A writer is nothing without other people. You don’t think of this when you think of them. Their kind are usually tucked away, secluded and trapped inside a room where daylight breaks in from a single window. The scene outside…
On the life and death of Wendell Berry
I cried when I learned Wendell Berry died. A couple times, actually, and I’m probably not done. The man meant a lot to me. Have you ever read a book that met you at exactly the right place in your…
Wendell Berry dies at 92
Baptist layman, poet and conservationist Wendell Berry died at his home in Port Royal, Ky., Aug. 31 at age 92. The Kentucky farmer became a sort of patron saint for iconoclastic Baptists, of which he was one. BNG columnist Justin…
Can the church practice the spiritual virtue of contentment?
A person close to me who is an ardent follower of Jesus and pretty cynical about church asked me recently, “Can the church practice the virtues it teaches, for example, contentment?” The question set me thinking: Are we ever content…
Letting go of our ‘wish dream’ for the church
From the very beginning, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings centered around the life of the church. The church, its calling and welfare, was his passion. As a young doctoral student, he wrote two dissertations. One was titled, “Christ Existing as Community.” As…
Wendell Berry’s Grief and Gratitude
An elderly woman once told me she was making a long trip back to her hometown for the little community’s autumn apple festival. She had returned many times for the festival—an annual ritual of her girlhood and young adulthood—but this…
Reflections upon agrarian/poet/activist Wendell Berry’s 90th birthday
My mother-in-law loves me. I know I’m in her good graces, and she considers me part of her family. I can testify to such assurance because she lavishes me with her chosen form of affection. Her delivery method? Arguing. She’ll…
What should we make of the curious case of Wendell Berry and a University of Kentucky painting?
Judge Thomas Wingate, circuit judge for the 48th judicial district in Franklin County, Ky., has dismissed a lawsuit filed by writer and Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry and his wife, Tanya. Their suit sought to stop the University of Kentucky from removing a…
Bless your heart for producing professionals and satisfied saints when radical prophets are needed
A recent webinar with my alma mater made me realize theological schools and the church face the same challenge today: How to be risk-takers in a world that only values stability. Let me say upfront, I’m not someone you’re likely…
Where is hope to be found in the first week of Advent?
These next four weeks of Advent build a sense of anticipation for the birth of our Lord. We prepare every week with grand themes: Hope, Peace, Love, Joy. We light candles to symbolize these themes of anticipation and preparation. It…
The church in America needs to recover its balance
Have you ever been walking along and lost your balance, one part of the body out of sync with the other parts, and you weren’t sure where you might land? The church in America is there. The lack of balance…
The recovery of empathy
The lowest form of knowledge is opinion. It requires no accountability and understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our ego and live in another’s world. — Plato Recently I was reading the…