I miss teaching. I enjoy being on sabbatical, but I miss teaching so much that when I erased a chalkboard at my parents’ church the other day, I actually felt a wave of emotion. Feeling that eraser rub against that slate instantly evoked the anticipation, exhilaration, and (yes) fear that accompany the start of every class I … More Mapping Your Academic Career: Finding Your Voice as a Teacher
With just over a month until Election Day, I hope that lots of fellow Christians paid attention to Miroslav Volf’s interview with journalist Jonathan Merritt, since the Yale theologian makes a plausible argument that Hillary Clinton is not only the more competent of the two major party presidential candidates running for office now, but that the kind of vision she stands … More Have Christian Intellectuals Made Any Difference in This Election?
If you’re struggling to make sense of the 2016 election (that should be all of you — it’s confusing!), then let me recommend that you check out Election Shock Therapy, a weekly podcast from four of my colleagues at Bethel University. Produced by my frequent podcasting collaborator Sam Mulberry, EST features Chris Moore (PhD, Ohio State), Andy Bramsen (PhD, Notre Dame), … More My Favorite New Podcast on Politics
There’s a guest post up at The Anxious Bench today (on St. Ephrem the Syrian), so I’ll instead use this space to announce that I’m taking a break from Pietist Schoolman for a while. As some of you may remember, I’m spending my fall sabbatical living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and that transition is only a couple weeks away. So I … More Taking Some Time Off…
My own 40th birthday felt momentous at the time, but today this blog turns 5 — and that’s the more shocking occasion of the two. When I convinced myself to give blogging a try in June 2011, it was intended as an experiment for summer break. I certainly didn’t expect to be doing it five years later, let alone that keeping this blog would so … More The Pietist Schoolman Turns Five!
I’m happy to announce that, starting next week, I’ll be a regular contributor at The Anxious Bench, a group blog on the Patheos Evangelical channel. I’ll be filling the Tuesday slot occupied by Bench co-founder Thomas Kidd, who will be blogging for The Gospel Coalition when he’s not churning out award-winning books about 18th century American religious history. Even … More Announcing My New Blogging Gig: The Anxious Bench
And Season 2 comes to an end! Thanks to everyone who wrote in this year, especially Eric Johnson (who asked a great question about Pietism and politics), Johanna Fenton (who prompted us to dive deeper into the nature of peace and Christian unity — with an assist from North Park Seminary professor Jay Phelan), and Christian Humanist friend … More Thursday’s Podcast: The Pietist Future of American Christianity
If you’ve been waiting for Mark — one of the best preachers I know — to talk about preaching and proclamation, this episode is for you. If you’ve been waiting for Sam to help us think through the importance of Christians taking up what Krista Tippett calls a “ministry of listening,” this episode is also for you. And if … More Thursday’s Podcast: Preaching (and Listening)
It sounds like I wasn’t the only Pietist to take issue with David Gushee’s call for an evangelical “divorce,” between its conservative and progressive camps. Here’s North Park Seminary professor Jay Phelan in the current issue of The Covenant Companion: As I read his blog I found myself agreeing with a good deal of Gushee’s analysis—and rejecting … More Jay Phelan on Pietism and Evangelical Unity
Yesterday Mark, Sam, and I recorded the penultimate episode of this season of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, on preaching, listening, and (somehow) Donald Trump. It’ll go up on Thursday, but in the meantime I want to go ahead and start soliciting comments for our season finale, which we’ll record next Monday. If you’ve been listening, you … More If You’ve Listened to Our Podcast, We Want to Hear From You! (Seriously)
The Pietist Schoolman 