Chris Gehrz

Virgil Olson: A Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ (G.W. Carlson) – part 2

June 14, 2013

GW Carlson’s tribute to the late Virgil Olson continues today. While the first part focused on Virgil’s understanding of the Baptist Pietist heritage and how it shaped the Baptist General Conference and Bethel College and Seminary, today GW turns to Virgil’s advocacy for missions and Christianity in the Global South. (Virgil headed the World Missions … More Virgil Olson: A Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ (G.W. Carlson) – part 2

Virgil Olson: A Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ (G.W. Carlson) – part 1

June 13, 2013

As mentioned here last week, Virgil Olson, a longtime professor at what’s now Bethel University and the leading historian of what used to be the Baptist General Conference, died last Tuesday at age 96. His friend G.W. Carlson offered to share this two-part tribute with readers of this blog. (Previously, GW has contributed essays on … More Virgil Olson: A Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ (G.W. Carlson) – part 1

Workshopping Pietism and Higher Education

June 12, 2013

6/12/13 – I’ll be away from the blog today and tomorrow while I lead a workshop: “The Pietist Idea of a Christian College: Bethel University” (made possible by a grant from the Lilly Fellows Program National Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities). We’ll spend Wednesday exploring the history of Pietism and its influence on Bethel … More Workshopping Pietism and Higher Education

“An Honorable Word as a Dishonorable Handle”: Karl Olsson on Pietism

June 11, 2013

The late Karl A. Olsson (whose 100th birthday we celebrated yesterday) had a lithograph in his home office with the following caption: “A Pietist disturbs the joy in a tavern.” Given the importance Olsson attached to joy, it’s not surprising that he wrestled with the legacy of Pietism: disturbed by the ways in which its … More “An Honorable Word as a Dishonorable Handle”: Karl Olsson on Pietism

Happy 100th Birthday, Karl Olsson!

June 10, 2013

I’m not sure they have such celebrations in heaven, but at least down here, there should be some recognition that today marks what would have been the 100th birthday of the late, multi-talented Karl A. Olsson: writer, preacher, teacher, literature scholar, decorated veteran of World War II, former president of what’s now North Park University, … More Happy 100th Birthday, Karl Olsson!

That Was The Week That Was

June 8, 2013

Here… • A short week back from vacation began with the news of the passing of the leading historian of the Baptist General Conference (now Converge Worldwide)… • …then ended with the case of the South Carolina high school student who defied a school district policy and inserted the Lord’s Prayer into his commencement address. … More That Was The Week That Was

The Lord’s Prayer and the Culture Wars

June 7, 2013

Asking that God’s kingdom come and His will be done is a supremely political act, a revolutionary declaration of independence from the powers of this world. But for that reason (among others), the Lord’s Prayer is not a weapon to be wielded in the culture wars. To wit, the case of high school student Roy … More The Lord’s Prayer and the Culture Wars

RIP Virgil Olson

June 6, 2013

This isn’t really how I’d like to come back to blogging after some time off, but… I’m sad to pass on the news that Virgil Olson, an important figure in the history of Bethel University (seminary professor, 1951-1968; college dean, 1968-1974) and the leading historian of its sponsoring denomination, Converge Worldwide (Baptist General Conference), died … More RIP Virgil Olson

Good Questions: How Do You Become a Historian?

May 28, 2013

I’ll be going back on break tomorrow, while we spend a week with my parents in Virginia. But first, let me briefly return to a series I started earlier this month: blogging through some of the excellent questions I was asked via Skype by Mr. Ferda’s 8th grade history class in Kalispell, Montana. The first … More Good Questions: How Do You Become a Historian?

The Bethel University History Department in May 2013

A Benediction for the Class of 2013

May 27, 2013

I originally composed a draft of this devotion for the final meeting of Bethel’s Christianity and Western Culture course last Friday, but what I shared as a benediction to a group of first-year students — from a text I first prayed over students ten years ago, at the end of my first semester at Bethel, … More A Benediction for the Class of 2013

The Pietist Schoolman

The website of historian Chris Gehrz

Author: Chris Gehrz