I Pastored Tens of Thousands of People. Far Too Many of Them Became MAGA, And I'm Sorry.

The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast · Apr 23, 2026 · 5m

Sometimes, in this life, you find yourself repenting for the sins of your past.

Other times, you feel the need to repent for the sins of others’ present.

I suppose I have a foot on each of these paths lately.

I’ve spent a good portion of the past three decades pastoring in predominantly white churches along the East Coast of the United States. They ranged from tiny, unassuming wooden chapels to massive, gleaming megachurches; from hymn-and-robe traditionalism to modern rock show bombast.

Although my theology has shifted substantially in the years since I first stepped into a pulpit or onto a…