With the publication of the elemental life, I've started up (or will be starting up) another podcast on the eLife. If you're an iTunes user, you can subscribe to it here. You can also find it on the site, or download it in another reader here. Basically, it's online catechesis, Joe style.

In the Spring of 2006, a guy from Genesis suggested that I write a book about the basics of the Christian faith and how Christians view the world around us. It seemed like a good enough of an idea, and now, a couple of years later, the elemental life is in print. Here's the book description:

Life, the decisions and challenges we face concerning work, recreation, money, relationships, and the future can become complex and overwhelming. But they don't have to be.

The elemental life uses the four ancient elements of earth, water, fire, and wind to take a fresh look at historic biblical Christianity. In the process, the elemental life offers a different way of looking at the world around you ... a way that provides clarity in the midst of chaos, speaks words of forgiveness when confronted by failure, makes the most of the struggles of life, and gives meaning to the mundane moments of your everyday experience.

It's not easy, but it is elemental. Find a friend and talk, challenge, encourage, and discover together. Get back to the elemental life.

Because the whole thing was written with the goal of getting people to ask questions and explore deeper, I've also developed a website to go with the site where readers can ask questions and I'll dig deeper into the ideas behind the book through the eLife podcast.

Writings from the Wilderness are the 2008 Lenten devotions I wrote for Lutheran Hour Ministries. During Lent 2008, you can also discuss the devotions with other readers from around the world through the online version. The community that initiates with the devotions which will roll over into the fshbwl come Easter.

In their promotional material, LHM described the devotions as:

... an open invite to readers who may not yet know the Savior or, if they do, to consider from another perspective the dynamics of a relationship with Him. These reflections allow room to explore the realities of our everyday existence, contemplate how these challenges take place in our life, and consider God's triumphant solution sealed by the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Readers are challenged to keep a journal of their passage through the wilderness so they can look back and reflect on where they've been - and where they're headed. These gritty and life-tested observations are written in a way that challenge readers and bring them into the faith conversation.

You can also go here to download the devotions in pdf format.

In the spring of 2006, Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) in St. Louis published a booklet I wrote titled "Where's God in All of This?". As the title would suggest, the booklet explores what C.S. Lewis once identified as the problem of pain, namely, how a loving and gracious God can co-exist with all of the suffering in the world.

The back cover of the booklet reads in part: "Suffering comes in so many different forms, but the all drive us back to that age-old question, 'Where's God in All of This?'"

You can order copies from LHM here, or you can download a pdf version here.

In the Spring of 2003 one of my co-workers at Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) asked me to try and write a pamphlet on the issue of suffering. "Discovering Hope" is the result.

This short pamphlet asks, "Where do you turn when the waves of life come crashing in against you?" and invites the reader to "Discover hope amidst turmoil in the one true anchor you can hold onto - the solid, safe anchor that will never let you go!"

Copies can be ordered from LHM here.