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”).

Follow:

The Convocation- convocation.substack.com

Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net

Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com

Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com

Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

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.

Follow:

The Convocation- convocation.substack.com

Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net

Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com

Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com

Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

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.

Follow:

The Convocation- convocation.substack.com

Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net

Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com

Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com

Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com