Celebrating the U.S. Conference·s 50th anniversary
FIRST WORDS ••• from the editor
This issue of the Leader celebrates the 50th anniversary of the u.s. Conference, an unusual milestone for a denomination that has called this countty home for more than 125 years. For an explanation of how an organization can celebrate both its 50th and 125th birthdays in the same year, please read the opening article by Valerie Rempel.
This anniversary issue reflects on the pilgrimage of the u.s. Conference. We begin with an article by historian Rempel that traces the history of three priorities that have characterized the USC for its first 50 yearsevangelism, education and governance. It is important, when detennining where to go next, to look at where one has been. Abe Dueck, executive secretary for the North American MB Historical Commission, in the opening paragraph of his 2004 report to the U.S. Conference notes the curious intetplay between the past and the future. "Our world is simultaneously one in which the past seems to be increasingly irrelevant and one in which the past increasingly dominates and detennines the course of events," wrote Dueck.
The desire among MBs to evangelize our nation has been a priority and is an area that reflects the truth of Dueck's obselVation. For some of us, the need to restructure the conference governance structure is directly connected to the challenges Mission USA fuced in achieving its goals. Former USC chair Dennis Fast had this to say in the final minutes of the restructuring discussion: "Because of our structure, I spent a lot of time helping different groups negotiate. We lost a tremendous opportunity to advance our conference and the cause of]esus Christ. I often left board meetings exhausted just trying to help board members come to agreement. We have an opportunity (with the new structure) to be more aimed at a target and to achieve our vision Let's give leaders with passion an opportunity to lead." In how many other instances will our present and future be affected by our past?
Taking stock of where we are at the present and discerning in what direction to strike out in the future is a second focus in this issue. Two feature articles rely on input from a variety of men and women from our churches. Naomi Gaede Penner explores the attitudes ofMBs concerning our heritage and ways to make meaningful contributions in the future Given the current emphasis on developing a new generation of leaders, the Leader staff was particularly interested in hearing young adults' views on the strengths and weaknesses of our denomination. \l1iter Myra Holmes fucilitated an electronic discussion among selected Tabor College, Fresno Pacific University and MB Biblical Seminary students and shares a portion of it here.
The U.S. Conference focus continues in the news section with our coverage of the 2004 national conference convention, the first ever national Pastors' Conference and the first national gathering of senior adults.
May this look at our past, present and future inspire us to be faithful stewards of our Anabaptist/evangelical heritage who eagerly share the Good News of God's saving grace and his call to holistic discipleship with others. --CF
• OCT. 28-31, 2004-Central District Conference convention, HalVey, N.D.
we've bee n
Knowing where we've been as a national conference can help us navigate future ministry paths Reviewing past decisions about evangelism, education and governance can be helpful as we plot our course for the 21 st century. BY
VALERIE REMPEL
More than a name
An informal online survey aids one woman in her search to understand what draws her to her Mennonite Brethren roots, regardless of the church she attends. Themes emerging from this ongoing project suggest four reasons why we can be grateful being Mennonite is more than bearing a name BY NAOMI
GAEDE PENNER
Six suggestions for how to make our Anabapti st heritage relevant today.
in a name?
What can we learn about the U.S. Conferen ce when we study names of local churches? BY RICH
Finding our way forward
What should characterize the u.s . Mennonite Brethren church in the 21st century? The Leader invited selected college and seminary students to discuss with one another their dreams and goals for the MB church of tomorrow. BY
MYRA HOLMES
Catching the postmodern wave
Trendwatchers debate to what extent the current cultural shift known as postmodernism will affect the church But if MBs wish to be effective into our next 50 years, we would do well to understand and address th is issue
DEPARTM ENTS
Minds
Di fferi ng views on the origin of
Things I don ' t trust
• No car! No mission trip!
M ANDATE: The Christian Leader (lSSN 0009-5149) is published monthly by the U.S Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches The Christian Leader seeks to inform Mennonite Brethren members and churches of the events, activities, decisions and issues of their denomination, and to instruct, inspire and initiate dialogue so members will aspire to be faithful disciples of Chr ist as understood in the evangelical/Anabapt ist theological tradition.
EDITORIAL PO LI CY: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Christian Leader, the U S Conference Leadership Board or the Mennonite Brethren Church Scripture references are from New International Version unless otherw ise noted. The editors invite free - lance article submiss ions A SASE must accompany articles
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Mos t fled gling organizations do not begin with a centennial celebration. However the U.S. Conference of Men no nite Bre thren Chu rches did just that shortly after its b irth in 19 54. USC co nvention delegates meeting in Shafter, Calif., in 1960 ce le brated the beginning of a second century of existence as a group of believers joined together for common worship and ministry.
The roots of the MB church go back to Russia where a group of German-speaking Mennonites had settled in the Ukraine. The Mennonites were heir to the Anabaptist movement that arose in conjunction with the 16th century Protestant reformation Anabaptists emphasized the voluntary nature of the church, practiced believer's baptism rather than infant baptism and tried to follow Jesus in all matters of faith and life They believed that Jesus' words about living at peace prohibited the use of the sword as a means of defense
Birth and migration
In 1860 a small group of Mennonite men and women who had experienced personal renewal began meeting together Having adopted the habit of greeting each other as "brother" and "sister, " they were sometimes mocked in their communities as the "brethren ." When they left the established Mennonite church and organized as a separate group, they took the name for their own and the Mennonite Brethren church was born.
As the Russian political and economic climate became increasingly inhospitable to Mennonites, many decided to immigrate to the U S where they settled in the central states region, gradually moving as far west as Oregon and California and north into Canada . In 1879 they organized themselves into the General Conference of the MB Church
The original confere nce charter reflected the priority of the Great Commission in their understanding of the Gospe l- they organized as a mission agency In addition
to foreign missions, the churches supported a variety of home mission efforts including itinerant evangelists, mission efforts among native Americans and city missions . Tabor College and local Bible schools were founded as training centers Publication ministries provided churches with devotional and educational materials.
For many years the General Conference was organized into districts . The Southern District included churches in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and had the largest membership; the Central District included Nebraska , North and South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota and Montana; the Pacific District included California , Oregon and Washington; and a Northern District encompassed the churches in the Canadian provinces. Subsequent migrations of Mennonites from Russia to North America, and from the central states to California, changed the demographics By the 1940s, the Pacific District had the largest U.S membership and the U S churches had shifted from German to English. The Northern District, which had experienced rapid growth during the 1920s as a new wave of immigrants were able to leave Russia, was now bigger than all three U S. districts combined Given their size, Canadian members increasingly felt like the needs of the Canadian churches were not being met. They began regional schools, established a publishing house and continued efforts to maintain the German language .
Increasing pressure was put on the General Conference to reorganize into area conferences and at the 1954 convention the delegates accepted a recommendation to establish two national conferences, both of which would continue to form the existing General Conference As a U S Conference was organized, not everyone was enthusiastic about the decision While the Canadian churches felt released to develop ministries that focused on the needs of their people, many in the U S were uncertain about the division of existing ministries and especially the lo ss of financial support for
I U.S. CONFERENCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
by Valerie Rempel
U.S. conference schools . After nearly a century, MB believers now faced the considerable challenge of organization and financial stability for the ministries they had developed in the U S
During the first fifty years of its existence as a national organization, the USC has focused its attention on three primary concerns: evangelism, Christian education and the development of a sustainable organizational structure
Evangelism
From the "Decade of Enlargement" in the '60s and '70s to "Mission US.N' in the 1990s, the USC has nurtured a vision for church planting and growth with varying degrees of success Church growth has been vi ewed as essential to both the spiritual and financial vitality of the conference . The search for an effective evangelism strategy has incorporated a variety of approaches .
At first , th e U. S Conference continued to appoint a conference evangelist. The practice dated back to the early days of the General Conference when itinerant ministers provided a way to link the Widely scattered congregations while also guarding theological unity The MB church, born as a revival movement, continued to believe in the necessity of personal conversion. Regular revival services insured that all church attendees, especially young people, were given the opportunity to experience conversion
The work of evangelism moved to center stage in 1965 when the U.S. Conference launched the Decade of Enlargement program. The goal of the program was to "double in a decade" through a focus on personal evangelism as well as organized efforts Thre e years later a radio ministry was added "Words of the Gospel" quickly grew in popularity. By 1975, the program was being broadcast on 46 stations in 16 states and one Canadian province and was receiving hundreds of letters p e r month.
Though the language of doubling in a decade faded and the growth goals became less ambitious , the conference continued to stress evangelism A new conference evangelist was appointed and media ministries were added. Television and publication ministries joined the radio program under a new Mass Media Commission Unfortunately, the media ministries incurred significant indebtedness and in 1982 were discontinued under a massive budget overhaul that resulted in the termination of various staff and a wide curtailing of conferenc e ministri e s The "Words of the Gospel " program survive d for several additional years, as did the Christian Leader, but it wo u ld be nearly a decade before a new evange lism program would be launched.
In the interim , the USC promoted the home mission work of the various district conferences as well as youth ministry, which continued to be a high priority for the conference Securing the salvation of the next generation , nurturing loyalty to the conference and fostering the next genera-
tion of church leaders continued to be an important goal. National youth conventions were established with Glorietta ' 7 5 and have continued through the recent Estes '03 . Since their inception, they have regularly been the largest gathering of U.S. MBs The Christian Service program, be gun under the auspices of the General Conference , was also transferred to the national conference and helped groom a generation of young men and women for active leadership in the church
In 1988, a new vision for church growth and evangelism emerged leading to the formation of Mission USA in 1990. Conference goals included annual growth of 3.3 percent, the establishment of new churches in both Anglo and non -Anglo communities and the calling out of pastors and missionaries In addition to new congregations among Hispanic , East Indian and Ethiopian Christians , overtures were made to the large population of Slavic immigrants settling in the Pacific Northwest. Working cooperative ly with th e Pacific District and MBMS International, increasing numbe rs of Slavic congregations were brought into the USC fold Th e Mission USA vision was solidifie d by the 199 4
USC convention. As reported in the Leader, the conference formed an independent board to "coordinate, motivate and equip the churches, agencies, institutions and districts of the U. S. Conference around a common priority: evangelism , church planting and renewal." Again, the proposed mandate for the MUSA board was finanCially ambitious Shortfalls in church giving had resulted in conference indebtedness, but the desire to be faithful in evangelism and church planting outweighed budget constraints. Mission USA was adopted and the work blessed. By 2000, the conference had officially embraced MUSA's vision and work, approving an ambitious budget of nearly $1 million dollars Two years later, convention delegates faced the unpleasant task of dealing with significant financial shortfalls The 2002 budget was significantly reduced, resulting in critical curtailment of conference ministries. MUSA was particularly affected and has recently undergone a significant reorganization .
Educati o n
When the USC was organized, U.S. MBs became owners of Tabor College, Pacific Bible Institute (now Fresno Pacific University) and an emerging seminary.
Tabor College, founded in 1908, had the longest history as a conference school but was quite distant from the large MB population in the West. Pacific Bible Institute had been founded in 1944 to provide a school on the West Coast. The vision for seminary-level theological education had been nurtured under the General Conference structure but was now passed on to the usc.
From the beginn ing, maintaining three educational institutions stretched the resources of the USC, yet the members continued to believe that Christian higher education was important to the spiritual vitality of the denomination and especially to the preparation of future church leaders . The conference established a unified Board of Education to oversee the three schools and made plans to advance the three institutions. Tabor worked toward full accreditation as a four-year liberal arts college, PBI established a junior college program and MB Biblical Seminary developed an advanced theological program . By 1971 , the Bible institute had become Pacific College and had its own four-year liberal arts program
In view of the increasingly complex needs of each school, the Board of Education eventually yielded direct management of the schools to individual boards of directors while maintaining theological oversight on behalf of the conference . Negotiations with the Canadian Conference shifted MBBS ownership in 1975 to the General Conference and eased some of the financial and management demands
Though separate boards were established, the future of the colleges was still uncertain. In 1979, the USC met in special session to debate the future of the colleges. After exploring a variety of options, including consolidation of the programs into one school, the delegates elected to move ownership and governance of the schools to the district level. In a sense , the delegates chose to repeat the regionalization that had occurred with the formation ofthe U.S. and Canadian area conferences by passing responsibility to the district conferences. Pacific College was turned over to the Pacific District and the remaining districts took ownership of Tabor College
Conference organization
The minutes of a special organizational convention in 1957 note concern that the newly-formed USC not be "over-organized " But one year later delegates accepted
a conference structure that included officers , six boards
and three additional committees It took another five
years to formally adopt a constitution . From then until
now, organization and reorganization has seldom been far from the conference agenda.
A significant early step in organization occurred in 1960 when the Krimmer MB Church, a small conference of theologically compatible churches, merged with the General Conference. With the adoption of the Latin America MB Churches (IAMB) and the former KMB ministry in North Carolina, the U.S Conference eventually grew to five culturally diverse districts
As the conference grew and ministries developed, the composition of boards changed to meet the needs of the various ministries . For many years, a Board of Reference and Council provided theological oversight while a Board of Contemporary Concerns addressed the social and cultural concerns that were increasingly occupying Christians in the '70s and '80s. Convention delegates wrestled with the church's position on baptism, military service and the degree to which conference publications such as the Christian Leader should address social and political issues. In 1971, the conference welcomed women as delegates to the convention. At regular intervals conference structures were overhauled in an effort to work more effectively and efficiently. Eventually paid staff was hired to meet the leadership and fund-raiSing needs
While a vision for ministry has seldom been absent, funding the vision has been a perennial problem. On several occasions the conference has had to make difficult budget cuts after convention delegates passed budgets that the churches were unable to meet. In 1982, a "miniconvention" at Deer Creek Christian Camp in Colorado turned into the "Deer Creek Massacre" when staff positions were cut and ministries scaled back or terminated. Again in 2002, USC leaders made difficult budget cuts that threatened the viability of ministries such as Mission USA
With the recent divestiture of longstanding General Conference ministries such as MBMS International, the Board of Resource Ministries and MB Biblical Seminary, the U.S . Conference has been challenged to develop new partnership arrangements with the Canadian Conference . New structures have been proposed as the conference retools for continued ministry.
Concl us ion
Throughout the past 50 years, indeed for the nearly 150 years ofMB church life, members have witnessed to the faithfulness of God. One conference leader has noted that while MBs are clear about the Great Commandment and the Great CommiSSion, they are sometimes uncertain about the best way to carry them out. Though the conference no longer employs a conference evangelist and Mission USA has experienced significant downsizing, the USC held its recent convention in Draper, Utah, and celebrated the ongoing ministry of its host, a young congregation nurtured through the vision of Mission USA The Board of Education no longer exists, but Tabor College, Fresno Pacific University and MBBS continue to provide Christian education to new generations of MB students. Though the conference is again restructuring, a new leadership board has recently been appointed and stands ready to tackle the challenge of the next 50 years
Valerie Rempel is a faculty member at MB Biblical Seminary She has served on various General Conference boards and the executive committee, was a member of the U.S. Conference Board of Faith and Life and will serve on the new USC Leadership Board.
These resources about Mennonite Brethren history and distinctive are published by Kindred Productions , the publishing ministry of North American Mennonite Brethren operated by the Canadian MB Conference
Bridging Troubled Waters : The Mennonite Brethren at Mid-Twentieth
Century , edited by Paul Toews . Essays and biographies looking at how the 20th century brought the Mennonit es into the mainstream .
Family Matters : Discovering th e Mennonite Brethren , by Lynn lost and Connie Faber Meet the MB family through story, historical account and
theological understanding s For Everything a Season : Mennonite Brethren in North America, 18 742002 edited by Paul Toews and Kevin Enns -Rempel. A pictorial and story look at the ministries that comprised the joint ventures between Canada and the U S
n ame\S mV
Why should we 21st century Mennonite Brethren proudly call ourselves Mennonite'? Do we understand our spiritual heritage and appreciate our Anabaptist distinctive'? Curious how others are answering these questions, Naomi Gaede Penner invited a variety of Mennonites-including Mennonite Brethren-to respond to an online survey. Themes emerging from that ongoing project suggest four reasons why we can be grateful being Mennonite is more than a name.
My parents migrate d from Kansas to Alaska in the 1950s. My fath er, a phys ician, was not under a Mennonite mission age n cy. No where in Alaska was there a Mennonite church I sang in ]OY club with Athabascan Indians Moose meat didn ' t le nd itself to borscht, so my mother simmered cabbage and tomatoes with chicken . We stirred cherry moos, stuffed and sealed verenika and deep-fried Portslkje My parents spoke Low German and sang in harmony
At age 15 , I was sent to a Mennonite boarding school at Corn , Okla . My parents said I'd "le arn what it was to be a Mennonite " I sang alto in the choir,
assumed everyone was a Christian, learned family genealogy trees and watched female classmates from Hydro and Thomas struggle with decisions to wear class rings and trim their hair Naturally I attended Tabor Colle ge-with 13 cousins! I basked in these environments which with common foods, music , language and heritage surrounded me with a sense of family and familiarity-even though I was 4,000 miles away from my parents and siblings
As an adult, I followed the footsteps of my parents in church -planting, helping Belleview Community Church to take root. Later, as if all this immersion wasn't
By Naomi Gaede Penner
enough, I trekked to Holland, Poland and the Ukraine to trace my Mennonite faith and culture.
Did all these factors make me a Mennonite? Why, regardless of what church I attend, do I adamantly claim to be a Mennonite? What difference does Anabaptist history and theology make in the 21st century? Why are more and more Mennonite churches erasing the word "Mennonite" and writing over it "Community"? How can it be that in the U. S. there are 40 Slavic churches, 16 Korean congregations, 10 Ethiopian fellowships and a number of Asian groups who are Mennonite Brethren?
Out of curiosity, I conducted a survey Responses to the word "Mennonite" ran from positive to amusing to disturbing:
• a godly heritage, powerful story of faith and survival, Anabaptist tradition .
• peace-loving, service -oriented
• quilts, good food, singing, farming
• a diverse group (evangelical to liberal) whose belief system is more than a Sunday set of beliefs and practices A connection of faith and life
SOcially detached, fun frowned upon, solemnity cel e brated
Wondering if people understood the Mennonite's Anabaptist faith tradition, I pushed for distinctives:
• cheap, "don ' t know," quilts, four-part harmony
• baptism by
Why, regardless of what church I attend, dol adamantly claim to be a
Mennonite?
immersion upon conversion
• antiwar, peace-loving, not in politiCS .
• service in practical ways, Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Central Committee, missions, Voluntary Service, life -skills discipleship .
• dowdy dre sses, stiff suits, no cards, no cosmetics, Given the odd impressions of Mennonites, the lack
Sharing our spiritual heritage
HOW DO WE VALUE, perpetuate and share our spiritual heritage? How do we make it relevant in the 21st century?
1 . Educate and inform ourselves , our children and our congregations about Anabaptist theology and history. Tell the real-life stories of persecution and perseverance. Include Profiles , a series of personal stories published by the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission , in bulletins or take-home papers Give young people a spiritual heritage to be proud of.
2. Promote intergenera-
tional service by showing , not just telling. As a family or combined-age church group , assemble health kits for Iraq , craft projects for a Mennonite relief sale or help an immigrant with conversational skills. Consider the Harold and Marianna Gaede family, who with grandchildren and great-grandchildren crawling beneath the table and napping in the booth , host the pie booth at the Fresno (Calif) Mennonite Relief Sale. Or a retired physician and his wife who include one grandchild on a medical mission trip each year.
3. join together abilities from differing cultural groups . Benefit from a bilingual Mennonite who can serve as a bridge into an ethnic community. Learn from one another
4. Sort out food traditions from faith traditions! Break all kinds of bread together
5 Spark spiritual conversations Pique people 's curiosity about Mennonites.
6 Be proactive in peacemaking Peacemaking can be marching and protesting Or it can be canning meat , using Mennonite Central Committee videos to educate children and
young people about another culture or including an international student in your activities. Look at the example of Garden Park MB Church in Denver. After 50 years , the neighborhood demographics shifted to multicultural and low-income Rather than changing their name or moving they changed their programs The church builds bridges into the community by offering free Sunday breakfasts . Peace and hope come in the form of a food pantry and clothes closet. Thi s is "Mennonite ." This is Anabapti st - NGP
of understanding of Anabaptist theology and the confusion about distinctives, why am I proud-or as a true Mennonite would say, "grateful"- to be a Mennonite with Anabaptist underpinnings? To echo the comments by survey-takers, I have four reasons.
• Legacy. After studying the history, stories and theology of the Mennonites I am inspired by the legacy of courage and conviction handed down through centuries of persecution and migration. These longitudinal stories function like the told and retold stories in the Old Testament that urge God's people to spiritual faithfulness. My adult daughter says it well, "My generation is here-and-now in our faith, but we still need something to build on. It helps to look at people who have gone before us and see how they faced hailed out crops, unwelcomed circumstances and discouragement." Newcomers and new generations need to hear both the old , old stories and also the current, personal stories of a God who continues to travel with us. Hopefully, these spiritual resources have not and will not become mired in cultural traditions, legalism or ethnic differences.
• Service. On a plane flight, I mentioned to my seat mate that I was Mennonite. "Oh," she exclaimed in hushed tones, "those Mennonites are always helping
people ." Service in the name of Christ is embedded in our quilts and intercultural handcrafts, baking, singing, relief sales, openness to immigrants and practical aid to people in our communities and world. When Mennonites hear of disaster or need, their immediate response is "What can we do?" We make a unique contribution that is attractive to churched and nonchurched people around us. As a non-Mennonite friend told me, ''Young people are looking for ways to integrate politics and religion-Anabaptists do that with their distinctives of peace and service " Ours is a practical, proactive faith
• Opportunity to share my spiritual journey. People react to the word "Mennonite " and look quizzical when hearing the term 'fulabaptist." In an age when personal stories are the basis for sharing our faith, what better hook to start a conversation and tell our spiritual story On the other hand, if we are to use this method we'd better know our theological distinctives and our spiritual history
• A sense' of family. My siblings and I are different in personalities yet each summer when we "conference" on our Alaskan homestead we focus on the same goals . We harness together our differing strengths and accomplish more than we could individually. Through work and play we maintain a legacy that was handed down to us by our parents.
In the same way, Mennonite/Anabaptist legacy is passed on and carried on through differing gifts, differing kinds of service and different people groups. Therefore, if a person's gift is singing in harmony, let them harmonize; if it is speaking in Korean, let them speak ; if it is making quilts, let them quilt; if it is rebuilding after a flood, let them rebuild; if it is baking, let them bake; if it is showing compassion, let them be compassionate. We cannot say we do not need a brother or a sister because their gifts or background is not like ours. Instead, we should rejoice that God has placed us together in a family just as he wills and that we can accomplish immeasurably more than we could ever think or do if we were all alike .
One survey respondent thoughtfully wrote, "Embracing (Mennonite Anabaptist) beliefs is not a onetime affair. It is a lifelong experience where one questions and re-evaluates one's beliefs." In doing so, we would do well to stop and ask ourselves why we are grateful-or embarrassed-to carry the Mennonite name and Anabaptist legacy.
Naomi Gaede Penner of Denver, Colo ., is a frequent writer and speaker in Mennonite circles. To add your comments to her ongoing research on "Why I'm proud to be a Mennonite" please go to www.surveymonkey.com/s asp.?u=551 73594263
Names of u.s. Mennonite
Brethren congregations
reveal a multicultural church.
The Menno 'te Brethren is truly a multicultural churGh: Ethiopian, Hispanic, Korean, Slavic and more. And that's just in the U.S. third of the names of the 195 congregations in the U.S. Confere ce represent a racial or ethnic group other than Anglo. Thirty-four names identity an ethnic group while another 37 congregational names are in languages other than English.
That diversity has been spurred by the addition of immigrants from Eastern Europe over the past decade. Fifteen congregations include the name Slavic, such as Slavic Gospel Church of BeUingham, Wash., and lmmanuel Evangelical Slavic Church of North Highlands, Calif Another two congregations are named Ukrainian and one is Russian.
Other group names are Korean (three congregations), Ethiopian (seven), Japanese and Indian (two each), Chinese and Native American (one each).
The large number of Hispanic MBs is reflected in the 33 congregations with Spanish names, such as Casa De Oracion of Rio Grande City, Texas, and Iglesia de Restauracion la Senda Antigua in Pacoima, Calif
In fact, the MB's origins among German-speaking people is indicated in the name of only one congregation: Ebenfeld MB Church of Hillsboro, Kan.
Apart from the ethnic names, no single congregational handle is predominant in the denomination. Four congregations start with Grace. Three congregations begin with Bible, Community and First (not counting Primera Iglesia Hispana Ebenezer in Portland, Ore.) while two each start Bethel and Faith. The similar names of Ammanuel, lmmanuel and Emmanuel have each been given to one congregation.
Only 61 congregations include their denominational affiliation in their names. Fifty-nine are Mennonite Brethren, two are Hermanos Menonitas (Spanish for Mennonite Brethren) and two, which are also members of Mennonite Church USA, are simply Mennonite.
Instead, most congregations have chosen other identifiers. Twenty-three include Bible, 24 are Community or Communidad, seven are Evangelical or Evangelica and 22 are Christian or Cristiana.
By Ric h Preheim
Other moniker miscellany:
• U.S. MB congregations range across the alphabet, from Adams (Okla ) Mennonite Brethren Church to Zoar MB Church of Inman, Kan. Q, X and Yare the only letters not starting a name.
• With seven letters, the Lenoir, N.C., congregation Simply called West End is the shortest name in the denomination. The longest name has 45 letters: Ethiopian Christian Fellowship-Mennonite Brethren of Sacramento, Calif
• While U.S. MB congregations overwhelmingly call themselves churches, not all do. Sixteen are fellowships, six are a center and one each is a chapel and a ministry. Of the Spanish-named congregations, 18 are Iglesia and four are Templo.
• The church is called the bride of Christ, which might explain the number of women's names, such as Bethany MB Church of Fresno, Calif; Bonita (Calif) Japanese Bible Church; Donna MB Church of Alamo, Texas; and Enid (Okla.) MB Church. That doesn't include those names that are also spiritual attributes, such as Faith, Hope and Grace.
• Thirty-five congregations are named for the cities of their mailing addresses, such as Dallas (Ore.) MB Church, Harvey (N.D.) MB Church, Mennonite Brethren Church of Dinuba (Calif) and North Fresno (Calif) Japanese Chapel.
• Citrus Heights, Calif, is home to Melchizedek MB Church, a reminder of Melchizedek, a little-known king and priest in the time of Abraham, whom some scholars think might have been an Old Testament incarnation of Christ.
Rich Preheim is a freelance writer.
finding our way
"Twenty-something"
mennonite Brethren talk about being the church in the 21 st century
we m k our 50th birthday as a conference, it is fitt' g at we li ok to the future. What will the next 50 ye orin for U S. Mennonite Brethren? What should b our focus? Wh re are we on the right track, and rile 'ght we..need to make changes?
Who better to begin answering those questions than the next generation of church members and leaders. At the close of the 2003-04 academic year, the Leader asked Fresno Pacific University and Tabor College for names of current juniors and seniors from Mennonite Brethren congregations that were considered leaders We also asked MB Biblical Seminary for the names of young adult students from U.S. MB churches Then we asked these students to share their insights via e-mail on the future of the U.S. MB church. We invited them to interact with each other's ideas . And we invited several current conference leaders-Chuck Buller, U.S. Conference executive director; Don Morris, director of Mission USA; and Steve Prieb , U.S. Conference chair-to reflect on what the students had to say.
Our panel included Tabor students Matthew Insley, Andrew Jost, Bradley Just and Briana Teetzen, all from Kansas; and Matt Regier and Rachelle Regier, both from Nebraska ; FPU students Deanne Toews, a FPU graduate with a missionary background; Muhawu Lumeya from
Kinshasa, D R. Congo and California and Katie Fast from California Sara Fast, a third-year student at MBBS from Oklahoma and Carlin Regier, a 2004 graduate of MBBS and new pastor of worship at Belleview Community Church in Littleton, Colo., represented MBBS . In reflecting on the students' comments Prieb says , "I was encouraged by their vision for the future-a call to remain biblical, Christ-centered and to invest one ' s life in service » We invite you to listen in on our discussion May you too be encouraged and challenged by the insights of these young adults.
Leader: What does the U.S . MB church need to do to be relevant in the 21st century?
Muhawu Lumeya: It needs to be sensitive to the needs of its neighbors and present the gospel in a way that is understandable. It also must encourage both young and old to learn from each other. It should create a safe environment where young people can explore, ask questions and learn more about what MBs and other Christians value and uphold. By thus dOing, a new generation of leaders is trained . Andrew Jost : The U.S. MB church needs
to focus strongly on youth, promoting biblical Scripture in plain truth. The morals and values of our society are twisting more and more in accordance with human lusts and desires. SCripture must remain our base for training and preparing an able-minded future in Christian leadership.
Briana Teetzen: The church needs to live out their faith Our culture is very much a doyour-own-thing type of society. . .. In such a culture our best witness will be our changed lives
Matthew Insley: We must be an alternative to what the world says is happiness and success by mixing the evangelical personal salvation of the evangelical movement with the concerns for social matters and community of mainline Protestants. When we do that, we give people a truly alternative community of Jesus that people can get excited about.
Bradley Just: However, the MB church should be more accepting to new church music styles and common life issues to meet people where they are at and encourage them to know Christ better.
Rachelle Regier: Find a way to make worship more enthusiastic and powerful.
Matt Regier: I think the key is service. I think many churches confuse relevance for attractiveness. Taste in worship music and church activities is constantly changing, but human suffering is universal The gospels show us that Jesus actively sought to alleviate human suffering-by healing the sick, accepting social outcasts and demanding his followers to give money to the poor. Each one of these actions is every bit as relevant for the 21st century as it was for the first.
Comment
"There is much in these responses which could have been true of any generation's answers in the past 140 years What is apparently different from my generation (boomers) is that we envisioned the local church as the center of "kingdom activities." Now it seems broader than that, which is probably good."-Chuck Buller
Leader: What does the u S MB church need to do to attract and keep people as church members and leaders?
Insley: The MB church should not worry itself with membership numbers and attracting new people until it establishes an identity that
By Myra
Holmes
is distinct from the larger evangelical movement in America ... .It may require actually losing members to make our denomination stronger.
Sara Fast: I guess it makes sense to have a distinct identity, but I think it makes more sense to grow the church and reach out.
Carlin Regier: How can we attract and keep members? Hospitality.
M. Regier: It could be as simple as that. In actuality, of course, hospitality (showing kindness and sharing our home, time, and resources) takes a lot of courage, patience and discipline
S. Fast: When people testify to how Jesus has transformed their lives, others are attracted to that; they want to learn more. But this often means we have to be transparent and real about our weaknesses
Katie Fast: I agree that humility is the bedrock of a healthy and attractive church . I think the MB church should be shamelessly genuine. There is nothing more attractive than a humble, honest, Christ-seeking congregation.
Deanne Toews: [We also need] people in leadership who truly care about the people attending, are willing to listen to their stories, and then challenge them to grow deeper in Christ.
C. Regier: But we don't treat our leaders very well all the time. We need to take care of them We need to lift our pastors up
Insley: As far as cultivating leaders, I believe that the churches must expect the children in their churches to first choose the MB colleges, second choose ministry career paths (missions, pastorate), and third choose the MB seminary We're simply not intentional enough about guiding our students
R. Regier: We need to quit sitting around waiting for God to act. Instead we need to get out into the political world and in the community and help show God's love and grace.
Comment
"Rachelle's observation is poetic I too think we have work to do as a denomination in attracting and keeping people "-Don Morris
Leader: Where is the u S. MB church "missing the boat," and what changes might we make to reclaim these opportunities?
K. Fast: I think that the MB conference as a whole must educate their congregations about the MB faith tradition. This is something that I feel is lacking.
S. Fast: Our pietistic MB spirit, which was once honoring to God, has often turned into legalism . ... We must humble ourselves before God and repent of our self-righteousness, selfreliance, pride and lack of grace with each other.
Jost: The U.S. MB church needs to start taking greater notice in U.S. and world politics . The church has to work harder at building awareness among members. Politicians are changing our world. The church can't promote candidates, but it can educate voters
Teetzen: I think the youth in the churches are widely underestimated They have much more to offer our churches than new music. The millennial or the Y generation wants to be involved They want to make a difference, but they are unimpressed with the status quo
M Regier: I appreciate Briana's vision
for an MB church that respects and fosters the genuine thirst for truth that the youth sometimes possess If churches discourage the curiosity and energy of the youth they will no doubt push them away from the church .
Teetzen: The other area that is widely overlooked is the elderly population They could have so much to offer today's churches, but I believe this resource goes untapped I would like to see senior citizens with more involvement in children and youth work in the church.
Comment
"There are already several ways that we are including youth and young adults in leadership and leadership training at both the U.S. Conference level and the district levels . For example: Ministry Quest, internships through Tabor and FPU, the national youth convention and Southern District youth camps "-Steve Prieb of these deserve our attention. Our denominationalleaders should give credence to these concerns. We definitely need to address these issues as we move forward as a church ."-Don Morris L
Catching the postmodern wave
LOOK CLOSELY: SOME OF THE students ' comments in the accompanying article contain splashes of postmodern thinking-like when they say faith must be shown in action. Or when they implore the church to be an authentic community. And their call to remain firmly rooted in Scripture is an appropriate response to postmodernism 's relativity.
Trendwatchers, scholars and Christian leaders use the term postmodernismsometimes called the "emergent" or "emerging" generation-to describe certain philosophical and cultural changes that are currently shaping our world. Defining postmodernism, however, is no simple task-like trying to capture a
stream in a bucket.
Postmodemism, as its name indicates , is a reaction to modernism, the dominant thinking for much of the 20th century. Rational thinking and the search for objective truth that would ultimately lead to utopia for humankind marked Modernism Postmodernists are skeptical of the "progress" made so they reject the idea of objective truth and the cognitive thinking that apparently failed. For a closer look at the philosophy behind postmodernism, see APrlmer onPostmotJ,. ernism by Stanley J. Grenz.
If we dip our bucket into the stream of postmodern thought, some common themes surface:
• Postmodernism, in its purest form ,
holds truth to be relative. Truth (with a capital 1) no longer is assumed , and truth (with a lowercase t) varies according to interpretation and context.
• Postmodernism places high priority on community and relationship.
• Postmodernism is experiential. What's real and true must be proven by experience , not by logic and theory.
• Postmodemism is skeptical, even pessimistic. Wendell Loewen, assistant professor of biblical and religious studies at Tabor College, says that one area of great skepticism relates to the way knowledgehas been used throughout history to gain power over others. So what?
Leader: What is the U.S. MB church doing now that we need to keep doing in the future?
Jost: From my experience, the U.S. MB church is first and foremost devoted to prayer and Scripture These are two of the greatest foundations that must be in place before a church can move forward with God's leading.
S. Fast: We must keep on emphasizing global mission and the urgency to go where people have never heard about 1esus. 1 envision us continually engaging in what God is doing around the world in our global MB family 1 believe if we intentionally gather together in our local churches to discuss this issue, God will surprise us with ideas beyond our imagination.
Teetzen: The MB church is doing a great job of shOwing love to a hurting world. Things like disaster relief go a long way in demonstrating God's care for all people. This is also true of the impact of overseas missions.
M. Regier: So-called "conservative" churches are good at promoting personal righteousness but often do so at the expense of ignoring the rest of the world. Christian "liberals" who are often better at promoting peace and social justice can be quick
If our culture is being increasingly influenced by postmodern thought , how should the church respond? Loewen has written an excellent article on how postmodem thought affects youth ministry (see "Making my religion" by Wendell Loewen in the Christian Leader, September 2000). But postmodernism's influence goes beyond youth ministry, and Loewen says that Christian leaders disagree on what it means for the larger church. Some leaders flatly reject it. Some embrace it without question Most fall somewhere in the middle , trying to find ways to minister in and to a postmodern world. (For examples , see works by Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren and Robert Webber.)
For Mennonite Brethren, postmodernism presents both opportunities and challenges. For example:
• We must stand firm for biblical
to justify unrighteousness in the personal sphere Many MBs are good at balancing the need to address the individual's standing with both God and the rest of the world.
K. Fast: However, we must caution ourselves about becoming too smug in our position. Both aspects, personal relationship and social relationship, are at the crux of the Gospel. Having one without the other offers a skewed view of Jesus' Gospel message.
Insley: 1 notice that no one (has) mentioned the MB schools. 1 believe this is at the heart of the MB conference's future The academic institutions help to keep new energy and ideas flowing throughout the church and the conference.
After reviewing the comments of these younger MBs, Buller says, "The responses of these young leaders give me much hope for the future of the church " Prieb shares Buller's optimism. "I am reminded of Philippians 1:3-6," says Prieb. "Let us apply these verses to the young adults who are becoming Christ-like leaders .As we partner in the Gospel across the generations, we may be confident that God will continue to carry on his work through those who follow."
truth Postmodern belief in relative truth is a red flag to those , like MBs , who believe the Bible is the infallible word of the sovereign God.
• We have an opportunity to meet a hunger for authentic community. As Anabaptists who emphasize covenant community, we have something positive to offer, Chuck Buller, U.S. Conference executive director, points out.
• We may consider changes in worship toward a more experiential approach. Buller says , "Truth needs to be experienced in the postmodern world, not just developed and passed out like you would the communion elements."
• We have both an opportunity and a challenge to live out faith in a way that goes beyond "head" knowledge to life changing. Our Anabaptist emphasis on daily diSCipleship will be attractive to post-
modernists , Loewen says
• We have an opportunity to show postmodern thinkers a faith that does not abuse power. Loewen says that our view of Jesus as a suffering servant could appeal to postmodernists: "We say that our faith is not about grasping power, but about serving and loving "
Of course , this bucketful of information shows that postmodernism deserves more investigation and discussion. Experts disagree on how deep the "stream" of postmodern influence runs. But clearly it is shaping and will continue to shape the cultural and religiOUS landscape. Buller says , "There's no question that postmodernism has affected everything from youth ministry to worship already. " If MBs wish to be effective into our next 50 years , we would be wise to understand and address postmodernism.-MH
INQUIRING MINDS
BY MARVIN HEIN
Questions about faith Be life
Differing theological views on the origin of the human soul
QWhat do evangelicals believe is the origin of the soul? What is their reasoning to back up that belief? (california)
A"I have been here before, but when or how I cannot tell.
I know the grass beyond the door, the sweet keen smell, The sighing sound, the lights along the shore.
You have been mine before, how long ago I may not know; But just when, at that swallow's soar, Your neck turned so, some veil did fall; I knew it all of yore."
The inquiry comes from someone who, enrolled in a university metaphysical poetry class, was taught that the soul is its own entity, transmigrating from human to human, recreating itself into something lesser or greater. The professor's view came from a poem by Andrew Marvel in which the Nice poetry, perhaps, but not very soul complains he is trapped in the body good theology. It is wholly without supand wants to be free, and the body coun- port from Scripture. A bit more biblical, ters that he is under the tyranny of the but still deficient in my mind and that of soul and therefore eternally restless. many evangelicals' minds, is the Roman I confess I haven't given much Catholic and older Reformed theory of thought to the origin of the soul. I was creationism Referring to God as the Creforced to go back to my seminary texts ator of the human spirit, this belief holds on theology and noticed we didn't dis- that God creates the individual soul cuss the soul's origin very much then immediately, either at conception, birth either. So what I am about to say may be or some point in between This view says very "antiquated" theology and should be that only the body, not the soul, is propataken with a grain of salt gated from past generations Aristotle
The theory of the soul's preexis- believed this, and Jerome spoke of God tence, which forms the basis more or less "making souls daily." George MacDonald of the belief in "reincarnation," assumes probably believed this when he wrote in that what you used to be before you his "Baby's Catechism:" came to earth in this body is the reason ''Where did you come from, baby dear? why you are what you are. We have Out of the everywhere into here. inborn depravity (sin) because of some Where did you get your eyes so blue? self-determination in a previous or time- Out of the sky as I came through. less state of being. Alfred Lord Tennyson Where did you get that little tear? I probably reflected this view when in found it waiting when I got here. "1\vo Voices," he has one voice to Where did you get that pearly ear? God another: "That though I knew not in spoke, and it came out to hear. what time or place, Me thought that I How did they all just come to be you? had often met with you, And either lived God thought about me, and so I in either's heart and speech." Rossetti no grew." doubt shared Tennyson's views when he One critical problem arises with this wrote: view-sin. God would surely not make a
al issue? E-mail Marvin at mheinl@fresno.edu or send your to "Inquiring Minds, " c/o Marvin Hein, 3036 East Magill Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710.
tainted soul. Or does the human being become a sinner by environment? The creationist says the newborn child is innocent; heredity involves only the body. That hardly seems reasonable or biblical.
The usual evangelical view of the origin of the soul comes from Martin Luther and the Reformers According to theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong, Luther held that "the human race was immediately created in Adam, and, as respects both body and soul, was propagated from him by natural generationall souls since Adam being only mediately created by God, as the upholder of the law of propagation which were originally established by Him ." In short, our souls, like our bodies, come through heredity and so are sinful at birth
Luther based his view on passages such as Genesis 1:27-28; 2:7; 4:1; 5:3; 1 Cor. 11:8; Acts 17:21-26 and Hebrews 7: 10. These passages seem to say that God created species in Adam and increases and perpetuates it through secondary agencies. Only once the breath of life is breathed into man's nostrils.
Modem theolOgians may have different views from the above "Strong" inspired views. I welcome additional light on the subject. It is interesting to see that even Luther must have had his doubts. He once said, "The reproduction of mankind is a great marvel and mystery. Had God consulted me in the matter I should have advised him to continue'the generation of the species by fashioning them out of clay, in the way Adam was fashioned; as I should have counseled Him also to let the sun remain always suspended over the earth, like a great lamp, maintaining perpetual light and heat." Fortunately, God did not consult Luther, you or me.
BY PHILIP WIEBE
Things I don't trust
The doubtful frown can come in handy sometimes
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I'M A trusting person who tries to think the best of things and give the benefit of the doubt. I would like to say that, but you wouldn't be able to trust me. In reality, I have a strong skeptical streak that runs a long way back. In one of my earliest memories this kid comes barreling down the sidewalk on his tricycle and announces, in a superior tone, that he pedals the fastest three wheels in town. In response I purse my lips and think, "Oh, I doubt it."
And so it continued from there, my natural inclination to be doubtful rather than trusting. My wife, a more trusting soul, finds this frustrating at times. I don't blame her. My lack of trust bugs me too.
But even when I try my best, I think there are some things in this world I will never fully trust. I would even go so far as to say that sometimes, in a world where so many things deserve to be regarded with the questioning squint and doubtful frown, I'm thankful for my skeptical nature.
For instance, I rarely think much of celebrity opinions. To some degree it depends on who is opinionating, of course. If Bill Gates says something about running a business, I'm inclined to believe he knows what he's talking about But when a pop star or pro athlete starts pontificating about politics, relationships, parenting or other important subjects, my trust level begins to decline Being good at playing a guitar or catching a football doesn ' t automatically make someone an expert in other areas of life. Yet excessive fan adoration and media attention give stars soap boxes
from which to speak, whether they know what they're talking about or not. And for many of them, I'd say "not," given their destructive actions and questionable lifestyle choices.
The late Christian singer Rich Mullens once said it alarmed him that fans were always asking for spiritual advice during his concert tours around the country. After all, he said, he was just a musician. Weren't such questions for the inquirer's pastor or elders or other more knowledgeable spiritual guides? But that's what can happen with fame. Celebrities are often assigned influence beyond what is healthy or deserving.
Another thing I don ' t trust is wealth I can't remember the exact quote, but someone told me not long ago that if I had something like $20 in my pocket, I was richer than the vast majority of the world's population. I did, and I am. I don ' t think people truly grasp that folks with even a modest income in our country are fabulously wealthy by global standards. But where does it get us? Unhappiness, resdessness and dissatisfaction are rampant in our culture
That's why you can't trust wealth. Once you start down that road enough is never enough. Global mission travelers keep telling us stories of persecuted, suffering, impoverished believers who are much more content and joyful than we "blessed" Americans. No wonder the Bible says that living for wealth will open the door to all kinds of trouble.
I also have a hard time trusting the increasingly brittle rhetoric of the two major political parties Am I the only one who is troubled that the parties are getting farther apart, each clinging fiercely
to its own divisive and self-contradictory dogma? A lot of other people don't appear to be disturbed by this, but rather seem to be relishing it.
So I guess I'm saying that I'm not only doubtful about the current party platforms, I'm also dubious of the people who are so attached to their party lines that they refuse to see there may be another side to the issues.
Now that I've opinionated about politiCS, let me tell you one more thing I don't trust and that's my own opinions. That doesn't mean I try to be opinionless and acquiescent to whatever anyone feels like believing, as tends to be the spirit of our age. It just means that in my thoughts, deductions and conclusions, I try to keep in mind the obvious fact that I'm not all-knowing.
The well-known Proverb says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (3:5,6). Though I've heard this a thousand times, two things always impress me.
First, the proverb does not say I shouldn't make full use of my brains and abilities to seek understanding, because of course I should. But it's not a good idea to lean all of my weight and conviction into what I think I know, because you know, I could be wrong.
Second, acknowledging God in everything is the best way to keep perspective on what to trust and what not to trust. The Bible continually warns against trusting too much in the things of this world . Trusting God, by contrast, is not only a sure thing, it's the way to discern and expose everything that's untrustworthy.
BY ROSE BUSCHMAN
No carl No mission tripl
Resting in God even when the transmission burns out
IT WAS A TUESDAY MORNING I WILL long remember. I was driving with the cruise control set at the posted speed limit of 65 mph. The morning sunshine was just right and the traffic presented no serious problems. And then it happened. Without warning I heard a dreadful sound coming from the car's engine. Startled, I immediately checked the dashboard for lighted warning signs. There were none. Gingerly, I put my foot on the brake pedal. The car slowed down. As carefully as I could, I pulled over onto the shoulder and stopped. It didn't take me long to figure out that I wasn't going anywhere. The car had no working gears. I'm no mechanic but I knew immediately that I had a serious problem.
What now? I was 40 miles from home. My husband was out of town and he had taken our cell phone since we decided he needed it more than I did. Looking in my rearview mirror I could see the buildings of the town I had just come through about two miles back. I decided to walk for help.
A few minutes into my walk a pickup truck pulling a travel camper stopped and the driver asked if I needed help. The couple, retired Baptists returning from a mission trip, took me to the next city. Thanks to a payphone and a tow truck, my car was towed to a garage where I was told that my guess was correct-the transmission had gone out.
"Is there any chance the car can be fixed this week?" I asked. "I need it for Saturday."
"No way," the service manager told me. "We have to locate a transmission and get it here-that takes several days. Then it will take a couple more to get it installed. You are looking at maybe Monday or Thesday of next week at the earliest."
"How does it feel to be part of an answer to prayer?"
My heart sank at that news.
"Okay, I'll have to figure something out," was all I said. That car was scheduled to go on a mission trip to Mexico on Saturday. A group of 11 ladies from our church were going to work in one of the colonias just across the border from Pharr, Texas. I needed this car! And I needed it Saturday morning!
"Lord, what do I do now?" I prayed. "How are you going to fix this mess?"
The answer I got was, "Be still and know that I am God."
I rented a car and drove back home. I had been on my way to visit my sister, and when I called to tell her I wasn't coming and why, she said, "I'm anxious to see how God will work this one out. Call me when you find out what his solution is."
The next morning my husband and I returned the rented car and then stopped at the dealership to make arrangements for a new trarismission
"Did you say you needed this car for Saturday morning?" the service manager asked. I nodded.
"Well, we've already located a trans-
mission and they are willing to ship it immediately. We'll put our mechanics on it right away and we may even have the car ready by tomorrow night (Thursday). Certainly, by Friday," he said. need is for you to give us the go-ahead "
I was speechless. Suddenly I grabbed his hand and blurted out, "How does it feel to be part of an answer to prayer? I've been praying that God will fix this mess And now you are telling me it can be done." Then it was his tum to be speechless.
When we got home I called my sister and told her my story.
Several weeks earlier I had experienced some serious misgivings about this mission trip. I had recruited the women and so I felt responsible for their welfare. As I sat processing my dark thoughts, Psalm 46: 10 (IqV) came to mind, "Be still and know that I am God." As preparations for the trip proceeded I repeatedly heard, "Be still and know that I am God." And so I was somewhat prepared for what happened when my car broke down. As I sat at the side of the road that Thesday morning, contemplating the seriousness of my problem, it was reassuring to hear again, "Be still and know that I am God."
And that's how the trip went, all the way down to Mexico and back. When we stopped for the night in a small Texas town and realized that we could not continue without two new tires for one of our cars, I heard, "Be still and know that I am God." It was the July 4th weekend and all the garages and tire stores in this town were closed, but by 10:30 p.m. that night we had two new tires installed!
This is the summer when I've learned over and over what it means to "Be still and know that I am God."
BY CHUCK BULLER U.S. CONFERENCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
How can I say thanks?
Following God's command to give thanks blesses others
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER THIS phrase from "My Tribute," a popular song in the 70's: "How can I say thanks?" It was one of the early worship choruses sung at my home church in Reedley; Calif It always seemed to be a song that evoked emotion among all ages. I can still remember the soloists, choirs and small groups that best sang this song, not the least of which was my first cousin Brenda Wall.
So how is it that the actual details of an experience I had over 20 years ago are still so riveted in my memory? Well, as nice as the melody was and as excellent as the singers, (did I mention my cousin?), I believe in this case it was the lyrics more than anything that stuck. That's how it is with thanksgiving : God made us to thank him and others for the experience of life itself
I believe that one of the most attractive human personality traits is the habit of saying thank you. Colossians 3: 17 says it best: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father " In everything we are invited to give thanks.
Or consider I Thess 5:18: "Giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Ouch! So much for my excuses for a lack of gratitude.
Do you know people who have this ability? I do and I'm sure you do too. Have you noticed that they are the people with a lot of friends? Have you ever had someone thank you and not enjoyed the compliment? Have you ever gotten tired of being thanked for some menial task you perform? I didn't think so.
So, in honor of thanksgiving and in keeping with God's will for me as a
God made us to thank him and others for the experience of life itse If.
Christian, I have a "Top 10" list of thank yous to hand out following the u.S. Conference convention and related events held}uly 21-26 in Draper, Utah.
1 To Paul Robie and the South Mountain Community Church team for knocking yourselves out as convention hosts. You were all amazing servants at this positive Mennonite Brethren event! Can we come again?
2. To Donna Sullivan, our administrative secretary without whom we would resemble a bunch of "loose ends" on an otherwise beautiful tapestry.
3 To Ted Haggard , Leith Anderson and Jim Holm for feeding us with the Word of God and inspiring us to greater faithfulness.
4. To the incredible caterers for feeding us with Utah-style home cookin' as well as the MB Foundation for helping to underwrite this "manna."
5. To the nearly 200 pastors who showed up for the first ever U.S pastors' conference, and the 300 delegates who came to the convention. Thanks for taking the risk with your time and money.
6. To the 50 or so "55-plus" partici-
pants who helped kick off an event which is only going to grow. Thanks, Roland and Lois Reimer, for your help with this ministry.
7. To all of the delegates who participated in the conference discussion and gave us as leaders the permission to try a new style of governance that is more streamlined but hopefully no less embraced by our churches.
8. To the former leaders of the U.S. Conference and committees-from Rolando Mireles, our moderator, to Loyal Funk, our retired 1M Director-and the nine newly elected Leadership Board members-Chairman Steve Prieb, Treasurer Dale Boese, and the 7 members-atlarge: Kathy Isaac, Henry Schmidt, Lynn Jost, Greg Quiring, John Quiring, Valerie Rempel and Joe Johns. Thanks for taking the risk of leadership!
9. To every musician from Kansas to California who helped us worship, focus our thoughts and emotions and sometimes just get people to come from the foyer into the worship center Well done!
10. To God our Father and Jesus our Lord who have taken the supreme risk of inviting us to participate with them in advancing the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven! To God be the glory!
Now I just saved myself a great deal of time in letter writing Better yet, I feel better for having taken this occasion to do the one thing every Christian has an equal opportunity to perform regardless of gifting, personality, gender or race. Saying thank you is part of why God placed us on this planet. What God created simply needed a chorus of thanksgiving, sung by a choir from every comer on this planet. So join in. Go find someone and make his or her day better by saying thank you!
Makin God "look ood"
The challenge by guest speaker Leith Anderson to "make God look good" emerged as the unofficial theme of the 25th convention of the u.s. Conference held July 23-25 in Draper, Utah.
"A working definition of what it means to glorify God is to make God look good," said Anderson, pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn., in his sermon Saturday morning. Numerous presenters that followed Anderson echoed the phrase as they fleshed out the ways in which Mennonite Brethren are glorifying God
The 251 attendees were reminded throughout the weekend that the very fact that the convention was hosted by a thriving MB congregation located in an area dominated by the Mormon church-officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-brings glory to God. Delegates witnessed firsthand the ways that South Mountain Community Church has been making God look good since it
was established six years ago
"It's all about God," Frank Avery of South Mountain told the delegates. "Evangelism is needed so greatly in this valley. The people are sweet but (IDS) is a whole different religion. I came (to SMCC) with lots of religious baggage and skepticism," said Avery.
Avery's wife became a Christian at a SMCC women's retreat and "she set an example for me," said Avery, who was raised in a polygamous IDS home and has 25 siblings "Lots of good friends were praying for us (and I was) able to open my eyes . That was a year and a half ago," said Avery. South Mountain pastor Paul Robie said Avery, who has been coming to SMCC now for three years and as a non-Christian spent a year in a Bible study, represents "lots of people in our church who have to deconstruct before they can build."
Throughout the weekend the delegates celebrated the ways in which God is glorified thanks to the ministry of men and
women who have served and will serve the denomination Loyal Funk who has spent the last 17 years working with transcultural congregations and Harold Ens who this summer completed 12-plus years as executive director of the denominational mission agency were among those recognized (see story page 25).
Delegates also honored their Lord by the manner in which they debated recommended changes to the governance structure of the national conference, to mission funding strategies and to the vision and mission of MBMS International, the North American MB cross-cultural mission agency. The discussions were thorough and a variety of viewpoints and concerns were expressed but the atmosphere was congenial. All three recommendations were passed (see story page 22).
In a request that no doubt set the gracious tone for the business sessions, moderator Rolando Mireles asked that delegates "stop reports on the hour to pray."
The first prayer break came during a presentation by conference executive director Chuck Buller regarding the proposed conference governance structure and the prayer break an hour later came during a lively discussion on the MBMSI funding proposal. When the final recommendation was approved Saturday afternoon, Mireles said, ''You have processed what ever differences we've had in a way that makes God look good."
Prayer was also incorporated frequently into times of worship led by Vaughn Jost of Hillsboro, Kan., and a team offour musicians from Southern District Conference churches. Prayers were given on behalf of a variety of conference workers and a special prayer was offered on behalf of Vietnamese Mennonite ministers currendy imprisoned for their faith. Attendees also prayed for two families who that week experienced the loss of a father: Ai Kroeker of Fresno, Calif, and Rhiney Graf of Com, Okla.
In addition to business sessions, the convention included two keynote addresses by Leith Anderson (see story page 22). Chuck Buller spoke at the final evening session and officiated at the closing communion service. It was appropriate, noted I Buller, that the newly elected Leadership Board served the bread and juice. The convention officially concluded with the Sunday morning SMCC worship service at which Paul Robie spoke and Ed Boschman lead in communion -by Connie Faber
Key recommendations passed
Relational missions model approved
, Convention business sessions focused on two recommendations from MBMS International and one from the u.s . Conference Board of Church Ministries as well as reports and presentations by 15 denominational boards and agencies and five interMennonite agencies. All recommendations passed, although delegates spent more time discussing the MBMSI funding model than was originally scheduled.
The first recommendation to be discussed and eventually approved was BCM's recommendation to "provisionally" approve a new U.S. Conference governance structure with bylaws to be written over the next two years. Chuck Buller, USC executive director, began by citing four reasons why reorganization is appropriate: cultural shifts, divestiture of General Conference ministries, staff transitions at national and binational levels and changing attitudes regarding volunteerism.
Then he addressed the most common questions asked about the proposed shift to a governance structure that is staff rather than board driven and comprised of a single rather than multiple boards. Does the proposal mirror too closely a corporate model? Buller said no. "Governance models are about relationships more than anything else," said Buller. The new model will allow for a smaller number of people to meet more frequently and develop strong relationships. Does the proposal "remove the USC from the grass roots?" Again Buller said no. Given the size of the USC, connecting to the local church is challenging regardless of the governance structure
Concerning accountability Buller said, "The first line of accountability is to God. We take that very seriously." The Leadership Board is also accountable to the churches. The Institutional Summit (an annual meet-
ing with the board and denominational agency representatives) will "provide a new type of accountability that has long been needed," said Buller. To provide for financial accountability Buller said a treasurer will serve on the board.
BCM members who served on the restructuring task force joined Buller to address questions during the two floor discussions. Questions addressed how the new model shows ownership of MB Biblical Seminary and MBMS International; the
Anderson: Ours is the best of times
"FAITH MATTERS AND IS of difficulty. The faithfulness of burned at the stake , "made the making a significant difference the early church set a unique name of Jesus look far more in our world ," said Leith example in their culture and important than his own life ." Anderson , keynote speaker thanks to the law of com- Anderson ' s present day examfor the 2004 U.S Conference pounding , says Anderson pIes included a missionary couconvention and pastor of "future history will say the pIe in Calcutta that is working Wooddale Church in Eden greatest influence of Chris- in the city ' s "red light district"
"Son of Man standing at the Prairie , Minn Anderson , tians has been during our with women and their families right hand of God " (Act 7: 56) speaking Friday evening and time." in an effort to revitalize the just before he was stoned Saturday morning , is recog- Saturday morning Ander- neighborhood. In so doing , Anderson said , glorify nized as an optimistiC son ' s encouragement to "make "they make God look really God, seek to make God look spokesman for the future of God look good " became a con- good ," said Anderson. good May you some day see the U.S. evangelical church vention catch phrase . "We can ' t "God never looked so Jesus standing for you ." and his convention sermons improve on God, but God ' s good as when through Jesus , Chuck Buller, U S Conferfocused on that theme reputation is far away from the he loved the world and healed ence executive director, spoke
Tracing the history of reality of God When we glorify the needy, " said Anderson prior to the communion servChristianity from the Roman God , we make him look good ," "Now it is our tum for choos- ice that closed the convention. Empire to the present , Ander- said Anderson ing to heed the call of God to Buller ' s message was printed son reminded his audience in Anderson again gave his- make God look good ." in "Chuck ' s Corner" in the his first address that the call to torical examples, including Anderson reminded his August Leader.-Nadine be holy often comes in times Polycarp , who when he was audience that Stephen saw the Friesen
degree of responsibility shouldered by Leadership Board members, their qualifications and the importance of trusting their leadership; budgeting procedures and whether or not the new structure represents a reduction in expenses; the challenges and importance of processing faith and life issues; the relationship between the USC and the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren; the role of district ministers; the impact on local congregations and the format of the Institutional Summit. Several delegates spoke to the importance of incorporating people of all ethnic groups in the new structure.
While delegates raised questions, many also noted they were in favor of the recommendation. The recommendation passed with no dissenting votes. When the slate of Leadership Board nominees was affirmed, USC chair Rolando Mireles encouraged them to "do good for the Lord" and to take into account the concerns delegates expressed.
The vote on MBMSI recommendations regarding its strategy for the next five years and the shift to a relational funding model was scheduled for Friday afternoon. MBMSI board chair Dennis Fast and agency staff members answered delegates' questions. Questions dealt with the changing expectations of missionaries. What if a good missionary isn't a good fundraiser? Answer: His!her support team can raise funds on the missionary's behalf. Will fund-raiSing divert
workers from their main tasks? Answer: The missionaries have been consulted about the change; they don't think it will involve an increased investtnent in time. Will the missionary, the sending church or the agency select service locations? Answer: MBMSI will continue to identify the place missionaries serve.
Other questions concerned how the funding model will affect local churches and how MBMSI staff workers will be funded under the new model. When the allotted discussion time was up, delegates were evenly split on whether or not to continue the discussion. Because Mireles wanted the delegates to "leave in unity," he announced the discussion would resume Saturday.
Saturday delegates quickly adopted the MBMSI vision statement and then turned their attention to the relational funding model. Fast affirmed the delegates for "asking good questions." At his request, newly appointed general secretary Randy Friesen commented on the funding model. Friesen emphasized MBMSI's desire to increase its overall mission force and said that the current model limits the agency's ability to do so. The new model will help congregations better know the missionaries they support, something Friesen said the churches requested.
When the floor discussion resumed, delegates talked about the importance of MB churches viewing MBMSI as their mission agency, advocated for undesignated
giving, asked for clarification on the shift in joint agency appointtnents, spoke to the importance of supporting new missionaries who do not have "a proven track record," asked for advice on how to build church budgets given the proposed model, asked how the new model helps the denomination express its MB distinctive and asked for clarification on how newly appointed missionaries and administrative personnel are funded.
Several people spoke in favor of the recommendation MBMSI staff member and former missionary Ron Penner articulated an apparently common sentiment when he said that he was always proud that MBMSI workers didn't "have to raise funds." While he "didn't like it at first," Penner said he has been "converted" to the relational funding model.
"I wish we would be able to have enough money to send out the missionaries that we get, but we don't," said Penner. "Costs on the field are escalating We've asked churches to increase giving but income has stayed the same."
Penner now believes that missionaries may be best at motivating churches to support MBMSI's vision. "The people giving the money are not changing and the people getting the money are not changing," said Penner "But the people asking for the money are now the missionaries."
Toward the end of the discussion, Bill Loewen of Wichita, Kan., seemed to sum up
the feelings of many delegates when he said, "It helps to talk. Even though I don't like (the shift to relational funding), I support it."
The recommendation passed with a 92 percent vote.
In other business, delegates discussed and approved a
2004-05 budget of $667,135; some "no" ballots were cast in the voice vote.
Delegates affirmed the international MB confession of faith. Board of Faith and Life chair Lynn Jost, who was on the confession of faith task force, explained that because storytelling is important in Asian and African culture the first half of the confession is written in that genre. BFL members J Epp and Valerie Rempel read portions of the confession aloud and delegates were invited to make comments.
"This adds a freshness to our confession," said Garvie Schmidt of Enid, Okla.
Describing the confession as "Significant," Harold Ens of MBMSI said, "Finally (the international MB community) has a confession that is our own."
A Power Point presentation chronicling its projects and a short program moderated by former Mission USA executive director Ed Boschman highlighted MUSXs 10th anniversary. Two pastors whose congregations were assisted by MUSA in addressing church health issues and a MUSA intern spoke briefly. Salt Lake City area church planters told of their pasSion for saving the lost.
Don Morris was introduced as the new MUSA director and was commissioned for service. Also commissioned during the weekend were Randy Friesen as MBMSI general secretary and Connie Faber as editor of the Leader.
In its report, the Board of Communications reviewed the information it had gathered about USC communication needs and solidted written feedback from delegates. MB Biblical Seminary president Jim Holm together with Rick Bartlett and Jim Pankratz focused the seminary's report on calling leaders to ministry. Tabor College president Larry Nikkel and Fresno Pacific University president Merrill Ewert gave updates on campus events and initiatives. Using Power Point photos of recent projects, Jon Wiebe, MB Foundation president and CEO, told delegates that while building and remodeling fucilities has a sticker price, building God's kingdom is "priceless."
Representatives from the Historical Commission, Peace Commission and Youth Commission as well as Kindred Productions, the Canadian Conference publishing ministry that serves the USC, gave reports. Five inter-Mennonite agendes reported: Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Health Services, Mennonite World Conference and Choice Books.
Steve Prieb ofTopeka, Kan., was affirmed as chair and Dale Boese of Salem, Ore., as treasurer of the new leadership Board. Other board members are Joe Johns ofWeatherford, Okla., Lynn Jost of Hillsboro, Kan ., John Quiring of Henderson, Neb., Kathy Isaac of Garden City, Kan., Greg Quiring, Henry Schmidt and Valerie Rempel, all of Fresno, Calif.-Connie Faber
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Recognition dinners highlight festive convention
Thanks to the numerous celebrations dotting the schedule, the 2004 U.S. Conference convention may be remembered as the "party" convention.
Recognition dinners for Loyal Funk, Integrated Ministries director, and Harold Ens, MBMS International general secretary, both concluded with the audience honoring the men and their spouses with a standing ovation.
Funk has spent the last 17 years developing and carrying out a national conference ministry with immigrants who were looking for a denomination with which to affiliate. Today between 30,000 and 40,000 worshipers gather weekly in Mennonite Brethren churches that have come into the denomination through Integrated Ministries.
Two pastors, representing the many pastors with whom Funk worked, expressed appreciation to Funk and the u.s. Confer-
ence. "I extend a big, big thank you to the man God has used among our Slavic people," said Walter llyin of Slavic Gospel Church in Bellingham, Wash. Daniel Kim, who six years ago planted Shalom Korean Church in Glendale, Calif, thanked Funk for his help and support. "He has a passion," said Kim.
In honor of Funk's contributions, U.S . Conference executive director Chuck Buller announced that a new Slavic church is being planted in the San Diego area, home to 50,000 Slavics. Buller also presented Funk with a restaurant gift certificate and his wife Nancy with a gift certificate for a newly released Thomas Kincaid print.
Ens was honored Saturday evening for his 12-year tenure as MBMSI general secretary. MBMSI board chair Dennis Fast hosted the program that included a video review of Ens' more than 30-year MBMSI career. Board secretary Delores Friesen gave special commendation to Helen Ens, who was not present, and board vice chair Ike Bergen of Canada presented Ens with a plaque. Ens thanked the denomination for the opportunities his work with MBMSI afforded him and his family. ''You've given me a global fumily," said Ens.
Other events contributed to the convention's festive atmosphere. Both recognition programs were proceeded by a mini concert by the Bethany Four Quartet of Fresno, Calif Delegates celebrated the 50th anniversary of MB Biblical Seminary at the Saturday morning break and noon meal. This summer Jon and Juana Pritchard of Hillsboro, Kan., completed 10 years of service with MBMSI in \ Mexico and were recognized for their service. A surprised and emotional Ed Boschman of Bakersfield, Calif, was honored for his contributions as the first Mission USA executive director. Newly appointed denominational staff members Randy Friesen, MBMSI general director, Don Morris, Mission USA director, and Connie Faber, Leader editor, were commissioned for service and a coffee break was hosted by the Board of Communications in Faber's honor.-CF
Pastors challenged to live the call
keynote speakers "served us well"
The first ever u.s. Conference national pastors' conference July 21-23 was an event organizers hoped would appeal to a large number of Mennonite Brethren pastoral staff members. The fact that 167 people registered for the event suggests that the conference was a success. The conference, hosted by South Mountain Community Church of Draper, Utah, shared the theme of "Living the Call" with the national convention that followed.
Conference speakers-nationally recognized evangelical pastors Ted Haggard and Leith Anderson and MB Biblical Seminary president Jim Holm-clearly understood the struggles and rewards of pastoral ministry, and attendees appreciated their presentations. "They have served us
well," Board of Faith and Life chair Lynn Jost said at the closing session.
The focus of Haggard's first message Wednesday evening was what he called the "mysterious ingredient in life" that causes two who share the same theological position to be so different from one another. One is "toxic" while the other is "full of life and joy-a satisfied, delightful" person who draws others to Christ.
Haggard outlined a reading of Genesis 2 that understands the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden as a system of knowledge, a way of thinking that "gives us everything except life." God warned Adam and Eve that this knowledge would "kill them," Haggard said "The knowledge of good and evil is satisfying to man. It makes us look good and causes
other people to look good." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not value transparency, innocence or authenticity. "The knowledge of good and evil always requires us to cover up," said Haggard.
When Christians live in the tree of life it "produces innocence, a sparkle in life. I see it in you," he told the audience. Haggard emphasized that Christians can live their life in either the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or the tree of life. That choice explains the difference in believers Haggard spoke of at the beginning of his message Haggard concluded his message by inviting pastors to consider whether they have been "spending too much time in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." A majority stood when Haggard invited them to do so for a prayer of commitment.
Haggard 's second presentation was devoted to a question and answer time. While not all pastors agreed with the way Haggard read Genesis 2, they seemed to resonate with his call to return to innocence and his rejection of knowledge without love. Their questions pushed Haggard to illustrate in practical ways how a pastor can lead a congregation and live life in a godly way.
Thursday evening Anderson suggested six competencies that characterize a "good and faithful servant" (Matt. 25), illustrating many with a personal experience. A leader does what needs to be done "It's not about giftedness-it's about knowing what to do and doing it," said Anderson. A competent leader chooses multiple mentors . "It's like a mutual fund," said Anderson. ''You don't want to put all your money in one person. You want to diversify."
A competent leader is one who admits
his weaknesses "The reality is that we are dealing with people in our congregations who are struggling with the same issues (as we are). What they're looking for is someone who can show them how to live like Christ." A competent pastor under· stands the context in which his ministry takes place and is "observant enough to know if a (new idea) is applicable to his situation." A competent leader trusts God for the long term. "In church ministry most of the returns tend to come with long.term investment," said Anderson . Friday morning Holm spoke about a leader's character. "You and I already know the characteristics of a leader," said Holm. "The problem is we don't know how character works." Holm told his own story. Thirty years ago at the age of 25, he became a senior pastor and desired to be a man of God. "So I enthusiastically pursued these characteristics. After 22 years I suf· fered burnout." Holm eventually resigned his pastorate, was hired by the seminary and spent considerable time thinking, reflecting and talking with others about character formation.
Holm suggested that a person is made up of three parts. The spiritual part (one's will), the physical part comprised of habits, including how one relates to peo· pie; and the soul, the part of a person that tries to balance the other two parts. Holm said that most of the time a person tries to develop a godly character by focusing on the will and so pastors preach what Holm called "should" sermons. ''You can't change character by outward pressure," said Holm. "The only way to change peo· pie is to change habits. When we change our habits we give God the opportunity to change our character." Habits , said Holm, are "doorways for God to work in us" and he told how God had changed his habit of anger
Holm concluded by saying that Luke 6: 12-19 shows Jesus spending his day doing three distinct things in a specific order: time spent in solitude, time in com· munity and time in ministry. The most important thing a leader can do is spend time in solitude with God "If you and I are to be transformed in character," said Holm, "it will be because we created a
space in our lives for God to do what he wants to do in us."
The final session focused on the diverse theological priorities held by U. S. MB pastors. Buller asked four pastors to share their stories. "We are on a mission," said Paul Robie of South Mountain Com· munity Church in Draper, Utah, represent· ing "missional" churches, congregations focused on a specific goal. Bill Braun of College Community Church in Clovis, Calif., talked about an Anabaptist center for ministry and shared his own story. "There are many ways in which this faith chose me," said Braun.
"I'm one man on a journey with God," said Steve Harms of Neighborhood Church in Visalia, Calif., representing the evangeli· cal stream. "I am a product of my experi· ences," said Harms ''You can put me in a blender-Mennonite Brethren, Evangelical Free, Congregational and Vineyard influ · ences." Stuart Pederson of Valleyview Bible Church in Cimarron, Kan , told of times when God took an active role in his life . He represented pastors who have a pietis· tic, charismatic ministry priority.
The four personal testimonies were followed by a presentation by BFL chair Lynn Jost who briefly addressed the ways in which pietism, evangelicalism and Anabaptism have shaped the U.S. MB church . He noted the strengths of each theological emphasis and also listed a cau· tion Pastors were then given an opportu· nity to ask questions. Questions focused on ways to address tensions in theological priorities and highlighted influences not covered in Jost's presentation .
Other events during the pastors' con· ference included several gatherings espe· cially for youth ministers and an evening concert by 8ebo Norman that was open to the public Members of South Mountain and Shadow Mountain worship teams led worship The conference also provided formal and informal opportunities for pas· tors to renew and initiate friendships with one another: meals, coffee breaks, a golf tournament and free time during which pastors and in some cases their families visited local attractions and relaxed togeth. er.-Connie Faber
Senior adults enjoy some "fafsa"
IFellowshi p, food and speakers highlight 55-Plus Convention
t took years to become a reality and faced the possiblity of cancellation due to poor early registration
However, the first national event for senior U S Memonite Brethren turned into a lively and inspirational event that participants hope will be the first of many. The 55-Plus Convention was held July 2526 in Drape r, Utah, folloWing the U.S. Conference convention.
"It was stimulating and encouraging," said Rich Kauffman of Belleview Community Church in Littleton, Colo , when asked about his experience. "I've made wonderful new friends with similar interests," added his wife Liz
Those sentiments were common among the 50-some participants who enjoyed a variety of speakers , quartet music and lively interaction with other senior adults.
It was evident from those who were first to arrive at registration Sunday afternoon that they were coming for a good time as laughter, storytelling and conversations among people of similar life experiences began.
A welcome to ''young older senior adults" from Roland and Lois Reimer,
event coordinators , and group mixers got the event officially underway as people continued to make connections through family histories and experiences togethe r in MB institutions and ministries
Animated visiting continued at the Jaspa meal , described as a postmodern version of a traditional light German supper. One participant not familiar with the German term Jaspa said he thOUght that maybe the word was a misprint of fafsafood and fellowship for senior adults
In keeping with the theme of the U S Conference convention, speakers at the 55 -Plus Conference spoke about "living the call " after age 55 The speakers kept the group thinking, laughing and dialoging about the content throughout the two -day event
Jim Holm , president of MB Biblical Seminary, began by estimating that attendees have heard approximately 2,500 sermons over their lifetime, most of which they don't remember "Since you're not going to remember this one either, I didn't prepare anything," he said.
That statement proved not to be true as Holm went on to describe what it means to be fully alive after 55 using the
accomplishments of older adults in Scripture as well as the legacy he, as a modern day 55-plus person, would like to leave
Reminding listeners that no one in the Bible retired , he highlighted accomplishments of Abraham, who at the age of 100 and "without Viagra, " and Sarah , the only person who "bought both Pampers and Depends at the same time," gave birth to a son
As part of his own legacy, Holm said his intention is to give energy to people and not things ; give time to what is important and not just to what is urgent; give encouragement, not criticism; and give permission and not problems. "I don ' t always want to say it was better 50 years ago," said Holm . "I want to give people permission to do things differently than I do."
In order to leave such a legacy, Holm emphasized nurturing the inside of oneself by each day offering the body to be used as Jesus chooses and by surrendering to the transforming work of God at any age . "Consider doing some of the things Jesus did ," Holm said, such as being alone with the Father Fasting and extended times of prayer and worship were ways Jesus connected with God . Holm said,
"I've come to realize I can't make the sun shine, only Jesus can do that, but I can open up the curtains and let it in."
The call to be the "amen of God" came from Bruce Anthony who introduced himself as someone who had been retired only two days before accepting a position as professor of education at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan .
"When amen was used by the early church, the whole confession of faith was wrapped up into that word. To say amen is to invite the power of God to be reflected through our lives of obedience," he said
What life was like in the early church is one question Anthony enjoys entertaining in his lifelong pursuit of learning He shared highlights of his research regarding the use of the word amen in the Old Testament and its use by Jesus and the early church
Anthony also shared stories of ways he learns about being in the presence of the amen of God from other older adults "Every little white hair and wrinkle on MB faces represents the faithfulness and amen of God," he said.
"Retirement isn't an event, it's a process," said Anthony in a second session in which he talked about how to survive retirement when one doesn't retire. He addressed two questions : How does one know when to quit and how can one keep going when not quitting
According to Anthony the author of Ecclesiastes the first when he writes, "So I saw that there is nothing better for a man tban to enjoy his work, because that is his lot" (Eccles. 3:22a).
When it came to persevering regardless of age, Anthony advocated staying healthy and connected to community. He encouraged good financial planning, becoming more focused, setting boundaries in relationships and healing broken family relationships "Keep the wisdom of the ages alive and well and pray for God 's way in sharing it," he said when addressing the challenge of knowing when giving permission to do things differently may contradict one's own authenticity
MB Foundation president Jon Wiebe
spoke of planting a legacy and addressed the question of how a financial inheritance can be used to add to rather than detract from a spiritual legacy.
Music played a large part in setting an encouraging and enjoyable atmosphere Bethany Four, a quartet from Bethany MB Church in Fresno, Calif , performed for and led the group in singing. It was difficult for participants to "just listen" while the group sang familiar songs, so often quartet and participants sang and worshipped together
Along with inspiration and fellowship, the event was also planned to be a resource for ministry to older adults . A book display by Kindred Productions, the North American denominational publishing ministry, highlighted materials related to the 55-plus stage of life Harold Franz of Wichita, Kan , had the "Grandma" program available on computer for those who wanted to find out more about their family histories
Larry Nikkel, president of Tabor College, affirmed lifelong learning and spoke of various learning-in-retirement programs like the one offered at Tabor. He also highlighted the significance of voluntarism of those who are older
A "popcorn" sharing time gave participants opportunity to share ideas related to senior adult activities used in churches and communities Several brochures and articles were also included in the 55-Plus convention packet
Paul and Jini Robie, pastoral couple from South Mountain Community Church, talked about their passion for ministry in the Salt Lake City area and answered questions related to ministry among the Mormons.
Chuck Buller, executive director of the U S MB Conference, had "the last word" following lunch on Monday. "We can go home blessed and full of hope because of our God," he said. For Buller and others it was the end of a three-part convention week that had started July 21 with the Pastors' Conference. Buller affirmed the interest and support of conference ministries by those at the 55-Plus gathering . Referring to comments by earlier convention speakers, Buller emphasized again the call of God to "ingest" the life of Jesus . "God has been incredibly faithful in showing up at this convention," said Buller. "It's all about God . That's why I have hope for the MB conference. God will continue to pursue us "
The 55-Plus convention was the fulfillment of a long held dream for Roland and Lois Reimer. Now that the dream is reality, they say, "The joyful spirit and enthusiastic interaction of those present were an encouragement for us " Judging by the response of participants to the first 55-plus convention , the Reimers anticipate that more denominational senior adult events will be planned in the future. - Nadine Friesen
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Congo MB church joins the "new" AIMM
anticipates future partnership with agency
The Congolese MB Conference has committed itself to partner with other churches to do mission work as an international and inter-Mennonite consortium. Ndunda Gilbert, president and legal representative of the Mennonite Brethren church in the D R. Congo as well as a local pastor, was one of seven African and North American church leaders to sign the joint ministry agreement of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission creating a new and innovative vehicle for mission.
The signing ceremony was a high point in the week of formal and informal
meetings of African and North American church and mission leaders . In follow-up discussions, Ndunda was asked what implications this might have for the historic relationship between the Congo MB Church and MBMS International, the cross-cultural mission agency of North American MB churches. He stated unequivocally, "We have a good relationship with MBMSI. We faced no pressure or questioning of any kind. We are an autonomous church."
Though MBMSI did not sign on as a member of the new AIMM at meetings in early June, MBMSI representative Saji Oommen signed as a witness and indicated
that MBMSI intends to join soon, to participate in the Partnership Council for Burkina Faso and is keenly interested in developments in Congo and Southern Africa. In the new arrangement, final decisions concerning program and budget for each partnership council will be made in the country in which the mission activity occurs with African conferences as full and equal partners in the decisions North American congregations will benefit from a new accessibility to missionaries and African churches, and the size and cost of the AIMM central office will be reduced .AIMM
MCC to aid for displaced people in Darfur
A MENNONITE CENTRAL Committee assessment team found thousands of displaced people in desperate conditions during aJuly 25-27 trip to four makeshift camps in Darfur, Sudan.
'There were thousands of new arrivals who had really rough, rudimenwy shelter, totally inadequate," says Willie Reimer, the team leader, concerning a camp of about 84,000 atKalma.
Whole villages have fled attacks by the Janjaweed militias in recent months , making a long journey on foot to what they hope are safer locations. Many arrive with physical scars from the attacks and have lost friends andfumily.
MCC has shipped relief supplies for 1,000 refugees from Darfur in Chad , as well as for 500 refugees from a separate conflict in the Central African Republic who are also in Chad. MCC is planning a larger response based on recommendations from the team
AI: one camp in north Sudan, the Sudan Council of Churches, an MCC partner, built an eight-classroom school and 50 basic homes Reimer says the teachers report that many of the school's roughly 750 students are traumatized. '1eachers reported that children were absent-minded and terribly sensitive to sound ," Reimer says. ''Whenever they were asked to draw piCtures , they drew a man with a
gun on a horse ." Janjaweed, as the attacking militias are known, is a colloquial Anlbic term for a gunman on horseback.
In the past 18 months in Darfur, about 1.2 million people have been displaced and about 30,000 killed. -MCC
MORE NEWS
Blanchard to speak at FPU leadership legend Ken Blanchard will be the keynote speaker Sept. 15 at Fresno Pacific University's Business Forum. Blanchard, best known as co-author of One Minute Manager, has written 16 other titles and has appeared on several national television programs Last year UCLA basketball coach John Wooden spoke at the business forum on FPU campus.-fPU
Kindred releases book
Kindred Productions has released a new devotional book, Being with Jesus by Carol Baergen. Nanatlve based, the devotionals are Intended to provoke understanding, contemplation and the desire to grow. Several questions accompany the narrative and each chapter ends with a prayer. Chapters explore attributes of a disciple with five dally readings per week and stories for weekend reflectlon. - KP
MMA releases new resource
Time Warped: Rrst Century Time Stewardship for 21st Century Uvlng, by Steve Ganger, has been released by Mennonite Mutual Ald. The book addresses how one nurtures a growing relationship with God In the midst of overloaded schedules . The 12-lesson Bible study guide Is the first In a series of holistic stewardship study books as part of MMA's stewardship educatlon.-MMA
MCC responds to floods in Asia
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE is respond ing to severe monsoon flooding in Bangladesh , India and Nepal with an aid package worth som e $6 70 ,000. The effort includes emergency relief, agricultural rehabilitation and disaster cleanup
Floods have claimed more than 2,000 lives across South Asia since mid-June, according to the Associated Press. Millions of people have been left homeless . "This is our life ," said Mohammad Sarkar, who recently returned to his flooddamaged village in Bangladesh "It 's a very bad situation , but we always struggle for existence in the char areas " Char areas are formed by silt depOSits, in this case from the Jamuna River
For nearly two weeks, he and the other 700 to 800 members of the community, lived in makeshift shelters along the Jamuna embankment or slept in the homes of more fortunate relatives Once
they returned to their village, they w ere eating a single meager meal in two si tt ings each day and struggling to rebuild th e homes that 75 of the 85 families lost In Bangladesh floods have covered about 60 percent of the country and about 40 percent of the capital city. Diarrhea and other water-borne diseases were a main concern , as temporary encampments and water-ravaged villages do not have treated water or latrines .
In Bihar, India, once floodwaters receded people struggled to meet their basic needs, says MCC program officer Achinta Das. Das, who visited villages in August, said residents , many of whom had built up bamboo shelves in their homes to sleep on , pleaded for something to eat. ''Whatever food they had was all spoiled by the water Really they are helpless now;" said Das, who found families surviving by catching fish and boiling com powder.-MCC
South Dakota MB church building burns
THE CHURCH BUILDING OF Lakota Gospel Church , a Native-American congregation in Porcupine , S.D. , on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation , was destroyed by fire June 21 The church is a member of the Central District MB Conference and the United Native Ministries , a group affiljated with Mennonite Church USA. Volunteers from Hands of Faith Ministries , an interdenominational organization based in White Clay, Neb , are rebuilding a metal structure on the same
site. Construction began July 31
Arson is suspected , church members say, though an FBI investigation and report did not determine a cause . "The only thing remaining of the church was the partially burnt wall of the porch ," says Vina Steele , a church member "We lost everything in church: books , Bibles , Sunday school materials ." A few Bibles have been donated since the fire. Since the fire the congregation ,
with attendance of 25 to 50 , is meeting in the church yard for Sunday worship services. Pastor Howard White Face says meeting outdoors has reminded the members that a church is more than a building
MB missionaries founded the church in 1953 In 1995 Native leadership took over as Mennonite financial support ended. The CDC women 's group does support the church ' s Sunday radio broadcast. -MWR
CHURCH
NEWS FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Celebrations
Inman, Kan. (Zoar)-The congregation will celebrate its 125th anniversary Sept 26 with a morning worship service and a noon meal followed by a sharing time Fresno, Calif (North Fresno Church Japanese Chapell-The congregation celebrated its 10th anniversary Aug 29 with special services and a concert
Yale, S D. (Bethel)-The congregation celebrated 100 years of history Aug 14- 15 A celebration highlighting MBMS International was held at Bethesda Church in Huron, S.D , Saturday and Bethel hosted two services Sunday Eagan, Minn. (Grace Church of Minneapolis)-The Slavic congregation which recently became part of the Central District was dedicated July 11. Seventy percent of the con -
gregation consists of new believers
Deaths
FUNK. LEONA, Corn, Okla ., member of Corn MB Church, was born Nov. 17,1915, to Cornelius J. and Lydia Schmidt Funk northwest of Corn, and died July 8, 2004, at the age of 88 She is survived by three brothers, John and wife Viola of Corn, Paul and wife Rosella of Inman, Kan. , and Dannie and wife Wanda of Olathe, Kan.; one sister-in-law, Rose and husband Harold Epp of Buhler, Kan., and one brother- inlaw, Alvin and wife Glenna Dalke of Selma, Calif
GRAF, RHINEHOLD, "RHINEY," Corn, Okla , member of Corn MB Church, was born March 27, 1921, to Karl and Magdalena Graf on a farm near Henrietta, Tex , and died July 23, 2004, at the age of 83 On Dec 28, 1947, he married Annie Lee, who survives He is also survived by
one daughter, Jolene and husband Leon Thiessen of Fresno, Calif.; three sons, Harlan and wife Betty of San Ramon , Calif , Lyndon and wife Debbie of Marlow, Okla., and Mark and wife Vonda of Corn; one sister, Elsie and husband Gene Strange; two brothers, Albert and Marvin and wife Beth, 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
GRUNAU, ALLEN RAY, Hillsboro, Kan., member of Hillsboro MB Church, was born Oct 21, 1922, to J e. and Minnie Grunau, and died July 30, 2004, at the age of 81 For 57 years he was married to his wife LeOra, who survives He is also survived by one son, Charles of Hillsboro; one daughter, Patrice and husband Robert Brown, Jr. of Phoenix, Ariz.; one brother, Clifford and wife Polly of Perryton, Tex.; three sisters, Rosella Thomas and Ruby Suderman of Hillsboro and Wilma Ewert of Sacramento, Calif.,
and one granddaughter
JANZEN, CLARA GERTRUDE, Enid, Okla., member of Enid MB Church, was born April 12, 1915, to Cornelius and Gertrude Wedel in Corn, Okla , and died June 8, 2004, at the age of 89 On Sept. 1, 1935, she was married to John Janzen, who predeceased her. She is survived by one son, Dwayne and wife Gloria of Enid; one daughter, Faith Mary and husband Ron Heinrichs of Hot Springs Village, Ark ; one brother, Ben Wohlgemuth of Skiatook, Okla., three grandchildren and two great grandchildren. KARBER. CLARENCE E , Fairview, Okla , member of Fairview MB Church, was born Dec. 15, 1911, to Jake P. and Eva Penner Karber in Balko, Okla , and died Aug. 8, 2004, at the age of 92 On April 14, 1935, he was married to Rena Martens, who survives He is also survived by one son, DeLayne and
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his wife Cheryl of Geneva, Neb. ; one daughter, Mary and husband Mark Hopkins of Tulsa , Okla ; one brother Bill of Marlow, Okla.; one step - brother, Herb Unruh of Newton, Kan ; one half-sister, Clara and husband Rudy Loewen of Dodge City, Kan , f ive grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
KNAAK, EDNA MAY JOST, Reedley, Calif., member of Reedley MB Church, was born April 21, 1925, to David a nd Tina Jost in Moorse, Sask , and d ied Ju ly 8, 2004, at the age of 79 On Jan 17, 1944, she married Ri chard Knaak, who survives. She is also survived by one son, Don and wife Nancy of Reedley; two daughters, Shirley and husband Jim Toews and Lynette Grauman of Reedley, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.
KLIEWER, CORNELIUS LEROY uBUD,U Reedley, Calif., was born Dec 14, 1916, to Cornelius R and Elizabet h Kliewer near Corn, Okla , and died July 5, 2004, at the age of 88. In January 1949 he married Olga Dick, who predeceased him He i s survived by one daug hter, Jo lene and husband Wynn Higley; three sisters, Verena Grider of Reedley, Elizabeth Fast of Kansas and Darlene Nickel of Oklahoma; three brothers, Elmer of West Virginia, Clarence of Texas and Ray of Oklahoma and two grandchild ren.
KR OEKER, ELIZABETH DYCK, Corn, Okla , was bo rn Dec.22, 1919, to David H and Elizabeth Nikkel Dyck southwest of Corn and died June 21,2004, at the age of 84. On Dec. 22, 1940, she married E R Kroeker, who predeceased her. She is survived by two sons, Virgil and wife Marilyn of Oklahoma City, Okla. and Larry and wife Eugenia of
Employment: Local Church
Greenhaven Neighborhood Church in Sacramento, Calif., is currently seeking a senior pastor to lead and serve with our congregation of 100 adults plus many children. We are a 40-year-old Mennonite Brethren church with a renewed vision to "do what it takes" to transform lives through trusting in Jesus Christ. We seek a pastor who loves Jesus Christ and has a gift and desire to communicate God's word to the community Compensation will be based on education and ministry experience Information can be found at www.greenhaven.org or by calling the church office : (916)-422-8253.
Employment: College
Tabor College is seeking a Stewardship Representative/Director of Church Relations Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement, the Director of Church Relations will coordinate the strategy for and oversee the college's church relations program. As a member of the Advancement team, this person will also serve as a Stewardship Representat ive to identify, cultivate and solicit prospects for annual, restricted and campaign gifts. Successful candidates should be excellent communicators, both verbal and written, be knowledgeable about fund raising and have organizational and administrative skills A high level of personal motivation, initiative and creativity is essential. Successful candidates will have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, the desire and ability to travel and an understanding of and commitment to Christian higher education Ministry experience preferred Tabor
McKinney, Tex ; one b r other, David and wife Donna of Reedley, Calif ; one sister, Marie and husband Elmer Jantz of Lynchburg, Va ; three sisters -i n- law, Ella Dyck of Cimarron, Kan., Lydia Kroeker of Corn and Christine Gunther of Reedley, Calif ; two brothers -in - law, Pete and wife Salome Kroeker of Reedley, Calif , and Jacob and wife Georgia Kroeker of Lexington, Ky , five grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren
SCHROEDER, MARIA ROSE, Adams , Okla., m ember of Adams MB Church, was born November 1924, to Herman and Maria Jantzen Friesen in Hooker, Okla , and died June 30, 2004, at the age of 79. On April 20, 1947, she was married to W K. "Bill" Schroeder, who survives. She is also survived by one son, Dwayne of Adams; one daughter, Kathy Krontz of Adams; one brother, Leland and wife Alfretta Friesen
CLEARINGHOUSE
College, a four-year Christian liberal arts institution founded in 1908, is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer As an educational institution operating under the auspices of the u.s. Conference of MB Churches, Tabor College is permitted, and reserves the right, to prefer employees on the basis of religion. (Title VII, Sections 702 -703, United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended) Interested applicants should send a letter, resume and names of three references to : Jim Elliott, Vice President for Advancement, Tabor College, 400 S. Jefferson St , Hillsboro, KS 67063. Electronic submissions to jime@tabor edu will also be accepted.
Employment: Ag e ncy
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM) is seeking an Executive Coordinator to lead in the implementation of "Partnership Africa," AIMM's renewed vision for an international and inter-Mennonite mission venture in and from Africa While responsibility for actual program decision-making is being shifted to partnership councils operating in the country of mission activity, certain networking and facilitating responsibilities will be required centrally. Hence AIMM will maintain an International Central Council (ICC) with a small central office staff. The Executive Coordinator will work on behalf of and be accountable to the AIMM ICC. The actual full -time equivalent (FTE) of the position is negotiable. It will, however, be the responsibility of the Executive Coordinator to ensure that all the necessary functions of the central office are professionally attended
of Bethany, Okla.; two sisters, Edna Classed of Pratt, Kan., and Leona and her husband D.K. Schroeder of Adams; one sister-in-law, Lela Friesen of Adams and two grandchild ren.
WIENS, MARY, Grandview, Mo , was born Feb 27, 1959, to John and Bertha Quiring in York, Neb., and died June 16, 2004, at the age of 45. She is survived by husband Gary; one son, David and wife Stephanie of Kansas City, Mo ; two daughters, Alyson and husband Ben Alberts and Rachel. all of Grandview, Mo.; her mother, Bertha Quiring of Henderson, Neb.; one brother, John and wife Helen of Hampton, Neb.; three sisters, Carol and husband John Dick, Ela ine and husband Larry Nikkel, all of Hillsboro, Kan., and Jan and husband John Thiessen of Inman, Kan., and one granddaughter.
to, either by the Executive Coordinator or other staff. A list of these central office functions is available on request The successful candidate for this position should have the following qualifications : (1) an Anabaptist/Mennonite approach to Christian faith and mission, (2) experience and knowledge of mission in Africa, (3) fluency in English and French and(4) ability to build and coordinate a new organization. Currently the AIMM administrative office is located in Goshen, Ind., but the Executive Coordinator may be located elsewhere in North America or in Africa. The position may begin as early as Jan 1,2005 or as late as July 1, 2005. Salary, benefits and FTE negotiable Applications should be received by September 15. Letters of application or other inquiries should be sent to : Dave Dyck, Transition Coordinator, 660 Bardal Bay, Winnipeg, Canada, R2G OJ2 Email : dmdyckl@mts.net. Phone : 204-663 -4342
Mennonite Central Committee urgently needs three workers to support the MCC program in Bangladesh through a major transition. A service worker coordinator is needed for one to three years to provide support for the expatriate service worker team as they adjust to life and work in
Bangladesh. Previous overseas experience and a degree in human resources, social work, international development or related field required A marketing/public rela -
tions officer is needed to assist the NGO partner develop a marketing strategy and determine new products A degree in business administration or public relations/marketing and three years of related experience are required. Three-year term preferred. A business co nsultant who knows the fair trade sector is needed for one year to do indepth financial analysis and recommend financial restructuring for an MCC organization moving to independence as a local NGO. For more information about these positions, contact Jan Siemens jds@mcc org (717) -859 - 1151 or read the assignment descriptions on our Web site www mcc org/serve.
Events
Ro cky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale for MCC, October 15-16, Fairgrounds, Rocky Ford, Colo Festival of food, fun and fellowship: quilt auction, crafts, plants, woodwork, kids' auction and activities (including service project) New : Fair trade "coffee with friends" booth. 1947 John Deere Model D tractor, serial number 167745. High Atmosphere Bluegrass Band performs Friday evening, 7:30 See www emclj org/sale, or call 719-3847914
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Knowing who we are
Thanks to the time we U.S. Mennonite Brethren spent together this summer in Utah, we learned some things about ourselves. The first ever U.S. Conference pastors' conference and 2004 national convention gave us a better sense of our identity. We learned that because of MB church planting efforts, Salt Lake City has begun to take notice of the God we serve. Significant numbers of former Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members are being baptized at South Mountain Community Church in Draper and Shadow Mountain Community Church in West Jordan. The ministry of South Mountain church planters Paul and Jini Robie and Mike and Joani Bell and Shadow Mountain pastor Cory and Trina Anderson and their congregations are making a difference in this predominantly Mormon community.
Our family's experience in Utah this summer sparked a desire to learn more about the LDS church, a religion that began here in the U.S. and has spread throughout the world So we visited the LDS Temple Square area and heard from our daughter some of the things she learned during the high school students' visit with former Mormon Sandra Tanner. Since the convention I've read several books related to Mormon beliefs and history, studied the material Tanner distributes and talked with people who have lived in Utah.
While I've learned enough to know there is a lot I don't know about the Mormon church, two things have impressed me. First, in many ways we would call Mormons "good" people. They are conservative, hardworking, well organized and seem to care deeply about families. Second, Satan is using Mormon beliefs to oppress people who desperately need to experience God's saving grace. And thanks to church planters supported by U.S. MBs they are finding him
The 2004 convention reminded us that we MBs care about people in our country and around the world who don ' t know Jesus. Meeting together in Salt Lake City showed us that our evangelistic efforts over the past 10 years have made a difference.
We also learned that MBs hold a variety of theological priorities. "There isn't just one MB church out there," said Chuck Buller, U S Conference executive director, at the pastors' conference. We heard repeatedly during the conference that it is good to celebrate diversity. Noting that the MB church is becoming increaSingly diverse, pastors' conference speaker Ted Haggard said, "I'm seeing that more and more in the body of Christ. God is doing something wonderful in the body of Christ. God is highlighting to us that we need the diversity of the body of Christ. "
I left the pastors' conference with a new appreCiation for the diversity that marks U.S MB identity today. I saw again that the U.S. Mennonite Brethren family is bigger than the group I worship with weekly. A variety of elements, including Anabaptism, pietism and evangelicalism, has influenced our denomination since it was founded almost 145 years ago and continues to shape us today.
I also left with questions. The pastors' conference was descriptive-it showed who we are Is that enough? Should we go further? What if the pastors' conference had been prescriptiveengaged our leaders in talking about what we want to become? Do we have the courage to dig deeper? Sometimes it seems wise to leave well enough alone We can enjoy celebrating our identity as a national church but discussing how we want to form that identity for future ministry seems risky. We might learn some things about one another that make us uncomfortable . What ifwe don ' t agree on important matters?
In thinking about these questions I am reminded of a marriage relationship. Marriage involves forming a common identity from separate parts and in a Christian marriage the couple commits themselves to sticking together through that challenging process "till death do us part." My husband and I brought different beliefs, experiences, attitudes, habits and expectations into our marriage and we have had to figure out how to transform our differences into oneness. It hasn't always been easy, but we've seen our relationship become stronger as we've wrestled with our differences. In the process we've learned that unity is not the absence of disagreement but rather the presence of love and respect. Even after 20 years of marriage, there are some things-important things-about which we have agreed to respectfully disagree.
Just like a marriage is strengthened when a couple explores their differences, so a denomination can grow when it takes the risk of exploring its identity. And just like a Christian marriage assumes a long-term commitment, so we as a family of churches can agree to remain committed to one another as we wrestle with questions and encounter disagreements.
Questions are easier to raise than answers, I'll admit. But the commitment Christian couples make to one another in their pursuit of oneness can encourage us as we wrestle with our denominational identity. As we U S MBs begin the next season of national conference ministry, may we accept the challenge of together speaking to our identity and how we will address the issues that face us as 21st century evangelical Anabaptists.-CF
