Anthony Parrott
@pastorparrott.bsky.social
Reclaiming the Bible for love and liberation.
Affirming. Antiracist. Universalist.
Pastor of the Table Church DC
Affirming. Antiracist. Universalist.
Pastor of the Table Church DC
Pinned
Hello! My name’s Anthony, here’s a little about me:
- Pastor of an LGBTQ-affirming, multiracial church
- Raised in fundamentalism
- MDiv specializing in Biblical Studies
- Certified in Trauma Competent Care
- Pastor for 15 years
- Obsessed with Jesus
- Universalist
- Open & Relational Theologian
- Pastor of an LGBTQ-affirming, multiracial church
- Raised in fundamentalism
- MDiv specializing in Biblical Studies
- Certified in Trauma Competent Care
- Pastor for 15 years
- Obsessed with Jesus
- Universalist
- Open & Relational Theologian
Reposted by Anthony Parrott
Is growing to a larger size of church simply more likely to require relying on coercion, authoritarianism, and control?
We don't demand weekly attendance or tithing. We have shared values, sure. But the rest is... messy.
Turns out, messy doesn't scale well.
www.parrott.ink/not-supposed...
We don't demand weekly attendance or tithing. We have shared values, sure. But the rest is... messy.
Turns out, messy doesn't scale well.
www.parrott.ink/not-supposed...
Maybe We're Not Supposed to Grow That Way
Is growing to and maintaining a larger size of church simply more likely to require relying more on coercion, authoritarianism, and control?
www.parrott.ink
October 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Is growing to a larger size of church simply more likely to require relying on coercion, authoritarianism, and control?
We don't demand weekly attendance or tithing. We have shared values, sure. But the rest is... messy.
Turns out, messy doesn't scale well.
www.parrott.ink/not-supposed...
We don't demand weekly attendance or tithing. We have shared values, sure. But the rest is... messy.
Turns out, messy doesn't scale well.
www.parrott.ink/not-supposed...
The truth matters more than approval, and justice matters more than comfort.
Sometimes the message that wins converts is the wrong message.
Palatability can come at the cost of virtue.
Making everyone feel okay about the conversation means nobody actually changes.
www.parrott.ink/the-value-an...
Sometimes the message that wins converts is the wrong message.
Palatability can come at the cost of virtue.
Making everyone feel okay about the conversation means nobody actually changes.
www.parrott.ink/the-value-an...
The Value and Cost of Clarity
The truth matters more than approval, and justice matters more than comfort
www.parrott.ink
October 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The truth matters more than approval, and justice matters more than comfort.
Sometimes the message that wins converts is the wrong message.
Palatability can come at the cost of virtue.
Making everyone feel okay about the conversation means nobody actually changes.
www.parrott.ink/the-value-an...
Sometimes the message that wins converts is the wrong message.
Palatability can come at the cost of virtue.
Making everyone feel okay about the conversation means nobody actually changes.
www.parrott.ink/the-value-an...
Reposted by Anthony Parrott
Two thirds of Americans are not Trump voters
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-lot-of-p...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-lot-of-p...
A lot of people just don’t realize how unpopular Trump is
The backlash to ABC/Disney canceling Kimmel shows why it's important for businesses and the public to understand that two-thirds of Americans are not Trump voters
www.gelliottmorris.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Two thirds of Americans are not Trump voters
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-lot-of-p...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/a-lot-of-p...
If a pastor has ever used the Bible to tell you that being a good Christian means staying in an abusive relationship, or that questioning harmful treatment makes you "unforgiving" or "bitter"—they were wrong.
Biblical enemy-love is never about enabling greater harm.
www.parrott.ink/saving-enemy...
Biblical enemy-love is never about enabling greater harm.
www.parrott.ink/saving-enemy...
Saving Enemy Love from Bad Theology
When "Turn the Other Cheek" Becomes a Weapon
www.parrott.ink
September 25, 2025 at 1:45 PM
If a pastor has ever used the Bible to tell you that being a good Christian means staying in an abusive relationship, or that questioning harmful treatment makes you "unforgiving" or "bitter"—they were wrong.
Biblical enemy-love is never about enabling greater harm.
www.parrott.ink/saving-enemy...
Biblical enemy-love is never about enabling greater harm.
www.parrott.ink/saving-enemy...
In which I compare the speeches of Goebbels and Stephen Miller.
Same dehumanization: "You are nothing"
Same civilizational claims: "Our ancestors built everything"
Same "awakened dragon" metaphors
Same martyrdom-to-escalation patterns
www.parrott.ink/comparing-go...
Same dehumanization: "You are nothing"
Same civilizational claims: "Our ancestors built everything"
Same "awakened dragon" metaphors
Same martyrdom-to-escalation patterns
www.parrott.ink/comparing-go...
Comparing Goebbels' "The Storm is Coming" and Miller's Charlie Kirk Memorial Speech
"The Storm is Coming," was delivered by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels on July 9, 1932, during a campaign rally in Berlin's Lustgarten before the July 31, 1932 Reichstag elections.
Stephen ...
www.parrott.ink
September 23, 2025 at 12:16 AM
In which I compare the speeches of Goebbels and Stephen Miller.
Same dehumanization: "You are nothing"
Same civilizational claims: "Our ancestors built everything"
Same "awakened dragon" metaphors
Same martyrdom-to-escalation patterns
www.parrott.ink/comparing-go...
Same dehumanization: "You are nothing"
Same civilizational claims: "Our ancestors built everything"
Same "awakened dragon" metaphors
Same martyrdom-to-escalation patterns
www.parrott.ink/comparing-go...
You, Jesus, are you not also a mother?
Are you not the mother who, like a hen
gathers her chickens under her wings?
Truly, Lord, you are a mother.
For longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death
and by dying you begot them.
So you, Lord God, are the great mother
—St. Anselm of Canterbury
Are you not the mother who, like a hen
gathers her chickens under her wings?
Truly, Lord, you are a mother.
For longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death
and by dying you begot them.
So you, Lord God, are the great mother
—St. Anselm of Canterbury
September 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
You, Jesus, are you not also a mother?
Are you not the mother who, like a hen
gathers her chickens under her wings?
Truly, Lord, you are a mother.
For longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death
and by dying you begot them.
So you, Lord God, are the great mother
—St. Anselm of Canterbury
Are you not the mother who, like a hen
gathers her chickens under her wings?
Truly, Lord, you are a mother.
For longing to bear sons into life, you tasted of death
and by dying you begot them.
So you, Lord God, are the great mother
—St. Anselm of Canterbury
I really loved The Weep duology by K. Eason (@svartjagr.bsky.social) and I'm super upset that there's not any more of it!
September 16, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I really loved The Weep duology by K. Eason (@svartjagr.bsky.social) and I'm super upset that there's not any more of it!
Thanks to Christian Nationalism, we have a form of Christianity that has hollowed out the gospel, scooped out its heart, and put on its husk like a skinwalker. It calls empathy sin. It blames the poor for poverty. It treats immigrants like invaders.
www.parrott.ink/when-rome-we...
www.parrott.ink/when-rome-we...
When Rome Wears the Skin of Christianity
Jesus didn't come to make Rome nicer. It came to make Rome obsolete. The fact that Rome is back, wearing Jesus' name tag, should enrage every single one of us.
www.parrott.ink
September 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Thanks to Christian Nationalism, we have a form of Christianity that has hollowed out the gospel, scooped out its heart, and put on its husk like a skinwalker. It calls empathy sin. It blames the poor for poverty. It treats immigrants like invaders.
www.parrott.ink/when-rome-we...
www.parrott.ink/when-rome-we...
Roman philosophy said the poor deserved their poverty.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."
Rome said foreigners were threats.
Jesus said, "Welcome the stranger."
Rome said empathy was weakness.
Jesus wept.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."
Rome said foreigners were threats.
Jesus said, "Welcome the stranger."
Rome said empathy was weakness.
Jesus wept.
September 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Roman philosophy said the poor deserved their poverty.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."
Rome said foreigners were threats.
Jesus said, "Welcome the stranger."
Rome said empathy was weakness.
Jesus wept.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor."
Rome said foreigners were threats.
Jesus said, "Welcome the stranger."
Rome said empathy was weakness.
Jesus wept.
The ethics of Rome are back in style—the poor get what they deserve, foreigners are dangerous, the sick and infirm are a burden on society—wearing a Jesus name tag.
September 6, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The ethics of Rome are back in style—the poor get what they deserve, foreigners are dangerous, the sick and infirm are a burden on society—wearing a Jesus name tag.
If I, a native-born citizen, were to move into a neighborhood of immigrants, I would be statistically more likely to commit a crime than my immigrant neighbors.
September 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
If I, a native-born citizen, were to move into a neighborhood of immigrants, I would be statistically more likely to commit a crime than my immigrant neighbors.
Meritocracy is a lie. The poor don't deserve to be poor; the rich don't deserve to be rich.
But, equally a lie, is that we solely the product of capricious fate.
www.parrott.ink/we-keep-swin...
But, equally a lie, is that we solely the product of capricious fate.
www.parrott.ink/we-keep-swin...
Swinging Between "You Built This" and "Fate Built This"
Anybody else remember Obama's "You didn't build that" moment? It was 2012, and he was making a point about infrastructure, education, and the collective foundation that makes individual success possib...
www.parrott.ink
September 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Meritocracy is a lie. The poor don't deserve to be poor; the rich don't deserve to be rich.
But, equally a lie, is that we solely the product of capricious fate.
www.parrott.ink/we-keep-swin...
But, equally a lie, is that we solely the product of capricious fate.
www.parrott.ink/we-keep-swin...
Christlike theology cancels records of people’s debt.
Christlike theology disarms the rulers and authorities.
Christlike theology exposes the world’s oppressive powers to public disgrace.
Christlike theology disarms the rulers and authorities.
Christlike theology exposes the world’s oppressive powers to public disgrace.
September 5, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Christlike theology cancels records of people’s debt.
Christlike theology disarms the rulers and authorities.
Christlike theology exposes the world’s oppressive powers to public disgrace.
Christlike theology disarms the rulers and authorities.
Christlike theology exposes the world’s oppressive powers to public disgrace.
Making salvation depend on how certain you feel about your beliefs is psychologically traumatizing. It assumes God is controlling and domineering rather than loving.
September 5, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Making salvation depend on how certain you feel about your beliefs is psychologically traumatizing. It assumes God is controlling and domineering rather than loving.
According to 1 Timothy, the aim of instruction is love. Biblical instruction should lead to three things:
Love
A good conscience
A sincere faith
This means:
If it leads to hate, violence, or cruelty rather than love, throw it out—that's the biblical thing to do.
Love
A good conscience
A sincere faith
This means:
If it leads to hate, violence, or cruelty rather than love, throw it out—that's the biblical thing to do.
September 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
According to 1 Timothy, the aim of instruction is love. Biblical instruction should lead to three things:
Love
A good conscience
A sincere faith
This means:
If it leads to hate, violence, or cruelty rather than love, throw it out—that's the biblical thing to do.
Love
A good conscience
A sincere faith
This means:
If it leads to hate, violence, or cruelty rather than love, throw it out—that's the biblical thing to do.
I've been told by congregants many reasons why another church had denied them Communion:
Divorce
Being LGBTQ+
Disagreement on some theological point
It fills me with something close to righteous anger. Jesus's act of hospitality turned into a membership card.
www.parrott.ink/the-longest-...
Divorce
Being LGBTQ+
Disagreement on some theological point
It fills me with something close to righteous anger. Jesus's act of hospitality turned into a membership card.
www.parrott.ink/the-longest-...
The Longest Table: Why We Keep the Door Wide Open at Communion
As a pastor, I love watching people approach our communion table—some eager, some hesitant, some with tears already forming. Over the years, I've been told by congregants many reasons why another chur...
www.parrott.ink
September 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I've been told by congregants many reasons why another church had denied them Communion:
Divorce
Being LGBTQ+
Disagreement on some theological point
It fills me with something close to righteous anger. Jesus's act of hospitality turned into a membership card.
www.parrott.ink/the-longest-...
Divorce
Being LGBTQ+
Disagreement on some theological point
It fills me with something close to righteous anger. Jesus's act of hospitality turned into a membership card.
www.parrott.ink/the-longest-...
I'm too old to have a PTA board meeting *start* at 9 PM.
September 3, 2025 at 12:05 AM
I'm too old to have a PTA board meeting *start* at 9 PM.
I’m a DC resident. The thing to understand about what’s happening is that folks like me (white American with a regular income) will likely not be affected
But if you’re Black, poor, homeless, or an immigrant, you’re screwed. It’s a retrenchment of Jim Crow
Folks like me have some decisions to make
But if you’re Black, poor, homeless, or an immigrant, you’re screwed. It’s a retrenchment of Jim Crow
Folks like me have some decisions to make
August 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
I’m a DC resident. The thing to understand about what’s happening is that folks like me (white American with a regular income) will likely not be affected
But if you’re Black, poor, homeless, or an immigrant, you’re screwed. It’s a retrenchment of Jim Crow
Folks like me have some decisions to make
But if you’re Black, poor, homeless, or an immigrant, you’re screwed. It’s a retrenchment of Jim Crow
Folks like me have some decisions to make
There are at least 3 reasons people continue to connect with religion that have nothing to do with whether they think every doctrine is literally true. And understanding these reasons might just save us from the exhausting binary of "believer" versus "non-believer." www.parrott.ink/four-reasons...
Why We Stay: Four Reasons People Adhere to Religion
"Pastor, I have to confess something," Alika said, fidgeting with her coffee cup during our meeting. "I'm not sure I believe in God anymore. Or maybe I do? I don't know if the resurrection actually ha...
www.parrott.ink
July 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
There are at least 3 reasons people continue to connect with religion that have nothing to do with whether they think every doctrine is literally true. And understanding these reasons might just save us from the exhausting binary of "believer" versus "non-believer." www.parrott.ink/four-reasons...
Grace creates more grace, more love, more fruit that feeds others. The whole point of grace being received is that it becomes grace that's given.
In a world obsessed with scarcity and competition, God's economy operates on abundance and multiplication.
In a world obsessed with scarcity and competition, God's economy operates on abundance and multiplication.
God's Ridiculous, Indiscriminate Love
What the Parable of the Sower Teaches About Grace
www.parrott.ink
July 21, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Grace creates more grace, more love, more fruit that feeds others. The whole point of grace being received is that it becomes grace that's given.
In a world obsessed with scarcity and competition, God's economy operates on abundance and multiplication.
In a world obsessed with scarcity and competition, God's economy operates on abundance and multiplication.
"The apostasy from Christian will not come about by everybody openly renouncing Christianity; no, but slyly, cunningly, by everybody assuming the name of being Christian." Soren Kierkegaard
May 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
"The apostasy from Christian will not come about by everybody openly renouncing Christianity; no, but slyly, cunningly, by everybody assuming the name of being Christian." Soren Kierkegaard
He’s the one people sing about in their dances,
"Bush has lost has thousands
but Trump has lost his tens of thousands."
"Bush has lost has thousands
but Trump has lost his tens of thousands."
April 7, 2025 at 3:30 PM
He’s the one people sing about in their dances,
"Bush has lost has thousands
but Trump has lost his tens of thousands."
"Bush has lost has thousands
but Trump has lost his tens of thousands."
"Heresy" has a specific meaning in theological discourse—it's not just shorthand for "viewpoints I disagree with."
April 2, 2025 at 8:17 PM
"Heresy" has a specific meaning in theological discourse—it's not just shorthand for "viewpoints I disagree with."
God transcends and includes gender. Our limited human categories will always fall short of capturing divine fullness. Perhaps by embracing multiple images and metaphors—including those that make us uncomfortable—we might glimpse more of who God truly is.
www.parrott.ink/encountering...
www.parrott.ink/encountering...
Encountering the Divine Feminine: Reflections from the Alliance of Baptists Conference
God transcends and includes gender. Our limited human categories will always fall short of capturing divine fullness. Perhaps by embracing multiple images and metaphors—including those that make us un...
www.parrott.ink
April 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
God transcends and includes gender. Our limited human categories will always fall short of capturing divine fullness. Perhaps by embracing multiple images and metaphors—including those that make us uncomfortable—we might glimpse more of who God truly is.
www.parrott.ink/encountering...
www.parrott.ink/encountering...