“Church” Articles

Stardew Valley‘s strength is how it captures the struggles of underserved rural communities and the ties that bind residents together.

The independent wrestling circuit begins with genuine connection and a familial bond with fans: the spectacle comes secondarily.

How can we endure, persevere, and cultivate in a moment when “the American church” is marked more by public wreckage than unity?

Even if your inward-facing, self-replicating church—or Mandalorian group, for that matter—never becomes a cult, in my experience, it can (and does) start to get weird.

To critique a show, or an institution, or a dear friend can be an act of love.

When we recite an ancient creed, we aren’t just reminded of our roots but of our current connection to a global church.

In RBG, West and Cohen offer a welcome salve for our society’s wounds, a celebration of Ginsburg as Ginsburg, irreducible to any political stance.

Instead of viewing each other as only possessing weaknesses to be overcome, in A Quiet Place the Abbott family reminds us that our weaknesses can make each other stronger, and the strength of community is only possible because of its vulnerability.

Ideally, it seems, worship music should be written and performed by attractive young people sporting angular haircuts, tight T-shirts, and tattoos.

Keillor had no interest in presenting a scrubbed and gleaming version of the church and its people to the world; if anything, his stories tend in the opposite direction.

While the story of scripture and the story of America are not always in conflict, they are not the same story.

Wherever Christians choose judgment or the promotion of abortion stigma, wherever we approach those touched by abortion with anything short of the grace and truth of the Gospel, we truly do risk driving women directly into the circles of those who will condone, legitimize, praise, and ultimately perpetuate abortion as an acceptable “solution.”

Too often, when we talk about “attracting men” to church, what we mean is tricking men into walking in the door by baptizing whatever infantilized conceptions of masculinity the broader culture has invented.

Is an appetite for the arts wrong? Not necessarily, but we must consider the affects right-brain emaciation might have on church and spirituality.

Cheap and disposable, they end up ribbing the outsides of full trash bags the Monday after communion Sunday.