Robb Ryerse

This short book reads like a twist on the classic "campaign memoir" (in which the 2020 Democratic primary was awash). It recounts Ryerse's 2018 run in the Republican primary for a Congressional seat in northwestern Arkansas as part of the "Brand New Congress" initiative. Ryerse is a pastor with a background in Christian fundamentalism who underwent a profound faith shift in the early 2000s that led him and his wife to strike out on their own, starting an inclusive Christian ministry known as Vintage Fellowship.

This change in values and the "bivocational" life that ensued (a day job plus life nights and weekends as a virtually unpaid start-up pastor) laid the groundwork for him to challenge a Trump-supporting long-time incumbent. Ryerse fights an uphill battle as a self-described "progressive Republican" in a bright-red district and (spoiler!) only wins around 15% of the vote in May 2018. However, the campaign provides the springboard for a new life in political organizing, and Ryerse now serves as an Executive Director of Brand New Congress - the group that encouraged him to run in 2018. Ryerse's prose is accessible and engaging, peppered with some of the pivotal moments in the story of Jesus that sparked his conversion away from fundamentalism and toward a life of Christian faith more oriented toward engaging the life experiences of people here and now. Ryerse at times speaks with moving depth and detail of the impact of his campaign on his family, though in the end this reader felt the book was rather light on the personal elements that make a memoir leave a lasting impression.

Ryerse the organizer spends much of the book trying to make the case (and mapping the pathways) for "postpartisan" political engagement. He provides some now-standard rhetoric about tribalism and the pitfalls of identity politics, and he underlines his support of universal healthcare and climate change work in terms that attempt to appeal to disaffected Republicans looking to abandon Trumpism. He treads delicately around the issues of abortion and sexuality that perhaps most starkly divide conservative Christians from contemporary progressives, in ways that might allow him to reach the intended audience of his publisher (Westminster John Knox) but that won't impress readers who are already entrenched in the "culture war" or who incline toward skepticism of Christian political activity.

Ryerse's voice is appealing and his personal commitment and sacrifice moving. As a primer and introduction to an envisioned "postpartisan" future, this book is a welcome contribution. As a personal memoir, it is intriguing and ultimately leaves the reader wanting more. Readers interested in Ryerse's faith journey may want to check out his earlier work. Those interested in the future of the Brand New Congress movement will want to put the book down, go to the website, and start taking action.… (més)

Do nothing from selfish amitions or conceit, bit in humility regard others as better tahn yourselves. Philippians 2 3-4. This quote on page 131 contains the them of this campaign book. Written by an evangelical pastor from Arkansas after his run for Congress in 2018. He is recruited to run by Brand New Congress as a Republican against a long term congressman in the primary.

Each chapter is about the campaign, the way he views American elections and Culture. He also recommends solutions to make this a better country. I found the book most enlightening. For this reader I have often been confused by Christians since the election in 2016. Ryerse shows me that not all evangelicals are the same . He provides biblical verse to support his ideals as well as common sense solutions.

Recommended for public and church libraries.… (més)

Summary: A northwest Arkansas pastor decides to run in a primary against one of the most powerful Republican representatives in a grassroots campaign to restore a say in government to ordinary citizens.

Robb Ryerse was a political junkie. He was also a pastor whose developing ministry led him to political views at variance with many of his fundamentalist counterparts. It led him eventually to launch a counter-cultural and inclusive church in northwest Arkansas. It led to weeping when the nominee of his party was elected president in 2016 and joining others who were concerned about the way our political process was going.

All this led to Ryerse being recruited by Brand New Congress to run a grassroots campaign oriented around the common good of the everyday American. He went to a "Congress Camp" with a number of candidates from both parties including Antonia Ocasio-Cortez. What is striking is that Ryerse went as a Republican running against a Republican incumbent. He finds himself at variance with his party, not with the philosophy of governance, but rather with positions on healthcare, climate change, and immigration that have become immigration. He discovered that for all their disagreements, he could find common ground by focusing on the common good with those at Congress Camp who did not share his party affiliation--something they all wanted to take to Washington.

One of the key issues he explores is the issue of campaign finance. He argues that you will only have a Congress responsive to everyday citizens when they, and not big donors fund the campaigns, something Antonia Ocasio-Cortes was able to do. The challenge: this will probably take a constitutional amendment unless Americans refuse to support candidates funded by big money interests.

He traces the high and low points, the latter including a party dinner in a remote part of the district where his name was mispronounced and no one would talk to him. On the other hand were voters dissatisfied with the direction of the party who listened. A documentary crew follows his run from when he pays the $15,000 entry fee set by the party, his early high hopes and his increasing realization that he just didn't have the votes. He ended winning 15 percent of the vote.

He ended the race a changed person. He reached a position on gun control that focused not only on the right to bear arms, but the "well-regulated" character of a citizenry who did so as a basis for gun legislation that did not take weapons away, but did govern how they could be obtained as part of a package of common sense gun legislation. Most of all, he became even more convinced of the need for a movement that focused on the electing of everyday people by everyday people committed to the common good. So when the invitation to become executive director of Brand New Congress to continue this movement, he said yes.

I suspect a number of people who read this review would not agree with all of Ryerse positions. I don't. But what strikes me is that Ryerse argues for the kind of politician that I think we need to change the character of our legislative branch -- people committed to seeking the common good of our citizens. What Ryerse does not answer is what it takes for such candidates to unseat a heavily funded incumbent on a shoe string. His support from everyday people, which he prided himself on, only amounted to $30,000, a paltry amount compared to his opponent. He can pride himself that he ran a principled race all he wants, but the truth is, he didn't even come close to being elected. Nor did he generate enough of a movement of "everyday people" to even make the race competitive. Does that say something?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own.… (més)