The Growing Edge Newsletter & Podcast with Author & Pastor Philip Gulley—April, 2024
The Dangers of Christian Nationalism
• The Growing Edge Podcast, Episode 55: “A Conversation with Author & Pastor Phillip Gulley” on the dangers of Christian nationalism.
• Notes from the Edge
• Community Question of the Month
• Parker’s Online Appearances
• Carrie’s Events & Appearances
• An updated edition of Parker’s book 2011 book Healing the Heart of Democracy is now available, with a Study Guide!
• A 25th Anniversary edition of Parker’s book Let Your Life Speak is coming in early May!
Notes from the Edge
A Note from Parker
I grew up in a middle-of-the road version of the Methodist Church, a community not given to theological or political extremes. As an adult, I left mainline Protestantism and became a Quaker, but I’ve always valued the grounding I received from my early exposure to a religious tradition that had no trouble embracing both mind and heart, science and spirituality.
The church of my youth would not have been big on liberation theology or “revolutionary love,” but it stood for everyday decency, honesty and kindness at every level of human relationships. It lacked a deep understanding of white supremacy and Christian nationalism, but it held a sincere belief in human equality under God whose essence is love.
So over the past 45 years, I’ve found ut deeply disheartening to watch the emergence of a form of Christianity that actively fans the fires of bigotry and discrimination—to say nothing of conspiracy theories and political disinformation (formerly known as “lies”)—and is more interested in aligning itself with political power than in voicing the good news that love, truth and justice are the way.
That’s why I’m grateful for the work of this month’s guest on The Growing Edge podcast. Phil Gulley speaks to these issues not from the ivory tower but from his long-term post as pastor of a Quaker meeting in Camby, Indiana (pop. 16,000). His prophetic voice is loud and clear as he challenges Christians to reclaim a tradition that clearly stands against the racist and nationalist impulses that endanger the American experiment today. But in the midst of his moral clarity, he never loses his keen sense of humor, as you can see in this fierce but funny 2020 essay.
I hope you enjoy the conversation Carrie and I had with Phil Gully as much as we enjoyed talking with him!
Carrie’s Note
First, I hope you’ll check out the now available updated edition of Parker’s book 2011 book Healing the Heart of Democracy! I’m so excited that this important work, with its updated Introduction by Parker (and a Study Guide) is here in time for the 2024 election season! I’ve loved revisiting this insightful and timely book!
About the podcast: I’ve been a fan of Phillip Gulley’s message and writing for many years. I’ve very much enjoyed many of his books including his thoughtful essays in Porch Talk, his touching Harmony novels, as well a his laugh out loud funny memoir I Love You, Miss Huddleston. I’m also been moved by his works of progressive theology, such as If Grace is True and If the Church Were Christian. Phil is a consummate storyteller who is willing to look at what is beautiful, bewildering and deep down funny about our shared human condition. He has a Quakerly and compassionate eye for “that of God” in every heart, but he is also willing to take on controversial topics, especially those relating to grace, justice, equality and radical welcome.
This conversation was very timely for me. I’ve been increasingly disturbed by our current media’s amplification of voices in the Christian nationalist and MAGA Evangelical political movements. These two movements have never been spiritual movements, only political movements using the trappings of religious language. This amplification has made these strident voices the loudest in the room, leaving little air for more nuanced conversations about what it means to live into our deepest values during challenging times. So I was energized to be in conversation with Phil and Parker, who both speak with historical knowledge, great personal wisdom and human compassion, but also with clear prophetic voices that are so needed in our challenging times. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!
The Growing Edge Podcast
You can listen here, or on Substack, I-Tunes, Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts!
The Growing Edge April Podcast: Episode 55: A Conversation With Quaker Author Phillip Gulley
In this episode, Parker J. Palmer and Carrie Newcomer have a conversation with author/pastor/theologian Philip Gulley. Phil has written 22 books, some of which are mentioned in Carrie’s note above. You can find all of Phil’s books HERE—and you can read his essays and commentaries regularly in Indianapolis Monthly and The Saturday Evening Post.
Phil is a pastor, an author, a source of wisdom and hope, and a clear and prophetic voice in these challenging times. He has recently joined the Substack platform with “Plain Speech with Phillip Gulley”—you can check it out HERE. We hope you’ll check out his many works and subscribe to his Substack offerings. Here’s a link to his Substack Newsletter.
We hope you join us for this episode of heart opening Quaker Talk! :-)
Visit our website for the full archives of The Growing Edge Podcast.
Question of the Month
What did our conversation with Phillip Gulley bring up for you? In times like these, how do you understand your role as a citizen and/or a person of faith?
BOOK NEWS!
An updated edition of Parker’s book 2011 book Healing the Heart of Democracy is now available—with a Study Guide and author videos—just in time for the start of the 2024 election year. In this era of deep divides and threats to our democracy, many have found this book a practical and inspiring guide to citizen action. Order the book HERE—and if you know the book and feel so inclined, please leave a review.
To quote the book, “The democratic experiment is endless, unless we blow up the lab, and the explosives to do the job are found within us. But so also is the heart’s alchemy that can turn suffering into community, conflict into the energy of creativity, and tension into an opening toward the common good.”
Parker’s Online Appearances
In March, I sat down with author and coach Emily P. Freeman to talk about “Finding Vocational Clarity.” I much-enjoyed our time together, and I hope you will find it enjoyable, too. You can listen HERE. Emily’s latest book is How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away.
I’ve talked with Eric Zimmer on several occasions, and we always have a good conversation. This time around, our topic was “How to Embrace the Mystery of the Human Spirit.” You can listen HERE.
Last year, shortly after the publication of her latest book, my friend Sharon Salzberg—meditation pioneer and world-renowned teacher—invited me to a conversation which you can listen in on HERE. As always, I learned a lot from Sharon, and I love her latest book, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom.
Carrie’s Great Wild Mercy Winter/Spring 2024 Tour
For more information and to get your tickets visit www.carrienewcomer.com/tour
I just want to say that I really appreciated this talk. I have been waiting to hear this for so long! Thank You. The conversation has renewed my hope for the future. I believe we all need to speak up and have the hard conversations.