Flippin' awesome! Benham brothers join WND

David and Jason Benham

David and Jason Benham – real-estate entrepreneurs who were famously dropped from an HGTV home-flipping show due to their belief in biblical marriage – join WND today with an exclusive weekly column.

The brothers' work will appear each Monday on the news site's Commentary page, and they become the latest pop-culture stars on WND's team which includes Chuck Norris, Morgan Brittany, John Rocker, Ted Nugent and others.

As WND reported, home-flippers David and Jason Benham were elated when a production company first approached them about starring in their own reality TV show.

Eventually five networks made offers, with HGTV submitting the best: six one-hour episodes, straight to TV, with no pilot episode necessary.

The show was to be called "Flip it Forward" and would feature the Benham brothers transforming fixer-uppers into dream homes for families.

As Christians, they felt graced by God.

Then it crashed. A liberal "watchdog" organization made a campaign of what HGTV already knew – that the brothers believed in the standards established in the Bible regarding marriage, life and more.

It came out in the media, however, as "anti-gay." And "anti-choice."

But the show was canceled because of pressure from liberal and progressive interests.

Watch WND Editor and CEO Joseph Farah interview the Benham brothers about the HGTV cancellation:

"While they gave us the verbal offer, before we signed the official long form, HG did all their research, found out that we were pro-life, pro-marriage guys, and they were OK with that," David Benham told WND. "There was nothing new that surfaced before we got fired."

Get your copy of the Benham brothers' first book, "Whatever the Cost: Facing Your Fears, Dying to Your Dreams, and Living Powerfully," $4.95 today only!

The brothers hold no ill will toward HGTV at all, noting the pressure the network faced.

"HGTV knew what they were getting," David said. "They did not know that this bully was going to come after them like they did, and so HGTV, when they fired us, there were tears on the phone. They didn't want to let us go. They tried to stick with us … but they got bullied into this decision, and unfortunately for HGTV, they crumbled."

While some would react with probably justifiable anger, the Benhams took what was handed to them and made the best of it: Because of the celebrity attached to the controversy of their cancellation, they now travel the country, speaking to Christian groups.

"It's not the platform we thought we were going to have," David Benham said. "I mean, if we were HGTV's reality show stars, that was going to be a huge platform, but you know what we realized? That we take whatever platform God gives us, and we hold it with an open hand. If He takes it from us, so be it. If He doesn't, so be it. We just hold it with an open hand."

Part of the brothers' new platform is a book, "Whatever the Cost: Facing Your Fears, Dying to Your Dreams, and Living Powerfully," released after they were fired.

Benham brothers

Jason Benham explained the brothers actually started writing the book two years before HGTV first approached them. The book initially dealt with the brothers' dream of playing major league baseball, a dream they both abandoned while in the minor leagues. But then saw a new vision: making it big in real estate.

The brothers credit God for their business success. They now own and run 13 companies, not just in the real-estate industry, but also in automotive marketing and tax and financial services.

Six of their companies are non-profits, according to Jason. One of their for-profits, Benham REO Group, has more than 90 offices in 35 states.

Their recent accomplishments include:

Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists
Franchise 500's Top New Franchise List
Wall St Journal’s Top Real Estate Professionals
Business Leader Media’s Top 50 Entrepreneurs

Appearing on CNN, Fox News, ABC's "Nightline,"" Good Morning America" and others, the Benhams continue to stand up for what they believe. Since their show was canceled, more than 51 million tweets about the Bentham brands have been delivered to Twitter streams.

Read the Benham brothers' debut weekly column for WND, "Bottom of the 9th, America: Time to swing for the fence!"

David and Jason are happily married with a combined nine children, and their families live on the same street in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their wives, Lori and Tori, homeschool the kids and are passionate about serving in their community.

Benham families: Tori and Jason (left) and David and Lori (right)

The Benhams strive to infuse their Christian principles into everything they do, including their business dealings. David claims that applying biblical principles to the free market really does work.

"We say that our Christianity is not just a private religion," David said. "It's a comprehensive worldview that provides solutions to the world's biggest problems, so when we as Christians go into the marketplace, we have the Bible. We have the Holy Spirit. He gives us creative strategy and ingenuity and ideas, and the ability to serve customers better than anyone else."

Watch the Benham brothers explain their "whatever the cost" attitude:

WND Editor and CEO Joseph Farah enthusiastically welcomed the brothers to the commentary lineup.

"Like everyone else in America, I read the news stories about how the Benham brothers were unceremoniously fired by HGTV from their reality show series on house flipping, essentially because they are Christians who take their faith seriously," Farah said. "From what I read, I liked them – even though most of it was filtered through the lens of political correctness, if not outright religious bigotry.

"But when I actually saw David and Jason in person, off-the-cuff, spontaneous, unscripted and on fire, I really began to appreciate their substance, their depth, their maturity and their gravitas. These guys are flat-out rock stars. Can't wait to see them unleashed in WND."

The brothers tell WND they're excited about launching their new column.

"What a privilege to join the ninja list of contributors at WND," Jason said. "Although we're just a couple of former pro athlete-turned business guys that got fired from reality TV for standing on biblical values, we look forward to encouraging people to get in the game and stand for what they believe!"

Jason added, "Although we could never rock a mustache like Joseph Farah, we're glad to join the WND team and get into the game of ideas that's being played out in America today. We hope our words will encourage Americans to get in the game whatever the cost!"

Read the Benham brothers' debut weekly column for WND, "Bottom of the 9th, America: Time to swing for the fence!"