The Amish Cook from Oasis Newsfeatures

An Associated Press article about Amish business diversification has been running on the newswires the past couple of days.  The article is fascinating.  I think the author could have taken the topic a step further, but he didn't, so I will.   The premise of the piece is that with farming becoming less and less of a viable way to make a living for the traditionally agrarian Amish they are being forced to branch into other endeavors.  This trend has been afoot for generations as Amish men have gone from farming to cabinetry and framing to bulk food stores and produce.  But the Amish population doubles every generation, so the math illustrates how Amish men are going to have to adapt in finding occupations  What today's featured article doesn't talk much about is how this trend impacts the future of the church.  A cornerstone of the Amish church is maintaining a sense of "separateness" from society.   And I just think it will be come more and more difficult to maintain such a separateness when running a global manufacturing operation or a potato chip company.  I am not making a judgment call....It's up to the Amish to decide their future, not outsiders like me.....But I do think that the church is ripe for a major split within the next 10 - 15 years.  The Amish church's history has been full of splits and I just think there will be formal break between a large more progressive bloc while more conservative Amish hew to traditional ways.  This is just conjecture on my part, perhaps these more entrepreneurial/global Amish will find ways to stay separate while keeping their businesses running. Time will tell.  Click here to read this interesting article.