St. James Speakers Series: Author David Zahl

On December 6, 2022, the St. James Speaker Series hosted Author David Zahl as he presented "How Realistic Expectations Lead to Grace for Others—and Ourselves " on December 6th, 2022 at St. James Parish.

David Zahl is founder and director of Mockingbird Ministries, which receives more than 1 million website pageviews per year and has 35,000 newsletter subscribers and social media followers. He is editor-in-chief of the Mockingbird blog and cohost of the Mockingcast podcast. Zahl wrote the critically acclaimed book Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What to Do About It and has written for Christianity Today, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. He lives with his wife and three boys in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he also serves on the staff of Christ Episcopal Church.

In his talk on "How Realistic Expectations Lead to Grace for Others—and Ourselves," Zhal encourages us to examine our expectations. Many of us spend our days feeling like we’re the only one with problems, while everyone else has their act together. But the sooner we realize that everyone struggles like we do, the sooner we can show grace to ourselves and others.

In Low Anthropology, popular author and pastor David Zahl explores how our ideas about human nature influence our expectations in friendship, work, marriage, and politics. We all go through life with an “anthropology”—an idea about what humans are like, our potential and our limitations. A high anthropology—thinking optimistically about human nature—can breed perfectionism, anxiety, burnout, loneliness, and resentment. Meanwhile, Zahl invites readers into a biblically rooted and life-giving low anthropology, which fosters hope, deep connection with others, lasting love, vulnerability, compassion, and happiness.

Zahl offers a liberating view of human nature, sin, and grace, showing why the good news of Christianity is both urgent and appealing. By embracing a more accurate view of human beings, readers will discover a lasting hope for others—and themselves.