Footnotes
A Welcome to a New “Series”
Greetings, Friends!
First, thank you. Truly.
I’m floored and grateful that you’ve chosen to subscribe to this Substack, especially as a paid supporter. That means more than I can say.
If you’ve read my last book, you already know: I love footnotes. Probably too much. They’re where the tangents live, the half-thoughts, the side-eye, the “yes, and also this.” You know, the parts that didn’t fit the main script but still deserved to be said.
That’s what this space is.
Footnotes is for paid subscribers, those of you kind (and curious) enough to throw in a few bucks to support this strange little ministry of writing. This is my small way of saying thank you.
Here, I’ll share what didn’t make it into sermons, what’s still simmering on the theological stove, or what’s a little too spicy (or tender) for the public feed.
No polish. Just presence. No promises—just a quiet place for the stuff that still matters, even if it didn’t make the headline.
Thanks for supporting. This is me trying to make your investment worthwhile.
For this inaugural Footnotes post, I wanted to share something I’ve been working on: the introduction to a book that may never see the light of day.
Only a handful of people have read it so far.
Last week on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, I asked:
“If you could ask Judas one question, what would it be?”
Based on those responses, I haphazardly stitched together a rough outline of possible chapters. If you’re curious, here were the top 5 most asked questions:
Why? (Motivation and intent)
Did you have a choice? (Free will vs. destiny)
Did you regret it? (Guilt, suicide, and forgiveness)
Did Judas go to hell? (Afterlife)
Did Jesus ask you to do this? (Closely tied to #2)
I’m both weary and excited about #4 because it’s finally going to force me to sit down and do some deep work around heaven and hell. Stuff I’ve left on the theological back burner for about a decade. (Honestly, that’s probably another Footnotes post on its own… and assuming that this book gets written…)
We’ll see where this journey leads. I’m not sure yet.
And because this is raw—and still very much in-process—I probably won’t respond to comments right away (even the nice or constructive ones!). But know that I’m reading. And I’m grateful.
Seriously: thank you for being here. For subscribing. For supporting.
Here it is. (And just know, if this project ever actually becomes a book, all the stuff in parentheses from here on out? Yeah, those would 💯 be footnotes.) (… I shouldn’t have used that emoji, but I’m leaving it in as a reminder… of what? I don’t know yet)
“Joseph, I think you’re dealing with depression,” my therapist, Johnnie, told me the week before Holy Week.
