Ventures in Christian Discipleship

The Bible overflows with stories, Jesus loved to teach and preach with parables, and people enjoy listening to stories. Whether you delight in preaching with stories, are new to it or intimidated by the prospect of storytelling, all are welcome to learn about narrative preaching and the different ways that storytelling opens pathways to faithful imagination and prophetic witness.

Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm is the Brightbill Professor of Preaching and Worship at Bethany Theological Seminary. She has published numerous essays and books on preaching, serves as senior editor of the journal Homiletic, and is currently the Vice President of the Academy of Homiletics. She and her spouse are members of the Northview Church of the Brethren in Indianapolis. Dawn enjoys sharing stories with their three adult children and their spouses, outdoor swimming, and singing – not at the same time.

This two-part session will focus on the immediate needs of those threatened by detention and deportation. The session on October 21 will provide a broad-strokes overview of the realities of Church of the Brethren congregations that have faced detention or deportation in 2025.  Stories and examples will help paint the picture of what is happening and how congregations and districts are responding. There will be opportunities to hear from participants about their own situations and how they are responding. This session will offer an overview of important legal information that anyone might need who is facing threats of deportation themselves, or helping those in this challenging situation.

The session on October 28 will build on the realities described the prior week, as we explore an approach called Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV). This session will help build an understanding of the contours of political violence, especially toward immigrants. We will work to awaken our imaginations about how to assertively respond in the face of threats and acts of violence toward immigrants. We will explore concepts that can help us identify and undermine violence against immigrants in our congregations and communities, while learning tools and approaches to use at home right now or in a moment of crisis. This will draw from an approach called “Backfire,” which describes 5 key strategies used to undermine and attack vulnerable populations, and 5 key strategies that help flip these as we build community power. More information about the Backfire approach and HOPE-PV here: www.endpoliticalviolence.org

This session will be anchored by Founa Badet, Church of the Brethren Director of Intercultural Ministries, and Matt Guynn, co-executive director of On Earth Peace, along with other members of the Deportation Defense Response Team.

God is responsible for an enormous amount of violence and bloodshed in the pages of the Old Testament. This creates theological and ethical problems for serious readers of Scripture, often making these passages difficult to handle. This course will identify some of the most morally troubling passages in the Old Testament with an eye toward reading such passages responsibly. Special attention will be given to the “conquest narrative” in Joshua 6-11.

We will discuss a range of options that reflect different ways Christians have tried to address the issue of divine violence in the Old Testament. Students will be encouraged to come to their own conclusions about how best to handle disturbing divine behavior in the Old Testament. Some consideration will also be given to how these texts can be used responsibly in church settings.

Dr. Eric A. Seibert is a licensed minister in the Church of the Brethren and currently serves as pastor of Mechanicsburg Church of the Brethren in South Central PA. Previously, he taught biblical studies at Messiah University for over two decades. Eric is the author of numerous books and articles including Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God and The Violence of Scripture: Overcoming the Old Testament’s Troubling Legacy.

This interactive workshop invites Brethren from across the denomination to strengthen relationships through deep compassionate listening. How we are going to accomplish this is via using the facilitated Daté Discernment Circle (DDC) process. We believe that sharing deeply with heartfelt understandings can be a catalyst to healing.  Further, that any fresh understandings could foster stronger connections as we build up our beloved Brethren relationships by offering one another compassion and empathy.

Come prepared to listen. Come prepared to share if you wish. Each person who shares will begin with a “Prompt” designed to focus on what is meaningful about “being Brethren”, for example: “What ‘Being Brethren’ in this time and place means to me…” or “Pain I am recovering from…”. We will be coached to use the deep compassionate listening skill, micro-paraphrasing.* As we take turns sharing what is meaningful to us, we will also ensure that each person is listened to with respect and understanding by each “Special Listener” requested in turn by each “Speaker”. What is especially compelling about this DDC model is Barbara’s belief and witness to the “breaking through of the Spirit in our midst” so often that she nurtures the sacred space for that possibility!

Our hope is that a broad cross-section from across our denomination will participate. Then as we nurture compassionate understandings we will be able to turn together, shoulder to shoulder to: “Bring forth the kingdom of mercy! Bring forth the kingdom of peace!”: Thy Kingdom Come! Amen!

For those registering, an email with further information will be sent before the workshop. In addition, Barbara will offer an extra “Hot-tips” session about the DDC process a few days in advance for those who might want a little more preparation.

*For those curious or even anxious about the skill of micro-paraphrasing (which we will be utilizing to reach our goal of deeply understanding one another), feel free to be in touch to request more information. You can also check out Barbara’s Ventures session on “Deep Compassionate Listening” (April 15, 2023). In that previously recorded session, Barbara introduces and teaches the skill of micro-paraphrasing. Register for this course free in the Ventures course archives: www.mcpherson.edu/ventures/archive-registration

Barbara Daté is “Hapa” (Hawaiian for “half”) Japanese-American (Sansei) and almost half English with a Great-Great-Great-Great Gilliam grandmother who was free but from a slave family in Virginia. Raised in the intercultural, interfaith residential York Center Co-op of 79 families founded by Church of the Brethren Bethany Seminary couples, Barbara witnessed firsthand diverse folks working through conflicts and living together in harmony. This early life experience from age 2 years old provided Barbara with the vision that “Peace and harmony is possible!” That foundational experience prepared her work with Brethren in 17 Church of the Brethren districts and with indigenous peoples in North America, the Pacific Islands and the Irish (in the Republic of Ireland and N. Ireland). She was invited by Brethren Press to be the process consultant (along with Mennonite raised/turned Brethren, Phyllis Sensei) to rescue the Hymnal Project after years of conflict, resulting in the publication of the 1989 Hymnal (with the Mennonites). Barbara wraps up her term on Mission and Ministry Board July 2026. She continues yet another decade on the Intercultural Ministries Advisory Team.

Barbara’s academic and community expertise is in the field of individual & cultural differences and deep compassionate listening. She was gifted with the innovative “Daté Discernment Circle” model in the midst of an intense district conflict in 1987. This unique procedure has been successfully used throughout the world, having first been facilitated by Barbara during an intensive teacher’s strike, and then in myriad contexts, including the 50th anniversary of the bombing at Pearl Harbor and at various denominational gatherings.

Barbara holds an Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree in Interpersonal and Small Group Communication and Conflict Resolution, as well as a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, specializing in Prosocial, Proactive Behavior. She taught at 9 colleges/universities and 3 seminaries. Barbara has been a member of the Springfield, Oregon Church of the Brethren and the Madtown Brethren Fellowship in Madison, WI. For fun and exercise Barbara has been blessed to play her cello in a dozen orchestras in North America, Mau’i and Salzburg.

Assisting Barbara with the workshop will be Harriet Koscho, member of Olympic View CoB, and Joe Vecchio, member of Restoration LA CoB. All three facilitators work intensively nurturing intercultural relationships. Barbara and Joe have teamed up together for over 30 years, and Barbara began mentoring Harriet two years ago.

Joe Vecchio was a Church of the Brethren pastor in the 1980s and worked for the Pacific Southwest District Church of the Brethren as District Administrative Assistant for 30 years. He served almost three decades with the Intercultural Ministries Advisory Team and 35 years as a camp leader at Camp Peaceful Pines. In the past he also worked as a school bus driver and a Union printing press and camera operator. Currently, Joe serves with Kids Church and Greeters Ministries at Restoration Los Angeles Church. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from California State University LA and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary. Joe is a third generation Sicilian.

Harriet Koscho is a member/leader of the Olympic View Church of the Brethren. She has an M.S. in Statistics/Computer Science from Purdue University, but her real education came when she started a youth group for at-risk minority children in Seattle. Career-wise, she excelled at finding, diagnosing, and eliminating difficult software problems – sometimes traveling to China or India to work out solutions. Meanwhile, on the weekends, she learned how to de-escalate tensions and inspire young people to create a beloved community. As a member of the Standing With People of Color coordinating committee she has taken up the co-leadership of the new role, Racial Justice Advocates for Brethren congregations and districts. Harriet loves engaging with all kinds of people and she hopes to help you bring out your most authentic self.

Congregations and ministers inhabit a shared system, in which the vitality of one impacts the spiritual and emotional well-being of the other.  Often, we compartmentalize pastoral vitality, approaching it as if it were disconnected from the influence of the congregation.  Pastors do have personal responsibility for their well-being, but since their ministry is so embedded within the congregational system, it is impossible to care for a pastor’s well-being without attending to the contribution of the congregation.  Congregations thrive when pastors thrive.

This webinar will introduce a variety of factors that impact pastoral vitality, and suggest ways in which both the pastor and the congregation can contribute to a system that fosters mutual well-being and sustainable shared ministry.  Both pastors and congregational leaders will have the opportunity to examine the ways in which they undermine their own well-being, and identify practices and resources that can contribute to a more healthy system.

Pastoral ministry is a calling, yet congregations should not rely solely on a pastor’s commitment to their calling to carry them through the challenges of ministry.  Congregations and pastors that share in creating a mutually supportive system can find increased vitality and effectiveness in the life God has led them into.

John Fillmore is the pastor of the Nampa Church of the Brethren in Nampa, Idaho, and the District Executive Minister for the District of Idaho and Western Montana.  A graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary, John also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Portland Seminary.  His Doctoral work focused on Spiritual Formation, Leadership, and Pastoral Vitality.

Join a discussion about the place of creation care in Christian theology and action. The environmental crisis is real, and a threat not only to our own current health and well-being, but to the vitality of all of lifeforms, and to the viability of future generations. But does our faith have anything to say in this situation? It often seems that the church has found ways to avoid taking this crisis seriously for all manner of reasons that we will explore. We will look at pertinent biblical texts, including the teachings of Jesus, and reflect on Brethren history and current practice. We will also virtually visit parts of the world that are on the front lines of this crisis to see how it is impacting our neighbors and our neighborhood.

David Radcliff is Director of the New Community Project (NCP), a small organization with a big goal: to change the world. NCP focuses on human justice, care for creation, and experiential learning. David has served in various roles in the Church of the Brethren over the years, including as a pastor, as Director of Brethren Witness for 15 years, and occasionally as a writer for study guides. He and others launched NCP in 2003. David is a graduate of Bridgewater College and Bethany Theological Seminary, where he earned Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry (peace studies) degrees. He lives in Blue Ridge, Virginia, where he is a member of the Blue Ridge Church of the Brethren, and travels mostly by bicycle.