It’s the mid-1990s. I’m in my high school journalism class, writing movie reviews because the thought of interviewing other students is too intimidating. I’m the only male in the same class of about 10 girls for three years; I’m too scared to talk to them, so I revert to working on a computer in a back room. I graduate high school with one signature in my yearbook. . . . It’s 2003. I’m in my early twenties, and my best... Read more
Welcome to the nerdiest episode of CROSS.CULTURE.CRITIC. yet! A little peek behind the curtain: When we record, Joe and I usually try to turn out at least two episodes a session so that we can record every other week and still release weekly episodes. We often set out with one heavy episode and one fun one, but last week we sat down to do two kind of serious ones. If you listened to last week’s episode, you know it kind... Read more
Be yourself. That’s advice we give to everyone. Whether they’re trying to find a date, a friend or a job, our words of wisdom are: “Keep being who you are…don’t let anyone change you…just step into the room, be yourself and let everyone else deal with the consequences.” I have spoken those exact words to friends for years. I understand why we say this. There’s nothing worse than compromising your beliefs and passions to get people to like you. It’s... Read more
It’s mid-April in Michigan and yesterday I had to drive through an ice storm. This wasn’t a few drops of sleet. It coated trees, left icicles hanging from branches and knocked down power lines. It wasn’t a freak cold snap, either. Two weeks ago, I woke up and there was a fresh coat of snow on the ground. Aside from one or two brief flirtations with the sixties and sun, the weather since Thanksgiving has been gray and cold. My... Read more
You almost didn’t get to hear this week’s episode. About halfway through recording, Joe had to take a break. I paused the recorder and, when he returned, I suggested that maybe we junk what we’d recorded and start something new. I just wasn’t feeling it. But that wasn’t really the truth. The truth is that the episode had revealed an internal prejudice and I wasn’t feeling comfortable with my motives anymore. What I had thought would be a funny riff... Read more
Come Sunday,” premiering April 13 on Netflix, does what I’ve long asked for in movies about faith: It observes Christian doctrinal disagreements with intelligence, grace and love. It just happens that the protagonist’s stance is one that many believers consider heresy. In an age where movies about faith — including “I Can Only Imagine” and “God’s Not Dead 3” — seem to debut every week, “Come Sunday” is easily one of the more skillfully made. And yet, its main... Read more
In September, my son started kindergarten. Every day, Mickey gets on a bus, which takes him about a mile or two to his school, where he spends the day. He loves it. He’s met some great friends, has turned into a great reader, and two weeks ago was named Student of the Month for his class. Mickey attends a public school, which in these days sometimes feels like an anomaly in Christian circles. Many families at our church homeschool their... Read more
Spring Break found Joe traveling around Michigan and me taking care of kids and spending some time with my wife, so sadly there’s no CROSS.CULTURE.CRITIC. this week. But we’re planning to be back with a new episode next week, so stay tuned! That said, I had some time off work recently and was able to catch up on a lot of pop culture, so I have some fun, diverse things to recommend for this week’s Five for Friday! Let’s get... Read more
Possibly the most prominent figure of the 1960s Jesus Movement, Larry Norman single-handedly started the Christian rock genre. A provocateur who rubbed shoulders with Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and The Who, he had mainstream success even though his songs were about Jesus, and in concert he seemed more concerned with pricking his audience’s conscience than giving them a rollicking show. Today, it’s almost unheard of for a Christian rock star to be embraced by both the evangelical and “secular” worlds;... Read more
There is nothing more terrifying than walking outside to find your car is gone, and nothing more humbling than learning you’re to blame. That’s what happened to me one spring morning in 2006. I walked out of my apartment and found a pair of black tire marks in place of my car. I called the police, assuming someone had stolen my Saturn during the night. I quickly found out the truth was more embarrassing. At the time, I was trying... Read more
Mere Chris-ianity
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