“You really stepped on my toes today, preacher.”
It takes a certain vintage and denominational heritage to recognize those words.
They would be uttered by a departing worshipper to the still-sweating minister who’d just delivered a stemwinding sermon.
The comment, oddly, was offered and received as a compliment.
Confessing to having one’s toes stepped on was an affirmation that the “message” had landed well.
The boldly spoken words about sin, salvation and rededication provided an acceptable level of guilt — or conviction, as more holy described.
Had the sermon drawn from the deep and consistent thread of justice throughout the Bible — calling out racial discrimination, economic exploitation or the use of anger-fueled violence — the conversation at the door would have been quite different.
The clear though unspoken reality was that not all toes were available for smashing. And in much of Americanized Christianity, they are not today.
Personal piety can be stepped on repeatedly with calls for morning prayer times, more faithful church attendance, daily Bible reading, increased support for the church and its missions, and bolder efforts at evangelizing others.
These are spiritual challenges the pew sitter allows from the pulpit in calling the congregation to be “better Christians.”
One might even respond emotionally to a call to repent for failing in those five-toe areas of personal piety that fit within the narrow confines of Christian accountability.
The other foot was — and largely is still — off limits, however. The same affirmation is not available should the pastor land on the foot of injustice.
The defensive and dismissive response to “not be political” would be forthcoming. Which always means don’t contrast my favored political ideology with Jesus.
The same concern over politics, however, is not voiced toward highly political efforts to marry the gospel of Jesus to the very abusive, empirical power he sought to counter.
One might think a theme that runs throughout the Bible would be central to Christian faith and practice today. Pronouncements from the Hebrew prophets and the teachings of Jesus are not lacking in clarity when it comes to calls for biblical justice.
Jesus condemns one-footed faith that relies solely on a puffed-up sense of righteousness while ignoring social injustice. He didn’t mince words:
“You pretenders! You give God a tenth…, but you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness.” (Matthew 23:23)
But, no, a biblical challenge to exploitative economics won’t get Amens from those politically aligned with the American god of greed and government fat cats whose overt corruption is ignored if not celebrated.
To be clear, this is not criticism of but support for the many ministers seeking to pastorally and prophetically guide congregations toward Jesus-centered faithfulness. Rather it is a needed critique of the Americanized religious culture that constrains them.
Religious compartmentalization was a feature of frontier revivalism when listeners held little social power but could control their personal behavior.
Jesus, however, launched his ministry by quoting the prophet Isaiah — with clarity that he came to “liberate the oppressed.” Luke 4:18
Yet putting that in today’s context, in which immigrants are treated as sub-humans and rights are stripped from minorities, doesn’t draw smiles and backslaps from those who exit church with the same sense of privilege they brought with them.
Calls for generosity (charity) are welcomed — as long as such giving retains the current power structures. Voluntarily passing some goods down to the powerless is helpful and creates both good feelings and a positive image for the giver.
However, the numerous biblical appeals for justice that breaks down systems of discrimination and exploitation are unavailable for critique or conviction. Sharing political power is out of the question.
For many, the call to be better, bolder witnesses was the big toe on which the wing-tipped shoe most often landed.
Ironically, it is the smallish faith of personal piety and government privilege at the exclusion of biblical justice that is most damaging to the Christian witness today.
Due to its wide embrace of empirical power, much of Americanized Christianity could use a good ouch right now.
If only easily aggrieved Americanized Christians could pull back far enough to see how petty their priorities and concerns appear to everyone else. And how little desire the rest of humanity (and probably God too) has in appeasing them and hearing their repeated, fear-fueled false alarms.
It’s hard to follow Jesus with a one-footed gospel.
John D. Pierce is director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative (jesusworldview.org), part of Belmont University’s Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership. Join us on October 12-13, 2026 for the second Jesus Worldview Conference in Nashville.