Du Mez was teaching a course on US history and discussing how the American ideal of masculinity has been influenced by politics, economics, and race when two male students introduced her to the John Eldredge book Wild at Heart, which prompted the project.

[5] The book begins by addressing a speech that Donald Trump gave at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, on January 23, 2016.

Du Mez reflects on how she had attended Dordt and participated in worship teams on the same stage that Trump gave the speech.

Du Mez explains that white evangelical support for Donald Trump during the 2016 United States presidential election was a continuing trend rather than an exception.

[8] The book suggests that while white evangelical views on masculinity have always been in tension with the figure of a loving Jesus, they have consistently aligned with a militant John Wayne.