12 min read ⭑

Alastair Sternes is a pastor and author with a background as a creative director over branding and identity. Previously, he partnered with Redeemer City to City to launch St. Peter’s Fireside, a creative liturgical church in the post-Christian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Since then, he’s gone on to become the associate pastor of Coastline Church in Victoria and has written several books, including “Rhythms for Life: Spiritual Practices for Who God Made You to Be” and “Longing for Joy: An Invitation into the Goodness and Beauty of Life.”

Come and be encouraged as we chat with Alastair about the delights of Southern BBQ, his prolonged battle with severe depression and his journey in learning to cultivate joy. Keep reading to also discover how he engages with God in the creative process plus the books that have helped him hone his writing skills and better understand his melancholic tendencies.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?

Almost two years ago, my family moved to Victoria, British Columbia — which is home for me but new for my wife and daughters. We’re in that season of life with children where many of our meals are ad hoc and hurried. But in these rushed moments, I’ve found an invitation to slow down through what I can only describe as grace in the form of food.

Well over a decade ago, I moved to Florida. There, for the first time in my life, I encountered what felt like manna from heaven. When new work friends invited me out for lunch and suggested BBQ, I was confused. Where I come from in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, BBQ typically means grilling salmon in your backyard. That first taste of slow-smoked meat with a slop of baked beans and collards opened up a world of pure joy for me.

Now, in our new home in Victoria, I finally have space for my own smoker. It has become my weekly ritual. You’ll find me outside — rain, snow or shine — tending the smoker like a sacred flame — loading it with pork shoulders, brisket, prawns, jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon, and whole chickens. (But not all at once, we have some restraint!) There’s something deeply satisfying about this return to slow food in our fast-food world.

My wife, Julia, has embraced this tradition too, perfecting her cornbread and other classic sides. To our great joy, our daughters will actually eat pulled pork or smoked chicken (most of the time). These unhurried family meals have become our way of creating home in a new place. The process of smoking meat can’t be rushed — it demands attention, care and time. Like life itself, building flavor happens slowly, with love and patience.

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity (or activities) do you love engaging in, which also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?

Our family has an endlessly energetic Goldendoodle named Baxter. He’s 3 and undeniably my wife’s dog. When Julia’s home, he’s her shadow, following from room to room like she might disappear if he blinks. When I work from home, well, it’s a different story. I’ll invite him to come sit in the office with me — he curls up on the couch in the living room. I’ll grab my laptop and sit beside him on the couch — he retreats to our bedroom. Message received, Baxter.

But once or twice a day, Julia and I take him on a walk around our neighborhood. We have a few different routes that wind alongside evergreens and cars, often ending up near the ocean. There, we let him off-leash, and he runs with such fervor you’d think we might never see him again. And something happens in these moments: each step helps me get outside my busy mind. We hold hands, graze shoulders and talk and talk and talk — while Baxter pulls us forward with his eagerness to enjoy the freedom of the outdoors. Between the rhythm of our feet and the excitement of our somewhat-loyal companion, I find my way back to myself, Julia and the whispers of God within the noise of life.

If that fails, getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing our wood floors clean always does the trick — something tangible with immediate observable results helps me come to peace with the intangible work I do as a pastor that often comes with hidden results.

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness. Every human too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you hide it?

I love the movie “I Heart Huckabees.” I must admit I would most likely hang out with Catherine, who represents Nihilism. A big part of me is relieved that Ecclesiastes is in the Bible. Throughout my life, I’ve struggled with my sense of purpose. It comes more easily for me to repeat the refrain, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” than to rejoice always.

My existential streak (and angst) once led to a prolonged season of depression. I still showed up to pastor my church, wrote sermons and had coffee with people — but with an unshakable sense that nothing really matters. Then came the day in my doctor’s office when her Irish accent somehow made the diagnosis of “severe depression” land more gently. Although I was miffed by the choice of adjective (severe, not mild?), it felt like a relief. It was like receiving the gift of tongues, a new language. I now had words to explain why I felt mostly numb and struggled to hold onto meaning. 

I’ve gone through a long journey of facing my depression head-on. I’m not sure I like the word “healing” for my experience; it’s more like recovery. I’ve learned how to embrace this part of myself as an opportunity rather than an issue. The shadow side of my experience doesn’t have to be an isolated one. Like Eeyore with his friends, I’m invited along as I am and welcomed. And I’m grateful for the ways opening up about my story has helped others open up about their own. 

And yes, I sometimes cope with angsty feelings by eating candy or drinking Coke Zero — in fact, I’m eating some Halloween candy I stole from my kids right now. One of my favorite treats is a deconstructed peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that is, peanut butter and jelly on a spoon (don’t draw away — don’t do it; lean in!). While my wife has strong opinions about this habit, I can point to studies that have shown how peanut butter helps with symptoms of depression. My body knows what it needs!

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?

My new book, “Longing for Joy: An Invitation into the Goodness and Beauty of Life,” just released. This one has been a long journey. Over a decade ago, when I was diagnosed with severe depression, I was forced to face my joylessness. When I started to pay attention to my joylessness, two things happened: my longing for joy was rekindled, and joy started showing up on occasion as well. As I learned to welcome the full spectrum of emotions — not just the “positive” ones — my life started to change. I also started to embrace habits that cultivate joy, and in due time, began to become a more joyful person. I’ve spent the past decade researching and cultivating joy, including earning a doctorate on how to cultivate joy.

I wrote this book as an Ebenezer of sorts, a monument of makeshift stones to memorialize the lessons I’ve learned through my journey. I want to help people understand that our longing for joy is not a problem to be solved but is instead a kind of blessedness akin to the Beatitude that declares our hunger and thirst for righteousness is indeed blessed. I also wrote it in hopes that people can discover that the Triune God is joyful — the Father delights in the Son and the Son rejoices in the joy of the Spirit. I want to see myself and others live on the threshold of joy as an ever-present possibility.

Joy is sneaky. She hides around the corner, waiting with bated breath to jump out and surprise us. She pulls us back into the deep goodness and beauty of life. This isn’t a book about forcing smiles or pretending all is well when it isn’t. It’s about discovering how joy shows up in unexpected places — even in our darkness, even in our waiting. Because at the center of it all, in this beautiful and terrifying universe, is a heartbeat of joy. We’re only ever searching for a gift already given.

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?

I recently saw an interview with Chris Martin (the singer of Coldplay) talking about how sometimes songs drop from the sky (or ether) to him, and he doesn’t know where they come from. They just come. And I feel like this really gets to the heart of the creative process for me. I grew up playing music and writing songs. Then, in my 20s, I became a creative director with a focus on identity and branding. I’ve always had a creative bent. But there’s always been a mystery to it.

On the one hand, I know that good and beautiful things take time and effort. You keep at it. You stay with the discipline. And if you haven’t come to the point where you think it’s terrible, you probably haven’t put in the right effort yet. But it’s usually around that point that I know I’m about to be onto something. And for me, I’m praying along the way. I’m trying to pay attention. I grab inspiration from every little ordinary thing. I notice how a hidden thread might be weaving it together somehow. But when I get stuck, I usually go for a walk or a run — and it’s in those moments when the ideas finally click or a new direction emerges ... and the magic sort of happens.

The epilogue of my new book is a prime example of this. I had written a few different versions, and none of them felt right. The pressure was intense, mostly self-imposed, but the deadline was looming too. I wanted to get it just right. I wanted to write the most joyful, mind-blowing, surprising, satisfying ending for my passionate project — and it just wasn’t working. While Julia and I went on a walk with Baxter, I was bemoaning this to her, and she said, “Why don’t you just write about how you can’t get the right ending?” I told her I felt like that would be the most anticlimactic ending ever ... and yet, it turned out to be the perfect ending for the book — and I felt like the face of God smirked at me.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you right now?

At the end of the day, it’s the most basic and foundational practice that sustains and nourishes me: spending time with God. Most mornings, I settle into my favorite nook with a single-origin coffee. I crack open my Bible, uncap my pen and turn to a fresh page in my Midori journal. Sometimes I write out a prayer to begin. Sometimes I just sit still and try to be present. When I turn to Scripture, I usually begin with the Psalms. Then I meander through Proverbs before my readings in the Old and New Testament.

But this time isn’t really about getting through a Bible reading plan (I don’t actually have one). I pattern my readings based on my desire: I want to pray (the Psalms), seek wisdom (Proverbs) and grow in my knowledge of God’s story. As I read, I’m trying to listen — not just to the text but to the stirrings of God’s presence too. What is God saying? What’s actually going on in my heart? Sometimes the answers come clearly; other times, they’re as subtle as the steam rising from my coffee cup. But either way, this daily practice of showing up, of making space, of waiting in hope — it’s oxygen.

Can I add one more? I have come to deeply appreciate my monthly meeting with my spiritual director. The habit of sitting with someone who tends to the presence of God with me is such a gift. She often sees the Spirit’s movement in my life because she has a different vantage point and I’m in the thick of it.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed the game and changed your heart? What radically altered your life? What changed your reality?

“Spiritual Depression” by Martin Lloyd-Jones found me during my prolonged season of depression, and it became an unexpected lifeline. While this collection of sermons by the Welsh pastor isn’t a diagnosis or remedy for the physiological aspects of depression, it helped me diagnose and remedy the malaise of my soul. I am also thankful for Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. Their “Sanctuary Course” does vital work advocating for meaningful dialogue between faith and mental health in the church — something I wish had existed when I first faced my own struggles.

Regarding my life as a writer, two books fundamentally changed my approach to both writing and living. A close friend recommended “Crossing to Safety” by Wallace Stegner, and I was captivated by his masterful exploration of friendship through simple, profound prose. The book didn’t just improve my writing — it inspired me to press into the beautiful mess of true friendship.

“On Writing Well” by William Zinsser taught me about the power of crafting simple sentences. It’s not just about writing — it’s about seeing clearly. When you strip away unnecessary words, you find truth waiting there.

We all have things we cling to to survive (or even thrive) in tough times — times like these! Name one resource you’re savoring and/or finding indispensable in this current season, and tell us what it’s doing for you.

Julia and I have been working our way through a beautiful collection of meditations called “Same Old, Same New: The Consolation of the Ordinary” by our friend Mike Mason. Each reflection is one to two pages max. They’re short, to the point and profound. Mike is such a gifted writer and contemplative. He helps us see the gift and beauty of the humdrum of the ordinary — and most days, as is the Lord’s custom, what we read has a way of being exactly what we need.

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?

So far, when I write a book, it comes out of something that got lodged in my heart. The story of the apostle Peter at two fireside scenes in the Gospels has captured my attention for a long time now. The pain of three denials; the provocation of three questions, “Do you love me?”; the smell of charcoal — all the details are so evocative and stirring. I think most of us, if not all of us, can find ourselves in Peter’s story: being called by Jesus and failing miserably, only to receive the surprising gift of grace.

I’ve started to think through how I would tackle this story in a semi-fictionalized way. I want to tell it in a way that is less didactic and more like the twisting, circling journey it’s meant to be. While my next book is still in its infancy, this time around, I’m planning to share drafts of my next book on my Substack, “Ordinary Matters.” I’m excited about getting reader feedback throughout the initial writing process and not just in the editing phase.

How do we find joy? Is it something we have to reach out and grasp? Or should we sit and wait quietly for it? How do we even define it? 

The world can confuse us with the way it depicts joy and tells us how to get it. But the Bible tells us something unique: that joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), that we can find it in God’s presence (Ps. 16:11) and that although weeping may linger through the night, joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:5).

We don’t have to let the world dictate our perspective and experience of joy. This week, why not dig deeper into God’s Word and explore his holy invitation to the kind of peace and delight that no one can take away from us?

Alastair Sterne (D.I.S., Fuller Theological Seminary) is a creative director turned pastor. He serves as the associate pastor at Coastline Church in Victoria, British Columbia. He previously partnered with Redeemer City to City and founded St. Peter’s Fireside, a creative liturgical church in Vancouver. He is the author of Rhythms for Life: Spiritual Practices for Who God Made You to Be and Longing for Joy: An Invitation into the Goodness and Beauty of Life. Alastair and his wife, Julia, write and podcast together at ordinarymatters.org and collect joy with their daughters.

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