John D. Roth, project director of MennoMedia鈥檚 Anabaptism at 500 initiative, presents 鈥淲hat is the Good Life? Insights from a 500-Year-Old Tradition鈥 at Martin Chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 29. (Photo by Macson McGuigan/91短视频)

Mennonite historian says 91短视频 students are equipped to heal a broken world

The world is out of alignment, said Mennonite historian John D. Roth.

Civil discourse is strained, the principles of democracy are challenged, and social movements have laid bare injustices in the world, he said. 

Speaking to a crowd gathered at Martin Chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 29, he said that 91短视频 students, rooted in the guiding verse of Micah 6:8 鈥 鈥渄o justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God鈥 鈥 are uniquely equipped to heal a broken and fractured world. And, he added, they鈥檙e called to bridge the gap between 鈥渢he world as it is and the world as it ought to be.鈥

鈥淭hose convictions [in Micah 6:8], which I鈥檓 certain shine through in your courses, recognize that the good life calls us into the world to participate in the healing work of reconciliation and peacemaking,鈥 Roth said. 鈥溾our calling, your vocation, regardless of your major, is really nothing more than to make God鈥檚 love and truth and healing visible in the world.鈥

Roth, project director of MennoMedia鈥檚 initiative, presented on 鈥淲hat is the Good Life? Insights from a 500-Year-Old Tradition.鈥 Watch a video recording of his presentation .

Prior to his role at MennoMedia, Roth was a professor of history at Goshen College (1985-2022), where he also served as director of the Mennonite Historical Library and editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review. He is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College.

His talk was the second of two campus worship services commemorating the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. Click for a video recording of the first service, 鈥淓xploring Virginia Mennonites: History, Faith and Culture鈥 from Phil Kniss, retired senior pastor of Park View Mennonite Church.

Starting on Thursday, Jan. 30, a series of weekly lectures will delve into the history of Anabaptism through the five centuries stretching back to 1525. Roth will speak about early Anabaptism in the 16th century at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Eastern Mennonite School auditorium. For more information about these lectures, visit the website .

Events like this one demonstrate 91短视频鈥檚 commitment to its core value of active faith. As a community, we seek to embody faith in action and serve and learn together to repair harm and restore hope. Shaped by Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs and practices and the life and teachings of Jesus, we practice compassion, mutual love, and appreciation for the diversity of religious and cultural expressions represented in our community.