Jesus Lives!

Most people have heard of the letter eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent to the New York Sun shortly before Christmas in 1897, asking if there really is a Santa Claus. Her letter found its way to Francis P. Church, an editorial writer, who responded with an editorial that has become famous.

In rereading Church’s editorial several years ago, it occurred to me that with minor adaptations it would make an excellent response to those who deny the reality of Jesus. So in this Christmas season I want to share with you my paraphrased version as a response to those who question whether Jesus ever really existed, and whether he, even today, wields power over humankind

Yes, Dear Christian, Jesus Lives!

Dear Christian, in this day and age when Christian belief is coming under increasing attack, be assured that those who insist that Jesus was not God’s only begotten Son, that, if he even existed, he was only a man like us who died and remained dead, are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of this skeptical age. They refuse to believe what they cannot see. They think nothing can exist that is not comprehensible by their small minds.

All minds, dear Christian, whether they be adults’ or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours, humans are mere insects, ants, in their intellect as compared with the boundless world about them, as measured by the intelligence of the One capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge—indeed, the One who created truth, justice, mercy, and love even as He created the universe and everything in it.

Yes, dear Christian, there is a Savior who lives as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that these qualities abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas, how dreary would be the world if Jesus had not entered it, died for the sin of all humankind, and returned to the heavenly realms to reign over His vast domain. It would be equally dreary if no one still nurtured the wavering flame of faith. There would be no childlike faith then, no hope, no love to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment except in what we could perceive with our senses. The Eternal Light with which Jesus filled His world would be extinguished.

Not believe Jesus lives! You might as well not believe in angels, yet through the centuries multitudes have testified to entertaining these heavenly beings unawares, those who have received protection, healing, and guidance for lives spun out of control. If your eyes cannot perceive Jesus in this physical realm, what does that prove? Human eyes cannot see what is spiritual, but that does not prove the spiritual realm does not exist.

The most real things in the world are those that humans cannot see. Have you ever seen God’s angelic hosts surrounding you in times of trouble or danger? Of course not, but the proof of their presence resonates in your spirit and guides you through the danger to safety. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the vast universe or even in our own small planet. You can tear apart a machine and see what makes it work, but there is a veil covering the unseen world that not the wisest man who ever lived can either remove or penetrate.

Only faith, hope, and love can push aside that curtain and view and describe the exquisite beauty and glory that lie beyond. Is it all real? Did Jesus really leave His heavenly kingdom to pitch his tents among us and reveal to us Almighty God? Ah, dear Christian, in all this world, there is nothing else so real and so abiding!

Jesus is not alive? Thank God! He lives and lives forever! A thousand years from now, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to reach down into our history and make glad the hearts of all who believe.

Copyright 2006 by J. M. Hochstetler.

All Things Amish

Donald Kraybill released two new books last month: The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World, and A Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Over at Amish America, Erik Wesner is giving away 5 copies of the Encyclopedia, so if you’re interested in all things Amish, head on over and leave a comment on the post in order to be entered in the drawing. Both books promise to be up to Kraybill’s usual standard of excellence.

In fact, while you’re checking that out, you’ll also want to check out Erik’s book, Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive for some excellent insights into how to run a successful business.

Sad to Say . . .

Because of the amount of spam comments I’m getting on all my blogs, I’m reactivating comment moderation. That means your comments won’t appear until I have time to go in and approve them. Just another little task to add to my day.

The problem nowadays is Asian-language comments. If I can’t read the language, then I have no way of knowing what’s being said, and it more than likely isn’t nice. I figure if you can read my blogs, which are in English, then you’re capable of making comments in English. And if you don’t want to do that, then you’re not going to be allowed to add a comment at all.

As usual, all we good folks are going to be inconvenienced because of the evildoers. A pox upon your house, I say! Find something productive to do and leave the rest of us in peace!

Antrim Mennonite Choir

I just found these videos featuring the Antrim Mennonite Choir on YouTube, and they are so lovely I just had to share.



How beautiful that they sing the original versions of these old hymns, not as they were later edited. This version of Rock of Ages is the one I remember growing up in the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church.









I found the album, Amazing Grace, and additional albums by this choir at Scroll Publishing Company. Amazing Grace includes 18 hymns and is on sale, so it's well worth the price. What a blessing to find these!

Controversy and Renewed Growth

The renewed Amish Mennonite group initially met in members’ homes every 2 weeks, but in 1866 they began to meet in the Hochstedler School ¼ mile south of the current church building and started a Sunday school. The minister, Benjamin Schrock, was in favor of building a church house, and in 1876 the congregation acquired land to build on at the church’s current location, CR 600 N-700 E in northeastern Howard County near the Miami County line. The first structure the congregation built was a plain frame building measuring 22 x 40 feet.

Howard-Miami, like every congregation, wasn’t immune to controversy. One of the worst happened around 1885, when a disagreement arose over whether it was acceptable for men to use buttons on their vests instead of the customary hooks and eyes. Some men were already wearing them on their coats, but the more conservative members felt they should not be used on the vests.

It became such a divisive issue that the church held meetings to try to resolve the dispute, with ministers from Wayne County, Ohio, coming to help work out an agreement. Instead, the disagreement grew worse, and no communion services were held for over 2 years because of the rift. The church finally resolved the issue in the spring of 1887 by agreeing that the men should follow their own preference regarding hooks and eyes versus buttons.

During this time there were few young people in the congregation. That fall, John S. Coffman from Elkhart, who had been instrumental in resolving the dispute over buttons, returned to preach, and possibly due to his influence younger people began to attend the church in significant numbers. Coffman helped to persuade the church to begin holding services every Sunday.

With the Sunday school thriving, the congregation grew until they needed a larger building. So in 1888 the church sold the old structure to the Brethren Church, and it was moved 3 miles west to serve that congregation. The new building was only slightly larger, at 36 x 50 ft. It was dedicated by Coffman on August 3, 1888. In 1894, the widow Sarah Hensler sold ¼ acre from her farm to the church for $25, and the land was added to the west side of the church lot.

In my next post, I’ll bring the story of Howard-Miami Mennonite Church into the 20th century.

Howard-Miami Mennonite Church

On November 8, Erik Wesner wrote about the Kokomo, Indiana, Amish on his blog Amish America. If you’re not familiar with his blog, I recommend that you hop on over and take a look. I was especially interested in this article since I grew up in the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church, which formed as a result of a church split due to the progressivism he mentions in his article.

When I married I moved away, and over the years I became a member of several different denominations. But deep down I’ve always considered Howard-Miami to be my home congregation. My parents, Alvin and Lula Hochstetler, remained members until their deaths in 2002 as the result of an accident, and we held their funeral there. They’re buried in the Christner Cemetery a couple of miles down the road. I still have cousins who attend, so the ties remain.

After reading Erik’s article, I decided to dig out my copy of the History of Howard-Miami Mennonite Church, published in 1998 for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the church’s founding, and share some of the history it records. The following condensed version, including the quotes, is taken from this book.

The first Amish settlers came to Miami County from Holmes County, Ohio, in 1848. While they established homes and farms, they met in members homes every other week, as is customary for the Amish. But in 1854, “changing viewpoints as to what was acceptable in regard to all of the new ideas and inventions coming into the world during a time of great and rapid advancement in man’s learning and technologies” caused a church split. “Some people began to see that not all change is evil, while others continued to believe that the more complicated the new things made life, the more readily the element of evil could also enter” (p. 21).

This difference in values led the members to break into 2 separate bodies. “There were many hard feelings among the people on both sides of the split. Each side felt very strongly about the position they had taken, believing themselves to be correct in God’s sight. People on one side looked down on th people on the other side, each thinking the other was falling into sin. Sadly this resulted name calling, and a lack of compassion and understanding created a great deal of ill will in the community” (p. 21).

The progressive group began to meet in an old school house a half-mile east of Waupecong. Roads were almost nonexistent, so getting to the church was difficult. Then the minister, J. Benjamin Schrock, left because of the ill will in the commuity. This led to a decline in the number of members of this group, and for some time they ceased meeting and some members joined other churches. Meanwhile, the conservative group initially flourished due to their continuing, stable leadership.

During the mid 1860s, the progressive group began to meet again for regular hymn sings. Eventually they ordained ministers and established the congregation that in time became the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church. Originally calling themselves Amish Mennonites, they now prospered while the conservatives, who took the name Old Order Amish, began a decline that lasted until around 1897, when Amish families from other areas began to move into the community. They then developed the 2 church districts that remain today.

The Howard-Miami congregation developed its own schisms as time went on. In my next post I’ll continue the history of this congregation.

Blog Tour for One Holy Night!

Below are the dates and sites for the month-long One Holy Night Blog tour. Be sure to drop in on these blogs to check out my interviews, articles, and book trailer.

Some of the blogs are also doing a drawing for a free copy of One Holy Night, which received the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year award. It would make a terrific Christmas gift for you or someone you love!

Monday, Nov. 2: http://thebookrack.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 3 http://bookvideos.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 4 http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Nov. 5 http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
Friday, Nov. 6 http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
Friday, Nov. 6 http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/
Monday, Nov. 9: http://myheartbelongs2books.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 10: http://reviewfromhere.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 11: http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Nov. 12: http://www.associatedcontent.com/
Friday, Nov. 13: http://bookexcerpts.wordpress.com/
Monday, Nov. 16: http://reviewfromhere.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 17: http://rebecca2007.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 18: http://thewriterslife.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 18: http://www.divinecaroline.com/
Thursday, Nov. 19: http://www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
Friday, Nov. 20: http://thestorybehindthebook.wordpress.com/
Monday, Nov. 23: http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 24: http://www.broowaha.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 25: http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
Friday, Nov. 27: http://therempels4.blogspot.com/

And coming up in December, Wind of the Spirit will be featured on a blog tour as well. Check back here later in the month for details!