Visiting Israel was not on our travel wish list. But then we walked the Camino Frances (Fall of 2019), and we met Brian and Peri Zahnd on a rainy evening in a tiny outdoor cafe in Puenta la Reina, Spain. It was their second time on the Camino, so they shared advice about great places to stay.
We soon learned that Peri and Brian were pastors of their own non-denominational church in St. Joseph, Missouri, and that Brian was a widely known Christian theologian having published several books. As we walked the beautiful landscape of northern Spain, Evan enjoyed chatting with Brian, and exploring some of the questions that trouble modern Christians. Evan was always impressed with Brian’s intellectual integrity and thoughtful approach. He’s not your typical pastor, not an evangelical fundamentalist, but he is absolutely committed to a Jesus-based Christianity.
When we learned that Brian & Peri have led tours of “The Holy Land” each spring for several years, Sara and I thought that a pilgrimage through Israel, in the company of people we really liked and admired, would be a great addition to our travel plans. But the 2020 tour was already full, and no tour could be planned for 2021 due to Covid.
While we spent our Covid hiatus in New Jersey, we stayed in touch with Peri and Brian through email. Evan enjoyed engaging Brian in online discussions, and he read a few of Brian’s books. Brian offered Evan a chapter from an upcoming book that also sparked further discussion.
To date, I’ve read four of Brian’s books: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, Water into Wine, Postcards from Babylon, and When Everything’s on Fire. My favorite is Postcards from Babylon, a book which has encouraged thoughtful debate about the role of Christians in our modern, secular culture. Postcards from Babylon also provides both the title and the focus for a provocative film that features Brian and other Christian leaders examining “Christian Nationalism” in America today. I wholeheartedly recommend Brian’s books and this film.
If you’d like to learn more about Brian Zahnd, you can easily find lots of material online. Here’s the cover of Brian’s book, my favorite: Postcards from Babylon: The Church in American Exile, and the image poster from the film of the same name, which is also available online.
Click Here for an interesting video that would let you hear Brian and get a sense of his theology. Online you can find plenty of material to explore about Brian and his “Word of Life Church” in St. Joe, Missouri.
As Sara and I began our travels anew in August of 2021, we made sure to be on the list for one of Brian & Peri’s tours: they planned two for 2022 to make up for the year lost to Covid. So this March we toured “The Holy Land” with Brian & Peri, and we’re so glad we did. It was great to re-connect with Brian & Peri, and we loved our pilgrimage to Israel.
Our Holy Land Pilgrimage: We had a single bus with 42 pilgrims plus Mona, our Israeli tour guide, Brian and Peri. We saw some amazing places, and all were enhanced by the historical background provided by Mona and by Brian’s inspirational talks, or “devotions,” at each site.
While most pilgrims on the bus were American Christians, they came from all over the country (Texas, Minnesota, New York, California, Missouri) and beyond (Scandinavia, Canada, and the United Kingdom). Many were already fans of Brian’s work but had never met him or been to his church. To many, Brian is a kind of rock-star, a brilliant and admired Christian leader. Some were amazed that we knew Brian and Peri personally and had hiked with them.
While Brian did the preaching and Mona provided the history, Peri made sure all the arrangements were made, and she connected personally with every pilgrim on the bus. Peri’s personal connections and thoughtful support were just as important as Brian’s truly inspiring “devotions” (talks, sermons) at each of our tour stops. This first experience hearing Brian preach in person certainly did not disappoint; he is inspiring, thoughtful, very well-informed and often appropriately provocative.
We’ve devoted separate posts to the details of the tour, so I’ll close this with one more great THANK YOU to Peri and Brian for their wisdom, inspiration, support and friendship. This was not just another tour. It truly was an inspiring spiritual pilgrimage through historic Israel, greatly enhanced by Brian’s devotions, Peri’s welcoming and support, and a community of thoughtful, open-minded seekers.
