IHAVE BEEN PERPLEXED over the last several years by the gulf that appears between the concepts of discipleship and evangelism. Those who are dedicated to evangelism are often viewed (sometimes rightly) to disregard discipleship. Those who are dedicated to discipleship are often viewed (sometimes rightly) to disregard evangelism.
Yet evangelism and discipleship are not two separate actions to compete with each other. They are inseparable, as Ed Boschman says in one of our articles. As Mennonite Brethren, both are integral to how we are to live in the world.
This issue of the Leader explores the roles of evangelism and discipleship in our Christian faith. In our first article, Boschman looks at what our churches can do to foster both effective discipleship and evangelism among its members. In the next article, Jim Holm challenges us to take in hand the keys to a life of discipleship-a life of living like Jesus. These keys, the spiritual disciplines, open a window that allows God to work in our lives and transform us to be like Jesus.
The last three articles explore how we live our lives and share our faith. Don Boddy challenges us to rethink how we share our faith. Wayne Warner reminds us that how we live our life affects how people view our faith-and Jan Johnson reminds us that living our life is not enough.
The second half of the Leader is full of examples of people in our churches putting evangelism and discipleship into practice. In our fifth church profile this year, Mt. Lake MB Church is rethinking the way it does church in the midst of a community with a growing population of Asian immigrants. In BodyLife, you can read about other MB churches reaching out to their communities this summerespecially to the children.
I hope these articles challenge you as they have me. God bless. -GA
COMING
• OCTOBER 26-29-Central District Conference convention, Huron, S.D
• NOVEMBER 10-1 I-Pacific District Conference convention
Pagel
•
•
•
•
OF COMMUNICATIONS:
The Christian Leader (ISSN 0009-5149) 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 freelance 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.
WESTERN OFFICE:
Carmen Andres, Editor 7531 Delta Wind Dr. Sacramento, California 95831
Phone: (916) 424-5710
Fax: (253) 369-9423
E-mail: chleader@jps.net
MIDWEST OFFICE:
Connie Faber, Assistant Editor Box V, 315 S. Lincoln Hillsboro, Kansas 67063
Phone: (316) 947-5543
Fax: (316) 947-3266
E-mail: chleader@southwir1d.net
Subscription rates are $16 for one year, $30 tor two years, and $42 for three years ($20, $38 and $54 in Canada); $1.50 per copy. All subscription requests and address changes should be sent to the Circulation Secretary at the Midwest Office. All advertising inquiries should be made to the Western Office.
Postmaster: Send address changes to the Christian Leader, Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Periodicals postage paid at Hillsboro, Kansas.
EDITOR Carmen Andres
ASSOOATE EDITOR Connie Faber
BOARD
Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, chair; Peggy Goertzen, Phil Neufeld, Dalton Reimer.
Are our churches reaching the lost people in our "Jerusalems"-the cities, towns and communities where we live? Statistics say no. So, what can we do?
ta.,,=e it totbe
AGO, I told the church family I was )ast,orlng that if I was pressed to choose between aking care of the found and seeking the lost, my would be toward seeking the lost. Though I tntention of suggesting that shepherding and were unimportant, some people tOOk ii'thar way.
"Dis.;ipleship and evangelism. People often assume these two ministries are competitors-that one is more important than the other. It's not hard to understand how this can happen. As Christians, we have gifts and callings, personal druthers or even fears that lead us more towards one or the other, and so we may choose to value one higher than the other. Corporately, our churches may be weaker in one area, compelling us to focus on one more than the other.
But evangelism and discipleship are inseparable. They are two sides of the same proverbial coin. You can't effectively share Christ without being a good disciple-but neither are you a good disciple if you aren't sharing Christ.
Evangelism and discipleship are both needed to carry out Jesus' command to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28: 19)-and the local church plays a vital role in both baptizing and teaching.
BY ED BOSCHMAN
Taking it to the streets
The New Testament church is the "new Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16), but we do things differently than the Hebrews of Old Testament Israel.
Old Testament Jews were not mandated to evangelize in the way we are as Christians. Whereas Old Testament believers were invited to tell of their God to those who came asking, New Testament believers are commanded to penetrate their world by living and telling the good news among its people. It's a global assignmentthat begins where we areand because unchurched people don't typically drop in on believers gathered for "church," it's imperative that we take our faith to the streets and bring them along to join us. As Christians, we need to be reminded of this because we too often opt to "huddle up" for safety and are passive in our witness
The very meaning of "church"-persons called out-testifies that the local church as a corporate body participates in being, doing and telling the good news. In the end, it's the individual believer who lives and tells the gospel. But there are some ways for the local church to train up its members (discipleship) and help them reach the lost (evangelism)
EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP
Get it right and get it done
Are we reaching the lost people in our "Jerusalems"-the cities, towns and communities where we live?
Statistics say no. Membership in most American MB churches are either plateaued or declining. We are not getting it done.
How do we both live as disciples ofJesus and reach the lost? A good place to start would be to look at how we do discipleship and evangelism. Where do we place our priorities? Are we expending enough energy and resources on both?
1. Live what we know
There are multiple ways we do discipleship in our churches-preaching, singing, Sunday school, Christian education, home groups and a multitude of fellowship and edification-oriented gatherings. These ministries invest the resources, gifts and time of a vast deployment of Christians who are serving God.
But are we doing discipleship effectively?
Jesus put it something like this: "You are my disciples if you love and obey me" (John 14:15), and "Those watching will know you are my disciples if you love each other" (John 13:35).
Judging by those standards, we seem to be failing. There is increasingly strong evidence that the gap between what we say we believe and how we live is widening-and that gap is glaringly apparent to the watching world.
Our pre-Christian and unchurched neighbors have concluded that local churches are only for those who are already in the church. Those outside the church make comments like, "Except for something for the children or a fund raiser, church is for them, not for us," or "I've never thought that I was welcome there." That conclusion grows out of a number of reasons, ranging from a church's name, facility or public image and community reputation to a church's events or the actions of its individual members. Whatever the reason, the church has not convinced its community that it corporately or individually has open hearts or doors for them.
When people say that "the people in the church don't give a rip about me-whether I live or die," are they right? If they are, wouldn't Jesus call that damnable? In addition to loving others, it's imperative that we model love to each other as well. Squabbles among ourselves will only hurt our witness.
Jerry Cook suggests in Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness that if a church verifiably loves, accepts and forgives the people in their community they'll be truly-and effectively-Christian, and they'll need no other plan for evangelism. I think he's right. But
we must remember that approach assumes that we have relationships with pre-Christians. Our discipleship programs need to focus on Jesus' words. We need to live with integrity-matching what we know with how we act. If we don't, we hurt our witness and chance to win the lost. If the shoe fits, we'd better confess, repent and forgive. The gap needs to be closed.
2. Make church accessible
A number one theme among critics of the church is that the church is irrelevant. I often hear comments like "the languages of celebration and communication are foreign to me," or "the subjects talked about are unrelated to my life" and therefore not applicable. Neither of those complaints suggests an unwillingness to hear or learn about how God could fit into their lives. Instead, those comments reflect the "lack of fit" of the church service, gathering or event to those who don't know Christ. In his account on the parable of the sower, Matthew tells us that the enemy shows up at a very particular point as the gospel is being shared. When someone "hears the message about the Kingdom, and does not understand it, the enemy comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart" (Matt. 13: 19). Does that parable teach us that we had better be sure that the good news is shared understandably? You bet. For the most part, we already do that in our discipleship programs within the church. But what about our attempts to penetrate the community? Do we live as the fragrance of Christ and do we speak to be understood when we are scattered? Would pre-Christians understand us when we are gathered? If a Christian under 40 in
Evangelism and discipleship are inseparable. They are two sides of the same proverbial coin. You can't effectively share Christ without being a good disciple-but neither are you a good disciple if you aren't sharing Christ.
your church would not feel confident inviting a preChristian friend to a small or large group gathering of the church for fear they couldn't relate, an adjustment is in order.
We need to reexamine our church gatherings to make sure that they are accessible to pre-Christians. And in our Sunday morning services, we must be careful not to assign too much responsibility to the preacher. George Barna research (Barna Report) suggests that seven out of 10 visitors decide whether or not to return to a church before the preacher even speaks.
3. Invest wisely and appropriately
Another way to work toward a balanced approach to discipleship and evangelism is to invest significant and appropriate people and financial resources for each.
Too many church budgets show heavy financial investment in local discipleship and missions in other areas of the country or abroad but reflect a dearth of investment in local community evangelism. Similarly, many churches put dozens of volunteers to task in spiritual growth ministries but deploy few for taking the good news to the immediate neighborhood. Dollars are spent to train and equip Christian education personnel but not to teach Christians to reproduce themselves as followers of Jesus. Scripture exhorts Pastor Timothy to model and lead in commitment to evangelism even though he had many other things to do (2 Tim. 4:5). Our pastors need to do the same, and we need to follow their lead.
We also need to affirm and support new believers as evangelists with both our financial and human resources. New believers have the passion, courage
When people say that "the people in the church don't give a rip about mewhether I live or die," are they right? If they are, wouldn't
and relationships to be effective. Some analysts report that there is a great harvest to be reaped by finding the few in any local church who have the specific gift of evangelism, hooking them up with the new Christians in the church and providing them reasonable freedom, encouragement and resources.
4. Rethink your church's vision
Underlying these points is the fundamental question of the mission, vision and core values of the local church. Evangelical churches are good at including the need to evangelize in their chosen purpose and mission statements but not so good at seeing to it that their vision, core values and goals are in sync with those statements-or evaluating to make sure that they are effectively accomplishing them.
For example, if the value of "keeping things as they are" is more important than "adjusting to cultural changes," the boat won't be rocked but buoyancy will be challenged. If a healthy stable church values staying together more than birthing a new church-even when it's verifiable that new churches are the most effective way to reach lost people-that higher value has impact on how effectively the purpose or mission of that church is accomplished.
Be an outpost and lighthouse
These days provide our Mennonite Brethren churches with a great opportunity to become community-penetrating mission outposts and lighthouses. The cultural shifts around us provide a new context and challenge. Now is the time to ramp up effective discipleship and put more resources into reaching the lost in our communities.
If 10 percent of us well-fed disciples in our local churches bridged two new people into the family of God each year, our churches would more than double in four years.
It's time to get it done. We need to live lives of integrity as Jesus' disciples. We need to befriend, live among, invite and persuade the lost in our communities to choose Jesus and heaven. I don't think it's out of order to ask God for more leaders and more churches among us who would commit to doing whatever it takes to win some-or more, for that matter. We must care deeply about both seeking the lost and nurturing the found, because both are needed to carry out Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations-which includes our own Jerusalems. •
Ed Boschman is the executive director of Mission USA, the church planting and renewal ministry of the u.s. Conference of M.B. Churches. He attends Copper Hills Community Church in Phoenix, Ariz.
LIKE JESUSt
BY JIM HOLM
illlagille that someone held the keys to a life of being like •• Jesus. • Imagine tha.t if you used these keys, they would produce the charactet of Jesus in your life .•
illlagine that this was so certain that you could promise others that the character of Jesus would be formed in them if they used these keys.
CAN stop imagining. There is such a discip plan-a plan that is guaranteed to work if fai lly practiced. It is the plan that Jesus himf used and the plan that many faithful followers of Jesus have practiced for the last 2000 years. It is the Kingdom plan, designed for Kingdom living. When followed, it produces in people the character of Kingddm dwellers-those who live their life just as Jesus would if he was living his life through them.
Trying to follow Jesus
There are many people who try to live the way Jesus did. Perhaps you've noticed the popularity of the letters WWJD in the last several years.
Those letters stand for "What Would Jesus Do?"
Adults and teens alike wear the letters as a bracelet around the wrist or on a chain around the neck. The letters are plastered on posters, Bible bookmarks and bumper stickers. Some people even tattoo the letters directly onto their skin so they will never forget them.
The intention of the people who wear these letters is a noble one. They want to be persons who ask themselves what Jesus would do in every situation. They want to be like Jesus.
I commend their intention and admire their desire to be like Jesus, but I think they may be asking the wrong question. It is good to ask "What would Jesus do?" but it is a question that is very
difficult to answer.
We know from reading the life of Jesus that he often did things which could not have been predicted. Who would have thought, for example, that he would feed 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish? Or that he would pay his taxes by having one of his disciples catch a fish and then find a coin in the fish's mouth that turned out to be exactly the amount needed to pay the tax? No matter how faithfully we try to guess what Jesus would do, it is hard to predict.
But, more importantly, even if we could know exactly what Jesus would do or predict his action precisely, there is no guarantee that we would be able to do what he did.
Take, for example, Jesus' response when he was being nailed to the cross. As the nails were cutting through his skin, he prayed out loud, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
How many Christians do you know whose natural response to attack is, "Father, forgive them?" Jesus' example suggests that whenever I am con· fronted by people who hate, attack or want to destroy me that I should respond to them by praying what Jesus prayed. A few of us might manage-
after careful thinking and talking sternly to our· selves-to force the words out. But how many of us would find the most natural response to that kind of attack to be one offorgiveness? I don't think many of us would naturally respond with forgiveness. Even if we could say the words, we might not actually feel the forgiveness in our hearts.
I stress the word "natural" for a reason. When Jesus spoke those words of forgiveness, I don't think he had to stop and think about them before he said them. I believe those words came out ofJesus' mouth as naturally as breathing. I don't think Jesus said to himself, "Father, these people are trying to kill me, and I would like to ask you to send down fire and brimstone from heaven and destroy them. But I know you are a forgiving God. I know you probably want to forgive these soldiers because they really don't know whom they are crucifYing. Even though I would like them to be punished for trying to kill an innocent man, I will ask you to forgive them because I know you are a God who likes to forgive."
Jesus could have thought those things before he spoke, but I don't think so. I believe it was in the nature of Jesus to forgive, and he forgave these exe· cutioners without even stopping to think about it.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES can be categorized in different ways, but one workable pattern consists of two groups: Disciplines of Abstinence (things we give up) and Disciplines of Engagement (things we add). Following is a short description of several disciplines in each category. These disciplines often are practiced best by being a part of a small group or in an accountability relationship with another person. That helps when the going is tough or when change seems to come slowly.
EXAMPLES OF OF ABSTINENCE
Solitude
• Definition: Not working, taking time to be free from human relationships and demands of one's life.
• Purpose: To break the entanglements of life, to cure busyness, and to open ourselves to hear the voice of God.
• Practice: Take a two or three hour Sabbath once every week or two. Do what
you enjoy doing that is not work. Invite God to speak with you if he wishes. Lay your expectations down.
Silence
• Definition: Eliminating sounds that distract us, especially talking by ourselves and others.
• Purpose: God often speaks in a still, small voice. Silence helps us to be able to hear.
• Practice: Go to a place where noises are greatly reduced. Stop talking and relax. Listen to whatever you hear. It is especially important to be away from the telephone or other human-made noises such as traffic, bells, sirens, etc.
Fasting
• Definition: Abstaining temporarily from food or other necessities of life.
• Purpose: To learn self-denial, something which Jesus said was essential for the Kingdom (Mark 8:34).
• Practice: For 24 hours, if medically possible, drink only water or nonnourishing liquids and eat nothing. Allow God to feed your spirit directly from himself.
This example of Jesus' natural response oHorgiveness is not an isolated incident. He always said and did the right thing. When the religious leaders tried to back him into a corner by asking him if taxes should be paid to God or to Caesar, he escaped their trap and yet answered them honestly. When a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to him, he handled that delicate situation by confronting both the accusers and the woman while preserving the dignity of each. When his loyal disciple Peter drew a sword to protect Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he calmly controlled Peter's excesses while healing the injured person. When two of his more belligerent disciples wanted to call down flre from heaven on some villages, Jesus responded by gently teaching them to see things in a new way.
Jesus always knew the right response for every situation, and those responses came naturally for him out of his nature of love, self-control and wisdom.
Do as Jesus did
How did Jesus get to be that way? How did he always know the right thing to sayar the right thing to do? How did he become the kind of person for
F 1ty
• Definition: Refraining from self-indulgence, which is a way of trying to produce our own security without reliance on God.
• Purpose: To break the practice of always gratifying our desires and wants without trusting God to meet our needs.
• Practice: Purposely avoid buying or acquiring things you want but do not need. Perhaps the money can be given elsewhere, thus fulfilling the discipline of service (see below).
EXAMPLES OF DISCIPLINES OF ENGAGEMENT
StuQ
• Definition: Taking truth from a variety of sources into your mind and organizing it there.
• Purpose: To learn God's truth from nature, reading, reflecting, studying the Bible and the writings of others in order to let it sink into your life and bring growth and change.
• Practice: Read and study the Bible using
Sitnply put, spiritual disciplines are acts that I regularly choose to do, knowing that when I do thetn, I open a door into tny life for God to bring about the change he wants to produce in tne.
a journal or study guide that interests you. Read other good literature. (Note: you will probably have to cut down on the time you watch television.) Memorization of Bible passages (rather than individual verses) is very helpful.
Worship
• Definition: Assigning worth to God, declaring his "worthfulness."
• Purpose: To let our whole body relax and praise the Lord.
• Practice: Worship must be connected with study or it becomes contentless and fluffy. But as you learn truth, let yourself go in expressing worship to God. Scripture shows many bodily postures in worship. Use what fits for you. (Note: worship at its most liberating is often done alone rather than with a group.)
Prayer
• Definition: Staying in connection with God by asking and waiting.
• Purpose: To commune with God about what he and I are doing together.
• Practice: One example is to pray each
phrase of the Lord's Prayer, slowly and reflectively, elaborating each one in your mind and speech.
ServIce
• Definition: Engaging ourselves for the good of others with no regard to what our reward shall be.
• Purpose: To learn to practice love and humility without making a big deal out of it.
• Practice: Look for opportunities to serve others. -JH
For further reading on spiritual disciplines:
• Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster
• Soul Shaping, by Douglas Rumford
• The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard
whom forgiveness was such a natural part of his character that he forgave people without stopping to consider whether he should or not, or whether he really meant it or not?
One answer might be that Jesus was divine, and therefore he could do that kind of thing naturally. But I think there is more to it than that.
Earlier, I suggested that asking what Jesus would do in any given situation is a difficult question to answer. But what if we revise the letters from WWJD to WOJD-instead of asking "What Would Jesus Do?" we ask instead "What Did Jesus Do?"
When the question is asked that way, we discover that there were a number of things that Jesus did regularly-like solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, study, worship, service, etc.-that produced in his life the lifestyle of a Kingdom person. Jesus developed habits that became so natural for him that he could do them without thinking-like the habit of forgiveness. These habits that produce a Kingdom lifestyle become the goal and pattern of our own discipleship.
Make new habits
So how did Jesus develop these habits? The same way all habits are developed-by consistent practice. A close look at Jesus' life in the Gospels will show that he practiced all of these habits-and he did so regularly.
These habits which Jesus developed have become known as spiritual disciplines and have been practiced by devout followers of Jesus for the last two millennia. When practiced as Jesus practiced them, these disciplines have been shown to produce discipleship-the character of a person who lives on this earth as a Kingdom of God person would live. When faithfully practiced, this plan of discipleship is guaranteed to produce Christ-like results.
Part of the life of discipleship is to learn a new set of habits. These habits are part of training for godliness.
All of us are creatures of habit, not only in what we do but also in the way we think and react. These habits predispose us to respond in certain ways when we are caught off guard. For example, if it is my habit to become angry when my plans are frustrated, I will usually become angry even if I hate myself later.
Part of the life of discipleship is to learn a new set of habits. These habits are part of training for godliness. When Paul writes to Timothy to instruct a young pastor on how to be an effective leader, he says, "Train yourself for godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7-8). Training involves learning habit patterns that open the door for the development of godliness. It is clear from 1 Timothy that this training is something Timothy will do, not something God does for him. Like Timothy, we too take steps to enter the training, and God produces the godliness.
In the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, he regularly went off alone for times of solitude, practiced fasting, led a life of prayer and worship, studied the Word and engaged in regular acts of service toward people. These were the things that created in Jesus the opportunity for God to develop the character of the Kingdom in him. Jesus practiced spiritual disciplines.
The disciplines themselves cannot produce spiritual maturity, but they can prepare the ground for it to happen. The late theologian and author, Henri Nouwen, describes the spiritual disciplines as "creating a space in my life for God to act." I like to think of them like windows. I cannot make the sun shine, but I can open the curtains. If the sun is shining, it will come in. God chooses whether, when and how he will shine into my life, but the spiritual disciplines open the curtains to him so he can shine in ifhe wants to.
Simply put, spiritual disciplines are acts that I regularly choose to do, knowing that when I do them, I open a door into my life for God to bring about the change he wants to produce in me.
Take, for example, the discipline of solitude. This is one of the most important spiritual disciplines-and something most of us never do. It means an absence of work, being alone with God with nothing to do except be with him and listening in case he wants to make himself known. When we spend time by ourselves, we are usually working on a project, finishing an assignment, paying the bills or working on some other project or activity. Solitude is none 01 those things. Solitude is getting alone with God for an extended period of time with nothing to do except stand in his presence, listen for anything he wants to say and simply enjoy the time of quietness. Why would you or anyone do this? Because it is most often in the quiet places of our lives that God
When faithfully practiced, the spiritual disciplines become habitual. As God works in the space provided by the discipline, he transforms us into Kingdom· people. We begin living the life of discipleship as Jesus himself would liveas if he were on this earth living our life for us .... The spiritual disciplines are the keys to a life of developing the character of Jesus.
gets our attention. God is a gentle God, and he does not batter down doors to get to us. He knocks, and we have to make a space to let him in.
The discipline of solitude opens the door to God. It says to him, "I am here, and for the next couple of hours I have no work to do. I am here to listen if you want to speak, to enjoy your love for me, to be available to you."
Be clear on one thing-we cannot predict what God will do or even that he will do anything. That is up to God. Only he knows what he wants to produce in our lives. By practicing the discipline of solitude, however, we open the door for him to act.
OpeD the curtain
Solitude is just one example of a spiritual discipline. There are many others we can learn about by studying the life of Jesus and reading books written by others (see sidebar on page 9).
When faithfully practiced, the spiritual disciplines become habitual. As God works in the space provid· ed by the discipline, he transforms us into Kingdom people. We begin living the life of discipleship as Jesus himself would live-as if he were on this earth living our life for us.
Keep in mind that spiritual disciplines are not ends in themselves but are only a means that God has used to do in people the work that he wants to
do. The disciplines have no value in themselves. There is no special grace given for practicing them and no punishment for failing to do so. The disciplines are not a new legalism-another thing that I have to do in order to be "really spiritual." They are tools and nothing more. In fact, if you find that you are practicing a discipline because you have to do it, it has become a legalism for you. It is no longer effective, and you should take a break from it for awhile.
Practice a discipline because you want to. When you do, you open the curtain. If God chooses to send the sun, it will shine in. If he does not, you know that you were there, waiting to learn from him. But God is a God who loves to communicate with us and wants us to know him. If you are there, you will find most often that he is there, too.
The spiritual disciplines are the keys to a life of developing the character of Jesus. This is a discipleship plan that is guaranteed to work if practiced. It is the plan that Jesus followed. It is the Kingdom plan .•
Jim Holm is director of constituency relations and dean of students since 1997 at MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif. Holm is a member of Reedley MB Church in Reedley, Calif.
A TIME, Bob, a single man, went k in a park. While feeding ducks by e looked up to see the most beautihad laid eyes upon. She was stun· nin earing a beautiful flowing summer dress that brought out the color of her eyes.
He sat there, watched her and wondered if he'd ever get a chance to meet her. He watched as she laughed with her friends, and he was sure she would also be a fun person to be with. Every part of him said he wanted to meet her and that an encounter with her could be life changing.
After about 20 minutes, she left and got in her car. One of her friends came over to watch the ducks. Bob knew that this might be his only chance to discover who this amazing woman was, so he mustered up all the courage he could and walked over to talk with her friend.
"Hi. How is it going? Nice ducks, eh?"
''Yeah,'' said the weary stranger.
"Sorry to be so forward, but I just gotta
To foster a love affair between Jesus and his people, we need to rediscover the art of storytelling.
know," said Bob anxiously. "Who was that woman you were with, the one in the dress? She was amazing!"
''You mean Jennifer?"
"Jennifer," said Bob. It felt good just saying her name. "Can you tell me something about her?"
''Jennifer,'' said the stranger as he smiled. ''You are right. She is amazing. She is a lot of fun to be with, has a great sense of humor and a massive heart for the people in her life. She comes from a great family and has a great relationship with her parents.
"She loves to cook, and she's a great golfer. She enjoys all sports, long walks and travelling. She is a massage therapist and says that one of the things she looks forward to when she gets married is being able to give her husband a massage at the end of the day. And, you wanna know something else?"
"Yeah, but what else could there be?" replied Bob in astonishment.
The stranger went on with excitement, "She told us that she knows who you are and would love to get to know you!"
"She knows me!" Bob could not believe this. "Oh, I just gotta connect with her. Please, how can I do that?"
"Okay, are you sure you are ready to take the next step?"
''Yes! Yes! Yes!" Bob shouted.
The stranger reached into his back pocket and pulled out a little book entitled The 4 Laws to Get to Know Jennifer and went on to explain the little booklet. Bob sat there con· fused, frustrated, wonderiI'.g why all this information was needed.
BY DON DDY B
The heart of the matter
One of the most grievous errors the church has made is to reduce a relationship with Jesus Christ down to a series of propositional statements. If any of us who are married talked about our spouses using propositional statements, those listening to us would wonder what kind of cold, nonrelational and disconnected persons we were.
What do I mean by propositional statements? These kinds of statements are generally simple statements of truth, which can be affirmed or denied.
In Christianity, we tend to present God to unbelievers using propositional statements (such as The Four Spiritual Laws or The ABC's of Salvation), hoping the person will affirm a belief in God and convert. We do the same in teaching believers. The problem is that we have taken Jesus' invitation to a love relationship and twisted it to a series of facts that need to be understood to enter "The Club."
I am in no way negating truth or Scripture. I believe in the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. I believe the Bible to be powerful and the illumination of the Holy Spirit can cause Kingdom-building life changes in those who read it. The invitation of Christianity, though, is a relationship to the Father, through the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is one of the means to this relationship, but not an end in itself. Jesus said of his own generation, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:3940). May this not be said of us.
Jesus' invitation to love him
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." Jesus spoke these words in John 15, which is a very intimate description of
the web of relationships in which Jesus lived and invites us to live.
One of the truths that we hold to is the Trinitythe idea that God is one, and inside God there are three persons, the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity have different roles, yet all are equal. As we struggle to comprehend this theological truth, if we take out the mutual love the three persons of the Trinity have for one another, there is nothing left.
God is a community oflove. It is here that Jesus' primary experience of love happens. True love in its purest form is experienced in the triune Godhead. It is from this context that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son" (John 3:16).
This is why Jesus can speak of love so eloquently inJohn 15. It is this love he invites us to-an intimate and passionate love he received from the Father and with which he loves us. He then invites us to love him from our experience of his love in our lives. He goes on to say in John 15 that our love for him will be seen in two ways: by keeping his commandments and by loving one another.
This is where the invitation to relationship gets lost. We forget the love and call people to be moral, religious or nice. Any person can be moral with enough hard work-but more often than not, these people become arrogant and mean. Any person can be religious as well; all you have to do is act, dress, talk and sing correctly and surround your entire life with religion. Likewise, anyone can be nice with enough hard work-having manners, being respectful and sharing are all values we learn in kindergarten.
These are all external acts of the will that the majority would hold to as important for all of us to get along in society. What Jesus calls us to, rather, is a love affair with him which affects our heart, soul,
People are not looking for a God who is presented like a math formula or resolved through debate. They are looking to discover a God who is active and touching their lives. History is exactly that-His-Story. We need to learn to tell His-Story of our life.
mind and strength and impacts all who are in our lives (Matt. 22:37-40).
The path of love
This relationship with Jesus begins with an acceptance of his love for us and a desire to love him. Then the Holy Spirit enters us, makes us the Father's children and begins to change us to be more like Jesus (Rom. 8:28-30). The fruit, gifting, empowerment and working of the Holy Spirit are more evident in our lives as we faU in love with Jesus.
One of the realities of a relationship is that it is always dynamic, never static. A static relationship is a dead one. Relationships are fluid, changing, growing and tough to measure. In any kind of relationship, the only real question is, "Am I becoming a better lover?"
This is also true when it comes to Jesus. Once we fall in love with Jesus, the question he will ask is, "Do you love me?" If it is a new love for him-a puppy love, if you will-Jesus does not disregard that as irrelevant or talk about its potential. He receives it with joy and affection. Jesus understands that puppy love is very real to puppies. The passion of a new lover is infectiOUS, exciting and mysterious.
Mother Teresa's life was that of a great lover of Jesus. She saw the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor, and out of her love for Jesus she served them. She was once asked, "How do you know so much about love, never being married?" Speaking of her vows made to Jesus when she became a nun, she said, "Oh no, you are wrong, I am, but sometimes I find it hard to smile at him Gesus) because he can be so demanding." The wisdom of an experienced love is inviting, enticing and mysterious.
I think I am no longer at the puppy-love stage in my relationship with Jesus, although I continually want to be reminded of my first love (Rev. 2:4). I also think I am not able to appreciate aU the implications oflovingJesus, like Mother Teresa seemed to have grasped (Eph.4:17-21). Jesus' question to me, though, is, "Do you love me?"
The use of the story
A way we can foster this love affair between Jesus and his people is to rediscover the art of storytelling.
People are not looking for a God who is presented like a math formula or resolved through debate. They are looking to discover a God who is active and touching their lives. History is exacdy that-His-Story. We need to learn how to tell His-Story of our life. That will require us to reflect on the past and to have a sense of the future. Last year I had a rough spring-I resigned from my previous church, the church had a serious fire and I was unemployed for three months. Sharing my story of what happened, how I was doing during that time and God's working in my life will connect with people more than a remote statement about God's faithfulness as an attribute.
We need to learn how to tell stories that connect God, culture and people. Jesus told stories of lost sons, sheep and widows and of everyday experiences. He told his disciples, "That is why I tell stories, to create readiness to nudge people towards receptive insight" (Matt. 13:12-13, The Message). This is why we should do the same, to move people towards Jesus.
Hollywood has stolen our story because we have stopped telling it. Movie after movie has themes of redemption, love and the supernatural. People are willing to spend nine dollars to hear these stories, when all it would cost is the price of a cup of coffee and someone to share the story of a Father who is in love with them and wants their love in return.
Share the epic:
All Bob wanted was a phone number-an entry point to get to meet Jennifer, be with her and see where the relationship would go. Many people are looking for an entry level to a relationship with Jesus. Maybe we need to put away our booklets, drawings and sermons and begin to listen to people-to hear their stories, share our stories and connect for them His-Story, a sweeping epic of love between a God who is love and a people's love for him.•
Don Boddy is the associate pastor at Portage Evangelical Church, an Evangelical Mennonite Conference church in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. This article was first printed in The Messenger.
GRANDI once said, "If Christians y live the teachings of Christ, as found in I, II ofIndia would be Christian today."
o, ur post-modern world will never experience redemption unless Christians live the "Christlike" life and share their experience as people of the resurrection.
Charles Spurgeon reportedly said, "I would not give much for your religion if it cannot be seen." He also concluded, "Lamps do not talk but they do shine."
Many people know that Stanley, the explorer, found David Livingstone, the missionary, in the jungles of Africa. In that faraway place, Stanley greeted Livingstone with that now-famous query, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
Many people do not know the whole story, however. The explorer spent many long months in the company of the dedicated missionary. In fact, we are told Livingstone did not speak directly to Stanley about spiritual matters. Rather, it was his loving and patient compassion for the African people that overwhelmed Stanley's comprehension. He simply was not accustomed to the love and patience the
Everyone's life attests to something, but there are only two kinds of Christian witness: true and false. The life you live either affirms life in Christ or denies it, intentionally or otherwise.
Which
• do au
BY WAYNE WARNER
determined Livingstone exhibited toward the backward, pagan people among whom the missionary chose to live and serve. Stanley's journal left this silent testimony to that unspoken witness: "When I saw that unwearied patience, that unflagging zeal, and those enlightened sons of Africa, I became a Christian at his Side, though he never spoke to me one word."
A pastor described the mid-90s trial of one of four girls who beat and killed a 12 year-old in his community. The judge sentenced the girl being tried to 40 years. She was punished, not for what she did to the victim, but for what she did not do to prevent the incident-anything.
Knowing the Christian faith was never intended to be merely a spectator sport, Chuck Colson urged believers to "witness for Christ" and when "necessary, use words." Stanley found the undeniable example livingstone lived before him an irresistible evidence.
"The church," admits Howard Snyder in liberating the Church, "has the resources and the power to bring the revolution and produce the first fruits of the Kingdom." If that is true, Snyder is also correct
when he concludes, "Given our faith and obedience, God can liberate the church to heal the world."
Personal witnessing cannot be neglected, causing the world to suffer unnecessarily. Nor can the corporate witness of the church be adulterated by way of programs and procedures, except at the expense of the church being the church.
"That community which cares and shares with one another and which is hospitable to the stranger and enemy," contends Dale Brown in Radical Chris-
tianity, possesses "more real evangelistic power than those which adopt the media and manipulative techniques of Madison Avenue."
Individually, few of us comprehend the potential we have for releasing the power of truth, just by submitting our everyday thoughts, words and deeds to our Lord's scrutiny.•
Wayne Warner is afreelance writer from Battle Creek, Mich.
Beyond asilent witness
CONTEMPLATING WITNESSING quickens our heart rate and thickens our tongues. We're reluctant to be "hit and run" witnesses who meet people, zap them with the gospel and quickly exit. So instead, we retreat to "silent witnessing," setting an example but saying nothing. Neither fully communicates the gospel.
Silent witnessing sounds good. "Just live the Christian life," I was advised, "and people will see Christ in you." But "living the life" is difficult. You're never good enough.
I used to witness silently with a metallic fish on the back of my car. I'm a good driver, but my unintentional discourtesies got people riled at me. , wanted to flash a sign out the window that said, ""m only a sinner saved by grace. Don't blame Jesus for my mistakes."
Besides, silent witnessing isn't enough. Jesus, the only person who ever lived a perfect life, didn't do only that. He taught continually.
Jesus also commanded us to teach. How often I have wished that the Great Commission said, "Go, therefore, and let your actions speak louder than words before all nations." Instead, ittells us to "make disciples" and "teach them" (Matt. 28:18-20).
But how do we witness without coming on too strong? God has a way of making discussions-not sermons-occur through various means.
• Adverse circumstances. Peter wrote to the much persecuted early Christians,
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Adverse circumstances cut away at the surface issues of life and entice others to ask about our faith.
I discovered this when five broken bones kept me laid up in a hospital for seven weeks. "You certainly have a lot of friends," my roommates and nurses said as the visitors came by. "They're my church friends," I explained. I've never been quizzed so much before or since about my faith. My injuries provided an effective backdrop for sharing the Word.
• Transparent answers. "Hit and run evangelism" has soured us on saying God's name in the presence of a nonChristian, even if it's appropriate.
One day as I waited for my children, I was reading my Bible at the public library. A clerk asked if , was studying. I almost gave her a simple, "Yes." Then I realized that this was my opportunity to introduce Christ into the conversation. I was scared. ""m reading the Bible," I croaked. The word "Bible" sounded so odd within the walls of a public library-not the way it fit at home or at church. To my surprise, she asked me about my faith
• Discussion starters. I've discovered some openings quite by accident. Once the man behind me in the grocery line pumped me about my faith when he noticed I was wearing a T-shirt with my church's name on it.
BY JAN JOHNSON
• Being helpful can be a lead-in. When I comforted a child who fell off the slide in the park, her mother thanked me, giving me a glowing look which seemed to say, "What a wonderful person you are'" I decided that there was something more important than having people think I was nice, so I blurted out, "We have a mother's club at our church. Would you like to come?"
This differs from the "silent witness" approach, in that kindness, T-shirts and magazines do not replace words, but they create opportunities to speak up.
Some of us worry that we will stumble over our words as we share our faith. Perhaps that's preferable. Non-Christians have heard too many polished, memorized speeches about Christianity. They need to hear sincere expressions from the heart about what God means to us and how he makes a difference in our lives.
Sharing our faith also teaches us to trust. As we lean on Christ for courage, we see him use us more. This starts a cycle-the more we witness, the more we trust, and the more we trust, the more we want to witness. •
Jan Johnson lives in Simi, Calif. She is the author of Enjoying the Presence of God and Listening to God: Using Scripture as a Path to God's Presence (NavPress). This article was first printed in the MB Herald.
Response to FPU concerns
As Fresno Pacific's trustees and administrators deal with the university's financial challenges, let's think carefully about what we ask them to do. I find myself disagreeing with most of the proposals that Bob Falk offers in his recent letter to the editor (May 2000).
All I know about the specific details of FPU's crisis comes from articles in the Christian Leader. As a graduate of Tabor, however, I care deeply about Mennonite higher education. A faculty member for much of my career (Wheaton College, University of Maryland and Cornell University), I have observed these issues in both Christian and secular institutions. Now as a university administrator (Director of Extension and Associate Dean at Cornell), I deal regularly with the kinds of issues that Mr. Falk raises. Some of his suggestions appear attractive but could have unfortunate consequences.
• Stop sabbaticals. The faculty is the university. Through sabbaticals, faculty members get in touch with new ideas, sharpen their courses, carry out original research and write the articles and books that make them leaders. I've watched returning faculty members transform their classes, excite their students with new ideas and reenergize whole departments. When professors go on sabbatical, their colleagues carry extra loads, knowing that the same will be done for them. Colleges rarely hire people to cover sabbaticals so there is little to save and much to lose by eliminating them. A university without a sabbatical program quickly turns stale. You can't hire the best people if the college appears not to value this process of renewal. (I tell my doctoral students not to apply for teaching positions at colleges that do not offer sabbaticals.)
• Stop school paid enrichment travel. Research shows that the most
The Christian Leader welcomes brief letters on topics relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church. All letters must be signed and will be edited for clarity and length. Send letters to Christian Leader, 7531 Delta Wind Dr., Sacramento, CA 95831 (e-mail: chleader@jps.net).
WHAT READERS SAY
effective learning comes through new experience. I've seen the transforming power of travel and intercultural experiences. Universities build some of these activities into their budgets; these are the cost of doing business, not add-ons. .:when they are add-ons, students are the ones who pay for them through extra fees. As a result, proposing to stop "school paid" enrichment travel will save little. It would, however, send a powerful message to potential students who look at college as an opportunity to broaden themselves. Students expect opportunities to learn outside the classroom. IfFPU doesn't provide these, watch them go elsewhere.
• Stop nepotism (hiring spouses). Research universities like my own fill five positions for every three faculty hires. Why? That is the only way we can compete for the best talent. That is not nepotism; it simply acknowledges the fact that smart people tend to marry smart people. Spouses want meaningful work, particularly in places where other job opportunities are limited or where faculty members are paid substantially below the prevailing market as is the case for FPU. Christian colleges must either help spouses find meaningful work (or provide it), or they will not find faculty willing or even able to work for the salaries they pay.
Christian pharmacists aren't expected to sell prescriptions at far below the prevailing price. Believing farmers sell their produce at market value, the same as everybody else.We would expect nothing else. However, we have no such qualms about asking the faculty of Christian colleges to work for 30-50 percent less than their secular university counterparts. The least we can do is offer their spouses meaningful employment or help them find it elsewhere so that they can afford to teach at places like FPU and live in the communities where they work.
• Load the board with business people. Universities have clearly suffered when their boards lacked business savvy. Should we load them with people who have started and run successful businesses? Maybe, but we also need to make sure boards have enough members who understand the school's core business-education. Some universities have
paid dearly for this oversight, making business decisions that compromised their core mission. Universities-whose basic product is learning-face very different challenges than do those businesses that manufacture widgets.
• Make capital improvements when all funds are in place. Falk argues that FPU should run "like a business." Agreed, but let's remember that businesses borrow money for expansion, draw on lines of credit, sell bonds and restructure debts. While they have their funding in place, they do not necessarily have all the money in hand before they make capital improvements. Studies show that the quality of the physical plant is one of the most important factors that potential students consider when choosing a college. Colleges that don't make needed capital improvements lose their ability to compete for students. While we want to be conservative about expansion, the failure to move ahead when necessary can cost dearly in a school where tuition pays the majority of the bills.
• Cut programs that are not in demand and do not pay for themselves. Let's be very careful. If we did this, most Christian colleges would have to eliminate their Bible majors and expand their business management programs. They would drop their philosophy majors and eliminate ethics courses. Do we really want that? If we continue to view FPU as a liberal arts institution, it means offering courses in philosophy, art and literature as well as business and economics. It means teaching Chaucer, music appreciation and sculpture as well as psychology and elementary education. The key is not to determine which course of study is in highest demand or pays for itself, but rather to decide what FPU is going to be and do and then do it well. Christian universities should help shape the culture, not conform to current tastes and popular values.
These are tough times for higher education, particularly for denominational schools. According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50 percent of the college students in 1960 attended liberal arts institutions; today that figure has dropped to 17 percent. At
least 20 four-year colleges with fewer than 750 students have closed since 1989.
Mr. Falk and I clearly want the same thing-strong, vibrant Mennonite Brethren institutions of higher education. Some of his proposals, however, would have the opposite effect. There are other solutions that the FPU board should pursue: more joint programs between Tabor and FPU, the expansion of distance leaming technology, the use of alternative delivery systems, more creative partnerships with universities in the region, more programs for adult students off campus, more effective use of adjunct faculty, more aggressive resource development, a stronger relationship to the denomination, etc.
Many of the colleges that went out of business in recent years ran out of ideas long before they ran out of money. The key to renewal in Mennonite Brethren higher education is for the denomination to make some hard decisions about what we want our colleges to be and to do. We need a clear vision for the future as well as good management. Let's not substitute the latter for the former.
D. Merrill Ewert Ithaca, N.Y.
Enjoy keeping up
I so enjoyed this last issue Gune 2000)-it read like a US. Today. I read it from front to back in one Sitting.
I don't attend a Mennonite Brethren church, so the Leader is my primary means of keeping up with what is happening. And, I really like the idea of net-
working and reporting on what is happening in the broader Mennonite world. Again, thanks for your ongoing quality and quantity of reporting and informing!
Naomi Gaede Penner Denver, Colo.
"OUf
financial decisions bear
PH'UP SIDE
BY PHILIP WIEBE
Blessed to be blended
"Blended worship" is a rich opportunity to worship "in spirit and in truth, " Just asJesus encouraged.
Afew months ago I received some e-mail humor that poked a little warm-hearted fun at choruses and hymns. One anecdote, told from the perspective of a hymn-singer, depicted choruses as being rather shallow and repetitive. A second story, this time from the chorus-singer's viewpoint, highlighted hymns as being somewhat stiff and incomprehensible. These were funny stories that made a pretty good point. In pursuit of our preferred "worship style" we can fail to see how our music might be missing the mark with others.
There is a serious side to these stories, however, that reflects a difficult challenge facing many churches today. A "hymns versus choruses" debate is definitely going on-even if it's sometimes unspoken. Occasionally I hear the sentiment subtly expressed: "I suppose we have to tolerate chorussinging because that's what the new people like." Also inferred from time to time is: "I guess we have to put up with hymn-singing because that's what the long-timers want."
I think these kinds of statements are meant to be (somewhat) in the spirit of grace, but still it troubles me that people feel they have to "tolerate" one style or another. And in fact many feel that "blended worship" is a compromise and a sort of temporary flx. Given a choice, the argument goes, people would rather move forward to more contemporary, expressive worship; or they'd like to go back to a more grounded, theological approach.
I don't feel that way. As a worship leader I consider it a privilege and a blessing to lead in the blended style. I don't see blended worship as a compromise or something to tolerate in an
age of change, but rather as a rich opportunity to worship "in spirit and in truth," just as Jesus encouraged. Here are a few more thoughts I've been pondering regarding blended worship:
•I don't really buy the "hymns versus choruses" dichotomy that has developed in recent decades. That we think of everything in the book as "hymns" and everything on the screen as "choruses" reflects our human tendency to divide and categorize. In reality the pages of a hymnbook do not represent one particular way of putting words and music together, but rather a large variety of styles collected over many centuries. Songwriters used the materials and melodies of their day to create works set to everything from classical compositions to folk tunes to pub songs.
The tradition continues, so to speak. Today's writers are simply creating songs of worship and praise that reflect and speak to our times. As a worship leader, I don't approach a worship service thinking, "How many choruses and how many hymns should I choose?" Rather, I consider, "What good songs are we going to sing?"
•I suspect the idea of "uniform worship" is more the product of modern consumer culture than biblical principles. What I mean by "uniform worship" is that the style is narrowly focused, like radio stations that play only certain types of rock or country or jazz. It's the "target audience" scenario, which of course is a big trend in church marketing efforts today, for better or worse.
The Bible, however, seems to sup-
port a wide variety of sounds and settings for worship. Psalm 150 speaks of praising God both "in his sanctuary" and out in nature (ps. 150:1). Worship instruments mentioned here include trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, strings, flute and cymbals. Nehemiah describes worship sessions involving hours of public Scripture reading, confession of sin, and bowing facedown before the Lord (ps. 8:6; 9:3). Paul urged the early church to "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:16). That sounds like blended worship to me.
• One big bonus of blended worship is that it reflects a blended congregation. Why is it that singing both hymns and choruses in a service is often seen as less than desirable? You'd think it would be an occasion, rather, to celebrate the multigenerational church. Unfortunately, though we pay lip service to diversity, the church appears to be following the lead of prevailing culture by breaking down further and further into tight lifestyle, generational and demographic clusters. This doesn't sound like the worship of Rev. 7:9, which depicts "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb."
• True worship doesn't depend on style, but heart. When I reflect on a number of the most powerful, worshipful gatherings I've been a part of in my life, the common denominator in all of them is not worship style. Far from it. The instances I'm thinking of include large boisterous gatherings and small reflective ones. They include classical, contemporary and blended events. I think of a couple of blended worship times in particular when people emphatically raised their voices and hands in both choruses and hymns, and it didn't really seem to matter which was which. Afterward it occurred to me why. The people had come, hungry to worship God, before they ever sang a note.
INQUIRlNG MINDS
BY MARVIN HEIN
QSeveral times recently in Christian news articles I have seen references to an apparently new idea among evangelicals called the "open view of God. " What are they talking about? (California)
AYou have read correctly. This socalled "openness of God" theological debate appears to the hottest burner on the evangelical stove at the moment. The debate caused one cartoonist to portray a preacher speaking from on stage with his message title printed in large letters: "Presenting the new and improved God."
It is ironic that this view of God seems to originate in the mind of a professor in one of the well-known evangelical schools. At least the discussion focuses on the arguments of a Bethel College (Minneapolis, Minn.) professor who also pastors a large church in neighboring St. Paul. Gregory A. Boyd is a theology professor in the Baptist General Conference-affiliated college where we have several former Mennonite Brethren professors. Boyd contends that for centuries the Christian church has held a view of God that is hopelessly irrelevant to modern-day life.
The crux of the "openness of God" notion is that God simply cannot know what his creatures will do in the future because those decisions have not yet been made. In other words, God knows perfectly what he can know, but he can't know everything since future decisions by people do not yet exist. What makes the idea more dangerous is that its proponents claim to be simple biblical literalists.
The "literal" interpretations on God's knowledge come from passages where the Bible says that God changed his mind or that he "repented." Boyd would say that God changes his mind because he doesn't know the future decision of his free creatures. In other words, this new evangelical view of God sees God as a God who always has a backup plan. Whereas orthodox evan-
gelicalism has held that God knows the future and therefore knows the end from the beginning, the "openness of God" philosophy contends that God's omnipotence is flexible and that God must always be ready with Plan B if Plan A fails or is frustrated by his creatures.
In essence this new view, all too common among so-called "post-conservative" evangelicals, holds that God is not the eternal, all-knowing and allpowerful God in which most of us have believed. There are limits to God's power; he doesn't know everything about the future, say those who follow this line of reasoning. Closely related to this is the idea that God can't stop human suffering, since he has to work in partnership with humans, and therefore he has to change as we change. Why is such a God necessary? Because Christianity is too exclusive and must be opened up. The church must be open to new ideas. It must deal with the post-modern mind. So, say people like Gregory Boyd, God changes and he becomes a lot more progressive than he used to be. That also means God must be limited and more tolerant than we have ordinarily believed. Ultimately this view probably also means that sin and its consequences are not really all that bad. Perhaps it also means that the cross is no longer a necessary ingredient of the gospel.
It will be interesting to follow this latest innovative theology. As for me, just "gimme that old time religion; it's good enough for me."
Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? E-mail Marvin at mheinl@fresno.edu or send your question to "Inquiring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.
QSo, what does the Bible mean when it says that God "repented"?
AI've added this question on my own since it follows so logically from the previous question. The KingJames Version says, "it repented the Lord that he had made man " (Gen. 6:6). In Ex. 32:14 it says that "the Lord repented of the evil " In Judges 2: 18, the IqV speaks of the Lord repenting. 1 Sam. 15:35 says that "the Lord repented that he had made Saul king " Speaking of God's dealings with Israel, the psalmist says: "the Lord repented according to the multitude of his mercies" (ps. 106:45). There are several other passages as well that speak of God repenting.
God's "repenting" is almost always an expression of his "grace," when he changes his inclination to punish sin because an intercessor pleads for God's people. That is not always the case, but it is interesting to note how newer translations spell out God's "repentance" in the passages cited above. In the Gen. 6:6 passage, the New International Version says that "the Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth." The Ex. 32:14 verse is put this way: "The Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened." The New American Standard translation says in Judges 2: 18, "for the Lord was moved to pity by the groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them." The same translation says in 1 Sam. 15:35 that "the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel." Finally the NIVtranslates Ps. 106:45 "and out of his great love he relented."
The above passages illustrate that in most instances, when God repents, it suggests that out of the love and mercy of his heart (grace) he relents in his punishment of God's people. There is really little indicated here that God did not know what choices people would make and therefore changed his mind.
I ON THE JOUHNEY
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Fighting for my rights?
Is this what we are supposed to be about-fighting for our rights, political and otherwise? Is this how we spread the gospel ofJesus Christ?
Every week I get several letters in the mail asking for donations to one cause or another. Obviously, my name is on a list that has been traded or sold around the country so that now I receive a lot of unsolicited attention.
When I get these letters, well, some I just toss, others I actually open and scan and a few I take the
time to read.
I have two such requests that I have saved over the last few months, not because I want to contribute to them, but because they upset me. One is from a well-known organization that is asking for $21 million to help it carry out its agenda for the remainder of this year. To make sure I understand the seriousness of this request and what's really important, the letter is frequently underlined and has blue, handwritten notes in the margin.
The second request for money comes from a coalition recently formed for the express purpose of fighting for Christian rights in the courts. This nice three-columned flyer has the important sections highlighted in yellow so I won't miss them.
Both organizations claim to be Christian. They use words and phrases like "fight," "court victory," "vigilance," "rights," "reclaim lost ground," "powerful impact" and "religious freedom" to name a few. They make statements like: "The legal attacks on our religious freedom are escalating at an alarming rate. We can unite, pool resources and help defend our rights. We are fighting for the very survival of the gospel." These organizations make it very clear that they are going to make sure that my rights as a Christian are fought for and, hopefully, preserved-and they need my money.
I find myself deeply disturbed by all of this. Is this what we as Christians are
supposed to be about? Fighting for our rights, political and otherwise? Is this how we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, by running to court every time we don't think something is going our way?
I have no objection to the Ten Commandments hanging in a courthouse or judge's chamber, students saying prayers before football games or the Christmas creche displayed on government property. I'm a Christian and these things are part of what I believe. However, there are others in our country who don't share our Christian views and who object. How effective are we in our Christian witness if we become adversaries in a religious tug-of-war? What kind of a message are we sending if every time we don't get what we perceive to be our rights, we file a lawsuit against those who have wronged us? Didn't Jesus teach that "If someone strikes you on the one cheek, tum to him the other also" and "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matt. 5:39,41)?
I remember how, as a child, I used to chafe under my father's teaching. He always wanted me to do what was best, not just what was good. To my "There's nothing wrong with this," he would reply "But is it the best you can do?"
Now I find myself asking the same question. Are we doing the best we can to spread the message of God's unconditional love given through his son, Jesus Christ? Instead of worrying about our own rights doesn't the Bible repeatedly remind us to remember the widows, the orphans and the poor? Furthermore, don't the Old Testament prophets proclaim our responsibility to seek justice for the oppressed?
Jesus said that we are to be "the salt
ofthe earth" but adds a dire warning: "If the salt loses its saltiness It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (Matt. 5:13). I can't help but wonder, is this what is happening to our Christian witness in this country? Are we losing our saltiness? When non-Christians look at us, what do they see?
People who care about them or people fighting for their own rights? By going after our own rights instead of seeking justice for the poor, do we have our priorities in order? What about those around the world who don't even have basic human rights? Shouldn't we support efforts to help them instead of focusing on ourselves?
I remember reading a news report several years ago which stated that the Christian Coalition raised $5.4 million in less than 6 months to further its political agenda. The report ended with this question: "Did the donors get their money's worth?" I wondered then and I wonder now.
Well, I decided to do some calculating. I recently saw a mission board's request for money to support African evangelists working in their own countries. At $350 per year that $5.4 million would support over 1500 evangelists for 10 years. Would we get our money's worth? Or what about this? At an average of $45,000 per house, Habitat for Humanity can build 120 homes for families who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford them. How's that for an investment with the Lord's money?
I can't find any biblical support for these high profile quests to save our Christian rights. Therefore, I have decided not to support organizations whose express purpose is to do just that. Instead I intend to help those Christian organizations and charities that spread the gospel and help the poor and the seriously oppressed people around the world. Those are my priorities. The rest I leave to God.
A Call to Evangelism & Outreach
• The MISSION is constant. It never changes. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and asks us to take this good news to all creation. We are to be His witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in allJudea and Samaria, and to the ends ofthe earth. " (Acts. 1:8).
• The MElHODS are variable. They always focus on the goal and may vary with each individual that is won to Christ. Paul put aside anything that would hinder the gospel of Christ and established a common ground with his contacts. "1 have become all things to all men so that by all possible means 1 might save some. "(l Cor. 9:22b).
• The MANDATE is for all. Mission USA Executive Director Ed Boschman shares the following insights and encouragement for "winning some":
Networking and partnering with others in evangelism is something I've tried to work at consistently and energetically. The Bible makes it clear that some plant, some nurture, others harvest. There is equal happiness in me when someone decides to be a Christian, whether my part has been early or late. Just being involved is enough!
Because most of our schoolmates, co-workers, neighbors and other pre-Christian acquaintances and friends don't know very much about Christianity these days, it is more important than ever to understand that winning someone into a personal relationship with Jesus, and into a meaningful relationship with the church, will often be a lengthy process. One of my most recent baptisms, Tony, was a five (count them: 12-3-4-5!) year process and let me assure you, it was a shared commission process and a shared celebration!
The coming-to-faith process looks something like this:
• Awareness of God, but mostly indifference.
• Awareness of desire for personal relationship with God.
• Awareness of Jesus' good news.
• Awareness of internal longing for peace and meaning.
• Awareness of personal sinfulness.
• Awareness of desire to decide.
•A FAITH DECISION TO ACCEPT JESUS AND FOLLOW HIM.
Who do you know in your circle of influence that is on track to faith in Jesus?
Statistics tell us that one in four of those people are favorably disposed to joining you at a low-key Christian event (a home Bible study, church outreach event, a dinner at your house, a movie or production with Christian values, etc.). Unless you ask them, it's unlikely that they'll get a chance to say yes, and to personally join you as a follower of Jesus.
Family of God members can choose to be involved in this process at pretty much any point. Isn't it great that we can partner with each other, and with God who by His Spirit convicts, woos, and then makes a new Christian?
How about sharing the mission with someone?
For information about church planting and renewal opportunities you may now reach us at: Mission USA, 333 West Melinda Lane, Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85027-2926. Phone: 623-434-3301, Fax: 623-434-3299.
MISSION USA BOARD:
Ed Boschman, Phoenix, AZ
Chuck Buller, Visalia, CA
Phil Glanzer, New Hope, MN
Joe Johns, Weatherford, OK
Loretta Jost, Aurora, NE
Brad Klassen, Glendale, AZ
Nancy Laverty, Jones, OK
Fred Leonard, Clovis, CA
Stephen Reimer, Shafter, CA
Randy Steinert, Bakersfield, CA
Tim Sullivan, Hillsboro, KS
Gary Wall, Lodi, CA
Ex Officio Members:
Henry Dick, Fresno, CA
Clinton Grenz, Bismark, N.D.
Bruce Porter, Fresno, CA
Roland Reimer, Wichita, KS
Clint Seibel, Hillsboro, KS
Jim Westgate, Fresno, CA
Congregation ministers to Laotian immigrants
• Forging friendships key to evangelizing Buddhist neighbors
Imagine living in a small Midwest town where it is difficult to speak with one of every four people you encounter. Where a church is planted on every corner-including a Buddhist temple.
Residents of Mountain Lake, Minn., may have thought this impossible for their town but today it has, in fact, become a reality. An influx of Laotian people came to this small community 11 years ago and Mountain Lake hasn't been the same since. Today, 20 percent of the town's almost 2000 residents are Laotian. Needless to say, Mountain Lake MB Church is rethinking how it does church.
Fleeing the ravages of war
The Lao immigrants came to North America as a result of the Vietnam War. After the war, the Lao people of Southeast Asia were pressured to accept communist rule. Instead, most fled to refugee camps in Thailand.
Escape to Thailand was not easy. The Laotians crossed the Megon River at night and hid on an island during the day. The river was so wide, most people took two nights to cross and if the Lao
With a growing population of Laotian families, Mountain Lake MB Church has begun rethinking the way it does church. Many Laotian children participate in the congregation's midweek AWANA program (right). For adults. pastor Ron Seibel began a Sunday school class geared especially for Laotians.
were caught, communists would shoot them on the spot. After finally reaching the refugee camp, they were allowed to go to America.
Three main groups of Laotian people initially arrived in Mountain Lake-the Thai, Lao and Mong. The Thai, who were educated, business people, and the Lao, who were rice farmers, make up the fifty Lao families currently living in Mountain Lake. The Mong people, who are mostly uneducated, simple people who lived in the hills, no longer reside in Mountain Lake.
Settling in Mountain Lake
According to Mountain Lake MB Church pastor Ron Seibel, many Laotians settled in Mountain Lake because of available housing. One couple chose the small town becausethey felt more accepted in Mountain Lake than elsewhere. In turn, these people wrote to relatives and today, as a whole, the Laotians make up
about one-fifth of the population.
Seibel says he sees the Lao immigrants as an asset to the community. Laotian residents are active in schools, businesses and churches. Thanks to the influx of Laotian children, enrollment in local schools has grown and that means an increase in state funding for education. While most immigrants work in meat packing plants, they are also employed in businesses as mechanics and nursing home aides.
Integrating these newcomers into the life of the community is a challenge. Neighbors have different cultural customs. Mountain Lake MB Church member Gene Friesen recalls his first experience at a Lao wedding. He saw threefoot long tree branches tied with white yarn which were later tied to the bride's wrists. Bowls of eggs represented fertility. The fathers of the bride and groom bartered for the bride, a practice that can cost several thousand dollars.
With the influx of Laotian children, enrollment in local schools has grown.
There was lots of drinking, dancing and eating of Lao foods," Friesen says.
But it may be the language barrier that presents the biggest hurdle. When he moved to Mountain Lake about two years ago, Seibel found himself wondering how to relate to the Asian people. He says, "Many do not know English well, so it has been a challenge to converse."
Friesen, who is a former chamber and rotary club president, says the Laotians have heavy accents making it difficult to understand them.
But both men agree the immigrants have been very patient with community members. Seibel describes the Laotians as friendly people who wanted to get to know him regardless of the language barrier.
Friesen says, "We can talk freely to them about Buddhism and other things. It gives us the opportunity to reach out with the gospel."
Evangelism becomes priority
Given the strong religious convictions of many long-time Mountain Lake residents, it's not surprising that evangelizing the predominantly Buddhist Lao population and meeting the needs of Laotian Christians are important priorities.
It's also not surprising that the recent arrival of Buddhist monks was of special concern-especially when they established a temple just a block away from the MB church.
Concern for their neighbors has tempered the response of some in the community, says Friesen. "No one has shown opposition for fear that we might discourage the Christian Lao people," he says. "However, it is a matter of prayer."
Since their arrival, the monks have moved to another location. They meet about once a month with eight monks from other communities.
In addition to Mountain Lake, Lao immigrants have settled in neighboring Jackson, Butterfield and Delft. When the Lao immigrants began arriving, eight congregations from these cities formed a task force. Through the task force, Lao Christian Fellowship was established nine years ago and Pastor Tong was hired to serve the congregation and the Asian community.
Before becoming a pastor, Tong attended a Missionary Alliance Bible school in Laos. He has extensive experience working with Laotians living in North America. He has planted six congregations
in Canada and prior to coming to Mountain Lake, Tong was a pastor in Ohio. Lao Christian Fellowship is affiliated with the General Conference Mennonite Church. Regular attendance is about 40 but at times the congregation has swelled to over 100.
"The group has changed from time to time because some of the Lao people want to be in an English-speaking church," says Friesen.
Changing the face of the church
Mountain Lake MB Church is presently home to three Lao families, and children from several other homes attend Sunday school. Many Laotian children also participate in the congregation's midweek AWANA program.
"It is still an interesting experience for me to look over the SO-some AWANA kids and see that one fourth are Laotian," says Seibel.
A year ago, Seibel began a Sunday school class geared especially for Laotians. "One brother kept after me saying (the Laotians) don't get much out of sitting in other classes. He was very much concerned," says Seibel.
The class sessions are slow paced as the group reads through Scripture passages and ponder specific words.
"This has become a very exciting time for me as I grope for words to define and explain things that I think are simple and clear," says Seibel. "In the process I also learn."
Even though Laotians participate in church activities, the congregation still finds it difficult to reach out to them because of language and religion barriers.
"It is very difficult for Laotians to come out of Buddhism and to separate it from our Christian faith," says Seibel.
This past fall, Russell Schmidt, MBMS International program director for Asia, visited with members of the congregation about evangelizing Buddhists.
"It is through relationship, not doctrine, that you are able to win the Buddhists to Christ," says Schmidt. As a guest speaker, his challenge to the congregation was to simply befriend the Lao people.
While Schmidt did notice a concern in the community about how to talk to the Lao, he was impressed by the willingness of the congregation to reach Asian people.
Originally expecting only about four or five people at the morning coffee session, Schmidt was surprised to have over 30 people attend. "It was obvious to me that these people had thought through many of the issues involved and were committed to the task of sharing the gospel," he says.
Schmidt says, "As Mennonite Brethren, we should understand what it means to be refugees, and to attempt to preserve our culture and language. We are great candidates as missionaries to these people and God has made it easy by bringing them to our doorsteps."
-Tamijons, staff writer
WANTED
cThe Christian Leader is looking for people who are interested in writing assigned news stories and/or willing to serve as correspondents for their region, reporting on the news and events occurring in Mennonite Brethren churches throughout the United States. Writers will be compensated.
Henderson (Neb.) MB Church took an alternative approach to vacation Bible school. Instead of offering a program during the week, the 2OG-member congregation trans, formed its 50-minute children's Sunday school using the popular Christian VeggieT./es. Jean Regier (left), co-leader of the program, introduces a skit while son Brent takes a seat close to the on-stage action.
MB churches transform for summer Bible school programs
• From Cowboy Ray to the Olympics, churches develop programs to reach out to children
For many Mennonite Brethren congregations, summer wouldn't be summer without vacation Bible school.
This summer many facilities are being transformed into science labs, Olympic venues and race tracks as a myriad of adult volunteers provide Bible lessons, craft projects, missionary presentations, games and snacks for eager children from the church and community.
While many MB congregations in traditional formats use typical VBS curriculum, other congregations have developed programs to uniquely suit their situation. Leader staff writer Sara Cook and regional correspondent Amelia Patrie profile five congregations and their 2000 summer VBS programs.
Cowboy
Ray hustles
up a good time
ROUNDING UP little ones isn't always such an easy chore-unless, of course, you're Cowboy Ray.
Children in the Delft, Minn., area have come ready to learn Bible verses and lessons from Cowboy Ray for the past several years.
So why does he keep blazing a trail back here?
"The kids just love him," says Carson MB (Delft) Church Christian education director Joyce Dick. Some children even schedule summer visits to grandparents so they rendezvous with Cowboy Ray.
Cowboy Ray-actually Ray Anderson-with his wife Joyce and, in past years, their children, travel from Elmore, Minn., in full cowboy attire to share their talents with the 40 to 45 children who attend the Delft vacation Bible school. Local wranglers and church volunteers round out the VBS staff.
This summer Carson MB, together with another local Mennonite congregation, held VBSJuly 10-14. VBS is held in a tent and that helps children who have
never been in a church before feel more at ease, says Dick.
Kids complete worksheets and memorize Bible verses to earn Circle C Dollars which are then spent in the Circle C Store on cross necklaces, pens, pencils, whistles and other novelties.
Another popular element of the Delft VBS is the offering contest. The children are divided into two teams and compete to see which team contributes the most money and which team's offering weighs the most. Dick says children are bringing rolls of coins by the end of the week.
Cowboy Ray gives two lessons each day-one in the morning and the other in the afternoon following lunch and recreation. Cowboy Ray incorporates puppet shows, magic tricks and object lessons in his presentations.
"He always keeps things moving," says Dick. If someone becomes unruly, Cowboy Ray will pull something out of his hat. One time, Dick says, he lassoed a child.
The Andersons hold approximately 10 to 12 VBS programs each summer plus special programs in the winter, says Dick. It seems the sun never sets for Cowboy Ray and his posse.-SC
Community VBS can't be beat
MANY ADVANTAGES come with having a community-wide vacation Bible school. Just ask the people in Hesston, Kan., where the city's congregations have worked together for over 40 years to host an annual community VBS. This summer Cherilyn Dahlsten of Hesston MB was the community VBS director.
"It's really good for the community to do it this way," says Shalene Rogg of Hesston MB. "It's a good opportunity to work with other churches." This year Rogg directed her congregation's VBS program for preschoolers.
By coming together, people have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with members of other churches and attendance is also higher, says Rogg. Of the approximately 500 children living in Hesston, 318 attended VBS this summer, an increase of about 40 from last year. About 40 or 50 children from Hesston MB contributed to the high number.
This year the public schools and city recreation department helped promote VBS, which may have helped attendance. In cooperation with the middle and elementary schools, flyers and registration forms were distributed two weeks before the end of school. The schools agreed to serve as drop-off sites and the recreation department included the information in their bulletins.
The five Hesston congregations each hosted an assigned age group. Each church chose its own curriculum. This year, Hesston MB chose VeggieTales VBS curriculum for the four-year-olds. According to Rogg, only 17 out of the 46 four-year-olds enrolled in VBS attend church on a regular basis so the strong salvation emphasis in the curriculum was important. Children at all five sites raised money for Mennonite Central Committee school kits.
"Because you concentrate on one age group, you don't spread your resources so thin, your teachers so thin," says Dahlsten.
"I think that our town is small enough that it just makes more sense to put it all together," says Rogg. "It's worked well."
And indeed, it has worked well.
"Every year," says Dahlsten, "I'm just amazed at how well it all coordinates, that
they were able to set up this structure 41 years ago and it continues on today." - SC
Campers make a joyful noise
CHURCHGOERS IN Visalia, Calif., heard a "joyful noise unto the Lord" as approximately 40 children presented two performances of the musical they had been rehearsing for two weeks.
From June 12-23, children gathered at Neighborhood Church for two-and-a-half hours every weekday afternoon for music camp. But it wasn't all about music.
"We take those (biblical principles) out of the musical for teaching time each day to reinforce what they're singing about," says children's ministry director Kelley Coughlin. "Hopefully by singing, we reinforce the teaching that they've gotten so that the scriptural ideas, the biblical principles, can be remembered."
Neighborhood Church has held a music camp for about the past ten years in place of vacation Bible school. Coughlin and associate pastor of music Randy Janzen organized the camp this year.
"It is an opportunity for (the children) to focus their attentions where we could share the gospel," says Coughlin.
Recruiting volunteers isn't a problem, says Coughlin, in part because the camp is a short-term commitment. Volunteers worked in set construction, teaching, choreography, lighting and refreshments.
Because Visalia holds school yearround and children have other commitments such as sports practices, attendance was down by about 50 percent this past year.
But for the children who did attend camp, they had the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ in something other than a classroom setting. -SC
DayCamps a gold medal favorite
A LESSON in obedience helped one vacation Bible school director add a twist to her congregation's vas program.
"The Lord had been impressing on me that we needed to reach children that weren't a part of our church family," says Susan Froese, vas director at Westport MB Church in Collinsville, Okla.
"I just went before the Lord and I said,
'Lord, I don't know that we are doing Bible school in the best way we can do it. How do you want us to do it? How can we reach more kids?'" says Froese. "He just gradually brought me to the idea that we need to be out in the world. We need to be out in the neighborhoods."
Froese's vision for a new approach evolved into Neighborhood DayCamps. Froese adapted traditional five-day VBS curriculum for use by seven different neighborhood groups that met in the backyard of church members. Group leaders could pick and choose what they wanted to emphasize depending on the age mix of the children in their group.
Each home decided on which three days June 5-10 and at what time they would hold their day camp. The theme of the camp was the 2000 summer Olymg,ic games in Australia. The Bible lessons used the image of the Olympic torch. Torches of hope were "passed" throughout the week: hope of salvation, hope that Jesus is always there, hope that Christians will not be afraid to reach out to others and the hope of eternal life.
All of the groups came together Sunday morning for the "closing ceremony" which included the Parade of Neighborhoods complete with homemade flags. Each child was then awarded a gold medallion sticker.
For Froese, the real gold-medal winners were those children who heard for the first time about the saving love of Jesus. She relates the story of one little girl who enjoyed the camp so much that her mother was prompted to write the church a note of appreciation.
'We have no idea what this child will be when she grows up, the influence she will have and how (VBS) started her faith walk," Froese says. "It made all of it worth it if it was just one child."
The backyard VBS received positive feedback from church members as well as members of the community, says Froese. "When the Lord prompts you to do something," she says, "it's good to be obedient, and it's amazing what he can do even though you don't know what you're doing." -SC
BOB AND lARRY of VeggieTales fame are helping Henderson (Neb.) MB
Church provide a fast moving, fun and biblically-based summer curriculum for the children's Sunday school hour.
The VeggieTown "Values on the Job" VBS curriculum was adapted by the Christian education committee for use in the 50-minute Sunday morning time slot.
"This particular program helped us give something special to our children, especially since we didn't have a VBS program this summer," says John R. Quiring, who heads the Christian education committee for the 200-member congregation.
"It also provided the answer to a lot of our summer staffing and programming difficulties," he says. Having the children meet together reduces the need for teachers for each age group and allows flexibility when some of the adults need to be absent, says Quiring Coleader Jean Regier admits that some parents were at first concerned about the appropriateness of the VeggieTales format.
"They thought we would just be entertaining the children instead of teaching them," she says. "But by giving them more information on the lesson plans and goals, most of them now support the program."
The mornings begin with a group assembly in which taped messages from the VeggieTales characters, skits and singing introduce lessons for the children on being obedient, thankful, faithful, respectful and teachable. Because the material is so extensive, each VBS lesson becomes two Sunday school lessons.
Prekindergarten children are dismissed following the assembly and they spend the remainder of the hour working at their own level. The other children form multiage groups with the older ones assisting the teachers in helping the younger ones find Bible verses, discuss solutions to a lesson-related problem and complete the lesson.
"Having the older ones help the younger children really reinforces the Bible truths they are learning," says coleader Karla Block, "so they understand the point of the lessons in a deeper way. "
Regier sums up the experience, "One of the mothers stopped me on the street the other day and told me how much her son is enjoying our summer program. He wants to be here every Sunday and he's eager to learn more."-AP
Camp program goes one-onone with inner-city kids
• Omaha's Faith Bible Church reaches neighborhood youth through unique camp experience
Two Central District Conference congregations worked together this summer to positively impact the lives of children and young teens from Omaha, Neb., by providing the youth with a unique one-on-one mentoring experience away from their inner city neighborhood.
City Impact 2000, a four-day camp for children and young teens was organized by Faith Bible Church in Omaha with assistance from Grace Bible Church in Gettysburg, S.D.
"Our desire was to provide significant, positive changes in the children's lives," says FBC associate pastor James Epp. "We thought it would be most effective to remove them from the hustle and bustle of chaotic city life to a place where they could hear the still small voice ofthe Lord."
The camp was directed by FBC pastoral staff members Epp, senior pastor Peter Thomas, and Stephen Stout who directs Good Neighbor Ministries, the congregation's neighborhood ministry.
Twenty-seven Omaha youth between the ages of 8 and fourteen were paired with thirty volunteers from FBC and Grace Bible. In addition to sending volunteers, those attending from Gettysburg paid their own costs and sponsored an equal number of children.
The volunteer counselors, who ranged in age from 14 to 52, met at FBC Friday, June 16, for a weekend of training for their role as a Christian "buddy" to their camper. They watched a video explaining urban missions, considered avenues for showing Christ's love to the campers, walked through the neighborhood in prayer and painted and picked up trash in the area for an afternoon prior to the camp. The training ended with a party at which the volunteers were introduced to "their" campers.
Monday, June 19, the campers and volunteers headed to World Impact's Morning Star Ranch near Florence, Kan. World Impact is a national inner-city ministry which is partnering with the Southern District Conference in urban church planting. In addition to serving as a retreat location, Morning Star Ranch offers a residential discipleship training program for young adult men from the inner-city.
The Omaha campers spent four days at the ranch learning what it means to be on "God's Squad - The Team Where You Belong." Thomas designed the learning sessions to teach the campers that the truest things about themselves are the things God says about them.
The counselors worked with their individual buddies to further strengthen the idea that God sees them as special, valuable, unique and belonging to Him. They also spent individual timewith their campers during morning devotions and afternoon activities such as swimming, hiking, basketball, biking, canoeing and volleyball.
"We feel that a unique aspect of this camp was the one-to-one ratio we sought to achieve," says Epp. "Many of these kids come from very hurting backgrounds and may not get any of the attention that they need from the significant adults in their lives. Even though it seemed out ofthe ordinary, we decided that each child would be matched up with one adult counselor who would spend a majority of the day with that child during activities and sessions."
Stout says the relationships built with the children will be continued. "About
This year. the Omaha campers spent four days at the ranch learning what it means to be on "God's Squad."
10 of the children who went to the camp attend the church with their families. The rest participate in our outreach ministries of Open Gym, AWANA, Sunday school, 5-day Clubs and Good News Clubs so we'll continue to build our relationships with them even though camp is over."
Epp voices his enjoyment in sharing the things that God is doing at FBC. "We are a purpose and vision driven church. We face many challenges that are common to the city: poverty, broken families, lack of male role models, crime and gangs.
"Rather than fleeing from this neighborhood, our church has committed to
Stephen Stout (left). codirector of the fourday camp for children and young teens in Omaha, Neb., poses with his buddy, Richard Leslie (right). Stout says that relationships built with the children during camp will be continued. "About 10 of the children who went to the camp attend the church with their families. The rest participate in our outreach ministries of Open Gym, AWANA, Sunday school. S-day Clubs and Good News Clubs so we'll continue to build our relationships with them even though camp is over.
remain so that we can make a significant, long-term impact on the people who live here," says Epp. "We feel that God has revealed this to us through a long period of discernment and prayer. FBC purposes to mobilize, disciple, nurture and equip Christians so that we may effectively present Jesus Christ to the people living in the Columbus Park neighborhood in south urban Omaha."
City Impact 2000 was one of several outreach programs the congregation carried out during the summer. "City Impact 2000 was an opportunity to make a significant, eternal impact on our inner-city youth," says Epp. -by Amelia Patrie, regional correspondent
STEPS OF WITH PASTOR DENNIS Be CONNIE FAST
IN BRIEF
STAFF: Sara Cook of Hillsboro, Kan., is working as a student intern at the Leader. She is an English major at Tabor College in Hillsboro and will graduate in May 2001. Cook will work for the summer writing news stories and editing news service articles. She is also employed by Thee Bookstore, a Christian bookstore in Hillsboro, as the music buyer and a salesclerk.
DECISIONS: The Fresno Pacific University board of directors made a variety of decisions at the June 9-10 board meeting. Tuition for the 2001-2002 school year will be $14,900 in the traditional undergraduate program, a 6.8 percent increase from the current $13,950. Room rates will increasean average of 3.6 percent and range from $970-1,170 per semester, depending on the option. Meal plans will increase an average of 2.8 percent and range from $415-1,415 per semester. New majors in sociology and pre-physical therapy were approved, and Christopher Brownell and Ronald Pratt were appointed to the mathematics faculty. (FPU)
TRUCK: Members of four California congregations-Laurelglen, Heritage and Rosedale (all of Bakersfield) and Reedley MB-have raised funds to purchase a new truck for Choice Books of California. Choice Books is a Mennonite ministry that sells Christian books at more than 4,000 locations nationwide. Since 1997, California CB directors Albert and Joann Epp have sold 104,000 books from 41 fixtures in 38 retails outlets. The Laurelglen Primetimers Class hosted a dedication service for the truck in May. (C8)
APPOINTMENT: Howard Keirn has been appointed vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan. Keim assumed his new responsibilities July 1. Keirn completed both his bachelor of science and master of arts degrees at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. In 1996, he received a doctorate in communication studies from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. He served as a pastor with the Mennonite Church for eight years and was a member of the Hesston (Kan.) College faculty from 1987 to 1996 and of the TC faculty from 1996 to 1999. Most recently, Keirn was a field services director with Communities in Schools of Kansas. (TC)
JESUS
Conference budget reflects desire to share the vision
• This year's budget continues trend of funding ministries through both church giving and fund-raising efforts
U.S. Conference leaders have faced a "chicken and egg" question the past six years as they consider how best to fund national ministries. Which comes first-a vision for church growth or the funds to support that vision?
The U.S. Conference budget almost doubled in 1994 when Mission USA, a national church planting and renewal effort, was launched. For the past six years, leaders have operated under the premise that a renewed vision for church growth would result in new levels of financial support from congregations and individuals.
Though church contributions have been at record levels for the past three years, the 1999-2000 fiscal year-end
report is a reminder that conference leaders will continue to wrestle with how best to motivate congregations to put their money where the dreams are.
Financial data released at the close of the 1999-2000 fiscal year May 31 shows that while congregational support remains stable, conference leaders have their work cut out for them when it comes to increasing that support.
The 1999-2000 budget asked congregations to contribute $308,500 to conference coffers, an increase of almost $33,000 over the total given by congregations in 1998-1999. The budget also included $226,600 in special fund-raising efforts towards the budget total of $620,260.
As of May 31, church contributions totaled $273,793, one percent less than the previous year, and special fundraising efforts garnered $202,200, an increase of just over $38,000 from the previous year. Most of these funds were
Utah church grateful for gifts
• Money and out-of-the-ordinary gifts enable church to reach out
NESTLED IN MORMON country is a small yet thriving Mennonite Brethren church who knows what it is like to be thankful.
"This church would not exist today in its present form if people from outside of our church didn't give abundantly," says Paul Robie, pastor of South Mountain Community Church in Draper, Utah.
Each month individual donorsgive an average of between $2,000 and $3,000 to support the ministry. Mission USA and the Pacific District Conference give another $3,000. And there is a reason for that-"sheer need."
"We moved from our first facility which was about 3,500 square feet to the present facility, a warehouse, which is 9,500 square feet. All in all it took about $70,000 to renovate and make it
usable for our church," Robie says "When we started the project, we were barely a year-and-a-half old, and that's a lot of money for a young church to raise."
Individual donors are not the only ones giving money, though. Whole congregations are also getting involved. Churches have given monetary gifts, including one that gave South Mountain $10,000 to aid in the purchase of the new facility. And although money definitely helps the church to survive, other out-of-the-ordinary gifts have also been donated. People have given frequent flyer coupons in order to aid the church in terms of pastoral travel expenses, including trips to conferences. Two vehicles and a piano have also been given. Robie not only likes to receive these gifts, he also likes to receive new people into his congregation. "South Mountain Community Church is what I would call a mission church," he says. "We have an
collected through local fund-raising events sponsored by Mission USA and Church Ministries board members. In addition to the special fund-raising, MB Foundation granted $66,481 and the district contributed $10,000 for MUSA projects.
"We are thankful for the steady commitment of our churches and appreciate the grants from MB Foundation and the districts," says Dale Regier, U.S. Conference treasurer.
Sharing the vision
In an effort to better share their vision for U.S. Conference growth with local congregations, in March the Board of Church Ministries approved the appointment of a full-time U.S. Conference executive director and four quarter-time conference fund-raisers.
That same month Art Enos of Fresno, Calif., was hired as the first of four parttime fund-raisers. Up until that time MUSA executive director Ed Boschman was the only U.S. Conference employee directly involved in conference fund-raising.
The additional expense of a part-time fund-raiser was off-set by reduced spending in other areas, says Regier. So while
expressed purpose to reach the unchurched in our community."
"When people come to the church for the first time, " Robie says, "they notice that everything is plain and simple. A site map and informative signs direct our new people, and every aspect of worship is projected onto a wall behind the band, including Scripture verses, songs and message outlines."
People are also expected not to leave right away.
"We do everything we can to keep people there after the service to talk, " says Robie, "so we serve bagels, coffee [and) water."
Approximately 70 percent of the attendees are between 28 and 38 years old. Robie describes it as a young familytype church. The church has between 25 and 30 members, but an attendance that ranges between 175 to 236 in the summer.
After this congregation is self-supporting, and the appropriate church planter can be found, another MB congregation will be planted in Utah. -by Sara Cook, staff writer
How funding is managed
The U.S. Conference relies on both church giving and fund-raising to fund our ministries. Fund-raising activity has increased over the last five years, making up almost 60 percent of the income for the 2000-2001 budget.
• Special fund-raising
• Church giving total receipts for 1999-2000 were $39,233 less than budgeted income, actual expenses were only $27,847 less than budget, resulting in a deficit of $11,386.
In spite of the continued shortfall in church giving, conference leaders remain committed to the vision for growth and have approved a $953,000 budget for the 2000-2001 year. The budget, a 54 percent increase over the previous year's budget, includes $146,000 to fund the equivalent of two additional staff members and an increase of $153,000 for church planting.
"There is strong commitment at the leadership level to find sufficient funding to implement the work we feel God has placed before the conference," says Regier. ''We need $400,000 more income this year to provide for planned expenses and to cover our current $31,000 deficit. One half of our budget is the Mission USA endeavor which we hope will revive and grow our churches. We are challenging each church to give 66 percent of their suggested norm."
In addition to MUSA, U.S. Conference ministries include the publication of the Christian Leader and the work of Integrated Ministries, Board of Trustees and Board of Church Ministries.
The U.S. Conference also financially supports the MB Biblical Seminary. The conference is committed to annually providing MBBS with $254,000 and contributions this year fell short by just $1,268.
"By maintaining our current level of church giving, we should be able to meet our giving expectations for semi-
• Other incomes
nary support," says Regier.
While seminary giving was stable, U.S. church giving to U.S./Canadian binational ministries declined, says Regier. U.S, church giving to the General Conference in 1999-2000 totaled $91,497, a decrease of five percent.
"There have been questions about the General Conference ministries goals since the July 1999 convention when delegates voted to divest the ministries to the U.S. and Canadian conferences," says Regier.
Regier encourages congregations to maintain their current giving to the General Conference during the three year divestiture period.
"As each ministry is transition ed, the General Conference will transfer that ministry's share of church giving to the receiving national conference," he says. "This will give the national conferences time to adjust their budgets accordingly before the conclusion of the General Conference divestiture. The General Conference will need to maintain the giving of 1999-2000 so churches are encouraged to continue their giving."
The 2000-2001 U.S. Conference budget includes the addition of a $7,280 line item for the initiation of a u.s. Conference Board of Faith and Life. The General Conference BFL was the first binational ministry to be transferred to the national conferences.
While U.S. church giving to the General Conference declined, overall giving by the U.S. and Canada exceeded expenses by $19,089, leaving a $29,191 operating fund balance. -CF
PUBLISHED: Liberty in Confinement: A Story of Faith in the Red Army by Johannes Reimer has been released by Kindred Productions, the MB publishing ministry in North America. The book chronicles the story of a young Christian man in the Red Army struggling to live out his faith in the regime. Caught between the verses "Love your enemies" and "Turn the other cheek. " Vanya endures a physical. mental and spiritual journey. This book is a translation of Der Verweigerer originally published in 1991. (KP)
U-SERV: A group of U-SERV volunteers assisted Hartland Christian Camp in Badger, Calif .• with several projects in early May. Team members worked with electrical, water and sewer hookups for recreational vehicles on the former site of the director's mobile home. Bunk beds were painted and hotel drapes were cleaned. Volunteers included Don and Marion Loewen, and Ted and Marylene Thiesen from the Rosedale Bible Church in Bakersfield, Calif.; Charles Ewert of Kingsburg (Calif.) MB Church; Leola Loewen of North Fresno (Calif.) Church; John and Marion Smith of Dinuba (Calif.) MB Church; and Ray and Gladys Wiebe from Grants Pass, Ore. HCC is affiliated with the Pacific District Conference. U-SERV is a U.S. Conference ministry that encourages adults to donate their time and services. (U-SERV)
WORKERS: Two Mennonite Brethren have recently begun Mennonite Central Committee assignments in the West Coast office located in Reedley. Calif. Maricela Bejar of Orange Cove, Calif .• is beginning a three-year assignment as a service program administrator. She has previously served with SALT in Mexico City. Bejar is a member of Iglesia EI Buen Pastor MB Church in Orange Cove. Sheri Wiedenhoefer of Fresno. Calif .• is beginning a two-year assignment as peace and justice educator. Wiedenhoefer is a member of Reedley MB Church. MCC is a Christian world relief and development organization. (MCC)
COMMUNITY
POklahoma pastor walks away from robbery at gunpoint
• Experience reminds Ken Gardner of what really matters
News programs seem to be full of violence. But it isn't that common to hear of a Mennonite Brethren pastor being robbed at gunpoint while being a Good Samaritan.
While traveling on Interstate 40, Ken Gardner, pastor of the Corn (Okla.) MB Church, had a rear tire blowout on his car. When Gardner pulled off to change the tire, two young men also stopped and offered to change the tire for him. After the tire was changed and Gardner had returned to his car, he remembered the rock used to prevent the car from rolling was still underneath the front tire. At the same time, he noticed the two men had opened the hood of their car.
"I had this thought in my mind," says Gardner, "that these guys helped me change a tire and I (should) help them when they had car trouble."
When Gardner approached the two to offer his assistance, one of the men pulled out a sawed-off shotgun, pointed it at Gardner's midsection and demanded all his money. Thinking the gun was loaded and cocked, Gardner says he gave the money to them without a second thought.
"I had all these famous ideas about how 1 would respond in that kind of a situation," says Gardner, "but I'll tell you they went out the window quick."
After Gardner handed over his money, he took a chance that could have cost him his life.
"I turned around and told (the gunman) he was going to have to shoot me in the back and I took two steps towards my car and then I heard the squealing of the tires."
The car was gone, but because the robbers had parked in front of Gardner, he was able to obtain the license plate number. With that information and quick response from the highway patrol and sheriff's department, the two men were arrested in less than an hour after the incident.
Gardner says he has learned several lessons thanks to this experience. "When
Gardner says the robbery put things into perspective for him. While looking at a gun and thinking his life might end, Gardner realized that "nothing on this earth matters."
push comes to shove and you're looking at that gun, everythingchanges," he says. "You're not willing to be a hero."
"When 1 saw that barrel of that sawedoff shotgun just a few inches from my belly, watched him cock the hammer, and put his finger on the trigger .! figured 1 was already in heaven!" says Gardner in an interview with the Washita County Enterprise.
Because of his experience, Gardner says he struggles with his desire to both preach and practice compassion towards strangers.
"The worst case of this is it makes you cynical and you lose some of your desire to help someone in that setting," Gardner says. "You lose a certain level of trust."
The next time he sees two strangers in need of help, Gardner won't be as willing to come to their aid. "If two (strangers) are along the side of the road, I'm probably going to drive on."
While Gardner regrets this loss of trust, he says the robbery put things into perspective for him. While looking at a gun and thinking his life might end, Gardner realized that "nothing on this earth matters."
Gardner also hopes the robbers will experience God's grace. One of the men had never been in trouble with the law before and Gardner, who has served as a police chaplain, sees this as an opportunity for him to be reclaimed. After all, he and his accomplice will be behind bars for quite awhile. -by Sara Cook, staff writer, with the Washita County Enterprise
l!aptismlmembership
LITTLETON. Colo. (Belleview Acres)-Brent Hawkins and Lyle and Diane Jenkins were baptized and received into membership July 2. Also received into membership were Richard and Jennifer McKernan and Chris Sandifer. Jeff Brekke was baptized and received into membership May 21. Holly Brekke was also received into membership.
WICHITA. Kan.-Jason Reiswig, Aaron Friesen, Tom and Pam McLucas, Jeff and JoAnna Cavness and Kathryn DeCesaro were received into membership June 25.
BAKERSFIELD. calif. (Laurelglen)-Mary Juarez, Pam Norman and Andri King were baptized June 19.
BAKERSFIELD. Calif. (Rosedale)-Odilon and Laura Lozano and John Vogelsang were received into membership June 11.
FAIRVIEW, Okla.-Teena Bartel, Merle Patzkovvsky and Joyce Patzkowsky were received into membership June 11.
MOUNTAIN LAKE. Minn.-Dilly and Debbie Rodney, Clinton Herrig, Brooke Wall and Grant Wall were baptized May 7.
CORN, Okla.-Wendy Ensz, Megan Gossen, Janice Koop, Hannah Sawatzky, Carlin Dyck, Reid Gossen, Clark Thiessen and Nathan Thiessen were baptized May 14.
CAPITOLA, calif. (ShoreLife)-Julie Fleming, Russ Fleming, Malissa Kaping, Brent Kaping, Kathy Pettit and Sonya Thomas were received into membership Dec. 5, 1999. Jeff Steimer, Kim Hatch, Gary Baldwin, Gerry Huntington, Charlie Heitman and Debbie Heitman were also received into membership March 19.
Celebrations
CIMARRON. Kan. (Valleyview Bible)-Formerly Cimarron MB Church and Ingalls MB Church, Valleyview Bible Church held a 75th anniversary celebration Aug. 12-13. Saturday activities included informal sharing regarding the history of the congregation, a video church history presentation, facility tour and .sharing by formal pastors. The Sunday morning worship and celebration service included testimonies, special music and a message by pastor Stuart Pederson, the congregation's sixteenth pastor.
EDMOND. Okla. (Memorial Road)-The church celebrated the one-year anniversary of youth and worship pastor Jim and Alicia Collinsworth July 2.
SAN JOSE. Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-The congregation, formerly San Jose MB Church, celebrated its sixtieth anniversary June 18, June 25 and July 2. A picnic with friends and neighbors was held June 25. The preaching series focused on three purposes of Lincoln Glen.
SALEM. Ore. (Kingwood Bible)-The congregation celebrated its sixtieth anniversary May 21. Former pastor Leonard VOg! was the guest speaker. An afternoon program included an anniversary choir, slides and testimonies. The church also celebrated the release of Philip Wiebe's book, It Takes Two to Tangle, with a book signing and potluck in April.
Proclamation
YALE, S.D. (Bethel)-Four missionary couples from one extended family participated in a missions Sunday July 2. Participants were MBMS International workers Paul and Maurine Friesen who have served for 40 years; their son Mark and his wife Urby who are currently serving in Peru; Joe Walter, brother to Maurine, and his wife Jan, retired MBMSI workers; and their daughter Debbie and husband Jim Shoberg who currently work with Gospel Misisonary Union in Ecuador.
HENDERSON. Neb.-Roland Marsch, former missionary to Germany, spoke June 7 and 11 on the topic of missions.
ENID, Okla.-A special memorial service for those who had died during the past year was held May 28 at the church cemetery. The service consisted of singing, reflections on those deceased and a meditation by pastor Garvie Schmidt.
CORN. Okla.-The morning service June 4 was presented by young people. The message was given by youth pastor Russ Claassen and youth group members Amber Moses and Lacy Schmidt. Family recreational activities and a potluck meal were also held.
Teaching and Nurture
BETHANY, Okla.-Western Oaks Church finished "The 21 Laws of Leadership" video curriculum. The series ran from February through June and 11 people received their diplomas July 2.
BAKERSFIELD. calif. (Heritage Bible)-Musician, worship leader and composer Duff Rowden conducted a six-week course on worship May 31 to July 5. All musicians, singers, sound technicians and worship leaders were invited to attend.
WICHITA, Kan.-Starting this fall, moms of children birth through kindergarten are invited to a "mom's day out" Fndays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
HILLSBORO, Kan. (Ebenfeld)-AII ladies were invited to a morning brunch July 8 at which MBMSII church planter Juana Pritchard spoke.
MANHATTAN. Kan.-The congregation was invited to sport their favorite camping outfits for morning worship services June 4. Campfire songs were sung, the message was given In three segments and camp reflections were shared by three people. At the end of the service, everyone planning to go to a church camp was commissioned.
LITTLETON. Colo. (Belleview Aaes)-The "Young at Heart" choir, composed of 85 senior adults from Albuquerque, N.M, performed June 16. The senior adult group sponsored the event.
WICHITA, Kan.-fathers and daughters attended a fiesta with Mexican food, a pinata and entertainment June 2.
SIOUX FALLS. S.D. (Lincoln HiIIs)-Women were invited to a spring style show and luncheon designed for community outreach May 13. Wedding apparel from around the world was featured.
Ministry
HILLSBORO, Kan.-Hillsboro MB Church sponsored a Mexican meal at a local restaurant to support
World Impact's Morning Star Ranch. The ranch offers a residential discipleship program for young men from inner cities. The meal was followed by a showing of the movie "Something to Sing About."
CAPITOLA, calif. (ShoreLife)-A prayer walk June 17 was held in the neighborhoods surrounding this church re-start ministry. Beginning in June, families in the congregation were encouraged to have a noon meal together each month following the Communion service.
FAIRVIEW. Okla.-The congregation sponsored two summer missions trips in May. The youth participated in a Center for Student Mission inner-city Immersion in Houston, Texas May 22-27. A team of 23 adults traveled to Mexico to work at Cassa por Cristo.
EDMOND. Okla. (Memorial Road)-The youth traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to work with Habitat for Humanity July 23-29.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (Bible Fellowship)-Six adults traveled to Cayes, Haiti, for a work project. They built tables, desks, closets, ramps, etc., for a school and living quarters for young handicapped Haitian women.
INMAN. Kan. (Zoar)-Twenty youth and their sponsors were commissioned June 11 for their ministry trip to Mexico held June 15-24.
ENID. Okla.-The youth traveled to Juarez, Mexico, with the Garden Valley MB Church of Garden City, Kan., to build three homes July 15-22 with AMOR Ministries.
DENVER, Colo. (Garden Park)-Jason Stutzman was commissioned June 11 to work with DOOR.
HAYS. Kan. (North Oak Community)-Twentyfour youth traveled to Deer Creek Christian Camp in Colorado for a missions trip in May. The group replaced carpet, cleaned cabins, repainted surfaces and more.
NEWTON. Kan. (Koerner Heights)-The youth group traveled to Omaha, Neb., June 22-25 to work with Abide Network of Omaha, an inner-city leadership development ministry. The group participated in a building project, a prayer walk, worship services and cultural events.
VISAUA, calif.-Pastor Steve Harms continued a senes of sermons called "Decades" for designated seeker services by speaking of the 1970s June 18. He addressed the topic of disillusionment and looked at how certain historical events shaped the country.
Workers
INDIAHOMA, Okla. (Post Oak)-Charles and Elvira Rempel are serving as interim pastoral couple for two months. The Rempels are employed as public school teachers in Tulsa, Okla.
HILLSBORO. Kan.-Bruce and Janice Porter of Fresno, Calif., have accepted the pastoral call and will begin their ministry as senior pastor couple in midAugust. Bruce is currently thethe director of alumni relations at Fresno Pacific University and Janice is a member of the North Fresno MB Church pastoral staff in children and family ministries.
HILLSBORO, Kan. (Parkview)-Stephen and Mary K. Humber of Denver, Colo., have accepted the call to serve as associate pastor. Stephen is a 2000 graduate of Denver Seminary.
CORDELL. Okla. (Bible)-Leonard and Jannita
Reiss resigned as pastoral couple effective July 1. Reiss will be a counselor with Mennonite Mutual Aid based in Newton, Kan.
BETHANY. Okla. (Western OaksHocky and Kelley La Marr have resigned as pastoral couple to work in church planting ministries.
ULYSSES, Kan.- Retiring pastor Loyal Martin and wife Rosella were the honorees at a farewell meal July 15. The Martins concluded their ministry July 16.
SANGER. Calif.-Don and Lydia Beckenhauer were installed July 9 as senior pastor couple for the ministry team which is leading this new church plant.
ENID. Okla.-A sending service was held August 13 for youth pastor Mike Miller and his family. They will be moving to Broken Arrow, Okla., to lead a new church planting project in partnership with the Southern District Conference, Mission USA and Westport MB Church of neighboring Collinsville, Okla.
DElfT, Minn.- Pastor Herb and Pauline Schroeder were honored June 25 with a farewell reception. The Schroeders are moving to Sioux Falls, S.D. DENVER. Colo. (Garden Park)-An installation service for co-pastors Glenn Balzer and Steve Johnson was held June 11.
SALEM. Ore. (Kingwood Bible)-Travis and Lisa Schmidt were welcomed to the church June 1 as youth pastor couple.
FAIRVIEW, Okla.-Tabor College student Paul Bartel is working as an intern with junior high students this summer.
WICHITA, Kan.-New staff was added for the summer. Tabor College student Luke Heim is a youth ministry intern. Children's ministry intern is Jacob Huebert, a student at John Brown University.
Havrey. N.D.-Jason Filler has resigned as senior pastor effective July 9.
Huron. S.D.-Randy Crook was installed as the senior pastor July 9.
Youth
MADERA. calif.-The scholarship committee sold fireworks June 28-July 4 to raise funds for college scholarships.
ENID, Okla.-Two "True Love Waits" dinners were recently held for both high school and junior high students. Ten high school students and eight junior high students committed to abstinence before marriage.
DINUBA, Calif.-Thirty high school students and youth workers traveled to Los Angeles for the Youth for Christ Evangelism Super Conference June 24-28.
Deaths
FLAMING. Unda Ann, Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born Nov. 9, 1914, to John W. and Elizabeth Claassen near Hillsboro, and died May 27,2000, at the age of 85. On Oct. 3, 1939, she was married to Arthur Flaming, who survives. She is also survived by two sons, Dale and wife Pat of San Rafael, Calif., and Paul and wife Bea of Minneapolis, Minn.; two daughters, Ruth and husband Dave Klaassen of Minneapolis, Minn., and Beth and husband Richard Carter of St. Louis, Mo.; one brother, Howard Claassen of Tacoma, Wash., and five grandchildren.
GOOSSEN, Sam, Bakersfield, Calif., a member of Butler Avenue MB Church, Fresno, Calif., and first acting president of Pacific Bible Institute now known as Fresno Pacific University, was born March 23, 1908, to Dietrich and Agnes Goossen at Hooker, Okla., and died April 24, 2000, at the age of 92. In Feb. 1936, he married Viola Warkentin, who predeceased him in Oct. 1996. He is survived by two sons, Ed of Fullerton, Calif., and Phil of Fresno; one daughter, Chloe Anderson of Bakersfield and three grandchildren.
HARMS. Esther Pearl Wiebe, Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was bom May 21, 1920, to Jacob D. and Selma Flaming Wiebe at Hills-
boro, and died April 25, 2000, at the age of 79. On Sept. 4, 1945, she was married to Franklin Harms, who predeceased her. She is survived by son Jerry and wife Cindy of Durango, Colo.; two daughters, Linda and husband laVerne Esau and Beverly Harms of Hillsboro, and two grandchildren.
JOST. Esther Ruth Goossen. Hilliard, Ohio, member of Reedley MB Church, Reedley, Calif., and Columbus Mennonite Church, Columbus, Ohio, was born March 24, 1919, at Hillsboro, Kan., and died June 30, 2000, at the age of 81. On Feb. 11, 1941, she was married to Arthur Jost, who predeceased her in 1999. She is survived by three sons, David and wife Elaine of Watertown, Mass., Timothy and wife Ruth of Columbus, Ohio, and John and wife Suzanne of Peoria, III., and five granchildren.
QUIRING. John J•• Henderson, Neb., a member of Henderson MB Church, was born Oct. 30, 1911, to John D. and Justina Ediger Quiring at Hampton, Neb., and died June 22, 2000, at the age of 89. On Dec. 8, 1940, he was married to Sarah Janzen, who predeceased him in 1988. On Oct. 10, 1992, he was married to Emma Schroeder, who survives. He is also survived by one son, Alden and wife LaVerna; one daughter, Carolyn Meinberg; eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
UNRUH. Walter H. Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Parkview MB Church, Hillsboro, was born March 31, 1914, to Henry and Amelia Schmidt Unruh near Durham, Kan., and died June 27, 2000, at the age of 86. On May 30, 1940, he was married to Marcella Groening, who predeceased him. He is survived by one son, Jerald and wife Kaylene of Hillsboro; three daughters, Anabel and husband Lex deWit of Kimberley, South Africa, Sherry and husband Larry Jost of Peabody, Kan., and LaDonna and husband Stan Balzer of Inman, Kan.; two brothers, Wesley of Hillsboro and Ralph of Missoula, Mont.; one sister, Orpah Dirks of Goessel, Kan.; ten grandchildren and one great grandchild.•
Basketball camp teaches kids about the game-and life
CHILDREN IN Fresno, Calif., attending Butler MB Church's basketball camp were encouraged to soar to new heights as they learned not only about the game of basketball. but also the game of life.
The fourth annual Ranchwood & Butler Church Basketball Camp was held for six weeks during June and July. The theme. "FLY NOW - together we can soar to new heights" was based on lsa. 40:31.
The camp was held on five consecutive Wednesdays followed by five sessions held July 10-14. It was open to children ages 5 through 17 living in neighborhoods served by Frank M. Lane Elementary School-an area on the south side of the city often ignored by the rest of the Fresno community.
Forty-three volunteers served as c-oaches and staff members for the approximate 150 kids who registered and participated in the camp.
"Every year it's gotten bigger and bet-
ter, " says Ricky Sanchez. a Butler pastoral staff member who founded the camp.
A vision for the camp came to Sanchez as he was walking around the neighborhood thinking about how he could give back to the community. When he saw kids just standing around and a set of unused tennis courts at a local condominium complex. the idea of a basketball camp was born.
Now children and teens gather on the
courts to have a good time and learn an important lesson in the process.
After rotating among eight stations ranging from basketball shooting skills to community service. campers come together again at the end of the day for another talk.
·We always make sure the kids are hearing the gospel, • says Sanchez. "That was the foundation of the camp when I had the vision for it.• -eF
BunER MB CHURCH
Clearinghouse
Have a position to fill? Looking for a new employment or ministry opportunity? Have a gathering or celebration to promote? Reach U.S. Mennonite Brethren through a Clearinghouse classified ad. The charge is 40 cents per word. with a $15 minimum. Withhold payment until an invoice is received. MB institutions advertising vacancies or position announcements may be eligible for a no-cost ad. Contact the editor for more information.
EMPLOYMENT-CHURCH
Children's Minstry Leader/ Child Care Center Director
Belleview Acres, a vibrant and growing church in Littleton, Colo., is seeking a Children's Ministry leader/Child Care Center Director. Applicant's qualifications should include education and experience working with children, a big heart and lots of patience. Fax resume to Pastor Mike Andrews 303-979-7653.
Director of Student Ministries
Koerner Heights MB, a growing church of 250, needs a director of student ministries, junior high through college, who has a heart for discipleship and outreach in a community of 20,000. Send resumes to Gary Harms, Chrm. Search Committee, 14318 NW County Line Rd., Whitewater, Kan. 67154 or e-mail glharms@prodigy.net.
EMPLOYMENT-CONFERENCE
Stewardship/Planned Giving Advisor
The Mennonite Brethren Foundation is accepting applications for a stewardship/planning
advisor. This full-time position is responsible for activity in the midwest and would be based in Hillsboro, Kan. Duties include encouraging and assisting Christians throughout the U.S. Conference of MB Churches in faithful stewardship. Specific responsibilities include planned giving, charitable estate planning, individual counseling, stewardship education and other Foundation-related activity. Candidates should possess strong interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to communicate, aptitude for detail work, willingness to learn, Christian commitment and desire to promote the work of the Mennonite Brethren. Direct inquiries to Jon Wiebe, President, Mennonite Brethren Foundation, PO Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063; phone (316) 947-3151; fax (316) 947-3266; e-mail mbfound@southwind.net.
EMPLOYMENT-EDUCATION
Full-time faculty
Fresno Pacific College, the undergraduate school of the University, seeks full-time faculty for the following areas: Biology, LiteraturelCritical Theory, Composition and Rhetorical Studies, and Theater/Performance. Positions begin August 2001. General FPU required qualifications include: Christian commitment and lifestyle consistent with the college goals, doctorate or nearly completed doctorate in an appropriate field, and demonstrated college level teaching ability and ability to work harmoniously with students and faculty in a liberal arts environment. Send a letter of application to Dr. Howard loewen, Provost, Fresno Pacific University, 1717 S. Chestnut, Fresno, CA 93702, phone (559) 453-2023, fax (559) 453-5502. Applications will be reviewed beginning September 15, 2000 and the appointment will be made as soon thereafter as a suitable candidate is secured. Fresno Pacific University, in its hiring practices, does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic or social background, sex, age, or physical handicap. Women and members of minority groups are especially encouraged to apply. Full descriptions and required qualifications pertaining to the individual positions are available at the FPU Website at: http://www.fresno.edu and also at the CCCU Website at: http://www.cccu.org.
EMPLOYMENT-HEALTH
Executive Direcor
Mennonite Health Services seeks applicants for an executive-level position. The position is half time as Executive Director for a new alliance of church-related retirement communities in southeastern Pennsylvania, and half time as vice president with Mennonite Health Services (MHS). Responsibilities include representing MHS in the eastern United States, planning and implementing programs and services. Qualified candidates will have executive experience, strong communication skills, a proven ability to pursue opportunity, and will be committed to an Anabaptist faith perspective. Send resume and inquiries by August 15 to Rick Stiffney, Mennonite Health Services, 234 South Main Street, Suite 1, Goshen, Indiana, 46526 or call 1800-611-4007 .•
Worth the risk
My husband jumped out of a plane last month. Rick has wanted to go parachuting as long as I've known him. After someone from our church won a jump in a local radio station contest, I didn't have to work hard to encourage him to go along. So he spent an hour or so in a class at the jump school, boarded a small plane and leapt into thin air 10,000 feet above the ground. It was worth the riskhe loved every minute of it.
After Rick jumped, we got a variety of responses from people. Some asked questions-was Rick scared? (No, though it did cause a "litde bit of anxiety.") Was I scared to watch him jump? (Not really-I'd rather he jump out of an airplane than ride a motorcycle.) What was it like? ("Like floating," says Rick.) Others just uttered one- or two-word exclamations, ranging from disbelief to amusement.
But the most unusual response came from a good friend of ours. "People think that risks like that take courage," he told us. "But real courage is going to work everyday, coming home and taking care of your kids."
He has a good point.
In our culture, people tend to relate courage to the level of physical danger you are in or the thrill you receive. From that perspective, parachuting from an airplane or bungee jumping from a bridge takes courage-hence some of the questiof).s. and comments we received.
Many in our culture see daily commitment to a job and family as "drudgery" or a "grind." Indeed, watching stacks of paper grow exponentially on my desk at work or walking into a room I cleaned five minutes earlier to see toys, dirty dishes and couch pillows strewn everywhere does cause me to throw my hands up in exasperation at times.
This idea that courage is only related to the level of physical danger or thrill has spiritual implications as well. For one, as we look for the thrill, the rather intangible spiritual life seems to pale in comparison, so we de-emphasjz,e it. Second, we begin viewing the work it takes to live as disciples of Jesus as drudgery or a grind. Both of these harm our walk with God and our impact on the world.
The truth is, living a Christian life does take a lot of work. Parachuters must spend tedious time before eac\1 jump packing their parachutes and testing and retesting their bindings and ties. Their lives depend on it. When they jump tandem (two people using the same parachute), the lives of two people depend on their preparation.
Our Christian walk is a bit like this. A lot of action is required on our part. Scripture emphasizes that-pick up your cross daily and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23), love God and your
neighbor (Matt. 22:27-38), make disciples (Matt. 28:19), renew your mind (Rom. 12:2), etc. To be jesus' disciple, we must actually get up and walk after him. This is hard work. We must read the Word, pray, listen to God in solitude and practice a variety of other disciplines. Like the parachuter, we must spend time preparing ourselves before we even get on the plane.
Being a Christian also has its elements of risk-and the payoff can be just as thrilling as dangling from a parachute.
We have opportunities to take leaps of faith every day. When we do, it often seems like we jump out into thin air thousands of feet above the ground. In a way, the lives of those around us depend on what we've done in preparation. This is what it feels like to me, anyway. When I sit next to a friend who asks me about my faith or the situation requires me to speak about my relationship with God, my stomach does a kind of flip. I whisper a prayer and step out on faith that what I say will be used by God.
The payoffs come in big and small ways. Sometimes we are left breathless when we welcome a new believer into God's family or watch someone's life literally change before our eyes. We feel just as thrilled when we glean a new understanding from Scripture or hear that the way we live has impacted someone's life.
To those outside the faith, these thrills aren't thrills at all. Often these thrills have lost their attraction to Christians as well. That's dangerous. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he actually lived, died and rose again 2000 years ago, that his death and resurrection forever changed the universe, then our faith must be the most important thing in our lives. It is our center. It is our reason for living.
And it is a risky reason for living. It requires living outside the box. It means rethinking the whole way you live your life. It means that church. is more than a place to go Sunday mornings. It means loving as God loves. It means living as disciples of Jesus, who was killed for who he was.
We have a choice-stand on the ground and watch others pack their chutes and jump out on faith or pack our own chutes and soar thousands of feet above the earth. Sure, packing and repacking our chutes can seem like a lot of work for each jump. And, yes, those jumps can be risky-we can get hurt and even die for our leaps of faith. But risks come with being a Christian.
At the jump school, I heard several seasoned jumpers say with conviction that once you jump, you are hooked. You have to do it again. Their enthusiasm is contagious. I think that applies to our faith as well. Once you've tasted the thrill of leaping out on faith, it's addictive-to you and to others.
