CrossPolitic Show

How did America go from a church on every corner to a culture in free fall? Live at Fight Laugh Feast's Holy Wars conference, Gabe "Waterboy" Rench sits down with Pastor Doug Wilson for a panel and audience Q&A. They cover a church that is Christian enough to dislike what's happening but not repentant enough to say "Christ over all," where America really turned, Boomers and Zoomers, raising children who aren't "breeders for the secularists," and why AI may be the next great idol.

In this episode:
00:00 Gabe's on-stage "intervention" and why CrossPolitic started in 2016
04:31 30,000 churches in Texas. So how did we get here?
07:22 Christian enough to complain, not repentant enough to repent: Christ over all of life
08:27 A culture going bankrupt one department at a time
13:38 Where America turned: WWII, the courts, and Machen's Christianity and Liberalism
21:00 Was the Civil War the real hinge?
24:47 Boomers and younger generations: pride and bitterness
32:33 Reformation and revival: Moscow's kids, and Finney vs. Whitefield and Edwards
36:31 Audience Q&A: is there a third-generation curse?
39:16 Faithfulness vs. inaction: "Geronimo, Amen"
42:37 Trusting God for your children's salvation, and the $3.75 memory
45:53 Boomers vs. Zoomers: forgiveness and the fifth commandment
50:15 Influencer vs. influential
51:21 Is AI the next false religion in the West?
55:00 What loosened America's hold on Christianity: the "wall of separation"
56:46 Can the mainline denominations be retaken?

About Doug Wilson:
Doug Wilson is pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, a prolific author (including Standing on the Promises, mentioned in this episode), and a regular voice at Fight Laugh Feast.
Blog: https://dougwils.com
Books: https://canonpress.com

Watch, listen and support CrossPolitic:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CROSSPOLITIC
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LNAL9P0bqodNbw987S3Jp
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crosspolitic-show/id1523382406
Website: https://crosspolitic.com and https://fightlaughfeast.com

#CrossPolitic, #FightLaughFeast, #DougWilson, #HolyWars, #ChristianNews, #Politics, #Culture, #Church, #Reformation, #ChurchAndState, #ArtificialIntelligence, #Parenting, #GenZ, #Boomers

Washington State isn't a lost cause. Christians have just never taken the field. 🔥

On CrossPolitic 101 with the Waterboy, Gabe Rench sits down with Pastor Adam James, executive pastor of Grace City Church in Wenatchee, who recently ran for State Representative in Washington's 12th Legislative District and leads the Washington chapter of For Liberty and Justice. In 10 Washington legislative districts, conservatives lost their last competitive races by less than 4%, while more than a million self-identified Christians in the state didn't vote. Adam and Gabe talk about the church's responsibility for the decline of the culture, men's ministry and Stronger Man Nation, what For Liberty and Justice is doing to raise up godly candidates, and the big ballot issues this November: Idaho's Proposition 1, Washington's three citizen initiatives, and five Washington Supreme Court seats.

In this episode

00:00 Fight Laugh Feast Canada and the Businessmakers Conference

02:03 Welcome, Adam James

03:49 Why Adam ran for office

07:03 41,000 votes from a majority in Washington

10:31 The three problems: progressive policy, the GOP establishment, and the church

14:57 Stronger Man Nation and raising up godly men

20:47 What is For Liberty and Justice?

27:59 "Success is obedience, not victory": record-breaking fundraising

28:46 Idaho's Proposition 1 and binding the conscience

32:12 Washington's initiatives and its 1970 abortion vote

33:41 Five Washington Supreme Court seats on the ballot

35:29 How to get involved, plus the Olympia rally

About our guest

Pastor Adam James is a co-founder and executive pastor of Grace City Church in Wenatchee, Washington, and the Washington State director of For Liberty and Justice. A North Central Washington native, he and his wife, Erin, have raised four children. In 2026 he ran for State Representative in Legislative District 12, Position 2, and his campaign set state records for contributions raised in 24 hours.

For Liberty and Justice: https://forlibertyandjustice.us | https://fljwashington.com

Campaign: https://www.james4wa.com

Events

Rally at the Washington State Capitol, Olympia: Saturday, October 24, 1-3 PM. Worship and prayer in the Rotunda, then speakers on the Capitol steps.

Fight Laugh Feast Canada, April 29-May 1, London, Ontario: https://fightlaughfeast.com

Businessmakers Conference, late May, Nashville, TN: https://businessmakers.network

Idaho voter guide: https://patriotsforidaho.com

Election Day is November 3. Know your ballot and vote.

Watch, listen and support

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CROSSPOLITIC

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LNAL9P0bqodNbw987S3Jp

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crosspolitic-show/id1523382406

CrossPolitic: https://crosspolitic.com

Fight Laugh Feast: https://fightlaughfeast.com

#CrossPolitic, #FightLaughFeast, #ChristianNews, #Politics, #WashingtonState, #ForLibertyAndJustice, #Election2026, #VoteNoOnProp1, #Idaho, #ChristianVoters, #ChurchMilitant, #WASupremeCourt, #ProLife

How do you take a dying church with women elders and lead it into a confessional, Reformed denomination without losing the people? 🔥

On CrossPolitic One-on-One with the Waterboy, Gabe Rench sits down with Pastor Scott Pettus, head pastor of First Church Artesia in Artesia, New Mexico. Scott grew up in Artesia, served 25 years in the Marine Corps, came into the Reformed faith in 2017, and took the pulpit of a small Presbyterian church in 2021. The church was down to three families and eight people, with two women elders who hired him knowing where he stood. Four years later it is seated as a church in the CREC, and nobody left. Scott shares how patience, teaching and love got them there, what ministry looks like in a small town full of nominal Christianity, and his advice for anyone in a less-than-ideal church.

In this episode
00:00 Fight Laugh Feast recap and the new Fight Laugh Feast Canada conference in London, Ontario
02:28 Meet Pastor Scott Pettus: First Church Artesia, founded 1903 as First Presbyterian
03:52 Growing up in Artesia, 25 years in the Marines, and coming home
05:23 Baptized Southern Baptist, then into the Reformed faith in 2017
07:01 Seminary at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary while still in uniform
08:25 Back in Artesia: ministering to federal law enforcement trainees, then called to First Church
10:12 Hired by a church with women elders, knowing his biblical stance
11:52 From women elders to the CREC in four years without shutting the church down
14:36 Ministering in a small town: everybody has a church, nobody goes
18:47 Getting out into the town: talk radio, the county fair and living out Christ
20:05 Advice for reforming a church: patience, a battle plan, and don't leave the platoon behind
22:57 Where to find Pastor Scott and First Church Artesia

About our guest
Pastor Scott Pettus is head pastor of First Church Artesia in Artesia, New Mexico, a Westminster Confession church that grew out of First Presbyterian Church, chartered in 1903. A retired U.S. Marine, he returned to his hometown with his wife, Marty, and has been the church's pastor since June 2021. He holds a master's degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, hosts a local talk radio show, and blogs as a "church militant" man at Militant Ministry.
Church: https://artesiareformed.com
Blog: https://militantministry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FirstChurchArtesia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstchurchartesia

Fight Laugh Feast Canada is coming in May. Tell your Canadian friends and sign up at https://fightlaughfeast.com

Watch, listen and support
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CROSSPOLITIC
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LNAL9P0bqodNbw987S3Jp
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crosspolitic-show/id1523382406
CrossPolitic: https://crosspolitic.com
Fight Laugh Feast: https://fightlaughfeast.com

#CrossPolitic, #FightLaughFeast, #CREC, #ReformedChurch, #Presbyterian, #ChurchReformation, #WomenElders, #ChurchMilitant, #NewMexico, #Pastor, #ChristianPodcast, #Reformed

Propaganda isn't coming for your mind someday. It's already at the door. 🔥

Live from the Fight Laugh Feast Conference 2026 in Nashville, Gabe "Waterboy" Rench sits down with Pastor Toby Sumpter, Choc Knox, Bubu Jarmulak and Doug TenNapel to talk about the holy war over what you believe. Where the word "propaganda" came from and why Christians shouldn't surrender the tool, what COVID revealed about the church, why real church beats online content, and why the real fight has always been over your children. Plus live audience Q&A on revivalism, multitasking, discernment for kids and whether Christians should be creating content.

In this episode:

18:54 Where "propaganda" came from and why Christians should take it back

27:20 COVID: the Christians who refused to fold

29:06 "Caesar is Lord," 1984 and the faithful who stand

40:17 Confront people, not just content: why the church gathered matters

43:32 Movie theaters, church and the most uninterrupted hour in America

52:52 When singing praise became "dangerous"

57:43 The fight is over your children (and it always has been)

62:01 Audience Q&A: the anxious bench, multitasking, discernment for kids and creating content

Panel:

Gabe "Waterboy" Rench, host of CrossPolitic

Pastor Toby Sumpter

Choc Knox

Bubu Jarmulak

Doug TenNapel

Subscribe and support:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CROSSPOLITIC

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LNAL9P0bqodNbw987S3Jp

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crosspolitic-show/id1523382406

Website: https://crosspolitic.com

Fight Laugh Feast: https://fightlaughfeast.com

#CrossPolitic, #FightLaughFeast, #FLF2026, #Propaganda, #ChristianWorldview, #Church, #COVID, #Family, #Parenting, #Christendom, #Culture, #Politics

CrossPolitic — Show Notes: The Lindsay Clancy Case, the Culture, and the Church

Gabe, Pastor Toby, and Knox take up the Lindsay Clancy trial — the Massachusetts mother who killed her three children while on a cocktail of psychiatric medications — and work through the case, the culture, and the church's responsibility. They address toxic empathy from women at the courthouse, the pharmakeia connection to CrossPolitic's latest documentary, what Genesis 9 says about moral agency regardless of mental state, why biblical justice demands the death penalty Massachusetts removed in 1947, and what it means for men — fathers, pastors, husbands — to take responsibility for a culture they helped disciple into this.

Timestamps

00:00 — Intro & Fight Laugh Feast conference update — October 1–3, Franklin, TN

00:00 — Sponsors — Patriot Mobile Connect and Red Balloon Recruiter

00:00 — Background on the Lindsay Clancy case — who she is, what happened, and the trial

00:00 — Toxic empathy at the courthouse — women blaming Patrick, astrology charts, and the "not guilty" crowd

00:00 — Candace Owens clip — where she's right about Big Pharma and where she's wrong about guilt

00:00 — Pharmakeia — how the case connects to CrossPolitic's documentary on pharmaceutical gods

00:00 — Genesis 9 and moral agency — even animals are held responsible; insanity is not a biblical category

00:00 — She was a labor and delivery nurse for nine years — the premeditation nobody's discussing

00:00 — Massachusetts, the death penalty, and the logic of a culture of death

00:00 — Romans 1 — every sin is a kind of temporary insanity; being deceived doesn't give you a pass

00:00 — The church's failure — no concept of God's holiness, coddling feminine sin, and the feminization of Christianity

00:00 — WNBA clip — Enes Kanter and the soccer flop as justice; whoever cries loudest wins

00:00 — Will Spencer's testimony — 20 years of new age ceremonies, and what finally changed him was guilt

00:00 — The fathers of women in that crowd — they deserve to be flogged for what they gave society

00:00 — Men taking responsibility — Christ's headship, Adam in the garden, and loving a whore bride

Fight Laugh Feast 2026: Holy Wars

Join us October 1–3 in Franklin, Tennessee at The Factory in Franklin. This year's theme is Holy Wars — Just War, the Crusades, and the Christian Life. Featuring Doug Wilson, Joe Boot, George Grant, Jared Longshore, Joe Rigney, Ben Merkel, Michael Foster, and the CrossPolitic crew. Pre-business conference Thursday 1–5 PM. Church leadership luncheon Friday. Business luncheon Saturday. Beer & Psalms to kick things off.

Tickets: https://tickets.flfnetwork.com/holy-wars-conference

This Episode's Sponsors

Patriot Mobile Connect

Portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices and flexible data — no long-term contracts. Intelligently switches between the strongest available nationwide networks. America's only Christian conservative wireless provider.

Website: patriotmobile.com/crosspolitic

Phone: 972-PATRIOT

Red Balloon Recruiter

The right employee can grow your business by 5, 10, or even 25%. Red Balloon's personalized source-and-screen process connects you with top talent — revenue up, costs down.

Website: redballoon.work

About CrossPolitic

CrossPolitic exists to put Jesus over Politics and reclaim the public square through bold, joyful, biblically grounded media. We confront the chaos discipling America and build the next generation of Christian media infrastructure. Our mission is simple: all of Christ for all of media for all of America.

Mainstream media is collapsing. Eighty-seven percent of journalists identify as progressive, and even many conservative outlets prioritize profit over principle. Meanwhile, billions of hours of digital content are discipling the world every day. CrossPolitic stands in that gap, producing courageous, entertaining, truth-filled media for households, churches, and leaders across the nation.

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