In this week’s edition of The Convocation Unscripted, we take a moment to recognize and grieve with the families of the 67 people who lost their lives in the fatal collision between and American Airlines jet and a military helicopter. This tragedy was close to home to Diana and Robby, who fly out of DCA regularly and walk and bike the scenic trails near the airport along the Potomac River. We also reflect on President Trump’s awful attempt to use a national tragedy to further pull the country apart by blaming—without any evidence other than what he called his own “common sense”--Biden, Obama, Buttigieg, the military helicopter pilot, and of course DEI initiatives that he insisted favored lower intelligence hires. Noting that Trump similarly blamed the California wildfires on DEI firefighter hires, we emphasize the importance of recognizing that this will be the playbook: weaponize everything, even disasters and the deaths of scores of innocent Americans, to advance a white supremacist worldview that justifies the destruction of the government itself. But we also noted, with some cautious hope, that we are beginning to see the stirrings of a faith resistance: from Bishop Mariann Budde’s “sermon heard round the world,” to Quakers quietly suing the Trump administration over its mandate for ICE officials to round up immigrants while they are at church, to the Catholic Bishops finally speaking out when J.D. Vance questions the authenticity of their religious commitments to support immigrant families.

This week’s edition of The Convocation Unscripted was our first show after the inauguration of Donald Trump as president. There was so much to talk about and so many incoming questions from the nearly 500 listeners who joined us live, that we extended the show a bit. We covered a lot of ground, opening with how we are all coping emotionally with the deluge of executive orders and authoritarian rhetoric. We also talked about the symbols and rhetoric of white Christian nationalism at the inauguration, Bishop Mariann Budde’s courageous sermon and appeal to mercy at the Washington National Cathedral, the blanket pardon of the violent January 6th insurrectionists, Elon Musk’s Nazi salute (yes, it was a Nazi salute), Trump’s torrent of big and little lies, and the need for all of us to contribute resources to organizations, clergy, and leaders who are taking courageous stands, not just at the national level but at the local level.

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This is our first Convocation Unscripted+LIVE episode for 2025, which we’ll now be doing weekly during the first 100 days of Trump’s administration. We opened this episode by talking about the devastating wildfires in Southern California, which incoming President Trump is already politicizing with blatant lies about its causes. We talked about two events that each seem to mark the end of an era and are related to truth-telling. First, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement this week that META is going MAGA, by appointing top officials from Trump’s orbit to its board and global policy positions, donating to Trump’s transition fund, and, most significantly, ending its fact-checking program on all platforms. We also reflect on President Jimmy Carter's funeral, which provided moving tributes to his life and legacy. And we recall that Carter’s principal campaign promise was, “I will never lie to you.” A new era indeed.

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In our last episode of The Convocation Unscripted for 2024, the Convocation Unscripted team give previews of their upcoming writing projects for 2025. Robby unpacks the findings from PRRI’s new post-election survey. The survey found that majorities of all white Christian groups voted for Donald Trump, as did Latino Protestants. Majorities of every other group—Christians of color, non-Christian religious groups, and religiously unaffiliated voters—voted for Kamala Harris. The survey also found that Democrats are five times more likely than Republicans to say they are altering upcoming holiday plans to spend less time with certain relatives in the wake of the election. Jemar and Kristin talked about the bizarre conception of manhood that seems operative among Trump’s inner circle. Jemar also emphasized a disturbing finding from the PRRI survey: that white evangelical churchgoers were more likely than infrequent attenders to support Trump. They are, Jemar noted, white vectors for, superspreaders of the MAGA movement and white Christian nationalism. Kristin talked about the importance of taking risks and normalizing the basic task of telling the truth in spaces that are denying it. Diana raised the dangers of Elon Musk’s influence over elected officials and the new threats of oligarchy and plutocracy we are facing with the staggering amount of wealth at the disposal of a few.

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The hosts of Convocation Unscripted kicked off the conversation by sharing their personal experiences of Thanksgiving. While each took some time away from the news to be with family, we talked about the importance of paying attention to Trump’s rolling administration appointee announcements, particularly while the Senate still has a role in confirming them. We discuss Trump appointees Russell Vought, Pete Hegseth, and Kash Patel, along with their deep ties to white Christian nationalism and Project 2025. The team wrapped the conversation by discussing the themes of justice and joy in the context of Advent, even amid this challenging time in our nation’s history.

On November 17th, The Convocation Unscripted team rolled into Atlanta for our third Faith & Democracy Tour stop, after previous events at First Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, and Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ. It was an energizing night with our gracious hosts at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church with great music, inspiring conversations, and a packed house of like-minded people who wanted to celebrate—and think seriously about what it is now going to take to protect and live out—an authentic Christian faith that supports a vision of a pluralistic democracy.

At this special two-hour event, we were also honored to be joined by an amazing set of musical artists. If you don’t know their music, you should:

Ruby Amanfu, 2x Song of the Year Grammy Nominee, Recording Artist, Songwriter & Producer;

Sam Ashworth, Grammy & Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter (H.E.R., Leslie Odom Jr.);

Taylor Leonhardt, Solo recording artist, member of Paper Horses;

Tommy Sims, Grammy Award-winning producer & singer-songwriter (Eric Clapton — “Change the World”).

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In the first week out from his surprising sweep of every swing state and electoral victory, Donald Trump has embarked on a “shock and awe” strategy of overwhelming the media with rapid-fire announcements of administration and cabinet nominations. By picking extreme, unqualified, and controversial nominees, and by preemptively asking the Senate to forego its Constitutional duty to provide "advice and consent,” Trump is setting up the first loyalty test for Republican senators. We talk about how this clown car of nominees expresses contempt for the basic idea of competency and the task of governance, but accomplishes one clear end: embedding sycophantic Trump loyalists who have no regard for the missions of the institutions with which they are entrusted across every branch of the federal government. In the wake of what’s coming, we’ll need to look for models of faithful resistance. While many white Christians have understandably recently been invoking the example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as Jemar reminds us, there is a Spirit of Justice that has animated the Black Christian tradition that is much closer to home.

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Two days after the 2024 presidential election, which resulted in the return to power of Donald Trump, we held our first Convocation Unscripted+LIVE webinar. Jemar hosted this conversation with over 500 participants. We talked about our deep disappointment that a majority of American voters chose to return to power a twice-impeached convicted felon and adjudicated sexual abuser who incited a violent insurrection when he lost the last election. Robby went over the exit poll numbers that showed the steady support of white Christians for Trump: 8 in ten white evangelical Protestants, along with 6 in ten white Catholics and white non-evangelical Protestants. Diana talked about the importance of being prepared to protect what and who we can in the coming years. And Kristin emphasized the importance of grasping the new reality in which we will soon be living, emphasizing the mantra, “Do not obey in advance." And, most importantly, we took thoughtful questions from all the live participants on the webinar, ranging from coping to organizing.

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It's our last episode of The Convocation Unscripted before the 2024 election. We open the session by taking stock of how we’re each doing since we returned from being on the road together for our first two Faith & Democracy Tour stops at First Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC, and Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ. Diana shared insights from a sermon she preached on uncertainty last week at the Duke University chapel. Robby unpacked some recent survey findings on authoritarianism and violence that are keeping him up at night. And Kristin talked about the importance of having courage and the rule of refusing to obey in advance, tapping lessons from Timothy Snyder’s book, On Tyranny. We also talked about the cowardice reflected in Jeff Bezos’s decision to stop the Washington Post from endorsing Kamala Harris, and the plans to traumatize civil servants that people like Russell Vought of Project 2025 are going to unleash within our government should Trump be elected.

 After months of planning, The Convocation Unscripted Team has hit the road! On October 13, we rolled into First Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC. And last Sunday (10/20), we held our second Faith and Democracy Tour stop at Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ, an event that was also co-hosted by The Fountains United Methodist Church in Fountain Hills. It was an energizing night with great music, inspiring conversations, and a packed house of like-minded people who wanted to celebrate an authentic Christian faith that supports a vision of a pluralistic democracy. At this special two-hour event, we were also honored to be joined by an amazing set of musical artists:

Taylor Leonhardt, Solo recording artist, member of Paper Horses;

Fernando Ortega, Dove Award-winning singer-songwriter (“Give Me Jesus”); and

Tommy Sims, Grammy Award-winning producer & singer-songwriter (Eric Clapton — “Change the World”).

Stay tuned for additional Faith & Democracy Tour stops to be announced soon!