The Messenger Vol. 52 No. 1 January 2014

The Messenger Volume 52 No. 1 January 2014

Issues PHOTO: DESIGNPICS

INSIDE:

Social justice page 6 Parent-child dedications page 9 Interpreting scripture page 12 Cremation page 20 $2.00

Editorials

The golden age of Anabaptism

W

hen was the golden age of Anabaptism?

Perhaps 1525 to 1528, when the first Anabaptist baptisms take place in Zurich and courageous early leaders began to shape the movement.

These were the years when leaders died young from varied causes: Hans Denck (plague), Conrad Grebel (plague), Balthasar Hubmaier (burned at the stake), Felix Manz (executed by drowning), and Hans Hut (a fire in his prison cell). In 1527 a gathering of leaders decided to evangelize Europe, with so many soon dying for their faith it has been called the Martyrs’ Synod.

Or we could go to the start of the EMC (then Kleine Gemeinde) in Russia in 1812, which historian Delbert Plett

saw as the purest form of Prussian Anabaptism. It was both a restorative and a restrictive movement; when some of us look back, it is hard to see this period as the golden age.

Actually, the golden age of Anabaptism is now. Never before has the Anabaptist church been as large, as widespread, as culturally diverse, or having such a degree of impact on the known world. Today we are evangelizing in more countries—with more conferences, related organizations, and institutions formed—than ever before.

Despite the planet’s current troubles, the golden age of Anabaptism is now. In 2014, let us take advantage of when we live. May we seek to live faithfully for Christ today, touched by earlier passions and concerns for holiness.

– Terry M. Smith

Despite the planet’s current troubles, the golden age of Anabaptism is now.

••

On titles and tags

H

ow do we reduce unhealthy distinctions between members and ministers in the EMC? When it is fitting, sometimes I write (Rev.) after

my name.

Why not put Rev. before a name? Before, it is actually “the Reverend.” But what does this mean? It could refer to an office, describe a person’s devotion, or mean they are worthy of respect.

However, the title is not given in Scripture and the second and third uses pose problems—for God is the one to revere and who is worthy of reverence.

Should ministers be respected? Yes, as leaders “who must give an account” (Heb. 13:17). Are ministers called to greater reverence than other Christians? No, though we are imperfect models. Use of “the Rev.” improperly widens the gap between Christians. Similarly, when is using “Pastor” okay or not?

My preference is that ministers not wear clerical gowns

or collars. Some Anabaptist leaders use the collar; and a photo of Dr. J. C. Wenger, in his plain clothes, shows him appear much like a Roman Catholic priest with a collar.

Should ministers see themselves as professionals?

While we seek to serve well, use of the term “professional” seems wrong.

Similarly to a medical doctor or a lawyer, a ministerial candidate can go through a lengthy study period, internship, and affirmation by a credentialing body; afterward, periodic upgrading can be expected.

Perhaps two key differences are these: a minister responds to a particular call by God and community and serves whether paid or not.

Being a minister is a calling, not a career. Unlike finishing a course of studies, ordination is not a personal achievement. Those ordained deserve our prayers and blessing, not congratulations.

– Terry M. Smith

Being a minister is a calling, not a career.

2 The Messenger • January 2014

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

4

The Church and social justice: plumbers and engineers needed – Dr. Pierre Gilbert

9

Should we rethink parent-child dedications?

– Terry M. Smith

12 The new evangelical way of (not) arguing – Dr. John Stackhouse

Departments 2

Editorials

3

Pontius’ Puddle

15 With Our Missionaries 16 With Our Churches

Writings Shared

14 An Education App

Churches and public relations – Terry M. Smith

20 Further In and Higher Up Is cremation the way to go?

– Layton Friesen

page

9

26 Here and Far Away

Thanksgiving precedes the miracle – Jocelyn R. Plett

27 Stewardship Today

page

14

Evaluating charities requires asking the right questions – Darren Pries-Klassen

28 Kids’ Corner

What is your gift?

– Loreena Thiessen

21 News 24 In Memory 25 Shoulder Tapping

page

18

page

23

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger

Columns • Writings Shared

Volume 52 No. 1 January 2014

Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Francis I (Vatican City: Vatican Press, 2013), 224 pp., free download. ISBN 9788821591389. Reviewed by Russell Doerksen (Fort Garry), BA, MDiv, BCM member.

EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH

ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER

Submissions to The Messenger should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca.

The Messenger is the monthly publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. It is available to the general public.

Its purpose is to inform concerning events and activities in the denomination, instruct in godliness and victorious living, inspire to earnestly contend for the faith.

Letters, articles, photos and poems are welcomed.

Unpublished material is not returned except by request.

Views and opinions of writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Conference or the editors. Advertising and inserts should not be considered to carry editorial endorsement.

The Messenger is published by the EMC Board of Church Ministries, 440 Main St, Steinbach, Man., and is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press.

Subscription rates 1 year $24 ($30 U.S., $45 foreign) 2 years $44 ($55 U.S., $85 foreign) 3 years $65 ($82 U.S., $125 foreign) Manitoba residents add 8% PST. Digital only subscriptions: $15 per year.

Single copy price: $2 Subscriptions are voluntary and optional to people within or outside of the EMC. Subscriptions are purchased by the Conference for members and adherents.

Change of address and subscriptions Undelivered copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be addressed to: 440 Main St, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Phone: 204-326-6401 Fax: 204-326-1613 E-mail: messenger@emconf.ca www.emconference.ca/messenger Second-class postage paid at Steinbach, Manitoba.

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for our publishing activities.

Advertising The Messenger does not sell advertising, but provides free space (classified and display) to enhance our Conference, its churches, boards, and ministries; inter-Mennonite agencies and educational institutions; and the wider church. Ads and inquiries should be sent to messenger@emconf.ca.

THE MESSENGER schedule: No. 05– May (copy due March 08)

4 The Messenger • January 2014

O

n Nov. 26, 2013, Francis I released his first Apostolic Exhortation, outlining the aims of his papacy. It is entitled Evangelli Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel.

Evangelli Gaudium is aptly named as it reads like an evangelical document. In it, all existing ecclesial structures are called to be rethought in order that Christ and the spread of the Gospel may become the primary focus (25).

The exhortation condemns oppressive systems, commands evangelization, and is saturated in its entirety with a deep love of Christ.

As evangelical Anabaptists we should find this emphasis placed on evangelization encouraging, as it is largely in line with our own beliefs.

However, there are still notable differences between our two traditions. For example, Francis specifies that peaceful living is not the same as pacifism (168). There can be no peace while some are oppressed by systems present and we are called to fight against oppression for the common good (170).

Guidelines for letters

Letters published are generally to comment on issues raised in The Messenger. The magazine reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, legality, and taste. It can refuse publication.

Letters by regular mail and by fax must contain a handwritten signature with at least the writer’s first and last names and an address. For letters by

You want it sooner!

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

EVANGELII GAUDIUM OF THE HOLY FATHER

FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY, CONSECRATED PERSONS AND THE LAY FAITHFUL ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL IN TODAY’S WORLD

As Anabaptists we agree that oppression must be fought, but wholeheartedly endorse pacifism.

We believe that it is possible to fight the good fight while adhering to nonviolence, and we have proven this throughout our history.

Our disagreements aside, we should be encouraged that the emphasis of the new papacy is to refocus the Church on spreading the gospel.

Evangelli Gaudium does not do away with our traditions’ differences, but it is a reminder that our similar desire to spread and live the love of Christ is what is truly important. e-mail, the writer’s name and email address are deemed to be an electronic signature. The writer’s regular postal address is to be included in e-mail correspondence.

The writer’s name and general address are to be published. In sensitive matters, names may be withheld. Letters to the editor are to be 250 words or less.

During the past 10 months The Messenger, and the EMC Missionary Prayer Calendar, has sometimes been late. We apologize for this. We are actively making changes to prevent this from recurring. Your patience is appreciated.

- The Editors

News

EMC General Board upholds traditional view of marriage Letter presented at CCAL meeting WINNIPEG, Man.—Twice a year, the General Secretary and the Moderator of the EMC meet together with the leaders of other Anabaptist denominations and with MCC. This informal group is known as the Canadian Council of Anabaptist Leaders (CCAL). These meetings provide opportunities for sharing ideas, discussing issues that are of mutual interest, and encouraging and praying for one another.

At the most recent CCAL meeting in December 2013, we spent a significant amount of time discussing how same sex relationships are affecting the church. The Mennonite Brethren had recently conducted a study conference on this issue, which they gave a report about. Mennonite Church Canada has a task force that has been guiding the

church through a discussion on the issue. CCAL members were given the opportunity to discuss the matter with this task force.

by Tim Dyck The EMC General Board had preGeneral Secretary pared a letter in advance that was presented to the task force of Mennonite Church Canada. In the letter we acknowledged that any departure from the traditional biblical view of marriage would have an effect on all Mennonite denominations.

We urged Mennonite Church Canada to uphold the biblical view of marriage as being between one man and one woman for life.

EMC observer sent to Mennonite Brethren discussion Conference Pastor views sexuality conference EDMONTON, Alta.—On behalf of the EMC and its General Board, I attended a study conference in October 2013 held by the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, in Edmonton, Alta.

Entitled Honouring God with the Body, the event focused on human sexuality. As I expected, there were both keen interest and a potentially charged atmosphere.

Study conference participants were keenly aware of the importance of the discussions before us.

The plenary sessions were arranged thematically, beginning with Dr. John Stackhouse, a professor at Regent College (Vancouver), providing an overview of how sexuality has been viewed and discussed in Canada historically and today. The second plenary speaker was Robert Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary who presented biblical exegesis of passages pertaining to sexuality.

The final plenary speakers were Manitoba pastors John Neufeld (The Meeting Place) and John Unger (Fort Garry MB), who focused on pastoral needs and responses to sexuality issues in the church and in society. These

talks are available online at www. worldplaylive.com/events/mb-studyconference-2013 (username: conf2013; password: mb13pass).

The last afternoon session featured an opportunity for people to bring

by Ward Parkinson comments, reflections, concerns and Conference Pastor questions to the floor. Overall, the tone was appreciative of the presenters’ work and of the courage of many for sharing their stories.

Several people expressed concern that biblical values and standards be upheld, imploring fellow MB churches not to cave in to cultural pressure. Many people resonated with the pastoral challenges discussed, including ministering to those with family members who have “come out.”

Holding to truth does not absolve us of the need for caring pastoral ministry to all in our communities.

It was a privilege to attend this study conference. These are real issues that our EMC churches are wrestling with.

May God give us wisdom and oneness.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 5

The Church and social justice: plumbers and engineers needed

PHOTO: DESIGN PICS

by Dr. Pierre Gilbert

6 The Messenger • January 2014

S

ocial justice is on everyone’s lips these days. While governments, non-profit organizations, and companies may be forced to calibrate their involvement in social causes in the light of looming deficits and shrinking bottom lines, and while many individuals may just retreat altogether due to their own financial challenges, Christians do not have the luxury of simply shielding their eyes and their hearts from those in need.

While Christians would agree, what does that exactly entail? Common sense dictates that there is more involved here than simply one’s ability to give.

Questions such as what constitutes true Christian compassion, how we prioritize limited resources in the face of overwhelming needs, and whether we can or should explicitly maintain some degree of public Christian identity must be addressed.

Such issues are exceedingly difficult to answer.

The best strategy, even if the outcome proves to be less than ideal, consists in clarifying the basic premises. What are some of the important principles that apply to the issue of social justice?

to Jesus’ discourse, it is crucial we at least clarify who exactly the poor were. Strictly speaking, there is not an exact equivalence between those we commonly refer to as the “poor” in North America and the “poor” in ancient Israel.

In Old Testament times, the poor were those who could not literally take care of themselves, either because of a physical handicap or because they were disconnected from their immediate family network, as was sometimes the case for widows and orphans. The constellation of social agencies we take for granted simply didn’t exist.

The family unit represented the average Israelite’s primary safety net. In accordance with the principles of personal responsibility found in the Pentateuch (see Gen. 3:14-24; 4:7; Lev. 26:3, 14, 15; Deut. 28:1, 15), and which are even to this day at the heart of Jewish culture, able-bodied men were expected to support themselves and families were responsible to look after their own. Paul echoes these axioms in 2 Thess. 3:10-11 and 1 Tim. 5:8.

Some readers will surely point out that the Old Testament prophets were quite strident in their calls for social justice. Micah 6:8 is often quoted as the classic expression of the prophetic concern for the poor: He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Fair enough. But contrary to popular opinion, Micah was no Marxist. It would be a mistake to think that the prophetic books were simply about the struggle of the poor against the rich.

The injunctions found in these books target every layer of Israelite society. The poor are condemned for indulging in a kind of idolatry that expresses itself in the creation of places of worship dedicated to foreign gods.

As for the rich, they are rebuked, because they harness their resources to corrupt the priests, the judges, and the prophets; their intent being to steal land and property. The sin of the upper class then? A form of idolatry that takes ➢

It would be a mistake to think that the prophetic books were simply about the struggle of the poor against the rich.

The Poor: then and now

The first principle is a non-negotiable. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to express love and care for all, and especially so for the poor. Jesus himself said that whatever we do for “one of the least of these,” the stranger, the homeless, and the hungry, it is for him that we do it (Matt.

25:40). As Jesus gave his own life to give us what we most desperately needed, life itself, so are we to give our lives for others.

The Old Testament constantly reminds us of the necessity to care for the poor and destitute.

These injunctions found in the Pentateuch and the prophetic books reflect the very core of the Sinai covenant and are in fact an expression of God’s very own heart. Simple enough, right?

Well, not quite.

If we are going to invoke Jesus’ words or the Old Testament, which represents the backdrop

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 7

PHOTO: DESIGN PICS

the shape of a vicious economic attack mainly against the farming class, which in ancient Israel roughly corresponds to our own middle class.

As disgraceful as stinginess might be, it is not a mere lack of generosity that the prophets critique! The source of their anger is the systematic destruction of the mechanisms that enabled Israelite society to create wealth.

By their predatory behavior, the rich were in fact destroying the structures that enabled average Israelites to support themselves. Now that’s a reason to get agitated, for when a society (intentionally or not) moves in a similar direction, it rapidly becomes a vast poverty-producing “factory.”

Plumbers and engineers

In God’s image

The Bible proclaims that men and women are created in the image of God. If that is indeed the case, then true Christian social activism must go beyond mere charity. At the very least, it will promote and cultivate, wherever possible, a sense of personal responsibility, self-reliance, and personal dignity that alone can enable men and women to live with courage, honour, and resourcefulness in difficult times.

Because human beings are infinitely more than the sum of their appetites (Matt. 4:4), Christian social action should both emerge out of the Gospel and seek to integrate the message of the Gospel.

While we may not always be in a position to proclaim openly the claims of Christ, it is delusional to think that we can create an impenetrable firewall between our concrete expression of God’s love in the world and the proclamation of the Good News (Matt.11:5).

If God is always looking for plumbers to take care of the messes that are inherent to the human condition, he also calls engineers to address the structural causes that lead to “plugged toilets.”

Christ calls the Church to express his love towards all, and particularly so, the poor and the downtrodden. In that sense, Christians are a little like plumbers who are tasked with “unplugging toilets” whenever it is needed, without asking questions or counting the cost.

But that is not all. In the image of God himself who addressed the root cause of the human condition, true Christian love also seeks to figure out why the “toilet is plugged.” If God is always looking for plumbers to take care of the messes that are inherent to the human condition, he also calls engineers to address the structural causes that lead to “plugged toilets.”

Concretely, this means, for example, that Christians are not only responsible to assist

8 The Messenger • January 2014

victims of oppression; like the prophets of old, they also seek to neutralize the forces that cause oppression in the first place. This is something the great abolitionist William Wilberforce had understood.

If we are going to be engineers who look for solutions and not merely plumbers who clean up messes, then it is imperative we become conscious of the historical and cultural distance that exists between the world of the Bible and ours. Clarity in this respect is absolutely essential not only to bypass superficial comparisons, but also to avoid being captured by harmful ideologies and policies mistakenly believed to be sanctioned by Scripture.

Pierre Gilbert, PhD, is associate professor of Old Testament and theology at Canadian Mennonite University, associate dean with MBBS Canada at CMU, a Mennonite Brethren minister, and author of Demons, Lies & Shadows (2008).

PHOTOS: INDESIGN

Should we rethink parent-child dedications?

by Terry M. Smith

W

e say in evangelical Anabaptist circles that there is no clear New Testament example of child baptism. Neither, it can be added, is there any example of parent-child dedication.

Perhaps we would benefit from being more aware of Christ’s grace toward children, while either clarifying the practice of parent-child dedication or removing it from within our congregations.

A slender basis

Who is being dedicated?

Who, precisely, is being dedicated: child, parents, or both? After reading of EMC churches holding a “child” dedication, a minister contacted me a few years ago to say that I should correct such descriptions. They were “parent” dedications, in his view.

As an editor I declined, holding that the descriptions needed to match what the individual churches saw as happening. Still, we can legitimately ask what should happen.

If Christian parents go through a ceremony, or refuse, does this change the spiritual status of a child?

Hannah’s dedication of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:25-28) is used within our EMC Minister’s Manual to illustrate the intentions behind parent-child dedication, but the passage is a weak basis for developing a formal practice.

When Samuel was dedicated, he was not blessed by a religious leader and returned to his parents.

Hannah dropped off Samuel at the Temple to be raised by the priest Eli, a highly unusual act.

Likewise, when Jesus blessed children who were presented spontaneously (Mark 10:13-16), parents made no commitment and the act did not become a formal practice of the New Testament-era Church. While Jesus’ action has also been used for centuries to defend infant baptism, it is about blessing those already in the Kingdom, not dedication or baptism.

Responding to what felt need?

In a parent-child dedication ceremony, parents make a wonderful commitment to raise their child in the Lord, they dedicate their child—and the church joins in. Far be it from me to squelch such commitments.

But what else happens? How much does this practice, though centuries-old in Baptist and Anabaptist circles, respond to the insecurity of people (with a past, however removed, in infant baptism) who fear that children without a ceremony are lost?

If Christian parents go through a ceremony, or refuse, does this change the spiritual status of a child? Do parents want to clarify the child’s

➢

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

status in the church, to ensure or to be reassured that the child is safe in Christ?

If going through a dedication ceremony is to make the child safe, the practice is misused (the Minister’s Manual says this). If it is to reassure parents that the child is safe, the ceremony is unnecessary, though perhaps helpful.

What is the child’s status?

The Anabaptist church’s historic position is that infants and children do not need protection by ceremony; they are already protected spiritually, “holy” (1 Cor. 7:14). A child is covered by Christ’s atoning work, and only if this act is rejected later does the individual become spiritually at risk (Rom. 5:12-21).

“We can see in little children that they have no awareness of sin and have never committed any,” Claus Felbinger, a Hutterian missionary martyred by beheading, said in 1560. “They have never provoked God’s wrath. And still they have to die to their own nature in their own way, just as much as we grown-ups; but sin does not harm their souls” (Confession of Faith, Plough Publishing House, 1978, 126-127).

J. C. Wenger, an Anabaptist leader and educator, said in 1955, “From their earliest years we should teach our children that they are objects of the love and mercy of God, not that they are lost sinners standing under His wrath. Small children should and will think of Jesus as their loving Shepherd, and of God as their heavenly Father, if they are properly taught” (in Gideon G. Yoder, The Nurture and Evangelism of Children, Herald Press, 1959, 134-135).

Church until they consciously

If going through a dedication choose not to be.

In dialogue with Reformed ceremony is to make the child leader Gellius Faber, Menno Simons was prepared in 1554 safe, the practice is misused. to say that children should

The Church of today or future?

Are children the Church of the future or of today? The answer is both. Marlin Jeschke, an Anabaptist minister, says children under the ministry of the Church, whether of Christian parents or not, are children of the Church (Believers Baptism for Children of the Church, Herald Press, 1983, 107).

While not yet baptized members, they are not outside of the Church. It is a designation worth pondering: children are part of the

10 The Messenger • January 2014

be considered a part of the Church: “That the children should be considered in the church on account of the promise [of Christ’s grace], to this we consent. But we deny that they should be included in the ordinances of the church, for this is out of keeping with all of Scripture and reason...” (Complete Writings, Herald Press, 708).

Maurice Martin

“Practically speaking, the practices of circumcision, infant baptism, and child dedication seem similar,” says Maurice Martin, an Anabaptist pastor and educator. “Theologically speaking, there are significant differences. The first two suggest in effect the child becomes part of the covenant community through the covenant commitments of the parents, ‘by proxy,’ so to speak.

PHOTO: DREAMSTIME

“In the believers’ church tradition, we believe that the event is really a parental dedication or commitment, and that that the child does not at that point become part of the covenant agreement. However, the child is as much part of the covenant community from birth as a part of the family, not by choice, but by circumstances.

“What the child makes of those circumstances will depend finally on him or her, but in the meantime the choices will be shaped and bent in that direction by the nurture of the parents and the church, the family of God” (Identity and Faith: Youth in a Believers’ Church, Herald Press, 1981, 83-84).

What, finally, provides the best spiritual protection for a child? It is the parents’ genuine daily following after Christ within a church that is conscious of the spiritual needs of the children in its midst.

There is value in parents going forward to commit themselves, together with the help of the church they are part of, to raise their child in the Lord. Yet such a commitment and reliance on the church can happen without the ceremony.

under-emphasize how the Church is surrounded by grace.

Our worship services are permeated by God’s grace. In our gathering together, grace is conveyed by the Holy Spirit who indwells believers individually and collectively; and the Spirit touches those not yet believers.

Paradoxically, then, there could be value in dropping the practice of parent-child dedication, while increasing our awareness of grace that exists in our life together as the Church. However, if we continue with a dedication service, leaders need to clarify what it means, who it is for, and what it can and cannot do.

Finally, learning from Hannah, there is nothing to stop parents from inwardly dedicating a child to the Lord (without leaving the child permanently at a local temple!)—and, as Jesus shows us, a church leader should only respond eagerly and positively to a spontaneous request that a child be blessed.

What, finally, provides the best spiritual protection for a child?

The highlighting of grace

In stressing that ceremonies such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper do not convey grace (at least not automatically), perhaps we Anabaptists

Terry M. Smith, Journalism Diploma, BRS (SBC), BRS (MBBC), MA student, is executive secretary to the EMC Board of Church Ministries, which has responsibilities in “Christian education” and “family life teaching.” He was raised in the United Church, (re-) baptized in a Baptist church, and has been involved in parentchild dedication services both as a pastor and as a parent. This article was published with the support of the EMC’s Education Committee.

Copies now available free.

Contact info@ emconf.ca or 204-326-6401. www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 11

The new evangelical way of (not) arguing Ignoring the Scriptures in favour of maximum individual freedom to be happy

PHOTO: DREAMSTIME

by Dr. John Stackhouse

W

hen we Evangelicals have argued with each other—over gender, divine foreknowledge, hell or whatever—we used to argue primarily over the Scriptures. We might also have had recourse to the sciences, history, tradition, ecclesiastical authorities, personal intuition or even common sense, but the deciding factor was always the Bible—at least in the way we have debated the issue, whatever else was really going on in terms of personal preferences and power politics.

Not now. The debates over homosexuality make that clear. And the implications of how we are debating loom far more important than even the crucial issues about sex, sexuality, gender, marriage and family.

Evangelicals are increasingly endorsing same-sex relationships—here in Canada, in America, in Britain and beyond. But the endorsements do not come with extensively worked-out scriptural rationales. Quite the contrary. They come merely appealing to the chief value of our post-1960s culture: personal liberty.

To be sure, most Christians don’t argue explicitly on the basis of freedom, but on the basis of justice and compassion. But the justice seen to be denied to homosexuals is the supposed right to marry—to be free to enjoy a same-sex

union without condemnation and, indeed, with the full affirmation of church, society and state. And what compassionate person wants to withhold all that from them?

This kind of thinking reflects the core moral concern held by the Baby Boomer generation— and now taken for granted by their progeny— namely, the maximum individual freedom to be happy.

I haven’t heard anyone arguing same-sex marriages can increase anyone’s holiness, to select a different value to appeal to. Such an argument is theoretically possible, but no one is making it.

And who is arguing same-sex marriages will further the proclamation of the gospel? Yes, some suggest welcoming samesex couples will make Christianity more acceptable, perhaps even opening a wider way for such couples to follow Christ and grow into Christian maturity. But such a claim cannot yet be proven by experience and certainly not by the Scriptures.

Ah, the Scriptures. I continue to be convinced that no substantial case can, in fact, be made for same-sex marriage on the basis of the Scriptures. But I am becoming convinced that question doesn’t even matter to many Evangelicals anymore.

The implications of how we are debating loom far more important than even the crucial issues about sexuality, marriage, and family.

12 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: DESIGN PICS

Postmodernism properly taught us to be skeptical about final claims to absolute truth proclaimed by authorities who in fact sought to keep the rest of us under control. But this attitude has been fuzzified into a license to believe whatever you like, without feeling any obligation to conform your This article is published with the views to what is support of the EMC’s General actually the case.

Board. The article’s basic position So if someone is consistent with published EMC (say, the Church) statements. claims the Bible restricts sex and We believe that the Scriptures, the marriage to a man Old and New Testaments, are the and a woman, well, inspired and infallible Word of God. that’s just one way They are the supreme and final of looking at it authority in all matters of faith and among others—who conduct (Matthew 5:18; 24:35; 2 can say for sure?— Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21) and so I’ll resolve (from “The Bible,” Statement of Faith, the matter on the 1994). basis of what I do take to be obvious Both the celibate single and the and fundamental, heterosexual married life are hon- namely the right of ourable and respectable in the sight every person to be of God…God instituted marriage happy as he or she for the intimate companionship of sees fit so long as no husband and wife and for the pro- one else is hurt in creation and nurture of children… the process. And I God’s will for marriage is the union certainly don’t want of one man and one woman (from to look like those “The Christian Home,” EMC Church Bible-thumping Practices, 1994). fanatics from Westboro Baptist Both Old and New Testaments Church. consistently present the practice This vulgar libof homosexuality negatively… As eralism is all there communities of faith we should is now, even in the give hope, be compassionate, be minds of otherwise good listeners, address root issues, sophisticated and be supportive of families and Christians, when individuals affected by the practice a moral push reof homosexuality (from EMC Posially comes to shove. tion Statement on the Practice of We’ve seen people Homosexuality, 1999). on opposing sides of various issues All statements are available from appeal to the Bible, our EMC national office. and who knows, really, what the

Bible says? So we turn instead to what we think we know. Personal freedom to pursue happiness is paramount, and justice must be served in a compassionate way.

This cultural tide has met little resistance in churches who spend their time moaning repetitive mumbles to Jesus and hearing entertaining “sermons” relying entirely on the sway of personalities. Neither songwriter nor preacher has felt obliged to articulate what the Bible actually says, much less to argue that this scriptural message ought to have binding authority on the congregation. So the ground of moral reasoning must lie elsewhere—in what “everybody knows.”

I might sound angry about this, but I’m actually just afraid. Once we give up on serious Bible study and resort instead to “the basic thrust” of the Bible, or “the main message of the gospel,” or some other convenient generalization, we have no place to stand against that tide, and nothing to offer our society that our society is not already saying to itself.

Yes, that’s right. We’ve become liberals, and that story does not have a happy ending. For anyone.

Dr. John Stackhouse is the Sangwoo Youtong Chee professor of theology and culture at Regent College. His most recent book is Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World (Oxford, 2008). This article is used with permission from Faith Today (June/July 2013). Free copies of that magazine are available at www.faithtoday.ca/digital. Faith Today is the publication of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, of which the EMC is a member.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 13

Columns • An Education App

Churches and public relations How effective is your church at public relations?

by Terry M. Smith

If the basic church body does not see itself as the evangelist, the few who serve as evangelists might find that people visit, but do not stay.

14 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: DESIGNPICS

A

pastor of fine creed and character might be a mediocre preacher, but if they visit effectively with people in their homes, he or she will likely be seen as a caring minister.

Some Christians have the gift and calling of being evangelists (Eph. 4:11). Some churches, however, get into trouble when they wrongly expect the pastor to be “the evangelist.” Not all pastors are evangelists; the roles are distinguished in Eph. 4:11.

Ultimately, the church is the evangelist (George Sweazey). Church members have the knowledge of and contacts within the wider community. They often remain in the community—while pastors might come and go—and if they have credibility, can minister to people, invite them, and include them.

However, if the basic church body does not see itself as the evangelist, the few who serve as evangelists might find that people visit, but do not stay. And if a pastor does bring in some people who are not well received by the congregation, church growth can be a challenge.

Some communities have a fairly sharp sense of who is in or out; it can be tough to break in.

Rather than challenge this exclusivity, some churches reinforce it. Yet we dare not “shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces” (Matt. 23:13).

Congregations need to periodically consider their public relations skills. For instance, I regularly pass by one church building whose sign contains only the church’s name—no service time, contact information, or note of welcome.

What could be the implied message? “This church is for insiders who invite others, and no more.” Is this really what the congregation wants or intends?

For generations the early Kleine Gemeinde,

part of which developed into the EMC, had a genuinely effective public relations campaign: people of non-Dutch/German backgrounds understood that they were unwelcome at worship services. The campaign’s success lingers. Today, depending on the setting, use of the term Mennonite can be attractive or a non-starter. How inviting is a local church’s label and to whom?

How do we welcome people at a service?

Consider these thoughts: “We welcome everyone here. Together, we are a congregation gathered in Christ’s name.” To say “a special welcome to visitors” can be positive—or subtly reinforce a sense of “these people aren’t us.”

Do you classify a person who attends once a month as a regular or a visitor? Consider this carefully. On Canadian trends, see Dr. Reg Bibby’s free online book, A New Day (2012).

Beware of making some newcomers uneasy by being publicly introduced, having to sign a register or fill out a card, or being given a nametag. Personal contact and follow-up are more important.

The Early Church relied on the Spirit, focused on the Word and prayer, and cared for each other (Acts 2). We can learn from this. But even the Early Church needed to brush up on its public relations—shown by Peter’s experience with Cornelius (Acts 10-11).

With Our Missionaries

Ernie and Diane Koop (Steinbach EFC) left Canada on Jan. 3, 2014, to begin serving with the EMC church planting team in the city of Guadalajara.

The church planting team has three couples serving in this city. Let’s pray together with John and Connie Reimer, Dallas and Tara Wiebe and Ernie and Diane. They want to share what Paul asked for in Col. 4:2-4: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

– Ken Zacharias Foreign Secretary

PHOTO: BOM

EMC church planting in Guadalajara, Mexico

Diane and Ernie Koop

50 Years of MCC in Canada Mennonite Central Committee in Canada: A History Esther Epp-Tiessen 346 pages, paper, $29.50.

ISBN 9780920718957 The history of MCC Canada comes out of a rich historical tradition.

Read this fascinating and complex story.

CMU Press cmupress.ca Toll Free 1-877-231-4570

Discovery Days FEBRUARY 27-28 GRADE 11 & UP

Attend 2 days of FREE campus life See what SBC life is like!

register @ www. SBCollege.ca OR call 204.326.6451

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 15

With Our Churches Crestview Fellowship

WINNIPEG, Man.—Have you started or finished your Christmas shopping? Got your tree up yet? Have you started your Christmas baking? Sound familiar?

These questions seem to dominate our conversations once December arrives so what a pleasure it is to attend a Sunday School Christmas program and focus on the reason for the season. Our program was held on Dec. 8, 2013, and since Sunday School is for everyone, participants of all ages presented the wonderful Christmas story with music, poems, and a skit “Footprints in the Snow.” The program was followed by a light supper (faspa) and a great time of fellowship.

Music, a children’s feature, and “Christmas By The Book” narration comprised the beautiful candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Our annual committee elections were held on Nov. 18.

Thank you to those who have served faithfully over the last years and have decided to let others have the opportunity to serve. A rest is good. Thanks also to those who have agreed to fill a vacant position or will be returning for another term. Your work does not go unnoticed.

Our congratulations to Lisa and Blaine on their recent

PHOTO: CRESTVIEW FELLOWSHIP

Christmas program gives reason for season

Christmas program participants

engagement. We wish you God’s blessing as you plan your future together.

Now that winter has arrived, many of our church family travel to warmer climates, some for a week or so, others for several months. We pray for safety in your travels and that you will return home refreshed and maybe a little tanned.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

– Sharron Straub

••

Pleasant Valley EMC

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE APRIL 4-5, 2014

Nicole Friesen is baptized

The Gospel

MOSES

Rediscovering the Gospel in the Old Testament with

Dan Block

Visit www.SBCollege.ca for more info

16 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: PV EMC

according to

ROSENORT, Man.—On Sunday, July 28, 2013, our church family rejoiced with Nicole Friesen on her baptism. She is the daughter of Mary and Jake (right). Pastoral couple Darren and Pearl Plett stand with her.

– Marilyn Kornelson

With Our Churches Steinbach EMC

STEINBACH, Man.—“… their number grew as God added those who were saved” (Acts 2). We praise God for those He has added to our church this past year. We were blessed on May 5, 2013, as we listened to the stories of God’s work in the lives of five young women and witnessed their baptism. Three other people transferred their membership.

In December 2013, during the Advent season, Alun Shiels, Megan Lupky, Susan Reimer and Ron Kornelson shared their testimonies and were baptized. What an appropriate time to publicly declare one’s allegiance to Jesus, Emmanuel, King of Kings, who came into this world to bring us salvation. Transferring their membership were Gordon and Diana Schellenberg, Karoline Schulze, Peter and Marina Radekop, and Brandon and Lindsey Post.

We have also said farewell to several members who have left us to serve the Lord elsewhere. Our director of worship arts, Shannon Sawatzky; her husband, Dale; and their children left for Malaysia in July 2013, where Shannon and Dale are teaching.

We thank God for sending Brandon Post to fill this position. Brandon and Lindsey met and got married in Germany and then moved to Manitoba, where Brandon is

PHOTO: SEMC

New members and staff changes

Baptized on May 5, 2013: (back) Anicka Esau, Elizabeth Friesen, Dawna Shiels, (front) Gabrielle Blanchette, Madeline Drolet.

studying at Providence.

We were disappointed when Rick Bettig, our associate pastor, announced that he and his wife, Phylis, had accepted a call to pastor the Creston Baptist Church in B.C., after having served us faithfully for five years. We will miss them but wish them joy, wisdom and God’s blessing in their new ministry.

John and Joyce Dyck have left for Mexico again to teach at the Steinreich Bible School for a few months.

– Martha Kroeker

•• Kleefeld EMC

KLEEFELD, Man.—This summer we had the wonderful opportunity to travel in Athens in the apostle Paul’s time. We got to experience the thrill of the arena games, the bustle of the markelplace, and the marvel of Paul’s adventures. Never could we have pulled off such an extraordinary VBS adventure without the help of some great volunteers. A month later we still had kids recognizing us and stopping to hug us whenever they could. It brings a smile to our faces to see the connection we forged in just one week of sharing God’s Word.

– Alyssa Toews

PHOTO: KLEEFELD EMC

Sharing Paul’s dangerous adventure

VBS coordinator Alyssa Toews teaches at one of the stations in Athens: Paul’s Dangerous Journey to Share the Truth.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 17

With Our Churches Straffordville EMC

PHOTO: STRAFFORDVILLE EMC

New members, new lot STRAFFORDVILLE, Ont.— On April 21, 2013, six members were received by transfer (Tina and Pete Braun) and baptism (Jonathan Froese, Christina Krahn, Jennifer Klassen, and Lisa Peters). On May 19 we enjoyed the graduation of seven individuals from the SEAN course: Dave and Aggie Blatz, Ann Fehr, Tina Braun, Dave and Anna Froese, and Martha Bergen.

We have been a on a long road towards someday building a new church building. This summer we finalized the purchase of property in Straffordville. The rezoning has been completed and the lot is paid for. On Aug. 11, 2013, we met at the lot to hold a brief dedication service. The celebrating continued on at the church with a light supper (faspa) and an evening of praise and worship.

– Katherine Klassen

Pastor Richard Klassen stands on new church lot.

•• Heartland Community Church

LANDMARK, Man.—As reported earlier, Doug and Christal Barkman and their children in summer 2013 were commissioned by HCC to serve with TeachBeyond in Germany. On their day of commissioning, the congregation prayed for them.

At the Black Weddings Forest Academy, WIEBE – Fehr: Johnny Wiebe and Diane Fehr Doug is a graphics on April 20, 2013, at Westpointe Community designer in the Church with Pastor Dwight Munn officiating.

They live in Clairmont, Alta. communications WIEBE- Bueckert: Arnold Wiebe and Kristy office and Christal Bueckert on July 20, 2013, at Westpointe is a part-time Community Church with Pastor Jared assistant at the Schroeder officiating. They live in Grande Prairie, Alta. school.

BRAUN- Rempel: Fred Braun and Laverna – Brigitte Toews Rempel on Sept. 21, 2013, at Grande Prairie Museum with Pastor Dwight Munn. They live in Grande Prairie, Alta.

18 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: HCC

HCC’s first missionary family overseas

Doug and Christal Barkman with their children

With Our Churches Prairie Rose EMC

LANDMARK, Man.— Prairie Rose held a dedication service in Sept. 2013. Involved were (back) Natilee with Peter and Stephanie Reimer, Rebecca with Ivan and Sherry Plett, Simon Plett with grandmother Rita Enns, Austin with Sarah and Russ Braun, and (front) Madeline with Lisa and Mark Moesker.

– Lisa Friesen

PHOTO: PR EMC

Dedication held at Prairie Rose

•• Morweena EMC

MORWEENA, Man.—On Dec. 8, 2013, at Morweena EMC, five sets of parents publicly committed to teaching, training, and raising up their child according to the Word: Shawn and Caroline Loewen with Remington, Kevin and Jeannette Gross with Tyrell, Eric and Jen Isaac with Clara, Kevin and Karlene Petkau with Sawyer, and Charles and Alanna Reimer with Emersyn and Dray.

– Erin Reimer

PHOTO: MORWEENA EMC

Parents make commitments

Speakers

Covenant Christian Reformed Church (Fri., 7 p.m.)

Concert/Story Telling Emily Colson, Ken Medema McIvor MB Church (Sat., 9 a.m.)

Keynote Speaker: Emily Colson Workshops, worship, and more

Winnipeg, Man. | April 25–26 A conference about including individuals who live with disabilities

Emily Colson

Ken Medema

Register at www.in2014.org or call Hope Centre Ministries at 204-4794893 by April 15.

Covenant Christian Reformed Church (Sat., 7 p.m.)

Our Beautiful Secret movie Co-sponsored by the Evangelical Mennonite Conference

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 19

Columns • Further In and Higher Up

Is cremation the way to go?

Layton Friesen

But is it possible to “commit” the body to the fire, or does cremation amount to putting a fiery end to the body?

20 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: DESIGNPICS

C

remation is becoming common for Christians. I see no problem with cremation if two kinds of questions can be answered.

First, are we sure that cremation is not an “attack” on a human body? Setting our hands to destroy a dead body (like rendering) would be a grievous witness to what we believe about bodies. Are we sure cremation is different?

In making end of life decisions, we draw a line between the decision to allow nature to take its course and actually killing the person.

Both actions end with the same result (a dead person) but are vastly different ethically.

Likewise, burial is (or should be) handing the body over to nature. It is not violent, but respects the connection between our body and the earth. We “commit” the body to the earth. But is it possible to “commit” the body to the fire, or does cremation amount to putting a fiery end to the body?

If we answer that, after all, the body is really “nothing” and that the soul is what counts, we speak as pagans. The dead body should be respected because it is part of the image of God; Christ sanctified bodily life at Christmas by becoming flesh; and when Christ was raised, the tomb was empty and his risen body now carries his scars. The last suggests that resurrection preserves continuity between the old and new body.

If we cremate because we have forgotten our peculiar Easter belief about bodies, that would be a problem. Any practice should proclaim what we believe, that our earthly and heavenly bodies have the same relation as Christ’s buried and resurrected body.

Bodies are holy seeds in the world of Easter.

All I’m asking is: can cremation proclaim that?

If so, we proceed.

Second, can we make creation into a ritual?

Banishing the dead from funerals shows the

church’s recent loss of nerve in the face of death; if cremation is an accomplice to this cover-up of death, that would be a problem.

When the church carries the dead beloved to the graveyard and commits her to the earth with singing, prayers, and scripture, it acts out a drama in which the saint is borne right to the edge of a mystery.

She is handed over to God who will take his child over the river Jordan into Canaan. The pilgrim saint is carried ritually in the bosom of the church from child dedication to baptism and handed back to God in the committal service.

Would the Church be willing to take a body and, with singing, prayers and scripture, place it in the fire? To send “professionals” to haul the body across town to an industrial crematorium and return with an urn for the family mantle is a ritual as well, but of what gospel?

In the words of Thomas Lynch, cremation should be an alternative to burial, not an alternative to bother. The dead should be at the funeral and the Church should go the distance with the saint, handing her back to the Creator with singing. Could cremation be ritualized by the Church? If not, let’s reconsider cremation.

If we can satisfy these sorts of questions, cremation can be a creation-friendly, less expensive way to go.

Columnist’s note: An excellent book is Thomas Long, Accompany them With Singing: The Christian Funeral (John Knox Westminster, 2009).

News

Zerbe is CMU’s new vice president academic Assumes academic leadership role in June 2014 Zerbe is also the general editor of CMU Press. Within the past year he has completed two books, Citizenship:

Paul on Peace and Politics, and Philippians, part of

the Believers Church Bible Commentary series.

PHOTO: CMU

WINNIPEG, Man.—Dr. Gordon Zerbe has been appointed CMU’s vice president academic, effective June 2014.

“Dr. Zerbe brings visionary rigour and analytical imagination to the role,” says CMU president Dr. Cheryl Pauls.

“At the same time, he enjoys quality relationships with students and faculty.”

A key member of senior administration, the VP Academic works closely with the president and other VPs to create a flow amongst academic activities, community partnerships, university operations, and long-term planning.

Zerbe served a term as vice president and academic dean for CMU’s Shaftesbury campus from 2004-2007. A professor at CMU since 1990, he has taught a wide range of subjects, including biblical studies, early Christianity, Greco-Roman history, world religions, and peace studies.

Zerbe holds a PhD in Dr. Gordon Zerbe New Testament, two MA degrees, and a BA. He enjoys reading, travelling, hiking, tennis, theatre, and tinkering in his 100-year-old house.

– CMU

••

Canadian government gives CFGB $6.5M for Syria WINNIPEG, Man. – A grant of $6.5 million from the Canadian government will enable the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to continue to assist people affected by the conflict in Syria in 2014.

The grant, the details of which were announced Dec.19, will enable the CFGB to provide help for 78,000 people from January to June 2014.

Funds from the grant will be used to support programs implemented by CFGB member agencies Mennonite Central Committee, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace and World Renew.

“Funds from this grant will allow our members to continue to help people affected by the crisis in Syria, and allow them to start new programs to serve more people,” says CFGB international programs director Grant Hillier.

More than nine million people have been affected by the conflict in Syria, with over two million people fleeing that country as refugees. Seventy-eight percent of the refugees are women and children.

Other CFGB members supporting this effort are

PHOTO: CFGB

To help 78,000 people

A Syrian refugee woman living in Irbid, Jordan, signs to confirm she has received her family’s box of food.

Emergency Relief and Development Overseas, Presbyterian World Service and Development, Primates World Relief and Development Fund, and the United Church of Canada.

– CFGB Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 denominations and church agencies working together to end global hunger. In 2012-13 it provided $43 million of assistance for 2.1 million people in 37 countries. This included over 40,000 tonnes of food and seeds

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

News

Filipino climate negotiators issue challenge to world WARSAW, Poland—“We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, counting our dead, becomes a way of life. We simply refuse to.”

So spoke the Philippine’s lead climate negotiator Naderev Yeb Saño in mid-November 2013 at the opening of this year’s United Nation’s climate change conference in Warsaw, Poland.

Saño’s poignant call for urgent action on climate change was set against the backdrop—or for far too many people, the devastating reality—of the super Typhoon Haiyan.

Indeed, Saño’s home community was in the path of the storm, and he was anxious about his own loved ones. He heard shortly before his opening statement that his brother had survived although he had not eaten in two days.

“In solidarity with my countrymen who are now struggling for food back home, and with my brother who has not had food for the last three days . . . I will now commence a voluntary fasting for the climate.“ And with that Saño turned a normally sedate opening ceremony into something electrifying. Inside, people

PHOTO: WORLD RENEW

Sedate ceremony became electrified

Devastation in the Philippines

cheered. Outside, people gathered quietly in front of monitors to listen to his speech.

Activists immediately began striking their own voluntary fasts. And the stakes, for what was to be an uneventful conference, were suddenly raised.

Saño called for more climate finance to help prevent and protect people from such disasters in the future. He committed the Philippines to a clean energy future, but called on developed countries to financially support these efforts. And he urged all countries to do much more to confront climate change.

– Carol Thiessen CFGB senior policy advisor

••

SBC hosts successful Beth Moore event STEINBACH, Man.—The Steinbach Bible College campus was a busy place on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, with the Beth Moore Living Proof Simulcast.

More than 200 women from Selkirk, Portage, the Interlake, Winnipeg, southeastern Manitoba, and Kenora, Ont., gathered for a powerful day of worship and teaching by popular Bible teacher Beth Moore.

The SBC site joined over 700 churches, women’s prisons, and military bases around the world logging in online for the opportunity to access the live event being held in Charleston, West Virginia.

This is the fourth year SBC has hosted the event and the second consecutive year it has sold out. Response from the attendees to the day’s teaching and the hosting

by SBC has been very positive.

22 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: SBC

Joins 700 churches, prisons, bases

Participants wave from the campus of SBC.

Comments in the evaluations include: “Well done!

Thanks for hosting so well—so many thoughtful touches.”

“Can’t thank you enough for organizing this. I’m so blessed.” “Phenomenal—I was ministered to by the Holy Spirit.”

SBC seeks to serve as a resource to the community and Church and to disciple individuals in their faith. It is our privilege to do so, in part, through this event.

– SBC

News

Claiborne inspires youth to pursue peace and justice

PHOTO: CMU

‘The great adventure we get to be on is following Jesus’

Shane Claiborne

WINNIPEG, Man.—How do we practice peace and justice in our daily lives? That was the question activist Shane Claiborne explored at Peace It Together (PIT) 2013, CMU’s conference for youth focusing on biblical and Anabaptist themes of peace.

In three worship sessions on Oct. 18-20, 2013, Claiborne challenged more than 100 youth, youth sponsors, and pastors to see that being a Christian isn’t about what happens to us in the afterlife, but rather, it’s about the way we spend our time on Earth. “Jesus didn’t come just to prepare us to die, but to show us how to live,” Claiborne said.

Claiborne, author The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, told stories from working with Mother Teresa; with a Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq; and The Simple Way, a community he helped start in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighbourhood.

He said there are various ways to pursue peace and seek justice daily and that everyone is invited to contribute to the redemptive work God is doing in the world.

More important than what you do or accomplish in this life is who you are becoming as a child of God. “In the end, the great adventure we get to be on is following Jesus,” Claiborne said.

On Saturday afternoon, youth participated in workshops to put into action what they learned from Claiborne.

CMU will host the next Peace It Together youth conference in October 2015.

– CMU

Living the Good Life EMC Young Adult Retreat Feb. 28-March 2, 2014 Speaker: Pastor Darren Plett Camp Cedarwood, (Lac du Bonnet, Man.) $110 per person

No cancellation refunds after Feb. 9.

Contact your pastor or youth leader or Nathan Plett (Nathan@prairierose.ca) Gord Penner (GPenner@sbcollege.ca) Jason Heide (jheide@semconline.com CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

See You There!

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 23

In Memory

John K. Reimer 1919-2013

John K. Reimer was born on Sept. 21, 1919, at Meade, Kansas, to his parents, John H. and Katherine Reimer.

He grew up and went to a country school at Meade, Kansas.

On April 27, 1941, he married our mom, Katherine Reimer, at Meade, Kansas. Two children were born to them. In July 1949 they moved to Manitoba. They adopted a daughter a few years later. The family moved to Blumenort.

Health conditions forced Dad into an early retirement. At this time they moved into Oakwood Manor. Dad loved to serve people there by going

grocery shopping, picking up mail, unlocking doors in the morning and locking them back up at night. He especially enjoyed bring the worship service to the residents by setting up the TV in the common room.

Dad passed away on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, at the age of 94, at the Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville, Man. He is survived and greatly missed by his son Richard and wife Helen; daughter Carolyn and husband Ben Wiebe; grandchildren, Darryl and Linda Reimer, Sheri and Ed Wise, Angela Waffer and Garry Kornelson; eight step-grandchildren; great grandchildren, Alycia Vaden Long, Christopher Vaden, Jeremy Vaden, Gabriel Vaden, Jared Waffer, Elizabeth Reimer, Daniel Reimer, Jalen Waffer, and Ireesha Kornelson; three greatgreat grandsons; his brother Henry; 14 step-great grandchildren; as well as many nieces and nephews, especially the Plett family in Canada.

He was predeceased by his wife Katherine; his parents and his brother Jacob; daughter Margaret and her husband Abe and two grandchildren,

Douglas and and Theresa Kornelson, and son-in-law Peter Kornelson.

As a family we express our gratitude to the wonderful homecare staff in Blumenort and the staff at the Heritage Life Personal Care home in Niverville, as well as the many friends and relatives who have been so very supportive at this time.

Dad loved the Lord and served his family and friends with love and humour all his days. His funeral service was held on Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, Man., with Pastor Barry Plett officiating. Interment was at the Blumenort EMC Cemetery in Blumenort, Man. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

– His Family

2014 EMC Prayer Teams

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert The Paraguay team will be led by Flo mind and a thankful heart” (Col. 4:2) Friesen. This team will be sent to pray with missionaries in Paraguay Paraguay (March 19- April 6 Full) The Guadalajara team will be led by Angel Infantes (Braeside). His team will pray Guadalajara: (March 7- March 17) with local churches and EMC missionaries For details, including costs, please email Bolivia Exposure Trip (April 3-15) dpeters@emconf.ca or call 204-326-6401 24 The Messenger • January 2014

Shoulder Tapping Ministry Information Profile *With any applications for EMC church pastoral positions, candidates are expected to also register a Ministerial Questionnaire with the EMC Board of Leadership and Outreach, which can be obtained through Erica Fehr, BLO Administrative Assistant, at efehr@emconf.ca or 204-326-6401.

EMC Positions The ConneXion church in Arborg, Man, a community of one thousand, is currently seeking a half-time pastor. Arborg is in the heart of Manitoba’s Interlake, one hour north of Winnipeg’s perimeter. The church of 25 to 50 adherents is affiliated with the EMC. We practice the values of “BELLS” as we build our community; we seek to bless, eat, listen, learn and send.

There is significant opportunity for other part-time employment in the community.

Interested applicants should contact the pastoral search committee chair or submit a resume to peter.dueck@vidir.com. We are seeking a faithful Jesus follower with proven leadership skills.

Heartland Community Church located in Landmark, Man., is looking for a young life pastor. Reporting to the leadership team and working closely with the senior pastor, this pastor will develop and lead dynamic ministries that reach youth, young adults and young families with the gospel, equipping them as disciple-makers and assimilating them in a healthy way into the church. Coordinating and leading mentorship programs is important.

Needed: a visible passion for God and a strong desire to see youth and young adults grow with Christ; a degree in theology (or equivalent experience); excellent interpersonal, communication and leadership skills; and the ability to train and teach in a multi-generational setting.

The pastor will demonstrate a biblical understanding and live in agreement with the HCC Statement of Faith. Living in or near Landmark is important. Please visit the HCC website (www.heartlandcommunitychurch.ca) for a full job description.

Please send your resume to hccsearch@live.com

by Feb. 28, 2014.

Taber EMC is seeking a full-time youth/associate pastor. Candidate should have the ability to plan and oversee a comprehensive youth ministry and oversee associate pastor ministries as arranged by the church leadership. Valuable assets would be skills in sports and music. Contact church board chair Abe Klassen at 403-223-0588 or 403-331-9563. Send resumes to Taber EMC, Box 4348, Taber, AB T1G 2C7 or taberemc@ yahoo.ca.

Hillside Christian Fellowship is looking for a fulltime or interim pastor. Previous experience is preferred and housing is available. Hillside Christian

Fellowship is a rural church located on Highway 697 in the Buffalo Head Prairie area, about 25 kms from La Crete in northern Alberta. The industries that drive our community are farming and logging. We have about 50 to 60 people attending on average each Sunday. For information contact Jim Friesen at valley@sis.net or call (work) 780-928-3880 or (cell) 780-926-7717 La Crete Christian Fellowship is seeking candidates to fill the role of senior pastor. LCCF is located in a beautiful, prosperous farming and logging community in northern Alberta. We are a multi-generational congregation with a strong commitment to missions. Our average Sunday attendance is 450.

The senior pastor would be a team member working with and providing general oversight to the associate pastor, youth pastor, office staff, lay minister and a large, supportive ministerial. He would have appropriate Bible college education and preferably a number of years of pastoral experience.

He would agree with the EMC Statement of Faith and Church Practices. Duties include, but are not limited to, preaching, teaching, some administration and officiating at various church functions.

Information can be found at www.lccfc.ca.

Please contact Darryl Olson at darrylwolson@gmail. com or 780-821-0287 if you can serve together with us in this capacity.

Kola EMC is looking for a full-time pastor, but would also consider an interim position. Previous experience is preferred and housing is available.

Kola, in southwest Manitoba, is a small but aggressive little town in the middle of the oil patch with a lot of construction and farming in the surrounding area. We currently have approximately 100 people attending on a regular basis. For information, call 204-556-2037 or e-mail at kolaemc@gmail.com.

Other Positions Mennonite Foundation of Canada seeks a full-time stewardship consultant in its Calgary, Alta., office.

This person is responsible to promote biblical stewardship of financial resources and to provide charitable gift and estate planning services. MFC offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Please submit resume by Feb. 28, 2014, to Milly Siderius, Director of Stewardship Services, 207-50 Kent Ave., Kitchener, ON N2G 3R1; msiderius@mennofoundation.ca.

MCC Ontario seeks three creative, strategic leadership persons: an associate executive director, a revenue development director, and a financial controller. For information see http://serve.mcc. org/positions/employment. Postings close Feb. 28, 2014.

Bergfeld Mennonite Church (EMMC), a rural congregation in southern Manitoba, is looking for a fulltime pastor. We are an evangelical, mission-minded church of about 120. Our church has many strong committees and programs in place, especially a vibrant adult Sunday School.

Contact: Bergfeld Mennonite Church, Attn: Pastoral Search Committee, Box 1478, Altona, MB R0G 0B0; abereg@mts.net; 204-324-8283 (ask for Abe).

Aylmer EMMC prayerfully seeks a full-time bilingual lead pastor. Our average attendance is 300 to 350. The senior pastor would be a team member working with and providing general oversight to the associate pastors, youth pastor, office staff, lay pastors, board, and other church leaders. Please contact: AEMMC Lead Pastor Search Team: search@aemmc.ca or 519-866-3202 (chair Abe Wiebe).

Camp Cedarwood, a Youth for Christ ministry 90 minutes east of Winnipeg, seeks a food service manager/cook and a prep cook.

If you feel that God’s calling you, contact Scott Kelusky, Cedarwood’s director, at 204-345-8529 or cedarwood.campsite.director@gmail.com Mid-Way Christian Leadership, based in Thompson, Man., is looking for an adult life coach, youth life coach and office manager. Please email generaldirector.mcl@gmail.com for full job descriptions or inquiries.

Inner City Youth Alive, a faith-based youth organization in Winnipeg, Man., is looking for a motorsport director, a dynamic person with strong leadership and organizational skills to work with youth in the race car program, Inner City Motorsport. Knowledge in metalworking, mechanical skills and use of related tools is an asset. If this is you or someone you know that would be interested and qualified, go to www. icya.ca for job details. Forward resume to Don at don@icya.ca.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Ministry-related position ads are welcome. Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconf.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. Space is provided without charge. All ads are subject to editing and can be removed after two appearances unless prior arrangements are made to have them appear longer. Please notify The Messenger as soon as possible when an ad is no longer needed. Thank you.

May the Lord bless your search.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

Columns • here and far away

Thanksgiving precedes the miracle

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PHOTO: JOCELYN R. PLETT

by Jocelyn R. Plett www.writewhatyousee. wordpress.com

ot enough money, not enough time, not enough energy, not enough resources. From this perspective there’s not a lot that can be done. And everyone feels poor.

The boy who brought the fish and loaves (John 6), enough to feed himself and maybe a friend on their excursion to hear Jesus speak, gave what he had even though it was obviously not enough to feed a multitude.

While the disciples are there Thanksgiving for the gift of beauty: an agapantha in bloom. to give the human reaction: “This isn’t enough! We can’t feed these people if we I’ve found in my own life that when I change only have this much!” Jesus shows us another my perspective to look at life with thanksgiving perspective—giving thanks for what there is at I find I begin to see innumerable gifts all around hand. He embraces his “not enough,” asking for me: the chirp of the birds, the gurgle of laughter God’s blessing on what is currently available. from my baby, good music, the taste of mango, the luxurious feeling of moving without pain, the gift of sleep at the end of a long day.

Because I recognize every good gift comes from the Father, I realize my wealth of blessing. This renews my confidence that He will continue to bless me in the future. My poverty turns to abundance with a paradigm shift. As Ann Voscamp writes in her book One Thousand Gifts, “Eucharisteo [giving thanks] always, always precedes the miracle...Thanksgiving creates And then there was more than enough. abundance.”

It’s often very difficult to be thankful for We must live our lives out of this confidence what, in human perspective, is not enough. I of plenty, rather than a perception that we tend to feel despondent on days when I don’t haven’t got enough. have much quiet time for myself to recharge, to God is not limited by lack of money or our spend time really soaking in God’s presence. Yet lack of gifts or training. We only limit ourselves I do have some time to do it. in collaborating with Him in building the Once I change my perspective and realize Kingdom when we think that a lack on our part i can be thankful for those short minutes I do means life in abundance cannot go on. have of quiet and solitude, then, miraculously, I If a sack lunch can feed a multitude and the look back and realize it was sufficient. widow of Zarephath can feed three people for We can choose to begrudge a year of illness, years on a dusting of flour at the bottom of a jar, or to thank God for moments of good health. then what we’ve got to give—even if it seems We can stress about financial shortfalls, or thank like not enough to us—is enough when we give God for this month of shelter over our heads thanks and receive blessing. and food on the table.

We must live our lives out of this confidence of plenty, rather than a perception that we haven’t got enough.

26 The Messenger • January 2014

Columns • stewardship today

PHOTO: DESIGNPICS

Evaluating charities requires asking the right questions

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or 40 years Mennonite Foundation of Canada has partnered with people to help them live generously in support of the church and related charities. Increasingly we find donors are asking questions to better understand the effectiveness of charities and while we applaud the effort on the part of donors to understand a charity’s impact, not all questions are helpful in evaluating the organization’s effectiveness.

The most commonly asked question is, “What amount of my donation will go to the charity’s overhead?” This question is problematic in that it assumes there is a clear demarcation between charitable expenses “for the cause” and those that are “overhead.” The widely held perception is that dollars spent directly on the charities mission such as blankets, food and medicine are acceptable while all other spending is a necessary evil in making the good works of the charity happen.

Charities simply cannot operate without so-called overhead costs. Recycled office equipment, volunteers and a minimally skilled, low-paid staff may not be the most efficient way to accomplish the task.

Imagine the inefficiency if a world relief agency had only volunteers in charge of an international crisis handling all communication, administration and distribution. The overhead mindset assumes charitable giving is a zero-sum

game; there is only so much money a charity can receive and therefore spend on its mission.

No one working in a charitable organization is overhead. Some of the most committed and passionate people serve in all areas of the charity’s work. Like all organizations, charities need quality people. Volunteers are great, but some roles are best filled by paid staff; and getting the best person for the job requires a competitive salary.

Charities also need quality tools to do the job. It is more efficient for a charity to have equipment that works rather than spending time fumbling with copiers that jam and using outdated computers.

Charities and donors need to accept this reality.

The greatest obstacle the charitable sector faces is not in trying to decrease overhead expenses, but spending habits that worship at the altar of consumption.

Charities compete against the clear and repetitive message that we are to spend on ourselves first and if there are leftovers, then and only then should we share them with the less fortunate.

According to The World Bank Group, Canadian Gross Domestic Product in 2012 was at an all-time high of $1.82 trillion. If charitable organizations in this country could leverage even one additional percent of last year’s GDP we would triple the current $9 billion of annual charitable giving in Canada.

Think of the incredible impact we could have with this influx of resources. Changing these attitudes and behaviours will require the best people and tools and this will cost some money.

Charities should not be judged by the amount of money spent on overhead. They should be judged on their passion to make a difference in the lives of people, the size of their ambition, the clarity of their plan, and the way in which they make dreams come true and problems disappear.

by Darren Pries-Klassen

The greatest obstacle the charitable sector faces is not in trying to decrease overhead expenses, but spending habits that worship at the altar of consumption.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

Columns • kids’ corner

What is your gift?

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by Loreena Thiessen

ave you ever said, “It’s not fair?”

Perhaps your sister got the last piece of pizza, or the last cookie, and it was your favourite, too.

Maybe you didn’t get the part you wanted in the school play, or to be the pitcher on the ball team. Did you feel left out, ignored? Were you angry at the person who got what you really wanted?

This is jealousy.

Jealousy is wanting what others have, but it’s also about being afraid.

When someone else gets what you want you feel afraid that maybe you are not as good as that other person. He’s better than you; that’s why he got the part you wanted. You know you are good, too, and deserve to be rewarded but it didn’t happen.

In addition to feeling afraid you begin to feel hurt or angry. This makes you unhappy.

What can you do? First, if you always look at someone else and what they have, you forget what you have or what you are.

What are you good at? Do you sing or draw well? Are you kind or helpful? Do you have friends? It’s important to know what you can do, and to remember what you have. Remember to be thankful for the things you have and can do.

Use the skills you have and try to improve them. Instead of competing against someone else compete with yourself. Do better than you did yesterday.

Fair does not always mean equal. Fair means appropriate or fitting for you. If you are good at doing something, like singing or drawing, or kindness, or helpfulness, this is yours. It’s a gift; you can do it well, you can learn more about it, you can work at it, you can improve it. And you can share it.

Jealousy causes grave trouble, even death.

Cain was jealous of his brother Abel and killed

him. Read the story in Genesis 4:4-8.

Joseph’s brothers were jealous, too. They told their father he was dead and caused him many years of grief and pain. But Joseph, instead of being angry, depended on God and became a great leader. Instead of hating his brothers he helped them in their time of famine. Read that story in Genesis 37:10-20 and 47:7-12.

28 The Messenger • January 2014

PHOTO: DESIGNPICS

Jealousy is wanting what others have, but it’s also about being afraid.

Activity: Do the thing you can.

Need: Drawing paper, pencil, crayons or paints.

Do: Make a list of what you are good at. Choose one or two and draw it. Then share your gift with family or friends. Put it into action.

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