Todd Starnes frames MSM, gives 'shining city on a hill' message at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills

By Alex Murashko, CP Contributor
Friday, October 15, 2021

Most of the mainstream media in America don't understand Christians, and many hate them, said Christian journalist Todd Starnes, who is a former analyst for Fox News and author of the book, Culture Jihad.

Starnes, who was the guest speaker behind the pulpit during Sunday services at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California, which is led by Pastor Jack Hibbs, framed today's mainstream media outlook on Christians and then gave a rally cry for the country during the current troubling times.

The journalist at the pulpit was fitting because both Starnes (radio show) and Hibbs (pulpit) pull from U.S. history to expose the deep Christian roots of the nation.

"My job at Fox News was to tell our stories to the rest of the country," Starnes said in front of the congregation. "There are not many Christians in the mainstream media. There are very few, so, they just don't get us. I think a lot of them hate us, but overwhelmingly I think they just don't understand who we are. It was a joy for over the 15 years at the Fox News Channel to be able to share those stories with the rest of the country."

Along with sharing his testimony of how he felt God "got his attention" and steered his career life, Starnes gave his thoughts on the political and cultural climate in the nation.

"I believe America is meant to be a Christian nation," he said. "When you look at our founding documents, when you look at the letters and the correspondence of our Founding Fathers it is very clear to me that they were basing every decision they made on the Holy Scriptures.

"John Adams, our second president said this: Our Constitution is holy and adequate for anyone other than a holy and just people. That means when you take God out of the equation you get chaos. And what's been happening over the last two decades in America? We have gotten chaos because we removed God from the equation.

"We don't get our rights from mankind, our rights come from Almighty God."

Starnes told the congregation that they "have been in the fox hole of the front lines of this war on religious liberty." Hibbs, along with other church leaders, locally, such as Pastor Joe Pedick of Calvary Chapel of the Harbour in Huntington Beach, strongly advocate for Christians to be engaged within educational and governmental establishments in order to bring about positive change.

Starnes said, "The Constitution is under assault."

"You might like our history or you might hate our history but it doesn't matter because when you erase history you will repeat that history," he said. "That's why we have to take such a stand here in the culture."

Starnes said that Christians are challenged when it comes to prioritizing their cultural focus.

"We think it's 'sexy' to go after Washington, [thinking] we have to 'take back Washington,'" he explained. "That's well and good but if you don't take care of what is happening here at home, you're never going to change what's happening in Washington, D.C. We've to get Christians onto the school boards and city councils. We have to take back our own communities first."

Starnes emphasized the importance of building strong families. "American exceptionalism doesn't start in Washington, it starts around the supper table," he said.

Does Starnes still have hope?

Starnes warns that Americans are being conditioned and led into socialism. However, he offers a more hopeful alternative.

"My hope is not based in the State Capital in Sacramento. My hope is not built on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' hope and righteousness," Starnes said.

One of several proposals he suggested was for Christians to get involved in school boards.

Responding to the DOJ's request that the FBI send agents to investigate "moms and dads" who are raising concerns about critical race theory, Starnes said: "In essence, what [advocates of CRT] are saying is that if you are a certain skin color you are a bad person. Well, I want to say something about that. My God doesn't make mistakes. Not one mistake. We are all made in God's image, and I tell you brothers and sisters, it is a lie from the pit of Hell designed to turn us against each other and foment a race war, and I am fighting against that every single day on my radio show."

He concluded his message with a rally cry.

"My fellow brothers and sisters, we are surrounded. The enemies of freedom are advancing and the time has come for all of us to stand resolute. ... Let our prayer be on this day, that our great nation will once again be that shining city on a hill."