About This Site
Return to the Mount is a declaration and a gathering place.
The declaration is an honest examination of what Jesus of Nazareth actually said plainly, on a hillside, to anyone who would listen, and of the distance between those words and what is being practiced in his name in America today.
The gathering place is for the people who feel that distance. Who have felt it for a long time. Who thought they were alone in feeling it.
They are not alone. This site exists to make that visible.
This is not a denomination. We are not building a new church, a new theology, or a new institution.
This is not a political movement. We have not chosen a party, a platform, or a candidate. We will not. The teachings of Jesus do not belong to any political tribe and we will not pretend otherwise.
This is not theology. We are not interested in what has been built around the words of Jesus over two thousand years of argument and institution. We are interested in the words themselves. They are not complicated. They have never been complicated. The difficulty has always been in the doing, not the understanding.
We do not choose sides within Christianity. We do not declare one tradition right and another wrong. We hold up the words and ask only: are we living them? That question belongs to everyone.
And this is not only for Christians.
If you came here without faith, or with a different faith, or with a faith you are still working out, you are welcome here. Completely. Without condition.
The words ask only one thing: that you act on them. That invitation belongs to everyone.
→ A note for non-ChristiansThis site was built by one person who believes the need is real and the moment is urgent.
That person has chosen not to be named here, not out of shame, but out of conviction. This movement is not about its founder. It is about the words. It is about the people who affirm them. It is about what those people do in the world.
If you are looking for a face to attach to this, look at the map. Look at the gallery. Those are the people this belongs to.
This site costs money to run. Servers, bandwidth, the infrastructure of a movement that we hope will grow large enough to require significant resources.
Return to the Mount is operated under a registered nonprofit organization. Every dollar donated covers only the costs of keeping this site alive and expanding its reach. Nothing goes to salaries. Nothing goes to overhead. Nothing goes anywhere except directly into the mission.
We will publish a full accounting of every dollar received and every dollar spent. Always. Without exception. You will be able to see exactly where the money goes at any time.
If you are not in a position to give, do not give. Go out and do one of the things on this site instead. That is worth more.
If you are in a position to give and believe this work matters, we are grateful.
There is no endpoint.
We will grow. We will evolve. We will become whatever this movement needs us to become as the people who join it make their voices heard and their acts visible.
The declaration will not change. The words of Jesus will not change. Everything else is open.
We began because the need was real. We will continue for the same reason.
The path is open.
The door is wide.