The Messenger March 2017

The Messenger a publication of the

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Volume 55  No. 2 March 2017

Children and the Church Part One

page 10

ALSO INSIDE:

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Martin Luther and the Anabaptists page 6 Christians Need to be More Shrewd page 13

$2.00

Editorials

Salespersons and Young Pastors

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ince 2014 our household has purchased three used cars (one was a victim before its first oil change).

Overall, the style of the salesperson we dealt with displays lessons from which young pastors might learn.

When Mary Ann needed a car, she found one she liked.

I met her at the dealership. As the salesperson shook my hand, he said, “Hi, I’m Darrell.” I replied, “Hi, I’m not.” A nearby salesperson overheard and laughed.

Darrell was undeterred. Pastors, too, sometimes deal with gruff people who don’t want to be sold something. And perseverance can pay off. (I later told him that if I were hidden in the Himalayas, he would send a person on a yak, or a Sherpa, to pitch a deal.)

Further, he represented a line of products, but when Mary Ann said, “I’m a Chevy girl,” he switched lines and

she soon had a car of her choice. Darrell knew the central goal. Similarly, most pastors know the goal is for people to follow Christ with others, not secondary matters.

Finally, during one sale there was a slight discrepancy on a number. Darrell noted and adjusted it. Salespeople and pastors best serve with integrity and credibility. Pastors mustn’t say that believing and following Christ are easy, that all problems will be solved now, or brush aside the failings of the Church.

The Apostle Paul was persistent (1 Cor. 15:58; 2 Cor. 4:5), focused on central matters (1 Cor. 15:1-6), and sought to live with integrity (Eph. 4:2532). Why? He knew that the good news of Christ—his grace—is the best deal around (Matt. 13:44-46; Phil. 3:411; Isaiah 55:1-3).

– Terry M. Smith

Overall, the style of the salesperson we dealt with displays lessons from which young pastors might learn.

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About the Widow’s Coins

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esus “saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these peo ple gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on’” (Luke 21:1-4).

Two misunderstandings are common with this passage. First, some Christians think they can equally honour Christ by giving small coins.

Certainly, small coins do add up and can make a difference; but giving them is not the same as this widow’s act unless it empties our bank account (“all she had to live on”).

My wife Mary Ann enjoys telling the story of Tony Campolo, who was asked by a women’s group to pray for funds for a project. He refused, saying that if the women

2 The Messenger • March 2017

stepped forward to empty their purses, the need would be met. The women were unhappy with his counsel, but stepped forward and met the need.

Second, as others have said, that the Lord honoured the widow doesn’t mean he endorsed her giving away what was required for her basic needs. Jesus rebuked pious children who thought they were excused from caring for their parents (Mark 7:9-13), families and the Church are to care for widows in need (Acts 6:1, 1 Tim. 5:3-8), and the Church is to seek justice for widows (Mark 12:40, Deut. 27:19). Sometimes pious widows need protection from others, misguided teaching, and even themselves.

– Terry M. Smith

Sometimes pious widows need protection from others, misguided teaching, and even themselves.

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

Martin Luther and the Anabaptists – Dr. John J. Friesen

A Reader's Viewpoint

Let's Be Careful What We Teach Children!

– Irene Kroeker

page

21

10 Children and the Church 16 Reformation Reflections (Part One): A Search for Felix Manz and a Sympathetic Pastor Comfort – Terry M. Smith – Dr. Harvey Plett

18 Further In and Higher Up 13 Christians Need to be More It's Hard to be Good When Everyone Else is Doing It Shrewd – Layton Friesen – Michael Zwaagstra

Departments 2 Editorials 3 Pontius’ Puddle 17 With Our Missionaries 19 With Our Churches 26 News 31 In Memory 33 Shoulder Tapping

page

20

25 Focus On

Dissecting 'catholic' in the Apostles' Creed – Kimberly Muehling, Paul walker, and Jessica Wichers

29 An Education App

Questions That Arise From Fränz Jagerstätter – Terry M. Smith

30 Writings Shared – Rebecca Roman

page

19

34 Here and Far Away Mere Humans – Jocelyn R. Plett

35 Stewardship Today Preventing Prodigals – Mike Strathdee

page

23

36 Kids’ Corner

A Lion or a Lamb – Loreena Thiessen

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 3

The Messenger Volume 55 No. 2 March 2017

News

Want to get more from The Messenger?

Use both print and online formats

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.

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.

THE MESSENGER schedule: No. 03- May 2017 issue (copy due April 8)

4 The Messenger • March 2017

STEINBACH, Man.—To get more from The Messenger, use both the print/online and website editions, all free to EMCers.

There are six print issues and six website-format editions in 2017.

Together, they provide more information than last year; separately, they provide less.

The Messenger is free of charge in an enhanced electronic version at the electronic magazine database service Issuu. at https://issuu.com/emcmessenger. On Android or IOS, search the app store for the free Issuu app (Issuu: A World of Magazines). Once downloaded, open the app and search for “The EMC Messenger.”

The Messenger will begin a six issue print cycle with increased quality in January, March, May, July, September, and November.

The Messenger has launched a new website at www.emcmessenger. ca. Content is made available weekly (editorials, lead articles, church news updates, missions news, job listings, and more). The website will be optimized for desktop, mobile and tablet viewing, and will be integrated with the EMC’s social media.

Much is changing here during 2017. Join us in this next stage in the life of The Messenger.

– EMC

••

News About Subscription Prices STEINBACH, Man.—The Messenger is available in two formats: print and digital.

• The digital format is free to everyone (decided by BCM on Jan. 16).

• The print subscription is free for members and adherents of EMC churches.

• The magazine is funded through the EMC’s general budget, which is met by the donations of individuals and churches. If you attend an EMC church, please do not send in a subscription fee, but support the EMC’s general budget through your local church giving.

• For people not attending an EMC church, the cost of a print subscription is reduced from $24 to $20 for six issues per year (decided by BCM on Jan. 16). For many years the

subscription price for The Messenger has not covered the actual costs of production; this is still true.

• Some costs continue to rise. The move, in part, to a digital format was to save some costs. Yet in our striving for excellence in format and fairness to writers, some production costs will increase.

• The subscription price, for many years, has been deliberately kept low to make the periodical available to as many interested people as possible.

The formats of the magazine have increased for the same reason.

We encourage you to enjoy the magazine in its various formats.

Thank you for supporting a magazine that continues to play a key role in “informing, instructing, and inspiring,” as it has since 1963.

– The Board of Church Ministries

Column • A Reader's Viewpoint

Let’s Be Careful What We Teach Children!

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t age seven I went to school every day, hoping my teacher would tell us how to get to heaven. I was obsessed with my need of forgiveness. I got some help at age 13. When I was 14, my uncle explained John 1:12. That was my turning point.

I have struggled with salvation and its teachings to children for almost a lifetime. I don’t want others to go through this the hard way or be oblivious to it altogether.

In 1972 I taught Religion Class in a school where I was teaching south of Winkler, Man. I remember the day I agonized before God, asking Him, “How can I get to the level of my Grade 2 to 4 students in order for them to understand my faith?”

The next morning I opened my Bible Story Book for our daily reading. It was the story of Jesus blessing the children and saying unless we have the faith of a little child, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. I was hit so hard I could hardly read.

That left a permanent mark on my heart. I revised the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) content of what I was using in Religion Class.

But I was still very oblivious to the “eternal security” position in it right till last year (2016) when I read Dr. Harvey Plett’s article on Children in the

Church, which he sent me when I asked for help.

That is when my eyes were really opened. I agree that little children are in the Kingdom and should not be talked or scared into it. They are not lost, but safe in Jesus till the age of accountability, which differs from child to child.

I talked to a Grandma whose four-year-old grandson asked Jesus into his heart. Because of my new understanding, I could rejoice with her and warn her of the need for many commitments and re-commitments ahead.

From Oct. 19 to Dec. 8, 2016, I taught little children, mostly ages four to six, in a new outreach area of our church. Again, I needed the truths of that article in my lesson prep and teaching. I had a CEF flannelgraph that I used carefully.

I checked up in my home church as to what material the Sunday School teachers are using with the young children. I found out they use the CEF flannelgraph, much to my delight. I think it is important, though, for teachers to be informed of our theology on children and salvation. If they are not, is this not cause for deep concern?

A good teacher will repeat an important teaching and come at it from various angles and perspectives. I requested that Dr. Harvey Plett’s article on the spiritual status of children be reprinted. We need to hear it again.

Irene Kroeker (Rosenort EMC) has served as a missionary in Mexico and serves in various ways within her local church.

by Irene Kroeker

Little children are in the Kingdom and should not be talked or scared into it. They are not lost, but safe in Jesus till the age of accountability.

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Note: Dr. Harvey Plett’s twopart series on the spiritual status of children appears in March (print) and April (online).

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 5

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Protestant (Radical) Reformation Through 2017

Martin Luther and the Anabaptists

by Dr. John J. Friesen

6 The Messenger • March 2017

T

Luther's reforms have sparked 500 years of Bible study.

his year, 2017, is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting 95 theses on the doors of the churches in the city of Wittenberg, including the All Saints Church.

What Luther intended as a debate over how to reform abuses in the Roman Catholic Church resulted in the break-up of the Catholic Church and the start of the Protestant Reformation.

Why should Anabaptists-Mennonites care about Martin Luther, a young university professor, and his reforms? Why should this anniversary be noted in Mennonite-Anabaptist denominational papers?

No Luther, No Anabaptists

The principal reason why Mennonites-Anabaptists should care about Luther’s reform is that Luther is the reason why there was an

Anabaptist-Mennonite reform movement at all.

Luther’s reforms, and the conflicts they spawned between Catholics and Protestants, created space for the Anabaptist movement to take root.

They sprang up in German states, northern Switzerland, Moravia, and the Netherlands.

Without Luther, and the other reformers who followed his lead, there would have been no Anabaptist movements.

Inspired by Key Ideas

Mennonites should also care about Luther’s reform because the early Anabaptist leaders were inspired by Luther’s key ideas. Luther’s reform began as a critique of the Catholic Church selling indulgences. In response Luther formulated his central view that salvation is by grace, that is, a gift from God, and not by works.

When challenged about how he could make such a claim since it deviated from the beliefs of most of the great teachers of the medieval church, Luther said his authority was the Bible, not tradition.

Specifically, he based his view of grace on the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians. It was the Bible alone,

The principal reason why MennonitesAnabaptists should care about Luther’s reform is that Luther is the reason why there was an Anabaptist-Mennonite reform movement at all.

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Luther said, on which he based his view that salvation is by faith through grace.

Following this claim, Luther decided to make the Bible available to the masses by translating it into the German language. Widespread distribution was made possible by the newly invented moveable type printing presses. Access to the Bible allowed people to read scripture for themselves, and to implement reforms that they believed were consistent with scripture.

Luther also rejected the control that the Catholic priesthood had over access to forgiveness.

Luther believed that all believers had direct access to God—no priestly mediation was necessary.

Luther called this the priesthood of all believers.

All these emphases Anabaptists applauded.

A Parting

Even though at first Luther seemed to empower common people, he also spoke highly of the role German princes should play in any reform.

When the peasants revolted in the years 152425, Luther condemned them harshly.

He cast his lot with the princes and adopted the state-church model for his reform. Luther looked to the German princes both for protection and direction. This decision set Luther and the Anabaptists against each other.

A ‘Should Have’

Anabaptists believed that Luther’s reform ideas should have resulted in a believers’ church. Such a church would have consisted of those who truly had faith in God and had committed themselves to a life of Christian discipleship. This option would have resulted in a church that was a minority in the population.

Accepting a believers’ church would have resulted in a pluralist society in which minority church groups were tolerated. When Luther opted for the state-church model, placed the Lutheran church under the authority of the state, and persecuted minority churches, Anabaptists believed that Luther had betrayed the teachings of the Bible.

This commitment to a believers’ church allowed Anabaptists to reshape basic Christian beliefs and practices. Anabaptists emphasized baptism on the basis of adult confessions of faith, instead of infant baptism. Church leaders were chosen from within the community of believers instead of being appointed by church hierarchies, or by state officials.

Reforms were based on the church community’s reading of scripture, rather than on the basis of what was politically expedient and approved by princes. Church discipline and

The Wartburg Castle where Luther worked on the German Bible.

8 The Messenger • March 2017

When early Anabaptists gathered in caves, it was for worship, not scenery.

social shunning replaced trials and executions of those with whom they disagreed.

For worship, Anabaptists gathered in houses, barns, and caves to read scripture together.

They discussed biblical texts and discerned together, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, how to apply them to daily living. They sang songs composed by their own members based on experiences of persecution and martyrdom.

No more majestic cathedrals, chants, organs, monastic choirs, and elaborate liturgies where members were largely spectators.

They rejected feudal oaths since their primary loyalty was to God and not to princes and emperors. They advocated a life of peace, rejected violence, refused to carry swords, forgave those who wronged them, and reconciled conflicts between members of the church.

One cannot imagine the Anabaptist movement without Luther’s reforms. And yet, the direction that Luther’s reforms took resulted in Luther becoming one the Anabaptists’ bitterest enemies.

Even the Augsburg Confession of 1530, the basic Lutheran confession, included the following among a number of condemnations: “We condemn Anabaptists who forbid Christians to hold office,” and “We condemn Anabaptists who reject the baptizing of children, and say that children are saved without baptism.” Most Lutheran states crushed Anabaptist groups within their borders.

Pietism

This sharp break between Luther and the Anabaptists, however, is not the end of the story of Luther’s influence on Anabaptist Mennonites.

In the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Lutheran Church spawned a Pietist movement, which has in many ways positively influenced Mennonites.

Pietism emphasized Bible reading by laity, a warm devotional life, an experience of conversion and personal commitment to God, a life of discipleship, and an extensive hymnody. Pietists drew upon the early emphases of Luther and thus, in many respects, were close to the emphases of the sixteenth century Anabaptist movement.

Martin Luther and his followers have had a powerful shaping influence on AnabaptistsMennonites, then and now. It is appropriate to remember Luther and the significant contributions he made to all denominations of the Christian Church, including the AnabaptistsMennonites. Luther was a giant in his age and will always be honoured for the major impact he made.

Dr. John J. Friesen is Professor Emeritus for History and Theology, Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Man. This article was produced for Meetinghouse, an association of Anabaptist periodicals and editors in Canada and the U.S.

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Children and the Church (Part One): A Search for Comfort ISTOCK

by Dr. Harvey Plett

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any parents have some misgivings about their children relate to the Church and the Kingdom of God. A question that haunts many is, “If my child dies, will it go to heaven?” This discomfort has been produced, in part, by a lack of teaching in our churches, or by improper teaching about what the Bible says regarding children.

A further influence that has affected this discomfort is the influence of various groups that stress child evangelism. They stress that as soon as a child knows it is doing wrong it is old enough to make a salvation decision. In addition, most groups stressing chid evangelism also teach eternal security. This gives impetus to the idea of getting children to make decisions, for then they are eternally secure no matter what may happen in the future.

Another influence that has raised questions about the child’s eternal welfare has been getting to know people who have been baptized as infants. Later they have accepted Christ and are dynamic Christians. Many of these have continued to hold a strong view that their infant baptism, whether it is sacramental or covenantal, is a valid baptism. This creates a problem

10 The Messenger • March 2017

for us when such people ask for membership.

We understand, with our Anabaptist forebears, that the Scriptures teach a believer’s baptism. We tend to be afraid that by requiring a believer’s baptism of such individuals we will offend them and turn them away. We do not want to offend or hurt them and so seek for a rationale that will permit us to accept their infant baptism as a valid baptism.

Consequently many people are not sure about the spiritual status of children. For many it has also been an impetus to find an answer that is biblical and will give us peace should our child die.

Psychological Comfort

In the search for some assurance, some parents find comfort in Child Dedication. Psychologically going through a ceremony gives a sense of comfort even though we all know that no human can dedicate another human, for each is ultimately responsible for himself or herself.

Somehow we hope the ceremony will do something to the child until it is old enough to make its own decision and also condition the child to make the decision when old enough.

Those believe the biblical teaching of believer’s baptism know the ceremony really doesn’t do anything for the child, but it makes us parents feel better.

Children Are In the Kingdom

Jesus teaches children are in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus teaches children are in the Kingdom of God. Mark 10:13-16 gives us the context in which Jesus teaches this. In verse 14 Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Rather clearly and simply Jesus rebukes his disciples for hindering children coming to Him and then adds that they are in the Kingdom. You find the incident also described in Luke 18:15-17 and Matt. 19:13-15.

Children are in the Kingdom because the salvation of Christ. Romans 5:18 says, “Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.” Titus 2:11 also suggests that the salvation in Christ covers those who are still in what could be called their innocent state. No ceremony or baptism is needed to secure a child’s salvation. The child is covered by the blood of Christ.

accountable so that when he sins he will experience the consequences, separation from Christ?

We do have two illustrations in the Bible when children are held accountable. The first is that those who were 19 and younger would be able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 14:2931). Evidently they were not held responsible for the murmuring and rebellion against God, which resulted in the condemnation to all who were 20 and over. The second illustration is Jesus being brought to the temple at the age of 12 (Luke 2:41ff ). This could have been preparation for his Bar Mitzvah the following year. A Jewish boy became responsible and accountable for himself in his obedience to the Law when he turned 13.

Age of Accountability

Child Development

This raises a few critical questions. Does this mean a child does not need to make a decision for Christ? When is a person old enough to be held

Both examples are illustrative and not necessarily normative. However, when we add to this our knowledge of child development, we know that a

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person grows in knowledge, understanding, and accountability.

Somewhere around puberty a person begins to become accountable. To make a decision for Christ, a person has to have some understanding of what sin is, what faith is, and what salvation is. The understanding of sin, as merely individual acts, is not an adequate understanding of sin.

A child taught about right and wrong by her or his parents will be bothered when it does things it has been told not to do because its trained conscience registers it negatively.

Human development teaches us that a person becomes responsible and accountable as they grow older and develop understanding and, as I have suggested, it probably comes around the onset of puberty.

will have to do some discerning when a person is accountable enough to receive baptism.

The second truth is that the transition from childhood to adulthood, through what we call adolescence, takes time. And so, we have a somewhat overlapping of the childhood state and young adult state. Again this demands discernment by the community of faith. This discernment must be made humbly, lovingly but not motivated by fear.

So what does this mean for our life together as churches? Stay tuned for Part Two.

A child taught about right and wrong by her or his parents will be bothered when it does things it has been told not to do because it’s trained conscience registers it negatively.

Discernment

Two more truths in connection with this must be kept in mind. Each person develops and matures at his or her own pace. We all know individuals who were very mature by 14 and others who were only that mature when they were 16 or 17. Thus we as a community of faith

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Dr. Harvey Plett (Prairie Rose) is a long-time EMC minister, educator, and conference worker.

He has served as president of SBC and as EMC moderator. He continues to do some teaching, preaching, counselling, and writing. He and his wife Pearl live in Mitchell, Man., and celebrated 58 years of blessed marriage on Aug. 22, 2016.

They have a daughter, three sons, 13 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

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Christians Need to be More Shrewd

by Michael Zwaagstra

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ews reports across Canada and the U.S. too frequently tell of Christians being involved in or exploited by illegal pyramid schemes that bilk investors out of thousands of dollars. Apparently, strongly Christian communities can often be prime recruiting areas.

The Problem With Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid schemes are relatively easy to identify. Simply put, a business is a pyramid scheme when it focuses more on recruiting new members than on selling an actual product. For instance, a company might sell travel packages that have almost no actual value.

Investors make money by convincing friends and family members to buy packages of their own. The higher up you were on this chain, the money you made.

The problem with pyramid schemes is that people at the bottom are guaranteed to lose money. This is because it doesn’t take long to run out of new recruits. If each investor is responsible for recruiting at least two additional investors down the chain, it takes only 22 levels before you reach 33 million people—close

to the entire population of Canada. Obviously, the scheme collapses long before then, but not before the people at the top make a fortune off the backs of those at the bottom.

Pyramid scheme organizers love to target communities where significant numbers of people are likely to fall for their scam. Unfortunately, fertile ground can often be found in areas with a relatively high percentage of Christians. Some of the perpetrators are Christians, as are many of the victims. Sadly, their Christian faith did not prevent victims from being swindled out of thousands of dollars by a pyramid scheme.

The problem with pyramid schemes is that people at the bottom are guaranteed to lose money.

Gullible Christians

One could hope that pyramid schemes are an isolated example of Christian gullibility. They are not.

In far too many cases, Christians fall for everything from faulty apologetics to Internet hoaxes.

One example is the decades-old urban legend that prominent atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair is launching a campaign to ban all religious programming from the airwaves. Recipients of this doomsday message are encouraged to sign a petition in order to preserve religious freedom.

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The problem is that this story is completely false. Madalyn Murray O’Hair does not have any such campaign going on and has actually been dead since 1995. A quick Google search is all it takes to discover that there is nothing constructive to be gained from spreading this false rumour. As Christians, we look rather foolish when we allow ourselves to get suckered in so easily.

It is equally silly when we use bogus arguments to defend our faith. For example, it is not true that Noah’s Ark has been discovered on Mount Ararat or that human and dinosaur footprints have been found together at the Paluxy River in Texas. Nor is there such a thing as a “day missing in time” discovered by NASA scientists that proves that the sun stood still in Joshua 10:12-14.

By the way, there is also no evidence that Charles Darwin recanted the theory of evolution on his deathbed. And yet, these and many other bogus arguments are still used by well-meaning Christians when defending the faith.

It is equally silly when we use bogus arguments to defend our faith.

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The Value of Shrewdness

In Luke 16:1-9, Jesus tells his disciples a parable about a dishonest manager who cleverly ingratiates himself with his master’s debtors by quickly reducing their debts before being fired from his job. Without defending this manager’s dishonesty, Jesus notes that the master commended his manager for acting shrewdly (Luke 16:8). The Greek word translated as “shrewdly” is phronimos, which means prudent, practically wise, or sensible.

According to Jesus, his disciples can learn something from this dishonest manager. “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8b ESV).

In other words, Jesus is telling his disciples that non-Christians often act more prudently and sensibly than Christians do in many circumstances. Suffice it to say that there is nothing particularly shrewd about falling for a pyramid scheme, spreading false Internet rumours, or using bogus arguments to defend our faith.

In a different context, Jesus gives his disciples some advice as to how they should handle themselves before he sends them out. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of

wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt.10:16). Jesus knew that his followers would face serious challenges in the world so he reminded them that they needed to behave shrewdly without falling into the trap of emulating the world’s sinful ways.

How to Become More Shrewd

In Preaching the Parables (2004), New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg says that in far too many cases, Christians do the exact opposite and are “as wicked as servants and as dumb as doves.” Blomberg points out that Christians are often too complacent when it comes to planning Sunday School lessons, sharing our faith strategically, or running church committee meetings.

Churches should be known as some of the best-run organizations in the country and yet we know that far too many congregations accept poor governance as a fact of church life.

Running a church effectively requires a lot of work and more than a little shrewdness. There is a reason why the Apostle Paul wrote letters in which he provided a detailed description of the qualifications for the roles of elders and deacons (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).

Paul even took the time to explain how churches should determine which widows to enroll in their support systems (1 Tim. 5:3-16).

Details matter and Christians should not fall into trap of assuming that we need to do nothing

more than trust in God. God gave us brains for a reason and he expects us to use them.

When it comes to evangelism, Paul acted shrewdly on more than few occasions. He made good use of his Roman citizenship to stand up for his legal rights (Acts 22:25-29) and chose just the right moment to identify himself as a Pharisee when standing before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:6-10).

When speaking to the people of Athens, Paul quoted from one of their own poets and made sure to tailor his message in such a way that it was intelligible to his audience (Acts 17:22-34). In each of these circumstances, Paul exemplified what it means to act shrewdly.

Fortunately, we can enhance our shrewdness. Reading God’s Word regularly is one of the best ways to protect ourselves from foolishness. “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:98-99).

We should also put in the necessary intellectual work before making a decision. Do some research before you forward a petition. There is nothing virtuous about ignorance, especially when many of the answers are easily found.

Finally, we need to make better use of our God-given intelligence. If non-Christians can tell the difference between a legitimate business and a pyramid scheme, the same should hold true for Christians. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In all our dealings, let’s seek to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.

Reading God’s Word regularly is one of the best ways to protect ourselves from foolishness.

Michael Zwaagstra, BEd, PBCE, MEd, MA (Theological Studies), is a public high school teacher, a city councillor, and an adult Sunday School teacher (EFC Steinbach).

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Column • Reformation Reflections

Felix Manz and a Sympathetic Pastor

by Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

It is an even greater tragedy, and a more curious form of martyrdom, when a Christian dies at the hands of other Christians.

16 The Messenger • March 2017

him and keep him in your territory, so that we may be rid of him and our people remain quiet, and that in case of his return we are not compelled to take severe measures against him” (H. Bender and C. Felix Manz Neff ).

On March 7, 1526, Zurich city council made believer baptism punishable by drowning. On Dec. 3, 1526, Manz was arrested and on Jan. 5, 1527, sentenced to death. That afternoon he was taken in a boat onto the Limmat River.

There, he heard his mother call out for him to be steadfast. Manz spoke out in Latin: “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” An executioner forced Felix’s bound hands over his knees, put a stick between his hands and knees, and pushed Manz into the water. Four centuries later a memorial plaque would be placed on the riverbank.

Ironically, as Felix Manz had prepared to die, a “preacher at his side spoke sympathetically to him encouraging him to be converted.” Converted to whom? If to Christ, Felix was that already.

It is a tragedy for Christians to die at the hands of non-Christians. It is an even greater tragedy, and a more curious form of martyrdom, when a Christian dies at the hands of other Christians—especially when a sympathetic pastor is present.

GAMEO

W

ho was the first person killed for being an Anabaptist? It wasn’t Felix Manz.

Manz (ca. 1498-1527) was drowned on Jan. 5, 1527, “in the River Limmat, the first Protestant martyr at the hands of Protestants” (J. G. G. Norman).

Hippolytus (Bolt) Eberle, an Anabaptist, had been killed much earlier on May 29, 1525, in the Catholic canton of Schywz. (An unnamed Catholic priest was killed that same day for associating with Eberle.)

Felix Manz is better known. He knew Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, and had joined Ulrich Zwingli’s Bible classes in 1522. With others, he pressed for reform. When Zwingli deferred to the pace of the city-state’s council, Manz and others began to meet separately.

When some parents refused to have their children baptized, they were fined. On Jan. 17, 1525, Manz made the case for believer baptism before city council; the council rejected this. The next day council threatened to banish people who did not present their children for baptism within eight days; Manz was to submit to the order and cease arguing. On Jan. 21, 1525, he and others were baptized as believers.

During the next two years Manz was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned; he escaped once only to be recaptured. He would emerge to strengthen his brothers and sisters in the faith, and, when allowed, make the case for believer baptism before Zurich’s city council.

He said he had never rejected government, preached in other pastorates only as any disciple would do, denounced both capital punishment and the use of the sword, and taught to share with the needy.

Once, when released from prison, Felix left Zurich for the canton of Grison. He was arrested and returned to Zurich with a letter dated July 13, 1525, that shows the magistrate’s frustration with him and, perhaps, Zurich’s city council: “But because he is an obstinate and recalcitrant person we released him from prison and because he is one of yours we have sent him to you, with the friendly request that you look after

Sources: C. J. Dyck, ed., An Introduction to Mennonite History (Herald Press, rev. 1981); C. Neff, “Eberle, Bolt” (GAMEO, 1953); W. Klaassen, Anabaptism: Neither Catholic nor Protestant (Conrad Press, 1981); J. G. G. Norman, “Manz, Felix,” Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. J. D. Douglas (Zondervan, 1981); H. Bender and C. Neff, “Manz, Felix” (GAMEO, 1957); H. J. Hillerbrand, The Reformation (Baker, repr. 1987); Southwestern News, Fall 2012 (SBTS).

With Our Missionaries

Missionaries go on retreat in Paraguay

BOM

PARAGUAY

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).

Twenty-six months after our last retreat, we had our Paraguayan missionary retreat from Feb. 1 to 4. Because EMC-supported staff is down to five missionaries and two children, we gladly included retired EMC missionaries who continue serving in Paraguay.

After settling in and getting to know the lovely camp, we prepared for supper. Dark, ominous clouds soon gave way to winds, lightning, and a torrential downpour. Later that evening, because of the storms, a major power outage affected us for 26 hours. With that, our water supply dwindled quickly.

Needless to say, we had a number of challenges to start our retreat. There was ample opportunity to guard our hearts and to become more aware of the movements of our hearts, either down into the kingdom of darkness or up into the kingdom of light.

Paul and Hildi Amstutz did an excellent job of leading us to reflect on where our hearts are at, letting God examine and speak to us (Jer. 17:10). Besides the first evening session and the prepared questions for our personal devotional times, they led us in daily three-hour sessions of introspection and quietly listening to God based on Janet Hagberg’s book The Critical Journey where six stages of faith are discussed.

Sooner or later in our journey our faith hits a wall, and we often don’t respond well to it. This is a painful time when we have to deal with emotions like frustration, anger,

Revita and Chris Kroeker

loneliness and disillusionment. God’s purpose in our “wall experience” is to help us redefine who we are, who is God, and who is our neighbour.

He invites us to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), allowing us to dialogue with Him. These wall experiences are crucial in the development of God’s character in us, and our understanding of and relationship to the world we live in.

We had good times of fellowship and prayer together, and enjoyed the marvelous outdoors, going swimming in the creek, the trip to the river, and the great food.

For my wife and me, these days away from our churchplanting ministry were well worth it. God has used this retreat to renew our strength, our vision, and our passion to help others also live the abundant life that Jesus offers freely.

– Chris Kroeker Chris Kroeker and his wife Revita serve in church planting in Minga Guazù, Paraguay.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 17

Column • Further In and Higher Up

It’s Hard to be Good When Everyone Else is Doing It

by Layton Friesen

I am trying to answer the question: how can the Church be gospel pacifists, people who refuse violence in the name of Christ, in a world seething with nonviolence?

We live in an incredibly nonviolent world.

18 The Messenger • March 2017

ISTOCK

A

nd now the moment we have all been waiting for, when Layton comes out on stage and tells you the theme of his doctoral dissertation. The flesh is weak and one can only take the suspense so long, so I will bend to the crowds and say a few words.

I am trying to answer the question: how can the Church be gospel pacifists, people who refuse violence in the name of Christ, in a world seething with nonviolence? We live in an incredibly nonviolent world.

Our children learn anti-bullying strategies.

They protest racism, sexism, homophobia. Many pass on the filet mignon because eating animals is violent. They attend We Day—arenas filled with thousands of children listening to teenaged Kielburgers who change the world in the name of peace.

War and violence are declining around the world. Figuring deaths per capita, the twentieth century was the most nonviolent century in human history. In the 1950s, there were almost 250 deaths caused by war per million people. Now, there are less than 10. With the end of the Colombian war, for the first time in human history the western hemisphere is free of war. Anti-war protests are common, anything but counter-cultural.

These are glory days for Mennonite pacifists. But two major problems arise for those who desire not only to be nonviolent, but to follow Jesus in peace. As the world rejects violence, some Christians conclude that nonviolence need not concern us. Nonviolence, they think, must be for secular, humanist, or liberal people. This is the mistake of many Evangelical Mennonites. But if society adopts some of his message, does that make Jesus wrong?

Nonresistance is still at the core of his life, his prayer, and his atonement. Rejecting nonviolence just because the world has caught on is like rejecting nursing as Christian service just because some nurses are Hindu and polio is defeated.

The second mistake is to decide that we don’t need Jesus in order to be good people.

Secular methods work better. The Church is today blamed for violence. Many leave, thinking they can achieve nonviolence better outside the Church. When nonviolence becomes the civil religion, the idol of the day, people reject the Church as they reject Jesus, who in the end, seems too barbaric for our civilized standards.

This is the mistake of more liberal Mennonites.

So how can we be gospel pacifists in world full of nonviolence?

I gambled my fortune and five years of work on the answer to this question being Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). As a Roman Catholic pastor he struggled with a Church that he felt had lost the unity of spirituality, theology, and ethics. He also criticized Catholic liberation theologians who had reduced the gospel to a political agenda.

Balthasar envisioned believers steeped in the Church, formed by baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to surrender into the mission of Jesus.

Christ became nonresistant to an evil, yet beautiful world out of surrender to his Father. The Spirit now takes Christ’s submission to the Father and brings the Church to live inside this obedience. Living inside Christ’s beautiful, costly surrender, we love and forgive our enemies because that is what Christ is doing.

In Christ the Church becomes fruitful out in the world, even spawning offshoots within the world that look remarkably Christ-like even in their wild state. But whether the world catches on or not, we surrender into the nonresistance of Christ to the Father and to the world. This is where gospel pacifism is nourished.

With Our Churches Fort Garry EMC

Fort Garry EMC turns 40!

FORT GARRY

WINNIPEG, Man.—From a small Bible Study group, that took a leap of faith and bought a tiny convenience store to worship in, to a mid-sized EMC congregation with attendees from around the world, Fort Garry had many reasons to celebrate God’s faithfulness over the past 40 years on Oct. 14 and 15, 2016.

Our weekend of celebration included an evening of reflection and music. Previous pastors, Al Friesen, David Thiessen and Layton Friesen, shared stories and memories of their time in leadership. We enjoyed flashes from the past, through singing praise music from the 70s and 80s and a slideshow of memories.

David Kruse, former youth pastor, and his family blessed us with their music. It was a lovely reunion surrounded by memorabilia, refreshments, and decorations for current and former attendees who joined us for this event.

Sunday’s worship service included Glen Klassen, one of the founding members, sharing the history of our congregation. Our current pastor, David Funk, spoke and included a story of how God can use weaknesses to make something beautiful.

An oak tree beside the church was the perfect climbing ladder for raccoons who had spent many years wreaking havoc in the church attic, tampering with wiring and insulation. Reports by our trustees over the years included the latest adventures of these bandits. Finally, the day came when the only solution left was to cut down the oak tree.

The wood from this tree had been dried and at this celebration we enjoyed the beauty of it in the form of a new communion table.

David Funk said in his sermon, “On the crosspiece of our communion table, we have the two triquetras (symbol of the trinity) and in the middle, the Aramaic word ‘Maranatha!’ This word could be translated as ‘Our Lord has come!’ or it could be ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ It means both!

“When we obey Jesus’ call to come and feast on him, we declare that indeed our Lord has come—God’s future has irrupted into the present. We are tasting fruit plucked from the Promised Land. And as we taste the future in the bread and the wine, we yearn and ache for its fulfillment,

and so we cry out at the table, ‘Come, Lord Jesus! How long, O Lord?’”

Our final 40th birthday song was the full length and full Mennonite harmony version of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” (known by some as song 606). The future is unknown, but we know God promised to be near us on our journey, as He has in the past.

– Elaine Kroeker CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School of Theology and Ministry

A Graduate School of the Church rooted in the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Enrol now. Scholarships and bursaries available.

Find out more at:

cmu.ca/gstm

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 19

With Our Churches Kleefeld EMC

Parent-child dedications, deacon commissioning

KEMC

KLEEFELD, Man.— Family and friends filled the sanctuary at the Kleefeld EMC on Oct. 30, 2016, to witness and support the four couples who were dedicating themselves to raise their children in the desire that they grow up to honour and glorify Christ. As a congregation we continue to support and encourage these young families and remember them in prayer.

A special deacon commissioning service took place at KEMC on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Elected to this role were Vik and Martha Sawatzky. Thanks, Vik and Martha, for accepting this responsibility, and we wish you the Lord’s blessings as your serve the church in this Pastors Darryl Klassen and Pete Ascough, Will and Tracy Naylor with Maya, capacity.

Caleb and Jen Friesen with Josiah, Tori and Doug Priest with Allister, KrisOnce a month the seniors at KEMC look forward to ten and Chris Bergshoeff with Benjamin. sharing a Sunday meal of soup, buns, and dessert. For the past several years this has been organized and prepared and Alvira Warkentin stepped in to take their place; and,

by Norm and Rosella Bartel, Leonora Koop, and Elma on behalf of the seniors, we thank them for continuing this Fast. We express our appreciation to them for the excelservice. God bless! lent food and fellowship opportunity. This past year Darrin – Dennis and Louella Friesen

•• Treesbank Community Church

Treesbank invites you to our 50th anniversary celebration!

TREESBANK, Man.—Treesbank Community Church invites you to our 50th Anniversary Celebration on July 22-23, 2017. There is fully serviced camping available in Wawanesa. Please book early by calling 204-741-0421 or srrd@mymts.net. There is also lots of space in the churchyard for unserviced camping. Our schedule will start with a bonfire in the churchyard on Saturday at 7 p.m. Our Sunday service will start at 10:30 a.m. with a lunch to follow.

There will be an open microphone set up during lunch.

TCC will provide snacks for Saturday and lunch on Sunday. Please RSVP to cjanhamilton@yahoo.ca by July 1.

–Janet Hamilton

20 The Messenger • March 2017

With Our Churches In Airdrie a new congregation has been born!

AIRDRIE, Alta.—In 2013, when Emanuel was a threeyear-old baby church, I asked a church leader who lived in Airdrie how long it took to drive to Emanuel Church in Calgary. He answered close to 40 minutes if there is no traffic.

I asked him if there was Spanish-speaking church in Airdrie. The answer was no. I told him that one day there was going to be if God would open doors for us.

In 2014 Emanuel’s leadership discussed a plan to grow as a church even if through the birth of another congregation—not a division, but a church plant. Everyone agreed and we started to pray for God to show us how and where.

We spent the next two years praying for God to bring people to our congregation or use us to grow his kingdom in other ways. Our church grew a bit. However, God gave us a love for Spanish-speaking people in Airdrie.

I shared it in our Region Two meeting, and at the convention 2016 we shared it with church planting coordinator Charles Koop. He has always been present to pray, advise, mentor, and encourage us.

During 2015 we started to build relationships with the Spanish-speaking community in Airdrie. Besides the family that was already residing in Airdrie from our Church, another two families moved into the area during 2016.

Our leadership at Emanuel approved this motion in Fall 2016: “Iglesia Emmanuel fully supports in prayer, with moral support and actions, as much as is able to plant a church in Airdrie.”

God opened doors and a sister English-speaking church in the City of Airdrie allowed us to rent their

Living in God’s Kingdom: a practical study guide on the Christian life is an introduction to the Christian faith, suitable for baptism/ LIVING IN membership and other classes.

Lessons include: God and revelation, Jesus Christ and salvation, Holy Spirit and discipleship, the kingdom and the future, church and mission, and Anabaptist history. A leader’s guide is available. te Conference Christian Mennoni , MB R5G 0J1 478 Henry St, Steinbach .ca www.cmconference

te Conference Evangelical Mennoni , MB R5G 1Z5 440 Main St, Steinbach .ca www.emconference

To order, contact the conference office. ce/Go Mission! te Mission Conferen Evangelical Mennoni , MB R2N 4G6 757 St Anne’s Rd, Winnipeg www.gomission.ca

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GOD’S KING[ DOM] a practical study guide on the Christian life

BOM

Glory and praise to Christ!

Antonio Luis and Esther Pitta

building for our services. Our church plant launch service was on Jan. 28, 2017. It was so encouraging; it confirmed us what God had put in our hearts. Many Emanuel members came to support and serve, and about as many people came from Airdrie.

Maria Antonieta, who resides in Airdrie, spoke of how she and her family had been praying for three or four years that God would open a Spanish-speaking church.

“God answers the prayer of his children,” she said. “Glory be to God!” That is a bit of of our birthing process. We are in pain because three of our families are engaged in Airdrie and still attend and serve at Emanuel. It means economic hardship for a congregation like ours. As a pastor I will be sharing my time between two congregations. Pray that we will be wise to delegate work, to care for my own family and self-care.

Pray that God will call leaders from within Emanuel, the EMC, or abroad to serve God on a part- or full-time basis.

In spite of the challenges, we are at peace, knowing that, as far as God is praised and known by others, we are fulfilling our purpose as Christians and a congregation.

We, the people from Emanuel Church, would like to thank all the churches of the EMC that have been supporting Emanuel with prayers and economic support through our conference over our seven years of life. We praise God and give him glory that we all have participated in the birth of another church for the glory of Christ. Alabado sea Dios!

(Praise God!) – Pastor Antonio Luis Pitta

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 21

With Our Churches Leamington EMC

Baptisms, church building is well used

LEMC

“Rejoice in all of the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household” (Deut.

26:11). We as the LEMC household have truly been blessed and have much to rejoice about.

On Feb. 28, 2016, our church had a baptism and membership reception. Theresa Dyck, Stephanie Penner, and Justin Klassen were baptized upon their confession of faith. Franz and Helena Guenther were accepted as members as well.

Another baptism was held on Nov. 27, 2016.

Aaron Froese, Ryan Fehr, Shannon Fehr, Amy Wolfe, Emily Penner, Courtney Klassen, Jenny Neufeld received baptism. Tommy Enns was also Aaron, Ryan, Shannon, Amy, Emily, Courtney, and Jeremy (above) were baptized welcomed as a member.

on Nov. 27, 2016. Theresa, Stephanie, and Justin were baptized on Feb. 28, 2016.

The 23th Annual

EMC

PROJECT BUILDERS

Golf Classic

June 15, 2017 Steinbach Fly-In Golf Course To register, contact Diana Peters: 204-326-6401 or dpeters@emconference.ca Details available at www.emconference.ca (under events).

22 The Messenger • March 2017

Our church building has been a blessing as well; it seems as though there is always something happening. We have special events like our Annual Couples Date Night Challenge, an evening where couples from our church and local community are able to enjoy great food, games and fellowship.

We have regular Sunday School and Sunday morning services in English; and on Sunday afternoon, as well as Tuesday evenings, a Spanish church meets in our sanctuary.

The week is filled with men’s volleyball on Monday nights, along with men’s and women’s Bible studies on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We have a growing youth program in our church; Junior Youth meets Wednesday nights and Senior Youth on Friday nights. We also have two homeschool groups regularly utilizing our building.

We have been able to reach out farther to our community through hosting many other events such as Sunday potlucks, Men’s and Women’s ministry events, Youth and Young Adult Group events, meetings and weddings. We also host Berean Schools annually; this year it was in March.

We are called to be a light to those around us and we feel blessed to be able to do so as we serve our community.

“The church is the church only when it exists for others, not dominating, but helping and serving” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

– Helen Boschman-Dyck

With Our Churches Stony Brook Fellowship

STEINBACH, Man.—“God Is Able!” That was the theme for Stony Brook Fellowship’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Sunday on Oct. 16, 2016.

It was a time of fond reminiscing, happy tears, and warm applause; bringing glory to God for what He has done; and praising God for what He is doing in our church and through our church today.

Bev Plett shared about praise and worship technology over the years, from hymnal to PowerPoint, surprising everyone by bringing out an overhead projector, from which we sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” from an old transparency.

Wes Kroeker and his wife Myra were among the original 18 people who started Stony Brook Fellowship in 1996.

He related the story of how SBF first started out, growing from a group of St. Vital EMC attendees who had recently relocated to Steinbach.

Caroline Unger then shared about how she and Pastor Earl came to join SBF in 1998, how God led them from Calgary to Steinbach at just the right time. “Only God!” We then heard testimonies of people who have come to SBF over the years. Rheal Perrin, attending for 15 years and a member since 2011, shared his conversion experience.

Jordan Martens is a new attendee and member, having connected with the small community feeling of the church and opportunity for youth to get involved in serving and ministering. Fran Harms, an original member of the church, reminisced about the “cautious energy” of that first meeting in 1996, being sensitive to God’s leading, and appreciating the wisdom and accountability of being a part of a larger conference.

A written greeting from Steinbach EMC was read, congratulating SBF on 20 wonderful years, sending

SBF

SBF celebrates 20th anniversary

blessings as SBF celebrates this important milestone, and looking forward to what is to come in the next twenty years and beyond.

Pastor Earl then shared thoughts on “the value of small things.” For the past 20 years, Stony Brook Fellowship has been meeting in the modest chapel at Steinbach Christian School, which would otherwise remain empty on Sunday mornings. “God loves to start with small things,” he said.

Pastor Earl reported that from its humble beginnings, Stony Brook Fellowship has had an average of three conversions a year and over 500 new attendees—a testament to this humble church’s openness and unique ability to reach people. For many, SBF has served as a safe place to heal, grow, and serve God. It is reaching people who may otherwise fall between the cracks of a very connected community.

The service closed with everyone in attendance forming a large circle that went from the stage to the foyer.

Everyone joined hands and sang the Doxology. This was followed by a time of fellowship over lunch in the gym.

An offering was taken up in support of Roots and Wings Daycare in Mazatlan and SBF’s adopted missionary couple, Dallas and Tara Wiebe.

“All Your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all Your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and tell of Your power, to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds” (Psalm 145:10-12).

– Jo Poirier

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 23

With Our Churches Picture Butte Mennonite Church

PICTURE BUTTE, Alta.—Lately, it seems our congregation is overflowing with brand new babies! It seemed only fitting to hold a child dedication ceremony on Oct. 2, 2016.

Lay minister Ben Dyck, together with his wife Maria, prayed for each child and their parents. His prayer was that the children would grow up to have a personal relationship with the Lord, and that their parents would know how to lead them in a Christ honouring way.

– Desiree Krahn

PBMC

Child dedication ceremony held

Ben Dyck prayed for children and their parents.

••

24 The Messenger • March 2017

Column • Focus On

Dissecting ‘catholic’ in the Apostles’ Creed

I

by the Worship Committee

Kimberly Muehling

ISTOCK

n the Apostles’ Creed, we agree that we belong to the “holy catholic” church. What does this mean? Are we saying that we are part of the Roman Catholic Church? What does “catholic” mean anyways? Let’s unpack the grammar first.

Written in Latin sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, “holy” and “catholic” are adjectives (descriptive). Church is the noun (the thing).

So, the church is holy: devoted to the service of God and morally and spiritually excellent, and catholic: including a wide variety of things; allembracing (see Oxford Living Dictionary).

The exact origin of the Apostles Creed has been rather lost to the haze of history. By the 9th century AD, when Charlemagne imposed the version we use today, it was already accepted throughout Christendom. The earlier (AD 381) version of the Nicene Creed uses the phrase “one holy catholic and apostolic church.”

As there was only a loose conglomeration of churches at the time, many with differing theology, the council of Nicaea could only have meant the universal church.

Even Martin Luther spoke of and to the church as one general group as he experienced it. While he directed criticism to the Pope and traditional practices, the church was simply the general population. Theological barriers have since gone up on all sides and we now identify ourselves as members of specific church groups, but it is important to recognize that we are still one (albeit messy and often dysfunctional) family in Christ. Karl Barth explains, “The church is universal because it is not limited by any barrier, either of state or of race or of culture” (The Faith of the Church, Wipf and Stock, rep. 2006, 117).

So, reading “holy” and “catholic” as adjectives is very different from agreeing to believe in the Catholic Church. If you capitalize the words, you are implying a proper noun, which would mean the actual organisation known as the Roman Catholic Church.

Interestingly, within the Roman Catholic Catechism both the adjective and the proper noun are employed. In direct discussion about

the Apostles’ Creed, they use the adjective.

However, later in the additions from the Second Vatican Council they use the proper noun (Catechism, 1993, see sections 750, 816-819).

This change came about gradually as part of the Counter-Reformation.

As the use of catholic is not common in everyday language, some churches have moved to the use of other synonyms in its place, such as global, universal, or diverse. The current Lutheran Service Book uses “holy Christian Church.” While in Living in God’s Kingdom uses “holy catholic church,” EMC churches are free to use different phrasing at their own discretion.

After all, we are all translating.

So, however we use the Apostles’ Creed, with our handy lowercase letters, we can freely and confidently agree to participating in the holy catholic church alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ “from every nation, and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Rev. 7:9 NRSV).

Kimberly Muehling (Fort Garry), Pastor Paul Walker (Roseisle), and Jessica Wichers (EFC Steinbach) serve on the EMC Worship Committee under the authority of the Board of Church Ministries. See the Worship Committee’s article Using the Apostles’ Creed in Worship (Jan. 2017).

Paul Walker

Jessica Wichers

Let's unpack the grammar first.

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 25

News

Famine ‘a tragic reality’ in South Sudan, according to UN Cornelius: CFGB ‘deeply troubled,’ responding, donations welcome SOUTH SUDAN—Famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, where about 100,000 people are facing starvation, says a United Nations release dated Feb. 20. In addition, a further one million people are on the brink of famine.

The ongoing civil war in South Sudan, now in its third year, has devastated the country’s economy, disrupting normal food transportation chains, and preventing countless small-scale farming households from growing their crops and tending their herds.

This is the most serious hunger crisis there has been in South Sudan since the conflict began. The UN news release notes that 4.9 million people—or about 40 percent of South Sudan’s population, are in need of urgent food, agriculture, and nutrition assistance.

“We are deeply troubled by what we are seeing in South Sudan, and responding as we are able,” says Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive director Jim Cornelius. “That the food crisis has led to famine conditions for so many is devastating.”

Since the beginning of the recent civil conflict in December 2013, the CFGB has committed over $6 million dollars to providing emergency food and nutrition

assistance to over 114,000 people.

Currently, the CFGB is providing emergency food assistance to conflict-affected people in and around the capital city of Juba, where many people have sought safety. That response is through CFGB member World Relief Canada.

Donations to the Foodgrains Bank response through its members in South Sudan are welcome at http://foodgrainsbank.ca/campaigns/south-sudan-appeal-2/ – CFGB

••

Did You Know?

• One in nine persons worldwide do not have enough food, and 70 percent of them are food producers?

• Almost half of the developing world’s farmers are women, yet they receive only five percent of farmer education and farm support?

• Supporting women farmers in their access to land, seed, and credit could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent, lifting 100 to 150 million people out of hunger?

– MCC Canada

Check out the newest issue of

Theodidaktos Find it at your church or on the EMC website: www.emconference.ca

26 The Messenger • March 2017

News

CFGB deals with a 'troubling contradiction' CANADA–Jane Fonda received lots of criticism in January for travelling to Alberta to criticize future pipeline construction.

Media outlets, including the Winnipeg Free Press, noted the apparent inconsistency between her comments about fossil-fuel extraction and how she flew to Alberta, used a helicopter to tour the oilsands, had her voice amplified by a microphone powered by electricity, and spoke in a building heated to keep out the cold of a Canadian winter.

On all those charges, Fonda can be found guilty. But so could everyone else concerned about climate change who flies, drives a car, lives in a heated house or uses electricity.

That includes me.

Climate change is a significant issue. It threatens everyone on the planet, but modern life is pretty much impossible without the use of fossil fuels.

The conundrum of being concerned about climate change but being reliant on fossil fuels is especially troubling for international relief and development organizations, such as the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) where I work.

For example, every year we support programs that help poor farmers in the developing world deal with the effects of climate change, people who need to grow their own food to survive. These effects include unpredictable and dramatic weather events, erratic or non-existent rainfall or serious disasters brought on by droughts and floods.

At the same time, every year we need to travel thousands of kilometres to visit these programs, checking on progress, meeting the project participants, ensuring accountability and providing training—and generating the very CO2 emissions that cause climate change. It’s a serious and troubling contradiction.

There are two ways we are responding. First, we try to limit our travel and use other forms of communication. Second, we track the CO2 emissions generated by our various John Longhurst is the CFGB’s Resource and Public Engagement Coordinator. As part of his effort to combat climate change, he takes the bus to work. (This article originally appeared in the Jan. 18, 2017, edition of the Winnipeg Free Press.)

DEISGNPICS

Seeks to offset carbon emissions

forms of travel, as well as other energy use, and make a contribution to our climate fund. At the end of each year, we tabulate the amount of carbon we have generated and make a contribution to the fund, at a rate of $25 per tonne of carbon.

Since 2013, when our climate fund was created, the CFGB has contributed more than $56,000. Together with money contributed by people and churches across Canada, a total of $77,000 has been raised for the fund.

Every year, we choose a project in the developing world to receive money from the fund. The money is used to help poor people adapt to the effects of climate change.

This year, the money is being used to support people such as Yvette Nicholas in Haiti. Across Haiti, rainfall patterns have become erratic over the past number of years; farmers say they can no longer predict when rain will come.

Through MCC Canada, the CFGB is assisting Yvette Nicholas and 150 others in her community with agriculture and reforestation training and other assistance—seeds, trees to hold soil on the steep hillsides, fencing to keep animals out of gardens and farming advice.

Yvette saw progress with her garden. “These peanuts that I planted, there wasn’t much rain, and I didn’t get as much as I wanted, but I bought two chickens with what I made from them,” she said.

Although the CFGB can’t make it rain for Yvette and the millions of other small-scale farmers in the developing world, we can do some things to help. This includes tracking our carbon emissions through our climate fund.

We invite others who are concerned about climate change to join us—individuals, churches, businesses and other groups.

Everyone is welcome, including Jane Fonda.

– John Longhurst, CFGB

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 27

News

Abundant Springs 2017 Alive Ephesians 2:4-5 May 19-22, 2017 Caronport, Saskatchewan Speaker: Sid Koop The National Youth Committee is pleased to welcome back Sid Koop as our speaker. Sid is passionate about awakening the lives of students through the truth of Jesus Christ. Sid has spent over 15 years in full-time youth ministry, both in the local church and now as the full time Executive Director of Truth Matters Ministries. This includes overseeing the Canadian Youth Workers Convention (CYWC) Regional Training Conferences across Canada. Sid is married to Jen and they have two boys. Please pray for Sid as he prepares to speak at our four main sessions! www.truthmatters.ca

Theme: Alive

We believe that this generation desperately needs to understand who they are in Christ, namely, that they are people who have been made alive by the work Jesus!

Entertainment: The Color

We have invited The Color to come back to lead us in worship throughout the weekend again this year. It’s not just music, lights, or concerts for

this Canadian band. With God-given musical talent and the grit for touring, The Color makes music to answer the question our Maker puts to us all eventually, “What did you do with what I gave you?” For The Color, it’s living and breathing songs that speak truth and bring healing into the messy places of the soul. They will also perform a concert during the weekend. www.thecoloronline.com

Entertainment Guests: Refined Undignified

Refined Undignified exists to Equip students to become godly leaders, Excel in dance and lifestyle for the glory of God, and Engage a hurting world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is a discipleship training program based at Briercrest Bible College and Christian High School, where it auditions students who want to be challenged in their faith. Team leaders walk alongside members as they grow in faith, vulnerability, character, following and leadership skills, and overall excellence. Students sometimes have opportunity to lead/ assistant lead and to tour to shine the light of Christ! www.refinedundignified.com. Please pray that these guests would provide much more than just entertainment!

Workshops

A key component and highlight of Abundant Springs is our collection of workshops.

Students and Leaders will have options to attend.

MASTER OF DIVINITY

ANABAPTIST TRACK

Prepare for ministry in an Anabaptist church or para-church organization by earning a Master of Divinity from Central Canada’s largest seminary.

Flexible study options mean you’ll benefit from a combination of online, modular and classroom instruction, and top-notch faculty will enable you for service in an Anabaptist context.

Transforming students into leaders of character, knowledge and faith

ProvidenceSeminary.ca Otterburne, Manitoba, Canada, R0A 1G0 (204) 433-7488 or (800) 668-7768 info@prov.ca

28 The Messenger • March 2017

Column • An Education App

Questions That Arise From Franz Jägerstätter

Questions: 1. Why did Jägerstätter object to serving in the German army?

2. In what way does Jägerstätter’s position fit that of a typical Conscientious Objector? In what does it not? (Being a Selective Conscious Objector is a position not currently protected in Canadian law.)

3. Church leaders, relatives, and (at first) his wife tried to convince him to serve. What role, if any, should others play in convincing believers to act a certain way in a time of war? What is appropriate? What isn’t?

4. A key pressure placed on Jägerstätter was the well-being of his family. His widow, Franziska, lived for almost 70 years after he was killed. There is no mention of how she managed to provide for herself and her children. Franz Jägerstätter was concerned about his wife and children and felt the weight of his obligations, yet ultimately stood by his convictions as a Christian. What do you think about his decision?

5. He “could change nothing in world affairs,” but wished “to be at least a sign that not everyone let themselves be carried away with the tide.” Was this naïve or necessary?

an interest in Russia’s resources— “minerals, oil well, or good farmland.”

The farmer sought spiritual counsel from his priest and bishop, who tried to persuade him to serve. His relatives and wife tried also, but later his wife stopped. “If I had not stood by him,” she said, “he would have had no one.”

“Again and again, people try to trouble my conscience over my wife and children,” Jägerstätter wrote. “Is an action any better because one is married and has children? Is it better or worse because thousands of other Catholics are doing the same?” He “could change nothing in world affairs,” but wished “to be at least a sign that not everyone let themselves be carried away with the tide.”

Would you refuse to serve in a war you consider to be unjust? In all wars?

Jägerstätter asked, “If the Church stays silent in the face of what is happening, what difference does it make if no church ever opened again?”

Franz Jägerstätter was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 2007. His widow, Franziska Jägerstätter, died on March 16, 2013, two weeks after her 100th birthday. John Dear, a priest who had a chance meeting with her, said, “She stands, to my mind, as much of a saint as her martyred husband.”

CREATIVE COMMONS

F

ranz Jägerstätter was a 36-year-old Christian beheaded on Aug. 9, 1943, for refusing to serve in the German army. His objection? Germany’s war was unjust.

Did he oppose all wars? No, but he opposed this one. He reported for duty, said he could not fight, and offered to serve as a medical orderly.

He both refused support for the Nazi party and to participate in the war Germany had started; it was not, in his view, a defensive war.

He was concerned about Germany’s invasion of Russia because its fight was about more than being against communism; there was

Sources: Erna Putz, Against the Stream: Franz Jägerstätter—the man who refused to fight for Hitler. Translation by Michael Duggan.

Reprinted from The Messenger (Nov. 5, 2006); Tom Roberts, “Franz Jägerstätter’s widow, ‘a warm, gentle soul,’ dies at 100,” National Catholic Reporter, April 8, 2013, online.

by Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

“Is an action any better because one is married and has children?

Is it better or worse because thousands of other Catholics are doing the same?”

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 29

Columns • Writings Shared Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity, Katherine Willis Pershey (Herald Press, 2016). 224 pp. $21.49 ISBN 9781513800172. Reviewed by Rebecca Roman (Stony Brook), BA (SBC), wife and mother.

Various descriptors spring to mind when reflecting on Katherine Willis Pershey’s book Very Married. Among them are honest, authentic, real.

If you’re looking for a how-to book on marriage, this is not the book for you—although Willis Pershey does at times stray into the territory of how-not-to in describing the history of her own marriage. With no seeming attempt to gloss over her flaws, she openly shares of the struggles and beauty that come from two attempting to become one in a marriage relationship.

Particularly poignant is one scene where Willis Pershey and her husband, Benjamin, work together to scrub a kneeler in preparation for a wedding ceremony. While Willis Pershey is feeling sorry for herself that this is how they are spending their wedding anniversary, Benjamin says, “This feels very marital.” In our society where so much of the focus on marriage is on romance, this brief glimpse allows readers to be reminded that much of the joy and satisfaction in marriage is to be had in the everyday moments of working together.

Very Married also includes Willis Pershey’s thoughts on the state of marriage both as it is today and as it should be. Chapter 17 includes some sociological research on the decline of marriage within black communities in the U.S., and how socioeconomic disadvantage contributes to this. (I wonder how these statistics would compare to

With no seeming attempt to gloss over her flaws, she openly shares of the struggles and beauty that come from two attempting to become one in a marriage Births BARKMAN — to Gavin Barkman and Amanda relationship. Reimer, a daughter, Mackenzie Madeline Barkman, on Dec. 18, 2016

30 The Messenger • March 2017

First Nations communities in Canada.) Willis Pershey concludes these reflections by saying, “If we want to wax poetic about the virtues and benefits of marriage, we must also advocate for policies and benefits that empower people to access those virtues and benefits for themselves.”

While some readers may be put off by Willis Pershey’s views on same-sex marriage (she is in favour of it), this is worth setting aside to gain benefit from the insights she brings to the timeworn, yet exciting, institution of marriage.

In Memory

Henry Nick Epp

1936-2017 After a courageous battle with cancer, Henry Nick Epp of Portage la Prairie, Man., went to his eternal home with Jesus on Nov. 15, 2016. He was born on Aug. 23, 1936, in the Portage hospital to Henry and Helen Epp, the fifth of six children.

He grew up on the mixed family farm, nine miles south of Newton in the Wingham area, with his four older sisters and one younger brother. There was a sign at the end of the driveway that said "Honey for Sale," which prompted teasing from his classmates asking, "Which honey is for sale?"

After graduating from high school, Henry attended Winkler Bible School for a year. This led to an opportunity to work with MCC’s summer relief program at the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage. After his summer of volunteer service, the MDC asked him to stay on and he took Psychiatric Nurse’s training, graduating in 1959. After 35 years of service, he retired in 1991.

Henry met the love of his life, Catherine Thiessen, while working Free for Sunday School!

Contact info@emconf.ca or 204-3266401.

at the MDC. They were married on Oct. 8, 1960, and enjoyed 56 years together. Their two daughters, Denise and Sharon, eventually brought in two sons-in-law and then six grandchildren.

Family was very important to Henry. He loved spending time with each member—family holidays, trips to the zoo, hiking, motor home camping, and visiting the Klassen farm were favourite ways of doing so.

Henry grew up and was baptized in the Newton Mennonite Brethren Church. After marriage, Henry and Cathy attended Westview MB Church. Since 1979 they were active in the Portage Evangelical Church.

Retirement brought a renewed commitment to Henry's walk with God. He spent much time in daily prayer and Bible reading, and loved talking to people about Jesus.

Henry will be remembered for his teasing, generosity, determination, and exemplary work ethic. Sideline jobs included farm labour, a school bus route, carpet laying, and volunteering at the Portage MCC Thrift Shop.

Interests included snowmobiling, five-mile walks, garden and yard

work, table games, and coffee with his retired friends. His lawn was the best in town—cut twice a week in different directions.

In September 2014, Henry was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given three months to live. We are grateful for the two-year extension of his life, and for the wonderful care received during his last months of life. He often said he wasn't afraid to die and wanted to go to his heavenly home.

Henry was predeceased by his parents, Henry and Helen Epp; his sister and brother-in-law, Anne and Fred Friesen; his brother-in-law Art Klassen; and his grandson Andrew Klassen.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife Cathy, children and grandchildren, Denise (Nika) Klassen with (Maggie Kent-Klassen), Jon (Lynette), and Neil; Sharon (Les) Kroeker with Scott (Brittany), Jessica (Jamie) Fox, and Kenton. Also cherishing his memory are his sisters, Rita Klassen, Helen Friesen, and Mitzie (Ernest) Quapp; his brother Abe (Sally) Epp; and his extended family.

– His Family

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Financial Report 2016

Receipts and Transfers Disbursements Excess/Shortfall

Jan-Dec 2016 1,951,513 1,841,672 109,841

Jan–Dec 2015 1,915,284 2,165,442 -250,158

Thank you to everyone who gave so generously! The results are subject to audit, but it seems that we will end the year with a surplus. We praise God for the gifts given by his people.

Tim Dyck General Secretary

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 31

In Memory With great sadness, we announce the sudden passing of Melvin Barkman on Dec. 10, 2016. Melvin was born on July 16, 1944, to Jacob and Melvin Anna Barkman in Barkman Blumenort, Man. In 1944-2016 1952 the Barkman family moved to the Washow Bay area when he was eight years old.

As a child he attended school and helped on the family farm. Melvin was baptized in the Mennville EM Church as a young adult. He took on work doing road construction as a bulldozer operator in Northern Manitoba for several years. Wanting to settle down, Melvin returned to the Washow Bay area and purchased land to begin his farming career as a hog farmer and beekeeper.

On April 4, 1970, Melvin married the love of his life, Arlene Reimer.

They made Mennville their home. He loved his life as a farmer and enjoyed

his many trips to Winnipeg delivering hogs and barrels of honey. Melvin and Arlene welcomed five children into their family. As a proud father he spent many hours on the floor playing with his children and feeding them whipped cream and ice cream.

He set a good example to his family by working very hard. He ensured that each one of his children would have music lessons. Melvin loved babies and spoiled each and every one of his grandchildren. He had a special way of drawing them in and enjoyed their attention. He loved nothing more than having his family come visit him on the farm. He enjoyed giving skid steer rides and lawn tractor rides.

Melvin had a strong faith and was committed to his church at Mennville EMC. He served many years as a Mission Board Member and had a passion for Vacation Bible School in Grindstone. He supported his family as they spent many summers at Beaver Creek Bible Camp. He served God through supporting family and friends in his own quiet way. He remained a steady

rock when his children walked through difficult journeys in their personal lives.

Melvin persevered through life challenges, including health and farming difficulties. In September 2016, Melvin and Arlene retired from the family farm. He continued to enjoy daily visits to the farm and helping out wherever needed right up to his last day.

Melvin is survived by his wife Arlene; daughter Bonnie (Wes), Katrina and Mikayla; son Brian (Tara), Gabrielle, Austin and Alysse; daughter Wendy (Arnold), Zachary, Annika, Kyanna and Averi; daughter Andrea (Phil), Jackson and Parker; son Dahlen (Coralee), Elizabeth and Zane; his brothers, Ben, Cornie and Jake; his sisters, Elma, Tina, Margaret, Anna and Orla and their families. He is predeceased by his parents Jacob and Anna, sister Adeline, and brothers Abe and Werner.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mennville EMC Missions program.

– His Family

•• Rev. John K. Reimer went to be with his Lord on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, at the age of 97, at Steinbach Bethesda Hospital only a few miles Rev. John K. from where his life Reimer began.

1919 – 2016 John was born on Feb. 18, 1919, to Isaac W and Margaretha (Kroeker) Reimer, the 11th of 17 children. His childhood and youth were spent working hard on the family farm. As a young man he dedicated his life to serving God and attended Steinbach Bible Institute in preparation for a lifetime of ministry.

32 The Messenger • March 2017

John married Leona Reimer on Oct. 8, 1945. Together they served the Lord in various places in Canada as well as internationally.

John will be lovingly remembered by his children: David (Katharine) Reimer, Jonathan (Kalie) Reimer, Molly, Russell (Amber) Reimer, Emmett, Natalie (Scott) Reimer Anderson, Seth, Max; Lucille (Jim) Pfeifer, Dustin (Kaylee) Pfeifer, Camdyn, Rory, Megan (Jeff) Lundy, Lennon, Lincoln; Rod (Debbie) Reimer, Caleb, Josh and Jael; Arvella (Mike) Lucas, Matt and David Lucas; Jennifer Reimer, Ella, Huelwen, Bridget Hainsworth, Dylan Reimer. He is also survived by one sister, Elma Wiebe, of Lethbridge, Alta., and two sisters-inlaw, Edna Reimer and Elsie Reimer.

John was predeceased by his

beloved wife Leona and his son Samuel Wayne.

The family wishes to acknowledge the excellent care given to our dad by the staff at Cedarwood Apartments, his last place of residence. We wish to thank the medical staff at Steinbach Bethesda Hospital.

The viewing took place on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, at 7 p.m. with a devotional at 7:30 at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, Man. The funeral service was held on Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, at 2 p.m. at Steinbach EMC with the interment at Heritage Cemetery, Steinbach, Man. Donations were gratefully accepted for the EMC Board of Missions.

– His Family

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@emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

EMC Positions* Island Gospel Fellowship is a seeking a full time youth pastor/outreach worker to build on a growing youth ministry in the Burns Lake, BC, area.

Currently there are both junior and senior youth groups with a total of 60 youth attending weekly events. Many of these youth are from the community and do not attend any church. A successful candidate should have: A passion for outreach and a strong desire to share the love of Jesus; an ability to communicate biblical truths to youth in a relevant way; strong relational skills to connect with youth and work with others; the ability to organize events and involve volunteers. Contact the Search Committee at igf@telus.net or 250-692-7551.

Mennville EMC, a rural congregation with an attendance of about 90, located in Manitoba's Interlake region, seeks a full- or part-time pastor. The pastor will work within a ministerial team as the church seeks to renew and grow. College or seminary training and pastoral experience are definite assets.

Starting date is flexible and salary will reflect EMC guidelines. A candidate should be a collaborative leader (team player), comfortable in the pulpit and in pastoral care, familiar with the EMC Statement of Faith, and respectful of various cultures and rural living. Contact minister Terry Dueck at frontier104@ hotmail.com.

Treesbank Community Church, a rural wonderful body of believers about a half hour from Brandon, Man., wishes to hire a mature and trusted shepherd. Start: Early to middle 2017. Salary: To be negotiated based on qualifications, experience, and time working. Hours: Full- or part-time will be considered; hours can be negotiated. Benefits: supervision and growth, some professional development, pension through the conference office. Valid driver’s license and own transportation are essential.

Travel expenses incurred for work travel will be reimbursed. More info about TCC available upon request.

Annual contract. Hiring remains open until a suitable candidate is found. Possible Activities: Teaching, visitation, worship leading, preaching, Vacation Bible School, youth work, drama, community service work, administration, small group work, a focus on congregational growth and development, shepherding and outreach. E-mail a letter and resume citing “Church Pastor” to Treesbank Community Church, Lyndsey Friesen, 204-720-0193, lyndz_2@hotmail.com.

Picture Butte Mennonite Church, a Low German and English-speaking church in southern Alberta with 220 people attending dual Sunday morning services, is seeking an experienced, full-time senior pastor.

The ideal candidate should be characterized by an attitude of servant leadership and personal integrity in a close walk with Jesus. This candidate needs to have an openness and sensitivity to the diverse cultural differences within our Mennonite church.

This position would focus on discipleship training, mentoring, teaching and coaching leaders within the church. This position would also include preaching, teaching and strengthening individual personal commitment to faith in Christ, challenging each one to grow in their personal relationship with Jesus. This candidate needs to be a team player as he will be working alongside the existing leadership team. Contact Willy Neudorf, 403-894-7615, wjneudorf@gmail.com or Isaac Thiessen, 403-308-5093, isaact@genicadev.com.

Other Positions MCC Canada welcomes applications for MCC Canada Executive Director. Interested individuals are asked to apply online at https://mcccanada.ca/get-involved/ serve/openings by April 7, 2017. Any inquiries regarding this position can be sent to karengracepankratz@ mcccanada.ca.

An international school in a creative access country in Central Asia is looking for qualified teachers: Secondary English, Secondary Maths, Secondary Science, Principal. Our school is dedicated to transforming the lives of our students, the communities we’re part of, the country we serve.

You’ll be able to apply your skills in an exciting and challenging environment that will transform you as you transform others! You’ll be supported by a friendly, vibrant team of committed colleagues.

Parents are involved in many aspects of the school, giving it a unique family feel. You are welcome to serve for a year or longer.

For information and an application, contact tdyck@emconference.ca.

Winnipeg Logos Church is a one-year-old evangelical Chinese church being planted in the Fort Richmond area of Winnipeg. In partnership with the Fort Garry EMC, it is seeking to reach out to the new Chinese immigrants in southwest Winnipeg. We are diligently praying for a pastor. Bible college or seminary education is required. The applicant must be fluent in Mandarin. For more information or to submit a resume, contact Helen Wang (204-509-2628 or wang90@hotmail.com).

Mid-Way Christian Leadership seeks a full-time caring team member to support the small group of believers in Grand Rapids, Man., under the leadership of Fred and Stella Neff. It is a paid position moving into a raised support funding model. The individual will support Christians as they grow into the Christian leaders of the north in Manitoba. Helping lead Sunday School, preaching, and leading Bible studies are some of the more formal “programs” that exist today, but, most importantly, people either need to accept Jesus or follow Him in victory. We are building a team passionate about following God by discipling people into mature Christians and ultimately replacing our leadership positions from those we work with. Please email us at generaldirector.mcl@gmail. com for a full job description or inquiries.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconf.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 June 9-11 EMC Convention Morweena EMC

June 9 EMC Ministerial Riverton EMC

June 10 EMC Conference Council Mennville EMC

June 15 Project Builder's Golf Tournament Steinbach Fly-In Golf Course

www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 33

Column • Here and Far Away

Mere Humans

‘T

If Paul calls us “mere humans” in that instance, what are we if that sort of behaviour is eradicated from our own minds, from our collective midst? More than human?

Fearsome, perhaps?

34 The Messenger • March 2017

ISTOCK

by Jocelyn R. Plett www.writewhatyousee. wordpress.com

he person who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet” (Mohadesa Najumi).

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song” (Isaiah 12:2).

Fearsome isn’t a word that Christ followers would take for themselves, I’d wager. Generally speaking, we are taught to take on characteristics like: Servant.

Meek. Submissive. Obedient.

Kind. Loving. Gentle. Joyful.

Self-controlled.

Yet I am suggesting that to embody these things, as Christ did, is to become fearsome. It’s knowing that the Fearsome Glory of the Almighty God dwells within me, in this un-fearsome-looking human body, and within yours, although our faces are beginning to droop with the evidence of age. My body is no longer as strong as I’d like it to be. Yet in my mind’s eye, to be filled with the Spirit of God, and exhibit His fruit, is to be fearsome.

Not fearsome with intent to scare others or intimidate our siblings in Christ, but fearsome in ever increasing sanctification. Fearsome in appropriating true meekness without selfish motives. Fearsome in pure submission and obedience as Jesus did with his Father.

Why is that fearsome? To me, the image of Christ walking in perfect submission and humble obedience while facing suffering and death evokes tremors of ultimate power. The kind of “incomparably great power” for those of us who believe. “That power is the same as the mighty strength God exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 1:19)!

That is fearsome! It is ultimate power cloaked in the so-called “drab” garments of what the world sees as weakness. The world does know this weakness-cloaked power, but mostly

through works of fiction. It is hidden from them.

Yet this is the kind of power and elusive fearsomeness that we have in Christ. Feel powerless?

Draw nearer to Him. Feel sinful or like a failure?

Draw nearer. Feel as though you’ve got nothing to offer? Offer your “nothing” and see Him multiply it a thousandfold. That’s fearsome!

As “Christ in me, the hope of Glory” and as “He becomes more and I become less” becomes manifest, this fearsomeness is released in me.

What was once a rabble of thieves, sinners, weaklings, and the sick, is now a well-trained army of fearsome warriors under the command of the Lord! (1 Sam. 22:2ff ).

In Christ I am fearsome in such a way that I don’t need to compare myself to others. We walk as one, this Church made up of us. Uniformly unique, all keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. Because, golly, all that jealousy and quarreling among the Bride of Christ, that only betrays us as less-than-fearsome! As “mere humans” (2 Cor. 2:3).

If Paul calls us “mere humans” in that instance, what are we if that sort of behaviour is eradicated from our own minds, from our collective midst? More than human? Fearsome, perhaps?

Column • Stewardship Today

Preventing Prodigals man had two sons. When the younger told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die!’ his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there wasted all his money on parties and prostitutes. About the time his money was gone a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve” (Luke 15:12-14).

Many of us are familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal Son. There are great lessons about grace and forgiveness, but I’ve never heard it used to warn about giving children gifts before they are emotionally or spiritually mature enough to handle them properly.

We aren’t told how old the prodigal was when he made his disrespectful demand of his father, but clearly he wasn’t ready to handle money responsibly. I wonder if the story could have been different if the father knew what we now know about human brain development.

What was the father thinking? Could he have had any idea how poorly equipped his son was to handle the premature inheritance?

Science has taught us that, even in welladjusted people, it can take up to age 25 before the prefrontal cortex is fully developed. This part of the brain helps people appreciate the consequences of their actions. In her book Payback–Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, Margaret Atwood argues that knowing what we now understand about brain development, giving people access to credit cards too soon could be considered a form of child abuse.

Similarly, parents should consider whether allowing their children to potentially inherit more money than they’ve ever had before, as soon as they attain the age of majority, would be a blessing or a bane.

About 15 years ago, I was trying to make this point in an end-of-life planning seminar at a church in a small town. A young woman stood up and said that she agreed with me completely.

Later I heard the sad family story. Her father died when she and her brother were 19. Their

mother had passed away earlier. They each inherited $60,000. It was way more money than either of them knew what to do with.

Her brother chose particularly poorly, burning through all the cash and ringing up considerable debt in only 18 months. She is now determined to ensure her children have a better understanding of money.

Another scripture relevant to the topic of inheritances is Proverbs 13:22: “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

At first glance this passage seems to skip a generation and leave everything to the grandkids. But when taken in context with other advice in Proverbs, we see that wealth can only be successfully transferred between generations if a values transfer comes ahead of the money.

Part of me wonders if we might have fewer prodigal children and grandchildren if we were more explicit in modeling generosity and explaining our beliefs and habits. We can transfer good values to our children by educating them about responsible spending, good habits, and about giving throughout our lives.

We can model generosity in our estate plans by including charitable gifts as if they were an extra child in the list of beneficiaries. Let your kids know what values are important to you and how you hope they will continue them with their inheritance.

Abundance Canada can help you design and carry out a generosity plan. Ask us how.

by Mike Strathdee

What was the father thinking?

Could he have had any idea how poorly equipped his son was to handle the premature inheritance?

Mike Strathdee is a gift planning consultant at Abundance Canada serving generous people in Ontario and eastern provinces. For more information on impulsive generosity, stewardship education, and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest Abundance Canada office or visit abundance.ca.

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www.emcmessenger.ca • The Messenger 35

Column • Kids’ Corner

A Lion or a Lamb

by Loreena Thiessen

Activity:

Journal into Spring

Need:

Note paper, pencil, pencil crayons, binoculars.

Do:

Look in your back yard, on your way to school, in the park.

Write down, or draw, what you see each time you notice some new clue that spring is starting.

Write down the date and what you observe.

Use words that tell how it looks, sounds, or smells.

Make drawings to show what is new or what has changed.

Take note of which birds appear, when and where, how their songs sound.

Check where buds first appear, which flowers bloom, what people are doing differently.

Write something every day even if you think nothing new has happened.

Share your findings.

36 The Messenger • March 2017

hatched last year.

They caw loudly and begin to collect twigs to rebuild the old nests.

The sun warms the earth. New green shoots poke through the snow. Buds form. Yellow and red tulips and blue crocuses burst into bloom.

Velvety buds on tree branches begin to swell.

Under the snow the grass begins to stir and turns green. Rabbits wake up and bound after each other. All are signs of gladness that winter is over.

People change too. They exchange their winter jackets for lighter ones. Ball caps replace toques and mitts are left at home. They walk straighter and their steps bounce. They turn their faces up to the sun to feel more of its warmth. They are smiling. Something new is happening.

Why is Spring important? Spring is the queen of seasons. Green, red, and yellow colors replace the drab white of winter. New plants grow picture-perfect. Birds sing cheery songs.

There are new baby animals.

Spring brings hope. You feel its warmth. You run outside, your arms and legs free. You hop on your bike. You dig in the sand and play in the park. You feel happy.

With Spring comes a promise, a promise God gave Noah in Genesis 8:22: ISTOCK

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arch is a fickle month. The weather changes suddenly and without warning.

In one day it can feel like summer in the sunlight and winter in the shade. When the month begins it’s still Winter; at the end it’s more like Spring. This is the reason we say, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

On the 20th day of March it’s official, spring has arrived. So what changes? Every day after Christmas Day is longer than the one before.

Each day the sun appears earlier, more to the north. During the day the sun is directly overhead. And each day the sun sets later.

With more sunlight temperatures rise and snow piles shrink. Birds return from their winter home. The first to arrive are Canada Geese and Mallard ducks. They sit on frozen ponds and wait for the ice to thaw.

Soon robins are back. There are no bugs for them to eat so they peck at last year’s apples still hanging on tree branches. Chickadees sing louder. Crows return to the trees where they

While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer And day and night, Shall not cease.

All of the earth and its seasons belong to God. Read Psalm 24: 1, 2.

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