A Look Back and a Look Forward: 2015 and 2016
2015 was a year of much activity for me; I appreciate all the opportunities to speak and write—to say nothing of to be with family and friends. I look forward with eager anticipation to 2016 and the opportunities it will bring.
I am going to focus on professional activities here. 2015 began with a trip to my home town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota to speak to a class at the University of Sioux Falls about Christianity and social justice on Martin Luther King Day. Fortunately, the normally extreme January weather there moderated during my brief stay.
In March, during my university’s Spring Break, I flew to Seattle and drove north to Bellingham to record an educational unit for Logos. I spent a week there, in the studio, Monday through Friday, most of the day every day. It was grueling work but very rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The Logos folks were extremely hospitable. The view of Mount Baker from my hotel was impressive. Spring came early to Bellingham, another weather blessing!
In April I drove to suburban Kansas City, Kansas to record an interview with Pastor Adam Hamilton about my newly published book Counterfeit Christianity: The Persistence of Error in the Churches (Abingdon Press). Adam is pastor of America’s largest United Methodist congregation—Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas—and a former student of mine. Abingdon Press sponsored the trip and made all the arrangements. I had to drive, however, because storms gathering around the airport here, out of which I always fly, threatened to prevent my going there. So I jumped in my car and, instead of driving to the airport one hundred miles away, drove north 637 miles and back the day after the interview. Adam and I had a wonderful reunion and recorded the interview about the book for a DVD that can accompany it.
In May I traveled to the gathering of the Missio Alliance in Alexandria, Virginia and spoke there four times—including twice with Ben Witherington whom I have come to admire and respect very highly.
May also included a wonderful time with family in Santa Fe, New Mexico and a side trip to Taos—somewhere I’ve never been before. Not long after arriving home from that vacation I happened to watch an episode of the television drama “Longmire”—about a sheriff supposedly in Wyoming. I immediately recognized downtown Taos as the real setting! I’ve been to Wyoming and the two places don’t look much alike. I sometimes wonder what television producers and movie makers are thinking! For example, I’ve seen scenes supposedly set in Kansas with snowcapped mountains in the background!
My employer gave me a “summer sabbatical” to work on a book and I finished it just before the new academic year began in late August. I was invited to write the book by a major publishing house, but I don’t want to reveal more about that until I hear back from the editor. I submitted the manuscript to him in October—just after putting the finishing touches on it. (The “finishing touches” included dividing chapters into sections with subtitles.) The subject of the book is what I call “narrative biblical metaphysics.” I doubt that will be any part of the title, however, as publishers are very sensitive to titles that might turn away potential readers. The book turned out to be my response to philosopher Alfred North Whitehead’s claim that Christianity is a “religion searching for a metaphysic.” I argue in the book that there is an implicit metaphysic within the biblical narrative and I attempt to draw it out and expound it. It is not a book of apologetics but of “biblical philosophy” written primarily for Christians. Others are welcome to read it when it is published (of course)!
Also, throughout the first two thirds of 2015 I worked on revisions to my book The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity for its 2nd edition to be published May 1, 2016 by InterVarsity Press. I finished the new chapter on the Holy Spirit and relatively minor revisions to other, already existing chapters and submitted the manuscript to the publisher which, of course, led to a series of exchanges (as always after a manuscript is submitted to a publisher). With great relief and satisfaction I see the 2nd edition announced in IVP’s Spring 2016 catalog “New Title Announcement.” The description of Mosaic was especially pleasing: “Roger E. Olson’s classic work….” Mosaic has been used by many professors across America as the main text for introductory courses in Christian theology. One of the main complaints about the first edition, however, has been the lack of a separate chapter on the Holy Spirit. I hope the 2nd edition will satisfy.
In May of 2015 my dean invited me to preach at one of the new academic year’s first chapel services—one in which Christian musician and recording artist Bill Gaither would be present. I eagerly accepted that invitation and worked on the sermon, weaving themes from Gaither’s own hymns and gospel songs into it, throughout the summer. Preaching to a packed chapel with Bill Gaither sitting in the front row was a tremendous privilege. Later, after lunch, Bill and I sang a duet together—something completely unplanned and unrehearsed. That chapel and lunch was one of the highlights of 2015 for me. I grew up (at least from my teen years on) singing “Gaither music” and have watched virtually every “Gaither Homecoming” performance on either DVD or television over the past twenty years. I shared with Bill that I was present at the West Des Moines (Iowa) Nazarene Camp Meeting, together with hundreds of others, maybe a thousand, when he and the Speer Family premiered Bill’s hit gospel song “The King Is Coming.” I was only nineteen years old then and never dreamed I would someday sing a duet with Bill Gaither.
In October of 2015 I traveled again to my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota (now a progressive, growing Upper Midwestern city) to preach and lead worship at my home church there. The local newspaper published an advance story about it, including a profile of me and my connections with the city and the church, which brought several “old friends” there to renew our acquaintance. One of them was one of my seminary professors, now in his eighties. It was a great time of singing “the old songs of Zion” and preaching to a mostly new congregation who “knew not Joseph.” The church was extremely welcoming and sang and listened eagerly. For me it was a long-anticipated and blessed reunion with the church I grew up in and served as assistant pastor while in seminary.
Autumn and early winter brought two speaking engagements. I flew to Birmingham, Alabama to speak at Samford University—delivering three talks to different types of audiences: select high achieving students, chapel, and faculty. I also spoke at a local Baptist church. While in Birmingham I spent time with my old friend Fisher Humphries—moderate Baptist theologian par excellence and dear mentor to hundreds of Baptist students over the years. I also met with a recently retired Alabama Supreme Court judge and lay theologian who wanted to talk with me about Calvinism and Arminianism! My four talks in Birmingham constituted the annual Holley-Hull Lectures.
About a month later I flew to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and drove to Grantham, just outside Harrisburg, to speak at Messiah College in conjunction with the annual study conference sponsored by the Messiah-based Sider Institute for Pietist and Anabaptist Studies. The conference is attended mostly by leaders and members of the Brethren in Christ denomination. There I spoke about the future of denominations in a post-denominational age and had very invigorating conversations with Messiah students and faculty as well as denominational leaders and pastors. I had “coffee and conversation” with my former student Meg Ramey who teaches religious studies (Bible) at Messiah. I always enjoy reunions with former students.
During 2016 I will continue working on my new project—editing the 14th edition of The Handbook of Denominations for Abingdon Press. Hopefully I will also see published a major essay on evangelical theology that I wrote for the editors of a (long) forthcoming book about Evangelicalism to be published by Columbia University Press. It is scheduled for publication in April. I wrote that chapter two years ago! I will record a ninety minute podcast with Homebrewed Christianity next week (January 5). I’m not sure when it will go up at their website for all to watch/listen to. I will write a chapter for a book about sociologist of religion Peter Berger’s pluralism thesis (replacing the secularism thesis he earlier espoused). Berger invited me to write a chapter in this book that will include a lead chapter by him. In April I will travel not far to deliver the Maston Lectures at East Texas Baptist University. And I will work very hard on my seminary’s renewal of accreditation “self study” project. I’m sure other writing and speaking opportunities will “pop up” throughout the year—as they always do. (In 2015 I spoke at several churches; I expect the same kinds of invitation will come my way in 2016.)
Of course, one of my major activities throughout 2015 that will continue in 2016 is writing and moderating this blog. I truly appreciate almost all of my faithful readers and interlocutors. Thanks to those of you who disagree with me in a civil, constructive manner and to those of you who support me from time to time with encouraging words.
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