L’Abri Fellowship - Southborough

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Emily Fellows

We live in a culture that is both efficiency-driven and entertainment-driven. On the one hand, reading fiction can be seen as a waste of time with no quantitative benefits; on the other hand, reading fiction can become just another way to indulge our emotions and get a dopamine fix. It is with this milieu in mind that we ask the question, is there any value in escape through fiction?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Esther Dalton

"How many times have I been told...by well-meaning people, that it is my destiny and my charge to go out into the world and do great things for God?" So begins a liturgy called "For Those Who Have Not Done Great Things for God." What is the measure of greatness in the Christian life? Who's counting? This lecture will examine an obscure vision in the Old Testament prophets that encourages us to be recalibrated by the way God sees and measures as we build our lives.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Sarah Chestnut

In this lecture we will ask, what is envy, what does envy do, and most importantly, what can we do with the envy we feel so that it does not lead to sin? Exploring the Biblical narrative, and drawing on the wisdom of Mr. Rogers and the Desert Fathers, we will seek to disarm the shame that keeps envy hidden and, by its hiddenness, poisonous.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Ben Keyes

Artificial intelligence is in the news every day in part because it is such a controversial topic. As usual, the loudest voices are at the extremes: "AI is going to usher humanity into a beautiful new era of human history!" or "AI is going to kill us all!" In this lecture, we will limit our reflections to the role that generative AI is playing in the creative arts. Is the use of AI by artists a good thing, something that will aid and enhance human creativity? Or is it in danger of replacing one of the building blocks of our humanness: our creativity?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Joshua Chestnut

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2026

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Eric Johns

Empathy is on the decline. Some, even in Evangelical circles, are calling it "toxic" or actually a "sin." This lecture is a chance to reclaim the goodness of true empathy and to consider the slow reading of fiction as a means to cultivate Christ-like empathy for others.

Eric Johns is a longtime friend of L'Abri and serves as the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2025

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Matt Dickerson, guest lecturer

Lament is woven into the story of God's people from the Psalms and prophets to the teaching of Jesus. It is also an important element of the fabric of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. Indeed, through his major works including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, Tolkien connects lament to wisdom and shows that lament is both rooted in hope and leads to action.

Matthew Dickerson is the author of numerous books, book chapters, and essays on the writings of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, including most recently Aslan's Breath: Seeing the Holy Spirit in Narnia. He has also written about Biblical lament in his recent book Birds in the Sky, Fish in the Sea: Attending to creation with Delight and Wonder.

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2025

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Esther Dalton

The Bible has a lot to say about sin, but sometimes a word can get so familiar we forget what it really means. Additionally, our culture is reluctant to entertain the idea of sin at all, causing the word to slip from our vocabularies. what is sin? And how does having a robust understanding of this important theological word actually help us tell the truth about ourselves and the world we live in?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2025

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Sarah Chestnut

Over the centuries, poets have sung praises to athletic victories, Grecian urns, and the "wild West Wind" of Autumn, and odes praising the ordinary--socks, tomatoes, drinking water from cupped hands--raise an exultant voice in contemporary poetry. The command to "praise the Lord!" is a defining feature of the Psalms, and one catechism states that to "glorify God and enjoy him forever" is the "chief end" of human life. What does it mean to praise? What does praise do? How might a richer understanding of praising inspire and equip us for the hard work of being human?

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2025

A lecture given at L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://southboroughlabri.org/

by Joshua Chestnut and Esther Dalton

The second lecture portion of the Southborough L'Abri Fall 2025 Theme Weekend: "The Glory and Challenge of Ordinary Humanness."

Part 1: Lovely, Finite, Connected: Adjectives for Being Human

Part 2: Need, Receive, Follow: Verbs for Being Human

Concluding Discussion

The Copyright for all material on the podcast is held by L'Abri Fellowship. We ask that you respect this by not publishing the material in full or in part in any format or post it on a website without seeking prior permission from L'Abri Fellowship. ©Southborough L'Abri 2025