August 2003

FIRST WORDS •.• from the editor

"Help me understand my 15-year-old daughter," was a comment the Leader received last summer in the 2002 readership survey. This reader's desire echoes in many of our hearts and is what prompted the topic of this month's feature section.

In today's culture, adolescence, originally defined as a twoyear time dUring which young people were no longer children, but not quite adults, can be as much as a 15-year process. As a parent and volunteer Christian education worker, I pray that we Mennonite Brethren will rise well to the challenge of discipling this new generation for God's kingdom work. Understanding adolescence is a multifaceted topiC that can be approached in a variety of ways. The focus of this collection of feature articles is on how the church-both locally and denominationally-can best minister to the unique needs of today's young people.

These articles are written by "experts" from the U.S. Mennonite Brethren church. As parents, youth workers and college and seminary faculty members, Rick Bartlett, Wendell Loewen and Rodney Reed have extensive personal experience with young people of a variety of ages. Their willingness to be actively involved in the lives of our young people is something for which I am grateful.

If you recognize some of the smiling faces found in the photographs used in this month's feature section, it is with good reason. The photos feature Mennonite Brethren youth and were taken at Estes 2003, the national MB youth convention held in April, and at the Southern District Conference junior camp held at Tabor College earlier this summer for kids who just completed grades four through six. Thanks to Estes photographer Larry Bartz and Tabor College photographer Jillian McCarty.

The news section includes a report on the Central District Conference's "MB 2003: Vacation with a Purpose" and two church stories. Silver Lake MB Church of rural Freeman, S.D., celebrated its 125th anniversary last month. The celebration was bittersweet for the congregation as this fall the church will be closing. While closing a church is never easy, the sweetness for this congregation comes in the opportunity it has to give its church building to one of the Central District'S newest congregations,Ethiopian Christian Fellowship of Sioux Falls, S.D. The River of Phoenix, Ariz., is a church plant that this summer is benefiting from the ministry of two Tabor College student interns. The journeys of these two congregations testify to God's grace and mercy regardless of circumstances.-CF

COMING

• AUGUST 1-3-Southem District Conference convention, Oklahoma City, Okla.

• AUGUST 11-17-Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Africa

• SEPTEMBER 19-21-North Carolina District convention, Lenoir, N.C.

• NOVEMBER 14-15-Pacific District Conference convention, Lodi, Calif.

Printing by Valley Offset Printing, Valley Center, Kan.

4 Calling our teenagers to ministry

When we fail to call youth into ministry in our congregations, the church loses, young people lose and ultimately the kingdom of God loses someone who could have made a difference. A veteran youth worker offers reasons why teens should be included in ministry and suggestions for how to incorporate youth into the life of our churches. BY

RICK BARTLETI

The changing face of adolescence

When it comes to youth ministry, if churches do what they've always done, they will no longer get the results they've come to expect. Why? Changes in our culture have prompted significant changes in adolescence. Understanding these changes can help congregations genuinely impact the lives of teens today. BY

WENDELL LOEWEN

12 Big 'questions, bigger faith

Congregations can minister to the distinct spiritual challenges and needs of post high school young people. We can guide their discovery of a God who is bigger than their questions. Community mentoring ministries can help as they provide a safe place for questioning and seeking, encourage a faith big enough for life and provide care for the soul. BY

RODNEY P. REED

DEPARTMENTS

.' Gender roles in church and family

Side by Philip Wiebe 17 •A "muse"ing ideas

Minds by Marvin Hein 18

• Divided hearts and knowing the will of God , On the Journey by Rose Buschman 19

• Missionary spreads word in "closed countries" .">

VOLUME 66, NUMBER 8

BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS: Harold Loewen, chair; Peggy Goertzen, Reggie Hunt, Phil Neufeld, Moises Tagle, Dalton Reimer, Kathy Heinrichs Wiest

MANDATE: The Christian Leader (ISSN 0009-5149) is published monthly by the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. 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 dialogue so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical/Anabaptist theological tradition.

EDITORIAL POUCY: 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. SCripture references are from New International Version unless otherwise noted. The editors invite free-lance article submissions. A SASE must accompany articles.

READER PARTIOPATION: The editors invite readers to share their thoughts and opinions on topics relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church using letters to the editor and Forum essays. Letters to the editor should be brief - 300 words or less - and on one subject. Letters must be signed and include the writer's city and state. Letters will be edited for clarity, appropriateness and length. Letters will be published, as space allows, unless marked "Not for publication." Forum is open to members or attendees of Mennonite Brethren churches. Essays should not exceed 800 words, and should include the writer's name, address, home church and occupation.

COMMUNICATION: All correspondence, including change of address, should be addressed to The Christian Leader, Box 220, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Phone: (620)947-5543. Fax: (620)947-3266. E-mail: christianleader@usmb.org.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Rates: $16 for one year, $30 for two years and $42 for three years ($20, $38, $54 in Canada); $1.50 per copy.

MEMBERSHIP: The Christian Leader is a member of the Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse, an association of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ editors.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Christian Leader, Box 220, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Periodicals postage paid at Hillsboro, Kansas.

Nadine Friesen

Connie Faber

/INA 'E YiIDAfWAYS WANTED TO BE A YOUTH WORKER?" the kl asked.

's uestion ot me thinking. When I was a high schoohtudent I wanted to be a forest ranger,driving aro the mountains in a jeep, protecting trees. But God other plahs.

pastor in Oakhurst, Calif, saw gifts and abilities in me that I didn't see in myself He encouraged me, providing opportunities for me within our church such as praying for the offering, sharing a testimony, reading Scripture and even preaching. Bob wasn't afraid to let me be in front of the church, because even though he knew I wouldn't be perfect, his concern was more for my future rather than the image of the present.

My story isn't an isolated one. All across the country in different denominations, many leaders trace their "call" to ministry back to their teenage years. The church's call

There is ample biblical evidence for training and releasing younger leaders. Jeremiah and David were both called for God's purposes at a young age. Joshua was the assistant to Moses long before he took over the leadership of the nation. Mary was a young woman when the angel's message changed her life forever. Many of the disciples were young when Jesus called them to follow him. John Mark and Timothy both traveled with Paul on missionary journeys.

Given the evidence we have from the Bible that releasing younger leaders is necessary, we automatically follow suit in our own churches, right?

Sadly, this isn't always the case. Certainly there are some exceptions, but in a lot of places young people are marginalized in the church rather than trained up and released as people with ministry potential. Why?

In many places leaders are cautious about giving a platform to an untrained young person; they just aren't sure what that young person will wear, do or say. Other times, the leader enjoys being the focus of all the attention and is reluctant to give that up. In other cases, existing leaders don't have the time to give to an emerging leader and find it's easier to do things themselves rather than pass it on to another person. In all of these cases, churches lose, young people lose and ultimately the kingdom of God loses someone who could have made a difference.

Why should we call young people to ministry in our local congregations? What is it about young people that makes them good candidates for ministry?

Youth relish the challenge of ministry

YOUTH by Ric k Bartle

Youth are full of energy, enthusiasm and are ready to embrace a challenge. They live with many inconsistencies

in theirphilosophy of life, but at the same time, if given the right challenge, will give all they have to that challenge.

I remember meeting a young man in Britain during a mission trip to the inner city of liverpool. He was sitting alone in a comer while the rest of the team was getting ready for dinner. When asked if he hadhad a good day his eyes lit up. "I was kicked once," he said, "and punched eight times, but I led three people to Jesus!" Here was a young man who relished a challenge and obviously had the gift of evangelism.

Not all gifts are witnessed publicly on platforms or behind pulpits. During a different mission trip I watched a young woman talking about the death of her mother over a cup of coffee with a local girl. The local girl had just gone through a similar situation, and the young lady was able to share Christ with this hurting girl by sharing her own story and the way that God had worked in her life, demonstrating the gift of compassion.

These two kids and hundreds like them who participate in "Street Invader," a British Youth for Christ evangelistic outreach, and other missions all around the world know what it feels like to be used by Gpd. They know the passion and excitement that arises when they are in a situation where they are doing something so big that God has to show up and he does. They return to our churches, full of fire and the Holy Spirit. Then what happens? Is the church ready to incorporate them into its ministries? Usually the answer is no.

Youth want to experience God

Students should be incorporated into the ministry of the local church because of the way they deal with issues of faith. Over the 20 years that I have been involved in youth ministry I've observed a change in the way young people approach questions of faith. When I first began, kids were asking the question, "Is this true?" We spent many hours going over proofs of the Christian faith from books like Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. As time went on, kids began asking a different question, "Does this work?" They wanted to know if Christianity ''works'' in the real world, right where they live.

Today, I'm convinced the question being asked is, "Can I experience it?" Look around at the rise of worship concerts where teenagers crowd into a venue not to sit back and hear a band, but to engage in vibrant, hand-raising worship. Many of today's popular worship songs like ''You're All I Want" are about experiencing God in an intimate friendship.

Now more than ever, teenagers are looking for their faith to be something they can feel. Because of the experiential nature of today's adolescents, churches need to

find ways to link faith to experience. One way is tothink of the youth group as an apprenticeship for ministry rather than simply a safe place for church kids.

Drawing out leadership potential

So what can churches do to draw out the leadership potential of their youth?

1. Become a nurturing environment for anyone in the church to test out his or her gifts.

Who does the ministry in your church? Is it the pastor or paid staff? Are people encouraged not only to know their spiritual gift, but also to use it? How about the youth?

One of the distinctives of the early Anabaptists was their view of the priesthood of all believers, the belief that every believer had a ministry. In many ways the pendulum in our Mennonite Brethren congregations has swung back, and churches are asking the "professional" Christians to do ministry and not people in the pews. Young people are an untapped resource sitting in the pews, a group that wants to be involved, who wants to know that they are a part of the church and that their being there matters. In his landmark book Keeping Your Teen in Touch with God published in 1988, Dr. Robert Laurent identified the top 10 reasons that teenagers leave the church. The number one reason wasn't negative influence of the media, poor relationships with the youth pastor or negative peer influence. The top reason given for leaving the church was "lack of church involvement."

Everyone needs places where they are free to grow with the possibility of failure. Churches as communities of redeemed followers ofJesus can provide places for teenagers to try out different ministries in a safe place.

2. Set upa deliberate process of

discernment and coaching.

Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, writes about emerging leaders, "Nothing this important can be achieved without a vision." Leadership development never happens accidentally (Courageous Leadership, 2002).

Does your church have a system in place to identify, train, coach and release leaders? If not, it should.

3. Provide specific, short-term opportunities for youth to serve.

Youth Sunday is a great idea, but a more integrated approach that includes young people in all aspects of congregational life will provide opportunities that are much more meaningful. Teenagers don't all come from one mold; they can do a variety of things both upfront and behind the scenes:

• run the sound system

• read Scripture in a Sunday service

• evangelism teams

• work projects

• family mission teams

• special projects

• help with children's ministries

• and many others

4. Integrate young people into the active life of the church.

Ultimately, what young people need is not another program that pulls them out of the church but a wide variety of expressions that pull them into the church. Youth Specialties founder and president Mike Yaconelli recently stated, "I believe we're no more effective today reaching young people with the gospel than we've ever been. In spite of all the dazzling superstars of youth ministry; the amazing array ofYS (Youth Specialties) products, the thousands of youth ministry training events, nothing much has changed" (youthworker, May,June 2003).

Yaconelli goes on to say that what is needed is longterm discipleship, and this is hard work. He ends the article by challenging youth workers and denominations to rethink youth ministry; to find new ways that actually pro· duce disciples.

Are we that type of denomination? Can we act on our theology of the priesthood of all believers and provide ministry opportunities for the young people in our midst? Can we become people who embrace something that is part of our history?

I lead a program for high school students called Ministry Quest at MB Biblical Seminary. Our purpose is to help local churches in their ministry discernment process with students. I've just come into this r-ole after working with Youth for Christ for the past 10 years.

Recently I participated in a gathering of seminaries

that offer programs for youth to explore ministry as a life calling. I was amazed that only a handful of schools seemed to be taking the local church seriously. Many of the seminary programs for youth were simply "theological summer camps" that had no tie to the students' location and therefore probably bred frustration on the part of the teenager when he or she returned home. The students had been exposed to the concept of ministry and God using them, but had no place to exercise those newfound spiritual gifts.

I've been thrilled to see how Ministry Quest integrates theology, calling, practical mentoring and experience based in the local church. I think this is one new youth ministry model about which Yaconelli is talking.

One of the students on the Ministry Quest weekend last March said, "This is exactly what I need to help me on my way to become a youth pastor."

I know the reason I'm in ministry today is because 25 years ago, someone did the same thing for me .•

Rick Bartlett has worked with youth for the past 21 years. He is a 1992 graduate ofMB Biblical Seminary and worked with Youth for Christ from 1993 to 2003 in Britain and the U.S. He is currently director ofMinistry Quest, a MB Biblical Seminary program giving high school youth the opportunity to explore ministry as a vocational option. Rick and his wife Karen and their two children have recently relocated from Tacoma, Wash., to Fresno, Calif

Adolescent Development

As a youthworker as well as a parent, I've often noticed similarities in how teenagers and preschoolers act and behave. Could there be a correlation?

Dr. H. Stephen Glen, an international expert on youth and families, spoke to a Youth Specialties Convention and gave the following example that illustrates this point. He says that young children go through the following stages: (the ages are approximate)

0-4 years A time of discovery, about themselves and theirworld

5-7 years A time of testing, not pushing the boundaries with discipline, but rather pushing their bodies, learning what they cando.

8-10 years A time of concluding, this is when they are at their childhood peak. Then along comes puberty and the process begins again, but this time it is often without the support and encouragement that an infant or young child receives.

13·14 years A time of discovery

15·17 years Testing

18+ years Concluding

As I've conducted training on adolescent development around the world, I've found this is a useful illustration for both parents and youthworkers. A key factor to remember is that for a teenager, issues of discovery that were safe and encouraged as a toddler are now the focus of teasing and put-downs from peers. It's important for adults who are concerned about young people to provide love and support dUring this time, just like they did when their child was younger. -DB

When it comes to youth ministry, if churches do what they've always done, they will no longer get the results they've come to exped. Why? Changes in our culture have prompted significant changes in adolescence. Understanding these changes can help congregations genuinely impad the lives of teens today.

HE PICKS UP TRASH AFTER an entertaining outreach eVi t, Chris doubts its effectiveness. "There were 10 oJ tee here," he admits, "but where were the preGlitist y uth?" For weeks Chris had been encouraging s-young people to bring their non-Christian friends to an evangelistic coffeehouse event. But it was crowded 'm yQ\tth gtQ!.W regulars. Cleaning the cappuccino machine, Chris concludes, "The 'bring-your-friends' strategy of evangelism doesn't work anymore."

Chris is wrestling with an emerging adolescent cuI.' ture that presents some changes that are difficult to identify. Broad cultunV changes in the ways adults interact with teens are significantly shaping the nature of adolescence. An increasing number of youth ministry leaders acknowledge that the changing face of adolescence will require quantum changes in youth ministry.

Adolescence begins in biology, ends in culture

The term "adolescence," from the Latin word ado/escere means to "grow into" adulthood. Interestingly, adolescence is a cultural invention that began around the tum of the 20th century. G. Stanley Hall, an American psychologist, used Darwinian theory to argue for a twoyear period of "adolescence" (ages14 to 16) in which young people were no longer children, but not yet adults. By the 1920s adolescence was acknowledged as an emerging subculture. It was fully embraced in the 1960s as a legitimate span in the life cycle.

Psychosocially, teens wrestle with Significant questions: ''Who am I?" (identity), "Do I matter?" (autonomy) and "Do I fit?" (belonging). While these are lifelong questions, rarely are they as intense as dUring adolescence. Typically, adolescence is understood to begin at the onset of puberty. "Puberty," from the Latin pubertas, means "adulthood." In previous generations, puberty marked the inception of adulthood.

But few of us today would claim that young people who have just reached puberty are now accepted as fully contributing adults. In defining the end point of adolescence, the most common reference is made to culture.

Historically, cultures have utilized certain markers and rites of passage to signify a young person's entrance into adulthood. The period between biological and cultural adulthood is what we understand to be adolescence.

Culture's effeds on adolescence

Observers now recognize a systemic abandonment of teens. In an ongoing ethnographic study, Chapman Clark, associate professor of youth, family and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, has observed the trend's significance. His research, based on their responses and interaction, reveals that teens clearly feel abandoned by adult systems. Adolescent psychologist David Elkind points to a shift in family stress. Parents are now primarily concerned with their own pressures (e.g., career, finances, busyness, expectations) and have left their children on their own emotionally to grow up. He also believes cultural markers, which communicate to adolescents where they stand on the journey toward adulthood,are fading. This trend blurs the distinction between adolescence and adulthood---ereating adultified youth and adolescent adults.

Others, such as Bill Damon, director of Stanford's Center on Adolescence, have observed increasing cultural isolation and fragmentation. On a broader scale, adults are not working together to raise their adolescent children. How familiar is this story? It's Thursday afternoon and Amanda has an important science test on Friday. She calls her soccer coach for permission to be excused from practice. "I don't care about your science test!" he growls, "We've got a big game on Saturday. H you don't practice, you don't play." How is a teen like Amanda supposed to make sense of the incongruity?

A qUick look at our culture exposes signs of isolation. Without sidewalks connecting homes, newer subdivisions are not built to create relationships with adults. Neighborhoods are populated with wandering children, but few visible adults. With increasing class sizes and hectic class schedules, students are rarely able to have meaningful, unhurried conversations with teachers.

Teens are increasingly on their own for social

events-partying in "adult-free" environments. Busier lives have forced families to spend less "down" time together. Sadly, even the church reflects this cultural trend. Youth, in the most "successful" youth ministries, have very little contact with adults other than a youth pastor and a few volunteers. Generationally, our most segregated institution may be the church.

Increasingly isolated from adults, teens are experiencing a growing sense of abandonment. This perception has significantly altered the nature of adolescence itself in at least two ways: the emergence of middle adolescence, and the phenomenon of peer clustering.

• Middle adolescence

Since adult society is ambivalent about helping teens solve the adolescent dilemma, the process of growing into adulthood is taking much longer.

Picture adolescence as a teen on a tightrope, anxiously inching toward adulthood. Hall saw the tightrope extending over a two-year period. In the 1970s, the adolescent tightrope had lengthened to around five years (13 to 18). Today, adolescence, beginning around the ages of 11 or 12, extends into the mid 20s-as long as a 15-year process.

At the birth of contemporary youth ministry in the 70s, adolescents were 13 to 18 years old. Around the age of 15, teens moved from early to late adolescence.

At 18, they graduated from high school, and could legally drive, vote and join the military. Cultural markers identified them as adults.

Today a new phase, "middle" adolescence, has emerged. During the ages of around 13 to 18, middle adolescents intuitively recogniZe systemic abandonment. Adults are seen as roadblocks on their path toward adulthood. Here, teens become preoccupied with the world of their friends. Family loyalty becomes secondary to peer loyalty. All of life is filtered through their tight-knit group of friends.

For years we've understood 18-year-olds to be on the edge of adulthood. In reality, they may be farther from it than we think.

• Clustering

Sensing abandonment, teens are desperate for relational safety with people they trust. So, adolescents today are forming close-knit peer groups called clusters. They are generally gender exclusive groups of about six to eight teens. Unlike friendship groups of previous generations, while they do have fun together, their primary purpose is to survive life and the adolescent journey. In the cluster, teens demonstrate intense loyalty, and will do almost anything to maintain the cohesion of their group.

Years ago, adolescents organized themselves around an "in" group. One's status was directly related to one's prOximity to the "in" group. Today, teens ;p-e clustering with peers who share similar selfconcepts (how they see themselves in relation to others). There is no coherent "center" to adolescent culture, just a complex of dusters. Increasingly, youth workers are recognizing this structure in their youth groups.

With true relational safety felt in their cluster, teens perceive the adult world as something to be survived. Parents, teachers and coaches all seem to clearly communicate their expectations of teens, but rarely take time to listen and understand. So adolescents comply in order to survive. Their appearances in the adult world may take on the look of confidence and enthusiasm, but their real desire is to relate in the safety of their cluster.

Implications for youth ministry Understanding Middle Adolescence.

In the 70s, high school age teens were late adolescents on the edge of adulthood. Today, they should be understood as middle adolescents. High schoolers are from five to 10 years away from adulthood. This means they

Resource materials on adolescence

has written

Starting Right: Thinking!lbeologtcally About Youth Ministry (zOndervan, '2(01). His most recent findings will be published in a book tentatively

titled j 1beAlJandoned Generation: An ItItide Look at the Amerlam Teenager (Ba'ker. Books, FaJ120(4). His article "Entering Their World: A Qualitative Lookat the Changing Face

are at a very different place developmentally than in past generations.

One implication for ministry concerns their "layered" living. Middle adolescents live their lives, as adults do, in several areas, or layers. But rarely are the layers integrated. Ethics at home have little connection to life at school, or actions on the soccer team. As youth workers and parents, we can't just tell them to "be honest," provide a good reason and expect them to integrate honesty into all areas of life. We must tell stories of honesty, correlate them with Scripture and provide real-life examples for each layer of their lives.

Outreach. Until now; a common youth ministry strategy has been to equip teens in lifestyle evangelism and encourage them to invite friends to various outreach events. Many youth workers have recognized that this approach has been ineffective for years. Many students' clusters exist outSide the youth group and the Christian faith. With loyalty to their peers as a priniary ethic, teenS aren't likely to invite their friends, disturb the climate of their cluster and create a sense of distrust.

In response, youth workers must take the Great Commission's "go" imperative more seriously (Matt. 28:18-20). By going to clusters, youth workers should listen, understand and develop trust. As acceptance builds, the entire cluster may choose to taste the next coffeehouse outreach event.

Discipleship. Since they are already seeking relational safety, the good news is that today's adolescents are predisposed to being spiritually formed in the context of community. Revamped small groups may be the most effective discipleship strategy withmiddle adolescents. To increase the effectiveness of small group str;ltegies, preexisting clusters should remain intact. Should clusters be opposed or endorsed? The ideal would be to create a culture in which they are unnecessary. But given our current adolescent culture, dusters should be utilized. Adult leaders should invest more time nurturing their small groups over many more years. This may run counter to popular program-oriented ministry models, but it aligns more closely with the essence of biblical discipleship and the model of Jesus.

Community. The 21st century church must counter teens' growing sense of abandonment by dedicating itself to the communal nurture of our youth. The Scriptures seem to indicate that God's people shared in the nurture

Qf(iontemPQrary Adolescence" was published in]ourna/ 01 Youth Ministry, Fal12002. Some of David Elkind's books include nes That StfeS$, '/be Hurried CbiJd, andAJI

<;rown flp and No Pku;e. to Go. Mark DeVries has a dlapter in FamiIy-/JasedYoutb Ministry (futerVarsity Press,

"fs Anybody OUt Tbefcl"

of the next generation (Deut. 4:9; Ps. 78: 1-6).

Adults in our churches must engage in convergence and congruence. Key adults in the life of an adolescent should "converge" on that student, providing her with support and encouragement. These adults must then offer her a congruence of message. One that reiterates that she is a unique creation, dearlyloved by God. A message that provides coherent markers which clearly signal her spiritual and personal growth.

A theological connedion

In relating to teens today, we can get some practical help from Paul in 1 Thess. 2:7-12. While this text is a description of his ministry, we find a picture of first cen· tury family relationships that can provide a model for nurturing adolescents. First, Paul stresses the relational dimension of nurture, describing the gende care of a mother who shares more than knowledge, but her entire life (vv. 7-8). This is exhausting, risky work, but in today's adolescent culture with so many teens sensing the absence of adult input, it is absolutely essential.

Second, Paul emphasizes the father's voice, aging, comforting and urging his children toward maturity (vv. n-12). The tightrope of adolescence is precarious and long. Today's teens need to hear voices of support, reassurance and hope. Voices that help them answer the hard questions of adolescence.

In many ways, contemporary teens are the same as they've always been, but in significant ways today's adolescents are unique. Adolescence itself is changing, and we must reinvent our ministry strategies to genuinely impact teens. Most importantly, the spiritual nurture of our teens can no longer be the sole responsibility of a hired professional. The task is too critical to be outsourced to someone who may be a late adolescent himself. Youth ministry is the duty, and privilege, of the entire church family. •

Wendell Loewen, a 1992 graduate of MB Biblical Seminary, has been in youth ministry since 1987 and is currently assistant professor of biblical and religious studies at Tabor College specializing in youth ministry. He serves the Southern District as its part-time youth minister. The subject of this article is a major focus of Loewen's doctoral studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife Shelley and their three children live in Hillsboro, Kan., and are members of Parkview MB Church.

Mennonite Brethren congregations can help young adults discover a faith that will help them commi heir

Ii he Son ofG ho works rough them to change the world. Mentoring ministries can help.

.."",,,,...,v.TtIOOD MAY BE TN' MOST IMPORTANT SPIRITUAL TIME

in a person's life. However, y. ng adults are often the forgotten segment of the church, reminiscent of "the wi £) ta country." They have graduat¢ fromhi$b school and therefore no longer fit in th ou group. They also do not fit in with adults in the church.

iVo g adults have distitlct spiritual challenges and needs at this time of life. If churches des' to engage young adults, they must help them experience our great, infinite God, and fi faith ufficient for the complex: world they face. One of the most effective ways to do this is through mentoring ministries.

Walking with another

The spiritual mentor is an older, more mature person who ''walks with" young adults as they traverse the landscape of faith development. MentorS challenge, inspire, encourage, give hope and wisdom, and help young adults ask important questions on the way to discovering faith in Christ that is big enough for all of life.

This process is not merely information transfer, indoctrination or direction. It is a dialogical process in which mento1S and young adults work together to discover and commit to faith. Some refer to this as "spiritual hospitality," where the mentor opens up his or her life as a comfortable place where the two can explore issues of life and faith.

Unfortunately, there are not enough people who feel competent or have enough time to mentor all who need this process. So instead Sharon Parks, associate director and faculty member at the Whidbey Institute in CllnWn, Wash., and former Harvard University faculty member and researcher, advocates for creatitlg "mentoring communities." A mentoring community is one in which mentors minister to groups of young adults. Obviously, the mentor would have limited contact with each person, but group members also minister to one another. The influence of mentoring, then, is spread across a greater number of people.

Mentoring in community

A community-mentoring model would work well for Mennonite Brethren churches. A commUnity-based model resonates well with our Anabaptist distinctives. Relational ministries are at the heart of who we are supposed to be. The dialogical character of mentoring also fits with the collaborative nature and practice of the Anabaptist faith. It recognizes the contributions of the older and the younger, the neophyte and the sage.

The holistic nature of mentoring reflects our Christ-eentered discipleship focus: The spiritual mentor is concerned with all of life and how Christ transforms the whole person. Mennonite Brethren communities can help young adults discover a faith that will help them commit all their lives to the Son of God who works through them to change the world.

Mentoring communities and the practices they employ can and should look different in different communities. Churches continually need to analyze the young adults of their church and community to determine how to shape the specific local ministry. Young adults must be

involved in this process to help the church address relevant issues in relevant ways. This is not just for symbolic or strategic reasons, but because young adults have insight and connection into what will reach those inside and outside the church.

Questioning and seeking

Young adulthood is a time when the big questions of life present themselves, often at surprising times. Who am I? Am I significant? Where do I fit in the world? Who is my God? Is my faith my own?

This process of questioning is healthy, even necessary, for the young adult to come to a place of true commitment to Christ. If churches do not allow and encourage these questions, faith development may be stunted or rejeeteq as the young adult searches elsewhere for authenticity and answers. Douglas Huneke, a minister whose congregation attracts young adults, was asked, "Why do you think so many young adults are present in your church?" He responded, "I think it is because we are willing to welcome a lot of questions."

Questions are important for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is to reveal the complexity of life young adults are sure to encounter, if they have not already. When we prepare them for complexity, they are less apt to be surprised and shipwrecked when it happens. They learn that what Jesus said was true. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus prepared his disciples, those whom he mentored, for the troubles to come, and he did it so that they would have peace. Our great big God

Understanding the complexity of life also necessitates a God who is big enough to handle complexities. The church often sanitizes life and God himself Young adults recognize that a sanitized life and a packaged God do not work. Parks quotes one young man who sensed this, saying, "I want to go to an environment where I'll really be tested. It seems so often here that I haven't needed a God, and I think maybe in Chicago I'll need one."

When young adults examine the complexities of life in the context of their own limitations, they realize they need a God who can help them in whatever they face. The God of creation and his Son are not threatened by questioning young adults.

Scripture is full of saints who seriously questioned God. A partial listing would include the authors of many psalms, Moses throughout the book of Exodus, Job, Esther, Elijah, Paul and Peter. True questioning involves seeking God, as he said to the exiles, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29: 13).

YOUTH

Ministry that welcomes questions

Mentors provide a safe place for questioning and seeking. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once remarked that the writings of his literary mentors George Fox, Jacob Behmen and William Law "during my wanderings through the wilderness of doubt, enabled me to skirt, without crossing, the sandy deserts of utter unbelief" We need to help young adults, many of whom are wanderers, if not spiritual exiles, to question and seek God with all their hearts, so they will only skirt the deserts of unbelief

Providing space for questioning means ministries need to be struc· tured creatively. Churches must still provide opportunities for Bible study, prayer, worship and service, for these are the cornerstones of spiritual development. However, the forms they take maybe quite different than for other ages, another reason for

involving young adults in the process.

A ministry that encourages questioning requires mentors to be fluid in their leadership. They must be comfortable with unanswered questions, loose ends and paradox. Good mentors also understand they do not have all the answers, nor need to have them. Young adults are looking for someone who is willing to enter into dialogue with them about life issues, and is willing to be a learner.

Leading this type of ministry is difficult for people

who "require precision, order, sequential progression and careful forward motion-for spiritual mentoring is messy because life is messy, disorderly and random," write Keith Anderson and Randy Reese in Spiritual Mentoring. If such messiness is true for the general populace, it is especially true for young adults in a postmodem world, for whom two favorite words are "random" and "whatever." It is for this reason that spiritual hospitality and'mentoring relationships that endure are so important. Young adults need people who persevere with them. When questions arise, they have someone on whom to lean.

Faith for all of life

Mentors do not encourage questioning for its own sake; mentoring is purposive. We encourage questions and invest in young adults for a purpose: we desire that they discover and form a faith big enough for all of life. "It is not mindless or soulless meandering but a journey that recognizes itself as pilgrimage, a journey with a

spiritual or devotional purpose. The trajectory is puiposive but not prepackaged" (emphasis added), write Anderson and Reese. We want them to have a faith that makes a difference, but we do not expect the process or result to take the same form for everyone.

We do want them to have a faith as articulated by this young woman: "In high school my faith was more of a passive process-an assumed backdrop for my life. Now it is much more of an active process, something I think about every day as a component of so many different aspects of my life."

It seems that as AnabaptiSts who strive for ''whole-life'' discipleship, this is what we want our young adults to attain. We want to help them understand faith is something we do in all areas of life.

A young woman who was struggling with faith and God, and was experimenting with a variety of religions and cults, compared her faith to mine one day. She said, "The difference between our faiths, Rod, is your faith influences everything you do, whereas mine is just one of many influences."

Many students compartmentalize their lives this way, but it rarely allows them to live as they wish. Eventually, the cognitive dissonance between what they claim to believe and how they live torments them. Mentors have the privilege of helping young adults develop a faith that encompasses all areas of life.

Soul care

Asking big questions and searching for a bigger faith is a difficult process. Mentors play crucial roles as , they care for young adults. They become invested in their lives because mentors do not justdispense spiritual wisdom; they care about your soul.

The range of issues that arise in this relationship is staggering. Some of the issues are explicitly spiritual, but much is not. If we believe all of life is interconnected, however, we realize faith development touches on all these issues. As young adults experience the various struggles and joys of this transitional time, they depend upon older, wiser, caring mentors to minister to their souls. Such soul care takes different forms.

First, mentors must know young adults well enough to be able to see what is happening in their lives. Mentoring, even in mentoring communities, is not merely a task; it is a relationship. In those relationships mentors brihg

fresh sets of eyes. I look back on my own young adulthood and see mentors who recognized in me what I did not see. They encouraged me when I failed. They challenged me to do things I did not feel qualified to do. They gave me tough love, embodying Proverbs 27:6, ''Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." When and life seemed bleak, they gave me hope recognizing strength and potential. They inspired me to make a difference. This gift of recognition of strengths and potential is immeasurable. These people cared for my soul as they walked through wonderful and difficult times with me. They are still important to me today.

Such soul care is especially important given the family and technological issues discussed above. Although young adults strive to remain connected to home relationships, they are still seeking authentic, meaningful relationships that will endure. This is even more evident in young adults without church backgrounds. Having an older, wiser person who believes young adults are important enough to share their lives with is an amazing gift. When mentors invest in individual young adults for whom they are, the love of Christ shines through.

Using the gifts of young adults

Achurch desiring to help young adults form a holistic faith will provide a variety of opportunities for burgeoning faith to be applied. Mentors should not only discuss spiritual development; they should plan spiritual retreats to practice the disciplines. In addition to discussing faith and poverty, they should provide opportunities for service in the community and around the world. They should teach about the priesthood of all believers and spiritual gifts, and then discover and practice them in the community.

Unfortunately, churches often neglect the ministry potential of young adults in their congregations. Young adults can bring much needed enthu&iasm and energy to a variety of ministries and leadership positions. They also bring iinportant insight from different perspectives that can broaden the impact of many ministries. For those young adults who have attended a Christian college or university, many also bring more biblical training and ministry experience than most church members have . . The church neglects their gifts at its own peril and to the detriment of the spiritual development of the young adults.

Emphasizing faith in action not only reflects good Anabaptist theology; it connects with postmodem young adults. They seem to inherently recognize that faith is not just cognitive assent to doctrine; it also deals with senses and actions. When we involve

Resource materials on mentoring young adults

Sharon Daloz Parks has written Big Questions, Worthy Dreams Oossey-Bass, 2000)

Keith Anderson and Randy Reese have written Spiritual Mentoring (InterVarslty, 1999) them in active faith development and practice, they experience God in new ways and get a glimpse of how real faith can be in their lives. They begin to see that faith in God can be a reality in a complex world.

A mentoring ministry has the opportunity to participate in God's transformation of young adults. Mentors give hope and inspiration. They recognize strength and potential. They challenge and sometimes wound in love. As mentors provide a safe environment for big questions, they set the stage for the creation of a transformative, lifelong and holistic faith that is big enough for the complexities of life. Mennonite Brethren churches and ministries are in a prime position to provide this essential.plinistry..

Rodney P. Reed is campus pastor and interim dean of students at Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Calif He has been involved in ministry to students for 18 years. Ibis article was first published in the Spring 2002 issue of Direction, a semiannual publication of Mennonite Brethren schools in North America and Kindred Productions, the publishing ministry of the Canadian MB Conference.

Gender roles in church and family

BY RANDY LONG

I BEUEVE THE WORD TEACHES clearly the equality of male and female before Christ and the headship of the male in the church and family. Man and woman are equal in the sense that they were both created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28). They are also equal in their position before Christ (Gal. 3:28). Paul's statement in Gal. 3:28 that "There is neither male nor female .. .for you are all one in Christ Jesus," fits within the context of salvation and does not remove gender as a basis for distinction of roles in the church or in marriage This spiritual equality is not incompatible with the God-ordained roles of headship and submission in the church and at home.

The male is ordained as the head of woman and bears the primary responsibili. ty to lead the mamage partnership of two spiritually equal persons in serving God (Eph. 5:22-24, 1 Cor. 11:2-16, 1 Pet. 3:1-7, Titus 2:5). God implies this leadership at the dawn of creation by creating Adam first and referring to male and female as "man," not "woman" or "person"(Gen. 5:2). The order of creation is still relevant in the New Testament because Paul appeals to this order and the fact that Eve was deceived, and Adam was not, as justification for why women are not permitted to teach or have authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:13-14). In addition, the responsibility for the fall is attributed to Adam, not Eve, even though she sinned first (Rom. 5: 1221, 1 Cor. 15:21-22). This makes no sense without the understanding that Eve was under the authority of Adam.

As Christ loves, nourishes, cherishes his bride (church) and gave himself for her, which is his body, so the husband does for his bride. The head (Christ) and the body (the church) is "one flesh." This

Forum is a column of opinion and comment on contemporary issues facing the Mennonite Brethren Church. Manuscripts expressing an opinion for Forum should aim for a length of 800 words. Authors must sign articles and identify their church home and vocation.

God's Word does not change, yet we are continually asked to believe that God's intended roles for men and women are only now in the process of being revealed to us. We cannot yield on these issues.

idea of "one flesh" is also applied to the husband/wife relationship as they become "one flesh" upon their marriage (Eph. 5:31-32). This "one flesh" analogy, which Christ uses to portray His relationship to the church, has no meaning if the husband is not also the "head" of the wife. For us to interpret "head" as other than meaning "leader" or "one in a position of authority over another," is to diminish the authority ofjesus within his relationship to the church. If Christ is not the "head," with a robust meaning applied thereto, he is reduced to something less than God.

We should interpret culture through the eyes of the Word, not the Word through the eyes of culture. The rise of theology allowing women in the roles of elder and pastor primarily arose as a result of the cultural demand created by the Women's LiberationMovement of the 60s and 70s. Unfortunately, the church's decision to incorporate that cultural change was not a result of exhaustive hermeneutics.

Satan is selling androgyny and the church is buying. The arguments that feminists use to abolish gender-based roles in the church and marriage are the same arguments used to justify "faithful homosexual marriage." The churches that now

embrace homosexuality as normal and allow homosexual ordination, embraced the removal of the historical roles of women and men beforehand as the first step on what turned out to be a slippery slope.

We must acknowledge that some men have added fuel to the fire of the feminist movement by being domineering. However the answer is not a feminist interpretation of the Bible. But to teach men to be sober-minded, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love and in patience. We do this so that men can be the leaders of the home and church as they should be, and to teach the women to be chaste, nurturers, submissive and lovers of home and family, that the word of God will not be blasphemed (Titus 2:1-6).

The feminists apply incrementalism as a-strategy to further their positions. Thomas R. Schreiner, a respected complementarian scholar, was quoted in an article in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 6/1 (Spring 2002) noting that, "Sometimes I wonder if egalitarians hope to triumph in the debate on the role of women by publishing book after book on the subject. Each work propounds a new thesis that explains why the traditional interpretation is flawed. Complementarians could easily give in from sheer exhaustion ... ".

God's Word does not change, yet we are continually asked to believe that God's intended roles for men and women are only now in the process of being revealed to us. We cannot yield on these issues. They go to the very heart of who God is, who we are and what our roles are in the church and marriage. The gender-neutral god we have crafted is not who God revealed himse.lf to be and we will reap what we sow, if we do not repent.•

-Randy M. Long of Reedley, Calif, is a member of Reedley MB Church. He and his wife Lydia have five children. Long is an attorney and certified financial planner. He serves the US. C;onference as a MBMS International board member, and is a former member of the Board of1rustees and MB Foundation.

BY PHILIP WIEBE

A "muse"ing ideas

I HAVE OFTEN READ with interest the confessions of authors about their , "muse"-who or what helps inspire them to write. Some writers favor traditional muses, whether nature, a loved one, a mentor or certain atmospheric elements in their writing space. Others mention muses that are more oftbeat. My favorite is the best-selling author who speaks of his muse as a tough guy with a crewcut and scowl who barks, "Park your rear in that desk chair and start writing!"

I don't think I can point to one particular muse in my own writing endeav- ' ors; it's been more of a mixed bag. Certainly nature has had a big influence on me, living most of my life in the scenic American west. Reading Scripture and various genres of literature has inspired my devotional and reflective writing. But I'd have to say my most active muse is considerably less sublime: the daily drone and babble of modem media. Hardly a day goes by without some information or sound bite sending me on a philosophical meander.

For instance, on the news website I browse each moming, there was a headline in the travel section that read, "How to plan your romantic or family getaway." It was the "or" that got me scratching my temple and mumbling, "hmm." It seemed to enforce a prevalent cultural stereotype that romance and family life are mutually exclusive.

Of course parents should get away regularly to spend quality time together, to keep their connection strong. But I don't agree with the prevailing assumption that kids have to be enemies of romance,' wedges that pry spouses apart. I'd even say that in many ways, family life enhances romance.

That's because today's romantic

ideal is just that, an ideal. A fantasy land. It's based on unrealistic expectations and fabricated behavior. Recent "reality" television programs such as the Bachelor and Bachelorette reflect this perfecdy. In meticulously controlled environments everyone and everything looked great, but no one really knew what anyone else was thinking. That seems to describe modem romance in a nutshell. People try to look good on the surface, but it's hard to tell how they look underneath.

To a large degree, kids strip all that away. Parenthood has a way of making people completely, comfortably real. That doesn't sound like a door closed to romance, but a door open to deeper love.

Another moment for musing came to me recendyvia the radio. An ad began with the invitation to consider a mountain stream, a warbling bird and the quiet beauty of nature. Sounded good to me, stuck in urban traffic. But instead of promoting some scenic lodge or remote getaway as I expected, suddenly there was the roar of a very loud engine. Thrned out it was a motorcycle commercial. The bird was chased away and the stream drowned out, to the guffawing delight of the motorcyclist.

Well, if that ad was trying for a target audience, it certainly wasn't me. I would have voted for the bird to flap back and deposit something on the biker's helmet. But unfortunately, in these environmentally enlightened times, there still seems to be a strong contingency that doesn't care about disturbing the wildlife or alarming the bystanders. Once while I and many others were eating lunch outdoors at a rustic, woodsy cafe, a herd of Harley Davidson riders roared up and revved their engines, just sitting there,

for ten ear-splitting minutes before giving it a rest. How was it possible, I wondered, for people to be so completely insensitive to others' discomfort? I guess I just forgot to look out into the real world that morning.

Afew days later I had a chance to muse (or maybe just be amused) over a science article claiming that "96 percent of the cosmos puzzles astronomers." Of this 96 percent, 23 percent is said to be "dark matter" and 73 percent "dark energy." One scientist went on to observe, "Dark matter dominated the formation of structure in the early universe."

Even though I've long been interested in astronomy and space, I have to admit such claims made me snicker. They sounded like a pseudo-scientific way to say, ''We're really kind of guessing about what's out there. Dark matter, dark energy. Sounds cool, but what does itmean? And to say we understand four percent of the universe, that's just a number out of a hat. In reality, who knows?"

I can't criticize too much, though, because I think we Christians do something similar. Sometimes we talk pseudoknowledgeably about God, giving the impression we know a lot more about him than we really do. God has provided some important information, of course. He created us, loves us and opened the way to his heart through Jesus. However, there are vast heights and depths about God we simply cannot fathom. God said it himself, through the prophet: ')\s the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9).

Ninety-six percent higher, perhaps? I'd be more inclined to put it at a million .• '

BY MARVIN HEIN

Questions about faith 8c life

God ..

..

QHow does God treat us when. like Solomon. we profess to love Christ but worship at pagan shrines? (California)

AThe inquirer refers to the incident in 1 Kings 3 where "Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places" (3:3). We might well excuse Solomon who hardly knew more than his father had taught him, which included refraining from worshiping at pagan shrines, but was what we would call "young in faith."

Solomon began in a blaze of glory. He probably was voted "most likely to succeed." He was taking his first job. He had wealth, the right parents and the proper environment to be a success. He also had a beautiful, educated and cultured wife he had imported from abroad. He built his bride a new home, which he could afford since his father gave him a whole city for a wedding present. But with all these advantages, he sacrificed at the pagan high places. And how did God treat him?

God dealt with Solomon much like he deals with us when our hearts are divided. He takes the initiative when we are living double lives. He comes to us like he came to Solomon at Gibeah. In spite of Solomon's disobedience, God offered Solomon anything he wished (3:5). Doesn't that seem strange-to be able to ask for a gift when you have been duplicitous in your walk with God?

Solomon loved God but went to

It may be easy for us not to cheat, steal and murder, but in a complicated world not all is so black and white. We need to make judgments between the mediocre and the best. We need to distinguish between those things that are not wrong but neither are they expedient.

worship at the wrong place. What else is new? We profess our devotion to God, but worship at the pagan shrine of material comfort. We go to church on Sunday, and rush to the pagan shrines of popularity and public esteem the other six days of the week. We sing "not a mite would I withhold" at worship but refuse to go out on the limb for him financially in our stewardship.

I'm not suggesting God overlooks our inconsistencies, nor even fails to pUnish us for them. But the fact remains that he has to work with imperfect people. God takes the initiative with us when we are living with divided hearts. It may be easy for us not to cheat, steal and murder, but in a complicated world not all is so black and white. We need to make judgments between the mediocre and the best. We need to distinguish between those things that are not wrong but neither are they expedient. God doesn't condone our wrong choices, but

Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, confertmce policy, or other spiritual issue? E-mail Marvin at mhein1@fresno.edu or send your question to "Inquiring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 3036 East Magill Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710.

thanks be to God when he deals kindly with us even when we have divided hearts.

QWhy is it SO difficult to know the will of God? (Kansas)

AI recall once reading the words of Robert Mounce who taught at Western Kentucky University: ''To be perfectly honest with you, and at the risk of being labeled theologically naIve, I would have to say that I do not find it difficult to discern the will of God in most decisions which come my way." Mounce based this confidence on his belief that God can be expected to act in a predictable manner, and that Paul assures us we can be "filled with the knowledge of his will" (Col. 1:9).

We have often been taught to think God's will is difficult to discern by the rash actions of Christians like the 30 members of a church in Hutchinson, Kan., who left their jobs, packed their belongings and moved 200 miles away to lola, Kan. They did so becausethey were yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, but not likely.

Contrary to what many would say today, God does not resist people's attempts to figure him out. He hasn't wrapped himself in a cloak of secrecy in order always to keep us guessing. There may well be distressing decisions we find difficult to make, but we should be assured God means what he says when we read, "I will instruct and teach you the way you should go" (ps. 32:8). The secret lies in remaining close to the heart of the Father. Then we will know what he wants from us. A human child who is very close to a parent generally knows what the parent wishes. Is God so different? •

BY ROSE BUSCHMAN

Missionary spreads word .in closed countries

ON MY WAY HOME from town recently 1was listening to a local Christian radio station. The announcer said they had word from Sammy Tippit that he and his team were going into a sensitive area to minister and asked Christians to pray for their safe· ty. For security reasons they could not tell us where they were going, but we were asked to pray for them.

Until a few months ago that name would not have meant anything to me, but last February 1 attended a writers' conference in Colorado Springs where he was one of the speakers. 1 was deeply moved by his testimony and impressed by his ded· ication and commitment to serve the Lord.

During the 1 visited the bookstore and purchased one of his books, God's Secret Agent. (IYndale House Publishers) This man of God was called to go to "closed countries" especially behind the iron curtain to bring the message of God's love and salvation and to encourage the believers he found there. Many times he faced the possibility of imprisonment, deportation or both: One of the book reviewers says, "His story of perilous assignments and narrow escapes reads like a spy novel, but it's all true." From one chapter to the next, as 1 read, 1 wondered what would happen next.

The account of his trip to the Com· munist World Youth Fest held in East Ger· many during the summer of 1973 is unfor· gettable. TIppit and two coworkers felt called of God to minister there. This was a very risky operation but they went anyway claiming Rev. 3:8: "I know your works. 1 have set before you an open door and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My Word, and have not denied my name."

When the trio got to the Fest site there were over one hundred thousand

youth there. They started going around sticking ':Jesus loves you" stickers on any· thing they could find. Soon they discov· ered that the delegates from around the world were looking for autographs, especially from people in the west. So TIppit and his friends devised a unique system. One would write "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" with his autograph, the next "Man's sin separated him from this plan" and the third ':Jesus is the onlybridge over the gap left by sin." Young people read these statements and began asking questions.

The second night they got the atten· tion of many delegates by kneeling to. pray in the street. Young people crowded around them and wanted to hear more about this Jesus the communists denied. They began to accept Christ and by the end of the week there were several hun· dred new converts. Furthermore, young people who were part of the underground church in East Germany also came forward and began helping with the witness.

The festival authorities didn't know what to do. They tried to organize protests and disruptions, but God was stronger. During one evening of the .week.long fest, troublemakers shouted so loud that no one could witness or preach. The group of believers just knelt down to pray. Soon a torrential rain, punctuated by lightning, began. The protestors ran for cover and the Christians and interested young pe0ple moved to a nearby shelter where the witnessing continued! Eventually, TIppit and his team became the biggest issue at the Fest. They proved that God's power was (and still is) much stronger than any other force, including that of the communist authorities.

.1was absolutely amazed at what TIppit and his team were willing to risk in

order to bring the news of Christ to these young people behind the iron curtain. What was even more amazing was what the young people themselves were willing to risk for their faith.

TIppit tells the story of one young woman who came to a follow-up meeting of new Christians in East Germany. As a young believer she was concerned about a specific sin in her life. She didn't know what to do about it. TIppit showed her from 1 John 1:9 that she could pray and be forgiven. Upon hearing this she prayed, confessed her sin and thanked God for forgiving her. At the end of her prayer she also promised God she would continue to serve Him, "no matter what it costs."

TIppit writes that he was struck by the strength of her commitment. ''When we say the same phrase in our culture the cost may be no greater than a little embar· rassment or poverty or ridicule. We may lose a few privileges or get laughed at, but we don't lose our educational opportuni· ties. We don't lose our ability to earn a living or our freedom. We don't see •.. our families arrested on bogus charges. " When this young woman said that she was will· ing to serve God, "no matter what the cost" she was putting her very life on the line.

.TIppit and his evangelistic team still go into dangerous places. The prayer request 1 heard on the radio turned out to be a trip into an unsecured area of Afghanistan. While visiting a mosque there he encountered some hostility but in the end was able to engage in a meaningful dialog with its leader. When asked to sign the guest book he wrote: "Sammy TIppit, a simple servant ofjesus Christ." As a parting gift he gave this man his personal pen and told him, "Every time you write with this pen remember there's an American who is praying for you." •

CDC delegates vacation with a purpose in Omaha

DDelegates to the 2003 Central District Conference convention held June 26-29 in Omaha, Neb., expected this year's convention billed as a ''vacation with a purpose" to be different. The experiment of a summer rather than fall convention and the addition of children's and youth activities were well publicized. But the more subtle-and most rewarding-dis. tinction of the 2003 convention was the picture it provided delegates of their diverse district. The 27 CDC congregations are located in Dlinois, Minnesota, Mon· tana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

• Ethnic diversity. When looking for ethnic diversity among Mennonite Brethren today, one most naturally points to the West Coast-not the land-locked states of the Central District. While it's true that the vast majority of CDC congregations worship in English, at this convene

tion delegates sang in Spanish under the leadership of the Iglesia Agua Viva worship team and doubled the number ofIntegrated Ministries congregations in the CDC by welcoming as member churches two transcultural congregations. Integrated Ministries is the U.S. Conference agency under the direction of Loyal Funk, that works withimmigrant people groups.

Iglesia Agua VIVa, of Omaha, Neb., was planted almost 10 years ago with the assistance of Integrated Ministries to minister to the many Spanish-speaking people living in Omaha. Saturday morning worship team leader and pastor Jaime Cazares coached the delegates through one Spanish contemporary worship song, and led them in a hymn done Latino style with singers speaking in either Spanish or English.

Delegates voted to accept Ethiopian Christian Fellowship in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Slavic Church in Lincoln, Neb., into the district, and by virtue of that decision into the larger family of U.S. Mennonite Brethren churches. Funk told delegates that among the nine ethnic groups represented by U.S. Mennonite BJ,"ethren, there are 40 Slavic and 12 Ethiopian congregations.

Representatives of the two congregations addressed the delegates Saturday morning. The Slavic congregation was represented by Pastor Nikolay Zalesov, Artem Duoin, David Duoin, Uitaly Osiychuk and Dmitry Osiychuk. The Ethiopian congregation was represented by Pastor Hunegraw Bekele and Assefa W Alemu, pastor of the MB Ethiopian congregation in Olathe, Kan. Alemu is regarded by leaders of the 12 U.S. Mennonite Brethren Ethiopian

churches as their "bishop," Loyal Funk, Integrated Ministries director, told the CDC delegates.

Remarks by the Ethiopian and Slavic leaders show that transcultural congregations, regardless of their country of origin, share common concerns: the emotional challenges immigrants face in a new country, ministry to people from their homeland and developing a mutual relationship with Mennonite Brethren.

Pastor Zalesov talked of the emotional and spiritual challenges immigrant Chris· tians face as they adjust to a new homeland. Referring to a comment made earlier that morning about the importance of caring for the inner life of church workers and not just focusing on physical and building needs, Zalesov said, "It is difficult to build a spiritual building."

Alemu briefly told of the Ethiopian decision to affiliate with Mennonite Brethren, saying it was time for Ethiopian congregations, once Christian "islands," to "integrate with (U.S.) nationals and to live and work together." He said, "We were assured by the Lord that Mennonite Brethren would be the right choice God gives us security, but we also need some· one to lean on and to walk together with."

The desire of both the Ethiopian and Slavic congregations to minister to their ethnic peers was evident. Alemu said, "You have been sending missionaries all over the world. I want to tell you this morning that mission has come to your door."

Bekele echoed Alemu's words. "God is right now moving lots of people from our country to us in Sioux Falls. We came to the U.S. by the purpose of God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation."

The men also spoke of their desire to have a mutual relationship with the Mennonite Brethren church. "We are strangers [to you] and you are strangers [to us.] May God bless our relationship," said Alemu.

''We want to not 'only be blessed but to be a blessing to you," said Bekele.

The addition of these congregations , raises the number of churches brought into the CDC by Integrated Ministries from two to four. In addition to Iglesia Agua Viva, Russian Evangelical Church in Shakopee, Minn, joined the district in 1995. The district also has an American Indian congregation in South Dakota.

• Diversity of congregations. The convention not only highlighted the growing ethnic diversity in the Central District, but also the unique situations faced by congregations on both ends of the age spectrum, and in rural and urban settings.

Delegates were reminded of the rich history of their district when two congregations announced anniversary celebrations. Bethel MB Church of Yale, S.D., will celebrate its 100th anniversary Aug. 15, 2004, while last month Silver Lake MB Church of Freeman, S.D., celebrated 125 years.

Delegates were also reminded of the challenge facing many rural congregations when it was announced that Silver Lake will be closing its doors this fall (See story page 24). "We cannot change the demographics of our rural areas," said CDC minister Roger Engbrecht in his report to the delegates. "There will more than likely be more Silver Lakes."

While in Omaha, delegates saw firsthand the initial process and ongoing challenges of church planting. Five-year-old Rolling Hills Church of Papillion hosted the convention, and this gave attendees the opportunity to see how their financial gifts and prayer support has impacted ministry in metro Omaha. Delegates were able to meet some of the people who are part of the family of God thanks to RHC's ministry and to worship in the facility built two years ago with district support.

Friday evening, RHC held one of its regular talent nights to which convention

goers were invited . to attend as well as participate. Saturday morning RHC pastor Rod Anderson told delegates that RHC talent nights are a way the congregation incorporates newcomersboth believers and non-Christiansinto the life of the church. Noting that not all of Friday'S performers were Christians, Anderson said, "I am thankful that you accepted [the performers] and that they were able to share their talents with this group."

Junior and senior youth attending the convention with their parents were given the opportunity to help with a common church planting strategy--<listributing printed materials door-to-door. Friday morning, the students distributed 750 door hangers on the north side of neighboring Elkhorn, on behalf of the latest CDC church plant, New Life Fellowship. Church planter Paul Rowenhurst leads NLF. Saturday the students also distributed door hangers for part of the morning, and then enjoyed recreational activities.

Five Mennonite Brethren congregations are scattered around metro Omaha, and while RHC was the official convention host congregation other congregations assisted. Neighboring Millard Bible Church hosted the women's luncheon with speaker Nancy Cobb, a retreat and conference speaker and frequent radio program guest who is from Omaha. Faith Bible Church, located in Omaha, is the mother congregation to Millard, who in tum gave birth to RHC, who is now giving birth to New Life. Faith also played an instrumental role in planting Iglesia Agua Viva, also in Omaha, as well as Good Neighbor Ministries, an outreach to the inner-city neighborhood

that Faith calls home.

Experimental format

The Saturday morning service of celebration and communion welcoming the two churches into membership was for CDC leaders the highlight of the four-day convention. "This is the service that we have been aiming for," said CDC chair Will Fadenrecht. "This wonderful service of celebration is why we've been trying to keep on schedule."

Keeping to the schedule was a challenge, given the decision of leaders a year ago to experiment with the traditional annual convention weekend format. While the 2003 convention began as usual Thursday evening with a soup supper supplied by the host congregation, and concluded with a Sunday morning worship service, the format for Friday and Saturday was quite different than previous conventions.

MB2003: Vacation with a Purpose, as this year's convention was called, was held in June rather than in late October. It was billed in the promotional literature as "an all-family event with a 'vacation' Bible school for the children, and outreach and fellowship activities for junior and senior high youth." Business matters were discussed and decisions made in two morning sessions, rather than in full-day sessions Friday and Saturday. Afternoons were devoted to Sneak-Away Family Time. The annual home missions banquet was

switched from Friday to Saturday night and delegates attended the Friday night talent show. Instead of providing the Saturday evening program, Tabor College supplied special music for the Sunday morning worship services.

The goal of "doing convention differently," wrote Fadenrecht in the Executive Committee report was "to attract people to attend who normally don't attend, as well as to give all of us a new approach to our convention." Attendance figures indicate the experiment accomplished some of its goals. Eighty-nine delegates attended the 2002 convention. The 2003 convention attracted 108 delegates plus 11 children in childcare, 31 children who went "hog wild" at the vacation Bible school and 18 youth.

Expanding convention events to include children and youth will benefit the district long-term, Tom Cartney, Church Planting Committee chair, told the delegates. Involving teens in outreach activities on behalf of the CDC church plant in neighboring Elkhorn will broaden the youth's understanding of what it means to be a conference of churches. "Kids get to see that the MB conference is about more what is happening right at home," said Cartney.

Church planting to continue

Church planting has been an important focus for the district. The five churches planted in the last 25 years account for

one-half of the people worshiping Sunday mornings in CDC churches, District Minister Engbrecht told the delegates.

Church planting will continue to be a focus for the district. Cartney announced that the Church Planting Committee has set a goal of planting seven churches in the next 10 years. The location of these church plants is not restricted to urban settings, said Cartney. The committee will also consider small towns without an evangelical presence.

Cartney admitted the goal is a lofty one. "I have no clue how this will happen," he said. But Cartney challenged delegates to support the vision financially and . with prayer support. He reminded them of the district's "Lengthening the Legacy" program established at the 2002 convention to create a $1 million endowment with interest earnings going to church planting. The goal would be reached, said Cartney, if everyone in the district gave $500 to the endowment. He noted that while the amount currently in the fund is "not good enough," the district will continue with its church planting projects. ''You do what you can with what you have," said Cartney. The Saturday evening offering added over $6,000 to the fund, bringing the total to $55,000.

Delegates joined in a prayer of blessing on Elkhorn church planters Paul and Melissa Rowenhorst and Dan and Becky Adolphson and heard a report from Paul Rowenhorst. ''Your support not only supplies sound systems and buildings," he told the delegates. "It reaches people. It touches their lives and hearts." He shared several stories to illustrate his point.

In other business matters, delegates elected individuals to fill district leadership positions and approved a $220,050 budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year. Treasurer Richard Walter and Trustee Committee chair Gavin Banik said because

the district finished the year with a deficit last year and will most likely do so again in fiscal year 2002-03, available cash is dwindling. "We are whittling away at the funds built-up in the 1980s and 90s," said Walter.

Church giving has not increased significantly over the past 30 years, said Banik. "Let's get with it," challenged Walter. Delegates gave the Trustee Committee the option for one year of adjusting the budget down (or up) by 10 percent if needed for the next fiscal year should there be a significant funding shortfall in the current year.

Delegates heard reports from district minister Roger Engbrecht, the Faith and Life Committee, Youth Committee, Women's Service Committee, Tabor College and other Mennonite Brethren agencies. A plaque was presented to Phil Glanzer by the Faith and Life Committee in recognition of his 35 years of service as a pastor in the district and with CDC boards. Banik was recognized for completing nine years of service on the Trustee Committee.

While the women enjoyed the Women's Service luncheon Friday, the men had box lunches and attended two of three seminars. Seminar topics included discipleship, stewardship and conflict resolution. Throughout the weekend, teams comprised of individuals from the Elkhorn and Papillion congregations, as well as the Agua Viva team, led times of praise and worship.

Convention speaker James Eckman addressed the convention theme, "The Unhindered Church" from Revelation 2 and 3. The seven churches addressed by Jesus, said Eckman, "taken together is a statement from the Lord of what the revived, unhindered church looks like."

The unhindered church is obedient to the Lord's direction, is willing to stand for Jesus and suffer the consequences in today's postmodern culture and has an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, said Eckman. Eckman is president of Grace University in Omaha, a teacher, author and host of a radio program. He spoke Saturday evening and twice Sunday morning. -By Connie Faber

Retirement. Our grandparents may have spent their leisure years at the dining table or on the porch swing. Today we expect a more active, involved retirement. MMA can help make it happen - whether you've already put in your last day at the office, or you still have decades to go. Your MMA counselor has solutions, from Investment plans that fund your retirement, to annuities that help you make the most of it. And to protect these assets from the high cost of health care, MMA offers long-tenn care and Medicare supplement Insurance, all delivered with the customer service MMA is known for.

If your life plans include a rewarding retirement full of possibilities, visit with your MMA counselor today, or phone (800) 348-7468.

Congregation continues legacy by giving church building away

What do South Russia, South Dakota and Ethiopia have in common? The answer is a common desire to worship God, the pilgrimage of a people and a church building.

Silver Lake MB Church of Freeman, S.D. celebrated its 125th anniversary July 20 with an afternoon program. As the congregation reviewed God's gifts to them, they also prepared to give the gift of their church building to an Ethiopian Mennonite Brethren congregation in Sioux Falls, S.D. The gift is prompted by the decision of the Silver Lake congregation to close the church.

The event was bittersweet, says Richard Walter, one of four men who are overseeing the transition. "The sweetness comes in giving our building to the Ethiopian congregation," says Walter. The decision to close the Silver Lake Church has been a long and challenging one; Walter sees the option of giving their building to another congregation as a God given and timed opportunity.

The pilgrimage of the Silver Lake MB congregation began in the Ukraine of South Russia where in 1860 a group broke away from the established Mennonite Church and formed a group who called themselves

the Mennonite Brethren. Around 1870, due to Russian government policies would limit the Mennonites' freedom to live according to their consciences, many migrated to the Unites States. Some of them, who would later become the Silver Lake congregation, settled in Brothersfield Township in southeastern South Dakota in 1874.

By 1876, the settlers were meeting in their homes for worship, and named their congregation Brothersfield MB Church. According to a church history written by former Silver Lake pastor Ron Seibel, "These leading brethren were not only desirous of getting a church organized for their own benefit. They were visionaries with a sense of deep need to spread the saving Gospel of Christ to the unsaved near and far." As a result, four mission

churches or "stations" were established in the area, including one in Silver Lake.

The first Silver Lake baptism service was held in 1882; its last will be held this summer. By 1891, the group was ready to construct their first church building west of Silver Lake. The wood-frame building adjoined by a summer kitchen was able to seat about 150 people and cost $400.

When the congregation outgrew that facility, church members with teams of horses, carved out the basement of a new building, completed in 1920 at a cost of $8,000. The present wooden building was built in 1960, also with considerable volunteer labor for $65,000. The choice of wood over brick proved Significant since a brick structure cannot be moved.

During the 19808 and 1990s the church experienced a decline in member-

ship due to deaths and the loss of younger people who moved out of the community. The congregation began to work together, especially in the area of children's min· istries, with neighboring churches that were also declining. Over the years, the congregationconsidered merging with another congregation. However, those familiar with the area say the demographics of the community and the distinctions and backgrounds of groups such as the Hutterite and Krimmer Mennonite Brethren impact the ways in which congregations feel comfortable working together.

The decline in Silver Lake's atten· dance did not lessen the group's deep commitment to missions. The importance of sharing the gospel continued to be a high priority, just as it had been in the earliest days of the church's history when mission churches or stations were established. Since 1928, approximately 25 people from the Silver Lake congregation have gone on to serve in missions around the world or in pastoral ministry in the U.S. Of real concern to some church members in recent decades has been the impact that their declining membership would have on their ability to support MB missions.

During the past five years, the congregation has had to come to grips with the realities of declining populations in rural areas. Currendy, there are 60 members on the membership list, 35 of whom are inactive. The children and youth include two preschoolers, three junior highers and three high school students; half of which are from the same family. Walter asks, "What are we doing for our young people? Either there is no youth group or you're only with your brothers and sisters."

The resignation of their pastor in 2001 prompted the congregation to take a survey to determine their options. The conclusion was that the church would remain open by finding a neighboring congrega· tion that would share their pastor with Silo ver Lake. This shared pastoral leadership took place for a time with the Bethesda Mennonite Church pastor and with Will Fadenrecht of Salem MB Church.

Walter says the arrangement worked

well for Silver Lake and for the pastors who served, but was not affirmed by the congregations who shared their pastor with the Silver Lake church. Duane Deckert, a seminary student from Sioux Falls, has served the congregation since March and will see the congregation through its final transition. Attendance has been in the

"The Ethiopians are also very. very appreciative and overwhelmed by the generosity of the Silver Lake congregation .••

-Roger Engbrecht

low 30s.

When it became evident that sharing pastoral leadership was not a viable option, the Silver Lake church began to look for a new home for their church building. In March 2003 the church voted to give the building as a gift to the Ethiopian Christian Fellowship of Sioux Falls, S. D., which was looking for a church facility.

The actual moving of the building will take place in fall. Along with the building the Ethiopian congregation will receive the pews, pulpit and communion table. Other church items will be shared among Silver Lake members. Silver Lake has shared its cemetery with Bethesda Mennonite Church and the Evangelical MB Church; the three churches are within a four-mile radius. The membership of those from Silo ver Lake will be held by the Central District for a year to give people an opportunity to move their membership to other

churches.

As Walter told delegates at the Central District Conference convention in June, the Silver Lake Church wants to close with dig· nity. The prayer of the congregation is that the Lord will use the gift of their church building to bless other people. They have hosted the Ethiopian congregation in Freeman and are confident the Ethiopians will bring new life to the building. As Walter's wife Priscilla says, "The Ethiopian people are beautiful inside and out."

Beginning in 1891, dedication services of each new Silver Lake church building began with a time of praise and reflection in the old sanctuary. Then came a procession of church members to the new building where a worship celebration included singing, scripture reading, dedicatory prayers and sermons. In this last procession of the Silver Lake congregation, it will be a pilgrimage of the church building rather than the people.

The Ethiopian congregation has purchased land and is very excited about the gift of the church building, says Roger Engbrecht, Central District Conference minister. "They are also very, very appreciative and overwhelmed by the generosity of the Silver Lake congregation."

Engbrecht has served as a connecting link in the transfer of the building, and says the Ethiopian congregation is deeply committed to sharing the gospel with people of their own community. Ethiopians have been in the Sioux Falls area for approximately 10 years and have been meeting as a church for one and one-half years at Lincoln Hills Bible Church, a MB congregation led by former Silver Lake pastor Tony Ran· dall. Ethiopian Christian Fellowship has approximately 80 members.

While there is sadness over the loss of the historic Silver Lake congregation, there is also rejoicing in the ongoing ministry that will take place among Ethiopian brothers and sisters. The building will continue to carry out the mission for which it was dedicated 40 years ago and in a real sense, the ministry of Silver Lake, started 125 years ago, will continue also. -By Nadine Friesen

Interns dive into -ministry at The River gifts-

Two students from Tabor College are diving into ministry this summer through a Mission USA internship at The River, a church plant in the Phoenix area.

John Franz and Briana Teetzen are working side by side with pastors Mike Harrison and Scott Huska to kick-start the church's ministry to junior and senior high youth. They will also participate in service projects, Bible studies at1d Sunday mom-

ing activities. Host families from the church help with lodging and food, and Mission USA provides a small stipend to defray expenses.

"The internship program is designed to give young people an opportunity to test their gifts for ministry," according to LorenaJost, Mission USA chair. Franz is a new graduate, looking for experience in ministry. For Teetzen, who just completed her sophomore year at the. intern-

ship is part of her education. Harrison hopes the experience will be powerful, that they will "dosomething of such eternal value that they would do it for free."

The River gains two enthusiastic workers, which allows the church to accomplish more. Harrison says the youth of the church will benefit from the focused attention and positive role models of the interns. "They [theinterns] are just more hip than I am," he confesses. In addition, Harrison says, "The River is gaining the privilege of serving two kids who want to serve the church."

The internship program also has the potential to benefit the church at large. Wendell Loewen, assistant professor of biblical and religiOUS studies at Tabor College and overseer of this internship on behalf of Mission USA, says internships such as this one provide a training ground for future leadership of the church. "Our churches need to be more diligent in seeking out and training leaders," he says. "Internships should be a growing endeavI or in the church."

The River offers an especially rich environment for interns to learn and groW; according to Jost. "Our goal would be to put them into a place where they will be mentored and shaped and supervised and directed." At The River, she says, they will receive such mentoring and be so included in every aspect of the church that they will "experience everything there is to experience about a church plant."

The River is a young church, the second plant in the Phoenix area under Mission USKs "Mission Phoenix"-a plan to build a network of five Mennonite Brethren churches in Phoenix by 2005. To Mission USA, the fast-grOwing city seemed "a city [where] we saw a need and we also had opportunities," says Jost. The first church planted under Mission Phoenix was Copper Hills Community Church. Work on the second church began in January 2001 when Harrison and Huska and their families arrived in Peoria in northwest Phoenix, under the direction of The River Task Force. The task force provides direction, support and accountability dur-

ing the early stages of church planting. Each entity involved in the church plant is represented, including Mission USA, the Pacific District Conference, and Copper Hills. The River held their first public service in a dance studio on Jan. 9, 2001, and moved to their current facilities in a school onJan. 5,2003. Current membership is in the mid-20s, with attendance hovering between 80 and 90.

The name, "The River," reflects the ministry approach of the church. A river, Harrison points out, is always changing, growing deeper and wider and bringing life to what it touches. At The River, he hopes, people will go beyond habitual church attendance to a life-changing experience: "We are inviting them to come and drink of the presence of God."

To that end, The River is "highly relational and highly creative," Harrison says. Huska carries the title of "Creative Experience Designer," and pours his creative gifts into telling the gospel story in fresh, interactive ways. Sunday morning "experiences" are never the same two wedcs in a row; The multipurpose meeting room is set up cafe-style, with intimate tables and gourmet coffees. A resource area provides information about the church, free Bibles, or details about becoming a Christian. Theater lighting and drapery helps set the mood. Scriptural teaching is interactive and may include discussion around the tables, visual props, drama-or all of the above. Sometimes teaching draws on popular culture: A recent series on the seven deadly sins was set like the popular television show Idol," with each "sin" portrayed as one of the idol contestants. Harrison classifies the music played as alternative rock, and says they intentionally play it loud out of passion for Jesus and to allow worshippers to sing without embarrassment. Harrison says such a creative approach is fitting, since "there will never be another story that will trump the story of God's scandalous love."

The River is not only passionate about creative worship but also about relationships, both within the church body and within the community. The River's commit-

ment ,to community began even before Sunday services. Upon arriving in Peoria, Harrison and Huska met with the mayor to ask how they might serve the community. They learned that in this fast-growing area with so many newcomers, few people have close connections with extended family. To help build a sense of community, Harrison and Huska cooperated with the city and with Copper Hills to offer free movies and refreshments in the city parks.

The River still offers movies in the parks, and serves the comm\.Jnity through prayer for the city leadership and special projects such as- work in soup kitchens. They extend service to their host school in big and small ways, like offering sound

and lighting equipment for school productions or taking holiday pies to school staff.

To build relationships within the church body, The River encourages attendees to join one of many "life groups"sniall groups designed to give people a place to connect and grow. "Our heart is to try and create an environment of relationships," Harrison says. "Healthy things grow in a healthy environment." The junior and senior high youth groups that Teetzen and Franz will be working with are also considered life groups. The junior high group is called "Edge." The senior high group is called "C5," a name taken from the classification for river rapids, with C5 indicatj.ng the most impassable rapids. They hope to

convey that, with Jesus, the often difficult senior high years are passable.

Another example of the relational emphasis at The River could be seen in a recent baptism celebration. 1\vo people were baptized, not by the pastors, but by other church members with whom they have close relationships and by whom they have been discipled.

The River's relational emphasis was even evident in the recruitment of Teetzen and Franz. Harrison accompanied Jost to Tabor College this past spring to talk face-to-face to students who had expressed interest in the internship program. Harrison wanted to see if they had passion to match the ministry at The River. "The cause of Christ demands that we give everything we have," Harrison says. "I wanted [interns I that had that fire within them." Later, Mission USA sent Teetzen and Franz to Phoenix for a visit. During that visit, Franz and Teetzen showed the "moxie" Harrison hoped they'd have, taking an active role in a family carnival and the physical setup for Sunday. Harrison says, "Once they saw The River, I knew they'd stay."

The River's approach, which might be classified as "postmodern," appeals to a broad spectrum of people. In some ways, the congregation reflects the widespread demographics of the community: Entrepreneurs, corporate workers and blue-collar workers worship side by side. Attendees come from the immediate neighborhood as well as a 45-minute commute. And they are as likely to be over 40 as they are to be under 40, which Harrison admits is a bit of a surprise. But, he says, they have learned that their postmodern approach is "a mind-set, not an age."

Ed Boschman, former executive director of Mission USA and currently on The River Task Force, describes this postmodern mindset as "very visual, very experiential, very interactive, very community and relationship-driven." He says that at The River, "they're doing a good job of working those realities into their weekend celebrations and into how they're doing church. The interns will get a good feel for that [approach)."

Or, as Harrison puts it, "If you don't have passion, don't come to The River.".

-by Myra Holmes of Denver, Colo., a freelance news writer for the Leader.

Stewardship resources

fc)J" Christian and slnall group

Other resources are available for pastors andfor individtulls and families.

To help you meet your congregation's education goals, consider these resources from MMA.

Stewardship for Life

MMA's Stewardship for Life lessons are packaged in sets for people at different life stages and are ideal for small groups and Sunday school classes. Three sets are available: Introduction to we/lness, We/lness at midlife, and We/lnessfor tlJefamily. Leader's guides are also available. Cost: (any set) $8.95

Stewardship for Kids!

These one-hour curriculums introduce children (grades K-3rd) to holistic stewardship. Lessons include: Nutrition, Exercise, Emotions, and three on Generosity. Costs: Teacher's set - everything you need for one lesson. $4.95

Firstfruits Living video

Ten study lessons from the Firstfruits Living seminar. Cost: $34.95

Just in Time

Real life stories about opening up to others and giving back what God has given us. Cost: $8.99

Speaking About Money

Ways to reduce the tension when discussing money and stewardship. Cost: $14.99

What Gives? Using God's Money

Bible study for junior high that explores money. Cost: $9.95

Money Talk

Bible study for senior high to help them understand faith and money. Cost: $12.95

A Christian View of Money

How one lives is an accurate look at how one believes, particularly when looking at money. Cost: $8.99

Congregational Health Ministries

Helps churches organize/develop health ministries. Cost: $10

To order: (800) 348-7468, Ext. 269, stewardship@mma-online.org, or online at www.mma-online.orglresources.Shipping and handling charges are added to all orders.

empower students

missionaries in Botswana work with church leaders

Bible training classes in Botswana are experiencing exciting growth, say MBMS International missionaries Bryan and Teresa Born who serve through Africa Inter, Mennonite Mission. MBMSI is the global mission agency of Mennonite Brethren churches in Canada and the United States.

The BornS lead classes in Bible education, church growth and Christian formation for pastors and leaders in Africa Initiated Churches, which are congregations established without the aid of western missionaries.

Bryan Born says that in addition to the six Bible stUdy groups already in place in the city of Gaborone, two new Bible classes were started in February, with another like-

ly to start in the near future. In total, 110 people are currently enrolled.in the studies from approximately 25 churches.

The formation of these new classes has come on the heels of teacher trainer seminars at the end of last year and a Bible class graduation for 55 people in Gaborone Feb. 1. "These people are now equipped to teach the Word of God, and most importantly, to exemplify the life ofJesus in their churches and communities," says Born.

Almost all of the established Bible classes are growing as well, according to Born. Forexample, the Thesday evening class that is studying how to grow healthy churches has almost 40 people attending. "The enthusiasm of some of our younger

Rei ief kits treasured by Baghdad orphans

After receiving a Mennonite Central Committee relief kit in July, 15-year-old Noor looked up at a Mennonite relief worker and responded in English. ''It's beautiful," she said.

Noor is a resident at Elwiya Orphanage for Girls in Baghdad. The 66 girls who live there are sharing 33 MCC relief kits, :which include shampoo, soap, towels, a hairbrush, bandages and other items packed into a fivegallon bucket.

During the recent war, residents of Elwiya Orphanage stayed in the building and did not attend School. Staff also remained at the orphanage, which escaped looting, unlike some other Baghdad children's homes. The girls and staff slept in the first floor hallway to keep away from windows.

The orphanage received the MCC relief kits July 7 through the agency Enfants du Monge - Droits de l'Homme which is distributing I,BOO reliefkits. The kits were donated by MCC constituents in North America and came to EMDH through a consortium called All Our Children.

Mennonite relief worker Steve Weaver helped with the distributionat Elwiya. Orphanage. Weaver works with Church

World Service in Iraq and is assisting with distributions ofMCC aid there.

He reports: "The girls eagerly lined up, two-by-two, down the hall. When each bucket was opened and handed over, the pair was up the stairs and to their rooms to check out the contents. We went upstairs to find the girls in their various dorm rooms with the things spread around them. It was heartening to see the girls' response, though perhaps a little sad to see something so mundane and practical received like it was Christmas. I asked Shahad what her favorite item was. Without hesitating she produced the shampoo from the bucket with a smile."

Weaver says a number of the EMDH staff commented on how pleased they were with the kits. Michel SaveL EMDH Iraq Coordinator, said, while holding a towel, "These are very good quality. Better than you can buy here."

Weaver says, ''I was proud to be associated with these kits. They really are a first-rate resource-a wonderful example of giving the very best."

EMDH will distribute 120 kits to 240 children in other orphanages and homes for street children in Baghdad as well as an

members for the classes is especially encouraging," says Born. "They've begun to recognize that God has empowered them to teach, not just learn."

Classes are also continuing in the city of Selebi Phikwe, where the Borns served for six years before moving to Gaborone four and one-half years ago.

"We're pleased to see the faithfulness displayed by the Bible teachers in Selebi Phikwe," says Born. "We had a wonderful graduation on March 8 with over 50 people receiving various types of certificates. We also had a great meal and some awesome singirig by the Spiritual Healing Church and the Rara Apostolic Church in Zion choirs." -MBMSI

orphanage for boys in Kamala. An additional 60 kits will go to staff at these institutions, some of whom grew up in the orphanages and stayed on as workers. The remainder of the container, about 1,600 kits, will be distributed in an impoverished community in Baghdad.

So far in 2003 MCC has shipped more than 41,000 reliefkits to the Middle East for distribution in Iraq.-MCC

Study explores changes in church and college music patterns

shared mission can lead to complementary relationship

iven the role music has played in

Gthe past among Mennonite Brethren, and the priority it is given today, it is not surprising that the Tabor College Center for MB Studies organized a symposium this spring focusing on the college's music program and its impact on its constituent congregations. The papers presented at the symposium have been published in the spring issue of Direction, the semiannual publication of MB schools in the U.S. and Canada published by Kindred Productions.

A comparison of the music patterns of Thbor College and Southern District Conference congregations has raised a series of interesting questions for Bradley Vogel, ass0ciate professor of choral music at Tabor. Is there an increasing gap between the musical practices of Tabor College and Mennonite Brethren churches? If so, what has caused the changes, and what are the implications for teaching and developing church music philosophy and personnel? Vogel addresses these and other related questions in his paper, "Music Styles of Tabor College and MB Southern District Churches, 1961-2002."

In looking at the churches, Vogel examined church bulletins from several SOC congregations from 1961 to 2002, noting the types of congregational music used in worship services. Vogel observes that "though variety and individuality are hallmarks of the worship styles of today's churches, during the 1960s and 1970s, a member of one Southern District MB church could visit another church within the district and not feel too far away from home." 1\vo hymns were generally sung with the possibility of a third at the end of the service. Notable also was the use of a wide variety of hymns, each rarely sung more than twice within a calendar year, resulting in use of the majority of the hymnbook.

Changes within the worship music format become evident in the mid 80s with the occasional inclusion of praise choruses. Among other things, this shift was encouraged by the hymnal supplement Sing

Alleluia, published in 1984, says Vogel. Other changes included increased variety in the order of worship, the addition of headings for various aspects of the worship service and changes in the bulletin format itself

"By the late 1990s and into the next

''1he survey suggests that from the 90s to the present, worship styles and particulaity musical repertoire underwent rapid change, resulting in individual styles for each church and a mixture of traditional hymns and contemporary praise choruses."

century," Vogel writes, "the worship format for many churches is only singing and preaching-very little or no Scripture reading set apart on its own, an offertory, a coupIe of large blocks of music and preaching." The survey suggests that from the 90s to the present, "worship styles and particularly musical repertoire underwent rapid change, resulting in individual styles for each church and a mixture of traditional hymns and contemporary praise choruses," writes Vogel.

While the churches have experienced significant change, during the same period of time there has been "remarkable" consistency in the styles of music performed by the Tabor College concert choir. While classical styles comprise half of the music performed in tour programs, at least half of the music is from styles considered "accessible" . and contemporary Christian music. This, says Vogel, reflects an attempt by the college to relate to the churches served by the choir.

Vogel says that issues of education (meeting national program standards) and

quality (giving one's best) guide the Tabor College music program. To understand what musical principles currently guide the worship and musical styles of SDC congregations, Vogel explores possible causes for the current diversity in worship and musical styles.

Change may have come as part of evolving shifts that naturally come with time, the desire to attract new people to MB churches and to relate to both church members and the surrounding culture, or simply the availability of technology and resources that make praise choruses more available. Another factor may be the use or nonuse of MB hymnals. According to Vogel, " despite this commitmentto a body of congregational song contained in a hymnal-a commitment that encouraged consistency in singing from church to church-the music choices in the churches of the Southern District today are as diverse as their worship practices." In his opinion, the hymnbook is no longer a resource for teaching and promoting a common theology.

Vogel also raises the possibility that the changes are due to something not as easily recognized but which is important to consider-namely the culture's desire and expectation to fulfill personal preferences. He states that in earlier generations, Christian music was generally the domain of the church. Today through the influence of the recording industry, many preferences of musical style with Christian lyrics have developed and are more freely expressed than in earlier years. For Vogel, "the most important issue is to examine the mission of the MB church and to be sure that its practices help connect it to its mission."

If the college and churches are moving down different paths, what ought to be the response? Vogel answers his question by stating the missions of both are similarbringing people before God and developing their gifts-and yet different as the college is an institution of higher education. "If approached correctly, each of these worlds should complement one another," he writes.

MBMSI AND MCC SUPPORT PASTORS' RELOCATION

Angolans' return home bittersweet

For many years now, eight Mennonite Brethren Angolan pastors and their families have sought refuge from the Angolan war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. When the war subsided their desire to return to their homeland began to take shape as MBMS International and Mennonite Central Committee joined together to fund their return in consultation with the MB Conference in Angola. MBMSI is the global mission agency of MB churches in the U.S. and Canada and MCC is a Mennonite and Brethren in Christ relief, service and peace agency.

In May it was agreed that MBMSI and MCC would split the cost of the refugees' return to Angola, a total of $10,775. Six of the eight families have returned to their home village in Angola and the other two are waiting to harvest

their crops in Congo before returning.

The move back home has not been easy, however. Fidel Lumeya, an MCC worker in Angola, says, ''We do not know how long the six (families) will stay in their home village. There is a famine where they are. MCC has tried hard to send food there but we cannot since there is no bridge to get a vehicle to their village." He adds, "So, there is the joy of coming back, but also a big desire to stay in the Democratic Republic of Congo where they are able to get food."

MBMSI encourages continued prayer for the Angolan MB church, the ongoing struggle of these families and that a way will be found for MCC to reach this village with food necessary for their survival.-MBMSI

Fresno Pacific University celebrates reaccreditation

Fresno Pacific University, the Mennonite Brethren institution located in Fresno, Calif., has received its highest vote of confidence through reaccreditation for 10 years from Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Ten years is the longest term that can be awarded.

According to WASC, FPU has made progress in finances, enrollment and leadership. As stated in a letter to FPU President D. Merrill Ewert, "The team found a university deeply committed to teaching excellence and student support, operating in a climate of collegiality and dialogue on important issues. These are important accomplishments that provide a strong foundation for the future of FPU."

Ewert credits faculty and staff for their work. "Many people were involved in researching and preparing documents and meeting with the review team," he says. -FPU

Students looking for help integrating faitfJ and work

A recent survey sent by Mennonite Economic Development Associates to college students at five Mennonite collegesEastern Mennonite University, Tabor, Bluffton, Hesston and Goshen Collegesshows that students consider integrating faith and work to be important as they look forward to their careers. When asked what the church can do to help business stu· dents prepare for their careers, students say provide guidance and support along with preaching and teaching about business ethics. Students also suggested that churches could provide mentors and advice about ways to integrate work and faith.

Of the students surveyed, 21 percent had heard a sermon on how their faith can make a difference at work within the last month; 34 percent had heard one in the last six months; 25 percent within the last year. 1\venty percent could not recall ever hearing a sermon on that topic. -MEDA

l\10RE NEWS

MBMSI finance director resigns r -MBMS Intematlonal, the global mission agency of MB Churches In Canada and the U.S., has announced the resignation of Director for Finance lori Toews Friesen, effective August 31, 2003.

Since May 1999, Toews Friesen has served In the offices In Winnipeg and Fresno and In the past year In Abbotsford, Be. She gave leadership to the financial operations of ministries In over 65 countries.

"lori has navigated significant changes to the finance operations In our agency over the past four years as we have grown to Include several short-term ministries and a larger number of missionaries," says General Director Harold Ens. "She met the challenge with dedication and expertise."

MBMSlls making arrangements to cover Its financial operations with staff In both Abbotsford and Fresno while a broader review of staffing structures and the scope of Its programs Is completed. -MBMSI

MB Herald editor completes

-After 19 years In the capacities of associate editor, Interim editor and senior editor, Jim Coggins completed his service June 30 at the MB Herald, a publication of the Canadian MB Conference. Board of Discipleship Ministries Chair John Neufeld says, "Jim has demonstrated a love for the Mennonite Brethren church by seeking to challenge and encourage Its members. Jim Is to be commended for seeking excellence In all he has done." Susan Brandt Is serving as InterIm editor. -BOM

Africa takes lead in 2003 membership census

AFRICA NOW HAS

more baptized Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and related church members than any other continent. According to census figures released in June by Mennonite World Conference, membership in Africa' stands at 451,959, slightly more than the 451,180 members in North America.

With an increase of 45,980 members since 2000, Africa has for the first time moved ahead of North America where growth in the same time period was 7,262. There are 25 organized bodies in 16 African countries. Membership in

those countries ranges widely from a high of 194,119 in Congo to a low of 144 in Togo.

Total estimated membership in the 200 Mennonite, BIC and related churches in 65 countries now stands at 1,297,716, up from 1,203,995 in 197 bodies in 63 countries in 2000.

Countries with the most baptized members still rank in the same order as they did in both 2000 and in 1998-D.S., Congo, Canada, India, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

National churches and conferences submit mem-

bership numbers to MWC. Although methods of counting and reporting vary widely, MWC attempts to report numbers as accurately as possible. Churches and conferences are included in the World Directory if they are rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite stream of church history or have direct fellowship with churches that are so rooted. New 2003 listings include Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal and South Korea. Inclusion in the World Directory does not mean membership in Mennonite World Conference.

-MWC

Newsletter aids ministry to Muslims

THE RRST ISSUE of MBMS International's renewed Muslim Ministry Team newsletter is now available on e-mall. Tim Bergdahl, MBMSI director for long-term ministries, says those interested in basic tools for witness to Muslims and who want to share skills and insights or would like to be

encouraged by the testimonies of God's faithfulness are invited to sign up for the MMT newsletter at timb@mbmsinternational.org.

The Muslim Ministries Team was established several years ago so that those involved in MBMSI ministries to Muslims could learn about,

History of Hillsboro church published

Faith and Courage, the story of the first Mennonite church in Marion County Kansas, has recently been published. Presently known as Parkview MB, this congregation began with the estab-

lishment of a Krimmer Mennonite Brethren village and church called Gnadenau or "meadow of grace." Highlights of the book include the formation of the congregation in Europe and their

migration to America in 1874, the characteristics of the group as they grew in Kansas and the changes and influences that molded the congregation into what they are today. Biographical

care for and otherwise support each other across geographic and linguistic lines. Gordon Nickel served this team for several years, making contacts, encouraging and sending out a regular newsletter. The newSletter portion of his work is being continued now by Bergdahl.

-MBMSI

sketches of missionaries sent from the church, current ministries and three essays are also included. William J. Johnson, former labor College professor and Parkview historian, has written the 320-page book that is illustrated with many pictures.

-PMBC

CHURCH

NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

Baptism/membership

Rapid City. S.D. {Bible Fellowship)-Lance Schreter, Aaron Guliuzza. Elizabeth Pappas, Tekakwitha Thomas and Lloyd and Michelle Terkeldsen were baptized and received into membership June 1. Also welcomed into membership through testimony were Connie Thirstrup and Dick and Judy Churchwell.

San Jose. Calif. {Lincoln Glen)-Brady Pannabecker was baptized and received into membership June 8. Brian Wiebe and Larry and Deanna Wiebe joined by testimony.

Weatherford. Okla. {Pine Acres)-Bryan Jenkins and Blake Reherman were baptized and welcomed into membership on June 22. Audra Reherman. Alan and Pam Deck, Carl and Candy Dudek and Dwayne and Mary Ellen Hamburger were accepted by testimony.

Clovis. Calif. {College Community)-Shannon and Spence Koehler were baptized and welcomed as new members June 29.

Reedley. Calif.-Henry and Kelly Collin, Randy and April Collin. Kim Dueck, Eric and Betsi Helgesen, Emily Herbig, Nicholas Herbig, Julia Heringer, Susan Holman, Ashlea Johnson, Keris Kliewer, Chris Luzania, Mandy Neufeld, Kaylie Neufeld and Marci Thiessen were baptized and welcomed into membership July 6. Cliff and Anita Anderson, AI and Lydia Berg, Chris and Becky Dresser, Keith and Denise Heinrichs, Josh Heringer, Egon Hofer, John and Jodi Laemmlen, Tom and Brenda Neufeld, Todd and Elizabeth Stair and Matt Toews were received by testimony.

Celebrations

Lodi. Calif. {Vinewood Community)-The Family Life Center, a building project that included expanding the gym, kitchen and youth classrooms, was dedicated June 1.

Ministry

Bakenfield. Calif. {Laurelglen)-A day of celebration was held June 15 as Stephen and Roselyne Mairori and family were recommissioned for their return to Kenya. The Mairori family came to Fresno in 2002 to study at MB Biblical Seminary where Stephen received his Master of Divinity degree and Roselyne her Master of Arts in counseling. '

Indiahoma. Okla. {Post Oak)-Nine youth and two adults from Zoar MB Church, Inman, Kans., served at a two-day camp and lockin for 17 junior high youth at Post Oak, July 19-20. The Song of Solomon and God's plan for dating and marriage relationships was the focus of the event. Wichita. Kan.(United at the Cross)-Evangelistic outreach, fellowship and a campout highlighted the weekend of June 28-29. Saturday night a

campout was held on the church lawn along with supper and a movie. Breakfast was served Sunday morning before the worship service.

Enid. Okla.-A block party was held three evenings in July as part of outreach to families in an area of Enid known as Spaulding Gardens. The first eveningincluded a large slide, food and carnival style booths for kids. Live worship music. bike activities, puppet show, snacks and a presentation of the plan of salvation were part of the second night. The last evening offered a hamburger cookout and a movie.

Teaching/Nurture

Clovis. Calif. {College Community)-A library open house was hosted by intermediate and junior high youth between the worship service and Sunday school in June. Opportunity was given to browse, check out books and enjoy a cookie. Children were encouraged to participate in the summer reading program.

Bakenfield. Calif. {Laurelglen)-Sunday school teaching teams are being formed for fall. People are encouraged to find a few friends or another couple with whom they can team-teach and rotate for one year. Teacher training meetings are being held in August so teams will be ready for fall.

Workers

Littleton. Colo. {Belleview Community)-Daniel Moore, pastor of worship and youth, has resigned, effective September 1. His future plans are indefinite at this time.

Elkhorn. Neb.• '{New Life Fellowship)-paul and Melissa Rowenhorst began serving full time as pastor July 1, thanks to the financial support of Mission USA, the church planting and renewal ministry of the U.S. Conference. The congregation has made the transition to Sunday morning worship at Metro Community College where they use a tiered classroom with seating for 100 and other rooms for Sunday school and nursery.

Minot, N.D. {Bible Fellowship)-Gordon Kroeker has resigned as pastor. His future plans are indefinite.

Deaths

REMPEl., LAWRENCE FLOYD, Reedley, Calif., a member of Reedley MB Church, was born May 31, 1923, to Frank and Anna Hiebert Rempel in Mountain Lake, Minn., and died June 25. 2003. at the age of 80.On September 2, 1944, he married Alvera Klassen, who survives. He is also survived by two daughters, Beverly and Betty Jean, their spouses, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

WARKENTIN. ALVINA, Reedley, Calif., of Reedley MB Church, was born January 24, 1909, to John

MISSION USA DIRECTOR

The Mission USA Board of the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches is seeking a full time director of its ministries. The MUSA Director shall lead a national vision for building Jesus' Kingdom through winning and discipling people into the family of God. The director will:

• work with the appropriate district leadership teams at their request in the planting of new churches

• work at developing a strategy for church health and growth for local congregations that request these services

• oversee and facilitate the Integrated Ministries of the U.S. Conference

• help facilitate the Leadership Development of emerging leaders in partnership with a variety of Conference agencies.

The MUSA Director will report to and be accountable to the U.S. Conference Executive Director. Secondarily. the MUSA Director will relate to and help lead the MUSA board.

Qualifications include:

•A clear understanding of and commitment to the U.S. Conference of MB Churches and its confession of faith. demonstrated visionary leadership. excellent management skills and ministry experience.

P. and Alvina Villwock Shultz in Dallas, Ore., and died June 20, 2003, at the age of 94. On March 17, 1929, she was married to Walter Warkentin, who predeceased her. She is survived by five daughters, Venona and husband John Buhler, Lily and husband Lee Wi lIems, Ruth and husband Pete Penner all of Reedley, Calif., Unda Vogt of Paso Robles, Calif., and Norma Froehmer of Fresno, Calif.; one sister, Mabel Martens of Central Point, Ore.; two brothers-in-law, Bud Warkentin and Hank Warkentin, two sisters-in-law, TIna Warkentin and Kathryn Shultz, 14 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

KlAASSEN, JUSTINA, Hillsboro, Kans., a member of Parkview MB Church, was born March 8,1908, to Jacob R. and Justina Block Klaassen in Herbert, Sask., and died June 15,2003. She is survived by her nieces and nephews.

UNRUH, ELEANOR JUNE, Bakersfield, Calif., a member of Rosedale Bible Church of Bakersfield, was born on June 24, 1929, at Bakersfield to Aron and Flora Kliewer and died June 20, 2003, at the age of 73. On January 21, 1949, she was married to Robert Unruh, who predeceased her in 1989. She is survived by two sons, Roger and wife Terri of Sacramento, Calif., and Greg and wife Maura of San Clemente, Calif.; three daughters, Judy and husband Richard Meyer of Bakersfield, Marlene and husband Dennis Atkinson of Shafter, Calif., and Gail and husband Ron Neufeld of Bakersfield; two brothers, Rueben Kliewer and wife Clara, James Kliewer and wife Nancy; 2 sisters, Doris and husband Clarence Nikkel, and Arlene and husband Norman Nikkel; one sister-in-law, Julia and husband Gene Feil, all of Bakersfield; and 10 grandchildren.

Surround 1Vi1h family

Whether you choose the freedom of Independent Uving in our Patio Homes, or need the additional services offered in our Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing facilities, you can be assured that someone you know is always nearby.

The Palm Village lifestyle offers our residents the opportunity to be as independent as they choose... for today, tomorrow, and for rife!

Palm Village residents Leona Kroeker and her brothers Walter and Ernest Warltentin

HAS YOUR INTEREST INCOME BEEN DRAGGING ITS FEET?

Perhaps it's time you considered a Charitable Gift Annuity with MENNONITE BRETHREN

FOUNDATION

Among the benefits you can expect:

• Guaranteed payments for life, partially tax-free

• Income tax charitable deduction

Here are some sample rates:

Person

A GIFT ANNUITY IS A GREAT WAY TO HELP YOURSELF AND SUPPORT THE WORK OF OUR MENNONITE BRETHREN MINISTRIES!

! FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE MAIL THIS i COUPON OR CALL OUR OFFICE:

, , i MENNONITE BRETHREN FOUNDATION

: PO BOX 220 : HILLSBORO KS 67063

i TELEPHONE: 800-551-1547

, I Name

1 Address

, City/State/Zip

Birthdates of beneficiaries

Phone

We will mail you without obligation a brochure and personalized illustration showing just what a Gift Annuity can do for you.

·This offer is void where prohibited by state law.

Worship and God's multi-generation family

''You MBs really know how to worship," Todd Colwell, a youth speaker and Atlanta (Ga.) Vmeyard Christian Fellowship pastor, told the campers and staff at the Mennonite Brethren Southern District Conference junior high camp last month. I agree. Regardless of the style of music or language in which we sing, Mennonite Brethren know how to worship because we know whom we worship-a God big enough to handle all of life. Our God is an awesome God and we worship him with joy, humility and reverence.

In a feature article included in this issue Rodney Reed writes that our faith in this awesome God is something about which young people today need to hear and see modeled so that they can experience the peace, contentment and joy that comes with abiding in Christ. Feature writers Reed, Rick Bartlett and Wendell Loewen emphasize the gifts we Mennonite Brethren can give young people thanks to our evangelical Anabaptist distinctives. Our corporate worship communicates to young people profound truths about God-including his great love for them-and the importance they have in the life of our congregations.

''Youth is not a time of life-it is a state of mind," wrote poet Samuel Ulhnan in 1934. ''You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair."

Given what Wendell Loewen and others say about adolescence in our culture, Ullman has it backwards. Today it is the young people not the older generations that are characterized by doubt, fear and despair. They need the Good News that when we live life with Jesus Christ, regardless of our age, we are people of faith, confidence and hope. Many of our songs, hymns and spiritual songs celebrate this truth. In our worship times we celebrate the many attributes of our God. In our music, we also confess our sinfulness and our need for God's healing touch. We remember the sacrifice Jesus Christ made in bridging the gap between humanity and God, and we rejoice in a life made complete through Christ.

In worship we celebrate the wonderful news that Jesus Christ fills the God-shaped hole in our lives, and we commit ourselves to honor and obey him daily. Contemporary songwriter Kathryn Scott has captured the transformation for which many young people long. She writes, "Hungry I come to you, for I know you satisfy. I am empty, but I know your love does not run dry. So I wait for you.

So I wait for you. I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me. Jesus, you're all this heart is living for." What a beautiful picture of longing turned to contentment in Jesus Christ.

God's people have always used music to talk to God and to talk about God. And so each generation has expressed itself in the music of its time. It strikes me as significant that the worship experience, particularly the music, that is so important at our distriCt and national youth events is today also part of many of our congregations' weekly worship services. As recent research by Tabor College faculty member Bradley Vogel indicates, music in our congregations today incorporates a variety of songs, hymns and spiritual songs (see story page 30). For many congregations, worship music includes material written in the last 10 years and is led by young adults from the congregation. I am thankful that on many Sunday mornings in my church, the worship music includes familiar hymns as well as songs my children sing at church camp and our teens know from Estes 2003.

While this change has not been easy, incorporating music that speaks to the hearts of teens and young adults is one way we communicate to young people that they are important to us and that we are committed to nurturing them. And young people today need to hear that message from us in the church because many of them are not getting it any place else. In a culture where young people know doubt, fear and despair, we can offer confidence, hope and faith. Youth specialists tell us that young people today need community-they need family. This need to belong to a caring community is why church plants like The River in Phoenix emphasize relationships (see page 26).

We Mennonite Brethren, as part of our commitment to evangelical Anabaptist theology, believe that the Christian life is best lived in the context of a covenant community. To say it another way, we are a family. Regardless of our age, or anything else for that matter, in this community we each matter to God and to one another and we all have a contribution to make to the ministry of the congregation. Our times of corporate worship help reinforce this message. Worship proVides young people-and all of us- with a picture of a God big enough to shoulder our burdens and a congregation that is willing to embrace the contributions, including the music, of each generation.-CF