My Ten Favorite Films of 2014
I’ve seen some great films this year. Though there are still more I need to catch (Whiplash, Selma, Inherent Vice, and Birdman to name a few), I thought it would be fun to put together a list...
View ArticleMy Grief, Observed
As I write this, it’s been a month, to the day—nearly minute—that my father passed away. Last night, I dreamed about the evening he died. I think that makes two times in the last week. It wasn’t an...
View ArticleWhen Just Getting Out of Bed is Enough
I never expected what losing my dad would do to me. Some days, I don’t want to pull the covers off. Some days, I don’t want to talk to anyone. Some days, I simply want to watch television, scrolling...
View ArticleFaith Isn’t “Just Believing” the Bible
A few Easters ago, I lectured on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. At the end of my talk, a woman chastised me in front of the group. “It doesn’t matter what theologians, scholars, or logic...
View ArticleWhat ‘The Jinx’ Gets Right About Our Desire for Closure
I won’t spoil the end of The Jinx here—if by some chance you haven’t already read reports of the much lauded HBO documentary series—but I think it’s safe to say that the finale provided the seemingly...
View ArticleMy Reaction to John Oliver’s Rant on the Prosperity Gospel
Some of you may have seen John Oliver’s recent take on the prosperity gospel. It’s been making its rounds since Monday—for good reason. It’s energetic and thought-provoking. Fair warning: if you do...
View ArticleThe Difficulty (and Beauty) of Vulnerability
“If I had known more about Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, I probably would not have watched it. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Sundance darling finds its protagonist in Greg (played by Thomas Mann), a...
View ArticleHow a Nostalgic Jesus Freak Learned to Love Growing up in the Church
If you grew up in a Christian home during the last thirty years, you’re a member of an exclusive clique. You lived through McGee and Me’s tornado episode, survived a youth group game that required...
View ArticleMy New Book is Now Available for Pre-Order
I don’t even want to calculate how many days it’s been since I’ve last blogged—let alone blogged regularly. If you used to follow Wadebearden.com, you might have wondered where I disappeared to. Well,...
View ArticleOur Great Heroes of the Faith May Be the Ones Who Don’t See Miracles
It smelled like it did twenty-three years ago—stagnant moisture combined with diluted soil and grass. The familiar scent enveloped me like a tiny cloud as I knelt in Mom’s closet, using a chalky razor...
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