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Question 1

Dean Taylor says he tries to take the Anabaptists’ “successes and their failures” and “call them my own”; what would it look like for a church today to honestly “own” the political entanglements, splits, and identity-loss he referenced (Dutch divisions, Russian Mennonites in politics, etc.) without either excusing them or distancing ourselves from them?

Another way to ask: What would it look like for a church today to honestly admit the Anabaptists’ political compromises, splits, and loss of identity, without making excuses or acting like it wasn’t “us”?

Direct Answer Based on Dean Taylor’s teaching, “owning” those failures means treating past Anabaptist mistakes as part of our family story—warnings we can still repeat—rather than as scandals to hide or problems that only “they” had. It also means using them humbly as mirrors for our present temptations (splits, politics, loss of community) instead of excuses to stay the same.

Support from Transcript:

Dean says he looks at many Anabaptist families and groups and takes “their successes and their failures, and I call them my own.”
He gives examples of “the Dutch splitting in Holland” and says he then looks at “my own life and my own churches.”
He mentions “the Russian Mennonites” getting “involved…into politics” and connects it directly to “our people get challenged with getting involved in politics.”
He frames immigration to America as bringing “strengths” and “weaknesses,” and says “here we are today, a bit of a child of different parts of each of these people.”
He quotes, “Only those churches that have no history have no mistakes,” implying real heritage includes repentance-ready honesty.

Discussion Follow-ups When your church talks about “heritage,” do you tell the embarrassing parts too? What present-day choices would you label as your generation’s version of those same failures?

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