Abba Prayer

January 17, 2013 By Mark Van Steenwyk

Subvert this society of spiritual insincerity! These pseudo-saints wear masks of metaphysical maturity veiling their vulgar visage and voluminous villainy Prattling proudly, they publicly proclaim their piety. It’s pathetic! Don’t buy it, brother. Don’t get snared, sister. As for you, Do the prayers you do… In the quiet place. Simple words. Unclenched. Like little kids call for papa and cry for your heaven-momma. Yes, abba shaped the universe in secret, but still closer to you than you are to yourself.... Read more

The Blasphemy of Hope

January 2, 2013 By Mark Van Steenwyk

Jesus’ vision of the (un)Kingdom of God is beautiful. He shows us a new way of being human, where alienation can be destroyed. The distance separating us from each other and our God need not remain. Jesus imagined a world where alienation had ended, where all people could be a part of God’s family. He saw a world where love reigned, where all good things were shared by all and there was even some left over. He saw a world... Read more

Forsaking Christ

December 13, 2012 By Mark Van Steenwyk

My faith collapsed with my mother’s lungs. I spent my late teens caring for my dying mother. After years of struggling with emphysema, my mom’s lungs failed. Thankfully, with the help of medication and an oxygen tank, she was able to survive for the few years it took to get a lung transplant. Her surgery was successful, but the anti-rejection meds made her puffy, and she always seemed dangerously close to death. But she was alive…until she started smoking again.... Read more

Remembering Michael Sattler

October 21, 2012 By Mark Van Steenwyk

My favorite early Anabaptist is Michael Sattler. Our first intentional community house was named Sattler House. As a pacifist, he was condemned in part for being unwilling to take up arms against the Turks. In the medieval and Renaissance period, the Big Bad (at least according to most Christians) was Islam. It was particularly important that, in the midst of Reformation tensions, Christendom at least stayed united in fighting their common enemy. Luther taught that the Turks were tools of... Read more

The Rich Young Ruler

October 16, 2012 By Mark Van Steenwyk

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still... Read more