Christ and Pop Culture

I've spelled out some reasons why I think "Let It Go" caught on, and some reasons why we should question its widespread popularity. I've also recommended an alternative.

I may have sensed, on some level, the dissonance between such prejudice and Jesus’ own teachings. But if I did, I suppressed it. That sense of superiority, of being on the right team, of having Jesus’ favor: they felt too good to give up. One of the easiest targets on my denominational dartboard was liturgy.

I posted a question on Facebook and elsewhere: What breakup songs or breakup records mean the most to you? What music do you find entangled in your own hurtful experiences of separation? The floodgates burst open.

Sharing your heart with someone who in turn takes sledgehammer to it understandably leaves an impression.

The first song of Joe Henry’s album Invisible Hour — my favorite record of 2014 — is the subject of the second installment in my new series called "Listening Closer." Plus: Two new albums well worth your time and attention.

Listen to my conversation about Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" with Christianity Today's Chief Film Critic Alissa Wilkinson and the Christ and Pop Culture Superfriends — Richard Clark and Wade Bearden.