Category: Books

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InterVarsity, Sexuality, and the Importance of Christian Unity

October 7, 2016

If you don’t spend your evenings following Twitter, you’re both a better steward of your time than me and perhaps unaware that the evangelical internet exploded last night, after Time magazine published this story: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to dismiss employees who support gay marriage https://t.co/ExtuqqltaZ — TIME (@TIME) October 6, 2016 Elisabeth Dias reported that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA, … More InterVarsity, Sexuality, and the Importance of Christian Unity

Image of God, Mary, and Jesus in Paris' Armenian Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: Hoping for Better Times

October 7, 2016

Let’s end the week on a high note — with one more sneak peek at the working draft of our book on Pietism and the future of Christianity: Mark’s chapter on the Pietist instinct to “hope for better times.” (If no one else needs to read this, I do.) We’ll dive right in with this excerpt from early in … More Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: Hoping for Better Times

Kraybill, Nolt & Weaver-Zercher, Amish Grace

Amish Grace and the Anabaptist Way

October 3, 2016

Ten years ago yesterday, a man named Charles Carl Roberts IV shot ten students in a school near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, then committed suicide. Five children died; five eventually recovered. Sadly, episodes like this have become almost familiar in American society, but this mass murder was unique. Not only did it take place at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in rural … More Amish Grace and the Anabaptist Way

Vernet, Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem

Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: What’s Wrong with Christianity?

September 22, 2016

Of the all chapters that I’m primarily writing for our book on Pietism and the future of Christianity, none has been harder to write than the one that will lead things off. Here’s how it currently starts: We’re going to have a lot to say about “hope for better times” in this book, just as Pietist … More Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: What’s Wrong with Christianity?

Stained glass of Isaiah receiving a vision from God

Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: The Common Priesthood for the Common Good

September 19, 2016

One of the distinctive features of how we’re writing about Pietism and the future of Christianity is that Mark and I have sought out feedback from potential readers long before the book is sent off to InterVarsity Press. (As with my previous Pietism project, I’d like to think of this book as letting people listen in on a small group … More Sneak Peeks of Our Pietism Book: The Common Priesthood for the Common Good

The Covenant Hymnal (1973)

Beyond Books: Hymns as Christian Writing

September 13, 2016

As longtime readers know, I love Christian hymnody, especially that of my own tradition, Scandinavian Pietism. So I was happy for the excuse to revisit those songs as I kicked off a new Anxious Bench series today: on looking beyond books to other types of Christian writing. It’s a kind of belated response to the top 25 Christian writings list that Christian … More Beyond Books: Hymns as Christian Writing

Hawkinson, Glad Hearts

Glad Hearts: Some of My Favorite Voices from the Covenant Church

June 24, 2016

As I begin work on a book with one of its pastors about its theological heritage, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Evangelical Covenant Church. So with delegates from its congregations gathering in Phoenix, Arizona for our denomination’s annual meeting, I thought I’d share a few quotations from a few of my favorite Covenanters, clustered around our denomination’s … More Glad Hearts: Some of My Favorite Voices from the Covenant Church

Faderman, Story of the Struggle

How Can Christians Love Their LGBT Neighbors? Start by Learning Their History

June 14, 2016

I didn’t expect to write two posts on my first day on the job at The Anxious Bench. But while the first one was actually drafted last Thursday and Friday, Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando left me feeling like I might have something more to say. So in this afternoon’s post, I attempted to reflect on what it means … More How Can Christians Love Their LGBT Neighbors? Start by Learning Their History

IVP ad for our Pietism/higher ed book in the Fall 2014 issue of CCCU Advance

Searching for Jerusalem: A New Review of Our Pietist Vision Book

May 24, 2016

One of the pleasures of being (almost) done with grading is that I can start to catch up on reading. A summer book list will come another day, but this week, I want to mention two articles in the Easter issue of The Cresset, starting with a review essay that makes kind mention of our book, The Pietist Vision … More Searching for Jerusalem: A New Review of Our Pietist Vision Book