October 29, 2015

Choosing the Best Story

By Joe Boyd The world is a dangerous place. Issues like extremist terrorism, systemic racism, and constant political backbiting seem insurmountable. As a Christian, I believe there is a way through God to a better future. But how? Where is that way? And how do I walk in it? I”ve come to believe that the kingdom (the Way of Jesus) comes in only one form: story. The problems I see associated with the world today all boil down to the big stories, the metanarratives we all live within. For many people, the biggest story they live inside is their personal

September 19, 2015

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square

Why Are We So Nasty on Social Media?

By Joe Boyd The world has changed. We have the entire canon of human knowledge at our fingertips inside the tiny computers we carry. We call them phones, but rarely use them for such an antiquated concept as talking to someone. They are our portal to anyone and anything at anytime. We use them to be “social,” but rarely civil. I”m not a social media hater. I like it. I”ve been blogging for more than 12 years. I was an early adopter of both Facebook and Twitter. But I must admit I am weary of how hateful the general tone

August 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square

Why We Loved ‘Jurassic World’

By Joe Boyd Is Jurassic World the best movie ever made? Subjectively and artistically, probably not. But objectively, by at least one very important Hollywood standard, it is indeed the best movie ever made. A few weeks back, Jurassic World, the massive reboot of the popular 1990″s Jurassic Park series, set the all-time record for opening weekend box office with a whopping $524 million worldwide. It beat the domestic record of The Avengers set in 2012 and the international record of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 set in 2011. In this monthly series, we take a glance

July 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

Dave’s Gone–Now What?

By Joe Boyd Popular culture shows us who we are. It”s a mirror that reflects what we are becoming. So what do we make of Fallon”s rise in the wake of Letterman”s departure? Regardless of how we feel about it, popular culture is a dynamic force that shapes the lives of most Americans. Music, sports, and entertainment are power players that inform the worldview of millions of people both inside and outside the church. It”s simply the reality of the world we live in. The job of the Christian, in my opinion, is to know the culture while understanding that