This week I considered how my writing mirrors my teaching and reflected on a year-long conversation about how Christians follow Jesus. Elsewhere: • I’m not sure the temperature got above 80°F (27°C) when I was in Germany last month. But July has been a different story, with scorching heat waves across Europe. • John Hawthorne concluded his series on polarization with some potential … More That Was The Week That Was
For the penultimate installment in our year-long conversation about how different Christians follow Jesus, we heard from the distinguished Latter-day Saints scholar Robert Millet, an ideal conversation partner by any standard. Retired now after over three decades as a professor, department chair, and dean at Brigham Young University, Millet has facilitated numerous conversations between Mormons … More Following Jesus: The Latter-day Saints Tradition
“Unlike every other participant in this year-long conversation,” I wrote early in my lead essay this month for Following Jesus, “the Pietist Tradition has no ecclesial shape or institutional structure. And the number of Christians worldwide who identify as Pietist is vanishingly small.” But what Roger Olson calls the Pietist ethos shows up in virtually … More Following Jesus: The Pietist Tradition
If you’ve been wondering why this blog has been so quiet this far into 2022, it’s partly because I’ve been working hard on a project that came to mind at the end of 2021 and came to fruition yesterday. Last December I enjoyed several entries in The Advent Project, a multi-media devotional from the Center … More Centered on Jesus: A Lenten Devotional from the Faculty of Bethel University
According to church historian Carter Lindberg, that’s how German Lutherans in the early 18th century thought of Philipp Jakob Spener: second only to Martin Luther himself. Born this day in 1635, Spener is less remembered nowadays, but played a prominent role in renewing early modern Protestantism, as a popular preacher and writer and the founding … More A New Book about “The Second Greatest Lutheran Theologian”
A very Christmasy first week of December for me, as I extended a special Christmas offer for my Lindbergh bio — then received the gift of a great review! — and joined with Anxious Bench colleagues to suggest some other gifts for history buffs. Elsewhere: • If you needed any more reason to order a copy of … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I considered the problem of evangelical catechesis, reflected on the length of biographies, and reported on the Anabaptist round of the Following Jesus conversation. Elsewhere: • The history of the American Civil War led Dan Williams to wonder “why, despite abundant historical and contemporary evidence that biblical interpretations vary widely, does the Bible continue … More That Was The Week That Was
“I’ve never quite been persuaded that the Anabaptist way of following Jesus is the right one,” I wrote in my response to this month’s lead essay in the Following Jesus conversation, “but it always leaves me feeling like my own way is to follow the path of compromise and safety.” So I’m grateful to Michael … More Following Jesus: The Anabaptist Tradition
Yesterday I was given the honor of delivering the keynote address at the college faculty retreat for Bethel University. The retreat committee asked me to speak on the theme of unity. Here’s a lightly edited version of my comments. I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the … More “Let the Tension Remain” (Eph. 4)
This week I shared my summer reading list and reflected on calling and the Christian college. Elsewhere: • This month’s meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention will just be the latest iteration in an old debate over women’s ordination. • Speaking of the country’s largest Protestant denomination… Why did Russell Moore leave the SBC? In a letter … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 