Episode Details

🎙️ 17. Pastor Paul Drees (Lutheran) - Grace, Power & the Future of the Church

This week, Alexis Rice welcomes Pastor Paul Drees (@pastorpauldrees)—a Lutheran pastor of a local church. His online ministry, begun in 2021 in response to church trauma and toxic theology, has since reached 90M+ video views and drawn 650K+ followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

Together, Alexis and Paul dive into:

• Why grace comes first in Lutheran identity—communion as gift, not reward
• How Christianity has gone wrong whenever it chooses power over sacrifice
• The history of weaponized faith—from slavery to Christian nationalism today
• Different views of hell in Christian history, and Paul’s perspective as an annihilationist
• The role of a pastor in pointing us back to the gospel: “a different way is possible”
• Why progressive Christians must show up online and reclaim public conversations about faith

💡 Key Takeaways

• Grace is God’s gift from the beginning—we don’t earn it.
• Communion is not a prize; it’s an open table of love.
• Christianity’s witness falters when it seeks power instead of sacrifice.
• Loving our enemies—including those we most resist—is the radical call of Jesus.
• Progressive Christian voices must take up space in the digital and political commons.

⛪ About Our Guest
Pastor Paul Drees serves in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A graduate of St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary, he combines parish ministry in Wisconsin with a bold online presence that challenges Christians to live faithfully, love radically, and resist injustice.

📚 Resources Mentioned

• God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us — Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail | IG: @rev.lizzie
• A Change of Habit — Sister Monica Clare | IG: @claudettemonica
• Jesus and Nonviolence — Walter Wink
• At the Altar of Wall Street — Scott W. Gustafson
• Rep. James Talarico — Texas legislator and seminary student whose public faith inspires many | IG: @jamestalarico. James Talarico talking with Joe Rogan about his Christian faith and progressive politics: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2352-james-talarico/id360084272?i=1000717982651

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About The Sacred Slope
Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

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