This year marks the five hundredth anniversary of the sixteenth century Anabaptist movement. In this article, I will share about my own journey into Anabaptism, the beginnings of the movement, its core beliefs and theological convictions, its call to radical discipleship, and its potential as a much-needed renewal movement within American Christianity. I conclude with a call for the Brethren in Christ to own Anabaptism—our original theological stream—for such a time as this.
My journey from Southern Baptist to Anabaptist
I grew up a Southern Baptist in the 1980s and 90s in Texas during the rise of the Religious Right and when the evangelical war with secular culture was at full force. I wore the Christian t-shirts, attended Christian concerts and Promise Keepers events, only listened to Christian music, and got a steady flow of rapture theology and hellfire sermons. And I vividly remember pledging to the Bible, the Christian flag, and the American flag every morning during Vacation Bible School.
In many ways, I was taught that everything in the world was against us. Stay alert! The devil is in rock music, drinking alcohol is a sin (even in moderation), homosexuals are bringing judgment on America, and God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Oh, and Christians don’t dip, dance, chew, or date those who do. And we most certainly don’t befriend unbelievers.
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I very much appreciated the article. I am old enough to have had Bill Estep as a personal friend in Fort Worth in the past century. The name David Flowers sounds familiar, not sure how. It resonates with the pilgrimage of Tim Alberta in The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, 2023.
A request: I would like to get a copy of the article. The procedure moving from page to page I found tedious. I would be happy to purchase the article. As I understand the website, I can get a hard copy by becoming a member. It is not clear, but I hope it is the case, that in joining at the present time I shall receive this copy and not just future ones.
Check your email. I’m sending a response.
Harriet Bicksler, editor