At first blush, it might seem like Anglicanism and Pietism would have little in common. “But in ways expected and not,” I wrote yesterday, “Randall Balmer’s essay resonated more strongly with me than any other preceding it” in the Following Jesus conversation. It’s not just that we’re both historians and Anglophiles with a fondness for … More Following Jesus: The Anglican Tradition
Welcome to the start of another in my occasional attempts to blog through part of the daily lectionary. I’ll start this run of twelve Christmastide meditations on Christmas Eve, then resume on the 26th. My favorite moment in my current favorite TV series involves my favorite words from one of my favorite Christmas carols. In … More Twelve Days: Amid Bleak Winters
This week I considered the importance of Christian friendships between women and men and shared a bit more about the origins of our Faith and History devotional. (Click that link to learn how to pre-order with a publisher’s discount.) Elsewhere: • We’re now less than a month away from starting face-to-face classes at Bethel… I hope someone’s … More That Was The Week That Was
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They … More The With-God Life: Seeing Worship Anew
I know this title sounds absurd. It certainly did to many people in my feed when Union Seminary tweeted this on Tuesday: Today in chapel, we confessed to plants. Together, we held our grief, joy, regret, hope, guilt and sorrow in prayer; offering them to the beings who sustain us but whose gift we too … More Should Christians Confess Sins to Plants?
Like many of you, I spent a long time watching yesterday’s terrible fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. I’m still sorting out the feelings, trying to understand why I felt as sad as I did — knowing that others took it far harder… First, it’s always painful to see the world get a … More The Church Is (Not Just) a Building: Some Thoughts on Notre Dame
Thanks to Brad Bergfalk, pastor of First Congregational Church in Litchfield, Connecticut, for inviting me to preach yesterday. It’s always a pleasure to preach in other churches, but especially in one as historic as FCC Litchfield. That congregation was organized in 1721, and the current building dates to 1829. My favorite radio station is called … More A New Song (Psalm 96)
Here… • Guess which cluster of undergraduate majors produces the highest MCAT scores and med school acceptance rates. • The Pietist Option is a finalist for a readers’ choice award. Vote before December 3rd! • The penultimate episode of season 3 of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast surveyed Protestant Reformations apart from Luther’s. (We’ll take Thanksgiving week off, then wrap … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • In some ways it’s not strong enough, in other ways it’s too strong, but it’s what I think about the Nashville Statement. (For another perspective… a British evangelical tried to explain why he signed the Nashville Statement, even though he regarded it as “far from perfect” and worried that its credibility was damaged.) … More That Was The Week That Was
Usually, historian D.G. Hart spends his weekends subtweeting Pope Francis, so I guess I’m honored to have been the subject of this tweet on Saturday: Isn't the point of pietism avoiding formal liturgical practices – question mark https://t.co/qLrvldApeL — Old Life (@oldlife) March 4, 2017 I know he’s not actually seeking an answer, but it’s not an unfair question. After … More Can Pietism Be Liturgical?
The Pietist Schoolman 