New denominational minister for Intercultural Relations primed for change

by Laurie Oswald Robinson

Glen Guyton, the new denominational minister for Intercultural Relations for Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, is not afraid of the challenges waiting for him in a church that’s undergoing change in its leadership.

Grappling with change is second nature to Guyton, who for the past 11 years has served as director of student ministries for the 1000-member Calvary Community Church, a largely African-American congregation in Hampton, Va.

Born after the baby boomers, he and other Generation X children witnessed the boom of home computers, videogames and the Internet. Dot-com, the birth of MTV, Desert Storm and Hip Hop were their language. As they grew up, the world shifted from a modern to post-modern mindset—the world no longer seen as fixed, but fluid.

“I’m a Gen X baby, so I’ve always lived with flux, change, innovation and having to find new ways of doing things,” said Guyton, a former member of Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board and its antiracism team. “So I’m really excited to be part of shaping how the denomination’s life will evolve.

“Anytime there are significant changes in executive leadership, it can be a challenging time. It is also a time to look at the church with fresh eyes and vision while holding fast to what has always remained the same—our commitment to following Christ and his ways.”

Guyton’s role as a Christ-follower within the Intercultural Relations ministry is to help the denomination to be a more antiracist church. He will strive to help growing numbers of racial-ethnic congregations and individuals to more freely offer their gifts to the wider church—and for the wider church to embrace more mutual exchange.

“Conrad Kanagy’s study tells us a growing edge of our church is the emerging racial ethnic groups,” Guyton says, referring to Kanagy’s “Road Signs for the Journey: A Profile of Mennonite Church USA.” “I look forward to helping those groups work together and having all parts of the church working in unison to strengthen one another.”

Guyton’s first steps toward that goal are planning for the next churchwide gathering of racial-ethnic people in August 2010 in Phoenix. At the gathering, people of color will explore topics focusing on their challenges and conduct business sessions and worship.

“As I plan this event, I feel the weight of addressing all the needs and issues,” he said. “They vary so much from group to group and even within each group. I need to be sensitive to each group’s needs and agenda and fair to everyone.

“But all groups need better access to the resources within the denomination as well as more empowerment to develop and share their own resources.”

Guyton’s upbringing and young adulthood taught him what it means to develop resourcefulness and flexibility in situations when he and others were on the margins.

“I grew up in an African-American community but also had lots of interaction with Hispanic and various Asian groups,” he said. “That’s when I developed a good perspective on needs of different racial-ethnic groups. My parents were not wealthy and I learned to appreciate the struggles of different socio-economic groups. Many times growing up in Houston, Texas, I had to find the resources I needed, even in the midst of the financial struggle.”

Guyton also came into Mennonite culture from a different religious and political background. He grew up Presbyterian and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. His first station of duty was in Hampton where he met his future wife, Cynthia, with whom he is raising two children, and, as a young military officer, began attending Calvary.

“Bishop Leslie Francisco III talked with me about the military, and he introduced me to Titus Peachey from Mennonite Central Committee,” he said. “After spending time with Titus and gaining a better understanding of the peace position, I got rebaptized and I eventually left the military.”

At Calvary he also served as a trustee for Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., and engaged with the college’s program, LEAP (Learning, Exploring, and Participating), geared for helping youth explore theological education. It was there he worked with Ervin Stutzman, vice president and seminary dean. Stutzman is the incoming executive director for Mennonite Church USA.

Guyton will work with Stutzman and other leaders, many whom he learned to know while serving on the Executive Board.

“Glen’s experience in so many parts of the church and his capacity to learn quickly on the job means that he has been able to serve as an advocate for racial-ethnic people in our churchwide system almost from his first day of work” said Ron Byler, acting executive director of Mennonite Church USA.

During his years at Calvary, he was also part of the denomination’s Youth Ministry Leadership Team, where Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, director of convention planning, kept telling him how great it was to work within the larger church. Though Generation X has also been called “the lost generation,” Guyton feels anything but lost as he embraces his new niche and responsibilities in God’s multiracial family.

“As I approached 40, I dreamt about what it might mean to make a change and to perhaps work for the denomination,” he said. “Calvary has always been part of resourcing the denomination on issues surrounding people of color, and now I get to do that in a more immediate and direct way. I am very excited about the opportunity to work with many great people more closely.

“What’s best about this is I can still keep my interest in young people at heart and help empower youth and young adults. I can help the church not only survive all its changes today but help young people thrive in the church’s future.”