In the summer of 1660, leaders of various Mennonite churches in the Netherlands met in Leiden to discuss a theological controversy over the nature of the church. Several years prior, two young ministers from Amsterdam, Galenus Abrahamsz de Haan and David Spruyt, had presented a statement to their co-ministers denying that any church could claim to be the “true” church of God …
One of the primary functions of journalism is to serve the public by holding accountable those in power who may be harming the public. But sometimes that watchdog function fails, as it did in the years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008 …
Renewal is a potent word. If we played a word association game with “renewal,” the first words that came to your mind would probably be different from what came to my mind, which would be different from the responses of your neighbor, best friend, pastor, coworker or hairstylist …
How issues are framed often determines the outcome of the debate; and sometimes those engaged in argument discover that they are really concerned about overlapping but different aspects of the issue. We have learned in the last decade of debate that the current framing of the issues has not really advanced the dialogue. So perhaps we need to stop and examine our perspective on the question before us …
I am thrilled for the opportunity to answer the call of God on my life via Christian Peacemaker Teams. Catalyzed by Ron Sider’s speech at the 1984 Mennonite World Conference, CPT is an international nonprofit organization that aims to address racism, sexism, heterosexism, nationalism and economic exploitation in all its forms all around the globe by building partnerships that transform violence and oppression …
A 2012 survey finds that increasingly more and more white Americans want to stop talking about race. According to the Portraits of American Life study, 45 percent of white participants in 2006 said one of the most effective ways to improve race relations was to stop talking about race. In 2012, this rose to 60 percent who wanted to stop talking about race. Black participants favoring less talk about race rose from 31 percent in 2006 to 39 percent in 2012 …
In my last piece for The Mennonite, I wrote about my brother Jim. I called our denomination to expand its welcome to include our LGBTQ sisters and brothers. I invited us to follow the rule of love rather than the rule of law …
Many, from feminists to evangelicals, have lamented the absence of fathers in families. But the growing use of paternity leave by businesses may be addressing this problem in unique and surprisingly healthy ways …
