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Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities with Dr. Mark Glanville (Podcast)
Read more: Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities with Dr. Mark Glanville (Podcast)In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Mark Glanville, who is an Old Testament scholar and jazz pianist, the Director of The Center of Mission and Leadership at St. Andrews Hall at the University of British Columbia, the host of the podcast, Blue Note Theology, and the author of Preaching in a New Key: Crafting…
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Why BTS Fans Give Me a Little Bit of Hope in a Tribal World
Read more: Why BTS Fans Give Me a Little Bit of Hope in a Tribal WorldIt is getting harder to explain the BTS phenomenon to people without sounding like the facts are being made up. Industry execs and celebrities have resorted to comparing it to Beatlemania — which sounds like an exaggeration until one witnesses ARMY in person (the name for their worldwide and fiercely devoted fan base). ARMY generates…
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Wrestling with Gungor’s Doubts
Read more: Wrestling with Gungor’s DoubtsHow do we help people who are wrestling with doubts in their faith? Can we create a safe space for them to question and voice their doubts without being judged for their questions? How do we help give them this space, while also still pointing them gently back to the truth that God is real…
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New Twenty One Pilots Music!
Read more: New Twenty One Pilots Music!Just the other day (July 11) the post-hardcore-indie-funk-hip-hop-piano-punk duo known as twenty one pilots just released two new tracks that will appear on their upcoming album, Trench, which is set to be released this October. The first song, “Jumpsuit,” appears to continue some of the themes from their most recent album Blurryface about their insecurities, their love-hate…
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Looking Back to 2005 and a Brief Moment of Sincerity in Pop Music (before the dark times)
Read more: Looking Back to 2005 and a Brief Moment of Sincerity in Pop Music (before the dark times)Irony in music is cyclical (even if we can swear that those cycles take us lower and lower as a society the way we swear the lights are dimming in a theater minutes before the house goes dark). I’m thinking about irony because the magic YouTube algorithm thought I might want to see David Bowie…
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Reflections on Catfishing (Part One): Being Known By God
Read more: Reflections on Catfishing (Part One): Being Known By GodWhat does it mean to be known? I’ve been thinking a lot about how we all tend to project images of ourselves and how we all tend to create images of others. It’s something that compels me to get to know people on a more real basis, but it also compels me to be as…
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Kanye West: A New Kind of Christian
Read more: Kanye West: A New Kind of ChristianKanye West’s 7th album, The Life of Pablo (TLOP) was released a few weeks ago. On this album, Kanye gives his listeners a window into his life and thoughts. Furthermore, I believe this album gives us a picture of a particular type of Christianity that characterizes our american society. The Atlantic’s review of the album…
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P.O.D.’s New Album, The Awakening, is the Worst Album of my Life
Read more: P.O.D.’s New Album, The Awakening, is the Worst Album of my LifeJust the other week I was walking around St Andrews and I bumped into a pastor friend here in town. We stopped to chat for a minute and he asked me what I think of P.O.D.’s new album. WHAT?! There’s a new album?? is what immediately went through my head. And so I ran back…
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Kings Kaleidoscope, Felix Culpa, and Nirvana
Read more: Kings Kaleidoscope, Felix Culpa, and NirvanaThanks to Logan’s post a few weeks ago, I have been introduced to an absolutely fabulous worship band called Kings Kaleidoscope (hereafter KK). If you’ve never heard of them, go buy their album, Becoming Who We Are, right now. I did the very same thing after reading Logan’s review and I am so glad that…
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Carrie & Lowell: A Reflection
Read more: Carrie & Lowell: A ReflectionSufjan Stevens’ new album, Carrie & Lowell, has been out for over a month now, but I’ve only had the chance to listen to it for the past week. I had pre-ordered it a while back and mistakenly assumed that it would automatically download to my account and so I spent a few weeks wondering when…