Books
Faith Will Inspire America’s Revival
Sen. James Lankford’s new bestseller challenges us to help fix our nation.
Turnaround: America’s Revival By James Lankford
Humanix Books 256 pages, $29.99
W BY MARISA HERMAN
hile many ameri- cans feel like the coun- try is turning a corner now that President
Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office, Sen. James Lankford knows that Washington, D.C., won’t be able to solve the nation’s problems alone. Instead of getting angry with the
state of the nation, the Oklahoma Republican is encouraging Ameri- cans to play a starring role in setting the country on the right path by offer- ing his experiences and imparting his faith in stories he hopes will serve as inspiration to readers of Turnaround. Even though we live in the great-
est, wealthiest, and most advanced nation in the world, Lankford said there is a “fascinating phenomenon” where Americans “complain about ourselves” because we are “never set- tled” and “want to be better.” That insatiable spirit embedded
within is not just a challenge for elect- ed officials to grapple with. “It is a challenge to us as a nation
to do a couple things,” he said. “One is to get involved. We as conserva- tives, especially, don’t believe that
Washington fixes the country; we fix the country.” Lankford asks readers what
actions they are taking to help chart the course of America. “There’s a lot of ideas that I just
try to put out to people and say, ‘Hey, have you thought about this?’ So, it’s both a personal evaluation and a challenge to the nation.” Through anecdotes about serving
as a senator and as a youth pastor, Lankford presents a call to action to Americans to embrace responsi- bility by volunteering or mentoring a young person or practicing their faith.
Using Scripture, he dives into his
personal faith perspective and how he integrates his religious beliefs with his political sense, which in turn is a practice he contends makes friends more often than enemies. “So many people of faith, they
seem to isolate their faith life from their political sense,” he said. “If your faith only affects what you do on a weekend, that’s not a faith, that’s called a hobby. “A hobby is something you do on weekends. A faith permeates every part of what you do.” Melding faith and politics may
come natural for the youth pastor turned politician, but it is a trait that doesn’t come as easily to many, which served as an inspiration for the book. After receiving so many inquiries
The biggest lesson Lankford hopes readers take away is that the work necessary for the country to turn around is just beginning.
42 NEWSMAX | APRIL 2025
over the years about his ability to combine faith and politics, Lankford writes about how cultivating change starts with every individual. “It’s not intended to be slurped,
like a smoothie,” he said of the book. “It is intended to be chewed on, like a steak.” The biggest lesson Lankford hopes
readers take away is that the work necessary for the country to turn around is just beginning. “As conservatives, we were like,
‘Trump won, everything’s done,’” Lankford said. “In real life, that guy is going to Washington and doing his job and we each have got to do a job. “If we want the nation to turn
around, then we have to stop say- ing somebody else is going to do it. We have to actually engage and say, ‘What is my part of the national turn- around’”? While making personal changes
to better the community may feel like tackling a debris field after a tornado, Lankford said the lesson is to start in your own backyard.
LANKFORD/FACEBOOK
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