March 1998

CHRISTIAN

MARCH 1998

ent ast

Amatter of life over de

• METAMORPHOSIS / p4

• LENT: A TIME TO FACE OUR DYING / p7

• MAKING THE MYSTERY MEANINGFUL TO OUR KIDS / p1 0

FIRST WORDS ••• from the editor

ON THE WHOLE, most of us would rather think about life than about death. Maybe that's why the observance of Lent, which focuses on the suffering and death of our Lord, hasn't caught on in Mennonite Brethren circles like Easter has.

One message I sensed cOming through as we prepared this issue is that the two events-death and life, Lent and Easter-become more meaningful when we bring them together. The inevitability of our death is less intimidating when we realize the promise of new life through Christ. Likewise, our present life takes on more meaning and relevance when we accept the notion that it will end someday.

We hope our feature articles point you toward a similar realization. Herb Schroeder begins by helping us see the difficult events of'this life as preparation for the next (page 4).

Ronda Suderman King draws upon her experience as a hospice worker to help us think about our own death (page 7).

Meanwhile, Connie Faber, our assistant editor, draws upon her experience as a committed and creative mother to offer some ideas on how to communicate the truths of this significant season to young children (page 10).

Did you know Mennonite Brethren are planning a mission "assault" in the heart of Utah's Mormon country? The Pacific District Conference, Laurelglen Bible Church and Mission USA are joining resources to launch what they hope eventually will be a cluster of churches in the Draper area (page 22). It's a bold, cross-cultural vision.

Lent and Easter commemorate the heart of Christian faith. We hope these weeks will resurrect within all of us a greater experience of faithful and joyful living. -DR

COMING

• MARCH 2-4-"Music and the Arts in Christian Worship" seminar, MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif.

• MARCH 5-7-"Equip '98-Doing Church Differently" seminar, MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif.

• MARCH 13-15-Annual meeting of U.S. Conference boards, Phoenix, Ariz

• MARCH 15-First public worship service of Copper Hills Community Church, the new Mission USA church plant in Phoenix, Ariz .

• JULY 17-20-U.S. Conference biennial convention, LaMirada, Calif.

4 Metamorphosis

The adversities of this life are creating within us the glory of Christ which yearns to be released. When we die, we fly. BY

HERB SCHROEDER

7 A time to face our dying

As hospice patients face death they can teach the rest of us a lot about life The time we know as Lent was, in one sense, a hospice experience for Jesus. BY RONDA

SUDERMAN KING

10

Making the mystery meaningful

Wondering how to use the Lenten season to communicate spiritual values and truths to your young children? Here are some family-tested suggestions. BY

CONNIE FABER

DEPARTMENTS

• Eyeing a mission to Utah's Mormons 22

• A YMI experience in Mexico 24

• Mennonites surpass 1 million mark 26

• A new name and logo for global missions 27

• Confession of Faith: Article 15 on "Stewardship" 28

• Estes '99 team prepares for 2,000+ participants 28

• Church notes 29 • Deaths

Don Ratzlaff

Connie Faber

BOARD OF COMMUNICATIONS Noelle Dickinson, chair ; Phil Neufeld, Dalton Reimer, Herb Schroeder, Kathy Heinrichs Wiest

MANDATE : THE CHRISTIAN LEADER (ISSN 00095149), organ of the U S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Chu rches, 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 denomina t ion, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dia· log so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Christ as understood in the evangelical! Anabaptist theological tradition.

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METAMO

Easter means that in our death we escape our temporary 'cocoon' and fly away in the glory of.resurrection change.

BY HERB SCHROEDER

My SISTER DIED OF CANCER LAST SUMMER AFTER BATTLING the disease for more than five years. She was only 54 years old. The last few years of her life became increasingly difficult for her as the cancer spread and the chemoth erapy and radiation treatments took their toll. The last time I saw h er alive, her body was gaunt and wasted, a frail shadow of the woman she had once been.

The whole experience seemed like such a waste. It was painful and difficult for all of us to watch her suffer and die in such a manner During that time, though, God led me to a truth that gave me a new perspective on what was happening to my sister-and to others like her I realized that suffering, adversity and even death are only a small part of a much larger event that God brings about in the lives of his people during those times.

For me, this truth is best illustrated by something my family experienced several years ago. My son, Matt, had found a green caterpillar crawling across our driveway. Like most boys, he was fascinated by bugs and crawly things, so he captured the caterpillar and put it in a plastic box with some twigs and leaves.

Several weeks later, we noticed the caterpillar seemed to have vanished But in the corner of the box was a funny-looking lump of rolled up leaves and some white, fuzzy stuff. The caterpillar had made a cocoon

RPHOSIS

In the following days we paid scant attention to the box because there was simply nothing to observe. But one day a beautiful, black and orange monarch butterfly emerged from the cocoon. As I gazed at that delicate creature , I felt a sense of wonder at the miraculous transformation that had taken place in that little plastic box. How could that beautiful butterfly have come from such an ugly green caterpillar?

The scientific word for the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is "metamorphosis " That same word is found in the Bible For example, in Matthew 17, Jesus, Peter,James and John climbed a mountain, where Jesus was "transfigured" before them. A moment earlier an ordinary

Jesus as'bur Savior, w e became lik."

human had stood before them; now they saw a supernatural being whose "face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. "

The radiant glory of Jesus, the Son of God, was normally hidden and invisible within his human body But in this dramatic scene, that glory blazed forth in a temporary metamorphosis that must have left the disciples transfixed with wonder.

The same word is also used in 2 Corinthians 3 :18. "But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory " Imagine! The same word that described what happened to Jesus on that mountaintop is used here to describe something that is happening to us A metamorphosis of glory taking place inside us.

How does it work? In much the same way a caterpillar changes into a butterfly.

THE COCOON STAGE

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says that God "has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we became like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Our mortal bodies became the cocoon. Inside, God begins the process of transforming our old sinful self into the nature of Christ . God begins by putting his Spirit within us. Our bodies are now God's temple where God's glory dwells (1 Cor. 6 :19). Then, like a master craftsman , God begins to work on our character-the person who we are on the inside to transform us into the glory of Christ. But that glory remains hidden within our human body

2 Corinthians 4 :8 -11 tells us how this is done _ In life we experience perplexity and pe rse cution- hard blows which knock us down and difficult circumstances which are h a rd to hear . God allows these adversities to c o me into o ur lives so the life o f Jes us c a n h e

newal of our inn

In our spirit-t hat of us that will marvelous iP h'''ris is taking transforming of Christ.

manifested in our lives. These adversities are the tools God is using to cause the development in our spirit of the beauty and the glory of Jesus . We can't see it, but it's happening.

That is why 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 says, "Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all compari· son."

In other words, the sufferings of our outer person are bringing about the renewal of our inner one In our spirit-that inner part of us that will live forever-a marvelous metamorphosis is taking place God is transfonning us into the image of Christ.

THE BUTTERFLY STAGE

When the metamorphosis is complete inside the cocoon, and the fonner caterpillar is now a butterfly, what happens? The butterfly emerges from the cocoon, leaves it behind, and flies to freedom.

Someday soon that will happen to us too. One day our mortal body will die, but death is not something to be feared. It is something to be anticipated with hope and joy because death is the final stage in our metamorphosis. Glorified saints of God burst out of an old, frail cocoon to fly free and beautiful in the glory of God's eternity.

The glory of Christ within, now hidden in our earthen vessels, will not remain hidden forever Colossians 3 :3-4 says, "Your life is hidden

with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." On that day, the glory that God has been building within us all our lives will be exposed for all to see.

The key to living with adversity is to look at things from the eternal perspective. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." The things we see are our human bodies, our outward circumstances, all our physical, fmancial and family problemsthe events and circumstances of our life.

Unfortunately, we tend to focus on those things and to magnify them to the point where they consume all of our time and attention. When we experience the stonns of adversity, all we can think about is the immediate situation. We want relief. We want immediate solutions. We want deliverance And we want it now!

In those moments, we are seldom aware of the tremendous blessing God is bringing into our life: our spirit is being transforffied. When the day of revelation comes, all of the affliction, sorrow and pain that seems so burdensome and heavy today will count as nothing. We will see it as a momentary thing-a minor price we paid in order to be transfonned into the glory of Jesus. It will be well worth the cost

This metamorphosis is part of the resurrection hope of Easter. Each of us mourns the loss of special people, like my sister, who are no longer with us. But someday soon, we will see them again. And when we do, we will gaze in awe and wonder at the incredible masterpiece of glory that God has created. We will strain to comprehend the infinite metamorphosis that occurred between the way they were when we saw them last and the way we see them now

The anticipation of that reunion gives me comfort, hope and joy as we wait eagerly for that glorious day •

Herb Schroeder is pastor of the Carson MB Church in Delft, Minn. Scripture quotations in this article were taken from the New American Standard Bible.

Lent can help us not only consider Jesus's approaching death, but help us be more deliberate about facing our own.

M I DYING?

AM I dying?" Peg* asked me insistently. When I hesitantly replied in the affirmative, she sank back onto her pillow and said, "Well, that helps."

As a hospice social worker, I have been intrigued, sometimes saddened and often encouraged by the ways in which persons and their family and friends around them, prepare for death. Consider Lent as a hospice experience for Jesus. He certainly seemed to be aware of his "life-threatening" situation. Jesus even began to predict his coming death and resurrection early on in his public ministry. Was Jesus's experience human enough that we can gain something from his way of approaching death? Or do we understand Jesus only as God, which makes his ways of coping with impending death unattainable for us?

It is difficult for me to imagine what it must be like to face cancer and to wonder how long I have to live. Even more unimaginable is to be told that my life expectancy is six months or less. Shock and disbelief must surely be feelings that arise immediately. At least that is what many people have told me as they try to explain, in the inadequate medium of words, their history of coping with illness as it progressed into a terminal illness.

Jack, a 57-year-old hospice patient, stopped significant communication with everyone, including his wife, when he was told about his

* The names in this article have been changed

BY RONDA SUDERMAN KING

terminal diagnosis On the other hand, Debbie, 59 , immediately called her pastor to plan her funer.tl-which really caught him off guard-and invited me to attend , exclaiming, "It's going to be great! "

When Jesus talked about his future suffering and death for the first time in the book of Mark, the Scriptures record that "he said all this quite openly " (Mk. 8:32). This statement may refer to his courage in speaking out in the public arena, his courage to be publicly open about his death, or both

Thoughts and feelings that come soon after

Setting the focus: options for Lent

THE FOLLO WIN G act iviti es may help t o fo cus yo ur th oughts and acti ons :

W EEK 1- Comm un ic at e m o re o p enly yo ur fear s and hopes reg ardin g yo ur dyin g t o at lea st o ne p erso n

WEEK 2- Pon d er your pur pose i n life ove rall. Choose yo ur purpo se f o r thi s o ne w eek and remain cogni za nt of it as mu ch as you can Be o n th e wat ch for th e opp o rtunit ies that Je sus w i ll br i ng t o help you fulfill your purpo se

WEEK 3- Thank Go d each m o rning for your life within your death . Th a nk God each e veni ng for your dea th wi thin your life

WEEK 4-Willingl y d ie i n o ne area of your life So me example s might includ e giving up a certain food for th e w eek, f asting for o ne day, g iving mon ey t o th e person you least want to, spending an evening i n silen ce, o r turning off yo ur t elevi sion and not read i ng the newsp ap er f o r th e entire week

WEEK 5- Give someone a gift from your " being " in stead of doing som ething for them

WEEK 6-0rgani ze a gatherin g o f family and friends to celebrate your love for each other . - RSK

the shock deal with issues related to guilt, regrets and "if onlys ." Along with the" if onlys," there is often a reviewing of one's lifea serious and sobering examination of one 's purpose, past accomplishments and things one had hoped to achieve.

At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus states his purpose clearly, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message th e re also; for that is what I came to do Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners" 0 :38,2 :17, emphasis mine) . Jesus knew what he came to do and he knew his message well : " the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mk 1:15) "Father, the hour has come ; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom

you have given him" (Tn. 17: 1-2).

If we were able to articulate our sense of purpose as clearly and unapologetically as Jesus, would the facing of our dying be reformed?

l.B3

alancing hope, resignation and acceptance r\ is a delicate and ambiguous part of living V with dying when death is more imminent than most of us generally care to be aware of. How does one maintain hope while accepting death? Many times it is the family of a hospice patient and not the patient who dictate that death and dying not be addressed. They do this with good intentions, often to protect the patient from losing hope so they will not "give up"die

I believe our interpretation of hope needs redefining if we are to possess it throughout our dying In Mark 8, Jesus foretells his death and resurrection and makes the following statements that relate to death and hope : "...those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?" (Mk. 8:35-37).

Look at that passage again in light of one's own death or that of a loved one having a terminal illness. As followers of Jesus, do we dare live and die with the courage it takes to willingly die? Or are the words ofJesus only prescriptive for our attitudes while we are in good health?

"Death is a part of life" is a phrase I often hear from hospice patients and their families. I believe it is an attempt to make sense of their pain and to integrate death into their life On the other hand, Jesus indicates through his words about saving and losing one's life that living has as much to do with dying as dying has to do with living. In other words: Life is a part of death!

Often, when one is dying, there is an identity change from being one who gives to one who receives. This is more than a simple alteration if it is to be graceful. It is a transformation . So much of our lives revolve around an identity of what we can do. As a body deteriorates-as one's limitations become more apparent and one's dependency on others increases-it is imperative that a shift be made in order to really live while dying

The shift is to become content with one's being versus one's doing. Or, in more theological terms, the shift from feeling adequate

through grace instead of through works. I do not suggest this is easy. But if and when it happens, I do believe it will give opportunity for the dying person to bless others in manifold ways.

A spouse of a hospice patient told me the following story. Curt was already sleeping a lot and increasingly incoherent when he woke Denise in the middle of the night. He wanted to get out of bed, for which he needed help Curt wanted to get out on the opposite side of his hospital bed so that he could sit on the couch (instead of his recliner) in order to sit next to her . Denise helped him to the couch and Curt put his arm around her and kissed her two or three times. Curt and Denise then sat arm in arm for about 10 minutes , after which she helped him back to bed.

What a precious moment! And how special for her that he thought to give her that kind of gift. A gift from who he was-her husbandinstead of what he could do. He died five days later. I knew Curt did not want to die, but it is quite evident that he was accepting his increasing debilitation in a way that he was able to give a wonderful gift that will comfort Denise for a lifetime.

When we believe that a loved one's death is near, it is a common practice to call family members home. Jesus, too, gathered his disciples around hinI in Gethsemane, requesting that they stay awake and pray . It is a time to gather together for support and love.

I remember well the short tim e we had with my motber-in-law before her death. We stood around her bed, singing, praying and crying as she breathed her last breaths. Her death was peaceful, just a gradual ending of the work of her lungs and heart.

Did our presence make her death peaceful? It would he presumptuous for me to even suggest that. Oesus's death was anything but peaceful!) But the gathering of loved ones gives evidence to the enduring quality of love that continues on even after death

During the six weeks of Lent, I encourage you to participate more fully in the commemoration ofjesus ' s approaching death by being more deliberate about facing your own dying. Be prepared for a passionate encounter with life! •

Ronda Suderman King has been employed as a social worker for Hospi ce Inc., in Wichita, Kan., for more than six y ears. She is a member of Mennonite Church of the Servant in Wichita

As a body deteriorates-as one's limitations become more apparent and one's dependency on others increases- it is imperative that a shift be made in order to really live while dying.

Making the mystery meaningful

Ideas for making Lent and Easter spiritually significant for young children

BY CONNIE FABER

S

A CHILD, I KNEW EASTER WAS APPROACHING WHEN MY mom brought out her collection of Easter decorations. My

learest memory is of a large homemade paper mache globe with an opening at the front and painted a strange shade of green. My sister and I filled the egg with artificial grass and a small collection of plastic eggs.

Now I'm a mom and I announce the arrival of Easter in a similar way. Ceramic chicks, wooden eggs and resin bunnies adorn shelves and seasonal wreaths hang on doors. "I remember that," say my girls as we unpack the knickknacks and arrange them in their traditional spots.

My husband and I are also committed to helping our young children anticipate Easter spiritually So we have begun celebrating Lent, the preparation season for Easter. During the last six years, we have explored and experimented with a number of activities-eliminating some and continuing with others-looking for ways to help our three children understand the mystery and celebration of new life in Christ.

PREPARING FOR EASTER

Lent began in the early church as a time for preparing new converts for baptism on Easter Sunday. By the middle of the fourth century, candidates for baptism fasted and heard lectures from church leaders during a 40-day preparation period. Later, the season of Lent became a time for all Christians to prepare for Easter. Unfortunately, by the Middle Ages, Lent observances

were so strict people dreaded its coming.

Over time the harsh limitations and expectations softened. Today people view the 40 days of Lent as a time for growth and change. Some folks spend more time in prayer and meditation while others give up habits they think are unneccesary or fast or restrict some favorite food or drink. Still others make it a priority to share God's love with others in meaningful ways

Lent officially begins on Ash Wednesday but many people include Shrove or "Fat" Tuesday in their observance. Shrove comes from the word "shriving" which means confession. Shrove Tuesday was intended to be a relaxing time in preparation for the long period of self-discipline, selfdenial and self-sacrifice. Good food, fun and games were common . In some places the fun overshadows confession, as evident in Mardi Gras or Carnival celebrations characterized by general disorder, drinking and dancing.

Last year was our first time to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. We had a simple party that included eating supper and playing board games. We talked briefly with our children about the importance of confessing our sins and preparing

for Easter during the next few weeks.

Shrove Tuesday meals usually showcase eggs, butter and milk because they were typically not allowed during Lent Our menu featured waffles made from scratch along with a sweet white sauce. (By the way, because eggs were avoided during Lent, Christians began decorating them and giving them as gifts on Resurrection Sunday).

Confession is also the emphasis of Ash Wednesday. In many traditions, an ash cross is worn as a symbol of repentance and sorrow. A reminder appropriate for young children is a cross carved from a bar of soap kept by the bathroom sink. Every time children wash their hands, parents can remind them that Jesus washed our sins away when he died on the cross.

This year, Lent began Feb. 25 and ends April 12. Families interested in daily or weekly Lent activities have a number of resources available to them. (See sidebar). It doesn't take long to discover an abundance of age-appropriate activities from which to choose. Activities center around some common themes.

Butterflies are a popular symbol of new life. The butterfly in its cocoon represents Christ in the tomb and the emerging butterfly reminds us of Christ's resurrection and our new life in him. Creating caterpillars from half of an egg carton

and colorful butterflies from coffee fllters decorated with drops of food coloring are two easy activities for children. Books about the life of a caterpillar are helpful resources.

Prayer is emphasized during Lent and pretzels are a common reminder of prayer. "Little arms" were small pieces of bread made of flour, salt and water and twisted to look like arms crossed over the chest in the traditional position for prayer. The Germans gave this bread the name we know it by, pretzels Turning a heartshaped pretzel upside-down allows us to see what the original bakers intended - arms crossed in prayer.

Serving pretzels for a daily snack or one at each meal during Lent are two possible activities. At church, I've made simple homemade pretzels with older children. The dough is mixed ahead of time and after shaping our pretzels, we have a special prayer time while they bake

The diScipline of giving up something for Lent can help children and adults understand the sacrifice Jesus Christ made when he became flesh and lived among us. Two years ago we abstained from one favorite food or activity during Lent. But last year, our 7-year-old said she wouldn't do it again because giving up something she really enjoyed for 40 days was just too

Celebrating is a shared responsibility

WHILE THE PURPOSE of this article is to offer families ideas for celebrating Lent and Easter with small children, it is also important to recognize the role the congregation plays in a family's celebration, particularly on Easter Sunday.

Easter gives congregations a unique opportunity to celebrate together. Christmas Day, another central event on the church calendar, can fall on any day of the week and in most congregations, morning worship services have given way to family gatherings

Resurrection Sunday, however, is always on Sunday and corporate worship takes center stage

Churches of all sizes often plan more elaborate services than usual for Easter weekend incorporating special music, skits and dramatic readings or reenactments of Passion Week events

Being part of intergenerational worship celebrations helps young children better understand not only the event celebrated but that they are part of the church

Worship leaders can assist young children in celebrating Resurrection Sunday by including worship activities that appeal to children and involve them.

• APPEAL. As the mother of young children, I appreciate the effort worship leaders make to appeal to the youngest churchgoers. The look on a preschooler's face when she can sing along with the entire congregation - even though she can't read - tells me singing a "children's" song during the morning worship service is important.

Appealing to children includes traditi o nal avenues such as using children's songs and choruses and incorporating a

story or play. Some congregations are comfortable using less traditional activities in their Easter celebrations In some congregations families are invited to bring flowers Easter Sunday to decorate a cross. In our community, several congregations have decorated the sanctuary with colorful helium balloons on Resurrection Sunday

• INVOLVEMENT. Services can also include children in the celebration. Asking the children's choir to sing and process with an adult choir on Palm Sunday may make for a longer rehearsal but is worth the time. Children enjoy watching adults perform in plays and skits but youngsters can also be included in the cast. Older children can read scripture. In one church a bench is kept under the pulpit so that when children read scripture, they can stand on the bench and be seen - CF

hard [ had to agree with her ; I had had trouble giving up my favorite soft drink Maybe this year we'll be up to the challenge.

UNDERSTANDING DEATH

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Passion Week, a ti me when we reflect on the events that led Jesus to the cross.

Symbols of truth ...

The wordles s Easter ba sket uses j elly beans in a basket filled with arti -

fi cia l gra ss and t rim med wi t h a bl ue ribbon

• The bla ck jelly beans remind u s of our si n (Ro m 3 :23)

• The red j elly beans remind us of Jesu s's clean sin g blood ( 1 In 1 :7b)

• The w h it e jelly be an s rem ind u s o f spotless purity Jes us' blood washed all our si ns away (P s. 51 :7b) .

• Th e ye ll ow jelly bean s remind us of h eave n where Jesu s now li ves (Act s 1: 10-11 )

• The gre en je ll y bean s re mind us of t hi ngs gro wi ng W e can grow closer to Jes us by liste ning to Bible st o ri es, praying and by going t o ch urch (2 Pet. 3: 18 )

• The purple jelly beans rem i nd us of ro yalty (1 Tim 6 : 1 5)

• The grass in our baskets reminds u s of the gra zing she ep W e must al so f eed o n God' s Word (In 6 :5 7b)

• Th e basket reminds us to always give o ur problems and f ears t o Jesus to ca rry (1 Pet. 5 :7)

• The blue ribbon remind s us that Jesu s is our true-blu e friend (Mt. 28 :2 0b)

An oth er version uses Easter eg g s to tell th e sto ry of Jesus's life and d ea t h In thi s exa mple, obj ec t s are pla ce d i n numb ered pla stic eggs which are th en us ed in an egg hunt. Wh en th e eggs are found th ey are opened in num eri cal order and an adul t talk s with the child ( ren) about what's in si de

• Egg #1 ho lds a flower. " In the beginning God made a beautiful world "

• Potting soi l is in eg g # 2 " Satan bro ught sin i nto th e world. which m ade everything dirty ."

• Egg # 3 ho lds a cross mad e of two twigs or toothpicks " God made a plan t o send his son Jesu s in to the w or ld to make the world clea n again Thi s plan i ncluded Je sus dying on a cro ss to make us clean so God cou ld be near u s again ."

• Egg #4 ho ld s a small ro ck " Je sus was buried in a tomb and in fr on t of it was a big heavy rock that no m an cou ld move A ft er three d ay s Jes us's friend s wen t to the tomb

• Op en egg # 5 wh ic h is em pty " It w as em pty Jesu s went back to heaven t o live w ith God aga in be cau se his work o n ea rth was done Why did Jesu s do this? "

• Open egg #6 wh ic h holds a recent photo of t he ch ild " It's you! Jes u s love s yo u very much and did thi s all f or you " - CF

Teaching preschool children about Christ's death is challenging, but young children do understand the events of Passion Week and their implications when it's presented in age-appropriate ways. Sometimes they understand more than we think.

It was Good Friday evening and a father read his 4-year-old daughter the story of the cruciflXion from the children's Bible storybook they used each night. When he finished, he informed her there would be no story the next night. She would just go straight to bed. The reason for this was that Saturday was the "saddest day." On that day, the disciples believed Jesus was dead and that they would never see him again . Saturday was a sad day-but Easter Sunday morning at breakfast the family would read from her book the story that Jesus was alive . Saturday morning the family rushed around in order to attend the city·wide Easter egg hunt. The children returned home carrying baskets heaped with candy but it didn't take long before the 4-year-old came to her mother somewhat confused "Mommy," she asked, "why did these people plan the Easter egg hunt on the saddest day?"

Educators tell us we learn best when more than one of our five senses is involved in the process. Using things kids can see, touch and experience helps children understand the seriousness of Christ's death. The parents in the incident above used an object lesson to help their daughter understand the sadness felt by the disciples. Easter object lessons include Easter trees, wordless Easter baskets, drawings and creative storytelling Some families save the trunk of their Christmas tree and use it to make an Easter tree. During Lent the tree is decorated with paper symbols or objects that remind them of]esus's death- a lamb, chalice of wine and wheat stalks, a crown of thorns, nails and crosses in various styles. From Maundy Thursday through Holy Saturday, the tree can be draped with black fabric strips and the table covered with a black cloth or black place mats used to remind children that the "light ofthe World" went out for three days. "Wordless" teaching aids are a common tool used for telling young children about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Some wordless Easter baskets use objects to remind children of Christ's death and resurrection while others use colored jelly beans to communicate truths about sin, redemption and eternal life. An egg hunt using plastic eggs filled with a visual aid and a slip of paper giving a Bible verse c an be used to tell the

Educators tell us we learn best when more than one of our five senses is involved in the process. Using things kids can see, touch and experience helps children understand the seriousness of Christ's death.

story of Christ's death and resurrection.

Christian bookstores offer a set of 12 Easter eggs as a companion to the book Benjamin's Box by Melody Carlson. The eggs are fLlled with the items Benjamin stored in his box and they tell the story of Passion Week.

Bible stories, classic tales and contemporary stories can teach young children about Christ's death. Favorite books at our house that tell this story are The Tale o/the Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt, The Easter Story by Carol Heyer and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis I enjoy visiting the local library and bookstores looking for new books to read to our

children during Easter A new family reading book this spring is My Lord and My God by Calvin Miller with illustrations by Ron DiCianni.

For several years now our family has made a Passion Week poster beginning on Palm Sunday. A large piece of paper divided into eight sections is taped onto a door in our kitchen. Each day we read a selected Scripture. Then one child draws a picture to remind us of the events of that day in Christ's life .

Easter pageants featuring live animals, sound effects and dramatic reenactments of the last days of Christ's earthly ministry are typically held during Passion Week and can make for a meaningful family outing These events are entertaining but also help children visualize what really happened to Jesus. A practical note of cautionsudden and loud noises included in the crucifixion scene may frighten young children so parents should be ready to offer comfort.

Telling the Exodus story in a family setting is the purpose of the Passover Seder, a Jewish service that is gaining popularity in Christian communities. English-language Seder service guides (the Haggadah) are available as are resources designed to make the ancient Jewish service more meaningful to Christians .

The Seder takes place around the family dinner table and is divided into four sections. The Haggadah guides children in asking questions that prompt the father or leader to tell the story of the children of Israel leaving Egypt. Various symbols are used to represen t aspects of their captivity under Pharaoh and symbolic Passover meal foods are used . For Christians, the service parallels our release from the slavery of sin thanks to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

CELEBRATING THE VICTORY

Easter offers the opportunity to help children do what they do best-celebrate. Children love parties, and what better way for them to experience the joy of new life in Christ than with festivity.

I've learned from experience that celebrating with children at times means putting aside my grown-up attitudes . Coming home from church one Palm Sunday morning, our daughters were enthusiastically talking about the procession that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. When we got home they announced we would now march around the exterior of our house shouting "Hosanna to the King " while waving the palm branches given to the children that morning So the Fabers paraded around the hOllse shollting at

the top of our voices-Mom and Dad hoping the neighbors wouldn't notice. They did. It was embarrassing, but worth it to celebrate Jesus with my children.

Easter Sunday is a busy day for our family-Sunday school and worship followed by a family dinner with grandparents. So breakfast time is best for our family celebration of the resurrection It's usually quite simple-homemade cinnamon rolls, Scripture reading and drawing the last entry on our Passion Week poster.

Easter morning celebrations can also be elaborate. Some families attend a sunrise service-one planned by a church or organized by a group of families with children about the same age. A picnic breakfast is a great way to conclude the service.

Establishing a tradition that teaches

children values and beliefs means that we must create memories.

If your family has decorated a Lenten tree, Resurrection Sunday is the time to transform it This can be done while the children are in bed Saturday night as a special surprise or be a Sunday morning family project. The Lenten symbols and black fabric are removed. A white cloth is wrapped around the base of the tree and colorful reminders of new life are hung from the treeflowers, butterflies and eggs.

RESOURCES FOR DEVOTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

• An Easter People: Family Devotional Activities for Lent and Easter. Debbie Trafton O'Neal. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 1986.

• Celebrating the Christian Year: Building Family Traditions Around the Major Christian Holidays Martha Zimmerman Bethany House Publ ishers, Minneapolis, MN 1993.

• Christ in Easter: A Family Celebration of Holy Week NavPress. 1990. Charles Colson, Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Joni Eareckson Tada

SEDER RESOURCES

• An Easter Seder. Milo Thornberry . Alternatives . Ellenwood, Ga .

• The Passover Celebration : A Haggadah for the Seder Rabbi Leon Klenicki, editor The Anti -Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and The Liturgy Training Program of the Archdiocese of Chicago 1980.

• Passover Seder: Ritual and Menu for Observance by Christians Barbara Balzac Thompson Augsburg Fortress 1988 - CF

• THE C H R 1ST I A N LEA D E R

Martha Zimmerman, in her book Celebrating the Christian Year, describes decorating her home Easter Sunday morning with candles and angels. The candles represent Jesus as the Light of the World. Angels are a reminder of the good news proclaimed at the empty tomb on Resurrection Sunday

TRADITIONS THAT TEACH

The purpose of this article is to encourage parents with young children to develop Easter traditions

that point to Jesus Christ as king and savior. Tradition is defined in my dictionary as "an inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior; the handing down of information, beliefs and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction." While some family traditions

"just happen," we can also initiate traditions for the purpose of passing on our values and beliefs.

Establishing a tradition that teaches children values and beliefs means that we must create memories. Before I was married and had a family, I had a friend who told me to "make a memory" every time I headed off on a vacation. He was introduced to the phrase while he was an English-language teacher in Japan. It was the phrase his students used in describing their vacation experiences with family and friends.

I have tried to cultivate in my own life the notion of making a memory; to remember that future memories are something I can create today. Intentional Lenten and Easter activities are ways we plant and nurture memories that enrich our family life and relationships. The memory of Lent and Easter activities repeated year after year can teach our children about Christ's death and resurrection and introduce them to the Christian disciplines of prayer, confession and fasting.

While the traditions of each family develop in unique ways over time, all our Easter traditions should point to Jesus Christ. To borrow a well-used Christmas sentiment, "He is the reason for the season."

•

Connie Faber is assistant editor of the Christian Leader . She and her family attend Ebenfeld MB Church near Hillsboro, Kan.

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A needed witness

Thank you for the dialogue on the death penalty in the January issue. It seems to me that the death penalty is a matter sorely needing an Anabaptist witness. In death penalty cases, the desire of "the world" for vengeance and scapegoating becomes clear. How much clearer should our witness be of a God who forbids us to take vengeance or human life?

Can we conscientiously oppose war while accepting state-sanctioned killing? Support for the death penalty in any circumstance pulls the rug out from our opposition to other killing.

As I write, Karla Faye Tucker, a new person in Christ, awaits execution by the State of Texas. Can Christians support the killing of a Christian sister? If God forgives her and makes her new, can we shut the door to her? Let the good news of a redeeming God be our witness to the state.

Eldon Epp, pastor Manhattan Mennonite Church Manhattan, Kan.

Accept what God permits

The Leader is to be commended along with Redekop and Martens for the way in which each of the participants presented themselves in commending their positions for our consideration.

Jesus never condemned or set aside capital punishment. We know that the Apostle Paul, before his conversion, advocated capital punishment. It seems to me that Leader errs in its judgment that "compelling cases can be made from Scripture ... but neither is conclusive" (editorial). Defenders of

WHAT READERS SAY

either position would argue there is conclusive evidence for their point of view

We should try to keep our thinking dear when we consider this important issue when we are confronted with the story of Michael B. Ross becoming a Christian while on death row. Praise God for his conversion, but that should have no bearing on whether he deserves the death penalty for killing eight people . Most ofthe time when we are brought to the brink of death we are forced to deal with things eternal.

We were all under the sentence of death until Jesus took that judgment on himself. When we too accepted the grace offered, were converted and saved, we also became part of the family of God with an eternal life .

The argument about capital punishment lies with civil governments and its citizenry and is not lessened or increased in the rightness of its stand by the actions of other countries to the contrary. God institutionalized civil governments with the authority to rightly take a life.

We do well to struggle with this issue as a matter of personal conscience, but we should be doubly careful about trying to reverse and condemn a lawful practice God has permitted Stan Kostanoski Ferndale, Wash.

Of rights and wrongs

Thank you for your bravery in opening the conversation about capital punishment. I am in love with, and indeed, I may seem to worship my individual rights.

Tim McVeigh had the right to rigorously maintain his considerable marksmanship skills, which he learned at taxpayer expense, and for which he received award and honor.

Terry Nichols was similarly trained and had the legal privilege to pursue his livelihood in the trade and maintenance of lethal weapons. In the end, each did what was right in his own eyes with little care or commitment to the welfare of "their neighbor." Each appears to have acted out of excessive individualism and misguided selfpreservation.

Elmer Martens, a respected scholar and leader of our church, values his own individual right of interpretation and promotes practices that are outside of this community. "We do not condone capital punishment." He has rejected the collective decision of our church community, past and present.

Protestants, particularly Mennonites, have shown considerable difficulty in nurturing and maintaining our common beliefs, hence our numerous factions.

This is a particular plague for those of us in the United States who are so easily seduced by our current climate of escalating punishment. We incarcerate God's children at the highest rate in the world We are alone among modem, western nations as we exacerbate the barbarism of capital punishment

Supporting the death penalty is antithetical to Christ's example of forgiveness and compassion. Our system is racist and sexist . (We rarely execute whites or women.) Many nations execute none, incarcerate far fewer, and have a dramatically lower homicide rate . Please, in any further discussion of controversial issues before the Christian community, be sure to include the views of international Christians, particularly those outside of North America. Our current views may be impaired by the din and dust of prison construction that rises from every corner of our land.

Roger D. Harms Wichita, Kan.

Pontius' Puddle '

Toward restorative justice

Thank you for your January issue discussing capital punishment I worked in the Fresno County court system for 24 years and concur with your editorial.

As New Testament believers, I feel we must hold to restorative justice rather than retributive justice. My wife and I now work with ex·prisoners who became believers in prison and need a lot of support in living the Christian life on the outside. It is a great joy to see how lives have been changed and how these ex-felons now are going back to jails and prisons where they effectively minister.

Harold Gaede Fresno, Calif.

Dispensational approach

I have recently "discovered" my Mennonite heritage, and am every day increasingly grateful that I am a member of a family that is so devoted and committed to serving Christ as he would be served. I was, therefore, affirmed and elated (though not too surprised) to find Mennonites taking up the gauntlet of capital punishment in your magazine

I was especially blessed by the rational and unemotional dialogue between Elmer Martens and John Redekop. It is nice to see Christians concerned more with understanding the Bible properly than with construing it to prove their preconceptions correct .

I would like to weigh in on that discussion myself In my estimation, three principles must be understood properly if we are to come to any sort of understanding of God's view regarding capital punishment.

First, we must understand dispensational theology. Throughout history, God has revised and updated his covenant of salvation with man . Adam and Eve lived under one covenant, Noah under another, and Moses delivered another. Later covenants superseded former ones. The covenant sealed by Jesus is the covenant under which we all live now. This covenant has superseded all former covenants.

The question that seems to plague us, especially where capital punishment is concerned , is : How much of the previous covenants are to be retained under the new covenant?

This is a question with which the apostles wrestled in Acts 15 The conclusion they came to was that the Mosaic law specifically, and former covenants in general , were no longer applicable in the age of grace Christ made clear that he would fulfill the law (Mt. 5 :17). Paul also makes clear in his letter to the Romans (6: 14, 7:6) that we are no longer bound by the constraints of the Mosaic law. This being the case, it is unwise to claim authority for capital punishment from commandments in either the Noahic covenant or the Mosaic They are done away.

Any sort of mandate for capital punishment must be taken from the New Testament This is the second principle we need to understand. In this regard, Jesus 's forgiveness of the woman caught "in the very act" On . 8 :4) of adultery is a precedent of profound proportions . She was utterly gUilty and deserving of death. Yet Christ forgave her and sent her on her way without punishment of any kind.

But this is not surprising. It would have been contrary to Christ's entire message for him to condemn her. He came to save sinners like her, and like us. The whole thrust of the Mosaic law, where Christ is concerned, is that we all stand utterly gUilty and deserving of death, just like her. If Christ would have condemned her, we all would be condemned.

The third principle we need to understand is Christ's surprising reticence concerning political matters . Christ made it clear that his kingdom was a kingdom ofthe heart. He didn't address political matters, and wouldn't allow himself to be embroiled in the political disputes that surrounded him. The clearest example of this is his admonition to "render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" (Mt. 22:21). In this account, the Pharisees came to Christ and asked him about a political matter Christ could have used this opportunity to espouse a new and perfect political agenda. Yet he chose not to.

This example, for me, would see m to suggest that Christians are not to be caught up in political disputes The Christian's first concern is to be with right living, being a light to a dying world and so on. The failure of the

Mosaic law to produce a perfect and regenerated person is proof enough that internal reform cannot be achieved through external legislation.

I am still not sure what the Christian is supposed to do with this third principle. It might mean that we are to sequester ourselves into communities of faith much like the early church did. Or maybe it reflects Christ's unde rstanding that Caesar was well able to take care of his own business

Today, we have the figures, and the studies to show the waste that capital punishment is. The United States is the only country in the western world to retain the draconian practice of capital punishment, and yet it persists also as the most violent nation. Why do we appeal to Scripture, when our own research has shown us the most enlightened approach?

Paul Rosenfeld Berkeley, Calif.

For further study...

Your readers may want to follow up on the capital punishment discussion by checking additional sources. Vernon Redekop, an alumnus of MB Biblical Seminary, has a book with arguments against capital punishment, together with helpful discussion questions: A Life for a Life? (Herald Press, 1990).]. Daryl Charles, an Anabaptist and a New Testament scholar, presents a strong case for capital punishment in the journal of Evangelical Theological Society (Sept. 1995, pp. 429-44 1). The article is titled, "Crime, the Christian and Capital Punishment. "

The following are two notes to the debate. Sociological studies are sometimes quoted (as in the January Leader) to claim that capital punishment does not deter crime An opposite conclusion is stated in Deuteronomy 13:10-11: "Stone them [idolaters] to death Then all Israel shall hear and be afraid, and never again do any such wickedness " (NRSV). According to this statement, deterrence is one of the reasons for the ultimate penalty. T hose who argue for abolishing capital punishment frequently throw the word vengeance into the discussion. Words evoke emotions Terminology virtually prejudges the case. It

WIL\I

matters, for example, whether militants in opposition to a government are called "rebels" or "freedom fighters." I, for one, am not for vengeance but for compassion rightly directed as my longer article makes clear. I am also for making hard choices when necessary.

I am also for debate.

Elmer A. Martens Fresno, Calif.

Consistent on 'life'?

I must say that though I do not always agree with the positions of your magazine, I appreciate the fact that there is substance behind the arguments that you are trying to make .

Though you and a majority of faculty members of Mennonite Brethren colleges/universities represent a more middle-left ideological perspective than most Mennonite Brethren, I do believe you have the best intentions in mind

I was interested in your latest issue concerning the death penalty Given the history of the Mennonite Brethren I can understand the position your magazine takes.

I have one request to make of you. On one issue, I perceive some inconsistency by many Mennonite Brethren from the middle:left ideological perspectiv.e. That is abortion. Can the Christian Leader say that life begins at conception? Can the Christian Leader say that what President Clinton is doing with regard to vetoing partial birth abortion is wrong? Can this Mennonite Brethren publication take a stand opposing violence against the unborn?

I look forward to your response and hope that it is consistent with your position with regards to the death penalty.

Paul Stine Bakersfield, Calif.

Editor's note: To the reader's questions, I'd offer the following responses: (1) It is possible that God sees conception as the beginning of human life, but it 's just as possible that God sees it differently. (2) In my opinion, President Clinton was wrong to veto a ban on partial-birth abortions (3) In an editorial titled, "God Stands for Life" (Sept. 10,

1991), we encouraged Christians to involve themselves compassionately in the spiritual, emotional and finanCial issues that lead to abortions rather than seeing a legislative ban of abortions as the most effective solution.

Our 'infallibility'

I was pleased to read the last paragraph of your January editorial which ends, "But our infallibility as people should lead us, in humility, to say no to capital punishment."

I have been searching for many years for someone to confirm. my infallibility and fmally found it. I showed it to my wife but somehow I couldn't get her to concur with you.

Shucks, I thOUght I had something convincing but instead I have to keep searching for a more authoritative opinion. Hal john Faul Denver, Colo.

Editor's note: I'd like to say that I'm such a clever writer that I purposely wrote a statement that ultimately proves my point while stating exactly the opposite. But I'll resist the temptation to lie. Obviously, it's our fallibility as humans that should give us pause about capital punishment. People make mistakes Editors, too.

Value in short-term missions

Short-term missions began in the 1980s and has been growing ever since. Today, travel costs are more feasible and international travel is becoming common . Many church people go overseas for business and vacations, so it isn't surprising that we spend money for short-term. missions.

Short-term missionary projects are growing Last year 15,000 people volunteered; this year 20,000 did

Today, the spiritual needs in our nation and around the world are at an all-time high. It's time to leave behind our individual agendas and embrace a much bigger approach to missions and evangelism

The local church continues to be critically important to the future of our missionary efforts. The biblical mandate of the church is missions . The local church is the key body to encourage and commission short-term

missionaries, and have them report back. That will stimulate people not to just go, but to pray and to give. Short-termers need to know they are their church's ambassadors and that the church will get back far more than it gives .

Critics say that short-term. missions show a lack of long-term commitment and that they divert money from career missionaries, But, according to our experience with churches and missionaries, the benefits outweigh the problems.

We must not invest inordinantly in short,term efforts to the detriment of the more important long-term. endeavors. Any strategy that deflects resources from long-term to shortterm workers is misguided

Short-term ministry is a problem only when people go unprepared. We also should send them to projects that empower local churches and should also be at the invitation of the local church or the missionaries in the field . For these reasons, the group I work with is called Church Partnership Evangelism.

Short-term missions has many positive factors . I have seen short-termers encourage nationals in their witness. Short-termers are a complement to career missionaris and have proved that they can make a significant contribution to the cause of Christ. These short-term projects empower local churches and career missionaries in reaping the harvest that the shortterm team has planted. I have seen many overseas churches impacted positively.

Completing the Great Commission doesn't mean everyone will be saved, but I believe God will consider the Great Commission fulfilled when the gospel has been adequately proclaimed throughout the world. That is achievable in our time.

Gilbert D. Esau Mountain, Lake, Minn.

The Christian Leader welcomes brief letters of relevance to the Mennonite Brethren Church. All letters must be signed and will be edited for clarity and length . Send letters to Christian Leader, Box V , Hillsboro, KS 67063; fax : 316-9473266 ; e-mail : chleader@southwind .net.

BY PHILIP WIEBE

The vicarious life

With so many opportunities for vicarious living these days, it's far too easy to tune out our real lives before they ever have a chance to get good.

IWAS SORRY TO HEAR about the death of Sonny Bono. Not long ago Ws unfortunate skiing accident was all over the news

interested in a few pop celebrities, I wondered, than in unsettling developments in Washington, D.C., and the Middle East? because of his fame as a '60s pop icon and '90s You bet they could. U.S. congressman-though one suspects the Sonny and Cher gig garnered greater sympathy

That's the kind of vicarious world we live in. One author has called it a "sWft away from a communitybased culture to a celebrity-obsessed one," where we participate in "vicarifor Bono than the seat in Congress, considering how people feel about politicians these days. .But just the same, I felt bad for WID and his family. Briefly.

ous relationsWps, those one-way streets in which Sorry to sound cold, but all the subsequent weeping over Bono on the talk shows and tabloid reports didn't interest me much. I didn't even know the guy. Yet amazingly enough, a lot of people couldn't seem to get enough of it . They wanted to know every detail about Ws life and death and the loved ones he left behind. It was as if he were a close friend or relative of these people, rather than someone who wouldn't know them from Adam.

Here in the long wake of those media-crazed days of O.}. Simpson and Princess Di, it seems like celebrity frenzy is at an all-time high. After last night's Winter Olympics coverage, I was astonished to note that the lead stories on the three local network newscasts had nothing to do with the escalating troubles in the Middle East or the White House. They were about: (1) skier Picabo Street's failed attempt to win another gold medal; (2) NBA standout Damon Stoudamire's impending trade to the Portland Trail Blazers ; and (3) workout star Kathy Smith's everyday fitness tips.

Could people really be more

we admire, envy or just ogle individuals who don't even know our names." To emphasize the point, the author said, "Not only will Jane Fonda not help you jump-start your car, but she also won't tell you it's time to get a haircut, or that you're being too hard on your kids. "

Maybe that last point is why vicarious living has become so popular. It's risk-free. No commitment needed. I once read the comments of an Internet user who contended that his "chat room" relationsWps were a marked improvement over real life. Everyone was witty and interesting and no one judged or condemned-they just accepted him for who he was.

He didn't even use his real name. What I find especially alarming are the many Christians who buy into the cult of celebrity. Many churchgoers seem to know more about Jerry Seinfeld than they know about the people a couple of rows back. And if that weren't enough, modern Christianity has created its own pantheon of "alternative celebrities" the average pew-dweller can idolize.

At a concert I attended a few years ago, the late Rich Mullins marveled at how many people seemed to tWnk he was some kind of spiritual hero because he sold a lot of CDs. People are so hungry for answers, he said with a wry smile, "they'll even ask singers." Mullins went on to suggest that if audience members needed prayer or guidance, rather than seeking out the celebrity of the week, they would be much better off consulting a Christian sister or brother they actually know. What a concept.

Beyond the realm of Christian celebrity, I sometimes wonder if new church-grOWing strategies, dynamic and effective as they are, can foster a vicarious spirituality. Professional worship bands, upbeat services, entertaining events, "McSermons" that are quick and easy to swallow-can these become an end rather than a means? It would seem so.

Say I wanted to get in better shape. If I told you I was going to shape up by watching basketball games on television, what would you tWnk? You'd think I was severely delusional, that's what. I can't get fit watching someone else exercise . Yet churchgoers do this all the time. They choose churches to attend based on the charisma of the pastor, the style of the music, the quality of the programming-then leave it at that. Rather than going deeper into the Christian life-knowing God better, connecting with others, developing ministry gifts-they watch others do these tWngs-and cheer or boo, depending on how the 01' home team is doing. As if it's the job of the pastors and singers and leaders to "work out our salvation" for us . It's a vicarious kind of life. But it's no way to live And the disturbing thing is, with so many opportunities for vicarious living these days, it 's far too easy to tune out our real lives before they ever have a chance to get good.

ON THE JOURNEY

BY ROSE BUSCHMAN

Reaching the conscience

"Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. We need to confront our mistakes, make restitution and then go on with life.... "

THE NOTE READ: "Mrs. Buschman, I wanted to thank you very much for the nice card I think that if all the teachers

Eventually they steal something big enough that gets them in trouble with the law Is this what you want to have happen to your friend? Maybe the best thing you can do for him is to tell me who he is so we can stop him from getting into further trouble."

at EHS cared as much as you do, EHS would be #1 in the nation THANKS." It was signed Bruce B--- . He had just graduated from high school and was thanking me for the card I sent to all my graduating high school seniors that year After more discussion, he told me Bruce had taken the tape.

This was no ordinary thank-you note You see, Bruce and I have a history. During his junior year, I was asked to move out of the classroom and take an administrative po'sition as dean for discipline at this high school .

Sometime during the year a teacher reported to me that someone had stolen a cassette tape she was using in class, but she didn't have any idea who might have done this

I looked at her class list and chose a few students to talk to about the missing tape. Soon I found one who admitted he knew who had taken the tape, but he refused to tell me who the culprit was.

"Has this friend of yours ever done this before?" I asked

"Not that I know of," he replied.

"Is this friend the kind of person who gets into trouble a lot?"

"No."

"Then why not tell me his name?" I asked .

"Because I don't want to rat on my friend, " he quietly replied.

"You know, people who end up in jail seldom start with the crime they committed that lands them there They start with little things, such as stealing a tape here, something else at another time, and so on.

I went to get Bruce from the classroom and told him we needed to go to his locker to get the missing tape His mouth dropped open and he looked at me with big eyes, "How did you find out?"

"That's not important," I said, "but is the tape in your locker?"

"Yes "

We got the tape and went to my office, where we talked for a few minutes Then I asked him to sit in the receptionist 's area while I went back into my office and closed the door. I quietly prayed, asking God to help me handle this in such a way that Bruce would be helped by what I did

. After checking his records, I realized Bruce's father was the regional minister for a large evangelical denomination in our area. I decided to call him. I told him what had happened and asked him if he and his son had a good "talking relationship "

"I hope so," the father answered . "Can you come to school right now? And when you get here, ask my secretary to let you right into my office . Please don't talk to your son until after you have talked to me ."

Father came immediately My sec-

retary told me later she thought Bruce was going to faint when his father walked into the office.

Father and I had a lengthy conversation . I asked him to take his son, go off for the day and talk a bout what had happened. I told him his son needed help, not punishment . Punishment had already occurred when father walked into the office. Father and son left for the day while I returned the cassette tape to the teacher. The next day, Bruce apologized to both the teacher and me.

End of story? Not quite . The following year I decided I didn't like the negative aspects of my administrative position, so I went back to the classroom to teach math . Bruce enrolled in my trigonometry class his senior year . We had a good year together . Now you know the rest of the story

All of this came back to me this week when I faced the theft of a classroom CD at school. In each of my classes, I took 15 minutes to discuss the theft and tell my students the story I just told you . Then I suggested to them that they needed to tell me who had taken the CD, not so much so I would get it back, but so the student who had stolen it could be helped

"Some of you have been raised in homes where you've received a lot of good training Some of you have not," I told them "For some of you it may be too late, and you'll just brush off what I've said But for those of you who know right from wrong, this is very important. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. We need to confront our mistakes, make restitution and then go on with life. Usually someone else besides the person involved knows when something like this happens. So do yourself and your friend a big favor and tell me who took the CD "

The n e xt morning when I got to school, the missing CD was waiting for me . Someone had slipped it under the door.

Moving 'Forward by Faith'

The Pine Acres Church in Weatherford, Okla.

The Pine Acres Church in Weatherford had a desire to grow and decided that they would pursue that conviction with confidence! Part of their growth and renewal strategy was to partner with Mission USA one year ago as a target church . Mission USA partners with several churches a year to give them encouragement and assistance. The target churches which have been selected through an applica-

tion process are then to be models for other churches of how to implement various growth strategies. "May He always receive all of the praise!" states Pastor Don Morris. In ministry with Pastor Morris are Hal Penner, Youth Pastor, Tony Cannon, part-time Pastor of Worship whose salary is paid in part by a MUSA Target Church grant, and Don Roberts, Minister to Seniors.

Counted among the blessings the Pine Acres Church are experiencing are increased attendance at both of the Sunday morning worship services, six salvations since the first of November, a baptism and 18 new members added in February.

Financial response to the "Forward by Faith" building project has been exceptional, according to Morris. "We had a tremendous 'First Fruits' offering in early November that far exceeded oUr expectations. And, giving since that point has been strong." Groundbreaking for the new educational wing, which is the first phase of their building plan, was held at the end of November. With the new, larger classrooms, a fireside room and large areas

MISSION USA BOARD :

Ed BOSthmon, Phoe niX, AI..,

Chuck Buller, Viso lio, CA.

Ernie Friesen, Wichilo, KS

Phil Glanzer, New Hope, MN

Joe Johns, Weotherford, OK

Lorello Jast, Auroro, NE

Fred Leonord, Oovis, CA

Stephen Reimer, Shafter, CA

Clarice Rempel, Buhler, KS

Mike Schuil, Reedley, CA

for the youth program on the top floor, the church will have the educational space needed to facilitate growth.

The Pine Acres Outreach/Evangelism Team has begun a new program called "Supper 6:' Groups of six get together once a month for a meal at one of their homes and invite someone who does not have a church home to join them for his time of fellowship Outreach and evangelism are a high priority. Pastor Morris says, "'We want our people to keep thinking and thinking about those in our community that do not know Jesus - and to reach out to them."

Rondy Steinert, Bokersfield, CA

TIm Sullivon, Hillsboro, KS

Ex OHicio Members:

Henry Dick, Fresno, CA

(linton Grenz, Bismork, N.D.

Bruce Porter, Fresno, CA

Roiond Reimer, Wichito, KS

(bnt Seibel, HiUsboro, KS

Jim Westgote, Fresno, CA

Pine Aues Church broke ground in November for anew educational wing. Left to right are Jim Penner, building supervisor, Steve Fast, Deacon Chairman; Randy Hein;;chs, Trustee Chairman, Rick Miller (Building Committee Chairman) . With the shovel are Vivian and Vester Kliewer, two of the original 17 charter members when the church formed as Broadway Heights MB Church in 1954.

Pastor Don Morris preaching at Pine Acres.

Mission. to Mormons to be cross-cultural

BY CONNIE FABER

• Mission USA, the Pacific District and Laurelglen Bible Church set joint sights on Utah

THIS MONTH Paul and Jini Robie of Bakersfield, Calif , along with their two young sons, begin a new assignment that is much like that of other missionaries in cross-cultural urban ministry-plant a new Mennonite Brethren church in a growing community lacking any evangelical Christian presence.

But their destination is Draper, Utah, where the dominant people groups are connected with the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) and that makes the Robies' assignment unique.

"Even though people speak English, (Utah) is a differen t culture," says Robie, who sees himself as

nificant distance between Utah and PDC offices in central California, the home mission board asked Mission USA to take the lead on the project.

Robie has been on staff at the Laurelglen Bible Church (LBC) in Bakersfield, Calif., for 11 years. That congregation has committed itself to help with the Draper project financially as well as in other ways. Thanks to his association with LBC, Robie has a long-time friendship with Ed Boschman, Mission USA executive director, a former LBC senior pastor These existing relationships make for a natural three-way support system and help to make for a successful church planting project, says Randy Steinert, PDC Home Mission Board chair.

"When (church planter and support structures) are 500 miles apart, it's nice if you have a mentorhalf missionary and half church planter. "Where else "This has been ing relationship already established," says Steinert. "Paul has a relationship with us in Bakersfield and with Ed Boschman. So you have some naturals that come together in the support structure."

this because God is

in America does the Mormon building within church get a spot on the · front page of both daily Paul and it's like, newspapers out of Salt Lake yeah, we should and something on the news be involved with every night The church doesn't necessarily own these but (the news media and entertainment industry) cater to the church. It's a dominated culture."

-RANDY STEINERT

Representatives from the three sponsoring agencies (PDC, LBC and MUSA) will make up the Draper church-planting task force. The task force Draper is home to 14 LDC wards and one Catholic involved."

parish. The Mennonite Brethren church plant will be the only evangelical Protestant congregation in this city of 17,000, says Robie. Demographic studies show Draper is a new "hot spot," attracting young, middle-class, high-tech professionals. Draper is located on Interstate 15 between Salt Lake City and Provo To the north, it borders Sandy, a city of 100,000, and the Watasch Mountains to the east. Robie's desire to plant an evangelical church among the Mormons has been growing over several years . He shared that vision with members of the Pacific District Conference Board of Home Missions. Because of the sig-

will meet regularly to provide spiritual guidance and oversight for the new congregation , much like an elder board does in an established congregation, Steinert says. When mature local leadership has developed, members of the congregation will assume these responsibilities.

Since both PDC and MUSA participants have to commute to meet with Robie, Boschman's role as churchplanting mentor was a good choice for practical reasons as well, says Steinert MUSA is headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., and air travel is more economical from there.

Two other evangelical church planters (one Evangelical Free and the

other Baptist) in the area have encouraged Robie's vision and have provided valuable advice, Robie says. The Robies will be joined in Draper by a second couple, Mike and Joani Bell from Seattle, Wash. The support of another on-site couple will be important, says Boschman, since Draper will be "a pretty lonely place."

While Steinert says a good support system is paramount to the success of this venture, Robie's passion for the people and geographic area is equally important.

"Having a church planter who is drawn to an area by God and by the Holy Spirit to minister to a people group is of so much importance," Steinert says . "The church plant rises or falls on the planter himself. This has been building within Paul and it's like, yeah, we should be involved with this because God is involved. "

"I want to do church planting because it is shown to be the most effective way to reach unbelievers for Christ," says Robie "That's really my motivation for ministry now

"God has prepared me for this. I'm not a rookie pastor. I've been ministering for almost 18 years in a full-time

Utah-bound cross-cultural missionaries: Paul and Jini Robie with sons Ben and Evan.

capacity," Robie says. "It's not like I don't know what I'm doing. I do know-but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. It's definitely a challenge."

Robie wants the new church to be a safe place for disillusioned LSD members. Generally speaking, misuse of power, the emphasis on outward performance and a changing church doctrine are areas which may prompt LDS members to consider another faith.

Robie plans to initiate outreach Bible studies aimed at life-development issues such as parenting, marriage and personal finance. "These things from a Christian perspective will be revolutionary to most Mormons," Robie says.

LDS folks will be attracted to Mennonite Brethren worship, Robie adds. "Any Mennonite Brethren church that focuses on a gospel that is gracefulnot works oriented-would be pleasantly received by an LDS person."

"Our worship will be honest and heartfelt-something that Mormonism doesn't experience," Robie says. "I've been told by several Mormons that it's the music-it's so important to them because the worship is so different than what they're used to."

Worship in ward meetings might include the singing of hymns, but instruments are limited to

ly comprise about half of the congregation. "We are a church that reaches all people," he says.

The long-term goal of the agencies involved in the Draper project is to plant a healthy congregation with what Boschman calls the "correct DNA"- the desire and ability to reproduce healthy congregations that in tum reproduce more of the same.

"We don't see one church in Draper as the goal. We see a cluster of churches there,'· Boschman says. "It 's not our goal as Mission USA to start a church here and there. It's our goal to start a church-planting movement. This is groundwork for a faith future for effective ministry in the United States."

"It sure would be nice to have another church give us a core group of people, but that's not possible," Robie says. "It's a matter of us being the established church and then doing that for other Mennonite Brethren churches."

Boschman says new Mennonite Brethren church-planting efforts in the United States will require a change in the mind-set of the denomination.

"North Am,erica has become postChristian. We are increasingly pluralistic and paganized," says Boschman. "What that means is that if we are

piano and organ. More important than the instru- "lf someone going to do effective outreach evangelism ministries-wherever we do them-we are going to be working in principle the way we have done cross-cultural overseas ministry for decades. Whether we're in huge metro centers or midments and songs, says Robie, is the atmosphere.

"When you sing about Christ but you don't know him, the atmosphere is way different than when people who know him sing about and to Christ," Robie

wasn't nervous going to Salt Lake Valley, they're crazy."

-PAUL ROBIE town

IN BRIEF

TRAINING: Pastors and worship leaders were invited to attend two seminars held in earl y March at MB Biblical Semi nary in Fre sno, Calif. Marva Dawn was the re source leader for " Music and the Arts in Christian Worshi p" held March 2-4 Dawn is known as someone who advocates biblical and Christ-cente red worship and ca lls for an end to the " worship wars." Exploring th e " mini stry in daily life" movement was the focus of a second seminar, " Equip '98 ....: Doing Ch urch Differently ," held March 5-7 Facilitators were Pete Hammond and Randy White of InterVarsity Chris tian Fellowship, Wally Kroeker of Marketplace magazine and Ray Bystrom , as sociate professor of pastoral ministries at MBSS (MBBS)

DEVELOPMENT: fred Wiens of Winnipeg , Man ., ha s been appointed to a half-titne position in donor development at MB Bibli cal Seminary Wiens , who will con ta ct donors in Manitoba ; Saskatchewan and Ontario, assumed his new duties March 1 A member of Mcivor MB Church , he retired this spri ng from 34 years of tea ching Most recently, he was a publi c school t eacher in Winnip eg Wi ens has se rved several terms as Manitoba Co nferen ce secretary and on the board of MB Communications (MBBS)

America, we have to says. "The Holy Spirit is present when we sing. That's probably the reason for the difference."

Robie has been told the LDS respect denominations that use the word "Brethren" in their name. "It will not be a secret that this is a Mennonite Brethren church," he says. "The fact that we are associated with a greater body gives us a little more credibility."

While the new church plant is targeting the LDS in its outreach, Steinert and Robie anticipate the congregation will also attract Christians who move into the community. Robie predicts that converted Mormons will eventual-

see the people as in a culture other than what we've been accustomed to reaching ."

Robie admits to being nervous going into this new venture. "If someone wasn't nervous going to Salt Lake Valley, they're crazy. Hopefully it's a good nervous," he says with a laugh.

"It's hard to think about church planting when you're in a large church," he adds. "There are so many benefits Being in a large church, you're insulated from failure When you church plant, you're a whisper away from failure . It's just a whole different world . I'm definitely nervous. It causes me to pray a lot. "

IN HARM'S WAY: Six Ch ri sti an Peacemaker Team memb e rs co ntinu e t o work in Hebron , We st Bank, in spite of e--mail and phone messa ges w arning them to evacuate Hebron or risk being killed The threats were made by a person claiming to be as sociated with an Israeli terrorist group known as Ka<:h . "We took the thre at s very seriously, but w e also und e r stand that the threats were designed more to terrorize us than anything else," says Bruce Yoder, a team member who completed his work Jan 25 Yoder says the team was more careful, but continued with regular schedules The CPTers in Hebron strive to show international support for Palestinians , some of whom could see their homes demolished t o make room for expanded Israe li settlements , Yod er says (Mennonite Wee kly Review)

YMI mission trip leads students to the 'outer edge ' of ministry

• Tabor College team travels to Mexico City in January

BY BEN PENNER

THIS WAS MY CHANCE to stay in what one of our contact missionaries, Jon Pritchard, called "the everexpanding outer edge of Mexico City." In other words, I was spending the night in a shack.

Six people and I were sharing living space that was only a little larger than a college dormitory room We had electricity and a stove , but we lacked basic conveniences such as heat and indoor plumbing

That didn't seem to matter to the others . They accepted conditions that seem inhumane by North American standards because, if they stayed in one spot long enough , they could claim the right to that land . A few months or years of minimal existence seemed easier to them than the prospect of owning a house outside of the city limits where the air is cleaner.

I was in Mexico City to lead a seven-member Youth Mission International (yMI) trip during January The other six members of the team, all Tabor College students , and I hoped

to contribute as much or more than we were receiving in this cross-cultural service experience .

During my night on the "outer edge, " I slept on a cot and was kept company by the family chicken. I awoke at 4 a .m . , as did the rest of the family , to a summons for

Michelle Schmidt, Sara Thieszen, Joanne Entz, David Ediger , James Gilliland and Brian Hess-came from a variety of backgrounds We were cautiously aware that we might have trouble being unified in spirit and pur-

pose. But through deliberate attempts at corporate prayer, coupled with honesty and encouragement, we gained surprising continuity

Our team was unique because we had two ministry destinations One was Mexico City, where we spent a week with Pritchard, an MBMS Inter-

guard duty . The folks in "1 b elieve the national worker, and Kirk Hanger , a missionary with the Mennonite Church During our second week, we traveled to the state of Oaxacha with a Mennonite Cen-

Y M I team affected the

effort in a noticeably

positive way."

On Jan 10, we arrived in Mexico City, where we were greeted by Pritchard, Hanger, -BEN PENNER the estimated 25 million

the community had worked out a rotation to watch over the area The night I was there, my host families were designated ch urch-planting tral Committee team from Mexico City to repair damage from a hurricane. for duty. But they didn ' t go out that night They decided to stay in the relative warmth of their blankets instead of braving the 35-degree temperature we experienced at 7,500 feet

above sea level. In the morning , I tried to help by getting water from the communal water faucet and playing with one of the little boys who was having trouble staying warm.

This was the environment in which we came to serve It wouldn ' t be easy. Our team members-Sandra Janzen,

other people who live there, and the infamous smog that envelopes the city. After dodging buses and pedestrians for an hour on the streets, we arrived in the community we would call home for the next week, Tlapizahuac.

At about 10 : 30 the first Sunday morning we were in Mexico City, we packed our drama equipment, balloons and face paint and walked to a nearby playground, which amounted to a basketball goal , an open field and some swing sets . Our goal was to draw a crowd so Pritchard could share a message which would encourage people to come to church at noon.

When we got there, the place was desolate and we didn't have much faith that our presence would change that. One by one, howe v er, we handed tracts to those who came. When we were done, we didn't feel we had accomplished much, but it was time to prepare for church. As we practiced our dramas and prayed for the service, the seats began to fill . We added more chairs and to our surprise, they filled too. We were astonished when Jon announced later that

Team members James Gilliland and David Ediger (middle of photos) perform a drama called "The Cross" to a sizeable audience in Colonia de Hank_

attendance that morning was double providing a space in which these peothe normal turnout. pIe can ask more questions, respond

We discovered that one challenge to the gospel ofJesus Christ and enter that the church-planting team faces is into a process of discipleship,» he that each colonia has a culture all its says. own Even though the physical distance that sep- "1 believe the

arates one colonia from another is relatively small, it is often far enough to prevent people from commuting between them. A family in a nearby community cannot feasibly attend a church plant in another community because they lack money for transportation. As a result, Hanger and

YMI experience is a tool for young people to really understand how God can use them "

-JON PRITCHARD

Pritchard are focusing some of their efforts on planting a small group in each community.

I believe the YMI team affected the church-planting effort in a noticeably positive way. By doing dramas next to busy markets, we caught the attention of many people, giving Pritchard's church-planting team the opportunity to enter into several new neighborhoods where they had had no previous contact.

Pritchard told us the team compiled a list of about 25 new people who have shown interest in the gospel. "We as a team are working hard at effectively following up and

Pritchard says: "I think this type of program has an immediate effect on missions because of the results gained for the Lord through short-term ministry. I believe the YMI experience is a tool for young people to really understand how God can use them, to see the needs of our world and to open their hearts and minds to the responsibility and call to be involved in world evangeliza-

tion, through the body of Christ, and individually. »

Overall, we felt we were able to affect those in and around the churches that we ministered to, and see change in ourselves. Some of the edges that had been a little rough in our personalities when we ftrst started out began to smooth, and through daily interaction with a foreign culture, we gained an appreciation for people in a different part of the world, and a different way of living

Ben Penner, a member of the Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church, is a 1997 graduate of Tabor College.

IN BRIEF

CONSOLIDATION : Plan s to create a new Mennonite university f edera tion in Winnip eg, Man ., were advanced in early January Board members a nd presidents of three Mennonite co lle ges met with Manitoba Pr emi er Gary FiImon and other provinc ia l officials to sign a M emorandum of Understanding (MOU) Parti cipating colleges include Conco rd Co lleg e, Ca nadi an M ennonite Bibl e Co lleg e and Men no Simon s College The new univer sity will ha ve a status equivale nt to a free -sta nding university with full degree -gr a nting authority Although the MOU has been signe d , the M anitoba MB Co nference an d the Confe ren ce of Mennonites in Canada have yet to ratify the federat io n (MB Herald)

MEXICO RELIEF : Mennonite Ce ntr al Comm ittee will provide an immedi ate $1,500 to help supply food , clothing and med ici ne to some of the 2,20 0 families in M exico who were displaced by a wave of viol ence in the Cha nalho area of the Chiapas highl ands in re ce nt months The violence has res ulted in do zen s of deaths , num erou s wounded and thou sands of di spl ac ed per sons The aid will be distributed through existing women's and religious groups already as sisting the " intern al refugee s. " MCC worker J. Eduardo Rodriguez, who live s with his wife in San Cristobal, will monitor the distribution (MCC)

IRAN WORKERS : In February , Roy and Maren Tyedmers Hange be ca me the first long -term Mennonite Central Committee volunteers to serve in Iran Hanges are the first participants in a student exchange program between MCC and the Imam Khomeini Education and Research In stitute in Oom , Iran Living in a society largely segregated by sex, where women must be veiled in public, will require some adaptation , says Maren . The couple has considerable experience living in Islamic cultures Roy served MCC for nine years in Egypt and Syria and as a couple they worked for four years in Syria . For the pa st nine years, MCC ha s provided oc casional refugee and earthquake relief in Iran (MeC)

Joanne Entz paints the face of a young listener as part of their "clown" neighborhood ministry.

IN BRIEF

NEW RESPONSIBILITIES : Howard

Loewen be came provost of Fre sno Pacific University Jan 1 The new title reflect s th e expanded resporisibilitie s of his office , say s Loewen Loewen 's previou s title w as academic vice pre sident of the univer sity . (FPU)

APPOINTED: William Reimer , a M ennonite Brethr en from Winnipeg, Man , ha s be en appoint ed director of M ennonite Central Committee ' s Food, Disast er and Material Resour ces program He ha s worked with MCC for 16 years, including 15 in Africa , where he served as country director for Niger i a and Sudan Most re cently he was regional director for East Afri ca, based in Nairobi Reim e r attend s River Ea st MB Chur ch in Winnipeg He and his wife , Ingrid , ha ve three children (MCC)

OXFORD BOUND : Two Tabor College student s have been selected to participate in the inaugural semester of an Oxford Univers i ty honors program spon sored by the Coalit ion for Christian College s and Univer sities . Brent Kyle of Hillsboro , Kan ., and Tim Hodge of Tope ka, Kan , were accepted on th e basis of their academic records and faculty recommendations They will be studying at the Centre for Medieva l and Renaissance Studies, an affiliate of Keble College of the Uni versity of Oxford in England (rC)

SCHOLARSHIPS: Eight Mennon i te Brethren young adults were awarded scholarships by MBMS International to attend Evangel '97, an international mission and evangelism conference held De c 28 to Jan 1 in Atlanta , Ga Scholar ship recipients were Pavel Chernyetsky and Daniel Vyazhevkh of Seattle Slavic M issi on Church; Jeanine Janzen and Annette Penner of MB Bibli cal Seminary; Stephanie Funk and Shawna Epp of Fort Garry MB Church in Winnipeg, Man ; Theo Odhiambo of Sal em MB Church in Bridgewater , S.D.; and Amelia Potthoff of Reedley (Calif ) MB Church Evangel '97 was ho st ed by Global Disciples , a network of Anabaptist-related disciplesh ip and mi ss ion training m i nistries . (MBMSI, Evangel '9 7)

Mennonite movement surpasses 1 million membership mark

• Southern, younger churches continue to fuel growth curve

FORTHE FIRST time in history, baptized followers of the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement number more than 1 million

The Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Directory 1998, published by Mennonite World Conference, shows 1.06 million baptized members, according to Larry Miller, MWC executive secretary. The members are in 192 confere nces in 60 countries.

The 1994 census showed 973,921 members in 194 conferences in 61 countries; the increase is about 85,000 members, or 8.7 percent.

The worldwide church directory four years ago showed, for the first time, more Anabaptist-related Christians in the southern part of the globe than in the north. That trend is continuing, Miller said. Africa, Asia, Central

and South America are home to 582,000 members . The number of members in North America and Europe is 477,000.

Younger churches are growing faster than those whose origins are nearer the birth of Anabaptism. The first of the younger churches were established in Indonesia and India in the 19th century, Miller said. Most of the churches growing quickly were established in the 20th century.

This is happening to other denominations as well, Miller said. The numerical center of Christianity as a whole is shifting

Most churches in Europe are not growing. The increase of 12,754 members in Europe is due to the larger number of Umsiedler-immigrants from the former Soviet Union-counted this time in congregations in Germany. Without this statistical adjustment, the European number would have decreased since 1994.

North America appears to be following the trend of slower growth, but many don't recognize the shift North Americans in particular don't think about it, Miller said. He predicts that before the middle of the next century, churches in the south will play the primary role in shaping the direction of the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement . Still , the six countries with the largest membership have not changed in the past four years. Zimbabwe joined the list of countries with more than 20,000 members, along with Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and Tanzania. Mozambique, with 22,900 members in 1994, is not included in this year's World Directory since the church there is no longer associated with the Brethren in Christ.

Many of the figures, reported by national conferences, are only estimates. Attempts are made to verify accuracy if questions arise.

This year's census into account multiple conference memberships, particularly in North American churches.

Membership increased on each continent by the following percentages: Africa, 16.66; Asia and the Pacific, 3.98; Central and South America, 12.09; Europe, 25.95; North America, 2.02. - Marshall V. King, MWC news service

Mission adjusts name, adapts new logo to reflect 'realities'

• 'MBMS International' became official name in January

INTENDING to reflect the "realities already in place" regarding the global nature of the Mennonite Brethren Church, the denomination's North American-based mission agency has adopted a new name, effective Jan.I. It has also adopted a new logo to update its visual identity.

The organization formerly called Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services is now named "MBMS International." The recommendation to modify the name was made by the board and approved by the Executive Council of the General Conference last fall.

According to the agency, the acronym "MBMS" has been retained to acknowledge the IOO·year tradition of the organization formerly known as Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services. The word "International" has been added to reflect the changing face of mission work in the Mennonite Brethren Church .

"Our new name reflects the fact that there are now churches in 15 other MB Conferences outside North America," says Harold Ens, general director of MBMSI. "We have committed to partnering with these other conferences and with the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren, so that

communications, the formal name of the organization is "Mennonite Brethren Missions and Services International," but the shorter version will be used exclusively in the public domain.

"The change to use the MBMS acronym in all public usage does not in any way soften our ties to the Mennonite Brethren conference in North America," Thiessen says. "As the official mission organization of the MB conferences in Canada and the United States, MBMS International spreads the gospel of Christ in accordance with the MB Confession of Faith. It draws its support from the MB Church body, both financially and in prayer. However, the additional word 'International' reflects both our current partial reality and hopes for an expanded reality "

The new organizational logo was created last year to promote the agency's "Year of Global Mission." It is intended to represent a person in the world, motivated by the winds of the Holy Spirit, planting and nurturing new life in Christ, Thiessen says.

Designed by John Lopes of Clean Slate, a graphic design firm in Denver, Colo., the new image replaces the one which features a cross superimposed over a globe.

IN BRIEF

X GAMES: Greg Evans , Tabor College 's head athletic trainer , served as one of thre e certified ath leti c trainer s at the 1998 ESPN Winter X Games hel d Jan . 14- 17 in Crested Butt e, Colo . Evan s was responsible f o r dire cting med ical personnel and working with the ski patrol at the downhill ski and snowboard venue (TC)

RELEASED: The third edition of God 's Design : A Focus on Old Testament Theology by Elmer A Marten s has been rel eased by BIBAL Pre ss of North Richland Hills, Texas This book is considered by many theologians to be a standard textbook at evangeli ca l seminarie s and Bible college s Martens is a past president of MB Bib lica l Semi nary , has been a member of several Bibl e translation t eam s and ha s aut hored two other books (BIBAL )

GRANTED: David Chester , bio chemistry profe ssor at Fre sno Pa ci fi c University, and co llab orator Carolee Bull of the U S Department of Agriculture , share a $40,000 re se arch grant from the Citrus Resear ch Board of Ca liforni a which could benefit citrus growers and co nsumers Chester and Bull are studying a bacterium that produces a toxin that kills post-harvest green and blue mold (FPU)

The stylized figures (above) will replace the globe and cross.

Christ's commission, and in partnership with local Mennonite Brethren churches."

Thiessen says the new logo draws upon and reinforces the MBMS International mission statement, which is "to participate in making disciples of all people groups, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ crossculturally and globally, in spirit-empowered obedience to we can expand the base for reaching the unreached in response to Christ's Commission.

"For example, we have administrative staff from Congo, Austria and Colombia who coordinate our efforts in Africa, Europe and Latin America," Ens says. "We also have a missionary from Japan working in Thailand, and have in the past sent missionaries from Germany, Brazil and elsewhere to spread the gospel in other countries."

According to Brad Thiessen, newly appointed secretary for media and

"It encompasses the three-fold goal of MBMS International, which is to bring the gospel to unreached people groups through church planting, education and economic developmentreaching the soul, mind and body," Thiessen says.

MBMSI currently has ministry connections in 39 countries around the world. The mission intends to encourage Mennonite Brethren in North America to continue their involvement in this important work.

RECOGNIZED : Scholarships awarded by Tabor Colleg e have been named among the best in the country by The Student Guide to America's Best College Scholarships : 1997- 1998 The guide rates colleges and universities on their merit -ba sed scholarships, whi ch are given strictly on merit and are not need -based or re stricted in any way . Tabor's Presidential Scholar ship , which pays more than half of student tuition costs, were featured in the guide , sa ys Mark Bandre, Tabor ' s director of student assi stance . (TC)

NEW SCHOLARSHIP: Fre sno Pacific University has announced a new scholarship wh ich will award two students $12 ,5 00 each for up to four years of undergraduate study The Paragon Scholarship , funded by Bet sy and Sam Reeves of Fresno, Calif , will be awarded solely on merit. (FPU)

VISION REVI S I O N (5)

Article on stewardship addresses environment as well as money

The General Conference Board of Faith and Life (BFL) is in the p r ocess of revising the Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith. The board is now gathering feedback about its initial draft. BFL invites your Pal-ticipation. This is the last in a series of articles written by Lynnjost, BFL chair, on selected articles of the revised confession. Responses can be sent by regular mail to BFL, c/ v Lynn jost, Tab o r Colleg e, Hillsb o r o, KS 67063 ; the e · mail address is lynnj@tcnet tabor edu - The editors

WHYAN ARTIC LE on stewardship? We confess that everything in the universe belongs to God , but we often live as though we sh ould accumulate as many of those things as possible. The article on stewardship reminds us of the ways things should be, the way things really are.

Stewardsh ip is an all-e ncomp assin g concept Every aspec t of life ultimately belongs to God. Time and talent should be used for God. The environment deserves our care because it is God's handi w o r k On o n e hand, we joyfu lly use the eart h ' s boun t y t o n o uris h human life On t h e o t her, we reject u njust explo itatio n of re sources as an affront to God

money is a go od indicator of our true values. Jesus himself taught that posses sio ns w ill determine the direction of the h eart. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, encouraging giving to the point of equality among believers (2 Cor. 8 :13-14) Though the New Testament does not repeat the Old Testament tithe laws, cheerful generosity is commanded

The openin g paragraph o f Article 15 outlines the basic scriptural rationale for stewardship . God, the creator and owner, has entrusted humans with the care of the created orde r. Grateful humans respond responsibly. The second paragraph seeks to reflect the biblical ambivalence about

w ealth . On the other hand, Jesus and the prophets warn against selfishness. According to the Bible, accumulation is dangerous. Luxuriousness is wrong. The ambiguity caused by cultural norms is no excuse for selfish living.

The third paragraph describes the biblical call to proper use of possessions. Wealth is to be given away. Giving produces bleSSing-for the giver and the receiver.

Questions

1. Is the biblical basis stated with sufficient clarity and comprehensiveness?

2. Are we willing to confess what the Bible teaches even though it may confront our own unfaithfulness?

3. Does the proposed article adequately indicate that the New Testament calls for greater generosity than the Old Testament tithe?

The full draft of the revised Confession of Faith is al'ailal;Jle your church office or a t the follOWing web site: http://wwlV. mbconf org/mbc.

Estes planners expect 2,OOO-plus in 1999

How we as western Christians u se possessions True, God may bless with • National youth gathering will

BRETHREN CONFESSION OF FAITH

Article 15: Stewardship

God ' s creatio n man d at e We beli ev e th e univ ers e and everything in it belong to God the Creator God has entrusted the care of the earth to humans who are accountable for managing its resources Good stewardship uses the earth 's abundance to meet human need , but resists the unjust exploitation of creation All God' s gifts are to be received with thanksgiving and used responsibly

Possessions Jesus warns that we cannot serve both God and wealth To confess J esu s as Lord realigns values God may bless with abundance , but affluence is not neces sa rily a sign of God ' s favor The Scripture s warn God 's people not to despise the poo r. Preo cc upation with money and possessions for personal advantage is evil. Luxurious living and eagerne ss to accumulate wealth are not in keep i ng with the teaching of Scripture God' s people l ive responsibly by sharing posse ssions , helping the needy , and investing the i r resources in the reign of God

Generosity _ T he Sc riptures teach cheerful , systematic and proportional giving in grateful respons e to God's goodness The Old T estament prescribed tithes an d offerings to expre ss gratitude to God Jesus and the apostl es called for generous giving Believers are encouraged to give offerings through the c ong regation for local and global ministries Gen 1:28 ; Lev 2 5 ; Deut. 15 :7- 11 ; Ps 24 : 1; Prov o 14 :3 1; Amos 6:4 -7 ; Mal. 3 :6- 10; Mt. 6 : 19-21,24 -34;

4 :28 ;

6 :6-

; Jas 2 :1-7 , 5: 1-6; J ude 11

;

be

largest ever, most diverse

CHALLENGING

2,000 Mennonite

Brethren teenagers to "power up" their relationship with Je sus Christ is the goal of the 1999 Mennonite Brethren national youth conference slated for March 20-23 at YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo

"The planning team believes God is going to do great things," says Stuart Pederson of Henderson, Neb., who is chair of the convention planning committee "We are praying for 300 firsttime conversions and over 1 ,000 commitments to fuller service."

Buster Soaries Jr and Lori E. Salierno will share the speaker's podium. Of the six plenary worship sessions at Estes '99, Soaries will speak four times and Salierno twice , Pederson says.

Soaries is the senior pastor of one of the fastest growing African-American churches in New Jersey , First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset . He is a prominent speaker and

author who is an advocate for at-risk youth. He spoke on behalf of America's troubled youth at last year's Presidents' Summit for America's Future at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He has received numerous awards for his work in community development and has been invited to the White House to meet with the past four presidents.

Salierno is the executive officer of Celebrate Life International, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to equipping students, women and leaders to lead a life of service to Jesus. Salierno is on staff at Town Center Community Church in Marietta, Ga , where she leads assimilation and discipleship ministries.

Curt Clininger , a professional actor and writer, and Steve Bridges, a standup comedian and celebrity voice impreSSionist, will perform during the weekend Additional entertainment will most likely come from local youth groups and the two Mennonite Brethren colleges, Pederson says. Recreation and topical seminars are on the schedule as well.

In the past, national youth conferences have also included concerts by well-known contemporary Christian musicians. Because of diversity on the issue of an appropriate Christian musical performer, no concert is scheduled for 1999, Pederson says.

The role of prayer is receiving special attention, Pederson says. Three members of the planning team are organizing prayer letters and an on-site prayer ministry.

While the planning team is hoping for an attendance of 2,000 high school youth and sponsors, they are praying for 2 ,400, Pederson says Organizers expect youth groups from Slavic, Korean, hispanic, East Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Ethiopian congregations, reflecting the diversity of Mennonite Brethren in the United States.

Seven years ago, the national youth convention attracted 1,000 participants. Organizers this year have been faced with both the positive and negative implications of a group double in size, Pederson says. Physical arrangements for the worship services, recreation options, planning team size and team makeup have been affected by the increase

In 1990, the national youth convention planning team was made-up of

nine individuals, says Pederson. The 1999 t eam includes 26 p eople. Pederson anticipates the addition of support staff over the next year will raise that number to 40. Pederson says the increase in attendance should offset the financial implications of a larger administrative staff.

The planning team has been enlarged to handle the increase in administrative tasks that have accompanied the increase in attendance, he says. The team is also more culturally diverse than in the past In addition to several representatives from the five U.S. districts (Pacific , Southern, Central, Latin America and North Carolina), the 1999 team includes Slavic and Korean representatives . A concern that women were not fairly represented on the initial planning team prompted the addition of more . Pederson says planning team members were also added because some members of the current leadership team are trying to "work ourselves out of a job." Leadership experience in 1999 will ease the transition.

This month , brochures with information about the 1999 convention will be sent to churches. By midMarch the Estes ' 99 web site (www.telcoweb.net\mb\estes) will be up and running. Registration forms will be mailed to congregations by Sept 1. -Connie Faber

CHURCH NOTES

• Baptism/membership

HILLSBORO, Kan.-Jim Cunningham, Sharon Cunningham, Nathan Funk, Alisa Jost and Betty Price were baptized Feb 8 The following Sunday, Jim and Sharon Cunningham, Funk and Jost were fonnally received as members. Price was already a member.

WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Pine Acres)Gary and Cameron Henderson and Rowdy Gilbert were baptized and received into membership Feb 8 Kervin Gossen, Natalie Gray, Scott Gray, Gayle Henderson, Harvey]. Penner, Kaylin Penner, Evelyn Poor, Trent Ratterree, Heidi Sheard, Jason Sheard, Pat Swanson, Paul Swanson , Jason Wilson and Tiffany Wilson were accepted into membership.

PAPILLION, Neb. (Rolling Hills)-Judy Haas was baptized Feb 1.

MOUNTAIN LAKE, Minn.- Pastoral couple Ron and Kathy Seibel were received into membership Jan. 15. He began serving as pastor there Dec. 10.

KINGSBURG, Calif.-Mike and Ilz Grundvig were received as members Jan. 11. Joel and Charlene Golbek and Jack and Belinda Shantz were received as members last fall. Aaron Adams, Jeffrey Coon, Kristen Goossen, Matt Goossen, Ryan Groft, Bob Kuhn, Janine Lee, Kristin Warkentin and Kyle Warkentin were baptized and received into membership Nov. 15.

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (Garden Valley)lisa Wiebe was baptized and received into membership Jan 4

FRESNO, Calif. (Butler)-Forest and Lynnese Castle, Salvador and Gloria Cerillo, Steve and Paulette Lovelace, Andrew and Sharon Ryder, Brent Yamashita, Jose and Maria Soboranis, Brian Henderer, Evelyn Just, Beth Satteson, Jessica Klein, Robert Werner and Rolando Solis were accepted into membership Nov 2

• Celebration

FRESNO, Calif. (Butler)-More than 600 people attended the congregation's 40th anniversary celebration Nov 9 , which included a morning worship service followed by a noon meal at the Fresno Pacific University Special Events Center. Former pastors who attended the celebration included Elmer Martens, Arno Wiebe , Edmund Janzen, Robert Vogt, George Sanchez and Dale Warkentin.

DINUBA, Calif.-Flowers were placed in the sanctuary Jan. 25 in honor of Louis and Wilma Wiebe's 50th wedding anniversary.

HESSTON, Kan.-The children of Ralph and Kathryn Bitikofer hosted an open house in honor of their parents' 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 14.

• Fellowship

OMAHA, Neb. (Millard Bible)-Maxelin

Explort Europt Tbis Summtr!

July 1-17, 1998 with John & Roma Ruth Europe is the birthplace of the Anabaptist faith; discover your heritage and learn about yourself!

• Hear the Anabaptist stories

• See the sites you've read about in the Martyrs Mirror

• Make European Mennonite friends

Wiebe is scheduled to present illustrated meditations using a potter's wheel at the women 's retreat March 20-21. Wiebe and her husband, Gary, are the pastoral couple at an emerging Mennonite Brethren church in Lee's Summit, Mo.

EUGENE, Ore. (North Park)-Men of the church held a fellowship ski day Feb. 21.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Lincoln Hills Bible)The congregation hosted the Central District Ministry Council meeting Jan. 26-27 .

DINUBA, Calif.-The college and career group met with the Reedley (Calif.) MB Church college group for an evening of broom hockey Jan. 23.

FRESNO, Calif. (Faith Project)-Young life director Mark Statema is working with neighborhood high school students and now has an office in the Faith Project facility. Lorraine Baccera is running a kid's free sack lunch program funded by the city through Faith Project. In addition to the lunch program, Baccera directs games and art projects for the children.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Lincoln Glen)-The congregation was joined by the Ethiopian Christian FCtlowship and the India Community Fellowship to celebrate World Fellowship Sunday Jan . 25 . The service

included a choir composed of musicians from each congregation The service also included communion.

BUHLER, Kan.-Jim Holm, MB Biblical Seminary dean of students, was the Bible conference speaker March 1-3

• Teaching/Nurture

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Laurelglen)Author and speaker Tim Smith presented a parenting seminar Feb. 6-7 as part of the congregation's Family life Conference . The conference also included various special interest workshops and a concert by Jana Alayra.

DELFT, Minn. (Carson)-The congregation has recently begun a support ministry for divorced individuals. One DIVORCECARE group is currently meeting. Pastor Herb Schroeder hopes to start more groups in the near future.

HENDERSON, Neb.-Jon Wiebe, president of the MB Foundation, presented a stewardship seminar Jan . 30 to Feb. 1.

CORN, Okla.-Walter Sawatsky, a Mennonite Central Committee representative who recently traveled to Russia, spoke about issues facing that country Jan. 21. Area churches participatin'g in the program were Pine Acres MB Church, Weatherford, and Bible MB Church, Cordell .

FRESNO, Calif. (Fig' Garderi)-In January, the congregation launched a twice monthly time of prayer and worship on Saturday nights.

• Workers

DENVER, Colo. (Garden Park)-Chuck Goertz has announced his resignation as pastor. He and his wife, Beverly, have not announced their plans.

• Youth

FERNDALE, Wash. (Good News)-The youth group hosts a monthly gathering of young people from around the county. Nathan Cornelsen, youth intern, and Jim Fowler, youth pastor at Birch Bay Bible Community Church, were instrumental in beginning the gathering known as "The House."

SHAFTER, Calif.-The high school youth group sold Valentine cookies that included a IS-character message on each cookie. The cookies were delivered Feb. 14 .

LITTLETON, Colo. (Belleview Acres)The youth group led the worship service Feb !. The women met Feb. 12 to prepare care packages for college students in the congregation .

. DEATHS

DICK, MARIE GOSSEN, of Com, Okla., a member of Com MB Church, was born Aug. 6, 1902, in Nikolaipol , Asia Minor, to Cornelius and Margaret Wedel Gossen and died Jan. 27, 1998, at the age of 95. On April 17, 1932, she was married to Cornelius H. Dick, who predeceased her. She is survived by one daughter, Marlene and husband Edgar Pauls of Com; one stepson, Wesley and wife Ruth Dick of Com; three stepdaughters, Linda and husband Dan Stobbe, Orpa and husband Alvin Epp, and Margaret and husband John Flaming, all of Com; two sisters, Margaret Wiebe of Hillsboro, Kan., and Bertha and husband Wes· ley Fast of Fairview, Okla.; 17 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

FOTH, BEVERLY, of Hillsboro, Kan., a member of the Hillsboro MB Church, was born July 6, 1942, to Walter and Dorothy Hamm Foth in Hillsboro and died Jan. 13, 1998, at the age of 55. She is survived by her mother; two brothers, Keith and wife Rhonda of Enterprise, Kan., and Lowell and wife Corrine of Hillsboro ; and two sisters, Jane White of Encampment, Wyo., and Nancy Luther of Salina, Kan

GOERING, MARY E., of Inman, Kan., a member of Zoar MB Church in Inman, wa!i born Sept. 1, 1913, in McPherson County, Kan., to Gerhard C. and Anna Esau Thiessen, and died Feb. 1, 1998, at the age of 84 On Aug. 30, 1936, she was married to David Goering, who predeceased her in 1978. She is survived by two sons, David and wife Brenda and Richard and wife Diane, all of Inman; three brothers, Ben and Paul of Inman, and John of Overland Park, Kan ; two sisters, Hulda Plett of Augusta, Kan., and Laura Ramsey of Los Angeles, Calif ; and two grandchildren.

GOINS, MABRIE LEE, of Fresno, Calif., was born March 13, 1912, in Oklahoma City, Okla., and died Feb. 1, 1998, at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, Anna Goins of Fresno; a daughter, Marie and husband Larry Donaldson; a son, Maynard and wife Carol ; a brother, Dwight Goins of Upland, Calif.; a sister, Ardith Johns of Hayward, Calif.; three grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.

HEITMANN, WILLIAM F., of Harvey, N.D., ofthe Harvey MB Church, was born Aug . 4, 1903, near Martin, N .D ., to Herman and Katherine Heitmann and died Jan. 19, 1998, at the age of 94. On Nov. 10, 1927, he was married to Edna Dockter, who predeceased him in 1982. He is survived by four sons, Chester of Big Fork , Mont , Roger of Harvey, James of Detroit

Lakes, Minn , and John of Jameston, N D.; one daughter, Elaine Palmer of Harvey; one brother , Harold, of Fargo, N.D. ; 18 grandchildren, 3 I great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

IRJBERT, ALVINA VOLLMER, of Fresno, Calif., was born Dec. 3, 1905, in Odessa,

Russia. On March 11, 1928, she was married to John Hubert, who predeceased her in 1962. She is survived by a daughter, Dora Mae of Kingsburg, Calif ; a son, Norman of Knight's Landing, Calif.; four sisters, nine grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Sensing Godfs Call? Give us I !call!, Summer School at MB

Biblical Seminary:

The Synoptic Gospels (2 units) June 8-19· 9-11 a.m.

Explore with Tim Geddert the similarities and surprising differences among Matthew, Mark and Luke. Hear the unique message of each Gospel.

Person and Family in Culture (3) ................. June 8-26 • 8:30-noon

Examine with Al Dueck the individual and family in the context of changing forces in North American society.

Models of Christian Community DeveL (2) ... June 15-26 • 1:30-4:30 p.Ol.

Examine five major models of CCD with Jim Westgate. Catch the excitement of how the Gospel is being unleashed to heal our cities.

Human Sexuality (2) June 22-July 2 • 9-11:15 a.m.

Focus: personal and professional aspects of human sexuality. such as love, intimacy, gender, identity. disorders, ministry and referral. Prof.: Delores Friesen.

The Miracles of Jesus (2) ............ .. ... June 22-July 2· 1:30-3:45 p.m.

What do Jesus' miracles say about His identity? About the nature of God's reign? How do they challenge todar's church? Prof.: Tim Geddert.

Elementary Greek I, II (3 each) June 22-Aug. 4 • 8:30-11:30 a.m.

An elementary course in Koine Greek emphasizing the acquisition of vocabulary, mastery offorms and fundamental principles. Prot Tim Geddert. Urban Church Immersion (1.5) July 11-17

As part of the seminary's Cross-Cultural Encounter, this course is a powerful interaction experience with various ministry models in the Los Angeles area. Designed for pastors and lay leaders. (Special fee covers room, board and transportation in L.A. Includes evenings, weekends).

Professional Ethics in Counseling (3) Aug. 20-28 • times vary Study ethics of counseling, particularly marriage and family counseling, in private practice and congregational settings. Prof.: Al Dueck.

Please also note the B.C. Centre course May 25-29 with AI Dueck in Abbotsford, B.C.: The Reign of God as 1Tansformation

Menno ni te B ret hre n F o und a tio n invites applications fur the position of

F i e ld R eprese ntative

Seeking a full -time Field Representative to work primarily in the Pacific District area with a focus on encouraging and assisting C hristians in faithful stewardship. Specific responsibilities include stewardship education, planned giving, charitable estate planning and Foundation-related aotivity. Qualifications include an ability to communicate effectively and a desire to assist people in achieving their stewardship objectives .

Direct inquiries to : Attn : Jon Wi ebe PO Box V HillsborQ;, KS 67063

CHURCH PARTNERSHIP EVANGELISM (CPE)

Invitation: TO: Born-again Christians

King Road MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C., is seeking volunteers for its Church Partnership Evangelism outreach to.... Cost/person"

1. PERU - Sullana, Trujillo.

2. UKRAINE - Kiev, Tchernovtsky, Odessa

3. CONGO - Kinshasa, Kikwit

4. CUBA.

5. FIJI ISLAND - Labasa

6. PARAGUAY - Asuncion, Chaco

7. NICARAGUA - Managua

8. UKRAINE - Novomoskovsk, Pavlograd Berdyansk, Alexandria, Kirowograd

9. PERU - Chiclayo, Talara

10. NICARAGUA

11. INDIA

April 4-27, '98

May 2-25, '98

May 1 - June 1 , '98

June 5-22 , '98

June 5-22, '98

July 4-20, '98

$1,200

JANZEN, HENRY L., of Reedley, Calif., a member of the Reedley MB Church, was bom March 25, 1921, to David and Nettie Goertzen Janzen and died Jan. 17, 1998, at the age of 76. On May 3, 1942 , he was married to Alice Friesen , who survives . He is also survived by four sons, Davey and wife Donna of Selma, Calif., Ken of Colorado Springs, Colo , Stan and wife Ayde of Fresno, Calif., and Mark of Visalia, Calif.; a brother, Vemon of Visalia, Calif. ; and five grandchildren.

KARBER, ALBERT, of Fairview, Okla., a member of Fairview MB Church, was born Feb. 26, 1917, to John D. and Justina Cornelsen Karber at Fairview and died Jan. 26, 1998 , at the age of 80 On July 27, 1941, he was married to Bernice Suderman, who survives He is also survived by a son , Curtis and wife Debbie of Fairview; a daughter, Elaine and husband John Franz of Buhler, Kan.; a brother, Edwin and wife Bertha; six grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren

KLASSEN, ADEUNE, of Mountain Lake, Minn., a member of the Mountain Lake MB Church, was born May 30, 1915 , to Nick B. and Alwina Louise Unruh Klaassen near Mountain Lake and died Jan 23, 1998 , at the age of 82 On Nov. 23, 1940, she was married to Leondo Klassen , who predeceased her in 1955. She is survived by a daughter, Marcia and husband Dale Fast of Windom, Minn.; three sons, Dan and wife Karen of Northfield, Minn ., Steven and wife Mary of Mountain Lake , and Dale and wife Ingrid of The Netherlands ; one sister, Laura and husband Arnold Nickel of Clovis, Calif.; and 10 grandchildren.

July 4-20, '98 $1 ,200

July 25 - Aug. 18, '98

Aug. 1-24, '98

Nov 8-23, '98

Nov. 7-30, '98

$1,600

$1,200

Note: Dates may be subiect to change, pending further confirmation of some campaigns. ' Canadian dollars

• Team up with national Christians and witness for Christ door to door.

• Some knowledge of the language of the country is helpful.

• Between 800-2,800 persons have prayed to accept Christ as their personal Savior and Lord during a two-week CPE campaign. Come and be a part of an enriching spiritual experience-discover what God can do through you.

For more information, contact: CPE office: Tel.-Fax: 604-864 - 3941, or Evelyn Unruh, 604852-5744; or Peter Loewen, 604-853-3173 or FAX 604 -853-6482

Church Partnership Evangelism is a 'church-Io-church " effort that involves lay members in personal evangelism worldwide. Your application 10 participate will be forwarded to the CP.E. Executive Committee for processing

Peter Loewen CPE Promoter

Harold W Ens MBMS Int'I General Director

LOEWEN, ENID L., of Peabody, Kan , was born Oct. 11 , 1919, to Benjamin H. and Anna Loewen Buller near Fairview, Okla., and died Feb. 11, 1998, at the age of 78. On Oct. 16, 1949, she was married to Archie Loewen , who survives. She is also survived by two daughters, Gwendolyn and husband David Harris of Hutchinson , Kan., and Glenda and husband Darrell York of Wichita, Kan.; two sisters, Valeria Hamm of Enid, Okla., and Bernice Hiebert of Hillsboro, Kan.; four brothers, Leo of Enid, Joseph of Walnut Creek, Calif., Alva of Peabody, and Cleophas of Broken Bow, Okla.; and three grandchildren.

RATZLAFF, JOHN N., of Inman, Kan., a member of Zoar MB Church in Inman, was born Aug . 22 , 1908, to Peter F. and Helena Neufeld Ratzlaff in Minneola, Kan . , and died Jan 21, 1998, at the age of 89 On Dec. 26, 1934, he was married to Margaret Wiebe, who predeceased him in 1971. On June 2, 1974 , he was married to Aline Clifton Vaughn, who survives He is also survi v ed by on e daughter, Joan o f Shawne e Missio n , Kan .; one sister , Eli za-

beth Davis of Seattle, Wash. ; two step-children, Ginger and husband Derold Lemon of Raytown, Mo., and Jim and wife June Vaughn of Emporia, Kan.; five step-grandchildren; and seven step-great-grandchildren .

REIMER, ESTHER , Fresno, Calif., was born Feb. 17, 1907, at Woodward, Sask , and died Jan 12, 1998, at the age of 90. On June 7, 1925, she was married to David C. Reimer, who predeceased her in 1983 . She is survived by one daughter, Edna Peters; one son, Roger and wife Lois; sisters, Nettie Fleming of Galt, Calif., Lydia Armendariz of Acampo Calif., Mary Gilbeau of Lodi, Calif., and Martha Plow of Gilroy, Calif.; one brother, Ben Seibel of San Jose, Calif.; five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and two great-greatgrandchildren.

REIMER, NETTIE GOERTZEN, of ReedIey, Calif., a member of Reedl e y MB Church, died Feb. 2, 1998, at the age of 96 She was married to John J. Goertzen, who predeceased her, and Herman H. Reimer , who also predeceased her She is survived by three sons, Johnnie and wife Adena of Reedley , Reuben and wife Marlene of Santa Clara, Calif., and Elvin and wife Betty of Fresno; two daughters, Malinda Koop o f Fresno , and Rosella and husband Harry Buhler of Reedley; o n e stepson, Robert Re imer of Visalia; fo ur stepdaughters, Evelyn and husband Paul Suderman of Modesto, Calif., Geneviv e and husband Vernon Janzen of Visalia, Darlene Kempfer of Ohio, and Elaine and husband Joe Greider of Ohio; one brother , Henry and wife Katherine of Madrid, Neb.; 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandchildren, 14 stepgrandchildren an d several step-great-grandchildren

WALL, SARA, Fresno, Calif., was born June 26, 1904, to John B. and Marie Loewen at Burrton, Kan., and died Jan 26, 1998, at the age of 93 On Oct 26, 1924, she was married to Sam Wall, who predeceased her in 1982 She is survived by two daughters , Dorothy and husband Vern Schmidt of Montague, Calif., and Geri and husband Hank Janzen of Dallas, Ore.; one son, Ron and wife Eloise of Fresno, Calif. ; two brothers, Sam Loewen of Oroville, Calif., and Lenort Loewen of Reedley, Calif.; one sister , Emma Gaub of Santa Cruz, Calif.; seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-greatgrandc hi ld

WILLEMS, ARNO LD E , Hillsboro Kan., a member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born Jan . 26, 19 2 1, to Peter D. and Maria Ens Willems at Inman, Kan ., and died Jan. 13, 1998, at the age of 76 He is survived by thr ee si s te r s, Ka t h r y n , Lydia and Marth a , all of Hillsbo ro •

July 18·31, 1998

Leaders: Ruth & Ken Jantzi

• Visit some of North America's most beautiful national parks

• Marvel at the serenity of Lake Louise, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands

• Discover the Okanagan Valley (famous for its apples and cider)

• Experience the Western Canadian cities of Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary

FOREST GROVE COMMUNITY C HUR C H

(A member of the Canadian Conference of MB Churches) is inviting applications for the position of

SENIOR PASTOR

• Saskatoon is a growing city with a population of about 200,000 It has a vibrant economy based on agriculture, mining, resour ce s and biotechnology .

• Our congregation h as an average attendan c e of 1,000. Our building is located about one mile from the University o f Saskatchewan, adja c ent to a major traffic artery, and situated in the fastest-growing sector of our city.

• The congregation is a mix of young families, a large number of youth and college/career people and a significant group of adults 50 and over. Our present ministry staff includes three associate pastors, four ministry directors and an interim senior pastor

• The major areas of ministry for the Senior Pastor will include preaching and providing vision, leadership and mentoring for the pastoral and administrative team.

• Qualified candidates will include those with experien c e leading a c hurch with a multiple staff environment.

• Starting date negotiable.

Interested candidates may send their resume and requests for more information to: Pastoral Search Committee c/o Erwen Siemens Forest Grove Community Church 502 Webster Street

Saskatoon , SK S7N 3P9

E-mail : fgc c@s k symp atico ca

MEDIA MATTERS

BY BURTON BULLER

God stars in CBS time slot

In its fourth season, "Touched by an Angel" has rocketed to the top o/the heap with more than 22 million viewers each week.

FOR YEARS, religious gadflies have been taking the media to task for the way it portrays religion. Currently, Michael Medved, through careful prooftexting of

job is to supervise novice angel Monica, played by Roma Downey, the two crisscross America lending a helping hand to people in spiritual crisis. When needed, angel Andrew (played by John Dye) shows up to help them if death is imminent. His job is to smooth the path for motion picture content, has managed to create a successful living by pointing out how Hollywood denigrates religion and religious people.

Ted Baehr's Movieguide rates films based on language, violence, sex, nudity and content for the conservative Christian movie-going public in hopes that enough Christians will stay away from questionable ftlms to cause investors to lose money, and to attend enough acceptable films that investors in family films thrive.

Like many Christian schools, liberty College, Pat Robertson's theologically correct school for the religiously correct Christian Coalition, places heavy emphasis on media education to prepare Christians to land influential jobs inside the media industry.

Many observers today agree the tactics are working. Hollywood has gotten religion with a vengeance. At least seven current television series deal unabashedly with religious subjects. Leading them is the show that started it all, "Touched by an Angel."

In its fourth season, "Touched By An Angel" has rocketed to the top of the heap with more than 22 million viewers each week. That makes it CBS's top-rated show. Not bad for a show that stars an unseen actor: God . The show is described by "60 Minutes" Ed Bradley as the "most overtly Christian series ever to hit network television ." Starring gospel singer Della Reese as Tess, an angel whose

mortals entering the hereafter.

The thesis of every show is the same: God loves you. Martha Williamson, the show's "committed Christian" creator and producer does not debate the existence of God. Instead, God is assumed, if unseen. The three angels carry God's message to people in need of hope.

To universalize the show and make it as acceptable as possible to the 61 percent of Americans who told TV Guide they want more references to God in prime time, the name of Jesus is never used. Neither is religious imagery nor symbolism. Williamson defends this simplistic portrayal of faith with, "It is simple. God exists. God loves you. Now, what are you going to do about it?"

By any standard, this series is breaking new ground. Previous efforts to infuse God into prime time pale in comparison.

Why has religion now become profitable? And make no mistake about it, "Angel's" success is all about ratings. As Williamson notes, "God is the flavor of the month in current prime-time television. When it is no longer the flavor of the month, God will disappear from television "

Donald Miller, professor of religion at the University of Southern

California, attributes the show's success to the fact that "people's lives aren't working." With personaillves in crisis of all kinds, they may be searching for some "new pathway of meaning," he says.

Whatever the reason, people are tuning in in record numbers. In choosing "Touched by an Angel," viewers get a heavy dose of morality, ethics and hope. "I want to express the fear that people have," Williamson says, "and then offer some hope ."

So, God is alive and well and appearing on CBS. Williamson deserves a lot of credit for finding a formula that expresses a simple understanding of God that large numbers of people want to see. She creatively and vigorously carried her beliefs into her workplace, and we are all the better for it.

Still, I am uneasy with the marketplace determining the shape and content of society's primary contact with the divine. I am uneasy because viewers create their own meaning from the messages they receive.

One study has begun tracking the meanings viewers create for themselves when watching this program This study is finding that with no preliminary understanding of God, what viewers sometimes see is just another science fiction program. For others, the program is seen as revealing God's truth directly to them, personally. They no longer feel a need to test personal understanding of God's truth with other Christians. What more could anyone need than to have God reveal himself in one-hour time blocks each week on network television?

"Touched by an Angel," for all its success, is just a blip on history'S media screen . Its longevity will be measured in years, not decades. Meanwhile, the church is in the faith business for the long haul. During this window of opportunity , viewers of this program could use the help of the church as they struggle to give meaning to the spiritual content Williamson provides each week.

SESSION

1

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

A GUIDE FOR GROUP INTERACTION

Adversity and transformation

Based on "Metamorphosis," page 4.

GET READY - Getting started

• Share one of your favorite aspects of Easter

GET SET - Examining the issues

1. Review the Matthew 17 story of metamorphosis and describe the disciples' reactions to what happened there.

2. Highlight the significant dynamics of each stage of metamorphosis.

3. What are the possible results of the difficulties associated with the cocoon stage?

4. What can we anticipate in the final stage?

GO - Applying ideas to the way we live

1. What examples of the cocoon stage have you observed in others or experienced yourself?

2. What is your greatest challenge to seeing life from an eternal perspective?

3. What practical steps or changes can we make to become less attached to this world and more excited about the one to come?

4. What nurtures your hope for resurrection?

SESSION 2 Facing death, finding life

Based on "A Time to Face Our Dying," page 7 .

GET READY - Getting started

• What have been some of your positive Lenten experiences?

GET SET - Examining the issues

1. What was Jesus's priority as the time o f his death approached?

2 . How did Jesus maintain and emphasize hope while expecting death?

3. What does King describe as the identity change that one deals with when facing death?

GO - Applying ideas to the way we live

1. In what ways have you experienced the love and support of people gathering together at a time of death?

2 King suggests that during Lent we should be more deliberate in facing our own deaths How do you think that can be done?

3. How can we as brothers and sisters help each other in that challenge?

4 What are some suggestions given in the Faber article "Making the Mystery Meaningful" (page 10) that could be adapted by congregat ions?

SESSION 3 LIving life In reality

Based on Ph'lip Side, page 19.

GET READY - Getting started

• How did the news of Sonny Bono's death affect you?

GET SET - Examining the issues

1. How would you define "vicarious living"?

2. What evidence is there of the "shift away from a community-based culture to a celebrity-obsessed one"?

3. What makes vicarious living so enticing?

4. What are the dangers?

GO - Applying ideas to the way we live

1.What evidence of vicarious spirituality do you see in churches?

2. Can you cite specific examples in your congregation?

3. How can we encourage real living in our congregations and in our personal lives?

SESSION 4 Developing a

conscience

Based on On the Journey, page 20

GET READY - Getting started

• Share a "stealing story" of your own.

GET SET - Examining the issues

1. What principles from Matthew 18: 15-2 0 did Buschman use when confronting the student? Do those instructions apply to confronting believers only, or also those who don't follow Christ?

2. How was Bruce led to face the reality of what he did while also being encouraged in the process?

3. In what ways could the process used affect the lives of other students?

GO - Applying ideas to the way we live

1. How have you experienced positive or negative discipline in your life?

2. How does the motivation behind confrontation affect the outcome of the encounter?

3. What are three key principles in confronting suggested by this article that need to be emphasized in the ways we deal with our brothers and sisters?

Leader and the Southern District Christian Education Commission. Questions by Nadine Friesen,

A righteous irony

"[ have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. "

FOR YEARS, I've always "heard" Jesus say these words with tongue planted firmly in cheek. His audience, the Pharisees, had just criticized him for hanging out with tax collectors and other moral outcasts. Jesus's response seems to poke at the self-righteousness of his accusers, as if to say: "Your arrogance has blinded you to your own condition. At least these ' sinners' know who they are and what they lack "

Recently, I "heard" those words another way: as a straightforward statement of fact. The occa-

tude and direction. The Pharisees, who deemed themselves among the "righteous" by virtue of their position in the religious community, were actually "sinners" because they could not admit a need for spiritual growth and change. Meanwhile, the tax collectors and other acclaimed "sinners " were taking a necessary first step toward true righteousness: an openness to consider God's call on their lives.

I see parallels in the church Seems to me the church has basically three kinds of people within it. The first are those who, like the Pharisees, see little need for introspection and change because they are confident of their standing within the faith community Recently, a sion was an office discussion about change in the life of a Christian A coworker had just read the published account of a dramatic turnaround in the life of a businessman who became a Christian. The account was inspiring but so unlike his own experience, the

The irony is that people who are truly righteous

speaker admitted. He had come to Christ as a seldom see themchild and had continued on that pilgrimage ever since. Sure, he sensed a continuing need

selves that way.

visiting conference leader expressed to me his frustration with the number of deacons and elders in our congregations who seem to take more pleasure in exercising their authority in the church than in ministering to hurting people . Classic Phariseeism. But you don't have to hold a formal position in the church to be a member of this camp. Being interested primarily in personal comfort is all it takes. for change in his life, but perhaps not the dramatic "new creation" kind suggested in 2 Corinthians 5:17

It was then that these words ofJesus came to mind. I still lean toward the tongue-in-cheek tone, but I also recall times when Jesus affmned the righteousness of people he observed, such as the widow who placed her last two coins in the offering. This woman was sincerely, quietly responding to God's presence in her life. This was her routine, an outgrowth of what might have been a lifetime 's walk with God. She, for one, did not need to hear Jesus's call to repentance. She was already a righteous woman.

The fact that my coworker was struggling with the nature of change in his life suggests to me that he may not need much of it. He was aware of his shortcomings and expressed an openness to change in order to become the person God wanted him to be To my mind, he is a righteous person. Not perfect, mind you, but righteous in the sense Jesus seems to use the word.

Many Christians-like the Pharisees did-see "righteous" as a position to occupy. We are either in the circle or out of it, a righteous person or a sinner That is true in the sense that Jesus 's death and resurrection have made us righteous in God 's sight. Because of Jesus, we can approach the throne of God-a position.

But Jesus seems to see "righteous" also in terms of atti-

A second group-sizable, I'd like to think-recognizes its shortcomings and is open to the possibility of correction and change. Like the woman with the coin-and my coworker in the office-they steadily and quietly try to live out what they know about God Not perfectly, but with sincerity. They hunger and thirst for the right way to live, and are blessed by God because of the openness of their heart The irony is that people who are truly righteous seldom see themselves that way.

A third group-small, I hope-feels so beaten down by failure and past experiences that the possibility of fmding or regaining righteousness seems remote I imagine that many of the outcasts who associated with Jesus walked away from him in the end. Some because of the hardness of their hearts. Others, though, simply because they could not fathom Jesus's power to restore them. But at least they knew they needed help. For them, and for us who feel that same way, there is hope.

Our first impulse is to place ourselves in one of these camps. But as I reflect on my own Christian experience, I can recall spending time in each . In the end, the defining question is a simple one: As I consider the general course of my life, am I walking toward God or away from God? The validity of our "righteousness" hangs in the balance. -DR