Ben Norquist and I had the release of our book Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination on June 16, 2026. Order the book here. Download a sample chapter here.
Reviews:
–Robert D. Cornwall September 16, 2026 in Word & Way:
In writing Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination, Norquist and Miller approach their subject, which has strong theological components, not as academic theologians but as social scientists. While this is true, they do good theology in this book, addressing important questions with implications for how North Americans see themselves in relationship to the original inhabitants who are still with us, as well as our foreign policy regarding Israel/Palestine (among other places such as South Africa). In doing so, they help us tell better stories of land and place so that we might embody land and place individually and collectively as Christians, recognizing where we’ve gone wrong and how we might move forward from those wrong turns to a better future. In other words, this is a book that has important implications for the way Christians live in an increasingly diverse and complex world.
–Daniel Jesse September 9, 2026 in Englewood Review of Books:
The book covers a great deal of ground—Scripture, theology, sociology, and American history—and occasionally I wanted it to stay longer with a particular place or community. Some questions are raised more fully than they are answered. Still, that feels consistent with what the authors are trying to do. This is not a handbook offering one practice that will work everywhere. It is an attempt to change the kinds of questions we bring to wherever we happen to be.
–Byron Borger in July 1, 2026 book notes:
From the broad frontier ideologies in the ninetieth century America to modern notions of ministry in unique places — suburbs, say, or rural cultures — this book brings in all kinds of insight, making it a thrill of a read, exciting and educational and informative. If you are a life-long learner, it’s like a Master Class and you will come away informed and enriched. More, though, from the very first places you know (think for a moment) this matters; it matters deeply. Norquist and Miller convey passion and even urgency knowing that people of faith must do better at bringing their deepest convictions to bear upon our culture making and place-keeping, stewarding our gifts of embodiment in space. In fact, one major chapter in assisting us to tell a better story about place offers “four themes for rereading Bible stories about land.”
–Englewood Review of Books “Ten Theology Books to Watch For – June 2026”
–Jeffrey Bilbro in Christianity Today June 16, 2026
Podcasts:
-“Rethinking How Christians Tell Stories About Land with Ben Norquist,” The Common Good Podcast, June 30, 2026.
-“Episode 435: Ben Norquist and Brian Miller,” Shifting Culture, June 16, 2026.
