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Eastern Mennonite Seminary Awards Anabaptist Studies Scholars

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Mike Metzler has received funding from the Area Conference Leadership Training Fund and is a member of Towamencin Mennonite Church.

Laura Lehman Amstutz

“Two students from Eastern Mennonite Seminary were awarded the Linden Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award this week.
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J. Michael Metzler, a first-year student from Charlotte, NC won the first prize, $400, for his paper titled “Removing the Trenches: A Conversation Between John Calvin and Menno Simons on the Effects of Ecclesiology on Excommunication.”

First-year student Samuel Hernandez, of Harrisonburg, VA won the second place prize, $200, with his paper titled, “The Church, Religion and State Through the Eyes of Balthasar Hubmaier and Michael Sattler.”

The Linden M. Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award recognizes outstanding student papers integrating Biblical and historical scholarship with pastoral application from an Anabaptist believers church perspective. Both these student’s submitted papers written for Christian Tradition II a required first-year course.

Linden Wenger served for many years as a professor on the faculty of EMS and as a leader within the Virginia Mennonite Conference.
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In an effort to encourage Eastern Mennonite Seminary students to study Anabaptist history, Walter and Leanne Smith of Clearwater, Florida, established the Linden M. Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award in 2001.”

Original aricle posted on 4/19/07 at http://www.emu.edu/seminary/features/lindenwenger 

Young Adult Ministry Interns Wrestle with Visions for the Church

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mipconf1.jpgby Lora Steiner

Harrisonburg, Va. – “I love the church, and I hate the church.” This sentiment was expressed in a variety of ways by Mennonite college students at a gathering held at Eastern Mennonite University the end of March.

Students who have already participated in the Ministry Inquiry Program (MIP) or will do so this summer, as well as denominational and conference leaders, attended the meeting. MIP is a collaboration between Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite-affiliated colleges that allows students to spend 11 weeks serving in a congregation and exploring their call to pastoral ministry.

During the conference, the 40 participants, many who are from or will be serving in Franconia Conference congregations this summer, were invited to listen to and share visions of the church.

Many simply asked: What does it mean to be in the world but not of it? How do we live faithfully as members of the kingdom of God while also living in a society that often doesn’t share the same values?

“Is church what happens Sunday morning,” asked one participant, “Or is church what we do together?”

Steve Kriss, director of communication and leadership cultivation for Franconia Mennonite Conference, highlighted some challenges the Mennonite Church is facing as it becomes more diverse, including language and cultural barriers.

“I am convinced,” said Kriss, “that it is going to be a struggle for those of us who are Euro-American to figure out how to live in a future that doesn’t look like us anymore. We are going to deal with privilege and responsibility and with issues of cultural understanding.”

During a session led by Mike and Risha Metzler, who attend The Table, an emerging Mennonite congregation in Harrisonburg, participants were asked to share words or phrases describing their ideal vision of the church. “Authentic,” said one. “Welcoming,” added another. In a few moments the list had been extended to include adaptable, Christ-centered, radical, life-giving and honest.

Risha Metzler said she thinks The Table is just “one way of doing church.

“We’re not saying, ‘This is the way church should be,’ but it’s exciting and energizing to me to begin to address the issue that church isn’t working for a lot of people. So what do we do with that as believers? How do we make this work for more people?”

During sharing times, many expressed a desire for a safe space to ask questions and express their doubts and frustrations. Others expressed the need for the church to collectively deal with conflict.

mipconf2.jpg“We all have disagreements on all kinds of issues, but we pretend that doesn’t happen on Sunday morning or say we can’t talk about these in church,” said one person.

Throughout the conference, students struggled with how to foster community, intimacy and accountability in their churches and engage the broader culture at the same time.

“The church is pulled in two directions,” said Goshen College student Paul Boers. “One is the desire to grow deeply and intimately in relationship with each other. And the other is to welcome anyone and everyone. For good relationships to be fostered, they take time. And they take intentionality.”

“If we want the church to change,” said Boers, “we have to change ourselves.”

“One of the biggest things we can do is let our congregations know that we care,” said one student. “We need to tell them that we want to be the church now and that we want to be the future. And that we want to work with them to create something meaningful.”

Aldo Siahaan, a leader of Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center, summarized a general feeling of the conference: “Miracles come from movement. We need to keep moving towards God’s grace and toward his vision.”

Students and church leaders alike agreed that movement toward God’s vision for the church will result in the miracle of transformation in congregations.

Lora Steiner is a Harrisonburg resident.

View photos from this event

Why object explores why we serve

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Janine Bergey, Rockhill Mennonite

img_3445.jpgOn Sunday, March 25, a group of 75-100 assorted youth, parents and young adults forsook their afternoon naps to gather at Franconia Mennonite Church for Why Object?, an event that included worship, discussion and pizza and was jointly sponsored by youth leaders from both the Franconia and Eastern District Conferences and the Peace and Justice Committee. Titus Peachey of Mennonite Central Committee presented an interactive approach to the topics of military enlistment, conscientious objection and voluntary service. If anyone assumed attending meant spending three entire hours seated and chewing gum to stay awake, I assure you this was not the case. I was out of my seat as much as I was in it as an activity used our positions in the room to show where we stood on certain topics: spending a year or more in voluntary service; chocolate; cell phones; Jesus in the military; patriotism in the United States. How do I feel about chocolate? I know that answer with clarity and great confidence—but my stance on military service as Christ-like service is less sure-footed.

As I listened I heard people speaking of peace and of justice. How do they balance? Why do we object to the violence that has desensitized us? And too, why do we serve? I sometimes feel the uncertainty of where to place my growing feet while walking the path of Jesus. The group that gathered Sunday afternoon spent some time contrasting two oaths: That of a U.S. service person and that of a follower of Jesus. It boiled down to seeing that the first pledged to follow the President and honor the country, where the latter pledged to follow Christ and honor his broader, international kingdom.

During the afternoon we acted out the story of the cimg_3515.jpgonflict between the Israelite nation and their neighbors the people of Aram in 2 Kings 6:8-23. Even from my lofty role as “King” in our spontaneous skit, I wrestled with the choice that lay in my hands as the conflict was not so much between people groups, but more so the clash between emotions over what God would ask of me and what the people would see as just. What choice was the best to make? Mercy didn’t quite make sense even with the wise counsel from our resident prophet Elisha. Yet in this account from Scripture mercy became the move that was made. The captured army was not only released unharmed they were also fed! The surprising result: Peace!

To serve: When? Where? How? I asked these questions with greater intensity the further I got past high school graduation. It took a three year season of actively waiting, working at whatever my hands found to do or was asked of me, until an opportunity arrived in spontaneous form. After spending my 6th summer on staff at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp, I was catching up on the phone with a long-time friend who shared with me her recent commitment to spend a year in Guatemala teaching English. At that time I was open to walking through any door that opened since I had no specifics lined up for that fall or beyond. In that moment on the phone with my friend I felt a pause that felt like desperation. It seemed that peers all around me were finding direction for their lives and I wanted the same. I had prayed for it. Almost in jest I asked her if there was the need for more teachers in Guatemala. The next few months were anything but spontaneous as that inquiry became a God-directed decision that put me in Mazatenango, Guatemala for 17 months.

I taught English to children and their little faces upturned to mine as their tongues jumbled the sounds of a new language. I lived with and was taught by a community of all ages. I walked the streets of a place that was beautiful because I had been there long enough to call it mine. I learned about the global body of ‘mi Jesucristo,’ and that the way to worship and experience the love of Christ is a multi-lingual, active process. Sights on the streets of “my“ little Mazatenango became integrated in my daily life. Drunks sleeping on the sidewalks; watch your step. Horses grazing randomly; drive around that one please. Maids to do the laundry; no honestly I do this myself at home. No Adopt-a-Highway or front lawns. The place and people worked their way into my heart. Now I see differently. I think differently. I serve differently. The story is longer and ever so full of details, but here I bring out this thought. The choice to serve in this place for this time was a God-given desire, because I desire God. I seek for his heart to be my heart, wherever I am.

p1010034.jpgI chose to serve and that choice changed my life. Not to say that life would not have changed had I chosen a different path with different people. I ask, along with many of you: To serve or not to serve? When are we merely serving ourselves and when does our focus turn outwards? What causes the change of heart? What is required of us all as we profess Christ with our lives? I have often experienced the powerful pull of servant hood as it brings people into that buzzword of Christian faith today—community. I know it is often used and broadly defined, but I’m a fan. Service crosses boundaries–any time, any age. Doesn’t it need to? What other way can one willingly become part of a greater movement; a larger body of people?

Janine “Bean” Bergey is involved in the community of faith at Rockhill Mennonite church and will serve as the girls head counselor at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp this summer.

Mennonite Central Committee’s resources on Conscientious Objection: http://mcc.org/us/co/

  • Counter Recruitment
  • War Taxes
  • Christian Peacemaker Registration Form

Mennonite Mission Network Collaborates with Franconia Conference in first Youth Venture Experience in Israel

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naz1s.jpgFranconia Mennonite Conference (FMC) and Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) plan to collaborate in first Youth Venture experience to Nazareth Village, Israel.

Since 1985, more than 700 persons have participated in Youth Venture, a program that provides opportunities for youth and young adults to join together for service and learning experiences, seeking to capture the imagination and passion of youth and young adults to invest their lives in bring healing and hope to the world. Youth Venture offers the offers the opportunity to join with other young Anabaptists for one to four weeks of service in July or August in various North American and international mission projects.

In July and August of 2007, Franconia Mennonite Conference will partner with Mennonite Mission Network to offer a collaborative experience for youth and young adults at the Nazareth Village in Israel. This is the first time for such a collaboration, and both parties hope that by working together, a more effective and networked program can be developed for participants. David Landis, Associate for Communication and Leadership Cultivation for Franconia Mennonite Conference, will serve as team leader.

Five years ago Mennonite Mission Network began a vision of collaborating with Mennonite Church USA conferences and other affinity groups, seeking out ways to live into what networking really means. Del Hershberger, MMN Director of Christian Service, states “We believe that networking with other folks who have a passion for ministry creates new, exciting possibilities that we never could have thought of or done by ourselves. I see this as a first step in FMC and MMN each bringing our ideas, passions and resources together to enhance the faith formation and leadership development of young adults.”

Participants in the Youth Venture trip to Nazareth Village will discover the land where Jesus walked while serving at a recreated village of first century Nazareth, working on maintenance projects, at a hospital or a children’s camp. Living with local Arab Christian families will provide opportunities to understand God’s continuing work in the Middle East. Many assumptions about the way the world functions are challenged as participants discover and exercise their gifts. The experience aims to explore real ways for participants to see God’s love and concern for the connected world far beyond anything they’ve imagined.naz3s.jpg

Stephen Kriss, FMC Director of Communication and Leadership cultivation says, “I’d hope this represents a new way to embody the network paradigm that both Franconia Conference and MMN are living into in these days of rapid change and global connectivity. In working together, we’ll share our resources to create opportunities to engage the world and to find new possibilities to incarnate the Good News that speaks to a new generation, our congregations and the world.

For more information on Youth Venture, go to http://www.mennonitemission.net/Work/Service/YV/. The Nazareth Village experience will be held from July 23 to August 10, 2007, flying in and out of Philadelphia.

Trends that are Changing the Landscape

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Ok, here’s some good bedtime reading: Organizational trends through the eyes of an ecclesiacrat (wake me when it’s over, right?). Seriously though, the following is adapted from the first part of my final “State of the Conference” report to the Franconia Conference Board retreat that met January 29, 2007. For blog readers unaware of why this is my final report, my 14-year role as conference executive for Franconia Mennonite Conference ends this August.

Macro Trends throughout MC USA and Beyond

img_2081.jpg 1. The classic 20th-century “Liberal – Conservative” continuum/dichotomy is being replaced with an “Established – Emergent” continuum/dichotomy. Diana Butler-Bass pictures the former continuum running horizontally, and the latter one running vertically. From my perspective this shift begins replacing the primary values/measures of historical theology and geography/proximity with effectiveness, relevance and organizational alignment as primary measures of affiliation.

Like each of the five trends listed here, I’m reporting what I see/hear, and not what I like or dislike. There are parts of these trends—this one for example—that frankly scare me. But I’m aware that they are trends because they are based on larger, complex patterns in our society and world. What is your response to reading this one?

img_2954-1.jpg2. There is broad acknowledgement that current organizational assumptions—that are still largely based on 19th-century models focused on “control” and the implied assumption of “steady state” in a changing world—cannot handle 21st-century complexity and rate of change (with its need for quicker decision-making, prioritizing, partnering, etc.) along with the 21st-century corollary values focused on influence, transformation and authenticity. Much of the church’s structures are currently based around multiple specializations more than on collaboration toward one clear purpose. Interpersonal disputes and leadership challenges that turn personal are usually based on resulting matters of misalignment or inability to achieve organizational integration.

Simply stated, our models in the church in most of the 20th century were based on earlier values and assumptions. Few leaders today would expect today’s congregation can plan—in any detailed way—20 years out. Admit it; in 1987 you didn’t see the Internet coming. Yet today’s leaders can help the congregation discern and focus the one main thing that God is calling that congregation to do and be in their context. It’s much less confusing to adapt to change when you know your place under the sun.

img_0380.jpg3. Related to number 2, there is a growing momentum for a holistic missional church vision that is fairly quickly replacing interest in the long-standing programmatic, silo-oriented structures. While this cognitive shift gains momentum, actually getting to this new place (organizationally and behaviorally) will continue to cause pain and hurt within congregations and other systems as folks sort through what to keep from the past and what to permit in the future. The best medicine is strong, honest, vulnerable, flexible, differentiated leadership and healthy processes that help the grass roots own the process along the way. Focusing on “change” (cognitive, rational) precedes but is not the same as “transition” (visceral, behavioral), which takes longer and is always harder.

If you are allergic to the word “missional,” feel free to ignore it. All is really means is: Aligning our efforts with God’s redeeming activity in the world. For a great resource on the difference between change and transition, check out William Bridges’ book Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change

img_2469.jpg4. The role of the church will continue to move from the meetinghouse to the marketplace. Inquiring Anabaptists find there is a growing (and in some circles an almost popular) appetite for Christ’s Gospel of peace and a legacy of competence for practical peacemaking in a shrinking global village. Just as vast constituencies value Catholics for their deep heritage of discernment and education, Mennonites would do well to focus on the palpable interest in Anabaptist values. Sadly, this seems to be happening at a time when more than a few Anabaptist groups are struggling over their continuing efforts to live out the notions of community, mutual aid and nonviolence at a daily level (how we run our businesses, how we drive our cars, relationships with neighbors, etc.).

At this point you either like what I’ve shared or really can’t stand the thought of reading the fifth and final trend. But from my half-time role as FMC conference executive, and my other half-time role as an organizational consultant and coach across the U.S., I’m just reporting here what I keep hearing and seeing. Does this match what you hear and see?

img_3272.jpg5. Measurements from the past centuries—including church membership, ordination, and clear organizational boundaries—will continue to become less important and relevant; while new measurements will become increasingly important in a world in which individuals and informal networks can hold businesses and even countries hostage, and unknown start-ups like Google and YouTube can go from 0 to 60 almost overnight and influence global markets. Existing measurements will still play a role to be sure, but new measurements are needed immediately, including measurements that can track with the shifting values named in these above five trends.

If you find yourself rejecting this trend, reflect on the long-standing measures of the recent past as compared with ancient ones—the modern church’s measures with those of the early church. Like I said—which I’ll repeat so this is reporting and not heresy—current measures will be useful for now, but we also need to be open to new measures (or ones that once again tap into the early church’s values). Jesus focused on discipling people, empowering leaders, and building relationships wherever he went. The church later added measures. Along the way the church changed the measures it needed. We can do it again and be faithful in reclaiming the values modeled by Jesus Christ.

In my next blog entry I’ll drill down from these macro trends to ones specifically within the Franconia Mennonite Conference. Bet some of you can’t wait…