Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
This video from Homeboy Industries came across my Facebook timeline the other day. If you don’t know about this amazing ministry in Los Angeles started by Father Greg Boyle, you can check out their website. In his thought of the day, he dropped this fantastic quote. “The measure of our compassion […]
There is a common misconception about simplicity and its relationship to Christ and Christianity. In fact, this misconception has caused many within the church to abandon this centuries old Brethren practice completely. But why? The problem is that, as with mo st Biblical issues, we have gotten away from what […]
Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, VA recently shared some observations on small groups in church life in preparation for their congregational business meeting. In this post Tim discusses the components of vibrant small groups in the life of the congregation. The post was originally […]
As the season of Lent comes upon us it is easy to question the appropriateness of the season for a tradition of the Radical Reformation. Laura Stone, a Church of the Brethren student at Andover Newton offered these reflections in the days before Ash Wednesday on her blog The Patchwork […]
By Christopher J. Montgomery Read part one of this series… Liturgical Place Early Brethren meetinghouses arranged their liturgical furniture in a rectangular or circular fashion. The benches faced inward to emphasize the community of believers gathered for worship. The presiders, often a panel of elders and ministers, occupied a bench […]
By Christopher J. Montgomery Read the second installment of this series… Gordon Lathrop asserts that the role of the presider in the assembly’s worship is to “make the center strong.” ((Gordon W. Lathrop, Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology Augsburg Fortress, 2006, 94)) Throughout my work in pastoral ministry, either in proclamation, leadership, […]
By Randall Westfall If I were to ask you to make a list of things that you loved to do as a child, what would be on your list? For me that list includes (but is not limited to): running barefoot, building forts, catching things, building campfires, climbing, getting dirty, […]
[Part 3 of a three-part series on James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. ((Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.)) Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.] by Scott Holland I’m writing my rather tardy contribution to the […]
[Part 2 of a three-part series on James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. ((Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.)) Part 1 is here and part 3 will be up next week!] by Brian R. Gumm […]
[Part 1 of a three-part series on James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. ((Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.)) Part 2 is here and part 3 is here.] by Joshua Brockway James K. A. Smith […]