Rev. Billy Cerveny Reflects on Tucker Carlson Podcast with Hope, Humility and Gratitude

With regard to one’s church experience, the greatest chance for long-lasting success comes less from just hearing what is said and more by reflecting on how what was said can positively impact one’s life, heart and mind.

A week removed from his widely celebrated guest appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, St. Mark’s Rev. Billy Cerveny’s time of reflection resulted in gratitude for the history of his friendship with the conservative political commentator. More significantly, though, it proved inspiring for him to learn how well his words and thoughts resonated with listeners.  

More on that in a moment. First, a bit of history, as their relationship dates back four decades to their freshman year at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

“I was this Southern kid from Jacksonville, Florida that moved up there without even as much as a pair of socks to my name,” Billy laughed. “I had met a lot of kids who had spent a large part of their lives in boarding schools, but there was also one guy I played soccer with I became friends with”.

Once, after having gone to the friend’s room to “hang out,” Billy was introduced to another kid and potential feather for his cap of friendship. That kid – a year younger than Cerveny –  was Carlson.

“Beginning with that first meeting, he and I just laughed and laughed….we became instant friends,” Cerveny said. “There was such a connection that we ended up living together for the remainder of my time in college…and going through everything together that came with that 1987-1991 college experience.”

Fast forward three decades to 2020. When Carlson was on Fox News during COVID, he reached out to his former roommate to see if Billy would join him for a segment on Carlson’s show.

“I did it,” Cerveny said. “The topic was how to find and keep hope in the middle of such chaos (Covid). It was a good experience.”

Following the host of twists and turns that would come to define Carlson’s future professional path, he launched his own podcast in 2023.

“Tucker called me last fall, asking if I would be a guest on one of his podcasts,” Billy started. “It was actually the third time we’d tried to make it happen. The first time we had it planned, he ended up having to leave the country. Then, my dad then passed away the day before we were scheduled the second time.”

Both refusing to let the effort fall by the wayside, talks began again this past summer. With the third time proving to be the faithful charm, on August 17, St. Mark’s own Billy Cerveny sat gracefully and humbly across from Carlson in his New England studio and – in short – gave a lot of people a lot of hope and cause for greater consideration of God.

He gave them a lot to reflect upon.

“I’d been wondering if the Lord was trying to pump the brakes and say this wasn’t something He wanted me doing right now,” Billy said. “But, my son and I flew up to Maine, where I sat down with Tucker for two hours.”

According to Cerveny, that two hours felt more like 20 minutes.

“My prayer was that the Lord would use the show to touch the hearts of people who didn’t know the Lord, people who had drifted away from the church or people that had become disillusioned with Christianity and who Jesus was.”

And, the result?

As is the case with anyone who puts themselves out there for the world to see and hear, Billy was encouraged to not read posted comments from viewers. Too often, they cast scrutiny upon, and criticism of, those who’ve made the efforts.  

“I didn’t look at anything online after the podcast,” Billy admitted. “But recently, my wife asked me if I’d read any of the comments I’d gotten. When I told her I hadn’t, she actually started reading them all aloud to me. It put tears in my eyes, listening to the way the Lord was using it. It was all overwhelmingly positive. I’ve also received a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails and a lot of social media messages. It has been very humbling and very overwhelming.”  

Billy noted that posted comments were inspired by individuals who – through his words and thoughts on the podcast – had found hope amid hardship.

“These were people who had lost children and people who were wrestling with addiction,” he said. “They were people contending with sexual brokenness, happy to hear they weren’t crazy or some uniquely broken toy…and that God still loved them. It just went on and on and on. That was my prayer the whole time….that the Lord would use this as a platform to reach into distant corners and speak to the hearts of those who might not ever walk through the doors of a church for fear that God may have given up on them. So, it was good. And, I’m really, really excited.”

And, he should be. What Billy said on a podcast is now a week old. In the world of broadcast journalism, that’s an eternity. Tucker Carlson has moved on with other shows and life continues at its frenetic pace. But, based on the reaction and response still pouring in from listeners, it’s seems likely that the resulting period of reflection will sustain many for, well, eternity.