Shows / The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast
Authentic words for everyone trying to figure out the best way to be human.
johnpavlovitz.substack.com
Episodes
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Pathetic Weakness of MAGA Men
Boy, MAGA men are so damn weak… As I watch men on the Right arguing against the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files or ignoring them altogether, I am reminded…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastEveryone is Cool With Jesus... Except White Evangelicals
There’s a fairly wild development over the past few years within the White Evangelical ecosystem in America: a complete rejection of Jesus. Labeling empathy…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Reckless Waste of Not Voting
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The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI'm a White American, And I Don't Want The GOP’s White America.
I am a person of profound privilege. As a White, cisgender-heterosexual man born in America and raised in the Christian faith, I have been afforded every…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo The People Who Aren’t Planning On Voting,
An estimated 89 million registered voters did not vote in the 2024 general election. I know many of them. They are family members, friends, neighbors, and…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastFranklin Graham and The White Evangelical Church Need Jesus
Most morally compromised men of faith don’t sell their souls all at once. Sometimes it happens in a billion tiny moral transactions; a series of infinitesimal…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThis Isn’t An Election; It’s A Rescue Mission—And You Can Still Save Someone
We are a people in peril. The damage our Republic has sustained over the past two years is incalculable. There is no way to accurately quantify the irreparable…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastNo, America, We Will Not Be Okay.
I am a semi-retired optimist. I used to believe that things would always be okay: that no matter how bad circumstances seemed in the world, I trusted that…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Went To Pride Dressed As Jesus. Here’s What Happened...
They say God works in mysterious ways. I’m gonna co-sign that sentiment. Our decidedly purple North Carolina town recently held its third Pride festival. The…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastNo King’s Day Was Really Nice. And That’s What Worries Me.
No King’s Day Episode 4 went off pretty much as predicted. Cities all over America were filled with a massive, ebullient mob of families, schoolteachers…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf We Want To Stop Mass Shootings in America, We Need To Stop Voting Republican.
The sickening Déjà vu is here. “How dare you politicize a tragedy like this!””This is not the time to talk about guns!””You can’t even wait until the bodies…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTrump Supporters Have Failed The Human Test.
Today, an alarming video surfaced of a woman being assaulted at a Trump rally in Youngstown, Ohio, for wearing a shirt that said, “Release The Epstein Files’…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastMAGA Christians Would Have Live-Streamed (And Cheered) The Crucifixion
I feel like we’ve read this book before… Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently stated that for the first time in nearly one hundred years, the United States…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Think Someone Is Finally Going To Save America
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear Primus t-shirts. This morning my newsfeed was filled with videos of a woman in a yellow jacket and concert tee…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDonald Trump, Access Hollywood, and The Day I Lost Faith In Half of America
Warning: this piece contains profanity and references to sexual assault that may be disturbing to some. “That’s it; he’s done for.” Those were the words an…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDear Evangelicals, From A Pastor: Your Refusal to Love Your Queer Neighbors is a Sin
Dear Evangelicals, Growing up in the Church, I’ve often heard you extol the virtues of “speaking the truth in love,” so I hope you’ll receive this in the…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTake Heart, Good People; In One Month, We Defeat Fascism
So, here’s the bad news: fascism isn’t coming to America; it’s here. We are long past the warnings of an approaching existential threat looming on the distant…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastConservative American R*pe Culture and The Second Assault of Jane Does
Warning: this piece contains language regarding sexual assault that may be triggering or uncomfortable to some. In October of 2024, a then 20-year-old young…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Don't Grieve Trump’s Hatred. I Grieve The Hatred of The People Who Love Him.
I am grieving right now, and my family members, former friends, and neighbors who support him don’t understand why, though they think they do. The accumulated…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastConfessions Of A Beta Male.
I am a beta male. Sometimes, I’m apt to forget that. In the course of my ordinary days, I rarely question whether I’m masculine enough. I usually move through…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo Hell With The Hateful, Heretical Christianity of JD Vance
I don’t imagine Jesus was the litigious type, but if he were on the planet right now, I’m pretty sure he’d sue JD Vance for false association or identity…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastYes, You Can (And Maybe Should) End Relationships Over Politics
“You shouldn’t let politics get in the way of your relationships.” As we approach one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s 250-year lifespan, I…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastCornell’s Jane Doe Needed One Good Man In That House And That Group Chat. She Would Find None.
Warning: this piece includes references to sexual assault, as well as words many may find offensive. Everything discussed is alleged in a civil lawsuit filed…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf There’s A Male Loneliness Epidemic, MAGA Masculinity Is The Reason.
We’re in the middle of a male loneliness epidemic, or so we’re told. Our social media feeds are filled with news stories, think pieces, and video commentaries…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastRepublicans Are Trying To Disenfranchise Us, America. Let’s Not Help Them.
Republicans know they can’t win in November. We can tell this because they are spending every waking hour trying to convince us that, despite a lame-duck…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastHere Lies Donald Trump
Here lies Donald Trump. Again today, through thin, sneering lips he will be found spewing out a toxic torrent of abject falsehoods. He will recklessly slither…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastEd Sheeran and The White Privilege of Neutrality
I know singer Ed Sheeran. (Well, in a way I do, and so do you.) In the wake of the whirlwind of controversy over rapper Macklemore’s removal from Sheeran’s…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf Christians Truly Are Pro-Life, They Should Reject This Republican Party.
What does it mean to be pro-life? Really? For tens of millions of Christians, for their entire lives, it has meant voting Republican. Through their parents…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastHey, Ed Sheeran, Palestine Is Dying In White Silence Like Yours.
Hey Ed Sheeran, Well, you’ve had quite a busy week. You’ve caved to your billionaire buddy Robert Kraft, you’ve deferred to the pearl-clutching Pink, you’ve…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastA Tuesday in November. What If It All Goes Wrong?
We’re all worried about a Tuesday in November, 50 days from now. It’s the place our minds and hearts are solely fixed on. Right now, our energies are…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastChristians Could Stop Trump’s Violent, Hateful Chaos At The Polls—And All They’d Need Is Jesus.
I’ve been a pastor for nearly three decades. I’ve been a Christian for most of my life. Throughout that journey, I took the words of Jesus seriously: his calls…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWhat Kind of People Would Allow A Genocide? Turns Out, The American Kind.
There’s a story we all tell ourselves about the kind of people we are. It’s a narrative we’ve spent a lifetime compiling. In those internal autobiographies, we…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastAmerica, We Cannot Let The Monsters Win—Period.
How did this happen? For as long as America is remembered on this planet, people will try to understand these days through the lens of time and distance…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIs Anyone Else’s Mental Health A Mess, Or Is It Just Me?
“I feel like I’m losing my mind.” That thought runs through my head more than I’d like to admit these days. As someone who has navigated the past three decades…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastExtremist MAGA Republicans Have Declared War on American Voters. We Can and Must Defeat Them This November.
MAGA Republicans are telling us something right now, America. The message they’re sending is unmistakable. With every panicked, desperate move, they are…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTrump Voters, Is This Really What You Wanted?
A vote is loud. Whether that vote is cast joyfully or with trepidation or begrudgingly or without all the information or as a protest, it makes the same bold…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Dream Of Waking Up In Another Country.
Mornings are strange these days. The sedative haze of sleep slowly begins to lift, and my conscious mind starts taking inventory and assembling the data and…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastCongratulations, MAGAs, You Really Won With “Lake America”
Well, Trump supporters, I have to admit, you sure won this one. Your guy really handed our rear ends to us this time. I can see why you’re pounding your chest…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastHaven’t You Had Enough Of This Sh*t, America?
For the love of God and all that’s good and beautiful, haven’t you had enough, America? Enough book bans,culture wars,bathroom bills,family…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastNo, MAGA, Dolly Was Not One Of You.
Hey MAGA, a quick word. I see you out here today, trying to claim Dolly Parton as your own, as if she were one of you, as if you and she were kindred spirits…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDolly Parton Knew How To Be Human.
This one hurts like hell. This planet has lost so much with the passing of Dolly Parton that it’s difficult to even find a foothold for the grief, a place to…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastCan America Survive The Cancer Of MAGA?
Some days I wonder if this nation can be saved. I know what I’m supposed to believe. I’m supposed to believe that America is still in its infancy, that it is a…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastRadical Self-Care in a National Nightmare
Friends, these days will kill you if you’re not careful. As we find ourselves fully engulfed in the Category 5 s**t storm that is a second Trump term, two…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastMuslim Sharia Law Isn’t the Religious Extremism Threatening America; White Christian Nationalism Is.
The Christian Right has been right. For decades they tried to tell us that the sky was falling, that devils and demons were walking among us, that the end of…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastMost People Still Supporting Trump Aren't Stupid. They Know Exactly What He Is.
Ignorance is not a compelling argument at this point. We’ve all heard the theories for the last ten years: people still supporting Donald Trump are unwitting…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastAn Open Letter To Every Christian Minister In America, From A Former Pastor
To the Ministers in America, I’ve been where you are. For nearly 30 years, I stood in the pulpits and on the platforms where you now stand. I know the…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDear Karoline Leavitt, Was It Worth It?
Dear Karoline, Well, here we are, or more accurately, here you are. I’d like to say I’m surprised, though that would be a lie. We all saw this coming for you…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Left Has A Purity Problem, And It Needs To Fix It.
This should be easy. We are now two years into the most openly corrupt, inept, and relentlessly predatory presidential administration in our nation’s history…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWhite Evangelicals Ruined America
A full decade into one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history, white people in this country need to be honest about something: White Christians ruined…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Didn't Realize How Sick America Was Making Me Until I Left It
“So, this is what it’s like to feel normal.” As I sat in a small cafe overlooking a sun-dappled Florentine piazza, that thought floated in with the evening…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTrump Supporters Aren't Leaving MAGA Because They Feel Empathy, But Because They Feel Pain.
Recently, I was on a Zoom call with some of my Substack subscribers. We were processing the state of our nation, which we all agreed was somewhere between…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastNo, Good People Don't Still Support Him
Everyone believes they're essentially a good human being. We all tell ourselves a story, and in that story our cause is always just, our motives are always…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWaiting For Bad People To Die
“I never wished for someone to die before. I’ve been suicidal many times in my life—but I’ve never been homicidal.” So began the tearful confession of a…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastBrown-Skinned Screams and White-Skinned Silences
America is dying. I’m not referring to the systemic collapse of our Republic or the slow suffocation of Democracy here, though these are certainly not unlikely…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf MAGA Christians Really Love Jesus, This Sunday in Church, They Should Repent.
All over America, MAGA Republicans will stream into churches this Sunday. They will do so joyously. They will do so confidently. They will do so believing they…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI'm Furious With People Who Aren't Furious Right Now.
I’m just gonna come right out and say it: I’ve had it with people right now. OK, it’s probably not particularly healthy to have a grievance with an entire…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastYou're Right To Grieve What's Happening to America.
Hey. I may not know you but I know what you’re thinking. I know you feel something breaking inside lately; an invisible fracture that only you’re fully aware…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThis President Exposed My White Christian Friends, and I'm Grateful
This President has been many things since descending an escalator a decade ago: a national embarrassment, a global punchline, an environmental disaster, a…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Don't Wish For His Death... Yet.
It feels like a good portion of this nation is on death watch right now. My social media feed is filled with photos and videos gleefully documenting the…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastRepublicans Are Telling Us They Can't Win in November, But Aren't Going To Lose. We Need To Believe Them.
Republicans are telling us something right now, America: They know they can’t win in November. They’re shouting with absolute clarity that they know they…