The Ghost War isn’t just a theological mistake; it's a highly profitable business model. The empire invented the boogeyman because fighting a phantom pays incredibly well. A terrified flock is a highly profitable one. New episode out now.
Why is the American Church so fixated on condemning formless enemies while remaining fiercely silent on the real, biblical sins of greed, racism, and misogyny? Because shadowboxing costs absolutely nothing.
Part 1 of our new series drops at midnight EST.
John Piper quoted one verse about loving the sojourner, and his own movement turned on him with breathtaking malice.
When your political identity requires you to reject the Red Letters of the Gospel, you're not defending a faith, you're guarding a cage.
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John Piper quoted one verse about loving the sojourner and tripped the alarm of the fortress he helped build. The response wasn't theological; it was a masterclass in malice.
We must prepare a place for those waking up to the spectacle. Keep building, keep expanding the table, and make room—because the refugees are coming, and we’re going to need more chairs.
"When a religious movement becomes obsessed with its own preservation and status, it ceases to be the hands and feet of Jesus and becomes just another special-interest group lobbying for supremacy."
"If your theology makes you colder, harder, and more suspicious of outsiders, you’re not worshiping the Jesus of the Gospels. You’re worshiping a tribal deity made in the image of your own fears."
God's not asking for clever political strategies to save us. He's asking us to build tables for the vulnerable in the middle of the empire.
Vengeance says, “You hit me, so I hit you back." The Cross says, “You hit me, and I absorb the blow so it ends here." The Cross is the only mechanism in history that breaks the cycle of violence.
open.substack.com/pub/thefaith...
Many long for a political “Day of the Lord” to crush their enemies. But Amos warns that this day will be darkness, not light.
Are we priests who intercede or prosecutors who destroy? A priest stands between the living and the dead to stop the plague. A prosecutor seeks only to win the case. The world has enough prosecutors; it’s dying for priests.
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Today, many of us sit in that same seat, as Jonah, hungry for a spectacle of judgment. We refresh our feeds like Romans waiting for the lions. But if we celebrate the burning without weeping for the inhabitants, we’ve lost the very heart of the God we claim to serve.
We’ve traded the heavy burden of biblical justice for the electric thrill of tribal vengeance.
This week, we examine the "spectator’s hill" and ask: Are you a priest who intercedes, or a prosecutor who cheers for the fire?
Full episode is live!
We’re gathered here to commit the body of the American Evangelical Mind to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Obituary of the Evangelical Mind out now!
If you’ve been seduced by the rallies, the arches, and the "formidability" of power, you’ve forgotten the fundamental lesson of the faith: God is rarely in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He’s in the whisper. If your faith requires a monument to feel valid, it’s not faith. It’s idolatry.
To the Church in the Wilderness: Don’t envy their size. Their bigness is a symptom of their death. Don’t fear their formidability. Their iron feet are mixed with clay.
Our latest episode is out now:
For us, the equation was:
VeggieTales (Moral Absolutism) + RATM (Systemic Fury) = A generation that is tender with people but ruthless with systems.
What's your equation?
Name two unlikely influences that made you who you are today.
What happens when you raise a generation on VeggieTales AND Rage Against the Machine?
You get a cohort of believers who are tender with people, ruthless with systems, and refuse to bow to golden statues.
New episode of The Faithful Citizen is out now.
We're the generation that knows God is bigger than the boogeyman, but we also know the Machine needs to be broken.
This week, we’re talking about the "Cucumber and the Molotov" synthesis.
The line between good and evil doesn't run between the police and the streets. It runs right through the human heart and the precinct.
Tune in to our latest essay/episode for more.
The darkness is loud, but the Light is undefeated.
Keep shouting the Gospel.
Keep loving the unlovable.
Keep speaking the Truth.
We're with you. And He's with you.
In a loud world, gentleness is a disruption.
In a hateful world, kindness is a weapon.
In a lying world, truth is a revolution.
You don't have to scream to start a riot against the darkness. Just light a candle.
The world runs on ledgers. It keeps score. It demands payback.
You're called to a different economy.
Keep dropping the ledger.
Keep forgiving the debt.
Keep showing mercy to people who don't "deserve" it.
Be a glitch in the system of meritocracy.
open.substack.com/pub/thefaith...
Daniel didn't change Babylon. He just refused to let Babylon change him.
Your victory isn't in taking over the government. Your victory is in refusing to bow to the golden statue when the music plays.
Stand tall, even if you stand alone.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." (1Cor 1:18)
If the world calls you "naive" for loving your enemy...
If they call you "weak" for refusing to grab power...
If they call you "foolish" for welcoming the stranger...
Take heart. You're in the center of the Gospel.
The authoritarian cocktail of power, influence, and cultural dominance is quite a drug; powerful enough to inoculate a person from their conscience and convictions.
May you have the courage to stand alone when the crowd goes the wrong way.
May you have the grace to forgive those who mistreat you.
And may you have the peace of knowing that the Kingdom of God is unshakable.
Keep shouting. We hear you.
"By their fruit you will know them."
It doesn't say "by their platform" or "by their voting record."
Look for Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness.
If you see those things in your life, you're winning. Even if the world thinks you're losing.
To the young leaders watching the "giants" of the faith trade their integrity for influence:
Don't be cynical. Be better.
Grab the baton they dropped.
Build the Church you wish you saw right now.
We're walking with you.
Jesus warned us that the road is narrow and few find it.
Why are we surprised when the path of faithfulness is lonely?
Crowds follow the miraculous bread. Disciples follow the Cross.
Don't worry about the numbers. Just worry about the direction.
