Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
For as long as I can remember, my mother and father have had an incredible ability to identify any bird that they see. This includes all of the typical songbirds you find in rural Pennsylvania, chickadees, wrens, robins, etc; but also the occasional red-tailed hawk, falcon perched on a power […]
My wife and I celebrated our twenty-first anniversary in late November this year. As I reflect, I continue to thank God for his faithfulness in our lives. I wouldn’t want to say that it has been a bed of roses either. Without God’s intervention, there have been challenges that we […]
When I was invited to write something “equipping”, I’ll admit that I was a little stumped. When it comes to writing these sorts of long-form articles, I tend to struggle a bit with keeping myself focused on one topic or idea. I have an interest in justice, an interest in […]
I often hear our roosters crowing while I’m getting ready for work. Mind you, this is around 4 a.m. Popular culture commonly portrays roosters crowing at sunrise, however, in my experience, their boisterous morning song begins long before daylight. I’ve at times wondered if they detect some nearly unperceivable changes […]
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)1 There are numerous examples from history that we can […]
Sometimes in the middle of the week, we would bike, walk, or drive about a kilometer down a dusty road through farm fields and past mango trees from Kulp Bible College to Church of the Brethren (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria) Headquarters and the Women’s Fellowship (Zumuntar Matan Ekklesiyar) Restaurant. Often […]
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… –Rev 5:9 Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable […]
When I was serving Olympic View Church in Seattle as their youth pastor, my area minister,1 Carol Mason, made a point of meeting with each of the pastors under her care about once a month or so. She and I would meet at Panera Bread at Northgate Mall and have […]
We all have toolboxes of one sort or another. Sometimes it’s a literal toolbox, or at least a tool drawer in the kitchen or the utility room. It’ll be filled with hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, and other things that help us accomplish a task of some kind. Maybe we have […]
Right from creation and soon after the fall of humanity, war and conflicts became part of human nature. In some parts of the world, Christians are witnessing unspeakable continuous attacks and killings perpetrated by terrorist groups in the name of religion. This ongoing violence is slowly worsening the mental health […]