The Pursuit with James Griffin

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 y...

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 fr...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 n...

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.

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Episode Guide

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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 y...

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.

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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 
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What if the problem isn't that you want too much, but that you want it for the wrong kingdom? In this special episode of The Pursuit, recorded at Act Like Men Conference, James Griffin sits down with Ruslan KD, one of the most recognizable Christian voices online, to talk about ambition, purpose, and what it takes to stop living like the main character of your own story. Ruslan's path runs from a refugee childhood in Azerbaijan through gang life, an arrest at eleven, and hardened atheism, to a radical conversion and a platform reaching millions.

But this...

What happens when a man builds his whole identity on something God never designed to hold it? In this special episode of The Pursuit, recorded at Act Like Men Conference, James Griffin sits down with College Football Hall of Famer David Pollack to talk about identity, loss, and what's left when everything you built your life on gets stripped away. In his second NFL season, one hit ended it all. Thirteen years into a career at ESPN, it was gone overnight. Then came his wife's brain cancer diagnosis. David is honest about the god football became, the three ways...

What does it look like when a man is physically there but emotionally gone?
In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin sits down with Pastor Josh Howerton to talk about one of the quietest problems facing men today: passivity. It's a problem that goes all the way back to the garden, where the first man stood by and watched while his family was devoured, and it still shows up in living rooms, churches, and communities everywhere you look. James and Josh trace the danger of the passive man through the three spheres God calls every man to...

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby unpack the conversion of Saul in Acts 9, where God stops the church's most violent enemy cold on the road to Damascus. The team sits in the truth underneath that story, that God didn't replace who Saul was, He repurposed it, taking the same fire that made him dangerous and aiming it in a new direction. From there they trace the quiet lie that runs underneath so much of our faith, the feeling that your past has already written your future, that your sin is the exception...

Ever feel like God's grace worked for everyone else but somehow skipped you?

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby unpack the second half of Acts 8, where God pulls Philip out of a thriving revival and sends him down an empty desert road for one man: an Ethiopian official the law itself had shut out of worship. The team sits in the distance between standing on the outside and being fully welcomed in, and they trace the quiet lie that runs underneath so much of our faith, the feeling that your...

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby open in Acts 8, where a man named Simon watched the Holy Spirit show up in power and immediately reached for his wallet to buy it. The team unpacks how easily we do the same thing in subtler ways, coming to God wanting His gifts more than we want Him. The conversation digs into what genuine faith actually looks like, the difference between seeking God's hand and seeking His face, and why the worst form of idolatry might be using God to get more of your idol.

What would happen if you actually said what you believe out loud?

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby walk through the story of Stephen in Acts 6 through 8 and confront the growing cultural expectation that Christians should keep their faith to themselves. The team unpacks the shift from a society that once respected Christianity to one that now views it as a threat, how ideas have become so fused with identity that disagreement feels like a personal attack, and why most believers stay silent not because they lack conviction but because...

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What happens when the people who know you best can't say you're a man worth following?

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby dive into Acts 6 and the three qualifications the early church looked for when selecting men to lead: character, competency, and consecration. The conversation gets personal fast as the team unpacks why integrity starts at home, why your wife and kids shouldn't have to guess which version of you is walking through the door, and why being a "...

What if the thing you have been avoiding is actually the thing you were made for?

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby close out the "Us" series by unpacking the conviction statement "great people serve people." The team confronts the consumerist mindset that keeps Christians on the sidelines, shares the story of a 25-year-old man who had never had anyone believe in him enough to invite him into ministry, and breaks down why serving is not an optional add-on but a stewardship responsibility every believer will one day answer for...

What if the reason you keep missing the people right in front of you has nothing to do with how much you care and everything to do with how fast you are moving? In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckabee unpack the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10 and confront the uncomfortable truth that busyness has become the most accepted excuse for walking past people in need. The team gets personal with stories of moments they almost missed, digs into why we wear busyness like a badge of honor, and draws the...

What if the thing keeping you from experiencing real purpose and joy has nothing to do with your circumstances and everything to do with a lie you have been believing your whole life? In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby unpack the conviction statement "We're All in Full Time Ministry" and confront the deeply rooted idea that ministry is reserved for pastors and missionaries. The conversation traces where that divide came from historically, why we keep drifting back to it, and what changes when you start seeing your workplace, your school, and your...

What does it look like when the thing you refuse to let go of is the very thing keeping you from growing? In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby tackle the topic most people squirm at: money and generosity. The conversation addresses common pushback on tithing and giving to the church, unpacks why Jesus identified money as the rival to God on the throne of your heart, and explores how generosity is not something mature Christians eventually get around to but the very thing that will unlock your next step of spiritual growth...

What happens when your whole world falls apart and you have to keep going? In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin and Ainsley Huckaby sit down with Courtney Pray Duke, author of And She Got Up: Shattered by Loss, Restored by Jesus. Courtney shares her story of losing her husband Andrew in a sudden bicycle accident the day before Thanksgiving and having to tell her three young children their daddy was with Jesus. The conversation tackles what real surrender looks like when your worst fear becomes your reality, why we need the church more than we think we...

Is it too late for me to start over? It's the question almost everyone asks themselves at some point, whether it's about a marriage, an addiction, a regret, or a relationship with God. In this episode, Pastor James Griffin and Ansley Huckaby sit down with guest Pastor Joshua Broome to walk through the story of Zacchaeus and confront the lie that anyone is too far gone.

Buy Joshua's Book: https://mycpcc.com/7lies

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Episode Guide
These guides are...

Where do you run when life falls apart? In this episode of The Pursuit, Pastor James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby dig into Matthew 17 and unpack what a desperate father's impossible situation teaches us about faith, suffering, and where we turn when we're out of options. They explore why God allows hard things, why faithlessness frustrates Jesus, and what it actually means to trust God versus just agreeing with him. James gets personal about his daughter Arden's heart defect and what that season taught him about clinging to hope when God doesn't answer the way you wanted. If...

Can you really stay neutral about Jesus? In this episode of The Pursuit, Pastor James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ainsley Huckaby dig into Acts 5 and unpack why neutrality is never actually an option when it comes to Jesus. We'll explore why people resist things that are clearly good, how jealousy and pride drive people to protect what they've built, and what it looks like when confirmation bias keeps someone from accepting the evidence right in front of them. They also walk through some of the most compelling evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. 
If you've been sitting on t...

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Ansley Huckaby, and Carlos Fernandez dig into Acts 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira, unpacking one of the most sobering passages in the New Testament. The conversation confronts the reality that division in the church is not just a relational problem, it is a spiritual one. James and Carlos explore how Satan uses disunity to destroy the mission of the church, what it actually looks like to be a divisive person, and how the relationships you run with will shape the direction of your life. They also get practical about...

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Ansley Huckaby unpack Acts 4, where Peter and John face opposition from the Sanhedrin and are commanded to never speak about Jesus again. Instead of caving to pressure and going silent, they prayed for boldness. The conversation explores how we're living in a "negative world" where society views Christianity as a threat, why staying silent is so dangerous, how to see opponents as captured by the enemy rather than as enemies themselves, and what it means to hold both boldness and compassion together like Jesus did.

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Recorded live at Woven Women Conference, this conversation with author and podcaster Annie F. Downs is one you'll want to share. James Griffin and Ansley Huckaby sit down with Annie to talk about the fears that quietly keep us from the life we actually want — the "what ifs" that show up at 2am, the gossip that's killing community before it even starts, and why worship might be the most underrated weapon you have against anxiety. Annie also pulls back the curtain on her podcast That Sounds Fun and its new 18-month theme Spiritually Stronger, and what it looks like to...

When someone shuts down the moment you push back on what they believe, it's not random — there's actually a psychological reason for it. In this episode, James Griffin, Matt Moody, and Carlos Fernandez break down why so many conversations go sideways the moment truth enters the room, what motivated reasoning is and why it makes people combative instead of curious, and how Christians can stop trying to win arguments and start actually winning people. If you've been putting off a hard conversation with someone you love, this one's for you.

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You are Barabbas. In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Matt Moody walk through Peter's sermon in Acts 2 and 3, unpacking the Barabbas exchange and what it really means that Jesus took the cross reserved for a murderer. The conversation goes deep on penal substitutionary atonement, why we struggle to believe God actually forgives us even when we're confident he forgives others, and the critical difference between Holy Spirit conviction and shame from the enemy.

They also tackle why so many believers keep fishing up what God has already cast into the ocean, what...

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Jacob Whitehead, and Carlos Fernandez tackle one of the hardest questions in the Christian faith: if God can heal, why doesn't He always do it? Diving into Acts 3 and the story of a man healed, the guys get personal, sharing real stories of praying for miracles that never came, wrestling with God's silence, and what faith actually looks like when the answer is no.
This is an honest, vulnerable conversation about unanswered prayer, suffering, and why you can still trust God even when He doesn't do what you asked.
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In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin sits down with pastor and church planter Rob Wilton to unpack Acts 2:42–47 and what it truly means to be a spirit-filled church. The conversation goes beyond the surface of a popular passage to explore what genuine devotion to God's Word looks like in a screen-saturated, post-Christian culture.

Rob and James discuss the difference between the church gathered and the church scattered, why community is non-negotiable for the Christian life, whether signs and wonders still have a place in the local church today, and how biblical generosity is nothing like so...

You killed Jesus. And until you feel the weight of that, you'll never fully understand the gospel.

In this episode of The Pursuit, James Griffin, Carlos Fernandez, and Matt Moody unpack Acts 2 and Peter's confronting sermon on the Day of Pentecost where 3,000 people were baptized in a single day. But before the celebration came the conviction: "You crucified and killed him by the hands of lawless men."

If you've been defending your sin instead of repenting from it, or if you've never taken that next step of obedience, this episode will cut to the heart...

Quick note before today's episode: the winter storms last week threw off our production schedule, so we're re-airing a conversation that took place during our 2024 Act Like Men Conference and really resonated with a lot of you when it first aired. If you’re interested in joining us for our 2026 Act Like Men Conference, you can learn more and register at https://www.actlikemenconference.org/2026 . We'll be back next week with new content, but we think this one is definitely worth revisiting. 

In this episode from 2024, James sits down with Jase Robertson to talk faith, family and bib...

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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

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