The Author
Leaving Anabaptism

In 1916 Jacob A. Wall and his wife Katharine moved their family to eastern Montana to establish a new EMB congregation. Jacob, son of Aron Wall, co-founder of the EMB conference, continued the reformation launched by his father. Author Calvin Redekop was born to Katherine, fourth daughter of Jacob.

As he lived amid them, the goals and struggles of the renewal movement came to intrigue Redekop. Despite gradual dissolution of the group’s original objectives, Redekop, through a series of fortunate circumstances, attended Goshen (Ind.) College 1946-1949, where he was exposed more deeply to the Anabaptist heritage.

Redekop concluded that the EMB conference, which had originally espoused a renewal of Anabaptism, was gradually but surely moving toward North American mainstream popular religion, stressing evangelism to the neglect of other teachings of Jesus. Thus Redekop transferred his membership to the (Old) Mennonite Church in 1954.

Redekop taught at Mennonite colleges 1954-1990. He has contributed to a variety of denominational organizations and study groups. He has been active in Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), where, maintaining that the Anabaptist witness in economics has long been avoided, he has aimed to foster integration of faith and economic behavior. He has led numerous tours to Europe and South America to study Mennonite and other group settlements. As this book testifies, Redekop is deeply committed to the nurture and recovery of the Anabaptist witness to the world.

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