Radio Voice

Audio Link to the Interview About PSP:

https://soundcloud.com/user-558728774/wgnr-fm-2019-on-thu-191017-060001/s-m6rbv

####Transcript of Audio:

Steve Hocker: "Well, we are back. It is now 06:38. You are listening to Mornings With Kelli and Steve here on Moody Radio, From the Word to Life. So glad to welcome into the studio with me right now, Matt Barnes, President of an incredible ministry, Public Servants' Prayer. This is so, so important. You know we have Statehouse that is filled with legislators, staff, support, admin there are folks all over our Statehouse and they need to be covered in prayer. You are the man who is leading that charge."

Matt Barnes: "Well, good morning Steve, really it's the Lord leading the Charge, I'm following Him. But it's great to be with you this morning. I realized Kelli's not here and I assumed that was because I was coming in, so I'm so sorry to hear that!" [laughter]

Steve: "Yea, she heard you were on your way and she said 'I'm out, I'm out!'" [laughter]

Matt: "Well its good to be here with you, thanks for sticking it out and roughing it out with me here."

Steve: "Hey, no worries, not at all. You know, I'm excited because we have, well my goodness, our relationship now is about two years since I've been here on the air and to see the ministry of PSP grow, and then to find out just recently, I hadn't know how long the history was, but you guys are celebrating your 15th year."

Matt: "Yes, 15 years, late 2004 of October 31st , I heard a message out of 1 Timothy 2, it said "Pray for your leaders" and I took it literally. Walked into the capitol, didn't know anyone, and started a ministry. God really has done a lot in 15 years."

Steve: "Isn't that something, yea, you just took it seriously. Yea, who does that? Who does that? Oh, go where He leads? Ok, yea, that's a whole new thing."

Matt: "I tell you what, it's an adventure Steve, when you follow the Lord."

Steve: "Yes it is, when you're in His will. Well, tell us a little bit about what it has been like, you know taking the long view of 15 years, to see the ministry have grown. I know there are a lot of transitions that take place during that with each session. Tell some of the things you have seen where God's hand has been in all of that."

Matt: "Right, well you talk about transitions and there are probably not more than maybe 20 legislators that are still there from when I arrived 15 years ago. So it's neat to be able to be in there and have some longevity of the ministry. Now I actually get to see legislators as they come in and I get to help them find out where the restrooms are and stuff. "It's right there", you know and all that sort of thing. But then we also get to introduce legislators to one another. One of the things we do is Bible studies in the Governors office every Thursday morning. We have 25-30 legislators that get together but we invite freshmen. There are actually legislators that meet for the very first time in a Bible study."

Steve: "Oh, that is so cool."

Matt: "That is just so exciting to see that and then they have community right away. Because they are studying the Word together, they are praying together. They're just people, they have the same needs and problems that everybody else does. The transitions have been good over the years. We have really developed some great relationships through the years at the Statehouse."

Steve: "It's remarkable to see and think of the very fact that you have legislators and you have others who are coming into Bible study. Just as you said, you know the first time that they shake hands is over the word of God! You know that is just a tremendous blessing and you know speaking of tremendous blessings, we have an opportunity here to hear the perspective from one of your constituents there who is in the Statehouse with you. You probably showed him where the bathroom was at some point, I'd imagine." [laughter]

Matt: "I don't know about that" [laughter]

Steve: "We are being joined by representative Todd Huston**, Good Morning sir."

Todd: "Good morning, how are you?"

Steve: "Well, we are grateful to have you join us this morning. Tell us a little bit about your roll as, not only Deputy Speaker, but you represent the folks of District 37 there in Fishers. Tell us a little bit about your history and share with our listeners just a little bit of back ground about who you are."

Todd: "Sure, thank you. I actually grew up in Fishers Indiana and have the privilege and opportunity now to serve them. I was elected in 2012 and served in the Statehouse since then and currently serve as the Co-Chairman of the Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker Pro Tem, as you noted. It's been a wonderful experience, it's a great opportunity to serve my constituents. As Matt noted, the single most important thing to me is I serve the Lord too, first and foremost. What a blessing his ministry is and while Matt didn't show me where the restroom was, he sure did show me a lot of other things that have been incredibly important in my life and the Statehouse."

Steve: "Excellent, excellent! What is that like, give us a little bit of a glimpse of what one of the Bible studies looks like. How does that effect the very fact that you have people who oppose views all coming together over God's Word. How does that work in personal relationships. That's a key thing."

Todd: "It's awesome, I tell and invite new members if they elect to come to the Bible study. I say 'It's the most important and the best hour of the week, without a doubt.' You know it's amazing, people are surprised to hear that we do a Bible study, but I tell you that it's not just something you do, it's so important. It is important about relationships, you get down into that building and you're going to disagree on some things. Good people, really good people who just happen to have a difference of opinion, and that difference of opinion may come from different life experiences. You will never look at somebody the same after you've heard their testimony. When you've heard their testimony, they may disagree with you they may say some things you don't love, but once you've heard their testimony it's really, really, really hard to have anything but love in your heart for that person. The same thing goes for when you're sitting around that table we pray for each other, we pray for things happening in the legislature, but mostly we just pray for the needs of other people, our fellow members. It's about relationships, it's about relationships with each other, it's about sharing our relationships, our faith with the Lord. It truly is, I say this with the most sincerity, it's the most important hour of the legislative week. What a blessing it is!"

Steve: "When we take away the rolls that we play in greater society, and we take away occupation, and we take away all the things of this world, the temporal things, we really peel it back. You are a husband, you are a father, you are a Christ follower, you are just the same as your constituents. It's the folks that are getting up and they're going to work and maybe they're a teacher and that is their occupation that is their roll in this society that we have and yours is a little bit different. Ultimately, that's what I think people need to acknowledge, is that regardless of the points of view, regardless of the debate or the topic, truly there are people behind what we see publicly and that's what we need to be concerned with and pray for. We've just discussed it, just touched on it this morning, at the passing of Representative Elijah Cummings. Now people may not have agreed with his position and his stance, and I'm sure there have been hot, heated debates over things in politics, but ultimately they're just a family who is grieving the loss of a father, a grandfather, a son and that's who we need to grieve. That's what we need to look at, that and it's important to remember for that hour of Bible study that's exactly who you are."

Todd: "That's exactly right, we're as broken as everybody else, I promise you, if not more, and it's in Christ yielding that we come together in our faith. I just can't tell you what Matt's ministry, you know we had an opportunity recently a few of us, I hope, to show Matt some of our love for him. It begins foremost with... yea, I wouldn't want to serve on legislature without Matt Barnes there. I believe this and I know so many of my colleges believe this even the kind of people that don't attend the Bible study, Matt witnesses to them. I can tell you one of the most important conversations I've ever had in the Statehouse was sitting on a bench right off the house floor. Talking about some things I was dealing with, some frustrations I was dealing with. Matt and I prayed together, Matt gave me some incredibly smart insight into how I should pray moving forward. What I was dealing with, it was a relationship issue. We have all the same problems, all the same issues. I say when you walk into that building, you have to put your armor on, you have to put your spiritual armor on because that building can, the legislative process, the government in general, it can expose your character flaws and human weakness. What Matt does is, Matt arms us, Matt leads us. It's incredibly important, like you said, we can agree or disagree but if we keep in mind who we are serving, we will be just fine."

Matt: "Just to clarify something, Todd that you just said, that I said something smart, there's a lot of people out there chuckling because they've tried to pick my brain and realized that there is slim pickings there. (lol) At the same time, anything I give out, if it's wise it has to come from the word of God and He's the one that is truly wise. I sometimes feel like a doctor handing out prescriptions and really the prescriptions are scripture, handing those out to whether hurting people or people just needing advice. There is only one wisdom and that comes form the Lord. But thank you for saying that, Tod because it really helps my day that I said something that was half way smart."

Todd: "Matt we love you brother, everybody in that building. The other thing I wanted to say is so more than just the 150 people I serve. You know we have statewide office holders that attend that Bible study. But there are so may young people that serve in government, particularly they serve in legislature, to be legislative aids and press secretaries. These young people 22 to 30 years old often who, to have somebody spiritually leading them, is huge. Again, they face the same temptations, they're as broken as the rest of us and to be able to have somebody in the building guiding them. Matt leads a Bible study for them. It has been my privilege to talk to that group and see that group. I just can't, the power of Matt's ministry, I didn't know it existed when I was elected but I would never want to be there without it. It's just powerful, it's awesome, and I praise the Lord for him and thank the Lord for him. He is an amazing person and it's an amazing ministry."

Steve: "Well that is an incredible testimony and in just a couple of minutes we are going to be discussing the upcoming 15 year anniversary banquet. Todd will you stick with us for a moment?"

Todd: "Sure."

Steve: "Alright we are going to take a quick one minute break and we are going to be right back with Matt Barnes of Public Servants' Prayer."