Oct 12, 2026 · 55 min
Pastor challenges satanic invocation at Iowa council meeting
Best of the Program | Guest: Pastor Rick Bick | 10/12/26
The episode examines how a disputed invocation became a test of religious expression, public-meeting rules, and the willingness to confront provocation.
- 1Glenn Beck presents polling and fuel prices as signs that could reshape the political landscape despite deepening polarization.
- 2Pastor Rick Bick says Ottumwa’s revised invocation guidelines enabled a satanic prayer and explains why he publicly objected.
- 3The discussion frames the confrontation as a choice between ignoring a provocative act, leaving, or standing up against it.
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Rick Bick recounts standing up during the Ottumwa council meeting, challenging the invocation, and later confronting its speaker.
The brief
Glenn Beck opens with political polls, fuel prices, and the idea that Americans still share standards despite widening polarization and social-media division.
The episode’s central story comes from Ottumwa, Iowa, where a satanic invocation at a city council meeting triggered shock, objections, and a wider argument over public prayer.
Pastor Rick Bick explains that Ottumwa had restored invocations and later broadened its speaker guidelines, allowing the controversial prayer to be selected.
Bick says he stood up because he believed the invocation cursed the city, then defended his intervention despite complaints that he violated meeting procedure.
Beck and Bick debate whether the speaker sought provocation, made a political statement, or aimed to end prayer at council meetings altogether.
The closing reflection turns the incident into a civic test: ignore the act, leave the room, or publicly challenge what one believes is wrong.