The Underground Railroad By Colson Whitehead Doubleday, 2016 320 pages South Carolina seemed enlightened, until you realized that, beneath the comforts and opportunities, the plan was to sterilize the black race out of existence. North Carolina used less subterfuge, resorting to a grisly ‘Freedom Trail’ of hanging black bodies as a way of dealing with […]
Month: January 2017
In which I talk spelunking with the guys from Crackers & Grape Juice
A great podcast for theology, honesty, and occasionally, humor…
Won’t You Be a Neighbor?
My review of The Neighboring Church over on the great Englewood Review of Books…
What a Charismatic Preacher Can’t Do
Put together a charismatic preacher, a warm environment where people care about each other, and a lively music team and it’s still possible to have a viable small church ministry in the heartland. People looking for an experience of church appreciate those things and they certainly rate high on my list of desirable qualities. Two problems, […]
A Brief Word of Introduction
Heartlands is the site of Alex Joyner, an eclectic practitioner of trades and a person formed by faith and region. Heartlands is a collection point for writing, news, and sharing on life and ministry in rural America. I grew up in Virginia and make it my home now, but I have also spent significant […]
Heartlands 