Latest / Worldview Matters With David Fiorazo / Dixon Wolfe: Building Conservative Coalitions To Preserve Our Republic

Transcript

Dixon Wolfe: Building Conservative Coalitions To Preserve Our Republic · Worldview Matters With David Fiorazo

• 0:02
  Welcome to Worldview Matters. Discussing controversial issues. Discerning current events. Defending biblical Christianity. No topic. Off limits. And now, here's your host, David Fiorazzo.
• 0:20
  Hello, friends, family, and Christ. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Worldview Matters. We're so thankful to be able to do what we do, and I hope it's a blessing to the body of Christ. We hear from you, and we always get encouragement from that, so you can email us anytime. Worldviewmatters.tv is the website. And by the way, if you miss any of your favorite guests, you can do, at that same place, Worldviewmatters.tv.
• 0:45
  TV, type in the search, the name of whatever guest you missed, and all their podcasts will come up. So that's a neat feature, I think, because it's hard to keep up with what we're doing here. I'm sure you guys want to hear more of your favorite podcasts. So today, another great guest, this time in studio.
• 1:03
  because we've been trying to connect with this young man, and I can call him young because I'm so much older. Dixon Wolfe is the Brown County Supervisor in Wisconsin, and he also works with Turning Point Action. He's the Midwest Manager, and it's so great to have him in studio so we can catch up and talk about important issues here. Welcome, Dixon. Good to see you. Thank you so much for having me today. I'm excited to have a conversation. Yeah, me too. And so let's go back to where we met. Now, did
• 1:31
  First of all, you grew up in the UP, Upper Peninsula of Michigan? I did, yes. My grandfather is a pastor up there, and then my dad was a youth pastor in Iron Mountain as well. Lived there for several years, obviously in ministry, right? Sometimes you move around a lot, so my family did do that. I was in Illinois for a time, but glad to be back.
• 1:53
  up north. It's a lot better than Illinois. God saved you there. Yes, he did. Absolutely. So I grew up in Kingsford, which is right next to Iron Mountain, Michigan. If you guys are not familiar with that, it's the upper part of Michigan. We call it the Upper Peninsula, but it's just a couple hours from here, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Appleton, Wisconsin. And so I had been to your dad's church, Redemption Hill. What was it before? It was a Baptist church.
• 2:20
  Yep. So it was an Emmanuel Baptist church. Emmanuel Baptist. That's right. And they went through some changes there, and the church is thriving and doing well, and the Lord's work is happening up there. Very encouraged. Yeah. So if you're in Iron Mountain, Kingsford area, yeah, you want to know some solid churches, because it's hard to find these days.
• 2:40
  solid churches that are not only sound doctrine, but talk about some of these issues that we like to discuss worldview issues we'd like to discuss on this podcast. So, okay, let's go back to, I think when we met at a coffee shop or Cheesecake Heaven in Green Bay a couple of years ago, a year and a half ago, maybe.
• 2:57
  Yes, we met at Cheesecake Heaven. I think we had some political event over there for maybe one of the assembly candidates for the state of Wisconsin. But it was great to meet you. I've heard a lot about you at the time, right? Because you've made a difference.
• 3:13
  within the church and the body of believers. Well, thank you for that, working on that big time, because the church really needs kind of a shot in the arm. Absolutely. You know, we've got to wake up the sleepy Christians and encourage those who are kind of getting battle-weary to stay in the battle or get in the fight. As my friend Heidi St. John used to say, get off the bench and into the game.
• 3:35
  But so, yeah, we met with a handful of pastors there, too. We had a great conversation because my pastor, David Roth, at One Way Christian Church in Green Bay, is trying to kind of encourage other men of God, pastors who are not ashamed of the gospel and...
• 3:54
  He wants to encourage them to get their congregations engaged in the political process. So let's talk about, before we talk about what happened last year and why you were scheduled to come on, let's talk about that because Christians have a wrong idea of politics. They think, oh, it's secular, we shouldn't be involved. We talk about that a lot, but here's someone who is putting, you're actually backing up your words with action.
• 4:21
  So you ran for an election. We can get to that, too. But talk about just how important that is for believers of all people, all citizens in America to be active in this process to preserve our freedoms.
• 4:35
  Yeah, well, I think the statistic is like 42% of Bible-believing Christians stay home from the polls. And that's a traditionally conservative group of people that could be a huge voice and a huge force in bringing change in our local governments, in our national politics. And so it's super important that our believing Christians are out there working.
• 5:04
  investing in the welfare of the city, right? Politics. Yes. The affairs of the city, right? That's what politics means. Absolutely. And I think within the Christian realm, right, we want to focus on our families and focus on our relationship with God. But I think some of the time we become blind to the fact that we need to be invested in our community. Yeah.
• 5:27
  or else people who believe crazy things like socialism and communism, right, which is creeping in. We're seeing it. We're seeing it every single day. Those people are getting a foothold because Christians are not investing their time in the local public square. And so it's super important that Christians start standing up, showing up, and speaking the truth of God's word. And yeah. Amen, brother.
• 5:57
  Yeah, it's been a battle. Some of us have been beating that drum a long time. Maybe I didn't do it in the best way all the time with the right spirit, so to speak. But I think I've gotten a lot better at just trying to encourage believers. We take our freedoms for granted.
• 6:17
  Until we maybe see a video from a communist country or a Muslim country or nation or somewhere where a Christian will get arrested. Even in the UK now, there's some Christians being arrested for sharing the gospel or quoting controversial Bible verses.
• 6:35
  So we cannot think that that can't come to America. We can't be that ignorant. Okay? I just look at our northern neighbors. So, okay, now let's go back to last September, I think, or end of August, September, you were scheduled to come in here and do a podcast before you were married. And...
• 7:01
  It was, I think, was it the week before or the week after the assassination of Charlie Kirk? And you got really busy. I think it was a week before. Yes. If I remember right. Yes. I think I had a training event or something with Turning Point. I was with Charlie down at the Turning Point headquarters and got busy. We rescheduled our podcast. But the week prior, I had a meeting actually with the Brown County Sheriff up in Green Bay.
• 7:30
  all of a sudden I'm getting text messages and calls that Charlie Kirk's been shot. Right. And, and I'm shocked and stunned. Right. And I lead a large team of people. And, you know, in that moment, you're like, how do I communicate this with my team? Not just like processing it yourself. So, um, that was a busy season for sure. I'm glad we're following up on that. But, um, that was a tragic time last year for sure. And crazy. Yeah.
• 7:59
  I hope it woke a lot of people. It looked like it did. You know, when I saw that memorial service, that was one of the most encouraging things I've seen as far as public events in a long time, possibly my lifetime. I'm not idolizing anyone or anything, but I'm saying for not only Christians to be worshiping Jesus that whole day there at the memorial service, but people, conservatives, or people that aren't even maybe believers,
• 8:26
  You know, what that did, I think, for a lot of people's faith and to give them a wake up call. What have you seen working with Turning Point Action as far as the not not just the youth, but I think it affected a lot of people. And have you seen anything, any different momentum as far as people waking up and getting involved?
• 8:49
  Well, absolutely. I want to go back first to knowing Charlie personally. He walked the walk and talked the talk. We saw it every week on his podcast, in the way he spoke. He was a great orator, right, and a champion of the gospel. But knowing him personally and interacting with him, I mean, he showed me the love of Christ just as one of his—
• 9:12
  at peon employees, right. Um, starting off at turning point just as a really young kid, right. Um, always treated me with respect, always pointed us to the gospel. And, um, that was just very encouraging to me. And so, uh,
• 9:28
  I believe through his death, obviously through his life, he was very influential, but through his death, I think it was a wake-up call for a lot of young people, people all over the world, no matter their age, but young people specifically on, we need to get right with God. And we need to stand up for what's right and the truth.
• 9:50
  An example, Charlie's life, right? And I've seen that people are passionate, they, they want to make sure that Charlie's legacy lives on. And so very excited about the future and turning points continue to make that happen.
• 10:08
  Let's talk a little more about that because it's very interesting to me that he was already reaching millions through these video clips and through the college campuses and the tours he was doing and his podcast, my goodness. Mm-hmm.
• 10:23
  But, I mean, God is sovereign over things, and because of his death, he's reaching even, I mean, countless more millions, perhaps, through the social media clips, through Turning Point. They're continuing the ministry, the goal, and it is really astounding to see the reach grow. Give us like an inside scoop of what's going on, what's happening, where is that headed in the future,
• 10:51
  Because it seems pretty strong and it seems like you're reaching more people. Yeah, absolutely. So Turning Point USA has grown exponentially. We've gotten hundreds of thousands of requests for new chapters all over the country at different schools. Kids are passionate. They want Charlie's legacy to live on. I work with Turning Point Action. So we are the political arm of the Turning Point wing. And I lead that in the Midwest region, so Wisconsin and Iowa.
• 11:20
  We have expanded exponentially as well, built our team in Iowa. We are full steam ahead to get a Republican elected for president in 2028. And our goal is really to build coalitions of like-minded people across swing states across the country.
• 11:38
  In Wisconsin, we're building different moms coalitions, moms coming together to talk about different issues moms might care about, right? Or coalitions with faith leaders, right? Within the church.
• 11:53
  um like-minded people that can go out and affect change right and in the political sphere of influence so um we've seen that grow my team has expanded a lot uh over the past few years i have like 20 reps i go visit all across the midwest wow
• 12:11
  But we're seeing change happen and we're seeing people grab onto the movement, say, how can I get involved and push forward to make sure Charlie isn't forgotten? Yeah. Praise God. I want to say, first of all, before you forget, congratulations that you're married. Thank you. That you weren't when we first tried to schedule you for an interview last year and you're going to have a baby. Tell us about that.
• 12:36
  Well, actually, our baby was born. Oh, my goodness. Am I behind? A month ago. Oh, my goodness. A little baby girl. She's awesome. It's great being a dad. I don't get very much sleep, but I guess that's what you sign up for. Well, you don't look tired. It must be good to be young. Absolutely. So congrats, Dixon. So let's talk a little bit more about there shouldn't be a separation. I know Turning Point does it for a reason, between Turning Point action and Turning Point faith.
• 13:06
  because of the faulty understanding or lack of understanding of the separation of church and state in this country, and pastors for decades unnecessarily self-censoring from the pulpit—
• 13:22
  We Americans generally have, Christians generally have not a healthy understanding of their role. So tell us about that and why they felt that necessary, because turning point action is important, but turning point faith, I understand that role as well. So tell us about the difference between the two and what their goals are.
• 13:46
  Yeah, so Turning Point Action and Turning Point Faith are different specifications within the nonprofit realm. Turning Point Faith originally started as a 501c3. Turning Point Action is a 501c4, so we can engage in candidate endorsements and political activism at Turning Point Action.
• 14:05
  The reason we started as a 501c3 at Turning Point Faith is because originally there was that concern about the separation of church and state and the legality of promoting specific candidates right from the pulpit. And yes, I know. I know. It's crazy. And the government since the 60s was pushing this false narrative on churches that—
• 14:30
  You cannot tell people from the pulpit your political perspectives and things like that. And that's been untrue because of freedom of religion and freedom of speech, right? But just recently, the Supreme Court lifted those restrictions in 2024. So the restrictions that should have never been there because constitutionally, it was unconstitutional. Correct.
• 14:55
  Um, so basically turning point faith was started off to try to get into the churches at least to kind of smooth over some of those fears. Right. We're a 501 C three, just like you, we can talk to you. We're not a political action group. Um,
• 15:11
  And what we've seen is churches be more receptive to that, and they are more on board with welcoming in that type of engagement, more education on how your church can get involved in speaking the truth within politics, right? But we've seen a little bit of...
• 15:35
  uh criticism from churches maybe on interacting with turning point action um simply because they're afraid right even still even after those restrictions have been lifted and so we're trying to engage those people and say hey
• 15:51
  We need groups, we need coalitions of faith leaders to get involved in the political process, to speak their minds, to speak the truth, because that's really lacking these days in the political realm. Oh my goodness. Yeah, churches drop the ball big time, but that's part of the reason we do what we do. We talk about everything to the body of Christ and try to encourage congregants to lovingly and respectfully approach their pastors—
• 16:18
  I think, like I told you, like 20 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago, I might have been a little bit too critical on the critical side. I wouldn't say judgmental because it's just the truth, but I was a little bit more critical about pastors. And just, you know, if you're going to be a pastor, what did the apostles say? We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. What do they say in Acts chapter 5? We must obey God rather than man.
• 16:42
  They should not fear man. If you fear man, you should not be a servant of Christ, especially a pastor or leader or shepherd. But anyway, those were my strong views. And I've toned that, I still believe that, but I've toned it down a little bit because I understand, as you can probably attest to, because of your dad and grandfather, it's hard to be a pastor. It is a huge calling and it is a heavy responsibility because they're going in so many different directions trying to do a lot.
• 17:10
  But at the same time, I believe you've got to find a way to continue to speak to what's happening in our culture to the people that are in your charge, in your care. Yes. It says something, doesn't it, in the Bible and Ephesians about equipping the saints so that they can go out and be salt and light and do ministry anyway? I'm preaching to the choir. I'm off my soapbox. I've got to take this little pause here and talk about Freedom Project Academy. Thank you for giving me that chance there, Dixon. He goes, I didn't have any choice. You just went for it.
• 17:40
  So Freedom Project Academy is enrolling students for the fall right now, and they've been doing this for 16 years. FPA has delivered a fully accredited classical online education rooted firmly in Judeo-Christian values for kids in pre-K through high school. They offer live anytime and homeschool courses to fit your child's needs. So visit freedomforschool.com. That's freedom, F-O-R,
• 18:08
  www.freedomforschool.com. And by the way, you can save 10% on tuition when you use the code David. David. Save 10%. And that's at Freedom Project Academy. Again, let me give you the website, www.freedomforschool.com. Get ready for the fall.
• 18:26
  um okay back to dixon wolf so um where are we at now we've talked about turning point action turning point usa let's talk briefly about some of your local work and i do if we have time if big if because it's going by fast i'd like to talk about your take as a young person would so you're a millennial correct i'm a gen z gen z like i said okay wow you're even younger makes me feel older
• 18:49
  So I would love to get your take on why the younger generations are so much more accepting of socialism and these ideas. But before we do that, talk about your recent victory as a Brown County supervisor and why you decided to get in the game and run in Brown County in Green Bay area. Well, I've always been interested in politics, always wanted to affect change in politics. Right. I feel I feel called to that.
• 19:15
  And so I was 22 years old, took on an incumbent of, uh, I believe 12 years he had been in since 2012. And everyone told me, they said, Dixon, you have no shot. You're 22. You have zero experience. You're too young. Right. And I went for it. I worked hard, knocked doors. I thought, even if I don't win, right, it's, it's an experience and it's character building. Yeah.
• 19:39
  And so I ran, I beat my opponent by, I think, seven percentage points in 2022. Wow. And I think a lot of people were shocked about that. Yeah. Not just the victory, but the margin. Correct. Yeah. Yes. I was so happy for you, bro. I was so happy. Yeah. If you work hard, you can do things. And the far left ran someone against me in my second term, beat him by an even greater margin. Yeah.
• 20:05
  Because he was a wacko or some of his ideas were. Very, very far left. Yes. And so I'm not necessarily well liked by many of the crazy far left socialists. Surprise, surprise. In Green Bay. Yeah. They're coming for Green Bay, especially because it's a very swingy county in the whole country, actually. And so their goals, the socialist goals, is to take over from the bottom up.
• 20:32
  And we're seeing that happening in Wisconsin and all across the country. We see that with Mondani in Wisconsin, likely with Francesca Hong, who's going to likely be the Democrat nominee for governor. So it's just a matter of time, and we need people to stand up and fight. It's not only socialists that are gaining ground and winning these elections, but Muslims who are hardcore Islamists that—
• 20:59
  Many of them support Sharia law and things like that. I'm thinking there's got to be such a level of ignorance in this country about our Constitution. And then I understand that there's a part of our, maybe the younger generation, and maybe just people that are ignorant about Islam and about our Constitution and socialism and the conflicts, right? That they're saying some of these ideas sound good, I'm going to go vote for them. What do you see as the biggest threat?
• 21:26
  Maybe to whether it's green. I know we're very swingy since I moved here. I've been seeing this. Oh, my goodness. How can we 52 48 on certain elections? You know what I mean? So what do you see as a biggest threat? Is it socialism? Is it Islam? Is it something else?
• 21:43
  Well, I think it's a mix of the two. I think they've kind of ganged up together as the far left, right? Coming for American values, Christian values, Christianity in general. They hate God. And I believe that, you know, that is the greatest threat. And we as conservatives and as elected officials, I think—
• 22:08
  And over the years, you know, up till now, you've seen a lack of trust in our institutions, especially from young people. And they're getting discouraged, right? They're getting discouraged from the direction of the country. They're not able to afford homes. There is a lack of hope for them. And so they're turning to this radical ideology that has never worked in the history of the world. And they're looking for that solution.
• 22:38
  I think it's imperative that conservatives stand up and say, no, we have the common sense values. We have the opportunity. We have the key to success, which is God's word, right? And point people in that direction to kind of calm their fears on this.
• 22:59
  What do you think, as far as young people go, is it they're not getting taught true history? So, I mean, you've been out of school for a little while, but did you get a truthful history lesson on socialism, the failures on communism, on anything about Islam? Are kids learning this when they go through school? Because from my understanding and the reports that I hear,
• 23:28
  They're not. And so it's no wonder they're leaning in that direction. What can you tell us about that?
• 23:34
  Yeah, so the left has played the long game on this. Yes. The conservatives back in the 70s focused on the moral majority, right? How do we get as many people elected into public office as we can at this time? Well, the left took the opposite approach. They went into the public institutions and they indoctrinated young people's minds, right? Yeah. And so you're right. People are not seeing the true history of socialism.
• 24:03
  And they're actually getting pushed by those same academic leaders to go that direction, go the direction of socialism. And so it's tragic. It's very, very tragic. And something needs to happen.
• 24:19
  Yeah, if we haven't figured that out by now, especially if you're a parent or grandparent and your children are in the government schools, danger, Will Robinson. I just dated myself. Warning, warning. Oh, my goodness. I think when you said that, I think of Antonio Gramsci. He was an Italian Marxist, and his prison notebook paper said something about the long march, the progressive march through the major institutions in order to break down...
• 24:48
  wall of Christianity or the Christian, the biblical worldview through the... Long game is right. That's what they had mapped out. And boy, I don't think we've caught on to that yet. So very briefly, we just got a few minutes left, Dixon. We've got a media article here on the trust in Congress and media. Not surprisingly, we're going to be talking about the trust in Congress.
• 25:10
  approaches an all-time low now this has continued to go down um it's very scary that people can't get the actual news with too many outlets especially the major networks and um it's really a challenge so you're not surprised by this do you have any thoughts on well media we could talk about that all day but how about how about congress because that's where we live we vote for these people but the trust is at an all-time low
• 25:36
  Yeah, obviously the media is very corrupt. They're gone. In the aspect of Congress, and I remember growing up during the McCain-Romney era, and I remember my parents saying, we vote for Republicans, but they never have a backbone. They never stand up for anything, right? They always roll over and give the enemy what they want. Compromise, yeah. Right? Yeah.
• 25:58
  And I think that's been the view of many Christians and conservatives over the years. And so I think it's not surprising that we see the all-time low. Obviously, Democrats are far, far left, and they're nuts. But the Republicans, they don't like to stand up and fight. That's why Trump was so...
• 26:19
  It was a breath of fresh air. Yes. And now, you know, I don't like his demeanor and his arrogance and the way he says things sometimes, but, you know, at least he stands up to these people. Anyway, it's been very interesting, this whole journey with Trump as an outsider, right?
• 26:39
  Um, so what do you see? You got a minute left. Anything else you want to share? I told you before we got on the podcast, if there's something that's on your heart, let's just communicate that you've got one minute left. Share whatever you'd like, Dixon. Absolutely. Well, I would encourage everyone, please get involved in your local communities, get involved with turning point action. We have an opportunity to do that. Visit tpaction.com.
• 27:00
  For more information, sign up to be part of one of our coalitions. We want to continue to build the conservative movement and to fight for Christianity going forward and our values.
• 27:15
  We've got a lot of work to do, but we're here for a reason. Did you say TP Action or TurningPointAction.com? TP Action.com. TP Action.com. And I forgot to give you Dixon's website. It is DixonWolf, W-O-L-F-E.com. And get in touch with him there and share this podcast. Brother, thank you so much. I'm glad we got you in the studio.
• 27:38
  And we did this. Congrats on your momentum and your success. And Lord willing, he will enlarge your territory. Thank you so much. You're most welcome. God bless you, friends. And as always, keep speaking the truth about things that matter. See you next time.