Via Jesus Manifesto Last week, thecommonroot.org was launched. The Common Root is a network for communities committed to Jesus’ radical way of shalom. This network used to be called “Submergent,” but we changed the name for a couple reasons. First, folks kept assuming that we were a sub-group of Emergent for Anabaptists. Secondly, the name [...]

Anabaptism is unique among all ecclesial frames for reference derived from the Reformation in many ways, one of which involves its Catholic roots and specifically Benedictine roots. Unlike Luther the Augustinian, Calvin the lawyer, or Zwingli the Christian humanist, the Anabaptist tradition arose largely in the soil of the Benedictine tradition. This is seen most [...]

Warning – Very long post ahead After months of planning and many online conversations, 10 rabble rousers got together this past weekend in Philadelphia to dream, dialogue and conspire about the next steps Submergent should take. Many others were invited, but couldn’t make it to the gathering – so no, it was not a secret [...]

I’m over in Goshen, Indiana hanging out with Mark Van Steenwyk and other Submergent conspirators. We are here to participate of the Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change conference. While Submergent still forming it’s identity, we are here to connect with other emerging anabaptist and those influence by the anabaptist ethos who want to live into the [...]

Celts and Anabaptists: Wisdom from the Margins for Tomorrow’s Church? | The Anabaptist Network Among the fascinating things that are going on today are the reemergence from the margins of Christendom of the Celtic and the Anabaptist Christian traditions. There are many differences between these traditions. The Celtic tradition is very old; it emerged in [...]