Advertise on podcast: The Pursuit with James Griffin

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin sits down with Pastor Phil Hopper of Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, who spent nine years as a Kansas City police sergeant and SWAT team member before he went to bed a cop and woke up a pastor. The conversation opens with how Phil led his first person to Christ in a patrol car at 2 a.m., then moves into spiritual warfare and why the enemy watches you the way a surveillance team watches a suspect. Why does Satan study you, and what is he looking for? What is the one-two punch he has run on every human since Genesis 3? If you keep falling to the same sin, are you actually struggling with it, or do you just like it? Why does Scripture say flee instead of fight? What hidden wound do most men carry into marriage without knowing it? Why does a man shut down on his wife, and what does it take to turn toward her instead? What does dangerous faith look like, and why do most believers have enough faith to get out of Egypt but not enough to get into the Promised Land? If you’ve been stuck in the same place for years, this conversation will tell you why, and what to do about it. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Matt Moody, and Jacob Whitehead dig into Acts 13, where the Holy Spirit sends Paul and Barnabas out and the first person they meet is a sorcerer. The conversation starts with who the devil is and what he can and can’t do, then moves into why so many people who deny God still reach for crystals, mediums, and the universe. Is the devil really behind your flat tire, your sick season, your marriage trouble? How do you know if you’re under spiritual attack or just suffering the consequences of your own choices? What is really happening when someone talks to a medium? Why does life sometimes get harder the moment you say yes to God? How do you tell the Holy Spirit’s voice from your own flesh or another spirit? Is a quiet, comfortable life a bad sign? What should you do this week if you’re facing opposition? If life has been hard and you can’t explain why, this conversation will help you name what you’re fighting. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCit

In this episode of The Pursuit, Jacob Whitehead, Carlos Fernandez, and James Griffin open the Bible on voting with Election Day around the corner. Coming out of Acts 12, they start with why God established human government in the first place and what role the church plays in a world drifting toward decay. What should a Christian look for in a candidate? Is voting for the lesser of two evils the same as endorsing evil? Does God expect believers to vote at all? How do you know when you’ve moved from supporting a candidate to protecting them from accountability? Is the church getting too political? What do you do when you and your spouse land in different places? How do you sit across the Thanksgiving table from family who voted differently? What does faithfulness look like the morning after the election? If you’re heading to the polls unsure how to think about any of it, this conversation will help you vote with an open Bible. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin sits down with Pastor Matt Chewning of Netcast Church for the 200th episode, recorded on night three of Closer. Matt shares how God called him out of the corporate world to plant a church in Boston and how a love for the Word of God took root in his life. Then the conversation turns to the Holy Spirit and the battle every Christian faces with sin. Why doesn’t trying harder ever seem to work? What’s the difference between the Spirit living in you and the Spirit’s power upon you? How do you fight the flesh by the Spirit? What should you pray before temptation shows up, and what should you pray when it hits? Why does the Spirit-filled life require brokenness? If you’re tired of losing the same battle, this conversation will show you where real power comes from. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin sits down with Vance Pitman, founding pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas and former president of the Send Network, fresh off night one of Closer weekend at Crosspoint City Church. Vance shares how a guy from Alabama who had never crossed the Mississippi ended up planting a church in Vegas with 18 people in a living room, and the phone call one week in that proved God was already at work long before he arrived. From there the conversation gets personal. What does it actually mean to build your day around time with Jesus instead of squeezing Him in? How do you know when your identity has quietly shifted from who you are in Christ to what you do for Him? What does it look like when Jesus stops being enough and you start chasing "Jesus plus" something else? And how can you tell you have drifted before your fruit gives it away? Vance lays out three signs that show up in his own life when he has stopped abiding, and why the fruit of the Spirit is not a checklist but Christ Himself living through you. If you have been faithful, busy, and serving for years but something feels off, this conversation will help you name it and find your way back to the vine. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform ‪@CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin and Carlos Fernandez pick up where the weekend gathering left off in Acts 11, where Peter gets criticized by church people for sitting down to eat at a Gentile's house. James opens up about why he crossed out his sermon title mid-week, the critic who told a guest his family was going to hell, and the years he spent believing the accusations in his own head. What is Satan actually saying about you to God? Why does the enemy go looking for critics to do his work? What's the difference between criticism and correction? What do you do when the person criticizing you is you? How do you know if what you're feeling is the Holy Spirit convicting you or the devil condemning you? Why was Peter's meal the real problem? Should you stop going where people far from God hang out? And where's the line between being at the table and approving of what's on it? If you've ever heard a voice telling you God can't use someone like you, this conversation will help you know which voice to believe. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity 0:00 Cold open and intro 1:58 Why James rewrote the sermon title 4:54 Criticism is the enemy's strategy 7:11 What Satan accuses you of 9:13 The anatomy of shame 10:29 The accuser and the advocate 13:51 Criticism vs. correction 18:21 When correction doesn't go well 20:28 When the critic is you: the four voices 24:50 Conviction or condemnation? 31:15 Why the meal was the problem 34:13 The modern version of the table 37:59 Should you stop going where they are? 44:15 Proximity doesn't equal permission 47:36 How to reach them anyway 51:38 One thing to do this week

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin and Carlos Fernandez pick up where the weekend gathering left off in Acts 10 and dig into one of the most debated gifts in the Bible: speaking in tongues. James opens up about growing up in a church that taught him God doesn't do that anymore, and how he ended up praying in tongues privately every day. What are the different kinds of tongues in the Bible? Is speaking in tongues real speech or just emotional babbling? Do you have to speak in tongues to prove you have the Holy Spirit? Why did Paul speak in tongues more than anyone but hold back when the church gathered? Are the gifts of the Spirit still for today, or did they end with the apostles? What should we make of Deion Sanders praying in tongues before a post-game interview? And why do entire families follow when a man goes first? No matter what you were taught about tongues growing up, this conversation will help you see what the Bible actually says about every good gift God gives. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide  These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus – https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, Jacob Whitehead, Carlos Fernandez, and James Griffin open Acts 10. God sends an angel to Cornelius and then points him to a fisherman 30 miles away, because anytime God wants to save a person, He sends a person. Why wouldn't God just let the angel share the gospel? Does someone's eternity ride on whether you open your mouth? Why would God trust His message to nervous, inconsistent people? How can you tell He's already working on your coworker? What happens to people who have never heard the name of Jesus? How do you test a vision or impression, and what do you do with the people you've quietly decided aren't yours to reach? If you've been waiting for God to send someone to the people around you, this one is for you. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Grab the free Episode Guide: mycpcc.com/guide Have a question about the message, the Scriptures, or faith in general? Send us a DM. We would love to hear from you. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God and help them know and follow Jesus. Give: mycpcc.com/give crosspointcity.com | @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, Jacob Whitehead, Carlos Fernandez, and James Griffin walk through Acts 9, where Jesus heals a man who spent eight years on a mat, and take on the question that story raises for anyone who has prayed for healing and watched it not come. They start with the first-century assumption that suffering meant God was punishing you, and show how many Christians still quietly believe it today. Does God heal everyone who asks? What are the three ways Jesus heals, and why does the third one matter most? Is it true that you'd be healed if you just had more faith? What was Paul's thorn, and what does his no from God mean for yours? How do you keep praying when you're exhausted and nothing has changed? What does it mean to pray proactively and reactively? And how does the way you suffer make the gospel more believable to the people watching you? If you're still waiting on a prayer God hasn't answered the way you wanted, this episode is for you. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide  These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus: https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, Jacob Whitehead, Carlos Fernandez, and James Griffin wrap up the Storm the Gate series by unpacking why Paul calls the church the pillar and buttress of the truth, then take on the lies culture won't let you challenge: abortion is healthcare, love is love, and progressive Christianity. They cover who actually gets to define love, why progressive Christianity isn't Christianity at all, how to spot false teaching before it pulls you in, and how to walk with someone carrying a decision they can't undo. If you've ever stayed quiet at the dinner table because the truth felt too costly, this one is for you. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus: https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Matt Moody dig into 2 Corinthians 6:14 and dig into why believers shouldn't yoke themselves to people whose political ideologies contradict the Word of God.  What does a yoke look like in 2026? Where does socialism directly contradict the law of God? Should you break up with someone whose politics run against Scripture? And what do you do if the yoke is already on? If the people closest to you are shaping your future, this conversation will help you make sure they're pulling you toward Christ and not away from Him. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Download the free Episode Guide: mycpcc.com/guide Have a question about this episode? DM us on Instagram @CrosspointCity Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. Give: mycpcc.com/give crosspointcity.com | @CrosspointCity

Everybody wants a marriage that works. Almost nobody follows the design. In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Jacob Whitehead discuss why there's no marriage in heaven, what submission actually means and what it never means, and what God requires of a husband beyond a paycheck. If you're married, want to be married, or you've ever winced at the word submit, this one is for you. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus: https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity

In this episode of The Pursuit, Matt Moody, Carlos Fernandez, and James Griffin dig into the part of 1 Corinthians 12 that gets skipped: rejoicing with someone who is being honored while life is going badly for you. The conversation starts by separating coveting from envy.  From there the guys get practical about the diagnosis. How do you tell Godly ambition from selfish ambition when both feel like drive? What is the hidden idol sitting underneath the thing you say you want? What does it look like when envy is already working in you and you have not named it yet, and what do you do when someone is envious of you?  The person you are struggling to be happy for is probably already in your head. This one is about what to do with that. Subscribe for more messages that will help you know and follow Jesus. Download the free Episode Guide: mycpcc.com/guide Questions about the message, the scriptures, or faith in general? DM us and let us know. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. Give: mycpcc.com/give

Somebody in the church hurt you. Does that give you a reason to leave, or just an excuse to quit? In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Matt Moody pick up the thread from this weekend's Storm the Gates message and preach the whole different sermon James promised: when leaving a church family is legitimate, and when it's abandoning the household of God. If someone in a church family has ever hurt you, or you're carrying an offense you know you need to deal with, this one is for you. Subscribe for more messages and conversations that will help you know and follow Jesus. Episode Guide These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus: https://mycpcc.com/guide To submit a question, send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. Crosspoint City Church exists to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://www.mycpcc.com/give To learn more about all of our locations or what is coming up at Crosspoint City, check out https://www.crosspointcity.com/ or follow us on your favorite social platform @CrosspointCity 0:00 Intro 0:12 Welcome back: baby Rhodes and a preaching break 1:17 Free episode guide 1:38 The whole different sermon 2:16 For the person nobody called 3:52 Why Groups are the first responders 5:06 Have you ever been hurt by a church family? 7:43 Nobody talks about Chick-fil-A hurt 8:40 Quitting on the church vs. quitting on Christ 11:47 Why James didn't quit at 19 13:33 Why Moody stayed 15:03 Five legitimate reasons to leave a church 20:19 Leaving too quickly, staying too long 20:56 What quitting actually looks like 23:37 Don't bring those problems here 26:01 Problems become patterns 26:28 40 million people waiting on an invite 28:43 One invite can change an eternity 31:58 Two years of texts that changed a life 32:57 Leave your gift at the altar 35:09 Who goes first? Matthew 18 37:56 A reconciliation story from this weekend 42:58 Text, call, or face to face? 46:16 How to start the conversation 50:22 What if it makes things worse? 52:36 One thing to do in the next 48 hours 54:29 Closing

This message is from our third annual Act Like Men Conference, filmed on June 20, 2026. The Act Like Men Conference aims to define, understand, and live out biblical manhood. To register for next year's conference, visit actlikemen2027.com  ________ Crosspoint City is one church in multiple locations and we exist to relentlessly pursue those far from God to help them know and follow Jesus. To help support this mission and work, visit https://mycpcc.com/give STAY CONNECTED: Facebook: https://mycpcc.com/facebook Instagram: https://mycpcc.com/instagram Tiktok: https://mycpcc.com/tiktok