TNG with Tina Marie Griffin

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burrows. Together bringing you truth.

For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. In John chapter 15 verse 19, Jesus says that the Church, the Christians, are not of the world. We're in the world, but we're not of the world. And Jesus said, if you were of the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John 15, 19. Well, with that verse and some more that we'll share, we welcome you to today's edition of TNG Radio. Alex McFarland here with Dylan Burrows, as always. Dylan, good to be with you, my friend. Hey, great to be here with you again, and I'm excited today as we get to talk with Tina-Marie Griffin, the Counter Culture Mom at counterculturemom.com. This is going to be a great one, so let us know a little bit about what people will get to hear today, Alex, as we get started. Well, you know, I've got to tell you, running the Truth for a New Generation Conference is all over the country. It's such a blessing to bring people together to learn, to be taught. And you know, Dylan, one of the things that I love is to introduce great communicators to audiences all over the country, to inspire people, and it's been our joy to see God use TNG to help bring a lot of really good content and good communicators in front of people. And you know, I just don't know that we've ever had as much buzz over a speaker as when a couple of years ago we met Tina-Marie Griffin, brought her to North Greenville University. She spoke for several days to 2800 college students, and then we began to invite her to come to Truth for a New Generation. And she's just been incredibly well received, and rightly so, because she's a great communicator. And you know, in talking about counterculture mom and what she represents, I'm going to let her tell her own story, but she reminds me of Romans 12 too.

Romans 12, Paul writes, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern the will of God, what is good and perfect and His acceptable will. And Tina is being used by God, she's got an incredible back story in her journey in the Lord, but she is helping renew the minds of people and equip the minds of people to see this world through the lens of God's word. And so we're very, very proud that she's a part of the Truth for a New Generation events and I just told her, I said, hey, wherever we go, I'm going to invite you.

If you can't make it, I understand, but whenever your schedule's open, we want to use you. And so Dylan, I wanted to have her on the show now. So Tina, thanks for being a part of the radio program. And I've got to ask, where are you calling in from today, Tina? Well, today I'm calling in from just north of Nashville, Tennessee here, and there's a homeschool curriculum sale going on for Rebecca and I homeschool my kids nine and under. I have a nine year old, soon to be eight year old, six year old and five year old.

And these kids are going bonkers over their brand new school books. And I politely asked the lady, can you please babysit for half an hour? Cause I have to get on the radio and help more people realize the importance of the type of education that their kids are getting. And I just want to, I want to tell you, Alex, that I greatly appreciate being on the TNG with you. And I also want to let you know that even if I was nine months pregnant, I'd be jumping on a plane and taking my chances in order to be a part of what you guys are doing. And I've just really looked up to you for years. So thank you for creating a platform to allow parents to know how to better equip their kids to go out there and make a difference in today's culture. Well, God bless you.

God bless you. You know, the title of your ministry, Counter Culture Mom, let's look at that middle word, culture. What do you see as a Christian, as a mom, as a, an author and speaker? I mean, why is culture important? Why should the church be informed about culture, Tina?

Oh man. I'll just, I'll be real with you, Alex, over the last couple of, I'll say year to two years, I knew when I first started speaking 15 years ago, that culture was important just because I was in Hollywood working in film and TV, runaway shows, did the Miss America pageant, was involved with Women in Film, the Oscars. I just knew that culture was what we were engrossed in.

I mean, it just shaped who we were, what we believed, who we wanted to follow, how we lived our lives, decisions that we made were all based on today's culture. And if you didn't have God as center and knew his word, I could easily see how people could be lost, deceived, betrayed, and, and also live that lifestyle and promote it to other people. So when I lived in Hollywood, it was so black and white for me where if I was working on set and they would want me to do or wear a certain thing, I would have the Bible with me on set.

And if I had a question, I'd look up some information. But for the most part, my parents did such a great job growing me up in God's word. And I gave my life to the Lord at 16, where when I moved to LA at 20 for that decade, I knew, I knew God's word pretty much inside and out. Now, were there questions a little bit here and there? I still have questions today, but for the most part, I could, I could go on set or hear someone tell me a certain thing or listen to a song, watch a movie, meet an actor on set and see what they're promoting and know right away, pretty much with God's discernment, is this something I want to be involved with or not?

And if it's something I didn't want to be involved with, I would, I had this urgency that I had to warn other people. And so when I was 24, I did the Miss America pageant and that's what opened the doors to speaking on this, so I've been doing now for 15 years called Hollywood Exposed. And it's, it's a 90 minute show or so I can speak anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes on today's culture and dissecting it. And I think if we don't know culture and the church is not tuned in with culture, they're going to miss the boat major on winning souls for the Lord and sharing with people the content that they're dying to receive. There's so many kids and parents that want direction and want guidance on the hot topics today, but a lot of churches are not digging deep enough, or if they do talk about the topics, there's even churches today, sad to say, that are completely being deceived themselves and, and sharing the opposite of God's word on certain topics. And so I think it's so important once again to come back to God's word, learn it, live it, and then be able to discern culture, the truth and the lies, and then share with as many people as possible what the truth really is. Hey, let me ask you this, Tina. A lot of kids go away to college and lose their faith or compromise their Christian walk during the college years.

I think about you. You went to Hollywood and you not only retained your Christian testimony and your belief in Jesus, but really thrived in it. When I was working at Focus on the Family years ago, I mean, we reviewed Christian CDs by people like Katie Hudson, later became Katy Perry. You know, I think about Avril Lavigne and even Britney Spears, who entered the entertainment world as a Christian.

And, you know, in the case of, like, Katy Perry, has really, really backpedaled on her evangelical upbringing and has made it very clear that she doesn't believe Jesus is the end of the way of salvation anymore, doesn't believe homosexuality is a sin anymore. Had to. We've got to take a break, and so stay tuned, folks. This is TNG Radio. Alex McFarland, Dylan Burrows, our very special guest today.

Tina Marie Griffin. Stay tuned. We're back after this. First Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have. We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God? Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2008 and always be ready. For centuries, the Bible has inspired humanity and shaped the very world we live in. But how do we know this book is the Word of God and not merely the words of men? What we believe about the Bible is based on what we believe about its source. The God Who Speaks explores the evidence of the Bible's inspiration and authority through some of the world's most respected biblical scholars. We have essentially a dual authorship, so it's true to say that Paul wrote Romans. It's equally true to say that God wrote Romans. He says we saw this, and that sets the Bible apart from almost everything else in the ancient world and its religious pantheon of gods and goddesses. The God Who Speaks is a feature-length documentary from the American Family Association. Available now at thegodwhospeeks.org. Welcome back to our program, TNG Radio.

Alex McFarland, Dylan Burrows, and Tina Marie Griffin. So here's the two-fold question. How did you go to Hollywood and keep your Christianity? Others don't do that. And while many of the kids who hear this, or their parents, maybe they might not go to Hollywood and pursue a career in the entertainment industry, but they will go to college, and they may or may not lose their faith. So what's the difference between somebody who can go the distance in a hostile environment and a Christian who can't? Oh, that is such a great question.

I have like ten different avenues I could take on that. For me personally, growing up in a farm, having my parents instilling me God's truth, it was something my faith with God had to be mine. It couldn't be something that my parents told me, you got to do this or else, or God's going to be displeased.

They never did that. They said, here's God's truth, here's faith culture, and believe it or not, it was a little bit bad back then. Nothing in comparison, but I saw the TNG's entertainment back then with like 90210, or Jason Priestley, I remember reading an article one time where he got drunk and wrapped his car around a tree going 80 miles an hour, and even as a 16 year old, a new believer, I knew, I'm like, drugs isn't the answer, the Hollywood lifestyle with not following the Lord isn't the answer, and that's where my passion became so great that I had to get out in LA just to share Christ with celebrities, because I knew they influenced people, they were influencing me and all my friends, and I'm like, man, if they got a grip of who Christ is, they could change the nation. But I think the biggest thing is, the parents need to instill God's truth in their kids, it's never too late to start, so if you're tuning in thinking, oh, my kid's already got tons of problems and he's 14, what am I ever going to do?

You have two choices, do nothing, and not make changes, or say, from this day forward, I'm making a pact, God, guide me, give me wisdom on what to say, help me teach scripture to my kids, they will see the difference between who Christ is and the truth and the deceptiveness and the lies coming from the enemy. And so I owned my faith when I went to Hollywood, that completely helped me. I also would highly suggest anyone tuning in and they have kids that want to head off to Hollywood or if they're now doing entertainment, have them get plugged in with a very good, solid biblical background of a church. Mine was Oasis Christian Center, I loved that church. Pastor Philip and Holly Wagner had such amazing, God-filled messages. Holly would speak to the women, Pastor Philip every Sunday, and I remember literally leaving church challenged and convicted, and I need messages like that, especially living in Hollywood where I had a temptation the next day to do something that was pornography driven or wear a short skirt.

But I knew that if God would not be pleased with it, he was the only person I was ever concerned about as number one priority on would this please him or not. That helped me through my Hollywood career and because of that, if I would stand my ground on set, other Christians on set would bring their Bible and we'd have great conversation and I wore my abstinence t-shirts on set that would create conversation with celebrities, with directors. They're like, what do you mean abstinence? Like you don't do drugs? It said no drugs, no sex, no sex till married. What? You're a virgin in Hollywood?

And it would create like, you know, some laughs there too, but great deep conversations with people. And I started learning that there were a lot of Christians working in film and TV. I still have a lot of Christian friends that work out there till still today. And we just have decided not to do roles that could compromise our testimony, that would compromise our faith, that would make us feel guilty after we did it, regrets after we did it. And I will tell you guys that I could have been a bigger star. I know that I could have had a big name for myself had I said yes to some of the roles that I had to say no to, even with the big money offered, even with the big name attached to the movies, I said no several times where I'm like, I really want the notoriety because I want to be known so people can know I'm a Christian and I love the Lord, not for the fame and fortune. Honestly, it's still where my heart is today, but I said no knowing so well it would wreck my testimony if I would say yes to those roles. So I think the biggest thing and why disaster didn't strike, even though there were roles, I should have said no to minor stuff compared to what I could say. I learned as I went. I still use it as a major learning opportunity. It was a lot of pressure.

I don't regret any decisions I made since I moved out there. In fact, God used that for my FBI research years so I can be sharing what I'm now sharing today as an undercover FBI agent, living and working in Hollywood knowing full well what their agenda is so I can help warn other people and encourage those people wanting to go into entertainment that it is possible to live a Christian bold lifestyle in Hollywood. We need Christians in the entertainment industry and it's possible to do that and here's how you do that.

So that's what helped. As far as the celebrities you named off that went downhill fast, I really believe they didn't have a solid foundation in the Lord and several of the people you mentioned, Britney Spears for example, she had parents. Her dad was her manager and so if your manager, if your father is okaying you to do a very seductive photo shoot at the age of 14, 15, you're thinking, okay, my dad says he's a Christian and he's a pastor and he's saying it's okay, so it must be okay. That's the reason we had issues with some celebrities that lost their faith or really never had it to begin with and kids growing up said, oh, but they're a Christian when in reality they probably weren't or they were a Christian with a false understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Well, you shared some very powerful words Tina and one thing I want to go back to is this idea that your parents gave you a strong Christian foundation so that when you went to Hollywood, you had a basis upon which to evaluate ideas and make decisions and talk to some of the parents who are listening today who are wondering what are the things I need to be teaching my children so they will be prepared when they go to college, when they go into the career field, what are the things I need to do now to be ready to have my children ready for that time?

Yes, great question. And you know what the sad thing is, the problems we had two decades ago or three decades ago when I was a little munchkin on a farm in Wisconsin was my mom would talk about saving yourself until marriage and she'd have scripture to help back that up and the fact that my mom and dad waited. And I wanted to wait. I felt guilty if I would get a bad grade, if I would be disobedient, I would have to fix it right away. My heart was just like, I want to mend this relationship.

I know I did something wrong and I don't like that feeling and I want to fix it. So by having my parents guide me in those topics, specifically my mom, it wasn't a long conversation every day. So parents listening to like, I'm busy, I've got, you know, career going, whatever.

I want to challenge you. The best investment you can make is an investment in your children because the biggest regret that people have on their deathbed is not investing enough time with their kids. And then trying to get counseling for their kids or their kids are still living with them at 40 years old or died of a drug overdose or whatever the case is, had a kid at the age of 15. They're doing those things because honestly, if we're real today and look at ourselves, it's because we didn't do a good job parenting somewhere along the way. Now, if they still decided to run and we know that we did exactly what God has done, we did our job and God will tell us, well done, good and faithful servant. These have been interesting topics to talk about. We'll be right back in just a moment.

Stick with us. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5 to 12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

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Wherever Christian books are sold. Welcome back to TNG Radio. We're going to resume our conversation with Tina Marie Griffin in just a moment. But I do want to remind everybody that we've got a couple of very, very exciting Truth for New Generation conferences coming up. We're going to be in Middle Tennessee, right outside of Nashville, September 14 and 15.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 26, 27. Folks, you don't want to miss it. Josh McDowell, Dr. Michael Brown, J. Warner Wallace, who just in the last couple of weeks has been all over television with some of the cases he's cracked and his great apologetics research. A lot of speakers, please go to the website truthforanewgeneration.com. Just check it out.

There's also a mobile device that works on all platforms. But please join people from around America as we gather in September in Tennessee, Louisiana in October and there's going to be videos, there's going to be speakers, there's going to be incredible vendors there like Liberty University and Compassion International and Josh McDowell Ministries. Folks, we've got to do this. We must rise to the challenge of 1 Peter 3.15, being ready to defend our faith, being ready to give an answer to everyone. And at Truth for a New Generation, you will be informed, inspired, mobilized and equipped.

So go to the website truthforanewgeneration.com. One of the keynote speakers that we're always so honored to have that you'll read about is Tina Marie Griffin, an actress, now a Christian activist, and she really is an example of being salt and light in the culture. Why is Hollywood and much of pop culture and media doing an all-out assault on traditional ethical and moral boundaries? Tina, why do you think that is?

I think there's two major reasons, number one, the money to be made. I challenge all audiences when I'm out speaking, I'm like, who makes money if you guys decided not to have sex until marriage? Silence.

I said, that's right. Nobody. Nobody makes any money if you decide to have the absence dance. Are they going to promote that? No, because if they promoted abstinence, they wouldn't be making any money. If they promote sex, you're of course either going to get pregnant, you go to Planned Parenthood and have an abortion.

You get an STD, you're going to the doctor to get drugs to try to fix that. Even though every sin has a consequence. So Hollywood's pushing that agenda. Second major thing, even more than the money-making, is I really believe that Satan is running our world today and he's running our airwaves today.

There's even scripture that backs that up with the fact that he is running the powerful influencers of today's culture. For me, I really believe it's media. And so when you have people that are into witchcraft, sorcery, which they are in Hollywood, many parties are had in Hollywood that they literally have séances in witchcraft. I've never been to one, so it's hard for me to describe it. It's just stuff that I've heard and stuff that I saw after the parties were over. They do witchcraft type activities to decide what programs to put on the air. It's really demonic, and it's a lot bigger than most people think or could even comprehend.

There's stuff that I'd like to share right now, but I don't want to freak out the viewers or listeners, so I'm going to slowly, over the weeks, expose more stuff. But it's really demonic if you want to look at it. Satan is using major people that are following his agenda to influence the masses to corrupt, destroy and kill, just like the Bible states. And I really believe, living in the end time, what's the biggest, worst way you can damage the most people?

Through mass media, through the media, through technology. And yet I try to encourage people that's also the very same way that we can spread God's truth the fastest and the furthest to win more souls for Christ. So the biggest thing is, use technology to glorify God, but be very careful not to be deceived on the people trying to pump messages in our minds that do not line up with God's Word. God has warned us that the thief, Satan, comes to kill, to steal, to destroy, but on the other hand Jesus has come to give us life and life more abundantly.

Entertainment, which is otherwise a good thing, I mean art, literature and music, but how Satan has so controlled American entertainment for so long, and he's done what John 10-10 warned about through, sadly, really ungodly entertainment, Satan is stealing, killing, and destroying, isn't he? Oh, without a doubt. But the cool thing is, we know who wins and who won, and I always keep my focus on that. And the other amazing thing is, especially at the TNG conferences we've been doing, when I see a bunch of kids in the audience, like sixth grade, middle school, even some in elementary school, sitting next to their grandparents, taking notes at the last TNG event that we're all at, and you can see when you're speaking and sharing God's truth, the light bulbs go off. They all of a sudden get it.

They understand. The veil has been lifted if any of them have been blinded by it. I mean, there were atheists in that crowd.

I had great conversations with several of them at that conference. That's what gives me hope, because I know that if we keep sharing God's truth, the people tuning in and listening have a choice, continue down the road they're on, or say, you know what? This is truth. I have been deceived, and I'm going to walk God's direction. At least that way, someday, we did our job, no matter how many people give their life to the Lord in the process, we did our job by sharing God's truth, but then they can't say to God someday, no one told me I never knew.

That is the cool thing when I tell kids and parents, now we know more truth, and it's our decision, but let me tell you something, God will bless your life so much if you follow His word, do what He's asking you to do, and saying no to the things that are trying to deceive us, and take up our time, take up our cash, and spin truth, which is actually lies. Tina, thank you so much. These are powerful words you're sharing today. We want to take a moment and let people know how they can find out more about you and the work you're doing and how they can get involved. Tell us about your website and how we can find out more.

Yes, definitely check out CounterCultureMom.com, and if you'd like to be a part of the ministry, you can also click on the partner tab. We have a lot of great projects. We're creating a four-CD series for parents, which is four hours of content, it's awesome. I'm also going to start making my actual presentation available for purchase, so if you want to take this back to the youth groups and share with more kids, it's a jam-packed session that will just totally open the eyes of many kids who are currently engrossed in this very entertainment, and they will be able to know positive choices as well. The other big thing is our app, our CounterCulture Mom app.

It's not just for moms. Dad's tuning in, jump on board, there's six of us that are pumping out content daily to help us raise counterculture warriors in our home today so they can go out there and know when they're being lied to, and also share truth with their friends. It's just been a privilege to be able to talk with you guys today and let parents know that it is worth it to spend your time and cash to invest in your kids on making sure that positive messages are going into their mind so they actually know truth and they know how to stand when they're being deceived with Satan's messages. You know, Tina, Colossians 2.8 says, See to it that no one takes you captive by vain philosophy, empty deceit, according to the traditions of the world and not according to Jesus Christ. And Tina, I just want to thank you for you are living out Colossians 2.8 and you're helping people follow the mindset of Christ and be set free from the bondage of the world. Thanks so much, Tina.

It's been a blessing to have you with us, and thank you for joining us today. Listen again at TruthForANewGeneration.com or join us next time at Truth For A New Generation Radio. Truth For A New Generation, in association with Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, exists to equip Christians with a biblical worldview through conferences and camps. For information about upcoming events, visit TruthForAnewGeneration.com or give us a call at 877-YesGod1. That's 877-YesGod1.

TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries. P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. That's P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com or TruthForAnewGeneration.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.