Missio Dei #16 now available: Tongue screws and testimony.

In the 1570s, European authorities were so intent on silencing Anabaptist believers in their witness that they devised a metal screw to clamp down their tongues, thus inhibiting speech. Few Anglo Mennonites living in today’s Western world experience this kind of repressive response to their witness. Yet all too often, according to Alan Kreider, Mennonites struggle to share their faith and choose silence over verbal witness.

Kreider explores why that is, and suggests concrete ways to move Mennonites and other Christians in the direction of a more confident, joyful approach to living and sharing “the hope that is within them.”

This essay was originally presented during Pastors Week at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, January 2008.

Order Missio Dei for group study, Sunday school

Missio Dei (Latin for God’s mission) is a quarterly booklet published by Mennonite Mission Network. Each issue invites reflection and dialogue about God’s mission in today’s world. Each issue also includes questions for personal or group reflection. Check out all 16 issues of Missio Dei.

To subscribe to or order Missio Dei, send a request to MissioDei@MennoniteMission.net. You can also download copies of Missio Dei at www.MennoniteMission.net.

Here is the complete list to date of the Missio Dei series:

1. Understanding Islam, Calvin E. Shenk
2. Does Your Church “Smell” Like Mission? , James R.Krabill
3. From Kansas to Kenedougou … and Back Again, Donna Kampen Entz
4. Peace Church, Mission Church: Friends or Foes? , Alan Kreider, with preface by Leo Hartshorn
5. Money and Mission, Peter Graber
6. Purpose Driven Mennonites, Craig Pelkey-Landes
7. Students Talk About Service, James R. Krabill and Stuart Showalter, editors
8. Conversations with Irene Weaver: Wisdom from a Teacher-Learner, James R. Krabill and Lynda Hollinger-Janzen
9. *The Patagonia Story: Congregations in Argentina and Illinois Link “Arm-in-Arm” for Mission, Delbert Erb and Linda Shelly
10. *Together in Mission. Core Beliefs, Values and Commitments of Mennonite Mission Network
11. *What I Learned from the African Church. Twenty-Two Students Reflect, James R. Krabill, editor
12. *Together, Sharing All of Christ with All of Creation, Ryan Miller and Ann Graham Price, editors
13. *On Becoming A Missional Church in Japan, Michael J. Sherrill
14. *BikeMovement; A Mennonite Young Adult Perspective on Church, Alicia Horst and Tim Showalter, editors
15. *Digging for Treasure in Your Own Backyard, Jackie Wyse
16. Tongue screws and testimony, Alan Kreider