America 250 And A Comeback In Patriotism - with Nate Schatzline

Fireworks are easy. Remembering what made America worth celebrating is harder, and that’s where we go for America 250. Rick Green, David Barton, and Tim Barton talk through the surprising wave of renewed patriotism we’re seeing right now, why it rattles the cynics, and how learning the stories of the Declaration’s signers brings “lives, fortunes, sacred honor” back into focus. We also dig into the idea that gratitude for America is not blind pride, it’s a commitment to protect the freedoms we’ve inherited.

Then we zoom out to a cultural moment you might not expect: FIFA visitors flooding social media with awe at American freedom and abundance. From the simple stuff like free refills to the deeper stuff like safety and liberty, those reactions become a mirror for Americans who have grown numb. We talk about why outside eyes can reignite appreciation, and why this season feels connected to a broader spiritual hunger that’s pulling people back toward truth, clarity, and faith.

Our guest, Texas State Representative Nate Schatzline, gets intensely practical about what happens when pastors and churches stop sitting out the public square. He shares what he’s seen bringing pastors to Washington, DC, what wakes leaders up, and why local races like school board and city council are where the culture actually turns. Nate also breaks down the For Liberty and Justice blueprint that has helped flip 137 seats in Texas and explains how his own campaign, backed by his church and family, led to real legislative wins on issues like women’s sports, protections for minors, border and fentanyl enforcement, property tax priorities, and human trafficking crackdowns.

If you’re ready to move from anger to action, listen, share this with your pastor or a friend who cares about the next generation, then subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the conversation.

Transcript

Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to the intersection of faith and culture. It's the WallBuilder Show taking on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical and constitutional perspective. And, and we are in the week. We've been talking about this literally for a couple of years, but big time since January all year long, all the 250th celebrations and the big day is coming up just a few days from now. Stuff is actually already happening throughout the week and of course we want to make sure you get Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honor, go to wallbuilders.com. Check out the new book by David and Tim Barton about each of the 56 Signers. What a great time to be learning those things. Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton and our special guest, Nate Schatzline, state representative from Texas and great friend to the program and to WallBuilders. Nate, thanks for coming on, man. 

Nate Schatzline [00:00:47] Oh, honor to be on. Listen, there's nothing I'd rather be doing than talking about America 250 with the patriots on this show. It is, there is no greater time to be an American than right now, celebrating our heritage. And my goodness, thank God, people are excited about being American again. This is awesome. 

Rick Green [00:01:05] Yes. Yeah, I actually love the fact that, you know, liberals are, I should even say liberals because even liberals have to love America, leftist and Marxist are just major tears right now. They're just in a bad mood every day because there's so much red, white and blue patriotic songs, stuff going on at the White House. Now you got the state fair or National Fair going on the Mall there. I mean, there's just so much, the rededication to God. There's just, so much for us to celebrate and they're just gritting their teeth because the good news is I think it's winning some people over that had lost their patriotism. They're being reminded what's so special about being an American. 

Tim Barton [00:01:38] Well, and guys, too, we've talked about it, but, but Nate, so you can comment on this, too. I think it also helps that FIFA is here because there's a lot of Americans watching these amazing viral videos of these people from around the world that are coming to America. And whether it's, you know, the group of guys that are going to the gun range, whether it was people discovering Buc-ees, right? Going to the grocery store and there's like, there's meat everywhere. People discovering you can get free refills of soda at restaurants in America. There's just so many amazing videos that people love America, and I think it's also helping remind Americans of some of what is special that we have so taken for granted. And so even FIFA being here, it seems almost Providential that as we are celebrating 250, God sent other people this nation to remind us of how special this nation actually is.

Nate Schatzline [00:02:24] Well, by the way, the ratings on FIFA are through the roof right now because, you know, there's an actual safe country for people to travel to, to come watch the game. I mean, people are showing up from everywhere as we've traveling, just like you guys do every week. I'm in the airports and watching people come in with their different... You know, countries, jerseys on, and all this kind of stuff, and the smiles and the joy of people realizing just the freedom that we live in. What you're commenting on, you know is seeing people from Japan, from different areas of Europe that are like, wow, America is as free as people say that it is. And it's really beautiful. And so, I mean, you're right. And this is something that we have to really focus on because I've never seen a left-wing administration celebrate what patriots in the past have fought and died for, the way that this current administration is celebrating it. And ultimately, I mean, you look at, you're right, patriotism is through the roof. You've got people working out on the lawn right now for Make America Healthy Again. You've got, you know, young men that are falling in love with life again. This is, we're seeing faith through the roof. I mean this is a special time. It's a special time to be an American. 

Rick Green [00:03:32] I think it's interesting y'all brought up the whole FIFA thing because I remember watching an interview right before, right before it all started and everybody was traveling here and it was, it was basically these, you know, left-wing reporters acting like, Oh, people aren't going to want to come. Numbers are going to be down. People are afraid to come to America because of the, you know, evil Donald Trump. I mean, we're just trying to make this more of the black pilling, right? And just trying it to depress everyone. And it was the exact opposite. As soon as the games started and as soon as people started getting here, we started seeing those videos. My favorite, of course, are all the ones that were there at Buc-ees, but it's just. It's just so cool that the exact opposite of what they predicted is happening. 

Tim Barton [00:04:11] Well, Nate, you and I have had the chance to be together recently, many times, doing the incredible men's conference up in Washington State. And I say this because, guys, all of us on the program, we have talked personally many times that God is on the move doing some really special things. Nate, one of the reasons we wanted to get you on the program was because you have been someone that, as a pastor, very involved in the political arena. Because we understand that we don't check our faith at the door, that we take our faith with us. In the I'm going to come to that more in a second. Dad, I do want to acknowledge, because I don't feel like you've even said anything on the program yet. You are currently up in Colorado, one of our good buddies, Andrew Wommack, doing a huge family conference up there. But I am saying this to connect it, that there are so many, not just America things happening, there are so many pro-God things happening. And the fact that we're seeing a surge of people that are going to faith, that are looking to God for answers, and that are loving their country again, is one of many things that I can point to that gives me hope and confidence, not just in the future, but that God is literally doing something specific in America. So Dad, real quick, what are you seeing? How is it, how are things up in Colorado? And then Nate, I do want to come back to you, because as we're talking about a pastor getting involved in politics, and literally, there are things happening right now in Texas that are partly because of the role, the work that you did, and it's the restoration of faith on so many levels, and you actually get to work up in the White House, in D.C., and so many cool things. So I want to come there, but Dad, What have you seen in Colorado?

David Barton [00:05:43]  You know, it's really interesting, Tim. A few years ago, maybe five or six years ago they were asking for help up here. And so, having done a lot of politics, I agreed to come up and help them and kind of help get an organization started. And so they got Truth and Liberty started and showed them how to do local politics and how to work on races, et cetera. And so as a result, we saw that that first year we put several field reps out, hired field reps, and they worked with churches and we flipped 78 school board races in Colorado. And school board races in some really wild areas. And so they go, hey, this does work. This can be done. You know, we sit back and see all the bad stuff, but we haven't been involved before. And now it's interesting that I think I think it's three of those people that we had six years ago as the early staff are now going to be in the legislature this year, they're winning seats in the legislature, which is what we knew would happen once you start at the school board. And this is where so many state parties get it wrong. They start up with the U.S. Senate level mess around there. You start at the school board level and the city council level and the mayor level and, you know, the Bible in Exodus 18:21 says, choose leaders of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands. You start the low level first and you work people up and as, as they learn how to do it, they get better at the fifties. They get better, the hundreds, they better thousands. And so it's just fun to see that this is a state that is blue as it is, there's things going on in the state that are counter to the, to the trend. And the three ballot initiatives that they were able to get on. By the way... Those three ballot initiatives, they are openly giving credit to the group that we started six years ago as, as being the reason those, those ballot initiatives are on the ballot. And I think that this blue state is going to vote for those red ballot initiatives, because it's things like no men in women's sports, you know, even, and unless, unless you're a U S congressman Democrat, nearly all of the Democrats recognize that that's a really stupid idea. So the national guys don't get it, but most of the state guys know that that's a losing issue for them. So I think as a blue state, they're going to have some surprises this election that I think will be real good. 

Nate Schatzline [00:07:44] I'll add to that. I think, you know, even I'm sitting here listening to, you know, Tim and David, you guys have been you've been really stalwart pillars that, you know, when I travel and now For Liberty and Justice for star organization that's helping, you know, flip seats, you start talking and I'll mention conversations that I've had with you, Tim or things that I've learned from reading books and listening to different things, David, from you. People are like, you guys know the Bartons? And I'm like, yeah, they're like the most down-to-earth people and they don't have to be, and it's pretty awesome. And so you guys have so built something. You're talking about flipping that many seats in Colorado. That's shocking. We're building off of that legacy, honestly, following that same blueprint that you guys had done, but you're talking about those ballot initiatives, and I believe those ballot issues specifically, the no men, biological men in women's sports, those are the ones, especially when you're dealing with just common sense stuff that I think our Founding Fathers be rolling over in their grave if they knew we were even debating right now. Those are the things that I believe are going to give hope to, not just the Republican party, but a spiritual awakening that's coming to our country. Because people are like, you know what, this godless postmodern ideology that we're looking at across the nation that, like you said, these Democrat senators and Democrat congressman and congresswomen from across America that really feel that they need to tend to that far left side of their base. Which really, as you said, it isn't even the modern Democrat that goes to work and is a part of a union on everyday basis. I think as they're doing that, they are shifting to have more and more people kicked out of the party. I've had so many conversations with people at the polls. Where if I bring up those issues, you know, they might want the welfare state to grow. They might want more government because they don't understand that government never fixes anything, you know for the most part, you know. But they tend to shift a little bit and they're like, yeah, you're right. I don't think a 230 pound man in the Olympics should be beating up on a, you now, 180 pound champion girl inside of a boxing ring. And so I think those are the big issues and I think we're winning the narrative as a result of it. 

Rick Green [00:09:57] Yeah, Nate, I mean, we've seen you doing a couple of these White House events over the last few months, pastors from all over the country coming in, getting to actually see the White House, hear from people in the administration, the Faith Office, I mean, all the different things that are happening that actually are a big part of why we've see President Trump lead the way on these 250th events. So that's been huge. And you had to be encouraged by that, as you've seen a lot of times, pastors that weren't involved before, like they came to these events at the invitation of either you or someone else. And once they saw that, hey, you know what, you can have your faith involved in the government square and it be a positive thing. So we've seen some positive changes there. 

Nate Schatzline [00:10:31] Yeah, you know, I think my favorite part about this next generation of believers, like especially the Gen Zers that are like getting into college area, like cool church is dead. Like it's not about the LED wall anymore. It's not, you've got this worship set that follows exactly what I want. It is about truth and clarity, and black and white, different facts on this is what the scripture says, this is what The Bible says about this issue. That's the hunger we're seeing from the next generation. And so, you know, as we're meeting with pastors, I've had the honor of being on the National Faith Advisory Board as a Senior Director for Pastoral Engagement. And it really is like the coolest job in the world, where I get to bring pastors and into experiences where, the best part is I don't have to be the expert. We call Tim or Rick, you guys show up and I'm like, hey, you see guys, we're gonna teach you some stuff. And I don't have to say anything. We just wait for the facts to come in, but to watch, I always go back to this. I remember being on the first tour we did with our first set of a hundred pastors. I think we've done five this year. And our first of a 100 pastors, we were on a tour with a few select pastors at our church Mercy Culture with Tim. And I watched as pastors at a church that is very civically engaged, a church does speak the raw and honest truth, it speaks to the issues of the day, I watched as pastors that should know the issues, including myself, a light comes on, and it's a little bit of an embarrassing thing when you're like, man, I can't believe I didn't know that. But I watched Tim talked about how many times Moses' face is seen at the U.S. Capitol. How many times scripture is referenced throughout the Constitution without being explicitly stated? This comes from the scripture. I watched as their faces lit up as we're looking at the painting, as we were going up through the rotunda, and they are the only book, as the signers are walking in this painting, the only open book there is the Bible. And you're like, that's what they were referencing. They said it enough to believe it and put it in the painting. And then, you know, the moment where we're looking at the picture of Pocahontas, where many of us had been told that was a painting, she's dressed in white, that this was Pocahontas’s wedding day. And Tim's like, nope, that's her baptism. Like we have this Christian heritage that it's just, it comes to life. So, so we've had the honor. I've had the honor of getting to watch as pastors become awakened, because every pastor has their like turning point. Some of them, it was COVID, some of them it really came down to they're in a blue state where their state is robbing their ability to leave an inheritance for their children right now. And as a result many of the strong families that they've had in their churches for years this is our friend Josh McPherson is facing this right now in Washington and many others, but as a results of the harsh intense overreach of government, families that are strong, good dads, good moms, that are raising their kids in the way of the Lord that they won't depart, are having to depart from those states because the state is literally infringing on their biblical right to train up a child as they should go. And so, you know, bringing them to DC and reminding them, hey, what you're experiencing in your state is not American. That's not our Founders' intent. That's what they had in mind when they were writing our Constitution and creating our state government and the Federalist Papers and all these things. And so we've gotten to watch hundreds of pastors over the last five months be hungry, show up, not just get educated, but get lit on fire to go back to their state and no longer stay within the four walls, but get involved and civically engaged with our congregation. It's been really special. 

Rick Green [00:14:03] Well, and then, yes, that's the whole thing. Not just come to DC and have, you know, bunch of ceremony or whatever, or just do tours. But then as you said, go back home and start brushfires of liberty. And even the conference that you guys just did with so many people and all the guys. I mean, a lot of that fire was lit because of your relationship with Pastor Josh and how fired up he got about what was happening. So the seeds that- 

Nate Schatzline [00:14:24] I have to say though, they put me right after Tim and I'm still angry about it because you throw Tim Barton up there to give all these facts and then I'm like, hey guys, I'm going to read a couple scriptures and I am going to try and follow what Tim just did up here. 

Tim Barton [00:14:40] Well, for everybody listening, don't let Nate fool you on this. Nate, bro, when you spoke, the whole atmosphere changed. God used you in such a powerful way. I was part of the team, the first half, that was, we knew our assignment, we know our role. We were trying to break ground, and bro, you got there, and man, God moved. It was incredible. The whole atmosphere and conference changed. It was amazing, and Rick, I know we have to go to break, so I'm gonna stop. But, bro and Nate, it's why I love being able to connect and do ministry with you. People that love God, that love people, that love America, that know the Bible. It's my favorite kind of people. And so grateful for your friendship. But Rick, I, I. will not interrupt anymore. 

Rick Green [00:15:22] But it's infectious too, I'll say that, Nate. I mean, when you do that, people catch the vision. I mean that's part of your gift, I think, is that they.... you pass it to them and you, and you get them excited about it. It's not just, they don't just come and say, well, you gave us some great stories or whatever. I mean, it's part of what we try to do here at WallBuilders is get them to go then do the same thing. And you have a absolute gift for that. And that's why when we come back, we want to talk about For Liberty and Justice, because there's tons of people listening right now that could take the tools that you've proven the blueprint that you guys worked out so well in Tarrant County, Texas. And now that you're, you know, basically exporting that to counties across Texas, but also around the country, I think there's some, some of our listeners that would love to plug into that. So we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more Nate Schatzline, our special guest today. You're listening to The WallBuilders Show. 

Rick Green [00:17:11] Welcome back to The WallBuilders Show. Thanks for staying with us. Nate Schatzline sitting in with us, we're talking about how people can get involved all across the country, pastors that are waking up, but maybe you're a listener today and you want to take some of this to your pastor. Make sure you give them today's program. Nate, I was mentioning For Liberty and Justice before we went to the break. It's essentially the vehicle with a proven blueprint that a church can adopt. And you guys come alongside them and coach them through this whole process. 

Nate Schatzline [00:17:34] Yeah, it's been honestly one of the honors of my life to be able to lead this initiative. I'll be honest, when we set out to create For Liberty and Justice, we didn't know what we were doing. I mean, it was just like a whole bunch of people that just felt like, man, we gotta get in there. You know, I was being told by, you know, as a youth pastor in California, and I was being told that in order for my kid to get into kindergarten, he would have to take an experimental vaccine. I'd have to say yes to grotesque sex education, even to kindergartners. And I was just, there was no way. I mean, start warlike, warlike scripture, start coming up in your spirit as a dad when you hear those things, where it's like, you know, Psalms, where he says, "'Praise be to the Lord my rock who readies my hand for war.'" You're like, you're ready to go up against the government when that happens. And so we took that passion and then we really submitted ourselves to those who knew more than us. And so I remember getting in the room with people who understood the political world in ways that I just didn't. And we just learned, I pulled in some friends from DC, friends of people on this show and just said, hey, teach us what it looks like to be excellent as it relates to the campaign and we'll bring in the Holy Spirit and begin to contend and seek the Lord for how to make this honor Him in the process. And so, For Liberty and Justice was launched out of my campaign to run for state rep. And so as I was running for state rep, we started creating a blueprint with DC insiders that aren't corrupt, some good guys. There are good guys, by the way, that are in that city. And I refuse to say that DC is a swamp that has no hope. I think the best days are ahead for our nation's capital. I think it's gonna be amazing. And so we brought in some guys and said, help us create a blueprint for how we can flip these local seats. Everything from nights of actions at churches, everything from prayer and intercession, everything from how to fundraise as a believer and to honor the Lord, how to build grassroots teams from church small groups to go knock on doors after we've gone through Biblical Citizenship with Rick Green, after we'd taken in one of the books from the Bartons. Let's go put our faith in action. We can't just sit on this knowledge. We have to go do it. And then how do we rally? How do we show up and how do we serve at the polls in the process? And so it's a very simple five pillar blueprint that we put together and by the grace of God, only through the relationships that the Lord has provided us, the wisdom that we did not have and yet have had the honor of gaining. Have we seen a hundred and thirty-seven seats flipped in the state of Texas to be God-fearing men and women who are willing to stand in the gap from the from school board all the way up to the state level. It's been really-really special. 

Tim Barton [00:20:19] Nate, it's absolutely amazing. But I don't want to take for granted that people might know some of your story because we kind of skipped a little bit ahead because you said they took the blueprint from your campaign. Well, why does your campaign matter? What happened in your campaign that should be replicated? And by the way, not only from your campaign, but then what has God allowed you to be part of, where you were able to lead, you, whether you sponsored, you co-sponsored, whatever it was, you were part of some pretty major, significant pieces of legislation. So, so why does you campaign matter? And you know why I'm asking. And then, what did God allow you to part of as a pastor who decides, I have to get involved for the sake of my kids and the kids in my church, you're motivated by your faith, what happens in your story? 

Nate Schatzline [00:21:07]  Well, I wanna take it from two angles. Number one, I want to speak to the pastors when I'm saying this. And number two, I wanted to speak to the everyday dad who's sitting in his congregation frustrated, like I was. I mean, I was a pastor, but I wasn't a senior pastor. I was sitting there just frustrated. Just like, why is it like this? And I remember I was on a quick weekend vacation with my wife getting away. We've been married for 14 years. Best friend in the world. Most important thing in my life is my relationship with Adrienne. And we were out on a little vacation with a couple from that are also elders at Mercy Culture. And I remember Matt Krause announced that he was not running for office again. He was my state rep. He's a conservative warrior, now our County Commissioner in Tarrant County, good friend of the show as well. And I Remember getting this burden where I literally, you know, Lord, I don't know if I'm talking to reformed Baptists that are listening to this or all the way to whatever Pastor Russell Johnson is on the other side. But no matter what you believe, I believe the Lord speaks to me through dreams. I had a dream; I ran for office and won. And I woke up the next morning and Matt Krause had resigned. And I live in Matt's district, and one of our elders looked at me and was just like, hey, I think you should run. So I did what any guy that really believes that the local church is the hope of the world would do. And I went and submitted it to my spiritual authority, which was my pastor. I submitted it my wife and then my spiritual authority and just said, Hey, I'm laying this out before y'all. Do you think this is even a good idea? You know, and, and my pastor came back. My wife was like, I am all in. I believe in it. I'm going in, which is a big deal. As y' all know, like it's a family affair. You're either all in or it's not gonna work. And I've seen too many marriages fail. And I do not believe the Lord calls us to win elections and fail at marriages and being a father. And so I got the blessing from my wife and then my pastor came back and said, hey, what would you say if I told you we don't, as an elder board, feel like you're ready for this and you shouldn't do this? And I kind of laughed. And I'd heard in my prayer time that morning I felt like I was supposed to submit to my pastor. Guys, a sigh of relief just came over me and I go, man, that's great. I'm submitted to you. I don't know that I'm ready either. And he goes, awesome. We just wanted to see if your heart was submitted. We don't feel that way. We want you to run and our church is behind you a hundred percent. And immediately all of that relief left. And I remember two weeks later, and this is the big point. Two weeks later in Tarrant County, Texas, my pastor walked out at Mercy Culture, Pastor Landon Schott, with my campaign t-shirt on and said, I want you to send this video to the IRS. I, Landon Shott, as a pastor at Mercy Culture endorse Nate Schatzline, a member of this church to be the next Texas state representative because I believe he's gonna be the guy to bring righteousness into the Texas government. And like the whole church, by the way, No one left, no one stopped tithing, the church went ballistic, and in a moment, and this is for all the pastors, I had a grassroots army called Mercy Culture Church that was willing to stand at the polls, knock on doors, donate, give, and they fought with me the entire way. And here's the beautiful thin,. When the church gets behind a candidate, the church then gets to also hold that candidate accountable once they get into office, which is the point. Is that the church is engaged and they're answering. So you ask the question. Why did my campaign matter? And it was because when I had no shot, but I had a church that believed in me, I had to dream from God and had the blessing of my wife, which I believe is the magic formula for running for office. But when I have no shot didn't have enough money, didn't had the endorsements, didn't the lobbyists behind me. I remember walking around the Capitol and declaring different laws that I believe the Lord wanted to pass. Everything from banning gender modification for minors, to keeping biological men out of women's sports, all the way to our fiscal issues, that we were gonna cut property taxes. Praise God somebody that we can own Texas land. Banning foreign enemies from owning Texas land, down to cracking down on human trafficking and fentanyl coming in through the southern border. As I begin to pray over those, this is my prayer, God, even if it's not me, let these pass in the state of Texas. And here we are, why it was so important, four years later, every single law that I prayed for as I circled that, I co-authored and we have passed into Texas legislation as a hallmark for the nation to look at and be a blueprint. And so I believe that I am in no way was the most qualified person. But man, like God chooses those who will shame the wise of the world. And this is my cry to every believer on this, that God is desperately waiting to use you to do big things in your state. 

Rick Green [00:25:55] Well, and Nate, I got to say, man, we're out of time, but for anybody out there that's thinking, yeah, but he's so well spoken because you are, and you're so good on stage, but the blueprint has worked, as you said, for over a hundred other candidates, and I guarantee you, you didn't find a hundred other candidates that are good onstage and know how to speak and all that kind of stuff, you found people that were willing to submit the be everything that you just described, so I want people to understand that and know, hey, this blueprint works, you need to implement this For Liberty and Justice as the place to go and learn more about it. We got to get you back, bro. We're just barely scratching the surface, but we sure appreciate you coming on. 

Nate Schatzline [00:26:25] It's ForLibertyandJustice.us or follow us on social media for Liberty and Justice, or text Liberty to 59090 and we want to get you plugged in so you can start taking ground in your state. 

Rick Green [00:26:36] That's important ForLibertyandJustice.us not .com ForLibertyandjustice.us. Nate Schatzline. Thanks for listening folks. You've been li