Preaching in Place

“While the number of Christians worldwide continues to increase, denominations and congregations are getting smaller. Mark Rigg describes this move—and the need for ministry and preaching to reflect a new ecclesiology—in this remarkable treatise comparing Luther’s theology of the cross and Wendell Berry’s philosophical (and, quite unintentionally theological) approach to farming, eating, and being community. Preachers: read Preaching in Place to remind you how to ground your work in the ground God gives you to till.”


—Clay Schmit, Emmanuel Academies





“Mark Rigg unveils Martin Luther’s ‘theology of the cross’ as foundational to Wendell Berry’s commitments to place and to rejection of conventional, industrial, and triumphal goals. Focus on a biblical understanding of economic life challenges long-held views of what is central to the church, making it crucial for assessing and changing church practices at this pivotal time in world history. Rigg’s is a prophetic voice, especially essential for preachers because of its specificity and clarity.”


—Melinda A. Quivik, editor in chief, Liturgy





“This little book holds a great gift. Rigg carries on a generative theological conversation with Wendell Berry’s writing and its alternative vision for an economy rooted in place and people, for a way of life connected to the land that sustains us. There is a wisdom here for the preacher—and much more. In an age captive to the dislocating forces of commerce and technology, Rigg’s work will inspire imagination for the distinctive witness of the local congregation.”


—Thomas H. Schattauer, Wartburg Theological Seminary, emeritus