We don’t live all that close to the places in Minneapolis and St. Paul that have seen actual violence in recent days. But last night we were told by a neighbor that a man with a semi-automatic weapon had been seen walking around our first-ring suburb, and Twitter reported that white supremacists were staying at … More The With-God Life: Breath and Fire
As I’ve spent more and more time on Charles Lindbergh, I’ve had less and less time to spend on Pietism. So I’m always thrilled when a church asks me to give a talk on our 2017 book, The Pietist Option, which was always meant for large and small group discussion in churches and is still … More Announcing… A Free Online Adult Education Course on The Pietist Option
Let me revive my series of lectionary reflections long enough to share what I wrote this morning for the daily devotions our church emails out to members. I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as … More The With-God Life: The Nature of Prayer
By the time this week is done, something like thirty members of the Bethel University faculty will learn that their positions are being eliminated after 2020-21. And even if I don’t lose my job, it’s likely that I’ll still be affected indirectly by restructuring and streamlining of departments and programs. For months, I’ve been dreading … More “Nothing for your journey”: The Future of the Christian Liberal Arts
I once called Easter Monday “that forgotten day of the church calendar seemingly dedicated to, well, getting on with our lives.” This year, when nothing feels all that normal, it’s probably less true that Easter’s joy will “[dissolve] into the mundane, predictable routine of the workweek.” But under quarantine or not, we’ll continue to spend … More The With-God Life: Call and Response
“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” No, I reflected two days ago: all I could do to mark Good Friday was to “imagine the unimaginable: the death of God.” This Easter Sunday, I woke asking myself another verse from that same spiritual: “Were you there when he rose up from the grave?” And … More The With-God Life: Christ is Risen!
O that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If mortals die, will they live again? (Job 14:13-14a) The Book of Job is not something that you just dip into. One of the most complicated … More The With-God Life: “Will they live again?”
So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. (John 19:16b-18) As a historian, everything I do hinges on the conviction … More The With-God Life: Were You There?
Perhaps because we’re taking next week off, this week’s episode of The 252 is bursting at the seams with interesting conversation. • Chris Moore and I started by reporting on the results of a public policy simulation we just finished in our History and Politics of Sports class at Bethel: students played different roles in a fictional … More Thursday’s Podcast: Stadium Funding, the NCAA, and More
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same … More The With-God Life: Maundy Thursday
