Professor Dwight Friesen recently posted a list of his top 10 reads of the year. We thought it was a good list and wanted to share!

1. Loving to Know: Covenant Epistemology, by Esther L. Meek
2. The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture, by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
3. God and the Art of Happiness, by Ellen T. Charry
4. Recovering the Commons: Democracy, Place, and Global Justice, by Herbert Reid & Betsy Taylor
5. Christ the Key, by Kathryn Tanner
6. The Pastor: A Memoir, by Eugene H. Peterson
7. The End of Evangelicalism? Discerning a New Faithfulness for Mission: Towards an Evangelical Political Theology, by David E. Fitch
8. Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love, by Mark Scandrette
9. Migrations of the Holy: God, State, and the Political Meaning of the Church, by William T. Cavanaugh
10. Missional Spirituality: Embodying God’s Love from the Inside Out, by Roger Helland & Leonard Hjalmarson

Here’s a great weekend read: Professor Chelle Stearns, Assistant Professor of Theology at The Seattle School, wrote a great article for our sister site, The Other Journal, on storytelling and heros.

Chelle is also a regular blogger and you can follow her writings on her own site, where she posts great photos like these:

Every year, MHGS hosts a forum for the Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Studies students to present their Integrative Projects. These projects are 9-month long studies in a subject that a student has a passion around and range from biblical study to cultural exegesis to ecclesial challenges. After many months of research, processing, and writing, the final product is a dissertational paper. This year, we proudly participated in the presentation of eight students as they shared their major accomplishment to us.

Below is a recording of each student’s presentation and a link to some of their final papers.

A.W.E. Carlson presents his paper, “Subversive Liturgy: Recovering a Social Imagination in the Work of the People.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Download Andy’s Paper.

Richard Kim presents his paper, “Multicultural Engagement in a Postmodern Age.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Mark Mielbrecht presents his paper, “Being the Imago Dei in the World: Is it Possible to Live as the Image and Likeness of God?” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Abigail Vizcarra Perez presents her paper, “The Poetics of Children’s Ministry: The Role of Metaphor in Early Stages of Faith Formation.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Download Abigail’s paper.

Jen Roach presents her paper, “Programed to Death: Why Churches Fail to Bring Life.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Eden Smith presents her paper, “Via Feminina: The Way of the (Young) Feminine.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Isaac Unseth presents his paper, “Hospice Care for Dying Churches: Initiating End-of-Life-Issues Conversations with Congregations – An Organization-Development and Pastoral Approach.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Download Isaac’s Paper.

Hayden Wartes presents her paper, “Trauma and the Body: of Christ.” from Mars Hill Graduate School.

Download Hayden’s paper.

Recently Dr Chelle Stearns hosted a conversation about the intersecting roles between pastors and therapists. Growing out of the coursework for her class “Theology II: Constructing the Theological Mosaic,” Dr. Stearns invited MHGS counselling psychology faculty members Dr. Stephanie Neill and Dr. Caprice Hollins to join local pastors Dr. Rose Madrid-Swetman and Tim Soerens (MHGS MDiv alumnus) to gather for a panel discussion with the MHGS community. 1st year MACP student Jenny Wanty shares her impressions of that night’s conversation.

After a long and draining day of classes a friend asks, “are you staying for the ministry and counseling conversation?”

“Uh…sure.” And just like that I decided to extend my long day another hour.  Although I only heard of this conversation five minutes prior, there really was no question in my mind whether or not I would stay.  I decided to attend MHGS because I desire to see an integration of ministry and counseling.  Specifically, I want to bring counseling into a church setting where myself and others are imperfect examples of God the Counselor. The panel of men and women were phenomenal and each provided great insight into this ever growing conversation.

Continue Reading The Many Shapes of Leadership

3rd year MDiv student Jev Forsberg writes about participating in the 2011 Society of Vineyard Scholars Annual Conference where he presented his paper “YHWH, Batman, Popeye, and Jerry Falwell: Questioning the Myth of Redemptive Violence.”

As a good “High Church” boy, experiencing forty minutes of intense charismatic worship bracketed by a Spirit-wielding prayer-warrior pastor/preacher slaying congregant after congregant in the Anointing of the Spirit was, shall we say, not a typical worship experience for me. Nevertheless, that is how I joyously spent my time at the 2011 Society of Vineyard Scholars Annual Conference here in Seattle, Washington.

During the Conference weekend, the celebration of the Eucharist was void of the pomp, circumstance, and vestments with which I was familiar, and was instead filled with laughter, eye-contact, and a cheese and wine buffet. Instead of singing the traditional and enduring hymns I knew by heart, we sang fresh melodies with passion, fervor, tears and dance. The setting was charming, the speakers were stirring, the symposiums were challenging, and the mood was easy. It was a spectacular weekend!

Despite my lack of familiarity with Vineyard’s distinct style of worship and liturgy, I quickly came to learn that their passion and desire to experience the Triune God was matched that weekend equally by their intellectual vigor and thirst for theological excellence.

Continue Reading A Weekend With The Society of Vineyard Scholars

Becca Shirley shares how actually telling the stories of scripture are often an invitation to engage with the holy text.

It was Wednesday night, and Sacred Space was gathered for our bi-weekly realm meeting.  We were discussing themes, words, stories, etc. that might guide us and our community into the season of lent.  Someone suggested the story of the woman with the alabaster jar in Luke 7.  Another team member looked puzzled for a moment, and said he didn’t remember that story.  Now, it happened that I did remember the story. But even more so, I knew the story.

Continue Reading I Could Tell You A Story…

On February 9th, Jon Stanley – MAC/MDiv Alumnus from 2005 – delivered a lecture on the new atheism and the cultural debate around it. You can listen to Jon’s lecture below or download the transcript here (PDF.)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I learned from a very young age to speak of the world in ‘black and white’ terms where everything can be separated into two camps: it’s either this or that, us or them, me or you. This was the product of what I would label ‘legalism’ or maybe it was simply the Southern Christian culture in which I found myself in; I was unable or unwilling to acknowledge the gray areas of life. Since coming to Seattle and choosing Mars Hill Graduate School as my place of further education I have experienced many transformations both educationally and personally (although those are not mutually exclusive of each other). While the weather in Seattle leans mostly towards the gray spectrum these days I’ve learned to see the beauty of the colors in everything. More specifically, to speak in black, white, and gray terms means that I tend to ignore the bright, beautiful, splendid colors that our Creator uses when (S)he creates – vibrant greens, plush reds, cheery yellows, ominous oranges, brilliant blues, purples that take your breath away… how could I be so unaware of the beauty that permeates my reality?

Continue Reading The Beauty of the Gray

Danny Donohue, a 2nd year MACP student, reflects on the advent season and how it shapes his spiritual direction

Lately I’ve been giving much thought to the wise men who followed the star to baby Jesus. I’m deeply moved by the fact that the wisdom of this world, embodied in the wise men, came and bowed to Wisdom personified–before he could deliberately minister to them. Before the wise men could get much out of Jesus.

Continue Reading Wise Guys

2nd year MACP student Nick Cox reviews a new publication co-authored by a team of writers, including two of MHGS‘s Theology Faculty.

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

This is a dialogical move that Dwight Friesen uses frequently. A way of continuing the conversation by making space for the other. I was reminded of this the other day when I was taking a walk and ran into him on bridge across Aurora Avenue.

It was a bright fall day graced by the sun’s long-awaited appearance. Crisp fall air seemed to bring our surroundings into hyperreal focus. Mount Rainier was visible to the south—also a precious experience in the fall, and the Puget Sound was calm to the north all the way to Bainbridge Island and beyond. Because of the beauty of the moment that Dwight seemed to be enjoying as I approached, I was immediately aware of the possibility I might be intruding on some well-deserved solitude. However, even at fifteen paces’ distance, I could see his face brighten as he called a greeting to me. I felt welcomed when I arrived in his presence as he engaged me in a conversation during which he didn’t just impart his wisdom (which, in this situation, one of a student approaching a professor, would’ve been more than appropriate), he challenged me while encouraging my unique viewpoint on the topic.

Fittingly, it is this last sentiment—that of being both challenged to think critically and encouraged to share and develop my particular voice—that lingers as I come away from reading Routes & Radishes (and Other Things to Talk About at the Evangelical Crossroads), a collaborative new publication from MHGS’s own Chelle Stearns (Assistant Professor of Theology) and Dwight Friesen (Associate Professor of Practical Theology).

Continue Reading Routes & Radishes – A New Book Featuring Two MHGS Professors