Brett McCracken's Blog, page 6
October 26, 2018
Recent Writings / Summer-Fall 2018
A collection of my publications from recent months
Beauty in the Tensions: Reflections on a Trip to South Africa (July 13, 2018, The Gospel Coalition)Reflections on a recent trip to the beautiful nation of South Africa.
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What Hollywood Really Wants: Bible-Preaching Churches Unashamed of the Gospel (July 18, 2018, The Gospel Coalition)An interview with Jeremy Treat, pastor at Reality L.A.
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What Hollywood Really Wants: Bible-Preaching Churches Unashamed of the Gospel (July 18, 2018, The Gospe...
August 13, 2018
Collected Writings on Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick and the church.
Those are the two topics I’ve written about the most over the years, whether on this blog or in published work elsewhere. I see a lot of overlap with the two, but considered separately they represent two major threads in my life’s preoccupations: film and faith.
I’ve written three books about or for the church. One day I’ll write a book about Terrence Malick. In the meantime, and in honor of the upcoming release of the Criterion Collection extended cut of The Tr...
June 23, 2018
Recent Writings / Spring 2018
A collection of my publications from recent months
WILL #METOO CAUSE . HOLLYWOOD TO RETHINK ITS VIEWS ON SEX? (JANUARY 16, 2018, THE GOSPEL COALITION)An essay on the #MeToo movement and the hypocrisy of Hollywood
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4 WAYS NETFLIX PERPETUATES MODERN ANXIETIES (FEBRUARY 1, 2018, THE GOSPEL COALITION)An essay on how Netflix embodies and perpetuates some of the anxieties of our secular age.
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TOTAL DEPRAVITY AND GOSPEL HOPE IN ‘HOSTILES’ (FEBRUARY 16, 2018, THE GOSPEL COALITION)A review of the Chr...
March 17, 2018
Five Likely Losses from Taking Up Your Cross
More than loss of life is implied in Christ’s statement that a follower must “deny himself and take up his cross,” just as more than death is implied in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous statement that “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Indeed, there are many “deaths” involved in following Christ, however obscured they may be in today’s cushy forms of Christianity. The following are five likely losses that come with truly embracing the cross of Christ.
1. The Loss of Being Your Own...January 29, 2018
If I Could Design My Dream Church
If you could dream up the perfect church, what would it look like?
On days when I’m sitting in my real church and feel frustrated by something, I sometimes daydream about my ideal church: the one where I would feel completely understood, where my perspectives would be valued, where my gifts and passions would flourish. I dream about a church I would always be proud and never embarrassed to call home; a church so amazing that any non-Christian who visited would never want to leave.
My hypothetic...
January 13, 2018
Recent Writings / Fall 2017
A collection of my publications from recent months
WHERE WATER MEETS ROCK (AUGUST 10, 2017, THE GOSPEL COALITION)An essay on the beautiful complementarity of nature.
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‘ALL SAINTS’ IS IMPERFECT BUT INSPIRING (SEPTEMBER 8, 2017, THE GOSPEL COALITION)A review of the film All Saints, for TGC
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THE PRAYER HABITS OF HOLLYWOOD (SEPTEMBER 13, 2017, THE GOSPEL COALITION)A review of Josh Larsen’s book, Movies Are Prayers.
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NOBODY SAID CHRISTIANITY SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE (SEPTEMBER 13, 2017, RELEVANT)A...
December 26, 2017
Favorites of 2017
I maintain a Google document going each year that keeps track of the best music, movies, books, and TV I've enjoyed that year. Sometimes I even take note of best restaurants and food experiences. As we close the book on 2017 and as I prepare to create a blank 2018 Google document in a few days, here's a look at what made the cut in my favorites of 2017.
15 Favorite FilmsDunkirk (my review)A Quiet PassionThe Lost City of Z (my review)A Ghost StoryColumbus (my review) The Florida Project (my rev...December 10, 2017
Stars and Cells and Advent
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is one of the most famous photographs ever taken.
For a few months in 2003-2004, the Hubble Space Telescope zoomed in on a seemingly blank, small spot in the sky, inside the constellation Fornax. To the naked eye it looked like a speck of black emptiness. But once developed, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image showed that inside that small, randomly selected patch of sky, over 10,000 galaxies could be seen.
Ten. Thousand. Galaxies.
Take a look below. The colorful obje...
December 2, 2017
The Weary World Rejoices
Oh how weary is the world, in these final weeks of a long, brutal, confusing year.
Weary of weaponized U-Haul trucks and “worst mass shooting in U.S. history” headlines.
Weary of sexual violence, sexual harassment, sexual pain, and sexual confusion.
Weary of the rage that occupies every square inch of the Internet (but especially Facebook and Twitter).
Weary of a childish president who relishes offense: using his power to bully, berate and belittle so many.
Weary of a post-truth, alternative fa...
November 26, 2017
Three Reasons Church Unity is Important
Unity in the Christian church has been a challenging thing since the earliest days of Christianity. The importance of getting Christian belief and behavior right, coupled with the open-to-interpretation nature of much of Scripture, leads to VERY strong feelings and uncompromising convictions on all manner of Christian theology and praxis.
Another challenge to unity is geographical and cultural diversity. Unlike other more regional religions which are buttressed by shared geographical or cultur...
