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How did the way you were parented lead you to where you are?

Brett: Our parents made it very clear that the teen years were not a vacation from responsibility. They were not a free ticket to be rebellious and immature. They didn't buy into the low expectations and let us know that was not the expectation in our home. They also showed through their actions that they were willing to follow God, do what he said, even when it was inconvenient, even when it meant going against the flow.

Alex: They encouraged us not to get stuck being comfortable with what came naturally to us. Brett and I were involved in competitive speech and debate for several years. That was our identity. Our parents decided it was time to move on from that and take those skills we developed and apply them to the real world. And that was when the Rebelution began.

What is uniquely Christian about your message?

Brett: The message of Do Hard Things is helpful to anyone, the same way it's helpful to anyone to exercise or eat healthy food. However, we believe the only way we can truly do hard things with the right motivation — a heart to serve — is to be rooted in the gospel. What Christ did was the ultimate hard thing we couldn't do for ourselves. And that's why we do hard things.

For you, doing hard things has meant being politically active and reading challenging books. But some teens may not have the reading capacity you do or aren't as interested in politics. What does Do Hard Things mean for them?

Alex: We think young people should read and be involved in politics — not necessarily as much as we have, but we definitely think they are good things. But Do Hard Things does look different for everyone. Something that's hard for us may not be hard for you and vice versa. That's the point. "Do hard things" doesn't mean "do this list of things." It especially doesn't mean "do the things Alex and Brett are doing." It means do what's hard for you. Where you have been stuck in your comfort zone, trust God enough to take that first scary step. When you only need a C on a test to pass a class — but you're not learning — aim for an A. The goal is excellence, not excuses, not just getting by. So, depending on where you are in life, what's going on around you, and the talents God has given you, Do Hard Things will look very different for every person. But the mindset is very similar: It's trusting God enough to obey him, even when it's hard.

What did you each learn from supporting Mike Huckabee?

Brett: We learned about the power of the ordinary citizen to make a huge difference in a national election. We didn't wait for orders about whom to support from the national party. Instead we each said, "Look, that's the guy who best represents my values. I'm going to go out and work for him now and not just wait until the primaries are over to vote down the Republican ticket."

This was a case where a lot of people, many of them evangelicals, rallied behind a candidate whom most people didn't think had a chance, and made him the surprise of the entire primary election, winning Iowa, showing strong on Super Tuesday, and being the last candidate in the race before John McCain clinched the nomination. Huck's Army was not so much a grassroots organization as it was organized grassroots.

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October (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52