and the Birth of a New Way
A man has died.
Not just any man… a Pope.
A figure crowned in white robes, seated atop a centuries-old empire of marble and gold, proclaiming the name of a carpenter who once said the Kingdom of God belongs to the poor. And have you ever considered the amount of land and real estate that the Vatican owns? That’s a rabbit hole.
For many, the death of the Pope is a deeply spiritual moment.
For others, it’s merely political theater and religious grandstanding.
But for all of us, it is a mirror… if we’re willing to look.
And if that mirror wasn’t surreal enough, we now have the leader of the free world posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope. Yes, that actually happened. The President, high priest of culture war Christianity, dressed in digital robes and algorithm generated holiness — as if to crown himself not just king, but god’s mouthpiece.
If there was ever a moment that exposed how desperately we want power to appear holy — even if we have to fake it — this is it.
Because in moments like these, we are reminded:
Most of us still believe power comes from above.
We still ache for someone else to be the bridge between us and the Divine.
We still hunger for kings and leaders, even when we say we want freedom.
Everything is Spiritual.
Everything is Political.
It’s easy to see it on the religious right.
Easy to call out the way faith has been weaponized for nationalism, fear, and control.
But here’s a deeper truth, the one most of us Exvangelicals don’t like to face:
Aligning yourself to the “left”, the “woke”, the “progressive”, the “Democratic party” without true awakening is just Empire in a new robe.
Different slogans.
Different crowns.
Same sickness.
Empire is still Empire, even when it marches under rainbow flags.
Even when it preaches tolerance and inclusion instead of tradition and superiority.
We are not free simply because we changed which king we cheer for.
We are only free when we stop
needing
kings…
…at all.
The Deeper Problem
Outsourcing Our Power
We have spent centuries outsourcing our sacredness to something else.
• Outsourcing belief to the churches we attend.
• Outsourcing conscience and action to political parties we align with.
• Outsourcing hope to presidents and popes.
It’s easier that way.
If someone else carries the weight of the depth, we don’t have to.
We can stay small.
We can stay angry.
We can stay obedient, thinking we are righteous because our side is winning.
But the Way of the Source suggests another truth:
You were never meant to be ruled.
You were never meant to be rescued.
You were meant to rise up.
The Bible Saw This Coming
Long before democracy, before left and right, before presidents and parliaments — the ancient writers of the Bible named this sickness.
When the people of Israel demanded a king to rule over them, God warned them:
“They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”
1 Samuel 8:7
He warned them what would happen:
• Kings would tax them.
• Kings would send their sons to war.
• Kings would seize their land, their labor, their daughters, their dignity.
• Kings would become the very oppressors they thought they were escaping.
But still, they insisted:
“No! We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations…”
1 Samuel 8:19-20
It was not enough to live in direct connection to the Divine Source.
They wanted hierarchy.
They wanted visible power.
They wanted someone else to carry the burden of leadership, responsibility, and trust.
And so it has been ever since.
The Bible is anything but an outdated book.
It is a constant cultural mirror.
It shows us, if we’re willing to truly see , how deeply we still crave kings, even as they devour us.
The Bible is not about building new empires.
It’s about tearing down the illusion that we ever needed one at all.
The Way of the Source: A New Way Forward
The Source… that deep current of life, love, and creative energy that we call “God” or “Spirit”… is not found on a throne.
The Source is found:
• In the soil under your feet.
• In the electricity of your mind.
• In the heartbeat thumping in your chest.
• In the breath moving in and out of your body right now.
The Source does not descend from above like royal decrees.
The Source erupts from within — from the ground up, from the inside out.
The Kingdom is not coming in banners and parades and elections.
It’s coming in gardens planted, tables set, wounds healed, and bridges built.
We don’t need a bishop.
We don’t need a senator.
We don’t need a savior in a white hat or a red tie or blue tie.
The Spirit has already made its home in you.
The Divine has already put its signature on your soul and everywhere around you.
⸻
A Call to Radical Awakening
So mourn the man if you must. Honor what was good if you choose. Grieve the brokenness if you need to.
But do not fall asleep again.
Do not trade one master for another. Do not swap empires like jerseys and call it justice.
Awakening is more radical than that. It will not be televised. It will not be decided in a conclave or a caucus. It will begin here:
• In your remembering.
• In your reflecting.
• In your returning.
The Revolution the world needs is not another battle between kings.
It’s the end of needing kings at all.
Remember. Reflect. Return.
• Remember the Source within you.
• Reflect it in your living, your loving, your building, your becoming.
• Return to it every time you forget… because we will forget, and that’s okay.
You are not powerless.
You are not lost.
You are not waiting for the future to be handed down to you.
The future will be grown
from the ground up, from the heart out, from the ruins of every collapsing throne.
We don’t need a better empire.
We need a new way.
The Way of the Source.
It starts with us, and it has already begun.
