On the eve of celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace, it’s been a bit dispiriting to read the comments section the last couple of days. But I thought I’d solicit some reader responses to a less controversial set of questions: What’s your favorite Christmas (or Advent) carol or other song? Why do you like it so … More Your Favorite Christmas Carols?
I’ve spent a fair amount of time this month criticizing the leaders of other Christian colleges and universities. I don’t regret the posts, but it’s certainly not the kind of thing I enjoy writing. And it risks creating the false impression that I’m deeply dissatisfied with or disillusioned by Christian higher education. So as we near the … More Why I Love Being Part of a Christian Learning Community
When Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. exhorted the audience at the school’s convocation to (legally) carry concealed weapons, it was his careless allusion to the religion of the shooters at San Bernardino that seemed to generate the most controversy: “I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those … More John Piper’s Argument Against Concealed Weapons
Earlier this month I posted a response to the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Today we move north a couple states to hear from someone affiliated with Nebraska Wesleyan University: guest-blogger Aaron Morrison reflects on the broad spectrum of Methodist and Wesleyan higher education. As an undergraduate student visiting with friends and family over semester breaks, I would occasionally be … More Church-Affiliated Higher Ed in the Methodist Tradition (Aaron Morrison)
Here… • Two big, related announcements: not only has InterVarsity Press agreed to publish my next book on Pietism, but my co-author and I will be thinking aloud about each chapter when the second season of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast debuts next month. • Can a historian be both truthful and hopeful? • I wasn’t quite buying the notion that … More That Was The Week That Was
Someone who likes to blog about Christian higher education probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’ve only visited the “evangelical Harvard” once. Last fall I was invited to accompany our president and some of his cabinet to a meeting of the Christian College Consortium at Wheaton College, where I got to share ten minutes’ worth of reflections on how … More Wheaton, Islam, and the Christ-Centered University
On Tuesday I shared the news that Mark Pattie and I have signed a contract with InterVarsity Press to write Hope for Better Times: Pietism and the Future of Christianity, hopefully hitting stores sometime in mid-2017. Today I’m happy to share a related announcement: Mark will be joining me for the second season of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, as … More Announcing… Season 2 of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast
Earlier this fall I recommended to readers’ attention the blog I Love You, But You’re Going to Hell, by Adam Laats, a historian of education at Binghamton University. Especially if you work in Christian higher ed, ILYBYGTH is a great source of helpful insight from a scholar looking at our unusual sector from the outside-in. I wonder what you all … More Is the CCCU “Already Dead”?
Today I’m very happy to announce my next major writing project, what I think is the next logical step in a progression of books on my favorite Christian tradition: My co-author Mark Pattie and I are due to deliver the manuscript for Hope for Better Times: Pietism and the Future of Christianity to InterVarsity Press by the end of … More Announcing… Our Book on Pietism and the Future of Christianity
I’ve spent a lot of time this year trying to convince Christians to live “not as a people of fear, but as a people of hope.” Just last Thursday, in the midst of my grief at losing a dear friend, I concluded that “Contemplating the possibility of Stacey’s death had deepened my conviction that the Apostle Paul was right, that those … More Truthful, Hopeful: A Christian Reflection on History
The Pietist Schoolman 