I’m taking a week off from blogging, but our podcast is back today with a new episode. If we consult the Holy Scriptures we can have no doubt that God promised his church here on earth a better state than this. Philipp Jakob Spener (1675) Given all the problems we discussed in our previous episode, why … More Thursday’s Podcast: Why So Hopeful?
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)
If you offered me fifteen minutes to share what’s at the heart of my belief as a Christian and how that shapes my understanding of education, I think this is the best answer I could give. It’s the text of the convocation address I delivered yesterday in the opening chapel of the 2015-2016 academic year at Bethel University. Thanks to … More The Body of Christ
While I wrap up grading, I’ll be sharing some highlights from this spring’s blogging, starting with this Easter Monday meditation. “We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as a message about our future with him in heaven,” wrote Roger Olson at his blog for Easter Sunday, “but we too often neglect the other dimension of Easter: that a … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Expectation and Joy
“We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as a message about our future with him in heaven,” wrote Roger Olson at his blog for Easter Sunday, “but we too often neglect the other dimension of Easter: that a new life can be experienced now even in the face of inevitable death.” (Hey, have I mentioned that Roger will be … More Expectation and Joy: A Benediction for Easter Monday
Doing a links post didn’t seem quite appropriate this particular Saturday. Instead, here’s my one and — to date — only attempt at an Easter Vigil reflection. Complete with what, at the time, were Sherlock spoilers. (H/T to Sara Misgen for reminding me I wrote this!) It’s been observed by many Christian preachers and writers that most of our … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: “Just One More Miracle…”
For Holy Week I’d like to share a unique devotional experience from Central Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN: “An Invitation on the Pathway” by Mike Widen and G. W. Carlson is a Baptist version of the Stations of the Cross, blending fourteen original works of art with fourteen original reflections. You can walk these stations … More Baptist Stations of the Cross (G.W. Carlson)
Unlikely as the start of this post will make it seem… Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen the last episode of the second series of Sherlock It’s been observed by many Christian preachers and writers that most of our life is akin to Holy Saturday, that oft-neglected time separating Good Friday and Easter Sunday. For … More “Just One More Miracle…”
Unless you limit its definition to that relatively small group of German Lutherans inspired by Philipp Jakob Spener and then led by August Hermann Francke in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Pietism is a tremendously diverse movement within Christianity — spanning centuries, oceans, languages, and confessions. So what do Pietists have in common? … More Pietism, Resurrection, and the Virtue of Hope
Here • The first in a series of brief reflections inspired by Lauren Winner’s Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis focused on her skill as a writer (skill not often found among those of us trained to write academic history). • Why it’s so hard to do institutional histories when you’re part of the institution … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 