Can America Rebuild in 52 Days?
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Can America Rebuild in 52 Days?
New Book Challenges Ordinary Americans to Lead with Nehemiah’s Courage
RICHARDSON, Texas — As Americans increasingly point to a crisis of leadership in government, culture, and the Church, a new book argues the solution may be found in one of the Bible’s most overlooked servant leaders.
In Stepping Up to Lead: Building a Nation in the Footsteps of Nehemiah, (Whitaker House), Bible teacher and ministry leader Bunni Pounds calls Christians to reclaim their influence by following the leadership principles of Nehemiah—the cupbearer God used to rebuild Jerusalem’s broken walls in just 52 days against overwhelming odds. Candace Cameron Bure, actress, producer and CEO of CandyRock Entertainment, writes the book’s foreword.
“Our nation faces a leadership crisis,” said Pounds, founder of the national nonprofit Christians Engaged. “And throughout Scripture, God responds to moments like this by calling ordinary people to step up with extraordinary courage.”
According to Gallup, Americans now rank government dysfunction among the nation’s top problems. Pounds believes the church must not retreat from culture but engage it with biblical conviction and humility.
“Nehemiah wasn’t a king, priest, or prophet—he was a simple cupbearer,” Pounds said. “Yet God used him to unite a divided people, restore moral clarity, and rebuild a nation. His leadership model is exactly what America needs right now.”
Drawing parallels between ancient Israel and modern America, Stepping Up emphasizes that spiritual renewal must precede cultural restoration. Pounds notes that Nehemiah’s success was not achieved alone, but Ezra paved the way, turning the hearts of the people back to God’s Word.
“When God’s presence returned to individual lives and families, self-governance followed,” she said. “That’s the pattern—then and now.”
In one of the book’s most personal sections, Pounds credits her father as her “spiritual Ezra.”
“He gave me spiritual roots and pushed me to love the Word of God,” she said.
As a child, Pounds sat on the front row of Bible seminars her father hosted at their church. She grew up in a community that taught Scripture chronologically—reading it, discussing it, debating it, and memorizing it.
“My dad wrote his sermons on spiral notepads, color-coding key words,” she recalled. “That reckless abandon to pursue God rubbed off on me. I wanted to know God like my father did, so I read and studied like him.”
Throughout the book, Pounds challenges believers to recognize their own spheres of influence—at home, in church, and in the public square.
“God empowers those He calls,” she said. “Great leaders understand they can do nothing apart from Him.”
A former political consultant who spent 16 years in politics and government, Pounds launched Christians Engaged in December 2019 to mobilize believers to pray, vote, and engage biblically in every election. The organization has since reached one million Americans that they serve through election reminders and discipleship tools.
This spring, April 18-25, she has galvanized more than 450 Christian leaders to come together for America Reads the Bible, a week-long Bible-reading event to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday at the Museum of the Bible. In the spirit of Ezra, readers from diverse communities will narrate the Bible from Genesis to Revelation – livestreamed to the nation through Great American Pureflix.
Pounds also shares her personal journey of stepping into leadership, including her 2018 run for Congress—an experience she describes as “a Holy Spirit prompting that both blessed and wrecked my life, in the best way.”
The book also honors modern leaders who have modeled courageous faith in public life, including Rev. James Robison, Dr. James Dobson, Beverly LaHaye, Patricia Heaton, Secretary Scott Turner, and constitutional attorney Kelly Shackelford. The book officially launches on May 19th, but it is up for pre-order now.
“America doesn’t need perfect leaders,” Pounds said. “We need faithful ones—men and women willing to step up, speak truth, and rebuild what’s been broken.”
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About the Author
Bunni Pounds is the founder and president of Christians Engaged and serves as Senior Vice President of Family Policy Alliance and Family Policy Alliance Foundation. She is the author of Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession and host of the Jesus for America podcast, as well as co-host of Conversations with Christians Engaged.
MEDIA
To arrange your NRB interview with Bunni Pounds, contact:
Gregg Wooding
I AM PR
972-567-7660
gregg@iampronline.com