Recent Writings / 2020

A collection of some of my publications (movie reviews, essays, book excerpts, etc.) from April to December 2020.

Coronavirus Could Kill Consumer Christianity (April 7, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on the three ways COVID-19 is killing consumer Christianity

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The Gift of Hymns in the ‘Not Yet’ (April 11, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Interview with worship artist Greg LaFollette

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Jon Guerra’s ‘Monday Morning Prayer Music’ (May 1, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Interview with singer-songwriter Jon Guerra

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‘All Creatures’ by Rain for Roots: Music We Need Right Now (May 8, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Interview with Rain for Roots about their new album, All Creatures

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25 Foreign-Language Films to Watch When Stuck at Home (May 14, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Suggestions for foreign-language films to watch in a year when we couldn’t venture far from home

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Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You (May 15, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My most read article of 2020

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Why We Don’t See Church as ‘Essential’ (May 22, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on the categorizing of church gatherings as “non-essential” during the COVID-19 pandemic

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4 Reasons Why ‘The Chosen’ Works (May 23, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My review of the TV series about the life of Jesus, The Chosen

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Should I Watch This? 5 Questions for the Discerning Viewer (May 30, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Questions to consider when you ponder the prudence of watching something on TV or at the movies

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11 Transcendent Moments of Movie Music (May 31, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A list of music moments in movies that capture the transcendent potential of music

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Exit the Echo Chamber. It’s Time to Persuade. (June 11, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Truth matters too much to silence debate or dismiss arguments that make you uncomfortable.

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4 Reasons to Wear a Mask, Even if You Hate It (July 1, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My argument from Scripture for wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Look at a River, Learn About God (July 1, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on the theological insights we can glean from pondering rivers

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10 Solid Films from the First Half of 2020 (July 10, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My picks for the best films of the first half of 2020

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Drained and Depressed by the Internet? Go Outside. (July 16, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on how the sanity of nature is especially needed in our over-mediated digital age

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Quality Christian Music: 15 Artists to Watch (July 22, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My recommendations for up-and-coming indie Christian artists

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8 Psalms, 7 Ways (July 27, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A playlist collecting different versions of 8 different psalms

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‘Boys State’: Reason to Fear, and Hope, for the Future of Politics (August 14, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A review of the documentary Boys State

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Are Churches Losing the Battle to Form Christians? (August 28, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

COVID-19 accelerated the troubling trend of Christians being shaped more by online life than by church life.

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Cool Christianity Is (Still) a Bad Idea (August 22, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on the 10 year anniversary of my book Hipster Christianity

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Songs to Help Kids Love God: 14 Artists to Know (August 28, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My list of 14 musical artists whose songs help little kids love a big God

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‘Tenet’ Inverts Transcendence, Folds It Back into Immanence (September 11, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A review of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet

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How to Navigate the Generational Divide in Politics (September 15, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Suggestions for how to productively engage across generations and political divides

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Condemning ‘Cuties’ Should Be Noncontroversial (September 16, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A review of the controversial Netflix film Cuties

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Your Neighbor’s New Creed: ‘In This House, We Believe . . .’ (October 5, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Commentary on the popular yard sign that functions as a sort of secular creed

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Steady as the Seasons Change (October 9, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on how, in an unsteady world, the seasons can bring ballast

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‘Chicago 7’: Abbie Hoffman’s Infotainment Insight (October 21, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A review of the film The Trial of the Chicago 7

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2020 Proves We Don’t Need More Information. (We Need Something Else.) (November 6, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

Reflections on how three dynamics of the information age work against our wisdom

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‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Deserved a Better Movie (November 11, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

A review of Ron Howard’s film adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy

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We Used to Ask Institutions to Form Us. Now They Must Affirm Us. (November 19, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My reflects on how institutional formation becomes a threat in an age when expressive individualism has become the goal

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TGC’s 2020 Advent Playlist (November 29, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My 100-song playlist of Advent songs for 2020

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20 Pieces of Goodness in 2020 Pop Culture (December 16, 2020, The Gospel Coalition)

My annual recap of pop culture highlights from the year