by Rose Bender Cook
Over a dozen Mosaic Mennonite Conference staff and leaders traveled to Delaware during the last weekend of June to a Jesus Collective Regional Conference. Founded in 2019 in Canada, Jesus Collective is a relational network of churches, organizations, and individuals who use an Anabaptist lens to center their faith and lives around Jesus.
Given our work at Mosaic with the centered-set model and our emphasis on Jesus as center of our faith, we were curious to hear their perspective on Jesus-centered leadership, and how this approach intersects with power, justice, and conflict.
The event was different than what I expected. Jesus Collective embraces a many-voiced, participatory approach. Rather than a series of lectures, the conference offered a conversational format: interviews, multi-voiced presentations, and space for small group discussion. Rather than providing answers, they invited us on a journey of shared discovery. There was time to wonder, to imagine, and to pray.
One of the most intriguing aspects for me was to consider how holding Jesus as the center of our faith can be lived out in our congregational decisions, budgets, and in navigating differences.
In the conversation around Jesus-centered power, Marlena Graves and Leonard Dow answered questions about their experiences. Dow shared that during his time as pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite in Philadelphia, PA, he utilized a tool from Andy Crouch’s book Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing. The model calls Christian leaders to embrace the authority God has given them while also being vulnerable and taking risks, so that those they lead might flourish rather than be controlled.
Graves shared how she was called by God to use her influence as a writer to advocate for justice when immigrant families were being separated at the U.S. border. Her story reminded us that we often have more power than we realize and that Jesus may call us to use it in disruptive, surprising ways that challenge unjust systems.
Personally, I found myself drawn to the broader questions being asked about the church and what God is doing in the world. So often, my focus is narrowed to the needs of my congregation or our conference. This gathering invited me to zoom out.
Leaders from Jesus Collective voiced a shared sense that we may be living through another reformation—one that, like the upheaval of the 1500s, will reshape institutions and power structures. Unlike revivals or renewals, reformation can be painful. It can feel as though the foundations are shaking.
In the 16th century, the printing press sparked a technological revolution that changed everything. Today, we face an equally disruptive wave of technology: the internet, social media, smartphones, and AI. Information—true and false—moves rapidly across the globe. How will the church respond?
In the first reformation, the Bible became accessible and was rediscovered by everyday people. Jesus Collective believes that in this era of change, the Spirit is inviting people to rediscover the Jesus of the Gospels. Institutions and formulas have had their day.
The invitation was to pay attention to where the Spirit is moving and join God’s mission in the world, recognizing that it may look quite different than we expect. God is always doing a new thing.
Rose Bender Cook
Rose Bender Cook is the Leadership Minister for Formation and the Mosaic Institute Director. She is also a pastor at Whitehall (PA) Mennonite Church.
Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author, contact Rose at rbender@mosaicmennonites.org.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.