Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Growing Leaders

Growing Leaders Winter 2009

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Leadership on the road: A future lined with signs of warning and hope

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Linford Stutzman, Director, Coffman Center, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA

If Conrad Kanagy’s statistics on the profile of congregational leaders are accurate, the average Mennonite leader reading this article will remember, some even with nostalgia for a time when rebellion against the “establishment” was cool, the words of the Five Man Electrical Band’s hit song in 1970 – “Signs, signs, everywhere a sign.”

Yes, according to Kanagy, there are plenty of warning signs out there, and just as in the 70s, those of us who notice can view the signs in a variety of ways. For some of us, the signs that warn of an aging and shrinking Mennonite Church are “blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind.” We wish they were not there. For others, the response might be more like the final lyrics of the hit song, as we look the other way, “thank you Lord…I’m alive and doing fine.” But because Kanagy’s signs are carefully researched, reflecting both current reality and future implications, neither resenting nor dismissing the signs will likely help change the course of the Mennonite church.

The Mennonite Church USA is rapidly aging. There are clear signs of significant current and future decline that is only partially offset by those parts of the Mennonite church that are growing. These areas of growth are primarily the so-called “ethnic/racial” congregations, and new church plantings growing on the denominational margins.

Conrad Kanagy has made a number of vital recommendations in his book. From my perspective within Virginia Mennonite Conference, I would like to add some of my own observations.

My perspective includes the experience of helping to start Immanuel Mennonite Church some 13 years ago, a visionary congregation in Harrisonburg that brought together ethnic/racial, non-cradle and traditional Mennonites into one exciting, chaotic and, in some ways, radically Anabaptist group. It includes the struggle of planting a church in Munich, Germany more than 20 years ago, a diverse group that included young, alienated and marginalized new Christians, while trying to connect to the historically-rooted German Mennonites at the same time. Currently, as a professor of mission and culture at Eastern Mennonite University, my perspective includes the experiences of leading and listening to young Mennonite adults on learning expeditions in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean, far from the constraints and safety of their heritage. It includes teaching a course this past fall entitled “The Church in a Changing World” to 30 young adults, both Mennonite and from other traditions, who share a deep interest in the church, while not being very satisfied or involved in the church they grew up in.

So how should we respond to Kanagy’s signs? Are these signs of hope or warning? Or are they both, depending on how one looks at them and where one is looking from?

Let’s look at the implications of one of the clearest, most disturbing signs that Kanagy’s study points out – the rapid aging of the “cradle Mennonite” members of the Mennonite Church. This decline is offset only partially by a sign of hope – the significant growth of non-cradle Mennonites.

If there is both a pronounced decline among cradle Mennonites on one hand, and significant growth among racial/ethnic and other non-cradle Mennonites on the other, then profound, even radical change, is inevitable. The Mennonite Church as we know it today will not exist in the future. It will either continue to decline by mistaking the inertia of its rich heritage as progress and seeking to continue the trajectory of the past. Or it will be revitalized by experiencing a demographic, cultural, ecclesiological, theological and spiritual revival. Neither scenario is comforting for everyone, especially for those who are custodians of the heritage, leaders who have worked diligently and faithfully, who have invested their lives into achieving positions of influence in the denomination and who, as stakeholders in the denominational status quo, are keenly interested in maintaining and extending it.

While considerable effort by denominational leaders may be directed towards managing the resources from the institutional center of the denomination, it is the edges that are the most exciting, that have the most potential for either authentic renewal or colossal failure, just like all faith movements in Scripture and history demonstrate. Whether the Mennonite Church experiences slow death, rapid failure or sustainable renewal depends on the ability of denominational leaders to respond to the current and potential growth on the margins.

The margins include young adults who have grown up in the Mennonite church and attended its schools, who love Jesus and are committed to following him, but find the denomination irrelevant and even unfaithful in its successes and cultural conformity. The margins include non-Mennonite people with a growing interest for Anabaptist ideas and commitments, such as Shane Claiborne, Shane Hipps, Greg Boyd and students and professors at places like Fuller Theological Seminary. Within Virginia Mennonite Conference there are people like Ron Copeland of Our Community Place, racial/ethnic congregations, new congregations being planted and Emerging Churches, some with Mennonite identity and affiliations like The Table. These are signs of hope, but only if we heed them.

Hope in the time of denominational decline lies in the capacity for denominational institutions to seize the opportunity to change, to begin or continue to decentralize, to shift control of agendas and resources from the center of the denomination toward the margins. It means investing in young adults (according to Kanagy, persons 18-35 are three times more likely to start a new congregation than persons over that age bracket) and non-cradle Mennonite leaders, empowering them to participate in missional leadership opportunities in the world. It means accompanying young adults and non-cradle Mennonites as they take risks of change, giving them the genuine leadership responsibilities they seek and the freedom to experiment with ways of making the good news attractive, relevant, credible and powerful in the post-modern world. Paul did this at great personal risk. The Anabaptist leaders did this. They made mistakes, but the church grew with hopeful, energetic, creative and confident young leaders.

We Mennonites might fear denominational decline and death, but we are not on a dead end road. We are on the road toward the Kingdom, toward the future, through the world. The biblical story of faith is one where the people of God move toward the promise. The early church moved through the Empire toward the promise. The early Anabaptists moved through Christendom toward the promise. That is the road we are on but it is up to us to move on it.

That is the journey of faith Jesus calls us to. Jesus calls us to move with him, away from our edifices of modernity, our bulwarks of security that have become our prisons. Jesus calls leaders to follow him into the world, into the future and to take others with us. If we do so, we may well move from maintaining a denomination with modern institutions and assumptions, to an Anabaptist movement and network that is more authentically Christian and less culturally Mennonite. We may become an Anabaptist movement and network that innovates in mission and education, that creates decentralized and flexible structures that exist for the primary purpose of helping local congregations make the good news of the Kingdom visible, credible, relevant, attractive, prophetic and sustainable everywhere.

May we lead, educate, work and live toward this mandate, this promise and this vision. May the Mennonite Church in North America not only read the signs, but become a sign of hope, a sign of the Kingdom. May the church always move toward the future, into the world, with confidence in the risen Lord.

Moving beyond the “Road Signs”: Guided by the Spirit toward Truth

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Ertell Whigham, Director of Congregational Resourcing and Equipping

Like many travelers today, I have gotten into the habit of depending on what is popularly known as a Global Positioning System (GPS). This simple technology is helpful and still amazes me, when I put it to use. I can choose the shortest distance, fastest route, open road or city route; I can avoid construction or traffic jams, locate gas stations, restaurants, points of interest and countless other destinations anywhere in the country. It can show me where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going and, more often than not, it takes me to my desired destination.

While my GPS is not without some periodic problems and is indeed far from perfect, in most cases it guides me well to my various destinations.

However, sometimes it will guide me into unfamiliar areas or even take me the long way around (so to speak). As I give thought to the suggested route and after working through my own calculated risk process (what happens if…?), I will more often than not submit to its direction.

Like my GPS, Conrad Kanagy’s 2006 study, Road Signs for the Journey, is loaded with facts and figures/data based on past, present and projected future realities. It is full of information that will help to guide me on my ministry journey. However, it is important that I choose to not only learn from but to also submit to what it offers.

In the past two years since the Kanagy report there has been much thought and conversation related to his findings. I have attended several church-wide meetings where the findings have been reviewed and studied again.

There’s been public affirmation that there is much to learn and do, as well as to be thankful for, and we express how impressed we are and want to gather with our brothers and sisters to hear more about what is going on in the places where ministries are growing and thriving.

However, more often than not, these gatherings feel somewhat like having a GPS programmed to take us to a destination, but instead of following its directions, we stay in our parked car enchanted by the travel possibilities, colors and symbols on the screen. We sit and look at the very resource that (though not perfect) can get us closer to both the desired and needed destination. All we need to do is make a choice to submit and commit ourselves to follow the part of the journey that has been made clear and is most helpful.

While I believe there is sincere excitement and interest related to all that is taking place among the churches on the margins and/or urban or racial/ethnic ministries, in most of our churches and leadership systems, I have yet to see little more than “window shopping.” In others words, we look with great interest, but for some reason are not willing to buy and make it our own. We won’t cloth ourselves with that which, to a significant degree, will help move us into more relevant and effective ministry now and in the future.

The findings in Road Signs for the Journey must do more than make for interesting conversation. It is my belief that we should allow this picture of our church, in cooperation with the spirit of God, to transform not only our thinking but our systems, culture and approach to ministry. While no congregation, culture or ministry is perfect, Road Signs calls for more than just sitting in a parked car, fascinated by all the options and possibilities.

Having said all this, I am encouraged. As the church of the Living God, we are not guided by road signs or GPS’s but by God’s Promise of the Spirit which will guide us into all Truth.

Responses to the “Road Signs”: What baseball teaches us about the future

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Joseph Hackman, Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, Pa

This fall the Philadelphia Phillies became world champions. Young pitchers, MVP caliber infielders and a colorful manager offer hope for a repeat championship next year. But it wasn’t always like this. To understand why thousands of fans attended the victory parade in the city, one must understand the tragic story of Phillies fans, marked by over 10,000 losses and only two World Series titles in 115 years.

So I was a bit confused when my jubilant friend, Beny Krisbianto, called to tell me he was on his way to the parade. Beny isn’t a true Phillies fan. He’s never been to a game, can’t name two players and certainly does not bear the scars of those fans who have lived this tragic narrative.

Beny doesn’t know the Philadelphia sports fan’s pain because he is relatively new to the city. Since 2005 he has lived in South Philadelphia, pastoring one of Franconia Conference’s newest congregations, Nations Worship Center (NWC), a primarily Indonesian congregation comprised of immigrants who fled their country during and following the Jakarta Riots of 1997. In a short period of time, NWC and another Indonesian congregation, Philadelphia Praise Center, have born witness to something more exciting happening in South Philly than a Phillies World Series run.

Conrad Kanagy’s Road Signs for the Journey makes clear the rapid growth of urban and racial/ethnic churches in Mennonite Church USA. Almost 20% of congregations are racial/ethnic, and this percentage will only increase presenting the denomination with new challenges. Kanagy writes that “finding new and creative ways to cross ethnic boundaries in the church is perhaps the most important challenge and opportunity facing the denomination.”

Peter Sensenig, interim pastor at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, believes growing urban churches offer fresh models. “The growth I see in Philadelphia is indicative of the way the church is becoming less of an ethnic identity and more of an inter-cultural communion of believers centered around the tasks of preaching, healing, being witnesses and building peace.” Flourishing diverse, urban congregations can offer new ways of being Mennonite that move beyond ethnicity toward an identity grounded in loving, proclaiming and serving.

Though significant examples of these new ways of being Mennonite are not yet easily seen in many traditional MC USA congregations, there is growing awareness that learning from urban ethnic/racial churches is essential for our future. “In surveying the North American church,” says Mark Reiff, youth pastor at Doylestown Mennonite Church, “non-white congregations are keeping many denominations from their continued decline through new congregations which are forming among these people groups,…to see these new churches continue to be cultivated gives me the hope that this might be one curve we are not behind.”

For years the Phillies were behind the curve. Their strategy for success simple: acquire one or two key free agents and hope the other players perform well enough to make the team competitive. Each year the plan was tried, and each year the team waded in mediocrity. In the late 90’s the Phillies decided to follow a new model for success–the Atlanta Braves–a team Phillies management had closely observed since the beginning of the decade. The Braves committed to building a winning team by investing in their farm system, not free agents, a model that won 15 straight Eastern Division championships. Philadelphia’s 2008 championship was largely a result of implementing Atlanta’s model.

Baseball sage Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Many Mennonites are taking the challenges and opportunities found in Road Signs seriously by closely watching the growth of these urban and racial/ethnic churches that don’t always follow traditional models. But not only is there sincere interest in observing urban and racial/ethnic congregations; some traditional churches are building authentic relationships with urban churches. When asked about signs of hope in the denomination, Krisbianto responded that “there is much more support and involvement from the denomination, which really energizes us to do more things, reach our goals and enlarge God’s kingdom. We are happy for the relationships.”

What does baseball teach us about the future of our denomination? Kanagy writes, “The growing presence of racial/ethnic members of MC USA is one of the greatest movements of God’s Spirit among Mennonites today.” Among the greatest gift these congregations offer is new ways to be Mennonite. Just like the Phillies decided to change their strategy for winning by adapting the model of the Braves, there are hopeful signs that traditional congregations are beginning to receive the gifts of urban and racial/ethnic congregations—exploring ways to be Mennonite in context.

If we continue to pay attention to the road signs, there’s hope that Beny and I will one day attend another parade on Broad Street when diverse and prophetic Mennonite churches march together, bearing witness to the Spirit’s work among us.

Signs of inspiration and frustration: Wise observations from “the edges”

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Jessica Walter, Associate for Communication and Leadership Cultivation

In Linford Stutzman’s opening article he states, “While considerable effort by denominational leaders may be directed towards managing the resources from the institutional center of the denomination, it is the edges that are the most exciting, that have the most potential for either authentic renewal or colossal failure, just like all faith movements in Scripture and history demonstrate.”

These “edges”, or margins, have been identified as urban and racial/ethnic congregations as well as non-cradle Mennonites (or new Anabaptists) and young adults. In seeking to give a voice to some of these marginal perspectives I interviewed two new Anabaptist women from West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship (WPMF). I asked them what drew them to WPMF and the Mennonite church, where they saw hope in WPMF and what lessons they thought the broader Mennonite church could learn from WPMF.

Julie Prey Harbaugh, who was raised in the United Church of Christ, connected with Frazer Mennonite Church while attending Eastern University. “During college, my awareness was being raised about peace and justice issues of many kinds, but particularly in urban environments and with regard to feminist issues. I found myself at home with the Anabaptist theology embraced at Frazer, as well as the sense of community the congregation fostered. I have stayed Mennonite because I continue to appreciate how Mennonites act on our faith, particularly when it comes to caring for those in need in our communities, but also as we promote justice beyond our immediate sphere.”

Lynn Wetherbee grew up attending a megachurch she describes as rooting its identity in “Broadway-style drama performances and Billy Graham-style evangelistic emphasis.” Recently, after spending more than ten years as a lay leader of a small urban Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation, she began to “feel awkward” as her theology began to develop and change while she was in seminary. “About eight months ago, my husband, our four children and I began attending WPMF. I was drawn to WPMF because I knew it to be a congregation that cares actively about peace and social justice. I wanted to participate in a faith community in my neighborhood, so that my life can naturally overlap with the lives of others from my faith community on a routine basis. I continue to be inspired by the ways I see members of WPMF living out their vision and values, and the way they seek to incorporate their Mennonite identities into their work, relationships and lives. I also continue to experience WPMF as a safe, caring community for my own ever-developing spirituality, and that of my family. ”

Julie is also inspired by the vision and values of WPMF, “I am excited about the direction of our church. I sense a deepening of the grace we are able to show to one another and accept from one another. I am always struck by the beauty of how we care for each other in times of need, and I am encouraged by how we affirm one another in the various ways we work for the ‘shalom of our city.’”

Julie sees WPMF’s deep grace and beautiful care for those in need as lessons the larger Mennonite church could learn from WPMF. She also marks the congregation’s openness to those with questions (sometimes controversial) and willingness to give leadership to people, even if they are new, as lessons the broader church could learn. The ability of WPMF to give opportunities for leadership to its congregation was a great attraction for Lynn and her family, “There are many faces and voices each Sunday morning that lead the congregation through our time together, and these faces and voices are often different from week to week.”

Lynn sees this shared leadership of Sunday morning as well as WPMF’s practice of inclusiveness and belonging, in language, worship and community involvement, as lessons WPMF has to share with the broader Mennonite church.

Julie and Lynn both noted faulty power dynamics as issues they struggle with in the broader Mennonite church. Julie noted that churches, in general, would do well to be a place where “challenging issues people ordinarily hide” could be shared and addressed and where leadership was held accountable to “our ideals of servant leadership and ‘power-with’ instead of ‘power-over.’”

“More than any other religious community in which I’ve been active, family heritage appears to be a factor in the Mennonite world,” notes Lynn. “So I fear that to some degree I might always be an outsider here, although I haven’t experienced exclusion at WPMF. But as a seminary graduate who is beginning to think about professional church leadership in this denomination, I wonder how much my lack of Mennonite cultural or family roots will impact my full inclusion into the larger denomination.”

As a young woman who grew up in the Mennonite church I share both the inspiration and frustration of these “new Anabaptists.” It is my prayer that as we begin to hear these voices from “the edges” that we not only listen but that we also act on their words of wise observation.

An ending: Road signs point toward new communication venues

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Stephen Kriss, Director of Communication and Leadership Cultivation

This is the last issue of Franconia Conference’s Growing Leaders. It’s a tough time for print publications, from the weeklies in my neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia to the national papers like the Los Angeles Times. Today’s economic turbulence is accelerating the move from paper to web-based communication. With changes in our cooperative arrangement with Virginia and Lancaster conferences, we’ve decided to accelerate our changes as well.

Growing Leaders grew out of a desire for increased collaboration among the conferences of the Northeast corridor of Mennonite Church USA. After nearly a decade of publication, those relationships have changed and grown. We began by working together around expectations for credentialing and leadership development, now we’re moving toward more coordination of efforts around church-planting and mission. With this move, along with financial belt-tightening across MC USA, it’s time to change our approach toward how we equip and share ideas.

This change comes at the same time as the implementation of the LEAD (Leading, Equipping and Discipling) model of conference ministry being introduced into Franconia Conference congregations. Growing Leaders provided a meaningful communication and formational venue for leaders. It’s a venue we’ll miss, but will seek to supplement in new ways as the LEAD model for ministry emerges.

We’ll continue to move toward clear and more consistent communication efforts by increasing web-based supplements of blogs and information—nearly all conference communication will move into a virtual sphere, except for Intersections, which is becoming our bimonthly conference flagship publication. Conference staff may well be tapping more of you to help write and contribute as our conversation moves into more responsive and fluid virtual space. While the signs of the journey suggest that we’re picking up speed in a more interconnected world, we’re looking for ways to provide more timely and contextual resources.

Though it’s hard for me to imagine (or desire, really) a world without paper-based publications, we’ll likely need to continue to find new ways to share information and offer formation resources that extend our shared goals of healthy and growing leaders, disciples, congregations and connections that are both near and far. This could mean increased use of technology, but will likely need to be balanced with intentional relationship-building and sharing in face-to-face settings as well. Both the virtual and “real” will be increasingly important in this age to come.

May God who can move us into the future—with more creativity and imagination than we can muster—be illuminated in our work and our connections, now and forevermore.

Reflecting on the “Road Signs” and considering a demise: Moving forward in confidence and hope

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James M. Lapp, Preaching Pastor, Salford Mennonite Church

After nearly 10 years, Growing Leaders will discontinue in favor of other venues for communication. Having been part of the decision to initiate this quarterly resource, I now support alternative efforts to assist leaders in their growth. The real challenge centers not in the medium, but in how leaders will stay spiritually and theologically differentiated amidst an information glut, confusing expectations about effectiveness and competing voices about the nature of the church and its mission.

As we navigate the future, the research compiled by Conrad Kanagy provides an interesting and helpful mirror of our current church. The book describes sobering cautions as well as a signs of hope, both of which we’ll do well to hear. The underlying thesis of the research seems to be that the church itself can be a sign to the surrounding world. This heavy investment in gathering data suggests that the character of the church is somehow important to its mission.

I don’t dispute this assumption, but I do perceive danger in deducing from the Kanagy data that if we simply do better in certain ways that the Mennonite church can avoid further decline and be more effective in our mission. I am impressed with Kanagy’s statement that “the growing presence of Racial/Ethnic members in Mennonite Church USA is one of the greatest signs of the movement of God’s Spirit among Mennonites today.” In simply pushing out the current trajectory of Mennonite Church USA in more positive ways might we blind ourselves to “the edges” (people on the margins) from where, Linford Stutzman suggests in his article, our spiritual renewal will come? What might it mean when renewal from the edges includes people with Anabaptist beliefs and values from outside of MC USA?

In reflecting on all this, I find three kinds of hope that feed my spirit these days. Certainly one source of hope arises from a certain spiritual ferment among us, of which the Kanagy research is a part. Looking candidly at ourselves as Mennonites provides the first step toward spiritual renewal among us. To not reflect on these questions, and to fail to ask what all this data means, would be at our own peril. But I believe this data calls for more than doing better what we have always done. It calls for a shift in perspective. Will we allow this “ferment” to reshape the life of our churches?

That brings me to a second basis for hope. I am encouraged that the historic faith and practice that nourished our forbears, and many of us as well, is now being discovered and embodied in churches of all stripes and denominational labels. That our parents and others kept this faith alive for hundreds of years, and that voices like John Howard Yoder, Ron Sider and Doris Janzen Longacre (More With Less Cookbook) disseminated these beliefs and values convincingly to the broader Christian world, represents a powerful stewardship of the Gospel, in spite of all of our shortcomings. For this we can take heart. Might these “new” Anabaptists who embrace our faith and values become a source of renewal to our historic denomination?

I have one more cause for hope—the vitality of the newer leaders among us. The voices of young men and women who demonstrate the capacity to think theologically around a clear spiritual center offers a bright ray of hope to the church and the mission of Christ. I doubt that I represented that kind of hope 47 years ago when I began to pastor, but I see it so clearly in this new generation. To encounter young leaders, not only deeply committed, but also with the “mind” of Christ and the ability to honestly and insightfully sort out the big questions of our day in light of scripture and the tradition of faith we have received is very encouraging. For me this bodes well for the church of the future.

That brings me back to the demise of Growing Leaders. Currently working with a young pastoral intern exposes me to a new generation’s approach to learning and processing information. I readily concede change is needed. Both technology and the “green revolution” are introducing significant changes in how we lead. So it is not a disappointment to see Growing Leaders come to an end. The bigger challenge is how we will support a new generation of leaders in keeping the focus in such a volatile environment.

The institutions of the church (conferences, schools, publications, boards/agencies) and older leaders carry the burden of keeping our spiritual identity clear for future generations of leaders, while trusting newer leaders to shape and carry out that identity in the emerging cultural context. That remains a dynamic process in which generations need to link hands in clarifying and refining our identity of faith for our future mission. Being in God’s sovereign hands, we can move forward in confidence and hope.

Book Review: The New Conspirators

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The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time. Tom Sine. InterVarsity, 2008.
review by Krista Ehst, Perkasie

“It should be clear by now because of the turbulent times in which we live that ‘business as usual’ will no longer serve.” These words could easily have come in response to the recent economic crisis. The quote, however, is directed toward the “business” of the Christian church.

In Tom Sine’s recent book entitled The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time, Sine ardently calls the church to more creatively, more effectively and more powerfully enter into God’s movement and mission in our current global context. In his mind, the “massive, long-trended decline” of the Western church points to the ineffectiveness and failings of many of our more traditional churches.

In our age of economic and cultural globalization, Sine believes far too many churches have bought into the values of a global market rather than grounding themselves in the subversive message of Jesus Christ. Church has become a Sunday-only affair, and many Christians now invest more energy in their individual homes, cars and careers than they do in serving the marginalized and oppressed. Sine asks us, if the Church is defined by global standards of economic security and success, then how will it be different or more relevant than any other secular organization?

Sine does see hope for the church. He has interacted with emerging leaders whom he calls “the new conspirators,” or streams within the church that have taken innovative and vibrant approaches to their faith and mission. Sine examines four different streams, which he categorizes as the emerging, missional, mosaic (multicultural) and monastic movements. Each is different and all strive to take discipleship seriously as they serve those on the margins and work for the inbreaking of God’s kingdom. Sine does not idealize these groups, and acknowledges their shortcomings, but throughout the book he upholds concrete examples of the creativity of these movements in order to inspire and encourage those of us who come from more traditional church backgrounds. Though some of his chapters feel heavy laden with examples, they are generally quite helpful in providing specific and practical models for readers to utilize.

Sine’s words may not be easy to read or hear. He asks difficult questions, wondering if the traditional church has gotten its ideas of eschatology and mission completely wrong. He challenges many Western Christians, pointing out the places where we have become swept up in an individualistic, materialistic and consumer-driven society. Yet the book is not solely focused on judgment or serving readers some kind of guilt-trip. Sine seeks to illuminate our realities and current status, and then to equip us to slowly change our lives and reorient them to the calling and mission of Jesus Christ. In his words, the book is “an invitation to become part of something “really, really small,” a quiet conspiracy that is destined to change our lives and God’s world.”

The New Conspirators is an important book for the contemporary church. Part of its value is that it effectively engages and speaks to those of all socioeconomic levels, age groupings and cultural backgrounds, and that it strives to both challenge and equip Christians of all walks of life. It is accessibly written and, with the discussion questions at the end of each chapter, it proves a great resource for Sunday School classes or small group discussions. He accurately describes the “turbulence” of our times, and helps to name the anxieties, fears and temptations many of us deal with on a daily basis. For all Christians who believe that God will subvert and transform our turbulent world, and who want to enter more fully into that transformative work, Tom Sine offers a wise voice of challenge, encouragement and hope.

Krista Ehst, from Bally, Pa., is a recent graduate of Goshen College. She is currently interning with the Anabaptist Network U.K., a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission.