Spiritual Formation

Articles that address the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and for the sake of others (II Corinthians 3:17-18).

The God Who Scares Us

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation, Theology

Many millennials are wanting to understand God’s Spirit better. I think that’s wonderful. But I also think some of us expect our discovery of Him to radically change something about Christianity. And maybe it will. I don’t know. I just know there are many thoughts and ideas about the Holy Spirit, and not all of them seem in-line with Scripture.

But ignoring Him, not facing the possibility of having our perspective of God rattled and reshaped, is not an answer. That only limits our understanding of God, and therefore, our relationship with Him.

So, I’ve been going back to Scripture and trying to understand the Holy Spirit from God’s perspective, not from what I’ve heard and been taught before. As a part of this process, and in helping other discover God at a deeper level, I will write out what I’m finding.

Read More

Theology, Pornography and the Holy Spirit

By Asher Witmer Interviews, Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=314312828325&set=t.653373595&type=3&theater

Most of the readers on this blog are (or at least come from) “conservative Anabaptist” background. And most of these readers find themselves in dynamic time of life.

Dynamic because there is a lot of motion in the conservative Anabaptist church world today. Deep, unspoken questions people are wanting to find answers to. Few people are as aware and tuned into these questions (even frustrations) as brother Frank Reed. 

Recently, I got to ask Frank some questions about the Anabaptist church world, today. Following is the interview.

Read More

Have You Found Freedom in Your Christian Faith?

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
aw_freedom

How would you describe your experience in the Christian faith? Vibrant, life-giving, transforming, attractive? Or does it feel more shallow, hypocritical, ritualistic, or alienating?

More and more people, today, are becoming disenchanted with denominations. They are weary of the “our-denomination-is-better” mindset, crossing denominational bounds as they look for a fuller sense of truth and faith. They want more than what they experience in church, and whenever anyone wants more, anything else is basically up for grabs.

There is nothing wrong with wanting more. I want more. And I will be concerned the day I wake up not wanting more. But wanting more isn’t enough.

Read More

What Happens When My Pastor Sins?

By Asher Witmer Ecclesiology, Spiritual Formation
aw_taking_pastors_under

If your pastor got up in front of the church this coming Sunday and confessed he was gay, what would you do? What would you do if one of your church elders or deacons or small group leaders confessed to having an extra marital affair? Does it throw you for a loop even considering the possibility? Might you struggle to trust them, want their resignation, and feel disillusioned with God?

I don’t mean to make light of sin, and certainly don’t mean to justify sin going on at any level within the church. However, might I suggest that our gut reactions to such an idea exposes the overall response to sin within the church.

Read More

How Christmas Isn’t Just about a Savior

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation, Theology
aw_savior

Two thousand years ago, when shepherds came and bowed down to a newborn baby boy in Bethlehem, they weren’t bowing to merely a savior; they were bowing to a new way of life.

Christmas has become the time of year we celebrate Jesus, remembering His miraculous birth. But if we’re not careful, Jesus gets relegated to just a savior. He saves us from hell, from eternal damnation. Because of Jesus, we have hope beyond this life, right? We will live with God in Heaven, forever! And that is certainly something worth celebrating!

But it’s not the whole story.

Read More

Can a Church Last without Rules?

By Asher Witmer Ecclesiology, Spiritual Formation
aw_rules

Question Submitted: Can a local church be cohesive, maintain scriptural commands, and be sustained through several generations without rules? There is a saying among psychologists, “What gets rewarded gets repeated.” I have found that to be true in teaching school, parenting, and getting my wife to rub my back. I believe it is true of […]

Read More

Dropping Denominationalism and Rediscovering Jesus

By Asher Witmer Ecclesiology, Spiritual Formation
aw_creating_change

Throughout this whole series we’ve been looking at the question “What’s the big deal about being Mennonite?” This whole discussion surfaces primarily because so many are leaving Mennonite churches, today.

But leaving one’s church isn’t only a Mennonite phenomenon. It’s happening nationwide. Contrary to popular opinion, however, people are not necessarily leaving because of biblical illiteracy or because they are throwing out their faith.

Read More

What Are Mennonite Millennials Looking For?

By Asher Witmer Ecclesiology, Spiritual Formation
aw_looking

If I were to ask you what you are looking for in a church, would you know? If I were to ask you what you value, could you put words to it?

Many of us could probably come up with a few things like community, life, faithfulness to God’s Word, family, peace-making, brotherhood, and many other things. But those are all actually really vague. None of them differentiate one church from another.

Read More

When People Leave the Mennonite Church

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
aw_leaving

Most people who have commented on this series so far have strong opinions one way or the other. There is a wide vacuum of people who are silent. People who don’t want to cause conflict. People who, like me, have had a good experience in their Mennonite upbringing, but also see areas of weakness that need radical change. Only, they’re at a loss for how to change it because either they’re written off as a rebel, or their questions and comments are hijacked by people with an agenda for the opposite of the Mennonite tradition.

Allow me, if for a moment, to wrestle aloud with the questions of someone who identifies with his friends who are leaving, but is concerned with whether we’re finding anything better.

Read More

To Be Mennonite, Or a Disciple of Christ?

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
aw_disciple

If the early Anabaptists were alive today, I am quite certain the Mennonite church would run them out of their congregations.

I realize that’s a pretty strong statement, and not altogether fair. But I’m willing to stand by it, nonetheless.

You see, the early Anabaptist leaders, such as Grebel, Manz, Blaurock, Sattler, and others, began to question the status quo of the institutionalized church. Should the church really baptize infants? Should a believer take oaths or go to war? Even more, they questioned the ruling of a council as being more authoritative than the Spirit’s leading in people’s lives, as was commonly accepted in their day.

Read More

Waking Up Mennonite

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
aw_mennonite

Everyone spoke in hushed tones. Mom cried silently, dabbing her eyes with a Kleenex. What was going on?

Moments before, I sat in the back row, behind the Vinar family, copying the gibberish I saw in a hymnbook onto a blank piece of paper my older sister had given me. Now, everyone was huddled into groups, solemn, and praying. Something important was happening. Something big!

Is this my church?

Read More