Getting Good at Hate
Suppose you pull up to the drive-through window of your favorite burger joint. Taped to the order board is a sheet of paper with the following message: “Our shipment of hamburger has been determined by the State Health Department to contain significant amounts of E. coli bacteria. Please order at your own risk.” What do […]
Let’s Listen to More Christian Music
Last weekend I was working in my yard, listening to Pandora set to “shuffle.” Because one of my stations is “60s Oldies Radio,” I wound up getting Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” drifting into my earbuds. I couldn’t reach into my pocket fast enough to hit the thumbs down icon on my iPhone. I hate that song […]
Don’t Rap This Rap
For most of my growing-up years, going to school was about getting a diploma. Getting a diploma was about going to college. Going to college was about getting a good job. Then I became a Christian right before my senior year of high school and I tweaked this personal educational mantra. The “getting a good […]
Steve Allen is No Longer With Us. His Wisdom Still Is.
About 64 years ago this month, announcer/comedian Steve Allen began hosting a little 40-minute program on New York’s WNBT-TV. It was called The Steve Allen Show at first, but when NBC decided to pick up the program and take it nationally the following year, the network renamed it Tonight Starring Steve Allen. After Steve Allen […]
Put Down that Paint Roller and Take Your (Tech-Free?) Vacation
I don’t know about you, but summer always means vacation for my family. I’m a strong believer in regular getaways. I think it’s healthy for body, soul and spirit. I can hardly remember a toy or gift I received from my parents, but I can recall a number of family camping/fishing trips, visits to national […]
A Movie For (and by) the Santali People Making an Impact
“Among all varieties of evangelism, film makes one of the deepest impressions, even more than hearing a proclaimed message, reading words of Scripture or listening to a friend’s witness.” — Atlas of Global Christianity, 2010 Two years ago, I blogged about discovering a ministry called Create International, an offshoot of Youth With a Mission that […]
The Jonah That Was Almost Swallowed Up in My Inbox
One of the hardest aspects of working for Plugged In is having to often say no when asked to review faith-based products. As you might imagine, we receive a lot of e-mails about such things. Plus, companies and individuals snail-mail us all sorts of products they hope we’ll highlight. DVDs. CDs of various CCM artists. […]
Fighting Human Trafficking by Watching TV
Think Hawaii and you probably picture sun, surf and sand, humpback whales and tropical waterfalls. If you’ve watched national news recently, you could add spectacular lava flows and high elevation snowstorms (surprisingly) to that list. You won’t hear Hawaii’s tourism bureau touting the state’s seedy underbelly. Like most states, Hawaii has a big drug problem. […]
What Do People in the Flyover States Want in a Movie?
I once heard someone say that the last thing God “saves” in a Christian’s walk is his/her politics. I’m not sure about that. I think it’s his/her entertainment choices. Even within red-blooded, minivan driving, PTO attending, Red Cross supporting, apple pie eating, flag waving America, there’s a big disagreement as to what constitutes a “conservative […]
Would You Adopt 16 Kids?: Facing Darkness Film
What would you do if someone dropped a child off at your house in hopes that you’d adopt? What about five children? What about 16? And would it make any difference if all those kids were relatives? That’s about what happened to Liberian native Joseph Gbembo who I met when I was in Foya, Liberia, […]