What happens at church camp? And what happens when what happens at church camp doesn't stay there, but follows us for the rest of our lives?

Most people think of campfires, silly songs, skits, deep talks, and spiritual awakenings. But for many, this is also a place mixed with emotional manipulation, toxic theology, purity culture, exclusion, and abuse.

In this episode, I speak with Cara Meredith, author of Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation, about the “both/and” nature of church camps. She unpacks the tactics and theology used for "greater conversion" and other religious baggage people carry from their time at camp. We conclude the conversation by reimagining a camp experience centered on a theology of belovedness, not wickedness—a culture that benefits everyone.

Get the full show notes and links here. 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨ 

A sought-after speaker, writer, and public theologian, Cara Meredith is the author of Church Camp and The Color of Life. Passionate about issues of justice, race, and privilege, Cara holds a master of theology from Fuller Seminary and is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church.

With a background in education and nonprofit work, she wears more hats than she probably ought, but mostly just enjoys playing with words, a lot. Her writing has been featured in national media outlets such as The Oregonian, The New York Times, The Living Church, The Christian Century, and Baptist News Global, among others. She lives with her family in Oakland, California.

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram | Threads | Substack

• Episode 16: Christian Nationalism and Finding Hope in the Margins with Andrew Whitehead
• Substack: A Hierarchy of Belovedness

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