Are You Amish?

This is a question that Elizabeth and I get asked frequently when we go out in public. We don't take offense from it. We know that many people around the country are not familiar with the other anabaptist groups and are also unaware of the various differences between the multitude of Amish communities.
















It's easy to see how someone unfamiliar with anabaptists would directly associate us with the Amish.
But here is something I perceive that many people don't know about the "plain folk", that is, we identify ourselves by the way we dress. It's a way of saying, "I belong to this or that community".


When a multitude of plain communities are living side-by-side it is a way to prevent awkward situations but also to preserve a communities distinct identity amongst the mass of plain folk. Just attend an auction and you'll quickly see how many different groups are present.



What kind of awkward situation could potentially arise?





Well consider this.


The Old German Baptist Brethren practice the "holy kiss", also known as "the salute". It stems from several verses in the New Testament that we understand to be a command.
The Biblical references are:

Romans 16:16, 1st Corinthians 16:20, 2nd Corinthians 13:12
"Greet one another with a holy kiss."

1st Thessalonians 5:26
"Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss."

1st Peter 5:14
"Greet one another with a kiss of love."



Now from what I understand and have seen there are some Amish communities that don't observe this. So if an OGBB man mistook an Amish man as a fellow of his community, you can imagine the awkward fall-out from trying to "greet him".



This is just one simple example.



The various ways in which subtle differences of standards are applied would include, but are certainly not limited to:

Colors of materials used, both jean material and shirt/dress material
Buttons vs Pins or hook & eyes
Cuts of a pattern, especially for dresses
Length of dresses
Tightness of jeans
Hat brim width
Hat color
Mustache or no mustache
Hair cut-for men
Beard length-some groups trim, others don't
Covering style-for women




Elizabeth and I are much less restricted in our freedom of dress. I strongly believe that an individual should be able to dress as they desire as long as they are modest and not following the fashions of
"the world".

The few things that Elizabeth and I are consistent with would include:

Her covering-we are happy with it and see no reason to change it. It fulfills its purpose and is attractive. It is not a typical anabaptist covering but we feel strongly that it is more Biblical than what is typically seen. We often have brethren bring this up in conversation. We try not to "beat them over the head with it". I don't need to tell them something that they can see for themselves. Many of them agree with us but don't want to be "the nail that sticks up that get's hammered back down". Being contrary is antithetical to the foundation of many anabaptist beliefs. We are starting fresh, without a heritage, so we have no family to worry about offending.



My hat-It's a simple straw hat, but I'm happy with it. I'd like to learn someday to make one for myself. Isn't that the homesteader tendency? When I leave the house I have it with me 99.99% of the time. I do remove it during prayer, meeting, and worship in accordance with 1st Corinthians 11.



My beard-It's simple to me. I just let it grow. I maintain it as proper hygiene determines and that's about the extent of it. I do have a mustache and always will, I do trim it. A man has to eat. I have wondered though, if I didn't, would it grow as long as my beard? Makes me chuckle.

The mustache is my red-flag to the Amish and Mennonites that I am not part of their community. The Amish strictly hold that no man is to ever have a mustache in their community. Interestingly I held myself to this standard before I learned that there were some "Brethren" communities that did the same thing as me. I'm not Amish and I don't pretend to be. That being said, people still mistake us. For me the entire beard issue comes down to a simple precept.

God created nature, "work with nature, not against it". What a waste of time and money shaving is. Not only that, but the early Christians taught that a man that shaved his face was effeminate, in other words, that he was trying to look like a woman! To me, shaving your beard is akin to telling God that he designed your body incorrectly, that you know better than him. He's our creator, I'll trust his judgment on the issue.






All of this to say, No, we are not Amish. But from the outside looking-in it can certainly appear this way. We describe ourselves as anabaptist and feel that this is an adequate way of identifying ourselves. There will be a time when we are horse-and-buggy, if the Lord tarries, and even then we will still have a separate identity from the Amish. For one, we would not believe that our buggies would need to be black or our farm wagons John Deere Green. Our freedom in Christ allows us to be free of such legalism.

An individual can be plain (or as I prefer, simple) and still "fulfill their identity" while simultaneously cultivating a culture of cohesion. The Amish disagree with this idea. That's why we could not join them with a clean conscience.


There are many different dynamics to this that Elizabeth and I are so accustomed to that we no longer are cognizant of all the vantages. Some of the small details we skip over unawares and other larger details we take for granted to be self-evident.


All that to say, if you have questions-just ask. Email us privately or message us on here and we'll be content to answer anything.


Shalom