Join Me at the Realm Makers June 25 Livestream: How Can Stories Help Us in Traumatic Times?
| E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 22

Yes, Marriage and Family are Still Normative and Good Gifts for Today’s Church
| E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 18

Local Blogger Gives ‘The Screwtape Letters’ A Modern Spin for Today’s Uncertain Times
| E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 30

UPDATED: Today I’m Teaching at Teach Them Diligently: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care?
| E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 29

Join Thursday’s Live Webcast: How Did You First Find Fantastic Fiction?
| E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 20

Get a Free Chapter from My First Book, The Pop Culture Parent (Coming Fall 2020)
| E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 18

Join Me at the Realm Makers June 25 Livestream: How Can Stories Help Us in Traumatic Times?

I’d love to hear what kinds of stories you prefer during traumatic times.

E. Stephen Burnett | Jun 22, 2020 | No comments |

Save your spot now for my livestream with Realm Makers this Thursday, June 25. It starts at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central).

When we groan with God’s anguished creation, what creative works help us work through our sense of trauma? Let’s explore, with biblical faith and sensitivity, how imagination helps us seek healing.

I’d love to hear what kinds of stories you prefer during traumatic times. Our poll at Crowdcast will ask:

What kinds of stories most often help you during traumatic times?

Lighter, relaxed stories

Darker, complex stories

Some lighter, some darker stories

The livestream feed will also be mirrored on Facebook. But by joining us on Crowdcast, you’ll be able to interact in chat and with yours truly. Crowdcast can also send you a notification when we’re about to go live.

Yes, Marriage and Family are Still Normative and Good Gifts for Today’s Church

Some Christians do idolize marriage and other gifts of God. But the solution isn’t to ignore or minimize his gifts’ original good purpose.

E. Stephen Burnett | Jun 18, 2020 | No comments |

This article from Kevin DeYoung is raising some concerns, and some ire, on the Twitters.

DeYoung suggests “It’s Time for a New Culture War Strategy.” Among his most seemingly concerning statements, he writes:

Here’s a culture war strategy conservative Christians should get behind: have more children and disciple them like crazy. Strongly consider having more children than you think you can handle. . . .

Do you want to rebel against the status quo? Do you want people to ask you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)? Tote your brood of children through Target. . . .

The future belongs to the fecund. It’s time for happy warriors who seek to “renew the city” and “win the culture war” by investing in their local church, focusing on the family, and bringing the kingdom to bear on the world, one baby at a time.

Among DeYoung’s readers’ criticisms:

What if you can’t have kids?¹
He shouldn’t say “culture war”; it’s combative.²
But the Church makes marriage and family an idol!
But the Church makes marriage and family an idol!
Did we mention the Church makes marriage and family an idol?

So, does the church make marriage and family an idol, or … ?

I jest a little. But those last three salient points keep recurring in some Christian articles and rhetoric. That includes one 2018 article at a website for which I’ve written and that I overall respect. Unfortunately, however, the author had some very wrong ideas, perhaps best summarized by this statement:

Marriage should not be the norm that orients the communal life of the church, and Christians have an opportunity to show the world a better way rather than falling into the same obsessive focus on finding our Prince or Princess Charming.

At the time that article appeared, I replied at length with gentle pushback. This I’ll edit and expand below. But first I must make the pushback not-so-gentle: The writer’s first statement (and much of the article) are flat wrong and even unbiblical. Marriage should be a great norm that orients the communal life of the church.

Abusis non tollit usum: abuse [of a good thing] does not disqualify proper use.

Yes, Christians can certainly show the world a better way. In all our families and churches, we must include single people as they are, image-bearers of God. We must refuse to idolize or obsessively focus on good gifts like marriage and child-bearing. Instead, we must recognize that we live in a groaning world when it is not always possible for everyone to do this. And to be sure, we must reject the simpering romanticisms of the “Prince(ss) Charming” images, which (as no few articles and marriage-retreat hosts have reminded us) come from shallow stories, not the Bible.

However, we cannot insist that “the biblical norm of marriage” = “obsessive focus / idolatry.” This is a false equivalency: treating a biblical idea the same as one’s personal experience with the twisted version, in order to reject both at once. That’s not a biblical approach to any idolized gift, any more than we would reject the goodness of food because some people are gluttonous.

God made gifts like marriage, which are made holy by God’s word and prayer.

Leaders of the early church, faced with the charge that they have idolized marriage, repent and give proof by burning all their devotionals and conference workbooks by Dennis and Barbara Rainey (artist’s conception).

In fact, the apostle Paul makes this very point about abuses of good gifts, such as food and marriage:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

(1 Timothy 4:1–5, emphases added)

This is a sound proof-text when confronting Christians who seem caught between the icon / iconoclast divide about anything, be it:

Food and feasting,
Marriage and family,
Stories and creativity,
Celebrations of holidays.

Regarding the twisting of marriage, I can’t help seeing the direct clash between the apostle Paul’s correction and some teachers today.

They say: the Church idolizes marriage; therefore, we should not see marriage as especially holy.³
Paul says: false teachers forbid marriage; therefore, we must make it holy by God’s word and prayer.

Paul insists that marriage, like all good gifts, is made holy by these actions. He doesn’t feel the need to give an inch toward those false teachers who might have, even then, insisted that earthly things like marriage (and food) were just too important to the early church, and should therefore be forbidden (or at least strictly regulated). Instead, he takes his rebuttal right back to the source: God’s creation and intent for these good gifts.

Bad experiences really hurt, but they can also lead us into legalism.

Did some Christians then, as some Christians now, idolize these good gifts? Sure.

But if we base our response on reacting to the sin—rather than proactive reminders about God’s intentions for the good gifts—then we err. And we may even err in ways that Paul might describe as “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons”!

Even more strangely, we err in ways that we ourselves have seen aplenty, whenever Christians of the past have thrown out gifts like certain music genres, games, visual storytelling (like TV or movies), and even specific foods and drinks. From the outside, we can immediately see that they’re being reactive and not biblical. So it’s time to apply this wisdom more consistently. Yes, we must do this, even if Christians we’ve known in the Church Back Home have annoyed us, or even made us suffer, by idolizing good gifts and frowned on us for being different.

After all, how do you think those anti-movies, anti-recreational-drinking Christians got that way? They didn’t just make up their legalisms to be legalistic. They often had profoundly tragic backstories about bad experiences: a child read Harry Potter and got into witchcraft, or an uncle grew addicted to alcohol and physically abused his wife.

Those stories are real and terrible. But even those abuses do not disqualify proper use of good gifts.

If we disclaim marriage, we must also disclaim Christians making culture.

I direct this part toward Christians who believe in specific cultural redemption work. If we believe these slogans:

Because the church often makes marriage into an idol, we probably need to stop being so focused on marriage.
But if the church makes popular culture into an idol, then it’s still good for us to view popular culture in redemptive ways.

This collapses into self-contradiction when you realize this big truth:

The Bible commands both family-making and culture-making all at once in the Cultural Mandate. If you reject one gift as hopelessly idol-corrupted, then you must also reject the other gift.

Here’s what I wrote in 2018 (with some editing).

Some popular culture and real-life people (including Christians) make marriage and family into an idol.

Marriage is still normative for Christians.

So is filling the Earth (with children).

So is making and engaging culture (including popular culture). In fact, marriage and family and stewardship and cultural creation are all inexorably tied together in the Creator’s original command (Genesis 1:28).

If you can’t do any of these for various reasons—say, because your family keeps you from culture participation or your missions work keeps you from starting a family—that’s a real and genuine exception. You’re no less valuable to our Savior and his Commission!

Still, it’s dubious for us to go on about “idols.” We might as well go on at length about how “some Christians” (e.g. “people in my admittedly limited experience with the Church”) are making an idol out of either “cultural engagement” or “engaging popular culture.”

Do some Christians make an idol out of popular culture engagement? Yes. I’ve seen it happen a lot. Is this the majority view among Christians? Probably not. Yet in either case, claiming “this isn’t normative”—either about marriage or about making or engaging culture—is simply (at best) a vague statement or (at worst) not a biblically accurate statement.

Final concessions

When we read DeYoung’s article or any other reminders about God’s good gifts, they will certainly raise many questions:

What about that Church Back Home that did idolize marriage/children, and treated me as a pariah?
How then should Christians address smaller, localized idolatries versus the greater idolatries of our culture?
Should we try, in all our articles and materials about good gifts, to address every possible idolatry of those gifts?

The first two questions likely call for general biblical principles, applied in specific ways for specific situations.

However, for that third question, I heartily answer: no. That’s because no article or book or interaction can possibly account for everyone’s experience, struggles, or account of idol-abuses. It might seem easier in the information age to expect all the information at once. But not even a biblical chapter or book can fulfill such an expectation. Rather, we must rely on someone’s whole body of work (past, present, and future) for reassurance that they’re aware of the idolatrous risks, and can and will address them in other articles or interactions.

That’s why, despite DeYoung’s very casual tone and the brevity of his article, I overall trust him to offer balanced perspectives. He seems quite aware of potential abuses. In this exact article, however, he’s simply chosen not to address them. That’s not a failure of biblical teaching. It’s simply a decision to focus on one theme. That’s a creative decision. Other books and articles can offer different focuses.

I think we should show him grace. And let’s show grace to other writers who remind us about God’s good gifts without always giving “equal time” to warnings about the gifts’ corruptions. I’ve asked the same when I write about God’s good gift of imagination, without always devoting similar wordcount (in the same article or post, etc.) to imagination’s misuse. And so I request the same grace here. If necessary, we can have further discussions in the comments sections or on social media. After all, that’s another good gift in the Church, with all our gifts and warnings not to idolize these gifts: graceful interaction and presumed goodwill in all our relationships—marriage and otherwise.

DeYoung mentions this in brief, but singleness / infertility exceptions aren’t his focus here. Those familiar with his whole body of work know he’s among the first to directly disclaim idolatrous expectations among evangelicals. ↩
Among the criticisms, this one seems the oddest. DeYoung is literally subverting the “culture war” definition. He contrasts the typical definition, of waging battles in politics and government, and recommends we instead do peaceful things like having families and discipling children. I realize the term “culture war” may itself alarm some Christians. We have a host of images for “culture war” in our heads. However, if we cannot gaily use and subvert these terms, irrespective of our own trigger points, we’ve no hope of effective evangelism. This mission often requires subversion. For example, the apostle Paul could speak freely about “gods” plural in Acts 17, on his way to make a point about the one true God. If his audience included Christians who felt offended by him seeming to presume multiple gods did exist, then Paul’s evangelism would not have gotten far. ↩
Some may say this approach to marriage is not the same as “forbidding.” I agree that it is not the same, but these are both still on a spectrum of legalism. At one end of the spectrum is the accusation, “This thing is an evil idol, and no Christian should be allowed to do it.” At the fainter, more-moderate end of the spectrum is the gentler reminder, “Well, it may not technically be wrong, but alas, Lots of People are making it into an idol. (And therefore you must see that thing as not especially good, and perhaps even a step away from the Very Serious marks of faith, such as monk-like chastity, or evangelism, or justice advocacy.)”Both these responses are on the spectrum of legalism. We’ve seen much the same when Christians don’t outright forbid, say, fantasy stories or certain foods/drinks, but just raise their eyebrows and let you know those things are just not very spiritual. ↩

Local Blogger Gives ‘The Screwtape Letters’ A Modern Spin for Today’s Uncertain Times

If C. S. Lewis’s satirical demon Screwtape was around in today’s modern contemporary present, what would he say to us now?

E. Stephen Burnett | Apr 30, 2020 | 1 comment |

My dear Wormwood,

It is unfortunate that, here in the 21st century, I cannot write you any more correspondence. You see, I actually absorbed you back in 1942 at the conclusion of letter thirty-one.

Your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape¹

P. S.: “Fortunately I have no doubt that many aspiring manufacturers of what the humans call ‘memes’ are well suited for the task of impersonating the otherwise inimitable writing style of the Lowerarchy.” ↩

UPDATED: Today I’m Teaching at Teach Them Diligently: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care?

You can register to hear my talk: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care?

E. Stephen Burnett | Apr 29, 2020 | 1 comment |

Today, I’m helping with Teach Them Diligently’s virtual conference for Christian home educators!¹ You can register for this amazing event to hear my talk: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care?

For Christian parents, all these movies, shows, games, music, and beyond can feel overwhelming! Is there any point to all this popular culture, and why does it exist in God’s world in the first place? In this course, E. Stephen Burnett (coauthor of The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ, with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore) uses gospel perspective to discern the biblical purpose of popular culture. Then we discover five fantastic questions to help you and your kids explore stories and songs for God’s glory together.

Of course, that’s inspired by themes from my first book, The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (by Ted Turnau, Jared Moore, and myself).

The Pop Culture Parent releases Sept. 7, 2020 from New Growth Press.

Many others are also speaking at Teach Them Diligently, like filmmaker Stephen Kendrick, or the authors of Trim Healthy Mama.

Here’s the event description:

Have you always wanted to attend a Teach Them Diligently event but have never been able to? Now you can!! With meet-ups, a LIVE Exhibit hall, recorded workshops, live sessions, and too many other elements to mention, this will be as close to a TTD event as we can make it by streaming to your home. Register now and join us for the coolest virtual homeschool event ever!

In the original timeline, this week I would have visited Louisville for Together for the Gospel, then Cincinnati for Great Homeschool Conventions. ‘Tis amazing how events can shift so suddenly—cf. James 4:13–15. ↩

Join Thursday’s Live Webcast: How Did You First Find Fantastic Fiction?

This Thursday, April 21, I’m hosting a webcast for Realm Makers, inspired by reader stories about how they first discovered fantastical tales.

E. Stephen Burnett | Apr 20, 2020 | No comments |

This Thursday, April 21, I’m hosting a webcast for Realm Makers.

Realm Makers hosts several such gatherings, anticipating the annual conference in July.

All these times are EDT:

April 21 at 2 p.m.: Journey through Narnia with Matt Mikalatos
April 23 at 8 p.m.: How Did You First Find Fantastic Fiction? (mine)
April 24 at 12p.m.: Bookmarked by Realm Makers
April 25 at 8 p.m.: Realm Makers Membership Promo

My fantastic fiction theme is inspired by listener and reader feedback in this Fantastical Truth podcast episode. Click over to reserve your spot! You can also set up auto-reminders for the webcast start at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

By the way, no, the Realm Makers conference has not been cancelled!

You can still sign up, choose classes, and plan meetings with mentors, including myself.

Realm Makers 2020 conference

Get a Free Chapter from My First Book, The Pop Culture Parent (Coming Fall 2020)

The Pop Culture Parent releases Sept. 7, 2020, but you can get a free chapter early at ThePopCultureParent.com.

E. Stephen Burnett | Apr 18, 2020 | No comments |

My first book releases Sept. 7, 2020, but the website is live as of yestserday.

Visit ThePopCultureParent.com to explore my upcoming book release with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore: The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ.

Back cover description
Author intros: Ted, Jared, and myself
Advance reader endorsements
More advance reader endorsements

Even better:

Get a free chapter: Five Simple Steps to Engage Popular Culture with Your Children

About this book

The Pop Culture Parent equips mothers, fathers, and guardians to build relationships with their children by entering into their popular culture–informed worlds, understanding them biblically, and passing on wisdom.

This resource by authors Jared Moore, E. Stephen Burnett, and Ted Turnau provides Scripture-based, practical help for parents to enjoy the messy gift of popular culture with their kids.

Preorder from:

Amazon

New Growth Press

The Gospel Coalition store

ChristianBook.com

By engaging with their children’s interests, parents can explore culture while teaching their children to become missionaries in a post-Christian world.

Updated: This Fall, I’ll Teach On Pop Culture and Fantasy at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference

I’ll be on faculty and teaching about popular culture and fantasy at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Nov. 15–19.

E. Stephen Burnett | Apr 10, 2020 | No comments |

As the release draws nigh for The Pop Culture Parent,¹ I can confirm another announcement.

First, I’m on faculty at this year’s Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference:

November 15–19, 2020²
1 Ridgecrest Dr.
Black Mountain, North Carolina

Second, I’m also teaching three different workshops. Each one is suitable for Christian writers at any development stage:

Putting Pop Culture In Its Place

When TV and internet disrupt your writing, start redeeming these gifts.

You’re trying to hit your writing goals. But that smartphone won’t hush and your favorite TV drama just dropped new episodes. What’s a Christian author to do? Come learn the biblical purpose of popular culture. Seek its beauties. Smash its idols. And start redeeming this corrupted gift for God’s glory.

Seeking God’s Glories In Fantastic Stories

Explore how fantasy, sci-fi, and other fantastical stories uniquely glorify Jesus.

What’s the biblical purpose of fantastical fiction? How can we discern these stories’ graces and idolatries? And how can these stories serve the Church? Join us for a tour through God’s fantastical word, and explore how the gospel of Jesus Christ inspires our creation of fantastical stories for God’s glory.

Should Christian Fantasy Include Magic?

Explore fictional magic and its pros and cons for Christian fantasy authors.

Christian fantasy writers are often asked about biblical texts that warn against the occult, or readers who feel tempted. Come explore with grace and truth the nature of evil versus Christ’s power. We’ll discuss a Christian author’s responsibilities, and consider how best to love Christian family members who believe differently.

Register today at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference!

Visit the Blue Ridge Mountains in May for an inspiring week of writing, encouragement and inspiration.

The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference began nearly four-decades ago as a spirit-filled environment where writers could move forward in their writing journey and publishing dreams. The legacy event is focused on God’s path for each writer, and the conference is dedicated to meeting professional and spiritual needs.

The goal is for each attendee to hear from God—direction and encouragement to pursue His path. We understand the difficulties. The publishing journey isn’t a day trip but a climb toward excellence. Many of us have gotten lost—miserably. Our objective is for no writer to be left stranded on a cliff with nowhere to turn. We can’t guarantee a smooth path every step of the way, but we can show you how to avoid many of the obstacles.

Explore more at the official conference website.

Updated: Other events

I’ve also been invited to participate at:

NEW: Teach Them Diligently, dates pending, virtual conference
Pending: Florida Parent Educators Association, May 21–23, Orlando, Fla., with Realm Makers Bookstore
Updated: SoCal Christian Writers Conference (now virtual), July 9–11, Azusa Pacific University, on faculty
Realm Makers, July 16–18, Atlantic City, New Jersey

I would love to meet you at any of these events. If you plan on being in the neighborhood, comment below and we’ll connect!

Stephen

The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ releases ~~May 4,~~ Sept. 7, 2020 from Ted Turnau, myself, and Jared Moore by way of New Growth Press. You can preorder the book here. ↩
“A wizard is never late, nor is he early”—except when a plague festers in the heart of Middle-earth. Original information: “May 24, 2020—May 28, 2020 November 15–19, 2020 / (followed by special post-conference on May 29) . ↩

This Russian Cover for Frank Peretti’s ‘This Present Darkness’ Beats All the American Covers

All of This Present Darkness’s American covers are okay, but the most amazing cover graces the 2011 Russian-language edition.

E. Stephen Burnett | Mar 31, 2020 | No comments |

Last week for the Fantastical Truth podcast, we explored Frank E. Peretti’s classic thriller This Present Darkness.

Finding cover images for the podcast and SpecFaith article proved a bit difficult.

You see, Crossway first published Peretti’s book in 1986. At that time no one was uploading high-res cover art to the internet. Ultimately I had to scan my own paperback copy (autographed by Peretti himself) with frayed edges and all.

And since the internet, the publisher(s) has redesigned the cover once or twice:

This Present Darkness (1986), Frank E. Peretti

This Present Darkness (1986 edition)

This Present Darkness (2003 edition)

This Present Darkness (2012 edition)

All these work to some degree. But the all-time best cover for This Present Darkness is this Russian-language edition, which according to Goodreads was published in 2011.

Behold:

This Present Darkness, Frank Peretti (Russian edition)

This Present Darkness (Russian language edition, 2011)

We’ve Rescheduled ‘The Pop Culture Parent’ to Release Sept. 7, 2020

Our new release date is Sept. 7, 2020 for The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ.

E. Stephen Burnett | Mar 30, 2020 | 1 comment |

In ancient times B.C. (Before Coronavirus), we would have released my first book The Pop Culture Parent this spring.

That date would have been ~~May 4, 2020~~.

But it is not this day.

Our new release date is Sept. 7, 2020¹ for The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ. This New Growth Press resource from Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, and Jared Moore helps parents discern popular culture’s purpose, graces, and idolatries, to train their kids to shine gospel light in a dark and messy world.

Order from New Growth Press

Order from The Gospel Coalition store

Order from ChristianBook.com

Order from Amazon

Back cover

Parents often feel at a loss with popular culture and how it fits in with their families. They want to love their children well, but it can be overwhelming to navigate the murky waters of television, movies, games, and more that their kids are exposed to every day.

Popular culture doesn’t have to be a burden. The Pop Culture Parent equips mothers, fathers, and guardians to build relationships with their children by entering into their popular culture–informed worlds, understanding them biblically, and passing on wisdom.

This resource by authors Jared Moore, E. Stephen Burnett, and Ted Turnau provides Scripture-based, practical help for parents to enjoy the messy gift of popular culture with their kids.

By engaging with their children’s interests, parents can explore culture while teaching their children to become missionaries in a post-Christian world.

By providing realistic yet biblical encouragement for parents, the coauthors guide readers to engage with popular culture through a gospel lens, helping them teach their kids to understand and answer the challenges raised by popular culture.

The Pop Culture Parent helps the next generation of evangelicals move beyond a posture of cultural ignorance to one of cultural engagement, building grace-oriented disciples and cultural missionaries.

About the authors

Ted Turnau teaches culture, religion, and media studies at Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic. He has a PhD from Westminster in apologetics and wrote Popologetics (2012) to help Christians engage popular culture. Ted Turnau authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and Carolyn have three grown children. Ted enjoys jazz and blues, movies, games, and Japanese culture.

E. Stephen Burnett explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven Magazine and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He has also written for Christianity Today and Christ and Pop Culture. E. Stephen Burnett authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin, Texas area, and serve as church members and foster parents.

Jared Moore serves in pastoral ministry. He has a PhD in systematic theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and cohosts The Pop Culture Coram Deo Podcast. Jared also served as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and his wife, Amber, and their four children enjoy popular culture together.

That is, Sept. 7, 2020 A.D. (After Disease). ↩

Cover Reveal for The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

My first book The Pop Culture Parent has a title, release date, and this fantastical cover.

E. Stephen Burnett | Dec 6, 2019 | 4 comments |

My first book The Pop Culture Parent has a title and release date.

The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ, with New Growth Press, will be available in stores both physical and virtual, starting May 4, 2020.

We also have this fantastical cover. Behold:

The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

Description

Parents often feel at a loss with popular culture and how it fits in with their families. They want to love their children well, but it can be overwhelming to navigate the murky waters of television, movies, games, and more that their kids are exposed to every day.

Popular culture doesn’t have to be a burden. The Pop Culture Parent equips mothers, fathers, and guardians to build relationships with their children by entering into their popular culture–informed worlds, understanding them biblically, and passing on wisdom.

This resource by authors Jared Moore, E. Stephen Burnett, and Ted Turnau provides Scripture-based, practical help for parents to enjoy the messy gift of popular culture with their kids. By engaging with their children’s interests, parents can explore culture while teaching their children to become missionaries in a post-Christian world.

By providing realistic yet biblical encouragement for parents, the coauthors guide readers to engage with popular culture through a gospel lens, helping them teach their kids to understand and answer the challenges raised by popular culture.

The Pop Culture Parent helps the next generation of evangelicals move beyond a posture of cultural ignorance to one of cultural engagement, building grace-oriented disciples and cultural missionaries.

About the authors

Ted Turnau teaches culture, religion, and media studies at Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic. He has a PhD from Westminster in apologetics and wrote Popologetics (2012) to help Christians engage popular culture. Ted Turnau authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and Carolyn have three grown children. Ted enjoys jazz and blues, movies, games, and Japanese culture.

E. Stephen Burnett explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven Magazine and writer at Speculative Faith. He has also written for Christianity Today and Christ and Pop Culture. E. Stephen Burnett authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin, Texas area, and serve as church members and foster parents.

Jared Moore serves in pastoral ministry. He has a PhD in systematic theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and cohosts The Pop Culture Coram Deo Podcast. Jared also served as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He authored The Pop Culture Parent. He and his wife, Amber, and their four children enjoy popular culture together.

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Daily articles from SpecFaith

Looking Forward to Re-Creation in Eternity | Travis Perry, Jul 2

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’During Traumatic Times, We Need Truthful Stories to Help Us Heal’ | E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 30

Introducing The Author: Paul Regnier | Rebecca LuElla Miller, Jun 29

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Ep. 22: How Do Christians Discern UFO Accounts in Light of Scripture? | Fantastical Truth, Jun 30, 2020

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Ep. 20: What if a Space Plague Turned the Amish into Zombies? | clip from Amish Zombies from Space | Fantastical Truth, Jun 16, 2020

Ep. 19: How Do Christian Authors Stay Sensitive About ‘Grittier Than PG-13’ Content? | Fantastical Truth, Jun 9, 2020

Find more from Christian creators

The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ | Releases Sept. 7, 2020 from New Growth Press

Join Me at the Realm Makers June 25 Livestream: How Can Stories Help Us in Traumatic Times? | E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 22

Yes, Marriage and Family are Still Normative and Good Gifts for Today’s Church | E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 18

Local Blogger Gives ‘The Screwtape Letters’ A Modern Spin for Today’s Uncertain Times | E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 30

Join Me at the Realm Makers June 25 Livestream: How Can Stories Help Us in Traumatic Times? | E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 22

Yes, Marriage and Family are Still Normative and Good Gifts for Today’s Church | E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 18

Local Blogger Gives ‘The Screwtape Letters’ A Modern Spin for Today’s Uncertain Times | E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 30

UPDATED: Today I’m Teaching at Teach Them Diligently: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care? | E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 29

Join Thursday’s Live Webcast: How Did You First Find Fantastic Fiction? | E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 20

Get a Free Chapter from My First Book, The Pop Culture Parent (Coming Fall 2020) | E. Stephen Burnett, Apr 18

Share this:

So, does the church make marriage and family an idol, or … ?

God made gifts like marriage, which are made holy by God’s word and prayer.

Bad experiences really hurt, but they can also lead us into legalism.

If we disclaim marriage, we must also disclaim Christians making culture.

Final concessions

Share this:

Share this:

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About this book

Preorder from:

Share this:

Putting Pop Culture In Its Place

Seeking God’s Glories In Fantastic Stories

Should Christian Fantasy Include Magic?

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| E. Stephen Burnett, Jun 18

Local Blogger Gives ‘The Screwtape Letters’ A Modern Spin for Today’s Uncertain Times
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UPDATED: Today I’m Teaching at Teach Them Diligently: What’s the Point of Popular Culture and Why Should Parents Care?
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Join Thursday’s Live Webcast: How Did You First Find Fantastic Fiction?
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