Weeds and whatnot

A few articles and reviews for your consideration

Palmer Amaranth Credit: United Soybean Board

I have some longer essays coming soon to “The Way We Practice,” but I thought that in the interim I’d offer links to some recent pieces I’ve published here and there.

What the Weeds Are Telling Us

This piece is a mix of soil ecology, biblical studies, and a new reading of the curse of thorns and thistles in Genesis. If this essay from Plough resonates with you, keep around $30 in your budget for next year. My next book will be a strange blend of theology and soil science, composting advice and reflections on humility and humus. I’m wrapping up the manuscript now so hopefully the book will be in print by late next year.

The Way of Wholeness

One of my long running writing projects has been offering the occasional lectionary reflection for the Ekklesia Project. Just yesterday I posted my latest, my thoughts on the scriptures for this upcoming Sunday. The reflections currently on the website go back four years, but I’ve been writing them for well over eight. It’s a wonderful community to think within and I always feel like the process of writing these helps me find new insights. I hope reading them helps do the same.

A Humbler Vision of the Human Station

I love reviewing books and I recently had the opportunity to review several. It helped that they were all really good. Timothy Beal’s was perhaps the one most at the heart of my thinking, mixing both apocalyptic wisdom with a call to return to life as humus-beings. I am thankful for Sojourners for providing the opportunity to read an advance copy and give my take. Beal’s accompanying Spotify playlist is worth a listen too.

Editor’s Picks: What Your Food Ate

Plough was kind enough to invite me to read David Montgomery and Anne Biklé’s latest book, What Your Food Ate. Years ago I read this couple’s brilliant book The Hidden Half of Nature and had a chance to interview them. They are as delightful to talk with as they are insightful to read. This latest book is a revelation that will change how you eat, even if you are already conscious about where your food comes from. It didn’t convince me that soil matters, but it made it all the more clear how much it matters to our common health and wholeness.

Personhood Beyond Personalization

I’ve paid attention to Andy Crouch’s writing ever since he wrote a brilliant piece for Books & Culture about shaving. It changed how I’ve shaved ever since, what admittedly little shaving I do. Thanks to The Christian Century I had a chance to review his latest book, The Life We’re Looking For. It is a clear and accessible critique of technological society that gets at the heart of the problem and yet is gentle enough to get a hearing even among the most screen addicted among us.