Although I just wrote a biography about a man dedicated to the art of practical joking, I can’t stand April Fool’s Day. Because even if I were clever enough to come up with hilarious practical jokes, I’d feel guilty about making other people to look foolish. But driving to work today, it struck me that … More In Praise of Folly
I’m about as likely to read the Book of Ezekiel as the Book of Revelation, and for some of the same reasons. Both are strange, apocalyptic texts full of baffling, sometimes terrifying imagery. Both require much greater understanding of their original context than I possess. Both have hard words to speak to listeners who are … More The With-God Life: “I am for you”
“The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates famously said near the end of his life. So in the midst of a different kind of trial than the one that philosopher endured, I’ve tried to pause from time to time and observe myself. Sometimes I’m okay with what I see: it turns out that I … More The With-God Life: The Waiting Soul
This week I lamented how my home denomination continues to fracture over the human sexuality debate, encouraged Christians to focus more on biblical prophets and less on biblical kings, and reminded everyone that time is starting to run out to place deposits for our summer 2020 Sports in American History tour. Elsewhere: • One of my … More That Was The Week That Was
I wrote about Ethiopian Pentecostals like the new Nobel Peace Prize winner and debates in this country over religious liberty for Christian colleges. Elsewhere: • For a more serious case of a religious group being persecuted by the state, read this firsthand account of life for Uyghur Muslims imprisoned in Chinese “reeducation” camps. • According … More That Was The Week That Was
Christmas is my favorite holiday, but as I get older, I find myself increasingly aware of the complicated emotions that it inspires in so many. So on this shortest day of the year, I thought I’d reprise a piece I wrote at the same time two years ago. Grace and peace to you all, however … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Blue Christmas
Yesterday was a surreal day at Bethel University: In the morning, a couple hundred employees crowded into a room in our student commons to hear our president explain significant cuts and restructuring in academic programs and co-curricular/administrative staffing, necessary to avoid the multi-million dollar deficits projected for the next two fiscal years. In the evening, … More “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how”
Thanks to Pastor Doug Bixby, for effectively switching places with me yesterday: while he was back in my hometown participating in the annual meeting of the Covenant Church, I had the chance to preach and teach at the church he serves in Attleboro, Massachusetts. (And thanks to their associate pastor, Chris Wall, for being such … More Stories of Hope: Joseph… and Judah
“He was brilliant,” said his friend Joel Frederickson of our late colleague Adam Johnson, at the Bethel memorial service this morning. “But he never acted like he was brilliant.” Over and over that hour, we heard students, alumni, and friends bear witness to Adam’s humble brilliance. But the meaning we most often attach to the … More Be Thou My Vision
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 