Warning: SPOILER REVIEW (see NON-SPOILER review HERE) So, having done my non-spoiler review, let’s now discuss some of the deep things that “Soul” does and expresses. Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a talented Jazz pianist (piano stylings by John Batiste) who feels stuck teaching middle-school band. He is convinced that his grand purpose is to be a Jazz musician, but his mother (Phylicia Rashad) wants him to be realistic and take to offer to be a full-time teacher. His... Read more
NON-SPOILER REVIEW (see SPOILER review TOMORROW). With all the hype from HBO Max and Warner Brothers about the release of “Wonder Woman 1984” on Christmas Day, I fear that many might have missed the much better movie released on the same day. My family watched WW84 Christmas night. It was, well, okay. It was your standard superhero movie, with an over-the-top bad guy and plenty of fight scenes. After the remarkable first movie featuring Gal Godot’s hero, it was kind... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: We are blessed to have Sam Van Eman on for two episodes. Here, right before Christmas, Sam shares with Bob and Brendan ways we can ignite Christmas hope in the midst of hardship. How can hope be defined by adaptability so that our days are full of Christmas wonder? Sam sparks our imaginations as to how we can do things out of the ordinary for... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: God’s invitation for us to join his mission in our every-day lives What are we saved for? God’s inviting us to join his mission to reconcile all things back to himself. JR Rozko helps Bob and Brendan understand the connections between salvation, discipleship, and mission. Salvation is the embodied experience of participating in what God is now doing in the world. “Discipleship is less about... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: Stephanie Summers discusses with Bob and Brendan ideas for civic engagement that faithfully seeks to further public justice in both our nation but also our local contexts. They discuss how to actively discuss public policy and candidates with others without the trappings of political punditry, which seems to end with everyone hating each other. Christians wanting holistic approaches to political engagement have not been given... Read more
How to serve our neighbors as citizens, as members of the political community. by Stephanie Summers Chief Executive Officer, The Center for Public Justice, Washington D.C. A US Senator had finished his remarks and was taking questions from a group of college students who were visiting Capitol Hill. I was the next speaker and was rapidly revising my talk to respectfully address some troubling aspects of the Senator’s comments. The Senator stated, “The most important thing for Christians to know... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: How have the various political ideologies become idolatries? We have David Koyzis on to guide us through the strengths and weaknesses of each of them – Liberalism, Conservatism, Nationalism, Democracy, and Socialism. This is a crash-course in political science during the election season from one of our generation’s best thinkers on the subject. David T. Koyzis earned his Ph.D. in government and international studies from... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: 2020 has been an incredible year of turmoil. It is the first year of a decade that promises to have lots of challenges. Tom Sine and Dwight Friesen are the authors of a fresh new book, 2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices for Thriving in a Decade of Accelerated Change. Brendan and Bob discuss with them how these three vital practices can prepare young... Read more
Listen to the podcast on your favorite app: Or watch it on YouTube: Episode Description: We are experiencing disunity in ever-increasing ways. We are feeling it especially in 2020. How did we get here? According to Genesis, God created an integrated world, where we could live in harmony. But sin has dis-integrated everything. Sin breaks these loving relationships. Therefore, what is the grand plan of God? “To unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth!”... Read more
[ The Politics of Shalom, Part 1 ] In this series of blog posts, I will seek to offer some foundational principles for how Christians can better engage in the political process. Many Christians are looking for another way to navigate our political landscape. The Religious Right has taught us that the only way to think politically is through electing presidents and legislators who will fight back against the rise of secular humanism in our society. They’ve convinced a vast... Read more
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