One of the biggest trends in entertainment today is true crime dramas about serial killers. Forbes reported in 2020 that it was a “great year for fictional serial killers.” And now, two years later, our fascination with mass murder is continuing, but…
Peter Makapela: One man’s journey from racial hatred during South Africa’s apartheid years to a voice of racial reconciliation
When he was 14, Peter Makapela and his cousin Xolani joined scores of other schoolchildren in Cape Town, South Africa, to protest miserable conditions in the area’s schools for Black children. It was 1989, the height of public resistance to…
Searching for redemption in ‘The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill’
I (Maina) still remember being a newlywed when my wife and I attended a church service in the Maryland area. A young hipster speaker who was filling in for the pastor that day began speaking in a fiery tone, which…
A story that’s better than happily ever after
Don’t get me wrong. I’m keen on Nordic and UK mysteries. But last week, my friend and I sought relief from plotlines that feature a cranky, substance-abusing detective who alienates family and colleagues yet ensnares the killer. These sagas sometimes…
How I met my mother: Learning to say goodbye before you’ve said hello
Roy and Delyte Cantwell of Independence, Mo., both at the age of 32, in early 1956 began the arduous process of adopting a child since they were not able to have a child in the usual way. On Feb. 28,…
Hunting for the divine spark in ourselves and others
On the night of Ash Wednesday, somebody sitting at the bar yelled out, “Hey! You got something black on your face!” Without thinking, I yelled back, “Hey! It’s my skin!”
The Christ-haunted hosts of Gospel Gothic
The hosts of the Gospel Gothic radio hour — Jake Hall, pastor of Highland Hills Baptist Church in Macon, Ga., as well as Wes Griffith and Brad Evans, local entrepreneurs and owners of 100.9 FM The Creek — are inviting Macon and listeners around the country to join them each Sunday morning in exploring “faith, music and meaning in the Christ-haunted South.”
Down to the river: A pastor’s journey toward real life, real sin and real redemption
The day Jake Hall discovered 100.9 FM The Creek, he nearly plowed through a red light into oncoming traffic. As Hall approached the Spring Street bridge in Macon, Ga., to pass over the Ocmulgee River, Darrell Scott’s “Down to the River” on the radio suddenly broke through his humdrum focus with communion of another kind.
Do universalists evangelize?
I am a hopeful universalist. I believe that all persons will eventually be healed, liberated and transformed by the unconditional love of God. And yet, I must concede that given the nature of human freedom there is no way to…