Tweeting the 2014 Meeting of the Conference on Faith and History

If you have been reading this blog or following my twitter feed (@johnfea1) you know that I just returned from the biennial meeting of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH).  This year’s CFH was special.  It was held in Malibu, California on the campus of Pepperdine University.  Lori Hunnicutt and her team at Pepperdine did an amazing job of hosting the 300 Christian historians who attended the conference,

But this year’s conference was also special because of the program.  Jay Green of Covenant College brought together a very impressive array of Christian historians and intellectuals to discuss the conference theme “Christian Historians & Their Publics.”

It is fair to say that this was the best CFH meeting ever held–both in terms of location and program. I have already started blogging about some of the sessions and hope to do a few more posts throughout the week  But to get us rolling, here are some of my favorite tweets from #cfh2014:

Behold John Wilson’s mysterious hagfish: http://t.co/g2tMTHgFm0 #cfh2014
— William McCoy (@ENCHistoryProf) September 27, 2014

This conversation is classic CFH stuff. Providence, contingency, mystery, history writing, Shea, Wilson, McClay, Noll #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Mark Noll should write a book on Christian apologetics. We need this! Do it Mark! #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 201

Mark Noll is saying things right now that are impossible to capture in a tweet. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 201

Shea: The facts (of the past) do not speak for themselves, they only speak when the historian makes them speak. #whystudyhistory #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

“Nostalgia tells it like it wasn’t” -McGowin #cfh2014
— Warren Throckmorton (@wthrockmorton) September 27, 2014

Shea: What if God continues to write the script of history without the permission of academic departments of history? #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Is the rise of religion in the non-western world a rebuke to the western world. Will mystery & enchantment be an unstoppable force? #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

McClay: Is it possible that we humans are made for mystery…every much as we are made for work and love? #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Charles Marsh on the perils of leaving his academic confines to write memoir. I admire his risktaking. This is brilliant stuff. #cfh2014
— Jana Riess/Twible (@janariess) September 27, 2014

Its Charles Marsh time at the CFH. Love the blue seersucker blazer, green pants, and boat sneakers. Very Malibu #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Having mentioned Dick Pierard’s chapter in our Pietist Impulse book… Turned my head just now, and there he is! #cfh2014
— Chris Gehrz (@cgehrz) September 27, 2014

Mackenzie: It’s harder to write for nonspecialists than for fellow historians. It helps to have a concrete reader in mind. #cfh2014
— Jana Riess/Twible (@janariess) September 27, 2014

Feeling like a proud mama as @JohnFea1 describes how @wjkbooks acquired his 2nd book. He was such a fabulous author to work with. #cfh2014
— Jana Riess/Twible (@janariess) September 27, 2014 

I passed the 5,000 tweet mark on @twitter and did not even realize it. That’s how good #cfh2014 @pepperdine has been.

— Miles S. Mullin, II (@msmullin) September 27, 2014

Balmer the Episcopal priest is taking over here at the end of the session. Call for evangelicals to claim prophetic voice. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

“When in doubt, quote yourself.” ~Randall Balmer #cfh2014
— Miles S. Mullin, II (@msmullin) September 27, 2014

Randall: As a young evangelical he wanted to communicate. Wanted to be able to write for his non-academic family. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Randy Balmer identifies William Least-Heat Moon’s classic ‘Blue Highways’ as the model for his own ‘Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.’ #cfh2014
— Jon Boyd (@octothorp) September 27, 2014

Randy Balmer’s dept chair advised him not to write “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory,” saying it’d be professional suicide. As if. #cfh2014
— Jana Riess/Twible (@janariess) September 27, 2014

Balmer: “Evangelicalism is in my DNA, I tried for 50 years to get rid of it and I can’t.” #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

“I want to be Randall Balmer when I grow up.” Todd Brenneman #cfh2014
— John D. Wilsey (@JDWilsey) September 27, 2014

Blum: Riffing on Balmer’s “body” and persona. Why do people want to look at Balmer and not G. Marsden. Both have pics online #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Blum: Balmer became enduring icon. He was professor, rock star, even a commodity. He was the story as much as evangelicalism was. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Riess: We need more “rock stars writers” who can situate themsleves in a narrative and connect with ordinary readers. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Riess: Endorsing the “scholarly trade market.” The age of the “limited scholarly monograph” are just about over. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Just walked up the stairs from the Pepperdine visitors parking lot to the plaza. I don’t recommend it. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

Whereas Marsden was detached from his subject, Balmer positioned himself inside the story. @janariess #cfh2014
— Miles S. Mullin, II (@msmullin) September 27, 2014

This is getting crazy. Now Jonathan Yeager wants Bebbington to “rank” the parts of the Quadrilateral. #cfh2014 Bebbington won’t do it.
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

CFH Update: Rick Kennedy urges audience to grab surfboards off the displays and take to the ocean. #surf #cfh2014
— Jake McAuliffe (@McAuliffeJake) September 27, 2014

Bebbington challenges Noll. (What? Who does this?) There IS something called evangelicalism. #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

“I have a firm principle: ‘Whatever Mark Noll says is right.'” —David Bebbington #cfh2014
— Jon Boyd (@octothorp) September 27, 2014

As my fellow tweeters are noting, we are really talking about white evangelicalism here. What African-Americans? Latinos? #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 27, 2014

#cfh2014 @JohnFea1 “I didn’t start blogging until I had tenure … and thick skin”
— Jared S. Burkholder (@jsburkholder) September 26, 2014

Promote the work of others through your blogging, not merely your own @p_emory #cfh2014
— John D. Wilsey (@JDWilsey) September 26, 2014

Putz’s paper is putting us senior bloggers to shame. Nice work, Paul. Somebody hire this guy! #cfh2014
— John Fea (@JohnFea1) September 26, 2014

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