Yes. :)

>>It would be very boring, not to mention a little bit scary, if we all >>became so many clones of each other…

I guess you don’t see the irony in this one :-)

>>I wouldn’t WANT an Amishman to suddenly live and dress
>>like Everyman.

If Amishman wants to win Everyman to the Gospel, then he must make some adaptations in his attire. That’s the kind of thing Paul meant when he wrote, “I have become all things to all men….” Cultural adaptations, while forsaking NOTHING essential to discipleship, are absolutely necessary to the advancement of the Gospel.

Paul stood READY to make those cultural adaptations…for the sake of unbelieving Everyman…so that he could win Everyman to Christ the Lord.

What about you? Do you stand ready to make those cultural adaptations for the sake of Everywoman…for the sake of the Gospel…for the sake of your Lord?

I understand your heart to share the gospel with others–this is my wish as well, and becoming too reclusive is a hindrance to that.

At the same time, I love diversity, and I wouldn’t WANT an Amishman to suddenly live and dress like Everyman. It would be very boring, not to mention a little bit scary, if we all became so many clones of each other, like the Bokanovsky twins in Brave New World.

Paul said there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave or free, male or female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. He’s not saying our differences all need to be erased–obviously that would be impossible–but instead we are all free to come to Jesus as we are and experience a larger unity in Christ.

>>the streets of Chicago

Mennonites need to cast off their Mennonite-ness and get to the cities.

Your lead photo shouts the problem. The Amish man and Everyman, at arm’s length, but worlds apart. No…planets apart. Galaxies? Yes…galaxies apart. It might as well be.

“To those outside the law I became as one outside the law….I have become all things
to all men, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Cor 9:21-23

That’s okay. :) And thank you for caring about the spelling.

No, I didn’t know that! Very cool. I enjoyed the conference–but I enjoyed walking the streets of Chicago even more. So much diversity. I am now richer by a friendship with a Hindu woman from Pittsburgh and a Catholic woman from Brazil.

My favorite thing about the conference also had to do with diversity: the opportunity to connect with a wide variety of authors. A teacher of Bahrainian descent, a Jewish man, a white American who chose to make his home in Costa Rica, a Latina woman. The world is such an interesting place.

Not sure if I’ll blog my thoughts on the conference or not. :)

What were your thoughts on the conference? Oh wait, you’ll probably share those in an up-and-coming post :)

Yes, I wish someone had been there who could talk Dutch. Dad talked Dutch to Grandma all through my childhood, and for someone reason I never realized what a cool thing that was until I got very old, and my little sister took an interest in learning it. I never ever tried to learn it, or even thought about it until she did.