I didn’t know I was supposed to be an intellectual. Even describing myself as an “intellectual” or “scholar” still sounds pretentious to me. I’m from the rustbelt of the Midwest, which isn’t typically a bastion of intellectual prowess (though such scholars do exist). Now, living in Appalachia, I don’t find much interest in scholarly agendas or academic communities.  But there are humans, and I feel called to nurture our shared humanity. To me, addressing humane concerns is the proper work of a theologian.

I am content with being a translator, which I surmise is the work of a public intellectual. Theological language is the language of the church, so I write in a way to be understood (which may go back to those Midwest roots of non-pretension).  Often, theology is not for the church but for other theologians, and as valuable and necessary as that work is, it’s not my interest (not least because I find most of it boring). I have no problem being accessible because I want to be helpful to the purpose of theological reflection: equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4.12). Theology, like poetry, is language under pressure.[1] Equipping the church for ministry means understanding the cultural pressures the church ministers under. I want to help the church think clearly, deeply, and compellingly in a complex world. This task is more than saying true things but saying true things with beauty and grace.

In terms of my scholarship, I like dying things. My son is named Jude after the patron saint of lost causes. I wouldn’t mind being known as the scholar of lost causes. My primary interest in scholarship and research is the formation of Christians. Christians, as reported, are on the decline. The Christians that are around seem to be shallow, immature, and unstable. I desire to see people develop in-depth, maturity, and stability. The primary means of formation that my scholarship covers are the liberal arts, the arts, and an agrarian vision. None of those means of formation are very popular. The liberal arts are being replaced with job training, the arts are superfluous, and why stay and love a place (agrarian vision) with so many “better” options elsewhere? But I write and research what I love and what I think is good, not what works. My scholarship may not be “public” if by public you mean popular. But, channeling Wendell Berry, I want to be one aimed at wholeness, and therefore health. I’m motivated by particular things, which is another way to say affection.

I support dying things or lost causes because I’m a person of the resurrection. Rather than trying to save things, perhaps they need to experience a type of death, because at the other side of death is a reality far better than what I could save.