There is a striking vision in Isaiah 6:3. The verse reads:

“And they called out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.””

They are the seraphim, six-winged heavenly creatures. Because of their fantastic nature, our mind’s eye tends to linger on them and not register what they actually say. But isn’t it striking that these fantastic beings direct our attention to the earth, the same earth that is with us and all around us 24/7?

In a sense, this shouldn’t be a surprise. In Genesis 1:31, God declares everything to be very good. That is high praise.

Nevertheless, unless we are attentive and present, it is easy to be as distracted by technology and our human-shaped world as we are by the seraphim. This deprive us of experiences of God’s glory. In doing that, we deprive our hearts and souls of the reverence and awe that are foundational for real, living faith.

In this post, I want to share just one small feature of the earth that is full of God’s glory.

That feature appears in this video of a lecture by Dr. Christine Jone about soil life and function. Dr. Christine Jones is an Australian soils ecologist who has helped farmers around the world better understand how the soil biome works. She has also taught farmers how building the ecology of soil life enables them to grow healthier, more productive plants and make more profit by using fewer (or no) chemicals. Her clear explanations of the wonders of the soil world have (along with the podcast of John Kempf) helped grow my enthusiasm about soil and regenerative agriculture. I hope you will take a look:

 

If you don’t have time to watch it right now, here is the one nugget that especially struck me. She has a slide that reads:

“There can be up to 9 billion microbes in one single seed!!

In an article on the website of Green Cover Seed, Dr. Jones explains the significance of that:

“Seeds contain hundreds of species of bacteria, archaea, fungi and protists. When a seed germinates the microbes multiply and move into the new roots and the soil surrounding the roots. The plant forms its own microbiome, distinctly different from the microbiome of bulk soil.”

So, in essence, seeds carry luggage with them on their travels. That “luggage” is the microbial community they need to thrive.

That is astounding. It is one more aspect of soil ecology that is being discovered by the rapidly growing science of regenerative agriculture. Through my work for non-profits promoting organic and regenerative agriculture, I’ve had the opportunity to learn how farming that builds soil life can prosper farmers, eaters, communities, and God’s earth. I also have been striving to translate those insights into changes in how farmland is actually stewarded by farmers and landowners.

Undoubtedly, there are particular aspects of Creation you have read about that amaze you. I would love to hear what they are.

But we shouldn’t stop there. What is to be our lived response to God’s glory filling the earth?

I would suggest that one response should be to make time to attune ourselves to that glory by immersing ourselves in the actual experience Creation. Camping. Birding Gardening. Slow walks in natural places. If you’re looking for inspiration (which is not a substitute for actually getting outside!), check out Bill Davison’s excellent substack – Easy by Nature.

We should also act in the world to restore the earth so that God’s glory is not hidden, diminished, or marred.

The Green Cover Seed company, which offers a free and wonderfully comprehensive guide to regenerative agriculture on its website, provides a great example.

Founded by brothers Keith and Brian Berns, Green Cover Seed is an energetic, faith-driven company that is helping farmers utilize cover crops to build soil, provide habitat, and produce abundant crops. Here is their mission statement:

To help people regenerate, steward, and share God’s creation for future generations. 

We believe cover crops are key to improving soil health, and healthy soils lead to healthy food and thus healthy people. 

Green Cover strives to honor and glorify God through our business ethics and practices, and to follow the example of Jesus Christ when interacting with customers and team members.

Can I get an amen??

What is your response in your daily use of Creation and the larger arc of your life?

I pay alot of attention to words. I listen to the sound of words. The nuances of their different connotations and associations are meaningful to me.

It’s in that context that I want to share why I’ve become more and more discontented with the two-word term “Creation care” in Christian circles.

In that phrase, I do hear gentleness, compassion, and almost a nursing-like quality. Without question, the attentive care of a nurse for her/his patient is a blessing beyond measure. Gentleness and compassion are indeed essential characteristics of a Christ follower. If more people lived by the fruit of the Spirit towards others and Creation, we would be in a much better place.

But here is what I also hear. I hear an action carried out in a refined, hushed, restrained, genteel atmosphere. My sense from the term is that the recipient of our caring actions is passive, small, and weak.  It is not clear from the term that the person doing the Creation care activity is fundamentally about doing the right things towards Creation as a core part of that person’s core identity. “Creation care” describes a set of actions we do outside of ourselves. The actions are not necessarily central to who we are every moment. They are a choice we can make or not make depending on the circumstances.

Moreover, the word “care” does not contain in it a sense of strong, vigorous, energetic, and even assertive energy to prevent the need for care from ever happening. It does not suggest a willingness to advocate and struggle against harsh forces.

There’s another’s problem with using “Creation care.” The term lacks clear and obvious roots in the Bible.

The term has more in common with modern social programs like MediCare than what we read of in the Old and New Testaments. Where does one read of Creation care in the Bible as an actual term or concept?

The obvious alternative in my mind is “shepherd.”

Shepherds and shepherding are deeply rooted in the whole Bible. Abraham and many of his descendants lived off of flocks and herds. King David was a shepherd. Psalm 23 extols the loving attention of God as a shepherd in a beautiful and moving way. Ezekiel 34 is dense with sheep metaphors and what a good shepherd is like (although the reference to removing wild predators is troubling). Shepherds were directed by angels to where Jesus was born. And, most importantly, Jesus called himself a good shepherd.

Jesus nested the parable of the lost sheep in the world of a shepherd. The shepherd’s search of the lost sheep suggests sweat, aching legs, a keen sense of the land, and determined thought on where the sheep in question would most likely be.

If there is a downside to using the terms shepherd and shepherding it is this – few of us are connected with agriculture anymore, and even fewer have any sense of the reality of what being a shepherd.

Being a shepherd is the antithesis of a modern office job. It is an active, dynamic, earthy, vigorous role that is demanding of your body, mind, and spirit.

The shepherd is immersed in Creation and the life of Creation. If you  meditate on the life of the shepherd, you can almost hear the sounds of sheep and cows, smell their animalness, pick up a whiff of hides and wool, and hear flies buzzing about the gifts of fertility the sheep and cattle leave behind. The shepherd enjoys peaceful moments. Even more often there are challenge and hardship. There is total immersion in Creation and its life and forces.

Psalm 23 gives a clear idea of how thoughtful and attentive to the needs of a sheep’s life a shepherd must be. This means planning and foresight about what places in the landscape will have the right plants at the right time in the right conditions. This means knowing where clean water will be available each day. The shepherd must pay attention to where there might be predators (including hostile humans) and anticipate weather patterns that could bring dangerous storms. There is a strong sense of all-encompassing competence, blue-collar work ethic, and not enjoying any luxuries of life. There is also an attunement to both the animals and to the environment.

Shepherding communicates, too, the paradox of the shepherd. Shepherds give constant protection to their herd that exist to provide humans wool, milk (yes, that’s a thing), and meat. But that doesn’t mean that the care for the sheep is any less dedicated or important.

In fact, life and death is an everyday part of the shepherd’s work. The reality of this (which the video above shows) is something that people working in offices don’t fully understand. Sheep and lambs get sick. They get in trouble. They run off. There are predators. Being a shepherd means dealing with death on a regular basis. A shepherd needs to be compassionate and tough.

Jesus spoke of this in that context in John 10:14-15. Here are the words:

“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

The good shepherd laying down his life for the sheep is not doing so because he signed a contract. A good shepherd (as opposed to a lackluster, lazy, self-focused one) would lay down his life for his sheep because he cares for them. He does not want to see the gentle creatures, who know his voice and trust him, torn apart. Like a good police officer, fireman, or soldier, the shepherd accepts the responsibility the shepherd has been given and is ready to sacrifice all in the process.

I am convinced that there is a strong parallel between the nature of the relationship between God and humanity (as exemplified in Jesus) and the nature of what our relationship should be with God’s earth.

Jesus, as the good shepherd, was ready to lay down his life for his sheep. Are we ready to act as bravely and selflessly for God’s earth which is under our care?

Interestingly, since I began writing this post, I’ve come across other Christians using “shepherd” (like here and here). Perhaps I was unconsciously aware of this already, But none of the uses I have found so far have made clear the more challenging and inspiring implications that “shepherd” actually entails.

This is where we must defend the uniqueness and distinctiveness of words. Words matter.  They communicate to our conscious minds and to our unconscious minds.

So I am going to use “shepherd” and “shepherding” going forward when I refer to what it means as a follower of Jesus to protect and restore God’s earth. I hope you will, too. Let us commit ourselves to being shepherds of Creation. May we make this an essential part of the dedication of our whole lives to God.

Here is my prayer for you and me:

Loving God, guide us to be good shepherds of your earth as you are our good shepherd.  Like good shepherds, help us more deeply and intimately understand your earth and how land, water, and life work together. Equip us to be ready to act and speak for your vulnerable Creation in all circumstances and in all conditions with compassion, wisdom, strength, and grit.  Send your Spirit so we will be more determined to prevent your good world entrusted to us from being stripped of life and breath. We pray, too, for you to be with us when we lament the suffering of people and Creation. May your will be done by us each day.

 

In my previous post, I encouraged you to set a goal for doing something for Creation in 2025 beyond what you already do. And I urged you to make that goal a stretch goal.

How has that been going?

As I mentioned in that same post, I am committing myself to getting a podcast off the ground this year to explore the themes I have been exploring in this blog.

I’m happy to say that I’ve made some progress. I’ve worked with a designer to get a logo completed, which I will share eventually! I have also built out my guest list a little further, and I have done some further preparations by reading an excellent book about the podcast production.

What has made the difference?

Keeping a log in my journal of the time I spend each day on my blog and podcast launch project.

Since I started keeping track on December 30, I’ve done some sort of work on either or both in 33 straight days. Sometimes it’s just 30 minutes, but even in that small amount of time, I can make some progress. More importantly, working every day keeps the momentum going. It also keeps the ideas and questions I need to tackle fresh in my head. And, honestly, it just feels good to keep the streak unbroken.

Why not try it?

Even if you cannot make time every single day, logging the time you do put in will show you that you are translating ideals and goals into your life on a regular basis. It will help you make progress and get the momentum going.

The key is the habit of tracking your new habit. Whether it’s time committed or some other meaningful metric, the tracking will inspire and compel you.

One last thing – can you share any recommendations for podcasts you especially like? They can be about anything, from the Bible to politics and books. I’m always up for learning and for ideas on how to make the podcast I will do as good as possible.  You can email me at wholefaithlivingearth@gmailcom

 

P.S. One of the guests I plan to have on my podcast is Raymond Epp. I met Raymond recently at the AcresUSA EcoAg Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, and we hit it off pretty quickly. His calling is to make available the insights of regenerative agriculture of North America to people in Japan where he lives with his family. He has brought creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit to that calling. 

In the photo below, he joins the participants of a two-day workshop he organized in Hokkaido entitled My Regenerative Journey. The participants were mostly farmers from around Japan but also included representatives from three major corporations. All of the participants were eager to learn more about the mindset, principles and outcomes of regenerative agriculture.

Raymond and the community of Christians he is part of are also making plans to build a sacred retreat place this spring “devoted to contemplating the incarnation of the Lamb of God and the ongoing life of redeeming creation that God is inviting us all to participate in.” He closed his recent email with this encouraging phrase – “Blessed be the journey!” Isn’t that a good perspective? Blessed be your journey of whole faith.

 

Have you already created a list of goals for 2025?

When you do, I urge you to include at least one goal that not only relates to Creation but stretches you.

It’s traditional to create goals that relate to our personal health, professional goals, and hobbies. We may even have goals that relate to how we develop our faith, like committing to reading the Bible over the course of a year or praying each morning (which I recommend).

But I don’t often hear people develop goals that relate to doing our part for God’s precious earth.

If you believe that Creation matters to God, then embrace that conviction and turn it into sustained action that stretches you. As Jesus tells us in the story of the wise builder and the foolish builder, one’s faith is not real without putting it into action.

One example of a stretch goal would be committing to significantly increase your purchases of local, organic, and regeneratively grown food. This will be healthier for you and your family. It will also support good stewards of God’s earth and send a signal to our food and farming system about what kind of agriculture people want.

Another example would be to apply your love of God to your yard, farm, or even your business facility’s landscaping. Expand the amount of area that provides sustenance to birds and bees in the form of native vegetation. Treat your yard or farm as if it was God’s (which it is) and as if God cares about the life of this earth (which God does). Then enjoy the life that will come.

Why not commit to increasing the giving your family makes to Creation protection and renewal causes?

You could move your family or your church to more renewable energy sources.

You could decide to volunteer on a regular basis to restore a local natural area or to help a nature conservation organization. You’ll meet good people and learn a great deal about Creation.

Perhaps, you could even plan to organize people you know to address a Creation-related issue. This might include preserving a  natural area threatened with development or prompting your local school district to offer meals to its students with healthy foods.

Pray about it. Listen to what stirs your heart and mind.

Write it down.

And plan out the first few steps.

Then act.

The hardest part is getting going. Inertia is a killer.

When it comes to moving past inertia, here’s a video that my wife and I found useful. The speaker shares five tips for how to increase your odds of actually achieving your goals for a year. Good stuff. We plan to apply these principles this coming year.

You may be wondering what my 2025 goal is for Creation. One is to launch a podcast as a complement to this blog. There are so many Christians who are caring, tending, and defending Creation in courageous and creative ways. I’d like for you and people like you to hear their stories. I also want to explore the theology of Creation with theologians and other thinkers. I would like to explore the marvels of Creation, from new discoveries about the soil biome to the social lives of killer whales. And I want to talk with people who can give you and me insights into how to better live out our whole faith in connection to Creation.

Why is this a stretch?

Well, I am not good (in other words, I stink) at technology. I’m also quite busy with my work for The Land Connection, a food and farming non-profit. How will I fit this in? Do I want to inflict my voice on innocent people?! And, if I am honest, I will say that I feel a bit of reticence (In other words, fear) at doing something so new and different.

But it feels very right.

I started this blog 10 years ago because I literally couldn’t not do it. There were ideas and questions and convictions I couldn’t just let continue to boil in my heart and mind. They were going to explode if I didn’t express them and address them. Over the course of the last 10 years, I’ve learned a great deal that has further bolstered my convictions, my love of God, and my appreciation for Creation, even as it has also made me hurt even more to see what is being done to Creation. The best part has been hearing from people like you who appreciated particular blog posts. I have realized I am not alone. You are not alone.

I feel the same pent-up energy for podcasting.

You’ll be the first to hear once I get it going.

I’d love to hear what your goals are, too.

I hope and pray you will have a year of abundant life and whole faith in 2025.

 

P.S. And don’t forget to get to enjoy Creation in 2025 with your loved ones. Hike, Birdwatch. Study plants. Read books about it. Grow some of your own food and cook with it!

 

In the Meantime….

Nathan Aaberg —  November 23, 2024 — 2 Comments

It has been a good year. It has been a challenging year.

I’ve not posted in awhile, because, in part, I’m working on a long and ambitious blog post. Rather than rush it, I’m working on it when I can and letting my mind and heart stew on it. Perhaps you are like me – I find that writing is a way to figure out what I think around knotty topics. And I guess I think slow!

It has occurred to me that it would be good to write some shorter, briefer posts from time to time between the longer pieces I like to sink my teeth into.

In this short post I want to share one experience I am hoping you find interesting and a quick thought about the presidential election.

First, the experience….

My family and I have just returned from a vacation in Japan. We traveled to Okinawa where my wife Mayumi was born. We also visited the family I lived with in Kasugai (a town on the edge of Nagoya) from 1986 to 1987. To top it all off, we also rented an RV and explored north central Japan, including the Japanese Alps. It was a delight be back in Japan! We even connected with a manager of mine from the days long ago when I worked for a Japanese company.

During our own explorations, we enjoyed a guided tour of a section of the Goshikigahara National Forest that is part of the Mt. Norikura mountain range in central Japan. Our guide was Mr. Matsuzaki (who you see in the above photo) who was remarkably knowledgeable about the geology, natural history, and human history of the diverse woods on this volcanic mountain.

Mr. Matsuzaki became interested in the living things around him when he was a serious bicyclist as a younger man. As part of his training, he would ride his bike up the very steep roads of the mountains of the area. They are so steep that his progress was almost at a walking pace. This gave him a chance to hear the songs of many birds and to notice the many diverse plants. All of this  made him want to learn more about the life around him.

What a great reminder that if we slow down and pay attention, we can find beauty, insights, and new passions right around us. You can’t appreciate your neighbor or Creation if you are in a rush.

So how did he develop his deep knowledge? In addition to his own reading and research, he began joining the monthly hikes of a nature walking club that had many seasoned naturalists. And he has continued to participate ini those monthly hikes without fail for 30 years.

What a good reminder that consistent, dedicated focus on a topic can bring great knowledge on any topic.

I encourage you to devote some of your potential for deep learning to God and also to Creation. Immersing ourselves in Creation will lead us to share in the glad, wonder-filled emotion of the Psalmist that we read in Psalm 104:24 – “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

And now even at 74 (yes, 74), Mr. Matsuzaki leads day-long hikes like ours in rough terrain while never ceasing in his efforts to learn more about the natural and human history of the area he loves. He eats healthy foods, is very active, and has purpose beyond himself. No wonder he carries himself with the energy of someone in his fifties.

An inspiration.

And I need to share one more image from our hike. For much of the hike we heard the sound of running water. Here is the stream that sang so wonderfully.

Finally, I usually do not write about politics here (although there are some exceptions). But I cannot write about Creation and the Christian faith-life without making a comment about the U.S. Presidential election.

Christians voted in large numbers for Donald Trump. The faith of many of them has been shaped to believe that Creation is of no significance to God. Creation, they have been taught, is for our pleasure and power now. Our life after death, they are also taught, will be far removed from anything related to God’s earth.

What they have consistently heard is that only human life is of ultimate value to God. They have not questioned that assertion in their own minds nor searched the Bible carefully to see if that is true. So they have failed, for example, to see the deep, complex commonalities between how we treat the unborn and how we treat Creation. Followers of Jesus cannot be selectively pro-life.

However the Trump Administration spoils and mars the works of God’s hands will be, in part, the fruit of many churches teaching an incomplete faith. I dream of a day when the culture and theology of Jesus followers compels them to live out the fruit of the Spirit toward people and Creation in their daily lives, their landscaping, their diets, their economies, and, yes, in their politics. I dream of a whole faith Church.

In the meantime, it is vital that we each do what we can to be good, loving, and fierce shepherds of Creation around us.

 

As we approach Thanksgiving, I know you will be thankful for God’s love and for God’s Creation. As an expression of that thankfulness, please take a simple step – choose to use ingredients in your Thanksgiving meal that honor God and that support farmers doing right by our neighbors in Creation.