There was a time in my life where I didn't feel comfortable calling myself a Christian. There were doubts I struggled with. I was tired of living up to other peoples’ expectations. I had a hard time reconciling the Christianity I had been taught and the reality of violence in Christendom. I had a hard time figuring out why radical, zealous Christians went to the Bible and came away with oppressive teachings…
Major changes in the Church were about to occur. Constantine was a Roman emperor. He wanted to rule the world. He saw a sign in the sky. It was the sign of the cross and the words, “In this sign, conquer.” He went to battle believing that he would be victorious if he went with the sign of the cross on his banners. He did and he was. He believed that the…
When you grow up in an Anabaptist culture, the history of your ancestors is often taught across the pulpit, in school, and even at home. Names like Conrad Grebel, Michael Sattler, Dirk Willems, Menno Simons, and many more are names that are almost as familiar as Moses, Noah, Abraham, and David. Our ancestors believed that being baptized as a baby was not enough and chose to be rebaptized when they were born…
Anarchy has usually been defined as a societal utopia wherein absence of governance is employed to the achievement of well ordered, sustainable, yet absolute freedom of the individual. This is obviously a paradox. And while, in spite of the fact that this is an excellent starting point, I believe most practical and romantic models of anarchy naturally go a little further. Practical anarchy may be understood as a sort of persistent revolution,…
https://www.youtube.com/embed/GybvJWbqKVU How do we make sense of the whole "CRT vs. the Gospel" debate going around? In a new series where "the outpost goes off-script", editor Rebekah takes on research paradigms and media sensationalism, drawing from postcolonial and Anabaptist history to talk about marginalization, oppression, violence, exploitation in the systems of "empire" vs. the Kingdom of God.
In Episode 2 of our Kingdom Outpost video series, we discuss common objections to Christian nonviolence. Check out Episode 1: Christian Nonviolence: Why Every Christian Must Oppose War as well! Hi, I’m Francis and in this video I wanna respond to some common objections to Christian nonviolence. In our previous video, we demonstrated from the testimony of Jesus, the apostles, and the early church that Christians must reject violence. However, whenever I…
I've spent the past year focusing on my husband’s recovery from a bad fall, our many offspring, and my own mental health. Yesterday I was happily poking around on the porch, re-potting and watering geraniums, when I thought it might be time to branch out more. Maybe I should once again ask God to bring people to me if he wants me to "do ministry." The last time I prayed this prayer,…