A quick link for you this morning. Scott Peterson has a blog called Welcome To Churchlandia and he wrote a post a couple of days ago titled I’m not a Mennonite. I’m an Anabaptist. Here is part of what he wrote....
That being said, I want to claim the faith history of the Mennonites as my own because I see just how much they sacrificed for the sake of the gospel and I want to be counted as part of that lot. The faith of Michael Sattler, Dirk Willems, and the many other Anabaptist martyrs reflect the faith of Jesus. Reading their stories causes a restlessness in my heart to be part of that lineage; that movement. That is the group of Mennonites I want to join. I want to be with those who aggressively seek peace and the Kingdom.
I want to be a Mennonite not because of Friendship Bread but because they offer a desirable faith which looks like Jesus.
I appreciate that. Like Scott I am drawn to Anabaptist teaching but less so to the modern culture of Anabaptism. I don't find the traditions and culture of conservative Mennonitism to be very appealing but the underlying teachings of the Anabaptist and their early witness of humble and meek lives being lived for the sake of the Kingdom is very appealing to me. I enjoy the fellowship of our local conservative Anabaptists but I have no desire to reconfigure our lives to be acclimated to their culture because I simply don't find it in the Bible. I am going to keep an eye on what Scott is writing, it looks to be an interesting perspective!
(Hat Tip Robert Martin)
1 comment:
Thanks for the link. I'm in total agreement. Let's not make the act of following after Jesus as his disciples overly complicated with traditions not modeled for us by Jesus himself. Although I also want to continue in the fellowship of the gospel with believers of all stripes.
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