Matt Erickson

Such a powerful and evocative passage:

“Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.” (Psalm 77:19)

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 8 August 2026 - with Russell Moore on avoiding technological brain rot, Robert Ordway on Screwtape in your pocket, TGC on AI use, Dan Cohen on authorial voice, Chris Green introducing an essay by Ernest Hello on “Amen,” and more.

I’m taking time to rewatch some films that have intrigued me but which I have not quite known what to do with. One of those is Koyaanisqatsi, which I watched again last night. Honestly, I had a hard time falling asleep after watching it, considering how far life has changed even since then. 🍿

Have you read this book? What did you think?

I’m currently reading: The Patient Ferment of the Early Church by Alan Kreider 📚

I’m always amazed by how many people I talk to who deeply appreicate Henri Nouwen’s writing. What is it, do you think, that makes Nouwen’s writing so meaningful to so many people across such a wide swath of Christian backgrounds?

I’m so thankful to be included on this list of recent notable books by Byron Borger at Hearts & Minds Books. Plus, you can purchase a copy of The Pastor as Gardener for 20% off through them via this post.

“Seeing mercy in God and encountering the mercy of God, we are blessed and enter true flourishing as we reflect that mercy to others and the world around us.”

Today I continued a series of reflections on the Beatitudes with this sixth post: “The Good Life is a Merciful Life.”

While officiating a wedding in California this weekend, Kelly and I were grateful for the chance to sneak away for some hiking near Lake Tahoe, like this beautiful path beside Emerald Bay.

Finished reading: Inspiration and Incarnation Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament by Peter Enns 📚I really appreciated this book and how Enns explores the diversity and 2nd Temple hermeneutic by which NT authors engage the OT. Very relevant to current conversations with young adults.

Just finished reading: Bonhoeffer and King Speaking Truth to Power by J. Deotis Roberts 📚

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 1 August 2026 - with Gregory of Nazianzus on the incarnation, the need for good guides, Chris Smith on the Sermon on the Mount, megachurches growing, what is evangelicalism?, Brian Doerksen’s passing, and more.

I’m in CT Pastors with “We Need Good Guides” - Ministry leaders need wisdom and companionship—writings from the past have something to offer us.

I continued my writing on the Beatitudes today with “Living Hungry for the Right Things.”

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 25 July 2026 - with Comment’s “Seedbeds of Christian Humanism,” Eugene Peterson’s legacy as a rock, Richard Foster’s spiritual formation booklist, Stanley Hauerwas on why love is not enough, JI Packer’s legacy, and more.

I gather around these two honest prayers today:

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)_

and

“Mine, O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.”

• Gerard Manley Hopkins

Just finished reading: Drawn by Beauty Awe and Wonder in the Christian Life by Matthew Z. Capps for a book review due out in September. 📚

“The Counterintuitive Blessing of Meekness” - the fourth in a series I am writing on the Beatitudes.

“We should feel with our whole heart that we have no one to rely on except God, and that from Him and Him alone can we expect every kind of good, every manner of help, and victory.” - from Unseen Warfare, p. 85.

Finished reading the beautiful and moving Another Day Sabbath Poems, 2013-2023 by Wendell Berry 📚

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 19 July 2026 - with Brian Zahnd on sacred storytelling, are choirs changing, Byung-Chul Han’s latest, Nicholas Carr on the scrolly chair, early church unearthed, Alan Jacobs on the 3 careers of Vide Chenoweth, and more.

I stumbled upon this picture I took of a Sawyer Beetle in northern Wisconsin. I just happened to be taking a photo of a lake and then turned a bit more and found this little creature nearby.

“Acknowledging Our Tears” - the third in a series on the Beatitudes exploring what it means that those who mourn are blessed.

For today:

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20-22)

Here is “The Weekend Wanderer” for 11 July 2026 - with articles about after your spiritual heroes let you down, finding worth beyond our works, Nadya Williams on JD Vance and America’s fatherhood crisis, Pope Leo and Caleb Williams, church seizure in Tehran, and more.

Last night Kelly and I watched Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner and Oscar-nominated It Was Just an Accident. I loved this film. It is at time comedic, thrilling in a slow-burn way, and very painful all at the same time. 🍿