I recently had a chance to interview some of our friends, Bryan and Natalie Taylor. Bryan and Natalie have a florid background in the musical arts and both work as full-time musicians. Bryan was the associate director of chapel programs and worship leader for Azusa Pacific University. He has had the opportunity to play, record, [...]
This year, Lisa and I will celebrate 31 years of marriage. They say opposites attract and, in a lot of ways, we’re opposites. While Lisa is a clean freak, I’m not. She likes parties. I prefer isolation. She enjoys chick flicks… by herself. Hey, this is the stuff of marriage. But while opposites attract, there’s [...]
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7 ESV) I was rather disappointed that my post Did Flannery O’Connor Write Christian Fiction? digressed into a discussion about cursing in Christian fiction, particularly taking the [...]
My last foray into Stephen Lawhead territory was with The Pendragon Cycle. That was back in the early 90’s, and it was quite an enjoyable experience. So it was with some anticipation that I opened The Skin Map, Lawhead’s latest and the first of a series. Conceptually, the novel appeared to be a perfect vehicle [...]
So when we saw a guy at the local mall holding a Free Hugs sign, part of me cringed. The other part of me wanted to run bawling into this stranger’s arms. Have you seen these people? They’re part of the Free Hugs Campaign, a group that travels round the world dispensing affection… to complete [...]
You have one of these lists, right? They’re different for all of us, but if you’re a reader, that list just seems to grow and grow. It’s those books you should read, but haven’t, the books you’re always meaning to read, but don’t. For some of us, the list consists of classics, for others, it’s [...]
She is routinely considered one of the greatest Christian writers ever. An avowed believer, passionate and unashamed to speak or write of her faith, O’Connor’s work is often upheld as a standard for what religious fiction should (or could) be. Nevertheless, many readers of contemporary Christian fiction still have a difficult time answering the aforementioned [...]
I am not a heresy hunter. In fact, I believe many heresy hunters are way off base. However, the Bible says there is a such a thing as heresy. If this is true, then we need heresy hunters. Even if they are off-base. They’ve been called many things, like Discernment Bloggers or the Truth Police. [...]
I’m being interviewed at Author Culture today by Johne Cook. Author Culture is a terrific group blog for writers. Johne asks me a lot of provocative questions about things like “literary missionaries,” the writer’s wilderness, industry thawing, and my path to publication. It was a lot of fun. You can check out the entire interview [...]
I recently Unfriended someone on Facebook, a former student in my church Youth Group. Their posts had turned increasingly political and hostile toward religion. They were now officially on the Bash the Church bandwagon, critical of all they (and their parents) once held sacred. So what happened to the innocent teenager I once knew? Answer: [...]
