FAQs

Q. Did you really surf in Hawaii?

A. Almost every day, especially during the winter at the North Shore. My first surfboard was a huge chunk of redwood that took two of us to carry to the beach. What a relief when foam and fiberglass boards came along. I still have my board but—hey!—there’s not much you can do with it in the country.

Q. Why do you enjoy teaching Greek so much?

A. Largely because of my own profs in school. They helped me see the need to study the New Testament in the original language. As Luther once put it, “Reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your bride through the veil.” No thanks.

Q. Tell me something about your family.

A. My wife and I have just built a new house on the farm. We call it Bradford Hall, named after my wife’s ancestors (including William Bradford of the Mayflower).  The house resembles a two-story plantation home from the early 1800s and overlooks a large pond. One of our sons lives in the old farm house on the property and is responsible to care for the animals, maintain the farm equipment, etc. He does a great job, too—he’s a natural farmer.

Q. What do you do in your spare time?

A. Lot’s of reading, horseback riding, working on the farm, and reenacting. My wife and I enjoy reenacting because it allows us to live in the 1860s. No doubt about it—we were born a century too late.

Q. Why are you such an outspoken supporter of the Southern cause and the Constitution?

A. Mainly because I agree with Jefferson that “the best government is that which governs least.” If I understand American history correctly, the breaking point between the limited constitutional government envisioned by our Founding Fathers and the highly centralized welfare state we have today was the South’s defeat in its war for independence. As Thomas DiLorenzo says in his book The Real Lincoln, Lincoln was not the Great Emancipator but the Great Centralizer, whose policies undermined the decentralized, federal system established by the Founders. By destroying the right of secession, Lincoln and the Republican Party opened the floodgates to the unrestrained, despotic state the U.S. government has become today.

Q. Should Christians get involved in politics?

A. Yes indeed! Constitutional liberty is still worth fighting for today. Tragically, most Christians, including many pastors, have been deluded into thinking that God has not “called” them to get involved in the great social, moral, and political issues of the day. Most Americans have never studied the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the writings of the Founding Fathers. They have never read the Federalist Papers, the Bill of Rights, or Washington’s First Inaugural Address. They remain woefully ignorant of how far our nation has departed from its biblical and constitutional origins.

Q. Finally, what are your greatest priorities in life?

A. That’s easy:

• Spend time with God daily.

• Love, honor, and serve my wife and family.

• Strive for excellence in all I do.

• Leave past failures (and successes) behind.

• Say "No" to things that are not essential to fulfilling my ministry goals.

• Face life with a joyful attitude.