A year after we started with the oldest Christian tradition, Eastern Orthodoxy, this month we concluded the Following Jesus conversation with the newest branch in the family tree: Pentecostalism. Drew University professor J. Terry Todd alluded to the familiar origin story of Azusa Street in 1906 and quoted its most famous figure. But even as … More Following Jesus: The Pentecostal Tradition
This week I reflected on why I (unlike many my age and younger) still think of myself as a Protestant, and I celebrated the birthday of one of my favorite Protestant theologians by reviewing a new collection of his writings. Elsewhere: • A century after a leading liberal Protestant warned against the triumph of Fundamentalism, Dan … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I shared some updates about my Lindbergh biography (including details about a talk I’m giving — live and by Zoom — this coming Tuesday), announced my first in-person adult Sunday school class since before the onset of the COVID pandemic, and started a new Anxious Bench series occasioned by Bethel turning 150 years … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I celebrated my 10th anniversary of blogging, and a vacation on Lake Superior made me reflect on the importance of historical complexity. Elsewhere… • It’s always good to see your own country through other eyes, like those of the BBC journalist who wrote that, “in modern-day America, there is no such thing as a … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I interviewed a political scientist colleague about the Jan. 6 insurrection, endorsed a statement on that event by a group of Christian historians, considered the historical context for political appeals to Ecclesiastes 3, and mentioned a few of the other Minnesotans who play roles in my Charles Lindbergh biography. Elsewhere: • I’m not sure … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I shared a Pentecost reflection inspired (in part) by George Floyd and explained why academic freedom is deeply rooted in Bethel’s religious heritage. Elsewhere: • My Bethel colleague Sara Shady filled in for me at The Anxious Bench with a powerful reflection on the Floyd protests and riots in light of some words from Martin … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I finished another chapter in my Lindbergh biography and recorded podcasts about the Olympics and the importance of philosophy in a time of pandemic. Elsewhere: • I was doubly grateful to Elesha Coffman: not just for giving me a week off at The Anxious Bench, but articulating something about teaching online that I’d struggled … More That Was The Week That Was
In between podcasting about gender and sports and preparing a chapel talk on Pietism, I enjoyed the following articles and posts this week: • By far the most-discussed Anxious Bench post this week was David Swartz’s reflection on the difference between “cosmopolitan” and “populist” evangelicals. • I’ll be sorry to see David Heim (r.) no longer at … More 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
When I wasn’t writing about one of the most famous autodidacts in American history for The Anxious Bench, I spent the week thinking out loud about taking people to Europe to study the history of Christianity and to different parts of the U.S. to study sports history and the Civil War. Elsewhere: • If my tours … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 