Matt Erickson
I’m thankful for Joseph Lear’s thoughtful and generous engagement with my book, The Pastor as Gardener. Read his review and take advantage of the 40% discount on purchasing the book offered at the end of the post: “Pastor as Gardener by Matthew Erickson: A Review and Endorsement.”
I was grateful to write an OpEd with the help of World Relief staff about our international budgeting. “As a pastor and a former humanitarian worker…witnessing the devastation of HIV during my tenure at World Relief, my understanding of what it means to care for my neighbor has changed irrevocably.”
Currently reading: Saving Beauty by Byung-Chul Han 📚
There’s nothing quite like being with believers in another part of the world that will give challenging and helpful perspective on what is happening to Christianity in America.
I rewatched The Taste of Things this past weekend and I loved it just as much the second time. The beauty of the storyline as well as the sensory nature of the film is so wonderful.
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)
Love this from Eugene Peterson: "The meaning of our lives..."
Love this from Eugene Peterson: “The meaning of our lives on any plane, of the circumstances we encounter at any level, and of our participation in the events of business, society, and recreation—all these exist through and for the sake of Christ. Therefore, if we are to know meaning at any of these levels, if we are to know love and grace here, we must know Christ.” from Lights a Lovely Mile, 19.
“The Holy Foolishness of ‘Thinking He Was the Gardener’” — It was an honor to write this original article for The Rabbit Room bringing together Mary’s mistaken identity of Jesus as the gardener, Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, and the everyday holy foolishness of gardening.
Today is National Gardening Day, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to share an excerpt from the introduction to my book, The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry. Enjoy!
I enjoyed a great conversation, “The Image of a Pastor,” with Chase Replogle on the PastorWriter podcast that delved into imagination, metaphor, pastoral care, and hope.
This conversation between Ross Douthat and Ben Sasse was quite moving.
Currently reading: The Gospel of John by Craig S. Keener 📚
“A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do.”
- Frederick Buechner in Wishful Thinking
I wrote about “Jesus’ New Gardening: Joining Jesus in Resurrection Gardening” here.
”‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.’” (Mark 16:6)
Happy Easter, friends. The Lord is risen!
Why had I not heard of Byung-Chul Han until now? Thanks to @ablerism for mentioning The Burnout Society, which I have on order.
Currently reading: The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering by Byung-Chul Han 📚
“The age of haste, its cinematographic succession of point-like presences, has no access to beauty or to truth. Only in lingering contemplation, even an ascetic restraint, do things unveil their beauty, their fragrant essence. It consists of temporal sedimentations emitting a phosphorescent glow” - Byung Chul Han in The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering, p. 48.
“Tracing the Journey” - a devotional poetry cycle for Holy Week
One of my favorite passages today in the psalm reading for morning prayer:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 28 March 2026 with links to an interview with Fleming Rutledge, James KA Smith on his new book, JP Moreland on Dallas Willard’s 4 primary concerns for spiritual formation, Image Journal’s top 100 films, and more.
Completed a re-reading of The Brothers Karamazov Bicentennial Edition by Fyodor Dostoevsky 📚
It was such a joy to be with the wonderfully hospitable and gracious folks at Upper House in Madison, WI, yesterday for an event with my new book The Pastor as Gardener. They are doing outstanding work as a Christian study center in Madison.
I am so excited to celebrate today’s release of my new book The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry. As the book enters the world today, it offers me the wonderful opportunity to share what the book is really about from my perspective before other readers offer their own thoughts.
