Have you ever wondered what motivates someone to become a Christian Nationalist and what it takes to recognize you're not truly practicing the teachings of Jesus and to leave high-control religion? Then this episode is just for you! We were joined by April Ajoy, author of Star Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith, for a compelling discussion about her book, her role in the Amazon documentary Shiny, Happy People, and how we can help guide people who are questioning out of Christian Nationalism.

Click on the link below to learn more about April's work, her podcast "The Tim & April Show," and to purchase her book!

https://linktr.ee/aprilajoy

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

The Progressive Christians Podcast - New Episodes Available Every Friday - On All Platforms

We're the love your neighbor kind of Christians, not the storm the capitol kind. So, if you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you! In each episode, we discuss politics, pop culture, and anything else we find interesting from the perspective of progressive Christianity.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church.

Cynthia Erivo's portrayal of Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Hollywood Bowl has been widely praised as powerful, transcendent, and unsurprisingly criticized by religious conservatives. How could a woman, and especially a Black queer woman, play the role of Jesus? Julia, Rev. Blair, and Everest were in attendance on opening night. In this episode, we discuss Erivo’s performance, the role of art in unsettling assumptions and critiquing power, and what it means to see the spark of the Divine in all of us. We end the episode by celebrating the one-year anniversary of our podcast.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this first year a success! We are excited about our future as we aim to create the best progressive theological podcast that you can find.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Show Notes

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/02/22/cynthia-erivos-jesus-christ-superstar-controversy-explained/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_Superstar
3. https://variety.com/2025/music/concert-reviews/jesus-christ-superstar-cynthia-erivo-adam-lambert-hollywood-bowl-review-1236477734/

Are you struggling to reconcile your faith with the headlines about the human-made famine that is causing the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza? You're not alone. All people of good conscience should feel unease. When Jesus wept, it was for the suffering of all humanity. What if we applied that same deep empathy to the heartbreaking crisis unfolding right now? In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Dr. Timothy Murphy, the senior pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to discuss the war in Gaza, his hunger strike to raise awareness about the famine, and what progressive Christians can do to motivate our elected officials to use their power to get humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. 

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

Show Notes

1. Rev. Dr. Timothy Murphy Bio/Church Website- https://www.plymouthfw.org/staff 
2. Rev. Dr. Murphy’s Hunger Strike- https://www.journalgazette.net/local/plymouth-pastors-stage-hunger-strike-to-prompt-israel-to-allow-food-other-aid-into-gaza/article_7f53926e-b15e-479d-9cfc-9c9de6eca0f6.html#:~:text=Plymouth's%20senior%20pastor%20was%20on,last%20two%20weeks%20or%20more. 
3. Orientalism- Edward Said https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/159783/orientalism-by-edward-w-said/ 
4. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine- Rashid I. Khalidi https://guardianbookshop.com/the-hundred-years-war-on-palestine-9781781259344/?utm_source=editoriallink&utm_medium=merch&utm_campaign=article 
5. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn- Daniel Gordis https://www.harpercollins.com/products/israel-daniel-gordis?variant=32122925121570 
6. My Name is Rachel Corrie- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Rachel_Corrie 
7. Marjorie Spiegle- The Dreaded Comparison https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Dreaded_Comparison.html?id=8u_tAAAAMAAJ 
8. Caste- Isabel Wilkerson https://www.nationalbook.org/books/caste-the-origins-of-our-discontents/ 
9. The Mathematics of Starvation: How Israel Caused a Famine in Gaza https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/31/the-mathematics-of-starvation-how-israel-caused-a-famine-in-gaza 
10. Zeteo report on starvation (Behind a Paywall): https://zeteo.com/p/61-of-everyone-whos-starved-to-death?utm_source=unread-posts-digest-email&inbox=true&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true 
11. https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide
12. The Israel Lobby and American Foreign Policy- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374531508/theisraellobbyandusforeignpolicy/ 
13. Jewish Voice for Peace- On Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Dangerous Conflation https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2023/11/09/antisemitism-dangerous/
14. What Antisemitism? - David Klion on Zeteo (Paywall) https://zeteo.com/p/what-antisemitism-adl-prostrated-musk-trump?utm_source=publication-search 
15. Majority of Israelis Do NOT Support Netenyahu’s Actions in Gaza- https://www.timesofisrael.com/72-5-of-israelis-believe-netanyahu-should-take-responsibility-for-oct-7-and-resign/ 
16. This American Life Episode with reports from American Doctors in Gaza: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/859/transcript 
17. Institute for Middle East Understanding Explainer on ADL https://imeu.org/article/explainer-the-anti-defamation-league-adl

What is biblical or traditional marriage, and how have Christian understandings of marriage been shaped by economics, politics, and faith? In this week's episode, we explore the rise of the Trad-Wife phenomenon and shed light on the propaganda that pushes this image of family life as normative. We conclude by re-examining our sacred texts to craft a vision of partnership that honors the sacred worth of human beings and the progressive values of relationality and freedom, without abandoning our faith.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Chapters

0:00 - Intro

1:24 - Responding to Listener Comments

3:29 - The Evolution of "Biblical" Marriage

17:05 - Traditional Values Are Actually Just European Values

29:28 - Trad Wives, White Femininity & "Free" Labor

37:31 - Can Our Relationship With God Be A Model For Marriage

42:27 - A Progressive Vision Of Marriage & Gender Roles

1:00:57 - Closing 

Show Notes

1. Just Love by Margaret Farley https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/just-love-9780826429247/ 
2. Betty Bowers Explains Traditional Marriage (Warning: Explicit Language) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFkeKKszXTw 
3. Ballerina Farms Interview- https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-sunday-times-magazine/article/meet-the-queen-of-the-trad-wives-and-her-eight-children-plfr50cgk
4. Young Women’s Leadership Summit- https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/turning-point-usa-young-women-leadership-summit-agenda/
5. Young Conservative Women - https://archive.ph/GvyIK

Has Christianity lost its positive public perception? The season premiere of South Park revealed a lot about our current political and religious climate. Their portrayal of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount exposes the hypocrisy that an increasing number of non-religious people see within our tradition. In this week's episode, we discuss the declining public image of Christianity, the role evangelical, conservative, and mainline churches have played in speeding up that decline, and what Christians can do to start changing that perception one relationship at a time.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Show Notes:

1. https://readingreligion.org/9781501122293/the-end-of-white-christian-america/ 
2. https://southpark.cc.com/sites/hetrumpedus/index.html 
3. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-religions-role-in-public-life/

Chapters 0:00 - Intro 3:29 - Listener Review, Deconstruction 11:27 - Polling on Public Perception of Christianity 18:48 - South Park's Portrayal of Trump & Jesus 31:50 - Data On Why People Left The Church 35:50 - The Black Church Losing Trust Of The Black Community 39:00 - Progressive Visions For Improving The Image of Christianity 48:00 - Listener Question From Former MAGA Christian on LGBTQ 1:07:47 - Closing 

What if the person you elected president to save the country from a global cabal of child sex-traffickers actually was a part of the cabal? At first glance, this question sounds strange. However, when you consider that a 2022 poll by PRRI revealed that 1 in 5 people and 1 in 4 Republicans believe the QAnon conspiracy theory that the government, media, and financial sector are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex-trafficking operation, then things begin to make a bit more sense. In this episode, we explore why the Epstein files matter to conservative Christians, how they connect with evangelical purity culture, and how the rapture-like theology of QAnon laid the groundwork for the outrage that we are witnessing. 

Please note that we recorded this episode on Wednesday, July 23rd, before it was confirmed that Trump is named in the files in multiple places. We assumed as much, though, to be honest.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected].

Show Notes:

1. Understanding MAGA’s response to the Epstein Files: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8ge16d2y3o 
2. Emily Joy Allison on Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@emilyjoyallison/video/7529523875621784845 
3. Assault Allegations Toward Trump: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/assault-allegations-donald-trump-recapped 
4. Southern Baptist Sexual Offenders List: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/27/1101734793/southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-list-released 
5. Colbert Vs. Trump https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/22/stephen-colbert-trump-cbs-bribe 
6. Colbert on Catholic Podcast: The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p9Hx43P5yE 
7. How the QAnon movement entered mainstream politics – and why the silence on Epstein files matters https://theconversation.com/how-the-qanon-movement-entered-mainstream-politics-and-why-the-silence-on-epstein-files-matters-261316

If you thought the world was ending, how would you spend the last days of your life? While this may be a theoretical question that many of us can use to help discern what we believe are the most essential things in our lives, it is also a very pragmatic question for others. In this episode, we discuss how the eschatological belief in the Rapture has informed our governments' response to the Guadalupe River flood and how they are recruiting people to join ICE.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

Show Notes

1. Summary of Rapture Theologies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture 
2. https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/ice-quotes-bible-new-propaganda-video
3. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/greg-abbott-bizarre-postflood-football-analogy/
4. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/texas-fema-calls-kristi-noem-fake-news-1235384583/
5. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Q8QI2v51p4A

A few weeks ago, at a Bible study on Capitol Hill titled “God’s Design for a Societal Safety Net,” political conservative and Christian pastor Ralph Drollinger argued that the New Testament never discusses governments helping people. He told the Senators that helping the truly needy is for individuals, then families, then the church, but not the government. With this, he morally justified the suffering of millions as a consequence of passing Trump’s new spending bill. In this episode, we discuss how the bill will impact healthcare and immigration, and we explain how the biblical argument used to justify passing it is a perfect example of eisegesis rather than biblical exegesis.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

Show Notes

1. https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/tuesdays-senate-bible-lesson-god?r=4hxc9&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
2. https://www.nilc.org/resources/the-anti-immigrant-policies-in-trumps-final-big-beautiful-bill-explained/
3. Doc Albany: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/doc-albany-ben-proudfoot-world-premiere-tribeca-festival-1236374406/
4. God’s Design for a Social Safety Net: https://capmin.org/gods-design-for-a-societal-safety-net/ 
5. https://19thnews.org/2025/07/trump-big-beautiful-tax-law-numbers/

Modern society tells us that we should constantly reinvent ourselves to stay interesting and that we should do whatever it takes to get wherever we want to go. In her book, Here: A Spirituality of Staying in a Culture of Leaving, Lydia Sohn argues for the opposite: stay. Stay and cultivate the immense potential and beauty that currently lies dormant within your circumstances. In this episode, we sit down with Lydia and discuss her book, the necessity of speaking to audiences across faith and spiritual traditions, and how sometimes stability requires a particular type of leaving.

The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at [email protected]. 

Lydia Sohn is a mom, writer, and United Methodist Pastor currently serving Walnut United Methodist Church. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Christian Century, among others. One of her very first essays, "What Do 90-Somethings Regret Most," received over 700K views, leading it to be one of the top ten most-read essays on Medium. 

As a daughter of immigrants who moved to America in search of the American dream (and achieved it), she saw with her own eyes that all can be burned down to begin afresh at any time. But it wasn't until her adult years, after multiple moves and a life of chasing greener pastures, that she began to realize the power of stability and commitment and our miraculous abilities to transform our circumstances from the inside out. She lives in Claremont, California with her husband and three children. 

You can purchase her book through her website, and it is available at all major bookstores.