Marva Dawn

Marva J. Dawn (August 20, 1948 – April 18, 2021) was an American Christian theologian, author, musician, preacher, and educator. She was associated with the parachurch organization Christians Equipped for Ministry in Vancouver, Washington where she taught Christians around the globe. She also served as a Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dawn was generally perceived as a Lutheran evangelical. She often wrote in a paleo-orthodox style, stressing the importance of Christian tradition and the wisdom of the Church through the centuries.

Biography Born in Napoleon, Ohio as Marva Gersmehl, she later took the surname Dawn as a pseudonym. She was raised a Lutheran.

After completing a B.A. (1970) from Concordia Teachers College, she completed a M.A. (1972) in English from the University of Idaho, an M.Div. (1978) in New Testament from Western Evangelical Seminary, and a Th.M. (1983) in Old Testament from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. She then completed an M.A. (1986) and Ph.D. (1992) in Christian Ethics and the Scriptures from the University of Notre Dame. She has taught for clergy and worship conferences and at seminaries in North America and internationally.

She was married to Myron Sandberg, an elementary school teacher, in 1989.

List of works Talking the Walk: Letting Christian Language Live Again (2018). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath way of life for those who serve God, the church, and the world (2006). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. How Shall We Worship?: Biblical Guidelines for the Worship Wars (2015). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. In the Beginning, GOD: Creation, Culture, and the Spiritual Life (2009). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting My Soul Waits: Solace for the Lonely in the Psalms (2007). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World. (2006) Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0802844596 Unfettered Hope: A Call to Faithful Living in an Affluent Society (2003). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God (2001). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. (2002 Christianity Today Book Award in the category of The Church/Pastoral Leadership) Morning by Morning: Daily Meditations from the Writings of Marva J. Dawn (2001). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Truly the Community: Romans 12 and How to Be the Church (1997; formerly titled The Hilarity of Community). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call (2000). With Eugene H. Peterson. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. A Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World (1999). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. I'm Lonely, LORD - How Long?: Meditations on the Psalms (1998). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Is It a Lost Cause?: Having the Heart of God for the Church's Children (1997). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for This Urgent Time (1995). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Joy in our Weakness A Gift of Hope from the Book of Revelation (1994). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. Sexual Character: Beyond Technique to Intimacy (1993). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. To Walk and Not Faint (1980). New York: Christian Herald Books.