The Weekender Weekender: Allison Russell, Philip Yancey, and Enchanted Journey II: Ex-vangelical Boogaloo In this edition of The Weekender, a miscellany of podcast highlights, insights on faith and race, a prayer worth memorizing, and a memorable TED Talk.
On Movies & Media The Hate U Give (2018) Preachy, but elevated by an excellent lead performance, The Hate U Give is the kind of after-school special that all of America needs right now.
On Movies & Media Save the Future “Defend the past. Save the future.” Those words are lighting up TV screens this week, promoting the new NBC time-travel adventure series Timeless. But really, it’s ridiculous. No matter how many people want to go back and “kill Hitler,” the past cannot be changed. Right? Right? I don’t
On Movies & Media The Gospel is calling... on Netflix. Folks, sit down with your families and watch 13th, the new documentary from Ava Duvernay. Watch it all the way through. (It's on Netflix.) I can't recommend this enough. You want to talk about "Christian movies"? This movie is a neon sign pointing to
Journal House on fire! Sometimes, a comic strip can help clarify a complicated issue. This one is worth sharing this week, via Chainsawsuit.com.
Journal Sure, #AllLivesMatter, but something else matters more Once again, a member of my own university community has inspired me with some piercing insight. You've heard the slogan: "Black Lives Matter." Its become a rallying cry across the nation. And you've probably heard what some Christians are hurrying to propose an alternative:
Journal Mourning with those who mourn In memory of Clementa Carlos Pinckney (1973-2015), Democrat, South Carolina Senate; senior pastor of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. [African Methodist Episcopal] Church; martyred with eight of his congregation.
Journal Why We Need "Selma" We need this movie. We need it for this reason: Wherever Martin Luther King Jr. carried his dream, racists and scoffers assembled. Americans have made some admirable progress since then. But is it over? Was the dream realized? When I praise this movie that was made in celebration of King's dream — g
Journal The "Most Christian" Movie of the Year? In Selma — and I'm pretty sure about this — there is more gospel quoted, more gospel celebrated, more gospel embraced and openly lived out than in any so-called "Christian movie" released in 2014. (Except the one that was, you know, a Jesus movie.)
Film Review Selma (2014): My Review and a Looking Closer Film Forum By choosing intimacy over an epic scale, by going small instead of large, by discernment and selectivity over throwing everything available to her at the screen, Ava Duvernay has surpassed all expectations with a masterfully crafted film that will become a standard by which historical films are meas
Marc Forster Monster's Ball (2001) Here's my original review of this Oscar-winning film, one that reveals that I had a lot to learn about the evils still smoldering across America, evils that would soon flare up into wildfires.
