IREAD THE LION, WITCH AND THE WARDROBE at a young age, and my husband taught himself to read on the Chronicles of Namia when he was sick with malaria on the mission field as a boy. Recently, we began reading an illustrated copy to our three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Okay, maybe we are a little too eager. Three and a half is a little young. But Narnia and AsIan captured our imaginations both as children and adults, as it has millions of children and adults around the world. It is a classic in both Christian and secular circles-Lewis is one of the few Christian writers whose work has crossed over into both. Lewis is also one of the 20th century's greatest Christian apologists and thinkers. His books and writings have influenced many in their decisions to follow Jesus and encouraged many in their walk with God.
So, it was with interest that I read Doug Miller's article, which explores links with Anabaptism and Lewis. Miller finds similarities between what Lewis and those in our denomination hold as valuable in Christian life. This issue also includes a look at who Anabaptists are, our history, what we believe and the challenge of defining ourselves today.
In BodyLife, you can read about what Anabaptists are doing around the world today. Our first article highlights the links our Utah church has with the Olympics being hosted in Salt Lake City. We've also included an article about the struggles our brothers and sisters are facing in Africa. You can also find out what issues our U.S. Conference leaders will be facing next month when they gather for their annual board meetings.
Enjoy and God bless. -CA
COMING
FEBRUARY 17-Peace Sunday
MARCH 11-13-Pastor's Orientation, Aurora, Neb.
MARCH 15-16-U.S. Conference All-Boards Meeting, Fresno, Calif.
-JULY 25-27-U.S. Conference and General Conference conventions in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada
VOLUME 65, NUMBER 2
Who
Like many Christian denominations today, Anabaptist denominations have their roots in the Reformation of the 1500s.
EDrrOR Carmen Andres
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The Christian Leader (ISSN 0009-5149) is published monthly by the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 315 S. lincoln, Hillsboro, KS 67063. The Christian Leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of their denomination, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dialogue so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelicaVAnabaptist 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.
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BY DOUG MILLER
What do Anabaptists ave in common with C.S. Lewisarguably one of the 20th century's greatest Christian apologists and author of one of the most enduring and enchanting collections of children's stories?
IN JHE 19_, WELWCNOWN
torian Guy F. Hershberger and his wife d to look up C.S. Lewis during a visit to ng1and. On a whim, they dropped in on the author unannounced. They found the writer in his office (where Clara was intrigued by dozens of smoking pipes displayed on a rack). Though total strangers, Lewis welcomed them warmly, and they shared good company and conversation.
Many of us also have found Lewis worth a visitthough more often his writings rather than Lewis himself. From the well-known children's Chronicles ofNarnla to his theological works, Lewis' insights on temptation and the nature of love, his challenge to think clearly about issues of faith, his literary pictures of the union of God's holiness and love and his visions of joy in God's presence challenge and inspire us.
Mennonites are not alone in their interest in Lewis. He has drawn readers from all denominations. In fact, his writings at first glance appear to be more in line with main line Protestants than Anabaptists like Mennonite Brethren. For example, whlle he acknowledges the dangers of nationalism and civil religion, Lewis rejects pacifism and nonviolence as a public response to war -an historical commitment for Anabaptist churches-in "Why I am not a pacifist" and elsewhere.
Lately, however, I've begun to notice some Anabaptist-like elements in Lewis' understanding of faith. Like early Anabaptists and Mennonites today, Lewis challenges Christians to rethink their ideas about several key issues: What really was the significance of Christ's death? What role does obedience play in Christian faith? What is our purpose as Christians? And just how important is the church?
Undersfandini Christ's death
Theologians have for centuries to understand the significance of Christ's death-or the concept of "atonement," as it is known in theological circles. Anabaptist Christians have been troubled by some approaches to atonement that cele-
brate the work of Christ on the cross but at the same time obscure or eliminate the call for us to be obedient to Christ and live as his disciples-the concept of "discipleship."
For example, take the "legal substitution" model, developed by John Calvin in the 15005 from a 12th century idea. This model depicts God as a judge who condemns the guilty while Christ is the substitute who bears the punishment of the condemned. While celebrating our reconciliation to God, this model is troublesome. Once the pardon is declared, any further actions of the released "criminal" seem irrelevant. The model focuses on the "pardon" but obscures how the pardoned are to live out their lives.
Anabaptists put more emphasis than many Protestants on discipleship, the Christian's cooperation with the Holy Spirit to live as God intended. In the early 1500s-at the same time many Protestants were embracing the "substitution modei"-Anabaptists affirmed the unique and necessary role of Christ's death in salvation but refused to relinquish the importance of following Christ in life. For them, Christ's role in bringing believers to a reconciled relationship with God included not only his crucified death but also his teaching, servanthood, resurrection and promise of the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Anabaptists insisted that Christians must follow Christ and live as his disciples.
Lewis agrees. He illustrates this concept in the Narnian tale of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the story of four children who enter the mysterious world of Narnia through a wardrobe door and encounter the lion AsIan, the Christ figure. Near the end of the book, the story's embodiment of evil-the White Witch-is attacked and nearly defeated by AsIan. However, she demands her right to the life of one of the human children, Edmund, who has been a traitor. AsIan acknowledges her right to Edmund, but offers himself in Edmund's place. The substitution is accepted, Edmund is freed, and AsIan is killed. Yet the great lion rises on his Narnian Easter day to finally defeat the witch.
Lewis presents an alternative model of atonement here, sometimes called "Christ the victor." The earliest adopted by the church, this model depicts Christ battling and defeating the devil and setting enslaved captives free. Immediately, the same objections can be raised: the ransom has been paid and the captive set free. Discipleship again seems unnecessary.
But Lewis adds a twist. The children not only participate in the battIe against evil before AsIan's resurrection, but they battIe against evil after his resurrec-
tion as well-an arrangement that continues into the subsequent Namian adventures and books. Three of the children are given special gifts for the ongoing fight-a shield and sword, a bow, arrows and hom, and a healing cordial-just as Anabaptists recognized an ongoing spiritual battIe which is fought with spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-12). While the defeat of evil is sure because of Christ, Christ's faithful followers con· tinue to participate in the battle--obedient discipleship-until the consununation of the age.
Who was C.S. Lewis?
VERY FEW OF us HAVE not been touched by C.S. lewis In one form or another. If we haven't read yet The Uon, the WItch and the WardlOb&-the story of a group of children who come Into contact with the myst. rlous other world of Namla and the messianic lion Aslan-chances are we are reading It to our own children and grandchildren or they are reading It In school. Even If we don't read the book, we'll at least see advertisements for an upcoming Hollywood movie adaptatlon-lf not the movie Itself-slated for 2004.
So, who was the creator of the Chronicles of Namla and writer of a host of other Christian works?
Clive Staples lewis, born In 1898 In Belfast, Ireland, Is probably the best known and most effective 20th century writer of Christian apologetics. He was a respected scholar and teacher at Oxford University for 29 years (1925-1954) and then served as a professor at Cambridge University until the end of his life (1955-1983).
When he was 10, lewis' mother died of cancer, and he delved Into the world of literature, composing stories at a young age. In 1916, he won a scholarship to University College, Oxford, but put his education on hold due to World War I. He served as a second lieutenant and was wounded In a battle In France. He returned to school shortly afterwards and graduated In 1923. lewis was an atheist In his early life. He adopted theism In 1929, and then converted to Christianity In 1931, which he writes eloquently about In Surpdsed by Joy, an autobiography.
In his youth, lewis was Influenced by other Christian writers. In telling of his conversion, he relates how he
dlscovered-wlth surprls&that all of the authors he most admired were Christian. At first, he thought he liked them In spite of their Christianity, but then realIzed that It was because of their Christianity.
lewis was a talented debater and writer, writing prollflcaHy In many genres: novels, poetry, children's literature, fantasy, science fiction, literary critIcism and apologetIcs. His works cover a wide spectrum of topics, both contemporary Issues and endurfng questions of human meaning In the world as creatures of God. several serfes of talks about religion on the British Broadcasting Corporation were later published In Mere Christianity, one of his best
known apologetic works.
Durfng his years as pr0.fessor, lewis Joined with good friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolklen-author of the well-known Lord of the Rln.. and whom lewis credits as an Influence In his conversion to Chrlstlanlty-ln formIng a literary group called the Inklings. Their Tuesday lunchtime sessions became a well-known part of Oxford social life.
In 1955, lewis married Joy Davldman Gresham, a jewish American divorcee. She died of cancer In 1980. lewis writes of his experience In the poignant A adef Observed. His relationship with Joy was also the subJect of the film Shadowlands (1994), starring Debra Winter and Anthony Hopkins and based on a successful stage play. lewis died of osteoporosis three years after Joy. Many Christians partly or largely credit reading lewis as an Influence In their decIsion to become Christians. His works continue to stir the hearts and minds of many. from various sources about C.S. Lewis and his work
Who are the AnalJaRtists?
ANABAPTIST DENOMINAtions, like many other Christian denominations of today, had their beginnings during the Reformation period In the 1&008.
Martin Luther, a CathoUc priest, began this Reform. tlon In 1517. His basic belief was summarized as Justlflc. tlon by faith alone, as opposed to the then-popular belief among Catholics that you eamed salvation by your good works. For Luther, the true church was to be found wherever the "Gospel was rightly preached." As a result of his writings, biblical study and espoused principle that Scripture alone had authority, Catholic authortty-then the sole relglous authority of the Christian church-was challenged and eventually undermined.
Four main branches of believers formed during the Reformation:
• Lutheran churches, who generally retained tradItional liturgical forms, giving and sacraments. Modem denominations Include the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
• Reformed churches, most heavily Inftuenced by the theology of John C8IvIn Md Urich ZwIngII, two pr0minent refonneIs. Two pr0minent denominations Include the PresbyterIans, In which elected laypersons partlcipate In the work of the priesthood (presbytery), and Congregationalists, who espouse a church polity Insisting on lndependellC8 and autonomy of local congregations.
• AngIIcana, the Church of England, which Is known for Its great latitude In d0ctrinal and disciplinary matters. EmergIng from this branch are the Methodists, strongly Influenced by Anglican John Wesley and focusing on both evangelism and social welfare, and the Quakers, noted for a deep commitment to the Holy Spirit, social betterment and paclflclsm.
• Anabaptists or "r. baptizers," the most radical movement In the Reform• tlon, got their name because they Insisted that water baptism should be reserved for adults only. This conviction led them to baptize each other as adults even though they had been baptized as Infants. Modem
For Lewis, both the atonement of Christ and the activity of his followers are part of God's struggle against evil.
Unveiled {oees
Uke atonement, the nature of discipleship is also open to different understandings.
Early Anabaptists stressed that through Christ's work on earth Christians are now enabled to live obedient lives. Christ "restores" the belIever, enabling him to cooperate with God in choosing good. Early Anabaptist Dirk Philips said, "Every person must by the enlightenment, operation and declaration of the Holy Spirit be born again into a new divine being, yea, into the fellowship and likeness of Jesus Christ."
According to early Anabaptists, discipleship isn't subsequent or secondary to salvation but actually
denominations Include Mennonites, Mennonite Brethren, Church of the Brethren and the Amish.
The early Anabaptists .-cs with Luther, Zwingil and CaMn that salvation Is through personal faith In Christ alone, not by sacraments or works of penance. They also agreed with ref0rmers that the final authority for CIwIstIans Is the BIble.
But they did not agree with reformers on all points. Luther, Calvin and their ass0ciates wanted reformation of the medieval church. The Anabaptists wanted restoration of a New Testament church. The reformers looked to the state to defend the establishment of an official religion. The Anabaptists, on the other hand, sought no government's endorsement. The reformers asserted that aA people should conform to the official state religion, while Anabaptlsts-long before philosophers promot· ed the lde&--proclalmed relIgious and cMlllberty for all. The reformers specifically endorsed military action and klAlng by Christian soldiers. The Anabaptists expressed love for their persecutors and
prayed for them.
These differences led Luther, Calvin and Zwlngll to oppose harshly the Anabaptists. In fact, of the 20,000 to 40,000 Anabaptists martyred In the early decades of the Reformation, likely more were massacred by Protestants than by catholics.
As a result, Anabaptists were not part of the great Protestant Reformation but essentially established a third option with their distinct values.
Today, many other groups have accepted much of what the Anabaptists rediscovered and the differences between Anabaptlsm and Protestantism have decreased. But the total set of Anabaptist beliefs remains distinctive (see "What Is Anabaptlsm anyway? page 12). Even though the heirs of Anabaptlsm have often not practiced and preached It consistently, Anabaptlsm remains a unique blend of basic biblical principles. --compiled from various sources including the "From Anabaptist Seed w (www.thirdway.com) and the Anabaptism Faith and Life pamphlet of the Canadian MB Conference
constitutes an essential part of the salvation process. In short, they link their understanding of Christ's work with obedient discipleship-which makes them distinctive from other Christians dUring the Reformation of the 15005.
Again, Lewis agrees with Anabaptists. "Every Christian is to become a little Christ," he says in Mere Christianity. "The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." In other words, obeying Christ is not only a matter of actions; it means being transformed, becoming Christlike from the inside out.
In the same book, Lewis says that Christ provides the help we need to live Christ-like lives. He compared this to a guide putting someone back on the right road or an adult teaching a child how to write. Christ can do this because, first, by being human he
suffered the problems while, second, by being God he accomplished the solutions of our plight. Both his divinity and his humanity are essential to our salvation. As a result, the believer is now on the right road (and continues to walk) or able to write (and keeps on writing). The walking and the writing symbolize the outworking of salvation (phil. 2:12-13), and for guidance we look to the model Christ has provided (1 Pet. 2:21). "The Christian," writes Lewis, "thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us."
Lewis illustrates beautifully the essential nature of transformation into Christ's new life in his novel The Great Divorce. In this story, semitransparent figures from hell visit heaven. Though the country is beautiful, the grass hurts their feet and the sheer solidity of the place compared to their wispiness is overwhelming. Although all are invited, the only one who stays must first endure the destruction of his pet vice. This process, which is painful and appears
WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
to cause his death, results in a startling transformation into a glorious creature who then gallops off on the start of his heavenly adventures.
He portrays this process again in Till We Have Faces, where the main character is judged and must undergo the purging of her self-will. She has masked this problem as if it were love for others, but actually she was manipulative and destructive. As a result, she gains a "face"-a new and honest self-just as believers ''with unveiled faces" are transformed into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:12-18).
According to Lewis and the Anabaptists, Christ's command to "be perfect" (Matt. 5:48) is nonoptional and involves a process of transformation (Rom. 12:2) and growth (Eph. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:2). In Mere ChristIanity, Lewis cautions that some people think]esus meant "unless you are perfect, I will not help you." But, says Lewis, what he really meant is, "The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less; but I will give you nothing less."
God is easily pleased by all our stumbling efforts to be faithful, and yet he is paradoxically hard to sat·
THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH
called by God
We believe the church Is the people called by God through Jesus Christ. People who respond In feIth are united with the Iocaf congregation by public confession of baptism. Church members commit themselves to follow Christ In a life of discipleship and witnesses as empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The church Is one body of believers, male and female, from every nation, race and class. The head of this body Is Christ. The church, united by the one Spirit, makes Christ visible In the world. The church exists as local b0dIes of believers and as a worldwide community of faith.
The church Is nourished and renewed as God's people gather regularly to glo-
rIfy God. The early church gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The worshipping community celebrates God's faithfulness and grace, reafflnns Its faithfulness to God, builds up the members of the body and seeks God's will for Its life and mission. As the church observes baptism and the Lord's SUpper, It proclaims the good news of salvation.
FelI......p BCCou lUt,
The church Is a covemm community In which members are mutually account· able In matters of faith and life. They love, care and pray for each other's Joys and burdens, admonish and correct one another. They share material resources as there Is need. Local congregations follow the New Testament example by seeking the counsel of the wider church on matters that aff8cts Its common wit·
ness and mission. Congreg8tIone work together In a spirit of love, mutual mission and Interdependence.
The New Testament guides the pnM> tlce of redemptive church discipline. The church Is responsible to correct members who continue to sin. gatlons forgive and restore those who repent, but formally exclUde those who disregard discipline•
Gifts for ....,
Through the Holy Spirit God gives gifts to each member for the well-being of the whole body. These gifts are to be exercised In God's service to build up the church and to minister to the world. God calls people to equip the church for ministry. Leaders are to model Christ In their personal, family and church life. The church Is to dlscem leaders prayerfully and to affirm, support and correct them In 8 spirit of love.
WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
DISCIPLESHIP
We believe that Jesus calls people who have experienced the Joy of new birth to follow him es disciples. By callIng his followers to take up the cross, ChIt8t invites them to reject the values of the world and offer themHIves to God In a life of service. The Holy SpIrit, who lives In eV8tY Christian, empowers believers to overcome the acta and attitudes of the sinful nature. Filled with low and gratitude disciples delliht to obey God.
In 1ICt community
Chrlatlans enjoy fellowship with God and other believers. At baptism ballev-
ARTICLE 10 OF THE MB CONFESSION OF FAITH
era are Joined to the local church, commit themselves to build up the body of Christ and witness to the good news of the Chlt8tlan hope. In community members grow In maturity as they demonstrate the fruit of the SpIrit, use their spiritual gifts and practice mutual accountability In the disciplines of the Chlt8tlan life. Chrlatlans confess sin, repent and experience God's grace In the life of the Chrlatlan community.
Worship
Jesus teaches that discipleship Is the way of se"'nlal and promises blessing for those who suffer for righteousness. DIsciples are to resist world-
Iy values and systems, the sinful nature and the devil. DIsciples give g8l18fOU8ly and reject materialism which makes a god out of wealth. DIscIples treat ers with compassion and gentleness and reject violence as a response to Injustice. Disciples speak honestly to build others up and reject dishonest, vulgar and talk; they seek to avoid lawsuits to resolve personal grievances, especially with other believers. Disciples maintain sexual purity and marital faithfulness and reject Immoral premarital and extramarttal relationships and all homosexual practices. To be a disciple means to be true to Jesus In everyday life.
isfy. This is because our divine parent urges us toward the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4: 13). One of Lewis' favorite writers, George MacDonald, puts it this way: "What father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his little one to walk? What father would be satisfied with anything but the manly step of the full-grown son?"
Role of the eltuJteh
Lewis, after abandoning his parents' faith at a young age and declaring himself an atheist, returned to the Christian fold in his early 305 and joined the Anglican church. Both Lewis and the Anabaptists understood the church or fellowship of believers to be an integral part of being a Christian. The church is the visible body of the faithful.
• "Mere" Christianity. The Anglican church, while committed to classic Christian creeds, has historically been less concerned about doctrinal orthodoxy than about unity through worship. Lewis' membership in this church as well as his roots in the Catholic-Protestant struggle of Northern Ireland where he was born likely influenced his focus on a Christian faith that embraces the essentials and commonalties among Christians.
On several occasions, Lewis declares the multiple divisions of Christendom to be "a sin and a scandal" in the light of]esus' prayer that his followers be "one" Oohn 17:20-23). While some have criticized both Lewis and the Anglican church for minimizing doctrinal differences, Lewis was not overly tolerant. In fact, he was critical of his denomination on that very point, a matter he reflected in his allegorical character "Mr. Broad" in 1be Pilgrim's Regress, an autobiographical allegory.
His own approach to ecumenism was to argue for a core or "mere" Christianity which could be distinguished both from other religions and worldviews on the outside and from those who embraced liberalism-what he called "Christianity-and-water"within its own ranks. He criticized biblical and theological scholars not for causing divisions but for abandoning the historic faith, an essential part of which was a commitment to Christlike ness. Only within the core was Lewis tolerant.
In the 15OOs, Anabaptists were also willing to separate from other Christians who violated what they considered essential. This concern, as with Lewis, demonstrated itself in theological disputes. They criticized the learned theologians of their day much as Lewis did the liberal Christian intellectuals of his time-as, for example, in his depiction of two clergyrqen in the Screwtape Letters (a book chronicling fictional letters between two demons). Lewis challenged those who maintained traditional Christian language while altering its orthodox content or meaning. The Anabaptists challenged those who failed to consider the implications of such content for obedient action. Both acted out of alarm that the essential goal of discipleship after Christ was being lost. "The Church," Lewis insists in Mere Christiant· ty, "exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs."
• The believer and the church. For both Anabaptists and Lewis, the fellowship of believersthe church-is an inseparable and integral part of being a Christian. While we don't know how much Lewis believed in a covenanted local fellowship, he did regularly attend the same parish church tUl the end of his life.
A selection of books II, c.S. LewIs:
• Mere Chrlst/anlty: Based on radio talks given In the 1940s, an argument for the truth of Christian faith and an Introduction to essential Christian belief.
• The Sctewtape Letters: Insights on temptation and discipleship, told through letters from an uncle devil to his nephew.
• The Uon, the WItch ami the Wardrobe: The ftrst of the NamIB series, a fairy tale presentation of Chrf&. tlan faith.
•A Grief Observed: Diaries of lewis's grief at the loss of his wife.
• Surprised by Joy: lewis' autobiography published In 1955, eight years before his death.
about life
WOlfe:
• The C. S. LBwIs Readers' Encyclopedia: edited by Jeffrey D. SChult and John G. West, Jr.The best single ref· erence work on lewis with artleles on his books and other writings, as well as descriptions of themes, friends and other matters. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998)
• Jack: A LIfe of C. S. Lewl8, by GeoIge Sayer.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis presents the image of the church as a house with several rooms. In each room there is a cozy fire and people eating a meal together. The hall represents "mere" or core Christianity, an entryway of the house by which a person reaches the true goal: one of the rooms (the denominations). For only there, writes Lewis, can one find "fires and chairs and meals."
In The Pilgrim's Regress, he personified the church as "Mother Kirk." Mother Kirk claims the right to be obeyed. The pilgrim is told that it is best to find her from infancy and that God keeps leading back to her those who stray. At first she looks witchlike but is shown in her true beauty at the moment of the pilgrim's decision. Anyone who hopes to find Christ must go to her.
These views separate Lewis from Spiritualists (who taught that the church was nonessential) on the one hand and Martin Luther (who downplayed the church as a "human" institution) on the other. Yet, these same views link him with early Anabaptists, who understood the church to be a visible body of believers. For them, the commitment to the fellowship of believers was highly pronounced, even to the extent of sharing possessions and goods.
In a personal letter, Lewis once wrote that "the New Testament does not envisage solltary religion; some kind of regular assembly for worship and instruction is everywhere taken for granted in the Epistles. So we must be regular practising members of the Church."
•A fellowship of power through weakness. In several of his writings, Lewis depicts the fellowship of faith as having a power that comes through its weakness and innocence. One striking instance occurs in the science-fiction novel 1bat Hideous Strength, where a humble and mostly naive group contributes-largely unknowingly-to the downfall of a horrific evil power.
Early Anabaptists likewise expected that through their faithfulness in weakness, God's work would be done. In "The New Birth," Menno Simons described those truly born of God as being abused and mal· treated, yet manifesting God's Spirit by loving those
Considered by many to be the best biography of lewis. Second edition. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1994)
• The EaentIal C. S. Lewis, edited by Lyle W. Dorsett. An excellent compendium which contains poems and letters, several complete works by lewis (Including The Uon, the WItch and the Wardrobe) and selections from many of lewis' books. (New York: Touchstone, 1988)
who hate them, returnlng good for evil and being willing to lay down their lives for fellow bellevers.
•A voluntary church. For Lewis, the church was also a voluntary society, without coercion beyond the spiritual or intellectual. When he said, "I detest every kind of religious compulsion," he allied himself with the "free" or "believers" church tradition against Reformation Protestants like Zwingli, Calvin and Luther (see "Who are the Anabaptists" page 7). Likewise, the early Anabaptists rejected the notion of a corpus chris· tianum--which defined the believing community by political and geographJcaJ boundary lines.
Lewis' reflects this rejection of a state church when he uses the phrase "become a Christian." In a society where church and state are united, no one "becomes" a Christian because everyone is baptized into Chris· tendom a few days after birth. In contrast, in the Serewtape Letters, Screwtape says to Wormwood, "I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian." That is, this person has made a deliberate decision to join the fellowship of God's people which they were not part of previously.
Thus, like early Anabaptists, Lewis embraced a visible and essential church. One enters voluntarily, the focus is upon becoming Christlike more than being effective, and the emphasis is on being a community of disciples more than upon intellectual respectability.
There is much value in Lewis' work that can be shared by all Christian bellevers. Present day Anabaptists who appreciate Lewis do so, no doubt, for a number of reasons. But there is a significant theological comradeship with Anabaptism, especially regarding atonement, Christian discipleship and the believing community. For us, Lewis is indeed a comrade worth visiting.•
Doug Miller is a professor of Bible at Tabor College, a four-year Mennonite Brethren /tberal arts college in Htllsboro, Kan., and editor of Direction Journal, a North American MB academic journal. Mtller is a member of Ebenfeld MB Church near Htllsboro.
BY PHILIP A. GUNTHER
Community. , term easily taken for granted. What does it really meanespecially in the context of congregational life?
UPLE OF YEARS
AGO, I HAD THE privilege of taking a graduate theology at our local seminary. The class was comprised of believers ous evangelical traditions. We were asked to break into small groups and respond to this question: "How would you define community from a Christian perspective?"
Initially, we felt quite self-assured that this was a fairly simple task. Soon, however, it became apparent that this task was not so simple after all. Even within our group of four, we struggled to achieve a common definition. After achieving no consensus in our small groups, we came together again as a whole class, and another lengthy and unfruitful discussion followed.
We finally accepted the following as our joint definition of community: "People who, by God's grace, are distinct in that they are banded together as one in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit."
The discussion reminded me that I had taken for granted a very significant term. Community was a word I had heard and used often, especially within the context of congregational life-without knowing what was really being said.
I was invited by this same professor to share with the class my own fuith tradition's understanding of church as community. In my preparation for this presentation, I was drawn to the Anabaptists of the 16th century, the ancestors of today's Mennonites. What I discovered in the writings of these 16th-century believers enriched my life and produced gratitude to God for my heritage-the understanding of the church as "community".
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Anabaptist concept of the church was that the church was not understood to be a formal institution like the Catholic and Protestant Volkskirche (mass church); rather, it was understood to be a gathering of the fuithful, a covenant community of saints, a fellowship, a community of the regenerated in Christ, a voluntary brotherhood. On his deathbed, Menno Simons is said to have claimed that nothing was as precious to him as the church.
The Anabaptist concept of the church as "community" was not simply some abstract theological idea; it had "hands." The Anabaptists lived out their convictions about the church as a fellowship of believers in tangible ways. Anabaptist leader Hans Hut, for example, wrote, "A Christian should have all things in common with his brother, that is, not allow him to suffer need For a Christian looks more to his neighbor than to himself" Anabaptist historian Robert Friedmann wrote that this theology was the "discovery which made Anabaptism
so forceful." It was understood that membership in the church came with the responsibility to care for the needs of fellow believers. Historian Arnold Snyder wrote that one of the four marks of the ''visible commUnity of saints" was "mutual aid." Menno Simons identified one of the six signs by which the true church of Christ may be known as unfeigned, brotherly love. To the Anabaptists, the church was a brotherhood banded together by love and practicing mutual aid.
The Anabaptists' model of church as a community was also reflected in their understanding of salvation. In Catholicism, grace and salvation came from God by way of an intermediary (the institutional church and ordained priest), while in Protestant churches this intermediary was removed and redemption was
What is Anaballtism
EVEN THOUGH THE privileged heirs of AnabaptIsm heve often not prac> tIced and preached It consIetentty, Anabaptlsm remains a distinctive and unique blend of basic biblical prtnclples. We do well, coIlecttve1y, to call ourselves back to these basics even es we readily acknowledge that Anabaptists do not poeles. a comer on truth.
Clearly, on certain emphases, .uch as the role of the Holy SpIrit and gatIonal participation In worship, others can teach us much. We, In tum, present our Anabaptist understandIng, which encompes888 12 key principles:
• A wof .... Bible. While not worshipping the Bible Itself, for that would be b1b1lo1atry, Anabaptists affInn that as the In8plred Word of God, the Bible Is the Infallible and Inerrant rule of faith and life for us and for all mankind. Anabaptists insist that Chrl.
tfans must always be guided by the Word, which I. to be colecttvely discerned, and by the SpIrit. But such a perspective must be more than theory. It has been said, "WhIle the Protestant ers had rediscovered SCrIpture, It was the Anabaptists who were willing to put It Into practice."
• EnIphaeIs on ... New Teste""" Because we believe In progressive revel. tlon, Anabaptists make a clear functional dstlnctlon between the equally inspired Old and New Testaments. We see an old and a new covenant. We read the Old and see the perspective of the New and see the New as the fu1fliiment of the Old. Where the two differ, the New prevails, and thus AnabaptIst ethics are derived primarily from the New Testament.
• IEInpbaIs on J.... central to all Anabaptists derive their understandIng of Christ directly from the
received directly from God by the individual. In Anabaptlsm, the conviction was that salvation came to the believing body as a whole; that Is, that the church as a community of the faithful received salvation together. Friedmann wrote that for the Anabaptists, brotherhood was not merely an ethical add-on to salvation but a necessary condition for any genuine restoration of God's image in humanity.
The idea of community also affected the way Anabaptists went about interpreting Scripture. They contended that this should always be done within the community of faith and not by individuals alone. It was the gathered community of believers who should read, interpret, test and apply the Scriptures. Such a powerful witness was given by this communi-
Word and accept a deep commitment to take Jesus seriously In all of life. Such a view runs counter to notions that the commands of Jesus are too difficult for ordinary beHevers or that Jesus' .Ignlflcance lies mainly In pr0viding heavenly salvation. Rather, salvation Is part of the larger whole.
• 1be ity of a beI v ' cIIurcII. Anabaptists believe that Christian conversion, while not necessarily .udden and traumatic, always Involves a conscious decision. "UnIesB a person Is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Believing that an Infant can have no conscious, Inte" Ilgent faith In Christ, Anabaptists baptize only those who have come to a personal, livIng faith. Voluntary baptism, together wtth a commitment to walk In the fuR newness of life and to .trlve for purity In the church, constitutes the basis of church membership.
• 1be lnaportance of
Chrl.tlan Involves not only a decision but also NIIchfolge (following ChrIst In a holy walk). The latter conllnns and expreues the former. In 1582 the Catholic theologian Franz Agttcola wrote: "Among the existing heretlcal sects there Is none which In appearance leads to a more modest and pious life than the AnabaptIsts. No lying, deception, .wearI.... .trIfe, harsh language, no Intemperate eating and drinking, no outward pers0nal display Is found among them, but humility, patience, uprightness, neatness, h0nesty, temperance, straItIhtforwardness In such measure that one would suppose that they had the Holy Spirit of God."
.......... on. cIIurcII wItIIout d ••••• or dlvI The church, the body of Christ, has only one head. Whle acknowledging functional diversity, Anabaptist believers set aside all
ty approach to the interpretation of Scripture that the Anabaptists became known as "hermeneutical communities--communities in which they read the text and struggled for a common understanding."
The church as community was to many in the Refonnation period a breath of fresh theological air. Sadly, for many believers today, the understanding of the church as community has become somewhat shallow. Yes, we frequently use the word and hear it regularly in our congregations, but is it really a part of us? The church as a "community of faith" was literally in our forefathers' blood; many of them died for this conviction.
Defining "community" was not in my experience an easy task. I had taken a fundamental principle of
1'8CIaI, ethnic, class and gender distinctions beca.... are 8ubsumed In the unity end equality of the body. In this • In other emphaees, Anabaptists &e8k, without compromise, to reestabI the New 'estament church.
• ....., In cIHIrch
• ocw...e
00IIIIII"".
CoIporate worship, mutual aid, feIowehlp and mutual accountability characterize this community. An IndIvIduaII8tIc or MIf.centered Anab8ptIet Ie • contradiction In terms.
• .......... from tile
....... The community of the trensfonned belongs to the kIftIdom of God. It functions In the woltd but Is radically eepande from the world. The faithful pilgrim church the world • an allen environment with thoroIIIIhly different ethics, v and this principle Includes ration of church and state. AnabaptIsts reject all forma of civil religion, be It the traditional corpus ChrIatIanum or a more recently formed Christian nationalism.
• ..... cIIurcII • vIeIo
the church for granted. In recent years, as Mennonite Brethren, we have worked hard to revitalize church leadership, to rethink congregational governance and to expand church growth. All of these are excellent pursuits. Yet, all of these are intimately connected with our understanding of church as community. Perhaps we as a denomination would be wise to pause and ask ourselves the same question my seminary professor asked me: "How do you define community?" •
Pbi/tp A Gunther is senior pastor of Parliament Community Church in Regina, Saskatchewan. This article first appeared in the MB Herald, a pub/tcation of the Canadian MB national conference.
.... count.cullure. As a united fellowship of people distinct and different from the rest of society, every Anabaptist congregation models an altemate community. Church bulldlng-telated activities constitute only a amaH part of such community life.
• tIIat tile ....... 1acI
tile way of peace modeled by PrInce of P
Here Anabaptists differ from many other ChrIstIans, at Ie88t when we are true to our creed. Anabaptists believe the peace position Is not optional, not marginal and not related mainly to the milItary. We 888 peace and reconciliation • cardinal to the CInIstlan message and life. God gave his followers this ethic not 88 a point to ponder but • a command to obey. It w. costly for Jesus aneI may also be costly for his followers.
• Coatialbnent to vUUlood. Just. Christ came to be a servant to all, 80 Christiane should also serve one another and others In the name of ChrIst. Thus,
separation from a sinful world Is balanced by a witness to a needy and sinful society.
• lneletence tIIat church be • mlulon8ay chIucII. Since all of society Is a mission tIeId and given the priesthood of all believers, the evangelistic imperative Is central. While numerical SUCC888 must not be minImized, felthfulnees takes precedence. The commission to evangelize persists to the end of the age.
These principles constitute the essence of AnabaptIsm. Each emph.1s can be found elsewhere; the combination cannot. The acceptance of all 12 constitutes the uniqueness of the persu. slon.
-from a Faith and Life brochure on Anabaptism pu/:)Iished by the Canadian MB Conference and written by John H. Redekop, a longtime leader in the Canadian Conference who teaches at Trinity Western University In Langley, B.C. This excerpt first appeared in the November 1996 issue of the Leader.
Interested in "digging" into the Anabaptist understanding of the church? Check
out the following:
• The Anabaptist Story, William R. Estep
• "Menno Simons' Concept of the Church," by Cornelius Krahn In A Legacy of Faith, edited by C.J. Dyck
• "The Anabaptist Concept of the Church," by Franklin H. Uttell In The Recovery of the Anabaptist VIsIon, edited by Guy F. Herschberger
• The AnabaptIst VIew of the Church, by Franklin H. Uttell
• "The Anabaptist Conception of the Church," by Erland Waltner In Mennonite Quartetly RevIew, FEBRUARY
BY GORDON HOUSER
What does it mean to be a Mennonite?
Who decides who is an Anabaptist or a Mennonite? Gordon Houser, associate editor of the Mennonite, a publication of the newly merged General Conference Mennonite and Mennonite church denominations, tackles these questions with Larry Miller, Mennonite World Conference executive secretary.
,AS WE fHINK ABOUT WHAT" MEANS TO BE Anabaptist, one place to look is Mennonite World Conference, the worldwide body of churches that are at least willing to be associated with the name "Mennonite." I asked MWC executive secretary Larry Miller about this identity called Anabaptist. He said it is indeed a major issue for MWC, and he identified three areas of discussion on the topic: historical, theological and organiZational.
• History. Miller says that when MWC was fonnulating the proposal for what has become the Global Mennonite History Project (GMHP), one question was whether to name it Anabaptist or Mennonite. "I argued against using MennOnite, since there are numerous MWC churches not named Mennonite." He wanted a more encompassing name, such as Anabaptist.
The historians, however, said that "Anabaptist" refers to particular groups and movements in a specific historical period (early- to mid-16th century). What comes after that may be Anabaptist-related but is not Anabaptist. So they adopted the nomenclature "Mennonite" for the GMHP.
But that hasn't solved the problem, Miller says. "First, it is cumbersome to continually line up names (Mennonite, BIC, MKC, GKMI, etc.) when we explain who is included in the history; calling them all Anabaptist is temptingly simple." Second, GMHP participants from the South "are more inclined to use the word Anabaptist in a non-historicai way." Third, for at least some of the North American minority communities, which will be included in the GMHP volume on North America, Miller says, "'Anabaptist' identifies an attractive, liberating story whereas 'Mennonite' represents a more oppressive Anglo/Gennanic-dominated story in which they do not feel at home."
• Theology. MWC's 25-year-old constitution provides no theological definition either of Mennonite or of Anabaptist. "My reading of this situation," Miller says, "is that the constitution reflects an earlier period when in fact there was little question about these things: Mennonites all came from inter-related ethnic or historical streams or from the missionaries sent out from those streams." Now the majority of the family lives in the South, and the old presuppositions no longer hold.
The group within MWC assigned to do such defining work is the Faith
and Life Council. Its work involves two phases. The first one (1997-2000) centered on ascertaining a "common core of historic Anabaptist convictions," using Arnold Snyder's From Anabaptist Seed as a primary reference. The second phase (2000-2003) focuses on identifying a "common core of contemporary MWC member church convictions," with the hope that it is in line with the historic common core of Anabaptist convictions. Miller says, ''We have invited all member churches to work internally on this in one way or another, then speak to each other in the Faith and Life Council context, virtually via MWC, then face-ta-face when the Faith and ute Council meets in Bulawayo [in 2003]."
• Organizational. Strangely enough, in the MWC constitution, the criteria for membership have essentially to do with size, not theology, Miller says. There is no constitutional definition of what MWC member churches believe or practice.
So how is membership discerned? The current MWC administration established a process of "leaming to know one another" for dealing with membership requests. Miller explains: "We involve MWC memo ber churches from the continental region of the request in visits and conversations with the requesting church. The conversation includes history, theology, current practice, etc. A recommendation for or against the request is then taken to the Executive Committee and finally voted on by the General Council."
The main question, Miller says, is, Do we consider this group to be part of the MWC family of churches? The goal is that the Faith and Ufe conversations help identify a common core of theological convictions of MWC members. "This will then be used explicitly in the leaming·to-know-one-another process," Miller says, "and probably also in the new constitution and
related documents which, I expect, will be produced post-2003, after completion of the current long-term planning process. "
Jonathan Larson, pastor of Berea Mennonite Church in Atlanta and a former mission worker in Southern Africa with African Independent Churches, is concerned about how this all plays out concretely.
He says that if (or when) the AlCs learn about the MWC gathering in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in 2003, they may decide to go, to just show up. Larson wonders what kind of reception they will get.
Miller says that if an AlC applied for MWC membership, it would be handled like other applications. ''We intend to invite some representatives of AlCs as guests to the next world assembly," he says, "just as we will invite representatives of the other world churches (lutheran, Baptist, Catholic, Reformed)."
Some churches are not as drawn to the name "Anabaptist." Miller meets every year with the general secretaries of the other Christian World Communions. ''When I report on the MWC-related family, I sometimes use the word Anabaptist as a generic and positive term covering all those who are today in the MWC family or relating to it," he says. But for most Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant), Anabaptism refers to a 16th-century (heretical) movement. The head of the Lutheran World Federation Studies Department once asked Miller: "Why do you abandon the word Mennonite for the word Anabaptist? For nearly all of us, it carries negative freight and makes it harder for us to set things right with you."
Miller concludes, "As the French would say, 'noes complique' [how complicated]." •
This article was commissioned and distributed by Meetinghouse, an association of Mennonite editors.
What is mwe?
MENNONITE WORLD Conference Is an International fellowship of churches In the AnabaptIst tradition, ....resentlng 87 Mennonite and Brethren In Christ churches from 48 countries on ftve continents.
MWC'. purpose Is to encourage Anabaptist Christians to "be the church" on the global level by planning IntematIon8I meetings, convening leaders to discuss and take action on Issues of faith Bnd life, helping to create Intemational networks of pastors, educators, women, peaceworI<ers and historians, and communlcatln& news, testimony and teaching from churches around the world.
For more Infonnatlon, visit www.mwc>cmm.org, cell the U.S. office In Clovis, Calif., at (SS9) 291.-2125 or 11 fresnoOmwc>cmm.org••
Participants worship during a meeting of thE MWC General Council and Global Anabaptist Missions Consultation ir Guatemala in 2000.
CARING
Aid in the name of Christ
We are in total agreement with Dianne Reimer (''What Reader's Say," January 2(02) that material aid must always go out "in the name of Christ." As the service arm of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches we at Mennonite Central Committee have no other purpose than to extend God's love and compassion to people in need around the world.
In her letter Dianne expressed concern that, by asking people not to put crosses or Christian messages on the school kits they donate, MCC is compromising the witness of the aid we send out. Actually, the opposite is true. In many cases sending material aid with Christian messages and symbols stands in the way of communicating the gospel. One clear example of this is taking place in Yugoslavia. As in many places throughout the world, we partner there with Christian sisters and brothers. The local organization Bread of Ufe uses our material aid in their ministry to refugees. As Christians in a largely Muslim country, the staff of Bread of Life knows best how to communicate effectively the message of Christ's love in their context. Their Muslim neighbors would be unlikely to accept and carry a bag with Christian messages (just as we would refuse to display the name of Allah or Mohammed), so they ask that we not send school kits marked with Christian symbols. Instead, they offer the unmarked bags and use the opportunity to give a verbal witness, sharing tea and cookies, singing some Christian songs and praying a prayer of blessing before distributing the kits. Though the message is not printed on the bags, it certainly is communicated in ways that are meaningful to the people to whom the bags are given.
In some cases the rules of the country to which the aid is sent prevents us from including Christian messages.
of their national religious life, some countries reject aid that might be seen as a tool for proselytizing. If aid cannot reach the people who need it, the message of God's love also fails to reach those pe0ple. Believing that a tangible gift to a per-
itself, MCC accommodates those countries' requirements. Ifwe would limit our expression of compassion only to those who are willing to accept the Christian message, we would be acting contrary to our God's character whose love extends to all and who "sends rain on both the just and the unjust."
Christians in America are generally sensitive in how we approach our American neighbors with the gospel. We generally would not stuff their mailboxes with tracts or preach loudly from their front porch. We know that these approaches would be offensive and hinder the gospel message.
In the same way, we at MCC want our messages of God's love to come through in ways that can be accepted in each culture. To accomplish this, we listen carefully, relying on the wisdom of people in the countries to which we send our aid. Sometimes we have Christian sisters and brothers or other national partners who can give us guidance. Other times we look to our MCC volunteers from North America to help us discern what is most effective in the country where they serve.
The requests we get vary from place to place. After Hurricane Mitch, for example, the local church invited us to not only send Christian messages, but to include a Bible in each relief pack. In that case, an open invitation to Christ was a welcome message to accompany the material gift. The school kits we receive with Christian symbols are never discarded, but rather are sent to places such as Honduras where local Christians consider them a positive witness. In these cases and many others we gladly take Paul's example, that he became all things to all men (1 Cor 9:22) so that the message of God's love can reach people no matter where they are.
Nathan Elizondo, Material Resource Coordinator Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, Staff Associate for Education West Coast MCG, Reedley, Calif.
Making a difference
BY HAJIMU FUJII
HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE NORTH Fresno Church japanese Chapel? I'm not surprised if you haven't. This church, where I am pastor, is one of the smallest Mennonite Brethren churches in the United States. Our total membership is 10 or so. I received my first salary of $1,211.90 at the end of December 2000.
But this small church sends missionaries. In the last six years, 16 people have been baptized by the japanese Chapel. Six of them still remain in the church, four of them went back to japan, and six of them moved out of Fresno. In japan, they are witnesses ofJesus Christ. They are missionaries who are sent from our Fresno church.
We also have a radio ministry. I have a gospel radio program every Saturday morning, the only japanese gospel program in central California. The radio station says that the program reaches about 15,000 japanese including japanese Americans. About 40 percent of them can understand the program presented in japanese.
How can we run a church, radio program and send missionaries in such a financial condition? During our first five years, we were supported mainly by Tsuchiyama Mennonite Brethren Church, located west of Kobe, in japan. Tsuchiyama, the church of my mother, has about 80 members. After those first five years, japanese Chapel started a new organization, Fresno Mission Supporters. They are still supporting japanese min· istry in Fresno, even though the average attendance of worship was 20 people in 2000.
This has been our average from the beginning. We have a lot of visitors to our church. Most are students from japan, who go back after finishing their study. In addition, many people move in
Forum is a column of opinion and comment on contemporary issues facing the Mennonite Brethren Church. Manuscripts expressing an opinion for Forum should aim for a length of 800 words. Authors must sign articles and identify their church home and vocations.
and out of the city. In California, statistics say people move around the state every four years. Those attending japanese Chapel are no exception. Some of those who attend the japanese Chapel become strong Christians and go back to japan. Others have a burden to continue supporting and praying for our ministries even after they move away.
A little over a year ago, I visited japan for two weeks when my mother became ill and went to the hospital. I visited a Christian church in Kannabe, where I had lived as a child. There is only one Christian church in Kannabe, a city of 42,000. A total of six people-including myself-attended the Sunday service. Pastor Miyake has been planting this church for more than 30 years.
This refiects the present situation of the japanese condition. There are about 7,000 Protestant churches injapan-one church for every 18,000 people. Only 0.5 percent of the japanese are Christian, and 40 percent regularly attend worship services.
However, in America, japanese evan· gelism is a bit better. There are about 900,000 japanese living in the U.S. Among them, about 4 percent are Christian, according to 1990 research done by Dr. Mizuki, a director of the japanese Evangelization Center of the U.S. Center for World Mission in Pasadena, Calif. Mizuki says, "There are 180 churches in the U.S. Ifwe should build a church for every 1,000 japanese, one church could support four churches. Thus we can evangelize japanese people in the U.S."
Many people wonder why japanese evangelism is so difficult. Why are japanese people so hard to reach? Several reasons might be considered:
• Lack of repentance after World War n. Many Christians compromised to the policy of the japanese government during that war. As a result, people's lifestyles are affected. For example, abortion is a terrible problem for the japanese-about 100,000,000 unborn babies were aborted after World War II.
• History. japan has a long history of closing the country to Christianity. From the early 1600s through the late
1800s, a feudal society founded by Tokugawa ruled japan and persecuted and possibly killed 300,000 Christians. This history still influences the japanese.
• Idols and gods. Idols are over· fiowing in japan. It is said that there are eight million gods existing in japan.
• Culture. It is very hard for Chris· tians to keep Sunday worship services because most school, company and community social activities are held on Sunday. Christians keep their faith with all their might, although some of them may not be able to afford to testify of their faith.
The situation is mixed in Fresno. On the one hand, the spiritual situation is worse. Many the permanent residents who experienced World War II in the U.S. and stumbled across Christianity when they were forcibly interned in concentration camps-think Buddhism is superior to Christianity. Much worse, the center of japanese community is the Buddhism center. On the other hand, there is hope in the new generations who did not experience World War II, such as stu· dents, who are comparatively open to the gospel because they are influenced by American Christian society.
The Lord led me to stay and preach the gospel in Fresno through these words: "Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed and the Lord is with us; do not fear them" (Num. 14:9). We will continue to send missionaries to japan.
Hajimu Fujii is pastor of North Fresno Church Japanese Chapel in Fresno, Calif. Ifyou are interested in supporting or finding out more about tbeJapanese Chapel, please call (559) 449-1077.
BY PHILIP WIEBE
WWJDN?
Would Jesus take a iVike deal or give cell phones to his disciples?
LATELY I'VE BEEN THINKING about WWlDN-What Would Jesus Do Now? If he came among us in the flesh, what would happen?
I'm not thinking in terms of big stuff like his mission and ministry. Those would be the same as they were two millennia ago. "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" Oohn 12:46). That hasn't changed, nor would it if Jesus came now.
What intrigues me about Jesus being here today is a little more wacky: How might Jesus respond to various aspects of this weird phenomenon we call modem culture?
First of all, I wonder what Jesus would do when Nike offered him a big sandal endorsement deal. Because you just know they would. Jesus was quite the hiker, and if he was here now he'd be a huge celebrity, with all that walking on water and such. I can see the commercial now. Jesus is walking over mountains, through deserts, across lakes, doing his thing. The slogan appears at the end of the ad: ':Just Believe It." The scary thing is, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if such a commercial was already in development. Our culture has become so irreverent about most everything else, you have to wonder what's next.
Another thing I wonder is ifJesus would send cellular phones with his disciples when they go out in pairs to minister throughout the countryside. My inclination is to say he wouldn't. It's seeming to me more and more that cell phones, ironically enough, are becoming the great anti-communication device. You can't even go to lunch or coffee anymore without people in
your party having to make or receive calls, constantly interrupting the conversation at hand. The other day I got stuck behind a woman gabbing on her cell phone-in the supermarket. She was going back and forth between two people on her line, oblMous to everything else, her cart clogging the aisle. I was just trying to get salsa.
It occurs to me that cell phones and other modem communications devices have created a kind of electronic catch 22. We want to be in easy touch with family, friends and colleagues. Yet it seems like we're spending so much time "in touch" we no longer have time to think, read, reflect-in order to come up with things to communicate that are actually meaningful.
Something else that would interest me about Jesus being here now is how he might react to contemporary Christian music. Some might argue that he would cover his ears and run away. Others might contend that he'd exclaim, "Dude! You finally have something decent to listen to!" Of course both sides would be basing such claims on their own personal tastes. My suspicion is that Jesus would have very little to say about style of music and very much to inquire of both musicians and listeners. To musicians: Are you really doing this for me, or are you more interested in money and glory and exploiting current cultural trends? To listeners: Are you really seeking me or just buying into the fad of the moment?
Perhaps observation of taday's worship-style controversies would lead Jesus to similar comments: I'm not nearly as interested in the style of music as the state of your heart. Have you really come to worship, or are you
merely looking for spirituality that affirms your own tastes and opinions and biases?
An inquiry that would decidedly not intrigue me about Jesus being here is what kind of car he would drive. I read some lively speculation about that a few years ago that interested me so much I nearly fell asleep. One conclusion was that, given his priorities, Jesus would drive an economical, environmentally friendly vehicle rather than a luxury car or gas hog. I agree with that, for the very sound reason that I drive an economical, environmentally friendly vehicle myself. But really, who knows? Jesus might ride a bike, take the bus, drive a Mercedes donated by some rich patron, get a 14 passenger van to haul the disciples or (gasp!) drive an old VWbus.
The reason I don't care what kind of car Jesus would drive is that I don't care about cars myself. I'd be more interested in knowing what kind of guitar Jesus would choose. But of course there's no record of Jesus whipping out a guitar to lead songs during any of his speaking gigs. That's not to say he didn't dabble in lyre or harp during his teens and twenties. There's so much about those inbetween years we don't know.
Which is a good reminder that the best answer to WWlDN? is, we really don't know. Jesus was always doing and saying things that were exactly the opposite of what people expected. Strangely enough, this seemed to happen most often with those who knew him best, his very own disciples. What would Jesus do now? The only way to find out is to step lively, keep our eyes peeled and follow close. •
BY MARVIN HEIN
Questions about faith and life
Balancing tolerance and trutb, and the u.s. convention in Canada
QIn the present crisis In our lanI, how do I balance the hatred I feel for those who would destroy us and the words of Jesus telling me to love my enemies? (C.'lfom'.)
AThis question arose in a conversation initiated by a fellow church member having difficulty accepting my views in my November 2001 column, where I suggested that the Bible is not all that clear about what we as a nation should do to other nations when they act in barbaric fashion. Another person, overhearing our conversation, said he had the answer: "B-52 bombers. When I see U.S. bombers dropping bombs on the enemy, I say: 'Praise the Lord"" The dialogue stopped abruptly.
My fellow believers' words trouble me. There is a rage boiling among us that is not spiritually heaithy. It is very easy and natural to hate Muslims, for instance. We begin to see an "enemy" in anyone wearing a turban. We Californi· ans have seen that too clearly. Death has come to some who were only perceived to be the enemy.
It is clear to me that Jesus urged us to follow in his steps, and he, when reviled, did not revile in return (1 Pet. 2:21-23). I have to confess this is not always easy for me to do. But hatred in Christians of Muslims does not show them the superior worth ofJesus.
There are some other things to consider, however.
We now see one campaign after another that calls for tolerance. In our pluralistic society we praise the virtues of the Koran and perhaps even say their Allah is the same as our God. This encourages us not to speak the obvious biblical truth that Jesus is the only way. Our twisted tolerance makes it appear
that there are only competing faiths, not one that leads to God and another that leads to damnation.
This goes against the truth that anyone who does not confess Jesus Christ as Redeemer, and him alone, does not have eternal life. The apostle John (3:36) clearly shows that only in believing in and following Christ do we find salvation. It is, as evangelical writer and teacher John Piper said recently, "In other words, nominal Christians,devoted Muslims, pious Hindus, faithful Buddhists, orthodox Jews, devout animists, sincere agnostics, secular atheists-everyone who does not hold fast to Jesus Christ as the supremely valuable Son of God and Savior-will perish and not have eternal life."
Tolerance is not evil. But the balancing of tolerance and remaining true to Jesus is not an easy task. I have some spiritual work to do; I suspect you may as wen.
QI've heard that the next United States Conference will be held In Canada. Is that true?
AYou have heard correctly. The U.S. Conference will meet in convention in Abbotsford, B.C., July 2527,2002. The reason for the different venue is because there are three evening programs planned in connection with General Conference dissolution.
In July 1999, a decision was made by delegates to the General Conference Convention in Wichita, Kan. that arranged for the dissolving of the General Conference and transferring the ministries to the two national conferencesCanada and the United States. That process is presently being overseen by the executive committee of the General Con-
Rave a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? E-mail Marvin at mbetnl @fresno. edu or send your question to "InqUiring Minds, • c/o Marvin Retn, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.
ference. The MBMS International (the global mission agency of North American churches) and the Board of Faith and life have already been accepted by the two national conferences. The divesting of the MB Biblical Seminary (with campuses both in U.S. and Canada) and Board of Resource Ministries (the resource and publishing arm) hopefully will be completed in the next several months.
In order to bring closure to this divestiture, it was deemed wise for both conventions to meet at the same place. The U.S. convention will be held in the Bakerview MB Church and the Canadians will meet in the Northview Community Church. Business sessions will take place during daytime sessions. Celebratory worship services, remembering the blessings of the past, giving thanks for the present and trusting God for the future are planned those three evenings in the Central Heights MB Church.
The evening services will have a nostalgic touch to them, since many older persons will remember the good things that have come through the U.S./Canadian cooperation. They will also have a forward look as something of the future will be portrayed. The services will be packed with drama, music of all sorts, multimedia presentations and an interesting combination of programming.
Canadians are encouraging us U.S.ers not only to attend the convention but also to attach a vacation to our plans. Abbotsford is in close proximity to Vancouver with its breathtaking and majestic setting of mountain, harbor, waterfront and verdant Stanley Park. Victoria Island with Butchart Gardens is nearby as well. Other vacation possibilities involving hiking, golfing, fishing, whale-watching, white-water rafting and more. So prepare to spend some of those hot, humid summer days in cooler British Columbia.•
ON Till: JOL !{NEY
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
Christians in danger
Our Indonesian brothers and sisters face persecution and deatb
CHRISTIANS IN SOME PARTS OF Indonesia are in crisis. Early in December it appeared as though there would be a great massacre of Christians on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Thankfully, through a somewhat belated but welcome intervention by government troops, it was avened.
However, the danger to Christians in the area is far from over. Over 2,000 fighters from the extremist Muslim IAskar Jihad are bent on erasing Christianity from this island. Many believe these men are pan of Osarna bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, who were trained by Afghan and Pakistani militants.
During the week of Nov. 26-29 (even though it was Ramadan) these radical warriors brought a rain of terror on numerous Christian villages. Voice of the Martyrs confirmed that 21 Christian villages-600 homes and 64 Christian churches including four Mennonite churches-in the Poso coastal area of Sulawesi were burned and destroyed and at least 7 people were killed. The jihad forces barged in with bulldozers and bombs and destroyed everything in sight. Many Christians ran to the mountains and are now living in the woods and jungles. Others fled to the larger nearby Christian town of Tentena. By the end of November several thousand well-armed, unifonned IAskar Jihad troops had surrounded this city and were planning a massacre of horrendous proportions on Dec. 1.
At first it seemed as though the government couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it. The local police chief said, "The number of attackers is too large for us, so security forces are unable to stop them." Prayer requests were flashed throughout the worldwide Christian community.
God answered those prayers. At 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30, five truckloads of government troops arrived to protect the area. The immediate crisis was
avened. The government has promised an additional 4,000 troops to be sent to the area to keep the peace.
In spite of this, the danger of a massacre remains high for more than 30,000 Christians in the area. The jihad troops are still on the island and have vowed to cleanse it of all Christians. They are armed with AK-47 automatic weapons, rocket launchers and even circular saws and bulldozers. According to a Dec. 21 VOM news bulletin, men armed with machetes search cars looking for weapons or people who may be hiding. They also keep commerce from getting into the area.
About 1,000 people have already been killed on Sulawesi Island in the past two years as a result of fighting between Christians and Muslims. Others have been subjected to vicious torture and forced conversion to Islam. On the nearby Maluku Islands about 9,000 people have died in three years of sectarian warfare, including nine Christians shot dead in Ambon during the week before Christmas.
Three years ago, during January 1999, there was a major Muslim-Christian clash in Ambon, a City on one of the Maluku Islands. Huge numbers of national Christians were threatened with death and tonure. Others fled for their lives into the surrounding jungles. By the time the second wave of violence ended in summer, approximately two thirds of the city had been destroyed. While estimates vary somewhat, it is believed that approximately 5,000 people have died in that area in the last three years and more than 500,000 driven from their homes.
At that time, foreign missionaries in the area fled to the local airport where they were protected until they could chaner a plane from Australia to take them to safety. All got out with their families but they lost everything they owned. Their homes were looted and burned.
I met some of these missionaries. They have tried to rebuild their lives and go on with their work. However, the scars remain. Some can't talk about their experiences. Others have found that the recent unrest, resulting from the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, has brought back many painful memories. One missionary daughter shared how she was again struggling with theanger and fear which the Ambon experience initiated. Mennonite Weekly Review recently reponed that the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi invited Mennonite World Conference president Mesach Krisetya of Indonesia to come to Tentena inJanuary and train 40 pastors who work as volunteers with 16,000 Christian refugees in the area. He conducted trauma counseling workshops. MWR funher stated that Park SeongWon of the World Alliance of Refonned Churches reponed that, apan from hard-line armed groups on both sides, the desire for peace and reconciliation is widespread.
A local pastor gave this advice to the persecuted Christians in Sulawesi. "To all our friends in Tentena: love our enemies, don't hate them. If we do that, then what we're hoping for both our Christian friends and our Muslim friends, will happen."
This confinns what I heard from several sources on my recent mission trip to Indonesia. The missionaries told me that the majority of the people-Muslims, Christians and Hindus-want peace. They believe the unrest is due to the influence of outside agitators who come in and stir up the local radical element into action. What can we do? We can pray. If there ever was a time when the injunction to "pray without ceasing" was essential it is now. There is power in prayer and we must claim it for our brothers and sisters in Indonesia. They are still in danger.•
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Church hosts "Olympic" team
Youth mission teams asked to check their attitude during winter Olympics
BY CONNIE FABER & TARA BISHOP (YMI WRITER)
Dreams of glory-the eternal kind-are on the minds of hundreds of evangelical Christians, including a Youth Mission International team, coming to predominantly Mormon Salt Lake City, Utah, to share their faith during the Olympic World Games Feb. 8-24. And, to borrow a familiar 1V sports slogan, it is their "thrill of victory" that Mennonite
Brethren pastor Paul Robie says could become his "agony of defeat."
"I'm not against outsiders coming in to do [evangelism)," says Robie. "It shows that Christians care. But you've got to have a good attitude. Gentleness, meekness, kindness, love, grace-all those things are just super important or else I'm paying the price for it in my ministry. It sets me back in some of the relationship building I'm doing."
Because the attitude with which one witnesses to Mormons, officially known as Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is so important, Robie has worked with YMI to provide the 45 YMI volunteers his congregation will be hosting with solid training in cross-cultural outreach. And because building relationships is the best way to evangelize Utah, Robie hopes to one day see a former mission trip participant move to Draper.
Youth Mission International is the short-term mission and discipleship ministry of MBMS International, the global mission agency of MB churches in Canada and the U.S. Robie is pastor of South Mountain Community Church, planted less than four years ago by Mission USA (the church planting and renewal ministry of the U.S. Conference) and the Pacific District MB Conference and welcomed this fall into PDC membership.
There will be no shortage of Christians in Utah for the Olympics, says Robie. They will be witnessing at the various Olympic venues, on the city streets and door-to-door. Some will be coming with large organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ and the Southern Baptists while others will represent smaller agencies.
"Sometimes I worry there will be more ministry groups here than actual participants," says Robie with a laugh.
The YMI group is composed mostly of students attending Bethany Bible Institute of Hepburn, Sask. The outreach is part of their mission curriculum, and the students have spent class time preparing for the Salt Lake trip. They have also met outside of school to rehearse and prepare drama presentations, a major com· ponent of the outreach.
Helping visitors understand the importance of their attitude while witnessing is something Robie emphasizes when he hosts a group. IDS adherents have been taught to take pride in being a persecuted people and have a negative view of Christians because of confrontational witnessing methods.
"If you come across, when you share the Gospel, like you're persecuting them, they thrive on that," says Robie.
''We can't have an attitude. We can't be smarter. We need to be humble in our approach as we share the Gospel," he says. "It's okay to share the Gospel here-it's the attitude you do it with."
Mark Erickson, coordinator of high school ministries at Laurelglen Church in
Bakersfield, Calif., was in Draper dUring the New Year holiday with a group of 18 students for a four-day outreach ministry.
Erickson says that in spite of his warnings, until his students actually had first-hand experience sharing their faith with a LOS member, they did not realize how easy it is to become defensive.
"Your focus is on love, not being right or tearing down what [LOS] believe but on building trust and some sort of relationship----even in a half hour conversation at the mall," says Erickson.
The Bakersfield youth group shared their faith at a local mall one day and another day talked with LOS missionaries at S:Ut Lake's Temple Square.
While in Utah, the YMI group will form three teams, each working on dif· ferent assignments. YMI program coordinator Ken Snyder has worked for the better pan of a year to prepare for the team's trip to Salt Lake, phoning and visiting the area to ensure the YMI teams will be well used.
At Olympic venues, YMI teams will practice Random Acts of Kindness. Due
to regulations regarding residency, YMI participants will not be allowed to actually volunteer with the Games.
But Snyder is more interested in ministering to South Mountain and Salt Lake's poor than in being noticed by those attending the Olympics. The YMI team will work alongside South Mountain youth, many who are new Christians, encouraging them and supporting their ministry.
The team will also volunteer with the Salvation Army and the Rescue Mission, do open-air outreach drama in the park and prayer intercession for the city. Snyder says, "While everyone's eyes will be on the Olympics and the athletes, our eyes will be on the unnoticed, the homeless and those in need."
Robie continues to host mission teams in spite of some negative experiences because helping young people see the needs of and develop a burden for Utah's LOS people is the best way to spread the Good News.
"I welcome these groups more because of the potential of some of
July 25-27, 2002 7:00-8:30 p.m. IN BEAUTIFUL BRITISH COLUMBIA
Experience three evenings that tell our story and inspire hope for the future; held in conjunction with the Canadian and u.s. Conventions held in day-time sessions.
Central Heights Church, Abbotsford, Briti!>h Columbia Registration not reqUired. Childcare for children to age 5.
For more information contact: Marvin Hein at 559-452-17n or mhein1(iJ fresno.edu U.S. MB Conference website: www.usmb.org
Canadian Conference website: www.mbconf.ca General Conference website: www.mbconf.org
them moving here than for the great good they are going to do while they're here," he says.
"These kids have to come here and get a burden for [LOS people] and move here. That's the only way we're going to do it," says Robie. "There's no short cut to reaching Utah. Everybody has tried all the shortcuts-they don't work."
What does work, says Robie, is Christians developing personal relationships with LOS people.
"I believe that it's much better to invest in a long-term local church situation," he says. "There's more lasting fruit, especially in [this] situation where people are controlled by a cult. Confrontation evangelism just doesn't work here."
Utah is not a "dark hole for evangelism" if one uses the right strategy and has an appropriate ministry philosophy, says Robie. "Utah is as ripe as anyplace in the U.S. for evangelism," he says. "Local churches are seeing people come to Christ on a regular basis."
In spite of Robie's belief that longterm evangelism strategies are the best,
he also supports other methods because he believes in the power of God's Word.
''We always have to be reminded that the Word of God does not go out without effect. If people will just share the Word of God In a humble, kind way it can have some good effect," he says. "But the potential for negative effect is really there unless people are trained and understand how to do this. "
And the people who understand best how to reach Monnons have been there themselves. "[Former Mormons] are our best evangelists because no Mormon can say anything to them because they've been there. They know all the arguments and so it's much more effective than an OUl5ider coming In," says Robie.
South Mountain is a growing congregation of 200 families that is well known in the community. The congregation hopes to grow to at least 600 people by October 2002 and recentiy added a third worship service. In midJanuary, it mailed 40,000 postcards letting the community know folks have three worship opportunities at SMCC.
"We always keep it light on these types of postcards and it takes these Mormons totally off guard," says Robie. "They don't know how to respond."
Thanks to South Mountain's approach, Robie has found that even people who have never visited South Mountain know of the church. "'We're here and we'd love to have you come'-that's the tone we're looking for," says Robie. "I'll explain that to the Bethany group."
Helping mission teams set a good tone In their outreach efforts is one lesson from which many young people can benefit. Laurelglen's Erickson says understanding the value of communicating with Mormons sensitively has helped his high schoolers share their fuith with their friends In a more sensitive way.
"One of our purposes is education," he says. "It is an eye-opening experience to see a vastly different culture. The IDS church Infiuences the entire culture. Religion is what drives the state of Utah."
Understanding what a Mormon means when he claims to be saved is an example of one of their beliefs that can confuse a young missions team memberwho is witnessing to a Mormon. In IDS theology, to be saved is to be assured of resurrection, purchased for all by Jesus' death. But once one is resurrected,
there is still the matter of working towards "exaltation." To be exalted is to work one's way to becoming a god, the highest degree attainable in the celestial kingdom, through temple work, paying the tithe, keeping the Word of Wisdom, paying endowments and other works of Mormonism.
"[The IDS] will use the word 'salva· tion' and they'll mean 'resurrection, ," says Robie. "If you don't understand
§
IDS theology, you're going to walk away thinking this guy is saved. You can't learn that in a 15 minute seminar," says Robie. "It's going to take something more than that."
And Robie prays that "more than that" for some young person, some day will mean joining Robie's family and the other Christians at South Mountain in living and working to bring Mormons into God's family.•
2002
Itinerary and Invitation
CPE, under the sponsorship of MBMS International, invites bom-again Christians to serve as volunteers for its evangelism outreach to:
NOTE: Dates may be subject to some changes, pending further confirmation of some campaigns.
• Team up with national Christians and witness for Christ door-to-door.
• Some knowledge of the language of the country is helpful.
• Between 800 and 2800 persons have prayed to acceptChrist as their personal Saviour and Lord during a two-week CPE campaign. Come and be part of an enriching spiritual experienee--discover what God can do through you.
For "rlller InfonnIdIoIII, contact:
Church Partnership Evangelism office: telephonelfax: 604-864-3941
Peter Loewen (residence) fax: 604-853-6482
Church Partnership Evangelism is a "church-to-church" effort that involves all bornagain Christians in personal evangelism worldwide. Your application to participate will be forwarded to the CPE Executive Committee for processing.
Providing aid, promoting peace
Newborn goats and soccer matches are signs of ,. peace in Burundi town
hen one recalls the most tragic world events of the 19905, the brutality done by Tutsi and Hutus to one another in Africa's Great Lakes Region comes to mind.
The populations of Burundi and Rwanda share similar divisions of ethnic identity-approximately 85 percent Hutu, 14 percent Tutsi and 1 pen::ent Batwa.ln both countries, these ethnic identities determine loyalties during times of political and economic stress and have resulted in widespread civilian deaths.
The region burst into the world's consciousness in 1994 when as many as 1 million Rwandans were killed as genocidal violence erupted between the two ethnic groups. Another 2 million
people fled Rwanda that summer and huddled in camps near the borders of Zaire, Tanzania and Burundi.
The situation prompted Mennonite Central Committee, the worldwide relief and development agency of North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches, to begin work in Africa's Great Lakes Region. Their efforts were centered on and based in Burundi and eastern Congo, then known as zaire.
While aiding the refugees in neighboring Congo was an immediate concern, in Burundi dealing with the larger agenda of peace was the guiding priority.
"The connection between war and hunger really came home for people," said MCC's Eric Olfert in late 1995 of the situation in Burundi and Rwanda. At the time Olfert was MCC's director of
Africa programs. "The need to include peace and reconciliation as part of food relief efforts was made very clear. "
From 1994 until 1998, MCC volunteers in Burundi focused on building peace at the local level. The agency's efforts included funding a newsletter designed to build peace, offering traumahealing seminars and local reconciliation workshops and sponsoring key meetings between denominational leaders of the ethnic groups. MCC sponsored agricultural projects thatencouraged communities composed of different ethnic groups to work together and helped reconstruct homes that in some cases were destroyed again in a new wave of violence. MCC volunteers maintained a "peace presence" in several communities in the hope that the presence of expatriates would stem new violence.
The town of Kibimba in central Burundi has been a flash point for the country's ethnic tensions. In 1993, Tutsi schoolchildren were herded into a Kibimba gas station and burned alive. In 1996, 71 Hutus died in a massacre witnessed by Mennonite Central Com-
mittee workers living in the town.
But today, less than a kilometer from the site of the 1993 killings, Burundians of different ethnic backgrounds are working together to raise goats and cows. The MCC-supported project provides food as well as a focal point for group efforts. One of several innovative initiatives organized by a local peace committee, the project reflects a slow but steady increase in trust.
"Traditionally this has been one of the most volatile regions of Burundi, " reports Gustav Guenther, who recently returned from an MCC assignment in Burundi. "But when tensions and violence flared up again last spring, people in Kibimba stayed calm."
Active since the mid·I990s, the peace committee was formed at the height of tensions between the Tutsi-dominated military and majority Hutu population. Susan Seitz, then an MCC worker at the Kibimba hospital, helped found the com-
AFRICAN MENNONITES ENDURE DECADE OF SUFFERI G
North Americans offer prayers, aid
THE INTERNATIONAL Mennonite Brethren family has a vested Interest In Africa's Great Lakes Region and the Democrattc Republic of Congo. It Is home to some 170,000 zairian Mennonites, IncludIng 70,000 Mennonite Brethren, the second largest national conference among the International MB community. this region has come to the forefront during the past decade as one crisis after another has touched BunmdI, Rwanda and the Congo. A review of the region's recent history C3'I serve as a call for continued prayer and a reminder of the ways In which God has been falthful through adversity.
• OCtober 1993: After a military putsch kills Bu dl's first populBlly-elected president, the resulting reprisals and counterreprisals between the Hutu
and Tutsl result In the deaths of up to 100,000 people.
• AprIl 1994: When the RwandawI president Is Idled In a plane crash, the country erupts In genocidal violence. As many as 1 mlDlon people are klied. As the existing government dIsIntegIates and the rebels advance, 2 mllion people flee Into neighboring countrtes.
• May 1994: Mennonite Central Committee, the worldwide relief and development agency of North American Mennonite and Brethren In Christ churches, sends Its first shipment of emergency ald. North American constituents collect warm blankets and contribute funds to purchase lentils, 00, beans and a high protein food mixture for the refugees.
• zairian Mennonite groups and MOO help establish and support four
smaller refugee camps In Bukaw that eventually house a total of approxImately 8,&00 people.
• An 1ntef.M..."1OI1Ite church planting project Is begUn In Bukaw supported by the three Mennonite conferences In zaire, In collaboration with MBMS Intematlonal (the global mission agency of North AmerlC3'l MB chUrches) AfrIca Inter-Mennonlte M. &Ion and MCC.
• Burundi/Rwanda, 1995: The tense political situation c0ntinues. Most people stay In the refugee camps, unwllIng to retum to their homes for fear of being targeted by the other ethnic group.
• zaire, 1995: KIkwIt becomes the focus of worldwide Interest and concem when scientists name the mysterious Ebola virus as the cause for a
rash of deaths. MBMSI Issues an urgent call for prayer on behalf of KlkwIt and the Bandundu ProvInce, headquarters for the MB Conference.
• OCtober 1998: Civil war breaks out In eastern zaire as rebels challenge the 32-year-old me of PresIdent Mobutu Sese 5eko. Bukavu Is captured by zairian rebels and more than 1 mllHon people, Including Rwandan and Burundian refugees as well as zairian vll.,.rs, flee the area.
• MBMSIIssues an urgent call for prayer. It Is f8ared that the fighting that racks eastem zaire will spread to other parts of zaire. As Christmas 1998 approaches, MCC again appeals for blankets and plans for shipments of relet aid to the region.
• 1997: ClvI war engulf8 zaire. In May,
mittee. It brought together displaced Tutsis living in a Kibimba school and local residents, most of whom are Hutu. Since that time, the group has grown from 10 to some 80 members.
The livestock project began in October 1999 as Kibimba residents sought a way to keep their animals safe. With their mountain a major travel route for rebel soldiers, residents suffered from the rebels' looting and plundering of their fields. Then government soldiers would arrive and accuse villagers of cooperating with the rebels, sometimes burning their homes in punishment. Villagers began hiding when they heard that rebels were approaching, but that left their livestock vulnerable.
So the community requested that members of the peace committee shelter their animals in a central protected location, at the school where the displaced people were staying. The project was successful, but the committee wor-
zaire Is rebom as the Democratic Republic of Congo with Laurent Desire Kablla as the claimed president.
• Summer 1998: Kinshasa, the capital city and home to a large MB COIftIIlUo nIty, Is attacked by rebel forces. They are defeated, but the conflict between the Congolese central government and Its allies (NamibIa, Angola and Zimbabwe) and the various rebel groups and their allies (Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi) tlnues to cause devastating human and economic costs In Congo.
• January 2001: Congo President Kablla Is assassinated and replaced by his son. MB leaders report the transition Is surprisingly peaceful.
• May 2001: MBMSI alerts Its constituency that heavy rain In Kinshasa, Congo, has destroyed homes and resulted In the loss of human life. MBMSI sends relief aid and Invites congregations and Indlvldu-
ried about the families that had already lost all their animals. They decided to pool their money and buy livestock.
'With additional funding from MCC, they purchased a few cows, a bull and a small herd of goats with the goal of giving at least one female goat to each committee member. Members signed agreements to pass on the first and third kid to other members of their respective communities.
"The birth of kids and calves at Kibimba is always a joyous occasion," says Guenther, "for it means additional resources are available in the community's struggle to meet their basic needs."
The project encountered hard times last year when drought and disease killed many animals. MCC is supporting the project by providing antibiotics and fodder.
The peace committee also arranges soccer matches that build camaraderie between previously hostile groups, such
als to raise funds for the project and to support the Congolese Mennonite Brethren In prayer.
.2001: HIV/AIDS becomes the priority for much of MCC's work In
as predominantly Tutsi government soldiers and local Hutu young men.
These games have created relations that ordinarily would never exist, Guenther says. Afterwards, players sprawl on the grassy hillside to share sodas and discuss the highlights of the game. Peace committee director Matthias Ndimurwanko also speaks to the players and gathered community members, urging them to work together.
"Through stories, examples and exhortation he (Matthias) communicates to all present the importance of loving and taking care of their neighbors, the need to build right relationships with one another and to join in the rebuilding of their community," Guenther says.
These efforts and others across Burundi give Guenther hope for the country's future. ''They are working to forgive horrendous atrocities," he says. -by Connie Faber and Rm:bel Beth Miller, MCC news service
sub-Saharan Africa. HIV/ AIDS, says MCC Africa Director Tesfatslon Dalellew, "Is making humans fall like leaves. It has become one of the most difficult challenges
for govemments, churches, non-govemmental organizations, families and Individuals." -compiled from MCC Workbook and MBMSI reports by Connie Faber
Leaders meet with eyes open
New budget strategy and deficit spending in this ,. year's budget will play role in next month's meetings
Setting the next year's budget and ministry goals usually dominates the agenda for ministry and conference leaders at annual U.S. Conference board meetings. While the agenda remains the same, leaders at this year's annual meetings March 1516 will come to the table with one eye on a new budget strategy and the other on this year's budget.
Stretching the budget
Conference leaders are closely watching the 2001-2002 budget because U.S. Conference spending was $148,000 over its income at the end of December, reponed conference treasurer Dale Regier inJanuary.
This is not because boards and ministries are over spending their budgets-in fact, says Regier, boards are spending at or below their budgets. The deficit spending is due to lower then anticipated income from churches and individuals.
Ironically, the deficit spending is occurring in a year that has seen four months of record giving by churches and individuals, says Board of Trustee chair Ken Neufeld. In the fiscal year beginning June 1,2001, the conference took in more money in July, August, October and November than in any of the same months for the past six fiscal years. September and December, however, saw some of the lowest giving in the last six years.
So, despite record giving from churches and individuals, church giving and fundraising income are still below needed levels to meet current budget spending. This year's total budget is just over $1 million.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the recession played a role in decreased giving, Neufeld speculates.
"The Sept. 11 effect was that people's minds were not on giving," Neufeld says of September's lowered giving, which was the second lowest in that month in six years. "But by October, there was recovery and by Novem-
ber we took in $3,000 more than the previous year."
But December saw another drop$34,000 came in during a month that saw as much as $60,000 two years ago.
"My hunch is that the economy has something to do with it there," says Neufeld, referring to the recession's effect on giving. ''We just didn't see it until December."
Giving is down across the board, says Neufeld. The U.S. Conference office had received $300,000 less donations to MBMS International (the global mission agency of Canadian and U.S. churches) than last year. Giving to MB Biblical Seminary and Mennonite Central Comminee are also down from last year.
Neufeld says that it is too early to tell how the year will play out or if the current situation will affect budget setting and spending next year.
In terms of giving, "We need to know what January looks like," says Neufeld. January figures were not available at press time.
Conference chair David Reimer is concerned but also optimistic.
"Of course there is always concern when expenses exceed revenues," says Reimer. ''We believe our boards will be faithful in spending money as well as raising money."
Reimer is optimistic over the repon that over 12 churches have given firsttime contributions to U.S. Conference ministries-largely due to the efforts of executive conference minister Loyal Funk and newly hired constituency relations director Ted Goertzen.
"I believe we will continue to see this type of response to Loyal and Ted's work," says Reimer.
February meeting scheduled
The current budget situation is now an agenda item for a special February ad hoc meeting, scheduled last year as pan of the effon to develop a new budget and funding strategy.
Board of Church Ministries-the conference's leadership board which includes executive comminee members,
district representatives, conference ministry chairs and senior staff-directed its executive at a June 2001 meeting to create a new budget model that moved to a more "unified" approach in budget and funding strategies.
In the past, individual boards were given responsibility for fundraising and the option of hiring their own fundraisers to fund ministry activities which went beyond the "core" or church giving income. But constituency, according to BCM leaders, perceived this as a "competitive" approach. In addition, the conference was facing repeating deficits due to growing ministries and vision. So, leaders began to take another look at how they raised funds and suppon from churches and individuals for conference ministries. LastJune, BCM members voted to move towards a more unified approach to budgeting and fundraising. A subsequent meeting moved the supervision of all fundraisers from boards to BCM.
While some of that work towards developing a unified budget and fundraising approach has been done, says Reimer, a smaller group of executive and senior staff will meet Feb. 1213 to develop a budgeting process and operation strategy for fundraising "which identifies and promotes U.S. Conference ministries as a whole." They will address questions concerning how to raise funds, how to distribute funds and how each ministry fits into the larger strategy of the church, says Reimer.
One of the goals, say Reimer and Neufeld, is to come out of the February meeting with some idea of how much each ministry can expect to receive from the conference next year so that ministries and boards can build their budgets and present them at the March annual meetings.
This year's current budget situation could playa role in those discussions. "February will also include the current budget situation," says Reimer. "It is not the reason we are meeting, but we have to look at our economic reallties."
Mission USA rethinks operations
One of the boards most affected by the new budget strategy is Mission USA, the conference's church planting and renewal ministry. The board had relied heavily on fundraisers to raise the majority of its budget, currently at $628,730.
MUSA is "on board" with the new budget strategy, says BCM member and MUSA chair Steve Reimer, but the ministry now needs to rethink the way it is structured and operates. He reports that the MUSA executive board members will be meeting several times prior to the all-boards March meetings to discuss their goals and operation in light of the new budget strategy and former executive director Ed Boschman's resignation last fall. One model being considered is a geographically diverse staff of part-time people with various gifts instead of a single staff leader, says Reimer, who believes MUSA is moving from a "top-down" structure to one reflecting a "bottomup" structure.
Reimer will also meet with the BCM executive group prior to their February meeting to discuss speciftc questions related to fundraising in order that they might plan more effectively.
Besides the structure and operation of the ministry, the 19-member board will also be looking at its own structure as well. Relmer reports that the board may shift responsibilities and designations of members within the board to reflect the shifting responsibilities which could occur as staffing and operation decisions are made. In addition they will be deciding how to fill several board positions made vacant by two resignations late last year and two members who have chosen not to con· tinue their terms when they expire in June.
Other agenda items
In addition to MUSA, the Board of Communication, Board of Trustees and Board of Faith and Life will also be meeting to work out plans and budgets for their ministries next fiscal year, which begins June 1.
BCM, scheduled to meet the day after boards meet both individually and jointly, will tackle items in addition to setting budgets and dealing with this year's possible deficit, including bylaw revisions, reports from teams working out the transition of General Conference ministries to the U.S., and issues concerning retirement homes supported by MB churches.
This year's all-boards meeting will take place in Fresno, Calif. The Leader is planning to report on these meetings in the April issue. -Carmen Andres
Ewert named FPU president
Cornell professor, associate dean will be MB ,. university's 10th president beginning July 2002
Fresno Paciftc University named D. Merrill Ewert as its 10th president. He will assume the presidency in July 2002.
"FPU's vision resonates with my personal commitment to promote higher education, to strengthen communities and to build people and institutions in an increasingly pluralistic society," he says.
Ewert comes to FPU from Comell University, where he serves as professor, director and associate dean of Cornell Cooperative Extension. He is responsible for 57 county extension offices throughout the state of New York, a staff of 1,600 and a budget of $107 million. He also advises graduate students and carries out research.
"Merrill is an experienced professor and administrator with a heart for working with people across the spectrum and a passion for using the tools of education to improve the world," says Peter Klassen, who is the FPU board president. He also headed the campus committee that engaged in a national presidential search.
Ewert's previous academic positions include assistant and associate professor of education at Comell, director of extension and continuing education at Wheaton College, a Christian college in illinois, and assistant professor of adult/extension education and cooperative extension specialist at the University of Maryland.
Ewert has been involved in intercultural outreach and community development around the world. As a Fulbright Senior Scholar, he worked with farmers in the Philippines. He spent seven years in Africa with MAP International (regional director, 1984-86), Mennonite Central Committee (project director, Democrat-
Ie Republic of Congo, 1973-76) and MB Board of Missions and Services (relief coordinator and extension educator, Congo, 1967-69). Part of his work was to teach and set up a food program. He also served as co-principal investigator for a national survey in the former soviet republic of Belarus and organized workshops and produced teaching materials for projects in Latin America, South Asia and the Caribbean. Ewert is excited by the university's potential. ''Though there are many things I can resist, a good challenge is not among them," he says. "Fresno Paciftc University stands at the threshold of new opportunities for growth and development. It might eventually write the book on how Christian universities engage their scholarship with the needs of society."
Ewert earned a bachelor's degree at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan., which, like FPU, is owned by the Mennonite Brethren Church. His master of arts and doctorate are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
FPU President Harold Haak, who first served as interim president beginning in 2000, will complete his term in June. Under Haak's leadership, the university has accomplished much in a short time, says Klassen.
"Harold has been instrumental in strengthening our financial position, establishing long-term goals and directing our planning for programs and facilities," says Klassen. ''We appreciate his willingness to step in as a kind of special assignment at this point in his long and successful career."
The transition to Ewert from Haak will further build the university, which is already growing through record enrollment and an ambitious facilities plan, says Klassen. -FPU news release
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MCC PROVIDES 40,000 SETS OF UNDERCLOTHES
MCC provides swaddling clothes in North Korea
Kim Un Gyong, left, and Pak Chun Hui, of the Women's Trading and Gannents Center in Pyongyang, North Korea, display baby underclothes sewn at the center and purchased by Mennonite Central Committee, the world relief and development agency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches of North America.
In 2001 MCC ordered 40,000 sets of the underclothes through its partnership with Caritas Hong Kong, a Catholic aid agency. Through purchasing baby clothes sewn at the center, MCC "clothes needy children, provides much·needed work for women and stimulates North Korea's industrial sector, which is nearly dormant," says Betsy Headrick McCrae, MCC East Asia programs director. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, will distribute the underclothes to children's homes in North Korea.
ME ONITES AND CATH LICS MEET AGAIN
Interfaith dialogue continues
M
ennonite and Catholic representatives met for their fourth dialogue Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, 2001, in Assisi, Italy. Themes explored by participants concerned the sacraments and the relations between church and state in the Middle Ages.
The general purpose of the dialogue is to promote better
understanding of the positions about Christian faith held on each side and to contribute to overcoming prejudices that haveexisted since the 16th century between Mennonites and Catholics. The dialogue is sponsored by the Mennonite World Conference and the Pontifical CQuncil for Promoting Christian Unity. The discussions
began in 1998 and are anticipated to run for at least five annual sessions after which it will issue a report. Mennonites are represented by seven individuals including Howard]. Loewen, formerly of Fresno Paciftc University and currently serving at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Nzash U. Lumeya, of MB Biblical Seminary. -MWC
For years North Koreans have suf· fered from a faltering economy and serious food shortages. Families and institutions depend on the government distribution system, "but there's just nothing there," says McCrae, wbo"traveled to North Korea in November 2001.
In 2001 MCC contributed more than $1.4 million for aid to North Korea including canned meat, lentils, cooking oil, com· bination schoollhealth kits and medicines. MCC and the American Friends Service Committee also work with farm man· agers on three cooperative farms in North Korea to increase soil fertility and production. -MCC
EDnoR: Gordon Zerbe ••001........ orNew Te.t8ment at c..dIen Mennonite lJnMnIty and a Tabor CoIIaIe and MB Biblical nary appointed the next New Testament editor for the BeIIevar8 Church Commant8I,.
i The Is the WOIk of.ax denonIIn8tIona: Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Brethren Church, Brethren In ChrIat Church, Church of the Brethren and the Bt.ttnn Church. The 15 published volumes, publlahed by aid Press, offer up-to-date biblical achoIarIy InaIIhta and are wrftten for use In the church. Two will be published during 2002. leltle replaces Willard M. Swartl" who retired. Elmer A. Martena of MBBS contJnues as Old Testament editor. -HP
ORGANIZA IONS WORKING TOGETHER
MORE MWC, MEDA plan cooperation
NEWS'
College partnerlng
-Tabor CoHege and Unffted DIstrict 410, with a high school, middle school and elementary school all IocatecI In the c0llege'S hometown of HlHsboro, Ken., have been awarded a ProfessIonal Development School sub-grant from the Kansas State Deparbnent of Education. The erant. which totals over $13,300, will be used to begin three professional development schools, innovative Institutions fonned through partnerships between professional education training proerams and pre K through 12th grade schools. Their mission Is to prepare preservlce teachers for their work, to provfde c0ntinuing professional development and to Improve teaching and learning and support for the achievement of students prekindergarten through grade 12. -TC
Holiday ·glvlng
-Students, faculty and staff at Fresno Pacific University who collected food and gifts for a local family In December were reminded that giving Is better than recelvlne. The university community contributed 180 pounds of food and clothIng, j,5() gifts, $150 worth of food coupons, a Christmas tree and a turkey for a family In which the four adults are from Guatemala and send money to famIly there. A crew of six people spent two and onlHlalf hours wrapping the don. tlons. As happy as the family was to get the much-needed help, they Insisted on returning the favor 88 best they could with a slx"'yer pan of homemede lasagna. "The Idea that we would give them something and them not give us something back-that Just doesn't happen," says Esther K1assen-lseak, counseling coordinator who submitted the name of the family and delivered the goods. The residence life staff organized the project. -FPU
Mennonite Economic Development Associates and Mennonite World Conference have formed a partnership agreement the two ministries believe will allow both to better serve the worldwide Anabaptist community.
MEDA is an association of Christians in business and the professions committed to applying biblical teachings in the marketplace. Although most of its members are Mennonites, it has no organiZational links to Mennonite church structures. MWC is an interna-
tional fellowship of national churches in the Anabaptist tradition, representing 87 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ conferences in 48 countries on five continents. In a statement of mutual understanding, the two organizations cite their common faith and call to holisticministry; their shared vision that gifts and resources come from God and sharing them is a key witness to the world; and their deep concern abouteconomicdeprivation and injustice around the world.
MWC will help MEDA promote cooperation with MWC churches and facilitate contact with business leaders from member churches. MEDA will help North American businesspeople to partner with those of MWC churches and encourage them to invest in their communities, where appropriate. MEDA also will recommend businesspeople to MWC churches needing technical assistance and help MWC churches gain information on sustainable economic development activ-
DS PARTNERS WITH LOCAL NORTH CAROUNA MI ISTRY
MDS trains inner-city carpenters
A'oca'out. reach minIstry In Rocky Mount, N.C., Is building on the construction expertise of Mennonite DI&aster service volunteers to provide" skills training for IM8I"'CIty men. And 0'" nlzers hope a new church can be planted as a result of the project.
The men from Bethesda Ministries are learning carpentry skills as they work alongside MDS volunteers In PrInceville, N.C. Together the
two organizations are rebuilding homes that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Floyd's tIoodw. tars In 1999. Bethesda Ministries began In 1998 as an outreach program of fellowship of Christ Church In Rocky Mount. In recent years the ministry has provided Job training In home cleaning, lawn maintenance and home repair.
Until the minIstry connected with MDS this past summer,
the home repair program was "mlted to small Jobs obtained through newspaper actvertfse. menta. Beth da Ministries did not have the knowledge or experience necessarytobld and work on larger projects. Thanks to the partnership with MOS, Bethesda employees work for pay on MDS project sites. In tum for the labor that they provide to MDS, the Bethesda employees are getting the opportunity they desire to work and train on
larce construc>tion proJects. "Bethesda Ministries' I tenn coal Is to establish church ministry In the PrInceville area," says DwIght Roth of Mennonite ee. traI CommIttee who brouIIht MDSandBM together. "fifty people have already been blessed by the Merft,.-rIte8. Now It'. basically a l118tter of coming In and saylnf, 'Hey, let's have a worahlp ..,.. vice together.'" -MDS
CHURCH
NBapt!sm!membership
UttIeton. Colo. (BeIlevtew)Gerry and Unda Martens were welcomed into membership Dec. 23. Jeff and Sarah Bontrager were received into membership Dec. 2.
Surprise, Ariz. (Desert Yalley BIbIe}-On Dec 9, Richard Turner was baptized Dec. 9 and Dec 16, Richard and Diane Tumer, Dan and Muriel Kelly, Phyllis Fode and Doris Estelle were welcomed into membership.
lakersftelcl, carlf. (Rosedale BIbler-Alex Bono, Carissa Cebell, Marianne Charles, Caitlin Davis, Morgan Davis, Brent Eirich, Douglas Eirich, Jenny Enns, Julie Enns, Katie Fast. Denise Fast, Benjamin Fast. John Fleischauer, Karen Fleishauer, Layne Krause, Leah Leal, Jana Leal, Brittany Nikkel, Michelle Nikkel, Joan Schiewe, Michael Thiesen, Michael Wanke. Laura Wanke, Henry Young and Heather Young were welcomed as new members by baptism Dec. 16. Ken Bond. Donna Bond, Mendel Overholt, Helen Overholt, Steve Fleischauer, Connie Fleischauer. Nancy Leal, Caitlin Sanders, Robert SChiewe and Diane Ware were welcomed as new members by transfer.
Celebrations
Okeene. Olda. -Arlo and Marlyss Patzkowsky celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary with their children and grandchildren in December.
fellowship
Buhler. Kan.-The congregation is participating in "Conversational Meals" January through March. Participants are grouped with two other family units and will host once and be a guest twice. The meals were organized to provide an opportunity an opportunity for pe0ple to get to know one another.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Heritage)The men's retreat Feb. 15-17 will feature Dave Froese as the keynote speaker. Froese and his wife Susan have been in pastoral ministry for about 28 years and recently came to Heritage as senior pastoral couple. The retreat will be held at Casa Pacifica cabin near Shaver Lake. Fairview. Olda.-A book club,
Books and Bagels, has been organized. The group had their first meeting Feb. 9 after reading "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.
Littleton. Colo. (BeIIev1ew)-Karrie Hirsog, a former Miss Colorado, shared her testimony and sang at a women's event Jan. 26 billed as a "Simply Elegant Evening."
luhJer. KIn.-The pastoral staff prepared, fried and served an allyou-can-eat feast of New Year's cookies for the congregation Jan. 6 as a thank you for being part of the church.
Ministry
Dinuba, carlf.-Feb. 2, the congregation hosted the BABE Seminar. a seminar designed to help young wornen become excited about who God wants them to be. Andrea Stephens, a former professional model, author of 10 books for teen girls and beauty editor of Brio magazine, was the guest speaker. Brio is the Focus on the Family publication for teen girls. Organizers also invited the to make a cash donation so that each girl attending the event could who does not have a Bible could receive one.
Ulysses, Kan.-The congregation joined with the Ulysses Fellowship of Christian Athletes Dec. 15-16 to present "The Bethlehem Experience, " which provides a guided tour of the town of Bethlehem on the night of Jesus' birth.
Workers
Fresno. Calif. (Bethany)-James and Toyann Totzke have accepted the call to serve as pastoral couple. James was the pastor of Birch Baby Bible Community Church in Blaine. Wash., before accepting the call at Bethany.
JIayI, Kan. (North oak)-Timothy Baarts has accepted the call to be associate pastor. He and his wife Angie and their family will begin ministry in July. He will be a 2002 graduate of Moody Bible Institute. Reedley. Callf.-Richard and Erma Gerbrandt were honored for their 43 years of ministry Jan. 27. Gerbrandt preached the morning message and a reception was held that evening.
NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Fresno. calif. (North)-Rick Bartlett was ordained Dec. 30. Participants in the service were Henry Dick, Pacific District Conference minister. Connie Freeland. chair of the North Fresno Board of Spiritual Ministries, Nzash Lumeya of MB Biblical Seminary, Elmer Martens of MBBS and father-in-law and Larry Martens of North Fresno. Bartlett, a graduate of MB Biblical seminary. has served as a MB youth pastor and is currently with Youth for Christ as a leadership development director for the Pacific Northwest Region.
Deaths
Baerg. Rueben Menno. Saskatoon, Sask., a MB pastor. educator and conference leader, was born April 28, 1914, at Waldheim, Sask .• to Frank J. and Elizabeth Neufeld Baerg and died Oct. 21, 2001. at the age of 87. His wife Annie predeceased him in 1977. On Aug. 27, 1978, he was married to Emma Lepp, who survives. He is also survived by his sister. Sally Braun, and two brothers, Wilfred and wife Peggie and Art and wife Rosella. Brown. Minnie, Enid, Okla., a member of Enid MB Church, was born Nov. 23, 1911, at Kremlin, Okla., to John and Katie Goertz Buller and died Dec. 10,2001, at the age of 90. On June 17, 1928, she was married to Peter Klassen Brown, who predeceased her. She is survived by two daughters, Irene M. Dildine and Alene and husband Lolan Hughs; one brother, AJ. (Smokey) Buller, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Carey. R1c:han1 Lyle. Gettysburg, S.D., a charter member of Grace Bible Church of Gettysburg, was born March 2. 1931. at Ames, Iowa, to Percy and Verva Hodges Carey and died Nov. 8, 2001, at the age of 70. On Nov. 23, 1953, he was married to Mildred Bell. who survives. He is also survived by five sons. Dan and wife Anita of Omaha. Neb., Bill and wife Jayne of Whitewater. Kan., Greg of Gettysburg, Joe and wife Charlotte of Rapid City. S.D .• and Mark and wife Angela of Cedar Hill, Texas; six daughters, Marce and husband Royce Ritter of Alaska, S.D., Caro/ Carey of Rapid City, Karen Carey of Whapaton, N.D., Betty Carey of Minneapolis, Minn., Diane and husband Jeff Moench of
Aberdeen, S.D., and Jennifer and husband Pete Centineo of Rapid City; one brother, Robert and wife Althea of Abilene, Kan., and 16 grandchildren.
Dahl, Mary VeIna, of Eugene. Ore., a member of North Park Community Church of Eugene, was born near Floris, Okla., to Jacob and Anna Goertzen March 18, 1908, and died December 2, 2001, at the age of 93. On October 23, 1938, she was married to John B. Dahl, who predeceased her in 1978. She is survived by two sons, John and wife Jane of Eugene and Ivan of Fresno, Calif.; two daughters, Amaryllis of Eugene and Iris of Jewel, Ore.; three sisters Annie Goertzen, Martha SChmidt and Esther Smith; three brothers, Dan Goertzen, Bill Goertzen and Hank Goertzen. one grandson and two great grandsons.
Grunau, Cornelius J., Fairview. Okla., a member of Enid (Okla.) MB Church, was born Sept. 19, 1909. to Cornelius J. and Sarah Kroeker Grunau and died Dec. 5, 2001, at the age of 92. On July 22, 1934, he was married to Matilda Warkentin, who predeceased him. He is survived by two daughters. Phyllis and husband John Rempel of Meade, Kan .• and Mable and husband Harvey Friesen of Wichita. Kan.; one sister, Mary and husband Dave Braun of Reedley, Calif.; one sister-in-law, Edna Grunau of Collinsville, Okla .• six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Gunther. Herman R., of Bethany MB Church of Fresno, Calif., was born May 18,1918, at Com, Okla., to Daniel and Tena Reimer Gunther and died Oct. 20. 2001, at the age of 83. On July 13, 1946, he was married to Laverne Fleming, who survives. He is also survived by one daughter, Lisa and husband Tom Camden; one daughter-in-law, Karen Gunther; one sister. Betty and husband Harold Kroeker. and five grandchildren.
Harms. Judy. of New Life Fellowship Church of Grant, Neb., was born May 25, 1958. at Newton. Kan .• and died Nov. 19, 2001, at the age of 43 after a three-year battle with cancer. On Sept. 22, 1984, she married James Harms, who survives. She is also survived by five children, Stephanie, Ashley, Angela, Joshua and Jeffrey, all of the home.
Hofer, Sarah Buller. of Silver Lake MB Church. Freeman. S.D .• was born sept. 22, 1918, to Jacob J. and Lizzie Buller Adrian near Freeman and died Oct. 15, 2001. at the age of 83. On March 24, 1940, she was married to Marvin Buller, who predeceased her May 13, 1979. In 1985, she married Samuel J. Hofer, who predeceased her in 1993. She is survived by four daughters, Carol and husband Loren Tschetter of Freeman, Marlene and husband Dale Dykes of Alexandria, S.D .• Pat and husband Marv Buller of Henderson, Neb., and Lee Kaufman of Freeman, 13 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Just, Oara Owasso, Okla., of Westport M.B. Church in Collinsville. Okla., was born May 14, 1907, near Eakly, Indian Territory. to David and Caroline Bergthold Nikkel and died November 5,2001, at the age of 94. In June 1928, she was married to David Just, who predeceased her in 1993. She is survived by one son, Wilbur and wife Hope of Clearwater, Kan.; one daughter, Virginia and husband Arlyn Flaming of Owasso, eight grandchildren. 11 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.
Kliewer, Jacob Peter. Reedley, Calif., of Reedley MB Church, was born July 15,1909, to Peter F. and Mary Kroeker Kliewer in Washita County. Okla. On Aug. 22, 1937. he was married to Margaret Loewen, who survives. He is also survived by a daughter, Margie Kliewer Krikorian, son-in-law Donald Mark Krikorian and numerous nieces and nephews.
Kroeker, Anna. of Enid, Okla .• a member of Enid MB Church, was born April 6, 1921, at Enid to Bernhard and Sarah Grunau Kroeker and died Sept. 22, 2001, at the age of 80. She is survived by one sister, Matilda M. Reimer of Hayden, Idaho, one brother, David Kroeker of San Jose. Calif., and nieces and nephews.
Lang, Samuel George, Minot , N.D., a member of Bible Fellowship Church of Minot, was born Dec. 5, 1917, to Samuel and Elizabeth Metz Lang at Harvey, and died Dec. 2, 2001, at the age of 83. On April 23. 1944, he was married to Ruby Heizelman. who survives. He is also survived by his daughter, Darlene and husband Adolph Abel of Minot; son-in-law. Michael Vinton of Keystone. S.D.; one sister, Ella Alveshere of Prescott Valley. Ariz.; one brother. Clifford of Minot, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Quiring, Nettie Harms, Aurora, Neb.• was born Feb. 11, 1908, near Enid, Okla., to Frank W. and Aganetha Regier Harms and died Nov. 8, 2001, at the age of 93. On Nov. 29, 1931, she was married to Peter Quiring, who predeceased her. She is survived by one daughter, Nancy and husband Harlan
Braun; two sisters, Emma Voth and Rosie and husband Ben Martens, two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Regier, Mary. Reedley, calif., was born Feb. 25, 1900. in Marion County, Kan., to Henry and Lena Ollenberger Seibel and died Nov. 22, 2001, at the age of 101. On Aug. 29. 1920, she was married to Emmanuel Reiswig. In 1980 she was married to John Kroeker, who predeceased her in 1983. In 1984 she was married to Jake Regier, who predeceased her in 1986. She is survived by her daughter-in-Iaw Jean Reiswig, three grandchildren and their spouses, 10 great grandchildren, four great great grandchildren, step children Harold and Debbie Regier, Irvin and Rosie Regier, Marvin and Lucille Regier and Erma and Sam Boone and step grandchildren.
Reimer, Vema Mae, of Fairview (Okla.) MB Church, was born Nov. 3, 1929. to AW. and Eva Just Epp at Fairview. and died Dec. 12, 2001, at the age of 72. On April 22. 1949, she was married to Wilbur Reimer, who survives. She is also survived by two daughters, Karen and husband Ron Ollenburger of Clayton, Calif., and Debbie and Mac Wahl of Fairview; two sisters, Norma Jean Eitzen and Betty Wichert; one brother, Joel Epp, four grandsons and two great grandchildren.
SChmidt, Ernest E., a member of Bethany MB Church of Fresno, calif., and a former missionary to India, was born Nov. 12, 1916, in Saskatchewan and died Oct. 25, 2001, at the age of 85. On Aug. 4, 1943, he was married to Evelyn Strauss, who survives. He is also survived by five children, Garry and wife Lois Schmidt, Garth and wife Tamlmy Schmidt, Judith Schmidt, carol and husband Maynard Goins and Sharon and husband Phil Bluemel; two brothers, one sister, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Isaac Peter, of Reedley (Calif.) MB Church, was born July 28, 1912, at Hierschau, South Russia, and died Dec. 16,2001, at the age of 89. On Nov. 21, 1937, he was married to Lydia Seibel, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Ken and wife Marilyn of Reedley and Tim and wife Lydia of Kingsburg, calif.; two daughters, Lydia and husband Fred Schnitzler of Kingsburg and daughter Kathy and husband Ernie Holman of Reedley, 11 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Willems, lachary John, Reedley, Calif., was born May 21, 1988, to Brenton and Jonna Willems and died Dec. 7, 2001, at the age of 13. He lived the last 10 years of his life with an illness that caused his muscles to deteriorate. He is survived by his parents. one sister, Tabitha; his grandparents, Lee and Lily Willems
of Reedley and John and Charline Riley of Orange Cove, calif.; aunts and uncles Mike and Becky Pray of Fresno, Calif., and Grant and Jeanette Willems of Reedley, and four cousins.
WInter. Royd Allen. Hillsboro, Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born June 2,1930, to Ed P. and Susie Klaassen Winter at Hillsboro and died Nov. 11,2001, at the age of 71. On Aug. 3,1952, he was married to Lillian Ediger, who predeceased him in 1992. On May 22, 1993, he was married to carolyn Vogt, who survives. He is also survived by three sons, Rolland and wife Jewel of Denver, Colo., Dale and wife Rachel of Hillsboro and Kevin and wife Kathleen of Sugar Land, Texas; one daughter, Denise Winter of Denver; one sister, Lorene R. Smith of McPherson, Kan.; two stepsons, Ronald and Laurie Vogt of Akron, Penn., and Steven and Michelle Vogt of Wichita, Kan.; one stepdaughter, Kay Vogt of Dallas, Texas, and eight grandchildren.
Wolcott, Leman S. Lodi, calif., a member of Vinewood Community Church in Ladi, was born May 30,1926, at Santa Rosa, Calif., and died Dec. 2, 2001, at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife Connie; three children, Janet Croce of Volcano, calif., Janice Toews of Reedley, Calif., and Danny Wolcott of Ladi; one grandchild and one great grandchild.
Yoast, Juanita Nottingham. of Faith Bible Church in Lawton, Okla., was born Feb. 17, 1921, at Mountain View, Okla., to Nathan A. and Lena P. Nottingham and died Oct. 7, 2001, at the age of BO. On April 15, 1937, she was married to Julious Frank Yoast. She is survived by three children, nine grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Zerbe, Esther Reddig, Rochester, Minn., a member of Lustre MB Church, Lustre, Mont., was born to Karl and Bertha Funk Reddig at Lustre, Mont., and died Dec. 9, 2001. In 1949 she was married to Ben Zerbe. and served with
him as missionaries in Japan and as pastoral couple in Harvey, N.D.• Clearbrook, B.C., Federal Way. Wash., and New Hope, Minn. She is survived by her husband. five children and their spouses, daughter Carolyn Zerbe Enns and Richard Enns, sons Douglas and wife Alice Zerbe, Gordon Zerbe and wife Wendy Kroeker, Nathan Zerbe and wife Joan Nichols, and daughter Dorinda and husband Rick Zerbe Cornelsen; two brothers. Calvin and wife Mary Reddig and Wilmer and wife Freida Reddig; one sister. Ella and husband Elton Berg, and 10 grandchildren.•
is accepting applications for
STEWARDSHIPI
PLANNED GIVING ADVISOR
This full-time position is responsible for activity in the midwest and would be based in Hillsboro, Kansas.
DUTIES:
To encourage and assist Christians throughout the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in faithful stewardship. Specific responsibilities include planned giving, charitable estate planning, individual counseling, stewardship education and other Foundation-related activity.
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to communicate
• Aptitude for detail work
• Willingness to learn
• Christian commitment and desire to promote the work of the Mennonite Brethren
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 ad. The charge is 53 cents per word. with a $15 minimum. Withhold payment until an invoice is received. MB institutions advertising vacancies or position announcements may be eligible for a no-cost ad. Contact the editor for more information.
EMPLOYMENT-eHURCH
Senior Pastor
Westport Mennonite Brethren Church, a 300+ church family in Owasso-Collinsville, Okla. (Tulsa), is seeking a senior pastor who will give primary attention to preaching and teaching the Word of God and to providing spiritual leadership to the church. All candidates must meet the minimum basic requirements of having obtained a Masters degree from a theological seminary and be in agreement with the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith. Recent graduates with no previous full time pastoral experience must possess as a minimum a Master of Divinity degree. Resumes must be received no later than March 1, 2002. Send resumes to: Westport Mennonite Brethren Church, Pastoral Search Committee, 11600 N. Garnett Rd., Collinsville, OK 74021. Phone: 91B371-2505. Fax: 91B-371-3524. Email: westportchurch@gmx.net
Senior Pastor
A young MB congregation in Sanger, Calif. (10 miles southeast of Fresno), is seeking a full-time pastor. We are a bicultural church in a community of 80 percent Hispanic population. In 18 months, attendance has grown from 30 to over 200. We have a large, debt-free facility in the heart of a growing population area. Candidate should have MB background. English/Spanish language capability is desirable. Direct resumes or inquiries to Pastor Search Committee, Grace Community Church, 1620 Church Avenue, Sanger, Calif. 93657; or call (559) 875-7567.
EMPLOYMENT-eHURCH
Chief Executive Officer
Adriel School, a Mennonite-affiliated agency providing outpatient mental health/foster care/residential treatment services, seeks a visionary CEO with strong financial acumen and operational experience to lead its multi-site organization. Headquartered in West Liberty OH, one hour northwest of Columbus, Adriel annually provides services to over 1,000 children and their families who are experiencing a range of emotional and adjustment problems. Minimum candidate requirements are: Christian actively involved in congregation, appreciation of Mennonite/Anabaptist heritage, Masters level education, 8 years of senior management experience, and strong inter-personal skills. Preferred candidates will have extensive social services experience. Send inquiries to: Kirk Stiffney, Mennonite Health Services, 234 S. Main St., Suite A, Goshen, IN 46526, fax: 219· 534-3254 or e-mail: KirkStiffney@aol.com
A good steward ... The cOl1lmHment of a lifetime
When you make a commitment to be a Christian, you change your life. And, when you recognize that everything comes from God, your perspective changes again.
Your MMA counselor understands the responsibility you feel in managing the gifts God has given you. He or she can help you plan for the future and protect your family, while ensuring your decisions reflect your faith.
For help in keeping your commitment to be a good steward, see these MMA counselors In Western Kansas.
Let MMA Capital Ministry
(t to equip the saints for the work ofministry, for building up the body ofChrist. " - Ephesians 4:12
Does your congregation need help raising the necessary funds for a new building, addition, land acquisition, or debt reduction? MMA Capital Ministry helps congregations organize themselves to reach their goals and carry out the ministry to which God has called them. To find out more, contact Chuck Buller, M.Div., at (559) 738-8829 or (559) 799-8964.
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Fellowship rings true
THERE IS A SAYING ABOUT].R.R. Tolkien'sLord of the Rings: "Nobody reads them once." You either start the books but never finish, or you read them more than one time through.
I am a member of the latter group. On my bookshelf sit well-worn and creased copies of the three books that make up the series-be they originally mine or my husband's, I can no longer tell, as we both have read them several times.
Beginning with The Fellowship of the Ring, the books chronicle the War of the Ring in the world of Middle-earth. Frodo and the Fellowship-a band of four hobbits, an elf, a dwarf, a king-to-be, a warrior and the wizard Gandalf-are charged with the difficult task of destroying the One Ring and fighting the Dark Lord Sauron. The One Ring, which corrupts to evil any who wear it, would give Sauron sale and ultimate rule of Middle-earth. It can only be destroyed by casting it into the fire from which it was made, which bums in a mountain in the heart of Sauron's stronghold of Mordor.
Last December, the theatrical release of Fellowship of the Ring drew millions more to Tolkien, Middle-earth and the books. What is it about the Rings that has attracted millions of readers and filmgoers-including many Christians?
Tollden is a master storyteller, and Middle-earth is an enchanting and haunting world. The Elven forests, the rolling hills of the Shire, the plains of Rohan, the fires of Mordor-all are as real to me now as they were when I first encountered them as a teenager. The world is laced with a deep longing for something lost yet ancient and familiar. It reminds me somewhat of the longing I feel for God and the goodness the world has lost.
That's not surprising. Tollden was a Christian, and his faith pushes up into the story. People began noting Christian themes in the Rings soon after they were published in the 1950s. Two of the most recent are Kun Bruner, a vice preSident with James Dobson's Focus on the Family, and Jim Ware, a graduate of Fuller Seminary and a writer, who have written Finding God in the Lord of the Rings (Tyndale).
Bruner and Ware point out that Tolkien didn't write the books as an allegory for the Gospel, as did his friend C.S. Lewis in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "We must be careful," writes Bruner, "not to turn this wonderful adventure into something it was never intended to be."
But both ToWen and Lewis strongly believed that fantasy was an excellent way to capture and tell truth-and the ultimate truth is God's truth. Tolkien's faith sharply penetrates Middle-earth, notes Bruner. Themes of biblical truth flow freely, reflecting "what we know to be the ultimate true story" (the Gospel). Perhaps it is these truths-things that ring true about our own world-that bring readers back to the Rings.
The film, pleasantly, reflected many of the same themes as the book. One of the most striking is the need to choose between Good and Evil. As in life, the Rings characters must choose to follow Good or Evil, to resist or succumb to temptation.
Early in the Fellowship'S journey to Mordor, Frodcr---the Ring-Bearer-eonfesses to Gandalf that he wishes the ring had never come into his possession. "I wish this had never happened," Frodo says.
"So do all that live to see such times," says Gandalf in a
gentle voice. "But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Frodo, who had once longed for adventure, doesn't like the way things turned out. He doesn't want the burden of the ring. He doesn't want to have so much count on him. He doesn't want to be haunted by darkness anymore.
But the burden is his. He is the one who must take the One Ring to Mordor. Does he continue or give up the ring-which would be to give in to Evil? This isn't the last time he faces this or similar choices before the end of the story.
We, too, must make a choice between Good and Evil. We must choose to submit to God or follow Satan. There is no middle ground. To not choose is still to make a choice. We also make daily choices on whom to follow. "God is light If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by truth" (1 John 1:5-6).
In the Rings, Borimir, the warrior in the Fellowship, also has to make a choice. He desperately wants to redeem the race of Men from their previous seduction by the One Ring. Long ago, a man had the chance to destroy the ring but kept it for himself, which ultimately led to the current Middle-earth war. When the Fellowship is formed, Borimir insists that instead of destroying the ring, they must keep and use it.
But the wise know that isn't possible. To use the ring is to be seduced by it. "Tollden's ring,like the devil's offer, is both thoroughly evil and perilously powerful," says Bruner. The ring is "the ability to do whatever one wants. And therein, as the wise know very well, lies the seed of Evil itself-the same evil that has infected the world since the beginning of humanity."
Ultimately, Borimir succumbs to his desire for the ring. He believes he can rule the ring instead of the ring ruling him. So, in his darkest moment of weakness, he tries to wrestle the ring from Frodo, the very one he swore to protect. Frodo escapes, but Borimir, in horror, realizes what he has done. He is devastated.
I find myself too often like Borimir. I give into my own pride, my own desire over God's desire. In my self-deception, I believe that I know the better way. Inevitably comes the moment of revelation, and I am devastated by my failure.
But Tolkien does not leave Borimir crushed and without hope. Borimir is redeemed. He wrestles himselffrom his selfloathing and fights to his death to protect his companions. In his dying words, he confesses his failure and is forgiven. Even more so in the book than the film, it is the forgiven and redeemed Borimir-the "true" Borimir stripped of his sinwhom his companions eulogize.
We all want redemption, our darkest failures forgiven and our souls recreated into the beings we were meant to be. As Christians, we know this is found in Jesus. And even when we fail him, we know that he will forgive us if we repent. He sees us as Borimir's comrades saw him-pure and redeemed.
The Rings are full of themes like these. The books and film aren't for everyone, but for those the Rings touch, it presents an opportunity-for inspiration and contemplation of our own faith as well as a chance to connect with those around us who don't know God. As Burner says, "May the fantasy Tolkien created inspire us with the truths he believed."-01
