Jason Locke's Blog

Church leadership is messed up in the United States. Broken. Egocentric. Toxic. Nonexistent. Dysfunctional. That's the way it feels to lots of commentators and professional ministers like me. It's such a big deal that talking about it is kind of like watching replays of major racing accidents. You just can't look away. How else can one explain the great popularity of books and podcasts that do autopsies on some of the most dysfunctional church leadership structures of our day? (For those with an interest to explore what I mean, you can check out a few examples at the bottom of this article.) I have a much younger friend named Jacob. He served four years in the Marines before going to college. Once, he was telling me about being part of a flight crew for those giant refueling planes, something like a KC-130. It was fascinating to hear about flying with that huge plane all across Europe. As Jacob shared, I realized something shocking yet crucial about the way the US military ...

1. QAnon is a movement of people who have come to believe a series of conspiracy theories (called Q drops or Q prophecies). The folks who believe these tend to be sincere, smart people who feel there is something massively wrong with the world. These Q prophecies help them make sense of the world and why "things have changed for the worse." 2. The QAnon movement is widely condemned by leading members of both political parties (except President Trump). 3. These conspiracy theories come from an anonymous source (or sources) who claims to have Q level clearance in the federal government. > They are posted on dark web sites like the now defunct 4chan which are famous (notorious) for allowing users to share graphically incendiary, misogynistic and hate-filled posts. As one example, the New Zealand mosque mass shooter posted his manifesto on 4chan. > These posts (or Q drops) claim to have special knowledge about either a deep-state conspiracy or about earth-shaking even...