Blog

January 2021 Written by: Marlin Sommers A preacher should have as much money in his library as in his pickup truck, or so says a pastoral advisor to my church. Those charged to regularly teach the scriptures need good tools for study. So do the rest of us. Not all of us will spend thousands of dollars on commentaries or devote years of our lives to studying the Greek and Hebrew languages in which the ...
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12/26/20 Written by: Keeshon Washington This story is Part 4 of a 4-part series. Read Part 1 HERE Read Part 2 HERE Read Part 3 HERE Leaving Home
When I was sixteen my mom had not compromised all of her desires for me. She was still my mom, and I still gave her a respected voice in my life. One desire she held firmly was that I should go to college after I graduated. I ...
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12/20/20 Written by: Keeshon Washington This story is Part 3 of a 4-part series. Read Part 1 HERE Read Part 2 HERE “God Please Bring My Dad Back!”
Every day I would come home from school to a continual argument going on. It always had to do with either money or drugs, and the energy and sound coming from my parents often sounded demonic. It wasn’t uncommon for them to direct this energy towards ...
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12/8/20 Written by: Keeshon Washington This story is Part 2 of a 4-part series. Read Part 1 HERE Soon after VBS, I was solicited for a weekly program that ran through the year. I remembered enough from the VBS picnic that I didn’t put up a fight, but I still went with a general cynicism toward the whole program. I remember walking into our school gym with a look that would have shot right through ...
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November 29, 2020 Written by: Keeshon Washington In 1775 British forces were stomping through Massachusetts with their eyes set on seizing weapons stockpiled by the American colonists. On this journey they encountered a small army of minutemen and as it is reported, “somebody fired the first shot.” This led to another small battle later that day that left the British retreating back to their home base. This first shot is famously known as “the shot ...
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Written by: Wayne Rutt Is the deteriorating atmosphere regarding the Jewish people in the U.S.A. and abroad a new thing? Even prior to the New Covenant, the Jewish people have been singled out for discrimination; it has never truly gone away. So what is the current situation today, and how shall the Anabaptist community respond? The answer requires reflection on the issues involved, biblical perspective, and living faith. Vandalism, shootings, stabbings, hate filled rants, eggings; ...
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Written by: Marlin Sommers A Christian magazine recently asked readers to comment on why we need new translations of the Bible from time to time. English Bible translations are a subject dear to my heart, and I shared a brief response for that magazine. Here on the blog I would like to give a slightly longer explanation. While I am arguing that it is important to make regular use of a modern English translation of ...
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Written by: Chester Weaver For over a thousand years good men did nothing. Maybe that is not quite saying it right. For over a thousand years good men could do no good publicly and prosper with the good. Their good prospered in non-public ways, in ways forgotten to history. Some men in all ages have found ways to do good, but their good has been lost to public sight. Only the Heavenly records will tell ...
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Written by: Roseanne Bauman Part 3 Most adults who have achieved a certain level of maturity have a well-developed set of cultural values and a preferred decision-making ethic, whether or not they are aware of those paradigms within themselves. I am no different. As a Christian professor at a secular community college I am comfortable with my established worldview. However, my current class of nursing students, who are foreign trained professionals from many countries around ...
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Written by: Roseanne Bauman I teach a nursing class made up of nurses, midwives, and doctors who were trained in Egypt, Nepal, Romania, Korea, the Philippines, India, Columbia, Sudan, China, Taiwan, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Iran. They speak 30 languages other than English among them. They vary in years of experience from 1 to 20. Some have immigrant status and others are international students. Some have not worked in healthcare ...
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Written by: Roseanne Bauman Part 1 I am a nursing professor at a community college in Canada. Currently I am privileged to teach a class for foreign trained medical professionals whose credentials are not recognized in Canada. This nursing class fast tracks them into the Canadian healthcare system so that they can begin working in the field and networking their way to where they wish to go. Let me introduce you. There are 25 students ...
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Written by: Marlin Sommers Since I did not live on campus, I spent time between classes in the Grove City College commuter student lounge. One day my friend Brenda was speaking of her dislike for the military. She was responding to some callous young men. I started to push this conversation just a little bit. Brenda protested that, even if war is necessary, killing is certainly something to sadden one, not for one to glory ...
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Written by: Stephen Byler Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; 1x this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  
With these words, Matthew records ...
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Written by: Frank Reed
The Bible waits to be mined for its treasure. God intentionally hid some of these treasures so that they are only obtained by those who really desire Him and seek His truth. Those who seek, find; to those who knock, the door to the Scriptures will be opened. Frank's method of Bible study can be adapted and used by any diligent seeker of God's truth. Get started; try your own hand ...
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Part Two: Entrepreneurs as Servant-Managers Written by: Marlin Sommers A business person should steward his business abilities and roles. Stewardship is not limited to managing profits that may be gained through business. In Part 1 of this blog I sketched an overall vision for acting as a servant-manager in business. This second part reflects in a bit more detail on some aspects of the stewardly role of business. I reflect on job creation, on business ...
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Note: This is a bonus post Marlin Sommers wrote in response to current events. The second part of the “Business as Stewardship” post will be released next week. (Part 1, Part 2) Factories, Gardens, Giving, Guns: A COVID-19 economy and Stewardship. Jobs have been lost, hours have been cut, and businesses have closed. So far, the economic impact of COVID-19 is enormous. The scale and duration of the slowdown remain to be seen. It hangs ...
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Part One: Business People among God’s “Servant-Managers” Note: Part 2 of this blog will be posted the middle of April. Written by: Marlin Sommers This is not a post about how to handle profits that may be gained through business. Of course, if you do own a business that generates large profits, that does result in responsibilities to use that money well, but that is not the subject under discussion. Rather, the question is what ...
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Written by: Chester Weaver Preface: In the following article Dualism will be understood as separating Wholeness into two distinct parts in order for practitioners to feel good about themselves while not being Whole. The two separate parts may or may not include truth as part of each whole. Religious Dualism is a widespread Christian problem inherited from the Gnostic heresy. The Apostle John directly deals with the Gnostic heresy of his day in his ...
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Written by: Marlin Sommers Managers in God’s Household: How to be a Steward. Fourteen-year-old Bob has the rather grandiose title, “Steward of the Woodpile”. While Dad is gone, Bob is in charge of the woodpile. Bob is thrilled. He promptly messages his friends and says, “Hey nobody’s home tonight, come over and we will have the biggest bonfire you ever saw.” The next morning the firewood has been consumed. The temperature is well below freezing ...
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1 Chronicles 29:13: "And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name." Hello everyone.  We are excited to announce that Anabaptist Perspectives will be relaunching our blog emails starting in January 2020.  We are grateful to God for His direction in the past and are praying for his direction for the future as well. We have been praying for some time that God would lead someone to Anabaptist Perspectives to fill this ...
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Charis Kauffman, along with her husband Kenneth and and their 2-year-old daughter, lives in Brooklyn, NY. As a family they are discovering that their passions are bigger than their energy. If the Kauffman family is not at home when you stop by for a visit, you can likely find them in one of the many coffee shops throughout NYC, sipping on a mug of craft coffee. *** The recent passing of the Reproductive Health Act ...
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Emily Hallock is a blogger and mother of three who lives at Beech Grove, a Bruderhof community in Kent, England. This article originally appeared on Bruderhof.com and in the Autumn 2018 issue of Plough Quarterly. *** When I was thirteen years old, my dad died from AIDS as a result of a same-sex relationship outside of his marriage. So when as a follower of Jesus, I get called a bigot, it hurts me deeply. I loved my ...
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Dwight Gingrich is a former pastor and high school teacher who currently lives in Atlanta, Ga with his wife and three daughters where they are helping to establish a church plant. Dwight says that he is passionate about “exegesis and ecclesiology–that is, faithful interpretation of the Bible and good theological understandings and practices regarding the Church of Jesus Christ.” You can read more of Dwight’s writings and Scripture studies here. (Thank you to Daughters of ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Melvin Lehman conducted by Reagan Schrock. Melvin lives with his family in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania, where he served as a teacher at Faith Builders Educational Program for many years. Melvin is passionate about teaching the Bible to the next generation and enjoys tending their small family farm. *** Mennonite culture has traditionally promoted work that is centered around agriculture and working with one’s hands. But in the ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Kyle Stoltzfus conducted by Reagan Schrock. Kyle is on staff at Faith Builders Educational Program, a conservative Anabaptist school whose mission is to prepare young people to serve their churches and communities through teaching and ministry. Kyle manages the communications department while pursuing a graduate degree in church history and theology. He lives with his family in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania. *** When I think about being a ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Samantha Trenkamp conducted by Valonna Miller. After being raised Catholic, Samantha later encountered the Anabaptists and joined a Mennonite church. Samantha is part of the production team with Anabaptist Perspectives and also works in publications for other non-profit missions organizations. Her blog can be found here. *** Valonna: Tell us a little of your life before joining the Mennonite church. Samantha: My extended family identifies as ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Matthew Landis conducted by Reagan Schrock. Matthew serves on the leadership in his local church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. He is founder and owner of Landis Technologies, a technology company providing custom software and support to various industries. He is deeply interested in the effects of technology and how Anabaptists can respond in a reasonable, Christ-like way. *** Social media (and technology in general) is a big question ...
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Henry Moody lives at the Danthonia Bruderhof in the wide-open, sun-soaked spaces of the Northern Tablelands region of NSW, Australia where he is a school teacher. He is married to Dori and they have four children. On her mother’s side, Dori has her roots in the Hutterite Anabaptist heritage and blogs at www.Bruderhof.com. *** Across the sparrows and slates of the rooftops of London, the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral heard the great bells naming ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Melvin Lehman conducted by Reagan Schrock. Melvin lives with his family in Guys Mills, Pennsylvania, where he also served as a teacher at Faith Builders Educational Program for many years. Melvin is passionate about teaching the Bible to the next generation, and enjoys tending his small family farm. *** Ten years ago, after some of my interactions with the young folks who were coming to Faith Builders, ...
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Dorcas Smucker is a pastor’s wife and mother of six. She and her family live near Harrisburg, Oregon in a house that's been in the Smucker family for over 100 years. Dorcas has been writing a monthly column called “Letter from Harrisburg” for the Eugene Register-Guard for 17 years, and these columns have been compiled into seven different books. Find more of her writings on her blog, Life in the Shoe. *** “We shouldn’t be ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Rachel Schrock conducted by Reagan Schrock. “Rae” is Founder and Chief Editor of Daughters of Promise Magazine. With a strong cup of coffee in hand, she loves exploring new and out of the way places, heartfelt talks with a friend, and doing anything creative and handmade. She lives in Virginia where she enjoys a quiet home in the country surrounded by fields and woods. *** ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Elijah Yoder conducted by Reagan Schrock. Elijah is a pastor and has been a full time teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute for over 25 years. He lives with his family in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania. *** Before we can talk about evangelism, we have to understand the biblical role of the church. The first time I taught the course on local church evangelism, I took the word ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Clifford Schrock conducted by Reagan Schrock. Cliff is administrator and teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute where he has served for over ten years. He is best known for his classes on the topics of nonresistance, apologetics, and separation from the world. Cliff lives with his family in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania. *** Bible schools began around the early‒mid 1900’s in our Mennonite circles because, as Anabaptist people, ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Benjamin Good, conducted by Reagan Schrock. Benjamin is a teacher and choir director at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute and has been regularly involved in various Mennonite choirs and conservative singing groups. He lives with his wife and children in Harrisonville, PA. ** I have been teaching full-time at SMBI (Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute) since 2012. I grew up in a family that sang together quite a ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Elijah Yoder conducted by Reagan Schrock. Elijah is a pastor and has been a full time teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute for over 25 years. He lives with his family in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania. *** In my growing up years, the importance of the principles of Scriptures in our lives, not just the practice, was stressed. In other words, you don't just want to teach the ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Dan* conducted by Reagan Schrock. Dan is on staff with an Anabaptist relief organization and has spent several years living in the Middle East. He is a pastor and will be moving with his family back to the Middle East to aid in the refugee crisis. *name withheld for security reasons *** Three years ago Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, the largest Christian ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Elijah Yoder conducted by Reagan Schrock. Elijah is a pastor and has been a full time teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute for over 25 years. He lives with his family in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania. *** Anabaptists have historically tried to live a holy life style and not follow the things of worldly culture. Hence, we dress differently, are nonresistant, don't go to war, and our ladies ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Clifford Schrock conducted by Reagan Schrock. Cliff is administrator and teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute where he has served for over ten years. He is best known for his classes on the topics of nonresistance, apologetics, and separation from the world. Cliff lives with his family in Harrisonville, Pennsylvania. *** What is the “simple life”? The simple life is often defined as canning food, making ...
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The following message comes to us from Val Yoder who serves as pastor at Kitchi Pines Mennonite Church in Bemidji, Minnesota. He is a part-time teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute and helped establish Institute for Global Opportunities (IGO), a missionary training school in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “Get in the Way of Evil” was originally published in the Summer 2017 issue of Daughters of Promise magazine (used by permission). *** When the Apostle Andrew ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Clifford Schrock conducted by Reagan Schrock. Clifford is administrator and teacher at Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute where he has served for over ten years. He is best known for his classes on topics of nonresistance, apologetics, and separation from the world. Clifford lives with his family in Harrisonville, PA. *** The first thing to be said about nonresistance is that it is different from classical pacifism, ...
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The following is taken from an interview with Dean Taylor conducted by Reagan Schrock. Dean Taylor is a writer and traveling Bible teacher, as well as the author of "A Change of Allegiance”. He and his wife, Tania, are members of Altona Christian Community in Henderson, Minnesota. *** What is the essence of Anabaptism? When we talk about the essence of Anabaptism, one thing that needs to be addressed from the very beginning is ...
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Welcome to Anabaptist Perspectives! The team which forms Anabaptist Perspectives identifies, as you may expect, with the historic Anabaptists and contemporary expressions of that movement through our respective churches. Anabaptists, both present and past, have important insights; ones that could be of value to many. However, we have observed that media outlets are mostly void of this perspective and an accurate description of Anabaptist lifestyle is only minimally present online. Accessible resources to our ...
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