It’s probably too early to start shopping for Christmas 2014, but if you like to plan ahead… I’m happy to announce that I’m editing a book tentatively titled Whole and Holy Persons: A Pietist Approach to Christian Higher Education, hopefully coming out next fall from InterVarsity Press. As longtime readers know, this topic has been … More Announcing Our Forthcoming Book on Pietism and Higher Education!
The more I find my interests turning towards institutional and public history, the more I appreciate people like Jim Spickelmier, who passed away last Wednesday following a long battle with cancer. Jim had a rich and varied career serving Bethel College and Seminary (now Bethel University) and the churches of the Baptist General Conference. After … More RIP Jim Spickelmier (1941-2013)
I’m honored to announce the publication of a theme issue of The Covenant Quarterly, guest edited by my colleague Christian Collins Winn and myself, that features articles on the historical and contemporary significance of Pietism. If you’re not familiar with it, The Covenant Quarterly is published by the Evangelical Covenant Church through its seminary, North … More Announcing a New Issue of The Covenant Quarterly on Pietism
My colleague Christian Collins Winn has an article in the Spring 2013 issue of the Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care that should be of interest to many readers of this blog. In it he asks: What has “spirituality” to do with “social justice”? What has “prayer” to do with “action”? What has the … More Christian Collins Winn on Spirituality and Social Justice
7/8/13 – Readers of this blog will likely enjoy The Baptist Pietist Clarion, an annual newsletter edited by occasion Pietist Schoolman contributor G.W. Carlson. Its newest issue is now available for download: in addition to several pieces on Martin Luther King, Jr., it includes Jonathan Larson’s eulogy for Virgil Olson, the Baptist historian paid tribute … More The July 2013 Baptist Pietist Clarion
As much as any periodical, I look forward to receiving a new issue of Pietisten, the “Herald of Awakening and Spiritual Upbuilding” whose contributors “draw heavy inspiration from the collective heritage of Lutheran Pietism.” (Its name honors the 19th century Swedish publication edited by C.O. Rosenius and P.P. Waldenström that was at the center of … More Summer 2013 Pietisten
As I mentioned in passing here, I spent last Wednesday and Thursday facilitating a workshop at Bethel University: “The Pietist Idea of a Christian College.” Twelve current Bethel colleagues, two former faculty back as guest speakers — theologian Roger Olson (Baylor University’s Truett Seminary) and philosopher David Williams (Azusa Pacific University’s High Sierra Program) — … More Thoughts on The Pietist Idea of a Christian College
As mentioned here last week, Virgil Olson, a longtime professor at what’s now Bethel University and the leading historian of what used to be the Baptist General Conference, died last Tuesday at age 96. His friend G.W. Carlson offered to share this two-part tribute with readers of this blog. (Previously, GW has contributed essays on … More Virgil Olson: A Faithful Disciple of Jesus Christ (G.W. Carlson) – part 1
6/12/13 – I’ll be away from the blog today and tomorrow while I lead a workshop: “The Pietist Idea of a Christian College: Bethel University” (made possible by a grant from the Lilly Fellows Program National Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities). We’ll spend Wednesday exploring the history of Pietism and its influence on Bethel … More Workshopping Pietism and Higher Education
The late Karl A. Olsson (whose 100th birthday we celebrated yesterday) had a lithograph in his home office with the following caption: “A Pietist disturbs the joy in a tavern.” Given the importance Olsson attached to joy, it’s not surprising that he wrestled with the legacy of Pietism: disturbed by the ways in which its … More “An Honorable Word as a Dishonorable Handle”: Karl Olsson on Pietism
The Pietist Schoolman 