Theology Nerd Throwdown Taylor Swift, Bach, and the Death of Mainline Protestantism
What is up, Theology Nerds? Bo and I kicked off this week's episode from my pop-up ice fishing tent in 39-degree rain—complete with my new "professional lighting" that makes it look like I'm telling ghost stories—because that's just how we roll. We dove into our Spotify Wrapped numbers (156% audience growth, baby!). We discovered that our listeners are simultaneously jamming to Taylor Swift, Bach, and Bob Dylan while devouring Jen Hatmaker and Dan McClellan audiobooks. After a spirited throwdown over whether you should sing Christmas songs before Christmas Eve (spoiler: the liturgical fundamentalists are losing the war on Advent), Tripp unleashed an AI-generated slam poetry performance comparing process theology to Calvinism that may have broken something in all of us. Then we got into the real stuff—why so many evangelicals have never encountered liberation theology, why institutional reform feels impossible (hint: systems are designed for the outcomes they produce, not accidentally broken), and why trying to change the church from within is like sawing off the branch you're standing on from the wrong side. We wrapped with some announcements about Theology Beer Camp 2025 in Kansas City and my usual plea: read the red letters, people.
You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube
UPCOMING ONLINE ADVENT CLASS w/ Diana Butler Bass
Join us for a transformative four-week Advent journey exploring how the four gospels speak their own revolutionary word against empire—both in their ancient context under Roman occupation and for our contemporary world shaped by capitalism, militarism, and nationalism.
Advent marks the beginning of the church year—an invitation to step out of the empire's time and into God's time, where the last are first, the mighty are scattered, and a child born in occupied territory changes everything.
This course invites you into an alternative calendar and rhythm. While our modern world races through December toward consumption and productivity, Advent calls us to a different time—a counter-imperial waiting, a subversive hope, a radical reimagining of how God enters the world. What will we experience? Each week, we'll hear one gospel's unique vision of the birth narrative, allowing Matthew, Luke, John, and Mark to speak in their own voices about what it means for God to show up when empires think they're in control. We'll discover how these ancient texts of resistance offer wisdom for our own moment of political turmoil, economic inequality, and ecological crisis. This class is donation-based, including 0. You can sign-up at www.HomebrewedClasses.com
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