Meet the 'King of Weird Christian Twitter'
"That's what she prayed." Who doesn't love a good inside joke? Even better when a couple hundred, or a couple thousand, people are in on it. Welcome to Weird Christian Twitter: a group of evangelical and exvangelical misfits who share a lifetime of common memories and cultural touchpoints — from sword drills, to youth group lock-ins, to CCM crushes and True Love Waits pledges. On this episode, we do a deep dive into #WCT and the online community that's formed via a collective, albeit mostly good natured, side-eyeing of evangelicalism. We are joined by Matthew Pierce, "The King of Weird Christian Twitter" (so says Christianity Today) and #WCT's resident awkward, hormonal boy from youth group. Or, at least, that's his online persona, even though he swears he lives a normal, boring, adult life irl. And Kate Shellnutt, senior news editor for Christianity Today magazine and self-described "lurker" on Weird Christian Twitter, gives us some backstory on this oddball Twitter subculture and "the movement" it's formed. GUESTS: Matthew Pierce is co-host of the Fun Sexy Bible Time podcast and the author of the new book "Evangelical Thought Leader: The Liturgy of Radically Engaging the Culture of Paradigm Shifts." Kate Shellnutt is senior news editor for Christianity Today magazine.