I am Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. Because words matter, I have published six books and have written for publications like The Atlantic, First Things, Christianity Today, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology.
I blog here about theology, culture, history, politics, manhood, philosophy, basketball, hip-hop, and ephemera. My intent is to point people to good resources and to think well about life from a robustly theocentric perspective.
From 2008-10, I was the Managing Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and founding Associate Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at TEDS. I earned a PhD in Theological Studies (Historical Theology) under Douglas Sweeney at TEDS from 2008-11, writing on Billy Graham, Harold Ockenga, and the mid-twentieth century re-enchantment of the evangelical mind. From 2005-07, I was the Editorial Assistant to Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, working for him as I completed an MDiv in Biblical & Theological Studies. Before that, I worked on the federal political level, serving the Bush White House in the U. S. Department of State in the office of White House Liaison. I have also served at the state level under Valerie Landry, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor.
I interned at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC and wrote for 9Marks. I graduated from Bowdoin College with an AB in History (honors) in 2003. I went to Machias Memorial High School on the coast of Maine and am a proud Mainer. I am a fellow of the Society for the Advancement of Ecclesial Theology and a member of Clifton Baptist Church.
I am married to the lovely Bethany and am the father of two sweet little kids. We play a lot of Candyland right now and enjoy taking walks and the odd tricycle ride together. I’ve cut a rap cd (recorded with a producer from Outkast’s studio), won basketball championships at all levels except grammar school, high school, college, and professional, and have trained for ministry in Maine, D. C., Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Passions include time with family, playing pickup basketball, rap, and reading, with Cormac McCarthy, Tom Wolfe, Matt Labash, Michael Chabon, George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, and the New Yorker at the top of the pile.
Contact me at owen.strachan[at]gmail.com. Twitter: ostrachan
I was wondering if you were going to the Gospel Coalition conference and if they are planning on loading us down with books. I need to pack accordingly. Thanks.
http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/conferences/2009#t=giveaways
Looks like you should pack light, Wireman! Glad to hear that you’ll be there–I’m really looking forward to the conference.
Hi Owen,
Just a note to say thanks for introducing me to LeCrae, and by way of him, Flame. I am ministering to a group of young men at a boys home here in Illinois, and the music of these two young men have really touched their lives. They speak to the issues these young men face. They are engaging the culture these young men come from in a way I can not.
Thanks and God bless
Tracy–thanks so much for your kind note. I really appreciate it. I really hope it’s a blessing to you and the boys. He’s doing great things for God, and I’m quite happy to point him up to other people.
Blessings on your important work!
Would it be a fair conclusion to say that SBTS is the oldest seminary in the US that is maintaining doctrinal orthodoxy? The Presbyterian schools that pre-date SBTS have certainly lost their way.
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Hi Owen,
I just saw a LifeWay advertisement for “The Essential Edwards Collection”. Congratulations!
Take care and God bless!
Tracy
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Owen,
I just wanted to drop you a line. I know that this is probably not the best forum for such a communique, but . . . Not too long ago, I stumbled upon your blog and perused it. However, I was reading some entries over at Challies dot com when you were referenced as the expert. I hope the view from “expertdom” is enthralling. I am pleased that our paths crossed at one point. Hope you are doing well. Congratulations!
Hey Owen,
Just wanted to let you know that iSix:5 dropped there album UNPACKED on the 6th. I heard you were a fan of there’s and just wanted to let you know!
http://www.isix5.com
Thanks, Derek. Always glad to support God-honoring rap.
You’re welcome brother. We most definitely appreciate these brothers at Grace Bible. Hope you enjoy the album!
Hi Owen, Fred Hastings sent me a copy of the piece you wrote for the Downeast Coastal on Jonathan Edwards. I am interested in Edwards and will get the book!
I lecture in Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation at the Belfast campus of Trinity College Dublin (the Irish School of Ecumenics) so we probably have some overlapping interests. I’m a graduate of Narraguagus, 1995!
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just finished two of the The Essential Edwards Collection. Great books! Thanks.
Hey Owen,
Couldn’t find your email address so I am writing you here.
I just read the article you wrote in the recent 9Marks e-journal. Thank you – it is very helpful. It said that you are an Instructor at Boyce College. Is that so? It’s not on your blog yet under “About.”
We miss you at CrossWay, btw. Tell Bethany hello!
Congrats on your book and appt. to Boyce. After 46 1/2 years of marriage I affirm that the post on “conversation” is top drawer/right on. Stu
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Hello Owen,
What is your email? I am currently job hunting, and I have a negative search result which comes in the form of one of your old postings. Could you please remove my name from the posting? I can have my former professor send you a letter indicating how I was taken advantage of by the reporter who was involved on the story.
Hi Owen,
I was perusing CT yesterday and saw you’d done an interview, and I said, I know that kid. (And then before that my wife told me you were quoted in CT in an article on Al Mohler or maybe STBS, or the state of the SBC–I didn’t see the article, obviously.) Wow, you’ve risen in the world since I met you as a freshman at Machias High School. You were one of several students who spoke to my Secondary Education class on what Teachers should know about students today– ie October of 1992. I remember saying something positive about your perspective on things, and my colleague Marilyn Crandlemire told me not to believe everything you said. I’ll keep that in mind as I survey the other stuff here on your site. I expect we may have somewhat different perspectives on SBTS, for instance. This probably isn’t the place to be trying to have a real conversation, but perhaps I can say more in some other setting. You may be the only other person in the world who has lived in both Machias and Louisville and attended SBTS….. Look forward to reading your material. Donna and Andy must be very proud!
Andrew,
So nice to hear from you and yes, I do believe we are the only SBTS-Machias folks. It is quite a fraternity, however, full of Downeast pride with a SBC twist. Please do write me and connect at odstrachan[at]sbts.edu. Would love to catch up and hear more about what made Mrs. Crandlemire a skeptic!
OS
Hello Owen,
I have a question about your Edwards collection. Is it/they (the 5 volumes) a ‘reader’ of selections from Edwards writings, or are they writings about what Edwards believed with small snippets of his writings? Do they touch on issues like the questions surrounding his understanding of justification, which is heavily debated as to whether it is in accord with Protestant confessions?
Please post a short reply… you may make a sale as a result.
Thanks, Tim
Tim,
Great questions. The five books offer substantial selections from the crucial texts of the Edwards corpus. They also offer commentary and even application to help readers understand and profit from those selections. The books are a kind of “reader’s guide” to Edwards, something of a lay-level distillation of the 25-volume Yale series. We designed them to work for a variety of people, whether those who have not read a word of JE or those who have done seminary work on him but want a guide to his thought that will offer quick help and also an avalanche of great JE quotations on a range of subjects.
There are many important questions that Doug and I handle. We do not have a major section on justification, but we touch on it in several places. We come down on the side of Edwards hewing more towards a traditional Protestant conception of the same.
So we quote extensively from JE while interacting with him, explaining him, and mining him for spiritual growth for a wide range of readers. I stand behind the volumes and think they will help a reader in your position. The possibility of bias, however, exists.
OS
Owen, thanks for taking the time to reply. I will add this collection to my list of books to purchase! I appreciate it, Tim
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