• Scandal in the parsonage / p 13 • Second thoughts about those Confession of Faith revisions / p 18
FIRST WORDS ••• from the editor
THE PASTOR IN the cartoon below had the right idea: in the church of Christ a virtuous reality is always available. Trouble is, it's also elusive.
Our feature articles in this issue touch on a Christian's virtuous reality-in one way or another. Craig Sider begins by encouraging us to be more virtuous about our call to reach our unchurched neighbors (page 4).
Following that, I offer a few thoughts about those times in the Christian life when reality doesn't seem virtuous at all (page 9). I believe there's another kind of reality that many Christians endure at one time or another. I invite you to explore it with me.
James L. Snyder's article deals with virtuous living, too (page 13). If his "plight" sounds vaguely familiar, you probably have been keeping up with today's headlines. We hope Snyder's play on his own "scandal" brings a smile to your face as it did ours.
In BodyLife, you can read about the fmanciaI challenge facing the U.S. Conference as we attempt to be more virtuous about planting churches in this country (page 26). We hope you can be part of the solution.
This issue is a virtual potpourri of topics, themes and information. We hope it's a virtuous one, too. -DR
Pontius' Puddle
4 Do you have a Kingdom Expansion Attitude?
Whether we're engaged in God's business of inviting new people into his kingdom depends a lot on having the right attitude. How do you rate? BY CRAIG SIDER
9 Desert wondering
There's good news for believers who feel more like Desert Christians than Dynamic Christians We are not alone in the wilderness BY DON RATZLAFF
13 Scandal in the parsonage
Accusations threaten to undermine his term of office. Sound familiar? This pastor describes an experience much too close to today's headlines to be believed. BY
JAMES L. SNYDER
DEPARTMENTS
What Readers Say Forum
• Are those revisions too radical? Ph'lip Side .
• I'm not making this up Inquiring Minds
• The power of mammon
• Woman as leaders On the Journey .
• Las Vegas is for losers People
• Phil and Carol Bergen
• u.s. Conference vision meets financial need 26
• Fresno, Calif , pastor evangelizes in Laos 28
• Indonesian churches face additional harassment 29
• CPT action raises a question : Is a bad job better than no job? 30
• Ron Sider has a word for aid societies about rich Christians 31
• Church notes 32
3 1, MCC photo by Pearl Sensenig
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DO YOU HAVE A KINGDO EXP ATTITU
Do YOU THINK MUCH ABOUT YOUR WEALTH? I DON'T
mean your money; I mean your wealth in Christ. The wealth that the Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 2:7 as "the incomparable riches of God's grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."
Do you dwell much on your wealth in Christ? One of the most effective ways you can spread your faith is to manage your life in such a way as to stay mindful, every single day of your life, of how rich in Christ you are-the extent of your inheritance in Christ, the wonder of the character of the God we worship, the magnitude of the miracle of transformation that has taken place in our lives.
When we are living with an awareness of the size of our spiritual wealth and the sheer scope of our blessings in Christ-with very little strategy and with very little effort-we will find ourselves saying to lost people, "You just need to come to know how wonderful our God is." The Great
Commission in Matthew 28:18 20 oUght to draw us and propel us as individuals, as churches, and as a denomination to make disciples.
To make disciples, we must have what I call a Kingdom Expansion Attitude This doesn't mean the newest technique, the latest approach, or the most recent success story (as helpful as they may be), but a Kingdom Expansion Attitude that can develop in your heart, mind and life.
IIlcknoWledge church growth as a God thing
I have a friend who in one particular year in ministry worked hard and smart, and was faithful to his calling to preach the Word with boldness and clarity. That particular year his church didn 't
grow numerically Several years later, while still being faithful to his call, the church experienced unprecedented growth. What happened? Did he all of a sudden become smarter and get his act together as a leader? Or in his faithfulness, did he experience the sovereignty of God as it relates to church growth?
Church growth is a sovereign act of God In Matthew 16: 18, Jesus says, "I will build my church." In John 6:65, Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him "
Yes, we need to fish diligently, we need to learn where the fish swim and when they are hungry, and we need to be fish-smart. But we don't put the fish in the net-God does. We need to use our gifts, we need to be wise, we need to be learners in evangelism. But church growth is a God thing. Let me suggest why this is important in our attitude.
If we see church growth as purely a human activity, it breeds jealousy, arrogance, and pride. If church growth happens, we tend toward arrogance or pride. If church growth isn't happening right now, we tend toward discouragement or a critical spirit toward congregations where it is happening . But when we, individually and corporately, acknowledge that church growth is a God thing, we learn from one another and view each other as colaborers in the mission field rather than competitors in the arena
[lJ
urn our attention to the lost
Have you ever noticed in sports the "attention grabbing" that goes on? All kinds of posturing and statements are delivered which in one way or another send a common message, "Look at me! Hey, here I am; pay attention to me!"
That can happen to us in the Body of Christ, can't it? The focus slides into having our needs met, our concerns addressed, and ourselves cared for. And SUbtly, the focus shifts away from the lost to ourselves.
Jesus says in John 4:35, "Open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest." A person, a church, or a denomination with a Kingdom-Expansion Attitude turns attention to the lost We make them a priority. We make room for them in our lives They are reflected in our budgets. They are reflected in our church programs. We spend significant time as individuals, as church boards, saying, "How can I reac h the lost? What can we do better? We'll do whatever it takes because the stakes are sky high. "
The truth is, it's easy to structure our churches in such a way that we more naturally depopu-
late other churches than we do the kingdom of darkness. Kingdom Expansion Attitude says, "I will, we will tum our attention to the lost."
IIl ranstormational living
At a recent business appointment I attended, a woman who admits she is trying to discover Christ told of her experiences on a recent business trip. She took a taxi to a convention center. When the cabby informed her that the fare was $16, she handed him a $20 bill But the cabby gave her back four dollars. She said, "No, the four dollars is a tip; I want you to keep it." He responded , "I can't; I'm going to be responsible to God some day and I can't keep this extra money."
At this, I silently went "Yes!," excited by the fact that she encountered an authentic Christian. But then she finished by saying, "And the cabby said 'You see, ma'am, I'm a Moslem and I will be accountable to God some day for my actions '" My heart sank, not because what he said wasn't good-it was. But I wanted her to come into contact with a Christian who was about transformationalliving. I thought, I wish there were more transformational Christians. I wish I lived more transformationally.
In 2 Corinthians 3: 18, Paul writes, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord." You know what I notice? There's no age cutoff There's no statement that says , "Once you've been a Christian 15 to 20 years, the transformation part is over " No, a person who has been a Christian for 20 years is still to be experiencing the transforming power of Christ in his or her life. It's a powerful witness for a non-Christian to come into contact with a Christian who is being transformed-one who is quick to admit mistakes, one whose character flaws continue to be chiseled away by the Holy Spirit, one who lives each day submitted before God- whether a new Christian or one who is five or 50 years old in the faith.
The truth is, it's easy to structure our churches in such a way that we more naturally depopulate other churches than we do the kingdom of darkness.
If each of us, as
A Kingdom Expansion Attitude requires transformationalliving.
[[]t begins with me
In the marriage counseling that I've done, I' ve had very few instances where one of the persons has said , "The p roblem begins with me ; the solution begins with me ." In fa c t, when I asked one couple what issue they were dealing with, the husband looked at me and said, "My wife thinks I'm an idiot ." As the ir story unfolded, I t h ink maybe she had the gift of discernment . But there are very few people saying these days, "It begins with me."
A Kingdom Expansion Attitude begins with me. I repeat , it begins with me . It recently occurred to me that there's nothing preve nting me from being a contagious Christian, from giving away my faith. The law doesn't stop me The p e rson I am accountable to in my work doesn't discourage me. My wife is not going to leave me My board of directors doesn't say, "You can ' t do that. " You know what? It begins with me.
A Kingdom Expansion Attitude doesn't depend on a pastor giving better sermons , on implementing t he latest evangelism technique, on meeting in the newest church building, or on having a kazillion small groups in the church They may all help, but it begins with me . believers, would learn- Here's a suggestion. On a piece of paper , write down the names of three people- neighbors, family members, colleagues , or friends with whom you have contact and for whom you are praying for salvation . Beside the and we, as churches, would train our believers to learn-a simple, natural plan for sharing a three names, write these words , "It begins with me ." verbal witness with unchurched friends w ith whom we've built credible relationships, it would revoluti o nize our churches.
that table, what would your confidence level have been to be able to explain the Christian faith in two or three minutes? In a spirit of humil · ity, I have to ask, should not each maturing believer be able to answer?
Well, in this restaurant, God graciously allowed me to have two or three minutes where I explained to him the difference between religion and a relationship with Christ. I'd like to te ll you that he fell to his knees and right there, in the middle of that restaurant, he repented of his sins and trusted Christ I'd like to tell you that, but it didn ' t happen. His response was, "Oh." In fact , I talked about faith with Mike a number of times after that before he responded to the tug of the Spirit and trusted Christ
If the gospel is the hope of the world, we as maturing believers have to know what to say 1 Peter 3: 15 says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have But do this with gentleness and respect "
If each of us, as believers, would learn-and we, as churches, would train our believers to learn-a simple, natural plan for sharing a verbal witness with unchurched friends with whom we've built credible relationships , it would revolutionize our churches
IUInderstand the cost
ITlell the story
I was in a restaurant with a business friend who wasn 't a believer As we were finishing lunch, with time running short, he looked across the table at me and said, "Craig, how do you know that you're a Christian?" If you would have been me at
Just a few weeks ago, I scanned through the book Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot. It's about Elizabeth's husband, Jim, and the four other missionaries who were killed in South America by the ones to whom they went to take the message of Christ . As I scanned through the pictures of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and the other men, I thought , "These were good-looking, young, sharp men who gave their lives for the cause of Christ." That wasn't their goal. Their goal was to win men and women to Christ. But they were willing to pay any price. It shouldn't be any less for us
My friends, my community , or the world will not be won for Christ on the shoulders of convenience and casual endeavors at evangelism
Jesus made that abundantly cle ar In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus gives two e xamples about count-
ing the cost and concludes by saying , "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. " We need to understand the cost if we are to impact our country and our world for Christ
It will cost us convenience-spending building relationships with neighbors, pouring ourselves into their lives It will cost us as par-
2& ways to be an ideal neighbor
1 Make sure you are a friend fir st and foremo st.
2 Use the power of example
3 Be caring and graciou s
4 Be ready to help in a time of need
Developing real relationships with non-Christians isn't as easy as it sounds, but I think the battle to reach people is won or lost there.
ents-it may mean releasing our children to share Christ around the globe. It will cost us moneyfor missions around the world, for church planting, for our local churches to reach out . But more than anything, it will require the abandonment of our hearts to the mission of Christ A Kingdom Expansion Attitude understands the cost.
IDlevelOP relationships with non-Christians
Jesus was accused by his enemies of being "a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Though this was meant as a derogatory term, Jesus never denied it. Instead, he took it as a compliment and kept living it out.
Developing real relationships with non-Christians isn't as easy as it sounds, but I think the battle to reach people is won or lost there . It's tough because for years, in our desire to be biblical Christians, we have said, "Come apart; be separate ; you should evangelize but not really build relationships with the unchurched "
But John Stott refers to that as "rabbit-hole Christianity." We must not become , as Stott puts it, "a rabbit-hole Christian "-the kind who pops his head out of a hole, leaves his Christian roommate in the morning and scurries to class , only to frantically search for a Christian to sit by (an odd way to approach a mission field) Thus he pro -
5 Drop off extra baking
6 Feel free to borrow items, but return them in good shape
7 Pay special attention to people's children
8 Ask for help from your neighbor.
9 . Pray for your neighbo rs.
10 Have a good sense of humo r
11 . Avoid sha ri ng Christ too much , or all at on ce Give it time
12 Be sensitive to neighbor s' idiosyncrasies
13 Focus on developing one or two solid relationships
14 Be deliberate about build ing those relationship s.
15 Work with others to build a network of relationships
16 Allow for natural interactions to take place
17 Give your neighbor the space they want.
18 . Ask for your ne ig hbor's feedback on your projects
19 Be involved in common community causes with your neighbor
20 A sk your neighbor's permission on joint property issues before proceeding .
21 Entertain your neighbors in your hom e
2 2 Keep it simple when you entertain, so your neighbor feels like they could reciprocate
23 Allow the joy of the Lord to be evident in you
24 Look for small way s to continually build a relationship stronger.
25 Love your neighbor as yourse lf
This list is reprinted from Evangeli ca l Visitor
Keys to a Kingdom Expansion Attitude
Acknowledge church grow tti::as God thing
whom Christ died. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. " A person with a King· dom Expansion Attitude lives in that
Turn Qlrlr to 'the IQ$t. awareness
Transformational
It begins wittt'tfl
Your teller at the bank is not just a teller, she's someone for whom Christ died Other associates are not just your real estate agent, your lawyer, your mechanic, your waitress, your teacher, or your student. Your prayer becomes,
Tell the story. "Father, give me your eyes that see
Understand the cost.
Deve fb p with non-Christians .
ceeds from class to class. When dinner comes, he sits with Christians at one huge table and thinks, "What a witness!" From there he goes to an allChristian Bible study, and he might even catch a prayer meeting where the Christians pray for the nonbelievers on his floor. (But what luck that he was able to live on the only floor with 17 Christians!) Then at night he scurries back to his Christian roommate. Safe! He made it through the day and his only contacts with the world were those mad, brave dashes to and from Christian activities.
It's easier to hang out with the already convinced, those who talk the same language, have the same values, and pray before meals-it's safe But when we break out of our huddles and build relationships with unchurched people, when we spend time with people in the marketplace and invest in their lives, God places a lump in our throat at the prospect of them spending eternity without Christ.
Friends, we need to be like Jesus in being a friend of sinners
[EJveryone is a potential child of God
Did you stop and get gas this morning? If you did, you locked eyes with someone who is a potential child ofthe Father. Did you stop and get coffee? If you did, you locked eyes with a potential child of the Father Every person your eyes have ever made contact with is someone for
every person I come into contact with as a potential child of yours."
That, my friends, is a Kingdom Expansion Attitude . We're God's Plan A There's no Plan B. He 's counting on you and me.
At times the reward of that kind of attitude is overwhelming. My wife, Laura, and I were attending a churchgrowth seminar with another couple. Two years earlier, I was with this young couple in their living room as they prayed to receive Christ as personal Savior and then began to live transformed lives. Now here we were, among a group of 2,000 people, preparing to share communion together.
As Mark and Sarah prepared to share commu· nion with Laura and me, Mark said with tears rolling down his face, "I can't begin to express the difference that knowing Christ has made in our lives. It has totally changed the direction of our lives and will change the course of our family line . Thank you so much for sharing the message of]esus with us: we will always be grateful."
I was overwhelmed by the fact that God had chosen to use me as an instrument of grace and truth in the lives of this couple who now desperately want to serve Christ. It provided me with a fresh opportunity to renew my commitment to be involved in the greatest task in the world, the task of witnessing to the wonderful gospel of God's grace . The challenge for us as individuals, and as the Church, is to be so transformed by God's Spirit at work in us that we develop a mindset, individually and corporately , that lives for the expansion of the kingdom
Craig Sider is a bishop in the Brethren in Christ Church. His article is reprinted with permission from Evangelical Visitor, the BIC publication
BY DON RATZLAFF
Desert wondering
Most of us, at some time, walk somewhere beyond the
Myth of the Dynamic Christian.
PAUL BUNYAN FELLED A FOREST WITH A single swoop of his ax . George Washington used a hatchet to chop down a
cherry tree in his father's orchard-and then admitted it. Bigfoot stalks our national forests. Government operatives conspired to kill )FK. Elvis Presley is alive and well and working as a short-order cook at Taco Bell.
Space aliens are abducting our neighbors.
Americans love myths-those incredible stories that titilate our imagination and spice our conversations Sometimes I think Americans love myths more than they love truth, but that's another story Myths, in the popular sense, are nothing but pure, unadulterated bunk. In the end , though, who cares? Most of them are harmless
Unless, of course, you really liked that neighbor who was abducted to Planet Xenon . Generally speaking, though, myths aren't dangerous ... unless we believe them to be true and begin living our lives accordingly-to our
detriment. Just ask a few fateful followers of the Hale Bopp comet They bet their faith-and their lives-on a well-told cosmic tale. And lost, we presume Popular Christianity has its own share of myths, too. We believers propagate a few "realities" that are in fact not based in reality at all Perhaps the most dangerous one is what I call "The Myth of the Dynamic Christian ." You've heard of this Dynamic Christian, haven't you? The Dynamic Christian :
• experiences a rich spiritual vitality on a daily basis;
• feels the strong hand of God on his or her life;
• engages God regularly through Bible read· ing and prayer, and eagerly anticipates those daily quiet times;
• consciously and constantly strives "to do what Jesus would do " in the workplace or school ;
• withstands the tragedies of life, if not with a smile, then with an unshakable belief in God's sovereignty;
• exudes such a vibrant relationship with Christ that he or she can ' t help but smile throughout the day ;
• fearlessly witnesses to friends and coworkers, or at least prays for opportunities to do so;
• has answers to the most difficult questions of life-or, if an answer is elusive, is happily content to "leave it with God."
The Dynamic Christian is everything we in the community of faith want to be, everything we feel we oUght to be, and-more than we dare admit to ourselves and certainly to anyone elseeverything we too rarely, if ever, are.
Granted , I may be speaking more from my own experience than from an accurate reading of the broader Christian community. It's possible that your faith experience closely resembles the one I described as the Dynamic Christian . If so, this article may not be directly relevant to you . But I would ask you to read it anyway, if for no other reason than to recognize that others are not so fortunate You need to know there is another Christian experience that is just as real, if not as glorious
Destination or journey?
Key to that "other" experience is a notion directly related to the myth of the Dynamic Christian: that the Christian life is a destination when it is actually a journey. This notion suggests that once we commit our lives to Christ, everything should be hunky dory. We are "new creatures," after all. Our doubts, uncertainties and frailties are a thing of the past. Christ lives in us, for pete's sake. We have won the victory through him. The struggle to find contentment, direction and fulfillment is over.
But is that the way it really is?
We in the church have marketed the Christian faith-to ourselves and others-as a destination to inhabit, a mountaintop existence from whence we can navigate our world from a lofty perspective. But I'm convinced Christian faith is more like a journey. It takes us to the mountaintop on occasion, thank God, but it also winds through valleys of disappointment, confusion and questioning . And sometimes it takes us into long, lonely, lingering deserts-that place where God feels distant, where faith is dry, where we lose our orientation because the spiritual landscape seems endless, directionless and lifeless. This article may not accomplish much more than to admit publicly that the "desert" exists. That's Significant enough, because by buying into the "Myth of the Dynamic Christian, " the church only intensifies the frustration, emptiness and disillusionment that can come from d esert living You see, believers wandering in the desert
feel alone. They come to church on Sunday, see everyone else in smiles and their Sunday best, and think, "Gee, they seem so together spiritually. They don't have the doubts, the questions, the emptiness that I'm feeling. What's wrong with me? I don't feel like a very good Christian."
So if we can admit the spiritual desert exists, we've taken one large step toward the truth. But I hope to accomplish one more thing here : To assure desert Christians that they are not alone in the wilderness . That conviction, that lifeline, is important if they are to find their way out of it. All of us need to know-to hear it said publiclythat most men and women of God traverse through the desert at one time or another.
From one desert to another
I bumped into one of those men in Scripture not too long ago . John the Baptist's dramatic ministry was launched from a literal desert. Luke 1 recounts the remarkable circumstances surrounding his birth . Clearly, John was chosen and ordained by God for a special ministry: to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. In Luke 3 we encounter John again-John the radical, outspoken, larger-than-life spokesman for God. John, who embodied the prophetic vision of Isaiah. John, who was the "voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord .. .. '"
If any person qualified to be the prototype Dynamic Christian, it was John the Baptist He lived in the desert for Jesus. He confronted the rich and powerful for Jesus . He wore wild clothes for Jesus My goodness, this man even ate bugs for Jesus! Could there be a more on-fire man of God than John the Baptist?
But Matthew 11 reveals another side of John the Incredible Baptist This John calls from a desert of another sort. Rather than John the Wanderer, we meet John the Wonderer, who sends a couple of his disciples to Jesus with a question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (v . 3).
Such a question from a man who ate bugs for Jesus!
Ultimately, a question of meaning
But isn ' t that ultimately the question that gives meaning and definition to Christian faith? Isn't that the same question that confronts each of us in the desert, in the dry times of our spiritual experience? "Are you, Jesus, really the one thing , the one person , the one hope, who can give our life meaning? Or should we look for something el se ?"
If you've ever dared to ask yourself that question, please know that you are not alone In fact, you are in good company . You are walking where John the Baptist walked.
I could highlight other biblical characters Jonah and Elijah had their own desert experiences. Certainly David is refreshing for his incredible honesty before God. In the New Testament, we find t he disciples of Jesus struggling: Peter during a storm , a doubting Thomas. The Apostle Paul, in Romans 7, is obviously frustrated by not being able to reach the Christian ideal. And, lest we forget, Christ himself agonized at his most trying hour, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
It's important to know we are not alone in the desert because when we can admit out loud, to ourselves, that we are spiritually dehydrating , perhaps we can also admit it to each other. You see, I am convinced that one reason the desert is so barren, so lonely, so debilitating is that we feel we must walk through it alone. We c an't let others know of our plight because they will think less of us. We're not the Dynamic Christian we want to be and think we must be
Avoid ing the casualties
That is the real danger of believing the "Myth of the Dynamic Christian. " By keeping to ourselves the reality of our condition, the Christian community suffers far more casualties than it needs to
Casualties that come from discouragement, disillusionment and finally desertion from the faith.
Casualties that come from a skepticism that can dominate our outlook, a skepticism that says, "My faith isn't real for me, it can ' t be real for anyone else either. "
And casualties that come from sin When we are spiritually dry and tired we are also vulnerable to the "somethings" and "someones" that can lure us from the path that leads to life. When we stagger through the desert alone, we often are not strong enough to resist.
Mike Yaconelli, writing in The Door magazine, says the church tries to make us believe that real Christians don't h ave deserts, "that genuin e believers don ' t have parts of them which disbelieve, that mature Christians never get angry at God or regret their decision to follow Christ, and that godly people don't sometimes just get sick of God . None of this is true . Godly people don 't often feel godly, and followers of Christ don ' t often feel like follow e rs of Christ "
I am convinced that one reason the desert is so barren, so lonely, so debilitating is that we feel we must walk through it alone. We can 't let others know of our plight because they will think less of us. We're not the Dynamic Christian we want to be and think we must be.
Conversion d oes not deliver us fr o m the desert; instead, Jesus becomes our companion in the midst of it.
What I call the "Myth of the Dynamic Christian," Yaconelli calls "the secret self' - secret because though it is a part of us, we can't reveal it to anyone else. He describes it this way: "It is a place where our fears and loneliness congregate, where our insecurities run wild. It is the home ofthe exhausted self, the burnt-out self, the sickand-tired self, the angry self, the hurt self, the abandoned self. It is the part of us so fresh, so current, so tentative, so fragile that we cannot allow that self to be seen, except by the most trusted of friends, because the raw reality is just too much for others to see. It is the alone part of us that is meant to be alone because it's too fragile, too unstable It is the self that is present when we don't feel worthy to take communion, the self that visits in the midst of depression ."
The secret self lives in the spiri· tual desert. Perhaps it even thrives there. It is a self that lurks in the heart of most Christians. In fact, the higher the faith profile, the more secret this self must become because high-profile Christians-like church leaders and teachers, especially pastors-must be Dynamic Christians. For if they are not, goes the reasoning, what chance does anyone else have to reach that state?
Loved for who, not where, we are
The truth is we have no chance to reach it, at least not day in and day out And the good news, the voice we need to hear calling to us in the desert today, is that we do not need to reach it Yes, we are not alone in the desert because each of us lives there from time to time. But, more important, we are not alone in the desert because Christ is there with us. Conversion does not deliver us from the desert; instead, Jesus becomes our companion in the midst of it. You see, Jesus loves us for who we are, not for where we are Whether we ' re on the mountaintop, in the valley, or in the desert, Christ is with us. Even when we can't sense his presence intimately Jesus 's response to John the Baptist's question is not insignificant . When John the Bedrock Baptist admits his uncertainties, when Jesus's most loyal and outspoken proponent has second
thoughts, does Jesus condemn him? Not at all. "I tell you the truth," Jesus tells the crowd in Matthew 11. "Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist."
What words of personal affirmation for a man plagued with doubt
But then Jesus goes on to say: " yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than (John)." In other words, the good news is that no desert is so dry and broad that we escape the affirmation of Christ. Are you feeling like the "least in the kingdom" today? You are still great in the eyes of Christ. You see, it's not what we do, have done, or should do that matters most. It is who we are-people loved and redeemed by Christ.
This is what Paul sensed when he proclaimed: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation-including desert or mountaintop-will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38 , my insertion).
A time for myth-busting
Maybe it's time we do some myth-busting in the church. First, to admit to ourselves and to each other the radical notion that our walk with Christ takes us not only to the mountaintop, but also into the desert. Second, to say to ourselves and to each other that it's OK to be in the desert We are not alone there. Christ is with us even there ; he loves us even we wonder about-and even wander from-our faith
And the challenge is to be bold enough to admit to our sister and brother, "I'm not where I want to be, I'm not even sure where I am. Will you still walk with me?"
And the challenge in responding to that confession is to resist the "Myth of the Dynamic Christian" and to say as a body of believers, "Yes, we will walk through it with you because we have been there too We will walk at your pace, not ours. Together, we will find the way back to Life."
In the midst of the desert, we hope in the Lord to renew our strength, believing that someday we will again soar on wings like eagles, or at least run and not grow weary But today it is enough-at least for this day- to walk and not
Don Ratzlaffis editor o/the Christian Leader
BY JAMES l. SNYDER
Scandal in the...
With accusations flying left and right, how can you convince anyone of your innocence? A story pulled right from to day's headlines. Well, sort of.
IT HAS NOT BEEN A GOOD WEEK AT THE PARSONAGE AS FAR as scandals are concerned. Not all the facts are available, but the rumors are running wild. The only thing I can tell you is it just cannot get any worse.
Scandals such as this have happened before, but not with such tremendous impact upon the whole congregation. Allegations are as plentiful as alligators in a Florida swamp, and just as dangerous. If I survive this week, I will be able to survive any scandal in the future.
Just what is a scandal?
According to the dictionary, a scandal is the "unseemly conduct of a religious person that discredits religion or causes moral lapse in another" (Webster's New World Dictionary of American English, 199i).
Of course, we all know that "unseemly conduct" is really in the eye of the beholder Who really knows what is "moral" these days?
What I want to know is, how can you have a scandal when no conduct is "unseemly"
Ita man lies about doughnuts, can you trus t him with dogma?
and nobody can deftne "morals"? And then there is that bogus argument of little minds called "separation of church and state " I'm in no state of mind to argue Argument and controversy are the luxuries of the indolent.
The facts as known at this point are quite simple really . My daughter put a frozen glazed doughnut in the pastry dish to thaw so she could eat it when she got home from work. When she came home in the afternoon to retrieve her doughnut, it was gone . It was then the allegations began and the charges were shot in my direction . There were no eyewitnesses to this alleged misdemeanor The only evidence she could present was a pattern of doughnut eating on my part
How utterly ridiculous!
Can a person be gUilty of a certain action simply because h e did it in the past? I say , let bygones be bygones and let's all get back to the business at hand. After all, just because I ate a doughnut in the past does not infer I ate one on Tuesday. And even if I ate one on Tuesday, that alone is not proof that it was my . daughter's doughnut. And even if it was my daughter's doughnut, it did not have her name on it_
So there!
I tried to smile and get on with the business of the c ongregation, but she would not let me She was intent on culinary justice with an appetite for revenge . There were rumors of beginning impairment proceedings. But it is
too soon for that.
I began to realize the situation was serious and would not go away on its own My only recourse was to call for the services of the twisted doctors to get the right slant on the situation . After all, why lie when you can beat around the bush?
I even offered to buy my daughter a dozen doughnuts of her choice if she would not tell her mother This was only construed as a desperate move on my part and contributed to the aura of my guilt . Reports were coming in almost every hour on the groundswell this was creating in the congregation I must say that I felt all along there was nothing to it It was not that big a deal and was being blown all out of proportion One deacon wondered if maybe I was somehow responsible for EI Nino and started an investigation into any connection between me and several other well-publicized crimes.
The question on many lips was, "Can a man who snitches a doughnut from his daughter be qualifted to run the affairs of the parish?" Someone suggested there must be a separation of a pastor's culinary capers from his ministerial duties . The two , the man said, were not connected . "It's not what goes in the pastor's mouth" he explained, "but what comes out that's important "
It is the old theological dilemma plaguing the church for centuries . If a man lies about doughnuts, can you trust him with dogma?
I'm not sure if it is too late to confess now Will it make any difference? In many people's minds there always will be that shadow hanging over me, especially at the next church dinner_ Who's going to trust me?
No matter what happens, it has surely been a lesson in humility for me An Old Testament verse has lingered in my mind all week. "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will ftnd you out" (Num. 32:23 KJV)
In order to clear the air, allow me to say : OK, Sarah, I ate your doughnut . What a relief that is . If only I would have done this Tuesday, I would have escaped scan.
James 1. Snyder is a pasto r and free -lance writer from Ocala, Fla
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Affirming childhood experiences
Kudos to you, Connie Faber, for your Easter article in the Leader (March). Your words evoked fond memories about the things we used to do with our small children Sometimes the things we did drew raised eyebrows from friends and relatives. But from the vantage point of the nearly empty nest, we see how those early childhood experiences have brought forth effective fruit in our adult children. We already have things planned for the future grandchildren . Paul and Deborah Penner Hillsboro, Kan.
Drivel, whining and arrogance
Over the years, I have come to dismiss much of what I see in the modem church as political drivel. This increasingly includes what I hear from the pulpit, as well as what I read in your magazine as it steadily drifts farther away from its theological roots . . As a general rule, the modem church has descended into piteous whining aimed at destroying the foundations of liberty and individualism on which this nation was once based.
The March issue contained an unbelievably arrogant article on missions to Mormons in Utah. I could scarcely believe my eyes when 1 read the following phrases:
• "Even though people speak English, Utah is a different culture."
• "I want to do church planting because it is shown to be the most effective way to reach unbelievers for Christ "
• "Generally speaking, misuse of power may prompt LDS members to
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consider another faith. "
• "When you sing about Christ but you don't know him, the atmosphere is way different ...."
• "Our worship will be honest and heartfelt - something that Mormonism doesn't experience."
I find these statements to be incredibly ignorant. What makes Paul Robie an expert on LDS? Before accusing Mormons of not being Christians, doesn't he even know the words that identify most Mormons as the Church ofjesus Christ, Latter Day Saints? Doesn't he know Mennonites still today cluster together in communities of faith, just as he accuses Mormons of doing in Utah? How dare he judge Mormons as being " •• .1 am
300-plus year history of pacifism, justice and, as evidenced in this letter, plain speech . Yet for the past 25 years, I have lived and worked in Mennonite communities and have long been influenced heavily by Mennonite theology. Until recently 1 have been proud enough of that influence to maintain membership in a Mennonite community of faith.
When it comes to Mormonism, I actually know little except that 1 live in a community with a heavy Mormon presence, that a close friend is a Mormon elder, and that 1 have come to respect their views as refreshingly Christian and unapologetic when taking hard stances in a nation
unbelievers and of not know- offended ing Christ. where Christianity has become disgustingly politicized.
How does he speak with such sweeping authority about how Mormons worship beyond measure by the attack without honesty and heartfelt on another praise? Does he really mean to say they worship falsely and dishonestly? And how far inside the Mormon church
At the same time, the pernicious whining 1 read in the Christian Leader only reduces my once towering respect for the foundations of the Mennonite church . While 1 never intend to become Mormon and certainly never imagined I religious group " has he been in order to speak so sagely about misuse of power?
Need I go on? I doubt it. But if he is not Mormon, then he cannot speak with any authority about Mormons. As the article closes, Robie speculates he will be unwelcomed in Utah. Perhaps he is right, but 1 can understand why anyone would not welcome him anywhere with his attitude about rescuing heathen souls.
Let me be clear that I am not Mormon. All my life 1 have been a birthright Quaker, so I come from a
would have occasion to defend them for any reason at all, 1 am offended beyond measure by the attack on another religious group that 1 now read in the Christian Leader - an unchristian attack that has begun to extend into other articles 1 have read that border on political pandering by refusing to take strong stands on what should be regarded as unshakable scriptural issues . But in truth, your article on Mormonism is chief among the inane and stands as the only instance in which I have chosen to speak up
Shame on you, with your history of religious persecution, for casting aspersions on one of the few groups in the United States that still publicly has the courage to honor truthfulness, devotion and fidelity.
David Thompson Manhattan, Kan.
Don't forget YMI
In his February "Inquiring Minds" column, Marvin Hein states, "I sense
an absence of passion to teach the young the thrill and satisfaction of working in the kingdom." May I suggest that our brother has overlooked one of the most effective, kingdom focused, passionately Christ-centered ministries in our conference. Youth Mission International continues to prove itself as an extremely successful Mennonite Brethren ministry
Through personal involvement in a variety of YMI ministries, many young people have heard the dear call of Jesus to servanthood and have been challenged to pursue a lifetime of kingdom ministry. YMI deserves our affirmation and full support.
Gary Wall, pastor Vinewood Community Church Lodi, Calif.
Changing with the culture?
After reading Katie Wiebe's letter in the Christian Leader (February issue), I decided to write also.
Historically, we have believed that we should base our doctrine on the Scriptures and not on what the majority believes. When we begin to look at the people around us for guidance, and not to the Bible, then we are in serious trouble.
I'm not only concerned how we face the issue of capital punishment, but how we deal with other issues as well Could it be that the reason we feel the need to change our Confession of Faith so often is because we want to fit in with our own culture? The Word of God doesn't change. r believe it would be good to return to some of the things we once believed in. I will mention a few We believed in dressing decently. We believed in men in leadership, which the Bible also teaches (1 Tim 2:1113). We came to church services to worship and to learn, not to be entertained. We built families that were more stable . We were more sincere and not so frivolous. I'm writing
The Christian Leader welcomes brief letters of relevance to the Mennonite Brethren Church. All letters must be signed and will be edited for clar ity and length Send letters to Christian Leader, Box V , Hillsboro, KS 67063 ; fax : 316 -9473266; e-mail : chleader@southwind net.
about some of the trends that are taking place.
The Bible says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world " (1 In 2:15). We need to learn to love peo· pIe in a greater way and to sacrifice more for the cause of Christ. Would you like to see more people in heaven than to accumulate a lot of things on
this earth? We do not need to buy all the things that the factories put out My prayer to God is that we will humble ourselves and repent of our sins Then we could learn how to love others more and be more effective in building the church.
Harold Fast Optima, Okla
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Are those revisions too radical?
BY ELMER THIESSEN
IN MY STUDY of the revisions to our Confession of Faith, as proposed by the General Conference Board of Faith and Life (BFL), and as I engaged in further dialogue regarding these revisions with my brothers and sisters in our church, I could not help but ask whether the revisions being made are not a reflection of some worrisome trends in the Mennonite Brethren Church I share some of my questions and concerns in the hope that these will stimulate constructive dialogue.
The first question: Why are the revisions so radical in nature? Many of the articles are completely revised. Some new articles have been added. Why? The memo included in the BFL workbook provides a clue. Congregations are invited to join "the process of discerning together what the Scriptures are saying to the Mennonite Brethren church at the end of this millennium." We need to update our confession so it will serve the next few generations well, the BFL chair informed me in a private conversation
Now, there is certainly something right about wanting to make the Scriptures relevant to the next generation And yes, our faith needs to be contextualized But surely this doesn't apply to doctrine, especially basic doctrines of the Christian faith.
Doctrine is doctrine! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Surely confessions of faith should be enduring documents which should be tampered with as little as possible
A careful reading of the revised articles will reveal a number of obvious pastoral concerns that underlie the
Forum is a column of opinion and comment on contemporary issues facing the Mennonite Brethren Church. Manuscripts expressing an opinion for Forum should aim for a length of 800 words . Authors must sign articles, identify their church membership and vocation , and include a clear photo of themselves
Is this preoccupation with being practical and relevant to the contemporary world a reflection of a broader failure to appreciate the importance and unchanging nature of doctrine?
changes being proposed, for example, divorce and remarriage (Article 11), and declining church attendance and giving (Articles 6 and 15). But these are practical matters that hardly deserve to be included in a confession of faith. Indeed, BFL is planning to supplement the Confession of Faith with accompanying commentaries and pastoral applications This is where statements of practical concern belong.
Is this preoccupation with being practical and relevant to the contemporary world a reflection of a broader failure to appreciate the importance and unchanging nature of doctrine? Do we Mennonite Brethren need to listen to David Wells's passionate statement of concern about there being "No Place for Truth " in evangelical theology?
Trying to be relevant can lead to a dilution of doctrine. And practice without correct doctrine is blind . That is why confessions of faith are so important They are meant to define the basic beliefs of a particular people of God Practical application should always grow out of doctrine, as Paul illustrates so well in the book of Romans. So let's make sure we stick to that task when we write a confession of faith And when we do, I suspect the re will, in fact, be little need for revisions.
Another hidden agenda behind the proposed revisions needs to be brought to the fore: a feminist agenda A careful reading of the first article on "God" will reveal that every attempt has been made to avoid using the pronoun "he" to refer to God (see also Article 11)
In an e -mail from the chair of the task force , I was informed that "we are seeking to uniformly eliminate
gender-biased pronouns and nouns . ... Also, we are seeking to eliminate the male pronoun for God by altering construction to avoid awkward sentences. "
Unfortunately, the beautifully succinct paragraph on God in the original version has been replaced by a much longer and cumbersome two paragraphs That is what comes of being politically correct-awkward longwinded constructions, so as not to offend anyone.
I have no problem with a statement that our being created in the image of God gives equal dignity to each gender (Article 11) Nor am I concerned about suggesting that God is like a nurturing mother (Article 1). I take great care, when I teach and preach, to be more inclusive with language. But it is quite another thing to engage in revisionist theology when writing a confession of faith. Revisionist approaches to Bible doctrine are dangerous-we never know where to stop. Surely something is very odd about this kind of revisionism taking place in a denomination which prides itself in being a biblical people.
And then there is the article on the rtLord's Supper (9) A curious appendix is attached to this article: "The normal pattern in the New Testament was that baptism preceded participation in the Lord's Supper." The failure to include this statement in the body of the article would suggest that we are not quite sure about it. The statement (and there are others like it, such as in Article 6) is also descriptive in nature It refuses to take a stand as to whether we ought to follow the pattern of the early church .
But the idea of believer's baptism is rather fundamental to our Anabaptist
heritage. And it is "believers" who gather around the Lord's table-that word is happily still in the article . Yes, children can be believers in some sense . But, according to our Anabaptist understanding of the faith, believers in the full sense of that tenn are those who have been obedient to our Lord in being baptized upon public confession of faith ; they are mature adults who understand the meaning of baptism "and voluntarily request it on the basis of their faith to Jesus Christ" (Article 8).
Because of limited space, I will only mention some of my other concerns
• Surely part of the mission of the church is to be the church, the Bride of Christ, a visible demonstration of Christ in this world (Article 7).
• Parents, it would seem, are no longer to discipline their children in the Lord (Article 11). Is the new Confession of Faith based on the latest liberal best-seller on child-rearing or on the Bible?
• Complex ethical issues regarding life and death, we are told, are to be resolved by living according to the command to love our neigbors as ourselves (Article 14) . Unfortunately, relying on this rationale alone can lead to the condoning of assisted suicide and euthanasia, as various writers have indeed argued .
• I wonder why a list of sins is found in the article on discipleship (10), and not under the article on evil and sin (4). Itemizing sins is always dangerous-why are some included and others missing?
• The Confession of Faith is long The Apostles' Creed of the ancient church was only 13 lines/ phrases. In my opinion, considerable overlap exists between the articles of our revised Confession of Faith; the document needs a thorough editing Confessions of faith should be short and should focus on the fundamentals
This brings me back to my central concern . Maybe we need to consider Richard John Neuhaus ' Law : "Where orthodoxy is optional, it will sooner or later be proscribed " •
Elme r Thiessen, a member of the Cres twood MB Church in Medicine Hat, A lta ., teaches philosophy at Medicine Hat College.
- a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee - a kibbutz in Israel - MCCs program in the Middle East - the Holocaust memorial - the Mt. of Olives, Gethsemane, the Dome of the Rock and more!
BY PHILIP WIEBE
I'm not making this up
The way much of the news media sensationalizes information these days, you wonder if credibility is its goal.
ONE OF HUMORIST Dave Barry's trademark lines is, ''I'm not making this up. " That he frequently feels com-
pelled to mention this to readers isn't surprising, given the content of his columns.
Barry often writes about weird phenomena such as flaming PopTarts, exploding toilets, and farm animals falling from the sky (which happened in New Zealand , in case you were wondering, during an illconceived attempt to move livestock with helicopters).
I've collected a few items of my own that aren ' t as strange as Dave Barry's, but I think they still might qualify for a reminder or two that "I'm not making this up "
• In a city not far from mine, someone operated a "drive-through prayer ministry" similar to one of those espresso stands you see on every other comer here in the Pacific Northwest. The newspaper article I learned this from states, however, that the prayer proprietor, in a quote I'm not making up, "closed his strategic drive-in prayer stationaltar, cross and prayer menu boardto make way for a Jack-in-the Box restaurant planned for the location. But he left behind a sign reading, 'Souls saved: 180. '"
The Lord works in mysterious ways. This prayer proprietor's next project, the article continues, is to "tum his tan Lincoln Town Car into Prayer Force One " with a fresh coat of white paint plus purple flags and a 'Pray Here ' insignia."
• A couple of years ago I clipped a newspaper page containing a strange juxtaposition of articles. At the top of the page was a piece mak-
ing fun of the Bible and its "myths." Directly below ran an article treating UFOs and alien abductions as entirely serious and believable.
I'm not sure whether the newspaper stuck these together on purpose or not, but in any case the effect was odd Coming out in favor of UFOs directly after dismissing the Bible isn't what you'd want to do, I would think, if credibility is your goal. Then again, the way much of the news media sensationalizes information these days, you wonder if credibility is its goal.
• In a Time magazine article about religion on the Internet, I was amused to find the World Wide Web referred to, with a straight face, as "a vast cathedral of the mind." Whew! I will admit that a number ofless flattering metaphors for the Internet immediately came to me (which I am making up):
A vast county landftll of the mind.
A vast advertising monster of the mind .
A vast telephone pole stapled with a zillion tacky flyers of the mind
A vast cheesy tabloid show of the mind
OK, I'm being hard on the Internet, which does have its useful aspects. But if you ask me, it also has quite a bit of maturing to do before it could even be called a "drive through prayer station of the mind," much less a cathedral.
• You can visit Kmart on it The Internet, I mean Which begs the question, "Why?" Even if I patronized the discount department store chain in real life, which I don't, why
would I even remotely want to visit the Kmart website? Or the Shaquille O'Neal website, which I absolutely am not making up? Or the Titanic movie website? Or the Pepsi website?
Personally, I'd rather drink a Pepsi than click one
• I have a quiz on file, clipped out of some periodical, with which I can grade how exciting my life is. I can score a lot of points on the thriIl scale if, for instance, I've been in jail, had an affair, won the lottery, seen a UFO, joined a cult, been involved in some sort of scandal , or gotten a tattoo or pierced nose.
Yes, that last one is really in the quiz. If I ever actually took the quiz and scored low (which I obviously WOUld, having taken the boring route of being faithful to my wife and avoiding UFOs), here is my lot: "You've lived a quieter, gentler life than some, but don't feel bad ." Well, I'll try not to. In fact, the very idea of not having a pierced nose makes me feel unusually good.
• In a software catalog that came in the mail, I noticed two items the small businessperson absolutely can't live without : (1) 3-D text fonts with which, according to the catalog, I can "add still or animated 3-D text" to various documents; and (2) An e-mail animator with which I can "send animated e-mail messages that leap off the screen!"
Call me old-fashioned, but I've always kind of liked my text to just lie there. Easier to read that way But with the way things are going, maybe even this column will one day be an animated 3-D extravaganza, with perhaps some occasional content
Maybe you'll consider it an improvement.
INQUIRING MINDS
BY MARVIN HEIN
QWhat didJesus mean when he talked about "mammon "? Does it mean just plain money? What makes it so bad or dangerous? (CAliFORNIA)
AA common notion in stewardship discussions is that mammon (money) is, like all other basically good things, something that can be used for good or for evil purposes But mammon, which I equate with money or possessions, is more than a neutral force . Jesus warned us so distinctly about worshiping mammon because it has a power that struggles to take control.
Mammon tries to command our total allegiance . If it succeeds, it becomes our god . Mammon and the spirit of materialism it nurtures is unrighteous because it inevitably tugs at us, seeks to control us , and tries to replace those things God would have us center on
So I'm not persuaded that money has the same influence upon us that other material temptations may bring Mammon has a "narcotic" effect. It can engender a form of addiction or slavery. That is not to say that other things cannot numb our sensitivities to God's ways, but mammon seems to carry with it a peculiar and compelling way of diverting us from righteousness.
Gary Kauffman, in a recent issue of Sharing magazine , suggests that one of the safeguards against letting mammon become our god is to talk about money in classes , small groups and prayer circles. Kauffman proposes that it is in such groups that we will find strength to dethrone mammon. In an ideal faith community, our brothers and sisters can support us in the areas that bind us. They may not share our arena of struggle, but they can support us.
Kauffman suggests several topics that might help us start talking about
money. I share them with you and would be delighted if you would write me a short note telling how you have found it possible to talk about money in the church.
• Consumerism. How do we deal with the many invitations-television and otherwise-to spend our money?
• Companies with which we deal. Do we have any responsibilities to boycott those who exploit workers or create pollution?
• How we invest our money. For ourselves? For retirement? With those who produce products harmful to society?
• Planning beyond this life. Wills. Estate planning
QWhile your theology suits me in every other way, how can I feel comfortable in a conference that does not allow women to follow their priestly calling? (California)
AThis inquiry comes from a woman who is relatively new to the Mennonite Brethren. While no stranger to Mennonites , she feels the "women's issue" has stymied her willingness to participate in her local Mennonite Brethren congregation She describes herself as "one ofthe new breed of women who has never been a member of a church that excluded women from senior service in a congregation. "
I don't intend to critique her views here . Rather, I want to pass on her thOUghts so that those of us who differ with her may be able to more fully understand the perspective she and others take. She is concerned with doing God's will and acting faithfully in this world She studies the Bible and searches for its true meanings
She has searched the Scriptures for the "law" that Paul mentions in 1
Have a ques tion about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? Send it to "Inqu i ring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 9 3727
Corinthians 14:34 when he defends women b e ing in submission in the church and not allowed to speak . She has concluded that Paul must not have meant this to be a dictum for all time and cultures. She assumes that Paul is referring to the "law" that kept women from parts of the temple , where only priests could enter.
This inquirer is excited by what she finds in Hebrews 14:19-25 Here, Jesus is described as our high priest who guides our faith If Jesus opened the most holy place for all male believers, she says, did he not also provide access for women? That view would seem to be reinforced by Paul's words in Galatians 3:28, where he states that "there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free , male nor female "
Believing, as we all do, that all believers are priests , the inquirer concludes that through the shedding of Jesus 's blood we all have access to the most holy place . All should be free to follow their priestly calling , if God calls. She admits she doesn't know why Paul "muffled" women in the Corinthian church, but she doubts this was intended to be a permanent position
I admit I have contradictory feelings on this issue When I read where Paul argues for submission on the basis of creation, I say his argument cannot be eliminated by appealing to culture. At other times, when I read passages such as those quoted by the inquirer, I lean the other way.
My experience with women in ministry often reinforces the view that they should be allowed to pursue their calling without restrictions . At the very least , I strongly agree with the inquirer's closing sentences : "Let us pray for each other on our journey of faith Perhaps God will lead us to travel together."
ON THE JOURNEY
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Las Vegas is fo r lose rs!
Walking through the casinos gave new meaning to the phrase "den of iniquity."
WHEN I CAME home from a short trip to Las Vegas last December, I brought back postcard pictures of all the glitzy , glamorous hotels on the Strip that I had walked through, looked at or stayed in I taped them to a white board in my classroom and then wrote over the display : "Las Vegas is for losers!" My students didn ' t like that
"Las Vegas is where you win money," they protested.
"How do you think these super mega-hotels were built? " I asked "What money did they use? The money of winners? Of course not! These hotels were built with the money of losers. "
"Las Vegas is where you go to have fun," they told me.
"Since when is losing money fun?" I asked
The display stayed up for sever.tl months and the discussions continued . I had never visited Las Vegas before and never really had a serious desire to do so When the e-mail message arrived in November asking me to be part of a delegation of teachers attending a national vocational education conference there, my first reaction was that I didn't want to go . However, eventually I decided I would. After all, why turn down an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas?
Eight of us teachers went . During the day we attended the convention meetings and then in the evening we explored the sights of the city It was impossible to avoid the casinos . The hotels are set up in such a way that in order to get to the registration d e sks , the street, or even a restaur.tnt
you have to walk through a c asino
And they are everywhere Acre upon acre of slot machines, crap tables, keno boards, roulette wheels and more. Every hotel complex on the Strip is like that. I was amazed and appalled at the same time I couldn't believe how
many people there were, sitting and gambling, many drinking the free beverages (mostly alcoholic) that were provided by the management for serious bettors . Then I was told that December is the off-season and that during the busy season, every seat at every slot machine and every gambling table is filled .
Iseldom saw a happy face, even when a person won something. People sat stoically at their machines, feeding coins into them or throwing money down on crap tables or they wandered through the casino carrying their plastic margarine tubs looking for a good-luck machine to strike it rich. They didn ' t look like they were having fun
And the noise The clanging when a winning machine disgorged its coins, or the blaring whistles when there was a big money win, was deafening.
Before I left , my husband asked me whether I planned to bet I finally told him I would take $10 in quarters and play the slot mac hines to see how much "fun " it really was . I soon learned that it wasn ' t any fun at all . I quit after only about $7 worth and came out even . Fifteen minutes was all it took . I had had enough!
Since coming home, I've been looking for information about gambling in this country and about Las Vegas in particular Here is what I have found :
• Twenty years ago, two states had legal gambling and 48 states outlawed it. Today, 48 states have some form of legal gambling and only Hawaii and Utah do not.
• From 1974 to 1994, the amount of money Americans legally wagered rose 2,800 percent, from $17 billion (yes, billion) to $482 billion
• It is estimated that this year Americans will spend $25 billion in casinos and $500 billion on horse tracks, lotteries, sports bookies and bingo games.
• In 1996, Las Vegas hosted 3,827 conventions and 112 tr.tde shows I overheard one of the vocational convention organizers say that the attendance at their meetings was always much higher when they were held in Las Vegas.
• During 1996, a record 29 .6 million travelers visited the city and 8 7 percent of these people gambled. The average gambling budget was almost $600; on the average, th e y gambled four hours per day
• Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in the United States. Players lose $6 billion a year in casinos there . No wonder they can afford to build those huge hotels
Las Vegas has been able to change its image from a disreputable city to one which is a desired vacation destination The convention center even hosted a workshop on how the city engineered this makeover
I was raised in a home where gambling was considered a sin After what I experienced in Las Vegas, the sense of sin has been heightened Walking through the casinos gave new meaning to the phrase "den of iniquity " Others may not see it that way , but that's my impression . This trip was an eye-opener. I'm not sure that I know what to do with all I learned, but I do know this I don ' t need to do it again .
Sharing the Commission
by Ed Boschman
At a recent symposium for MISSION AMERICA, I discovered that a real estate principle - "splitting a commission is better than no commission"applies to evangelism, too. Paul Cedar, the leader of MISSION AMERICA, states that "no single church, denomination, servant ministry, or individual can hope to accomplish world evangelization alone. The Lord of the Church is calling all believers to unite in humility, repentance and prayer to prepare for a great revival and reformation in Christ's Church."
As I prayed with others at my table that day, I realized that I was part of a very diverse group, but the experience pointed out our overwhelming similarities. We all loved Jesus and His church. We all prayed in His name. We all heartached for the same things We were a little holy ecumenical movement. We were anxious to share the commission. Networking and partnering with others for an even higher Commission is something I've tried to work at consistently and energetically. The Bible makes it clear that some plant, some nurture, others harvest. There is equal happiness in me when someone decides to be a Christian, whether my part has been early or late. Just being involved is enough!
Because most of our schoolmates, coworkers, neighbors and other pre-Christian acquaintances and friends don't know very much about Christianity these days, it is more important than ever to understand that winning someone into a personal relationship with Jesus, and into a meaningful relationship with the church, will often be a lengthy process. One of my most recent baptisms,
MISSION USA BOARD:
Ed Boschman, Phoenix, Al,
Chuck Bu"er, V'lSalia, CA
&nie Friesen, WIChita, KS
Phil Glanzer, New Hope, MN
Joe Johns, Wea1herford, OK
LoreHa Jast, Aurora, NE
Fred Leonard, Oovis, CA
Stephen Reimer, Shafter, CA
Clarice Rempel, Buhler, KS
Mike Schuil, Reedley, CA
Tony, was a five (count them: 1-2-3-4- 5!) year process and let me assure you, it was a shared commission process and a shared celebration! The coming-to-faith process looks something like this :
• Awareness of God, but mostly indifference.
• Awareness of desire for personal relationship with God.
• Awareness of Jesus' good news
• Awareness of internal longing for peace and meaning.
o Awareness of personal sinfulness.
o Awareness of a desire to decide.
o A FAITH DECISION TO ACCEPT JESUS AND FOLLOW HIM.
Whom do you know in your circle of influence that is on a track to faith in Jesus? Statistics tell us that one in four of those people are favorably disposed to joining you at a low-key Christian event (a home Bible study, church outreach event, a dinner at your house, a movie or production with Christian values, etc.). Unless you ask them, it's unlikely that they'll get a chance to say yes, and to personally join you as a follower of Jesus.
Family of God members can choose to be involved in this process at pretty much any point. Isn' t it great that we can partner with each other, and with God who by His spirit convicts, woos, and then makes a new Christian?
How about sharing the commission with someone?
Randy Steinert, Bakersfield, CA
TIm Sullivon, Hi"sboro, KS
Ex OHido Members: Henry Dick, Fresno, CA
Clinton Grenz, Bismark, N.D
Bruce Porter, Fresno, CA
Roland Reimer, Wichito, KS (lint Seibel, Hillsboro, KS
Jim Westgate, Fresno, CA
Step by step, Bergens build a bridge
BY MELANIE A ZUERCHER
• Two Mennonite Brethren workers are learning an unwritten language in order to communicate the gospel
BRINGING THE gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups-Carol and Phil Bergen 's assignment in Burkina Faso-sounds like what one would expect of Christian missionaries . Their method, however, is not so typical.
The Bergens, who left their home in Fresno, Calif., in 1990 for the mission field, are jointly appointed by the Commission of Mission (COM) of the General Conference Mennonite Church and MBMS International (MBMSI) and work under the auspices of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AlMM)_
In N'Dorola, Burkina Faso, where the Bergens live with their two children, Maria, 8, and John-Mark, 12, the focus of their work is Bible translation. Again, not that unusual.
But the language they are working with is Nanerige (pronounced non -airGAY), a tribal tongue spoken by about
50,000 Burkinabe, that until recently was not written.
Dan and Kathy Petersen, with whom Bergens team, were appointed by AlMM in 1982 to learn Nanerige and develop a writing system for it. Along the way, they gained the invaluable partnership of Maliki Outara, an educated Nanerige man who learned the writing system that the Petersens developed and is now able to transcribe spoken Nanerige into written form.
But more is different about the work the Petersens and Bergens have taken on. "A less than successful method of doing evangelism," Phil says, "has been [for foreigners] to arrive in a village on market day and do something to draw attention, like show a movie or perform music, and then present a message in the trade language.
"Next, if anyone shows interest, they'll build a meeting house and work with whomever comes. [In Burkina Faso], this usually attracted young people but offended the community leaders. If the elders weren't impressed, the 'church' usually fizzled out."
By contrast, the first thing Dan and Kathy Petersen did when they came to N'Dorola was to visit the Nanerige tribal elders and ask them for permission to translate the Word of God into their language.
The chiefs agreed, with the stipulation that they themselves be the first to hear the Nanerige Scriptures once they were translated.
When Bergens arrived in N'Dorola in 1992, after a year of French language study and another year learning Jula, Burkina Faso's trade language, the Petersens immediately took them to meet the two chiefs of the village
"The Petersens were up-front from the beginning," Phil says . "They-and we-are committed to participating in the community as respectful guests."
Now, 12 years after the Petersens began the work in N'Dorola, there is a dictionary of Nanerige words and a collection of tapes and written transcripts in Nanerige of selected Scrip-
tures This material is the first part of Translation for Evangelism, which presents a chronological story of God's involvement with humanity, starting with creation and continuing through the life of Christ.
"Everything needed for evangelism has been translated," Phil says, "and we have begun sharing this with the elders. These same elders, who have been resistant to past evangelism 'campaigns,' have greeted the coming of God's Word with enthusiasm. The Word alone, without a lot of singing or preaching or teaching, is powerful and clear."
It has been slow work, the Bergens admit, because Nanerige is so difficult to learn. But they also say that the cultural education that comes during this time of being observers and learners is invaluable.
Sincethey moved to N'Dorola, Phil has concentrated on learning Nanerige while Carol has put most of her time into home-schooling the children. When Phil has learned enough of the language, he can pick up where Dan Petersen has left off in the translation project, as Dan does evangelism work. Phil will be working with Maliki to translate more of God's Word for the soon-to-be-born Nanerige church in their village .
Nanerige is difficult because it is a tonal language , or "very musical," as Phil says. "If you don't get the music right, you can't understand or be understood. "
For his first two years, he spent all his study time learning words in isolation, memorizing long lists of words and whole sentences both for meaning and tonal correctness.
More recently, he says, he's been working with "comprehensible input"-getting someone to speak Nanerige so he can understand what they are saying just by watching.
"I put up a toy village and I have someone tell me stories using the props," he says "I've tried taping stories that I could transcribe and have translated, but I can't usually enter
A repair shop provides Phil Bergen with a language-study opportunity.
into the 'correct cultural circumstances' for proper storytelling. The setting for telling a good story makes a huge difference: Are there men and women together? Are members of two different clans' enemies together? Is it a night-time party or daytime in the office?
"So now Maliki is taping stories for me, since he can do this in a more nat· ural way than I can It helps me learn how people think and what's important in this culture ."
Another way for the whole family to "learn the culture" has been through building friendships. The Bergens point to their experience with housing as playing an important role in that.
"A 'house' in N'Dorola means a one-room mud hut," Carol says. "So what you look for is a courtyard, a collection of mud huts around a well or a tree. Everyone basically lives out· doors, so huts are just for sleep and storage."
It took about a month for the Bergens to fmd a courtyard to live in. Then they found that as North Ameri· cans not adapted to the heat, and busy with books and papers, they were still having a hard time .
"Mud bricks hold heat," Carol says "It would be 95 degrees in our houses at night. Phil was sleeping outside on the roof rack of the car. We were feeling under the weather all the time
because we couldn't adjust to the heat."
Then some members of the Evangel· ical Mennonite Church, an AIMM partner denomination with headquarters in Ft. Wayne, Ind., offered to build the Bergens a cement-block house with a tin roof that radiated heat. Phil hired a group of local men to help him clear the land and build a foundation for the house and gather the materials.
"House building was great for building friendships with our neighbors, too," Carol says. Once the materials for the house were together, a group came from Indiana, Ohio and California and in two weeks put up the house.
TheBergens returned to Burkina Faso at the end of December after being in North America since summer, viSiting churches and spending time with family in California.
Phil spent two months at the Sum· mer Institute of Linguistics in Eugene, Ore., a Wycliffe Bible Translators training program. He took "Principles of Translation ," as well as a class called "Scripture in Use," which he described as intended to "increase the possibility of people using translations once they exist We studied how translations are used and what's successful."
The "how" of communication is just as important as the message, the Bergens stress. Carol tells a story to
illustrate: "One time Dan Petersen took a group of guys to see the 'Jesus' ftlm that had been subtitled in Jula. Afterward, he asked them what they got out of it.
"They said, 'We're really impressed with this Jesus.' He asked why and they said, 'Because he had such nice, long, greasy hair!'
"This shows that we don't know what's important in their culture," Carol says. "For us to go out and preach when and how we think is right could be as distracting as for someone to walk up to the pulpit to preach in boxer shorts, in our culture. The way we present the gospel message can make it work or completely garble it."
Phil says, "We hear about people doing 'preevangelism' as though preparing people to hear the message, when it should be preparing the messenger to communicate ."
The Translation for Evangelism materials currently consist of excerpts from Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Zechariah, 2 Kings, Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, the four Gospels and Acts. Their format is audio cassette tapes with written transcripts. Since only about 10 percent of Nanerige people are literate, Bergens and Petersons plan to use the tapes as group discussion starters
Phil points to an important lesson for their work from the Gospel of Mark. "The story of the anointing woman [in Mark 14] happens right at the apex of Mark, and it's a missionary story. The woman ministered in a loving, creative, extravagant and nonverbal way-she followed no rule bookand Jesus predicted that her act would be retold in her honor wherever the gospel goes. It's a great example to follow."
"They say 85 percent of communication is nonverbal," says Carol. "God to us, us to God. When I'm sitting in the village feeling frustrated because I can't talk to people, I'm inspired when I remember all that can be done nonverbally."
•
Melanie A. Zuercher is editor of the General Conference Mennonite Church news service.
Carol Bergen learning Jula at the market: it's been slow work.
Growth venture faces funding challenge
• u. S. boards move forward as Mission USA's vision comes down to dollars and sense.
THE GOOD news was that Mission USA is moving aggressively with new church-planting efforts in Arizona, Utah, California and Nebraska The bad news was that revenue to support these projects is not keeping up with the vision. Funding challenges dominated discussion during the annual joint meeting of U S Conference boards March 14 in Phoenix, Ariz
In spite of a scenario which projects a debt that could approach $300,000 by 1999, Dennis Fast, U.S Conference chair, said it was too soon to retreat from the ambitious national church-planting and renewal effort initiated three years ago .
"It's too soon to back off our vision, the centerpiece of which is Mission USA," Fast said
The four u.S boards met in Phoenix in part to help Mission USA
launch one of those new church plants Copper Hills Community Church, led by Brad Klassen, began formal Sunday services March 15 On Saturday afternoon, board members helped distribute invitation packets to homes in the target area . About 251
"I continue to envision a U.S. Con -
ference in which the ministries we believe God has called us to carry out are funded," Fast said. "I believe there are more resources available than what we are seeing today. "
One bit of positive news was that people , including many Mennonite Brethren well -wish- lilt's too soon ers, attended the service . to back off
Chuck Buller, MUSA chair, reported during the joint session that the board had formally approved two additional church -planting projects : one in Draper, Utah, with Paul and Jini Robie as the church-planting
our vision, the centerpiece of which is
giving to the U.S. Conference is 4 percent higher than a year ago, indicating that progress is being made Still, church contributions are projected to be $268,000 for 1997-98-considerably less than the goal of
$350,030.
Mission USA. II In the end, the majority of -DENNIS FAST board members agreed with Fast that giving can increase .
couple; the other in La Mirada, Calif., using the cell-church model with Durwin and Beverly Keck as the lead couple MUSA is also involved in the new Rolling Hills Church in Papillion, Neb.
Few could deny the progress Mission USA had made in the area of projects But the question remained : Can the funds be raised to pay for it? Fast thought so.
They approved a 1998-99 preliminary budget of $660,91O-an increase of 12 percent over the current budget-with the understanding that individual board members will each raise a portion of the $302,410 not accounted for by projected income One board member voted against the proposal; several members abstained
Because the budget discussion was
July convention in La Mirada will feature ethnic diversity
CELEBRATING the diversity of U S Men noni te Brethren cong rega tions and the joint mini stries of those congregat io ns is the focus of the 1998 biennial national convention scheduled for July 17-20 in La Mirada , Calif , according to the U S Board of Church Mini strie s
BCM di scussed convention plan s at the annual board meet i ng s in Phoenix , Ari z , March 13-14
The convention will be anchored by four ass emblie s, three of which will be in a banquet setting A " family gathering" Saturday evening at the Joong Ang Korean Church in Cypres s, Ca lif ., will incl ude an authentic Korean
meal and focus on the ethni c congregations that comprise the U S Conference
Mennonite Br ethren schools will be the fo cu s of the Sunday evening progr am It will include a concert by CrossWi se from Tabor College and reports from MB Bibl ical Semi nary, Tabor and Fresno Pacific University
Morn i ng worship se ssions Saturday through Mond ay will feature a time of worship led by Jon Wiebe , pr esi d ent of MB Foundation , and a Bibl e lesson by Pierre Gi lbert, MB Biblical Seminary academic dean
Ed Boschman, exec uti ve director of Mission USA , wi ll lead a concert o f pr ayer to
op e n the convention Music f eatured at this summer ' s conv e nti o n will include g ro up s f rom the Slavi c Gospel Chur ch o f Bellingham, Wash ., and th e Joong Ang Korean Chur ch
Board reports Saturday and Sunday mornings will include time for interaction with d e legates Workshops presented Saturday afternoon will give convention participant s the opportunity to explore areas of pe rso nal interest
On -site child care will be provided and a mi ssio n immersion experience is being planned for junior high and high school students
La Mirada wa s chosen as
the convention si te in part to introduce delegates to the growing number of Korean congregations in the conference as w e ll as the unique features of urban ministry Convention planners anticipate that the hotel co nvention center chosen as the site for the weekend will also enhance the atmosphere of celebration Holiday Inn Gateway Plaza Convention Cen te r is located j ust off 1-5 and is three miles from Knott 's Berry Farm and eight mile s from Di sneyland
Regi str ation information is available from the U S Conference offices , 31 5 S lincoln , Hill sboro , KS 67063; phone : 316 -947 -3151
Copper Hills begins Sunday services
Occasional showers may have dampened the sidewalks at Copper Hills Community Church's theater-sanctuary, but the warm reception of visitors made their kick-off service a success. About 250 people attended the event, which included spirited worship singing led by Wayne Loewen (upper right) and preaching by pastor Brad Klassen Guests were treated to a hot dog and hamburger lunch after the service.
hampered by time constraints, Lynford Becker, administrative secretary, anticipates that "conference leadership will, at the end of the fiscal year and prior to the convention, review the budget requests and possibly make adjustments n
In his report to the group, Ken Neufeld , chair of the Board of Trustees, projected that the current fiscal year , which ends May 31, could end with an $82,000 deficit. Included in that is a projected shortfall of $15,000 to $20,000 for the guaranteed subsidy for MB Biblical Seminary.
Neufeld noted that a debt of $20,000 remains on the books from 1996-97 If giving trends continue at the present level and the 1998-99 budget is spent as approved, the total deficit would be $292,000 by May 31, 1999.
"Are we biting off more than we can chew?" Neufeld asked "To go from a break-even situation of a balanced budget in 1996 to almost a $300,000 deficit in three years is not
responsible. "
Neufeld emphasized that conference boards are not "being extravagant, (the debt) just adds up ." Neufeld described recent increases in church contributions as "dramatic," but he also noted that program expenses have also risen significantly.
Plans were discussed to increase revenue even more . Neufeld and Fast hope more congregations will begin supporting the conference and that other congregations will increase their giving.
Both men challenged board members to make sure their home congregations are finanCially supporting conference ministries. Fast pledged to contact each board member personally about the giving level of his or her home church Fast said he and Becker will personally contact congregations currently not giving to the conference as well as those congregations who are giving already but "who can do better. " He also indicated that some conference staff would be asked to
Ratzlaff resigns as Leader editor
DONRATZLAFF has re signed as editor of the Christian Leader, effective July 31 Noelle Dickinson, chair of the U S Conference Board of Communications announced the resignation at the joint boards meeting March 14 . .. After 20 years on staff, 13 as editor, Don has proven his deep commitment to the Mennonite Brethren Church ," Dickinson says "He has prompted discussion on the issues facing our churches today with journalistic excellence , integrity and a commitment to Anabaptist theology "
Ratzlaff joined the staff in 1978 In addition to hi s role with the Leader, Ratzlaff worked briefly as the first book editor for Kindred Press, the publishing arm of the U.s Conference , and as literature coordinator for the General Conference Board of Chri stian literature , a forerunner of the current Board of Resource Ministries
Ratzlaff succeeded Wally Kroeker as ed itor of the Christian Leader in 1985 and was the Leader's only staff member until 1988
Under Ratzlaff ' s leadership, the magazine ha s gone through several changes During a period of budget restraints, the format of the magazine was changed from a 24-page issue published 22 times a year to 12 issues averaging 36 pages That change , plus technological advancements, resulted in significant savings which were diverted to other U S Conference ministries
The Leader has won numerous awards from the Evangelical Press Association during Ratzlaff's tenure , including the top award for denominational publications in 1990
" The Leader continue s to receive awards in a field of bigger-budget publications largely due to Don ' s creativity and leadership ," Dickinson says "We will miss his gifts in this important ministry of the U.s Conference "
Ratzlaff hasn't announced his plans
A search committee has been formed and is chaired by Dickinson Inquiries and nominations are welcome and can be directed to Editor Search Committee, Box V, Hillsboro, KS, 67063 . - Connie Faber
consider doing specialized fund raising_
Fast's statement that he will contact each board member regarding their personal commitment to fund raising generated considerable discussion_
"Mission USA (board members) has had a fund-raising responsibility that other board members haven't," Fast noted_ He said because Mission USA's budget will be mainstreamed into the general conference budget in 199899, members of the other boards would need to share in the challenge of raising funds.
To get MUSA off the ground, MB Foundation had originally authorized a line of credit, if necessary, to meet MUSA project expenses.
Rather than go in debt, MUSA board members decided they would raise all additional funds needed for its program, a strategy that Becker says was successfuL
After the board meeting, Becker said MUSA board members will continue to raise funds for conference ministries, but the responsibility is now to be shared more broadly among the boards.
Fast emphasized that a final vote on the proposed budget would take place in July at the biennial convention in La Mirada, Calif. (See sidebar, page 26.)
"This budget will either be approved or not approved by our convention delegates," said Fast. "By (July) we will have a better picture of how we have finished this year and
begun the new year. It is possible that we will need to make some adjustments at that point."
Prior to the joint boards meeting, all four national boards had met for a day and a half to review current projects and plan for the future.
In addition to the projects announced by Mission USA, the Board of Church Ministries (BCM) reported plans to develop a commission to oversee the wotk of Integrated Ministries, the ministry relating to new cross-cultural congregations_ Since the formation of Mission USA, Integrated Ministries had been under the direct supervision of BCM .
The commission will be composed of the director of Integrated Ministries (Loyal Funk), one representative from BCM, one from MBMS International and three from the ethnic groups working with Integrated Ministries
BCM also decided to provide a $24,000 grant to the North Carolina Conference so it can employ a fulltime pastoral worker. This would be the conference's first full-time worker; pastors of the six congregations in North Carolina have been bivocational. The intent of the move is to encourage growth in the district.
Meanwhile, the Board of Communications announced it will be looking for a new editor of the Christian Leader.
Don Ratzlaff has resigned, effective July 31. By then he will have completed 20 years on staff, including 13 as editor. (See sidebar , page 27 )
-Connie Faber
Fresno pastor uses new freedoms to spread gospel in Laos
• Seventy-day trip leads to a reported 750 conversions
LAOS
HAS eased restrictions on religion and Mennonite Brethren pastor Phone Keo Keovilay is taking full advantage of it.
Keovilay, pastor of the Khmu congregation of the Butler MB Church in Fresno, Calif., returned to his home country and Thailand for a 70-day preaching tour this winter. It resulted in 750 conversions and 47 baptisms.
During his trip, KeoviJay preached 45 times to more than 1,600 people in the language of the Khmu, a Southeast Asian ethnic group. He also prayed for the sick and cast out demons, he says.
"Last time I visited Laos, I preached at small home meetings, n Keovilay says_ "I had to tell the Christians there to meet as small groups in their own homes. Now that the federal government has lifted some of the restrictions on churches, Christians in some areas of the country are free to meet publicly_"
Keovilay has traveled to Laos and Thailand twice in recent years and recordings of his sermons have been
Keovilay traveled across parts of Thailand and Laos to speak at various gatherings_
widely broadcast.
While some missionaries and Laotian Christians have been arrested in recent months, Keovilay and a fellow Butler church member were able to travel and preach freely.
"In Laos, the culture is closely tied to Buddhism and Animism,» Keovilay says_ "The people in a town or county may complain to their local officials that the Christians are threatening the local culture and economy. Also, other more established Christian groups may complain that the new churches are a threat. Because of this, the local government has in some cases arrested missionaries and local Christians. "
Keovilay says he was able to preach openly during the recent visit because he had fIrst approached local officials for permission, and because of his relationship with many of the local pastors as well as government, police and army officials. "I preached on three passages: fIrst, Romans 1:1832, which speaks of our sinfulness and our need for God," Keovilay says. "Then, I read Romans 12 , which asks us to make ourselves living sacrifIces to God.
"After that, I talked about Romans 13, in which we are taught to respect our government and work for the good of our country," he continues. "By preaching this last part, I showed the government officials who attended our services that Christianity is not a threat to Laos."
Keovilay worked with new churches in 11 villages to choose pastors and begin their training, so that the churches can seek guidance from each other rather than relying on outside sources The new leaders will receive several weeks of training before returning to their villages to be pastors.
"Right now, there are only a small number of Christians in Laos," says Harold Ens, MBMS International general director. "The expansion of religious freedom in that country is an opportunity to share Christ's love among a people who have shown a keen desire to learn more about the goodnews."
MBMSI is looking at ways to expand mission efforts in Southeast Asia, among the Khmu and other people groups. -Brad Thiessen, MBMSI
Indonesian churches warned of more harassment, attacks
• Chinese ties make Christians scapegoats for nation's ills
MESACH
KRISETYA, moderator of an Indonesian Mennonite conference and president of Mennonite World Conference, has warned his congregations that more attacks and harassment may be coming.
In the past two years, more than 100 churches have been burned in Indonesia. In November, a Persatuan Gereja-Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI) church was the fIrst Mennonite church to be attacked. The building was destroyed and one man was injured in the riot.
Political uncertainty and a failing economy have led to unrest in the country. Many Indonesians are struggling and are looking for someone to blame, says Krisetya. Indonesians of Chinese descent have become the scapegoat, he says. Chinese make up less than 5 percent of the population but are popularly believed to control more than two-thirds of Indonesia's businesses, according to a report in Asia Week.
Businesses owned by ethnic Chinese in Indonesia are being targeted for violence by rioters Many members of the GKMI are Indonesians of Chinese descent.
Krisetya requests prayer for the situation in his country. "Personally, I see this happening as an implication of the economic and political crisis in our country," he says, adding that the situation is the symptom of the deeper and more hidden cause.
The monetary crisis in Indonesia had another effect. The price of milk and food has skyrocketed and stories of families struggling to fInd food are spreading.
Assistance from churches in the United States and Canada is being sought North American congregations have already contributed $1,760 for rebuilding the GKMI church facility burned in November Additional funds can be sent to Mennonite Central Committee designated for the GKMI Relief Fund . -MWC
IN BRIEF
FIRST ORDINATION: The Lithuanian Free Chr istian Chur ch celebra ted its first pastoral ordination since the end of the Commu ni st regime in Lithuania Valdas Vaitkevicus , pastor of the Siauliai Free Christia n Chur ch , was ordained Nov 3 0 by MBMS International mis sionar y Bob Kroeker One week later , the newly ordained pastor performed his first marriage ce remony MBMSI is a partner wi th Lithuanian Christian Fund related chu rches and the Lithuanian Chri st ia n Co llege through tea chi ng , ch urch di scipleship and evangelism Vaitkevicus became a Chri stian in 1987 and joined the Siauliai church in 1988, while it was still an underground church After the fall of Soviet co mmunism , Vaitkevicus attended a Bibl e School in Hungary fo r a short while , and wa s mentored to take over as pastor in the summer of 1997 (M BMSI)
STAFF: Herb Neufeld of Abbotsford , B.C., will begin working halftime May 1 as a member o f the MB Biblical Sem inary development staff Ne ufel d has been pastor of several Canadia n Mennonite Brethren churches He has been pastor of the Mountain Park MB Church in Abbotsford sin c e it was founded in 1991 He wa s the British Columbia pro vincia l pa stor from 1988 to 1991 and has served on several Canadian Conference and General Conference board s, includ i ng the MBBS board of directors from 1978 to 1990 (MBBS)
MINISTRY: Short -term missions option s for Mennonite Brethren high school and college students were expanded thi s month when Youth Mission International initiated SOAR Easter About 160 students from Califo rnia and Canada were expected to meet in Fresno, Calif , and then travel to Tijuana, Mexico , for one week April 3- 11 " This outreach is timely in light of the recent flood s in Tijuana which have left so many homele ss and in need , " says Susanne Grogan , YMI staff member The event was coordinated from the YMI office in Fresno ; TREK Mobilization Team helped with orientation (YMI)
IN BRIEF
RELEASED: MB Biblical Sem inary professor Allen Guenther has asked to be placed on full disability at the end of the current se mester, according to MBBS president Henry Schmidt Guenther, professo r of Old Testame nt, began t eaching at MBBS in 1981 and has been battling Parkinson 's d ise ase since 1984 " I prai se God for 14 yea rs of grace to continue teaching ," Guenther wrote in a letter Schmidt shared with students "But the di seas e has progressed to the point where I am physically and emotionally unab le to continue " Schmidt said that Guenther will teach as his health permits " I marvel how (Allen and Anne) have handled with gra ce, dignity and serenity what from a human perspect i ve is impossible to explain ," Schmidt said (MBBS)
NEW STARTS: The goal of the British Columbia Board of Church Extension is to plant self-supporting , reproducing c hurches and , according to BO CE director James Nikkel. 1997 was a banner year Seven new church plants were begun using a variety of models The board ' s plans for 1998 are mainly fo cused on ethnic church plants (MB Herald)
FETED : Bill Cockerham, a biological sci ences and physical edu cation teacher at Fresno Pacific Univ ers ity , wa s honored by the City of Fre sno, Calif ., for his 18 years of work in organi zing regional cros s- country meets for high school runners The city officially de signated Feb 24 as "Bill Cockerham Day ." This year 3,200 runners representing 12 far Western states participated in the meets (FPU)
HISTORIANS MEET: Hi stor ians from Canada and the United State s wil l meet May 7-9 at Colombia Bible College in Abbotsford , B C. The conference will celebrate the recent completion of two history book series : the four-volume Mennonite Experience in America series and the three -volume Mennonites in Canada series Paul Toews , director of the Fre sno Pacific University Cent er for MB Studie s, will be among the presenter s.
CPT campaign for higher wages in Haiti leads to job loss there
• Activist organization ready to support job-creation effort
Is ANY JOB-even if it's low-payingbetter than no job at all?
That ' s the question being asked in Haiti after about 700 people in the capital city of Port -au-Prince were thrown out of work in October after a U . S. -based contractor for Disney closed its apparel factory.
The decision to close the factory foUowed a campaign which called on Disney to pay higher wages to Haitians making Disney-related merchandise for sale in North America . The campaign included an action by the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a Mennonite-related activist organization which held a vigil in Orlando, Fla. last summer during the annual Mennonite Church convention in that city.
Around 200 people participated in the vigil, which called on Disney to "stop paying Mickey Mouse wages" in Haiti. Disney contractors paid apparel factory workers the legal minimum wage of around $2.25 a day-a salary which, everyone agrees, is inadequate to meet basic living expenses in that country
According to reports, the bad publicity caused the Disney contractor to pull out of Haiti. The contractor, based in Michigan, took his business to China, where he reportedly is able to make items for Disney for even less than it cost in Haiti.
CPT members say they are sorry the jobs were lost, but they add, in the words of one member, "they weren't worth it; they were animal wages . " Workers at the plant would rather "lose the jobs" than work for those wages, she adds.
On the other side are some North American businesspersons who insist any job is better than no job, even if it pays poorly "When I heard what happened as a result of the CPT action I was so angry, " says one "In ideological wars like this, who gets hurt isn ' t the point; it's 'did our point of view win?'"
Caught in the middle are develop -
ment workers in Haiti who find themselves tom between the two points of view. "I understand why pressure was put on Disney," says Lance Miller, a Mennonite Central Committee worker in Port-au -Prince. "But people here need jobs. So many are unemployed "
During the economic embargo of 1991-94, many foreign companies pulled out of Haiti, throwing thousands out of work- including some of Miller's neighbors, who used to make baseball gloves for foreign companies.
"When I ask young people what they want to do when they grow up, they say 'I just want a job, ", he says.
Jean Claude Cerin directs the development work of Mennonite Economic Development Associates in Haiti. He, too, has mixed feelings about the Disney pull-out.
"I'm happy that the issue has been raised," Celin say "But I'm not happy that hundreds of people have lost their jobs."
Cerin agrees with CPT that Haitians deserve good, well -paying jobs. "I can't say that any job is better than no job," he says . "Some of the factories here pay by the piece. Workers can make more than the minimum wage if they make enough pieces, but the quota makes inhuman demands on them . They can't do it."
Other factories pay less than the minimum wage, and working conditions are poor , he adds .
Cerin has a message for North Americans concerned about working conditions and wages paid to Haitians by multinational corporations. "Keep raising the issue, but be aware that these kinds of actions can have consequences which might make it worse for people in poverty," he says.
"Don't just criticize the bad things," Cerin says. " If you want to make a real difference, invest in factories or development efforts which pay good wages and treat workers fairly."
Gene Stolzfus, CPT director, says the organization is interested in supporting job-creation efforts that treat workers fairly and pay decent wages. "We'd like to find a way to make a special contribution so we can support a MEDA job creation project in Haiti. We believe in proje ct s which promote self-reliance, which don 't just give aid away " - John Longhurst olMEDA
Sider challenges aid groups to serve poor
• 'Rich Christians' author calls for balance of social and spiritual
IN A COMMUNITY filled with crime , unemployment and broken families, the church is called to model Christ's compassion and discipleship. In a world filled with poverty, environmental degradation and lost souls , the chu r ch is called to model Christ's good news
And there is much more to do, requiring changes in belief and action, Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, told representatives from more than 20 U S and Canadian Mennonite mutual aid organizations meeting in Williamsburg, Va
"If the gospel was just the forgiveness of sins, we could just go on and not do anything different," said Sider, the featured speaker at the Association of Mennonite Aid Societies (AMAS) annual conference March 11-13.
Some 14 0 people at the conference heard Sider, founder of Evangelicals
for Social Action and an ordained Mennonite minister, highlight the discrepancies between the haves and have -nots, the roots of the problem and the responsibilities of the church.
"One part of what it means to be the church means to be sharing economically, " he said
Explaining that God has a special concern for the poor, Sider said Christians need to respond with social action and an invitation to salvation . "It's when all of that comes toge ther that we can really change people ."
Unfortunately, Sider noted , evangelism usually neglects social concerns, and social programs- eve n those that are Christian- minimize or ignore the salvation message.
In his final presentation, Sider challenged the Mennonite mutual aid organizations on their work He asked:- How does Mennonite insurance differ from secular insurance? Is the church uncritically accepting secular norms for retirement financial planning? Has the c hurch looked too much to Mennonite aid organizations for ways of economic sharing? -Rich Preheim for Meetinghouse
Persistence feeds hungry in strife-torn Uganda
immediately. rebel activity increased. with fresh looting. abduction of children and killing Near ambushes and uncooperative local officials hampered the relief effort Rev. Nicholas persevered. getting food to desperately hungry people
IN BRIEF
MEETING : Strategic planning wa s the major topi c of dis cu ss ion at the Tabor Colleg e of dire ctor s meeting Fe b 2 0 -2 1 In other busin ess the board a pproved a slight increa se in tuition for the 1998-99 academi c year w i th match ing inc rea ses in finan cial aid and a slight increa se in ov erall compensation for all fa culty. admini stration and st aff ( TC)
BUDGET SET: The Fre sn o Pacifi c Univer sity bo ard lece ntly approved a budg et fo r 1998-99 of ju st ov er $20 million. a 7 5 per cent in crea se over the current yea r Tuition room and board co sts will incre a se 5.3 per cent over 1997-98 Th e board w h ic h met Feb 20-22, was updated on the $5 13 million c ampu s building pro j e c t s It approved a red esigned common s capital ca m pa i gn and appro ved a new Ch ristian Mi nistrie s major for the Center for Degree Completion program (FPU)
POET HONORED : Th e work of Mennon ite Brethren poet Jean Janzen was recognized at a recen t Fr esno Pac ific University colloquium Feb 1 " Je an Janzen is like the Ru ssian ma tryoshka nest i ng dolls she ' s written about The re' s alw ays o ne more story , one more po em inside of her, " said Paul Toews , FPU hi story professor , as h e introdu ce d Janzen The program in cluded poetry r ea d i ng , re spon se papers by three FPU facu lty member s and performance s of poems set to mus ic. Jan zen, an adjunct inst ructor in poetry -writ i ng , has publ i shed three poetry coll ections (FPU)
"RES I ST VIOLENCE" : The Mennon it e Central Comm itte e board of d irector s pa ssed a statement at its annu al meeting in late February calling on the Un ited St at es government to "resi st th e violen ce o f a bomb i ng campaig n i n Iraq " Th e statement wa s se nt to all M enn o nite and Brethr en in Christ co ngrega ti o ns in Canada and the United St at es, and to other Chri st ian organi zat ion s. M CC is als o supply in g an in str uct ion al pac ket enco u raging i nd ividu als to writ e le tt ers t o be se nt t o peo ple in Iraq . (M CC)
Pictured above are Nicholas Odongpiny. pastor of the Church of Uganda's Kitgum Diocese. and his wife. Santariya. Rev. Nicholas was in charge of distributing relief food purchased with Mennonite Central Committee funds But things did not work out as planned when MCC gave the Church of Uganda $10.000 to buy food for victims of violence in northern Uganda Almost
U.S. Mennonite Brethren Board
of Communications
is accepting applications for EDITOR of the CHRISTIAN LEADER.
Location: Negotiable
Starting date: Aug. 1, 1998
Deadline for application: Until position is filled
Duties:
Direct the administration of the Christian Leader, the monthly publication of the U.S. MB Conference. Tasks include: planning, writing, editing, working with staff and writers, overseeing layout and production.
Qualifications:
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Understanding of print media and journalistic style
• Managerial skills
• Bachelor's degree
• Experience in journalism preferred
• Christian commitment and lifestyle consistent with MB Confession of Faith
Send letter of application ancl resume to:
Noelle Dickinson, chair
U.S. Boarcl of COlllIllunications Box V Ilillsboro. KS 67063
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Laurelglen)-Dar· ren Brown, Kathy Carter, Wayne Deats, Joan Gibbons, Debbie Komin and Joe ' Ferra were baptized Feb. 22 and accepted into membership March 3 - Robert Dorsett, Jim and JoAnne Downen, Earle Gibbons, Rollin and Carol Hansen, Debbie Harrison, Henry and Ina Hodel, Joe and Faye Ful· wyler , Rick and Linda Isle, Rachael Isle, Michael and Susan Langley, David Parker, Mark and Karen Roberts, Amy Taylor, and Leonard and Marian Vogel were also wel· corned as new members.
CLOVIS, Calif. (Mountain View)-Jim Myers, Jodi Davenport, Christina Siemens , Jamie Reddig, Stephanie Reddig, Wi! Short, Matthew Long, Beau Davenport, Matthew Hodge, Joshua Payne and Tim Carroll were baptized Feb 22.
FRESNO, Calif. (Bethany)-Ling Chen, George Fei, Dorothy Tseng Fei, Kevin Friesen, Marshall Friesen, Spenser Koleen, Nick Patzkowsky, Justin Richardson, David Stewart, Brett Stroud , Jon Wilson and Kenny Wilson were baptized March 1 and received as members. Sarah Chastain, Mark and Kathy Schroeder, Joshua Schroeder, Doug Thiesen, Larry Tjhen and Lana Liang Tjhen were welcomed into membership
FAIRVIEW, O k la.- Amber Patterson, Stacy Icke, Brandon Thompson, Randy Souter, Gary Rowe and Jamie Rowe were
baptized and accepted into membership Feb. IS. Robin Souter joined by testimony
DINUBA, Calif.-Brian and Katherine Neufeld were welcomed into membership Feb. IS.
• Celebration
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (EI Camino Bible)The congregation will celebrate its 40th anniversary April 25-26. Photos, documents and other articles of interest will be on display Saturday afternoon. Charter members and former pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and musicians will be recognized during the Sunday morning service A lunch will be served following the service.
• Fellowship
WICmTA, Kan. (First)-The PrimeTimers are sponsoring a one-day older adult retreat April 23. Featured speakers are Mennonite Church pastoral couple Wally and Sylvia Jantz from Hesston, Kan. Events include times of worship led by Clarence Hiebert and workshops, a noon meal and closing faspa
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Community Bible)-The congregation traveled by cara· van to the mountains with sleds, inner tubes and lunch for a snow day March 7.
• Ministry
ENID, Okla.-The congregation's Missions and Evangelism Committee plans to host a
M ennonite Central Committee U.S. invites applications for the position of
West Coast MCC Executive Director
This position carries responsibility for administration, constituency and church relations, and program and resource development for MCC in the West Coast region.
Starting date: September 1, 1998 • Location: Reedley, California Applications will be accepted through May 1, 1998
Direct inquiries to: Bill Braun, Search Committee 3728
Committee
Firefighter.s Appreciation Banquet April 3 for all of the city 's active and retired firefighters. The goal of the outreach evening is to thank the individuals and develop relationships with the individuals involved.
HILLSBORO, Kan. (Ebenfeld)-The congregation hosted a community morning prayer meeting Feb. 14. Prayer breakfasts were held in Central Kansas as part of Celebrate '98, an inter-Mennonite missions emphasis organized by the three Mennonite colleges, Bethel College in Newton, Hesston College in Hesston and Tabor College in Hillsboro.
FRESNO, Calif. (North)-The missions conference March 15 and 22 featured speakers Vic Wiens, MBMS International missionary to Brazil, and Philip Serez, West Coast director with Youth Mission International.
Mennonite Conciliation Service
Mediation and Facilitation Training Institutes
June 15-19 in Lakewood, Colo. (Denver area)
Co-sponsored with the Rocky Mountain Reconciliation Resource Team
July 13-17 in Akron, Pa.
Cost is $450 ($500 for late registrations); scholarship assistance available.
Contact MCS at the address below or visit our website <www.mennonitecc.calmcc/ regions/united-stateslmcs.html>
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Brethren Foundation invites applications for the position of
Field Representative
Seeking a F ield Representative to work primarily in the Pacific District area with a focus on encouraging and assisting Christians in faithful stewardship. Specific responsibilities include stewardship education, planned giving, charitable estate planning and Foundation-related activity. Qllalifications include an ability to communicate effectively and a desire to assist people in achieving their stewardship objectives
Direct inquiries to : Attn : Jon Wiebe PO Box V Hillsboro, KS 67063
CHURCH PARTNERSHIP EVANGELISM
Invitation: T O: Born-again Christians
King Road MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C., is
Partnership Evangelism outreach to....
3. UKRAINE - Kiev, Tchernovtsky, Odessa April 30 - May
Note: Dates may be subject to change pending further confirmation of some campaigns 'Canadian dollars
• Team up with national Christians and witness for Christ door to door
• Some knowledge of the language of the country is helpful.
• Between 800-2,800 persons have prayed to accept Christ as their personal Savior and Lord during a two-week CPE campaign. Come and be a part of an enriching spiritual experience-discover what God can do through you.
For more information, contact: CPE office: Tel. -Fax : 604 -864-3941, or Evelyn UnrUh , 604852-5744; or Peter Loewen, 604-853 -3173 or FAX 604-853 -6482
Church Partnership Evangelism is a "church -to -church " effort that involves lay members in personal evangelism worldwide Your application to participate will be forwarded to the C.P.E. Executive Committee for processing. Peter Loewen CPE Promoter
FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News)-Members of the congregation met for Wednesday night Lent services March 11 through April 9_ The final service on Maundy Thursday included the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
mLLSBORO, Kan.-Steve Penner, director of the West Coast office of Mennonite Central Committee, presented a dramatic recitation of the Sermon on the Mount as the morning message Feb. 22
HILLSBORO, Kan. (Ebenfeld)-Kevin King, Mennonite Central Committee U.S resource manager, was the MCC Fellowship Sunday speaker Feb 22
• Workers
KINGSBURG, Calif.- Bryce and Sue Lund were installed as associate pastoral couple at Kingsburg MB Church March 1. The Lunds most recently lived in Yakima, Wash. , where he served as director of youth ministries for a Presbyterian church in cooperation with Yakima's Young Life organization. The Lunds' assignment is focused primarily on youth ministries. The couple will share the full-time assistant pastor's responsibilities since Bryc e is currently a student at MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif.
FRESNO, Calif. (Mountain View)-Robert Gulack has joined the pastoral staff as pastor of discipleship/evangelism. He began Jan. 1 and is involved in teaching diScipleship classes and doing follow-up with visitors and attenders
CLEARINGHOUSE
POSI TI O N S
SOCIAL WORK - Seeking qualified faculty member to teach a variety of social work courses and to provide leadership for the undergraduate social work program This position is 2/3 of full -time and begins Aug 15 , 1998. Doctorate (or nea r ly completed degree) in the field desired Fresno Pacific University is a dynamic Christian liberal arts college of the Mennonite Brethren Church. All candidates for faculty positions must share the college 's Christian commitment For full job description and applicat ion form , write or phone Dr Howard J. Loewen, Provost, Fresno Pacific University, 1717 S Chestnut , Fresno , CA 93702 ; 209 -453 - 2023 Women and members of minority groups are especially encouraged to apply Applications will be eva luated beg inning March 30, 1998, and appOintment will be made as soon thereafter as a suitable candidate is secured
EXECUTIVE - Mennonite Health Services seeks an individual for executi ve leadership of healthcare services in a rural community Services include acute care, outpatient services , long -term care Expansion with assisted living is planned The position requires expertise with healthcare operations , assessment and planning, and communication with internal and community constituents The not -for-profit system is in a community with strong church presence Send confidential inquiries to MHS , 234 South Main Street, Suite A, Goshen , IN 46526 Fax : 219 -534 -3254
SERVICES
TRAINING- Mennonite Conciliation Service is sponsoring two summer Mediation and Facilitation Training Institutes in 1998 : June 15- 19, in the Denver area of Colorado (cosponsored with the Rocky Mountain Reconciliation Resource Team) and July 13- 17 , in Akron , Pa. Cost is $450 ($500 for late registration) ; scholarship assistance is available Contact MCS at P O Box 500, Akron , PA 17501 -0500; 717 -859 -3889; MCS@mccus org ; www mennonitecc ca / mcc/ regions/united-states/mcs.html.
IMMANUEL SCHOOLS
Director of D evel opment
Immanuel Schools is seeking an experienced dynamic Christian Director of Development who wishes to join a staff and board which are strongly committed to Christian education Qualifications include at least 3 years hands-on experience in major gift fundraising and an understanding and commitment to education in a Christian context Must possess excellent written and verbal communication ' skills, and be a team player. A Bachelor's degree; personal integrity; demonstrable good judgment; professional demeanor; and an ability to plan, implement, and achieve goa ls are also required
" Salary commenfjurate with ability and experien ce
" Deadline: Until POfjition Filled " Send letter of application and refjume to: AI George, Superintendent Immanuel School8 1128 S. Reed Avenue Reedley, CA 93654 If you wifjh further information. call (20 9) 6 38 -2529 .
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT
A GUIDE FOR GROUP INTERACTION
SESSION 1 Reaching others for Christ
Based on "Do You Have a Kingdom Expansion Attitude?," page 4
GET READY - Getting started
• What word picture would you use to describe your spiritual wealth?
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. In one sentence state the theme idea related to each letter of "Attitude."
2. What are the consequences of not following the suggestions Sider makes in each section?
3. What is God's part and what is our part in each of these areas? Why are we hesitant to assume our responsibility?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. How will you respond to the names you list under the "It begins with me" section?
2. How would you answer the question: "How do you know you're a Christian?"
3. What is the cost of following Christ for you?
4. In what ways do you see the transformation of God's Spirit taking place in your life and in your chu rc h? How can we encourage one another in this process?
SESSION 2 SurvIving the spIritual dry times
Based on "Desert Wondering," page 9.
GET READY - Getting started
• What is a recent myth you have heard?
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. In what ways is the Christian life more like a journey than a destination?
2. What is helpful about admitting that the spiritual deserts exist?
3. What evidence is there that John the Baptist experienced his own spiritual desert?
4. What are the casualties that result from trying to hide our spiritual desert experiences?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. In what ways do you identify with John's question, "Are you, Jesus, really the one?"
2. To whom can you be open and honest about spiritua l questions?
3. What encouragement do you find in the article for surviving the spiritual deserts?
4. Do you know of someone who is in a spiritual desert to whom you could say, ''I'm available to walk with you"?
SESSION 3 LIving With integrity
Based on "Scandal in the Parsonage, " page 13.
GET READY - Getting started
• Could you identify a similar scandal in your home or work place?
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. What do you think is the main point of the article?
2. Would the biblical account of Ananias and Sapphira be similar in any way?
3. Would you agree or disagree that our culture struggles with defining scandals because of the difficulty in defining morals?
4. How does one define the difference between excuses and lack of integrity?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. Can one reestablish trustworthiness when it has been questioned in some situations? If so, how?
2. How and when are we most likely to shade the truth in order to try to protect ourselves?
3. What are key elements in living a life of integrity?
SESSION 4 Managing our mammon
Based on Inquiring Minds (first question), page 27, and On the Journey, page 22.
GET READY - Getting started
• What is your greatest challenge when it comes to money?
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. What connection do you see between these two articles?
2. What are the negative characteristics of mammon?
3. What is it about gambling that makes it so enticing?
4. What biblical passages or principles would you use to support the idea that gambling is sin?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1 What experiences have you had personally, or with your congregation, that have helped you "dethrone mammon"?
2. Which of Kauffman's suggestions would be most helpful for you?
3. Are there ways in which we as believers gamble with our God -given resources without going to Las Vegas?
I.II'S T,IK ABOU111 is a project of the Christian Leader and the Southern District Christian Education Commission. Questions by Nadine Friesen.
Caught between faith and reason
THE WORK of the church may face no greater battleground than the one between faith and reason. By that, I don't mean the fundamental struggle between looking to God or to human knowledge for salvation. Rather, I refer to the battle within the faith community to understand and pursue "the will of God."
In the "faith" camp are those who elevate God's infinite power to accomplish great things. They point to the divine delivery stories of the Old Testament, where God miraculously acts on behalf of his people to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. They talk about "stepping out in faith" and remind us of great things
here to there' and'it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Mt. 17:20).
Reason: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Deut. 6:16).
Faith: "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith" (Mt. 13:58).
And so it goes. Truth be told, the "reason" camp carries a great disadvantage. "Faith" folks can always point to the immeasurable power of God. It's tough to argue that one . God can always do more than we think possible. The "reason" camp, meanwhile, can make the case that God's knowledge is also limitless-but has a that likely have not been accomplished because God's people were too timid to rely on the Almighty's help.
In the "reason" camp are those who see God speaking through the wisdom and common sense he gives to his people. They point to the Old Testament stories where the children of Israel talked themselves into doing unwise and even evil things in the name of God-and suffered the consequences for it. They talk about "understand-
Faith and reason are the yin and yang, if you will,
of Christian discipleship.
ing the times" and remind us of the danger of confusing the goal of building God's kingdom with the desire to build our own.
The key weapon in this battle of faith and reason is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Both sides swing it adeptly.
Faith: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (phil 4:13).
Reason: "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not fu-st sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? .. " (Luke 14:28).
Faith: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us ... " (Eph. 3:20).
Reason: "Come now, let us reason together" (Is. 1:18).
Faith: "The righteous will live by faith" (Hab. 2:4).
Reason: "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Rom 12 :3).
Faith: "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from
tough time proving that they possess more than a pauper's share of it.
Ultimately, "faith" acts upon what God could do in the future. "Reason" tends to base its conclusions on how God has worked in the past.
And against that argument, "faith" can always deliver a fmal, silencing thrust : "Don't put God in a box. Maybe God wants to do a new thing among us."
Touche.
If you've ever experienced this battle in your life or your church, you may be hoping to fmd a word of wisdom here, a conclusion that brings these two perspectives together in a clearly discernible way.
Forget it. Someone else may have a clear word about this, but not me. The best I can do is to suggest that this tension will always be with us. And it should be.
Faith and reason are the yin and yang, if you will, of Christian discipleship. It's not so much that they compete with each other, but that both forces are needed to produce all that God might want to accomplish in and through us.
If I have a more definitive word to say about this subject, it might be in the form of a plea: Let's try harder to avoid the casualties that so often result from the battle. "Faith" people categorize "Reason" people as dead weight, as obstacles to overcome or unload on the way to God's ideal. "Reason" people, meanwhile, peg "Faith" folks as hot air balloons who foolishly float ever higher without accepting God's laws of limitation.
In making those judgments, we effectively-and foolishly-use one arm to cut off the other That's an imbalanced and ultimately debilitating way to live.-DR
