Hope In Something New
You are invited to a new way to spread hope.
Hello! Long time no talk!
I set up this Substack a while back as an early attempt to get my hope research into the world.
A lot has happened since then, and I now realize why so many projects grow in fits and spurts.
But I still believe— deeply— that many, MANY church and community leaders are in need of a more robust hope (…especially considering institutional decline!)
Hope is who we are as Christians, after all— we’re not just people who hope in an afterlife, we’re people who hope in THIS life, too.
A couple of months ago, I went on retreat to the beautiful St. Benedict Center in Nebraska. I spent some of my time envisioning a NEW, more sustainable way to spread hope.
Realizing that the email newsletters I read most are the shortest ones, I developed a four-sentence format for a newsletter I’m calling “Monday Morning Hope.” Inspired by the elements of a “collect” prayer, I poured all sorts of academic theory into each one of those four sentences to make it robust, consistent, and most of all easy to read. (As a bonus, it’s easier for me to write, too, so it should be more sustainable!)
Since you signed up for this SubStack, on which this is the final post, I have taken the liberty of transferring you to the new list. It will begin by sending you a free e-book followed by a four-day sequence on the basics of hope— for you all, it will be a good refresher! After that, posts will be only once a week for the foreseeable future. Feel free to unsubscribe if it no longer fits you.
I appreciate your company on this journey of hope. Hope is contagious, we just have to figure out how best to spread it!
One last gift: Each morning and evening, while setting up the new newsletter at the St. Benedict Center, I walked from the retreat center to the Mission House where the monks live for prayer.
One morning, after immersing myself in hope theory all week, I saw this:
Hope in the new day.
Hope in the lush green life of Spring.
Hope in the road continuing into the distance.
It’s become my inspiration. I don’t suppose it’s technically a logo, but you’ll see it at the top of just about everything. I wanted you to know why.