Matt Erickson

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)

The last ten days or so I spent vacationing around the state I live in with my wife, Kelly. We enjoyed the first four days in the drift less region of central and southwest Wisconsin, which is a really beautiful place. Here is one night’s sunset view from the front porch of our tiny-house AirBnB.

Do you want to explore a renewed imagination as a ministry leader? Join me and a small group of ministers as we journey through themes of my book “The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry” in partnership with CrossPoint Ministry. Find out more information here.

While on vacation I was deeply rewarded by reading Mysterium Paschale The Mystery of Easter by Hans Urs Von Balthasar and Vita Contemplativa In Praise of Inactivity by Byung-Chul Han 📚

“The Blessed Life Amid Trials” - the ninth in a series on the Beatitudes