February 1999

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U.S.

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CONFERENCE

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BRETHREN

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FEBRUARY 1999

How do we

know it's

true?

ALSO in this issue: • Aid continues in Central America PAGE 22 • Pacific northwest church growing up PAGE 24 • General Conference restructuring forum PAGE 28

CHURCHES

INSIDE FEBRUARY

FIRST WORDS

1999

•••from the editor

T

HE BIBLE, by Webster's definition, is "the book made up of writings accepted by Christians as inspired by God and of divine authority." For Christians it is so much more-the lamp that guides our feet and the manna that satisfies our hunger in the wilderness.

This issue looks at different aspects of the Bible-its authority, its translation, its relationship to science, and our relationship to it.

Today, people question whether we can know truth or if there is a truth to know. How do we know that the Bible is true? And how do we convince a skeptical culture that the Bible is true? David Faber explores these dilemmas in our first article.

Our second article will answer some of those questions you face when you stare down the shelves of Bibles in the bookstore. Elmer Martens, an experienced Bible translator, answers the most often asked questions about Bible translations.

Questions often surround discussions involving the Bible and science. Michael Kunz explores the uneasy relationship betw.s:en the two-and reveals that the two have more in common than many of us may have thought.

In our last article, Katrina Poetker calls us to do more than read the Bible. As people of the Word, she encourages us to encounter Scripture with an eagerness and openness so as to allow the Spirit to work in us.

In the news section, we find that Mennonite Brethren across the world-from Bellingham, Wash., to Bangladeshare busy. As Mennonite Brethren in North America, we are deciding how best to organize the ministries shared between Canada and the United States. The Leader has provided a place to discuss this journey over the next few months.

We hope you will find inspiration, insight and encouragement as you read through this issue. God bless.-CA

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COMING _ FEBRUARY 21- Peace Sunday for U.S. Mennonite Brethren churches. _ MARCH 20·23 - Estes '99, the quadrennial Mennonite Brethren youth convention, Estes Park, Colo. _ APRIL 8·10 - U.S. Conference joint board meetings, Visalia, California. _JULY 8-10 - Biennial General Conference convention, Wichita, Kan. _JULY 11·14 - International Committee of Mennonite Brethren consultation, Buhler, Kan.

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Page 14

INSIDE FEBRUARY

1999

VOLUME 63, NUMBER 2

FEATURES - The Bible 4 How do we know the Bible is true?

Postmodernists tell us we can't know if the Bible is true.

Are they right? BY DAVID FABER

7 Ask a translator

EDITOR Carmen Andres

Why are there so many translations of the Bible? How are they different? Which one is best? A Bible translator answers these questions and more. BY ELMER MARTENS

BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS: Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, chair; Peggy Goertzen, Phil Neufeld, Dalton Reimer, Herb Schroeder.

11 Through a glass darkly The Bible and science-are they enemies or friends?

BY MICHAEL KUNZ

14 Wrestling with the Word As Mennonite Brethren, we are people of the Word-and we must allow it to strike us at our very core. BY KATRINA POETKER

DEPARTMENTS Forum •

by Dan Kliewer 16

Waldo Wiebe, My Grandpa

Ph'lip Side

by Philip Wiebe 18

• More Millennium Musings

Inquiring Minds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. by Marvin Hein 19 •

Y2K and Christ's Return

On the Journey

by Rose Buschman 20

• Family stories worth telling

BodyLife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 • • • • • • • •

Aid continues in Central America 22 Community Bible Fellowship growing up 24 New MBMSI position meets missionary needs 26 Internship benefits pastors and Tanzanian student 27 Special forum: General Conference restructuring 28 Tabor students initiate inner city ministry 31 MBMSI supports Mideast reconciliation 31 Church News & Notes 32

Editorial •

36

Cloud of witnesses

ART CREDITS: Page 6, 10 and 15, Cleo Photography; page 7, Leader file phone; page 11, Image Club Graphics; page 22, 23, and 27 Mennonite Central Committee; page 24-26, Community Bible Fellowship; page 31, PrintSource.

Printing by Valley Offset Printing, Valley Center, Kansas.

ASSISTANT EDITOR Connie Faber

The Christian Leader (ISSN 0009-5149) is published monthly by the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 315 5. lincoln, Hillsboro, KS 67063. The Christian Leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of their denomination, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dialog so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical/Anabaptist theological tradition. However, the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Christian Leader, the Board of Communications or the Mennonite Brethren Church.

The editors invite free-lance article submissions, essays to Forum and letters to the editor. Forum is open to members or attendees of Mennonite Brethren churches. The essays can address any issue of relevance and interest to the faith and life of the Mennonite Brethren Church and should be no longer than BOO words and include the home church and occupation of the writer. A SASE must accompany articles and forum essays.

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

WESTERN OFFICE: Carmen Andres, Editor 7531 Delta Wind Dr. Sacramento, California 95831 Phone: (916) 424-5710 E-mail: chleader@jps.net MIDWEST OFFICE: Connie Faber, Assistant Editor Box V, 315 S. lincoln Hillsboro, Kansas 67063 Phone: (316) 947-5543 Fax: (316) 947-3266 E-mail: chleader@southwind.net Subscription rates are $16 for one year, $30 for two years, and $42 for three years ($20, $38 and $54 in Canada); $1.50 per copy. All subscription requests and address changes should be sent to the Circulation Secretary at the Midwest Office. All advertising inquiries should be made to the Western Office.

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to the Christian Leader, Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Periodicals postage paid at Hillsboro, Kansas.

FEBRUARY

1999

•

3

THE

BIBLE

When people question whether we can know the truth-or if there is any truth at all-

How do we know the

Bible

is true?

BY

the morning coffee break, the topic turns to religion. You tell your coworkers that you believe Jesus died on the cross. Furthermore, Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave and he wants people to imitate his way of living. One of your colleagues asks why you believe that. "Well, because that's what the Bible says," you say.

"How do you know that the Bible is true?" she responds.

You are puzzled and a bit embarrassed. You haven't really thought much about that. You've always thought it was true. But it doesn't seem adequate to just say, "Well, my parents taught me that it was true and I've always thought it was true."

Nor does it seem right to say, "Well, when I read it, it just seems true."

You think to yourself: "What I really need is

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DAVID

FABER

some proof." So you research arguments that can prove the Bible is true. But every time you try a proof on your coworker she shoots it down.

How do we know that the Bible is true? And how can we convince a skeptical culture?

The answer to these questions helps us understand the changing views of the Bible. To answer these questions, it is helpful to take a short trip into history.

A SHORT HISTORY LESSON

The intellectual world of the late 1500's and early 1600's was in turmoil. The scientific discoveries of the renaissance made all of the traditional scientific beliefs suspect. The Protestant reformation removed the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in the areas of faith and ethics. The world was searching for a new authority to replace the fallen ones.

THE BIBLE

Enter French philosopher Rene Descartes who proposed a new authority-human reason. The idea that human reason can be the ultimate authority is often called the Enlightenment view of reason. Descartes believed that if people reason properly, all important disputes can be settled.

For Descartes, proper reasoning involves two elements. First, it requires that we only believe those things that can be proven. Proof eliminates a personal bias or opinion.

Secondly, proof requires that truth is guaranteed. We must begin the proof with assumptions that cannot in any way be doubted. If there is any doubt as to whether or not a statement is true, then it must be rejected. Any subsequent logical step must continue to guarantee truth. Since the truth of our assumptions is guaranteed, all people will agree on them. Ifwe reason logically, all people will continue to agree. Thus, if we follow these two rules, reason can be authoritative.

One of the consequences of this approach to reason is that it tended to make people very skeptical. Statements are assumed false until proven true.

For instance, if someone claims that Abraham Lincoln secretly owned slaves prior to the Civil War, you demand that he prove his claim.

start from assumptions that are not acceptable to everyone. For instance, it is impossible to prove to the satisfaction of everyone that miracles occurred.

It is always possible to give an alternative account of what happened that does not require divine intervention.

The second option-faith without reasonfailed because it is inconsistent with the biblical account of faith. Both the Old and New Testament present faith as a fundamental trust in God. This trust in God is based on the evidence of God's care for .. . faith is not his people in the past. Thus faith is not belief despite the absence of proof. belief despite Rather, faith is trust in God on the basis of the faithful, mighty acts of God in history.

Furthermore, this view that faith is the absence of opposed to reason plays right into the hands of the skeptic. It gives further evidence that Christians who hold a high proof. Rather, view of the Bible have sacrificed their rationality.

As long as the Enlightenment view of faith is trust in reason was dominant, conservative Christians were likely to be on the defensive in God on the some way. But things have changed.

FAITH AND REASON When applied to the study of the Bible, this skeptical approach has serious ramifications. Biblical claims are taken to be false until they can be proven true. And, of course, the proof must be one which will satisfy any reasonable person. For example, Paul Meier, author of A Margina/jew, suggests that a way to discover what is genuine truth in the Gospels is to lock a]ew, a Christian and an agnostic in a room and not allow them out until they reach unanimous agreement on which events really happened. Needless to say, very few biblical events or doctrines would pass this test.

Conservative Christians tended to respond to this challenge in one of two ways. Some Christians spent a lot of time and energy attempting to prove that the Bible and Christian doctrines are true.

Think, for instance, of the repeated attempts to find Noah's ark. Other Christians redefined faith so that faith involves believing something even though there is no proof for it. Faith came to be seen as opposed to reason.

However, neither of these options really worked. The first option failed because none of the proposed proofs of the truth of the Bible met the Enlightenment standard for reason. All of the proposed proofs leave some room for doubt or they

STRANDED IN POSTMODERNISM basis of the In the last couple of decades, the Enlightenment view of reason has come under attack. It turns out that very few faithful, mighty things can be proven with the standards proposed in the Enlightenment. For acts of God in instance, it is impossible to prove any historical claims. I cannot prove George Washington was the first president of the history.

United States. It is possible that there was a massive conspiracy to make believe Washington was the first president when really it was Martha Washington. The Enlightenment view of reason demands that the truth of our assumptions is guaranteed, but it is always possible to imagine that people were lying. So we cannot rely on the testimony of anyone.

The most well publicized response to the fall of the Enlightenment ideal has been to claim that all truth is relative. Each individual determines her own truth. Since we create truth for ourselves, no one can criticize what we believe. Some Christians have found this approach-sometimes called postmodern-appealing because Christians no longer need to be on the defensive. Since nobody can prove anything, we do not have to feel bad that we cannot prove the Bible to be true. We believe the FEBRUARY

1999

•

5

One of the most reliable means that we have of acquiring beliefs is the testimony of other people.

I.

Bible and we need not apologize for believing it.

Ultimately, however, the post-modern approach doesn't work either. The postmodern view accepts the Enlightenment view of reason and takes the skepticism inherent in it to a logical conclusion. The Bible cannot be proven, but neither can anything else. Since nothing can be proven, all of the failed views are equal. So the Bible is no worse off than any other approach to making life meaningful. The postmodern view is analogous to a group of people being stranded on a desert island. Each of them knows what is needed to be rescued. However, no one has what is needed, nor does anyone have any hope of getting what is needed. Hence, each person should do what he can to make himself comfortable.

This view undermines the universal demand of the Christian gospel. The good news ofJesus Christ is that he is the way in which all people can be rescued. For Christians who believe that the Bible is God's authoritative revelation to humanity, it is unacceptable to simply say that the Bible is true for us. We must claim that the Bible is true for all people in all situations.

HOW WE KNOW TRUTH A more promising response to the demise of the Enlightenment view of reason has been developed by a number of Christian philosophers over the past two decades. These philosophers (as well as some non-Christian philosophers) have suggested that the Enlightenment view of reason is itself mistaken.

The requirement of proof with a guarantee of truth is tOO strong. Since the Enlightenment view entails skepticism about nearly everything, it actually fails to resolve any of the intellectual disputes it was meant to address.

Philosophers have suggested a different account of when it is appropriate to believe something.

Instead of proof, these philosophers suggest belief should be the result of a reliable truth producing mechanism-such as personal testimony. In general, people tell the truth. Furthermore, if a number of independent sources tell the same story, the tes-

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timony of those people is probably reliable. Thus, we can reasonably believe that George Washington was the first president of the United States because there are reliable reports that he was the first president.

One of the most reliable means that we have of acquiring beliefs is the testimony of other people.

Many of my beliefs about the world around me are things that my parents or other reliable adults told me. For instance, I believe that the earth orbits the sun because teachers told me it did. One of the reasons I believe that the Bible is true is that my parents and other reliable people told me that it was true. Furthermore, when I read the Bible, I hear the voice of God as I read it.

Philosopher Stephen Evans describes die situation well: "[T]hrough the person ofJesus I hear God question me, make promises to me, give commands to me. As I think through those questions, promises and commands, they begin to make sense of my life in a way I have never known. I gain a sense of who I am and who I should become, and I find myself gripped by a conviction that the story of Jesus that I have encountered is true."

The story that the Bible tells resonates with my own experience and seems to accurately describe the world in which I live. This "connection" that I feel to God and to my world is, in the words of the Swiss reformer John Calvin, the "inner testimony of the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is also a reliable source of beliefs. Hence, I know that the Bible is true because the Holy Spirit convicts me of its truth.

Think back to your friend at work. It turns out that the answers that you wanted to give her at the water cooler were the right ones after all. The testimony of your parents, pastor, Sunday school teachers and others is reliable. Similarly, the Scriptures seem true to you because the Holy Spirit is guiding you.

Your friend might not be convinced by these answers. Reason is not going to settle all disputes as the Enlightenment ideal hoped. Like you, she needs the testimony of a reliable friend and the testimony of the Holy Spirit to convince her of the truth of the Scriptures. •

David Faber is associate professor ofphilosophy and religious studies at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan. He is a member ofthe Ebenfeld MB Church, also in Hillsboro.

THE

BIBLE

You need a new Bible. So you go to the bookstore, but standing in front of shelves of Bibles is overwhelming. The questions start to form. Why are there so many? How are they different? How do you know which one to choose?

trans ator BY

ELMER

Elmer Martens has worked on four different Bible translations and has heard all these questions before.

He agreed to tell us what questions he hears the most-and give us the answers.

Q

Why are there so many

Bible translations?

For at least three reasons.

First, the English language changes. tbe New York Times reports that 1000 English words have changed meaning in the last 300 years. Translators work on new translations to keep up. For example, the polite form "Thou" fell into disuse, so the NIQV adopted "You" in 1979. The REB and the revised or updated editions of RSV and NASB also use "You" when addressing God. Secondly, new information is discovered, largely in archaeology. Since the IQV was published more than 5000 new sources of information that bear on the Bible have been found, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Found in Qumran in 1947, the scrolls were a thousand years older than the earliest Hebrew manuscripts known at that date. While these Qumran scrolls corresponded with the text of manuscripts which had been used for Bible translations up to that point, in a few instances the Qumran scrolls had a better preserved text.

Thirdly, the audience can shape a translation.

The CEV is promoted as "user-friendly," and "lis-

tened to with enjoyment and appreciation." 7be Living Bible, produced by Ken Taylor, was initially an attempt to help his children understand the Bible. Children are the audience for the NIRV.

Q

How does the NASB differ from the NIV? What theories lie behind modera translations?

The Lockman Foundation, which undelWcote the translation of the NASB, insisted on a translation "as litecal as possible," attempting to follow the word order of the original language where possible. This theory, known as "formal equivalency, " lies behind translations such as NASB, IQV, NIQV, RSV and NRSV. Attention is given

MARTENS

THE

BIBLE

to individual terms in the original, even representing the many conjunctions like "and."

Great effort is made to choose the best single English word. The sentence order of the original is preserved, and phrases are kept in the same order as in the original language if at all possible.

Both the NIV and the NLT followed a different translation theory, known as "dynamic equivalence" or "functional equivalence." An advocate for this theory, Eugene Nida said, "A translation should be the closest natural equivalent of the message." The translators attempt to catch the thought and intent of the original and then represent these in the English, even if that means departing from the participle or verbal tense or sentence sequence of the original.

Distantly related to functional-equivalence translations are paraphrases, such as The Living Bible or The Message by Eugene Peterson. These one-person attempts have a fascination partly because they are so very freewheeling.

Ironically, the RSV and NRSV-produced under the auspices of the National Council of Churches which is know for its "liberal" tilt-are really more "conservative" translations than the NIV or the NLT. The RSV and NRSV adhere to the older "formal equivalency" word-for-word notion while the NIV opts for a thought-for-thought notion. However, neither theory is wrong. The difference lies in what scholars think should happen in a translation.

Whether it is to be used in public reading or private study also affects principles of translation. And keep in mind that no translation is exclusively "formally equivalent" or "functionally equivalent."

Q

What is the translation process?

It varies. King James appointed 54 persons

to make a new translation, which took seven years. The RSV was the work of 32 scholars with an advisory board of 40. Some 70 evangelicals, committed to the position that the Bible is inerrant in the original copies, produced the NASB. In putting together this translation, a team of scholars prepared a first draft and met in a committee to arrive at consensus that in turn was processed by a revision committee.

One of the first translations to make public within the covers of the Bible the names of the translators was the NLT. It lists about 90 scholars. Two or three scholars submitted translations to a coordinator who compiled a composite translation which was then processed by a larger committee, and further processed by an executive-type committee.

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Q

What is to be said about the current gender-inclusive language dispute?

A loaded question which raises at least three issues.

First, should translators take account of the current changes in English-speaking societies? I think so, as do translators of the RSV, NRSVand NLT. Today, more and more "man" seems inappropriate when all humans are meant, and "brothers" strikes readers as odd in cases when all believers are intended. So, instead of "I beseech you brethren" (Rom. 12: 1 KJV), one version reads "dear Christian friends" (NLl) and another, "brothers and sisters" (NRSV). A footnote in each informs the reader that in the original the word is "brothers." But not all translators agree, including those of the NASB and NIV. Differing positions on this issue is one of the reasons for some of the new translations.

A second issue then becomes how expressions like "man" or "brothers" should be translated.

Sometimes it is okay to reach for the plural. Take, for example, the text of NRSV's "Do not let those who are wise boast in their wisdom" rather than the KJV'S "Let not a man boast in his wisdom" Ger. 9:23). Sometimes, as in Romans 12:1 mentioned above, "brothers and sisters" carries the sense of the original well. Another example is Psalm 8:4"What are mortals that you care for them" (NRSV and similarly NLl) instead of "What is man?" (KJV).

Some feel, as I do, that something is lost rather than gained by the newer rendering, though it is politically correct.

Translators have always wrestled with these matters, but today translators are trying to lay down principles for gender-related translation matters. There is strong debate about policies governing the use of common or inclusive gender in instances where both genders are in view in the original. A move in the gender-neutral translation direction by NM brought volleys of protest led by World magazine and the publishers withdrew the translation. Last year, Don Carson of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School entered the fray with his book, The Inclusive Language Debate: A Plea for Realism, in which he urged neither slavish English translations of "brother" and the like, nor a total disregard for gender specific situations.

Another gender-inclusive issue centers on what should be done about the pronouns for God, who is beyond human sexuality but whom both Hebrew and Greek designate with the masculine pronoun "he." There is some movement, largely by

THE

BIBLE Translators have always' -wrestled with [gender related) matters, but_ today translators are t

those highly sensitive to feminist concerns, to remove any masculine pronouns for God. However, none of the well-known translations have opted for such changes.

Q

lowed by the KJV and then the NLT. The KJV, with its quaint cadences, appeals to persons wanting a Bible "just like my parents had." The NIV has established itself as the standard pew Bible in many evangelical churches and is the version of choice for private readers. The NLT, despite its recent release, is in strong demand, perhaps because of its style and readability. The NRSV was not in the top ten.

Though much has been made of the fact that the work on the NIV and NLT was done by evangelical scholars, generally it is expertise in language that matters most. The translators of the NRSV are not all evangelicals, but they are highly respected scholars in their own right. Still, a few word choices in the NRSV are unfortunate, even unacceptable. Because of sensitivity to gender issues, the NRSV renders the key passage about the Son of Man in Daniel as "I saw one like a human being" (7:13) instead of "like a son of man" (NIV).

An uninitiated reader using the NRSV would not connect Jesus' self-designation as "Son of Man" with the Old Testament. It is also true that some translations, such as NEB, make changes that have no textual support.

Q

Which version is the best?

That depends! This is like asking what vehicle is the best to own. If you want to haul building materials once in a while, then a hatchback or truck is what you need. If you want to travel long distances in comfort, then consider a luxury car. Similarly if you are into serious study, choose NASB or NRSV. If it is a spiritual cruise you desire, the NIV and NLT are recommended options.

Certainly for accuracy, translations by committees are preferred to those done by individuals.

The NASB stays very close to the original wording and is highly recommended for study, though its "woodenness" in places can be annoying and its use of "Thee" and "Thou" (at least in earlier editions) can be bothersome. I find the RSVand NRSV, which are also committed to "formal equiva-

l",-

trying to lay down

What translations are currently popular? Why?

eBA Marketplace reports that the NIV is the best-selling English version, which is fol-

n

lency," quite satisfactory for study purposes.

For devotional reading or to get the gist of a passage or book, the NIV or the NLT serve well. Some prefer the NLT because the vocabulary is simpler and the flow of English is better. For a "church" Bible one might use the NIV or the NRSV, which generally reads better orally.

Q

I s th ere any

related translation matters. There is strong debate about policies governing the use of common or inclusive gender in instances where both genders are in view in the original.

end to the proliferation of translations?

Possibly not. In the last 40 years at least 28 new English translations have been made available. The NASB has the Update edition. Work has begun on an update version for the NLT in which the prophetic books, now printed in prose form, will be put into poetic form as in the original Hebrew.

There are at least two ways to look at this multiplication of versions. Negatively, one has to wonder about the luxury in the western world to have so many options (not to mention the monies entailed) while people in many parts of the world, such as the Nanerige in Burkino Faso, have yet to read the Bible in their own language. On the other hand, it is exciting that the demand for Bibles continues and that publishers are providing translations.

It may be a cliche, but the challenge lies more in living out the claims of the Bible, than in offering yet another translation. • Elmer A Martens participated in four translations: NASB, NKJ, International Children's Bible and NLT. He bas taught Old Testament at the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary since 1970 and is the author ofseveral books, including a commentary on Jeremiah (Herald Press, 1986) in the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series of which he is also the Old Testament editor.

FEBRUARY

1999.

9

THE

BIBLE

Helping Youth Choose a Bible

BY RYAN AHLGRIM AND LANI WRIGHT

Which yenion is best for youth?

None is perfect. All have to make choices as to how to translate. Each will be better on some verses and not so good on other verses. As a general rule, translations by single authors should be used more for private reading and study. For public reading, use translations agreed to by a group of translators officially appointed by the church. For ease of understanding, simple paraphrases such as Today's English Version (better known as the Good News Bible) or the more recent Contemporary English Version (CEV) works hest.

But for serious study, a more exact translation such as the New International Version (NIV) or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is better. If your youth are already doing fine with a more exact translation, do not undermine this advantage by switching to a paraphrase.

An Incomplete Guide to

Popular Bible 'lranslations NIV (New International Version): Completely new translation based on the most reliable manuscripts available.

Not a revision of earlier versions.

Written at a grade 7 level, by Protestant interdenominational team of translators (1978).

JgV (Kingjames Version): First Protestant authOriZed (by King James I) version. Known for beauty of its language.

Difficult to read in 17th century English (published 1611), grade 12 level.

NBJV (New Kingjames Version): Modern update of KJV. Traditional language without the "thee"s and "thou"s.

Updated words, but choppy language since it retains the 17th-century sentence structure (1982).

NRSV (New Revised Standard Version): Update of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). National Council of Churches sponsored, with modem language that replaces masculine pronouns where both male and female are clearly intended. Accepted as an accurate alternative to

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KJV. Asemicolloquial style written at grade 10 level.

Excels in accuracy and using gender-neutral references when appropriate.

NASB (New American Standard Bible): Sponsored by the Lockman Foundation. A respected formal translation, high on accuracy, based on Greek New Testament superior to the one available to the KJV translators. Often used as a.study Bible. Grade 11 level (1971).

TIN U"'. . ~ Paraphrase that used the American Standard Bible as its text. Originally intended for personal devotion only. Sometimes presents debatable interpretation. Grade 8 level (1972).

600ttI N.",. mw- (Today's English Version): Sponsored by American Bible Society. Not for thorough study.

RNBB (Revised New English Bible): Used the expertise of 47 British sCholars, and allows for ch.anges irt language and new dJscoverieslknowfedge.

J....lf1;f8 lIIbIfn Translated by Roman Catholic scholars.

NW SIiiuIy ..",.: Has notes and concordance for important words, and more than 70 chatts and maps.

LV-~'" (NlV): Has more than 100 profiles of -aible people, book introductions, application and explanatory notes, maps, charts, and diagrams.

TIN N"", SIfMIfmI BU1Ift: Ava.llable in NIV, KJV and NRSV, with reading plans.

TIN THIt . . ." Bib,.: New International Version.

NIV YotIIInMIIe DnoIIOIUII BiWfn With subject index, reading plan, "Hot Topic" and "Wide World of the Bible" pages. • 'Ibis articlefirst appeared in YouthGuide, a Faith and Life Pres$ publtcatiQn. Ryan Ahlgrimpastors First Mennonite Church in Indianapolis., Indiana. Lant Wright is editor ofYoutb.Guide.

HROUGH A GLASS DARKLY BY

MICHAEL

KUNZ

The Bible and science seem to have an uneasy relationship-but perhaps the two have more in common than we know. y second-story bedroom windows face east. Between my neighbors' trees, I sometimes catch the sunrise silhouette of the Sierra Nevada, a range of mountains 60 miles distant. On fine days when the air is clear, I can see the beautiful details of ridges and rocks above darker, forested slopes. But the valley haze and smog often hide the view, and I content myself with hopes of future hikes to peaks and trails.

The Bible speaks of mountains. An early morning reading can transport me to Mount Sinai's holy places or the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before his closest friends. My readings also remind me that the mountains belong to God, the Maker of heaven and earth. What we do upon them or below them may please or displease Him. Though the mountains look stable and unshakable, they are not. God raises mountains and casts them down. Both Job and David declare that the mountains quake and tremble because of God's anger Oob 9 and Psalm 18).

Perhaps God was very angry in 1872. In March of that year the Sierra Nevada shook terribly.

Twenty-seven people died as the small town of Lone Pine crumbled. Naturalist John Muir looked up to the cliffs of Yosemite Valley and watched mighty Eagle Rock come crashing to the floor of the valley. Geologists say that the southern Sierra rose more than 10 feet that day.

Why did the earth shake so violently that day?

Had the people of Lone Pine committed some great sin? Job's friends would say yes, but others would insist that the lesson of the book ofJob is the inscrutable nature of God, who may act in ways and for reasons beyond our ken. God has a habit of shaking not only the earth, but our theologies as well.

Science explains earthquakes in terms of faults, elastic rebound and plate tectonics. Continents float and drift about like slices of banana in Jell-O that has yet to set. It is sometimes a bumpy ride on top of a continent, and earthquakes just happen.

Scientific explanations say nothing about God and His anger, or holy places and idols.

FEBRUARY

1999.11

An Untenable Divorce Indeed, science texts say little or nothing about so many things of importance. A science textbook index gives no page number for love, mercy, justice, forgiveness or salvation-while the Bible concordance is thin on things like DNA, cancer, quarks and atoms.

Such observations have led some to argue Many that relating the Bible to science is futile.

They insist the two can neither support nor times, the conflict because science deals with the material universe while the Bible concrucial issue cerns itself with the spiritual. It is an attractive option because it sets science seems to be the free from religious agendas and insulates the Bible and faith from scientific authority of the challenges.

Unfortunately, this divorce is not so easily made. Both my Bible and Bible versus science texts speak of mountains. also speak of seas and rivers, the authority They plants and animals, the earth, the sun and the stars. And they both of science, speak of human beings, who are inseparably physical and spiritual.

In the midst of the spiritual lessons when the of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus real issue is declares that God feeds the birds of the air, sends the rain, and causes the sun to rise on the evil and the the reliability good.

Sciences talk about such things-food chains, cold fronts and of our interpreta- orbital rotation.

tion of Scripture

Interpreting Scripture & Understanding Nature Science and the Bible are also interand the reliabilitwined in history. In the seventeenth century, early scientists believed that ty of our under- since Scripture presented a rational God, the world around them would also be logstanding of ical. So they sought to understand the mind of God by discerning his methods in nature. creation.

Galileo turned his telescope toward the heavens and became convinced that the earth was not the fixed anchor of creation. In opposition to the reigning science and religion of his day, he argued that the earth was just one of several planets spinning like a top as it cycled around the sun. When others argued that Scripture says the sun circles a stationary earth, Galileo held that God accommodated His message in the Bible to the cultural understandings of the day. For Galileo, this did

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not compromise the Bible because "Scripture teaches how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go." Galileo said God wrote two books: the book of SCripture and the book of nature.

Galileo later recanted his beliefs before the Inquisition, and that story has often been used as the classic example of the conflict between science and religion. But this conflict was not one between the Bible and science, but between people who differed in their understandings of the Bible and Science. Astronomers with opposing views also criticized Galileo. And had Galileo not been so adamant in espousing his own interpretation of the Bible, he might have escaped papal censure.

Many times, the crucial issue seems to be the authority of the Bible versus the authority of science, when the real issue is the reliability of our interpretation of Scripture and the reliability of our understanding of nature.

Often, science may be a challenge to human self-centeredness rather than an assault on God. Galileo shook the earth out of the center of creation, and that unsettled people. Just as growing children painfully learn that the world does not revolve around them, it required a measure of humility to accept that the heavens did not revolve around earth.

Through a Glass Darkly

Our understanding of nature has changed dramatically since Galileo's day. We live in a time of scientific theories that boggle human minds and stretch human comprehension to the limits. Billions of galaxies extend the universe to an unimaginable size. Subatomic particles are so small they make molecules appear as mountains. The trillion cells of a human body are each packed with three billion letters of DNA. Billions of nerve cells within our brains have a complexity of circuitry that make the most powerful computers simple by comparison.

Such intricacies and complexities are as difficult to discern as the smoggy-day details of the Sierra Nevada viewed from my bedroom window.

To make the reality beyond our gaze more visible to our minds, science constructs models. The behavior of subatomic particles is so foreign to our everyday experience that an atom is modeled as a miniature sun with tiny planets whirling around it. Sometimes to capture something of the unseen reality, science even uses two opposing models. Light is like a wave, but it is also like a small particle. Models are essential to understanding, but we mustn't confuse them with the reality they seek to represent.

Trying to capture in images something vastly beyond our comprehension is not unique to science. Such is the central task of the Bible. How can the infinite God be made known to finite humanity? Among other things, the Bible models God as a father, lover and judge. Jesus models the kingdom beyond our view in earthly parables.

Theological concepts like atonement or the trinity model part of the mystery of unseen reality. The incarnation becomes the ultimate model of God revealing his essential nature. What was hidden becomes visible to human eyes.

Just as in science, we must beware of confusing the biblical models of unseen reality with the reality itself. God is father, but He is more. Jesus provides us with the most perfect vision of God we are capable of seeing from this vantage of earthly life, but there is more to God than even the Bible's story ofJesus reveals.

Can Science Prove the Bible?

Many Christians, when considering the complexity and intricacy of creation, are inspired to awe. The Creator, far from being threatened, is expanded.

Others go further, making apologetic arguments for the existence of God from recent findings of science. The complexity of a single cell seems to declare that no natural process could give rise to such intricacy, but requires intelligent design.

Rather than view the universe as eternal, astronomers point to a beginning of time and space in a long ago "big-bang." Physicists acknowledge that changing any of a dozen basic physical constants ever so slightly would alter the universe so vastly different that no life would be possible. The universe appears to be fine-tuned to support life.

This seems encouraging to those seeking scientific validation for a biblical faith. However, there is a danger in calling upon science to support the Bible because science does not remain constant.

The famous mathematician Laplace proposed solutions to many previously unsolved riddles of the solar system. He is reputed to have dismissed Napoleon's query about God with the response, "I have no need of that hypothesis." When belief in God is justified by the things in nature that cannot be currently explained, then every new discovery of science becomes an excuse for atheism.

The Limits of Science While science is remarkably adept at doing many things, there are seemingly simple things

which-due to the complexity of the universe-it does poorly. We can launch rockets and decode DNA, but we cannot predict the precise weather a week from Tuesday.

But the greatest limitations of science are the questions it cannot begin to address. Science explains how the smog fortDS that clouds my view of the mountains and tells me the damCertainly age it inflicts upon crops and forests and human health, but it cannot answer what there are is the right or wrong thing to do about it.

Science describes in careful detail each aspects of human gene. But explaining how to alter those genes does not answer science that why or when or if it should be done.

It cannot tell me whether I should challenge our love or hate, or who or what I should love or hate. The glossaries understanding of science books remain void of any mention of faith, hope and love. of the Bible.

Certainly there are aspects of science that challenge our underBut rather standing of the Bible. But rather than quickly concluding that than quickly either science or the Bible is in error, we might ask if it is God or concluding human pride that is being challenged. Are alternative interpretathat either tions of nature or the Bible reasonable? Is it the model or culturscience or allanguage the Bible uses that is at issue, or the reality beyond our the Bible is in view? Science is full of examples of established theories later rejecterror, we might ed, but the Bible is also replete with stories of God's people feeling fairly ask if it is God or certain they had Him figured out only to have God upset their confident convictions. human pride Both science and SCripture seem to echo the words of Paul: "Now we see that is being through a glass darkly; then we shall see face to face. Now I understand in part, challenged. then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood." When I hike those mountains I view from my window, I shall see more clearly its rocks, trees, rivers and birds. And in my backpack there is room for both science books and the Bible. •

Michael Kunz teaches science at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif. He is a member ofButler Avenue MB Church, also in Fresno.

FEBRUARY

1999.

13

ean

live, fill re re in ny commari s and obeys them who loves me. He who loves ved by my Father. and I too' and show myself to him."

Judas (not Judas Iscariot) s ,rd, why do you intend to ~ o us and not to the world')" replied, "If anyone loves me my teaching. My Father will'l. we will come to him and make' h him. 24He who does not lov obey my teaching. T . are not my own: they b he Bible is a strange book. ho sent me. this I have spoken w It is a collection of many different kinds of writIt the Counselor, the ings-Ietters, songs, proverbs, parables, stories, : Father will send in m I all things and will re histories, and God's words given through Ig 1 have said to you prophets. These writings were composed over h you; my peace I giv to you as the world give hundreds of years in cultural contexts very differhearts be troubled and 'I am. coming back to you. 'f ~ould be glad that I lIlT' or the Father is grea' 1 you now befor ,,' n it docs happen' >t speak with YOU' e of this world i )n me, .'Ibut th(' 'e the Father r Father has c. : now; let u' I heard me say.

:e and th( am the I the ga' n 1>" f

ent from our own. In these texts we learn of a God who is creator and sustainer of all, who calls out a particular people and forms them into a people of God through covenant. We encounter the incarnation of God's Son in the person of]esus the Christ and the salvation he brings to us in his death and resurrection. We see into the life of the earliest fol-

, \

times we find them boring-as soon as we start to read, it is as if sleep calls us irresistibly. We feel that we know the stories and principles. The parables hold no surprises for us because we know their endings even before we begin. And, for some of us, the Bible has become painful to read because we have experienced it used in oppressive and abusive ways.

Sometimes we relate to the Bible in such ways because we have domesticated the Word of God. We think we know what it says, and we are content to use the Bible to confirm our world view, our theology and our practices. We use it as if it were a

Wrestling with tneWord As people of the Word, we must allow Scripture to strike us at our very core.

BY

KATRINA

lowers ofJesus as they spread the gospel and become the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We discover the ultimate victory of God at the end of this world.

Although different people wrote these texts over many years, together they paint the cosmos, the ultimate universe in which we live. Inside this story and in its individual parts we encounter the living God and find out who we are.

The Bible is strange in another way. A person with no previous knowledge of the Bible or the Judeo-Christian tradition can hear the words of God in the Bible and encounter Jesus Christ. Yet for hundreds of years people have studied this book without exhausting its riches or defining its meaning. What a mystery.

We are a people of the Word. As Mennonite Brethren, we hold the Bible to be authoritative for our lives and faith. We experience God in and through these texts. Yet many of us don't read or study the Bible. We carry guilt for spending less time with the Scriptures than we "should." We have experienced their power to cut through our defenses and lay our hearts open, but at other

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POETKER

rulebook without regard to its forms and larger contexts. Or, we feel that understanding the Bible is so complex that it is beyond us.

These and other elements construct barriers between the Bible and us. How do we get beyond this impasse so that we can discover the richness of the Scriptures?

There are many ways to read the Bible and interpret its meaning for us today. Books abound on how to study the Bible. No matter what method we choose, however, we can make three commitments that help us focus our journeys as we read and interpret the Scriptures.

• We should read with our hearts and our minds. A student recently told me that there is danger in reading the Bible academically-that danger is that we forget to read it as God's Word, as spiritually alive. He argues that we should read with our hearts, perhaps more than our heads. Then there are those who argue that to read it with only our hearts is to be blind to presuppositions and assumptions that we bring to the text. Just as Paul asserts in regard to prayer and song, we should study with our minds and our spirits (1 Cor. 14: 13-17).

But even that is insufficient. When asked for the most important l;ommandment, Jesus answered that the Lord our God is one, and we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength (Mark 12:28-30). When we come to the Scriptures with this whole commitment, God will open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. God leads us further in the practice of what we understand.

We want to be radically open, to have the core of our being and our understanding challenged.

The Bible does not separate the spiritual from the rest of life. Politics, economics, social relations, our psyche, our relation to the earth-all of this is inextricably linked to our relationship with God. Are we aware of our social location when we read?

In a global sense, and even within our society, we are often the rich and powerful of the world. How does Jesus speak to us in that context? Engaging the Scriptures with all of who we are and what we have is an exciting and radical act.

• We should attempt to understand the Scriptures in their original contexts. Although the Bible speaks to us across the centuries and cultural spaces, we are more likely to correctly interpret the Scriptures when we work to understand their original meanings. This serves as an anchor to guide our interpretation and prevents us from making the Bible mean whatever we want.

The cultural worlds of the New Testament differed significantly from our own and we are in danger of misinterpreting the Scriptures when we . ignore those gaps in history and culture. As an example, the Mediterranean world perceived people as embedded in groups-family, church, religion and ethnicity-whereas in North America we see ourselves more as individuals. When Ephesians says that Christ is our peace, we often take that to

refer to our inner peace. The larger context of that letter reveals that this peace is the peace between Gentiles and Jews, two irreconcilable social groups. This awareness of the cultural differences helps us to see how much of the New Testament speaks to the second greatest commandment-to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).

• We should read the Scriptures in community and in conversation with the global church. Anabaptists have long understood the centrality of community interpretation of the Scriptures. In community we can hold each other accountable and prevent idiosyncratic interpretations. Conversations among people with different perspectives around the Scriptures enrich our own understanding. There is wisdom in the body. Today, we are able to enlarge our community to followers of Christ around the world.

The Church is established and growing allover the world. We in North America are no longer at the center. Christian believers, theologians and teachers in many parts of the globe have much to teach us. It is the questions we bring to the Bible that drive our search and constrain our findings. Hearing the questions of others often opens new windows for our own journey.

We have a treasure in our midst, one whose riches we often miss. The Bible is not a static book, one which we can ever know in its fullness. Let us read, wrestle and open our lives to its transformingpower. •

Engaging the Scriptures with all of who we are and what we have is an exciting and radical act.

Katrina Poetker teaches biblical and religious studies, and anthropology at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif.

Practical ways to discover the richness of the Word • Pray for God's Spirit to guide us and open us to hear God's Word radically.

• Read whole texts instead of sections isolated from their larger contexts. Read the Gospel of Mark in one sitting. Think about what the author is trying to do in this text. Who is Jesus in the eyes of Mark?

• Spend time with the text itself. What is the text really saying? What might it have meant in its original context? What might it mean for us today? How can we put it into practice? Then do it. Through the movement between our study and our actions, the Spirit brings the Word to life.

• Form study groups with people from different cultures and traditions. We can help each other to see our blind spots.

• Use the multiple tools and resources available for understanding the cultures, forms of writing, languages and histories of the different books-Bible dictionar-

ies, books on how to study the Bible, commentaries, and books and articles on particular texts and themes.

But put your first energies into the biblical writings themselves.

• Keep track of what you learn. It is amazing how quickly we forget.

FEBRUARY

1999

•

15

READER

ESSAYS

Waldo Wiebe, My Grandpa

H

e stomps his feet on the front porch, knocking off the snow, then boldly enters the house and greets me with, "Danny!, Danny!, Danny! How's my grandson?" I get a big bear hug and feel his cheek brush like sandpaper against my neck. His black derby is still on his head and his trench coat smells like filling stations and fast food. He and Grandma just drove 600 miles to see me, again. He laughs with teary eyes, steps back to take another look and says, "Danny, Danny, how are you getting along spiritually? How are you and God getting along?"

That's my grandpa, Waldo Wiebe, who passed away just two short years ago on Friday, February 14, 1997.

His funeral was on the following Wednesday, the 19th. The sun was shining and it was an unusually warm day for February as we walked into the Hillsboro MB Church to meet with the rest of the family. After greeting a few of my cousins I made my way downstairs to the back of the sanctuary. I appreciated all of the photos tacked to a small bulletin board next to the open casket.

He was pictured smiling with his grandchildren and posing with others. He's easy to find in a group photo-usually the one with the shiniest dome. These traits tend to be handed down from the mother's side, and I am reminded of him every morning as I comb out from the enlarging "thin" spot that requires two mirrors for me to see clearly.

I walked back past the casket, and heading back to the group upstairs, I met Grandma. She said in a strong and cheerful voice, "Did you see Grandpa?"

I answered, "Yes." But I was thinking, "That's not my Grandpa."

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

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Waldo Wiebe, veteran pastor; evangelist and district minister, died February 14, 1997, at the age of83. During hisyears ofministry, Wiebe pastored Mennonite Brethren churches in California, the Midwest, Montana and North Dakota. At the time ofhis death, Wiebe was serving as associate pastor ofRapid City Bible Fellowship Church, a congregation he helpedplant in the late 1970s. He served as the roving U.S. Conference evangelistfrom 1958 to 1963. At age 65, Wrebe became thefirst district minister ofthe Central District Conference, serving the districtfrom 19781990. His grandson, Dan Kliewer, wrote this essay.

The one who had a three-ring binder-full of pictures of people he has led to the Lord-that's my Grandpa! He was a constant salesman. I think he must have had something like a four-foot rule. Whenever he came within four feet of anybody he would make an attempt to start a conversation and find out whether or not they had made a decision for Christ. People knew he was genuine and that he truly cared. That three-ring binder is proof.

When we were all seated-family toward the front of the sanctuary-and they wheeled the casket in and placed it right in front of us, I thought, "That's not my Grandpa."

The one who shared with me about his awesome love, both for his first wife, Amanda (who died in 1964), and his wife, June (Grandma to me)-now that's my Grandpa. I casually mentioned something about the power of prayer as we were passing in the hallway at my parents' house in Reedley one night, and the most intimate and caring words began to flow! In just a few short minutes he was able to convey to me that the women in his life were like giants to him in regards to prayer. It was bedtime and others in the house were on their way to sleep. So he was whispering to me about the strength of their prayers and the incredible results. He told me how blessed he felt to be able to share his life with them and see the power of prayer in their lives.

LEA D E R

As I helped slide the large casket into the back of the hearse, I thought, "That's not my Grandpa."

But the one who knew how short every minute of every day really was, the one who always wanted to focus on what was important, the one who didn't take time for small talk but jumped right in asking, "How's your relationship with Jesus?"-that's my Grandpa. I always knew that he would ask. He didn't mind putting me on the spot. He didn't mind taking me out of my comfort zone. He cared too much to let another moment slide without getting to the point, the only point that mattered, my relationship with God. As the casket lowered into the grave, I thought, "That's not my Grandpa."

But the one who always hung on every word of SCripture as if it were the most precious treasure, to be polished and shared because everyone deserved to share in the joy of experiencing real truth, that's my Grandpa. Every word came alive to him and every single word of Scripture was wonderful and beautiful and shining brilliantly with the light of God's wisdom and love.

How appropriate that such a loving and faithful follower, one who shared God's love with so many, with so much emotion and urgency, would pass away on Valentine's Day. That's my Grandpa!

:·

"

.

..... ~

. .

~ ,

.

~~ ~p.:. / ~........""'-:::-P ~

Early this century, Mennonites came together to assist others half a world away.

When these refugees came into their midst, they discovered sisters and brothers, neighbors and friends, and new expressions of God's love.

~,j

Do not neglect to show hospitality to

strangers, for by doing that some have entertained

angels without knowing it.

Ana Gloria and her daughter fled the death squads in EI Salvador. Today she works as a farm hand, trying to make a better life for her family.

Hebrews 13:2

At the end of the century, we again face the challenge of ministering to those, like Ana Gloria, looking for new lives in our communities. And again we face the opportunity to receive God's messengers in the form of strangers.

Mennonite Central Committee seeks to assist Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations and individuals who want to welcome the newcomer. To learn more about Ana Gloria's story, contact MCC and request a copy of Between Two Worlds, a new MCC video on immigration.

Mennonite Central Committee Mennonite Central Committee 21 South 12th Street PO Box 500 Akron, PA 17501-0500 (717) 859-1151

MCCCanada 134 Plaza Drive

Russian refugees, circa 1920.

Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9 (204) 261-6381 toll free (888) 622-6337

PH'UP SIDE BY

PHILIP

WIEBE

More Millennium Musings There is an aura ofpanic andfatalism surrounding Y2K that is neither healthy nor helpful.

I

don't know exactly what's going to happen

richly provides...." (1 Tim. 6:17).

With that in mind, I'd at 12:01 AM, January 1, 2000, and the days like to add a few antifollowing. As I've written in this space Armageddon musings of my own to the millennial specubefore, there is no little speculation about the lation: potential effects of "Y2K," the computer bug that • There won't be anymayor may not cause widespread interruptions thing close to a total systems failure. It puzzles me in information, distribution, utility, financial, that some people seem to and other services. Most of us are probably dread Y2K as the beginning informed about the situation by now-that many of worldwide blackouts and mass hysteria. That's simply older software programs and "embedded" comnot reality. The majority of puters (in VCRs, security systems, and the like) potentially affected systems could fail if not fixed before the fateful date. have already been fixed and tested, and even conservaOn one hand, the growing anxiety tive estimates have 80 percent of the about the problem isn't such a bad problem corrected by the time January 1 rolls around. That doesn't mean serithing. People seem motivated to do something about it. Much of this motious planning shouldn't be undertaken for the unknown 20 percent, but it vation appears to be honorable and well-intentioned; nobody wants to see does mean that apocalyptic prognostisociety break down or people get hurt. cations should be met with skepticism at best.

On the other hand, there is also an aura of panic and fatalism surround• The cure may be worse than ing Y2K that is neither healthy nor the disease. The Y2K problem itself helpful. In answer to that kind of attidoesn't trouble me nearly so much as tude, popular artist Mary Engelbreit the growing survivalist reaction to it. contributed an interesting cover illusThe personal stockpiling of food, tration to a recent issue of USA Weekmedicine, ammunition, and the like end. "So the Millennium is just does not bode well for a smooth and around the corner," the caption read. civil resolution. Futurist Robert "Get over it; get on with it." In an Theobald gave this example: "Say interview she reflected further: "I'm there's a run on cash because people will fear the banks won't be able to sick to death of the Millennium and all the hype. It's a man-made calendar. handle Y2K. Stocking up on cash may be a prudent decision for an individuTime goes on. But people take it so seriously. Some are afraid of the end al, but if a great many of us do this of the world. They're building shel'prudent' thing, it might bring the ters, hoarding food. It's silly." banks down." In other words, the Certainly there is a need for "every man for himself' mentality poses a greater danger to society than thoughtful preparation in regard to possible Y2K problems, but I think the original problem.

• The people most worried Engelbreit has a point. A doomsday outlook simply isn't warranted, espeabout Y2K are likely the least at cially among Christians who (theoretirisk. When the millennium hype startcally) "put their hope in God, who ed building last year, I heard someone

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comment that most of us should probably worry less about ourselves than those more susceptible to suffering: the poor, the marginalized, the ones less able to take care of themselves.

On a similar note, one international ministry organization leader pointed out the rather scathing irony that "Christians are hoarding for a hypothetical disaster while many Third World Christians not only have no electricity or running water but are in danger of being tortured, enslaved, or murdered." How's that for priorities?

• We must avoid the rumor mill.

Unfortunately many Christians seem more than willing to .pass along information based on rumors and hearsay.

I've heard a number of things proclaimed about Y2K by word of mouth that I later learned were wildly exaggerated or entirely untrue.

I suspect that's partly what motivated leaders of the Assemblies of God denomination to issue a cautionary statement to its members: "Needless fear and alarmist tactics over the Y2K issue and the approaching tum of the millennium are directly in conflict with the teaching of our Lord.... We encourage our people not to engage in activities such as hoarding food, withdrawing money from banks, believing doomsday scenarios, or expecting the economic, political, and social collapse of Western Civilization."

• There are positive aspects to Y2K. Most basically, it offers a chance to fix a sticky computer problem. In a broader sense, it's an opportunity to humble ourselves about technology. It has rightly been pointed out that Christians have a chance to minister to those at risk and those who are fearful about the future, but we believers could also stand to examine ourselves. We are as prone to idolizing technology-and fearing the consequences of technological breakdown-as much as anyone.

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear," Isaiah wrote centuries ago, seemingly for today.

"The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy" (8:12-13).

INQUIHING MINDS BY

Q

Many Christians are saying that the coming Y2K crisis in the year 2000 is the immediate forerunner ofthe Second Coming.

What is your response to that?

(California)

A

This question has come to my desk several times in one fonn or another in the past weeks. It is obviously troubling to many people. Exacerbating the question is the fact that some leading evangelicals in the United States are responding to the crisis with what some tenn "scare tactics." Several of the most respected evangelical "gurus" are advising believers to store caches of food and supplies so that when the crisis strikes at midnight at the tum of the century, they will have sufficient supplies to survive.

Our government gets into the act as well. While we are assured our Social Security checks will arrive on time in 2000 A.D., there is not the same confidence about other departments being prepared. The government is printing extra money so that if the banking system goes out of order, we will still have money to buy groceries. That is, if the supennarket computers are working so that they know how much to charge.

Just today I heard that one major airline has decided not to fly the first day or days of 2000 in order to avoid any snafu that might jeopardize air travel due to computer failures. With that sad note came the response that this airline has 75 percent of its planes in the air at any given time, so there would not even be space to park them without getting in the way of other flights.

If it were only the occasional cult or two that leaves Colorado and then is found living in Jerusalem waiting to wreak havoc in Israel as a precursor to Y2K catastrophes and the Second Coming, few people would be concerned. But when the James Dobsons and Jerry Falwells join the campaigns to incite a new kind of hysteria among evangelicals, the crisis grows substan-

MARVIN

HEIN

tially in the minds of many believers.

Even among the few periodicals to which I subscribe, I find advertisements suggesting how people can be helped in stockpiling their supplies to survive the Y2K crisis. One of my inquirers writes that many churches have fonned committees to study and act on the Y2K issue.

My eschatalogical views are very simple. Too simple for many of my friends.

I believe Jesus is coming again. I believe nobody knows when. And I believe you better be ready. Myexperiences as a young adult with doom-saying, prognosticating preachers admittedly makes me very skeptical about those who claim they have special infonnation about the time of the Lord's return. My Bible tells me nobody knows when that event will take place.

I've always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that if someone picks out a date, it surely won't happen then.

I believe we have not spoken enough, from the pulpit and otherwise, about the Lord's return. We are mistakenly too comfortable here on earth to wish for something the Bible tells us will be much better.

We need warnings and admonitions about Christ's return. But the New Testament gives me only one directive in view of Christ's imminent return: LIVE SO YOU WILL NOT BE EMBARRASSED AT HIS COMING. All of the warnings to believers about the Second Coming, so far as I can determine, are intended to motivate right living. None of those admonitions to be ready are designed to produce anxiousness and hysteria. The warnings might well engender anxiety for unbelievers, but not for those who are assured of life everlasting.

No, I'm not storing up food dUring the next twelve months. I'm not cashing in my millions invested in the stock market. I'm not even going to get an extra withdrawal from my local bank. I'm far more concerned about living correctly as a disciple ofJesus

All of the warnings to believers about the Second Coming, so far as I can determine, are intended to motivate right living. None of those admonitions to be ready are designed to produce anxiousness and hysteria. The warnings might well engender anxiety for unbelievers, but not for those who are assured of life everlasting. than I am about surviving the Y2K crisis. If I should be wrong about the crisis, so what? I suspect that if a terrible disaster should occur, those who have stored up supplies would be the objects of ruthless, hungry, greedy people intent on saving their own lives and willing to kill and destroy to get whatever might be stored in the pantries of those who picked up a double portion of "manna." In the back of my mind, I seem to remember a story about some people who prepared for the rainy day and then discovered their extra supply was wonn-eaten. And if I'm wrong about when Jesus is coming and he returns January 1, 2000, so much the better!

Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue?

Send it to "InqUiring Minds," c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.

FEBRUARY

1999

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J

ON THE GURNEY BY

ROSE

BUSCHMAN

Family stories worth telling We all have stories to tell which are important for future generations to hear.

C

hristmas has come and gone for another

was filled with clusters of grandchildren looking year. It took me a week to get the decothrough the books, exclaimrations all put away, but I'm keeping ing either with pride or the Christmas letters out for a while so I can enjoy embarrassment at pictures of when they were much re-reading them. The house is so quiet these days younger. The older generawith just the two of us here. The grandchildren tion was going through the second book with a great have gone home with our son and daughter-indeal of interest and concenlaw, and my sister and her three sons have also tration. I even saw a few returned to their home. The last to leave was a tears when special memories were triggered. This grandbrother-in-law who came for a quick visit. mother told me that she had When I think back to Christmas two spent a great deal of time working on these books. I could tell very special memories come to mind. from the reaction of her children and One is the memory of our son sitting grandchildren that it had been well with his two-and-a-half year old daughworth all the effort. Those memory ter on the living room floor looking at books were a big hit. a scrapbook (we call them memory Several years ago I came across the books now) from the days when he book Families Writing by Peter R. Stillwas a preschooler. "See, this is your man. In it Stillman says that "families daddy when he was your age." For should be writing recollections, many minutes they sat and enjoyed a whims, stories of love and pain and special time together. laughter, the troubling, the sad or silly The second special memory comes things that together make your family from a family reunion we attended richly different from all the rest. Family after inviting ourselves over so that we stuff. Important stuff." could visit with cousins, uncles and He is right. I found out just how aunts we don't see very often. The important this is when I recently dug food was great, the program the chilout some family papers that I had been dren put on was interesting, but the saving and found a manuscript my best part occurred when the matriarch father had written giving details of his in this family began handing out noteearly childhood in Siberia. He told books to each of her five children and how the families homesteaded on the their families. Each family got one Siberian Steppes, built their first book filled with pictures specific to homes, what crops they grew and their family. The second book was a what limited medical care was availcompilation of old family photographs able. He wrote: "Families were quite which she had collected and photolarge, seldom less than four children. copied. Beside each picture was a My parents had eight. Of these, four short statement of who, what, when died at an early age. The fifth died at and/or where. The looks of pleasant age sixteen. Having no medical attensurprise on the faces of her children tion, people expected to lose a numand their spouses were precious. ber of their children hoping that some For the rest of the evening the room

20 • THE

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would be spared. Our family was left with three boys."

For me the most poignant part of his manuscript came when he wrote: "The climate was not good for fruits such as apples. We had to be satisfied with looking at pictures of them. I well remember how I would look again and again at the one picture which depicted an apple, red on one side and yellowish on the other. It embedded itself in my mind and I can still see the beautiful apple." My father was 75 years old when he wrote that. He died a year later.

Stillman in a chapter of his book entitled "Words as Gifts" suggests that we as parents should share with our children our personal memories of what it was like when they were born.

He suggests going beyond the stuff asked for in commercial baby books and gives several examples. I decided to take him seriously and so for my son's birthday last December, I wrote a three page story entitled, "The day we brought you home from the hospital."

When he was younger he was never interested in such stuff, but now that he is a daddy and has brought home two babies of his own, I wondered if it would make a difference. It did. Before he left our home this Christmas he asked to take with him several memory books we have of his preschool years.

He promised to scan the pictures into his computer. "I'll send you some of these and I want you to write the stories that go with them. I want my children to know them."

We all have stories to tell which are important for future generations to hear. The hardest part is getting started. However, there is plenty of help available. In addition to the Stillman book I've already mentioned, another good source is Good Times with Old Times, by Katie Funk Wiebe.

So get started. Write your story (or video or audio tape it). Future generations will bless you for your efforts.

Ask the Lord of the Harvest. to Send Workers Into His Harvest Field.

II

ealthy growing churches and new church plants have one thing in common - a need for workers. The vision of Mennonite Brethren to encourage local church growth and to plant churches that will reach the unchurched must include the calling out and training of workers for the harvest field. Meet three young people who are on the journey to meet this challenge:

H

Jason Quiring Jason graduated from Tabor College last May as a Biblical and Religious Studies major. As a college student Jason has had a variety of ministryopportunities including an interim youth pastor position and several , internships. In 1996 , he spent a summer as an intern in his local , church (Henderson, Neb.) with the church and Mission USA as . sponsors. Included in ; that summer was a mini-internship of three weeks in the inner city of Omaha with Peter Thomas, pastor of Omaha Faith Bible Church. Jason and his wife Nicole (Glanzer) are looking forward to beginning their ministry following her graduation from Tabor in spring.

Julie SCott In January Julie began serving as a Mission USA intern at Vinewood Community Church, an MB church in Lodi, Calif. Her area of interest is children and youth ministries.

During her year as an intern she will be given opportunities to develop her spiritual gifts and ministry

calling. Julie says that "Becoming a Christian and living in Him every day has been the absolute best decision I have ever made in my life, and I am excited about what God has in store for me in my future."

Vaughn Jost Vaughn is in his first year as Associate Pastor at the Ebenfeld MB Church, Hillsboro, Kan. His ministry includes a focus to youth and young adults.

Jost, who is also a gifted musician. says, "I really enjoy what I am doing! God has also been opening doors in the area of music, which I am looking forward to pursuing." Jost lists several factors which influenced his calling: • Effective youth ministry in the local church. Early influences in Jost's life were his own positive experiences as a member ofthe Hillsboro MB youth group and the good things he saw happening there with the youth.

• Educational inOuences: Jost enjoyed his Bible classes at Tabor College, continued to enroll in additional classes and ended up with a degree in Biblical and Religious Studies.

• Encouragement. Jost's commitment was reinforced by his youth pastor. whom he says "pursued me!" and the encouragement and affirmation from other church leaders and lay people.

A bountiful harvest awaits!

Pray that more workers will be sent into the fields.

MISSION USA BOARD: Ed Boschman, Phoenix, AZ., Chuck Buller, V'lSOha, CA. Karin Enns, Dinuba, CA Phil Glanzer, New Hope, MN Joe Johns, Weatherford, OK

Loretto Jost, Aurora, NE Brad KIossen, Glendale, AZ Naney Laverty, Jones, OK Stephen Reimer, Shafter, CA Randy Steinert, Bakersfield, CA

TIm Sullivan, Hillsboro, KS Gary Wall, Ladi, CA

Ex Offlcio Members: Henry Dick, Fresno, CA.

Clinton Grenz, Bismork, N.D. Bruce Porter, Fresno, CA Roland Reimer, Wichita, KS. Clint Seibel, Hillsboro, KS Jim Westgate, Fresno, CA

BODyLIFE MENNONITE

BRETHREN

NEWS

Aid continues in Central America • Hurricane Mitch, the late October/early November storm that damaged much of Central America, has been described as the worst storm to hit the region in more than 200 years. As many as 9,000 people were killed and 2 million left homeless.

Government estimates put the damage to infrastructure and commerce at $5 billion.

NICARAGUA

First 260 relief buckets distributed • Buckets provide hope to homeless Nicaraguans

I

don't feel so alone anymore," said Nicaraguan flood victim Carmen Leiva as she received a Mennonite Central Committee hurricane relief bucket.

Her home, along with 230 others, was washed away in October when Hurricane Mitch caused Lake Managua to overflow its banks.

Today water continues to stand on the low-lying land north of the lake, and it is not expected to drain for another six months. Meanwhile Leiva and her neighbors live in a warehouse, sleeping on black plastic sheeting on the cement floor. Their community was poor before the flood, and now they have even less-only what they could carry as they ran from their homes in the middle of the night. It was here that MCC relief worker Jim Hershberger helped deliver 120 hurricane relief buckets in mid-December.

"People were overjoyed and surprised by the buckets," says Hershberger. "The soap, toothpaste and towels were items they could use immediately.

Most are Christian so they really appreciated the Bibles that were also included."

At this location and in villages around the Casitas volcano on the following day, Hershberger explained to recipients that North Americans had packed the buckets to show love and compassion for their plight. "I told people that the buckets are a token of our hope that they can rebuild their lives," says Hershberger, who has since returned home to Harrisonburg, Va. Rebuilding is a monumental task for Nicaraguans around the Casitas volcano 22 • THE

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HONDURAS The people in the Honduran community of Colonia Waller Bordo are getting regular deliveries of food through the Honduran Mennonite church, supported in part by MCC. Although these people lost everything during the hurricane, they haven't given up.

where Hershberger also helped distribute 140 hurricane relief buckets.

Here Hurricane Mitch triggered a mudslide four miles wide and eight to 10 feet deep, killing 2,513 people.

One resident recalled the oncoming mudslide "looked like a snake" as it bounced down the mountain, shearing off trees and burying countless people and homes in its path. She was able to run to safety, and today lives in a school with others who survived the mudslide.

The desks are pushed back along the wall and six to eight families live in each classroom. When given the hurricane relief buckets, the recipients, who had not received much other aid, expressed their gratitude to Hershberger.

Relief buckets were also distributed in two isolated communities on the volcano's north side. Here nobody was killed but mud flowed off the mountain, filling houses waist-deep with silt. People continue to try to dig out their homes or to salvage beams and other materials so they can rebuild on another spot.

One community Hershberger visited was living in makeshift tents with black plastic stretched over wooden poles. "I LEA 0

E R

could see all their possessions, and it wasn't much," says Hershberger. "Some had a chair, a few had a bed, but most people were just sleeping on the bare ground."

The encampment was near a large commercial farm where machines were harvesting peanuts, creating dusty conditions. "People here were glad for the soap that came in the hurricane relief buckets. They were happy to be able to clean up at night," Hershberger notes.

"The hurricane relief buckets aren't much compared with what people lost in Hurricane Mitch. However, over and over again the recipients reacted with gratitude," says Hershberger. "The buckets provide hope for people."

With partner agencies in Honduras and Nicaragua, MCC workers will continue to distribute the hurricane relief buckets. Before Christmas, MCC had received more than 45,000 buckets, far exceeding the agency's initial request of 3,000.

Many Hurricane Mitch victims continue to live in shelters and in makeshift housing. Linda Shelly, MCC Latin America program director, says, "There won't be too many buckets." -MCC

HOI)) 1.11 I

GUATEMALA

Aid begins in Guatemala City • MBMSI worker reports on the work of Mennonites

H

urricane Mitch started as news from Honduras for us. But after causing major damage in Honduras it moved over to Guatemala. The government called a national emergency and there was some panic buying gasoline and food.

By early November 2 we were helping those who had been affected in Guatemala City. Most of the people that died in our area were very poor and lived in ravines where it is unsafe even if it does not rain. (Mitch drenched parts of Central America with 10 years worth of rain in five days or less.)

The Mennonite churches of the city organized themselves and went into areas where government agencies had not arrived. One of the churches, located near a ravine, became a temporary shelter for families who had to flee

from their shacks. Another one organized a special all-night program in which neighbors were encouraged to take goods to the church. Many people in their neighborhood did not trust the government programs, but they knew that the Mennonites would distribute the food and clothing among the most needy. So they gave through the church.

One of the greatest spiritual needs at the moment is counseling those who lost family and all that they owned.

SEMILLA has organized a special seminar on "Pastoral care in loss and bereavement." Pastors and leaders from several denominations in Nicaragua have already taken the seminar and it will soon be offered in Guatemala and Honduras. -from a report by MBMS International worker Juan Martinez who lives in Guatemala City with his family. He and his wife Olga work with SEMILLA, an inter-Mennonite seminary that offers distance education in Central America and Mexico.

HONDURAS Karen Jasmil Martince and her two-year old twins live on San Pedro Sula's stadium parking lot. She awoke when the water from the nearby river reached her bed.

MCC aids flooded Bangladesh Mennonite C-entral Committee has distributed thousands of packets of vegetable seeds to farmers in Bangladesh to help them recover from devastating floods. last summer waters remained unrelentingly high for 70 days, affecting more than 30 million Bangladeshis. Ten million people were left homeless an<i nearly 2 million acres of farmland were destroyed. The seeds supplied

by MeC are equipping 10,000families with the means to plant wheat, potatoes, groundnuts, bottle gourds, corn, radishes and other vegetables. MCCaiso plans to build 1,200 new homes and repair 500 others and to assist reconstruction of houses for 245 families-like the home of the unidentified woman from Agalljar~ in this photograph-who produce crafts sold in North America through Ten Thousand Village shops. Medical supplies and wheat for food-for-work projects have also been prOVided by MeC. -MCC

FEBRUARY

1999

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130m 1.11 I

Community Bible Fellowship growing up sixth in a series of profiles

W

en it comes to Mennonite Brethren church plants, seven-year-old Community Bible Fellowship in Bellingham, Wash., isn't a kid anymore.

"We're leaving our teens and heading toward adulthood as a church," says pastor Steve Schroeder.

"Our church was the first one (planted) in the nineties and it was the beginning of a turnaround in church planting for the Pacific District Conference," says Schroeder, currently a member of the PDC board of home missions for church planting. "Since then, yes, we've had a few failures, but many, many successes.

We've learned quite a bit about how to plant churches and what makes it work."

The Pacific District Conference was "cautious and apprehensive about starting a church-particularly an Anglo church," Schroeder says.

Still, they targeted Bellingham, Wash., and called Schroeder, fresh out of seminary, along with his wife Penni to be the church planter couple. The Schroeders were apprehensive about starting a church from scratch, but gained confidence knowing that they would receive

• CBF gains a facility and financial independencebut still keeps people the top priority. help from a veteran church planting couple at Good News Fellowship in neighboring Ferndale-Harold and Susan Schroeder, Steve's parents who had helped start three churches, including the Ferndale church in 1979.

"I had kind of a sense for the excitement of church planting and being a part of new churches-that was built into me as 1 grew up," Steve says. "I think (the PDC) felt like putting me next to my dad would give me some good support-if 1 could plant a church with the support of a seasoned church planter close by."

If the PDC was uncertain about the decision to plant a church, the maturity and growth of Community Bible Fellowship today indicates that a good decision was made. Growth at CBF has come in stages, says Schroeder, and the leaders continue to be aware of the cross section of people who are part of CBF. "A good number of our people are not yet believers or they're fairly new in the faith-they're just learning about the Bible and what it's all about. Others have had church experience somewhere else and they're growing in their

faith. And some are real seasoned faith veterans," says Schroeder.

CBF has developed a ministry manner that takes this diversity into consideration. Take the way people dress to come to church. Schroeder says his philosophy from the beginning has been to make it easy for people who are looking for God to find him.

"Early on I said, 'Let's intentionally dress down so that people who come off the streets, who have never been in a church, will feel comfortable.' So with our attire, we've intentionally made it comfortable for people of any socioeconomic strata to come and feel welcome."

Nancy Barisic, who first came to a CBF service in 1992, says she and her husband feel comfortable coming to CBF because of the casual atmosphere.

"We didn't have much money so we didn't have very nice clothes," she says.

She says that in churches that don't have a casual atmosphere, people feel they can't even afford to go to church.

Nancy and her husband both became Christians at CBF. Language is another way in which the congregation tries to welcome unchurched people. Newcomers are guests rather than "visitors" and don't have to introduce themselves, allowing them to remain anonymous if they want.

On Sunday mornings Schroeder also tries to avoid using "Christian-ese language"-language which is common to CBF now meets in a traditional church facility located in a neighborhood. Because Pastor Schroeder has found that meeting in a church facility has limited CBF's outreach, the congregation has opened their facility for use by community groups. The congregation also hosted a neighborhood family fall festival that attracted just under 100 kids -almost 70 of them from outside the church family."I'm always talking with our people and our leaders about, 'Where are the open doors? What can we do next?",

24-THE

CHRISTIAN

LEADER

people who have been in the church for a number of years, but which the unchurched and new believers don't understand.

The location of worship services has also played a role in CBF's growth and ministry. From 1991 to 1993, CBF met in an elementary school gymnasium, a location that put unchurched people at ease. "During that first year, particularly when we were meeting in a school gym, it became a very attractive, nonthreatening location for unchurched people to come."

Warren and Catherine MacDonald told Schroeder that if the congregation had been meeting in a traditional church building they probably wouldn't have come to a worship service. Even though neither of them were Christians, they soon felt comfortable coming to a care group at the Schroeder's home. "Intentionally we had a very lowkey group where unchurched people would feel welcome," Schroeder says.

Soon the couple began asking questions abou t the Bible. Within six months, the couple became Christians and both were baptized.

During those early years, being a new church also had its drawbacks.

Schroeder recalls hearing comments like, "If this church continues, then I'll get involved." With only about 35 adults attending regularly there weren't many ministry opportunities.

"There was a hesitancy among people because we were not a permanent group," Schroeder says. "We didn't have our own place-I mean, we could get kicked out of the school tomorrow and where would we meet?"

CBF now meets in a traditional church facility located in a neighborhood. After purchasing the facility in 1997, a group of U-SERV volunteers helped remodel that summer. U-SERV is a service program of the U.S. Conference, pairing volunteer workers with congregations in need of construction and remodeling. To make the building more user-friendly, the pews were removed to make room for stacking chairs.

Because Schroeder has found that meeting in a church facility has limited CBF's outreach, the congregation has opened their facility for use by community groups. The congregation also hosted a neighborhood family fall festival that attracted just under 100 kids -

"We've tried to promote an atmosphere here of love and acceptance and affirmation and encouragement from day one," says Pastor Steve Schroeder. "And I think it's working:' He seems to be right. Above, Schroeder (left) stands with Jacques Paquin, and Nancy and Wayne Barisic at a baptism at Lake Whatcom. CBF also uses casual outreach events-like the Fall Festival (below left) and CBF Snow Day on Mt. Baker (below right)-to attract members from the community.

almost 70 of them from outside the church family.

"I'm always talking with our people and our leaders about, 'Where are the open doors? What can we do next?'"

Schroeder says. He believes that if people come to church for casual outreach events at which they'll feel comfortable, that will make it that much easier for them to come to the Lord.

"We've tried to promote an atmosphere here of love and acceptance and affirmation and encouragement from day one," says Schroeder. "And I think it's working."

Church member Helen Fleming agrees. "I can't say enough about these people-these are just the sweetest, warmest people."

While finding a permanent church building was a longtime goal for the group, it wasn't the first priority. "We said early on our priorities are people, and then programs, and then property," says Schroeder.

"We want to meet the needs of people the way Jesus did. In so doing sometimes you need to develop a programSunday school, care groups, morning

worship. Sometimes, in order to pull off the program, you need property. What we don't want to do is get those reversed. I see in churches that are dying that they seem like they have those completely reversed," says Schroeder.

Fleming, who with her husband Doug joined CBF in September, noticed the emphasis on these priorities early on. "When we moved up here in 1994," Doug says, "we were really looking for something different." The church he and Helen attended in Bakersfield, Calif., declined when the leadership started emphasizing property instead of people, says Doug. The flemings attended several churches in Bellingham but never felt comfortable until they found CBF. Doug, who is attending a weekly evangelism class with his wife, says a goal of the congregation is outreach.

"They're very people-oriented there," he says. Barisic agrees that while CBF puts a lot of emphasis on new people, the congregation also emphasizes helping Christians grow. "I think they know that (we need) to keep growing, to realcontinued on page 26 FEBRUARY

1999

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130m 1.111

New MBMSI position meets missionary needs

teran mIssionary Ron Penner began "SetWlg Janu31'Y 1 as assistant director of personnel services for MBMS Interna· tional, the global missions arm of the North Amerkan M.ennonite Brethren churches. The 'POSition was created last year to better meet the needs of missionanes, as well as streamline the recruitment and placement process.

As assistant director for personnel services, }lenner will assum,e duties formerly covered as pa.rr of other admlnistrative positions, includ· ing recruitment, processing of missionary

applicants, and training. He will also oversee the care and nurture of missionaries and staff.

"Attention to the concerns of our mission· aries and staff is a vital part of building a strong mission agency," says General Director Harold Ens. ~Ron's many years of experience as a pastor, missionary and administrator made him the most qualified person we could think of to fill this position."

After graduating from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in 1973, Penner and his wife Fran served as pastors of the MB church in Capitola, CA for seven years. From there, they moved (0 Madrid, Spain, where they joined an MBMSI church planting ministry from 1981-93.

Their last assignment was as a pastoral resource team based out of Tijuana, Mexico.

They served seven churches along the Mexico-

ly have a deeper relationship, not just knowing God but really knowing who he is personally," she says.

Schroeder says the goal of the church is to make more and better disciples. "We do it through communicating, cultivating, celebrating and caring.

And that's been kind of the backbone of the structure for why we do things and how we do things."

"Our first challenge is to never become content with where we are,"

says Schroeder. "People love this church. And people come and feel welcome here and they like to stay. But there's that subtle pressure to say, 'OK, we're doing fine with our budget, let's just enjoy it.' Every church faces that to some degree but a new church faces that even more."

Early on, the congregation rallied around praying for a place to meet, praying for finances and for people.

Now that they have these things,

• Penner appointed assistant director ofpersonnel at MB mission agency

V

Kids relax on CBF's church lawn.

26 • THE

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U.S. border, helping churches reach their goals as well as providing counsel and guidance. In addition, they helped coordinate teams of youth who served for short assignments under Youth Mission International.

"God has blessed us by allowing us to be involved in exciting ministries in tbtee coun· tries," says Penner. "There were, however, some very difficult moments that have common threads with missionaries around the. world. I hope that from the MBMS Internation· al office in Fresno, we can help guide new missionaries and suppon our hard-working coworkers wherever they are."

According to Penner, the churches in Mexico are now able to take on many of the, roles he and Fran had filled-particularly in Tijuana, their main assignment. "The church in Tijuana is now on a firm footing and moving ahead with its own leadership and a new pastor, Fran· cisco Kuk,• he says.

For at least one year, the Penners will continue as resource missionaries to the Mexico churches, taking periodic trips to Mexico as required. -MBMSInternational.

Schroeder says, "I've been intentionally trying to shift our leaders' focus this year. Now we have to rally around reaching the unreached people around us. That's our challenge. That's why more than perhaps ever before, I'm trying to give leadership in the area of outreach and providing open doors."

Although Schroeder says while his church is still a "teenager," the congregation has some characteristics of an adult church, such as deacons and elders. Schroeder feels CBF is blessed to have quality lay leaders.

CBF is a financially independent congregation. During their second year, CBF became independent of PDC subsidy.

The local MB churches continued to help them, but CBF became financially independent in the third year. "That was a big step toward that feeling of being a grown-up church," Schroeder says.

But Schroeder is already looking ahead to the next step-helping the congregation become a parent . "In my mind, one of the characteristics of a mature adult [church) is that there's reproduction. And that's my goal-to see this church continue to grow sizewise and in health and maturity to the point where we can give birth to a daughter church." -Natalee Roth

Hom 1.111

Internship benefits pastors and Tanzanian student • Tanzanian student works with Mennonite pastors

Theopolis Odhiambo (center, back) poses with five of the pastors he served with in Freeman, S.D., last year. They are (front, left to right) Ken Peterson, Robert Engbrecht and Robert Hartzler; (back. left and right) Gordon Scoville and George Klassen.

F

or Theophilus Odhiambo, his seven months in South Dakota were a time for personal and professional growth-a time for a change. But the Mennonite pastors he worked with were also changed.

Odhiambo, a seminary student from Tanzania who returned to his home country in August, served with nine Freeman-area General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Brethren congregations as a pastoral intern during part of his year-long term with Mennonite Central Committee's International Visitor Exchange Program. He served in every aspect of church work and congregational lifeworship, committee meetings, visitation, outreach programs, catechism classes, Bible studies and congregational issues-and wrote a biweekly meditation for the local weekly newspaper.

"I felt the glory of God working with my supervisors," Odhiambo says. "They worked hand in hand with me, asking me about my interests and what I would like to learn."

Odhiambo spent over a month at each of nine congregations. The pastors say they found in him a friend and confidante and soon realized that they were learning as much as their intern.

George Klassen, pastor of the Salem MB Church in Freeman, says, "He was a gem to work with. I learned so much from him. And he had such insight."

Odhiambo preached a sermon at Salem Church using an interpreter "He is fluent in English, but we wanted to get the flavor of the interpretation," Klassen says. "We understand that in his church on many Sundays, they have so many different dialects that interpretation is very much a part of their regular worship." Odhiambo also spoke to the children, taught Sunday school and helped with other aspects of the Sunday service.

"He was not only there to learn but

to teach," says Ana Zorrilla, MCC's Visitor Exchange Program director. "Theo did very well not only wanting to learn from the Freeman community, but [he 1 also wanted to challenge the pastors he worked with. He liked going from one church to another, experiencing different working styles and the different characters of each pastor."

Ron Seibel, currently pastor of Mountain Lake MB Church (Minn.), was pastor of the Silver Lake MB Church in Freeman when Odhiambo was there, and worked with him for two weeks. Seibel says Odhiambo spoke in church and at a nursing home in addition to some nonchurch-related activities-Seibel taught him to use a computer and took him golfing.

"For me, this was a very gratifying experience," says Seibel.

Like most IVEP participants, Odhiambo served in two locations during his year in North America. After his time in Freeman, he worked as a pastoral intern with Reba Place, a Mennonite congregation in Chicago.

Back home, Odhiambo has resumed his religious studies, wanting to serve the Mennonite church in Tanzania. He had graduated from Tanzania's Mennonite Theological College before arriving in the United States.

"I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to work with

Theo," says pastor Gordon Scoville of Salem Mennonite Church. "More than this, I am very hopeful for Theo's future work in the Mennonite church."

Says Odhiambo, "Whatever I learned last year in Freeman and Chicago will not be for myself, but it will be used to glorify the name of the Lord for the rest of my life."

Klassen says the 10 Mennonite churches in the community are considering helping to sponsor Odhiambo's seminary education. "We see a real potential for leadership in the Mennonite church in Tanzania," says Klassen. "And he is gifted in that area and we want to affirm that."

As of early January, Klassen says Odhiambo hopes to attend Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., beginning February 1. However, he has been having considerable difficulty getting a visa from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi.

"Since the bombing (of African embassies) things are chaotic and he has been getting the runaround," says Klassen. "So we are praying that he will receive a visa in time. If he does not, he will keep trying and come for the fall 1999 semester. " MCC is the North American relief and development organization. -MCC News Service and Natalee Roth FEBRUARY

1999

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BOl)yLl1 L ,

SPECIAL FORUM: THE FUTURE OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE In.t~e ~pcoming months,.the Leader~iJ1 provide a forum to discuss the challenges we face as we seek God's direction in organizing the mmlstrl~s of North Amerl~n Mennomte Brethren churches. For the first forum, the Leader asked Paul Toews, director of the Center for

Mennomte Brethren Studies, for his thoughts about the process.

GENERAL CONFERENCE TIMELINE

General Conference: The conference having final responsibility for oversight of matters of faith and life and shared ministries of the MB churches of Canada and the United States.

Vision needed for restructuring BY

PAUL

TOEWS

July 1997

Delegates at the General Conference convention in Waterloo call for a "noholds barred" review of all levels of the North American conference structures.

December 1998

GC Task Force releases a 45 page report which proposes a radical reorganization of conference structures. It states its goal was to to enhance the relationships between church and shared ministry, provide the opportunity for increased effectiveness, and achieve a higher level of efficiency.

The report recommends: • cessation of the General Conference; • reduction in the number of ministries done independently by both Canada and the United States national conferences in favor of a "shared partnership model" for faith and life, global missions, theological training, and resources (communication, Christian education and publishing); • oversight of these enlarged or consolidated ministries by the two national conferences; and • a new six-year cycle of conventions in which the regionals and nationals meet in alternating years and a "Partnership Celebration" every six years.

Each country would maintain its own stewardship and evangelism ministries.

February 1999

The GC Executive Council meets to review the report and form a proposal to be voted on at the GC convention in July 1999.

May 1999

The GC Executive Council will release the proposal for publication. The Christian Leader will carry it in the May 1999 issue.

July 1999

Delegates at the GC convention in Wichita, Kan., will vote on the proposals for restructuring.

28 • THE

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T

he General Conference Task Force has issued its report.

Restructuring for Enhanced Ministry is a 45 page document with many recommendations. The task force has not been timid in its work. The report proposes new structures that would substantially alter the way North American Mennonite Brethren organize themselves and carry out their ministries.

The recommendations are primarily structural. They propose dissolving the current bi-national conference and suggest that the national conferences assume oversight for the current General Conference ministries: Missions and Services International; Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary; Faith and Life; Resource Ministries; and Historical Commission.

Now it is time for the congregations to do their work. It is time for careful reflection and thoughtful response. Will this proposal-and future proposalsenhance our work and witness in the world? Which elements of the proposal will do that? Which elements might be altered to better achieve that objective?

The Conference belongs to all of us.

We, the members of the 368 churches across North America, are the confer~nce. A conference helps hold us together-a people with a common vision-and gives us the opportunity to do more together than we can alone. It is up to us to own the proposals or to offer constructive advice that might lead us to an even better proposal.

CONFERENCE VISION AND POLITY

We don't know yet if the Task Force recommendations are accepted by the GC Executive Committee and Council of Boards to be passed on to the next bi-national convention in July. The

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structural issues that the report deals with are vexing, but there will be ample time to discuss the particular structural recommendations, and they can be worked out among people committed to doing so.

What is far more troubling is the questions the report raises about whether our churches are interested in addressing these issues.

The most important facts of the report are the response rates to the two surveys that the Task Force utilized to gain church-wide opinion. One survey questionnaire was sent out to all of the pastors and moderators of the 368 churches across North America. Nineteen pastors and no moderators responded. A second survey questionnaire published in all of the MB sponsored periodicals in North America-the Christian Leader, MB Herald, Rundschau, Le Lien, and Chinese MB Herald-yielded a response of less than 0.1 % of the readership.

These response rates certainly do not offer any mandate for change. In fact, they raise questions as to what is driving this entire reorganizational move. The report describes a "momentum for change" but is that momentum more than the voice of selected individuals?

Instead of momentum this response rate suggests a very disturbing apathy. It hints at an almost complete breakdown of any sense of conference at either the national or bi-national level. This seeming disaffection is the real issue that faces us and ought to preoccupy our discussions between now and the General Conference convention in Wichita in July.

These response rates point to two larger issues: vision and polity. The Task Force report also makes clear that forg-

H(lm!.lI)

Palm Village ing a common vision is the real issue at stake. That is somewhat surprising because, at the 1990 convention, the General Conference adopted a very fine vision statement. Has that statement never been owned by our congregations? Do vision statements become obsolete in less than a decade?

More probable is that it is increasingly difficult to fashion a common vision. That is partly because of forces beyond our control. We are the casualties of the modem world with its pluralism of theologies, ideologies, practices and aspirations. Virtually all denominations are plagued these days by an ungluing that comes with the multiplicity of beliefs and practices.

These obstacles to maintaining a common vision are compounded by the nature of our history as a denomination. The birth of the Mennonite Brethren in 1860, as a separate denomination from other Mennonite groups, was the result of multiple and even contradictory forces at work. The restrictive nature of the religious and political environment in South Russia, our birth place, caused differing kinds of aspirations to become linked together in the movement that gave birth to the Mennonite Brethren. The nature of a movement's birth creates a certain kind of trajectory. As a result, we have carried multiple theological currents in sometimes stable and sometimes unstable combinations throughout our history. We have frequently asked ourselves whether we were born of Anabaptist or Baptist roots? Are we Pietists or Evangelicals? Is the church primarily an ethical community or a missionary community? Asking the questions in either/or style has sometimes prevented us from seeing that we have been all those things.

Such diversity, if properly managed, can be a strength, but if unmanaged can become destructive. In the past, we had structures of authority that worked both formally and informally-what historically we called the "brotherhood"-to keep the denomination's focus and vision intact. Today those structures of

authority are no longer present. People, congregations and institutions can flout conference authority and there are no consequences.

We have drifted into a polity that is completely at odds with our history.

There are essentially three kinds of church polity: episcopal (top-down authority), presbyterian (consultative, but then binding once decisions are meade) and congregational (local autonomy). We like to describe ourselves as congregational. We have become that only in recent years. Historically we practiced a presbyterian polity. In a congregational system each entity is ultimately free to do what it chooses. Certainly into the 1960s, and perhaps even into the early 1970s, we followed a presbyterian polity. Since then we have swung to a radical congregationalism. Congregations can now decide whether they support the conference or not. Pastors and moderators can ignore any request for information that comes from any constituted conference agency. A common refrain that we all hear at conventions is "let the delegates vote what they want; we will go home and do what we want."

If Mennonite Brethren congregations want to be part of a conference then the real issue before us is rethinking what it means to be a conference.

What is our mission as a Mennonite Brethren peoplehood? What is it that unites us as a denominational body?

What are the obligations incumbent upon membership in a conference?

What are the mutual expectations that tie together congregations, institutions, ministries and conferences?

What are the mechanisms by which those obligations are maintained?

QUESTIONS TO ASK

Conferences in North America are arrangements for work and for ministry. The Task Force report strongly endorses our current ministries. If our people and congregations are equally supportive, then let's insure that we have the right structure to support continued on page 30

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IN BRIEF REUEF: Crop failures, drought, harsh temperatures, a low grain harvest and a currency that continues to devalue all add up to another difficult winter for people in Russia. In the tradition of its early years, Mennonite Central Committee has sent nine shipments of warm clothing, bedding, soap and food to Russia. Another six aid shipments will be sent to the Ukraine in 1999 for a total of $1.2 million in aid.

MCC was organized in 1920 as a way for North American Mennonites to provide food for famine victims in Russia and Ukraine. (MCC) GATHERINGS: Mennonite Central Committee Central States' annual meeting Feb. 28 will be hosted by Memorial Road MB Church in Oklahoma City. The meeting will include an update on MCC's activities in Iraq

by Wanda Kraybill who served in Iraq for seven months in 1998. The Mennonite Central Committee and MCC U.S. boards will meet Feb. 18-20 in Abbotsford, B.C., to discuss and act on program plans and budgets for the coming year. (MCC) DONATIONS: Thanks to the generosity of U.S. farmers, Mennonite Central Committee will deliver 40,000 bushels of corn to North Korea in March. With a bumper year for corn and low market prices, many farmers were wondering what to do with their excess crops last fall. MCC had the answer. A severe famine in North Korea, where the fall crops produced only half the necessary food, sparked the initiative for an MCC corn drive, the first in five years. (MCC) STORM: South African president Nelson Mandela's stop at a local pharmacy during a deadly storm put Umtata, South Africa, in the international news Dec. 15. Umtata is home to Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission workers Gary and Jean Isaac, who report that the violent windstorm killed at least 17 people and left those in poverty with less than before. Once relief needs are identified, the agency will make use of its compassion funds to assist. (AIMM)

30 • THE

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Vision needed continued from page 29

those ministries.

I think the structural logic of the Task Force report is a strong bi-national conference with a strong bi-national executive staff that can insure that we are all pulling in the same direction.

We currently operate with lay conference leadership, each ministry with its own specialized staff and a one-half time GC Executive Secretary. The specialized ministries promote their own particular programs. What we need is a strong center that looks out for the welfare of the entire North American MB peoplehood. At multiple levels we have been so concerned about "lean conference administration" that we have permitted conferences to drift.

In the coming months we need a vigorous conversation about what is required to rebuild a common vision, a sense of conference authority and the structures to integrate and hold together a dynamic and growing conference of nearly 50,000 people. In assessing what kind of governance and conference system might get us to this kind of visioncentered peoplehood there are fundamental questions that we need to ask of any proposed new structure: • Will the structural recommendations effectively rebuild the Mennonite Brethren denominational center or will

they exacerbate the ecclesiological fracturing that already plagues us? Will the new structure bind us together as a vision-centered and vision-committed people?

• Will the proposed governance structure in fact enhance the effectiveness of our ministries both among Mennonite Brethren and beyond?

• Will the new structure make the ministries more accountable to the local congregation and to the conference-one of dominant sub-texts of the report-or will it in fact tum the ministries into something akin to para-church agencies? During the past decades we have been moving our "conference ministries" to "entrepreneurial and parachurch ministries." Will that trend continue or will we reclaim conference ownership of the ministries?

The Mennonite Brethren church world-wide has a unique mission and witness that is increasingly recognized by many. Our time has come because emphases central to our understanding of the meaning of true Christian faith are being embraced by many. This is a historic moment for us. Let's not fracture ourselves and set our ministries adrift. Let's work together to meet the opportunity that is ours.

Paul Toews is a professor of history at Fresno Pacific University and director of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Fresno, Calif.

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Bom 1.11 I

Tabor students initiate inner city ministry • Kids' Club and WUMP impact Wichita's youth

I

t is not unusual to see Tabor College students traveling to Wichita on the weekend for a night of food and fun. Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, is located just 50 miles from the Mennonite Brethren college in Hillsboro.

However, for more than 30 TC students it's not dinner and a movie that brings them to Wichita every Friday evening, but Bible lessons, worship and praise.

Three years ago, TC students with a desire to minister in the inner city contacted World Impact of Wichita. World Impact is a national inner city ministry led by Keith Phillips. What started as a few college students playing with inner city children has turned into a fullblown ministry.

The students divide into two groups

and set off for two different destinations.

One group travels to United at the Cross Community Church, a partnership church between the Southern District Conference and World Impact and situated near two low-income housing developments. More than 50 children who live in this area, from ages three to junior high, gather at the church for Kids' Club, a program including Bible lessons, memory verse work, and games. Tabor students teach and lead this vacationBible-school-type program.

While Kids' Club is in its fourth year, Wichita Urban Ministry Plunge started recently. Planned and led by Tabor students, WUMP is a praise and worship program followed by games and snacks targeted for any age. WUMP is held in Oaklawn, a

MBMSI supports Mideast reconciliation • Medieval Crusade reconciliation effort supported

by MB mission agency

A

Mennonite writer and photographer is learning first-hand how religious conflict in the Middle East has endured for centuries to color perceptions today.

Christy Risser, a Mennonite Board of Missions worker, is spending a year in the Middle East with the Reconciliation Walk organization. Participants attempt to restore a positive image to the name of Jesus Christ by apologiZing for the actions of the Medieval Crusaders and asking pardon for the misuse of the name and words ofJesus.

MBMS International is one of several Mennonite agencies who, through the Mennonite Middle East Reference Groups, are supporting Risser's involve!llent in Reconciliation Walk. MBMSI is

the global mission arm of MB churches in Canada and the United States.

"We decided to support Christy's participation in the hopes that her reflective writing would help us in North America gain a fuller understanding of Christian-Muslim dynamics in the Middle East," says Dave Dyck, MBMSI's director of programs. "This is so important given the distortions propagated by the media."

Risser says,"For more than 900 years, the name ofJesus has lain in ruin at the feet of the Crusaders who trod through this land, killing by the sign of the cross and in the name of the Son of God." The journey has also enlightened some participants to the difficulties caused by the "crusades" of today. "For many in the Middle East, the Crusades have never ended," says Risser. "When the Gulf War happened, headlines across the Arab world referred to the conflict as 'The Eighth Crusade.' In spite of our casual Western view of his-

suburb that is home to almost 1500 families. The program exposes the children and others in the area to Christian ideas, praise, and worship. World Impact's vision is to eventually plant a church in this area.

Fred Stoesz, director of World Impact, Wichita, believes the impact of Kids' Club and WUMP is enormous. He says, "This Friday evening ministry provides inroads into these neighborhoods. The kids are encouraged and come home with truth." According to Stoesz, the children feel a strong attachment to Tabor students, their Bible lesson teachers, because they receive attention and love.

Kids' Club and WUMP also provide opportunities for building relationships and trust. TC Information Services tory as largely irrelevant, history remains a living, breathing entity for the peoples of the Middle East. It is vital that we, the descendants of those who started the Crusades, do something to stop this cycle of violence."

Some participants of Reconciliation Walk journey in the exact steps of the Crusaders, while others join short term message teams in the country where Reconciliation Walk has progressed, sharing their apology in that given location only. All participants share the goal of helping to correct the prevailing misconceptions about Western Christianity that Muslims, Jews, and other Middle Eastern people have to this day.

Risser reports that already the walk is having a positive impact. Last June the mayor of Sanliurfa, Turkey met with participants of Reconciliation Walk and accepted their apology with open arms.

"All of us must be brothers," Mayor Ahmet Bahcivan said. "Religions were not made for war. In their origin, both Christians and Muslims believe not in war, but peace."

Risser will continue her term with Reconciliation Walk in Lebanon and Israel until July 1999. -MBMSI FEBRUARY

1999.31

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Church NeVIls. Note.

NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

Baptism/membership

Ministry

NEWTON, Kan. {Koerner Heights)-Julie Rosfeld was baptized and welcomed into membership Jan. 10.

MOUNTAIN LAKE, Minn.-Pastor Ron Seibel has begun a Bible class for the laotians that attend. One is quite conversant in English and is able to translate as needed.

and his wife Erma have served the congregation for 10 years in the area of visitation, counseling and deacon work.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. {Rosedale)-Barbara Bell, Santiago and Martha Gallegos, Sue Kimbriel and Chet and Judy Phole were accepted as new members Jan. 3.

FRESNO, Calif. {North)-Todd Pigott and Mindy Kelly were baptized and received into membership Dec. 13. Ray and Pam Froehlich, John and Ann Friesen, Doris Goertz, Blaine and Melissa Graybill, David Kelley, Roy and Sue Kliewer, Elouise Richardson, Gloria Rutherford and Greg Yoder were accepted into membership.

DINUBA, Calif.-Jacob Voth, Sarah Hartley, Stephanie Hartley and Nancy leppke were baptized and welcomed as new members Dec. 13.

Andrea Penner and Clifford Wright were accepted as members Dec. 6.

Celebrations SAN JOSE, Calif. {Lincoln Glen)-The congregation paid tribute Nov. 29 to member Helen Nickel who celebrated her 100th birthday Nov. 30. lou and Norma Penner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 29 with a reception.

CLOVIS, Calif. {College)-A service for those who had experienced loss during 1998 was held Dec. 20. The service of comfort and worship was intended for anyone who experienced grief or loss, i.e., death, illness, separation or changes in household or occupation which can make the Christmas season a difficult time.

MARSHALL Ark. {Martin Box)-The congregation is planning a 1700 square foot expansion of their facility. Funding for the project has come from the Southern District Conference and from members of the congregation who are harvesting lumber for the project plus selling additional logs as a fund raising project. The congregation has also organized a weekly outreach to young people called "Saturday Night Live."

BETHANY, Okla. {Western Oaks)-The congregation has adopted Copper Hills Community Church in Phoenix Ariz., and will support the church plant with their prayers and financial contributions.

SHAFTER, Calif.-The congregation hosted a baptism service Dec. 6, for Companerismo Christiano, a new MB church.

DINUBA, Calif.-Henry and Bertha Heier celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Dec. 30 with an open house.

Teaching/Nurture

HENDERSON, Neb.-An open house was held Nov. 29 in honor of Abe and Irene Block's 50th wedding anniversary.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Laurelglen)-The family life conference January 22-24 featured a marriage enrichment seminar led by John Erwin.

A variety of family-related seminars were offered Sunday and a Sunday evening family concert featured Jana Alayro.

Fellowship HILLSBORO, Kan. {Ebenfeld)-Arlene Blanchard of Oklahoma City was the guest speaker at the women's retreat Jan. 29-30. Blanchard is a survivor of the Murrah Building bombing.

WICHITA, Kan. {First)-A prayer retreat for women of the congregation is scheduled for Feb. 13. Nadine Friesen, a member of the Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church pastoral staff, will lead the group in individual and corporate worship using music, scripture and prayer. The men's retreat Feb. 5-6 featured guest speaker James Ryle, a longmont, Colo., pastor who is a Promise Keepers Conference speaker.

REEDLEY, Calif.-A men's retreat Feb. 5-7 held at Hume lake focused on "Man and His Mountains" with pastor Dennis Fast as the speaker. Men's relationships with their families and attitudes towards money were the focus of the study sessions.

32 • THE

C H R 1ST I A N

WICHITA, Kan.-Southern District pastoral staff and their spouses met January 25-27 for their annual Pastor's Advance. Brad and Marty Sprague of Church Resource Ministries were the featured speakers and Ed and Carol Boschman of Mission USA were the facilitators. Mission USA is the national church renewal and growth effort of the U.S. Conference and CRM is an organization which helps church staff members and congregations assess and refocus their ministry and is an agency with which MUSA works.

Workers REEDLEY, Calif.-Jose Elizondo, Jr., was ordained Nov. 29, 1998, and began serving as the Pacific District Conference associate district minister with a focus on hispanic congregations.

Elizondo and his wife Mary had served for 16 years with the EI Buen Pastor congregation, the MB congregation in Orange Cove, Calif ....

Richard Gerbrandt reduced his ministry assignment to part-time beginning Jan. 1. Gerbrandt

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WICHITA, Kan. {First)-Doris Prater was appointed interim director of music and worship beginning Jan. 1, replacing Cathy Faszer who served the congregation for nearly 5 years.

Prater will serve on a part-time basis until a fulltime staff person is in place.

COLLINSVILLE, Okla. {Westport)-Glenn and Marissa Krispense have accepted the congregation's invitation to serve as youth pastor beginning this month. Krispense served as youth pastor at Bible Fellowship Church in Rapid City, S.D., until recently.

WICHITA, Kan.-The Southern District Conference office currently located in the home of SOC district minister Roland and lois Reimer will be moving to Reflection Plaza Center in Wichita Kan., in early 1999, possibly March. Tabor Col~ lege's Degree Completion Program based in Wichita will also be located at this center as well as the MBMS International regional office staffed

by Russell Schmidt.

DINUBA, Calif.-Pastoral couple Bob and Deloris Vogt retired from full-time ministry and were honored during the Jan. 10 morning worship service. The evening program and meal also celebrated the Vogt's 14 year ministry with the congregation.

HILLSBORO, Kan.-Bob Vogt will serve the congregation as interim pastor March 1 through June 30, 1999. Vogt recently retired and last served the Dinuba (Calif.) MB Church.

Youth HILLSBORO, Kan. {Ebenfeld)-A mentoring program for junior high students was introduced in January. The program will pair each student with an adult of their choice and was begun to offer the students spiritual and social encouragement.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. {Heritage Bible)-To raise money for the national MB youth conference, the youth group created and mailed an allchurch Christmas card.

ENID, Okla.-The youth group sponsored Christmas Camp, Dec. 12, as a fund raising project. The day was described as child care with a purpose.

Deaths COPPOCK, HERBERT LEON, Fairview, Okla., a member of Fairview MB Church, was born Nov. 20, 1924, at Cleo Springs, Okla., to Stanley and Bertha Jones Coppock and died Dec. 18, 1998, at the age of 74. On July 27, 1952, he was married to Ferrol Fox, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Brent and wife Patti of Omaha, Neb., and Eric and wife Rodelyn of

80m Lm

Martinez, Calif.; one daughter, Melody of Enid, and four grandchildren.

Okla., and Irene Seibel of Hillsboro, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

DALKE, ESTHER, Hillsboro, Kan., a life-long member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born Dec. 28, 1908, to John and Amanda Baltzer at Hillsboro, Kan., and died Dec. 15, 1998, at the age of 89. On Aug. 31, 1933, she was married to Pete Dalke, who predeceased her in 1986. She is survived by one son, Gordon and wife Doris of Hillsboro; one daughter, Yvonne of Topeka, Kan.; three brothers, Loyal and wife Vi of Enid, Okla., Earl and wife Evelyn of Collinsville, Okla., and Jona and wife Mary of Moundridge, Kan.; two sisters, Lydia and husband Alfred Berg of Wichita, Kan., and Orpha and husband Jake Klassen of Salem are.; one sister-in-law, Inez Baltzer of Convina, Calif., four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

KLASSEN, ABRAHAM S., Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Parkview MB Church, was born Sept.

14, 1917, to Abraham and Sara Schroeder Klassen near Lehigh, Kan., and died Dec. 28, 1998, at the age of 81. On Oct. 6, 1940, he was married to Helen Jane Willems, who survives. He is also survived by one sister, Lillian Plett; his six .. children," Laurel and husband Ralph Kauffman of Kansas City, Lynell and wife Jolene of Omaha, Neb., and Shirley and husband Doug Baltzer of Lehigh, Kan., eight grandchildren and one greatgrandchild.

EWERT, ALDEN H., Sacramento, Calif., a member of Greenhaven Neighborhood Church, was born Sept. 3, 1926, at Mt. Lake, Minn., to Henry S. and Carrie Nickel Ewert and died May 31, 1998, at the age of 71. On Aug. 20, 1948, he was married to Wilma Grunau, who survives.

He is also survived by two daughters, Sonja Kim and husband Tim of Sacramento, and Sue of Fresno, Calif.; three sisters, Annette Dick of Mt. Lake, Minn., Wilma and husband Clarence Leichty of Goshen, Ind., and Elinor and husband Jonah Kliewer of Hillsboro, Kan.; one brother, Calvin and wife Marian of Lodi, Calif., and two grandsons.

FEA, HELEN ROSE, Reedley, Calif., a member of Reedley MB Church, was born March 6, 1908, near Corn, Okla., to George and Anna Sawatzky and died Dec. 28, 1998, at the age of 90. She is survived by two brothers, Ernest and Henry, and their families.

GLANZER, MARIE L., Bridgewater, S.D., a member of Salem MB Church in Freeman, S.D., was born June 8, 1919, in Hutchinson County to Joseph J. and Anna Decker and died Dec. 27, 1998, at the age of 80. She is survived by two sisters-in-law, Edna Glanzer of Freeman and Helen Glanzer of Bridgewater; 11 nieces and nephews and 28 great nieces and nephews.

JANZEN, DAVEY JOE, Selma, Calif., was born July 17, 1943, to Henry L. and Alice Friesen Janzen at Aurora, Neb. In August of 1963, he was married to Donna Entz, who survives. He is also survived by his mother, Alice of Reedley, Calif.; three brothers, Ken of Colorado Springs, Colo., Stan and wife Ayde of Atascadero, Calif., and Mark of Visalia, Calif.; his parents-in-law, Irwin and Mary Entz; two sisters-in-law, Charlotte and husband Steve Berg of Dixon, Calif., and Sue and husband Jim Jost of Reedley, and nieces and nephews.

JOST, ALMA, Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born April 3, 1906, to Gerhard and Anna Loewen Suderman near Hillsboro and died Dec. 26, 1998, at the age of 92.

On March 25, 1928, she was married to Alfred Jost, who predeceased her. She is survived by her children, Anna and Arlo Voth of Whitewater, Kan., Clara and Roy Heppner, New Underwood, S.D., and Gerald and Joan Jost of Hillsboro; one brother, Eli and wife Edna Suderman of Hillsboro; two sisters, Bernice Karber of Fairview,

NICKEL, MARGARET, Buhler, Kan., a member of Buhler MB Church, was born Feb. 16, 1915, to Jacob B. and Agnes Schmidt Martens near Buhler and died Jan. 6, 1999, at the age of 83. On Oct. 2, 1936, she was married to Ike Nickel, who survives. She is also survived by four daughters, Faith and husband Doug Adams, Leah Speiser, Marty McGaughy and Charlotte Nickel; one sister, Martha Franz of Columbus, Ind.; one brother, Vernon and wife Amy of Hutchinson, four grandchildren and two stepgrandchildren.

OLSON, ANDREW CHRISTIAN, Visalia, Calif., was born March 17, 1998 to Scott and Sandy Olson, members of Neighborhood Church in Visalia, and died Dec. 23, 1998, from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at the age of nine months. He is survived by his parents, grandparents, Dennis and Mary Nelson and Jerry and Nancy Olson; his great-grandparents, Anna Lund, Chuck and Jimmie Nelson, Luella Kelly and Henry and Gladys Olson; his uncles, Dan and Susan Nelson, Kevin and Robyn Olson and Ryan Olson, and two cousins.

REGEHR, LLOYD G., Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born April 13, 1925, in Hillsboro to Peter K. and Marie Seibel Regehr and died Dec. 26, 1998, at the age of 73. On Aug. 27, 1946, he was married to Edna, who predeceased him earlier in 1998. He is survived by two daughters, Mary and husband Jim Regier of Hillsboro, and Karen and husband Dick Aldis of Harper, Kan.; one son, Allen Regehr and wife Francene of Maize, Kan.; three sisters-inlaw, Ethel Bartel, Lydia Duerksen and Lovisa Duerken, all of Hillsboro, and seven grandchildren.

WIENS, DAVID B., Hillsboro Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born Sept. 27, 1899, to David D. and Katharina Baerg at Henderson, Neb., and died Dec. 29, 1998, at the age of 99. On Sept. 4, 1927, he was married to Susie Hiebert, who predeceased him in 1964. On Jan. 1, 1967, he was married to Elsie Neufeld Enns, who predeceased him in 1991. He is survived by his daughter, Ethel O'Hair of Rogers, Ark., one son, Gary and wife Karen of Hillsboro; step daughters Sylvia and husband Norbert Krieger of Ericson, Neb., Erna and husband Marlin Brown of Liberal, Kan., and Vi and husband Frank Heaton of Portland, Ore., and 11 grandchildren. •

IN BRIEF AID: In late December, Mennonite Central Committee purchased $20,000 worth of medical supplies in Jordan for Iraqi hospitals that treated victims of the December 16 to 19 bombings. These were the funds MCC had originally designated for any refugees the war might create.

MCC partner in Iraq, Khaled Sudani of the Islamic Relief Agency, visited one Baghdad hospital where injured people were taken. He reported that medical staff were unable to provide adequate treatment due to shortages of even basic supplies, such as painkillers, anesthetics, bandages, sutures, gauze and surgical gloves.

(MCC) TRACTORS: Three tractors were delivered to Honduras last month to be used by Mennonite Central Committee partner, the Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM), to prepare land damaged by flooding for planting. The tractors were purchased by MCC at a reduced cost from Binkley & Hurst Brothers of Lititz, Penn. In January, the first shipment of hurricane relief buckets also arrived in Honduras. (MCC) DIED: Elsie Guenther, a former MBMS International missionary, died in Reedley, Calif., in early September 1998, at the age of 88. She is remembered for her ministry as a schoolteacher in Congo and Brazil.

"Teachers such as Elsie played a vital mission role," says Harold Ens, MBMSI general director. "Many church leaders of today came to know Christ through the witness and example of Christian school teachers." (MBMSI) HIRED: Tim McCarty began working as the new Tabor College head football coach in January. McCarty was hired in late December to fill the position vacated by veteran coach Dan Thiessen. McCarty, most recently an assistant coach at Greenville College, III., grew up in Central Kansas and Is familiar with Tabor's football program. (TC)

FEBRUARY

1999.

33

Bom 1.111

Clearinghouse Have a position to fill? Looking for a new employment or ministry opportunity? Have a gathering or celebration to promote? Reach U.S. Mennonite Brethren through a Clearinghouse classified ad. The charge is 40 cents per word, with a $15 minimum. Withhold payment until an invoice is received. MB institutions advertising vacancies or position announcements may be eligible for a no-cost ad. Contact the editor for more information.

Director of Church Family Ministries First Mennonite Brethren Church in Wichita, Kan., seeks full-time staff to develop and lead caregiving ministries and provide personal pastoral care in a growing church of over 700, rooted in Anabaptist tradition.

Responsibilities: 1) assessing needs; 2) developing responses through deacon ministry, support systems, family enrichment events, assimilation and hospitality; 3) leading and equipping lay caregivers ministry team.

Experience: 5 years related field, church ministry, group dynamics and family systems, assessment skills. Requires masters degree and seminary training or equivalent. Submit resume and references to: DCFM Search Committee, FMBC, 8000 W. 21st Street, Wichita, Kansas 67205, fax (316)722-5931. complete job description available upon request.

Director of Music and Worship Director of Music and Worship sought by First Mennonite Brethren Chur~h in Wichita, Kan. A full-time position to di~~ct multiple music ministries and lead blended worship.

This visionary, growing, suburban church of 700 attenders of all age groups is rooted in Anabaptist theology and comlTJitted in rele-

vant ministry. Masters degree or equivalent experience preferred. Submit resume and references to: Music Search, 8000 W. 21st St., Wichita, KS 67205-1744 FAX 316-722-5931; e-mail fmbc@feist.com English, Writing/Literature Full-time position available at Tabor College.

PhD earned or nearly completed. Suitable teaching experience. Familiar with current critical theories and new developments in the field, as well as the traditional canons of American and British literature. Tabor College is an evangelical Christian college affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren Church; faculty must be committed to the college's mission.

Positions open until filled. Send resume and cover letter to: Dr. Lon Fendall, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS 67063. e-mail: lonf@tcnet.tabor.edu.

Home page: www.tabor.edu

senior Pastor The Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church is in search of candidates for the position of senior pastor. Candidates gifted in providing leadership for a congregation with an average attendance of over 500 and experienced in directing a multiple pastoral staff are invit-

ed to send a resume to: Pastoral Search Committee, Daryle Baltzer (Chm.), 104 S. Washington, Hillsboro, KS 67063 Technical Services/Automation Coordinator Fresno Pacific University is accepting applications for an experienced person to coordinate technical services and library computer systems. Under the direction of the Library Director, the Technical Services/Automation Coordinator is responsible for the coordination of technical activities which include acquisition, cataloging, and processing library materials. The Coordinator is also responsible for managing emerging information technologies and their applications, and use and operation of electronic resources including GEAC's Advance.

Required qualifications include MLS from an ALA-accredited program and knowledge and expertise with library online systems, CD-ROM, the Internet, HTML, and microcomputer applications. Desired qualifications include networking experience and experience in a college setting. Send letter of application and resume to Arlene Mack, Fresno Pacific University, 1717 S. Chestnut, Fresno, CA 93702, 559-453-2120, email amack@fresno.edu. •

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To learn about MMA Praxis Mutual Funds or to request a prospectus, contact an MMA counselor today or call 1-800-9-PRAXJS. For more complete information, including charges and expenses, see)OOJ" investment representalive to receive a prospectus or callI-800-9-PRAXIS. Please read the prospectus fully before you invest or send money. MMA Praxis Mutual Funds are distributed by BlSYS Fund Services.

34.THE

CHRISTIAN

LEADER

·Could we be doing more?

When you give, you'd like your gift to go as far as possible. Today, there are more ways than ever to do just that.

Talk to MMA and Mennonite Foundation. We can show you charitable giving and estate planning solutions you may not have considered, such as gift annuities or giving commodities. Plus, we can talk about new ways to use familiar financial tools - all so you can honor your commitment to honor God with the resources you have to give.

That's giving in celebration, an important part of your stewardship journey. To learn more about the benefits of partidpation with MMA, call your local MMA representative or 1-800-348-7468. You can also visit our website at www;mma-online.org. Together, we can find ways for you to give more than you imagined.

.. r.-.1 --

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An MMA commitment to helping

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EDITORIAL

Cloud of witnesses

T

he other day, I started reading 1 John. "That which a deep thirst for God, inviting me to stand on the threshold was from the beginning, which we have heard, which of God. My husband amazes me with his humble submission we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at to God. My friend Susan defines Christian sisterhood for me. and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning There are those witnesses who died before I was born. the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testiMy Grandfather Samuel, a carpenter, who constantly reached out to his neighbors. My Great-uncle Emmanuel, who fy to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was preached God's salvation in revival tents. My ancestor Moses, with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you who fled the persecution in Europe to worship freely in that we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and America, or Peter, who wrote that it was God who gave him strength in his treacherous journey from Russia to Canada. with his Son,Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1-3).

There are witnesses I encounter through their written Before I could move to the next verse, a nagging voice in words: C.S. Lewis, Madeline L'Engle, Menno Simmons, the back of my mind stopped me. "You can't trust what Thomas Aquinas, Boethius, Augustine-the someone else says-you have to see it for list goes on. yourself."

By ignoring And there are witnesses in scripture.

Where did that come from? the testimony of the Hebrews 11 lists person after person who Of all the people in the Bible, I've always was present when God's finger touched thought I identified most with Thomas. You saints and the Holy the world, who witnessed God's mighty know, the one who refused to believe that acts in history-Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus had risen from the dead until he could Spirit, we are left Sarah, Rahab. Then there's John, Paul and see for himself-even though his closest and few ways-if anyPeter of the New Testament. dearest friends assured him that Jesus was The Holy Spirit is an even more poweralive. I thought my identification with to know that Jesus ful witness. Every one of the witnesses Thomas was just because I am a questioner around me is imperfect (with a propensity by nature. After all, I am a journalist. ever lived, died to sin, no less), but the Spirit is perfect.

But recently I've realized that I am a rose again.

These are not singular voices, but a vast child of this age as well. Today, people have number of sources all proclaiming God's a hard time accepting personal testimony as a viable way to know truth. After the 0.). Simpson trial or acts and presence in history. We lose out if we discount personal testimony and the voice of the Spirit as a viable means the more recent impeachment trial in the Senate, how can I of discovering or knowing truth. By ignoring personal testitrust what people say? The testimony of the Holy Spirit is mony, we are left to somehow come up with the wisdom of even more suspect. The psychology I studied in college stubbornly whispers, "Did you really experience God? Are you the ages all by ourselves, a task at which we will ultimately sure it wasn't the fulfillment of a the desire to know that you fail. By ignoring the testimony of the saints and the Holy Spirit, we are left few ways-if any- to know that Jesus ever are not alone in the universe?" lived, died or rose again. And by closing ourselves off from Giving into this "conventional wisdom" is costly. It isolates us. It closes us off from a cloud of witnesses speaking the Spirit, we literally close ourselves off from God. to our lives-thousands of years worth of people who give But we are not the only ones who lose out. evidence of God's presence in history. But it is more danWhen I tell others the stories of these witnesses, I testify of God. I recount the evidence of God at work in the world. I tell gerous than that. It also closes us off from God, and we in turn close others off from God. others of God's acts and presence. Further, if I lay my own life open to others, I allow them to see the Spirit working in me.

We must speak of what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what our hands have touched-we must We are surrounded by witnesses we can see, touch and proclaim the Word of life. For when we testify, we bring othhear, as well as those who hover about us unseen but with ers into fellowship with us "and our fellowship is with the clear voices.

There is the testimony of those I know. My parents have Father and with his son, Jesus Christ." -CA

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36 •

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Recently many have asked .

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This error will.cause some compute~s tOnialfunction and others to ~tP~ , ' ",- . O~ , fun~~ionin.g altoge1ner. ' " ' ,." , : ,:,' '" . ," , ,,' , _ " ~ '.

two.

, When a. hurrican~ ap~ro~ches; the~ National Hurri~a'ne <:enter goes to. great ~ lengths to determme Its size and wmd spe~d. The IntensIty of the hUrricane may be ' ' anywhere from a category 1 with sustained ~inds sligh~~y above 75 mph to a category ~ , 5 with sustained winds-iii excess of 1'55 mph and 20-foot tidal surges: Category 1 - , . ' " . hurricanes cause minimal damage, whil,e a categ~ry 5 hurri~ane is capable of causing ,major catastrophic damage. ' " , , , ,

"A~~ordi.n,~ t~ 't~e .f~derai g~~~rnme~t's General Accounting C?f.fice, "Th.e puplic faces

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,a high risk that'cntlcal services prOVided by the government and the private sector , could be'sev~Fely d~snjpted by theY2K computer crisis. Financiil transaCtions co'uid ,', , be delayed, flights g~ourid~d,',and ,~ower lost."

"Y2K also ,.h?S, the potential of disrupting communication w<?rldw~de/, 'explained , ' F:eqeral Comrt:Jlmication Chairman William Kennard in Senate testimony. '

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in the "re~e~rch '.;;e have done, al'rriost all' the exp,erts ?gtee that we· ~i11 be impacted ' ' bY,Y2K at some level. Th'e:h~rricaneis coming! The question is -, will ,this be' category i hurricane with minimal con5eql;lEm~es,or will it be a cat~gory .5 th,at poses a s'erious threat to the economy.?

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Only God knows the answer to that questiun. But jl,Jst as ahy priJdent person prepares for a hurricane, I 'would encourage you to prepare for Y2K'.. And I recommend that , CfJn,t, page 2

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.Give it away...,

you begin now rather than wait to do the following: 1. Secure a copy of all your financial records - bank statements, brokerage accounts, Social Security number, mortgage payments, and other financial inf9rmation that are kept oh computer.

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3. Have enough potable water and .. .

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Most of us' are exposed early in life tQ ~e idea that there is. something magic~!.l in giving., ~ether we, understood it 'or not, we saw it in those who seemed to take so m~ch delight in bestowing treasUres o~ lis ,whep we were young. '

2. Have- access to cash. In q hurricane, electrical service can be disrupted, and credit cards an<:J checks are often not accepted.

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. ,Everyone has hear~, the Biblic~l concept that iris . ,'''mQre blessed:to give than to receive.,", ..

Ahd virtUally anyorie who has' ~e~n the ey~sof ~ ': ,'child light up at the mere mention of a'present ,understands how powerful the act of giving really

imperishable food to last your family for 30 days.

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. , -But did you lrn6w'tbat there is' a p~o'ven strategy that makes it possible to actu'ally give' away a porti0Il'of ',your estate - nptjust one time, but twice? There is! , ' And it is a perfect example of how some.careful planning can stretch the power ofgiving to' new," ,levels. ' ,

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, You Can Thank Un¢le Sam .. This "'give ltawiay,rivice" strategy is baSed on Uncle Sam's tecogmtion of~eimpo~ce of ~haritable contributions in oqr society, lind the incentives for $is ~d of support that have ~eeit . built into' our tax laws for years. " ' '

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It would be an <t tHmg to let Y2K us anx·ety. you find that happening, remember the security you possess in the manifold promises of our Heavenly Father. "For the Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him" (Nahum 1:7).

(This anicle was f/daptedfrom an article by Howard Dayton in Crown Chronicles, Winter 1998-1999.)

, Most are familiar wtththese incentives ~s evident in the-Income tax charitable deduction. , By way of this' deduction, our tax code actually , ' enc~urages the private individ~a1 support of chari'- .. table orgarnzations ..:. allowing each individual ' , citizeIi to choose 'where personal support should be , given. Indeed~ it is the private support of individli- ' als and families that mak~s the work of the U :'S. Conference and M.B. Foundation possible.

Beyond The Income Tax Charitable Deduction A less known fact IS that our tax laws - even in the light of the most recent revisions - offer some powerful incentives that reach beyond the deduction you are allowed to take each year on your Form 2

1040. C~eful, informed planniiigcan often result in the actu~ multipliciztion of '. $e iliipact value of -.., certain t~sorirges. And while manyphm:sexist that can .. . ... · have'itrnrrecliate or short-tetin' ' . kpac:t, tn' article VIe warit . . . to ~xaniiqe a plannirigstr~t- '.' . · egy that allows you, at~ea$, . ;: to~ctually give ~.P9W.bIi of:" your estate away twice~ ,. :': . . . . .

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This plan is very s~ple;iJi " . .. terms of~~: es~te pI~rtg- . · strategyitemploy~~ The> .' >. . . ;Janguage'6r'th~Will~s~a~- ._ ;'. ,lishes'a Tfust:at the oeath6f; ." individual (or; in th~ cas¢~of hri$b~d'and v.rtf~,cit '~e thne ofth~· second death). For purposes of our ' . : ; :illu~St:f!ltiQri,~eass_Uriie'thattheentir.eesiate·i~.placed· i~tothe triist at the time of'death. It s~ould be npted , "that :~s partic:tii;rr plaI1.ismp~t attractlv.e io··tho~~~hOse e~tat~s~e medium in size. .

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..The.trus~~t~·l;>e~trutturediilori.e:oftwo w~ys.· 'in tilusliation Ithe$500,OOO es~te is transferred into the Trust, .The isesrabtish¢to.malceannual paym¢nts .'to .speCified·charity(ies) fOJ; term of ten years.

SimulUu1eously, e~ch yearoile~tentli ofthev~ue,'oft:Qe TriisH~distiibUt¢d to familY members. This Trust. · sttuCfut¢ is attractive becaQ'se.the iricOliieg1ven to charity'is tai~free,;'While the payments· made to family from tQe'pnnCipal6ftheTruSt are ~sotax~free.·. " , .' " .

Trust

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TOPICS FOR THE FAMILY

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. FebruarY is the. month of sweethearts, cupid, valentines, and love.

And how . . 'do we express.our iove...by showering our sweetheart with chocolates, cards, roses and gifts. The money we spend communicates our feelings. Just 1Q! not buying a gift or a card and find out what that communicatesl

Did 'you know it is the same way with God? The Bible instructs us to "honor the lord from your wealth" (Proverbs 3:9). We express to God our love, worship and honor when we give to H,im financially. God doesn't need our money. After all, He owns "the cattle on a thous'and hills." But, He does needior us to express our love to Him. How about making a special Valentine's gift to a worthwhile ministry as an expression of your love to our Savior?

3

CLIP AND MAIL , Please send me some information on giving through trusts.

I would like more information about' a Ministry In~estment Fund account.

,

Please s~nd me information on The Giving Project

Send me information on wills and estate planning, I have a questi()n abou,t

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'Plea~eccintact ~e,by phone. The best. time to reach me .is: _ _--'-

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Name Phone Address ",

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ME'NNONITE BRETHREN. , FOUNDATIONAN.D " "MENNONITE'BR'ETHREN BiBLICAL SEMINARY' . . ~repartnering ~ith Christian 'Financial Concepts to present a, worksh'opon, Pastor's Finances, , ,March :10, 1999 at ,. ,

. The :Magic of Giving

Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno CA.' "

This .Gi\;~ It TWic~ Trust is just one example of how, ,.tlrro1,1gh,plaiining,' iUs possible for almost anyone to ~eaIize thpse philanthrc?pic Oreams, while fulfilling YOllr objectives w'ith reSpect to 'family. OUf' office " ,has professionals trained in the area of,charitable tax planning - and we're happy to offer information ~s a complimentary, service. So, t? see how the Give It TWice Trust, might work, or to explore other ~ower­ ''iul planning options, call or write our office.

This o'ne-daY'conference has been , designed to give pastors and church , leaders a better understanding of , the biblical principles that apply to finan~es. Three topic areas will be cove'red: personal finances, church administration an'd starting a . financial ministry in your church.

(All injoT11UJtion contained in this newsletter is presented as an , educational service. It is not designed or intended to replace the advice' and counsei ojyour personai professio~l advisors,)

., For more information, . call (316) 947-3151.

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Money to be invested in our Ministry Investment Fund. Our lending activities are at an all-time high. To become involved in this Frnancial Community of Faith call 1-800-551-1547.

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.•. . ,: this'fuh-tiI1l~~ositionis'te~PQnsible for.' .··cihtactjvitY.Qri,ili~ We$t Ooast arid would' ,be. .. based in'. Centrai .. , . California>:' '

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DIRECT INQUIRES TO:

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