Uncommon Engagement: Shalom-minded voting and civic involvement – Katie & Parker Thompson

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As brand-new Iowa transplants with our first landline, we both have to admit to being a bit giddy at our new-found status as coveted “swing state voters,” who happily give our time and opinions to nearly every pollster who seeks us out. So, we should admit to a bit of […]

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Giving and Community Life – Guest Blogger, Jeanne Davies

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The following “Call to Giving” was shared by Jeanne Davies, Associate Pastor of the Highland Ave Church of the Brethren. Call to Giving I want to quote a reflection for you on church struggles and their relation to church giving. This is from a post on sister Dana Cassell’s blog […]

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Brethren Hermeneutics – Guest Blogger, Andrew Hamilton

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By Andrew Hamilton I was recently rereading an old edition of Brethren Life & Thought and rediscovered a thought provoking article by Nadine Pence Frantz. ((39 no 3 Sum 1994, p 153-166 )) In her article, “Biblical Interpretation in a ‘Non-Sense’ World,” Frantz offers a thought provoking discussion regarding the […]

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Making the Center Strong: A Liturgical Reflection Part 2 – Guest Blogger, Christopher Montgomery

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By Christopher J. Montgomery Read part one of this series… Liturgical Place Early Brethren meetinghouses arranged their liturgical furniture in a rectangular or circular fashion. The benches faced inward to emphasize the community of believers gathered for worship. The presiders, often a panel of elders and ministers, occupied a bench […]

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Making the Center Strong: A Liturgical Reflection Part 1 – Guest Blogger, Christopher Montgomery

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By Christopher J. Montgomery Read the second installment of this series… Gordon Lathrop asserts that the role of the presider in the assembly’s worship is to “make the center strong.” ((Gordon W. Lathrop, Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology Augsburg Fortress, 2006, 94)) Throughout my work in pastoral ministry, either in proclamation, leadership, […]

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An Inside Out Faith – Guest Blogger, Randall Westfall

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By Randall Westfall If I were to ask you to make a list of things that you loved to do as a child, what would be on your list? For me that list includes (but is not limited to): running barefoot, building forts, catching things, building campfires, climbing, getting dirty, […]

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The Anabaptist’s Will, The Pietist’s Heart & The Lover’s Gaze – Guest Blogger, Scott Holland

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[Part 3 of a three-part series on James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. ((Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.)) Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.] by Scott Holland I’m writing my rather tardy contribution to the […]

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Ascetic Christianity: Brethren Dress and Smith’s Cultural Liturgies

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[Part 1 of a three-part series on James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. ((Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2009.)) Part 2 is here and part 3 is here.] by Joshua Brockway James K. A. Smith […]

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