The Convocation Unscripted

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Weaponizing White Femininity, Erasing Climate Change

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 23:00:34 +0000

On this episode, we discussed the ways white femininity has been weaponized by Trump and the MAGA movement, along with the erasure of climate change as a scientific conclusion by the Trump administration. Pam Bondi’s recent contentious testimony before Congress, which was widely criticized for its disrespectful demeanor towards Democratic lawmakers, provided a vivid example of conservative white feminine performativity. Kristin gave us a sneak peek into a chapter in her forthcoming book, Live Laugh Love, titled "Lipstick on Pitbulls," which analyzes such performances. There she notes how ideals of white femininity and beauty are marshaled to justify authoritarianism and state violence. We wrap the episode with a discussion of the U.S. government's official erasure of the scientific consensus that climate change is real, which removes the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions. We note that this remarkable action represents half a century of collusion between the oil industries and the Christian right. Finally, we close with some thoughts about resistance and experiencing Lent in these challenging times.

Trump's Shameful National Prayer Breakfast Ramble

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 23:00:43 +0000

In this TCU+LIVE conversation, we talked about Trump’s shameful, rambling speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he talked three times longer than his allotted slot. His remarks were filled with lies about losing the 2020 election, cursing, threats to churches and nonprofits who disagreed with him, and the demonization of Democrats.

We’ve come a long, long way from the days when conservative Christians were proudly talking about themselves as “values voters”—to the point where few white evangelical Trump supporters are even attempting to explain away his markedly unChristian behavior and rhetoric. Would it even be problematic anymore if all white Christian Trump supporters watched the entire speech and were asked, about every 10 minutes, to personally affirm that this is the man they believe is most fit to lead and the vision they want for the country? And if not, what does that mean for the moral state of white conservative Christianity? Be sure to watch the second half, where we took questions from our subscribers across a range of issues: continued violence by ICE, Trump’s threats to seize the midterm elections, and more.

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The Courage to Speak Up

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 07:00:17 +0000

In this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, Jemar, Diana, and Kristin talk about what it means—and what it costs—to speak up in a moment of moral and political crisis.

Reflecting on the Southern Lights Conference, Alex Pretti, and midterm elections, they explore why so many people who once remained silent are now finding their voices, and what finally pushes individuals past fear, caution, and self-protection.

The discussion examines the forces that keep people quiet—especially within Christian communities—and challenges the tendency to weigh personal risk more heavily than the harm caused by silence.

The episode calls listeners to move beyond delayed outrage and performative concern toward courageous, faithful witness rooted in solidarity, truth-telling, and moral responsibility.

The Escalating ICE Brutality and Church Protests

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 23:00:36 +0000

This week we talk about the recent autopsy reports that reveal the escalating brutality of ICE. Renee Goode’s autopsy revealed that she was shot four times in rapid succession. Another autopsy report this week revealed that the death of migrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, who was in ICE custody at an internment camp in Texas, was unlikely a suicide as the government claimed but caused by wounds consistent with strangling by a third party. A witness testified seeing Campos handcuffed, restrained by multiple guards who squeezed his neck until he passed out. We also emphasized that a small number of Republicans in Congress could potentially stop these immoral, harmful policies. We also discussed the ICE protest that interrupted a church service in Minnesota and the historical parallels between those actions and Civil Rights campaigns that targeted white churches in the 1960s. In the wake of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we concluded by reflecting on the hope of his message and his faith that "right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant."

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Minneapolis Clergy Standing with Immigrants against ICE, Featuring Rev. Angela Denker

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 17:00:49 +0000

Following our conversation last week about the senseless, unjustified killing of Renee Good by and ICE agent in Minneapolis, this week we bring you a special episode of The Convocation Unscripted with our first ever guest, Rev. Angela Denker. Angela is an ordained Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis (her full bio is below) and author of DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS: The Radicalization of American Boyhood. We’ve been fans of Angela’s courageous writing and preaching for years, and this week she gives us firsthand experience and reporting of the brutality and chaos that has been unleashed on Minneapolis residents by ICE and CBP, which combined now outnumber local city law enforcement by a factor of five. This invasion of an American city based on the thinnest pretext—over the protests of both the mayor and the governor—is a dress rehearsal for Trump’s dream of authoritarian rule across the country. Angela gives us both the horror and the hope from the faithful resistance. You don’t want to miss this one.

Rev. Angela Denker is an award-winning author, ELCA Lutheran pastor, and veteran journalist. Her first book, Red State Christians, was the 2019 Silver Foreword Indies award-winner for political and social sciences. Her second book, Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood, came out on March, 25, 2025. She is a former columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune and has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, and FORTUNE magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews, and NPR to share her research on politics and Christian Nationalism. Pastor Angela lives with her husband, Ben, and two sons in Minneapolis, where she is a sought-after speaker on Christian Nationalism and its theological and cultural roots. She also serves Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as Pastor of Visitation and Public Theology. You can read more of her work on Christian Nationalism, American culture, social issues, journalism, theology, and parenting on her Substack, I'm Listening.

Standing Together for Truth Amid Trump's Lies and ICE Violence in 2026

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 23:35:53 +0000

Our first conversation of the year was a heavy one. We mourned the senseless, unjustified killing of Renee Good by and ICE agent in Minneapolis, noting that the chain of events that lead to her death is anchored in Trump’s racist lies about Somali immigrants. And we also warned that the $170 billion of our tax dollars that ICE received to dramatically expand operations on U.S. soil in 2026 will mean that this lie-fueled violence is likely coming to a community near you this year. We also saluted the Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for courageous calling out the lies about both the situation in the city and about the circumstances of Good’s killing; the courageous clergy such as Rev. Angela Denker who are speaking out; and the everyday citizens who are standing up. We wrap by noting that Christian faithfulness in this regime will mean taking risks for justice and truth in 2026.

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MAGA Vanity and Advent Humility

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 23:00:04 +0000

This week we discuss the explosive Vanity Fair article and accompanying photographs that reveal unflattering images of Trump administration officials, including Susie Wiles, Marco Rubio, and Karoline Leavitt. The photographer, Christopher Anderson, defended his work as authentic journalism rather than celebrity-style portraiture. The article and the backslash against it exposed the vanity and vulnerability of authoritarian regimes, who need to maintain the facade of power. We talk about how this vanity is at odds with the humility of Advent and how the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have distorted and defiled the message of Christmas to celebrate the cruelty of their mass deportation scheme. We close by highlighting a recent “Choose Love, Not ICE” ad—produced by Interfaith Alliance in partnership with Protect Democracy and set to the tune of “O Holy Night”—is pushing back.

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The Moment Trump’s Panic Became Visible

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 23:00:21 +0000

Why his latest rants signal a deeper unraveling

We’re living in a moment where authoritarian power is panicking, elites are hiding, and ordinary people are the ones finding their voice.

You could read Trump’s outburst against Somali immigrants as just another racist rant.

But if you listen more closely you can also hear it as a panic siren from an authoritarian project that knows it’s slipping, even as everyday people quietly find their courage again.

Trump’s racist tirade against Somali immigrants wasn’t new, but as Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, and I unpacked on this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, it landed differently.

This wasn’t just more ugly rhetoric. It sounded like fear. It sounded like a regime running out of tricks and grasping for one of its oldest tools: dehumanizing immigrants to rally its base.

But while the president doubles down, something else is happening on the ground.

Diana described a subtle but powerful shift in public spaces. Strangers are groaning out loud at the news, trading comments in security lines, and saying what they used to only text in group chats.

In places like Chicago, Nashville, and beyond, people aren’t just talking—they’re organizing, marching, and even turning Home Depot product returns into a protest tactic.

Meanwhile, the elites—on both sides of the aisle—feel further away than ever.

Bubble-wrapped in security details, donor circles, and curated media, they seem unable or unwilling to name what’s happening: an authoritarian movement testing the limits daily, and a public that is more awake than the political class wants to admit.

Kristin put it bluntly: they keep pushing because they keep getting away with it.

When there finally is pushback—a lawsuit, an impeachment article, a rare moment of moral clarity—the response is denial, distraction, or outright lies. But beneath that, the fear is showing. The grip is loosening.

If you want to hear how all this connects to Advent, empire, and light breaking through the darkness, you’ll want to watch the full conversation.

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Trump’s Continued Endorsement of Violence and Christian Nationalism

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 23:00:36 +0000

Just this week, Trump and his administration have shrugged off the brutal 2018 murder of a Washington Post Journalist and welcomed the person the CIA identified as its mastermind to the White House, called for the death penalty and hanging for six democratic sitting members of Congress, and—over at the Coast Guard under the Department of Homeland Security--downgraded nooses and swastikas from hate symbols to “potentially divisive” objects. We talk about the positive correlations between this increasingly violent rhetoric and Christian nationalism, and the inexplicable tendency of some prominent journalists to refuse to acknowledge the reality of this movement or the scholarship supporting its existence and its threat to democracy. We close with an off-beat segment on the rise of AI-powered chatbots that purport to let Christians text with Jesus. But which Jesus has AI trained itself to emulate? All is not what it seems here.

Check out Jemar's new podcast: The Justice Briefing - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-justice-briefing-with-dr-jemar-tisby/id1460240056

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Shutdown and Release: Dems Cave, Consequences of Epstein Files

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 23:00:34 +0000

This week, Diana was on the road promoting her new book, A Beautiful Year, but Robby, Kristin, and Jemar took advantage of all being in Washington, DC, together and recorded this special episode from PRRI’s new office. We talked about our disappointment at the capitulation of a handful of Democratic officials, who voted with Republicans to end the record-breaking government shutdown—without securing much in exchange. At best the deal only temporarily restores SNAP funding and reopens the government for six weeks, and it secured no concrete assurances on government funding to protect Americans who depend on Obamacare against skyrocketing health insurance premiums. And worse, Democrats seemed to offer no strong moral case for their actions. We also talked about the bombshell partial release of a trove of emails from the Epstein files, which seemed to show that Trump knew about the pedophilia sex ring that Jeffrey Epstein was running for powerful men. We noted that the Epstein files are creating rare fissures within the MAGA movement, especially since Trump encouraged the conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement during his campaign. But it is still to early to know whether either condoning or failing to protect children from pedophiles would be a grave enough sin for the MAGA faithful to break with Trump, or whether they will continue to find ways to rationalize his immoral behavior.

The Most Important 2025 Election Result: A Reminder that an Authoritarian Future is Not Inevitable

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 23:00:10 +0000

After a month of heavy travel, the Convocation team was all back together for our live show, which we do the first Thursday of every month. This week—for two weeks in a row—we brought mostly good news to the conversation. We talked about the most important lesson from the blue wave 2025 election results: that an authoritarian future is not inevitable.

Just one year into the Trump presidency, there are signs that everyday Americans are stepping up to say that Trump’s lawlessness, chaos, cruelty, and corruption are not in fact what they want in a president. In Virginia, for example, while 80% of white evangelicals continued to vote Republican, 7% of 2024 Trump voters flipped and supported the democratic candidate for governor, Abigail Spanberger. The exit poll breaks by race and gender showed that majorities of every subgroup voted for Spanberger except white men. Latinos in Virginia and New Jersey, who moved toward Trump in 2024 largely over economic concerns, moved strongly back into the democratic column because of both continued economic stress and objections to ICE and harsh immigration enforcement. And importantly, people participated in the democratic process. Turnout was high for an off-year election, which was conducted freely and fairly. We spent the last half of the call taking questions from the live audience.

"A Beautiful Year" with The Convocation Unscripted

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:00:27 +0000

The group discussed Robert's manuscript feedback from his editor and Diana's experience promoting her book "A Beautiful Year" at events, leading to a decision to focus the podcast segment on exploring Robert's book themes rather than PRI studies. The panel shared holiday traditions and decorations, particularly focusing on interfaith celebrations and the liturgical calendar. The main discussion centered on Diana's new book "A Beautiful Year," which examines alternative narratives to Christian nationalism through the lens of the liturgical calendar, with participants exploring its themes of hope, harmony, and peace while discussing its academic and theological foundations.

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The Good News Episode: Defenders of Democracy are Finding Their Footing

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 22:00:09 +0000

This week, we spent most of the show talking about some important signs that the resistance to Trump’s authoritarianism is finding its feet. This week MIT and eight other universities stood together and refused to sign agreements to allow the Trump administration control over their admissions, research, and teaching in exchange for preferential treatment in disbursement of government research funding. Over at the Department of Defense, all five major broadcast news organizations—including Pete Hegseth’s previous home Fox News (must have been awkward!)—refused to sign a document that would give the government control over stories they wrote about the military and DOD. While their reporters were required to turn in their security badges, they vowed to continued their critical reporting from outside the building. There continues, of course, to be some disturbing news, such as the chilling racist, homophobic, sexually violent, and antisemitic language uncovered among a large, ongoing Young Republicans’ private group chat. We wrapped by talking about the importance of the upcoming No Kings rallies scheduled all over the country.

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Calling Out Christian Glee Over ICE Brutality, Answering Your Questions

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 22:00:59 +0000

This week, we discuss the shameful Christian celebration of ICE brutality and violence in the wake of ICE agents shooting Rev. David Black, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chicago, in the head with pepper balls—while he was praying and inviting ICE officers to repent of their complicity in violence. We noted that the Department of Homeland Security has explicitly been combining Bible verses and Christian imagery with violent imagery and memes, part of a dangerous broader trend within evangelical circles to turn Christianity away from love and empathy and toward violence. We also spent 30 minutes responding to a wide range of questions from those of you who attended the live webinar.

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Hegseth's "Warrior Ethos" and White Evangelical Toxic Masculinity

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 22:00:46 +0000

Secretary of Defense (not calling it "War" unless Congress changes it) called a meeting of the U.S. military's top generals from around the world. In it, he spoke of what he called the "warrior ethos." Far from building on the military's vaunted traditions of honor and service, Hegseth harped on how the military became "woke" and how he didn't want any more "beardos" (men with beards) in the military. He had a lot to say about the size of people's waists and physical fitness.

As usual, the hosts--Diana, Kristin, and Jemar--find historical and religious connections. We talk about the creation of the white evangelical vision of masculinity, the reversal of the mythology of Robert E. Lee as the "reluctant warrior," and Christian masculinity in pop culture.

We also talk about the latest mass shooting at a Church of Latter-Day Saints congregation in Michigan.

Lot's of bad news, but also some reasons to celebrate that we talk about to round out the show.

Patterns from the Past, Lessons for our Future

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 22:00:41 +0000

On this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, we discuss the big question of how history can help us in the present. The task of historians is to identify patterns in the past in order to fashion a coherent narrative, which tells a story about how we got to the present. Unavoidably, this narrative is constructed in the context of problems in the present and concerns about the future. This week, Diana told us what she had learned about managing violence and conflict from her recent time with activists who were involved in the peace process in Northern Ireland and what might be helpful for our own contemporary troubles. We also discussed the dangers of focusing on “depolarization” as the primary problem, which can float free of any moral commitments, rather than substantive values like protecting democracy.

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Truth and Reality Amid Political Violence and Attacks on Free Speech

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 04:00:17 +0000

On this episode, the Convocation Unscripted team talks about the importance of truth and reality amid the whirlwind of debates about political violence in the aftermath of the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk and the subsequent attacks on free speech, such as the suspension of Jimmie Kimmel by ABC. While acknowledging that all political violence is abhorrent, we also look at the facts about the actual shape of political violence in the US; the government’s own official reports—recently purged from the Department of Justice website—found that “since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.” We also discuss the kind of response to Kirk’s assassination that we wish we would have heard from the president and other Republican leaders—one that focused on condemning all political violence and calling us to our better selves rather than fanning the flames and using it as an opportunity to infringe on the Constitutional right to free speech. As Christians, there has never been a time when we need a theology that refuses to separate people into good and evil categories, one that foregrounds grace and love for enemies. We close with an urgent message for all to stand up against political violence and in defense of free speech, while we still have the freedom to do so.

Stuck in the Cycle of Doom and Gloom?

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 22:00:03 +0000

We love your comments. In fact, we led off our discussion by sharing our reflections on one particular comment.

Robby shared,

[This person was] finding themselves feeling a little jaded by the constant, “You won't believe what just happened now.”

And same thing, day after day, after day—kind of a Groundhog Day experience, and worried about getting caught up in the negativity, not being able to think about: What do we do?

How can we manage the chaos?

How can we manage our own responses to it, and try to get to do something productive in the meantime?

So we each shared how we approach our obligation to tell the truth—which necessarily involves a lot of “doom and gloom”—with the equally urgent call to hope and resilience.

We do these live episodes once a month, and the best part for us as hosts is interacting with you in real time.

So we devote about half the episode to answering your questions.

We’re curious: How do you resist feeling jaded when there’s so much bad news? How are you cultivating hope and resilience? Let us know in the comments.

A Live Q & A Session with The Convocation Unscripted

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Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting, CDC and Vaccines, Trump Getting into Heaven

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 22:00:47 +0000

We start this discussion this week with the tragic news of yet another mass school shooting, this time at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, which killed two children and injured 18 others. In this case, the violence broke out while students were gathered for mass. We discuss the trauma that such events create for children and families, when safe spaces like schools and sacred places like churches are targeted. And we lament the way this shooting is already being exploited by those on the political right, given that the shooter was a transgender woman, even though most mass shootings and acts of domestic terrorism have been perpetrated by straight white men. We also discussed the continued march toward authoritarianism with the firing of the CDC director, Susan Monarez, over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s insistence on restricting COVID-19 vaccines. Finally, we talk about President Trump’s recent preoccupation with “getting into heaven.” As with everything Trump, his musings betray a transactional view of heaven, a far cry from the doctrines of repentance and grace in the Protestant Christian faith he claims to have. We note the significance of a lack of concern by any evangelical leaders over Trump’s crass, heretical comments about salvation.

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The Legacy of James Dobson, Trump's DC Military Takeover

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 22:00:49 +0000

In this episode, we discuss the influence of James Dobson, who died this week, on evangelical Christianity and the Christian Right political movement. Dobson's writings, particularly his parenting guide Dare to Discipline, promoted harsh punishment of children and patriarchal norms. Dobson’s vision of strict discipline and hierarchical authority, popularized through is massive Focus on the Family media empire, laid the groundwork for the current white evangelical movement and the MAGA worldview. Diana shared her personal experience of being targeted by Dobson in a FOF newsletter, which led to death threats. We also discussed the unprecedented deployment of military troops in Washington, D.C., where both Diana and Robby live, which Trump falsely claimed was necessary due to high crime rates, despite actual crime being at a 30-year low. This occupation of our nation’s capital—and its justification with the invocation of a fake emergency based on lies—are straight out of the dictator's playbook. We close with the need to keep resisting and speaking out.

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Trump’s Attack on Universities, Authoritarian Hierarchies vs. Christian Egalitarianism

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 10:30:16 +0000

In this episode, The Convocation Unscripted team talked about Trump’s attacks on universities and the tragedy of the capitulation of Columbia University, who has agreed to pay the government $200 million and to submit to the oversight of a “Resolution Monitor,” specified in the agreement to be Bart Schwartz of Guidepost Solutions (yes, the same firm hired by the SBC Executive Committee in the wake of the denominations sexual abuse scandals), who also happens to be—wait for it—the sitting CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul. That seems a perfect example of the absurdity of these times. We also took a step back to highlight the underlying MAGA worldview of authoritarian hierarchy and contrast that with the biblical vision of Acts 2, where the Holy Spirit's gift was given specifically to oppressed, colonized people in the Roman Empire. The conversation concluded with a discussion of the importance of being morally responsive to current events, even when it feels overwhelming, emphasizing the value of community and truth in times of despair. We only have jokingly suggested a tagline for the podcast could be, “Come for the despair, stay for the community.”

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Epstein and QAnon, DHS’s White Supremacists Memes, Hunger in Gaza

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 17:05:36 +0000

This week, Robby, Diana, and Jemar talk about the ongoing revelations about President Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, and the ways Trump’s previous encouragement of QAnon conspiracy theories is now coming back to bite him. Nearly half of Republicans who most trust far-right news are QAnon believers, according to PRRI data, and this group isn’t letting the story go. We also discuss the blatantly white supremacist memes that are being posted by the Department of Homeland Security on its official social media channels—featuring white settler colonists with messages like “Remember your homeland’s heritage.” The conversation concluded with discussions about the dire food shortage in Gaza and the children we are seeing starve before our eyes. Jemar emphasizing the importance of Christian engagement and action, and pointed to an upcoming conference, Church at the Crossroads, scheduled for September 11-13, which aims to engage American Christians in addressing the crisis and promoting justice.

Links:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/23/dhs-art-post-propaganda

https://churchatthecrossroads.com/

When the Warnings Come True: The Big Ugly Bill, ICE Funding

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 02:00:46 +0000

In this deeply honest episode of The Convocation Unscripted, historians Dr. Jemar Tisby, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, and Diana Butler Bass gather to reflect on the emotional toll of studying and speaking out on faith, politics, and power in America. As cultural crises mount, they explore the personal and professional exhaustion that comes from repeatedly warning of societal dangers—only to watch them unfold.

Together, they ask: What does it mean to persist as public voices of conscience? How do we process the discouragement that comes with being right too soon? And where might we find resilience in the face of recurring injustice?

Israel, Iran, and End Times Prophecy

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 22:00:51 +0000

Religion is always part of the story--even when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. Trump's decision to bomb nuclear sites in Iran, an action taken after Israel's military actions in the nation, are not simply geopolitical in their dimensions. Many Christians uncritically support the modern state of Israel because of a theological belief system called premillennial dispensationalism. Diana, Kristin, and Jemar dig into the history, the culture and the implications of this ideology. They also discuss ongoing ICE human rights abuses and the surprising projected victory of Zohran Mamdani as the Democratic Party nominee for mayor of New York City.

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How the Evangelical Theology of Spiritual Warfare Set the Stage for Political Assassinations in the US

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 22:00:21 +0000

The hosts of Convocation Unscripted discussed the tragic political assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Horton, and the shootings of Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. It is now clear that these murders were carried out by Vance Boelter, a devout white evangelical Christian who held a degree in practical theology from the unaccredited Christ for the Nations Institute, which is associated with the New Apostolic Reformation movement. This worldview is steeped in spiritual warfare language that casts politics as a battle between God and Satan and in the US portrays Democrats and liberals as possessed by demons and instruments of evil. We talk about our dismay at the lack of outrage, particularly among Republicans and white evangelicals and the depraved used of this awful violence to score political points as Sen. Mike Lee has done. We concluded our conversation with reflections on the importance of Juneteenth, our newest federal holiday, and the importance of white Americans and white Christians particularly to incorporate a celebration of the holiday, and the history it commemorates, as part of our story.

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Empathy, Solidarity, and Resisting the Trumpian Military State

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 22:00:00 +0000

In this LIVE episode of The Convocation Unscripted, the team talks about the bright line Trump has crossed, as we witness his first overt attempts to turn America into a militarized police state. He’s creating a made-for-TV authoritarian reality show. It’s West Coast/East Coast split screen features Trump’s escalation of conflict by deploying the national guard and the marines in LA and his vain $45 million military parade in DC. It’s classic authoritarian propaganda: chaos and threatening brown people juxtaposed with displays of force and order—all meant to project the great white leader as the king, the only one who can save the country. We also talked about the tragic death of Jennifer Lyell, who survived alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her Southern Baptist seminary professor. After speaking out, she was smeared by church leaders, lost her job, and ultimately lost her life at age 47. Meanwhile, at the SBC annual meeting--amid this loss, the denomination's own refusal to address rampant sexual abuse in its own ranks, and the attacks on our democracy by the man Southern Baptists were instrumental in bringing to power--the leaders at the meeting determined that the most pressing issues God was calling them to address were overturning the legality of marriage equality and banning women from being pastors. Finally, we talk about the importance of resistance in all its forms and about empathy and solidarity as the antidote to authoritarianism.

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On Honor, Service, and other Patriotic Values

Fri, 30 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000

In this episode, the Convocation Unscripted team discussed President Trump's bonkers speech and dishonorable behavior at West Point's graduation ceremony and his inappropriate Memorial Day message on Truth Social, where he attacked political opponents rather than honoring fallen soldiers. Diana and Kristin expressed dismay at Trump's lack of respect for military traditions and values--noting that Trump seems only to honor himself while disparaging soldiers who died or were captured as losers and suckers--while Jemar and Robby highlighted how the President is repositioning national holidays as platforms for political propaganda. The discussion concluded with deeper reflections on the values of honor, service, and self-sacrifice and their religious roots. The Convocation Unscripted team also reflected on our recent retreat, where we decided to continue producing the Convocation Unscripted podcast beyond Trump's first 100 days. We heard from you all, and we agree, that TCU is helping provide all of us with a weekly dose of sanity and community. We’ve also decided to open the comments you YouTube, so please share your thoughts below on this episode!

The Politics of Othering

Sat, 24 May 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Show Notes:

This episode is a whirlwind! With critical headlines stacking up by the day, we sprint through urgent stories shaping our moment:

--South African President Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House,

--the Supreme Court’s shocking decision on religious schools in Oklahoma,

--Pete Hegseth’s dominionist prayer rally,

--a tragic shooting in DC raising tensions around antisemitism and Zionism,

--and the political targeting of Harvard and international students.

Plus, we recap the joy and connection we found at The Convocation Unscripted retreat.Like we said, a whirlwind—but it’s honest, grounded, and deeply necessary.

P.S. Here's the LINK to Lisa Sharon Harper's article we reference in the episode.

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What do we make of Pope Leo XIV, the first in history from the United States?

Fri, 09 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000

On this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, we discussed the breaking news of the historic appointment of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Pope Leo XIV, as the first Pope from the United States. We expressed relief and hope at this unexpected appointment. The early signs are that Prevost--a close associate of Pope Francis who has duel U.S. and Peruvian citizenship and spent more than half his career as a missionary in Peru--will offer a strong moral and theological stance against abuses of power and stand for the dignity of all, particularly immigrants and the poor. We also noted the potential political implications of Pope Leo XIV's appointment, particularly his recent rebuke of J.D. Vance’s distortion of Catholic theology related to “the order of loves” (Ordo Amoris), which Vance attempted to use to justify the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. “JD Vance is wrong,” Prevost posted on his X account. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

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Trump’s First 100 Days: Racial and Religious Divides in America

Thu, 01 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000

The Convocation Unscripted team—three historians and a sociologist who study religion in America—launched this podcast the spring before the 2024 election. After Trump’s election we stepped up the frequency, with a commitment to providing weekly research, analysis, and insights through Trump’s first 100 days. In this capstone episode, we reflect on the results of a new PRRI poll, which illuminates the yawning racial and religious divides in America that Trump has exploited during his rise to power, with a focus on the white Christians (principally white evangelical Protestants but also majorities of white non-evangelical Protestants and white Catholics) who put Trump into the White House and who continue to provide support and moral cover for even his most unlawful, cruel, and racist policies. But we also note some hopeful signs. At 100 days, Trump’s approval rating is underwater and lower than any other president not named Trump at this stage in his term since World War II. Most Americans oppose his harsh plans like militarized internment camps for undocumented immigrants, tariffs, and most see through the farce of his so-called “Anti-Christian Bias Task Force.” And a slim majority also now believe Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy. We also reflect on the ways particularly white Christians who see the dangers Trump represents to our faith and nation can speak out in our churches and local communities.

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The Legacy of Pope Francis and the Weaponization of "Anti-Christian Bias"

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

On this episode, the Convocation Unscripted team reflects on Pope Francis's impact on the Catholic Church and the world. The participants reflect on Francis's unconventional approach to the papacy, including his choice of name, simple lifestyle, and compassionate focus on the poor and marginalized. They highlight his efforts to make the Church more inclusive, particularly towards LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants. In the second half of the conversation, the team draws attention to a DOJ press release summarizing the first meeting of the Trump's Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, arguing that it misrepresents Christianity and distorts facts to claim persecution. They analyze specific examples from the press release, such as fines against Christian universities for lying to students or failing to report sexual assaults, which are distorted and presented as anti-Christian bias.

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The Crucifixion of Jesus and our Political Moment

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

This week Jews are observing the eight days of Passover, while Christians are observing Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. In this episode, The Convocation Unscripted team (minus Jemar who is on the road) discuss the parallels between the crucifixion of Jesus and the current political moment, particularly the abduction and disappearance of Kilmar Abrega Garcia without due process. We express concern about the lack of action from Congress resisting Trump’s attacks on the rule of law and democratic norms and the need to move beyond partisanship to save our democracy. On the Democratic side of the aisle, we express frustration that most have been reluctant to act beyond the normal expectations of their office; but we give thankful shout outs to senators Cory Booker, Chris Van Holland, AOC, Bernie Sanders for their actions. On the Republican side, we acknowledge and appreciate Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s recent confession of fear for her own safety, but we also note that if just four sitting Republican senators would even temporarily side with the 45 Democratic and 2 Independent senators, they could stop the worst of Trump’s actions and halt our nation’s slide into fascism.

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As Trump Wrecks the Economy and the Government Bans Books, the Importance of Standing Up

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

The Convocation Unscripted team kicked off this episode by talking about our encouraging experiences from the road, where we’re feeling the energy building to resist the attacks on our democracy. Jemar spoke at a conference in DC sponsored by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and visited elected officials at the US Capitol to encourage them to stand up for religious freedom. Kristin spoke to a rowdy (in a “good trouble” way) audience at St. Mary’s College in Indiana and is preparing for an upcoming “Free to Be Faithful” event in Grand Rapids, sponsored by by the Institute for Christian Studies. Robby just returned from a conference on “Telling the Story of Religion in Texas through Journalism” conference, where he urged journalists to interrogate the religious language used by leaders like Trump who are using it to justify authoritarian policies. Robby also applauded the American Academy of Religion for standing up and condemning book bans after his book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, was banned at the US Naval academy along with six other authors writing about religion, race, and gender in American history. These are all beacons of hope as Trump continues to undermine democracy and devastate the US and world economy.

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Building Resistance, The Great Digital Book Burning, and Attacks on the Keepers of Truth and History

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

In our latest LIVE episode of The Convocation Inscription, we all report from our experiences from the road over the last two weeks—from California, Indiana, Tennessee, and New York. We’re sensing that all of the destruction unleashed by the Trump administration is finally sinking in to a broader swath of Americans, including folks in predominantly white Christian spaces. People are beginning to wake up, not only to the incompetence, but to the critical threat Trump and his presidency is to our pluralistic democracy. We urge people to understand the purges of websites, databases, and exhibits of the lives and work of women, LGBTQ Americans, and Americans of color for what they are—the modern day equivalent of a massive book burning. And we give a grateful shout out to Sen. Cory Booker, who took the record from segregationist Strom Thurman, for the longest speech given in the Senate in our nation’s history—this time calling for a more inclusive vision of America. Finally, we urge people to channel their anxiety, anger, frustration into action by looking for local ways to be loud and to use whatever resources they have now, before it gets even harder, to protect democracy.

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Quiet and Steady Resistance: the Work of Racial Justice and Repair Continues in Local Communities

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 22:00:00 +0000

In this episode, the Convocation Unscripted team takes a break from the daily outrages coming from the Trump administration to talk about the work for racial justice, healing, and repair that is taking place in unexpected places. Jemar talked about his recent travels to Jackson, Mississippi, and Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. Robby talked about his recent trips to speak at First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia, where his book White Too Long was chosen as a city-side book read for Black History Month, and to the Zacchaeus Foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is facilitating reparations payments from white residents and historically white churches to support Black nonprofits in Northwest Arkansas. Diana is also about to be on the road for much of April, speaking with churches and groups who are continuing the work of social and racial justice, even against the prevailing winds. We wrapped the episode with a tribute to Roger Freet, a literary agent to and friend of Diana and Robby, who passed away this week. He was a great soul who supported so much good work in the world, and we miss him.

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Finding Bright Lines, Embracing Empathy, and Taking Sides

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Amid the continued onslaught against our Constitutional rights by the Trump administration, Robby, Kristin, and Diana discuss the importance of focusing on “bright lines” that are being crossed. We celebrate the institutions that continue to hold courageous conversations in these challenging days, such as First Baptist Church of Richmond and St. Mary’s College in Indiana, which are hosting Robby and Kristin for public conversations. We discuss the likely illegal detaining of Mahmoud Khalil--a Palestinian recent graduate of Columbia University, U.S. green card holder, and husband of an American citizen—for speech the Trump administration did not like. We also talk about the dangers of Trump’s usurpation of power by declaring a national emergency. This emergency declaration, made without any legitimate grounds, gives Trump the power to unilaterally impose tariffs and to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, as he is likely to do shortly to institute mass deportations.

Finally we talk about the heresy circulating in Christian circles that empathy is a threat to the gospel. We point out that previous purges of empathy as a Christian virtue among white Christians in America prepared the ground for the genocide of Indigenous people and the enslavement of people of African descent. We know where that road leads. We also discussed the importance of universities and churches to avoid the trap of neutrality, since, as our colleague Jemar always reminds us, justice takes sides.

Trump's State of the Union and the Season of Lent

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 23:00:00 +0000

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Don't Lose Your Humanity

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, Diana, Jemar, and Kristin talk about the AI-generated video about Gaza that Trump shared, the ongoing relevance of the "God & Country" documentary, Jeff Bezos' interpretation of "free speech", and how not lose your humanity from an article by Kelly Brown Douglas.

Watch "God & Country"

Read about the AI-generated video

Read Kelly Brown Douglas's article

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Money, Lies, and God

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

The Convocation Team (minus Diana, who was traveling this week) opened the show by talking about the importance of Katherine Stewarts’s important new book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, which was released this week. The hosts agreed that Money, Lies, and God is a must-read book to understand the coalescing of white Christian nationalism, the tech bro oligarchy, and authoritarianism that is actively wrecking the nation under Trump. We also discuss emerging alternative platforms of courageous journalism happening on platforms like Substack. And we note the hypocrisy of Trump’s executive order establishing an “Anti-Christian Task Force” at all federal agencies, which is simultaneously a vehicle for white evangelical Protestant Christian favoritism and a weapon against other Christians and religious groups Trump considers disloyal.

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The Rise of Religious Resistance, MAGA DEI Hysteria, and Theological Anthropology

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

In this episode, the Convocation Unscripted team highlights the religious resistance to the Trump administration’s abandonment of three decades of guidance that prohibited the government from conducting immigration enforcement raids in “sensitive locations,” including places of worship, schools, and hospitals. In response, a diverse group of 27 Christian and Jewish organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that such raids would violate their religious liberty and duty to welcome the stranger. We also talked about the role the law played in securing civil rights for African Americans when the executive and legislative branches failed to do so. Finally, we talked about the absurd turns the MAGA DEI hysteria has taken and the opportunity for Christians to develop a new theological anthropology consistent with a pluralistic democracy.

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New PRRI Study on Christian Nationalism, Trump’s Redefinition of Religious Liberty, Signs of Resistance and Hope

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

On our second live Convocation Unscripted show, we were glad to be joined by over 600 live participants. Robby kicked us off by highlighting the main findings of PRRI’s recent study of support for Christian nationalism in all 50 states, reminding us that while the 3 in 10 Americans who are Christian Nationalism Adherents or Sympathizers are enjoying a moment of extraordinary influence, they are actually outnumbered by a margin of 2 to 1 in the general population. They are neither the best of us nor the majority of us. Jemar reminded us, particularly those of us who are white Christians, that in addition to examples of courageous, justice-seeking leaders like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we have an often overlooked resource closer to hand in the witness the Black church here in the US. Kristin and Diana talked about Trump’s jarring speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he announced the establishment of a task force on “anti-Christian bias,” making it clear that this administration’s commitments to religious liberty are narrowly focused on protecting the interests of conservative white Christians alone. Trump’s attacks on Lutheran and Catholic social service agencies are just the beginning. After discussing a dozen listener questions, we wrapped the episode by each sharing a passage about resistance and hope from our recent books.

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