A Costly Decision

Yesterday we had the privilege of having Don Kraybill come and speak at "The Grove".  Don is a scholar from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.  He the author of many books on the Amish and Old Mennonite communities around the country.  He also is the author of "Upside Down Kingdom" (see my review below).

Don introduced our Lenten series on Disciplines of a Disciple with a sermon called "A Costly Decision."  One of the things that he talked about that stood out was what we think of as carrying a cross.  Often we think of any bad thing that happens (illness, family relationships, etc.) as a cross we have to bear.  But, as Don pointed out, a cross is a conscious decision we make to sacrifice for Christ.  It's not something that happens to us that we have no control over.

During our Sunday school hour Don also spoke on Amish spirituality.  He talked about the roots it has along with other Anabaptist groups.  Much of what he was saying sounded just like the original Brethren.  The Amish are dedicated to the community.  They live and worship within one community and aren't able to "church-shop" the way modern Evangelical Christians do.  Instead they are forced to live and work and relate to those people.  The have a communal understanding of salvation rather than an individualized salvation you find in evangelical circles.  He explained that their shunning is to bring an individual into correction and ultimately to restore them to the community.  The Amish communities are each responsible for deciding how they feel is best to follow Christ in their individual lives.  Their decisions are seen as coming from heaven because it is the work of the Holy Spirit that helps the community come to a decision.

Obviously no one, including the Amish, are perfect.  There are certain hypocrisies.  However, I think the intentions of the Amish and their simplicity and daily living a life to honor Christ is something which should teach us modern "Inklish" (English is used for anyone not Amish by the Amish).  It made me think of a section of Shane Claiborne's book called "Amish for Homeland Security" and his call for new communities of a "neo-Amish" movement.

Any comments?
Listen to Don's sermon online  Here