heard a lot of pastors that endorse it and they'll say that it's biblical. You have a formal theological education. Do you agree that DEI as it's being presented in our culture is a biblical idea?
John Amanchukwu: It's not a biblical idea. You have to be careful taking worldly terms and the terminologies that come from secular humanist and for people who have a true disdain for the scriptures and the infallibility of the Word of God. We have to be careful taking their colloquialisms and their terms and bringing them into a biblical context. We don't need critical race theory or diversity, equity, and inclusion or any of those things to thrive in this country or in any country. Really what we need is to get back to true biblical principles, to love your neighbor as yourself and to expect people to work and to labor and to toil. You know, the Bible says if a man doesn't work, neither shall he eat. We see where God gave a group of men talents. And some of the men used the talents and they went out and they produced more and one didn't do anything. And for the person who did nothing, God took what he had. You know, this whole framework of equity is a big lie and in the education system today, they want to redefine proficiency. So today, you change the grading scale and no longer do you view a certain grade level as grade as an A or B, it has to change the scale towards a person's output, whether or not they're studying or applying themselves academically. And so the Bible promotes work. It promotes sweat equity, you know. It talks about the ant and the sluggard, you know, and the work that they put out. And so one of the things that we have to keep in mind today is that we are creating a generation of narcissistic non-working children who are expecting to reap the benefits of their parents where they had to labor and to toil to receive the things that they have. Life isn't easy. You're going to have to burn the midnight oil. Look at most successful people. Those people sleep little, but they spend a lot of time in their craft, honing and developing their skill set. It takes a lot of time and then there's a lot of failure as well. You don't start off as a successful business leader initially. You have to go through the hard and lean years at first. But what this notion of equity seeks to do is seeks to take from the losers, right? It takes from the winners and gives to the losers. People who haven't worked and labored in toil. There are some people who grow up in homes who have never seen their parents leave the home to go to work because all of their lives they've lived off of the government system. You know, I know of some people who have for decades, they've never worked and they just work the system and they use the disability programs that are there and the safety nets of welfare begin to get exploited, you know. Welfare is a safety net, but it's not a hammock. Growing up as a kid, you know, I grew up in utter poverty. My mother took care of four children and making no more than $28,000 a year. I know what it's like to ration out milk and cereal. I know what it's like to take some milk and put it in a bowl and put some water in there to give the idea that you have milk only to put a little bit of cereal in that and that's all you have, right? But my mother had the mindset that instead of us expecting the government to provide everything for us, she took on another job, right? I remember many times where she'll clock in at one job and then get back home, change her clothes and go clock in to another job. Sometimes she worked nearly 16 hours a day. We did go through a time frame where we were on welfare, but we came off of it speedily because my mom didn't like the idea that we were receiving government assistance and or we had to go to a different lunch line to receive our food at school. So mom taught us that there were two things that we can do with our hands. We can turn them upside down and beg or turn them right side up and work. And one of the things that has to be ingrained in this culture today is that working is a virtue. We have to view it as a virtue. Nothing is free, nothing comes easy, but this hyperculture of instant gratification and life is going to be a microwaved hot pocket, right? Things are gonna come easy. It really doesn't work that way and it begins to degenerate the hearts and the minds of our upcoming generation.
Allen Jackson: You know, I've had the habit for a while of saying that I think work is an expression of worship.
John Amanchukwu: That's good, that's good.
Allen Jackson: When you take the tools and the gifts and the abilities that God has given you and you use them, if you point the responses to that if you're good at it and people say, "You did a nice job," if you point that to the Lord, you're helping people give glory and honor to God for what he did in you. So that work isn't something to be avoided or to be explained away. God gave us gifts. I mean, he gave you some crazy gifts. I mean, you got to play D1 football, you've got college degrees. I mean, you got a broad menu of gifts. And we'd be stupid to go we're self-made men. God gave us some gifts and then we went to work with them. So I love your message. I think that there's a lot of generations that can benefit from that.
Allen Jackson: Let's talk, you mentioned DEI and CRT. Those are all constructs and programs around race.
John Amanchukwu: Exactly.
Allen Jackson: So can we just take a minute 'cause I think there's so much confusion about how to talk about race and so much anger. They've used it to divide us. We need one another.
John Amanchukwu: Well, you know, you can't tackle the issue of racism, you know, 'cause when it comes to race there's only one race, the human race, but there's different ethnicities, you know. However, it's hard for a person who may not be Black to understand the race issue unless they go back to a historical time frame and understand the climate and the culture and the tenor of society of that day where Blacks may have been labeled as 3/5 human, where Blacks were told that they couldn't drink from the same water fountain as Whites. And what I'm referencing right now are some Jim Crow laws that were drafted by the Democrat Party that has to be brought up, you know, because the Democrat Party is the party that drafted the Jim Crow laws and held on to slavery as well and resisted the 1964 Civil Rights Act initially is also. And so we have to look at that, but you have to go back and and see the cultural lens of that day and time to best understand where we are today. Critical race theory is a vengeance movement. The mentality is this. Since Blacks went through harsh treatment in the early time frame of slavery and or the Jim Crow era, they believe that it's incumbent upon them to now force Whites to go through the same treatment. So since Blacks were bludgeoned and castigated, therefore, Whites have to endure that. Ibram Kindi, one of the leading voices for critical race theory said that the best way to deal with past racism is present racism. Now, when we take that viewpoint and line it up to scripture, we find what the Bible says. That these things shouldn't be because God says that vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord. What is right, I will repay. And so we don't take it upon ourselves and now to treat Whites harshly solely because of what happened in the past. And then we also have to keep in mind that there aren't any Blacks alive today who are slaves. And there are no Whites alive today who own slaves. And so many of these things can be wrapped up in the mindset of these are things that ancestors did, but we've grown far from where we once were. And so how do we bring healing to the racial conversations. The best way to do it is to point towards scriptures and understand that we are made in the image of God, in the Imago Dei, and my Blackness isn't deficient nor is your Whiteness superior. That we're equal at the foot of the cross. That aligns both parties. But we then have to tackle these issues head on and when things take place in the culture where we can see well, that was the issue that we can address, we speak up about it, you know. Many people turn silent when it's time to voice their opinions on these things solely sometimes because they have a skewed mindset towards it and or because they don't want to realize the truth of the situation. You look at the George Floyd case, you look at the Ahmed Abury situation. Similar situations, but rather different. The culture sought to exploit those things for financial gain. Look at the Black Lives Matter movement founded by three lesbian women who at the end of the day, raised over $90 million and not a single penny went to the descendants of George Floyd. However, they bought mansions and outfits and clothes and fingernails and hair extensions and all of these various different things were purchased with that money, but none of the money went towards benefiting the Black community. And so these people are called race hustlers and race baiters. And one of the things that we find through history is that that is a job. Some people take it upon them to make it their job to keep people divided. The Democrat Party does that quite well. Every two to four years in order to gain support from Blacks, we have to say that the White man is gonna take us back. Back to what? That's what Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Jesse Jackson and all of these other individuals were shouting the past the election that President Trump is going to take us back and the question is back to what? Back to aborting 20 million Black babies which has been the plan of the Democrat Party for a long time through the support that has come from the federal government to support those initiatives. Back to that? And so one of the things that you have to consider when you have this conversation around race is what political party is pulling the strings. And oftentimes when you can find who the puppet master is, you can see clearly why things are the way they are. But we don't need woke terms to help us solve the issue of racism. More than anything, you have to look inwardly. And if I'm thinking a racist thought, if I view my brother or sister in Christ who may have a different skin tone as the enemy or the devil or the buffoon, that says that I have a heart issue. And so we expect for that individual to go to Christ and ask God to help them deal with their heart issues so they can best love the image of God.
Allen Jackson: I think the church, excuse me. I agree with you. I think the church lost its way. You know, the moral authority for the civil rights movement in the '60s with Dr. King and that generation of leaders really came from scripture that we had to be judged based on the content of our character, not the color of our skin. And because they were standing on biblical authority, scripture thundered against the sin in this nation. It couldn't be sustained against the voice of scripture the same way I think we'll see some of the immorality that's been so pushed for the last two or three decades. I think it will crumble before the authority of scripture if the church will once again gain the courage to take the truth of God and speak it like you do so clearly. But I think we've got to come back to that to understanding that it's a heart change that we have to have that. There is no difference in us below our appearance and it's evil to think anything other than that.
John Amanchukwu: It is and, you know, Dr. King was against White supremacy and Black supremacy, but he was for God supremacy.
Allen Jackson: What a thought.
John Amanchukwu: And that's the same mindset that we have to have ourselves and sometimes you get to know different communities better as you begin to interact with people. You learn, you grow, you develop, you know. I admire the relationship that we have and me getting to know you. You know, it's a beautiful thing because we connect on many different levels. But what I'm finding out the more that I age, is that there's something more powerful than being like color. It's being like-minded. You know, Jesus says, "Who is my is my mother, who is my father, who's my sister, who is my brother? Those who do the will of God". And so I'm not simply looking for like color people. I'm looking for the people who want to do the will of God and together we labor and toil to reach people who don't as one unit. Often times they say that Sunday morning is the most divided day of the week. You have the terminology of the White church and the Black church and the Black Baptists and the White Baptists and that's not the will of God. We understand why those things exist, you know. The cultural implications thereof of the past. However, it's beautiful to see the multicultural tapestry that's growing in the body of Christ where we can all lay down our preferences, but unite at the foot of the cross, you know, and if you are more open and expressive in your worship, I can celebrate that. But if your style of worship is to be more reserved and quiet and to more so internalize things, I can smile at that as well. That's how we unite as the body of Christ.
Allen Jackson: That's good preaching. So we've got a building full of young people and I'm sure there are some young folks listening. What are you gonna say to them? What can we do? How do we orient our lives with God so that the authority of scripture can thunder through us like it did through Dr. King and that generation. What are you gonna say to 'em?
John Amanchukwu: Well, the scripture tells us, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his ways, but by taking heed according thereto by the Word of God". The first thing that we have to do is submit to biblical authority and fall in love with truth. God's truth endures to all generations. You don't need a truth for Gen Z, a truth for Gen X, a truth for the baby boomers. No, you just need one truth. Live up to the standards and the truth of God's Word. Follow and seek after him. Always be prepared to repent and acknowledge when you have wronged God or you've strayed or you've missed the mark. But understand this. That God wants to empower you also to do great exploits, but you can't do great exploits separate and apart from God. The Bible says, "And those who know their God will do great exploits and be strong". It's the will of God that you would do great exploits. I'm asking you to take the challenge of doing great exploits and win a generation for the God of the Bible.
Allen Jackson: Amen.