Episodes
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Host Andrew Camp interviews Hugh Hollowell, pastor of Open Door Mennonite Church in Jackson, Mississippi and author of the memoir-essay collection Food Is Love, about how food and tables reveal God’s love, shape memory, and build connection. Hollowell calls the Last Supper his most compelling Christian story, arguing meals are intimate, mnemonic, and inherently communal, and that communion is scandalous because it includes people who fail us. He discusses Southern foodways, the Great Migration’s use of cooking to preserve home, and a long conversation about sweet potatoes with Senator Roger Wicker as an example of food humanizing opponents. They critique privileged food moralism amid Jackson’s food deserts and poverty, describe how “bad” celebratory foods and enslaved people’s ingenuity became valued cuisines, and frame cooking and writing about food as acts of care and political resistance. They close with reflections on church as support for weekday discipleship, lingering meals as welcome, and Hollowell’s favorite foods and stories.
Hugh Hollowell is a sixth generation Mississippian and is the pastor of Open Door Mennonite Church in Jackson, MS – a multiracial peace church formed in the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement. He is a writer and storyteller and has been the publisher of a weekly newsletter called Life is So Beautiful for more than a decade. Before becoming pastor at Open Door, Hugh spent 12 years working as a pastor among unhoused people and those struggling with addictions. This taught him much of what he knows about both second chances and grace, but not much that is useful at denominational meetings. He and his spouse Renee live in the Fondren neighborhood of Jackson, where they run a small scale kitten rescue and co-parent five house cats and seven chickens.
Hugh's website: hughhollowell.org
Follow Andrew Camp
Facebook: andrew.camp.9Instagram: @andrewcamp80Substack: @thebiggesttableThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
(00:00) - Sponsor and Guest Intro(01:32) - Food Memory and Communion(20:11) - Privilege Shame and Care(39:13) - Cooking as Resistance(44:51) - Church Around the Table(54:14) - Remembering and Last Meals -
Host Andrew Camp welcomes theologian Andy Root back to The Biggest Table to discuss Root’s recent books, especially Baal and the Gods of More, and what Christian “growth” should mean. Root argues Christianity is about “growing into someone” through relational participation in God’s life, not merely “growing something” like budgets, attendance, or resources, which can become a late-capitalist logic of escalation akin to fertility gods such as Baal or Artemis. Drawing on 1–2 Kings, Brueggemann, Hartmut Rosa, and Robert Gordon’s “special century” of American GDP growth, Root connects church expansion to economic growth and says American Protestantism now faces anxiety and nostalgia on the far side of a golden era. He critiques both techno-optimist innovation and identitarian recognition as susceptible to capitalist dynamics, and calls the church toward the theology of the cross: God’s presence “for you” in sorrow, loss, and shared burdens. Root previews a forthcoming pastoral theology of money.
Andy Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Lately his work has centered around the intersection of faith and our secular age, having completed his six volume series Ministry in a Secular Age. He has written a number of books and has given lectures and presentations across the country and globe both to church groups, universities/colleges, youth workers, and academic communities. He lives in St. Paul, his wife Kara is a Presbyterian minister and they have two kids (Owen and Maisy) and a dog. When he’s not teaching and writing, he watches a ton of TV.
Andy Root's website: andrewroot.org
Listen to my first conversation with Andy on The Biggest Table: Sacred Waiting in the Secular Age (Episode 12)
Follow Andrew Camp
Facebook: andrew.camp.9Instagram: @andrewcamp80Substack: @thebiggesttableThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp welcomes historian Mark Johnson, author of “American Bacon,” who explains how his work on Alabama barbecue led him to study bacon’s shifting meanings. Johnson describes food as a narrative device for telling difficult histories and highlights a recurring theme of performance, including his claim that modern bacon enthusiasm can resemble minstrel-like impersonation, exemplified by a 1983 New York Times “In Praise of Bacon” cartoon mocking yet admiring a “Georgia mountain man.” The conversation traces bacon’s role from a broad term for cured pork in colonial America, both staple and insult, through English associations of respectability with beef and mutton, and early U.S. debates that sometimes reclaimed bacon as humble republican virtue. In the 19th–20th centuries bacon became linked to Southern “backwardness,” fat, and health fears; by 1977 the USDA considered banning it over nitrites/nitrates. Bacon’s resurgence is tied to distrust of dietary experts, low-carb culture, fast food, and upscale “rustic” Southern cuisine that can romanticize marginalized peoples without materially benefiting them, prompting discussion of systemic change, food deserts, and “culinary colonialism.”
MARK A. JOHNSON, originally from Milwaukee, earned a PhD in history from the University of Alabama. Previously, he earned an MA from the University of Maryland and BA from Purdue University. He currently teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is the author of An Irresistible History of Alabama Barbecue: From Wood Pit to White Sauce and Rough Tactics: Black Performance in Political Spectacle, 1877–1932. His most recent book is American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon. He resides in Knoxville, TN with his wife, Kate, and two cats, Peri and Remy.
Follow Mark on Instagram: @baconscholar
Buy American Bacon: The History of a Food PhenomenonFollow Andrew Camp
Facebook: andrew.camp.9Instagram: @andrewcamp80Substack: @thebiggesttableThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp interviews writer and theologian Erik Freiburger about disability, belonging, and hospitality. Erik, a wheelchair user since a 1994 spinal cord injury, describes how his understanding of the word “disabled” matured, and explores whether disability is blessing or curse, concluding it is both/and, shaped by social exclusion, ableism, and human limits. They discuss prejudice and “whitewashing” (“aren’t we all disabled?”), and how churches can treat disability as peripheral. Erik explains his pushback to a prior AI conversation, rooted in his wife Bonnie’s 2014 loss of swallowing and their house church’s struggle to practice Eucharist when she couldn’t eat, leading them to broaden hospitality beyond food toward relationship and communal belonging. He urges churches to create cultures of care, advocate for dignity by going with marginalized people, and let neighbors shape theology (“the room is my theology”). Erik shares painful church experiences, links exclusion to “disgust” and purity logics, and finds hope in disabled Christians’ perseverance.
Erik Freiburger is a writer, theologian, creator, and storyteller whose work explores the intersections of disability, dignity, and hope. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Theology and a Master’s degree in Religious Education with a focus on Missional Leadership, he brings both scholarly depth and lived experience to questions of belonging, justice, identity, and transformation within the disabled life. Writing on his Substack, At the Bottom of the Well (atthebottomofthewell.com), and hosting the Well Dwellers Podcast, Erik is creating spaces for voices from the margins and reflections on the sacred work of becoming. Rooted in a commitment to wonder and the dignity of all bodies, his work invites readers and listeners into deeper attentiveness to the mysteries unfolding at the edges of who we are and where we find ourselves in our society.
Erik enjoys spending time with his wife, Bonnie, working out in his basement gym while listening to his expanding record collection, wheeling the park pathways around his city home, reading in-depth literature, and watching creative movies.
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp welcomes Matt Erickson, senior pastor of Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee and author of The Pastor as Gardener, to discuss gardening as a metaphor for pastoral ministry and discipleship. Erickson shares his family roots in gardening, favorite crops, and how crises—including the pandemic, racial justice tensions, and a friend’s moral failure—led him to agrarian biblical imagery such as 1 Corinthians 3:5. He describes how themes like seed, compost, pruning, soil, and seasons reshape views of suffering, formation, place, and community, critiquing technological distraction, rootlessness, and efficiency-driven “exploiter” mindsets in favor of care and attentiveness. Practical steps include contemplative prayer and guarding attention. They explore how churches face seasons, including “winter” in North American decline, and why resurrection-shaped hope sustains faithful cultivation.
Bio
Matt Erickson is a pastor, writer, speaker, and disciple of Jesus. Since 2010, Matt has served as the Senior Pastor at Eastbrook Church, an urban, multiracial church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Matt received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Christian Education from Wheaton College (IL), a Master of Divinity degree from Northern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary (Holland, MI) in connection with the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination. He is the author of the recently published book The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry. Matt is married to Kelly, who has served in various ministry roles and operates her own spiritual direction practice. Matt and Kelly are parents of three children, all in college or beyond.Follow Matt Erickson:
Website: mwerickson.comSubstack: @mwericksonFollow Andrew Camp
Facebook: andrew.camp.9Instagram: @andrewcamp80Substack: @thebiggesttableThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp interviews religious ethicist and Northeastern professor Liz Bucar about her book, "Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us." Bucar shares her path into religious studies and explains how “spiritual salad bar” approaches—popular among Gen Z and driven by personalization and algorithms—can miss religious context, community, and ethical depth, sometimes causing harm. She critiques wellness culture’s individual optimization and “toxic diet culture,” including moralizing food, ascetic restriction, and valorizing thinness, tracing these in part to mainstreamed strands of Christian theology. Bucar highlights religious resources for healthier food ways, using Ramadan to show fasting as communal, virtue-forming, and bounded by exemptions, and discusses Ayurvedic balance as an alternative to rigid good/bad food categories. The conversation emphasizes communal eating, hospitality, and flourishing beyond personal control.
Liz Bucar is a religious ethicist and professor of religion at Northeastern University, as well as a certified intenSati and Kripalu yoga instructor. Her popular writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, and The Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of four books, including the award-winning Stealing My Religion and Pious Fashion. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. For more about how religion shapes us all, even if we don't believe, subscribe to Liz’s newsletter at LizBucar.com.
Follow Liz Bucar:
Order Beyond WellnessWebsite: lizbucar.comInstagram: @lizbucarSubstack: @lizbucarFollow Andrew Camp
Facebook: andrew.camp.9Instagram: @andrewcamp80Substack: @thebiggesttableThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp welcomes writer and fellow podcaster Jeremy Jernigan to The Biggest Table to discuss faith, hospitality, and wine while comparing two pinot noirs: California’s Meiomi (engineered for consistent, fruit-forward sweetness) and Oregon’s Lemelson single-vineyard pinot (limited production, terroir-driven complexity). Their tasting becomes an analogy for faith, contrasting mass-produced certainty with nuanced growth. Jernigan shares the story behind his book The Edge of the Inside: after two decades in ministry and a dream lead-pastor role, conflicts during 2020 over engaging COVID and George Floyd’s murder led to an elder-board ultimatum, his resignation, loss of community, and years in “liminal space.” The book traces moving from the “center” to the “edge,” rethinking inherited theology, and imagining how to move forward, emphasizing curiosity, composting past faith, and finding new communities.
Jeremy Jernigan is a writer, speaker, and recovering megachurch pastor. After two decades in full-time ministry, including serving as a Lead Pastor, he now focuses on helping people rebuild their faith after it breaks. He’s the author of The Edge of the Inside, and he hosts the weekly Rebuilding Faith series and the biweekly Cabernet and Pray podcast. Jeremy lives in Arizona with his wife and five kids.
Follow Jeremy
jeremyjernigan.comEdge of the Inside bookThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp interviews Anglican priest and writer Hannah Miller King about her book Feasting on Hope and how the Eucharist reframed her grief after her father died of cancer. King describes needing a bigger theological framework than “pray and hope,” finding healing and belonging through weekly communion, and seeing the Lord’s Table as both comfort and a foretaste that stokes longing for God’s coming kingdom. They discuss what churches miss when communion is infrequent, the formative power of embodied ritual, vulnerability in receiving with “empty hands,” and the wide-angle social implications of the meal for community, reconciliation, and justice, including responses to scarcity and food insecurity. King offers counsel for those hurt by church to grieve, be patient, and take manageable risks toward worship and relationship.
Hannah Miller King is a priest and writer in the Anglican tradition. She has been a campus minister among conservatory musicians, an apartment minister in an urban highrise, and a parish pastor in large and small churches. She currently serves as the Associate Rector at The Vine Anglican Church in Western North Carolina. She is a contributing writer for Christianity Today and Holy Post Media, and is the author of Feasting On Hope: How God Sets A Table in the Wilderness.
Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts in Religion from Redeemer Seminary. She is currently being schooled in the minutia of Star Wars (and other galactic battles between good and evil) by her three kids.
Hannah's Website: hannahmillerking.com
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp welcomes theologian and ethicist Michael Morelli to discuss artificial intelligence in relation to humanity, modernity, and the Christian table. Morelli defines today’s “AI” as machine learning and generative systems that process vast data, perform tasks, and simulate personality, while noting debate about true sentience. They address AI’s ubiquity, marketing that frames it as neutral, embedded biases in data and design, and the need for critical thinking and formation rather than shortcuts, especially in education. The conversation situates AI within late-modern acceleration, power, and influencer culture, alongside declining trust in institutions. Morelli contrasts AI’s dot-connecting with the sacramental and communal power of baptism and Eucharist, which reveal deeper reality and foster unlikely relationships, shaping everyday eating and hospitality. They close with food reflections and Morelli’s podcast and social links.
Michael Morelli is the Associate Professor of Theology & Ethics at Northwest College & Seminary and ACTS Seminaries. Both are affiliates of Trinity Western University. He’s also an adjunct professor of theology of at Trinity’s Religious Studies and Nursing Schools. He has a PhD in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and is the author of Theology, Ethics, and Technology in the Work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio: A Nascent Theological Tradition (Lexington Books) and editor of Desert, Wilderness, Wasteland, and Word: A New Essay By Jacques Ellul and Five Critical Engagements (Pickwick).
Follow Michael Morelli
Instagram: @mchlmorelliSubstack: Personalist Manifesto(s)Podcast: Personalist Manifesto(s)This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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Host Andrew Camp welcomes Amar Peterman, a constructive/public theologian, to discuss Peterman’s forthcoming book, "Becoming Neighbors: the Common Good Made Local" (Eerdmans), releasing March 12. Amar argues the common good must be built locally by actually knowing and loving the people across the street, rather than assuming a universal or national common good. Using the potluck table as the book’s guiding metaphor, Peterman contrasts potluck with the “melting pot,” emphasizing that people bring distinct “dishes” (stories, beliefs, traditions) that can be appreciated alongside one another in a shared, community-owned space where everyone is both host and guest. They address why interfaith engagement matters, warning that a “common good” good only for one group becomes tyranny, Christian nationalism, or authoritarianism. Drawing on Augustine’s “use and enjoyment,” Peterman cautions against using neighbors or the table instrumentally and argues neighbors are to be enjoyed as ends in themselves in God; he critiques control and domination as things wrongly treated as ends. Peterman outlines practices of neighbor love—compassion, humility, translation, resonance (via Hartmut Rosa), lament, and accompaniment (via Paul Farmer, Partners in Health, and Gustavo Gutiérrez), presenting accompaniment as long-term, dignifying companionship rather than short-term charity. They discuss joy as intertwined with hope and resurrection while rejecting shallow “happy” platitudes that avoid lament, and they reflect on compost and gardening as slow, local work that can yield surprising “new life” beyond one’s control.
Amar D. Peterman is a constructive theologian, working at the intersection of faith and public life. He is the founder of Scholarship for Religion and Society LLC, and the former assistant director of civic networks at Interfaith America. Peterman holds an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a PhD student at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. He is the author of Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local (published by Eerdmans). His writing and research have been featured in Sojourners, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, The Fetzer Institute, The Berkley Forum, and The Anxious Bench. He also publishes regularly on his Substack, This Common Life.Follow Amar Peterman:
Instagram: @amarpetermanFacebook: @amarpetermanSubstack: This Common Life
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part of Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com. -
In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp delves into the intersections of food, theology, and the psychological theory of disgust with Paul and Billie Hoard, who co-authored the book Eucontamination. Paul, a licensed counselor and psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and Billie, a trans woman and writer, discuss how concepts of disgust operate at both individual and sociological levels, impacting relationships within the church and society. They explore the theological implications of disgust, the transformative power of love, and how practices like the Eucharist and foot washing can help Christians move past disgust reactions to foster intimacy and community. They also share personal anecdotes, discuss their fondest and least favorite foods, and emphasize the critical importance of sharing meals to experience God's love and grow in fellowship.
Paul Hoard, PhD, LMHC, is a licensed counselor, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and associate professor of counseling psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. His scholarship focuses on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, sexuality, white-body supremacy, perpetration-induced traumatic stress, and the theological logic of disgust. He has spoken and published internationally on topics including purity culture, trauma, eucontamination, and the intersections of theology and psychoanalysis. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Hoard maintains a private counseling practice and provides clinical supervision and consultation. He is the co-author, with his sister Billie Hoard, of the book Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life.
Paul's Substack
Billie Hoard is a trans woman, teacher, writer, and something of an Anabaptist radical. Together with her brother Paul, she is the author of "Eucontamination". Billie holds an MA in liberal arts from St. John's College & she writes about queerness, fairy tales, C. S. Lewis, theology & philosophy.
Billie's Substack
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp talks with Dr. John Anthony Dunne, an associate professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary. Dr. Dunne shares his journey from a fundamentalist Baptist background in Las Vegas, Nevada, to becoming an aficionado of fine beverages and an expert on the biblical theology of alcohol. The conversation covers the best craft beers shared at academic receptions, the significance of wine, beer, and spirits in both his personal life and biblical texts, and the profound impact of these elements on Christian worship and spirituality. Dr. Dunne also discusses his latest book, 'The Mountain Shall Drip Sweet Wine: A Biblical Theology of Alcohol,' which explores the nuanced themes of alcohol in the Bible and its implications for modern believers.
Dr. John Anthony Dunne earned his PhD in NT at the University of St Andrews (in Scotland) under the supervision of Prof. N. T. Wright. He is an associate professor of NT at Bethel Seminary (in Saint Paul, MN), where he has taught since 2017, and he's the author or editor of ten books, including, most recently, The Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine: A Biblical Theology of Alcohol (published by Zondervan Academic). Born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, John enjoys hosting cocktail parties, tasting events, and the annual SBLAAR reception at AAR/SBL each year, which is an international craft beer bottle share event.
Connect with John Anthony Dunne
Two Cities PodcastInstagram: @johnnypepper2Facebook: @johnnypepper2
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com. -
In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp engages in a rich conversation with Michael Twitty, a renowned culinary historian, food writer, and author of acclaimed works such as 'The Cooking Gene' and 'Kosher Soul.' Twitty provides insightful commentary on his journey and his role in culinary history, emphasizing the significance of food as a medium for experiencing and expressing cultural identity, spirituality, and community. They discuss the broad and diverse nature of Southern cuisine, its historical context, and the intertwining of various cultures that shape it. The discussion also touches upon the challenges faced by people of color in getting their culinary stories published, and Twitty's motivations behind writing his latest cookbook, 'Recipes from the American South.' The episode underscores the profound connections between food, culture, and empathy, as well as the importance of storytelling in preserving culinary heritage.
Michael W. Twitty is an acclaimed culinary historian, and author of the two-times James Beard Award-winning book The Cooking Gene, as well as Rice and Koshersoul. He has written for many publications and been featured throughout print and broadcast media, including the Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS, and NPR’s The Splendid Table. He has given over 500 public talks and appeared in numerous series, including Taste the Nation and High on the Hog.
Follow Michael on Instagram: @thecookinggene
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of The Biggest Table podcast, the discussion centers around food, eating, and hospitality as a means to experience God's love. Andrew is joined by guests Kellie Lisi and Martin Lohrmann, who co-authored the book, Food Theology: Nourishing Faith in Local Communities. Andrew, Kellie, and Martin explore the central thesis of the book—that God’s love is made physical through food—and discuss their distinct approach compared to existing theological works. Kellie and Martin's work integrates practical guidance with theological reflections, aiming to bridge the gap between theological theory and community practices. They also delve into the importance of Holy Communion in Christianity, examining its transformational power and how it informs broader food practices and community involvement. The episode touches on the theological and historical aspects of food in Christianity, including its role in addressing food insecurity and fostering community. The conversation concludes with reflections on the personal and communal significance of food, especially during the holiday season.
Bios:
Kellie Lisi is an ordained deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and serves at Wartburg Theological Seminary as Vice President for Leadership Formation. She has served as a public school teacher and administrator, parish ministry leader, and food educator. Kellie worked in the restaurant industry prior to (and in the early years of) teaching. Her most notable restaurant co-workers were Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Chip & Dale at a character buffet restaurant in Disney World. At home in Iowa, Kellie’s nine-year-old loves when she makes pizza, while her 12-year old wishes she would make sushi bowls every day.Martin J. Lohrmann is Associate Professor of Lutheran Confessions and Heritage at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he teaches classes in church history, the Lutheran Reformation, spiritual practices, and theology and art. In addition to many articles and essays, Dr. Lohrmann is the author of Stories from Global Lutheranism: A Historical Timeline and Book of Harmony: Spirit and Service in the Lutheran Confessions, and the co-editor of 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture Series. He enjoys going for walks, playing guitar, and cooking with whatever ingredients are on hand.
Buy Food Theology: Nourishing Faith in Local Communities
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of 'The Biggest Table,' host Andrew Camp welcomes Anna Rollins, author of 'Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl.' They discuss her memoir, which examines the harmful parallels between diet culture and evangelical purity culture, both of which pressurize women to fear their bodies and appetites. Anna shares her personal struggles with disordered eating, rooted in her upbringing in a strict Christian environment, and how she has navigated healing. The conversation also touches on societal norms, racial implications of body ideals, and the importance of discussing these topics openly. Anna emphasizes grace, forgiveness, and the necessity of honest, nuanced conversations to break free from harmful cultural scripts.
Anna Rollins is the author of Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl (out December 9, 2025 from Eerdmans). Her groundbreaking debut memoir examines the rhyming scripts of diet culture and evangelical purity culture, both of which direct women to fear their own bodies and appetites. Her writing has appeared in outlets like The New York Times, Slate, Electric Literature, Salon, Joyland, and more. She’s also written scholarly articles about composition and writing center studies. She’s an award-winning instructor who taught English in higher education for nearly 15 years. She is a 2025 Tamarack Foundation for the Arts Literary Arts Fellow. A lifelong Appalachian, she lives with her husband in West Virginia where they’re raising their three small children.
Follow Anna:
Anna's Substack: annajrollinsAnna's Instagram: @annajrollinsThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp converses with Victoria Loorz, a wild church pastor, eco spiritual director, and author, about her unique perspective on spirituality and nature. Victoria discusses her journey from being a pastor of indoor churches to founding the first Church of the Wild in Ojai, California, and her involvement with the Ecumenical Wild Church Network. The conversation delves into the concept of 'Wild Spirituality,' emphasizing a reorientation of relationships with the living world through a 'wild Christ.' Victoria unpacks the spiritual significance of integrating nature with religious practices, the importance of remembering and reconnecting with the sacredness of all life forms, and how scripture grounds her work. They explore the transformational power of experiencing God's presence in nature, the importance of grief in spiritual journeys, and the role of language in shaping spiritual understanding. The discussion highlights practical steps for fostering a deeper connection with nature, even in urban settings, and how these practices can help heal trauma and resist the modern pressures of empire and disconnection.
Victoria Loorz is a wild church pastor, an eco-spiritual director and co-founder of several transformation-focused organizations focused on the integration of nature and spirituality. She feels most alive when collaborating with Mystery and kindred spirits to create opportunities for people to re-member themselves back into intimate, sacred relationship with the rest of the living world.After twenty years as a pastor of indoor churches, she launched the first Church of the Wild, in Ojai CA and began to meet others with the same sense of call to leave building and expand the Beloved Community beyond our own species. She then co-founded the ecumenical Wild Church Network. She is also the author of Church of the Wild, and coauthor of Field Guide to Church of the Wild.
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of 'The Biggest Table,' host Andrew Camp converses with Laura Baghdassarian Murray, Director of Spiritual Engagement and Innovation at Fuller Seminary and author of 'Becoming a Person of Welcome.' Laura shares her journey in practicing and understanding hospitality, particularly how it evolved during the pandemic through digital silent retreats. They discuss the theological foundation of hospitality, various influences on Laura’s work, the importance of carrying a posture of welcome, and navigating the challenges within hospitality, including boundaries. Laura emphasizes experimenting with small practices to deepen hospitality and cultivate authentic and meaningful connections.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray is the director of spiritual engagement and innovation at Fuller Seminary's Center for Spiritual Formation. She is the author of Pray as You Are, serves on the Ministry Collaborative Advisory Board, and previously served at Highland Park Presbyterian Church as the pastor of spiritual formation. Laura is also the founder of the Digital Silent Retreat Ministry, which is rooted in the practice of hospitality to provide brave and courageous spaces for people to connect with God and others (www.digitalsilentretreats.com). Her newest book is Becoming a Person of Welcome, which was just published by InterVarsity. She lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two children.
Laura's website: https://laurabmurray.com/
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of 'The Biggest Table,' host Andrew Camp converses with Michael Shaikh, a writer and human rights investigator. Shaikh discusses his extensive work in political crises and conflict zones, and his book 'The Last Sweet Bite,' which explores the loss and preservation of culinary heritage in war-torn regions. He shares personal stories and experiences from his time in Japan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and other countries, highlighting how violence impacts food culture and community. The conversation delves into the resilience of human spirit, the role of women in preserving culinary traditions, and the importance of food as a cultural and political element. Shaikh emphasizes the need for policy changes to protect culinary heritages and advocates for the recognition of domicide as a crime. The episode underscores the powerful connections between food, identity, and community, and the role of culinary traditions in maintaining hope amidst adversity.
Michael Shaikh is a writer and human rights investigator who has worked for twenty years in areas marred by political crisis and armed conflict. He has worked at Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. Michael is on the board of Adi Magazine. He is the author of The Last Sweet Bite: Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found, which was recently released by Crown Publishing. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in New York City.
This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp talks with Joash Thomas, an author and advocate with a diverse background ranging from politics to human rights. Born in India and currently living in Canada, Joash shares his journey from political consultancy in the U.S. to becoming passionate about justice and human rights. The discussion delves into Joash's experiences growing up in a multi-denominational Christian family in Mumbai, the role of food and hospitality in South Asian culture, and how his faith has evolved. They also explore the themes of his new book, 'The Justice of Jesus,' which challenges Christians to view justice through the lens of faith, moving beyond traditional evangelical perspectives to embrace a more holistic approach. The conversation emphasizes the importance of re-centering the Christian practice around the table, especially the Eucharist, as a means of embodying Jesus' teachings on justice and love for marginalized communities.
Joash Thomas Bio:
Born and raised in India, Joash served as a U.S. political consultant and lobbyist before pivoting to global human rights advocacy. Now based in the Toronto area, he holds a master’s degree in Political Management from The George Washington University and has completed master’s degrees in Christian Leadership and Christian Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. A Deacon in the Diocese of St. Anthony, Joash is also the author of the new book The Justice of Jesus, which was just released September 30.Connect with Joash:
Buy The Justice of JesusJoash's WebsiteJoash's SubstackJoash's InstagramThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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In this episode of The Biggest Table, host Andrew Camp engages in a discussion with theologian Paul Schutz about the intersection of food, the table, and the experience of God's love. Paul, who has a background in systematic theology and research on creation in the Christian tradition, talks about his book 'A Theology of Flourishing.' The conversation covers Paul's multicultural upbringing, his journey into theology through ministry and liturgy, and the significance of food and table in spiritual and communal life. They delve into concepts such as radical hospitality, attunement, and listening as foundational steps for fostering individual and collective flourishing. The dialogue also explores how a theology centered on flourishing challenges current social and ecological injustices, emphasizing that true flourishing involves systemic transformation and deep engagement with suffering. Paul and Andrew conclude by discussing the role of food in community building and sharing personal reflections on memorable meals.
Paul Schutz Bio:
Born and raised in Evansville, IN, Paul Schutz received his B.A. in English from Boston College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Fordham University. After teaching on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, he served for several years as Director of Worship at St. Mary Catholic Church in Evansville. His time working as a musician and liturgist was his gateway into the study of theology. His research focuses on the meaning and significance of creation in the Christian tradition, with an emphasis on how scientific research might inform religious accounts of humanity's relationship with other creatures. His recent publications apply the theological writings of the Jesuit astrophysicist William Stoeger to questions of gender, race, and interreligious dialogue, as well as prayer, liturgy, and ministry. His book, A Theology of Flourishing—which we'll be discussing—explores the potential of "flourishing" to serve as a starting point and center of gravity for Christian theology and spirituality and a basis for cultivating a robust praxis of ecological and social justice. In his free time, Paul enjoys reading, music, travel, hiking, cooking, baking, and eating. He lives in San Jose, CA, with his partner and dog, Albert.Buy A Theology of Flourishing
Connect with PaulThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
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