Hi there!
This last weekend I holed up in the woods for a little book-writing time. It was magical, in a woodsy, squirrels (or rats or mice or raccoons) are tap-tap-tapping their paws on the roof every morning around 7:08 and waking me up sort of way. The little cabin in the woods really was a little cabin, smack dab in the middle of two-hundred foot redwood trees woods. The rain was drizzly and the neighbors kept their distance from me — I mean, there’s a reason people choose to live in the secluded areas, far away from city life. Avoiding other humans comes with the territory.
The wifi didn’t work and I lost reception about twenty minutes before I got there. Although I planned to hole up and watch Netflix once my brain finished thinking for the day, instead, I just read even more. (This book took up brain space during the day and this one kept the party raging late into the evening hours). Instead, I mostly just holed up on the love seat, heater on full blast in front of me, and wrote my little heart out.
My goal was to finish chapter 4, which I realize means nothing to you, but is in fact, Night 4 of church camp. The chapters, as you may know, are organized by the talk sequence generally employed during a week at camp. Although there are always caveats to the rule (which is to say, to the exact place this talk shows up), at some point during the week, it’s going to be time to talk about sin. And hell. And, if we’re playing by the rules of white evangelicalism (and subsequently, penal substitutionary atonement), this means we’re going deep into human depravity so a rescuing God can swoop in with Jesus a night later.
As I was telling my sister on the phone today, the whole point was just to make campers feel like dirty rotten little sinners.
Now, before I go any further, let me make clear that I think there’s a better way. There is no need to do damage by making people feel dirty and worthless, just so God can love them. Just as there are other atonement theories that can be employed, there are other ways to talk about sin and hell — if we even believe sin and hell worthy conversation points in the first place. Bad theology is for the birds.
Meanwhile, when I got home today, I spent a fair amount of time going down a rabbit trail of questionable camp skits. Questionable camp skits about sin and hell eventually led me down YouTube videos filled with Jesus and the devil, angels and demons, piety and grace. The Holy Spirit didn’t show too much of her face and God wasn’t all that present either (but Jesus was all over the place, generally portrayed by white twenty-something college boys).
And it leads me to this question:
What questionable skits do you remember from your camp days? What music, props, and theology told a story you’d just as soon press the rewind button on now?
Whether you witnessed these skits as campers, participated in them as staff, or directed them as a program director, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
If we get enough, it’d be fantastic to include them in a “Questionable Camp Skits” section at the end of the book.
Before I go, though, let me point out the obvious: I’ve not been in this space. Once the book deadline became real, around the four-month mark or so, I directed all my energy over there. But the reality is that “all my energy” also means I’m holding down a few other part-time jobs (in the nonprofit communication space, in the grant writing world, and in ministry too).
Trying to write a book on top of paying the mortgage has been hard.
Should I write at night or should I block out days every week? Should I give the book my best hours and write for two hours every morning or should I try and get away for writing weekends?
It’s been a little challenging, to say the least, especially when processing through all the feelings writing a book brings up also bubble to the surface.
Thank you for hanging in there with me.
To those of you who kick a few pennies over monthly, thank you. I swear, I’m using it. To those who are new here, thank you for joining us. To those who are itching for me to stop typing so you can JUST TELL ME YOUR QUESTIONABLE CAMP SKIT STORY ALREADY, thank you.
It’s a gift to be in this space with you.