The Naked Anabaptist

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything.  Recently I finished reading The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of the Radical Faith.  If you're thinking "Amish gone wild" or "I knew there was something screwy about those Brethren," sorry to disappoint.

Stuart Murray is an Anabaptist writing from England.  His book is a look at the basic principles of the Anabaptist tradition.  He wanted to look at the Anabaptist faith when it's not clothed in Amish or Mennonite clothing and traditions (hence, "Naked Anabaptist").  At the start he deals with some common misconceptions or ideas of Anabaptism.  They are questions Murray hears often being a part of the Anabaptist Network in England where Anabaptism has not traditionally been a part of the religious make-up.

The rest of the book is mostly spent looking at seven core convictions of Anabaptists.

1. Jesus is our example, teacher, friend, redeemer, and Lord.  He is the source of our life, the central reference point for our faith and lifestyle, for our understanding of church, and our engagement with society.  We are committed to following Jesus as well as worshipping him.  
2. Jesus is the focal point of God’s revelation.  We are committed to a Jesus-centered approach to the Bible, and to the community of faith as the primary context in which we read the Bible and discern and apply its implications for discipleship.
3. Western culture is slowly emerging from the Christendom era, when church and state jointly presided over a society in which almost all were assumed to be Christian.  Whatever its positive contributions on values and institutions, Christendom seriously distorted the gospel, marginalized Jesus, and has left the churches ill equipped for mission in a post-Christendom culture.  As we reflect on this, we are committed to learning from the experience and perspectives of movements such as Anabaptism that rejected standard Christendom assumptions and pursued alternative ways of thinking and behaving.
4. The frequent association of the church with status, wealth, and force is inappropriate for followers of Jesus and damages our witness.  We are committed to exploring ways of being good news to the poor, powerless, and persecuted, aware that such discipleship may attract opposition, resulting in suffering and sometimes ultimately martyrdom.  
5. Churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission, places of friendship, mutual accountability, and multivoiced worship.  As we eat together, sharing bread and wine, we sustain hope as we seek God’s kingdom together.  We are committed to nurturing and developing such churches, in which young and old are valued, leadership is consultative, roles are related to gifts rather than gender, and baptism is for believers.  
6. Spirituality and economics are interconnected.  In an individualist and consumerist culture and in a world where economic injustice is rife, we are committed to finding ways of living simply, sharing generously, caring for creation, and working for justice.  
7. Peace is at the heart of the gospel.  As followers of Jesus in a divided and violent world, we are committed to finding nonviolent alternatives and to learning how to make peace between individuals, within and among churches, in society, and between nations.

The book concludes by looking at where the Anabaptists have come from and looks at Anabaptism today.  Murray's conclusion is that there is a lot to be taken from the Anabaptist tradition in, what he labels, post-Christendom.

This is not an overly scholarly book.  Murray and his network are trying to provide resources for the emerging Anabaptists in England and Ireland.  I appreciated his critique of Christendom (the time from the 4th Century conversion of Constantine through the late 20th Century) when the church and state together controlled society.  He admits that there was good that came out of that period, but that in general it was not an idea that was faithful to Christ's sacrificial love.  Part of the reason for his admiration of Anabaptism is its noncompliance with Christendom ideology.  He sees Anabaptism as a movement focused on Jesus-centered discipleship whose moment in church history has finally come.  Murray confesses weaknesses of Anabaptism but evaluates it positively.  

For anyone who wants to be introduced to Anabaptism, for Anabaptists who don't know where they come from, for those longing to be part of a community which worships and follows Jesus, I would highly recommend giving it a read.  It's challenging whether you are an Anabaptist or not. 

Christian History

It's been a while since I've written a book review.  This is probably because with a baby, garden on top of everything happening at church, I haven't had time to read a whole lot.  What I have been reading is a Quicknotes version of Church History.  I decided it was about time I refreshed my memory of some of the things that are a part of our history as the church.  This isn't really a review of the book itself.  The authors/editors do a good job of giving a brief overview of primarily Western church history.  It offers a few value judgements of history, some of which I agree with and others I don't.

The history moves from the early, primitive church in Acts through the Roman persecution, theological developments, Middle Ages, into the Reformation, Great Awakening and finally ends with the 20th Century development of "Evangelical" Christianity in the West and also offers a look and guidance for the church in the 21st Century.

What comes to life is a twisted history in the institutional church.  The church begins as a movement of people trying to live as members of the kingdom of God.  They were persecuted by Roman and Jewish authorities at the start.  With Constantine, all of that subversive, underground, Christ-following movement becomes powerful.  Church and State become united and remain that way until the secularization of the Enlightenment begins.  There are major developments that occur in the theology of the church as it develops.

One thing I found interesting was the development of the Reformation.  Martin Luther is often credited as starting the Reformation.  This review of history also points out those that paved the way for the Reformation such as John Wycliffe and Jan Hus.  It also talks about the developing of state churches following Luther, Calvin or Catholicism.  The book also goes into some detail of the Radical Reformers which developed Anabaptism.  Anabaptists suffered persecution  under the state churches whether Lutheran, Calvinist or Catholic.

The book concludes by looking at the effects of the Enlightenment on the church.  It then  talks about the evangelistic movements of the 19th and 20th Century.  They also mention that eventually Evangelical Christianity began to divorce the social and spiritual Gospel.  For centuries the faithful church had sought ways to reform societies ills while also seeking to bring people to Christ.  They were one in the same.  During the 20th Century the church began to split the gospel.

Two things become clear by looking at church history.  The first is that the church with worldly power is really no different than the world with worldly power.  The only difference is that the church with worldly power assumes God has ordained it.  When the church identifies with the the outcasts and speaks prophetically to centers of power, then it is faithful and grows.  The church and state relationship  does not work.  The second thing that becomes clear is that the church has one Gospel to live out.  Jesus fed people with bread and told them he was the bread of life.  He cared for people's physical and spiritual needs.  One Gospel.  Jesus has come to change the world.  Physical or Spiritual.  Everything comes under Jesus.  The Church, then, must do likewise.  We look for ways to help the disenfranchised, poor and outcasts while reconciling people to Christ.  When the church tries to use the power of the state or fragments the Gospel it begins to turn away from faithfully following Christ.

Weeds, the Fall and More

So today is a collection of a few scattered thoughts I've had while working around my garden and yard.  Right now with the rain we've been having my garden is looking pretty good.  I'll have to take some pics and upload them.  My potatoes are thriving, my beans are coming up, lettuce almost ready, carrots coming up sunflowers growing and everything else looking good.

With taking care of my garden and yard I've been pulling up weeds.  I started thinking about the significance of weeds as pertains to my walk with Christ.  My thoughts came to Matthew 13:24-30 and the Parable of the Weeds.  In the story Jesus talks about the Kingdom being a place where the wheat and weeds grow together for a time.  The servants ask if they should separate them.  The owner instructs to allow them to grow together and separate them at the harvest.  Jesus goes on the explain the parable in verses 36-43.  As I was pulling weeds I was thinking about people in my life who right now at least appear to be weeds.  So I prayed for the weeds that I know that they may be shown to be wheat.

Another random thought I had came about because of the lovely poison ivy now irritating my fingers.  Why do we have things like poison ivy?  It's similar to questions I've asked about the purpose of mosquitoes or other parts of creation that seem to just be a nuisance.  Perhaps poison ivy does serve some good purpose.  I sure would like to know what it is.  For right now it's a painful reminder of the Fall.  The event and events that make up the Fall are all around.  I think of poison ivy as something that's not right; as part of creation that is fallen in its purpose.  We see people around the world torn apart from God and from each other as a result of the Fall.  People hurting, creation groaning waiting for the Fall to be permanently made right.  The poison ivy is reminding me of my own fallenness.  I say "event and events" because at times we like to blame Adam for humanities fallenness.  But I have to admit my compliance with Adam's decision to turn from God every time I turn away from God myself.

I'd like to think that gardening is all great.  But the reality is that there are hard things to deal with in the garden.  There are weeds that will be destroyed, so I pray for the weeds hoping they might turn out to be something different.  And there's poison ivy reminding me that all is not right yet with Creation or with my own relationship with Christ.

Letter to the Exiles

In my continuing search through the Bible for references to gardens, growing, seeds, etc. I came across this section of scripture, Jeremiah 29:1-14.  It's a letter written to those Jews who were in in exile in Babylon.  In it Jeremiah instructs the people to take up residence.  They are to build homes, grow gardens, give their children in marriage and continue to grow as a people.  The people are also instructed to "seek the peace and prosperity of the city..."  Today we see the church in a kind of exile.  At times being unfaithful and finding ourselves wandering, looking for home.  But God has put us in the place we live for a reason and perhaps his word to us is much the same as it was to them.  To take up residence, raise our children even to grow gardens and certainly to seek the peace and prosperity of where we live.  Now I have to confess that the prosperity part isn't so hard in America, but I do know of lots of people living around me that are in need.  There are different ways in which our community of faith is working at seeking the peace and prosperity for all in the place we live.  We help with unmet bills, child care, food and other outreach to our local community.  We also work at sharing peace with our community and the world by being an active voice for non-violence.  We are working at making our area look more and more like the Kingdom.

What does growing gardens have to do with the peace and prosperity of the city?  I'm not sure what Babylon was like, but if it's anything like American cities today I can see why gardening was part of the seeking peace and prosperity.  I've recently been talking with a number of people at Mechanic Grove about gardening and the importance of teaching the next generation to garden.  As we have "progressed" in society we have moved away from the earth.  We've forgotten where food comes from, the work that goes into it.  We have forgotten the lessons that we learn from the garden like patience, taking your time, life from death.  Perhaps teaching people again to grow food, to work in a garden, to learn basic life skills it part of the "peace and prosperity."

In Jeremiah 29:1-14, verse 10 begins a shift.  God is talking about bringing his people back from exile and restoring them.  To me there's a difference between seeking the peace and prosperity of the place I live and coming to believe Babylon is home.  There's a danger in getting too wrapped up in whatever nation we find ourselves in exile.  Perhaps in some places the Jewish people became content with Babylon.  It was the world power of its time.  It would have been easy to see the affluence and prosperity in Babylon and begin to think that it had been chosen or especially blessed by God.  Babylon is not home.

Well-watered Garden

This Spring has been very warm and dry.  I love the warm part.  We've had some B-E-A-utiful days this Spring.  But after a while of no rain you start to see some consequences.  I have a number of things already planted in my garden.  My lettuce is coming up, my broccoli is starting to do better, my peppers are hanging in and a few others things are doing well.  My trash-can potatoes are doing awesome.  There really hasn't been much rain to keep things watered, so I've had to go out every day either with my watering bucket or the hose to water the garden.  I also planted grass seed in a few bare spots in our yard that I've had to water.  For a while things were looking pretty dry.  The dirt in the garden was dry.  The places I had planted grass were very dry and hard.

But Saturday night it started raining and today (Monday) it's still raining.  I came across this Scripture: "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy you needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:11).  The rain has been great for the garden and the yard and our flower beds.  I'm looking forward to seeing how things will grow once the sun comes out again.  Far more comforting is knowing that God satisfies my needs.  He gives me refreshment and new life when I feel dried out and sun-scorched.  There have been times this Spring, while working in the garden or yard, where I've just reflected on everything God has blessed me with.  My wife and son, my home and food, my church family, my job.  In these times I feel refreshed and renewed.  I know that God has blessed me in order for me to be a blessing.

Thank you God for rain.  For watering the garden and helping things to grow.  Thank you for the refreshment you send into my life and for the way you satisfy my needs.  Amen

Sustainable Living?

Last week I was working on mulching our flower beds around the house. This is the first year that I've been responsible for edging, mulching and maintaining my own flower beds. It's a treat, once it's done. But as I talked about earlier, work is not a bad thing. I was reflecting again on the Creation story that begins in a garden. Today you hear a lot about Sustainable Living. It's a big deal because the way much of the world is living cannot continue. During the industrial revolution the church developed a theology of Dominion over creation rather than stewardship of creation. We've stripped the land, developed unhealthy, unnatural practices and over-all degraded God's good creation. So sustainable living is a step in the right direction.

But in the Creation Story God says "be fruitful" (Gen. 1:28) and the writer states God placed the man in the garden to "work it and take care of it" (Gen. 2:15). It seems that God intended life to multiply for growth and expansion. And for it to be done in harmony with the rest of creation. Today we're just hoping that we can hand something down to the next generation through sustainable living.

A few years ago a the Grove we started a recycling ministry. We recycle paper in the office and used bulletins as well as plastic, metal and glass containers in the kitchen and old magazines. I remember when we started that the group said if anyone should care about Creation and being green, it's Christians. We should be the ones leading the way in being stewards of God's creation. It doesn't mean that we can't use resources that God has provided for us, but that we should use those resources in a responsible way. The way we live should be fruitful and multiply for the next generation. What if all Christians would take a look at our resources and practices and seek for the best way to honor God in those ways. Perhaps we would change from just being sustainable to being fruitful and multiplying.

Resurrection!

I always look forward to Easter. From Palm Sunday through Love Feast and Communion on Thursday, Black Friday and of course Easter Sunday. When I was a little kid I was excited because it meant an Easter basket (or paper bag) with candy. We also would get a chocolate cross from church made of snickers and milky way candy bars fused together with icing decorations on top. But Easter has changed as I've gotten older. Now I have a better understanding of what it means for my faith. This past Palm Sunday we celebrated the coming of the king into Jerusalem. The Jews intended to crown and earthly king. Instead it becomes the inauguration of a different kind of kingdom. This Thursday the Mechanic Grove community will celebrate Lovefeast and Communion. This year will be a little different as we celebrate with hispanic brothers and sisters from Lancaster. We will enact Isaiah 56:7 that says God's house will be a house of prayer for all nations. It will be a new look at the church and seeing different people groups united in communion. Friday I will reflect on Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Not only his sacrifice but also his crowning (I wrote about this previously here).

But this year I am especially looking forward to celebrating Resurrection Sunday. Jesus' triumph over sin and death. New, restored, completed, perfected life. It seems like a different part of Holy Week impacts me each year. And this year it is Resurrection. It's probably because of loss I've experienced this year. In the last year I lost a good friend that I grew up with, went to church with, played baseball with, sang with. I also lost my big brother Bob (Theology of a Hug). Last week we lost my wife's grandmother in a car accident. She was a beautiful woman. Since my grandparents live in Ohio, she was my "Granny" too. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 instructs us not to grieve as those with no hope. Instead we look forward to final resurrection and to seeing those that have "fallen asleep." This year as I get closer to Resurrection Sunday I can't help but be thankful, hopeful, and very, very grateful for Resurrection. Enjoying life everlasting with Jesus, Glenny, Bob, Granny and others.

Thank you God for your Son. Thank you for sending him to restore our relationship with you and for giving us life renewed, restored and resurrected with You. Amen!

It Begins in a Garden

Reading Scripture while growing a garden seems like there is only one logical place to begin. After all the story of God's relationship with humanity begins in a garden. Imagine the beauty of God's perfect garden. I've seen some nice gardens. We have a place near us called Longwood Gardens. It's beautiful with something different in each season, but I know it's not perfect like God's garden.

I always assumed that work came after the Fall. That Adam and Eve just enjoyed the garden without having to do anything. But Genesis 2:15 says, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." So even before the Fall man did work. After the Fall God explains that now they will toil and sweat to work the land. Work in and of itself is a good thing. I'll try and remember that when I'm sweating this Summer or my back hurts from pushing the wheel barrow filled with dirt or mulch all over the yard.

Why does it start in a garden? Why not a city of people where God can enjoy the company of many? Why in a garden? It occurs to me that life happens much slower in a garden. A garden requires patience and time. You can't be in a hurry with a garden. On the other hand, cities are busy. There's always something happening; always places to run and things to do. My life tends to be more like a city. I feel like there's always something to get done. There's something at the church going on. Some family event. Bills to pay, errands to run. But God chooses a garden. He walks in the garden and has long conversations with Adam and Eve. There aren't things to rush off to. Just time to spend enjoying the garden and relationship with God.

Lord, You walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. They moved at the pace of a garden, slowly and intentionally. Help me to slow down and take time to spend walking in the garden with You. Thank you for the gifts and abilities to work!

Lesson in Peace

Last night at the Grove we hosted Beatrice Mambula and her parents, Mosa and Sarah, to talk about what is happening to the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN). Currently they are undergoing persecution at the hands of radical fundamentalist Muslims. They shared a number of stories about the persecution. In 2009 several EYN churches were destroyed in fires. They shared that there is again renewed violence against Christian churches, the government and even schools now. Today Christians going to church on Sunday mornings must be patted down and searched before entering the church by armed soldiers. Women are not allowed to carry purses because it is feared they are carrying bombs. They don't even park in their church parking lot anymore. Instead they park in protected parking lots and walk to church. The president of Nigeria has acknowledged that part of this radical sect has infiltrated different sectors of the government agencies and are funded by powerful politicians, banks and outside organizations. The group has set out to destroy Christian churches bearing the cross, the government, Western education and even moderate Muslims who are sympathetic to the persecution of the Christians.

Despite the stories of persecution there were also stories of hope shared. Back in the 80's when the church first went through persecution and 107 churches were burned the church leaders decided to rebuild. As they collected money to rebuild their churches they decided before they rebuilt their churches to rebuild 3 mosques that had been burned by other Christians. The Muslims didn't know how to respond to this. Many were puzzled by this response. Several of these Muslims became Christians and are now involved in missions to Muslim areas. The Mambula's also shared that Christians and Muslims are beginning to work together to overcome this hatred of a a radical sect. Christians go to the Muslim mosques on Friday to protect the Muslims during their time of prayers. Muslims in turn come and protect Christian churches on Sunday mornings. They are working together.

I've talked about pacifism and non-violence before. But it's a lot easier to say when there's nothing that threatens my life. To hear how the EYN is pursuing peace in the midst of persecution is a testimony to their faith and love of Jesus Christ. When you ask if they want to fight and defend themselves, they say, "We're humans. We want to fight back. But we love Jesus and this love will not allow us to fight." Instead they realize as Paul writes in Philippians 1, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." They look forward with expectation to be a part of Christ's kingdom with final peace.

I was very blessed by their presence and to see their faith, hope and love. They continue to work at loving their enemies and turning the other cheek.

Growing Disciples

First of all let me start by saying I am in no way a great gardener. I remember working in our family garden when I was a little kid. I've had a garden the last couple of Summers with varied success at growing different things. We've had our garden as a part of the farmer's field at the house we were renting. It was great ground. We never had to till anything. Last Summer we moved into our own home. So this year I'm trying something different. I'll be building some raised beds for my garden. I'm also trying some different things.

So what's this all about and why I am writing blogs about it? My hope this Summer is to learn more about gardening, but in the process learn more about God. Gardening seems like one of the most natural ways to learn about the Kingdom. After all, it begins with a Garden, Jesus talks about the kingdom being like a seed, harvesting and all kinds of agricultural examples of the Kingdom and faith. This is an exercise in faith hopefully as much as it is an education in gardening.

From my garden I'm hoping to provide my family with good, nutritional food and lower my grocery bill. Hopefully my trash can potatoes will turn out ok. I'd be delighted if I manage to get a few peanuts. And I'm looking forward to making my own salsa from my tomatoes, onions and Jalapeno peppers.

I'm also hoping that my garden can help teach me about patience, cultivating faith, how the Kingdom spreads and more. Over the Summer I'm hoping to post progress on my garden with pictures and some insights and Scripture that I'm coming across that pertain to the garden.

I would encourage your comments and insights along the way.