Many years ago, a relative asked me if I was going to attend the community Communion Service his congregation was hosting during Holy Week. I said, “No, our congregation is having its own service because we also wash one another’s feet.” He laughed and said, “Well, I’ve never heard of that.” Later I told our senior pastor about this conversation. He listened intently and then responded, “I guess he doesn’t read his Bible.”My pastor had a point. John 13 explains why we wash on another’s feet. I began to wonder about something as I reflected on this conversation. Do we Brethren really understand why we wash one another’s feet? Or, thinking about the bigger picture, do we understand why we have Communion in the first place? (more…)

There’s a well-known story about a tightrope walker who came to Niagara Falls and stretched his rope across the thunderous currents from Canada to the United States. Before the breathless crowds, he walked and then ran across the falls. He did the same blindfolded, with drums rolling. Then, still blindfolded, he pushed a wheelbarrow across the falls.

            The crowds went wild, and he shouted to them, “Who believes I can push a man in this wheelbarrow across the falls?”

            A gentleman in the front waved his hands, shouting, “I do! I believe!” (more…)

One of the best things ever created to help Christians study the Bible occurred in the 1550s when the different books were divided into chapters and verses. These divisions make is much easier to quickly find specific verses in the Bible.

I also believe that one of the worst things ever created to help Christians study the Bible occurred when the different books were divided into chapters and verses. The biblical authors intended for the books they wrote to be read in their entirety. If we read a scripture passage without understanding the context in which it was written, we miss much of its meaning. (more…)