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Papers by Christopher Richmann

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

A meta-analysis that supports the use of student evaluations of teaching. The report concludes: “... more A meta-analysis that supports the use of student evaluations of teaching. The report concludes: “In general, student ratings tend to be statistically reliable, valid, and relatively free from bias or the need for control, perhaps more so than any other data used for faculty evaluation” (12). Some suspicion may be in order, since this is a study done on behalf of an organization that produces an evaluation (IDEA). The study fails to elaborate on what “important aspects of teaching...students are not competent to rate” (2) and may subtly downplay evidence that challenges its conclusions (referring to correlations as “low” [8] or “quite low” [10] when data did not fit the argument, and “correlated positively” when comparable statistics support their argument [3]). Still, the study offers useful suggestions for increasing ratings (4) and cautions that SET should be used carefully and judiciously.

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2020

As with all language, the words of a syllabus carry emotional associations. Previous literature h... more As with all language, the words of a syllabus carry emotional associations. Previous literature has not objective-ly measured the emotional associations of syllabus language or explored the relationship between instructors’ teaching style and the emotional associations of syllabus language. Using the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) framework, this article reports baseline measurements for syllabus language, investigates the relationship be-tween Grasha’s teaching styles and instructors’ self-perceived emotional associations with teaching, and compares instructors’ self-perceptions with the emotional associations of their syllabus language. Moderate correlations between teaching PAD scores and Grasha’s teaching style inventory suggest the emotion that may connect with concrete teaching attitudes and behaviors. Crucially, we find that most instructors’ syllabi are incongruent with their teaching selfperceptions on key emotional dimensions. In other words, instructors’ syllabi are not...

Lutheran Quarterly, 2018

sin in the world” (188). But all this substantiates Nelson’s point: Even though the Christian God... more sin in the world” (188). But all this substantiates Nelson’s point: Even though the Christian God was no longer necessary in Scandinavian life, the Lutheran ethos survives (188). Scandinavian-Americans sometimes puzzle over the low numbers of Scandinavians who attend church on a regular basis. Nelson would tell us that in spite of their lack of attendance they are still good Lutherans, albeit deeply secular ones. Grand View University Mark Mattes Des Moines, Iowa

Teaching in Higher Education, 2021

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a new discipline, with seeds sown by education... more The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a new discipline, with seeds sown by educational theorists of the early twentieth century and blossoming in the 1990s. As an inherently interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field focusing on higher education, SoTL interrogates a range of subjects, encompasses a variety of genres, and uses a swath of methodologies. What is lacking in the literature and its application, however, is sustained engagement with the great pedagogical thinkers of the past. Using the methods of textual analysis, this article explores the pedagogical advice of Augustine of Hippo in his De catechizandis rudibus, categorizing Augustine's major themes in alignment with four key topics of SoTL: instructor disposition, learning environment, presentation of material, and knowing students. These convergences suggest that ancient thinkers are vastly underused sources of pedagogical knowledge and a possible entry point for educational developers working with faculty unfamiliar with or resistant to SoTL.

Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association, 2016

In contrast to their counterparts in the United States, early British Pentecostal leaders more of... more In contrast to their counterparts in the United States, early British Pentecostal leaders more often fostered interdenominational cooperation and stressed common evangelical identity. None represented this tendency better than A.A. Boddy, Anglican vicar and one of the most influential European Pentecostals in the first decade of the movement. Boddy's approach to Pentecostal theology and practice was inseparable from his understanding of evangelical unity, which can be seen in how Boddy allowed disagreement on non-vital issues, checked ‘unscriptural’ excesses, stressed the practical results of Spirit-baptism, and emphasized a Christ-centred theology. Although Boddy's vision of evangelical unity was shaped by his historical context and came to be displaced by a more sectarian Pentecostalism by the 1920s, it provides useful material for those wishing to formulate a Pentecostal witness that engages openly with other Christian traditions.

PNEUMA, 2015

Scholars recognize William H. Durham as responsible for introducing a non-Wesleyan theology of sa... more Scholars recognize William H. Durham as responsible for introducing a non-Wesleyan theology of sanctification into the early pentecostal movement. Because the controversy over Durham’s “finished work of Calvary” theology precipitated a rift in early Pentecostalism that had lasting institutional ramifications, Durham occupies a crucial place in pentecostal historiography. Yet, scholarly treatment of Durham has been hindered by misjudgments in three areas of inquiry. First, a series of unsupported historical details has led to a dubious timeline for the unveiling of the finished-work teaching. Second, the chronological errors have obscured the role of A.S. Copley in the early stages of pentecostal anti-Wesleyan theology. Third, a Durham-centered interpretation of the origins of Oneness Pentecostalism has distorted Durham’s basic soteriological insights.

Pentecostalism in North America has stalled. This dissertation seeks reasons for the current impa... more Pentecostalism in North America has stalled. This dissertation seeks reasons for the current impasse in the triumphalism that has driven the development of Pentecostalism and proposes a critique of that triumphalism through the application of Martin Luther's theology of the cross. This work is intended primarily as a project of constructive theology. It comprises three movements. The first is principally historical, in which I survey the emergence of Pentecostalism. Chapter 1 finds that its development was driven by forces of restorationism and perfectionism, two dynamics that have a long history in American Protestantism. Together these two impulses account for the triumphalism that coloured not only the formation of Pentecostalism, but Evangelicalism, generally. The second chapter traces the development of Pentecostal triumphalism historically from Azusa Street, through the institutionalizing process and defines Pentecostal triumphalism as a form of spiritual immediacy. The second movement is an exploration in historical theology. Chapter 3 considers Luther as a resource for Pentecostal theology by situating him historically in his theological conflict with Roman Catholicism and the Radical Reformation and discovering resonances between his thought and that of Pentecostals. Turning to a contemplation of Luther's theologia crucis, chapter 4 establishes its value as a critique of both personal and institutional IV triumphalism. Furthermore, it considers the resurrection as an often undeveloped dimension of the theology of the cross. Connecting cross and resurrection in Luther's thought sets up the third movement, which is essentially an endeavour in constructive theology. Assisted by the work of Jiirgen Moltmann, chapter 5 expresses the theology of the cross in terms of two component dynamics, a pneumatologia crucis, and an eschatologia crucis, the nexus of which accounts for Spirit baptism, the central feature of Pentecostalism. In the final chapter, this model is applied to a variety of issues in Pentecostal theology including spiritual experience, sanctification, and the supernatural, with a view to mitigating its underlying triumphalism. Doing so establishes the basis of Pentecostalism on theological grounds rather than the two historical dynamics of restorationism and perfectionism, which appear to have driven its development. v Preface I was not born a Pentecostal. I suppose the pioneers of Azusa might say, "No one was. After, all, God has no grandchildren!" I came to Pentecostalism after a dramatic conversion experience at the age of nineteen, which, like the best testimonies, rescued me from a life of sin, degradation and eventual oblivion. At that point, I had never heard of Pentecostals, and when the fellow who had picked me up as I was hitchhiking shared his experience of Christ with me something life-changing took place. When he prayed with me and spoke in tongues, I just assumed it was a foreign language. It literally sounded like Greek to me! Early in my Christian experience I had been warned to stay away from Pentecostals. All manner of spiritual havoc could ensue. But the first time I walked into a Pentecostal service, about a year and half after my conversion, I knew I had come home. The tears that streamed down Winfred Anderson and Ethel Neal's cheeks as they sang "It is Well with My Soul;" the outstretched arms peppered around the small auditorium; the abandon of passionate worship-these all seemed commensurate with the experience in that Volkswagen Beetle on Highway 401. From that moment I began an intense search for what made this church different from others. These were the heady days of charismatic renewal. It was 1976 and there were Full Gospel Businessmen's breakfasts to attend, Bob Mumford and Judson Cornwall tapes to hear, and especially books from Logos Press. Real Holy Spirit stuff like Dennis Bennett's Nine O'clock in the Morning, and especially Harold Hill's How to Live Like a King's Kid, let alone the Pentecostal classics like Smith Wigglesworth's Ever Increasing Faith from Gospel Publishing House. But beneath the zeal and palpable vi X XI PART II Chapter 3 Chapter 4 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Identity Crisis in Contemporary Pentecostalism 2.3 Defining a Revivalist Hermeneutic

Empathy is a nebulous concept that is nonetheless touted in many schools’ curricular goals and st... more Empathy is a nebulous concept that is nonetheless touted in many schools’ curricular goals and striven for by many instructors. Unfortunately, lack of a shared definition and reliable measures for empathy hamper efforts to determine whether this goal is realized. Defining empathy as “the ability to know the internal state of another,” this study explores the effect on students’ empathy of a learning project focused on Christian “heresies,” developing and refining tools for assessing empathy in student writing. The intervention included scripted role-playing and reflection, group discussion, and an essay in which students discussed the appeal and rejection of a particular heresy in the persona of a “heretic.” We found no significant effect in time or group comparison on an empathy questionnaire; an upper-middling level of empathy in essays, and a large effect in group comparison of student responses to a simple prompt to define a “Christian heretic.”

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

Routledge eBooks, Jul 9, 2024

A meta-analysis that supports the use of student evaluations of teaching. The report concludes: “... more A meta-analysis that supports the use of student evaluations of teaching. The report concludes: “In general, student ratings tend to be statistically reliable, valid, and relatively free from bias or the need for control, perhaps more so than any other data used for faculty evaluation” (12). Some suspicion may be in order, since this is a study done on behalf of an organization that produces an evaluation (IDEA). The study fails to elaborate on what “important aspects of teaching...students are not competent to rate” (2) and may subtly downplay evidence that challenges its conclusions (referring to correlations as “low” [8] or “quite low” [10] when data did not fit the argument, and “correlated positively” when comparable statistics support their argument [3]). Still, the study offers useful suggestions for increasing ratings (4) and cautions that SET should be used carefully and judiciously.

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2020

As with all language, the words of a syllabus carry emotional associations. Previous literature h... more As with all language, the words of a syllabus carry emotional associations. Previous literature has not objective-ly measured the emotional associations of syllabus language or explored the relationship between instructors’ teaching style and the emotional associations of syllabus language. Using the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) framework, this article reports baseline measurements for syllabus language, investigates the relationship be-tween Grasha’s teaching styles and instructors’ self-perceived emotional associations with teaching, and compares instructors’ self-perceptions with the emotional associations of their syllabus language. Moderate correlations between teaching PAD scores and Grasha’s teaching style inventory suggest the emotion that may connect with concrete teaching attitudes and behaviors. Crucially, we find that most instructors’ syllabi are incongruent with their teaching selfperceptions on key emotional dimensions. In other words, instructors’ syllabi are not...

Lutheran Quarterly, 2018

sin in the world” (188). But all this substantiates Nelson’s point: Even though the Christian God... more sin in the world” (188). But all this substantiates Nelson’s point: Even though the Christian God was no longer necessary in Scandinavian life, the Lutheran ethos survives (188). Scandinavian-Americans sometimes puzzle over the low numbers of Scandinavians who attend church on a regular basis. Nelson would tell us that in spite of their lack of attendance they are still good Lutherans, albeit deeply secular ones. Grand View University Mark Mattes Des Moines, Iowa

Teaching in Higher Education, 2021

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a new discipline, with seeds sown by education... more The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a new discipline, with seeds sown by educational theorists of the early twentieth century and blossoming in the 1990s. As an inherently interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field focusing on higher education, SoTL interrogates a range of subjects, encompasses a variety of genres, and uses a swath of methodologies. What is lacking in the literature and its application, however, is sustained engagement with the great pedagogical thinkers of the past. Using the methods of textual analysis, this article explores the pedagogical advice of Augustine of Hippo in his De catechizandis rudibus, categorizing Augustine's major themes in alignment with four key topics of SoTL: instructor disposition, learning environment, presentation of material, and knowing students. These convergences suggest that ancient thinkers are vastly underused sources of pedagogical knowledge and a possible entry point for educational developers working with faculty unfamiliar with or resistant to SoTL.

Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association, 2016

In contrast to their counterparts in the United States, early British Pentecostal leaders more of... more In contrast to their counterparts in the United States, early British Pentecostal leaders more often fostered interdenominational cooperation and stressed common evangelical identity. None represented this tendency better than A.A. Boddy, Anglican vicar and one of the most influential European Pentecostals in the first decade of the movement. Boddy's approach to Pentecostal theology and practice was inseparable from his understanding of evangelical unity, which can be seen in how Boddy allowed disagreement on non-vital issues, checked ‘unscriptural’ excesses, stressed the practical results of Spirit-baptism, and emphasized a Christ-centred theology. Although Boddy's vision of evangelical unity was shaped by his historical context and came to be displaced by a more sectarian Pentecostalism by the 1920s, it provides useful material for those wishing to formulate a Pentecostal witness that engages openly with other Christian traditions.

PNEUMA, 2015

Scholars recognize William H. Durham as responsible for introducing a non-Wesleyan theology of sa... more Scholars recognize William H. Durham as responsible for introducing a non-Wesleyan theology of sanctification into the early pentecostal movement. Because the controversy over Durham’s “finished work of Calvary” theology precipitated a rift in early Pentecostalism that had lasting institutional ramifications, Durham occupies a crucial place in pentecostal historiography. Yet, scholarly treatment of Durham has been hindered by misjudgments in three areas of inquiry. First, a series of unsupported historical details has led to a dubious timeline for the unveiling of the finished-work teaching. Second, the chronological errors have obscured the role of A.S. Copley in the early stages of pentecostal anti-Wesleyan theology. Third, a Durham-centered interpretation of the origins of Oneness Pentecostalism has distorted Durham’s basic soteriological insights.

Pentecostalism in North America has stalled. This dissertation seeks reasons for the current impa... more Pentecostalism in North America has stalled. This dissertation seeks reasons for the current impasse in the triumphalism that has driven the development of Pentecostalism and proposes a critique of that triumphalism through the application of Martin Luther's theology of the cross. This work is intended primarily as a project of constructive theology. It comprises three movements. The first is principally historical, in which I survey the emergence of Pentecostalism. Chapter 1 finds that its development was driven by forces of restorationism and perfectionism, two dynamics that have a long history in American Protestantism. Together these two impulses account for the triumphalism that coloured not only the formation of Pentecostalism, but Evangelicalism, generally. The second chapter traces the development of Pentecostal triumphalism historically from Azusa Street, through the institutionalizing process and defines Pentecostal triumphalism as a form of spiritual immediacy. The second movement is an exploration in historical theology. Chapter 3 considers Luther as a resource for Pentecostal theology by situating him historically in his theological conflict with Roman Catholicism and the Radical Reformation and discovering resonances between his thought and that of Pentecostals. Turning to a contemplation of Luther's theologia crucis, chapter 4 establishes its value as a critique of both personal and institutional IV triumphalism. Furthermore, it considers the resurrection as an often undeveloped dimension of the theology of the cross. Connecting cross and resurrection in Luther's thought sets up the third movement, which is essentially an endeavour in constructive theology. Assisted by the work of Jiirgen Moltmann, chapter 5 expresses the theology of the cross in terms of two component dynamics, a pneumatologia crucis, and an eschatologia crucis, the nexus of which accounts for Spirit baptism, the central feature of Pentecostalism. In the final chapter, this model is applied to a variety of issues in Pentecostal theology including spiritual experience, sanctification, and the supernatural, with a view to mitigating its underlying triumphalism. Doing so establishes the basis of Pentecostalism on theological grounds rather than the two historical dynamics of restorationism and perfectionism, which appear to have driven its development. v Preface I was not born a Pentecostal. I suppose the pioneers of Azusa might say, "No one was. After, all, God has no grandchildren!" I came to Pentecostalism after a dramatic conversion experience at the age of nineteen, which, like the best testimonies, rescued me from a life of sin, degradation and eventual oblivion. At that point, I had never heard of Pentecostals, and when the fellow who had picked me up as I was hitchhiking shared his experience of Christ with me something life-changing took place. When he prayed with me and spoke in tongues, I just assumed it was a foreign language. It literally sounded like Greek to me! Early in my Christian experience I had been warned to stay away from Pentecostals. All manner of spiritual havoc could ensue. But the first time I walked into a Pentecostal service, about a year and half after my conversion, I knew I had come home. The tears that streamed down Winfred Anderson and Ethel Neal's cheeks as they sang "It is Well with My Soul;" the outstretched arms peppered around the small auditorium; the abandon of passionate worship-these all seemed commensurate with the experience in that Volkswagen Beetle on Highway 401. From that moment I began an intense search for what made this church different from others. These were the heady days of charismatic renewal. It was 1976 and there were Full Gospel Businessmen's breakfasts to attend, Bob Mumford and Judson Cornwall tapes to hear, and especially books from Logos Press. Real Holy Spirit stuff like Dennis Bennett's Nine O'clock in the Morning, and especially Harold Hill's How to Live Like a King's Kid, let alone the Pentecostal classics like Smith Wigglesworth's Ever Increasing Faith from Gospel Publishing House. But beneath the zeal and palpable vi X XI PART II Chapter 3 Chapter 4 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Identity Crisis in Contemporary Pentecostalism 2.3 Defining a Revivalist Hermeneutic

Empathy is a nebulous concept that is nonetheless touted in many schools’ curricular goals and st... more Empathy is a nebulous concept that is nonetheless touted in many schools’ curricular goals and striven for by many instructors. Unfortunately, lack of a shared definition and reliable measures for empathy hamper efforts to determine whether this goal is realized. Defining empathy as “the ability to know the internal state of another,” this study explores the effect on students’ empathy of a learning project focused on Christian “heresies,” developing and refining tools for assessing empathy in student writing. The intervention included scripted role-playing and reflection, group discussion, and an essay in which students discussed the appeal and rejection of a particular heresy in the persona of a “heretic.” We found no significant effect in time or group comparison on an empathy questionnaire; an upper-middling level of empathy in essays, and a large effect in group comparison of student responses to a simple prompt to define a “Christian heretic.”