Young Anabaptist Radicals

Tag Archive: Tyler Tully

Pitfalls and Proposals for the Post Christendom Reformation

There is a growing movement of pastors, church planters, and churches around the globe who have become convinced that the center of the Gospel is a Jesus-looking God who calls his people to partner with him to advance a Jesus-looking kingdom.  They sense that God is pouring out “new kingdom wine” that is bursting apart the tired old wineskins of Christendom. They sense we are at the cusp of a rising kingdom revolution that is going to radically alter what people identity as “the Christian faith” and “the Church.”  The majority of these leaders are both encouraged and discouraged. They are encouraged by the Jesus-looking kingdom revolution they see rising up,  but discouraged by the lack of networking and partnership amongst others who share their convictions. –Greg Boyd and Mark Moore

Several weeks ago, Greg Boyd and Mark Moore hosted a network exploration meeting for Neo Anabaptist types in the hours leading up to the conference on “Faith, Doubt and the Idol of Certainty.” The conference, hosted by Woodland Hills Church, was slated to coincide with the recent release of Boyd’s latest book, Benefit of the Doubt. (which I hear is highly worth reading)

But it was the Neo Anabaptist “network exploration meeting” that became the basis of buzz amongst online Anabaptist circles as of late.

There certainly seems to be a need for cohesion among the emerging Neo Anabaptist churches and pastors across the country–something that goes beyond denominationalism, but can work in tandem with existing avenues (such as denominations) that many of us already have relationships with. Many think we have an opportunity to create a missional organization or association that empowers “the boots on the ground,” so to speak–a platform for Post Christendom theology and praxis.

Perhaps it is time to start bringing together minds and bodies in order to create a space for open resources, networking, and mutual affirmation. Still, the conversation thus far has given me pause, and so I want to highlight a few pitfalls to I think we should avoid as well as present a few proposals that cast some vision for the Post Christendom Reformation.

The Pitfalls

1) We need to acknowledge our privilege:

What I am not seeing so far is a space that creates agency for women, minorities, the marginalized as well as those who aren’t “big” theological personalities in the current Neo Anabaptist discussion. Let’s be honest: while I applaud Mark Moore and Greg Boyd for taking the initiative to invite Neo Anabaptist types into  dialogue as an aside to this conference, I fail to see how hosting a “network exploration meeting” opens the space for the diversity the movement is already composed of, when the only ones who could attend such a meeting must have either

a) been conference town locals, or

b) have the time and means to fly to the Twin Cities and attend Greg’s conference. (more…)

October 9, 2013 Anabaptism, antiracism, Bigotry, Change, Church, Class, Community, disabilities, Education, Emerging Church, empire, Ethics, Evangelism, Exclusion, Global Church, , , , , , , , , , Read more >

From Mennonite to Anabaptist: A Lover’s Quarrel With the MCUSA

This story was originally published over at The Jesus Event. You can click HERE to be a part of the conversation there, or you can post your own thoughts and opinions here at YAR.

Greg Boyd recently spoke about his journey from Oneness towards something else–a story which he highlights in this video entitled “From Baptist to Anabaptist.”

Some of you might remember my recent interview with friend and fellow San Antonian Brian LePort, concerning his journey (very similar to Boyd’s) from Oneness Pentecostalism to a more ecumenical, Anabaptist fellowship. Today, Brian’s blog conversation touches on his ongoing encounter with the Anabaptist movement, and much of what he has to say resonates with those of us who have been recently participating in Anabaptistica as non-ethnic Mennonite/Amish/Beachy/Hutterite/Brethren. While I am personally attracted to Anabaptist theology and praxis (e.g. its Incarnational Christology, emphasis on discipleship in Jesus, holistic implications of the Gospel, etc.), I’m also frustrated with a few things that I truly believe need to be addressed by the “institutional” Anabaptist traditions at large in the United States. FWIW, the reflections I offer below are meant to be taken in the tone of a lover’s quarrel instead of a schismatic diatribe: (more…)

August 30, 2013 Change, Church, City, Emerging Church, Mennonite Church USA, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Read more >

I once was raised a Feminist, but now I’ve found Feminism

This post was originally featured on The Jesus Event, and is part of a series entitled “I once was raised… but now I’ve found…” where some of the author’s favorite writers, bloggers, scholars, and theologians explain the transitions they have encountered along their own faith journey.

Below is an interview with The Jesus Event’s Tyler Tully and the Femonite’s Hannah Heinzekehr

Tyler- There are a lot of misconceptions out there about being a Mennonite and being raised as a Mennonite. You seemed to have been raised by parents who made room for good theological frameworks. How would you explain what it is like being raised as a Mennonite?

Hannah- Well, for me, being raised as a Mennonite didn’t mean looking “outwardly different” at all. For me, what it meant to grow up Mennonite was that there was always an emphasis on Jesus’ story and what that meant for how we lived. And some of the ways that this got expressed were through baptism later in life — baptism occurred when you were old enough to make a conscious choice that you have to make on your own to follow Jesus. It also included an emphasis on peace and nonviolence as part of the way that we were meant to live in the world. For my family, being Mennonite also meant being pacifist and resisting violence in all its many forms. This doesn’t mean that we are passive — I think we also strongly believed that we were meant to protest against injustice in the world — but we weren’t going to use violence to do this work. And the third thing that I often think of is that being Mennonite, for my family, meant being part of a church community that was active in each other’s lives and not just on Sundays.
I think there was a strong emphasis on communal decision making and being willing to give and receive counsel to one another.

(more…)

August 10, 2013 Anabaptism, Biographical, Blog, children, Church, Discipleship, Family, Mennonite Church USA, Theology, Writing, Young Folks, , , , , , , , Read more >