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A Vision for Reconciliation
How did you become interested in the life of the church? Kraybill: Growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, my family was deeply involved in the mission of the church at the local level. Both of my parents gave tirelessly to the congregation, serving in many roles, from Sunday school teachers to janitors. My uncle Nevin…
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Walking in Autonomy and Community
How to be independent together In the beginning, man was alone. Even though God created all animals and brought them to man to be named, man was alone. And it didn’t suit him at all. God could see that, and so he whispered a deep, deep sleep unto man and while he slept, God took…
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Why do we need a global communion?
“Walking with God” is the theme of our next global Assembly, to be held 21-26 July 2015. But how can we walk together if we do not believe exactly the same? That was the question that a leader raised some months ago while I was visiting his community. He believed that it is not possible…
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A New Pattern of Leadership
“Colombian people do not fight for money. You fight for power.” These were the words of a North American missionary after several decades of ministry in Colombia. She was speaking about the ongoing reality of broken relationships among church leaders because of conflicts. After 22 years of ministry in Colombia I must recognize that this…
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It Takes a (Global) Village: Being the people God wants us to be
When someone asks you to use a few words to describe yourself, what words do you use? Would you change those words to describe yourself when you are with your family? At work? Travelling to some distant place? I discovered that the words I use to describe myself change, depending on my cultural context. When…
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Jesus with Skin On
Global Communion and Why It Matters: Exploring our shared commitment to being a worldwide family As Mennonite World Conference, we share a commitment to being a worldwide communion (koinonia) of faith and life. Together, we seek to be a fellowship that transcends boundaries of nationality, race, class, gender and language. Yet because of our diversity,…
