The Messenger January 2020

The Messenger a publication of the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Volume 58 No. 1 January 2020

Reading the Bible like the Apostles page 12

ALSO INSIDE:

The Most Critical Text for Today’s Disciples page 6 Ridding the room of argument page 10

ISTOCK

Study says evangelicals could keep more young people page 30

Editorial

Iran, Prayer and Actions toward Peace

A

t the time of this writing (Jan. 7 and on) the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq by the U.S. has led to tensions among these three countries in particular and stress felt by more of the world.

It’s a time for prayer and actions toward peace.

In the tension, part of the EMC Statement of Faith remains challenging: “As Christians committed to love and nonviolence, we may not participate in or support anything that will violate this life of peace. We should do whatever we can to lessen human distress and suffering, even at the risk of our own lives. In all relationships, we should be peace makers and ministers of reconciliation” (The Constitution, p. 11). How do we apply this today?

How do our beliefs and practices provide a framework as we respond to the killing and the potential for a wider conflict?

What does it mean when Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt. 5:8)? Is peacemaking a passive or an active activity?

Put another way, is it to be quiet or prophetic? In my view, we can pray quietly for governments, people, and peace; and we can be prophetic in our actions. There is a place for governments to hear of our concerns for peace and justice (see the Book of Amos) and that on any side the personal egos of politicians and an arms race are unhelpful.

When it comes to its official stance of pacifism, the EMC has not faced a serious test since 1945 when its KG leaders, members, and non-members faced military conscription. For three-quarters of a century Canada has relied upon a volunteer army and, as a result, generations of Anabaptist leaders and members were spared being called before a military tribunal to give evidence that their pacifism existed in more than convenience and words.

Seventy-five years after World War Two is pacifism in some EMC circles treasured as an Anabaptist distinctive, dusted off a bit occasionally, yet seated on a shelf? One wonders. What do our personal responses to the killing of the Iranian general indicate to us about the pursuit of peace within the EMC today?

In 2005 an EMC survey of some of our leaders and members revealed that most who responded did not see pacifism as a test for membership in an EMC church; in their view, a belief in pacifism was not needed to become a church member. (This did not mean that these leaders and

members thought the officially pacifist stance of the EMC should be changed.) Dr. Ron Sider, who spoke at our EMC convention in 2006, said then that “hundreds, even thousands” of believers should serve on Christian Peacemaker Teams (TM Sept. 20, 2006, 6).

Currently, members in EMC circles hold various views on peace and war, yet it doesn’t take a full pacifist opposed to Christian participation in any and every war to be concerned about what is happening in much of the world. Some countries are testing new weapons. The nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty seems to be tattered at the edges. A few countries with nuclear weapons seek to deny them to others without acknowledging their double-standard (no country should have such weapons, in my view).

Too many countries are engaged in conflict internally or with other nations on various levels.

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). What does the pursuit of peace mean today?

– Terry M. Smith

How do our beliefs and practices provide a framework as we respond to the killing and the potential for a wider conflict?

2 The Messenger • January 2020

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

The Most Critical Text for Today’s Disciples – Dr. Darrell Johnson

A Path to Peace

page

16

Not-So-Great Expectations – Kevin Wiebe

10 Ridding the room of 15 Archives Alcove argument My Dad, Cornelius B. Dueck, – Corey Herlevsen

12 What It Means to Read the Bible like the Apostles – Layton Friesen

was a CO – Mervin Dueck

32 A Reader’s Viewpoint When is Someone ‘Old’?

– Frank Derksen

30 Study says evangelicals could keep more young 34 His Light to My Path people Recent Thoughts on Salvation – Terry M. Smith

Departments 2 Editorial 16 With Our Churches 21 News 33 Shoulder Tapping

– Karla Hein

35 Stewardship Today

page

19

Something More Precious – Sherri Grosz

36 Kids’ Corner

The Year 2020 – Loreena Thiessen

page

21

page

27

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 3

Volume 58 No. 1 January 2020

EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH tsmith@emconference.ca

ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER awalker@emconference.ca

Submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.

The Messenger is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Its purpose is to inform concerning events and activities in the denomination, instruct in godliness and victorious living, inspire to earnestly contend for the faith.

It is published 12 times per year, six in print (also online at www.issuu.com/emcmessenger) and six in a website format at www.emcmessenger.ca. To get the most out of The Messenger, viewing both versions is encouraged.

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed.

Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

Views and opinions of writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Conference or the editors. Advertising and inserts should not be considered to carry editorial endorsement.

The Messenger is published by the EMC Board of Church Ministries, 440 Main St, Steinbach, Man., and is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press.

Subscription rates (under review) 1 year print subscription $20 ($26 U.S.) Manitoba residents add 8% PST. Single print copy price: $2 Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

The Messenger is available for free to all online at: www.emcmessenger.ca If you wish to sign up for our email newsletter. Pleaase contact Andrew at: awalker@emconference.ca. Digital copies are free.

Change of address and subscriptions Undelivered copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be addressed to: 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Phone: 204-326-6401 Fax: 204-326-1613 E-mail: messenger@emconference.ca www.emconference.ca/messenger Second-class postage paid at Steinbach, Manitoba.

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 Advertising The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards, and ministries; inter-Mennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads and inquiries should be sent to messenger@emconference.ca.

4 The Messenger • January 2020

Notices

Flight 752 Our sympathies are extended to the families and friends of all who died on Flight 752. As horrible events have unfolded (ballistic missiles being sent and Flight 752 being shot down) and as more information has come forward, we “grieve with those who grieve” (Rom. 12:15). We grieve for all who died on Flight 572 from various

nations, and for the families and friends of 57 Iranian Canadians who died. The losses ripple across Canada: in families, neighbourhoods, in academic circles and wider Canadian society. We pray for more peace in God’s world.

– Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Advancing Ministry Through Prayer EMC Missions invites you to come and discover the power of prayer and worship in a cross-cultural setting. Pray with our EMC missionaries, church leadership, and local believers, as together we seek to strategically advance Christ’s Kingdom as God envisions it.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Dates: April 28 – May 5, 2020 (six days in-country) Registration Deadline: March 15, 2020 Cost: $850 (approx.) plus flights and personal insurance costs

Minga Guazú, Paraguay

Dates: March 26 – April 6, 2020 (10 days in-country) Registration Deadline: January 26, 2020 Cost: $1400 (approx.) plus flights and personal insurance costs

Ministry Details:

You will spend time praying one-onone for missionaries, church leadership, national believers and non-believers as you worship the Lord together. You will pray for strongholds to be broken and the gates of heaven to open, flooding the light and love of Christ into the hearts of these beautiful people.

Participant Profile:

If your heart is beating for intercession and you are ready to explore new places and ways of praying, this is definitely something for you. Experience is not as important as a heart willing to learn and serve. Grade 12 and up.

Call the EMC office at 204-326-6401 or email Ruth (rblock@emconference.ca) to request an application form.

ISTOCK

The Messenger

Column • A Path to Peace

Not-So-Great Expectations

S

by Kevin Wiebe

ISTOCK

ome people might describe me as a little bit particular. Okay, maybe more than just a bit. I am someone who likes to have things in order. I don’t like chaos, discord, or things left undone. When it comes to relationships, one of the things that has a tendency to cause me the most pain is when there are relationships in conflict where reconciliation has yet to happen and there is no clear path forward to restoration.

The Apostle Paul writes, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18 NIV). This message puts a great deal of responsibility on each individual to do what they can to live at peace. It also offers a healthy dose of realism, reminding us that not all things will depend on us.

This is where I get myself in trouble and make my own life needlessly difficult. I sometimes act as if it does all depend on me. I have a tendency to take on responsibility that isn’t mine to carry. So, when I experience a breakdown in relationship that had nothing to do with me, I have typically taken it very hard. Maybe the root of the issue was another person’s addiction, maybe it was their toxic or abusive behaviour, maybe their simple choice to fuel hatred instead of harmony. Whatever the case, we ought to expect there to be times when peace between us and others does not depend on us.

The expectation that I can fix everything or that it all depends on me is just plain unhealthy and wrong. Yet for some reason I find it hard to dispel such damaging expectations. Perhaps you feel the same way and can’t stand when things aren’t perfect.

In the Gospels we read about the very first communion service. This moment inaugurated a tradition that would continue to this day. It was a holy moment where the disciples of Jesus communed with one another and even with God in the flesh. Surely, such a moment that would have

such an impact on the Church could be as perfect as a moment could be.

Surely such a time, with God being present in person, would be something holy, sacred, and peaceful. Yet this was not entirely the case. Jesus was about to be betrayed, abandoned, suffer through a rigged trial and ultimately be tortured and murdered alongside criminals. Jesus knew this was to come, and his betrayer was even in the room with him.

If this sacred moment had such treachery hanging over it like a cloud, and yet could impact the church for millennia, then surely when we experience conflict and discord it doesn’t mean we can’t still experience something meaningful and lasting with God. Perhaps you, like me, need to learn that after we do whatever we can to live at peace with others, there may still be no peace between us and them—but we should not let that ruin the communion we can still experience with our Lord.

The expectation that I can fix everything or that it all depends on me is just plain unhealthy and wrong.

Editor’s Note: To assist congregations in tough conversations, the Board of Church Ministries has approved a special column series by Kevin Wiebe, a BCM member. Kevin is the senior pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, which meets in Stevenson, Ont. He has a BA in Communication and Media Studies (Providence) and a Certificate in Conflict Management and Congregational Leadership (Conrad Grebel).

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 5

SBC Leadership Conference • March 20–21, 2020

The Most

Critical Text

for Today’s Disciples

ISTOCK

by Dr. Darrell Johnson

6 The Messenger • January 2020

T

here are critical texts in which disciples of Jesus in our time would do well to inhabit. Perhaps the most critical text for disciples living today is Revelation 1–3, where the Risen Jesus in the 1st century speaks to His churches.

While on the prison island of Patmos, just off the coast of modern day Turkey, the apostle John, sent there because of his uncompromising allegiance to Jesus as Saviour and Lord, is met by Jesus in a vision, and hears His word of comfort and challenge to seven churches back on the mainland. Why these seven churches and not others, we are not told. In speaking to those seven, Jesus was speaking, and is speaking today, to the whole Church in every era and in every location.

Although He speaks a particular word to each context, Jesus speaks to the basic issue disciples were facing: compromise. Each church in each city was under pressure to compromise on the essential affirmation of the Christian faith: Who Jesus claims to be, gathered up in the word “Lord.” In the Gentile world, the word, kurios in

wants His church to be. None of them had any clout with their government; they were held in suspicion by the powers that be. None of them had the favour of the culture; they were living at odds with the major ideologies of the day.

They all experienced what the apostle John calls “tribulation,” which John says is inescapable if one seeks to follow Jesus. “I, John, your brother, and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus” (1:9). John is saying that to be “in Jesus”—and given Who He is, who would not want to be?— is to be “in the kingdom,” and, therefore, “in tribulation.”

The word John uses, thlipsis, refers to the pressure when two kingdoms collide—two different value systems, visions of human flourishing, understandings of world history. All seven of the churches Jesus loves and addressed were experiencing that pressure to “back off,” don’t take Jesus that seriously, “go with the flow.”

In each of the seven messages Jesus speaks to thlipsis, and calls us to “hang in there,” “keep going.”

Although He speaks a particular word to each context, Jesus speaks to the basic issue disciples were facing: compromise.

Greek, was what the Emperor, the Caesar, was called and demanded all citizens call him.

In the Greek-speaking Jewish world, Lord, kurios, was the substitute for the sacred name Yahweh, the One and only God. Disciples in the cities of Asia Minor were under pressure from both Rome and the synagogue to compromise.

In each letter Jesus calls disciples to stand under the pressure, a risky and costly thing to do.

In Revelation 1–3, I will try to unpack Jesus’ word to a context very much like what we face in post-modern Canada. I do not want to give away what I will develop during our time together! Let me make a few observations to help as you read the chapters in preparation.

Pressures When Two Kingdoms Collide None of the churches of Asia Minor had the benefits many think we need to be all Jesus

Symbols and a Fierce Battle

In each of the seven messages Jesus ties into language and symbols with which people of the particular city would connect. In His message to the church in Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) Jesus refers to Himself as “the One Who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:12). In one sense, it is something He could say to any of the churches.

Why here? Well, the symbol for the city of Pergamum was the sword, for it was one of few cities of the Empire given the power to exercise capital punishment.

For another, there was fierce battle going on in the city for the mind, around human sexuality, and the human quest to know and find the Divine. Jesus is telling that congregation that He is present with them in the battle; indeed, that He can win it. In the upcoming lectures, I will identify how Jesus connects with other cities.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 7

ISTOCK

If Jesus were to write a letter to your church in your city what words and images would He use?

Who is ‘the Angel’ of a Church?

In each of the seven messages Jesus speaks to “the angel” of the church. What does that mean? No one knows with certainty. Real angels, assigned to oversee the life of the congregation?

What would that involve on a practical level? Or does “angel” refer to the “spirit” of a congregation, shaped by decisions and practices over the years, whether leaders can articulate it or not?

Or does “angel” refer to the pastors and elders of the congregation? Whatever option we take, Jesus clearly knows the spiritual and political dynamics of the congregation.

In each message Jesus tells the congregation what He likes and dislikes about their life and ministry—except to Smyrna (2:8–11) and Philadelphia (3:7–13). Why no critique of those two congregations? Neither was situated in easier contexts than the other five. Why were these two able to stand under the pressure to compromise?

To Smyrna: “I know your poverty” (2:9). To Philadelphia: “little power” (3:8). Is it because both churches knew they could not stand on

8 The Messenger • January 2020

Why no critique of those two congregations? Neither was situated in easier contexts than the other five. Why were these two able to stand under the pressure to compromise? their own, and so, unlike the other five, threw themselves on the only One Who can stand? In which category does your church line up: “This I have against you” or no criticism? Or somewhere in between? If the former, what do you think Jesus wants to name in your situation?

And what do you think He wants you to do about it?

To Do Something

In each, Jesus calls the congregation to do something. Each relates to the particular form of the pressure being experienced in the particular city.

What are the pressures churches in your city facing? How are you under pressure to not stand in faithful allegiance to Jesus as Lord? Although spoken to two churches (Smyrna and Philadelphia) Jesus would give the same exhortation to all churches in all cities of the world in every era of history: “Do not fear,” “Be faithful,” and “Behold,” or “Look.”

In each message Jesus makes wonderful promises. It is a wonderful “persevering-building” exercise to list all the promises He makes in the seven messages. (He still speaks them to us!)

“I will grant you to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God”(2:7); “I will give you the crown of life” (2:10); “You shall not be hurt by the second death” (2:12); “I will give some of the hidden manna” (2:17); “I will give them authority over the nations” (2:26); “I will give the overcomer the morning star” (2:28), which from 22:16 we know is Jesus Himself; “I will not

What we need is to hear the Voice of the Head of the church. Which we do in the seven messages to the seven churches.

of Canada in these quickly changing, increasingly challenging times. “Speak Lord, Your Church is listening.”

I look forward to our time together on March 20–21, 2020.

Dr. Darrell Johnson is the speaker at the Leadership Conference to be held at Steinbach Bible College on March 20-21, 2020. He will speak on The Voice of Jesus: Listening to the True King and the True God Speaking to His Church(es). Dr. Johnson has served as pastor and preaching minister for churches in the U.S., the Philippines, and Canada. He taught full-time from 2000–2009 at Regent College (Vancouver) in the areas of pastoral care and preaching. He is currently involved in writing, preaching, and mentoring. He and his wife Sharon have four children and they enjoy their grandchildren.

erase their names from the book of life” (3:5); “I will keep you in the hour of testing” (3:10); “I am coming quickly” (3:11); “I will come in and dine with them, and they with Me” (3:20); “I will grant them to sit down with Me on My Father’s throne” (3:21).

Mercy! How can we ever absorb the full implications of such promises?

Hear the Right Voice

Now, it turns out that all these promises to “overcome” are then fleshed out in the closing chapters of the whole of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Fleshed out in the new heaven and new earth Jesus is preparing for this broken world.

From nearly every side, we hear all kinds of voices telling us what the church is supposed to be and how we are to live it out in our time.

What we need is to hear the Voice of the Head of the church. Which we do in the seven messages to the seven churches. Immerse oneself in these texts, and we become all the more sensitive to the word He is speaking to the churches

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 9

PHOTO: DESIGN PICS

Discussion and Discernment

Ridding the room of argument

by Corey Herlevsen People tend to rid the room of argument until they have no one left except those who will agree with them. It’s understandable, but I like a good argument (Bono).

room is going to get smaller and emptier until there is really no one left but us. Even then, sometimes, we won’t like the company we are keeping.

very week I seem to bump into the idea or belief that the presence of argument is clear evidence of the absence of peace.

This belief leads people to pretend that there is nothing wrong, there is no need for argument, and let’s just smile and play nice.

As Christians, we are called to something else.

We are called not to avoid or minimize conflict, but to enter into it in a way that makes room for growth, redemption, reconciliation, and Christ-likeness.

I do not wish, however, to be misunderstood.

When I suggest that argument or conflict is necessary, I am talking about an active peacemaking that engages community and contributes to authenticity. I am not talking about the passive and dehumanizing bickering that undermines it.

Argument is not pleasant. We often avoid argument and conflict because of fear: fear of escalation, fear of making ourselves known, fear of isolation, fear of rejection, fear that if we tell the truth of what we are seeing we will lose the relationship all together.

We are told in 1 John 4:18, “Fear has nothing to do with love. Instead, perfect (mature) love tosses fear out” (my translation). Perhaps it’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that the converse might also be true: perfect fear tosses out love.

While the immediate context of 1 John 4:18 has to do, specifically, with fear of the day of judgement, the overall context of the chapter and the letter has to do with love, or failure to love, in community as children of God.

E

Minimizing is harmful

I have seen people who are so used to this charade that they believe that love simply cannot co-exist with argument. Accordingly, rather than entering into conversation and argument with the people in their lives, they learn to minimize, for example, the effect another person’s thoughtlessness and selfishness had on them.

The mirror image of this, obviously, is that they also minimize the effects of their own choices and actions on others. This kind of minimizing can be quite harmful personally, but it is dangerous relationally.

If we are not speaking about things we are actually seeing and experiencing in relationships, how can we call each other out on our failure to love, our failure to be Christ-like, and our failure to reflect Christ more accurately with our lives?

If we rid the room of argument until there are only people who will always agree with us, that 10 The Messenger • January 2020

Enter it for growth!

Discussion and Discernment If God is our Father, John says, we will live like it. Our choices and behaviour reflect our spiritual lineage.

Truth is tangible living

Truth, for John, is not simply an abstract confession of faith; it is a tangible living out of what we say we believe. Every word, every syllable, in 1 John is about living out love in community.

Love, we learn from John, is about integrity, and a waging of peace when truth is not being told and the community is fractured. We learn that to love tangibly, though imperfectly, is to reflect God. On the other hand, sin has to do with separation (1 John 2:19) and with an unwillingness to live in relationship. Sin is also a failure to both tell and do the truth (1 John 1:6).

Sin is a relational word having to do with covenant and commitment or the lack thereof. 1 John as a whole suggests that a community which carries the name Christian is called to open their hearts to one another in care, to let their love grow up to challenge each other, effect change, and reflect God. This can only be done by removing the defensiveness that comes from fear, then choosing to engage authentically within community.

It cannot be done by ridding the room of argument.

John’s words here are not Sunday morning suit-and-tie words. These are not sentimental, pastel, Hallmark words to decorate the spiritual edges of our lives.

They are not words consigned to classroom examinations. These are not nice sentiments to be domesticated and hung on our fridges for us to ponder, memorize, and then immediately forget when faced with the brutal realities any real relationship or connection can throw at us.

These words are an assault on our selfcentred lives. They are the gritty words of a revolution.

They are words through which the winds of holiness howl, words that scour away the scales over our eyes, words to unplug our ears and orient our lives.

The revolutionary thing about these words, in the context of John’s letter, is that they tightly grab onto the word love, which seems to always

be in danger of floating away into abstractions and vaguely defined feelings, and plunk it right down into the realities which are before us on any given day.

On any given day, our relationships with each other are tough, sometimes bloody. This is exactly why John is careful to set down the word love alongside two other words which help to ground it and define it: forgiveness and sin. As Eugene Peterson notes, “It is the forgiveness of sin which sets men and women free to love and, in that freedom, commands them to love.”

In the grind comes God’s love

Reading the New Testament’s words is easy, and so is agreeing with them in theory as nice ideals.

Living them out and waging peace among the grind of real people and real relationships is tough and it will leave us bruised.

It will hurt. It truly would be easier to just rid the room of argument; but the more we do that, the lonelier we get and the more cramped, small and fearful our world gets.

By ridding the room of truth-telling, by maintaining a facade and failing to engage the community of faith in ways that will not always feel pleasant, we, ironically, find that we end up further from God and from true peace. As 1 John 4 goes on to say, “This, this is the commandment we have from God; to love God means to also love the people of God. Period” (my translation).

It’s that simple. But it is also that difficult. It is not for the faint of heart.

When we choose not to rid the room of argument, when we choose instead to engage community in order to both tell and do the truth, we reflect the God in whom we say we believe. When we do the hard work of turning towards each other instead of away, when we wage reckless peace, God’s love is formed and expressed through us.

Our relationships in community then become a public word of truth. Our commitments to each other become a sermon and the sermon will be contagious because life attracts life. Let’s get to it.

It’s that simple. But it is also that difficult. It is not for the faint of heart.

Corey Herlevsen (Good News Community Church) has served as a pastor and a college professor. This article is reprinted from July 2013. www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 11

Three of Four

ISTOCK

Convention 2019

What It Means to Read the Bible like the Apostles

by Layton Friesen

W

e often hear that the Bible divides the Church. Christians around the world can’t agree on when to baptize their children, on whether Christians should go to war, on women in ministry, on divine sovereignty, on the place of the pope, on what the Lord’s Supper means, or on how sinful we are actually. We can’t even quite agree on what books should be in the Bible.

As we seek out what is simply Christian we are discovering the ancient, global, bedrock convictions of the Church that unite us as Christians. But doesn’t the Bible divide us?

A Different Angle

As we seek out what is simply Christian we are discovering the ancient, global, bedrock convictions of the Church that unite us as Christians.

Maybe we need to look from a different angle.

The Church worldwide has by now 34,000

12 The Messenger • January 2020

different denominations and conferences. That’s a lot of division. But let me ask: how can we explain the fact that all of those churches agree that God is a Trinity? God is Father, Son, and Spirit. That’s not just a simple basic idea. That is the end-result of a complex reading of Proverbs 8, John 1, Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1.

How can we explain the fact that virtually all those churches believe that Jesus is the Son of God who became a human for our sake, through his life, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection was shown to be the Messiah, and that he thus

Convention 2019 defeated Satan, death and sin? Or that as the ascended Lord he is the judge of all people? That is a specific interpretation of Acts 2, I Cor. 15, Daniel 7, Psalm 110, and a peculiar reading of Isaiah 7.

How is it that all these churches believe the Church is to be the Spirit’s witness to the living presence of Jesus (Acts 1, Matthew 28), that the Church is to gather each week to proclaim the story of this Jesus, to eat a supper together of bread and wine, and that everyone is to be baptized with water (Hebrews 10, Acts 2, I Cor. 11, Romans 6)?

All these convictions shared by all the churches are not general religious ideas that people drift into naturally in the lazy course of things. These are peculiar and complex interpretations of the Bible that are not obvious to everyone.

But these are so universally confessed that if churches do not believe them they are not Christian churches.

How do you account for this amazing unity of biblical interpretation? The short answer is that this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave the apostles a key, a kind of password to the Bible and they passed this on to the Church through their teaching.

The Key to the Scriptures

Let me show you one way the Spirit has worked.

The early Church believed that not only had God given the Church this collection of books, the Old and New Testament, but Jesus had also shown the apostles how to read the Bible.

Jesus gave the apostles a key, a kind of password to the Bible and they passed this on to the Church through their teaching. If the Church would read the Bible using this key they would find the necessary unity in their use of the Scriptures.

In the second century the pastor Irenaeus

wrote that a mosaic of the king’s face was an example of how this worked.

A mosaic is a picture made up of thousands of small pieces glued together in just the right way.

In those days the pieces of a mosaic were shipped in a box with a guide or rule.

The rule was the key to putting the pieces together to result in the true face of the king.

You have to use the rule, Irenaeus said, or the face of the king might end up looking like a dog.

Now this was his analogy of the scriptures.

The Bible has many pieces and you could put them together for all kinds of wild nonsense.

But if you use the guide, the key, the Bible would yield a glorious picture of the King, Jesus.

The Rule of Faith

The apostles, Irenaeus said, through their writings, had given the Church a key to the mosaic.

This was called the Rule of Faith. If we use the Rule of Faith to read the Bible, the Bible becomes a mosaic of King Jesus, but if we do not, we end up with what looks like a dog—and we are heretics. Heretics used the Bible too.

They just put the pieces together wrong.

So what was this Rule of Faith? Here is how Irenaeus described it: The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 13

Convention 2019 This Rule does not solve all our disagreements about the Bible, but over time the Church has found that interpretations that disagree with this Rule end up misleading the Church.

the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His [future] manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father “to gather all things in one,” Ephesians 1:10, and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Saviour, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, “every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess” Philippians 2:10–11 to Him, and that He should execute just judgment towards all; that He may send “spiritual wickednesses,” Ephesians 6:12 and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, together with the ungodly, and unrighteous, and wicked, and profane among men, into everlasting fire; but may, in the exercise of His grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept His commandments, and have persevered in His love, some from the beginning [of their Christian course], and others from [the date of ] their repentance, and may surround them with everlasting glory.

(Against Heresies, Book I, chapter 10)

Ancient Faith Convictions

These are the ancient, faith convictions of the Church from which the creeds developed. This Rule of Faith (in its various expressions) became the key to getting the Bible right. It’s a key that comes from the Bible, but it not just the Bible.

14 The Messenger • January 2020

It’s the central core of the Bible’s vision of God and His salvation as seen by the Church. It reflected a deep, almost instinctual sense for the condensed biblical account of the Triune God’s creative and saving work, of the Church, and of the final destiny of the world. It gave the Church a basic, common reading of the Bible in spite of incredible diversity in the early church.

This Rule does not solve all our disagreements about the Bible, but over time the Church has found that interpretations that disagree with this Rule end up misleading the Church.

The Bible is not a book to do with whatever we want—this inner apostolic spine is what the Bible is about.

Down into Our Bones

The Church has found that when we get this Rule of Faith down in our bones and it becomes our instinct, when it becomes the doorway to a lived encounter with the mystery of God, we become the kind of people who can be trusted to read the Bible in the way the Spirit meant it to be read. The Bible becomes for us a beautiful mosaic in which the face of King Jesus emerges.

So be baptized in the name of the Trinity!

Enter the mystery of the apostle’s Rule of Faith, this inner guide to the glorious beauty of Jesus emerging in the Old and New Testament. To love this faith is to be simply Christian.

Layton Friesen, PhD, is the EMC’s conference pastor and was the 2019 convention speaker in Picture Butte, Alta.

This series is based on his convention sermons. Layton lives in Winnipeg, Man., with his wife Glenda and their two young adult children.

Column • Archives Alcove

My Dad, Cornelius B. Dueck, was a CO

I

t all started with a letter dated Nov. 27, 1940, calling my Dad, Cornelius B. Dueck, to report to a judge in Winnipeg, at 10 a.m., on Dec. 18, 1940, to establish his claim of being a Mennonite Cornelius B. Dueck Conscientious Objector. In order to qualify he needed to explain his personal religious belief, a preacher to verify his church attendance, and evidence from family that they had come to Canada under the arrangement of 1873 and being an uninterrupted member of the Mennonite community.

After the court date and having been given Conscientious Objector status, he was assigned to do civilian work for the Canadian Government. Initially he was told it would be only for four to six months, but it lasted for the duration of World War II, which was four years. Dad was sent off to Seebe, Alta., on Jan. 19, 1942, to work in the lumber camps, making mine props which were used to develop mines in the area. In March they were asked to build new internment camps for recent immigrants who were considered a risk to North American security.

On May 30, 1942, they were given a six-day leave to come home. After this leave they were sent to Campbell River on Vancouver Island, BC. Here they were given the job of cutting down trees with man-powered cross-cut saws; the trees were six feet thick and 200 feet high. They also planted 1.8 million seedling fir trees. They were also responsible to fight naturally caused forest fires and were also to be prepared for firebombing from enemies.

In the last year or so of serving the government, Dad was transferred back to Manitoba to work as an agricultural worker. His first job was working at the Trappist Monastery milking 40

dairy cows.

In 1944 Dad asked to get released from the alternative service, but his request was denied.

He walked out for two weeks to get married to my Mom on July 30, 1944, with whom he had been writing letters in his time away. Dad had been waiting for four years and continually postponing the wedding plans, expecting to be released at any time.

After two weeks of his being gone and gotten married, he was called back to service and was going to be sent to work at building the National Park at Clear Lake. Instead Dad and his new bride were picked up by a farmer from Carberry, Man. Dad did farm work and Mom worked doing household chores. This contract started on Aug. 10, 1944, and was paid $25/month. On Dec. 3, 1944, my parents were bought out of the service by my grandfather for $45/month. Dad then went to work in the bush by La Broquerie for his father-in-law and with his brothers-inlaw for the balance of the wartime.

There were issues these men had to deal with from an emotional level: The arbitrary way they were sent from home; the need to grow up in a hurry; other men were marrying and starting their families and work; animosity they felt, or assumed, from their non-Mennonite neighbours who sent their sons and daughters to war and some did not return or returned injured.

There were also some positive parts of this experience: Seeing the West on the government’s dime, contributing to the country through their service, forming life-long friendships, and spiritual growth.

Could this service be required from the Mennonites in the future? What would our stance be on serving in the military? Would we even have the option of serving under the arrangement of 1873?

by Mervin Dueck

He walked out for two weeks to get married to my Mom on July 30, 1944, with whom he had been writing letters in his time away.

Mervin Dueck is from Rosenort EMC. The original documents used in this article were donated to the EMC Archives and are available for research purposes.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 15

With Our Churches Many Rooms Church Community

WINNIPEG, Man.—I have been attending one of Many Rooms’ house churches downtown for over a year now. I love the time we spend together as a small group to fellowship and grow spiritually as a church family. We start with a snack to fill our physical needs, and then go to communion and prayer followed by the lesson.

What I appreciate most is the sharing of responsibility. We work as a team and people take turns with leading or snack. Everyone participates and joins the conversation.

This is very helpful when there are contrasting opinions – as we all don’t agree and that is the beauty of it – to be in dialogue and learn from each other. I appreciate the differences God has given us and the respect He has given us for each other to learn new things from fellow members.

I especially appreciate our monthly spiritual potlucks.

We contribute scripture, hymn, or an insight we received from the Holy Spirit. This has been helpful in my personal spiritual growth. The homework to spend time with God and let Him give some wisdom as to what to share has allowed my relationship with Him to deepen.

MRCC

Giving Thanks for my Spiritual Family

Potlucks help in spiritual growth.

The time with my spiritual family is truly enlightening and they have helped me in my faith. I feel welcome and truly blessed by them. I give thanks to God for this house church and the continued path of faith.

- Deanna Ng

2018 Photos

Ashley served as a leadership intern for two months.

16 The Messenger • January 2020

Easter Sunday morning in the park

With Our Churches Neig h

Julia moved from Calgary and joined MRCC

bou

rhoo

d wa

lk fo

r pe

ace

up

Gro art g ntin

e res rep our

ch

nt

D ur ave ch at ca m p

ena cov rch

chu Summer recreation

Annual church retreat

ALL PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION

Baptism of Shad Unger with Stefan Klassen and Stephanie Unger nearby

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 17

With Our Churches Fort Garry EMC

November Series on Mental Health and Spirituality

FGEMC

WINNIPEG, Man.—Every November the Missions and Social Concerns Committee in our church plans a one-month series on a topic that we see as resourcing our congregation to reach out beyond our boundaries, sometimes even beyond our comfort zone.

In 2019 we decided to focus on mental health and spirituality by bringing in resource people who work in these fields.

It was hoped that these individuals could help us gain a greater understanding of mental illness, mental health issues, and how they affect our spirituality. The expectation was that as we learned more we would be better equipped to reach out to people both in our church, in our families, at our workplaces and the larger community.

In late October Sharon Harms from our Interim pastor Karen Schellenberg spoke about forgiveness. congregation, who is both a nurse and a therapist, started from Recovery of Hope, talking about how good mental us off in adult Sunday School by giving us some basic and spiritual health bring freedom and quality to life and understanding of mental illness diagnoses and symptoms. how that then flows out to those around in helping to bring On the first Sunday of November our interim pastor, wholeness both to people living with a mental illness and Karen Schellenberg, spoke about the importance of forto people who live with unresolved issues and other factors giveness and how forgiveness has potential to free us, and that affect mental and spiritual health. how freeing is an important piece of both spiritual and The last speaker was Chenin Layne from Spiritual Care mental health. at St. Boniface Hospital. She shared quite personally about This was followed in the Sunday School hour by a panel her own journey with depression and gave us much food of people from our church telling bits and pieces of their for thought as well as ideas about how we can walk alongstories and experiences with mental illness in their perside others who live with a mental illness and/or mental sonal, professional or family experiences. and spiritual health issues.

The second Sunday was to be when Dr. Randy Goossen, Other parts of our worship services also helped to from the mental health department of Winnipeg Regional enhance our learnings, including Scriptures, particularly Health, would come to speak to us. We did hear from him in some of the Psalms where the writer is honest about the Sunday School, but he brought another guest to speak dursadness and the questions, carefully selected music, welling the worship hour, Dr. Eric Irivuzumugabe from Rwanda. crafted prayers and children’s features that helped children Eric survived the genocide of 1994, found a meaningful rela- (and adults) think about feelings, including sadness, fears tionship with Christ, was able to work through the trauma and confusion and how we can find ways to help ourselves and has gone on to work with parents who survived by help- when negative emotions overwhelm us. ing them to deal with the trauma and to become healthier Our next challenge is to put into practice what we have parents. He certainly stressed how parents who are healthier learned. mentally and spiritually are more able to be healthier par– Warren Duplooy ents. More good mental, spiritual health!

That was followed up by Terry Warburton, a therapist

18 The Messenger • January 2020

With Our Churches Crestview Fellowship Church

Men Retreat, Lunch Held, Community Welcomed

CFC

WINNIPEG, Man.—Men’s Retreat was held on Sept.

27-29, 2019. A group of men from Crestview Fellowship Church were fortunately able to experience good weather and company by spending the weekend at Betula Lake. Pastor Darrel Guenther rented a cabin in a beautiful environment for three days. The intention was to enjoy a weekend together as friends and strengthen their relationships with each other and, most importantly, with our amazing God. Time was spent boating, fishing, cooking, and relaxing by the fireside. The men were encouraged to listen, reflect, and learn through devotionals and alone time with this weekend out in God’s creation. Matthew 6:6 says, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the On Christmas Eve the Youth Sunday School class performed a skit on “Birthdoor behind you and pray to your Father in private.” day Jesus.”

On Oct. 6, 2019, with hearts full of thanks, Crestview through leaders Darrell and Laura Thiessen. Jesus People Fellowship Church was charmed to be able to partake in a USA is a ministry that provides a light in the heart of Chigracious Thanksgiving lunch, served by their generous food cago, Ill., where they work, worship, and grow together with committee. Not only was Crestview able to enjoy this meal, the community. Crestview Fellowship Church is encouraged they were also able to give back and help fundraise for a as they support each other and greater organizations outside greater purpose at the same time. Jesus People USA was the of their church. organization this church supported with their connection This year Crestview welcomed the community and all friends to come enjoy another Christmas Eve service with them. During this year’s service the audience was able to laugh and reflect by watching a skit performed by its Youth Sunday School class. The skit reminded us that Jesus wants our simple hearts and that is the greatest gift our Saviour could ever receive for Christmas.

The audience was also able to witness a monologue by Pastor Darrel Guenther that lead into the service message of “Welcome.”

Jesus was welcomed into the world, that Christmas day, bringing hope, joy, peace, and love. Now we welcome Jesus into our hearts and long for the day that we will be welcomed home in Heaven. After the service everyone was invited to delight in a wonderful meal and conversation with each other. This event would not have been successful if it were not for Crestview Fellowship’s willing and generous volunteers.

– Jenaya Groen During their retreat Crestview men enjoyed conversation around the fire.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 19

With Our Churches Kleeleld EMC

Baptisms and Membership Transfers KLEEFELD, Man. – Baptisms on Nov. 17, 2019: Flanked by Associate Pastor Lyndol Fast and Pastor Peter Ascough are Savana Unrau, Christopher Ascough, Veronica English, and Jeff English.

—Ulrich Zwingli, Swiss Reformer in Zurich

KEMC

Layton Boyd Friesen, PhD, serves as conference pastor for the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. He lives in Winnipeg.

‘SEDITIONS, CONFUSION AND TUMULT’

How could early Anabaptists known today for godliness, love of enemies, generosity, and simple, heart-felt faith be seen in the sixteenth century as a public threat worthy of the most vicious suppression? We tend to see either baffling fanaticism in the Anabaptists or puzzling sadism in the religious and political leaders who attacked them. How could believer’s baptism, community of goods, apocalyptic preaching, oath refusal, and nonresistance threaten to break the chains that held society together? Layton Friesen has been confronted by these questions as a pastor and here looks to the history of the Radical Reformation for insight. This raises a question for today: will our attempts to live the Kingdom of God threaten public order?

FRIESEN

“When therefore they thoroughly deny the sum of the New Testament, do we not see them using catabaptism, not to the glory of God or with the good of their consciences, but as a pretext for seditions, confusion and tumult, which things alone they hatch out?”

Membership transfers on Nov. 17, 2019: Flanked by their pastors are Alairic Penner, Dorothea Bergen, Matheus Verstoep, and Valerian Bergen.

– Louella and Dennis Friesen

20 The Messenger • January 2020

‘SEDITIONS, CONFUSION TUMULT’ AND

Why Reformation Europe Thought Anabaptism Would Destroy Society

$10 plus shipping LAYTON BOYD FRIESEN Foreword by John D. Roth

News

Council Hears Paraguay Plans, Accepts Slight Budget Decrease Delegates Discuss Church Trends

by Terry M. Smith NEAR GIROUX, Man.—Conference council delegates on Nov. 30, 2019, met at Ridgewood EMC where they accepted a slight budget decrease, heard plans for Paraguay, and discussed church trends.

Welcome and Devotional

General Board

The moderator said a Sustainable Funding strategy has not been completed, but will be worked on in 2020. The new EMC history book is to appear in early 2020. Staff changes have occurred. The percentage of conference spending on national staffing is monitored and staffing is as high as is wanted. The National Youth Committee was not adequately informed of how staffing changes will affect its work, he said. Gerald Reimer will continue to assist with Abundant Springs.

Tim Dyck, executive director, spoke of staffing changes: Ruth Block took over as missions and finance assistant, a position previously occupied by Diana Peters. In 2020 there will be an unconventional convention, a festival that celebrates in the midst of turmoil. It will have a modular, intergenerational, interactive format. As well, staff members are exploring what connectedness with our churches looks like.

Discussion Time

Small group discussions were held about topics and trends for the EMC and the results were shared with delegates.

Among the thoughts: individualism, professionalism of church services, anxiety, share what is happening, better communication, ministry in a post-Christian society, finances (whether the conference work reflects the

ANDREW WALKER

Moderator Barry Plett welcomed delegates. Darcy Sproule, senior pastor of host Ridgewood EMC, drew from 1 Samuel 7 and a brief history of crop failures in Minnesota to remind delegates that when people fasted, God delivered.

Fasting is one spiritual tool; God honours those who honour him, he said.

Moderator Barry Plett guided the council meeting.

priorities of the churches), clarity of for what the EMC stands, where does the money go, authenticity and honesty as a church, social justice is as important as spiritual revival, for young people to be engaged in church, accountability, competition from mega churches, dropping Mennonite, caring for singles, women and men in ministry.

MCC Canada

Ruth Plett said conversations swirl. MCC is involved in relief, development, and peace. MCC is grateful to conferences for their involvement and in 2020 it will celebrate 100 years of service.

Mennonite World Conference

Gerald Hildebrandt said that MWC is called to be a koinonia [fellowship] of Anabaptist faith reflecting the global reach and breadth of Anabaptists—108 conferences in 58 countries and many languages. Our spiritual well-being is connected to that of the wider Church, he said.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 21

News

Board of Missions

Brad Brandt, chair, referred to Romans 3:23 and 6:23 to say that by grace an incredible gift has come to us. The board has talked much about the work in Paraguay where the EMC has a long history of ministry. An exit strategy was considered, yet a lack of clarity was hurting the work at Minga Guazú, its most recent effort. The board decided to recommit to Paraguay as a mission field and seek to develop a cluster of churches. Missionaries are being recruited.

Gerald Reimer oversees the BOM’s work in the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. He reported that the possible start of a work about four hours east in Querétaro, a city of about a million people, is being explored because of connections with the area. Ken Zacharias, director of global outreach, and Brad Brandt spoke of a recent trip to Turkey where there appears to be a window of opportunity to work among displaced Muslims who seem open to the gospel.

Brad Brandt said there is a desire to bring together people involved in Indigenous ministry to explore how to move ahead in Canada; and Ken Zacharias spoke of Pelly’s ministry to Kamsack, Sask., area. What can we do to assist our churches? Ken wondered. Since the BOM and the Church Planting Task Force are exploring the same issues, a joint summit is being planned in 2020. There is a desire for new initiatives without neglecting other fields, it was said.

Discussion and Prayer

It is important to involve First Nations people in decision making as ministry to them moves ahead.

Suggested caution about motives in FN work. Do they want the help?

How are we being neighbourly to people in our backyard (such as Asians)?

22 The Messenger • January 2020

Maybe we can find ways to support pastors already in FN ministries who are uneducated and unsupported.

There was a time of prayer around tables.

Abundance Canada

A video was shown that highlighted that donors control how funds are distributed.

Steinbach Bible College

Gord Penner, professor and EMC minister, said SBC values its relationship with the EMC. Students speak of the college’s solid biblical foundation and Christ-centred community. Mission X continues to have an impact on students. The college wants to “infect” students with the missions virus, he said.

Board of Church Ministries

Kimberly Muehling, chair, said that objectives remain the same from 2019 [to assist in discussion and discernment, to develop a communications plan, and to reinvigorate the archives committee]. The board wants to know what churches expect of it. A communications plan is being worked on, which is followed by implementation, she said.

Kevin Wiebe, chair of the communications planning committee, said that the future of the conference is involved; with changes in technology, a current plan is needed.

Terry Smith mentioned Layton Friesen’s book ‘Seditions, Confusion, and Tumult,’ which is to be out by Valentine’s Day. Don Kroeker, archives committee chair, and Smith highlighted people from EMC history: founder Klaas Reimer, ex-bishop Heinrich Enns, midwife Aganetha Barkman Reimer, innovative minister Heinrich Reimer, and members of the recently received Winnipeg Logos Church. Since history involves the ear as well as the eye,

News Kim and Josh Muehling and Russell Doerksen led in Gott ist die Liebe, a song familiar in German Mennonite circles.

Discussion

Consider moving Youth Portfolio to BLO. (The idea fits the conference pastor, yet the main events fit the BCM. A conversation is needed.)

Advent and Lent resources are welcomed. (Some resources are available through the wider Anabaptist Church, such as A Common Word.)

More information is needed on the shift to regional support for youth workers. (Young Adult Retreats have been held in Manitoba and Alberta.)

Content creation takes time and money, both challenges for a small conference. More volunteers are needed who aren’t committee members. Further discussion is welcomed.

Board of Leadership and Outreach

Richard Klassen, chair, said a deacons’ training video will be available in early 2020. The discussion on women in leadership continues and is being worked on; an open letter and a video are to be sent to churches early in the new year to assist in this. There is a positive focus on spiritual renewal in some of our churches and the board is planting a two-day retreat on how to assist churches in this. He welcomed prayer about this.

Travis Unger, church planting task force chair, called forward Gerald D. Reimer and his wife Sandy and Gerald was commissioned as the EMC’s new church planting director. The church in Calgary has been affected by the downturn in Alberta’s economy. There is interest in further Low German work; the question is where, Unger said.

Len Harms, Fort Garry EMC’s university and young adult pastor, spoke of how an initial focus on reaching grad students shifted to providing English classes that are held regularly and have planted spiritual seeds in hundreds of international students. Layton Friesen spoke of how he enjoys the privilege and spiritual luxury of being conference pastor. A severance policy, designed to assist in stressful times, will be sent to churches and placed on the website, Friesen said.

Pastor sabbaticals are a gift, not a right or an obligation, to long-serving pastors who do

better longer if they have them, said Layton. Three pastors shared about the benefits of sabbaticals that ranged in length from two to four months: Ed Peters, Abe Berg, and Kevin Wiebe. A seven-month process of preparing leaders for ordination is underway, and the proposed draft of the revised minister’s manual is being reviewed, said Layton.

Board of Trustees

Gord Reimer, chair, said the 2019 budget was “barely hanging in there.” He expected about $400,000 to be donated in December. Beyond that, replenishing of reserves is needed.

The BOT is working with the General Board toward sustainable funding and has sought churches to apply to the church grant fund, he said.

Andrew Kampen, BOT member, highlighted the proposed 2020 budget ($1,871,000), which reflected a one percent decrease from 2019 ($1,918,000). The amount for missions is down, while church planting is up. The 2020 proposal was approved by conference council.

Discussion

Thanks for the narrative budget, which is helpful to people who find numbers less helpful.

Questions about youth were answered. Supports 2020 budget.

A church will be decreasing its overall budget, likely including to the EMC. Concerned about budget drop and cut to staff numbers.

A church is increasing its contribution by 10 percent.

The meeting was adjourned.

Editor’s note: Erica Fehr provided supplemental information through her conference council minutes. My thanks to her.

Gerald and Sandy Reimer were prayed for as Gerald serves as director of church planting. Representatives with them were Tim Dyck, Layton Friesen and Travis Unger.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 23

JAMES WAHL

News

EMC Ministerial Retreat Jacob and Arlene Friesen: Attending to Our Inner Life

by James and Maria Wahl This year’s EMC ministerial retreat took place at Wilderness Edge in Pinawa, Man., from the weekend of Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, 2019. The weekend was a wonderful time for all ministry leaders within our churches to spend time in praise and worship, prayer, connecting with each other, reflecting on God’s Word and even playing together.

A couple of verses that stood out this weekend are from Psalm 16 verses 8 and 11: “I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. . . You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Inner Life

Our keynote speakers for the weekend sessions were Jacob and Arlene Friesen from Morrow Gospel Church. They spoke on the topic Remain in Me: Reflections and practices for ordering, nurturing and protecting our inner life.

In the first of four sessions Jacob introduced the topic of contemplating the inner life. He referred to a quote by pastor Gordon MacDonald, who suggested your youth and charisma can take you a long way, but there will be a season when the energy fades. What will sustain your ministry and leadership then? We need to give attention to our inner life.

1 Peter 2:11 speaks about sinful desires waging war against our soul. Jacob spoke about the soul desiring to seek harmony, connection and integration. An unhealthy soul disintegrates and is torn apart. In a healthy soul there is integrity where the will, mind and body are united with God. Jacob touched on the life of Daniel and the time he spent praying and focusing on his relationship with his God. His faith not only survived but it thrived.

24 The Messenger • January 2020

News with something you enjoyed in the day.

Second, something you appreciated about a person in the day. Third, think of something about God for which you are grateful.

We need to stop and say, “Lord, how did we do today?”

Staying with Jesus

Starting with Jesus

In the second session Arlene shared with us the topic of starting the day with Jesus. She posed the question, is your inner life a banana plant filled with monkeys? Does life sometimes feel like it’s coming apart at the seams? Do you long for silence? Are we listening to that other voice when we start our day with Jesus?

Arlene challenged us to listen to the voice that tells us who we are in Christ. It is easy to be distracted by all the should do’s and need to do’s in our life. Mark 1:9-13 tells us the voice to which Jesus listened. Jesus heard the voice of God. He was aware of God’s presence, He knew His name, and He was beloved. Jesus followed the voice through testing with obedience. Arlene encouraged us to get rid of the distortion in our lives while listening to God. She suggested we push back the other voices that seek our attention in the mornings. A few ways of doing that involve praying to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit first when we wake. Read a Psalm and just meditate in silence to hear God’s voice. Maybe we need to let something go or choose a different response.

In the fourth session Arlene shared with us the theme of staying with Jesus through the day. In Exodus 3 God called out to Moses in the burning bush. What are our burning bushes and do we notice them? We are challenged to keep Jesus in the midst of the tasks of our day. Arlene encouraged us to remain at Jesus’ feet. It is a matter of right action versus reaction.

In Luke 10:38-42 it’s the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus. It was a matter of distraction or devotion. We learned that love for a neighbour springs from love for God. What was Martha distracted from? Urgent tasks?

Often it is a choice between good and better. Jesus wanted loving attention to Him. Many times we need to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word.

Arlene closed with these thoughts. First, have an ongoing conversation with God. Second, surrender your agenda to Him. Third, begin a time of silence prior to meeting with someone or starting an activity. Reach out to God the source of our life.

Finishing with Jesus

In the third session Jacob focused on finishing the day with Jesus. He suggested we need a life that includes reflection.

We need to stop and say, “Lord, how did we do today?”

We need to be intentional when thinking back on our day.

Jacob shared with us the 1-1-1 principle. He encouraged us to do three things at the end of our day. First, come up

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 25

Testimonies

Throughout the sessions we were blessed to hear four personal testimonies of how God has worked in their lives and their personal walk with God. Laura Penner spoke of drawing close to God through her stages of life. She encouraged us to read our Bible daily, pray every day and love the people in front of you. She is continuing to ask God what she still needs to learn, being still and listening.

Elmer Barkman spoke about his “But God” moments in his life. God is the one that makes the difference. God was leading him to mission work even before marriage.

He spoke of the many times he prayed about leaving his

house and taking his family to the mission field. Throughout his time in the mission field he mentioned the promise he received that God was going to be with them wherever they went. It was equally important to build a wall of prayer warriors.

Doris Barkman shared of her experience of needing to stay steadfast to Jesus. God had prepared her to go anywhere. She would get the opportunity to help meet the medical needs in Nicaragua. She encouraged us that we are all ambassadors for the Lord.

Jae Woong shared his story of his interest in Anabaptism and his calling to move from South Korea to a Mennonite community in Arborg, Man. He appreciated experiencing God’s greatness and presence through nature.

Jae shared how he grew as a believer through his desert experiences. His suffering with arthritis allowed him later to see God’s grace and realize a miracle through healing.

Was his dependence on the medicine or God? He was able to lean on God through the hardest times. With Jesus was joy and power.

Visiting

Along with the sessions it was a great weekend to share stories together, get to know those we haven’t met and encourage each other in our ministries. There was even time for pool, table tennis and curling matches. The guided prayer time with Irene Ascough and the Plett brother’s discussion on healthy fighting was appreciated.

We ended our weekend with a beautiful time of communion together reflecting on our Lord, the cross, His resurrection and the anticipation of His coming again.

Thank you to Jacob and Arlene for taking the time to challenge and encourage us with your words.

James and Maria Wahl (St. Vital) are planning to serve God in El Salvador.

University CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

26 The Messenger • January 2020

News

Charlie and Lorraine Koop Honoured Director of Church Planting Retires

ANDREW WALKER

GIROUX, Man.—After the conference council meeting was closed on Nov. 30, 2019, Charles (Charlie) Koop was honoured for his years of service as the EMC’s director of church planting.

Koop, who officially retired as church planting director at the end of 2019, had served since July 2012.

Lester Olfert spoke of Charlie as one who lives in the moment, a person who notices and loves people. He is a credit to Jesus, is open to retreats, and prays with people when a need arises, Olfert said.

Travis Unger, with the Church Planting Task Force, gave thanks to Charlie for his efforts. Travis appreciated Charlie for his energy and faithfulness, has

Prayers and appreciative comments were shared.

benefited from his mentoring, and considers him a personal friend. Lorraine was also thanked.

Layton Friesen said that a fun part of the past two years was Charlie’s hard working and hard playing. He is open to serving all people and is hospitable. Charlie shows a proper disregard for rules; he isn’t lawless, yet knows intuitively when a policy is, or better not, to be followed. He is in love with Jesus, said Friesen.

Tim Dyck, executive director, said it was a privilege to work with Charlie and walk alongside in some tough months [a health crisis]. Tim presented Charlie and Lorraine with cards from pastors.

There was a moment of prayer.

– Terry M. Smith

The cakes’ slogans say much about the Koops.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 27

News

MCC Celebrates 100 Years of Global Ministry Celebration to be held, stories to be shared, service continues

U.S./CANADA—In 2020, Mennonite Central Committee will celebrate 100 years of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ, and stories will be shared throughout the year.

One hundred years ago, calls for help came from Mennonites in southern Russia where war, disease and famine had left them in desperation. “Brethren! Help us, we are perishing!” wrote one man to Mennonites in the United States. “The famine is raging more and more, and suffering is increasing daily, yes, hourly.”

Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren groups formed a “central committee” in July 1920 to co-ordinate their responses to this crisis. Together, they pledged to help hungry people, including those who were suffering in southern Russia (present-day Ukraine).

Over the next several years, the committee, which took on the name Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), provided food for as many as 25,000 people at times, as well as shipped in tractors and seeds to plant for the future.

One century later, MCC is celebrating the ministry that grew from that first endeavour.

Throughout 2020, the public is invited to explore MCC’s history by participating in commemoration events, comforter making, giving opportunities, storytelling and more.

28 The Messenger • January 2020

Today, MCC serves in more than 50 countries, including the U.S. and Canada, providing humanitarian relief, encouraging sustainable development and strengthening peacebuilding initiatives.

“The origins of MCC are rooted in a desire to see God’s justice and peace brought to those being oppressed or harmed,” says Rick Cober Bauman, executive director of MCC Canada. “It is a privilege to celebrate all those who began this work and all those who supported it.”

“There would be no MCC without each person who has supported us in any number of ways these last 100 years,” says Cober Bauman. “Every prayer, every dollar, every minute offered has been absolutely essential to the continued success of MCC’s mission.”

– Linda Espenshade, news coordinator MCC U.S.

News

Apprentice U: Christian Education for Our Students in the Secular University

by Dr. Elmer Chen Imagine our youth and young adults, ten years from now, generously sown into every sector of society as passionate disciples of Christ. Many of them will become professionals, leaders, and influencers in our world for good or ill. Yet first, they must navigate the passage through their postsecondary education.

Our young adults are at risk. As they set out to forge their own identity, many of them are doing so by rejecting their parents’ faith. The phenomenon is widespread among those who attend secular universities. As our students encounter influences in the new environment that militate against their Christian faith, they will need the support of both their home church family and a new Christian community.

On another front, our Christian universities are under attack. Trinity Western University’s bid to start a law program was defeated in the Supreme Court by the law societies of BC and Ontario. Plausibly, other professional associations may eventually follow suit by choosing not to recognize degrees from Christian institutions. Other Christian universities respond to cultural pressures by abandoning traditional Christian beliefs and values to varying degrees. How can we help upcoming professionals to retain their faith, cultivate a vibrant spirituality, and become effective ambassadors of Christ in the marketplace?

Apprentice U is a vision for developing apprentices of Christ in every profession by addressing the needs of our university students. We want to provide elements of Christian education in the secular university context so that students can mature as Christ’s disciples and marketplace ministers.

We began in Fall 2019 by offering Steinbach Bible College (SBC) courses in Winnipeg to University of Manitoba students. These are courses pre-approved for transfer to the university so that students can receive credit toward their degrees. Current offerings include introductory Old Testament and New Testament courses. Projected courses include apologetics, Christian theology, and Christian spirituality. Classes are held within walking distance of the U of M. We provide spiritual support and Christian community through the chaplaincy services of Pathfinder Christian Ministry. Originally a Pentecostal chaplaincy, PCM has intentionally evolved into a broadly Christian

Dr. Elmer Chen

evangelical ministry for the U of M campus. We connect students with Christian friends and provide individual and small group discipleship experiences.

We hope to build an off-campus residence for Christian students where they can cultivate relational skills, long-term friendships, and spiritual maturity in a supportive setting resembling a Bible college dorm. As a precursor, we expect two houses to be developed this way by Segue, one of our partner ministries.

Beyond SBC and Pathfinder Christian Ministry (PCM), we partner with other likeminded student groups, churches, and organizations to further our common goals.

What Can You Do? A student’s home church and family play a critical role in transitioning students into the university setting by encouraging their students to get connected with Christian resources on campus: to take SBC (Apprentice U) courses to help develop and support their Christian worldview, connect with PCM (Elmer Chen) to find Christian friends and spiritual support on campus, and ask us about residence options if they are relocating instead of commuting. For information, info@SBCollege. ca or Chen@ApprenticeU.ca; web: https://ApprenticeU.ca; https://instagram.com/apprenticeu/; www.facebook.com/ ApprenticeU.ca/.

Dr. Elmer Chen (PhD, Birmingham) is Adjunct Faculty at Steinbach Bible College and Chaplain at Pathfinder Christian Ministry, University of Manitoba. He served for seven years as Associate Professor of Theology at Eston College and eight years in pastoral and counselling ministry.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 29

Discussion and Discernment

Engager

Fence-sitter

Study says evangelicals could keep more young people Church needs to respond to four ‘spiritual types’ REPRINTED FROM 2013

E

vangelicals retain two-thirds, Catholics keep half, and mainline Protestants keep one-third of the young people raised in the church—and, by making changes, they might keep more.

That’s part of the results of Hemorrhaging Faith: Why and When Canadian Young Adults Are Leaving, Staying and Returning to the Church, a survey and report sponsored by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and released in 2012.

The survey and report are based on 72 one-onone interviews and an Angus Reid survey of 2,049 young adults from across Canada who previously indicated they were raised in the church (Rick Heimstra, Executive Summary).

While the numbers of young people surveyed might seem modest, it is the largest survey of its type in Canada, says Gerald D. Reimer, EMC conference youth minister.

There are four groups or spiritual types of young people raised within the church: engagers

(26 percent), fence sitters (36 percent), wanderers (23 percent), and rejecters (15 percent), and the church needs to respond to each of these.

When 35 church and ministry organization leaders later met with researchers, among their findings considered were that more young people are lost between children and adolescence than between adolescence and young adult years.

More young males leave than young females, and young people are strongly affected by the digital age.

As a response, leaders said, the church needs to provide more support for young people in their middle school through high school years. It also needs to provide more male role models; and digital and social media networks need to be used to help faith development.

In discipleship, leaders said they had to “repent” of transmitting a “consumeristic ‘easy road’ understanding of the gospel.” In belonging and community, leaders identified that children and young people are too separated from adults

Youth ministry needs to be better integrated into the wider church where intergenerational connections can be developed.

30 The Messenger • January 2020

Discussion and Discernment

Wanderer

Rejecter

in the church who could function as trusted mentors.

In mission and leadership, the church needs to challenge young adults to use their gifts and find community in mission; they need opportunities to grow as leaders and “a safe place to fail.”

Further, parents need to be encouraged to model their own faith, be genuine, be honest about their imperfect walk, and talk openly with their young people.

In strategies, youth ministry needs to be better integrated into the wider church where intergenerational connections can be developed.

Churches should be aware that “transient” youth leaders could result in young people who also disappear.

Hemorrhaging Faith: Why and When Canadian Young Adults Are Leaving, Staying and Returning to the Church is a “foundational research document commissioned by the EFC youth and young adult ministry roundtable.”

The Board of Church Ministries recently purchased and sent a digital copy of the report to each congregation in our conference. Gerald Reimer, conference youth minister, reported on at the EMC’s national conference council meeting on Nov. 24, 2012.

More information on the survey is available at www.evangelicalfellowship.ca.

– Terry M. Smith From EFC and EMC materials

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

2019 Financial Report as of January 16, 2020

Income* Expenses Excess/Shortfall

General Fund 2018 1,799,986 1,832,407 -32,421

General Fund 2019 1,778,141 1,897,945 -119,804

This is not a final report. Please visit the EMC website for updates in late January. We thank you for your generosity towards EMC ministries in 2019.

More information will come in print.

- The Board of Trustees *Income includes donations and transfers from other funds (e.g., estate funds).

Note on Discussion Within The Messenger Every community will have a diversity of views and opinions, which provides opportunities for us to learn from each other, being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19).

Our discussions are inevitably impacted by our own experiences, and the

experiences of people in our lives. These discussions should also reflect the reality that some groups and individuals have not always felt welcome in Christian communities. We welcome your responses to articles and topics discussed in The Messenger.

– Board of Church Ministries

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 31

Column • A Reader's Viewpoint

When is Someone ‘Old’?

H

ISTOCK

by Frank Derksen

ow do we know when someone is old?

Each person may have their own theory based on personal experiences and observations.

Possibly you concur, yes, I am old; or we may contend, I am not old yet. Retirement age is 65, but does that mean you’re old? Are you old when you stop growing, or cease to dream, or you no longer contribute to society?

Have you reached old age when you become infirm and unable to cope, or is it when diminishment surfaces? Could it be the loss of independence, or is it when you are obliged to rely on others? Is that when you’re old? Possibly being senior is wishing you were young again.

Desiring something that is beyond our reach.

When we thirst for the familiar. The way things used to be. Oh, the ambiguity, the complexity of life. If only we could turn back the clock.

Perhaps old age parallels what King David experienced as he was camped by the cave of Adullam in Israel’s desert. His military troops were engaged in conflict with his arch enemy, the Philistines. From his vantage point David could see the familiar flickering lights of Bethlehem, the place of his youth.

This opened a profusion of memories. Oh, for a drink of water from the well by the gate.

He knew however that his desire for that water could not be realized. The Philistine garrison was camped between him and Bethlehem, which prevented its realization. In reality it wasn’t so much the water that he yearned; instead, it was the carefree life of his youth.

What is the criteria, standard, or principle by which old age is measured? Could the answer be, the mind, and heart? Are we old after we are

Are you old when you stop growing, or cease to dream, or you no longer contribute to society?

32 The Messenger • January 2020

convinced that we no longer matter, that our purpose for living has noticeably depreciated?

Excerpts from a prayer by a nun may assist us as we contemplate the challenging, yet inevitable subject of aging: Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And give me the grace to tell them so.

Frank Derksen (Braeside EMC) is retired and has been married to Mary for 65 years. He presented these thoughts in 2017 at the 87th birthday of his brother. The prayer included has been attributed to Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), though authorship remains uncertain.

Shoulder Tapping With any applications for EMC church pastoral positions, candidates are expected to also register a Ministry Information Profile with the EMC Board of Leadership and Outreach, which can be obtained through Erica Fehr, BLO Administrative Assistant, at efehr@emconference.ca or 204-326-6401.

Additional EMC Openings Often there are more churches looking for senior, associate, youth, and interim pastors than are identified on this page. For information on additional openings, contact Conference Pastor Layton Friesen (lfriesen@emconference.ca) and Director of Youth and Discipleship Gerald D. Reimer (greimer@emconference.ca). The national office phone number is 204-326-6401. Talk with Erica Fehr, Church leadership assistant to the BLO, to request a cell number for a particular person.

EMC Positions* Oak Bluff Bible Church is seeking a full-time pastor.

We are a welcoming, family-friendly church that averages 50 people on Sunday morning. We enjoy contemporary and traditional worship music. We understand the importance and value of ministering together to be a light in reaching our growing community and surrounding area of Oak Bluff, Man. (located at McGillvray and the Perimeter Highway of Winnipeg). Applicants must be in acceptance of the OBBC (EMC) Statement of Faith and aligning with the theology, values, and church culture of OBBC. A valid criminal records check and child abuse check are required for this position. Applicants must be legally

entitled to work in Canada. Preference will be given to those who are willing to relocate to Oak Bluff or the surrounding community. To apply or for future inquiries, please e-mail pastoralsearch@oakbluffbiblechurch.com.

Picture Butte Mennonite Church, a Low Germanand English-speaking church with 200-plus people attending dual Sunday morning services, is seeking an associate pastor. The ideal candidate should be characterized by an attitude of servant leadership and personal integrity in a close walk with Jesus.

The candidate needs to have an openness and sensitivity to the diverse cultural differences within our Mennonite church. This position would primarily focus on the English ministry. This candidate needs to be a team player as he will be working alongside the existing leadership team as well as the senior pastor. For information, contact Isaac Thiessen, 403308-5093 or isaact@genicadev.com Fort Garry EMC is seeking a full-time senior pastor for an established, dynamic congregation. We are an inter-generational, ethnically diverse congregation, located in Winnipeg, Man., near the University of Manitoba, with a strong ministry to English-language learners. Working out of their own commitment to the Lordship of Christ, the ideal candidate is a gifted speaker who would lead and collaborate with the pastoral team, discerning and pursuing God’s purpose in our church. They possess a reputable theological education at the graduate level and are committed to a theology shaped by Anabaptist tradition. Submit queries and résumés to the Pastoral Search Committee at fgemcpastoral2018@gmail. com. Further info: fortgarryemc.radiantwebtools. com/about/careers/

Other Positions Glencross EMM Church is currently looking for a fulltime lead pastor. Qualities that we are looking for are: Self-motivated with good communication skills; someone that has a strong desire to see our church grow by investing in the people and reaching out to the unsaved; some pastoral experience is preferred, but all applicants will be considered; in agreement with our EMMC statement of faith.

We are a rural church, with a heart for missions, located about five miles SE of Morden, Man., with an average Sunday morning attendance of about 300 people.

For information or to submit a resume please contact Ken at kenk1@mymts.net or 204-362-3994.

At Inner City Youth Alive (ICYA) our mission is to bring hope through Christ, and we’re seeking to fill ministry positions serving kids, youth and families in Winnipeg’s inner city neighbourhood. Available positions include ministry and administrative roles. Our diverse team members are both local leaders and from outside our neighbourhood. As a faith-based ministry we hold all staff to our lifestyle and morality commitments, and core values. ICYA and our staff are supported by generous individuals and churches from across Canada. To view full job descriptions, visit: www.icya.ca/careers or message Karen Jolly, director of programs, at karen@icya.ca.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconference.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. All ads can be edited. Please advise us when it is no longer needed.

Calendar Manitoba March 20-21

JOIN US as individuals or groups for a week or more to help others in need. Serve with a positive and Christ-like heart, using your trade skills or learning new skills on the job.

SBC Leadership Conference Steinbach, Man

June 18 Project Builders Golf Tournament Steinbach, Man

July 3-5

VOLUNTEER WITH MDS! 800-241-8111

Festival 2020 (EMC Convention) Steinbach, Man

mds.mennonite.net

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 33

Column • His Light to My Path

Recent Thoughts on Salvation

A I am grateful that God’s light “has shone in [my heart] to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

34 The Messenger • January 2020

ISTOCK

by Karla Hein

s I’ve been sharing my faith lately, I’ve noticed my conversations have been focused on the profound peace of an all-knowing, powerful God and the assuring hope of my future with Christ. That’s attractive truth in a culture where insecurity about one’s identity and fear of the next disaster weighs heavy. However, I’ve started to wonder if marketing Christianity as attractive to unbelievers can result in tickling ears rather than delivering truth (2 Tim. 4:1-5). Have I made the by-products of salvation the primary focus because it’s easier to explain than the theology of repentance and faith in Christ?

My thoughts turned to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). He taught that few would find the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:14). His teachings were hard, and “many disciples withdrew” as a result (John 6:60, 66). Similarly, Paul wrote that the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (I Cor. 1:18).

Doesn’t sound like an effective strategy for gaining converts to Christianity! Even further, once we have been set free from our slavery to sin, we become slaves of righteousness—instruments of God (Rom. 6). We were bought by Christ while unresponsive to Him, dead in our sins (Eph. 2:5).

Our lives then become not our own, but a display of His kindness and for His glory (Eph. 2: 7; 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

I am grateful that God’s light “has shone in [my heart] to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

(2 Cor.4:6). A gift that leaves me boasting only in the grace of God, instead of my own

performance or effort (Eph.2: 8-9). Why then, when it comes to the salvation of others, do I think it’s up to me to close the deal (2 Cor 4:46)? Paul, the impressive evangelist said, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:1-5).

Instead of offering a cleverly devised tale, I can unashamedly offer the Gospel as “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (2 Pet. 1:16; John 14:6; Rom. 1:16). Few will accept the invitation to follow Jesus, of acknowledging the Creator (instead of creation) as the ultimate authority (Rom. 1:25). But to those who do surrender, Christ becomes precious— the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:30). When I speak of my transfer from darkness into light, “may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Col. 1:13; Gal.6:14).

Column • Stewardship Today

Something More Precious

ISTOCK

A

s I was reaching adulthood, a popular bumper sticker read, He who dies with the most toys wins. However, you don’t have to look very far these days to see that “stuff ” has not really brought the happiness it promised, even when we organize it all according to one of the latest bestselling books.

I wonder if that’s because essential generosity needs to be the bigger focus. Instead of seeking joy by buying (and then celebrating getting rid of ) our stuff, we need to seek joy in being generous with those around us.

Several years ago, I came across the story of a woman who found a precious stone in a stream.

The next day she met a hungry traveller. When she opened her bag to share her food, the traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveller left, rejoicing in his great fortune.

The stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. However, a few days later he returned to the woman, holding out the stone.

“I know how valuable the stone is,” he said, “but I give it back in the hope of receiving what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

In my role at Abundance Canada, I have the privilege of working closely with men and women who are deeply generous and, like the woman with the stone, willing to give without hesitation. While we do help them arrange giving plans that best navigate tax benefits and the ins and outs of legacy gifts, this isn’t what’s at the heart of their giving. Time and again, they demonstrate that they are motivated by a desire to give the first and best of what they have.

I have met families that forgo Christmas and birthday presents so they can donate the money they would have spent to local agencies that ensure others have food and gifts. Several years ago, generosity spread among neighbourhood school children. When one boy had his eleventh birthday, he asked his friends and family to give pet food for the local animal shelter instead of gifts for himself. His family had recently adopted a cat and he wanted to help the shelter feed the many other dogs and cats in their care.

Shortly after, a friend of his heard about a

need for baby formula at the food bank and

by Sherri Grosz asked her birthday guests to bring baby formula Consultant instead of gifts to the party. When another latesummer birthday came around, the birthday girl asked her friends to bring school supplies and her party activity included packing backpacks for a local agency that helps families in need prepare for the new school year.

Recently, some of my middle-aged friends have asked for donations to their favourite charities in lieu of gifts for milestone birthdays. When many of us are feeling overwhelmed by stuff or know that we have enough, this is an easy way to turn what could be a time of gathering more into a time of giving.

If you want to go further, I know some families who have set a ceiling on their lifestyle. They live comfortably, but work hard to live with less than their income might permit. They choose modest homes and vacations. Instead of acquiring more and decluttering later, they enjoy seeing their donations in action now: helping students to pay their tuition, providing people who are struggling financially with food and other supports, helping families move into safe and affordable housing, and assisting communities recovering from disaster.

Choosing generosity means Sherri Grosz is a gift planning conthey might never get to take a sultant with Abundance Canada, selfie with perfectly sorted draw- a CRA registered foundation that ers and bags of de-cluttered helps people connect their finances stuff, but their generosity sparks and values with their passion for the incredible joy in the world. And charities they care about. Since 1974, yours can, too! Visit Abundance Abundance Canada has helped indiCanada to explore our customiz- viduals and families across Canada able giving solutions to help you achieve their generosity goals both make generosity a bigger focus during their lifetime and through in your life. Abundance Canada their estate. For more information can help. visit www.abundance.ca.

Time and again, they demonstrate that they are motivated by a desire to give the first and best of what they have.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 35

Column • Kids’ Corner

T

by Loreena Thiessen

The year 2020 is special for yet another reason: you get an extra day, February 29, because it’s a leap year.

his New Year is special. It’s the year 2020. Actually every year has special events and significant dates to remember and celebrate. But 2020 is not like any other year. 2020 is the two thousand and twentieth year since Jesus was born. 2020 is the 20th year of the twenty-first century. And 2020 is a new decade; it is the first year of the 2020s.

Many years ago when 2020 was still far into the future people made fantastic predictions.

They believed that by 2020 instead of a car each household would have a family helicopter parked in their driveway; you would fly to do your shopping and for appointments. They believed people would be living on Mars. They believed no one would be eating hamburgers, chicken or steak; instead everyone would be vegetarian. And they believed cars would only drive through tubes, there would be no more bumpy roads or potholes to deal with.

So far none of these have come to pass. We still drive cars on bumpy roads, we barbeque hamburgers, and no person has been to Mars.

Throughout history people have invented new things to help us live better and more easily with better things, and more efficiently with less effort or hardship, and with less waste. God created people to be able to imagine and reason, to experiment and solve problems. And that is what is happening. But you may be surprised to know that some lifesaving and useful things were invented totally by accident. This means that they came to be while someone was working on something else, they were not the goal.

One of these is penicillin. Penicillin is an antibiotic you may need if you have a sore throat or an ear infection. Almost 100 years ago a

Activity: Match the invention.

What was the first invention?

What is a Canadian invention?

What is a recent invention?

What is an invention you use a lot?

What is a lifesaving invention?

telephone antibiotics wheel toboggan driverless car

ISTOCK

The Year 2020

scientist left a dish with bacteria in his lab. He came back later to find that the bacteria did not grow because of a mold called penicillium.

Another one is X-rays. While doing an experiment a scientist discovered the X-rays that passed through the skin in his hand showed only the bones. Now doctors can find a break more accurately.

Some fun foods, too, came about by accident, or by trying something different. One is the potato chip. To make them less chewy, potatoes were sliced thin as paper then fried in oil until they were crisp. I’ll bet potato chips are one of your favourite snacks.

The chocolate chip cookie, the most popular cookie of all time, was invented by Ruth Wakefield of Tollhouse cookies who added candy bar chunks to her cookie recipe to make something new and special for her guests. Today you use chocolate chips.

And there’s the ice cream cone. The cone was invented by an Italian shop owner in New York City in 1866. He used actual cups to serve the ice cream but he ran out. To solve the problem he twisted a thin waffle into a cone shape to hold the scoops. And his guests loved it, just like you do today.

The year 2020 is special for yet another reason: you get an extra day, February 29, because it’s a leap year.

To celebrate this extra day you could plan a dress up party or special meal. You could do an extra chore or a kindness. You could record the weather that day, or write a story or a poem that describes this day.

What will you do on this extra day? Read Colossians 3:17.

ANSWERS: WHEEL, TOBOGGAN, CAR, PHONE, ANTIBIOTICS

36 The Messenger • January 2020

The Messenger Evangelical Mennonite Conference 440 Main St., Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Publications Mail Agreement #40017362