Start Here: Why I Write The Weeding Edge
Stories, sermons, and field notes on following Jesus in the public square.
The Weeding Edge is a place to slow down and dig at the root causes shaping the gardens of everyday life.
These are field notes from the soil. Stories about following Jesus in the public square. Since that got him murdered, a little caution and humor seem wise.
I write as a Mennonite minister and as President and CEO of Faith in Place, a climate advocacy organization working across the Midwest. My days move between legislative hearings and committee meetings in the basements of congregations, between board rooms and prayer, between public witness and private doubt.
Gardening has taught me that weeds do not disappear because we shout at them. Although I do enjoy shouting. Too much, actually.
But weeds recede when we address the roots. So do some of the deeper distortions shaping our common life.
The same is true of our ecological crisis, our political divisions, and the spiritual distortions of Christian nationalism.
Some essays wrestle directly with democracy, climate policy, and the church’s entanglement with power. Others revisit a Sunday sermon that still has something to say. Many begin with stories that are either devastating or hilarious, sometimes both.
All of them circle the same question:
How do we remain fully human when the ground itself feels unstable?
Most essays here are free. If this kind of storytelling and reflection is helpful to you, subscribe to receive new posts in your inbox.
Paid subscribers help sustain this work and receive early access to draft book chapters, opportunities to offer feedback as the book takes shape, and a free copy of the book when it is published.