The Rev. Joseph G. Crippen is the senior pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, a small Lutheran church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (ELCA) According to his church bio, he is a “gifted presider, counselor, and preacher who’s passionate about proclaiming God’s love for all people and serving the church as it seeks to faithfully pursue its mission.” During a recent sermon on the gospel reading in Matthew 3, Crippen puts John the Baptist on blast, condemning him as a hate-filled, violence-encouraging, anti-Jesus bigot, and comparing his rhetoric criticizing the Pharisees and...