For the next two weeks, you can enter a drawing for a chance to win a bundle of six books, all of which are related to my online writing in one way or another. The only requirement? Sign up for the Unpop Culture newsletter. If you received this post via email, you are already subscribed and have automatically been entered into the sweepstakes.
If you’re a new visitor to this site, or you have yet to subscribe, you can enter the drawing by clicking on the button below.
And if you really want to increase your chances of winning, you can add your name into the hat (so to speak) a second time by sharing this post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and tagging me. (Make sure you tag my author page on Facebook, not my personal page. On Instagram, you can find me here, and on Twitter you can find me here.)
On Tuesday, August 9, I will hold the drawing to see who wins the book bundle pictured above, and I will announce the winner on social media by the end of that week.
(See the bottom of this post for a complete list of the official sweepstakes rules.)
Here is more info on each of the six books included in the prize package:
1. Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues (Zondervan, 2019)
Edited by Drs. Joshua D. Chatraw and Karen Swallow Prior, this anthology “serves as a foundation for more than fifty top Christian thinkers to offer informative and diverse responses to nine of today’s key cultural issues.” Contributors include Rosaria Butterfield, Owen Strachan, Rod Dreher, Makoto Fujimura, and Joe Carter.1
I was also honored to contribute to this book. My essay cautions against one way Christian audiences have become unwitting patrons of pornified media.
In his review of this anthology for The Gospel Coalition, David Robertson writes, “Cap Stewart’s ‘When Art Becomes Sinful’ was so challenging that I now have to go and rethink some of my previous ideas and probably change one of my viewing habits.”
2. The Best Movies You Never Saw (Joseph W. Smith III, 2020)
As explained by its subtitle, this book explores “300 Under-the-Radar Films That Were Overlooked, Unjustly Trashed—or Just Plain Terrific.”
Here is my official endorsement:
Smith is one of only a handful of film critics (I can count them all on one hand, actually) whose movie recommendations automatically make me sit up and take notice. Through his writing, he has pointed me toward several films, both from yesteryear and the more recent past, that I otherwise would still remain woefully unaware of. The Best Movies You Never Saw is a welcome resource that I will be referring to for years to come.
3. The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (Crossway, 2015)
Many Christians feel a tension between valuing God’s gifts too much (idolatry) and holding them at arm’s length in suspicion (ungratefulness). To resolve this tension, author Joe Rigney proposes a liberating paradigm: oscillating between “comparative thinking” and “integrated thinking.” This balanced approach avoids both legalism and lenience, allowing us to love God supremely and enjoy his manifold gifts—including gifts like movies, music, videogames, and other forms of pop culture. As Rigney puts it in his book’s dedication page, “the things of earth grow strangely bright in the light of his glory and grace.”
4. The Pop Culture Parent (New Growth Press, 2020)
Coauthored by my friend E. Stephen Burnett, this book scratches a much-neglected itch in Christian publishing by exploring the need for parents to engage with popular culture with and for their children.
This work has earned its place near the top of the list of those books I will likely refer to again and again, for years to come. In fact, my perspective on parenting—and on living the Christian life itself—will never be the same again.
Here is my official endorsement:
Piercingly insightful, culturally cognizant, and graciously balanced, The Pop Culture Parent provides a much-needed resource for parents who want to enter their children’s world and embody Christ’s example.
5. Worldly Amusements (Winepress Publishing, 1999)
It seems that most of the Christian commentary I have read on Hollywood and entertainment comes from people who are either fully immersed in culture (with no real ability to tell the forest from the trees) or fully removed from and ignorant of Hollywood (with no real ability to tell a tree from a dump truck). That is why I so greatly appreciate this book by Pastor Wayne A. Wilson, a student of films and a student of Scripture.
“Paradigm-shattering” isn’t an adjective I can rightly apply to many books, but this masterful piece of film analysis qualifies with flying colors. Wilson deftly helps his readers restore the lordship of Christ to their entertainment choices. It has challenged, convicted, and encouraged me. My approach to movies has been forever altered by reading this book.
6. Why Pro-Life? (Hendrickson Publishers, 2012)
Most of my cultural commentary focuses on entertainment in general and movies in particular. Nevertheless, I do address the topic of abortion on occasion. The most wise and winsome voice I have found in this debate is that of Randy Alcorn. Not only does he offer excellent online resources (one of which can be downloaded—for free!—here), he has also written books on the subject. Filled with clarity and charity, Alcorn’s writings demonstrate an admirable blend of grace and truth. Adding practically any Randy Alcorn book to your library is a net positive.
Official sweepstakes rules and guidelines:
No purchase is necessary to enter.
All subscribers who are U.S. residents (minus the authors of any of the books included in the prize package) are eligible.
Chances to win are increased if you subscribe to my newsletter and share this post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. (Sharing on two or three of these social media sites is welcome and appreciated—but multiple sharings DO NOT further increase your chance of winning.)
There will be only one sweepstakes winner; that winner will be chosen at random on August 9, 2022.
The winner will be contacted by email after the qualification period has ended. He or she will have seven (7) days to claim their prize. If the winner fails to reply within the allotted time, a new winner will be selected at random. This process will continue until a winner successfully claims the prize.
To receive the book bundle, the winner will need to provide me with their name (for the social media winner announcements) and physical address (for mailing the prize package to them). I will not otherwise share this information through any other medium.
Disclaimer: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are released from any liability related to this sweepstakes.
This anthology has received some flack for giving airtime to heterodox voices like Matthew Vines, who promotes same-sex marriage. In an article for Religion News Service, Dr. Prior explains the reason for including some views which the book’s editors believe are “gravely mistaken": “Too many times we have seen young Christians brought up in the faith undergo a crisis of faith in part because they were never taught to engage certain views (or only caricatures of them) and then have to face them alone. This is why it’s wise for students to encounter these views alongside trusted guides to help them think through such views critically and biblically.”