Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
Luke 4:18–19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
Lectio Divina (Praying Scripture)
From the Benedictines of the fifth century comes a way of “praying the scriptures” known as Lectio Divina (literally, sacred reading). The Benedictines were people of God who lived a life of prayer and manual labor. They developed an approach to prayer which encouraged restful silence, waiting, listening, and thoughtful response. The idea behind Lectio […]
Loving the enemy in Burkina Faso
ELKHART, Indiana (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission/Mennonite Mission Network) – In a land that closely resembles the place Jesus lived more than 2,000 years ago, his words still prove true. The people of Sidi, Burkina Faso, plant their fields with the tools and methods described in the New Testament. They draw water from wells, and feed their […]
Who is the enemy God calls you to love?
Most of my "enemies" are those people who cheer against my favorite sports teams. I was humbled this past week by a story from some of our fellow Christians in Sidi, Burkina Faso, whose real-life enemies are so much more burdensome than mine. When new leadership took office in Sidi a while back, there was […]
Transformed by my orchid-loving friend
We didn’t get off to a good start. I had buckled myself in before the stream of eager passengers stopped short of where I was sitting, or, passed on by to seats farther back. I had arrived in my seat after having just traveled the 16 hours from Dallas to Hong Kong and the further […]
An ethical dilemma while traveling in Benin
Recently, I was blessed to be able to spend a couple of weeks on a “learning tour” to Benin, West Africa. The tour was organized by Waterford Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana), Benin Bible Institute, Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, and Mennonite Mission Network, all part of a partnership for leadership development. The intent was to learn about […]
Hope for the Future leaders call for specific policy changes, accountability
(Mennonite Church USA/Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Education Agency) — Following up on the fifth annual Hope for the Future (HFF) gathering, the event’s planning committee has sent policy solutions and recommendations to leaders of Mennonite Church USA institutions to recruit, retain, train and educate board and staff members to undo racism and advance intercultural transformation. […]
History is moving toward peace, despite violent tragedies
"They will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war." (Isaiah 2:4) Our New Year’s greeting in January 2015 was sent soon after the "Charlie Hebdo" shootings in Paris. This year’s letter comes after the even more […]
Research yields riches
When Jackie Wyse-Rhodes researched the strengths of people in a Dutch neighborhood, she never dreamed the “gold” she found would enrich congregations around the world in a curriculum based on her findings. In the secularized neighborhood in Almere, the Netherlands, it would have been easy for her to uncover deficits in the people who came […]
Colombia mission workers sing song of praise
Eliana Tejedor and David Shenk, mission workers to Colombia, sing Tengan la mente de Cristo (Have the mind of Christ).
Seeing clearly
“Remove your glasses and throw them there. They are the reason you are going to die.” People often told me that I look sophisticated in my plain-frame glasses. Sometimes I blushed when they told me that – but mostly I relished how good that made me feel inside. But now, I cry… I wore my […]
Religious intolerance in the Bible
Dennis Byler writes that Christian history is filled with the same murderous intolerance that is ascribed to Islam, because religion in general has a dark tendency to promote bigotry and violence. Without careful interpretation, the Bible can seem to condone religious war, misogyny and homophobia. In this blog, Byler suggests three tools for a correct […]