Welcome to Tony’s Field Notes
For a long time I blogged. Some of you remember that. It was called Theoblogy. A lot of people read it, and I became notorious for writing spicy, controversial posts. Then I’d turn up the temperature by jumping into the comment section and arguing with my readers. It was a heady time, and it turned me into a B-List Christian celebrity. But it was a dirty way to make a few bucks.
This is most definitely not that. Tony’s Field Notes will not be about politics or the church, not about pastor scandals or books I hate. Instead, this space will host essays on life, philosophy, my travels, the outdoors, theology. It will be positive and productive, a place for my writing to live and breathe.
I’ll publish a new essay every Thursday. The essay on the first Thursday of the month will be free and public, and subsequent weeks will be available to paid subscribers. Irregularly, I’ll also post on Mondays, especially when I’m traveling — I hope this will be a more humane way to stay in touch with readers than the frenetic dopamine hits of social media.
The older I get, the more I think that my writing is the most important thing I do — it’s what I have to contribute to the world, my little stab at immortality. I love to write. That’s reason enough for this to exist, I hope.
What can you expect?
Essays. In college, I read the Complete Essays of John Montaigne. I loved the freedom of the form, the way that he picked a topic — “On friendship,” “On one of Caesar’s sayings,” “On prayer” — and then delved into his soul and wrote whatever he wanted, and for whatever length the topic merited. I’ll be writing in that vein.
My main area of interest these days is the spirituality of the outdoors. That’s the subject of my next book, and I expect it’s what I’ll be writing about here as well. But also, I’ll probably write about theology (duh), parenting, culture, food, film, books, whiskey, philosophy, the church, dogs, and more.
Plus, you’ll usually get the added gift of a photo by Courtney.
Why subscribe?
If you subscribe, you’ll get the weekly newsletter and access to the website. If you become a paid subscriber, you’ll get to read every essay and comment on them if you choose — and you will support my writing. If you choose to join as a founding member, you’ll also get a personally signed copy of my next book, The God of Wild Places.
Who’s Tony?
Let’s do this bio section in bullet form:
I’m an outdoorsman: hunting, fishing, hiking, and paddling are my passions; I guide canoe trips in the BWCA and hunt a lot.
I’m a writer: I’ve published a dozen books and scores of articles.
I’m an academic: I have an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. I teach (very part-time) at the graduate level.
I’m a former pastor: I thought I’d be a pastor for my whole life, but it didn’t work out that way.
I’m a spouse and parent.
I’m a bunch of other stuff: small business owner, dog trainer, TV consultant, public speaker, writing teacher, kettlebell swinger, tree farmer, amateur lumberjack, butcher, cook, and baker.
Why Substack?
I’ve preached sermons, given lectures, led discussions, podcasted, produced videos, blogged, tweeted, and reeled — about the only thing I haven’t done yet is paint and write a song. Each of these media has pros and cons. I’ve had people ask me to start a Patreon, and I’ve got friends who successfully use that platform. But while I’ll continue to podcast, post on social media, and speak when invited, the older I get the more I’m drawn to writing as my medium-of-choice. I hope to keep writing books for years to come. Those are long-form. My short-form writing has mostly been freelance for newspapers and magazines. It seems to me that Substack is ideal for more of that short-form writing. It’s clean, ad-free, and comes right to your in-box.
Stay up-to-date
You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.
So, just to recap
A new essay every Thursday
The first Thursday of the month, free and public
Subsequent weeks, paid subscribers only
Occasional Monday posts on my travels
You can support my writing
We can stay in touch
