The With-God Life: “Living is Christ and dying is gain”

“What is bringing you life this season?” That’s one of the two questions one of our campus pastors asked me to think about, for a short series of daily videos he’s recording with various Bethel employees. (Here’s what my friend Sara said.) “What is bringing me life?” I’ve still got a few hours before I … More The With-God Life: “Living is Christ and dying is gain”

That Was The Week That Was

Apart from recording the first episode of my favorite podcast since January 2019, I focused my time this week on teaching and (book) writing. Elsewhere: • I’m grateful to Joey Cochran for giving me a week off from The Anxious Bench, with a guest post on the history of how Christians have used the word “heretic.” • … More That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was

I blogged about Harry Potter and history and podcast about the reading list for our new sports history course. Elsewhere… • Next up on my personal reading list is Kate Bowler’s The Preacher’s Wife. One finding she previewed for New York Times readers: “…conservative women gain considerable influence without institutional power, and liberal women gain institutional … More That Was The Week That Was

Stooping Before Each Other

We’ve reached Maundy Thursday in our Pietist Option devotional. Thanks to Kurt Frederickson (Simi Valley, CA) of Fuller Seminary for sharing today’s reflection. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you … More Stooping Before Each Other

That Was The Week That Was

Here… • Spring semester is barely started and I’m already thinking about a new course for the fall. • Just how economically diverse are the student populations at Christian and church-related colleges? • While David Swartz is on hiatus, I’ve been extending his Anxious Bench series on “Unexpected Sites of Christian Pacifism.” …There and Everywhere • On the … More That Was The Week That Was

The Bonhoeffer Effect, “Unpleasant Parallels,” and the 2016 Election

Thanks to conservative intellectual Eric Metaxas, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has become a member of this crazy election’s extended cast of characters. At multiple points this year (most recently in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and then a series of tweets), Metaxas has hearkened back to his Bonhoeffer biography in order to make the case for supporting Donald Trump. We ARE responsible for … More The Bonhoeffer Effect, “Unpleasant Parallels,” and the 2016 Election

Revitalizing Chapel Exercises (Aaron Morrison)

For our second guest post of the week, I’m happy to welcome Aaron Morrison to the blog. Aaron is a Residential Education Coordinator for the Department of Residential Education at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE. He received his M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Taylor University and a B.S. from Indiana Wesleyan University. He … More Revitalizing Chapel Exercises (Aaron Morrison)

The Enduring Influence of Pia Desideria (George Demetrion)

Today I’m happy to share a guest post by George Demetrion: a review essay on Philipp Jakob Spener’s 1675 work, Pia Desideria, originally written while George was auditing my colleague Glen Scorgie’s Pietism course at Bethel Seminary San Diego. The author of In Quest of a Vital Protestant Center: An Ecumenical Evangelical Perspective, George found much to appreciate in Pia … More The Enduring Influence of Pia Desideria (George Demetrion)