"There was this Mennonite congregation in the town where I grew up, made up of people who came to Canada in the 1920's. Their people had lived in Russia for generations and had built up prosperous farms. All was going well for them, until 1917. The Revolution took everything they had worked so hard to … Continue reading Entitlement
Mennonite
Am I a suspect?
We lived in a village in south-western Ontario for 12 years. The United Church Manse was right across the street from our home. Several ministers and their families came and went during that time. We exchanged a few pleasantries, but never really got to know them. One couple was different. The husband had been raised … Continue reading Am I a suspect?
True Knowledge of God
There the Holy Spirit brings rest and peace to the consciences and hearts of the believers in true Christian love and unity; there also is found the living hope, whereby the believer hopes for salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ, yea so that he is assured and certain that he is being sanctified, and … Continue reading True Knowledge of God
Why I wear a beard
Well, it's not a decision I have to make every morning, like deciding if this is short sleeve or long sleeve weather, it just grows there. I would have to physically remove it with some kind of blade every morning if I didn't want it. Now, I think that if God made me in such … Continue reading Why I wear a beard
A theology of suffering
Henry Funk, whom I’ve been quoting the past few days, was only a generation of two removed from the persecution of the Mennonites in Switzerland. The reality of the possibility of suffering for the faith was real to him, and he did not shrink from it. A few centuries have passed and Mennonites in North … Continue reading A theology of suffering
The baptism of suffering
So soon as the believer has the witness of the spiritual baptism and has received the baptism with water, he should yield himself willingly to receive the baptism of the shedding of his blood for the name of Christ, if required, and take on him the witness of blood, according to 1 John 5:8: "And … Continue reading The baptism of suffering
No earthly ground
Of this water we find further, extensively, in the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 47, where he was brought to the house and saw waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house eastward. . . . This water is typical of the spiritual water of the word of God which flowed from the temple, that … Continue reading No earthly ground
The transformed mind
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 The first phrase of this verse is often quoted by Mennonites; many words have been spoken over the pulpit and written … Continue reading The transformed mind
Two years later
I began this blog on June 8, 2012, not really knowing where I wanted to go with it, nor what to expect in the way of readership and reader reaction. Over a period of two years I have made 480 posts and the blog has received 13,047 views. Having started out with only a nebulous … Continue reading Two years later
Full of joy
[An excerpt from The True Knowledge of God by Dirk Philips, a co-worker of Menno Simons, written in 1558.] Where this love exists, there all that is good is found. Yea, there God is, who himself is love (1 John 4:8); there Christ dwells, there the Holy Spirit abides, there is the lovely gathering of … Continue reading Full of joy
Flatlander Faith 