The Armchair Anabaptist

It’s human nature to hide our sins and weaknesses, but radical transparency in the church can counter both sin and “keeping up appearances” Christianity. Peter Ascough and Arlene Friesen discuss how confession and accountability help individual believers and the church as a whole.

Jesus delivered some potent words about judging others wrongly. Why was this so important to him? Kevin Wiebe and Andy Woodworth join the Armchair Anabaptists to discuss how Christian communities call people toward righteousness without descending into shame or elitism.

It can be tough to keep the Mennonite ethic of good works from turning into simply keeping up appearances—acting like a good, upstanding member of the church even as things crumble on the inside. Kevin Wiebe and Andy Woodworth discuss red flags to watch for, and potential antidotes to this performative legalism.

Intentional time with God and practices of spiritual formation are essential parts of an abiding relationship with Jesus—but they also easily tip into legalism. Roger Helland, Meghan Larissa Good, and Moses Falco return to talk about the spiritual disciplines they love and how they foster deep reliance on God.

Jesus says that those who abide in him will bear fruit, but that apart from him we can do nothing. We might understand this fruit as the “works” in the faith-and-works equation. What, then, does it mean to abide in Christ? Meghan Larissa Good, Roger Helland, and Moses Falco explore the role of works in an abiding relationship with Christ—and the consequences of disobedience.

There’s this fascinating moment in Matthew 18 when Jesus speaks to his disciples—for the first and last time—about this concept that what they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what they loose in heaven will be loosed on earth. James Driedger and Lissa Wray Beal discuss what this means for us and how it relates to partnering with God in ministry.

The waters get awfully murky when we talk about the relationship between good works and good outcomes in life. We asked James Driedger and Lissa Wray Beal what exactly the relationship is between these things —and how misunderstanding this relationship can distort our view of God.

The Kleine Gemeinde–now the EMC–emerged from a church community that they saw as slipping into spiritual stagnation. But when they became the isolated 'still in the land,' it would take outside influence to ignite an evangelical fervour. Darryl Klassen and Layton Friesen return to discuss the EMC's historical relationship with faith and works.

Martin Luther, a contemporary of the early Anabaptists, was famously transformed by Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith.” He emphasized faith over works even when it seemed to backfire in his own congregation. The early Anabaptists weren’t satisfied with Luther’s definition of faith but broadened and “thickened” it. In this episode, Layton Friesen and Darryl Klassen unpack how the early Mennonites understood faith and works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 offers a counterbalance to James 2, reminding us that we’re saved by faith. We asked Cameron Mackenzie, Meghan Larissa Good, and James Driedger—are faith and works opposed to each other? If not, how are they compatible?