Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
Once in my youth group in Seattle, we were studying the story of Moses leading the liberated slaves out of Egypt, and Isaac asked, “Why did they have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years before they could come into the Promised Land?” The best answer I could give […]
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying […]
Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!” We sing songs about this verse, we memorize it, we embroider it on pillows and hang it in picture frames. Yet like any familiar verse in scripture, we can gain a deeper appreciation for this text as […]
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 […]
In the beginning as God created, a wind –the spirit of God swept— hovered—over the face of the deep. The first people—Eve and Adam– “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze…” A swoosh of grass? Crunch of leaves? Abraham […]
I have long felt that the job of a pastor falls into two broad categories: facilitating a congregation becoming ever more deeply connected in relationship and true community with one another, and facilitating that community’s outward-facing and -reaching work of ministry, service, and transformative justice with and for the wider […]
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. […]
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 […]
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 […]