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.
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Episodes
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastLike President Zelenskyy, We Will Not Bow to the Bully Messiah
Watching Donald Trump and JD Vance shamelessly berate and taunt and disrespect Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the world, I was reminded…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf Your Church Doesn't Mention Ukraine This Sunday, You May Need to Leave
Sunday is coming. Soon, millions of Americans will find themselves in the houses of worship that dot nearly every corner of this country; disparate buildings…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo President Zelenskyy, From an Embarrassed American
Dear President Zelenskyy, As it is likely that our paths will never cross in person, I could not let this day go by without trying to reach you here. I come to…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe American Dream of Being an Expat
I confess that I'm a little lost presently. I've become a restless, reluctant nomad moving tentatively through familiar places with a lingering emotional…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe "Christians" Mocking Jesus and Defunding The Least of These
It’s been said that a budget is a moral document. I agree. House Republicans voted almost unanimously on a budget that would cut 2 trillion dollars from…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastFascism Came to Idaho—and Hundreds of People Just Sat and Watched
At a Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting at Coeur d'Alene High School in Idaho, a woman was bound and forcefully removed by a group of…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDear Concerned Friend, You're F*ckin' Right I'm Angry. I Wish You Were.
Dear Concerned Friend, Thank you for your kind note to let me know you're worried about me, for asking whether or not I realize I'm coming across as angry…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIs America Becoming a Post-Empathy Nation?
Lately, I’ve been wondering if we’ve reached a critical mass of cruel people here. It’s hard not to look around and feel as though we are becoming a nation…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIs America Great, Yet? I've Been Asking Around.
Are we great yet, America? I've been looking around lately and wondering if we're here; if this is the supposed greatness he was talking about, the kind his…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastNo, Christians, God is Not in Control
Whenever the subject turns to our current national dumpster fire and the resulting unrest here, There's a similar refrain I hear from the lips of many…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo Hell With Your Hatred, Mr. Trump
Dear Donald Trump, I grew up believing that Hell is a terrible place. It is a place where horrible things belong; where ugly, vile, sickening stuff should go…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDamn, You Look Tired, America
Yesterday was a long decade. By the end of the day, when my head finally hit the pillow I felt ten years older; as if I'd somehow spent far more than merely 24…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWe Could Have Had a President Right Now
America could really use a President right now. I have this thought more often than I care to consider recently. It resurfaces whenever there is a national…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastFascism Isn't Coming To America, It's Here. Do Americans Have the Strength to Drive it Out?
Fascism isn’t coming to America, it’s already here. We are long past the warnings of an approaching existential threat looming on the distant horizon of our…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTrump Voters, is This 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 protest—it makes the same bold…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe American Church Needs Courageous Christians
Right now, if it really believes what it preaches, the American Church has one foot in Hell and one on a banana peel—and this God-forsaken wannabe theocracy…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastFight Evil, Resist Fascism, and Take a Nap
A radio host recently asked me what recurring themes I sense as I talk with my readers, engage online, and meet people across the country in my travels. One…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIt's Okay to Hate Him
Will Rogers was famously quoted as once saying, "I never met a man I didn't like." Now, Mr. Rogers died well before Donald Trump was even born, so I believe he…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast8 Tips to Surviving 'HELL: The Sequel'
Everyone knows that the sequel is almost always worse than the original. This newly-released s**t show is no exception. Right now, even the most…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIt's Time to Cut Ties With Trump Supporters
I really hate this. I mean, I really didn’t want to be here, to be feeling this, to be writing it, to be saying it. I’ve always believed in meeting people…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIt's Time to Pick a Hill Worth Dying On
If your eyes are clear and open right now you can see it, can’t you? This is a pivot point moment for us. It is the place we collectively turn toward our best…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Abusive Relationship of Trump and His Supporters
(Trigger warning: domestic violence imagery) It's heartbreaking to see someone you love in a toxic relationship: watching them be continually torn down and…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastFor Americans Who Don't Like America
I used to think I loved America but I didn’t. It turns out, I loved the myth of America. Growing up, I bought into its songs and its anthems and its stirring…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo Hell With Despair. This is the Darkness We Were Made For
I just returned from a few days in Austin, Texas, speaking at a progressive seminary to a diverse audience of ministers, activists, educators, and…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastJD Vance, This Pastor Knows You're Full of it. (And, I'm Not Talking About The Holy Spirit.)
Hi JD, I know you claim to be a follower of Jesus. I’ve heard you invoke your Catholic faith often on the campaign trail. You wear your religion openly. Now…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastHey White MAGA Christians, You Know DEI Was Jesus' Whole Point, Right?
So, DEI is the new “woke”: MAGA America’s default boogeyman-du-jour. It’s the latest convenient catch-all for Trump and his party to invoke at every…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastPlease, Don't Normalize This Madness
Something often happens to people exposed to repeated trauma. Gradually, they become conditioned to accept the horrors as commonplace. Time and brutality start…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWe Need Americans Who Love More Than Just Americans
These are days that test our belief systems. I used to believe that all people were essentially the same; that across the diving lines of politics and…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf You're a Christian and You're Cheering Deportations—You Sure as Hell Ain't a Christian
In the 1986 movie Hannah and Her Sisters, an embittered painter named Frederick (who is also an Atheist) is lamenting the grave state of the world to his…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDon't Gaslight Yourself. You're Right To Grieve What's Happening to America.
I know what you're thinking. I know you feel something breaking inside lately; an invisible fracture that only you're fully aware of. I know the way you walk…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDefeating the Cancer of Trumpism
Some things live solely at the expense of others. They voraciously feed off those they attach themselves to; robbing their hosts of their lifeblood, sapping…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastA Statement of Faith from Merciful Christians
Sometimes what seems like reality is just volume. The loud people get to write the story that everyone hears, the one they come to believe is the only story…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastRadical Self-Care in a National Nightmare
These days will kill you if you’re not careful. As we walk headlong into this Category 5 s**t storm that is a second Trump term, one thing is irrefutably clear…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDon't Let Bishop Budde Stand Alone: A Challenge to Every Minister in America.
To the Ministers in America, I’ve been where you are. For nearly 30 years I sat where you sit. I know the difficulties of the work you do that many people…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastMAGA Christianity is Anti-Jesus. Just ask Jesus.
Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s compassionate sermon at the National Prayer Service in DC perfectly exposed MAGA Christians’ hateful heresy. The immediate flood of…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastHow to Mentally Survive America's New Great Depression
This morning was a rude awakening. My eyes opened and my mind quickly began to assemble the first few seconds of my day (making plans, organizing my…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastTo The People I Know Who Voted for Him,
To the people I know who voted for him, You know how I feel about him. I’ve never hid my contempt for him, never pulled punches in declaring with great…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Second Coming of MAGA's Messiah
For as long as America is remembered on this planet, people will try to understand these days through the distorted lens of time and distance. Authors…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastJanuary 20th: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream and Donald Trump's MAGA Nightmare.
The second inauguration of Donald Trump falling on Martin Luther King Jr. day feels like a sick cosmic joke: a moment so cruel in its irony that it seems as…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIt's OK if You're Not Ok. No One Who's Paying Attention Right Now, is.
“How are you?” I asked my dear friend Julie, as she fell down into her chair across from me with a loud exhale. “I’m OK.” she replied almost immediately, with…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWhite, Jesus-Loving Christians Need to Defeat Christian Nationalism
I didn’t want to be doing this. Ten years ago, I was a student pastor at a large Suburban North Carolina church. Though I’d been writing a blog for a while, it…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIn Defense of Giving a Damn
Let’s be honest here: at a time like this, feeling is hazardous to one's health. A working heart can be a liability in these days because its treasure, its…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDear Carrie Underwood, (From a Former Pastor and Father, Regarding The Inauguration of Donald Trump)
Dear Carrie Underwood, I hope this finds you well. I’m writing because I’ve heard you speak eloquently about your Christian faith in the past, watched you…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe California Fires are a Disaster. The American Cruelty is a Tragedy.
In this life, there is devastation that human beings experience here that defies understanding: pain so all-consuming and loss so indescribable that wrapping…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDear World, (An Apology From Decent Americans)
Dear World, We felt we needed to say something while saying something is still allowed. We know many of you have lived under malevolent, unhinged dictators…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastA Survival Guide for the Worst-Case Scenario
Lately, I daydream about the things we could all be doing over the coming years if we didn't have to work tirelessly to protect ourselves from the incoming…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastI Used to Believe in the Bigger Table. Then I Met MAGA Americans.
Eight years ago I released my first book called 'A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community.' It was the continuation of my…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Subversive Activism of Gratitude
These are days when gratitude might not come easy for you. It's tempting to scan the horizon each morning and to let our gaze rest and fix solely on the things…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastGrieving 77 Million Insurrectionists on January 6th
Boy, do I feel like an idiot. I honestly thought January 6th, 2021 was going to be a catalytic moment for our nation. Watching a vicious, snarling cosplay army…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe One Place You Can Find Hope Right Now
Some days, I feel like launching a career as a de-motivational speaker. An email from a longtime reader arrived yesterday morning. “We need you to give us hope…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz Podcast5 Ways to Mess Up Your New Year Before It Starts
The change of the calendar provides us a time to thoughtfully rewind through the previous twelve months: to inventory our decisions, to reflect on upon all…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe United States of Embarrassment
Lately, I confess that I’ve been imagining myself in a way I never have before in over a half-century of living here in America: I’m imagining myself as an…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWhite Evangelicals' Deportation of Jesus
It's easy to be fooled by loud things. American Bible Belt Evangelical Christians have gone all-in with Donald Trump, and in doing so they've had to sell their…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastIf You're Struggling This Christmas
This message isn’t for everyone. This message is for you, the person whose heart is heavy today, the one for whom this season is not merry and bright, the one…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastA Republican Christmas Carol
It's Christmas Eve in Washington, D.C. and from a second-floor banquet room, uproarious laughter rings out from behind frost-covered windows and into the…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe Sky is Falling in America
For the past nine years, many of us knew this day was coming. We sounded every alarm, rang every bell, we shot up a thousand desperate flares to rile people…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastYes, It Is Us Vs. Them in America. That's What Trump Supporters Voted For.
The Divided States of America. That’s who we are now. It’s not who we needed to be and it’s the greatest tragedy of our lifetimes that we are, but it’s an…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastThe War on Christmas is Here (And the Christian Right Has Declared it)
The war is here. The MAGA Evangelicals were right.The pulpit-pounding preachers were right.Franklin Graham was right.The Republicans were right.Donald Trump…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastWhat Those of Us With a Mental Illness Want The Rest of You to Know
Dear Friends, If you don't suffer from a mental illness there's something you need to know about those of us who do, because it may be impossible for us to…
The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz PodcastDon't Lose Your Light This Christmas
There's no other way to say it: these are dark days here in America. And this lack of light has nothing to do with the orientation of the planet and everything…