All articles by Martin Saunders – Page 2

  • invisibles-blog-main
    Opinion

    Have you spotted these 'invisibles' in your church?

    2014-09-05T00:00:00Z

    In an age that is centred on platform-building and self-promotion, David Zweig’s book Invisibles claims we can make a significant impact while still maintaining an almost invisible profile.

  • sound-check-main
    Archive content

    Theology test your worship songs

    2014-08-07T00:00:00Z

    What happens when you put the lyrics of some of our best-known worship songs under the theological microscope?

  • vanishing-act-main
    Archive content

    Vanishing Act

    2014-08-07T00:00:00Z

    A new book written by a secular New Yorker suggests that our self-promotion culture has its values badly wrong. It might just be the most important message the Church could hear in 2014.

  • minecraft-main
    Archive content

    The Gospel according to Minecraft

    2014-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Minecraft, a simple construction video game, is sweeping the globe. Why is it so popular, and should we be concerned that millions of people are choosing to spend more time in the game than outside it?

  • worldcup-culture-feat
    Archive content

    Why your church should love the World Cup (even if you don’t)

    2014-06-09T00:00:00Z

    The World Cup is upon us, and – whether or not you like football – there’s much the Church can learn from it.

  • Pure caffeine powder from coffee leaves
    Archive content

    What are we drinking?

    2014-05-15T00:00:00Z

    The world’s favourite stimulant is available in all shapes, sizes and flavours. So how much caffeine is in a regular serving of your favourite beverage?

  • Caffeine Nation
    Archive content

    Caffeine Nation

    2014-05-14T00:00:00Z

    It’s the world’s favourite legal drug; you may be sipping at it even as you read this. If so, are you holding that cup of coffee, or is it holding you?

  • Russell Crowe Noah Running © REX
    Archive content

    Flood, sweat and tears

    2014-04-11T00:00:00Z

    Darren Aronofsky’s latest epic has divided Christians; yet it’s a spectacular film sure to provoke discussion. So, just as theologians and children’s workers have asked for generations: what are we supposed to do with Noah?

  • Hoffman-main
    Archive content

    Death in Hollywood

    2014-04-07T00:00:00Z

    Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in February, is the latest in a long line of troubled celebrities to lose a battle with drug abuse. So why do so many famous people – who seem to have everything – get caught up in the deadly spiral of addiction?

  • Game of Thrones
    Archive content

    A throne but no Messiah

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    Can a show full of gratuitous sex and violence and has no 'good' character, have anything to say to the Christian subculture?

  • image of hugh jackman in les miserables
    Archive content

    A Life Less Misérable

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    Martin Saunders looks at how blockbuster musical Les Misérables – now out on DVD – can be powerfully harnessed to start conversations about God

  • Archive content

    What happened next

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    After 2012 confounded Mayan predictions and turned out to be a feel-good epic, how on earth could the next year possibly live up to it? Martin Saunders looks at how 2013's biggest events unfolded at home, abroad, and within the Church.

  • Obesity
    Archive content

    Fit for purpose

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    With national obesity rates rising and the fitness industry booming, is there a more sensible middle way?

  • Archive content

    Playing with Fire

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    Swipe right if you would, left if you wouldn’t. Thanks to smartphone app Tinder, 21st century speed dating has picked up the pace...

  • Dark TV Shows - Copyright REX / ITV
    Archive content

    No more happy endings

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    A string of dark British TV dramas have proved to be major ratings winners. So why are millions of viewers trading the traditional good-defeats-evil story for something much bleaker?

  • The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
    Archive content

    Star Crossed

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    American writer John Green might be the most important author you’ve never heard of. Martin Saunders explores a world of unlikely smash hits to find out why.

  • Broken Future?
    Archive content

    Is the Future Broken?

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    TV’s sharpest writer thinks we’ll get the future we deserve. Martin Saunders asks: Should Christians listen to him? TV’s sharpest writer thinks we’ll get the future we deserve. Martin Saunders asks: Should Christians listen to him?

  • Russell Brand - Copyright Robin Utecht / REX
    Archive content

    A Divisive Brand

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    He’s one of the most famous and controversial figures of the new millennium, whose loose tongue wins him critics and fans alike. Has Russell Brand really reinvented himself as a deep-thinking revolutionary, or is it all just a cry for attention?

  • Elsa from the Disney musical movie Frozen
    Archive content

    The Gender Agenda

    2014-03-05T00:00:00Z

    In these enlightened times, we might imagine our children are finally growing up in an age of gender balance. Yet, as Martin Saunders discovers, various cultural factors suggest the picture isn’t quite so rosy.

  • Archive content

    Thriving, not surviving

    2014-02-05T00:00:00Z

    This summer Martin Saunders visited the Soul Survivor festival to discover why it has become an irresistible force in UK youth ministry...