The Convocation Unscripted

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 uncertaint...

 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 gre...

In this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, Kristin Du Mez sits in the host chair for a conversation with Diana Butler Bass, Jemar Tisby, and Robert P. Jones. We reflect on the recent vice presidential debate, possibly the last debate of the election season. Beyond the performances, we talk about what the debate revealed about the deeper stakes for democracy: outright lies in a post-truth polit...

In this special episode of the Convocation Unscripted, we record a live in-person conversation from Washington, DC. The four of us came to town to participate in “A Test of Faith: A Summit to Defend Democracy,” which was organized by Rev. Jim Wallis, Director of the Center for Faith and Justice at Georgetown University. The summit included the unveiling of a new statement presenting a theologicall...

Diana Butler Bass hosts this “grab bag” episode with Jemar Tisby, Robert P. Jones, and Kristin Du Mez. Jemar talks about his new book, "The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance,” which was just published this week. And Robby gives a preview of his analysis of Christian nationalism in the new Afterword in the paperback edition of "The Hidden Roots of White Supremac...

Christian Right leaders still regularly accuse Democrats of being godless liberals, or some similar phrase. Trump has claimed that no true Christian should be able to vote for a Democrat. But as Kristin Du Mez, who was on the ground at the Democratic National Convention, reports, Christianity and other religions are alive and well among not only the rank and file but the high profile speakers in C...

What is the significance of Tim Walz's Midwestern Lutheran Dad Vibe for the 2024 presidential election? In this episode, we talk about what it means to be Lutheran and how Walz upends the old culture war trope of "God, gays, and guns" (he's authentically religious, has long supported LGBTQ+ rights, and both served in the military and is an avid hunter). Together with Kamala Harris&...

The last two weeks have been head spinning: the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the Republican National Convention, and Joe Biden passing the torch to Kamala Harris. We opened the conversation today by holding space for Sonya Massey, the African American woman who called the police for help but was senselessly and callously killed by a white officer in her own home in Springfield, Illinoi...

The State Superintendent of Oklahoma announced a plan to overhaul the social studies curriculum in the state. He named some members of the Executive Review Committee which included: David Barton, Dennis Prager, Kevin Roberts (president of the Heritage Foundation), and Steve Deace. These men are not committed to historical truth-telling as much as propagandists pushing the idea of a “Christian Amer...

Late on the evening of June 27, 2024, we came together to discuss the first 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. In this episode, Jemar Tisby, Kristin Du Mez, and Robert P. Jones talk about this train wreck of a debate (Diana Butler Bass is on vacation). While Biden clearly lost the debate, the real loser was democracy and the America people as Trump filled the airwaves wit...

Many of us grew up singing the old time hymn "May the Circle Be Unbroken," a song about connection and continuity. But today many denominations seem to be preoccupied with shrinking the circle. In these increasingly narrow places, curiosity is extinguished, complexity is anathema, and dissent from orthodoxy is suppressed. This week at ‪@The_Convocation‬ Unscripted, Diana Butler Bass co-hos...

One hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Two days of deliberation. Thirty-four utterances of “Guilty!” Backed unanimously by twelve ordinary citizens sitting on the jury. May 30, 2024, will forever be a day that marked a new era in American history, when Donald J. Trump became the first former president to receive a felony conviction. But what does it all mean: *For our country as a whole? *For th...

Scholars and writers Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby talk about the launch of The Convocation, a weekly collaborative Substack newsletter and video podcast. Original Recording May 30,2024 - The Convocation Unscripted [S1E1] - Opening Show (youtube.com)