Growing Up Christian

Our guest this week is musician, producer, and podcaster, Aaron Sprinkle! If you grew up listening to Christian rock, metal, or hip hop, chances are good that Aaron worked on some of your favorite albums. He was an important member of the Tooth & Nail Records team, and has production, engineering, and many other credits on albums from artists like Relient K, Anberlin, Emery, Demon Hunter, New Found Glory, Zao, and Project 86, just to name a few. He was also a member of Poor Old Lu and Fair, in addition to a huge catalog of solo releases. Aaron’s a guy who had an inside view of the Christian music industry for many years, and his own faith has shifted over time.  We had a great time chatting and joking around with him, and we think you’re going to enjoy the conversation. Be sure to check out his music on your preferred streaming platform, his podcast “Moontraveling,” and follow him on Instagram at @aaronsprinkle!

Don't forget to check out our sponsor, Captain Cecil's Coffee, for excellent single-source blends that are sure to brighten your holiday season! From now until Christmas, Captain Cecil's is offering 20% off when you enter the promo code "growingupchristian" at checkout. Go to www.captaincecilscoffee.com and stuff your families stockings with delicious beans!

Our guest this week is musician Jeremy Spring, who you might know from bands like Abandon Kansas, Crusoe, and his newest project, Glass Age! Jeremy is a pastor's kid that fell in love with music through church. He went on to become an accomplished musician, and toured the country extensively with many of the Christian rock bands you probably listened to as a kid. We got to talk with Jeremy about his upbringing, time in the music industry, how his faith has changed, over the years, and the ways in which he finds fulfilment within an institution that he doesn't always see eye-to-eye with. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did, and that you'll follow Jeremy's band, Glass Age, at theglassage.bandcamp.com/ and wherever you stream music!

Don't forget to check out our sponsor, Captain Cecil's Coffee, for excellent single-source blends that are sure to brighten your holiday season! From now until Christmas, Captain Cecil's is offering 20% off when you enter the promo code "growingupchristian" at checkout. Go to www.captaincecilscoffee.com and stuff your families stockings with delicious beans!

This week we’re joined by a guy who wears a lot of hats, both literally and figuratively… Jesse Cale is a pastor’s kid, singer, musician, artist, composer, YouTuber, AND OnlyFans model! Jesse grew up in church and Christian school, and was very involved in things like the worship program. His love of music drove him towards a career in the industry, but he found that Christianity resonated less and less with him. His spiritual journey is very unique, and we had a great time talking to him! Check out Jesse’s Linktree (linktr.ee/Jessecale) for links to his social media, events, and OnlyFans, and listen to his music project, Deep Feeling Magic Being, wherever you stream music!

Don't forget to check out our sponsor, Captain Cecil's Coffee, for excellent single-source blends that are sure to brighten your holiday season! Right now, Captain Cecil's is offering 10% off select coffees and merchandise, and as always, free shipping on orders over $50. Go to www.captaincecilscoffee.com and stuff your families stockings with delicious beans!

The consummate king of Christian cringe is back, and he's curated a list of his favorite nightmare clips of 2021! Almost all of our guests have mentioned that their favorite Instagram/Twitter account is Christian Nightmares, and for good reason. He continually shines a light on the funniest, scariest, and most shocking actions, proclamations, and admissions from a colorful cast of religious leaders. Whether they're pastoring a megachurch, holding public office, or simply berating bikini-clad teens at the beach, Christian Nightmares documents the insanity that is the American church. On top of that, he has a fun music project called "The Christian Nightmares Tribulation Band," which you can find on bandcamp and youtube! 

Below you'll find a list of links CN was nice enough to put together so that you, the listener, can watch the videos we discuss play and discuss in throughout the episode:

Have you ever looked at the "Rants and Raves" section on Craigslist? It's about what you'd expect: a handful of eccentric lunatics screaming into the void about potholes, potheads, and the luciferian globalist cabal that wants to teach your toddler how to put condoms on bananas. Well, Sam's local paper hosts a similar discussion in print, and this week, we're taking a look at two of it's most accomplished civilian authors. Take your thinking caps off, and stow them under the seat in front of you, friends. We're not going to need them on this trip...

This week, we're joined by anti-racist educator, writer, podcaster, and Twitter warrior, Tori Williams Douglass! She hosts two amazing podcasts called "White Homework" and "Go Home Bible, You're Drunk." Growing up in a conservative Christian household in Portland, Oregon, Tori was met face to face with the with the blaring contradictions between the church's spoken message of compassion and empathy, and the actions and attitudes it practiced towards underprivileged communities in their backyard. We had a great time talking about her upbringing, and her work as an educator and community organizer! Visit www.toriglass.com to learn more about her work, find links to her social media, and don't forget to check out "White Homework" and "Go Home, Bible, You're Drunk" wherever you listen to podcasts!

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!

What Christian kid from the 90’s/00’s hasn’t listened to, or at the very least, known about Adventures in Odyssey? For all you badies who missed it, Adventures in Odyssey is an Evangelical radio drama/comedy created and produced by Focus on the Family. To date, over 900 episodes of Odyssey have aired across the globe, and spin-off products include books, cartoons, computer games, music albums, and of course, TONS of merchandise. At one point, Chic-Fil-A even included Adventures in Odyssey cassette tapes in their kids meals. To say it’s a popular program is… an understatement, to say the least!

Our guest this week is voice actor and activist David Griffin, who voiced a character named Jimmy Barclay, as well as several others. Beginning in his preteen years, David worked with Adventures in Odyssey for over a decade, and appears on 80+ episodes of the show. He absolutely loved voice acting, but his time with Odyssey coincided with his burgeoning struggles with mental health, and subsequent disenchantment with Christianity. Join us as he discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of being a young person working on a huge faith-based radio program!

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!

Our guest this week is activist, organizer, and an old friend of Sam's, Phil Wilmot! Phil grew up in Pennsylvania deep in the trenches of Christian fundamentalism, saturated in white supremacy. Yearning for something more life-giving than climbing the ranks of Awana and stagnating in his hometown Christianity, he went to study at Messiah University. Through his studies and his hatred of cold weather, he eventually found himself studying abroad in Uganda, a place he has called home for the past ten years. Since his time studying at Messiah Phil defected into a new faith, far left politics, which was the catalyst for the nonprofit he established along with a small handful of Ugandan comrades, Solidarity Uganda - an organization that exists to organize and mobilize against a oppression by the state and foreign companies. Since leaving Solidarity Uganda in am official capacity in 2019, Phil continues to write and educate on how everyday people can steal power away from fascists.

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!

Our guest this week is political activist and influencer, Charles McBryde! We became familiar with Charles through TikTok, where he speaks openly and honestly about his experience as a young Evangelical Republican working within the GOP political machine. During that time, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump. Charles has also worked with The Farm-Link Project (www.farmlinkproject.org) to help minimize the staggering amount of food waste in America, and redirect that unwanted produce into the hands of hungry families all across the country. We had a great time talking to Charles, and we suggest following him on TikTok and Instagram (@charlesmcbryde)!

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!

This week we’re joined by former Master’s Commission leader, Dustin Philipson! Dustin grew up in the Evangelical church, but drifted in and out as a teenager. He found his niche in the Christian punk and metal scene, and spent a lot of his formative years in Midwest venues. We had a lot of fun talking to Dustin, and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!