Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Articles

IBA: Bible Institute for All

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Translated into English by Andres Castillo

In the last articles we briefly told of the founding of the Instituto Bíblico Anabautista (IBA; Anabaptist Bible Institute) as well as some people involved in the original proposal which has grown to be a fundamental part of our Hispanic churches throughout the United States.

It is important to note that the IBA today has centers in virtually every area where there is an Anabaptist Hispanic church, and that it has been a fundamental resource for the training of properly grounded pastors who lead the churches God has called them to.

The IBA’s mission doesn’t only manifest itself in that it receives people of all education levels. In fact, it tries to be an education center that prepares the leadership of communities in a comprehensive manner. This is why the IBA rejoices when a non-pastor student joins and finishes the program. This was the case of Fanny Ortiz who, after five years of study, finally managed to graduate on March 19 in a celebration led by pastor Juan José Rivera at his church Seguidores de Cristo (Followers of Christ) in Sarasota, Florida.

She was to be able to see the characters of the Bible with a more realistic eye instead of sizing them on an Olympic scale, something that continues to impact her more than anything else learned in her

years of study. She saw that the stature of Bible heroes was not less, but more, admirable because they were just ordinary people who lived lives with the same difficulties as us, and yet decided to dedicate themselves to the service and obedience of the Lord.

Ortiz has recently finished her studies and is considering continuing to study soon at the Anabaptist Hispanic Bible Seminary (SeBAH). For now, she has decided to finish her nursing studies. She already has a degree of nursing assistant, exemplifying how personal goals are both those of the ministry and the professionals and boards in due time can be realized.

Those who are studying at the IBA, or who are thinking of doing it soon, should know that it is a place where all students share common experiences. Just as there are easy learning moments, there are others that are not so easy. In the case of Sister Fanny, a certain book on preaching was “not so easy.” It is a book she has since overcome, but not without shedding a few tears of struggle. She is now a graduate of the institute who feels she will be able to contribute much better with her service in the church and with her spiritual life for the years to come.

Book Review: Experiments in Love: An Anabaptist Theology of Risk-Taking in Mission by Emily Ralph Servant

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In Experiments in Love, Emily Ralph Servant develops an Anabaptist theology of risk-taking and vulnerability for the purpose of persuading Mennonite churches to be more open to engaging in mission to the people around them.  Ralph Servant suggests there is a need to reshape the theological stories told by leaders in churches toward an emphasis on God’s own vulnerability and willingness to risk for us.  These new stories, about God and God’s mission, will encourage Mennonite churches to create deeper relationships with others and to more actively participate in mission to those who are different than themselves. 

The closed nature of Mennonite communities is well known, and sometimes negatively experienced, by people from the larger society.  This is ironic, given the 400 year history of martyrdom for their faith and zeal to persuade others of Anabaptist views and principles.

A copy of Experiments in Love: An Anabaptist Theology of Risk-Taking in Mission by Emily Ralph Servant is available to all interested credentialed leaders of Mosaic Conference. To reserve your complimentary copy, please email the Mosaic office by July 1.  

Ralph Servant identifies two causes for this closed culture: a history of persecution producing a bent toward self-preservation, and an emphasis on purity, including “purity of theology, purity of ethics, and purity of witness” (p. 100).  The reasons for this cautionary approach to the world have been real enough, but are detrimental now to the mission of the church to the world.  “How can Mennonites take risks for the sake of love when we see the world as the enemy and find our identity in standing in opposition to it?” asks Ralph Servant (p. 102).  We need to be, as Jesus was, for something, and not just against something (ibid).

Ralph Servant’s book is rich with insights from a wide variety of perspectives, including feminist, liberation, and Black theologies.  Anabaptist theology is highlighted, but other Christian traditions are included where relevant.  The book is scholarly, well documented, carefully composed, and clearly written.  Ralph Servant’s own ability to synthesize these various theologies and to present them to build her case is evident.  She concludes that with stories that “reflect new ways of conceiving God, the world, and the Church,” Mennonite churches can dismantle the barriers they have erected between themselves and others, and engage in risk-taking vulnerable relationships that accomplish God’s purposes more effectively.

Not being a theologian myself, I certainly gained much from this book in the way of a survey of multiple theological literatures. Furthermore, I certainly agree with Ralph Servant that the closed character of many Mennonite churches is problematic, and that a willingness to vulnerably engage with others is needed, not only for the benefit of others, but also for the faith development of the church members!  Throughout I found myself wondering what the change would look like in actual congregations.  In the final pages, Ralph Servant brought up this matter herself and suggested the need for field research on congregational practices, including successful as well as less successful programs and activities.

As an insider/outsider to the Mennonite community of Pennsylvania (I am of Mennonite heritage, but was raised in a missionary family in India, and have attended a wide variety of other denominational churches), I have deeply appreciated Mennonite theology and expression of Christian faith.  But I have also been frustrated by the inwardness of Mennonite churches in this area (there are, of course, Mennonite churches all around the world!)  Perhaps this book can be a source of theological material for the discussion by church leaders and others on how to overcome that inwardness in favor of openness to God’s Spirit and to the world.

Could it be that the stories we tell in our churches weaken our efforts to be congregations who take risks in mission for the sake of love? In this thought-provoking book, Emily Ralph Servant suggests that the work of today’s leaders is to explore new stories, listen to new voices, and open ourselves up to the Spirit’s work of transformation.

BUY THE BOOK

The Worm Project: A Ministry of Mosaic Conference

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The Worm Project is a global initiative that strives to relieve the suffering of millions of children throughout the world. For over twenty years, this all-volunteer ministry of Mosaic Conference has helped support children in the poorest countries.  The goal of the Worm Project is to prevent malnutrition, caused by parasitic worms, in children. 

Each year, over 800 million children need treatment, yet one-third of these children do not receive any. Due to improper sanitation, parasitic worms can enter a child’s intestinal system and lay thousands of eggs, potentially robbing a child of 30% of his/her daily nutrition. The Worm Project purchases deworming tablets in large quantities, at a cost of just pennies per tablet, and donates and distributes them to children in the poorest countries.  The impact of de-worming can be amazing.

Diane with mother in Burundi. Photo provided by Food for the Hungry.

After donations and purchases of deworming tablets increased steadily to over 11 million tablets in 2019, COVID-19 greatly impacted our project.  Last year, donations were down significantly and we were only able to purchase 4.2 million Albendazole Tablets.

Fanise Elise (red shirt) and her son Schyfaines Joseph (white shirt) who was born on 1/30/2015. Photo provided by Vitamin Angels.

With food insufficiency increasing and healthcare systems stretched to the limit due to the pandemic, there is an even greater need for deworming.  Unfortunately, our usual methods of reaching potential donors to make them aware of the need for deworming were also greatly disrupted by COVID-19.  

With virtual worship services, church mailboxes could no longer be used to deliver our newsletters.  Mailings, email, and Facebook were employed, but we did not reach as many people as before. Last year, our 5K Fun Run in the Spring and Banquet in the Fall were also cancelled.

Our goal this year is to purchase and distribute at least 10 million tablets. So far, we have purchased and shipped almost 4 million deworming tablets: 2 million tablets to Vitamin Angels to treat children under age 5 in numerous countries, 1 million tablets to Burundi, 500,000 tablets to Healthy Ninos Honduras, and 250,000 tablets to Haiti. Please help us reach our goal of at least 10 million tablets this year!

What can you do to help? Contact us at info@wormproject.org to invite a member of The Worm Project to come and make a brief in-person presentation during worship at your church. Or,  show one of the short videos from our website at https://wormproject.org/videos-photos/worm-project-video/. 

To donate, please go to our website. 

Recovery for All

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Sexual abuse not only harms the victim, it also harms those families, friends, and communities that are close to the victim.  It also harms the perpetrator.  As Peter Levine says in Healing Trauma, “trauma is about loss of connection – to ourselves, to our bodies, to our families, to others, and to the world around us.”  This loss of connection clearly happens for the victim.  It also happens for families and communities, as we often allow ourselves to be divided by who we choose to believe or blame.  The perpetrator is also losing connections, as they seek to use their power and authority to meet their individual needs, not the needs of the relationship.  Recovery is needed for all.

In 2005, after more than three decades of working with those with trauma, Levine said this:  “I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma.  I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening – a portal opening to emotional and genuine spiritual transformation.  I have little doubt that as individuals, families, communities, and even nations, we have the capacity to learn how to heal and prevent much damage done by trauma.”

For all to recover, we must offer the following forms of connection.

listen and believe those who trust us with their stories of abuse

First, listen and believe those who trust us with their stories of abuse.  We initially connect by acknowledging the trust they have placed in us, and the reality that they have survived the abuse.  When we offer our heart and open ears to their story, they begin the journey from victim to survivor.  This is an essential re-connection, both to themselves and to us.

ask the survivor what they need

Second, ask the survivor what they need.  Each survivor’s journey in recovery is unique, dependent on their personality, the age the abuse happened, and the current support or lack of support available to them.  What next steps they take must be their choice, not ours.  A significant harm caused by abuse is that what happened wasn’t the survivor’s choice.  An important requirement for the survivor’s recovery, then, is that each step must be their choice.  Choosing to tell their story to friends, to a therapist, to a pastor, or to a support group can be a very powerful step toward recovery, when it is their choice.

know the resources that are available in your community and church

Third, know the resources that are available in your community and church that support and facilitate the recovery for survivors and for those who support them.  Make these resources visible and accessible, even when no one is asking for them.  Remember, most victims will spend years not asking for help.  Many of them will find it helpful that, when they are ready, they know where to go for recovery.

hold the perpetrator accountable and offer resources for him or her

Finally, hold the perpetrator accountable and offer resources for him or her.  As victims often take years to enter recovery, those who cause harm often take years to see and admit the harm they caused.  By the abuse of their power and authority, they took away the choice of the victim.  They did not maintain the boundaries that were entrusted to them with their position, and this caused harm.  Therefore, these boundaries now need to be held by the community (including churches, schools, and governing boards), until the perpetrator shows clear evidence of entering and maintaining his or her recovery.

Recovery for all requires all of us to be connected “to ourselves, to our bodies, to our families, to others, and to the world around us.”

Editor’s note: After allegations of misconduct at Dock Mennonite Academy became public in March, Mosaic Conference received requests to provide resources for pastors and youth leaders to understand and lovingly respond as congregational members shared stories of trauma and abuse from their own lives.  This is the last in a series of four articles by John Drescher-Lehman, LCSW designed to provide information on abuse-related trauma and guidance for pastors and congregations who desire to foster openness and healing.

Resources for Trauma Series

by John Drescher-Lehman, LCSW

Welcoming the Frustrations

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This article was originally written in Spanish, translated into English by Andres Castillo.

When you hear stories like these, there is nothing to do but start to thank God for our moments of personal dissatisfaction. Those same moments where one feels incomplete in a mission upon returning home, despite fulfilling plans and even receiving recognition from external voices. Each minute forms a whirlpool of frustration of its own, but it also becomes a moment of creativity, designed by God Himself to make way for something new.

Marco Güete returned to Kansas from Canada feeling similarly after attending a camp organized by the Mennonite church of Canada for Spanish and English speakers alike. Marco was on a mission to give workshops in Spanish on Anabaptist history and radical reform. Marco arrived at the site, laid out his material, and dictated his class. But in the course of it all, he felt that the class had not equally reached all the students. It was dictated in an academic language that was out of reach of many of the Hispanic students who didn’t have the theoretical basis to understand him.

From this dissatisfaction and a long flight, an idea was born: a biblical institute designed for people of any academic level. It would simultaneously serve those who could barely read or write and people who already had a couple of diplomas.

Marco arrived at his home determined to turn his fantasy into reality. A little while later he invited a group of pastors to a lecture hall in Kansas City. There, in the summer of 1986, after kneading and turning the idea over the fire a few times, the IBA (Anabaptist Bible Institute) was born.

At first the IBA had to borrow material from other institutions, but after a while they began to write their own books. Marco recalls especially the first two books that were written, the first on the History of the Radical Reformation and the second, two volumes, called Walking Through the Old Testament. The books were written by experts in the field, historians and theologians, but they still had the tendency to use technical language that was not easily understandable by all students. Marco set to work and tried to turn the texts into easy-to-understand teaching materials. In the end, he succeeded.

Marco Güete was director of the IBA for the first 14 years of its existence. When he stepped down, it had 12 centers, more than 80 students, 12 tutors, and almost all original material. The IBA became a biblical institute that visited churches, opening centers in the same communities where students graduated. Because of this, some conferences adopted the IBA as their pastoral accreditation program. The IBA helped churches in preparing its leaders, in preserving an Anabaptist missionary and theological identity, and in helping to strengthen the church in general. Five years ago Marco returned to leadership of the IBA and now invests his efforts in giving continuity and growth to the institute. The church in general thanks God for the blessing that is the IBA.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

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Lord, give us today our daily bread … daily bread…not weekly, not over-abundance, but daily:  what we need to sustain us in You today. 

A couple of years ago I began baking the bread that my family eats for sandwiches and toast. The repeated process of kneading the dough, waiting for the yeast to rise, smelling the welcome aroma of freshly baked golden loaves, and snacking on warm slices fresh from the oven has become a time of prayerful reflection for me. My context is quite different from the world and context in which Jesus taught the prayer, “Give us today our daily bread.” My day carries on while I knead the dough. Sometimes my children want to help knead their own small loaf, other times they are playing in another room, or throwing sand outside.  Still, in this task I can center in Christ, both the physical and soul food for today. My daily bread.

Bread day at Brooke’s kitchen. Photo provided by Brooke Martin.

Simply today Lord, sustain me today. 

On bread day at my house, I prepare enough bread to last for a week or two (thank you, freezer).  But for the people in Jesus’ world, bread-making would have been a daily task. They didn’t have the choice to wait until tomorrow to make bread and plan a breadless meal for the family today. Bread was not just an addition to a meal, but a core piece of it. Each day required a set time to prepare the daily bread.

Lord, let me orient my daily routine around you. Be my Daily Bread.

Fresh bread from Brooke’s kitchen. Photo by Brooke Martin.

I imagine that making one’s daily bread in Jesus’ day would have been even more of a process than it is for me today. The flour itself may have needed to be ground and prepared before it could be used. It is possible that the family may have even grown the grains for the flour themselves.  The oven was not propane or electric, but a fire that required tending to keep the embers glowing and the fuel needed to be gathered. Bread really did fill stomachs and supply what was needed. 

As I shape the risen dough into loaves, I center even more on this phrase in the prayer, “Lord, give us today our daily bread.” Jesus does not ask for a week’s worth of sustenance nor a rounded pot-roast meal complete with the meat, potatoes, and carrots.

LORD, be the core of my sustenance today.

Amen, may it be so.

Reflections on the Great Commission

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Faith & Life Gathering Report

As leaders, we are part of many groups with various ideas that could be used to divide rather than unify.   We hear stories of people choosing to segregate because of race, privilege, sexuality, and politics.  

But when we get right down to it, does it really matter?  Isn’t it God who sorts it all out in the end?  Our one job is to love and show each other Christ’s love.  When we sit next to each other at a sport’s event, or church pew, should it matter whom our seatmate is?  

What matters is that this person woke up and decided to go to the “House of the Lord.” They did not come to disrupt someone’s pew seat, beliefs, or faith. They came because they needed to be here.  They came to hear teaching or guidance about this Lord that has beckoned them.  They wanted to know if Jesus could help them. 

“They wanted to know if Jesus could help them.“

I can’t tell you how many churches I visited before settling on a place that wasn’t rude to me.  I settled on a place that didn’t care about the shade of my skin, or if I wore pants, how I wore my hair, or if my husband was with me or not.  

One time my sister and I went to a church visitation for a friend who had passed on. We entered the vestibule and signed the memorial book. Before proceeding further, an usher advised us that we would not be permitted inside, unless we changed our clothes.  Women were not allowed to wear pants in this church, so we were turned away.  (We actually had on culottes, wide pants that go below your knees that look like a skirt.)  

That experience left a sad memory in my mind. I decided, if Jesus was in a church like this, I didn’t want their Jesus.  I would stay home and seek my own relationship with God.  

Even alone, God did not disappoint.  He is faithful!  I would build up my Jesus muscle on my own, because something was continually tugging and calling me closer.  I eventually found a church to attend regularly, but my sister still does not go to a church building.     

I am not the only one with such a church story. There are probably many in your church, and more who are not willing to come to your church, with such stories. Therefore, I believe the message from God to us is,  “Love everyone, I’ll sort them out later.”

At the May 2021 Faith and Life Gathering, we discussed Paul and Barnabas’ challenges in Acts 15.   What did God say about Jews and Gentiles? How do you interpret what God meant?  

We have to communicate clearly what the great commission means and how we are to go about doing it, because we still have work to do.  

Peter said, “Some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.  God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did us.  He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the neck of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:7-10, NIV)

Disclosing Abuse Takes (Y)ears

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Why do an estimated sixty-two percent of children who are sexually abused never tell their story of harm and betrayal?

Shame. Shame is a natural reaction to being violated and abused.  In fact, abuse by its very nature is humiliating and dehumanizing.  The victim feels invaded and defiled, while being helpless and at the mercy of another more powerful person.  Shame, as an emotion, protects the victim by encouraging them to keep quiet.  Often, they believe if they keep quiet the abuse will not happen again.

Fear of consequences.  Victims have a lot to lose by speaking up, and usually their abusers know this and use this to facilitate their abuse.  They may fear they won’t make the team, will be given a bad grade, or will lose the gifts the abuser also gives them.  If the abuser is a family member, they fear this person will be punished or taken away.  These potential losses create conflict for the child, and therefore, they don’t speak up.

They don’t believe they will be believed.  The victim has less power than the abuser, and abuse happens in secret.  Judith Lewis Herman in Father-Daughter Incest says, “Any touch or other behavior between the child and adult that must be kept secret will be considered abuse.”  So, it is the child’s word against the adult’s word, and the one with the most authority, position, and power is almost always believed.

Denial and minimizing.  It is a common psychological defense for all of us to deny or minimize the seriousness of abuse, as a way of helping us survive and move on.  “He’s just a really friendly guy.”  “It was only a kiss, it’s not like I was raped.”  Denial, minimizing, and not remembering are important ways victims survive and move on, until it is safe enough to disclose.  Disclosing abuse often takes y(ears).

Sex is private.  Sex is typically very private and personal.  In our personal relationships, in our church, school, and youth organizations, we seldom talk about sex, especially good sex.  So, what child or adolescent wants to bring up the topic of sex, especially when it was harmful?  It’s also important to remember that young children don’t even have a concept of sex, so how can they talk about it?

Those of us with ears don’t want to hear it.  We have all been trained by our culture and media to believe that sexual abuse is caused by evil perpetrators.  We have a hard time believing that good, loving helpers and parents can use their goodness as a cover for the harm they cause.  We want to believe that our schools and churches and children’s clubs are safe places, staffed by adults who will protect our children.  So, when a child or youth speaks out about abuse, we must use our ears and listen, and believe, and respond.  They need us.

Yes, it often takes (y)ears for a victim to feel safe enough to disclose abuse.  We can sometimes reduce the years they must hold the abuse in secret, by offering our ears as a safe harbor for their story.

Editor’s note: After allegations of misconduct at Dock Mennonite Academy became public in March, Mosaic Conference received requests to provide resources for pastors and youth leaders to understand and lovingly respond as congregational members shared stories of trauma and abuse from their own lives.  This is the third in a series of four articles by John Drescher-Lehman, LCSW designed to provide information on abuse-related trauma and guidance for pastors and congregations who desire to foster openness and healing.

Resources for Trauma Series

by John Drescher-Lehman, LCSW