Archive for category RIM
Our cousins from the south reflect
Celebration 2010 held in B.C.’s Lower Mainland in July marked the first time since the dissolution of the general conference in 2002 that MBs from Canada and the U.S. worshipped and worked together at a convention. Read some American responses on the Christian Leader site.
- “God was glorified”—Kimberlee Jost, Hillsboro, Kan.
- “Family reunion”—Amy Sterk, Goessel, Kan.
- “Tim Hortons and family”—Myra Holmes, Denver, Colo., Christian Leader assistant editor
- “Tears”—Ed Boschman, Bakersfield, Cal., USMB executive director
- “Transformed!”—Harold Ens, Fresno, Cal.
- “Finding My Identity”—Michelle Ferguson, Fresno, Cal.
Renewing identity
Paraguayan MB theologian and leader Alfred Neufeld’s presentation at RIM was a highlight for many. His “Global perspective on MB identity” took listeners on a whirlwind tour through historical commentary on the MB church and challenged us to reclaim our prophetic calling in the present and future.
Now, you can listen to his full presentation on the Canadian conference website, here.
Conference report card from John Redekop
Together with some hundreds of others I recently attended all of the sessions of Celebration 2010. It was a memorable event.
Most of the activities during that busy week – Monday evening to Saturday afternoon - warrant warmest commendation as do the people who organized the numerous events. Here are some admittedly subjective evaluations.
- The facilities and food at TWU, at Chandos Pattison, and at North Langley deserve an A+ even though it seemed that at Chandos and North Langley a warm reception seemed to correlate closely with a cold air-conditioned room.
- The “Renewing Identity & Mission” sessions, including the workshops, at TWU, organized by the Historical Commission deserve an A+ although there were some noteworthy administrative oversights. (e.g. workshop lists without room designations.)
- The reports from overseas deserve an A+ even though in two instances I could not understand all that was said.
- The video and other electronic enhancements were outstanding and deserve an A +.
- The Kindred Productions display deserves an A+ even though at timesit was late in appearing. The other institutional displays, ranging from camps to colleges, were also first rate.
- The Saturday Vancouver Tour was excellent and deserves an A+.
- The North American testimonies were impressive and deserve an A+.
- The emceeing by Valerie Rempel and Steve Berg was classy and deserves an A+.
- The MCC, MBMSI, Seminary and Church Planting BC reports were excellent; all deserve an A+.
- The music and singing at the “Renewing Identity and Mission” sessions easily deserve an A+. The “special music” and congregational singing at Chandos and North Langley deserve…but why lower the average, even a little? The time-tested hymns of the church produced hearty congregational participation. Unfortunately the “mass choir” of about 23 people sang only one song which was drowned out by the super-charged band.
- The three-quarter day Canadian business sessions generally went quite well but why assign a mark which might lower the average? It seemed that some items were perhaps overdone and some, can we say, under-done?
- The Canadian convention banquet went very well and deserves an A+.
The changing face of mission
Future of MB mission with Ray Harms Wiebe (MBMSI)
MB at 150; MCC at 90 — past, present, future with Donald Peters (MCC)
It was an interesting mix of people in the room…. The intrigued sitting beside the invested. Seasoned frontline missionaries sitting beside short-term mission skeptics. Older MCC supporters sitting beside younger workers with ostensibly differing ideas of what it means to work for peace and justice. But despite the dynamic diversity, it seems that everyone was asking similar questions: “what does the past, present, and future hold when it comes to MB global mission?”
Ray Harms Wiebe, lead team member with MB Mission and Services International (MBMSI), presented the first paper that included a strong challenge for us to consider not just the “why” (motivational impulse), the “how” (best practices), the “where” (strategic destination of resources) and the “when” (the timing) but more importantly the “who” of global mission. And Harms Wiebe suggested that the “who” of our MB global mission family is changing radically.
One powerful example he shared is the composition of the MBMSI team that is going to France. Whereas historically our mission has been from the West to the Global South, we are now making a shift in strategy and definition so that mission is “from everywhere to everywhere.” The French recipients expected to see a primarily white, North American team, yet our MBMSI team includes a Brazilian, a member from Uruguay, a member from Hong Kong, an American who lived in Tunisia, and two Canadians!
The face of Mennonite Central Committee is also changing, as articulated by Donald Peters, Canadian executive director for our 90-year-old relief and development agency. Peters noted that MCC is now an agency with 1,125 workers in 60 countries, so change is needed in functional form as well as theological function. To demonstrate this, Peters took us briefly through some of the outcomes of the New Wine, New Wine Skins process in which MCC has been engaged over the past few years. He noted this has been a challenging season for MCC but in the end, they adopted the Mennonite World Conference statement of faith as part of their operational core values. He noted that this is no small feat, considering MCC has to navigate 30 partner denominations to the unanimity of 12 operational boards!
Peters noted that “the centre of our global MB theology and the centre of the wider global Anabaptist-Mennonite theology are now practically the same…. Concerning MCC’s theological identity, that which MBs have historically affirmed now stands at the centre.” Session moderator Tim Geddert rightly noted that what we heard was a significant call to holistic mission from all parties present – MCC, MBMSI, and the dialogical participants.
Peters closed with a question of focus when he noted that “MCC has been a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches but is moving towards becoming a ministry of Anabaptist churches worldwide.” Peters noted that this is a significant difference and challenged us to ask “what is it going to take to move from us from the first to the second?”
Brad Sumner is married to Meghan and they have two wonderful kids with whom he loves to wrestle, read stories, and generally goof around with. His other hobbies include running, kayaking, coffee consumption, and accepting friend requests on Facebook, where he also posts the occasional family photo. He also blogs at www.leadershipconfessions.typepad.com.
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MB Herald Interim editor J Janzen:
People of the Book?
As I’ve wandered around here at RIM and Celebration 2010, I’ve heard it said numerous times by various people that MBs are “people of the Book.”
I wonder, however, if it might be more accurate to say that we’re “people of the Way.” After all, unlike Muslims, who say that they are people of the book, we Christians confess that we are people of Jesus Christ.
Of course, I understand what we mean when we say we are people of the Book. We’re saying that the Bible is vital to our lives as Christians. We’re saying that the Bible is a vehicle through which God and God’s ways are revealed. We’re saying that the Bible is a doorway that opens us up to the saving work of Jesus. We’re saying that the Bible inspires us, trains us, and guides us in righteousness. In other words, because of what God does through Scripture, we grant the Bible a uniquely authoritative role in our lives as Christians.
Having said that, if we focus too much on the Book, I wonder if we miss out on the Biblical story (and the Anabaptist heritage) that tells us that God and God’s ways are revealed through the Church and the Holy Spirit. The Church and the Spirit open us up to the saving work of Jesus as well. The Church and the Holy Spirit inspire us, train us, and guide us in righteousness. Because of what God does through the Church and the Spirit, they too have uniquely authoritative roles in our lives as Christians.
In short, both our story (Scripture) and our experience (MB history) tell us that there is a tandem relationship between the Bible, the Church and the Spirit. God works through all three in mysteriously creative ways to lead people to Jesus, and to establish Christ’s kingdom on earth. That’s a particular approach (a way) to a particular person (the Way).
So instead of calling ourselves “people of the Book,” let’s call ourselves people of the Way.
—J Janzen
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MB Herald Interim editor J Janzen:
This morning the Renewing Identity and Mission (RIM) Conference came to a close. Below are some quotes from the final workshops and plenary session. This evening, 500-plus Mennonite Brethren from Canada and the US gathered in Surrey for an evening of singing and storytelling as a start to the Celebration 2010 events.
As I wander around, there is a sense that people are deeply grateful and thankful for the good things God has done through the MB church in the last 150 years. There’s also a sense that people have a sincere desire to be even closer friends and even more effective followers of Jesus in the next century-and-a-half.
A resounding “Amen!” to that.
Enjoy the “verbal snapshots” below…
“I often come to these events not looking forward to them exactly…but I’ve been inspired.”—a respondent during the closing RIM plenary session.
“This is a monster that keeps on surfacing like a bad sandwich.”—Marvin Dyck, pastor of Crossroads MB Church (Winnipeg), commenting on the debates regarding styles of worship.
“I’ll be happy to tell my congregation about the hüpfer.”—Brian Cooper, Northside Church, Mission, B.C., referring to the “jumpers,” charismatic individuals among the early Mennonite Brethren.
“Now people know what ICOMB is—that it’s not a new eschatology like ‘I come back,’ or something.”—Victor Wall, International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) executive secretary.
“These have been rich, life-giving conversations. Sparring and laughter – that’s just been fun to watch.”—a participant reflecting on the RIM experience.
“We have a really exciting heritage!” – a respondent during the closing RIM plenary session
“Jesus Christ not only can work in the wall of our churches, but he can work in a pig pen.”—Terry Hunt, pastor of Life Center (Lenoir, North Carolina), telling the story of a young man from his church who met God in prison.
“He double-dipped.”—Paul Robie, pastor of South Mountain Community Church (Draper, Utah), describing a man who attended both a Mormon church and SMCC for 10 years before committing himself to Christ
“Thank you for giving us Jesus. He is our hope! He is our future!”—Nzuzi Mukawa, pastor of Batela MB Church (Kinshasa, DR Congo), to Canadian and US Mennonite Brethren.
What we heard
Spoken from the floor at the listening session after table discussions on the following questions:
- What topics or issues need further discussion and processing?
- What have you personally learned about MB identity and mission?
- What will you share with your congregation about this consultation when you go home?
“We have a very rich heritage, we do a disservice if we don’t tell the stories.”—Wayne Eisbrenner, Boissevain, Man.
“…hang Anabaptist fruit on a Pietist tree.”—Mel Wiens, Hillside Christian Fellowship, Beechy, Sask.
“We’re on the right track but our birth was not a clean birth – there was some balance needed.”—James Nikkel, Bakerview, Abbotsford, B.C.
“Each new culture enriches us, makes us more complete. We are going to be losing our current identity as we give it away (as we accept new people). In return, we will take on more and more the identity of Jesus Christ.”—Tor Norris, Country Bible Church, Orland, Cal.
“MCC focuses particularly on love your neighbour – the great commandment. MB mission boards focus on the Great Commission – the gospel for the lost. Let’s affirm both, ask both to affirm each other; and most importantly, for churches to affirm both.”—John Redekop, Bakerview, Abbotsford, B.C.
“We need enough face time together to understand what we mean by words we use.”—Edith Dyck, Crossroads MB, Winnipeg
“We’re working harder at partnering with denominations while maintaining our identity and flavour.”—Lorraine Dick, South Langley, B.C.
“We have so much to thank God for – and lots of reasons to humble ourselves – but we haven’t even taken any time to pray together.”—Walter Fast, Steinbach, Man.
“Peace is a part of gospel, not just a distinctive of MBs exclusively.”—Dave Chow, Killarney Park, Vancouver
“We’ll return to our churches with the words of Nzuzi Mukawa in our ears: ‘of him to whom much has been given, much is required.’”
“We still have work to do on integrating heart and mind – going from being people of the book to people of the way. The book is a way to encountering, experiencing, and following Jesus.”—Keith Poysti, Christian Family Centre, Winnipeg
“How do we contextualize the gospel in Canada now that the world is coming to us?”—Wayne Eisbrenner, Boissevain, Man.
“Does order squelch the work of the Holy Spirit?”—Amy Groening, Crossroads MB, Winnipeg
“Our faith isn’t in the denomination, it’s in Jesus. Having said that, we have a deep appreciation for the denomination and a strong sense of family.”—Gary Sawatzky, Dalmeny, Sask.
“We need a wedding of scholar and dancer…to overcome bifurcation between the scholarly task and worship.”—Walter Fast, Steinbach, Man.
“The Mennonite Brethren must guard against spiritual arrogance and exclusivity. We have great reasons to celebrate but must also learn from other traditions.”—Dave Gibson, Sardis Community Church, Chilliwack, B.C.
“How do we contrast great storytelling with contextualizing for local situations?”—Dave Chow, Killarney Park, Vancouver
Darlene Klassen of West Portal Church, Saskatoon, quoted J.E. Toews: “We were born doing theology on the run. This implies we should be running and thinking about God while we run.”
“Are we a people of prayer as well as the book?”—Ken Sperling, Lucky Lake, Sask.
“Are we prepared to find new theology of suffering, trademark of forebears in 1860?”—Ken Peters, Saanich Community Church, Victoria
“Above all, I’m glad I came.”—Sam Wall, Madera Ave Bible Church, Madera, Cal.
The problem of translation
Intersection: Toews’ takes
I feel like the proverbial blind man describing the elephant based on what he feels about the particular body part he is touching. So far at RIM, I have not been at one of the plenaries but spent Tuesday going through 4 workshops.
I came away with a deep appreciation for the careful scholarship and balanced thought that each of the presenters gave. This is truly a limb of the MB heritage that not many people know exists or appreciate (while others think that it defines us 
). I chose topics that piqued my interest and had to make difficult choices in doing so. It ended up being heavily scholarly, though.
The nagging question I left with however, was how do we translate this back to where we come from? I enjoyed the sessions – but I imagined what a person without some academic foundation and without some historic connection might have taken away. I suspect that it would not have worked well. This is a 150th birthday celebration for our family. It makes sense that we should focus on details that may at time seem a little arcane to outsiders. Not everything needs to be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.
But I think that being pushed to translate all this back to people who have no appreciation of our history is a good discipline to bear in mind. It′s a version of GK Chesterton′s encouragement to take on the discipline of explaining our grand ideas with words with only one syllable.
A specific illustration of the problem was the push back by Gord Fleming on Brian Cooper′s critical critique of the book, Deep Church. (See Jon Mair’s blog post on the session here.)
Brian′s critique was convincing – but Gord responded as a user of the book. He cautioned us that the book is used by church planters and is very encouraging. We never heard the exchange of these 2 views. That was tragic because too often these 2 ways of looking at life co-exist without interacting. We need to interact. We need to translate between these 2 worlds. They need each other desperately. We′re in danger of being an elephant of disconnected parts – parts that need each other.
—James Toews
Singing along the journey…
“Saviour, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save…
Forever, author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave…”
(“Mighty to Save,” Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding)
Okay, so we didn’t sing this song during Wednesday morning’s workshop (nor was it mentioned), but I found myself singing it as I walked across campus afterward. We discussed conversion, spirituality, and hymns through the history of the MB denomination.
Andrew Dyck presented “Can the Centre Hold? An Overview of Conversion in Canadian Mennonite Brethren Spirituality,” tracing the shifting features of conversion among the Mennonite Brethren, ending with the question whether conversion continues to hold the centre place in MB spirituality. Allow me to suggest two areas for further discussion (why not leave a comment and start the conversation?):
- Do we understand conversion more as a “process” or as an “event”?
- How might the image of a “journey” (gradual vs. sudden conversion) help us as we share Christ both with our children and with all others?
Larry Warkentin presented “The Sound of Faith: How Hymns We Sing Reflect and Shape our Mennonite Brethren Identity,” tracing the influence of Pietism generally (and Philip Friedrich Hiller specifically) on the hymns sung by MBs over the years. This narrow focus was necessary due to the limited 20-minute time frame, as one can only imagine how long it would take simply to describe the diverse realities of music sung in MB churches on any given weekend. Helpful for me was to hear the list of characteristics found in the preface to the green Worship Hymnal (1971): gospel call, Christian evangelism, missions and service, Christian nurture, social concern, authority of Scripture, and music for youth. These are good guidelines for our song selection. Again, some food for thought and discussion:
- “A good worship (song) leader will be in close contact with the pastor.” Agree/Disagree? Is this happening? How well do our songs contribute to the breadth of our worship experience?
- “Which songs will our grandchildren hum at the end of their lives?” (asked in the Q&A session by a participant)
“Crown Him with many crowns…” (Matthew Bridges and George Elvey)
Leonard Klassen serves as one of the associate pastors at King Road MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.
What if they had not obeyed the call?
Tuesday evening of an already rich day concluded with four personal stories.
As we began, I wondered if any of us noted the incredible contrast of values playing out in our world at that moment. Earlier in the morning, the brash and controversial boss of the New York Yankee’s – George Steinbrenner – had died from complications of a heart attack. Having taken over the fabled Yankees 37 years ago he single-handedly turned them into a billion-dollar business. Indeed, his exploits are a vivid picture of everything this world has to offer.
In contrast to this image of money, power, and prestige, we heard stories of the Kingdom of God advancing through simple and sacrificial mission efforts.
César García began the conversation with personal reflections from Colombia. He began by showing the complexities of serving Jesus in a context of crime, corruption, poverty, and brokenness. Only 5 churches are self-supporting, but find ways to support another 35 churches. In fact, they are learning to be missional not only in their context but around the world.
Nzuzi Mukawa spoke of the witness of God’s love in the Congo. He began by the touching gesture of introducing two missionaries who led him to Christ. Into his war-torn, poverty-stricken country, where there is so much brokenness and pain, the message of Jesus has created a growing and thriving church. Often stronger in the urban contexts, this church is attempting to learn what real discipleship looks like. He challenged us that nothing will happen without the power of the Holy Spirit.
John Shankar Rao spoke from the perspective of the largest MB denominational family – the Indian family. Today, in many provinces there is a pricetag to following Jesus. Persecution is very real, emotionally, physically, financially, and relationally. He challenged us to consider “what if 150 years ago, the first MB missionaries had chosen the luxury and comfort of their world and had not obeyed God’s call to India?” Will we be as faithful in the years to come? Will we too answer the call?
Johann Matthies gave us the European perspective. In a continent filled with cathedrals, there is such a small witness. It has become one of the least reached regions in our world. But he offered much hope that God has not forgotten his people in Europe and there are signs of a great breakthrough coming.
At this 150-year marker, we can celebrate many of our missionary efforts. But, moving forward, we will need a global team to reach the global needs in our world.
Ed Willms is pastor at Southridge Community Church — North End campus in St. Catharines, Ont.
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