The story of America has been one of dynamic change and movement. Almost everyone who is here has ancestors who moved here within the past few generations. And plenty of people have moved some distance from where they were born. This kind of rootlessness seems a core part of the American story: if you need a change of fortunes, pack up and move somewhere else.

Yet in so doing one loses many things. Daniel Grothe would rather make the opposite case for people: there can be great value and power in staying and being rooted in a place, as he demonstrated in The Power of Place: Choosing Stability in a Rootless Age.

After a not-exactly-necessary humblebrag about how he was interviewed to become a major leader at a very large church, the author introduced the conundrum thus involved: the opportunity seemed great, but he and his family had established significant roots where they were and were enjoying a form of communal living on a ranch. He set forth the American story, but also its challenges, and what gets lost when one picks up and moves.

Throughout the author tries hard to maintain a recognition that some will be compelled to move: military families, for instance. Plenty of people are compelled by significant economic reasons to move elsewhere: it is one thing when there’s the nice hope of a promotion or something of the sort, but if all the jobs have left a given area, people do generally have to go. Ironically the one group that often moves which is not addressed very much is the one of which the author is a part: church leadership. Rarely does the preacher/pastor get to enjoy the benefits and luxury of staying in place which the other members of the congregation can enjoy.

The author made appeals to the wisdom of other authors and authorities: Wendell Berry, Jimmy Carter, the author’s grandmother Louise "Weezy" Wilson, and others, questioning the value of constantly moving or always seeking better pastures, and to appreciate the wisdom and value of appreciating a given place, getting to know it as one is known.

The author’s final section involves the practices one needs to enjoy stability in a given place: to have stability in the home, family, friendship, church, and community, and to live in these contexts in dignity and honor if one will enjoy the fruit which can attend to them.

The subject is important and the author is engaging; the book is written for a very broad, non-specialist audience, and especially for those who would profess Jesus.

There is great power in place; where I am in Los Angeles would seem to be the antithesis to this, but it is in what LA often lacks which one can discern the power of place. When everyone is uprooted, people start looking for community and connection, but it often proves transactional and volatile. Those outside want to think the big issue here is immorality; it’s certainly there, but no more or less than anywhere else. The real challenge in Los Angeles is loneliness and isolation, and all the more so because odds are you have come from somewhere else, and statistically you’re quite likely to move on as well.

Yes, we do well to honor the importance of place and encourage people to develop and cultivate roots in a given place: a geographic community, in a church, in their families, etc. But we also need to recognize such is a gift which not everyone is able to enjoy, and, unfortunately, it is not a very appealing gift for the many for whom family, church, community, etc. were traumatic and places of pain. In the end, it is not good to be alone, and it is not good to always be on the move. We need to well root ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ and His people and find ways to honor the place(s) in which we find ourselves.

A great Biblically-based discussion on how we are meant to be grounded in place, focused on our family, friends and church family, not focused on continuously moving to the"greatest" thing. The author does a great job bringing in the reader and building his case from start to end. Some of the anecdotes used seem a bit tangential at times, but they all have a purpose, and this purpose is meet eventually. Read this!

I enjoyed this book because of it's writing style, unique topic, and the fact that it really provided a thought-provoking experience. Recommended for readers who want to read slowly so as to take time to process.

I really appreciated this read, especially at this time in my life--when I've finally started taking steps to put down more long-term roots of my own (after #apartmentlife since college) ... and the pandemic, heh. Grothe has a very approachable, down-to-earth writing style and challenged me in multiple ways on how I can deepen said roots in my faith and in my community, as I continue to wait on housing markets and other doors to open.

The introduction to authors I'm familiar with in name only was particularly appreciated--such as Wendell Berry and Thomas Merton. Annie Dillard also makes an appearance here (in full disclosure, as I know folks who love her and others who aren't the biggest fans!). I haven't read anything by her so can't speak to that; Grothe's own take was insightful, if a bit fanboyish at times. :) (I've done my fair share of that with other authors, haha.)

It was interesting to note he pastors at the same church as Rich Villodas, whose book "The Deeply Formed Life" I read earlier this year (with mixed feelings, due to an overly heavy hand, in my humble opinion, on social justice and CRT). I was thankful that didn't really come into play here.

A book I'd happily reread, and frankly, I found the idea of living on acreage with loved ones incredibly inspiring! What a cool idea.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.