The Trailhead

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Latest — 07 Jun 2025

Embrace Imperfection

Every culture has its taboos. Muslims can’t drink alcohol; Jews can’t eat pork; Mormons can’t drink coffee, tea, or anything with caffeine. Some taboos are explicit, perhaps written in a holy document, while others are unwritten or unspoken. They become an unseen but powerful undercurrent in a

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Update: About a year and half ago, we decided to take a break. There were some life changes among the writers and editors and a need for some restructuring. We are back and plan to begin publishing again. We will not be posting on a schedule but will be sending

Daughters

My wife has birthed me two daughters, one of which runs wild and half-clothed up trees and on roofs, eating radishes yanked from the earth, panting and swimming and chewing sticks and grass stems. The other will be found with adorable pink things, or bent over paper, drawing, folding, or

Sacred Work

The happiest man is he who loves his enemies and enjoys his work. -Unknown These are heady times in which it seems anyone who can think and labor simultaneously can stay financially solvent, and by all appearances, even the thinking part is negotiable. Like other modern marvels, it’s easy

For Dad

All five boys are here. The last one snuck in around midnight. In the early morning, we shuffle and whisper in the dark, donning gear and gathering guns. Most of us have 300 Win. mags. I am the oldest at thirty-nine, the youngest is twenty-four. Dad says in a hoarse

Creation on Trial

All of us inherit a worldview from our family and culture. Most of us will, at some point, begin to critically examine what we've been taught and decide whether those beliefs are our own or just on loan from our parents. Some parents feel they must keep their

Marbles in the Muzzle

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father. (Matthew 3:8,9) Cowboys In a different era of my life, I received a phone call that went to voicemail. The voice on the recording was smooth and gentle,

Suspicion

There is a growing culture of suspicion in this postmodern age we have dropped into like aliens from space. Question everything with the presupposition that nothing is as it seems is the philosophy of the day. A primarily suspicious culture is rooted in the belief that we are fed lies

Letter from the Editor: A Reset for The Trailhead

Early on May 1, 2020, I hit the “publish” button on The Trailhead’s first essay and we were off. Josh Engbretson and I, both backwoods scribblers, wanted something that could be fun and serious. We wanted a spectrum of writers across Anabaptism. Josh scraped up a disparate selection of

Are Illusions Necessary?

“In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Solomon was exceedingly wise, and the Bible says he was the wisest man on earth. If anybody would know that knowing lots of things and being wise to boot could be a pain, Solomon

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