Yesterday I published the last of nearly 400 posts at The Anxious Bench, the group history blog at Patheos that I’ve edited since June 2016. After six years, I decided that it was time to step down from my role as AB’s “blogmeister” and main Tuesday writer. I don’t have a lot to add to … More A Big Change in My Writing Life
As I did with my last two books on Pietism, I’m posting here the Acknowledgments section of my Charles Lindbergh biography. I suspect that many of those mentioned here have ordered the book anyway, but I never want people to have to spend money in order to receive thanks. I usually end this part of … More Acknowledgments from My Biography of Charles Lindbergh
I don’t much like that I’m old enough that I can discern decade-long segments in my career… but it is worth noting that it was ten years ago yesterday that I published my first post at The Pietist Schoolman! Since then, I’ve written another 2,200 posts here — plus 250-some at The Anxious Bench, where I … More Ten (and Five) Years of Blogging
Earlier today I enjoyed listening to my friend Kristin Kobes Du Mez take questions from Minnesota Public Radio listeners about her new book, Jesus and John Wayne. That I’ve gotten to know historians and professors as gifted as Kristin is one of the many benefits I enjoy as part of the crew at The Anxious … More Can Christian Women and Men Be Friends?
Tonight HBO premieres the first episode of a six-part adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, The Plot Against America. Since its alternate history premise centers on the subject of my current writing project, I thought some of my readers might be interested in my response to Roth’s book — originally published at The Anxious Bench after … More Charles Lindbergh and The Plot Against America
In case you happen to be at or near the campus of Bethel University this morning, Sam Mulberry and I are going to give a talk in Bethel’s library at 11:15. While our presentation is ostensibly about how we’ve experimented with podcasts and blogs for the last thirteen years, I really mean to address some … More The Problem of Trust in Christian Higher Education
Just a short post as I prepare to head to the airport: I’m flying to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the Conference on Faith and History is holding its biennial meeting at Calvin College. The undergraduate sessions are already underway, with the professional conference kicking off tonight with Peggy Bendroth’s address on “History and Faith in … More Off to the 2018 Meeting of the Conference on Faith and History
As you might have noticed yesterday, I enjoy fusing my interests in history and travel. Besides writing about Moravian Bethlehem, I’ve used this blog to share images and thoughts from trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the former Western Front, and a few of the many historic sites I’ve taken our kids over the years. (And to … More Looking for Some Historic Sites to Visit This Summer?
Among other things, taking a February-March break from this blog gave me some more time to devote to my new research project: a “spiritual, but not religious biography” of Charles A. Lindbergh. Most importantly, I got to spend hour after spring break hour in the Weyerhaueser Reading Room at the Minnesota Historical Society, going through … More Some Updates on My Charles Lindbergh Project
It’s been an unusual year here at The Pietist Schoolman, where I did less posting in 2017 than ever before. In part that’s because I wrote more at other platforms, including my first articles for Christianity Today, Christian History Magazine, and my denominational magazine and a column on the Resurrection in the current issue of Pietisten. I also published more … More 2017: That Was The Year That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 