CTP (S4EJunSpecial1) Your Deposits Fund Something So Choose Wisely

CTP (S4EJunSpecial1) Your Deposits Fund Something So Choose Wisely
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond - all in Biblical perspective
We talk with Frank Clement from America’s Christian Credit Union about how credit unions work and why member ownership changes the incentives behind your checking account, savings, and loans. We also get practical about deposit insurance, debanking risk, and what it means to choose a financial institution that aligns with your values.
• Credit unions as member-owned financial cooperatives and what that means day to day
• Shared branching networks and how credit unions compete with big banks
• Why rates can be better when there are no outside shareholders
• Fractional reserve lending and the real lesson behind It’s a Wonderful Life
• Values-based banking and the question of what your deposits help fund
• Debanking and why ministries and businesses should plan ahead
• NCUA insurance vs FDIC plus added private insurance for some accounts
• How church and ministry lending works including DSCR and governance factors
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A Short Story: A Lasting Legacy? book Trailer

Transcript

Welcome And Audio Glitch Note

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, welcome to another episode of Pristitutionalist Podcast. I am your host, Joseph M. Werner. That's L-E-N-A-R-D. It looks French. It's not it's wonderful down and oh. Thank you for tuning in. As Graham Norton used to say on his show. Let's get on with the show. Morning. This episode contains some audio and or video glitches. It is not your equipment. Joining me today is Frank Clement, and that is C-L-E-M-E-N-T. Yes? That's right. And as my audience knows, I can't pass on the lame pun. So in I'm rather than me tell one, insert your own inclement weather joke here, right? But uh but um bum.

SPEAKER_06 1:02

Well, I you know, I usually tell people it's like cement with an L. Um, and then they get confused because it's a soft C instead of a hard. You know, it's it doesn't work. But I like I like how you always have to tell people that your last name's not French, because I've actually met some people who asked if it was pronounced Claymont, and I'm like, nope.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Or cement with an L. Oh, so semlent. Yeah, we're getting farther and farther away.

SPEAKER_06 1:28

This is bad.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

But no, that makes sense. I never really thought that could be pronounced French, but yeah, you're right. My name, Leonard, looks French, Leonard without an O. So yeah, I never really thought about that. So I'm I'm glad I made the joke. It led to that very human interaction there. So anyway, all right, thanks for joining, Frank. Bye-bye. We're done. We're good. Frank is joining because he's uh on to discuss financial options today, which is good

Why Talk Banks And Credit Unions

SPEAKER_00 2:07

because full disclosure, I belong to both a bank and a credit union. I used to belong primarily only to credit unions, but then you know, operating a business. And even with some credit unions now, you can operate a social proprietorship or LLC out of them. We'll get into them. But so I have still a bank I've stayed loyal to as well as a credit union. But anyway, well, the pervert Christian show, so the joke goes, the proverbial first question, right, has to be where were you born and raised? Were you now? Significant places you you can see the Italian in me with the hands, right? You

Frank’s Background And California Story

SPEAKER_00 2:53

since we mentioned French, I'm German, Italian, and Polish, but the the hands are definitely Italian. Anyway, I got way off. Where were you born and raised? Significant places you've been in between, maybe even Italy? I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 3:08

God uh visited once, but uh not not terribly significant to me. Um so I I grew up in Maryland. I was actually born in Virginia, but then grew up in Maryland. Uh, and then I now live in California, so I've been in California for the last 10 years. Um, and if I may, can I just tell a quick funny story? So I don't feel I don't feel a whole lot of you know connection to California. I mean, I live here and I love the weather, uh, but I was with some coworkers who were all California natives, and we were at a Christian event, a Christian conference in Indianapolis. And every time somebody came up and said, Where are you from? I would say, We're from California, I'm sorry. They would like to call it.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Our condolences, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:52

And so all my colleagues, they said, You know, Frank, you don't need to apologize for being from California. And I said, No, you don't understand. If I don't do it, they will. Watch. So the next guy comes up, I said, We're from California, and I didn't say anything. And he goes, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_05 4:06

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 4:07

And I said, See, either either they say it or we beat them to the pince. Um but you know, it's just one of those funny things. We're we're incredibly blessed. My wife's family's all out here. We've got five kids, so we got a lot of help with with childcare. And so uh, even though California is ridiculously expensive and crazy in a lot of ways, uh, the Lord has blessed us here. Um I live in a in a city called Pomona, and then our office, the credit union office, is in Glendora, which I'd say the closest city that people would recognize is Pasadena, which is about 20 minutes away.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

I had been through there. I I used full disclosure, used to work for Kmart HQ, which of course now gone. But we have a distribution center out in Ontario, California. Oh, yeah. So I've been yeah, been in and all around all those places. So uh I oh Rancho Cucamonga. Oh my god. Rancho Cucumonga.

SPEAKER_05 5:04

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

I love it. Upside the mountain there. Most people will be saying, what are his heat? Uh you know, they're not gonna Google Earth that. Oh my Rancho Cucumonga is so beautiful. You drive up, but you're driving among horses. They mostly ride horses up there, but of course there are roads for the cars. Anyway, I've got us way off track again. And I also forgot I wanted to say I'm wearing my military shirt, which is more appropriate for veterans or armed forces day than Memorial Day, because we are recording on Tuesday, March. No, not March. Oh this always happens. I hit record in the mouth and the brain to want to cooperate. Tuesday, May the 26th, the day after Memorial Day. So, as an excuse, also, I'm gonna hold up my American Gold Star Mother's Inc. meme, and I'll put the meme in posts so it's more legible. That makes the distinction. Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday of each May, honors the serving. Memorial Day, the last Monday of May. Those who died while serving, although I think most people extend the courtesy to anyone who died of wounds in battle, even if they happened after because of the wounds. And then, of course, Veterans Day, the 11th day of each November, 1111, 1111 uh a.m. officially the time. Anyway, but you're not here to talk about that, you're here to talk financial stuff. And I already, full disclosure, say bank and credit union. I won't say which one. It's not his,

Shared Branching And Credit Union Ethos

SPEAKER_00 6:53

though. I'm sorry. Yeah, not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Do you have branches in Michigan? I guess is a good question, then.

SPEAKER_06 7:04

Uh indirectly, yes. We are part of a shared branch network that most credit unions participate in. So there are about 5,000 participating credit union branches all over the country. And this is our way of banding together so that we can take on the big banks. And that's, I would say that's that's very indicative of the credit union ethos, which is all about community and banding together. You know, credit unions are financial cooperatives, and so even among credit unions, different credit unions, you know, you'd think of us maybe as competitors, uh, but in a lot of ways, we like to band together knowing that, you know, when you've got 5,000 branches, uh, now you can actually give, let's say, Bank of America or Wells Fargo a run for its money because we've got locations in so many spots.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

This is an important uh thing. So I'm glad I went there and thing to remember. And you said a co-op. This is often a political show. I talk all the time about biblical community, is far different than worldly communism. I've talked about the Bradford Colony and the Mayflower Commic Compact that failed. They almost all starved to death. So he then instituted private property, personal individual rights and freedoms, blah, blah, blah. The rest is history. That's what America was founded on, not communism. Uh, and so you mentioned co-op in this case. It is voluntary. There's nothing wrong with community, community, or even the word commune. If you join it willingly, and you're not forced either into it, or once you're into it, like a cult forced in the iron fences and held at gunpoint against your wall. But again, I've gone way off the battery. Just be fair.

SPEAKER_06 8:56

There are no iron fences, there are no guns. We our credit union is very nice.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

So I think we've already addressed one of the key distinctions why a credit union, and another obvious one is usually better rates, lower interest rates on credit cards or loans, as well as uh uh better interest lower ones. There are higher ones on interest for your savings and money markets and CDs or uh checking accounts, even the one I'm with, I'm getting interest on the checking as well as the savings and the CDs that would have been better than the bank. So there's that. Go on.

SPEAKER_06 9:48

If I may, I I think it's worth you know taking a step back, talking about what we mean by co-ops, specifically, you know, a financial cooperative, because everything

Member Ownership Versus Shareholder Banks

SPEAKER_06 9:56

that you're talking about, they're sort of the fruits of a more foundational you know uh aspect of credit unions, which is that credit unions, as you know, are owned by their members. And so that's that's really the crucial difference is that credit unions are owned by the people that they serve. And so if you think of a Venn diagram, it's a perfect circle who owns it and who it serves. But then you think about banks, you know, especially these big banks that are publicly listed. So you know, you might own 10 shares of some big bank stock, right? So you're technically a part owner of that bank. You don't necessarily have to be a customer there, though. And so then every quarter, these banks have to report to their shareholders and say, look how much money we made, look how much profit we made for you, the owners, and we kind of did it at the expense of our customers, right? So in in some ways, uh I'm not I won't go, I mean, sometimes it's predatory, but at the at the very least, there's a sort of a split, there's a split loyalty where you're certainly is when they buy up each other and close the other bank down.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Yeah. That's true.

SPEAKER_06 10:55

It can it can get a little ugly for sure. But you know, when when you understand that you know your for-profit bank is seeking to profit off of you, the customer, to benefit the owners, whether it's publicly traded on the you know, stock exchanges or even if it's just privately owned, there's sort of it's like, I understand that you're gonna take care of me just enough to keep me as a customer, but you're not really interested in my welfare, you're more interested in the welfare of the owner. So then in a credit union, because we're owned by our members, everybody who joins, you know, somebody you could join today and you would become a part owner of the credit union as well as being a member, so you're being served, but you're we're beholden to you. So then we are, we act, you know, we the staff are more like stewards at that point. And so that then, Joseph, back to your point, because we're not trying to skim off some profits to pay to our owners over here, there's there's more left to benefit the members. And so, you know, that typically means then that we can lend money at a lower rate and then we can pay a higher rate on our deposits. Uh, and because we just need we just need enough margin between what we're lending at and what you know we're paying on deposits to pay the staff. That's basically it. We just have to pay our employees to keep the operation running.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Buildings, the lights on. Well, yes, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_06 12:05

That's right. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

All that stuff still holds true. You're not a completely virtual operation. So well, even with that, then you've got websites to maintain and all that. You do have a website, yes? Let's go ahead and give that out right now. Usually I wait to the end.

SPEAKER_06 12:24

Go ahead and give it out. Let me write it down. Yes, check us out at America's Christiancu.com.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

American? What was that? America's possession.

SPEAKER_06 12:34

America's Christiancu.com. Because we belong to the American Christians. We we are America's Christian Credit Union.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Cu.com. That's right. Okay, I got that written down now, and obviously no apostrophe in Christians because the internet would flake out. Yeah. I wrote two notes because back to uh I I already forgot this note. I could that's why I have to write it down. I'm keeping 63 in the brain, is just, you know, the memory just isn't as good as it used to be. We were joking about Camifornia. People need to check out, and I will tack on to the end of the episode, My States of Confusion, kind of tongue-in-cheek song, and it talks about Camiformia. And so

Fractional Reserve Banking Made Simple

SPEAKER_00 13:27

I'll tack that on to the end. So you'll need to listen back later to hear that one. And I wrote down It's a Wonderful Life. Well, why? Obviously, the SNL, right? Today's credit unions are what the SNL and It's a Wonderful Life was is. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 13:48

Do I do I have to do the George Banks impression now? Is that oh, if you like, go ahead. Yeah. I don't have your money. Your money's in his house.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Exactly. Bingo. Maybe you can't just keep enough on hand for usual expected daily operation. Well, banks generally do that too, but go on.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

And and that's exactly, I mean, Joseph, that is that is perhaps the most important thing we're going to talk about today, unless you have something else up your sleeve. Oh, and insurance.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

We'll get to the insurance coverage. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:22

Yeah, well, yeah, insurance, of course, is a big one, but all financial institutions, banks and credit unions, are lending out about 90% of your deposits. And so that, yeah, the old scene from It's a Wonderful Life when George when there's that run on the bank and George is explaining why they don't have the cash, it's because we took your deposits to make a home loan to your neighbor so that they could buy a house, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:43

And so this is to me, this is why you covered your credit card purchases.

SPEAKER_06 14:48

That's right. Yep. All of those things. But this is why it's so important who you bank with, because you have, if you really think about the broad array of things that a financial institution could choose to lend your money for, to essentially invest your money for, right? You know that there are places in your community that you wish weren't there, right? There are, you know, and and I don't know exactly the flavor of your listenership, but maybe you know that there is a medical clinic that is performing abortions, and you're like, I wish they weren't performing abortions.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

So most of them are going to be pro-life. Most. I would certainly not all. Yeah. I certainly hope secular people listen to the show because there is a lot of good information here outside of the Christian biblical-based thing. Blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_06 15:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Disclaimer.

SPEAKER_06 15:35

And this and this point holds, this point holds for everybody. Um, you know, but I will give it a Christian spin here. So if you are dismayed to know that there is a medical clinic that's performing abortions right there in your own town or city, well, guess what? When the people who built that medical clinic were pulling together the funding for the construction of that building, they probably got a loan. So they probably went to a

Values Based Banking And Where Money Goes

SPEAKER_06 15:58

bank, at which point they were getting that bank's customers' money, right? To as a loan to be able to do the construction. And so then, you know, if you were able to trace those breadcrumbs and then realize, wait a minute, I'm a customer, customer of that bank that made the loan to that group that built the medical facility where they're performing abortions. Yeah. Well, guess what? That means then that your money indirectly helped fund that thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

That also holds true for gun confiscation firms who want to confiscate your guns. We're big on the whole constitutionalist, institutionalist, constitution, our rights, protecting our rights to to make it more generic. You're in tune with upholding our rights and morals as a Judeo-Christian foundation nation. And you don't have to be a Christian or a Jew to understand that. I often tell the tale, is no problem with Moses and the Ten Commandments on the SCOTUS building. Because, of course, whether you get to these morals through God or just, hey, it's just being a good fellow human. Right. Right? So it holds for secularists too at times.

SPEAKER_06 17:14

In our current polarized moment, you look at some of the things that these big banks are funding, and there's a lot of people cheering, and they're saying, I love it. That's so great. You know, you you fund that parade in June, or you make that donation to Planned Parenthood. I love it. Okay, great. Then you found your home. Your money is sitting exactly where you want it to be. But there are a lot of people who are like, Oh, I hate going to the bank branch in June because they've got rainbow flags all over the place. I just, I hate it. I just, you know, that's when I only use my mobile banking because I hate that they're pushing that on me. So with America's Christian Credit Union, you have an option for banking where you're getting full service banking, but you know that your money is being used for things like building new churches. Uh, we've done over 3,000 adoption loans. So we help families afford the legal costs of an adoption, which is like $30,000 to $50,000. So money.

SPEAKER_05 18:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 18:03

And you're not donating, right? This is, you know, you're not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

That's a side and on top of what you may be donating to these causes you appreciate. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 18:14

So you're having a financial impact on growing the kingdom of God, but you're doing it without making a donation. You're just choosing to make your money available to like-minded people so that then the staff at America's Christian Credit Union can invest your money on your behalf in the kinds of causes that you already care about and would want to support, the sort of things that you want to see more of in your town rather than the things that you want to see less of.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

I've got a question, which is also in the form of a suggestion, if it isn't the right answer. It's like why there are places like Mammoth Nation that have started up that various things. I'm full disclosure, I'm part of it. My terror strikes book is advertised there as a conservative constitutionalist book, and it's I hate it. I mean Republican in the sense of the republic, not the party.

SPEAKER_06 19:15

So small R Republican.

SPEAKER_00 19:17

Yes, exactly. Does your credit union belong to Mammoth Nation, or would you consider potentially reaching out as a partner there for financial services?

SPEAKER_06 19:29

Yeah, uh, we we don't yet, but I would love to learn more. So I mean that's we we are we are constantly looking for like-minded people, and Bank of America is 3,000 times bigger than we are. So there's a lot of people who haven't heard of us. You know, there are a lot of times where we go to conferences and we say, we are a Christian financial institution. We have 150,000 members all across the country. We are helping build churches, Christian schools, helping families grow through adoption, doing all these wonderful things. And people say, Oh my gosh, I've never heard of you. You know, and that's, I mean, part of why I'm here is we're trying to fix that. We're constantly looking for partners, sort of these fellow, you know, people on the same journey, right? Walking the same path, and saying, Well, you're working on this really important thing, and we're handling the financial side of things. And if only you and the people that you represent knew about us, there are probably a lot of people who, again, it it really bothers them when they hear things about their bank and they say, you know, I opened it 30 years

Finding Partners And Reaching New Members

SPEAKER_06 20:27

ago. You know, 30 years ago is a completely different world. Or I opened it because they have a branch right across from my office, and it's really easy to pop over at lunchtime.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

May not be there anymore because they've all the big banks have closed down a lot of branches and consolidated, so they may not be as convenient as they once were either.

SPEAKER_06 20:44

The calculations are changing because people are realizing all these things that I complain about, all these things that I write my you know, members of Congress about, my bank is actually funding with my money. Well, okay. The first step would be at least help starve the capital for those sorts of things and redirect it somewhere where it's supporting the you know the kingdom work that might actually you know turn our nation around. And so that's that's a really exciting thing. And then the other thing, and I let me show my t-shirt. It's a little bit too chilly to wear, just the t-shirt, but debank yourself. We've talked a lot about this idea of debanking yourself because debanking yourself. Before they do it to you, yes, before they do it to you, exactly. Because that is it's been on the rise. We're in we're in a moment of calm, but I think it's more like the eye of the storm, honestly, because you know, before the current administration, we were seeing a lot of Christian ministries get debanked. I mean, we had literally dozens of Christian ministries come to us and they said, we got a letter in the mail and a cashier's check with all of our deposits, and we were told you are no longer a customer of this bank. And the details are always very vague. It's just you're no longer a customer of the bank. You know, and this is this is you know, you being a Christitutionalist. I think there's a lot to be said for free association. So if a bank says you're not our flavor, You're not really our jam. Capitalist in me says, well, so be it. I mean, we have these rights to be able to associate with the people that we want to associate with.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Freedom to associate also means freedom to not associate.

SPEAKER_06 22:13

Correct. Exactly. And so if a bank says, gosh, like, hey, Pastor, your recent sermon on XYZ social topic went viral on the internet, and people are starting to connect the dots and realize that you bank with us, and that's not a good look for us. That introduces some reputational risk for us. So we're going to cut ties with you and go our separate ways. As someone who respects the Constitution, I'm like, you know what? That's honestly fine. But for the pastor who's like, well, I have a staff working by church and payrolls coming up on Friday, and we no longer have a checking account to be able to send their paychecks out. Also, we don't have a way to receive donations anymore because we don't have a bank account. That just introduces very serious operational challenges to these ministries. And that's where people knowing that places like America's Christian Credit Union exists is so important because before they

Debanking Risk And Being Proactive

SPEAKER_06 23:03

debank you, debank yourself. And you're most likely to get debanked when you're at your most vulnerable, right? So when you're already, let's say, again, you know, you preached about something, or maybe your Christian school has drawn a line on something that the state is trying to push in K-12 schools, and now you've got media and you've got activists outside protesting, and you just lost your bank account. The worst time to be shopping for a bank is when you're also dealing with you know those those sorts of challenges. And so I just encourage people to be proactive. And yes, I mean I think probably for the next two years we're not going to see too many debankings because most financial institutions are trying to be on their best behavior. But if they're if if things change in Washington and we go back to uh a different flavor of administration and they're controlled by left-wing boards, yes, again.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Uh-oh, you froze. Hello.

SPEAKER_06 23:56

Uh-oh. Maybe even a great time to go shopping for you know the best time.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Uh-oh, you're freezing. You froze again. Oh, I don't know what to say or do here because well, okay, Frank, you're cutting in and out now. I don't know what happened. I think we're back. Yeah, I think so. I don't know what we lost. So let's move on. Two things to finish up your point. Left wing controlled boards once a left-wing administration's back in. Yes, they'll start up with the games again, uh, attacking people on the right, or even just in the middle, because they've gone so far left. So even if there's any question, but anyway, onward. Mammoth Nation Align Us app. You may have heard of them. Those are two things, too, that are for more center or right of center people to come together. And I definitely encourage you to look into Mammoth Nation and the Align Us app. I wrote down a note, circled it, but you're not covered. We're not protected by the FDIC. Go.

SPEAKER_06 25:09

So we are we are federally insured to the same level that banks are. We just do it through a different mechanism. So they have the FDIC, we have what's called the NCUA, which is the National Credit Union Administration, and they cover uh deposits up to $250,000. And because we care so much about our members, we go a step further. We actually pay for private insurance uh for one to two hundred thousand dollars depending on the kind of account you have. And so some of our members are enjoying up to $450,000 in insurance uh on their deposits.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

So there's a lot of peace of mind knowing that even if you sure wish I could afford that much to have in your credit union, but uh on my disability budget, sadly, no.

SPEAKER_06 25:53

Yep, yep. Well, I but and and Joseph, I want to go back to something that you said earlier because this is I think it's sort of relevant. We serve we serve ministries and we also serve businesses. Uh and in fact, about our our portfolio dollar-wise is about 50-50 between individuals and families and businesses and faith-based nonprofits. And so where that that added level of insurance really kicks in is for some of these organizations where they have you know a good chunk of change sitting there in their offering.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

I've got a couple shows, I've got another one coming soon, or I recently dropped. I I don't remember. Rising tide lifts most boats. Likewise, uh, sinking boats can drag other boats down, would be the converse. You let those other people lose a couple hundred thousand dollars. To say that doesn't it's like uh naval naval chamberlism before World War II, also the libertine concept of oh, the oceans protect

Deposit Insurance NCUA And Extra Coverage

SPEAKER_00 27:00

us. No, they don't. You heard these things called intercontinental missiles and bombers and all that. The sh oceans don't protect us anymore, and someone else's wealth being destroyed, yes, does affect us too. It hurts the overall economy. If you're drilling holes in boats in the harbor, that harms you too. Well, because you're cutting down tourism.

SPEAKER_06 27:31

You know, we're we're we're here in California, and already we've had several notable billionaires leave because of taxes. And so, what was the response? The response was hey, let's pass a billionaire tax. It's like they're already leaving. Are they not going fast enough?

SPEAKER_00 27:49

You struck the right chord, believe me. Yeah, I mean, even old traditional Democrats. That's why I coined constitutionalists. Are you a Christian? If you can't be a comicrat anymore, this isn't the day and age of JFK, and we don't know what all he might have done in a second term had he lived to be able to do one with all the other lefties around him trying to drag him down because he was a Democrat, but a somewhat conservative Catholic Democrat. But I mean, look what happened once LPJ came in. The civil rights thing aside, he signed the Republican bills, the civil rights bills that came after the 14th Amendment, which is relevant now with the birthright citizenship with based on what? Republican Civil Rights Act? Prior to that, it's not like LBJ had his own Civil Rights Act. He just told the Democrats in the Senate to stop filibustering it so that it could come for a vote. You don't have to vote for it. And in fact, indeed, most of the Democrats didn't. And like all the Civil Rights Acts before and the 14th Amendment passed by created by Republican majority of votes. So, but again, that's a bit off the beaten path and and off topic, but it's part of the what it does show, what it does show though, is the realignments that can happen politically and how quickly they can happen.

SPEAKER_06 29:36

I mean, I think we're seeing we're seeing bizarre realignments, you know, just in the last 10 years that nobody could have foreseen. And it's a reminder that this is why we as believers, I mean, yes, we should be politically engaged, but we certainly shouldn't put all of our hope in the government. You know, no matter who the politician is, we, and this is where believers banding together with believers is so important. And like you said earlier, I love it that Christian practices and what you know, especially the sort of that first century Christianity that we read about in the book of Acts sounds a lot like communism, but because it's fully voluntary, out of context to come.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

Right, out of context.

SPEAKER_06 30:13

The context is voluntarily, it's voluntary, that's right. And and if you don't pull your own weight, you actually get kicked out. Remember when Paul says if you won't work, you will not eat.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Bingo, which is different than also uh where we are to want to be our brothers and sisters keeper and take care of widows and orphans. That is voluntary. We are to want to do that as Christians. And the Bible also says the distinction between those who are unable, I am on disability, those who are unable, those versus those who just say, ah, just I want to climb in the cart and you pull me, even though I'm capable of pulling the cart. And why Jesus said the poor will always be among you. That's a human nature laziness statement, not a monetary or economics or governance statement. Yes? And I want to I forgot to say this. This is bonus because when I first saw you, uh pod match is where we met. The I audience knows I use that service. I saw financial services and all that. I didn't notice the Christian part. So this is kind of fortuitous bonus in a way.

SPEAKER_06 31:36

Yeah. Well, and and and you know, a lot of people will say, What is Christian banking? What actually makes you different? Is this just branding? Is it just virtue signaling? And I think one of the most important, you know, examples that I can point to is the way that we work with Christian ministries. So churches, schools, other types of ministries out there. And, you know, like with churches, we have a we've we've been lending money to churches for construction projects. You know, sometimes you'll have a like a church plant that's been renting from another church and they're finally ready to go and buy their own property. And the thing is, the thing about ministries is that they they run very lean, you know, they do not have a lot of buffer. And so most of the things charities in general, too.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

Yeah. Although there's a difference. Christians, like, I would not recommend uh you know, giving stuff to Goodwill or Salvation Army takes a lot off the top. Red Cross is a big example of how much money goes off the top of your donation and doesn't get versus a Samaritan's purse.

SPEAKER_06 32:43

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's a great point. Um, you know, but let's say there's a church that is looking, maybe you know, they finally found a property for sale that they want to buy so they can have their own home for worship. And most commercial lenders are looking for a 1.25 debt service coverage ratio or DSCR. So essentially what they say is for every dollar that you owe in in loan payment, you need to be bringing in at least $1.25. And for a lot of these ministries, they're like, huh? No, it doesn't, no, no, we're not gonna have that because we we we get our tithes and offerings and we spend all of it. So we're gonna be closer to one to one rather than one to one point two five. And

How Church Lending Actually Works

SPEAKER_06 33:28

so because our you know, our staff has been working with churches for decades, we all go to church, like we understand that world, we've actually had to educate our regulators, you know, because in order for us to get that $250,000 in federal insurance, they want to look at how we're operating so they know that we're not, you know, giving them a huge risk to their insurance.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

You're still regulated to qualify for the coverage, yes. That's the other thing I didn't think to bring up. Yes, because you have NCUA, you uh you adhere to the regulations, but they are slightly uh looser than a bank has.

SPEAKER_06 34:09

I think our compliance people would not like the word looser, but uh, I'll certainly say different. And and and I also get so you know, to finish that example from a moment ago, because I think it gets to your point, Joseph. So we actually educated our regulators, you know, because they work with all kinds of credit unions. You know, they come in every month, you know, every every year to 18 months to look at everything and make sure things are going well. And we've had to say to them, look, when we make a loan to a church, we're gonna flex a little bit on that DSCR. We're not gonna hold to a hard and fast 1.25 or higher. If they're telling us that the income is only gonna be like 1.1, uh, you know, one one a dollar and ten cents for every dollar that they owe in loan payment, we might still move forward as long as we see that they have steady or growing attendance at church, that not only do they have a strong pastor, but they have strong governance, right? That there are elders who are keeping an eye on the pastor, that they have a succession plan, because everything's about the one pastor, which means if that pastor gets hit by a bus, that church now is going to be in a bad way. But when we look at all those factors as we determine whether or not to make the loan, we might flex on the debt service coverage ratio because we've worked with so many churches that we know that this is not as risky as it might look to somebody who's not used to working with nonprofits. And in fact, our default rate on loans, so the church loans that end up going bad, is way below the national average for commercial lending. So an apartment building or a strip mall is way more likely to default on a loan than a church. We've been able to show the numbers to our regulators and say, I know we're going a little bit outside the typical lending box, but we're doing it for a good reason and we can show you why. And our regulators have actually been won over and they said, okay, we see that you know what you're doing. Obviously, continue to be careful, keep us posted. But if that's what it takes to be able to serve your membership, like you said earlier, in terms of the regulations being different, our regulators know that we exist to serve a specific community. Just like Navy Federal exists to serve people in the Navy and retirees in the Navy. Uh you've got you know Boeing credit union that serves people associated with Boeing. So every credit union, and some are geographic where they just serve people in a certain county.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

Belong to one of those. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_06 36:19

Yep. And so they understand that every can every community is gonna look a little bit different, and every community is gonna have slightly different needs. And so the credit union exists to meet those needs. And so if we say we can't fit this cookie cutter box, but here's how we continue to mitigate risk, even as we reach out to meet our members' needs, they'll say, Okay, great, as long as you're doing it thoughtfully, you know, have at it.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah, well, the time has flown, so we're gonna, and I did I broke one of my rules. I like to say the name over and over Frank Clement of America's Christiancu.com is where you can find the website. American America, I did it again, America's not American, America's Christian Credit Union, America's Christiancu.com, Frank Clement, again in Clement Weather, if you want to insert a joke. Uh but uh you set me up. I gotta end with a final joke. I you're you were talking about showing consistency. I don't get why you'd want a place with a pastor. I would want one with one that's been there and is staying. They're a presentor, but a bum, right? I don't want a pastor, I want a coronator or a presentor. You could feel free to lift that joke to tell the clients if they tell me here here's our pastor. Oh why say then say when's the new one starting? Right. Well, he's a pastor. Who's the present or anyway? Thank you. Terrible. Hey, king of the bad jokes, king of the dad jokes, the lame puns. I used to co-host on Savaged Unfiltered, and I was known as Jokster Joe there. Yeah, king of the lame puns. So thank you, Frank Clement, for coming on. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Take care, God bless, love y'all. Hold on, hold on,

Wrap Up Website And Parting Jokes

SPEAKER_00 38:31

don't tune out just yet. Now, you've often seen shows doing ads. I've had some mid-show ads that have run, or at the end, often at the end it would be an ad from my own book. So does that really count? But you know, podcast sponsorships, you've seen them. A bunch of podcast people, hawking products, they probably have nothing to do with. Well, that's not the case with me. I've got a couple partnership sponsorship irons in the fire. These aren't paid that I'm giving you here. I am just giving you recommendations of a couple irons I have in the fire. A free shout out. Two. For one, Duncan. I'm gonna hold up my how to write a book and get it published because I don't have a physical copy of my latest book, Roll the Coasters The Lifetime, because it is out on Amazon eKindle exclusive for only $1.99. Because it's a short story. So I can keep your price down or audiobook $4.99. Inexpensive. So there it is. Kindle ebook cover. In it, I mention America Runs on Duncan. The slogan, they're a place I actually go to. I love the chocolate cream-filled donuts and a bit of a critique. Uh, you need to start making more of them or make sure all the places actually have them. Most

Host Shout Outs And Recommendations

SPEAKER_00 40:20

of the Dunkins around me don't have them. I often have to settle for the vanilla cream-filled. But, you know, that's okay too at times. So I recommend Dunkin Donuts. I do. I really do. There's something I look, I mean, look at this. If you're looking behind the scenes video, you can see I'm not starving. I've got some extra weight on me. Dunkin Donuts calories might be part of the reasons why. Everything in moderation. Just don't pig out on donuts all the time. Morning, noon, and night. I don't know if Duncan's gonna like me saying that or not. They want to sell as many donuts as possible. And of course, they sell coffee. But hey, that's the point. You're gonna get real sponsorship reads from me. Not fake phony frogs that don't even use a product. Oh, let me read the following. And the next one I'm gonna mention is Galaxy AI, which actually is now Magica. M-A-G-I-C-A-I. And I use them. I've created a couple music videos of late. If you check on the video channels, they're not on all of them. YouTube and Bit Shoot. My channels there have most of my music videos or most my Suno songs, not all. You can check out the one I just did for Memorial Day 2026 for America 250. I wrote Memorial Day, America 250, that I released on Memorial Day, and you can see that music video on my uh video platforms created by Magical AI, as well as another music video that I did for my Terror Strike. Based on my Terror Strikes Coming Soon City Near You book, I wrote a wake, not paranoid song. And there is a music video for that at BitChute and YouTube. It may be at my other platforms. I don't remember offhand. I didn't look it up before hitting record. My apologies. You can reach out to the AI via Tiny URL. You know I love to use tiny URL services to shorten links. TinyURL.com slash Galaxy Magica AI. All one word, of course, run together. TinyURL.com slash Galaxy Magicka AI. That'll take you to them. And the last one I'm gonna mention is blipboards. You can rent a static billboard for your advertising needs, but those are expensive and they're static. Blipboards for the same budget of one, you can advertise at 10 or more locations, whatever product and service you're trying to offer. So I recommend blipboards. Again, they're not paying me to say this. I'm saying this as a customer. I haven't even reached out to them to be a sponsor on the show. Next, guess what I'll be doing next? Writing them.

SPEAKER_04 44:41

We all save those who gave it all save our freedom. They answer the call. For them we now must also stand. Memorial day, not a celebration, a remembrance weight we carry in our hands. We speak their names down rows of white stone. And every flag feels heavy in the wind. For those who gave it all, we bow our heads. For freedom's breath, we remember them. Stand tall today, show the youth away. For the ones who answer the call. Stand tall today, memory not gone away. We keep a life in the heart. No laparade can tell the whole story. Boots in dust and letters won't fin. A mother's prayer, a folded flag, a final promise still living in us. For those who gave it all, we bow our heads. For freedom's breath, we remember them. Stand tall

Memorial Day Song Remembrance Message

SPEAKER_04 46:32

today. Show the youth the way for the ones who answer The call. Stand tall today. Memory not gone away. We keep alive in the heart. And when we rise, we rise with care, carrying their courage everywhere. Stand tall today, show the youth the way for the ones who answer the car. Stand tall today, memory not gone away. We keep their life in the hall. Memorial day, not a celebration, a somber remembrance. We all say for those who gave it all to save our freedom, they answered the call. For them, we now must also stand tall.

SPEAKER_03 48:52

Woke up in Massachusetts, land of the free, and the tax hovered elite, sipping light. He's telling us how we should act. From Boston to Cambridge, it's all massive stereo. Protesting the streets, why they're counting their hysteria, yelling about tolerance. But cancel you quick if you disagree. Welcome to the People's Republic of Do As I Say. Not as we, we're living in a state of confusion. Coast to coast, it's the same. Everybody playing the blame game. From sea to shine sea, it's one big comedy. State of confusion. Lord have mercy on me. Drive through Missouri, show me state, turn state of misery. Gateway arc standing tall over midlabs in barbecue misery. Kansas City stakes. But the heartlands feeling the squeeze. Fly over country getting forgotten. While the coast do as they please. Show me the money, show me the job, show me where the hope went. Cause right now Missouri's just one long state. A misery, lament. Then it's California, sorry, I mean California. Dream when the stars are glittering, the taxes make you scream. Silicon Valley billionaires preaching, save the planet from the jets. While homeless tents line the sidewalks and the middle class, let's forget legal weed in the morning. Illegal everything by night. California, where the sun shines bright. But the future ain't right. Now back to my own backyard, the great Mitch again. Once more, the city muscle now

States Of Confusion Satire Track

SPEAKER_03 50:43

rust and regret on the brain. Detroit went bankrupt. But the taxes still keep on rising. Politicians promise jobs while the factories keep on closing. Great lakes to blisten. But the economy's in the tank. Yeah, we're trying real hard, but we just keep falling back. And don't get me started on Illinois, the state of Illinois. Chicago corruption running deep like that. D-dish void. Politicians grinning while the taxes keep on rising high. Windy City blowing smoke, making honest folks wanna cry. Springfield to the suburbs. Everybody's getting fleece. Illinois is hell. Yeah. This state's a straight up beast. Now we hit Texas, low star state of Texas Pride, oil barrels riding high. While the grid flies nationwide, often weirdos dancing with cowboys in the heat. Border talking ballots can't keep the chaos off repeat. Big trucks, bigger hats, and politics that bite Texas. Freedom, but the powers out tonight. We're living in the states of confusion. From Nazareth, coming on the show. State of misery in the middle, make a gate in Illinois. Forever low. Red, blue, purple, we're all confused as can be. States of confusion, but it's still the land of the free. Lord have mercy. States of confusion.

SPEAKER_02 52:19

Yeah, that's now status of the people weyers open wide, not living in fear, just knowing the signs when the danger draws near They call it paranoia when you pay attention. But there's a difference between fear and comprehension. Crime doesn't clock in. Terrorism has no zipper code. Anytime, any place, you better know it's road. You are not an ostrich with your head buried in sand. You're a thinker with awareness. And a reason you still stand. When the world erupts around you, don't let panic be your guide. Three options in the crisis moment. Only one keeps you alive. Awake, not paranoid, situationally aware. Not consumed by all the fear porn, but prepared to face what's there. Know the difference, make the call. A thinking mind won't be the sheep bowl Trampled when the party falls. Away. Not paranoid. Oh wait. Remember when the music stopped and panic filled the air? The stampede was the danger, not what triggered the scare. Right and pandapire when you run without a thought. The threat that really kills you is the panic that you caught. Ma, I'm a bearer of ostrich, which one are you gonna be? Assess the situation. Is that dangerous to me? Is it in my orbit? Is it coming for my space? Or do I take the safety lift to fight another day? When the world erupts around you, don't let panic be your guide. Three options in the crisis moment. Only one keeps you alive. Babe, awake, not paranoid, situationally aware. Not consumed by all the fear-born, but prepared to face what's there. Fight, flight, or maybe fade. Know the difference,

Awake Not Paranoid Awareness Track

SPEAKER_02 55:05

make the call. A thinking mine won't be the sheephole trampled when the panic falls away. Not paranoid, away. Life over death, hope over fear, faith over despair. Keep your wits clear. Love over hate, good over evil, freedom over tyranny, rise above the sheep. Ah They said burnout, don't fade away. But I say fade and live to see another day. Unless it's in your orbit, unless there's no escape, then you stand and fight. That's the choice that heroes make. Awake means you are watching, not wrapped in paranoious chains. You carry situational awareness like an umbrella when it rains. Not selling fear, not peddling doom. Just asking you to think Before the panic swallows reason and you're swept across the break. Awake, not paranoid, situationally aware, not consumed by all the fear porn, but prepared to face what's there. Fight, flight, or maybe fade. Know the difference, make the call. A thinking mind won't be the sheep all trampled when the panic falls. Awake, not paranoid, awake.

SPEAKER_01 56:34

Think, don't panic assess.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Don't assume, fade when you can fight, when you must awake, not paranoid, just awake.

SPEAKER_00 56:58

Like and subscribe to Christitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes. We need your help. Thank you for having tuned in to another Christitutionalist podcast show. I really appreciate that you stop by. Again, please like, share, subscribe. We need you to help spread the Christitutionalist movement. Thank you again. Take care. God bless. Love you all.