Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
Let me tell you about the Good Teacher. He indwells you. He has always indwelt you. He speaks through your conscience, warning you not to do evil. If you remember telling a lie or stealing something when you were a child, you may remember that it gave you a kind […]
9 What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who […]
I still remember an insight from Stanley Hauerwas’s commencement speech at Eastern Mennonite Seminary over a decade ago. He said something to the effect that learning how to be a Christian is not just like learning to speak a new language. It is speaking a new language. Christianity is its […]
Think about a time when you were first in love. That dreamy feeling, like the whole world was singing to you, that you had found the secret of life, the universe, and everything, and the most wonderful person in existence was crazy about YOU! Thinking about how lovely it was […]
This sermon was originally delivered to Moorseville Friends Church on First Day, Sixth Month 13th, 2021. “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” said the angel of the annunciation. Quaker theologian Robert Barclay (1648-1690) argued that “if this coming of Christ had […]
Like many Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish my grandparents kept a copy of the Martyrs Mirror on their bookshelf. It’s a massive book, over fifteen hundred pages long, so it stood out among the other books, It was first published in 1660. Now 360 years later, it is still available in […]
Beatitude: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is the beatitude that I am most nervous to speak about. I’m not nervous because it is a topic that involves actual physical harm. I’m nervous because of all the beatitudes, this […]
When I was 22, I attended a women’s cabaret in Minneapolis, where I was then living. One of the performers mentioned Camp Sister Spirit, a feminist retreat center in rural Mississippi that was in need of help – not just funds, but volunteers to help in the work of renovating […]
Chibuzo Petty How do you understand the difference between writing and writing as ministry? Nick Patler I am not sure I can explain the difference. For me, particularly as a historian whose interest is largely in African American history, writing is about telling stories, giving voice to persons and narratives […]
For much of the Christian Church, today is Pentecost Sunday. It commemorates the day when the Holy Spirit, previously breathed into the eleven disciples by the risen Christ1, fell upon ten dozen assembled believers2. Peter, standing among them, explained to astonished bystanders that this was the “outpouring of God’s spirit […]