Star Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding True Faith
- S4E135
- 1:06:01
- October 14th 2024
April Ajoy wouldn’t have called herself a Christian Nationalist when she performed her original song “America Say Jesus” on the Jim Bakker show, or when she participated in Jesus Marches across America, or when she posted cringe-worthy videos on YouTube to campaign for Mitt Romney. April just considered herself a good Christian: faithful, Republican, and determined to make America a Christian nation once again. But as her view of the world widened, Ajoy began to see cracks in her steadfast beliefs and recognized the ways her conservative politics and religion were intertwined in her mind.
Join Paul and Ashley as they talk with April Ajoy, content creator and podcast host, exploring how aspects of evangelical culture such as product boycotts, Satanic panic, and end-times theology have all been exploited to advance the Christian Nationalist narrative.
April's Book - Star Spangled Jesus
Evangelicalish
Weekly Livestreams on YouTube on Wed nights at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific with hosts Ashley Swearengin and @UnconventionalPastorPaul, Paul Swearengin. She served as mayor of a city, Paul was an evangelical pastor. Together, they were deep in the middle of the rise of Christian nationalism.
Come join us as we discussing a spirituality that reaches beyond the walls of a church building and connects deconstructing people of faith to a renewed identity and a beautiful connection to divine love and goodness. We would love you to join us so we can all grow together in community.
April is a content creator who uses humor to shine light on the harmful, toxic and sometimes just weird traits of American Christianity.
As a preacher's kid, she was deep in conservative evangelicalism. Some of her evangelical highlights include: singing on the Jim Bakker show, working for the 700 Club and leading worship for over a decade.
She now calls herself a "recovering conservative" and is navigating through her own faith deconstruction journey through a comedic lens on social media.
She has been married to her partner, Beecher, for almost 10 years and they have two daughters together.
She and Beecher also host a podcast called The Non-Binary Marriage that shares their journey of accepting Beecher's gender identity as non-binary.
Paul Swearengin is known for asking questions of the church and culture that others are thinking but may not feel they have permission to express. He has a heart for people to know their true value and purpose.
After being ordained for ministry by the Vineyard Association of Churches, Paul founded and led an evangelical church in Fresno, CA for more than ten years. He chose to leave this position of leadership that he loved to become a creator, author, podcaster and spiritual well-being coach. As “Pastor Paul” on social media, Paul inspires and supports those who are questioning their faith and political views in an era of spiritual and social upheaval.
Paul served as a long time, popular TV and radio sportscaster and business owner in Central California. His wife, Ashley, and he were inspired by their faith to be a part of transforming their city. They left their careers, and Paul transitioned to full-time ministry while Ashley served as a two-term mayor of the City of Fresno (2008-2016).
Jeremy is a pastor, speaker, podcaster, and content creator that focuses on challenging, empowering, and educating through the lens of his faith in Jesus. Jeremy's mission is simple, "Love God and people passionately with no strings attached."
In 2009 Jeremy married his wife Breonna. In 2014 Jeremy and Breonna welcomed their first daughter. They now have 4 children after adopting 2 beautiful girls, and 1 amazing boy in 2019.
Today, Jeremy is working to serve an amazing online community that started on TikTok. His passion for truly following Jesus is evident in his content and conversations about deconstruction, evangelicalism, current events, and loving our neighbors.