Matt Erickson

Okay, pastors and ministry leaders, along with guidance from Scripture are there any recommendations you have on books about developing and best practices within church boards/councils?

Here is the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with NT Wright on loving knowledge, Nathan Hatch on our political captivity, David Brooks on five lies we subtly imbibe, Chuck DeGroat on narcissistic leadership, and so much more.

One of the most difficult aspects of preaching is making a well-known text come alive again for people. This weekend is going to be one of those for me at @EastbrookChurch as we look at the prophet Jonah.

Here is the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Christian Wiman on cancer & suffering, Alan Jacobs @ayjay on our words, S. Joshua Swamidass on creation & evolution, plus some odds and ends with Dorothy Sayers, Richard Rohr, and Willow Creek.

This past weekend I preached a message on the prophet Amos that has been about 20 years in the making, beginning with my time on staff at World Relief and continuing into my present position as a pastor of an urban, multi-ethnic church.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Vince Bacote @vbacote on facing truth on the path to unity, David Brooks on the Jewishness of Jesus, John Wilson on urbanism, the power of reading aloud, and much more.

Lac ‘Assal, one of the most striking places I have ever visited.

Today in the life of a pastor: pastoral counseling, working on messages from Amos and Obadiah (I’ve never preached from the latter), preparing a seminar on the theology of work for a men’s conference this weekend, and Holy Week planning with other staff members.

One of my favorite photos of nature from a trip to the Horn of Africa a few weeks ago.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with a testimony amidst Christian persecution in Nigeria, spirituality without God?, recovering from workaholism, songs that prepare us for death, Christopher Tolkien’s passing, and so much more.

Working my way through the minor prophets for a preaching series right now, and I am so amazed by the richness of each one. Poring over uses of the Hebrew word hesed in Hosea is amazingly rewarding and challenging today.

One of my great joys as a pastor is preaching the word of God. One of the greatest joys of my life is my wife, Kelly. This past weekend at @EastbrookChurch I was able to bring them together and this was the result.

Here is the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Christians in Iran, in-depth answers to spiritual formation questions with Dallas Willard, a split in the UMC, RIP Lois Evans, and much more.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Esau McCaulley on Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, 180 evangelical leaders respond to CT on Trump, a review of Richard Dawkins’ recent book, Kate Bowler on limitations in prayer, and more.

“Sprouting Glory”: a Christmas reflection

Here is the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Christianity Today calling for Trump’s removal and fallout, the citizenship amendment in India, the average sermon length, Pope Francis lifts ‘pontifical secret’ in abuse cases, and much more.

A prayer for today: “My Altar to You.”

One of the greateset challenges for me is practicing God’s presence when I feel busy or stressed. I can’t help but remember Dallas Willard’s words to John Ortberg: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Lord, help me.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer with Tish Harrison Warren on Advent, church archaeology in Ethiopia, Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, WEA’s efforts on clean energy, a compilation of lists of best books of 2019, and much more.

“An Angel at the Altar” - I wrote this after reflecting on Luke 1:5-25 as part of my Advent readings. Zechariah has always struck me as a figure we all could relate to from Scripture…and there’s so much about speaking and not speaking in this passage.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” with Fleming Rutledge on Advent, Christian persecution in Burkina Faso, NT Wright on the crisis of American Christianity, kinship engineering, a review of Wesley Hill’s The Lord’s Prayer, and more.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what it means to wait upon the Lord. It’s not an easy or straightforwad topic. I took some time recently to reflect on waiting on the Lord as seen in the psalms here.

Some thoughts on “Singing Our Faith in Advent”: “I realize we have been singing our faith into our lives for years now….The symphony of God’s story is rising up and we are joining in with it one note at a time.”

Visiting a family from church at the hospital this morning, and then running into another family while there, reminded me that many people experience out of the ordinary holidays. Being the body of Christ means being there with one another to make it a truly happy Thanksgiving.

One of my secrets to preaching well in our “Love-Sex-Body” series at @EastbrookChurch is that my wife, Kelly, has let me deliver each of these messages to her on Saturday. I finished the last run-through with her moments ago. Her insights are always so wise and valuable.