Matt Erickson

Unexpectedly, my message on Jesus as the Son of Man this past weekend at @EastbrookChurch was one of my most enjoyable to prepare and deliver because of the depth and richness in this title of Christ.

Today’s edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” is here with Asia Bibi’s court case, church bombings in the Philippines, Drew Dyck on self-control, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Walter Rauschenbusch, and so much more.

I’m so thankful for some real progress on various projects this morning. Just when I’m celebrating that, the post-lunch distraction demon starts afflicting me, and I throw myself on the mercy of God to strengthen me to stay focused and persevere through the afternoon.

Snow day in Milwaukee means that in-between roof raking and snow shoveling outside I can focus on outstanding writing projects, such as the Lenten devotional for @EastbrookChurch, as well as a few other loose ends.

The latest edition of The Weekend Wanderer is here, featuring Jemar Tisby on MLK, Peter Choi on Whitefield, Lady Gaga vs Mike Pence, Tish Harrison Warren, Robert Alter, and so much more.

The latest edition of The Weekend Wanderer is here with articles on religious persecution in China & Egypt, 10 social critics worth reading, great writers struggling with faith, and so much more!

Writing an essay on the eucharistic theology of Thomas Cranmer for a class I’m taking for fun next week. Then, the due date appears and, suddenly, it feels not only like my work is fun, but also that fun is going to take work.

“Distracted and Divided from the Good Life” - the first in a series of thoughts related to distraction, the undivided hearts, and the good life.

Here’s the latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer”. Enjoy news and essays on faith and culture with Lamin Sanneh, the pastor who helped Cyntoia Brown, Mr. Rogers, David Brooks, and so much more.

There was that time I tried to use reverse psychology with college students on prayer and various other spiritual practices.

Going through a box of old sermon files that date back to my first days in vocational ministry. I’m thankful people survived my sermons in those days!

This came right out of my journal from earlier in this past year (with slight revisions): “Notes on the Crisis of Pastoral Leadership in the North American Church”.

I resonated with this excerpt from Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart on the gaps and possibilities of personal spiritual transformation, particularly for pastors.

We had a wonderful time at the @EastbrookChurch Student Ministry Winter Retreat talking about the good life, distraction, and undivided hearts with Christ. The only downside of doing this is that I almost always come back sick. This year’s variety: cold with cough.

The latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” is here. Enjoy articles on diverse theologians to read, the tech-wise family, Jerry Falwell, Alan Jacobs on Merton, online Dante, and much more.

Pulling together concepts from Nicholas Carr, Alan Jacobs, Erling Kagge, Christopher Blum, Joshua Hochschild, Dallas Willard, Andy Crouch, Albert Borgmann, Tony Reinke, and so much more for these messages. This is way too much fun!

I appreciate your prayer support as I finalize four messages on living with undivided hearts in a distracted age for the @EastbrookChurch student ministry retreat this weekend, as well as initial work on upcoming messages for our new series “Name Above All Names.” Thank you!

I’m working on a series of four messages for the @EastbrookChurch student ministry retreat this weekend on developing undivided hearts in an age of distraction. Now, if only I could maintain focus and not become so distracted in my preparations!

The latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” is here with John Wesley on preaching, Iranian conversions in Turkey, evangelicals of color & the religious right, persecuted Christians, and so much more.

My final blog post on Eugene Peterson’s outstanding book on pastoral ministry, Working the Angles: “Practicing Spiritual Direction.”

Apocalyptic Christ: a poem.

An Advent Prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo.

The latest edition of “The Weekend Wanderer” is here with Fleming Rutledge, #ChurchToo, pressure on Chinese churches, why internet church isn’t real church, and so much more.

When studying yesterday I came across these powerful reflections by John Oswalt on Isaiah 9 related to Jesus’ wholistic mission and the Church.

I appreciate your prayer support today as I continue working on messages for this coming weekend of Advent on Daniel 12, Christmas Eve services, and a Student Ministry retreat in January on having undivided hearts. @EastbrookChurch