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Pat Tillman was the poster child for the American military of the ought decade — the NFL defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, who resigned at the height of his stellar career, giving up a multimillion dollar contract, to sign up for the Army as an enlisted man.
“Lebanon” is that rarest of war movies — just the men inside one tank. That’s it.
Yes, “Going The Distance” is both scatological and funny. If you don’t like the raunchy humor, don’t go see it. But it’s both a sensitive and hilarious treatment of a subject that has affected a lot of people — long-distance relationships.
So Anne Rice — vampire novelist turned recommitted, Jesus-loving Christian — has quit the church, and the blogosphere has gone viral. What’s the big deal? Everybody’s doing it.
by Harvey Cox HarperOne. September 2008. 256 pages.
Reviewed by Susan R. Andrews
When I served as a parish pastor, I found new member classes particularly challenging.
by Alister McGrath HarperCollins. 2009, 288 pages.
Reviewed by Neil Craigan
Several years ago I used the word “heresy” as part of a statement I was making on the floor of our presbytery.
“The American” is a high-impact film with a serene, starkly simple setting, and a quiet, slightly discordant musical score that creates a building tension throughout.
Spoofing is a delicate business. You can be so subtle that the viewers hardly know you’re playing a parody of your own part. Then there are self-parodies, even when they aren't meant to be.
“Get Low” is one of those “niche” movies that feature a cast warmly embraced by the aging Baby Boomers such as yours truly: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek. How could it go wrong?
“Takers” is one of those high-adrenaline joy rides that’s both a good story and well-crafted visually. This one works, and it will do well at the box office.
This is one of those films that you’re rooting for to work really well, but it’s sort of a mixed bag, which is a shame, because it’s an inspiring true story.
“Animal Kingdom” has that gritty, hand-held camera feel of low-budget forays, and sure enough, we recognize hardly anybody on the screen, but all that anonymity somehow adds to the realistic dilemma of the main character: “J” Cody (James Frecheville), a 17-year-old who is having to grow up way too fast.
“The Expendables” is a really sad action/adventure movie, because it features a collection of old, over-the-hill tough guys who seem like stunted adolescents, unsure what to do with themselves except throw knives at dart boards, smoke cigars, drive loud motorcycles, and make fun of each other.
It was bound to happen. Video games are so popular among the youth that the current “niche” movie for the under-twenties looks like … a video game.
“The Switch” is one of those movies that appears to be a romantic comedy, therefore you go in expecting something kind of silly and predictable. Thankfully, it is neither.
What does the future hold for the institutional church in the United States, particularly “mainline Protestant” churches that once dominated the country’s cultural landscape?
MONTREAT, N.C. — Institutions and movements — secular and religious — need each other to retain their vitality, even as they frustrate each other, cutting-edge theologian Brain McLaren told several hundred Presbyterians gathered here in mid-August for "Church Unbound."
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
I love it when filmmakers re-create the Roman era, complete with the togas, the chariots, the Greek-influenced architecture. Of course, many of the now-familiar Roman soldier outfits have been used to shoot films about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. But there are plenty of other locales and eras to consider as well: such as Alexandria, Egypt, in the 4th century.
They need no exodus who dwell in the Promised Land.
(RNS) — A Michigan-based gay rights foundation has given more than $400,000 to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., to help craft formal same-sex covenanting liturgies for the Episcopal Church.
Members and officers, my word to you is this: be entrepreneurs.
Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook
by Joan S. Gray
Geneva Press, Louisville, Kentucky 2009
reviewed by Roy W. Howard
In the Acts of the Apostles Luke describes the beginning of the Church: On the day of Pentecost when the believers were gathered for prayer, the Spirit of God came upon them; they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Transitional Ministry: A Time for Opportunity
edited by Molly Dale Smith. Foreword by Loren Mead.
Church Publishing, 2009. Pb., 194 pp. $20.
reviewed by Joel A. Alvis Jr.
When a church is without a pastor, there is anxiety and uncertainty. For many years a church in this situation was referred to as “vacant.” But it was obvious this did not mean the church was empty. Rather it meant the pulpit did not have a “permanent” occupant.
This film features a main character who’s maddeningly inconsistent, and frustratingly unhappy: not only with herself, but with everyone around her.
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