I’m a Mennonite. No, I’m a Christian, but I’m also a Mennonite. Not that the label is very important, but it’s one that is out there, so whatever. Mennonites do a lot of things quite a bit different than most other Christians. Problem is, too often they see those other Christians as almost the enemy instead of fellow-believers. I realize some of the reasons for that tendency, but I do not think it a wise tendency. I’ve thought about this for some time, how that Christians that aren’t “in Mennonite circles” can give such a balance to my Christian life. They make me examine what I’ve been taught, they make me think about stuff in ways that I hadn’t thought before. I can see how it would be scary to people who are completely set in their ways, because if I open myself up to the scrutiny of a “Christian” that doesn’t believe like me, then I might be shown to be wrong and then what? Change my belief? Oh no.

Now, I’m not talking about “Christians” who are not interested in what the Bible says and means. I’m not talking about people who claim the Scripture but have no interest in following the commands contained therein. And I don’t deny that, just like us, every Christian is hugely influenced by how they’ve been taught. All I’m saying is that Christians of every background can stimulate you spiritually, and you will likely miss out if your circle of input is too restricted.

This thought was reinforced at camp this weekend. There were a lot of people from a variety of backgrounds that attended, and it was a really good thing to interact with them. I need other Christians, not only to keep me accountable, but to challenge me to walk more closely to Him and to be truer to His will.

Sunday night after church Carrie hosted a party in honor of some of her friends from Montana. Boy, I felt like I was the old guy putting a damper on the exuberance of some of the others. I can't believe how old I'm getting, particularly as compared to most of the people in the youth group.

I’m on early shift this week; only two more weeks until school. Last night AHQ sang at the Eugene Mission and then we went over to Tom’s and recorded and rehearsed. As it stands now, we had a great evening. I know from previous experience that you can go into a recording session and feel like you knocked a couple of songs out for sure, then you listen to them next week and totally cringe. But we were in a good recording state of mind, and we may have pulled off two or three keepers. Then we practiced some new songs, talked business, then I left. It was really late and I had to get up really early.

Oh my goodness! Mom just came up here with Dorcas's book. My aunt is a published author. My, it's very impressive, and the thing is, the writing is as impressive as the book's appearance. It would be well worth your time to get your hands on a copy.