Since I officially retired from my bishop oversight duties and college teaching a few years back, I have had the strange pleasure and puzzlement of hearing a variety of responses to that news …
Since I officially retired from my bishop oversight duties and college teaching a few years back, I have had the strange pleasure and puzzlement of hearing a variety of responses to that news …
Fifty years of continuous pastoral ministry at one Mennonite congregation must set a modern pastor longevity record. But length of faithful service is only one of the unique characteristics of Arthur Roth, pastor of Julesburg (Colo.) Mennonite Church, a member of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA …
At the delegate session in Pittsburgh last summer, André Gingerich Stoner remarked that many Mennonites “love service, flirt with peace and are allergic to evangelism.” Many felt he hit a home run with that comment. That means we have a ways to go to become a missional church. Service, peacemaking and evangelism are all needed in order to fully proclaim the gospel …
According to one survey, 92 percent of American households own a Bible, and of those who own a Bible, the average number owned is three …
Recently, a young Mennonite told me she wasn’t interested in the institutional Mennonite church. She was inspired instead, she said, by the radical work for the poor that she saw described by Shane Claiborne …
Some of us remember when bishops were in charge and pretty much ruled Mennonite Church life. I remember going to the annual meeting of the conference to discover that the bishops had already met and made decisions on the live issues facing congregations. Those decisions were then reported to the ministers and congregations for implementation …
The Occupy Wall Street movement is going to be with us for a while. Mennonites who are not ignoring it are trying to figure out how to relate to it. Some joyfully participate. Some angrily reject it. But it may be God at work …
Last May, the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Chile (Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Chile, or IEMCH) officially joined Mennonite World Conference, thereby becoming MWC’s 100th member …
I don’t like endings. I’m sad when I come to the end of a good book, wishing there was more to read. I look forward to seeing friends and family who live far from me. But when the time comes to say goodbye, I struggle with tears …