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 men try to define their identity, and the only one that actually holds.
This conversation is a wake-up call for any man who has hung his identity on his career, his abilities, or what other people say about him. If you've ever wondered who you are when the thing you're good at goes away, this one is for you.

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Episode Guide
These guides are packed with key insights and scripture to help you know and follow Jesus: https://mycpcc.com/guide

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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

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 to Act Like Men with David Pollack
0:45 Driven and psychotic: who David was at Georgia
2:12 Drafted 17th overall to the Bengals
2:43 The hit that broke his neck
5:06 Why the worst injury was the best day of his life
8:22 What God revealed in the stillness
8:53 Three ways to define your identity, only one is right
11:27 Losing ESPN after 13 years
15:02 Lindsey's brain cancer diagnosis
19:23 Mark 15:21 and the cross you're forced to carry
22:09 Cancer free and a new perspective
24:08 God told me to man up: lessons as a husband and dad
26:33 What are you out of ten? Asking better questions
29:01 The one thing men need to understand about Jesus
30:52 Shoot your shot and watch God work
32:22 Closing

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 lead, your family, your church, and your nation, and they get honest about where so many guys have checked out without even realizing it. 

This one is a challenge and an invitation at the same time, a call to step in, stand up, and lead where God has placed you. If you've ever felt like you're occupying space without truly showing up, this conversation is for you.

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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 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, that you're too far gone to be useful to God. If you've ever wondered whether there's room for someone like you, this conversation is your answer. No matter what you've done or what's been done to you, you are not too far gone.

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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

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 sin is the exception, that you're too far gone, that you're the one person God couldn't actually want. If you've ever wondered whether there's room for someone like you, this conversation is your answer.
No matter what you've done or what's been done to you, you are not too far gone.

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 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.

From there it gets personal. Carlos shares the season of singleness that rearranged his heart and taught him to want the Giver more than the gift. James walks through why the Christian life is not just hard without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible, and unpacks the truth that changed everything for him: the Spirit is a person to be known, not a power to be used. If He has felt distant lately, the team offers a reframe on why, and it probably is not what you think. If your prayer life has felt dry or far away, this is the conversation you have been needing.

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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

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 they care more about comfort than the eternal destiny of the people around them. Carlos gets personal about being cut off by family for speaking truth, and James breaks down why the argument from silence on what Jesus said about sexuality is one of the weakest arguments being made today. If you have been staying quiet to keep the peace, this episode will challenge you to love people enough to speak up.

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

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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 "good guy" without God is impossible. The team also tackles the loneliness epidemic among men, why most guys can talk about anything except their relationship with the Lord, and what it actually looks like to stop trying harder and start bowing lower. If you have been coasting on reputation instead of living with real integrity, this episode is your wake-up call.

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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

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. James drops one of the most convicting lines of the episode: if you are currently serving in a role where you do not need God to show up, you should serve in a different role.
If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time, the right role, or the right invitation, this episode is your invitation to stop watching and start doing the thing you were made for.

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

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 line between a full life and a hurried life. They also explore what the Greek word for compassion actually means, why real compassion always costs you something, and what it looks like to build a life with enough margin to see the divine appointments God is putting in your path every single day. If you have been so busy doing good things that you keep missing the best thing right in front of you, this episode is going to change the way you see your calendar and the people around 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

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 neighborhood as the mission fields they actually are. They also go there on why ministry is hardest at home, the spiritual war being waged against your family, and what it looks like to start leading even if you feel like you have already missed your window. If you have been sitting in the seats waiting for someone else to do the work, this episode will wreck that thinking in the best way possible.

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