Counter Culture Ministries (CCM) is going strong thanks to the generous support of incredible viewers like you. Many Christian families are getting the guidance and resources they need, because of your generosity. CCM Executive Director Luke Griffin gives an update on the exciting new partnership with Angel Studios! He shares various ways you can support our mission from cash gifts, to donating appreciated stocks, business interests, real estate, and even cryptocurrency through The Signatry. Please consider becoming a monthly partner, which will help us establish a stable budget for next year, allowing us to plan accordingly. God has multiplied our message over the past 5 years, making the program available on over 35 TV networks, major podcast platforms, as well as 179 radio stations on American Family Radio. We would be honored to have you join this mission and help us reach more people with the Gospel in 2026.

To live a healthy and fruitful life, we need to be able to set wise and healthy boundaries that protect ourselves not only from harm or exhaustion, but also our ability to serve the Lord fully. Jim Newheiser is the director of Christian Counseling at Reformed Theological Seminary, and he is the author of Do I Need Boundaries? Seeking to Please God By Learning to Say No. How do you deal with tricky situations in life that may push you into environments that are unsafe, unwise, or simply spiritually inappropriate? How can you navigate your loyalty to Christ without being offensive to others and still show Christian hospitality? Base your life decisions on the teachings of Jesus Christ and use His wisdom as a grid for making choices.

“Four essential elements of Biblical manhood are joy, community, accountability, and identity,” says Alan Hahn, the founder and CEO of Iron Academy, a private, all-male Christian school for boys ages 6-12. Alan’s school focuses on forging these boys into the men God created them to be by teaching them essential life skills, such as leadership, and by providing rites of passage that strengthen their sense of healthy masculinity. He discusses the use of thriving spiritual formation, helpful correction, and joyful discipleship in a loving and trusted environment - elements that cultivate a young man’s identity and challenge him to work harder and achieve more. In a society that is starving for the truth, Christian men can be a countercultural light in the darkness by becoming all that God created them to be.

Our society has neglected to raise boys to be great men. Modern culture has abandoned traditional rites of passage that demand a departure from boyhood and a transition into manhood. This stark reality is a problem that Alan Hahn not only observed but is addressing right now with a special ministry aimed at forging purpose and a brotherhood for boys. Boys, who are eagerly learning to become men of God. Alan is the CEO and founder of Iron Academy, a school that provides curriculum, community, and training for young men who seek courage, conviction, and honor rooted in the Word of God. Iron Academy is a Bible-based pathway for cultivating healthy, nurturing, and powerful manhood the way that God designed it.

Transitioning from one season of life to the next can be scary. The overwhelming fear of the unknown may keep you from moving forward, but with God’s help, you can reset, rise, and reclaim your God-given destiny! This is the uplifting message Dr. Evelyn Johnson-Taylor brings. She is the CEO of Evelyn J. Taylor Ministries and the author of In & Out of Season: Thriving in Life’s Transitions. After walking with her husband through a decade-long journey with cancer, she knows what it takes to survive dark and difficult days, and how to find strength in God’s promises in the midst and aftermath of tragedy. She touches on the importance of community and compassion amid sorrow and grief. Clarity comes after obedience, she says. Don’t feel stuck. Cherish the season you’re in and look forward to the next one!

Surrendering your life to God may sound nice, but how many people truly understand what that means? Ramona Tuma does. Ramona is an author, speaker, and Bible teacher, but her wisdom is born from years of adversity, ranging from abuse, three rounds of cancer, and two strokes that left her hurting and disabled. The challenges she has faced seem insurmountable. Decades ago, her first husband hired a hitman to kill her and a judge after she fought to win full custody of their children. Although she remarried a wonderful man, her battle with life-altering strokes has been a heavy burden. After her second stroke left her unable to function, she had to relearn how to read. How does she keep going? “Get up again,” she says. Ramona also realistically addresses what true and complete surrender to God’s will means when you are in the midst of unthinkable suffering.

What happens when your life doesn’t go as planned? Do you trust God to help you weather the storm, or do you hide away in fear or get angry? Katie Schnack knows how it feels to be faced with unthinkable trials and fears. Her son was born with a slate of medical problems that have caused a host of health challenges that have taken a huge toll on her family. How do you keep going when you’re faced with the suffering of your own child? In her book, Everything is Not Fine: Finding Strength When Life Gets Annoyingly Difficult, Katie advises keeping your mind focused on the present. Don’t look too far into the future and overwhelm yourself! Give yourself grace when you walk through hard times, and remember, joy does return, and hope is always just around the corner. Find a great support system, as well.

“If we are perpetually expending, we will hit a wall of depletion, and we will be the worst version of ourselves,” says Cary Schmidt, the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. Cary is the author of Steady Strength: Reversing Ministry’s Dangerous Drift Toward Depletion. He discusses several key permissions given to us by the Gospel that lead to a more reasonably paced life: permission to be weak and the permission to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The Gospel, he explains, is the good news that transcends all the bad news in our lives, and this gives us durability and a source of strength and a renewed identity. Cary points troubled or anxious Christians toward cultivating a calm and balanced inner state based on Christ’s truth by fostering nourishing and healthy environments, good lifestyle choices, and solid relationships.

There is hope for us because God is a God of justice! Bruce Strom is the founder and CEO of Administer Justice and the author of Gospel Justice and Persevering Power: Encouragement for When You’re Oppressed by Life. What should we do when the brokenness and injustice of our world feel overwhelming? Bruce reminds us that we can shift the focus away from our own fear by focusing on what others need. How can we serve others? Let’s reach out to help a neighbor in need during this holiday season. Bruce discusses the importance of true balance in our own lives, so that we can pour from a full cup rather than an empty one. Being out of balance can make you depressed and anxious, and it can sideline you. We were created with infinite value and purpose!

It’s time to go from being a victim to being a victor in Jesus Christ! This is the message Dr. Greg Patten, the director of Greg Patten Ministries, has been delivering for decades. Greg is also the host of a radio and podcast program called Hello, World! For many years, he has helped Christians and non-Christians escape the bonds of demonic attacks. Unfortunately, Greg says that many Christian pastors today don’t know anything about how to address this issue or how to help people who are suffering from the pain and torment of demonic oppression or possession. But Greg is hopeful. He reminds Christians that they are to be soldiers of the cross, not wimpy quitters. Satan is the father of lies, and he uses fear as one of his greatest tools to stop Christians in their tracks. Remember, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Are you living your life as a spirit? What does that even mean? Prolific author and deliverance minister, Paul Renfroe, explains that humans are spiritual beings. It’s easy to forget that element of ourselves, but often, when undergoing spiritual attacks, that gritty reality comes to the forefront of our lives. Paul encourages Christians to regularly “inspect” their expectations in life, because it is those manmade expectations that can often steer us in the wrong direction. Submit your expectations to Jesus! He also urges believers to encourage each other and to come together in community and have continual fellowship in the Holy Spirit. “Spirit gives birth to spirit,” Jesus told Nicodemus, and Paul helps you understand your spirit birth and function as a spirit.

Do you have a pressing question that you need answered? Shea Houdmann has the answer. In fact, he’s got thousands of them! Shea is the founder and CEO of Got Questions Ministries, one of the most frequently visited Christian websites in the world, with an average of 16 million page views every month. He talks about one of the site’s most popular questions: can Christians be demonically oppressed or possessed? Based on Scripture, Shea doesn’t believe a Christian can be possessed (1 John 4:4), but that doesn’t mean that Christ followers can’t open themselves up to spiritual attacks if they are partaking in activities that invite demonic oppression, like fortune telling, viewing disturbing horror movies, lying, stealing, etc. “The Holy Spirit indwells all believers, so it is inconsistent with Scripture to assume that true Christians can be possessed by any demonic spirit,” Shea explains.

Demonic oppression and possession are terms Christians may use frequently, but probably don’t fully understand. Joshua Lewis is the president and host of The Remnant Radio, and he is well-versed in the subject of deliverance from demonic attacks. He explains that anyone, even Christians, can leave the door open to demonic ambushes if they engage in any sinful activity. The Bible warns us to abstain from sins that will give the Devil a foothold, or a “space” in our lives (Ephesians 4:26-30). Joshua reminds us that we don’t have to spend our time wondering what mysterious sin we may have committed that opened the door to the demonic realm, but ask Jesus, and He will reveal it to you. Generational sin could also be a reason for demonic attack. Stand firm against the Devil’s attacks, repent, and give your life to Christ.

“The sins we struggle with the most are the ones we’re most prone to judge in others,” says Micah E. Davis, the pastor of teaching and vision at The Sanctuary, in Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s easier to refuse to forgive those who have offended us, and it’s also easier to avoid asking for forgiveness when we have offended others! There’s humility and embarrassment in asking for forgiveness, and there is mercy and charity involved in giving it out. Sometimes, we don’t feel like extending that kind of love to those who have hurt us, but we should, because Christ has forgiven us. What we first received from Christ, we can then extend to others, Micah reminds us. Jesus was betrayed by so many of his friends and followers preceding his crucifixion, and yet, He forgave them. We have lost the art of communal confession and Christian accountability, and it’s time the body of Christ returns to it.

In a culture where taking responsibility for your actions is often seen as a weakness, learning to forgive others can seem counterintuitive. Micah E. Davis is the pastor of teaching and vision at The Sanctuary, and he knows a great deal about forgiveness personally. After surviving a turbulent period in his childhood where he was failed by multiple father figures, he learned the meaning of true forgiveness - forgiveness that comes from a Christ-centered heart. Why isn’t forgiveness easy? Why doesn’t it feel natural? Because it’s costly, Micah says. It costs the offender and the offended something, to both give and receive it. Yet, most of us fail to realize that in withholding forgiveness, we miss out on receiving the relief that we need so badly from the Lord.

Phylis Mantelli was raised in a violent and abusive home with a mother who didn’t know how to show love or kindness. With so much trauma and pain in her past, Phylis felt lost for many years and dealt with her hurtful past in unhealthy ways - but God wasn’t finished with her story! Today, Phylis is an author and speaker, and she recounts her story of surviving her mother’s abusive behavior as a child and later, as an adult, breaking through the pain of that abuse and trauma to become a daughter who forgave her mom and recognized that God loved them both. She talks about the “body, mind, and spirit” connection in spiritual and mental health, and details the 16-year journey that led her to not only forgive her mother but also love her.

Forgiveness is a tricky and often deeply painful road to navigate, but luckily, we are not alone in shouldering this seemingly heavy burden. Pastor Chris Brauns of Red Brick Church and author of Unpacking Forgiveness is well-versed in the subject of Gospel-centered forgiveness, which differs significantly from the secular and therapeutic approaches to it. He says that so many wounded people are on a “mental gerbil wheel” because old hurts and bitterness continuously haunt them, yet they don’t know how to move forward and truly embrace forgiveness. Come to Christ first, and He will give you rest. Learning to forgive others is a daily discipline that all Christians should practice. God is a God of justice, and He will fight for you in His perfect timing.

Forgiveness isn’t between you and another person - it’s about wisdom versus folly. Brad Hambrick shares thoughtful insight into the freeing power of forgiveness. Brad is the pastor of counseling at The Summit Church, and he explains the difference between true forgiveness and bitterness. He also talks about the occasional need to draw healthy boundaries with those who continue to perpetrate hurt upon our lives. All of us are equally sinful, Brad reminds us, but not all of our sin is equally destructive. Scripture calls us into community with other believers, and sometimes we need their help to step into a place where we can truly forgive. Importantly, Brad points out that true forgiveness promises never to use someone’s transgressions against them in the future.

Sometimes the process of forgiving others can make it feel like God has lost patience with us. We may feel like He has “switched teams,” or that He has more time for others than He does for us - but this is a lie! Forgiveness is central to the Christian message, says Brad Hambrick, the pastor of counseling at The Summit Church. He talks about the definition of forgiveness: canceling a debt. Forgiveness is telling someone, “Christ died for what you did, and that’s enough for me.” That doesn’t mean you have to excuse any hurtful action against you, but it does give you the freedom to let go of the pain and give it to the Lord. Brad also shares practical steps you can take when you are caught in a cycle of repetitive hurts inflicted by someone close to you. Forgiveness is ultimately a process that takes time and effort.

Is it possible to forgive even the worst offender? This is a concept that is easy to discuss but difficult to put into practice. Forgiveness is something that Inez Heller Jones writes about in her book, They Call Me Blessed! An Empty Nester’s Inspirational, True Story of Prayer, Faith, and Endurance. Although Inez has passed away, her daughter Carolyn Jones discusses the impact her mother’s story has had on many marriages - a story of love, adultery, pain, grief, and ultimately, God’s gracious mercy and love. Carolyn’s mother completely put her faith in God’s Word, and only then was she able to weather the major storm in her life. Inez’s testimony is a beautiful reminder of the love and strength God gives His children when they are faithful to Him. Inez chose to forgive and the ending to this story is nothing short of miraculous!