THE BRETHREN
Evangelist
JAN/FEB 2016
AN ISSUE ON
DISC I P L E S H I P
contents Problems of Discipleship .....................................3 by Jeremy McClung
Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples!
I
n Matthew 22, Jesus is asked a question about which law was the greatest. Jesus brings clarity to those who want to understand God’s Kingdom; love God with all you are and love those around you like you love yourself. As Jesus’ ministry is coming to an end in Matthew 28, he gives his disciples one last charge. Go into the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey all He has commanded. We understand these two passages to be the ‘great commandments’ and the ‘great commission.’ This issue helps shine a light on the efforts of the Brethren to love God, love others, and make disciples. As you read through this issue, please consider your involvement in your church to make disciples. We are all called to this mission and I pray you will be encouraged and challenged to walk in the strong name of Jesus as we grow in our faith and capacity to make disciples.
The Evangelist Asks ................................................6 Discipleship in India ...............................................8 by Keith & Linda Immel
WMS ..............................................................................11 by Gloria Radcliff
General Conference........................................ 13 Mid-Level .................................................................. 14 by Dale Stoffer
Brethren Connection........................................ 16 by Cory Smith
Press Release ......................................................... 17 Bits & Pieces ........................................................... 18 Brethren Archive .................................................. 19 by Dale Stoffer
connect
Blessings, Steven
Brethren Church
419.289.1708
@BrethrenChurch1
www.brethrenchurch.org
Brethren Church
brethren@brethrenchurch.org
Brethren Church1
524 College Ave. Ashland, OH 44805
The Brethren Church
The Brethren Church National Office
PROBLEMS OF DISCIPLESHIP (And Why I Don’t Do It) by: Jeremy McClung
For the past two General Confer-
ences we have been talking about discipleship, a crucial area for us to address as a denomination, as local churches, and as individuals. To be a disciple means to be a learner or follower, someone who seeks to emulate Jesus in all areas of life. But discipleship involves more than just “me and Jesus.” It’s a communal experience, in which we invite others to follow him, and help each other on the journey. This happens best not through classrooms or books, but through life-on-life mentoring relationships—the way Jesus himself (and other rabbis of his time) trained disciples. This is not a matter of taking people through ten steps to be a better Christian or a forty-day program, but walking with them over a long period of time and addressing issues of discipleship as they come up. As Mike Perkinson has said so succinctly (and in his best Mr. Miyagi voice), “life is the curriculum.” Our desire to grow in this area is not a matter of chasing the latest fad, but a return to something that is in our denominational genes. From the beginning, Brethren have emphasized a “lived theology.” Jerry Flora sums this up in A Brethren Witness for the 21st Century: “The Christian life is about discipleship more than church membership. It is not a quick salvation experience after which I may live as I please…. It means following Jesus, becoming his apprentice, living in a way that represents him.” Discipleship is nothing new to our tribe, nor to me personally. It is a
topic upon which I have reflected, read, and strategized for most of my pastoral ministry. And yet, almost twenty years later, I continue to struggle with it. There are really only two aspects of discipleship that I find challenging: being a disciple, and making disciples. A third aspect, talking about discipleship—without actually doing much about it—is my (tongue-incheek) area of expertise. In preparing to write this article it quickly became apparent that what I have to offer when it comes to this topic is not my strength, but my weakness. I want to be a better disciple-maker, and I want to learn to follow Jesus more closely. But when I think about the reality of discipleship in my life I am struck with a sense of discouragement and inadequacy. I have a hunch that I’m not alone in this, and so I offer reflections on my own struggles and problems in the hopes of opening a conversation and encouraging fellow strugglers. Those who have mastered the art of discipleship need read no further. THE PROBLEM OF CONTEXT The first problem I encounter as I consider discipleship has to do with what it actually looks like in today’s world. Our context is so different from that of the early disciples, and even that of our denominational forbears, that it can be difficult to really understand what it means to follow Jesus today. When Jesus called his first disciples, they left their boats and nets behind and literally fol-
r
lowed him. They dropped everything to go on a three-year road trip with the Messiah. Their discipleship may have been hard work, but at least the instructions were clear. Likewise, Brethren founders such as Alexander Mack knew that they would risk life and property to follow their convictions about baptism, the love feast, and the nature of the church. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to “count the cost,” but at least for them following Jesus was a black-and-white decision. How does this kind of concrete, costly discipleship translate into our culture? As far as I can tell, Jesus does not automatically ask us to abandon every aspect of the twentyfirst century North American lifestyle, and so we must figure out what it means to follow him from within that context. For example, even the poorest among us are wealthy on a global/historical scale. Many own homes that, while modest by today’s standards, would look like palaces in first century Palestine. Yet we follow a rabbi who didn’t even have a “place to lay his head” (Matt 8:20). Can I truly call myself his disciple when I am concerned about the color of paint on my dining room walls? The temptation has always been to standardize discipleship without regard to context. In other words, all true followers of Jesus must dress “this way,” use “these words,” and live “this lifestyle.” This was a major part of our disagreement with the Conservative/Old Order The Brethren Evangelist 3
“Problems” continued... Brethren in the late 1800’s. As the “Progressives,” we were cautious about institutionalized discipleship (e.g. requiring traditional clothing), understanding that different generations and different cultural settings had to figure out for themselves what it meant to follow Jesus. But this can be very difficult, and I admit that sometimes the simplicity of a homogenized set of rules seems more attractive than the hard work of contextualization. The good news is that we don’t follow a dead rabbi who only understood the culture of first century Palestine, but a living Lord who knows our context and is still able to lead us today. Jesus didn’t call me to be Peter or Paul or Alexander Mack. He called me to be Jeremy McClung, and placed me in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. He gave me a wife, a family, a dog, bills to pay, two cars that break down regularly, and a house that could use some renovations. Rather than putting us in an impoverished part of town (which would be a far better story in an article on discipleship), he led us to a neighborhood of doctors, lawyers, and business owners. And within that context he invites us to follow him. The path of discipleship is highly individualized, and so it is important not to compare our own journey to that of people in other geographical, historical, or socioeconomic contexts. Unless Jesus clearly calls us to leave our current situation, we must accept it for what it is and do our best to follow him from within it. But sometimes this seems awfully unexciting and unremarkable. Could
4 Jan/Feb 2016
that really be faithful discipleship to a rabbi who did miracles and raised the dead? THE PROBLEM OF THE ORDINARY A few years ago God called me to step out of my comfort zone, move to a new town, and plant a church—a task that was especially frightening because I had failed miserably in a previous attempt. Responding to that call felt like true discipleship, giving up safety and security to “go out on a limb” for Jesus. But now the church is humming along and I spend my time doing things like leading meetings, planning services, preparing sermons, and managing the organization. My “free” time is spent ferrying kids to activities, making supper, and fixing things around the house. My life now seems so…ordinary. As far as I can tell Jesus is not leading me to do something else, but has called me to stay where I am and keep shepherding this church. So why does “staying put” feel somehow less faithful than embarking on the adventure? After all, disciples aren’t measured on their ability to take risks but on their ability to follow instructions. I think it is in part because we have a cultural fascination with the extraordinary. We make heroes of those with a special calling, and ignore those who follow Jesus while going about their normal lives. I’ve heard countless sermons about Peter’s dramatic step onto the water (even though he’s the only disciple who has ever actually done this) and our need to “get out of the boat” and do amazing things for Jesus. I haven’t
heard nearly as many on leading a quiet life, minding our own business, and doing manual labor (1 Thess 4:11). Many of us live with an unspoken assumption that those who are doing “extraordinary” things for God are better disciples than those doing “ordinary” things. We too easily forget that Jesus lived most of his life in relative obscurity, going to work each day, interacting with friends and family, and participating in the life of his local community and synagogue (don’t you wish we had more details about how he lived that part of his life?). I think God is much more excited about “ordinariness” than we are. When we conceive of discipleship as something that involves extraordinary acts of faith rather than everyday faithfulness, we end up with an inferiority complex which stops discipleship before it starts. I don’t invite others to “follow me as I follow Christ,” (1 Cor 1:11) because I don’t feel that I am a very good disciple. We need to give up our addiction to “going out on a limb” for God, and accept the fact that 98 percent of faithfully following Jesus is, in many ways, unremarkable and routine. We need to embrace ordinary discipleship. We need to esteem people like Tabitha—who quietly followed Jesus by doing good, helping the poor, and making clothing—and not just Peter, who raised her from the dead (Acts 9:36-43). Eugene Peterson captures the essence of this in his translation of Romans 12:1-2 (MSG): “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-towork, and walking-around life—and
place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” THE PROBLEM OF NOT BEING DISCIPLED Another major obstacle when I think about discipling others is that I’m not sure I’ve ever been discipled myself. I’ve been evangelized, and can share the gospel message with others (even if it scares me). I have been preached to and can (at least, according to my wife) deliver a decent sermon. I’ve been “Christianeducated,” from the time I was a young child in Sunday School, through youth group, summer camps, Christian university, and seminary. I can “Christian-educate” others with a reasonable degree of confidence. But I have never really been discipled, at least not in the kind of intensive, one-on-one relationship that Mike Perkinson described. How can I give to others what I have not received myself? This is a very real problem, and I have a hunch that many others struggle with it as well. However, if I’m honest I really have been discipled. The “good work” that was started in my life has been faithfully continued by the One who began it—and I have every reason to believe that he will see it through to completion (Phil 1:6). Over the years Jesus has brought many people into my life to help teach me what it means to follow him, whether family members, pastors, mentors, or friends. Even authors I have never met have invested in me through their written words. Over time, and through a variety of sources, Jesus has faithfully overseen an intentional discipleship track, created just for me. I have been discipled by my rabbi, and to forget this would be profoundly ungrateful. What has (for the most part) been lacking is the kind of intentional rabbi-disciple relationship with another human that many of us secretly long for. We wish that someone older and more experienced would have taken us under their wing from the beginning and said, “let me journey with you and teach you what it means to follow Jesus in every area of life.” Like Jesus’ choice of his original followers this would not only have been challenging, but affirming. However, even though many of us have never received this level of personal discipleship ourselves, this does not prevent us from
offering it to others—any more than not having a good relationship with a parent exempts us from trying to be a good father or mother. To slightly modify the golden rule, we should “do unto others what we wish someone had done for us.” A WAY FORWARD Those of us who don’t feel we are good disciples or disciple-makers are not without hope. In fact, as I realized in the course of my reflections, perhaps we are not actually “bad” at discipleship after all. A first step toward growth in this area is to accept your current situation—job, neighborhood, family situation, stage of life, socioeconomic class—as the context in which discipleship is to occur. Jesus may eventually ask you to sell your home and give to the poor or he may call you to the mission field. But until he does, accept the fact that he is calling you to follow him right where you are. This very well may mean embracing ordinary obedience as a valid expression of faithful discipleship—just as important as the extraordinary examples we often idolize. Finally, give to others what you wish you had been given: the gift of time, love, concern, questions, accountability, availability, and intentional mentoring. If all of us who struggle can take these simple steps, it will have an enormous impact on our churches, and we will be a lot closer to creating the culture of discipleship in the Brethren church that we long for. When it comes to discipleship sometimes it is hard to know where to start. A discipleship task-force has been developing a uniquely Brethren curriculum based on the “irreducible core” of loving God, loving others, and making disciples. While there is a certain irony to trying to teach discipleship through a curriculum, a written framework may serve as a skeleton around which the living flesh of discipleship may develop. The first segment of this curriculum was released electronically at General Conference last July. Further segments and a printed version will follow this year. It is hoped that this simple tool will help jump-start a discipling culture in the Brethren church. If you are interested in trying this free curriculum with a few fellow disciples, please contact the BCNO.
The Brethren Evangelist 5
The Brethren Evangelist asks...
About Discipleship
Intentionally walking with someone to sharpen them to be more like Christ should be our focus as Christians. How will a believer know to make more disciples if they aren’t shown what this means. As a denomination we’ve gone back to our roots with the publication of The Brethren Witness for the 21st Century. Our conference themes for the last several years have awakened us to these values. The Brethren Evangelist asked MissioChurch Coordinator, Bill Ludwig and Mike Perkinson about their discipleship journey together. The following is an excerpt from that conversation: This last December marked my 21st year in pastoral ministry. In those 21 years I have had peers, supervisors, and teachers but, never once, had I had a pastor. Some had taken time to teach me skills and competencies and to help me realize my gifts but, along the way, no one had ever said “Come. Follow me.” “Share in my life as I share it with you.” “Imitate the Jesus in me.” Over the years, I realized the wounding this had caused and the gaps in my Jesus-ness that resulted from them. During my sabbatical in 2014 I realized that I was even more hungry for the kind of relationship a disciple could have with their rabbi/pastor and I began to pray again for someone to come into my life and teach me to live a life worthy of the calling that I had received. As I opened up about this need, I began to hear from others
6 Jan/Feb 2016
who, like me, had never been chosen either. No mature Christ-follower had called them to walk as they walk, or to share in their understandings of the person of Christ. I realized that so many of us desired a life with God, to serve Him and others, to obey the commandments and the commission but we had rarely seen it, and even then, may have never seen it up close. My life changed in July of 2014 when Pastor Mike Perkinson approached me and called me to follow him. The freedom I have experienced from becoming a disciple has been one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. EV: What drew you to talk with Bill about discipleship? MP: As pastors, we all have His
heart for people, but are limited in who we can fully invest in – people that I can invite into a discipleship journey with me for a 28-36 month period that helps the leader discover who they are in Christ, their Godgiven destiny and the spiritual gifts, personal wiring, etc. that God has given them to make their Kingdom contribution. I learned from Jesus, the ultimate Rabbi, that He chose His disciples rather than waiting for them to seek Him out, which was the norm of the day. And so, I wait for the Spirit to draw me to someone, which usually means I receive a deposit of God-given love for that leader. More simply, I feel the Father is asking me to invest in His child and develop them. EV: What was it about Mike that caused you to say yes?
BL: Honestly, as he was speaking from the stage at General Conference about discipleship I realized that he was describing in great detail the kind of relationship I had been praying for. When he came down off of the stage and asked me to join him in this journey I immediately recognized an answer to my prayers. EV: Mike, you live in Idaho. Bill Iives in Ohio, describe what your journey with Bill has been like logistically. How do you disciple someone that you can't walk with face to face when discipleship is a life on life relationship? MP: Relationship, being together face to face is the ultimate means for discipleship. However, with our advances in technology, utilizing cell phones or video conferencing has been the monthly means by which we talk along with emails. When I invite someone to walk with me, I give them priority access to my life and so scheduled calls are set but unscheduled calls and conversations take place frequently. The advantage that Bill and I have had as well is my relationship with the national leadership of the Brethren Church and our frequent meetings we have had over the past year which has allowed for actual face time. All that to say, I invite my disciples to plunder me, take all that I have, I will give all the Jesus I have, all the Jesus content and knowledge I have so that you might become all that God has created you to be.
EV: Bill, what is it like being discipled by someone who lives more than 2,000 miles away? BL: It works. Fortunately, Mike and I have reason to be in the same places a few times a year. Our families have spent time together. We make those moments count. Mike makes the depth of our relationship work by keeping his word to share everything he has with me. I suppose my role is simply to take him up on it. We also connect monthly via video chat and then by email, text and phone as often as necessary…which is usually several more times per month. EV: This sounds great! How can you begin to share this with someone else? MP: In my experience discipling people the past 30 years, I have always lovingly laid an expectation on my disciples that what I am doing for them I fully expect that they will do for another. Which, in my experience, usually takes place within the first six months of our relationship. The life the disciple is receiving is just too much to contain and so, inevitably they end up walk-
ing with someone. The beauty of this is that they are now passing on, multiplying, what they have learned (sharing the comfort received) and simply sharing that with another. They may only be two or three steps ahead of the person they are walking with but they find that what has happened to them begins to happen to others. We are all experts in our own story. Discipleship is a means by which we begin to understand our story and how it relates to His Story and then share that story (Rev 12:11) which always speaks to the heart of the hearer and gives opportunity for the Holy Spirit to speak to the heart and call that person out to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. BL: I’ve discovered that the comfort and freedom I have received is too good to keep to myself! I already had relationships in my life that centered on Jesus. I began to ask those folks if they wanted to hear about what was happening in my life and if they wanted to follow me in it. The ones who said “Yes” get from me what I had received from Mike. It’s been as fun as it is meaningful to see other people experience Jesus the way that I am!
The Brethren Evangelist 7
what
discipleship looks like
in india Keith & Linda Immel October 29 – November 24, 2015
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 8 Jan/Feb 2016
Many of us can quote the Great Commission spoken by Jesus in Matthew, but do we fully understand what that means for us and the nations of the world? I recently came to realize that discipleship in America is quite different than discipleship in other nations. My home church in North Manchester, Indiana is blessed to have a Discipleship Coordinator who helps to train and lead us in growth and spiritual disciplines. He does this through adult Sunday School classes, specific prayer times, Bible studies and much more. This is what works in North Manchester, but that probably wouldn’t be effective in other countries especially in India. Let me try to explain.
My husband and I, along with Gene and Susan McConahay from the Smithville, Ohio First Brethren Church, recently visited the Brethren Mission in India. My husband had been there 16 years ago and the McConahays had never been to India. I had the opportunity to see the Brethren ministry through fresh eyes, and I saw people who were hungry because they didn’t have any skills in which to secure a job. I saw people sleeping in mud huts on dirt floors because that was all they could afford. I saw children whose outcome would have been the same because their village didn’t have a school and their parents were too poor to send them to a school in the next city. I saw sick people that would die at a young age because medical care is not available to them.
I started to think about our type of discipleship, and in my heart I knew that these people did not need a Bible study group or a Sunday School class. What they needed was physical help shown to them through God’s people. Christ’s followers in India have an overwhelming task before them, but they know this is how they must disciple people.
So, what does discipleship look like in India? Nirmala Kumar, National Director of the Brethren Mission in India told me, “If I give them food to eat, or if I teach them a job skill, or if I provide free medical care to them they will listen to what I have to say about the saving grace of Jesus.” To the best of their ability, that is what the Kumars have been doing for over 40 years in India. Do you know the first thing every orphan child is given when they arrive at the Brethren Orphanage? They are given a Bible, and it becomes their most treasured possession.
The first words they speak when given something, such as a meal or a new towel, is “Praise the Lord” because they are taught that every blessing they receive is straight from the throne of God. The orphan children memorize Scripture and are faithful to serve in the church at Rajahmundry. Not all of them believe in Jesus when they come to live there, but Nirmala will not turn them away because of that. Instead she sees that as an opportunity to share Jesus with them and to help them grow to
love and serve Him.
A good education is secondary in importance when compared to leading these children to the Lord.
I was most blessed when I sat in the Brethren Sewing School and listened to the testimonies of the students there. Many of these women are from a Hindu background, but they are welcome at the sewing school with one understanding. They have to sit through the opening Bible reading, prayer and singing of praise songs. Every day one of the lady evangelists will lead this time of worship. Only then will the sewing and embroidery lessons begin. Susan and I had the privilege of praying for two of the women that were finishing their studies and receiving sewing machines. First they shared their stories with us. One of these young girls, probably about 22 years old, told us that her father was poor and couldn’t afford to provide a dowry for her. That means she didn’t have much hope of being married, and since she was not contributing financially to the family, her father told her she had to leave his home. She shared her desperation with a friend who told her she should go to the Brethren Sewing School and that they would teach her for free.
She said, “I had never heard about the love of Jesus before coming to the sewing school.” And with tears running down her face she said she didn’t know anyone loved her that much. In the nine months she The Brethren Evangelist 9
“India” continued...
has been attending the school she has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and has moved into a small place of her own. She is looking forward to starting her own tailoring shop and serving the Lord at the Brethren Church. She is being mentored by Mrs. Salomi, a lady evangelist, and growing in her faith. “Praise the Lord” as the orphans would say.
When we visited the Brethren Charity Hospital to deliver medical supplies, I was a little surprised to see the doctor just standing there when the waiting area was full of sick people. I thought maybe he was just waiting for us, but I came to realize he was waiting for the Bible reading, prayer and praise that always precedes the patient visits. As with the sewing school, people do not have to be Christians to come for free medical attention, but they do have to hear the Word of God and be prayed for before seeing the doctor. This ministry reaches far beyond the city of Rajahmundry. Sick people will come from villages to receive medicines and be seen by the doctor. Before they leave they are given a Christian tract explaining the gift of God
10 Jan/Feb 2016
and His power to heal both physically and spiritually. There is a pastor available during this whole time to answer questions and pray for the patients.
As we visited in some of the village Brethren churches, we saw people hungry for the Word of God and passionate in their praise. Sudhir Kumar oversees the village pastors, and he has encouraged them to look for someone in their congregation that they can train and mentor. The hope is that this person would feel God’s leading and calling to become a pastor, perhaps taking over for their mentor someday or start a Brethren Church in a neighboring village. The village congregations are growing and new believers are being baptized. Along with that comes discipleship training where the villagers are taught how to live a Christ-filled life. I’m not going to lie, life is hard in India, but these poor village churches are filled with hope for the future, and are learning what it means to truly depend on God. You may never get the chance to go to India and witness first hand all the ministries that are being done
there in the name of the Brethren Church, but you can still be a part of discipleship in that country by daily praying for the workers in that harvest field. They cannot survive without prayer warriors lifting them up. You can also support the India mission financially with a one-time gift or a monthly sponsorship of an orphan child or village pastor. I am excited to see where God takes the Brethren in India and the Brethren all over the world as we continue to support, encourage, and labor together to further God’s Kingdom making disciples of all nations.
To Be Or N to Be Gloria Radcliff,
National WMS President
I
n the last article I wrote, I encouraged you to try to see people as Jesus sees people and respond to them as He would. This article is written in conjunction with the theme of this edition of The Evangelist, which is Discipleship/Mentoring. We hear the term “mentoring” quite frequently today. It seems to be really “in” right now, especially in Women’s Ministry, but it is really not new. The methods may be new, but the idea or “blueprint” is not. I know I have shared with you before that I have felt strongly for some time that the Lord is nudging me, giving me the desire to become involved in mentoring young women. I have attended conferences, seminars, read books and recently taken a class offered at a church in my community on mentoring. I want to share with you what I have learned in pursuing this, both in terms of what I think the Lord is telling me mentoring is and what it is not. As women meant to serve, we all are given opportunities to share our lives with other women, sharing what God has taught us in our becoming process in order to encourage them in their becoming process. This may be spiritually, emotionally or in the area of relationships. I believe He expects us to do that in a way that is natural for us. So, here is what I have discovered. Mentoring is a process, it is not a program. It is not something you can orchestrate or make happen. It involves relationship. It took me some time to “get this”. After the training class that I took, I wanted someone to pair me up with another woman that I could begin to mentor. When that didn’t happen, I
was disappointed and began to wonder if this was really what I was supposed to do. Maybe I had misunderstood God. As I continued to ask Him about this, He began to show me.
PRAY/PREPARE: I realized that I was expecting someone else to do the work for me, to find a mentee for me and tell me how to go about it. I was trying to make it a program. Even though I really wanted to be a mentor, I was scared. What if it was too time consuming? What if I didn’t have all the answers? What if I got in over my head? What if I failed? That’s why I wanted a program. I realized that all the things I was afraid of were not up to me. My responsibility is to be obedient and follow God’s lead and the rest is up to Him. My process began by asking the Lord to first prepare me in whatever way was necessary and then to bring a young woman into my sphere of influence with whom I could naturally begin to build a relationship with. I want to also emphasize that not only is this not a program, it is not a project! There must be that “compulsory click”, that intangible something that occurs when mentor and mentee are drawn to each other. When there is this “click”, a natural, comfortable relationship will follow. This is the foundation that is necessary for the relationship to grow. This is why pairing mentor with mentee does not work.
STUDY THE MASTER MENTOR: When I don’t know how to do something, I have no trouble asking someone who is a master of that particular art/task. Jesus was the Master Mentor, so that is who I went to. The next step for me was to study how Jesus mentored people. Learning to be an effective mentor requires studying the master mentor to see how He related to people. Jesus saw people not as who they were, but as who they could become. He loved them first with no regard to what He would get in return. He served them. He was willing to humble himself, get dirty and even wash feet. He was available. He met people where they were. He went to them and met them at their greatest point of need. He wasn’t concerned about his reputation, what people thought or what it would cost him. MENTOR WITH INTENTIONALITY: Even though I
The Brethren Evangelist 11
“To Be Or Not” continued... have indicated that this is a process and not a program, you can’t just assume it is going to happen automatically without spending some time thinking about what you want to accomplish, how you are going to go about it and how you are going to get there. I want to use the word “Mentor” as an acrostic to illustrate what I have found to be key elements in the mentoring process:
M – Make time for your mentee. You won’t have the time, you will need to make the time. Show her she is a priority and you value your time with her. Make the most of every opportunity – to have fun, make memories, walk alongside her. Maximize her strengths and minimize her weaknesses. That goes for you too! Don’t compare yourself to others and let Satan tell you that you cannot be an effective mentor. Do what works for you and your mentee.
E- Engage, Encourage and Enter her world. Listen to her life. Listen with a purpose, to let her know she is valued and accepted and to build trust. Enjoy the process and the relationship. Expect the Lord to teach you much and stretch you greatly in this process, but most of all, expect great blessing. This is not one sided!
N- Notice her. Read her, study her so that you
know her heart. You can’t make a difference in her life if you don’t know her hurts, struggles, needs, etc. This is important if you are going to lead her into a new or closer relationship with Christ.
T - Teach and train by modeling and walking
alongside her. Touch base often to see how she is doing or to let her know you are thinking about her/ praying for her . (text, email, phone, write notes of encouragement)
O – Obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Be
open and transparent with your mentee. You don’t have to have it all together. That will help her to be open and transparent with you. Hold her accountable and allow her to do the same for you.
R – Reach out, Respond and yes, even sometimes Rescue.
One of the reasons I have such a desire to be a mentor is that I have first-hand knowledge of how im-
12 Jan/Feb 2016
portant it can be in the life of a young woman. My youngest daughter is a young wife and mother of four very active and challenging boys. She is far enough away from home that she misses her family and does not have opportunity to get that one-onone, face-to-face advice and encouragement from Mom and siblings that she was used to receiving when she was home. I encouraged her to find someone she could talk to and build a relationship with. A couple of years ago, she met a lady about my age who was a MOPS mentor. She would attend the MOPS meetings (Mothers of Preschoolers) and just be available to the young moms. My daughter sought her out, and asked her if she would consider mentoring her. They began to meet and still continue to meet two years. later. They do some Bible study together, make crafts, talk, but mainly just spend some time together. My daughter has blossomed!! I am so grateful that this lady was and is willing to just “BE” for Amy. I want to be that person for someone else. I don’t know who it might be for you.
Maybe it is someone in your own family, daughter, daughter-in-law or granddaughter. Maybe it is someone you work with or a neighbor. God knows who it is and in His time, He will reveal that to you. Until that time, pray and prepare because it is not so much about what you do, as who you are. God has been faithful throughout my life to surround me with some extraordinary women to mentor and walk alongside of me in both the good times and the not so good times. Their greatest qualification to mentor was being women of integrity, living in close relationship with God and a willingness to love me and share their wisdom with me. That is what I was looking for. Now, as I pursue mentoring, that is what I am trying to do as God gives me opportunities. There is no magic formula, no step 1, 2, 3, and 4. My acrostic might look like that, but it is not. I hope it just gives you a jump start in your thinking.
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Look what He did with five loaves and two small fish because of the obedience of a small boy . “To be or not to be” all that God has created you to be; that is the question. As you have been asked a number of times, are you “up for the challenge?” I am!
SAVE the DATE
The 128th General Conference of the Brethren Church & ENGAGE Youth Conference
J U LY 18-22 Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio
The Brethren Evangelist 13
Composition of the Regional Boards of Oversight
from the Mid-Level Organization Task Force Dale R. Stoffer
One element of the regionalization proposal adopted by the 2015 General Conference that received pushback in several of the presentations by the Mid-level Task Force is the composition of the Regional Boards of Oversight, specifically the inclusion of lay leaders on these boards. The task force felt it would be helpful to respond directly to the concerns raised by sharing our rationale for this aspect of the proposal. COMPOSITION Let me begin by sharing details about the composition of the Regional Boards of Oversight (hereafter RBOs). As proposed by the Mid-level Task Force, the RBOs would be composed of qualified leaders—both elders and laity—who would be elected by the congregations within a given region on rotating, two-year renewable terms. An equal number of elders and laity would be
14 Jan/Feb 2016
elected each year. Board members could serve three consecutive full terms, but they would then become eligible for re-election only after going off the board for at least one year. In addition to the elected members, the regional resource person (a Mobilize coordinator) would also serve as a member of the board with voice and vote. CONCERNS There were varied concerns raised about having lay people on RBOs. The most common concern was giving lay leaders authority over pastors and over those in the licensure/ordination process. Some who raised this concern noted that currently most district boards with these responsibilities are composed exclusively of ordained elders. A second concern related to whether lay leaders have sufficient knowledge concerning the actual responsibilities of pastors. It was felt that lay people might not be able to make decisions that were sensitive to the realities faced by pastors. A third concern, related to the previous one, was whether lay leaders have the spiritual maturity to make fair judgments about the life and work of pastors and of those in the licensure/ ordination process. RATIONALE The task force took into account biblical, historical, and theological considerations in their recommendation for lay presence on RBOs. There is very little data within the New Testament related to the role of the laity in relation to pastors. While it is true that the apostles or their representatives seemed to have the authority to appoint elders directly (see Titus 1:5), this practice appears to have been limited to the beginning stages of new congregations in the apostolic period. The practice, as it later developed in the early church, was for congregations to select their own pastors. One interesting verse, however, related to our discussion, is Paul's statement in 1 Timothy 5:19 that accusations could be brought against an elder only if there were two or three witnesses. Elders were to be held accountable, presumably by even laity, but the verse does not indicate who was involved in deciding what action should be taken regarding the accused elder. I will focus my historical comments on Brethren prac-
tice, though it is noteworthy that at least one tradition, the Calvinist or Reformed tradition, does include lay people (in their setting called "elders") with ordained ministers in the process of pastoral and congregational oversight. Brethren practice up to the end of the 1800s always placed the authority for calling and selecting ministers and elders in the local congregation. (In this they followed the Anabaptists and Mennonites.) The entire membership was involved in this discernment and selection process. Among the Brethren, ministers and elders were not viewed as having a higher status than the laity. This was reflected in their meetinghouse architecture. There was never a raised platform on which the ministers were seated. They were on the same level as all the other members of the congregation. They had been set apart, based on their spiritual giftedness and maturity, as "servants of the Word" within their home congregation. But there was no perception of hierarchy among the Brethren that placed elders or ministers above the rest of the body by virtue of their ordination. They were, nonetheless, to be respected as those called to share the Word of God and serve the spiritual needs of the flock. Theologically, the Brethren have taken seriously the priesthood of all believers. All members of the body have received the Holy Spirit when they came to faith in Christ. (Laying on of hands after baptism symbolizes this truth for the Brethren.) Brethren have maintained that because of the inner presence of the Spirit, believers have the spiritual prerequisite for understanding and applying Scripture;
they don't need to rely on a pastor or priest to interpret Scripture for them. There is also the assumption that every believer, because of the inner dwelling of the Spirit, has the ability to discern spiritual things and grow in spiritual maturity and discernment (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; also Ephesians 4:11-13). We no longer need to rely on a human priest to communicate God's grace and blessings to us; we all have direct access to God and to every spiritual blessing "we need for life and godliness" (see 2 Peter 1:3-8). These truths apply equally to laity and ministers and clearly indicate that spiritual maturity and discernment are gifts and blessings made available to all members of the body of Christ, though clearly there is a growth process involved. It is true that, since the early 20th century, elders in the Brethren Church have had oversight of other ministers and of the licensure and ordination process once a local congregation calls a person to ministry. But there does not seem to be a biblical, historical, or theological mandate for this precedent. Indeed, much of the evidence cited above seems to indicate that lay leaders who have attained a certain level of spiritual maturity and discernment should be qualified to be involved in the licensure and ordination process and in the oversight of ministers. It is also the case that in the local congregation laity on leadership boards or pastor-congregational relations boards are regularly involved in the process of evaluating the work and ministry of their pastor.
POSITIVE FEATURES There are in fact some solid reasons for having laity included on RBOs. First, if there is concern that laity don't fully understand the pastoral role, their inclusion on this board would offer an excellent opportunity for expanding their knowledge of the pastoral office. I have known many laity over the years who evidenced the maturity needed for such service. Second, the RBOs have several executive roles for which gifted lay leaders would be very qualified: serving as liaisons to other regional ministries, selecting or affirming people serving with Regional Boards of Mission and Mobilize, and overseeing the selection process for members of the RBO. Third, congregational oversight would certainly benefit from having the perspective of lay people. Finally, the argument can be made that the licensure/ ordination process and the oversight of pastors should include lay people because of the unique perspective that they can bring. The very same qualities that should be looked for in elders serving on RBOs should be expected in lay members. If due diligence is done in seeking laity with such qualities as spiritual maturity, discernment, fairness, personal integrity, and confidentiality, we may indeed discover that laity can make valuable contributions to the work of RBOs. If you have questions about the regional reorganization process, contact Ronald W. Waters at 330-525-7169 or RonaldWWaters@gmail.com. The Brethren Evangelist 15
BRETHREN CONNECTION Explore the Call. Expand the Family. by Cory Smith Brethren Connection Coordinator FAMILY IS A STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL THING. Our families can be a source of either deep pride or biting insecurity – sometimes both at the same time! Family shapes our identities and links us to a community and vision larger than ourselves. But if nothing else, our family is just that – ours. For all our ups and downs, I believe God has some huge plans for our Brethren Church family in the coming years. As the new coordinator of the leadership development initiative called Brethren Connection, I am excited to work at building into the next generation of leaders in our family. Some of you may have heard of this initiative as Brethren Academy. With the help of funding from a grant at Ashland University from the Lilly Foundation, this initiative has now expanded to incorporate some new elements in what we are collectively calling Brethren Connection. Here’s a look at some of what’s to come. “FAMILY” EVENTS One of the opportunities I am
16 Jan/Feb 2016
most looking forward to is visiting church youth groups to talk about ministry calling and identity. I’d love to talk with any of you about what it could look like for me to visit and put together an event for your youth to talk about their place in God’s kingdom! This can take place in a variety of different ways - from a simple pop-in visit to get to know your youth group, to a larger event where a team of our Ashland University students can come in for a night of worship and teaching. Feel free to contact me with any ideas or questions! BRETHREN ACADEMY The week prior to Engage Youth Conference this year, Brethren Connection we’ll have a week-long leadership training event for Brethren students exploring a call to ministry. This particular event is made possible by funds received from the Lilly grant to offer this leadership development event for at least the next four years. This will include times of teaching, service, worship, and opportunities to discern calling with small groups and
spiritual directors. Participating students will get to attend Engage youth conference the following week for free! DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES We are working on developing resources for youth groups to use to better articulate and live into our unique Brethren values, as well as to equip our students to think about their calling and role in the church. Within this next year, we’ll be releasing the Brethren Witness Primer. This eight-week study is a companion piece to A Brethren Witness for the 21st Century, specifically designed to help small groups of students to start putting these values into action in their lives. My hope is that through these opportunities, we can faithfully respond to God’s goodness by passing on the faith to the next generations. God has big plans for his people. Will you be a part of investing in the future of His family?
Press Release Ashland University Lily Grant helps establish Brethren Academy. from AU Press Release by Steven Hannan
Ashland has received receiveda aLilly Lilly Endowment grant AshlandUniversity University has Endowment Inc.Inc. grant ofof$472,174 that will willallow allowthe theUniversity University establish a Brethren $472,174 that to to establish a Brethren Academy on campus. Academy “The purpose of the Brethren Academy project is to deepen the “The the Brethren Academy project is to deepen the faith purpose of youngof people by helping them think theologically, while developing thepeople next generation of them Brethren leaders from among faith of young by helping think theologically, while high school students with denominational ties, ” said Ashland developing the next generation of Brethren leaders from among Chaplainwith Jasondenominational Barnhart. University’s high school students ties," said AU’s UniThe initiative hasJason been renamed versity Chaplain Barnhart.Brethren Connection and working collaboratively with Brethren Leadership Development will help to foster healthy connections Brethren Churches while providing “From the perspectives of with the University and our partners – Ashpractical pathways for youth and young adults to explore ministry land Theological Seminary and the Brethren Church National calling.– A Connection helping youth young of adults Office theBrethren Brethren Academy isproject holds theand promise get connected to their heritage and their calling in ministry. revitalizing the denomination while strengthening ties between Cory Smithand is the Connection Coordinator andfrom he said the Church theBrethren University and Seminary that grew it,” “I’m most excited about seeing more students see where they’ve Barnhart said. come from, where they are going, and what God is doing in their life.” “I want them to see life is about something bigger than According they are.” to Barnhart, this project’s purpose is also an extension of – and adapts and builds on – Ashland’s recent development According to Jason, this project’s purpose is also an extension with these same partners of a collaborative theological institute of—and adapts and builds on—Ashland’s recent development for Ashland University and it will follow institute the pattern of these same partners ofstudents, a collaborative theological for ofAshland an existing one-week religious ministry leadership training University students, and it will follow the pattern of an program for undergraduates. existing one-week religious ministry leadership training program for undergraduates. “This willhelp helpstrengthen strengthenour ourrelationship relationship with Breth“This initiative initiative will with Brethren ren groups,” henoted. noted.“By “By recruiting to 100 Brethren students groups, ” Jason recruiting upup to 100 Brethren students a asummer, summer,this thisinitiative initiative will help establish Ashland top for will help establish Ashland as a as topa school Brethren those exploring kingdom call for their calllives.” school forstudents Brethrenand students and thoseaexploring a kingdom ing for their lives.” The Brethren Evangelist 17
BITS & PIECES Thomas Stoffer, 93 passed away January 14, 2016. Thomas had a distinguished record of service
to the Brethren Church. He was an active member of both the Canton Trinity and (Ashland) Garber Brethren Churches; he and Donna ministered at both churches as deacons and Sunday School teachers. He served the Ohio Conference of the Brethren Church as treasurer and member of the executive committee from 1965 to 1991. At the denominational level he was a member of The Missionary Board of the Brethren Church from 1967 to 1976 and from 1977 to 1986 and served as its president from 1975 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1986. He served as a member (1987-2006) and treasurer of the Board of Directors for Brethren Care, Inc. of Ashland, and as a member and president of the Board of Directors of the Carpenter’s Shop in Ashland, a full-line Christian bookstore. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Donna Rupert; son, Richard (Cathy) Stoffer; son, Dale (Marcia) Stoffer; daughter, Sue Ellen (Bruce) Ronk, all of Ashland; and daughter, Sharon (Herb) Matyas of North Prairie, Wisconsin; sister, Ellen (Ray) Sluss of Sebring, Ohio; brother, Robert (Joanne) Stoffer of Gainesville, Georgia; 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Dr. Don Rinehart, 78 passed away January 24, 2016. Don is survived by
the love of his life, his wife, Janet (Klingensmith) Rinehart, his three children, Melissa Hoffman of York, Maine, Melinda Ward of Ashland, Ohio and Todd Rinehart of Cincinnati, Ohio, his nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Don & Jan served at Smithville Brethren Church and then Don began to teach at Ashland College where he taught for 45 years. During his tenure at Ashland, he concurrently pastored The First Congregational Church in Lexington OH for 24 years. Above all, Don loved the Lord, Jesus Christ, and his greatest passion was in the service of God and the church. He was absolutely devoted to Ashland University, dedicating his life to the service of the students, the religion department, and the athletic teams. He loved sharing the Gospel Story with his students in his Bible courses and he loved cheering on the University football and basketball teams, where his passion often extended to helping the officials make the right call.
Marjorie Meyer,
98 passed away January 8, 2016. Marjorie and her husband Virgil together served three pastorates in The Brethren Church: Gratis, Ohio, Waterloo, Iowa and Nappanee, Indiana. They moved to Ashland in 1956 when Virgil became the director of Religious Affairs at Ashland College. She was a devoted member of Park St. Brethren Church. She is survived by two daughters, Janet Sprague, and Julie (Robert) Keller, and one son, John Meyer, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
18 Jan/Feb 2016
News from the BRETHREN ARCHIVES TASK FORCE
by Dale Stoffer
O
ne of the newest official organizations recognized by the Executive Board of the Brethren Church is the Brethren Archives Task Force. The mission of this task force is “to collect, preserve, and make accessible materials related to the history and life of the Brethren Church. To this end, the task force is committed to maintaining a physical space for the collection, to raising awareness of contributing appropriate materials to the collection, and to seeking funds for the preservation and expansion of the collection.� The task force is currently composed of Dick Winfield, Brad Weidenhamer, Steve Williams, David Roepke, the Ashland University archivist, and Dale Stoffer. The archives is presently housed in the lower level of the Brethren Church National Office in Ashland, Ohio, and preserves materials related to the history of the Brethren Church, Ashland University, and Ashland Theological Seminary. It contains a climate-controlled vault that holds many rare materials, some as old as the seventeenth century, that are connected with the early Brethren movement in Germany and America. It contains many eighteenth century works published by the Ephrata and the Sauer presses, both of which had connections with the Brethren.
You are invited to tour the archives when you are in Ashland and can make an appointment to do so with Paula Strickland at the National Office at 419-289-1708. The archives has recently acquired some very rare publications of groups that influenced the early Brethren in Germany. One publication is the second Dutch edition of the famous Mennonite martyrology, Martyrs Mirror. Printed in 1685 in Amsterdam, this edition is noted for its 104 illustrations using copper etchings prepared by Jan Luyken. Many of the early Brethren would have owned a German translation of this work published by the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster, PA, in 1748. This German edition was the largest book printed in America prior to the Revolutionary War. The archives owns two copies of this work. A second work that was recently acquired was a rare Radical Pietist translation of the Bible in German by Heinrich Horch known as the Marburg Bible (1712). The Brethren were influenced by the Radical Pietist movement while in Germany, though they did eventually reject some of its more mystical and radical teachings. A third book is a devotional publication by the eighteenth century Mennonite pastor, Johannes Deknatel, consisting of eight sermons. Deknatel reflected a Pietist
spirit that was similar to that of the Brethren. I end this update of the work of the task force with an appeal to the Brethren to be aware of the archives and our desire to preserve our history and heritage. If you have Brethren materials that you would like to donate to the collection, please send them our way. If you are not sure whether we would be interested in them, contact me (home phone: 419281-6291 or email: dstoffer@zoominternet.net) and I would be glad to talk with you about your materials. Also, we welcome any official records from churches and districts. Any churches that close should send their official records to the archives. As we phase out districts and move to regions, districts should also forward any official records of their meetings and work to the archives. We are the sole archives for the Brethren Church and seek to serve the interests of the denomination. If you would like to make a donation for the work of the archives, please send it to the Brethren National Office in Ashland in care of Tony Van Duyne and designated for the archives.
The Brethren Evangelist 19
The Brethren Evangelist (SSN 0747-4288) is published quarterly by The Brethren Church, Inc., 524 College Ave., Ashland, OH 44805-3792 (telephone: 419-289-1708; email: brethren@brethrenchurch.org; fax: 419-281-0450. Authors’ views are not necessarily those of The Brethren Church. Subscription rates: Sent free to Brethren Church members; $15.00 per year to others. Member, Evangelical Press Association. Postage: Paid at Ashland, Ohio or additional mailing office at Mansfield, Ohio. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Brethren Church, 524 College Ave., Ashland, OH 44805-3792. Jan/Feb 2016, Vol. 138, No. 1
The Brethren Church 524 College Ave. Ashland, OH 44805
Please let us know when you are moving. This will save us much-needed funds for ministry.
BRETHREN
One Time Gift of: $ ________________ LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT _________________________________ Name _________________________________ Brethren Leadership Development is focused Address Yes! I’d Like to Help
on developing uniquely Brethren leaders. Fund-
_________________________________ ing that's given to BLD help provide for learning City, State, Zip opportunities through national conferences and _________________________________ Phone # seminars, like Catalyst or Q Conference. Funds ________________________________
also helps support the ongoing development of the Brethren Witness Project; which has launched The Brethren Witness for the 21st Century, and Please complete the information above, the forthcoming Brethren Witness Primer. Addidetach this form, and mail it to the address below, or call the toll-free number. tionally, funds are used to equip and encourage pastors and leaders; as well as provide self-dis Secure contributions may also covery opportunities through assessments and be made online through PayPal by going coaching. The funds that are given to BLD reach to www.brethrenchurch.org/contributions. and impact both current leaders as well as future leaders, as they help shape General Conference Thank You for Your Contribution! and Engage Conference. Thank you for sup The Brethren Church porting the ministry of BLD and helping to shape 524 College Ave. the leadership of our tribe, today and tomorrow. Ashland, OH 44805
Home Church
1-877-289-1708