Resident Theologian
About the Blog
“Name five things they got wrong”
Epistemic systems, master theories, principled fallibilism, and politics.
My latest: a review of Tara Isabella Burton
A link to my latest publication, a review in Commonweal of Tara Isabella’s latest book Self-Made.
Klosterman, Rowling, and the NFL
A brief thought about J. K. Rowling prompted by an old Grantland essay on the NFL by Chuck Klosterman.
How do you spend your time in the office?
Counting hours and organizing time in the office as a professor.
Three more reviews (two English, one German)
Links to and excerpts from more reviews of my books (one in German!).
Penance and punishment for the canceled
Thinking aloud about the range of social penalties—whether understood as punishment or penance—available to be applied to public figures guilty of wrongdoing.
A loosening
Reflections on trends in low-church Protestant settings regarding such things as tattoos, alcohol, charismatic gifts, feast days, and more.
My latest: reviews of Andrew Wilson and Fred Sanders
Excerpts from and links to my latest publications, in this case reviews of books by Andrew Wilson and Fred Sanders.
Church leadership by generation
Elaborating a friend’s pet theory about Boomer and Gen X church leadership.
Aping the Inklings
A plea—to myself first, then to others—to stop centering the Inklings and other “modern classics” as the north star for popular Christian writing today.
Writing for a Tier 2 audience
Reflections on how to write accessibly for a lay Christian audience.
Christianity is a conspiracy theory
Christianity professes some bizarre things, at least according to certain standards. That doesn’t mean it’s unreasonable; it means what’s reasonable is up for debate. Let the reader understand.
My latest: no to AI in the pulpit
I’m in Christianity Today this morning arguing against any role for generative AI or ChatGPT in the pastoral tasks of preaching and teaching.
Four tiers and/in James Davison Hunter
One long hat tip to James Davison Hunter’s work on “levels” or “tiers” in cultural production.
Four tiers in preaching, denominations, other…
Thinking about applying the “four tiers/levels” of Christian publishing to preaching and church division.
My latest: on holy orders
A link to and brief description of my latest publication, an article on the sacrament of holy orders.
Quit social porn
Samuel James is right: the social internet is a form of pornography. That means Christians, at least, should get off—now.