@mathyouerickson

Husband to Kelly, father, avid hiker. Senior Pastor at @EastbrookChurch. MDiv @nseminary. DMin @westernsem. "Pastor as Gardener" with @EerdmansBooks in 2026.

 Wisconsin, USA
linktr.ee/matterickson
Joined May 2009
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I concluded a three-part reflection on learning prayer from the life and teaching of Jesus [here]().
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Last garden harvest of the season.
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Yesterday, I officiated a funeral for a long-term member, and it was a beautiful celebration of faith and life. Her husband passed away three years before. I can still picture them worshiping in our congregation with one arm around each other and the other arm raised in praise.
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Here is "The Weekend Wanderer" for 24 October 2026 with news on a church attack in Jordan, David Swanson’s theology of racial reconciliation, Brad East on deleting social media, empathy at the midterms, Matthew Loftus’ ‘Resisting Therapy Culture,’ and more.
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mwerickson.substack.com/p/th…
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"As I have said more than once here at BookNotes, 'The Pastor as Gardener' is a splendid, well written book shaped by the metaphor of gardening and informed by the agrarian localism of Wendell Berry." I'm so grateful to be included in this wonderful list by @byronborger
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heartsandmindsbooks.com/?mai…
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Today, I continued my writing on prayer with part 2 of "Praying Like a Master," which explores parts of Jesus' teaching in Matthew, chapter 6. Link in comments:
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Here is "The Weekend Wanderer" for 17 October 2026 with Rich Villodas on formation, Brad Jersak on “Vulnerable God,” Mark the Monk speaks, “Can Religion Save Democracy”, psychiatrist Paul McHugh on gender, Chuck DeGroat on ministry scandals, and more. Link in comments:
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mwerickson.substack.com/p/th…
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The brilliance of autumn at the golden hour.
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Yesterday I received a text from one of my college kids that just said this, and it brought such a warm joy to my heart: "Love you dad!"
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Such a good word: "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1)
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I wrote about the life of prayer, with special attention to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6 and how it relates to both our deep desire for prayer and our deep difficulties with prayer at the same time. Link below:
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mwerickson.substack.com/p/pr…
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I am grateful for this generous review of "The Pastor as Gardener" in @Livng_Church: livingchurch.org/books-and-c…

 Agrarian Pastors in a Restless, Burned-Out Age - The Living Church

Matthew Erickson explores the ways the metaphor of gardening helpfully refocuses modern pastoral ministry on long-term faithfulness.

livingchurch.org
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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. Link below:
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