What Should You Read in 2012?

by Alissa Wilkinson

For years, I’ve spent some time at the beginning of the new year thinking about the books I’d like to read in the months ahead. Book lists help me order my reading. They let me dream about what I’ll do in the next year. And even when I end up copy-and-pasting half of last year’s list into this year’s, they help me remember who I want to be in the next twelve months...

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Fiction for the Common Good

The Calling of Christian Writers

by Richard Doster

Ask your neighbors for an off-the-cuff reaction to the words “Christian literature” and you’re likely to hear them stumble through a list of belittling adjectives. Despite the swelling ranks of able Christian writers, the reaction demonstrates that we are now viewed as an inconsequential presence in the world of literature. We have banished ourselves to the “inspiration” section at the back of Barnes & Noble. And by doing so, we may have left literature in the hands of writers who’d leave them hopeless...

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Q Reviews | Memoirs

Book Reviews of The Seven Story Mountain and Lit: A Memoir

by Byron Borger

In listing an old and a new book in a common genre, the idea of writing about memoirs thrilled me.  I've got many recent favorites. If I were to pick one memoir from decades ago, however, it is this remarkably popular story of a restless Columbia University literature student who, famously, left it all to become a Trappist monk...

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The Psychology of Trials

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

by Jimmy Lin

Within the bindings of a story, great literature explores what words alone fail to express. In The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, among others, Fyodor Dostoevsky subtlety explores the depths of the struggles that he experienced in his own life through his complex and unforgettable characters. Here, Jimmy Lin discusses the connection between Dostoevsky's life, work and faith.

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Brand Loyalty vs. Brand Idolatry

by Blake Howard and Craig Johnson

Our age is so saturated with marketed brands that our children dream in shades of Disney. Branding is a form of marketing that clearly defines what makes a company, product, or experience distinct and memorable from others. Naturally, companies who strive to serve customers faithfully ask for brand loyalty over their competitors. Is that so bad? Blake Howard and Craig Johnson explore the biblical implications of branding.

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Digital Stories

by Jonathan Collins

Effective storytelling is critical in a world super-saturated with advertisements. How can you craft a simple and compelling narrative to break through the noise and capture imaginations? Jonathan Collins, owner and operator of Epipheo Studios, has spent his career answering that question. Listen as he shares the storytelling secrets he’s learned from working with companies like Google, Proctor & Gamble, Microsoft and Amazon.

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Toxic Culture

by Micah White

Can we fight back against the incessant flow of logos, brands, slogans and jingles that submerge our streets, invade our homes and flicker on our screens? Micah White, senior editor at Adbusters, argues that we must first recognize that we suffer from mental pollution before we can even begin to reclaim our imaginations and our mind space.

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End Veneer

by Jason Locy and Tim Willard

We all feel it, sense it and see it. Everything in popular culture - from entertainment to advertisements - pushes us to be something we aren’t. This creates an unspoken tension for followers of Jesus who are called to presence, honesty and authenticity. How can Christians promote depth and character in a society that thrives on hype? Jason Locy and Tim Willard, coauthors of Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society, challenge us to strive for a more meaningful existence.

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The Book Industry is Fine

by Josh Reinders

Borders bookstore is closing all of its doors—does that mean that we are closing all of our books? Josh Reinders reexamines the industry's numbers and finds that the e-book apocalypse may be false prophesying the print world's doomsday.

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Help the Poor, Help the World

A review of The Hole In Our Gospel and Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger

by Byron Borger

Is our faith more than going to church, feeling God's love, and telling others about the forgiveness offered by Jesus? Here are two books that emphatically say, "Yes." Byron Borger reviews The Hole in Our Gospel and Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.

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Drowning in Over Stimulation

A Review of Prophetically Incorrect: A Christian Introduction to Media Criticism and Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture

by Byron Borger

How do we navigate the tempestuous ocean of enticing information known as 'Media' without drowning in over stimulation and bad culture? Byron Borger reviews two helpful guide books, Prophetically Incorrect: A Christian Introduction to Media Criticism by Robert Woods and Paul Patton and Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture by William D. Romanowski.

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Walker Percy Interviews Walker Percy

The deceased Southern writer answers all the questions he was never asked

by Q Ideas

An agnostic-turned-Catholic and existentialist, Walker Percy (1916-1990) was one of the most notable Southern writers of his lifetime who was able to speak about faith without actually speaking about faith. In this piece, we glimpse the author through a little known essay he penned entitled, "Questions They Never Asked Me."

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The Veneer of Media

How hungry authors are manipulating the publishing industry

by Chris Ferebee

Many authors enter publishing out of a ravenous hunger for notoriety and success. Their starting place is, “How do I reach the New York Times Bestseller's List?” and an entire industry has emerged to help these individuals reach this goal. Literary agent Chris Ferebee pulls back the curtain to show how a world of media-generated or self-generated celebrity can't deliver what we really need.

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Restoration in the Land of Make-Believe

The Legacy of Fred Rogers

by Jonathan Merritt

It's been 10 years since Fred Rogers filmed the final episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Many are familiar with his ability to communicate to children as a television host, but few know about the way he saw his role as a social change agent. Q editor Jonathan Merritt says Fred Rogers was more than an affable neighbor. He may be one of the greatest American restorers of the 20th century.

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Ten Most Beautiful Books I Read During the Last Decade

by Margaret Feinberg

As we enter the second decade of the second millennium AD, Q is pausing to look back on the last ten years. In the third of this multi-post series, author Margaret Feinberg considers the books that she couldn't put down during this decade.

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Activism After Clicktivism

by Micah White

For over a decade, revolutionaries and culture jammers have been paralyzed by the computer screen. We've come to rely far too heavily on a particular form of internet organizing: clicktivism. But activists are realizing that clicktivism will never breed social revolution. Is internet organizing in decline and, if so, what does that mean for revolutionaries? Writer and activist Micah White explores what's next.

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MTV and the Future of Music Media

by Brett McCracken

Looks like MTV is back in the music video business. Now they won't just be airing music videos; they'll be funding them. With LCD Soundsystem "Pow Pow" video, the network that killed the radio star has opted back in to the business of making video stars, in a more direct way than ever. Writer Brett McCracken explores MTV's new project and what it means for the future of music media.

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Media and The Mind of Christ

How we see the world precedes what we do

by Skye Jethani

Christian leadership begins not with what we do in the world, but with how we see the world. Writer Skye Jethani says we desperately need a new vision of reality, a third lens that transcends the polarization of our culture. We need media that can help us see the world through the mind of Christ.?? Could the answer be The Third Post?

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Infotaining Ourselves To Death

by Brett McCracken

Is technology, and pop culture, and the leveling of information and entertainment creating a world of trivial hyperreality wherein the “important” and “superfluous” are increasingly difficult to tell apart? If so, is it something we need to be worried about?

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Do You Want Better Journalism?

You might be the key to more trustworthy news media.

by Q Ideas

Got a problem with the state of news media today? Do you think it is too biased? Dan Gillmor says maybe it’s our own fault. The Arizona State University professor and author of We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People believes that a standard of trustworthy journalism can be achieved, but only if consumers get involved.

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The End of Christian America

by David Aikman

Newsweek’s April 2009 cover story pronounced “The End of Christian America.” Could it be true? Is it possible that the Judeo-Christian America many Christians have grown accustomed to is gone forever? If so, what is the fallout for the church and the average American Christian? Is there any way that the increase of pluralism in the public square could be a good thing for the faith? Historian and biographer David Aikman applies his historic lens to the new normal of American culture and offers a glimpse into what the future may hold for Christianity.

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God Help Us

by Tim Willard

An idealist's rant about our digital culture.

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On Ambient Knowledge and the Efficacy of Socializing Online

by Nick Purdy

In general, I'm on the late end of the early adopter spectrum. So I'm aware of new-ish trends particularly in technology and media, but usually watch curiously for some level of critical mass before investing time or money to participate.

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Culture of Consumers

by Micah White

The fabric of our existence is sewn with the items that we purchase and the technologies we adopt. Like fish in water, we hardly recognize how the mental and physical environment we live in is shaping the way we think and operate within our world. How do we recognize the toxins in our world that fight against being truly human? Writer and activist Micah White states that we must begin to "celebrate a new aesthetic that cherishes subsistence over surplus, local over national and play over work." The myth of consumerism is that 'more is better'. "But to this lie, we will with great strength respond that only by consuming less can we live more."

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Reporting Faith And Politics

by Michael Luo

The New York Times often leads the charge when it comes to reporting the most important events in our culture. Listen as Michael Luo discusses the nature of political journalism at the New York Times and the impact our faith can have on how we understand and engage politics.

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Think MTV

by Owen Leimbach

From baby-boomers to Gen X to millennials, generational change is taking place faster than ever before. What can we learn from MTV as they have adapted and innovated their methods and message for almost three decades?

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Signs Of Life

by Josh Jackson

How do we live “in the world” without being “of the world”? The creators of Paste Magazine are on a pursuit to find goodness, truth and beauty and share that with the world. Consider learning from creations that are not declared Christian, but may offer a sign of life in our culture.

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Christianity In 1000 Years

by Kevin Kelly

How would you engage differently if you had a long-term view of the church’s existence in society? If Jesus doesn’t return tomorrow, then what is the scenario for the next 1,000 years of Christianity? Kevin Kelly's plausible scenarios are guaranteed to expand, challenge, and boggle your mind.

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Signs Of Life: Finding The Good, True & Beautiful In Popular Culture

by Josh Jackson and Nick Purdy

We live in a fallen world -- ruled at times by commercialism, vulgarity, violence, cynicism, vapidity and celebrity-worship -- but goodness, truth and beauty always make their way to the surface. Become a connoisseur of the good and find, celebrate and cultivate this kind of expression in your community.

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Power Of Media

by Susan Grant

Get a behind the scenes glimpse at how television stories are found, chosen and reported through this insightful interview hosted by Mike Foster. Consider how this media conglomerate is shaping culture and imagine what the future will look like in a technology driven world where you choose the story.

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Hip-Hop Culture

by Jeff Johnson

The Hip-Hop phenomenon has evolved into an international language, spoken on every continent in the world. BET's Jeff Johnson masterfully weaves together the story of the church, racism, God, creativity, and global concern.

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