A second parable I’ve been thinking about today: The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full … More Parables: Seeds
One of the luxuries of being on sabbatical is that I have time to bake bread, a cathartic practice that helped me cope with the stress and frustration of dissertation writing. So this afternoon, as I tried to cope with the stress and frustration of yesterday’s result, the kids and I are making honey wheat rolls for supper. … More Parables: Yeast
Theologians, historians, sociologists, and other scholars spill a lot of ink debating the definition of the term “evangelical.” But thanks to what happened on November 8, 2016, we can set aside the Bebbington Quadrilateral and all its rivals. At least as “evangelical” pertains to Americans of European descent, it’s now clear that it chiefly describes the voting … More Who’s an “Evangelical”? We Now Know…
Prefacing my Anxious Bench post today, I admitted that I wasn’t thrilled that my Tuesday slot in that rotation left “me with the unenviable responsibility of posting on a particularly fractious Election Day. I thought about doing something as apolitical as possible, but ultimately decided I should address the election in some fashion. So after I cast my absentee ballot a … More My Open Letter on Faith, Hope, Love, and the Election
“Who’s Beth Moore?” I didn’t say it out loud, fortunately. But that’s what I asked myself a few years ago when I saw the list of upcoming small group Bible studies at my church. Beth Moore, of course, is the best-selling author of Bible studies and other books, not one of which I’ve read. Ditto the works … More Women as Evangelical Leaders (But Not Pastors)
This past Tuesday, I wrote about the importance of All Saints’ Day, a prime example of how Christians can engage in “stewardship of the past.” Then as I actually took part in an All Saints’ observance this morning, it struck me that I’ve written a number of posts in recent years about dying, death, and how we … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: All Saints
Because it was written by a Jesuit in a Jesuit magazine, I suspect that most evangelicals haven’t read James Martin’s “A Two-Way Bridge,” a lecture given to a Catholic LGBT group that was published over the weekend at the website for America. That’s a shame, since his first paragraph could be addressed to evangelicals with some simple … More A Two-Way Bridge: Sexuality, Evangelicals, and Christian Higher Ed
Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and … More All Saints’ Day and the Stewardship of the Past
One of the highlights of the 2016 meeting of the Conference on Faith and History was Jay Green’s presidential address, “Evangelical Historiography, Evangelical Identity, and the Spiritual Vision of History.” Like many of his predecessors, Jay offered an erudite, thought-provoking reflection on the past, present, and future of a professional society whose “primary goal is … More Should Evangelical Historians Contend for Evangelical Identity?
On the very short list of reasons that I wish I weren’t spending my fall on sabbatical in the Blue Ridge mountains is the fact that I won’t be at Bethel University on Tuesday, December 13th for the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be there! For a mere $5 (to … More Register for the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism
The Pietist Schoolman 