When Jesus Flipped Tables... and Why My Comment on Allie Beth Stuckey’s Video Sparked a Firestorm

Hey family, what’s up with that church interruption? My comment on Allie Beth Stuckey’s video and the firestorm it startedBeto here, with Mili right by my side like always, ready to have a real, heart-to-heart talk. If you follow us on the podcast or on socials, you know we love diving into the stuff that stings a little, makes us think hard, and sometimes gets us in hot water. Well, this time I stepped right into it—and wow, did the comments come flying.

The Incident That Started It All

A group of anti-ICE protesters walked straight into a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Why? Because one of the pastors there holds a local leadership role with ICE. Worship was happening, people were praising God, and suddenly—disruption. Shouting, tension, service halted. Don Lemon (ex-CNN, now independent journalist) was on the scene livestreaming, insisting he was only there to report, not protest. Allie Beth Stuckey reacted on her show, calling it what it felt like to many: a straight-up attack on religious freedom in a place meant for encountering Jesus.

My Comment (and Why I Wrote It)

I watched Allie’s reaction video and felt led to drop a comment. Here’s exactly what I posted (in English):“I know Don Lemon is not Jesus and I personally don’t agree with what he did. But something like this must have felt similar to how the religious leaders felt when Jesus walked into the temple and flipped the tables. It enraged them.”I even spelled it out for our Spanish-speaking familia: I know Don Lemon isn’t Jesus. I do NOT agree with interrupting a worship service. But that kind of provocative, shocking moment probably felt a lot like when Jesus overturned the tables in the temple—and it made the religious leaders furious.

The Backlash Was Instant

Boom—46 comments and counting. People were not holding back:

• “Jesus had divine authority—you can’t compare the two.”

• “It wasn’t even during the main part of worship.”

• “You’re way out of context. Read your Bible more.”

• “Not even close to the same thing.”

• Even Allie herself dropped a single-word reply: “No.”

I get it. I really do. And I said it over and over in the thread:

I am NOT saying Don Lemon is Jesus.

I am NOT justifying the interruption.

I do NOT agree with disrupting any worship service—Christian, Muslim, whatever. Religious freedom matters to me 100%.

What I Was Actually Trying to Say

The point wasn’t justification. It was observation:

This was provocative. It was shocking. It left people stunned, angry, defensive—“What is happening in God’s house?!”

And that raw reaction reminded me of the temple scene in John 2. Jesus didn’t flip tables because He hated order—He did it because the place meant for worship “in spirit and truth” had become a marketplace. The heart was wrong. And when He acted, the religious leaders didn’t say, “Thank you for the correction.” They got furious. So furious it escalated toward the cross.

Does the American Church Need a Shake-Up?

Here in the U.S., Mili and I talk a lot about how comfortable parts of the church have become. Not saying we need illegal protests or chaos—absolutely not. But do we sometimes need the Holy Spirit to flip over our own tables?

• Our complacency

• Our Pharisaical rules dressed up as “biblical standards”

• Our obsession with politics over people

• Our quickness to judge outsiders while protecting our own comfort

We covered this in our recent episode with two guest pastors (you can find it on christianpodcast.com or YouTube). We dug into the parable most call “the Prodigal Son”—but it’s really the story of two sons and a Father who loves both.

Two Sons, One Father, One Party

The younger son runs off, wastes everything, comes back broken. The Father runs to him, embraces him, throws a massive party.

The older son—who stayed, worked hard, followed all the rules—gets angry: “What about me? I’ve been here the whole time!”

The Father doesn’t scold him. He goes out, pleads: “Son, everything I have is yours. Come join the celebration.”Are we sometimes the older brother? Guarding the “family business” of church, traditions, and our American-style Christianity… but resenting when God runs to hug someone who doesn’t look or smell like “one of us”?Paul hits this same note in Philippians 3:20, writing to believers in a city obsessed with Roman citizenship and privilege:

“Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”Not in flags. Not in political parties. Not in cultural comfort. In heaven.

The Heart of the Father Is the Real Story

Mili and I keep coming back to this: the American church needs to wake up to the Father’s heart.

Less Pharisaical Christianity (whether conservative or progressive).

More grace.

More running to embrace the lost.

More invitations to the party—for both sons.

What About You, Familia?

Have you felt a “shake-up” in your own walk or church lately?

Do you think we’re over-spiritualizing this incident, or does it point to something deeper?

Drop your honest thoughts in the comments—we read every single one (and we’ll reply to as many as we can without turning it into a battlefield, haha).If this stirred something in you, like it, share it with a friend who needs the reminder, and come hang out with us more. Follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/elchristianpodcast for quick thoughts, behind-the-scenes and short clips.

New episodes (English and Spanish) drop regularly at christianpodcast.com, on YouTube

@christianpodcast

With love and a big virtual abrazo,

Beto & Mili

Christian Podcast™

Orange County, CA