Strick

If you couple that with a faith that is low on substance and meaning, and a leader who constantly tells you that you’re in a war. You get the modern evangelical. A faith that is characterized by being a victim while also exerting power like no other faith. 4/4

We were taught that standing up for your faith under the threat of death was the highest form of faith. It’s no wonder American Christians see inconvenience or other ideas in their space as persecution. They’re searching for meaning…because persecution brings meaning and weight to their faith. 3/4

I often remember our “underground church” events at camp where we would be “persecuted” for our faith. We were trained to believe that the world wanted us dead. I wonder if that has lead to generations of Christians who are now trying to find persecution in every day life. 2/3

I remember so many sermons in my youth group where they would bring up the columbine tragedy, and would hold this young woman who died for her faith as a true believer. They would inevitably turn the question towards us as children. Making us believe that was a very real possibility. 1/2

I think it already is.

But seriously. Don’t call them names. We want the door open for them when they realize the mistake they made.

We are for a better America. Not a vindictive America

Medicaid didn't go offline because it was too "woke."

School lunch programs weren't put at risk because of immigrants.

Funding for cancer research wasn't on the chopping block because of trans people.

All of this (and more) was jeopardized because of one person: Donald Trump.

Also, because these meetings are poorly run, and serve more of a “FaceTime” purpose, they run VERY long and are draining. Leaving staff to rush to get their actual tasks done. Which is why most mega church staff members present as exhausted.

Oh man! The time wasters! The bulk of a staff member’s time is spent in meetings. Like I cannot overstate how much time is spent in meetings. These meetings are usually spent on internal processes and are very poorly run. So very little “work” is done but a lot of time is spent.

So, I used to work in mega churches for all of my adult life up to this point. What are some questions you have? Ask me anything :)

Do you think ninja could make the next model of the creami a little louder? I’d like my whole neighborhood to know when I’m making ice cream.

The tik tok ban proves that when properly motivated, our government can actually come together rather quickly. Don’t believe the hype that congress is too divided to accomplish big things. They simply lack the motivation to solve anything that isn’t in their best interest.

Yeah, I agree! It’s icky and weird. What weirds me out is the use of AI in the church… it’s just weird.

Ugh I’m so sorry…unfortunately it’s extremely common. Butts in seats gets you the promotion, or shows your effectiveness as a communicator in these spaces. It’s really, really hard to demonstrate that you’ve helped people become more Christ like, so that usually falls by the wayside. Sad

2/2 This is, IMO, why these organizations are so fixated on numbers. It’s a tangible metric that helps them demonstrate to their board that they are being “effective”. They may say it’s not about the numbers, but it’s the only thing they can track. But is that the measuring effectiveness?

The evangelical mega church tends to attract men who have an entrepreneurial bent into becoming a pastor. It’s the best of both worlds, you can build a massive business while feeling like you’re doing good. 1/2

2/2 This software, if kept up properly, can show how much a person gives, serves, and other personal information at a glance. I also know of churches who have deployed facial recognition software that lets them know if you have been attending regularly and who you associate with at church.

From my time working in mega churches: Your church staff spends a majority of their time in meetings discussing how to get you, the church goer, more involved. They track giving, attendance, and whether you serve or are in a small group with special software designed to give them an overview. 1/2

I’d rather have the “woke mind virus” than the “billionaire boot licker virus”. Just sayin

Thanks bro! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 if you get into F1 (which I HIGHLY recommend) start with Netflix drive to survive. Thats what got me!

Oh and one final thing. If you love formula one and want to talk about it until you’re blue in the face, HOLLER at your boy!

To an asshole, all virtue is "virtue signaling."

Part 4: I’m going to use this space to express my thoughts and feelings as I process them. Both politically and with regards to religion (specifically evangelicalism). I may share insider knowledge from my years of experience too. So buckle up lol

Part 3: I have been in a process of re-learning my faith as I have stepped away from religious fundamentalism. Some may call that deconstruction but I’m not sure that’s what it is for me. I think I would call it.. de-programming. I still believe in god.

Part 2: I love Star Wars, marvel, and a lot of other geeky things. And I have a LOT of thoughts rolling around in me from my time working in various mega churches for the last 20 plus years. I’m thinking I may share my thoughts on all that here.

So, a little about me in the next few posts. 1. My name is Andrew and I currently live in Mississippi. 2. I used to be a pastor/leader in the evangelical mega church. Think “upper middle management”. 3. I have left the mega church scene for a number of reasons (but I’ll save that for another post).

Why have so many in America become anti science and anti expertise?

I want to move my family to Japan! Are they hiring mildly funny dads who love Star Wars? I’d like to step away from the US for the next 4 years. No reason in particular.

If you think only billionaires can control social media, You are absolutely wrong. Social media is completely dependent on its users. Think about why you do or did use FB, ThreadsTik tok or Twitter. It's because they have enough users. Take away all the "normies" and they all are worthless

If you came over here from threads or twitter, gimme a like and I’ll follow you :). Just u being here means your prolly sane and someone is like to follow :)

Is this the last sane social media site? I guess this is where I’ll hang out now 😂😂😂