A Newsletter

American culture is suffering a serious credibility crisis. Many of us are out here trying to figure out who we can trust to tell the truth – but also where we can go to organize with others who are committed to creating a world that works for everyone. 

In the coming days, I will be shifting my writing away from this blog to a newsletter format. Each week, I will post short pieces designed to cultivate spiritual depth, moral clarity and political courage in this season of escalating fascism. 

I will also be including a list of some sources (articles, podcasts, etc) that I find compelling. 

I would love for you to consider subscribing. It's totally free. 

Pitching Tents

Five days ago, I marched with students at Wayne State University in Detroit as they set up their encampment on campus. Their demands were clear: stop investing in war and occupation. On this Memorial Day, I salute the courageous students all over this country, who are pitching tents instead of waving flags. Their peaceful occupations are acts of patriotism. They refuse to sleep indoors while this country counterfeits “liberty and justice for all.” I am so grateful for their sacrifice.

Foolish. Weak. Low. Despised.

This morning, I marinated in the scripture that says that God favors those the world considers foolish, weak, low and despised. This “message of the cross” is not about where we are going when we die, but whose side we take while we live. The crucified God is all about collective liberation. 

When middle-class people like me publicly take up the cross too - by taking the side of the foolish, weak, low and despised – we let go of our social status and financial security at the same time. These burdens weigh far more than any cross. This brings up fear for me – but it is the only way to spiritual freedom.

But what about Hamas?

I keep hearing “But what about Hamas” from those trying somehow, someway, to justify a genocide in Gaza. They say that Israel has a right to do whatever it wants until Hamas is defeated. 

Three quick points. 

First, it’s militarily impossible to eliminate Hamas by bombing and invading Gaza. The US secretary of state publicly admitted this months ago. He said it again this week. 

Second: Hamas does not exist in the West Bank where the Palestinian people continue to endure racist conditions that resemble the US South in the 1930’s (arrests, killings, check-points, illegal settlements, etc). 

Third: Hamas was established forty years ago as a response to the brutal Israeli occupation of Gaza. Hamas turned to violence when nothing else worked to alleviate the extremely oppressive policies of Israel and the West. 

There is another way to peace. Lindsay and I witnessed it last Friday when we attended a shabbat service at the University of Michigan Gaza encampment. About forty of us circled up under the huge Douglass Fir in front of the library. Two young women led us in song and dance. One of them proclaimed that a permanent peace is impossible without Palestinian liberation. That’s it right there. 

This Jewish college student was scripting a rare combination of moral clarity and political courage straight from her ancient tradition – and it’s far more compelling (and realistic) than what all these supporters of genocide are saying about Hamas.

Weaponizing Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is a serious issue in the US. The wake-up call for me was when white supremacists marched through campus in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us.” Remember? The police did nothing to stop them. The research shows that the threat of anti-Semitic violence is real. However, this era of emboldened white nationalism is producing far more actual anti-Black, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim violence. Which is weird because it seems like far more attention and resources are directed to combatting antisemitism. 

This trend is fueled by a wealthy coalition of pro-Israel and right-wing organizations, including white nationalists, that have joined forces to destroy their common enemy: “the far left.” They are now weaponizing antisemitism to censor those of us who are protesting anti-Palestinian violence, which is off the charts. They portray all anti-Zionists as Jew-hating proud boys. Of course, many of the brave organizers leading these protests are Jewish. Many are also students of color and women wearing hijabs. Perfect targets for white supremacists. 

99% of us who are protesting genocide on streets and campuses fully affirm the humanity and dignity of Jewish people. Just as we fully affirm the humanity and dignity of all oppressed people. Centering the absolutely horrific experience of Palestinians does not mean that we hate Jewish people. We hate genocide. We also hate that our tax money and university endowments are funding it. If you don’t hate these things, you can’t possibly be serious about eradicating white supremacy. Can you?

A Choice to Make

The more I watch what’s happening to the Detroit ghetto, in the Gaza strip, at college campuses and on the street, the more obvious it is that the so-called “culture war” between red and blue is just a charade to distract us from the slow-moving civil war ripping the population apart. 

On one side, there’s an establishment clinging to power and wealth. It is disproportionately white, tokenizes people who are not, and justifies using violence - here and abroad - to preserve the mythology of America and its material advantages. It is well-armed and corporate-sponsored. 

On the other side, there’s a movement demanding truth and justice. It is darker, younger, queerer, deeper, far more creative, inherently nonviolent and unwilling to give a pass to America’s many sins. It is building a beloved community by transcending the establishment’s two-party monopoly. 

Those of us with a little bit of privilege have a choice to make. Will we seek safety and security in the familiar confines of the establishment, or will we break rank and grow our souls in the movement? 

This decision, every single day, has everything to do with little things like where we get our news, who we seek approval from, how we pray and invest, what we teach our children and when we should go out of our way to show up in solidarity with oppressed people. 

In a civil war, these little things reveal where our true allegiance lies.

Shalom

Happy Passover. A shout out to all my Jewish friends and comrades who have taught me, over the past 200 days, the true meaning of peace. This shalom has nothing to do with staying civil or steering clear of conflict in an aggressively unjust world. This shalom demands the health and harmony of the whole community. It is committed to collective liberation. The assurance that all God’s children will be protected and provided for — no matter what we look like, where we were born, who we love, or how we worship.

This Issue Matters

People ask why this issue – of all the issues – is so important. This issue really matters because tens of thousands have been murdered and tens of thousands more are starving. Every single one of these lives is just as unique and precious as me and you. But there’s more to ponder. 

This issue matters because it pulls back the curtain on ways that U.S. wealth and power perpetuate and profit from very oppressive situations. Both political parties, corporate media outlets and a multitude of Christian pastors are implicated in all this death and destruction. 

Once again, well-meaning Americans are being scripted into a racist narrative of good guys against bad guys. It’s no different than the myths, lies and biblical proof-texts justifying awful conditions on the plantation, the frontier, the reservation, the border, and the ghetto. 

What will we do when we realize, once again, that the same old characters are blowing the same old smoke? Will we side with wealth and power - or be compelled to act with compassion? Will we seek protection in civility, cynicism, neutrality or niceness - or will we muster the moral courage to tell the truth? 

This issue matters because it is a litmus test for our capacity to love.

Out from Under the Bed

Jesus told his disciples to take the lamp out from under the bed and put it on the bedside table. So that the secret things can come to light. Jesus organized a movement that transformed private faith into public witness. They groaned for what the Hebrew prophets called a “new creation.” They were about collective liberation, not just personal salvation. 

Over the past six months, many Christians in the US have slowly emerged from under the bed to shine the light on what’s really happening in “the holy land.” We are late to the game – and it is humbling. However, we are in the game now – and the more we shine the light, the more we see. 

Tens of thousands of innocent people have been murdered in the occupied territories. Not just for the past six months. For the past century. With the full support of both major political parties in the US – and the corporate media. Not just Fox News, but CNN, MSNBC, NPR and PBS. 

If our leaders have been doing all this while our lamps have been hiding under the bed, what else have they been doing? An authentic Christian faith wants to find out – so that we can struggle and groan with God for a new creation, for a world that works for everyone.

The Cross

For the first Jesus followers, the cross was not God’s plan to save sinners from hell. The cross was a weapon that the Roman empire used to intimidate rebels, like Jesus, who raised hell. When Jesus told his disciples to take up the cross, it was a call to subvert Roman supremacy with inconvenient truth and self-donating love. The cross was not about going to heaven when they died, but about leaving a little heaven where they lived. No matter what it cost.

The Exploiters and Oppressors

On Palm Sunday, Jesus led a parade on his way to publicly confront the exploiters and oppressors in Jerusalem. In fact, many of his followers along the route were day laborers waving leafy branches cut from the fields where they were exploited and oppressed from nine-to-five. Unfortunately, many Christians worship a Jesus who avoids politics. I get it. The polarization is real. There’s just so much disinformation and division driven by the culture war. The good news is that, in the Gospels, Jesus was dedicated to a different kind of political fight. 

The politics of Palm Sunday side-eyes a culture war sponsored by the exploiters and oppressors. Instead, we can spend our time turning over the tables with Jesus. Because the system will never protect and serve those being exploited and oppressed unless it is transformed. Is this politics of collective liberation polarizing? Absolutely. Because a large portion of the Christian population supports (and/or benefits from) the exploitation and oppression - including most of those who “avoid politics” or “stay neutral” so they won’t offend their friends and family. 

A Christian politics of collective liberation springs from a subversive spirituality that binds our worth and identity to Something Else. I know that I will never be able to muster the courage and strength to break rank with exploitation and oppression unless I breathe with a Power of love that’s greater than the supremacy stories that have taught me to avoid conflict to maintain my social respectability and financial security. These strong tendencies enable exploitation and oppression in fields and factories and ghettos and Gaza – and atrophy my soul at the same time.

Crossing Over For Ramadan

I am connecting with a couple dozen folks of faith and conscience who are crossing over and committing to some form of fast during the daylight hours of Ramadan. It’s a small step towards strengthening our solidarity with Muslims in Gaza, the West Bank and around the world. We are giving up food or caffeine or alcohol or sex or something else - or all of the above. I am abstaining from eating food and scrolling on espn.com and social media. Our goal is simply to deepen our spiritual and political commitments to collective liberation.

A week before Ramadan, we joined a protest for Palestine in Orange County. There were probably five hundred "protestors" taking up the four corners of a suburban intersection, filled with flags and beautiful signs. When I parked and started walking over, a teenage boy walked beside me with a huge smile on his face. He told me he just left his mosque and he drove by the protest and just had to stop and join in. He said he did not know it was happening and he could not believe how big it was. That young Muslim man melted my heart - so did many of the other people, mostly Arab-Americans, in the small crowds on each corner. 

We are one week into Ramadan. In the waves of early afternoon weakness, I have consistently been washed over with feelings of deep respect and reverence for the fact that Muslims fast during the daylight hours for an entire month every single year. I continue to hear about this Palestinian virtue they call “sumud.” It means something like steadfastness or resilience. Ramadan must play a crucial role in cultivating their capacity to creatively resist what the Western world has done to them for the past century.

Lifting Up Our Gaze to Gaza

Over the next three weeks, the Christian season of Lent will overlap with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started yesterday at sundown. Yesterday. When a billion Christians read the Gospel text where the radical rabbi Jesus tells the wealthy and powerful Nicodemus that Jesus himself must be lifted up on a cross – just like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. 

Jesus was giving a little sermon on the story in the Hebrew bible about the post-exodus Israelites getting bit by poisonous snakes. God tells Moses to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole and raise it up whenever someone gets bit – so they can look up at the snake and be healed. Jesus says that he is now playing the role of the bronze snake. 

In the Gospel story, Jesus will inevitably be lifted up on a cross. Because he paved a path that threatened those who clung to their privilege, power and wealth. Radical Christian spirituality roots salvation in gazing at Jesus up on that imperial cross. 

All It Takes

What you’ve been doing for decades has not worked. If you really want to make your world safe and secure, all you need to do is stop excluding, exploiting, imprisoning, bullying, bombing, terrorizing, torturing, starving, scapegoating and stealing from your neighbors. Just shift your posture. Give them dignity. Honor their humanity. Invest in their future. That’s all it takes

A Different Definition of Power

Back in 2016, I met up with an old friend in Orange County for a breakfast burrito. I was wearing a Black Lives Matter button on my hoodie. He was obviously disturbed by it - and he told me so. He said, “When you say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ it means that white lives don’t.” I’ve heard a lot of white folks say the same thing since. Over the past few months, some of the same people have extended this peculiar moral logic, saying that social media posts advocating for a free Palestine are antisemitic. They claim that chanting “From the River to the Sea” means that I want to wipe the state of Israel and Jewish people off the map. 

Our world is divided over different ways we define “power.” Leaders of liberation struggles are not interested in obtaining the kind of power that has been used against them, that has been used to put other people in their place, or to violently force someone else into submission. They are fueled by an empowerment framework. They want a world where power is equally distributed. Where decisions are made for the dignity and well-being of everyone. Where the common welfare comes first, as we say in my 12-step program. Only this kind of power leads to collective liberation. Our only hope for survival on this planet.

Let Us Descend

My friend Bill Boyle inspired me to start reading 10-15 pages of fiction every night this year. I finished my first book last week. It took Jesmyn Ward six years to write this masterpiece. Her partner died suddenly right in the middle of the whole process. Grief penetrates every page. The main character is a young women, enslaved and surviving the terror of the plantation. Like every historical novel, this book is not just about back then. It is about right now too. Because our world – from the Gaza strip to Detroit - is still possessed by a plantation perspective. 

The beauty of this book, however, is that hope, healing and liberation - for ourselves and our society - come when Something Else is centered and summoned. Something other than white skin and the profit motive. This story descends with the power of Black women moving together, accompanied by the more-than-human world of bees, trees, water, wind, soil and ancestors. The lone ranger and superhero are left out. Let Us Descend is a 300-page invitation to seek and find companions who have historically been held in low esteem. This is the only way we’ll rise.

Nineteen

We turn nineteen today and I am finding it hard to even fathom how much we’ve transformed together – which sure as hell does not mean that we see or feel the world the same way. 

 

The good thing is that the divine design is drawn up with a box of crayons that have colored our life way outside the borders and binaries we used to believe in. 

 

You steer our wabi sabi balancing act away from a watered-down compromise towards a more radical collaboration that engages the roots of everything we see and feel. 

 I get wide and you go deep. I push through and you drop down. I tell the overstory while you tend the source where no one has the time or energy to go digging, all the way to things in the dark that are deliberately silenced and preferably unheard. 

Five Reasons Why

The upcoming MLK holiday will mark the 100th day of a full-fledged genocide in Gaza. Here are five reasons why I believe that white progressive Christians in the US should break our painful collective silence and publicly advocate for a permanent ceasefire – and the full protection and liberation of Palestinian people going forward: 

1. Jesus told his disciples that God is partial to the poor, the persecuted and those who mourn. 11 Palestinians have been murdered every hour since October 7. Every single one of these lives was created in the image of God – an image that literally looks a lot more like Jesus than the white savior that American churches have stamped into our imaginations. 

2. Jesus told his disciples to stop focusing on the splinter in other people’s eyes and to take the plank out of our own. Remember how we felt for four years when Trump lied every time he opened his mouth? We were horrified by our white cousins and co-workers who justified it all. Well, that’s what’s happening now with Biden and most Democrats in Congress. For 100 days, they've repeated Israel’s lies – while tens of thousands of Palestinians have died. 

A Threat to Democracy

It’s the third anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection. We were hiking with our young nephews that afternoon. I checked my phone frequently. These days, there’s a lot of talk about how democracy is threatened by Trump, white male militias and all sorts of other supremacist nonsense coming from conservative homes, churches and media outlets. I take all of this seriously. But I am also super jaded by the whole “you gotta vote for Joe Biden or else” script. 

Biden is polling horrifically with young people, Arab-Americans and anyone else who genuinely cares about Palestine, the poor and other oppressed people. His unpopularity makes perfect sense. Among other things, Biden is supporting a genocide in broad daylight. He’s even bypassing Congress to send weapons to Israel - which is a threat to democracy. Also, the Democratic Party refuses to host primary debates. This is a threat to democracy too. 

The Dems desperately need a new strategy. Biden should drop out. Not because he’s too old. But because he’s a totally uncompelling candidate. My nephews (and democracy itself) deserve someone far better. The good news is that we’ve got 304 days until the election. The Democratic Party can still pivot. But if they don’t do something different, Trump will probably win - and they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

The Entire Journey

Munther Isaac’s penetrating Christmas sermon from Bethlehem has gone viral. In it, he proclaims that Jesus is found under the rubble in Gaza. I am magnetically drawn to how his message subverts the atonement theology of empire that hyper-focuses on the death of Jesus as the means for a future salvation in heaven. 

There is a dissenting opinion! The point of the cross is not that it atones for sin. The cross points to a God who is at-one with the marginalized, suffering, oppressed and displaced. But God never works alone. Jesus called his followers to “take up the cross” and be at-one with them too. No matter what it costs. 

This is just the start of the story. There is hope. Not in heaven, but right here. Because God is all about composting what empire is crucifying. Like Rev. Isaac promises in the sermon, the Palestinian people will rise again. The cross calls us to join them for the entire journey. Not just after they win.

The Real Antisemites

Antisemitism is real and every single one of us should take it seriously. The painful irony, for me, is that the most antisemitic people I know are unconditionally pro-Israel. White Evangelical Christian Zionists. Many of these people believe, based on a ridiculous interpretation of the last book of the bible, that God will restore the nation of Israel before Jesus comes back to bring all of his true believers home to heaven. 

I grew up in this subculture. I was taught that Jewish people were not “saved” – but because they were God’s chosen people, they would get one final opportunity to accept Jesus as the Messiah and their personal lord and savior. But if they don’t, they will go straight to hell. Does it get any more antisemitic and genocidal than this? 

Here’s what I know: when white Christian Zionists say that Israel Matters, it really does mean that Palestinian lives do not – and it does not even mean that Jewish lives matter either. This is what I believed back then – and it is what white Christian Zionists really believe right now. I followed Jesus out of white evangelical Christianity when I finally realized how destructive and dehumanizing this supremacist belief system actually is. 

These People Have Paid the Price

It’s been nine weeks since October 7. During this season, I am deeply grateful to have spent significant time studying what’s going on in the occupied Palestinian territories. I do not trust corporate media outlets. Because they rarely scrutinize US and Israeli agendas. I’ve seen clips. There’s so much propaganda out there right now. It just feels like a big power game that serves the status quo, seeking to comfort the conscience of mostly white people who absolutely do not want to be troubled with any serious reporting of a genocide. 

I am far more interested in books and longer articles and listening to interviews with scholars and journalists who have immersed themselves in this issue. I bear witness: these leaders carry themselves with integrity and possess a passion for justice. They have studied every side, but they also take a clear, unequivocal stance. Because this is what love demands. Many of these people have paid the price, in one way or another, for speaking up for Palestinian people. 

I am talking about Noura Erakat, Rashid Khalidi, Zachary Foster, Norman Finkelstein, Miko Peled, Ali Abunimah, Marc Lamont Hill, Nick Estes, Dylan Rodriguez, Steven Thrasher, Amanda Gelender, Gabor Mate and Gazans on the ground like Bayan, Bisan, Motaz and Mosab Abu-Toha. Amy Goodman, Briahna Joy Gray and Chris Hedges have been brilliant. None of these leaders are perfect. But it is clear to me that each of them actually cares about the truth - and they are willing to put their careers on the line for it. They have had a profound impact on my spiritual life.

A Mass Movement Christians?

Jewish orgs like JVP and If Not Now have been doing a brilliant job of organizing North Americans of conscience to rally, march and protest for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation in Gaza. Some people are asking why there is not a mass movement of Christians actively resisting the Zionist policies and pathologies of Israel and the US. It’s a great question and I’d love to hear what other Christians are thinking and feeling about this right now. Here’s my short explanation – and I am specifically speaking about predominantly white middle-class American expressions of Christianity. 

Evangelical and conservative Catholic Christians have notoriously bought into Zionist theology. This is the tradition that I have been resisting, recovering from and reconstructing for the past two decades. Unfortunately, most liberal Catholics and those in Protestant denominations stay silent about Palestine. As far as I can tell, guilt and fear are strong motivations. Guilt for what American Christians failed to do for Jewish people in Europe in the 1930’s and 40’s. Fear that speaking up for Palestinians will offend their Jewish friends and colleagues – and white folks in their congregation. 

There’s also this. A multitude of middle-class people who were raised in either conservative or liberal Christian homes have left the church. They just stop being “Christian.” I am seeing a lot of secular, atheist and agnostic Jews organizing for Palestine right now. They do not attend synagogue, but being Jewish still matters. It is still a crucial part of their identity. Not so for many post-evangelicals and recovering Catholics and those who were confirmed, a long time ago, as Lutherans or Methodists or Presbyterians or Episcopalians. 

A Vigil

A few nights ago, there was a vigil in downtown Detroit to honor those who have been murdered in Palestine since early October. People were invited to step up to the mic and share about their family members back home. 

A guy about my age said that he could not get a hold of his sisters and nieces for the past week. 

Another talked about his uncle, a dentist and a father of young children, who was found dead under the rubble. 

One young woman named her dad, her mom, her sisters, her cousins. All of them murdered by Israeli missiles. 

A big screen scrolled the names and ages of children. Now gone. The screen kept scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. 

There is no legitimate justification for the loss of these precious lives. There is only a gigantic deficit of love and justice. A deficit dug by the distortions and lies of Israeli and US leaders. I left that night feeling the grief and heaviness. I left that night knowing that Gaza would serve as a spiritual and political litmus test for the rest of my life.

Just One Day

Yesterday in Detroit. On the street in front of Rep. Thanedar’s office. A rally and vigil organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. We prayed and sang and demanded a ceasefire and an end to the occupation. A woman read the names and ages of 101 Palestinian children murdered by IDF bombs. She said her list represented one day of deaths. Just one day out of thirty. There are many adjectives I would use to describe what is happening in Gaza. “Complicated” is not one of them.

There's a Huge Difference!

300,000 people marched for a free Palestine yesterday in D.C. Millions more marched in cities all over the world. We joined the masses in Hamtramck, Michigan. Unfortunately, there are still folks (mis)characterizing this pro-Palestinian movement as some sort of antisemitic side hustle celebrating Hamas. It’s just the opposite. In fact, right now, so many Jewish people are calling for a ceasefire and an end to the decades-long occupation. They know, better than anyone, the difference between Judaism and Zionism. There’s a huge difference! 

I heard one young Jewish-American say, just the other day, that they are afraid of the rising antisemitism in the U.S. It’s real! They also lamented that the rise in antisemitism is being weaponized to mute every critique of Israel. They said that chanting “from the river to the sea” at a protest is not stoking antisemitism. They said that the real cause of the rise in hate is what the state of Israel did to the people of Gaza before October 7 – and what the state of Israel has done to the people of Gaza since October 7.

Unfortunately, far too many folks, on both sides of the aisle, struggle to differentiate between Israel’s government and actual Jewish people. It would help, I think, if there was a lot more reporting in the corporate media about the surge of Jewish leaders, in North America and in Israel, who are publicly calling out the policies and pathologies of the Israeli government – and who are affirming the full humanity of Palestinian people (not just paying lip service to their “plight”). 

But instead, the “news” fuels the ghosting and the gaslighting and the mindless mischaracterizations of Palestinian-Americans like my congressional rep Rashida Tlaib. In this wildly anti-Arab and Islamophobic cancel culture, the willingness for Jewish folks to courageously stand up and speak out is incredibly inspiring. They are willing to lose everything. Everything except their integrity, dignity and humanity. I am following their lead.

Love. Compassion. Truth. Justice.

I am committed to a spirituality and politics of love, compassion, truth and justice (as opposed to something that serves the interests of my family, my nation, my race or any other tribal identity). I believe that everyone is a sacred child of God, no matter where they live, who they love, or how they worship. So I cannot support what the state of Israel has done in Gaza over the past ten days – and what the state of Israel is about to do to Gaza in the days to come. 

I cannot bear to read the news of Palestinian people being uprooted and murdered while white Christians and white liberals pledge their full support for the state of Israel’s “right to defend itself.” Murdering civilians and cutting off all access to food, water and electricity has nothing whatsoever to do with defending itself. What this government and their military (with the full support of the US) have done for the last 75 years to the Palestinian people is reprehensible. 

I confess. I used to be one of these white Christians who supported Israel no matter what. Because my pastors told me that’s what the bible says we must do. But then I started studying the scriptures and the history of Palestine. I started listening to other people. I learned that what my pastors told me was totally whack. So I changed my mind. Now I stand for Something Else – even though it is unpopular. Because this is what love, compassion, truth and justice demand.

Absolutely Secure

"I want to feel completely vulnerable, completely naked, completely exposed and absolutely secure." This is what Howard Thurman said was the one thing he desired most in life. I desire this too, and I am deeply grateful for the kindreds who consistently love me into this reality.

Scrutiny

If you were raised in a conservative church (like I was) and you start to change the way you think about God, the bible, heaven and hell and homosexuality, the rapture, racism, abortion, America, social justice and gender, then you will be side-eyed by your tight circle of friends and family members. You are now the sinner, the tax collector, the leper, the liberal. Because evangelical christianity is a cancel culture, a fear-based system fixated on right belief. If we change what we believe, everything is at stake. Even eternal life! 

Scrutinizing fundamental beliefs that are destructive to ourselves, other people and the planet is socially ostracizing. But scrutiny is the seed of soul growth. We stop repressing our deepest feelings. We start trusting Something Else. We cultivate new convictions based on love, liberation, open-heartedness and genuine humility. The post-evangelical path will not look the same for everybody. Some of us will stay “Christian.” Some of us won’t. But whatever we do, we cannot walk alone. We need each other. I’m realizing it’s the only way to heal the evangelical trauma – and truly get free.

The Roots

A white dude walked into a Dollar General yesterday in Florida and murdered three Black people. He had a swastika on his rifle and posted multiple manifestos online. But at the press conference, the sheriff said that “there is absolutely no evidence the shooter is part of any larger group.” This does not make any sense to me. His supremacy was not created in a vacuum. It was shaped by a culture. Like Jesus said, a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. This white dude was not just a bad apple. He's one fruit that comes from a tree rooted in white supremacy and anti-Blackness. The only way to become Something Else is to scrutinize the roots - and replace them with love.

A Reading List for Repentance

I've been working on a book project over the past few years. It has evolved into a series of shorter reflections focused on reconstructing a biblical spirituality for those of us who have been in a process of deconstructing fundamentalist, evangelical, conservative Catholic or denominational expressions of Christian Supremacy. This reconstruction project pivots on the Power of love, the only force that can fuel us to live for Something Else. 

I believe that this Something Else is rooted in the radical act of repenting from the American Dream, the corporate-sponsored conventional wisdom that comes at the awful expense of this agonizing statistic: the US and Canada comprise about 5% of the world's population - and consume over 30% of the world's resources. I am calling the North American context The 5/30 Window, a play on what my white Evangelical pastors referred to as "The 10/40 Window," the African, Asian and Middle Eastern regions of "unreached" people who live between ten and forty degrees north latitude. I am flipping the script and saying that the souls of dark-skinned Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims who live on the other side of the world do not need to get saved. We do. 

By "we" I mean those of us in the 5/30 Window who have a semblance of privilege and are more progressive than our fundamentalist and fascist friends and family members. We do everything that we are supposed to do to make life matter - college, career, marriage, maybe kids, march at the Pride parade, make donations to important causes and keep up with social justice issues - but are left feeling exhausted, lonely, unfulfilled, stressed, depressed, anxious, addicted and/or insecure. We are weighed down by a soul dissonance. Because all our supposed-tos pile up and perpetuate an oppressive system. My spouse Lindsay, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, says that if we remain in a codependent relationship with a counterfeit system like the American Dream, then the counterfeit will inevitably come out sideways. 

When Jesus beckoned his disciples to repent, he was borrowing language from the battlefield. In the first century Roman empire, the soldier who repented was a traitor. He switched sides. He spoke treason. I believe that for people with a semblance of privilege (like me)  living in the 5/30 Window, repentance is a call to break rank with the aspirational goals of achievement and upward mobility. Because our success and social respectability are "earned" in a system addicted to the antithesis of love: supremacy. By this, I mean that it has a built-in pecking order, a kind of caste code that says that certain people are more deserving than others. This stubborn supremacy still reigns in systems dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Repentance slowly erodes our obliviousness. When we switch sides, we see how the Dream excludes, exploits and extracts from the 10/40 Window and those Dr. King called "the other America:" the poor, the essential workers, Black and Native folks and other people of color. Jesus prescribed repentance because he knew the spiritual secret. If we do not openly oppose supremacy around every corner, then supremacy becomes a part of who we are wrapping itself around our souls like the arms of an octopus (as Anne Braden once wrote). If we do not break rank, we drown in denial, dysfunction and/or drink. 

The American Dream is a nightmare and those of us playing by its rules in the 5/30 Window are paying the price spiritually and emotionally. Because our lives are embedded in an interrelated structure of reality. The soul is not locked inside autonomous individuals. It is a web of Being that binds everyone to everything else. We are caught in what Dr. King called "the inescapable network of mutuality." Whatever affects anyone directly, affects everyone else indirectly. The excluding, exploiting and extracting of disproportionately dark-skinned bodies is inextricably connected to the excluding, exploiting and extracting of the souls of white folks and middle-class people. 

Repentance is not fueled so much by what we are against, but who we are for. We can live for Something Else, a Power of love that compels people of faith and conscience to promote an alternative spiritual paradigm. It's not about aspiring for greatness, but conspiring with the critical mass of people - disproportionately dark-skinned - who are being excluded, exploited and extracted. The word "conspire" literally means "to breathe with" (by the way, "aspire" means to breathe on, which brings up a whole cringeworthy history of diseases that white settlers have passed along to Native people, from 1492 to our present-day pandemic). So in a nut shell, repentance is breaking rank with supremacy and breathing with Something Else.

A Codependent Relationship

Over the past few years, I’ve been doing a lot of 12-step recovery work as I wrestle with codependency, the curious ways I set-up, serve, prop-up, people-please and enable bad behavior in my relationships with individuals and institutions. I get stuck saying “yes” – even when everything in me wants to say “no” - because I believe I am supposed to, because I believe that things will be better. This time. 

In recent days, I’ve been thinking about how many Americans (myself included) are caught in a codependent relationship with electoral politics. I am positioned to the left of Bernie Sanders on the political spectrum. Like Dr. King, I am absolutely convinced that without a radical revolution of values, the US will never heal and real justice will never become a reality. One major obstacle to MLK’s radical revolution is that both major political parties promote profit motives and property rights over the needs of people. 

I live in a swing state. So liberals tell me that I have to vote blue no matter who. I, of course, agree with my liberal-moderate friends: Republican policies are extremely destructive. But I’ve been paying attention to Biden - and Obama and Clinton before him. These Democratic Presidents – despite their campaign promises - continue to sell out poor and working people, over and over and over again. 

Her Dissent Does Not Disappoint

This morning, I finally got to read Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissenting opinion on the Supreme Court affirmative action decision handed down last week. Wow. Her dissent does not disappoint. It lays out a clear, compelling case for why race should absolutely be one component that colleges use to consider in the application process. 

KBJ dispels the myth that our racist past has nothing to do with right now. “History speaks,” she writes, “In some form, it can be heard forever.” White people like me still benefit from history's handouts: the free land, the GI Bill, the low-interest loans, the access to clean air and water, the non-competitive college admissions (and much more) that my ancestors cashed in on. 

Race still matters. More than ever. Because this Supreme Court decision will inevitably widen America’s ominous racial gaps. KBJ’s dissent undoes the guilt and colorblindness, offering another way forward for people of privilege. A clear-eyed understanding of how history affects the present – and an open-hearted promotion of policies that work for everyone.

Predatory

Bernadette Atuahene moved to Detroit’s eastside for three years and interviewed residents who lost their homes to property tax foreclosures. As she listened to stories and studied the data, she discovered that between 2009 and 2019, 1/3 of all Detroit residents lost their homes because they could not afford to pay their property taxes. And get this: a huge percentage of these homes were overcharged by the city, in blatant violation to the state constitution. 

Most of these overassessments targeted the lowest income residents of Detroit, almost all of them Black. The city inflated property tax bills to make up for lost revenue – and to remake the city in another image. This is one of the (awful) ways that Detroit made its so-called “comeback.” The foreclosed homes were snapped up for cheap by wealthy developers and many were demolished by the city (to make room for more development). 

Bernadette Atuahene work is important because it calls bullshit on the racist myths that portray poor people as lazy and irresponsible. This article is long, but it’s worth reading at least the first few pages. As it turns out, these illegal antics aren’t limited to Detroit. The data reminds us that poverty is not the result of chronic laziness, but of corrupt leadership. Predatory policies grow poverty for many – so a few folks can become wealthy. This is how America’s economic system has worked for centuries. Our politics ought to reflect this truth.

Christo-Fascism

In Texas, a man shot and killed five neighbors from Honduras and he’s still on the loose. In a social media post, the Christian governor of Texas referred to the victims of the murder as “illegal immigrants.” This is the same governor who rounds up refugees and dumps them on the streets of Washington DC. It’s absolutely disgusting. A few decades ago, theologian Dorothee Soelle called this increasingly popular brand of bogus faith “Christo-Fascism.” 

These folks worship work ethic, focus on their nuclear family and promote the greatness and innocence of America. When their versions of work, family and country are undermined or challenged or questioned, they find someone to scapegoat. Dark-skinned people. Poor folk. Powerful women. Anyone who’s not straight. You already know their dirty little secret. They will never call out the real predators: the wealthy and powerful corporate elites who fund their churches. 

Christo-Fascists blatantly counterfeit the biblical tradition to secure their status in society. Just study the Gospels and you will see. Jesus did the exact opposite of what this multitude of white Christians believe and say and do. Jesus moved on mercy, compassion, humility, open-heartedness and a ruthless critique of the wealthy and powerful. His radical love of neighbor broke the boundaries of work, family and country – and he expected those who bear his name to do the same.

Ditch the Patriarchy

In the latest episode of Ted Lasso, the team has an all-nighter in Amsterdam. What’s amazing is that they shrug off the sex and drugs for something more daring. They ditch the patriarchy. Scenes depict male athletes being tender, curious and playful. They vulnerably share weakness and struggle. They show appreciation and celebrate each other in public. They make music and sing – and let the women lead. I am grateful for this show – and for the men in my life who remind me that this doesn’t only happen in Amsterdam!

The Final Word

Easter Sunday holds a lot of significance for my spiritual journey. Because the death of Jesus means something different than it used to. I no longer believe that the cross was God’s plan to save sinful humans from hell. The cross was a weapon of the Roman empire used to intimidate rebels, like Jesus, who raised hell. When Jesus told his disciples to take up the cross, it was a call to subvert Roman supremacy with truth and self-donating love. The cross was not about going to heaven when they died, but about leaving a little heaven where they lived. No matter what it cost. 

An old friend from high school recently told me that I wasn’t saved biblically speaking. She said that my beliefs have eternal consequences. While fundamentalist Christianity condemns and crucifies, Easter is a reminder for me that the original Jesus people did not pledge allegiance to empire and its supremacy stories. They placed their faith in a higher Power determined to bring dignity to every person - no matter what they look like, who they love or where they’re from. The good news of Easter is that Love rises up and refuses to let supremacy have the final word.

More Messy Than Miracle

Jesus didn’t tell his disciples that they had to walk on water. He told them to wash one another’s feet. Jesus modeled a way of being human that’s more messy than miracle. It is not about being perfect or heroic. It is about being humble and present to the pain of other people.

Bound

I was sipping on a beer with a friend the other day and the topic shifted to spirituality. He flipped the script on me. He told me that he was “religious not spiritual.” The Latin root of religion means “to be bound.” He told me that he’s bound to his Zen Buddhist practice, a discipline that leads to love and liberation – for himself and others. I really resonate with his reframing. 

In American culture, we are left with some pretty uncompelling options for how we come to terms with the ultimate significance of our place in the world. Unfortunately, “organized religion” is often weighed down with so much traumatic, dramatic and dogmatic baggage. The guilt and obligation can be so oppressive. On the other hand, “spirituality” can feel like a slippery, vague, kind of non-committal concept. 

Disfellowship?

Today is Ash Wednesday, a somber day of reflection for those of us rooted in the Jesus tradition. I am reflecting on yesterday’s news that the Southern Baptist Convention decided to “disfellowship” from Saddleback Church, a community I attended twenty-five years ago. Disfellowship is a new word for me. As far as I can tell it means that Saddleback Church got cancelled. Why? Because Saddleback Church employs women as teaching pastors. 

The supremacist ideology that only men should be pastors comes from the Christian scriptures. There are a few bible verses that say that women are the “weaker sex” and must be quiet and submissive, and must never have authority over men. But the bible also says that those who get baptized are clothed with Christ in mutuality and that old hierarchies like "male" and “female” no longer apply! These kinds of biblical contradictions are beautiful. Because they force our faith to be humble and thoughtful. 

Four Scenes

It’s Sunday! Here’s a short sermon, summing up my faith in the four scenes from Matthew 14. 

1: King Herod throws a party where he serves up the head of John the Baptist on a platter. 

2: Jesus feeds five thousand poor folks with five loaves and two fishes - and twelve baskets of broken pieces are leftover. 

3: Jesus walks on water to the disciples, paralyzed by fear, trying to cross a stormy sea. 

4: When they get to land, the sick flock to Jesus and get healed by touching the fringe of his cloak. 

Who is the "Us?"

I only watched the 4th quarter last night, but I did see one of these commercials funded by wealthy conservative Christians. They are promoting a version of Jesus who is generous and loving and rejects “being political.” The end of every ad says “He gets us. All of us.” The problem with this kind of propaganda is that it does not make the “us” explicit. In oppressive societies like 1st century Palestine and 21st century America, there are both oppressors and the oppressed. The “us” cannot possibly mean everyone. 

In the Gospels, Jesus consistently takes a courageous stand against oppressors, those who seize and maintain their wealth and power by exploiting and excluding others. Jesus was “being political.” He calls King Herod a fox. He turns over the tables of the Temple bankers. He demands that the rich young ruler give away all his possessions. The text says that Jesus loved the rich man—so much so that he put up a boundary to his destructive behavior. 

Jesus knew that the rich man made his money off exploiting and excluding those Jesus called “blessed:” the poor, persecuted, pure in heart and those who hunger for justice. He also told his disciples that after political and religious elites canceled him on a cross, he would rise up in the bodies of the unhoused, uninsured, unfed, unclothed, immigrant and imprisoned people of the world—the very folks being exploited and excluded by those funding these ads.

The Courage of Kareem

I will probably stay up late tonight to watch Lebron try to break the record. I used to be a Lebron hater too, but my love and respect for him has grown over the past decade. Lebron has somehow exceeded the extremely high expectations set for him when he was a teenager. Who does that? He went to the Finals eight years in a row and, in 2016, he did something MJ never did. He led his team to a title against a far superior opponent. I also appreciate that Lebron speaks out, from time to time, on the issues that matter most. Another thing MJ never did. 

What about Kareem though? It’s unfortunate that he’s consistently left out of the debate over who’s the greatest of all time. His sky hook was unstoppable – and he played until he was 42. He would have scored a lot more points if he left college early. Instead, he led UCLA to three championships in a row. It’s hard to believe, but Kareem has even more haters than Lebron. Because he’s stayed true to his convictions – no matter how unpopular they’ve been. 

A few months after Dr. King was murdered, Kareem declined an invitation to play for the US Olympic team because he did not want to signal support for the way Black people were treated in the country he loved. Instead, he spent the summer in his native New York teaching kids how to play basketball and trying to inspire them to stay in school. Kareem’s courage, on and off the floor, then and now, is a model for us all.