MWR : Articles : Perspective

Articles : Perspective

Gospel should change lives

I am part of the Pilgrim Mennonite Conference group that is holding services in New York City. In the June 20, 2011, issue of Mennonite Weekly Review, Charlie Kraybill commented on our work in the Bronx in an article titled, “In the City, Might the Saving Process Go Both Ways?” He noted that when Mennonites went to the city as missionaries in earlier decades, change came to them in similar proportions to the change they expected to bring to the city.

Young people need to be part of renewing the church

I might get in trouble for saying this, but I think religion is failing young people. I believe the church is the living body of Christ, the primary vehicle for extending God’s love. But bad religion, and in some ways the church, is stifling good religion — our ability to more fully join in God’s movement in the world.

Should one issue define us?

There have always been differences among Mennonites over how to interpret church documents. Recently, there have been calls for Mennonite Church USA to impose churchwide uniformity on the interpretation of these documents, particularly as they relate to pastoral credentialing issues and same-sex marriage ceremonies. We believe such a move would not only repudiate the direction set in the “Purposeful Plan” at the Pittsburgh convention this summer but would be a recipe for increased conflict, distraction and polarization.

Early trailblazer for women

The 20th century greeted American Mennonite women with expanding opportunities to serve God and the church, such as domestic and foreign missions and the new deaconess movement.
Has CPT made a difference?

Twenty-five years after its founding, the vision of Christian Peacemaker Teams endures: deploying peacemakers into areas of lethal conflict to witness of the capacity of justice and respect to resolve conflict.

Brainwashed by the military?

At the Mennonite Church USA convention in Pittsburgh this summer I led three sessions on “Options After High School,” two for high school youth and one for sponsors. I mentioned in the session description that military recruitment would be part of the presentation.

Our world needs fewer bombs, more ice cream

PHILADELPHIA — On the eve of Sept. 11, a peace activist and an entrepreneur helped us reflect on our post-9/11 world and imagine a better reality — one with fewer bombs and more ice cream.

Beyond justice-purity divide

I was thrilled by the words of Shane Hipps, when, in the opening address of the most recent Mennonite Church USA convention, he called us to something higher and closer to the nature of God than justice or purity alone: reconciliation.

A defense of poor preaching

We should be accustomed by now to the tired announcement that preaching is dead or dying. It is unlikely that a culture living on Facebook and Twitter would have much respect for a lone “authority” standing before an assembly of silent listeners, clearing his throat and presenting a talk.

Paraguay proposes new alternative service program

Mennonites in Paraguay are facing changes in the national system of military conscription and alternative service. At stake is the foundation of Mennonite relationships with the government.