Brunch Discussion with Dr. Benjamin Norquist

Ben Norquist will draw on themes from his forthcoming book Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination (2026) to invite listeners into a fresh Christian imagination for the physical places where we live, work, and worship.

He will explore how American Christians often live “everywhere and nowhere” at once—rootless, disconnected from neighbors, and inattentive to the land itself—and why recovering a biblical vision of place, land, and community is essential to discipleship.

Blending theology, history, and vivid examples from across the U.S. and the Holy Land, he will outline how our faith can reshape our understanding of space, property, and community, and offer practical pathways for “pilgrimage in place”—living more deeply, justly, and gratefully right where God has put us.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Ben Norquist Ben Norquist is a writer, researcher, and educator whose work explores the sacredness of place at the intersection of land, story, and faith. He is a director at Churches for Middle East Peace and serves on the executive leadership team of Church at the Crossroads. Ben’s doctoral research focused on higher education in active conflict zones, culminating in a qualitative case study of Palestinian universities in Bethlehem.

His writing often weaves together personal narrative, settler colonial critique, and theological reflection—most notably in his forthcoming book with InterVarsity Press, Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination (2026), which examines how American Christians imagine and inhabit the lands around them.

A graduate of St. John’s College and Azusa Pacific University, Ben has held appointments and leadership roles at Wheaton College and Bryan College. His essays and commentary have appeared in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, Religion News Service, Sojourners, Christians for Social Action, and Baptist News Global. He lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his wife and three children.