The Kingdom Outpost

03/06/2025

A message of peace and unity from the leader of the global Roman Catholic Church to Anabaptists as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of our movement. May this signal a courageous expression of love for Jesus that leads us to be instruments of peace regardless of affiliation.

28/12/2024

How do we listen to and learn from sexual abuse survivors?

Thank you Ann Detweiler for sharing your raw experiences with child sexual abuse, physical discipline, community silencing, and modesty teachings.

We hope that as Kingdom Christians we will humbly acknowledge where we have done wrong to one another. May Christ challenge the things we believe, practice, and teach that enable abuse and cause secondary harm to survivors.

Follow Ann Peachey Detweiler on
Wordpress: https://abundantredemptionblog.wordpress.com/author/ampiano/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abundantredemptionblog?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Co-host Matt Shantz (https://www.mattshantz.org) is a spiritual coach and a mental health worker. He lives in Southern Ontario with his wife and two boys. He believes in a client centered and compassionate approach to walking with someone through the difficult parts of our life stories. Matt considers the integration of spirituality and emotional wellness is the place where healing happens. He’s passionate to see people find wholeness and healing from spiritual abuse, past and present hurts within the complexity of traumatic experiences within faith communities or family systems.

https://youtu.be/7EWknUmODg4?si=077RFyQ1FX1uV_zc

Content warning: Abuse and sexual violence against childrenFollow Ann Peachey Detweiler onWordpress: https://abundantredemptionblog.wordpress.com/author/amp...

26/10/2024

In drafting my presentation and paper about Anabaptism and suffering, I reimagine the story of Dirk Willems. One domestic violence survivor told me that the way she had been taught the story, it meant that she had to endure the blows of her abuser so that he would come to Christ.

First of all, we imagine that enduring the flames and the torment of our flesh, is the act of saving the abuser or persecutor. We conflate what Dirk sought to do with the choice that he actually made, which was not to gleefully jump into the ex*****on pyre but simply to save someone in need.

Secondly, this challenge is directed at each of us when we witness someone suffering. What is our response? Do we turn our back on them so that we can preserve our institutions or the respect of people in our institutions? Or, are we willing to lay down our desire to be respected and included? Are we willing to brave the condemnation of our communities to stand with and reach out our hand to someone literally crying out in fear and anguish? Each and every one of us who confronts abuse in our communities is called to have the compassion and kindness and value for human life that Dirk Willems demonstrated.

06/10/2024

23/05/2024

This month's front cover of "The Diary" features a poem by Simon Yoder challenging us to consider if we are pursuing the "Power of Love" or the "Love of Power". What do you think about this comparison?

(The Kingdom Outpost is not sponsored by or affiliated with The Diary).

25/03/2024

1pm today! is hosting a conversation on Empire and Violence, particularly in relationships and Christian households. We look at the impact of Christian nationalism, even in the ways we relate to one another.

22/02/2024

Episode 86 of the podcast features .whittgillette87 talking about grief and loss. Let us know if you would like us to feature resources that can be helpful for people going through grief, especially countering unhelpful or condemning messages that they might receive from others.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/86-married-and-widowed-in-4-months-with-special/id1565769981?i=1000623035429

Summary: Join us in this touching and candid discussion as Julia Gillette shares her deeply personal journey through grief and healing. In this heartwarming conversation with Michelle Bader Ebersole and Mark Massaro, Julia opens up about her early struggles with grief following the loss of her mother in 2012, and how it resurfaced in unexpected ways when she met Dylan.

Discover how Julia navigated the complexities of her emotions, finding solace in books, podcasts, and connecting with others who understood her pain. Witness her courageous decision to face grief head-on when tragedy struck again, this time losing Dylan, and how it changed her perspective on healing.

Through her heartfelt accounts, Julia sheds light on the challenges of identity and the disorientation she experienced, leading her to find herself amidst the chaos of loss. She also shares the difficulties of moving away, leaving behind cherished memories, and the process of rebuilding her life in a new place.

If you've ever struggled with grief or know someone who has, this conversation offers hope, understanding, and the realization that healing is possible. Join us on this inspiring journey of embracing grief, finding strength, and rediscovering the essence of self.

19/02/2024

Check out this podcast Rebekah enjoyed filming with on podcast.

"A fascinating discussion on parenting, discipleship, & the challenges of navigating the various teachings and beliefs that have permeated Christian communities for better or worse."

Link: https://livingroomdisciple.com/ -35de2d0596896a8a2524

17/02/2024

Darnell Rohrer wrote this prayer on Ash Wednesday and has been meditating on "recognizing the frailty of humanity, being faced with the daily realization of my own brokenness and neediness, and expressing my grief honestly; recognizing that religion without Christ is perhaps one of the more detrimental shortcomings experienced in the Body of Christ today." - "Sifting Through Ashes" blog (Link in Bio)

15/02/2024

Should Christians celebrate the "gospel" of Empire, especially when it is spread by means of sexual violence? A guest post about colonialism, lust, and ungospels of zempore on Dr. Beth Felker Jones's blog, "Church Blogmatics". Link in bio!

14/02/2024

Have you caught up with the latest season of the Fourth Way Podcast? The season summary is now available on the Kingdom Outpost website.

Last people, Derek Kreider and a whole casts of guests explored the propaganda of evil. How does propaganda groom us to accept violence? How does evil spread its lies? Topics included domestic violence, politics, and war.

Season 11 of the Fourth Way Podcast covers the violence of propaganda. Podcast host Derek Kreider introduces us to each episode and reflects on what he has learned from these in-depth conversations…

07/08/2023

Why do some Christians think that caring for our own physical, psychological, and emotional needs in the midst of serving others is indulgent or fleshly? Why do we sometimes believe that suffering and deprivation make for the best ministry, that martyrdom should characterize every aspect of our lives?

In this article, Rebekah looks at the concept of the "flesh", faulty beliefs about martyrdom, and "supernatural" expectations we put on ourselves to live an "impossible life". In response to women who are exhausted by the demand that we "die to self" on a daily basis, Christian authors shift the blame to selfishness, ungratefulness, or a lack time spent on spiritual disciplines.

Something is very wrong.

"When we make “tortured love” the gold standard, we set martyrdom and suffering up as the very best kind of service possible. This makes it so that those you love and serve will then feel that pressure to live up to that kind of gold standard too. They will internalize the way they see you treat your bodies, your needs, and your family, and they themselves will start to aim towards deprivation and neglect as a sign of true spiritual discipline and commitment."

"I think we need a new gold standard, the gold standard being that we should not idealize a state of being overworked, tortured, starving, and deprived as we love others. Others are not loved better the more we suffer. It is entirely possible to serve from a place of spiritual and emotional abundance, where we are thriving and nourished."

In this essay, I want to explore the question of Nourishment in relation to Service. The central question will be, “How should we care for ourselves, and how should we care for others? How are thes…