Author Description

Don Jacobs, exuberant, wise, and remarkably capable of regarding himself lightly, has written a memoir. Here he candidly explores how he simultaneously held the trust of conservative North American Mennonites and the respect of African Mennonites who chose him to be their first bishop. He writes openly about his parents and their cultural differences, and he locates the source of his ability to swing comfortably between worlds in his childhood home. Jacobs earned a doctorate in anthropology from New York University, although he gave his life to the church around the world, rather than to academia. He reflects on that reality in these pages. His rollicking sense of humor, his clear spiritual commitments, and his searching questions about his own motives thread through this book. Photographs throughout show him at home with his beloved family, and at home in both North America and Africa.