When the film premiered at The Kennedy Center, I got to portray Thomas Jefferson and lead some Little Patriots in the Pledge of Allegiance before introducing Scott Turner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and a former NFL player. I got a chance to speak with him backstage and asked if there was anything he wanted me to be sure to mention in his intro. He said, "Just tell them I love my God, my family, and my country." 

I actually asked to use a handheld mic, so I could make a big deal about it as an inventor! Then I had to pull out my spectacles since the Pledge was written long after "my time." It was super fun! 

You can watch Star Spangled Adventures the Movie for free at www.StarSpangledAdventures.com.

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I played George Whitefield (right) opposite Benjamin Franklin in one of the Star Spangled Adventures short films, "The First Great Awakening":

Joyce and I are on Headline Prayer Live the second and fifth Tuesdays of each month. To get an email to remind you, sign up at www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/Prayer. 

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My good friend Cheryl Rhoads, who plays Liberty the Eagle and served as casting director for Star Spangled Adventures the Movie, spoke before it was screened at The Great American State Fair on the Washington Mall. Click here to watch. The camera man is a friend, too: Justin Moe played several voices in the film, including Thomas Jefferson.

You can watch the film at home or with a group for free. Sign up and get the link at www.StarSpangledAdventures.com.

I was teaching that whole day, so we needed to pre-record the interview. We recorded silence for the "All Pray" moments, when the phone line was unmuted, and everyone prayed at once to the One who heard them all. Those prayers were not recorded when the interview aired.

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That's the back of my T-shirt from Washington's Armor, which is on Amazon Prime right now. I served as dialect coach and performed the voices of two French soldiers: www.RichDrama.com/blog/tag/Washington-s-Armor.

I was invited to appear as Thomas Jefferson on August 2, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the "engrossed" version of the Declaration of Independence, but I was a late entry and they filled the promised 90 minute program. Also, there was an actor who performed live and included some of the same excerpts from Samuel Adams' speech at Independence Hall on August 1, 1776, that I used in my monologue. 

Whatever the reason or reasons my contribution wasn't included, I wanted to share it with you: 

Here's my original post: 

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Before performing my whole Thomas Jefferson monologue for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)'s Annual Meeting, I was blessed to lead them in the Pledge of Allegiance, as President Jefferson with the help of some of the Representatives and Senators of Kids Congress:

There's one thing my friend wrote that I didn't address in the article: "We were founded -clearly - on the principle of separation of Church and State." I didn't address that comment in the article for two reasons: 

1. I was 500 words over my target length when I submitted the article, mostly due to the quotes of our founders I included. 

2. Most of our intercessors have been hearing where the phrase "separation of Church and State" came from for decades. 

In case you haven't heard, it didn't come from our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, or our Bill of Rights. It's found in a letter our third President, Thomas Jefferson, wrote to the Baptists of Danbury, CT, who were concerned that the newly formed federal government would dictate how their church was run. He responded:

I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

President Jefferson was assuring them that the First Amendment was protecting them from the government running the church, not that there could be no influence of the Church on the State or no expression of faith from those in government. 

President Jefferson closes with this: "I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem."

He wrote that on January 1, in the Year of Our Lord Christ (as he was want to put in official Presidential documents) 1802. Two days later, he got on his horse and rode to church in the Capitol. 

You can read both letters by clicking here. 

Here's another statement my friend made that I didn't have room to bring into the article: "I could see why non-Christians would be alienated by this type of misleading post. Jesus Christ is our savior, but we must respect all religions in order to provide a safe and respectful place for all citizens."

My response is that our nation was dedicated to reaching those people, not hiding the soul-saving Gospel from them. In 1607 settlers landed at Cape Henry in what is now Virginia. After three days of fasting and prayer they pulled two beams from their ship to make a cross. In the shadow of that cross Rev. Robert Hunt prayed this: 

We dedicate this land to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains and may this land, along with England, be evangelists to the world.

Neither Joyce nor I could be on today's Headline Prayer Live, but I'm including it here, because our colleagues and friends dug into the article with fervor! 

To get email alerts when Joyce and I are on Headline Prayer Live, sign up at www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/Prayer. 

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This #ScriptureInTheNight (www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/InterpretingTheTimes) was too long for Instagram, so I'm sharing it here. I chose the hashtag #ScriptureInTheNight because -- if memory serves -- it didn't pull anything up! I'm blessed and intrigued to see it brings up posts from a host of other authors! The God who never sleeps is blessing many of us in the night with Scripture! 

Here's tonight's post:

We covered that article and others on Headline Prayer Live that day: 

For email alerts when Joyce and I will be on Headline Prayer Live sign up at www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/Prayer.

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I've revamped my page on Washington's Armor, and included a short behind the scenes video I'd never seen about one of my scenes:

While we were praying for Ms. Peters, she was having lunch with President Trump to thank him for his part in her freedom!

Sign up to get an email alert the next time we're on Headline Prayer Live: www.RichDrama.com/blog/post/Prayer.

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I play three voices in this wonderful film we saw at its world premiere at The Kennedy Center: