Awaken Church Hosts Putin Apologist Tucker Carlson
Fox News Tucker Carlson appeared at an Awaken church event in San Marcos on Saturday. Carlson is regularly featured on Russian TV as an American who does not support the western defense of Ukraine. He is also considered to be a leading spokesman for mainstreaming the core concepts of white nationalism.
Across the street from the facility hosting the event, San Diegans sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause lined up with flags, signs, and an assortment of baby strollers. The strollers and accompanying toys were there to remind people of the deaths of children caused by the indiscriminate bombing on civilian areas from the Russians.
I’m sorry –not really– for embedding evidence of Russian atrocities in this post. It’s just another thing this “church” is enabling with Tucker Carlson’s appearance.
Most San Diegans probably first heard of the Awaken church, which has campuses in Kearny Mesa, San Marcos and Chula Vista in connection with its defiance of cease-and-desist orders for holding indoor services during the height of the pandemic.
Sixty five COVID-19 cases were confirmed in those attending services from November 15-22, and the county asked those who attended in-person services to either get tested or quarantined for 14 days. A spokesperson for the church denied that number, saying he was only aware of three cases.
In an Instagram post, executive of ministries Matt Hubbard promised to push back against the county. There is gonna be political ramifications and you’re picking a fight.,” Hubbard said. “You’re picking a fight, and that’s called bullies. And we’re not gonna be bullied.”
Based on my research and observations, there was church membership involvement with the unruly disruptions of the County Board of Supervisors meeting during the height of the coronavirus crisis,
The Awaken Church was closely associated with the Australian C3 church, and while there are congregations around the U.S. that have branded themselves as “Awaken,” there does not appear to be any official relationship with the San Diego church, with the exception of a congregation in Salt Lake City.
The Pastors of C3 Church San Diego are Jurgen & Leanne Matthesius who are originally from Sydney Australia. Jurgen attended Hillsong College in Sydney and participated in a Hillsong Church plant in New Zealand.
The Awaken Church has stirred controversy with previous guest speakers, including Turning Point USA founder and conservative radio host Charlie Kirk and Dr. Simone Gold, founder of the anti-vaccine conspiracy group America’s Frontline Doctors.
They made their political leanings clear by designating their locations as unofficial drop off points for ballots in the failed attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. There is video footage of a pastor essentially daring the IRS to revoke their tax exempt status.
It’s best to call the C3/Awaken/Hillsong church growth as a movement, though there are plenty of critics that have branded certain congregations as cults. The San Diego branches have events designed to affirm the traditional roles of men and women.
Although C3 affiliated churches claim to be open to anybody seeking salvation, the reality is that those falling outside the institutions of heterosexuality and (no-sex-before) marriage aren’t given active roles in an institution normally demanding more participation than warming a pew.
Oh, look it’s ReOpen San Diego’s Amy Reichert (L), who’s also running for County Supervisor, hustling at the Tucker show.
The theology of Awaken includes the prosperity gospel (wealth is an indication of God’s blessings). The most famous person espousing this gospel is Joel Osteen, whose San Diego visit in 2016 was actively promoted by the church.
In many ways it’s the form, rather than substance, that makes congregations like Awaken attractive to younger people. News accounts of congregations similar to San Diego’s often refer to it as a “hipster church.”
Here’s an excerpt from Fashion Magazine, written by a woman who learned the hard way that her gayness wasn’t a good fit:
I was baptized on Easter Sunday last year, at the age of 27. After a lifetime of avoiding organized religion—first because of my atheist family, and later because of my queer identity—I put my fears of bigotry and homophobia aside and fell head over heels (literally, into a tank of water) for C3 Toronto. But by my 28th birthday only a few months later, my relationship with my church had ended in heartbreak.
You know that charming new love interest who sweeps you off your feet with their charisma, compliments and great kisses? They make you feel like their everything, like you’ve finally found where you belong and you don’t ever want to leave? You shout your newfound adoration from the rooftops and spend as much time with them as you can, convinced that this is “the one?”
That’s exactly how I felt when I was introduced to C3 Toronto. It seemed…different. A church that assured me they loved everyone and welcomed anyone. Plus, there was the fun factor—the live band playing catchy pop songs, the stylish and attractive leadership, the infectiously positive energy and the great graphic design. It was just so cool, and so I, like many other young people, fell for the smoke and mirrors of the new hipster megachurch movement.
Services resemble less a traditional Sunday service than a "holy rock concert," with dramatic lighting, background graphics and leaders clad in jeans. The conventional markers of Christian religiosity –pews, stained-glass windows of biblical scenes, clerical vestments– are not to be found in the new definition of “Sunday Best.” Awakens locations resemble other common sites of leisure in modern societies; a mall, a movie theater, or even a nightclub.
Leaders avoid the kind of fire-and-brimstone denunciations found in other American conservative evangelical congregations, preferring more subtle means of social influence.
Involvement in the church is about belonging, based on the premise of obedience to an organizational culture and submission to a chain of command. For its target market of millennials struggling with a sense of aimlessness or a lack of self-esteem, they promise a powerful antidote: a divine purpose and an all-powerful God who loves them unconditionally.
The relationship between pastors and congregations is more transactional than mystical, with senior pastors being not so much shepherds of a flock and more like than CEOs.
The Pentecostal roots of the church’s theology (not something they advertise) are the basis for its ties to what passes for American conservatism these days. Preachers in that wing of Christianity have, for years, liberally blended metaphysical religiosity with secular modes of thought such as positive thinking, self-help, and positive psychology.
This places it firmly within the American tradition of rugged individualism and self-reliance that is at the core of neo-liberal political thought.
And here’s where I think there is a problem. It’s not what these folks want to believe or how they worship, it’s the extension of the prosperity gospel into building a political force –or as Awaken likes to call it, an army. As far as I can see, it’s a force designed to battle for the opinions of church leaders over voters.
Take a long hard look at how (some prominent) people associated with Awaken have represented themselves in the public arena. What we’ve seen thus far –on social media, anyway– is an inclination to think the threat of the use of force is acceptable.
The use of the word “tyranny” by the anti-vaxxer crowd (definite overlap here) can be traced back to theologian Francis Schaeffer, who advocated massive resistance to what he saw as a looming anti-Christian society.
The presence of participants in the January 6th insurrection (and the attitude that what happened was within the bounds of normal discourse) speaks volumes.
Pentecostal Kingdom Now theology, and other Christian evangelical offshoots have increasingly taken up various aspects of Dominionism. There are probably as many strains of this belief system as there are flavors of ice cream, but the one thing they all have in common is that Christians are called by God to exercise dominion over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions.
The increasing acceptance of authoritarianism by the right –which includes evangelicals– leaves the door wide open for establishment of a political system based on religious supremacy. You don’t have to dig very far into “Make America Great Again” thinking to see warning rights for democracy.
Photo from demonstration in header credit Kathy Archibald (I touched it up a bit)
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com