“Story” seems to be the new black. Or the new magic. Or maybe the new black magic. This is Alan Jacobs’ concern in his recent Books & Culture essay, “Just-So Stories.” His primary target is the “just-so” stories about “story” that are now the darling of “evocriticism”–those (allegedly scientific) accounts that “explain” the power of “story”…
As announced on Twitter, I’ve received the first copy of Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. A long time coming, I’m grateful to see it in print and now wait with trepidation to see how my little creation fares in the cold, hard world. But I’m grateful that it’s been warmly welcomed by others already. In…
I’m not sure how this happened, but somehow my 2012 reading was dominated by non-fiction and only some blips of fiction, short stories, and poetry (in stark contrast to my rich year of fiction reading in 2011). Of the stories and novels I enjoyed in 2012, I think I would highlight just two (though I hope…
I received an early Christmas present when I realized that John Wilson and Stan Guthrie were discussing my new book, Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works, in this week’s Books and Culture podcast. (You can also listen/subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.) John does a great job of situating the new book–which will be available in…
I’m very excited to share some big news: Beginning in January 2013, I will take up the reins as Editor of Comment magazine, coupled with an appointment as a Senior Fellow of Cardus, a think tank dedicated to the renewal of North American social architecture, drawing on more than 2000 years of Christian social thought. I’m…
At the recent meeting of the American Academy of Religion I had the pleasure of participating in a session on ecclesiology and ethnography, engaging some of the contributors to an excellent new book edited by Pete Ward: Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography (Eerdmans, 2012). This has since been complemented by a subsequent volumed edited by Christian Scharen:…