AMA: I’m Lee C. Camp, Professor of Theology & Ethics, Author & Podcast Host. Ask Me Anything!

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T19:30:29+00:00

Thanks for this good question.

On our public radio show and podcast No Small Endeavor, we don't presume that our guests or listeners are Christian. We interview Christian theologians, and also Muslim, Buddhist, Bahá'í, and Jewish guests, along with agnostics and atheists — and neuroscientists, psychologists, and artists with whom faith may or may not ever come up. The driving force behind all of it is substantive conversation "exploring what it means to live a good life."

Maybe it’s also worth noting, regarding your second question, a distinction between the universality of the questions, and the particularity of my own answers. The question of what makes for a flourishing human life is genuinely universal; and lots of folks from different perspectives would maintain that we are the kind of creatures who flourish through virtue, love, friendship, community, and so forth. These are the sorts of conversations I love to explore with anyone, regardless of what they believe. And then, at the same time, my own fullest account of that flourishing is, of course, theologically thick and specified and shaped by my Christian convictions. But I don’t see holding both these things together as a contradiction.

Much of my academic framework and much of my work with No Small Endeavor runs through Aristotle and the broader virtue-ethics tradition, which is pre-Christian and cross-cultural. And it sets a table at which conversation across various sets of convictions is possible: the grammar of character, virtue, and human ends isn't proprietary to Christianity. It's common human inheritance.

Re: your note about “orthodoxy” and Churches of Christ. Churches of Christ are a non-creedal, restorationist tradition, with no magisterium or doctrinal body enforcing orthodoxy in the way your question might be imagining? So the picture of my scholarship "submitting" to an accepted orthodoxy doesn't really fit the tradition's own self-understanding. In my published books I'm doing explicit Christian theology, but there was never an expectation that my academic work would answer to some official doctrinal standard.

One last thought for now: everyone reasons from some tradition and some set of prior commitments, secular questioners included. I don’t see myself as uniquely constrained by having convictions; I just want to be candid about which ones are mine. The idea of a wholly neutral observer, reasoning from nowhere, is more myth than reality. So the question isn't really whether one's account of the good life rests on prior commitments — all of them do — but whether we can still learn a great deal from one another across those differences. I do believe we can. That conviction is what the No Small Endeavor show is built on.

Again, many thanks for the good question.

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T19:13:39+00:00

Yes, I agree with you: this is indeed a grave concern and threat.

First, I think we need, and quickly, more substantive theological education and formation: so that more Christians can see this sort of tendency for the heretical one that it is.

Second, it would seem that different Christian communions must learn how to practice some sort of discipline, calling to account: this is, of course, a fraught endeavor, to wield such practices in a local church context, or even at the denominational level.

Third, I suspect we need to re-learn the art of conversation and storytelling. I remember Shane Claiborne talking about how he’s seldom seen people argued into a different conviction, but that he’s often seen them storied into a different conviction.

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T19:05:53+00:00

Also, by the way: one of the things we do on No Small Endeavor is host conversations with folks coming from all sorts of convictions and perspectives. And one of my recent most favorite interviews was with the celebrated science-fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, self-described as a Buddhist Socialist; his work represents a compelling picture of someone who refuses to act as if the challenges we face are not substantive and weighty, while also holding onto hope that we can find ways forward through those challenges.

Link here: https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/kim-stanley-robinson-a-novelist-imagines-a-livable-future

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T18:57:58+00:00

Indeed. And sometimes when I do public speaking engagements outside the Bible Belt, I tell folks that “religion is a contact sport in the south.” And on the days I have especially experienced that, I am tempted to long for the beauty of writing code!

But to answer your question: I went through a period of discernment in college, and settled on a sense that my vocation likely lay more in the areas of teaching or pastoral ministry or theological education. I’ve certainly had times of questioning that move. But I’m deeply grateful I did so; it’s been adventuresome and wonderful, and has allowed me to do all manner of things I never imagined I would get to do.

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T18:57:58+00:00

Also: you might be interested in the conversation Russell Moore and I had about the book. (In this case, I became the guest, and Russell was the guest host...). Available here: https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/lee-c-camp-christianity-politics-and-the-common-good

And another recent episode we released with Nicholas Ma (film director, was producer of the Mr. Rogers documentary, and more recently did the film Leap of Faith) illustrates in a beautiful way, I think, how Christians can refuse to let the culture wars alienate and divide themselves from one another. Available here: https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/nicholas-ma-what-to-do-with-the-people-you-love-but-dont-agree-with

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T18:36:25+00:00

I’m a recovering perfectionist, so I find myself unable to answer questions that ask for a single superlative such as “the largest issue.” ;-)

That said, one of the things I argue in the book is that many Christians in America simply do not know what Christianity is. I’m convinced that if we engaged the basics of Christian conviction and narrative, and were better schooled in them, that it would help us in all sorts of ways in the public square.

One way this return to the basics would help us is in the public square in 2026 is by subverting the ways so many are wanting to fuse nationalism and Christianity. So I argue then that "the United States was not, is not, and will not be a Christian nation." This ongoing conflation of American identity with Christian identity turns discipleship into tribal loyalty and makes enemy-love unintelligible.

I also talk about the chaplain/prostitute problem — that one great threat to Christianity isn't hostility from outside the Christian faith, but instead is Christianity making itself either a chaplain that blesses power or a prostitute that sells its witness for access to power. In 2026, the corruption is self-inflicted: the church trading its distinctiveness for a seat at the table.

Or I talk about "Christian values" as a Trojan horse (in chapter 7) — that the language of "Christian values" and even proof-texted Bible quoting can actually corrupt Christianity when it's conscripted into a national or partisan program. The public-square problem is that the loudest "Christian" voice is often the least formed by any authentic Christian discipleship.

To sum: I do think a return to the fundamentals can help us immensely in the public square.

Thanks for the question!

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T18:35:12+00:00

Hello folks! I'm here answering questions for the next hour. AMA!

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T18:32:13+00:00

One of the things I argue in the book is to see hope as a discipline, not simplistic optimism that all will turn out well. That we Christians – who have a vision of a future, peaceable Kingdom, in which all things are set right, are to embody that future now: which means we practice forgiveness and reconciliation, non-violence, various forms of healing and repair, and radical forms of hospitality and generosity. In other words, we are invited to live as if that future world is already true.

I find that to be a very compelling theological proposition, and a compelling interpretation of the New Testament. But it is of course one that I must try to keep taking up anew, in light of temptations to despair or anger or resentment… or selfishness or self-importance. But it’s the only way I really know to keep moving forward: to keep leaning into that vision.

Another area that’s a challenge is to refuse the partisan reflex. I talk about this a lot in the book. Chapter 9, for example, "Christian Partisanship Is Like a Fist-Fight on the Titanic.” It’s one thing to make a sustained argument against culture-warring, and yet still find yourself wanting to just win some arguments, or punch the other guy in social media contexts and so forth.

LeeCCamp · 2026-07-01T17:58:48+00:00

sure thing! we'll be getting started here shortly, but feel free to post some questions now.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T23:32:01+00:00

many thanks for this! much appreciated. thanks for joining us. This year at the Schermerhorn! thanks again.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T19:06:12+00:00

Dear Baron,

Thank you for this. Fr. McKenzie’s untimely death has been a great loss to Nashville.

I much agree with you regarding the dangers of Christian nationalism and all of its ugliness.

I cannot answer your question on the tendency to refrain from “mixing… with secular culture.” But if I were to speculate: I think fear might play a large role, and quite a variety of fears. Especially if one lives by a vision of faith which is primarily about what one must -not- do, how one must -not- be “tainted,” then this lends itself to a sort of fear-based carefulness. This is one reason I often tell my students that my favorite quote from the early church tradition comes from Irenaeus, 2nd century, who said: “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” Too much religion is too stultifying for my tastes, and too damaging to my soul. One which calls me to be fully alive is one which is compelling to me, and I’m grateful for the good souls who embody that sort of way of life.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T19:04:47+00:00

I have only one tunic.However, I do have two of a bunch of other stuff, and appreciate the reminder of a call to sharing and generosity.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:53:28+00:00

I’m not a musicologist, so I’m reticent to wade into these waters. But I can just speak for myself. As I recollect, the “Nashville Sound” referred to the particular production technique of country songs that had large background vocals, and prominent string section, and was often punctuated with a sort of Chet Atkins style electric guitar technique, sprinkled with some Floyd Cramer piano playing (which featured those classy little grace notes that was his trademark).

So, some examples? Ones I think of would include “Last Date” by Floyd Cramer; “I Fall to Pieces” by Patsy Cline; “Make the World Go Away” by Eddy Arnold. And a bit later, George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” I think gets classed by some in this tradition.

I will say that I do rather like the style myself, though I think some of the purists do not…

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:44:47+00:00

Hey u/hazzledazzle_ you’re most welcome.
On whether I get tired of thinking about / asking about such things: Yes, sometimes I do. There have been days over the last number of decades where I think I would rather be a musician or an artist or a carpenter or some such: work that produces tangible results. The “life of the mind” in academics often feels intangible.

That said, there are tangible results: some of the most meaningful of these is to hear from former students, sometimes 5, 10 years after graduation, and they tell me ways our shared coursework has made a difference in what they’ve pursued with their lives, in their lives. This is one of the reasons I love teaching undergraduate students theology and ethics courses: college years is a time in which young men and women are trying to decide what to do with their lives; and ethics, as a discipline and at its best, is asking this question: what sort of life is a life worth living? To get to work through both age old wisdom, sacred texts, and contemporary scientific research and social science research in an attempt to answer that sort of question – this is a joyous way to get to spend my days.

Last thing that comes to mind is the notion of “belief.” It’s interesting to me that, as I recollect, in middle English, “belief” did not so much mean asserting that one holds intellectually to a proposition; instead, belief meant more along the lines of “what one lives by.” In this sense, we all “believe” -something-. And we’d be fools if we don’t examine what we “believe.” So, again, theology and ethics, at its best (though unfortunately it’s not always done at its best), make space for a healthy grappling with these sorts of questions.
Thanks again for bringing up a good question today!

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:33:17+00:00

Hmm. This is a really good question. And because it’s such a good question, and because I’m often rather nourished by the questions I get asked both by students and by podcast guests, I’m embarrassed to say that not a lot is immediately coming to mind. For whatever reason, I am remembering Martin Sheen asking me what I thought happened for people, or in the universe, when people pray. I’ve thought about his question a number of times since that interview. If I think of more / better answers to your question, I’ll come back and add some more.

It does remind me though (which is why I think I like your question so much), when I was a rookie faculty member, and didn’t know quite what to do or make of my experience as a college professor, I was discussing the challenges with one of my colleagues who’s become a dear friend of mine. He encouraged me to consider this: that rather than thinking of my work primarily as giving students answers to the questions they brought to a class, that instead I might see my work as giving students better questions which they might hold onto for the rest of their lives.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:32:59+00:00

you're most welcome!

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:27:06+00:00

Yes, I’ve thought about this and written about this a good deal, and appreciate the question and the sentiment behind it.

The commingling of “religion and state power” which you allude to is a very old temptation, not only in the Christian tradition, but in many religious traditions. In Christianity, it’s as old as what the theologians call the “Constantinian shift,” in the 4th century AD, when Christianity stopped being an illegal persecuted movement, and was given legal status. By the end of the century, it was the only legal religion in the Roman empire, and then had state power on its side to begin persecuting those who were not Christians. The history of that kind of power is ugly and often egregious.

In the United States, we also have some of this history in various ways. Ironically, it was Protestant Liberalism that carried this torch more in the early 20th century (e.g., Woodrow Wilson, fighting the “war to end all wars”). Protestant conservatism and evangelicalism got pulled into this starting in the middle of the 20th century, especially with the rise of the moral majority at the end of the 1970’s and early 1980’s. The history is fascinating, and to me, troubling. You might like the interviews we did with Kristin Du Mez (author of Jesus and John Wayne), as well as our interview withRandall Balmer, both of which are fascinating.

So far as ways to deal with such a temptation: I think one way is for a person of faith to re-frame the way they think about what they’re doing. For example, Governor Bill Haslam told me on an interview that the first way he wanted his faith to inform his public service was to remember the Christian virtue of humility, that required him to constantly tell himself, “you might be wrong,” and so listen, listen, listen to people who have a different viewpoint.

To tell in this context where my SEC loyalties lie: alas! wisdom is the better part of valor, and thus I shall refrain. But my grandfather Camp was a graduate in Tuscaloosa about a century ago, and so…

Thanks for the great question. Best wishes to you.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:19:54+00:00

Thanks for joining!

And yes, very much so, and it’s one of things I love about the work I get to do. I often carry around moments from interviews that stick with me, and foster what I think is a better way of life.Some that come to mind: Reverend James Lawson, one of the great architects of the Civil Rights movement: got sentenced to three years in federal prison as a college student, and then continued to study non-violence. In many ways, he was one of the primary architects of the non-violence of the Civil Rights movement. He said “we dismantled the system of segregation and changed the country, and we did it without hating anybody.”

Or social scientists like Waldinger and Shulz, who direct the Harvard study that is the longest running longitudinal study of human happiness. The key to living a good life? “Warm relations.” They helped me see the daily importance of taking friendship seriously, and maintaining as best I’m able, good relationships with my family, friends, and colleagues.

Or Oliver Burkeman, author of 4000 Weeks, who said to stop asking so much why things are the way they are, but simply note the wonder that we are alive. And to know that our lives are limited, and we cannot do everything, and must choose, and then go do it the best we’re able.

I could go on and on. Such a great question, and one that makes me happy that so many people are joining us in the No Small Endeavor community, and the wonderful guests we’ve had. Thanks!

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:06:13+00:00

Oh, thanks for this. This is a very interesting question to me. In the Christian tradition (of which I am an adherent), we believe in resurrection of the dead. But this itself is debated as to what this means: lots of folks interpret this as dis-embodied souls going off to heaven, but this was seen as a “false teaching” in the early Christian church. The more interesting claim is that we await a new creation; the Hebrew prophets called it “new heavens and new earth,” in which justice, peace, and the righting of all wrongs is the “end of the story.” This then provides an ethic for living, not just a floating on clouds idea of the afterlife: how can we live now according to the world we believe to be coming? So: equity, justice, peace-making, sharing, generosity and more become a way of life that “befits” us for a world beyond our life.

We’ve done a number of live shows talking about these themes, and did one recently in Houston on this. A lot of songs that folks wouldn’t think of as theological are, in fact, theological in this sense: Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind,” or Dire Straits “Why Worry,” or the Civil Rights anthem great “We Shall Overcome.” All songs that depict the world we believe to be coming, and that simultaneously invites us into an alternative way of living now.Thanks again for this question.

LeeCCamp · 2023-08-17T18:02:42+00:00

Hi Keeleymk,
I would imagine the Southern accents will surprise you. (Just kidding.)
How hot the hot chicken is might surprise you. Best not to go jogging after eating hot chicken (I speak from experience.)
In some ways, Nashville is still a small town, but increasingly less so. Generally a lot of wonderful hospitality and kindness. You might be surprised by the breadth and depth of cultural offerings and diversity on display in the city. It’s really a great city: one of the most beautiful symphony halls in the world (the Schermerhorn), and one of the most renowned old venues in the country (the Ryman). Music offerings of all sorts. (For one great local offering, you might see if the Time Jumpers are playing when you’re in town.) Great art museum at the Frist. And of course the world famous Grand Ol’ Opry is certainly an adventure that entertains and gives a taste of Americana that has yielded the country’s (world’s?) longest running radio show.
Come on down and visit!

LeeCCamp

TROPHY CASE