In America, there are basically three kinds of Anabaptists. There are the Amish, who everyone has heard of. I couldn't be one of those because I like electricity too much. There are the Hutterites, who no one has ever heard of. I couldn't be one of those because I don't want to live on a farm in North Dakota. Everyone else, no matter how conservative or liberal -- no matter how closely they stick to Scripture -- is called a Mennonite.
There are about 40 million different flavors of Mennonites, and I haven't figured out where I fit just yet. As long as I can't move or talk, it doesn't much matter outside my head anyway. I just wanted to share what I was thinking a little.
This makes me smile. As I get deeper and deeper into the Mennonite world, I appreciate their heritage while also appreciating the Baptists more.
ReplyDeleteI once wrote a long paper laying out why I am NOT a Mennonite, even though many put my home church in that box and I have worked with a Mennonite mission for nearly a decade. But I'm not so zealous to separate myself from them, especially since I agree with so much. You know, in 1 Cor 1, Paul rebukes those who call themselves after a man (I am of Paul, I am of Apollos...etc). But he also rebukes those who say they are of Christ, because they are doing it to separate themselves from others. May we never be so proud as to deny that we're part of another group.