Author Archives: davetcourt

Originally posted on The Stories of my Life:
What does it mean to be progressive. To say that we live in a “progressive” society. To champion progressive policy. To share a “progressive” view of this or that issue. To be labelled a progressive in the world of politics, religion, philosophy or social reform. I started…

A few years back I wrote in this space about a class I took on what it looks like to navigate “the second half of life”. It was a class designed for those over 40, and in part it is what inspired this blog. One of the big learnings I took away from this class was that loss,Continue reading “A Ghost Story, First Reformed and Hearts Beat Loud- A Cinematic Journey Towards Finding Hope in the midst of Grief”

What does it mean to be progressive. To say that we live in a “progressive” society. To champion progressive policy. To share a “progressive” view of this or that issue. To be labelled a progressive in the world of politics, religion, philosophy or social reform. I started to think about this word “progressive” a numberContinue reading “The Tangled Tree, the Selfish Gene and the problem of Progressive Thought”

If there was a flaw in the film White Boy Rick, one could argue it is the film’s central, titular character played by Richie Merritt. If you know the story of his casting, he was a troubled youth hand picked straight from the principles office to portray a troubled youth on-screen. On paper the idea soundsContinue reading “White Boy Rick and the Measure of our Empathy”

In my own wrestling with the recent documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, one of the best and most powerful films I have seen in 2018 so far, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Good Samaritan parable found in Luke 10. A while back I came across a teaching on this passageContinue reading “Won’t You Be My Neighbor: Mr. Rogers, the Good Samaritan and Asking the Right Question”

I’m not sure exactly what sparked the discussions, but there have been a few threads over the last few days that have emerged some of the movie discussion groups I am involved with that have been talking about the merit (or lack there-of) of Director’s cuts. Of primary concern in these particular discussions has beenContinue reading “New Creations- Director’s Cuts,Canonization, and Finding Grace in Malick’s New Version of The Tree of Life”

*SPOILER WARNING FOR THE RIDER An unconventional film that uses the raw performances of its non-actors to underscore a potent spiritual core. The Rider is not afraid to dig into the human experience without the glamour and the polish. And what surfaces from this rawness are some deeply rooted questions about what makes life worth living.Continue reading “Chloé Zhao’s The Rider and A Necessary Grace”

The sun was getting ready to set, and as we approach the base of the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge we notice an individual, a woman likely in her mid twenties/early thirties, who is visibly agitated and yelling something seemingly towards someone on the top of the bridge. As we got closer we were able to makeContinue reading “From Winnipeg To Nashville Part 7: Music City on a Budget”

There are a lot of museums in Tennessee. And a lot of them are not cheap. In Nashville alone, two persons could easily drop more than a few hundred dollars within a couple block radius on museums. We had to pick and choose which ones we were going to see and which ones we wereContinue reading “From Winnipeg To Nashville Part 6: A Theology of Jack Daniel Made of Titanic Proportions”

I lift my eyes to the mountains.  From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; theContinue reading “From Winnipeg To Nashville Part 5: The Mountains and the Mystery”