I’m working on a column that I am finding thoroughly cathartic in the way that confession is always good for the soul. The gist of the column is to walk you good, innocent and trusting pop-culture lay people through the creepy world of flattery, false friendship, pandering, manipulation, bribery and even coercion that goes into getting writers, publishers, radio personalities and television producers to give air and page time to upcoming movies. This world gets even smarmier and shocking when... Read more

Let me just start by saying two words which you can accept as fair warning to avoid this stupidest movie in years: Rock People. Need more? Tragically, as Western Civilization continues to decay all around us, one thing remains unmuddled: everything is politics. And nowhere is that more true than in media. The same polarization that fired Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty and then got him rehired, and made Mel Gibson $600 million, and then lost him his Hollywood career,... Read more

(Here is the full length piece I wrote about Flannery O’Connor’s recently published, “A Prayer Journal.” I wrote the piece for a copy of the book for this website here. They edited out a lot of it for space, but they told me I could reprint the whole thing here.) I can’t imagine any scenario in which Mary Flannery O’Connor would be happy to know her youthful, private supplications and confessions to God would one day be fodder for the... Read more

I am honored to have beeninvited to speak to the Artist Retreat for Via Affirmativa this coming May. I will be giving a few presentations probably on the nature of artists and spirituality for artists. Via Affirmativa is a cool group. Here is a statement from their website: Via Affirmativa Core Via Affirmativa is a movement that seeks to provide opportunities for art makers to examine and live their creative vision in light of the values of the Kingdom of... Read more

Here is the shortened version of a piece I wrote on Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Prayer Journal.” The longer version will be coming somewhere soon, but this is the heart of it… “Flannery also worries that her writing will lead people away from God instead of towards Him. It shows she knew that her themes were going to be very high stakes, and that meaning well doesn’t necessarily mean doing well. It also shows she had already figured out that she... Read more

No apologies to John Lennon. It’s MY turn…. Imagine there’s no cynics. No more spitting in the eye. No more conniving Leftists. No Hopey-Changey lie. Imagine Rachel Maddow,* living for the truth. Imagine there’s no sneering. It will be hard for Jon Stewart to do. No one to sue or protest. And no ACLU. Imagine all the lawyers, living on the street. OOH-OOH-oohoohooh. You may say, I’m a bigot. But you say a lot of sh*t. I hope some day... Read more

[These are the notes of a talk I gave this past weekend to a chapter of the Magnificat Women’s Ministry. I had been invied to give my “testimony.” What is here ends rather abruptly because the speech went into the five Magnificat moments of my life which I mainly told as stories without notes. (The talk is available on CD from the San Gabriel Valley Chapter of Magnificat.) But, even without the examples, the point still seems to me generally... Read more

[I have started doing a weekly show called “Church of the Masses” on the Radio Titans Network. When I have time, I will edit together my notes/outlines/transcriptions of the show and post them here.] This show gets its name from my blog which is now hosted at Patheos. Since 2003, the blog has attracted over a million hits. The blog gets its name from a great quote someone sent me way back in 1999 which I used to have as... Read more

It’s time again for the annual prayer walk for Hollywood around the Dolby Theater, the site of the Oscars. Everyone is welcome. This event is sponsored by Act One and The Hollywood Prayer Network. When: Thurs. Feb. 27th at 7:30pm Where: Meet at Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge @ Hollywood & Highland 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 We will be praying together specifically for the actors, films and issues involed in the 2014 Academy Awards. Hope to see you... Read more

Sharing their press release… INTO THE FUTURE: ACT ONE BRINGS ON A NEW HEAD OF IT’S PRODUCING PROGRAM Act One, Inc.’s Justin Bell steps down to help Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s oversee the distribution of 20th Century Fox’s Son of God. Participant Media’s, Christian McGuigan, to step in for Bell and head up Act One’s Producing & Entertainment Executive Program. Change is in the air. With Spring fast approaching, Act One, Inc. is ushering in a new season as... Read more