What Do Mennonites Mean by “Plainness”?

Edsel Burdge walks us through plainness, starting with the Quakers, addressing concerns of plainness at various points of conservative Mennonite history, and makes a case for why considerations of plainness should matter to Christians today. Burdge thinks of plainness as an approach to life that identifies a person with God’s people while resisting pressures of wealth, consumerism, and sensuality.

Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College:

Ready to Harvest’s Video about Mennonites:

“Overview of the Plain People” by Ernest Eby:

“An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups” by Stephen Scott:

Shippensburg Christian Fellowship History Series:

“Building on the Gospel Foundation” by Edsel Burdge and Samuel Horst:

Link to the First Episode with Edsel: