Written by: United Theological Seminary February 19, 2020

Impeachment: freedom from the loyalty to tyranny

As a law-educated theologian, I am following the crumbling of evangelical Christians’ public support, on moral grounds, of President Trump. I am also interested in the response from a Christian ethicist who voiced his support for Trump on political competition grounds. Which Christian perspective, morality or competition, best supports our overarching common value of freedom? How do we know? Why should we care?

Freedom is an evolving ethical Christian and secular American value. One of the freedoms that concerned Jesus, Christians, and our Founding Fathers, was freedom from the loyalty to tyranny. Jesus and Christians were not loyal to the tyrannical Roman Empire of Tiberius and Pontius Pilate, and our Founding Fathers were not loyal to the tyrannical George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland. Historically, ethical Christians and secular Americans alike have shared the core value of freedom from the loyalty to tyranny. What happened? Can remembering what freedom means help us understand how to move our nation through Trump’s impeachment? We can move ahead if we resist the temptation to grasp for moral simplicity and political expediency.

It is a race to simplicity and expediency when we say Trump’s impeachment was justified based solely on immorality, or the impeachment was unjust because it is the nature of politicians to compete. Trump, as Christians know, is not the ultimate authority on what is just. Trump, as the leader of a law-based nation, also knows that no human being in the U.S. is above the law in perpetuity. If we are willing to tolerate complexity, then we must acknowledge and contemplate the fact that our nation’s freedom is based, in part, on the quality of our international relationships. Trump promised he would renegotiate unfair international agreements, but he did not promise he would renegotiate based on the Christian and American value of freedom — and we did not, and are not, expressly holding him to that standard. Why not? My guess is that we did not, and do not think we have to make the value of freedom explicit to “the leader of the free world.” But to avert a deepening constitutional crisis, we have to unequivocally express that freedom is our shared value, and hold Trump, his challengers, Congress and the courts, accountable. Christians believe in and imperfectly proclaim freedom. Americans value and imperfectly protect freedom. We want our imperfect president to value and protect freedom, so in the negotiation of military aid in exchange for espionage against a U.S. civilian, the value of freedom for Ukraine, the U.S., and U.S. citizens working abroad, was and remains at risk. The absence of freedom as a North Star in U.S. international affairs is dangerous brinksmanship because it puts the competitive desires of one leader, regardless of party affiliation, over the safety of the whole. The race to simplicity and expediency has blinded us to the complex weave of politics and has made us, sadly and shockingly, less freedom advocating. To “Make America Great Again?” Are we choosing domination over freedom?

We can regain the thirst for freedom if we are willing to contemplate the complexity of our situation and endeavor to make it right. We can make it right by remembering from religious and legal perspectives that no one person is the ultimate authority. Christians whose political loyalties are coerced, shamed, threatened, and justified through bad theology, stand in the best position to be the freedom fighters we need today. Some of our nation’s best freedom fighters have been evangelical Christians. Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. come to mind. In seminary we are educating and training freedom-advocating leaders who are able to think critically about political systems, thereby equipping them to resist loyalty to tyranny.

Supporting Trump’s impeachment only on moral grounds is simplistic. Protecting Trump only on political grounds is immoral. Moving past this moral-political dialectic involves us remembering that Christians and Americans share the core value of freedom. Freedom is our North Star and we expect our leaders to follow it. We, as a nation, must stand undivided on our core value of freedom from the loyalty to tyranny. I believe this is where will find common and healing ground.

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January 22, 2026

Statement by President Molly T. Marshall on Community Response Efforts

These are fraught days for us. Those who call the Twin Cities home persist under the pall of a federal occupation, bracing each day for word of a new atrocity. In the weeks since an ICE agent killed Renee Good, we have seen the good people of Minneapolis and St. Paul show up for one another as armed federal agents patrol our communities, violating due process and cruelly abducting thousands of people. I think often of our friends and neighbors—including some members of the United community—as they live under the acute terror ICE has wrought on their neighborhoods. Many rely on the aid of a trusted few to meet their basic needs. Facing an oppressive force, our communities have turned outward with resilience, toward one another, embodying anew the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I have been deeply moved by the courage of my neighbors and, in particular, United’s students, alums, trustees, and faculty and staff. They model solidarity despite extreme cold, attending vigils, leading music, creating art, and keeping watch with whistles over their neighborhoods while ICE patrols their streets. Chaplains involved in interfaith organizations are supporting local demonstrations and assisting in de-escalation efforts. Lay leaders, prompted to care for their vulnerable neighbors, are picking up groceries, taking kids to school, and meeting material needs in a vast network of mutual aid. Indeed, this is servant leadership. This week, clergy and faith leaders of myriad traditions are answering MARCH’s call to resist this importunate occupation and bear witness to its harm. With members of our United community engaged in rapid response efforts, the seminary will be closed on Friday, January 23. And, in solidarity with fellow clergy and elected officials, I reaffirm my call that ICE must immediately end its terrorizing of the Twin Cities, leave Minnesota altogether, and bring to justice the agent who killed Ms. Good. Social transformation is one of United’s longstanding pillars, and we are seeing the real-world witness of faith and community leaders equipped for the work of justice and peace. In the words of Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis, director of our Social Transformation Program, “Faith leaders are shaping Minnesota’s response to be highly ethical and effective.” The common good, though under grave threat, is in the committed stewardship of our very best. In the days ahead, may we be courageous in our convictions for the love and dignity of our neighbors. Rev. Molly T. Marshall, Phd President About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to train leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling systems of oppression, exploring multi-faith spirituality, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Media Contact Nathanial Green (he/him), Director of Marketing and Communications United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities press@unitedseminary.edu • 651-255-6138

Lauren Busey (’07) Ministers to a New Beloved Community at Pickledilly Skokie

Lauren Busey (’07) grew up in the Lutheran church, earned an undergraduate degree from Luther College, and thought she would probably attend a Lutheran seminary. Then, at a Luther College women’s retreat, Rev. Dr. Christie Cozad Nueger (’80)— Professor Emerita of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology (1992–2005)—was the featured speaker and knew Lauren’s campus pastor. “So,” Lauren remembers, “we just kind of got to talking, and within a couple of weeks, I was enrolled at United.” United “was a good fit,” Lauren asserts. She found a welcoming community of fellow students and treasured professors. Those who had the greatest impact include Rev. Dr. Jann Cather Weaver (Associate Professor Emerita of Worship, and Theology and the Arts, 2001–2012), Dr. Marilyn Salmon† (Professor Emerita of New Testament Theology, 1989–2014), and Dr. Carolyn Pressler (Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, 1990–2020). After seminary, Lauren accepted a call back home in Evanston, Illinois, at the church where she grew up, Trinity Lutheran Church. Despite being a bit apprehensive about serving as the director of Faith Formation at her home church, Lauren found that the parishioners were warmly welcoming and supportive. She’s been there ever since and notes that the flexibility of the position allowed for a positive work-life balance. Lauren and her wife are raising two children. Just this year, however, Lauren, along with her wife and two business partners, embarked on a new venture—and in February 2025, the four co-owners opened a new state-of-the-art pickleball court in Skokie, Illinois. Dubbed Pickledilly Skokie, the new indoor space features 11.5 courts under high ceilings, lockers, a lounge area, and a pro shop. Plus, the venue is in the same complex as Sketchbook Brewing Company and has abundant free parking. So what happened? “I think my wife would say that I’ve always been the big idea person,” Lauren explains. Usually, she continues, Amy “nods and smiles and keeps on going,” but this time she agreed with the idea. Both Lauren and Amy are avid pickleball players, and Lauren says she found that the activity was much more of a “community-based sport.” Community was the key. As Lauren stated in a July 18, 2025, interview for Ryan Glatzhofer’s The Locals: Stories of Courageous Entrepreneurs, “One of the things that has always been a passion of mine is bringing people together.” Going a step further, she said more recently, “One of our pillars is that this is a safe space, and we are welcoming here.” How did United prepare Lauren for entrepreneurship? “United was really helpful to me in expanding my worldview and my understanding of diversity and not assuming you know where people are coming from.” As for the connection to ministry, Lauren asserts, “We’re still grounded in the same way of taking care of people, and loving people, and meeting them where they are.” __________________________ † of blessed memory

Images of Hope: Advent in Art

Art has the tremendous power to restore us in a time when our world seems to make no sense and we need a moment of respite and encouragement from our daily struggles. A single photograph of a flower or a laughing child can buoy our spirit to carry on. (more…)