Andy Rowell

Author: Andy Rowell

  • Newbigin, U2, Keller, Moltmann and more: my 72 Twitter micro-blog posts from the last three months

    I have been using Twitter to write down micro-blog posts.  I have tried to keep them around the theme of church leadership like my blog.  Each “tweet” is only 140 characters.  I try to provide something of value and not just tell you what I had for breakfast.  Anyway, I just thought I would post the last 72 here so you can see what has been on my mind the last three months.

    The most recent tweets (Oct 3rd) are at the top.

    1. Good theologians also know: "First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall" (Proverbs 16:18 The Message translation).1:33 PM  Oct 3rd from web

    2. R.R. Reno puts Duke and Notre Dame at top of his 2009 Ranking of Graduate Programs in Theology at First Things @ROFTERS http://bit.ly/6vaqH 12:40 PM Oct 3rd from bit.ly

    3. @scotmcknight At Tim Keller's post, I tried to explain Willow Creek as Anabaptist and evangelistic–affirming Keller. http://bit.ly/4ujBpW 8:07 PM Oct 2nd from web

    4. Tim Keller: Willow Creek "kingly", Reformed "prophetic", emerging "priestly." I comment–agreeing. http://bit.ly/4ujBpW via @edstetzer 9:10 PM Oct 1st from bit.ly

    5. Program Books: SBL http://bit.ly/ug2JH American Academy of Religion http://bit.ly/3SNpht Evangelical Theological Society http://bit.ly/xJXV2 2:29 PM Oct 1st from bit.ly

    6. The Nines Videos (75 9-minute-talks for church leaders) Now Online @leadnet http://bit.ly/117DPo 8:56 AM Oct 1st from bit.ly

    7. A Fuller Ph.D. student @kyledbennett rants about grading papers and I give my two cents. http://kyledavidbennett.com… 6:44 PM Sep 28th from web

    8. I commented on "Campus Ministry That’s Not for Every One" at John Stackhouse’s blog http://bit.ly/29TqNZ 10:12 AM Sep 28th from bit.ly

    9. I commented on the definition of "exclusivism" at "Gospel Exclusivists" post at @scotmcknight blog http://bit.ly/ZCtLJ 10:11 AM Sep 28th from bit.ly

    10. Famous historian Philip Jenkins, Princeton Sem's Kenda Creasy Dean, and author Os Guinness will be at Duke Div Oct 5-7. http://bit.ly/1gOe8t 2:38 PM Sep 27th from web

    11. I have posted some Resources for Theological Reflection on U2 that I have been looking at http://bit.ly/SBSwv 1:40 PM Sep 26th from bit.ly

    12. I recommend the book by Luther Seminary prof Christian @Scharen on U2. It argues they are theologically sophisticated. http://bit.ly/4ulFXJ 11:49 AM Sep 26th from web

    13. People from all over are coming here (Durham, NC) next weekend for an academic conference on U2. http://u2conference.com/ 11:39 AM Sep 26th from web

    14. Been reflecting on the column by the always provocative opinion columnist Maureen Dodd. It is indeed hard to be a woman. http://bit.ly/wtGtT 5:23 PM Sep 25th from web

    15. http://www.outreachmagazine… 100 Largest Churches in America for 2009. See top 16 at @kentshaffer http://bit.ly/T8MQE 9:37 AM Sep 25th from bit.ly

    16. Moltmann, LaHaye and Packer are all 83. A list by me: Birthdates of Famous Living Pastors and Theologians http://bit.ly/Udvmp 3:07 AM Sep 24th from bit.ly

    17. You can get an email of daily News & Ideas from Duke Divinity's Faith & Leadership http://bit.ly/4gkRZK & encourage them to join Twitter 🙂 10:59 AM Sep 23rd from bit.ly

    18. Elder to young E. Peterson, "How about you let us learn how to run the church and we let you learn how to be a pastor?" http://bit.ly/3j9lwl 10:46 AM Sep 23rd from web

    19. Eugene Peterson "I took my appointments calendar and wrote in two-hour meetings with 'FD' three afternoons a week." http://bit.ly/gjsvw 10:22 AM Sep 23rd from web

    20. Sound counsel on boundaries, family and time management by @JimMartin "The Pastor's Schedule" posted at @TheJesusCreed http://bit.ly/1ahHrq 10:16 AM Sep 23rd from bit.ly

    21. I commented on the post by @DGShroyer on A Peacemaking Kingdom (Moltmann) vs. A Peaceable Kingdom (Hauerwas) http://bit.ly/4enCWu 10:08 PM Sep 18th from bit.ly

    22. I highly recommend NT Pod http://podacre.blogspot.com/ by Duke prof Mark Goodacre @goodacre It is brief, fun, and thought-provoking. 4:39 PM Sep 17th from web

    23. Tonight's guest at Duke New Testament / Judaic Studies Colloquium is retired Oxford prof Géza Vermes on History in the Dead Sea Scrolls. 4:35 PM Sep 17th from web

    24. A great piece by Andy Crouch @ahc on attending the U2 concert, Apple products, homogeneity, greatness, and humility. http://bit.ly/i2F8R 3:31 PM Sep 17th from web

    25. I reviewed Lesslie Newbigin's 1956 primer Sin and Salvation http://bit.ly/GMJjv 10:58 PM Sep 16th from bit.ly

    26. I showed Newbigin class the 3 min YouTube gospel presentation by @jameschoung http://bit.ly/AvI3q as we reflected on N's Sin and Salvation. 9:03 PM Sep 16th from web

    27. I voiced my preference for tweeters who tweet once every couple days at Skye Jethani's post "Why I Don’t Tweet… http://bit.ly/1stKyz 7:01 AM Sep 16th from bit.ly

    28. A Twitter testimonial: I passed my friend a job opening that I heard about on Twitter and he got the job. Yeah! 1:07 PM Sep 15th from web

    29. Rare books by one of my favorite theologians: John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) Catalog @ERBks http://bit.ly/118UXc 11:34 PM Sep 11th from bit.ly

    30. Tonight and tomorrow we doctoral students from Duke and UVa are meeting to talk interdisciplinary approaches to "Canon and Pedagogy." 6:01 PM Sep 11th from web

    31. Great that cover art for The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays in Honor of Richard B. Hays http://bit.ly/2p9HEw is by Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura 5:51 PM Sep 11th from bit.ly

    32. Oct issue of Christianity Today @CTmagazine print edition debuts new format. See: http://www.christianitytoda… 5:28 PM Sep 11th from web

    33. This should get some chuckles regardless of where you stand. "The Top 10 Reasons Why Men Shouldn’t Be Ordained" http://bit.ly/4piHYN 2:57 PM Sep 11th from bit.ly

    34. I recommend the too little known blog http://praxishabitus.blogsp… by Davidson sociologist Gerardo Marti who tweets @praxishabitus 2:10 PM Sep 11th from web

    35. Free subscription to International Bulletin of Missionary Research for Students http://bit.ly/or2ii 3:48 PM Sep 10th from bit.ly

    36. Leadership Network & Catalyst present "The Nines" today online. http://thenines.leadnet.org/ 9/9/09 9:09a.m.CDT Free.7:37 AM Sep 9th from web

    37. I reviewed Signs Amid the Rubble (a collection of lectures on mission) by Lesslie Newbigin http://bit.ly/9UT0Y 11:43 PM Sep 7th from bit.ly

    38. See @kentshaffer 's new post based on a lot of research: The Top 100 most popular Church Blogs http://bit.ly/2aNem8 12:18 PM Sep 6th from bit.ly

    39. Geoffrey Wainwright on Constantianism, "It was Theodosius not Constantine who made Christianity the official state religion." 4:53 PM Sep 2nd from web

    40. The post "Translators Will Revise NIV in 2011" by @tedolsen at @CTmagazine has been revised and expanded http://bit.ly/Lrbr 9:44 PM Sep 1st from bit.ly

    41. I commented on this: Correcting the 'Mistakes' of TNIV, Translators Will Overhaul NIV | Liveblog | Christianity Today http://bit.ly/Lrbr 1:47 PM Sep 1st from bit.ly

    42. Moltmann on his early pastoral work in 1953-54, "My work as pastor was quite exciting, for I had hardly any practice." A Broad Place, p. 60. 12:07 AM Aug 29th from web

    43. Moltmann: 1st 3 theological mentors (1948-52) were "Barth-worshipers": Hans-Joachim Iwand, Ernst Wolf & Otto Weber. A Broad Place, p. 47. 11:57 PM Aug 28th from web

    44. Part 2 of 2-part-tweet . . . That is why anyone who was involved does not like to talk about it." Jürgen Moltmann, A Broad Place, 19. 11:28 PM Aug 28th from web

    45. Part 1 of 2-part-tweet: "War stories are not tales of adventure. They are stories about destruction and death . . . 11:27 PM Aug 28th from web

    46. During the next year, I am going to Catalyst Conference (Oct), ETS / SBL (Nov), Wheaton Theology Conference (Apr), and ASM / AETE (June). 10:33 AM Aug 28th from web

    47. I commented on Bonhoeffer's Life Together @scotmcknight http://bit.ly/EUZ7X & recommend Earl Palmer on B. @TheKindlings http://bit.ly/yVoQK 9:31 AM Aug 28th from bit.ly

    48. Today is the first day of class @DukeDivinity School. The courses offered this semester: http://www.divinity.duke.ed… 11:55 AM Aug 24th from web

    49. What do you recommend for Theological Spanish reading exam practice? http://bit.ly/10SsuZ 11:08 AM Aug 24th from web

    50. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Feb 4, 1906 – Apr 9, 1945) and Lesslie Newbigin (Dec 8, 1909 – Jan 30, 1998). I wish Bonhoeffer had made it to 1990's. 10:39 PM Aug 22nd from web

    51. Newbigin (age 41) & Barth (age 64) worked together at WCC conferences in 1950-1952. In retirement after 1974, N. read B's Dogmatics. 10:28 PM Aug 22nd from web

    52. Newbigin like Karl Barth did not have an earned doctorate in theology. 10:26 PM Aug 22nd from web

    53. Newbigin wrote his 3 most significant works (Open, Foolishness, Gospel) after mandatory retirement from position of bishop at 65 in 1974. 10:15 PM Aug 22nd from web

    54. I recommend Lesslie Newbigin's Unfinished Agenda: An Updated Autobiography. Accessible and inspiring. See my post http://bit.ly/15gYMk 4:21 PM Aug 21st from web

    55. Lots of talk today on Twitter and blogs about @JohnPiper 's blogpost The Tornado, the Lutherans, and Homosexuality http://bit.ly/UmUZ4 8:01 PM Aug 20th from bit.ly

    56. RT @FaithTheology Fuller Seminary professor and Barth translator Geoffrey Bromiley has died 1915-2009 http://bit.ly/4qOQc0 11:54 AM Aug 12th from web

    57. New blogpost: July / August Personal Update: leisure reading, preliminary exams preparation, and personal habits. http://bit.ly/cDtzu 11:43 PM Aug 10th from bit.ly

    58. In New Smyrna Beach, FL for 10th wed. anniversary (July 10). Reading Gilead & Giants: The Parallel Lives of F. Douglass and A. Lincoln. 5:00 PM Jul 24th from web

    59. @jwilson1812 Is that a B&C assignment? 🙂 Newbigin brought together ecclesiology, missiology, MacIntyre, biblical theology & charismatics. 1:01 AM Jul 22nd from web in reply to jwilson1812

    60. New memoir by @MargotStarbuck http://bit.ly/NDJpZ includes Glen Ellyn, IL, Westmont College, UrbanPromise, Princeton Seminary, & Durham, NC. 9:47 PM Jul 20th from bit.ly

    61. Lesslie Newbigin would have had 100th birthday on December 8, 2009. I am Geoffrey Wainwright's TA for Newbigin course this fall at Duke. 12:47 PM Jul 20th from web

    62. @jtremonti The Bethge biography of Bonhoeffer is monstrously long but accurate, personal, theological and gripping. 12:41 PM Jul 20th from web in reply to jtremonti

    63. I read biographies of Bonhoeffer, Barth & Packer. Next: Aquinas, Calvin, Newbigin, Yoder, FF Bruce, and Moltmann. Theology for story-lovers. 11:46 AM Jul 20th from web

    64. I commented on my friend @jasonclark 's update on his ongoing Ph.D. work in ecclesiology and political theology. http://bit.ly/RydGt 10:21 AM Jul 17th from bit.ly

    65. I encouraged Christa Countryman who is trying to finish The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky "My Summer Nemesis" http://bit.ly/eIAkz 3:54 PM Jul 14th from bit.ly

    66. "Distracted from distraction by distraction . . . in this twittering world." T.S. Eliot. Four Quartets (1943), p. 17. http://bit.ly/OTqDe 9:08 AM Jul 14th from web

    67. Wheaton Theology Conference April 16-17, 2010 with N.T. Wright, R.B. Hays, M. Bockmuehl, K. Vanhoozer–all favs of mine http://bit.ly/15pFon 8:42 PM Jul 10th from bit.ly

    68. Francis Collins Veritas Forum talks http://www.veritas.org/medi… "Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief" 9:00 PM Jul 9th from web

    69. Francis Collins nominated director of NIH. See @CTmagazine interviews http://bit.ly/2NVTiP His http://bit.ly/PjOao is #1 Apologetics @Amazon 8:51 PM Jul 9th from bit.ly

    70. Recommended date movie: "Once" (2007). It is is R for language. Beautiful, powerful, and wonderful music. http://bit.ly/CJeq7 11:38 PM Jul 8th from web

    71. My new website http://www.theologicalgerma… is up. 4:13 AM Jul 1st from web

    72. I posted my paper I wrote for Hauerwas "Bonhoeffer’s ecclesiology and making sense of Letters and Papers from Prison" http://bit.ly/bjd7u5:18 PM Jun 26th from bit.ly

  • Resources for Theological Reflection on U2

    We are going to the U2 conference Saturday night here in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I thought I would just provide a few theological resources that I have come across regarding U2.

    Note: You can now watch the whole concert performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calfornia on October 25, 2009 at YouTube.  (The first 2-3 minutes are slow until they walk onto the stage).  Here is the setlist.    

    Scharen's book One Step Closer

    I recommend the book

    Product Details

    One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God by Christian Scharen (April 1, 2006)

    Scharen, a blogger and twitterer, and theology professor at Luther Seminary (Ph.D. from Emory), argues that U2 is quite sophisticated theologically.  He argues that they are as explicitly Christian as they can be without alienating listeners who are not Christians.  Scharen has written a book that tries to help people make connections between what U2 is trying to say and do, and the Bible and theology.  It is well-written and accessible.  It made me want to listen to U2, read the Bible, and try to live my life in such a way that I am firmly embedded in the world while still trying to do what is right.  


    Keuss's Article "The Comedy"

    See also the review by Jeff Keuss in The Other Journal

    The Comedy of No Line on the Horizon: A Theological Reading of U2’s Latest Album

    Keuss, a theology professor at Seattle Pacific University and blogger, analyzes U2's new album. 


    U2 Academic Conference

    There is a U2 Academic Conference happening this week in Durham, NC.  People are coming from all over for it including: Keuss, Steve Taylor from New Zealand and Beth Maynard–host of U2 Sermons blog and an editor of Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog.  To some this may sound a little ridiculous–(analyzing a rock band?), but a lot of Ph.D.'s are presenting papers which makes it a legitimate "academic conference."  If you still think it is ridiculous, my bet is that you have not attended many academic conferences. At a typical academic conference, very serious thinking is done about incredibly obscure minutiae. The hope (often unstated and sometimes forgotten) is that the insights achieved will lead to wider and more significant implications.  The same probably applies to a conference on U2–to use their lyrics or popularity or art as a springboard into more substantive insights about the world.  Obviously, a group like U2 that bridges to some extent the popular / critical divide, and has a wide body of work to study, and appeals to a lot of scholars who are now in their 30's, 40's and 50's, is a fun place from which to begin exploring the world.


    After writing this post, Calhoun's review article appeared

    Where Could We Go from Here?
    The state of U2 studies.
    Scott Calhoun | posted 10/22/2009 Books & Culture

    Calhoun mentions a number of books that reflect on U2 and Christianity and has a number of interesting comments himself.  Below I list the books he mentions and what he says about them.  

    "An introduction"

    "Steve Stockman's Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2, first published in 2001 and updated in 2005, is widely considered as the best-sourced book that looks mainly at the spiritual aspects of the band members' lives and the music they have created."

    "Christian Scharen helped us understand, with One Step Closer in 2006, 'why U2 matters to those seeking God.'"

    "On my timeline of U2 studies, Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog, a collection of 25 sermons edited by Beth Maynard and Raewynne Whiteley, came surprisingly early. Yet upon closer examination, its publication in 2003 signifies that U2's work had already generated amongst fans a wealth of ideas and implications for the religious life. Since Maynard began her "U2 Sermons" blog in 2003, it has remained the best source I know of for theological insights inspired by the band and for tracking the theological reflections of others on U2 (U2sermons.blogspot.com)."

    "Robert Vagacs' Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective, is an insightful study of U2 as poets and prophets, amply informed by Vagacs' reading of Walter Brueggemann. Vagacs treats U2's songs as texts that increase in meaning and significance when read for their intertexts, poetics, and cultural rhetoric, and he studies U2 as a group of artists shaped by the art in their lives as well as by the times they live in."

    "Stephen Catanzarite's Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall, is a rich assessment of the human condition writ large. Working his way through U2's masterpiece album from 1991, Catanzarite explores how echoes of a lost divinity frustrate the acts of men and women searching for hope, love, and life in a world of broken promises and discarded sacraments."

    He also mentions as an example of the academic work being done surrounding U2:


    Crouch and Briggs Concert Reviews

    A couple of people have posted reviews of earlier shows on the tour:

    The Pinnacle of Power: What I saw at the U2 concert.

    Andy Crouch, a senior editor at Christianity Today International

    and

    U2 360: NYC 09.24.09 Review

    J.R. Briggs, a pastor and author in Pennsylvania


    Other resources: Setlists and Videos

    Here is a recent setlist.  You can find all the setlists at U2gigs.com

    Note: You can now watch the whole concert performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calfornia on October 25, 2009 at YouTube.  (The first 2-3 minutes are slow until they walk onto the stage).  Here is the setlist.      

    U2 @ Giants Stadium – 9/23/09 – setlist

    1. Breathe
    2. Magnificent
    3. Get On Your Boots
    4. Mysterious Ways
    5. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
    6. She's The One / Desire (snippet)
    7. Elevation
    8. Your Blue Room
    9. Beautiful Day / Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (snippet)
    10. No Line On The Horizon
    11. New Year's Day
    12. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
    13. The Unforgettable Fire
    14. Mofo (snippet) / City Of Blinding Lights
    15. Vertigo
    16. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
    17. Sunday Bloody Sunday
    18. MLK
    19. Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
    20. One / Amazing Grace (snippet)
    21. Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)

    encore:
    22. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
    23. With Or Without You
    24. Moment of Surrender

    Notes: Breathe returns as the opener after missing the previous gig entirely.
    Unknown Caller misses a 360° Tour gig for only the third time.

    You can watch lots of U2 videos for free at MTV and VH1.

  • The Birthdates of Famous Living Pastors, Theologians, Christian Leaders, Philosophers, etc.

    I have read biographies about Billy Graham, John Stott, Jürgen Moltmann, and J.I. Packer.  This started me thinking about the ages of other famous pastors, theologians, Christian leaders, philosophers, etc..  I looked some of them up tonight on Wikipedia and made a list.  It is intentionally eclectic–showing some odd connections.  For example, Moltmann, LaHaye and Packer are all 83.  Tim Keller and Rowan Williams are both 59. 

    [Updated slightly Feb 4, 2013]

    The Birthdates of Famous Living Pastors, Theologians, Christian Leaders, Philosophers, etc.

    Here they are from oldest to youngest. 

    Billy Graham (born November 7, 1918)

    John Stott, born April 27, 1921) Died 27 July 2011

    Jürgen Moltmann (born April 8, 1926)

    Tim LaHaye (born April 27, 1926)

    J.I. Packer (born July 22, 1926)

    Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Alois Ratzinger (born 16 April 1927)

    Donald G. Bloesch (born 1928) Died Aug. 24, 2010.

    Gustavo Gutiérrez (born 8 June 1928)

    Jean Vanier (born September 10, 1928)

    Wolfhart Pannenberg (born 2 October 1928

    Alasdair MacIntyre (born 12 January 1929

    Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930)

    John Zizioulas (born 10 January 1931)

    Chuck Colson (born October 16, 1931) Died April 21, 2012.

    Thomas Oden (born October 21, 1931)

    Charles Taylor (born November 5, 1931)

    Eugene Peterson (born November 6, 1932)

    Walter Brueggemann (born 1933)

    Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. (born 1933)

    Gordon Fee (born 1934)

    Dallas Willard (September 4, 1935)

    Walter Wink (born 1935)

    Tony Campolo (born 1935)

    James Dobson (born April 21, 1936)

    E.P. Sanders (born 18 April 1937)

    James D. G. Dunn (born 1939)

    Jay Kesler (1939?)

    Darrell Guder (1939)

    Ronald Sider (born 17 September 1939).

    George Marsden (born February 25, 1939)

    Stanley Hauerwas (born July 24, 1940)

    Os Guinness (born September 30, 1941)

    L. Paige Patterson (born October 19, 1942)

    Marilynne Robinson (born November 26, 1943)

    Gordon MacDonald (1943?)

    Larry Crabb (born 1944)

    Walter Wangerin, Jr. (born February 13, 1944)

    Oliver O'Donovan (born 1945)

    John Piper (born January 11, 1946)

    William Willimon (born May 15, 1946)

    Mark A. Noll (born 1946)

    Martha Nussbaum (born May 6, 1947)

    John C. Maxwell (born 1947)

    Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948)

    Richard B. Hays (born May 4, 1948)

    Jim Wallis (born June 4, 1948),

    Marva J. Dawn (born August 20, 1948)

    N.T. Wright (born December 1, 1948)

    Philip Yancey (born 1949)

    Rowan Williams (born 14 June 1950)

    Tim Keller (born 1950)

    Bill Hybels (born 1951)

    Sarah Coakley (1951)

    John Milbank (born 1952)

    Alister McGrath (born 23 January 1953)

    Rick Warren (born January 28, 1954)

    John Webster (born 1955)

    George Barna (born 1955)

    Brian McLaren (born 1956)

    Miroslav Volf (born 1956)

    Kevin J. Vanhoozer (born 1957)

    John Ortberg (born May 5, 1957)

    T. D. Jakes Sr. (born June 9, 1957)

    R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (born 1959)

    Bono (born 10 May 1960)