Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Peace Fellowship Church

Into the Cave: Men and Spiritual Direction

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Keith Lyndaker Schlabachby Keith Lyndaker Schlabach, Peace Fellowship Church (Washington D.C.),
a Franconia Conference Partner in Mission
Reposted by permission of Mennonite Church USA

We are in a cave.

We are men on retreat. Our leader has brought us to this place deep underground. He has made one simple request. We are to turn off our lights. We do so and discover that there is no darkness like the darkness beneath the earth.

As is often the case, I feel many questions moving inside of me. Should I reach out blindly and touch the brother nearest me? Should I be still? Should I continue to sit in silence? Should I give voice to the song rising up from my belly?

So I sit in silence, listening to the noise of my inner turmoil and confusion.

But the song remains.

So I begin to sing.

“Amazing grace . . .”

The melody fills the tiny room of stone. The words seem to rise up and hang in the blackness of the ceiling.

The song ends.

The silence returns.

I wonder if I did right.

A brother begins to weep. His sobs fill the space around us where the song once was.

Later he tells us why, sharing some struggles and giving credit to the song for releasing him. His story helps the rest of us to share. Somehow, in this cave of confusion, grace has broken through.

When we crawl back out into the light, the muddy earth drying on our skin, we are changed men.

The man who led us into and out of that cave long ago is now my spiritual director.  Once a month we revisit that “cave” and sit together within its sacred confines. He listens as I describe the struggle to be a man of integrity in this day and age. He creates a space for me to continue the journey of being honest and vulnerable with others, especially other men.

He encourages me to continue to resist the temptation to fill the void inside with the temporal. He challenges me to respect those around me, especially women. He helps me reflect on whether what I do is out of ego or love. He gives me leave to sit with the questions, to hold them and myself with gentleness and grace.

Slowly I am learning when to be silent.

And when to gather the darkness close to me like a comforting cloak, lift my voice to the rock around me, and sing.

Serving Christ with our heads and hands

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Dennis Edwards(To Mennonite Blog #2)

by Dennis Edwards, Sanctuary Covenant Church

“To Mennonite” means to translate faith in Jesus Christ into concrete actions.

I have been a believer in Jesus for over 40 years but for most of my life, Christian faith meant being able to recite the right doctrinal positions. I became keenly aware of this during my college years at a secular university and then later at a prominent Evangelical seminary. In both settings Christians often asked each other, “Do you believe_____?” and that blank would be filled by some debated issue such as “that woman can preach” or “in speaking in tongues” or “that Jesus will return before the Tribulation.”

Expressing one’s faith meant laying out the correct stance on an issue, one that was held by many of the popular Christian writers or teachers.  Models of the faith were people who spoke or wrote.  Those who “did” the faith were missionaries or saints who lived in some bygone era. I hardly ever heard people challenging each other in how we should live out our faith in the world.  As a matter of fact, when it came to living out one’s faith, the emphasis was on personal piety which meant avoiding certain noteworthy sins (such as extra-marital or pre-marital sexual activity, drinking alcohol, smoking, and gambling).

During a Christian Ethics class in seminary, the instructor, a known anti-abortion activist, spent about five out of ten weeks discussing abortion. When I asked about racism as a possible topic for the course, he sighed, rolled his eyes, and made it clear that it wasn’t really an issue for our class.

I was hurt as well as disappointed.  It seemed that Christian ethics was defined as having the right arguments on certain societal evils—but only those evils that seemed relevant to white evangelicals. By way of contrast, one of my first introductions to people who were “Mennoniting” was a presentation on dismantling racism. I was impressed that rather than just talking or writing statements—both good things—there was also activism. People were actively promoting an anti-racism strategy.

I realize that avoiding certain evils may continue to define Christianity for some people, and I dare say that for some “to Mennonite” may include that very perspective. I’m not naive to the reality that many Christians in America, including Mennonites, define holiness as simply avoiding certain sins.

By the time I decided “to Mennonite,” however, I was aware of relief and development work. I was aware of activism for justice. I was aware of the centrality of peacemaking—even loving one’s enemies. I took the opportunity “to Mennonite” as an invitation to join with others who believe that faith was to be demonstrated in acts of compassion, mercy, and justice. “To Mennonite” means to live at peace with all people. It means to love others as oneself while loving the LORD with whole hearts, minds, and strength. It means to care for the “least of these” because that is the way of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I must point out that sound doctrine is very important to me; I even have a PhD in Biblical Studies because I am passionate about what the Scriptures say and that we should “rightly divide” them.  I respect that there are Mennonite institutions where people can learn and have their academic interests nurtured. But I know that Christians are not just about what is in their heads. To me, “to Mennonite” means to serve Christ with our heads and our hands, flowing out of the love that is in our hearts.

Dr. Dennis Edwards was pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington D.C., a partner in mission of Franconia Conference.  In May of this year, he moved to Minnesota to pastor Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis.  Blessings on your new endeavor, Dennis!

Next week, Donna Merow, pastor of the Ambler congregation, will share her experience of Mennoniting through simplicity and service.  How do you “Mennonite”?  Join the conversation on Facebook or by email.

Who am I?  (To Mennonite Blog #1)
Serving Christ with our heads and hands (To Mennonite Blog #2)
Quiet rebellion against the status quo (To Mennonite Blog #3)
Mennoniting my way (To Mennonite Blog #4)
Generations Mennoniting together (To Mennonite Blog #5)
Body, mind, heart … and feet (To Mennonite Blog #6)
We have much more to offer (To Mennonite Blog #7)
Mennonite community … and community that Mennonites (To Mennonite Blog #8)

Meet Dennis Edwards, speaker for Conference Assembly

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by Randy Heacock, Doylestown Mennonite Church

Franconia Conference Annual Assembly focuses this year on Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ, from Ephesians 4.  As we gather together on Friday, November 11, we will worship in song, through story and in listening to the word of God communicated in a fresh and compelling way through Dennis Edwards, pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, DC, a Partner in Mission of Franconia Conference.

Dennis is credentialed as a Mennonite minister through Franconia Conference.  He is married to Susan and together they have four adult children.  Dennis plays several instruments and enjoys the sax the most.  If you follow Dennis on Facebook, you’ll know that he regularly checks-in at Gold’s Gym.  Originally from Queens, NYC, he is a faithful fan of the New York Jets.

Dennis is a Biblical scholar: he received a master’s degree and doctorate in New Testament Studies from Catholic University and holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  (He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell, by the way).    Dennis has taught for Eastern Mennonite Seminary along with other schools of higher education, and currently serves as adjunct professor at The Ecumenical Institute of Theology and Bethel Seminary of the East.   Even with his busy schedule, Dennis still finds time to serve with community pastors, coordinate meetings with local Mennonite workers, and write.

I have known Dennis for 15 years as a friend and colleague and, while some may appropriately be impressed with his academic achievement, his keen intellect, or his musical giftedness, I can easily say above all else he is a gift to us as a faith community.    As a scholar both of the Bible and culture, Dennis is able to provide keen insights about what it means to be a follower of Jesus today.    Dennis has a distinctly Anabaptist perspective both in his teaching and practice of Christian faith.    He continually communicates and demonstrates a desire for people both individually and corporately to experience more fully the kingdom and presence of God.

Though a powerful preacher, Dennis is a gentle and loving man.   His love for God is easily witnessed in his love for people.   My wife and I both noticed this when first getting to know Dennis and his family.   The way he interacted with his family and in turn the respect and kindness that his two sons extended to their two younger sisters spoke clearly that love was the foundation of their family.   I have had the privilege of watching that love flourish in his children, his faith community, and in all his interactions.

If you want to meet and hear from someone who follows Jesus, is a Biblical scholar, and is able to encourage others on their own path in following Jesus, I suggest you attend the worship service during Conference Assembly on Friday, November 11, 7pm at Penn View Christian School in Souderton (or streaming online at mosaicmennonites.org).   Please join me in beginning to pray for Dennis as he comes to share and for our hearts and minds to be open to what God has for us.   I am sure God will show up!