What Else Is On My MindGrapes? #15
ARTICLES:
If there is one article you need to stop and read it’s this one: They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should We? We have become so accustomed to violence, and gun violence in particular, and one of the reasons we have is because we never see the carnage it creates. I’d hope that if all of us could see that the first-responders at Sandy Hook saw, we have much more serious conversation about out culture of death and violence and guns.
STUFF I’VE WRITTEN:
I’ve recently penned two articles for Preaching Today magazine. The first, Reimagining Preaching is intended to be a provocative poke at 3 point sermons. I believe that sermon form is clear and helpful, I even use it from time-to-time, but I wanted to push against the form, not as a polemic, but to help preachers engage their creativity.
The second article, Should Sermons Be Memorable? is another poke, this time not at pastors but parishioners. We don’t expect anything to be memorable, except sermons. Here I explore a different approach for both pastor’s and parishioner’s expectations.
Monday I have a piece which will be released concerning the preaching legacy of the recently deceased Dr, Tim Keller. Keep an eye out.
**NOTE** — My articles at Christianity Today and Preaching Today are free for 2-3 days after they are posted, and only then duck back behind the paywall. Grab them each month while they are hot (and free). Or consider supporting preaching and pastors by subscribing to Preaching Today.
MOVIES THIS WEEK:
This week I screened (or re-screened) the following movies:
Master Gardender
Fool’s Paradise
Hypnotic
Valkyrie
Conspiracy
The Mother
Sharper
Calvary
First Reformed
Don’t forget, you can follow all my movie reviews on Letterboxd.
BOOKS:
I’ve finally finished The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. On the strength of Stephen King’s endorsement, The Plot became a national best-seller. The writing is wonderful, but the twist turn out not to be twisty enough for me — and relatively obvious. Still, I think many will find it an enjoyable read. It lies somewhere between genre fiction and literal fiction, so there’s something for every reader.
After finishing The Plot, I started Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. You can follow my book reviews over on Goodreads.