Forest Hills Mennonite Church

If the author of Ephesians is correct, and there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one Body, then everyone who gives allegiance to Christ shares in a fundamental unity—one that disrupts every barrier we humans create.

If the church is a body, how is it responding to the environment we find ourselves in? If we're individually members of this one body, how do we structure our relationships together?

What if an awareness of God's goodness and God's presence could empower us to experience the world with curiosity—rather than anxiety? 

Can the hard sayings of Jesus help us respond to our present challenges with greater faithfulness? 

What do we do when we disagree with each other? Can we find some external authority to resolve our disagreements? As we conclude our exploration of the origins of the Anabaptist movement 500 years ago, Pastor Jon considers how the various Reformers interpreted Scripture—and the central role Jesus' teachings came to play within Anabaptism. 

After Christianity becomes not only legally acceptable but required within the Roman Empire, the Church and the State settle into an often uneasy coexistence. At the core of their relationship is the question of violence. Who gets to rightfully wield the sword? In the turbulence of the early 1500s, the Anabaptists propose a radical solution: no Christian should ever engage in violence. It's a shocking claim that continues to challenge us today.

On January 21, 1525, a group of protestors baptized each other—the first known rebaptism to take place during the Protestant Reformation. Within two years, most of the participants would dead at the hands of the state. What was it about their obedience to Jesus' instructions about baptism that led to such violent reprisal?

On January 21, 1525, two people in Zürich baptized each other during a Bible study. This unexpected action catalyzed the Anabaptist (re-baptizing) movement within the Reformation. As we approach the 500th anniversary the start of a movement that reshaped the world, we're spending the month of January exploring how God was at work through the Radical Reformation, what it looks like to faithfully follow Jesus, and how we might be renewed today.