• Nikkel named as Tabor's twelfth president PAGE 24
• Arthur Jost leaves legacy PAGE 31
FIRST WORDS
IMUST ADMIT, I AM A "NET-HEAD." I love having information and a virtual world at my fingertips-it goes with the job.
At the Leader, we go online often. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've gone online to research an article. Most letters to the editor come bye-mail. And I'm beginning to think the production of the Leader couldn't be accomplished without e-mail or the ability to transfer files over a phone wire from my computer in California to our service bureau in Kansas.
The Internet has also pervaded our culture, from films like You've Got Mail to Internet ministries. But with all this information and access comes responsibility and challenges.
Our children now have access to a whole new world-but how safe is it? Our first article gives some valuable tips on how to protect your children as they adventure into cyberspace.
The Internet gives us new opportunities-and challengesin the mission field, both here and abroad. In our second article, Brad Thiessen explores how the Internet has benefited and challenged MB missionaries, and, in BodyLife, we profJ.le Fred Alberti who has a unique ministry online.
When we go online, whether to visit a chat room or e-mail a friend, what kind of community will we find? In our third article, Don Isaac looks at what defines community and what possibilities we can encounter online.
The equipment that made the Internet possible has an infamous flaw-the Y2K bug. Phil Neufeld and I wanted to know just how serious this "millennium bug" could be and how our churches are responding. We found that, though Y2K won't be the end of the world as we know it, there are some concerns-and our churches are doing something about it.
Finally, what do Y2K and Easter have in common? Connie Faber looks at what it takes to be a "resurrection compliant" Christian in this month's editorial.
God blessings as you read through this issue-or venture online. The grace ofthe Lord Jesus be with you. -CA
COMING
APRIL 8-10 - U.S. Conference joint board meetings, Visalia, California.
-JULY 8-10 - Biennial General Conference convention, Wichita, Kan.
JULY 11-14 - International Committee of Mennonite Brethren consultation, Buhler, Kan.
OCTOBER 28-31 - Joint Southern and Central District Conference Convention hosted by Tabor College.
VOLUME 62, NUMBER 4
Creating a family safety net
Going online gives your children a whole new world to explorebut make sure you protect them. BY ZACHARY BRIDON
The Internet is bringing benefits-and challenges-to missionaries and global mission efforts. BY BRAD THIESSEN
Community grows in many places. Can we find it on the Internet? BY DON ISAAC
Will Y2K, the millennium computer bug, bring the end of the world as we know it? BY CARMEN ANDRES AND PHIL NEUFELD
DEPARTMENTS
Ph'lip Side by Philip Wiebe 18
• Signs of success
Minds
• Church decisions and quenching the Holy Spirit
the Journey by Rose Buschman 20
• ups and downs of technology
• Alberti at home working in Internet chat rooms 22
• Tabor's Internet class gets high marks 23
• Nikkel named as Tabor's twelfth president 24
• Baja mission outreach changes one heart at a time 26
• Membersfrom worldwide MB church to gather this summer 27
• MCC board gives go-ahead for new facilities 28
• Reedley MB children's program making a difference 30
• MB champion of mental health care dies 31
• Church News & Notes 32
• Let's talk about it 35
• Resurrection compliant Christians
ART CREDITS: Page 22, PrintSource; page 24, Tabor College; pages 26 and 27, Fresno Pacific University; page 28, Mennonite Central Committee photo taken by Harold Otto; page 3D, photo provided by Reedley MB Church; page 31, photo courtesy of Kingsview.
Printing by Valley Offset Printing, Valley Center, Kansas.
BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS: Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, chair; Peggy Goertzen, Phil Neufeld, D!!lton Reimer, Herb Schroeder.
The Christian leader (ISSN 0009-S149) is published monthly by the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 315 S. Lincoln, Hillsboro, KS 67063. The Christian leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of their denomination, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dialog so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical/Anabaptist theological tradition. However, the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Christian leader, the Board of Communications or the Mennonite Brethren Church.
The editors invite free-lance article submissions, essays to Forum and letters to the editor. Forum is open to members or attendees of Mennonite Brethren churches. The essays can address any issue of relevance and interest to the faith and life of the Mennonite Brethren Church and should be no longer than 800 words and include the home church and occupation of the writer. A SASE must accompany articles and forum essays.
The Christian leader is a member of the Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse, an association of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ editors.
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ASSISTANT EDITOR Connie Faber
EDITOR Carmen Andres
All you need is a computer, software and a modem and you are ready to explore the Internet. It's simple. But is it safe for our children?
CREATING
BY ZACHARY BRITTON
FAMILY
When your children go online, they gain the equivalent of a library, a playground and a free telephone hooked up to the entire world-all right at home. Unfortunately, the library has a huge section devoted to pornography, a child molester sometimes lurks in the playground, and the "telephone" accepts calls from undesirable strangers.
It is absolutely essential that every parent take charge of his or her child's online experience. As with any parenting issue, open communication between parents and children is key. Your children must feel free to talk with you about anything they encounter online that makes them uncomfortable-which may be difficult, given the subject matter. Include older children in the rule-making and use family discussion to help them understand and embrace the rules.
Here are some guidelines you can use to cre· ate a safety net for your children's online adventures. Use these guidelines yourself-the best way to teach your children is by example.
Guard the mind first, then the computer
Even if you are 100 percent successful in keeping inappropriate online material out of your home, you must do more. These tools and techniques move your children further away from temptation and trouble, but they do not remove the actual source. Since our government and the Internet industry have not effectively provided safeguards for children, your kids may be confronted with unsafe Internet access when they visit friends' homes or use the computer at school. The best protection for your children is to hide God's Word in their hearts and minds. When they leave the house within a few years, they will have free access to anything on the Internet, so they need to understand the reasons for your rules just as much as the rules themselves.
THE INTERNET
The best protection for your children is to hide in their hearts and minds. When they leave the house within a few years, they lIt"'ve:free access to. anything on the Internet, so they need to understand the reason your rules jus,as much as the rules themselves.
Use IDterware
Filterware (also called filtering software, censorware, parental control software or blocking software) gives parents technical tools to block Internet content that could be hannful to children. While approaches vary, most filterware contains combinations of the same basic two components: words that trigger the blockage of a site and a list of sites to be blocked. Neither method works all the time, but a combination of the two screens out most objectionable matter. KidShield research shows that the only way to block all objectionable matter is to use filterware that limits access to sites that have been preapproved. Sadly, since preapproved lists are so small compared to the vast amount of web sites, such a move severely limits your child's access to the Web and removes much of its potential good as well as its harm.
Do not rely exclusively on software to create your family's safety net. Filterware alone does not provide sufficient protection for online children. Children still can stray-or be lured-into trouble. To maximize your children's safety, you must augment the software you choose with the remaining guidelines governing Internet use.
Select a family-friendly Internet Service Provider
While no ISP offers protection substantially better than filterware, there are two reasons that your ISP choice still matters.
First, some ISPs really are concerned with the issue of parenting online. They offer guidelines for parents, provide clear help in setting up parental control features, provide kids-only areas, block child pornography from their newsgroup servers, help find interesting kid sites on the Internet and respond qUickly to reports of online abuse. Others leave all of these issues up to parents to figure out on their own.
Your selection of an ISP can also make a difference in your pocketbook. The price of filterware can run as much as $70 per year-thiS is in addition to the roughly $240 average annual cost for Internet access. By using an ISP that bundles filterware into its service package (see www.kidshield.com for a current list of ISPs with free filterware), you avoid unnecessary costs.
Keep the computer in the open
You can strengthen your safety net simply by locating the computer in a common room, such as the family room, instead of a bedroom. The primary advantage of doing this is that you will not have to constantly disturb your children's privacy by entering their bedrooms to see what they are viewing. Many parents have peaked into their child's room in the middle of the night to discover their children
surfing the night away. T Qugh,the child's interest could be innocent, the ch oo\lid be 'addicted to the Net, or worse, looking r objecdonable material. A common-room computer makes such clandestine use less likely in an easy, friendly way.
Never reveal personal information online
Your children should never-give out a home address, telephone number, name, photo or full name in e-mail, chat or newsgroups. If your ISP allows you to create your own account name, choose something fun, but avoid using your full name. And if you decide to let youe children use IRC (Internet Relay Chat), have them screen names completely distinct from theitireal names. A more difficult question is what to do about personal Web sites. While it is fun to have a f.lfi'Qly Web site, it is risky to include pictures ofyou( children, your home address, phone nqrobet. e-mail addresses and what school your children attend. If you construct a family Web site, Wfse abOut the information you include. This should notOe a proxy for the annual Christmas newsletter. If a partially anonymous Web site does not suit Y¥, create a Web page and send it to family and friends via e-mail.
While parents often worry about personal information their children may send out, many fail to realize that they themselves can inadvertently put their children in jeopardy. Information sent to seemingly innocent Internet sites can end up in the wrong hands. Never send personal information to a newsgroup or chat room where it automatically becomes public knowledge. For example, by posting a question to an online parenting group you could provide a stalker with enough information to cause serious grief. In one such case a stalker harassed a mother online, broadcast pornographic e-mail concerning her and her son, called her daughter on the telephone, attempted to ruin her credit and threatened to harm her.
Also watch out for Web sites that have children fill out extensive questionnaires. These questions are sometimes incorporated into games or contests and may not even look like personal questions. While this information may be used for harassment of a commercial nature rather than something more directly hannful, it still will result in annoying junk mail.
For Web sites that require answering personal questions before entering the site, create a fictitious persona to go alongwith a public e-mail address. (If your ISP allows you to create multiple e-mail addresses, use one as a throwaway "public" address.) By entering a false name and phone number, such as Wacky Waldo at 555-1212, you will be able to enter the site without providing a telemarketer with fuel for a dinner-time phone call. Obvi-
to the
Intemet
INTERNn
The sum of alh:omputer systems connected by a handful of Eentl'al backbones which allow fOr such -as ttie W,?rld Wide Web, e-mail ana computer file transfers. You to Internet usin, an Interllet Service Provid«- (ISP), such as Americls Online or Compuserve. There Christian ISPs available as well.
E-MAIL
OR ELEaRONIC MAIL
Messages sent over the Internet in a matter of seconds.
WORLD WIDE WEB
The "Web" organizes information in "hypertext language" which converts the complicated technical commands and language needed on the Internet into a user friendly interface. Using a Web "browser" (such as Explorer or Netscape), you can view Web "pages" which look like magazine pages. You can connect to other Web "sites" by pointing your mouse and clicking on connections which link you to other pages.
Train
your children to stop immediately if jf:hey see that
Never meet an online frtend person without a parent present
P¢ople often use 1"'0n'y(n.ity of the Internet to pb'se as someone else. is easy to do, given the voiceless, faceless character afthe Examples abound of people misrepreseflTing themselves. Pedophiles often they 1U"e chUdren-to gain the confidence 9f-teaJ clliIdren.
While yo n <QI,viously need be aware careful how you this e naturally free and open with certainly do not want them to have as ta little regarding their oe peit pals is refetabie.fa I0Sing mUGh more. people m:iy notbe who they say they a¢, llccompany y £lten to theJirst real-life of any 0 qtWntance. \0 be safe, be to this site. After you ve,dfytbe ,Person's identity, follow all the usual fgeoosbtg guidelines your family employs.
Train 'Your children to stop immediately if they see or anything that upsets them. Show them hoW'to use the browser's STOP button (to stop downloading information) and the BACK button (to jump the browser back to the previously viewed Web page).
If they receive inappropriate e-mail, your children should stop reading and tell you. If it is a genUinely disturbing e-mail, do not erase it right away! First, forward a copy to your ISP and ask for help. If the sender has an account with the same ISP, it can terminate the offender's account. Otherwise, it can send a copy to the offender's ISP and ask for corrective action. You may save another child from receiving a similar message from this person.
Limit time spent online
Time limits keep your children from spending too much time online and from accessing the Internet at inappropriate times, such as when they should be sleeping or studying. Blocking Internet access does not mean that you have to turn off the computer. The easiest way to limit Net time is to use a software package like Cyber Sitter to prevent Internet access during specified time periods. With such software you could block online access from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. every day, while leaving other programs, like word processors, still functional for homework assignments. Restricting access to certain blocks of time helps children avoid becoming "addicted" to the Internet. Some software packages allow you to limit access to a given number of hours per week. The advantage of
setting, a limit of five hours per week instead of one hour per day, is that a child may need more than an hour to download a file or finish a game. psychologists debate whether Internet Addictipn\Disorder is truly an addiction, the phenomenonij.s unquestioned. Many children (and adults) have dropped out of school or normal social life to chat, play online games or other activities for long hours every day.
Beware of "grownup" dangers
The Net is not just dangerous for children. It can work havoc in the lives of adults for all the reasons already discussed. In addition, at least two other potential pitfalls await the net-cruising grownup: online romance and online gambling.
Everyone from Ann Landers to the 1V news has covered cases of "online romance." Undoubtedly, many involved in online relationships would have found a similarly destructive venue for their infidelity if the Internet were not available. However, I am equally convinced that relationships that would have survived otherwise were destroyed because people were unaware of how seemingly innocent conversations can lead to trouble.
To avoid online adultery, follow two basic guidelines. First, if possible, make your online forays a joint adventure for both you and your spouse. And second, treat your online relationships as you would your real world ones. If you wouldn't discuss certain topics with real world members of the opposite sex, avoid doing so online as well. This may seem like basic common sense, but sometimes people regard the Internet as a parallel universe in which their actions have no real world ramifications. When it comes to online talk, treat the Internet as you would a telephone.
While online romance has captured more media attention due to its sexual nature, online gambling can also cause tremendous damage to a family. And for those who find themselves pulled strongly to gambling, precautions are in order. Accepting major credit cards, online casinos are only a keystroke away. To stay financially solvent, have your nongambling spouse use filterware to block your access to gambling sites .•
Zachary Britton, father of three, is the executive director of Kidshield. com and the author of Safety Net: Guiding and Guarding Your Children on the Internet The safety steps in this article are taken from that book. Britton is also an international speaker on the topic ofprotecting children on the Internet, appearing as a guest on James Dobson's radio show and over 50 other television and radio programs.
o a .mlsslons.on Ine
BY BRAD THIESSEN
When Elizabeth Tieszen was sent j"" , , , as a missionary to Colombia in 1957, she arriv.,d by plane, but no one was there to greet her. 5lie arrived ahead of the letter that said she Was coming.
"Back then, we missionaries didn't cg.rununicate with tbe Ilorne offlc, very much," she says. "By the time a perion wrote a letter and got an answer back, it was a month later-many timei, We just had to go ahe1td and do things on our own without the proper communication .....
Today, Internet technologies have changed the way missionaries and administrators communicate with each other, their churches, and partner agencies. Almost all MBMS International missionaries have personal e-mail accounts or access to an account, and many make regular use of the World Wide Web. What are the benefits-and the challenges-which have come with this technology?
A tool for missionaries
Many missionaries use the Internet as a part of daily life.
Brazil church planter Vic Wiens reports that his family uses the Internet for family and ministry correspondence, Internet telephone (at a 90 percent savings over regular long-distance rates), and bill payment. His family also reviews movie information and ratings on family-approved Web sites.
Samir and Lewiza Youssef minister to Arabicspeaking people around the world through a home base in Winnipeg, Manitoba. To them, the Internet
is a vital tool for sharing ministry ideas with others.
"Every day, we receive many important messages from all over the world," says Samir. "We get at least five e-mails each day from people who are in similar ministries; through e-mail, we are able to learn from each other's experiences." The Youssefs look forward to a day when the Internet can be used to broadcast radio ministries worldwide.
Missionaries often work in relative isolation and it can be a great encouragement to share experiences with other missionaries E-mail has enabled me to dialogue with missionaries around the world regarding the challenges of cross-cultural kingdom work," says Ray Harms-Wiebe.
According to Harold Ens, general director of MBMSI, e-mail has also begun to address a communication problem that has arisen in recent years between supporting churches and their missionaries. "Our workers say North America has become a
E-mail has enabled me to dialogue with missionaries around the world .... "
-Ray Harms-Wiebe
"Our
workers say North America has become a phone culture and that letter writing has almost completely dropped off.... I-mail is becoming "the great encouragementthat' letters used to be."
-Harold Ens, General Director of M8MS International
phone culture and that letter writing has almost completely dropped off. But, because of cost, most people are very reluctant to place an international call. E-mail is becoming the great encouragement that letters used to be."
The Harms-Wiebes use e-mail as their prime form of communication with churches in North America. "A number of our supporting churches also ask for prayer requests for bulletins and prayer groups through the Net," says Ray. "We are able to provide up-to-date information within minutes, challenging intercessors to pray for important kingdom events and specific individuals."
Benefits for administration
Besides the immediate cost benefit over phone «;alls, faxes and mail, Internet technology also brings other benefits.
"Through e-mail, we are able to bring people from different locations into discussions," says Program Pirector Dave Dyck. "When you're working across numerous time zones, it's a lot more feasible to communicate this way than by telephone."
E-mail also allows the agency to share important decisions, policies and developments with the missionaries and administrators who are affected.
"Many of our people travel a great deal and may not be accessible by telephone at any given time," says Ens. "But they can usually check their e-mail at some point during the day."
In recent years, MBMSI has moved much of the decision-making back to the field, and this is made possible by the speed and accuracy of today's communication technology.
"We're working to build better deciSion-making and reporting links between missionaries, country team leaders, and our regional directors," says Ens. "Our four regional directors--who are located in Congo, Colombia, Austria and the United States--must in tum be able to communicate quickly with our head office in Fresno in order to ensure decisions are acted on quickly."
Getting the word out E-mail and the Internet aid greatly in sharing current developments from around the world. News releases are posted on the MBMSI's Web site,
and prayer requests are sent bye-mail to churches as they become known.
"As we hear news of crisis such as strife in Congo, persecution of Christians in Indonesia, or natural disasters in Latin America, we are able to bring these prayer concerns to our churches," says church relations director Dale Warkentin. "An event that happens on a Thursday can be in church bulletins across North America by that Sunday."
E-mail is also the easiest way to get news and information from missionaries. When MBMSI staff write news releases or articles for their magazine, Witness, they are often on short time-lines. Through e-mail, they can complete a story and have it checked by their sources within as little as one week's timewith regular mail, it could take months.
Much information about MBMSI is available on the newly revamped Web site. The site features information on the agency's identity, goals, missionary locations, partner conferences, as well as news releases and recent issues of Witness magazine.
The Web site also offers a chance for interaction. People interested in serving through MBMSI are also able to contact the agency online through a "Get Acquainted" form. Cards for the Honors Program, which allows people to give a gift to global mission in honor of a special occasion or the death of a loved one, are available to order online as well.
A Research Tool
While completing doctoral studies in missiology, Vic Wiens used the Internet to research Mennonite mission in Brazil and around the world, and corresponded via e-mail with Mennonite church leaders in Brazil. The Internet also had other uses while he studied in the United States. "I stayed current on life in Brazil by reading online newspapers, and I read online journals and mission information to stay up-to-date on missiological trends."
Jeanine Janzen is completing a degree at MB Biblical Seminary in preparation for missionary service. "I have used e-mail to connect with other MBs worldwide," she reports E-mail is one vehicle through which I can enter dialogues with others on mission issues." Janzen dreams of someday having an e-mail consultation group of Mennonite Brethren from around the world to discuss common issues and concerns.
Warkentin reports that he often uses the Web to get connected with other agencies and Christian resources. "There are some really good Web sites that deal with the persecuted church, prayer, and other mission issues," he states. "They have information that just isn't accessible anywhere else."
THE INTERNET
Challenges
Communication via the Internet also presents some unique challenges for missions. Because it is a universal medium, the Web is used by religious groups to seek out mission agencies.
"We have to be extremely careful in how we communicate about countries where Christianity is not accepted," says Ens. "A few careless words can endanger the lives of Christians."
Another challenge to church agencies, as well as many other institutions and businesses, is the time commitment required to keep a Web site upto-date. "Communication is much more diverse than in the past," says Thiessen. "Our constituents are looking for current news, publications that are both well-written and graphically appealing, and a Web site that fits all these criteria. To remain effective, we have to keep up with current communication trends while maintaining timely information in every communication vehicle we use."
And while e-mail isefficientandconvenient.it can also be impersonal.
Warren Harder, who teaches English language in China, says, "I much prefer the personal touch of a handwritten letter, even if it takes an extra week to arrive. I don't like to send notes to people (byemail), but prefer writing informative letters, and use e-mail for emergencies and necessities."
Janzen reports that while she has used e-mail to connect with MBs worldwide, "it is still no substitute for face-to-face interactions. People whom I e-mail do not always have access to personal computers, so lack of confidentiality can limit our freedom to dialogue."
The timeless message
While e-mail and the Internet are valuable communication tools, they may never totally replace the personal touch of phone calls, and regular mail is still the only way to send original documents and material goods. But as technologies such as Internet videoconferencing and document imaging become more cost-effective, and as the Internet becomes faster and more universal, it's possible to see a day when almost all communication is electronic in some way.
Fifty years ago, missionaries went out with only a few belongings in a suitcase. Today, they may also bring many of the tools of the digital age. But however they are equipped, the message they bring is a timeless one of hope in Christ. •
Brad Thiessen is the director of media and communications for MBMS International, the global mission agency for North American MB churches.
Mennonites Online
Mennonites on the Web
ACTS seminary (MBBS is cooperating partner): www.acts.twu.ca
Bethany Bible Institute (Canada): www.bethany.sk.ca
California Mennonite Historical Society: www.fresno.edu/affiliationlcmhs
Canadian MB Conference: www.cdnmbconf.ca
Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies (Fresno): www.fresno.edu/affiliatlonJcmbs
Center for Peacemaking and Conflld Studies: www.fresno.edu/deptlpacs
Columbia Bible College (Canada): www.columbiabc.edu
Fresno Paclfic Unlvenlty: www.fresno.edu
General Confer.nce of MB Churches: www.mbconf.org
Historical Commission of the Mennonite Brethren Church: Kindred Productions: www.mbconf.orglmbdkplkindred.htm
MBMS International: www.mbmsinternational.org
MennoLlnk: www.mennolink.org
MennoLink Mennonite Information Center: www.mennolink.org/midmenno.html
MB ',Ikal Selnlnliry (British Columbia 'Centre): mbsemlnarybc@bcmb.org foundation: mbfo'!ridOsOuthwind.net
MB tf¥,I\t (Canada1: mbMral(lOcdnmbconf.ca (Manitoba) or mbheraldjc@bcmb.org (British Columbia)
iMBMS International (ft.lno): mbms@compuserve.com
MBMS (WIChita): mbmswichi1a@compuserve.com
Menhfnlte Central
Mission USA (Ed;Bosdlman, diredor): ebmusa@uswest.net
'.cjfkDlstrid Offlce: pdaribcOf'$Sno.edu
Southern District (Q!strJct.Minlster Roland Reimer): sdcmbcrrOsouthwirKt,net
U.S. C;qmerenceof MB
Youth 'MIllion ymi@youthmission.org
:Iset out on a quest recently to find some community. You know, the stuffwe think we can identify when we feel it, even if we can't describe it. I thought I'd start at Community Hall, downtown. After all, it has the right name. I found city clerks working at desks full of paper, a quiet police station, the local library full of children on the floor, and retired men reading newspapers. People asked, "Can I help you?" But it didn't feel like community yet. Maybe I need to spend more time with people, I
person, and I'll share anything with them. If all this is true, then my commitment must be evident in my behavior; I can't be accountable to God and not my brothers and sisters. The Christian community of the New Testament and my early memories describe a collective conscience. Salvation doesn't leave me alone with an insurance policy to heaven, but invites me into peoplehood where I am freely obliged to seek God's will with the tendrils of my mind and feet connected to the community.
Robert Bellah, et al probed American culture in
Search for community
8Y Don S A A
NET SPEAK
CHAT ROOMS
Sites available on the Internet where real time "conversations" take place by typing text.
L1STSERV
An e-mail mailing list where each e-mail sent to the list is then sent out to every member of the list. Ustserv groups are available on almost A\(ery tlpic.
thought. One Saturday morning we stopped in early for the annual Lions pancake breakfast in the senior center community building. It had the right name. We joined long tables filled with people, platters of sausage and pancakes, butter and syrup, and plenty of chatter. It was great food and great fellowship. Is this community, I wondered? It felt pretty good.
The next morning, a fellowship. tiJDe before Sunday school, I stoppeCl to it f· fee cup in hand, we talked aoout the PlItt messy national politics, and our sick dol- I don't need to be in church tOhave tbis eomeru.. tion, I thought. But later, our small dass gordQwn to a serious study of I CorinthialllJ and aJ we do often, to release each Other lind Q from the world of wo ressute8 and etions. We listened and res In caring an<\loving ways. That was a bl rienee) 1 th(!) walked upstairs for nd service. Is had a sense of cornfo caring for these beyond our weekly meetings.
So, what is it we're lOOking for-this community stuff? Scott Peck, in The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace, says that community is first and foremost inclusive. True communities don't look for ways to keep people out, he suggests. Commitment and consensus must also be present. First, we must be committed to a set of eternal values and to each other. Sounds sort of like family-and indeed, the family metaphor is exactly right for community. I believe firmly in the value of shared Christian beliefs. I care deeply about each
Habits of the Heart and found lots of commitment, but even more individualism. It's tough to practice individualism and community at the same time. In community we bend toward the group-that's the consensus part. As I was growing up, it was common for four or five families to gather at someone's home after Sunday evening services for refreshments. While the adults sat in a circle in the living room, the children played. I often overheard our parents talk to interpret Scriptures together, which 1V programs were okay, and how to respond consistently to questiQns uc;>m their children. It was my earliest experience with fQ{Jll3tive community-they delibert talked ahout tfOw to act out their common values a d OW'to tru t other.
H. . Beb.der, in The. :Are My People, makes the point that-tfte church is the mmon experienc.e (if memberS an organic whole, members another. Partlcipation in heist reqtitres parpation in one another. rs in Christ do nOt decide to have fellowshJp or me a'Cemmuni· ty; they are by nature a coinmu
But doesn't this threaten my right to live out my Christian life as I wish? Of course. But aren't I free to say, "You live your life in Christ and I'll live mine"? No. Both individualism and institutionalism threaten community, says Bender. Individualismgoing my own way, refusing to receive counsel, refusing to bend-is the withdrawal from the common life. Institutionalism excludes the individual from sharing responsibility, giving direction and authority to a few. In the name of efficiency and
order, it often encourages passivity.
Whew, I thought, this is pretty heavy. Then I wondered, could I find this community stuff online? Off I went to my downstairs computer, phone cord snaking off to the wall in search of some virtual community. Click, whir, tinkle, tinkle, click-up comes Netscape. I had a great time in church, I thought, so I headed off to Mennonite connections on the Web and looked through 112 church home pages. I found pictures of buildings and staff, descriptions of programs, mission statements, youth activities, member directories, a full year of bulletins, church-grams, maps, and even canned music. Hmm, lots of information but I can't talk to anyone.
GO
If talking back is essential to
community, how do I do it online if we don't meet? Howard Rheingold, longtime leader of an online community at The Well, defines virtual community as a group of people who electronically talk with each other, share information, and know and care about each other to some degree. He acknowledges that there's a spectrum of commitment here; some people only share information, while others are deeply involved and care about each other in ways similar to face-ta-face communities.
What does he mean by "to some degree"?
Chat rooms on the Internet offer an unlimited opportunity to talk with someone in real-time. While some, such as those in the Christianity Today Web site, provide the means for real-time communications with other Christians, many chat rooms are full of anonymous strangers who change identities and styles to fit their voyeuristic interests. It's the modem eqUivalent of the CB craze but potentially much more vulgar, dangerous, and addictive.
Bob Sabath, one of several founders of Sojourners Magazine, says the computer will help us reconnect with old and new friends, allow pastors to help each other write sermons, facilitate connections between youth leaders and college students and allow churches to more easily connect to neighborhoods. But is there an advantage to this over the telephone or a plain old letter?
"Real" communities resource one anotherthat's the information sharing stage. The computer age has immensely increased the possibility of getting information when you want it. And that's a tremendous advantage for the church as well as business and politics. But community is not the same as the classified pages. We must sense our many needs and that means communication must not only be synchronous, but empathetic.
Can computer mediated co Elva Suderman of Hillsboro, Kan., be .....
polio survivors "listserv"-a group of people 'Who use
e-mail almost dally. Because their social contacts are _l&.. =\ limited, they depend heavily on the computer for the >'i information and support. They genuinely care about ell...... each other, she says. When a member died recently, .. .. the outpouring of grief was as real and meaningful as 1Ue if they'd beenJn a room together. .J-
One of the fastest growing movements today is tDust StlftSt the Web-based course. I've taught such courses in Tabor College's degree completion program in our many Wichita, Jean. In the regular classroom, consistent needs and contact provides the rich soU for community to sprout. Have we achieved the same tewel of commu- that means nity in our online class as we do on the Hillsborocampus? I don't think so, but it's not as different as
you might think. -
If I work as hard at communicating values to stu- must not dents via e-mail as I do "in person," some (as in the regular classroom) will catch it. What often happens, only be says David Karber, head of the online MBA program h at California State University Dominguez Hills, is that sync ronous, students who otherwise won't say a word in class but empathetic" openly participate in Web-based discussion groups. They feel less intimidated and more accepted. In the Can computer process of learning with each other, students online medl"ated come to know each other quite well.
I ask myself again, is this community? Well, it's " not quite like Sunday night at the Bergen's house, commuDlcabut it's also not just a collection of individuals. Its tions do this? weaknesses are those of any mediated communication method: it's asynchronous. I talk, then you talk. Its strength is convenience for people separated by distance. How do we get the nonverbal messages and the nuances of voice inflection, the squeals of laughter and the tears of sorrow? Perhaps the near future will take care of this. Though still costly and with only moderate quality, full twa-way video over the Internet is now available and will be quite usable in several years.
Community is simply gathering together with others to ask, "What does it mean for us to follow Christ together?" It requires lots of time, lots of talking, and many deliberate acts of caring and sharing. Nothing will ever quite replace a hug, but in an era when nuclear or church families are scattered, more and more people will use the Internet to establish and maintain supportive relationships. •
Don Isaac is a professor of business and economics and chair of the Business Administration Department at Tabor College in Htl/sboro, Kan. He is a member of Parkview MB Church, also in Htl/sboro.
(Y EAR
As the clock strikes midnight, lights flicker off across the country. Radio, televisions and telephones suddenly shut off. You turn on the faucet and get nothing. Hospital equipment fails, airports shut down, and airplanes fall from the sky. Happy New Year's
This scenario is familiar to many of us by now. Y2K, or the "millennium bug," has been touted as the possible rl.Jin of our dvilizaI 00 non by everyone from the secular presto television evangelists.
The worry about Y2K stems from a simple cost-saving measure to minimize storage of dates implemented over thirty years ago. Many computer programs and processor chips recognize years only by their last two digits, leaving them unable to distinguish between the years 2000 and1900. Although this is the primary failure associated with ''Y2K,'' the term has come to include a wide range of date-related issues. Without correction, this bug could lead to computing errors and computer shutdowns.
Because computers affect many aspects of our lives-from aircraft radar to traffic lights-some fear the millennium bug could effectively shut down civilization as we know it. If the power goes out, computers won't work. Suppliers won't be able to track their shipments, food won't be delivered and supermarkets will have to close. You get the picture. It is not hard to see how the Y2K bug has become cast in religious terms. As the third millennium approaches, there's a fever of speculation. It's nothing new. There have been many times throughout history when people have claimed to know the time of Christ's return. Most of us have grown up Day 2000.
wondering if we would be the ones to see Christ's return, There were the signs and AntichristsAdolph Hitler, Mussolini, the threat of nuclear war, Saddam Hussein. Christian and secular books, "'-, both fiction and nonfiction, speculating on the impending shutdown of society are practically cottage industry.
However, chances are January 1, 2000, is i not the advent of the apocalypse. Y2K will not , result in the end of civilization. But that doeso't mean we should dismiss the millennium bug out of hand.
HOW BAI> IS 'THE BUG?
There will be disruption, but it is highly unlikely to be on the scale of the popular doomsday scenarios.
The GartnerGroup Inc, a technology consulting firm in Connecticut that has become one of the most quoted experts of the Y2K phenomenon, says the U.S. won't see any major infrastructure failures-no major power outages, disruptions to banking or food shortages. In fact, many sources claim that non-Y2K-compliant embedded processors pose the highest potential for disruption and the Gartner Group is now estimating only 50 million out of 250 billion (0.2 percent) processors will be affected. But problems will still occur. If date sensitive computers and programs aren't fixed, there may be disruptions ranging from personal computer software glitches to scattered power outages.
The U.S. Senate committee on Y2K released a report on March 2 saying that many sectors of the U.S. still have much work to do and some significant disruptions are likely to occur. While Social Security ranks high on Y2K compliant efforts, other government departments have a ways to go. In the private sector, many small and medium sized businesses haven't addressed the problem yet, which could cause slow-downs in services and supplies. Smaller hospitals in rural or inner city areas may not be prepared for possible shutdowns of medical devices. If not fixed, it's possible that devices such as EKG units, timed dosage medication meters and other electronic diagnostic and therapeutic equipment
BY CARMEN ANDRES AND PHIL NEUFELD
F THE W0RLD A S· WE K NOW T ? )
may stop working and may not be restartable.
Keep in mind, however, that most problems will occur only if computers are not updated to deal with the Y2K bug. Preparation and contingency planning are definitely the trend. In spite of outspoken activists' claims, there is a growing movement among large and small businesses to ensure they will survive into the next millennium.
On their Web site; ABC News reports that 250 communities are setting up local Y2K agencies or campaigns to sniff out potential Y2K related problems. Many cities are also planning to have emergency operations centers set up in case of any infrastructure failure. Many companies also have backup plans in case their computers won't work right.
Essential services are also prepared. To allay fears of food shortages, representatives of the food industry assured the Senate that they will have adequate food supplies on]an 1. The U.S. is printing an additional $50 billion in cash in case there is a run on the banks and will set aside two to three months' worth of petroleum reserves. A Transportation Department official reported on CNN in late February that they are "confident that electric power will not be a Y2K problem." Senator Robert Bennett of the Senate committee says that, at worst, brownouts would occur in rural areas.
Airplanes flying in the U.S. are also likely to be safe. CNN reported on March 4 that the FAA now says that all critical components of the air traffic control system have been adjusted for 2000. If computers or power fails, the FAA will fall back on a manual contingency plan. Though this would limit flights by 30 percent until the system got back online, it would not result in an air travel paralysis or mid-air disasters.
Disruptions facing the average citizen will most likely be minor. The Senate report emphasizes that phones will work and planes will fly, though you may see inaccuracies in billing statements, insurance mistakes, lost records, and the potential slowdown of some services and supplies.
Even those programs and computers that have been fixed, however, might have a glitch or two. In case something unforeseen comes up, or your com-
munity does not prepare adequately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross are recommending that people prepare for any disruptions caused by the Y2K bug the same as they would for a winter storm or hurricane.
Y2.K OVERSEAS
Because U.S. companies and culture are more dependent on technology and subsequently more aware of the potential problems, the U.S. appears to be ahead in the repairs. Many overseas countries, however, do not have the resources or commitment , to update affected computers-and this could have some significant effects.
The Department of Defense reports that power grids and other critical public services will probably be the first systems to fail in other countries where there is a lack of focus on the Y2K bug. Midwinter power outages could have major humanitarian consequences in countries such as Russia and the Ukraine. Last month, CNN reported that China will probably experience failures in key sectors such as telecommunication, electric power and banking. At a recent global conference on preparedness in Manila, eighteen countries said everything from healthcare and social security to transportation and telecommunications will be affected. The well-publicized possible breakdowns in nuclear power and missile systems are also a concern, particularly in Russia.
But these problems are being addressed. The United Nations held a summit in December, giving Y2K coordinators from two-thirds of the 185 member nations a chance to get up to date and work together. And CNN reports that the U.S. and Russia will set up a center to ensure direct communication in event of computers giving erroneous information about missiles.
Mennonite organizations are setting plans in motion to meet any potential Y2K related problems overseas. Mennonite Central Committee, a global relief organization, is coordinating with its local offices in the U.S. and across the world. The local field offices will work with their own local partnerschurches and local organizations-to meet needs 1+
For on Y2,#(, visit these Well sites.
lIer to read aU +ion allout Y2,1( with disMake judgeon which inforreI' resents the true situation.
These sites are not ,recessartly recom· mended by and do not necessarily represent the views of the Christian Leader or the US. Conference of MB Churches.
THE INTERNE'
Christian Computing: www.gospelcom.net/ccmag
American Red Cross: www.crossnet.org/disasterlsafety/y2k.html
Christian Financial Concepts: www.cfcministry.org/library/y2k
Joseph Project: josephproject2000.org
arising from any crisis or disruption caused by the failure to update or anticipate a Y2K bug problem.
MBMS International, the global mission agency of North American MB churches, is also working with its missionaries to ensure that they will be prepared for any potential disruptions caused by the Y2K bug.
Keep in mind, however, that the infrastructures of the less developed countries are fur less dependent on computer technology for day-to-day trade and operations. Some parts of the world won't even see the effects ofY2K. Juan Martinez, director of SAl./SEMlUA (an inter-Mennonite seminary serving Central America and Mexico), noted that 30 percent of the population of Guatemala will not notice the Y2K computer problems because they are without electricity.
CHURCHES 'TAKE OW Y2.K
Most churches view Y2K as a ministry opportunity to help communities prepare for a potential crisis and spread the Gospel. They see it as a chance for the church to do something useful.
Some MB churches, like Reedley MB in central California and Buhler MB in Kansas, are educating their members and looking for opportunities to work with community organizations to provide service in case of disruptions or crisis.
Mennonite Brethren pastors have also been addressing Y2K from the pulpit, both encouraging
members to be aware of the bug and ministry opportunities, but also cautioning them not to be consumed with fear or panic.
"The survivalist or alarmist approach is a hindrance to ministry," says Dennis Fast, pastor at Reedley MB church in central California which has a task force addressing Y2K. "It takes the focus off our basic call to people of faith who care about our world and puts the focus on self-preservation. That leads to an isolationist mentality rather than reaching out to our communities."
Christians should also make sure that they are messengers of hope, not offear.
"If Christians are on the frontier of being in panic, that doesn't help our witness," says Henry Dick, district minister of the Pacific District.
"We ought to be among those who serve and demonstrate a life that is not dictated by fear, but by our faith," says Paul Klassen, pastor of Memorial Road MB Church in Oklahoma and a member of the Southern District Faith and Life Commission, which is formulating a statement to address the Y2l( issue.
MB leaders also caution that Christians shouldn't become too preoccupied with the end times.
"I believe the calendar is set by God," says Dick, "and he has his hand set on it. He'll take his hand off when he decides it's time. It is not for Us to know time or season, but to be a witness for God."
take on Y2.K
Mennonite Brethren across the U.S. are taking on Y2Kfrom shOring up their computers to working with their communities to prepare for potential UK problems.
Institutions like Fresno Pacific Uni. versity and Mennonite Brethren Foundation are making sure the compute.i:S and equipment are up to speed.
FPU, the MB university located in cen· tral is well aware of the issue, says John Wright, manager ofInfonnation Services. The statr are working to make sure they have identified all of the computer systems that will be affected by Y2K-ft-om the computer system to chips in campus pumps and motors and staffs personal organizers. In case of local power outages, the university will rely on its established disaster plans.
"We feel secure that we are doing everything in our power to make sure the institution will run in the year 2000 and beyond," says Wright.
At MB Foundation, the U.S. Confer· ence agency which assists MBs in faithful stewardship, Y2K related issues have led to an overhaul in hardware and so.ft.ware. It has been a signi6cant process for the Foundation, but they began the process approXimately a year ago and "we will be done well in advance of 2000," says Jon Wiebe, president of the FOundation.
MBMS International, the global mis· sion agency of MB churches in North America, is preparing for Y2K issues in their main office in 'Ftesno as well as overseas. Brad Thiessen, director of media and communications, reports that MBMSI is looking int-o issues ranging
from banking and tra.vel CQmmitment. f·
The office will probably' ary funds to December because of "conc.em that" overseas bartking may be> fot" sOme titqe," says Thies$el\. 'MBMSHs a.tso adVising staff to travel ip early january until cond:itk} are better knoWn, and to' in isolation in case commumcatl. cut 0« from the main office.'
In spite of the ThiesSen reports that UK gives' an opportUnit1. ' .
"in the midst of all the hype aq'\l cern the year 2000 computer lern, consider the ministryJ?Pteruial" continues 'arouQd the says. "We don.,t know the world, but we do of Christ never ehanges and'is.ro pIe." -MaNSI encourages itS s\\p a renewed tlnanclaI andp mltment t'O global mission, a<,t
U.S. Senate Special Committee on Y2K: www.senate.gov/-Y2K
Year 2000 Information Center: www.year2000.com Netscape: home.netscape.com/y2k
''jesus' return will be a surprise, and I don't think he'd advertise through Y2K," says Brent Warkentin, pastor at BuWer MB Church in central Kansas which has a Y2K program. "Every world war or bad summer of hurricanes makes us wonder if this is the end. Let's not demand that this is a sign of the end times."
BEAl1WG THE BUG
Here are some tips to beat the Y2K bug
• Be infonned. There's a lot of information out there-and some of it is just plain wrong. Look for facts about Y2K and check out the effects Y2K could have on your community. Information changes daily, so keep up. For example, the GartnerGroups' earlier reports were very pessimistic about the results ofY2K because no one was moving on it. However, their October 1998 report is much more optimistic. Make sure the material is up-to-date, make judgments on which information best represents the true situation, watch for statements not backed up with facts, weigh the source, and look for personal motives.
• Get your computer up-to-date. Update your personal and business computers and eqUipment. If you have a personal computer, PC software, fax machine, camcorder, camera, digital wristwatch, monitored security system or a Global Positioning System unit, check the manufacturer's web
M'nlsttt o.ppo"rtUniq,es.are exaA::tly .' < 'W. churdte$ are focuSing on. not discUssed fol'llllllly'-at thk;s. tevel, moderatOr (Cpom that conference
the issue-appropriately in urees that the YlK.bug be used as"all opportUnity to Wit- .refS' mInIster to people 1n <the are disrupted. liad\clhip is alsO voicing involved in Y2K related proror Christians in general. f:temy DJck, PaCific District coMersent a to disttli(:t dllltiOnlng tbet'n. againSt concerned wi'th pVen:eac tipJ:!t"''f)lck{lays. "If ChristianS are on the frontitr (Jfbeing in panic, that doeSn't ,hel'p out'Wttne5s."
SOutheht Faith ll;n<,t Life isworking on to • 1kldt&S thMs8ue after realizing that sevofthe had
site or contact the manufacturer to see whether your product has the potential for a Y2K problem.
Small businesses are most at risk because they are the ones doing the least amount of preparation. Have contingency plans in case computers fail at business. Prime candidates for pre-2000 glitches include applications that have expiration dates, coverage dates, contract terms, project completion dates, delivery dates, payment schedules, age and birth dates, release dates, notification dates and graduation dates, budget and sales forecasting. For a list of links to commonly used software, see Christian Computing's Web site (see above).
• Kt:ep important records. Keep your financial records, billings and other important document during 1999, particularly in the second half of the year. If you use a computer to make any of these transactions, download the records of your transactions, store them on a backup diskette and print hard copies. If you have a mortgage, car loan or other debts, keep your cancelled checks as proof of the payments you've made. If you have insurance policies, keep copies of the policies and records of the payments. This way you can more easily find any Y2K errors and get them corrected.
• "W"mter Stonn" Preparation. Many experts are predicting a few days or a few weeks of scattered Y2K effect during the first few months of 2000.
alreadybe.en preaching abouttthe subject and helping people deal with tl.te issue "My-main concern is that we'll end 'Up with green beans and guns," says Mark Isaac, amember of the commission and pastorofK'oetnerHcights MB in Newton, 1('a(lsas. ''We sbould plan ahead, but it is a sUppety slope." Isaac is concerned about the survivalist mentality evident by some Christians in the United States. "The 'World will need Christian people full of life ofChtist on January 1, 2000, if there is a,problem. If we hoard, then all we have is the spirit of hoarding."
Clint GtetU:, district pastor for the CenU:alDi!itriet, says that though there are nQ planned activities dr programs out of his .office, pastdrs have been on the issue.
"There are some legitimate concerns," he He adds that for the nottb U.S., any Y2K: bumps will be met with .normal emergency proceMany people already have food, mQneyand alternative sources of dec-
tridty. "In North Dakota, we have lights and heat go out from snowstorms ana spring floods as happened in Grand Forks, North Dakota."
J. Epp, pastor ofLustre MB Church in Montana, says life is completely ditterent in areas like his. "We go 37 miles to buy milk," Epp laughs, adding that he usually goes to the grocery store only once every twO weeks.
Epp's church has no programs addressing Y2K:, but he did preach on the subject because of a concern about survivalist attitudes by others in the community. "A lot of people are concerned with what is going on in this world, but we should be more woqied about our relationship with God."
The North Carolina District is no stranger to any problems Y2K: could bring. In 1989, the state was hit by HUrricane HugO "which leveled everything," sayS Earl Yount, NC district moderator "People here know what it can be like."
Four of the six churches in that state
Firs+ Y2,1( daou(d be a of "raver and in +he of fai+h.rhis is when Y2,1( has ins"ired "eo,,(e +0
into a sUNivaHs+ rather than +hink about how +hev can he(" others •• ••
FEMA and the Red Cross recommend you prepare for any potential disruptions in services as you would for·a winter storm or hurricane, recommending that you have a week's worth of food and cash on hand and a half a tank of gas in your vehicle.
Your decision on how much to prepare is based on your surroundings. Do you live in a rural area or a city? If your town doesn't have a Y2K plan, should you prepare for one day without water? One month? Or just occasional lapses for three months? Be cautious as you plan. It's easy to slip into a survivalist mind-set.
• Plan for critical services. Create a list of organizations, businesses and equipment that you absolutely depend on-financial, utilities and communications. Many experts believe banks and financial institutions to be in the best shape for Y2K, but it doesn't hurt to look at your own bank. Also consider medicines and medical service that you need. Shave your list down to what is critical for you.
• Approach Y2K with your faith intact. First and foremost, Y2K should be a matter of prayer and discernment in the community of faith.
are in rural areas and therefore more at risk for Y2K related problems. Yount addS that pastors will be cautioning pea.ple not to panic, but to prepare as they would for a hurticane like Hugo.
S.·0$ ;MBdW;C'hes have imJ?lemented Programs to educate and prepare p)Qple lor
.... of Reedley MB ' chtitCh in central Califomia expressed ., leadership formed a task . ft)rce to work with the'Congregatlon. So <dt\ far, have had one congregational me#tin$at'tended by 200 of the 1200 membet- congregation. A series of semi-mrs topics-such as JtofllJe and medical preRaration-are pIahfi:ed for Sunday eveJiings. Members llJ!O also enco\Jraged to prepare u If they wou\d be without food or energy for
t&thttlthan food and g()(J(ht at the Reedley is 1in1c. " JUg u1' withcexistlng .socJal agencies in toWn:. sudt as .Q,ve Inc., the Red Cross, " MCC'Office.
a nice waffot Aift"erent coptrnu-and churches to ban , says Denni$ pastor.
This is important when Y2K has inspired people to move into a survivalist mode rather than think about how they can help others in their communities or around the globe who may be affected by Y2K. Opportunities to help others include everything from helping people to be aware of what computer programs need updating to working with world relief organizations to help in parts of the world that need help .•
Carmen Andres is editor of the Christian Leader, and a member of Greenhaven Neighborhood Church in Sacramento, Calif. Phil Neufeld is a software mo,nager with Confertech Systems, a business teleconferencing company. Neufeld has worked in the computer industry as a programmer and mo,nager for 19 years. He is a member of the U.S. Conference Board of Communications and Garden Park MB Church in Denver, Colo. Many of the tips for "Beating the Bug" were taken from Sharing (a Mennonite Mutual Aid publication) and suggestions by the Red Cross and Federal Trade Commission.
In the process of putting together the program, the church's focus has moved beyond theY2K situation. "We. are trying to broaden our focus to crisis preparedness of any kind," says Fast. "We are in an area prone to earthquakes and natUral disasters. This. progtZam has helped us be more awate an4 prepared." Fast adds that the progqun is not taking too much of the energy from Reedley MD. ''Weare not cOnSuined OJ" absorbed by it. We stili makin,g significantplans.for the future, ce\ebrating church growth, and continuing our ministries as usual. "
Buhler MD, in a rural area <of central Kansas, organized a task force to educate the congs:egation about Y2K and look for ways to use any complications that arise from as 0pporQUlities fot mtnistry in the Buhler community. ;The task force named Jtself UNllY 2000, l\fi acronym derived from the church to prepare in the New mQlennium, Informing and Training our Church body for the possible YaK crisis and mJnistry opportUnities in the 2000 and beyond:' "This may be lust a blip the radar sct:een-nothips than a. snowstorm in Kansas where the power is out
for a feW hours," says Brent Warkentin, pastor of the Buhler church. "We should not panic or go crazy over this thing, but we should prepare."
The church is doing several projects, from posting trustworthy web sites in the ehurch library for their members to putting rogether-a community discussJonpddressing Y2K. The churebjs also working with local community nizations and city otliC'es to acld.ress-potential Y2K problems, aqd the building will beheated,:lit for the community over the New)f'ear.
'Warkentln.also says t2K is to witness. "Uncertainty and .u:a.gedy drive people to Christ more 4lan any· thing. Y2K already has uncertatn.ty .arid there is the potential for trage<Jy:' He emphasizes, however, m.t one of the task force's goals is to reduce the panic level and keep Jo perspective..
"If you want-to know crisis," Warkentin to Pa;kistan. We think the wqrld will fa}l aplIfl • electricity, but most of the people'in the world live in a constant Y2K"crisis. UK shouldn't cpntrol our thoughts and energies. need to but keeR it in perspective." --cA
Myth: Immigrants take our jobs.
Fact: Self-employment is higher among newcomers to the United States and Canada than among U.S. and Canadian citizens. Compared to most U.S citizens, newcomers are more likely to be employed, save their earnings and start new businesses.
Myth: Immigrants take services from taxpayers.
Fact: According to the U.S. census, only 9 percent of immigrant households receive welfare. The Urban Insititute reports that immigrants use more welfare per capita than U.S. citizens. But when excluding refugees, immigrants use welfare at a rate of 2 percent, a lower rater than the 3.7 percent of U.S. citizens.
Newcomers are parents, teachers, friends, doctors, police, the local grocier or the mayor. Immigrants permeate the fabric of society. Newcomers are an integral part of our society's goals and values.
To learn more about the economic factors that influence immigrants, contact MCC U.S. and ask for Welcoming the Newcomer, a packet of information on immigration rights and advocacy.
Mennonite Central Committee
BY PHILIP WIEBE
Signs of success
In our culture a lot ofpeople know how to get beautiful possessions, but few know how to develop beautiful relationships.
Not long ago I jotted down the result of a "success survey" I read about somewhere. The question had been raised: What do today's Americans consider to be the ultimate symbol of achievement in life? The survey's answer was: "Owning a vacation home." After noting this response, I scribbled, "There's something about this that troubles me."
Upon reflection, what troubles me is not that people own second (or even third) homes. My family has enjoyed many a weekend in the mountains or at the beach in other people's vacation digs. Without the benefit of others' affiuence, our lives would be a little less, well, rich.
I suppose one could say that about a lot of things. It's popular these days for we citizens of modest means to be critical of rich people. Certainly their priorities are wrong, we say. Undoubtedly their business tactics are underhanded and oppressive. Years ago, however, I clipped an article that rather chastised me for such stereotyping. "For every millionaire who has sold his soul to the devil," the author quipped, "I suspect there's one doing heaven's work." His point was that we have wealthy folks to thank for creating countless jobs, grants, foundations, and charitable organizations that benefit us all. Thus we should be careful whom we judge.
Still, Jesus was abundantly clearand utterly uncompromising-about the dangers of materialism. I wouldn't define materialism merely as possessing wealth (it's easy to harbor the misconception that all rich people are materialists) but as making the acquisition of wealth one's highest goal. There's a story Jesus told about a farmer who was blessed one year by a bumper crop. The farmer reflected, "I will tear down my
barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods" (Luke 12:18). Seems reasonable enough. Wouldn't most of us do the same?
Yet the man was soundly rebuked by God-not for being rich (which he already was before the bumper crop) but for wanting more. And here is where I struggle with the survey listing vacation homes as the supreme sign of success. It reminds me how clearly Americans define "ultimate achievement" in material terms.
The trend is only getting stronger. More and more, when school kids are asked whom they most admire and want to emulate, their answers do not name parents or teachers or scholars or innovators-those who serve and impact real people in real life-but rich and famous celebrities. And who can blame them? The number one desire of these children's parents is to own secondhomes.
Now, let me grant that the vacation home survey was undoubtedly skewed by the nature of the questions. If these same people were asked what they gauged to be ultimate success in marriage, family life, or other relationships, many would probably wax eloquent about loyalty, honesty, respect, and other relational ideals. But that's my point: in matters of achievement, most Americans automatically put "things" ahead of "people." Ultimate success involves money, power, property, status, and so on. It barely registers that real success may lie more in how well we relate to our spouses, our children, our fellow humans, our God.
One would think that relational ideals of success would reign in the church, but I wonder if that's true. If I
were to take an "achievement survey" among churchgoers in my community, would "owning a vacation home" still come out on top? I wouldn't bet against it. Someone once noted the modem obsession with fashion and fitness and observed: "These days a lot of people know how to get a beautiful body, but few know how to get a beautiful soul." I think something similar could be said about materialism. In our culture a lot of people know how to get beautiful possessions, but few know how to develop beautiful relationships. With that in mind, perhaps it would be timely to revisit a few Scripture passages that highlight biblical standards of success:
• Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:67,10-11).
• Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds ... so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Tim. 6:17-19).
• Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:19-21).
QHow does a church deal with the minority? Is it Christian to ignore the minority? What should be done with the minority? By ignoring the minority, are we saying they are wrong? (Source misplaced)
AThe inquirer reflects on the fact that, like most democratic soci· eties, the church makes decisions on the basis ofa majority vote. He cites the example of a church which voted to merge with another church and, while the majority prevailed, a sizable number were opposed. What happens to the minority?
The question is a crucial one for the church in our polarized society. I often have to think of the experience of Mennonite Central Committee the nrst twenty·nve years of its existence. While P. C. Hiebert chaired MCC in those years, the board never made a decision that was not unanimous. That's difficult to comprehend in our time. We tend to be more like one of my parishioners years ago who learned that in his absence the church had called a youth pastor with a unanimous vote. He remarked, perhaps facetiously, that had he known this he would have been pre· sent to cast a negative vote.
That kind of minority doesn't need much consideration. Other minorities, however, are to be taken much more serio ously. I have met in a multitude of board sessions in my church life. Often there is strenuous debate over an issue, a vote is taken, the majority rules, and the dis· senter/s simply goes along because he/she is a covenanting member of the group and yields to the will of the majori· ty. I have done that on a few issues that seemed crucial for me. When a study conference decided to omit from the Confession of Faith the necessity of a per· son being baptized and becoming a member of the congregation as a condi· tion to participating in the Lord's Supper, I objected. I spoke my piece, but I was a minority. So I yielded to the will of the majority because basically I see myself as part of a covenanting community of
INQUlRING MINDS
BY MARVIN HEIN
believers and I will not run every time that community goes against my will.
The older I become, the more free quently I find myself in the minority. I confess that there are moments when I find myself tempted to withdraw my financial support from the church when I feel matters have not been handled correctly. I suppose that is the step prior to voting with your feet and leaving. My heart and mind tell me that such approaches usually are not the way God would have me act. When I joined the church I covenanted to be a part of a community and to submit to the rule of that community. So in general, I believe the minority should follow the majority.
Having said this, I must add several caveats. I'm persuaded a church is very unwise when it moves on a strategic plan or program when the vote is a meager majority. I really don't like the democratic method in church life. I have been present in a number of meet· ings where the chair would declare that without a more resounding affirmative vote the action would not be taken. I believe that is wise. The bare majorities should listen and be very charitable to the minorities.
But what do you do when the issue is more basic and crucial or even theological? I can say two things: if the issue is a very crucial theological one, and a member feels very strongly about the church moving in a wrong direction, the minority person may well exit that community of believers. However, there are few divisive debates in our congrega· tions that are basically theological.
That leads to my second observation: while in most cases one should fol· low the lead of the majority, there may well be instances when, even in issues of polity and practice, the person becomes so uncomfortable that an exit is the most judicious choice. I suspect that is a more charitable, though per· haps spiritually immature, choice than remaining in the congregation, forever unhappy, and causing dissension by repeatedly voicing the minority views.
A final word: the church must
Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? Send it to "InqUiring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.
guard against not listening to the minorities. In an age when more and more decisions are made "from the top," it is all too easy for church leaders to take the attitude of an evangelical "guru" whom I heard say: "We determine who the people are that are for us, and we get rid of the others." I recall once haVe ing someone tell me: "When someone criticizes you almost unbearably (and maybe without cause), listen. There is almost always a grain of truth even in the most vehement criticism that you need to hear."
QHow do we in the church quench the Holy Spirit, particu· larly in our relationships to each other? (California)
ASince this question came from a fellow church member, I had the luxury of quizzing the inquirer. I suppose that in the church we often quench the Spirit by not carrying out our brotherly and sisterly responsibilities. We have arrived at a point in our culture where individualism is at such a premium that we find it very difficult to do some of the things the Bible teaches us. For instance, is it not rather intimidating to think of correcting or even accepting correction between church members? We are so accustomed to doing what we want to do, so how can we approach another person and sug· gest that perhaps he/she needs some redirection in life?
We no doubt grieve the Holy Spirit when we disobey any of his directives or fail to carry out his orders. If the Bible tells us to comfort one another and we fail to do so, we grieve the Spiro it. If the scripture tells us not to speak harsh words against a brother (sister), and we voice vehemence against some· one in the body, do we not grieve the Holy Spirit? If and when we see a fellow traveler in the church suffering physically or otherwise and do not come to that person's aid, are we not grieving the Spirit of God? Any disobe· dience with respect to our relationships with fellow believers, committed or omitted, is an offense against the Holy Spirit and he is not pleased.
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Ups and downs of technology
Technology is here for us to use, but we must use it wisely.
Iremember the first time I walked into a computer lab with an assignment I was supposed to work on. I was terrified. This was before
the days of desktop personal computers. I sat down at that monstrous machine and just looked at it. I was so scared that I would hit the wrong key and mess up something that I finally had to ask for help in getting started.
The decision to take this computer class was not an easy one for me to make. I was a college teacher at the time and the school allowed me to take one free course each semester. It was such a good opportunity, but did I really want to get into computers? I finally decided that I had two choices: get with it or forget it. There was no middle ground for me.
I completed the class and a year later we purchased our first home computer. The rest is history.
A grandmother confided to me one day that her children had purchased a computer for her. They wanted her to wnte their family's story.
"I don't know if I can do it," she told me.
"Can you type?" I asked.
''Yes,'' she replied.
"Then you can do your word processing on the computer. You'll be just fine," I told her. "If I can learn, so can you."
I remember visiting with Dr. S. L. Loewen, one of my professors from my college days, who showed me his new computer and printer. He was in his 80's when he learned to use it and was very excited about it.
The rapid advances in technology have changed the way I live. I used to come home from school, check the mailbox and pick up the newspaper in the driveway. Now when I come home I still do all that, but I also check my telephone answering machine for messages, caller ID for who has called me and then tum on my computer to look for e-mail messages.
I can remember when calling long distance was reserved for emergencies
or serious business or family matters. Now we use it as a matter of course. When I want to talk to my granddaughter I just call and most of the time she comes to the phone and talks to her Grandma in Kansas. Just last Saturday my husband called me from Bombay, India, where he is on a business trip. Half way around the world from each other, we were able to talk as though we were just across town.
At home and at work I use the computer as a tool to do what needs to be done. These columns, my lesson plans, Christmas letters and other correspondence are all done using my word processing program. Just recently I completed a class in Quicken and now I keep track of our family's finances and tax information using it. If I had known how easy it is to balance my checkbook and keep my financial records in order I would have done this long ago!
And then there is e-mail. Forme, it is a real time saver. At school it's much faster to send a message and let the receiver answer when she has time, than try and get her on the phone when she may be busy or away from her desk. Email has greatly reduced the amount of papers in my mailbox or the announcements made over the intercom. Much of what I need to know is now on the computer. I feel handicapped when our email system is "down."
At home we keep in touch with our friends from West Africa with e-mail messages since letters have a way of getting lost. My husband uses e-mail to get messages to me during the day since I don't have a telephone in my classroom.
However, e-mail has its down side. Not all messages sent are valid. One that I received recently is a case in point. It was a virus warning and said that if I opened an e-mail message entitled "It Takes Guts to say 'Jesus'" it would erase everything on my hard drive. The same dire prediction was pronounced on any-
one opening "Returned" or "Unable to deliver" messages. The message even said that this warning came from IBM and gave a recent date. I was urged to pass the message on to my friends ASAP.
The computer experts I consulted told me that the message was a hoax. The "virus" is that everyone sends it to everyone else and eventually the system gets clogged up with useless e-mail messages. If this had been a bona fide warning from IBM it would have been on all the newscasts.
Another e-mail message making the rounds got a full-page rebuttal in a recent issue of Time magazine (Feb. 8, 1999). Although written in a scientific format the message was nothing more than a scare campaign that attacked an artificial sweetener and linked it to an unbelievable number of major illnesses. There was not a shred of scientific evidence produced to back up the claims made. Ironically, the lengthy warning did not include the one known health risk that is associated with such sweeteners. Another hoax.
Before we believe what we get in the way of unsolicited e-mail messages we need to do some checking. If they come from an unknown source, make wild claims and/or accusations and insist information is being withheldfrom the public because of a world-wide conspiracy, they are probably false.
Technology is here for us to use, but we must use it wisely.
Note: Since writing this column, I received an e-mail message from my school district's computer expert which contained the following warning: "Ifyou or your staff receivea Word document attachment in e-mail that you are not sure about DO NOT OPEN m" He went on to explain that an Internet virus had been released over the weekend and what it could do to mess up the e-mail system. Within minutes, I got on the Internet and checked out both CNN and ABC's Web sites and found lengthy warnings about this virus. Ibis message was for REAL. It was NOT a hoax.
My advice still is: Ifyou get a strange warning, check it out. If it is for real it will most likely be on the various news channels and their Web sites as well. If it is not to be found any where else, it probably is a hoax.
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Fred Alberti is the founder of Prayer Warrior Ministries, an Internet ministry where Christians engage others in conversations in Internet chat rooms with the goal of introducing Jesus Christ to unbelievers and encouraging Christians in their walk with God. His ministry drew the attention of Crosswalk. com, developed by DIDAX, Inc., the only religiously chartered public company in the U.S. Alberti now works full time for Crosswalk.com as their chat and forum diredor.
Alberti at home working in Internet chat rooms
• Fred Alberti's Internet ministry, Prayer Warrior Ministries, develops into full-time job with Crosswalk. com
Last month, Fred Alberti, Jr., of Hillsboro, Kan., traded his job as a factory worker in the "real" world for a job in the virtual world of the Internet chat room.
On March 1, Alberti, a member of Hillsboro's Ebenfeld MB Church, began working full time for Crosswalk.com as their chat and forum administrator. Now Alberti gets paid for doing what he enjoys most-ministering to people.
Crosswalk.com, based in Chantilly, Va., was developed to serve the Christian community by DIDAX, Inc., the only religiously chartered public company in the United States. In addition to chat rooms, visitors to www.crosswaJ.k.com can get information from a Christian perspective on stewardship and health concerns, tune-in to 24-hour Christian music, shop online Christian stores, play games and receive free e-mail service.
In his new role, Alberti will develop various chat events-from Bible study and prayer gatherings to meetings of home school parents. He will work with Christian authors and musicians like Sheila Walsh who participate in special Crosswalk.com chat events.
Another of Alberti's assignments is
to monitor Crosswalk.com's chat rooms to ensure they remain the "clean and secure" sites they are advertised to be. When Alberti discovered chat two years ago, he found that few chat rooms are monitored. That means all sorts of conversations are heard in many of the chat rooms advertised as "Christian" sites.
Alberti describes a chat room as a big house. Guests enter a lobby area filled with people visiting with one another. Guests can also move to more private rooms in the house. The job of a monitor-or host-is to move from room to room facilitating conversations and making sure visitors follow the house rules.
Alberti first became acquainted with Crosswalk. com in 1997 when he found his way to a Crosswalk.com chat room and talked with other men who had attended the "Stand in the Gap" Promise Keepers rally in Washington, D.C. He ended up talking with a person who was having marital problems. Alberti later learned that while he was counseling with this person, people in another room had been praying for him.
"It was so moving to see the prayers glowing on the screen," Alberti says. "There's just something about praying in
chat-you cannot relate until you've actually done it."
Alberti says his experience in the chat room that day was used by the Lord to give him a vision for an Internet ministry to the unsaved and in November 1997 Prayer Warrior Ministries was born. Individuals involved in the ministry were active primarily in Crosswalk. com chat rooms and engaged people in conversations with the goal of introducing Jesus Christ to unbelievers and encouraging Christians in their walk with the Lord.
Alberti and his prayer partners also monitored conversations in Crosswalk. com chat rooms. When they found visitors who were aggressively antagonistic to Christianity, some would boldly use Scripture to counter their claims while Warriors would pray.
Alberti wrote a weekly prayer letter to his ministry partners and established a PWM board of directors to help guide the ministry.
Eventually, PWM came to the attention of a Crosswalk. com staff member who was surprised to learn that such an outreach was actively serving chat room visitors. In July 1998, Crosswalk. com hired Alberti on a part-time basis and he and other PWM personnel began to officially monitor the chat rooms.
Over the last two years Alberti has had a variety of chat experiences. He has
confronted atheists and witches as well as an individual who appeared to be involved in an extramarital relationship. Alberti has also seen at least four individuals begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and has learned that 12 individuals traveled to Missouri to be baptized by Crosswalk. com chaplain Ken Smith.
"Chat is definitely an imaginary world and it's very powerful because of that," says Alberti. He finds that people tend to be bolder in chat rooms than they are in real-world interactions. While that has a downside, Alberti sees benefits as well.
"You can say to someone, 'Hey, I'm going through a divorce.' You know you're never going to see that person face to face, and so there's an openness to be able to share things you just wouldn't share in the real world."
As a security precaution, people are encouraged to not use their real names when chatting. Members of PWM use a chat "handle," much like a truck driver's CBhandle.
While anonymity may prompt some individuals to be deceitful, Alberti says it is difficult for people to lie consistently in chat and often one can tell after a while whether the person is telling the truth. "In some ways you have to be very discerning when you're speaking with someone," he says. "Sooner or later they'll realize that we mean business and that we care." Alberti says he relies on guidance from the Lord for the discernment he needs.
Alberti's ministry with Prayer Warriors has been blessed by his congregation with a commission service.
"Commissioning Fred means we as a church recognize that he has a ministry and that we affirm that ministry and commission him to that," says Ebenfeld senior pastor Gaylord Goertzen. Goertzen adds that Crosswalk. com wanted Alberti to minister under the authority of a local church.
Goertzen says Alberti always saw his factory work as a mission field. "I've really admired Fred for his desire to live as a Christian all through the week" says Goertzen. "So when (the Prayer Warrior ministry) started up, I wasn't surprised. This wasn't some fad Fred was picking up. It was an extension of what he'd already been liVing out since he's been a part of our church."
Alberti and his wife Rochelle will be moving their family to Virginia this summer to
be closer to the company's headquarters. Expanding PWM's ministry will be on hold while Alberti settles into his new job, but, in the future, he would like to send Prayer Warriors out to non-Christian chat rooms.
One of Alberti's hopes for his new assignment is that he can help people who visit Crosswalk. com chat rooms learn how to relate to one another as an Internet community.
Developing Christian Internet communities might be an unusual avenue for the church to pursue, but Goertzen says in the past Christians have used new
Tabor
Internet
technology to spread the Good News.
"There were men and women who caught a vision for how radio could be used to spread the gospel," says Goertzen. "There's now hundreds, thousands of Christian stations. Then along came television in the 60s and 70s and Christians moved into television. So now we're moving to a whole new area, the Internet, and we've got to take advantage of it. "
Goertzen is thankful for visionaries like Alberti. "I don't feel called to the Internet but others are. I see Fred's ministry as having a very positive influence."
class
gets high marks from students
Electronic mail has been used for advertising, visiting, and information purposes, but will it work for education? Don Isaac, associate. professor of business and economil.'S and chair of the Business Administration Department at Tabor College, decided to try electronic education and designed one of his courses tQ be. CQ!llpleted solely on the Internet.
During the fall semester, Isaac was on sabbatical, but still planned on teaching a course at the Tabor CollegeWichita (TCW) campus, the center of the college's adult degree completion program. To accommodate his traveling schedule, Isaac chose distancelearning for the fortnat of the class.
The Economics Module, I$aac's experimental class, fulfills the requirement for economics in the degree completion program in business administration at lWC. Most courses at TCW are taught in the cohort model, meeting together each week. ThiJi course, however, was taught via the Internet, with students meeting electronically, as often as they wish, at times convenient for them. Students access the class through technology at their home or work.
Isaac set up an introduction page for the students including a course outline, syllabus, and assiQnmenU. The assignments included questions to be dis-
-by Natalee Roth and Connie Faber ::
cussed with fellow students over e-mall along with a short research paper also turned in electronically.
Isaac often participated in discussions and e-mailed papers back to the "Students graded and with personal comments. "This type of course format allows students to do their work on their own time. They can discuss assignments with other students throughout the day," Isaac says.
"It was nice to have the class discussion via e-mail. You were able to read someone's comments and have time for it to sink in and analyze what was really being stated," says Brett L. Hartman, a student in the experimental class.
A disadvantage to distance·learning, Isaac said, is the loss of real time conversation. Setting up a course chat room on the Internet where students could gain immediate responses to their comments would solve this problem.
Overall the experimental class was a success, and students turned in positive evaluations. Isaac said that vital to the success of this program was the fact that the students and professor were already familiar with each other from past courses.
"For myself, the e-mail format was jdeal. The main driver was the convenience factor. With busy schedules, that is a definite plus," said student Cindy Sipes. -TC Information Services
Nikkel named as Tabor's
twelfth president
• Former president and chief executive officer of Mennonite Health Services accepts role. Inauguration scheduled for May 2.
Larry w. Nikkel will be inaugurated next month as the twelfth president of Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren college located in Hillsboro, Kan. The Tabor College Board of Directors appointed Nikkel by unanimous vote at its annual winter meeting Feb. 19. His appointment was effective immediately.
The May 2 inauguration will be preceded by a symphonic band concert with the ceremony following at 2:30 p.m. At Nikkel's request, larry Martens, pastor of North Fresno (Calif.) MB Church and a spiritual mentor to Nikkel, will be the speaker. A reception will follow the ceremony.
Nikkel, formerly president and chief executive officer of Mennonite Health Services and chair Larry W. Nikkel of the Tabor College Board of Directors, agreed to serve as interim president when H. David Brandt resigned from the position last summer.
Lyndon Vix, an attorney with Wichita law firm Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson and Kitch, LLC, and a 1982 Tabor graduate, is currently serving as interim chair of the Tabor College Board. He said a presidential search committee conducted a nationwide search for candidates who would be well-suited to lead Tabor College.
"Although a number of gifted individuals were identified," Vix says, "it was clear that the right person for this time was one of our own-Larry Nikkel."
Vix says over the six months Nikkel served as interim president, he demonstrated that he is perfectly suited for this presidential appointment.
"Larry has earned the respect of the students, faculty, administration and constituency, and his candidacy has drawn universal support," Vix says.
Nikkel acknowledges that it has been the experieLce of leading the col-
lege during the last months that made him willing to make the interim position permanent.
"The Tabor community has offered us a warm reception and we are eager to be part of the Tabor and Hillsboro communities," he says. "We have listened carefully to the voice of God and the discernment of people whose spiritual judgment we respect and are committed to giving ourselves without reservation to this important task."
Nikkel and his Wife, Elaine, have two children; Jeff and his wife Lianne, and Kerri and her husband Harley Justus, all of whom have attended or graduated from Tabor and live in Wichita. The Nikkels have three grandchildren.
Nikkel earned a Master's degree in Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974. Before he became president and CEO at Mennonite Health Services in 1995, he served as director of member services at MHS, and spent ten years as executive director of Prairie View, Inc., Newton.
He has gained national leadership experience as founder and board member of Mental Health Corporations of America, as vice chair of the nonprofit section of the National Association of Private Psychiatric Hospitals, and as board member of the National Psychiatric Alliance, among others. His involvement with church related organizations include participation as a member of Mennonite Central Committee's International Committee for Mental Health and Disabilities, moderator for the Southern District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, and chair of the Tabor Foundation. -Tabor College Press Release
Central District Partners with Churches for Renewal
Meet Peter Thomas, chair of the new subcommittee for Central District Church Renewal. Peter and his wife Jodi and their two children live in urban Omaha, where he has pastored the Faith Bible Church since 1992. Son Richard (pictured with his father) accompanied Peter to the Tabor Missions Conference in February where Thomas was the featured speaker.
Peter Thomas was a Peter Thomas and son Richard manager for a Wall Street firm in New York City when he had a powerful conversion experience. Responding to the passion God gave him for the hurting people of the inner city, he left his career to attend seminary. In 1992 he accepted the call to Faith Bible to pastor the single congregation. Today, Faith Bible is a multicongregation church with the original congregation, a Hispanic congregation and a Generation neXt congregation. Good Neighbor Ministries is the local missions organization formed by Faith Bible to increase their ministry and caring to the inner city.
Mission USA partnered with Faith Bible as a target church in 1997-98. The church received a M-USA grant for fundraising for Wellspring, the Generation neXt project.
Thomas is now giving leadership to the Central District Church Renewal Subcommittee. The CDCRS together with the district pastor is forming partnerships with Central District churches in an intentional process of revitalization with the goal of growing
MISSION USA BOARD:
Ed Boschman, Phoenix, AI.., Loretta Jast, Aurora, HE
Ihealthier churches.
The suggested strategy is that a church would meet at the leadership level weekly for prayer and seeking God's specific will for the future direction of their church. Following prescribed steps, the leadership will write a statement reflecting God's mission, vision, purpose and core values for their church. Upon approval by the congregation they will continue with a three-year strategy and plan of action. The implementation of the plan will include evaluation by the church, CDCRC and the District Minister.
Clint Grenz, DM and a member of the Mission USA Board, says that "Central District renewal is happening through churches who are assessing their health utilizing the National Church Development survey. To date 13 churches are involved in the process. Leadership teams are encouraged to utilize the service of CDRenewal team to assist in providing resources and site visitation to assist local churches to implement changes that will facilitate renewal growth."
Amy and James fpp, pastor of Wellspring, and Steven and Jane Stout, director of Good Neighborhood Ministries.
Chud< Buller, V'lSOlia, CA. Brad Klassen, Glendale, AI.
Karin Enns, Dinuba, CA
Phil Glanzer, New Hope, MN
Joe Johns, Weatherford, OK
Nancy Laverty, Jones, OK
Stephen Reimer, Shafter, CA
Randy Steinert, Bakersfield, CA
Tim Sullivan, Hillsboro, KS
Gary Wall, Ladi, CA
Ex Offido Members: Henry Dick, Fresno, CA.
dinton Grenz, Bismark, N.D.
Bruce Porter, Fresno, CA
Roland Reimer, WIChita, KS. (lint Seibel, Hillsboro, KS
Jim Westgate, Fresno, CA
Baja mission outreach changes one heart at a time
• Students cross cultural barriers to help Tijuana churches
La Iglesia Cristiana Mar De Cristal (Crystal Sea Christian Church) sits on the side of a hill near the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico. The cement foundation supports concrete walls and wood rafters, but the walls have begun to lean. The villagers lay hands on the church, praying to God that He will keep the walls from falling.
A pulpit, homemade pews and a small stage area covered in donated carpet are the only furnishings in this house of worship. Outside the church a dusty road leads to the surrounding houses.
"We are so blessed in the United States but we tend to complain about many things. We have curbs. We have streets," says John Navarro, Fresno Pacific University's director of Outreach Ministries and supervisor of Baja Missions Outreach. "The faith is so deep in Mexico, we can learn so much."
Baja Missions Outreach was created to serve churches such as La Iglesia Cristiana Mar De Cristal. Several churches now sponsor this congregation and provide financial help.
BMO was begun in 1989 by the Pacific District Conference Youth Ministries, members of the Student Life Office at Fresno Pacific University and a group of pastors from Tijuana. It's purpose is to cross cultural barriers and to assist the Tijuana churches-regardless of denominationwith whatever needs they may have.
A group from Vinewood Community MB Church in Lodi, Calif., work at Casa Hogar in Mexico. The group was part of teams created to focus on medical, construction, and praise and worship needs. Once in Baja, it's some· times hard to tell who is sharing the gospel with whom. MThe ones who are really ministered to are the groups themselves," says Aaron Resendez, who has been to Baja four times.
Each year, FPU trains and sends teams of high school and college students as well as youth pastors and other individuals to Tijuana for one week of outreach and ministry. This year, BMO is slated for June 11-19.
Teams are created to focus on medical, construction, and praise and worship needs. Translators accompany each group to bridge the barriers created by language.
While this outreach was created by Mennonite Brethren, it has grown con·
The ministry director at EI Faro, a boys orphanage in Tecate, Mexico, helps the ministry team during VBS. The teams are made up of high school and college students as well as youth pastors and other individuals from MB, Presbyterian, Baptist, Assembly of God and Catholic congregations.
siderably. Half the participants are from MB congregations, while the other half corne from Presbyterian, Baptist, Assembly of God and Catholic congregations. More than 1,500 students from more than 35 different congregations have made the trip over the past 10 years.
To prepare for the trip, participants spend one day together at FPU for praise and worship. Navarro and the other leaders speak to students about the differences in culture and how to react to what they experience. Plans for the vacation Bible school that students conduct are passed out and instructions are given to the mission leaders. The next morning, the group leaves for Tijuana.
Many of the sponsoring churches have meetings to train the youth in servanthood before they attend the trip. But once in Baja, it'S sometimes hard to tell who is sharing the gospel with whom.
"The ones who are really ministered to are the groups themselves. The Holy Spirit moves in such a tremendous way that you can't help but be moved. Hearts are broken on both sides," says Aaron Resendez, an FPU admissions
Members from worldwide MB church to gather this summer
• Historic first consultation of Mennonite Brethren from around the world will solidify ICOMB relationships
wren civil unrest and violence hit the Congo in 1994, the Japan MB conference was one of many from around the world who offered both prayers and financial aid to their brothers and sisters in Africa. A year later, Congo believers returned the favor as one of many conferences that lent a hand in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Japan.
This year, Mennonite Brethren from around the world will further solidify their relationship dUring an historic first consultation in Buhler, Kan. The seventeen member conferences of the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) have each been asked to send four delegates to the first ICOMB-sponsored event scheduled for July 11-14.
ICOMB vice-chair Edmund Janzen is on the planning committee for the consultation. "This meeting signifies a large step forward for the global Mennonite
counselor who has been to Baja four times as a translator.
Miguel Diaz, a FPU freshman from the Grant's Pass (Ore.) MB Church who has been part of two BMO teams, knows he has been changed. He remembers one experience while serving food to children. "We only had enough hot dogs for them to have one each. This little girl took the hot dog but didn't eat it. She watched while everyone else ate and then took the hot dog to her sick mother. We went with her to her house and her mom cried when she gave her the hot dog."
"This trip isn't just about them seeing Jesus in us, but many times, we end up seeing Jesus in them," Diaz says. "It changes us too." -Sarah Joan Elder
Brethren church," he says. "Our hope is that this event will help build the sense of unity that has been the goal of ICOMB since it began."
ICOMB was formed in 1990 for the purpose of building a stronger global MB church through consultation, friendship and shared activity. MBMS International, the global mission agency of the MB church in Canada and the United States, organized an initial global consultation in Curitiba, Brazil in 1988. Since that time, ICOMB has worked at building a stronger sense of ownership by partner conferences.
"This meeting is a sign of the growth we have seen in our relationship as a global fellowship of believers," says ICOMB chair Takashi Manabe. "Gathering together is essential to what ICOMB stands for: the need and desire we have to grow in community and learn from each other."
The theme of the event is "Signs of
Hope in a World of Chaos: Renewing the MB Church for Century 21." The three-day event will cover the themes of renewal through prayer, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, suffering, witness, and blessed hope. Each day will include worship, prayer, discussion, and testimonies. Each general session will be hosted by members from a single continent, with speakers from that continent delivering messages relating to that session's theme.
Workshops are being planned for each afternoon, with two separate tracks of workshop sessions running each day.
Invitations are also being sent out to partner churches that are not yet members of ICOMB, as well as to any interested people from Canada and the United States. "We encourage anyone attending the General Conference convention to stay afterward and participate in the ICOMB gathering," says Janzen. "This is a unique opportunity to experience the fellowship and experiences that come from being a global family."
Those interested in attending the ICOMB sessions can register by contacting the US MB Conference office at (316) 947-3151. -Brad Thiessen, MBMS International
The student ministry teams plan activities such as face painting for the daily VBS. Here, a girl from Northpointe Community Church in Fresno paints the face of a boy from Tecate, Mexico.
MCC board okays plans for new facilities
• Board for Mennonite world relief organization gives go-ahead for new Pennsylvania facilities and reelects MBs to executive committee
The Mennonite Central Committee board recently approved a plan to build new facilities in Akron, Pa" starting in the late summer or early fall. The annual board meeting was hosted by Bakerview MB Church in
Abbotsford, B.C., Feb. 19-20.
The facilities, estimated to cost $4 million, will include new housing for guests, international visitors and people preparing for MCC aSSignments. It also includes a new Campus Commons
MCC aids refugee children in Montenegro
Refugee children living in a 700-year-old monastery were among recipients of Mennonite Central Committee blankets. Since the terrible Yugoslavian wars began in 1991, their family fled fighting three times: first from CToatia to Bosnia, then from Bosnia to Kosovo, and last summer from Kosovo to Montenegro.
building where orientations, chapels and other meetings will occur. The plan will basically replace existing facilities.
"Because we continue to share God's love and resources through people, we need a place where we can welcome people, share hospitality and ideas and a place where we can orient them to our mission, values and beliefs," says Ronald ].R. Mathies, MCC executive director.
Plans for financing the construction include $1.6 million from capital reserves, $1.4 million borrowed for repayment over the next five years and $1 million from fund-raising efforts to begin this spring. Groundbreaking will not begin until $800,000 in cash and pledges is received.
In other business, two Mennonite Brethren were reelected to the MCC board executive committee. MB board representative Paul Toews of Fresno, Calif., was elected to a three-year term as secretary. He has been on the board since 1995 and the executive committee since 1998. Vidya Narimalla of Scarborough, Ont., was elected for a second three-year term as a member-at-Iarge. N arimalla has served as treasurer since 1998 and been on the executive committee since 1997.
The board also appointed Mathies to a second three-year term as executive director. Mathies, a Mennonite Brethren from Ontario, assumed the duties of executive director in 1996.
The board also agreed to develop a different relationship between MCC and Ten Thousand Villages. In the future, TTV will be an MCC-owned corporation rather than a program of MCC. The management committee hopes the new arrangement will allow TTV increased flexibility in running its operation. A final restructuring proposal will be presented next year.
MCC is a relief, peace and service agency of North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches. MB congregations contributed $233,385 to MCC during 1998. -MCC news service
OUR FUNDS> MAKE AN ETERNAL DIFFERENCE-
providjng
Reedley MB children's program making a difference
• After-school program reaches out to neighborhood
On the evening of March 7, more than 150 grade school children were spread across the sanctuary stage at Reedley (Calif.) MB Church doing simple motions while enthusiastically singing that "God's got a plan" for an audience of more than 1,000 people, many of whom do not normally attend church.
For Kingdom Kids Choir director Colleen Friesen and the volunteers involved in this outreach effort, KKC is more than eight weeks of rehearsals and a concluding performance. It's about their congregation working together to share God's Good News with neighborhood children and their families.
"Our songs are simple enough that these children who have never heard of Jesus can understand His message," says Friesen, who spends the months between the annual choir sessions selecting appropriate music. Weekly Bible lessons, developed to correspond with songs and the musical theme, also emphasize the salvation message.
"Every year between 10 and 30 children accept Jesus as their Savior during Kingdom Kids," says Friesen. Each child who makes this commitment receives a personalized children's Bible and a follow-up visit in their home by someone from the Reedley congregation. All the children are invited to attend RMBC's summer Bible school.
KKC is a ministry to first through
third graders that brings together 40 children from the congregation and more than 100 students from Washington Grade School, located right across the street from the church. Because of the ethnic make-up of Reedley and Washington school, over 50 percent of the children are from Hispanic homes.
Five years ago, Friesen brought a new idea for community outreach to Bob Plett, RMBC minister of music. The proposal was to change from a Sunday evening choir for congregational children to a week-day after school program to include the Washington school children.
About the same time, the Reedley ministerial alliance initiated a program that encouraged congregations to "adopt" one of the city's public schools. RMBC adopted Washington, which created an additional openness to the choir program among neighborhood parents.
Even though the church and school are across the street from one another, getting so many children from the school to the church and back againand to move from place to place on the church campus-requires a great deal of organization. Friesen credits church member and friend Alice Klassen with devising the initial plan that helped with these basic details. Sheila Penner, RMBC office secretary, carries out much of the administrative work.
Beginning with the first rehearsal in January, participating children are
Kingdom Kids
Choir at Reedley
MB Church is a unique afterschool program that brings together children from the congregation and from a neighboring elementary school for an afternoon of music and Bible lessons.
picked up from their Washington classrooms by KKC small group leaders. They are escorted across the street to the church's social hall where they divide into about 30 groups of six children and each week devour 30 dozen cookies
After their snack, the group leader and children move to a classroom where they complete a Bible lesson. The lessons and music this year are based on the theme "God's got a plan." Lessons show how the Bible is God's plan book, that people are specially created by God and that God wants to forgive our sins. After the lesson, the children rehearse for about an hour.
And it all works thanks to an army of RMBC volunteers. The 40-some small group leaders include a wide range of volunteers: college students, mothers and even retired "grandpas" plus high school seniors enrolled in the missions class at Immanuel High School, a local Christian high school. Another group of 40 to 60 volunteers bake cookies. Volunteers also provide child care for those who are group leaders.
Members of RMBC's Hispanic adult Sunday school class visit the home of every Hispanic child enrolled in the choir-and that's the majoriry of the children. Children who make a salvation decision receive a second visit.
Add to the list the number of people who sign-up as prayer partners for the children and those who financially sponsor the program-and it's easiest to just quit counting.
"It's not like pulling teeth to get volunteers," says Friesen. "People see this as a ministry. It's just incredible."
Folks at RMBC aren't the only ones excited about Kingdom Kids. Enthusiasm for the after-school choir program has grown among Washington teachers to the point that teachers, regardless of their own religious background, are encouraging students to get involved. KKC has the full cooperation of the school's administrators. Each year the students are shown a KKC video and are given invitations to join the program.
But the biggest fans are the children. Washington teachers say that on Thursdays the children are very excited to meet their group leader and go to KKC. "Many of these children go home to empty houses," says Friesen. "But on Thursdays they feel really special because someone comes to school just for them." -GF
MB champion of mental health care dies
• Arthur lost leaves legacy
Arthur lost, a life-long Mennonite Brethren champion of mental health care, died March 4, 1999, at the age of 80.
"Arthur and Elmer Ediger (founder of Prairie View, Inc., Newton, Kan.), without a doubt, were the fathers of the whole mental health movement in the Mennonite Church," says Howard Brenneman, president and CEO of Mennonite Mutual Aid. "Without Arthur and Elmer, there would probably not be a Mennonite Health Services today."
lost's interest in mental health began during World War II when he was one of more than 3,000 young men working as conscientious objectors in state mental hospitals as part of the Civilian Public Service.
When the war was over, lost accepted an invitation to work with Mennonite Central Committee's Mennonite Mental Health Services in establishing a network of mental health hospitals in key locations around the United States. lost played a role in founding four MHS mental hospitals, including Kings View Center of Reedley, Calif., where he served as chief executive officer from 1948 until his retirement in 1986.
"Art took Kings View from being a little country 30-bed hospital to being a major psychiatric provider in central California," says Larry Nikkel, recent Mennonite Health Services chief executive officer and a friend ofJost for almost 30 years.
Under lost's leadership, Kings View grew dramatically and was an innovative mental health care provider, says Nikkel. That Kings View was awarded the Gold Achievement Award by the American Psychiatric Association in 1971 is evidence that lost achieved this goal.
In spite of the void left by lost's retirement, dramatic changes in managed health care and the growth of competing mental health care providers in central California, Kings View has continued to grow.
"Since 1991, Kings View has dou-
Arthur Jost died on March 4,1999, at the age of 80.
bled in size to the extent that the Kings View Arthur founded represents less than 15 percent of what we do today," says Mike Waters, Kings View CEO.
"Kings View Mental Health System is very diverse. But what's here today is an extension of what Arthur started. Everything we do is measured by our mission statement and that mission was laid down by Arthur," says Waters. lost's lifelong dedication to Kings View was recognized last fall when the Arthur lost Rehabilitation Center was dedicated in his honor.
lost received state-wide and national recognition during his years at Kings View. He was awarded the Presidential Award of the National Association of Psychiatric Hospitals and was president of the California Hospital Association and a member of the College of Health Care Executives. When he retired, the California General Assembly passed a resolution honoring lost for his work.
Nevertheless, lost remained a humble man, says Waters. "He was a powerful leader with an inner drive who wasn't arrogant or overpowering."
Nikkel agrees. "Art was a great enemy of obstacles but he didn't run roughshod over people in the process. He just refused to be beat."
Both Waters and Nikkel credit Jost for encouraging young people to take on leadership roles. Waters notes that seven of Kings View's current executive directors were hired by lost or worked with him. "One of the things Arthur did very well was give people a chance," says Waters.
In spite of his dedication to his profession, lost's greatest love was the Mennonite church, says his family. "He lived a life of deep faith and prayer," says wife Esther, "rising early, even on the day of his death, to read the Bible and pray."
At his death he was a member of Reedley (Calif.) Mennonite Brethren Church and an associate member of continued on page 33
IN BRIEF
ORIENTATION: Nineteen individuals, which included nine U.S. and five Canadian pastors plus their spouses, attended the 1999 Pastors' Orientation March 4-6. The event, held on the MB Biblical Seminary campus and sponsored by the General Conference Board of Faith and Life, \o\as designed to acquaint pastoral staff members who were either new to the denomination or firsttime pastors with the distinctives of the Mennonite Brethren Church-both historical and present day, says Marvin Hein, GC executive secretary. "The three primary distinctives were discipleship, the nature of the church, and the ethical life, including nonviolence," Presenters included representatives from MBMS International, Resource Ministries and MBBS and BFL members. Rod Suess, pastor of Butler MB Church in Fresno, talked about the multicongregational model used by his congregation and Paul Woods of the Canadian Conference spoke onstewardship. (MBBS)
AID: The California Mennonite Disaster Service unit is responding to the severe citrus fruit freeze that hit the central California San Joaquin farming communities in late December. The Hispanic Caucus of Mennonite Churches, led by Jose Elizondo, Jr., pastor of EI Buen Pastor (MB) Church in Orange Cove, Calif., is purchasing food in bulk with funds supplied by MOS. The caucus built a pantry near the Orange Cove church where it packages the food into family-sized boxes. The packages, which include information about Christ and invites the recipients to church, are distributed by the Hispanic churches to families with the most need. (MDS)
PRESIDENT: John H. Unger, most recently pastor of Richmond Park MB Church of Brandon, Man., has been appointed president of Winnipeg's Concord College, one of the three colleges of the Mennonite College Federation. He and his wife Merrill are both graduates of MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif. Unger's interest in church-related higher education was tested during his recent stint as Manitoba conference moderator. Unger helped the conference through a process that resulted in the closing of Winkler Bible Institute by its board, assuming ownership of Concord College and approving participation in the Mennonite College Federation. (CC)
NEWS
FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Baptism/membership
CLOVIS. Calif. {College Community)-James and Goldine Pankratz were welcomed into membership March 14.
WICHITA. Kan. {First)-Rachel Trego, Erin Friend, Rachel Schrock, Courtney Grafton, Jenna Jansen, Stephanie Goedde and Elissa Buller were welcomed as new members Feb. 28.
VISALIA. Calif. {Neighborhood)-Ashley Davis, Charise Rumelhart, Joshua Kroeker. Stephanie Kroeker, Ali Houck. Melissa Watson and David Martino were baptized and welcomed as members Feb. 2B. David and Kathleen Rumelhart. Ron and Linda Falk and Camille Verissimo were also received as members.
LITTLETON. Colo. {Belleview Acres)-Leah Blackburn, Tyler Funk. Nichole Gill, Lori Hawkinson. Ashley Hawkinson, Ryan Hawkinson and Christiana Vincent were baptized and welcomed into membership Feb. 21. Angela Delagarza. John Hawkinson, Marce Scott and Matthew Scott were also welcomed as members by testimony.
BAKERSFIELD. Calif. {Laurelglen)-New member testimonies were shared Feb. 21 by Sandra Bryan, James Eggleston, Brenda Friesen, David Meyers, Vonda Meyers, Chad Newton, Chris Squires and Charlyn Tedder.
DINUBA. Calif.-Noe and Michelle Larralde were received as members Feb. 14. Doug and Julie Rosenfeld were received as members Feb. 28.
FREEMAN. S.D. {Salem)-Gideon and Mabel Bertsch and Lyle and Leona Weidenbach were welcomed as members Jan. 31.
HILLSBORO. Kan. {Parkview)-Ken and Karol Christie. Marion and Leona Hamilton, Jerry and Tamara Hinerman, Dave and Kim Kroeker. Shannon Kroeker and Gary and Sue Railsback were accepted as members Jan. 24.
HURON. S.D. {Bethesda)-The congregation recently welcomed 10 new members into fellowship.
Facilities
HILLSBORO. Kan. (Ebenfeld)-The congregation held a mortgage burning ceremony Jan. 24 to celebrate the full payment of the loan for their new addition.
CLOVIS. Calif. {College Community)-The congregation has invited a new Korean MB congregation to share their facilities.
TeachinglNurture
NEW HOPE. Minn.-Jon Wiebe, president of the MB Foundation. will be leading a Giving Project diagnostic weekend April 30 - May 2.
HILLSBORO. Kan. {Parkview)-Richard
Kriegbaum, director of administration of the Fresno Leadership Foundation and a professor at Fresno Pacific University, will be the resource person for a leadership retreat April 16-17.
Workers
SIOUX FALLS. S.D. {Lincoln Hills)-Pastor Roger Engbrecht has taken a leave of absence as a result of recent health concerns.
BUHLER. Kan.-Youth pastor Mike Yutzy has resigned effective this summer. He and his wife Tina are considering missionary service.
Youth
LITTLETON, Colo {Belleview Acres)-The women had a "Package Night" Feb. 25 to prepare care packages for college students.
FREEMAN. S.D. (Salem)-The high school youth led the morning service Feb. 14. Joy Pullman shared the morning meditation.
NEW HOPE. Minn.-The high school students and their sponsors planned and served in the morning worship service Jan. 24.
Deaths
BECKER. RICHARD MILTON. of San Jose, Calif., was born at Shafter. Calif .• Dec. 14, 1924 to Otto W. and Regina Bergen Becker and died Feb. 23, 1999, at the age of 74. On June 25,. 1949, he was married to Lillian "Bonnie" Bonfiglio, who survives. He is also survived by three sons, Rhawn Joseph of San Jose, Rob and wife Erin of Ross, Calif .• and Rick and wife Kathryn of Santa Barbara, Calif.; two daughters. Sheryl and husband Mick McGrath of San Jose. and Trish and husband Fred Forsman of Campbell. Calif.; three sisters, Joanne and husband Dan Frantz of Bakersfield, Calif., Belva and husband Allen Warkentin of Shafter, Calif., and Neva and husband Dale Knox of Wasco, Calif., and four grandchildren.
BULLER. HELEN TOEWS. of Reedley, Calif .• was born to George G. and Eva Huebert Toews June 1, 1908. at Henderson. Neb .• and died Feb. 6, 1999, at the age of 90. On Nov. 18. 1934, she was married to Sam Buller, who survives. She is also survived by one daughter, Wilma and husband Bob Hagen; three sons, LeRoy and wife Joanne, Reiny and wife Donna and Harold and wife Joan; two sisters, Anna Schultz and Marty Brandt Braun, one brother. Melvin and wife Esther Toews, eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
DUECK, WILLIAM GEORGE. of Denver, Colo., was born July 15, 1920 at Taurida, Russia, to Gerhart and Anne Dueck and died Dec. 23, 1998. at the age of 78. On July 22. 1943. he was married to Lydia Lentzner, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Don and Robert and
wife Darlene and two grandchildren. Denise and husband Kirk and Dan and wife Erin. FAST. CHESTER. of Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church and a retired Mennonite Brethren minister, was born May 8. 1916, to Isaac and Amanda Bartel Fast at Colony, Okla., and died Feb. 28, 1999, at the age of 82. On June 1. 1941. he was married to Elfreda Penner, who survives. He is also survived by four children, Janet and husband Diether Van Houten of Sheridan, Wy., Dale and wife Ruth of Chicago, III .• Stephen and wife Janice of Bakersfield. Calif .• and LaVon and husband Randy Sperling of Lincoln. Neb.• and nine grandchildren.
GROSS. PAUL 5.• of Bridgewater, S.D., was born Sept. 7. 1936, to Sam P. and Anna Hofer Gross at Bridgewater and died Feb. 15, 1999. On Aug. 12, 1966, he was married to Mary Ann Tschetter, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Mark and wife Stacy and Jeral; two sisters, Ida of Sioux Falls. S.D .• and Celia of Hillsboro. Kan.; one brother-in-law, Wesley Tschetter and wife Lois of Brookings. S.D., one sisterin-law. Phyllis and husband Harold Hofer of Marion, S.D.; and four nephews and nieces.
GRUNAU. LINDA MAE BARTEL. of Fresno. Calif .• was born May 30, 1912, near Hooker. Okla .• to Rev. and Mrs. Henry H. Bartel and died Feb. 8, 1999. at the age of 86. On Nov. 20, 1932, she was married to John Grunau.
HARDER. WALTER. of Fresno, Calif., a member of Bethany MB Church in Fresno, was born April 9, 1920. to Frank and Anna Seibel Harder at Henderson, Neb., and died Nov. 12. 1998, at the age of 78. On Jan. 21, 1947, he was married to Lois Smith, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Glenn and Dale, both of Fresno; two brothers, Victor of Fresno and Harold and wife Irene of Tipton, Iowa, and one sister, Rubena and husband Bill Doerksen of Susanville, Calif.
HUEBERT. ESTHER. of Reedley, Calif., a member of Reedley MB Church and a charter member of Lincoln Glen MB Church in San Jose, Calif., was born Jan. 19, 1909, to Peter and Christine Wiens Buller in Nebraska and died Feb. 5, 1999, at the age of 90. On Nov. 23, 1930, she was married to Herman Huebert, who predeceased her in 1969. She is survived by one son. Stan and Darlene Huebert of Reedley; one daughter, Shirley and husband Dwight Friesen of San Jose, Calif.; two brothers, Sam and Lloyd and wife Susie; one sister-in-law, Frieda Buller, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
JOST. ARTHUR. of Hilliard, Ohio, a member of Reedley (Calif.) MB Church, was born October 10, 1918 near Morse, Sask., and died March 4, 1999, at the age of 80. On Feb. 11, 1941, he was married to Esther Goossen. who survives. He is also survived by his sons, David and wife Elaine, Timothy and wife Ruth Stoltzfus, and John and wife Suzanne; two brothers, Jake and David and wife Bonnie; one sister, Edna and husband Richard Knaak, and five grandsons.
JOST. SCOTT JACOB. of Kingsburg, Calif .• was born Aug. 3, 1998, at Fresno, Calif., to Mark and Judy Jost of Reedley (Calif.) MB Church and died unexpectedly Dec. 3, 1998. at the age of four months. He is survived by his parents; one sister, Jennifer; four grandparents, Elmer and Loree Jost of Kingsburg and George and Ada Yamoto of Fresno, and one greatgrandmother, Edna Nishida of Reedley.
KLASSEN. ADELINE JANE. of San Jose, Calif., was born Jan. 1, 1940, to San and Anna Friesen at Meade, Kan., and died Feb. 7. 1999, at the age of 59. On June 6, 1959, she was married to Vidor I. Klassen, who survives. She is also survived by her parents; one son, Keith and wife Judy of Newark, Calif.; two daughters, Amy and husband David Elder of Tualitan, Ore., and Jill and husband Don Hofer of Whittier. Calif.; one sister, Sandra and husband Brad of Meade, Kan .• and six grandchildren.
MEDARI. KRUPAMMA JOHN. of India. was born June 28, 1917 to Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Kothapalli and died Jan. 14, 1999, at the age of 81. On March 23,1933, she was married to M.B. John, and ministered with her husband until her death. She is survived by 11 children. 26 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
PANKRATZ. ELMER. Hillsboro. Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church. was born Sept. 7, 1924. to Sam G. and Helena Wall Pankratz near Marion. Kan., and died Feb. 12. 1999, at the age of 74. On Jan. 19, 1951, he was married to Lydia Meier, who survives. He is also survived by one daughter, Linda and husband Dan Wiese, of Eagle River. Alaska; two sons, Larry and wife Janice of Salina, Kan., and Mark of McPherson, Kan.; three brothers, Harrison and wife Helen, Allen and wife Dorothy, all of Hillsboro, and Roger and wife Donna of Bowling Green. Ky, and five grandchildren.
REGIER. HULDA HELEN. of Peoria, Ariz., was born Oct. 1. 1918, to Henry and Justina Stobbe Schlichting at Minneola, Kan .• and died Feb. 3, 1999, at the age of 80. On June 20, 1937. she
Jost leaves legacy
continued from page 31
Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church, which has dual affiliation with the Mennonite and General Conference Mennonite churches.
Jost's interest in the work of the church prompted him to serve on a numher of boards. He served on the Mennonite Mutual Aid Board of Directors froin 1981 to 1993, and was its chair from 1985 to 1989. He served on the board of Fresno Pacific University for 12 years, and was the board's president. He was a member of the Men-
was married to Dewey J. Regier, who predeceased her. She is survived by her children, Michael and wife Nelda of Hampton, Neb .• Marilyn K. Lehman of Glendale, Ariz., John and wife Juanita of Aurora, Neb., and Nancy Hicks of Peoria, Ariz.; one sister, Esther Henley of Santa Barbara, Calif., seven grandchildren. nine great-grandchildren and five step great-grandchildren.
SIEBERT. WALDO PETER. of Hutchinson, Kan., a member of Buhler (Kan.) MB Church, was born July 25. 1922, to Peter P. and Mary Ann Schulz Siebert at Herbert, Sask., and died Feb. 4, 1999. at the age of 71. On Nov. 26, 1944, he was married to Minnie Regier, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Jay of Manhattan. Kan., and Richard of Hutchinson; one daughter, Mary of Houston, Texas; one brother, Pete of Hutchinson; one sister, Marianna Delker of Chapman, Kan., seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
WEDEL, WALDO. Buhler, Kan .• was born July 30. 1920. at Tampa, Kan., to John C. and Nette Jantz Wedel and died Feb. 5, 1999 at the age of 78. On Aug. 23, 1942, he was married to Dorothy Wiser, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Rodney and wife Linda of Gordonville, Texas, and Roger and wife Susan of Lincoln, Neb.; one daughter, Marilee of Lawrence, Kan.; one brother, Nathan of Newton, Kan.; one sister Mabel Suderman of Hillsboro, Kan., and six grandchildren.
WIEBE. LOIS JANE EPP. a retired missionary who served with MBMS International for 33 years in Brazil with her husband James, was born May 31, 1931, to Peter C. and Malinda Epp and died Feb. 22, 1999, at the age of 67. She is survived by her husband, her daughters. Ruth and husband Dan King of Florida, MaryLyn and husband Grant Jones-Wiebe and Joann and husband David Hall, all of Fresno, Calif., and four grandchildren. •
nonlte Brethren Peace Task Force. "Arthur's unique contribution to the church grew out of his gifts," says Brenneman. "He was definitely a visionary and very passionate about what he did."
Jost was born Oct. 10, 1918 on a farm near Morse, Sask. On Feb. 11, 1941, he was married to Esther Goossen, who survives. He Is also survived by three sons, David and wife Elaine, Timothy and wife Ruth Stotzfus and John and wife Suzanne and five grandchildren. -GF
, IN BRIEF
ELECTED: Sam Resendez of Del Ray, Calif., was elected to the new Mennonite Central Committee U.S. board as the Mennonite Brethren representative. The 27member MCC U.S. board voted Feb. 18 to create a new. smaller board and to move some national programs to the regions. The board also unanimously approved Jose Ortiz of Harrisonburg, Va., as the new U.S. executive director. Ortiz is associate professor of church ministries and director of field education at Eastern Mennonite Seminary of Harrisonburg. (MCC)
GROWTH: The assets managed by the Fresno Pacific University Foundation doubled in the last year-a growth rate campus leaders dubbed phenomenal. As of December 31, 1998, managed assets were $27,559.000 compared to $13.895.000 for 1997. says foundation director Mark Deffenbacher. Growth came from traditional and nontraditional sources, Deffenbacher says. Several large trusts and significant gifts of real estate were concluded. and two art collections valued at a total of $8.5 million were also acquired. (FPU)
FORUM: Twelve Tabor College students were part of a select group of Kansas college and university students invited by Governor Bill Graves to attend the 1999 Kansas Student Leadership Forum: Faith and Values in Leadership held March 4-7. in Topeka. Kan. Forum speakers were business and government leaders who shared how they apply their faith to their leadership roles. The Forum was held in conjunction with the Annual State Prayer Breakfast which featured Lloyd Ogilvie. chaplain of the U.S. Senate, as the speaker. (TC)
SITE: The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) selected Fresno as the site of the 1999 women's volleyball national championship. The March 2 announcement culminated four months of negotiations with Fresno Pacific University and community officials. FPU will host the 20-team championship tournament December 1-4. Pool play and quarterfinals matches will be pla.yed at Seiland arena, downtown Fresno, while the semifinals and championship will move to the campus Special Events Center. (FPU)
Clearinghouse
Have a p.osition to fill? Looking for a. new or ministry opportunity? Have a gathering or celebration to promote? Reach U.S. classified ad. The charge is 40 cents per word, with a $15 minimum. Withhold payment until an IS MB mstltutlons advertising vacancies or position announcements may be eligible for a no-cost ad. Contact th d't for more mformatlon. eel or
EMPLOYMENT-CHURCH
Director of Church Family Ministries
First Mennonite Brethren Church in Wichita, Kan., seeks full-time staff to develop and lead caregiving ministries and provide personal pastoral care in a growing church of over 700, rooted in Anabaptist tradition. Responsibilities: 1) assessing needs; 2) developing responses through deacon ministry, support systems, family enrichment events, assimilation and hospitality; 3) leading and equipping lay caregivers ministry team. Experience: 5 years related field, church ministry, group dynamics and family systems, assessment skills. Requires masters degree and seminary training or equivalent. Submit resume and references to: DCFM Search Committee, FMBC, 8000 W. 21st Street, Wichita, Kansas 67205, fax (316) 722-5931. Complete job description available upon request.
Director of Music and Worship
Director of Music and Worship sought by First Mennonite Brethren Church in Wichita, Kan. A full-time position to direct multiple music ministries and lead blended worship. This visionary, growing, suburban church of 700 attenders of all age groups is rooted in Anabaptist theology and committed to relevant ministry. Masters degree or equivalent experience preferred. Submit resume and references to: Music Search, 8000 W. 21st St., Wichita, KS 67205-1744; fax (316) 722-5931; e-mail fmbc@feist.com.
MusicIWorship Staff Position
North Fresno Mennonite Brethren Church is looking for a Minister of Worship and Music. This half time position includes planning services of worship, directing the choir, and rehearsing instrumentalists and accompanists in preparation for worship. Applicants should appreciate both traditional and contemporary music, be able to blend the two in a service of worship, be an inspiring worship leader and musician, and kindle a spirit of joy in the worship of God. Send applications to North Fresno Church, Search Committee, 5724 N. Fresno St., Fresno, CA 93710.
Pastor
Garden Park MB Church is seeking candidates for the position of either a bi-vocational half·time pastor or full time pastor. We are a small, but energetic congregation with an array of ministry opportunities available to us. Our diverse urban community has a rather large minority population, predominantly Hispanic, with a significant number of
other minorities. Bilingual ability would be desirable. Pastor would need to be able to relate to and participate in the community. Administrative skills would be beneficial. The full time pastoral position could be either full time pastor/shepherd or half time pastor/shepherd and half time administration. Interested candidates may send vitae to Garden Park Search Committee, John C. Faul, 3035 So. Gaylord St., Denver, CO 80210; (303 757-4290; fax (303) 758-5839.
Pastor of Youth and Worship
Memorial Road Mennonite Brethren Church in Edmond, Oklahoma invites applications for the ministry position of pastor of youth and worship. MRMBC is a vibrant, growing con· gregation of 80 members with a Sunday attendance of 130. New church facility in a suburban area. Closing date April 30, 1999. For more information contact Pastoral Search Committee, do Kent Stanley, 4201 E. Memorial Rd., Edmond, OK 73013; (405) 773-0658; email stanley@lec.okcu.edu.
Senior Pastor
The Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church is in search of candidates for the position of senior pastor. Candidates gifted in providing leadership for a congregation with an average attendance of over 500 and experienced in directing a multiple pastoral staff are invited to send a resume to: Pastoral Search Committee, Daryle Baltzer (Chm.), 104 S. Washington, Hillsboro, KS 67063.
September 15-28, 1999
John & Naomi Lederach
30hn & Naomi invite yo to come alon9 to the mystel'io s Petl'a in 30l'dan, to the awesome pYl'amids in egypt, with all of JSl'ael in between.
Youth Minister
Buhler Mennonite Brethren Church is accepting applications for the full time position of youth minister. We are a progressive and growing church of 350 with an established youth program. Our family life center that will complement the youth program is near completion. The successful applicant will continue the program to encourage the spiritual growth and Christian fellowship of youth and young adults of our congregation and community. Send resume to Buhler Mennonite Brethren Church, Youth Minister Search Committee, P.O. Box 126, Buhler, KS 67522.
MISCELLANEOUS
Collectibles for Sale
Celebrate the history of our denomination in North America. Ebenfeld MB Church was the first congregation established by Mennonite Brethren in North America and our facility is the second-oldest house of worship to be used continually by U.S. Mennonite Brethren. Collectible wooden cut-outs of the Ebenfeld MB Church, as facilities appeared in 1975, are currently available. Each collectible is numbered and signed by the artist, which adds to its value. To order, send $25, which includes shipping and handling,to Brad Wiens, Ebenfeld MB Church, PO Box 152, Hillsboro, KS 67063 .•
in 2000.
A GUIDE FOR GROUP INTERACTION
SESSION 1: Creating a safety net
Based on "Creating a family safety net, " page 4.
GET READY - Getting started
• What is the major role of the internet in your life? a) entertainment b) research c) business d) none
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. What's the best way to guard the mind? Why is that the best way?
2. What are the dangers of the Internet for children? For adults?
3. What are three good suggestions given for use of personal information on the Internet?
4. What are some Biblical principles that can be applied to the tendency of some to "regard the Internet as a parallel universe in which their actions have no real world ramifications"?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. Of the suggestions given, which would be most helpful in your home?
2. What are you doing in your family or church to encourage children to hide God's Word in their hearts?
3. What are you doing to keep in touch with your children or your own use of the Internet?
SESSION 2: Search for community
Based on "Search for community, " page 10.
GET READY - Getting started
• Describe a "community" experience you had this week.
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. What are the essential ingredients of true community?
2. Why is it not possible to be accountable to "God and not to our brothers and sisters"?
3. What hinders us from "bending toward the group" and "acting together on our own values"?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. How can one find real community in a culture in which communication has become so tied to technology?
2. Do you have opportunity in which you can ask "what does it mean for us to follow Christ together"? If not, is there something you can do to create such a setting and relationships?
SESSION 3: Y2K
Based on "Y2K=TEOTWAWKI?" page 12.
GET READY - Getting started
• What one word would you use to describe yourself in relationship to Y2K?
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. What does the article suggest is the reality of Y2K problems?
2. Identify Biblical principles that need to be stockpiled for everyday Y2K readiness.
3. What are Mennonite organizations doing to assist people in other countries?
4. Highlight the key idea of each point under "Beating the bug" and add others you think are significant.
5. What factors are most important in finding and maintaining a proper perspective to what mayor may not happen?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. What are some practical steps your congregation can take to use Y2K as a ministry opportunity?
2. How would you respond to a friend who has Y2K panic?
3. What is your personal plan for preparing spiritually, physically, financially and emotionally for the year 2000?
SESSION 4: Signs of success
Based on "Signs of success," page 18.
GET READY - Getting started
• Identify one of your most beautiful possessions and one of your most beautiful relationships.
GET SET - Examining the issues
1. Why are people of modest means critical of rich people? What do the reasons say about the attitudes of those with modest means?
2. Do you agree or disagree with Wiebe's definition of materialism?
3. Review the parable from luke 12 and the scriptures from the end of the article. What do they have to say about the biblical standard of success?
GO - Applying ideas to the way we live
1. What are some "relational ideals" you've observed in your church?
2. What needs to happen in order for us to put people before possessions?
3. Are there ways for us to be accountable to one another in this area?
Questions by Nadine Friesen.
Resurrection compliant Christians
It sure feels good to know that next month the Christian Leader will be Y2K compliant. Not that that's a big deal-it just means our mailing list has been transferred to a new software program.
The Y2K issue is really a very simple matter. Many computer software programs have only two digits for the year in a date. The question is whether, on January 1, a computer will assume 00 is 2000 or 1900. Fixing this problem in one line of computer code or in one computer chip is very simple. Its complexity comes from the fact that millions-maybe billions-of computer chips and lines of code in computers used from Iceland to Uruguay need to be checked.
Because computer use is so widespread, there's hardly an industry or organization that can say Y2K has no effect on them. Knowing that the computers on which we depend are Y2K compliant is vitally important to our ability to communicate, receive utility service, handle finances, receive medical care and have transportation in the first few days of the year 2000.
Becoming Y2K compliant is a costly endeavor-it costs both time and money. And when something is this expensive, most of us work to be compliant only because our survival is at stake.
Compliance-submission-is a common theme during the 40 days of Lent. The celebration of Resurrection Sunday is really a joyful recognition on our part that Jesus' costly compliance to the way of the cross purchased our salvation and that surrendering ourselves to Him as Savior and Lord is vitally important to our eternal survival.
with what it means to be a follower of Christ Jesus. Quaker pastor Jack Kirk suggests that plain people live without pretense. Can I live without pretending that I know all the answers? Can I be honest enough to laugh at myself when I've done something stupid? Can I live without pretending to be perfect? Can I admit when I'm wrong and ask for forgiveness? Can I live without recognition, remembering that at His resurrection, Jesus was not recognized?
Resurrection Compliant Christians are people with scars. In John 20:24-31, we see that Thomas was convinced that the risen Savior was real when he saw the wounds in His hands and side. Jesus' resurrection had not removed the marks of the nails and the scar of the spear. The living Christ was wounded with visible scars.
Jesus' resurrection had not removed the marks of the nails and the scar of the spear. ... Do I have any scars or marks that come from following the living Christ?
So, what do Mennonite Brethren who are Resurrection Compliant look like?
Resurrection Compliant Christians look like plain people.
In John 20: 11-18 we read the story of Mary Magdalene first seeing the risen Jesus. She didn't recognize him. She thought he was the gardener. When Jesus emerged from the tomb triumphant over death, he didn't look like a conquering hero. He looked very ordinary-like a common worker. Resurrection Compliant Christians are "plain people." This kind of plain has little to do with our outward appearance. The plain I'm thinking about starts inside as we wrestle
Do I have any scars or marks that come from following the living Christ? I'm not talking about scars to our physical bodies. I'm talking about the marks on our heart that come from sharing our lives with others. It's painful to carry the burdens of others, but it is the only way to follow the wounded and scarred living Christ.
The heart of Arthur Jost, who is profiled on page 31, was scarred. When Arthur saw first-hand the way in which folks living in state-run mental hospitals were treated, he and other WW 2 Civilian Public Service workers sought to bring the love and peace of Christ into those facilities. Why? "They are souls," wrote Arthur in a 1943 letter to the Leader, "and they deserve to be treated as such."
What experiences do I have that uniquely equip me to minister to others? Has my heart been marked by loneliness, an unfaithful spouse, bankruptcy, the death of a child, drugs and alcohol or chronic health problems? Do I hold these experiences tightly to my heart-so closely that others can never see the scars? To paraphrase Kirk, the world needs Mennonite Brethren who speak louder with their wounds than with their words.
This Easter season, God is calling us to be Mennonite Brethren who are Resurrection Compliant Christians. God, help us to be plain people, living without airs, in a world full of pride and pretense. Help others see that the scars on our hearts mean that we not only care-we understand. -CF
