Welcome to episode sixty-eight of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to get to share with you today a second conversation with Dr. Myles Werntz. Myles is the Director of Baptist Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Abilene Christian University, where he directs the Baptist Studies Center in the Graduate School of Theology. He is the author and editor of several books in theology and ethics and writes broadly on the Christian ethics of war and peace, immigration, ecclesiology, and discipleship. We had a conversation a few months ago with is friend David Cramer about their co-authored book A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence. In this conversation Myles and I discuss his brand-new book, From Isolation to Community: A Renewed Vision for Christian Life Together – published by Baker Academic.
Like many others, the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer have been deeply influential. Bonhoeffer’s Letters, Ethics, and The Cost of Discipleship have been important formative works in my journey. However, perhaps the work that I have returned to repeatedly is his little tract Life Together. In his new book, Myles takes Bonhoeffer’s work and reflects on the theme of isolation as one of the key problems of our age. Profoundly, Myles reflects on how the church, even while meeting together lives into and exacerbates the problem of isolation. He even points to the ease with which most congregations were able to navigate the separation created by the pandemic as a sign of the way isolation has taken hold of our imaginations. Like Bonhoeffer himself, Myles goes beyond analysis and offers theological depth and describes the practices that might heal our isolation. It is a thoughtful book that resonated deeply with me, and I know you’ll find this conversation helpful as well.