Following our conversation last week about the senseless, unjustified killing of Renee Good by and ICE agent in Minneapolis, this week we bring you a special episode of The Convocation Unscripted with our first ever guest, Rev. Angela Denker. Angela is an ordained Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis (her full bio is below) and author of DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS: The Radicalization of American Boyhood. We’ve been fans of Angela’s courageous writing and preaching for years, and this week she gives us firsthand experience and reporting of the brutality and chaos that has been unleashed on Minneapolis residents by ICE and CBP, which combined now outnumber local city law enforcement by a factor of five. This invasion of an American city based on the thinnest pretext—over the protests of both the mayor and the governor—is a dress rehearsal for Trump’s dream of authoritarian rule across the country. Angela gives us both the horror and the hope from the faithful resistance. You don’t want to miss this one.

Rev. Angela Denker is an award-winning author, ELCA Lutheran pastor, and veteran journalist. Her first book, Red State Christians, was the 2019 Silver Foreword Indies award-winner for political and social sciences. Her second book, Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood, came out on March, 25, 2025. She is a former columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune and has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, and FORTUNE magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews, and NPR to share her research on politics and Christian Nationalism. Pastor Angela lives with her husband, Ben, and two sons in Minneapolis, where she is a sought-after speaker on Christian Nationalism and its theological and cultural roots. She also serves Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as Pastor of Visitation and Public Theology. You can read more of her work on Christian Nationalism, American culture, social issues, journalism, theology, and parenting on her Substack, I'm Listening.

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This week we discuss the explosive Vanity Fair article and accompanying photographs that reveal unflattering images of Trump administration officials, including Susie Wiles, Marco Rubio, and Karoline Leavitt. The photographer, Christopher Anderson, defended his work as authentic journalism rather than celebrity-style portraiture. The article and the backslash against it exposed the vanity and vulnerability of authoritarian regimes, who need to maintain the facade of power. We talk about how this vanity is at odds with the humility of Advent and how the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have distorted and defiled the message of Christmas to celebrate the cruelty of their mass deportation scheme. We close by highlighting a recent “Choose Love, Not ICE” ad—produced by Interfaith Alliance in partnership with Protect Democracy and set to the tune of “O Holy Night”—is pushing back.

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The Convocation- convocation.substack.com

Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net

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Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com