Matt Erickson

Yesterday I received a text from one of my college kids that just said this, and it brought such a warm joy to my heart: “Love you dad!”

Such a good word: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

I wrote about the life of prayer here, with special attention to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 and how it relates to both our deep desire for prayer and our deep difficulties with prayer at the same time.

I am grateful for this generous review of The Pastor as Gardener in The Living Church.

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 3 October 2026 with Dorothy Day on love, The Death of Religion?, Mary Ho on servant leadership, reviewing Tracy Daugherty’s bio of Cormac McCarthy, Pope Leo in France at Notre-Dame, U2’s new liturgical album, and more.

If you’ve ever thought of buying my book The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry, Eerdmans is offering 40% off in October for Pastor Appreciation Month. Pick up a copy for yourself and a pastor you appreciate here.

As a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan, I am still in disbelief at how this season is unfolding into the postseason. After three consecutive 100-loss seasons to the playoffs? It is hard to even imagine.

I wrote about “Praying into God’s Power and Love” this morning.

Currently reading: The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day 📚

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 26 September 2026 with Doug Sikkema on formation with great books, Christians arrested in Algeria, Chris Smith on worship services, preaching with images, Alan Jacobs on Malick IRL, Clare Coffey on AC aesthetics, and more.

I wrote “A Litany for Pastors based on Matthew 23” - praying toward true humility and future fruitfulness.

Here is my latest article on preaching in CT Pastors: “Casting Pictures into the Imagination.”

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 19 September 2026 with Brother Lawrence, Makoto Fujimura on America at 250, Meghan Sullivan on the good life, worry-free Wendell Berry, remembering the 16th Street Church bombing, Annie Dillard’s passing, and more.

While searching for a photo of a group hiking on a trail, I found this wonderful photo taken by one of my kids on a wilderness trip in the Uncompahgre Wilderness in Colorado four years ago. There’s something captivating to me about this shot.

I wrote: “Fractured in Love: What kind of God are we dealing with at the Cross?“

“Tremble, earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.” (Psalm 114:7-8)

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 12 September 2026 with Pascal for today, Elizabeth Oldfield seeks beauty, Chris Hall on lectio divina, not resettling religiously persecuted, Jenny Odell on attention, spirituality and regenerative agriculture, and more.

I have listened to a recording of Wendell Berry reading this beautiful little poem several times since his passing. I return to it again and again because it fills me with hope.

I snapped this photo on a walk with my wife after a swim in a lake as the sun set. Truly the golden hour.

I just finished reading: Empire of the Summer Moon Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S. C. Gwynne 📚

I wrote “Learning to Bear the Long Slow Growth: Metaphor, ministry, and agrarian images for the pastor.”

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 5 September 2026 - with a collection of reflections and essays on Wendell Berry in honor of his passing on August 31, 2026.

I loved joining my friend Mark Grapengater for his podcast, “Feast Days,” to talk about my book The Pastor as Gardener, and how metaphor, story, and imagination can renew pastoral vocation.

Listen on in!

I wrote a personal reflection on Wendell Berry and his influence on me: “One Must Begin in One’s Own Life”: On the passing of Wendell Berry (1934-2026)