On fire for Jesus after 50!

A storm with towering waves has a way of stripping life down to what’s real. When Dr. Arnie Cole found himself staring up at water he was sure would kill him, every confident system he’d built collapsed in seconds and a raw, honest prayer rose in its place. That night didn’t just save his life. It rerouted it, launching a late-in-life faith story that still shapes how he thinks about purpose, behavior change, and what it means to finish well. 

We talk with Arnie from Lincoln, Nebraska about his unlikely path: from a Christian upbringing to walking away at 19, to building a high-impact career in behavior modification and human-centered design, then retiring early and discovering that comfort can quietly become a cage. He shares how he and his wife, both former Christian skeptics, stepped into church again, learned ministry through Mission Aviation Fellowship and YWAM, and eventually helped transform Back to the Bible from a traditional radio model into a digital discipleship ministry focused on daily spiritual fitness. We also dig into the practical side of personalized Bible engagement, including tools like BTTB.ai designed to meet people where they actually are. 

Then we get to the heart of his new book, The Over 50 Advantage, and the research that sparked it: many Christians over 50 report worry and criticizing others as top struggles, and many admit they rarely share their faith despite deep Bible knowledge. Arnie argues that retirement culture can sideline the most equipped generation, and he offers a better framework: define what “a win” is now, become your own advocate, and choose daily steps that move you closer to Jesus than yesterday. If you’re rethinking retirement, craving renewed purpose, or wondering why spiritual growth feels stalled, this conversation will challenge you in the best way. 

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who needs a second wind, and leave a review so more people can find these stories of faith and transformation.

"Amazing Greats"  is a library of interviews with highly successful people who have amazing career and life stories and who share how God has impacted their journey.  Hosted by broadcaster Ric Hansen & produced by Klem Daniels.   Available on Apple,  Spotify, iHeart, Google and our  YouTube Channel. 
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Transcript

Meet Arnie Cole And His Work

Ric 0:38

Well, good. From the West Coast to the heart of the country, we are having a conversation with uh Dr. Arnie Cole, who has what an incredible history and story to tell. And that's what we're hoping to get to today to kind of find out what makes you tick. And in the meantime, uh get a good uh read on some of your great challenges and some of your great triumphs over these uh last several decades. So, first of all, Dr. Cole is a researcher. He's a CEO of Back to the Bible. Uh, he is a pioneering researcher behind the groundbreaking Bible engagement studies, and very excitingly, uh the author of a new book called The Over 50 Advantage. It's a book challenging us to see our later years as not being a winding down time, but more uh a launching pad for greater things to come. So that's what we're here to talk about today. But Arnie, you're a research guy who used your research tools in a lot of different ways, but to understand and help shape youth at one point, their behavior with technology in the world of this social media challenge, and most recently to focus on behavioral change in those over 50 who are uh effectively uh trying to uh navigate that last or the last chapters of their life. So here we go. First off, you're a doctor, but what a doctor of what?

Speaker 3 2:16

Of of education. Um I'm uh behavior modification specialist, um, my secular training. Um, and I've been a late-in-life conversion, I think you call them. I didn't come to know the Lord till I was 47.

Ric 2:33

Very interesting. Okay. Um, so that's uh and that came. So just going back as a child, you weren't raised in a church necessarily.

Speaker 3 2:42

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I was raised in a great Christian home. Uh I was an MK missionary kid, which should tell you a warning right there. And uh went to Christian schools all my life. Um, student body president at Brethren High School uh in Paramount, California. And um about, let's see, when I turned 19, I turned my back on everything that had to do with uh Jesus. And by the time I was 21, I hated Christians with a passion. Wow.

Ric 3:15

Interesting story. And that, and and there is a moment that all changed, and we're gonna talk about that in a minute as well. Uh in your career, though, as a researcher, in your secular career, your non-Christian portion of your life, uh, you helped move people uh with developmental

Human-Centered Design And Radical Outcomes

Ric 3:33

uh disabilities from institutions, big secular institutions, to more community life. And that was part of your passion, that transformation, not only just doing the research behind what can work, but then actually putting it to work. Is that correct?

Speaker 3 3:50

Yeah, it's called human-centered design. And basically, we find out what helps you win the day. So I first started working with violent uh autistic children. Uh, we had had some pretty big successes. Uh, then I got recruited by uh the state of California after this guy named Geraldo Rivera embarrassed uh the governor of California and showed about all the terrible things in state hospitals. So uh they recruited me to work with violent, brain damage, dual-diagnosed, institutionalized um adults. And uh by the time I sold my companies, uh we had about a 98% success record, meaning getting them out of the state hospitals. It was costing way back then about 160,000 per patient day, and we could do it about half the cost. Amazing.

Ric 4:44

And so that's now you you've been I found out in my research on on you in checking out your life. They'd said you were an entrepreneur, but I had no idea that that was kind of the the the piece of it that was your entrepreneurship. So, but then things uh and so it was fruitful, you made lots of money, all was good. Uh, you turned four, is it 45? You decided, hey, I'm gonna retire. Is that kind of about the time?

Speaker 3 5:09

Actually, it was decided for me. You know, I didn't know Jesus, but Jesus knew me. So I first of all, I do not want you to think I'm some kind of smart guy, because none of this was was planned. Uh Peter Jennings, World News Tonight did a five-minute feature on our business, you know, what we did, the success rate, and all that. And I would not allow them to mention our name. Anyways, we got discovered by this company named Magellan, uh, big conglomerate, and uh uh they bought us out after that, um, bought us hook, line, and sinker. So at uh 45, I was able to um to retire and uh kind of live my life. I had a few health issues, but uh no, it was um on my own and retired. So I know a lot about retirement.

Ric 6:00

Yeah, you had a good have a have a long career in retirement, actually. But it it turns out to be not really retired at all. Yeah, you took a you you

The Storm That Broke His New Age

Ric 6:09

had a big cruise ship.

Speaker 3 6:10

Uh I had a boat, not a sailboat, it was a power boat. And I've been a boater since I was 18, had different kinds of boats in Newport Beach, California, and Dana Point. So I I decided to uh take my boat up to Alaska. We left Newport and went up. And oh, we were about uh 160 miles out uh before you come around the corner for Juan de Fuca, and we got caught in a killer storm, uh a storm that I thought we were gonna die. And and they were having rogue waves at about 120 feet um around us, a ship had been hit. And so, you know, there just comes a time in life when you think, man, I'm dead. And that was one of those times. Wow.

Ric 6:53

And we all don't have that moment, but when you do have that moment, I imagine it is uh pretty startling. You called it your Christmas carol moment with God, right? What did what did God expose to you during that time?

Speaker 3 7:06

So I remember looking up, and there's nothing more humbling at looking up at a wave that's crusting over the top of your boat. And I remember looking up, and I was kind of a new ager, you know, and you can think your way through it, and it just dawned on me, I'm dead. I am dead. There, I can't positive think my way through this. I can't picture a new, you you know, all the the stuff about new age stuff. None of it worked. And it's like, man, you're screwed. You're gonna die. You're gonna die. And um, you know, you're thinking it, you're not yelling it because there's other guys in the pilot house with him. It's like uh, I mean, it was very serious. In fact, one of the guys was tied in the bunk sleeping, and we had an argument, should we wake him up? And we decided not to because it's more humane to let somebody die in their sleep than to go through. So, I mean, it was the real deal. And we somehow, it was midnight, and uh uh we had survived survived the storm. I gave my life to the Lord, and then what's so funny is, and this just shows I had nothing to do with it. Six o'clock in the morning, I'm back driving the boat, I'm on the helm, and I'm thinking, my parents were missionaries, and I'm thinking, oh crap, I jumped the gun. What did I just do? I don't want to be a Christian. I don't you know, my parents were in Indonesia, they worked with uh the Dani people. I don't want to work with the last known candle, you know, and and I thought, I jumped the gun. And right then, bam, we got hit from the back. I didn't see it coming, probably by about a 75-foot wave. It flipped our boat up on its side and it weighs like 65 tons, and we're surfing down the wave. And I used to surf at Huntington Beach as a kid, and they have this concept called purling on your board. You're riding a wave, and if the tip starts to dip, you're gonna you're gonna flip. And I saw that happening, and I I remember praying distinctly, Lord, I know I'm the lowest form of creeping thing, but if you'll save me, I promise, I promise it will stick. And it did.

Ric 9:28

Hey, Rick Hansen, with a fascinating conversation with Dr. Arnie Cole on the power of the Bible to transform lives from the inside out. Did you hear the voice of God anywhere along that?

Speaker 3 9:39

Was it was it just a feeling or a just a feeling, just a recognition, uh a feeling uh in my heart. I mean, I was calm, even as a non-believer, you know, going into it. It it's just like this is it. It's just it's a fact. So there's no need to panic because it's not going to do you any good. So um, but no, I I had that peace that passes all understanding. You know, we got through it, uh, the boat didn't flip, put things back together, and then went on and and cruised on our way up to Alaska. And then what's interesting is about a month later, my wife flew up and joined us on the boat, and she came to know the Lord while we were cruising in Alaska. No way. And what's so what's so funny is both of us hated Christians. But I mean, we hated them. So I I bring the boat back from Alaska, and we're sitting in our house, and my wife goes, I think we should go to church on Sunday. And I said, Yeah, that's a good idea. And and that was how we start. Neither one of us knew that we gave our hearts to the Lord, and then it just so happened we got this church that was on fire for Jesus, and the pastor's sermon series was on True North, and it was like, whoa. And um, so that, you know, uh, and everything had changed since I was a kid. They had guitars and drums, and they put things up on the screen, and it was like, oh my, what oh, oh, and people held their hands up. It's like, it's is there a robbery? I mean, I had to re just, you know, it was um, it took me probably the things you take for granted, somebody who's come to know the Lord, it it ain't easy.

Ric 11:27

Yeah, well, that's interesting story because I'm a late bloomer also. Oh, you are? Oh, cool. And I um my first visit to a new modern church was similar to yours. It's like I was a Catholic when I was a kid, and so it was all people in robes singing hymns, and it was, you know, very um detached from where I was at. And so when I walked in and there was drums and electric guitars and you know, great singers on stage, I was like, whoa, this is like uh this is cool.

Learning Ministry Through MAF And YWAM

Ric 11:57

So next step, you you tried to, I would imagine your focus was on so now what? You know, now I now what do I do? And there were a few things along the way, a couple of them, uh, the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Great organization, yeah. Uh yeah. Tell us about that just briefly. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 12:16

Just did um uh ran their donor development department for a year, uh, learned a lot about how ministries work. I think they hired me because they thought uh I was a high roller and had a lot of friends, and I'm I'm kind of a loner. And uh so uh but no, I learned ministry, then I work for YWAM, youth without any money.

Ric 12:37

The mission of aviation fellowship does what? Their mission is what?

Speaker 3 12:42

Uh they're the they say they're the feet of the evangelist and pastors. They fly um airplanes like Cessna's, Piper Cubs into jungle areas and provide transportation for the missionaries and kind of emergency ambulance. And um they they do a tremendous work uh there. So it was yeah, it was it was a good experience there.

Ric 13:05

So then the next step was what? Uh what was that organization?

Speaker 3 13:09

It was called YWAM, Youth with a Mission. Oh, I'm familiar with YWAM, yep. Yep, and um I I called it Youth Without Any Money. And uh, but basically they wanted me as a businessman to go to the Middle East and train uh missionaries to look like business people, talk about a challenge, you know. And and these kids, they were working in all these horrible Gaza and all of these dangerous places, and but it was, you know, there were places where it was against the law to be a missionary. So it was my job to teach them um, you know, how do you run a business, how do you look, you know, and the first thing I had to do is say, look, business people don't close their business and go on vacation for six months or four months or even a month. And you call it furlough and all, but we don't do that. You don't close your you know, so it was fun. It was it was a great, great experience. And then there was mega voice somewhere in the mix. Mega voice is what mega voice makes digital bibles. I was CEO for them there in Israel, they were at the time in Tiberias, so I got to commute between Israel and uh and the US and uh work there, and and that's where I I started to get my passion for Bible engagement and people uh hearing from the word of God.

Ric 14:29

And that's done, and that was a lot of solar work there too, so that they where they didn't have power, they could get power from from uh God's own son, right? So these son. Yep, yep. So cool. So then how how did you connect then with uh uh a Back to the Bible, which you know, for uh history's sake, uh Back

Building Bible Engagement Through Digital Tools

Ric 14:48

to the Bible was really a radio mission ministry, uh where they had a show on radio stations around the country, and it was dated way back. Uh a guy named Thomas or Theodore Ebb. Yeah, Theodore Ebb, yeah, yeah, was the founder of that, and um it was a going concern, but was it about 2006 you you jumped in uh there?

Speaker 3 15:10

I think it was 200 uh four. Okay, and they were looking for um a new day, and they wanted um somebody to figure out how we could um advance the ministry. Um the at the time the president Theodore uh Theodore Woodrow Kroll was um concerned that uh Bible teaching radio only reached the already reached. And um so uh I started researching what the new day is, you know, digital technology and um as a radio guy myself, uh there was an interesting background.

Ric 15:48

I was at a top 40 radio station in Seattle, yeah. And the only thing I remember about uh Back to the Bible was that they would send these reel-to-reel tapes to our radio station, yeah, and then the guy that worked weekends, and I was one of those guys at one point, would put the reels on the little reel-to-reel machine, and that was uh the back to the Bible ministry, uh, and it was a it was a pay-for-play thing where they would pay us money to air. Yep. Um, but that went on for years and years, and like you like they were figuring out, probably they were preaching to the already preached to, you know, that didn't need to hear the word because they knew it already. So yeah, yeah. So that must have been a huge transition for the company and a big challenge for you, kind of put in the center of that to make that transition, right?

Speaker 3 16:42

Yeah. Um, you're a radio guy, so you know that is a culture. You know, just like I came from the boating culture, you know, and it has its own lingo, the radio guys. And when I started, there was this big argument uh that uh the music can they called it Christian contemporary music stations like Caleb and stuff like that, is they're reaching, you know, people, but the Bible teaching is just reaching the already reach, all of this name, you know, all of this stuff going on. And so we started researching and found that pretty much most Christian, whether it's contemporary music or Bible teaching, is reaching people that are already reached. Gotcha.

Ric 17:28

So were you technologically up to speed, or did you have to pull in some people that could kind of guide that part of it to transition from old style radio real-to-reel tapes or whatever, into um the new technology? Or are is that part of your expertise as well?

Speaker 3 17:45

Well, I'm a researcher, so I put the teams together and it was took years, and it was a very tough, uh, tough process because you have people that are called, you know, to work in ministry, and uh, but basically over a period of several years we um changed hands. I mean, we the the radio people would not change. And um, so it there was a kind of a big turnover. Um, so it was pretty painful.

Ric 18:18

Yeah. And you had to kind of take the lead on that, I'm guessing, and probably weren't a very popular guy at one point.

Speaker 3 18:25

Well, you know, still to this day, when you let go, you know, over a hundred people, uh, you know, down in a process, uh, when you go grocery shopping or something, people remember because fortunately these people they'd lose their job, but they'd still attend church in Lincoln. And so it's a small community. And uh, so yeah, it was painful. Uh, but we finally rounded the corner. We're a digital ministry. Um, you know, we have over a hundred thousand um YouTube subscribers. We've had an app, and now we're developing an AI program, all digital, all daily discipleship.

Ric 18:58

Yeah, and what's cool about it is I kind of checked out um this is available to to check out and to and to uh subscribe at backtothebible.org. And uh that is kind of where the whole of uh the the layout of what back to the bible is all about in 2026. Uh so kind of share with us some of the things, some of the opportunities that that website offers to people who might jump over there to take a look.

Speaker 3 19:28

You can get a hold of me. It's arnyc at bttb.org, and uh we'll give you a um a copy of uh the over 50 advantage uh for uh for free. Okay. And uh uh would would love for you to have it. Um our strategy is to do what it takes to help you move closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday. So in that framework, it allows us to work with anybody regardless of their background or you know, their belief system. It's we just want to move you a step closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday, if that makes sense.

Ric 20:08

Discover how a life-changing encounter with God led researcher Arnie Cole from behavioral scientist to transforming lives. Absolutely makes sense. And that's uh one of the things that you do that I thought was interesting, and I'm sure it's going to be developed even further than it is, is to find out a little bit more about the person who is online with you by asking some questions. What were their biggest struggles? Um, and so that the the information that you can pass along to them is tailor-made to where they're at in life and what they're looking to find out. Is that correct?

Speaker 3 20:43

That is correct. And um we have we used to do algorithms and in an app, and now we have what's called uh BTTB.ai. We have an AI program that we have built that just does biblical content and our content. And so um, and we're all about spiritual fitness, which is just like physical fitness, you need to be fit every day. So we do customized programs for people to get them fit, and it's all free, you know, don't charge it.

Ric 21:14

Which is is amazing. All right, so let's you you allude to

Why Many Christians Over 50 Struggle

Ric 21:18

alluded to the book. Let's talk about the book, the over 50 advantage. Um, one of the things that jumped out at me when I was first doing my research on on you and and this project is uh that uh, and I quote this you say Christians over 50 may be among the most miserable people in America. And that is a startling statement. What did your research uncover that shocked you the most about that?

Speaker 3 21:44

So it's just it I mean, I'm a research nerd, so I I go crazy in this stuff, but the over 50 crowd that are believers, well to do, they have some of the most resources in the United States. And their number one spiritual struggle is tied between worry and criticizing others. I mean, do you get that? So here we, and we know Jesus Christ and the Bible better than anybody else, almost in the world. So we're grumpy, we're critical, we're worried, and then the kicker, the real kicker, is those people, and I do predictive analytics. We used to use it to predict when somebody's violent. We can predict, I can just know a few things about someone over 50. The odds are is that you know the Bible better than anybody else. You're grumpy, you're worried, and you don't share your faith with anybody. How do we know that? Because we asked you and you told us. So it's kind of like the Great Commission doesn't apply to our generation, and uh which is just bizarre because they know the Bible better than I do, and but somehow the Great Commission just doesn't apply.

Ric 23:14

Wow, that's crazy. Most most people assume that if you pray every day, you read the Bible, and you attend church regularly, that they should be thriving spiritually, and they're not, is basically what you're finding out through your research, which is which is pretty amazing.

Retirement As A Spiritual Trap

Ric 23:29

So uh you are an example of somebody who retired, but you say retirement may actually be one of the most dangerous ideas modern Christians have uh and they've embraced it. Explain why you think that's a dangerous thought or dangerous place to be.

Speaker 3 23:48

So I had the advantage of retiring the first time at a young age, and and you get this mindset, so even then, this is bizarre. I'm 75, so looking back when I was 45, you know, I'm telling my wife, Shar, we deserve a motorhome. I worked hard, I worked years and years and years for this. Yeah, we have a boat, and yeah, the accountant says you shouldn't have a motor home, but we deserve it. And and then as I've gone back to work and then I look, and I a lot of my friends are older, and I'm older now. There's this mentality that we deserve comfort and security, above all else, that Jesus called us to like a cruise ship instead of a battleship. So we demand it, and if you don't like it, that's okay. We'll just leave you alone. So we're also pretty lonely. So we're grumpy, worried, lonely, and we don't talk to anybody else because you don't want to be a little bit more. We're critical. And critical about critical, yeah.

Ric 24:58

Oh, so your pastor once told you, uh I read this somewhere, that um retirement never shows up in the Bible at all. It's never mentioned.

Speaker 3 25:07

Oh, that's so funny because I'm here I am a brand new believer at 47. We're going to church, love the church. We go to this thing for new people, you know, at the pastor's house. I don't like doing stuff like that, but we did it anyways. And uh we're sitting and you have to go around and say what you do. Well, you know, everybody, you know, and so it came to me, hey, yeah, I'm Arnie. I'm I'm retired, and um, you know, I'm I'm not doing much, working on my boat, you know. And and Gary, the pastor, he goes, That's not in the Bible. And I I go, Pardon me? He go, nowhere in the Bible does it say you're allowed to retire. Excuse me. That's I I I'm I'm a new believer. Yeah, I went to Christian, I'm I'm new here. Uh, what do you mean? You you know, I've this is a blessed life. No, no, no, you got it. And and so he just let me have it in front of everybody. Oh, you know, well, and he has, but now that I've gotten to know him, he has a pretty dry sense of humor. So, you know, half of it is kidding, but then half of it isn't. And but it set me straight. It was like, oh wow, I've I've got to do something here.

Ric 26:18

Yeah, you described the Viking Cruise life as a false summit. Um, is that pretty much where where a lot of people are at?

Speaker 3 26:27

Yeah, check the advertising. So a lot of us, I'm gonna predict, watch Wheel of Fortune and Maybe Jeopardy at night. Okay. Who is their biggest sponsor, Viking Cruises? And what do they have? They have me and the little lady, you know, off of some balcony on a cruise ship, drinking a glass of wine, and they're talking about how wonderful it is, and no kids. They say no kids between four to eight times, and uh it's just this wonderful Viking life, and so we kind of this I deserve it, uh, comfort, and the whole idea is my life is kind of coming to an end, and I can just slow down, relax. All right.

Ric 27:12

So, some somebody who's listening to this, I'm hoping that there'll be younger listeners who can kind of prepare their next chapters uh based on this information and your research, but also a lot of people, 65 to 75, who feel like they are sidelined. Uh, what would you what would you say to them?

How To Find Purpose And A Win

Ric 27:32

How do you how do you change that?

Speaker 3 27:33

One of the problems is odds are your church doesn't know what to do with you. You know, like uh whatever you've done, most of the time you get relegated to being an usher or working in the nursery or you know, somewhere in in between there. So my advice first is to become your own advocate. Okay. Second, you need an attitude adjustment, and part that will help your attitude is you really have to figure out in this time in your life what is a win. Okay. It is a win ending up in the nicest nursing home or the nicest memory care home for the last four years of your life, and that's a win. Or you have to figure out where you can contribute to others because loneliness breeds loneliness. It's not biblical to be by yourself, but you really have to figure out what is a win. You know, who, why am I here?

Ric 28:40

Yeah. There's there's a there's a great practical next step for people to just to sit back, take some time, and say, what is a win for me? Um, and that that's great advice. So, you know, C.S. Lewis wrote one time, he says, uh you're never too old to set another goal or dream another dream. And I think that's where you know, maybe somebody uh starts losing it, is when they have no goal and have no dream. And so now it's all about just winding down and being bored and lonely and cranky and all of the things that you identify them as.

Speaker 3 29:14

So and fearful, you know. That that's the other thing is as we get older, health, granted, a lot of us have health issues, we have no control of that, and you just have to work it because it's a head game. And Satan, here you know the Bible better than anybody else, you have more resources than most people. Satan's job is to get you on the bench, sideline. So, so you know, I kind of look at it that scripture, this is the day the Lord has made, I'm gonna rejoice and be glad in it, and just kind of win that day um each and every day. It's really a mindset, um, and it makes a difference.

Ric 29:59

So uh at one point you'd said that uh Zacchaeus is basically your biography in someone else's sandals. Uh and I don't know if everybody knows the story of Zacchaeus, but um uh can you briefly describe what you meant by that?

Speaker 3 30:12

Yeah, you know, he um afraid of the crowd, he couldn't see, climbed up in the sycamore tree, you know, and Jesus found him, which it I can relate to, you know, it's not because Zacchaeus was so smart, he climbed a tree so he could see what was going on, and then everything changed for him. And uh that's but you have to be open. You have to take Zacchaeus had to climb the tree, you gotta do something to have some kind of opportunity come your way.

Ric 30:46

What is your next adventure uh in this journey? Do you have something that's on the horizon or that you're passionate about right now?

Speaker 3 30:54

This is so bizarre because I'm a research nerd, back room kind of guy. And um, so I have my own podcast, you know, and when we started, we had 6,000 YouTube subscribers. Now we're up to a hundred thousand. I've written three books uh in the last year, just all of these crazy things um uh going on, and uh it's exciting. I mean, this is the most exciting time uh of my life. Um, and I am slowing down tomorrow, not today, trying to slow down, but uh, it's also the happiest ever since I gave my life to the Lord, and this is what my friends who don't understand that aren't believers, this is the most exciting, wonderful, happy time. Not that I've had an easy life with other things,

Bible Engagement And A Call Back In

Speaker 3 31:52

but it is an exciting time to be alive and uh do what the Lord wants you to do. And I, as a non-believer, I thought you were giving up being a Christ follower. It's the exact opposite if you let yourself be open to it.

Ric 32:08

Learn why Bible engagement, not just Bible knowledge, may be the key to lasting spiritual growth with Dr. Arnie Cole on Amazing GREATE. Perfect. Well, in order to support what you're doing and and to find out a little bit more about what we've just touched on, because there's so much more in the book um and and online that I would really highly recommend folks a get the book. It's available on Amazon. Or as you said, if they wanted a free copy, you're you're generous enough to maybe make that happen. And also check out that uh back to the bible.org because um I'm thinking that that's uh I don't know how long that has been up and live, but I'm thinking that you're you're still developing more and more. And with the AI kind of advantage, it can become just a tremendous opportunity for people to have a helpful Bible tutor that's their own, that's responding to their own concerns and questions. Is that kind of where the hope is for that particular spot?

Speaker 3 33:11

Yes. So um two focus. One is is on the group coming into the AI and so that they can get discipled and all of that. Then the second focus is on the over 50 group, and and to figure out how we're gonna motivate them. So we did a uh State of Christianity in America study, and um our generation somehow got it, and I think it goes back to Billy Graham evangelistic crusades, the Jesus film, all of these different huge great movements. We got the impression that we're not needed, that a professional Christian could do it better than we could. So we'll give a few dollars here and there, but we've kind of outsourced um Christianity or uh the Great Commission. So we're trying to bring it back because really, at least for me as a researcher, Jesus can do anything, but for revival to have an opportunity, I think the over 50 crowd, the most equipped, capable crowd needs to be in the game.

Ric 34:27

Well, let's leave it on that because that's a profound statement, and I think so true, and uh makes sense of what the book is all about. And

Final Charge And How To Share

Ric 34:37

so with that, uh any last words of advice to any American uh entertaining the idea of retirement or in retirement that you have to pass along, or we have we covered it all.

Speaker 3 34:49

The one thing I'd like you to remember is what you do today matters, and that's that's so critical. Even if your health starts to go and you're laying in the hospital, maybe you're in chemo, maybe you've had a heart attack, you know, these things do happen. But what you do today, your witness, how you treat other people, matters, and do that in a way that each day you move closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday, and help someone along the way with you.

Ric 35:23

Arnie Cole. Thank you so much for being with us around. Thanks for everybody.

Speaker 3 35:29

Thanks for the opportunity.

Ric 35:31

This has been great, thank you so much. Thank you. God bless you. Well, thanks. This was fun. Hey, thanks for joining us for this conversation with Dr. Arnie Cole. If this episode encouraged you, challenged you, or inspired you in some way, please help us reach more people by sharing it with your friends, posting it on social media, or leaving a review. Together, we can spread more stories of faith, hope, and God's transforming power.