WWW.KIRTELEWIS.COM

New Mexico Dance Theater's 2014 performance of The Nutcracker

Ah yes, by the title of this new entry in the Fatherhood series, some of you might be imagining a sweet, sentimental piece about me taking the girls to see the classic ballet based upon the legendary Tchaikovsky score, a performance which has enchanted untold millions during the Holiday season for well over half a century.  But alas, this is not that story.  Rather it is one which recalls the tragedy of how much damage a small three year old girl can do to a man's nether regions.  Like the famous ballet, this story will be told in two Acts.

It was four days before Christmas and I was having a fun and loving moment with Elli, the kind of which fathers tuck in their heart and forever cherish.  Just me and my youngest little girl, crawling and wrestling around on the floor, hearing her precious giggle that I know can melt the hardest of hearts.  Then it happened.  I don't even recall exactly how, but Ellie managed to land a blow to the gonads with one of her feet.   I cried out in pain for a brief moment, but seemed to quickly recover.  As a then forty-two year old man, it was not the first time I had taken a shot 'down there'.  Minus some minor lingering discomfort, the rest of the evening went along as usual and ended with me falling asleep on the couch.

It was about 2 am when I woke up, now in a good deal of pain, my chestnuts roasting in an open fire of inflammation!  The rest of the night I fought to get as comfortable as possible, hoping that once I woke up in the morning I would be feeling better.  For some reason, sleeping with my legs positioned like those of a frog's seemed to help.  But when I woke up, I felt the same if not worse.  I hobbled to the bathroom to take a shower, because warm water seems to be a cure for, well, everything, right!?  That's when I noticed that one of the family jewels was now significantly larger than the other.  I mean like the difference between a tennis ball and a soft ball.  Now I was definitely concerned.

This began the lovely experience of having to explain this kind of injury and how I sustained it over and over and over again to various medical professionals.  First it was to my doctor's receptionist in order to persuade her to somehow fit me in for a visit that day.  I guess my case was convincing enough that she scheduled an appointment with a physician's assistant early that afternoon.  Between the call and my appointment, I applied, along with a dose of Tylenol, the only thing that seemed to bring some relief: ice.  Unfortunately, the ice pack that seemed the best fit was pink with a Barbie doll image on it.  Along with something else, I could feel my manliness shrinking. 

Before too long, I found myself limping in to the doctor's office.  After collecting the usual information--insurance, weight, and vitals--I was left alone, naked from the waste down, covered with a thin peace of paper, pondering the fate of my nutuals.  Then the PA came in to conduct her inspection.  It's always comforting when the first response from someone in the medical field is, "Oh wow!"  She went on to voice her concern that I might have "testicular torsion".  Here's the clinical summary according to the Mayo Clinic's website:

Testicular torsion occurs when a testicle rotates, twisting the spermatic cord that brings blood to the scrotum. The reduced blood flow causes sudden and often severe pain and swelling...Testicular torsion usually requires emergency surgery. If treated quickly, the testicle can usually be saved. But when blood flow has been cut off for too long, a testicle might become so badly damaged that it has to be removed.

It was then recommended that I immediately get a sonogram to confirm or hopefully reject this potential diagnosis.  Of course this was just a simple doctors office and didn't have that capability.  So we frantically tried to see if an imaging center had any openings.  When that failed, the PA told me to go directly to the Mercy Hospital about 15 minutes away in Folsom, CA.  They called the E.R. to let them know my situation was "urgent".  And then I was off, driving down the road of destiny, wondering if it was my fate to be neutered like my cat.

After explaining again the nature and cause of my injury, this time to the receptionist in the E.R. , I was directed to sit in the waiting room.  There I enjoyed some wonderful Holiday caroling by some guy who was moaning and crying out the Christmas classic, "Oh God, please help me!"  He was accompanied by others who were adding their various parts of sniffling and coughing.  Given this was a Catholic hospital, everywhere I looked I saw images not of the nativity but of a human being dying one of the most gruesome deaths ever created by humanity.  I mean, I'm a big fan of Jesus, but is this the image I want to see in a place I purposely went to in order to, you know, NOT die!? 

Eventually I was called into a side room where a panel of three intake nurses would again take my vitals and, yes, again I would recount my story.  You know that look people give when they are wanting to be sympathetic but deep down in side are laughing out loud?  Yeah, that's the look I got.  Thankfully, after a short return to the waiting room and a second chorus of, "Oh God, please help me!", I was whisked away to get a sonogram.  I couldn't help but reflect upon the irony as I yet again got naked from the waste down.  Just four years earlier I was going to appointments to see Elli via the same technology, witnessing the miracle of life which was growing, in part, thanks to a healthy contribution from this part of my anatomy that was now severely wounded by her own little foot.  Upon completion of my photo session, the technician--who by the way also wanted to know how this happened--confidently told me, "Well, you aren't pregnant!" 

Then I returned to the waiting room and waited some more.  At least, "Oh God, please help me!" guy wasn't there anymore.

So the good news is that they found out that it wasn't testicular torsion.  But it was one helluva contusion and it would likely take a few weeks to heal.  Until then, it would mean more Tylenol and Barbie ice packs.  One thing they asked me to do seemed a little absurd.  "Mr. Lewis, you're going to need to keep the area elevated as much as possible."  Elevated!?  How in the Hell am I supposed to do that!?  Spider walk wherever I go like the demon possessed kid in The Exorcist?

The Exorcist (Warner Bros., 1973)

Anyways, before I left the hospital I had to stop at one more place to review my insurance.  What is the first thing I hear?  "Were you treated today as the result of an injury you sustained?"  Once again, I told the story.

The next few weeks would be pretty slow going, spending allot of time on the couch with Barbie.  I have to credit Red Box for their comedic timing.  The day after the E.R. visit, I get this text message from them...

Sometimes it felt more comfortable to hold myself whenever I would get up and walk around.  I wondered if I might eventually rival Michael Jackson for the amount of time spent grabbing one's crotch.

Of course, as the physical damage healed, the psychological damage has remained.  Now almost two months later, I still flinch and shield my privates when Elli runs at me, guarding my cojones like Scrat with his acorn.  I think I might have P.T.D.S.D...Post Testicular Damage Stress Disorder.  Only time will tell if true inner-healing can be achieved after the trauma inflicted on me by The Nutcracker.

In the previous post entitled, "There Was No Protestant Reformation", I suggested that Christians in America who belong to the evangelical community have two options before them.  Let's say you chose to stay.  What I would like to share here are my thoughts on how you might openly challenge the Idols of Evangelicalism and possibly effect real cultural and institutional change (though as I mentioned before, I personally feel this is a futile effort with very rare exceptions).

Before I share a few suggested strategies for causing necessary trouble, it dawned on me that some of you might be asking, "How do I know if I am a part of an evangelical church or organization?"  You can't stay in (or leave) American evangelicalism if you don't know if you are presently a part of it.  Well, answering this question is not as easy as it used to be because many evangelical leaders are savvy enough to recognize that the word 'evangelical' and its associated ‘brand’ is, as they say in marketing, “a hard sell”.  So they have dropped it from their formal name and messaging.  If that's your situation, I'd like to take a few minutes to share some practical guidance on how you can get an answer to your question.

If you are in the U.S., you can start with the list of member denominations, networks and organizations in the National Association of Evangelicals.  However, you might be a part of an “independent church” (i.e. no formal affiliation with a denomination).  You could directly ask your church or organizational leadership, “Are we an evangelical church/organization?”  You will most likely hear a long and convoluted response that doesn't really answer the question.  If that happens, you can look for another trademark of evangelicalism that, if found, will answer your question. 

A dead giveaway is the use of the word “Bible” in any of their communications about “Who we are.”  You will hear things like, “We are a church that honors the Bible as the Word of God” or we are a "Bible-believing Church".  Intellectually inclined churches will use the more technical phrase of, “We have a high view of the Scriptures” as opposed to those “liberals” who 200 years ago adopted German scholarship's low view of the Scriptures.  So look at their Statement of Faith and especially note their beliefs on the Bible.  Some of you might be wondering why I am making such a big deal about this because on the surface what's wrong with valuing the Bible.   I have found that the Evangelical concept of 'inerrancy' and 'inspiration' really crosses over into bibliolatry and results in an environment which is hostile to open inquiry.  It presupposes that the Bible is true in the way they want it to be true and, therefore, there can be no room for questioning this approach.  Consequently, any other tradition of Christianity that doesn't view the Bible the way they do isn't a "Bible believing church".  In other words, their doctrine of the Bible ('Bibliology') is a means to an end, and that end is to safeguard their unquestionable authority in defining orthodoxy (see the first Idol of Evangelicalism).  Meanwhile they fail to see how much they read the Scriptures through the lens of a cultural, colonial Christianity.  This odd mix of confidence and blindness can be seen in painful contradictions, such as with women.  They will pay lip-service in honoring women as fellow image-bearers but in the end advance a vision of a subservient June Cleaver-esque, glorified housekeeper and call it “Biblical sexuality.”

So you have figured out you are a part of an evangelical community and you have decided to stay in.  Here are some simple steps you can take to challenge the status quo that could possibly lead to some reform or at the very least leave behind a record of resistance for future generations.

One, find your fellow troublemakers.  This will be critically important for not only achieving your reform objectives, but even more importantly for your own health and sanity.  All of the additional actions I am suggesting need to be taken collectively and in a coordinated fashion.

Two, challenge your evangelical leaders to make public statements and commitments from the pulpit or in press releases that challenge the four idols and specific expressions of their worship.  Here are a few examples...

• God doesn't care about making America great again anymore than any other country on the planet.

• Franklin Graham and others like him are deliberately advancing ignorance and bigotry in order to acquire positions of political influence and wealth.

• We reject any political attempt by Christians to enforce our distinctly religious beliefs and convictions on others who do not share our faith.

• Muslims have every right to experience every religious freedom we want for ourselves and Muslim refugees have just as much a right to come to the US as any persecuted, war-weary Christian.

• Racial and ethnic minorities have been and continue to be the victims of systemic oppression and the predominantly white church in America has been complicit in these crimes against humanity. We repent of this and are committing to move forward a "pro-quality-of-life" agenda that seeks to ensure that every neighbor enjoys the opportunities and benefits our white-privilege has bestowed upon us.

• We are going to drastically reduce our budget expenses that are focused on maintaining a comfortable religious environment, like paid "worship leaders" or our planned building expansion, and instead focus these resources on external social welfare and community development ministry.

That's just a sample of possible things you could ask your leader to say but I think you get the point.  Come up with your own contextually specific statements that basically challenge the Idols of Evangelicalism, or better yet ask them for their own.  If there is a lot of hemming and hawing in their response or flat out resistance, you may have to then advocate for new leadership.

A quick note on the nature of this meeting where you confront and challenge your leadership.  It may sound harsh but what I am talking about is more in the spirit of an intervention.  Most local pastors are good people who once felt a genuine calling to lead but for years now have been beat down by the pressure to perform and maintain the status quo.  This is mingled with very real fears associated with any attempt to challenge people who also at the end of the day hold the power of the paycheck.  Their very ability to provide for their immediate family is at stake in a society that warns you to not "bite the hand that feeds you".  Even more damaging is the fear of losing community by being socially ostracized.  These fears are well founded, as tampering with idols has always been a very risky endeavor (Acts 19:23-41).  What develops in the end is an addiction to a co-dependent relationship where they feel emotionally coerced and economically compelled to minimize the severity of the issues facing the evangelical church.  I know this because I am personally recovering from it.  All this to say that I am assuming that a foundation of genuine grace and love for your leader has been laid before you stage this intervention.

Three, press for a name change.  If the word "evangelical" is still in the name of the church or organization or in its description of "Who We Are", this is a no-brainer.  Set aside for the moment any talk of church history and the helpfulness of the term in that discussion or any conversation of the biblical origins of the word.  Let's look at this from a pure marketing perspective.  There is one thing Enron and Evangelicalism have in common: their brands are DEAD!  For those of you who need a refresher course, Enron was once the darling of up-and-coming American energy companies that came suddenly crashing down in 2001 after knowledge leaked of extensive, high-level fraud.  The end result was the sudden layoff of thousands of stunned employees and eventual bankruptcy.  Now imagine if an enthusiastic entrepreneur came to you requesting an investment in his idea to re-launch Enron.  How willing would you be to make that bet?   In a similar manner, I have to say that it is just embarrassing to see the lengths some are going in order to reclaim or revitalize the word "evangelical" as a positive and attractive handle for their Christian faith tradition.  This includes, by the way, some very fine people who are in some senses fellow troublemakers!  To these, my friends, I beg of you...STOP!  Let it die.  Move on.

Anyways, that was a little bit of a rabbit trail, but you get the point.  So if you are, for example, a staff member at the previously mentioned National Association of Evangelicals or one of its subsidiaries, or a member of an Evangelical Free Church of America, or a biblical scholar in the Evangelical Theological Society, join with other troublemakers in being a loud and annoying voice that says it is high time to 'deep six' the word 'evangelical' as part of any present day moniker for an organization claiming to follow Jesus.

Lastly, troublemakers can use the power of the Buck and Butt.  As I previously discussed under the fourth idol of Comfort, consumerism is epidemic among American evangelicalism.  But I should probably clarify that it is the worst kind of consumerism, one that is knee-jerk, unprincipled and short-sighted.  But there is a good consumerism which conversely is informed, principled and intentional.  The latter has proven to be very effective in achieving reform, something I introduced in another article I wrote on 'economic withdrawal'.  Budgets are, as you often hear, "moral documents".  I like to say that budgets are true mission, vision and value statements.  And we, as principled consumers, have the right and responsibility to collectively leverage our financial choices in order to challenge budgets when they are unethical or they advance the wrong mission, vision and values for the institution.  So if your staying in an evangelical institution that is refusing to confront its idols and resisting necessary reform, take a page out of the playbook of the Religious Right (minus the bad theology) and financially boycott your church or organization like the Southern Baptists did to Disney for eight years.  Withhold all or a portion of your tithes or charitable giving until your grievances are given serious consideration.

If this doesn't work you can ultimately use the power of your butt.  Leave.  That doesn't mean you are deciding to join me in leaving evangelicalism, but you are choosing to leave a specific evangelical organization (e.g. church, NGO, denomination, school, network, etc.).  You might recall that I believe that American Evangelicalism, culturally and in its institutions, is, with a few rare exceptions, beyond reform. You might need to find those rare exceptions and join with them.  Find that rogue evangelical pastor who is calling out white nationalism or discrimination towards the LGBT community, that non-profit that is boldly challenging the recent principles-for-power deal American evangelicals agreed to in November of 2016, or that "sanctuary church" that is standing with our undocumented brothers and sisters.  Swell the ranks and fill the coffers of these rebellious organizations that are still within the evangelical framework.

Will all of this result in real, broad-scale reform of the evangelical church in America?  I personally think it won't.  But for those who are called to take these steps, at the very least their resistance will in time, I believe, be remembered for being on 'the right side of history' and serve as an inspiration to future generations to always pursue the essentially rebellious nature of faith.

Ah yes!  For my fellow Armchair Imagineers, this is probably one of our favorite pastimes now.  Debates about what to do with the dated and congested Tomorrowland are raging online with a dizzying array of rumors within rumors.  So why not add my own ideas to the madness.  As is obvious by the title, this will be a two-parter.  So before we dive into my specific ideas, let's take a brief spin around the park in this installment to set the table for Part 2.

I'm going to break down Disneyland into three parts, the West-side, Central and East-side.  We will be looking at each of these sections as it relates to the potential for future significant changes.  As Walt Disney himself once said, "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world."  Well given the land-locked nature of Disneyland, instead of "grow" it really means "remade".  

WEST-SIDE

The west-side won't take long.  Adventureland, which I believe is the smallest of the lands, really has no room room for any significant changes unless they someday retire or do a major upgrade to Indiana Jones.  Same is basically true of New Orleans Square and Critter Country.  And with the entire reworking of the Rivers of America to make room for Star Wars Land, aka Galaxy's Edge, that pretty much means the the entire West side of Disneyland won't see any major changes for at least 10-20 years.

CENTRAL

The center strip of the park would basically include Main Street, USA, Fantastyland and ToonTown.  Main Street, USA, with the exception of minor food and retail modifications, is looking like a very static space for the foreseeable future.  The rumor that came out last year on MiceChat was that Disney seems pretty set on turning their attention to modernizing Fantasyland after Galaxy's Edge opens up.  Some of these changes will effect just improving overall crowd flow, like they are already doing with the realignment of the Dumbo queue.  Others changes will mean a) renovating or 'plussing up' existing attractions like they did with Peter Pan a few years back or b) replacing old attractions with new ones.  As far as retiring and replacing, I fear Mr Toad's days are numbered.  Personally I wish they would target Snow White's Scary Adventures which has the oddest ending of any Disney ride, like they just ran out of room and slapped up "and they lived happily ever after" at the end.  They could trim the four dark rides in the castle courtyard down to two (Peter Pan and Pinocchio) and increase ride capacity and move the queues indoor (where Snow White's Scary Adventures and Mr. Toad resided) to relieve congestion.  They might even have enough room for ride-themed gift shops, which would make the bean-counters happy.

The biggest Fantasyland rumors have to do with tearing down the outdoor theater, presently home to Mickey's Magical Map, to make room for 1-2 more attractions.  At one point it sounded like Anna and Elsa were moving in but I think Frozen has thawed enough and other Disney live action reboots have pulled in enough big bucks to make Disney rethink that move.  My own ideas?  Close and replace the Snow White dark ride and on the footprint of the theater plug in a version of Disney World's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train along with anything Beauty and the Beast.  The Disney execs would probably love a top-grade sit-down restaurant option in FantasyLand, so inserting Disney World's Be Our Guest makes sense to me along with the Enchanted Tales with Belle meet-and-greet. 

Above that in Toon-Town, there is rumor that a ride that is in the works for Disney World, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, might be brought to the western side of that land.  That would mean retirement for Gadget's Go Coaster, Chip 'n Dale's Tree-house and possibly the Mickey and Minnie's meet-and-greet homes, though I am hoping they save those and integrate them into the ride queue.  Side note, I also think it would be cool to create an eventual tunnel entrance into Galaxy's Edge from ToonTown.

EAST-SIDE

All of that leads to the East side of Disneyland, which is mostly made up of Tomorrowland with the exceptions of the Matterhorn and It's a Small World which are considered part of Fantasyland.  Which brings me to my first observation: those two attractions don't really fit in my mind into the realm of fantasy.  Yea, I get that the Yeti is a mythological creature terrifying passengers on those cramped bobsleds, but beyond that it doesn't come close to the genre of fairy-tail.  And a meandering boat cruise visiting all the parts of the world seems pretty grounded to me. 

Meanwhile, Tomorrowland has been tweaked here and there but still feels like a mess.  The last really successful addition was Star Tours in 1987 followed by a fairly popular Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in 2005 and a Pixar re-theming of the Submarines in 2007.  But even with those three attractions and the classic Space Mountain, there just seems to be no continuity.  It doesn't feel tomorrow-ish and as was already mentioned the traffic flow is bad thanks to the rotting remains of the old PeopleMover track and the poorly placed Astro Orbiter.  Then there are, whether we like it or not, financial considerations.  Nemo's Submarines are apparently a major maintenance expense and has a low hourly ride capacity.  More ride capacity means = more people = more money for Disney.  And while Autopia has huge capacity, it takes up a massive amount of real estate that could fit 3-4  attractions.

Average hourly ride capacity (note: I don't think ROger Rabbit is correct).

Weaving around the north-east corner of the park is the Monorail which runs through Fantasyland, again something that breaks up the whole concept of unique lands and, again, takes up a huge amount of space.

OK, so enough complaining, how could this be fixed so that you have truly Disney-standard immersive environments that lead to great guest experiences and more profits for the park?  Well, like Snow White's Scary Adventure, I'm going to leave that unresolved until Part 2.

Just about every American knows about Martin Luther King Jr.  Slightly less but still a significant number of people know about Rosa Parks and her courageously refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery public bus in 1955.  Fewer still will know about Fredrick Douglas, unless you are black or are a Civil War buff like I am.  Hardly anyone knows about a contemporary of Douglas, Octavius Catto.  Yet ninety-one years before Rosa Parks was fighting to desegregate public buses in Alabama, Octavius was fighting for the right for black Americans to ride public carriages in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The actions that Octavius took on that issue and several other fundamental civil rights would eventually lead to his assassination.  His strategy with the carriage issue would become an early foreshadowing of the 'direct action' Dr. King would champion nearly 100 years later.

It is extremely hard for me as a white man to even grasp the multi-generational struggle that black Americans have had to persevere through and continue to do so to this day.  I lose patience when a restaurant takes too long to bring the food I ordered.    Yet heroes of the American black community, most of whom we will never know, have labored for freedom the entire history of this nation that promises equality and opportunity for all.  Here we briefly pause to remember one such model of courage.  Octavius Catto, you are not forgotten.

There was a significant amount of fanfare this past year to mark the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  Former President Barack Obama and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel headlined a major event in May to celebrate not only the massive religious but also cultural and political transformation sparked by the 16th century Catholic monk turned rebel pastor and theologian, Martin Luther.  October 31st of 1517, All Hallows Eve, is the traditional birth date of Protestantism where Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg, criticizing the Roman Catholic Church's practice of essentially selling salvation or a reprieve from purgatory through the purchase of "indulgences".

Over the past year I have also taken serious time to reflect on this historic marker, especially given my serious struggles and questioning of my evangelical heritage.  I'll come back to this in a few minutes, but first I have to share a recent epiphany I had about the Protestant Reformation and that is...there never was one!  That's right, I would like to submit to you that the Protestant Reformation is a myth.

I have no problem with the use of the word 'Protestant', for protest is something that Luther and a host of other leaders, both religious and political, did in spades during that time and one could argue ever since.  My beef is with the word 'reformation'.  Not to be a definition stickler, but according to the Oxford Dictionary, 'reformation' means, "The action or process of reforming an institution or practice."  A present day example that I am very familiar with is the discussion of 'immigration reform'.  In that conversation it is clear that we are talking about social reform through legislative revision.  But it is clearly stated if not implied that these changes are happening within a society or institution.  But that is not what Luther and Co achieved.  To say that they were a part of a reformation would be like saying that the United Kingdom voted to reform the European Union ('BrExit') or that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were trying to reform the British Empire.  If Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, et al. were reformers then they were lousy ones at that!  The end result was a departure from the Roman Catholic Church and the establishment of entirely new church organizations or what we commonly call denominations, not to mention nation-states.

A few months ago I came to a pretty important conclusion.  I believe that American Evangelicalism, as seen in its culture and institutions, is, with very few exceptions, beyond reform.  Aside from a few outliers or what some might call a "righteous remnant", I believe that the errant beliefs, values and behaviors I previously wrote about in The REAL Quadrilateral and the two part series on the Idols of Evangelicalism are so entrenched in the American evangelical community and its institutions (churches, denominations, colleges and seminaries, associations and networks, etc.) that it is incapable of recovering from its self-inflicted wounds.

If you agree with me, where does that leave us?  For those of us who profess to follow Jesus and who have been active and committed in this community, what options do we have?  There is, as I see it, really only two options.

You can choose to stay.  You may disagree with my assertion that the evangelical church in America is beyond reform.  If so, you can continue to bind together with other like-minded people and fight for change.  In a future post, I will be sharing some of my thoughts on what you can do to attempt to effect change.  I say attempt, because my personal opinion is that it will be a futile effort.  Rather I think you need to brace yourself for a calling similar to that of the Prophet Jeremiah, where you and others like you will fail in terms of accomplishing true, sustainable reform, but you will leave behind a courageous prophetic witness and warning to future generations of followers of Jesus to not take the path that the evangelical church took in the United States.

Get Out (Universal Pictures, 2017)

Get out.  I mean it.  If you don't have a Jeremiah-like calling, you need to get out.  It's a environment that is largely toxic to faith and emotionally manipulative.  To recruit someone new to following Jesus into American evangelicalism feels like the inspiration behind Jesus' rebuke of the pharisees:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." (Matthew 23:15)

So unless you feel you need to join the ranks of weeping prophets, take the Martin Luther route.  Rebel.  Start something new.  But first, dust off your sandals and leave evangelicalism.

While I might have my opinions, ultimately I respect the choice of every Christian in America who feels they are faced with this decision.  My very first post in Faith v Religion should have made it obvious what decision I made.  But I have very good friends who feel called to the other option.  Both those who choose to stay or go will play a very important role in ushering in a new era of a vitalized, timeless faith along with advancing a truly just peace for all our neighbors.

Quick note: If this article/podcast resonated with you and you want to be a part of an online community where you can encourage and be encouraged, please check out our closed Recovering Evangelicals Facebook group.

In Part 2 of the Stages of Systemic Injustice, I briefly mentioned that when collective oppression had reached stage four, the oppressed minority and those who break ranks with the oppressive majority would need to engage in a "wide-scale and well coordinated resistance" that would employ certain "tools".  These tools might be viewed as more aggressive then the more conversational and relational strategies highlighted in the earlier stages, but they are absolutely necessary to slow and hopefully reverse the advance of injustice.  I argued that among these various tools, the most powerful were those of the "Ballot Box and the Buck", the latter of these also known as "economic withdrawal".  Basically, this tool educates and inspires members of the resistance to leverage their collective economic might to effect social and institutional change.  They do this by targeting where they purchase, save and invest or to the opposite where they do not purchase, save or invest--that is, what businesses they boycott.  It turns out that even the most ideologically driven business owner get's surprisingly repentant of, for example, his discriminatory business practices when the cost of such bigotry starts to hurt his 'bottom line'.

Dr. Martin Luther King, particularly in his last few years, began to advance a more concrete strategy for addressing poverty that crossed all racial lines in what would be called the "Poor People's Campaign".  He connected this to racially motivated economic injustice towards the black community in a portion of his final "I've seen the mountain top" speech.  Tragically the following day he would be assassinated.  

During this speech he made his argument for the use of economic withdrawal.  Some have wondered if it was his threatening financial "pain" on white-owned big businesses that got him killed.  Challenging the conduits of the powerful's unjust wealth can be a very risky endeavor.

What I would like to conclude with is a short clip of his comments on economic withdrawal which he shared on the night before a sniper's bullet pierced his neck.  This will lay a foundation for future publications where we will apply this strategy to systemic injustices we are facing today, including some that regrettably represent the same battles Dr. King was fighting in his day.  Here is Dr. King...

MY HAPPY PLACE

EVERYBODY says they love Disneyland!  OK, so not everybody does, but in my mind everybody should love Disneyland.  Honestly, when I run into people and I bring up Disneyland--inevitable by the way that I will find a way to bring it up--and their response is basically, meh, the thought that is screaming in my head is, "What is wrong with you!!"  I don't say this out loud, but trust me, I'm thinking it.  My apologies if you are someone who is reading this and you personally had this conversation with me and am now realizing that I think you have a profoundly disturbing human flaw.

But wait, why am I apologizing!  If you don't love Disneyland, I am right...there is something wrong with you!  Then again, why am I spending so much time on this?  You didn't even click on the link to read this blog article or listen to the podcast anyways!  You saw the title and thought, "Oh God, Kirt on another one of his free Disney marketing rants!"  Then you quickly moved on to whatever web content your sick mind thinks can be more important than Disneyland.

So let me turn my attention to the truly sane people in this world who all love Disneyland.  I'm excited to bring to you this open-ended series called Armchair Imagineering, which I described in my intro to this website:

I have a major lifetime obsession with Disneyland and here I'll both update you on what's happening at the Happiest Place on Earth as well as share my own crazy ideas on how they can make it even happier.  And yes, just to prove I’m not a total groupie, I will on occasion critique the Disney universe as far as it relates to broader American pop-culture.

What I would like to do in this first entry in Armchair Imagineering is share with you all of my sources on Disneyland, where I go to get the nearly real-time 'skinny' on what's happening or may happen along with some great history of The Park. 

Quick note on what to expect from Armchair Imagineering: I in no way have the time, energy or desire to compete with the sources I'm going to share in a minute!  But I am assuming that there are many Disneyland lovers out there who won't have the time to obsessively check out these websites and YouTube channels.  But I'm willing to do that for you!  How kind of me.  So my goal for this blog/podcast is to publish something every couple of months that will highlight the best and most recent content from these other amazing Disneyland lovers while sprinkling in a little bit of my own thoughts and ideas. 

So without further ado, here are my top sources on all things Disneyland...

So there are of course a zillion websites about Disneyland, but my two favorite are MiceChat and The Orange County Register's Disneyland page.  MiceChat is a massive website that really covers the whole Disney universe, but it includes amazing articles on Disneyland multiple times a week including truck loads of photos on the latest refurb, renovation and new construction projects.  The OC Register is the local paper that has a whole section dedicated to Disneyland.  You can find it under "Thinks To Do".  If you love the local angle, this is your place to go.

And if you want to read the 'company line', you can check out the official press release website for the Disneyland Resort. 

All of these sites have their usual assortment of social media accounts, so just click on their links to Facebook, Twitter, etc. if you want to get notifications of updates that way.

Disneyland focused YouTube channels have far and away become my go to source for recent news, rumors and commentary.  I recommend subscribing to their channels to get updated when they publish new content.  Here are my favorites...

• FreshBaked! Man I love this crew. It's produced by this one couple and a few their friends who basically go to the park 1-2 times a week to vlog updates along with their own commentary on what's happening at the Disneyland Resort. With over 83,000 subscribers and nearly 28 million video views as of the date of this publishing, they are a monster source that true Disneyland geeks can't ignore.

• DSNY Newscast - Jack for sure get's the award for the sickest vlog studio! Like MiceChat, he really covers the full spectrum of Disney news, but he regularly focuses on the original theme park and provides some great perspectives.

• ShesInLosAngeles - Are you geeked out beyond words about the upcoming Star Wars Land (aka "Galaxy's Edge")? This retired bank VP does simple video updates every week on the construction progress.

• For much more detailed updates on Galaxy's Edge, check out Yensid 55. This father/daughter team do an amazing job of breaking down the progress.

• Fastpass Facts - In amazing info-graphic style, Luz and Sauco are a great source of Disneyland facts, tips and history. Honestly, are these two on the Disney payroll? If they aren't they should be!

• Alex the Historian - I believe this guy is a former cast member and a huge Disneyland history buff. His videos on the history of specific rides are my favorite. I guarantee that you will hear something new that you have never heard before about these classic attractions.

• And last but not least would be the official Disney Parks YouTube channel - Like the Disneyland News press release website, you will only get the highly-crafted company messaging on this channel but it is still a great source of current news and information. I especially love their 'Every Role a Staring Role' series where they introduce you to ordinary cast members and all the unique skills they employ to make sure your time at Disneyland and other Disney parks is truly magical.

Well there you have it!  I look forward to sharing in future installments more of what's happening at the Happiest Place on Earth and my own ideas on how to make it even happier.

Lilia Luciano with ABC 10 Sacramento

It really does feel to me and many others I have spoken with, that observing the vast majority of American evangelical's rallying to the side of then candidate and now President Donald Trump has been like getting the chance to go back in time and observe Satan's three attempts to tempt Jesus.  Except this time Jesus' 'Body', the Church, basically replied to Satan, "Hell yes, we'll put self-preservation ahead of trusting God, receive earthly power in exchange for worshiping a human political huckster, and commit suicide as a two-hundred and seventy year old movement just to prove our ego!"   But I have also observed a number of evangelical voices, desperate to hold forth a different picture of evangelicalism, downplaying the last couple of years as just an aberration that doesn't reflect true evangelical Christianity.  Or maybe it just goes back a few decades and we can blame it on the rise of the Religious Right in the late 70's and 80's.  Oh wait, but then that doesn't explain evangelical's no-show during the Civil Rights movement in the 50's and 60's.  One has to wonder at some point if the foundation upon which sits the idol's that American Evangelical Christians worship today was laid all the way back during it's founding.  But that is a subject for another time.

In Part One of this two part series, we introduced the first idol of American Evangelicalism, that of superiority.  This is seen particularly in intellectual hubris and American nativism or nationalism.  The last three idols are really a natural outflow or progression from the first, what C.S Lewis might have called "The Great Sin" in his classic work, Mere Christianity.

Once a group of people have convinced themselves of their own superiority, it's only logical that they should be the ones 'in charge'.  So when Franklin Graham and others talk about the need for Christians to 'serve' as elected officials in order to be a "witness" and to represent a "Christian wordlview", that's code for, "If you are not a Christian you ultimately don't know what they hell you are doing where Christians, by nature of their own superiority, do.  So move over so we can institute what we know is best for everyone."  This is theologically based in a so-called "soft" version of the doctrine of "reconstructionism" or "dominionism".  The assumed nativism and ethnocentrism of the first idol then applies this theology into a mandate to 'take America back for God' and a moral mandate to stop the demise of our great nation by conservative Christians assuming their rightful place at the top of the "seven mountains of culture".

Here's an axiom with regard to power: When you are obsessed with it you will do whatever it takes to get more of it.  The worship of this idol has been on full display over the last two years as evangelical leaders and theologians have provided religious cover for politicians who promised to give them what they wanted: position and power to implement their 'Kingdom' vision for America.  The end result in terms of the election just confirmed that power is clearly worshiped among the evangelical masses and not just among their populace leaders.  Meanwhile they all continue to say that they worship a Savior who expressly rejected his disciples hopes of instituting a political empire.

I have grouped these two idols together because, while distinct, they are very complementary to each other.  It's kind of like entrenched dictators.  Once they have assumed the throne and begin their reign, selective ethics and amassing excessive wealth and physical comfort at the expense of others seem to go hand in hand.

When you assume superiority and therefore the right to exert power or control over others, a curious thing often happens: you become selective in terms of the moral standards you live by and those you demand on others.  American evangelicals have strutted about their moral high horse on the issues of 'life' and 'the family', but only narrowly applied it to the issues of abortion and homosexuality.  The hypocrisy has been glaring to almost everyone else but themselves.  Some have attempted to paint a different picture of evangelicals as a group that in reality holds much more sympathetic views toward those affected by systemic injustice, such as their supposed support for immigration reform.  But everyone knows that "actions speak louder than words" including polls, and their political silence or indifference on things such as the global refugee crisis and US resettlement policy has shown that their moral priorities lie where it will cost them the least.  In doing so, American evangelicals are carrying on in the great tradition of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:2-3).

Consumerism, by its very nature, is driven by pleasure, not sacrifice.  And so American Evangelicalism has become a perfect example of the industry of religion.  With few, often tightly controlled exceptions, the vast majority of church life is designed around the wishes of the consumer.  I know this because I participated in it.  I often tell people that a part of my journey was realizing that, "I had become the provider of religious goods and services to consumer Christians."  Sometimes expressions of true Christian ministry can even be viewed as inconvenient.  Years ago, I recall hearing a board member in a church bemoan that while they applauded the work of my parents in bringing people with developmental disabilities into the church, these people did not make "significant giving units" in comparison to, for example, working upper-middle class families.  Additionally, their occasional moans or verbal expressions during the service were distracting to the 'worship'.  This is just one example of what I have observed as a widespread pattern.  Within 'the trade' we even use certain language like 'church shopping', perfectly satirized in this short video by comedian John Crist.

Over the course of my own 17 year career in the pastoral profession I heard several colleagues refer to the principle of "bucks and butts" as a key indicator of church health.  Ironic, again, given that the founder of the faith lived a life as a homeless man (Luke 9:58).

We will return to the themes of these four idols in future posts along with trying to chart a course forward for a lifestyle that I believe would be far more honoring to the life and teachings of Jesus.  One thing that I am sure of is that idols and the people and their institutions that worship them ultimately fail.  Faith, on the other hand, perseveres, and this not because of creeds and councils but due to the relentless curiosity of humanity as it intersects with Divine mystery and love.