Soundbites

The good ole shopping mall

We tend to think of the mall as a recent, primarily American phenomenon, and a rather banal one at that, born of demographic convenience — we all bought cars and moved to the ‘burbs — rather than any profound change in who or what we are. But the mall has been with us always, under other names and in somewhat different forms. Virtually since the dawn of civilization, we have organized our world in part around the function of shopping. Even the simplest agrarian societies needed places to assemble to trade in goods, and from that basic impulse came everything else — marketplaces, villages, towns, cities. The mall is, at heart, just an ancient organizing principle that hasn’t yet outlived its usefulness. Perhaps it never will. — Paco Underhill in Call of the Mall

Sermon in seed

There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world. — Thomas Merton in The Seven Storey Mountain

Why work with youth?

One of the most significant and ongoing threats to peace globally is the demographic swell of unemployed, unskilled, and uneducated young men in unstable environments. Among the 25 countries experiencing armed conflict within their borders, 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30. Many of the young men born into fractured societies struggle to overcome years of missed schooling and are chronically poor. In the shadow of conflict, their collective discontent and social disengagement, combined with the easy availability of small arms, virtually guarantee catastrophe. It is a pattern playing itself out in countless conflict and postconflict countries worldwide, locking civilians in a recurring cycle of poverty, human misery, and instability. — War Child founder Samantha Nutt in

Not business as usual

With a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie in one hand and the September/October issue of The Marketplace in the other, I went out on the deck to relax and read. I read the MPL from cover to cover. I concluded this is the best one yet, but I have often said this before. So why do I keep saying it? Because the contents in this issue are all so relevant. I especially commend you for several articles: “Garbage in, power out” is powerful — showing how innovations can be successful, but also how Mennonites!! can be trail blazers in a very desperately needed direction. Your book review of Howard Raid: Man of Faith and Vision shows leadership as it is expressed in “recognizing the intrinsic important of business to the large faith community.” Finally and equally importantly, I resonated very strongly with George Klassen’s “A World of No Growth.” I commend him for his courage in discussing some very “inconvenient” realities, including the “no growth future” which includes population limits! Including scientific sources is especially helpful in backing up his positions. I commend you for publishing it. “Business as usual” died with Calvin Coolidge, but we did not know it. — Cal Redekop, Harrisonburg, Virginia

MDS openings

Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) seeks two energetic Disaster Response Coordinators. One to be based in the Central States and cover the western half of the US. The other to be based in and cover the eastern half of the US. The primary responsibility is to train, mentor and encourage the MDS units and regions to respond to disasters, from investigation, cleanup, and project setup through completion. Extensive travel required. Applicants must be active in an Anabaptist church and committed to the Anabaptist faith and peace position.

See the full job description at http://mds.mennonite.net/ about-us/employment. Resumes may be sent to jobs@mds. mennonite.net or MDS, Attn: Human Resources, 583 Airport Rd, Lititz, PA 17543. Review of resumes begins immediately. Recruitment continues until the positions are filled.

Letters

Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies & Aid

Born to distrust

A prominent theme of the New Testament is “thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.” Nevertheless, theologically conservative Christians may have more trouble with this maxim than other Christians. Using data from a [U.S.] survey, sociologists found that theologically conservative Christians — who tend to believe in the authoritativeness of the Bible, the existence of hell, being born again and proselytizing — were less likely to report trusting other people, even controlling for factors like education, involvement with church, or living in a small community. The authors theorize that this effect is due to theologically conservative Christians’ belief in the sinfulness of mankind. — Kevin Lewis in The Boston Globe

God works

God does not sit enthroned in heaven removed from work, willing things into existence by divine fiat. Unlike the gods of the Greco-Roman mythologies, who absolve themselves of work — dining on nectar and ambrosia in heavenly rest and contemplation — the biblical God works. This God molds humans in God’s image, establishes covenant with a displaced people, laments when the covenant is broken, strives to re-establish covenant with that people, and becomes incarnate to labor, suffer, die, and be raised for the whole world. — David H. Jensen in Responsive Labor: A Theology of Work

It’s in our DNA

When does a job feel meaningful? Whenever it allows us to generate delight or reduce suffering in others. Though we are often taught to think of ourselves as inherently selfish, the longing to act meaningfully in our work seems just as stubborn a part of our makeup as our appetite for status or money. — Alain de Bottom in The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

Daily halo

It’s easy to be saintly in a brief conversation with the person sitting next to you on an aircraft. It’s much harder to keep that halo in place in front of someone who has an office, workstation or assembly-line position next to you for years. If you can show the “Christian distinction” in a consistent fashion during that time, it’s a credible demonstration of God’s power to change your life. — Carl Friesen, Called to the Marketplace website