Today’s release of Warner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant has reminded me about two things: (1) How spiritually powerful the original film is, and (2) How moral rigidity keeps us from appreciating such films. Abel Ferrara’s, The Bad Lieutenant, was released in 1992 to an NC-17 rating. And for the record, it earns every bit of [...]

Most writers have heard the adage, Show don’t tell. The idea is that action is superior to dialogue, description, and backstory. Telling your reader what is going on, what happened before it went on, and how your characters felt as it was occurring, is not the ideal form of storytelling. I recently read something from [...]

With her memoir in the chutes, and a slate of top-tier interviews on the docket, Sarah is all the rage. Love her or hate her, she is politically front and center. For some, an easy target; for others, an object of adoration.  Nevertheless, as a conservative, I am conflicted about Sarah Palin. What I Like [...]

Scripture says, King David “danced before the Lord with all his might” (II Samuel 6:14). Luckily, David was King, so no one could stop him. However,  if King David showed up in one of our churches today, I’m afraid his two-step would get him the boot. So we were in church yesterday, and the worship [...]

Roland Emmerich has finally met his match.  The man who’s made a living simulating mass destruction in films like Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow, has found something that cannot be destroyed. Or let me rephrase that — something he’s afraid to destroy. Emmerich’s new film 2012 looks like the mother of all [...]

I recently realized that I’m the oldest guy in our Bible study group… by about 20 years. Funny, but I just can’t see myself having as much fun at the “Aging Saints” study. Since the mid-70’s or so, these kinds of demographics have played an important part in the formation of the American church. Age, [...]

What are reasonable writing goals for an author? I suppose it varies from person to person and depends upon a number of factors: Career, marital status, personal obligations, the amount of time that can be devoted to writing, industry connections, talent and creativity, etc. And then there are the things outside of one’s control, like [...]

Salvage art has always intrigued me. It’s this concept of using trash, debris, scrap, or otherwise discardable material and recycling it for artistic purposes. I recently took a stab at rescuing something from the dump.

Christianity Today recently asked ten evangelical church leaders this question: Should Christians Fast During Ramadan With Muslims? Even someone as cynical about organized religion as me was surprised at the responses. Take the following quote by Ben Ries, pastor of Sterling Drive Church of Christ, Bellingham, Wash: There’s such fragmentation between the Christian community and [...]