My wife and I were blessed to be part of a very special wedding yesterday. Among many other memorable elements of the occasion, the New Testament text that our friends chose stood out: Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in … More “One in spirit and of one mind”
Here • A three-part exploration of the 1940 census records for my grandparents — Peterson, Nelson, and Gehrz (haven’t found Laubscher yet) — shed some light on ethnicity, social mobility, and education in American society coming out of the Great Depression. • As speculation about Mitt Romney’s running mate begins in earnest, a look back … More That Was The Week That Was
4/13/12 – Hot off the press from Wipf & Stock, publisher of our The Pietist Impulse in Christianity, is another book about an “impulse” in Christianity. Edited by Jared S. Burkholder and David C. Cramer, The Activist Impulse: Essays on the Intersection of Evangelicalism and Anabaptism brings together chapters by John Roth, Steven Nolt, John … More The Activist Impulse
In a sure sign that I’m either avoiding grading or preparing for a new episode of The Policast, I spent an hour of my life this week investigating this marginally interesting question: How good are political pundits and reporters at prognosticating the “veep-stakes”? That is, once a nomination for U.S. president is sewn up, how … More Veep-Stakes
In the newest issue of the Baptist Pietist Clarion, I was especially struck by Glen Scorgie‘s article, “Religion of the Heart: The Enduring Value of Pietism,” in which he asks “whether Pietism should still matter to the Baptist General Conference—to Converge Worldwide.” Even beyond that particular denomination, I think it’s a valuable question for several churches … More Glen Scorgie: Why Pietism Still Matters
Today I’ll wrap up a three-part exploration of what’s revealed about my grandparents and their families in the 1940 U.S. Census. We started among the Petersons and Nelsons of western Wisconsin, and will now cross the Badger State to meet my father’s forebears. My dad’s dad grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is a much … More The USA in 1940: The Gehrzes of Milwaukee
Yesterday I took a look at the 1940 Census records of my Grandpa Peterson and his family, noting that they were relatively more comfortable than the family Grandpa married into in 1946: the Nelsons of River Falls, Wisconsin. My grandmother, Hildur, was fourteen at the time of the census, the third of four daughters for … More The USA in 1940: The Nelsons of River Falls
4/9/12 – Just eleven more days until Bethel hosts its inaugural Colloquium on Pietism Studies. If you want to hear talks by best-selling author Scot McKnight and historian Jon Sensbach, discuss Pietism past and present with scholars, pastors, and others, and pay $0 for the privilege, be sure to register today!
For genealogists and U.S. historians, this has been an exciting month, marking the full release of records from the 1940 U.S. Census. (Such data are treated as confidential until seventy-two years after the census. The aggregate statistics can be found here.) My colleague Diana Magnuson happens to be a census historian and could tell you … More The USA in 1940: The Petersons of Pierce County
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I … More Resurrection
The Pietist Schoolman 