Today, we do a "Deep Dive" into the Red Letter Crusade and the WDJS Book Project. This episode offers a rich and layered understanding of how faith and finance can intersect in today’s world.

The Crusade aims to share the untainted words of Jesus, avoiding the pitfalls of doctrinal disputes that have historically divided the Christian community, through the WDJS Book Project.

The podcast reveals how the initiative is backed by a seasoned team with impressive credentials in outreach and media, spearheaded by Reverend Terry and Pastor Bob, who are committed to maximizing the distribution of their message.

Furthermore, listeners learn about the innovative funding model—the Product Performance Agreement—that allows partners to invest in the Crusade with the promise of a substantial 3x return.

This approach is particularly appealing to those who may have experienced financial hardship, presenting the Crusade as a way to potentially restore lost wealth while engaging in a mission that promotes spiritual purity.

Takeaways:

• The podcast dives into the Red Letter Crusade, focusing on Jesus's words without human commentary, aiming for global reach.
• They present a unique financial model where partners can invest and potentially earn three times their contribution back.
• The mission emphasizes unity in Christianity by stripping away divisive doctrines and sticking strictly to Jesus's teachings.
• The team behind this initiative is experienced, blending outreach with media savvy, aiming to maximize their impact.
• The podcast highlights a structured approach where 50% of funding goes to the book's production and marketing efforts.
• Their financial strategy includes tiers of partnerships, allowing various contributors to feel involved and rewarded.

Websites Mentioned in the Podcast:

WDJS BOOK PROJECT: httsp://wdjsbookproject.com

RED LETTER CRUSADE: https://redlettercrusade.site

AFFILIATE MARKETER INFORMATION: https://wdjsbookproject.com/ffp/

Welcome back to the Deep Dive.

Today we're looking at something quite unique.

It's this really interesting mix of, well, faith publishing and some pretty bold financial ideas.

Yeah, it's centered around this mission.

They call it the Red Letter Crusade.

And they've got a book, what did Jesus say?

Seven Messages from the Master.

Right.

And we've got a good stack of materials here, promotional stuff, support plans, even a detailed funding proposal.

It's quite comprehensive.

It lays out their whole strategy.

Our sources really give us a window into how they plan to get this message out globally.

The mission they lay out for you, the learner, is all about distillation, pure and simple.

How so?

Well, they want to get Jesus's words, the red letter ones, you know, like in some Bibles, out everywhere.

Yeah, globally.

And the key thing is without any added commentary, no doctrinal notes, none of that, no human opinions, they basically pitch it as a shortcut, you know, a way to find clarity, hope, maybe some direction when things feel confusing.

Right.

And our sources dig into their philosophy.

That people involve quite a team, actually.

And this financial model, which is pretty unique.

They're not looking for donations.

It's a group fund opportunity, promising partners potentially three times their money back.

A 3x return.

Yeah, 3x.

That's where it gets really fascinating, doesn't it?

This mix of like pure spiritual goals and a very structured financial play.

Exactly.

So let's get into it.

Where does their philosophy start?

It starts with identifying what they see as a huge problem.

Division.

Division within Christianity, the body of Christ.

And what's causing it.

According to them, they point fingers directly at debates over traditions, doctrines and personalities.

They argue these things create man made fences, barriers to unity.

And they sound pretty strong about it.

Oh yeah.

They don't pull punches.

The goal is stripping away filters and politics that have fogged up the gospel.

They even argued Jesus didn't come to start a religion.

It's a call for radical simplification, basically saying unity only comes if we stick purely to his words, ignore the rest.

Okay, so it's all about the source.

Material, which leads right into how they define themselves.

Fundamentally, they say it's a movement of obedience.

Obedience?

Yeah, built around that scripture verse, if you love me, keep my commandments.

The idea seems to be, you know, complex theology causes division.

So let's just focus on simple, direct obedience to Jesus commands.

Makes sense as simplification is the goal, so the product must reflect that.

Right, the book.

Exactly.

The main product is this book.

What did Jesus say?

Seven messages from the Master.

Seven messages okay.

And they're careful to say it was composed, not written.

Meaning it uses only those red letter words.

Over 500 verses, apparently laid out like a devotional.

Composed, not written, just the red letters.

That's the claim.

Removing all human commentary, all politics, just pure scripture.

Okay, let's pivot.

Let's talk about the team behind this.

Because like you said, this isn't just a few people with an idea.

It sounds organized, very organized.

It's run by people with serious experience in outreach and media.

This isn't a small scale grassroots thing.

Who are the key players?

Well, the main author listed is Reverend Terry, a Christian.

He's also a retired professional speaker.

We're talking over 2,500 presentations, 40 years in ministry, so real communication chops there.

Okay.

Seasoned speaker.

And who's handling the.

The engine driving it, the promotion?

That seems to be Pastor Robert Thibodeau, known as Pastor Bob.

His background's pretty interesting.

Former army cavalry, retired police supervisor.

Wow.

But his key strength here is online ministry.

He founded Evangelism radio, which apparently Shotcast.com rated as the number one Christian online radio station worldwide.

Number one.

Yeah.

Okay, so he knows how to scale things online.

Exactly.

This team understands how to build and scale an operation, not just how to preach.

They've got institutional knowledge.

And there's support staff, too.

Yeah, they mentioned Tony Reeves, a Navy veteran running administration, and Helen cook, with over 20 years in publicity and marketing.

So it's a deliberate mix.

Media, military discipline, marketing.

All aimed at maximum reach.

Right, and they're using that infrastructure across a whole media setup.

The Red Letter Crusade podcast.

A YouTube program.

It's a platform.

Why?

What's the end goal of all that reach?

Well, they say it's not about starting a new church or denomination.

It's about helping people align their lives, their ministries, even their businesses, directly with Jesus teachings based only on those words.

High volume distribution is key.

Okay.

High volume distribution.

Which brings us neatly to the business side.

This is where it gets really distinct, I think.

Agreed.

They're seeking funding partners through this group.

Fund opportunity.

And they stress repeatedly, this is not a donation.

Right.

They want partners looking for a financial.

Return, which is fascinating.

Like you said, given the message of absolute spiritual purity.

You've got that on one hand and this pretty sophisticated kingdom, entrepreneurship on the other.

Exactly.

Partners sign a Product performance agreement, a PPA, and that PPA contractually offers a 3x return on whatever they put in.

Three times their money back.

And what kind of money are they looking for?

It's specific.

A minimum of $500.

Up to a maximum of $5,000 per partner.

Okay.

Relatively accessible amounts for some.

Right.

And the immediate target is raising at least $50,000.

That's to launch the new podcast and get the book rolling online.

And the timeline for that 3x return they anticipate.

Now this is ambitious.

Returning the initial contribution and the 3x multiple within 12 months.

12 months.

Wow.

Okay, we need to unpack the framing of this ppa.

Why not just ask for donations like many ministries do?

Well, the source material hints pretty strongly at the why they position this PPA as, and I'm quoting loosely here, an answer to your prayers.

For whom?

For Christians who might have taken a hit financially lost savings, maybe business revenue, especially during the pandemic years.

So the PPA is presented as a way to potentially reclaim what was lost, but by investing in something that also advances the kingdom.

Ah, okay.

So it speaks directly to people who might be hurting financially, offering them a shot at recovery through a faith based product.

Less about sacrifice, more about participation and potential restoration.

Exactly.

And they model the potential.

They bring up the Shaq.

Remember that book sold over a million copies its first year?

I do.

Huge phenomenon.

They argue their audience for just Jesus words is potentially even bigger and the message inherently stronger.

Whether that's true or not, it sets expectations.

So how does the PPA actually work?

How do partners get paid back?

It's based on unit sales.

They have this benchmark, 20,000 units sold.

That includes everything.

Paperback, ebook, Kindle, audiobook, all formats 20,000 units.

What happens then?

Hitting that number is their projection point for returning all the original contributions to the partners.

Okay, break down the mechanics.

How does the money flow?

Sure.

It's basically a tiered royalty system.

For those first 20,000 sales, $3 from each unit sold is set aside.

That pool of money goes towards paying back the partner's initial contributions.

First principal first.

Makes sense.

Get the initial investment back to the partners quickly.

What happens after the 20k mark?

Once everyone's got their principal back, the rate changes.

Then $2 from each subsequent unit sale is set aside.

And that $2 per unit distribution continues until every partner has received their full contractual 3x multiple.

Got it.

So it's a clear structure.

Prioritize getting the initial money back, then shift to distributing the profit.

Multiple manages risk for the project.

Clear path for partners.

And you can see their focus on scale in how they plan to use the partners funds.

Right, the allocation.

Where does the money go?

Fully half.

50% goes straight into the book fund.

That's printing, distribution, marketing, and General ministry outreach tied to the book, core operations.

Okay, 50% for the product itself.

What about the other half?

Almost all of it is geared towards promotion and incentivizing sales.

This tells you a lot about their growth plan.

How so?

Well, 30% is earmarked for affiliate direct commissions.

That's rewarding partners or others who actively help sell the book.

So paying people to spread the word?

Essentially, yes.

Then another 17% is for more traditional advertising and promotion, like online ads, reaching new people.

Okay, so 30 plus 17, that's 47% on direct promotion and ads.

What's the last 3%?

That's for something called an affiliate tier two.

Override.

You too?

Yeah, it rewards affiliates who don't just sell the book themselves, but who also recruit and mentor new affiliates under them.

It's a multi level approach to speed up growth, viral adoption potential.

Very structured, almost like a network marketing approach built into the funding and promotion.

It has elements of that certainly focused on leveraged growth.

And they also have ways for regular consumers to support it.

Right.

Not just the PPA partner.

Oh, yes, there are different tiers.

Starting around $37 for a supporter, up to nearly $400 for a Kingdom builder.

And people get stuff for that?

Yeah, rewards like the audiobook version, maybe a red letter crusade baseball cap.

Or even for the higher tiers, a 15 minute interview spot on Rev.

Terry's podcast could be good promotion for someone's own ministry or book.

That's smart.

Those tiers make even smaller contributors feel connected and invested in pushing the book out there.

Exactly.

Reinforces the whole structure.

Okay, so zooming back out.

The Red Letter crusade seems to operate on these two, maybe interconnected, but seemingly quite different tracks.

On one side, this intense spiritual focus, absolute purity, obedience, unity, just through the distilled words of Jesus.

Right.

And on the other side, this very structured performance based financial agreement designed to potentially give partners a significant 3x return, possibly restoring wealth lost elsewhere.

It's quite the combination.

So wrapping this up, what does this all mean for you, the listener trying to understand this?

Well, I think the whole thing really rests on one big idea.

That just separating Jesus words from all interpretation automatically creates unity.

They're essentially betting that the raw power of the words themselves, referencing that Matthew verse again, can cut through not just centuries of theology, but also the realities of launching a product in today's market.

Yeah, the founders definitely argue that by focusing only on what Jesus said, they're getting rid of all the human filters, the politics, full stop.

And maybe more broadly, how do missions like this try to balance, you know, spiritual purity with these kinds of high stakes financial goals.

Something to think about.

Definitely a unique approach we've unpacked today.