EARTHBOUND
CHRISTIAN
In an age held captive by AI, space capitalism, and unlimited everything, what if the flourishing life we are made for is not “out there” but “down here” on Earth? What if being limited, finite, earthy people is exactly what God wants us to be? What if we are created to be heaven-bound and earth-bound?
Flourishing within limits in the age of infinite growth.
In an age held captive by AI, space capitalism, and unlimited everything, what if the flourishing life we are made for is not “out there” but “down here” on Earth? What if being limited, finite, earthy people is exactly what God wants us to be? What if we are created to be heaven-bound and earth-bound?
This is a book about being human on Earth, the Christian faith, society’s fascination with technology, the worship of economic growth, the insights of indigenous peoples, and American values. It is a book about discovering what true progress is as we learn from gravity, stars, soil, and the wisdom of God in creation. The lives we are created for are meant to offer healing for God’s world, and in that place of renewal is a better future than we can imagine.
Amidst these turbulent times, Earthbound Christian is an honest and insightful exploration of what it means to follow Jesus as creatures of both heaven and earth. With warmth, wit, and theological depth, Haynes helps us see that flourishing doesn’t come from breaking free of our God-given limits but from embracing them as gifts woven into creation itself. This is a deeply authentic invitation to live grounded and human lives in an increasingly technology-driven era.
Ben Lowe
-Author and Executive Director, A Rocha USA
Unlimited, unrestrained, unleashed, unchained, unbound, and of course, free, are all best-selling words. There is an emotional tug to each of these terms upon our spirit. Somewhere deep within us, is something primal that wants to fly, to break free, defy gravity, and to know the experience of, at last, being untethered and unfettered from all our limitations and pain.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s part of “the heaven” inside of us. In other words, it’s the part of us, if we could name it, that is designed for eternity, that is reflective of the “Otherness” of God, who is also the One we are created in the image of…
But there is another part of us. An earthly part. A creaturely part. We are beings who live on the ground. At home on the earth. Earthlings. Humans from the humus. “Ha adam” from the “Adamah” as it says in the ancient Hebrew. We are people created from a scoop of soil in the hands of the Creator. We are, in our most basic form, “of earth.” In this earthiness we are finite, limited, and gravitationally bound. Yet, this earthbound life is not one reflective of some “fallen state of humanity,” but of the Creator’s design. Something within us craves this grounded life.
So, is it possible that we are both? Bound to heaven . . . and bound to earth?
Earthbound Christian is a book that will offer
- A theological framework for being a people who are intentionally created within a planetary ecosystem.
- Honest confessions about our finitude and failures as a people seeking to live well amidst a groaning creation, while finding a new path forward.
- A deeper understanding of how the Christian faith interacts with an infinite growth-based economy while moving toward maturity.
- Prayers to guide the reader through each movement.
- Specific learning points around AI, soil, plastics, coffee and constellations!
Caleb Cray Haynes is one of the most down-to-earth creation care leaders right now, and his book calling us earthbound is deeply needed. In a time when the temptations of consumerism and digital technology turns our gaze upward looking for more, The Earthbound Christian helps us remember the good news of the life of faith starts and ends in simplicity and soil.
Avery Davis Lamb
-Executive Director, Creation Justice Ministries
About the Author
Caleb Cray Haynes
Rev. Caleb Cray Haynes is a speaker, writer, and advocate on issues of environmental justice for the church at large. He is co-founder of Nazarenes for Creation Care, an organization designed to equip the church for engaging in the call to “serve and keep” creation, which he currently serves as Director. Caleb is an ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene and received a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy from Trevecca Nazarene University and studied Theology: Ecology (M.A.) from Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, UK. He is host of The ecoChristian Podcast…
EARTHBOUND CHRISTIAN is perfect for anyone who desires a closer walk with a Jesus – barefoot on a dirt path. Grounded in scripture, using science, indigenous wisdom, and personal experience, Haynes challenges the reader to review and renew the theologies we have inherited. This book reads like a conversation with the author. I laughed, rolled my eyes, and responded out loud. This book delighted and challenged me, and it will do the same to you.
Carol Devine
-Faith director of ecoAmerica’s Blessed Tomorrow program, and founder of Green Chalice.
