The Messenger Vol. 52 No. 11 November 2014

The Messenger a publication of the Evangelical

Mennonite Conference

Volume 52 No. 11 November 2014

We Are That Mountain!

page 6

ANDREW WALKER

ALSO INSIDE:

Should We Read The Bible In Church? page 10 Paul, The Athenians, And Our Encounters page 13 Missionaries Gather, Schmidts Honoured page 20 $2.00

Editorials

Where history takes us

S

eventy-five years ago Canada was engaged in World War Two; one hundred years ago it was involved in the First World War. Going back 150 years places us within the period of the American Civil War, where some pre-Confederation British subjects fought as part of the Union forces. Going back 200 years finds people of Anabaptist faith caught in the War of 1812 between what is now Canada and the U.S. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matt. 24:7). Some Christians today might use this verse to say that war is an inevitable fact of life to be accepted. Yet, as Christians we do what we can to reduce the effects of famine and earthquake and to prevent famine where possible. Equally, then, we can oppose

war, seek to prevent it, and try to reduce its effects.

A Christian’s default setting should be to oppose war.

War is a great evil that humankind brings on itself; it expresses original sin. Many people, former soldiers included, recoil both at the idea that war is glorious and at the monstrous costs involved—as Stanford Penner, an EMC peace evangelist, has often reminded me.

Does the state have a proper role to protect its citizens and people elsewhere?

Yes. Do Christians have a role to play within society? Yes. Do Christians understand the overlap differently? Yes. Do issues abound? Yes. “We should determine all matters concerning the Christian and the state by carefully interpreting the Scriptures with a deep sensitivity to the moral problems involved” (The State, EMC Statement of Faith).

– Terry M. Smith

Many people, former soldiers included, recoil both at the idea that war is glorious and at the monstrous costs involved.

••

Peace, war, and discussion

J

ohn H. Yoder looked at 25 types of religious pacifism, preferring “the pacifism of the messianic community” (Nevertheless: Varieties of Religious Pacifism, Herald Press, 1976).

Dr. Archie Penner was a firm pacifist, his convictions reflected in his MA thesis published in 1959, The New Testament, the Christian and the State (reprinted 2000). Guy Hershberger proposed a way to reconcile war in the Old Testament with Jesus’ instructions in the New Testament (War, Peace, and Non-Resistance, Herald Press, 1953).

Though we might respect the efforts of Yoder, Penner, and Hershberger, we aren’t required to choose their prescribed route into pacifism. In fact, our ability to dialogue about pacifism is weakened if we see only one possible line of entry or discussion.

How often are sermons exploring and upholding pacifism preached in our conference? To whom are their arguments effective and why?

Need one be a pacifist to be an EMC church member?

The answer, in practice, has varied among our individual churches for decades. Beyond individual church practice, a majority of EMC leaders and members surveyed nationally in 2005 said belief in pacifism is not to be required for membership.

Talking about peace and war ought to be important to our churches, yet discussion among EMC members is difficult. Why is this? Is it because war is such a pressing reality (or because there is no recent conscription in Canada), peace such an acute need, and family histories so sensitive?

In discussing war, William P. Mehedy, a former Roman Catholic chaplain to U. S. forces in Vietnam and later an Episcopal priest, responded to the pain and questions he and others had experienced in it (Out of the Night: The Spiritual Journey of Vietnam Vets, Ballentine/Epiphany, 1986). His answers, like those of Menno Simons, weren’t simple and they were hard-won.

– Terry M. Smith

How often are sermons exploring and upholding pacifism preached in our conference? To whom are their arguments effective and why?

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Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

We Are That Mountain!

– Dr. Richard Showalter

10 Should We Read The Bible In Church?

– Prof. Patrick Friesen

13 Paul, The Athenians, And Our Encounters – Mark von Kampen

A Reader's Viewpoint

Moving beyond competition and distinctions – L. Marie Enns

16 Archives Alcove

Anabaptists and Baptists: centuries of common ground – Terry M. Smith

page

20

25 Thinking About

The fire at Mount Salem – Ward Parkinson

Departments 2

Editorials

29 Writings Shared

3

Pontius’ Puddle

4

Letters and Notices

31 Further In and Higher Up

page

23

A little Sunday foolishness – Layton Friesen

17 With Our Missionaries

32 An Education App

26 With Our Churches

SBC and our Local churches – Terry M. Smith

30 News 33 Shoulder Tapping

34 Here and Far Away

Exercise and God as spiritual trainer – Jocelyn R. Plett

page

24

35 Stewardship Today Generous eyes – Dori Zerbe Cornelsen

page

17

36 Kids’ Corner

What is colour?

– Loreena Thiessen

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger

Letters and Notices

Volume 52 No. 11 November 2014

Evangelical Mennonite Conference

Quarterly Financial Report 2014 EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH

Jan–Sept 2014 Receipts and Transfers 1,077,287 Disbursements 1,539,025 Excess/Shortfall -461,738

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.

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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. 02– Feb. 2015 issue (copy due Dec. 08)

4 The Messenger • November 2014

Jan–Sept 2013 1,213,919 1,461,013 -247,094

The third quarter financial report highlights several things. You will note that the disbursements are higher than the previous year.

This is exactly as planned, as EMC Missions has begun ministry in Bolivia this year. The coming years will see a general decrease in the Missions budget due to staff retirements.

You will also notice that receipts are down from last year. Giving patterns fluctuate from year to year, and we are confident that, in general, donations are on par with previous years. We anticipate continued strong giving and are hopeful for a balanced budget by year’s end.

All five boards of the EMC continue to operate circumspectly with a desire to carry out the mandate given to them by Conference Council within the means provided by the budget. The proposed EMC 2015 budget will be a zero percent increase over 2014.

We are grateful to the churches and individuals who give generously to support the ministry of the EMC. Thank you! Please consider making a donation to bless the work of our Conference.

– Tim Dyck General Secretary Board of Trustees

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 e-mail, the writer’s name and e-mail 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.

Columns • A Reader's Viewpoint

Moving beyond competition and distinctions

I

by L. Marie Enns

DESIGNPICS

n our competitive society we all like to excel. Not only do we want to do our best, we long to outdo others.

Though we declare that all people are of equal worth, in our minds we still tend to rank them according to their positions or achievements.

However, I noticed that these distinctions quickly evaporated when a random group assembled to await various medical procedures. I already felt ill at ease having to abandon my own attire in exchange for hospital wear.

Then, as unobtrusively as possible, I slipped into the waiting room and discovered that all of the strangers sitting there were dressed in costumes similar to mine.

No one could tell what prestige or position, or lack of it, anyone else had. We were all equally elegant in our shapeless gowns and canoeshaped slippers. We had temporarily slipped out of our competitive world, and had become simply a group of non-descript people where nothing mattered other than that we needed medical attention.

There is another place where distinctions do not count, where we are all on common ground and cannot boast or even feel that we in any way surpass anyone else. That place is at the foot of the Cross.

We all come as hopeless sinners in need of a Saviour. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22-23). “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Having come to Him for salvation, we “are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26).

Being equal before God does not mean that we are the same. God has given us each our unique personalities and abilities. In Romans 12, Paul explains that just as our body parts have different functions, so we as the Body of Christ are given different jobs or gifts, all of which are important.

Though our gifts differ, they are not meant to create a hierarchy among us. We are to use our

gifts to honour God, to edify each other, and to reach out to those who need to hear the gospel.

Whatever our spiritual gifts are, and whatever our vocations, we should be motivated by our desire to please God, not by wanting to prove we are better than someone else. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Rom. 12:3).

Also, we should not judge others by their achievements or lack of them, but remember that “God does not show favouritism” (Acts 10:34) and neither should we. We should “not take pride in one man over against another.

For who makes you different from anyone else?

What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:6-7).

We should be thankful that we are equal in God’s sight, and try to see people the way He does. None of us can boast of ourselves, for all we are and have is what God has graciously given us.

We should be thankful that we are equal in God’s sight, and try to see people the way He does.

L. Marie Enns has connections with La Crete Christian Fellowship.

Birth BULLER — to Tom and Alana, a daughter, Mia Faith, on Jan. 20, 2014.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 5

Convention 2014

Message four of four

We Are That Mountain!

DESIGNPICS

by Dr. Richard Showalter

6 The Messenger • November 2014

W

e have reflected on many burning bushes and visited some blazing mountains. Both the bushes and the mountains began with the extraordinary story of Moses, the man of God who encountered God both at a bush and on a mountain.

In Moses’ life the bush and mountain stood side by side. The bush was where he met God personally in an encounter that transformed his destiny. The mountain was a place of corporate meeting where God initiated a history-shaping covenant with his people. We see in Moses how God takes our personal encounters with him and transforms them into mountains of corporate experience of the glory of God. The Bible is full of mountains. Noah’s ark rested on one. Abraham offered his only son as a sacrifice on another.

Moses climbed Mount Sinai.

Solomon built the temple on Mount Zion. Elijah sacrificed to the God of Israel at Mount Carmel. Jesus met Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. We could have spent many days on Biblical mountains, but we began with bushes. We are usually closer to them than to mountains.

weighed in the balances and found wanting,” and telling an absolute monarch both his dream and its interpretation.

More than all the others, though, it is the mountain in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that has seized my imagination.

A Demand

We have scarcely been introduced to Daniel and his friends when we are plunged into this surprising story of an all-powerful emperor who has a dream and then demands that his wise men tell him the dream before they interpret it. He knows that the astrologers can come up with an interpretation of any dream, and he also knows that if they can first tell him his dream, they have more than human insight.

But to the wise men, his request was insane. “No man can tell you your dream,” they insisted. “Only the gods could do that, and they do not dwell among us!”

Yet the emperor told them that if they didn’t produce, they would die. It was a most serious situation.

Enter young Daniel who already has a place among the wise men and will die with the rest of them if no one tells the dream.

“Give me a little time,” he requests. “There is a God in heaven who can reveal dreams. Let me ask him before I die.” ➢

There are more “Mennonite names” in Africa today than in North America. Approximately one of every seven Mennonites is Ethiopian.

A Dream

DREAMSTIME

One of the most striking mountains in the whole of scripture is found in a dream of Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian emperor (Dan. 2:31-45).

Daniel was a royal Jewish captive taken into the service of the Babylonian Empire about 600 B.C. His story is one of the most colourful in all of Biblical history.

Those stories of Daniel are endlessly dramatic—refusing to eat the royal food, praying with open window toward Jerusalem while his peers intrigued for his death, spending a peaceful night surrounded by hungry lions, parsing the mysterious words on a palace hall—mene, mene, tekel, upharsin—“you are

A relief from the gates of Babylon.

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In turn, God revealed the mystery to Daniel, and he walked humbly into the presence of the emperor, acknowledging that it was not he, but God himself, who chose to give both the dream and its interpretation to the monarch. The purpose was not to save Daniel’s life, but to give understanding to the king (2:30).

A Divine Perspective

It was an astonishing dream, summarizing all of human history and placing it in divine perspective. There was a great image of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, representing Nebuchadnezzar and a series of empires which were to follow his. Suddenly, though, a rock came and struck the image on its feet of iron and clay. At this, the image crumbled and became “like chaff on a threshing floor and was blown away, disappearing completely” (2:35).

Then came the stunning conclusion. The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain which filled the whole earth. What could that mean?

The rock has struck the image. A great mountain is filling the earth. In his grace, we are that mountain.

Daniel explained, “The meaning of the vision is that God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those [human] kingdoms and will bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (2:44).

This is one of the most astounding claims in all of history. Coming many centuries before Christ, it points clearly to Jesus, the rock, who replaces every earthly kingdom and introduces the kingdom of God. That kingdom becomes a great mountain which fills the whole earth. It is an eternal kingdom.

After Nebuchadnezzar heard his dream described in simple, vivid detail and was given its interpretation, he fell prostrate before Daniel.

He had just heard that he himself was symbolized by the golden head of the statue, but he had also heard that his kingdom would disappear like chaff on a summer threshing floor. Yet he fell in humble awe before God.

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A relief from the gates of Babylon.

A Dream Fulfilled

More than 2,500 years later we are living to see his dream fulfilled. The people of God are becoming the mountain of God. We are “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Heb. 12:28).

Around the world we see it.

We see it in China. In 1950 there were only two million Chinese Christians, but today there are probably at least 70 million.

We see it in subSaharan Africa. Known in 1900 as “the dark continent,” today it is often called a Christian continent. There are more “Mennonite names” in Africa today than in North America. Approximately one of every seven Mennonites is Ethiopian.

We see it in Latin America, where the evangelical movements in both Catholic and Protestant churches are among the strongest in the world.

We see it in India, where the church is growing rapidly. An Indian scholar told me recently that, contrary to popular belief, Christians probably compose at least 15 percent of the population of his nation. For sure, the church is growing rapidly.

A mega church

We see it in Indonesia, where Christians gather in great mega-churches to worship. The largest Mennonite congregation in the world today is in Indonesia.

We see it in Korea, where red neon crosses denoting Christian meetinghouses cover the great city of Seoul at night. Korean missionaries stream to many nations.

We see it in Iran, where networks of house churches multiply.

We see it in Ukraine, which has Europe’s largest congregation of local Europeans, but led by a Nigerian pastor.

We see it in Christians’ use of the Internet to share the gospel with others. A new missionary order is blanketing the globe with “internet evangelists” who connect with people who are searching the Internet for truth.

Of course, there is another side. Statistics mislead. Well-known Christian leaders fall into sin. Churches are ravaged by partial truth. Satan seems so powerful, and many are discouraged.

Yet the light of Christ is spreading everywhere. Individual people, communities, and even whole nations are meeting Jesus. Yes, the darkness may be growing darker, but the light is brighter still.

Leaders of the Tanzanian Mennonite Church invited me a few years ago to join them in giving testimony in neighbouring villages where there was no church. As a somewhat cynical Westerner, I watched as many people, old and young, said yes to Jesus. In one moving

ceremony under the trees, 86 people were baptized, 55 of them from one village.

A year later in that same village, hundreds had come to faith. I saw a woman who had exercised fearful demonic power burn her fetishes in loyalty to Jesus, then burn her house for the same purpose. I saw my brothers and sisters, young and old, dance with joy around that great bonfire in praise to their risen Lord.

My cynicism melted.

The rock has struck the image.

A great mountain is filling the earth. In his grace, we are that mountain.

Dr. Richard Showalter is an educator, leader, and bridgebuilder among cultures. This article is based on his Sunday afternoon message at EMC Convention 2014.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY The GSTM is a special place that helped me—by its faculty who care and think, students from different traditions, and subject matter that stretched the soul— to serve in the Church. The bursary for EMC students helped a lot, too.

David Kruse MA (Theological Studies), 2011 Grad

A bursary for graduate students from the Evangelical Mennonite Conference is available.

For more information contact mkrohn@cmu.ca.

cmu.ca/gstm CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

DESIGNPICS

Should We Read The Bible In Church?

by Professor Patrick Friesen

T

he title seems like an easy question to answer. Of course, we should read the Bible in church.

If it is so easy to answer yes, then why is it that the public reading of Scripture seems to be retreating into the background of our Sunday morning worship?

Every opportunity I get to visit a church I make sure that I write down the songs that are sung, the prayers that are prayed, and the Scripture that is read. A trend that seems to be forming is that rarely, if ever, is a passage of Scripture read apart from the delivery of the sermon.

Most of the time the passages used are short and meant to provide an authoritative stamp of approval on what is being presented in the sermon. Typically if a portion of the Bible is read, it is done so with what appears to be little if any preparation. At best, it often appears that the reader has hastily looked over the passage on the way to church.

An Irony

The irony in this trend is found in that we as evangelicals have traditionally placed a significant weight on the authority of the Bible. From the pulpit we have heard encouragement to spend time daily reading the Bible.

At Vacation Bible School and at Bible Camp we invite our children to memorize Heb. 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and

10 The Messenger • November 2014

marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (NLT). This is in order that they may know that the book that we hold dear is more than just black letters on a white page; it is alive, powerful and effective to transform our lives.

Why is it then that we seldom hear the words of Scripture spoken when the community of faith is gathered for worship? Is it too bland?

When we do hear those words in worship, does it feel like we are having to take a spoonful of Buckley’s to cure our common cold?

Perhaps there are those who think this trend is a good thing. After all, the Bible is often misunderstood by the masses, and, as such, a little exposure is more dangerous than nothing at all.

With so many versions and controversies over interpretation, it is likely better to let the experts handle the text.

Or perhaps eliminating Scripture reading gives more time for singing and especially more time for the sermon. Listening to someone read poorly is hardly as interesting as listening to a good song or hearing a well-crafted sermon. I may agree on the last point.

A Call to Be Effective

However, just because Scripture is often read poorly does not mean we ought to stop reading it during our worship services. Rather, it should be a call for us to be more effective in presenting these inspired words.

Our collective goal should be to make Scripture reading the most anticipated act of worship

during a service, even above the sermon.

Certainly, inspired Scripture, breathed into life through those creatures created in God’s image, should be held as one of the high points in any worship service.

When we do read the Bible, we often do so because we feel it is good for us. It most definitely is good for us when we express that value by seeking out the most effective ways to communicate God’s story. Why is the reading of Scripture so critically important in our worship services? Allow me to give several reasons:

Aligns Beliefs and Practice

The presentation of Scripture in worship aligns our stated beliefs with our practice.

If we believe that the Bible is transformative, then we should incorporate it into our worship. Most evangelical churches place the Bible high in the order of their articles of faith, yet it is hardly found in the average worship service. If we profess that God’s word is powerful to transform lives then perhaps the way in which we should read Scripture should match that conviction.

Restores Orality

Incorporating more Scripture into worship services can restore a more dialogical liturgy.

We get to hear from God through his inspired words, which can balance out our tendency to make worship more about us and less about God. It also provides inspired words that teach us how to respond to God.

Most of the Bible was composed within an oral or aural culture and was meant to shape our understanding of God through the act of hearing.

It returns the story of God back into an oral event. Most of the Bible was composed within an oral or aural culture and was meant to shape our understanding of God through the act of hearing. The story of Ezra reading the Torah after the exile (Neh. 8-9) gives a vivid example of how the public reading of Scripture is fundamental to spiritual renewal.

Highlights Inspiration

Creates Dialogue

It focuses our attention on God who inspired the very words that are being presented. It takes the focus off of our own efforts to explain and allows God to speak directly to his people during worship. Our churches are full of people who desire to hear from God, yet the very words that he inspired, we too often fail to read.

Enhances Memory

Having people read the Bible effectively and powerfully creates a link between the church event, the story of God, and the words that are spoken.

This link assigns a greater significance to the words making it easier to remember the meaning of the text and ultimately enhance our knowledge of God and the good news brought through Jesus Christ.

There is a grand assumption made undergirding the above list. In order for our Scripture to come alive in our worship it must be done with excellence. Several words help to describe how Scripture must be read in order for the above words to be true.

Internalized Reading—making the words personal through the process of relating the text ➢

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to the reader’s own life experience and understanding of God. It is a digging into the passage as part of a larger exegetical process.

Embodied Reading—allowing the words of the text be expressed with the reader’s entire being. A process of matching our expression, posture, voice, and gestures to effectively communicate the meaning of the passage.

The process of reading effectively is likely best saved for another article or perhaps a personal visit; however, let me leave you with three challenges.

Invest in Scripture Presentation

Commit to spend a portion of the worship budget on training public readers to effectively communicate the Scriptures. We spend significant time and resources making sure that the music during our worship services is done with excellence. Spend a portion of the church resources on making sure that Scripture is presented well.

Start by gathering a group of interested people to start a Scripture reading team.

Devote Time to Scripture Presentation

Time is a precious commodity, but it is absolutely necessary for effective Scripture presentation. Set aside time to rehearse individually and together as a group. The other area that needs a commitment of time is in the service as well.

Time should be allotted within the worship service for the public reading of Scripture. This will prove difficult as most participants don’t want to have their time reduced.

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Commit to spend a portion of the worship budget on training public readers to effectively communicate the Scriptures.

Commit to Scripture Memorization

A great way to start the process toward embodied Scripture reading is to have the text memorized. When you don’t have to refer to the text, it makes the transmission of the meaning easier for the one presenting the text. There are numerous methods available for memorization.

The key is to ensure that the goal of the memorization is not simply for rote regurgitation, but for the purpose of transmitting the Gospel held within those words.

If you would like to have more information on this topic, or would like to know of some resources available on this topic, you can contact me at pfriesen@sbcollege.ca Patrick Friesen, BRS, MA, DWS (cand.), is a professor at Steinbach Bible College, teaching in the areas of worship and history. He is currently on sabbatical and working on a doctoral thesis in worship studies. He blogs at www.pfriesen.com.

DREAMSTIME

Paul, The Athenians, And Our Encounters

by Mark von Kampen

A

s part of my work as Mennonite chaplain at the University of Manitoba, I’m occasionally asked to give an invocation prayer at graduation ceremonies before a diverse gathering including believers, sceptics, people of every conceivable faith and those claiming no faith.

So how does that affect the prayer I share? I think of Jesus who said, “When you pray, go into your room and close the door” (Matt. 6:6). I also think of his statement, “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar, or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light” (Matt. 5:15).

I think about athletes who publicly get on their knees after a win (why not after a loss?), of the tragic residential school legacy, and also of first-generation believers who came to faith through positive Christian witness.

The Apostle Paul

In Acts 17:16-31, Paul was invited to speak before a large, diverse assembly to explain his controversial faith as a follower of Jesus. The story began when Paul explored Athens as he waited for his friends Silas and Timothy to arrive.

Paul shared the good news about Jesus with anyone who would listen. He engaged Jews and believers in the synagogue. He wandered around the bustling marketplace and talked with all kinds of non-Jewish Greeks.

It didn’t take long for philosophers from

various schools of thought to discover Paul and engage him in debate. Some were unimpressed.

Others had their curiosity aroused.

Wanting to know more, they led him to the Areopagus—a learned council of Paul’s time that arranged public lectures to explore and scrutinize new ideas.

Finding Common Ground

Paul began his address at the Areopagus by finding common ground with his listeners, rather than highlighting differences. He took an interest in their religious expressions and commented on the seriousness with which they observed their religious practices.

“Athenians,” he said, “It’s plain to see that you take your religion very seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across” (see Acts 17:23). Rather than starting from a place of judgment and superiority, Paul began with words of curiosity, affirmation, and respect.

One God

Paul went on to say, “As I went through your city, and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them, an altar, with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (see Acts 17:23). Rather than say, “My God is better than your God,” Paul made a connection between their “unknown god” and the God ➢

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whom Israel worshiped as creator of all.

“You asked me to explain about a teaching that sounds strange and new to you?” Paul began. “Actually, I think we worship the same God. Now, let me share with you how I understand, that this God that we share in common, is made known.”

After establishing a common base, Paul explained what he believed about God. Using language of logic familiar to his audience, Paul started from the “First Cause,” the place of origin, just like a Greek philosopher would. Rather than quoting the Bible, Paul used familiar language and concepts to summarize a scripturally faithful portrait of the God who made the world and everything in it.

“The God who made all things,” he explained, “this Master of heaven and earth, doesn’t live in hand-made shrines, or need humans to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. God makes the creatures. The creatures don’t make God” (see Acts 17:24-25).

God, who is the source of all, can’t be confined to a box or an object made by human hands, be it a temple, an altar or an idol. And while we’re at it, God can’t be bribed or bought off with our offerings or acts of worship.

God, God isn’t completely remote and unknowable; rather, God is near and accessible to us all.

Rather than quoting the Bible, Paul used familiar language and concepts to summarize a scripturally faithful portrait of the God who made the world and everything in it.

Common Humanity

After Paul invited his hearers to consider that perhaps he and they shared the same God, he built another bridge, explaining that, through God, he and his hearers also shared a common humanity.

“Starting from scratch,” Paul explained, “God made the entire human race, and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so that, wherever we are, we could seek after God, and not just feel around in the dark, but actually find God” (see Acts 17:26-27).

And he went on to explain, that while there certainly is mystery to

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Appropriate words

Instead of quoting a bunch of Bible verses, Paul continued identifying with his audience by using the words of their own great thinkers about deity to summarize a scripturally based understanding of creation.

He quoted the philosopher poet Epimenides of Knossos: “In him we move and have our being.” And he reminded them of the words of their poet Aratus: “For we, too, are his offspring” (see Acts 17:28). With insights from their own poets and thinkers, Paul challenged his diverse audience to wonder: If we live and move in God and are all God’s children, if we find our source and our being in God, does it really make sense, to think we could get a sculptor to carve a god out of stone for us?

Nowhere in his speech at the Areopagus did Paul actually use the name Jesus. In fact, it wasn’t until the end, when he spoke about the limits of God’s patience and made reference to a man whom God appointed and gave assurance to all by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:31), that Paul even made any kind of reference to Jesus at all.

The ruins of an ancient Greek palace at Knossos.

Our Encounters

Most of us won’t be asked to do an invocation at University or get dragged before a bunch of Greek philosophers, but we all have unique opportunities to engage with people of various beliefs. Paul’s approach makes me wonder about our encounters with diversity. As strange as it seems, quoting from the Bible might not be the most effective way to introduce the good news of our Lord to someone new.

The examples of Jesus and Paul challenge me to joyfully and appropriately share the good news of Jesus with the people I meet.

Paul’s encounter gives us a few helpful things to think about in our own opportunities.

Most people are interested in the values that shape others. If discussions take place in a mutually respectful and open-minded manner, most people are interested in what shapes another person’s values and convictions and most are willing to share their beliefs and views.

Acts 17:16-31 affirms my experience: people are basically curious. Yes, some people thought Paul was full of it, but others invited him to share more.

It helps to know something about other belief systems. Paul knew something about the

Athenians’ religious observances and shrines, respected the seriousness with which they took their religions, and quoted from their philosophers to build bridges. Paul affirmed the elements of truth and beauty found in their traditions—truths that pointed to and prepared them for the gospel.

Truth can be found in other traditions. This is a significant and humbling reminder in inter-faith conversations. Other traditions can offer truths that resonate with, point toward, and even illuminate and deepen our understanding of the gospel.

In this post-modern age which calls into question the idea of absolute truth, I remain an unabashed follower of Jesus Christ, who is “the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). The more seriously, though, I take my faith and seek to follow Jesus, the more I must humbly confess that my grasp of that truth is not absolute.

I’m thankful for my church family with whom I gather regularly around God’s Word to be held accountable. I’m also thankful for opportunities to meet and build relationships with people of other faith perspectives.

The examples of Jesus and Paul challenge me to joyfully and appropriately share the good news of Jesus with the people I meet. They also challenge me to remain humble and receptive to the possibility that my own faith and understanding can be deepened and broadened through my encounters with those of other beliefs.

Mark von Kampen, MDiv, is a chaplain at the University of Manitoba in the “Menno Office”(room 102E University Centre) where all are welcome to “come hang out with friends; enjoy good food, music and conversations about faith, life and everyday stuff.” He serves with InterMennonite Chaplaincy Assoc., of which the EMC is a partner.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 15

Column • Archives Alcove

Anabaptists and Baptists: centuries of common ground

I

by Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

A century apart, the starts of the Swiss Anabaptists and English Baptists remind us of common ground that we do well to remember today.

n 1525 a group of Christians displayed remarkable acts of courage in Zurich, Switzerland. They had been told by the City Council to allow their children to be baptized or be expelled from the district.

It was a moment of crisis. Their response was to meet in a home, to pray, and then to act. In defiance of the city council’s support of infant baptism, George Blaurock, a former monk, asked Conrad Grebel, part of Zurich’s upper class, to baptize him upon confession of faith.

Grebel, an unordained person, took a ladle of water and baptized Blaurock, and then Blaurock or Grebel baptized others. No infants were baptized and the Anabaptist movement had started.

Just over a century later, by 1633 some Christians in London, England, decided to form congregations separate from the Church of England. By 1638 these Christians had decided “Baptism was not for Infants, but professed Believers.” By 1640 some of them had decided baptism should be “by dipping the Body into the Water, resembling burial and rising again,” based on their reading of Col. 2:12 and Rom. 6:4.

With “none having then so practiced it in England to professed Believers, and hearing that some in the Netherlands had so practiced they agreed and sent over Mr. Richard Blunt (who understood Dutch) with Letters of Commendation, who was kindly accepted there, and returned with Letters from them, Jo. Batte, a Teacher there, and from that Church to such that sent him.”

Who were those in the Netherlands who assisted London’s Baptists as they sought to practice baptism by immersion? This is unclear.

By then in the Netherlands more than Mennonites-Anabaptists practiced believers’ baptism; the Collegiants did also. Both groups in the Netherlands perhaps strengthened each other’s convictions on believers’ baptism. In any case, “Mr. Blunt Baptized Mr. Blacklock” and they “baptized the rest of their friends that were so minded.”

There are parallels between Swiss Anabaptists and English Baptists. Both groups were

16 The Messenger • November 2014

dissatisfied with existing churches, considered them beyond reform, and were convinced that baptism should be upon confession of faith. Initially, both conducted believer baptism by pouring; only later did Baptist and immersion become synonymous.

In one setting, George Blaurock was baptized and then he perhaps baptized others; in the other, Mr. Blacklock was baptized and then he baptized others.

Of interest, too, is even earlier BaptistAnabaptist contact. English exiles in Amsterdam formed the first known Baptist congregation, practicing believers’ baptism in 1608-09. Some members of it later desired to join nearby Anabaptists-Mennonites, while others objected to some of the latter group’s beliefs: that Jesus was in Mary, but not of her; apostolic succession in baptism; and that a Christian should not be a magistrate. The leader of those who objected, Thomas Helwys, returned to England and was soon imprisoned.

In 1812 some Anabaptists met in southern Russia. They were dissatisfied with what was happening in the larger Mennonite church. Did they think it was beyond reform or consider themselves powerless to effect change? They formed a separate group, but did not institute a new baptismal practice. Part of that group, when in Canada, became the EMC. A century apart, the starts of the Swiss Anabaptists and English Baptists remind us of common ground that we do well to remember today.

Sources: J. Early Jr., Readings in Baptist History (2008); C. J. Dyck, An Introduction to Mennonite History (1981); “Grebel, Conrad” (GAMEO); H. L. McBeth, “Baptist Beginnings” (Baptist History and Heritage, 1979).

With Our Missionaries

Music Jamboree blesses Redcliff community ALBERTA

VERNA DOERKSEN

“Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everywhere in his kingdom. As for me—I, too, will praise the Lord” (Ps. 103:22).

We want to provide a praise report for the Redcliff Gospel Music Jamboree held on Aug. 1-2, 2014.

God’s orchestrating of details. We, the planning committee, had thought of renting a stage, but it seemed rather expensive. Then the town offered to let us use their flatbed trailer that they used as a float in a parade. However, when the musicians began arriving with all their instruments, it was too small. Again the town could provide a lower platform that was a perfect riser.

The sense of God’s presence. Something I can’t explain—just a peaceful, loving atmosphere.

One lady, after the event, with her hand across her heart, said, “It felt so good in here.”

The huge support from the town of Redcliff. As mentioned above, the town encouraged us. Right from the beginning we felt that they wanted this to happen. They let us use the Lions’ Park, which has a splash park and other great playground equipment for the kids.

Besides a kitchen with nearby washrooms, provision of garbage cans and bins, and good advice on hosting a large gathering, they even trimmed off dead branches from the trees where the tent was to be set up. Thanks also for the flower arrangements.

Good weather. Would it be too hot with thunderstorms? In this also God answered our prayers.

Good attendance. There were about 300 people altogether, with 150-175 at any given time.

The musicians. The music couldn’t have been better when sung by people who love Jesus and allow Him to use their gifts. The Daae family (Friday night); Peter and Willy Teichroeb; D’Friesens from Winkler, Man., who also sang some numbers in Low German; and several other groups, blessed German Mennonites as well as people from the community and even from farther away. What a finale with all musicians leading the audience in several rousing, heart-felt songs of praise!

Youth and food. The youth, proudly sporting identical T-shirts, had fun working together and impressed adults as they took care of selling pop, candy, and watermelon. They also served the hamburgers and hotdogs, and chili on a bun on Saturday for supper.

The Lord orchestrated the Music Jamboree.

With the help of a donated barbecue trailer for crowds, the burgers and wieners were done in short order. And it tasted so good. Local ladies volunteered time to cook the chili and bake buns. A greenhouse donated fresh cucumbers and tomatoes.

Testimonies of two youths. These had a powerful and emotional impact as several unexpected family members were present. Actually, all were blessed.

Kids’ ministry. A young man from the Vauxhall church volunteered to do some activity with the children, singing and Bible lessons.

Covering of costs. Enough money came in to cover the rental costs of the tent, chairs, and more. And there was enough for an honorarium for the singers. Leftover funds were sent to Samaritan’s Purse.

Another event next year? Many have already asked.

Thanks to all your prayers and the gift from the EM Conference to be used for an outreach event. We felt that God was present at the Gospel Music Jamboree and gave us more than for what we had hoped.

– Verna Doerksen Verna Doerksen (Blumenort) is involved in a bridge-building ministry among Low German-speaking Mennonites in Redcliff, Alta.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 17

With Our Missionaries

An accident—a missionary’s nightmare ETHIOPIA

BOM

Everyone lives with fear, but as foreign missionaries we are vulnerable. A simple incident can turn into a nightmare, and one we fear most is a vehicle/pedestrian (road) accident.

In Ethiopia, the penalty for death of a pedestrian is life in prison. For missionaries it usually means prison time, paying a huge fine, buckling under the immense stress, and leaving the field.

Many missionaries in Ethiopia have either seen a tragic accident or been involved in one. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. As roads improve in Ethiopia, both the speed and accidents increase.

A driver must avoid potholes; buckled asphalt; herds of cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs; and large numbers of villagers walking to the market. Two basic perspectives must be understood and embraced.

First, pedestrians consent to share the road with motorists. Two, in an accident, the wealthier party pays.

Six months ago I got the dreaded phone call from Rolf: “I have been in an accident, but I am fine.” Thankfully, it was a minor one. A motorcycle driver with a passenger had emerged from a forest onto the main road. Rolf nearly came to a complete stop, but the impact broke the passenger’s ankle.

Rolf arranged for the transportation of the injured man to a hospital several hours away and was then placed in police custody. For the next seven hours he sat with police who had no idea what to do with him. Everyone was confident of Rolf’s innocence, but he was the wealthier party. He was released and a guard was placed outside our home for 24 hours, perhaps for our safety or to ensure Rolf didn’t escape.

In the coming weeks, we paid for all the medical bills.

Once the man’s bone was healed, the trial was held mixing Gumuz and Ethiopian practices. There was no choice but to do it their way.

Each person brings an elder to speak on their behalf and agree on the judgment, but even Rolf’s Gumuz elder was shocked: Rolf would pay a fine of about $2,300 CDN. A leg in Gumuz culture is worth a life and there was no guarantee that the man’s leg would fully heal. In addition, the motorcyclist demanded full payment for his bike. Yet everyone spoke highly of Rolf and of his complete innocence.

A goat was purchased, alcohol was passed around, and the blood sacrifice and feast ensued. The first round was raw liver and tripe, the second round was semi-roasted

18 The Messenger • November 2014

Rolf and Angela Kruse and family

meat, and the third round fully cooked meat.

The judgment hit our Gumuz community and the church. It bothered them because everyone knew Rolf was innocent and yet was judged as guilty. We spoke of another innocent sacrifice made for us many years ago: Jesus’ sentence was death. Believers visited us to pray for us and encourage us.

What surprised us most was the emotional stress that the waiting and trial had on Rolf. We have no rights, we are not citizens, and we will be taken advantage of because of our skin colour; the lack of justice and mercy bothered him deeply. It was a natural reaction. Bitterness will not rule in our hearts, but forgiveness. We pray that as Gumuz watch us in our trials, they might also learn to forgive.

Praying for the safety of missionaries is vital. We are vulnerable as foreigners constantly involved in situations out of our control. Pray that we might be wise, not take offense to discrimination, and be quick to forgive. In our trials, our testimony speaks strongest. In forgiving, we walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

– Angela Kruse Angela and Rolf Kruse (Kola/Rosenort Fellowship) serve with SIM.

With Our Missionaries

Why are we here? We’ve been called.

WINNIPEG

BOM

As we walk through dark valleys with our friends in the neighbourhood we often feel discouraged and wonder whether we are making enough of a difference. At times like these it is helpful to have a strong sense of being called by God to this community and to this work.

In 2001 Amie and I first believed we were called to join what God was doing in Winnipeg’s North End. Our sense of calling remains strong today. We still believe that God has us here for a purpose, but it’s encouraging to have this affirmed by others.

At a Bible study a while ago one of the young men in the neighbourhood whom I’ve been close to for many years talked about the significant impact I and some other staff from ICYA had made in his life and spiritual journey.

“You guys are the image of God in the neighbourhood,” he said of ICYA. We don’t always hear what our friendship and ministry has done in people’s lives, so it means a lot to hear a friend say that we have been an incarnation of God’s presence in his life and in the community.

Recently an Aboriginal Christian leader with whom I have collaborated, and whom I respect a great deal, described how she appreciates the way I relate to her people.

Learning to relate to the Aboriginal community in respectful, sensitive, and culturally meaningful ways is something I have taken seriously and to which I believe God has called me. Hearing this leader’s feedback was a powerful

Andrew and Amy Reimer and family

affirmation that I am fulfilling this calling.

Another way in which we are reminded that God wants us in this ministry is by the way God provides for us through your support. Ever since we became missionaries in the North End thirteen years ago, we have depended on the financial support of family, friends, and churches who believe in the value of our life and ministry in the inner city.

Food, housing, gas in the van, vacations, small pleasures—your support has provided these things for us—and this has freed us to focus our energy and attention on engaging our community, caring for the vulnerable, reaching out to the lost and excluded, communicating Christ’s love and encouraging the believers in our neighbourhood. The way your gifts provide for our needs is a powerful, humbling and very tangible way of confirming our calling.

– Andrew and Amie Reimer Andrew and Amie Reimer (Steinbach EMC) serve in Winnipeg’s North End with Inner City Youth Alive.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 19

With Our Missionaries

Missionaries Gather, Schmidts Honoured

by Gerald Reimer

T

he EMC missionary fellowship took place on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014, at the Rosenort EMC. The event included a workshop in the afternoon for about a dozen furloughing missionaries. Another 60 retired missionaries and guests attended the evening celebration meal and program.

How did Jesus respond to interruptions in his life? By taking time to build relationships and care for people in practical ways. Dr. Jonathan Bonk, executive director emeritus and senior mission consultant for Overseas Ministries Study Center, spoke to this topic of “A Missiology of Interruptions” and another entitled “A Declaration of Interdependence” during two workshops in the afternoon.

Dr. Bonk reminded us that like bookends of Jesus’ life, the pillars of our Lord’s ministry began and ended with declaring that he was bringing the Good News.

Not only was his a message of salvation by faith in him alone, it

PHOTOS: TIM DYCK

Dr. Bonk reminded us that like bookends of Jesus’ life, the pillars of our Lord’s ministry began and ended with declaring that he was bringing the Good News.

Gerald Reimer and Andrew Reimer listen.

20 The Messenger • November 2014

Dr. Jon Bonk

also included the hands-on ministry of binding the broken-hearted, clothing the naked, and healing the lame. These, we discover, were the daily interruptions of his life. And this is the call that we have also been given as we respond to the daily interruptions in our own lives.

Dr. Bonk went on to challenge us to faithfully live out the “one another” passages of Scripture.

“There is no me without you,” he quoted, reminding us that as believers we need each other.

He unpacked for us the Encouragement Continuum, explaining that we will land at one of three places in the way we interact with each other. Either we “bear with” each other, we “accept” each other, or we “encourage” one another. The call is clear that we need to move from one side to the other in our daily interactions.

The afternoon ended with a question and answer period followed by a time of sharing and prayer around the tables.

On the same day EMC Missions held another supper and program for our current and retired missionaries. We gathered to celebrate the life-long ministry of David and Judy Schmidt, workers in Paraguay who have also pastored in Canada.

Menno Kroeker, Doris Barkman, Luella Giesbrecht, and EMC foreign secretary

With Our Missionaries Ken Zacharias gave tributes, highlighting the wide variety of involvements that the Schmidts have had over the years.

David and Judy responded with their own words of appreciation, which included singing a song that David wrote to the words of Psalm 115. Janine Parkinson also sang several songs, leading our hearts in worship.

Rosenort EMC pastor Nick Klassen shared a devotional, comparing the work of missions to duck hunting, though admitting that the analogy does fall apart at the end. The evening ended with a time of sharing and prayer around the tables for the current needs and our ongoing EMC Missions efforts around the globe.

Special thanks go to Minna Scharfenberg and the Rosenort EMC ladies who catered the event as well as to the Rosenort EMC missions committee who donated the meat for the meal.

Leaders ponder as Dr. Bonk speaks.

Dave and Judy Schmidt: 40 years, varied ministries, a steady witness

by Ken Zacharias

B

oth Dave and Judy grew up in missionary homes in Paraguay. Dave’s father was a medical doctor and his parents began the KM 81 Leprosy hospital. Judy’s parents, Frank and Marge Kroeker, were the visionaries for the ZP-30 radio station and instrumental in the beginnings of the Tres Palmas church. The passion and compassion of their parents was seen and caught by Dave and Judy.

Dave and Judy are passionate to see individuals come to the Lord and are compassionate to those who are hurting in their communities.

Their passion and compassion led them to work with three different ministries with EMC Missions from 1974 to 2014.

The Schmidts, together with the Tres Palmas church and other EMC missionaries, ministered to seventy-five Guarani Indian families of the Mbya tribe at the Santa Teresa mission station (1974-87). It was here that Dave and Judy learned the Guarani language spoken by both Indian and national Paraguayan people. This language acquisition was so important to obtain, ➢

Diana Peters presents flowers to Judy and Dave Schmidt.

The Schmidts, together with the Tres Palmas church and other EMC missionaries, ministered to seventy-five Guarani Indian families of the Mbya tribe at the Santa Teresa mission station (1974-87).

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

With Our Missionaries and they began to work half-time in this area. A few years later, this increased to full-time.

In 2003 a building was purchased and renovated in Asuncion to be a place of refuge and ministry for those with HIV/AIDS. It was called High Refuge (Alto Refugio). Dave and Judy served here (2003-14) in a ministry that has provided hundreds of people with the physical, emotional, and spiritual support needed in a crisis.

Under the Schmidts’ direction Judy and Dave Schmidt respond with words of appreciation. and passion to share the gospel, many not only for this work, but for future ministries. patients have accepted Christ as their Lord and After a few years in Canada pastoring the Saviour through the testimony and witness of Roseisle EMC, Dave and Judy returned to Parathe Alto Refugio staff. guay and were involved in church planting in the EMC Missions has transferred the Alto small city of Pastoreo (1992-95) and in Roque Refugio ministry to a local board of directors Alonso, a suburb of Asuncion (1996–2002). that is leading the ministry well. For day-to-day It was in Pastoreo that Dave and Judy began operations, the baton has been transferred from to know Alicia, a sister of a believer in town.

Dave and Judy to Elsa and Beto Hein.

After the Schmidts moved to Roque Alonso in As Dave and Judy move into “retirement,” we 1996, Alicia became sick with the HIV/AIDS know their desire is to continue to be involved virus. with ministry in Paraguay. They return there in Dave and Judy reached out to Alicia and her December 2014. children, and they were a great comfort to them.

We praise the Lord for the three distinct Alicia passed away from her illness and her chil- ministries which Dave and Judy have been a dren are now a part of Dave and Judy’s family. part of in Paraguay since 1974. They are faithful By 1999 the Schmidts became more involved servants. with individuals suffering from the HIV/AIDS

Steinbach Bible College & CandleWick Productions present

‘

Charles Dickens Rio Grande Bible Institute Tour Feb. 19 to March 2, 2015

Enjoy some winter sun and participate in the ministry of RGBI. Experience the history of San Antonio and the south Texas culture, and meet students and staff at RGBI. Contact Frieda Johnson at 204-254-3639 or fjohnson@riogrande.edu for details.

22 The Messenger • November 2014

NOVEMBER 20 - 23

With Our Missionaries

Opportunities to tell about opportunities

NCEM

CANADA

Carl Sonnichsen

This winter, when you see an NCEM, Mid-Way Christian Leadership, Native Fellowship of Canada, or other First Nations-related ministry booth at your missionfest, college, or church, please take a few minutes to introduce yourself to our representative. We’ll be happy to meet you.

– Arlyn van Enns/NCEM Arlyn van Enns (La Crete) adapted this article from NCEM’s Minute Man newsletter. The EMC has formal mission agreements with NCEM, Mid-Way Christian Leadership, and the Native Fellowship of Canada.

BOM

Carl Sonnichsen, who with his family serves in Labrador, was introduced to NCEM through our Northern Lights magazine while a student at Moody Bible Institute. Interestingly, not long after, when he attended the Urbana missions conference in December 1984, NCEM’s display booth was the first he saw as he entered the large convention room.

“The NCEM representative (Arlyn van Enns, who serves at Fort Chipeywan, Alta.) was busy speaking with someone else when I first arrived,“ Carl remembers, “but after some waiting, and a lengthy conversation with him, I was quite convinced that I need not look any further.”

“The following year or two were further confirmation that NCEM was the channel through which God would enable me to reach a specific people group here in North America. And I’ve never felt otherwise in the last 29 years!”

This year NCEM will send representatives to missionfests in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Halifax—and to numerous churches and college campuses across Canada and in the U.S. Why do we do this? Because there are still many First Nations and Inuit communities without a Bible-based church or fellowship group. There are opportunities to tell of opportunities to be involved in God’s work in these places.

There are registration fees, travel, accommodation, and media expenses involved. We use our website and literature for this same purpose, but we know it’s significant to have a missionary to talk to and to answer questions.

NCEM missionaries feel strongly enough about this that they sometimes pay these expenses from their personal support.

Arlyn and Annette van Enns

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 23

With Our Missionaries

The ministry does not end here I was working in Toyota City, Japan, for the past three years as an English teacher in a Japanese Mennonite Brethren church. My students ranged from children in kindergarten all the way to retired adults, with the classes divided by levels.

The pastor and I shared the work of doing short Bible studies after each class followed by a coffee break. I also worked alongside the church as they turned Christian holidays into outreach programs, especially for kids.

Working with the English classes and helping in the church programs was always filled with learning for both me and my students.

There was still a lot of free time in my weekly schedule, so I asked the church if I could start an art club. With this, I was able to use something that I love as a way to draw my students and friends into the church more. We met once a week sharing ideas, love for art, and practicing Japanese and English for two years.

My official role was a missionary/English teacher in the church, but working for the Lord is not limited to inside the walls of the church alone. As I built friendships with my students and others, I had the chance to encourage fellow believers and exemplify my faith and God’s love in a variety of places such as cafes, badminton club, karaoke, and trips around Japan.

It was my joy and pleasure to work alongside the little East Toyota Christ Church and to build and deepen my relationships with the English students. Although I am no longer working in Japan, I do intend to carry on many of these relationships, and hope to see my beloved Japanese friends again. The ministry does not end here.

– Amy Peters

BOM

JAPAN

Amy Peters

LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH

Amy Peters (EFC Steinbach/Island Gospel Fellowship) served for several years in Japan, mostly under MB Missions as an EMC associate worker.

Free for Sunday School!

Contact info@emconf.ca or 204-3266401.

24 The Messenger • November 2014

“My relationship with God has become stronger because through all the highs and lows of this year, I have had to rely on God with everything I have.”

-SALTer Rachel Siemens

Commit to a year to serving alongside others in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America Apply at salt.mcc.org Apply at salt.mcc.org Program of Mennonite Central Committee

Columns • Thinking About

The fire at Mount Salem

T

by Ward Parkinson Conference Pastor

ARCHIVES

he water in the baptismal tank was soaking up years of hurt, sin and conflict. And then, as a vivid picture of God’s amazing grace, it dissolved them out of sight.

The scene was Mount Salem EMC in southwest Ontario. Many had gathered on this September Saturday evening for a “celebration of God’s work, grace, and power,” a special service featuring the theme of reconciliation.

Invited guests included former pastors and leaders whose departure from the church had involved pain or conflict, as well as leaders and representatives from other Region 9 churches and the wider EM Conference.

Between sets of well-chosen songs of gratitude and worship skillfully led by the worship team, current Mount Salem pastor Albert Loewen guided the evening with thoughtful and heartfelt words along the themes of vision, miracles, focus, confession, and grace. These themes were listed on slips of paper that each person received as they entered the service. As he spoke, Albert encouraged people to jot down on the paper their own words of remembrance, pain, sin, burden or prayer as the Lord brought them to mind.

The service concluded with a celebration of the Lord’s Supper led by a former pastor, Wilbert Friesen. As people came forward to participate in communion, they were invited to drop their slips of paper into the baptismal tank at the front of the sanctuary. These offerings, on watersoluble paper, disappeared quickly, signifying a point of new beginnings.

In the aftermath of the service, over refreshments, people lingered long. I observed many smiles, embraces, and tears as folks enjoyed refreshing their long-held friendships.

Describing the service does not tell the whole story. This was the culmination of a year of planning and cultivation on behalf of the current leadership team at Mount Salem.

Over that time they met face to face with a variety of past leaders, pastors, and board members. Their desire was to personally acknowledge the church’s role in past conflict and seek

Former pastor Wilbert Friesen

reconciliation and forgiveness.

As he introduced the communion celebration, Wilbert Friesen had an opportunity to represent former leaders in offering a response to the congregation. He was clear in giving proper perspective, saying that this event was not about him, or even solely about the Mount Salem congregation; it was about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The ministry of reconciliation starts with the Cross of Christ where the ground is level.

Having grown up in Pentecostal circles, I have witnessed the moving of God’s Spirit in many forms and contexts: tongues, healing services, and revivals. Seldom have I been a part of a service where the fire of the Spirit was more evident than it was this day at Mount Salem.

2 Cor. 3:17 says, “Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

For Mount Salem’s leaders, the deliberate goal of these efforts was that the church could move ahead in the freedom of forgiveness and grace. May their example ignite a wider fire among us.

The current leadership team at Mount Salem met face to face with a variety of past leaders, pastors, and board members to personally acknowledge the church’s role in past conflict and seek reconciliation and forgiveness.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

With Our Churches Braeside EMC

Prayer welcomed as members make changes WINNIPEG, Man.—Congratulations to the following Braeside high school graduates: Dabe Villaflor, Jessica Knelson, Jordan Driedger, and Karen Martinez. A child dedication service was held on Aug. 1 for Karen Garcia and Mark Cristobal’s daughter Kamila.

Our Vacation Bible School went well with many children attending in summer. The theme was weird animals.

Carlos and Sandra Ericastilla were in charge, and what a wonderful image of a jungle they set up in the sanctuary, in the basement, and on the stairway.

Arnold Thiessen is recovering well from a stroke he suffered a few months ago. He uses a walker, but attends church regularly. Arnold and Tina are thankful that he is able to care for most of his needs.

Condolences to Abe Klassen whose wife Kay died May 15. Abe has moved to Menno Home in Grunthal.

A one hundred-day plan was put in place after a period

of “Refocusing.” A lead team has been selected, consisting of Carol Brandt, Murray Doerksen, Carlos Ericastilla, Adam Janzen, and Pastor Kim Stoesz.

Pray for David Penner, who had a massive heart attack and is in Concordia Hospital. Donna Kelly had a knee replacement; results are good. During her convalescence, Donna said, her husband Chris was a great help.

A prayer request also from Claudia Figueroa who will be attending YWAM (Youth with a Mission) for six months. Her training will be in Hawaii.

“First Things First,” a challenge to manage money wisely from a Christian perspective, was presented by Harold Penner of Mennonite Foundation of Canada for four consecutive Wednesdays. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things that you didn’t do than by the things you did do” (a quote from a book used).

– Caroline Loewen

•• Portage Evangelical Church

Portage rejoices in steps of faith

PHOTOS: STAN WIEBE

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—On June 8, 2014, Portage Evangelical Church celebrated the baptisms of four people: Montana Doty, Justis Meier, Jada Wieler, and Kurtis McKee. On a separate day we had a second reason to rejoice: we received Kurtis and Holly McKee, Christine and Jared Bergen, Tracy Chalifoux, and Helen Klassen as members.

– PEC

Montana Doty is baptized.

Jada Wieler follows the Lord.

Six members were received at PEC (names at left).

26 The Messenger • November 2014

With Our Churches Crestview Fellowship

‘Love Crestview’ event held

CRESTVIEW

WINNIPEG, Man.—Even when you are different, even when you are left out, even when you don’t understand, even when you do wrong, even when you are afraid— Jesus Loves You! These are the Bible points that were reinforced at Summer Kids’ Week which took place the week of August 10-14. An average of 20 enthusiastic children joined the many volunteers to learn about some Weird Animals and especially about Jesus’ love for us.

We had great fun with Bible stories, games, crafts, snacks, and videos. Thanks to all who volunteered their time to make this another fun and successful week.

About a dozen people volunteered their time on Saturday, Sept.

13, to help spruce up the outside of the church building.

VBS was held on Aug. 10–14.

Trees were trimmed, fences, doors and trim were painted, windows were cleaned, and garbage was hauled away. A big thank you from the Maintenance Committee for all the help.

The fall kick-off for all of the church ministries was held on Sept. 14 with a barbeque lunch. This was a combined event with “Love Crestview” and the people from the community were invited to join us.

Despite the cool weather several hardy souls braved the elements and enjoyed their lunch outdoors. Sunday School classes will start up on Sept. 21. The focus and prayer for everyone involved in the Sunday School program will be: • growing and understanding our relationship with Jesus • getting to know each other better and helping each other out • learning God’s Word, including memorization • inviting others to join us “Tea By The Sea—Discovering the Power of God’s Love in Your Life” was the theme of the Women’s Weekend Event held in Portage la Prairie on Sept. 26 and 27. Twelve ladies were able to attend and what a wonderful time we had. Music by Larry and Nancy Kunkel and speaker/author Cynthia Heald reinforced the powerful, amazing love God has for each one of us.

– Sharron Straub MC

CA

LBERTA

No Frida vem y ber 21

CMU Middle East Study Tour April 29 to May 18, 2015

A CMU study tour to Israel, led by Dr. Gerald Gerbrandt and Dr. Sheila Klassen-Wiebe, focuses on the Holy Land as the ancient land of the Bible and of contemporary conflict.

Visit cmu.ca/met2015 for details.

Breaking Down Walls...

Relief, Development and Peace keynote speaker: the Right Honourable Joe Clark http://mcccanada.ca/get-involved/ events/breaking-down-walls-reliefdevelopment-peace

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

With Our Churches Prairie Rose EMC

Servants share reports of needs and responses

PREMC

LANDMARK, Man.—Two of the reasons I like fall are: first, that most of the regular programs and routines of church begin again, and, second, that we get to hear reports of those who have served elsewhere during the summer.

In spring Doris Penner returned from Spain after helping Isabella for several months at Bethel Conference and Retreat Centre, the same ministry where missionary Evelyn Plett worked for over thirty years.

Wilfried and Shirley Hiebert came home with their family for the summer after completing a two-year term in Bolivia working with Low German Mennonites and a mission called Casa Mariposa (EFCCM). Along with other programs, Wilfried introduced a Friday evening of floor hockey called “Hockey Night in Bolivia.” It This summer Pastor Mike Plett, his wife Deidre, and their daughter Gillian visited New was a great hit. People of all ages Tribes Mission workers Larry and Sarah Richardson in Colombia. gathered for fun and exercise. We are saddened that they are leaving us, but excited for the rebuild after the devastating flood of fall 2013.This was opportunity of their serving another two to three years in a great time of learning for the youth, as they served a Bolivia in similar ministries. hurting community and worked alongside other MDS volPastor Mike Plett, wife Deidre and their daughter Gilunteers who were united by a common faith. Some of the lian traveled to Colombia to visit Larry and Sarah Richard- youth dug holes and landscaped yards, some took part in son (New Tribes Mission) in July. Larry and Sarah showed demolition and clearing away debris, while others started them around “town” and took them on a canoe trip up to rebuild homes. Many said they would go again. river to introduce them to the Puinave people. Larry is In fall Prairie Rose was excited to host the Asante Chilworking hard to translate the Bible and other resources dren’s choir from Uganda. The Sunday evening program into their own language. Later in summer Larry and Sarah was full of energy and enthusiastic singing. Even though visited Landmark. the clothes and language were different, it was the same Several of our young people worked hard this summer God that was praised. If they are in your area, take the time at various Bible camps: Red Rock, Roseau River, and Eagle to enjoy their program.

Lake. The church was encouraged to hear them report Looking ahead toward Christmas, the annual Candle on their experiences and lessons learned while serving at Light Service will be on Saturday, Dec. 20. Come and enjoy camp, and how God was working through them as ordian evening worshipping Emmanuel. nary people in ordinary life to do his amazing work.

– Lisa Friesen In August, our senior youth group went on a missions trip to Jamestown, Colorado, with MDS to clean up and

28 The Messenger • November 2014

Columns • Writings Shared Bernie Loeppky, Taste the New Wine: Interactive Studies on The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7 (Winkler, MB: Pembina Associates, 2014). 200 pp. $10 (plus mailing). ISBN 9780993784408. Reviewed

by Dr. Harvey Plett (Prairie Rose), minister and educator.

B

ernie Loeppky has written a very readable and interactive study. Each lesson is developed under a threefold outline: Introduction, Text, and Discussion.

The Introduction presents the idea found in the Scripture text being studied. The Text section examines the text, giving various interpretations of the passage and then suggests what the writer thinks is the most appropriate teaching of the text. Finally, the Discussion section is set up with various statements re issues of the text with a question on the issues mentioned for discussion by the class.

One issue that could have been more clearly stated is what to do with a text that speaks to specific situation at that time. Such texts need to

be handled carefully and not applied universally.

But such texts do teach a biblical principle that is applicable today.

The interpreter cannot simply say it’s cultural and doesn’t apply to today. The interpreter’s task is to find the principle taught and then find a current application. The lesson writer implies this, but it could be stated more clearly so as to avoid making such texts irrelevant.

I highly recommend this book to any Sunday School or Bible study group. As you use these lessons you will be led into a deeper understanding of the Sermon on the Mount and hopefully greater obedience. His list of references lists additional sources you may wish to consult.

John H. Yoder, Theology of Mission (IVP, 2014). 431 pp. $36. ISBN 9780830840335. Reviewed by Henry Friesen (The ConneXion), BA, MPhilF, BCM member.

T

heology of Mission (TM) is a new release of Yoder’s work that is gleaned from his college lecture tapes and edited into book format by well-known Yoder scholars Gayle Gerber Koontz and Andy AlexisBaker. Yoder’s purpose in recording the lectures was initially as a resource to facilitate advance class preparation for students, but his secondary purpose of turning this into a book was not realized in his lifetime.

When Yoder moved to Duke and no longer taught missions, the tapes were stored and forgotten until former students’ recollections of how formative Yoder’s thinking on missions had been sparked an effort to recover the materials.

For Yoder the Church is mission (88f ).

Mission is not what the Church does or says; mission is what the Church is. Yoder responds to various streams of thought regarding the

Church and missions, but the primary resource that permeates his reflection is scripture itself, and it is rooted in both Testaments, because mission is God’s work. It starts with Creation and is traced through Israel’s story and all of history.

Theology of Mission models Yoder’s Anabaptist thinking in an area that has universal Christian import. As such it has value both as an Anabaptist perspective on a theology of mission, but it also is an example of how Anabaptist values integrate into areas of theology that are not uniquely Anabaptist concerns.

TM is more academic than the Yoder for Everyone series, which means some might find it tough reading. It is recommended for anyone interested in a theology of mission and for those who would like to know how central Anabaptist values speak to broader Christian concerns.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 29

News

South Korean C.O. gets 18-month sentence

THE MENNONITE

In April, Sang-Min Lee, a South Korean Anabaptist, began serving an 18-month sentence for objecting to military service. To write to Sang-Min Lee: (153-600), Seoul Guro-gu, Geumcheon Post Office Box 164, #2139 South Korea, Mr. Lee Sang Min. For more information, go to www.martyrstories.org/ co-letter-campaign.

– The Mennonite

••

Pacifism relevant amid ISIS terror, Bienenberg faculty declares LIESTAL, Switzerland—While “deeply shaken” by the terror caused by ISIS militias in Iraq and Syria, “we believe that the situation does not render pacifist convictions obsolete,” declared the faculty of the Theological Seminary Bienenberg in a mid-September statement.

The statement entitled “Using violence against violence?” questions the growing support for military intervention as a “moral responsibility compatible with the Christian faith.”

“A peace church position is not equivalent to apathetic passivity,” notes the faculty statement. “We are convinced that evil must be confronted.” They advocate the following alternative means of action: prayer, nonviolent peacemaking operations, help for refugees, and the practice of “just policing.”

The statement responds to the objection that the Christian pacifist position is “idealist and naive.” The statement also challenges those who find biblical support for “necessary violence,” citing instead God’s protest against the “logic of violence” in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

“We know that it is only possible to express some of these thoughts when at a safe distance from violent conflicts,” acknowledges the statement. “However, we do

30 The Messenger • November 2014

HANSPETER JECKER

European Anabaptist seminary advocates for ‘just policing’

Bienenberg Theological Seminary and Conference Centre

not want to let ourselves be paralyzed by helplessness and resignation, but rather we carry on, humbly and with the help of God’s Spirit, in the ‘hunt for peace’ (Hebrews 12:14) as best as we are able.”

The Theological Seminary Bienenberg is a school founded by the Mennonite churches of France, Germany, and Switzerland.

– MWC

Column • Further In and Higher Up

A little Sunday foolishness

D

by Layton Friesen

DESIGNPICS

on’t you wish you had some big, dashing shout-out to wake up Canada to the impending mistake of assisted suicide? Read on.

Advocates of assisted suicide insist, “If you don’t like assisted suicide, don’t have one.” But this ignores a dreadful consequence for those who will now have to choose not to die. To the extent that they have a choice, they are responsible for that choice.

When assisted suicide is legal, a woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who chooses not to relieve family and taxpayers of the burden of her care, can of course make that choice. But a burden now settles on her shoulders.

Every day will be an assertion, a claim she must stake out: “I impose my existence and the care needed to make my living possible, in spite of costs to you, my beloved caregivers.” All work involved in her care then becomes a result of her demand to live, her fault you could say. What an inhumane way to treat the sick.

I can imagine my late grandmothers, who feared being a burden, stumbling under this load. Fortunately, in their day they had no choice but to be and to accept their being until God called them home. With their family they “had” to rest in Romans 14:8. “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

Allow me a mischievous thoughtexperiment. What would change if the EMC prohibited Sunday work and decreed that all are required to attend services? All EMCers would have to go to their workplace and say, “I am sorry. I have no choice. My religion forbids me to work on Sunday. Rest and worship are my religious duties.”

We and thousands of workplaces across Canada would bend, even if unwillingly, to the reality that the Lord has a day, and that he directs our coming and going in time. God rests on this day and the servants have nothing to

do when their master is resting. Time belongs to God, not to us and our preferences. All 7,800 of us would become a stone in the shoe of a society seeking “me-time.”

When the everyday shape of our lives, our schedules, are already structured by God who calls us from beyond our personal preferences, we have a leg to stand on when we insist that the end of our life, our final rest, is also not our choice or determined by our feelings. But when there is no king in Israel and everyone does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25), the result is the burden I describe above.

Maybe the EMC could at least forbid me from working on Sunday if no one else. (Anyone else could apply for the same decree.) That way the leisurely morning worship, the nap on the sofa, the football in the park with pork ribs slow-roasting nearby, would be no fault of my own, no sign of laziness.

I would only be doing my sober religious duty, submitting to the Lord who owns the world and directs my coming and going from work and from life. Wait, don’t we already have a command like this on the books somewhere?

When our schedules are already structured by God, we can insist that the end of our life is also not our choice or determined by our feelings.

Join with Christ in shaping our

WORLD

Evangelical Mennonite Conference Board of Missions 204-326-6401 info@emconf.ca www.emconference.ca

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 31

Column • An Education App

SBC and our local churches

H

SBC

by Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

ow can Steinbach Bible College better assist our EMC churches and how can our churches better support SBC? This matter was posed to conference council delegates in July by Gerald Reimer, conference youth minister.

The number of EMC students attending SBC has declined during the past decade, Reimer explained. He properly wondered how to strengthen the relationship between the college and EMC churches who collectively co-own it.

Though the question was provided in advance to delegates, little response was garnered.

One church did send a written comment: it was grateful to see young people attend any Bible college. Such sentiments are likely found within many congregations.

That’s part of the reality: when biblical illiteracy seems to be increasing in Canada, why be concerned where members go as long as they learn? Yes, there’s an infinite, eternal value in having members go to any evangelical educational institution. Full disclosure: having studied full-time at three Bible colleges and taken courses at a fourth (CPC, SBC, MBBC, PBI), I’m indebted to and respect them all.

Yet we can remain concerned about some choices. Why? Because both theology and practice matter. Significantly and historically, Evangelical Anabaptism is Arminian in perspective, although the latter term came later.

Further, the EMC is concerned about missions and community, peace and war, church and state, and the integration of evangelism and social justice (check Scripture and our Constitution). Isn’t it common sense, then, to prefer that our students learn and that professors model what we see as important?

Pastors, parents, peers, and parishes can, then, wisely consider the beliefs and practices that shape a Bible college. To be fair, it requires looking beneath the surface. Always bear in mind, though, that differences of opinion do not mean that some colleges are less committed to being biblical.

There is an infinite, eternal value in having members go to any evangelical educational institution, yet we can remain concerned about some choices.

32 The Messenger • November 2014

Yes, SBC is our college—the EMC co-owns it, our council elects members to its board, the BCM and BLO provides financial assistance to EMCers who study there, and the college reports at our national gatherings. As part of its mission, SBC serves our conference; in turn, the EMC supports it through students, finances, prayer, and counsel. SBC is worthy of our support.

However, if SBC began in 1936 because churches, somewhat isolated, needed a local option to train workers, that seclusion is long gone. Because of our conference’s expansion and the success of the Bible college movement across Canada, SBC now is to many members, in practical terms, only one option.

As people—teens and older—choose a college, various factors come into play: attitudes about proximity, contact with a particular college, programs and costs, transferability of credits, and the influences of friends and graduates. As a result, EMC families are connected, often by generations, with evangelical Bible colleges (too many to list) across Canada; they will continue to support them and the EMC will benefit from it.

SBC wisely looks for support from its coowners. It also realizes that it cannot simply expect loyalty from a new generation; it has to earn it. An already fine college is strengthening its public relations and improving its programming, including by offering courses online.

So, how might we respond to what was posed to conference council members?

Shoulder Tapping *With any applications for EMC church pastoral positions, candidates are expected to also register a Ministry Information Profile 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.

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.

Roseisle EMC is currently in search of a full-time pastor with a supportive and involved family. Located 100 kms southwest of Winnipeg in a small, rural town, we are a church with many young families and an average attendance of 75. We are looking for a pastor that is passionate about his faith and has lots of energy and contagious excitement to work within the church and the local community of Roseisle.

Responsibilities would include practical Bible based preaching/teaching, visitation, local community visibility/involvement, and encouraging the spiritual growth of the church. We are seeking a dynamic leader who loves Jesus, and embraces small church and small town living. Housing is provided.

Interested applicants should contact the pastoral search committee chair, Pam Dyck, at 204435-2778 or through email. Please send resumes to Pastoral Search Committee, Roseisle EMC, Box 29, Roseisle MB R0G 1V0 or remcsearch@gmailc.om The Church of Living Water in Tillsonburg, Ont., is seeking a full-time senior pastor. We are a young church with attendance ranging from 70-100. We have a growing children and youth ministry. CLW is seeking a pastoral couple who will live among us to guide and direct the church to deeper and greater ministry in our community.

We believe the senior pastor role to be that of a shepherd who guides his congregation, needs to be a strong encourager and a pastor who has passion for God and his people. This is best accomplished by studying and teaching, praying and preaching, and visiting and visioning, all based on God’s Word. Previous pastoral experience is preferred, and candidate must be in agreement with our EMC Constitution and Statement of Faith.

Applications or resumes should be sent to the CLW Board of Elders: Abe Neufeld (chair) abeneufeld@bell.net and David Dyck (vice chair) daviddyck@hotmail.com.

Rosenort Fellowship Chapel is seeking a full-time senior pastor starting any time after August 1 to care for and lead a congregation of about 120 people. Rosenort is a small community located 60 kms south of Winnipeg. Please contact Brent Friesen if you would like more information: 204-746-6974 or brent_friesen@yahoo.ca.

Mennville EMC, a rural congregation with an attendance about 90, located in Manitoba's Interlake region, seeks a full or part-time pastor. The pastor will work within a ministerial team as the church seeks to renew and grow. College or seminary training and pastoral experience are definite assets.

Starting date is flexible and salary will reflect EMC guidelines. A candidate should be a collaborative leader (team player), comfortable in the pulpit and

in pastoral care, familiar with the EMC Statement of Faith, and respectful of various cultures and rural living. Contact minister Terry Dueck at frontier104@ hotmail.com.

Heartland Community Church is seeking a full-time lead pastor for our congregation of 150-plus in Landmark, Man. In addition to meeting the pastoral and preaching needs of our congregation, we are looking for a pastor with an outward focus and a passion for relational community involvement.

For information and a full job description, visit our website at www.heartlandcommunitychurch.ca.

Please send resumes to pastorsearchcommittee@ heartlandcommunitychurch.ca.

Other Positions Bergfeld Mennonite Church (EMMC) is looking for a full-time pastor. Contact us for details or to provide a resume: Bergfeld Mennonite Church, Pastoral Search Committee, Box 1478, Altona, MB R0G 0B0; abereg@mts.net; 204-324-8283.

Steinbach Bible College invites applications for the full-time position as director of advancement.

Reporting to the president, the director of advancement is responsible for the operating fund development and implementation, advancement events, and fostering alumni relations.

Travel will be required. A more detailed job description is available upon request. More info is also available at SBCollege.ca.

The successful candidate must sign and agree to the SBC Statement of Faith and Lifestyle Agreement that can be viewed at http://sbcollege.ca/about/ faith.

Please submit your resume with cover letter via email to: Eileen Krueger, human resources consultant, EBMinds@gmail.com. We thank all applicants who apply but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Where are position ads to be sent?

Please send all position ads, including pastoral search ads, to messenger@emconf.ca. All ads are to be 150 words or less. All ads can be edited.

www.SBCollege.ca

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 33

Column • Here and Far Away

Exercise and God as spiritual trainer

I

JOCELYN R. PLETT

am not one of those people who loves exercising. I avoid it every chance I get, in truth, and would far rather sit with a cuppa and something lovely to eat.

Eating good things and enjoying a comfortable sit-down

by Jocelyn R. Plett are marvellous things. Indeed, www.writewhatyousee. they are blessings that come from the Father. wordpress.com So too is the stress and challenge of trials.

On a rare day that I did exercise I was struck by what the trainer on the work-out video said as she pushed us to ever increasing discomfort and physical stress: stress brings about a desired change—better health, fitness, and overall wellbeing. Yet we must persevere in order to reap the rewards we seek.

After being through a thick season of stress ourselves here, her words struck a chord deep within me. Stress does bring about change, even in the spiritual realm.

James says, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-3).

Many Christians follow the misguided notion that a blessed life is one without problems or stress. This is not RESPONDING REBUILDING RESTORING what the Bible tells us; rather it says that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). But take heart, not only To find out how you can does it say that Jesus help bring people home: has overcome the call world, but that in 1-866 866--261 261--1274 Him we will have or go online peace, trouble mds.mennonite.net notwithstanding.

Let God be your Spiritual Trainer, do the workout, and reap His blessings.

34 The Messenger • November 2014

I want to be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. I can’t become that while sitting eating cake and drinking coffee in a stress-free bubble I’ve asked God to “bless” me with.

“Many, if not most, of our prayers are selfish in nature,” writes Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker. “We pray as if God’s chief objective is our personal comfort. It’s not. God’s chief objective is His glory. And sometimes His gain involves a little pain” (111).

The cliché, “No pain, no gain” is true for physical strengthening. It’s just as true for spiritual, emotional, and mental strength. God wants to use us to bring about His glory.

He does this, in part, by bringing us to stressful places where we have nowhere to turn but to Him and our only option is to trust Him. It’s then that miraculous change can happen.

Discerning Christians will realize that crises not of our own making can be used by God to refine our faith, which is of more worth than gold and far more valuable than personal comfort. It is why James exhorts us to consider it pure joy when we face trials, because we know that trials can chip away at our spiritual bodies to make us fit, “mature and complete,” and better able to face the future with joy and confidence.

Let God be your Spiritual Trainer, do the workout, and reap His blessings.

Column • stewardship today

Generous eyes

T

by Dori Zerbe Cornelsen Consultant

DESIGNPICS

he eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light (Matt. 6:22).

Mrs. Potato Head understands the power of non-verbal communication.

I laugh every time I remember her in the outtakes of the 1999 movie Toy Story 2, helping Mr. Potato Head pack for the mission the toys are about to undertake: “I’m packing your extra pair of shoes. And your angry eyes, just in case.”

Our eyes are powerful. They can communicate emotions that our words may not express. Perhaps it is the power of non-verbal communication that Jesus was trying to express when he said that the eye is the lamp of the body.

We shouldn’t be surprised that during Jesus’ time, people understood differently how the eye worked than we do today. Then, people believed that humans were able to see because light came out of the eye at the object to be seen. So, what the eye saw depended on what kind of light was inside a person.

From this ancient way of knowing, what can we learn about making a greater connection between our inner lives—thoughts, attitudes, desires—and the way we see the world? Perhaps our seeing really does expose the light or darkness within ourselves.

Joshua Becker, a self-described writer, blogger, speaker, pastor, husband, and father, maintains a website he calls Becoming Minimalist.

There, he blogs to inspire readers to pursue their passions while owning fewer possessions.

Some time ago, Becker wrote a post about nine ways generous people see the world differently. All nine are worthy of contemplation, but his reason number five struck me: “They trust others. Generosity always requires trust.”

While some people may use a lens of suspicion to assess individuals and institutions asking for their support, generous people are more likely to get to a place of seeing that their

resources will be used wisely. In this way, Becker writes, generous people are optimistic because they choose to believe in others.

I would suggest another side of trust revealed by the vision of generous people: a belief that God has provided resources enough for all.

People who live generous lives trust that they don’t have to worry and store up just for themselves (also words of Jesus that surround the saying about the eye found in Matt. 6). They find themselves in faith communities that encourage trust in whatever circumstances they face.

If we take Jesus seriously, learning to let go of treasure and worry can lead to our bodies being full of light from which we can cast a gaze of generosity. In other words, generosity is in the eye of the giver.

I like the way Becker ends his blog post: “Our world is desperately seeking cheerful and generous givers… They inspire us. They push us forward. And their view of the world is one I desire to further grow in my own life.” Amen to that.

Dori Zerbe Cornelsen is a stewardship consultant in the Winnipeg, Man., office of Mennonite Foundation of Canada. For information on impulsive generosity, stewardship education, and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest MFC office or visit MennoFoundation.ca.

I would suggest another side of trust revealed by the vision of generous people: a belief that God has provided resources enough for all.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 35

Column • kids’ corner

Take a look at this list:

timber wolf tumbleweed razzmatazz macaroni and cheese beaver

by Loreena Thiessen

Which colour is your favourite?

canary shadow apricot dandelion salmon

DESIGNPICS

What is colour?

What do you think they are?

If you look in your box of Crayola crayons these are the names of some of the colours. You use crayons regularly. You may colour a map or draw a picture to illustrate or show something.

Crayons have a long history of over 100 years. Before crayons there was chalk. In 1885 two cousins, Binney and Smith, decided there should be better drawing tools for children. They should be safe and colourful. So they invented crayons.

The name Crayola was chosen by Alice Binney, a teacher. She chose two French words to

Activity: Make an indoor rainbow.

Need:

1. A clear glass bottle filled with water (a wide mouth flower vase works well) 2. Flashlight with an incandescent bulb (an LED will not show colours) 3. 1 sheet of white paper 4. A dark room like a bathroom with a countertop and no windows

Do:

1. Set the full bottle of water on the counter near the wall (a white wall works best) 2. Switch off the light 3. Shine the flashlight toward the wall against the top of the filled glass bottle 4. Watch the wall for a circle of light. Look for a rainbow in the light. What colours do you see?

5. Use your crayons to draw the rainbow.

36 The Messenger • November 2014

make Crayola, the new name for their crayons.

The French word craie means chalk and oleaginous means oily, so Crayola means “oily chalk.”

Today Crayola crayons are most popular.

The first box of Crayolas appeared in 1903.

There were eight basic colours and each box cost only five cents. Today you can find 120 Crayolas in a box and many interesting colour names.

To see colour there must be light. When white light, like the sun or a lamp, hits a white crayon it appears white because it reflects all colours equally. This means that all colours are in white, and as the light hits it, all colours bounce away from it. We see all the colours at once. That is white.

A black crayon absorbs or soaks up all colours equally and reflects none. So no colour bounces away from black and you see only black, the absence of colour.

Can you find the colours in the list above?

Which colour is your favourite?

Read Genesis 9:8-15. The rainbow is a promise made by God. Read Genesis 8:21-22 and 9:11.

What is the promise?

The promise God makes is that he will never again destroy the earth and its people, even if they disobey him and his laws. The rainbow is a sign of life. It is a reminder that God is there.

Just as God saw Noah’s altar of thanksgiving he watches over you.

God was pleased with Noah. Noah built the ark because he believed what God told him and he obeyed. In the same way God is pleased when you believe his words and obey him.

So when you see a rainbow, remember God’s promise and thank him for this delightful sign.

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