Dear Supporters,

Please find below my summary of the December 22nd “Meet the Press” interview between Sen. James Lankford and Sen. Raphael Warnock. Please, let me know what you think.

You will find in many cases I quote them directly. In other cases, I summarize the significance of what they said.

I think the interview is very impactful and helpful. After writing this summary, I believe more strongly that they are saying precisely what needs to be said.

One caveat to my praise is that Raphael Warnock states that he is trying to do what he needs to do for the voters of Georgia. He gets it wrong there. He needs to recognize that Senators are national leaders, elected by the people of their state but responsible for the nation.

Coburn was very, very clear on this. Many of the current Congressional members just don’t understand their wider commitment to the nation.

I’m going to send my summary also to James Lankford on his private email. I’ll be making the point that he needs to see himself not as Raphael does, as representing just his constituents, but as a true national leader, who happens to be from Oklahoma.

Coburn said this point is crucial. Our organization takes this path based on the words of Jesus and Sen. Coburn. Wewillstaytrue to their guidance.

If you catch me doing anything different, please correct me. Iron sharpens iron!

I’ve also attached the link to the video of the Committee Meeting for anyone that might have missed it last week.

I appreciate your support and prayers.

For our common good, R. Brian Walter Matthew 20:26-28

Summary “Meet the Press” December 22, 2024 Senator James Lankford and Senator Raphael Warnock Warnock:

-Bipartisanship is as basic as our national motto, “e pluribus unum,” meaning out of many, one (1:07) Bipartisanship is tied to Christian faith (1:26) Lankford:

-Ordinary people think of themselves first as human beings, friends, neighbors, and Americans before they think of their political party affiliation, which makes it natural to work across party lines for the common good of all people. (1:55) -It is necessary for a Congress member to think of oneself as a human first to do the basic work of our Congress, which is to figure out how do people who disagree sit down and figure out how to come together to serve the common good of all of our people. (1:55) -It is the job of individual Congress members to act like grown-ups and move beyond the common arguments found throughout America along political lines, and actually do what it takes to solve our nation’s toughest problems. (2:33) -Far too many people have lost hope due to the failure of Congress to come together across partisan lines and address our toughest problems. They are overwhelmingly unhappy with the current state of affairs in Congress. (3:14) -The people themselves have to make it clear that they need and deserve more from our elected Congressional members. This is entirely consistent with what Tom Coburn told us. (3:26) Warnock:

-In order to begin to face our problems, we as Americans must first realize we are all one family. (3:55) -We have to be prepared to make structural/systemic changes to fix the system in order to truly deal with our biggest problems. (4:33) Lankford:

-We have to address the human heart to address our biggest issues.

This is also consistent with Tom Coburn’s advice to me that spiritual renewal would be required to address our debt. (5:55) Warnock:

-To lead Congress to a righteous path, Christian congressional leaders need to lead by example and be willing to sit down and state clearly that they love and respect each other as Christian brothers, despite their political differences. (7:04) Lankford: [Continued From Page 4] finding a way to motivate Congress to move beyond those differences to work together to solve our problems. (10:58) -No individual or party should have to abandon their values. If both parties or individuals are committed to honest dialogue and sincere work to solve our problems, no one has to abandon their values. (11:00) -The worst possible thing Congress can do regarding our largest problems is to do nothing. (11:34) It’s interesting to note that as James begins to list our biggest problems the very first one he listed is our debt. (11:41) -Washington always wants to try to do everything, that is, to create a perfect solution. But Congress needs to realize that they have a long history of failing to create a perfect solution and as a result sadly they often end up doing nothing. Congress should be wise enough instead to focus on incremental steps that have broad based support to begin to move the needle toward an ultimate solution. (11:49) -If One claims to be a Christ follower, it should impact everything they do every day. This should be fundamental to Christian members of Congress and how they approach their -For emphasis, he states again the big question in Washington is “How do Congress members motivate themselves to sit down with other members they disagree with and work together to solve our toughest problems.” (7:56) -Americans are frustrated.

They feel our Congress is broken and anger is growing as a result. (8:34) Warnock:

-Americans need to figure out how to pray for one another, despite our differences and hope will grow as a result. (9:34) Lankford:

-The key is to clearly identify a problem and then bear down on the problem to solve it. (10:45) -Differences of opinion are always going to be a big part of Congress. The key is work and how they treat Christians across the political aisle. They should be big enough to realize that their political enemies are also children of God. And all children of God, that is all people, have value and worth. And as for me as a Christian, I’m dedicated to treating them as such and trying to be a public example of how a Christian Congress member should treat people he disagrees with. (14:04) -To begin a difficult conversation across partisan lines with those you disagree with, one needs to sit down in a Christlike way with a humble spirit and be willing to listen. (18:50) Warnock:

-One’s Christian faith should never be used as a weapon against those one disagrees with. One’s Christian faith should always serve as a bridge to begin to mend the relationship. (19:30) -We should remember this line from the Christian hymn, “O’ Holy Night,” “His law is love and His gospel is peace.” Therefore, as Christians, to work through our problems we should seek to love one another with a goal of having a peaceful and harmonious relationship with all of our American family, and this particularly applies to all members of Congress. (20:17)