Welcome to Finkenblog! This new name and update of the Dean's blog will serve as an online gathering place for the Beeson community to hear and learn from fellow Beeson faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

The name Finkenblog recalls Finkenwalde, the underground seminary organized and led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This school for the Confessing Church began in April 1935 in Zingst, Germany but moved shortly thereafter to the town of Finkenwalde. This illegal enterprise, with its confession that “Jesus Christ is Lord,” was a direct challenge to Hitler. Bonhoeffer and his 23 students spent two years preparing for ministry by living, eating, worshipping, and learning together. This exercise in theological education served as the inspiration for Bonhoeffer’s classic work, Life Together.

Finkenwalde and Life Together have served as important paradigms for Beeson’s approach to theological education. Like Bonhoeffer and his students, we are committed to face-to-face theological education that prepares men and women for ministry in Christ’s church, even amidst the temptations and challenges of our own time. In fact, every fall, Beeson celebrates Finkenwalde Day in which the entire Beeson community lives a “day in the life of Finkenwalde” together.

On Finkenblog, you can expect to see Beeson’s commitment to theological education for the edification of the church through content from our Beeson faculty, videos of sermons and lectures, reflections from our students, and pieces from our alumni serving around the world. I will also continue to recommend various articles and sermons that seem to me worthy of serious consideration.

My hope is that this online forum will help you as you continue in your journey of learning and service in the church of Jesus Christ.

Timothy George
Dean