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A Call to Trust, to Lead, to be Collegial, to Seek the Spirit: A Response to the Mennonite Church USA Survey

March 26, 2015 by Conference Office

by James M. Lapp

On March 14, 2015, about 40 Franconia Mennonite Conference leaders gathered to discuss the response of credentialed leaders in our conference to the Mennonite Church USA survey on issues related to people in same-gender relationship in the church. Conrad Kanagy, a sociologist and pastor from Elizabethtown, Pennyslvania, who compiled the results of the survey, provided interpretation of the results with particular reference to its meaning for our conference.

In a nutshell, we learned the credentialed leaders in Franconia Conference (and six other Mennonite Church USA conferences) are fairly evenly divided in their response to people with same-gender attraction. Perhaps that is not a surprise to most people. Kanagy observed that these responses offer a “proxy” for deeper themes that contribute to our current tensions. In other words, when we discuss our different responses to homosexuality, there are other themes that feed these differences, like how we understand Scripture, Jesus, mission and the church.

We are left with the question of what we do with our differences. As Kanagy reported, these convictions run deep and are not easily changed; for a variety of reasons, we will likely always disagree on this and other important questions. Is that unlike the New Testament church where Paul addressed questions on which they strongly disagreed? Of course our issues always seems different and more serious than their issues—but are our disagreements more substantial than Acts 15 and the inclusion or exclusion of Gentiles in a Jewish church?

We hear reports of those who think they must break ties with the Mennonite Church USA over this issue of same-gender relationships. That is a common response when we disagree–to separate and form a new alliance of like-minded people on this issue. The body of Christ, including Mennonites, reflects a great assortment of people who claim to follow Jesus but disagree on some point of doctrine or practice. To divide reinforces our sense of faithfulness and purity, but does it honor Christ and the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17?

In our “third way” church, might there not a third way response on this issue? What if our focus shifted from boundary maintenance to the “center” we all claim to have in Jesus Christ? How might that focus cast our disagreements in a different light? Might the tone of the conversation soften and we discover more grace for one another? We can still debate and argue and exhort one another on our understanding of Scripture, while still extending to one another the respect and love in keeping with the first and greatest commandment incumbent on us all. What holds the body together is our common allegiance to Jesus, not theories of inspiration, atonement, details on being peacemakers, or our views on same-gender people. Must our disagreements break relationships in the body of Christ?

God seems to have created us to be different. Paul makes clear in I Corinthians 12 that our diversity is not an accident, but God’s design for the church. It becomes our laboratory for learning to love even when we disagree. The New Testament letters repeatedly urge, indeed command us to love one another, extend kindness and grace toward each other, forgive quickly, and respect our brothers and sisters with our different personalities, convictions, and styles of living out our discipleship.

Some years ago I recall reading a statement by John Esau, a sage in the field of pastoral leadership, who said that churches do not leave conferences. Pastors lead congregations away from their conference or denominational connections. The way congregations respond in this season of high tension and stress will often reflect the tone and character of us as pastoral leaders. Does our own anxiety spread to those we serve? Do we plant seeds that undermine trust in relationships or do we engender hope and generosity? Do we emphasize boundaries and who is in and who is out, or do we call the people to a magnanimous love and grace toward others, as Conrad Kanagy invited us to exhibit, when discussing contentious topics like sexuality? Leaders make a powerful difference in the direction a church takes.

We need not minimize the importance of sexuality. But neither dare we abdicate our leadership role in providing pastoral direction on these hard questions that often quickly become polarized. The Holy Spirit of God has come to provide inner clarity and wisdom to leaders (John 16:12-13). May we be attentive to the Spirit and not allow the forces of society and the strong voices around us to determine our direction.

This survey was only a tool to greater awareness. Let’s allow these survey results serve as the impetus for collegially reaching out to each other as pastors in mutual support as we seek to discern and carry out the will of Jesus, the Lord of the church, on this and other important challenges we face.

James M. Lapp serves with his wife Miriam Book as interim pastors at Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, Pennsylvania. He is a credentialed pastoral leader in Franconia Conference.

Credentialed Leaders Gather to Discuss MCUSA Survey

March 26, 2015 by Conference Office

by Lisa Rand, Bally Mennonite Church

Last year, Mennonite Church USA surveyed credentialed leaders on a variety of issues and questions, covering demographics, conferences, the denomination, and the currently difficult issue of attitudes toward homosexuality and the status in the church of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). The research, led by Last year, Mennonite Church USA surveyed credentialed leaders on a variety of issues and questions … Conrad Kanagy of Elizabethtown College, offered a glimpse into the perspectives of leaders from coast to coast.

Franconia Conference contracted with Kanagy to provide additional analysis of his material for our conference community. On Saturday, March 14, Kanagy delved more deeply into the data with about three dozen conference pastors at Covenant Community Fellowship in Lansdale.

The morning’s work began with prayerful worship, with music led by Marilyn Bender (of Ripple Allentown) and Samantha Lioi (Whitehall congregation). John Bender, interim associate pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church, led a guiding reflection. He referred to Romans 14:3, where followers of Jesus are advised not to pass judgment on the servant of another: “Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.” Bender asked leaders to consider what might result from a daily prayer for oneness, and a concerted effort to see each person as a sister or brother in Christ.

To begin his presentation, Conrad Kanagy invited leaders to consider the wisdom of Paul in Colossians 3:1-15, highlighting Paul’s emphasis on magnanimity, charity, and generosity in relationship with one another. These spiritual values were lifted up throughout the presentation.

“This morning is about understanding what has shaped our differences, the implications of those differences, and where we can go in the future,” said Kanagy. With frankness, he said he was “not even suggesting we can keep living together,” but asserting that we can be kind and gracious.

Leaders recognized this conversation as a beginning, an opening. Even while thanking Kanagy for his time and effort on data analysis, several leaders suggested it might be helpful to invite additional interpretations of the data.

“Surveys are imperfect,” Kanagy acknowledged, “but they bring us around the table together.”

Conference board member Jim Laverty expressed gratitude for Kanagy’s honesty about the cultural differences that separate us.

“He helped me to better appreciate the different worldviews represented in the survey results so that I might better appreciate just how profound these cultural differences are. I felt, overall, that the meeting drew together credentialed leaders from across the spectrum of worldviews and that as we met around round tables that we genuinely desired to listen and understand each other. I was grateful that at my table I could express my concern about how these differences will impact local congregations and how we choose to use or not use our power and influence as leaders to sway the opinion of others,” said Laverty.

Though no specific solutions were proposed, many leaders wondered about Conrad Kanagy’s questions: “What if the Holy Spirit is dismantling the church? What if the structures we have put in place are getting in the way? How can we work with the Holy Spirit?”

Despite the differences among conference leaders, there is critical common ground in the belief that God is active present is in our midst, even in the turmoil caused by feelings of disunity. As we move forward, Laverty suggested “that we equip and train our conference staff especially as they walk with churches who represent a diversity of perspectives. I would also suggest that despite our differences we explore ways to continue to collaborate on our call as a people to participate in God’s mission in the world.”

Taking LEAD to the next level: Conference ministry as discernment rooted in vision, mission, prayer

March 19, 2015 by Conference Office

by Noel Santiago and Sharon Williams

Do you know what your congregation’s vision is? What does it mean? How do you pray for your congregation? How do we understand what God wants?

If you are a leader in your congregation, how does your congregation’s vision and mission impact how you lead? How do you pray for the other leaders?

Several years ago, Franconia Conference initiated a new phase of connectivity with congregations for the mentoring and resourcing of pastors. Our LEADership ministers, carefully chosen to offer a wide breadth of skills and expertise, are assigned to specific congregations, but also available to any congregation needing specific assistance for a season. This model calls for a proactive posture of oversight that is vision-oriented.

Much has been learned from this fluid way of walking alongside of pastors. Noel Santiago is implementing an upgraded process he’s framed as LEAD 2.0.

The primary focus of LEAD 2.0 is preparing all leaders to define, embrace, and lead God’s vision and mission for their congregation.

LEAD 2.0 starts with a 24-hour retreat for pastors and elders. As they focus on the congregation’s vision and mission, they also give significant time to a ministry of prayer with each congregational leader. Particular attention is given to listening for what God is saying.

Noel, along with congregational pastors and elders each share about their experiences in the following Sunday’s worship. This helps to create a sense of ownership and accountability between the leaders and the congregation.

The new dimension of LEAD 2.0 is for the church council, worship leaders, Christian education leaders, youth leaders and others to experience a similar but shorter process. An elder, pastor and Noel facilitate a session with each group of leaders.

The congregation’s vision and mission is front and center. Each leader shares about how she or he understands it and carries out the vision in their respective ministry area. Leaders interact around these understandings. During a time of prayer, the group offers words of appreciation for each leader and asking in prayer what each leader needs to know.

“Watch, look, listen; when you see me working, join in” is an invitation from God that the Salem congregation has been attentive to for several years. LEAD 2.0 has given a new way to focus the congregation’s vision and mission with all the leaders. “It is waking us up to what God wants for us as part of God’s ‘church of Quakertown,’” says Bruce Eglinton-Woods, the congregation’s lead pastor. “This process has raised our awareness of the need to work together with other churches to share Jesus’ ministry of love and hope with our neighbors.”

Churches in the Quakertown area have organized a code blue homeless shelter, and are seeking ways to reach out to 50-60 homeless teenagers in their school district. Weed whacking in the town’s cemetery has become a way to build relationships with the community and with at-risk teens who join them to do required community service. They are looking for concrete ways to reach people struggling with related issues of addiction, human trafficking and poverty. The Salem congregation is an integral part of these ministries.

Salem is taking LEAD 2.0 one step further by offering a day for listening, discernment and prayer for everyone in the congregation. It will be a “review of the future,” not the past. As they pray and encourage each other, participants will watch, look, and listen for what God is doing and how they might be called to join in God’s work.

God is using LEAD 2.0 to stir a passion at Salem for people who do not know Jesus and need to be part of a faith community. “How can our hearts not be broken? Homeless kids should be able to turn to the church; they should know they can do that. We are also learning how to love one another and that we have love to share. It’s fun,” says Bruce.

LEAD 2.0 is still pretty new. But congregations are already experiencing positive interactions of encouragement, support, ownership and accountability happening between the various leadership groups. Lay leaders are more mindful of and empowered to speak into the vision. Together, they are “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead . . . press[ing] on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NRSV).

Noel Santiago is Franconia’s LEAD Minister for Spiritual Transformation. Sharon K. Williams is a musician, editor and congregational/non-profit consultant. She serves the Lord with the Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation as minister of worship.

Biblical interpretation event to be held April 18

March 18, 2015 by Conference Office

“The Bible through Anabaptist Eyes: Christ at the Center,” a seminar on biblical interpretation, will be held on Saturday, April 18 at Penn View Christian School in Souderton, Pennsylvania.

The event features three Anabaptist scholars, who will be giving presentations and leading discussion around the following questions: How does Anabaptist theology and biblical interpretation speak to the challenges proclaiming the gospel in the 21^st century? Where do we Anabaptists find ourselves in the midst of rapid change, theological shifts, and increasing interaction with other faith traditions?

This free training will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is open to members and attendees of Franconia Conference congregations. Credentialed leaders are especially encouraged to participate. Registration is required and available on the conference website.

Speakers include:

Laura Brenneman, who will present an Anabaptist overview of the Bible. She teaches at Eastern Mennonite University and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, as well as the University of Illinois, including a program in a men’s prison.

Dennis Edwards, who will speak on Anabaptism and the New Testament. He serves as senior pastor with the Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Terry Brensinger, who will address Anabaptism and the Old Testament. He is vice president of Fresno Pacific University, dean of the Biblical Seminary and professor of pastoral ministries.

The New Parish comes to Doylestown

March 4, 2015 by Conference Office

by Kris Anne Swartley

In the spring of 2014, Doylestown Mennonite Church’s three-year experiment, called the missional journey, came to an end. We celebrated the many ways we tried our hand at living out God’s mission in our neighborhood, from soccer camps to storm kitchens during power outages, to community days to outdoor worship services, to prayer walking at our work places. With that part of our journey concluded, we began to ask, “What’s next?”

Leadership discerned that more equipping was necessary in order for us to move forward. At the same time, I heard that Tim Soerens and Paul Sparks, from Seattle Washington and The Parish Collective ministry, were doing tours and training all across North America and the United Kingdom. This was in conjunction with their new book, The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community. We contacted them and set up a training day.

On Saturday, February 28, people from Doylestown Mennonite gathered with attendees from seven churches and two conferences. We mapped out our neighborhoods and reflected on what being faithfully present might look like there. Scattered throughout the day were stories of entering into God’s mission at work, at play, through our talents and passions, and through surprising moments when someone’s need connected with our abundance. Many of us began networking with others who live and work nearby, and whom we could partner with for God’s mission.

A significant take-away for our congregation is that formation and mission cannot be separated. We will be transformed as we continue to follow Jesus into our local parishes. Our lives will be changed, and that might feel uncomfortable to us. At times it is easy to approach mission, whether local or international, as something we do with the answers. Tim and Paul encouraged us to approach mission as listeners and learners, watching for where God was already at work, trusting that people’s deepest desires are God-given and good. As we listen and watch and learn, as we rub shoulders with people outside our usual social groups, we will certainly find God revealing new things to us and inviting us to see ourselves and others in new ways.

Another take-away for us is that this is slow work. Faithful neighborhood presence is not a program and it is not an event. Faithful presence is for the long haul. It is a long-term commitment to place and to people, to listening and connecting, to earning trust by being there over time, to working for the common good with our neighbors. Gone are the days when you could advertise an event or a special Sunday service and people would flock to the church to be part of the program, and a large part of me is thankful those days are gone. I’m becoming convinced that it is small things over large amounts of time, that yield the deep fruit of salvation, for those outside “the church,” and also for me. We are transformed as we journey along the way. All of us are. I am thankful that this weekend of training and fellowship marked another milestone along the journey of entering into God’s mission and being changed, for Doylestown Mennonite congregation and others as well.

Kris Anne Swartley is the minister for missional journey at Doylestown Mennonite Church.

Look Around and Be Alert

February 5, 2015 by Conference Office

“Look around and be alert!” Putting an end to human trafficking for the sake of survivors, victims and those at-risk

by Emily Ralph, associate director of communication

The friend sitting next to me was a sex trafficking survivor. We were at a screening of 8 Days, a movie about children who are kidnapped, sold, or tricked into a life of prostitution.

“How was that for you?” I asked her when the film was over.

Not as bad as she expected, she told me, until the one part at the end when the woman arrested on prostitution charges left the police station. She had almost seemed to wilt. “I can’t do this anymore,” she had said as she collapsed into the police officer who escorted her.

My friend looked at me with tears in her eyes. “That was me. I never wanted to do this, but I didn’t know how to get out.” It’s been a tenuous three months, but slowly this survivor is building a new life.

In the women’s room, it wasn’t hard to overhear the conversation happening between two stalls. “I know that was intense,” a mom said to her 14-year-old daughter, “but I wanted you to see that there are real consequences. People are watching. You can’t always have your face buried in your phone as you walk. You need to look around and be alert.”

I wanted to weep that we live in a broken society where we have to teach our children how not to be raped or kidnapped.

The film director’s sister was a trafficking survivor in South Africa. He thought, when he came to the U.S., he could leave that behind … until he discovered that five of the top ten cities where trafficking takes place around the world are in the U.S. The highest ranked U.S. city is Atlanta, Georgia.

We live there.

The corridor between Washington, D.C. and New York City, with its teeming interstate system, is a hotbed for human trafficking.

We live there, too.

Only one percent of the millions of children forced into sex trafficking every year are ever rescued.

A few crusaders can’t end modern-day slavery. But a few thousand, a few million Jesus-followers with eyes, ears, mouths, flashlights shining into the dark places … together, we’ve got this.

For the survivors, the victims, the at-risk—together, by the power of the Spirit among us, we’ve got this.

We have to.

For more information about bringing a showing of 8 Days into your community, contact Emily: eralphservant@mosaicmennonites.org.

On the road with LEADership ministers

February 3, 2015 by Conference Office

by Sharon Williams

What comes to mind when you imagine Franconia Conference LEADership ministers and the work they do? You may be surprised to know that the new conference office at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School is probably not the place to find them, although a phone call there will certainly get you connected.

Steve Kriss, Jenifer Eriksen Morales, Aldo Siahaan, John Bender, Noel Santiago, and Ertell Whigham are always on the go. Each one connects with anywhere from three to 12 congregations in Vermont, northern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, southeastern Pennsylvania, and Georgia. They give much time and energy to congregations in transition and emerging congregations. An estimated 50 percent of conference congregations are in the midst of transition and/or growth.

Pastoral leadership is a common transition. Some congregations choose to work with an intentional interim pastor who stands in the gap and prepares the congregation to receive a new pastor. The LEAD ministers provide guidance for both search processes, and support elders and lay leaders in managing the congregation’s current and future priorities.

Jenifer Eriksen Morales, minister of transitional ministries, also works with other Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) conferences on the east coast to train intentional interim pastors, and serves on the MCUSA task force for interim pastoral ministries.

Emerging and growing congregations are another focus. These congregations are high maintenance, but in a very good way. LEAD ministers help to address staffing needs, work with pastors who are new to the Anabaptist faith, and build relationships—in essence, anything that propels the missional vision forward.

The work of the LEAD ministers sometimes crisscrosses when their congregations work together. The Lehigh Valley youth ministry partnership is shared by the Whitehall, Ripple and Vietnamese Gospel congregations and led by Danilo Sanchez. Vietnamese Gospel Church in Allentown and Philadelphia Praise Center are partnering in a joint worship and outreach ministry with the Vietnamese community in south Philly. The LEAD ministers must also nurture their relationships with each other so their collaborations are fluid and fruitful.

Last summer, Aldo Siahaan and Steve Kriss received a “Macedonia call” (Acts 16:9-10). Could they meet with a Mara (Burmese) church during their visit with Georgia Praise Center leaders? This congregation in Atlanta is part of a network of Mara churches in Indianapolis, Indiana, Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The network is reaching out to Mennonite conferences on the east coast for assistance in establishing pastoral leadership. The exploratory relationship has many possibilities.

“As an immigrant pastor myself, it’s exciting to walk with the Mara Christians, to see them reach their destiny as a people, a church in this country,” says Aldo. “If they choose to join Mennonite Church USA, how will we receive each other and grow in ministry together?”

Each LEAD minister offers her or his unique gifts to their congregations. Noel enjoys helping pastors, elders and lay leaders experience the values and practices of intercessory prayer. Jenifer weaves in a missional focus with unchurched neighbors, adapted from the Kairos in Chaos ministry she’s involved with in Souderton. Aldo enjoys a natural affinity with the Mara church through their similar languages of Indonesian and Malay. Steve and Ertell always bring best practices of intercultural competencies to the mix.

Looking for your congregation’s LEAD minister? She or he may be in a meeting, consulting with pastors or elders in a coffee shop, or in a car on the way to your church.

Sharon K. Williams is a musician, editor and congregational/non-profit consultant. She serves the Lord with the Nueva Vida Norristown New Life congregation as the minister of worship.

Thanking God for new offices, my Mac and Skype

January 30, 2015 by Emily Ralph Servant

by Stephen Kriss, director of leadership cultivation

transpacific interview — Steve, Mary, Aldo, and Verle Skype with Ubaldo for his credentialing interview.

In less than a decade, the Mennonite Conference Center has moved to its third location. With increasingly dispersed staff, the Center has downsized to serve as a hub and back office for activity out and about.

My first day in the offices at Dock High School this week included crowding around my MacBook Pro with Verle Brubaker (Swamp) Mary Nitzsche (Blooming Glen), and Aldo Siahaan (Philadelphia Praise Center) for our first transpacific ordination interview by Skype. We were interviewing Ubaldo Rodriguez, originally from Colombia, educated at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, who is now serving with SEND International in Manila, the Philippines. Ubaldo is there to support and train mission workers from the 2/3rds world, hoping to build connections between Latin America and Asia.

Ubaldo is connected with a one of our partner congregations, New Hope Fellowship in Alexandria, VA, begun by Kirk Hanger after returning from a long term assignment with Franconia Mennonite Missions in Mexico City over a decade ago. As a community, we keep being shaped and reshaped by our relationships and engagement in the world. And now some of those connections are more easily sustained through technology like Skype, which we thanked God for in our interview.

Franconia Conference keeps changing and moving. It’s not just our desks and cabinets, but it’s how we’re following the Spirit, paying attention to the pillar of fire that urges us to follow in the way of Jesus that moves us to be a part of God’s great redemption story in Souderton, Harleysville, Lansdale, Alexandria, Mexico City and Manila.

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