The first few chapters of 1 Samuel serve as the origin story of the prophet Samuel. This is a low moment in the history of Israel.Read more…
The Baptism of the Lord (Scholar’s Compass)
On this day, we commemorate the baptism of Jesus. This chronological jump in the church calendar is jarring. Just yesterday—on Epiphany—Jesus was a small child receiving gifts from the magi. Today, he is a grown man beginning his public ministry.Read more…
Advent: Expecting Our Hope to Be Fulfilled (Scholar’s Compass)
In the Northern Hemisphere, Advent coincides with shortening days and falling temperatures, the dormant season for most plants and animals. In the Christian calendar, Advent prepares us for the celebration of Christmas. This season of expectation and longing overlays Israel’s long wait for the Messiah with our own long wait for the Messiah’s return.Read more…
The Best Christian Book of All Time: One Year Later
About a year ago, we announced our call for nominations for the Best Christian Book of All Time, and you — our readers — responded with great enthusiasm. From a nomination pool of over 140 worthies, we first narrowed theRead more…
The Future of ESN
This is my final post on the Emerging Scholars Blog. Well, my final planned post, anyway. Tom insisted that I leave the door open for guest posts in the future, but I won’t be writing here every Tuesday as I haveRead more…
What Is Ministry?
About 18 months ago, I stepped down from my position as Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network and handed the reins over to my faithful coworker Tom Grosh. I kept my toe in the world of campus ministry byRead more…
What Do You Need to Get Ready for Graduate School?
In the Spring a student’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of graduate school. – Alfred Lord Tennyson, more or less In recent weeks, I’ve addressed whether graduate school was a path a certain doom (no) and whether getting a tenure-trackRead more…
Is a Tenure-Track Job a Futile Dream?
Probably. Last week, I addressed the question of whether graduate school was a path to certain doom. In the comments of that post, John questioned my use of statistics to show that people with Ph.D.s had relatively good job prospectsRead more…
Is Graduate School a Path to Certain Doom?
Every few years, another publication discovers that becoming a tenured professor at a research university is hard work. Most recently, it was Slate, which ran an essay by Rebecca Shuman which, fittingly for an essay about literary study, had twoRead more…
Best Christian Book: What Have You Added to Your Reading List?
Thank you, Andy, for your amazing breakdown of the advanced metrics of the Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament. One of Andy’s findings was that the Tournament seedings came much closer to an ideal seeding than the most recentRead more…
The Best Christian Book of All Time: The Winner
We have a winner! Out of our original bracket of 64 books, one book has been chosen by Emerging Scholars Network members as the Best Christian Book of All Time. The Winner Confessions by Augustine has defeated Mere Christianity byRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: The Ultimate Showdown!
It has come to this. The two best books in the history of Christianity have been chosen by you, our readers and Emerging Scholars Network members, and we’re ready to answer the question of which book is the best Christian book ofRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Four
Over the weekend, voters made their choices for the Final Four in the Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament. Unlike the NCAA’s Final Four, ours was marked by fewer upsets and fewer broken legs. (Please – if you don’tRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: Final Elite Eight Selections
Did Dante’s Divine Comedy or C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia make it to the Elite Eight? Read more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: Elite Eight Update
The first teams books have arrived in the Elite Eight! Fittingly, this region paired two giants of 20th century apologetics and two giants of theology. Will this regional final answer the question of whether readers prefer accessible apologetics or densely arguedRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: The Sweet Sixteen
After a frantic week of voting, our original field of 64 has been whittled down to the Sweet Sixteen! Check out the Round 2 scores below, download the official bracket, and then head to Facebook to begin voting for ourRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: Final First Round Results
The first round results for the Fiction & Poetry and Memoirs, Devotionals, & Spirituality brackets are in. Higher seeds mostly held serve, with one or two upsets to keep things interesting. Here’s the updated bracket for your office pools. Vote for RoundRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: First Round Update
The first round has closed in the Theology & Apologetics and Christian Life & Discipleship brackets of our Best Christian Book of All Time tournament. Download the updated bracket for your office pools, and head to Facebook to vote forRead more…
The Best Christian Book of All Time Selection Show
The nominations have closed, the selection committee (of one) has met, and we’re ready to announce the official bracket for the Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament! Download your printable bracket for your office pool, and head over toRead more…
What IS a Christian Book? (A Working Definition)
Like the proverbial quiet before the storm, we pause this week in our Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament (BCBATT). Nominations closed over the weekend, and the brackets won’t be announced until next week. This seemed an appropriate timeRead more…
Best Christian Book of All Time: Early Nominations
The nominations are coming in for our Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament (BCBATT for short). So far, more than 140 different books have been nominated, ranging from the 2nd to the 21st centuries. Here are a few ofRead more…
What’s the Best Christian Book of All Time? (Call for Nominations)
We all have our favorite Christian books, as well as our favorite ones for undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, Urbana attendees, and so on. But which one is the best, the one book to which all others pale in comparison? HereRead more…
Omri Elisha: The Frustrations of Socially Engaged Evangelicals
I’m reading and blogging about Omri Elisha’s Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches, an ethnography of two evangelical megachurches in Knoxville, Tennessee. See my introduction to the series and my follow-up post about Bible Belt Christianity. InRead more…
Academic Conferences for Undergraduates
Academic conferences are a fact of life for graduate students and faculty, but there are plenty of opportunities for undergraduates, too — especially if you’re considering a career in academia. Many conferences feature special rates or events for undergraduates, andRead more…