The Archive

Every essay.

Jake MeadorChurch

Perspective - Commonplaces

Some real talk: On a typical Sunday here in Lincoln, I would bet good money that there are more folks in PCA churches than there are PC(USA). 20 years ago, that would have been insane—but thanks to God’s kindness to […]

Jake MeadorChurchBook Reviews

Reading "Non-Anxious Presence" (II) - Commonplaces

Before getting into more prescriptive analysis in his later chapters, Sayers spends the first chapter developing his concept of a “gray zone.” To begin, The pandemic, cultural change, political polarization, and technological disruption have rapidly altered the world we live […]

Jake MeadorChurchBook Reviews

Reading "Non-Anxious Presence" (II) - Commonplaces

Before getting into more prescriptive analysis in his later chapters, Sayers spends the first chapter developing his concept of a “gray zone.” To begin, The pandemic, cultural change, political polarization, and technological disruption have rapidly altered the world we live […]

Michael McKoyFeaturedCurrent Politics

Unpacking "Realism" - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

There is a fascinating ambivalence regarding the term “realism.” On the one hand, many claim to be realists since the alternative would be to be, well, unrealistic. Political realism built its modern brand during the interwar period as the sensible […]

Jake MeadorChurch

New Coalitions - Commonplaces

Though it is common now, and quite understandable, to lament the relationships and institutions that have been changed and broken over the past seven years, I also think it’s worth keeping our eyes open to the relationships and coalitions being […]

Jake MeadorChurch

New Coalitions - Commonplaces

Though it is common now, and quite understandable, to lament the relationships and institutions that have been changed and broken over the past seven years, I also think it’s worth keeping our eyes open to the relationships and coalitions being […]

Jake Meador

Two Bad Reasons to Oppose Loan Debt Forgiveness and Two Better Ones - Commonplaces

Briefly: Bad Objections 1. “I paid all my debt back and it isn’t fair that other people shouldn’t have to do the same.” In interests of disclosure, I have already paid off about 95% of my student loan debt and […]

Jake Meador

Two Bad Reasons to Oppose Loan Debt Forgiveness and Two Better Ones - Commonplaces

Briefly: Bad Objections 1. “I paid all my debt back and it isn’t fair that other people shouldn’t have to do the same.” In interests of disclosure, I have already paid off about 95% of my student loan debt and […]

Jake MeadorBook ReviewsJulius NyererePan-Africanism

Reading the Pan-Africanists: Julian Nyerere (I) - Commonplaces

I’ve finished Kaunda. Now on to Nyerere, a contemporary of Kaunda’s who was the first president of Tanzania, serving from 1964 to 1985. I’m reading his book Socialism, which is a collection of addresses and papers he wrote in the early […]

Jake MeadorBook ReviewsJulius NyererePan-Africanism

Reading the Pan-Africanists: Julian Nyerere (I) - Commonplaces

I’ve finished Kaunda. Now on to Nyerere, a contemporary of Kaunda’s who was the first president of Tanzania, serving from 1964 to 1985. I’m reading his book Socialism, which is a collection of addresses and papers he wrote in the early […]

Jake MeadorHistoryBook Reviews

On Mr. Berry and Professor Jennings - Commonplaces

In his critique of my discussion of “whiteness” in the book, my friend Scott Pryor observes that it seems as if I’m shifting away from Wendell Berry’s critique of modernity and toward Willie James Jennings’s. On one hand, in Chapter […]

Jake MeadorHistoryBook Reviews

On Mr. Berry and Professor Jennings - Commonplaces

In his critique of my discussion of “whiteness” in the book, my friend Scott Pryor observes that it seems as if I’m shifting away from Wendell Berry’s critique of modernity and toward Willie James Jennings’s. On one hand, in Chapter […]