Millennials, Community, and Judging One Another

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Question Submitted: Where do we separate judging from judging? That was not a typo. Proverbs talks about “iron sharpening iron” and yet people crouch behind Matthew 7:1. And so, how do we separate the two and what are ways to confront issues such as this?

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking “how do we speak into each other’s lives without being accused of judging?” Anymore, if someone raises a concern about something a brother or sister says or does, that brother or sister takes the concern as judgment, right? Yet, does that mean we are not ever to address issues we see in other people’s lives?

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Have You Found Freedom in Your Christian Faith?

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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.

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Can a Church Last without Rules?

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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 […]

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What Are Mennonite Millennials Looking For?

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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.

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Waking Up Mennonite

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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?

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What I Love about Pastors

A pastor is someone who shepherds people in the way of Truth. This includes caring for people, preaching the Word, confronting sin, and much more. Specifically, for the purposes of this post, I am referring either to those who the people of a local church have asked to shepherd them, or those who have nurtured new believers and, by default, have become shepherds. In this article, I address what I love about them.

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What I Love about the Church

Today, we know the church primarily as either a building or a group of people gathered together around a common set of ideas. The problem with this view of the church is that it’s incomplete, at best. If not downright unbiblical. As long as we can relegate the church to a building or a group of people who believe certain things and abide by certain guidelines, the church will always be disposable to us. There is nothing intrinsically eternal about a church established around man-made material or beliefs.

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What I Love about Jesus

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There are so many people who are disillusioned with church, today. It is easy to get overly focused on the negatives and weaknesses of church that we miss the profound beauty and glory it displays to the world. So, in an attempt to help us regain (or stay focused on) the beauty of the Bride of Christ, I am going to share a three-part series entitled, “What I love about…,” starting with Jesus.

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An open letter about the Bible, blogging, and why I choose the titles I do

A couple months ago I wrote an article titled, No, You Don’t Have to Read the Bible. I received quite a basket of mixed feedback, so I thought it beneficial to follow-up and bring clarity where I may have failed to before.

This is an open letter. Quite long, to be honest. But necessary for clarifying a few things I deeply believe. The letter is separated into the following sections. Feel free to skip ahead to whatever interests you most by clicking on the heading below:

  • Summarizing No, You Dont Have to Read the Bible
  • “What a title!!??”
  • Intentional Blogging
  • Relational vs. Intellectual, and an “ever-evolving message”
  • The Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Inspiration of Scripture
  • The Problem with Scripture in 2017
  • What I Believe about the Bible in 18 Statements

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Living Vibrantly Alive in a World of Brokenness

Thanks again for all the feedback you’ve been giving after the first two posts!

But what about when your church requires extra-biblical standards of new believers? What about when you feel lonely and unable to connect with others?

Am I suggesting that no matter what church situation you are experiencing right now you should just focus on the Gospel and continue investing as much as you can?

Absolutely not!

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