Puget Sound alumnus Rev. Jae Bates '18 will lead this exploration of his journey to Christian Public Leadership, digging into the TRUE meaning of "evangelical" (little e) being "in accordance with or related to the Good News (the Gospel).  Jae will discuss the (Mainline and Otherwise) Church's complicity in slowly building Christian White Nationalism and how these three "R-Words" (Revelation, Revolution, & Revival) are going to be crucial to pushing back against the hijacking of the Gospels of Jesus and the democracy of America.  

Jae is a preacher & pastor by training, storyteller by nature, and a scholar by necessity. His work is rooted in the liberating work of Jesus Christ & a vision of flourishing life for all. He considers himself an always-reforming, post-denominational, free-range, evangelical pastor (little e!) who has been deeply formed by the Jewish community that helped raise him & the Buddhist culture from which he was born. Jae has been invited to partner with people from all over the Christian spectrum. He's worked with everyone from Cru at UT Austin to Catholics out of New England. He's now based out of the Twin Cities & lives with his partner, his 2 dogs, and his mother-in-law. In his free time, he loves to rock climb which is one of the many lasting impacts UPS had on him.