An Idea Over Coffee for the Sweet Baby Jesus (no Trucker Cap Required)

Is it that time of year already?

Thanksgiving just happened, and Christmas is coming…how are you feeling?

Overwhelmed? Resolute? Confused? Curious?

From the latest mass shootings to ongoing political turmoil, from the revelatory heartbreak of #MeToo to cascading ecological devastation, for many of us it’s a tough year to hold out for hope.

want to await the arrival of God, and welcome family and friends unconditionally – and yet if I’m honest, I have some withholds: What will ‘home for the holidays’ mean this year?

So many of my friends tell me that these holiday dates that used to bring such joy…the ones that once set the steady rhythm of their spiritual journey each year…suddenly feel emptied of meaning and comfort.

Many of us are wondering: What does ‘Emmanuel’ – God-come-near – mean when the world’s going mad?

If this is you, you’re in good company.

The reason for the season – like many of our highest ideals – have been hijacked by politicians and preachers who want to ‘Make America Great Again’ in a way that excludes a great many of God’s most vulnerable creatures.

But we don’t have to take this war on Advent hope lying down.

I realized this last month while having coffee in Raleigh with a couple good friends: Tripp Fuller (of Homebrewed Christianity fame) and John Pavlovitz (of one-of-the-most-popular-blogs-on-the-planet fame, and the just-released best-selling book A Bigger Table). We were talking about the state of the nation, and the state of our Christian faith, and realized that while (let’s be honest) things look bleak, we could combine the ancient resources of prophetic truth-telling, holy resistance, divine surrender, and the miracle of forgiveness with the modern marvel of the Internet to convene a four-week pop-up community to shift this holiday season…together.

Just like friends of God once turned the empire’s propaganda ‘Caesar is Lord’ inside-out and proclaimed that a Baby in a manger came to change everything, we want to Make Advent Great Again. And we can’t do that without you!

MAGA – the redeemed one – is an online community running the month of December where we can fellowship, share encouragement, and explore better practices that just might keep us sane, healthy…and even joyous.

In other words, we’re creating a temporary autonomous zone for holiday resistance and renewal.

Who’s ‘we’? Amazing friends like:

  • Diana Butler Bass
  • Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
  • Grace Ji-Sun Kim
  • Micky ScottBey Jones
  • Donna Bowman
  • Paul Fromberg
  • Jasmin Pittman Morrell (okay…she’s more than a friend… 😉 )
  • Sara Miles
  • Jesse Turri
  • Sarah Heath
  • Carlos Rodriguez
  • Trey Pearson
  • Alexis Waggoner
  • John Caputo
  • Jason Micheli

…and more!

We want you to be a part of this. What’s it going to run you, $-wise? Well, it does take resources to pull all of this together, but no one is turned down for lack of funds. Contribute whatever you can to help make this possible for everyone, or ‘if you haven’t got a six-penny’ then please come on in anyway – on us.

This holiday season is challenging, for so many of us. But together? We’ve got this.

Are you in?

Come join us at MakeAdventGreatAgain.com!

2 Responses to An Idea Over Coffee for the Sweet Baby Jesus (no Trucker Cap Required)

  1. Tammy-Joy November 27, 2017 at 5:08 pm #

    I have no idea what any of the stuff in your bio means. Sounds like blah blah blah. But I like the idea of taking back Advent. I try to do this everyday. Count me in.

  2. Patrick Watters November 30, 2017 at 10:04 am #

    LMAO That’s laughing my Advent off in a great way! Now if I can just get my hands on one of those caps I could advertise it and get others to join in the merriment of Emmanuel. };-) anonemoose monk

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