This year, as several before, I joined other members of Salem Covenant Church in contributing to a devotional to be used by our congregation throughout the season of Lent and into Holy Week. This year’s theme (not just for the devotional, but for all of our ministries) is “An Adventurous Spirituality.” My contribution came up this morning — … More This Wonderful Day
Here… • I really can’t thank David King enough for taking the time to answer some big questions about World Vision! @cgehrz Why are your interviews of David King on World Vision not crossposted on the New York Times. Great Scoop! http://t.co/ul1Woy1LGA — Benjamin Brandenburg (@BenBrandenburg) April 4, 2014 • I especially appreciated how David explained … More That Was The Week That Was
Yesterday I posted the first part of my interview with historian David King, in which he discussed the origins of World Vision and its child sponsorship program. In today’s conclusion to that interview I asked David to talk about World Vision’s relationship to evangelicalism, and then the international character of World Vision, an aspect of the story … More The Conclusion of My Interview with David King on World Vision
Last week the U.S. chapter of the international Christian humanitarian organization World Vision made headlines: first when president Rich Stearns confirmed to Christianity Today last Monday that the organization would employ Christians in same-sex marriages, only to reverse the decision two days later, in the wake of torrents of criticism from conservatives, some of whom threatened to withdraw … More World Vision and Evangelicalism: An Interview with David King
In recent months I’ve been invited to review two books seeking to introduce English-speaking audiences to German Pietism: Douglas Shantz’s An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe (Johns Hopkins University Press, paperback $31.50 on Amazon), and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom’s Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism (Cascade Books, $15.20). While … More The Challenge of Introducing Pietism
One of the blessings of taking a two-week break from blogging myself is that it gave me time to catch up on some other blogs. One is Christ & University, a newer group blog that I’d particularly recommend to those who come to The Pietist Schoolman for reflections on the intersection of Christianity and education. Featuring a roster of scholars from … More Check Out the Christ and University Blog
“Lent means Spring,” Lutheran pastor-blogger Diane Roth reminded readers recently. “It means lengthening days, opening the windows, letting in life and death, the things we can’t control. It means going to the cemetery and standing in the mud and snow and grass, where the pain and the hope are all mixed up together.” It’s a … More Where Lent Does Not Mean Spring
Thanks to G.W. Carlson (paying tribute to Baptist geneticist Elving Anderson) and Jared Burkholder (shedding light on the history of the prosperity gospel) for keeping this blog from total inactivity while I extended my break from blogging to work on an article due next Tuesday. Elsewhere this past week in the blogosphere… • Courtesy of the Pew Research Center, here’s … More That Was The Week That Was
V. Elving Anderson died on March 9, 2014 after serving a distinguished career as educator and researcher. (See his obituary here.) He was born in 1921 in Stromsburg, Nebraska, into a family deeply rooted in the Swedish Baptist heritage. He attended Bethel Junior College (A.A. degree), studied at the Seminary, and then completed his B.A. … More RIP V. Elving Anderson, 1921-2014 (G.W. Carlson)
I’m not sure I’ve ever been quite so ready for a spring break as I am right now. It’s been a productive nine months since the last time we visited my parents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia — new online course, new face-to-face course, book deal, papers presented, rabbles roused — but I’m ready … More Spring Break
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