The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 6
The following commentary addresses the sixth point as advanced by Myron S. Augsburger in “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith” (Brethren in Christ History and Life, August 2000), which is: “Interpreting Our Participation in Evangelism as Socially and Ethnically Inclusive.”
Augsburger begins his thoughts with a reminder of the meaning of compassion. “The meaning of compassion,” Augsburger writes, “is not limited to any ethnic sameness but is a call for us to see all peoples alike created in the image of God. The kingdom of Christ is inclusive, and our witness of grace must be consistently so.” Read More »
The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 5
The following commentary addresses the fifth point as advanced by Myron S. Augsburger in “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith” (Brethren in Christ History and Life, August 2000), which is: “Emphasizing Kingdom Community as a Third Way in Life.” Read More »
The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 4
The following commentary addresses the fourth point as advanced by Myron S. Augsburger in “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith” (Brethren in Christ History and Life, August 2000), which is: “Engaging the Holy Spirit as Sovereign Presence Beyond Subjective Experiences.”
I consider myself blessed to have studied for five years at a Pentecostal undergraduate college (VFCC). Valley Forge offers a Theological Studies track that is as good as any in the country. The track’s academic requirements and practical expectations are very, very serious. Students are required to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of their Sophomore, Junior and Senior year to remain in the major. My requirements for the major included 18 credits of Biblical language, a senior research project, and time logged as a TA (Teaching Assistant). These requirements have evolved and broadened a bit since I majored (1999-2004), but they are still very, very demanding, spiritually and intellectually. Read More »
The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 3
The following commentary addresses the third point advanced by Myron S. Augsburger in “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith” (Brethren in Christ History and Life, August 2000), which is: “Celebrating Grace as a Dynamic Relationship with the Resultant Transformation of Life.”
Augsburger writes, “For the Anabaptists a central theme was Paul’s words, “If anyone is in Christ he/she is a new creation; old things have passed away and all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). The old was the life of self-centeredness transformed into a new life of Christ-centeredness. Anabaptist theology was not focused so much on freedom from guilt as on freedom in the new life in Christ (emphasis mine). Read More »
The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 2
The following commentary addresses the second point advanced by Myron S. Augsburger in “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith” (Brethren in Christ History and Life, August 2000), which is: “Understanding of the Interpretive Significance of Progressive Revelation in God’s Word Written.”
I recently began a conversation within the core group of our young church plant about the Bible and the way we approach it. It was/is a fruitful and lively conversation, to say the least! I also think it is an invaluable conversation to have, especially as a church plant in the identity forming stages. The Bible is beyond important, obviously. Our approaches to the Bible, however, vary widely in the North American context of ours. Some of these approaches are more edifying than others. The approach advanced by Augsburger is the classic Anabaptist approach; it’s the one into which I invest much of my personal time, energy, and devotion. Read More »
The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith 1
I’ve been reading “The Contemporary Relevance of the Anabaptist Faith,” a fantastic article from Brethren in Christ History and Life (August 2000). The author of the article is Myron S. Augsburger, an evangelical Anabaptist and Mennonite scholar. Augsburger begins the article by asking a question so many of us are still asking today, some eight years after the article was published in BIC History and Life. He writes, “In a time described as post-modern and post-denominational, we ask the question: what is the particular value in any given heritage?” Read More »
Balthasar Hübmaier: A Form for Christ’s Supper
We do not believe because we have been baptized in water, but we are baptized in water because we first believe. So David says: “I have believed, therefore I have spoken,” Ps. 116:10; Matt. 16:16; Acts 8:30. So every Christian speaks equally: “I have believed, therefore I have publicly confessed that Jesus is Christ, Son of the living God, and have thereafter had myself baptized according to the order of Christ, the high priest who lives in eternity.” - Excerpt Balthasar Hübmaier: A Form for Christ’s Supper
Our Christian Discipleship as Political Responsibility
I’m fascinated and thrilled by John Howard Yoder’s position re: the relationship between Christian discipleship and the state as articulated in Discipleship as Political Responsibility. Discipleship is, of course, a major conviction - if not [T]he distinguishing characteristic - of the Anabaptist expression of faith.
Christianity (and Anabaptism) is an invitation to authentic personal liberation and spiritual discipline. In other words, we are simultaneously transformed by Christ’s work (Atonement) and we are called and equipped to follow him daily. The historic influence upon this discipleship wielded by Emperor Constantine and Augustine of Hippo is contemporarily obvious, but many are beginning to question (once again) the historicity of these influences and pre-Constantinian and Augustinian connections - if any - to the New Testament and/or early expressions of followership by the Christian Church. It is good to question these things. The Constantinian shift did not occur without great affect. It changed much. It’s also good to hold up the New Testament as the authority (especially if one is Christian!). Christians should be asking, “What does the Bible teach?” But we should not stop there! We should go one important step further and ask, “How do we apply the teachings of Scripture in our day?” Read More »
A Request in the Form of a Note to Friends
If I am ever somehow seduced by what I will gently call “a thin, plastic, flashy, over-produced, over-marketed, theology lite, sales-pitchy form of Christianity,” someone please hit me straight upside my head with a righteous spade shovel. I’m serious. I thank God for serious Anabaptism and the Emerging/Missional Church. The combination of the two results in a Christian expression far removed from the aforementioned characterizations, but deeply planted in cultural relevancy. Amen. \0/
BIC Theology: Pietist Anabaptist Wesleyan Synthesis
I am very much aware of the unfamiliarity most of my readers claim as regards my denomination: The Brethren in Christ Church. So, I thought a quick overview here and there would be beneficial. The following is the first in what will be a continuing series of informative posts re: the B.I.C.
The people of the Brethren in Christ Church (”Brethren” = Community, not Male Priority) swim in the confluence formed by the convergence of three theological streams: Pietism, Anabaptism, and Wesleyanism. Read More »
