The Pietist Schoolman

As Americans Become Less Religious, Will They Withdraw from Public Life?

April 23, 2014

That’s the question posed by Tufts professor Peter Levine, director of that university’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), in a recent op-ed for Religion News Service. He asks if the growing (?) number of young adults having no affiliation with any particular religion will have an impact on civic … More As Americans Become Less Religious, Will They Withdraw from Public Life?

Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education as word cloud

Our Pietism and Higher Ed Book as Word Cloud

April 22, 2014

It’ll no doubt go through some more editing before coming out later this year, but if you want a kind of sneak peek at The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: Forming Whole and Holy Persons (forthcoming from InterVarsity Press)… Check out the word cloud that the current manuscript forms: For more about the book: check out … More Our Pietism and Higher Ed Book as Word Cloud

The Big Ten

April 21, 2014

The ten most popular posts in the last month here at The Pietist Schoolman: World Vision and Evangelicalism: An Interview with David King “New York-centrism” in Evangelical Cultural Engagement Baptist Stations of the Cross (G.W. Carlson) The Conclusion of My Interview with David King on World Vision Being an Intellectual in an Emotional Church Not … More The Big Ten

Holbein, The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb

Best of The Pietist Schoolman: “Just One More Miracle…”

April 19, 2014

Doing a links post didn’t seem quite appropriate this particular Saturday. Instead, here’s my one and — to date — only attempt at an Easter Vigil reflection. Complete with what, at the time, were Sherlock spoilers. (H/T to Sara Misgen for reminding me I wrote this!) It’s been observed by many Christian preachers and writers that most of our … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: “Just One More Miracle…”

Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Looking Too Quickly for Light

April 18, 2014

I originally wrote this near the end of my January course on the history of World War II. But it seems a better fit for Good Friday… It was a day into Epiphany — the Christian season of light, when Jesus is revealed in many and various ways as God — when I began my J-term … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Looking Too Quickly for Light

Plaque for Rochester's Soldiers Memorial Field

Reminder: My Talk on WWI Remembrance Is April 22

April 18, 2014

4/18/14 – Just a quick reminder for those of you who might happen to live in or near southern Minnesota… I’ll be speaking at the University of Minnesota, Rochester next Tuesday night, April 22, 7pm, as part of the UMR Connects series. My talk is entitled “‘Lest We Forget’: The Commemoration of World War I from Minnesota … More Reminder: My Talk on WWI Remembrance Is April 22

“That They May Be One”: Evangelical Unity after World Vision

April 17, 2014

Ten minutes after I pressed “Publish” on Monday’s post about my struggle to find a way to blog well about the World Vision controversy, I found myself lecturing on the Catholic Reformation and Wars of Religion in Bethel’s Christianity and Western Culture class. While the fracturing of the Church into tens of thousands of denominations didn’t start or … More “That They May Be One”: Evangelical Unity after World Vision

Being an Intellectual in an Emotional Church

April 16, 2014

Is it hard to be an intellectual in your church? Do you respond more deeply to theology than worship or devotions? Part of me resonated strongly with a new piece at Relevant by a Twin Cities writer (and Bethel Seminary student) named Bonnie Kristian. Like her, I don’t tend to “get swept up in emotional worship experiences” and I’ve … More Being an Intellectual in an Emotional Church

Baptist Stations of the Cross (G.W. Carlson)

April 15, 2014

For Holy Week I’d like to share a unique devotional experience from Central Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN: “An Invitation on the Pathway” by Mike Widen and G. W. Carlson is a Baptist version of the Stations of the Cross, blending fourteen original works of art with fourteen original reflections. You can walk these stations … More Baptist Stations of the Cross (G.W. Carlson)

Not a Prophet, Not an Apostle: Blogging after World Vision

April 14, 2014

I’m not a member of the Organization of American Historians and so wasn’t in Atlanta last week for its annual meeting. Fortunately, John Fea was, and not only lit up Twitter but shared some reflections on panels he attended or participated in. I was especially interested in his reports on two sessions: “Is Blogging Scholarship?” and … More Not a Prophet, Not an Apostle: Blogging after World Vision

The website of historian Chris Gehrz