The Naked Anabaptist by Stuart Murray is a straightforward introduction to the Anabaptist tradition. Why are so many people today intrigued by Anabaptism? What are the core convictions of the Anabaptist tradition? Who were the original Anabaptists?
Share your comments here or come hear Stuart Murray in person at an upcoming workshop: www.brethren.org/stuartmurray
Greetings from brother in India to you in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Here in India I am in the Lord ‘s service and trying to write my feeling that may understand me .
My Name is Rama rao, I work as a pastor of one Church along with my wife and two Children. My gospel work is very well; I hope that you can visit my congregation at any movement that I am in sorrow because I have no support from any one so please pray for me always in you daily prayers.
The word of truth is my master in my life. Please let me continue to have fellow ship with you. Please give me the opportunity for that moment.
My biblical study is diploma in Biblical studies (DBS) 2 years program at PREACHER’S training college in Kakinada. After that completion of my graduation, I have worked in some college as Library Teacher and Correspondence teacher, bible teacher and Calvin women s bible college teacher for 5 years.
Now I am working as a pastor.
On Feb. 21 st 1999 I have been Baptized in the same college which high mentioned above by that “Dr. E. Cloude Gardener “ who is the retired President of Fred Hardman University of Henderson Texas. He visits our college by your charity our congregation can be strengthened by your prayers also. As we pray for ever day. This information can know to others charitable persons through the advantaging by your elders. We hope that you are bible than Thessalonians.
Please reply me as soon as possible.
Please kindly send your postal address, and e- mail address and phone nos, and cell nos.
Sincerely
In this service
K.Rama rao
(DBS) pastor
Shanithnagar village
Kodad mandal
Malgonda Dist
ANDHRA PRADESH
S. INDIA
e-mail : kanchapogu_ramarao1@yahoo.co.in
Murray’s call for us to reexamine our roots and try to get back to living like the early Brethren is timely, inspiring, challenging, and absolutely necessary, especially at this point in our history. It was inspiring and hope-giving to come together with other Brethren to discuss what it means to live a costly and radical faith (like the early Brethren/the early church), which seems to be the way forward for our denomination in the emerging post-Christendom world.
(excerpted from another conversation, cross-posted here)
I agree wholeheartedly with you that we need some shaking up and reawakening, and I was glad to see so many people interested in something like that, too.
Most of what he said were things I already agreed with, which I anticipated, and whic…h makes sense since he’s trying to distill anabaptism down to its essentials. The one piece that was helpful was the way he talked about being missional, which is a troublesome word/idea for me – maybe because of all the “evangelism” connotations and baggage it carries with it.
I also appreciated being reminded that we’re living in the middle of a giant transition – that we’re no longer in Christendom but also not yet out of it. Having to be bilingual makes so much sense to me, even from day-to-day working in the church. One congregation (last week in Virlina) still speaks the language of Christendom without any irony, and another (in PSWD, today) is so far removed from that in both their cultural and theological context that those words and ideas just don’t get any traction. That’s been frustrating to me, and it’s helpful to think of differences and divisions in terms of congregations and people moving through huge cultural shifts at their own pace…
I very much enjoyed having a newbie remind us of what we say we believe and do. Now, can we recapture some of that vision of Anabaptism? Can we leave the “established” Church of the Brethren to be brothers and sisters, following Jesus? Where is our community discernment of scripture, for example? How are we practicing peace as something more than won’t fight.”?
Thanks for bring Stuart to remind us that sometimes the answers are new things, but old things seen and understood and acted upon in new ways!