At the Crossroads: A Pastoral Letter for a People in Tension
There are moments when I do not feel like a commentator.
I feel like Isaiah must have felt.
Not outside the people. Inside them. Grieved.
If I am honest, there are times I feel corporate shame.
Not abstract shame.
Tribal shame.
And instead of rushing to defend us,
I feel compelled to open the Scriptures and let them read us.
So let’s walk together.
Not to win.
Not to accuse.
But to do theology — as a verb.
Like my first professor at Prairie.edu told us.
And like Malcolm Hunter has often said of nomads:
“The journey is more important than the destination.”
Think about it. If the flock reaches the summer pastures but loses half the herd on the way, what have we gained?
So slow down.
Open your Bible.
And walk.
1️⃣ The Wound We Dress Too Quickly
Read: Jeremiah 6:14–17
Don’t skim it.
Read it slowly. (Go ahead. I’ll wait.)
Ask yourself:
What kind of wound is being described?
Who is saying “Peace”?
Why does the prophet call the people to “stand at the crossroads”?
What are the “ancient paths”?
What does it mean that they said, “We will not walk in it”?
Now ask a harder question:
Where might we be saying “Peace” too quickly?
Where are we tempted to minimize fractures because admitting them would cost us?
Don’t answer too fast.
Sit with it.
2️⃣ The Dangerous Word: “We”
Now turn to: Daniel 9:4–19
Notice something?
Daniel confesses sins he did not personally commit.
Count the “we” language.
Why does he do that?
Is this unfair?
Is this collectivist?
Is this covenantal?
In your own community — church, tribe, movement —
do you ever use the word “we” in confession?
Or only “they”?
In nomadic societies, identity is shared.
Honor is shared.
Shame is shared.
What would it look like to reclaim that biblical “we”
without collapsing into despair?
3️⃣ The Servant Who Carries the Many
Now read: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
Read it aloud if you can.
Pay attention to the plural pronouns.
“Our”
“We”
“Us”
Ask:
Who is speaking?
Who is the “we”?
What exactly has the Servant carried?
Is this private guilt — or corporate wandering?
Notice especially 53:6:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray…”
Sheep?
A flock image. Not isolated individuals.
Collective drift.
And yet the solution is not tribal collapse.
It is bearing.
Now pause and consider:
If the Servant carries our collective failures, what does that free us to do?
Defend ourselves?
Or repent honestly?
4️⃣ A NOMAD Way of Reading
Let’s do this as NOMADs.
In a pastoralist world, you do not measure success by arrival alone.
You measure it by:
Did the herd survive?
Did the weak make it?
Did we guard the vulnerable at the river crossings?
Did we avoid unnecessary conflict?
Now ask yourself:
If our generation “wins” cultural battles but loses humility, loses credibility, loses tenderness toward the wounded, have we arrived —
or have we arrived empty?
The journey matters.
The condition of the flock matters.
5️⃣ The Crossroads Question
Return again to Jeremiah 6:16:
“Stand at the crossroads and look…”
Crossroads require stillness.
My nomad friends taught me this.
You do not rush blindly into unknown terrain.
You assess.
You ask.
You remember former paths.
Here are some questions for conversation — not quick answers:
Where have we defended image more than truth?
Where have we exposed the failures of others while excusing our own?
Where have we confused political loyalty with covenant faithfulness?
What would repentance look like that is visible, not performative?
Talk about this with someone.
Don’t just nod privately.
Theology is something you do.
6️⃣ Hope Without Denial
Isaiah does not end in accusation. He ends in hope. The Servant is vindicated.
Restoration is possible.
But it comes through:
Truth telling.
Bearing.
Humility.
Renewal.
Not through tribal triumph.
If we sense grief over our own community, that grief may be a gift. It means the conscience is not dead.
It means we still care.
And if we care, we can change. Not by abandoning our people.
But by embodying the ancient path within them.
Final Invitation
This is not a post about “them.” It is about us.
Before you close this page: Choose one of the passages again.
Read it slowly.
Ask:
What is the Spirit exposing in me?
In us?
And then ask:
What small act of integrity can I embody this week
that reflects the ancient path?
The journey matters.
The herd matters.
The Shepherd has already borne the heaviest weight.
We are free to walk honestly now.
Stand at the crossroads.
Look.
And walk.
Then share some of your thoughts with us in the comments. We really like hearing from you.