Derek

The Angel of the Lord

Who is “the angel of the Lord”?

He appears at many key moments in the Old Testament. But who is he? Is he a normal angel, like a seraphim (Isaiah 6:2) or cherubim (Genesis 3:24)? Is he an archangel? Who is he?

A survey of his appearances in the Bible may be helpful.

Angel of the Lord Appearances in the Bible

The exact phrase “the angel of the Lord” appears in the following places:

Genesis 16:1-15 (esp v. 13) – With Hagar.
Genesis 22:1-19 (esp v. 11, 15-16) – With Abraham.
Exodus 3:1-7 (v. 2, 7) – The burning bush.
Numbers 22:22-35 – To Balaam.
Judges 2:1-5 – In sorrow.
Judges 5:23 – A curse.
Judges 6:11-24 (esp. v. 12, 16, 22-23) – To Gideon.
Judges 13:1-25 (esp. vv. 18, 21-22) – To Samson’s mother and father (Manoah).
2 Samuel 24:10-17 (esp. v. 16) – Striking down people.
1 Kings 19:1-8 (esp. 5-7) – Encouraging Elijah.
2 Kings 1:3 – Elijah.
2 Kings 19:35 – Striking down.
1 Chronicles 21:1-30 – Striking down.
Psalm 34:7 – Encamps around those who fear him.
Isaiah 37:36 – Striking down.
Zechariah 1:8-12 – To Zechariah.
Zechariah 3:1-10 – With vision of priest Joshua.

In addition to these passages, other variations on the name appear in the Bible. We could add to the above list passages where the “angel of God” appears.

Genesis 21:17 – Angel of God responds to Hagar.
Genesis 31:11-13 – Appearing to Jacob during Laban’s unfairness.
Exodus 14:19 w/ Exodus 13:21 and Exodus 32:34.
Judges 13:6 – Samson’s parents.

And then, more generally, the Angel of the Lord is sometimes referred to simply as “angel” or understood to be an angel in hindsight.

Hosea 12:2-4 with Genesis 32:30.
Genesis 48:15-16 – “The angel that redeemed me.”
Exodus 32:34 – “my angel” with Exodus 14:19 and Exodus 13:21.
Exodus 23:20-21 “an angel” with the Lord’s name “in him.”
Numbers 20:16 – “an angel” delivered us from Egypt.
Isaiah 63:8-9 – “the angel of his presence saved them”
Malachi 3:1 – “the angel/messenger” is the Lord you seek.
Genesis 18:1-22 – Abraham (per son and Lot), with Genesis 19:1.
Daniel 3:24-25 – One who is like a son of the gods, with Daniel 3:28.

You should know that some of the sightings above are disputed. For example, Grudem (1995) does not believe the angel of 2 Samuel 24:10-17, Psalm 34:7, and Zechariah 1:8-12 is the Angel of the Lord. Frame (2013) is more open to the possibility. To be clear, the dispute is not about whether the phrasing appears but whether the phrase “the angel of the Lord” is referring to the Angel of the LORD.

So…

Who is the Angel of the Lord?

The survey of scriptures of above provides us with three clues.

Clue 1: The definition of “angel.” When you hear the word “angel,” you might picture a creature with wings. But in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the word “angel” does not necessarily refer to a specific type of being. There certainly are what we typically think of as “angelic beings,” which are called the cherubim (Genesis 3:24) or the seraphim (Isaiah 6:2), but the word “angel” itself does not necessarily designate a particular type of being. Instead, the word means something like “messenger” or “representative.” In Hebrew, the word is mal.akh, and this is its meaning. In Greek, the word is angelos, and it also means “messenger” or “envoy.” And in fact, it’s related to the Greek word behind “gospel,” euangelion, which literally means “the good message.” So, “angel” means something more like messenger, emissary, envoy, representative.

Clue 2: People’s reactions. When people interact with the Angel of the Lord, they say and do weird things, remarkable things. When Gideon realizes the person he’s been speaking to is the angel of the Lord, he cries out, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face” (Judges 6:22). And the Lord reassures him that he won’t die. When Manoah, Samson’s dad, realized that he had been talking to the angel of the Lord, he too exclaims, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God” (Judges 13:22). And their remembrances of these encounters are given interesting names. The well where Hagar sees the angel is called Beer-lahai-roi, which means “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Genesis 16:14). Abraham calls the place where he meets the angel “Jehovah Jireh,” which means “the Lord will provide.” Gideon builds an altar where he meets the angel, and he calls it “The Lord is Peace” (Yahweh Shalom, Judges 6:24). Jacob names the place where he met the angel “Peniel,” which means “the face of God” (Genesis 32:30).

Clue 3: The Burning Bush. Exodus 3:1-7 reveals some interesting wordplay that reveals his identity. Notice the bolded phrases used interchangeably: “[1] Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2] And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. [3] And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” [4] When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” [5] Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” [6] And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. [7] Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings…” So, who is speaking to Moses here? According to verse 2, it’s the angel of the Lord. According to verse 4, it’s God. According to verse 7, it’s the LORD. Do you see? There are three terms here, and they are all used interchangeably. The “Angel of the Lord” interchanged with “God” interchanged with “Yahweh.”

So, who is the angel of the Lord?

The Angel of the Lord Is the LORD

The angel of the Lord is the LORD himself! This is the only conclusion that makes sense of all the data. This conclusion makes sense of all the clues.

Why is he called an “angel”? Because he is the representative of God. “He is the image of the invisible God…” (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4). “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…” (Hebrews 1:3a). He is not an angel like a cherubim or seraphim, what we typically think of when we hear that word (Hebrews 1:3b-4). He is an angel in the “representative,” “messenger” sense. The angel of the Lord is a messenger, representative, emissary, envoy of the Lord himself, and he is the Lord himself, made visible.

Why does everyone panic when they realize they’ve seen the angel of the Lord? Why do they give these places names like “the Living One sees” or “the Lord Provides” or “The Face of God”? Because they have seen the LORD!

Why are the terms angel of the Lord, the LORD, and God used interchangeably at the burning bush? Because the angel of the Lord is the Lord! The image of the invisible God.

And yet, there is one more twist. Who is the Angel of the Lord? Clue number four...

Jesus Anachronisms

Jude 5 refers to Jesus saving Israel out of Egypt (“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt…”). That’s interesting. Jesus was in Egypt at the time of the Exodus? Then in John 8:56–58, we see this scene: “[56] Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” [57] So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” [58] Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” The “I AM” is the essence of the name YHWH, and it is the same thing the LORD told Moses at the burning bush to say when someone asked who sent him. Tell them “I AM” sent you. Jesus claims that name. What’s going on?

Malachi provides the verbal link. In Malachi 3:1, we read, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger [angel] of the covenant [i.e., Jesus] in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” Guess who the messenger of the covenant is. The Christ! Jesus. And guess what the Hebrew word for “messenger” is. Mal.akh…the same word used for angel!

Preincarnate Christ

Who is the Angel of the Lord? He is…God, yes…but more specifically, where a human figure appears…often, he is God the Son! These appearances of the angel of the Lord in a visible, physical form seem to be appearances of the preincarnate Christ (Ligonier; Scrivener; Bible Project; Grudem, 1995). We have the Lord appearing as a man. In the incarnation, we have the Lord becoming and staying in the physical form of a man. In these Old Testaments scenes, we get glimpses of the incarnation.

Why the Angel of the Lord Matters

A study of the Angel of the Lord reveals an amazing truth: The Lord is with his people!

Not some. Not a little bit. But from day one to the end. From ancient days, the Lord is with his people.

As we glimpsed in the Old Testament passages above and as we see so brightly in the Gospel accounts, the Lord does not just interact with our brokenness remotely, with the flip of a switch. Instead, He enters our mess. He appears to Hagar while the child cries. He provides for Abraham. He stands between his people and the armies of Pharaoh. He walks through the parted waters with us. He enters the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He leads his people like a Shepherd with his sheep. He is with us. He is Immanuel, God with us…

Bibliography

BibleProject. (2019). Angel of the Lord. Retrieved June 5, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgmf8bHayXw

ESV Study Bible (2008). Crossway.

Frame, J. M. (2013). Systematic theology: An introduction to Christian belief. P & R Publishing.

Grudem, W. (1995). Systematic theology: An introduction to biblical doctrine. Zondervan.

Scrivener, G. (2018, December 20). Where Is Jesus in the Old Testament? How to Find Him on Every Last Page. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/where-is-jesus-in-the-old-testament

Living in the Now

By Derek Leave a Comment

The letter below comes from John Wood, my pastor growing up. A friend shared it with me (original post), and I have reread it many times. May its wisdom bless you.

My dear children and grandchildren,

I’ve been thinking of what I might say to you from the perspective of old age that I have not said to you in the past. You have heard me call you across the years to faith and faithfulness, to heed Solomon’s advice to “fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” My advice to you here is a bit different, but not at all contradictory. It’s simply a lesson my present circumstances are teaching me about the context in which we are to love God and love others – a lesson I wish that I had understood and embraced when I was young.

So here it is: The present moment is all we ever have. It is so simple as to sound silly and obvious, but I assure you that the failure to understand and embrace it causes most people to miss out on most of their life. It is biblical wisdom for sure, and also at the heart of the commonly held wisdom of the world, known by all but embraced by few. From the call, “This is the day that the Lord has made,” to Jesus’ advice, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow … Sufficient for the day is its own trouble,” (and its own joy, I would be bold to add), even to the Zen call to “mindfulness” summarized in the wise words, “Be here now,” it is a key to living fully and joyfully.

You may find yourself tempted to look back nostalgically on some past events and wish you could go back and experience them again. Simply give thanks for them and let them drift away on the stream of time. They are gone forever. They have helped mold and shape you, but they are no more. You may also look back on things that you regret, that you wish you’d done differently, that you wish you could somehow amend. Simply learn from them, give thanks for forgiveness and grace, and let those memories also drift away on the stream. The Lord has promised to remember them no more, and it is good that you let them go as well. Guilt and shame for confessed past sins, failures and mistakes, do nothing good for anyone and simply hold you back, bound to past brokenness.

You may also find yourself looking to the future – as in one sense you must do in making plans and setting goals. However, when the future arrives it is seldom what we thought it would be. Life changes everything in unexpected ways, and a wise person soon discovers that our character is shaped by how we respond to life more than by our efforts to control it. And here is the danger: if we think that our true life is out there in the future when we have achieved certain things, reached a certain age or success or independence, then we merely design a fantasy life that never actually comes. It is always future, never present, because things never quite turn out as we thought, and even the things we finally get or achieve quickly lose their luster just to be replaced by new dreams that take us away from the only life we ever have: namely, this present moment, here, now.

So embrace this present moment with gratitude and take note of everyone and everything around you – the love of family and friends, the grace of God that has so gifted each of you with intelligence and the ability to live and love well. It doesn’t get better than this. Nor does it get worse. Wherever you go, whoever you become, it will always be the same: you, standing before God and other people whom God loves and has invited you to love. We can do that with joy and gratitude always and every where, if (the big IF) we are fully present to ourself and those with us, not lost in a remembered past or an imagined future.

I love each one of you with all my heart,

Papa

What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church?

By Derek Leave a Comment

WHAT IF I DON’T FEEL LIKE GOING TO CHURCH?
By Gunner Gundersen
Review copy courtesy of the Crossway Blog Review Program

That’s a great question! It represents a tension we probably all have felt. Who has not had a Saturday night when they had that realization, with a twinge of dread, “Ah man, we’ve got church tomorrow!” I mean, I serve as a pastor, and I still have those moments.

So what do you do when you find yourself there? What if you really don’t feel like going to church? What should you do if that feeling persists? How should you think about that feeling? How should you proceed?

In What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church?, Gunner Gundersen gently pleads with you to go anyway. He writes, “The most important time to be at church is when you don’t feel like it. So please, brothers and sisters, go” (Gundersen, 2020, p. 53). This is the heart of his book. And he spends its pages explaining the whys and hows of this plea.

Gundersen leads the reader through a careful thinking process to address this question. He begins with analyzing our feelings. He considers a number of factors that could be at the root of our hesitation. Then he moves to detail the meaning and significance of the church and why you would want to go even when, especially when, you’re not “feelin’ it.” He then proposes how you might go. Gundersen readily admits there are no perfect pastors or congregations, and so adjusting one’s expectations about why and how to go is helpful. He concludes his book by reiterating the blessings that come from going to church, despite the personal struggles and corporate imperfections.

At each of these turns, Gundersen succeeds in providing simple and clear explanations. One of my personal favorites is this clarification:

The New Testament uses three images for the church that emphasize our togetherness: a family of siblings, a body with parts, and a temple with stones. The church is “the household of God,” “the body of Christ,” and “a dwelling place for the Spirit,” built with “living stones” (1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 2:21–22; 4:15–16; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 2:5). The implications are obvious: families live together, body parts work together, and temple stones fit together.
Some people use these truths to discount church attendance. “The church is a people, not a place,” they say. “It’s about being the church, not going to church.” But instead of lowering the bar, these images actually highlight the beauty and benefit of gathering with our fellow believers. (Gundersen, 2020, pp. 23-24)

Touche.

If I were to issue one critique, it would be with the book’s layout. This book would benefit from having chapters. It is not a long book by any means, but it still could use points of reengagement. Chapters typically offer this kind of reengagement by giving additional introductions and hooks for each new topic. But this brief book is structured like one long chapter. If I were handing this book to someone who is at the point where I think they need this book, I would be concerned that they wouldn’t have the motivation to make it to the end as it is currently structured. But this critique is minor.

I do recommend this book. It is a thoughtful, heartfelt, and quick read. Gundersen writes clearly and assembles succinctly a helpful collection of thoughts and scriptures on an important topic. As such, I would recommend it as a discussion guide. It is the kind of book that would spark great conversations over coffee with a trusted friend or mentor. Knowing the crew at 9Marks, that’s probably what they had in mind all along with this series on church questions.

So, call a friend, grab a copy, head to your favorite coffee shop, and discover why you should go to church even when you don’t feel like it! This book will generate a fruitful discussion for you.

Happy learning!
Proverbs 3:13

Gundersen, G. (2020). What If I don’t Feel Like Going to Church‌. Crossway.

On Church Planting and Cultural Complexities

By Derek Leave a Comment

Part of the impetus behind church planting in America is the diversity of culture present in the States.

Ed Stetzer notes this complexity. He describes American culture as a waffle with many dimples. Each community has its own nuance. Even neighborhoods within local communities may be further nuanced and so forth.

This complexity has been on display in recent days in our country.

The conversations happening at the national level sound different than those happening at the regional level. The regional conversations sound different from those at the state level. In my own community, I even hear differences between the city and county conversations.

Where church planting intersects this complexity is in its ability to engage more communities. Smaller and newer churches can inhabit these nuances of culture, and they can quickly and finely adjust to the needs of each community.

These adjustments can happen at many levels. The programs or services a church offers. The teaching and application of God’s word. The tone and timbre of communication. All of these elements can be tweaked in granular ways.

Of course, the above comments are not meant to undermine the need for diversity within a church or to speak against bigger, older churches. All of these factors should be in play. The point is church planting can create a kind of organic organizational dynamic that can be finely tuned to address complex issues in subtle, appropriate ways.

Why Church Planting

By Derek 1 Comment

Why plant a church? Why plant a church in the Bible Belt? Why plant a church when there are already so many churches? Do we really need more churches?

In this post, I want to explain the thinking behind church planting that helped to convince me of its ongoing need today in America.

Misunderstandings

For some time, I was convinced of the importance of church planting in global missions, but, probably like you, I wasn’t sure how it made sense in the United States because we have so many churches already.

But the problem was I did not understand the thinking and strategy behind church planting.

Here is how I first thought that church planting worked:

You have an area.
It is filled with people (the gray dots), but no churches. So what do you do?
You plant a church (the white cross).
The church begins to grow and do its work.
Mission Complete.

Now, you move on to another area and plant another church.

But there were at least THREE problems with the way I was thinking.

Problem 1: Diminishing Outreach of Growing Churches

As any church grows, it will struggle to keep reaching its area (precisely because it is growing).

I know that sounds counterintuitive, but this is true of any growing church. As a church grows, the center gets stronger, which is a good and natural thing, but the outer edges of its reach slow and weaken (Keller, 2002). Certainly, it will keep reaching out and making converts, but its efficiency and pace will diminish.

And the problem is, as you can see on diagram 2, there are still people who have not been reached. No single church, no matter how big it is, can reach every person in an area (Keller, 2012).

Problem 2: Population Complexity

In Diagram 1, I represented people with gray dots, but it’s not that simple.

The reality is there are all kinds of different peoples and stories and cultures in an area. One missiologist (Stetzer, 2014) has remarked that we tend to think of American culture as a pancake (i.e., that we’re all the same), but in reality, American culture is more like a waffle, with many different pockets of culture.

So, for example, in my context, even though our city is fairly small and homogenous, we recognize different regions (East, West, North, South) and different neighborhoods within those regions. And with each of these pockets, comes a set of known stereotypes.

Again, the point here is that no single church, no matter how good it is, will be able to connect to or reach all of these different kinds of people in an area.

Problem 3: Church Decline and Population Growth

In that original diagram I showed you, the variables were static, 30 gray dots and one church. But that’s not accurate. Two things are happening all the time: Churches are closing, and the population is growing.

Let me give you a few stats here:

Every year 3500-4000 churches close (Stetzer, 2006, p. 13).
In 1900, there were 28 churches for every 10k Americans. In 2004, 11 for every 10k.
From 1991 to 2004, the number of unchurched adults doubled in the U.S. (Barna quoted in Malphurs, 2004).
Side note: Are these number accurate? Probably not. The numbers are probably worse (Malphurs, 2004, p. 36) because in America going to church is still considered a good thing, so people lie about their attendance.
There are now 120 million secular folks in U.S. (Stetzer, 2006).

What do these numbers mean? They mean…

The U.S. is now the largest mission field in the Western Hemisphere (Stetzer, 2006).
The U.S. is now the fifth largest mission field in the world (Stetzer, 2006), out of 196.

So, what must the Church do? How do we address…

The diminishing outreach of growing churches?
Population complexity?
Churches decline and population growth?

We plant new churches!

New Churches

“A city needs all kinds of churches reaching all kinds of people” (Keller, 2012, p. 20).

Not only is church planting is reflective God’s character and consistent with the New Testament mode, but, if we drill down into the studies and stats, we see that this strategy addresses these three problems best.

So, how does church planting solve Problem 1, the problem of diminishing outreach for growing churches?

Church Planting reaches NEW People.

Missiologist Peter Wagner has famously observed:

“The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches” (quoted in Malphurs, 2004).

And as Ed Stetzer notes, studies consistently affirm this:

“On a per-capita basis, new churches win more people to Christ than established churches” (Stetzer, 2006, p. 7).

I will not get into the various reasons new churches reach more unchurched people (See also, Beynon, 2011, p. 17 on smaller churches working better. Also, Stetzer and Bird, 2010), but the point is simply that they do. And this point is not contested. So, if you want to keep reaching unbelievers, plant a church.

How about Problem 2, the problem of Population Complexity. How does church planting address the challenge of population complexity?

Church Planting Reaches DIFFERENT People.

Studies consistently show that church plants are better at reaching (Keller, 2002; Malphurs, 2004; Stetzer, 2006):

New generations.
New residents.
New people groups.

Why? Not because the existing churches are doing a bad job or don’t care. Not at all. But simply because more churches means more opportunities and more points of cultural connection.

Pastor and church planter, Tim Keller (2012) writes, “One church, no matter how big, will never be able to serve the needs of such a diverse city. Only a movement of hundreds of churches, small and large, can penetrate literally every neighborhood and people group in the city” (p. 362).

And finally, how does church planting address Problem 3, the problem of church decline and population growth? Well, this may seem pretty obvious, but…

Church Planting Reaches MORE People.

I guess this is pretty obvious, but just to say it plainly: You’re not going to disciple more people with less churches. You’re not going to reach a growing population with a shrinking church base.

Studies show (Stetzer, 2006, p. 5) for a denomination to grow and offset declining churches, it needs to plant at the rate of 3% of its total churches PER YEAR(!).

Studies show (Greear, 2015) that to keep up with population growth we need to DOUBLE the rate of churches being planted right now. That’s 7,200 new churches PER YEAR(!).

So Plant a Church

So, if you want to have an impact in a community, plant a church.

If you wish to make more and better disciples, plant a church.

If you wish to see the gospel penetrate new and different people groups, keep planting churches.

If you wish to see the gospel anchored in new generations, plant a church.

If you wish to reaching a growing, diversifying population, keep planting churches.

A city needs all kinds of churches reaching all kinds of people.

References

Beynon, G. (2011). Planting for the Gospel: A hands-on guide to church planting. Christian Focus.

Greear, J. D. (2015). Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send. Zondervan.

Keller, T. (2002). Why Plant Churches. Retrieved from http://download.redeemer.com/pdf/learn/resources/Why_Plant_Churches-Keller.pdf

Keller, T. (2012). Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Zondervan.

Malphurs, A., & Aldrich, J. (2004). Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal (3 edition). Baker Books.

Stetzer, E. (2006). Planting Missional Churches. B&H Academic.

Stetzer, E. (2014). 5 Reasons Established Churches Should Plant Churches. The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer. https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/june/5-reasons-established-churches-should-plant-churches.html

Stetzer, E., & Bird, W. (2010). Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers. Jossey-Bass.

The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments

By Derek Leave a Comment

HUMAN RITES (Audiobook)
The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments
By Dru Johnson
Narrated by Trevor Johnson
Courtesy of Eerdmans

How might your everyday, never-think-twice-about routines be shaping and forming you, for good or bad? Dru Johnson invites us to consider this question.

In Human Rites, Johnson explores how our schedules and smart phones, sacraments and training, all work together to mold us into who we are. Though we may not view all of these activities and elements of our lives as rituals, they do have ritualistic aspects, and as embodied creatures, these physical routines have a way of working themselves into our souls, outside in.

Johnson’s point here is well-taken. We can embrace the trappings of modern life and culture too uncritically. It is good and wise to consider how we spend our days…because “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” (Dillard, 1989, p. 32). As others have suggested, it may be helpful to set aside these things for a time and only add them back as we reconsider their usefulness (Newport, 2019).

And yet, while Johnson lands this central point, at times, he diffuses his argument by seeing ritual everywhere in everything without distinction. That there are ritual elements everywhere seems reasonable enough, but it is not always clear what Johnson means by the term or what he sees as ritualistic about a certain thing.

Regarding the terminology, he interchanges “ritual” with such concepts as practice, embodied practice, routine, habit, rhythm, training, rule, liturgy, ethics, addiction, scripts, and rite. Are there no nuances between these ideas?

As for the examples, he mentions some practices such as church rituals , which seem clearly ritualistic (formal, repetitive, symbolic, embodied). But then he offers more puzzling examples, like the ritual of reading a book. How is reading a ritual? Is the act or convention of reading itself the ritual? Or, is it the habits and idiosyncrasies that attach themselves to the act of reading? It is unclear. The discussion gets so broad at points that one is left thinking the real topic is perhaps how environment and nurture affect people.

But I do not intend to be overly critical. Johnson’s admonition to consider the role of these exterior things on our soul is a helpful reminder. And, at just over four hours of listening, it is a thought-provoking conversation worth the time.

Happy learning!
Proverbs 3:13

Dillard, A. (1989). The Writing Life. Harper Perennial.

Johnson, D. (2019). Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments. Eerdmans.

Newport, C. (2019). Digital minimalism: Choosing a focused life in a noisy world. Portfolio.