When People Leave the Mennonite Church

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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.

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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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No, You Don’t HAVE to Read the Bible

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What if the modern approach to Scripture isn’t what God intended for it? What if saying you can only know God through knowing the Bible cripples people from knowing Him at all?

Today, more than ever we need to be grounded in Truth, but the way we worship the black, white and leather of the Bible doesn’t help us become anymore grounded.

When we put the Bible on a pedestal it was never supposed to have, we actually cultivate contempt for Truth and turn people away from God. In this post, I expose the wrong way to use the Bible, explain the right way, and share how to tell the difference.

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How to Know Your Calling

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We all long for a sense of meaning. Until you and I get a picture for how we individually fit into God’s plan of reconciliation, we will always settle for lesser pleasures that give just enough fulfillment for us to sense deep meaning.

Knowing a lot about God and what He created us to do doesn’t motivate us to actually do it anymore than knowing how to churn butter motivates us to churn it ourselves. Knowing our calling isn’t so much about learning facts as it is discovering God’s work in our lives.

Until we discover His work in our lives, the pleasures that following Him requires us to give up will always have a greater pull on our hearts then Jesus Christ Himself.

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How the Emergent Movement Impacts Us

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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.

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