Convictional inaction
Since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016, the role white evangelical Christians played in his victory has been thoroughly analyzed — and puzzled over. Christians and non-Christians alike...
[read more]Year of the tribe
Among the trends of 2017, tribalism stands out. All around us, people define themselves by separating one group from another. Republican or Democrat, black or white, Christian or Muslim. The distinctions...
[read more]Christmas imperfections
The screams were interrupted by yet another festive tinkle of shattering glass. Another ornament hit the hardwood floor, sending shards of Christmas cheer in every direction. The kids were helping decorate....
[read more]Dusting off the soul
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Often attributed to Pablo Picasso, this quote belongs to a 19th-century German writer, Berthold Auerbach, who cited music as the cleansing agent....
[read more]Oil for our lamps
In Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25, the women get drowsy and fall asleep while waiting for the bridegroom, who is running late. It’s not an Advent parable, but it is a warning for those who...
[read more]Freedom to resist
Some Mennonite colleges play the national anthem before sporting events. Some don’t. Some say it’s a chance to reflect on liberty. Some say it’s a chance to honor those in the military who fight for that...
[read more]Toxic masculinity
Public shaming of sexual predators is pushing toxic masculinity out of the shadows. A surge of reports of men’s abusive behavior has raised awareness that sexual harassment is appallingly common — and not...
[read more]Identity redefinition
Anabaptist denominations are having an identity crisis. Or at least an identity redefinition. This is happening in several ways: making or considering name changes; ending old affiliations, beginning new ones...
[read more]Healthy worship diet
Are hymnals still relevant? It’s a question worth asking in light of the MennoMedia “Resonate” project, which will produce a new hymnal for Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada in 2020. It...
[read more]A white man with guns
Was it terrorism? No. The shooter was white. The mass shooting that took the lives of at least 59 people and injured hundreds at an Oct. 1 country music concert in Las Vegas revealed much about American racial...
[read more]Fates intertwined
The closing of Grace University in Omaha, Neb., is a sobering reminder not to take the existence of a small Christian college for granted. Grace was never officially Mennonite, but its founders were. Most were...
[read more]Honorable protests
Few protests are remembered for 500 years, like Martin Luther’s. Or even 50, like anti-Vietnam War marches. Demonstrations by National Football League players this fall may be historic or fleeting, but...
[read more]No halfway liberty
The protest that shook the world began 500 years ago this month. On a church door in the Saxon town of Wittenberg, an obscure German monk posted 95 statements of dispute with Catholicism. It was Oct. 31, 1517....
[read more]Gifts without limits
There’s room for everyone on the spectrum of Mennonite beliefs about women in ministry. On the traditional side are conservative and plain groups who agree the pulpit is for men only. In the middle are U.S....
[read more]Boundaries redrawn
Gerrymandering — drawing a political district’s boundaries to assure a political party’s hold — isn’t new. It celebrated its bicentennial a few years ago. Newspaper columnist Leonard Pitts elaborated...
[read more]Tearing down idols
On a 1986 trip to the Soviet Union, students from Tabor and Bethel colleges could count on seeing two things in every city: a monument to the Great Patriotic War (World War II) and a statue of Vladimir Lenin...
[read more]Always reforming
The church is always reforming. Exhausting as it is, it’s a necessity. Just as our bodies continually fight death by renewing themselves every way they possibly can, healthy church bodies must do the...
[read more]Not deterred?
What happens to the doctrine of nuclear deterrence when leaders act in ways that suggest they lack sound judgment and restraint? The war of words between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump exposed the moral evil of...
[read more]Total eclipse of the heart
Carsten Stein experienced a sense of welcome and belonging when he attended a gathering of a different German Anabaptist body in April. The Mennonite Brethren man wrote in a recent issue of Die Brücke that...
[read more]‘Lead Your Way’
Imagine a Mennonite college admissions counselor, for whom the national youth convention is harvest time. Thousands of her best prospects will pass through the exhibit hall where she’s set up shop....
[read more]Discerning what is of God
The leadership of Conservative Mennonite Conference recently demonstrated boldness and humility in upholding their interpretation of Scripture while rejecting extrabiblical traditions that limit women’s...
[read more]Taking Israel’s side
The Mennonite Church USA resolution on Israel-Palestine is not anti-Israel. That is one of the first things advocates of the statement want everyone to know. They call it a third way, a recognition that...
[read more]Come in, the show is free
Mennonite Church USA congregational membership and convention attendance are lower. It is apparent to anyone who has attended a denomination-wide gathering in the last two decades. Some attendees surely...
[read more]Comfortable in their skin
From 2015 to 2017, Mennonite Church USA conventions changed drastically. Two years ago at Kansas City, debates over how to handle diverse views about LGBTQ people in the church cast a cloud of tension over the...
[read more]Christ’s victory is ours
Since learning Mennonite World Conference had members in Italy, I wanted to fellowship with them, as Italy is where my dad’s family is from. MWC’s website lists 200 members of four congregations in the...
[read more]About Me
