One of the bad rubs about Pietism is the charge that it is separatist, individualistic and other worldly–“being so heavenly minded that it is no earthly good.” This is far from the truth. Pietism at its best has always been engaged in the world, hoping for and working towards a better church and society. Pietists […]

The seventh common motif of Pietism according to Roger Olson and Christian T. Collin Winns in Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition is Christian life lived in community. Pietism does not promote spiritual individualism. On the contrary, Pietists value church and Christian community beyond the church. Conventicles, ecclesiola in eccleia (smaller communities within the larger […]

Pietists are people who love the Bible. It is the word of God. The Evangelical Covenant Church growing out of the pietistic movement makes this affirmation: We affirm the centrality of the word of God. We believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the […]

Following Jesus is much more than just an intellectual exercise. There is believing, and there is belonging to each other, and there is also, must be, behaving. Followers of Jesus are to look and act and speak differently. This is a view shared not only by Pietists, but by many Christians, but Pietists (says Olson […]

Conversional Piety means “a strong devotional life and a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ crucified and risen” (Olson,Collins Winn, Reclaiming Pietism, pg 94). This is not unique to Pietism, but this is a strong characteristic of the movement–a sense of intimacy with God. Critics will be quick to point out that at times […]