Yesterday Vice President Mike Pence declined to invoke the section of the 25th Amendment that would allow him temporarily to assume presidential powers from Donald Trump, setting up a historic impeachment vote today in the House of Representatives, with Democrats and even some Republicans likely to vote to send Donald Trump to a second Senate … More “A Time to Heal”
Yesterday I took another step toward the publication of Charles Lindbergh: A Religious Biography of America’s Most Infamous Pilot and submitted my response to what are called the page proofs. Though still just a PDF, that file is my first look at the actual layout, pagination, typesetting, etc. In short, a preview of how we’ll … More My Lindbergh Biography as Minnesota History
Despite what some members of my own family think, It’s a Wonderful Life is the best Christmas movie ever made. Not the cheeriest, but the best. But as I watched it again this Christmas Eve, it struck me that what makes it “the best” has changed for me over my own life. When I was … More Twelve Days: A Wonderful Life?
One of the Christmas Eve services I attended virtually on Thursday, the late one at my father-in-law’s church, began with chronology: (he’s a Lutheran, but this comes from a Catholic source) The Twenty-fifth Day of December… …in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; in the … More Twelve Days: The Fullness of Time
If Protestants know that today is the feast of St. Stephen, it’s probably because of a rather odd carol, a Christmas song that makes no mention of Christ. As John Mason Neale’s “Good King Wenceslas” begins, it is December 26th, “the Feast of Stephen.” That night the medieval Czech monarch looks out and spots a … More Twelve Days: On the Feast of Stephen
We’ve still got some one-on-one meetings left to go, but today was the last full meeting of my Fog of War class. I always struggle to know how to wrap things up, especially after a course as wide-ranging as this one and after a semester as pandemic-shaped as this fall. But it occurred to me … More Education as Thinking about Dying
It’s finally here! Faith and History, the devotional I edited with Beth Allison Barr is officially available from Baylor University Press, and it’s pretty amazing. Don’t believe me? Just ask some of our 40-some contributors: I’ve already written a long post about the origins and purpose of this book, and shared a couple more excerpts … More Publication Day for Our Devotional
If you’re the kind of person who likes to do their book shopping months in advance, I have very good news for you: my spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh is now available for pre-order, far ahead of its scheduled publication in August 2021! Time will tell if the writing holds up, but the cover makes … More Now Available for Preorder: My Charles Lindbergh Biography
In two weeks, Baylor University Press will officially release Faith and History, a devotional I edited with Beth Allison Barr that features contributions from forty-some Christian historians. Some of you (hi, Mom!) are even expecting to get pre-ordered copies before Thanksgiving. So before anyone actually reads their copy of Faith and History, today seems like … More Faith and History: The Story Behind the Book
Happy Veterans Day just doesn’t feel right to me. I mean, it’s a day I want to honor. And it is a happy occasion for many veterans: a day they can look back with pride on their service to their country, perhaps a day they can celebrate the educational and professional doors their service opened. … More The Many Sides of Veterans Day
