Author: Chris Gehrz

Drawing of Billy Sunday preaching (1915)

“Tell It Like It Is”: How Pastors Can Respond to Election Day

November 12, 2016

Let me talk to pastors for a moment. (Though their congregants might want to listen in.) Sisters and brothers – Now that candidate Trump has become president-elect Trump, I know that many of you are struggling with how you’re going to preach tomorrow morning. Unsettled yourselves, you know that you’ll soon look out at the expectant faces of people feeling … More “Tell It Like It Is”: How Pastors Can Respond to Election Day

Centerville Evangelical Covenant Church

Done with “Evangelical”? Maybe You Should Try…

November 10, 2016

Back in March, when Donald Trump was nothing more than the surprise leader in the Republican primaries, the fact that he was getting even 40% of the self-identified “evangelical” vote had already led Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore to declare that religious term “almost meaningless this year.” Even worse, “in many ways the word itself … More Done with “Evangelical”? Maybe You Should Try…

Tree roots

Parables: Roots

November 9, 2016

One more parable, also from Mark 4: Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. … More Parables: Roots

Close-up of seeds

Parables: Seeds

November 9, 2016

A second parable I’ve been thinking about today: The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full … More Parables: Seeds

Kneading dough

Parables: Yeast

November 9, 2016

One of the luxuries of being on sabbatical is that I have time to bake bread, a cathartic practice that helped me cope with the stress and frustration of dissertation writing. So this afternoon, as I tried to cope with the stress and frustration of yesterday’s result, the kids and I are making honey wheat rolls for supper. … More Parables: Yeast

Donald Trump holding a Bible

Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…

November 9, 2016

Theologians, historians, sociologists, and other scholars spill a lot of ink debating the definition of the term “evangelical.” But thanks to what happened on November 8, 2016, we can set aside the Bebbington Quadrilateral and all its rivals. At least as “evangelical” pertains to Americans of European descent, it’s now clear that it chiefly describes the voting … More Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…

"I voted" sticker

My Open Letter on Faith, Hope, Love, and the Election

November 8, 2016

Prefacing my Anxious Bench post today, I admitted that I wasn’t thrilled that my Tuesday slot in that rotation left “me with the unenviable responsibility of posting on a particularly fractious Election Day. I thought about doing something as apolitical as possible, but ultimately decided I should address the election in some fashion. So after I cast my absentee ballot a … More My Open Letter on Faith, Hope, Love, and the Election

Moore, Entrusted

Women as Evangelical Leaders (But Not Pastors)

November 7, 2016

“Who’s Beth Moore?” I didn’t say it out loud, fortunately. But that’s what I asked myself a few years ago when I saw the list of upcoming small group Bible studies at my church. Beth Moore, of course, is the best-selling author of Bible studies and other books, not one of which I’ve read. Ditto the works … More Women as Evangelical Leaders (But Not Pastors)

Burge, Mapping Your Academic Career

Mapping Your Academic Career: From Security to Success

November 7, 2016

As I wrote last Monday, my main goal for the second half of my fall sabbatical is to engage in some professional stock-taking. Having received tenure, been promoted to full professor, and just sent off the manuscript for my third project on Pietism, I’d like to step back and consider where I am in my academic career. My guide for this … More Mapping Your Academic Career: From Security to Success