Lessons for Faith from the Garden with Matt Erickson

Lessons for Faith from the Garden with Matt Erickson

Host Andrew Camp welcomes Matt Erickson, senior pastor of Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee and author of The Pastor as Gardener [https://www.amazon.com/Pastor-Gardener-Renewed-Vision-Ministry/dp/0802884148/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AP42J9J5IIY8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TIjEVofag0B_f-bMm6n1SapkD0HCbKQOfTdpx7yWJBVb6ARQjguYvcC4cGLp-vKF.r7mDotlE5KRb8xf5REMdbeFTjG2QuRo3ylqS9zk3Cvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+pastor+as+gardener&qid=1777919184&sprefix=the+pastor+as+%2Caps%2C212&sr=8-1], to discuss gardening as a metaphor for pastoral ministry and discipleship. Erickson shares his family roots in gardening, favorite crops, and how crises—including the pandemic, racial justice tensions, and a friend’s moral failure—led him to agrarian biblical imagery such as 1 Corinthians 3:5. He describes how themes like seed, compost, pruning, soil, and seasons reshape views of suffering, formation, place, and community, critiquing technological distraction, rootlessness, and efficiency-driven “exploiter” mindsets in favor of care and attentiveness. Practical steps include contemplative prayer and guarding attention. They explore how churches face seasons, including “winter” in North American decline, and why resurrection-shaped hope sustains faithful cultivation.  Bio Matt Erickson is a pastor, writer, speaker, and disciple of Jesus. Since 2010, Matt has served as the Senior Pastor at Eastbrook Church [http://www.eastbrookchurch.org/], an urban, multiracial church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Matt received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Christian Education from Wheaton College [http://www.wheaton.edu/] (IL), a Master of Divinity degree from Northern Theological Seminary [http://www.seminary.edu/], and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary [https://www.westernsem.edu/] (Holland, MI) in connection with the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination [https://petersoncenter.org/]. He is the author of the recently published book The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry. Matt is married to Kelly, who has served in various ministry roles and operates her own spiritual direction practice [https://www.hillsvalleys.org/]. Matt and Kelly are parents of three children, all in college or beyond. Follow Matt Erickson: * Website: mwerickson.com [https://mwerickson.com/] * Substack: @mwerickson [https://mwerickson.substack.com/] Follow Andrew Camp * Facebook: andrew.camp.9 [https://www.facebook.com/andrew.camp.9] * Instagram: @andrewcamp80 [https://www.instagram.com/andrewcamp80/] * Substack: @thebiggesttable [https://substack.com/@thebiggesttable] This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com [https://www.wildgoosecoffee.com/].

Rethinking Wellness & Food Culture with Liz Bucar

Host Andrew Camp interviews religious ethicist and Northeastern professor Liz Bucar about her book, "Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us. [https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Wellness-Restoring-Religious-Spiritual/dp/0593854977/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0]" Bucar shares her path into religious studies and explains how “spiritual salad bar” approaches—popular among Gen Z and driven by personalization and algorithms—can miss religious context, community, and ethical depth, sometimes causing harm. She critiques wellness culture’s individual optimization and “toxic diet culture,” including moralizing food, ascetic restriction, and valorizing thinness, tracing these in part to mainstreamed strands of Christian theology. Bucar highlights religious resources for healthier food ways, using Ramadan to show fasting as communal, virtue-forming, and bounded by exemptions, and discusses Ayurvedic balance as an alternative to rigid good/bad food categories. The conversation emphasizes communal eating, hospitality, and flourishing beyond personal control. Liz Bucar is a religious ethicist and professor of religion at Northeastern University, as well as a certified intenSati and Kripalu yoga instructor. Her popular writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, and The Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of four books, including the award-winning Stealing My Religion and Pious Fashion. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. For more about how religion shapes us all, even if we don't believe, subscribe to Liz’s newsletter at LizBucar.com [https://www.lizbucar.com/]. Follow Liz Bucar: * Order Beyond Wellness [https://www.lizbucar.com/books] * Website: lizbucar.com [https://www.lizbucar.com/] * Instagram: @lizbucar [https://www.instagram.com/lizbucar/] * Substack: @lizbucar [https://substack.com/@lizbucar] Follow Andrew Camp * Facebook: andrew.camp.9 [https://www.facebook.com/andrew.camp.9] * Instagram: @andrewcamp80 [https://www.instagram.com/andrewcamp80/] * Substack: @thebiggesttable [https://substack.com/@thebiggesttable] This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com [https://www.wildgoosecoffee.com/].

Wine, Faith, and the Edge of Belief with Jeremy Jernigan

Host Andrew Camp welcomes writer and fellow podcaster Jeremy Jernigan to The Biggest Table to discuss faith, hospitality, and wine while comparing two pinot noirs: California’s Meiomi (engineered for consistent, fruit-forward sweetness) and Oregon’s Lemelson single-vineyard pinot (limited production, terroir-driven complexity). Their tasting becomes an analogy for faith, contrasting mass-produced certainty with nuanced growth. Jernigan shares the story behind his book The Edge of the Inside: after two decades in ministry and a dream lead-pastor role, conflicts during 2020 over engaging COVID and George Floyd’s murder led to an elder-board ultimatum, his resignation, loss of community, and years in “liminal space.” The book traces moving from the “center” to the “edge,” rethinking inherited theology, and imagining how to move forward, emphasizing curiosity, composting past faith, and finding new communities. Jeremy Jernigan is a writer, speaker, and recovering megachurch pastor. After two decades in full-time ministry, including serving as a Lead Pastor, he now focuses on helping people rebuild their faith after it breaks. He’s the author of The Edge of the Inside [https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Inside-Losing-Place-Finding-ebook/dp/B0GNNZGKSD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZOOWTI4PLQ0V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yYzSsvVhfHxtcoF4fT6Yzg.HEcZjQ5lXXtH1YNn8VygJROJBWK4JDFRyh1fsCv-stA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+edge+of+the+inside+jeremy+jernigan&qid=1775159258&sprefix=edge+of+the+insi%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1], and he hosts the weekly Rebuilding Faith [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebuilding-faith/id1791303983] series and the biweekly Cabernet and Pray [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cabernet-and-pray/id1702988866] podcast. Jeremy lives in Arizona with his wife and five kids. Follow Jeremy * jeremyjernigan.com [https://www.jeremyjernigan.com/] * Edge of the Inside book [https://www.jeremyjernigan.com/edge-of-the-inside] This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com [https://www.wildgoosecoffee.com/].

A Table to Hold Our Grief & Desires with Hannah Miller King

Host Andrew Camp interviews Anglican priest and writer Hannah Miller King about her book Feasting on Hope [https://www.amazon.com/Feasting-Hope-Sets-Table-Wilderness/dp/151401114X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0] and how the Eucharist reframed her grief after her father died of cancer. King describes needing a bigger theological framework than “pray and hope,” finding healing and belonging through weekly communion, and seeing the Lord’s Table as both comfort and a foretaste that stokes longing for God’s coming kingdom. They discuss what churches miss when communion is infrequent, the formative power of embodied ritual, vulnerability in receiving with “empty hands,” and the wide-angle social implications of the meal for community, reconciliation, and justice, including responses to scarcity and food insecurity. King offers counsel for those hurt by church to grieve, be patient, and take manageable risks toward worship and relationship. Hannah Miller King is a priest and writer in the Anglican tradition. She has been a campus minister among conservatory musicians, an apartment minister in an urban highrise, and a parish pastor in large and small churches. She currently serves as the Associate Rector at The Vine [https://www.vineofthemountains.com/] Anglican Church in Western North Carolina. She is a contributing writer for Christianity Today and Holy Post Media, and is the author of Feasting On Hope: How God Sets A Table in the Wilderness.  [https://www.amazon.com/Feasting-Hope-Sets-Table-Wilderness/dp/151401114X]   Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts in Religion from Redeemer Seminary. She is currently being schooled in the minutia of Star Wars (and other galactic battles between good and evil) by her three kids. Hannah's Website: hannahmillerking.com [https://www.hannahmillerking.com/] This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com [https://www.wildgoosecoffee.com/].

The Table as a Foil for AI's Technology with Michael Morelli

Host Andrew Camp welcomes theologian and ethicist Michael Morelli to discuss artificial intelligence in relation to humanity, modernity, and the Christian table. Morelli defines today’s “AI” as machine learning and generative systems that process vast data, perform tasks, and simulate personality, while noting debate about true sentience. They address AI’s ubiquity, marketing that frames it as neutral, embedded biases in data and design, and the need for critical thinking and formation rather than shortcuts, especially in education. The conversation situates AI within late-modern acceleration, power, and influencer culture, alongside declining trust in institutions. Morelli contrasts AI’s dot-connecting with the sacramental and communal power of baptism and Eucharist, which reveal deeper reality and foster unlikely relationships, shaping everyday eating and hospitality. They close with food reflections and Morelli’s podcast and social links. Michael Morelli is the Associate Professor of Theology & Ethics at Northwest College & Seminary [http://www.nbseminary.ca/] and ACTS Seminaries [https://actsseminaries.com/]. Both are affiliates of Trinity Western University [https://www.twu.ca/]. He’s also an adjunct professor of theology of at Trinity’s Religious Studies [https://www.twu.ca/academics/faculty-humanities-social-sciences/religious-studies] and Nursing Schools [https://www.twu.ca/academics/school-nursing]. He has a PhD in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and is the author of Theology, Ethics, and Technology in the Work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio: A Nascent Theological Tradition [https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793625434/Theology-Ethics-and-Technology-in-the-Work-of-Jacques-Ellul-and-Paul-Virilio-A-Nascent-Theological-Tradition] (Lexington Books) and editor of Desert, Wilderness, Wasteland, and Word: A New Essay By Jacques Ellul and Five Critical Engagements [https://wipfandstock.com/9781666742534/desert-wilderness-wasteland-and-word/] (Pickwick).  Follow Michael Morelli * Instagram: @mchlmorelli [https://www.instagram.com/mchlmorelli/] * Substack: Personalist Manifesto(s [https://personalistmanifestos.substack.com/]) * Podcast: Personalist Manifesto(s) [https://personalistmanifestos.substack.com/p/podcast] This episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com [https://www.wildgoosecoffee.com/].