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This American Life on Gun Violence in Chicago
“Is this a safe neighborhood?” It’s a question Maggie and I can expect to hear when friends from out of town visit our home in Hyde Park, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. In fact, our neighborhood is quite safe. The nearby presence of the University of Chicago ensures the streets in our…
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Oscar Nominated Documentaries
Searching for Sugar Man won the Oscar for best Documentary Feature last night. I saw four of the five nominated documentaries – The Gatekeepers isn’t yet available on DVD and hasn’t played recently in Chicago – and thought any of them were worthy of the award. Searching was the the only even remotely feel-good film of the…
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Dangerous Calling
My review of Dangerous Calling by Paul David Trip in the January print edition of Christianity Today has now been posted on their website. There is a disheartening rite of passage every young pastor faces. And though it was almost 10 years ago, I remember my own moment clearly. “Have you heard?” asked my senior pastor when…
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The Downside of Digital Immortality
Last month John Wilson, editor of Books and Culture, lamented a loss of books via his Twitter account: “Went to garage to get a book from a box of African American history and lit. Mildew. Aggh. Aggggh.” Aggh is right! We book lovers know the sinking feeling that accompanies such a discovery, be it mildew,…
David W. Swanson
Pastor and Author
David W. Swanson 