In this podcast episode, The Rev joins remotely from California as the group discusses how people of faith should

approach what they describe as Christian propaganda surrounding President Donald Trump, cautioning that

ignoring it can be a dangerous “sleight of hand” meant to distract and push boundaries. They share examples like a

meme portraying Trump with Jesus-like imagery, attacks involving the Pope, and Paula White Kane’s Easter

comments comparing Jesus’ suffering to Trump’s experiences—remarks they say show poor discernment and

contradict Christian values of humility and being “known by our fruits.” They highlight four common reactions:

alignment and justification, moral-faith dissonance, disenchanted believers leaving the church, and hostile

overreactions that hurt credibility. They also revisit Trump’s past Easter statement criticizing political opponents and

emphasize the importance of accountability, speaking out, and weighing rhetoric against one’s faith and moral

compass.

In this Faith and Friction episode, Mac and The Rev open with Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” quote to frame

a discussion on choosing risk, failure, and growth over safety and sideline living. They argue that trying to eliminate

friction produces “frictionless mediocrity,” stagnation, fragility, and even a kind of living death, while leaning into

tension can be energizing, creative, and consciousness-building. Using examples from parenting, school grades,

sports participation trophies, and college experiences, they criticize coddling that avoids discomfort and prevents

kids and adults from earning outcomes, developing courage, and learning conflict skills. They connect friction to

growth in IQ, EQ, and spiritual intelligence (SQ), urging authentic communication, healthy challenge to faith,

persistence through failure and setting intentions that embrace discomfort as a path to becoming more fully alive.

Become rising Phoenix!

In this Faith and Friction episode, the Mac and the Rev discuss how to approach voting in a midterm election year

through faith-informed discernment without taking partisan sides. They emphasize personal responsibility amid

misinformation, AI, and agenda-driven media, urging listeners to verify information, examine their own biases, and

cultivate stillness (prayer/meditation) to listen inwardly. Key guidance includes judging leaders by integrity—

whether actions match words—holding candidates accountable to promises, understanding issues and candidates’

capabilities, and avoiding slander or false accusations. They warn against confusing patriotism and Western culture

with faith, and against turning churches or pulpits into campaign platforms that ostracize dissenters. They

encourage respectful dialogue, humility, moving from “me” to the common good, resisting “God told me”

manipulation, and holding all leaders in sincere prayer for wisdom and wellbeing.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:37 Election Year Lens

02:23 Discernment and Bias

05:47 Integrity and Accountability

07:44 Prophetic Warnings 1984

09:46 Unconscious Beliefs

12:35 Patriotism vs Faith

16:31 Church vs Campaigning

17:40 Conscious Debate

18:13 Faith and Politics

18:51 Drop by Drop Change

19:33 Stop the Slander

20:52 Integrity in Disagreement

23:32 Verify Before Sharing

25:41 Stillness and Discernment

28:07 Know Candidates and Issues

29:50 Reject the God Card

31:56 From Me to We

33:59 Beyond Labels

34:33 Pray for Leaders

36:13 Pause and Do Better