1. The big news lighting up church circles at the moment is the polling numbers on evangelism released by Barna earlier this month. Christianity Today reports: “Nearly half (47%) of practicing Christian millennials—churchgoers who consider religion an important part of their lives—believe that evangelism is wrong. At least, they’re more than twice as likely as […]
An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel: Meditations on Mark, by Larry Parsley: a lovely, accessible devotional comprised of short entries on the Gospel of Mark. Larry walks verse-by-verse through the shortest official take on the biggest life ever lived, relating the text to relevant themes in daily life. “A gentle journey…Larry’s wisdom and eye for beauty might readily serve as inspiration for daily spiritual exercises.” – Dr. Paul Scott Wilson
Unmapped: The (Mostly) True Story of How Two Women Lost at Sea Found Their Way Home, by Charlotte Getz & Stephanie Phillips. For this visionary work, two of Mockingbird’s most profound contributors collaborated to create not merely a book but an entirely new genre: the spiritual memoir duet. Through their retellings of actual and spiritual adrift-ness, Charlotte and Stephanie illuminate the grace of God in life’s highs and lows. By turns moving and very funny.
Bed and Board: Plain Talk About Marriage, by Robert Farrar Capon. The first book written by the acclaimed theologian/writer/chef/priest, Bed & Board tackles head-on the themes of marriage and family life with an unyielding eye on the grace of God amidst everything. Robert plays with the absurdity of life and the greater, more wonderful absurdity of God’s unrequited love. “Bed and Board is necessary and offensive in the best possible way.” – Sarah Condon
Exit 36: A Fictional Chronicle, by Robert Farrar Capon. With a tinge of mystery/noir, this novel takes place over the course of a month in the life of a parish priest. Father William Jansson faces suicide, gossip, adultery, and ultimate redemption, in this sly and often unorthodox investigation of religion — a novel quite unlike any other. With a special foreword by our friend Chad Bird. “Capon’s voice is needed now as much as it ever has been.” – The Very Rev. Mark Strobel
A man who designed things died this week, but what ended was his central, lifelong design: himself. I design things every day, but I am completely clueless about my own design. Death imposes reflection on us, whether we like it or not. So when I see a person pass away who was virtually a cartoon of […]
I was going to save this for tomorrow’s Another Week Ends column, but it’s just too good not to highlight all on its own. I’m referring to the sermon that author and journalist Michael Gerson gave at The National Cathedral this past Sunday. He opens with the admission that he’d missed the initial preaching date […]
This one comes to us from Ed Uszynski. It will be pretty easy to forget Super Bowl LIII, its halftime show, and its commercials, as none of the three produced much inescapably memorable drama. But the Microsoft ad touting its XBox Adaptive Controller is proving surprisingly harder to shake simply because I moved from initially hating it […]
You have to believe me when I say that it’s not my intent to carry on eviscerating children’s television. I’m only in my late-twenties but I fear my online persona at times comes across too curmudgeonly. Nevertheless, the vocals from my 2-year-old’s favorite Disney Junior show recently assaulted my eardrums…and my theology. I’m no stranger […]
I’ve been married for fifteen years and I don’t have any younger sisters, and so it’s been a while since I’ve been exposed to the bridal industrial complex except in a very peripheral way. But I do follow several advice columnists on social media for the high entertainment value of Other People’s Problems, and I […]
This reflection comes to us from Juliette Alvey. We are welcomed into God’s family kicking and screaming. How many baptisms have you witnessed where the baby or small child (not usually the adults, although you never know what’s going on on the inside) are doing just that—kicking and screaming. Why are all of these people […]
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Reading Hannah Arendt’s marvelous book on The Human Condition, I came across a particularly thought-provoking paragraph on the ancient ideal of speech. Arendt draws a sharp contrast between the Greek household—which was ruled by necessity, the need to provide food and shelter and to raise children—and the political life. The two were distinct because once […]
There’s a trope in teenage romance movies where one of the young lovers will drop the L word at the wrong time. Worse, they might even say, “…forever.” After that, you know the relationship’s going to bomb. It’s too early, and the kids don’t know each other. They haven’t yet uncovered how much they doubt […]
I am really good—dangerously good—at throwing pity parties. I can wallow with the best of them. And the past couple weeks have been the party to end all parties, mostly because God just refuses to go along with my plans. I’m not getting my way, and life isn’t going exactly as I think it should, […]
