"To be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing. You have a choice. Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades." - Epstein survivor Anouska de Georgiou Release the files.
born/raised in Austin. pastor Restore Austin. cofounder Post-Evangelical Collective. doctoral student Duke University, author of Better Ways to Read the Bible (coming soon)
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"To be clear, the only motive for opposing this bill would be to conceal wrongdoing. You have a choice. Stand with the truth or with the lies that have protected predators for decades." - Epstein survivor Anouska de Georgiou Release the files.
In America, it's easier to get assault rifles than food stamps.
Suppose someone's child is gunned down. If one of you says to them, "Here are my thoughts and prayers," but does nothing else, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - James 2:15-17 (with a modern update)
Slavery wasn’t that bad, BUT THE CRACKER BARREL LOGO REDESIGN IS AN ATTACK ON THE VERY SOUL OF OUR NATION. Am I doing this right?
Very privileged to receive a copy of Better Ways to Read the Bible from @zachwlambert.bsky.social Really appreciate the way he frames the discussion around the unhelpful as well as the helpful lenses to which we can appeal to guide our interpretations.
Elephants are born weighing 250 lbs. They are the biggest babies on earth except for the people mad about male cheerleaders in the NFL.
Doug Wilson isn’t just a “provocative pastor.” He’s a purveyor of patriarchy, white supremacy, and spiritual abuse dressed up as biblical fidelity. If your theology looks like Jesus, it will never look like Doug Wilson.
It's baffling to me that someone could ask themselves, "what would Jesus do?" and come up with an answer that includes mocking, degrading, and exploiting other people.
Thanks so much bro!
I just started reading @zachwlambert.bsky.social's new book "Better Ways to Read the Bible" and can already tell (20 pages in) it's going to be really helpful. @brazospress.bsky.social is offering it for pre-order at a 40% discount. Tough to beat that. bakerbookhouse.com/products/617...
Thanks, Bethany!!
Thanks so much, Stephen!
LOVED being on the Bible For Normal People podcast. The episode just dropped today! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJkx...
If your version of Christianity can justify the forced starvation of children, it’s not from Jesus.
"You don't want the Epstein files released because there are liberals in there too." Incorrect! I'm not in a cult, buddy. I want absolutely everyone brought to justice. Release them ALL.
🔥 from @jamestalarico.bsky.social
@zachwlambert.bsky.social
“It’s a sad sunday when ‘non believers’ have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian.” Chip Gaines
If you thought Superman was right for fighting fascists in the 1970s but now you think he’s wrong for fighting fascists in the 2020s, then Superman didn’t go woke… you went fascist.
I talk a lot more about how Jesus would have pushed back against much of what the church in America has become in my forthcoming book called Better Ways to Read the Bible. You can order it here: www.zachwlambert.org/book
There are a couple of very specific occasions where Jesus got quite literal and descriptive about hell... and very specific about just WHO was going there. It's a pretty clear picture of how many Christians take the words of Jesus seriously, because Matthew 25 should *terrify* them.
1. We can (and should) care about more than one group’s suffering at a time. 2. I have been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since 2023.
How I think Jesus would have phrased Matthew 25 if he was preaching in America right now.
@paulhoard.bsky.social and I are so grateful to have @zachwlambert.bsky.social endorsement for our book Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life!
We rightly blame pastors when they don’t speak out, but we also need accountability for the denominations and congregations that punish the ones who do.
Awhile back I saw someone post that Substack is Onlyfans for intellectuals and I can’t stop laughing about it.
After dropping bombs on Iran, Donald Trump said: “I want to just thank everybody and, in particular, God. I just want to say, we love you God.” Invoking the name of God to justify violence is the definition of taking the Lord’s name in vain.
@zachwlambert.bsky.social
“We have guided missiles and misguided men.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They're as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.” 2 Timothy 3:13 (MSG)
Excellent point
Join Zach W. Lambert on August 12th discussing BETTER WAYS TO READ THE BIBLE, a call for "a more Christlike interpretation of Scripture" to help and heal rather than condemn, oppress, and exclude... More info + RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/bookpeople... @zachwlambert.bsky.social
lol perfect
They evacuated the Capitol because there were credible threats to lawmakers and 20,000 of us showed up at the Capitol to protest anyway. Best city in America.
Some of my favorite signs from the #NoKings protest in Austin today.
I just found out that the Austin Public Library has already preordered 3 copies of my book! If you have 60 seconds, I’d love for you to check if your library has a copy on order and request it if not. Library preorders are super important, especially for a first time author like me. Thank you!
A very sobering reality as the Trump vs. Musk fight spirals.
Like I said before: Love us out loud or leave us alone. My humanity as a queer person is more important than your pulpit
Dear secretly affirming Christians (especially pastors), It’s way past time to stand up and speak out on behalf of your LGBTQ+ siblings. I know you have a lot to lose, I’ve been through it all, but it’s nothing compared to the queer lives being lost and marginalized by your silence.
In the church world, celebrating Pride can be controversial, but I really don’t think it should be. Declaring the equality of all people and celebrating the unique ways we all embody God’s image shouldn’t be controversial at all. Happy Pride, y’all 💙🏳️🌈 open.substack.com/pub/zachwlam...
I recently talked with a young man who is being disowned by his family in the name of “biblical love” after coming out to them. Love is described in a myriad of ways throughout Scripture, but it never once looks like condemnation and rejection.
I don’t know how to have a conversation with people who think posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms does more to keep our children safe than common-sense gun reform.
“God is on your side” makes for a clever, feel-good cliché, but it’s not true. God is on the side of love, peace, justice, and redemption. If you are on that side, God is right there with you. If you are not, God beckons you to switch sides.
You are not only in the group, Daniel, you are our leader!
“Unquestioned loyalty to a powerful figure no matter how much damage they cause is the characteristic of a cult. Faithful loyalty to the poor, the powerless, the abused, and the vulnerable, advocating on their behalf to the powerful is the characteristic of the gospel of Jesus.” - Ben Cremer
"You think your pain and heartache are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive or who had ever been alive." James Baldwin
We also must reckon with the fact that the vast majority of these people identify as Christian.
I’m telling y’all—teachers are built different 💙
Pope Francis passed away this morning at the age of 88. He was the most Jesus centered, justice focused, and inclusive reformer to lead the Catholic Church since Pope John XXIII. Even though I’m not Catholic, I will greatly miss him and his humble yet courageous leadership.
The Empire killed Jesus. God raised him anyway. Easter is God's protest against violence, injustice, and death. A holy uprising of love, liberation, and life. You can't legislate resurrection away. You can't crucify hope forever. Christ is risen.
We could not become like God, so God became like us. God showed us how to heal instead of kill, mend instead of destroy, love instead of hate, live instead of long for more. When we nailed God to a tree, God forgave. And when we buried God in the ground, God got up. - Rachel Held Evans
Here’s the full essay: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/o...
Longtime conservative writer David Brooks wrote an opinion essay for the New York Times yesterday in which he calls for a bipartisan “national civic uprising” with enough power to stop Donald Trump. This whole thing is worth reading, but this section is especially stunning…
The way people rush to discover the voting record of each mass shooter and then, if it’s the opposition party, tweet it out with smug satisfaction is one of the most dystopian things about our country.
LGBTQ+ folks deserve to be treated with dignity, equality, and respect. Refusing to do so doesn’t diminish them. It diminishes you.
“We're doing something purposely different. We're doing something unapologetically Christian but also unapologetically inclusive.” I loved talking with Newsweek about our church and I’m grateful to be a part of the Restore community alongside truly wonderful folks 💙 www.newsweek.com/transgender-...
Yes. Thank you friend.
It’s #transdayofvisibility🏳️⚧️ and this is your reminder that there are absolutely no “biblical” grounds for being anti-trans.
The hate is the point. The cruelty is the point. The subjugation is the point. The dehumanization is the point. The white supremacy is the point.
The target isn’t Christians, it’s Christian nationalism. The target isn’t white people, it’s white supremacy. The target isn’t heterosexuals, it’s homophobia. The target isn’t men, it’s patriarchy. So don’t take it personally. Join the work. Dismantle the oppressive systems. — Carlos Rodriguez
This has always been the plan. “When people show you who they are, believe them.” Maya Angelou
Amen 😂
YES!!! (via @zachwlambert.bsky.social )
I’m going to prioritize love. Above dogma and debates. Above theology and ideology. I’m going to prioritize love. Because Jesus didn’t say his followers would be known by our beliefs. Jesus said we’d be known by our love.
I talk more about how Jesus’ compassion and empathy should be the lens through which we read the Bible in my first book that comes out in August! bakerbookhouse.com/products/617...
YES
At least a dozen times in the Bible, Jesus is described as being “moved by compassion” to help someone in need. I just can't imagine a scenario where we get to heaven and Jesus says... "You were way too empathetic and compassionate. Don’t you know empathy is toxic?”
The target isn’t Christians, it’s Christian nationalism. The target isn’t white people, it’s white supremacy. The target isn’t heterosexuals, it’s homophobia. The target isn’t men, it’s patriarchy. So don’t take it personally. Join the work & dismantle oppressive systems. - Carlos Rodriguez
I wanted to caption it Ass Wednesday, but I chickened out 😂
butts to butts
This is what I wanted to caption it, but I chickened out 😂
All we are is butt dust in the wind
Just a brutal typo on Ash Wednesday 😂
This is in line with all the data I saw working in ministry about 'raising kids in the church'
Thanks so much, Brandon!
I've been very impressed with @zachwlambert.bsky.social and his affirming stance and his careful & cogent defense of the oppressed among us. I enjoyed a great interview with him for my podcast last year. His first book is coming out in August, and I really look forward to it. Consider preordering!
Here’s something I wish more Christians understood: Many people are struggling to align themselves with Christianity, not because they find the core beliefs too outlandish or the ethical demands too arduous, but because most of the Christians they encounter are so unlike Christ.
“We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal.’” - Martin Luther King Jr.
People in America haven’t been getting cancelled or persecuted because of their Christian faith. Sometimes people are held accountable for being hateful in the name of Christ or baptizing their bigotry with Bible verses. And that is actually a very good thing.
Congratulations!
Thanks, fellow Zach!
I think it was Erin Moon’s new one. She’s gonna be preaching at Restore this Sunday!
Thank you!
Thanks, man!!
Thanks so much!!
Happy to preorder and support this guy.
So exciting! Preorder @zachwlambert.bsky.social’s book for only $11.99! bakerbookhouse.com/products/617...
Congratulations Zach! I preordered mine on Bookshop and I cannot wait to read it. bookshop.org/a/89136/9781...
Thanks so much, Bishop! You are on my list to get an early copy as soon as they are ready 😁
Yes!
Yay!
Thanks so much!
Thank you!!
Thanks, Joel! Glad to connect with you on here :)
Thanks, bro!
Thank you!
Thanks so much, Dave!
Also, PLEASE PREORDER TODAY! The book comes out August 12th, but preorders are so important, especially for a first-time author like me. Thank y’all so much 💙 You can get 40% off (preorder special) through the publisher! bakerbookhouse.com/products/617...
📚 I wrote a book! 📚 This book is an attempt to take what I’ve learned from brilliant authors, activists, scholars and theologians, as well as from the incredible people I get to minister alongside every day, and synthesize it into a helpful resource for reading the Bible in better ways.
