Jesus and John Wayne: A History We Never Learned in Sunday School

Here's something that'll mess you up: everything you thought you knew about modern evangelical Christianity? There's a whole other story underneath it. Kristin Kobes Du Mez's "Jesus and John Wayne" rips off the bandaid and shows us what's really been happening in our churches for decades - and trust me, it's not the story you heard in Sunday School.

This book was difficult to read. Not because of an odd writing style, but the idea that all of this is brand new information to my “born and raised” Christian mind. What hit me hardest reading this book: Du Mez lays out, in painful detail, how we got here. You know that feeling when you're sitting in church, wondering how in the world we went from "love your neighbor" to "own the libs"? This book connects those dots. It's like finding the blueprint to a house you've lived in your whole life, finally understanding why the walls are where they are.

The most gut-punching revelation? This isn't some recent wrong turn we've taken. Du Mez shows us how evangelical Christianity has been slowly, steadily braiding itself together with a particular kind of masculine, militant American identity. Think less "gentle Jesus, meek and mild" and more John Wayne throwing punches for Jesus. And if you're wondering why your pastor quotes more war movies than the Beatitudes these days, well, now you know why.

Here's what keeps me up at night: Du Mez explains how our churches got hooked on the idea of constant warfare. We're always fighting something, aren't we? If it's not the liberals, it's the secular culture. If it's not Satan himself, it's the Democrats, or the media, or whatever enemy we need this week to keep the troops rallied. And let me tell you, as someone who's stood behind a pulpit, this warfare mentality isn't just rhetoric - it shapes everything from how we raise our kids to how we vote.

Speaking of voting - let's talk about the elephant in the room: Trump. If you've been scratching your head wondering how so many Christians jumped on the MAGA train, Du Mez has some answers that might make you uncomfortable. Turns out, Trump isn't the contradiction to evangelical values many of us thought he was. Instead, he's the logical conclusion to decades of celebrating tough-guy Christianity that cares more about power than turning the other cheek.

Here's what makes this book so important: Du Mez isn't just throwing stones from the outside. She's doing the hard work of showing us how we got here, step by step. And for those of us still trying to figure out how to be faithful to Jesus while watching our churches embrace everything He seemed to stand against, this book is like finding a map when you're lost in the woods.

Let's be honest: this isn't an easy read. Not because it's complicated, but because it's true. It's going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. Good. Maybe that discomfort is exactly what we need right now. Because understanding how we got here might be the first step to finding our way somewhere better.

If you're tired of pretending everything's fine in evangelical Christianity, if you've been feeling like something's deeply wrong but couldn't put your finger on it, read this book. It might not give you all the answers, but it'll help you ask better questions. And right now, asking better questions might be exactly what the church needs.