One of the joys of this job is the privilege I have to investigate the hot spots of activity and ministry in our denomination. I've had no greater privilege lately than to take a whirlwind reporting tour of our Slavic congregations in Oregon and Washington several weeks ago. This issue features what I found during those days. I hope the articles communicate the excitement and potential of this unprecedented partnership.
At the same time, this was a particularly challenging story to report. Many of the people I would have liked to talk to simply did not have enough of a grasp of English. Of course, I don't have a clue about Russian. Much of what I've written is based on extended conversations with Loyal Funk, our U.S. Conference point man in this work, and Gordon and Esther Balisky, who have come along side us for this venture The rest is primarily intuition and observation-knowing full well that the margin of error for those endeavors is quite broad too.
I hope, after reading these articles, you will praise God for the incredibly things he has done and will do through the Slavic-Mennonite Brethren partnership Surely he has proven that he can-and does-do more than we ask or think.
To God be the glory.
COMING
• JULY 23-26-Biennial convention of the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Southern District Conference regional rallies:
• SEPTEMBER 25-Colorado; host: Garden Park Church and Belleview Acres Church, Denver
• OcrOBER 2- Western Oklahoma; host: Corn MB Church
• OcrOBER 30-Western Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle ; host: Ulysses (Kan.) MB Church
• OCTOBER 2S-30-Central District Conference convention, Rapid City, S.D.
QUOTABLE
• "It is not a matter primarily of whether or not we reach our particular goals. Life is more than just reaching our . goals. As individuals and as a group we need to reach our potential Nothing else is great enough We must always be reaching toward our potential. "- MAx DE PREE IN LEADERSHIP Is AN ART
4 Managing a 'modern-day miracle'
Within three years, 10 churches of more than 3,000 adult attenders have aligned themselves with the Mennonite Brethren. This is the story of what happens when we walk through the doors God opens for us. BY DON RATZLAFF
10 Worshiping with our Slavic family
Based on a genuine love for God and fueled by newfound religious freedom, our Slavic brothers and sisters have a lot to show us about worshiping God with all of one's heart, mind and soul. BY
DON RATZLAFF
DEPARTMENTS
What rea ders say
Ph'lip Sid e
• Quizzical fitness
by Philip Wiebe 17
Inqu i ring Minds by Marvin Hein 18
• Binding and loosing
• Bible inconsistencies
Musings
• Was it God's punishment?
Bod y life.
by Jim Holm 19
• SPECIAL REPORT: Promise Keepers at Denton, Texas 20
• Lee Balzer resigns presidency of Tabor College 25
• The MB-BIC link 26
• David Dyck 's sabbatical from MBM/S 27
• Pakisa Tshimika joins MBM/S staff 28
• European MBs gather in Germany 28
• MCC will fall short of income goal 29
• Jan Siemens leads a Thai Bible study 29
• East Wichita Fellowship will close its doors 30
Editorial by Don Ratzlaff 36
• Friendly or friend-like
ART CREDITS: Cover and pages 5 14, CL photos by Don Ratzlaff,' page 4, U.S. Conference; pages 20-23, CL photos by Don Ratzlaff; page 29, MCC.
THE CHRISTIAN
VOLUME 57, NUMBER 7
EDITOR
BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS : David Reimer. chair; Harold Franz, Jeanie Klaassen , Malinda Nikkel. Dalton Reimer
MANDATE : THE CHRISTIAN LEADER (ISSN 0009 · 5149), organ of the U S Confe rence of Mennonite Brethren Churches, is published monthly by the U S Conference Board of Communications. 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 dia· log so that they will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical! Anabaptist theologica l tradition
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Don Ratzlaff ASSISTANT EDITOR
Deborah Penner
THE GREAT ADOPTION OPTION
It's the most dramatic development in Mennonite Brethren church growth since . .. well, maybe 1860, when the denomination was born in the Ukraine. In less than three years, 10 congregations of recent Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union-totaling more than 3, 000 adults-have aligned themselves with U.S . Mennonite Brethren conferences. More churches are in the pipeline Who are these new brothers and sisters? How did they come to us? Will they stay? On the heels of a whirlwind tour of the Pacific Northwe st, the center of Slavic activity, we offer this special report about what God is doing with and through Mennonite Brethren in this unique experiment in Christian partnership.
"The work with the Slavic people groups is far more than just adoption. It is educational, relational and evangelistic. I doubt that in our history we have ever had a more challenging and potentially greater opportunity. "
-LOYAL FUNK
its wake, new religious freedom has fueled a spiritual renewal across Russia and the rest of what has come to be called the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) .
But 70 years of atheistic communism had not stamped out the church Meeting secretly, often harassed and imprisoned by the KGB, Soviet Christians-including an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 believers of Mennonite Brethren background-endured their h ardships with considerable courage.
When the Iron Curtain lifted, these believe r s were faced with a choice : stay and help grow the church in a homel and that continues to be politi-
cally and economically chaotic, or seize the moment to escape to a land where the promise of religious freedom and economic survival would more likely endure.
Many of the Mennonite Brethren believers have since migrated to Germany But of Slavics-estimates are 350,000 in the last four years-made their way to the United States, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Those who comprise the Slavic congregations came from across the CIS-the majority from Russia, Ukraine, Byelarus, Georgia and Siberia, but from other republics as well.
"For many decades, our own conference, born in the Ukraine, has prayed for the people behind the Iron Curtain," Funk notes. "God has answered our prayers. The walls came down and the very people we prayed for have come in large numbers to America. When God answers prayer, he also challenges our vision."
A common heritage
The Russian origin of the Menno· nite Brethren and the Slavics' exposure to Mennonite Brethren believers during the years of shared persecution, helped establish a natural link between the conference and the new immigrants when they settled in the United States . "(The Slavics) have been aware of the Mennonite influence through the years to varying degrees," Funk says. "Most of the leaders will tell you they have a good acquaintanceship with the Mennonite Brethren, and almost all positive."
But the Slavic -Mennonite Brethren tie is more than historical coincidence. It is also based on common faith commitments. While the majori· ty of the new Slavic Mennonite Brethren believers carried the "Pentecostal" label in their homeland, they have since discovered the label connotes different theological emphases in different lands .
Funk says leaders of the Slavic churc hes coming to the Mennonite Brethren are not interested in the
As with other MB churches. choirs are an important part of Slavic worship services.
SLAVIC GROWTH
extreme emotionalism that often characterizes U.S Pentecostals. "They say, 'You Mennonite Brethren are a lot more like Russian Pentecostals than we are like American Pentecostals,'" he says.
Funk adds that while the frrst Slavic congregation to join the conference includes "Pentecostal" in its name , Funk now discourages other congregations from using it. "I told them that in America that means something different. "
Since associating with the conference, the new Slavic churches have embraced the 1902 Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith, which has been translated from German into Russian. Funk has found these new churches to be fully committed to Anabaptist distinctives "They strongly believe in separation of church and state, which is part of our Anabaptist heritage. In fact, they ' re stronger on that than we are," Funk says "They're all committed Anabaptists. I have never yet found one who isn't-even among the people who haven't yet come to faith as a commitment."
They also hold to adult baptism. "I doubt they baptize anyone under 16," Funk says. "They just say they're not mature enough to make that decision until then-much like our Mennonite Brethren did in earlier years "
A network of assistance
Initial contacts with the Slavic congregations came as the result of inquiries from Mennonite Brethren familiar with the work of Gordon and Esther Balisky The Baliskys had served for many years as missionaries in Eastern Europe through the Marshall Foundation of Seattle, Wash , where they were living at the time . Gordon, who is fluent in five Slavic languages, agreed to serve as a liaison and translator between Funk and the Slavic leaders, some of whom he had learned to know in Eastern Europe
"Gordon's contributions were absolutely essential in the initial stages, when we had very few Slavic leaders who could speak fluent English, " Funk says "We were pleased to be able to contract with him for the services he has provided . Our partnership with the Slavics would not be where it is today without his early involvement ."
The first congregations to link with the Mennonite Brethren were in Washington State and Oregon That area remains the center of Slavic activity But since then, as immigra nt families dispersed to other parts of the country, Slavic congregations have joined from Sacramento and Fresno , Calif , Tulsa, Okla., and Parma, Ohio Congregations in Denver, Colo , Salt Lake City, Utah, and Minneapolis, Minn , are in the negotiating process And new contacts keep emerging . Aside from the historical and theological linkages, Funk credits straightforward but low-key salesmanship, combined with offers of reasonable financial assistance, with creating a positive image for Mennonite Brethren along the Slavic network of congregations . "Once we treated a few (Slavic congregations) well, by word of mouth they're coming to us," he notes. "Today I would say it's word of mouth totally."
SLAVIC ROLL CALL
Following is t he ros t er of churches that ha ve joined w ith th e conference or are in the p rocess of doing do
1 First Ukrainian Pentecostal MB Church , Seattl e, Wash
Past or: Ste pan Go rka vc huk
Att endance: 500+ adul t s
2 Slavic Missionary Church , Seatt le, W ash *
Past or: Uury Chernyetsky
A ttendance : 300+ ad ults
3 Slavic Christian Church, Vancouver, W ash
Pastor: Peter Ti shchenko
Attenda nce : 400+ adults
4 Slavic Christian Church , Po rtland , Ore
Pa st o r: Vasi ly Vakulsky
A ttendance : 500+ ad ults
5. Slavic Evangelical Church, Milwa ukie, Ore.
Pa st o r: Nikola y M icha lc huk
Attendance : 300+ ad ul t s
6. Slavic Christian Church, Salem, Ore *
Pa st or : Vyacheslav Boyne tsky
A ttendance: 250+ adul ts
7 First Ukrainian Church, Sac ramen t o, Cali f
Pastor : Ivan Gardiu k
A ttendance : 170+ adult s
B Slav ic Ev angelical Missionary Church , Fresno, Cali f
Pastor : Vyacheslav Tsvirin ko
A ttendance: 130+ adul t s
9. Sla v ic Mis sio nary Church , Tulsa , Okla. *
Pastor: Nikolas Michka
A ttendance: 80 adults
10 Slav ic Full Gospel Church , Parma, Oh io
Pas tor: Kazymir Penkalski
Attendance: 450 adul t s
11 Ru ssian Church of Spokane, Wash
Pa stor : Victgor Vya lkin
Attendance : 400+ adu lts
12 Slav ic Christi a n Church, Denver, Colo *
Past o r: Vasily Makeimov
A ttendance: 300+ adul t s
Children are cheery and plentiful in these congregations- and are the most fluent in English
* Indicates in process Ot her in· process congregatio ns are located in Bell ing ham, Was h.; Salt Lake City, Ut ah; and M inneapolis, Minn. Seve ral other contacts are in t he preliminary st ages
SLAVIC GROWTH
"Of the many people who attend a typical morning service, maybe 10 percent of the adult population are not saved. Some of them are agnostics,' a handful would still claim to be atheistic. In the culture, the fellowship and the preaching and teaching, they get converted and baptized."
- L OYAL FUN K
Loyal Funk (right) negotiates a property boundary with the sellers of the Vancouver meetinghouse, which was formally dedicated by the Slavic Christian Church July 10
Funk cites as typical a recent contact with leaders of a congregation in the Midwest . The leaders mentioned Slavic pastors already in the conference as opening the door for Funk's visit. Funk recalls : "And they said, ' One of the things we like is that you're not pressuring us . You don't se em to care whether we join or not.' I said, 'Oh, I care, but I don't want you coming just because you want someth ing.' And they said, 'Is it bad to want something?' I told them, 'No, it's not bad, but it's not a good motive '"
Bu ilding for growth
What a number of Slavic congregations want-and four have received-is financial help to purchase meetinghouses. " Buildings are absolutely important because the Slavics all have services at leas t five days o f t he week," Funk say s. "You c a n't re n t bu ild ings that way It 's also im p o rtan t b e cau se t he ir ma in wo r shi p servic e ru ns two to fi ve h o urs Dual w orsh ip servic es jus t d on' t w o rk becau se of th e d u ration o f their servic e s "
Given the size of most Slavic co ngregations, finding buildings of adequate size is another c hallenge-not just for the present, but also the future Funk notes that the Slavics are among the few congregations in the conference where growth is being hindered by the size of the facilities "Even some of the buildings we'v e helped t hem purc hase are already too small," he says "They need mor e space to accommodate the peopl e coming to them."
On e source of growth for thes e c hurc hes is simply the arrival o f add it ional famili e s from the CIS. "Tha t 's going on all the time, " says Funk . "Every person who has permanent residency can keep o n sponsoring family members That will go on for years to come. That's why these churches are going to keep right on growing, if for no other reason "
But there is another reason, he adds: These churches have a heart for reaching fellow Slavics. "Of the many people who attend a typical morning service, maybe 10 percent of the adult population are not save d," Funk says. "Some of them are agnostics; a handful would still claim to be atheistic. In the culture, the fellowship and the preaching and teaching, they g e t converted and baptized."
A model of cooperation
For a denomination struggling to meet the operating budgets of its ministries, generating funds to help acquire property for the Slavics is no small challenge. That's one reason Funk and the U.S . Board of Evangelism have moved more cautiously than they could It has also made them more strategically creative .
From the beginning, Funk has spearheaded an initiative that has be come an unprec edented model for i ntra- denominational cooperation
The partnership involves the U S Conference, th e res pec tive distric t confe renc es and also MB Missions/Serv ic es, the North American agency that helps underwrite the cos t of administ rati on , training a nd m ateri als
Beca u s e to t h is p o int m ost o f t he
Slavic activity has occurred on the West Coast, Funk has worked closely with the Pacific District Conference to nurture the new congregations and help them arrange financing for their buildings.
As churches emerge in other distric t s, Funk will follow a s im ilar course. So far, only one congregation approved for membership, located in Parma, Ohio , exists outside the traditional boundaries of the five U.S. districts. It will be formally aligned with the U.S. Conference. But whenever geography allows it, the n ew congregations will be received into t h e appropriate district struc ture
The partnership between the national and district conferences includes the acquisition of property. "At this stage, we have only bought property with the Slavic churches with help and approval of the boards of finance in the districts," Funk says.
Typically, a Slavic congregation will receive a grant of between $30,000 to $50,000 through the Evangelism Partners fund of the U.S. Conference for the down payment on the building. With the help of
agrees : "If I thought they were only in this for the short term, I' d be very concerned. But I don' t think it's true. I think they could well be the renewal agent among u s because they're truly godly people."
Funk adds that the Slavics aren't necessar il y the ones who will ultimately determine t heir staying power "I think whether or not they're going to be a strong puller with us is as much what we're going to do or not do as what they are going to do or not do."
Funk says he senses a sincere desire from Slavic churches to remain Mennonite Brethren and be participating members of the denomination . But, he adds, like many new immigrant groups, the Slavics are focused on the immediate needs of their congregations "They're very inward looking, bu t they want to be part of a larger family," he says "They want to b e pa rt of the larger evangelical movement-t hough they too think e lements of the evangelical movement in thi s country have gone to pot."
Funk belie ve s one key step toward a ss imilation would b e to r e cru it Slavic s t u de nts for th e two conf e renc e- related coll e ges He would a lso like to see Slavic members be invited to regional rallies and meetings. "They will participate when they're present at a meeting," he said. "They're not just going to sit back and listen "
I ndividual Mennonite Bre thren can make a difference by contributing to the Evangelism Partn e rs fund or volunteering as English as a Second Language t eachers in Slavic churches. Funk believes the district trustees, the congregation itself amortizes the remainder of the debt with MB Foundation over 15 t o 20 years.
"We as a U.S. Conference have never (purchased a building) apart from a district, " Funk says . "However, we always say that if and when that becomes necessary, we may do that. I'm trying to avoid it, but I have a hunch it may start happening."
The assimilation challenge
Despite t he best judgm ent of c onference le aders, some observers fear the Slavic c hu rch es are coming to the Mennonite Brethren pri marily for financial he lp in th e sho rt run and will not become lo n g-te r m , p a rt icip ating membe rs in the c o nfe re n c e . Fun k d is-
But assimilation will be a challenge. Despite many similari ti es in theology and practice, the Slavics also bring uniquenesses wh ich the larger body will need to understand and accommodate, according to Funk. For example, Slavic bel ievers always kneel or stand when they pray, they practice foot-washing, and the married women wear a head covering when they worship.
"I c an s e e t he m visiting s o m e o f our c hurches where w e d o n't e ven s t and t o pray whe n we 're celebra ti ng com mun ion ," Fu nk say s . "Y o u a s k h ow w e ca n bu il d b rid ges w ith t h emthese are the t hings t h at b other me . I d o n ' t thin k it will b e ea sy. I thin k we can d o it, but w e b ette r be very sensitiv e ."
that will happen if longstanding Mennonite Brethren realize the potential benefit s of linking arms with their new brothers and sisters.
"I think (the Slavics) can give us a sense of the urgency of the return of the Lord," Funk says. "That ' s one of t heir strong themes I really think they could have a lot to do with a renewal amongst us."
What do the next five years hold for the Slavic/Mennonite Brethren link? "We will go one of two ways," Funk predicts. "We will have a district c onfere n c e, or some c onfiguration , m ade u p of Slavs wi t h its own autonomy but living under our umbrella . O r we will have 20 to 30 Slavic c hurch e s that have joined us We can readily r e ach 20 churches , even if we are only partially faithful. " e2
Music has been a valuable part of Gordon and Esther Balisky's ministry.
Worshiping with our Slavic family
The language was foreign, the length of service more than two hours; fortunately, much about Slavic worship transcends translation and mere endurance
BY DON RATZLAFF
E PUll INTO TIlE PARKING LOT OF TIlE SLAVIC CHRISTIAN Church in Portland, Ore., about 20 minutes before the Sunday morning service is to begin. The spaces are filling fast, the parking strategy here is already discernible: squeeze in one more car. By the time the service begins, the lot and the side streets will be bumper to bumper with cars. Likewise, worshipers will fill the pews inside in
SLAVIC GROWTH
Unlike the traditional Mennonite Brethren service, where corporate prayer usually means the pastor or leader prays audibly on behalf of the congregation, the Slavics express corporate prayer quite literally: everyone prays-audibly and simultaneously.
Corporate prayer, Slavic style.
quiet and reserved before the service, now punctuates his message with vigorous gestures and intonation As the lead pastor, his is the final and climatic message of the service. He leaves no doubt the Word of the Lord is being spoken.
And it seems to take hold in the pews. At the conclusion of each Bible message, the congregation is invited to respond in corporate prayer. Unlike the traditional Mennonite Brethren service, where corporate prayer usually means the pastor or leader prays audibly on behalf of the congregation, the Slavics express corporate prayer quite literally: everyone prays-audibly and simultaneously.
For such a sacred moment, no one sits passively in the pew. Some stand, the rest kneel on the floor facing the front-no small feat amid these crowded pews . Immediately a low rumbling of righteousness rises from the congregation. The emotion quickly swells . Within moments, the sanctuary is filled with a cacophony of confession and petition. Tears flow . Some believers raise their arms heavenward, others bury their face in their hands
After several minutes, as if on
unspoken cue, the tide of prayers sub · sides. Pastor Vakulsky, the last one praying, concludes the time with an "Amen " Whether these expressions of piety and devotion, as sincere as they appear to the visitor, become routine and mechanical for those who follow them service after service, I don't know. For this "foreigner , " though, the visible evidence of their deep and potent faith is certainly one gift they offer the rest of us in their newly adopted denominational family.
Celebration of family
Two other components of the morning service make it special, if not uncommon. The first is a child dedication. Children are celebrated and cherished in Slavic households. In contrast to their new American culture, where families average the proverbial 2.5 kids and a dog, Slavic families bring with them a high regard for larger broods Four to six children per household is more the norm than the exception. Some families have more.
On this morning, three young families come forward to receive a bouquet of flowers, words of affirmation, and a prayer of dedication from Pastor Vakulsky Working his way down the line, he holds each infant warmly. Judging by their smiles, the parents are obviously pleased-with themselves, the pastor's blessing, and a faith family that welcomes and nurtures a new generation in a new land. The cycle of life continues unabated.
Later in the service, another family is called forward. Balisky tells me the couple and their three young children have just arrived in Portland from the former Soviet Union. They have been invited to the podium for a word of public welcome and prayer
As they step onto the stage and stand self-consciously before the congregation, I see in the faces of the husband and wife both gratitude and fear. This must be a traumatic time in their lives I try to put myself in their place. What would prompt me to uproot my family from a familiar environment to a foreign one? Yes, the
Slavics fear the game isn't over yet in the CIS
WHY DO SLAVIC CHRISTIANS insist on leav-
ing their homeland just when they've been granted new freedom to worship and evangelize there? The answer to that oft-asked question isn't complicated.
"Their response is they don ' t think the game is over, " says Loyal Funk, U.S director of evangelism and church planting. "They really believe (the Commonwealth of Independent States) will go back to totalitarianism, though maybe in a different form. I have yet to find one who doesn ' t believe that ."
Those fears are not without merit. For example, rampant inflation in the Ukraine has led some to believe it is on the verge of civil war-and that Russia threatens to swallow it up. Beyond that, attempts at restrictive legislation and the threats of hardline nationalist Vladimir Zhirinivsky to limit religious freedom have caused Christians to closely monitor the situation in Russia.
ton, Boris Perchatkin , a Russian evangelical leader, met with U.S. members of Congress, State Department officials and advisers to President Clinton. He told them the former Soviet region-widely viewed as relatively free despite its growing pains-is actually a time bomb of persecution that, when it explodes, will vent unimaginable horror.
Perchatkin warned that after the next Russian presidential election in 1996, if not before, widespread, open persecution of Protestants will become the rule in Russia. He predicts a systematic "cleansing" of Protestants, similar to that experienced by all faiths under Josef Stalin , as nationalists tout the Orthodox and Muslim religions.
But not every Russian agrees with that dismal prediction. Shortly after Perchatkin's visit, Alexandr Zaichenko, a leading Russian economist and president of the Association of Christians in Business (ACB) in the
'They'r
Russian Republic, brought a message of hope to the United States. "The current religious climate is more or less stable," Zaichenko told EP News. "The number of churches is growing very fast "
"Five years ago, there was one Protestant church. Right now there are more than 80 denominations," Zaichenko said. "People are looking for reason in their lives. There are obstacles for Christianity in some fields I think this process is inevitable. But Christianity knows no boundaries "
Zaichenko said the Orthodox Church is "split into pieces" and that it is impossible to induce a church state right now "It is only nostalgia for the past," he said. "There is no future for the past in my country
Despite Zaichenko's optimism, many Slavics simply are not willing to take the cnance. "Why are they leaving? " Funk says. "They're leaving for the same reasons our Mennonite Brethren forebears leftlargely religious freedom and economic interests. And the value of family definitely enters in too."
Peter Tishchenko, pa s tor of the Slavic Christian Church in Vancouver, Wash., is a case in pOint. He said he intended to stay in Georgia after communism collapsed. But when members of his family began emigrating , he decided to join them . "I have a ministry here now," he says.
Tishchenko and his fellow immigrants have not forgotten the believers they've left behind. His congregation and others in the Pacific Northwest have helped arrange for several shipments of clothes, food and materials back to their homeland.
In the meantime, congregations and individuals continue to sponsor as many Slavics as they can-fully believing they are rescuing loved ones from a tragic drama before the curtain falls again.-DR, with EP news releases
During an April visit to Washing- Peter Tishchenko with his wife, Nelly: "I have a ministry here now. H
SLAVIC GROWTH
I could only hope our Slavic brothers and sisters would gain a healthy perspective on the connection of faith and ethnic traditions more graciously and quickly than the rest of their adopted denomination has through the years.
future of the Commonwealth of Inde· pendent States is uncertain, but what kind of future awaits them here in this strange new land?
I recall the conversation I had had the previous day with Peter and Nelly Tishchenko. Peter is pastor of the Slavic Christian Church of Vancouver, Wash Through the translation of a family member, I asked him about the fears he and his family had about being in this country. He seemed hesitant to respond . I wasn't sure whether he didn't understand the question, or was merely reticent to admit to fears . Given the language barrier, I was helpless to clarify my intent.
Nelly, who is further along in English, broke the silence first "We wonder if our kids will keep our culture," she said. Peter nodded his agreement.
It wasn't the answer I expected, to be honest. I thought they would express concern about the threat of North American materialism and secularism to their faith. Or the hazards posed by crime, gangs and substance abuse, especially for their youth. But
to be concerned primarily about their language and foods?
I wanted to probe their response with more questions, but decided not to. They had been honest with me. And, the more I thought about it, the more appropriate their response seemed for an immigrant people. In truth, I had to admit it mirrored a primary concern of the first Mennonite Brethren immigrants who came to the United States from Russia 120 years ago. I could only hope our Slavic brothers and sisters would gain a healthy perspective on the connection of faith and ethnic traditions more graciously and quickly than the rest of their adopted denomination has through the years.
These broader issues , I'm sure, were far from the minds of this young family which now stood before us on the stage. A place to live, a job to support the family, a language to learnthese are the concerns I saw in their eyes. And I breathed a prayer of thanks that they have a local church family committed to helping them make the transition.
Time for connections
Then, almost abruptly, the worship service ends. The meetinghouse empties slowly. Because my opportunities for conversation are limited, I grab my camera and head out a side door to survey the scene there Across the crowded parking lot, pockets of people coagulate to catch up on the latest news and events of their lives A few cars inch their way toward the exits, but no one seems in a great hurry to leave. This too is church, I note. These people value each other and take the time to make the connections . What lies ahead for the Slavic-Mennonite Brethren connection, I wonder as we finally drive away from the church . God has opened doors for us that no one had even imagined three years earlier. The potential for denominational numerical growth is significant, but so are the challenges of assimilation. Some wonder whether the Slavics are committed to stay with
Pastor Vakulsky leads in a prayer for the newest arrivals to the United States.
us for the long haul, or are merely interested in a short-term step up to something else. Others wonder whether the denomination is truly committed to incorporating these new people, or interested only in a short-term step up in growth statistics.
Questions like these can't be answered after one whirlwind reporting tour in one isolated region. But having listened to our denominational leaders who work most closely with
these churches, and to the few Slavic leaders I have had the opportunity to encounter, I sense the key to the longterm outcome may lie more with the denomination than the Slavics.
I leave wondering: Are we interested only in hosting a few thousand outof-town house guests for a brief visit, or will we invest the resources necessary to enlarge the house and invite our adopted brothers and sisters to take their rightful place at the family table? e2.
MBs in CIS burdened by a history of suffering
BEUEVERS OF Mennonite Brethren background in the former Soviet Union, estimated only six years ago to be as high as 25,000 to 35 ,000 , have dwindled dramatically in the aftermath of communism 's collapse in 1990. Open doors of immigration to Germany have, by some reports, all but drained Mennonite Brethren from the cradle of the denomination 's birth.
But some are holding on. Ben Falk, a Mennonite Central Committee worker from
Virgil, Ont ., attended the biannual meeting of the Mennonite Brethren Conference in Putschkova , Western Siberia , May 2. MCC workers believe this is the first time a non-Russian Mennonite has attended this conference.
Falk and wife, Erna , have been working in the town of Neudachino since 1993. According to
women wearing "men 's " clo thing, wearing modem hair styles and not wearing head coverings. They are also gravely concerned about the invasion of television. Younger leaders struggle under this authoritarian leadership, which often deals with disagreements by excommunication. But as yet , according to Falk, the younger leaders are not challenging the older leaders.
Following years of isolation, Mennonites in Siberia know little of their Anabaptist roots or of the worldwide Mennonite fellowship . News that the Following years of isolation, Mennonites in Siberia know little of their Anabaptist roots or the worldwide Mennonite fellowship.
Mennonite church of the southern hemisphere is as large or larger than that of the north is greeted with disbelief.
MCC seeks to find ways to gently interact with Siberian Mennonites who remain cautious of outsiders. "We will need to walk with sensitivity and grace with these brothers and sisters who have experienced so much pain and disapFalk, the 110 delegates-representing 2 ,400 members in 24 churches and 13 fellowships-reported on baptisms and conversions of the last six months , and also spoke of the problems facing the church.
Among pastors, the prominent concern was emigration to Germany. One reported that the choir director and most of the choir had applied for permission to emigrate, leaving a leadership vacuum. "Many are leaving and few are taking their place," the pastor said
This is a time of transition for the Mennonite Brethren Church in Siberia. Older leaders, who successfully led it during years of communism, now find it difficult to accept change. They are still concerned with
pointment in the last 7 0 years," says Walter Bergen, MCC country co-representative in the former Soviet Union. "They are burdened by a history of suffering and honorable persecution . Now when change comes, it is shaking the security they had established in their villages and church life ."
At the end of the meeting , delegates asked Falk to speak. Using 2 Corinthians 5 , he spoke about the new creation in Christ that brings a new mandate to meet the needs of a changing society. Falk said the church must be prepared-not to compromise its theology, but to adjust its ministry to effectively address the problems of today's changing sOciety.-Adapted from an MCC release
Choices of life and death
It strikes me that Irvin Wall, in his letter in the June issue, isn't so much questioning the rightness of capital punishment. He seems to be saying, "Why should we take the message of redemption to those convicted of capital crimes?"
I admit, when I read about another child molested and killed, or another mass murder, or a serial rapist, I struggle to understand why these people should be allowed a chance at heaven after the horrible things they've done. Why shouldn't they die in their sin and spend eternity in hell? The only answer I get to these questions is that it isn ' t our place to decide who will be in heaven and who will not.
Corrie Ten Boom told the story that sometime after World War 2, she was addressing a group on forgiveness of sins. Afterward, a man came up to shake her hand, a man she recognized
as an especially cruel concentration camp guard. He didn't recognize her, he knew only that she had spoken about God's forgiveness and Christ's atonement . Corrie realized this man had become a Christian since the war, and that almost beyond comprehenSion, all the terrible things he had done had been cleansed from him.
If this man had been required to stand before a human court, to be charged for his past, he would have done so. If his life had been required as payment for those crimes it would have been taken-unless God chose to move his hand to save his life.
Do we dare tell the Creator he can't call whom he chooses? "Whatever is under the whole Heaven is mine," says God in Psalm 115:16. We don't have the right to withhold the good news of salvation.
Elaine Jelinek Wichita, Kan.
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Clarifying
a taxing point
For my own clarification on the question of churches having to keep records of donations (Inquiring Minds, June), I have contacted the IRS at Houston, Texas They say they are not demanding such records. In fact, nothing has changed, except the donor is encouraged to ask for a receipt for donations of $250 or more per day. Cash or other donations are still hon· ored with your own dated, valid record. Canceled checks are still valid receipts, etc.
The church need not keep records and give quarterly or annual statements because of government demands.
If you have more questions, I encourage you to call the Houston IRS number: 1-800 -829 1040. It is often busy, but keep trying. Have questions ready. A recording will say "Touch 1. " When the operator answers, ask for a person infonned on church contributions. Milo Schroeder Buhler, Kan.
Editor's note: The IRS is still in the process of finalizing its regulations, according to Dale Regier, U.S Conference treasurer. He cites a bulletin from Church Law & Tax Report, which states.' "Single, individual contributions of $250 or more made after Dec 31, 1993, cannot be substantiated with canceled checks. Donors will not be allowed a tax deduction for an individual cash (or property) contribution of $250 or more unless they receive a written acknowledgement from the church or charity Most donations will not be affected by these new rules. However, if you give more than $250 at one time [including the use of multiple checks, Regier adds], make sure you receive a written receipt that satisfies the rules.... Otherwise, your contribution will not be tax deductible. "
Regier adds that Mr. Schroeder is te chnically correct in that a church is not required to keep detailed records of all donations - unless it plans to issue a one-time receipt at the end of the year for multiple individual gifts over $250 made during the course of the year
Quizzical fitness
JUST WHEN IT SEEMS that all the possibilities of exercise technology have been exhausted, someone comes up with some fabulous new contraption, like the Super SkiStair Cycle-Stepper, guaranteed to provide a lifetime of well-being knowing you could haul it out of storage at any time and actually attempt to exercise. Of course, you could also have done that with your treadmill, rower, stationary bike, stair climber, dumbbell (if he'd ever get his rear off the recliner), ankle weights, aerobics, videos and other fitness apparatus you've accumulated over the years, only to discover a recurring flaw. To get in shape, you actually have to use them.
That's why when my wife enticingly points out some new handle-barred, fly-wheeled gismo in a sale ad, I generally say "Naw." I hardly use the high-tech exercise apparatus I already own. My anns and legs.
I'm not sure how fitness got to be a multibillion dollar industry, but I suspect it has something to do with the infonnation age . The info age shoves many of us behind desks, where the heaviest thing we lift is ourselves out of the chair, and then barrages us with images of perfectly sculpted hunks and babes who got that way primarily by conscientious efforts of heredity. But the fitness industry, of course, wants all of us squatty folks to believe we can become perfectly sculpted hunks and babes too, so we'll buy their stuff. And we do Which may not be all bad. Somebody has to keep the home storage-system industry in business.
Deep down, though, I think we all know that well-being isn't achieved via apparatus, but attitude Which is exactly why we keep buying all this apparatus . Getting a new attitude takes major effort, while getting new apparatus only takes a major credit card.
Lately though, I've been wondering where all this fitness anxiety comes from in the first place. Why do I think I need to get in better shape, anyway? To impress women? Naw, I've been safely married for nearly a decade To impress my wife? Naw, if Kim married me for my body, she desperately needs an eye exam . To improve job performance? Actually, it doesn't take a high rate of cardiovascular fitness to type "cardiovascular fitness " To feel better? Well, I don't know if I want to feel better and give up my excuse for being a crank . To enhance my self-esteem? I'm not sure getting in
shape would enhance my self-esteem. Could make it worse. If I looked in the mirror to see a sculpted hunk , I'd probably think 'There's a really vain dude ."
The fact is, I'm already reasonably healthy (so my doctor tells me) and fit into most of my clothes. I don ' t have too many nutritional vices, beyond cream in my coffee and the inability to snarf less than half a dozen chocolate chip cookies in one sitting. And I even get a little exercise, by virtue of the fact that I am a fairly average American doing fairly average American stuff:
• I own a house. Anyone who thinks owning a house means you have it made, think again. A house is never made, with all the hammering, sawing , painting, repairing, digging, planting, weeding and other cardiovascular improvements you have to make over the course of a 30-year mortgage.
• I have a spouse. And spouses tend to have a natural "listing instinct" that compels them to draw up weekend project lists longer than the Boston Marathon .
• I purse hobbies. Games of tenn is or basketball are great ways to tighten the old muscles a little , particularly the laugh muscles of anyone who happens to be watching a wannabe athlete like me whack tennis balls over the fence or toss air balls under the backboard.
• I am a parent. And parenting is God's own exercise program, designed to regularly work every conceivable muscle group, including your brain . Actually, I didn't even know my brain had muscles until Seth started walking, then climbing, then materializing at precipitous heights, to which my brain responded by performing olympian back flips.
So I obviously don't need a Super Ski-Stair Cycle-Stepper to get into shape, unless I only want to trim a few inches off my wallet. But I do admit that I could stand to walk more. In fact, I have to . Stand to walk, that is, which is probably why I rarely walk . I have to go out of my way It's the same with eating more vegetables, which I also should do . I mean, I'd have to cultivate the ground, plant seeds, hoe and irrigate .. ..
OK, all I'd really need to do is rip and tear and chop a little, and crunch a lot. I mean, when I eat vegetables If I rip and tear and crunch when I walk, I'm in a lot worse shape than I thought tf2
When my wife enticingly points out some new handle-barred, fly-wheeled gismo in a sale ad, I generally say "Naw." I hardly use the high-tech exercise apparatus I already own. My arms and legs.
Philip Wiebe lives in Salem, Ore.
HEIN
QA former neighbor, with whom I have a Bible study, is a Catholic. She asks: "What do Protestants say about John 20:23? 'If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins Of any, they have been retained. 1» (CAliFORNIA)
ACatholics and Anabaptists both have interpreted this passage to give tremendous power and authority-to the priesthood for Catholics and to the local congregation for Anabaptists. Were the followers of Jesus or their successors endowed with power to forgive and condemn? Did God abdicate his sovereign authority to forgive?
If the answer is "yes," then it would seem Jesus gave us the "keys of the kingdom" to do precisely what he condemned in the Pharisees: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against people .. . " (Mt. 23: 13). It is difficult to see how Jesus would have recommended the community of believers to do the very thing that is condemned.
What then is included in "binding" and "loosing"? I have good friends who believe Jesus is talking about the internal discipline of the congregation And I am among those who are sad that churches largely do not enter into disciplinary procedures in an age where the "marketing" of the gospel doesn't ask too many hard questions nor generally take any active postures in church discipline. However, the context of these words hardly allows for an interpretation that suggests internal discipline. Sufficient biblical references demonstrate the responsibility to exercise congregational discipline without using the "binding and loosing" passages.
These words come in connection with the missionary command. Jesus is talking about sending the disciples. No church polity talk here, only missionary language. The commission spoken of here is to proclaim the possibility of forgiveness for all people. It isn't absolution language at all . So
instead of reading power and authority into the passage, I prefer to see it as a declaration that Jesus wants us to announce forgiveness. He wants us to tell the whole world God's grace is available, that forgiveness can be real.
If we don't make that announcement, people are not forgiven and don't
know about forgiveness. They remain unforgiven We have arranged for them retaining their sins. The sent community, by proclamation, or the neglect of the missionary task, provides the possibility of sins forgiven or retained. Our gossiping of the good news doesn't guarantee that anyone will have his or her sins forgiven, but we make the choice possible . If we never provide alternatives, people are certain to have their sins retained.
QIs the Bible inconsistent or contradictory when in one passage it speaks of one angel and in a corresponding passage in another gospel it speaks of two angels? (CAliFORNIA)
AWhen Jesus spoke in the first century, no cassette tapes nor even scribes recorded every word he said. Believers probably didn't value the recording of Jesus's words during his active ministry and after his death because they thought he would return soon. Only later did they see the need for an account of his life . That must have taken a generation or two-perhaps when the apostles began to pass from the scene
This is not to say that some in the early church did not have keen memories. But when they did get around to recording the life of Jesus, they did not intend to give anything like a modern biography. They obviously exercised considerable freedom in reporting details They were painting portraits of Jesus The superintendence of the Holy Spirit was always present to prevent basic errors, but in an eastern culture, word-for-word accuracy was
Do you have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy, or other spiritual issue? Send it to "Inquiring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 4812 E. Butler, Fresno, CA 93727.
never insisted on like it is in our western culture. The gospel writers were painting a picture.
The question reminded me of the words of eminent New Testament theologian, George Eldon Ladd: "When there are problems within the gospels as to setting, geography, details, and so on, I am not bothered . That's not what the gospels are doing. They are bringing a message. They aren't concerned with chronology, time , and so on. So when one gospel says there was one angel and another says there were two, don't get hung up on that It just means they went with a minimum of equipment."
The same rationale can be applied to the two accounts of the temple cleanSing or the story of the Gadarene demoniac . Were there two or one? It makes little difference. Don't let our modern, western penchant for correct arithmetic get in the way of understanding what Jesus is really saying. The gospels don't worry about details; they promote basic truths
Someone is certain to respond , "Well, then for you the resurrection can just be a story, not a real event?" No, for me the resurrection is a necessity in the gospel story. But how people saw that event (actually no one saw it) or remembered the reports of those closest to the scene may vary . That's no big deal. The real message is not whether there were two angels in the tomb or only one, but that Jesus did rise from the dead. The intention of the resurrection account is clear. Let's not waste our time trying to clear up the discrepancies that arise because we think "westernly" while the writers thought "easternly." tf2
Was it God's punishment?
SOMETIMES, WHEN A series of events happens in a relatively short period of time or space, many of us wonder if they are connected. When those events are traumatic or disastrous, we may ask the question, "Is this the judgment of God on sin?" For example, when we fIrst began to be aware of AIDS, it was found mostly in the gay community . Many Christians believed that AIDS was the punishment of God for an immoral lifestyle.
I faced a similar question about God's judgment recently when I read the following series of events. These were reported in a messianic Jewish prayer letter. The author was concerned that President Clinton was cozying up too closely to the Islamic rulers of the Arab states in order to get a peace agreement in the Middle East. Such a peace agreement could be interpreted as a threat to Israel, which many believe is still God's chosen nation. These Christians teach that the Bible promises judgment on any who would threaten the Israelis or the Jewish state. With that background, consider the following events. Are these coincidences, or the wrathful hand of God? Each of these events occurred in 1994:
• January 13-The foreign minister of Norway, who brokered the peace agreement between Israel and the PLO, died unexpectedly of a stroke at the age of 56.
• January 17-A terrible earthquake hit the city of Los Angeles.
• January 18-President Clinton shook hands with President Assad of Syria to talk about dividing the Golan Heights, which many Israelis believe are part of God's inheritance for his people
• January 21-The son of President Assad of Syria, head of the secret police, was killed in a car crash.
While all of this was going on, the portion of the Torah read by Jews on January 15 was chapters 10-13 of the book of Exodus, which deals with the plagues that God sent on the Egyptians for oppressing the Hebrews.
In the logic of the writer ofthe letter, these things were not coincidental. They were most likely connected to the selling out of God's peo· pie, the Jews, by the United States and by the evil religion of Islam
So, did God show his anger here? How do we know? We know that God has anger and that he shows it. The Bible, in both Old and
New Testaments, speaks of that. Even Jesus, the redeeming Lamb, is an agent of judgment. Romans 1:18, using a present-tense verb, makes clear that God does reveal his wrath in the present age. The rest of the chapter details some of the reasons why he makes his anger felt.
It is often easy to put a string of events together in such a way that they appear to be connected But to determine if God is punishing people, we need to consult the Scriptures. There are at least three points made there about the judgment of God against evil.
First, when God sends judgment, he states the purpose and doesn't leave any mystery about it. So, when Noah built the ark, he was preparing for God's punishment of a sinful world. When the plagues fell upon Egypt, they were in response to the hardness of Pharaoh's heart. When Saul attacked the Amalakites, we are told it was for "what they did to Israel" (1 Sam. 15:2). When God scourges he states his reasons. There isn't any doubt about that.
Second, God's judgment is always recognized as coming from him. According to 2 Peter 2:5, Noah preached righteousness while he was building the ark_ For 100 years, Noah announced what God was going to do. In the Egyptian plagues, Moses proclaimed to Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord says " Even the famines that came from the Lord were disclosed by his messengers. In short, when God acts, not one asks, "Who did that?"
Third, in God's judgments, he spares the righteous. Moses and other true believers were told to stand away from the tents of Korah when the earth opened and swallowed the latter (Num. 16:23). When Noah entered the ark, there were only eight godly people in the world, but they all survived. God even told Abraham he would spare the entire city of Sodom if only one righteous person could be found there . God's judgments are not indiscriminate, but selective. This is not to suggest that his people never suffer, nor to imply that they aren't sometimes caught in the evil that affects this world, but to point out that God protects his own when judgment falls
In a sinful world, dreadful things happen. The events recorded in the prayer letter were dreadful. Were they the hand of God? I don't think so, though they do make a striking pattern . But when God sends his wrath, all the world will know it. He has said so . tf2
It is often easy to put a string of events together in a way that they appear to be connected. But to determine if God is punishing people, we need to consuit the Scriptures.
jim Holm is from Reedley, Calif.
A few signs of Promise (Keepers)
BY DON RATZLAFF
• Storm dampens but can't extinguish a movement of men on fire for their faith
WITH APOLOGIES to poet Robert Burns, I type the lead to a story I'd hoped to begin much differently: The bestlaid schemes of mice and men-even 35,000 Christian men (no tally on the mice)-are subject to the whims of God and nature
My personal scheme was a good one: Attend a regional Promise Keepers men's conference, then write about my experience as a way to introduce Leader readers to a mushrooming national renewal movement that is attracting a growing number of Mennonite Brethren men.
The timing was right for such a story. Now in its fourth year, Promise Keepers has exploded onto the evangelical scene with impressive impact. Hatched in the mind and heart of Bill McCartney, head football coach at Colorado University, PK's goal is "to unite men through vital relationships to become godly influences in their world."
From an initial gathering of 72 men in 1990, the event grew to 4,200 men the next year, then to 20,000 in 1992. Last summer, 50,000 men filled the CU football stadium in Boulder. This year, to accommodate anticipated growth, planners switched the format from one central site to six regional rallies Total attendance is on pace to reach 250,000.
Mennonite Brethren participation, meanwhile, has grown from a handful in 1992 to several dozen last summer. But the enthusiasm of past participants indicated a quantum leap in attenders this summer. Testimonies of past participants have been almost unanimous in citing the life-changing impact of the experience. One district convention even allotted time during a men's luncheon to promote the movement . What is Promise Keepers anyway? What are its goals? Why have so many
I decided it was time to find out firsthand. Though the Boulder gathering, scheduled for July 29-30, is still seen by many as the summer's main event, my own schedule dictated a one-day gathering in Denton, Texas, June 11. This is what I found there
June 10, 2 p.m. About 20 of us gather on the front lawn of the Hillsboro MB Church to travel to Denton
We represent three area congregations, including two Mennonite Brethren ones I am reminded of the trans -denominational emphasis of Promise Keepers. I assume we will not pass the time discussing doctrinal distinctives Just as well Actually, I'm looking forward to the seven-hour drive. The bond that develops between traveling companions is half the benefit, I have been told by PK vets After we pray for a safe trip and rich blessings, 20 fullsized men squeeze into three mini vans. Yes, the bond will be close.
10 p.m. We arrive at the University of North Texas dormitories, where we will be lodged. The trip down was a success: We still like each other. And I learned more about engine parts
and pro sports than I thought possible.
We check in at the front lobby, which is already teaming with men who look as bonded as we do As we enter the elevator for the sixth floor, I wonder what spending two summer nights in a Texas dormitory will be like. When we open the door to our room, I experience my first answer to prayer: air conditioning. God is good
June 11, 7 a.m. My roommate and I climb out of bed and prepare to shower Oops, too late. The strangers in the adjoining room reach the communal bathroom before we do. Seems like an inappropriate environment for introductions. So we wait quietly for our turn
7:30 a.m. Showered and dressed, we head down to the dormitory cafeteria for breakfast. Real -men food here : eggs, sausage, pancakes, and more The coffee line is far too long for my comfort zone, but I remind myself that patience is a fruit of the Spirit and that I am here to grow spiritually.
8:15 a.m. The sessions don't
men been attracted to the movement? Rod Hamm (left) and Steve Greenhaw, both of Hillsboro, join in the singing
A market truly does exist for "gospel" t-shirts. I see them everywhere here .... I wonder, is it easier to wear one's faith than to live it?
The promises of Promise Keepers
PROMISE KEEPERS believes that Christian growth starts by making some fundamental promises. According to PK literature, "these promises are not designed as a new list of commandments to remind us of how badly we're doing with respect to the often-competing demands of home, work, and church. Rather they are meant to guide us toward the life of Christ so that He might transform us from the inside out. "
A Promise Keeper is committed to:
1. Honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience to his word, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Pursuing vital relationships with a few other men , understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
3. Practicing spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.
4. Building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.
5. Supporting the mission of the church by honoring and praying for his pastor and by actively giving his time and resources.
6. Reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.
7. Influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (Mk. 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20).
white (predominantly white, though). Rich, middle class and - poor? I wonder. I know Promise Keepers seeks to cross racial and class boundaries. I wonder about their success at it.
I make a few more mental notes:
• It is downright hot. The air is pungent with the aroma of sun screen . Someone mentions that concession drinks are available for absentminded folks, like me, who didn't bring water jugs. Good to know.
• A market truly does exist for "gospel" t-shirts. I see them everywhere here. Some slogans are politically clever: "Prayer is environmentally clean-Create in me a pure heart." Most, though, are billboards for a more macho gospel: "Salvation is not for wimps," and "Shut up and pray" and "Lord's Gym : His pain, your gain. " I wonder, is it easier to wear one's faith than to live it?
• Boys will be boys . Don't expect 35,000 men to sit quietly on their hands. Beach balls bounce across the crowd like popcorn. A roar erupts as a model plane floats successfully from the press box down to the stadium floor . Occasional "waves" ripple through the stands. Spontaneous cheers echo back and forth: "We love Jesus, yes we do. We love Jesus, how 'bout you?" Is the spirit festive or frivolous? I file away that question for later.
• Did I mention it is hot? I slap on another dab of sun screen, then headfor the concession stand.
10:45 a.m. The event kicks off early. The crowd is ready and so am I. The Maranatha Men's Praise Band leads us in singing. A jazzed-up version of "Rise Up 0 Men of God" never sounded so appropriate . Or so loud. Those giant PA speakers are, well, extremely powerful. What does it sound like when 35,000 male voices join in song? We may never know.
11:10 a.m. Tom Landry, former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, is introduced and receives a standing ovation . He hits on a familiar PK theme: "Moral values can only be restored (in America) when people return to the Christian standards that made America great ." It's a theme that rings well with the men here . Another standing 0 for Landry .
11:30 a.m. As a few -clouds drift in, offering some relief from the sun, James Ryle, a Vineyard pastor and chaplain of the Colorado University football team, takes the podium as the first featured speaker. He makes a clear and Q,on-manipulative gospel presentation. Without Jesus, he says, we are like a football without air-unable to achieve the purpose for which we were created.
As he concludes, Ryle invites men to come forward to accept Christ-but, he warns, they must come without the usual "every head bowed and every eye closed." This is to be a public decision, he adds, made before a multitude of witnesses From across the stadium, hundreds make their way to the stage amid the sustained applause of their peers. It is a moving moment.
12:20 p.m. During the brief break following the first seSSion, the emcee makes an announcement: "The National Weather Service informs us that a storm is bearing down on Denton " I glance behind us, to the north. The clouds have suddenly become thick, heavy and ominously dark. The emcee leads the multitude in prayer, asking God to part the clouds but also surrendering the situation to God's sovereignty
12:58 p.m. After more praise music, Steve Farrar, executive director of Men's Leadership Ministries in Dallas, is introduced as the second speaker. By now the sky is threatening. It does not appear our prayer for a weather miracle will be answered
Acknowledging that his time on the podium is likely short, Farrar launches into a five-minute summary of his intended message. "War has been declared against the family of God," he begins. But his words are all but lost in the rumbling of thunder that grows ever closer.
1:03 p.m. PK officials decide to abandon ship, quickly giving evacuation orders to the mammoth crowd The wind suddenly picks up. Empty chairs tumble in the gusts as clouds swirl menacingly above our heads. The first drops of rain begin to fall as we shuffle at a snail's pace toward the designated exits
Camped in the middle of the field,
our group will be among the last to find cover. Needless to say, heat is no longer our concern. As we near the exit, we notice the wind has played havoc with the stage decor and that one of the scaffold towers holding the large PA speakers is leaning dangerously.
The rain intensifies as we move quickly to our designated shelter: the basketball arena located about two blocks from Fouts Field . As I near the arena steps, I hear a crash from the stadium. I assume the scaffold tower has collapsed.
1:30 p.m. Several thousand drenched and dripping males have filed into the arena. In the havoc of the evacuation, I find myself separated from the rest of our group. No matter. I climb the steps to the top of the arena and fmd a seat. A wave of weariness and introspection sets in . Whatever momentum was built in the initial session has surely been broken . This is not the event any of us had planned or hoped for.
2:30 p.m. We've been in the arena an hour, but it seems longer The time is filled with more beach balls, waves, cheers and an occasional song . Thankfully, word ruters through the crowd that the rain has stopped. The rumor hasn't been confirmed, but who cares? We make our way toward the arena exits.
2:40 p.m. Outside, it is still sprinkling Most of us stand under the shelter of the overhanging roof. As we wait, I strike up a casual conversation with a young and apparently successful real estate developer from the Houston area. We trade basic information about ourselves and touch lightly on a few faith-related topics.
Above us, an airplane circles, pulling a banner which reads: "Real men love Jesus ." At this moment, given the flash of lightning that occasionally streaks across the sky , the wisdom of the pilot's macho-gospel message simply escapes me.
3:15 p.m. We see cardboard platters with food carried past us. Someone reports dinner has been moved up so that the evening program can continue without interruption. I slow-
ly make my way to the soggy lines of men forming outside the stadium Feeding this multitude may be the most impressive logistic accomplishment of them all. In amazingly few minutes, I am holding a barbecued chicken meal of my own.
3:30 p.m. As I carry my food back into the stadium, I pass a PK staff member with a megaphone who announces that the rally will resume at 5:30 Hoping to be reunited with my group, I trudge back to the spot on the field where our group had settled before the storm. On the way, I notice that one scaffold tower had, indeed, collapsed and that the stage area is in disrepair. A crew is at work to establish a makeshift alternative.
I fmd no familiar faces when I arrive at our block of seats. No matter. I settle into a wet chair,
eat cold chicken, and drink cold pop. I am shivering now.
5:00 p.m. My spirit has been revived by a reunion with most of our group members, a cup of McDonald's coffee, and a serendipitous conversation with Wayne Wilson, pastor of our church in Halstead, Kan. I have heard that a number of other Mennonite Brethren from the Midwest are here too, but I have not been able to spot them among the masses . By now, the stadium has pretty much refilled. We may have lost a couple of hundred men as a result of the delay, but it is apparent the vast majority have hung in for the finale The spirit has hung in too : beach balls are bouncing, model planes floating, waves rippling and cheers echoing. Boys will be boys, indeed .
5:40 p.m. With a roar from the crowd, the program resumes . The alternative PA system and fewer instruments on stage actually enhance the singing. I can actually hear the guy next to me.
6:20 p.m. Bill McCartney takes the podium Using the analogy of the half·time of a football game, the CU coach announces that the extended break has led to a change of strategy
for the evening. Following an extended time of prayer, he reports, PK lead· ers felt led to address a specific issue: racism.
Citing a "spirit of oppression" in Dallas, McCartney says with conviction, "God is telling Promise Keepers and all men that are here that we're not going to conduct business as usual. There's a problem here we need to deal with ."
He hammers home two central truths from Scripture: "Every single one of us has been built by God to be loved unconditionally" and "God designed every one of us to love oth· ers." But, he adds, "many of us are still harboring hate in our lives."
McCartney's presentation is straight-forward and direct, as you might expect from a successful Divi· sion I head coach . I try to assess the impact of his pointed message on the crowd, but can't . I glance at the others in our group, wondering what they're thinking. If they're like me, the feelings are mixed . Who can discount the cancer of racism in our country and in our churches? What person doesn't struggle with it at some level? At the same time, the agenda suddenly feels localized; those of us who came from long distances and other circumstances feel like dis· tant relatives who find themselves lis-
AI Grunau (center), Hillsboro, shares an insight about his soggy chicken dinner with Willis Herbel.
tening to the host family discuss their problems.
Two African-American speakers follow. The first is A. Louis Patterson Jr., a Baptist lecturer and pastor from Houston The second is Tony Evans, a Dallas pastor and writer Using the power and oratory style of gospel preachers, both call for Christian unity that supersedes racial barriers.
Patterson scores when he addresses the hypocrisy of men who pray to Christ but harbor racist hearts: "Anyone who bows and comes up with color on his mind should bow again because the problem isn't skin, it's sin."
But Evans wins over the crowd with his prophetic and poetic style. Noting the moral deterioration of the country, he proclaims: "There is no time for racism. There is no time for culturalism. There is no time for elitism .... We may have come here on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now."
Racism is not a problem only of the dominant white culture , he adds. It crosses racial boundaries. "Black is beautiful only when it is biblical," he says. "White is right only when it squares with Holy Writ."
Once more an altar call is made. This time the focus is on those who need to confess their racial prejudices and desire to live out true brotherhood. Again, men by the hundredswhite, black, brown-converge on the stage area.
Following a time of prayer, Randy Phillips, Promise Keepers president, invites all of us to attend a hastily planned "continuation" of this conference. A date hasn't been set yet, he says, but the goal will be to carry on the work of racial unity in the Dallas area When he asks how many men would be willing to return-and to invite an acquaintance from another race-hands raise all over the field. Except ours. We wish the venture well, but the logistics of returning don't bode well for these distant relatives.
Then, following a few more announcements and a song, the rally is suddenly over It is only 8 p m , but the local fire marshall, concerned about the safety of the stage area, has recommended that we clear the stadium before sundown . Our group files
out, almost quietly. The day has been good, but, to be honest , it hasn't been all that we had hoped.
Sunday, 8:15 a.m. We load our vans and head back to Kansas. Between conversations with my travel mates, I replay the events of the weekend. Each of us seems hesitant to express disappointment, but I can sense it. As a participant, I missed the spiritual boost I had hoped for. As a
PK is most prophetic when it challenges men to take responsibility for their spiritual growth by forming strong bonds with each other and then becoming active participants in their families, churches and work places.
reporter, I had hoped to experience a "typical" Promise Keepers rally. Instead, I got a most unusual one. What conclusions could I make based on such an experience?
HeSitantly, I scratch out a few:
• God is at work through the Promise Keepers movement. What other explanation could there be for its meteoric growth? Men everywhere, I sense, are yearning for a wake-up call. Many of us can't even identify the nature of our malaise. We know we want to be alive and vibrant. We want to experience again the joy of our salvation and the confidence of our identity as males in Christ Promise Keepers has tapped into that felt need.
• PK's call to a return to "traditional values" needs further definition and discernment. PK is most prophetic when it challenges men to take responsibility for their spiritual growth by forming strong bonds with each other and then becoming active participants in their families, churches and work places.
But the rhetoric of Some speakers and participants seems to hearken back to an authoritarian and hierarchi· cal tradition where men rule with machismo and privilege rather than a servant's heart that recognizes and affirms the gifts of women too.
As if to underline that perception , coverage of the rally in The Dallas Morning News quoted featured speaker Steve Farrar: "I think a lot of Christian ministers have been feminized I don't think they're strong men and most guys don't relate to that. I think Jesus Christ was a real man .. .. "
Added one participant : "Men are no longer leaders of the family because of the feminist movement in America. Men need to take a stand and become the head of the household again. "
What is PK's vision for men? If the movement can energize a truly Christcentered understanding of manhood and leadership, it will do the church a great favor.
• The church in America needs PK's call for racial unity in Christ. Granted, the Denton rally was overwhelmingly white, but every movement must start somewhere. The test will be to note the demographics of a PK rally a few years from now. Will the movement's reality reflect its rhetoric?
• PK should be affirmed for its intention to energize the local church rather than drawing men to itself. Again, only time will tell whether the movement will achieve this goal, but PK's long-term effectiveness will rest on its ability to translate its vision into the local congregation. Though PK rightly encourages cross-denominational unity, I would also hope PK's "bloom where you are planted" vision could extend to denominational commitments too.
So, what did I find in Promise Keepers? I return from Denton grateful for the experience. Promise Keepers is not above the need for critical discernment, but I see God's involvement in the movement and the potential it has to renew my life, church and denomination. In short, we Mennonite Brethren have much to gain from Promise Keepers. Yes, the schemes of men may go awry from tim e to time . But I am also convinced that God, the ultimate promise keeper , will c arry his work to completion
FRATERNAL RELATIONS
Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ: a case of 'casual hand-holding'
THEYThe discussion developed about the same time the larger Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church started seriously pursuing merging into one body. But both the Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ say that didn't prompt their meetings
• Smaller evangelical-oriented Anabaptist groups explore cooperation in the wake of a potential MC/GC merger "It was perhaps a sense of mutuality," Janzen says. "Size wasn't an issue We weren't feeling left out .... It was just an idea that sprang up."
HAVE HAD their first dates, and while neither is talking about marriage, North American Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ are enjoying each other's company and getting to know each other better.
gy, pastoral leadership, missions and education
According to Mennonite World Conference statistics , the Mennonite Brethren have 45,000 North American members, 28,000 of them in Canada , while the Brethren in Christ have 21,000 members, 17,000 in the United States.
Similarly, any sort of formal union is not part of current talks. "They are not the point [of] any sort of conciliatory unit or merger," Janzen says . Edmund Janzen, moderator of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, called it "casual hand-holding. "
The two Anabaptist groups have been holding quiet, low-profile and largely informal meetings for the past three years. And with no set agenda.
"Our agenda is what we can learn from each other," says Brethren in Christ general secretary Don Shafer. Topics discussed included theolo -
. NEWS IN BRIEF
• BOTTOM LINE: The U.S. Conference finished its 199394 fiscal year May 31 with a positive balance for its national ministries, but another significant shortfall for the MB Biblical Seminary guaranteed subsidy, according to Dale Regier, treasurer. Ministry expenses totaled $272,591 for the year, almost $25,000 below budget. Church contributions toward those ministries totaled $222,670-down about $1,500 from last year. Special fund -raising appeals and direct gifts made up the difference Though church contributions to the MBBS subsidy increased slightly from a year ago, total receipts still fell $67,212 short of the $306,416 commitment. The U.S Conference still owes an almost identical amount from last year's subsidy shortfall, according to Regier.
• RESIGNED: Deborah Pen·
No great driving force brought the two together, participants say. The talks evolved out of Council of Moderators and Secretaries sessions where Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ found themselves meeting over coffee and breakfast . CMS is an annual meeting of various Mennonite conference leaders .
ner has resigned as half-time assistant editor of the Christian Leader, effective Aug. 31. She has accepted a graduate teaching assistant position at Wichita State University, where she is a master's degree candidate in English Penner joined the Leader staff as an editorial assistant in summer 1991. Her role was upgraded to assistant editor the following spring. "I will miss Deborah's many contributions to the magazine, but the U S. Board of Communications and I wish her well as she pursues her career goal of teaching English at the college level," says Don Ratzlaff, Leader editor.
• NOMINATED: Harry Heide· brecht, pastor of the Bakerview MB Church in Clearbrook, B.C., for the past 12 years, has been nominated by the Canadian Conference Executive Board and the Board of
But that doesn't mean the idea isn't out there. Janzen says some members of both conferences would like to see them join. Brethren in Christ moderator Harvey Sider says, "Who knows what will happen in the next generation?"
The conversations have been largely informal, held among leaders of both conferences, although recently each party has been inviting the other to formal meetings as observers. More
Faith and Life to be executive secretary/conference minister of the national conference The recommendation to appoint Heidebrecht will be acted upon this month during the Canadian Conference convention If confirmed, Heidebrecht has agreed to begin serving May 1, 1995. In addition to his pastoral work. he is assistant moderator of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches .
• TRANSITION: Elias Wiebe, former academic dean and head of the teaching education division at Fresno Pacific College, died June 12. He was 73 . A native of Corn, Okla., Wiebe came to Fresno Pacific in 1963, serving six years as academic dean, He then devoted himself to teacher education, becoming "the father of the FPC teacher -training program " He retired in 1986 but continued to tea ch courses
until three years ago. Services were held June 16 at College Community Church, where he was a member
• TRANSITION: Former Mennonite Brethren missionary to India, Margaret Willems Balzer, died May 19 in Saskatoon, Sask She was 86. A native of Rosthern. Sask , she arrived in India for her first term of ministry in 1946. Assigned to an area of 250 villages with no medical services, she initiated and supervised the construction of a hospital with living quarters for workers Later, she led a building expansion in Wanaparty which added an operating room, six wards for high cast patients and TB wards Willems also helped establish and direct a girls camp; she later adopted and raised two abandoned girls, Lois and Eunice, who survive She continued her service until 1961 and briefly returned
has resigned his board position to assume this responsibility.
Agnes Hubert will adm i nister MBM/S relief and development ministries as interim secretary for development on a quarter-time basis. She will coordinate funding and evaluation for medical, educationa l and social programs in Colombia, Peru and Za i re, wo r king out of the Wi n -
nipeg office. For the past five years, she has supervised education and development programs for Mennonite Central Committee Canada . Steve Klassen, secretary for Canadian constit uency ministries, has taken over Dyck ' s job coordinating Youth Mission International, a ministry based in Ontario which deploys evangelistic t eams made up of young adults
Tshimika to guide "MBMjS in Africa
• Zairian is second non-North American secretary
PAKISA TSHIMIKA of Kikwit, Zaire, has accepted a position as MB Missions/Services regional secretary for Africa, a permanent appointment at one-quarter-time.
In that role, Tshimika will be responsible for supervision of MBM/S personnel and program in Zaire and Angola, including communications links between the Zairian MB Church and the mission, as well as logistical and pastoral support for personnel in the interior.
Those personnel include Glen and Beverley Miller, medical workers in Kajiji, and Bernard Wiebe, a surgeon, and his wife Elfreda, a nurse, who will join the Millers. The medical center at Kajiji is the chief service provider for ...----.____ an extensive government demarcated health zone.
Tshimika earned his doctorate in public health administration in the United States in 1992, and assumed duties as coordinator of health and development for the Zairian church, jointly approved by the church and MBM/S.
Dave Dyck, director of MBM/S programs (currently on leave), says, "Pakisa brings to this position a strong commitment to a quality leadership training program for the
CEFMZ [the Zaire MB Church], as well as improved standards of practice and efficiency in health services."
In November and December, Tshimika ministered to the Mennonite Brethren community in Luanda, Angola, where he conducted seminars with Itumba Mulalu, the national evangelist for the CEFMZ. While in that war-torn city, he also helped distribute relief funds. He has carried out similar efforts on a larger scale in Zaire.
As health coordinator, Tshimika, and his wife, Linda, a former MBM/S missionary nurse from Wichita, Kan., travel throughout the Bandundu Province of Zaire. They consult extensively with medical and church workers, including the staff at the Kajiji hospital.
"Pakisa's new duties will dovetail nicely with his present responsibilities," Dyck says. To fulfill the assignment, the Tshimikas will move from Kikwit to Kinshasa, the capital.
The appointment of Tshimika illustrates the commitment of MBM/S to recruit leadership from partner conferences from around the world. Tshimika joins Franz Rathmair, regional secretary for Europe, as the second nonNorth American on the leadership team.
The move also continues the trend toward regional decentralization: national leaders on the scene replacing North Americans based in the U.S. or Canada.-Gary Hardaway, MBM/S
Klassen and wife, Evy, worked with the first YMI Lithuania team in 199293.
Pakisa Tshimika of Kikwit, Zaire, who recently accepted a pOSition as regional secretary for Africa on a quar· t er-time basis (see sidebar), will be, according to Dyck, " respo n sible for the supervision of MBM/S personnel and programs in Zaire and Angola . This will include communications link· ages between CEFMZ (the Zairian MB Church) and MBM/S, as well as logisti· cal and pastoral support for MBM/S personnel in the interior of Zaire."
Dyck's leave fulfills a promise he and his wife, Milly, made to them · selv e s some years ago, when they agreed to "retire for a year " The leave includes eight months of unpaid free time and a four-month study leave
The study leave will begin January 1995 with two months at the Overseas Ministry Study Center in New Haven, Conn. He will focus on Asia, particularly the Muslim World, and the for · mer Soviet Union. Plans are uncertain for the last two months -Gary Hardaway,MBM/S
GIVING
Europeans meet for faith gathering
• Sessions favor worship over business meetings
BIELEFELD, GERMANY, home to 15 Mennonite congregations, hosted this year's faith convention of the European Conference of Menn onite Brethren Churches, May 21-23. Thirty congregations from Germany/ Aus t ria, with a total membership of 2,000, were represented by more than 500 conference participants
The conference, uninterrupted with bus i ness meetings, featured a spirit of worship and celebration . At the closing session, the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and a 75-me mbe r choir from area churches presente d a cantata "Praise and Wo r ship Un to You," composed by Klaus Heizma n. Rudi Heizman, brother o f the co m · poser and membe r of a Biele fe ld Me n · non i t e Brethre n congrega t ion, co n · du c t e d the orchestra and chorus. This
first public perfonnance of the cantata, along with a public Christian concert, drew city-wide attention.
Members of the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren, in Bielefeld for their annual meeting, were introduced later. Their presence illustrated that most Mennonite Brethren are African and Asian, rathe r than European.
One participant said having "all that translation going on made us aware of the global nature of the Mennonite Brethren. "
Harold Ens, general director of MB Missions/Services, challenged listeners to get involved in global mission with the MBM/S team, which-so faris mostly North American In a twohour seminar on world mission today, all international guests had a chance to share about the present state of the work in their region.
The event took place in the newly constructed church facilities of Immanuel MB Church, seating 700. Additional seats were set up in the fellowship hall with television hook-up. A large tent in the parking lot housed hundreds of children involved in special activities.-Franz Rathmair and Gary Hardaway, MBM/S
GIVING
MCC not likely to meet g ivi n g g oal
• Income is steady from last year, but less than hoped
MENNONITE CENTRAL Committee's goal of increasing its income by 8 percent, or $1.1 million, in 1994 looks unreachable. With contributions at midyear coming in about the same as last year , MCC income will probably fall short by about $500,000.
"We are grateful for t he strong support people h a ve s how n us," s a ys executive secr et ary Jo hn A. Lapp. "The budget inc re as e was plan ne d so w e could start a $ 1 milli o n bomb re moval project in Lao s and do a few other special p r o je cts , w ithout cutti ng curre n t program s. "
MCC rec e ive d $7 6 million in th e fi rs t six m o nth s of this year , compa red
t o $7.5 million last year_ The decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, which has cost MCC $300,000, was cited as one contributing factor . "We hope to manage expenses to
partially offset the shortfall," Ken Langeman, MCC financial controller, told executive committee members at a meeting in Akron, Pa., June 24From an MCC release
DISCIPLESHIP
Bible study nurtures Thai Christians
• Jan Siemens uses drama and drills to disciple them
EACH WEEK HALF A DOZEN university students take a break from their studies to gather in t h e Church of Christ in Thailand's student center in Bangkok for English Bible study . Jan Siemens, a member of the College Community (Mil) Church of Clovis, Calif., dramatizes parables and drills . Siemens is a country rep r esentative i n Thailand with Mennonite Central Committee.
The student c enter, established 40 years ago, is one way the Church of Christ in Thailand nourishes and supports Christians, who make up less than 1 percent of Thailand's population. Most of the young Bible study part icipants are Christians.
Two nurSing students say th e y became Christians when th ey a tt ended a church service while researching Christianity for a comparative religion course. Another student says he was born into a Christian family.
Although Buddhism is Thaila nd 's official religion, freedom to practice othe r reli gions is guaranteed. And the students say Thais are quite tolerant. However , one student says his Buddh ist fr iends, who pray in temples before many images, find it difficult to u nderstan d h ow Christians can simply fold their hands a nd p r ay anyw here
Over t h e p ast five years, seve n young people from the Church of Ch rist in Th ail an d have c o me to Nort h America th rough MCC's International Visitor Exc ha nge Pro gram. Several have served as pastoral intern s in Mennonite churc h es Upon their return to Th ailand , man y have ente red church ministry and no w wo r k in Hilltribe c h u r che s, youth and women ' s programs.-MCC news r elea se
Siemens, back row, second from right. with her Thai students who meet for Bible study.
East Wichita Fellowship will end ministry after 10 years of effort
• Attendance decline leads to closure vote June 22
THEEAST WICHITA (Kan.) Fellowship, in consultation with Southern Dis· trict leaders, voted June 22 to close its doors Services will continue through July, with a final service of reflection and remembrance scheduled for July 31.
The congregation, which began as a daughter congregation of First MB Church of Wichita, held its first public service in September 1984 The group grew from home Bible studies on the east side of the city
Early meetings were held at rented locations, and a church building was pur· chased at Oliver and 10th in 1990 Peak attendance was 100 persons
Glenn Lygrisse, one of the charter members, served as the congregation's first preaching lay leader. Gordon Bergman was called as pastor in 1985 and served in that capacity for eight years. In 1993 he became pastor of the Kingwood Bible Church of Salem, Ore.
During the past several months, the congregation has been led by Ernie Friesen on a part-time interim basis. Friesen recently accepted a call as interim pastor to the Hesston (Kan.) MB Church .
Membership and attendance declined in recent years. Throughout June, several congregational meetings have focused on the church's future ministry.From an SDC release
• CHURCH NOTES
• Baptism/Membership
HILLSBORO, Kan -Chris Coryea, Brad Davidson, Eric Driggers, Kyle Fast, Brad Foth , Jimmy Janzen, Just in Kenas, Kakim Kunantaev, Ben Penner and Katy Terman were baptized and received as members of the church May 29 .
MANHATTAN, Kan. (Manhattan Menno nite)-Kelley Ann Robinson and Heidi Leigh Swann were baptized and welcomed into fellowship Apr. 24. Sally Rein'l was received into membership May 29 by transfer
FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News Fellowship)-Hans Geiger, Ryan Geiger, Yvonne Geiger, Sherry Patrick, Amanda Patrick and Carrie Crocker were baptized May 29
BAKERSFIELD, Calif (Laurelg!en Bible)Joshua Bussell, Rebekah Bussell , Cherish Burnside, Nicole DUl1n, Michelle Farrell, Chad Glaser, Carrie Gloekler , Karen Hamm, Jena Hawkes, Brian Hodgson, David Hodgson , Jason Hodgson, Shelly Jensen , Ryan Jost, Bret Kingsbury, Suzy Kingsbury, Megan Linford, Bryce Loo, Karisa McDuff, K e lley Northey, David Parker, Bethany Rowlee, Kyrstin St Ger· main , Matt Smith, Megan Smith, Colleen Unruh , Chris Vochoska, Kathy Vochoska
and Pat Williams were baptized May 22 Michelle Farrell, John and Lynn Hill, Shelley Jensen, Bret and Suzy Kingbury, Jennifer Kurtz, Yale and Donna Kushner, Lillian Loden, Chris and Kathy Vochoska, Brand and Jill Wattenberger, Michelle Waugh and Pat Williams were received into membership that same day
TULSA, Okla. (Parkside)-Bob Schwartz and Darrell and Sheila Zehr were received as members May 22.
ONIDA, S.D. ( Emmanuel)-Jim Minder, David Franz, Benny Gross , Cassidy Rogers, Ben Goddard and Rachel Pederson were baptized June 5.
FRESNO, Calif. (North Fresno)-Rene Froehmer, Katie Hendrix , Mark Hubbart , Jamie Huss, Ryan Prieb, Jenae Unruh, Leslie Unruh and Tricia Wichert were baptized and received into membership June 12.
ULYSSES, Kan.-Travis Cooper, Brenda Fowler, Alberta Meyers and Robert Hartman were baptized June 26. Norma Hartman, Don McGuire, Larry Slaughter, Paula Slaughter, Joe Fowler, Leo Miller and Sheryl Miller were received into membership that day by testimony or transfer.
• Celebrations
REEDLEY, Calif. - Ben and Hulda Doerk-
sen recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary .. .. Bill and Erna Goossen celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary June 3. They marked the ' occasion with a floral arrangement in the church sanctuary May 29 The family of Albert and LaVada Brandt placed flowers in the sanctuary June 19 in honor of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary .
FAIRVIEW, Okla.-Carl and Florence Wichert celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a family dinner June 5 . A bouquet of roses was placed in the church sanctuary in honor of the occasion
SHAFTER, Calif. - The congregation shared a potluck supper the evening of June 9, followed by a business meeting . The evening also featured a commissioning service for missionaries Phil and Carol Bergen, who are returning to Burkina Faso this summer.
TOPEKA, Kan. - The church celebrated the grand opening of its new facility at 762{) S.W. 21st Street with a morning worship service and a community bpen house July 10.
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Palm Glen)-Pastor Ed Toews and his wife, Bonnie , were installed as pastor couple May 15 The day 's activities also included a reception during the Sunday school hour and a noon fellowship meal. Pacific District minister Henry Dick presented the morning message.
WICHITA, Kan. (First)-LaVern Loewens, director of senior adult ministries, and his wife, Amanda, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
LODI, Calif. (Vinewood Community)-The congregation treated retiring senior pastor Vernon Janzen, and his wife, Genevieve, to a send-off picnic June 26 Beginning July I, Janzen has been serving the Neighborhood MB Church of Visalia, Calif., as half-time minister of pastoral care .
FREEMAN, S.D. (Silver Lake)-Leo and Melba Deckert celebrated their 50th w e dding anniversary June 4. They were married Apr 20, 1944
YALE, S.D. (Bethel)-Jim and Ida Hohm celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary June 18
• Fellowship
ULYSSES, Kan.-The men's ministries/fellowship met for early morning coffee, doughnuts and Bible study June 9. The purpose of the gathering was to develop a vision for the church and to set goals for future men 's ministries
• Ministry
MINOT, N.D. ( Bible Fellowship)-The
merger between this cOl).gregation and the former Sawyer (N.D.) MB Church is nearly complete. A unified constitution is being prepared, an auction of excess property from both churches was held June 9 and the Sawyer parsonage and church building have been sold.
EL DORADO HIllS, Calif. (Village Com· munity)-The congregation has added five families since Easter. Summer activities have included a vacation Bible school.
FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News Fellowship)-The church has set a goal to contribute 900 boxes of medicine and food to be sent to Christians in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This will be added to the 300 boxes donated by members of the Good News Fellowship Slavic Church and other Slavic churches in the Northwest. The former pastor of the largest Baptist church in Dushanbe, Yuriy Golovin, currently resides in Ferndale.
UTI1..ETON, Colo. (Belleview Acres)-A day-care advisory board has been appointed to oversee the day-care center currently under construction as part of the church's "Beyond Sunday" emphasis.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Laurelglen)-A group of church members worked at Orphanage #7 in Bucharest, Romania, June 15·29.
• Teaching/Nurture
EL DORADO HIllS, Calif. (Village Communlty)-Pastor Chuck Grasse has started "The Oasis " for high school students, a "safe place where teens learn about God. " They meet for breakfast each Saturday. Grasse has also started a ministry to 5th and 6th graders called the "56ers," to equip them sCripturally to face life's challenges. The first fall session, titled" A Walk with Christ to the Cross," will be taught by student intern Brett Neumann
• Workers
MANHATIAN, Kan. (Manhattan Mennonite)-Pastor Harris H. Waltner, and his wife, Christine, announced that they plan to retire from full-time pastoral ministry after January 1995. A search committee has been formed and is preparing a congregational profile to share with potential candidates.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-Loren Kroeker has resigned as associate pastor He began an administrator-in-training program at Lincoln Glen Manor July 1 on a limited-time basis. He plans to continue most of his pastoral staff duties until the congregation calls a new senior pastor.
MARSHALL, Ark. (Martin Box) - Steve Unruh has reSigned as pastor, effective
Sept. 1. He and his wife, Carol, who began their ministry there six years ago, have not announced their plans.
WICIDTA, Kan. (First)-David Thye, associate pastor for music and worship, has resigned his position, effective July 1. He has accepted a teaching position with Montana University, Missoula. The Thye family was honored at a farewell ice cream social]une 25 .
RAPID CITY, S.D. (Bible Fellowship)Tom Cartney was installed as youth pastor during the June 19 morning worship service. He and his wife, Amy, began serving the church June 1.
MINOT, N.D. (Bible Fellowship)-Pastor Ray White and his wife, Channa, were honored at a farewell meal June 5. White was pastor of the Sawyer (N.D.) MB Church until its merger with the Minot congregation last November. He will pursue his ministerial studies at Lee College, Cleveland, Tenn.
LODI, Calif. (Vinewood Community)Kelly and Karena Thomas have accepted a call as interim youth pastor couple, effec· tive July 10. Both are recent graduates of Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.
FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News Fellow· ship)-Skip and Denise Suess were called June 19 to serve the congregation as senior pastor couple. Suess was associate pastor of the Vinewood Community Church (MB) of Lodi, Calif., for several years.
• Youth
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-Thirteen students and four adults traveled to Baja California and ministered in Trece de Mayo, Mexico, in June. The team worked closely with Nicholas and Carmen Heman· dez, who lead a house church there.
INMAN; Kan. (Zoar)-Thirteen youth and three sponsors traveled to Brownsville, Texas, May 29, for a one·week service trip repairing homes in a poverty area. Each person gave $ 50 for building materials .
HENDERSON, Neb.-The June 12 worship service focused on commissioning 14 youth and four sponsors for a two-week mission venture in Panama, June 17·28
VISALIA, Calif. (Neighborhood)-A sum· mer music camp for children grades 1-6 was held June 6-17. Final performances of the musical "Short Stops" were held the evenings of June 17 and 19.
Rational Mennonite Brethren Youth [onference
D EATHS
BAYLESS, CHARLES WEND ELL, Reedley, Calif , a member of t h e Dinuba (Calif ) MB Church, was born Nov. 7, 1916, to Charles Frankly and Ethel May Brannan Bayless near Kalvesta, Kan , and died May 2 4, 1994, at the age of 77 . On June 29, 1946, he was married to Ruby Kroeker, who su rvives_ He is also survived by two sons, Bernie of New York City, and Rendy and wife Kathy of San Jose, Calif. ; three brothe rs, Gr o ve r of Arnett, Okla , and Marion and Glenn , both of Gage, Okla .; one sister, Elizabeth Rouse of Wichita, Kan ; and two g randchildren
BEUC HL ER, BEN N I E , Sawy e r , N.D., a me mber of th e forme r Sawyer MB Ch u rch, was born Aug . 4,1921, to Fre d and Johanna Be uchler, and died May 14, 1994, at the age of 72. On July 29 , 1945 , he was married to Amy Fagerbakke, who survives. He is also survived by one daught e r, Jacqueline Lamont of Minot, N_D . ; two sons, David and Duane , both of Sawye r ; one sister, Elsie Sawyer of Pine , Ariz. ; and four grandchildren
FRI ES E N, HERBERT F LAMING, Buhler, Kan., a member of the Buhl e r MB Church, w as born Apr 2 , 1908, to Ge rh a rd D and Katy Flaming Friesen in Inman, Kan., and di e d May 9, 1994, at the age of 86 On Nov 28, 1935, he was married to Sarah Seibel, who survives He is also survived by on e son, H. Landon Frie sen of El Paso , Texa s; one daughter, Adah Jolene vonBraun of Rockwell, Texas; two brothers, Leonard F Flaming of Inman, and Vi cto r ). Flaming of Grand Falls, Texas; two sis ters, Helen Wille ms and Kathryn Gee, both o f Inman; s ix grandchildren and three g re atgrandchildren
F RI ESE N, J ACOB P ETER, Re e dl e y, Calif. , a member of the Re e dley MB Ch u rch , was born Se pt. 25, 1902 , to Peter and Ma r ia Sc hmor Friesen in Mennon, Sask., a nd died May 21 , 1994 , at th e age of 91. On Dec 1 7 , 1922, he wa s married to T ena G o e rtz e n , who survives He is also surviv e d by three sons , Harold and wife Ann of Con c ord, Calif., Edmor and wife Thelma o f Ree dley, and Irvin and wife Janie of Clovis, Calif ; two daughters, Ethel and husb and Orval Ratzlaff of Fresno, Calif., and Verna and husband Charles Neufeld o f Ki ng s burg, Calif ; one si s ter, Marie and h usband John Quiring, o f Winnipeg , Ma n. ; 21 gra ndchildre n and 4 4 great -grand c hild r e n .
JOHNSON, GEORGINA, Hillsboro , Kan , a m em be r of t he Pa rkvi e w MB C hurc h , w as born May 10 , 1923, t o Ge orge C. and Sa ra Harms Kornelsen in Hills boro, Kan ., a n d d ied Mar 26, 1994 , at the age o f 70 On Aug 10 , 1944, she w as married t o W ill iam Johnson , who s u r viv es . She is a lso s urvived b y o ne so n , C a ry a nd w ife J ea n o f
Lawrenc e, Ka n , an d one d au ghter, Denise an d hus ba nd J o n H e ndric k son of Fort Smith , Ark ; t w o s is t ers, Rach e l Friesen and Betty Dirks, both of H illsbo ro; and thre e grand c hildren _
JUST, RO Y, Fre s no , Calif., Tabor Co lle ge presid e nt from 1963 -1980 and member of Bethany Church (M B) was born Se pt_ 28 , 1921, to Henry an d Eva Just in Reedley, Calif , and died Apr 25, 1994 , at th e age o f 72 I n 1943, he was m ar r i e d to Ev e lyn Flaming , w ho s u rvives. He is also survive d by two daughte rs , Jeann e and husb a nd Dennis J a nz e n, and Beverly and husband Rick Binde r ; o ne brother , Marvin a nd wife Emma ; one sisre r , Pa uline a nd husband Bill Bartel ; and three grandchildren.
KLASSEN, ROS E HI EB ERT, Au rora, Colo., a member of the First Church of the Nazarene, Englewood, C olo , was born Sept. 19, 1909, t o P e. and Kat he r i n e Nikkel Hi e bert, a n d di e d May 4, 199 4 , at the age of 8 4 _ On June 6, 1930 , she w as married to Pete E. Klassen, who survives She is also survived by three sons , Fayne of Aurora , Colo. , James of Seattle, Wash , and Jerel of Woodland Park , Colo ; one bro t her , Noble Hiebert of Whispering Pines , N_C.; thr e e sisters-in -law, Linda Goertz e n o f Hutchinson, Kan , Kathryn Willems o f McPherson, Kan ., and Edna Ediger of Buhler, Kan . ; and on e broth e r -i n-law, E.T . Klassen of Inman, Kan
KLI EW ER, H ENR Y D., Inman, Kan., a memb e r of the Zoar MB Church, was born Mar 11, 1908, to Peter A and Anna Becker Kli e wer at Fairview, Okla , and died Nov 29 , 1 99 3 , at the age of 85 On Dec 3, 1933, he was marrie d to Lois Ruth Wiebe , who s urvives He is also survived by two daught e rs, Marjorie and husband Fra n k Fri e se n of Brea , Calif., and Elizabeth and husband Edwin Black of Ro c kville, Md . ; four sons , Henry and wife Rose o f Rochest e r , N Y , T im and w ife Myrna of Inman, Kan., Je r ry and wife Kim of Anah e im, Calif , and Ton y and wife Ruth of New Knoxville , Ohio ; on e s ister , Luella and h usband Pete Pa uls of Co rn, Okla .; and two bro t hers, Leonard and w ife Linda of Downey, Calif. and Archi e and wife Agnes of Nashville, Te nn
KN AU PP , ELMER E. , of Da ll as, are., a member of t h e Dallas MB C hurch , was born Fe b . 22, 1902, t o Geo r ge and Jessie Mille r Knaupp in Lincoln, Iowa, and d ie d Apr. 27, 1994 at the age of 92 . In 1928, he wa s marri e d to Ivy Bradwell, who p red ecease d him He is surviv e d by one d au ghter, Marilyn Fl e ischman of Lake Os weg o, ar e ; two sons , David o f Dallas , and Jo n ath an of Te mpe , Ariz ; one broth er, Lyl e o f Ashevill e, N C.; fo ur sisters , Esth e r Te mple man o f Quarryvill e , Pa , Naoma Stookey of Lac y , Wash , Ru b y T o w of Monmouth, are , a nd Ed na He n ry of Am e s, Iowa ; 1 1 grandc hildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
MA RTE NS, WI LLI AM j , Dallas, are , a m e mber of the Dallas MB Chu r ch, was born Sept. 13, 1 903, to Jacob W_ a nd Sarah Toews Martens in Russia , and died Apr_ 24, 1994, at the age of 90 On Oct 12 , 1932, he was married to Nettie H . Klassen, who predeceased him in 1987 He is survived by two daug h ters, Ruby a nd husband WaIt Rickson, and Wand a and husb and Eldon Thiessen , all of Dallas ; th r ee brothers, Nick Mart e ns of Dallas, Abe Martens of Fresno , Calif. , and George Martens of St. Paul. Minn ; two sisters , Ann Hoffman of Dallas , and Sara Block of Ne w ton, Kan ; six g r andchildren and thre e grea t-grand c hildren
MI ER AU, JUSTINA, Reedley, Calif., a m e mber of th e Reedl e y MB Church, was b orn Oct . 6, 1913, to Pet e r and Suzann Toe w s in Schteinfelt, Russia, and died May 4 , 199 4, at the age of 80. On Oct. 25, 1936, she was married to Dave Mierau, who survives _ She is also survived by two sons , Bob and wife Sandy, and Don and wife Be verly ; one brother, Pete Toews and wife Irma ; and four grandchildren . P ATZ KOWSKY , RAYMOND F., Fa irvi e w, Okla . , a member of the Fairview MB Church, was born Oct 2, 1923, to Theodore R and Lydia Suderman Patzkowsky, and died Mar. 29, 1994, at the ag e of 70. On Oct. 28, 1949, he was married to Lavina Ruth Ediger, who surviv e s He is also survived by one s on, Me r le and wife Joyce of Fairview ; two daughters, Susan and husband Larry Foster of Wesley, Ark_, and Laura Branson o f Fai r view ; on e sister Naomi Schmidt of Enid, Okla. ; and nine grandchildren
CLEARINGHOUSE
OPPORTUNITIES
Y O U T H MINISTRY - Neighborhood Church i s search ing for a youth pastor to minister in the areas of junior high and high school as well as coordinate a prog ram for college and career age Those interested are invited to send a resume to : Ne i ghborhood Church, ATIN: Search Committee, 2800 W. Walnut Ave V isalia , CA 93277
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITIEE is accepting applications for magazine editor (Akron, Pa ) T h is salaried half-time position is available Sept. 1, 1994. Qual i fications include a commitment to Christ i an l a ith , active church membe r ship and nonvio l en t p ea cemaking. Applicants must have four years print ed itor experience, ab il ity to plan ahead, meet d eadli ne s and make deci sions while being open to counsel ; must be able to connect with concerns 01 25 -40year-old North Americans and be comm itted to popular communication 01 Christian respon se to p ubli c i ss u e s Three years MCC or other se rvice is p refer red Interested persons in the United State s contac t Goldie Ku hns , 21 South 12th Street, P O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501 -0500, phone (717) 859 - 11 5 1
In Cana da, c ontact MCC Canada Personn e l , 134
One strong ad
A Mennonite-produced ad called "Muscular Christianity" didn't please everyone when it came out last year, but it gave Alex Beattie the message he was looking for. Beattie, who became an alcoholic while in the U S. Navy and was given a disability discharge, eventually "found God" but "I was still lost ... 1 felt like 1 should be paying him back somehow."
Beattie saw the ad in the outreach newspaper distributed by the Smithville (Ohio) Mennonite Church. The ad, featuring a muscular man in a T-shirt sawing a piece of wood, highlights the Mennonite emphasis on service The message struck home and Beattie sought out the pastor. That was 11 months ago
"I have never felt closer to God. 1 have come to
r MY gle.Lt: TH"E WA'I ITHE OWNER'S MAWUr>.L D-r: A. NEW APl'LIANCE..
know Jesus and repentance and now I've been saved by grace," he says. "The ad was a sign from heaven directing me to a place of love, friends, sharing, teaching and worship."
The ad, produced by the Mennonite Board of Missions of the Mennonite Church ran regionally in Newsweek last summer. It generated a few negative comments from Menno· nites because some thought its photo of a male model who looked like a body builder was inappropriate. (MBM)
INTEGRITY
Who ya gonna believe?
Newspapers and television news are rated higher than the church in terms of believability and being a good influence in the United States, Canada and five Western European countries, according to a survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center, Winnipeg, Man. The survey found that 60 percent of Americans find the church to be believable, while 68 percent find newspapers believable and 73 percent said TV news was credible. Canadians tend to rate the church much lower in credibility, at 47 percent, in contrast to the 71 percent who believe newspapers and 81 percent who trust TV news. (EP)
A.s. THE f"IRS, $,E"P fOR SE.TllfII(7 p..
AC.TIOIJ
A roll of the dice
More than a million U.S. teenagers are gambling for money, according to a survey by a California psychol· ogist. He says that gambling forms an entrance into "crime, truancy and a desire for easy money. " Most of the teens studied went on to be compulsive gamblers because when they started out they were winners . The overwhelm· ing majority were introduced to gambling by parents or relatives who con· sidered it fun. The most common form of teenage gambling is sports betting, sometimes backed by local bookies. (youth worker Update, quoted in MB Herald)
How will they hear?
For the first time in American missions history, the number of career missionaries is dropping, according to the Mission Advanced Research and Communication Center (MARC), Colorado Springs, Colo Amy Stearns, U S coordinator for the Mobilizing New Missionaries Net-
work, said the number of missionaries is dropping because "many of the mis· sionary generation that went out after World War 2 are now retiring. But they're not being replaced." In 1988, the U.S. had more than 50,000 missionaries overseas. By 1992, the number had dwindled to about 41,000. "There's no way there will be a church for every people and the gospel proclaimed to every person by the year 2000 without a massive surge of new missionaries," Stearns says. (EP)
On the decline
Experts believer there will be 25,000 religious denominations by the year 2000, but according to an article in the Canadian magazine Faith Today, denominational affiliation seems to be less important to individual believers than it once was . The decline is the result of a cultural decline in loyalty in general and a COinciding "cynical view of institutions," says Don Posterski, vice-president of national programs for World Vision Canada "The church is an institution, so why do think it's going to
escape cynicism?" Denominations historically came about because of differences in theology and doctrine, but those elements are becoming less impor. tant as people choose a church on the basis of whether it meets their own needs, as opposed to denomination. (EP)
A call for help
Pastors, missionaries and Christian workers in need of encouragement can now call the National Pastor's Encouragement Line tollfree. The service, provided by Under His Wing Ministries, Williamsport, Pa., allows leaders to call 1-800UPLIFf-U to share concerns about the stresses of ministry and receive encouragement. (EP)
Spreading the Word
At the end of 1993, it was reported that 2,062 languages have at least one book of the Bible, 799 have New Testaments and 337 have complete Bibles.
The information, compiled by the United Bible Societies, includes Scriptures that have been translated by different organizations. It is estimated that there are as many as 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world.
On a related note, the United Bible Societies reports that if every literate Christian in the world was to own a copy of the New Testament by the year 2000, 220 million copies would have to be distributed every year. In 1993, the actual figure fell short of that by one-third. (EP)
One more Bible note . According to Seoul's Guardian newspaper, South Korea has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest exporter of Bibles, exporting 4 .7 million Bibles in 102 languages in 1992. (EP)
The lite of the world
First Lutheran Church of Greenwich, N.J., has responded to America's declining attention span with a "Lite" church service-all the religion in half the time. The 22-minute "express service" has no sermon or sacraments, but includes a statement of faith, prayer, song, and a bit of biblical exposition. (EP)
Open country
A recent poll of 1,000 people in Lima, Peru, showed that 90 out of every 100 men are interested in knowing more about God. While only 7 percent of the population are evangelicals, that number has doubled in the past four years, according to Berna Salcedo, coordinator for Latin America for Dawn Around the World.
It is estimated that by the year 2000, more than 25 percent of the Peruvian population will be evangelical.
Mennonite Brethren have eight missionaries working in that country among four organized churches with 207 members. (EP, MBM/S)
.
MEDIA
TV news coverage of religion: No news is good news?
HOWDO U S. TELEVISION networks cover religion? Not well, when they cover it all, according to a study by the Media Research Center. MCR researchers Tim Graham and Steve Kaminiski studied all evening, morning and magazine news stories on religion and social issues in 1993. Their study found :
• TV stories on religion are numerically insignificant. Of the many thousands of stories on network evening news stories, only 212 focused on religion; of morning news stories, only 197 covered religion; and magazine show segments, including Sunday morning talk shows, numbered only 18.
• Stories on abortion focused heavily on the "abortion rights" agenda, with the emphasis on the violence of religious anti-abortion protesters as the only story. There were no stories on the violence of abortions in America In 1993, 150 network news stories focused on violence or harassment against abortionists or abortion clinics. Only one acknowledged the violence of abortion-in a story on Bosnia.
• Homosexuality received nearly twice as much coverage as religion, and stories on gay issues focused heavily on the gay agenda. There were no stories with the theme that the homosexual lifestyle is immoral. While religion drew 427 total news stories during 1993, gay issues were the primary focus of 756 stories . In non -military stories on gay rights, gay advocates outnumbered opponents by 3 to 1. While violence and intimidation of abortionists gained 150 news stories, gay violence and intimidation of opponents were never mentioned.
• Coverage of religion and controversies also showed a pattern of anti-religion bias, including coverage of clerical sex abuse, the "religious right," and polls claiming traditional values are unpopular among the religious. Tragically, the networks did 25 stories on the unfounded allegations of sexual abuse againstJoseph Cardinal Benardin, based only on a now disavowed 17-ye: ,r-old's "repressed memory."
The study concluded by recommending that the networks hire religion reporters; hire religious people as reporters; present the social positions of religious people fairly and without contempt; refrain from sensationalism in stories about religious authorities; and end the "good news is no news" mentality that ignores the positive role of churches in America today.
In a related story, Peggy Wehmeyer joined ABC's "World News Tonight" in January as a religion beat reporter. She is believed to be the first person to hold such a post with an American television network. Anchor Peter Jennings had lobbied the network to create a religion beat, say ing that religion was "one of the great untapped areas in our national life." (EP)
Friendly or friend-like
NERICANS ARE very friendly people, but they don't make very good friends. " I read this bservation made by a foreign university student in a newsweekly several years ago. I haven't been able to shake it since. Mostly because the observation carries the distinct and disturbing ring of truth-about me and so many of us in our society. And the truth hurts.
Generally speaking, we Americans are friendly people . We are qUick to smile at each other. Exchange greetings. Shake hands. Trade a light
significant gesture of welcome. After all, she was a single parent making a new start in a foreign community . She needed a friend.
But we never took the time. Never invested the effort Never put our own agenda on hold long enough to take hers seriously. And so we left her quite literally alone to draw her own conclusions about our friendly town . Today our neighbor and her kids are preparing to sell their house and move to another location She said it's because of changes in her job. I'm not so sure.
We extend the comment or two . Express how glad we are to see each other. Give lip service to "doing a meal" together . Smile more. Wave and say good-bye. But then we walk off into our separate worlds again, no worse-and really no better-for the encounter. A calculated exchange, with minimal investment of time or self.
Friendly, but not friend-like
Sometimes the truth strikes close to home . I was sitting in the ball park bleachers near a neighbor who had moved to town with her two gradeschool children only a few months earlier We were there watching our sons struggle through a coach-pitch game . I figured the friendly thing to do would be to engage her in con-
gift of hospitality
and love only as far as the boundaries
of our personal comfort zone. We look for Christ only
Friendly, but not friend-like-it's a
hard judgment to live with Yes, it is impossible to be a true friend to everyone because of the time and energy and commitment involved in truly walking beside someone. But I can't help but believe that more of us followers of the loving Christ, the Christ who gave up all his rights for our sake, can't find the wherewithal to broaden our circle of involvement by one or two or three people bigger than it is today.
The personal application here is readily apparent But today I'm also thinking more broadly than that. I'm thinking of "friendly" churches who spit-polish the foyer to make it impress the stranger, but so seldom in the familiar face, not the foreign one.
versation. She seemed introspective to me, so I threw out the first, nonthreatening pitch: "Well, does our community feel like home to you yet?"
Having played this game of conversational catch countless times, I expected her to toss back the usual, lighthearted response: "Yeah, we're adjusting just fine." Or, "Sure, it's a nice place to live." Something like that . Instead, she paused for moment, then said, quite seriously, "No, it doesn't feel like home. I think this is a place that doesn't ever let you feel like you belong."
Her words stuck like a dagger . Gayla and I had helped her unload the moving truck the day she moved in. It seemed the friendly thing to do. During the weeks that followed, we waved at the appropriate time , tossed an occasional "Hello!" across the street, even watched as her kids and ours played together. All the while, Gayla and I both talked about doing more, like inviting her and the kids over for a meal, or dropping off a pie (e ve n if it was prepared by "Mrs . Smith")-some more
open the doors of their homes and their hearts to invite the stranger in. It strikes me that so many of our efforts to attract others are for statistics' sake, not the Savior's. We extend the gift of hospitality and love only as far as the boundaries of our personal comfort zone. We look for Christ only in the familiar face, not the foreign one.
Given the focus of this issue, I can't help but also think of our new Slavic brothers and sisters. To this point, our conference has mostly done the friendly thing-welcomed them to our land, treated their representatives as guests at our public gatherings, given them some house-warming funds to enhance their life together. All of this is good; some of it has even demonstrated a sacrificial spirit on our part. But are we willing to go a step further, to add a chair at our decision-making table, and invite them to become full partners with us and not just our house guests?
I'm all for friendliness, but right now we have a lot of neighbors out there who need a real fri e nd - DR
