(Blog) Woke Christianity Replacing The Real Christianity - Ep. 1013 - November 11, 2026

A Christian label doesn't establish that someone is following Christ. That distinction is at the center of Jeff Rowland and Alan Smith's November 11, 2026, conversation on our show, where concerns about "woke Christianity" lead to a call for repentance within the church.

In Episode 1013 of The Smith and Rowland Show, Jeff and Alan examine religious voting patterns, the influence of public voices, and their concern that political loyalties are displacing biblical faith. Glenn Beck's warning that "your church is a target" gives the discussion its central point of reference.

Why Jeff and Alan See Glenn Beck as a Prophetic Voice

Jeff opens by reflecting on people he believes God has used to speak to the nation. He names Jonathan Edwards, D. L. Moody, and Billy Graham before placing Glenn Beck in that tradition of national spiritual influence.

For Jeff, the distinction rests on what he hears when Beck addresses spiritual matters. He describes sincerity, spiritual authority, and a sense that his own spirit bears witness to the message.

Alan agrees, while emphasizing that neither an audience nor another minister appoints someone to a prophetic role. In his understanding, God chooses the person, and listeners bear responsibility for recognizing the message.

Their description of Beck as a prophetic voice is a spiritual judgment they make about his work. Both also stress the importance of a person's response to God: they believe Beck has said yes to what God has asked him to do.

Charlie Kirk, Tucker Carlson, and Competing Influences

Jeff and Alan contrast Beck's direction with what they perceive in Tucker Carlson. In their assessment, Carlson initially responded to a spiritual calling but later changed course. They express disappointment because they believe he could have been an important voice.

Their description of Charlie Kirk is different. Jeff sees Kirk's influence as pastor-like, particularly among young people and college students. He credits Kirk with making disciples, feeding people spiritually, and encouraging others toward ministry.

The hosts then contrast Kirk with the Texas political figure they identify as Talarico. They regard Talarico's public use of Christian language as misleading and describe him as a counterfeit of the kind of influence they associate with Kirk.

That comparison illustrates a concern running throughout the episode: talking about Jesus and faithfully representing Jesus are different things. Their judgments about these figures reflect their own religious and political assessments.

Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, and an Interest in Scripture

The conversation takes a more hopeful turn when Jeff and Alan discuss Joe Rogan. They refer to Beck's account of Rogan warning that woke ideology is replacing God on the political left and entering Christianity.

Both acknowledge that their familiarity with Rogan comes largely through short clips. Jeff also mentions watching Rogan's extended conversation with Wes Huff.

What Jeff sees in Rogan reminds him of his earlier impression of Jordan Peterson. He believes Peterson's engagement with Scripture reflected the Holy Spirit drawing him toward truth. In Jeff's assessment, Peterson eventually "passed from death unto life," though that remains Jeff's interpretation of Peterson's spiritual journey.

Alan agrees that Peterson appeared drawn to truth and had to reconcile his reasoning with what they call the logic of God.

They hope Rogan will make a similar commitment. Their desire is for him to surrender fully to Christ and the written Word of God, rather than remain interested in Christianity only as a subject of discussion.

What the Hosts Mean by "Woke Christianity"

Jeff and Alan use "woke Christianity" to describe a form of religion they believe allows political ideology to reshape Christian belief. They connect Beck's warning to concerns they have raised repeatedly on the show about Marxist ideas entering churches.

The danger, in their view, is that those ideas can arrive through familiar language and apparently friendly voices. Someone may speak about Jesus while promoting positions the hosts believe conflict with Scripture.

They return to several distinctions: Christendom and Christianity, apostate Christianity and biblical faith, and claiming to follow Christ while living contrary to His teaching.

Here, Christian identity versus Christian practice is the central issue. Identity can mean adopting a label or belonging to a religious culture. Practice, as Jeff and Alan describe it, means actually following Christ and submitting to His Word.

Near the end of the discussion, Alan reads Beck's warning:

"Know the difference between the woke Christianity and real Christianity, because it comes cloaked as a friend."

The Religious Voting Numbers Discussed

Jeff and Alan quote figures from TheBlaze's report on Beck's church warning. These are the percentages they read during the episode.

They also quote Protestants and Catholics as accounting for 21% of the vote each, other Christians as 17%, and people with no religion as 26%.

For the hosts, the concern is the relationship between religious identification and political choices. They see substantial numbers of religious voters supporting a party whose platform they believe conflicts with those voters' stated beliefs.

The LDS figures particularly catch their attention because that group has the largest Republican share among the categories quoted. They suggest that its stronger conservative alignment could make it a greater target of ideological pressure.

Why They Challenge the Christian Vote

Jeff states repeatedly that he cannot reconcile Christian faith with the Democratic Party platform. Alan agrees.

Abortion is central to their criticism. When discussing the Catholic figures, they argue that support for Democratic candidates conflicts with Catholic teaching about unborn life. They also see a contradiction between accepting the authority of the Catholic Church and voting for policies that oppose its teaching on abortion.

Both express surprise that the Democratic share among Catholic voters exceeds the share among Protestants in the figures they quote.

Their argument rests on a conviction that faith must govern political choices. In their view, religious affiliation alone cannot resolve a conflict between a person's professed beliefs and the policies that person supports.

They regard the voting pattern among people with no religion as less surprising. What troubles them more is the contribution of religious voters to political outcomes they oppose.

Their Questions About Jewish and Muslim Voters

Jeff and Alan also challenge the Jewish and Muslim voting figures through the lens of what they believe those faith commitments require.

Regarding Jewish voters, they argue that support for Democratic policies conflicts with concern for Israel. Jeff describes such voting as self-destructive because he regards the party's direction as hostile to Israel. They also repeat Beck's observation that the Jewish vote is changing compared with its earlier pattern.

Their discussion of Muslim voters centers on another perceived contradiction. They question how the reported level of Democratic support fits with Islamic beliefs about sexuality, given the party's support for LGBTQ policies.

Jeff connects these concerns to an earlier teaching in which he discussed Islam, Judaism, and apostate Christianity as forms of spiritual deception. He sees the political alignments as evidence of confusion about religious commitments.

These are the hosts' interpretations of the figures. Their broader claim is that political allegiance can become strong enough to override the beliefs people say they hold.

A Religious Label Doesn't Show a Practiced Faith

Jeff later qualifies an assumption he made earlier in the conversation. A person counted as Protestant or Catholic isn't necessarily attending church or practicing that faith.

He illustrates the point with a visitation story from Chilhowie. While knocking on doors, he asked a man where he attended church. The man named Chilhowie Baptist, but when Jeff asked who the pastor was, he named someone who had left four years earlier.

The encounter stayed with Jeff because it showed how easily a religious identity can outlast active participation.

He also observes that some Americans assume being American makes them Christian. As he puts it, ordinary polling doesn't provide a "supernatural poll" of a person's relationship with God.

Alan adds another distinction: he believes someone can be born again while failing to walk with God.

That qualification matters to their reading of the election figures. Religious categories don't establish church attendance, spiritual maturity, or obedience. Even so, they believe the condition of people actively sitting in churches deserves serious examination.

Repentance Comes Before Political Repair

When Jeff asks what the church can do, Alan places repentance first.

To make the point, he retells a story he heard from a preacher about two ministers attending a revival meeting. One called the other around 3:30 in the morning and summoned him to pray. They took opposite corners of the room and began seeking God.

One soon began confessing sin and repenting aloud. Later, he called across the room to challenge his friend because he couldn't hear him repenting.

The story brings some humor into the discussion, but Alan's point is direct: the church ought to know how to repent.

He argues that Christians must examine their own pride, naivety, and participation in the nation's condition before concentrating on political solutions. Jeff agrees that repentance comes first.

Their repeated phrase is a return to the "first works." They mean going back to the basic response of obedience to Christ rather than assuming that a different political outcome will repair the church's spiritual condition.

Elections Reveal a Condition That Already Exists

Alan argues that the nation didn't enter spiritual trouble on election day. An election gives a picture of the beliefs and priorities people already hold.

Jeff connects that observation to a principle he often repeats:

"As the church goes, so goes the nation."

He believes the church's condition affects what happens in the wider culture. In his understanding, patterns visible in public life have corresponding elements within the church.

That is why the discussion returns to self-examination. The hosts believe the church must consider what it has tolerated, what it teaches, and whether its people are following Christ.

Jeff also voices a political fear. If the figures they discussed are accurate and people don't change, he worries the country will move beyond the possibility of electing another conservative president. Alongside that concern, he fears a further loss of spiritual passion within the church.

Alan answers that repentance could produce a different response and direction.

God's Provision and Protection

As the conversation turns toward America's future, Alan distinguishes between God's presence and what he calls God's protective hand.

He describes that hand in terms of provision and protection. If God begins withdrawing it, Alan believes those are the areas where the nation could feel the effects.

American agriculture is his example of provision. He points to the amount of food farmers produce and calls it a blessing, while acknowledging that abundant food doesn't necessarily mean inexpensive food.

His concern is that persistent, unrepentant evil could lead God to withdraw protection. He distinguishes that possibility from God's judgment, describing it instead as the removal of a protective hand.

Alan also distinguishes ordinary human sin, for which God has provided forgiveness through repentance, from an unrepentant heart that continues into evil.

Neither host identifies a particular shortage, disaster, or national event as proof that this has happened. They express concern about what could follow if the country continues in the direction they perceive.

Biblical Images of God's Presence Withdrawing

Alan connects his concern to 2 Thessalonians 2:7. He interprets the passage in relation to the Holy Spirit's restraining work and the rapture of the church.

Within that interpretation, he believes the Holy Spirit will remain until the church's removal. However, he argues that God could withdraw national protection before then.

He also recalls the Old Testament picture of God's glory departing in stages. The imagery corresponds to Ezekiel's account of God's glory departing, where the glory moves away from the temple. Alan applies that picture to his concern about the United States.

Jeff points to 1 Samuel 4 as another passage that fits the warning. He also recalls the psalmist's words about loving the habitation of God's house and the place where His honor dwells, followed by the image of God delivering His glory into the enemy's hand.

For both men, these passages give biblical language to their fear that a nation can lose blessings it has taken for granted. Alan also emphasizes that God gives time for repentance.

Spiritual Numbness and the Loss of Conviction

Jeff brings the concern into the setting of ministry. He describes looking across a congregation and sensing a numbness among the people.

In his account, the Holy Spirit is still present, but the experience differs from what he remembers. He describes less drawing power, less conviction, and less shame over sin.

Alan shares the concern that God's glory could depart if people persist in refusing Him. Both regard that possibility as more serious than an unfavorable election result.

Their observations remain religious interpretations of what they perceive in churches and the nation. The response they name is consistent throughout the episode: repentance, renewed obedience, and a return to following Christ.

Returning to the First Works

The central concern in this episode is the gap between professing Christianity and practicing it. Jeff and Alan believe political choices can expose that gap, but they place the church's responsibility before God at the center of their response.

Their call is for repentance and renewed faithfulness to Christ. The distinction they keep returning to is the difference between saying someone is a follower of Jesus and actually following Him.

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