04/03/2025
This week I dove into a book by author April Ajoy titled, “Star Spangled Jesus.”
The book is about April’s assessment of, and departure from, the “Christian Nationalist” movement. She details her upbringing and ultimate change of heart.
April is a regular guest on secular and atheistic podcasts so I had some idea of what I was in for, but I was still interested to see what I could learn from her write up. Though our conclusions are different, I still think there is a lot the conservative Christian community can learn from her experience and upbringing. So what I want to highlight here is points that April and I would probablyagree on, and that the larger Christian community can learn from.
Point 1: She was raised within a hyper combination of faith and politics.
In the book April details how, for large parts of the year, she and her family would travel around the country in their “America Say Jesus” motorhome (reflecting the name of a book her father also penned). Her father also founded a church called “America Church.” Hopefully you can already recognize some of the issues here. She also goes into great detail on how invested she was in the Romney/Obama presidential race.
You get the feeling that she was raised with a view that the Republican party was a direct extension of the church (even if not explicitly stated), and I totally get how problematic that would be when someone like Donald Trump suddenly becomes the nominee.
Point 2: Her upbringing produced a paranoia of the end times.
April tells the story of a time when she was a teenager and had a bit of a scare. She was enjoying herself on an early instant messenger app when she called out something to her parents - and received no reply. She then proceeds to gradually fall into a panic over the next 20 minutes, believing more and more that her family has been raptured and she has been left behind. I believe her panic was real. Fortunately she does eventually see her family walking down the street who had simply left the house for a casual stroll through the neighborhood.
This really didn’t surprise me and I absolutely believe everything she details about this experience. I’ve heard many conversations through the years where older Christians casually throw around their all-but-certain view that the rapture was going to happen within the next decade. Often they do so without regard to the impact this could have to the younger audience. This causes young ones (especially teens) to think, not about what the future holds for them, but instead it reframes their thinking around what they are going to miss out on. Marriage, children, etc. Combine this with a legalistic view that your salvation security is shaky at best and you will have produced a paranoid young adult whose worst fear is that the rapture train is coming at any moment and depending on how you’ve behaved that day, you may or may not have a ticket.
She also recounts a paranoid belief that when she stands before God one day, all of her loved ones will watch a detailed recounting of her entire life. This even produces self conscious thoughts about being in a shower and having anxiety that they will see her naked during this drive-in-movie type of event.
Point 3: Fear Mongering threats of hell is not a healthy way to evangelize kids (surprise, surprise)
You’ve heard the radio advertisements. Maybe you’ve even been to one. April recounts her experience of visiting a “Hell House” - a haunted-house style event, often hosted by a church, where you walk through either a dramatization of post-rapture tribulation or you may witness someone commit a sin, die, and then be dramatically condemned to Hell (all while the teenage actors screams in horror, giving the performance of their lives) while onlookers stare in horror and consider if the last time they were REALLY sincere enough the last time they recited the sinners prayer.
April recounts a horrific scenario that was dramatized in front of her (I’ll spare the details here) but you can’t help but read it and think….yeah that’s not good. It produces an outlook where your goal is to avoid certain behaviors in order to avoid certain situations. This is pretty classic legalism.
Point 4: The dangers of the “Word-of-Faith” heresy.
April’s father, who was a prominent pentecostal pastor, died of cancer is 2011. If you have ever seen the documentary “American Gospel,” then you know exactly what the Word Faith movement is. In summary, if you just have enough faith you can be healed from anything. Consequently, if you don’t receive the healing you need, then the problem is your faith or some other sin issue. It’s incredibly toxic and is used by charlatans across the globe. The formula is easy - if you don’t get the healing the “faith healer” isn’t the problem - you are. This belief destroys people.
April felt the impact of this when her father wasn’t getting healed. She described how people in their circles sneered at their family and implied that it must have been some undisclosed sin issue in her father’s life.
Point 5: As you read the book, you’ll notice a profound lack of discipleship.
April comes across as honest in the way she details her upbringing, and generally what she describes is an environment spent around coaching and restraining behaviors - not growing and fostering a genuine desire for obedience through God’s word. Everything from her politics (make America Christian, America gets special blessings in return) to her behavior (refrain from sinful behaviors and you won’t get left behind from the rapture) stemmed from a give-and-get mentality.
Conclusion
There’s a lot more to cover such as her constant fear of getting hit by a bus (stemming from a lack of security regarding her salvation), but if you were in any Christian circles through the past 20 to 30 years some of the points above, if not all, likely resonate with you.
And as you might have anticipated, April Ajoy didn’t just give up what she describes as Christian Nationalism. April is now part of the modern progressive movement that rejects virtually all the core tenets of historic Christianity. Even still, there is much we can learn from her story and I certainly benefited from it.
