blip : Beyond Lost Intellectual Ponderings :

I joined the Mennonite church 7 years ago. I wanted to be a part of a church that acknowledged Christ’s way of peace as fundamental to the gospel. The peace of Jesus is always at the center of our worship at Chapel Hill Mennonite. But, as far as I can tell, the larger denominational bodies [...]

[Read more →]

I wrote a reflection on my week-long visit with the people of Mt. Zion Mennonite Church in Boonsboro, Maryland. Here’s an excerpt:
From the window of the nursery I can see the cemetery that stretches across the hill alongside the church — a field planted with rectangular stones to mark the graves of the faithful: Stauffer, [...]

[Read more →]

About a month ago I had the opportunity to spend a week with an Hispanic Mennonite congregation in Dallas, Texas. I wrote up a short piece about my experience. Here’s an excerpt:
The Bible study before the Sunday morning worship service of Iglesia Menonita Luz del Evangelio turns into a passionate sermon.

A discussion of the story of [...]

[Read more →]

For Holy Thursday a bunch of gathered at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Cary, North Carolina, and held a footwashing worship service—we told them we wanted to wash the feet of the people detained inside. If you haven’t heard about these ICE detention centers, that means the federal government is good [...]

[Read more →]

There has been a lot on controversy around the recent decision of Goshen College (a Mennonite university in Indiana) to play the national anthem before athletic events. The college has never played the anthem on campus because of the song’s praise of violence (“bombs bursting in air,” etc.). So, needless to say, due to the [...]

[Read more →]

To celebrate MLK Day next week, I wrote a short piece on Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Mennonite Weekly Review. It highlights the King that won’t be remembered on his day. Here’s an excerpt:
Most of us don’t want to remember what King didn’t want us to forget: that the racial violence that birthed colonial [...]

[Read more →]

The Jesus for President campaign came to Raleigh, N.C. on July 22nd. Chris Haw, Shane Claiborne, and their crew took the stage at 7pm. People started filling the seats at 6:30, anticipating the acclaimed campaign. For two and a half hours, Shane and Chris spoke about Jesus and politics to an attentive crowd. Although our [...]

[Read more →]

Congregational Prayer: 5.25.2008 (lectionary text: Isaiah 49:8-16Isaiah 49:8-16English: Contemporary English Version (1999) – CEVThe Lord Will Lead His People Home

[Read more →]

Here’s sermon I decided not to preach. I think it’s good, but I realized that it’s not necessarily what my church needs to hear—the Holy Spirit led me elsewhere at the last minute (it seems like God always interrupts a good thing). If you’re into politics, it may be interesting for you. The idea for [...]

[Read more →]

I imagine that I’m a latecomer to this bit of news, but I thought I’d share it here for those who are like me—with their head in the sand most of the time.

Last week during a Q & A time with presidential candidate John Kerry at the University of Florida, a student was violently forced [...]

[Read more →]