Here… • Bethel hosted another colloquium on Pietism (if you missed it, you can watch everything here), which made me think again about the notion of a “usable past.” • What happens when historians have too much evidence? • The War on Christmas is over. • I’ve decided to stick with Twitter and Facebook, but only for certain purposes. … More That Was The Week That Was
Our friend Stacey Hunter Hecht died a year ago today. I promise this won’t become an annual tradition, but this once, I thought I’d repost what I wrote about her. In the first four months of this year, three of my closest kith and kin were diagnosed with breast cancer. As we near the end of … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: On Friendship
Because I work for a member institution of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) and study evangelical models of higher education, I occasionally need to be reminded that the CCCU represents only a fraction of the colleges and universities related to Christian churches. But after consecutive weekends in which I attended the seminary graduation … More The Humanities in Church-Related Higher Ed: A Broader View
Happy as I was to see our Pietist Vision book reviewed in The Cresset, it’s another article that’s the real highlight of that publication’s Easter issue. Written by a friend of mine, Katie Koch, it starts with one of my favorite places — the public library — then quickly moves to a theme that has come up time and again for … More Of Libraries, Churches, and the Importance of Welcoming
I’m busy this morning helping our department host the 2016 Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium, but let me toss off a relatively short TWTWTW… Here… • My post on the “indefensible hope” of baseball’s Opening Day cursed two of the teams I mentioned. The Cubs lost one of their bright young stars for the season, and my own home team has yet to … More That Was The Week That Was
One of my favorite publications is The Cresset, which regularly publishes diverse collections of thoughtful essays on literature, art, education, politics, and more. Hosted by Valparaiso University, it “explores ideas and trends in contemporary culture from a perspective grounded in the Lutheran tradition of scholarship, freedom, and faith while informed by the wisdom of the … More An Ecumenical Vision for Christian Higher Education
For the 200th time in the life of this blog… enjoy some of what was making news and inspiring commentary last week: Here… • The good news is that my son and I survived. The bad news is that the Minnesota Vikings suffered yet another soul-crushing loss, this time at the hands of the Seattle … More That Was The Week That Was
In the first four months of this year, three of my closest kith and kin were diagnosed with breast cancer. As we near the end of 2015, I’m happy to report that two of them are doing very well. But yesterday afternoon, my friend Stacey Hunter Hecht lost her battle. I’m still in enough shock that I’m not … More On Friendship (For Stacey)
Troubling news from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where twelve faculty spots are at risk of disappearing, including tenure-track positions in art, English, and ethics and open positions in French, philosophy, and theater. While a college spokesman pointed to a $3.7 million budget deficit and persistent decline in enrollment (down from over 1800 four years … More When Does a Liberal Arts College Cease to Be a Liberal Arts College?
I couldn’t quite maintain the standards of academic decorum when I saw that the newest issue of Books & Culture included my first piece for the best Christian cultural review around. The sports expression “Act like you’ve been there before” comes to mind… But hey, it’s the 20th anniversary issue! And my name is even on the cover! And they … More Look Who’s in Books and Culture!
The Pietist Schoolman 