Through nearly 60 years of ministry I’ve enjoyed fellowship with diverse groups of believers. Based on this experience, I believe Anabaptist denominations are too small, too exclusive and too institutional.…
June 2011
Those who have visited Brazil come across a word that describes our culture better than any other: jeitinho – a clever bypass, or a way to dodge the system.
When Moses wrote “Do not deprive the alien of justice” (Deuteronomy 24:17), highrise complexes in Toronto were the farthest thing from his mind. The words landed first on an ancient…
The spread of Christianity all around the globe has been nothing less than spectacular. “The era of Western Christianity has passed within our lifetimes,” history of religion scholar Philip Jenkins argues…
These four admonitions were modelled after the letters to the churches in Revelation 2–3 given to delegates at the 2011 B.C. MB convention, “Hearing the Spirit speak to the BCMB churches,” Apr. 29–30, 2011. Click here for convention coverage.
Embrace your heritage – the Anabaptist voice of love and peace – and choose to be “extremists for love and grace,” keynote speaker Shane Claiborne urged U.S. MB youth at the San Antonio 2011 youth convention. The “flood” theme was based on Amos 5:24. The 827 youth and sponsors who attended the event, held every four years, returned home to South Dakota, Kansas, California, Texas, and North Carolina stirred to be like the “little drops” that form a mighty river.
Any time I evaluate photos of people for publication, I ask: is there a mix of women and men? some variety in ages? more than one skin colour pictured? My grid of cultural awareness also monitors communal gatherings – church services, conventions, lectures, concerts,
outreach events.B.C. Mennonite Brethren gathered to “read each other’s mail” from heaven – celebrating God’s transforming work in B.C. church plants, camps, Columbia Bible College, and conference programs, at Willow Park Church, Kelowna, Apr. 29–30.
The weekend of Apr. 16–17 concluded the year for the students of Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask., with a spring concert at Knox United Church in Saskatoon and commencement ceremonies. Bethany…
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Missionary letters don’t hold back
by ContributorText Examined: Acts 13-15 – “The missionary journey of Paul and Silas from Acts 13–15 reminds me of the support letters that workers send out from church plants and overseas projects – except for one thing. Conflict! Unlike the success stories our missionaries regularly send out – personality differences and theological squabbles left unmentioned – Luke’s chronicle of the early church candidly discusses conflict and persecution, not only with society, but also within the church itself.”
The Nonviolent AtonementAuthor: J. Denny WeaverEven J. Denny Weaver acknowledges that the proposal he makes in The Nonviolent Atonement “may seem audacious.” Weaver is an American Mennonite theologian and professor emeritus at Bluffton University in Ohio. The Nonviolent Atonement is his attempt to describe the atoning work of Christ in light of his conviction that God is nonviolent. For Weaver, there is no place in discussion of atonement theology for the idea that God punished Jesus, or that Jesus died for human sins to satisfy God’s justice.
This month, on www.mbherald. com, you’ll find an online journal chronicling the upcoming Pastors Credentialing Orientation in Winnipeg. Read what new pastors are up to by following the link on the Journals page.
“Button.” It was the only word I understood as I leaned over the battered young man. He was asking for help and his broken body left him helpless – helpless to push a button.