Rod Dreher’s writings were a breath of fresh air when I first encountered them. I saw something of my family life in his “crunchy cons.” We homeschool. We don’t have cable. We eat organic food. We pray together. I pastor a small but growing congregation that is already something of a world within a world. We do traditional liturgy and have a community garden in the heart of the most popular tourist destination on earth. We specialize in things the world doesn’t do, and it brings us and others joy. I have eagerly awaited The Benedict Option, which is an encouragement for Christians to differentiate from the culture and prepare for spiritual exile. Is Dreher right, or is he just telling people like me what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear?

Read it all here.