by Krista Dutt I have often heard the life of Job upheld as an example. However, my experience as an immigration court watcher has allowed me to enter into the perspective of Job’s friends. These friends heard that Job’s life was in a hard place and so they went to sit with him (Job 2:11-13). […]
Category Archives: Shalom
A Threefold Reality
by Ken Abell My brother could use a little mercy now He’s a stranger to freedom, he’s shackled to his fear and his doubt The pain that he lives in is almost more than living will allow I love my brother, he could use some mercy now . . .”(Mary Gauthier) As someone who went through […]
Crying Into the Darkness
by Dee Martin “I know exactly where you are from! I used to travel down there all the time to pick up business,” exclaimed Karen (not her real name). “It’s a real hub for prostitution.” A church board member and I had met Karen while on break during an all-day seminar focused on domestic sex […]
From Anger to Hope
by Tim Diehl I woke up one morning not long ago to a Washington Post article about sexual abuse and misuse of power in a large Christian denomination (the denomination I grew up in). According to the article, a woman reported that while pursuing a degree at one of the denominational seminaries, she was raped by a […]
What Do We Do With Sutherland Springs?
by Gary Mitchell and Brent Bever Love your enemies, yes. However, when churches are physically attacked, what should our response be? What if the violence of Sutherland Springs, Texas comes to our door? Sometimes it feels like this country is determined to find yet another difficult issue that divides us. Can we agree on anything? Do […]
A Brethren in Christ Theology of Risk
A Brethren in Christ missionary in Southeast Asia is very frugal and looks for the cheapest flights whenever she has to travel. During a time of political unrest in Bangkok, the cheapest flights she could find would have required her to leave one airport and take public transportation to another. She was prepared to risk venturing […]
We Value It All
by Kurt Willems Reprinted from the Summer 2017 edition of Shalom! DO WE REALLY mean that? As Brethren in Christ folks, we have this value—pursuing peace—that our world most desperately needs to see in real life. When applied consistently, it confounds the ideologies of any political party. This value pushes us to take the “all” with utter seriousness. […]
From Man of War to Man of Peace
by Ron Kramer Reprinted from the Summer 2017 edition of Shalom! I WAS BORN to be a soldier. Unknowingly trained from birth by my dysfunctional family, I adapted to conflict, chaos, and pain. To protect myself, I ignored and stuffed painful emotions. The benefits were that I appreciated order, functioned well in crisis, and became very resourceful at accomplishing […]
Handling Our Fears
by Jan Engle Lewis *Reprinted from the Spring 2016 edition of Shalom! A MISSIONARY COUPLE I came to know while living in Ecuador recently posted a Facebook link to a short clip by pastor/author Francis Chan: “Parents, Don’t Teach Your Kids to Be Safe, Teach Them to Be Dangerous for the Gospel.” The couple’s comment on the […]
Speaking the Truth in Love
by Ben White *Reprinted from the Summer 2015 edition of Shalom! I’M A PASTOR in South Jersey so, naturally, I go to Taco Bell a lot. It’s an “all things to all people sort of thing” – and a serious love of cheesy bean and rice burritos. Not long ago I was hanging out atco Bell in Mt. […]