June 1994

CHRISTIAN

·A· D E R •

•

JUNE 1994

Christ

A proposal for unprecedented emphasis on renewal and mission highlights a potentially 'historic' gathering July 23-26

COLORADO SPRINGS '94 PRECONVENTION ISSUE

,

:

JUNE

FIRST WORDS

from the editor

W

HAT IN GOD'S NAME are Mennonite Brethren up to in this country? Here's your chance to find out, at least in regard to our work together as a national conference_ In this issue we bring you the reports of our national boards and ministries in preparation for our biennial get-together in JulyThe location for this year's convention is familiar to veterans. The Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs has been the site for three of the past four conventions.

But the agenda has the potential to be, in the word of conference leaders, "historic." At issue is the ministry direction of the U.S. Conference.

Even if you can't attend Colorado Springs '94, I encourage you to become informed about the issues that will be addressed there. Once informed, try your hand at our biennial bonus quiz on page 36. Then, of even more importance, begin to pray about the decisions that will be made in July.

From my vantage point, I believe Mennonite Brethren in the United States are at a Significant crossroads. As you read this issue, you will be amazed at what God has been doing in our midst these past two years; you will be challenged to dream what God might want to do through us in the years ahead.-DR

COMING • JULY 23-26-Biennial convention ofthe u.s. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, Colorado Springs, Colo.

• Southern District Conference regional rallies: • ocrOBER 2- Western Oklahoma; host: Com MB Church • ocrOBER 9- Eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas; host: Westport MB Church, Collinsville, Okla.

• OCTOBER 16-Central Kansas; host: Wichita First MB Church • OCTOBER 23- Northwest Kansas and Missouri; host: Community Bible Church, Olathe, Kan. • DATE FORTHCOMING-Colorado; host : Garden Park Church, Denver • DATE FORTHCOMING-Western Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle; host: Ulysses (Kan.) MB Church

• OCTOBER 28-30-Central District Conference convention, Rapid City, S.D.

QUOT A BLE • "Prayerless people cut themselves off from God's prevailing p ower, and the frequent result is the familiar feeling of being overwhelmed, overrun, beaten down, pushed around, defeated. Surprising numbers of people are willing to settle f or lives like that. Don't be one of them. Nobody has to live like that. Pray er is the key to unlocking God's prevailing power in y our life.-BILL H YBELS IN Too Busy NOT TO PRAY 2.

TH E

C HRI STIAN

LE AD E

R

1994

JUNE

1994

THE CHRISTIAN

VOLUME 57, NUMBER 6

FEATURES -Theme: Colorado Springs '94 preview

4 On the precipice Many things are familiar about this summer's national convention in Colorado Springs. But the agenda for this session may make this gathering a particularly pivotal event.

6 Reports of the boards and ministries Board of Church Ministries, page 6 Conference minister, page 9 Board of Evangelism & Christian Service, page 10 Youth Mission International director, page 11 Board of Communications, page 14 Christian Leader editor, page 16 Board of Trustees, page 17 MB Foundation, page 18

BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS : David Reimer, chair; Harold Franz, Jeanie Klaassen, Malinda Nikkel, Dalton Reimer MANDATE: THE CHRISTIAN LEADER (ISSN 00095149), organ of the U.S. Conference 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 dialog so that they will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical!Anabaptist theological tradition .

DEPARTMENTS What readers say . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22 Ph'lip Side ......................... by Philip Wiebe 24 • Something about nothing

Inquiring Minds .................... by Marvin Hein 25 • Promise Keepers for women?

• Keeping records of giving

" Education .. .. ..... . . .. "" . 'by Kathy Heinrichs Wiest 26 J£t:JfJder the hood (10): 'Ra'y BY$trotn

. . ........ ... by Jim

ASSISTANT EDITOR Deborah Penner

EDITOR Don Ratzlaff

28

EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions of our writers and advertisers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Christian Leader, the Board of Communications or the Mennonite Brethren Church. The editors invite free-lance article submissions, but ask that each submission be accompanied with a SASE, The editors reserve the right to edit, condense or refuse all copy submitted for publication; anonymous contributions will not be published.

READER PARTICIPATION: The editors encourage readers to interact with our articles through letters to the editor and essays to Forum, our op·ed column.

Letters for What Readers Say must include the author's name and address. Forum is open to members or attenders of Mennonite Brethren churches .

Essays to Forum can address any issue of relevance and interest to the faith and life of the Mennonite Brethren Church , The essay should be no longer than 800 words and should include the home church, occupation and a clear photo of the writer.

COMMUNICATION: All correspondence should be addressed to The Christian Leader, Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Phone: (316) 947-5543. Fax: (316) 9473266.

ADVERTISING: Clearinghouse ads should be submitted in writing. Cost: $.25 per word. Send no advance payments, For display-ad rates, contact the editor.

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

ADDRESS CHANGES: Send both old and new address to Circulation Secretary, Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Allow up to six weeks for transition .

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

PRINTING : The Christian Leader is printed on recycled paper by Multi Business Press, Hillsboro, Kansas.

POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to The Christian Leader, Box V, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Second-class postage paid at Hillsboro, Kansas.

MAY

994

3

On the precipice When U.S. Mennonite Brethren return to the Rocky Mountains this summer for their biennial convention, leaders are praying delegates see an elevated vision of the future ISTORIC" IS TIlE WORD U.S. CONFERENCE LEADERS

are using to describe the potential for this summer's biennial convention. Certainly the word isn't used in reference to the convention site. For the fourth time since 1986, delegates and guests will gather to celebrate and do their work on the campus of Colorado College in

What sets Mission USA apart from past proposals is the unprecedented cooperation between the various institutions, conferences, boards and agencies of the U.S. Conference and MB Missions/ Services.

4

0

THE

Colorado Springs. And the timing of this year's gathering-July 23-26-has become the norm. Even the schedule-which includes worship, speakers, business and workshops-has a familiar ring to it too.

So what's historic? Namely, a proposal to be considered that could set the U.S. Conference on a new and dynamic course of renewal and expansion, according to those same leaders.

And what's so historic about that, you ask? Haven't Mennonite Brethren conventions through the years passed any number of proposals to renew and expand the denomination?

Yes-and no, says the Board of Church Ministries (BCM) , which is recommending the proposal. Yes, Mennonite Brethren have always had a heart for spiritual renewal and church growth, but never have delegates considered a strategy so bold and encom· passing.

The plan itself, called Mission USA, is the result of the research and development pro· cess known as Vision 2000, which was

CHRISTIAN

LEADER

hatched during a leadership consultation held in Wichita, Kan., in February 1993.

What sets Mission USA apart from past proposals is the unprecedented cooperation between the various institutions, conferences, boards and agencies of the U.S. Conference and MB Missions/Services. Leaders of these ministries have pledged to work together closely to coordinate and orient their programs so that renewal and church planting become the priority for U.S. Mennonite Brethren through the end of this decade and into the next (see page 6 for the specifics).

Five Mennonite Brethren leaders will address various components of the vision through keynote messages: • Jim Holm, pastor of the Reedley (Calif.)

MB Church, will speak on the topic "Focusing the vision."

• Roger Poppen, Bakersfield, Calif., pastor of Laurelglen Bible Church, the fastest-grow· ing Mennonite Brethren congregation in the United States, will address the topic, "Living in touch with God."

• Brent Warkentin, pastor of the Buhler (Kan.) MB Church, will speak on "Renewing the church.»

• Chuck Buller, pastor of the Neighborhood Church, Visalia, Calif., and president of the MB Biblical Seminary board of directors, will speak on "Reaching people.»

• Henry Schmidt, MBBS president from Fresno, Calif., will address the topic, "Prayer and commitment. » To further enhance the learning curve, participants can choose two workshops from 11 topics. The subjects range from seeker-sensitive services, to AIDS, to healthcare reform. Of special interest to pastors and their spouses will be a two-part workshop led by H.B. London Jr., assistant to the president for pastoral ministries for Focus on the Family. London will speak about helping pastors balance the demands of home and church.

The convention schedule includes five sessions for plenary worship and three for conference business. During the latter, the four boards of the U.S. Conference will present their observations about the past biennium and their projections for the next one.

In addition to the Mission USA proposal, BCM is expected to bring a recommendation to phase out the guaranteed subsidy for the MB Biblical Seminary, a notion which is expected to generate vigorous discussion.

A city of visitor options

Despite the familiarity with the surroundings, planners selected Colorado Springs once more in part because of its centrallocation and many attractions for participants and their families.

This year, the convention schedule includes more free time, which should enable delegates and guests to take in more of the natural wonders in the Colorado Springs area: Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Seven Falls and Royal Gorge.

Within easy driving distance is a variety of historical sites, such as Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, the Broadmoor Hotel, a fffie zoo and several museums.

Visitors can also recapture some of the Old West flavor at the nationally famous Flying W Ranch, the White House Ranch and Cripple Creek.

Colorado Springs is also home for the U.S. Olympic Training Center, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Fort Carson Army Base and the

Consolidated Space Operations Center and Space Command.

A growing number of church-related and parachurch organizations have made their home in Colorado Springs. Focus on the Family, International Bible Society and several other agencies are relative newcomers to the city. Others, like Glen Eyrie, the picturesque headquarters of The Navigators, have been located there for some time.

For those without transportation for extended trips, the 79-acre campus of Colorado College is located within walking distance of the downtown business district. The college itself offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including a gymnasium, swimming pool, tennis courts and jogging/walking trails.

To help you prepare for the work of Convention '94-and for those who won't be able to attend-we present the reports of the four U.S. boards. Even if you can't come to Colorado Springs to help shape Mennonite Brethren history by setting a course for its future, the challenge of our corporate assignment is worthy of your consideration and support.-DR

Despite the familiarity with the surroundings, planners selected Colorado Springs once more because of its central location and many attractions for participants and their families.

An invitation from the chair. ..

M

ission USA: Claiming this Land for Christ" is our convention theme. It is consistent with our mission and the Vision 2000 strategy proposal for renewal and church

planting.

Convention '94 is open to any and all U.S. Mennonite Brethren who wish to attend. Each church will be asked to selected delegates to the business sessions.

Registration forms are available from your local church. Note the early registration discount for adult registrants and the discounted fee for children and youth. We encourage families to attend. The registration fee for on-campus participants provides for three night'S lodging, nine meals and campus rental fees.

It's a good buy for the benefits received.

I want to encourage you and your family to join us for this very important convention. The setting is wonderful, the fellowship will be great, and the opportunity to focus on the future ministry of the U.S. Conference will be exciting and challenging. The convention messages, delivered by five of our most dynamic leaders, will be inspiring. I believe this will be a historic convention!

-Bob Vogt, U.S. Conference chair JUNE

1994

5

Board of Church Ministries

J We believe there is a growing need for all Mennonite Brethren to focus on a united vision and thrust.

oshua 18:3 asks the question, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you "? We are grateful that Mennonite Brethren in the United States are showing a growing interest in moving more aggressively in taking possession of the land.

The theme of our convention, "Mission USA: Claiming this land for Christ," may seem presumptuous, but it does express our desire as a Board of Church Ministries (BCM) and as U.S. Mennonite Brethren. We believe there is a growing need for all Mennonite Brethren to focus on a united vision and thrust.

The new Mission USA proposal has been the major focus of the BCM during the last two years. Our board called for a meeting of leaders to discuss chronic funding needs, but it immediately became apparent that the real need for U.S. Mennonite Brethren was for spiritual renewal and more emphasis on evangelism and church planting.

BCM endorsed this vision and appointed a five-member task force to spearhead this effort. Our February board meetings afftrrned the work of the task force and at that meeting we appointed a new steering committee to "flesh out" the strategy for implementing the new Mission USA vision. The recommendation for implementation will be presented at this convention (see sidebar).

We have participated with the General Conference and the Canadian Conference in

Board of Church Ministries Robert Dinuba, Calif., chair Jim Holm, Reedley, Calif., v-chair Dewayn Isaac, Doland, S.D., sec.

Dale Regier, Hillsboro, Kan., treas.

Henderson, Neb. Garvie Dennis Fast, Hillsboro Peter Penner, Reedley James IsbellJr., Lenior, N.c.

Rolando Mireles, Rio Grande City, Texas 6·THE

CHRISTIAN

LEADER

T

he Mission USA Task Force, appointed by BCM, met in Fresno, Calif., Apr. 15-16. Those in attendance, with their affiliation in parenthesis, were: Garvie Schmidt (BCM); Steve Reimer (pacific District Home Missions); Orville Neufeld (U.S. BOE); Clarice Rempel (U.S. BOE); Rick Eshbaugh (Southern District CEEC); Jim Weems (Central District Home Missions); Chuck Buller (at large); Henry Schmidt (original task force member); Marlene Wall (at large); and Jim Holm (original task force member).

The task force recommends the following proposal for the adoption of Mission USA. PREAMBLE: Mission USA is the name of the ministry focus of the U.S. Conference for the years from 1994 until 2000. Mission USA is built on the vision of the U.S. Conference adopted at the 1986 convention in Colorado Springs and is consistent with the General Conference vision adopted in 1987.

Mission USA has been further refmed by an ad hoc task force of Mennonite Brethren leaders from around the United States, including the presidents of our two colleges and seminary, the executives of MB Missions/Services, as well as district pas· tors, and district chairs and home missions board chairs. The vision of Mission USA has been published in the Christian Leader.

Mission USA envisions an important role for the U.S. Conference in the future of Mennonite Brethren ministries in the United States. The reasons for making Mission USA a national ministry focus are as follows: 1. The U.S. Conference may have access to expertise and resources that cannot be funded by the individual districts.

2. The U.S. Conference can help to focus a national vision, which adds to the local vision of the districts.

3. The U.S. Conference provides a natu· ral channel for networking between districts.

•

•

4. It may be easier for the seminary and MBM/S to work with a national entity than with individual districts.

5. Mission USA establishes renewal and evangelism as the priorities of U.S. Menno· nite Brethren.

Mission USA is not intended to replace or to circumvent the work of the districts. In fact, Mission USA would affIrm and build on what is already established in the districts.

The U.S. Conference would seek not to duplicate, but to assist in the work of evangelism, church planting, and church renewal.

BOARD: We recommend that Mission USA

be governed by an independent board , responsible directly to the U.S. Conference, though linked with the Board of Church Ministries. The present U.S . Board of Evangelism/Christian Service would be terminated.

This new board would consist of the following people: • Three people appointed from district home missions boards (one each from the Central, Pacific and Southern districts) • Three elected from the districts (one each from the Central, Pacific and Southern districts); • Three people elected at large; • One person appointed by MBM/ S; • In addition, up to fIve people could be appointed by the board of Mission USA to secure resources or expertise for a particular need. The name of each person appointed to one of these fIve positions would be submitted to BCM for ratiftcation.

MANDATE: The mandate of the board of Mission USA would be as outlined by the task force which met in Wichita in February 1993, and in Los Angeles in December 1993, and would include the following: 1. Promote renewal and provide human, fInancial and educational resources.

2. Develop a strategy for reaching our nation with the gospel.

3. Participate with districts and local churches in new church plants both within and beyond recognized district boundaries.

4. Network with all appropriate institutions and agencies.

5. Develop adequate staff to implement the vision, by employment or contract.

,

6. Promote the calling out, training and placement of workers.

7. Develop a public relations/ communica· tions program.

8. Call churches to prayer and support of the vision.

PERsoNNEL: An executive director needs to be employed as quickly as possible. The job description for this executive director would need to be spelled out by the new board, but would begin with the items listed in the board mandate above.

It is envisioned that over time, possibly within two years, the U.S. Conference would need two persons, one of whom would be the executive director. One of these people would focus on helping the districts with new church planting, the other would focus on assisting the districts in church renewal.

We recognize that the U.S. Conference has a relationship with Loyal Funk which continues at least through December 1994. It is possible that the board of Mission USA would wish to continue a working relationship with Loyal beyond that date.

BUDGET: We propose the following income budget for the fIrst year of Mission USA. This budget includes amounts which have been committed to Loyal Funk and also includes amounts for on-going U.S. Conference evangelism projects. An expense budget has been prepared by the task force, but would have to be submitted to the new board and revised or adopted by them.

Mission USA is not intended to circumvent the work of the districts. In fact, Mission USA would affirm and build on what is already established in the districts.

.US Conference: $127,000 • MBM/ S: $70,000 • District conferences: $25,000 • MB Foundation: $40,000 • Board member contributions: $27,000 • Fund-raising by board and exec. dir.: $35,000 • Colleges/seminary (in kind): $20,000 TOTAL $344,000 Mission USA means claiming our country for Christ, from shore to shore. It is an ambitious undertaking, but we believe the Spirit of God has given leadership to this pOint, and we seek his direction before any future steps are taken.-Jim Holm, taskforce chair JUNE

1994

7

,

Even though there is a gradual movement toward the 60-40 agreement with the Canadian Conference, the U. S. Conference continues to have a very difficult struggle raising the required funds for the guaranteed seminary subsidy.

C

.

the new pastor's orientation held each year.

These sessions have proven to be valuable, especially for those pastors who are not from Mennonite Brethren background or have not been trained in our schools. We have also sent representatives from our board to the General Conference study conferences.

We greatly appreciate the work of Lynford Becker as administrative secretary of the U.S. Conference. Although his full-time work is with MB Foundation, he has put in many hours as our administrative secretary. We also appreciate the excellent work of Loyal Funk, who represented our board and denomination throughout the United States as conference minister.

The U.S. Conference continues to strongly support the ministry of training at Tabor College, Fresno Pacific College, and MB Biblical Seminary. Even though there is a gradual movement toward the 60-40 agreement with the Canadian Conference, the U.S. Conference continues to have a very difficult struggle raising the required funds for the guaranteed seminary subsidy.

In 1992-93 we experienced a shortfall of $66,000. It was necessary to borrow this amount so that we could provide the guaranteed subsidy to the seminary. At this writing,

Our vision

onvinced of God's sacrificial and compassionate love for all people and the transforming power of the gospel in the face of our nation's moral and spiritual deterioration and the new realities of global missions, we profess our desire to accept the challenge to reach our nation with the gospel.

Therefore, acknowledging our dependence upon God's grace and the power of his Spirit to accomplish it, we seek spiritual renewal and commit ourselves to a renewed effort to evangelize the lost, disciple believers and incorporate them into our churches. To achieve specific growth goals, we will prioritize the resources of our congregations, conferences and agencies/institutions to call us to holy living, to recruit and train gifted leaders, to plant new churches, and to minister to human need.

We believe God will bless U.S. Mennonite Brethren with significant growth in membership and churches - for the glory of God and the advancement of Christ's kingdom into the 21st century.-Board of Church Ministries

a·THE

CHRISTIAN

LEADER

3

7

the shortfall for 1993-94 is projected to be about the same as 1992-93.

As recorded in the March 1994 Christian Leader, our board, in conjunction with the U.S. Board of Trustees, passed a motion that we would no longer guarantee a predetermined subsidy beginning with the 1996-97 fiscal year. After conSUlting with the Canadian Conference, the General Conference, and others, this recommendation may be modified before it is presented to the delegates at the U.S. convention.

We are grateful for over $300,000 that has been given by the MB Foundation in past years to cover the shortfall, but we realize that these grants may not be available each year. We also realize the need to share these grants with other important ministries.

We believe in the ministry of MBBS and we pledge ourselves to continue to do everything we can to help raise funds for our seminary. It is our hope that we as delegates to this convention will be able to find an answer to this continuing financial need.

We appreciate Jim Holm's willingness to serve as vice chairman when Gary Janzen accepted a pastorate in Canada.

We are grateful for the work of the Peace Education Commission. The first Peace Sunday was observed by many of our churches in January.

The Christian Leader continues to be the vital communication tool for U.S. Mennonite Brethren. We enthusiastically affirm the staff.

We praise God for the U.S. Conference and we thank you for the opportunity of serving the Lord and you.-Bob Vogt

SUMMARY OF BCM RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. We recommend that the Mission USA proposal be the ministry focus of the U.S. Conference from 1994 through 2000.

2. We recommend that the U.S. Conference no longer guarantee a predetermined subsidy beginning with the 1996-97 fiscal year. * 3. We recommend that the Slavic congregation in Parma, Ohio, be recognized as an emerging Mennonite Brethren congregation affiliated with the U. S. Conference. ·This recommendation may be modified by convention time .

z

• Report of the conference minister

T

,

7

he work of being conference minister dovetails with my work as director for the Board of Evangelism. It has been my joy to meet with leadership groups in all five districts, and also to interact with evangelical leaders of like-minded denominations. The baptisms in our districts give evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in many of our churches. All of our districts and churches sense some holy disquiet that we reach too few. We need to pray for Spirit power and holiness among us.

When churches and believers are satisfied, they tend to plateau and lose their sense of urgency. So we have among us a certain uneasiness that we are not sufficiently aware of the spiritual needs of our society. But it has been most heartening to see signs of revival and evangelism. For this we give glory to God. Beyond our immediate districts and local churches, we need a new sense of covenant community. "No man lives to himself... no man dies to himself." The American mentality of self-suffiCiency is at odds with the gospel. Attachment to a local church is a spiritual necessity. The irregular attendance patterns in many of our congregations is not indicative of covenant community. We need a strong commitment both to attendance and service for each believer if we are to be at our optimum. Each of us needs to ask, "Am I salt and light in my community?"

Beyond the local church, we need a new sense of covenant community as a fellowship of churches. The overemphasis on local autonomy is often an excuse to avoid accountability. As leaders and as constituents, we need accountability in the local church and in the covenant of our conference Confession of Faith.

Because our tendency is to focus on our own needs, many have little vision for our larger fellowship of churches and districts.

Although our local churches are our Jerusalem, we also have a Judea, a Samaria and a world beyond our local community.

Caring is, of course, a costly experience. Narrowing our interest to our own local church and forgetting the larger fellowship is opting

,

"

for less burden and caring. But is it not too narrow for a true believer? Our churches must do some things together that we cannot do separately.

I plead to all five districts and each local church to be of one mind as a conference and to exercise care for our nation and its people groups. Mennonite Brethren have accomplished, by the Holy Spirit, many wonderful things. But our small size does not reflect a global burden and vision. We do not need to remain small if we but dedicate ourselves to obey and trust God to give us the unchurched as his inheritance.

I plead for renewal. Our "Annual Week of Prayer" involved a growing number of churches in January. What other special things do we need to do together to focus on spiritual renewal?

The Mission USA projections of this year deserve our full attention. They indeed focus on renewal and evangelism. It is time for us to take some risks to be in the pathway of blessing.

O

ther Anabaptist bodies feel similar challenges, and where pOSSible, we also seek to network with them. In May, our district ministers and the Brethren in Christ bishops met in Chicago. We focused on renewal, pastoral recruitment and reviews, and on how to do church as we enter a new century.

These BIC leaders face most of the same challenges and problems we experience. There is strength in such networking.

Our fellowship with the National Association of Evangelicals has many merits. Commonality among evangelicals creates opportunities to influence a nation for Christ in a way none can do alone. I encourage churches and pastors to be members of the NAE, both locally and nationally.

Our attitudes need to be sharpened toward people groups coming by multiple thousands to America. Many of these newcomers feel alone and isolated here. With our own immigrant history, we should be those who stand by them to nurture, encourage and assist when possible.

We have always been a people who have claimed that we believe in the return of Christ. How vibrant is that belief today? Frequently I hear people say how seldom their thoughts are turned to the day when the final assessment will come. Perhaps we need to recoin the word "maranatha!"- Loyal Funk J

Loyal Funk

I plead to all five districts and each local church to be of one mind as a conference and to exercise care for our nation and its people groups.

U N E

1 994

9

.:;:.:.:... ..-:.:.;.::::...:::;......

"UB!&

.."'::

Board of Evangelism & Christian Service

T

We have also shared a growing conviction on the national and district conference levels that significant change is needed to forge a national evangelization and church-planting vision and strategy to reach our nation for Christ.

he conference biennium calls for review, evaluation and projection of "what the Lord would have us (as Mennonite Brethren) do in His holy purposes." This is reflected in the words of Phillip Brooks, "God has purposes concerning us which he has not yet unfolded: Therefore, each day grows sacred in wondering expectation."

The board is gratified that God has given direction and allowed us to be in the pattern of his blessing during the past biennium. We have also shared the conviction on the national and district conference levels that major change is needed to forge a national evangelization and church-planting vision and strategy to reach our nation for Christ.

During the past two years the Board of Church Ministries (BCM) convened a Mission USA (Vision 2000) task force to develop a national strategy for renewal and church planting. Leaders from district and U.S. conferences, home mission boards, educational institutions and MB Missions/Services came together in two major meetings for prayer, assessment, sharing vision, plotting strategy and collaborating on how best to mobilize Mennonite Brethren to reach an increasingly pagan, pluralistic and secularized nation.

The BOE/CS has been represented at those meeting by Henry Schmidt, Loyal Funk, Clarice Rempel and Orville Neufeld.

The vision and strategy of Mission USA is

Board of Evangelism/Christian Service Henry J Schmidt, Fresno, Calif., chair

Kit Buschman, Grant, Neb., v-chair Clarice Buhler, Kan., sec.

Steve Toews, Sacramento, Calif.

Orville Neufeld, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ricardo Pena, Mission, Texas James Foxx, LenOir, N.G. Loyal Funk, Bakersfield, Calif., director 10 • THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

explained elsewhere. This report reflects the administration and function efforts of the BOE/CS during the past two years.

U-SERV: A service-oriented ministry Through Operation U-SERV people from our districts have again volunteered time and money to help build churches, parsonages and renovation projects. More than 150 USERV volunteers have invested time and energy in work projects in four of our five districts and in Mexico. New projects are currently being planned in the LAMB and Pacific District conferences for winter 1995.

Our thanks to these faithful volunteers who have modeled productivity in their retiree years, cost-effectiveness in building projects, joy in serving Christ's church, and hope to congregations who could not have completed projects without their dedication and skilled help.

Youth Mission International Youth Mission International (YMI) and USERV represent the new 21st-century vehicles of Christian service. YMI provides shortterm service and ministry opportunities for younger people to test their giftedness and gain cross-cultural experience.

During the past two years, YMI has placed teams in numerous U.S. cities: Fresno, Denver, Topeka, Kansas City, Lee's Summit, Grant, Omaha, Bellingham and Eugene .

Some 27 U.S. conference young people have served on YMI teams during the past biennium; 20 have signed on for summer 1994.

Director Randy Friesen has been devoted to developing the spiritual life, giftedness and ministry skills of these volunteers-both during the program as well as in post-service alumni training. YMI teams are assisting in several emerging new church projects this summer in cities in three of our districts.

We anticipate that several of the teams will participate in the Colorado Springs convention to give you a first-hand feel for the mission commitment of the next generation.

Most are college-age students with a strong commitment to serve the Lord. It has been gratifying to see several YMI alumni move into full-time church related service.

Cross-cultural church planting While this board, through its director, Loyal Funk, networks with each of our five districts and their respective church-planting

Mo.; Omaha, Neb. ; Sacramento, • Report of the Summit, Calif.; and Fresno, Calif. Twenty-one young adults from the United States, including 10 Youth Mission Int'l director Tabor College students and five from Fresno

T

his has been a year of change and development for the mission discipling ministry at Youth Mission International. This cooperative effort of the U.S. and Canadian boards of evangelism, as well as MB Missions/ Services, continues to produce good fruit in the many church-planting and mission assignments that involve the teams of young adults. In addition, the impact of the summer mission experiences on the young leaders who participate is significant.

This summer, about 65 young adults on seven teams will serve in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Peru and Lithuania. The two U.S. teams will be involved in supporting community evangelism and church-planting efforts in Bismarck, N.D.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Denver, Colo.; Topeka, Kan.; Lee's

Pacific College, are involved in this summer's outreach.

For the first time, YMI is also offering oneyear team assignments to support churchplanting and community-development efforts. This leadership training track is designed for alumni of the summer outreach with proven ministry skills who are looking for a "hands on" internship in a team setting.

ASSignments in 1994-95 include Lithuania, Clovis, Calif. , and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

We're excited about the ongoing leadership development and creative evangelism opportunities available to YMI as we work together with the local churches, colleges and national churches in other parts of the world.

Thank you for your prayer support as we continue to mobilize and diSCiple a generation of end-time harvesters.-Randy Friesen

For the first time, YMI is also offering oneyear team assignments to support churchplanting and communitydevelopment efforts.

Lilhll.lllli,lUl One.'

A h';un II!;I YMI Slllllllll:r ;,luLllLli \\;11 rem.,in ill'l.illltl;lllia the summer oulreac.:h :\I\d wurk alun..-sith: house in l'OOnlinOltil)JI ""';th thc U!J1U:UU;tO Christi.m Charity FlUid, Pray the)' pick up the lanl.'U:lge quickl)', lx::UevcN, , -_ _ _ _ _'-....:..-''-..L..._ _-, l,itJUL'llli:ul

A team of 8 North American you will bc joining 8 Lthuanmns (or cv:ulgclism amOlij,"Sl univcn;ily students and Pr.. y (or tcmu unity .:md boldness lO witness and sensitiVIty.

,\coon Terun - HtJl

Ministry in over 40 high Sl'hools in yet

to be recruited, <Uld an authority to address issues of relational brokcncss on the enemies lurt ,,:' ....

us Midwest SUllIlIlcr'....lUn

Ministry in Bismark N.D.• Omaha, Nco, Denver Co., and the K.mS3s City area in

communily evangelism, inner city work with street kids <lnd chun:h Pray for boklnC$S. creativity ilnd groc:c as they work alon,!,"Sitic m.:IO)' chlll\:hcs 10 , - - - - - - - - - - = 1 more effectively reach lhdr I,,:onunwutics.

C"lliforlllo' Summcr'...·ouu Ministry \\;th iuner lily youth in and church planting in Clovis and s..1C'r.tnX!nto.

Pray for prott."l1.ion 3111.1 fa\'OlIr as they work in nc:iChbourhoods full of anI-ocr antI fc.,r, Also proy filr boklncs:s U$ they raise the \;$.,bility of new ('hurch!..,:> in Ihe arca, ClcwiJ' () 1M.' )',,'ar T,,'mu I\ sd\.'\.'lt,,',liIlO(:I · ·1 YMI $lIlIIlIlI'C

Maritiul('s SUlIllucr Tcmu

Ministry in CiUllpbellton N,B" Lower S..v.:kville, l).lrlmoulil :lIlt! Iialifux N.s, in cOII,lOlunily ev.mJ.:dislII and \.'hun:h planting, and younJ.: bcliewr.i across the Maritimes would be l.'III."OUr.lJ;CtI. ()UC \'(,OIr'n,'.un 1\ sck\,'t lemn u! 5 YMI sunUII\.'r alumni will be \\vrkinl{ a ,,' hurd, 1I1:1II1\.'r

:lhulll1i will hI.'

new View tOllllmmity ("hun-h inClIl\;s, CA Pray for unity. I.' m,th;ty ilnd sellsitivilY 10 God's Spirit as they pioneer Ilew minillil.'$ to )'outh aud YOUIl!: adults,

tloUl:C

a churl'll

core of bclic\\:!($ 10 be ¢;lablished,

Pium. I'ern ' Peruvians ror a SWlUllcr or minislry in sma.U towns arouLlI) Piura, 'llh!y will involV\..'tI in ..:rcaLivc c\,ilngdi:ml. construction of il new ehun.:h and joint discipleship of yOWlg belic\"Crs. Pray (or team uruty OK'rO$S cultural :ulf.I et:onolllM: lil"1C$ as wcU as a teachablc _ ......

U_IC_'

C(IIUlllhlo' A team of 8 Nor th Amcric..'an young 3dults wiU be p ining iI IC'1I1l of S YOWIC (or nlinislry "'IIOrICSt OIC p:K)r of Cali, Pray (or prollxtion, unily :lilt! sensitivity to onc another OIS this tcalll experiences ..J _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- " ' "

..,.,.,.,.,...,.,."'.,.,.,.,.,.:.,."

loY\! it, a city klIO\\'1

J U N

E

994

11

This past year the Japan Mennonite Brethren Conference voted to subsidize two Japanese church planters to begin Japanese-speaking congregations in the United States.

12 • THE

components, our aim is to reach major people groups within and beyond our current geographical boundaries.

Under God's providence we have seen numerous cross-cultural ministries emerge during the past two years. Fourteen new churches have emerged as newly planted or adopted congregations under Mission USA since the '92 convention: East Indian (1); Hispanic (1); Japanese (2); Slavic (10).

What follows is an update and projection of all cross-cultural church plants and adoptions under the auspices of Mission USA. • East Indian. Both of the East Indian church plants in Santa Clara, Calif. (Wilson Koppula, pastor) and in Queens, N.Y. (Sundar Raj Schellenberg, pastor) are moving ahead with dedicated focus.

The Santa Clara group has expanded mostly by evangelism and is reaching Sihks and Punjabis. Working with other religious groups often means growth is slower, but as people come to Christ they are discipled.

The New York church is made up largely of Mennonite Brethren who have emigrated from India.

• Hispanic. Hispanic churches ' function in the LAMB, Pacific and Central Districts.

Two churches in Oregon (Hillsboro and Portland) are healthy, growing congregations under the pastoral leadership of Juan Bonilla and Ramon Arguello. Both churches have a consistent attendance of 80 people plus additional growth during summer. Both are in rented facilities and expect to be off subsidy by the end of this year.

The Central District has a new Hispanic church (Agua Viva) in Omaha, Neb., led by Walter and Amalia Preza, They now have more than 30 regular worshipers and a second nucleus in Schuyler, Neb. This church receives support from the CDC and MBM/S as we network with this project.

Gualberto Reyes is pastor of the Iglesia Hermanos Mennonitas in Laredo, Texas.

Though the origin of this church was with Mission USA in partnership with MBM/S, it is now under the supervision of the LAMB Conference, Rolando Mireles, moderator, and Ricardo Pena, BOE member.

Projections: (a) Oregon: The Portland and Hillsboro churches are projecting a third Hispanic plant in their area. They have asked the conference for help and are nurturing a core group through Bible studies.

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

(b) LAMB: Harlingen, Brownsville and Corpus Christi are potential church-plant targets in the next several years. . Japanese. This past year the Japan Mennonite Brethren Conference voted to subsidize two Japanese church planters to begin Japanese-speaking congregations in the United States. They have asked our BOE to monitor the two church plants.

Hajimu Fujii, a 1994 graduate of MBBS, is the missionary planter in Fresno. Veteran Japanese pastor and leader Takao Nakamura, of Osaka, will move to San Diego to begin a church-planting ministry in that major arena.

The Japan MB Conference is fully subsidizing the costs of these two plants. But they want to be a partner with Mission USA for prayer support, supervision and accountability. Will you pray for these exciting Japanese church planting ventures and partnerships?

• Chinese. The Grace Chinese Bible Church in Upland, Calif., (Luke Liu, pastor) continues its pattern of stability and is reaching people. They have been off subsidy for several years and our aid to this church is one of proctorship. Currently the group meets in the Brethren in Christ church, but they are working on plans to fmd their own facility .

• Slavic peoples. Two years ago we reported early beginnings with Slavic people groups (Russian, Ukrainian, Rumanian, and others). At that time, we had several contacts with churches in the Seattle area. What has developed in the past several years among these peoples on the West Coast is a modem-day miracle.

Since the Slavic peoples are located within the geographic area of the Pacific District Conference, we have worked with the Home Mission Board to connect these churches to the PDC. However, in all Slavic churches Mission USA has continued to monitor and network with each local church to ensure their indigeneous flavor ethnically, culturally and linguistically.

Currently two congregations in Seattle have affiliated with Mennonite Brethren: First Ukranian Pentecostal MB Church (Stepan Gorkavchuk, pastor) and the Slavic MiSSionary MB Church (Yury Chernyetsky, pastor). Both are strong congregations with 500 and 300 adults, respectively, plus several hundred children in each church.

The Pacific District Conference has a lease/purchase agreement for a facility to

Loyal Funk (lower left) and the Slavic congregation in Seattle celebrate the dedication of a meeting facility.

accommodate the first Ukrainian church.

But the Slavic Missionary Church does not have a regular church home. In all Slavic ministries, facilities and leadership training are our most pressing needs. The BOE expresses gratitude to the MB Foundation, Evangelism Partners and the districts for their gracious and generous assistance in helping these groups to obtain facilities.

A church in Vancouver, Wash. (peter Tischenko, pastor) has an attendance of 400 adults and 275 children. At this time we have in escrow a building on Vancouver's Main Street which will adequately meet their needs. A grant by Evangelism Partners, the PDC Board of Trustees and the MB Foundation makes it possible for them to repay the mortgage in 20 years. This is a strong, vital congregation.

A church in Portland, Ore. (Vasily Vakulsky, pastor), with an adult membership of 500, has blossomed in the past two years. A building at 6220 S.E. nnd Ave. was purchased with a down payment from Evangelism Partners and a 15-year amortization.

A few miles south, Milwaukie, Ore., is the home of the Slavic Evangelical Church (Nikolay Michalchuk, pastor) with a phenomenal growth pattern. A facility, in the above pattern, was purchased and is being repaid by the congregation. The rapid growth to more than 300 adults (Plus children) has overfilled the facility in the first year.

In nearby Salem, Ore., the Slavic Christian Church has applied for Mennonite Brethren membership (Vyacheslav Boynetskiy, pastor).

A year ago, in Sacramento, Calif., the First Ukrainian Church (Ivan Gardiuk, pastor) began in the Greenhaven Community (MB) Church. More recently it is housed in a Bap-

tist facility, which is in closer proximity to where most of their members live. They are searching for an adequate building. It has several hundred people and is being hindered in its growth because of facilities.

In Fresno, the Slavic Evangelical Missionary Church (Vyacheslav Tsvirino, pastor) recently affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren. Vyacheslav is a student at MBBS. The College Community Church, Clovis, has made their facilities available to this church.

Numerous Slavic churches in other parts of the United States have indicated interest in joining the Mennonite Brethren. Recently the Slavic Missionary Church (Nikolas Michka, pastor) in Tulsa, Okla., made official application. A church in Parma, Ohio, has also taken steps to join the Mennonite Brethren fellowship. Other new plants in Denver, Colo., Bellingham, Wash., Minneapolis, Minn., are also in the early stages of interview.

For many decades, our own conference, born in the Ukraine, has prayed for the people behind the "Iron Curtain." God has answered our and their prayers. The walls came down and the very people we prayed for have come in large numbers to America (estimates are 350,000 in the last several years). When God answers prayer he also challenges our vision. They find affinity with Mennonite Brethren through our Confession of Faith, our theology and common heritage.

How to network, fellowship, help train leaders, and encourage their healthy, indigenous growth is one of the greatest challenges facing U. S. Mennonite Brethren.

How to network, fellowship, help train leaders, and encourage their healthy, indigenous growth (of Slavic churches) is one of the greatest challenges facing U.S. Mennonite Brethren.

Resourcing and networking The BOEjCS is an umbrella organization for networking and connecting resources J U NE

1994

13

..'.......

::t::::'

It is time for a clearer strategy in the United States that pools our resources, focuses specific help for revitalizing plateaued churches and starting new cong rega tions, and takes seriously our mission in an increasingly pagan, pluralistic and secular context.

nationally. Loyal Funk, our director, meets regularly with district home mission boards and has consistently attended all district conferences. He has assisted district home mission boards with demographic data and analytical studies for new anglo and cross-cultural plants.

Loyal also is the major resource person for cross-cultural ministries and for bringing these churches into district affiliation. He has helped to facilitate conversations with Fresno Pacific College and Columbia Bible College (Clearbrook, B.C.) about leadership training possibilities for the different ethnic groups.

Additional networking also happens through the director's participation in International Bible Society conferences, National Association of Evangelicals meetings, and other interdenominational home mission workshops.

Mission USA calls for major change The Board of Evangelism and the director have sought to take the conference vision statement seriously. The statement calls for an annual growth rate of 3.3 percent, and a minimum of five new churches and 900 members per annum. This is happening largely in cross-cultural church planting and adoption of churches that are aggressively and intentionally evangelizing.

What is also evident is that the highest agenda for Mennonite Brethren in this decade and into Century 21 must be renewal, revitalization, revisioning and recommitment. It is time for a clearer strategy in the United States that pools our resources, focuses specific help for revitalizing plateaued churches and starting new congregations, and takes seriously our mission in an increasingly pagan, pluralistic and secular context.

This is why the Board of Evangelism fully supports the direction of the Mission USA proposal. A new day and the new opportunities call for a change in structures, strategies and delivery systems. Our board has been involved Significantly in the drafting of the Mission USA proposal and that is why this report does not include major projections from the current Board of Evangelism.

We invite and urge pastors, conference leaders and churches to say "Yes" to Mission USA and to recommit ourselves to our primary missionary task as a church.-Henry Schmidt and Loyal Funk

14 • THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

Board of Communications passion for kingdom ministry motivates us for service. The rimary task of the board has been to oversee the work of our conference publication, the Christian Leader.

In that regard: We seek to inform our readers. The continuing challenge of the board and our publication is to integrate a biblical faith with the issues we face from day to day. During the past two years, our readers have been informed through articles and features on relevant topics such as: • Health care reform. ("Can we cure our health care ills?," by Howard Brenneman, June 15,1993; and "A prognosis for change,"

by Steve Bowers, Dec. 14, 1993.)

• Christians and politics. (Special pre-election issue, Oct. 20, 1992; "Clinton-Gore: The faith factor," Feb. 23, 1993.)

• The recovery movement and its impact on the Mennonite Brethren Church (Special issue, Nov. 3, 1992).

We seek to inspire our readers. God works in many ways among and through Mennonite Brethren, as well as the broader Christian community. During the past two years, our readers have been challenged to consider God's activity and call with such inspirational topics as: • Male identity. (Special issue, "Rethinking manhood," Sept. 7, 1993).

• Facing adversity. ("God will use this somewhere," Clarence and Martha Peters' account of their son's battle with AIDS, Nov. 16,1993).

• Loving newcomers in the church. (Spe-

Board of Communications David Reimer, Reedley, Calif., chair Jeanie Klaassen, Edmond, Okla., sec.

Dalton Reimer, Fresno, Calif.

Malinda Nikkel, Hillsboro, Kan. Harold Franz, Sioux Falls, S.D. Don Ratzlaff, Hillsboro, editor Deborah Penner, Hillsboro, ass't editor

cial issue, "Finders & Keepers," February 1994).

We seek to initiate healthy dialog. We recognize that during the past two years, the content of the magazine has generated both positive and negative feedback. As a board, we have encouraged honesty in our denomination as well as honor. We believe it is important to portray both if we are to share a faith with integrity.

Therefore, we support the policy of our editorial staff to balance the soothing word with the provocative word, the encouraging word with the challenging word, the word of success with the word of disappointment.

We seek to affirm our staff. We appreciate the diligent efforts of Don Ratzlaff, our full-time editor, and Deborah Penner, our half-time assistant editor, to produce a high- · quality and readable denominational publication.

For several years now, the Board of Communications has been working at developing a sabbatical strategy for the editor. Don has been on the staff for 16 years, and is completing his ninth year as editor - all without a significant break for personal retooling and skill development.

The funds are in place to move ahead with our sabbatical plan at the earliest convenience. Tentatively, we have freed Don to pursue graduate studies in communications during the spring semester of 1995. During his proposed leave, Deborah and an interim editor will fulfill all editorial duties.

We encourage the efforts of Don and Deborah to assist local congregations in developing effective communication pieces at the congregational level. In that vein, we hope people from many congregations will attend their workshop during the Colorado Springs convention.

We seek to affirm our faith community. At our most recent board meeting, we approved a proposal to broaden the eligibility requirements for the Christian Leader mailing list. Previously, only formal members of our congregations could be added. We also had a six-month temporary subscription plan for non-member attenders.

Under the new plan, pastoral staffs can use their discretion to add nonmember attenders for an indefinite period. We hope this more inclusive policy will enhance the inte-

gration of new people into our congregations. If you know of people attending your church who might enjoy the Leader, please notify your church office.

We seek to operate efficiently and effectively. In January, the Leader moved from a biweekly (22 issues a year) publishing schedule to a monthly schedule.

We adopted the change in order to economize our operation in the light of proposed budgeting priorities, but also to free up staff time and resources. It is the vision of the board and the editors to further develop the Leader into a magazine of interest to existing readers and to attract additional readers.

Our magazine, the Christian Leader, is an important tool to link us together. As we continue to work to share the good news of Jesus Christ through its pages, we pray that the Board of Communications and the Leader can prove to be helpful to individuals, congregations and our denomination.

We seek to broaden our communication impact. We were pleased that the General Conference convention voted last summer in Winnipeg to adopt With magazine as our youth periodical. We highly recommend this bold and innovative discipling tool to our churches. With addresses relevant topics in a lively way and from an evangelical!Anabaptist perspective. The editors aim to maintain a balanced emphasis on mission, spirituality, community and reconciliation.

As a cooperative user of With, the Mennonite Brethren have input into the content of the magazine without investing money in production. Don Ratzlaff represents U.S. Mennonite Brethren as an editorial consultant and occasional writer for With. Two of our U.S. youth, Jessica Penner and Brent Driggers, have been serving as teen consultants.

A major promotional campaign is being planned for late summer and early fall. Please consider an investment in With subscriptions for your youth as you would any other effective resource for their Christian growth.

Speaking for the rest of the board, I thank you for the opportunity to represent you in the ministry of communications in our conference. The challenge is huge and the resources are limited. We request prayer for our continuing work and for the work of our

It is the vision of the board and the editors to further develop the Leader into a magazine of interest to existing readers and to attract additional readers.

staff.-David Reimer JUNE

1994

15

there is a place-even a need-for print • Report of the that communication in our setting. So the immediate challenge for our board and staff is to Christian Leader editor gather information about today's reader and

I

It is easy to assume that the job of our staff is simply to produce a magazine for Mennonite Brethren in the United States. In truth, though, we must see our job as communicating with a constituency.

16· THE

t's been said that the great railroad companies of our American past slipped into decline because they failed to grasp a key truth about their enterprise. They assumed they were in the railroad business instead of the transportation business.

Rather than adapt to new developments in transportation, like the invention of the airplane, they doggedly clung to their rails-and headed down the track toward oblivion.

That lesson from our industrial history weighs heavily upon me in my role as editor of the Christian Leader. It is easy to assume that the job of our staff is simply to produce a magazine for Mennonite Brethren in the United States. In truth, though, we must see our job as communicating with a constituency. Our ultimate assignment is to understand current trends in communication and then develop the most effective tool we can, based on those trends.

Some people would already equate print communication with railroad transportation: an outdated way to carry the freight. They would say that in this age of visual images and new technology, we should be exploring the development of a video magazine, or perhaps an on-line electronic version of the Leader a la Prodigy and CompuServ.

Those are not unreasonable expectationsfor the future.

But I am still convinced

E R

use it to produce the most effective publication possible, given the resources at our disposal.

This concern for more effective communication contributed to our decision to move from a biweekly format (22 issues a year) to a monthly one in recent months. True, tight budgetary times, plus an anticipated shift in funding priorities to accommodate Mission USA, was perhaps the dominant factor in our decision. But as we contemplated the change, we also considered the needs of our readers and our ability and energy as a staff to meet them.

In short, we hope that mOving to a monthly format will enable us to be more effective communicators with you, our readers. Why do we believe that?

First, we recognize the incredible flow of information that comes into our homes via the mail and electronics. We are all inundated with material to read and programs to view. We editors realize that receiving the Leader every other week may simply be too much of a good thing. In the spirit of Christian simplicity, we hope to gain more (readership) with less (issues).

Second, we also hope that what we will produce for you will be of better quality and more relevance because we as staff have more time and energy to develop and refine it. This is particularly important as we seek to do our part to spotlight the work of Mission USA. During the annual meeting of the Board of Communications last February, we outlined several goals we've set for ourselves with our new format. Perhaps you'd be interested in reading them: • To be more thematic in the feature section of the magaZine_ In the past our feature sections were a mix of theme issues and what we call editorial potpourri (interesting but unrelated articles). With our new format, we aim to be more thematic and to cover each issue more thoroughly.

• To recruit and develop more Mennonite Brethren writers. This has always been our goal, but time constraints in the past have made the process difficult. With more time to plan and recruit, we expect to bear good fruit from within our own field of

established and potential writers.

• To do more staff-initiated reporting.

We know of several article ideas that we feel are worthy of research and development. We hope now to have time to pursue them.

• To publish more "people" articles.

We already have our People (profiles) and Pilgrimage (nrst-person growth testimonies) departments. In the spirit of Mission USA, we would like to develop a department or forum for conversion stories too. Also, our "Under the hood" series, which has profiled our MB Biblical Seminary teaching faculty, is another example of the kind of stories we'd like to tell about Mennonite Brethren who make a difference in the church and the world.

• To develop new departments and features as warranted - and as space permits. We are negotiating with a writer to begin a new column this summer which will offer practical advice for personal issues. We also continue to dream of other departments or columns in such areas of Bible study, devotional life, youth, children, mass media, etc.

• To support Mission USA through features and reporting. In addition to themes on church growth (like our February 1994 issue on assimilating new people), indepth reporting on specillc projects (like the Slavic work), and a possible department featuring conversion stories, we are conSidering launching a series of articles called "Churches on the growing edge," which would profile congregations that seem to be meeting the needs of their community. Other articles could highlight specillc ministry ideas within our congregations which seem to be particularly effective or innovative.

Of course, with every change comes risk.

Frankly, we don't know how the change in frequency will actually affect readership. We don't know if it will free up enough time and energy to enable us to accomplish all our goals. Ultimately, we don't know if the change will strengthen or weaken the "glue" component that the Leader has provided the U.S. Conference.

• But we feel the potential for growth and greater effectiveness outweighs the risks. We move forward believing that God will direct us as you support us in prayer, with feedback, and with your nnances. Thank you for the privilege of being the editor of your mag· azine during these challenging times.- Don Ratzlaff

Board of Trustees

T

he Board of Trustees has a two-fold role. One role is to represent the U.S. Conference in all business and legal matters, prepare and monitor the annual budget, administer the conference treasury, and manage a variety of programs and services on behalf of the conference and its member churches.

A second role, delegated by the General Conference to the national conferences in 19B7 and confirmed by the transfer of all assets to the national conferences in 1990, is to manage the endowment funds, annuity funds, ministry investment (deposit) funds, gift deposit accounts, loan programs and stewardship services which help our people make outright gifts of properties, securities and deferred gifts via bequests, annuities, charitable remainder trusts, life estates, etc.

(The second role will be detailed further in the MB Foundation report, page lB.) The board met in full session three times in 1993 and has already met twice in 1994.

In addition, board members have been involved in many days of consultations regarding loans and investments.

Programs and activities The Church Workers/pastors Retirement Plan is administered for us by Mennonite Retirement Trust. Churches are encouraged to enroll their pastors and contribute a minimum of 6 percent of the pastor's salary with the pastor participating at a minimum of 3 percent. The earnings in 1993 were 6.5 percent while the annual compounded return

One role (of the Board of Trustees) is to represent the u.s. Conference in all business and legal matters, prepare and monitor the annual budget, administer the conference treasury, and manage a variety of programs and services on behalf of the conference and its member churches.

Board of Trustees Don Martens, Fairview, Okla., chair john Regier, Dinuba, Calif v-chair jim Enns, Fresno, Calif, sec.

Reginald Boothe, Wichita, Kan. ass't sec.

Deanjost, Aurora, Neb. LynfordJ Becker, Hillsboro, Kan., adm. sec.

Dale Regier, Hillsboro, treas.

Donna Sullivan, Hillsboro, finance sec.

JUNE

1994

17

Lynford Becker

Dale Regier

Donna Sullivan

for the last five years stands at 9.47 percent.

The Pastors Group Life Insurance Plan has proven cost-effective. The coverage is for $40,000 up to age 65 and $20,000 between ages 65-70. For several years, a major portion of the premium was refunded annually. The claim experience within the group the past two years (two Mennonite Brethren pastoral families benefitted) has resulted in all reserves being used, and therefore no refunds. The net cost is still low.

The supplemental Retirement Assistance Program provides a modest assistance to those pastors/spouses, who because of age, did not have ample opportunity to participate in the Church Workers Retirement Plan.

Seven persons currently receive assistance.

Maintaining our Internal Revenue Service Group Exemption for the conference and member churches as 501(c)3 tax exempt organizations is an ongoing activity.

A church/clergy tax and legal infortnation update is prepared by our office personnel and mailed to the churches annually. We are concerned that our churches handle salary/wage reporting, benefits management and expense reimbursements in accordance with IRS regulations.

We are concerned that the gift income from our churches for the guaranteed subsidy for the MB Biblical Seminary continues to be considerably less than the guaranteed subsidy amount. At fiscal year end May 31, 1993 we were $85,000 short. Individual gifts of nearly $20,000 were received toward the shortfall; about $65,700 was borrowed to fulfill our commitment to the seminary.

At this writing it appears we could have a similar shortfall for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1994. We think it is imperative that the churches, if they believe in the mission of the seminary, increase their support level for the seminary. The conference in session will be asked to respond to this concern.

Budget The board is recommending for approval a U.S. Conference budget of $288,700. This is a decrease from the previous year.

1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 BCM 18,650 15,000 15,300 BOT 31,850 31,200 31,900 BOE/CS 127,680 127,000 127,000 BOC 146,276 124,175 114,500 TOTAL

18 · THE

C H R I S T I A N

$324,456

$297,375

LEA D E R

$288,700

Norms

The per member giving goals for U.S. Conference ministries are as follows: Members Amount Churches with: 1-49 $1 0 50-99 $18 100-199 $25 200 & over $30 M.B. Biblical Seminary $22/member General Conference $lO/member Personnel We appreciate the services of Dale Regier as treasurer, Donna Sullivan as bookkeeper/ secretary, and Lynford Becker as administrative secretary.

Financial reports We will distribute detailed financial reports at the convention.

• Report of the MB Foundation

T

he Mennonite Brethren Foundation serves as the agent for the U.S. and General conferences of Mennonite Brethren churches in the management of assets, stewardship and financial services, gift plan options, and charitable estate planning services, including acting as trustee for charitable remainder trusts that will ultimately benefit our conferences, institutions, agencies, and/or churches.

MB Foundation officers, board and staff Officers: Lynford J Becker, president/

CEO, Dale Regier, vice-president/treasurer Board of directors: Don Martens, chair, john Regier, v-chair; jim Enns, sec.; Reginald Boothe, ass't sec.; Dean jost, Marvin jost, Albert Reimer, Marvin Reimer.

Field representatives: Ivan Wohlgemuth, Eugene Karber Accountant and secretary: Shawna Vogt Secretary/receptionist: Arlene Schale

Assets managed The total assets managed by MBF have grown from $16,887,599 on Dec. 31, 1990 to $25,192,860 at the end of the first quarter of 1994. The funds include: Ministry Investment Funds $12,312,893 Endowment Funds 7,941,551 Annuity Funds 3,336,052 Charitable Trusts/Gifts Payable 983,588 Earnings payable, reserves, prop.

618,776 Total- March 31, 1994 $25,192,860 It is important to note that the success of the foundation's work is not necessarily determined by asset growth. The balance in the Ministry Investment Funds can vary greatly as individuals and agencies need their funds for other purposes.

The total annuity funds can be reduced significantly upon the death of a donor(s) and the distribution of the remainder to the charitable beneficiaries. Gift funds received are forwarded to the designated recipient at a time designated by the donor.

.Investment of assets The investment priority is to make loan funds available to our churches, institutions, and agencies for major building programs and capital improvements, and limited operational funding to stabilize cash flow due to variances in seasonal income.

Funds not on loan are invested primarily in government treasuries. A limited percentage of funds has been invested in government and corporate bonds, with overall positive results.

Primary services MB Foundation is a service agency whose primary mission is to encourage and assist caring Christians in the faithful stewardship of their God-entrusted resources to benefit themselves, their families, and the ministry of the church. Services provided to Mennonite Brethren agencies, institutions, churches, and individuals include: 1. Planned-giving options to families and individuals that will fulfill the donor's charitable intent and benefit the cause of Christ.

2. Stewardship education resources and services and gift-planning assistance within the context of biblical stewardship principles and concerns.

3. Management of endowment funds and

deposit accounts_ These include conferenceowned endowments (MB Missions/Services, MB Biblical Seminary, family memorial endowments) and funds managed on behalf of conference institutions, agencies, and churches. Our endowment earnings averaged 6_97 percent in 19934. Loans for church-related buildings (churches, retirement centers, schools), institutional capital improvements, and special needs (conference operations) according to policies as approved by the conference.

The purpose of the loan program is to serve capital funding needs and provide an equitable investment return for the endowment fund benefactors. Our loan portfolio as of March 31, 1993 totaled $14,975,883.

5. Charitable estate planning services as legally permissible. Our estate planning services have been well received. In the past two years several charitable trusts have been funded and estate plans formulated which will provide signillcant benefit to the cause of Christ.

In most, if not all, of the remainder trusts, the MB Foundation has ' been named as trustee or co-trustee. The foundation has also been named as co-trustee or co-executor of other estate plans.

We have no projections in our financial reports as to the ultimate benefit to charitable causes from these deferred gift plans. We know the amount will be very significant, even in the millions, yet we choose to refrain from publishing specific amounts when the ultimate benefit is subject to so many variances.

MB Foundation is a service agency whose primary mission is to encourage and assist caring Christians in the faithful stewardship of their Godentrusted resources to benefit themselves, their families, and the ministry of the church.

Grants The services of MB Foundation are funded by management fees and net earnings from our loan portfolio. Our intent is to operate in a modestly positive financial condition.

We have historically operated at below projected expenses and have ended the fiscal year with an operating balance. We have also benefitted periodically from undesignated income.

While our preference would be to distribute these funds as grants to our endowment fund benefiCiaries, we have found it necessary to respond to repeated shortfalls in church contributions for various conference ministries.

Prior to 1982 funds were distributed to the General Conference, MB Missions/SerJUNE

1994

19

We continue to be impressed with the generosity of our constituents.

vices and MB Biblical Seminary. Since 1983 funds have been distributed as grants as follows: • MBBS subsidy shortfall (via U.S. Conference) $323,617; • General Conference (income deficits), $139,929; • MBM/S Endowment, $62,123; • MBBS Endowment, $45,512; • U.S. Conference: Mission USA, $79,217; Evangelism Partners, $20,000; Vision 2000 (matching grant), $10,000; Convention travel assistance (crosscultural church planters), $2,500; • "Conference Ministries" leaflets, every· home mailings, etc., $15,501; • Church Assistance Programs (per donor recommendation), $15,739;

• MBF administrative reserve/program development, $57,051.

TOTAL: $771,189.

Grants of 1993 earnings have not as yet been made.

A word of thanks•..

We are deeply grateful to the many (more than 600) partners in the ministry investment funds, and the many gift annuity and endowment fund donors. We are humbled by the confidence placed in us by those asking us to serve as co-trustees of gift plans and/or who allow us to assist them in their gift planning . We continue to be impressed with the generosity of our constituents. We are committed to serving our constituency prudently and effectively.

-LynfordJ Becker

Why come?

The purpose ...

W

hy come to Colorado Springs '94? According to planners, the purpose of this event is to:

• Celebrate the awesome privilege of being God's people, because of God's grace.

• Clarify the vision we believe God is giving us for this time.

• Call ourselves and one another to a deeper, intentional commitment to prayer, renewal and mission.

• Challenge ourselves to accept with joy the tremendous opportunity to be bearers of the good news.

• Come together to learn, fellowship, relax, enjoy the beauty of the Pike's Peak region, and, in doing so, honor our Lord.

20. THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

This northern Lao field should be yielding rice. But more than 20 years ago U.S. bombers

seeded the area with cluster bombs. Farmers know a swing of their hoe could detonate these still live bomblets. So this field lies fallow, part of the Vietnam War's bitter legacy.

To help Lao people farm without fear, MCC and a British de-mining agency are training teams of Lao to clear bombs. MeC needs $600,000 U.S./$836,237 Cdn. for this project.

To help clear this land, mail a contribution marked "71 3-6008" to your nearest MCC office. $10 U.S./$14 Cdn. pays a Lao de-miner's salary for a day $35 U.S./$48 Cdn. provides a pair of protective goggles $6,600 U.S./$9, 199 Cdn. buys a wide-sweep electronic locator

()

. J Mennonite Central Committee and MCC U.S. 21 South 12th Street, PO Box 500 Akron, PA 17501 -0500 (717) 859-1151 (717) 859-3889 Mennonite Central Committee Canada 134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9 (204) 261 -6381

W HAT

REA V

h

K

-A WORD OF COMMENDATION

I would like to commend the Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church on their openness and graciousness in hosting the "Hope for the Journey" conference on family violence and sexual abuse this past April (reported in May).

It speaks well of that congregation and its leaders that they were willing to address such devastating issues.

Sexual and other forms of abuse affect many more people than we know, even in our own churches and communities. I know of no other breach of relationship that is as devastating to the victim, the perpetrator and other people who know them.

The conference not only addressed the reality of the abuse, but its healing and the Source of healing-Jesus Christ. The church has the potential of being the one institution that can speak to the deep spiritual needs of those involved.

As Carolyn Heggen, conference speaker, so eloquently encouraged, it is time the church began to respond to survivors, perpetrators and families in a way which will redeem these terrible tragic incidences in our lives. It is my hope that this conference was a beginning.

Gary Collins, chaplain Prairie View Hospital Newton, Kan.

Pontius' Puddle

Lord-while his non-Christian victims will spend eternity in hell.

Should we make the criminal the publicized victim while the true victim is a forgotten entity?

Military participation in combat or bombing kills many non-Christians who will never have further opportunity to become a Christian. That is neither fair nor right, especially so while I'm a Christian participant on my way to heaven.

Irvin F. Wall Fresno, Calif.

Thanks for R.]. Thesman's powerful "Pilgrimage from the Death Penal-

ty" (April). I continue to appreciate the simple, profound piety often expressed in the Leader. Thesman's article placed real, live people into what is often either an abstract, philOsophical debate, or an angry, emotional outburst.

ETERNITY WST? You are to be for pubAs a nonresistant Mennonite who . lishing the article, and in doing so, served in Civilian Public Service during World War 2, I agree with R.J. continue to make practical the gospel Thesman (April) that the death penal- of peace.

Jeff Wright ty is not the Christian answer to capiof Ministry Development Director tal crime.

Council ofAnabaptists However, I have some unanswered Los Angeles, Calif. questions. Is it not then appropriate that each murderer be certain his or her victims are born-again Christians? ANOTHER SIDE OF SMUGGLING In the April issue, you carried an Often, there is no certainty the victim is Christian. A person who randomly article about smuggling Bibles into or selectively kills non-Christians ends China. It concerns me that we are their opportunity to become Chris- given only one side of the picture.

While it is true that smuggling tians.

On the other hand, the criminal is Bibles is illegal, does that mean that incarcerated and now has every we do not help our Chinese Christian opportunity with counseling, visits by brothers and sisters? In the May issue clergy, family, friends, and pen pals to of Charisma magazine, Elisabeth Faraccept Christ and then be on his way rell writes that "a significant number to everlasting fellowship with the of Bibles are being printed in China 22. THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

by the government-sanctioned Amity Press in Nanjing, with the assistance of the United Bible Societies. But the enormous need will not be met by that source alone.

"There are at least 60 million Chris· tians in China, and missions experts estimate at least 3.5 million people are converted to Christ every year. Since Amity Press prints only about 1 million new Bibles per year, the supply is lagging behind current church growth. " Farrell adds that the Bibles available through Amity Press are available only to members of the official churches recognized by the government, which means that the rural areas, especially house churches, are still dependent on foreigners to provide help from the outside.

Those who want to help Chinese Christians may choose to support Amity Press as indicated in the April issue of the Leader, or may obtain information from Open Doors with Brother Andrew, P.O. Box 2700, Santa Ana, CA 92799; Christian Life Missions, 177 E. Crystal Lake Ave., Lake Mary, FL 32746; or Chinese Church Support Ministries, 232 Carey Ave., Louisville, KY 40218.

Scott Rink Fresno, Calif.

GoD MAKES NO MISTAKES

I was sitting in my office reading the Bible for my quiet time while my 5-year-old daughter Charissa was enjoying sitting in my desk chair. She asked, "Dad, why can't women be pastors?"

I replied, "God designed it so that men would be the head of a house· hold-a home, and also the leaders of churches. If God had wanted you to

D

be a pastor, he would have seen to it that you were born a man. " Charissa said, "God doesn't make mistakes, does he?"

I chuckled, "No, he doesn't."

She said, "If he made mistakes, he wouldn't be God." Paul M. Zoschke, pastor Faith Bible Church Lawton, Okla.

COUNSEIlNG IS PASTORAL

We are writing in response to the MB Biblical Seminary In Touch supplement inserted in the May Leader.

An article in the insert states that we students are "opting" to pursue a counseling degree "rather than pastoral ministry." This would suggest that counseling is not part of pastoral ministry.

The article also suggests that our choice is made on the basis of "fewer bosses," "tangible progress," and that we will have "more time for our families. " We would like to reassure the constituency that these items have not been a factor in our decision-making process. We have chosen to heed the call of God in our lives to integrate theology and psychology. We are committed to missions through the MBBS Counseling Center where the message of salvation brings forgiveness and hope to the Fresno community.

When we graduate, we carry this mission with us into the church and world. We hope that "tangible progress" would be evident in all areas of pastoral ministry, whether in preaching, counseling or teaching.

We firmly believe that God has appointed us to "go and bear fruit, fruit that will last... " On. 15:16).

Signed' Heide Lynda Klassen Reynolds, Esther KlassenIsaak, Frony Ritter, Joanne Klassen, Sachiko Thiessen, Wally Parks, Sharon Wallers-Fresno, Calif.

SHARING THE WAD

"Pressure in the Pulpit" (March) accurately describes the plight of those called of God to the pastorate.

Even though I've never been a pastor, I have empathy for those called.

v

u

y

L

I

F E

For years, I have prayed about the matter, coming to the conclusion that some pastors deserve what they get.

But for others, I have come to tears because congregations erred in not properly dividing the workload.

Acts 6:1-6 describes the basic organization upon which all churches should build. For example, believers were called and given responsibility for the care of other believers in the same manner as pastors.

In today's church, I observe that elders and deacons are elected by congregations for popularity reasons or because no other person will take the job.

This results in boards with no real "effect." Pastors trying to build the church find they are expected to carry the load alone. I know of a pastor who was nearly fired because a church bill was not paid on time .

Where was the church treasurer?

Of course, I have also known pastors who were afraid to see laymen assume responsibility, which is an insecurity problem. This breeds ineffective congregations. It doesn't take a congregation long to catch on.

I offer this solution. Elders, deacons and other officers of a church must be called of God. It is not an honorary position. When called of God, they are God's tools and associates to the pastor in doing the Lord's work. I have known elders who spend as much time on the Lord's work as on their jobs. This is not right either. But I point it out to show the degree of dedication some elders have.

When churches call pastors and lay leaders, the respective areas of responsibility for all of them must be defined. Those who are not up to the mark of their calling should be replaced. The role I see for pastors is that of teacher and preacher.

The rest of the responsibilities must be allocated and pastors must be trained to accept this role. Perhaps the pastor problem is a seminary problem.

We are at war between God and Satan. All of us should be warriorspastors and laymen alike.

Dick Prickle Visalia, Calif.

SING THE PRAISES OF FATHERS

Father! What a beautiful word. It is for me because of my Heavenly Father, who brought about my birth into the family of God. It is also beautiful because of a loving and good earthly father. Plus, God has given me the privilege of being a father of two beautiful children.

According to Scripture, fathers have special responsibility to see that God's truth, values and works get transmitted to the next generation.

The first arena of responsibility is in the home, and then in the church.

Psalm 78 tells us that God "established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should teach them to their children; that the generation to come might know, even their children, that they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. " Father's Day comes in June. As we plan for that day, we pastors are sometimes hard-pressed to fmd songs to fit the occasion. Several years ago, I wrote the verses below. They express the counsel of the psalmist and I submit them as an aid in reminding fathers of their God-given responsibility in the family and church. These words are sung to the tune of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness. " You Who Are Fathers Tell of God's faithfulness, You who are Fathers, Tell to your children How God has led you; Share your life's story, Your battles, your victories; Show by your living That Christ lives in you.

Tell of God's faithfulness Throughout all the ages, Morning and evening Exalt your great God! Give him the glory For all he's provided, Tell of his faithfulness 'Til life shall end.

Ron pastor Silver Lake MB Church Freeman, S.D. J U N E

1 9 9 4

23

Side

Something about nothing

A

FEW WEEKENDS AGO during a family gathering, my nephew flopped on the arpet and sighed one of those typical young person sighs: "There's nothing to do!" To which I had an atypical reaction. Instead of the usual hereditary work ethic (There's a world of things to dot) or old-fogy reflex (Kids todayl), I felt something new and different. Envy.

Nothing to do; ah, what paradise. When was the last time I had nothing to do? Not recently, that's for sure. And I'll tell you exactly where the fault lies. Right in my own lap.

Sure, I say I'd like to have nothing to do once in awhile, but I obviously don't mean it.

Instead I fill my spare time with zillions of home-improvement projects that often improve the appearance of my life more than the quality. What would really amount to something in my life, I suspect, would be a little more nothing.

We just don't take nothing seriously anymore. Even when I was young, before the MallAge, downtown slammed shut by 6 p.m. and Sundays were as quiet as midnight. No more.

Driving through town several Sundays ago, I was astonished to see how many people crowded the streets and the strip-malls, just like any other day. Granted, society may once have been overly stringent with Sunday blue-laws, but now that consumerism has blown all sabbath decorum out of the water, the cure seems worse than the disease.

Gordon MacDonald once wrote about Sun· day services getting snowed out at the New England church he pastored. "Why," he asked, "was it universally recognized by the congregation as the most wonderful Lord's day they had ever had?" Because it came to nothing. Literally.

Instead of another day of careening commitments, a natural blue-law of a blizzard buried everything under a layer of peace and quiet.

Which is the only way some of us will give it a rest, by random acts of nature. Illness or weather drives us indoors or into bed, and afterward we say, "It bugged me at first, but then I realized how nice it was to do nothing for a change."

It would be nice more often. But I struggle with doing nothing, partly due to my good Christian upbringing. While I was necessarily taught to be a "doer of the Word," nobody ever said anything about being a "doer of nothing."

It comes with a touch of irony that I grew up 24· THE

C H R 1ST I A N

thinking of Sunday as the "Christian Sabbath," yet always related Sunday spirituality directly to frequency of church attendance. "Where were you last Sunday?" church members have inquired of each other a million times. But never, not even once, have I ever heard anyone ask, "So, did you rest from your work, just as God did from his?"

Say what?

We don't like talking about nothing. Who goes around asking, "Are you getting enough sleep? Taking time off? Making sure your planning calendar isn't getting too full?" Besides our mothers, hardly anyone. Strange how we parents insist that our kids get their rest, but rarely demand the same of ourselves.

Is this really what our Heavenly Parent had in mind? No. "Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders' work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a City, sentries do no good. It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest" (psalm 127:1·2, Living Bible).

A popular saying tells us that rather than thinking we're too busy to pray, we should consider ourselves too busy not to pray. It's the same with rest. We're too busy not to. All around we see the results of sabbath neglect: broken families, hollow relationships, burnedout lives.

Who can point to a better way? The church? Hardly. Sometimes it seems like we're merely in the business of turning worldly workaholics into spiritual ones. What are marks of a going church? Programs! Opportunities!

Activities! Fanfare! Not that there aren't proper times for all of these, but never at the expense of getting our proper rest. These days few of us think of a church sanctuary as just that: "a place of quiet rest," as the old hymn goes, "near to the heart of God. " We don't think of rest, in fact, as being near to the heart of God at all. Time to think again.

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work" (Heb. 4:9,10). Rest is not just near to God's heart, it's central. Sabbath is an act of worship. A deliberate acknowledgement that God loves and cares for us, and we appreciate it very much.

That's the kind of nothing that can really be something.

62

LEA D E R

Who goes around asking, "Are you getting enough sleep? Taking time off?

Making sure your planning calendar isn't getting too full?" Besides our mothers, hardly anyone.

Philip Wiebe lives in Salem, Ore.

.I.

u

1

1\.

M

1

1

N

D

s

HE I N

Q

Thousands of men have rallied behind a movement that stresses the impact of husbands in the home. Is there any movement among women that might resemble the Promise Keepers organization among men? (CAIJFORNIA)

A

Aside from the regular agenda of organizations like Dobson's Focus on the Family, I am not aware of a movement that would be a women's version of Promise Keepers.

Some smaller movements, I'm confident, are stressing the importance of wife in the home, but I cannot cite chapter and verse.

I was fascinated recently by some infonnation taken from, of all places, the Mar. 21, 1994, issue of the ftnancial weekly Barron's. It was a story about an increasing trail of women marching from the corporate world to the kitchen. The account began with the testimony of an expectant mother who said she and her husband were earning in "the middle 50s," but had decided they could still pay their mortgage and have food on the table if only he worked.

She admitted the food was sometimes macaroni-and-cheese, but as a couple they had decided this was best for their family and so far they had no regrets. She also confessed that 10 years ago she would never have considered this step an option, but 10 years ago, when they were in college, no one ever told them that a career could be anything but completely satisfying.

Barron's reported that this trend was evident especially in women between 20 and 24. Women in their later 20s and 30s were following at a more hesitant pace. The magazine was bold enough to pronounce that "the traditional one-paycheck family is now the fastest-growing household unit."

Some view this movement as cyclical but Barron's insisted that it is a decisive shift in values and habits. The reasons given are that while th e 1960s, 1970s and 1980s produced a generation of families with more

money than time, those days are gone. Lower interest rates make one-paycheck families able to qualify for house loans. Moreover, women's wages have remained so low that after paying for child care, not to mention other expenses, women find themselves working for free.

One fonner physical therapist said: "I don't want to work so that my daughter can go to daycare or so I can support a baby-sitter."

Barron's goes on to say that many of these women moving back to the kitchen and home express regret that their parents were not more available to them when they were young. They feel, along with men, that they were cheated and that they intend to spend more time with their children than their parents did. There is the sense that the economic gain and material possessions aren't worth the strain they place on family life.

I would add one caution: If this becomes a movement, Promise Keepers would do well to keep reminding husbands and fathers that their presence is as necessary in the home as ever. If mothers should move back to the home, this does not excuse husbands from spending more quality time with their children. Studies reveal that parental absence is a large problem in childhood problems. That applies equally to men and women.

Q

I have always felt that no one should know what I give. It has bothered me that church officials keep records of giving.

Now the government is demanding that churches keep such records. How do I reconcile this with Jesus's command in Matthew 6 not to let the right hand see what the left hand does? (CALIFORNIA)

A

Jesus's words in Matthew 6 are fascinating. He spoke not only of giving but of praying and fasting as well. His counsel in all three instances was the same. The key to

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.

understanding his words is contained in three expressions: "that they may be honored by men (v. 2) .. .in order to be seen of men (v. 5)... to be seen fast· ing by men (v. 16)."

Those three phrases pinpoint the sin of the Pharisees: "tooting their own horns." They gave and prayed and fasted, which were virtues in themselves, but their motive in doing these acts of piety was self-gloriftcation. They wanted to be seen by people. They wanted immediate rewards for doing good things. Jesus's word to these looking-for-afftrmation pietists was: "You have forfeited all future rewards by wanting to be congratulatednow."

Nothing in this passage legislates against someone keeping record of our giving. It doesn't speak to others keeping record; it talks about our desire to be noticed for our giving. I do not hear the Bible prohibiting our talking about our giving anymore than it prohibits talking about praying or witnessing or reading the Bible. They are all fit subjects for conversation with our brothers and sisters, but never should we share them for purposes of making ourselves look good.

We would probably proftt much if we could humbly share our experiences of giving and praying and fasting and Bible reading.

The passage in Matthew 6 cannot be understood correctly without noting carefully the very ftrst sentence in the chapter. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 6: 1). It is the desire to be noticed that is sinful. tf2 J U N E

1 994

25

u

u

l\.

J.

J.

A minister of management

BY KATHY HEINRICHS WIEST

!

LAST IN A SERIES

HAVE THE FEELING Ray could have been a very successful businessman," says Howard Loewen, MB Biblical Seminary dean.

For three years, Ray Bystrom was in business. Taking a break from college during his early 20s, he went to work for Canada Safeways, a company that quickly recognized his knack for management and organization.

"For about a year, 1 was responsible for hiring the part-time staff for the new store and helped orchestrate several openings," Bystrom says.

To his delight, Bystrom has found those same gifts in management useful in fulfllling his calling as a pastor and teacher.

Bystrom is fond of retelling this "Peanuts" comic: Charlie Brown is

watching Saturday morning cartoons when Lucy marches in demanding that he change the channel. When he asks why, Lucy holds up her hand and says, "These five fingers all by themselves, they are nothing. But when 1 curl them up like this, they become a powerful force to behold." After hurriedly changing the channel Charlie Brown looks down at his own fmgers.

"Why can't you guys get our act together like that?"

A firm believer in Christians working as a team, Bystrom likes helping the church "get its act together" and equipping it to do its job. "I really enjoyed working with ... long-range planning and goal setting," he recalls of his 10 years as a pastor. "It was sheer delight leading the congregation through a reevaluation of who they are and where they want to go."

He was in his early teens when people at his home church, Grant Memorial Baptist in Winnipeg, Man., began to recognize his giftedness in leadership and teaching. As a high schooler he started a youth group and preached his first sermon to the 700-

RAY BYSTROM -

THE BIO

Name: Raymond O. Bystrom Birth: April 12, 1943, St. Boniface, Man. Family: Wife, Betty (Peterson), nurse/manager; two grown sons, Ryan (married to Jennifer Peters), and Christopher Education: B.Th., Vancouver Bible College, 1969; BA, Seattle Pacific College, 1971; M.C.S., Regent College, 1974; Post-graduate research, University of Manchester, England, 1975-77; M.Div., Regent College, 1989; D.Min. (candidate), Fuller Theological Seminary.

Teaching experience: Instructor, Vancouver Bible College, 1971-73; sessional lecturer, Regent College 1973-75, 77-78, 81-82, 89-90; assistant professor of biblical studies, Trinity Western University, 1978-81.

Pastoral experience: Five interim pastorates; pastor, Killarney Park MB Church, 198289; pastor, Cedar Park MB Church, 1989-91

Years on faculty: 3 Position: Assistant professor of pastoral ministries, director of field education Present church involvement: North Fresno MB Church, recently taught adult Sunday school elective; member of Pacific District Board of Reference and Counsel Most important book in recent years: What Return Can' Make?, M. Scott Peck Best advice ever received: (1) The person who dips into everything will never get to the bottom of anything. (2) It is much more rewarding to make decisions and abide by them than to live in a state of perpetual indecision.

Hobbies/Interests: Family, reading, camping, gardening, golfing .

Fondest wish for the MB Church: That we connect our Sunday worship to our Monday work, living our faith more fully and richly in daily life; that we bridge the chasm between worship and work, living Christianly where we work, live and play.

26 •

THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

Bystrom: A manager who cares for people.

member congregation at the age of 15.

As a seminary professor he is highly organized, one who has the whole semester mapped out before the class even begins. But even stronger than his reputation for planning and being organized, Bystrom is known as a person who cares. The words "warm" and "pastoral" emerge immediately in any description of this man who takes the same kind of interest in his students that was invested in him as a youth.

At the same time, he is a committed scholar. Students have come to expect a heavy reading requirement for his courses. "You need to sell your bed to buy this book," he is often heard to say.

"After the first year 1 told him 1 didn't have any beds left," jokes senior student Willy Reimer.

Having chosen to become a Mennonite as an adult, Bystrom is the first faculty member from outside the standard German-Dutch Mennonite tradition.

"He brings a freshness and conviction about [Anabaptist faith] that is not laden with ethnic overtones," said Loewen, also noting that Bystrom "brings a directness to conversation that is not typical of the traditional Mennonite. " Bystrom was attracted to the Mennonite Brethren Church by the social conciousness that accompanies the

v",-,Ll.I1UN

Hational Nen nonite Brethren Yout h Conference church's evangelistic fervor. "I am quite proud of the fact that...both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, to love our neighbor, are taken seriously by our denomination."

The priorities that Bystrom and his wife, Betty, set in their own life reflect that balance of evangelism and service. Wherever they live they make it a point to know their neighbors and, as opportunities arise, share their faith with them.

The Bystroms also relate to international students through the international student organization at California State University, Fresno. They see their efforts as "standing with people in a time of transition," one expression ofloving their neighbor.

"We have spent so much of our lives working with Christians," he noted, "we want to spend a good chunk of our spare time with the notyet-Christian (I'm optimistic, you see."

The Bystrom home is always open to seminary students as well, and they see him as one who cares about them personally as well as professionally.

Reimer recalls a meaningful experience in which his family and three other seminary families were invited to the Bystrom home for a graduation celebration.

"He gave each couple a card in which he had written a little narrative telling our strengths and his hopes for our future ministry, » Reimer said.

"He makes a real investment in his students."

Like Lucy's five fingers in the comic strip, Bystrom sees the potential for the church to be a "powerful force" in the world as Christians translate their faith into everyday activity.

After 10 years of hands-on helping churches live up to that potential, his gifts and calling also make him an influential model and mentor for men and women who want to do the same.

"You pour a bit of yourself into people and watch them grow and thrive. It's rewarding and it gives significance to what we do as teachers. I suspect that that's what it's really all t!2. about. »

Kathy Heinrichs Wiest, a free-lance writer from Kingsburg, Calif., is a member of the Kingsburg MB Church.

[stes Park . Colorado March 25 - 28. ms

"I' am looking

EST E S

" 9

5

Money Talk$!

Are you andyour investment dollars saying the same thing?

Hyou're seeking investments in enterprises that help to improve - rather than destroy - the world around you, MMA Praxis Mutual Funds were created for you.

With MMA Praxis, your money will be invested in companies that seek to enhance Christian values of peace, justice, and the quality of human life.

So for a mutual fund that talks the same language you do, you need to hear more about MMA Praxis.

For a free information kit, see your MMA counselor or call today

1-BOO-9-PRAXIS (

-- ,

M M A

Immediately available in Calif., Fla., Ind., III., Iowa, Kan., Md., Mich., Neb., Ohio, Pa., and Va. For more complete information including charges and expsnSllS, call HIOo-S-I'RAX/S to receive II prllSpectus. I'IIIIISII read the prospectus carefully before you Inrest or send money.

J U N E

1 994

27

otrusings

A new Revelation

I

NTERPRETING THE BOOK of Revelation used to be easy. Well, not easy exactly, but at least I thought I understood it.

I grew up with those prophecy conferences we used to have in the Mennonite Brethren Church. A famous prophecy speaker would come to town for a week or two, and by the time he left I had heard all about the Rapture, the Beast, the Anti-christ, the Great Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon and the Millennium (these words were always capitalized; I don't know why). Not only did I hear about these things, but I learned to fit them into their proper order in the End Times. I knew the identity of Gog and Magog, and I knew when the Marriage Supper of the Lamb would occur.

Through those years of training, I became quite a prophecy expert. I was able to master the charts and the order of events, and I successfully taught several Sunday school classes, cheerfully sharing my understandings.

It was only later that I realized my belief system concerning End-Times events was known as dispensational premillennialism, and that it had been lifted directly out of the notes in the Scofield Reference Bible. To know the name of my views didn't change them. I was pleased to be a premillennialist. Even in the Mennonite Brethren seminary, which has sometimes been criticized for its perceived eschatological (End-Times) leanings, I was taught the book of Revelation from a premillennial, pretribulation rapture point of view.

So, as I said, interpreting Revelation was easy. But I always felt a little worried about the ease with which we dispensational premillennialists could fit all the symbols and figures of Revelation so easily into our system. Was it a trifle too smooth? Because of that uncertainty, I never in my years of pastoring preached a series of sermons on Revelation. Though frequently requested to do so, I always managed to stay busy expositing other parts of the Bible.

Until now. I recently began to take our congregation through this last book of Scripture, which promises a blessing on the one who reads it and those who hear it and take it to heart (Rev. 1:3). In studying Revelation in more detail than I have before, I've come face-to-face with my problems concerning dispensational premillennialism, the theology of my youth.

1. I struggle with the changes over the years in the identity of Antichrist. I know that 28

• THE

C H R 1ST I A N

Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers were convinced that the pope was Anti-christ, and the church in Rome was the Beast, or the False Prophet. But popes have come and gone, and none of them were Anti-christ with a capital "A." So others were given that designation, and their names, spelled numerically, were even found to add up to "666." Napoleon enjoyed that distinction, as did Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin. In my own lifetime, Anti-christ has been identified with Khrushchev, Kennedy, and Kissinger, among others, and even Saddam Hussein. I'm bothered that my premillennial point of view has to change it's story every time a new" Anti-christ" appears. Are we adjusting our theology to each new reality?

2. For years before I was born, premillennialists told of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Palestine. Until 1948, almost all premillennial scholars believed Jews would have to return to Christ before they returned to their land. But when the modern state of Israel was born, and there was no massive turning to Jesus, premillennialists changed their story to fit the new reality. That bothers me too.

3. During my childhood, the Soviet Union was the feared enemy, the "evil empire." Now that the Soviet Union has fallen apart, the theology has changed. Today it appears Iraq is the evil to be feared. But again, I wonder if the interpretation is being made to fit new facts.

4, 5, 6, etc. I could recite other inconsistencies. We could ask what premillennialists do when the Common Market exceeds 10 nations, as it has; how the United States can be both the new promised land and a totally decadent society, and how the end of the world will come now that nuclear weapons are being dismantled?

My foundational beliefs in End-Time prophecy have been stirred. It isn't as easy to interpret Revelation as it used to be. However, though it may seem paradoxical to you, I'm excited about that. It gives me the opportunity to come to this book for a fresh look, without all sorts of preconceived notions about the seals, the trumpets and the bowls.

Maybe without all those ideas, I'll be able to let Revelation speak for itself. If so, perhaps I, and my listeners, will receive a fresh blessing, as Jesus promised the original readers of this book. I hope so. tf2

LEA D E R

In studying Revelation in more detail than I have before, I've come face-toface with my problems concerning dispensational premillennialism, the theology of my youth.

Jim Holm is from Reedley, Calif.

Could your Board be better?

"Crisply written and highly practical! Offers consistently sound commonsense advice on the real-life problems and challenges of nonprofit board service.

Doing Good Better! could serve independent directors of a Fortune 500 company as well as it does the board of any of our nation s more than one million nonprofits.

"Doing Good Better! is the best there is!"

I

-Richard R Celeste Governor of Ohio {1983-1991} "A very fine book on board leadership of nonprofit organizations. This particular book will be very beneficial to many people who are members of nonprofit boards across the country."

-Millard Fuller, president and founder, Habitat for Humanity, International "Very readable and full of wisdom. A commonsense approach based on much experience. /I

-Sherburne Laughlin, Executive Director, Support Center of Washington

Doing Good Better!

How to Be an Effective Board Member of a Nonprofit Organization

by Edgar Stoesz & Chester Raber Well-meaning individuals become board members, but few are given adequate instructions about how to do their job well.

In this personably-written manual, two veterans of many boards lucidly address the ideal relationship between a nonprofit organization and its board. They candidly cover the realities that often threaten that relationship-weak board leadership, overly zealous staff, ill-informed board members, and more. Then, from their lifetimes as staff, consultants, and board members, Stoesz and Raber suggest strategies for overcoming these common difficulties.

Stories from their vast experience weave through their explicit guidelines and suggestions.

5 1/2 x 81f2 • 150 pages • $9.95, paperback

P.O. Box 419, Intercourse, PA 17534 Call toll-free 800/762-7171 • In Canada, call collect 717/768-7171

MasterCard and Visa accepted.

Available at local bookstores or directly from the publisher.

B

o

D

MENNONITE

y

1

.r n

BRETHREN

NEWS

L

MBMjS: A time for 'rightsizing' • Giving is up, but total income is down; mission board trims programs

C

HEERED BY THE news that gift income had risen 1 percent (as of Mar. 31) over the previous year, the MBM/S board, meeting in St. Catharines, Ont., Apr. 28-30, still had to face red ink and salary cuts to "rightsize" the 1994-95 budget. Despite the small increase in giving, the projected deficit for 199394 is about $250,000.

Harold Ens, MBM/S general director, attributed the shortfall to two factors: the decline of the Canadian dollar, representing about two-thirds of MBM/S income, which dropped in

value from 78 cents u.S. to 71 cents in the last 10 months; and fewer than average bequests from donor estates, which fluctuate considerably.

The proposed 1994-95 $4.627 million budget compares with just under 5 million in 1993-94. The average giving goal per church member was set at $100 per member per year. To achieve the decrease the board took the following actions: • Cut salaries of administrators, missionaries and staff by 3 percent.

• Asked workers in their fmal term to serve as "retiree volunteers," with a potential savings of $15,000-20,000 per couple.

• Decided that new workers will serve on an expenses-only basis.

• Noted that 10-12 Latin American workers will not return to service.

• Canceled a Panama urban ministry project.

• Put church construction projects on hold.

• Reduced MBM/S participation in a new video center for at least one year.

• Board members and staff paid their own way to the meetings, a savings of about $7,000. Travel will be minimized in the next year.

Fred Epp, director of finance, reported on the slight giving increase following a February appeal letter.

"The board was defmitely encouraged by the response," said Ens. One church wrote, "We want to confirm our commitment of giving not less than the norm, and we do this joyfully. In our proposed budget, we had designated $140 per member,

in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area. In 1963, after learning to read Portuguese-but before they understood the language very well-they began visiting house to house in the Campo Limpo neighborhood, reading John 3:1-17 to anyone who would listen. Sometimes people showed interest and asked questions, which the Wiebes some• James and Lois Wiebe were the first times were unable to understand at first. But they learned Portuguese-speaking workers in Sao Paulo quickly, discipling the interested and planting a church.

From 1967-1977, they planted a middle-class church HEN MB MISSIONS/SERVICES missionaries James in Campo Belo. For the first seven years, the group met in and Lois Wiebe retired this past December, they the Wiebes' home, due to limited fmances. The church, could look back on a term of service that spanned three now called Boas Novas (meaning "good news") has decades of change for the Mennonite Brethren Church in grown considerably in the past three or four years.

Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Wiebes spent the next eight years establishing The Wiebes were the first Mennonite Brethren misand nurturing the Villa Sao Jose church toward maturity. sionaries to work as Portuguese-speaking church Thanks to donated land from a family the Wiebes disciplanters. Prior to their arrival, the city had one Germanpled, the group built a meeting place that they used for speaking Mennonite Brethren congregation. Today, Sao the first five years. A new building, with a seating capaciPaulo has seven Mennonite Brethren ty of 250, was constructed on churches, and a merger is in process another property. Today, about 125 between the Brazilian Portuguese-language people attend Sunday evening serMennonite Brethren Convention and the vices.

German Association.

In their last aSSignment in Sao "We were there before the [PorPaulo, the couple helped rebuild tuguese-speaking] Convention started in the Jardim Santo Eduardo Church, 1966," says Lois. which had been nearly destroyed James adds, "We witnessed so much by a church split. Beginning with evangelism by the churches-some years the eight remaining members, they with 25-30 percent growth. Other years served as pastoral couple to the were a real struggle, even a retreat." struggling congregation. Five years The Wiebes started or developed most later, the group has 40 members, led by Alsenso Hollas, the new of the Mennonite Brethren congregations Lois and James Wiebe.

Retiring after 30 years of change, growth in Brazil

W

30

•

THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA 0

E R

BODYLIFE

and Lord willing, we hope to send you all of it. " Several churches wrote that they were hoping to support at the $100 per member giving level.

Some churches have opted to support specific ministries. For example, the Reedley (Calif.) MB Church has adopted the city of Sao Paulo; the Fairview MB Church of St. Catharines, Ont., has adopted a city or cities to be named in Lithuania.

A city adoption commits $75 or more per member, plus prayer and regular interaction with missionaries there.

New appointees Ten new candidates have accepted appointments as Christian Service workers or Good News interns-with expenses paid but no salary.

New workers include: • Phil and Carol Bergen of Shafter, Calif.-Bible translation, Burkina Faso.

• Gordon and Marta Boettcher of

Vancouver, B.C.-church planting, Piura, Peru.

• Jon and Mary Anne Isaak of Winnipeg-Bible teaching, St. Petersburg, Russia.

• Jerrold and Jean Paetkau of Matsqui, B.C.-teaching and counseling, Klaipeda, Lithuania.

Most of these new workers expect to leave for assignments in late July or early August.

Gordon and Dora Isaak of Yarrow, B.C., assigned to church planting in Mexico City, are tentatively scheduled for summer departure, pending completion of training requirements.

Bob and Susan Gulack of Fresno, Calif., will begin service in Panevezys, Lithuania, starting in January 1995, where they will seek to "build up the group of believers into a reproducing church."

Tim and Carolyn Gartke of Regina, Sask., will attend MTI in 1995. Upon successful completion, they will join the Lithuania team.

Brazilian pastor. At the last service the Wiebes attended before leaving, 75 were in attendance.

The Wiebes' last two years in Sao Paulo were difficult. James developed serious heart problems, requiring an initial angioplasty, followed by another, four months later. Many prayed for the couple during the crisis, and according to the Wiebes, "the Lord answered prayer. " For James and Lois Wiebe, the individual stories behind each member of the church are what counts.

They cherish the relationships they had with the Brazilian people. People like Ezequias and wife Deusa, who donated land for the first meeting place for the Villa Sao Jose church; Elisea, a young man they taught for years, now a pastoral intern at the same church; Gabriel and Cecilia, who faithfully tithe their earnings from their business.

In addition to seeing a number of Mennonite Brethren churches established in Sao Paulo, the Wiebes have also witnessed the growth of the Portuguese-speaking church in Brazil. As of 1993, the Convention churches claimed 1,250 members and 2,000 attenders. Newoutreach points have emerged in Curitiba and have drawn new worshipers. The Xaxim MB Church in Curitiba baptized at least 40 people in 1993.

Leadership issues in the Convention and the growth of these Portuguese-speaking churches, planted by the German Association, has helped unite the two bodies into one national fellowship . Meetings held in October and March effectively laid the foundation for such a merger.

The newly incorporated fellowship will assume greater responsibility for church growth, leadership development and sending missionaries to other parts of the world. Brazilian Ilse Buss currently serves on the

AJd to India suspended MBMjS will no longer send subsidies through the India Governing Council after May 31 . Funds will be held in trust until alternate channels are found for distribution.

The board requested prayer for reconciliation in the India MB Conference. When harmony is restored, MBMjS will renegotiate the agreements between the mission, the Governing Council and the India Property Association-the entities responsible for oversight and management of mission property in India.

Land purchased decades ago has appreCiated. Questions have arisen about the use of some assets without consultation or accounting of the proceeds.

Asia The board renewed partnership with the Indonesian Mennonite mission board, PIPKA, for another seven years. In 1995, MBMjS will subsidize

MBMjS church-planting team in Portugal.

"We thought a merger would take at least five years or longer," says Lois Wiebe. James notes that contrasts between the two groups in education, wealth and leadership style could present problems, but common commitments to the Lord and his kingdom seem to have dominated the merger process so far.

The population of Sao Paulo has exploded during the past two decades, making it the second or third largest city in the world with about 20 million people. In turn, the need for multiplying churches has also grown exponentially. Though MBMjS continues with a church-planting team, it has begun reducing its personnel, transferring the evangelistic task to the national church.

Last August, several weeks before the Wiebes left Brazil, all seven Mennonite Brethren congregations in Sao Paulo gathered for a missions day. Together they celebrated the impact of the Youth Mission International team that had worked in the city in July and August.

"Never before had more than 200 attended any similar kind of joint meeting," James says. "It was a cold afternoon [Brazil's winter runs from June-September] and the pre-World Cup Soccer games were in progress. Imagine how thrilled we were when 400 people showed up.

Many walked, many came on busses, because few of the Christians have cars. " Since their return to the United States, the Wiebes have settled in Fresno, Calif. , where two daughters live.

James and Lois plan to spend their retirement writing about their experiences in Brazil, possibly including a personal memoir and an analysis of the urban church mission.-Craig Hallman and Gary Hardway for MBM/S

J U N E

1 994

31

BODYLIFE

PIPKA on a declining scale, with the agreement to be reviewed in 1998.

Through PIPKA, 25 couples are working in 49 emerging congregations, with 210 baptized in the past year. New works will focus on the urban middle class and enabling new churches to become self-sustaining.

Under the new agreement, Indonesians are encouraged to send MBM/S missionaries for Chinese work in Venezuela, medical workers to Zaire and workers for Muslim areas.

Tim and Janine Bergdahl, resource workers in Karachi, Pakistan, were appointed to a second term. Gordon and Gwen Nickel, Pakistan team leaders, were reassigned as nonresident resources for the next two years.

They will live in Saskatchewan and visit Pakistan regularly. Gordon will teach missions part-time.

It also expressed desire for a

Colombia, this summer.

"covenant to work together" in the future. Each affected missionary will be contacted personally by board members to communicate hope for better relationships.

The board accepted the resignation of Lynn and Mary Kauffman, who hope to pursue other avenues of ministry in Spain.

Board representatives and members of the secretariat will visit the Spanish Mennonite Brethren community no later than summer 1995. Dialogue will aim at discerning "the next steps of ministry involvements and administrative relationships between MBM/S and the Spanish MB Church. " Hugo Zorrilla, a board member who will minister in Spain this spring, will translate the evaluation and the official statement of response.

Latin America workers reappointed • Ray and Judy Harms-Wiebe were appointed to a two-year term "pending reasonable financial participation in the funding of their position by the local (Sao Paulo) church they serve."

• Elizabeth Tieszen, subject to negotiation of suitable job description.

The board directed that the possibility of transferring development work among the Ashaninca people of Peru be explored. MBM/S is involved in several education, medical and social projects started 40 years ago by Krimmer Mennonite Brethren agencies. Mennonite Central Committee, for example, will be contacted in the next year regarding their interest in assuming a major role in these ministries.

Apology to Spain workers Following an evaluation report on Spain by consultant Erwin Rempel, the board acknowledged that "there has been hurt and misunderstanding" regarding last year's decision not to return workers to Madrid, Spain.

"For this we are truly sorry and apologize," the board stated offiCially.

Latin America workers cut As national conferences grow stronger in Latin America, the need for missionaries has decreased. As a result, the teams there will be reduced.

• John and Celia Fehr of Campo Grande, Brazil, and Tim and Kami Froese of Panama City, have resigned effective May 31.

• Wald and Joy Pauls have completed a year of medical leave and are unable to return to Peru.

• Frank and Helen Peters of Curitiba, Brazil, are retiring.

• Galen and Linda Wiest have finished their phase of church planting at Community of Peace in Bogota. The church is strong and will call a Colombian pastor. The Wiests were offered a year's leave to evaluate the future.

• Jim and Gay Arthur of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were not reappointed, primarily due to fmances. A fmal decision will be made at fall board meetings.

• John and Karen Selph have completed their assignment in Uruguay.

To date, no other suitable assignment has been found.

Church planting in Panama City was terminated due to the resignation of the Froeses, limited finances and lack of growth. The services of Jose and Sullapa Perez, the subsidized pastoral couple, were discontinued.

The projected ministry of Christian Service appointee, Lowell Ens, is no longer feasible. Ens will lead a Youth Mission International team in Cali,

Toward 2000 A.D. Mission goals for the '90s prescribe that resources be shifted toward Asia and unreached peoples in general. A work among the Thailand-Laos border has been initiated. Efforts continue to expand outreach to Muslims. New workers going to Burkina Faso, lithuania and St. Petersburg, Russia, underscore the direction of the vision.

"As we carry out strategic evaluation in other areas," Harold Ens, general director said, "we expect to find some ministries mature enough to carry on without MBM/S workers."

The mission increasingly encourages partner conferences to send international workers into mission. In 1990, Brazil sent lise Kuss to Portugal.

A few years ago, the Japan MB Conference sponsored a missionary to Pakistan. It has since commissioned two couples to the United States for church planting among Japanese.

"The Japan MB Conference has indicated a desire to work with us in reaching other areas of Asia," Ens said.

"They hope to send workers to Thailand in a few years." Workers from Paraguay and Indonesia have demonstrated interest and potential for MBM/S service.

"This kind of partnership expands our resource base for mission in Asia," said Ens. He summed up the board's attitude for the future as "cheerful, challenged, concerned [and] committed."-Gary Hardaway, MBM/S

32

LEA D E R

New Africa regional secretary Pakisa Tshimika of Zaire has been appointed part-time regional secretary for Africa. Tshimika, coordinator for health and development for the Zaire MB Church, travels extensively and will combine mission administration with his current duties.

MBM/S began internationalizing leadership in 1993, with the appointment of Franz Tshimika Rathmair of Austria as secretary for Europe. In the next two to three years, the board expects to name an Asian and a Latin American to head those areas as well.

Lawrence and Selma Warkentin have been reappointed. They have recently planted a fast-growing church in Dresden, in former East Germany. Glen and Beverley Miller, medical workers in Kajiji, Zaire, were appointed to a second three-year term to begin in October.

•

THE

C H R 1ST I A N

BODYLIFE

three-fourths-time in August. Neufeld

SEMINARY

MBBS board adds

has served on a seminary recruitment

team since Arnie Prieb resigned this past October.

Neufeld and wife, Rose, are from Winnipeg, Man., where they attended Fort Garry MB Church. They now • Two staff appointed; 'distant attend College Community Church in learning center' targeted for Clovis, Calif., where he also serves as part-time youth pastor.

British Columbia The board took a major step B BIBLICAL SEMINARY board toward decentralizing seminary educa, members appointed new staff tion, appointing an advisory commisand took action toward a distance sion for the MBBS British Columbia learning center in Canada at meetings Learning Center. held on the Fresno, Calif., campus The program, with a strong emphaApr. 21-23. sis on church-based training, is offered Jim Westgate was appointed to a in cooperation with several estabpart,time faculty position in world lished learning institutions and area mission. Westgate, who currently is churches. of development at Link Care It will provide two years of classes Center in Fresno, holds undergradu- in British Columbia, an internship ate degrees in Greek and Bible, a experience and a year of residency on mastf!r's in theology degree from Dal- the Fresno, Calif., campus. The advisolas Theological Seminary and a doc- ry commission met in May. tor of ministry degree in urban minThe seminary board also estabistry from Westminster Theological lished an institutional development Seminary. task force to deal with development While on staff at Trinity Evangelical issues and joint fund-raising with the Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill., West- Mennonite Brethren conference. gate designed two graduate-level Task force members, to be appointdegree programs in urban ministry. ed by the seminary administration, He has served as a pastor and was will include representatives from the director of urban and church min- seminary and other Mennonite istries for the Evangelical Free Church Brethren institutions. of America.

The task force will present recomJohn Neufeld was appointed direc- mendations at board meetings next tor of recruitment. A MBBS master of fall.-Craig Hallman, MBBS Informadivinity student, he will begin serving tion Services

staff, program

M

Katie Wiebe resigns as Rejoice! editor • After five years, it's time for other writing projects ATIE FUNK WIEBE, has "appreciated this The search for a K Wichita, Kan., has opportunity to edit replacement has begun.

Rejoicel and sees a great future for it, especially in a world that is searching for deeper spiritual support and direction."

She also mentioned that devotional literature ought to offer inspiration in the "language of the soul," a philosophy she brought to her work.

Doland church to close doors • Rural demographics lead to decision to end active ministry

A

FTER ALMOST 75 YEARS of ser:vice, the Ebenezer MB Church of Doland, S.D., will be closing its doors for good, effective Aug. 1.

According to Dewayn Isaac, who has been pastor of the church since July 1, 1989, the congregation fell victim to societal trends and rural demographics.

"We were having no problems, really, except that more and more young families were moving away," he said.

Ebenezer began meeting in 1919 and was formally organized in 1920. It reached a peak attendance of around 140 people. Recent attendance averaged in the low 30s, according to Isaac, and several of those had indicated their intention to go elsewhere in the future.

A closing homecoming celebration is being planned for August, though the date has not been set.

Isaac said he is open to invitations to consider other pastorates.

. CHURCH NOTES • Baptism/Membership

PUBLISHING

resigned as editor of Rejoicel, effective Dec. 31, 1994, in order to pursue writing projects.

Wiebe, a member of the First MB Church, Wichita, has edited the interMennonite devotional magazine for the past five years.

In a statement to the board, Wiebe said she

COMPLETION

Applications should be sent to Michael Dick, executive secretary, Board of Resource Ministries.

For more information, contact Dick at 302-32025 Dahlstrom, Ave., Clearbrook, s.c., V2T 2K7; (604) 8536959.-from a BRM news release

WICHITA, Kan. (First)-Bob and Marsha Richardson, Sharolyn Deines, Betty Pankratz, Jerry and Sherry Griffith, Jeff Wells and Maxine Unruh were welcomed into membership May 15.

TULSA, Okla. (park sid e)-Bob Schwartz and Darrell and Sheila Zehr were received into membership by transfer May 22.

DINUBA, Calif.-Don Pitman was bap· tized and received into membership on Easter; Joyce Baker, Dennis and Sandy Ducharme, Gary, Sue, Michele and Angie Katacinski, and Duane Penner were received by transfer and testimony.

SHAFfER, Calif.-Rachel Loewen, Sarah Bergen, Brian Penner, David Franz, Richard Woody, Christopher Smith and Steve and Becky Skalisky were welcomed into membership Apr. 17.

J U N E

1 994

33

BODYLIFE

FRESNO, Calif. (Bethany)-Jonathan Wills, Dustin Guenther and Ben Bogdanof were baptized and received into membership May 1. Leroy and Jean Ediger were received by transfer the same day.

• Celebrations ImLSBORO, Kan.-Elmer and Frieda Wall celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 15 with a reception at the Historic Church on the Tabor College campus.

SHAFfER, Calif.-John C. Penner celebrat· ed his 100th birthday Apr. 28 with a recep· tion at Kern Crest Manor.

WICIDTA, Kan. (First)-Rolland and Mildred Klaassen celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 1 with a reception hosted by their children.

REEDLEY, Calif.-Stan and Ann Martens celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by providing a flower arrangement for the sanctuary Apr. 24.

pulpit exchange. Pastor Larry Ediger spoke at Pine Acres May 1.

• Ministry ENID, Okla.-Ken and Marilyn Fast, missions workers returning to Brazil, were honored at a commissioning service May 29.

CLOVIS, Calif. (Mountain View Community)-This emerging church held its first public worship service at the Clovis High School cafeteria May I, with 300 in attendance. Fred and Esther Leonard, pastoral couple, are following up on contacts made.

ROSEVILLE, calif. (Roseville Oaks Community)-This emerging congregation, pastored by Brad and Terrie Schmidt, started weekly Sunday services at Heritage Oak school May 1. The group has doubled from a nucleus of 14 families in January. They anticipate starting public worship services this fall.

GARDEN CITY, Kan.-Earnest and Juanita . SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-Belle Kells celebrated their 50th wedding Miller teaches basic violin at the church anniversary with a reception Apr. 24.

Sunday evenings at no charge. In the future, other instrumental instruction will CORN, Okla.-Elmer and Minnie Flaming be offered. celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary Apr. 25.

FRESNO, Calif. (Butler Avenue)-The church initiated a Spanish-speaking conBUHLER, Kan.-Eva Schroeder celebrated gregation Apr. 23. The evening kick-off her 100th birthday Apr. 20. event featured Latin music, Mexican food and family helps presented by local law ULYSSES, Kan.-The church presented enforcement officers. About 15 new fami"An Hour Without Jesus," a drama written lies from the community attended. Spanish by member Jeanette Dunn, Apr. 1. About services started May I, led by Gordon 240 people from the community attended Boettcher, MB Missions/Services candidate the Good Friday performance. to Peru.

BETHANY, Okla. (Western Oaks)-The men of the church prepared and served the annual Mother'S Day breakfast May 8.

BRIDGEWATER, S.D. (Salem)-Joe and Mary Ruth Hofman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary May 7.

• Proclamation LITTLETON, Colo. (Belleview Acres)Elmer Martens, professor of Old Testament at MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif., was the guest speaker for a Bible conference at the church Apr. 17. Martens and his wife, Phyllis, were in the area from Apr. 4-May 17, working on a writing project at Denver Seminary.

DELFf, Minn. (Carson)-Herb Schroeder, pastor of the Mountain Lake (Minn.) MB Church, conducted a seminar series on four consecutive Sunday evenings in May.

• Workers BLAINE, Wash. (Birch Bay)-James Totzke has accepted the call as senior pastor. He and his wife, Toyann, will begin their ministry at the end of June. Totzke has pastored the Cornerstone Community Church of the Brethren in Reedley, Calif., for the past 8 years.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-Virginia Schneider has been affirmed as pastor of family life ministries. Her duties include counseling two days per week and leading special training events.

COLLINSVILLE, Okla. (Westport)-Brad Schoeppy has resigned his position as minister of music, effective July 31.

• Teaching/Nurture IllLLSBORO, Kan. (parkview)-The congregation hosted a one-day evangelism seminar called "Love Your Neighbor to Life" May 7. The seminar was sponsored by the International Bible Society.

WEATHERFORD, Okla. (pine Acres)-The church voted unanimously to call Hal J. Penner as part-time associate pastor of youth. Penner is a 1994 graduate of Tabor College.

ENID, Okla.-John Warkentin, pastor of First MB Church, Wichita, Kan., and Pattie Harrison presented a training session on dealing with conflict in the church Apr. 10. They outlined a mediation strategy for resolving conflicts in the church family.

FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News Fellowship)-An outreach car club started Apr. 14. Led by Bob Karber, the group is for men and women, offering family-oriented fun and fellowship.

BETIIANY, Okla. (Western Oaks)-Seven members attended a Point Man conference with Steve Ferrar Apr. 15-16. That conference led the congregation to reestablish men's accountability groups.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-The

34.

LEA D E R

C H R 1ST I A N

MARSHALL, Ark. (Martin Box)-Chris McGinnis and Debbie Warner of Miami, Fla., presented a series of evening meetings for young people Apr. 24-27. They communicated the gospel through chalk art, Bible lessons, music and puppetry. Three people made new commitments to Christ and two rededicated themselves. Attendance ran from 60-85 people each evening.

HARVEY, N.D.-The church family honored pastor Walter Janzen and his wife, Edith, at a farewell potluck meal Apr. 24.

The congregation presented the Janzens with a pictorial memory book and love offering.

BETHANY, Okla. (Western Oaks)-Don Morris, pastor of Pine Acres MB Church of Weatherford, Okla., brought the morning message Apr. 17 as part of a sister-church THE

church sponsored a special emphasis to reach unchurched friends May 22. The day began with a continental breakfast during the Sunday school hour, followed by a seeker-friendly worship service, including music, drama and preaching geared to share the gospel message. A taco lunch was served to participants at noon.

.DEATHS BARTEL, ALLEN, Shafter, Calif., a member of the Shafter MB Church, was born Sept.

19, 1917, to Zacharias (Z.C.) and Ida Bartel in Helena, Mont., and died Apr. 3, 1994, at the age of 76. On Nov. 26, 1941, he was married to Violet Janzen, who survives. He is also survived by four children: Karen, Larry, Mike and Sandy; three sisters, Vivian, Letha and Jean and their families; and four grandchildren.

BECKER, BERTIIA, Reedley, Calif., a member of the Reedley MB Church, was born Aug. 17, 1906, to Peter David and Elizebeth Buller Buhler in Munich, N.D., and died Apr. 12, 1994, at the age of 87. On May 16, 1927,

BODYLIFE

she was married to Adolph A. Heinrichs, who predeceased her in 1934. In 1949, she was married to Joe A. Becker, who predeceased her in 1971. She is survived by one son, Robert and wife Annemarie of Kingsburg, Calif.; two brothers, Jake Buhler and wife Marian of Merced, Calif., and Adolph Buhler and wife Helen of Bakersfield, Calif.; one sister, Hulda and husband Daniel Heinrichs of Sunnyvale, Calif.; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

BERGEN, WESLEY FERNANDO, of Shafter, Calif., a member of the Shafter MB Church, was born June 4, 1917, to Jacob E. and Katharina Fast Bergen in Reedley, Calif., and died Mar. 31, 1994, at the age of 76. He is survived by one brother, Arnold Bergen and wife Nellie; two sisters, Regina Becker and Rosella Petker; and many nieces and nephews.

CLASSEN, PETER A., Reedley, Calif., a member of the Reedley MB Church, was born Nov. 18, 1900, to George J. and Agnes Rempel Classen near Janzen, Neb., and died Apr. 22, 1994, at the age of 93. On Apr. 24, 1921, he was married to Katie Friesen, who predeceased him in 1988. He is survived by two sons, Albert J. Classen and wife Evelyn of Escondido, Calif., and Leo and wife Zarita of Paradise, Calif.; four daughters, Alma and husband Harry Basom of Santa Barbara, Calif., Ann and husband Hogen Steele of Fresno, Calif., Marian and husband John Smith of Dinuba, Calif., and Melvina and husband Bill Wingo of Auberry, Calif. ; two brothers, Henry Classen of Meade, Kan., and Corney Classen of Archibald, Ohio; 25 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren.

DICK, JUSTINA, Reedley, Calif., a member of the Reedley MB Church, was born Apr. 24, 1899, to Martin and Justina Pauls Esau near Buhler, Kan., and died May 11, 1994, at the age of 95. On Nov. 21, 1920, she was married to Dietrich Dick, who predeceased her in 1977. She is survived by three sons, Vernon and wife Frances of Reedley, James and wife Florence of Bakersfield, Calif., and Donald and wife Norma of Fresno, Calif.; one daughter, Marjorie Traver of Fresno; one brother, Martin Esau, one sister-in·law, Justina Esau, and one brother·in-Iaw, Harry Siemens, all of Buhler; 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

DREBERT, MABEL, Lodi, Calif., a member of the Vinewood Community Church, was born July 4, 1927. to John and Elizabeth Steinert in Regan, N.D., and died Feb. 15, 1994, at the age of 66. On May 20, 1955, ;he was married to Clement Drebert, who mrvives. She is also survived by one son, larry; and one daughter, Darla and husband 'aul Tam; three grandchildren; two step.rothers. Vernon Zelmer and Theophil :elmer; and four step-sisters, DOris Crane, laine Savenko. Lorraine Hajein and Sharon oth.

EDIGER, ALBERT W., Reedley, Calif., a member of the Reedley MB Church, was born June 7, 1914, to Peter and Anna Nachtigal Ediger in Henderson, Neb., and died Apr. 20, 1994, at the age of 79. In 1938, he was married to Helen Barkman, who predeceased him in 1970. In September 1971, he was married to Kathryn Friesen, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Eldon and wife Patti of Oxnard, Calif., and Larry of Fresno; three brothers, Peter, Bill and Dan; one sister, Esther Mays; five grandchildren; and two step-sons.

EWERT, SUE, of Dallas, Ore., a member of the Dallas MB Church, was born Dec. 12, 1906, to Frank and Katherine Loewen Regehr in Dalmeny, Sask., and died Jan. 29, 1994, at the age of 87. On Dec. 31, 1924, she was married to George G. Harms, who predeceased her in 1968. On Feb. 9, 1969, she was married to Abraham Ewert, who predeceased her in 1977. She is survived by one daughter, Marilyn Suderman of Dallas; four sons, Paul Harms of Salem, Ore., Loren Harms of San Bruno, Calif., Phillip Harms of Federal Way, Wash., and Timothy Harms of Alviso, Calif.; six grandchildren, 11 greatgrandchildren and four step-sons.

FADENRECHT, HELEN, Yuma, Colo., a member of the New Hope MB Church of Joes, Colo., was born Aug. 8, 1914, to Dietrich and Anna Gunther Warkentin in Colony, Okla., and died Mar. 28, 1994, at the age of 79. On July 30, 1938, she was married to Edgar Fadenrecht, who predeceased her. She is survived by two daughters, Rosaline Thorn of DiIIon, Mont. , and Jean and husband Leroy Ediger of Fresno, Calif.; three sons, Walter and wife Peggy of Yuma, Colo., Eugene and wife Connie of Joes, Colo., and Richard and wife Karen of Strasburg, Colo.; 15 grandchildren and five great·grandchildren.

FRIESEN, HELENA KLASSEN, Hillsboro, Kan., a member of the Parkview MB NIVERVILLE (MAN.) MB CHURCH invites applications for the position of full-time senior pastor Our church has a membership of 190 and an average attendance of about 300. We are seeking an experienced pastor who is strong in teaching and preaching and who relates well to people of all ages. We are excited about working together to carry out our mis· sion statement.

The position is to commence in the fall.

Niverville is located about 20 miles from Winnipeg.

Apply to: Walter Dick, Box 10, Glenlea, MB (Canada) ROO OSO; telephone: (204) 883·2421.

Church, was born Apr. 23, 1904, to Jacob E. and Maria Klassen near HiIIsboro, and died Apr. 4, 1994, at the age of 89. On Aug. 9, 1925, she was married to Harry H. Friesen, who predeceased her in 1975. She is survived by four sons, Leonard and wife Merlie of Phoenix, Ariz., Elmer and wife Leona of HiIIsboro, Paul and wife Carolyn of Palisade, Colo., and Herman and wife Shirlene of Flagler, Colo.; one daughter, Gladys and hus· band Kenneth Buller of Hillsboro; 16 grand· children and 30 great-grandchildren. tR.

CLEARINGHOUSE OPPORTUNITIES YOUTH MINISTRY - Orchard Park Bible Church (MB) invites applications for full-time pastor of youth with an emphasis on an equipping ministry. Please send resumes to Orchard Park Bible Church, RR3 Hunter Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON LOS 1JO. MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE is accepting applications for video producer (Akron, Pa.). This salried poSition is available Sept. 1, 1994. Qualifications include a commitment to Christian faith, aOlive church membership and nonviolent peacemaking. Applicants must have at least six years experience in actual video production as well as overseeing video production; must be committed to teamwork, "more with less' productions and able to juggle multiple production simultaneously. Interested person in the United States eontaOl Goldie Kuhns, 21 South 12th Street, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500; phone (717) 859-1151 .

Applications due July 15.

REJOICE! EDITOR Rejoice! is a devotional guide serving the Mennonite constituency in North America. .

Role Quarter-time position Recruit writers for devotional material Edit and work with associate editors Oversee printing/production Report to publishers Qualifications Bachelor'S degree Good Knowledge of Bible and theology Experience in writing, editing Active member of a Mennonite church Acquaintance with Mennonite community Application Send a letter of application, resume and your views on devotional literature to: Michael Dick Board of Resource Ministries #302-32025 Dahlstrom Ave. Clearbrook, BC V2T 2K7

J U N E

1 994

35

E

D

ITO

R

1

l\.

L

Our biennial bonus quiz

J

AMES WRITES that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. At this point in the life of our national conference, perseverance isn't a bad trait to encourage. So, while the following questions won't exactly test your faith (except, perhaps, your faith in our editorial judgment), they should test your knowledge of the mission of our U.S. Conference as we prepare for our biennial convention next month.

If you carefully read the reports in our feature section, you should pass this test with flying colors. But, as usual, a word of warning: Familiarity with the ministries of the u.S. Conference may inspire you to rash acts of generosity and involvement. Proceed at your own risk.

6. What is Youth Mission International offering volunteers for the first time this year?

A. One-year team assignments to support churchplanting and community-development efforts.

B. One-day team assignments to support beach volleyball outreach in Malibu.

C. One-way airline tickets for "open-ended" team projects in the Amazon rain forest.

7. How many new congregations have emerged as newly planted or adopted congregations under Mission USA since the '92 convention?

A.6

B.9 1. What element of the convention'S agenda do conference leaders see as having "historic" potential?

A. The hosting committee will be serving low-fat yogurt during coffee break.

B. The Board of Church Ministries is recommending a proposal that would give unprecedented priority to renewal and evangelism.

C. The Board of Church Ministries is recommending that we- change the name of the denomination to "The Historic Mennonite Brethren Church."

2. What name has been given to this new proposal regarding renewal and evangelism?

A. Mission USA B. Mission Impossible C. Mission 2000

3. What was the name of the research-and-development phase that led to the above-named renewal and evangelism proposal?

A. 2000 Visions B. 20/20 Vision C. Vision 2000 4. Which of the following will not be one of the featured speakers at Colorado Springs '94?

A.JimHolm B. Brent Warkentin C. Henry Schmidt D. Rush Limbaugh E. Roger Poppen F. Chuck Buller 5. Operation U-SERV specializes in what kinds of volunteer projects?

A. Tennis lessons for the underprivileged B. In-home surgical procedures C. Church-related building and renovation 36 •

THE

C H R 1ST I A N

LEA D E R

C.ll D.14

8. What group is financially underwriting the work of two Mennonite Brethren church planters from Japan who are beginning new projects among Japanesespeaking people in Fresno and San Diego, Calif?

A. The U.S. MB Conference B. The Japan MB Conference C. The Canadian MB Conference 9. Which midwestern city is home to a new Slavic congregation that, because of its geographiC location, wants to affiliate with the Mennonite Brethren through the U.S. Conference rather than one of our five district conferences?

A. Ottumwa, Iowa B. Springfield, Mo. C. Parma, Ohio 10. Which of the follOWing is not an expressed goal the Leader editors have set for the new monthly format of the magazine?

A. To be more thematic in the feature section.

B. To publish more "people" articles.

C. To support Mission USA by doing on-site investigative reporting about potential new church-planting sites in Waikiki Beach, Lake Tahoe and other cross-cultural hotbeds.

11. How much money did the Board of Trustees have to borrow last year to cover the guaranteed church subsidy for MB Biblical Seminary?

A.About$65 B. About $65 million C. About $65,000 Answers: ]·B, 2·A, 3·e; 4·D,5·e; GA, 7·D, 8-B, 9-C, lO-e; ]]-C