The Dirty Mennonite
A Blog on Anabaptist Theology, History and Modern Ecclesiology

I find Hubmaier’s life so interesting. I will do my best to tell this short chapter of his life without writing a book for a post.

Hubmaier was a Catholic scholar, pastor and chaplain in Germany in the early 1500’s. By 1522 he was reading the writings of Luther and making friends in the reformation movement. By 1525 he was closely aligned with the radical reformers and he no longer practiced infant baptism. He also got married. After this, Hubmaier became one of the most eloquent and convincing writers and debaters for the radical’s cause.

Eventually (and perhaps ironically) Zwingli, who was proposing moderate reform in Zurich, became a bitter enemy of Hubmaier. He had Hubmaier imprisoned for his radical ideas and tortured for seven months. Under intense distress Hubmaier recanted his more radical beliefs (i.e. adult baptism). By April of 1526 a defeated and rejected Hubmaier was allowed to leave Zurich and he sought refuge among groups of radicals in Moravia. With his faith and purpose restored he began to teach and preach what he believed God had spoken to all mankind through the Bible.

By God’s providence political winds had shifted in Moravia and by February 1527 Hubmaier and the radicals there were in trouble again. Hubmaier was turned over to the authorities for a second time as a heretic. This time he was determined not to recant. On March 10, 1528 Hubmaier burned at the stake for heresy. In the flames, he cried out, “O my heavenly Father! O my gracious God!” and when his hair and beard burned, “Oh Jesus!” Choked by the smoke, he died. To the spectator it appeared that he felt more joy than pain. His wife would also die a heretic by drowning three days later.

That’s the beauty of the Christian life. We are all in process. Hubmaier gave up everything because he believed that the Bible was the sole authority for the Christian life. Though he faltered God gave him the Grace to preserve.

In order to make a little money on the side while I’m home with Jacob I’ve been doing some website design and development. You can check out my professional site at www.philly-web-design.com.

So we went to go see the Cubs play the Phillies on Saturday. It was a beautiful day for baseball and I predicted a huge win for the Cubbies. They lost badly (7 to 1) and we got yelled at a lot. That part was actually kind of fun. Allison had a young guy yell at her:

Young Guy: Excuse me mam, where are the Cubs from?
Allison: What are you talking about?
Young Guy: Where are the Cubs from?
Allison: Chicago
Young Guy: (Screaming) Then go back there!

Jacob and I went to the park in our Fishtown neighborhood the other day. It was the first really nice day of Spring here and the iPhone was taking great pictures.

That’s all for now. In my next post I will get back to Hubmaier and tell my favorite story about him.

“Die warhet ist untödlich.”

This is the phrase that often ended the writings of Balthasar Hubmaier. Hubmaier was a German Anabaptist leader who was extremely popular in the towns in which he preached. He was the only Anabaptist leader who was schooled in scholastic theology and received his doctorate. He was burned at the stake in Vienna on March 10, 1528 as a heretic.

The phrase which became his motto translated is, “Truth is Unkillable!” Hubmaier is perhaps my favorite Anabaptist leader and theologian so my upcoming posts on Anabaptism will focus on him.

One of the best things about living in Philly is the food. We found this authentic Brazilian Buffet a bit north of where we live. It is called Picanha Brazilian Grill. We took Andy Royer from Christ’s Covenant Church in Indiana there. He grew up in Brazil and said it was one of the most authentic Brazilian places he has ever been in the states. The food was amazing particularly the beef.

I promise I will get on to posts with more substance but for now I’m happy just to be getting back in the habit of writing a blog.

So, I owe plenty of inspiration for blogging to Scot McKnight and his perpetually amazing Jesus Creed blog. He loves coffee as I do and I remember reading about his love for Chestnut Hill Coffee Company out of Philadelphia. Now that I live in Philly I thought I would go check them out. Truly amazing coffee.

I bought a pound of their Peru beans. Complex without being bitter. Just full of flavor.

My name is Ryan. Currently, I’m a young husband, father and church planter in the City of Philadelphia. We live in the Fishtown neighborhood and have a real desire to see the Gospel flourish here for the glory of the Father and for His Kingdom.

I suppose you are probably wondering why this site is called “The Dirty Mennonite.” I will do my best to explain. I grew up in central IL in a small town called Hopedale. It was and still is heavily populated by Mennonites. My father grew up in the Mennonite Church like his father before him, and his father before him. He met my mother in high school who grew up in the Pentecostal church. So, our family grew up going to a Pentecostal church that along the way became very influenced by the so called “Third Wave of the Holy Spirit” Charismatic movement. So, I was speaking in tongues and dancing around in worship at a very young age. Oh, it was the kind of church where if you didn’t speak in tongues you probably weren’t saved.

I was about 13 when things began to not go so well at the church. Families began to leave and soon our family had left. I felt lost and I kinda felt like I had been fooled by the whole experience. I began to really read and study Scripture on my own at that point. I read every theology book I could get my hands on. I even used my paper-route money to get Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology that had just been released. After some searching our family ended up in a Mennonite Church that had also been influenced by the Charismatic movement. It wasn’t as extreme as the church we grew up in. I soon became a member there and began learning what it meant to be a Mennonite. It felt good. It felt like I was connecting with my ancestral roots.

I chose to go to a Grace Brethren school in Indiana named Grace College. I was a Bible and Communications major there. During that time I began attending a church called Christ’s Covenant Church. It basically was from a Reformed Baptist tradition which was good for me because I was fairly Calvinistic. After graduating from college I then went to the Seminary associated with Grace College called Grace Theological Seminary. It was during Seminary that I really developed a love for Anabaptist history and theology. I even took a Anabaptist History and Theology course at Associated Biblical Mennonite Seminary. I still study in this area today. I graduated in 2007 with a Master of Divinity. After that, we moved to Philadelphia with some friends to begin our adventures in church planting.

So, again, how does all of this make me a “Dirty Mennonite.” Back when I was in college, I had some friends who thought it was so weird that I was a Mennonite. I guess I just didn’t fit the stereotype. I typically had a big beard (which I thought was very Mennonite). I often didn’t smell too good and I occasionally cursed. Pretty soon they begin calling me the dirty Mennonite. Something about name struck a cord inside of me. Maybe “Dirty Mennonite” just reminded me of the paradox that all Christians feel concerning our sinful hearts and our desire to be holy.

So, here I am. I’ve tried blogging before and I’m going to try again. I don’t know why you made it to this site but thanks and I hope to hear from you.