Sometimes a prophet is accepted in his hometown.
Author
John Schmalzbauer
Sociologist John Schmalzbauer teaches in the Religious Studies Department at Missouri State University where he holds the Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies. Prior to that he taught in the Sociology/Anthropology Department at the College of the Holy Cross. He is the author of "People of Faith: Religious Conviction in American Journalism and Higher Education" (Cornell). In addition to "Call & Response," he is a regular contributor to "The Immanent Frame" and the Patchwork Nation Project of the "Christian Science Monitor." He is co-investigator on the National Study of Campus Ministries. A graduate of Wheaton College, Schmalzbauer earned his doctorate from Princeton University.
John Schmalzbauer: How Kansas raises pastors
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John Schmalzbauer
Over the past half-century, a single Kansas county has yielded a heavy harvest of Christian leaders.
The Evangelical Covenant Church has affected your life. Even if you haven’t heard of it.
John Schmalzbauer: A haven for independent bookstores
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John Schmalzbauer
The Mennonite hub of Newton, Kansas, bristles with religious booksellers at a time when they’re going out of fashion elsewhere.
In a world of unintended consequences, religious leaders cannot see the future. This is especially true of pioneers.
John Schmalzbauer: Glenn Beck and Stanley Hauerwas
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John Schmalzbauer
Both Beck and Hauerwas claim that justice is a bad idea; one for Christians, the other for Americans.
If mainline denominations do not learn to tend their own theological gardens through Christian Education that is specific to their own heritage, they will not survive.
John Schmalzbauer: Editors more important than bishops
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John Schmalzbauer
Magazines play a key role in the ecology of faith in the US. For now.
Forget the Manhattan Declaration. The real news from evangelicals? Gourmet televangelism.
It might not be cool to listen to southern gospel music in American academia. But to understand it is to understand the rest of our culture.
The parallels between the decline in print journalism and that in mainline Protestantism are eerie. Their renewal will require creative renewals of the best of their traditions for a new day.
Lilly Endowment Inc. announces Exploring Christian Practices Initiative
The Exploring Christian Practices Initiative aims to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith.
In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative and provide compelling and thoughtful responses to its guiding questions. The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants and announcing grant awards in December 2026.
The Endowment will host four virtual information sessions (February 17, 19, 24, and 25) to discuss the Exploring Christian Practices guidelines for submitting a proposal. An Interest Form and Letter of Interest are due March 25, 2026. Complete proposals are due May 18, 2026.
Learn More and register for information sessions