Anabaptists fail to make disciples when we focus on outward behavior, have ethnocentric ecclesiastical communities, and lack biblical literacy.
Why Anabaptists Fail to Make Disciples
Tag: Anabaptist Church
Anabaptist Exceptionalism
Why do so many Anabaptists act as if they shouldn’t have to obey state requirements regarding COVID-19 regulations?
An Evaluation of Conservative Anabaptist Form of Worship
When you go to church on Sunday mornings, do you come away feeling as though you experienced the presence of God?
Everything That Frustrates Me about the Anabaptist Tradition
There is a deep stirring among many today who have grown up in conservative Anabaptist churches. I write this series to help us, at least in some small way, sort through things we’re wrestling with. In my last article, I wrote about everything I love in the Anabaptist tradition. In this article, I’m going to share things that frustrate me.
What Are Mennonite Millennials Looking For?
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.
When People Leave the Mennonite Church
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.
To Be Mennonite, Or a Disciple of Christ?
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.
How the Anabaptist Church Is Changing
Question Submitted: When did a passionate movement about believer’s baptism and separation from church and state (and eventually pacifism) become a movement of sullen, strict, sticklers for coverings and modest clothing?
A Hypothesis of Anabaptist Depreciation
Question Submitted: why is it that those who seem to be so passionate about grace, and serving Jesus radically are losing what we call marks of conservative Anabaptist teaching and what we believe about separation in dress, Christian Woman’s Veiling, keeping the Lord’s Day etc?
Why My Heritage Matters to Me
On this blog I like to look at issues that people don’t normally feel comfortable talking about publicly–the white elephant issues in the room, so to speak. One of the reasons I like doing this is because if we are to grow and become better than we must make the undiscussable discussable.
Many “undiscussables” are negative: people don’t like having faults pointed out. At the same time, some undiscussables, especially when it comes to a heritage we see issues in, are quite positive: people are uncomfortable recognizing the qualities that, if let go of, could hurt them in the long run.
Throughout the month of December 2016, I’m going to share the ten most-read posts of this year. Number ten actually wasn’t even published in 2016, but remains one of my most-read posts. Here’s to. . .
What This Generation of Anabaptists Really Want
There is a lot of uncertainty in Christianity today, especially among the younger generation. Church is frustrating, whether you come from a more traditional background or a progressive one. Either it’s full of ritual and stringent practice or obsessed with growth and modern advances.
People want more; but they’re scared. Unless you’re willing to come under suspicion, it’s best to keep your questions and desire for change secret.
So what do you do when things feel remarkably out of order? How are you supposed to handle it when church is not as you are studying about in the Bible? Do you sit passively by and accept the status quo? Do you campaign for reform, start a radical movement, and subject yourself to critical suspicion? Or do you simply walk away?
How the Emergent Movement Impacts Us
Has the emergent church movement impacted Anabaptist young people? Does it matter if it has?
In recent years, I have noticed an increasing amount of people who struggle with faith, God, confusion in their walk with Him, or disillusionment with the church. Is this the result of the emergent church?
While I don’t like naming specific people in criticism, I was recently asked about my take on the emergent church movement and how I thought it is impacting Anabaptist youth and decided to write about my concerns with Rob Bell and Brian McLaren’s teaching.
