What, to the Immigrant, is the Fourth of July?

What, to the Immigrant, is the Fourth of July?

I have a picture of myself dressed in an actual American flag costume that was hand-sewn by my mother. Ours was a musical family, and when I was growing up, the Fourth of July often involved concerts in the park. My parents, my brothers, and I would perform patriotic...
Here in America, Land of My Sojourn

Here in America, Land of My Sojourn

  In May 1995, shortly after graduating with a degree in music education from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, Rich Mullins moved to the Navajo reservation in Tse Bonito, New Mexico. By that point, the beloved Contemporary Christian musician had already...
Christian Nationalist Contortionists

Christian Nationalist Contortionists

The Christian Nationalist circus is full of actors confused about who they are supposed to entertain—the paying customers or the Ringmaster? Among the acts are the clowns, the little cars filled with grown humans squished together, and those who will lie quietly on a...
‘Supergirl’ Deserved Better

‘Supergirl’ Deserved Better

Milly Alcock is the best thing the film Supergirl has going for it. That should read as praise. Here it reads more like an autopsy. Alcock plays Kara Zor-El, a hard-drinking, wisecracking, bruised survivor, and almost every critic who buried the film stopped first to...
Two Sports Pride Nights, One Faith

Two Sports Pride Nights, One Faith

Earlier this month, several San Francisco Giants players objected to their team’s Pride Night. As the Giants took the field against the Chicago Cubs, pitchers Landen Roupp, J.T. Brubaker and Ryan Walker wore team-issued rainbow-logo caps. However, theirs was marked...
In No Mood to Celebrate (White) Freedom

In No Mood to Celebrate (White) Freedom

  I hate, I despise your religious festivals. Your assemblies are a stench to me (Amos 5:21). Fifty years ago, on the bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, my mother was not in the mood to celebrate. A graduate student at the University...