Last month I dedicated an issue of my new Substack newsletter to criticizing the decision by Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota to eliminate its majors in art, English, history, music, Spanish, theater, and theology. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” I wrote, “if you can’t sustain meaningful programs of study in history, languages, and fine arts, you’re … More What Is a Liberal Arts College? (Jim Beilby)
Having published an essay last Friday by Hauna Ondrey, the current church historian at North Park Seminary, I’m doubly thrilled today to share a piece by her illustrious predecessor, Philip Anderson. Entitled “Harmony and Congregational Liberty in the Tradition of the Evangelical Covenant Church,” it considers “the unintended consequences of establishing” a precedent to declare … More Harmony and Liberty in the Covenant Church (Phil Anderson)
Today I’m honored to share a timely essay by Hauna Ondrey, assistant professor of church history at North Park Theological Seminary. Entitled “Beyond Yes or No: Covenant History & the Third Way,” Hauna’s piece offers necessary context for what’s at stake in next week in Omaha, when delegates to the annual meeting of the Evangelical … More Beyond Yes or No: Covenant History and the Third Way (Hauna Ondrey)
We’re in Munich, near the end of our World Wars in Western Europe tour. Before heading home, we recorded one more episode of our Pietist Schoolman Podcast with four more trip goers: Barb and Jim Lindberg, Jim’s sister Sherri Berry, and Sherri’s husband Dale. I especially appreciate them sharing reflections on our recent tour of … More Saturday’s Podcast: Family History and WWII
Greetings from the French city of Amiens, where our World Wars tour is spending the night before heading to Normandy tomorrow morning. We just finished a two-day tour of memorials, cemeteries, and former battlefields on the Western Front of World War I. For the second of our “live” podcasts from this tour, we talked with … More Monday’s Podcast: First Impressions of the Western Front
We’re now a couple of days into our “World Wars in Western Europe” tour, with today’s visit to the Imperial War Museum following yesterday’s walking tour of war memorials in central London. When Sam Mulberry and I did a longer version of this tour this past January with Bethel students, we improvised a couple of … More Friday’s Podcast: Live from London with My Parents
Today I’m happy to welcome my Bethel colleague Ruben Rivera to the blog. Educated at Vanguard University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Boston University, Ruben came to Bethel in 1997 as a history professor, and now serves as our chief diversity officer. He regularly speaks to Christian and community groups about shalom, diversity, and reconciliation. What … More Diversity, Shalom, and Remarkable Christianity (Ruben Rivera)
Today I’m happy to share a guest post from Anthony Minnema, assistant professor of history at Samford University. A specialist in Muslim-Christian relations during the Middle Ages, Tony studied at Calvin College and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and was a Lilly Graduate Fellow at Valparaiso University before coming to Samford. In this post, he responds … More What About a Farm? (Anthony Minnema)
Tonight’s guest-blogger is Mark Safstrom, chief editor of the devotional journal Pietisten and assistant professor of Scandinavian Studies at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. More importantly, Mark is both a friend and a Mission Friend: that is, a fellow member of the Evangelical Covenant Church. What follows is adapted from his piece in next month’s issue … More Humble Leadership and Gentle Persuasion: A Plea to the People of the Covenant Church (Mark Safstrom)
As we wake to the Resurrection dawn of Easter, Mark Pattie (Lino Lakes, MN) brings our devotional near to its conclusion. Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. (John … More A New Day
The Pietist Schoolman 