Life and Reading Update

Books and television and a trip to Las Vegas

As I’ve written elsewhere, Lent is the most meaningful part of the church calendar for me. I view it as an invitation every year to reorient myself, towards the rhythms of the church and daily prayer, and the theology around the Cross and the Passion of Christ speaks to me in ways most other theology does not.¹ So, last night, we made pancakes in our house, and today, we’ll get ashes and wander into the desert with Jesus. I also intend to embark on a Lenten writing project over at Liturgical Threads, so if you aren’t already a subscriber there, go check it out.

I wanted to take a few moments just to give some updates here. I haven’t written much recently; I think I burned out my energy on the events of the world pretty well. I’m still certainly outraged and appalled by the state of things, but I’m channeling that energy into more constructive uses, both in terms of advocacy, and in exerting control over the things I can control (more on that below.) I’ve also been turning back towards more theology in my reading, which helps break me out of the daily ins-and-outs of the current moment.

Taking a break from social media helps as well. I left Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky late in January, and boy has my mental health improved. I learn and relearn this lesson each time (this is my fourth major break from social media.) I find my time better used, with less scrolling and, consequently, less triggering of my rage. I’m not checked out on the events of the world (my podcast addiction, especially to the daily Bulwark podcast) ensures that. But I do believe I’m engaging it all in a much healthier manner.

I do feel a desire to write a bit more; I’ve been handwriting more journal-like entries in my little journal that goes everywhere with me, which helps stir my creative juices a bit. In the past, I’ve used my blog, and to a lesser extent this Substack, as a pseudo-social media outlet, at least in terms of sharing more about the day-to-day occurrences in my life, and right now, I feel like doing that again. This post is the first instance of that. I won’t promise any regular posting schedule of this kind of thing (those promises always get broken.) But, I do think I’ll try to be a little more regular on updating the things I’m reading, watching, eating, seeing, or thinking about. This won’t displace the regular writing I still intend to pursue (of which Gospel Politics is still first and foremost) but will be additive.

So, some updates. My early reading in 2026 has been a bit slow; I’ve only made it through 4 books so far this year:

I read Lamb of the Free and The Day the Revolution Began as part of an upcoming class I’m co-teaching at the church on atonement theories. Shane Claiborne’s Jesus for President is a classic text for me, one I hadn’t read in full in over a decade but which I often pull off the shelf and reference in my writing. It still holds up, despite some dated political references, as a searing and vital text for anyone trying to think through the political implications of our faith; you’ll see its influence on me as Gospel Politics continues.

Finally, Adrian Goldsworthy’s Caesar: Life of a Colossus is another book that I first read more than a decade ago that continues to sit on my bookshelf that I felt a desire to reread. This mostly came about because I spent the second half of 2025 rereading Colleen McCullough’s magisterial Masters of Rome series of historical fiction novels, in which Gaius Julius Caesar is probably the most important character. I have a deep seated passion for the history of the last years of the Roman Republic, and I find Caesar to be the most fascinating character in that saga. He was really a colossus, and my read on him is probably overly determined by McCullough’s positive spin on him and his motivations. In short: I think he was probably forced into his march on Rome by Pompey and the boni, and while certainly in possession of an autocratic personality, I think he was probably too much a product of his aristocratic Roman environment to want to be a king. I think it likely he would have abdicated some power upon his proposed campaigns in the east he was set to embark upon when he was killed, and that he had affection for the Republic and envisioned some return to its trappings, but again, I may be too influenced by McCullough here.

Right now, I’m reading a couple of things:

Peyote Politics is the recent work of someone who I have become quite fond of, Dr. Lisa Barnett, who teaches here in Tulsa at Phillips Theological Seminary. I come to the book as someone still in the early days of exploring what it means to be a member of a tribe (Citizen Potawatomi) and I’m reading it as a bit of an introduction to red theology. (It’s also quite exciting to see the art of late CP member Woody Crumbo on the cover!) Finally, Joseph J. Ellis is in the top tier of American historians writing in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, and The Great Contradiction was a Christmas gift I’m just now breaking into that I’m eager to explore.

My voracious television watching continues, and 2026 has already been chock full of good tv. Dominating everything right now are three HBO offerings: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, season 4 of Industry, and season 2 of The Pitt. All three are extraordinary, and I’ll write more about each once they each wrap. A few short notes::

• I think Industry might be my favorite on-going program right now. I’d have to maybe sit and think, but its so, so, so good. The second episode of this season was a masterclass amongst a run of classics. What Mickey Down and Konrad Kay are doing with this show is astounding. I feel like this summer is going to include a full rewatch for me, and hopefully we won’t have to wait long for season 5.

  

• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is probably the best GOT content we’ve gotten since maybe season 3 or 4 of the original series. I know this week’s episode got some stick because of the extended flashback, but I thought it all worked really well. The Duel of Sevens sequences was bracing.

• The Pitt is a show that I never spend anytime checking how much time is left in an episode. Every story is gripping, and each character feels like a real person.

There are a few other things I’m watching now as well, including Peacock’s Ponies (which is a lot of fun), Daredevil: Reborn, Wonderman (also surprisingly great!), and a rewatch of Breaking Bad (soon to be followed by Better Call Saul.) Again, more writing about all this to come soon.

I’ve also dipped my toes into some new(ish) movies, something I very rarely do. I watch Sinners finally a few weeks ago, which I absolutely adored, and then One Battle After Another last week, which I strongly liked. Turns out, movies are (mostly) good, actually! I’ve got a small list of other things to watch soon.

The other thing happening to me is my recent trip to Las Vegas, for the annual meeting of a national UCC youth ministry team I’m part of. I was reminded of just how much I really love Las Vegas, which is probably one of the most incongruous things about me. Here are some images from my time in Sin City:

As always, I ate very well while in Vegas, the highlight being dinner at Jose Andres’ China Poblano, inside the Cosmopolitan, where I had some fantastic gulf shrimp sauteed with poblanos, shallots, and black garlic. I also drank Andres’ famous Salt Air margarita.

And no visit to Vegas is complete without a stop at Milk Bar for some soft serve and pie:

Spring is rolling in, which means gardening is starting to fill my head. Much to do outside to prepare the yard for my growing plans this year, but more on that next time. For now, a blessed Ash Wednesday and Lent to you.

Grace and peace,

Justin

1. I’ve written at length, here and elsewhere, about the importance of Jurgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God and his atonement theology to my thinking.

link