Reverend Gary McAlpin

09/06/2026

09/03/2026

If your Christianity doesn’t sound like Jesus, eventually we have to ask whether it’s Christianity at all.

Jesus opens His most famous sermon with:

Blessed are the poor in spirit.
The meek. The merciful.
The peacemakers.

MAGA Christianity starts somewhere very different:

Strength. Dominance.
Enemies. Winning.

Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
MAGA Christianity says never apologize, never back down, never show weakness.

Jesus says, “Love your enemies.”
MAGA Christianity needs enemies—people to fear, defeat, humiliate, and blame.

Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful.”
MAGA Christianity regularly treats mercy as weakness and revenge as righteousness.

Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek.”
MAGA Christianity celebrates aggression, threats, intimidation, and fantasies of righteous violence.

Jesus warns against building our lives around money, status, and power.

MAGA Christianity wraps political power in a flag and calls it faith.

Jesus repeatedly moves toward the poor, the marginalized, and the overlooked.

MAGA Christianity is fueled by grievance, nostalgia, and fear of losing control.

Jesus says His kingdom is not of this world.

MAGA Christianity seems remarkably determined to conquer this one.

At some point, this stops being a disagreement over politics. It becomes a question of whether we are actually following Jesus.

Because when a movement consistently teaches and celebrates the opposite of what Jesus taught, we don’t need better deflections and "whataboutisms" to point the finger outward rather than inward.

We need enough honesty to admit what we’re looking at.

You can put “Christian” in the name.

But if the Sermon on the Mount sounds like the opposition platform, Jesus isn’t leading the movement.

Call it conservative.
Call it patriotic.
Call it MAGA.

Just don’t call it Christlike.

09/02/2026

"September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month. For LGBTQ+ people, this is real life, not a statistic on a page.
The Trevor Project's research is clear: LGBTQ+ young people are not inherently at higher risk because of who they are. They're placed at higher risk by rejection, stigma, and the absence of affirming spaces. The same research shows the opposite is just as true — where affirmation exists, so does life.
That's the work Reconciling Ministries Network exists to do. Every congregation that chooses to see LGBTQ+ people as sacred, as fully made in the image of God — every leader who says "you belong here" and means it — is doing holy work.
This month, we're here to remind you that our work does not stop until every church is a church for every child of God. If you'd like to explore what that looks like in your context, visit rmnetwork.org or email us at [email protected]. "

Source: The Trevor Project, 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People

09/02/2026

Unfortunately they can’t seem to comprehend that their neighbors are everyone, including those they deem enemies. That’s why they’ve had to ignore agape and grace for so long. But we all need a reminder now and then to ask ourselves who is my neighbor.