Well said, Stephen. I used to be very active in an evangelical church, but grew frustrated at the lack of self-examination and out-right hypocrisy. We always talked about faith being a transformative experience, but I saw very few people willing to change at all, let alone be transformed. And the leadership of the church had no desire to push members towards the uncomfortable experience of confronting oneself. We can disagree on what a fully actualized Christian looks like, but I can’t believe that Jesus would have wanted us to revel in pettiness or equivocate in our compassion.

Living in Atlanta, we have a strong faith community that really does try to open their doors to all. At the Atlanta Women’s March a few weeks back, churches along the route were handing out water and snacks and offering the use of their bathrooms to protesters. It was the best I’ve felt about “the church” in a long time. Those were Christians who were trying to advocate for the least of these in an actionable way.