Better than Video Games
Is there anything cooler than video games? Ask me that question and I could name hundreds of things. But I’m a 50-something guy who was an adult before video gaming began to super-dazzle us with eye-popping graphics and deeper story. Ask your average teenage guy (or twentysomething guy, for that matter), and you’re likely to […]
Tap Dancing Around What Jesus Might Do at Sundance
When I speak to youth groups and churches on the subject of media discernment, I encourage audiences to consider asking themselves this question when making entertainment decisions: If Jesus and His 12 disciples were walking the face of this planet today—not 2,000 years ago—and one of His disciples, let’s say Matthew or Peter, came up […]
Super Music at the Super Bowl?
Since I live in Colorado, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that I’m a Denver Broncos fan. I had been watching Peyton Manning and listening to many of his interviews, and he always came across to me as a class act. So, on Sunday, I was able to watch the entire Super Bowl and […]
Son-Dance Films
Between my sophomore and junior years of college, I hit the pause button on my education, rented a Vail condominium with a couple of other guys, bought a season pass and landed a night job at a fancy restaurant in the village near the original gondola. I love to ski, and I’ve always wanted to […]
A Few of My Favorite Things, Part 2
A few years years ago, I went out on a limb and wrote a blog that included a list of many of my favorite movies. To make the grade, the films had to be both entertaining and family-friendly. I titled this blog, “A Few of My Favorite Things” and began with an introduction in which […]
The 33: Rescued Both Physically and Spiritually in the Mine
Most of us can vividly recall being glued to our television sets on Oct. 13, 2010. It was on that day that 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days were miraculously hoisted to safety, one at a time, encapsulated in what looked like a gigantic, steel bullet. The movie, […]
Saying No to Your TV Set
Okay, so I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say Television is a powerful medium. But just how powerful? Well, perhaps more powerful than most us give it credit. It’s my belief that television shapes our world more than politics and our collective years in school combined. Although I can’t prove […]
Screaming About ‘Queens’
Roughly two decades ago, when I was asked by an out-of-town group to speak on popular entertainment, I’d fill half of my suitcase with VHS cassettes. Most every one was cued up to a specific music video or scene from a television show to help make one of my points. Back in those days, I […]
Are Christian Films the New Roman Road? Woodlawn’s Jon Erwin Thinks So.
The Plugged In team has literally screened thousands of movies—and sometimes a moviemaker brings a film right to our very own campus. But when filmmaker Jon Erwin (October Baby, Mom’s Night Out) came to Focus on the Family back in July to screen his new film, Woodlawn, he made the decision to not show it—even […]
Learning about Learning from a Girl Who Was Told She Shouldn’t
I hate to admit this, but I was not a great student in high school. Not that I didn’t get good grades, but while my body was in class, my mind (and heart) was not. By my senior year, I wanted out so badly that I took a few remedial classes just for easy A’s. […]