Articles By: Larry Shallenberger

Larry is a pastor and author hailing from Erie, PA. He's the author of "Divine Intention" and "Lead the Way God Made You" (which was recently translated into Korean). Larry is a husband and father of three boys. He's on the board of www.thementoringproject.org. He's currently working on his fourth book and just crossed the halfway point of the first draft. If you're an aquisitions editor, you should toss Larry an email at larry.shallenberger @ gmail.com to chat.

Seeds Grow in Broken Earth and Not in Clouds

This morning I took my first crack at the fifth workout of the CrossFit Open. Up until this point in the workout, I’d been doing reasonably well for having only done it “full time” for three months. I was in the middle of the pack in my division. Workout 13.5 let me know that my...

May 6th, 2013 | Essays, Featured | Read More

The Hidden Dangers of Marketing God

I shared a review of Troy Bronsink’s excellent book Drawn In over at the Englewood Review of Books. For my money this single quote is worth the price of the entire book: Art can accomplish this [shared risk between the artist and the audience] by creating a shared experience that places all...

March 27th, 2013 | Essays | Read More

Vonnegut on Censorship and Demonization

(Editor’s note: If you live in the Indianapolis -Vonnegut’s hometown - or will be in the area visiting family over the holidays, you might be interested in checking out the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, located downtown) In Letters, one of the more forceful letters Kurt Vonnegut wrote...

December 5th, 2012 | Books | Read More

Review: A Year of Biblical Womanhood

A Year of Biblical Womanhood Rachel Held Evans Thomas Nelson Publishing If one were to take the Internet roil over Rachel Held Evans sophomore book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, at face value, then Rachel might be the most dangerous threat to the church since Rob Bell. LifeWay, the bookselling arm of...

November 9th, 2012 | Books | Read More

A Reunion of Brothers

I pulled into the coffee shop, double-checked the time on the dashboard, and cursed myself. I arrived an hour earlier than needed. I used the sprint through the rain as an opportunity to chastise myself for being careless with my alarm. I decided to use the extra time to knock down a few loose projects...

October 17th, 2012 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Jazz Resurrection

Gil Evans Centennial: The Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans (Artist Share) I stumbled upon the genius of Gil Evans several years ago when writing my third book. The act of changing genre and therefore audience left me anxious and taut. Each morning at 4 AM I stepped out of bed into a pool of anxiety....

August 23rd, 2012 | Music | Read More

“White Flour”: Book Review

This week I read White Flour by David LaMotte to my nine-year-old. It’s a book about the best way to fight hate, in this case, racism. Apparently, I need to read the book again after reflecting on my visceral reaction to the news that a “pastor” is hosted a white supremacist rally in Alabama,...

July 16th, 2012 | Books | Read More

Shields of Faith

Shields of faith forged on youth’s anvil Amid the hammerings of spaking and understanding Proudly carried in plains of battle Absorbing fiery darts so effortlessly That one doubts the archers’ malice More than a conqueror until the day its weight Wraps around the warrior A cicada shell Whose...

June 23rd, 2012 | Poetry | Read More

Why Evangelicals Struggle to Bring the Funny

While many of us held our breath for the Blue Like Jazz movie to release on April 13, I found myself wondering why its so darned hard for Evangelicals to express a sense of humor in our art. I’ve sat through one or two Christian comedy acts. Enough to know that I wouldn’t willingly do it...

May 21st, 2012 | Essays, Featured | Read More

Jonah: Prophet, Anti-Hero, and the Surprising Face of Evil

I’m hard pressed to think of a more complex anti-hero in scripture. The Bible has its villains: Goliath, Judas, and Pharisees come to mind. But these antagonists are, by and large, two dimensional. The narrators don’t give us a window into their thoughts and motivations. They’re each...

May 20th, 2012 | Meditations | Read More