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Becoming Grace surpasses the scope and purpose of most institutional histories, writes Brethren historian, Jeff Bach. He notes in the foreword that Burkholder, Norris, and their contributors offer a clear and balanced account of Grace College and Theological Seminary from its origins in Akron, Ohio, through its expansion at Winona Lake, Ind., and the difficulties of a later denominational division. The story is carefully set in the context of conflicts between professors and their advocates, the deeper Brethren framework behind those events, and the continued religious developments among the Grace Brethren. Add in broader cultural changes and developments within conservative Christianity in the U.S. in the early 20th century and readers will find the college and seminary illuminated against the backdrop of the larger landscape of Christian higher education in America. - Publisher.
About the author
Dr. Jared S. Burkholder is chair of the department of history and political science at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, where he also serves as associate professor of American and world history and specializes in American religious history. He has published research on the history of American evangelicalism, 18th century Moravian communities, and Anabaptists in North America. Dr. Burkholder teaches courses in American history, politics, religion, and the Middle East. He has traveled and researched in Europe, led a group of students on a study tour of Mexico, and is engaged in various writing projects including co-editing a history of Grace College and Seminary entitled
Becoming Grace (BMH 2015). Dr. Burkholder holds a B.A. in humanities from Columbia International University; an M.A. in church history from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; and a Ph.D. in religious studies (historical division) from the University of Iowa. He and his wife, Connie, are originally from Pennsylvania and have three children. Follow Dr. Burkholder on Twitter at @jsburkholder. He also blogs at The Pietist Schoolman.
Dr. Mark M. Norris is dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, where he serves as professor of European and world history and advises pre-law and social studies education students. He is engaged in various writing projects dealing with Tudor England, the history of India, and religion in America during the early part of the 20th centure. He co-edited a volume on the history of Grace College and Seminary entitled
Becoming Grace (BMH 2015). Dr. Norris has taken students on study trips to Scotland, India, and to areas in the South that were instrumental in the Civil Rights movement. He also is coach of the Grace mediation team. Dr. Norris holds a B.A. in history and English from Spring Arbor University; an M.Sc. in British history from the University of Edinburgh, UK; and a Ph.D. in British history from the University of Edinburgh, UK. He and his wife, Marla, have three children and live in Warsaw, Indiana.
