God Archives - Wade Bearden

Our Great Heroes of the Faith May Be the Ones Who Don’t See Miracles

Wade — October 27, 2017 — Comments

It smelled like it did twenty-three years ago—stagnant moisture combined with diluted soil and grass. The familiar scent enveloped me like a tiny cloud as I knelt in Mom’s closet, using a chalky razor blade to slice across a seam in the Sheetrock. It was the same joint my dad cut through when I was seven, and I can still picture him pulling back the crumbling fragments of wall with a hammer and crowbar.

This is the second time my childhood home has flooded. The first in 1994; the second by the recent Hurricane Harvey. The house still bears the physical marks of one trauma, even as we are cleaning up from another. Continue Reading…

In God, Life Failing Faith, Heroes, Loss, Miracles

My New Book is Now Available for Pre-Order

Wade — September 11, 2017 — Comments

I don’t even want to calculate how many days it’s been since I’ve last blogged—let alone blogged regularly.

If you used to follow Wadebearden.com, you might have wondered where I disappeared to. Well, let me explain. The last few years I’ve been:

Writing for other outlets (including Christ and Pop Culture, Christianity Today, Relevant, and Think Christian).
Co-hosting the film and TV podcast Seeing and Believing. We’ve just hit over 120 episodes!
Taking time to read more, be with family, and launch a new business.
Hunting Polar Bears in Alaska.

In Culture, God, Life, The Arts book, Failing Faith, Pre-order

How a Nostalgic Jesus Freak Learned to Love Growing up in the Church

Wade — April 13, 2016 — Comments

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If you grew up in a Christian home during the last thirty years, you’re a member of an exclusive clique. You lived through McGee and Me’s tornado episode, survived a youth group game that required drinking a gallon of milk, and even weathered the Newsboys’ disco phase. Remember the day you accidentally ripped your Amy Grant poster? Some tragedies are too difficult to bear.

Christian culture possesses a unique attachment for its members, and judging by the amount of nostalgia-centric artifacts surging in popularity, we can’t seem to get enough of it…

Click here for the rest of the article…

In Culture, God, Life Discipleship, God, Jesus Freak, Nostalgia

The Difficulty (and Beauty) of Vulnerability

Wade — September 2, 2015 — Comments

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“If I had known more about Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, I probably would not have watched it.

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Sundance darling finds its protagonist in Greg (played by Thomas Mann), a teenage loner who spends his free time producing parodies of classic films. Greg is an enigma. Like the layout of his Pennsylvania high school divides into multiple sections, Greg’s life is purposely compartmentalized. He is on a first-name basis with nearly every group in school—he is just as comfortable bumming it with the drama club as he is high-fiving the senior class drug dealer—but his relationships are shallow and superficial. He makes small talk, and there’s little more.”

Click here to read the rest of the article on Christianity Today…

In Culture, God Film, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Movie, Vulnerability in Church

My Reaction to John Oliver’s Rant on the Prosperity Gospel

Wade — August 18, 2015 — Comments

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Some of you may have seen John Oliver’s recent take on the prosperity gospel. It’s been making its rounds since Monday—for good reason. It’s energetic and thought-provoking. Fair warning: if you do watch it, be prepared for language. Continue Reading…

In Culture, God HBO, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, Pastor, Preachers, Prosperity Gospel

What ‘The Jinx’ Gets Right About Our Desire for Closure

Wade — April 6, 2015 — Comments

I won’t spoil the end of The Jinx here—if by some chance you haven’t already read reports of the much lauded HBO documentary series—but I think it’s safe to say that the finale provided the seemingly “definitive” conclusion we all pined for in Serial. The last episode plays more like a suspense thriller than an open-ended study of the American justice system. The Jinx possesses a clear beginning, middle, and, most importantly, powerful resolution. Not that an open-ended plot can’t have a “conclusion,” but there’s a certain amount of satisfaction attached to having all the answers handed to you before the credits roll (though “all” is certainly up for debate here). Continue Reading…

In Culture, God Andrew Jarecki, Closure, Documentary, God's Story, HBO, Robert Durst, Serial Podcast, The Jinx

Faith Isn’t “Just Believing” the Bible

Wade — March 27, 2015 — Comments

A few Easters ago, I lectured on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. At the end of my talk, a woman chastised me in front of the group. “It doesn’t matter what theologians, scholars, or logic says. All that matters is the Bible.” Work that statement out as you may, but I think the main thrust of it was, “You just have to believe.” Continue Reading…

In Culture, God, Life Belief, Critical Thinking, Easter, Faith, God, Jesus, Jesus' Resurrection, Logic

When Just Getting Out of Bed is Enough

Wade — March 20, 2015 — Comments

I never expected what losing my dad would do to me. Some days, I don’t want to pull the covers off. Some days, I don’t want to talk to anyone. Some days, I simply want to watch television, scrolling through Netflix until I find a story that takes me to another world.

This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this weight, but it’s definitely the most poignant. Don’t think you have to lose a loved one for depression to be justified. Grief comes in many sizes; some big, some small enough to fit into a mailbox. Seasons like these make worshiping God feel undesirable, even complex. Yet, for all our preconceived ideas of what worshiping God is, I was reminded of a line written by my friend Alan: “Some days, rising out of bed is a great act of worship.” Honoring God can be as meager and rural as lifting our head off the pillow in the morning. Continue Reading…

In God, Life Bed, Death, Elijah, God, Grief, Hope, Worship

My Grief, Observed

Wade — January 10, 2015 — Comments

As I write this, it’s been a month, to the day—nearly minute—that my father passed away. Last night, I dreamed about the evening he died. I think that makes two times in the last week. It wasn’t an oddly exaggerated dream like so many dreams are. It was actually fairly close to what happened that night. Continue Reading…

In God, Life Dad, God, Grief, Loss

My Ten Favorite Films of 2014

Wade — December 29, 2014 — Comments

I’ve seen some great films this year. Though there are still more I need to catch (Whiplash, Selma, Inherent Vice, and Birdman to name a few), I thought it would be fun to put together a list highlighting my favorites so far. I hope this will be a guide of sorts for those of you looking to expand your filmography. My top ten list includes blockbusters, independent and foreign films, dramas, a horror picture, a black and white feature, and even one movie with Tom Cruise.

Because one of my passions is examining how art and Christianity coincide, I’ve included within each description a number of themes I feel interact with that particular film’s story. This will, hopefully, help you look at these movies through a more critical, spiritually-minded lens. Continue Reading…

In Culture, God, Life, The Arts 2014, Babadook, Boyhood, Calvary, Edge of Tomorrow, Favorite Films, Foxcatcher, Fury, Ida, Interstellar, Nightcrawler, One Night, Snowpiercer, Two Days

Wade Bearden

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