Articles on current issues
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The Believers’ Church: Where Anabaptists Experience Brotherhood
What is the foundation for Anabaptist faith and practice? This article, the third in a four-part series on Anabaptist distinctives, describes the essential role of Scripture in forming the Anabaptist community.
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Scripture: How Anabaptists Receive God’s Word
What is the foundation for Anabaptist faith and practice? This article, the third in a four-part series on Anabaptist distinctives, describes the essential role of Scripture in forming the Anabaptist community.
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Nonresistance: How Anabaptists Respond to Evil
Anabaptists take seriously Jesus’ command not to resist evil. In this article, the authors describe how these convictions were tested by German and American patriotism in the 20th century. Which challenge is greater: military drafts or political campaigns?
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Cultivating Committed Community
How did Western society transition from being community-oriented to being so focused on the rights and freedoms of the individual? How has this cultural and societal change affected our conservative Anabaptist communities and churches? How can we retain our stated values of community and brotherhood in a society of radical individualism? How can we impact…
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Discipleship: How Christian Faith is Lived Out
What constitutes the core of Anabaptism? This is the first in a series of four articles on Anabaptist distinctives planned to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of Anabaptism’s beginnings in Switzerland on January 21, 1525. Image by Jan Marczuk from Pixabay
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Why We Don’t Vote
As citizens in modern democracies, we are urged to vote as a way to keep dangerous leaders out of power and preserve our country. This brief article summarizes ten reasons conservative Anabaptists resist this opportunity.
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Discipleship in the Local Church
Over the past decades, counseling centers have arisen among conservative Anabaptists. What responsibilities, then, do pastors and local church members have? The emphasis in this article is a call to be faithful in the local church’s mission of nurturing others in the knowledge of Jesus. The paper describes five important skills of making disciples, and…
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Conservative Anabaptists and Social Media
Where Have We Been and Where Do We Want to Go? The dangers of Facebook, Instagram, and X are well known. Conversations descend to shrill bickering while “friends” lose out on meaningful in-person relationships. But social media is everywhere for a reason. As the authors of this article show, social apps are developed in light…
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Same-Sex Attractions and Gender Dysphoria
How should we respond to our culture’s embrace of same-sex relationships and transgender lifestyles? In this article, the authors trace the foundations of modern ideas of sexuality and offer five guidelines for a Christian response.
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Hard Conversations, Committed Relationships
If the modern world is a word fight, how do Christians engage? Rather than taking positions on controversial issues, this article steps back to consider our responsibility: to speak the truth in the love of Christ.
builds on the Anabaptist value of community wisdom. A team comprised primarily of older, ordained men forms the core executive group. Subcommittees are then formed to address particular issues, drawing in people experienced in the subject. Viewpoint was formed in response to repeated calls for help in addressing issues facing conservative Anabaptist leaders. A number of church leaders asked Faith Builders (Guys Mills) to facilitate the effort. The Viewpoint executive committee includes Steven Brubaker (PA), Merle Burkholder (ON), John Coblentz (PA), Matt Landis (PA), Gary Miller (ID), and David Yoder (KS). Materials produced by Viewpoint are intended to assist and encourage church leaders, not to dictate or control them. Leaders are free to use the uncopyrighted materials as best suits their needs.
Read future articles as they are published