Matt Erickson
Invited our staff at Eastbrook Church to memorize the Beatitudes together this Fall. We need words like this in our hearts and minds at days like this…and always.
Last night I happened to read “Pray Without Ceasing” by Wendell Berry in Fidelity. It felt like a timely and meaningful story in our present moment. I am continually surprised by the healing power of fiction. 📚
Does anyone have any feedback on whether it is worth reading the entire 3-volume Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn or whether the approved one-volume abridgment is just as valuable. I feel bad asking this as an undergrad English major, but it is an enormous commitment to read the entire work.
“A Prayer for Our Distressed Times” - something I shared in services yesterday at Eastbrook Church.
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 20 September 2025 - a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend.
“Putting on Christ’s Character in Divided Days” - some reflections on Ephesians 4 that I find helpful in times like these
Just finished reading Love’s Braided Dance by Norman Wirzba, which seems entirely appropriate for our current days. 📚
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 13 September 2025 - a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend.
And finally, after a multi-year hiatus where I paused reading about 2/3 of the way through the book, today I finished Sources of the Self by Charles Taylor 📚
While hiking yesterday a segment of the Ice Age Trail took me through an urban setting. I snapped this quick photo while walking because something about it just captured my imagination.
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 6 September 2025 - a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend.
This past weekend in services at @EastbrookChurch we asked people to fill out a card that completed this sentence: “I am praising God for…”
Reading through these cards, I experienced both tears and smiles, and was blown away by God’s goodness again and again.
When I draw near to the end of a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is a bibliography for “The Pursuit of God: The Life of David.”
Just finished reading: Being Consumed by William T. Cavanaugh 📚
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 30 August 2025 - a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend.
It was so kind of Tom Wright to time the release of this book with a new walk through the book of Acts we begin at our church in September. Currently reading: The Challenge of Acts by N. T. Wright 📚
Today at our monthly church staff lunch, one of our pastors shared part of his story and asked us a great question to ponder:
“Who are the people who have most influenced your faith?”
How would you answer that question?
A friend recommended it so I am currently reading: On Being a Theologian of the Cross by Gerhard O. Forde 📚
“The Radical Simplicity and Generosity of Jesus and His People” - a brief reflection from Luke and Acts on Jesus’ radical relationship with wealth and possessions and how that influenced the early church.
Just finished reading: The Children of Men by P. D. James 📚 I must admit that I have watched the movie adaptation of this book many times but never read the book itself. It was both similar and quite a different story. I enjoyed the book tremendously.
Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 23 August 2025 - a weekly curated selection of news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend.
Currently reading: First and Second Samuel by Eugene H. Peterson 📚