By Jeff Goins, Editor In the do-gooder flick Pay It Forward, Trevor McKenney asks his teacher after receiving an unusual homework assignment, “Are you saying you’ll flunk us if we don’t change the world?” To which Eugene responds, “Well, no. But you might just scrape by with a C.” Many of us have been “scraping … Continue reading How to Pursue Justice without Losing Your Soul
By George Elerick Someone once said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Gehenna (the Aramaic word used in the New Testament used for “hell”) was this trash heap outside of Jerusalem where dead bodies were tossed amongst all of the trash. Emanating from the depths of this place were atrocious smells and … Continue reading Prayer: Poetry of the Heart
By Carole Turner A Wounded Daughter is an inspiring story, one of valleys and peeks, bad choices and victories,real life trial and tribulations and beautiful redemption. As someone who participates in an outreach to strip clubs and prostitutes on the streets, I found this book incredibly insightful. Deanna spends time exploring why she chose to … Continue reading Review: A Wounded Daughter’s Diary – God’s Grace in Strip Clubs
By Caitlin Woodward It was your average small-town bar. Inviting and friendly atmosphere. The evening was welcoming – its usual crowd and the stage was set to rock… A couple years ago I had met two of Avienne’s band members at a church in central Michigan. They seemed like average high school guys at the … Continue reading Music Review: Avienne
By Dustin Metcalf If you are half way sane, afraid to step near the edge of a cliff, or need to live by a plan then it would probably be best if you stopped reading right now. There I feel much better. Consider yourself warned. I have a crazy dream to share with you. Imagine … Continue reading I Have a Dream… For Haiti
By Joshua Cody Up in the Air bills itself as “the story of a man ready to make a connection,” and the plot is straightforward and unsophisticated. If you’re not familiar, I’ll prime you: Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) is a professional terminator. He lays off employees for bosses who don’t have the guts … Continue reading Film Review: Up in the Air
By Tim Chermak Animated text scrolling across movie screens often read, “Based on a true story…” as if it mattered. Western culture, influenced heavily by the Athenian philosopher Aristotle, has taught us to become obsessive in matters of historical accuracy, measurement, and observation. The scientific method, pioneered by Aristotle, was the cornerstone of the numerous … Continue reading Jesus and the Art of Storytelling
By Carole Turner I heard about the supposed pact that Haiti made with the devil from Twitter when it lit up a firestorm of tweets about Pat Robertson’s remarks blaming the earthquake that has devastated Port-au-Prince on this pact. I first thought, “What the crap?” I also thought, “Dang Pat, hush! You’re doing so much … Continue reading Did Haiti Really Make a Pact with the Devil?
By Jeff Goins, Editor I don’t particularly care for Christian pop music. While tremendous strides have been made in the past 10 years to make Christian art much more relevant and excellent, I still find much of it to be rote and cliche. Not only does it seem that many Christian music groups borrow creativity … Continue reading 1000 Generations: A Different Kind of Christian [Band]
By Jamie Finch This year, July brought a chill. And uncertainty. The weather, uncertain of itself. Me, uncertain of my heart. Last year, July had heat. Bone-frying, soul-simmering. The kind that has a character of its own defined by certain smells and sounds. Baby powder, spices, and sweat. Motorbikes and industrial fans. Loud music. The … Continue reading I Was Born to Dance With Abandon
