Category: History

Kennedy, The First American Evangelical

Is (Responsible, Thoughtful) Hagiography Coming Back?

June 1, 2015

Hagiography is not a term that most Western academics dream of seeing in reviews of their work, but historian Rick Kennedy meant it as a plaudit when he dedicated his recent Christian Scholar’s Review essay to an “emerging genre” he termed the “new academic hagiography”: In this New Hagiography the author must try to analyze methodically while believing. Unthinking piety has … More Is (Responsible, Thoughtful) Hagiography Coming Back?

Calvary Church logo

Hear Me Speak on Pietism This Coming Sunday

June 1, 2015

6/1/15 – Readers in the Twin Cities metro area: you can hear me at Calvary Church in Roseville this coming Sunday, June 7, in their 10am elective hour. I’ll be speaking on the history of Pietism, particularly as it has shaped the Baptist General Conference (and its university) and my own denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church. Hope to … More Hear Me Speak on Pietism This Coming Sunday

Why you’ll be interested in our new book about Grace College and Seminary

May 22, 2015

Even if you don’t have any personal connection with Grace College or Seminary, there are lots of topics that emerge in Becoming Grace that may pique your interest, especially if you’re interested in American religious history or the trajectory of Christian colleges and universities. Here are a few prominent themes and tensions in the book. They … More Why you’ll be interested in our new book about Grace College and Seminary

Safstrom (ed. and trans.), The Swedish Pietists

The Swedish Pietists: A New Book from Mark Safstrom

May 6, 2015

I suspect that even before they found this blog or the books I’ve edited, most of my readers were already familiar with the German Pietists who started the movement known as Pietism: Philipp Spener, August Francke, Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, perhaps even Johanna Petersen, Gottfried Arnold, Alexander Mack, and other Radical Pietists. But if we consider why a Pietist ethos is … More The Swedish Pietists: A New Book from Mark Safstrom

Screen shot from our Past & Presence episode on historians and the church

Past and Presence: Historians and the Church

May 6, 2015

5/6/15 – The penultimate episode of Past & Presence revolves around the relationship of historians to the church. In addition to a conversation on that topic with my colleague Amy Poppinga, I interview a Bethel History alum who serves as an Anglican pastor here in the Twin Cities. And the whole episode is hosted from three great European cathedrals — … More Past and Presence: Historians and the Church

Columbia SATC cadets with professors

Christianity and Western Civ

April 28, 2015

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of taking five Bethel University students to Mankato, Minnesota, where Bethany Lutheran College hosted the second annual Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium. (#1 was at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul; #3 will be at Bethel next spring.) Thanks to @RyanCMacPherson and @BethanyLutheran for hosting a great #muhs2015! pic.twitter.com/PWQfixivkp … More Christianity and Western Civ

Program for the 2015 Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium

The 2015 Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium

April 25, 2015

4/26/15 – My weekend links wrap will be postponed until tomorrow afternoon while I spend the day at the second annual Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium, kindly hosted this year by Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. I’ll be speaking as part of a panel on “Western Civilization and the Christian Liberal Arts Tradition” and perhaps live-tweeting … More The 2015 Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium