The Home School Digest Interview
http://www.homeschooldigest.com

Volume 9, Number 2

HSD: What message has God given you concerning the Family and the Church?

TERRY: Our ministry theme is, "Inspiring love in the home and revival in the church." When God first gave us that theme, He made it very clear that the only way we can really have solid, healthy homes is by having revival, first of all in our hearts, and being close to the Lord. That's what it's all about. We're singing songs about family and trying to live that in our own lives. We pray for revival that starts with us as individuals and spreads to our families, and ultimately, will effect the whole nation.

BARBI: Terry was in advertising before we went into full-time music. I was in video, and we had both been in music as youngsters. We branched into other areas, and the Lord pulled us back into this. As He called us, we got nervous. We were both pulling in a lot financially through our jobs. We just didn't see how it could work. As He gave us our theme, it seemed like two different things. Terry had learned in advertising that you really should focus on one theme. We thought, "Well, Lord, this doesn't really make a lot of sense." He finally showed us that it really is one theme, because you can't have revival in your life without revival in your heart. I can't have a good home life, or be a good wife or mother without God doing a work in my heart.

HSD: Do you feel like we are on the verge of spiritual oblivion as a nation, or are we poised for national revival?

TERRY: I see two things. It's kind of like the story, The Tale Of Two Cities. "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." These are some of the worst of times in that, culturally, morally and spiritually, our country is just spiraling downward. At the same time, it seems we are really poised for revival. We see a hunger in God's people (like we've not seen in all the twelve years that we've been ministering) with movements like Promise Keepers, numerous concerts and prayer ministries. Areas of the nation are experiencing what could definitely be called revival, where the presence of the Lord is felt, and whole families are changed.

BARBI: There are a lot of things in the Scriptures that point to the fact that we, in our country, are basically asking for judgment. Just the fact that we are doing treacherous things to unborn children - and the Scriptures talk about shedding innocent blood. What could be more innocent than an unborn child? We are asking for the judgment of God unless something happens. Throughout the Old Testament, when the people repent before God, and admit the wrong, God has always relented. He has always turned and said there was hope. It may not be an immediate response, but as we show the Lord that we are sorry, that we have been complacent, and have not cared like we should, I believe God will hear our prayers and our cries as He has in other nations that have cried out to Him. I believe God will only bring revival as we cry out to Him. We have seen signs of revival, but none of us can know for sure what's going to happen to our nation. In Chronicles, it says we need to humble ourselves, seek the Lord, pray, and turn from all of our wicked ways. Then we will hear from Him and see the healing of our land and of the body of believers.

HSD: How is the face of revival and Christianity looking in other countries of the world?

TERRY: That's what's exciting! We've seen in other nations that this hunger for the Lord is translated into thousands of people coming to Christ, churches working together, whole cultures being changed by the power of the Gospel. The latest place that we've been is in South America - the nation of Peru - and it's just incredible. For instance, in December of 1996, in Lima, Peru alone, which is the capital city, they had over 850,000 people come to Christ, and that was documented by a secular polling agency, which took the poll three times. It sounds like a hyped figure, but it wasn't. This was a real deal. We saw incredible results with hundreds of people coming to the Lord. It's really encouraging, and you say, "Lord, do this in our own country." But, those folks really went through some incredible suffering.

BARBI: We were down there and were asking the leadership of the churches about their revival. They were quite overwhelmed with the spiritual hunger of the people. They were clamoring for Bible studies. When they called for a day of fasting and prayer, the whole church would show up. They couldn't even get the people to leave at 6:00 at night after a full day of prayer. We were asking, "What have you done? Why do you think this is happening? Why is there such a hunger for God and so many people getting saved now?" One of the pastors had said just five years ago in Peru, "We are a nation that has turned our back on God." He said, "We had turned our back on God and we saw the results of it." As they were reading through Deut. 28, he recognized that they were experiencing every curse of a nation that had turned its back on God. So I asked him and this other pastor's wife why this was happening. She said, "Barbi, we have been suffering for years under terrorism, and it got to the point where so many Christians had lost their lives. It was up near 40,000 people, and even children had given their lives for Christ, because they wouldn't deny Him. They were beaten to death in front of their classmates. You'd hear gruesome stories if you talk to some of these pastors. But, the people of God began to cry out to the Lord like never before. We got serious about our relationship to God, and we realized it was not a gray issue. We cried out to God." All I could think of is, "Lord, is that what it takes? Does it take pain and suffering? Does it take hardship and persecution before we would cry out to You in such fervency?" The message in our concerts is, "Let's not make it take suffering and persecution to make us cry out to God."

TERRY: Paul said, "I would that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." The part of the verse we usually leave out is "and the fellowship of His sufferings." Part of knowing the Lord is the "fellowship of His sufferings." It would do us well to ponder what that means.

BARBI: Our society is a stench in His nostrils. In Revelation, the Scripture talks about how if we're not hot or cold, God wants to spit us out of His mouth. That Scripture in the Greek means to throw up. If we're not hot or cold, God can't stand it. We're just lukewarm. He says we may think we're rich, comfortable, and wealthy; and we may think we're fine, and don't need anything but, the fact is, we're wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. He said we're needy people. The Scripture says He's standing at the door, knocking. He wants to come in and have fellowship with us, but we're so complacent that we don't even feel the need for fellowship with God any more.

HSD: What part do you feel homeschooling is having in turning our nation back to God?

TERRY: Homeschooling is such a powerful tool in the hands of parents, because, instead of turning our children over to the state, or to someone else, to train them, we're taking the full responsibility. There's nothing terribly wrong with having someone else train our children, but if we really want to be hands-on parents, homeschooling is really a great option. We can pour so much into our children, and we can pray that they will go out and make a difference in the world. I tell our boys all the time, "You're leaders. God has His hand on you. You're going to make a difference in this world." I don't think there are many teachers out there that are telling them that. I don't remember hearing that when I was in school. I heard a lot of other things.

BARBI: You can build so much into the hearts and minds of your children. The whole Old Testament is full of teachings on our responsibilities as parents and the priestly and fatherly blessings, and what that does to affect our children. It is our responsibility, and yet, a great opportunity, to have your children with you at all times. You're really discipling your children just like Jesus discipled His disciples.

HSD: Many people view music as more of a detriment than part of the solution. How does God use your music to bring about revival?

TERRY: There's something about the anointing of the Lord that goes past the surface of things and gets to where people are living. That's what we hope our music does. Christian music is a lot more powerful than the praise and worship medium we've often placed it in. In Scripture, music was used for prophetic announcements. It was used to pronounce judgment.

BARBI: It was used in teaching, prophesying, accompanying judgment, and for praise and worship. It was used to break down enemy barriers. It was sent ahead of the warriors to fight the battle.

TERRY: It was actually used as a weapon, and we know the Scripture says, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty through God." (2 Cor. 10:4) One of those weapons is praise and prophetic songs.

BARBI: One of the words of praise, Ruwa, is the praise and shouts they gave at the walls of Jericho. Ruwa was to split the ears with sound in a loud outcry - a shout for joy. It's one of the words of praise that actually helped to bring down those enemy walls. We take not just the words and the message of our music seriously, but we take the actual music itself, and apart from the anointing of the Lord on the music, we know that it's worthless. In fact, the Lord has made it very clear that it's not in our own strength that we do this thing. He's wanting to destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent. He wants us to use our gifts for Him, but it's His power that actually makes the difference. It's not our own talents or abilities. When our strengths are at a minimum He can shine through. What we desire is for His power, anointing and glory to be evident, and to bring His presence into people's lives, so they can be changed.

HSD: What is the best protection you have found against division in your marriage?

TERRY: First of all, I have to confess that both of us are fairly hard-headed people. We definitely talk things out and have been known to have one or two heated disagreements over things, but somehow we come together. Our daily prayer life together has brought unity in our marriage. The divorce rate in our country is somewhere around 50%. The divorce rate among couples that have remarried after divorce is around 60%. The divorce rate among couples that have lived together prior to marriage is around 80%. Harvard University did a study of couples that had one really unique characteristic - the couples prayed together on a daily basis! The divorce rate among those couples is one in 1,013 marriages. That's less than 1/10 of 1 percent. That's good insurance! We've found that it definitely brings unity in our home. We still struggle. We're in a pressure cooker because of traveling together constantly.

BARBI: The enemy knows when you are ministering to a lot of people, he can discourage people by breaking down your marriage and breaking down your life. So he works extra hard. If you strike the shepherd, you scatter the sheep. If you strike the people in the public eye, you are going to confuse and discourage a lot of Christians and non-believers. The warfare that people in ministry face is much greater. People who are homeschooling are going to face more warfare, and the only way to fight it is on our knees. "The weapons of our warfare aren't carnal," the Bible says. We must use weapons with divine power to bring down the enemy. When we started praying together regularly as a couple, it really unified our ministry, our marriage, and everything we were doing. When we had a disagreement, instead of fighting about it, we would go to the Lord and ask Him.

TERRY: Some people reading this will say, "My husband and I are not doing that right now" or "We did that for a couple of weeks and then we stopped." I wouldn't want people to think there are not days when we miss, too. But, we've found it is just like in your prayer life, or in reading the Word of God. If you miss a day, you don't put the Bible down forever and never read it again. You pick it up and say, "I need to get back to this again," because the enemy's always trying to divert you. I wouldn't want to give people the wrong impression that we're this perfect couple who starts the day out together holding hands. There are days when we get stressed - we're traveling, and we're running...

BARBI: Sometimes it is just a simple need to go to God and submit ourselves to Him again. Something is very diffusing about going to prayer together. In Psalm 133, it says when we live together in unity, we have a greater anointing, and we have a greater blessing from the Lord. That is where God bestows His blessing - where there is unity. We must, above all, be unified. The device, and greatest desire, of the enemy is to divide. Even the name "devil" means to divide without cause. He is going to work hard to divide our marriages, and our families, and churches. We need to stay on our knees to fight against all those devices of the enemy. The best way is to come together and submit ourselves to God first and not try to iron out the disagreements. We'll never come to an agreement if we don't go to God first.

HSD: The statistics we've heard about divorce among evangelicals is that there's only one or two percentage points between non-believers and evangelical Christians. If that's true, that the divorce rate between couples that pray together is 1 in 1,013, what does that say about evangelical couples? They're obviously not praying together.

TERRY: Obviously not. But that statistic points to the need for revival. The world is saying to the Church, "Aha! You're no different than us. You're dealing with the same thing. You say that your Jesus has all power to save and deliver and to give you abundant life, but you're going through the exact same things that we are." The divorce rate ought to be much lower than that within the evangelical church. We really believe in the power of God to make our lives and our families work. I know the Lord's power hasn't failed. Maybe it's us.

BARBI: That statistic shows the lack of hunger and love for God within the Church. It shows that we are a Church in need of revival.

TERRY: George Barna has come to the conclusion, in his books, that there really is not much difference. Sadly, much of the church isn't bothered by that, and almost has a sense of pride in being like the world. In the North American evangelical church, there are some that almost relish the fact that we are very much like the world. It's time for us to stand up! This sounds like old-fashioned preaching here, but the Word says, "Wherefore, come out from among them and be ye separate!" There are some who have stretched that verse to do some crazy things, but it's time for us to be different - to be the people of God. To stand up and say, "We carry the banner of Jesus Christ, the cross of the Lord. We're going to raise our children up, and they are going to be leaders."

HSD: How do you two orchestrate the teaching and administrating of Travis' and Tyler's studies?

TERRY: I like the way that you said that, because it really is a joint effort within a family. In our case, we are a little different. I do the vast majority of the teaching. It used to be that Barbi would do the teaching and I did the administrative side of our ministry as far as the scheduling and details.

BARBI: What was funny was that behind closed doors, we were both begging God to deliver us. I was saying, "Lord, I just can't do this well. Is this what you've called me to? Okay. I'm willing." And Terry was saying, "Oh, God, I am not cut out for this." So it occurred to us one day that something was wrong here. Our gifts were in different areas than we were functioning.

TERRY: So we tried role reversal, and it worked. I enjoy being with the boys and teaching them. I've got to be honest with you. You're catching me at the worst time of the year, though, because right now I'm feeling that guilt that many homeschool parents feel. I'm about midway through the second semester, and it seems like I'm behind in a bunch of things.

BARBI: We wonder, "Have we done all that we should be doing?"

TERRY: Traveling is tough - motel rooms and airplanes, flying and driving all over the place.

BARBI: Yet, what other child gets to learn songs in Spanish and sing in front of a group of Spanish children in Peru? There are drawbacks, but, they're getting some experiences that other children wouldn't get in a lifetime. When Tyler turned six, he begged us to let him run sound for our programs. We thought, "He's too young for that," but as we watched him and as he kept asking, Terry said, "Well, let's try it." As Terry trained him, he has such a love for it, and such a focus that, now, he's running a whole sound system for us. He's nine years old, and he's the best sound man we've ever had. In many ways, you just train your children as you go about your life. That's what we've tried to do.

HSD: Why did you decide to have your sons travel with you wherever you go?

BARBI: Terry and I began traveling full time in our music a couple of years after we got married. We've been on the road full time for over twelve years now, and when Tyler and Travis were born eight and nine years ago, we thought maybe the Lord was going to call us into a more subtle lifestyle. Instead, God just made it even more clear that He wanted us on the road. We said, "Well, Lord, if you want us to do this, you've got to provide financially for the air fares and all the expense. You've got to help us with this. If you don't want us to bring the boys, then provide somebody to help us." We asked people that had been in traveling ministries, having either brought their children or not, and almost unanimously, we were advised to bring our children. It was such a testimony to our children, because there was miracle after miracle. I remember one afternoon when I put them down for their nap. I said, "Well, honey, would you mind staying with so and so? The church that's having us in Washington, DC can't pay all four airfares." They were crying and saying, "No, we want to go with you." So, I said, "Then, God's going to have to do a miracle. We need to pray about this." We did right then and there. I put them down for their naps, and by the time they woke up, I had an answer. God had provided. The tickets I'd purchased for Terry and I came in the mail with a price that was half the ticket price. I called the travel agent and said, "This must be wrong." She said that the day I purchased them, the price had gone down. So I said, "Sign us up for two more. I'll call the church and make sure it's okay." I woke the boys and said, "God provided, and your prayers were answered." All along, God has proven Himself to be true to our children, as we have gone, together, to Him.

HSD: What unique experiences do they participate in because of your ministry?

TERRY: Our boys sing on our "Go The Distance" recording, a single parent song we did called, "Jesus Is The Lord Of Our Home." They created their own t-shirt. They drew this picture that went on the t-shirt and then an artist took it and embellished it. A lady donated some money, which they made good use of - this is their project. They make all the money from it. Also, they've probably seen every spot that's any kind of a tourist attraction in North America. Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and more, besides other countries. Recently, we rode a train in Peru from Cuzco to Machu Picchu.

BARBI: They see, first-hand, differences in the cultures and the terrain. By being with people in different denominations and churches, they're experiencing more than if they were just in one church. Of course, we love our church. The boys love going to our church, which we try to do every Wednesday night, but we get to see the whole of God's church all across America.

HSD: How are you helping your children develop a spiritual burden for the nations of the world?

#HERE# By talking about the need people have for the Lord. We've tried to share with our boys that people are people, and people need the Lord, even if they are from another country or culture. God loves them. We've gone to a Chinese or Indian restaurant and, while we're eating Indian food, tried to teach the boys about the Indian people - here's where these folks live, where their country is located on the map and that kind of thing. They need the Lord just like we need the Lord.

BARBI: As we grow in the Lord, it's more caught by our children than it is by our teaching them. There's nothing like seeing an accident happen in front of you. Our immediate action is to pray, "Lord Jesus, help this to bring these people closer to you if they're not saved." I remember one time we went through that, and the next time we saw an accident, one of the boys said, "Let's pray." They began to pray, and I thought, "I never taught them to do that." It occurred to me that God called Abraham in Genesis 18 to direct his children and his household to keep the ways of the Lord by doing what was right and just. God has said to teach our children by doing. It doesn't work so well to teach our children one thing and do another. They hear a lot more, and learn more, by the way we are, and how God has trained and taught us, and the compassion that we experience.

HSD: What's your definition of parental success?

TERRY: I feel that probably the most important thing is that, somehow, we would transfer our love for the Lord, our belief in the things of God and our love of the Scriptures to our children, and that they would see more than anything the reality of Jesus Christ. That it wouldn't be just a job - that this is Mom or Dad's thing, but that it would be their thing. Academically, we'd love to see them be fabulous, but really, when you boil it all down, their relationship with the Lord would be the main deal.

BARBI: Terry's often said something that I think is really true. Probably the most important thing to us would be if our children would turn around when they grow up to hear the voice of the Lord and to obey it. Terry talks with the boys a lot about that, and we try to share with them how we hear the voice of the Lord.

TERRY: Travis, my little one, says, "Dad, I don't hear God. I don't hear Him talking." I say, "Well, it's not exactly like you hear somebody talking with their regular voice. Don't worry about it right now. You'll understand it later."

BARBI: Humbling ourselves as parents is important, too. I've seen Terry do this probably more than I've been inclined to, but the Lord has been working on me more lately to humble ourselves before our children, and be able to say, "I'm sorry. I did this wrong." We must be willing to say, "I've failed. Can you forgive me?" Children are about the most forgiving people in the world. It's amazing that they'll just up and say, "That's okay, Mommy" or "That's okay, Daddy. Don't worry about it." They'll just jump right up and they're happy again. One of the most successful things we can do is to know how to apologize and humble ourselves as parents - to be an example. As we are that way, our children will be more willing to humble themselves with us as they get older.

HSD: One hundred years from now, what do you want to be remembered for?

TERRY: I think I would like to see Terry and Barbi Franklin remembered as people who are real. It wasn't a show we put on, but we were genuine. Not without faults, but we loved people and had a deep, deep love for the people of God. We tried to do everything we could do to minister to them. I hope we can leave a legacy of a few songs that would be anointed of the Lord to minister to the body of Christ. I'd like to be known as ones who attempted to be honest, walked in integrity and didn't fleece the flock, so to speak. That we really cared about God's people.

BARBI: I definitely want my children to know me as a woman that sought God and desired, more than anything, to serve Him. I've been praying lately that we, in our ministry, in our marriage, in our family - and me as an individual woman - would do what was in God's heart and mind. That I wouldn't be seeking to do what would glorify me, or would be my agenda, because the Bible says we can have our plans, but God's purposes are the only things that will prevail. It seems like God was looking constantly throughout the whole of Scripture for men and women to do what was in His heart and mind. We all want to have our own agenda. But it's not going to last unless it's God's plan. That's partly why we haven't signed with a record company because we feel that they might try to come in with their plan and try to persuade and influence us away from what God wants. We want to be quiet before God, hear His voice and speak what He wants us to say - not be caught up with needing to pay the bills for some marketing plan. We want to be able to do what God's called us to and not be distracted.

TERRY: And, ultimately, that the Lord would see that we've tried to walk before Him in integrity. I hope our boys can look back and say, "Mom and Dad were not perfect, but they tried. They really did try to make a difference." I hope, that my kids would be able to look back and say, "Dad loved Mom and Mom loved Dad."

HSD: What can our readers expect from a Terry and Barbi Franklin concert?

TERRY: We start off with songs of praise and uptempo, celebratory songs. Songs about family relationships, marriage, and raising kids, interspersed with stories of things that have happened in our lives. Barbi does a segment for children where she has a little character (Nicky the puppet) that comes out and talks to them. My boys will come out and sing a song. Then we go toward the challenge for revival in these last days and some songs that relate to revival. We usually end with prayer for salvation or whatever need is expressed - for folks committing themselves to the Lord or for having a closer family. Husbands and wives rededicate their lives, and their families, to the Lord.

BARBI: We saw a couple ready to sign divorce papers on Monday but, on Saturday, they came to our concert, rededicated their lives to the Lord and renewed their marriage commitment. We were just blessed.

HSD: Can't put a price tag on that, can you?

TERRY: No, you really can't. I wouldn't trade places with those big country-western artists or pop artists for a second. We're seeing people's lives changed. When I'm weary at night, and I put my head on a hotel pillow, it may feel like we're not doing everything, but we are accomplishing something. We're seeing people touched by the Lord - that's the main thing.