Let's Start Over

Why I'm rebooting my newsletter with a new name.

Dear friends,

I started this letter while gazing out a window on the 14^th floor of the Hyatt in St. Louis during the Cooperative Baptist General Assembly (CBF). The Mississippi river with its bridges and green banks provided a meditative view. I needed that moment of quiet reflection. Over the past several months, as I’ve leaned into digital minimalism and stewarding my creativity well, I’ve been discerning how to best use social media platforms and share my writing, as well as determine what to write.

View from my room in St. Louis.

I originally intended this Substack to be a newsletter. I moved my email list here from Mailchimp for efficiency. But then lost sight of the original intent, turning it into a blog. But I’m restoring a newsletter approach.

Since I have closed the Redwood Center for Spiritual Care and Education, I’m changing the name of my newsletter from “Redwood Faith” to “Keen Letters.” The new name reminds me I’m writing letters and not blog posts. I’ll continue to share what I’m doing ministry-wise and provide round-up posts that feature links to my writing elsewhere, including my website blog.

God willing, I’ll do a monthly letter, as well as a monthly round-up. Two posts a month. But y’all give me grace, okay?

In Keen Letters, I’m aiming for a style similar to Jeff Chu, who also writes about what he is doing in daily life, while offering spiritual food for thought. But my letters will probably center themes like:

• spiritual memoir and biography

• bookstores and libraries

• historical archives related to the American church

• analogue living (digital minimalism) and community connection

• life as an introvert

• nature and novice attempts at gardening

These are not random interests; they reflect my desire to live well in these times and help others do the same. Take spiritual memoir, for example. Stories have power to shape our imagination and give us hope. I grew up on missionary biographies that profoundly inspired me to give my life to service. I aspired to the courage and selflessness of Amy Carmichael, who spent her life caring for orphans in India.

Or consider bookstores and libraries in an age where deep reading is declining. Education is the foundation of civilization.

Or how might practicing digital minimalism help us rebuild meaningful community? We scroll for hours but don’t have time for deep interpersonal connection anymore.

Or to put it another way, learning to grow food will empower me to help a neighbor in times of need.

To be clear, I’m not planning to write blog style posts on these things. Instead, I want to find ways to live them and then share my experiences.

Thank you for your patience as I’ve been figuring out how to best use this Substack newsletter. If my plans for this space are different from what you expected or wanted, it’s okay to unsubscribe. For the rest of you, pull up a chair and let’s talk.

What I’m Up to These Days

This past week I attended the Cooperative Baptist General Assembly for the second year in a row. I grew up Baptist, but spent several years exploring other denominations (Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican), which opened my eyes to the richness of various Christian traditions. My spiritual journey is a story for another day, but circumstances have led me to the world of Cooperative Baptists for the time being, and I’m grateful.

Mentoring is one of my great joys these days. Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity of mentoring other women who are pursuing biblical studies. The field is still male-dominated, and so I love encouraging other female Bible nerds like me. One was a PhD student and another was a seminarian. Both women inspired me with their love for God and desire to make a difference in the Church. I’ve also had the opportunity of mentoring young leaders in small cohorts through a program I co-founded called Bakos Project. Let me tell you, spending time with these amazing young adults gives me hope for the future!

Book projects have kept me busy. I co-edited an anthology that’s complete and coming out this August. It will be a great resource for church leaders. Also this summer, I’m working on revisions for a manuscript due in September. And I already have my sights on a new book. I’m particularly excited about a new direction I’m taking with writing in the near future. My book projects over the last several years required wading through tons of dense scholarship on the Bible and exegetical matters. I love making biblical scholarship accessible, but I want to mix in some “fun” writing as well. For me, that means a biographical project that takes me into evangelical history. I can’t say too much about it now, but the book will center one of those amazing women that too often gets left out of the historical record.

I think that’s enough news for now. What’s happening in your world?

Much love,

Karen

Karen R. Keen, ThM

PS: I just had to share this picture of Tiger Lillies in my backyard. We took bulbs from my in-laws’ house a few years back, and every spring I’m so astonished that something I planted in the ground is growing and thriving. Aren’t they beautiful? They are a reminder of my mother-in-law Betty, who I never got to meet this side of heaven.

Photo credit: My spouse, Sally Gary