{"id":1064,"date":"2010-03-25T04:01:58","date_gmt":"2010-03-25T04:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/03\/midwestern-happenings.html"},"modified":"2010-03-25T04:01:58","modified_gmt":"2010-03-25T04:01:58","slug":"midwestern-happenings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/03\/midwestern-happenings.html","title":{"rendered":"Midwestern Happenings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I want to comment on a couple of items related to the middle of our country.
\nA Mennonite College and the National Anthem <\/strong>
\nFirst, I’ve been fascinated by a story about Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. The college has been embroiled in a controversy over the National Anthem. For decades, Goshen College, a Mennonite college, has not played the National Anthem prior to athletic events, such as baseball games. The militaristic language of the Anthem was believed to be inconsistent with Goshen’s pacifist commitments. You don’t generally hear Mennonites singing about “bombs bursting in air.”
\nBut, in recent times, as Goshen has attracted more non-Mennonite students, and as it has sought to reach beyond its sectarian traditions, the college has debated whether to play the Anthem or not. The conclusion of the debate, at least for now, was that Goshen College would play the National Anthem at the beginning of athletic events. Yesterday marked a new era in the college’s history<\/a>. Predictably, the responses were very mixed.
\nI was impressed by statements made by Goshen’s president, Jim Brenneman.<\/p>\n

\n

“On our campus, we have students from many backgrounds \u2026 (those) committed to pacifism whose parents or grandparents were conscientious objectors; those with a deep suspicion of patriotic observances and (those) whose relatives served in the military and who are proud to fly the U.S. flag.”<\/p>\n

“The crux of the matter has to do with our relationship with God and with our country,” Brenneman said. “How do we celebrate the freedoms and opportunities of this country and still challenge injustices that also exist in our midst.?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I appreciate the effort being made by Brenneman and his college to be faithful to their Mennonite tradition and, at the same time, to engage this country and culture in meaningful ways. (As an aside, I had the chance to meet Brenneman several years ago when he was pastoring a Mennonite church in Pasadena, California. My sister and her family attended that church, and I participated in the dedication service for my nephew, which Brenneman led. Mennonites, as you may know, do not baptize infants. Brenneman was a fine pastor to his congregation for many years.)<\/p>\n

Shine Like Stars on Tour <\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, I want to let you know about a fantastic Christian band from the midwest. Shine Like Stars<\/a> is the worship band of ekklesia<\/em><\/a>, a worship experience of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas. The band leader, Dale Huntington, was the worship leader of the Veritas service at Irvine Presbyterian Church when I was Senior Pastor there. Dale is a highly talented singer\/songwriter\/worship leader.<\/p>\n

Shine Like Stars is going on tour in early June 2010. They’ll be in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. If you’re looking for a band to play in your church or community, to lead worship or to do a special concert, I highly recommend Shine Like Stars. They’ll do an excellent job and people will love them (especially people under 30). Shine Like Stars would make a fantastic youth ministry event. (Plus, they are inexpensive. You can get the band for only $300 and a place to stay for the night. This is an unbelievable deal!)<\/p>\n

You can reach Shine Like Stars at booking@slsworship.com<\/a>. Their website is www.slsworship.com<\/a>.\u00a0 You can also hear their music at iTunes<\/a> or MySpace<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I want to comment on a couple of items related to the middle of our country. A Mennonite College and the National Anthem First, I’ve been fascinated by a story about Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. The college has been embroiled in a controversy over the National Anthem. For decades, Goshen College, a Mennonite…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nMidwestern Happenings - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/03\/midwestern-happenings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Midwestern Happenings - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today I want to comment on a couple of items related to the middle of our country. A Mennonite College and the National Anthem First, I’ve been fascinated by a story about Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. The college has been embroiled in a controversy over the National Anthem. For decades, Goshen College, a Mennonite…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/03\/midwestern-happenings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-03-25T04:01:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/shine-like-stars-5.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Midwestern Happenings - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}