Chapel Probation

Tori Williams Douglass is an educator and podcaster who went from a cult-like family upbringing to an Assemblies of God bible college. Thankfully, she dropped out after just one year of the typical racism, sexism, queerphobia, and annoying theo-bro's, thus continuing and accelerating her deconstruction from christianity altogether. Today, her White Homework podcast and website is a crucial resource for all who are decolonizing our minds from anti-Blackness, and her Go Home Bible; You're Drunk podcast with co-host Justin Gentry uses humor and the hosts' extensive knowledge of the Bible to point out the absurdities in both the texts and the interpretations of the texts. 

In this episode, Scott and Tori go through Tori's short time at Western Bible College (which later became Western Bible University) and share some laughs about churches and Christian culture. 

This episode also has the debut of The Chapel Probation Players to give a satirical "other side." This week features traci kato-kiriyama, one of Scott's closest friends who is a poet, actor, activist, writer, playwright, and all-around badass. 

Chapel Probation is part of the Dauntless Media Collective

Music by Scott Okamoto, Azeem Kahn, and Hauskatt (Jen Lee) aka Jenyi, and Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford

Join the Chapel Probation Patreon  to support Scott and for bonus content.

Join the Chapel Probation Facebook group to continue the conversations.

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*Warning to current Bob Jones University students and employees: This episode contains music with beats on 2 and 4, so you are not allowed to listen. But you should. We won't tell.

A little longer episode than normal, but I just had to get all the stories into this one from Nate Nakao. Nate is the co-creator and co-host of the Full Mutuality Podcast, and his story of surviving Bob Jones University, or BJU (pause for teenage giggling)...will blow your mind. If life at APU, Biola, or Vanguard seems horrible, there are no words to describe life at BJU. With a draconian demerit system in place to monitor and police student behavior, they're basically hunting for reasons to expel students as sinners or, dare I say, reprobates. In a place where a single drink of alcohol or viewing of a PG movie results in immediate expulsion, the notion of any kind of life that values art and connection to the world is simply not possible. But Nate pushed back, even as he fought to remain at BJU, and came out feeling certain that this kind of christianity was not for him, or anyone who had any sense of self. 

Sadly, Nate would go on to join the megachurch world, including Hillsong, which you can learn about on the Full Mutuality Podcast, but this episode is just about BJU. And it's a lot. Happily, Nate is now a self-actualized person. He and his partner Gail have started the podcast collective Dauntless Media, which you're tuning into now, and he is doing the work to undo the damage done by evangelical culture. A happy ending after BJU. 

Chapel Probation is part of the Dauntless Media Collective

Music by Scott Okamoto and Hauskatt (Jen Lee) aka Jenyi, and Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford

Join the Chapel Probation Patreon  to support Scott and for bonus content.

Join the Chapel Probation Facebook group to continue the conversations.

Follow Scott on Instagram and Twitter

rscottokamoto.com

Every adjunct college professor dreams of having a full-time, tenure-track position. Cynthia Vacca Davis was offered a tenured position teaching English at a small Bible College, a job that offered a good salary with benefits. The problem was, Cynthia had just agreed to be a supporter of her friend Danny, who had just come out as an intersex male after living well into his adulthood as a female. The president of the Unnamed Bible College (UBS) pretty much lost his dull, tiny mind upon hearing about Cynthia's friend and her plan to write about Danny in her MFA program. So, Cynthia had to make a choice: sign the violently anti-LGBTQIA faith statement to get the job or forego the job in hopes of finding something else. 

Evangelical schools make every student, faculty, and staff member sign statements of faith that contain all manner of indefensible garbage, and many sign it in bad faith, choosing to ignore the statement and still be in good standing at the school. I have a whole book about doing this, myself. But Cynthia couldn't bring herself to attach her name to a school that expressed such overt hatred towards so many people in the world. She has a book, Intersexion, from Lake Drive Books about her and Danny's journeys that I hope you all will buy and read. I know I learned a lot about intersex people from it.

Chapel Probation is part of the Dauntless Media Collective

Music by Scott Okamoto and Hauskatt (Jen Lee) aka Jenyi.

Join the Chapel Probation Patreon  to support Scott and for bonus content.

Join the Chapel Probation Facebook group to continue the conversations.

Follow Scott on Instagram and Twitter

rscottokamoto.com

In the second part of our almost 4-hour conversation, Abbie and Liz talked about the many ways evangelical culture oppresses women, particularly queer women and women of color. They tell stories of how they fought patriarchal systems from the inside at APU through the so-called Women's Resource Center and inside the classrooms. As we suffer through a dark time of Supreme Court activism on behalf of fundamentalist views, Abbie and Liz remind us that this fight has existed long before 2022, long before they fought the good fight at APU from 2007 to 2012, and even before that. But they also remind us that it's worth the cost to wage this war for women because so much is at stake. Evangelicals really believe women are subservient to men, and this view is dictating the very laws that govern our country. I know you will be inspired by the courage and the clarity of thought from Abbie and Liz in this episode.

Chapel Probation is part of the Dauntless Media Collective

Music by Scott Okamoto and Hauskatt (Jen Lee) aka Jenyi.

Join the Chapel Probation Patreon  to support Scott and for bonus content.

Join the Chapel Probation Facebook group to continue the conversations.

Follow Scott on Instagram and Twitter

rscottokamoto.com

Biola is a Southern California evangelical school, similar to APU. It tends to be a little more conservative in every measurable way, but Hope and Nikki decided early on to push back at the repressive culture around them. They lived their lives to the fullest, going to great lengths to appear to be "good" Biola students while maintaining a fast-paced life of partying and fun. But it wasn't all fun and games. Their unwillingness to cater to white male fundamentalist rules made life difficult and even dangerous for them. 

In the end, both Hope and Nikki saw through the charade of Biola's "chill" and "relatable" evangelicalism and recognized the racism, sexism, and ridiculous purity culture vibes all around them. Most importantly for them, they realized the treatment of women and women of color were a preview of the coming age of Trump. 

Be sure to check out Hope's blog, And Hope Does Not Disappoint.

Chapel Probation is part of the Dauntless Media Collective

Music by Scott Okamoto, Azeem Kahn, and Shin Kawasaki+Wingo Shackleford

Join the Chapel Probation Patreon  to support Scott and for bonus content.

Join the Chapel Probation Facebook group to continue the conversations.

Follow Scott on Instagram and Twitter

rscottokamoto.com

This was the 5th Episode of Season 1, and one of the more popular ones at that, but out of an abundance of caution, I moved it behind a paywall. But it's back by popular demand!  2 new "ads" featuring the best of "conservative christian" organizations, Plaulty (Psalty's cousin) and a Metal Men's Rights Science group. 

Ryan and Anthony talk about being science majors in a place stuck between trying to be a respected academic institution while still upholding the anti-science values of the evangelical world. It's both hilarious and tragic. Both men talk about their deconstruction at APU and how the school's attitude toward science was directly tied to the overall vibe of the school as more simplistic indoctrination machine than higher education institution. If you're wondering how we got to this age of "alternative facts" and disbelief in the science of vaccines and pandemics, Ryan's and Anthony's stories and observations will give insight into the parts of evangelical culture that contributed to all of that. And we'll have some bittersweet laughs along the

Ryan and Anthony talk about being science majors in a place stuck between trying to be a respected academic institution while still upholding the anti-science values of the evangelical world. It's both hilarious and tragic. Both men talk about their deconstruction at APU and how the school's attitude toward science was directly tied to the overall vibe of the school as more simplistic indoctrination machine than higher education institution. If you're wondering how we got to this age of "alternative facts" and disbelief in the science of vaccines and pandemics, Ryan's and Anthony's stories and observations will give insight into the parts of evangelical culture that contributed to all of that. And we'll have some bittersweet laughs along the way.

For more discussion, join our Facebook group: Chapel Probation with Scott Okamoto and the Instagram page here.

Check out the Dauntless Media Podcasts here.

Join the Patreon to support the Chapel Probation cause.

Music in this episode by Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford, Elephants with Guns, and Scott Okamoto

Long before Haven, led by Glenda and her friends, found themselves in a national spotlight, Amy Scott came to APU not yet understanding their identity. Within a year of their time there, they would realize they was not straight, and that this part of their identity was a threat to the fabric of APU's conservative evangelical culture. This also meant, the culture was a very real threat to their fledgling community being formed in the wake of Soul Force's Equality Ride. That event would embolden two students to take a stand against the school's anti-LGBTQ policies, and it would give Amy a sense of purpose for themself. They would go on to be an activist with Soul Force, staging protests against the military's so-called, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule and the barbaric treatment of LGBTQ students at APU. 

I distinctly remember watching Amy from afar, deciding just how I wanted to make it known that I was an ally. The posts on the infamous Door of Discussion were getting campus-wide attention thanks to two students who identified as gay, and there was pressure for all faculty to toe the evangelical line. But once the door had been opened, pun intended, the choice was clear to me. I couldn't just hide behind my role as English professor. I had to pick a side, and I knew I had to pick the right side. When students soon after started the Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA), they asked me to be a part of it, and I jumped in. Abbie and Liz's and Glenda's episodes tell those stories. 

But Amy and their friends were all alone, in a much more scary time for them. Whereas Glenda described Haven's influence on the campus which created a kind of "cool" rebellious vibe where straight kids wanted to be involved and often presented themselves as queer, Amy and their friends went to APU at a time where queerness was universally regarded as being an abomination. Students were being expelled, faculty were being fired, and the culture was completely unforgiving to anyone who was queer or queer-affirming. It was extremely rare for me to encounter a student who was not openly hostile to queer people. And yet, Amy and their friends pushed and resisted, sacrificing their sanity and their safety to make change in an impossible setting. 

But there were young people watching, and they would continue the fight that continues to this day.

You can follow Amy Scott on instagram.

The Chapel Probation Instagram has been mysteriously shut down, but you can support this podcast on the Chapel Probation Patreon. The wildly popular "Science" episode is now available for Patreon supporters, along with more bonus material. 

Join the conversation about everything on the Chapel Probation Facebook group and sign up for behind-the-scenes info about this podcast and Scott's book on his Substack Newsletter.

You can see videos, read Scott's blog, and keep up to date with Scott's book at rscottokamoto.com.

Music in this episode by Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford, and Scott Okamoto.

Glenda McDannel was tapped by Haven's graduating leaders to be a co-leader of the group just as it was emerging from the shadows of APU's underground.  She didn't know it at the time, but she would help lead the group into battle with the homophobic and transphobic culture and administration to make the campus  safer than it was. And during her final years, she would see Haven become a nationally known group. 

APU's Queer community became a fascinating cross-section of students who were openly queer, students who were "wrestling" with their queerness, and students who simply wanted to appear to be counter-cultural.  It reminded me of wealthy white students adopting hip hop identities as some kind of cool rebellion in a conservative white space.  Some students even claimed to be some form of queer while also maintaining their fundamentalist, purity culture, evangelical values. If the journey of coming out is complicated in the secular world, it is exponentially more complicated in evangelical spaces.  With all of the spiritual and emotional abuse and resulting baggage, the process is fraught with guilt, anxiety, and fear.  

Even so, Glenda and her community fought for their place at APU. Building on the work of the generations before them, they continued the activism, and art nights, and the celebrations of life needed to make the fight worthwhile.

But in the end, Glenda would be expelled from APU in the shadiest of manners, leaving us to believe she was booted out for her role in making APU safer for LGBTQ students.  This was confirmed by a well-intentioned administrator keeping in touch with her and reaching out to help her get back in years later and after an official LGBTQ student org was in place.  The fact that he thanked her for all her work to help LGBTQ students only made it worse. The very things she was kicked out for were being lauded but only because the policies had changed.  

To her credit, Glenda refused to return and finish the 2 classes needed to graduate. She is living her life with a good job. She is married. And she is still an amazing person I am honored to know.

The Chapel Probation Instagram has been mysteriously shut down, but you can support this podcast on the Chapel Probation Patreon.

Join the conversation about everything on the Chapel Probation Facebook group and sign up for behind-the-scenes info about this podcast and Scott's book on his Substack Newsletter.

You can see videos, read Scott's blog, and keep up to date with Scott's book at rscottokamoto.com.

Music in this episode by Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford, Elephants with Guns, and Scott Okamoto.

Dr. Daniel White Hodge survived 8 long years at APU, teaching in Global Studies and Biblical Studies. He refused to play nice with the white supremacist culture of the school, and that, as many of us know very well, makes for a tortuous experience at APU. But like many of us, Dan found and developed his identity as a Black man and as a Christian as he fought for his humanity and his place at the school. After 8 years of teaching and fighting the racist culture of the students, the faculty, and the administration, Dan was done. He has gone on to teach at other schools and his podcast, Profane Faith is in its 6th season.

I met Dan through Sammie Howell, whom you've heard in episode 4 of this podcast, and loved seeing him around campus and hanging out once in a while. He was gracious enough to come speak to APASO one night, and he scared the bejesus out of the Asian kids with his account of his experience in the LA Riots. 

But Dan is such a great ally of all marginalized peoples, including Asian Americans, and his humor and generous spirit is infectious. Through his teaching and his podcast, he is making the world a better place through dialogue and story.

The Chapel Probation Instagram has been mysteriously shut down, but you can support this podcast on the Chapel Probation Patreon.

Join the conversation about everything on the Chapel Probation Facebook group and sign up for behind-the-scenes info about this podcast and Scott's book on his Substack Newsletter.

Music in this episode by Shin Kawasaki and Wingo Shackleford, Elephants with Guns, Azeem Kahn, and Scott Okamoto.