Jake Starkey
Verified User
We discuss the intersection of Politics and Religion here at JPP quite a bit.
I am quoting from Pastor Andy's online sermon. See if it rings with you.
"I am just going to say the quiet part out loud.
Many of you in the comments of my last post have said I was never taught the gospel properly, or that I must have been misinformed.
The truth is you taught me too well.
Some of you are genuinely upset with me because, as a white, straight, cisgender man, I refuse to support the current administration and I dare to speak out against injustice, authoritarianism, and the way conservatism and Christianity have been fused into something unrecognizable. You are even more upset that I walked away from my career as a pastor and from the version of faith I was handed.
What seems to confuse people the most is that I do not look like the caricature you expect. I am an outdoorsy, flannel shirt wearing kind of guy. I look like I would chop some wood with you or go fishing with you. I fit the visual. I just do not fit the script.
I came from your world. I lived in it for years. I preached from its pulpits. I went to Bible college. I led churches. I buried people. I sat with families in crisis. I did not arrive at these convictions casually or because it was trendy or convenient.
I am media literate. I lead with compassion. And yes, I have read the Bible cover to cover more times than all the people in your average evangelical church combined. That is not a flex. It is simply the truth.
I listened. I studied. I took Jesus at his word. Not selectively. Not symbolically when it got uncomfortable. Not metaphorically when it challenged power.
And the more seriously I took the teachings of Jesus, the harder it became to reconcile them with evangelicalism as it is practiced today, or with modern conservatism as it demands allegiance.
What ultimately pushed me away was watching scripture be weaponized against the very people it calls us to love, while power, greed, and cruelty were baptized and called righteousness.
Jesus was not unclear about where he stood.
Blessed are the poor.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Not the powerful.
Not the loud.
Not the ones closest to political authority.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says that how we treat the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, and the stranger is how we treat him. There is no footnote about political affiliation. There is no exemption clause for nationalism. There is no qualifier that says compassion only applies when it is convenient.
Micah 6:8 tells us exactly what is required.
To act justly.
To love mercy.
To walk humbly.
Justice. Mercy. Humility.
Not dominance.
Not fear.
Not control.
And when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he did not hedge.
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
Not love your neighbor unless they vote like you.
Not love your neighbor unless they fit neatly into your theology.
Just love your neighbor.
So no, I did not misunderstand the gospel.
I understood it well enough to walk away from systems that preach Jesus while contradicting him with their actions.
Leaving evangelicalism and conservatism was not a rejection of Jesus.
It was the result of taking him seriously.
I will not apologize for choosing compassion over cruelty, justice over power, and faith over ideology."
I am quoting from Pastor Andy's online sermon. See if it rings with you.
"I am just going to say the quiet part out loud.
Many of you in the comments of my last post have said I was never taught the gospel properly, or that I must have been misinformed.
The truth is you taught me too well.
Some of you are genuinely upset with me because, as a white, straight, cisgender man, I refuse to support the current administration and I dare to speak out against injustice, authoritarianism, and the way conservatism and Christianity have been fused into something unrecognizable. You are even more upset that I walked away from my career as a pastor and from the version of faith I was handed.
What seems to confuse people the most is that I do not look like the caricature you expect. I am an outdoorsy, flannel shirt wearing kind of guy. I look like I would chop some wood with you or go fishing with you. I fit the visual. I just do not fit the script.
I came from your world. I lived in it for years. I preached from its pulpits. I went to Bible college. I led churches. I buried people. I sat with families in crisis. I did not arrive at these convictions casually or because it was trendy or convenient.
I am media literate. I lead with compassion. And yes, I have read the Bible cover to cover more times than all the people in your average evangelical church combined. That is not a flex. It is simply the truth.
I listened. I studied. I took Jesus at his word. Not selectively. Not symbolically when it got uncomfortable. Not metaphorically when it challenged power.
And the more seriously I took the teachings of Jesus, the harder it became to reconcile them with evangelicalism as it is practiced today, or with modern conservatism as it demands allegiance.
What ultimately pushed me away was watching scripture be weaponized against the very people it calls us to love, while power, greed, and cruelty were baptized and called righteousness.
Jesus was not unclear about where he stood.
Blessed are the poor.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Not the powerful.
Not the loud.
Not the ones closest to political authority.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says that how we treat the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, and the stranger is how we treat him. There is no footnote about political affiliation. There is no exemption clause for nationalism. There is no qualifier that says compassion only applies when it is convenient.
Micah 6:8 tells us exactly what is required.
To act justly.
To love mercy.
To walk humbly.
Justice. Mercy. Humility.
Not dominance.
Not fear.
Not control.
And when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he did not hedge.
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
Not love your neighbor unless they vote like you.
Not love your neighbor unless they fit neatly into your theology.
Just love your neighbor.
So no, I did not misunderstand the gospel.
I understood it well enough to walk away from systems that preach Jesus while contradicting him with their actions.
Leaving evangelicalism and conservatism was not a rejection of Jesus.
It was the result of taking him seriously.
I will not apologize for choosing compassion over cruelty, justice over power, and faith over ideology."
