Evangelist THE BRETHREN
SHEPHERDING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AMERICAN FENCE SUMMER OF DUNKERS
Photos of baptisms across the globe
LIVING THE GOSPEL
Turning orthodoxy into orthopraxy
BRETHREN ACADEMY
Recap of 2018’s young leader training
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Above: (left to right) Sara Moore, Reggie Harvey, Miles Larson, Cory Smith and Dale Stoffer share during an evening panel at Awaken: General Conference 2018, held in Ashland, OH in July.
CONN ECT
The Brethren Church, Inc. 524 College Avenue Ashland OH 44805 @TheBrethrenChurch @brethrenchurch @brethrenchurch and @iglesiadehermanos brethrenchurch.org Questions? Comments? Submissions? communications@brethrenchurch.org On the cover: Pastor Dustin White holds a Spanish language bible during a civil protest outside a private prison Volume 140
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CO NT E NTS
A ROUN D T H E DENO M IN AT ION
F E ATU R E S
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10
SHEPHERDING ON BOTH S IDES OF THE FENCE
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LIVING THE GOSPEL
LET TER FROM THE EDITOR
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NATIONAL NEWS
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GLOBAL PARTNERS
IN THE KNOW
06
AUTUMN READS
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BRETHREN ACADEMY J amie White
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THE GATHERING
Brenda Colijn / Dustin White
Brenda Colijn
24 STARS Judy DuBois
I N CO N C LUS I O N
27 MOMENTS
Milestones of The Brethren
29
END NOTES
Steven Cole
Amanda Dowdy
T H E BRETHREN EVA NG EL IST | 01
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A RO U ND T HE D E NO M I NAT I O N
LE T T E R FRO M THE EDITOR Patrick Sprague
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n the opening chapters of Exodus, a theme appears in the text. We’re read a litany of lines where God is saying:
“I have indeed seen the misery of my people…” “I have heard them crying out…” “I have come down to rescue them…” “I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them…” The Hebrew translation here is fascinating; the word used for cry is sa’aq. Walter Brueggeman describes it this way, “On the one hand it is a cry of misery and wretchedness with some self-pity, while it also functions for the official filing of a legal complaint. The mournful one is the plaintiff…Israel does not voice resignation but instead expresses a militant sense of being wronged with the powerful expectation that it will be heard and answered.” The answer to the cry, of course, in scripture, in the exodus, is God Almighty.
I’ve mourned recently, as I’ve watched wellintentioned Christians be distracted by hot-button language in the current culture. We’ve written off the need to love our neighbors because someone put the word “immigrant” in the conversation. Church, don’t ignore the cry of the oppressed because it doesn’t align with our politics. Because when you’re called to shepherd God’s people, it doesn’t matter which side of the fence your sheep is on; it’s still a sheep in your care. Our team at the national office debated, wrestled, and sought wisdom from many parties on how to talk about this issue. And to be sure: this magazine is merely a conversation starter; it’s not a complete or prescriptive thought. I encourage you to read. Wrestle with the issues contained within. As my friend Jason says so often, “Don’t be offended. Be provoked.” May we continue to find the third way in an ever-increasingly binary world. May we always hear the cry of the oppressed, just as God has heard our cry.
In Egypt, the cry of the oppressed was the inauguration of their freedom. God used people. Broken, ordinary people, who heeded God’s call to help deliver his people.
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NATIONAL NEWS RETR E ATS & FALL G AT H E R I N G S A number of retreats occurred across the Brethren landscape recently. An ecumenical group of churches spent the weekend in worship for an event called “The Gathering� at Camp Peniel (PA) in August (more on page 16). The North Central Region and the Midwest Region both hosted family camp weekends at Camp Bethany (OH) and Camp Shipshewana (IN), respectively. The Northeast Ohio Cluster of Neighboring Churches held a retreat at Camp Bethany as well, which included worship and workshops exploring spiritual giftings.
A hymn sing at Shipshewana during Family Camp weekend
The group from the N.E. Ohio Cluster, including Radial Church, North Georgetown and Beacon of Hope
CA LLE D TO LOST C R E E K , KY Tyler Henry, a recent graduate of Ashland University just began a new teaching position at Riverside Christian School in Lost Creek, KY. Riverside has long been a beloved mission point for Brethren, tucked in the rural hills of Kentucky. Tyler had previously interned at the Brethren Church National Office in Communications, as well as Park Street Brethren Church. He intends to attend seminary and plant a church after serving the students at Lost Creek. Teacher Tyler Henry gets to know his 7th grade English class in late August
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BAPT IS M S ABOU N D Join many local churches and congregants in celebrating recent baptisms! Baptisms were held at Mt. Olive Brethren (McGaheysville, VA), Berlin Brethren (Berlin, PA) and Johnstown Third Brethren (Johnstown, PA). Johnstown pastor Chris Dull shares a wonderful story of the three believers baptized, “Amy and Jesse are brother and sister. There is some very touching and wonderful backstory to Jesse, as he is recovering from addiction. He very recently came to Christ after coming to church with his sister and taking part in a weekly small group we have. Amy then decided she wanted to be baptized as well. Halen is a wonderful young man of faith (19) who ministers to his family. Love these guys, they’re amazing!”
S ERVIN G G LOBALLY A team from Berlin Brethren (Berlin, PA) recently visited Villa Hermosa, Guatemala. The team of nine worshipped, shared meals, and ministered through a variety of outlets in the village. This included a homeless outreach, participating in worship leadership, praying and caring for local pastors, a VBS, food distribution, and more.
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AUTUMN READS NEW B OOKS FOR YO UR FA L L R E A D I N G If you’re in search of a good book to curl up with this autumn, many great options have just hit bookshelves! Whether you’re looking for practical tools for raising a family, interested in exploring our peculiar intersection with the Civil War, or ready to dive more in-depth on what it means to live out a distinctly Brethren life of discipleship, our selected reads have you covered. All books can be ordered on Amazon.com.
THE FA MI LY BIBLE D EVOT ION AL | SARAH M . WE L LS Author Sarah Wells, a Brethren congregant, gives families an invaluable tool. By tackling scripture in a way that engages all ages, without coloration or theological agenda, The Family Bible Devotional will serve as a simple tool to help you and your kids engage with the Bible. Chock full of discussion prompts, action steps, and even prayer prompts, we found it hit the mark: it drew our families deeper into scripture.
S E PTE MBE R M OURN | T ERRY BARKLEY Brethren Historian Terry Barkley tackles the bloodiest single day in modern warfare: The Battle of Antietam. This short, jam-packed read walks through the amazing history and connection between the early Brethren (Dunkers) and the Civil War, including the little Dunker Church that sits on Antietam Battlefield. A fascinating read, and a masterful exposé of our values. A BR E THR E N WAY | JASON BARN H ART The perfect pairing to A Brethren Witness for the 21st Century, A Brethren Way is a call for Brethren to rediscover their peculiar witness in the world. Building upon the original work of the late Brian Moore, many voices have contributed to this book. Read Brian’s original thoughts that led to the 21st Century book, along with reflections from beloved Brethren thought leaders. Edited by Jason Barnhart, contributors include Jeremy McClung, Brenda Colijn, Dale Stoffer, Jerry Flora, Emery Hurd, and more! Volume 140
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BRETHREN ACADEMY Ja m i e W h i t e
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his summer played host to our 3rd annual Brethren Academy, which was a 9-day event in July 2018 with over 40 high school students from all over the nation. They learned from seminary professors, business professionals, and paired with small groups and mentors on the campus of Ashland University. We focused on a number of topics included under the umbrella of living through Word + Spirit, as well as building community within the Brethren movement. Nathan Merchant, a mentor, said “the communal aspect of it was really refreshing and enlightening. I made genuine, life-long connections with students and leaders and I learned so much about spiritual community and living a healthy, grace filled life.”
Dale Stoffer leads students through Brethren History
with a deep sense of communion with one another. In fact, Ella Heyworth writes: “My favorite part about Brethren Academy was hands down the community and Friday night when after worship we were all hanging out and one person started singing and before you knew it we all were standing arm in arm, singing and yelling praises to Jesus.” After an incredible two hours of praise, it turned to a healing service where “we were praying over people who were hurting. I had never felt more awaken by the power of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was flowing through that room and through those 50 people. I cannot wait to go back next year and see my family again.” This deep sense of community was echoed throughout many student and mentor responses. Sarah Shultz wrote, “I’ve never connected to so many people at once before and it was definitely an amazing experience, from singing our lungs out to crying in each other’s arms, every moment with those people was spectacular.”
There were certainly areas where students and mentors alike found themselves communally filled with the Spirit, especially in the areas of worship. One night, a spontaneous worshipful evening burst forth and individuals were left
The amount of returning students was significant, as well as the enthusiastic new mentors who had been students in years past. Lydia Heckert, an Academy alumni and mentor stated that “Being a mentor for Brethren Academy this year was such an incredible
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experience. Having been a student two years before, it was amazing to pass on what I had learned to other students. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I learned this year, despite not being a “student.” The fresh approach to fundamental lessons that are taught each year made it possible for me, as someone who has been a part of Brethren Academy all three years, to still learn new aspects of those fundamental lessons, giving me a deeper understanding.” We included quite a few new students into the community this year, two of which came all the way from Wyoming. Tiffany, a recent high school graduate from Cheyenne, stated: “For me Brethren Academy was an eye opening experience that I wish I could experience a thousand more times. I got to experience the amazing hearts of the people in Ashland while being in a new community. I gained so much
wisdom on the Bible and how to be a Christian from our workshop speakers. Overall, after the experience I would say I grew as a person, a Christian, and would highly recommend Brethren Academy to any young leader looking for guidance.” Guidance through various avenues were explored, like spiritual formation activities including nature walks, times of silence, and creative worship. In the workshops, we
studied topics like Brethren and Christian history, mental health, life calling and student leadership. While discussing life calling, we heard from local bakery owner (and Academy alumni) Julianna Hritz. She led us through a process of baking as we learned about life calling. Noah Ludwig, a high school student from Ashland, stated: “I felt a really beneficial aspect of Brethren Academy was the baking activity with Julianna when she talked about vocation and calling. I think that as high school students, finding a “calling” or a job that you want to do after you graduate can be difficult to figure out and we put so much pressure on what kind of job we want to have rather than how we can bring God’s kingdom to our community. From some of the earliest moments of our childhood people are asking us “what do you want to be when you grow up” and for high schoolers it’s difficult. But Julianna really helped me realize that calling isn’t just some far away future thing about what you are doing with the rest of your life, it’s what you can be doing now, bringing God to your community or to a group of people.“ Recognizing God in the everyday aspects of life was a prominent theme, and assisted in the small group times. Leader Anna Chittenden mentioned that she “could tell students were interested in the topics we discussed and were very open to talking about their own experiences with those topics. Two of my three students were new and I could tell were nervous about being there, but by the end of the week both had commented and said they were excited to come back next year and I could see the Spirit moving strongly in all of the students.” Overall, the time together grew us all – students, mentors, and leaders – stronger together as Brethren. Special thanks to the Lily Foundation, Ashland University, and the Brethren Church National Office for helping this come to fruition!
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SHEPHERDING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AMERICAN FENCE Edited by Patrick Sprague | Images Courtesy of Gus Chan / Cleveland.com
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ake no mistake, there is a visceral debate going on in America right now. It is conceiveable we may be living in our most partisan moment yet as a nation. Nationalism is on the rise, and every corner of our republic has been aected, including the church. On August 20th, Brethren elder Dustin White was arrested in relation to an act of civil disobedience. Many were quick to take up partisan arguments around the action. We asked Dr. Brenda Colijn to sit down with Dustin and find out what happened.
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BRENDA: Tell me what’s been going on recently. DUSTIN: Our ministry context [at Radial Church] is sharing life with our neighbors ,all of our neighbors, including those from Central America. In June, there was a very large Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid that occurred in our community. [It] occurred at three meatpacking plants that the majority of our immigrant neighbors work at called Fresh Mark. They produce for Sugardale hot dogs, Superior meats, and a few other companies like that. And this raid was the largest raid since the Bush administration and it happened right here in northeast Ohio. Ohio has quickly become an epicenter for ICE presence. So, while a lot of our conversation has been gravitating around border states in the conversation of immigration, it’s actually been here in the Midwest where the majority of large raids have been occurring. A number of our neighbors, folks connected to our ministry at Radial, were picked up in this raid. 146 people were picked up in this raid. What ended up happening is that we had a whole neighborhood that was devastated. We had so many families who didn’t just have the trauma of a mom, dad, uncle, son who had been picked up by ICE, but Freshmark actually fired everyone who didn’t come in for their shifts during and after the raid. [So many of our congregants] lost their income too. We began distributing groceries, hygiene products, school supplies, diapers…those sorts of things to families each week. And it’s been amazing. Park Street, Beacon of Hope, North Georgetown…there’s been so many Brethren Churches that have rallied around and given support to us.
In the meantime, the detainees from the raid (many of whom have not yet been determined to be legally in the U.S. or not) were sent to the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. DUSTIN: [The prison] is about 45 minutes to an hour away from us. They are operated by a private, for-profit company called CoreCivic, and they have an ICE contract. [CoreCivic] and the Geo Group are the two largest forprofit prison operators in the country. These two companies earn annual profits over five billion dollars from detaining folks. Over 50% of ICE contracts are through private prison companies. So [detaining immigrants] creates a lot of money for these companies. Many of the immigrants that are detained in these facilities are non-criminal immigrants. Some of them don’t even have any immigration infraction. Many of them are asylum seekers and they are detained there with seemingly no end in sight in their case. BRENDA: When you say asylum seekers, you mean people who came through a legal port of entry and requested asylum? DUSTIN: Yes. Some of them may have crossed the border without documentation and then later filed for asylum. Some of them [filed for asylum] did it at the border port of entry. There’s a wide gamut there, of who and how, but many are asylum seekers who are legally permitted in, but our current policy has begun to criminalize asylum seekers. Where this becomes an issue of justice is now we have a private company (or private companies) who are profiteering off of the exploitation of these folks who are vulnerable and should be welcomed instead of incarcerated. About 70 men that were detained in the Freshmark raid in our neighborhood are currently being detained in CoreCivic’s center
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Protestors gather outside CoreCivic’s detention facility in Youngstown, OH in Youngstown. I actually tried to become a certified clergy to go into the prison back in December of 2016 when the ICE contract was awarded to the prison. That was denied. BRENDA: Do you know if any clergy have been approved? DUSTIN: No, no one has ever been approved. Once the raid happened I began…annoying them is probably the right expression…but incessantly calling, stopping in person, and trying to figure out how I could actually be approved to be able to visit and…nothing. Absolutely nothing. And so Canton folks within the clergy, within the community begin asking “what do we need to do?” At the beginning of July [2018], we hosted a gathering of about 38 pastors
and faith leaders from Ashland to Cleveland through Akron/Canton. I believe the response that the Lord was leading us to was one of civil disobedience. In discerning what would be a common theme across the room, the pastors expressed they have been trying to be able to get in to offer spiritual support to men within this private prison and have been denied. So I actually spoke with the chaplain. The facility in Youngstown does have a full-time chaplain. But they have one full-time chaplain for 2000+ folks detained inside; a chaplain who does not speak Spanish, who doesn’t speak any of the Mayan dialects that would be their primary languages. There’s a number of Coptic Christians from Iraq that are detained there; he does not speak Arabic.
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He does not speak Kurdish, he does not speak Farsi he doesn’t speak Haitian, he doesn’t speak any of the languages of any of the folks that would be detained there, and he expressed to me how futile his task seems at times. He told me that in order to visit detainees, I’d need to become a certified, non-paid volunteer employee of CoreCivic, through an extensive application process. That raises huge red flags for me. BRENDA: Do any of the prisons run by our government require this? DUSTIN: Not any state or federally operated penitentiaries, no. Absolutely not. This is a CoreCivic policy. BRENDA: Can the detainees make phone calls or contact anyone on the outside?
DUSTIN: It’s unclear who, and when it’s allowed. But let’s take a step back. This company has a sordid human track record of human rights violations, which include sexual abuse of men, women, and children who have been detained. They have a sordid human track record of horrific conditions that would not fly at a state or federal penitentiary. They have a massive track record of denying medical attention to folks inside. This has been widely documented by Detention Watch Network, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the ACLU. In fact, on August 20th, the Southern Poverty Law Center brought a lawsuit against them for human trafficking violations. This lawsuit alleges there’s actually forced labor occurring inside, where folks are coerced or forced to work for as little as one dollar a day. Sometimes they are made to work for other companies [under a contract from CoreCivic],
Clergy, including Dustin White (pictured left) kneel on the road leading to the prison
sometimes they’re working for the commissary of the center’s cafeteria. They are having horrific, horrific conditions that this place puts upon them. And I would want us to take a step back and be reminded this is a private company, that is doing this for profit. That a lot of these folks are in regardless if they’re criminal or not. Regardless of the degree of their crime, no one should be subject to that. BRENDA: Right, even murderers in federal prisons are prohibited from being treated this way. DUSTIN: Correct. No one should be subjected to that sort of treatment, but it seems even more audacious a non-criminal asylum seeker is forced into that condition. This should cause us to question the morality of these sorts of things being permitted to occur within our communities. Not only that, let’s examine that CoreCivic pays tens of millions of dollars to lobby for anti-immigration laws and anti-immigration legislators. And for raised bed quotas from the government. Because this is how their company functions. This is, in front of our eyes, the veneer of modern slavery. And on top of all of this, we have folks from our community, our church, being denied spiritual support and spiritual care. And so, through a very intentional process, we had determined that the faithful action would be to go there, to bring support, with the intent of bringing communion and spiritual care to the folks detained inside. And if we were denied, we would risk arrest. We organized a vigil outside of the facility that occurred on Monday, August 20th. The vigil included hymns and prayers. It included a few clergy speaking, as well as immigrants who had either been detained in one of these centers or had a loved one detained in that center.
The five of us who were called by our Lord Jesus Christ to partake in this action circled around, prayed with one another, and began to walk the private road towards the facility. Midway through the vigil, the facility caught wind that there were people outside that were demonstrating and they brought their trucks out and blocked a line. We walked up to the line and we were told to leave. We said “we’re not going to leave,” that “we intend to bring communion to the men inside.” We were told “if you do not leave, the Youngstown Police will be called,” and we said, “that’s fine.” We were there for three hours in dialogue both with the folks from CoreCivic, in dialogue amongst ourselves, and in dialogue with the Youngstown Police Department. One of the hymns that we were singing was Siyahumba, which is a Zulu protest song that was sung in South African churches during Apartheid. And we sang it in Zulu, in English, and in Spanish. “We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the light of God.” The security guard said “I don’t know about [South Africa] but I can tell you that God has no place within this prison. God’s not in charge of this place, so you need to leave.” We quickly said “Well, we have a very big disagreement here, sir. There’s not one square inch of this earth that does not belong to Jesus Christ.” A few minutes later the [Youngstown Police Department] sergeant comes over and he says “I’m begging you. Is there any other resolution we can have come from this? I would not be able to fall asleep tonight. I don’t want to have that burden on my shoulder. It would tear me apart, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I have to arrest you guys.” And I said, “Okay. I know you’re not allowed talk about religious things in uniform. I know you’re not allowed to talk about political
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things in uniform. That’s fine. But the Spirit within me recognizes the Spirit within you. Deep calls out to deep. You can say what you want or you can remain silent. But I know that you are a brother in the Lord with me and I know you can’t talk about political things, but what’s occurring inside that facility at the end of this driveway is not of God. It’s mistreating his children. It’s an injustice. Let’s call it for what it is: modernized slavery. So you arresting us, you’re actually doing the work of the Lord Jesus Christ by arresting us.
Dustin White (right) speaks with a CoreCivic guard He starts getting teary-eyed. He burst into tears. He goes, “OK, I’ll go get the cuffs.” It was this incredible moment. And then of course, we are loaded into the proverbial paddy wagon. Before they took us to jail, they took us away from the media and all of the demonstrators that were there at the vigil. They drove us to an empty lot, opened up the door and the sergeant pulls his hat off, he goes, “Alright. Now that the bright lights aren’t on us, I’m going to come clean. I am a Christian.” So while we’re still cuffed and chained inside, the cops start praying with us and with one another. People are reciting scripture with
one another. The sergeant starts preaching! We’re having bible study there in the back of the paddy wagon, and it’s this incredible, incredible moment. BRENDA: Wow! That’s incredible. I’d like you to look through three different lenses. Let’s go ahead and start with Romans 13. How does what you have experienced and done relate to what we find there? DUSTIN: Remember the author of Romans was himself incarcerated more than once. We stop at verse one or two and we don’t continue on with what the rest of it says. Right in verse 3 he starts talking about governments are not there to cause terror for the righteous. I would argue that our current policies are in violation of that. I think the summation of this comes into play with what verse 10 says. Also, Paul doesn’t say “Don’t disobey the government or don’t disobey authorities.” He says to submit to them. We did submit to them. We spoke truth to power and submitted to the consequence of that. Peacefully. BRENDA: We talked about Paul. Let’s talk about Jesus. How did/does he figure into your decision making around this? DUSTIN: Personally, this was months of prayer, discernment in community, and in private that paved the way into this action. Jesus inaugurates his ministry by saying what? In Luke 4, what does he say his purpose is? He’s come to bring good news to the poor, liberation to the oppressed, to recover the
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sight of the blind, to set the captives free and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. We serve a Savior who himself was arrested. A Savior who challenged the folks of his day to lift their noses up from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law. We serve a Savior who attaches our salvation to our ability to love our neighbor – even those that are demonized. BRENDA: What effect do you think all this has on the Brethren witness? DUSTIN: I would humbly hope this gives it some credibility that it’s been needing and maybe has lost. We must as Brethren take a step back and take these conversations away from the binary view of A or B, Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, and place them back where they belong: within the context of the church and the witness that we have within this world.
for it. It is not a liberal or conservative agenda if it’s so fluid that it can fluctuate amongst these binary parties. This is a Jesus agenda that the church needs to be awoken to. BRENDA: What would you say to Brethren who disagree with you or your actions?
The CoreCivic employee responds with strong directions for the protestors
BRENDA: So how is what you have been doing not a liberal agenda? DUSTIN: This is not a liberal agenda. You cannot escape the call of scripture to welcome the immigrant, and to provide justice for the foreigner. It is said that the scriptures are soaked in that call.
DUSTIN: Talk to me personally. Have a conversation with me. At the end of the day, I believe we each love our Lord deeply. We each love our flocks deeply. And all we’re saying is that human beings created in God’s image deserve to be treated like human beings. Nothing more and nothing less.
I think we need to remind ourselves in the context of American politics, during his first campaign, one of the major platforms of George W. Bush was comprehensive immigration reform. This was the platform of the Republican Party. This was a conservative issue. Bush famously said “family values do not stop at the Rio Grande” and was lauded T H E B RETHREN EVA NG EL IST | 15
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THE GATHERING Ama n d a Dowd y
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n August 11 and 12, around 250 people from 20 or so churches came together at Camp Peniel to worship together and hang out and encourage each other at The Gathering. Last year our church spearheaded this one-weekend service. The event was designed to unite churches and people in worshiping God and encouraging one another so that they leave refreshed and committed to building up Jesus Christ’s Kingdom wherever they live. It is a unique event in that we invited Brethren churches in the northeast and wider regions, and we also asked churches of many different denominations in our area. This all came together beautifully as we experienced different styles of worship and participation
throughout the weekend. The event went so well we decided to do it again this year. We wanted to get people from different churches in our area together to show how we are all part of one kingdom. The idea was that we would get some worship bands and different speakers to keynote the event and then throw in some fantastic food and opportunities to use the grounds at Camp Peniel in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. People spent the weekend worshipping together, playing gaga ball, angle ball, and basketball, hiking, canoeing, eating, and catching up. In some of our promotional material, Pastor Tom Sprowls commented, “leave your hurryup-attitude behind.” I jokingly used this line a few times, like when I was still getting things from my car when the worship session began, or when I was waiting on my daughter to pick
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which dessert she wanted; “we left our hurryup-attitude behind!” All joking aside, this indeed was the feeling of the weekend. People were free to relax with each other, spend time in conversation, and take time to consume the enormous amounts of food from the hog roast, and the rest of the delights the cooking crew put together for us. We were thankful to have Reverend T.J. McLaughlin speak Saturday evening about living out your kingdom identity. Reverend Todd Ruggles continued the kingdom theme by speaking about how love characterizes kingdom people. “The culture around us is a missionary’s paradise,” he noted as he shared how we can choose to see the issues around us as either problems or opportunities to show God’s love. We also enjoyed music from the band Finding the Lost, Pastor Sam Cougenour, and the Berlin Brethren Worship Team.
Following Sunday service, two young men came forward to be baptized, and we all rejoiced to see how God has been moving in their lives for a while to bring each to the point of surrender. It was so refreshing to have a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a time together with brothers and sisters all passionately seeking an amazing God. Our prayer is that this time of recharging equips the church as they head back into the missionary’s paradise.
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Photo above and on next page by Amanda Dowdy
LIVING THE GOSPEL REV. DR. BRENDA COLIJN
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et’s think for a moment about a true story from the realm of politics. You may remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal a number of years ago. Bill Clinton, during his presidency, was having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, an intern on his staff. Republicans in Congress wanted to impeach him for trying to cover it up. Newt Gingrich, at that time the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was leading the charge. Years later, it was revealed that Gingrich himself was having a secret affair with one of his own staff at the very same time—so President Clinton wasn’t the only one with an integrity problem. If I were to update this example of hypocrisy with illustrations from present-day politics, it would take you all day to read this essay. Of course, it’s not just politicians who can be charged with hypocrisy. It’s also one of the most common charges against the church. Non-Christians look at Christians and say that our behavior doesn’t match what we say we believe. Our reputation in American society is pretty
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poor these days—with good reason. Jesus said we should be known for our love, but American society primarily knows the church by what we’re against. In Galatians 3:11-22, Paul mentions a time in Antioch when he had to rebuke Peter for hypocrisy. He says that Peter was not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel. He brings up the story because the Galatians are falling into the same kind of behavior. Essentially, Paul argues that the way we live makes a difference to the gospel. That is, our everyday actions can support or undermine the gospel message. I’m sure that’s not a surprise, but it’s still worth reminding ourselves of from time to time. In the case of the Galatians, the actions of some were distorting the gospel so much that people’s salvation was in danger. So here’s the situation in Galatians. The people in the Galatian churches were Paul’s converts. He had founded their congregations. There’s some debate among scholars about exactly where these congregations were, but they were likely somewhere in Asia Minor, which today is part of Turkey. After Paul left Galatia, other missionaries came in who opposed some of his teachings. Paul’s opponents in Galatians are sometimes called Judaizers. That’s because they’re trying to make Christianity more like Judaism. They argue that Gentiles have to become circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law in order to be good Christians. They aren’t saying that Gentiles should obey the Law instead of believing in Jesus in order to be saved. Both the Galatians and the Judaizers are already Christians—that is, they have committed themselves to Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Instead, Paul’s opponents are saying that having Jesus isn’t enough to go on with. Paul says, “Are you so irrational? After you started with the Spirit, are you now finishing up with your own human effort?” (Gal 3:3).
The Judaizers seem to be worried that if Christians put aside the Law, they won’t know how to behave, and they’ll get into all kinds of sin–especially the Gentiles, because Jewish people thought Gentiles were terribly sinful to start with. So they were teaching that a believer has to add the Law to Jesus in order to be a complete Christian. Paul is really exercised about this, because it’s against everything he teaches his Gentile converts. He says that the so-called gospel of the Judaizers is really no gospel at all. To show what’s wrong with it, Paul tells that story about Peter (2:11-21). The church in Antioch had both Jews and Gentiles, and they got along pretty well for a while, until their fellowship meals started looking like a high school cafeteria. In high school, you can tell who’s in and who’s out by who gets to eat with whom. There are clear social categories: the athletes and cheerleaders, the nerds, the bandies, the skaters, the druggies, and so on. If you want to belong to a particular group, you have to conform. Just like a high-schooler, Peter caves in to peer pressure. He knows that God has accepted Gentiles who believe in Jesus, even though they don’t have the Mosaic Law. God gave him a pretty definite lesson about that before and during his visit to Cornelius’ house in Acts 10. Because God accepts Gentile believers and gives them the Holy Spirit, it means that the basis of covenant relationship with God is now Jesus, not the Law. Because of this, Peter knows that there’s no longer any need for Jewish Christians to separate themselves from Gentile Christians by keeping kosher food laws, so he usually has table fellowship with Gentiles as well as Jews. But when some people come from James, who is known to be more of a stickler on Jewish customs, Peter stops eating with Gentiles, and his example causes others to do the same
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thing. Peter does this because he’s afraid. We don’t know for sure what he was afraid of. The text says he was afraid of “the circumcision.” Commentators often assume this is a reference to the Judaizers: Peter is afraid for his reputation or fears a loss of authority if he doesn’t comply with the Jewish Christians’ demands. However, one commentator I read suggested that Peter is afraid not of the Judaizers but of non-Christian Jews in Palestine, because they might put pressure on Jewish Christian communities if they found out their leaders were fraternizing with pagans. Remember that not too many years after this, Jewish-Roman tensions in Palestine exploded in the Jewish Revolt, which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. In any case, just imagine what it would have been like for the new Gentile Christians in Antioch. They’re excited about Jesus, and they’re excited about the church, only to find out that some believers treat them like secondclass citizens–even some of the people they look up to the most. They might think that the gospel doesn’t feel like such good news after all. Imagine how destructive this would be at communion, which would have been celebrated then in the context of a common meal, as we Brethren do it today. Peter’s behavior created a division between Jewish and Gentile believers. This division was likely ethnic as well as religious. Paul sees a major church split in the making. So Paul tells Peter that he isn’t “acting consistently with the truth of the gospel.” In fact, this false way of living puts the gospel itself at risk. I don’t mean that it could undo what Jesus did for our salvation. But it misleads people about what the gospel is— the good news of Jesus that has transformative power in people’s lives.
Because of God’s grace in Christ, anyone, whether Jew or Gentile, can have a relationship with God. Paul says, “We are born Jews— we’re not Gentile sinners. However, we know that a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law but rather through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We ourselves believed in Christ Jesus so that we could be made righteous by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the Law—because no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law. . . . I don’t ignore the grace of God, because if we become righteous through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (2:15-21 NRSV) Some translations say that we’re justified or made righteous (the same word in Greek) “by faith in Christ,” but the Greek actually says “by the faith [or faithfulness] of Christ.” The same Greek word pistis can mean faith or faithfulness. We could talk for a long time about what righteousness means, but for our purposes I’ll just suggest that we should think of it in covenantal terms. Someone who is righteous is in right covenant relationship with God. Paul is saying that those who believe in Christ are in covenant relationship with God on the basis of Christ’s own faithfulness in his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus made it possible. Paul explains in chapters 3 and 4 that the Mosaic Law was a great disciplinarian, but it couldn’t turn sinners into faithful covenant partners. Only God’s grace through Jesus and the Holy Spirit could do that. The false gospel puts people’s salvation in danger because it leads them away from Christ: “You people who are trying to be made righteous by the Law have been estranged from Christ. You have fallen away from grace!” (5:4) So if obeying the Law isn’t the way to live the gospel, what does a gospel-shaped life look like? The short answer, of course, is that it looks like Jesus, but I want to break it down
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a bit more. Paul has a lot to say about this in Galatians. I’m just going to point out four qualities: integrity, solidarity, hospitality, and love. First, it means living a life of integrity. The gospel has its own integrity that should shape all of our lives. Peter hadn’t worked that out yet; he acted like one person when the Judaizers were around and another person when they weren’t. Developing integrity takes time; it requires listening when the Holy Spirit points out areas in which we’re still out of step. Sometimes, as in Peter’s case, the Holy Spirit can speak through a friend. Second, a gospel-shaped life looks like solidarity with Christ and others. Paul declares, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me” (2:20). Christ identified with us, even to the point of death, so that we could participate in his death and resurrection and share in his life. We identify with Christ through baptism, and through our solidarity with him we come into union with one another: “You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:26-28).
“LOVE IS THE GOAL OF THE FREEDOM THAT BELIEVERS HAVE IN CHRIST”
Galatians 3:28 may be the most revolutionary verse in the NT. Paul declares that Christ has overcome the fundamental social divisions of ethnicity, class, and sex. These distinctions haven’t disappeared, but for Christians, it’s no longer permissible to treat people differently because of them. Peter wasn’t living this out. Even today, the church has a long way to go to make this verse a reality. Third, a gospel-shaped life practices hospitality. In the ancient world, hospitality often took the form of sharing a meal together. Sometimes it still does today. Peter and the others violated hospitality when they stopped eating with Gentile believers. He was communicating to them that they were still unclean. A man in my church is on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He told me about a study InterVarsity did regarding evangelism. One of their findings was that before an unchurched person is willing to consider the claims of Christ, they first have to learn to trust a Christian. So Christian hospitality is as important today as it ever was. Finally, Paul sums up the gospel-shaped life as love. “Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter” (5:6). Notice that what counts isn’t just having faith, in the sense of believing certain things. What counts is faith expressing itself through love— that is, faith in action, or how we live. Love is the goal of the freedom that believers have in Christ: “You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love” (5:13). As Paul says later, “So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith” (6:10).
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So the question for us to ask ourselves is “Are we living the gospel?” Our context has a few things in common with the context of Galatians: political polarization; racial and ethnic tensions; a climate of fear; an increasing insularity, as people back away from welcoming others who are different from them; people looking out for their own interests instead of the common good; ongoing divisions of race, class, and sex.
and political differences. This means that we have to stop believing the divisive narratives that are spun for us by politicians who want our money and our votes. We could start by intentionally listening to Christians whose perspectives differ from ours. Third, in the face of lies, let’s seek the truth and stand by it, even at the risk of our own interests. Let’s not excuse or defend the sins of politicians or church leaders who happen to agree with us on our favorite issues. The next time we get a Christian chain email with a rumor of dubious origin, let’s not pass it on. Let’s not think we’re defending the faith by engaging in flame wars on social media. In all contexts, let’s listen carefully before we speak.
“LET’S NOT THINK WE’RE DEFENDING THE FAITH BY ENGAGING IN FLAME WARS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.” I like to tell students that the church is the best evidence for the truth of the gospel. Unfortunately, the church is also the best evidence for its falsity. It all depends on whether or not we live the gospel that we preach. Do we show the integrity, solidarity, hospitality, and love that will draw people to Jesus? Here are four suggestions of things we might think about. I’m sure none of these would apply to us Brethren, but maybe they would to someone we know…. Before anything else, we have to let Jesus transform our lives—all of our lives, including our politics, our economics, and our positions on social issues. We may not all come to the same conclusions. But going to the Bible and prayer would be a good way to start. I’m continually discouraged by surveys that say only about 25% of Christians consult the Bible to form their opinions about current issues.
Finally, let’s try to block the cycles of hatred with practical love. If we’re pro-life, let’s be pro-everybody’s-life, including unborn babies, vulnerable girls and women, immigrants, refugees, and young black men. Let’s welcome strangers in need without demanding that they conform to our expectations first. Let’s never act out of fear—especially the fear of losing our privileges. If we Christians don’t trust that Jesus is Lord, why should anybody else? Let’s pray that we never distort the gospel in a way that puts someone’s salvation in danger. Instead, may we all live the gospel in such a way that people will be drawn to the good news of Jesus. Amen.
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STARS Ju d y D u B o is
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s children we wish on them, educated adults try to count them, at Christmas we stare at the beautiful renditions of the Star of Bethlehem and color lively little ones sporting big smiles. Even catchy songs are written about them. But what do we know about stars? In Genesis 15:5, when the multitude of them was shown to Abraham by the Lord, they were an example of the number of Abraham’s future offspring. He had God’s word on it. Later in his life, in obedience to God Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God stopped him, and reinforcement of this promise came again. In Genesis 22:17a, the angel of the Lord spoke God’s message. Abraham was blessed and his descendants would number as the stars. The angel also referenced the sand of the seashore.
Because the sun, moon, and stars were noted on the fourth day of Creation in Genesis 1:14, the children of Israel held them in awe. Deuteronomy 4:19 admonished them that even when looking up at the array in the sky not to be enticed to worship them. The heavenly bodies were apportioned to all nations under heaven. In the book of Job, things get interesting. Job has been targeted by Satan because of his extraordinary faith and trust in God. In chapter 31, Job confronts his “friend” Elihu with a detailed account of his good works. Hence there is no reason for Job to suffer the devastating losses and horrible pain he is experiencing. While his list is impressive, God had a few probing questions in Chapter 38. In verse 7 the question is posed: when He laid the cornerstone of Creation, did Job hear the morning stars sing together and all the angels shout for joy? I told you things got interesting. Stars singing? If they can sing, can they talk? Being saved before my teen years, I read and reread Job, and always stopped and puzzled over that verse. Fifty-nine years would pass before I got the explanation.
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In Psalm 147:4 we find God has named each star and counts them. This is listed with Him being extolled for his love, understanding, and care for His chosen people, Israel. If things got interesting in Job 38:7, Isaiah 14:12-13 comes in as sobering. Satan is called a star, not just a star, a morning star, son of the dawn. He had laid low the nations but now was cast down to earth. Why? It is written that in his heart, Satan said he would ascend to heaven, enthroned above the clouds, over the stars of God and make himself like the Most High. Isaiah 40:26 exposes the foolishness of such a statement. There is the affirmation that as we look at the night sky, we can be assured by His great power and mighty strength it was created by Him; the one who calls out each star by name, and not one is missing. In Jeremiah 33:22 we again are called to remember the descendants of David and the Levites, who serve God, will be as countless as the stars in the sky.
Those measureless sands of the seashore are mentioned too. As we found the stars active in Creation, so are they promised to be a part of the destruction of the earth in the last days. Matthew 24:29 gives us a glimpse of what will transpire after the distress of those days: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” But what about the stars singing? Do they communicate? Are they able to? Well, no great theologian gave me the answer or a misplaced ancient chart of the stars. NASA had the answer. Using deep space probes they have recorded sounds picked up from the stars. Each is different and NASA has determined they talk to each other. I can’t describe the vibrations except heavenly, filled with peace. A beautiful harmonic humming is interspersed with unusual vibrations. Enchanting. Google “NASA stars make noises”...and listen!
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AROUND THE GLOBE UPDATE S ON OU R G LO B A L PA RT N E R S Brethren Global Partners around the world have had an active season in ministry this summer! Baptisms, youth revivals and more have marked the past few months for Brethren around the world.
The church in Puerto Maldonado celebrates five more believers baptized in their congregation (pictured above).
The Brethren Church in Rajahmundry, India rejoices over their recent youth revival, which drew over 600 local youth to the church. Many young people are reported to have surrendered their lives to Christ during the time of fun, worship and inspiration.
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MOMENTS T RAN S IT IONS IN T H E B R E T H R E N C H U R CH Eleanor Porte, 102, of Greenfield, WI, formerly of South Bend, passed away peacefully August 5, 2018 in Greenfield, WI, after a brief illness. Eleanor was the widow of John Porte. John Porte served as Field Secretary for The Brethren Church during the 1960’s. Eleanor was a life long member of the South Bend congregation, Deaconess, and very active in the life of the congregation until recent years when her health necessitated a move closer to family.
Linda Madison, 63, (wife of Brethren elder Kenn Madison) died Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at The Maples at Waterford Crossing.
We celebrate the 65th wedding anniversary of Keith and Majorie Bennett. Submit your Brethren Moments to communications@ brethrenchurch.org
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END NOTES
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n most days, the work of the national staff is to serve our churches and leaders as they work to fulfill the mission to which we are all called. More and more often though, I am asked to comment, or intervene in a situation because a fellow Brethren has behaved in a way that many other Brethren do not approve of. Brethren do not walk in a straight line, in lockstep with each other on any issue facing our world today. Let’s be honest with ourselves, our very existence as (Ashland) Brethren is because Henry Holsinger was out of step socially with the rest of his extended church family. In these conversations, I often compare the Brethren to an umbrella. There is room for our differences under the canopy. What allows us to remind tethered together under this umbrella is the fact that we boast Christ as our center. The “handle” of this umbrella is not a national office or a general conference; it is Christ.
Christ tells us to care for the poor, and many of you do so in your communities. He calls us to preach the good news, so you hold services where you praise him in song and the preaching of his word. He calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, so many of you sought profound, meaningful ways to connect with the neighborhoods where you live. He tells us that we should go to the ends of the earth, so many of you have found ways to serve our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. This is a beautiful picture of our Church, Christ’s Church. There are other commands as well, though. These other commands of Christ are pointed internally to remind the Church that we are in this together. This is the beautiful distinctiveness of The Brethren Church; we have a deep-seated belief that we are tethered together for a reason. Our commitment to community developed so that we could read, interpret and understand Christ and his teachings together. This communal understanding will determine our obedience!
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I am reminded of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It tells us when a brother or a sister might wrong us, or we are angry at them, we
Each of these brothers and sisters walked away with love, respect and a mutual understanding that Dustin’s action was one motivated by
must drop all we are doing and reconcile. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that we should drop everything, including our worship and be reconciled to our brother or sister. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that the level of forgiveness that we should have for a brother or sister is ridiculously high. Seventy times seven, he says. Why? What is so vital about reconciliation in the church? For some confounding reason, the church is the vehicle by which the world will know about Christ. This world has enough divisiveness to last to eternity. Christ and his church should have the answer to that.
love for Jesus and neighbor, not for political divisiveness.
Some of you did not agree with Dustin White’s action to protest or be arrested in the process. A few people though, instead of criticizing from a distance, believed that the unity of the church matters enough that they were not going to allow confusion and lack of knowledge lead them to a place of anger or separation. They put down their “offering” and went to their brother to seek understanding.
Church, we are a beautiful canopy of obedient followers of Jesus. We are walking, tethered together in our shared mission to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – Love our neighbor as yourself – And to make disciples of all nations. DO NOT BE FOOLED; we need each other. I implore you to seek to understand one another. I appeal to your desire to be obedient to Christ’s teachings; learn to disagree well; seek understanding and pursue reconciliation. All of this is because of the Love of our Savior, Jesus. May the world know we are his disciples by our love for one another.
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Steven Cole is the Executive Director of The Brethren Church. He lives in Ashland, Ohio with his wife Beth, and their two children, Maggie and Patrick.
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