I believe that the New Testament clearly teaches that kingdom people ought to refuse violence in all its forms. Nonviolent resistance or pacifism is a regular theme on this blog. It comes up in various forms because I believe that peace is central to the fullness of the gospel of Christ. An interesting dynamic that becomes evident on the Internet is that there are diverse opinions about Jesus and pacifism. Some of the folks who read my blog agree with... Read more
The REM song from the late 80’s should be on any 2012 playlist. In the past year, “It’s the end of the world as we know it” could serve as a theme song. The Mayan calendar tells us that something cataclysmic will take place before we have the chance to replace our calendars. Add to this the rapture hysteria of the folks loyal to Harold Camping last year. He predicted that the “end of the world” would happen in two... Read more
Provide a brief description of the congregation’s composition. Would you classify it as being homogeneous in any social, ethnic, economic, or age category? Or is the group heterogeneous? What seems to draw these people to this worshiping community? This church is nearly homogenous in its ethnic category. Coptic Christians are uniquely connected to Egyptian culture. About 98 % of the people in the room were Egyptian, many of which used to live over there. Socioeconomically, they were all middle to... Read more
This video shaped many of my thoughts on the problem of evil and how faith responds. Check it out. It takes about an hour but is worth it! May, 2005 – Theologian Dr. N. T. Wright speaks on “God, the Tsunami, and 9/11: The New Problem of Evil.” Not only does Wright accurately unpack the new problem of evil facing a post-modern world, he returns us to a holistic, Biblical way of addressing it. (description from YouTube) Read more
When I attended / taught a seminar at Soularize this past October, I had the opportunity to hang out with several like-minded people that I’d only known on the web. One such person is a great guy named Jon Huckins. He writes prolifically, especially on issues surrounding the violence in the Holy Land (check out this article at Red Letter Christians). He is also on staff at NieuCommunities in San Diego, so he lives out missional / incarnational church values... Read more
There’s a song that has now made its rounds in the evangelical church circuit. This song is commendable on many levels. First, the melody is catchy. If you haven’t listened to or sung this worship tune, you can check it out here: Second, it’s a song with lyrics that are all quite true. I will quote them here for you now: Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind. There’s no one like you, none like You!... Read more
What is your favorite version of the Bible and why? I recently made a switch. For the past couple of years I’ve been very happy with “today’s new international version” because of several factors (and its new form in the NIV 2011). First, I always look for a gender inclusive translation as this is more faithful to the intention of the Greek. For a great discussion of this check out the relevant chapter in “How to Read the Bible for... Read more
Check out the Patheos Book Club page for Godspeed here! God is on a mission. This God invites humanity into the Trinitarian dance of being sent for the sake of the world and to the glory of God. In Godspeed – Making Christ’s Mission Your Own, Britt Merrick invites evangelicals to reconsider the nature of living for God in the world. Building on the work of those who have done theological re-examination’s of the nature of what it means to... Read more
Source: michelleshaeffer.com via Michelle on Pinterest Read more
As our society becomes more secular and cynical of the institutional church, the nonviolent way of Jesus will become one of few entry points for those who don’t yet know Christ. I suggest that this conviction coupled with a suspicion towards nationalism, which Anabaptist Christ-followers are tempted to dismiss as impractical, relates to many people who think the church is hungry for power and supportive of war. We Anabaptists, have the opportunity to leverage our distinct perspective on violence and... Read more
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