For many of us in America, “the holidays” means erecting a tree. Usually from life from some woods or its simulation from a box that we assemble. But in any event, almost always, the icon we erect in our living rooms is “really most sincerely dead.” But that tree is evanescently sparkling and alive for this […]
New Parties for the Age of Social Media
Who actually flies to Vegas for a bachelor party? I’m not being mean or judgmental here. I really want to know. Who has that kind of money to spend on a friend? I mean, if you’re living in LA and Vegas is only 4 car hours away, make like The Hangover and have a good (and […]
The Economics of the Incarnation
I don’t like the axiom, “Remember the reason for season.” While the commercialization of Christmas has superseded the meaning of the season, it’s not society’s job to get the season right — it’s the church’s. Instead of getting irate over a culture that fails to appreciate what Christmas means, perhaps it’s time to look in […]
Now Available! An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel: Meditations on Mark, by Larry Parsley
We could not be more pleased to announce the latest Mockingbird publication, An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel: Meditations on Mark, by Larry Parsley.
This accessible, down-to-earth devotional walks verse-by-verse through the shortest official take on the biggest life ever lived — the story of Jesus played out in the Gospel of Mark. You’ll follow in the footsteps of Jesus as he performs healings and preaches to crowds. Mockingbird writer Larry Parsley brings the story to life, offering approachable, personal, and insightful commentary along the way.
You can purchase An Easy Stroll through our newly redesigned bookstore (store.mbird.com) where you can also find all of Mockingbird’s other publications, along with seminars for purchase and a selection of merchandise…! Major thank-you to Brian M for the redesign.
As with all of our books, An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel is also available through Amazon—and all positive reviews help promote the cause!
“This is a short, meditative work that you will want to read slowly and repeatedly as you walk through the shortest and oldest canonical Gospel. As you do, significant—sometimes startling—insights await, as Larry Parsley gently, thoughtfully, and ably guides you through Mark. As it happens, Dr. Parsley has written his first book on the first Gospel. My hope is that this work is but the first fruits of future harvests from this gifted interpreter, storyteller, and teacher.” — Todd D. Still, Ph.D., Professor of Christian Scriptures in the George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University
“A gentle journey… Larry’s wisdom and eye for beauty might readily serve as inspiration for daily spiritual exercises.” ― Dr. Paul Scott Wilson, Professor of Homiletics at Emmanuel College, Toronto, and author of The Four Pages of the Sermon
“Wonderfully refreshing…compelling [and] down-to-earth… It truly is ‘an easy stroll’ and a disarmingly profound one simultaneously. All I know is that I will never teach from Mark’s Gospel again without first consulting this book.” — Andy McQuitty, author of Notes from the Valley: A Spiritual Travelogue Through Cancer and The Way to Brave: Shaping a David Faith for a Goliath World
Find An Easy Stroll Through a Short Gospel in Mockingbird’s new online bookstore and on Amazon.
10 Reasons Not to Support Mockingbird on #GivingTuesday (Today)
- You’ve kept all your New Year’s Resolutions – since grade school.
- Your favorite verse in the Bible is “God helps those who help themselves.”
- Your Fortnite handle used to be “PelagiusRulz98” but you changed it to “PhariC4life.”
- The twelve steps you value most are the ones you just logged on your Fitbit.
- Who you are online and who you are in person are identical.
- Your children are even more well-behaved at home than they are in public.
- You’re so secure in your justification that it wouldn’t even occur to you to atone for ransacking that Best Buy on Friday.
- You’re suspicious of all socially conscious hashtags, especially those that seem like the lovechild of Oprah Winfrey and Gavin Belson.
- You haven’t heard that Mockingbird has to close a pretty significant gap before year’s end (what with all the scholarships and free stuff we give away) and could really use your help before we have to cut back.
- You resent reverse psychology, no matter how well-meaning or tongue-in-cheek.
Of course, if you absolutely MUST, you can click on the button below:
P.S. To get our (earnest) end of the year update and appeal, which goes out next week, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.
You Don’t Have To Be Grateful
We have reached halftime in the holiday season sprint from Halloween to Christmas: Thanksgiving. The least commercialized of all American holidays, Thanksgiving stands apart as a holiday focused not on gift-giving or material consumption, but on gratitude. Problematic history aside, Thanksgiving presents an opportunity to gather with family and friends and reflect on all the […]
Preface by Chad Bird to Exit 36: A Fictional Chronicle
A huge thank you to Chad Bird for this eloquent preface to our recent republication of Robert Farrar Capon’s Exit 36. Order your copy today! In the early days of December, I crawl up into my attic, step over a couple of rafters, and take a deep breath to blow a year’s worth of dust off a […]
The Worry of Being Killed in Church and the Safety We Are Promised
The first time I remember thinking about what it would mean to die with my church, I was in a cabin in the piney woods of Texas. Our family was attending the annual retreat, and the weather was horrible. My husband and I both got texts sent to our phones that basically said, “There’s a […]
The Mockingapp Has Landed!
The day we’ve all been waiting for has arrived: The Mockingapp is now available–for FREE–in the iTunes store! It was a mammoth undertaking but we think you’ll agree that it was worth the wait. The app brings together several strands of our work and puts them at your fingertips. Features include:
The Mockingbird Blog, optimized for mobile reading, searchable and sortable by category, fully redesigned by magazine designer Tom Martin.- The entire 365-day Mockingbird Devotional, easy to share with customizable reminders.
- Every episode of Mockingbird’s various podcasts (The Mockingcast, The Mockingpulpit, PZ’s Podcast, Talkingbird, Same Old Song), available to stream as well as download for offline listening.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you dig, please be sure to give us a review and tell your friends! We’re really proud of this thing. Major, major thanks goes to Alex R and Jonathan W for making us look far more legit than we actually are.
Get the App here, or by searching the App Store for “The Mockingapp.”
Note: as of right now, the Mockingapp is only available for iOSx devices, a decision made based solely on where the vast majority of our web traffic comes from. BUT we value our android readers, big-time, and hope to develop a version that works for them soon–pray that software would emerge that could translate apps across platforms!
Now Available! Exit 36: A Fictional Chronicle, by Robert Farrar Capon
A priest’s suicide. A lover’s confession. A web of mysteries. The latest installment in Mockingbird’s Robert Farrar Capon series is available today! Exit 36: A Fictional Chronicle explores the secret life of a clergyman and the ultimate mystery of redemption.
In our discussions about Exit 36, Valerie Capon used one word repeatedly: “mystical.” She was adamant the book should have a colorful cover that could reflect the unique otherworldliness of this particular work. To me, her insight did not at first square with what appeared to be a coarse, noir-tinged novel about a suicide. “The suicide is the hook,” Valerie said. “Robert wasn’t really writing about that.”
So what was he writing about?
The Rev. Mark Strobel, our friend in Fargo, ND, says this book reads like one of Jesus’ parables. Brooding, humorous, a little outrageous, Exit 36 tells the story of Father William Jansson, an Episcopal priest with an unruly libido who receives an urgent phone call from a woman who knew the suicide victim (intimately). In her grief she turns to Jansson, who falls backwards into the four themes of eschatology: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven. It’s undoubtedly one of Robert’s earthier works—grungy, sultry—but, as Valerie suggested, the persistent promise of the resurrection glows under its surface. The climactic sequence left me stunned.
This new edition of Exit 36 is the fourth entry in Mockingbird’s Capon collection and features a brand-new, deeply moving foreword by our friend Chad Bird. You can now find Exit 36 in our online bookstore and on Amazon, along with Mockingbird editions of Robert’s other works. As always, we welcome your help in spreading the word!
Happy reading,
CJG, editor
“Capon looks directly at the agony of a fallen world through the mystery of the reconciliation of everything and everybody in Christ. Whatever scandals one might find in this book, however, the scandal of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus triumphs over it all. Capon’s voice is needed now as much as it ever has been.”
—The Very Revd Mark Strobel, Fargo, ND
“Running parallel to the good old-fashioned mystery is a long look at our deepest anxieties about death, sin, forgiveness when forgiveness is outrageous and impossible, and love. The romance of love is dealt with unabashedly. But the humanity of love – the Jesus who lives in us all and frees us from sin — is revealed by our narrator’s own searching thoughts, bold self-examination, frank dialogue with parishioners and quietly stunning acts of compassion.”
—Laura E. Bondarchuk, East Marion, NY
You can find Exit 36 in our online store and on Amazon!
You can also find Mockingbird editions of Robert’s other books: More Theology & Less Heavy Cream, The Man Who Met God in a Bar, and Bed & Board.
Many Good Things Start With a Grave
It seems like just about everyone I know right now is either grieving, infertile, or both. As a country and a global community, we’ve also had a lot of bad news. Our hurricanes are getting worse. There’s abuse. Addiction. “Politics” (I’ll let you unpack that one, reader). There’s prejudice. International affairs. Extramarital affairs. A TV […]
Justice, Serena Style
She is not playin’, sports fans, even when she’s playin’. That’s what I have come to love about Serena Williams. She’s been one of the top five athletes in the world for years now, but she has never stopped being Serena. If you haven’t heard about the U.S. Open Women’s Final from Saturday in Flushing […]
