At the time of the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001, I belonged to an online discussion group frequented by believers who had followed the Holy Spirit’s call to come out of man’s religious system unto Jesus who is outside the camp of men (Hebrews 13:12-14, Revelation 3:20, et al). Several members were a great encouragement to me as I sought to untangle from tradition and rule-bound religion to embrace my freedom in the Spirit. Sadly, following the attack on the WTC the faith of many became a prideful amalgam of politics and religion, often expressed with lust for vengeance. My spirit was sickened by the abrupt and toxic turn from fellowship of the Spirit to fellowship rooted in the bastard child Christian Nationalism that emerged in virulent form immediately after that tragic event.

The experience caused me to reflect on my political views, some of which were shaped through my former employer: Boeing. My support of several Department of Defense projects was brief and peripheral since I worked mostly in the space and computing divisions. Nevertheless, my income was subsidized by the military industrial complex whose influence was inescapable in the work place. That is, until the day the Lord called me to resign and devote myself to the work He had for me. In the years that followed, the Lord gave me an eyeful of the world by holding it up to His Word which proved life changing for me. Where once I would say with confidence “I’m a Presbyterian and a Conservative”, there is no apt description of what Jesus has made me, unless it’s to say “I’m a follower of The Way” (Acts 9:2, et al).